JUN 21 22 DC
THE
FIVE MEN;
186
D÷13
OR,
A REVIEW
OF THE
PROCEEDINGS AND PRINCIPLES
OF THE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTORY OF FRANCE:
TOGETHER WITH THE
LIVES OF ITS PRESENT MEMBERS,
S. F. L. H. LETOURNEUR, | L. M. REVELLIERE LEPAUX,
J. REWBELL,
P. F. 1. N. BARRAS, AND
L. N. M. CARNOT.
TRANSLATED from the FRENCH OF JOSEPH DESPAZE.
By JOHN STODDART.
"Ce n'est plus la Terreur qui regne fur nous.
MONTJOYE Confp. D'Orleans.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR J. S. JORDAN, 'N, 166, FLEET STREET.
1797.
K
PREFACE
BY THE TRANSLATOR.
?
real. &.F
THE following work, which has appeared
within theſe few months in Paris, and
which, according to report, has been received
there with very general approbation, ſeems to be
of fufficient importance to merit the attention of
the English reader. In prefenting it to the pub-
lic, the tranſlator has been chiefly influenced by
the intereſting nature of the ſubject, by the energy
of the ſtyle, and by the apparent fidelity of the
narration. Of its principles, moral and political,
he by no means wiſhes to undertake a general de-
fence: they at leaſt deſerve notice, as affording a
clue to the opinions at prefent prevailing in
France. A love of order and tranquillity, fenti-
ments of moderation and juftice, feem to be there
confidered as the beſt titles to popular approba-
tion; it is evident, therefore, that the popular
ideas partake ftrongly of thofe fentiments; it is
evident that the majority of the French nation is
inclined to order and tranquillity, to moderation
A 2
and
(iv)
and juſtice. If the dominion of ſuch principles be,
in fome inſtances, unfortunately fufpended; if paf-
fion and prejudice feem to keep alive the flame of
national animofity; this confideration ſhould only
ſtimulate the friends of humanity to labour with
greater earneſtneſs in obviating the real or imagi-
nary cauſes of mutual diſcontent. The tranflator
has thought it his duty to render with exactneſs
thoſe paffages which relate to the conduct and
character of this country: if the charges which
they contain be true, we ought to acknowledge
and to amend our errors; if they be falſe, we may
the more eaſily purſue the taſk of reconciliation,
having on our fide, the calmneſs of innocence,
and the energy of truth.
Lincoln's Inn,
February 13th, 1797.
INTRO-
INTRODUCTION.
FRENCHMEN! you have abjured that
enthuſiaſm which for fo long a time led
you aſtray. You no longer exalt intrigue
into patriotiſm, blind zeal into heroic attach-
ment, and the moſt trifling fervices into
ineftimable benefits. Diftruft, the tardy
companion of misfortune, has come to your
affiſtance. Inſtead of proftrating yourſelves
before men of celebrity, you ſeek to deſcend
into the bottom of their fouls, and to develope
their fecrets. That which is termed in you
indifference-apathy, is but a ſtate of re-
flection and judgment. It would be odious
to complain of fuch a principle. A nation
fo
men.
(vi)
1
fo often deceived, fo often the dupe, and the
victim of its confidence, a nation which,
amidſt its liberators, has found traitors, ty-
rants, murderers, ought to reckon appear-
ances as nothing, and to fhow itſelf avaricious
of eulogy. Be fearful, nevertheleſs, of paffing
from one extreme to the other! In the early
days of
your regeneration, men of a common
ftamp feemed to you gods; now, fhould
gods themſelves be preſented to you, you
would, perhaps, place them in the rank of
This exceffive ſeverity may
lead you
to ingratitude-ingratitude the hardener of
hearts! The evil which this principle has
brought upon empires, is by no means doubt-
ful: the nobleſt heroes of antiquity owed to
it their moſt cruel indignities; it did not
ſpare even that Athenian who was fur-
named the Juft; it fhook to their founda-
tions, it overthrew Republics, no leſs ex-
cellent in their conftitution than the one
which you poffefs. Think you that the
general
(vii)
general will harden himſelf againſt the
fatigues of war, will face dangers fpringing
up on every fide; that the legiflator will
devote himſelf for you to long meditation,
will grow grey in retirement and ftudy, if
you offer him no other recompence than
contempt or oblivion? Repofe is fo fweet a
bleffing, that it is almoſt impoffible to make
a difintereſted facrifice of it. The warrior,
the magiſtrate, never reſign it but for glory;
that is, for the ſuffrages, for the affections of
their fellow-citizens. In delineating your
governors, in recalling to mind their col-
lective operations, in particularifing their
individual characters, my deſign was to offer
them in your name an uſeful encouragement.
I promiſe myſelf another advantage from this
little work; I am pleaſed with the belief,
that in reading it, the friends of order will
be animated by the profpect of the future,
will be ftrengthened in their hopes, and will
coincide in their wishes.
THE
FIVE MEN.
COMPE
OF THE DIRECTORY.
OMPELLED to unite for an inftant with
the ſect of the Demagogues, in order to
avoid the rage of the Royal Party, the Directory
has apparently marked with error the firſt ſteps
of their career. Men, by no means eſtimable,
were the objects of their choice; they inveſted
them with the title of adminiftrators and com-
miflioners; and thefe very men became the pro-
pagators of doubt, fufpicion, and apprehenfion.
The motive of their momentary elevation was
not feen; that elevation was therefore charged
upon their fuppofed patrons as a crime; it was
but the too natural confequence of our culpable
diffenfions. The ruins of Vendemiaire yet
fmoked, our public fquares were yet ſtained with
blood; the depofitaries of power heard com-
plaints, and even reproaches, echoing in auda-
cious murmurs to their ears; they had beheld
R
the
( 10 )
the abyss open before them, they had tottered on
its brink. Ought they to have treated the van-
quiſhed as faithful friends? Could they reaſonably
draw around them men by whom they had been
profcribed? The individuals of whofe fervice
they made uſe, at that period, although unworthy
of their efteem, laid fome claim to their con-
fidence. They had formed the advanced guard
of the victorious army; they proclaimed them-
felves Avengers of the Republic, and ſpoke only
of their devotion to the new conftitution; they
alternately recited the fervices which they had
performed, and the perfecutions which they had
undergone; they even affected fentiments of
generoſity*; oblivion, forgiveneſs of the paſt,
were in their mouths; every thing ſpoke in their
favour; every thing confpired to render them
neceffary. The Directory, in making advances to
them, only yielded to the irrefiftible force of cir-
cumftances.
When their exiftence was confolidated, their
fentiments better known, and the veil of preju-
dice torn away; when the infurgent multitude
had opened its eyes, and confeffed its errors;
* The Terroriſts, at this period, prefented many addreſſes,
in which they ſeemed to abjure all kind of refentment, all kind
of vengeance. They offered to their enemies, pardon and the
kiſs of peace; and, as they had power on their fide, ſuch a
conduct in them appeared to great advantage.
when
( 11 )
when the partifans of royalty ceaſed to inſpire
terror, the Directory withdrew their fupport from
the fatellites of anarchy. "Wretches!" faid
they to them, indirectly, "if we employed you, it
was with regret; the incongruity of events alone
elevated your credit. You are only ſkilled in
deftroying; there is no longer need of your affif-
tance. Your lot will indeed become lefs favour-
able than it is, but at the fame time lefs rigorous
than it has been; you will be no longer dreaded,
no longer perfecuted, you will be neither tyrants
nor victims." If they ſpoke not thefe words,
they formed this refolution; a refolution which
required wifdom in conception, and energy in
execution. Late events had re-animated the
hopes of the diforganizers: whoever profeffed
not their odious doctrines was a fectionary, a con-
fpirator; and for the epithet, Royalist, they had
fubftituted the ſtill more terrible one Chouan.
All
Political aggregations re-appeared; diſregard-
ing the laws, they, according to their cuftom,
re-eſtabliſhed their mutual correfpondences, and
their connection with the blind multitude.
the villains that torment this beauteous Empire,
crowded together to theſe aſſemblies, they con-
tended with each other for the tribune, ftimu-
lated no leſs by ambition than by vengeance, like
thofe ferocious animals which, delivered from the
toils of the hunter, feek him with flaming eye and
foaming jaws, impatient to tear him piecemeal.
B 2
The
'
(12)
1
The Directory had not the weakneſs even to
heſitate, when they obferved the efforts of thofe
men, and the apathy of the citizens. They knew
the extent of their refources, the fanaticifm of
their Janizaries, the power of their protectors;
nevertheleſs, by a proclamation, of daring wif-
dom, they ſhut up the cavern of their meet-
ings *.
One circumſtance which rendered this meaſure
no lefs memorable than decifive, was, that it was
taken with the unanimous concurrence of every
voter; until that moment, the factious had given
themſelves up to the moſt flattering conjectures,
Deceived by fome trifling advances, they thought
they had found protectors in the chief magif"
trates. The certainty of their miſtake was to
them a mortifying ftroke; it made them groan,
but it did not diſcourage them. Their peculiar
characteriſtic is, an unyielding fury in their pur-
fuits.
Driven from their dens, they affembled in public
places. To the clubs fucceeded groups. To obtain
a juſt idea of theſe tumultuous affemblages, it is
neceffary to have clofely obferved the elements
of which they are compofed. Bands of vaga-
bonds, thouſands of cut-throats, reeking with
blood, and gorged with wine, here proclaimed,
without flame, their murderous principles; here
* The fociety of the Pantheon was compofed of four
thouſand individuals,
marked
( 13 )
marked out the conftitutional code as the char-
ter of defpotifm-the virtuous Republicans as
cruel oppreffors; they loudly invoked the manes
of the triumvirs; they involved in one common
decree of profcription, the farmers, the mer-
chants, and the public functionaries; they fixed
their favage looks on the Manège, the Thuille-
ries, the Luxembourg; they propoſed carnage
and fire, the dagger and the torch, as plans of
regeneration. Dangerous in proportion as the
fprings which moved them were fecret, they
kept no moderation in their proceedings; their
arms were already raiſed to ſtrike, when a law,
folicited by the Directory, placed them under
the fword of the tribunals. It is true that this
energy was ſeconded by the bayonet; revolt
had not yet introduced itſelf into the tent of the
foldier. It foon obtained this terrible fuccefs.
When the Directory were defirous, a fecond
time, to employ a rigour, as neceffary as it was
*
* The multitudes which have been in agitation fince the
eſtabliſhment of the conftitutional Republic, have no object
in view. They yield, mechanically, to the party of the Ja-
cobins, and the Jacobins to that of the party of Orleans. It
is this party which acts the chief character. It writes, it
bribes, it fets every fpring in motion, and, when a confpiracy
is diſcovered, it maintains that the confpirators had no union,
no plan, no means; that they ought rather to be confined as
madmen, than puniſhed as criminals. The chiefs of this party
merit rather contempt than indignation; they will, never, ob-
tain fuccefs; for, if their profound hypocrify be in their fa-
vour, their exceffive cowardice is no leſs againſt them.
lawful;
( 14 )
lawful; fhall I fpeak it! they found themfelves
alone, furrounded by intereſted citizens, by inde-
fatigable confpirators, and foldiers without fu-
bordination. In this fatal conjuncture there re-
mained with them but a fmall body of faithful
troops; they collected them with fo much cele-
rity, put them in motion with ſo much judgment,
that the rebels were in an inftant furpriſed, fur-
rounded, and obliged, ignominioufly, to lay down
their arms.
If this rebellion has not been imi-
tated, it is eafy to divine the reafon. The moſt
combustible fubftances do not kindle of them-
felves. The extinguishing a fpark, in time,
may prevent a wide conflagration. The con-
fpiracy of the 22d of Floreal (May 12) is an
event of lefs importance. The police feems, at
the first glance, to claim all the honour of its
difcovery. Neverthelefs, if this affair be con-
fidered in its true relations, if it be obſerved,
that a reprefentative, celebrated for his long
misfortunes, and for a brilliant action, was in-
volved in it, as if to ferve for a buckler to the
other criminals; if the prejudices, the fophiftry,
the interefts, the obftacles of every kind which
it was neceffary to furmount, in order to reach
him, be calculated, it will be more and more
evident, that the reins of the ſtate are held by
the most firm and ſkilful hands.
Within fix months, three factions, equally for-
midable, have been repreffed with an equal vi-
gour,
( 15 )
gour.
The followers of Marat, and the accom
plices of Philip, have been taken in their own
fnares. In attempting to deftroy the Republic,
they have only deftroyed their friends. By their
imprudence, they have precipitated Drouet into
an abyfs of mifery, and laid open to Babœuf the
road to the ſcaffold. As to the friends of the
ancient government, the Royalifts, properly fo
called *, they have not dared to undertake any
thing; for it would be abfurd to dignify with
the title of plots, their hiffes at the theatres, or
their farcaſms in public places. Now I afk
every judicious obferver, whether, if the govern-
ment had done nothing more, this would not,
alone, have been fufficient for its glory? Would
it not have deferved the gratitude of the French
people? Others will decide-I continue,
The war was prolonged; the coalition of
Princes ftill exifted; it had concentrated its laft
efforts, in the hope of obtaining honourable con-
ditions of peace. The Princes of Germany, and
thofe of Italy, doubled their contingent; Sardinia
* Notwithſtanding the fubtle definitions of fome declaimers,
who fee Royalifm everywhere, even in the journals of Lebois,
-it is certain that the Royalifts have profited by the leffon
which they received in Vendemiaire; and that, in general,
they only defire to attach themſelves to the government.
They will never be Republicans, exclaims intolerance. Good
God! what fignifies that, if they refpect, if in cafe of neceffity
they even defend, the laws of the Republic.
had
( 16 )
had befet her mountains with fwords and cart
non; Auftria, profiting by our example, had, in
her turn, riſen as it were in a mafs; thanks to
the liberality of England, the waves of Pactolus
rolled through her fields. By a contraft, fright-
ful to remember, our armies languiſhed in abfo-
lute nakedness; their pay had been annihilated,
together with the credit of the paper-money;
want inflicted on them all her feverities; they de-
manded, at once, bread and clothing; indignant
at having nothing to oppoſe againſt the incle-
mency of the air, but their rags and their laurels.
Diſguſt ſeemed even to have broken their cou-
rage. Every thing announced that they muſt
experience a reverfe of fortune, or at leaſt behold
themſelves reduced to act on the defenfive. Eu-
rope affirmed it; France herſelf was in doubt;
and yet the phalanxes of the leagued Monarchs
fled on all fides, like a herd of ſavage beaſts dif-
perfed by the fury of the hunters. The Pô, the
Rhine, the Lahn, were but feeble barriers to
them: Charles had the fame fate as Beaulieu ;
the inhabitants of Mentz trembled like thofe of
Rome; Frankfort opened its gates, like Milan
and, perhaps, the haughty Vienna will one day
capitulate like Turin. The plans of our cam-
paigns were traced with fo much wiſdom, our
forces difpofed fo judicioufly, that the enemy,
prevented in his attacks, embarraffed in his re-
treats,
( 17 )
>
treats, deceived in all his calculations, no longer
knew how to direct his efforts; and, for feveral
months, abandoned himſelf entirely to chance.
Glory, without doubt, immortal glory is due to
their immediate conquerors, to the courage of
our armies, to the talents of our Generals. They
ftrike like the Divinity; they direct the thunder
at their will; but it is from the Luxembourg* *
that the bolt is hurl'd.
There yet remained that internal war, fo
painful to ſuſtain, fo difficult to terminate. On
each bank of the Loire were cottages converted
into arfenals, and huſbandmen into favage war-
riors. Victory had, in theſe countries, in vain
declared for us; in vain had the ravages of fire
and fword been multiplied. The vanquished had
not yet fubmitted. The profanation of their
worſhip, the feverities fo often uſeleſs, the crimes
fo new and unheard-of, had ulcerated their minds
to ſuch a degree, that they ſpoke not of the Re-
public but with dread, nor of Republicans but
with horror. They no longer engaged in open
battles, but fignalized themfelves every day in
bloody fkirmiſhes. Their wandering tribes ex-
celled in the art of uniting and difperfing oppor-
tunely. Immenfe forefts ferved them for camps,
magazines, and fortreffes. If you fought them,
* The palace of the Directory.
C
you
( 18 )
༨།
you found only the traces of their footsteps.
Whenever they meant to attempt a fhock, they
ſhewed themſelves unexpectedly; they arrived at
the fame fpot by twenty different paths: a poſt
attacked by them, was a poft flaughtered even.to
the laſt man. Our main armies doubted of their
exiſtence, and our detached parties every day fell
into their power. Too weak to conquer, too
ſtubborn to yield, they became affaffins: by means
of their ambufcades, feeble old men and boys
mowed down the flower of our foldiery*. It
was propoſed to fubdue them by famine: this
project had not even the appearance of reaſon,
fince they inhabit our moſt fertile countries,
fince they are no lefs laborious than brave, and
fince they are accuſtomed to wield with one hand
the gun, and with the other the ſpade. Scarcely
lefs difficult was it to burn their retreats. What
efforts, what a length of time would it not have
required to reduce to a plain, an hundred leagues
of land covered with woods! And how difaf-
trous the expedient of heaping up ruins and aſhes
where, each year, the moſt luxuriant harveſts
grow. How, then, was repofe to be given to
thefe climates? Was it right to fend thither
the cowardly Santerre, or the favage Tureau, to
→ At the very time when Barriere faid to the Convention,
"La Vendée is no more!" thoſe who combated the inſurgents
looked on that war as interminable.
recommence
( 19 )
!
recommence there the revolutionary barbarities,
or to fign, again, treaties involved in obfcurity.
Such remedies would but have rendered the evil
incurable. One path alone could lead to the de-
fired end-it is that which has been followed. A
happy ſyſtem has been adopted, combining pru-
dence with energy, moderation with patriotiſm,
clemency with rigour. Its execution was en-
truſted to the worthy rival of the Pichegrus, the
Jourdains, the Moreaus, the Buonapartes-to
the young and celebrated Hoche, whofe moral
character, and whofe talents, merited an equal
confidence. Most of the men who were choſen
to fecond him, thought and felt as he did. They
ſpoke the fame language, they uſed the fame
means. Inflexible towards the armed rebels,
they treated the others as brethren; they opened
their arm's to the penitent; they took under their
fafeguard the weakneffes of fex, of age, of error.
Our troops, returned under the yoke of difci-
pline, every inhabitant was enabled to enjoy his
property, to exerciſe his worſhip, to live in peace!
It was proved to them, that the laws of the Re-
public had nothing contradictory to the laws of
honour. Then, they themſelves filled that gulph
which had been above five years open, and which
threatened to ſwallow up the whole of the pre-
fent generation.
Succeffes fo multiplied, fo rapid, ſeem to re-
femble prodigy. The Directory may well be
C 2
proud
( 20 )
20)
proud of them, but they have not been inflated
by them.
Our triumphs, far from infpiring
them with exaggerated pretenfions, have con-
firmed them in their principles of moderation.
The more fatal our arms have been to Kings, the
more have the Directory endeavoured to put an
end to this deplorable conteft. Silence ſtill
reigned in the cabinets, when they already offered
candid propofitions; when they already caufed
the word Peace, a word fo fweet to the ear, and to
the heart, to refound throughout Europe. True
it is, that they have fince treated on conditions
burthenſome to the vanquished; but it was ne-
ceffary to puniſh the obftinacy of our barbarous
aggreffors. Was the coalition of Pilnitz, then, a
chimera? Did not ten powers diſhonourably
unite againſt one? Did they not give the dread-
ful fignal, exhauft our cities, depopulate our
hamlets, caufe a river of blood to flow? And
ſhall we refpect the fanctity of their treafures!
Shall we demand of them no pecuniary indemnį-
fications! May the regulators of our deſtiny never
have other crimes than theſe with which to re-
proach themſelves!
Their conduct, confidered in other points of
view, merits other praiſes. Factions, war, nego-
ciation, have not been the fole objects of their
labours. They have alfo meditated on the pre-
carious ſtate of our finances; and their ideas on
this important fubject, are not their leaſt valuable
titles
( 21 )
titles to our eſteem. In adopting them, we might
have avoided thoſe tedious catalogues of impoſt,
thofe contradictory regulations, thofe immoral
meaſures which have deftroyed confidence, tripled
the reſources of the ſtock-jobbers, and become to
us an inexplicable chaos, a labyrinth without
termination.
Their zeal in defending the fuperior objects of
their choice, deferves alfo to be reckoned for
fomething. Had they liftened to the withes of
cabals or factions, the minifters accufed at one
time of lukewarmneſs, at another of exaggera-
tion, would have only appeared upon the theatre;
they would have paffed before our eyes like fleet-
ing ſhadows. The firſt ſtep would have been
to detach from the government its unfhaken
friends; the next, to furround them with traitors.
This they forefaw: difdaining vile clamours, and
perfidious denunciations, they confounded their
own cauſe with that of their principal agents;
they judged them not by the opinions of others.
They refolved to receive no foreign impulfe; and
this refiftance has become the firmeft prop of the
Republican edifice.
Such have been the cares, fuch the fervices of
the Directory. Although the delineation has
afforded me pleaſure, I fhall not heſitate to ac-
knowledge their faults; I fhall withdraw the veil
which,
( 22 )
which, perhaps, conceals thofe faults even from
their own obfervation.
The famous couplets fung, by their order, in
our theatres, for a long while irritated mens'
minds, and deadened that patriotifm which it
pretended to animate. Some of their meffages
have provoked decrees of a too rigorous nature;
fuch, for example, as that paſſed againſt the
prieſts. Sometimes, on the contrary, they have
ſhown themſelves too indulgent; they have been
contented with reducing to a ſtate of impotence,
thoſe criminals for whom morality, no leſs than
policy, feemed to dictate puniſhment. They
left the tribunals in a fatal inaction, from whence
they might have drawn them without a violation
of principle, without an invafion of the judicial
authority. They fluctuated too long in uncer-
tainty with regard to the remedies applicable to
the wounds of the fouth. Complaints have al-
ready been made, and will long continue to be
made, againſt the commiffioners to whom they
have entruſted the important direction of the co-
lonies, and who will not eſcape from accufation
themſelves, by affuming the part of accufers. If
public opinion deferve credit, many of thefe
wretches have fhown themſelves worthy rivals
of the ravagers of the continent. The Directory
have not loft fight of the errors of that Con-
vention,
( 23 )
vention, in which were united fo much wiſdom
and fo much ignorance; fo many virtues and fo
many crimes; where Philippeaux fat by the
fide of Marat, and Verginaud near Darmonville;
of that Convention, which wore the chains of
an obfcure robber, and whoſe prodigies will
recal to the mind of pofterity, the hiftory of fa-
bulous ages; which, expofed to the tempta-
tions of hatred and licentioufnefs, only ruled by
taking advantage of our divifions: which im-
plored the affiftance of each fect, and which
each fect had, in its turn, the difgraceful honour
of ferving. The Directory faw, at a diftance,
that rock, and prudently avoided it; but good
Frenchmen have, with reaſon, feared that they
may ſplit on another. Although they have need
of forces easily manageable, they have en-
dangered their fafety, perhaps their very exiſt-
ence, by keeping at too great a diſtance the
citizens, and making too great advances to the
foldiery. At leaſt, they ought to have preſerved
a juſt medium; for, in great cities, foldiers
breathe a contagious atmoſphere-they are in-
ceffantly corrupted. Seduction, prodigal of gold
and of libels, leads them aftray fo much the
more eafily, as by means of words it deceives
them with regard to things, as it changes its
maſk every inſtant, and varies its forms without
end. Befides, commotion is no very great evil to
him
( 24 )
him who makes danger his fport; to him, whofe
only poffeffion is his mufket, his knapfack, and
his cartouch-box. On the contrary, the citizens
(I take this word in its peculiar acceptation hav-
ing almoſt all a houfe, or a piece of land; a
warehouſe or a manufactory, a counting-houſe,
or a fhop, fhudder at the mere idea of a focial
rupture. The government is to them what the
advanced guard is to an army; when it is at-
tacked they muft take up arms, they muft fly to
its defence, if not through attachment to it, at
leaſt for their own intereſt.
This important truth has not, always, been
fufficiently felt. Fortunately we are recovering
from our errors: experience enlightens mens'
minds; neceffity unites their hearts. France be-
gins to tafte the benefits of a harmony fo much
the more precious as it was the more defired.
The fituation of the Directory is fuch, that they
may well difregard a vain adulation; they find
their recompence in the refult of their efforts.
When they affumed the reins of empire, con-
fufion and violence prevailed over the laws.
Each department, each canton, regulated itſelf
in its own manner. Thofe anarchical move-
ments, which have been named actions and re-
actions, were everywhere felt; everywhere crime
difplayed itſelf audaciouſly. Here, the fatel-
lites of terror, whilft haftening to erect new
fcaffolds,
( 25 )
fcaffolds, gave a looſe to their ferocious joy;
there, the royalift affaffins converted the title of
patriot into a ſentence of death, and avenged
the fceptre by the ſtroke of the poniard. In
one commune the tree of liberty was cut down;
in another the cry of " Long live the Moun-
tain!" refounded. To add to our misfortunes,
the circulation of provifions was everywhere in-
terrupted: ſcarcity reigned in our great cities,
and hideous famine advanced toward them with
hafty ftrides. At preſent, the man of virtue,
whatever his opinions may be, lives exempt
from fear*. He, who has never troubled the
repoſe of another, is proclaimed a good citizen;
and thoſe whom the governors † eſteem, are
thoſe whom the governed honour. Morality
re-affumes its rights, induftry its activity, com-
merce its hopes: even luxury and abundance
ſmile on the victorious nation. In that city,
where thirteen months ago the cannon thun-
dered; where fifty thouſand combatants con-
tended for the public fquares, the ftreets, the
lanes; where fury only yielded to rage-obfti-
nacy to madneſs; where lamentable cries were
* The Directory has faid, in one of its proclamations,
"He is a good citizen who never troubled the repofe of any
one."
+ The magiftrates whom the Directory had provifionally
named, were, for the moſt part, re-elected by the primary aſ-
femblies of Paris.
D
mixed
( 26 )
+
mixed with the whistling of the murderous bul-
let; where death mowed down his victims by
heaps; where every building fhook to its foun-
dation; where every family was drowned in
tears in that Paris, fo often converted into a
field of battle, order, confidence, the fine arts,
have re-appeared in fplendid emulation. Spe-
cie ci rculates there as formerly every kind of
proviſion abound in its markets; its twenty
theatres were never more crowded ; its national
feſtivals glow with the moſt animated brilliancy;
its former taftes revive; all its citizens blend
together their fentiments, and at length find ſe-
curity under the egis of toleration. Should our
ardent defires be realized; fhould peace come
to renovate public credit, the Revolution will
then be compleated, its advantages will remain
to us, its misfortunes will be forgotten.
Until then, do not give yourſelves up to the
charms of a dangerous fecurity, you to whom
are owing fuch inconceivable changes. Near
the rich man who revels, liſten to the poor man
who murmurs: in the midſt of a nation, now
rendered wife and moderate, behold incorrigible
confpirators, ftrangers alike to remorfe and to
tranquillity. Invariable in your principles, un-
fhaken in your duties, you ſhould draw ftill cloſer
the bonds which unite to you men of virtue.
Men
(27)
Men of virtue alone are equitable judges, grate-
ful friends, vigilant protectors.
Afpire not to pri-
A ſteady progreſs
a fingle deviation
Let an iron hand weigh heavily on the heads
of the wicked: calculate not their number, dif-
play a courage equal to the greatneſs of your
deſtiny. In a word, dread nothing but your-
felves; let not ambition, envy, and, above all, dif-
cord, come under your roofs.
vileges, yield not up rights.
has conducted you to glory;
may lead you to the fcaffold. When I analyze
your poſition, you feem to me to ftand panting
on a ſteep mountain: to furmount it you have
need of no leſs addreſs than vigour; obftacles
preſent themſelves to you at every ſtep. Never-
theleſs you advance; you have placed an im-
menfe interval between yourſelves and the abyss.
A few more efforts, and you will peaceably feat
yourſelves on the fummit; fhould your eyes fail
you, ſhould one falſe ſtep make you totter, it is
all over; you will fall, you will be caft down
covered with bruifes, and in your fall you will
involve the firſt nation in the univerſe.
D 2
LETOURNEUR.
( 28 )
}
WH
LETOURNEUR.
HATEVER idea the vulgar may form to
themſelves of great characters, thoſe men
deſerve a diſtinguiſhed rank, who uniting talents
and virtue to the affections of a pure heart, have
conſtantly purſued the path of duty. Without
having made the univerſe re-echo with one's
name, without having written like Rouffeau,
ſpoken like Mirabeau, triumphed like Pichegru,
we may acquire real claims to the gratitude of
our country. What I am about to ſay of Stephen
I
Francis Louis Honoré Letourneur, will afford a
proof of this affertion.
His
He was born at Granville, in the department of
La Manche, on the 15th of March, 1751.
father was what was at that time called " Unt
honnête Bourgeois," poffeffing a ſmall fortune and
a ſpotleſs reputation. At first employed in the
adminiſtration of the marine, he foon became
chief of an office of the claffes, and at length
* The nomenclature of ranks having paſſed away together
with their political exiſtence, it might be productive of error
in the preſent day to render the above expreffion "a refpec-
table citizen”—A citizen, in the narroweſt ſenſe of the word,
was formerly defignated by the contemptuous appellation of
Bourgeois: a citizen, in its moſt enlightened and liberal accep-
tation, is now denoted by the comprehenfive and honourable
title of Citoyen. T.
the
( 29 )
the Miniſter Choifeul offered him, as a reward
for his fervices, letters of nobility, which his
philofophy (fo early enlightened) induced him to
refuſe, perfuaded that it is impoffible to augment
moral, any more than phyſical greatneſs, by in-
fcribing it on a fheet of parchment. His fon,
the only object of his ambition, of his hopes,
received from him a ftudied education; he pro-
fited by it; and at an early age poffeffed a
ripened genius, and a perfected reaſon. He
devoted himſelf particularly to the mathematics;
his wiſh was to enter into the corps of Engineers,
a with which he realized on the 1st of January,
1768, at a period when it was unneceffary, in
that career, to have recourfe to the magic fuc
cours of heraldry. His brethren in arms agree in
faying, that he fuftained his profeffion with
honour. Incapable of haftening his advance-
ment by intrigue, he nevertheleſs obtained the
title of captain, which he enjoyed at the com-
mencement of the Revolution, when liberty with
her tremendous arm fhook to the ground the
antique columns of the monarchy. It is well
known, with what rapidity military men have
fince that time ariſen to the fummit of their defires.
Thouſands of individuals, as ignorant of the ſcience
of the Cæfars, as of the doctrines of Mahomet,
have been fuddenly transformed into fuperior offi-
cers. One, full of affurance, quits the ftage to
put
( 30 )
}
+
put himself at the head of a regiment; a fecond
makes but one ſtep from the warehouſe to the
command in chief: others, ftill more audacious,
have exchanged the furplice and fquare cap, for
the double epaulette and the three-coloured
plume. How many foldiers have with fhame
recognized their ancient paſtor in their new
general! During the ſpace of four years, to
defire and to obtain promotion in the army was
the fame thing; and yet Letourneur modeftly
retained the rank of captain, and was only made
chief of a battalion in his turn; that is to ſay, by
order of feniority.
He was at St. Germain-en-laye, by permiffion
from the government, to paſs fix months there,
when the walls of the Baftille fell before the ef
forts of a people avenged but too late. That
triumph, the precurfor of events fo glorious, of
cataſtrophes fo cruel, electrified every mind.
From one end of the empire to the other, the
emblems of independence were adopted as rally-
ing fignals; every one haftened to range himſelf
under the ſtandard of infurrection; every city,
every village, declared itſelf in a ſtate of war.
At St. Germain, as at Paris, the national guards
were provifionally organized: he was admitted
into them, and commanded a company; and he
made himſelf confpicuous by principles at once
wife and patriotic. By propofing for the ſervice
regulations
( 31 )
regulations which were adopted, he concurred
moſt ably in the maintenance of public order.
The firſt circumſtances of his political life proved
that he attached himſelf faithfully to the caufe of
the patriots; and by this word, fo much pro-
faned, I do not mean thofe ferocious ravagers,
lefs jealous of their rights than greedy of ruin,
the moſt dangerous enemies of every kind of go-
vernment; but that auguſt majority which ſhook
off the double yoke of defpotifm and error, in
the hope of obtaining the lot which it deferved;
which never called crime to its affiſtance, which
perfecuted no one, but was defirous of promoting
the freedom and happineſs of all.
Letourneur, at the expiration of his time of
abfence, left his new companions to return to
Cherbourg, the place of his ordinary refidence as
Officer of Engineers. A popular fociety was
juſt formed there; he was a member of it, and
became its Prefident. It was then, that his fen-
timents developed themſelves in all their purity.
He might, like many others, have abuſed his in-
fluence, have favoured informers, have perfecuted
the malcontents, whofe refiftance already pro-
voked juſt murmurs; but he only made uſe of
his credit in propagating found opinions; he was
conftantly employed in moderating exaggeration,
and ftimulating apathy, in connecting a love of
mankind with a hatred of ufurpers.
Such a
conduct
( 32 )
conduct could not but augment the eſteem which
his fellow-citizens fhewed him. They named
him as an Elector; they deputed him to the Le-
giflative Affembly. He brought thither the fame
devotion to the interefts of his country, the fame
rectitude of intention. A ftranger to the cabals
which were formed there, he took his feat fome-
times by the fide of Ramon, fometimes of Con-
dorcet; he had no object but patriotifm, no
guide but his own heart. Some men of exalted
principles (as they were called) reproached him,
at one time, with his partiality to La Fayette; he
treated their glaring infincerity with difdain. As
to the men of real worth, who did not agree with
him in fentiment, they felt it very poffible, with-
out a crime, to look with reſpect on the deliverer
of a friendly nation, one of the conquerors in the
cauſe of French freedom, the conftitutionaliſt
moft dreaded by the court, the General adored
by the Parifians. He had, as an apology, the
fituation of events, the order of things at that
time eſtabliſhed, a prejudice almoſt univerſal.
The fufferings which the fugitive of Sedan has
fince endured in the prifons of Auſtria, have juf-
tified him ſtill more fully. And, indeed, if there
be any errors of a pardonable nature, they are
'thoſe that are derived from a lenity the aſſociate
of benevolence, and which no one can blame, be-
cauſe every one has need of it in his turn.
He
( 33 )
J
He ſpoke but feldom during the fitting of the
firſt legiſlature. Nevertheleſs he made, in the
name of the Committee of Marine, over which
he a long while prefided, feveral luminous re-
ports, in which were found method, ufeful views,
and valuable information. His colleagues ho-
noured him with a deferved confidence; of this
they gave a ſtriking proof, in appointing him to
direct the works of the camp near Paris. Charged
with this taſk, he had not only workmen to
employ-he had rebels to reftrain. Every me-
-thod was tried to agitate the innumerable mul-
titude placed under his orders. Every inftant
there bellowed around him a band of villains,
a herd of tygers, exafperated by the deteftable
Marat. Theſe complained, with execrations, of
the quality of their victuals, and the fmallneſs of
their pay; thoſe, regulating the deſtiny of the
ſtate, burnt with the defire of giving to the Re-
volution a more rapid progrefs; they faw, on all
fides, traitors, ſatellites of the tyrant, and found-
ed their hopes of revenge on the rope and the
lamp-iron. In the midst of them was inceffantly
heard that confufed murmur, fo alarming, fo ter-
rible, which precedes a violent tempeſt, or the
exploſion of a volcano; their hands were ever
ready to break the ultimate bond of fociety.
So much the more difficult to reftrain, as they
had
E
( 34 )
had not yet tafted the bitter fruits of anarchy;
their chief employed, at once, mildneſs and re-
folution; he encouraged the weak, enlightened
him who had been feduced, curbed the feditious,
and, multiplying himſelf, as it were, with the
increaſe of danger, prevented all of them from
paffing the limits of obedience. He acted to-
ward them as the ſkilful charioteer, who guides
courfers impatient of the bit; who alternately
foothes and threatens them, incites and reſtrains
them, urges them onward, or keeps them back;
thus he convinces them of their impotence,
gives to their efforts the requifite harmony, and
obliges them to draw abreaft that car, which
they ſeemed ready to daſh in pieces.
Lefs fkilful, or less fortunate, the Affembly,
of which he was a member, under the domina-
tion of factions, uncertain of the national wiſh,
equally incapable of defending Royalty, and of
proclaiming the Republic, yielded, though with
regret, to the revolutionary torrent. It demand-
ed fucceffors; he was re-elected, in fpite of the
intrigues of the anarchiſts to deprive him of the
confidence of his conftituents. Men of his dif-
pofition were no longer neceffary; only fuch as
Hebert, as Collot d'Herbois, as Robespierre, and
efpecially as Marat, were in eſtimation. They
attempted to prepoffefs his department with
thefe
( 35 )
thefe ideas; they painted him as a Modéré, as a
luke-warm patriot; lifts were circulated, on
which his name appeared loaded with calumny.
Thefe efforts were impotent: his private life
was known; he had been obſerved on the great
theatre of action; the hearts of men were not
yet perverted; his moral character prevailed.
His fellow-citizens placed him in the Conven-
tion, and the Convention, by a decree, reinstated
him in the direction of the labours of the camp.
But his renewed efforts, his indefatigable activity,
had not, always, the fame fuccefs. Revolt had
acquired new protectors; the Commune, the
club of the Cordeliers, and that of the Jacobins,
feconded it with an audacity perpetually in-
creafing; the affemblage of workmen became
every inſtant more tumultuous; it was thought
prudent to diſband them. This meaſure, fo
dangerous at that juncture, was executed with-
out tumult, without diſturbance, without com-
motion. Few of the fervices which have been
rendered to France, in her agitated ftate, de-
ferve to be ranked above this; and of this, the
whole glory remains with Letourneur. That
glory, however, was to him a dangerous acqui-
fition. Marat attempted to procure his affaffi-
nation, by means of a foldier who is ftill alive,
and who rejected his offers with horror.
He was fent on a miflion to infpect the coafts
E 2
of
1
( 36 )
of the Mediterranean. He paffed through thofe
departments divided by ſuch a variety of opi-
nions, of intereſts, of enmities; where the hearts
of men reſemble furnaces of fire, and their heads
volcanoes. Toulon became the centre of his
civil and military operations. Nevertheleſs not
a reproach, not a complaint was uttered againſt
him. The factious learnt to fear him, the
Royalists to reſpect him, the patriots to love him,
Happy had thofe countries been, if the Revolu-
tion had fubjected them only to the authority
of fuch repreſentatives.
As foon as France had declared against Spain,
he repaired to the Eaſtern Pyrenees. There he
found our army in the moſt deplorable fituation.
They were in need of every thing; men, cloth-
ing, tents, muſkets, ammunition, provifions, and
artillery. The attitude of the enemy was ag-
greffive, their preparations immenſe, their pro-
grefs alarming. Nothing prefented itſelf to
ftop them. He oppofed to them the camp of
L'Union, which, for three months, covered the
departments of the South, and, by giving time
to our defenders to collect together on that fron-
tier, ferved, in fome fort, to cultivate thoſe
laurels which they, afterwards, reaped in fuch
abundance.
{
Here the courfe of his public actions is, as it
were, fufpended. The revolt of the 31st of May
came
( 37 )
}
came to bend France under a bloody yoke;
he rejoined the Convention, and was no more
ſpoken of. If he was not hurried into a dun-
geon, accuſed by the triumvirs, dragged before
their judicial affaffins, it was becauſe their ge-
nius, fo prolific in ftratagems, could find no ftra-
tagem to involve him. But they forgot what
he had done; they gave him credit for nothing.
The offices, the committees, the tribunes, were
equally interdicted to him. He lived in obſcu-
rity for fifteen months. "Why did he not meet
a noble death?" perhaps fome of our modern
Decii may cry. And you, ye intrepid declai-
mers, why did you not ruſh upon the guards
that kept your friends in chains; upon the rob
bers, who divided amongst them your property;
upon the executioners, who bathed themſelves in
the blood of your parents? Could a few indi-
viduals do more than a whole nation? Had that
nation tranſmitted to them its force, together
with its rights? No, that deadly terror is not
inexplicable, which, during the courſe of the
profcriptions, feized on the moſt generous minds.
It had its foundation in the entire fubverfion of
morality, and in the brutal errors of the multi-
tude. We brave death in the fields of Mars:
the emotion of the ſenſes, rage, the love of duty,
the pride of glory, multiply heroes, and hurry
them into the midft of flames, or againſt the
point
}
(
38 )
21
}
point of the fword.
We facrifice our days to
the certainty of doing honour to our family, to
the ennobling hope of living eternally in the
memory of our fellow-men. But coolly to de-
vote ourſelves to death, to undergo the fate of
villains, to hear, in our laft moments, the exe-
crations of a blind multitude which we have
not ceaſed to love, and for which we have not
ceaſed to combat to draw down the fame
opprobium, the fame misfortunes on our pa-
rents and our children, to plunge them volun-
tarily into the tomb !-If this facrifice be heroic,
fuch heroiſm is above the reach of humanity.
However this be, the parricidal knife was bro-
ken in the hands of the tyrants; vice was over-
thrown; liberty re-appeared, and with her Le-
tourneur. The enslaved Convention had dif
dained him; the liberated Convention laviſhed
on him the teftimonies of its efteem; it placed
him in the Military Committee, elected him,
fucceffively, its fecretary and its prefident; fent
him to inſpect the naval force of the Mediter-
ranean; charged him with the important and
delicate miffion to India *; fubjected to his fu-
* This miffion was prevented from taking place by cir
cumſtances of greater moment.
For an account of the motives of this importaut miffion,
the reader may confult the Proceedings of the Convention on
the 4th, 13th, and 14th of February, 1795, as detailed in
the Ninth Volume of the PoLITICAL STATE OF EUROPE.
perintendance
( 39 )
perintendance the army of the Interior; named
him as a member of the Committee of Public
Safety, a committee, by whom he was entruſted
with the direction of the armed force of Paris.
He filled thefe different functions with no lefs
capacity than zeal, no leſs energy than prudence.
All the factions found in him an unfhaken ad-
verfary: he did not ferve one at the expence of
the others. His hatred of the fatellites of kings
has never been diminiſhed; he has purſued them
without relaxation and without pity: but the
horde of revolutionary cannibals has not found
him lefs rigorous. He has proved by his dif-
courfes, by his writings, and by his actions, that
anarchy is in his eyes the worst of ftates. In a
word, he is one of thoſe few Frenchmen to whom
the title of Republicans can be juſtly applied. A
happy fimplicity characterizes his manners and
his difpofition: he divides his time between his
friends, his family, and his country. Society
is not difagreeable to him; on the contrary, he
cultivates it, and derives pleaſure from it; efpe-
cially from the fociety of men who thinks as he
does, and whofe defires are directed to the eſtab-
liſhment of morality and the laws. A malcontent,
attached to monarchical fyftems, is no lefs dif-
pleaſing to him than a demagogue immerſed in
confpiracies. His ſtrongeſt hatred is directed
againſt the movers of intrigue and ambition.
At
»
I
( 40 )
At the fight of them, his brow contracts itſelf,
his urbanity diſappears, and gloominefs feems in-
tirely to overfpread him. It may even be faid that
he carries his diſtruſt too far, he eafily believes
that men attempt to deceive him, and oftentimes
fuffers himſelf to be prejudiced againſt thoſe who
endeavour to obtain his favour.
He is not always free from a kind of impa-
tience, which has even the appearance of paffion.
But his only ambition is to ſerve his country; his
chief happineſs to render himſelf dear to thofe
who habitually affociate with him. You need
not fear, in his prefence, to cenfure this or that
act of the Directory: he will not be offended. If
you condemn his motives, he will preſent you
with their apology, will convince you of their
folidity, or will ultimately accede to your argu-
ments. Although he is firmly attached to his
opinions, he readily prefers thofe which appear
more uſeful. Hence it happens that no one has
fewer detractors; not a libel, not a newſpaper
attempts to calumniate him. He has always dif-
tinguiſhed himſelf on the great fcene of action;
twice has he vifited thofe countries which have
been the grave of fo many other reputations;
calumny knows it and is filent. Happy thoſe,
who like him can fay to themſelves:-" Often
have I acted well, never ill: if my judgment has
fometimes mifled me, my heart has always con-
ducted
-
1
( 41 )
ducted me aright. Faithful to the cauſe which
alone appeared to me juft, I have yet believed
that others might, without criminality, think dif-
ferently from me. Inveſted with an unlimited
authority, I did not make it fubfervient either to
my reſentment or my fortune. The orphan de-
mands not of me his father; my name refounds
not from the tongue of the oppreffed; my orders
have not cauſed a drop of blood, nor even a tear
to flow. No informer rifes up againſt me: my
confcience troubles not my repoſe; I fear neither
its tribunal nor that of mankind."
REWBELL.
ORN at Colmar in 1746, John Rewbell paf-
BORN
fed at that place the early part of his life.
The education which he there received, develo-
ped his natural faculties, found judgment, juſt
fenfe, calm and folid reafon : but it poliſhed,
only in part, an almoft German roughneſs, which,
to the generality of Frenchmen, is far from
pleaſing; which gives to advice the air of re-
proach to remark, that of refuſal; which fits
but ill on the individual without power, and
which men in authority ought to be particularly
fearful of indulging; becauſe it affrights the
petitioner,
F
( 42 )
petitioner, difcourages the unfortunate, keeps
at a diſtance valuable friends; becauſe it hides
the moſt eſtimable affections under a difgufting
exterior, and even conceals them from the moſt
penetrating eye. He, whofe portrait I am now
ſketching, reſembles, in certain points, that
dramatic character called The Morofe Benefactor.
Like him, fufpicious in his thoughts, laconic in
diſcourſe, reſerved in addreſs, even rough and
haſty in his manners; like him alfo, he has a
frank and upright difpofition, a generous and
feeling heart. I paſs to his public actions.
His love for independence, fhewed itſelf long
before the Revolution. A diftinguiſhed advo-
cate at the fovereign Council of Alface, he often
defended individuals and diftricts against the
defpotiſm of the feudal lords; he feared not to
appeal, in more than one inftance, to the primi-
tive rights of citizens; he combated, with cou-
rage, odious privileges; and merited, at once,
the hatred and the eſteem of the powerful nobi-
lity. In 1774, he was led to Paris by the mere
defire of pleading againſt the
berg, who, by favour of a certain edict, had
augmented the cruel burthen of the Corvées
upon his eſtates. He confidered this great cauſe
in its various relations to the civil laws, and po-
litical inſtitutions; he ftrengthened his defence
with thofe enlightened axioms to which the Re-
volution
Duke of Wirtem-
1
( 43 )
43)
volution owes its origin. His bold pencil pour-
trayed the inhabitants of the country, the ufur-
pations of petty tyrants, the opprobrium caſt
upon the huſbandman, who was metamorphofed
by them into an obedient flave—a beaſt of bur-
then. His philofophy prevailed. The Duke
was condemned in ſpite of the claims which he
adduced, and the authorities on which he reſted.
The abuſes, whofe overflowing tide he wished
to have increaſed, were arreſted in their courſe,
and confined within due limits.
Rewbell, from his youth, ſeemed to have taken
as his motto: debellare fuperbos. In fact, the ec-
clefiaftical corporations, the territorial princes,
the fovereign council, who defired the affiſtance of
his
pen, and from whom he might have expected
penfions, places, and honours, had him, con-
ſtantly, as their opponent. He never ceaſed to
oppoſe a generous reſiſtance againſt their haugh-
ty pretenfions, and to echo in their ears, the
complaints of mifery-the voice of juſtice—the
cry of duty.
Elected a deputy of Alface, he diſtinguiſhed
himſelf in the Conftituent Affembly, in that
affembly for ever famous; in which knowledge,
eloquence, genius, fhone with fo much bril-
liancy; in which fuccefs was fo difficult, and,
conſequently, ſo glorious; in which the people
F 2
had
*
(44)
had, as their advocates, a Thouret, a Bailli, a
Chapelier, a Mirabeau; in which the throne
was fupported by a Malouet, a Mounier, a Ca-
zalès, a Maury. He diftinguiſhed himſelf there,
by an inviolable attachment to the good caufe;
by a well-modelled eloquence; by an impreffive
logic, and by an uncommon degree of informa-
tion. He occupied the prefident's chair.
Scarcely had he laid down the title of Conftituent
Legiſlator, when he was named Procuror-general
Syndic, by the department of the Upper Rhine.
This office was important, and even difficult to
fill. It was neceffary to make the new princi-
ples triumph in thofe countries which were ftill
in fubjection to the old prejudices; to fnatch the
torches of fanaticiſm from the hands of its moſt
zealous partizans; to repreſs pride and revolt,
where the difgraced cafes preferved a formidable
influence. Agitated, over the whole furface of
its territory, by its internal enemies, the depart-
ment of the Upper Rhine found itſelf, alfo, mer
naced by thoſe who were without, and to whom
it feemed, at every moment, ready to fall a prey.
Rewbell neglected nothing to prevent this evil:
through his patriotic care the moſt vigorous
meaſures were employed; the police kept an eye
upon every ſuſpicious character; the magistrates
redoubled their energy-the fervice of the Na-
tional
( 45 )
}
;
tional Guard became permanent; it was impof-
fible for the traitors to confpire-to correfpond;
and the good citizens preferved, uninterrupted,
that fecurity which is the moft precious of the
focial bleffings. Nevertheless, apprehenfions
were manifefted there, at the epoch of the
10th of Auguft. Important intelligence ar-
rived; it was received without any preparatory
information, without any fubfequent details.
The fentiments and ideas of the generality
were, at that time, but half regenerated. The
Monarchy retained rights, whofe abfurdity did
not prevent them from being eſteemed facred
by the effect of an habit, which was called
duty, a remainder of veneration was felt for the
thing, and of refpect for the perfon. It was not
imagined that the words King and Mifery could
be coupled together. Some minds, prematurely
enlightened in their conceptions, from that mo-
ment, began to organize a Republican ſyſtem.
They dared to predict every thing to defire
every thing. The people, on the contrary, ap-
peared content with their deftiny, and thought
that they had freed themſelves from their chains,
becauſe they had broken its firſt links. The
inviolability of the monarch, the conftitution,
their oaths, appeared to them infurmountable
barriers. Many perfons have contended, that
theſe opinions were right in point of morality;
they
( 46 )
they have, at leaſt, been obliged to own them
politically wrong. However that be, the ma-
jority of the French remained, for a moment, fuf-
pended between approbation and cenfure, for-
row and joy. In the neighbourhood of Rew-
bell, the alarm was general. The citizens, mif-
led by prejudice, pride, or ignorance, thought
themſelves univerfally wounded in the perſon of
their ancient chief.
The army itſelf wavered, and broke out
into murmurs. It was in preſence of the ene-
my, it had our territory to defend; and its dif-
folution was apprehended. Perhaps that diffo-
lution would have taken place, but for the ef-
forts of fome adminiſtrators, and particularly of
the Procuror-Syndic. He made himſelf ac-
quainted with the fentiments of the officers;
he conjured them, in the name of their country,
to keep their pofts, to drive far from our fron-
tiers the foreign fatellites; to await, in the field
of honour, the refult of the inteftine conten-
tions. They reliſhed his counfels-fo moving,
fo perfuafive; and the waves of fedition, which
roared aloud, and feemed to threaten devaſta-
tion, were chained within their bed.
His conduct as a member of the Convention,
contributed not lefs to conciliate the public ef
teem. A ftriking mark of the homage paid to
his prudence and talents, was his appointment
to
( 47 )
to the Committee of Diplomacy.
Few men
poffefs more perfectly, than him, the difficult art
of difcuffing the grand interefts, and maintain-
ing the relations and connections of nations.
It is not forgotten that, for feven months, he
expofed himſelf in Mentz to an increafing fuc-
ceffion of fatigues and dangers. But it is not
generally known how painful the taſk which he
there performed, really was. The intrepid Mer-
lin (of Thionville) could not, alone, repel the
affaults and prepare the attacks, propoſe the
plans, and decree, and execute them at the fame
time. Whilft he triumphed on the northern
-fide, it was neceſſary that his colleague, on the
fouthern, fhould animate the defponding ſpirits;
fhould caſhier an ignorant or faithlefs officer;
ſhould bend a mutinous foldier under the yoke of
diſcipline; that he ſhould unite military cares to
civil precautions; fhould pafs from the council
to the field of battle, from the field of battle to
the hoſpitals, from the hofpitals to the adminif
trations; ſhould alternately affift the general and
the magiſtrates; procure for the troops ammu-
nition and provifions; for the inhabitants the
protection of the laws; fhould appeafe, or pre-
vent, thoſe bloody quarrels, which were ſo often
on the point of deſtroying the befieged by the
hands of the befieged themſelves. The indefa-
tigable
( 48 )
tigable wiſdom of Rewbell fuftained the glory
of the French name, as worthily as the impe-
tuous valour of Merlin. If our defenders-faw
in the latter their Achilles, they beheld in the
former their Neftor. Numbers, difcipline, per-
fevering eagerneſs, nevertheleſs, obtained that
fuccefs to which they were directed. Our forces
were weakened; the cannon made daily breaches
in the ramparts; the torrents of fire feemed to
inundate the city; our magazines were emptied;
famine was on the point of ſweeping away
thou-
fands of men; the garriſon was reduced to the
laft extremity; they were obliged to capitulate;
the gates were opened, and Rewbell returned
to the National Convention.
He found there all the paffions leagued to-
gether, all the parties in a ſtate of furious con-
tention. To lament the fcene, and to retire
from it, were, happily for him, the fame thing.
The infurgents of La Loire, at that time,
reckoned the number of their triumphs by that
of their combats. They ſpread far from their
homes, as a torrent which nothing can ftop;
they did not merely contend with our armies,
they deftroyed them. That of Mentz was op-
pofed to them, Rewbell was re-elected commif
fioner of it; he continued to fhare its rigorous
deſtiny. It had obftacles of various kinds to
overcome;
( 49 )
1
overcome; it was fupported by his advice and en-
couraged by his example. He lived like the army,
expofed to the attacks of treachery, to the incle-
mency of the air; he often paffed the day in the
midſt of flames, and the night on the ground yet
moiſt with blood. To him are due part of the
laurels which they reaped; envy itſelf could
not refuſe them to him; fince he gave the im-
pulfe to that column of heroes, whom eighty
thouſand befiegers, and two hundred pieces of
cannon, could not overwhelm; who, lefs fortu-
nate in the interior, fometimes furpriſed in de-
tail, fometimes furrounded in the mafs, revenged
the cauſe of the people only by multiplying their
own misfortunes ; who covered the country,
which they liberated, with their dead bodies,
as well as with their trophies; who melted in-
fenfibly away like a refreſhing cloud, and fell, in
the moment of victory, under the blows of an
implacable enemy, whom they had mortally
wounded.
His return to the Convention lightened the
weight of his labours, but not of his cares. On
the banks of the Loire, he deplored the lot of a
few legions; on thofe of the Seine, he had to la-
ment the ſufferings of a whole nation; here, the
deluded Frenchmen directed the fword againſt
the bofom of their country; there, the ufurpers,
G
his
( 50 )
५
his late colleagues, ſuſpended the axe of their ex-
ecutioners over every head. Ignorance and
fury univerfally reigned: he was marked out as
a mal-content, as a rebel. The agents of the
police had orders to watch his conduct; more
than once it was propofed to decree a mandate
of arreſt againſt him. His friends a long while
feared for his life. He himſelf, meanwhile,
amidſt the moſt horrible anxieties, in concert
with the deputation of the Upper Rhine, pre-
ferved his department from the revolutionary
rigours, and found the fecret of being ſtill uſeful.
On his report, the tyrants were perfuaded that
they had there no formidable enemy, that their
moſt trifling decrees were there reſpected; that
a thorough confidence was placed in them.
"What villainy!" a moral cenfor may, perhaps,
exclaim. What an honourable expedient!
I will anfwer him. When is impoffible
i
to vanquish the tyrants, we mu deceive, we
muſt ſoften them: prayer is no leſs a virtue than
courage, when it delivers an innocent victim
from the ſcaffold. Befides, it is by the effect
that we ought, in this caſe, to judge of the
caufe. Nor is it yet forgotten that, at this wretch-
ed period, the whole empire was cruſhed be-
neath the weight of oppreffion. Thouſands of
men, lately proclaimed free, were confined in
dungeons,
*
( 51 )
dungeons, or precipitated into the abyfs of an-
nihilation. Sufpicion, menace, death, hovered
over every point of our vaft territory; whilſt Col-
mar, and the cities around it, preferved a kind
of fecurity. If fome tears flowed from the eyes
of their inhabitants; if fome arbitrary proceed-
ings excited their forrow, at leaſt profcription
was unknown to them; at leaſt they were not
piled in heaps upon the fatal carriages. Their
public fquares were not ftained with a fingle
drop of blood.
After the fall of the Triumvirs, being named
a member of the Committee of Public Safety, he
levelled the fevereſt blows againſt the ſect at that
time caft down, but appearing ready to riſe
again more furious, more terrible than before.
Every thing announced that the days of our
mourning were about to recommence; a remain-
ing horror froze up the fouls of virtuous men.
They regarded their victories as the works of
chance; they doubted of their own union, energy,
and number; they faw in themſelves only a weak
majority, the neceffary ſport of events, and which
might probably be again enſlaved, as it had been
already mutilated. The plunderers, on the con-
trary, hardened themſelves againſt a reverſe of
fortune; their ferocity was converted into rage,
heir ambition into madneſs; they were deter-
mined to reign or to perish; this was the oath
which
G 2
(
52 )
which they took over the grave of Robespierre.
In the midst of them ftill roared Billaud, Collot,
Lejeune, Duhem, and that group of obfcure vil-
lains furnamed The Creft. To whatever place
they were purſued, they appeared equally formi-
dable. Their execrations affrighted the Con-
vention, they ſtopped its progrefs at every ſtep of
its new career. Thefe fectaries applauded only
the accents of revolt, the vociferations of crime;
they only welcomed fuch propofitions; they only
aſſembled together under the protection of daggers,
One of them, pointing to his accomplices and to
the virtuous legiflators, cried out audaciouſly,
"behold the two parties face to face!" Another
announced plainly, that "the lion was on the
point of awaking;" that is to fay, that new fuc-
ceſſes awaited the devouring fyftem of anarchy,
The political horizon was overſpread with gloomy
clouds; our fate was almoſt decided, the priſons,
the graves, were about to be re-opened, when the
committees of government determined to unite
their powers, to combine their talents.
wounds of the ſtate were probed to the bottom;
their depth was terrible, but the application of
the remedy ſeemed no lefs hazardous. To ſhut
up the place of meeting of the Jacobins, feemed,
to moſt of thoſe who deliberated on it, too daring
a meafure. When the decree which was to
authorize
The
J
( 53 )
authorize it, was fubmitted to their examination,
the doubts, the objections, were multiplied.
Every one ſeemed to think that in adopting it he
was about to decree his own condemnation; un-
certainty was in every heart; Rewbell perceived
it; he was indignant at it. He enumerated the
horrible evils which would be the confequence
of ſo diſgraceful a timidity: he painted the future
in the colours of the paſt; he repeated before-
hand the cries of the wretched country. At laſt,
joining the energy of action to that of words, he
read over the propoſition, and figned it firſt him-
felf. The anarchifts remember this; and never
will they pardon him for it. It is not with men
of his character that they can hope to capitulate.
Their hatred for him, as well as his for them, are
infurmountable barriers. Let no one, in perufing
this work, be aſtoniſhed to find me repeating fo
often affertions of this nature; it is only to the
fuperficial reader that they can appear uſeleſs.
It is not with the agitating Demagogues as it is
with the Royalift Confpirators. One would not
be extremely ſurpriſed that a Member of the
Directory ſhould, upon principle, make common
cauſe with the former; for theſe agitators have
no theory of their own; every kind of poli-
tical machine fuits their purpoſe, provided that
the ſprings are moved according to their wishes;
they would even blefs the prefent government, if
it
( 54 )
it reſtored to them the double privilege of plun-
der and affaffination. But it is impoffible to
fuppofe one of our fupreme magiftrates, a chief
of the Republic, fo difintereſted, fo generous, or
rather fo ftupid, as to hold out his hand to the
fugitive Pretenders *, to diveft himſelf voluntarily
of his credit, his prerogatives, his honours, in
order to elevate on their ruins a haughty ſcion
of this or that dynafty. I fhall not therefore fay
in future-this Member of the Directory is hoftile
to the partifans of Royalty; every one knows,
fuppofes, or imagines that it must be fo; but I
fhall confider all of them in the relation which
they bear to the Jacobins. Rewbell had not to
fear this kind of comparison. France owes to
him the ſecond defeat of thofe perverfe wretches:
fhe owes alfo to him the famous treaty of the
Hague. We had fubjected Holland by a kind
of enchantment. The rigours of an extraordi-
nary and propitious winter had hardened under
the feet of our foldiers thofe waves which had
been oppoſed, as abyffes, againſt them; our in-
fantry had conquered marine forces, failors,
pilots; a whole fleet beheld. itfelf encircled by
our cavalry; a vanquished people had opened
their arms to us as friends; they implored our
fuccour, and burnt with defire to range them-
* The appellation commonly given in France to the ſoi-diſant
Louis XVIII. the Comte d'Artois, &c
felves
( 55 )
felves by our fide under the banners of indepen-
dence. It was neceffary to ferve their intereſts
without injuring our own, to unite them to us by
the double ties of policy and gratitude. The
refult of the negociations furpaffed our hopes.
The treaty concluded a fhort time after with
Pruſſia, a treaty lefs advantageous than, perhaps,
it ought to have been, but yet a neceffary one,
and which we received as a benefit, was alfo the
work of Rewbell.
I have confidered him as a legiſlator, a com-
miſſioner, a negociator; in the character of gover-
nor he is not lefs admirable. To the purity of
his intentions, and the firmness of his principles,
he unites that love of labour, that accuracy of
judgment, that vigour of mind, that depth of
penetration, which characterize the real ftatef
man.
REVELLIERE LEPAUX.
SHOULD you wiſh to ſtop the mouth of thoſe
irafcible declaimers, who, always actuated
by the defire of blaming and of hating, undertake
to confound every thing by their culpable preju-
dices; who more enraged at their own difgrace
than feeling for the public evils, compare, without
fhame, the 14th of July to the 31ft of May, and
the
#
*
(
56 )
the 10th of Auguft to the 2d of September;
who no lefs unjuſt with regard to men than with
regard to things, impudently rank in the fame.
claſs Buonaparte and Roffignol, Taleyran and the
Abbé Châles, Carnot and Vadier; who acknow→
ledge none as honeft men but themfeves and
their friends; none as true heroes but the Cheva-
liers of Verona; who fee in the authors of the
Revolution only an impure mafs of rebels, anar-
chiſts, and malefactors? Should you wish, I fay,
to make them bluſh for their ridiculous exaggera-
tions, and, to oblige them to recur to the old
adage: There is no rule without an exception? Afk
them what they think of Louis-Marie Revellière
Lepaux, born at Montaigne, in the department of
La Vendée, the 25th of Auguft, 1753.
His conduct is a tiffue of laudable actions,
which envy herſelf cannot pierce with her darts.
Perhaps we ſhall not find in it that which feizes
the admiration of the multitude, and forms, in a
fhort time, a glittering reputation. But in its
minuteſt details, it commands the eſteem, charms
the reaſon, and ſubjugates the heart.
I will not dwell upon the hiſtory of his youth.
It will fuffice to inform the reader that he paffed
it within the walls of Angers, where he received
an excellent education, compleated his courfe
of ftudies, acquired the title of advocate, and
went from thence to Paris to attend the Par-
liament.
( 57 )
R
!
liament.
accounts.
This fituation fuited him on many
It afforded a virtuous man the oppor-
tunity of protecting the weak, unmaſking the op-
preffor, and caufing the balance of juftice to in-
cline to that fide which the laws directed. What
taſk could be more worthy of him! Revellière
was, moreover, entitled to expect no ſmall fuc-
cefs in it. Without poffeffing fo fertile an ima-
gination, fo pure a ftyle as the literati of the firft
clafs, he can exprefs his ideas with method and
clearneſs; his writings always fhow a folidity of
principle, and often poffefs the charm of deco-
ration. The art of haranguing, without previous
examination and preparatory labour, of analyſing
the ſubject of a difcuflion, extempore, an art
which depends on feveral phyfical qualifications,
on a great facility of organs, and, above all, on
an exceffive confidence, cannot, fairly, be ranked
among the advantages with which nature has en-
dowed him. Neverthelefs, within the laſt five
years, he has gained fome triumphs of this kind ;
triumphs fo much the more honourable, as he is
too judicious to fupply the place of ideas by
words, that of reafoning by clamour; and as he
owed them only to the accuracy of his genius
and the vigour of his logic. Since it is true that
the conſciouſneſs of our powers precedes in us
their diſplay, he might have hoped to purſue
H
with
( 58 )
1
with diftinction the career of the bar. But chi-
canery had befet it with fo many obftacles, which
it was fo difficult to furmount, without hereditary
titles or powerful patrons, without any other eu-
logiſts than virtue and talents; the pride of the
celebrated folicitors was fo high, the young coun-
fellor was neceffitated to court their favour by
fo abject a fervility, by fo mean a conduct, that
Revellière foon changed his refolution and en-
gaged in another line. The ftudy of the human
mind, and philofophy, became his principal oc-
cupation. Returning to the department of
Maine and Loire, he there attached himſelf
chiefly to that fcience, fo noble, yet fo fimple;
fo engaging, yet fo laborious, which ferves as a
bafis to medicine; which alleviates our fuffer-
ings, prolongs our days, brings man nearer to na-
ture, makes him mafter of her fecrets, fills him
with admiration for the leaft works of the Crea-
tor, to whom it attaches him by the ties of a
pious gratitude. Angers owes to his taſte, for
the moſt uſeful of arts, a botanical garden, of
which he was, fucceffively, the founder and the
profeffor nor is this city backward to acknow-
ledge in him a benefactor of mankind.
:
Not that he took any care to multiply there
the number of his adminiſtrators. He lived
there only a third part of the year, paffing eight
months
( 59 )
months out of the twelve, in a little commune,
called Faye, fituated on the Layon. He there
confecrated his peaceful days to his wife, his
children, and a few neighbouring friends. A
reafoner, a philanthropist, an author; he there
revolved the hiftory of mankind; there caleu-
lated with a figh, the fufferings of enflaved na-
tions, and the crimes of defpotifm; he formed
to himſelf, theories of regeneration; meditated,
in fome fort, on our enfranchiſement, and, in
fancy, beheld the Revolution. It began. His
difcourfes, his writings, favoured its progrefs.
I know that many perfons will allow little merit
to fuch a ſervice, and, perhaps, will efteem him
the lefs for it. But it is not from the tribunal of
the paffions that I mean to chooſe his judges.
I fubmit his conduct only to the impartial ob-
ferver, to the man who refers all the opinions
of the moment to the eternal laws of morality;
who makes it a point of duty to praiſe virtue
and to condemn vice, on whatever fide the glory
or the fhame may be reflected. Such a man,
does not confound the Revolution with its difaf-
trous confequences: he reflects that the com-
mon deliverance, the common felicity, feemed
ready to crown the efforts of the innovators;
that their cauſe was truly juft, fince their number
included almoft the whole of the French nation.
If unworthy rivals have feized upon their work,
if
H 2
( 62 )
if they have, for a moment, degraded it, we muſt
not, on this account, condemn its firft authors.
A picture will render this truth more ftriking.
I meet in a deſert a miferable family, they
breathe there an unwholefome air; they groan
in pain, in debafement; they complain of injuf
tice, of oppreffion, of wants; their lot affects
me; I form the defire, I conceive the hope of
moderating its rigour, and I propofe to them to
feek a new afylum, They follow me, we direct
our ſteps to climates where our fpecies is hon-
oured, where independence awaits us. Already
the diſtance diminiſhes, we have advanced above
half of our way. On a fudden, horrid cries iffue
from the woods which furround us; a band of
robbers fall upon us, fword in hand, difperfe,
put to flight, or facrifice us. Thoſe of us that
eſcape from them reach home, affrighted, mang-
led, covered with duft, with fweat and blood,
By a deplorable fatality, the travellers whom I
guided were the victims of my care. Is it the
lefs true, that my only crime was that of feeling
for their fituation, liftening to their complaints,
exerting myſelf to the utmoſt in the fweet and
laudable hope of leading them to happineſs?
Honoured with the fuffrages of a department
where all parties rendered juſtice to his morality,
elected to the States General, Revellière carried
thither that integrity of principles, and that
energy
( 61 )
}
energy of character, which he has fince fo often,
and fo gloriouſly diſplayed. The tiers etat, the
clergy, and the nobleffe, ftill deliberated fepa-
rately he was one of thoſe who loudly folicited
their union and their formation into a conftiuent
affembly. Between the avengers of the people,
and the partiſans of the prince, the flock was
at that time terrible. He fought in the firſt rank.
He demanded with no lefs obftinacy, the fup-
preffion of the orders. He regarded it as ac-
quired, in point of right, even before the quef-
tion was difcuffed: and his conviction was fo
ſtrong, that he always refufed to adopt the dif
tinctive habit, the drefs of etiquette.
His public conduct, ſubſequent to that period,
offers few remarkable circumſtances. He fol-
lowed, without deviation, but without cele-
brity, the ſtraight path of civiſm and honour. Too
philofophical to run after that phantom which
is called reputation; too modeft to draw upon
himſelf, voluntarily, the fcrutinizing eye of the
public, and too wife to attempt the hopeleſs
taſk of converting the wicked, he feldom ap-
peared in the tribune; yet none of his days,
none of his moments, were loft to the ſtate.
His knowledge, without dazzling, ceafed not to
diffufe its beams, and ferved to enlighten the
moft judicious of his colleagues. In delibera-
tive affemblies, the reputation of a man does not
always
>
( 62 )
}
always depend upon the number of his ha
rangues. One who ſpeaks on all fubjects, and
on every occafion, may never be able to obtain
a majority in favour of his fentiments, whilſt an-
other, who ſeems to be afraid of ſhowing himſelf,
and ſpeaks but in a low voice, makes perfuafion,
as it were, penetrate through the veil in which
he is enveloped, influences the minds of men
according to his defires, and produces, without
effort, rapid movements, and fpontaneous deci-
fions. Revellière did not obtain exactly that
kind of fuccefs; but in all the fucceffes which
were gained, he participated. Not a privilege,
not an abuſe was deſtroyed, whofe extirpation
he had not previouſly adviſed or demanded.
United in heart and in deed with the majority
of the legiſlators, that is to fay, with the authors
of the focial regeneration; he renounced no one
of them, he ceafed not to emulate their conduct,
until he faw them indirectly approve of the
arbitrary executions, look with a complacent
ſmile on the burning of caftles, and palliate the
horror of theſe outrages, by exclaiming with a
cruel voice: "Is the blood which is fhed, then,
fo pure?" Senfelefs men! who thought not
on the confequences of fuch a ſyſtem; who let
looſe the monſter anarchy, without forefeeing
that he would heap around him a pile of ruins
and of carcaffes; that, having firſt flaughtered
their
( 63 )
their adverfaries, he would next rush upon
themſelves, and devour them by piecemeal.
When the affembly, of which he was a member,
had fulfilled its taſk, or rather, to ſpeak more
accurately, had completed its feffion, being ren-
dered incapable of re-election, by the proviſions
of an ill-judged law, he became an adminiſtrator
of the department of the Maine and Loire, the
functions of which office he exercifed with an
unabated zeal. His fellow-citizens found him
ftill the fame; by adding to his reputation, he
had not diminiſhed his modefty; by having fat
on the fummit of power, he had not, in his own
opinion, become too great for his new employ-
ment. His moral faculties had developed them-
felves on a grand theatre: his merits had been
augmented, but not his vanity. Far different
from thoſe reformers, whofe chief ſpring of ac-
tion was pride; who, fpeaking inceffantly of
their country, were thinking inceffantly of them-
felves; who only trampled on the gewgaws of
their rivals, in order to add to their own ſta-
ture; who, proud of having vanquiſhed their
mafters, wiſhed, in their turn, to be ferved;
who difdained the man of ſmall fortune, humi-
liated the indigent, and ſported with the feelings
of the people; who, bending every neck under
the yoke of equality, converted their celebrated
levelling ſtandard into a fceptre of defpotifm.
His
( 64 )
His zeal found other opportunities of difplay-
ing itſelf. The inhabitants of La Vendée began
to elevate their voices in complaint; they op-
pofed an alarming refiftance to the execution of
certain laws. Already the flames of difcord
burnt in thoſe bofoms where they were ſtirred
up by fanaticiſm. Revellière not only forefaw,
but endeavoured to prevent the exploſion which
menaced thoſe countries. Like the benevolent
Jefus, he organized a company of apoſtles, who,
fpreading themſelves through the country places,
on market and fair days, proclaimed the princi-
ples of liberty, recommended a love of order, and
a refpect for property and the legal authorities;
and preached moderation and the fweets of fra-
ternity. Unhappily, the beſt advice is almoſt
always the leaſt followed. Error, ambition, re-
volt, had alſo their miffionaries; and theſe found
the greateſt number of partizans. At their voice,
the minds of men were irritated, they arofe in
rebellion; on all fides crowds collected together,
arms were taken up, execrations were poured
forth, the cries of death were uttered. Revel-
lière, and his fellow-labourers, owed their ſafety
only to the generous zeal of ſome Gendarmes..
Nevertheleſs, commotion fpread itſelf over the
whole furface of the empire. From the north
to the fouth, from the weſt to the eaſt, licen-
tiouſneſs and deſtruction multiplied their ravages.
The
J
( 65 )
しょ
​The revolutionary torrent rolled at a diſtance the
bloody ruins of the throne, and the ſcattered
pages of the new conftitution. Thofe who were
unable to re-afcend its courfe, endeavoured to
ftop it by ſtrong dykes: they called together the
Convention, in whofe labours he took part. His
tongue pronounced the word Republic with fo
much the lefs repugnance, as it had long been
engraved in his head and in his heart. But he
declared himſelf a no lefs irreconcileable enemy
to thoſe ſavage demagogues, whofe audacity
was fo generally feconded, whoſe outrages were
fo liberally rewarded. He faw in them only de-
ſtroyers of the human race-tygers, whom he
was anxious to bind in chains. His reflections
on the projects, the means, and the character of
their chiefs, reflections which he publiſhed, and
to which he affixed his fignature, appeared fo
bold, fo profound, fo formidable, that they an-
fwered them only by denouncing him as a trai-
tor, and by devoting his head to the ſteel of the
affaflin. The piece which contained them is re-
markable in many points of view; it poffeffes fo
much juſtice, ſo much depth of reaſoning, ſo
much forefight; fuch an integrity of principle,
fuch a purity of fentiment, that I think it my
duty to tranſcribe it from beginning to end.
སྙ
I
Extract
( 66 )
66)
Extract from the Chronicle of Paris. No. 42, page 166,
11th February, 1793.
ON CROMWELLISM.
A Stranger to every party, unconnected with the
leader of any fect, whatever may be my eſteem
for fome of thoſe men to whom that character is
attributed; an enemy to all kind of coalition,
becauſe intereſt, ambition, or prejudice, in a fhort
time, make us imagine that our country is con-
fined to the narrow circle of this or that faction ;
but refolved to exert all my powers, feeble as
they are, to fave France from every kind of par-
ticular domination, whether individual, collec-
tive, or local, I have coolly reflected on what has
paffed, and is paffing around us, that I might be
enabled to trace out for myfelf a more certain
line of conduct. The following is the refult of
my obfervations:
If there do not exift a Cromwell in the Re-
public, at leaſt it is certain that there exifts a
degree of Cromwellifm. Some of the moſt ſtrik-
ing traits in the policy of that celebrated popu-
lar hypocrite, will prove this affertion.
He created a fect of levellers, who, indeed,
produced the good effect of degrading royalty;
but whoſe object, on the other hand, was to dif-
credit, in the opinion of the multitude, the true
friends
( 67 )
friends of liberty and equality, who, by their
talents and ſkill in the management of affairs,
might create and ftrengthen the Republican
form of government. The object of this fect
was, befide, to difquiet the citizens with regard
to the fate of their families, of their property, of
the fruits of their induſtry, ſo as to make them
regret their ancient ſtate of flavery, and defire
again the eſtabliſhment of an abfolute power.
Finally, the object of the levellers was alfo to
diſhonour the parliament by violent proceedings,
by cries of fury, by hurried deliberations, by per-
fidious attacks continually directed againſt thoſe
members who could give dignity to the ſenate,
and lay the foundations of a folid government.
Depraved or hired ſpectators, men poſted at the
avenues of the parliament, infulted thofe mem-
bers who were pointed out as villains and ene-
mies of the people, becauſe, after fubverting
royalty, they would not overthrow the ſtate; be-
cauſe they had revolutionary, and not diforga-
nizing and anti-ſocial difpofitions. Theſe ſpec-
tators, theſe men feconded the faction of Crom-
well wonderfully in his views of degrading
the parliament, and bringing it to diffolution
without the fear of refiſtance, either on the part
of the multitude, to whom it had been defcribed
as chiefly compoſed of the enemies of the peo-
ple, or on the part of a more informed clafs, who
I 2
had
*
( 68 )
had been made to dread its intentions of annihi-
lating property and induſtry. In a word, the per-
fidious Cromwell, the foul of that execrable ſyſ-
tem, obliged the parliament to bring to trial the
traitor Charles before the eſtabliſhment of a new
government, an act in itſelf juſt and neceffary,
but which, by being exerciſed before its time,
gave his ambition a greater chance of fuccefs.
It is thus, that after having affrighted all the
good citizens, by this contest between vice and
virtue, ignorance and knowledge, plunder and
property, idlenefs and induftry, licentioufnefs
and liberty; after having, in fhort, degraded the
national repreſentation, he was enabled to dif-
folve it without a ſtruggle, and to eſtabliſh his
individual domination on the ruins of the public
power. It is thus that the English people, in
ſpite of their ardent love of liberty, were muzzled
by him, who conftantly called himſelf their pro-
tector and their friend. It is thus, that by artfully
alarming the citizens with regard to their pro-
perty and the fruits of their induſtry, the govern-
ment has attempted to muzzle them again.
Compare and judge!
Yes, this faction exifts in the Republic, this
faction, weak in numbers, but ſtrong in audacity;
whoſe project is either to diffolve the national
repreſentation, or to govern it by terror, in order
to
( 69 )
to reign by its means; whofe plan is alfo to con-
centrate the fovereignty on a fingle point of the
empire, becauſe it will then be much more eaſy
for the ambitious to feize it, than if the exerciſe
of that fovereignty ſhould remain equally ex-
tended over all the points of the Republic, and
if each diviſion ſhould have an equal influence in
the political balance. This is the explanation of
the enigma! This is what they mean by a Re-
public one and indivifible! This is the reafon of
their continual declamations againſt a kind of
federaliſm whofe exiſtence nobody believes.
But if there are great traits of reſemblance
between the Cromwell of England, and the oli-
garchical crew who wish to govern France;
it muſt be acknowledged there are alſo marked
differences. The men who compoſe it are, in-
deed, his equals in villainy, but they have only
the audaciouſneſs of crime, they poffefs not his
courage. They can only affaffinate, they never
could conquer. They are able to confound and
to diforganize every thing; they are unable to
re-conſtruct and to govern. Cromwell had an
ability and a genius whoſe force created power-
ful fleets and armies. The oligarchical crew of
France, fince it has obtained the adminiſtration
of the war, has poffeffed no other fecret than
that of letting a great part of our armies melt
away in three months, notwithſtanding the mil-
lions
1
( 70 )
70)
lions laviſhed by the Convention for their fup-
port. Finally, Cromwell, underſtanding how to
direct the reins of government, oppreffed, it is
true, the body politic, but he preſerved it from
death; infomuch that it retained all the vigour
neceffary to recover a certain portion of liberty.
The oligarchical crew of France, fhould it ob-
tain the domination, being as fupereminently ig-
norant of political economy and general juſtice,
as it is expert in intrigue and impudent in ca-
lumny, would lead France to fuch a ſtate of dif
folution, that fhe would be unable to re-orga-
nize herſelf on a ſyſtem of freedom, and no other
refource would remain to the members of this
ruined and completely demoliſhed ſtate, but to
give themſelves up for ever to be graſped by the
facrilegious hand of an ambitious defpot.
Is my country then doomed to that exceſs of
flame and of fuffering? No!-It is at leaſt cer-
tain that a very great majority of the National
Convention wiſhes to confirm the Republican
government by a wife and popular conſtitution ;
that Paris, whoſe inhabitants defire the reign of
juſtice and the laws, will not long ſuffer itſelf to
be tyranniſed over by fuch an handful of fcoun-
drels; or, finally, that the energy of our depart-
ments will foon reduce them to their juſt fitua-
tion.
L. M. Revellière Lepaux.
Such
( 71 )
Such a writing has no need to be analyſed;
any kind of commentary would weaken it. Re-
vellière, in publiſhing it, fecured to himſelf an
everlaſting claim to the veneration and gratitude
of the French nation.
The more formidable the anarchiſts became,
the more he oppoſed their execrable deſigns.
And when the evil was at its height, when he
faw the temple of the laws demolished; juftice
fitting in tears, amidſt its ruins; the affaffins of
September placed under the egis of impunity;
Marat borne in triumph; the moſt virtuous fer-
vants of the nation, the orators of the Gironde,
loaded with chains; the plunderers formed at one
time into tyrannical clubs, at another into exter-
minating battalions; the pikes in their poffeffion,
Henriot at their head, and Robeſpierre in the Com-
mittee of Public Safety; fearing to participate in-
directly in the evil which vice was about to perpe-
trate, he abdicated his functions and returned into
the maſs of citizens. This act may perhaps incur
the cenfure of the judicious, if the danger of fuch
an example, and the confequences which it might
produce, be confidered. But how laudable, how
facred, are the motives which occafioned it! how
can we refuſe the title of heroic magiftrate to
the man who, defpairing of being able in future
to ferve his country, voluntarily lays down the
auguft
( 72 )
auguft character with which it had inveſted him,
and tacitly declares to the ufurpers, that he
deſpiſes, that he abhors them, and that he would
think himſelf degraded by fitting near them;
who, being able to live in obfcurity amongſt the
executioners, runs, crowned with cypreſs, to par-
take the deſtiny of the victims? If I poffeffed
authentic details of the ſufferings to which he
was for fifteen months expofed, I fhould impofe
on myſelf the mournful duty of delineating them;
I ſhould enumerate his fears, his wants, his tor-
ments; and identifying myfelf with his fituation,
I ſhould eſteem it gratifying, I fhould eſteem it
noble to participate their weight. But vague
conjecture ought not to be ſubſtituted for accu-
rate details: my taſk is lefs to paint than to
narrate.
His return into the Convention was a ſhort time
fubfequent to that of the 73 arreſted, and of the
22 outlawed deputies. His abdication was con-
fidered to be null, from the fingle circumſtance
that it took place at a critical period, during a
terrible convulfion: and his colleagues received
him with open arms. He haftened to them with
renewed zeal, exempt from every malignant
paffion. He had experienced the horrors of
exile and of want; he had loft his friends, trem-
bled for his life. Had vengeance, that fentiment
no leſs natural than impetuous, for a moment
overpowered
( 73 )
overpowered the mildneſs of his affections; had
he urged the puniſhment of thoſe wretches
againſt whom he had fuch weighty fubjects of
complaint; had he voted like fo many others, for
thofe general meafures which ftrike a whole
party at once; perhaps there would not have
been room for much furpriſe at his conduct.
The hatred which wickedness infpires, does
honour to the juſt man, and conftitutes a part of
his virtuous fentiments. And, indeed, to this
hatred he was not entirely a ftranger. The tri-
bunals were mute; the oppreffors of their coun-
try, the monſters covered with its plunder, and
its blood, remained unpunished: he loudly cen-
fured this barbarous clemency, he regarded it as
the completion of our evils, perhaps of our
crimes. But he no lefs condemned thofe arbi-
trary executions, of which feveral cities became
the horrid theatres; he thought not that murder
could be juſtified by reſentment, however legiti-
mate, and that the dagger of rage ought in no
cafe to be ſubſtituted for the fword of juſtice.
Whilſt there was a general infurrection on all
fides againſt the abhorred fect, whilft their chiefs
were arreſted, were precipitated into the waves,
or beaten to death with clubs; he turned away
his thoughts from mournful recollections, and
fuffered his moſt cruel enemies to breathe in
K
peace:
( 74 )
(
peace: his hatred of them feemed to be abforbed
in contempt.
If the face of affairs is changed; if our political
fituation is ameliorated; if wiſdom has recon-
quered fome portion of her domain; if extrava-
gant doctrines have given way to practicable
theories; if we have a code which protects our
perfons and our property, we owe it in part
to Revellière, who feconding the Commiffion
of Eleven with all his powers, was one of
the moſt laborious, one of the moſt ſkilful ar-
chitects of the conftitutional edifice. The
principles reduced into a code, toward the end
of the third year of the Republic, are thofe
which nature, ftudy, and experience, had long
before engraven on his heart. Thus have I
heard him develope them in the national tribune:
"France," faid he, "France demands of us a
tutelary government, which fhall, to a certain
degree, conciliate different interefts and different
opinions. Let us distrust the declamations and
wild exaggerations of demagogues: let us not
run after a vain phantom. The liberty which
we require ought to be that of all days, of all
times; it ought to be a practical, and, as one may
fay, an habitual liberty; above all, it ought to
be adapted to that portion, to that majority of
the people which is compofed of men of infor-
mation
(75)
?
mation and of property. Men of property have
in all ſtates a great preponderance. They may
be bowed, for a few months, under the yoke of
a revolutionary defpotifm, but they muft, fooner
or later prevail: the laws which confult their
inclinations, are alone fuch as can refift the efforts
of time."
After the combats of Vendemiaire, a faction
wiſhed to make the victory their own, to hinder
the re-elections, and to poftpone the eſtabliſhment
of the new fyftem. It was counteracted in its cri-
minal projects by fome orators who deferved the
benedictions of the Republic, but whofe courage
was furpaffed by Revellière. In a fitting, as
decifive as it was memorable, turning toward
thoſe ambitious men whom fear and rage had
replaced on the fummit of the Mountain, he ap-
palled them by the following apoftrophe:
"You
wiſh to reign, wretches that you are! you menace
the virtuous! how ill do menaces proceed from
your mouths! remorfe ought rather to haunt you
like the furies. Do I not fee in the midſt of you
an individual who, in cool blood, commanded a
woman to be ſhot, after ſhe had been ſtripped,
by his orders, of every article of clothing?"
The public intereft prevailed; the conftitution
was about to be put in activity; the members of
"the government were to be chofen; the national
electors prepared their lifts. Several declared to
K 2
him
}
( 76 )
him that they thought of him, that he would be
the object of their choice. He combated their
refolution; he oppofed to them not a feigned
refuſal, but a ſtubborn refiftance, which could
only be furmounted by a perfeverance ſtill more
ftubborn. So true it is that men of delicacy, men
of real merit always conceal from themſelves the
extent of their faculties, always exaggerate to
themſelves the extent of their duties.
His fentiments and his diſcourſes, his writings
and his actions, were at all times in unifon. This
has not paſſed unnoticed. The manner in which
he was named Director, fufficiently evinces the
eſtimation in which he is held. The Council of
Five Hundred had placed him one of the firſt in
the number of candidates: In the Council of An-
cients, out of two hundred and eighteen fuffrages,
he obtained two hundred and fixteen. When hẹ
had taken his place on the eminence of power,
the moſt flattering hopes were founded on him;
they have not been deceived. He has maintained
his courage no lefs firmly than his principles; he
has not ceaſed to combat the enemies of focial
order. The proclamations adopted by the Di-
rectory in the moſt difficult circumſtances, have
been almoſt all drawn up by him. Of theſe the
generality have produced the moſt falutary effects.
Some have appeaſed, and difarmed the inhabitants
of La Vendée, by addreffing to them theſe con-
foling
{
( 77 )
foling words: "When a commune ſhall have
given proofs of fidelity, the ſtate of fiege fhall be
replaced by a government purely civil, and you
ſhall thenceforward only have to give yourſelves.
up in peace to your labours. The Directory af-
pires only at rendering you happy, and folemnly
engages to execute what it announces to you.
Others have affrighted the confpirators, difperfed
the groups, made all the fectaries of anarchy per-
ceive that the thunder lowered over their heads.
"Faithful to our duty," ſaid they in one,
cr we
will maintain the conſtitution with unſhaken firm-
nefs. We will make public order refpected: we
keep our eyes fixed on thoſe who attempt to
trouble it; and we will reprefs their movements
with all the force given to us by thoſe laws with
whofe execution we are entruſted. Incapable of
being the accomplices or the inftruments of any
faction, we will return with honour into the pri-
vate life which awaits us, or we will periſh with
glory at our poſts." All theſe proclamations have
augmented the fecurity of the good citizens. The
reader who is a friend to truth, may indeed accuſe
them of employing too frequently the denomina-
tion of Royaliſt. It had been laviſhed ſo prodigally
under the reign of the Profcribers, that a legitimate
authority ought to have ſhewn itſelf more ſparing
of it. By employing it unadviſedly there was
danger of running upon a double rock. On the
one
( 78 )
one hand, it gave the plunderers caufe to believe
that it was thought dangerous to mark them out
by their true characters; on the other, it irritated
a party which, at that time, it would have been
better to have treated as auxiliary forces. Placed
between two hoftile factions, the patriots fhould
not attack them both at once. Their efforts when
united are formidable; they become an immenſe
weight, in attempting to raiſe which we incur the
hazard of being cruſhed.
+
·
As a private man, Revellière equally deferves
our homage. His inclinations are fimple, his
manners pure, his affections mild. He may ferve
as a model not only to the citizen, the magiftrate,
or the legiſlator, but to the father, the huſband,
the friend. Time and his allotted deftiny will
take from him a great portion of authority, and of
honours, his guards, his palace, his directorial
purple but his virtues will remain, and he will
have fuffered no real lofs.
EXA
BARRAS.
XAGGERATION and hatred are, perhaps,
in our prefent circumſtances, the moſt danger-
ous enemies that we have. The latter degrades
our fentiments, the former deranges our ideas: the
one
( 79 )
1
one is for ever pointing out to us criminals and
fufferings, the other is for ever advifing vengeance
and puniſhment. Both fet man in oppofition to
man, eternize our diffenfions, and make of the
French foil, as it were, one vaſt field of bloodshed.
In vain are our vows directed to the re-eſtabliſh-
ment of ſocial harmony; vows alone are infuffi-
cient: if we wish it to revive, let us facrifice to
the ſtate a great part of our recollections; let us
ſubſtitute hope for regret; let us at leaſt agree,
that after five years of political uncertainty, as no
one of us can declare himſelf exempt from mif-
takes, errors, or faults, we have need of a mutual
indulgence. It is time that the citizen fhould
attach himſelf to the magiftrate. But fuch an
union would difcourage the ambitious; they would
make every attempt to prevent it, and they would
fucceed but too well. We view men in power
only through the prifm of prejudice: diftruft,
and contempt are the only food of our minds.
Hence that general uneafinefs, that defire of
change, which feems every day ready to bring on
us the horrors of a new fubverfion. I shall not
infer that we ought to intoxicate with flattery the
chiefs of the Republic; that we ought to deify
Paul Francis John Nicholas Barras. But I think
it of importance to render public the good which
he has done, in order to give tranquillity to a
people ſtill alarmed, in order to take from the
wicked
( 80 )
wicked their criminal hope of engaging him in
their confpiracy.
It is true that his calumniators have for a long
time marked him with unlimited reprobation.
According to them, it is impoffible, without the
moſt culpable partiality, to write a word in his
favour. But they have alfo faid, they have re-
peated a hundred times, that his new functions
were incompatible with his age, that he governed
in contempt of the conftitutional laws. Their
conjectures on this head were even changed into
certainty; they looked on his filence as a confef-
fion, and, finally, they gave him the furname of
The Young Director. If they were miſtaken on this
point, may they not have deceived themſelves on
others? Would not prudence and juſtice require
of us a further examination. Barras was born at
Foxemphoux, in the department of the Var, on
the 30th of June, 1755; he was proclaimed a
member of the Directory on the 25th of October,
1795; and confequently he was at that period
forty years and near four months old. The firſt
charge, therefore, alledged against him, and daily
repeated as certain, is only an eſtabliſhed error, a
confecrated falfhood. In the courſe of theſe me-
moirs, we ſhall clearly fee to what the other accu-
fations may be reduced.
Before philofophy had levelled the different
ranks, Barras might have been proud of his an-
*S.
( 81 )
ceftors. No man is, at the fame time, fuch a
plebeian in heart, and fuch a patrician in origin.
In the country where he firſt ſaw the light, daily
homage was paid to the antiquity of his name
and the bravery of his anceſtors; it was faid of
the beſt titled families, they are as noble as the
Barras', and of the Barras', they are as old as the
rocks of Provence.
Fortune had opened to him the career of arms;
his inclinations led him to embrace it; and he
entered into the fervice. He firft acted as volun-
teer in the Dragoons of Languedoc, he foon
obtained a commiffion, and went to the Ifle of
Fance with his relation, the governor of that
inland. War feemed ready to break out in India
the defire of facing its dangers made him enter, in
1775, into the regiment of Pondicherry. He ob-
tained the rank of lieutenant in 1780, and that of
captain in 1784. The latter devolved to him by
order of feniority. Until this time his conduct
prefents nothing remarkable. He had indeed
exhibited fome proofs of valour, and had given
into fome of the errors of youth.
In 1776 he embarked on board a fhip, called
the Duc de Duras. This veffel, furprized by a
tempeft, was wrecked, about midnight, not far
from the Maldive iflands. The dangers of the
fea are, it is well known, the moſt terrible of any;
the braveſt mariner lofes the ufe of his fenfes,
when
L
( 82 )
All haftened to fecure
when the wind carries away his fails, and breaks
his maſts; when the machine, to which his def-
tiny is intrufted, burfts its fides, and converts it-
felf into an abyfs. Ready to defcend into the
wide and watery grave, he has only ftrength
enough left to direct his vows to heaven. In
the preſent inftance, however, the crew retained
a certain degree of energy. Barras animated
their hopes. It was propofed to conſtruct a raft:
in ſuch caſes moft propofitions are paſſed unani-
mouſly. The crew fet to work immediately:
they put together fome planks, they faſtened
them, the raft was fet afloat, and every one
fought his fafety upon it.
places, all crowded upon it at once. Barras,
alone, coolly awaited his turn. He wished to fee
his companions in misfortune all embarked, all
faved before himſelf. He efcaped, one of the
laft, from the horrors of a danger continually in-
creaſing. At length they puſh off; the veffel is
left a prey to the waves, and the little colony,
thanks to their floating bridge, land on a favage
island. There they fuffered the moſt dreadful
hardſhips, confumed the fmall portion of provi-
fions which they had preferved; and, at laſt, had
nothing but a little ſpoiled rice left to eat. The
natives of the country obliged them to keep
themſelves continually on their guard; and feem-
ed every inſtant ready to attack them. Scarcely
did
( 83 )
He
did they dare to quench their thirſt, left the fa-
vages, according to their cuftom, fhould have
poiſoned the fountains and pools. It was not
till after a month of the moft wretched exiſtence,
that is, not till after an age of miſery, that affift-
ance reached them, and that they were conveyed
to the coaſt of Coromandel. Barras arrived at
Pondicherry in want of every thing; without
ſtockings, and almoft without clothing.
fought there during the fiege which that city
ſuſtained againſt the Engliſh. General Belcombe
employed him conftantly on the moſt important
expeditions. In a decifive fortie, which the be-
fieged attempted as an effort of defpair; he en-
truſted to him the direction of the column of
attack. Some confuſion in the orders, and ſome
imprudent eagernefs in advancing, threw our
ranks into diforder. The front of the column
which was marching to the attack gave way, re-
treated, and was clofely purfued by the befiegers.
The field of battle was already ftrewed with our
dead, our troops, flying in confufion, blocked up
the defiles which led to the city. Barras, at the
head of his diviſion, ſuſtained the fierceft ſhock
of the enemy, checked their impetuofity, forced
them to keep within their entrenchments, fuc-
ceeded in rallying the fugitives, and gave the
French time to effect their retreat. When Pon-
dicherry
L 2
( 84 )
dicherry, attacked by fea and land, preffed by
fire and fword, opened its gates to the Engliſh,
he ſtill defended the poft entruſted to his valour.
But his efforts were no longer of any avail: he
left that country, and fet fail for France.
Off Cape St. Vincent, the veffel in which he
was, and which was called the Sartine, had to
fuftain a combat of the moft unequal, the moſt
odious nature. Although it had hoiſted a flag
of diſtreſs, an Engliſh veffel hailed it, and over-
whelmed it with diſcharges of artillery. The
crew, ftruck with furprife and dread, knew not
how to refift; every ſhot added to their diſorder,
and threatened entirely to deftroy them: they
oppofed, to formidable broadfides, nothing but
cries and lamentations; every one gave himſelf
up for loft, when Barras ruſhed through the
midſt of a torrent of fire toward a white flag
which hung at the ftern of the Sartine, and which
ferved as a pretext for the brutal fury of the
affailants. By tearing down, with his own hand,
this fignal of death, he prevented a total deftruc-
tion; for the veffel was already on the point of
finking.
On his arrival in France, anxious to encounter
new dangers, he embarked on board the fqua
dron of Admiral Suffrein. He was at the ens
gagement of St. Jago, where he diſplayed the
greateſt
}
( 85 )
greateſt coolneſs in the midſt of the moſt terrible
dangers. Subfequently to this expedition, he
contended againſt the government in general,
and the minifter Caftries in particular, with an
energy prematurely diftinguiſhed. At that time,
every one of us, in the prefence of our fuperiors,
had the timidity of a ſubject; he carried, per-
haps, too far the loftinefs of a free man. I fay
too far, becauſe experience has proved to us,
that by attacking the depofitaries of power, we
prepare the triumph of anarchy, and that anar-
chy, when triumphant, fhowers down upon em-
pirès every kind of evil at once. Other events
led him to the Cape of Good Hope, where he
ferved under General Conway. He undertook
to defend the honour of the foldier, (oppreſt
without pity and without ſhame) againſt military
defpotifm. This philanthropic zeal was badly
rewarded. In ſpite of the advantages which his
birth gave him, he was accuſed of a breach of
diſcipline, and branded as guilty of infubordina-
tion. The court had done more: in confequence
of fome ftruggles, too bold without doubt, and
the cauſe of which I have related, it had iffued
arbitrary orders against him, which, however,
were not put in execution. Hence it was that
the Revolution found him, as might be expected,
ready to fecond all its endeavours; for among
nations in a ſtate of crifis, the love of the govern-
ment
J
( 86 )
ment which is arifing, is little more than the ha-
tred of the government which has been over-
thrown.
From the commencement of 1789, he wrote
againſt the diforders of the courtiers; he ex-
poſed the baſeneſs of their protectors. If I do
not point out more particularly the perfons
againſt whom his firſt attacks were levelled, it is
becauſe refentment is not juſtice; and becaufe
the man of integrity, whatever cauſe he may
have embraced, refpects misfortune, and does
not feek, with a facrilegious foot, to trample on
the aſhes of the dead. On the 12th, 13th, and
14th of July, he joined the noble band of infur-
gents who reduced the Baftille. After the Re-
volution, he ſerved as adminiſtrator of the depart-
ment of the Var; and as civil commiffioner of
the army of Italy. He was appointed member
of the High Court, that tribunal which was to
have judged at Orleans the Duke de Brifac, and
feveral other perſons of diſtinction, but which
was fpared fo rigorous a fervice. The prifoners
were ordered to Paris, and in their way thither
fell by the daggers of a band of affaffins. Before
this fatal event, Barras had dared to demand the
depofition of the King; a bold opinion, which,
at that time, could have found few ſupporters,
but which, nevertheleſs, does honour to his fore-
fight. In adopting it, the fubfequent ftruggles
would
(87)
would have been avoided; the throne would
have been broken in- pieces without the affift-
ance of the multitude; the power, inſtead of be-
ing annihilated, would have only changed hands;
one government would have been ſubſtituted for
another, and anarchy would have been weighed
down by the preffure of the law. His courageous
zeal contributed very effectually to the victory
of the 10th of Auguft. He diftinguiſhed himſelf
among the principal actors of that day: and the
intolerance of the malcontents would be blame-
able, were they to charge him with this as a
crime. Courage is always valuable, and its va-
lue is independent of this or that opinion.
Whoever, having embraced the fide which he
thinks the beſt, defends it with energy, merits
the eſteem of his rivals. Charette thought dif-
ferently from me; I defired his deſtruction, I
fought againſt him, but I never deſpiſed him.
****
Elected to the Convention, Barras obtained
from it the title of commiffioner, and repaired to
the department of the Lower Alps, to haften the
recruiting. He was on miffion on the 31st of
May, and learnt the outrages of the factious only
from their own reports. They painted their vic-
tims to him as culpable enemies, real confpira-
tors; and the deteftable fuccefs of their party
as the triumph of his country. According to
them, they were to fave every thing; their
power
( 88 )
C
power was the port open to all, during the tetti
peft the journals of that time were fold to
them; their echoes alone, were permitted to be
heard. They deceived Barras, as they did fo
many others; or, to fpeak more accurately, they
kept him in ignorance of every thing. Beſides,
the ſtate of circumſtances was imperious. A ge-
neral convulfion would have completely deftroyed
the ſtate. Whether through blindneſs, or weak-
nefs he confented to receive the impulfe from
them. It was, indeed, terrible: it produced,
in general, atrocious crimes, and prodigious ex-
ploits let us confider it with relation to Bar-
ras.
On all fides, infurrections took place againſt the
conquering party, the deteftable party of Marat
and Robespierre. No one would acknowledge,
as the central and fupreme authority, a body
mangled and mutilated in its foundeſt members.
From the midft of the great cities arofe me.
nacing clamours, cries of war. Their inhabi-
tants threatened to form themfelves into aveng-
ing phalanxes, and to ruſh againſt Paris; an in-
furrection, laudable and facred in its principle,
but which muſt have been difaftrous in its con-
fequences. In fact, the traitors, from that time,
reigned defpotically; they at once decreed and
executed the law; they directed at their will, the
treaſures and the armies of the ftate; they had
in
( 89 )
in their favour a perfect unanimity, and immenſe
refources. Our infurgents in the departments,
on the contrary, wanted provifions, arms, money,
and union. They haſtened along the fame road;
but their wiſhes. led them toward points diametri-
cally oppofite. Some of them were eager to join
the rebels in La Vendée, others fwore to com-
bat every enemy of the new laws; Lyons pro-
pofed to elevate the throne; Bourdeaux only
afpired at confolidating the Revolution; the fu-
gitive deputies took the honourable title of Re-
publicans; and Wimpfen, the General whom
they placed at the head of their battalions, was a
Royaliſt. I do not heſitate to affirm, that at that
period a complete fubmiffion could alone mode-
rate the horror of our fate. If it is always glo-
rious to puniſh the wicked, it is not always pru-
dent to irritate them. In the political theatre,
as in the field of war, it is, fometimes, right to
give ground to one's adverſary, to fall back be-
fore him, in order to attack him afterwards with
advantage, and to make him tremble in his turn.
Many Frenchmen acted without forefight, they
fell into repeated errors, fome of them committed
real crimes: Toulon gave itfelf up to the Engliſh.
-To the English! thofe barbarians, who only
entered it to bind in chains the Republicans, to
deſtroy our arſenals, to reduce our fleet to aſhes.
This
M
( 90 )
This act of treafon had dreadful confequences?
the example feemed to be contagious. Already
a communication was eſtabliſhed between the
traitors of the naval force, and thofe of the army.
Brunet, the general, was haftening to fecond the
Admiral Trogoff: one wished to receive the
Engliſh into his camp, as the other had into his
ports. Barras, informed of theſe plots, prevented
their execution by a proceeding, the boldnefs of
which aſtoniſhes even his calumniators. He was
purfued on all fides; the tocfin was founded
againſt him; his perfon was infecure; his pro-
perty was ravaged; a price was fet upon his
head. Arriving at Pignans, he was attacked in
his carriage; he feized his fabre, and feconded
by two dragoons, who alone remained faithful to
him, he escaped from his opponents, leaped on
horſeback, and haftened to St. Tropès. He there
declared his powers to an officer of marine,
named Martin, and to the Mayor of Hallier;
procured, by their affiftance, a fmall veffel and
fome failors; put to fea by night; approached
Nice under favour of the darkneſs; arrived there
unexpectedly, prefented himſelf boldly before
the criminal affociates of a foreign power, and
dared to arreſt Brunet at the head of his army.
His efforts, his exhortations, at length awaken-
ed in the breafts of the foldiers a hatred of the
4
English
( 91 )
English name; he recalled them all to their
duty; reſtored them all to their country. To-
gether with them, he marched againſt Toulon,
that guilty city, but whofe fufferings have fully
expiated its guilt, He organized the troops
which haftened in crowds against its walls.
Whilſt his four colleagues gave the impulſe on
the right, he directed it alone on the left.
He mounted, fword in hand, to the affault of
fort Pharon, and penetrated into the city, after
two days and two nights of watching, fatigue,
and combats.
To fuch exploits, to fuch admiration, fucceed
the moſt afflicting fevereties, the moſt painful fen-
fations. I am obliged to call to mind the idea of
them; I will not trace their picture. Often
enough has that painful taſk been fulfilled by
others; often enough, have others involuntarily
prepared new triumphs for licentiouſneſs, by di-
viding the citizens, by filling the hearts of one
party with hatred, and thoſe of another with fear,
At the end of a revolution it is neceffary that
morality ſhould remain, in certain refpects, fubor-
dinate to policy. There are details which a wife
man obliges himſelf at ſuch a time to forget; the
agitators, on the contrary, recal them to mind
with a perfidious addrefs. I think I hear their
echoes repeating every inftant in the ears of
Barras "The Royalifts have perished, during
M 2
your
( 92 )
your miffion, at Toulon; the men of integrity
know this; they will never pardon you. Ceafe
to make a common caufe with them; by faving
them you deſtroy yourſelf." I trust that he will
not be the dupe of thefe deceitful prophecies.
More fincere, more confoling in mine, I will fay
to him, as I have faid to the government, men of
integrity are the only equitable judges. They
alone, I will add, calculate, how far men are
controuled by circumſtances; they ought not to
be confounded with their pretended interpreters,
thoſe furious wretches always armed with the
fword of vengeance. They weep, it is true, over
the ruins of the fouth; but they remember that
you were not at Paris, when the plunderers feized
with their bloody hands the reins of empire, that
their communications with you were cut off, for
three months, by the Marſeilloife army; that you
were at laſt deceived by unfaithful reports; that,
moreover, Toulon had invited within her walls
our moft cruel enemies; that the Engliſh flag had
waved on her citadels; that you found there our
laws trampled under foot, two of your colleagues
in chains; that your orders were executed by the
light of that vaft conflagration which devoured
our magazines, our fleet, and our arfenals.
the fect of villains that you ought to fear; their
principles have long been known: lenity is in
their eyes only a contemptible weakneſs; who-
It is
ever
( 93 )
eyer has for an inſtant diſpleaſed them is to them
a deteſted enemy. In their myfterious examina-
tion, they require of men in power an account of
their minuteſt actions; they offer them the ex-
clufive choice of two different rewards, the civic
palm or the branch of cyprefs. For them there
is no medium; they either blefs or execrate, they
deify or profcribe. If their reign ſhould return,
Thibaudeau and Tallien would afcend the fame
fcaffold-I re-affume' the courſe of my narration.
:
The prifons of Marſeilles were to have been
violated the prifoners were threatened with a
general maffacre. Barras expofing himſelf to the
hatred of Robespierre and his aſſociates, cauſed
Guiraud and Mayer, the authors of this deteſtable
plot, to be arreſted. He fent them to Paris, to
be brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal.
At that time much leſs was fufficient to cauſe the
difgrace of a public functionary. The tyrants
did not overlook this: they wiſhed to ſeize him;
three times did they fign mandates of arreſt
against him. But the execution appeared to them
hazardous: they dreaded the efforts of an impe-
tuous deſpair, of a tried and ſteady valour. On
this occafion their timidity prolonged their fuf-
pence. Barras remained at liberty: and they had
foon reaſon to repent of it. He ceafed not to
ſpeak openly of their proceedings, with the accent
of indignation.
Notwithſtanding
( 94 )
Notwithſtanding the information he received,
he would not quit his refidence, even for a night.
He, however, put himſelf in a ſtate of defence;
he fignified to his enemies that he would kill any
of their fatellites who fhould attempt to arreſt
him. They then endeavoured to get rid of him
by other means; they wished to fend him to the
army
of the Rhine. He refufed, declaring that
his prefence was neceffary in the Convention.
This was true; he ferved the Convention on thé
9th of Thermidor (July 27th) with a decifive
fuccefs. He ſpoke laſt in the debate which pre-
ceded the puniſhment of the traitors. He climbed
on a bench, and darting from thence into the
Tribune, conjured his colleagues inftantly to rife,
that they might fave their country. Although
the Journals mention nothing of this action, and
this expreffion, it is certain that he contributed to
determine the arreft of Robefpierre. He did
more; he accepted the command of the armed
force. During the whole night he traverſed that
immenfe city, where the inhabitants were affem-
bling tumultuouſly and taking up arms; where
the fatellites of crime, and the avengers of hu-
manity, were confounded together in their march;
where terrible voices cried to them on one fide:
fuccour the Convention! on the other, rally around
the Commune! where a whole people ſeemed ready
to plunge itſelf into the abyss of annihilation. He
had
( 95 )
had raiſed his dagger againſt tyranny in the ſenate,
in the field of honour he overpowered it with
his fword. In vain do ungrateful men fuggeft,
that his principal motive was perfonal fafety. By
thefe odious fubtleties, doubts may be raiſed with
regard to the beft actions, the moft illuftrious
fervices; morality becomes a problem: by this
reaſoning, Pichegru no longer merits the title of a
hero; he appears only as an ambitious man, defirous
of elevating himſelf to the higheſt pitch of glory;
and, in like manner, the rich man who empties
his purfe into the hand of the indigent, is only
actuated by a ſelfiſh defire of varying his pleaſures,
and of tafting the fatisfaction of a tranquil con-
fcience. During feveral hours, the. General of
Thermidor braved the roarings of a furious horde,
the popularity of the dictator, the fword of Hen-
riot, and the artillery of his formidable cannoneers.
He ſhowed himſelf in every fpot where the danger
was imminent, where the courage of the good
citizens needed to be re-animated; he would not
quit the field of battle until the cauſe of the
nation was victorious; until the ufurpers had
expiated by a terrible death the enormities of an
execrable life. In a word, he may be looked
upon as the chief actor in that day, which opened
thouſands of priſons, which clofed thoufands of
graves.
He
( 96 )
He has fince contended against thofe men of
too great irafcibility, who look on generofity as a
weakneſs, forgiveneſs as a crime. He has op-
pofed with all his power, the difaftrous effect of
private refentment. He fhewed himſelf to ad-
vantage on the 12th of Germinal*, on the 5th of
Prairial†, and on every occafion of importance.
"Yes, even in Vendemiaire," will the crowd of
his enemies exclaim. Since they have made the
obſervation, I ſhall not contradict them; whilft I
continue my differtation on men, I fhall omit my
fentiments with regard to events.
The Triumvirate being deftroyed, thanks were
univerfally given to the Convention; its praiſes
were re-echoed in the theatres and public places.
But every thing here below is temporary, and
unfortunately gratitude is ſubject to the common
law. An unforeſeen error, a puerile incident,
deſtroyed this valuable harmony. In one of its
fittings, the convention, incited by a patriotic
enthuſiaſmn, decreed that the hymn of the victors
ſhould be again brought into celebrity; that
hymn which the fect of murderers had for a
moment ſeized on, as they had feized on our
arms; but which had confirmed the valour of
our heroes, which had made our enemies trem-
ble, and which the nation had applauded, even
before
* April 1.
+ May 24.
1
( 97 )
before the affaffins conceived a hope of triumph.
Immediately, fenfeleſs or perfidious men afferted,
that they wished to rebuild the edifice of terror.
The timid citizens were alarmed; and alarm
led to outrage. They rufhed in crowds to the
fquare of the Caroufel: they environed the
Tuilleries, the hymn was not executed: a decree
was reviled, and violated even under the porti-
coes of that palace, where, on the preceding
evening, it had been paffed by the legiſlature.
Refentment prefently made a rapid progrefs in
the minds of both parties. The Convention
was regarded only as a band of villains; the
Creft, the Thermidorians, the Federalifts, were con-
demned in one common decree. They became
irritated in their turn; they perfuaded them-
felves that Paris was peopled by none but
counter-revolutionifts. The future was, to their
eyes, overſpread with gloomy clouds; they were
inftigated by fear to attempt to retain their
power. They proclaimed the laws of the 5th
and 13th of Fructidor*. Thefe laws feemed, at
the firſt view, an attack upon the rights of the
people; and yet they favoured the eſtabliſhment
of the conftitutional government. As a repre-
fentative I ſhould have oppofed them, as a
citizen I gave them my fuffrage.
my fuffrage. In the critical
ſtate in which we then were, fuch a proceeding
* Auguſt 22, and 30.
N
feemed
( 98 )
feemed to me moft prudent. Others thought
differently from me; I am far from cenfuring
them. Had the Primary Affemblies of Paris
unanimouſly rejected the re-election of the Two
Thirds, had they even rejected the conſtitution
itſelf, I ſhould have thought their conduct in
thoſe reſpects unimpeachable. But they declared
themſelves permanent; this was their firft error;
they ſpoke as fovereigns, this was their firft
fault; they organiſed themfelves into battalions,
this was their firft crime. The chiefs who misled
them, will never be able to exculpate themfelves.
Will they ſay that the affemblies were compofed,
in general, of worthy individuals? This is ac-
knowledged. That they were guided only by
their own impulfe? All France denies it. That
no outrage would have fullied their fuccefs?
This affertion is little better than abfurdity.
What! did you ſet afloat every paffion? Blind
declaimers! did you light in every heart the de-
vouring flames of vengeance? Did you put at
once in motion fifty thouſand men, without difci-
pline, without fubordination, without union?
Did you, after putting arms into their hands,
point out to them a fmall number of adverfaries,
and ſay:
"Behold the executioners of your
country!" And did you notwithſtanding imagine
that every one of them would fcrupulouſly refpect
the feeble barriers of morality? Undeceive your-
felves!
1
( 99 )
felves! It is eaſy to produce an infurrection: it is
difficult to direct it. They who are freed from
the bonds of fociety, follow only natural impulſe;
the paffionate man threatens, the man of brutality
ſtrikes, the man of cruelty affaffinates. I have in
my own mind the cleareft conviction, if victory
had ranged herſelf under your ftandards, that
murders would have been committed; that the
fenate would have been diffolved; that the fec-
tionaries, whilft fcarcely mafters of the field of
battle, would have divided themſelves; that ſome
would have demanded the eſtabliſhment of the
conftitution, others the reſtoration of the monar-
chy; that theſe latter would have differed in
their wishes, and would have fought for the
choice of a defpot; that three or four parties
would have been formed; that the departments
and the armies would have taken part in thefe
terrible ſtruggles; in fhort, that fury would have
again torn the entrails of our country. Since
fuch would have been the probable conſequences
of the attack, reſiſtance was 'juſt. Reſiſtance is
indeed a natural right. It is permitted againſt
the wicked and even againſt the virtuous. If
Socrates were alive, and were to direct a fword
againſt my life, if I were fure that the blow
would reach me; ſhould I not haften to prevent
it, and (though with regret) to pierce his heart?
I will
N 2
1
( 100 )
I will not, however, celebrate a victory, but too
memorable, but too dearly purchaſed. I will not
hold it up to Barras as a proper fubject of exul-
tation. Few are the admirers of thoſe laurels
which a civil war produces. He who reaps
them, far from binding them upon his brows,
ought to offer them up, moiſtened with his tears,
upon the altar of his country.
+
It is upon his conduct, after the combat, that
I find it pleaſant to enlarge. A furious foldiery,
intoxicated with wine and blood, fpread them-
felves through every quarter of the city, affrighted
the citizens, threatened to violate the fanctuary
of their houſes, and imperiously demanded, as
the recompence of their labours, a general pil-
lage. He redoubled his efforts to reftrain them.
He paffed the night at the out-pofts. Some were
recalled to the laws of honour by his exhorta-
tions: others were arreſted by his orders; all
beheld the fevereſt chaftifement hanging over
them: he proclaimed that thofe who violated
perfons or property ſhould be inſtantly ſhot. It
was he alfo who recommended the difarming of
thoſe cannibals who had been difgorged into the
field of combat by the priſons, and of whom
policy at that time made ufe, as an admiral uſes
red-hot shot.
Refentment and prejudice have nevertheleſs
perfiſted in purſuing him in his new career.
At
three
( 101 )
three different periods has his arm been raiſed
againſt the confpiring demagogues; but no one
ſeems willing to remember this. It has been
pretended that he approved their fyftems, that
he favoured their plots. How improbable an
accufation! how can it be believed that a man
in the higheſt elevation of power ſhould become
a confpirator? A confpirator is almoſt always
inftigated by ambition; and the ambitious man
is ever anxious to change his fituation; but one
who is fo exalted cannot change his fituation
without degradation. If the anarchiſts, when
victorious, had given themſelves a chief, their
choice would doubtlefs have fallen on a man in
their eyes irreproachable: they would have pro-
claimed Amar or Vadier, Duhem or Billaud.
Finally, the fecrets of the heart are myſteries,
which time alone can penetrate. The enemies
of Barras then determined to wait. Ufelefs
caution! No diſcovery has juftified their conjec-
tures. Barras voted, like his colleagues, for the
clofing of the Pantheon, for the difperfion of the
incendiary groups, for the arreſt of Babœuf. He
ſhowed himſelf even more rigorous than them
with regard to the revolted legions. His advice
was, that they fhould be either difarmed with
difgrace, or executed by martial law. It has
been faid that the plots of the 21ft of Floreal*,
* May 10.
had
102 )
had they fucceeded, would not have been directed
againſt him: the rebels had determined different-
ly. Roffignol had perfonally undertaken to ſeize
him with his own hand; he had promiſed his
head to the confpirators. It has been alſo aſ-
ferted, that he was abfent from the Luxem-
bourg during the attack of the Camp of Gre-
nelle: this is a fact which, as well as his age,
has been falfely ſtated.
If I am aſked to what cauſe I attribute thefe
numerous errors of the public, (the public often
too ſevere, but nevertheleſs judicious, and ftill
more remarkable for the accuracy of its feeling
than for the ſeverity of its decifions) this is what
truth obliges me to anſwer. Barras, in the choice
of his connections, has not fufficiently followed
the example of his colleagues; and this has
fometimes made appearances ſeem againſt him.
Certain men, deftitute of honour, had a fhare by
their fuffrages in his elevation: he thought
himſelf bound to make fome return to them; he
has therefore remained, to a certain degree, depen-
dant on them: he has acted wrong. Gratitude
is a generous and facred fentiment; in a private
individual it would continue to be virtuous even
if it degenerated into a weakneſs. But gover-
nors, fupreme magiftrates, ought to be directed
by more certain guides. Their perfonal feelings
ought to give way to the general intereft. He
who
( 103 )
who would worthily fupport the weight of
power, muſt difdain trifling confiderations, muft
fubject, and even facrifice them to his duties,
muſt have no other counſellor than the law, no
other friend than the people.
•
The deference which he paid to ſome of thoſe
men, appeared fo much the more dangerous, as
they have long been the objects of general dif
truft, as their fyftems are no lefs dreaded than
their actions are detefted. The new order of
things is, as is well known, their continual theme
of abuſe; they are continually crying out againſt
the oppreffion of the patriots; they behold in
every man of property a Royalist, in every young
Frenchman a knight of the poniard; according
to them, a counter-revolution is approaching in
the cities, and has actually taken place in the
country; and the nation, their fovereign, is in
their eyes, only a vaſt mob of confpirators. As
they are no ftrangers to the art of perfuafion, it
may not be uſeleſs to oppoſe to their obfcure
fophifms, a few clear and precife ideas.
Undoubtedly an odious minority, which had
covered itſelf with our ſpoils, and bathed itſelf in
our tears, has now become the object of difguft
and dread. It well deferves this lot. Let us,
nevertheleſs, avoid all acts of perfecution, all ex-
ceffes of violence; let us not fuffer its victims to
become its executioners. But let us beware that
we
7
( 104 )
we reſtore it not to the credit which it has loft.
Let us not be stupid enough to argue that, becauſe
it has ferved the revolution, it must be therefore
ufeful in confolidating it. The inftrument with
which we demoliſh, is not that which we employ
in rebuilding. The true patriots commanded in
the combat ; and the glory is theirs. If they wiſh
not to fully it, they muft in future reject their
unworthy auxiliaries: I will fay more; they muſt
change them. When the fubverſion of the throne
was to be attempted, we were obliged to unloofe
againſt them all the daring innovators, all the fe-
rocious cut-throats that France poffeffed; if we
wiſh to ſupport the exifting government, it can
only be done by embodying in its defence, all the
wife, enlightened, and virtuous citizens. The
factious were for five years our chief fatellites; the
friends of liberty are become our neceffary allies.
If they even differ from us in opinion, they are
attached to us by intereft; intereſt, whoſe empire
over the generality of minds is much ſtronger
than that of opinion. It is impoffible to imagine
that an anarchiſt can ever be attached to the con-
ſtitution. On the contrary, eight Royalifts, out of
ten, will perhaps complain, but they will fubmit
to our wiſhes, when they ſee our laws flouriſh-
ing, their own perfons at eafe, their property
fecure. At leaſt it is certain that reaſon, hiſtory,
and all writers, ancient and modern, concur in this
opinion.
1
( 105 )
opinion. Theſe two parties are no longer equally
dangerous: the former is compofed of agitators,
to whom commotion is an object of defire; of
madmen who reckon obftacles as nothing; of
frantic wretches who, as I have fomewhere faid,
would precipitate themſelves into an abyfs, if
they were fure to be drowned in blood: the latter
conſiſts almoſt entirely of artizans, writers, traders,
men of property, whofe hands are in fome fort
tied by the bonds of education or of fortune.
The former, fhould you cut them in pieces, would
continue to move like the ferpent; a fingle fhot
would difperfe the latter, like a flight of birds.
Theſe ideas are very different from thofe of the
men whom I juſt now mentioned; but I flatter
myſelf that they are fuch as muſt appear to Barras
preferable. So long as theſe men live in an ap-
parent intimacy with him, his conduct will only
preſent to the anxious eyes of the public, the
cloud of obfcurity. Several of them have already
learnt that he defired not their predictions, their
advice, or even their company. Let him give
the fame information to the reſt. He has begun,
let him finiſh. Sufpicions, injurious to his fenti-
ments, will vaniſh away like a mift. It is to be
obferved, however, that I accufe but a fmall
number of individuals; I pay due homage to the
generality of his affociates. I know that he
takes a lively intereſt in the arts; that he re-
O
ceives
( 106 )
ceives artiſts with the moft liberal welcome;
that he reckons among his friends, men of the
greateſt prudence, information, and intcgrity;
particularly the worthy Bergoing, who was twice
honoured with the fuffrages of La Gironde; who
was fo long profcribed by the plunderers; and
who is the fole and venerable relic of an illuf-
trious deputation.
The moral character of Barras has been often
ſketched; but without producing a true portrait.
By affigning to him the opinions of a revolutionary
demagogue; it has been infinuated that he is
difobliging, paffionate, vindictive, and brutal.
Not one of theſe epithets is applicable to him.
His manners, without refembling thofe of the old
court, are attentive and pleafing. He gives en-
tertainments, not fo much from inclination as
from reaſon; becauſe he thinks it right that a
member of the government ſhould be ſurrounded
with a certain degree of fplendour. All thoſe
who partake of them return home equally pleaſed
with his conduct; to every one he has ſhown
fome mark of politenefs, to every one he has
addreffed fome obliging expreffion. No one is
more zealous in ferving a friend, or even a
ftranger. His education has been that of a fol-
dier; he does not pretend to be a ſcholar; and
yet he both converſes, and judges with propriety.
Guarded in his expreffions, and ſaying little him-
felf,
( 107 )
}
ſelf, he excels in the art of drawing converſation
from thoſe around him, and of learning their
ſentiments. He has the credit of having dif
covered the merit of Buonaparte; his penetrating
eyes perceived the hero under the modeft veil of
the foldier as yet undiſtinguiſhed. Though you had
endeavoured to injure, to deftroy him, he would
not attempt to retaliate. He has proved, that he
is able to conquer the moft natural refentment.
After the events of Vendemiaire, he received,
with benevolence, the wife of St. Julien, one of
the moſt hot-headed fectionaries; he compaffion-
ated the lot of her huſband; he promiſed that he
would uſe all the means in his power to fave
him; he cauſed the feals, which excluded him
from his refidence, and from the means of his
defence, to be taken off. During the reign of
terror, whilſt he was marching to the conqueft of
Toulon, fome inhabitants of the department of
the Var attacked his houfe, fought him in the
obfcureft receſſes, fwearing to facrifice him where-
ever he ſhould be found. The Convention, in-
formed of this crime, iffued a decree againſt them,
and caufed them to be conveyed to the prifons of
Paris. Their liberation was the firft which he
folicited, and figned in the Committee of General
Safety. He has been thought ambitious; and it
is true that, on occafions of emergency, he has
twice accepted the command in chief; but each
time, after the danger, he laid it down as a trou-
blefom
O 2
£
1
( 108 )
blefome burden. More than one reafon authorizes
me to believe, and even to affert, that he would
long fince have voluntarily quitted his preſent
ſtation, had it not been for the unjuſt fury of his
implacable enemies. He is a gladiator defirous
of repofe, who will break in pieces his weapons
when he is no longer challenged to the combat.
Courage, that mental energy fo much venerated
by all nations, particularly by the French, is alſo
to be ranked amongſt his qualifications. The
general turn of his manners is mild and tranquil ;
ſcarcely would he ever diſturb the harmony which
reigns around him; but when any neceffity draws
him from that kind of calmnefs, when any im-
portant circumftance obliges him to concentrate
his faculties, he obtains a powerful influence over
the deſtiny of an empire. In fhort, he has re-
ceived from nature a fufficient goodnefs of heart
to love virtue, a fufficient clearness of mind to
diſcern it, a fufficient vigour of character to per-
form its dictates. Theſe advantages are precious.
O thou, in whom I behold them united, neglect not
to cultivate them! above all, employ the means
afforded thee by thy exalted ſtation; advantages
which fo foon will pafs away! reproaches will be
hurled againſt thee: anfwer them only by an un-
fhaken attachment to the cauſe of French virtue!
He who is invefted with extenfive powers, may
eaſily diſtinguiſh himſelf by illuftrious actions.
CARNOT,
$
( 109 )
109)
CARNOT.
ANOTHER long hiftory!" will be, without
doubt, the exclamation of the noify herd
"Men,
of cenfors, and of modern declaimers.
whatever they may be, are not worth the trouble
of difcuffion: in a free country meaſures are
every thing." This maxim has been, it is true, a
long time in vogue; when will it be reduced to
practice? Wherever I turn my looks, to whatever
point I direct my thoughts, I behold laws arifing
and declining according to the influence of wif
dom, of error, of paffion: I am convinced that
the governors are always to a ſtate, what the
Supreme Regulator is to the Univerſe. It is of
importance, then, to fathom the receſſes of their
hearts. By studying their moral faculties, by
identifying ourſelves with their fentiments, we
unfold the records of futurity; we learn what
we have to fear, and what we may be permitted
to hope.
Lazare-Nicholas-Margueritte Carnot was born
in the town of Nolay, in the department of La
Côte-d'or, on the 13th of May, 1753. His
father, a reſpectable old man who is ſtill living,
exerciſed there the profeffion of an advocate.
His family, which was eſteemed one of the moſt
ancient in the neighbourhood, enjoyed a degree
of
( 110 )
of reſpectability, founded not on titles, but on
perfonal merit.
In his youth, he devoted himſelf to the profef-
fion of an engineer. His time was divided be-
tween the abftrufe fciences and the belles lettres.
The purſuit of the latter ferved as a relaxation
from the ſtudy of the former. He wrote feveral
mathematical effays, which at the time of their
publication procured him honourable rewards,
and which have lately opened to him the door of
the National Academy. His eulogium on Mar-
ſhal Vauban, is written with ſtrength and clear-
nefs: it obtained the prize from the Academy of
Dijon. Carnot was a member of that academy,
as well as of that of Arras, and correfpondent of
the Muſeum of Paris. In the Almanach des
Muſes, from the year 1787 to that of
1792, ſeveral
of his compofitions are to be found, which give
proofs of experience in compofition, cultivation
of mind, and delicacy of taſte *. But thefe
verfes, however pleafing, feemed not to promife
their author a very brilliant lot; much lefs to
lead him to the fummit of power. Between a
lively poet and a benefactor of his country, the
interval is immenfe; that interval Carnot has
paſſed. In vain did calumny a long while en-
deavour to overwhelm him with her hateful
burthen. He re-affumed the attitude which be-
* See the Appendix.
came
( III
)
came him; he arofe with dignity; and a general
ſatisfaction appeared on the countenances of all
who beheld him. Appearing in a more public
fituation, open to a more general fcrutiny, he has
found advocates even among thoſe men who
attacked him with the greateſt fury.
His conduct as a Member of the Directory
having diffipated the thick clouds of prejudice;
equity has, though late, confented to rejudge his
actions. Her hands unfolded the bloody regiſters
of the Committee of General Safety. The name
of Carnot prefented itſelf indeed to her eyes;
but the more the multiplied her reſearches, the
more ſhe was convinced that he never acted in
concert with his ferocious colleagues; that he
had as ſmall a ſhare in their crimes as they had
in his glory; that he was preparing the defeats of
the Royal Invaders, whilſt they were drawing up
their lifts of profcription; in fhort, that he elevated
our trophies, whilft the others erected their
fcaffolds. The proof of theſe facts was long fince
eſtabliſhed by a ſpeech of Robefpierre himſelf.
That implacable aſſaſſin, thirſting for the blood
of Carnot, accuſed him formally of a criminal
negligence; defcribed him at once as an egotist
entirely ignorant of military affairs, and as an
ambitious intriguer, invefted with the exclufive
direction of the military force. Hence it hap-
pened
7
( 112 )
pened that he was feldom fummoned to the
general committee.
They dreaded his moderation, and feared to
read in his countenance the language of grief
and reproach. Carnot never went from their
meetings without feeling the neceflity of confid-
ing his mournful fecrets to the breaſt of a faithful
friend. Thoſe who were at that time intimate
with him, have unanimoufly affured me, that he
every day deplored the ſtate of France; that the
tyrants were the objects of his greateſt contempt,
his greateſt hatred; and that he expected to
periſh by the hand of their executioners. When
any means of liberation, when a noble endeavour,
a facred infurrection, were mentioned to him, he
quitted on a ſudden his natural ſtate of tranquil-
lity, and burſt into expreffions of the moſt impe-
tuous defire. The farther the ufurpers advanced
in their career, the more difficult did he find it
to diffemble the horror with which they infpired
him. Every one remembers the terrible expref-
fion which he addreffed to the dictator in the
height of his power. Robespierre, wiſhing to
recur to new expedients to rid himſelf of his
enemies, propoſed to give to the national ven-
geance a more rapid impulfe, to ftrike off heads
by thouſands. Carnot, looking at him with firm-
nefs, anſwered in the tone of indignation: Thou
art a cowardly tyrant!
Intolerance
(113)
Intolerance will contend that this was not
enough; that he ought to have fled from thofe
favages inveſted with the title of governors.
Such are the falfe principles which have ruined
us. On all fides, virtuous men have yielded the
field of battle to the ignorant and the furious:
but they have afterwards bluſhed, when weeping
over their defeat. Befides, we must not forget
that every man in power, was at that time under
the dominion of circumftances, to which he
found himſelf under the cruel alternative of ſub-
mitting or of perifhing. To feek, voluntarily,
the fociety of the wicked, is in itſelf a con-
vincing proof of vice. But would it not be un-
juſt to confound the good and the bad, becauſe
chance has forced them together. Would it not
be abfurd to confider Duffaulx and Boiffy, for
inſtance, as * exaltés, as villains, becauſe they
were mixed with a Duhem, a Maigret, a Lebon,
and a Carrier? Shall we affix on Pichegru the
ftigma of reprobation, becauſe he commanded
our armies at a time when moſt of the general
officers fhewed themſelves worthy agents of the
faction of blood? Shall we reproach him with
the exceffes which his fubordinate officers com-
mitted—their brutal want of diſcipline, and their
refufal to give quarter? Of all the maxims laid
* Men whofe fentiments were exalted to the height of
Revolutionary fury,
P
down
1
( 114 )
down by the modern philofophy, the moſt found
and judicious is, without doubt, that which
makes every man independent of the actions of
others. Not that I look on Carnot as irreproach-
able in his political conduct: I can fcarcely
pardon him that inconfiderate zeal, that chival
rous folly, which made him, for a moment, con-
found his caufe with that of two criminals, juftly
covered with the execration of the public. But
this fault, as well as all others of that kind which
he may have committed, derive their fource from
the incongruity, the fatality of events, and not
from his private feelings. When mafter of his
choice, it has always been directed toward virtue:
I have obferved him as a fcrutinizing judge, and
I have found him always the fame; that is to ſay,
inflexible, yet mild; great, yet modeft. A man
of character and of principles; he was in the
Convention what he had been in the Legiſlative
Affembly, an ardent Republican, a moderate Re-
volutioniſt. His new elevation has changed nei-
ther his ideas nor his inclinations. His country
has done much for him; but he has done ftill
more for his country. The campaign of the
fecond year of the Republic, which 'reftored
to us our captured cities, our invaded frontiers ;
which overwhelmed with terror and difmay our
boldeſt enemies; that multiplicity of fieges, of
pitched battles, of incredible exploits with which
we
( 115 )
we aſtoniſhed the univerfe, was the reſult of his
military plans. Treafon, revolt, the contention
of rival parties, the league of Europe, preffed
upon us, and involved us in a frightful labyrinth
of evils it was he who difcovered its clue. He
ferved as a guide to our moſt able generals; he
fhewed himſelf the rival of our moſt valorous fol-
diers. His prefence decided the event of ſeveral
battles he was at that of Maubeuge : he com-
manded one of the columns which carried, at the
point of the bayonet, the poſt of Wattignées.
:
If fome of thoſe men who doubt even the
plaineft proof, fhould deny him the honour of
theſe glorious fucceffes, and fhould fcruple to
admit the magic influence of his talents: I ſhould
fay to them, obſerve what happened in the third
campaign. At that time he could do nothing,
his life was menaced, his head was profcribed.
Intriguers, ftained with crimes, changing their
maſk by ſyſtem, affecting extravagant zeal by
calculation, overwhelmed him with perfidious
denunciations. Pretended avengers of mankind,
whom they had fo much perfecuted; they pre-
vailed, they mixed themſelves with the credu-
lous multitude of good citizens, whofe language
they imitated, and whofe refentment they di-
rected. Menaced by their infamous decrees,
Carnot dragged out his exiftence a prey to
diſguſt,
P 2
ད
*
( 116 )
diſguſt, to mifery, and to fear. Fear! that
puniſhment ſo terrible to men like him. His
innocence was indignant, his pride condemn-
ed him to filence, his merit languiſhed in an
odious inactivity. Our armies foon felt the ef-
fect of his fituation; Europe had foon reaſon to
perceive it: we loſt ſeveral battles. Even our
advantages became ufelefs to us; they who go-
verned knew not how to profit by them. They
treated with the vanquished as if they had been
capitulating with conquerors: they received
peace as a favour, when they might have dic-
*tated it as a law. We had fuffered immenfe
loffes: we gained no indemnification. The King
of Pruffia had violated our territory, we had
the weakneſs to fpare, perhaps even to aug-
ment his treaſures. Spain herſelf was not com-
pelled to pay for the French blood with which
her plains had been moiftened. The rebels of
the Loire were appeafed for an inftant, only by
humiliating ourſelves before them, and laviſhing
on them deceitful promifes. In a word, we
had no longer either a military plan, or a di-
plomatic ſyſtem. The piercing eyes of our ene-
mies diſcovered the caufe; their cunning fore-
fight made them ufe every effort to prolong this
ſtate of things, and to fecure themſelves againſt
the future. When the exchange of priſoners
brought
( 117 )
brought ſeveral of our officers amongſt them, they
entered into converſation with them, and our
political changes became the fubject of their dif
courſe. They firft congratulated us on the fall
of the triumvirs; they next ſpoke of their ac-
complices, and then teftified their indignation
that Carnot ſhould yet furvive. Carnot was, ac-
cording to them, more perfidious than St. Juft,
more ambitious than Couthon, more ferocious
than Robespierre. They defcribed him as the
chief deſtroyer; and indeed they did not err, if
they ſpoke of the deftruction which he cauſed
among their own fatellites.
He acquired no lefs a claim to the hatred
of our internal enemies. His miffions to the
armies of the Rhine, and of the Pyrenées, and
into the departments of the North, had made
them acquainted with his real fentiments. They
had ſeen him ferve the ſtate without oppreffing
the citizens, do honour to patriotifm without
profcribing toleration; and fight for liberty with-
out recurring to the arms of tyranny. They
were not able to recognize, by theſe figns, one
of their chiefs. His moral character was very
different from theirs. Even his appearance bore
teſtimony againſt him; for he diſdained to adjuſt
it to any model. Fury never ſparkled in his
eyes, blafphemy never proceeded from his mouth.
I have heard from different quarters, that the
fight
( 118 )
fight of him alone ftruck the plunderers, in cer-
tain communes, with a kind of confternation.
They could not conceive it poffible that a re-
preſentative, a commiflioner, a member of the
Committee of Public Safety, could fpeak in the
language of politeneſs, and with the tone of af-
fection. It was impoffible that they ſhould not
ſuſpect him. He heard, without enthuſiaſm, the
recital of their Revolutionary exploits; he was
not in tranſports at their odious denunciations;
he teſtified no exultation when they forced him
to read the lift of thoſe who were impriſoned and
profcribed. When an act of rigour was pro-
poſed to him, he almoſt always found ſome rea-
fon for delay. The men of that day pardoned
not fuch crimes as thefe; they endeavoured to
bring him to puniſhment for them. Several
fecret meetings, held in thoſe departments which
he comforted by his prefence, had his deſtruction
for their object. He was marked out, in many
letters, as a dangerous enemy. One of theſe pa-
pers, ridiculoufly atrocious, which was addreffed
to the committees of government, ended thus:
"Theſe are your luke-warm patriots, who cannot
ftrike maſterly ftrokes. When it is neceffary to
advance, they are always ready to retreat; they
have always an If or a Becauſe. We want, in his
ſtead, a bold Sans-culotte, that will reprefs the
malcontents, and clear the prifons; till you fend
fuch
( 119 )
fuch a one, every thing will go ill." In another
they faid: "Your commiffioner keeps company
with fufpected perfons. Are you very fure of
him? He does not ſeem a true friend of the Moun-
tain: you will do well to watch his conduct."
Attacked on the contrary fide, ſince the 9th of
Thermidor, he had as accufers thoſe prejudiced
politicians whofe ftriking infincerity I have be-
fore remarked. Theſe latter purſued him with
more bitterneſs. Their calumnies were fo con-
tinued, fo obftinate, that they at length fuc-
ceeded in deceiving what is called the public.
So eafy are fucceffes of this kind! and fo credu-
lous is the crowd of the indolent! A few detrac-
tors lay hold on appearances to expofe an indi-
vidual to cenfure; to-day they are contented
with raifing doubts on his conduct; more auda-
cious to-morrow, they accuſe him with the ftyle
of conviction; on the following days, they re-af-
fume their taſk, they purſue him with invective
and execration, and call upon the tribunals to
ftrike him with their fword. Nothing more is
neceffary to give him the character of a criminal,
though he were as pure as heaven. Theſe mif-
takes are not only frequent, but they are pro-
ductive of the moft terrible evils. The innocent
perfon revolts at fuch an outrage; robbed of the
efteem of his equals, having no longer any mo-
tive for caution, his mind becomes heated, his
heart
120 )
heart is irritated, and his feelings take an unna-
tural bias. He has been fo long painted in
hideous colours, that at laſt he becomes like
the copy. So difficult is it to remain faithful
to the party which rejects, which defames, which
menaces us; to draw from the fole teftimony of
our confcience new encouragements, and a new
armour for virtue; and to oppofe, to the curfes of
the noify crowd, nothing but the ftoicifm of
filence! Such a refignation feems to be above the
power of humanity; yet of fuch a refignation
did Carnot, for ſeveral months, afford an aſtoniſh-
ing example. Like the juft man, of whom the La-
tin poet ſpeaks, he heard the tempeft roar around
his head, undaunted. He chofe rather to brave
the thunder-bolts, than to fupplicate thofe im-
pious hands which hurled them. "Blind judges!"
he feemed to ſay, "fince you have already de-
cided, you are not worthy to hear me. Affirm
whatever you pleafe; I will not deny it. Doubts
would be entertained, even in oppofition to my
affertions; doubts by which I fhould be too
much humiliated. If I fhould fpeak of my hatred
for thoſe ferocious fpoilers, whofe fceptre has
been broken, the cry of defertion would be
raiſed againſt me; I fhould be branded with the
name of impoftor. Purfue me, puniſh me for
the good which I have done: I fhall ſtill pre-
ferve the remembrance of it, and that remem-
brance
( 121 )
brance will conftitute my happineſs. As to
thoſe well-meaning men, of whofe fuffrage I am
truly ambitious; whom your libels irritate and
arm againſt me, who proclaim me their ene-
my, and who, in their fenfelefs wishes, chooſe
me as their victim; they perhaps will, one day,·
lament that they have fo-much miſtaken me."
Such were the fentiments which animated him
in theſe diftreffing circumftances. His fubfequent
conduct undoubtedly proves it. When he could
declare his political fecret, without incurring the
fufpicion of cowardice; when he beheld himfelf
completely independent, invefted with a great
authority, and able to purſue the dictates of his
heart, he openly ranged himſelf under the banners
of the conſtitution; he renewed his covenant
with the found part of the French people; he de
termined to triumph, or to perish with them.
The faction which reckoned on his fupport, has
had no more formidable adverfary. Whilft others
thought it ſtill neceffary to treat them with cau-
tion, he already overwhelmed them with the
weight of his influence, already drove their profe-
lytes from the pofts which they had ufurped.
All the newſpapers mentioned, at the time when
it happened, the manner in which he received a
certain public functionary, who prefented to him
an energetic petition. I am, faid the petitioner,
one of thoſe patriots who have been oppreffed
Q
fince
122)
fince the gth of Thermidor.-That, faid Carnot,
proves nothing. But were you not an intimate
acquaintance of Robefpierre's?-It is true that I
poffeffed his confidence-That is not, in my eyes,
a very honourable title, and if you have no other
-The Directory has juſt appointed me a magif-
trate of the people-Then take this pen, and
write your refignation, if you would fpare yourfelf
the trouble of a difmiffal from office.
Whenever it has been neceffary to cruſh the
confpirators, Carnot has been the first to ftrike the
blow. It was he who pointed out to the minifter
of the police, the plan which it was neceffary to
purfue, and the avenues which it was neceffary to
guard, in order to ſeize at the fame inftant Babœuf,
together with his papers and his fellow-labourers;
a fervice whofe importance it is unneceffary to
demonſtrate; for if the undertaking had failed
but in part; if there had been time to burn the
writings, and to forewarn one or two of the con-
ſpirators, the tocfin of vengeance would have been
immediately founded in the two councils; a moft
lawful proceeding would have been converted
into an act of treafon; the accufed would have
affumed the character of accufers; and it would
have been the Directory, inftead of Drouet, that
would have been taken in flagranti delicto.
He has performed fome fervices of a different
nature. Obliging by difpofition, he has conferred
appointments
( 123 )
appointments on feveral citizens who have ap-
peared worthy the national confidence: our ad-
miniſtrations owe to him many upright magiftrates,
our armies, many officers of the firſt merit, and
the government its Secretary-general*, a man of
information, indefatigable in office, whofe manners
are pleaſing, his language affable, his perceptions
clear, his judgment folid; who more than once
has propofed, and caufed to be adopted, meaſures
of utility; who juftifies the choice of his nomina-
tors, and like them merits the hatred of the difor-
ganizing affaffins.
When we faw Carnot accept the auguſt func-
tions which Syeyes had refuſed, we believed, in
general, that we had a double motive for affliction.
It was well known that Syeyes wanted both
* Jofeph Jean Lagarde, born at Narbonne in 1755. He
paſſed the chief part of his youth at Arras, where he was re-
ceived advocate at 21 years of age, and exerciſed that profeffion
till 30. His fellow-citizens elected him fucceffively, Deputy to
the General Affembly of the Tiers-Etat, Commiffioner for draw-
ing up inftructions, Official of the Bailiwick, Prefident of the
Section, Notable, Elector, Secretary-general of the department
of the North, and, finally, Profeffor of Law. In the earlieſt
ſtage of the revolution, he confecrated to it his pen and his
exertions. In feveral writings of penetration, he defended the
cauſe of the people, and of philoſophy, with a zeal ſo much the
more laudable, though ardent, it did not paſs the limits of
morality. Two Proconfuls caft him into chains during the
reign of terror. When they were aſked the cauſe of his deten-
tion, they contented themſelves with anſwering, "His influence
and knowledge render him juftly fuſpected."
Q 2
morality
( 124 )
morality and energy; that he had cringed, without
fhame, in the anti-chamber of the tyrant-dema-
gogue but the reputation which an expreffion
of Mirabeau's had gained to him, together with
his complete infignificance in the days of our
mourning, made the balance of opinion incliné
in his favour. My own fentiments were at that
time partial to him. How much does fuch an
avowal coft my fincerity! Carnot and Syeyes!
The more I compare them, the more I am aſhamed
of my firſt deciſion. Syeyes, in ſpite of the extent
of his information, and the refources of his mind,
has no decided character in politics. He has
compared, combined, and modified every fyftem,
without adopting any; like the fwimmer who
traverſes a river in every direction, without leaving
a trace of his paffage. The government of the
Proconfuls difpleaſes him no leſs than that of the
royal cenfors. He is no more attached to the
conftitution of 1795, than to that of 1791. Little
does it fignify to him, whether it be his jury, oṛ
his pyramid*, which attracts admiration: his wiſh
is gratified if he becomes the Lycurgus of France.
Carnot is guided equally by principle and by duty
in his refpect for the conftitutional laws of the
*Syeyes, in one of his early political productions, com-
pared the fymmetry and ftrength of the Conftitutional Monar-
chy to that of a pyramid: among his propofed improvements
of the Republican fyftem was the project of a Conſtitutional
Fury.
Republic.
( 125 )
Republic. Without feeing in them the chef
d'auvre of human ingenuity, he yet thinks them
capable of fupporting the equilibrium, the tran-
quillity, and even the fplendour of the ftate. The
meditations of Syeyes have been, and always will
be, uſeleſs to his country. Let him conceive the
moft advantageous project, he would refufe to
Communicate it, if an article, a line, a fingle word
were to be changed. It has often been in his
power to afliſt in the triumph of reaſon; he has
always preferred acting the part of a ſpectator.
Since the fall of the Triumvirate, numberleſs de-
crees, at once prudent, uſeful, and falutary, have
been paffed. He has only propofed for adoption
two or three. On every occafion of difficulty, he
has remained without fpeaking; but with a con-
viction that his filence was a public calamity. Carnot
purſues his career with an indefatigable zeal; ob-
ſtacles, inſtead of reftraining, only ſtimulate him:
when utility is the object, he reckons his medita-
tions, his labour, his fleepless nights, as nothing.
Syeyes flatters and careffes the moſt deſpicable of
the factious, I mean the Jacobins, and the diſciples
of Orleans: he augments their vanity, animates
their hopes, and heightens their fury. Like them
he complains inceffantly of the encroachments of
the executive power, of the ariftocracy exhibited
by the rich, and of the oppreffion exerciſed over
the patriots.
If
}
( 126 )
If he hears the orators of the groups adding
menaces to clamour, and demanding a new order
of things, he liftens to them with a fmile, and
ftops, as if enchanted by their eloquence. Carnot
would bluſh to obtain the fuffrages of the wick-
ed; he would glory in their hatred; he thinks
that virtue alone deferves our esteem; that ſhe is
the only durable poffeffion on earth; that no
one ought to govern but by her and for her.
Syeyes puts no bounds to his ambition: he cal-
culates circumſtances, he conceives hopes, he
waits, he finiſhes five or fix plans of political con-
ftitution, the productions of his own genius, out
of which he may make a choice according to the
nature of events, and the difpofition of mens
minds. Carnot is not more attached to honours
than to fortune. The fimplicity and the purity
of his inclinations conftitute his principal enjoy-
Surrounded by his books, his mathema-
tical inftruments, his friends, and his family, he
would be as happy at Nolay as at Paris. His
merit has torn him, as it were by force; from the
obfcurity which he loved: he ſerved under the
old government as captain: fince that time he has,
as is well known, led fourteen armies to victory;
and yet he has fcarcely advanced in rank; he is
at prefent only chief of a battalion. Syeyes is
indignant at the mere idea of a rival; he is ftill
more vain than ambitious. If he is contradicted,
ments.
he
( 127 )
r
*
he flies into a paffion; if his opinion is rejected,
he refuſes to vote; if he cannot command, he
retires; fuch, at leaſt, has his conduct always been
in the committees. Men of the greateſt informa-
tion are in his eyes only dwarfs in politics and
literature mere fcholars. The Convention
thought that he would be of fervice in draw-
ing up the new code: he would not exert him-
felf. The plan was prefented, he was filent:
it was difcuffed, he was filent ftill; three months
had been devoted to it, the laft articles were
about to be fanctioned, when on a fudden he
appeared in the tribune, and declared that the
plan originally prefented was the beft which had
ever come from the hand of man; but added,
that it had not attained the laft degree of per-
fection; and, as a proof, unfolded one of his con-
ftitutional charts. Let us imagine pride itſelf
perfonified; what could it have faid or done
more? The peculiar characteriſtic of Carnot is
exceffive modefty. He never ſpeaks of himſelf;
the leaſt degree of praiſe embarraſſes and even
hurts him; he is always anxious to avoid it.
Syeyes carries his intolerance to a ridiculous
height: whoever does not ſhare his fentiments,
whoever does not fee with his eyes, is in his
opinion a bad citizen, and a traitor. Carnot
hates none but the vicious. A Royalift might
in his prefence regret the monarchy; a Jacobin
might
( 128 )
might defire an equal divifion of lands, and he
would refute both of them without paffion, with
out ill-will; he would even efteem them if he was
afſured of their fincerity. Syeyes advances toward
no fixed object, becaufe he is ftopped at every
ſtep by fear; aſpiring to the character of a hero,
he poffeffes the timidity of a woman. At the
found of the trumpet, confufion feizes him, he
lofes the command of himfelf; danger is to him
what the hand is to the fenfitive plant; on a
day of infurrection, whilft his victorious friends
were feeking him at the fummit of power, he
would hide himſelf, trembling with fear, in the
darkneſs of a vault. Carnot familiarized from
his youth with the principles of French honour,
has given proofs of it, which he will not heſitate
to repeat in the field of battle. Syeyes is diftant
in his manners and gloomy in his appearance. If
you ſpeak to him, he ſcarcely gives ear to you;
you relate to him any misfortune, he is a total
ftranger to compaffion, and if he chance to fmile,
it is impoffible to know, whether it is from fatis-
faction, from vexation, or from contempt. Even
his confidants cannot reckon on his benevo-
lence; fentiments of affection feem to be beneath
the loftineſs of his conceptions. Carnot with an
obliging fenfibility gives to all who wait on him
a courteous reception. The fimplicity of his
manners, the mildneſs of his language, ferve
if
equally
( 129 )
equally to encourage the confufed interceffor, and
the timid fuppliant. We expect to fee a gover-
nor, proud of his dignity and inflated with his
power; we behold a man of modefty, whofe
countenance indicates the urbanity of his mind.
Such is the difference between theſe two cha-
racters; fuch is nearly the moral portrait of
Carnot. Every one will recognize him in it;
for at the preſent day every one is willing to do
him juſtice. All the friends of order, whatever
may be their opinions, look on him as their moſt
zealous defender: they offer to him their efteem
and their homage. His firmneſs, his difintereſted-
nefs, his philanthropy have conciliated to him
every heart. In honouring him, Royalifts and
Republicans contend emulouſly together. He is
odious only to thoſe cut-throats, few in number,
whoſe element is crime, and who fee liberty and
patriotiſm only in the toleration of pillage and
affaffination.
If victory (as every thing feems to announce)
ſhould ultimately be ours; if the love of order
ſhould prevail over the turbulent paſſions; if
the conftitution fhould be eſtabliſhed on folid
foundations; if, hereafter, the virtuous citizens,
feated on the grave of faction, and enjoying the
happineſs of their lot, ſhould impofe on them-
felves the generous duty of crowning their bene-
factors, Carnot would receive from them the
R
oaken
}
( 130 )
oaken garland. If a column fhould ever be
erected to the glory of our heroes; if the na-
tional gratitude ſhould infcribe their names upon
the marble; that of Carnot would be the firſt
which her immortal chiffel would infcribe.
I
REFLECTIONS.
HAVE fulfilled a taſk of no ſmall difficulty.
More than one rock has preſented itſelf in
my courſe. If I have not avoided them all, the
love of virtue must be owned to be, in fome
cafes, an uncertain guide. I have fpoken of
governors only as connected with the intereſts
of the governed: my fole defire was to ſtrengthen
the bonds which unite them together, and which
fupport them on the brink of a bottomleſs abyſs.
I know, that by adopting the modern ſtyle, by
interfperfing my work with irony and farcafm, I
ſhould obtain a greater number of readers. Sọ
pleaſant is it to laugh at the expence of thoſe
whom we ought to refpect! Thofe writings, pro-
pagated by avarice and defired by malignity,
have not only the fparkling of the fword; they
have alfo its murderous edge. By a fingular
contradiction of fentiment, the public is irritated
at the evil-doers, but charmed with the evil-
1
ſpeakers.
.
( 131 )
ſpeakers. Such is the general fubverfion of ideas,
or, rather, the general debaſement of mind, that
to praiſe a magiftrate demands an exertion of
courage. Every day calumny and invective load
thouſands of preffes. We have fuffered fo much,
during the laſt five years, that we feel an odious.
defire to generalize our refentment, we wish to
behold criminals all around us. Whoever does
not cenfure, will certainly be cenfured. In vain
fhall I obferve to the raging multitude, that I
have avoided exaggeration, that I have weighed
the leaft of my praifes in the balance of truth.
Their only anſwer will be to ftun my ears with
the triple epithet of Jacobin, of Royaliſt, and of
Parafite. But I am confoled by my own reflec-
tions. Let them overwhelm me with their abufe;
let them find in thefe memoirs food for their
hatred; let them attack afresh thoſe whom I
have pointed out as deferving the confidence of
the nation; let them comment upon fome errors,
or even facts which I have related; I fhall, ne-
vertheleſs, reckon upon the fuffrage of every juſt
man. The juft man will thank me for having
brought him acquainted with the characters of
thoſe who regulate his deſtiny; for having tran-
quillized his mind, by proving that his perfon,
his property, and his enjoyments, are under the
fafeguard of powerful protectors. At every ſtep
that we ſhall have taken together, he will have
feen
R 2
( 132 )
ſeen the object toward which we advanced. Yet
I wiſh him to know that I was not directed by
trifling views. I have ſpoken well of the guar-
dians of power, becauſe I believe, in the fincerity
of my foul, that every one of them ferves the
cauſe of the good Frenchmen. Had I judged
them capable of miſtaking their duty, of reftoring
to vice its influence, to virtue its fufferings, and
to their country its forrows, the hand which
wrote their panegyric fhould have ftill more
readily figned their accufation.
}
APPENDIX.
APPENDIX.
The following are Specimens of the Poetical Talents of M.
CARNOT, which the Tranſlator thinks it right to ſubmit to the
Public in their original Dreſs. The two firſt are ſelected
by M. DESPAZE, and to them the Tranflator has added a
third, which ſeemed of equal Merit, and which appeared in
the Almanach des Muſes for 1791.
JAMAIS ET POURTANT,
OU
CONVERSATION AVEC MADAME GERTRUDE.
DITES-MOI, Madame Gertrude,
Fûtes-vous belle en votre temps?
Jamais, me répondit la prude:
La beauté perd les jeunes gens.
Pourtant j'avois la peau tendue;
Mon œil n'étoit point éraillé :
Même on prétend que l'on m'a vue
Ayant l'air affez éveillé.
Dites-moi, Madame Gertrude,
Eûtes-vous jadis quelqu'amant?
Jamais, me répondit la prude:
Aimer eft un crime fi grand:
Pourtant on n'étoit pas de glace;
Lindor a voulu m'en conter;
Lindor avoit beaucoup de grace;
J'eus peine à ne pas l'écouter.
Dites-moi, Madame Gertrude,
N'a-t-il pas fu vous émouvoir ?
Jamais, me répondit la prude;
Je tenois trop à mon devoir.
Pourtant certain jour de caréme,
A voix baffe je le prêchai;
Mais il prêcha fi bien lui-même
Qu'il me troubla, je trébuchai.
Dites-
( 134 )
Dites-moi, Madame Gertrude,
Avez-vous trébuché fouvent?
Jamais, me répondit la prude,
Si non dans ce fatal inftant.
Pourtant au bout de la journée,
Quand j'allois au bois fommeiller,
J'etois fouvent tout étonnée,
Dans fes bras de me réveiller.
Dites-moi, Madame Gertrude,
Trébucheriez-vous bien encore?
Jamais, me repondit la prude;
J'aimerois cent fois mieux la mort :
Pourtant à quelque complaifance
S'il falloit pour vous confentir,
Je tâcherois, avec décence,
De contenter votre defir.
Dites-moi, Madame Gertrude,
Du ciel eft-ce là le chemin ?
Jamais, me répondit la prude,
Je n'en connus de plus certain.
Ah! votre bonté me pénètre,
Répondis-je à ce propos-là:
Pourtant, fi vous voulez permettre,
Je me fauverai fans cela.
LE FILS DE VENUS.
QUI définira cet enfant
Auffi vieux que le monde,
Marmot dont l'empire comprend
Les cieux, la terre & l'onde;
Qui, les yeux couverts d'un bandeau,
Lit dans nos cœurs, tient le flambeau
Qui confume & féconde?
C'est lui que célébroit Sapho,
Qu'on adoroit à Gnide,
Qui defféchoit la nymphe Echo,
Brûloit la Néréide;
Défarmoit le dieu de l'enfer,
En taureau changeoit Jupiter,
Faifoit filer Alcide.
Qui
( 135 )
Qui rend fi fier, qui rend fi doux,
Si tendre, fi coquette,
Si confiant, & fi jaloux,
Si vive, & fi difcrette;
Qui cède tout pour tout gagner,
Qui fe foumet pour mieux régner,
Qu'on fuit, & qu'on regrette.
Protée aimable, doux poifon;
Source de mal, & d'aife,
Souvent dupe, & fouvent fripon,
Sérieufe fadaife;
Qui bleſſe avec des traits dorés,
Brife en riant des noeuds facrés,
Nous fâche, & nous appaiſe.
Qui parfois émeut la pitié,
Parfois bénit fa chaîne;
Tantôt reffemble à l'amitié,
Et tantôt à la haine.
Qui s'alimente de rigueurs,
Expire au comble des faveurs;
Feu célefte, ombre vaine.
LE TEMPS PASSE,
Dialogue burlesque entre Madame Fagotin et M. Barbichon.
MADAME FAGOTIN.
AH! bon jour, monfieur Barbichon!
Je maudiffois l'humaine engeance,
Et gémiffois du mauvais ton
Qui maintenant domine en France.
M. BARBICHON..
Bon jour, madame Fagotin !
Comme vous, contre la jeuneffe
J'ai de l'humeur; je fuis chagrin,
Et donne au diable notre eſpèce.
M. FAG.-Convenez que les jeunes gens
Etoient autrefois plus aimables,
Plus gais, et fur-tout plus galans.
O mœurs! ô fiècles déplorables!
M. BAR.
( 136 )
M. BAR.-Jadis on trouvoit des amies,
Le beau fexe étoit abordable;
Mais les cœurs ſe font réfroidis :
D'honneur, c'eſt inimaginable!
M. FAG.-C'étoit un éternel printems,
C'étoient bouquets de fleurs nouvelles
Dont l'odeur enivroit les fens;
On n'en trouve plus de fi belles.
M. BAR.-Tout dégénère en ce climat,
Les bonnes chofes font changées;
Les aſtres perdent leur éclat,
Et les faifons font dérangées.
M. FAG. Combien de fots ajuftemens!
Qui ne prendroit nos demoiſelles,
Pour des bergères de romans?
Quel ridicule, et quels modèles!
M. BAR.-C'eft à s'en tenir les côtés,
De voir toutes ces fimagrées;
On diroit des divinités :
La pefte foit des mijaurées!
M. FAG. Plus de rangs, plus de qualité;
On vous préfère une griſette
A la véritable beauté :
Oh! l'extravagance eft complète.
M. BAR. Très-vrai, madame Fagotin!
Vous parlez comme une peinture;
Un petit fat, un aigrefin,
Supplante la magiftrature.
M. FAG-Oui, le monde tire à ſa fin,
Vous le verrez, je vous le jure,
Je perds mon nom de Fagotin,
Monfieur Barbichon, fi ça dure.
FINIS.
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