Jeffrey 1

Zoe Jeffrey 
Webster 
English II 
May 21st 
Un Infinit​é 
I glanced over my shoulder to make sure I hadn’t been followed. The 
chandeliers all around me glittered, ever the more radiant at night. Stars outside the 
endless arched windows shone in the deep dark sky. I liked to think about the stars, 
their infinite presence in our world of finites. I loved them, though they made me feel 
somewhat helpless and small in this fast and vast world. My footsteps were silent from 
practice, but my reflection looked up at me almost in warning. Why was I worried? 
We’d done this nearly a hundred times in the past few years.  
“Henri, Felix, let me in!” I whispered through a crack in the mirror to the two 
living souls who I loved the most. Henri, Felix, and I had grown up together in the 
Palace of Versailles. All three of us were servants here. The palace was a fortress made 
of gold, but not one without secrets. Living here our whole lives lent us the time to 
discover the hidden passageways all throughout the palace, and we knew them all. 
Each night, we would meet here, in the Hall of Mirrors.1​ ​ This hidden passage creaked 
open at my word, and I slipped through. On the outside, our secret room looked like 
any other mirror, but it went two ways, acting as a window to those inside. I looked up 
to see the two grinning faces of my best friends. I smiled back. On the right was Henri, 
my brother; or so I called him. We’d been left on the palace doorsteps in the servants 
quarters’ on the same night, though in separate baskets. His smile lit up his his tan 
features and made his short-cropped blonde hair gleam. We were both roughly 14 
years of age, or so the older servants told us. On the left was Felix. Oh, Felix… he was 
taller than Henri, and a little lankier too. He’d been found on the same doorstep, not a 
month shy of Henri and me. His dark hair and tired, crinkled eyes made my heart 
sing. He winked at me and I grinned back. My heart fluttered. 
“You’ll never guess what we heard today, Fleur,” Felix baited. I stood my ground 
and waited; we had this power struggle often.  
“Fine! I give, the Estates General is being called back into order. Can you 
believe it? The arrangements were made last June.” A look of shock crossed my face 
and Henri looked excitedly towards us, nodding. 
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“It’s true! It is! We heard it from the secret passage below the stairwell.” 
“You don’t mean the one that was once used for the other Louis’ mistresses?”2​ ​ I 
asked, tentatively. 
“Yes! That’s the one!” Henri managed through all his excitement. “The king was 
speaking with Libeaux about it in his chambers.” I paced, worrying what I would do if 
my only friends, my family had been caught today, by the king and his trusted 
advisor. I admonished them and warned that I’d personally have their heads if 
anything were to happen to them, looking extra long at Felix, who knew better. He’d 
always been the wisest of us, weaseling our way out of every run-in with the courtiers 
and other servants. I considered what they’d told me...what it could mean for the 
people like us. I suddenly had an incredibly dangerous and wonderful idea.  
“Henri, Felix, could we use our passageways to feed information to the Third 
Estate?”3​ ​ Now it was their turn to look shocked. It was out of character for me to 
suggest something so dangerous and insane. A rush of power and excitement surged 
through me, at the idea of changing the course of history. “Yes! We’re practically 
invisible here! We must use our vantage point to make a difference. Oh, please? This is 
our chance.” They jumped onboard without a second thought. I had to do little 
convincing. This was something we alone could do, and it was exhilarating to finally 
have a purpose in court. We left that the Hall of Mirrors that night with our hearts 
soaring. It was every revolutionary’s dream to have a purpose as grand as this. We 
snuck back into our quarters with quiet feet, and went our separate ways. I curled up 
in the nook that was my excuse for a bed,4​ ​ and for some reason, it felt cozier tonight, I 
slept soundly.  
… 
I awoke the next day to the familiar toll of the bell in the servant’s quarters. 
With a groan, I stretched, then remembering the night before, I immediately felt more 
awake. This would be the first day of the rest of my life, stealing trusted information 
from our corrupt king, to feed to the Third Estate- this could really give us an 
advantage in the Estates General,5​ ​ which was set to meet in May. I washed clothes, 
did the dishes, and swept the floors with a merry smile upon my face for weeks. The 
other servants asked what had gotten into me.  
“One might think she’s fallen in love,” said Madame Rosine, my friend, and 
fellow servant, in the company of the other girls washing dishes. I blushed and 
 Jeffrey 3

thought of Felix, who I wouldn’t mind falling for. I told them this was so, to avoid any 
suspicion that there could be another reason. By day, I lived my normal life as a 
servant in the palace, but by night, Felix, Henri, and I used our knowledge of the 
palace to devise a master plan. We were going to take down the king from the inside. 
No one ever payed mind to us lowly servants, and now it was time for us to make do 
with the resources at hand. Each night, we’d meet in different corridors, feet 
whispering down the hallways, to listen in on discussions between the monarch and 
his team of advisors. They sometimes talked of a revolutionary named Jean-Sylvain 
Bailly, who was representative of the third estate. He became a hero in our minds, and 
I decided we could deliver our precious information only to him. My friends and I 
slipped nimbly through the palace, mere shadows behind mirrors and below 
staircases. We collected a number of the king’s opinions of the bourgeoisie,6​ ​ which we 
knew would help Bailly to retaliate carefully when the time would come. We also 
listened for talk of revolution. It soon became clear that King Louis XVI feared the riots 
in the streets, and only then did I understand why he let so many innocents be 
arrested and executed. It was all a distraction… a mirage to keep the watchful public 
eye busy, while he hid behind closed doors. Little did I know that those closed doors 
would open another. 
... 
The weeks bled into months, and soon, ​printemps7​ ​ came, bringing showers of pouring 
rain with it. Not that anyone would know if not for the rain- a quick glance out the 
window told me that the people of France were still living in famine and desolation, 
while King Louis perched behind his gilded shield. A pang of guilt hit me then, I too 
resided in his golden shame. At least, I was using my position here to help my people. 
That’s what mattered. This thought brought me comfort for mere moments, until I 
heard Madame Rosine call for me.  
“Coming!” I shouted down the foyer.  
“Fleur, I would normally ask Felix to run this errand for me, but I cannot find 
him and this is urgent.” My heart hurt as I considered the unthinkable. But I nodded, 
and listened to her instructions; ​bring the note to Marquis de Laure in town.​ I took a 
shortcut out of the palace and found the path to town. I slipped into a village square at 
just the wrong time to witness one of the many executions. I heard the tell-tale cries of 
the hungry crowd-watching with ogreish fascination.8​ ​ I felt disgust shiver through my 
 Jeffrey 4

body, and I shuddered at the thought of what innocent soul would die today at the 
weary blade of the guillotine.9​ ​ I focused on the note in hand, and pushed my way 
through the crowd, keeping my face turned away from this hour’s victim. Suddenly, 
horror clamored through me, and my fingertips buzzed with terror. Could it be? Was 
there any way that Felix could be this victim? He hadn’t been seen today… I raced 
through the crowd and dropped the note somewhere in my haste. My heart thundered 
and the wind was knocked out of my lungs. This boy, this stupid boy who had been 
part of the inseparable trio that I called home, if he died, what would be worth it 
anymore? I shoved aside the peasants and commoners, overcome with panic, and 
jumped to catch a glimpse of the face that would soon roll to the wood. Tears streamed 
my eyes when someone grasped my arm. I looked to see who had done this at a most 
inconvenient time, and laid eyes filled with ire on a tall man to my left. Something in 
his eyes told me he was on my side, and he whispered to me,  
“He’s safe. He’s safe. He’s safe.” over and over again until I cooled down and 
understood, as much as I could, that is. I let this stranger lead me beyond the crowd 
and into a closed shop. When we finally stopped, I was out of breath. I looked around, 
and laid eyes on Felix in the back corner.  
“Oh Felix! I thought for sure you were dead!” I cried out, and embraced him. He 
folded his arms around me and I demanded an explanation. 
“This,” Felix said, gesturing to the man that had brought me here, “is Monsieur 
Jean-Sylvain Bailly.” My mouth dropped to the floor. I whirled around to face the man. 
This one person, who now seemed smaller than before,j was the embodiment of my 
hopes and aspirations for all of France. I whirled back on Felix. 
“How did you find him? What are you even doing here, out of the palace?” It 
took them awhile to explain, but Felix relayed to me how he caught word that the 
Libeaux was suspicious of Felix, and so he fled the castle to search for Bailly- who had 
conveniently been at the town square where the execution was just held. Felix had 
recognized him from description, and introduced himself and what he had to offer the 
revolution. Bailly was intrigued and sat down with the boy, right when Felix had 
spotted me from the window of the shop. I sat back as they took turns explaining. 
Suddenly I realized that this had been our goal all along, and by the skin of his teeth, 
Felix had succeeded.  
 Jeffrey 5

“Tomorrow, I will lead the Third Estate in the Estates General,” Bailly told us. 
“...And I wish to have your assistance from inside the palace.” He directed his gaze at 
me.  
“I understand, what can I do?” And so, we talked. We planned and plotted for 
hours and dusk began to fall. Monsieur Bailly described to us how the people of 
France were on the precipice of a full-blown revolution- one that would overthrow the 
monarchy. During these hours, Bailly gave me my task, then I left before Madame 
Rosine became too suspicious. Back at the palace, I was restless. I found Henri and 
invited him to look at the stars with me. I took his hand in mine, and we gazed at the 
night sky. There was something beautiful in the notion that we knew so little of the 
stars. And yet, there they are- in a perfect infinity that we have no control over. ​An 
infinity in a world of finites​, I had thought to myself, months ago. This seemed all to 
real tonight, when I knew that my life would be on the line tomorrow. I explained the 
plan to Henri and he listened intently.  
“Can we make such a difference? we’re just kids after all.” he said once I 
finished.  
“We ​can​ make such a difference ​because​ we are kids. Who’s paying attention to 
revolution inside the palace when it’s so loud outside?” I answered. 
We fell asleep under the stars that night.  
… 
The familiar morning bell clanged through the servants’ quarters and I awoke with a 
start to find myself on the ground. I collected my thoughts and steadied my shaking 
hands. ​For the Revolution,​ I thought. Later that day, I found my place outside the 
assembly hall for the Estates General. The meeting had been moved to another room 
but the Third Estate didn’t know- save one person. They rapped on the door. 
“Le Assemblée Nationale Constituante demands to be let in!” shouted the 
familiar voice of Jean-Sylvain Bailly. I did as he had told me, and left the doors locked. 
The palace guards would have my head for this if they ever knew. I jammed a spoon 
into the doors’ opening mechanism and ran for the secret passage below the stairwell. 
I could hear the voices angry men outside, the people who would not be slaves again.10​  
I raced through the secret stairwell to evade the guards surely headed my way now. 
Just a few more seconds​ I thought, sweating. And then, as promised, Jean-Sylvain 
Bailly rallied the men in a charade of valliance, and turned from the palace, to storm 
 Jeffrey 6

into the carefully planned location we had discussed the day before with Felix. The 
third estate marched towards the dawn of the revolution which happened to look like 
an indoor tennis court. I found Henri and we fled from the palace- never to return 
again. We took a shortcut to the tennis courts, where we met Felix and Bailly and 
together, the four of us led the people of France in their first step towards a brighter 
future, one worth sacrificing for. As Bailly lept on a table in the middle of the tennis 
court, the Third Estate threw their hats from their heads and climbed the walls that 
would go down in history as the setting for the first scene of the French Revolution. 
And I realized, even within our small numbers, we had an infinity. 
 
Endnotes 
1. The Hall of Mirrors is a famed hall in the Palace of Versailles. There, the Treaty 
of Versailles was signed. 
2. “The other Louis’ mistresses” is a reference to King Louis XV’s mistresses, such 
as Madame Du Barry, who would enter his quarters through a secret passage in 
the Palace of Versailles. 
3. The Third Estate was the lowest class of the people of France, and consisted of 
98% of the people. Commoners, peasants, and blue-collar citizens made up the 
third estate- which later formed a National Assembly. 
4. Despite the absurd size of the Palace of Versailles, the servants’ quarters were 
heartlessly small; the younger and lowlier servants often slept in nooks in the 
wall. 
5. The Estates General was an assembly of the three estates in France. The 1st 
was the clergy, the second was the nobility, and the third was everyone else. 
The Estates General was called after 200 years of retirement to appease the 
angry people of France who felt misrepresented. 
6. The bourgeoisie was the middle class of France, especially in terms of 
capitalism. 
7. Printemps ​is the french word for spring. It was important to draw the reader’s 
attention here because the changing of the seasons brings the characters closer 
to the date Tennis Court Oath. 
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8. “Ogreish fascination” is an allusion to ​A Tale of Two Cities​ by Charles Dickens. 

Dickens repeatedly emphasizes his interest in crowds watching executions, that 
watch with “ogreish fascination”. 
9. The Guillotine became well-known throughout France in the time before, 
during, and after the French Revolution, as a means to execute. The guillotine 
was used multiple times a day for years upon years. 
10. The line, “The voices angry men outside, the people who would not be slaves 
again,” is an allusion to one of the most memorable songs in the film, Les 
Miserables, which my TFAD group watched to learn about the French 
Revolution and the events that followed. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Jeffrey 8

Works Cited 
Cardin, Mich. “Take a Tour Inside the Restricted Passages of Versailles.” ​Travel + 
Leisure​, 27 Aug. 2017, 
www.travelandleisure.com/travel-tips/secret-passages-versailles. 
Dickens, Charles, and Gillen D'Arcy. Wood. ​A Tale of Two Cities​. Barnes & Noble 
Classics, 2004. 
Editors of Britannica. “Third Estate.” ​Encyclopædia Britannica​, Encyclopædia 
Britannica, Inc., 22 Apr. 2016, www.britannica.com/topic/Third-Estate. 
Goodwin, Albert, and Jeremy David Popkin. “Louis XVI.” ​Encyclopædia Britannica​, 
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 6 Apr. 2018, 
www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-XVI. 
“Jean-Sylvain Bailly.” ​French Revolution​, Alpha History, 18 Jan. 2018, 
alphahistory.com/frenchrevolution/jean-bailly/. 
“The Palace.” ​Chateau De Versailles​, 20 June 2017, 
en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/palace. 
“Summoning of the Estates General, 1789.” ​Chateau De Versailles​, 9 Feb. 2017, 
en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/summoning-estates-general-1789.