opening of States General of i/8p 75 



cause to be alarnied.-^^ He says : " There is not a man of peace 

 among them. More than that, these persons are expressly 

 charged to discuss nothing but the verification of credentials in 

 common, and the nobles intend that that shall be the only thing 

 not discussed."-^- In giving the list of the deputies, Duquesnoy 

 points out what he considers the chief characteristics of each. 

 Of Rabaut, he says : " ambitious, but they say moderate and 

 wise ; " of Chapelier, " a violent mad-man ... an excessive 

 Breton;" of Mounier, "his colleagues in the nobility say that he 

 is violent and dangerous. I think they are right;" of Legrand, 

 " the most tiresome and the most unbearable of all the babblers, 

 dangerous on account of that and on account of his pride." He 

 says of Volney, "incendiary" and of Milscent, "violent." It is 

 evident, if Duquesnoy's characterizations were correct, that the 

 nobles could hope for little from these men. 



After the committee had been elected, a deputation of seven 

 members was sent to the privileged orders to inform them that 

 the third estate had finally elected their delegates. -^^ Upon their 

 return, the committee reported that the clergy had expressed its 

 satisfaction that the work had been completed and promised to 

 inform the third estate when they should have decided on the 

 time for opening the conferences.-^* The nobility answered that 

 it was then occupied with the naming of the commissioners, and. 

 so the Recit states, would inform the third estate of the result of 

 the election as soon as it should be known.-^^ Biauzat relates 

 that he heard the nobles complaining because Target, who was 

 the speaker for the deputation,-^'' " had had much to say concern- 

 ing the commons, but had not once pronounced the words nobles 

 or nobility. "-^^ Duquesnoy says that " it was Target who an- 



231 Duquesnoy, I, 27. 



232 Ibid. 



'^^^ Recit des seances des deputes des coinniiines, 25; Duquesnoy, I, 28; 

 Biauzat, II, 70. 



234 Biauzat, 11, 70; Recit des seances des deputes des communes, 26. 



235 Biauzat, II, 71 ; Recit des seances des deputes des communes, 26. 



236 Biauzat, II, 71 ; Duquesnoy, I, 28. 



237 Biauzat, II, 71. 



277 



