Agitated discussions arose as to the final destiny of the palace and
its contents. A group of law-makers would have sold the building
outright. But in July, 1793, the Convention decreed the establishment
at Versailles of a provincial school, a museum of art objects taken
from the houses of those that had emigrated from troublous France, a
public library, a French museum for painting and sculpture, and a
natural history exhibition. There were, however, Revolutionaries that
so despised the relics of royalty that they continued to urge from time
to time the complete demolition of the palace and park--chief works of
Louis XIV's reign. The most diligent defenders of the chateau were the
inhabitants of the town of Versailles, who were keenly aware that the
continued existence of the palace would insure a measure of prosperity
to the community. They protested, that, just object of the people's
venom as the edifice was, it nevertheless stood as a monument to the
arts and crafts of France during two centuries. The assailants that
made hideous the days of October fifth and sixth, 1789, had done
comparatively little material damage within the palace precincts. Gun
shots of the Paris mob had disfigured two statues at the main entry to
the courtyard, had destroyed the grill that separated the Royal Court
from the Court of the Ministers; lunges of their bayonets had broken
the mirrors in the Grand Gallery, while pursuing the Guards to massacre
them.
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