Meeting of the Estates-General, 1789. 61 
fortune of the nation; it is the source of its degradation; it has 
fixed abuses in our midst. May these two great days, forever 
memorable, be the dawn of those that shall witness our happiness 
and our liberty.’° Biauzat was profoundly impressed by the 
action of the nobles. ‘‘These gentlemen,”’ he declared, ‘‘showed 
themselves as brave at that moment as they ever could have 
been at the head of the army, since they rose above the prejudice 
sustained by the ministerial system, by the example of their 
comrades, and by their own individual interests, even by the 
apparent desire of the monarch whom the ministers deceived.?’ 
Duquesnoy, who was very conservative in his views, noted that 
the presence of the clergy and nobility gave the assembly an 
appearance of dignity and caused a gravity hitherto unknown. 
“T firmly believe,’ he wrote, ‘‘that this is going to force a com- 
plete union; it is impossible, to my mind, for the minority of the 
clergy to remain alone, very difficult for the nobility not to come. 
It is no longer the question today of rigorously calculating our 
rights, of weighing them in an exact balance; it is necessary to 
save the state, to snatch it from an imminent peril and to re- 
affirm the royal authority, sapped to its roots by the detestable 
and infernal operation of June 23. Some names already dear to 
the country will become more dear. 
It is impossible that the most virtuous men of the realm, as 
Rochechouart, La Rochefoucauld, etc., are guided by senti- 
ments other than those of imperious duty; it is impossible that 
Montmorency, Lameth, Crillon, have any other motive than 
that of honor.’’?8 
The discourse of the Marquis of Sillery,?? who asked to speak 
26 Assemblée nationale, I, 222-223. 
27 Biauzat, II, 140. 
28 Duquesnoy, I, 131. 
29 Procés-verbal, No. 7, 12-15. The text of the speech is given in full here. 
The Point du jour (I, 50) says: “‘ Sa modestie s’est refusée 4 publier un dis- 
cours trés patriotique et trés noble,’”’ but we find the text given in its entirety 
in the Courrier de Provence, Lettre XIII, 17-20. The Marquis must have 
changed his mind or it may be that Mirabeau saw the paper submitted to 
the secretaries, for Biauzat (II, 141) tells us that ‘‘ son discours était écrit et 
bien fait.” Then he adds: ‘Il parait que cet ordre est plus éclairé qu’au 
temps ov il ne signait pas son nom, méme dans les contrats.” Jallet (103, 
175 
