5 2 Mae Darling 



clergy that same day, May ii/^^ although they seem not to have 

 given an account of it to their order until May 12.^^'' The clergy 

 received them with due ceremony, and the delegation informed 

 the ecclesiastical deputies of the wish of their order to maintain 

 union, expressing their regret that the nobles could not yet give 

 an answer to the request of the clergy. ^•*° The Proccs-verbal of 

 the nobility says that when this deputation made its report to the 

 nobles, it stated that it had found the third estate adjourned.^*^ 



On the next day, the question came up as to whether the nobles 

 should accept the proposition of the clergy and name commis- 

 sioners to consider the manner of verifying credentials. The 

 nobles had organized, had verified their credentials, and had 

 decided that their order 'was legally constituted by those whose 

 credentials had been verified. They had received the formal 

 request of the clergy to name conciliatory commissioners and 

 were now about to decide whether they should accept the proposi- 

 tion. But before voting on this question, it is related by the 

 Proccs-7.'crhal that they first voted to inform the other orders 

 of the decisions they had made on May 6 and 7, that is, the 

 decisions they had reached to verify their credentials regardless 

 of the other orders, and also that after such verification they 

 were legally constituted.^*- It was evident that in deciding to 

 notify the other orders of their decrees, the nobility intended to 

 make it clear that they had no intention of retracting. It would 

 seem useless to talk of conciHation under such conditions, but the 

 chamber proceeded to vote on the question and decided to accept 

 the invitation of the clergy to appoint commissioners. 



138 Coster, II mai; Thibault, 186; Vallet, Recit, 14. Thibault and Coster 

 name the following persons as making up this deputation : the Due de 

 Luxembourg, the Comte de la Chatre, the Marquis de Crussol, the Comte 

 d'Escars, the Comte de Levis, the Baron de Montboissier, M. de Bressy, 

 and the Vicomte de Mirabeau. 



^^^ Proccs-verbal de la noblesse, 33. 



'^^^ Ibid., 33, 34; Thibault, 186; Coster, 11 mai. 



1*1 Proccs-verbal de la noblesse, 34. 



'^*- Proccs-verbal de la noblesse, 34; Lettrcs du Comte dc Mirabeau, No. 

 3, 24. The Proccs-verbal states that this action was taken before the vote 

 on the conciliator}' commission. 



254 



