in the Assembly, and distrust out of it. It has been a
misfortune, that the King and aristocracy together have not been able
to make a sufficient resistance, to hoop the patriots in a compact body.
Having no common enemy of such force as to render their union necessary,
they have suffered themselves to divide. The Assembly now consists of
four distinct parties. 1. The aristocrats, comprehending the higher
members of the clergy, military, nobility, and the parliaments of
the whole kingdom. This forms a head without a body. 2. The moderate
royalists, who wish for a constitution nearly similar to that of
England. 3. The republicans, who are willing to let their first
magistracy be hereditary, but to make it very subordinate to the
legislature, and to have that legislature consist of a single chamber.
4. The faction of Orleans. The second and third descriptions are
composed of honest, well meaning men, differing in opinion only, but
both wishing the establishment of as great a degree of liberty as can
be preserved. They are considered together as constituting the patriotic
part of the Assembly, and they are supported by the soldiery of the
army, the soldiery of the clergy, that is to say, the Cures and monks,
the dissenters, and part of the nobility which is small, and the
substantial Bourgeoisie of the whole nation. The part of these collected
in the cities, have formed themselves into municipal bodies, have
chosen municipal representatives, and have organized an armed corps,
considerably more numerous in the whole than the regular army. They have
also the ministry, such as it is, and as yet, the King. Were the second
and third parties, or rather these sections of the same party, to
separate entirely, this great mass of power and wealth would be split,
no body knows how. But I do not think they will separate; because
they have the same honest views; because, each being confident of the
rectitude of the other, there is no rancor between them; because they
retain the desire of coalescing. In order to effect this, they not long
ago proposed a conference, and desired it might be at my house, which
gave me an opportunity of judging of their views. They discussed
together their points of difference for six hours, and in the course of
discussion agreed on mutual sacrifices. The effect of this agreement
has been considerably defeated by the subsequent proceedings of the
Assembly, but I do not know that it has been through any infide