But in spite of this “massacre of the Champ de Mars,” the Constitutionalists triumphed for a time. The National Assembly completed its work, and produced 144 a constitution wholly bourgeois and monarchical, which was accepted by the King amidst one of those curious outbursts of sentiment of which the epoch was so fruitful, and which generally, as on this occasion, included the exhibition of the little Dauphin in the arms of his mother to the crowd. The National Assembly dissolved itself after enacting that none of its members could be elected to the new legislative body or first Parliament of the Revolution. Of this Parliament the bourgeois Republicans, the aristocracy of talent, became apparently far the most powerful party: whatever there was of talent that had frankly accepted the alliance of the Sansculottes was outside the Legislature. But another element was now added to the contest, that of foreign war, Austria beginning the attack. The obvious and necessary sympathy of the King and Court with what had now become their only chance of salvation, was met by the equally necessary terror and indignation of the revolutionists of all shades, which of course strengthened the extreme party, who had everything to lose from the 145 success of a foreign invasion. In spite of this the King, driven into a corner, was in constant contention with the Legislature, and used his constitutional right of veto freely, yet was driven to accept a revolutionary Ministry with Roland at its head; but as the hope of deliverance from the invasion grew on him he dismissed it again, and the Court found itself ticketed with the name of the Austrian Committee. On the 20th June a popular demonstration invaded the Tuileries, which was organised by the Girondists (at that time the dominant revolutionary party whom Louis was attacking directly), an event that marked the failure of the King’s attempt to reign constitutionally by means of party government.
As a constitutional counter-stroke Lafayette, quite misunderstanding his strength, left the army, and tried to stir up the Constitutionalists to attack the Jacobins, but failed ignominiously and presently fled the