e-establish tranquillity, though
not quite as much as was expected. His just intercessions for the Baron
de Besenval and other fugitives, damped very sensibly the popular ardor
towards him. Their hatred is stronger than their love.

Yesterday, the other ministers were named. The Archbishop of Bordeaux
is _Garde des Sceaux_, Monsieur de la Tour du Pin, minister of war,
the Prince of Beauvou is taken into the Council, and the _feuille
des benefices_ given to the Archbishop of Bordeaux. These are all the
popular party; so that the ministry (M. de la Luzerne excepted) and the
Council, being all in reformation principles, no further opposition may
be expected from that quarter. The National Assembly now seriously set
their hands to the work of the constitution. They decided, a day or two
ago, the question, whether they should begin by a declaration of rights,
by a great majority in the affirmative. The negatives were of the
Clergy, who fear to trust the people with the whole truth. The
declaration itself is now on the carpet. By way of corollary to it, they
last night mowed down a whole legion of abuses, as you will see by
the _Arrete_ which I have the honor to inclose you. This will stop the
burning of chateaux, and tranquillize the country more than all the
addresses they could send them. I expressed to you my fears of the
impractibility of debate and decision in a room of one thousand and
two hundred persons, as soon as Mr. Necker's determination to call
that number, was known. The inconveniences of their number have been
distressing to the last degree, though, as yet, they have been employed
in work which could be done in the lump. They are now proceeding
to instruments, every word of which must be weighed with precision.
Heretofore, too, they were hooped together by a common enemy. This is no
longer the case. Yet a thorough view of the wisdom and rectitude of
this assembly disposes me more to hope they will find some means of
surmounting the difficulty of their numbers, than to fear that yielding
to the unmanageableness of debate in such a crowd, and to the fatigue of
the experiment, they may be driven to adopt, in the gross, some one of
the many projects which will be proposed.

There is a germ of schism in the pretensions of Paris to form its
municipal establishment independently of the authority of the nation. It
has not yet proceeded so far, as to threaten danger. The occasion does
not permit me to send the public