FRA 
dered a# impodible to alienate from it the adulation of the 
multitude ; and therefore, on the 19th of June, the cele¬ 
brated motion was brought forward to fupprefs the titles 
of duke, marquis, count, baron, excellency, abbe, &c. 
and that all citizens (liould take in future their family and 
patronymic names ; that no one (liould in future caufc 
liveries to be worn, or afl'ume armorial bearings; and that 
the title of monfeigneur (hould no longer be applied to 
any individual or body. Thus in one moment were three 
hundred thou (and of the firft families in France degraded 
from their ancient honours, and reduced to a level with 
the mafs of the common people; a refolution highly re¬ 
pugnant to found policy, and to that due fubordination 
among men, which is at once the cement and (lability of 
every civil!(ed government. 
This decree, as might naturally be expected, excited, 
for a time, a high fenfe of enmity and diffatisfadlion be¬ 
tween oppofite orders and fects. At Nifmes, the fever of 
difcontent was rapid in its progrefs, and fatal in its confe- 
quences; that city was the relidence of a numerous nobi¬ 
lity, accudumed to pomp, and zealoufiy attached to the 
catholic perfuafion. 1c had alfo become the feat of a 
confiderable body of protedants. Religious differences 
were heightened by political animofity ; and while the 
catholics regarded with horror and averfion every mea- 
fure of the national adembly, the protedants looked up 
with admiration to thofe refolutions, which redored them 
to religious and civil liberty. Their mutual enmity could 
not long be confined to idle reproaches; arms minidered 
to their fury ; for two fuccedive days the dreets were de¬ 
luged with blood ; and it was not until feveral hundred 
citizens had peridied, that the victory of the protedants 
eftabliflied tranquillity. 
The national adembly, deeply affli£led with thefe re¬ 
peated indances of tumult and diluffedlion, more firmly 
to bind the people to the new government, and to unite 
them in one general caufe, refolved to have recourfe to 
the folemn tie of oaths and compacts. In various pro¬ 
vincial towns civic feads had been indituted, and general 
adociations had taken place ; and it was now determined 
to concentrate thefe patriotic eft'ulions in one univerfal 
point of view, and by a general confederation at Paris, to 
ad’ert the pre-eminence of the capita’, and to cherifn and 
combine the Zeal of the kingdom at large. To this me¬ 
morable feftival every didriit throughout France was re¬ 
quired to fend its deputies ; nor was the monarch himfelf 
to be exempted from an oath, which was to confecrute the 
mutual ties between the fovereign and his fubje£ls. The 
day fixed for this facred ceremony was the 14th of July 
1790 ; and the place, the Champ de Mars, a fpacious plain 
which joins the fuburbs of Paris to the capital. In the 
centre an altar was eredled ; and feats were placed round 
capable of containing feveral hundred thoufands of fpec- 
tators ; and on this occafion the enthufiafm of France was 
eminently difplayed. The deputies were adembled from 
.every quarter of the kingdom ; and the duke of Orleans, 
now braving the artifices of his enemies, returned from 
England to pledge his faith to the maintenance of the new 
conflitution, to the edablifliment of which his efforts had 
fo largely contributed. 
About four o’clock in the afternoon, the marquis'de la 
Fayette afeended the altar; and, in the name of the na¬ 
tional troops of France, pronounced the following oath; 
“ I fwear always to be faithful to the nation, to the law, 
and to the king ; to maintain the conflitution decreed by 
the national adembly, and accepted by the king ; to pro¬ 
tect, according to law, the fecurity of perfons and of pro¬ 
perty, the free circulation of corn and fubfilience through¬ 
out the kingdom, and the colledlion of public taxes of 
every defeription ; and to remain united to the French in 
fraternal and indiiroluble bonds.” The deputies of the 
regular troops and militia, on the conclufion of the oath, 
repeated each ^loud, “ I swear.” 
The marquis was followed by the prefident of the na¬ 
tional adembly : “I fwear to be faithful to the nation, 
Vol. VII. No. 467. 
N C E. - 777 
the law, and the king ; and to maintain, with all my 
power, the conftiunion, as decreed by the national adem¬ 
bly, and accepted by the king ;” each deputy repeating 
aloud, after their prefident, “ I swear.” 
The fovereign himfelf, then dretching his arm towards 
the altar, atnidft an awful (Hence, dov. ly and diftinflly 
pronounced : “ I, tying of (he. French , fwear to the nation 
to employ all the power which is delegated to me by the 
conftitutional law of the date, to maintain the conditu- 
tion, and to enforce the execution of the law.” While 
fifteen hundred thoufand voices rent the air with their 
acclamations, and ratified, w ith their plaudits, the facrcd 
compact which eftabliflied Louis XVI. the fird fhonarch 
of a FREE CONSTITUTION IN FRANCE. 
The national adembly now proceeded to the comple¬ 
tion of the conflitution with confiderable tranquillity, till 
it was didurbed by an unhappy event at Nancy. M>od of 
the officers of the army were unfriendly to the revolution, 
and every means had been employed by them to difguft 
the foldiers with it. At Nancy, in particular, neceffimes 
had been denied them, and their pay was kept back, un¬ 
der pretence that this was the will of the national adem¬ 
bly, Driven to defpair, the regiments in garrifon threw 
off their allegiance, and demanded loudly the regimental 
accounts. They feized at the fame time the military 
ched, and lent a deputation to (late their cafe at Paris 
to the national adembly. But the officers were before¬ 
hand, and prepoffeded the minifter of war againfl them ; 
upon whole reprefentationa decree was paded, authorifing 
the commander in chief of the province, M. Bouille, to 
reduce the infurgents by force. This was no fooner made 
known, titan the national guard of Nancy adembled, and 
fent a deputation to give a fair datement of fadls. But 
Bouille, without watting the refult of an explanation, 
haftened to Nancy at the head of all the troops he could 
fuddenly colledl; and, having fallen upon the regiments 
of Chateauvieux and Medre de Camp, after putting an 
immenfe multitude to the fword, took four hundred pri- 
foners. The king’s regiment was prevented from afting 
againfl Bouille by the intrepidity of a young officer of the 
name of Dedilles, who, however, died of the wounds 
which he received on the occadon. The news of thefe 
events filled Paris with indignation. The adembly after¬ 
wards reverfed its own decrees againfl the infurgents at 
Nancy. Public honours were decreed to the memory of 
Dedilles ; but Bouille could not be punifhed, becaufe he 
had only adled in obedience to authority. 
M. Necker’s popularity had been gradually declining, 
as he was unwilling to go all the lengths that the ruling 
patty wIdled. He gave in his relignation on the 4th of 
September, and left the kingdom. He departed, how¬ 
ever, with the unblemifhed reputation of drict integrity. 
See the article Necker. 
The reddue of the year 1790 was occupied in attempts 
to introduce fubordination into the navy of France, which 
had been much diforganized, and in farther regulating 
the affairs of the clergy. It was now declared, that fuch 
clergymen as diould not take the following oath, (hould 
be conlidered as ejedled from their benefices : “ To 
watch carefully over the faithful in the parifh or diocefe 
which was entrulled to his care ; to be faithful to the 
nation, the law, and the king ; and to maintain to the tu¬ 
rned of his power the new conditution of France, and par¬ 
ticularly the decrees relative to the civil conditution of 
the clergy.” This decree rendered the fituation of con- 
feientions men extremely perplexing ; efpecially as the 
pope tedified his difapprobation of the oath. The peo¬ 
ple W'ere reduced to the dilemma of choofing between 
their new political and their old religious prejudices, and 
the refult was extremely unfavourable to the intered of 
religion. 
The adembly commenced the year 1791 with a decree, 
announcing the termination of its fedion, fo foon as it 
fhould have fettled and afeertained the final record of the 
conlliiutional articles. In the mean time, on the fide of 
9 M Germany, 
