; . 
Meeting of the Estates-General, 1789. bac} 
to be deceived by the king’s action of June 23. He branded it 
as a ‘‘very insidious attempt to establish infallibly either a 
ministerial despotism or the aristocratic system.’”® 
On the other hand, the reactionary entourage of the king 
were planning a resort to force should the third estate and its 
supporters prove obstreperous. Barentin, to whom several 
members of the minority of the clergy had carried complaints 
concerning the treatment accorded them by the populace on 
June 24, wrote to the king the next day urging repressive meas- 
ures against the third estate. Apropos of that matter he stated; 
“The conduct of the chamber of the third [estate], the passion 
which characterized its deliberations yesterday, its decree of the 
day before, the apparent contempt which it displays toward the 
wishes of Your Majesty, all show how necessary it was that you 
preserve the principles of the monarchy. But it does not suffice, 
Sire, to have consecrated them, it is necessary to maintain them; 
and the more they are scorned, the more does it become the 
duty of a king to bring toa realization of the truth those who 
have gone astray. I shall take care not to propose to Your 
Majesty any act which may be contrary to the goodness of 
your heart, but yet, you owe it to yourself, to those of your sub- 
jects who are truly attached to you, finally to the legitimacy of 
your power to see to it that this power be not enfeebled or 
revolutionized during your reign.’ In conclusion, Barentin 
suggested that a council be held that evening to consider these 
matters. The continued military investment of the hall and 
the patrolling of the streets of Versailles by troops formed 
but one aspect of this policy. Regiments from distant garrisons, 
mostly foreign troops, were being moved toward Paris.® Boullé 
claims that some of these had already arrived.? According to 
5 Ibid., 144. 
6 The matter of the concentration of troops in the region of Paris and 
Versailles is treated fully by Caron, P. ‘‘ La tentative de contre-révolution 
de juin-juillet, 1789,” in Revue d'histoire moderne et contemporaine, VIII, 5-34. 
7 Boullé, Documents inédits, Revue de la rév., XIV, 26. He wrote on June 
28. Salmour in Flammermont, Les correspondances des agents diplomatique 
étrangers, 231, reported the same day from Paris that two regiments, the 
Swiss regiment of Reinach and the Hussars of Lauzun, had just arrived. 
227 
