Chapter 1.3.VIII: Loménie's Death-throes
Background
After exposing Loménie’s plans to pull a Maupeou and render the Paris Parlement a nonentity, D’Espréménil and Goeslard are exiled. This leads to a 36-hour affair worthy of a playwright, in which the Paris Parlement locks itself in the Palais de Justice and refuses to give up the men. The man sent to arrest D’Espréménil and Goeslard — who struggles because he does not know what they look like — eventually prevails upon them to surrender themselves.
At this point, the Paris Parlement recedes from center stage in the grand narrative, and the provincial parlements take over. They largely refuse to cooperate, and the first genuine outbreak of violence occurs in Grenoble, where the citizens throw roof tiles at the authorities in what is known as the Day of the Tiles. It resembles the Boston Massacre in that the soldiers, who were ordered not to fire, were overcome in the chaos and fired on the civilians.
Totally at a loss, Loménie and the Queen ask Necker to return: at this point, the crown is almost literally out of money. The treasury has had to start making payments in paper bearing interest. Necker will not return while Loménie is still around, and realizing his time has come, he resigns to a sinecure.
Notes
a bolt for D’Espréménil; a bolt for that busy Goeslard Both exiled via lettre de cachet
Tipstaves Tipstaves or tipstaffs are officers of a court
Sappers In the military, combat engineers whose job it is to dig trenches to allow besieging forces to advance towards the enemy. More generally as here refers to people tasked with penetration
Captain D’Agoust A gentlemen of great honor and noble heritage, placed in the unfortunate position of having to execute this difficult order
who once forced Prince Condé himself, by mere incessant looking at him, to give satisfaction and fight Apparently, Captain D’Agoust did once fight a duel with the Prince Condé
Roman Senate overfallen by Brennus Brennus was the chieftain of the Gauls who laid siege to Rome
a nest of coiners Coiners were counterfeiters
two Coaches with Exempts Exempts de la Maréchaussée were members of the French police who were responsible for maintaining public order and security
remark, these unsympathetic grenadiers are Gardes Françaises,—who, one day, will sympathise! The French Guards will become unreliable during the storming of the Bastille, siding with the rioters over the government
exasperated Themis Themis is the personification of order and justice
At Grenoble, for instance, where a Mounier, a Barnave have not been idle, the Parlement had due order (by Lettres-de-Cachet) to depart, and exile itself: but on the morrow, instead of coaches getting yoked, the alarm-bell bursts forth This refers to the Day of the Tiles, discussed in the background section above
Cradle of Henri Quatre King Henri IV was born at Pau in Bearn, his popularity with the people earned him the epithet “Good King Henry”
Palladium of their Town From the statue that protected Troy and later Rome, a Palladium is an object that protects a city or nation from harm
convoked in Extraordinary Assembly, they afford no gratuitous gift (don gratuit) Historically, the clergy were not taxed but they were widely expected to offer a “donation” to the state. Their decision not to do so was a major one.
dartres vives and maladie—(best untranslated) Dartres vives is an 18th century medical term used to describe a skin disease that causes itching, inflammation, and the formation of pustules. Maladie is the general term for illness.
in the Military School hard by there sat, studying mathematics, a dusky-complexioned taciturn Boy, under the name of: NAPOLEON BONAPARTE! Napoleon studied at a military academy in Brienne from 1779 to 1784.
Chef de Gobelet One of seven officers in the maison du roi responsible for food
Dame Campan One of Marie Antoinette’s ladies in waiting
With another movement as of desperation, Loménie invites Necker to come and be Controller of Finances! Both Loménie and the Queen would have down anything to avoid having to recall Necker, whom they did not like, not to mention a minister had never been recalled. But apparently he was just thought to be that good at his job.
Coupe de Bois A “tree felling” on land belonging to Loménie as archbishop, from which he received hundreds of thousands of livres. Despite this and the other income from his sinecure (which dwarfed his salary as Controller-General), he did not neglect to bill the treasury for his partial last month of service.