Meeting of the Estates-General, 1789. 153 
The king, embarrassed and shaken, had the clergy pass into 
another room where the queen, Monsieur and the Comte d’Artois, 
the Duke of Luxemburg and the Duc de Croy were gathered. 
The Archbishop of Aix, however, insisted upon his views: ‘‘ Yes, 
Sire, yes, Madame, they are deceiving you to make you yield. 
They have given double representation to the third estate that 
it may have a double vote; they wish to grant it not only for 
some objects, but for all. Your Majesty indicates differences 
which they do not wish to admit. It preserves the interests of 
the king, those of the clergy and the nobility, they wish to 
destroy the orders and the royal authority is bound to fall with 
them.’ 
The objections raised by the duke and the archbishop must 
have made the king fully conscious of the dangerous possibilities 
of union, but they did not swerve him from his intention of ask- 
ing the upper orders to join the third estate. Evidently, the 
court felt that public opinion must be appeased as quickly as 
possible. The letters of invitation were presented to the Duke 
of Luxemburg and the Cardinal de la Rochefoucauld to be carried 
to their respective chambers.” 
2 Histoire de la rév., 1, 238; Moleville, I, 246. According to Moleville the 
discussion continued for some minutes, the king adding that he would make 
known his response. This statement implies that the king did not give the 
letters to the presidents. The Histoire adds that Necker was summoned 
after the Cardinal, but made no explanation of the statement. It may have 
been to acquaint him with the king’s decision to follow out his suggestion of 
union through a letter of invitation. 
*3 Tbid.; Coster, Récit, 345; Boullé, Documents inédits, Revue de la rév., 
XIV, 28; Barentin, 243-244, footnote. Boullé says that “ un garde du corps 
chargé de cette lettre ouverte en avait donné lecture au peuple toujours 
assemblé prés de |’hétel des états avant de la remettre a la noblesse.”’ Coster, 
who heard the Cardinal de la Rouchefoucauld report the circumstances of his 
visit to the chateau, states explicitly that the presidents brought the letters 
with them. Barentin implies the same, and the Histoire says that the presi- 
dents received the letters from the king. Moleville evidently is mistaken, 
while the story of Boullé cannot be taken seriously. Coster states that the 
one given to the Cardinal had written on the back: ‘‘ A mon cousin, le cardinal 
de la Rochefoucauld.” 
