pressed his
advice upon her; of which the substance was that she should lay aside her
distrust of the Constitutionalist party, and, with the king, throw herself
wholly on the Constitution, to which the nation was profoundly attached.
He even admitted that it was not without defects; but held out a hope
that, with the aid of the Royalists, he and his friends might be able to
amend them, and in time to re-invest the throne with all necessary
splendor. And the queen was so touched by his evident earnestness that she
granted him an audience, and assured him of her esteem and confidence.
Barnave was partly correct in his judgment, but he overlooked one
all-essential circumstance. There is no doubt that he spoke truly when he
declared that the nation in general was attached to the Constitution; but
he failed to give sufficient weight to the consideration that the Jacobins
and Girondins were agreed in seeking to overthrow it, and that for that
object they were acting with a concert and an energy to which he and his
party were strangers.

Dumouriez too was equally earnest in his desire to serve the king and her,
with far greater power to be useful than Barnave. He too was admitted to
an audience, of which he has left us an account which, while it shows both
his notions of the state of the country and of the rival parties, and also
his own sincerity, is no less characteristic of the queen herself.
Admitted to her presence, he found her, as he describes the interview,
looking very red, walking up and down the room with impetuous strides, in
an agitation which presaged a stormy discussion. The different events
which had taken place since the king in the preceding autumn had ratified
the Constitution, the furious language held in, and the violent measures
carried by, the Assembly, had evidently changed her belief in the
possibility of attempting, even for a short time, to carry on the
Government under the conditions imposed by that act. She came toward him
with an air which was at once majestic and yet showed irritation, and
said:

"You, sir, are all-powerful at this moment; but it is only by the favor of
the people, which soon breaks its idols to pieces. Your existence depends
on your conduct. You are said to have great talents. You must see that
neither the king nor I can endure all these novelties nor the
Constitution. I tell you this frankly. Now choose your side."

To this fervid apostrophe Dumouriez replied in a tone which