This sounded to the
government like revolution, and the Parlements were again abolished.
The abolition of the Parlements raised a great cry of indignation;
excited crowds assembled in Paris and other cities; and the soldiers
refused to arrest the judges. Here was real revolution, and Louis XVI,
frightened and anxious, yielded to the popular demand for the Estates-
General.
In spite of the fact that every one talked so glibly about the Estates-
General and of the great things that body would do, few knew just what
the Estates-General was. Most people had heard that once upon a time
France had had a representative body of clergy, nobility, and
commoners, somewhat like the British Parliament. But no such assembly
had been convoked for almost two centuries, and only scholars and
lawyers knew what the old Estates-General had been. Nevertheless, it
was believed that nothing else could save France from ruin; and in
August, 1788, Louis XVI, after consulting the learned men, issued a
summons for the election of the Estates-General, to meet in May of the
following year.
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