The Insurrection of October, 1789 41 



thousand uniforms had been ordered of a tailor for these new 

 troops. 1 



It had, indeed, been the desire of the aristocrats for a long 

 time to strengthen the position of the king by increasing the 

 number of troops at Versailles. The necessity for this had, as 

 we know, been agreed to by the moderates at the end of August. 

 And two weeks later, when the demands of the assembly for the 

 immediate promulgation of the decrees of August 4 became so 

 imperative as to alarm the king, the regiment of Flanders was 

 sent for. 2 According to Mathiez this regiment had been on its 

 way two days on the 18th of September when Louis XVI. sent 

 to the assembly his long mcmoire explaining the necessity for 

 delaying the promulgation of these decrees. 3 



It was on this same day that Lafayette's letter, concerning the 

 proposed movement of the French guards, was used by Saint- 

 Priest for a purpose never intended by its author. 4 The regi- 

 ment of Flanders was already on its way to Versailles before the 

 fear arose that the unexpected arrival of troops might rouse that 

 most dreaded of all instruments of revolution, the Paris mob. 

 Lafayette's letter served as a much desired pretext for shoulder- 

 ing the responsibility of the decision upon the staff and the mu- 

 nicipality of Versailles. The letter was not made public, 5 but 

 its message was so used as to create alarm and bring about a 

 formal requisition on the king to send for more troops. 6 The 

 thing was so skilfully managed that many good patriots were de- 

 ceived. 7 But that the threatened invasion of the guards was not 

 a reason for sending for the regiment of Flanders is shown by 

 an examination of dates. It was on the 16th of September that 

 this regiment left Douai for Versailles. 8 The summons could 

 not have been sent from the latter city later than the 14th. 



1 Revue historique, LXVIII, 287. 



2 Ibid., LXVII, 280; Weber, Memoires, I, 421. 



s Ibid., LXVII, 281. 



*Ibid., LXVIII, 264, 285; Lafayette, Memoires, IV, 149. 



6 Revolutions de Paris, XIII, 4. 



6 Revue historique, LXVII, 281, and LXVIII, 284. 



7 Bailly, Memoires, II, 381; Duquesnoy , Journal, I, 362. 



% Actesde la commune de Paris, II, 48, 49. 



307 



