ticised and was
criticised. More than 2000 pamphlets were published. Lomenie de Brienne
was swept away by a storm of abuse. Necker was hastily called back to
placate, as best he could, the nation-wide unrest. Immediately the stock
market went up thirty per cent. And by common consent, people suspended
judgment for a little while longer. In May of 1789 the Estates General
were to assemble and then the wisdom of the entire nation would speedily
solve the difficult problem of recreating the kingdom of France into a
healthy and happy state.

This prevailing idea, that the combined wisdom of the people would be
able to solve all difficulties, proved disastrous. It lamed all personal
effort during many important months. Instead of keeping the government
in his own hands at this critical moment, Necker allowed everything to
drift. Hence there was a new outbreak of the acrimonious debate upon the
best ways to reform the old kingdom. Everywhere the power of the police
weakened. The people of the Paris suburbs, under the leadership of
professional agitators, gradually began to discover their strength, and
commenced to play the role which was to be theirs all through the years
of the great unrest, when they acted as the brute force which was used
by the actual leaders of the Revolution to secure those things which
could not be obtained in a legitimate fashion.

As a sop to the peasants and the middle class, Necker de-cided that they
should be allowed a double representation in the Estates General. Upon
this subject, the Abbe Sieyes then wrote a famous pamphlet, "To what
does the Third Estate Amount?" in which he came to the conclusion that
the Third Estate (a name given to the middle class) ought to amount to
everything, that it had not amounted to anything in the past, and that
it now desired to amount to something. He expressed the sentiment of the
great majority of the people who had the best interests of the country
at heart.

Finally the elections took place under the worst conditions imaginable.
When they were over, 308 clergymen, 285 noblemen and 621 representatives
of the Third Estate packed their trunks to go to Versailles. The Third
Estate was obliged to carry additional luggage. This consisted of
voluminous reports called "cahiers" in which the many complaints and
grievances of their constituents had been written down. The stage was
set for the great final act that was to save France.

The Estates General came toget