“To us, twenty-five millions of people are looking to guard from further desecration the sacred ark of liberty, to release them from the burdensome yoke which has so long crushed them, and to give them back their own inalienable right to peace, liberty, and happiness. Gentlemen, an attempt is made to destroy the freedom of your deliberations. The iron chain of despotic proscription is laid upon you. A military force surrounds your Assembly. Where are the enemies of France? Is Catiline at our gates? Gentlemen! I demand that, clothing yourself in your dignity and your legislative authority, you remain firm in the sacredness of your oath, which does not permit us to separate till we have framed a constitution—till we have given a _Magna Charta_ to France.” Then as the grand master of ceremonies again reminded the Assembly of the commands of the king, Mirabeau exclaimed, “Go and tell your master that we are here by the order of the people, and that we shall depart only at the point of the bayonet.” [Illustration: “GO AND TELL YOUR MASTER THAT WE ARE HERE BY THE ORDER OF THE PEOPLE.”] La Fayette, with the forty-seven who had stood by his side in declaring the expediency of uniting with the commons, now left the nobility, and took his seat in the National Assembly. The king and aristocracy, finding at length that their resistance was useless, submitted to the popular demand, and on the 27th of June the three orders met together and commenced their united deliberations. La Fayette was closely observed by all parties. He spoke often in the Assembly, and always on the side of freedom. On the 11th of July he brought forward his famous Declaration of Rights; which after a long and stormy debate, during which it was warmly supported by the republicans, and denounced by the adherents of despotism, was adopted; and the name of La Fayette, “THE PEOPLE’S FRIEND!” was on every lip and enshrined in every heart throughout the kingdom. This renowned Declaration of Rights reads as follows:— “Nature has made all men free and equal; the distinctions which are necessary for social order are founded alone on the public good. “Man is born with inalienable and imprescriptible rights, such as the unshackled liberty of opinion, the care of his honor and life, the right of property, the complete control over his person, his industry, and all his faculties; the free expression of his opinion in every possible manner; the worship of the Almighty; and resistance against oppression. “The exercise of natural rights has no other limits than those which are necessary to secure their enjoyment to every member of society. “No man can be made subject to laws which he has not sanctioned, either himself, or through his representatives, and which have not been properly promulgated and legally executed. “The principle of all sovereignty rests in the people. No body or individual can possess any authority which does not expressly emanate from the nation.