Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 5.djvu/488

474 not fully instructed in the object of the introduction, or did not feel disposed, on closer acquaintance, to contribute to Mirabeau's elevation. He made no overture, and Mirabeau retired, indignantly muttering, "The minister shall hear of me." But the court now employed a more adroit agent. This was a foreign prince, connected with men of all parties.

Mirabeau made it clearly known that he would make no sacrifice of principles; that, in fact, it would be ruinous to himself to do so, and useless to the king; but that, if the government would adhere to the constitution—which was every way the best thing for both court and people—Mirabeau would staunchly support these objects, and through them the security and best interests of the crown. He made it, at the same time, plain that, for him to be able to do this effectively, he must be placed at his ease; his debts must be paid, and he must receive a handsome salary. It was therefore arranged that his conditions should be accepted, and that his pension should be twenty thousand francs, or eight hundred pounds a month; but these terms were not finally settled till a few months later, that is, at the commencement of the year 1790.

Meantime, while still appearing to oppose the court, Mirabeau endeavoured to procure the alteration of the law excluding ministers from the assembly. The popular party immediately took the alarm; the motion of Mirabeau was rejected, and Lanjuinis seized the opportunity to push the restriction further, and to make it illegal for any existing deputy to become minister. Mirabeau saw that the measure was aimed directly at him, and proposed, as an amendment, that the restriction should apply to no deputy but himself. This extraordinary mode of showing the assembly that he understood the drift of the proposal, did not prevent the passing of the decree, and thus Mirabeau had only more completely closed the way to his ministry, except by the forfeiture of his place in the assembly, which was to ruin himself utterly with the people; in fact, the object of his attempt in the assembly becoming soon known, did him infinite mischief with the public. The idea of his becoming minister could not be endured. It appeared to the people sheer treason against their cause, and Mirabeau fell greatly, in consequence, in their opinion.

The assembly now settled at Paris, and strengthened in its popular unity by the flight or retirement of so many aristocrats, prosecuted the formation of the constitution