CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
On the next day, July 14, Lafayette and his wife were up and about at 6 in the morning. Both felt the day was going to be full of important events as the tension in the city had reached a near explosion point.
Lafayette wanted to see what was the result of the rioters’ invasion of the Invalides. Yesterday night when it became clear that the Invalides buildings contained just weapons but no ammunitions for them the people decided to take the weapons and procure ammunitions later. The taking of the arms turned into a real looting. The rebels laid hands on everything they could use in battle – from knives to cannons. Then there was a call “To the Bastille!” as someone reminded the people that the Bastille was not only a prison but also a huge arsenal. That was where Lafayette decided to go right away in the morning of July 14.
Adrienne immediately said that she was joining him, but he could not admit exposing her to the dangers of being in the midst of rioters. On the other hand to stop her was not a simple task.
“You told me you could not get to the queen yesterday and submit your resignation. And now you want to go to the Bastille.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“You said yesterday you could be called a traitor for sheltering a rioter. But to be amongst rioters is even worse than to shelter a rioter. You’ll take part in the antigovernment actions, not just passively hide someone.”
Adrienne smiled cunningly.
“You want to get rid of me, and you’ve found a pretext not to take me with you.”
“No. Not at all. I mean you should simply submit your resignation first before mingling with the rioters.”
“But to get to Versailles means I will have to pass through the dangerous streets.”
“You see, I am not taking you to the Bastille just because it is dangerous there.”
“Thus the only way out for me is to stay at home like I did for several days already while you witnessed all the important events.”
“Darling, I have a solution for your dilemma. You will go to Versailles in your carriage with my very well armed coachman and Étienne escorting you on horseback. They’ll see to it that you reach Versailles with no incident. In this way we’ll combine safety with usefulness.”
“What usefulness?”
“Yours.”
“Whom will I be useful to?”
“To me.”
“In what way?”
“You know, Adrienne, that I am not a republican. I am against absolutism, against arbitrary rule, but I am not a republican. All I want is to limit monarchy by a constitution so that the aspirations of the people find their way to the legislative process. France needs a constitution and a parliament to implement it and control the monarch. All that means that I am against violent overthrow of the royal power, I am against riots and uprisings. I am for a civilized and peaceful change of the government structure. Unfortunately rank and file people don’t understand it. They have gone too far in struggling against monarchy. They are ruled by their fury, and the events become more and more violent every moment. The royals respond to the violent revolt by their own violence. In this way the situation may get out of hand and develop into a universal bloodshed. That’s what I would like to prevent. If you don’t submit your resignation right away, but stay at the queen’s court for some time you will be able to inform me of the royal reaction to the people’s actions. If you tell me that the royal reaction promises to be violent I will be able to take some steps to pacify hot heads in advance by talking to the crowds, prompting them to channel their ardor to the path of negotiations, to remind them of my American experience and give them examples of the wisdom of George Washington and other American patriots who fought the English, a strong and violent enemy.”
“You want to pacify the people and restore the use of common sense by the government. These are noble intentions.”
“Will you agree to help me?”
“As far as my messages will be received by you only and used for establishing peace, not greater conflicts, and not used to the advantage of one side of current confrontations, so that my actions are not those of a spy — I agree to help you, Gilbert.”
“I was sure you’d understand me.”
“But how can it all be arranged?”
“We will use a messenger between us — Étienne. After you learn of some new activity on the part of the royals, you’ll send Étienne to where I will be at that time (most probably near the Bastille, he will be able to find me because I will be where the greatest concentration of crowds will assemble.) After I decide on a course of action I’ll send Étienne back to you with a report. And so on.”
“All right, my dear. We’ll try that. Hopefully we’ll both survive.”
Next, Lafayette called Étienne and described the assignment he wanted to give him. The faithful Indian agreed, happy that he could help his guardian of whom he always thought as his master.
Adrienne accompanied by Étienne went to Versailles and her husband simultaneously headed for the Bastille.
In contrast to Paris, Versailles looked a peaceful town. No crowds marched in the streets or gathered in town squares. What was unusual the chateau gardens were almost devoid of people. Only in the immediate vicinity of the palace uniformed Swiss guards and other soldiers were more noticeable than regularly.
Both Adrienne and Étienne were quickly admitted to the chateau after they showed their permanent entrance permits at a check point. Étienne went to the king’s part of the palace where he usually stayed in a room for royal court employees. As to Adrienne she got to the queen’s wing of the palace and asked the queen’s personal servant to announce her arrival and ask to be permitted to join other dames d’honneur in the queen’s boudoir. The permission was given immediately.
Marie Antoinette was in a somber mood which of late replaced her normally good spirits. Without her usual amiable smile she gestured to Adrienne inviting her to come up closer.
“I hear about growing disturbances in Paris. I am sure you, my dear, have not taken the risk of witnessing any of them yourself. But you have a husband who is known to be a very brave man and to have taken risks all his life. I am sure he is somewhere observing the rioting mobs. Can you tell me where the Marquis de Lafayette is now.”
“Your Majesty, you are quite right he’s shown great interest in the revolt taking place in Paris now. Although I am not absolutely sure, I believe he is now at the Place of the Bastille.”
“Can you tell me why you think he is there?”
“Well, he told me a huge crowd of people had been moving towards the Bastille since morning. He thought they wanted the ammunition kept at the fortress. He told me he was sure there might be clashes with the government forces protecting the Bastille. So he wanted to see all that.”
“Just to see? Or maybe to participate on the side of the crowds?”
“Your Majesty, the Marquis de Lafayette is not a republican, he is not against the monarchy, he does not support violence and he is not going to help anti-government activities, he is not a rioter, he is an observer.”
“Oh, really? Then perhaps someone else would be interested in hearing out the opinions of an observer of the violence.”
The queen lightly clapped her hands. Her personal maid came up to her, listened to the several words the queen whispered to her ear, and quickly went out.
Adrienne thought: “Who can that ‘someone else’ be? I hope not the police chief. Maybe I should not have disclosed the route Gilbert was going to take?”
At that time Lafayette got to the area near the Bastille. The place was filled with agitated people. Thousands of heads looked like the undulating surface of a sea whose waves beat against the walls of the fortress. The Bastille seemed to be invulnerable to any assault. It was a huge edifice: 220 feet long, 90 feet wide and 80 feet high with eight towers. Like a dark cliff it dominated the faubourg Saint-Antoine and served as a state prison since the time of Louis XIII.
Lafayette dismounted, left his horse in the care of a tavern keeper in one of the side streets and joined the crowd near the Bastille on foot. This way he could mingle with the people and observe everything as one of the throng, especially because he was dressed as a commoner.
At that time, in the queen’s boudoir, Adrienne was expecting the person Marie Antoinette had sent for several minutes ago. She had some gloomy foreboding fearing not for herself, but for her dear Gilbert.
Suddenly the door opened. A servant passed the threshold and announced: “His Majesty the King.”
Louis slowly entered the room, approached the queen and gallantly kissed her hand.
“You wanted to see me, dear?” he said with his charming serene smile.
“Your Majesty, here is one of my ladies-in-waiting – the Marquise de Lafayette.”
The king glanced at Adrienne keeping his smile.
“The Marquise,” continued Marie Antoinette, “is telling me that her husband is now at the Bastille.”
“You say that as if this news were important.”
“It is, my husband.”
“Why?”
“Has your Minister of Interior informed you that several thousand people have been marching towards the Bastille since early morning?”
“No, not at all. How did you find out about it?”
“The Marquise de Lafayette told me so, adding that her husband had gone to the Bastille to observe the actions of the crowds and the troops.”
“What troops? I did not send any troops there.”
“But you should have done it, Sire!” sounded a loud voice of a person who unexpectedly forced his way into the queen’s boudoir outrunning the servant announcing his arrival.
The intruder was the king’s brother Count d’Artois famous for his support of tough measures against the rioters.
“What happened, my brother?” asked the king calmly.
“What happened? This time the mob has started its revolt in earnest! They have looted the armory of the Invalides and now many thousands of rioters are ready to get the ammunition from the Bastille .”
“I know that,” said the king.
“Who has informed you?”
“This brave woman,” said the king extending his hand towards Adrienne.
“My brother, you get information from your wife’s dames d’honneure, but not from your official military sources. That’s unheard of! Can’t you see that we are on the brink of losing everything, you are on the brink of losing your crown? You say you did not send troops to the Bastille. But they should have been sent to occupy the whole city long ago!”
“How did you find out about the crowds moving to the Bastille?” asked the king.
“I heard rumors early in the morning about the disturbances all around the city. I went to the Ministry of war in the hope to learn something definite. But no one could tell me anything intelligible. The minister himself was known to be out of town. The minister of interior was sick. So I decided to go to the only reliable source of information left in Paris.”
“Who is it?” asked the king irritated that he did not know who it might be.
“The Duke d’Orléans.”
“What?! And you went to see that intriguer?! My open enemy?!”
“Your open enemy, Sire, seems to have the backing of the people of Paris, while you, their king, is the target of their sneers.”
Louis knew that his brother had always been unable to fully submit his temperament to the court etiquette and to show the king, his brother, the unconditional respect. But Louis was a kind and forgiving man. That was not just kindness of a Christian it was a deep rooted natural kindness. If he had to choose between kindness and justice he would always discard the latter. It was easier and more satisfying for him to forgive than to punish. Thus he was not a fighter. He did not know how and simply could not defend himself, nor did he know how to attack. In addition to all that he had a streak of apathy in his character.
Thus he decided to stop showing his dissatisfaction with the fact that his brother contacted the Duke d’Orléans and go on to learning what the duke’s advice was.
“I don’t really care what the duke told you, but I would like to make sure that he keeps finding fault with me.”
“He surely does. For example he suspected that you would like to send troops to the Bastille to squash the revolt, and he strongly criticized that. He said that if you sent the troops you would completely lose the people’s support and would finally be defeated.”
“So he said not to send the troops?”
“Yes, definitely.”
“And you agree with him?”
“Of course not! You are right: he is your enemy. It’s he who wants you to be defeated.”
The king thought for a while.
“Well, I must tell you,” he finally said, “I was wrong chiding you for meeting with the duke. You were able to find out his real intentions. You did the right thing. So, I’ve decided: I will send troops to the Bastille, that is contrary to his advice. My dragoons will disperse the mobs in no time. And that will be the beginning of pacifying Paris.”
“Your Majesty, I am greatly contented with this courageous decision. I am sure you will be victorious in your struggle against evil,” said the Count d’Artois.
“By the way, we will have first hand information on the events at the Bastille.”
“Who will be the informer?”
“The Marquis de Lafayette. His wife is here to confirm that.”
“Madame,” said d’Artois turning to Adrienne, ”is that true? Is your husband on our side now?”
“Monsieur le Comte, the Marquis de Lafayette has always supported monarchy.”
“Has he? Why then has he always been at one with the so called National Constituent Assembly which is famous for its rebellious ideas?” asked d’Artois.
“My husband didn’t request me to be his advocate at the royal court, but I can express my own opinion here: he has defended the National Assembly because he is not only a monarchist, but also a patriot.”