Show THE FRENCH revolution in reviewing the startling incidents of rf the terrific social outburst of the french people in the closing decade of the eighteenth century our first sensation is that of horror and revulsion our second a desire to penetrate into the cause of so terrible an effect the reign of louis XIV has been described as the starting point of the series of causes that led up to the tremendous chapter and we will first examine this and then trace briefly step by step each successive force that was to the con filet it has been said that louis the grand monarch loved war for its own sake and was never at a loss tor for a casus belli his wars were furthermore invasive though described by guizot as rational and victory after victory was the order of his day especially ally in his earlier battles the annexations which he made to the outlying provinces of his kingdom were numerous and his victories were made by sea ea as well as by land covered with glory his subjects were thrown into transports of adoration despite treasury and his enemies which may toe be said to have included the whole of europe were struck with amazement while almost as much exhausted by the conflict as he his grandeur was not however limited to his military success his palace ace at versailles had been erected at enormous cost and his court was maintained with an expense an brilliance unrivaled by any other european monarch the licentiousness and extravagance of this court has become proverbial and must n not A be forgotten in this review louis was a religious bigot A series of religious persecutions was inaugurated by the revocation of the edict of nantes which resulted in the torture and death of many protestants called huguenots Huguen in that country beside the massacred fifty thousand families took to fligh tand france was thus deprived of much of its best population including much of its manufacturing skill and industry while this was the augustan age of french literature it was likewise that of absolute despotism and the prerogatives of class distinction louiss policy made an absolute and fatal distinction between the noblesse and the peasantry in the army as ae well as among the people prance france was waa at the height of its glory and that glory surpassed that of any other european power but the price paid for this preeminence pre eminence was financial cial exhaustion and almost ruin accompanied compa nied by popular murmur and thus the eighteenth century opened with depression and decay not alone in the finances of the country but in its institutions and respect in the hearts of the people for existing conditions dit ions louis XV was weak and his court even worse than that of his predecessor its profligacy and licentiousness were unbounded and its moral degradation provoked the utter contempt of the people the country was ruled by the mistress of the king who heedless of the overwhelming burdens of the hapless people endeavored deavo red to keep up a show of grandeur equal to that of le grande Mo parque things became so weak discordant and confused cont used that by the end of his reign prance france instead of being in the van was found panting to maintain a position at all among the powers of europe wars continued and almost incessant had made their enormous drain which was in itself nearly sufficient to fully exert every cord and tendon of the government to say nothing of the addition of gross abuses by an outrageously extravagant and reckless court we need not wonder at the discontent and civil discord that ensued this was the natural result of so much folly in high places the utter depravity of the french nobility excited the contempt of the people and what was worse for the former taught them to think thoughts sometimes become active things they grew to formidable dimensions in the french press the great writers of the land began to sound with ever increasing force and definiteness the clarion note that gave warning of the coming outburst disgusted with the immorality hypocrisy and of the privileged orders which included the clergy voltaire opened up his keen batteries of ridicule and infidelity we cannot wonder that he saw no beauty or truth in the religion of his day for it was but a system of superstition and outrageous oppression but his disciples leaped beyond him and denied god whereas he had been con tent with a denial of the catholic forms as he knew them rousseau selfish mean weak frenzied though he was in practical life was scarcely second to voltaire in the love and admiration mi ration of his countrymen who knew him through his writings only and while his passionate declarations of the rights of the humblest sank deep in every peasant heart his contrat social with its communistic doctrines became the law and testimony of the revolution the political speculations of montesquieu Montes quien who had been in america and studied its autonomy played no small part in the battle of intellect to say nothing of the practical example of the american colonies which prance france was even now assisting though she could so ill afford it it was a lengthy and difficult task to enumerate the men whose minds were slowly but surely nourishing the public mind to the final crisis the length of which they were not themselves prophetic enough to foresee but to summarize we will say skepticism had become rife and christianity was deposed and compelled to make obeisance to licentiousness communism to the last extreme was lurking in many hearts and nourished with cruel thoughts of blood deference to royalty and nobility had changed to contempt weariness and hate speculative intellect was all in vogue equality before the law the sovereignty of the people the blessedness of freedom equal responsibility in the burdens of government these were the key notes of war complemented with a zealous love and a vigorous energy in behalf of these principles which filled the hearts of the people with an earnestness that would lay down life in their defense I 1 the movement became irresistible add to these the destitution and suffering of the poor their oppression and misery unfelt by those in pleasant places and the barriers between the classes raised by nobility themselves and we have the secret of the leaven that fermented the lump to a stage of running over beyond all bounds even beyond that of humanity voltaire had broken the strange spell which superstition had exercised over the middle ages rousseau had planted in almost every heart the idea of the inalienable rights of gods poorest child which has since become so proverbial with us and had thereby dimmed the prestige of birth and rank legion were the name of speculators on society and its prerogatives and it needed but the hand of a Beau to lift the veil and expose to public view upon the stage in figaro the corruptions corrupt ions that were draining and destroying the lifeblood life blood of the nation of prance france this was the last gun of intellectual militia that over toppled the tottering edifice of absolute despotism louis XVI was singularly virtuous and pure his was not a strong character however though he clung tenaciously to his traditional absolute rights upon his accession the national debt summed up no less than the enwin enormous ous sum of six billion lires unlike himself his que queen enand and court striving to imitate the ostentation of the grand monarch of preceding times were extravagant and brilliant and thus he found his kingdom upon the verge of irretrievable ruin the taxes were wholly laid upon the lowest classes and the extensive clergy shared immunity from taxation with the no have seen that the tinder was ready for the spark the people called loudly for the convention of the states general their national representative legislature which had not been assem r bled for upward of a hundred and seventy years louis hesitated and his minister called a convention of the notables representatives of the higher classes here was where the inadvertent spark was struck that kindled the fire of popular determination we will examine into the cause throughout the dreary wars of the spanish polish and austrian successions the invasions of louis XIV the seven years war the latter hattei waged simultaneously with those of england for the settlement of the american boundaries the assistance lent the american colonie sand the wars with jealous england for that support adding to these the wealth lavished upon the successive unworthy courts the taxes had been wholly unshared by any but the peasant classes the financial ruin rendered these burdens unusually oppressive while famine and a rigorous winter rendered them intel lerable the minister proposed to the assembly just mentioned that a share of this taxation should be borne by the nobility this proposition they utterly refused to accept their ungenerous attitude sprung the trap upon themselves louis was compelled to convoke the states general but there the privileged orders endeavored to control the commons and to settle upon them the cancellation of the national deficit the commons then united under mirabeau and forced the king nobility and clergy to recognize their rights after a struggle this convention ven tion known as the national assembly abolished all feudal rights and prerogatives of rank and declared the equal rights of man A constitution was formed establishing government upon the basis of a limited monarchy without an absolute veto and giving the right to the nation to order band to the king to execute parts paris and versailles had declared themselves tor for the assembly and the new minister attempted to marshal foreign troops to their vicinity the people flew to arms and organized the national g pard guard under lafayette two days later the bastile was demolished the request of the assembly that the foreign troops be dismissed was not acceded tp to by the minister without the threats of the assembly and the intercession of the king we are approaching our limitation of space and must now summarize rapidly the crowned heads of europe becoming alarmed at the progress of french republicanism found a coalition to compel the french people to restore louis to his ancient rights to enforce this demand they sent armies against t thim him louis though acceded to the demands of ahe he had found this a strong assembly temptation uie the tation and vainly attempted to mP with his family to these powerful escape the confidence allies this destroyed of his people and he and his eventually tried and executed queen was in the meantime a new legislative assembly was elected consisting of violent ri and ignorant men entered france prussia and austria threatened the and with men execution bof the members of the assembly as well as the destruction of bof the royal security paris if the infringed the revolutionists family idly were frantic and while became zionists the borders for troops to they thedr sent there was turmoil uproar defense agitation disunion I 1 in n their own ranks now consisted of varl vari the e assembly constitution the parties violent oais and most violent alises the whose clubs were of all the jacobins over paris and headed all organized ed drw and marat tanton afterward designated the infernal triumvirate 1 I the plea upon which latter incensed the people was the toe the moderation of the exist and lenience isug government the assembly ityE when the news arrived of the taking ti and verdun by the com of a ingroy of paris armies the commune admed of the ordered ax ed the general assembly massacre endeavored ra to toy arrest the the horrible infamy and dissolved the succeeding national conven called the violent and bitter declared the country a republic r the royal power abolished dis the between arose ons censured the massacre and had red to save the kinland kin gand the ins who regarded the massacre and determined to f A deed d of glory aesta troy not only the king but every 0 stood in their way or who e tout but suspected of opposing their rai e all a know how the latter trl tri d and with what ghastly grue their vie vic orgies they celebrated how bow ne nemesis followed with 9 and hu hundredfold hundred adred fold vengeance m the rank and wealth of france Z I 1 then turned short and sharp upon N WF erk tools how the innocent suf ith the gu guilty alty how the noblest moa flowed dowed as in a stream through the horror stricken land how if the 16 thirst hirst of blood men became ils Saws and demonstrated but too well W as the human heart can become the purifying element of re ls how the world stood aghast fest bless Wesa at the fearful enors A that wiped from every humane well nigh every vestige of for all the preceding op x that led the people to such a assumption of power and re abet seaven heaven grant that history adver er here repeat itself through adl the coming annals of this RUBY LAMONT |