their fidelity to their constituents, but also their ability as reformers and statesmen. A greater work in relieving an oppressed people of their burdens was never done in the same space of time by any legislative body in the history of the world.

DELEGATES OF THE THIRD

TO THE BISHOP
ESTATE DECLARE THEMSELVES THE NATIONAL
ASSEMBLY - SIEYÈS OATH OF THE TENNIS
COURT

MOUNIER ROYAL SITTING

MIRA

On the 4th of May, 1789, the delegates to the States-General marched in procession through the streets of Versailles from the Church of Notre Dame to the Church of Saint Louis. It was Sunday and all Paris came to witness the ceremony. Gorgeous, indeed, was the scene. No expense was spared in making it an occasion ever to be remembered for its pomp and splendor. The little town, the favorite seat of royalty, had never presented so brilliant an appearance. Te Deums were sung, and the air, burdened with incense and the perfume of flowers, quivered and reverberated with cheers and plaudits for the king.

In all that vast concourse of people, there was no person, perhaps, who attracted less attention than the little deputy from Arras. Slight in figure, unprepossessing in appearance, wearing green spectacles, and clad in the plain and sombre garb of the commons, he was not the individual

upon such an occasion and surrounded by so many well-known and distinguished men to attract special notice. It may be said, however, that no one among all his colleagues felt to a higher degree the importance of his mission or had a greater desire to render a faithful stewardship.

Who is that haughty man stepping along with the stride of a king, with head high in air and thrown back as if in contempt, a sneer upon his ugly rugged face, his bushy hair waving in the wind like the tawny mane of a lion, at whom every finger is pointed, greeted at times with faint cheers and then assailed with low growls? That is Mirabeau, le Comte de Mirabeau, deputy of the Third Estate from the town of Aix, known throughout the kingdom and even elsewhere for his extravagance, profligacy, and genius. Entitled by birth and rank to walk with the nobles, but driven from their midst, he has thrown his lot in with the commoners, and a tower of strength he will be to their cause. Great is his reputation, but the real power of the giant is not yet known.

These were two distinct types among the deputies of the Third Estate, and between them ranged men of every degree: lawyers, doctors, merchants, land-owners, farmers, priests, magistrates, mayors of towns, and a few who had no vocations but were classed as gentlemen. These were the representatives of the people, the great majority of them undistinguished, even unknown; only a few had reputations beyond the limits of

their respective districts. Little did they, at this time, comprehend their power, and little did they foresee that they were to assail the abuses of the ancient régime and that under their blows the old established system was to crumble to pieces and that on this mass of rubbish they were to lay the foundations of a new constitution.

On the 5th of May the first session of the States-General was held. The king read his speech, and at its conclusion put on his hat; the nobility in accordance with a time-honored custom also covered their heads. And then the Third Estate, in defiance of a rule of royal etiquette that had obtained from time immemorial, followed suit. It was a law as old as the empire itself that the subject must stand uncovered in the presence of his king and the breach of this law was deemed insolent and rebellious. The indignation of the nobles waxed hot at this effrontery on the part of the commons, and the cry rang through the hall "Hats off." To relieve the situation, Louis uncovered and the Convention resumed order.

The nobles and the clergy then refused to meet with the Third Estate in joint session. This obstinacy was defeating the real purpose of the calling of the States-General. Instead of the whole nation advising together in one body, the privileged classes insisted upon holding two separate and distinct conventions or what they might have designated as an upper and a lower house. Although the clergy met in a hall by themselves,

it was believed they would vote as a body upon all important questions with the nobility.

The nobles contended that each order should be entitled to one vote, whereas the commons insisted upon voting by poll. This quarrel kept everything at a standstill for five weeks.

It had been the ancient custom of the body to vote upon all questions by orders, and believing that this custom would prevail in the new congress the king and his advisers had been induced to allow the Third Estate to send to Versailles more representatives than the nobility and the clergy combined; but now the commons, appreciating the fact that they would be out-voted if the old custom obtained, demanded that the three orders should meet together and that the voting should be by individuals.

The nobles were not all of one mind on this question of separate sessions, for some of the most distinguished men in their ranks favored the union of the three orders.

Many of the clergy, too, endorsed the stand taken by the commons, and impatiently awaited the time when they could act in accordance with their views and openly declare their preference.

As a rule the bishops were closely affiliated with the nobility, many of them being of noble birth; these patrician prelates carried their notions of exclusiveness and social superiority into their religious life and, of course, looked with an indifference that was akin to contempt upon the humble members of the lower clergy. These, in