The result of our deliberations was that the nobles were to treat general matters first, and not busy themselves with hearth-money until the other questions had been disposed of; a resolution directly opposed to that of the commons. The nobles had no great confidence in the clergy, who often abandoned them, especially when presided over by the Bishop of Rennes[304], a wheedling, circumspect person, who spoke with a slight and not ungraceful lisp, and nursed his prospects at Court. The hatred was fomented by a newspaper, the Sentinelle du Peuple, edited at Rennes by a scribbler newly arrived from Paris.
The States were held in the Jacobin Convent on the Place du Palais. We entered the sessions-hall, in the temper which I have described; we had hardly taken our seats before we were besieged by the mob. The 25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th of January 1789 were unlucky days. The Comte de Thiard had few troops under his command; he lacked both vigor and decision, and moved without acting. The School of Law at Rennes, which had Moreau at its head, had sent for the young men of Nantes; they came to the number of four hundred, and in spite of his entreaties, the Commandant was unable to prevent them from invading the town. Meetings held by various factions in the cafés and on the Champ-Montmorin resulted in collisions attended with bloodshed.
Riots at Rennes.
Tired of being blockaded in our hall, we resolved to sally forth sword in hand; it was a pretty sight enough. At a signal given by our president, we all drew our swords together, to the cry of "Brittany for ever!" and, like a forlorn garrison, executed a furious sortie in order to fight our way through. The mob received us with yells, with showers of stones, blows of iron-shod sticks, and pistol-shots. We forced a passage through the surging crowd, which closed in upon us. Several gentlemen were wounded, dragged along the ground, lacerated, covered with bruises and contusions. We succeeded with great difficulty in extricating ourselves and reaching our respective lodgings.
Duels followed between the nobles and the law-students and their friends from Nantes. One of these duels took place in public on the Place Royale; the honors remained with old Keralieu[305], a naval officer, who was attacked, and who fought with incredible vigor amid the applause of his youthful adversaries.
Another mob had formed. The Comte de Montboucher[306] caught sight in the crowd of a student called Ulliac, and said to him:
"Monsieur, this concerns you and me!"
A ring was formed around them; Montboucher disarmed Ulliac and handed him back his sword: they embraced, and the crowd dispersed.