he sword of the Constable of
France, a dignity which had been disused for many years; and it was an
equally striking evidence of La Fayette's inveterate disloyalty that,
gratifying as the succession to Duguesclin and Montmorency would have been
to his vanity, he nevertheless refused the honor, and contented himself
with the dignity which the enrollment of the detachments from the
different departments under his banner conferred on him, by giving him the
appearance of being the commander-in-chief of the National Guard
throughout the kingdom. The National Guard was followed by regiment after
regiment, and deputation after deputation, of the regular army; and, to
show the subordination to the law which they were expected to acknowledge
for the future, their swords were all sheathed, while the deputies, the
municipal magistrates, and other peaceful citizens who bore a part in the
procession had their swords drawn. Sailors from the fleet, magistrates and
deputations from every department, and from every city or town of
importance in the kingdom, followed; and after them came two hundred
priests, with Talleyrand, Bishop of Autun, in his episcopal vestments at
their head, their white robes somewhat uncanonically decorated with
tricolor ribbons, who passed on into the centre of the plain and ranged
themselves on the steps of the altar. So vast was the procession that it
was half-past three in the afternoon before the detachment of Royal Guards
which closed it took up their position.

When at last all were in their places, Louis, accompanied by the queen and
other members of his family, entered the royal pavilion. He was known by
sight to the deputations from the most distant provinces, for he had
reviewed them in a body the day before, when several of them had been
separately presented to him, toward whom he had for once laid aside his
habitual reserve, assuring them of his fatherly regard for all his
subjects with warmth and manifest sincerity. The queen, too, as she always
did, had made a most favorable impression on those members whom she had
seen by her judicious and cordial affability. Louis wore no robes, but
only the ordinary dress of a French noble. Marie Antoinette was in full
evening costume, and her hair was dressed with a plume of tricolor
feathers. Yet even on this day, which was intended to be one of universal
joy and friendliness, evil signs were not wanting to show how powerful
were the enemies of both king and q