the warmest and most determined zealots in the caufe; nor were they awakened from this delufion till the bufinefs was over, when their opinion and action were become as ufeless as their repentance.

But that great power which overruled all others in the kingdom, that turbulent metropolis which contained within its old walls a very numerous and a moft peculiar nation, was not only fufficient to turn but directed the management of the fcale in all cafes as it liked. Paris, therefore, little needed the aid of Rennes in Brittany, and feveral other of the more confiderable cities and towns, which having received the fame republican bias, were, however inferior in ftrength, fcarcely lefs zealous in the cause.

One of the questions which arofe upon this fubject, and which was the longeft and the most violently agitated, both within and without the affembly, was that relative to the king's veto, or negative, upon the paffing of laws. The difference between the two parties upon this queftion was fo wide, that it feemed fcarcely poffible they could ever meet or unite; for while one brought ftrong reasons to fhew that this authority in the crown was indifpenfably neceffary to the public intereft, in order to preferve a check upon the tumultuary nature of public affemblies, and prevent their paffing not only without due confideration, but under the influence perhaps of the most sudden and outrageous paffions, laws, which from their abfurdity, their iniquity, or impolicy, might draw on national difgrace, public injustice, or even foreign danger. On the other fide, the retaining of this power in the king's hands, it was reprefented, would be

the means of overthrowing every thing that had yet been done for the liberty and good of the people; that by this negative, without af figning reafon or motive for his conduct, he might obftruct those meafures which were of the highest utility to the people, merely to favour the intrigues of his court, or the machinations of his ministers; that by thus impeding or arrefting the operations of the affembly, the great work of regeneration, which the people now fo confidently expected, would be rendered impracticable, and all their hopes fruftrated; that if the ill effects of this dangerous power did not even immediately take place, they would not be the lefs certain when the proper feafon arrived for their operation; that when the prefent vigilance of the people and their reprefentatives was relaxed, and means used to lull them into a fatal fecurity, then the king might fuddenly, at his pleafure, inflict a paralytic ftroke upon the legislative body, which would difable and render it totally useless. And that, in fact, this veto was a never-failing inftrument of tyranny, and the most odious and dangerous relick of ancient defpotifm which could poffibly be retained.

The queftion was branched out into feveral parts. After they had been occupied in the firft inftance. to make fuch provifion as fhould prevent the operation of the vcto with refpect to the acts of the prefent affembly, the clear difcernment of Mounier fhewed that this was mere wafte of time, the fubject not admitting of a question; for the prefent aflembly being appointed by the nation, for the special purpos of framing a conftitution, it was [C 2

thereby

thereby placed in a fitation different, with refpect to the royal negative, from what its fucceffors might be; the real fact being, that the royal power, during their performance of that duty, was, of ne, ceffity, virtually though not formally fufpended: fo that their conftituent acts were not to depend upon the king's pleasure or fanction-they required his direct acceptance, which could not be refused.

The first part of the subject being thus difpofed of, the poffible or probable future confequence of the royal fanction's being retained or abolished, became the fubject of difcuffion; and another queftion fprung from this, If the king is allowed to have a negative upon laws, fhall that negative be final, or fhall it only be fufpenfive for a limited time?

In the mean time, the fecondary agents or leaders of the populace in Paris began to interfere openly on the queftion of the veto, and on all the other points relative to the conftitution, which were then agitated by the affembly; while the crowds in their own galleries became every day more infolent and outrageous, drowning the voice of thofe members whom they did not like, by hootings and revilings, and endeavouring to over-awe them by infult and menace; while long lifts of members who were marked to be profcribed, were difperfed not only in the capital, but through every part of the kingdom.

The popular fermentation in Paris was rifing to the highest pitch. All the old manoeuvres which had produced fuch extraordinary effect in the preceding months of June and July, were renewed in the gardens of the palais royal, and in

the adjoining political coffee-houses. The turbulent St. Huruge (formerly an officer in the king's fervice) but noted for the great fhare which he had held in all the difturbances of the capital, propofed to fend a deputation to Verfailles, to infit that the king, the dauphin, and the national aflembly, should refide at Paris; and fent deputies to the Hotel de Ville, to demand. the approbation of the reprefentatives affembled there to this meafure. The Hotel de Ville, under the influence of M. Bailly, the mayor, together with La Fayette, behaved with fenfe and spirit upon this occafion: the former ftrongly. prohibited all tumultuous afïemblies; and La Fayette, by the affiftance of his national guards, gave effect to the decree, by committing St. Huruge, Tinlot, and fome of the molt violent motion - makers and agitators to prifon. Thus was fedition for a fhort space checked.

The counts of Clermont Tonnere, Lally Tollendal, with Mounier, and other men of eminence, made heavy complaints in the national affembly of thofe rebelliousattempts against the freedom of the king, and of that body itfelf; as well as thofe lifts of profcription which were every where fpread, including the names of all thofe members who wifhed well to the project of two chambers, or who fupported the royal negative; and of the anonymous letters which they daily received, threatening them with deftruction.

Mirabeau, and fome of his friends, faid they had received letters equally violent and threatening, for vot ing against tithes; and the first affected to treat with the greatest contempt and ridicule the panic terrors

to which certain cowardly members were liable. The affembly, according to its established cuftom in all cafes relative to that people, paffed over the infults of the Parifians, without fhewing the fmalleft fpirit, and thereby became liable to the neceflary confequence, of being expofed to fill greater infults in future. For fome time paft, but particularly fince the late animofities which had arifen among the parties, flories of plots and confpiracies had been moft unaccountably spread through every part of the kingdom, and deeply affected the minds of the people. Some of these were charged directly upon the court, among which the intended efcape of the king and the royal family from Versailles to Metz, formed the principal figure. Others were charged upon the aristocratic party, who were fuppofed to intend the reftoration of the king to his former power, merely to render him an intrument for the attainment of their own ends, and for further fecuring what they attained. How far thefe plots were real or pretended, it is impoffible at prefent to decide. There certainly never was a period or a country in which fabrications of this fort, however falfe, and however palpably inconfiftent and abfurd, would have been received with greater avidity, or credited with less enquiry, than France at this time. It is likewife to be remembered, that ideas of plots were at this time highly neceffary to the prevailing party; and we have feen, that they poffeffed means, which have not often been equalled, of making fuch impreffions on the public mind as they deemed neceffary.

On the other hand, it would be idle to fuppofe, that the multitude

of men, whofe fituation and condition in life had been fo fuddenly and totally changed, muft not be much difcontented, and that they would not readily embrace any wellfounded fcheme for the recovery of what they had loft; fo that we may take it for granted, that there would have been an abundance of plotters, if there had been any feafible plot formed. But the total defect of evidence to prove the existence of any, at a time when the difcovery was fo eagerly fought, and fo much depended on the proof, ftrongly indicate that thefe reports and alarms were mere political fabrications, calculated to anfwer certain purpofes, and to produce certain obvious effects. Indeed the ftate of public affairs, the temper that prevailed throughout the country, and the arms in the hands of the peafantry, all concurred in rendering it impoffible for the aristocrates to form any rational and well-founded fcheme, for the prefent recovery of their affairs. It is not to be doubted but that they were guilty of great indifcretions; and that in their cups, through their habitual loofenefs of fpeech, and natural turn for boafting, they faid many things which they never thought of when fober. This was in character, and to be expected.

The reports, however, produced the fame effect in one refpect, as if the plots had been real, by exciting a great and general ferment through the nation. It was not to be expected that the Parifians, ever credulous, and ever fufpicious, should be the laft that were thus affected. Every thing began to bear a moft dangerous appearance in that city, and all who had witnessed their late violences, had every thing now to [C 3] apprehend;

apprehend; and a fecond explofion like that of the Baftile feemed already in view. The king's veto was, however, the prefent oftenfible caufe of tumult. If that was allowed, the clergy and nobles, they cried, will renew all their power; "We must act, and inftantly too, "elfe, in three days, France will "be enflaved." In the height of this ferment, two violent refolutions, which were tranfmitted from the towns of Rennes and Dinant, produced a fimilar effect to what a large quantity of oil poured upon a fire already raging might have

done.

In this ftate of things the king, ever difpofed to accommodate and conciliate, in the hope of reftoring quiet, and if poffible of eftablish ing good temper, determined to foften matters with respect to the veto; a conceffion which came the better from him, as the affembly were involved in a fort of a dilem ma from their own paft declaration, that his fanction was neceffary to the paffing of laws, fo that they could not with any propriety proceed to thofe extremities on the fubject, which the most violent of the republican party wished. Neckar was accordingly difpatched to the affembly with a memoire, propoling a veto which thould only have the power of fufpending laws during one or two legiflatures. This was received with evident fatisfaction, excepting by fome of the most violent of thofe who fupported (not the king, but) the fovereignty, who wen } not admit any modification of the web, and infifted that he ... pren adviled by his minifters i pro ong the conceffion. They be gat ever, over-ruled, it was at length agreed, that the king

fhould have the power to fufpend a law during two legislatures; but, that if the third affembly perifted in it, he fhould then be obliged to give his fanction.

It was a curious circumftance in Mirabeau's conduct, that while he fupported the royal veto with the utmolt vehemence of his character, and that one of the best fpeeches he ever made was upon that ground, his emiffaries in Paris were inftructed to perfuade the people that he oppo ed it with all his might; and to fupport the delufion, he took care to quit the aliembly juft before the divifion, that his vote might not appear as a record against it.

Another bufinefs of not lefs im portance underwent at the fame time a courfe of long and great difcuffion. This was, "whether the national

affembly should be composed of one or two chambers ?" The committee of conftitution had already given their opinion upon this fubject, by recommending a fenate and a houfe of reprefentatives, each of which fhould poffefs a negative upon the proceedings of the other. This, or fomething like it, bearing fome refemblance to the British cónftitution, was, as we have formerly feen, the favourite fcheme with Lally, Clermont, and the other leaders of the moderate party, who, equally zealous with the republicans, for the establishment of a free government, confidered a limited monarchy, with a conflitution fo formed as that the principal parts should operate as mutual and perpetual checks upon each other, as affording the fairest profpect for the attainment and permanence of that object.

It may be easily underflood, that the party who now held all power exclufively

exclufively in their own hands, and ruled the nation as they willed, without any refponfibility upon their conduct, were little difpofed to fubmit to the laying of any checks or reftraints upon their proceedings. It would have been as if the long parliament in England, after abolishing the house of lords, had then appointed another body to be its fubftitute in controlling their own arts. It is faid, and the fact is affirmed to be now publicly known, that the influence, public opinion, and patriotic difinterefted character of the leaders of the moderate party, having rendered their fanction and countenance highly neceffary in many of the late arrangements, they had been artfully amufed and led along with an idea that their favourite fcheme of two chambers and of mutual checks was fo

rational and neceffary a meafure, that in fettling the conftitution it must be generally agreed to.

It is not to be forgotten, that the minds of the people had been already poifoned in an extreme degree upon the fubject of the three chambers, which they were taught to confider as the great land-marks of defpotifm, and as utterly incompatible with every scheme of reform, and every principle and hope of liberty. This prejudice was eafly directed against any plurality of chambers; against two, as well as against any greater number. It was like the cry of "A mad dog!" The people accordingly took a moft decided part in the bufinefs; efpecially thofe in the galleries, and the Parifans. They mutt be fceptical indeed who are in any great doubt, whether prefent means were wanting to excite this fermentation. Even in the affembly, every power

diftinct from that of the reprefentatives of the people at large was branded with the name of aristocracy; and fenates were rendered odious by being indifcriminately compared to that of Venice. A fchifm likewife arofe, as ufual, among thofe parties, who were bound by every principle of reafon and policy to have acted with one accord; most of the nobility and clergy voting against the measure, because they thought it would entirely preclude the renewal at any future time, of their old favourite fyftem of fitting in three orders. The very reason, if it had been valid, why the friends of the new conftitution fhould have fupported the meafure.

Under all these circumftances, within and without, the question of one or two chambers was finally put to the vote, when

Sept. 10, 1789. only eighty-nine members voted for two chambers, againft a majority ofabove nine hundred. Although it is evident that the meafure mult have been rejected without any external violence, yet it is not incurious to fee the freedom of fuffrage which prevailed in this new temple of liberty. Of this, exclufive of lifts of profcription and incendiary letters, we have two fpecific inftances: The firft is from Lally Tolendal, who afferts, that feveral members of the popular fide faid to him individually," Would you have me expofe my wife and children to be murdered by the mob"-The fecond is from Mounier, who declares, that different members came to him to beg certificates that they had not given unpopular votes, as they had heard their country feats were to be burnt..

The affembly likewife decreed, that the legislative body should be [C 4]

renewed