The Counter Revolution of June-July 121 



troops around Paris and Versailles, that " Many ministers, and I 

 was among this number, knew of these orders only at the time 

 when it became impossible to keep it from any one."^^° Du- 

 quesnoy also thought that Necker had no part in the movements 

 of troops, but he added " if we are wise nothing can separate us. 

 They may force us to leave Versailles, but we should unite else- 

 where. The germ of liberty is sown in the French soil and it 

 must be developed." It seems that many complained because of 

 the number of troops, but Duquesnoy thought that it was better 

 not to talk because there would be " more grandeur and more 

 power when they deliberated surrounded by 60,000 men sold to 

 despotism than in attempting to remove these troops. Such 

 efforts would not fail to corrupt those around the king." Du- 

 quesnoy continued : " Time presses, everything commands us to 

 go forward; we are accountable for every movement; if we put 

 off deliberations on the constitution perhaps it will become in- 

 finitely difficult. "^"^ The estimates of the number of troops in 

 the vicinity of Paris differ considerably in the various sources, 

 but range from 15,000 up to 80,000. Barentin in his memoires 

 gives 15,000-16,000;^'^ 2 Duquesnoy, on June 30, says 25,000;^'^ 

 Mirabeau in his speech of July 8 gives 55,000^'^* while in the 

 secret correspondance of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette 60,000 

 to 80,000 are given. ^^^ 



It finally became necessary for the assembly to act. Not only 

 was it imperative that the attention of the assembly should be 

 drawn to the movement of troops, but Paris and the whole 

 country should be informed. The assembly must take the lead 

 in this. Mirabeau became the spokesman for the assembly. On 

 July 8, he presented the dangers which threatened pubHc liberty 



5-0 Necker, D^ la revolution, I. The day of 14 July. 



s"i Duquesnoy, Journal, I, 171. 



s'^2 Barentin, Memoires, 20, note i. 



^^3 Duquesnoj', Journal, I, 142. 



5"4 Courrier de Provence, I, i8th letter, 5. 



^"5 La correspondance secrete inedite sur Louis XVI, Marie- Antoinette, 

 II, 370. See the enumeration of the estimates given by Caron, " La 

 tentative de contre-revolution," in Revue d'histoire moderne, VIII, 14, note. 



403 



