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194 d'Antin, of whom Arthur bought it, had had no title to it. Exercising, moreover, a privilege of the nobility, he had the case transferred from the ordinary tribunals to the Intendant, where he was sure of indefinite delay, if not of a favourable decision. Arthur, after vainly trying to conciliate the old man, induced friends to threaten him with odium or lampoons. Richelieu at length withdrew his opposition, and had he not done so his death in 1788, at the age of ninety-two, would have settled the matter.

It is not surprising, then, that Arthur welcomed the Revolution. In September 1789 he presented 600 francs to the patriotic fund, his partner Robert gave another 600 francs, and his clerks, painters, engravers, &c., contributed 556 francs, which shows that the concern was a large one. In July 1790 Arthur and his men assisted in preparing the Champ de Mars. He became president of his section (Section des Piques, the Rue Louis-le-Grand being rechristened Rue des Piques), and must have known Lavoisier, who was in the same division of the National Guard. He was a member of the Jacobin Club, was a not infrequent speaker there, and was one of the committee which, in December 1793, "purged" away the less extreme members. In 1792 he was elected—it was a sham election by an