DIGITISED MANUSCRIPTS

(25 ) their midst, and made a speech which might have cowed an assembly of servile courtiers, but not the representatives of an angered and powerful nation. He offered some tardy concessions, he con- demned their behaviour, and threatened a dissolu- tion if they refused to disperse. In bold defiance of his commands the Assembly continued its sittings, and on the following day the master of the ceremonies appeared at the bar and repeated to them the king’s order to disperse. ‘Tell your master, exclaimed the Comte de Mirabeau, the most eloquent and prominent member of the Assembly, ‘tell him that we are here by the will of the people, and that we shall only leave at the point of the bayonet.’ The half measures adopted by the king iri- tated instead of calming the people. Necker, the popular minister, was discharged ; troops were massed at Paris and Versailles, but no orders were given, and no efficient measures were taken, pro- bably because the troops could not be trusted. In Paris the disorder increased at an alarming rate, and the wildest reports were set afloat. It was believed that the king had sent for his soldiers to shoot down his subjects. Mass meetings were held in support of the dismissed minister ; his successor was burnt in effigy, and the popular enthusiasm spread like wildfire. Unchecked by the authori-