CHAPTER I
FROM THE 5TH OF MAY, 1789, TO THE NIGHT OF THE 4TH OF AUGUST
Opening of the states-general—Opinion of the court, of the ministry, and of the various bodies of the kingdom respecting the states—Verification of powers—Question of vote by order or by poll—The order of the commons forms itself into a national assembly—The court causes the Hall of the states to be closed—Oath of the Tennis-court—The majority of the order of the clergy unites itself with the commons—Royal sitting of the 23rd of June—Its inutility—Project of the court—Events of the 12th, 13th, and 14th of July—Dismissal of Necker—Insurrection of Paris—Formation of the national guard—Siege and taking of the Bastille—Consequences of the 14th of July—Decrees of the night of the 4th of August—Character of the revolution which had just been brought about.