1I have told you all that took place up to this time.

2My life continued the same as ever, with the exception of a dreary feeling about the heart.

3The events that took place in Paris had no direct effect upon me. I heard them as one might hear the echo of a distant thunder-clap.

4In this way we heard of the abolition of titles, on the 1st of August; of the suppression of tithes; of the recognition of religious liberty; of the orgie of the gardes du corps; of the insult offered to the national cockade; of the days of the 5th and 6th of October; of the return of the King and Queen to Paris; of the plots and intrigues of the Court; of the prosecution of Bezenval and Favras; and of the publication of the Red Book by the assembly.

5The Red Book revealed all.

6The King, who had, on the 12th of February, sworn friendship to the Constitution, not only was in direct correspondence with the exiles, but went to Trêves, a military post, where his stables were situated, and which was in charge of Prince Lambese, the very man who had charged on the people in the garden of the Tuileries, on the 12th of July, and wounded an old man with his sabre, and trodden the helpless under foot.

7The same kind of thing went on at Versailles. The King had a Minister of Foreign Affairs; uniforms were made for the gardes du corps, and sent to Trêves; horses were bought in England for the accommodation of the King’s household; and the only grumble that Louis XVI made, when he paid the bills, was, that, at least, they might have bought the horses in France.

8The Comte D’Artois, the Prince Condé, and the other exiles, received enormous pensions.

9They had not then been able to find what became of the sixty millions.

10But now the Red Book pointed out where they had gone.

11If, up to this moment, there had been any hesitation on the minds of the people, that hesitation now disappeared.

12They knew where was their enemy.

13The enemy was the exiles, and their ally, the King, who pensioned them.

14This was the reason why the Assembly struck a decisive blow, and put up for sale, at one time, ecclesiastical benefices to the tune of four hundred millions. Paris alone bought two hundred millions’ worth.

15All the municipalities followed that example. They bought a great number, and then sold them, one by one. In a word, they wished to expropriate the clergy, and they did not hesitate to do it.

16There is something miraculous in this, and which does not appear in the history of any other country.

17And that is, the spontaneous organization of France by itself. The Assembly was only a secretary. France did the deed; the Assembly registered it.

18Before that, the division of old France into provinces was abolished; the boundaries had been already changed; there were no longer Provençals, Bretons, Alsaciens, Picards, or French.

19The Champ de Mars was Mount Tabor, transfigured by the sun of June.

20Valence gave, on the 29th of November, 1789, the example of the first federation; and each strove to follow the example given by the zealous Dauphin, our vanguard against the great enemy, the Savoyard King.

21From anterior ages, the eldest man has always presided, whether noble or not. His age makes his right—his white locks his crown.

22Rouen searched for an old Chevalier of Malta, eighty-five years of age, to preside at its federation.

23In St. Audeol, there were two old men, respectively ninety-three and ninety-four years of age, the one a noble, and the other a plebeian—the one a colonel, the other a laborer. These two embraced at the altar, and the spectators embraced each other, crying, “There is no longer an aristocracy, no longer a working-class—there are only Frenchmen!”

24At Lous le Lauheur, a citizen, whose name is forgotten, gave this toast:—

25“To all men, equally to our enemies: let us swear to love and protect them.”

26Open the book of royalty, and see if you can find a sentiment equal to that inscribed on the first page of the book of the people.

27From all places, provincial and isolated, one cry arose:— “To Paris! To Paris! To Paris!”

28As this cry burst from the throat of France, Royalists and Jacobins trembled. The Jacobins said, “The King, with his smile, and the Queen, with her white lips, will fascinate the credulous people from the provinces, and will cause them to turn against us, and the revolution will be at an end.”

29The Royalists said, “To bring these provincials, already ripe for tumult, to Paris, the centre of agitation, is but bringing oil to feed the lamp of revolution. Who can say what will be the effect of this immense concourse, and what fearful events may come to pass through the incursions of two hundred and fifty thousand souls, from all quarters of France, into Paris?”

30But the impulse was given, and the movement could not be stayed.

31France wished, with that powerful will which nothing could arrest, to know itself.

32The corporation of Paris demanded of the Assembly the general federation.

33The Assembly, pretending to accord to their wish, named the 14th of July, the anniversary of the taking of the Bastille.

34The news was propagated among all the provinces of the kingdom; but as they feared so great an assemblage in Paris, and wished to put all possible obstacles in their way, all expenses were put down to the charge of the localities.

35All our department clubbed together. I was comparatively rich, having in my possession three or four hundred crowns, gained by my own labor, and saved by my own economy.

36Father Descharmes had offered to give me what sum I wanted; but I refused to accept anything.

37For some time, the poor old man had been declining in health. He had served princes all his life, and now missed them. One thing greatly perplexed him, and that was, whether France had the right to act as it was acting?

38They had offered him a deputyship to the federation; but he shook his head, saying, “I am too old; Réné will go in my place.”

39Afterwards, he had a long conversation with M. Drouet, in the course of which he gave him some papers, which he sorted with care, put in his portfolio, and took to St. Menehould.

40On the eve of departure, a carriage drove up to the door of my uncle’s cottage; and, to my astonishment, I saw Sophie and her father alight from it.

41I rushed out with a cry of joy, but suddenly stopped myself.

42What would Sophie—what would her father think?

43Father Gerbaut smiled. Sophie made a step in advance, and gave me her hand.

44“Well, how is old Nimrod getting on?” said Father Gerbaut to my uncle, who had just come out of his room.

45“As well as can be expected at my age, M. Gerbaut. It is necessary for the violet to blossom in spring, and the beech-tree to put forth its buds in May. He is just sixteen and a half years old. When I was at that age, I already had a sweetheart.”

46I felt myself blushing to the very tips of my ears.

47“Ah! I never had but one love. But where are you going to in this fashion?” asked my uncle; “for I cannot think that you came all this way on purpose to pay me a visit.”

48“No, my old friend; though I am delighted to see you. I am on my way to St. Menehould, to put a few little affairs of mine in order. I have been appointed a member of the Federation, and I do not know how long we may be compelled to stay in Paris.”

49“What a pity that you have not got a third seat in your carriage. I also have business at St. Menehould, and I would have asked you to give me a lift.”

50“Good!” said M. Gerbaut; “all can be arranged. Sophie does not much care to go to St. Menehould. Do you, Sophie?”

51“I only care to go, so as to be with you, father.”

52“Well, then, stay here with Réné. You can stroll, in the wood, like two lovers, and we, like two old fogies as we are, will go and look after our affairs. If Réné were a young nobleman, I should not place so much trust in him; but he is a good lad, a clever workman, and an honest man, and as I would trust him with a purse, so will I trust him with my child.”

53I looked joyfully at Sophie, but she showed neither pleasure nor sorrow; she seemed to be exactly of her father’s opinion, that we might be trusted together.

54M. Gerbaut and Father Descharmes got into the vehicle, and drove off in the direction of the village of Islettes.