Had d’Orléans possessed at this moment sufficient determination and intellectual force, he might easily have become Lieutenant-General of the Kingdom, with Necker for his Prime Minister. But he had not enough courage, nor, possibly, enough ambition to carry out any definite project; and he drove his partisans, among whom was Mirabeau, to despair by his hesitating and undecided conduct. He remained a member of the Extreme Left of the Assembly, but scarcely ever made a public speech. In October of the same year, the Court party, and also the _bourgeois_, were so exasperated against the Duke of Orleans, that Lafayette himself was persuaded to order the Duke out of France. He was sent to London on an imaginary mission: returned the following summer, was acclaimed by the Assembly, and renewed his alliance with Mirabeau. After the flight of Louis XVI., in June 1791, the throne was temporarily vacant; and again, had the Duke chosen to come forward, his advances would have been well received by the nation and the Assembly. He did not dare to do so, and so lost his last opportunity. The next month the new Constitution ordained that French Princes could not be elected to any functions by the votes of the people; Orléans, therefore, publicly renounced all prerogatives or privileges accorded to Royalty, and declared himself a simple citizen. At that time there was an attempted reconciliation between the King and the Duke, which was doubtless sincere on both sides. The new Minister of Marine, Bertrand de Motteville, arranged that the Duke of Orleans should be one of the Vice-Admirals in the reorganised fleet. The project was communicated to Louis XVI., who expressed himself satisfied, and the Duke was grateful. The King and he, by the medium of de Motteville, had a private interview, and parted on friendly terms. The following Sunday (January 1792) the new Admiral came to the Tuileries to pay homage to the King. It was the dinner-hour, the table for the King and Queen was already laid, and the room was full of courtiers. As soon as the Duke appeared, he became the object for the most opprobrious insults. “Take care of the dishes!” was shouted on all sides--the insinuation being he was about to put poison in them. He was pushed about, his feet were purposely trodden on, and as he descended the stairs several persons spat on his head and clothes. He left in a state of indescribable rage, believing that the King had enticed him to the Palace in order to insult him; the King was really innocent of the whole matter, but sent no message of apology or regret. From that day Orléans threw himself with energy into the extreme revolutionary party, and by becoming Danton’s banker drew him away from the Court party, in whose pay that corrupt politician had for some time been.