opening of States General of lySg 1 1 



were obliged to take seats behind the privileged orders.^* Once 

 more they had been annoyed by the humiliating distinctions made 

 between themselves and the privileged orders. 



The sermon at the church of St. Louis was preached by the 

 Bishop of Nancy.^^ There seems to have been nothing remark- 

 able in the discourse except the attack made on the luxury of the 

 court. In speaking of the growth of the expenses of the realm, 

 Biauzat says that the speaker attacked those who, bored by an 

 excess of luxury and grandeur, found it necessary to seek 

 pleasure in " childish imitations of nature," referring, evidently, 

 to the queen's Petit Trianon where her majesty entertained her- 

 self and her courtiers by imitating rural life.^° The bishop's 

 attack on the luxury of the court so pleased the deputies that they 

 apparently forgot they were in a sacred edifice and applauded 

 enthusiastically.^' 



When the crowd left the church, Duquesnoy says that there 

 was no applause for the queen who sat in her carriage for several 

 minutes before it drove away, giving plenty of opportunity for a 

 demonstration.^^ According to this same writer, there was little 

 applause for the king, but much for the Due d'Orleans, who, 

 throughout the day, had been the subject of the enthusiasm of 

 the crowd. 



At the close of the service, the deputies dispersed to meet the 

 following day, the day which meant so much to them, so much 

 to France — the opening day of the states general, called for the 

 first time since 1614. 



3* Larevelliere de Lepeaux, Memoirs, I, 67 ; Duquesnoy, I, 4 ; Recit des 

 seances des deputes des communes, 4. The Recit simply mentions that 

 the third estate was placed behind the other two orders ; the other accounts 

 give the details of the quarrel, agreeing on the main points. 



33 Duquesnoy, I, 5. Mercnre de France, III, 16 mai, 1789, Journal poli- 

 tique de Bruxelles, 132; Journal des etats-generaux, I, 13. 



36 Duquesnoy, I, 5. Duquesnoy criticizes the sermon in the following man- 

 ner : " En total, il est faible, plein de remplissages, de declamations ; un 

 style de rhetoricien sans methode, sans gout. II ne s'est pas eleve a la 

 hauteur de son subject, a beaucoup, beaucoup pres." 



3" Duquesney, I, 5; Mercure de France, III, 16 mai, 1789, Journal poli- 

 tique de Bruxelles, 132; Biauzat, II, 27. 



3s Duquesnoy, I, 6. 



213 



