In 1789 he was elected to the
States-General, where he supported the fusion of the orders, and
attained to a popularity which, on one occasion, according to Madame de
Campan, nearly made the Queen faint from rage and grief. It was from the
garden of his palace of the Palais Royal that the column marched on July
14, wearing his colors, the red, white and blue, to storm the Bastille.
It seemed that he had only to go on resolutely to thrust the King aside
and become the ruler of France. He made no effort to do so. Mirabeau is
said to have been disgusted with his lack of ambition. He was charitable
also, and spent very large sums of money among the poor of Paris during
the years of distress which followed upon the social disorders. The
breach with the court, however, became steadily wider, and finally he
adhered to the party of Danton and voted for the condemnation of the
King. He sent two of his sons to serve in the army. The elder was still
with Dumouriez at the time of his treason. On April 6, 1793, when
Dumouriez's treachery had become known, the Assembly ordered the arrest
of the whole Bourbon family, and among them the Duke was apprehended and
sent to Marseilles.
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