On the 5th of May, the opening of the Etats, in the procession from Versailles, the King was applauded, and the Queen hissed.
On the 8th of May, the three classes were changed into two—the one formed of the third class, the other of the nobility and clergy.
On the 18th of June, the assembly hall was closed by order of the King.
On the 22nd of June, the oath of Jeu-de-Pauvre was taken.
This oath was the declaration of war from the third Etat against the nobility and clergy. It was the first menace direct from the people against the throne.
All in a moment, these comparatively small events ceased, and a portentous calm intervened, so to speak, as if the minor combatants held their weapons to intently watch the issue of the combat between their superiors.
On the 12th of July, M. Drouet started for Paris.
It was the day of the dismissal of Necker—it was the day when Camille Desmoulins, jumping on a table in a café, drew his sword, and crying, “To arms!” placed the leaf of a tree in his hat.
We had no news of M. Drouet up to the 15th.
On the morning of the 15th, MM. Dampierre and De Valmy went out hunting, to which sport were invited two or three of their friends from Clermont and Varennes; among others, a certain Chevalier de Courtemont, whom we shall come across later on.