41 6 Readings in European History All the methods which I have mentioned having been rejected, I will make the following observations upon a final plan which is certainly not without peril. . . . The king Having taken certain precautions, the king may leave his should retire p a i ace i n open day and retire to Rouen. He should select to Rouen and . . . . ... . , , . summon the tnat Cltv or lts environs, because it is the center of the king- Assembly dom, because . . . such a choice proclaims that there is no to him. intention of flight, and that the only object is to conciliate the provinces. . . . Before the king's departure a proclamation should be pre- pared, addressed to all the provinces, in which the king should say, among other things, that he is about to throw himself into the arms of his people; that violence has been done him at Versailles ; that he was in a measure watched at Paris, and was not free to come and go, as every citizen is and ought to be. For the truth of these statements proofs should be furnished. The king should say, moreover, that he recognizes that this situation serves as an excuse to the ill disposed not to obey the decrees of the National Assembly and the sanction given by him to these decrees, all of which could easily com- promise a revolution in which he is as much interested as the most ardent friends of liberty ; that he hopes to be insep- arable from his people, and that the selection which he has made of Rouen proves this beyond controversy ; that he is the first king of his race who has formed the purpose of investing the nation with all its rights, and that he has per- sisted in this design in spite of his ministers and the counsels by which princes are corrupted ; that he has adopted with- out reserve such and such decrees of the National Assembly; that he renews his sanction and acceptance, and that his sentiments in this matter are unchangeable. The proclamation should announce that the king is about to call the National Assembly to him in order that it may continue its work, but that he will soon summon a new convention to judge, confirm, modify and ratify the work of the first Assembly. The king should state that he is ready to submit to the greatest personal sacrifices, since there are to be no more
