163 - A RARE AND UNIQUE ACCOUNT OF THE EARLY MONTHS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION IN PARIS IN 1789

A RARE AND UNIQUE ACCOUNT OF THE EARLY MONTHS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION IN PARIS IN 1789 Set of 15 letters “Hubault.” Paris, July 29, 1788 – January 18, 1790. Approximately 50 pp., in-4. A fascinating and moving collection of letters from a Parisian woman addressed to “Madame and true friend” in Rouen, recounting the events of the Revolution that punctuated the “disastrous” year of 1789. Detailed accounts of events in Paris and Versailles, of which we will provide only a brief overview: the Estates-General, uprisings, the storming of the Bastille, severe famine, the march on and storming of the Palace of Versailles during the night of October 5–6, the King’s forced return, the nationalization of church property, the flight of the émigrés, Louisiana, etc. -August 16, 1789: “Under the name of liberty, one often finds nothing but licentiousness. Fear is ever with us. This is the fiery cradle of all revolutions. The birth of liberty will be owed to the Parisians, but how much suffering and upheaval will this perfect happiness cost them? The storming of the Bastille and the King’s stay in Paris are incredible events—if only we were not mere spectators.” -Paris, October 18, 1789: “During the recent Revolution in Versailles—carried out largely by our market women and the women of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, supported by more than 30,000 armed men equipped with 40 cannons, and a considerable number armed with pitchforks and pikes. When the King, forced by compelling necessity, announced that he was coming to reside in Paris with his family; when the King’s guards had donned the national cockade and cast aside their shoulder straps; and when the King had asked for mercy on their behalf—which was granted— a volley was fired by all the artillery and the infantry. Imagine the dreadful noise this produced. Those who were shut up in their homes believed that the palace was under siege and that everything was about to explode or go up in flames. More than 60 people died of fright, including Mr. Répu, a Swiss stablehand in the Queen’s stables, with whom Mademoiselle Aubri and I had stayed during our time here […]”; “The clergy’s order has been abolished—who could have believed it six months ago? No more abbots, no more priors, [...] ministers of the altar now salaried by the nation”; “All our absent aristocrats are partly in Savoy, in Nice; there are currently 40 of them.” -January 18, 1790: “The vigilance of the Marquis de Lafayette has so far thwarted the plot; let us hope that all will be well. Not a single shot has been fired; the tocsin has not sounded and will not sound again in the event of a riot; the signal would be three cannon shots fired from the artillery park in Place Henri IV, and immediately thereafter the order would be given to all military citizens to take up arms. ” The letter details the military arrangements and intrigues in the Parisian suburbs. ” It adds, “Mr. Neker is feeling better and was not poisoned,” then “Mr. Neker is holding his ground.” ETC.