The Third Estate, as elected in the winter of 1788-1789, was fortunate
in possessing two very capable leaders, Mirabeau and Sieyes, both of
whom belonged by office or birth to the upper classes, but who had
gladly accepted election as deputies of the unprivileged classes. With
two such leaders, it was extremely doubtful whether the Third Estate
would tamely submit to playing an inferior role in future.
[Sidenote: Mirabeau]
Mirabeau (1749-1791) was the son of a bluff but good-hearted old
marquis who was not very successful in bringing up his family. Young
Mirabeau had been so immoral and unruly that his father had repeatedly
obtained _lettres de cachet_ from the king in order that prison
bars might keep him out of mischief. Released many times only to fall
into new excesses, Mirabeau found at last in the French Revolution an
opportunity for expressing his sincere belief in constitutional
government and an outlet for his almost superhuman energy. From the
convocation of the Estates-General to his death in 1791, he was one of
the most prominent men in France.
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