University of California ;N REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY SOUTHERN REC 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 Return this material to the library from which it wss borrowed. THE CONDUCT or THE KING OF PRUSSIA AND GENERAL DUMOURIER, INVESTIGATED BY LADY WALLACE. ' Nothing extenuate nor fet down aught in malice. SHAKSSFAIH LONDON; ?RINTED FOR J. DEBRETT, OPPOSITE BURLINGTON, HOUSE, PICCADILLY, 9 8 2 nflcc.xcux. . "DC. /*r & u?3 w/ TO THE PUBLIC. m .A/0 apology can be offered for laying any uncorreft publication before you, except that you Jhould judge it one - y an anxiety to offer faffs to your perufalfofoon after the appearance of General Dumourier, bad more immediately recalled the fubjeft to 00 ro en ^ your notice. Tburfday the 2otb of June, after he left England* without any documents as to dates or fafts, I fo hajlily committed to paper this mafs of matter, as to be able to offer it to your perufal, in the Jhort period i tf eight days. o LONDON, No. 55, Pall Mall, Tuefday, June 26, 1793. 300981 T DO not take up my pen to vindicate -* myfelf in the opinion of hireling news-papers, who, canibal like, live upon the reputation of thofe that fupport them. No defpifing all character which either can be purchafed, or defamed, for three millings and fix-pence, I mould think refentment, or any other feeling but that of cool contempt, beneath thofe, who fatisfied with the rectitude of B their their own condu6t upon finding themfelves traduced But dcfirous to explain to the refpedtable part of mankind the circumftances which have juftified even the report, that I had any intercourfe with the unfortunate, uncor- ruptible hero of Jemappe I think it neceflary to clear myfelf from every poffible appearance of difloyal principles, or conduct : and, in fo doing, I trufl I ihall be able, by inconteftable proofs, to wipe off from General Dumourier's reputation a great degree of unmerited odium, with which the intrigues of va- rious parties have found convenient for themfelves moil unjuflly to load him. Had Dumourier been a republican, I ,ihould have defpifed his condudr, and have ( 3 ) have execrated his principles; but he fwore allegiance only to the Conftitu- tion of 1789. Had he ever published any declaration that he would put the Bonnet Rouge upon our Sovereign's head, eredt theTri-couleur Flag on the Tower of London, or land his Sans Culottes at the Thames, I mould have been the firfl and loudeft to cry vengeance on him ; and to have faid that his prefence infulted and degraded the Englifh na- tion. But fuch a declaration he never made ; and his whole opinions and profeffions have ever been filled with refpeit for the Englim, and a firm and decided wifh to be allied, and to fee France fo fortunate as to pofiefs a fimilar constitution. Had he not done every thing, which his limited powers would permit, to fave his King from a cruel B % death, ( 4 ) death, and his unhappy family from humiliation, I fhould have fhuddered in abhorrence of his treafon ; and I myfelf have proved a traitor to the fentiment and feeling of honour, loyalty, and juftice, which has ever filled my breaft, and didared every adion of my life, had I held any intercourfe with him. But pofitively certain that he was incapable of, and perfe&ly innocent of all thefe accufa* tions, I fhould equally now think myfelf mean, daftardly, and ungenerous, to renounce, when overwhelmed with the dark clouds of fortune, a brave man, whom I can prove innocent of thofe treafons and crimes laid to his charge Dumourier was a diftinguiflied officer in the French fervice 40 years before thofq inteftine (lifcontents ; my fentiments, which ( 5 ) which I have already given to the Public, in a letter to my fon, in 1791* will fufficiently vindicate the juflice of my principles, my refpecl for good order, and a monarchical government : as well as my deteftation of thofe crimes and depravities, produced by the brutal anarchy which difgraces France. Upon the fources of thofe commo-* tions, I have alfo given my opinion, It muft have appeared to every perfon. of common underflanding, that much reform was wanting in the corrupt and defpotic government of France ; which reform, the benevolence of Louis the XVIth, was as fincerely interefted in bringing ( 6 ) bringing about, as the moil opprefTcd of his fubje&s could be. He ever mewcrd that the general comfort and profperity of all ranks of his people was his deareft wifh ; and the having miftaken the method to accompliih that wih, but no deviation from it in intention, coft him his life, his family their liberty, and all Europe the moft heartfelt forrpw and regret ! In accepting the conftitution of 1 789, pleafedwith the advantages the people at large would derive from it, he forgot (and no wonder he mould !) thofe no- bles, fo many of whom fled at the firft appearance of danger , for their flight fllone caufed his danger.^ {iad they ilaid, the undifciplined mob, at that lime cplle&ed at Paris, which was in numbers ( 7 ) numbers nothing equal to fotne London mobs, would have been with the fame facility difbanded ; had the French no- bility, with Englifh courage, faced them. Efpecially, as it is very known, that hardly any of the crew were impelled by paffion to aflemble, but were paid by the bafe atrocity of Egalite, whom I had the honor to be the firfl to denounce to the Englim nation ; fubmitting calmly to all that refentment and calumny which fome of his great and powerful friends have never ceafed to exercife againft me : happy if I could caution any of my countrymen againft fuch a mifcreant, or render his practices ab- horrent to my country. Had thefe unfortunate fugitives pof- feiled as little ambition as their generous king, ( 8 ) king, they would, without repining, have fubmitted to make a fimilar facrifice for the well being of the community in general - y as the nobility of England had fet them the example, with a magnani- mity which fets the Englifh far above any of thofe nobles, enriched by op- preffing the people, and nurfed only by exactions on their labours. The refpedt and free-will of an happy people, render ariftocracy in England honorable, in a degree which the fenti- mentg of flavifli oppreffion, in the days pf defpotifm, never knew. But moft of thofe nobles, unwilling to refign the only means they had of fupporting their fplendor, being ignorant of, and too proud to adopt thofe re- fources ( 9 ) foiirces, which to the honor of our grcateft men when impoverished, they leek an independence by, either in commerce, or the emoluments earned in the fervice of their country; and knowing that the good hearted King would feel wretched at the remonstrances, anling from the unhappinefs of any part of his fubjedls, they loft no time to feduce him thus to renounce the Conftitution : which, from that fame benevolence, he had fworn to fupport, and which he had engaged the lefs ambitious of his nobi- lity, and his friends, to maintain. Over his receding from that Confti- tution, I wifh hiftorians could draw a veil 5 fince a mixture of pity for his revolting nobles fears for the villain- ous plots daily concerted by Egalite, C whofe \vhofe malignant fpirit of revenge fof a former flight, and views of aggrand- izement, certainly placed the Royal Family in perpetual danger of becoming victims, to all thofe motives which ope- rate forcibly on weak minds, and impelled the King to attempt to fly. Some men, after having pledged themfelves by an oath, which ought to be held facred to God and man, would have died rather than recede from it j but in the convulfion of affairs- much might have been reprefented with exag- geration to him, and the anxieties na- tural for the fafety of his family muft, if not exculpate his weaknefs, at lead prove that it arofe from thofe fenfibili- ties which did honor to his heart. At At that period, when the unfortunate King was made a prifoner on his flight, the Marquis de Bouillie imprudently publifhed a manifefto, threatening the French nation with the immediate in- vafion of Foreign Powers j and, by the doing fo, before it was poflible to carry his threats into execution, he increafed not only the danger of the Royal Fa- mily's fituation, but alfo gave energy to thofe traitors, which intrigued to mi- lead the people : and who by their arts involved all in anarchy, murders, and horrors, mocking to humanity ! The King imprifoned, all the honeft citizens (for it were inhuman to fuppofe that in 30 millions of people there were none meriting that appellation) were obliged to live in filent inactivity, and C 3 leave leave Paris a prey to aflaffins and blood- hounds ; whilft the army haftened to the frontiers to repel thofe enemies, who came not only to conquer France, but to fubject them again to defpotifm, which they had fworn never again to fubmit. As it is not the hiftory of the war which I intend to write, but a very hurried fketch, taken in a few hours, of the part which General Dumourier had in it I {hall begin by faying, that he re- mained in France, from thinking it the duty of every perfon to remain in his country in the hour of danger : a fentiment which had been fortunate, and for the tranquillity of Europe, had it been, ( 13 ) been common to all Frenchmen. From his influence being very fmall, urifup- ported by the eclat of high birth, without which abilities were of little eftimation in France, he knew he had little chance of having any fway in the government of the country, except he could fo far diftinguim himfelf in the eyes of Europe, as to acquire fuffi- . cient importance to engage Foreign Powers, to aid him in the faving his King and country, from lawlefs op- preffion. How far this, his firft principle of action has been followed up, I will (hew. The conduct of the Combined Powers feemed inexplicable, to every perfon who was ignorant of the motives, by which they were actuated ; certain it is, that I declared declared, upon hearing of the wonderful junction of Auftria and Pruflia, that I was perfuaded their armies would never reach Paris ; although their forces were, if brought into action, infinitely fuperior to that of France ; and there are many nobles in London now, both Emigrants and Englifh, who know, that before the campaign commenced, I told them every thing which happened during it; and when at Spa, in the month of September, daily news came from the army, containing aflurances of its being at Paris on a day appointed in that month, I ftill continued my in* fidelity; and afTerted, as my folemn opinion, that the Combined Armies would be, by that appointed day, back within the empire which proved to be the cafe. This I wrote home, to cer^ tain ( '5 ) tainperfons, with confidence; but official andpofitive accounts coming at the fame time, my prophetic epiftle was thrown alide, as the vifion of a female fancy, till next courier developed the error of their official correfpondent. As I have not to boaft the virtues of Joan de Arc, nor the fecond fight afcribed to fome of my country people, I mail here ftate the motives which led me, upon my own reafoning, to give an opinion fo contrary to that which was generally received. Well informed of the treachery, in- trigue, and felfiih views, which have ever, alternately, aggrandized the def- potic powers, I did not fuppofe the becoming an illumine would blind the King king of Pruflia to his intereft (which evidently it never could be) that this invafiori mould fucceed ; and although he had fo very fuddenly turned from being the protedtor of revolters, to be the chaftizer of them, it did not hold that he was more fmcere in the laft, than in the firft charader j and it was per- mitted to fuppofe, without injury to his Majefty's reputation, that he would finally fupport which of the two parties he found for his intereft : or prove ini* mical to bothj upon . the fame prin- ciple* I had certain evidence that he had given every aflurance of fuccour to the Revolu- tionifts at Leige; and had every reafon to believe that he continued hispromifed aid, to free them from the yoke ofprieft- hood, under which they repined and murmured: ( '7 ) murmured : not fo much from real grievances, as from intriguing people who were fent amongft them with a view to difmember the Houfe of Auflria. They excited their imaginations to view their real caufes of difcontent, in fo mortifying a light, that the load appeared of fuch gigantic magni- tude, it was no longer to be borne. They had no grievances but what a liberal man of common addrefs might have rendered very eafy to them ; for being educated bigots, and their total fubjeftion to their priefts a matter of confcience, they, but for the arts of Pruffia, would probably have remained in peaceable fufferance of their op- preflive government. When the Prince &f Liege fled, and Jeft them without a government, the D King King of Pruffia publickly protected the pat jots ; the Emperor fignified to bin* bis wilh to march fome troops into the Auftnau Nethei lands, pffuring him that they (hou!4 only pafs through the Liege Country $ but when once they got the pa* triots to admit them, they itaid: and de- claring themfelves matters, forced them, to reftore their former government. The Imperial army was then too formidable for the King of Pruffia to dare to me\y any public marks of refentment at fuch treachery, and nothing remained for him but tp^ contrive fome means to leffen that power which awed him ; that this was the only game he had to play was fo evident, that it required but little penetration to forefee, tbat it \vould be the bafis of his future fyflem 3 jfjnce, according to the old adage, it feems to ( '9 ) to be allowed that every deceit is fair, in Love and War. Thus it ever appeared that the King of Pruffia could only join with the Emperor in his hoftile rrea- fures againft France, to engage hm in a campaignjwhich, proving unfuccefsful, Would deftroy that formidable army which had ever been the terror of the North, and the object of jealous an- xiety to the Houfe of Brandenbourg, Betides, he was not in a fituation to be at liberty to ally himfelf with France at that moment, nor in good policy could he wifh that France mould be reftored to tranquillity till me was completely enfeebled * or that fome opportunity might offer in the convulfion of Conti- nental politics, by which he might bene-* lit by a feparate alliance with her - An- ther caufe for his engaging in this ( 20 ) fham campaign was, the difcontent, diforder, and bad difcipline, the natural attendants upon a great army living in total idlenefs, after being innured to the rigorous activity by which Old Frederick kept them ever in movement, began to mew itfelf in fuch alarming fymptoms at Berlin, that it became neceffary for the internal tranquillity cf the King's pofleffions, to remove thefe corrupt troops from his own territories, to pafs the winter on the French or Auftrian dominions ; which advantage would nearly indemnify him for the ex- pence of the campaign. Had he declined taking an active part in the pretended invafion, he would have become the object of fufpicion, and his fecret fchemes and views upon Poland Poland have been found out ; all of which appeared incredible, fo long as he flood forth a champion for the reiteration of the rights of Kings, and the defpotifm of Nobility. Befides, the Auftrians, avowedly brave, well difciplined troops, with able generals, might, if he did not prevent it by directing the attack, perhaps chance to conquer the Sans Cullotes j for the emigrants gave conti- nual affurances that they were a cowardly banditti, without generals, who would trembling (hrink from the fight of their nobles in arms. Had this been the cafe, it would have proved a fatal blow to Pruffia. France fubje&ed by Auftria, Pruffia muft have fpeedily dwindled from the formidable power which Old Frederick had, by his intrepidity and fuccefsful intrigues, rendered it, into the ancient ancient petty dependance of the of Brandenbourg ; whilft upon the othef hand, if the Combined Armies wef6 baulked in their attempt* the Auftriang Were fo pofted as to become the chief fufferers, not only by the fword, but the Imperial Eagle would be fufficientty humbled and creft-fallen by the lofs cf the Netherlands : and that country* if not for ever loft* would be harafled dnd impoverifhed by being fo long over* run by contending armies. Before the invafion of France was attempted, La Fayette was general of the French army and Dumourier? ininifter of war j La Fayette completely proved a traitor to his country, for he not only wifhed to betray it into the hands of its enemies, but to fubjecl: it again to defpotifm 3 to facilitate which bafe C *3 ) |>afe plan, he deluded the minifters the nation, and for his crime Dumouriejr certainly would have fuffered though totally innocent and ignorant of his plots -had he not, with that fpirit and energy of character which he in a very fingular degree poflefTes, in a moment refigned the administration to take the command of the army, thus critically expofed : by which bold meafure, he not only was enabled to explain, but alfo to repair thofe errors caufed by La Fayette's treacherous intention pf leaving his de- fencelefs country to be over-run by German enemies, and once more fub- jecled to defpotifm* the oppreffion of which he with fuch enthufiaftic rapture had abjured, and had exacted his countrymen to renounce for ever. He had done better had he employed his iniidious manners to quell the jarring interefts which oppofed the mild go- vernment the King had chofen, and to the having enforced in his mind cautions againft th.; fnares that would afterwards be laid to engage him to forget what he had fworn to his people - t whom La Fayette had the double tie to ferve with fidelity, from the aflurances which he every hour reiterated to them, of his incorruptible fervices to the caufe of liberty and humanity ; and alfo from the implicit confidence placed in him by the patriots, who were led implicitly by him : which confidence it required a corrupted groveling mind, treacheroufly to deceive. His character feems to have been fuch a mixture^ ( 25 ) a mixture, where vanity and infidelity predominated* that he weakly, without any fteadineis, became, from the ftoiciftn of patriotifm, a vldim to the tears of his lovely Queen, which either his feniibility or his vanity rendered irre- fiftible tears which flowed not from any regret for defpotifm refigned, but in terrors awakened by the treafons of Egalite, whom, had he boldly hurled with vengeance to juft annihilation, all had been well ! Oh had La Fayette polTeiTed that true energy and probity of character, which honeft patriotifm and indepen- dance of principles give, what miferies had he averted from thofe beauteous eyes ! what contempt and humiliation to to his own memory, which living in- terred, he is doomed to fee recorded ! Had he encouraged that heroifm of fentiment, which was unfhaken in her bofom until that fatal period, and which, but for the felfifh entreaties of the Emigrants, the noble, liberal heart of the Queen would ever proudly have exulted in j becaufe fo decidedly for the comfort of the people, the aggrandize- ment of France, and the private tran- quillity of herfelf and family. The treafon detected, the traitor fled, and being caught, was contemptuously imprifoned in the moft rigorous and degrading manner, by thofe very powers who courted to feduce him. A leflbn to thofe who unfortunately adopt a bad caufe ; caufe; demonftrating that adherence to it i not, in politicks, efLemed fo con- temptible as the defertjon of it. Dumourier was ever a friend to the Royal Family, inafmuch as they made a part of that Constitution, which he fas uniformly looked upon to be the moft fitted to infure the profperity of France : he was fo from reafon, as well as the loyalty of a mind not to be fhaken by fedudlion, or by either ambition, or misfortune, feduced to treachery. Upon the King's return to Paris after his attempts to leave Francein July 1791* he was ftrictly guarded at the Thuille-t the people were outrageous, a$ attempt to emigrate, and rendered E 2 morq more fo by thofe artful fubverters of all government, who reprefented him as intriguing to betray his country to the Auftrians (the natural averfion of all Frenchmen} to re-eftablifh that defpotifm which he had appeared to be the moft ready to refign. Ti efe falfe afperfions had in fome degree the appearance of truth, from the declara- tion made by the King of Pruffia and the Emperorjfigned the 27th of Auguft 5 which was accompanied by a letter to the King of France from the Princes, and figned by his brother at Coblentz the loth of Sept. 1791, and by the Due de Bourbon, the Prince de Conde, and Due D'Enghem, at Worms* the llik of the fame month. ( 29 ) In that letter they declare thir cer- tainty that he was not fincere in his acceptance of the Constitution 5 hut that he' was forced to it, and that he only waited the protection of foreign troops to re-eftablim the ancient Monarchy; which they afTure him they will foon enable him to do, by the aid of all the defpotic governments in Europe, who are to march a formidable army againft France. They alfo fay, that as the King, upon his attempt to quit France, had difavowed all that he had done, they fwear to perifh all, before they will allow the nation to erect their monftrous Con- ftitution upon the Monarchy of France; which they pledge themfelves to re- eftablim, or die. The maniiefto of the Due de Brunf- wick Lunenburg, given at the Head Quarters ( 30 ) Quarters at Coblentz, the 25th of July, 1792, was decifive as to the fate of the much-lamentedLouis XVI. He therein defines that unhappy monarch, to name 9. town, to which he would wifh to re- tire ; and fays that he wjil fend an efcart to conduct him to it, where he may in fafety, and without any interruption, re-eflablim his monarchy, and chufe his ministers. Pie then promifes the French, to employ force only againft thofe who oppofe him ; and defires them peaceably to allow the Pruffian and Auftrian army to take pcfleflion of their country. "When I firft read this curious produo? tion, I thought it was a fatirical impo r fition feme wag was putting upon the public, in the nameoftheDukeof Brun wick | wick ; from whofe reputation, which at that time flood high in record, for war- like virtues, it appeared impoffible that any council could have tempted him to ifTue. From fuch language they muft have forefeen, that the nation would treat the King, as guilty of having proved falfe, not only to his oath, but to the cftablimed government (which I am perfuaded he never was), and confe* quently that they would overwhelm this unfortunate Monarch in the hatred and vengeance of his people ; a conduct the combined powers meant mould juftify their invafion of France, to which the nobles alone had invited them. For, the reformed governmment being the united wilh of the people, and the King having folemnly accepted it he had ( 3* ) foad too much piety, benevolence, and honour, to recede from it. But for this colouring given to the attack upon France, it might have ap- peared unjuft in the defpots making war upon a country, becaufe they chofe a different government, or mode of wor- {hip from their's : if this was wifdom ot juftice, no wife heads, heaven be praifcd, lived in thofe days, when for the honour and happinefs of Great Britain, we adopted that glorious Constitution, which, to eftabiifh on a firm bafis, the nobleft blood in England was fpilt 5 and in fupport of which, every honeft heart would now (heditslaft drop, and will ever cherim with affection and reverence. The { 33 ) The frenzy which this Manifefto cauted at Paris, and the horrors and mur- ders which enfued, will eternally dif- grace the name of Frenchman. In vain the aflaffins attempt to exculpate. themfelves, for having made feas of blood to flow, of even innocent babes ; becaufe they were the children of parents, whom they were perfuaded, had formed the bafe resolution of murdering them, had they not got the ftart of them by a few days. Cowardice and brutal ferocity, unpar- donable and unknown, till then, to any of the human fpecies, even the moft ignorant favages alone dictated fuch a conduct on either fide. True courage would have taught, and have enabled them, with juftice to punifli the guilty, find to protect the helplefs innocents. F Their ( 34 > Their fufpicion of the King, whom they found fui rounded by a number of emigrant nobles in difguife, now became boundlefsj and-.^xcited them upon the Iithof Auguft, 1792, to drag him to that dungeon forn .whence he never removed, ; till h&r went before thofe mereilefs judges;* who re warded. all his fondnefs, all his generous facrifices to their happinefs, by dooming him to a cruel death ! La Fayette, ftrucjc with horror at fuch barbarous excefs, and probably equally torn by reroorfe at not having done what he ought, and could have done, to fave the King when flopped at Varennes, and the fears of the detection of his in- tended treafon to the nation, in a few days after the imprifonment of the King* , ( 3$ ) Ring, fled ; and General Dumourier took the command of the Northern army, I mall here fupprefs a great deal of intreaty and attempts, which were made to feduce him not to refifl the invaders ; but although he ever was a Royalift, he would have died a thou- fand deaths, father than not have op- pofed the entrance of defpotifm into his country. Every art to gain him proved in vain 5 and on the 2Oth of the fame month the Combined Armies entered France. Such a force fo fplend.-d as to rank fo formidable as to numbers, and fo nobly caparifoned, never yet had been feen in Europe. Fa It ( 36 ) It was now that the defpots had & truth to learn, that a (ingle arm ftrung by that nervous courage, which the fervid love of liber ty infpires, is far more formidable than twenty of the beft drilled foldiers, that Frederick ever formed. . If it was ever the Duke of Brunfwick'a intention to go to Paris (except he firmly believed the aflurances of the Emigrants, that all the valour and war- like fpirit of the French nation had left it with them), he certainly unwifely went upon a campaign carried fo far into the enemy's country, without fufficient forefight, how his army was to be fed, or his horfes maintained. For I 37 ) Had it even beenhis intention to go to Paris by forced marches, his troops never would have been able to accomplifti it. Forhemufthave had, at lead, a million, of waggons with fupplies, or have flarved : and thofe muft have been drawn by, at leaft, fix horfes. In fuch a country as Champagne, where there are no roads, and in a great part of the country, like the crofs roads in York- fhire in winter, where, it is faid, the clowns are feen with long flicks poking for their ponies through fuch roads, how were the horfes ever to get to their journey's end without forage? that being, with every other article of fubfiftence, deftrcyed by the French. The not having the poflibility either of carrying fufficient provifions with them, or of getting them on their march, for a long campaign, 300981 ( 36 ) It was now that the defpots had truth to learn, that a fingle arm ftrung by that nervous courage, which the fervid love of liber ty infpires, is far more formidable than twenty of the beft drilled foldiers, that Frederick ever formed. 3;.-?; :;;) -.< ; . If it was ever the Duke of Brunfwick'0 intention to go to Paris (except he firmly believed the aflurances of the Emigrants, that all the valour and war- like fpirit of the French nation had left it with them), he certainly un wifely went upon a campaign carried fo far into the enemy's country, without fufficient forefight, how his army was to be fed, or his horfes maintained. For I 37 ) Had it even beenhis intention to go to Paris by forced marches, his troops never would have been able to accomplim it. For he muft have had, at lead, a million of waggons with fupplies, or have flarved : and thofe mud have been drawn by, at leaft, fix horfes. In fuch a country as Champagne, where there are no roads, and in a great part of the country, like the crofs roads in York- fhire in winter, where, it is faid, the clowns are feen with long flicks poking for their ponies through fuch roads, how were the horfes ever to get to their journey's end without forage? thatbeing, with every other article of fubfiftence, deftrcyed by the French. The not having the poffibility either of carrying fufficient provifions with them, or of getting them on their march, for a long campaign, 300981 ( 40 ) neceffary towards the fuccefs of an army than being the greateft Martinets in the reviews at Potzdam. Medicine is little encouraged .in the German ftates, and, confequently, it is little known. Every man values his own life, but very little that of his neighbours. The dcfpots, in ciUmating the forts they wifhed to get poifculon of, ufed to talk of their foldiers as of fo many flocks of fheep ; they would fay, we will give 10,000 for Thionville, 6000 for Metz, &c. How would that brave humanity, which dictates to a Britifli officer to watch over the lives of their wounded foldiers as a parent over his children, have been difgufted and revolted, to have feen the Pruffians laft campaign, thrown out to the dogs unburied nay, not dead ; for ( 4' ) for when they were, from difeafe, un- able to defend themfelves, their com- panions (tripped them, and threw them out in the heap either above or beneath the corpfes > as chance diredted - y fo eagerly had the Pruffian troops adopted this maxim, which eld Frederick declared was the firft principle to make an intrepid I'vUier, " the love of plunder $" and fo over anxious were they to perfedt them- felves in this firft rule, that they feem have forgotten all thofe which followed, which were better fitted to infure ref- pecl: to their country. At firft, the Combined Armies alert- nefs was evident to Dumourier, who was too able a General not to fee the advan- tages he- would gain, by allowing them to advance unattacked. Verdun's falling G int* into their hands will ever be recorded in the memory of the Englim, by the heroifm of the Sub-governor; who, faithful to his oath of dying rather than to admit a foreign enemy, boldly ended his exiftence. At this time, I read feveral letters from the King of Pruifia himfelf, to fome of his friends ; which exprefied his wonder at the matchlefs bravery, difcipline, and perfect organization of the French army. Europe now began to fee that they were not the daftardly crew which their fugitive countrymen had reprefented them 5 and that the retreat of the Combined Armies from France, without giving^ battle, was the only chance which they had of ever quitting it. Whilfl ( 43 ) Whilft Dumourier was thus, with a degree of ability unknown fince the days of Malborough, and with a vi- vacity, genius, and intrepidity incon- ceivable, with luch judgment and jufl> nefs in combining and calculating every refource or weaknefs of either army Whilft he was thus employed, the nation at Paris declared itfelf i Republic. Had Du-nourier bimfelf been King of France, loving his country, and refpefting his own honor, could he have laid dowa his arms, and faid," Gentlemen, I do not like to have a Republican Government, I will allow myfelf to be hanged, my country be conquered and difgraced, and appear to all Europe a fool ?" That would have been a degree of philofophy which would have difgraced even Diogenes* tub. It had another effedt upon Du- G 2 mourier, (44 ) mourier, and redoubled his ardour againft thofe invaders who had forced his countrymen to excefs,_fo difagreeable to him : the fame honor which would have rendered each nerve torpid, if fining againft his Kjng, now gave added fire to every fibre, againft thofe who had attempted his fedudtion, and the fubject- ing his country. Every man muft feel that the duty of a fubjed is, to refpect the govern- ment of his country. Did every one think' that they were obliged to' turn their arms againft it, at every change which the Executive Power thought fit to make, inteftine broils, like a plague, would fpread defolation ove. r $hc .face of the earth. His wifjx,-ti)at fuch a go- L ' of, thofe, many were of fuch Republican principles, that in the little fighting which they had, their officers were obliged to ufe every exertion to keep them to it -, which alone can account for their allowing Dumourier, without opjpofition, to carry on his entrench- ments, which he did with great ability and difpatch. At ( 46 ) At this period the minifters offered fufficient reafons for their flopping all proceedings, had Dumourier not; they had inconliderately taken the nobles and princes into their army, and become pledged to them to reftore them to their ancient rights. But it is certain, that they now were given to underftand, that even {hould they meet no obftacle towards their advancing to Paris, that they would, when arrived, there find a pofitive one in the King; who was de- cided never to reftore their rights, Co oppreflive to the people ; on the other hand, they were refolved never to fub- mit to any form of government which would lerTen them. Ardent differences in opinion exifted, between Meffrs. Calonne and Bretuil ; which ( 47 ) which ended in its being propofed by the nobles, not to reftore Louis XVIth to the monarchy, but to form a regency, and declare the Dauphin King of France : which was fo contrary to juf- tice, and muft have been fo productive of bloodmed and difcord in Europe, that had they been even at the gates of Paris, thefe circumftances muft have, ia honor, forced the Duke of Brunf- wick to return without attempting to enttr there. I Under this critical fituation the Duke demanded a truce : and Dumourier, whofe humanity made him fincerely wifh for the reftoration of peace, and to fpare the efFufion of human blood, greedily liftened to terms. But this truce, on the part of the Combined Ar- my, ( 48 ) ttw, was nothing more than a change of fc-iR- y in a pantomime: and their propofing that the General fhould rcOore the French monarchy, mewed that nothing was meant by it. Ge* jieral Dwnourier informed them> that * he mould tranfmit their overtures to the Executive Council, as he only in- terfered in the conduct of the army. A few douceurs on the part of the Ge- neral to the King of Pruffia, and the Duke of Brunfwick, to confole them for the depredations which want of provi? fions ficknefs and a furfeit of French artillery had caufed, however employee! thofe few days more agreeably than any they had paffed in France. At lafl, Gene- ral Dumourier broke off the truce, on finding that the Pruffians carried on their ( 49 ) their works during it ; and whether he had engaged the King of Pruflia, with- out refinance, to quit France, and on his part promifed to fpare his troops, then totally at his mercy, is a fecret known to few betides themfelves. I have no doubt the General, from his foothing manners, found a method to reconcile his Majefty to his fate. Certain it is, that they were fo en- feebled by iicknefs, hunger, and defer- tion, that it refted on Dumourier's generofity to exterminate, or not, the the whole army ; but to his eternal ho- nor it will be recorded, that though im- pelled by the mod intrepid raflinefs, not one moment was ever attended with an act of cruelty, illiberality* or depreda- tion * H The .( 50 ) The Auftrians befieged Lille with all that force which had made Alla's Faithful tremble ; and gained them fuch immortal fame at Belgrade. But the ardor and intrepidity of the befieged enabled them, though a handful of men, to refift all the boafted force of Auftria. The women and children, equally adtive in the defence of their country, night and day were upon duty, carrying water to cxtinguifh the flames, continually breaking out in every part of the town, and in attending the fick, and interring the dead; whilft the men, with fuch abi- lity and unremitting courage ferved the artillery, that they finally obliged the enemy to retire, leaving their braveft troops dead, or expiring under their .,.:, 11v What ( 5' ) What art thou Glory ? What ! a gilded cheat ! How many of thefe gallant warlike youths, Lur'd by thy voice, have fought thee e'en in death, Forgetful of thofe pangs which now diftraft A wretched parent ! or a frantic wife 1 Oh ! what thy power, which animates the foul, Thus boldly to encounter worlds unknown ! Alas ! if Fame fay, can thefe heroes now Hear her falfe voice, refound beyond the grave ? Ah ! what a thought is there ! bewild'ring oft, But not to be refolved. Oh Ambition ! Thou' rt a godlike paHIon ! but moft falfely Thou doft promife fweet happinefs and joy ! Thy vaunted greatnefs and iuccefs how vain, To give contentment ! Of thy votaries, Ah how many wafted are, to thy moft Soaring heights, on the fighs of hearts, groaning With anguifh and oppreflion ! What black crimes ! What feas of guiltlefs blood ftream in full tides O'er each path which marks thy gaudy triumph ! Before I proceed further, I (hall refer to page 185 of my letter to my fon, where I fay, that appointed by the Prince of LiegCj the humble inftrunnent of the fea of Rome It were happy for this petty place if another man, as refpedtable as the Proteftant magiftrate, were to be found in it. For bigotry and defpicable intrigue in the other, renders the place unfit for any refpeftable inhabitant. It is governed, in military matters, by Prince Frederick of Hcfle, brother to K ( 66 ) Kim who has the contrad with England for men (which by the bye is but half a degree removed from our flave- trade); him who was diftinguimed by Princefs Amelia, leaving him he? iplendid fortune, unmindful of the beauteous offspring of our beloved Sovereign. 1 had got fo bad a cold and hoarfenefs as unfitted me from prefenting myfelf at their door ; a refped, on the part of all who intended to flop in the town, I was told they expedled* But my illnefs made me refolve againft it, together with finding, that the reft of the Englifh in the town never went, except Lady- Douglas, wife to Sir George Douglas the navy officer, who attended all her court, and was upon fo friendly a footing. ( 6? ) a footing, as to be invited to her (uppers, An order was iffued by the magiftrates, for all Grangers to give notice to them who they were, with whom connected, and by what means they fubMed ; that they might either give a letter of reftdence, or fend them forth to the mercy of the enemy, as their circum- ftances dire&ed. The Marechal de Caflres, the Due de Guines, with all their female relations, and feveral Hundred more of the firft families in Eu- rope, were inhumanly ordered out ; though the French ariftocrats had hardly a chance of efcaping, being furrounded with the French patriots. The Marquia de Champinelle, who rather than fub- ipit to the rifk of fitting down with K 2, the the Tiers Etat of Paris, had, in 1789^ abandoned his King and country, now to avail himfelf of all the advantages of the bull d'or, humbly fupplicated to have the honour of being admitted a burgher of this petty Dutch burgh j which being granted, he and his family were faved from being fent out like the reft. The day after my arrival, on coming from the Comtefle of D' Alton's, the beau f iful wife of the Auftrian general of that name, accompanied by my couiin Mifs Maxwell, General Count Con way ^ and young ReidheifTel the Sub-go- vernor's fon, I ftarteu and grew pale at; the fight of a man, whom I met at the door. Qeneral Con way afked me what was the matter ? { pointing to the man exclaimed. ( 69 ) ^xclaimed, Grands Dieux! there is a wretch who is come here to aflaffinate me, for I found him in my lodgings, before I had taken them five minutes, jn clofe conference with my landlord, whofe name is Briatte 5 and who the Prince of Hefie accufed of being a Jacobine ; his name is Valmalette, Young Reidheiflel begged that I might compofe myfelf, for that he could af- fure me he was not called Valmalette, but Count M^rcan, chamberlain to the King of Pruffia, and paymafter to the; Princes. Ah ! if fo, faid I, he mould add another title, that ofjlrger of qffi gnats \ for this accounts for the poor emigrants being paid in them, and indeed for the amazing conduct of the whole campaign, (jfeneral Con way begged I would tell him ( 7 ) him how I come to think I knew thi$ pan, and I related to him what follows i In the year 1789 I left Spa, accom-r panied by my nephew, Mr. Fordyce, and cunofity led us through Paris, in pur way to England j we arrived ther$ the i ft of Odtober ; I at that time knew nothing of French politicks, and very few French people, ev^n by reputation. In the few days I ftaid there, I t however, had very decided proofs that the tumults, infults, and dangers, which befet the King on the 5th and 6th of that month, were folely the diabolical contrivance of Bgalite. A committee was on the 7th formed f the deputies of the National Aflem- ( 7' ) Lly, to inquire into the fource of thofe movements. To fcreen the real per- petrator from being detected, this monfler Valmalette, denounced me to the committee, accufing me of being employed by the minifters of England, and having papers of great confequence in my letter-cafe. La Fayette iflued a warrant to apprehend me, which was ferved as if I had been their captive queen, whom they had two days before dragged to Paris j for fixty National troops and fixteen Swifs guards, at- tended by four commiflaries, in the middle of the night, arrefted me, and placing me in a coach drawn by four horfes, they carried me to the Hotel de Villc. The v the ftreets were filled With many thoufands of the Poiflardes, who were thoftly intoxicated; and in the courts, Were abbve ii,ood National troops; whilft the ftair-cafes, anti-chambers* and halls, were rilled with officers, all with their fwords drawn j in the inner apartment was feated La Fayette, " like ** a Sophy on his throne,'* furrounded with aid- de-camps and generals^ who all came to fee the vidtixii, which they were perfuaded^ after a few minutes' examination, would be thrown out to be torn to peices, as many others had been. 'knowing that no one, however irino* cent, had efcaped, I made up my mind to my fate, being perfuaded, that as an Englifh ( 73 ) Englim women, accufed of being em- ployed by minifters againft them, I had no chance -, I fummoned up my courage, and it did not fail me. I was refolved boldly to defend my country and myfelf from fo unmerited an accufation $ and to mark, by my words and geflures, all that contempt, which thefe blood-hounds merited. From one o'clock in the morning, til eight, I was anfwering the interroga- tories of the Abbe Fauchet, and the other Deputies and with fuch alter- nate irony and haughtinefs did I anfwer, that the major, who flood behind me with his fword drawn over my head, told me afterwards, that he every moment cxpeded I mould be fent to prifon. Unaccuflomed to fuch undaunted L truth, ( 74 ) truth, they were awed by my manner ; and execrating the falfe informer, they propofed conducting me back to my Hotel, Rue de Richelieu. Though acquitted above flairs, I had ftill little chance of efcaping the mob below $ who, not under the dominion of reafon, perhaps might tear me to pieces, as they had done Bertier, when fent away acquitted. But having deco- rated myfelf before I fet out, with the tri-couleur ribbons, the Poif- farde, half of them drunk, the other afleep, probably thought I was a lady belonging to the commiffioner who at- tended me s for I got horns unmolefled. Lord Robert Fitzgerald was then our xninifter at Paris. I immediately fent to defire ( 75 ) defire to fee him. When he came, I told him the ftory, and begged him to go along with me back again. He tried toper* fuade me not to go again to 'that bourne* from whence fo few returned; but I faidlhad rather that they mould kill me, than that I mould fet down underfuch an infult So into my carriage we got, and drove to the Hotel de Ville ; when ar- rived, I demanded to fee the Marquis de la Fayette, and we were conducted into his Prefence-chamber, where he came, leaving his aid-de-camps with their fwords drawn in the anti-chamber. Lord Robert, as minifter, began, very grace- fully, by faying, this is my lady I flopped him mort, faying, " Monfieur le Marquis ihould know me, fince he fo daringly arrefted me !aft night ; but, faid I, Mon- La Fayette, I am neither of a La country ( 76 ) country nor a mind that can fubmit to an infult ; and to demand that fatisfac- tion, which is not fo much due to my honor as to your's, I am now come here accompanied by the minifter of Eng- land". With all that infinuating elegance and plaufibility of manners he is fo famed for, he deplored his error, and lamented my fufferings -, alluring us that Valma- lette had given Monfieur le Bailli, mayor of Paris, who was his relation and friend, the accufation againft me, promifing to him, that when I was caught he would attend to prove his aflertion. He faid that the mifcreant Valmalette had not only, by this ftrata- gem, occupied the committee from the inquiring into Egalite's guilt, but had infured ( 77 ) infured his own retreat : for that the night before he had flolen away with all his effects. After, in terms fufficiently flrong, having reprobated their conduct, we took our leave, firft having received from La Fayette every aflurance that he would fend a party after him to Cin- quintaine, where he was born, and probably had returned to hide himfelf ; and allb lay the bufinefs before the King, who fent me a very handfome apology by Monfieur Montmorin (too good a one), that he alas ! received too many infults to be able to prevent any -, but alluring me that he would write to the arch-duchefs, to have Valmelette arrefted, if in the Brabant. The party and warrants were lent after him 5 but he never could be found, nor heard of, till now I met him with my Jacobin landlord ( 78 ) landlord in my apartment. Comte Con-* way and Mr. ReidheifTel faid it was amazing! and, having conduced us to our houfe, wifhed them good morning. I then fent a civil note to the magif- tracy, containing my name ; one famous amongft theirgenerals ; and my connec- tions, the moft honorable and faithful fupporters of my King and country : and my means of fubfiftence fufficient. When, to my amazement, the Papift Burgo-maiftre fent me by the foot- man, a moft impertinent verbal meflage that I was not to ftay. His mefTage fhewed me plainly, that my having written again ft popery, had awakened boly wrath. Indeed fuch offence, the letter to my fon had given at Liege> that they fent the police after it to Spa 5 where ( 79 ) where, had the bookfellers, who fold it, not hid it under the roof of their houfes,it would have been publicly burned in the ftreets. Nay, I am not fure that I fhould not have been thrown into the flames with it. On my appearance at Maeftricht then, where a very warm enmity fubfifted between the Lutherins and Papifts, I was looked upon as a moft formidable force to join the Proteftant party one, who would make tremble the holy chair ; nay, by overfetting the principles of the great town of Maeftricht, I might overthrow the Pope himfelf. I (hould not have doomed myfelf to Hay in this outlandifh place an hour, fince I have no faith in the virtue of pennance, if I had not been, by illnefs, totally totally unable to travel. Every body complained of fuch an infult to an Englifh perfon ; who certainly has claims to every poffible mark of Dutch protec- tion : and all ridiculed the motive of it. The Prince de Montmorency told me he had heard, that young Reid- heflel went to the Prince of Hefie, and told him what I had faid of Mercan j and he not being a perfon of the bright- eft understanding in the world, in place of afking me about the ftory, he fent this papiil Burgo-maiftre for Valmelette; and told him, that he heard he was not Count Mercan, but Valmalette, born at Cinquintaine, banifhed from France, and the Netherlands, and not a Pruffian. Valmalette told this prince, who was weak Weak enough to believe him, that he was not Valmalette, and added, I can tell your highnefs who gave you thi's information : it was an Englim lady, who being one of the Duke of Orleans's agents, and having feen me here, me has lodged thofe falfe accufations againft me, to fcreen herfelf, and get me fuf- peded, who am the Count Mercan, chamberlain to the King of Pruffia, and confident friend and paymafter to the French princes. This gratified the papift Burgo-maitre's vengeance j and the Prince of HefTe, aflured of Mercan 's being highly injured, rejoiced at my leaving the town. All the much refpected family of the Montmorency's knew well my opinion of Egalite, this chef-d'ceuvre of ini- M quity, quity, and knew before this period the fbry of Valmalette. But they little fufpeded that Valmalette was Mercan, elfe they would probably have been ab!'& to fave the princes from fo very ruinous a connection. The Prince of Montmo- rency had a friend at Maeflriecht, who faw Mercan, and attefled him to be Valma- lette, whom he had known in the French d ragoons ; and that he had married an old cloathfman's daughter on the Boulvards. Baron Zemft, the minifler of the King v of Pruffia, whom, I had before known intimately, paffed through Maeflriecht, and called on me. I afked him if fuch a man were em- ployed by the King his mailer ; he faid no fuch man was, that he ever had heard of. I then charged him to inform the King of Pruffia of the iloryj at the fame time time expreffing my wifti to caution his Majefty, fince the fate of empires was in his hands, not to admit every in- famous adventurer into his councils ; even though recommended by a favorite friend or miftrefs. - Not being of a conduct to merit re- proach, nor of a charafter to fubmit to it, although extremely ill, I went wrapt up, to the Prince of Hefle. Sir Lionel Cop- ley, with that liberality and manly firmnefs which does fo much honor to his character, accompanied me. I charged the prince with having been fo unwife as to liften to Valmalette without hearing me j and by fo doing, making himfelf the dupe of fuch a wretch j I affured him that it was aduty I owed myfelf togive him information, notwithftanding fo very un- fair fair a conducl in his highnefs, which had brought me to his houfe Then telling him all Valmalette's ftory adding, he owed too much to England not to ftudy to mew every mark of attention to the refpeclable part of the nation. I gave him a copy of my letter to my fon, to (hew him the opinion I had of Egalite ; and I ftncerely hope his highnefs has read it, for it cannot fail to improve him. Although he had been in England, he feemed to forget the refpectable inde- pendence of an Englifh fubject, and flood confefledly aihamed of his con- dud: ; he begged that I would inform the French princes of this ftory, and with the moft courteous affurances how happy the prtncefs and he would be to fee me for fome months in fummer; begging to be of every ufe in pro- viding viding horfes for me, we took leave of him, preferring infinitely the rifk of being robbed by the Imperial troops, to the remaining where Valmalette's poft-guard might have reached me. The Prince of HefTe promifed to keep him in cuflody till 1 was out of the country, and then to banifh him, which I fuppofe he did ; for foon after, he fol- lowed me to London, where he took various names, one day a Pole, another day a German, and perhaps he ftill is in, England, We were very much alarmed for the fafety of a beautiful infant I carried with me, as it was well authenticated, that the Hulans, who are a nation of favages, roafted children when hungry but thank God we got fafe to Liege, which was ( 86 ) was not fo full as when I pafTed it before, as moft of the emigrants and priefts had fled. We were the only peo- ple going there ; the roads were lined with carriages going away, and carts of baggage flying from the plunder of the Imperial army. Had I been conveyed by fome aerial means to the moft remote town of the Hottentots, I am perfuaded I could not have had fuch finking proofs of bar- barous ignorance, as the week I ftayed atMaeftriecht afforded. The roads being on all fides almoft impaiTable, they have very little intercourfe with the world ; and a primitive illiterate pride, feemed alone to diftinguifh all J chanced to meet with there. I was I was forry to find, upon my arrival at Liege, the French princes that day had fled, upon the approach of the Sans- culottes army, which had beaten the Auftrians at Louvaine, St. Ivon, Tirle- mont, and Namur; which Valance bom- barded, and took with fuch bravery and military fkill. The inhabitants of Liege were all valiant patriots. The Auftrian troops who were in it, feemed to think the defence of it, by mak- ing a fland on the citadel and Char- treufe, was decided on; that muft have totally deftroyed the town, and a dread- ful carnage muft have enfued had they attempted it, for the people of the town would have rifen in arms againft the Imperial troops. We ( 88 1 We had been for fome time accuf- tomed to hear cannonading from every quarter- we were now to have them planted againft us* The inhabitants waited in filent anxiety, wifhing that the Auftrians might be beaten $ and knowing that they would plunder them of every thing they could find, they patted their time in burying their plate, money, and valuables. I did not ima- gine that the Auftrians would give battle at Liege, or attempt to defend that country, when they had fo calmly evacuated their own -, efpecially as they had the inhabitants all againft them. The patriotifm of the people was much increafed by their bigotry. The violent rains that the Combined Armies had been expofed to, and the difeafes which they ( 9 ) they endured, they fuppofed the blefled Virgin had fent to prevent their fuccefs -, on the other hand, the fun chanced always to fhine when Dumourier made an advantageous move j and a circum- ftance that happened on the 26th of No- vember, left them no doubt but that the Bon Dieu etoit Patriote. The Auftrians were encamped on the heights above Liege, and it was decided on by them, that they muft fecretly in the night try to get pofTeffion of the citadel of Liege, and the Chartreufe ; to be able to make an advantageous iland againft the French and the town. No fnow had yet fallen ; but juft that evening enough fell to whiten the ground, fo that the men could not move N without ( 9 ) without being difcovered by Dumourier ; vvhofe energy of character kept him always awake to every occafion : he in- ftantly obferving the-movement,. made after them fo faft as to prevent their accompliming the motive of it ; and the brave Starary turned imprudently, and gave battle. I lodged at the fame hotel with a German officer, whofe wife's anxieties I attempted to alleviate during the battle; he told me in pafling, that the General, as well as all the officers, had ever fince the retreat of the Pruffians looked upon the bufinefs as a forlorn hope ; and difgufted and driven by def- peration, he faid it was better to die honorably there, than for ever to fly be- fore the French $ and thus he was ramly driven ( 9' ) driven to give battle. An ill-fated battle for him, and feveral thoufand brave men, who fell ! The engagement continued with un- remitting violence for 14 hours. May none in England ever witnffs the hor- rors of fuch a fcene ! The awful fufpenfe was dreadful even to me, who had no friend oc relation, or any one whom I knew engaged. Oh what then the anguifli of the charmnig little countefs I was with, who trembled for the fate of her hulband ! Upon the report of three guns, fired, as a fignal that the French were viclo- rious, the emigrants, both men and women, the officers and foldiers wives, difplayed a fcene of horror and diiltefs, running about unable to find horfes to N 3 convey ( 9? ) convey them away ; and the inhabitants doing nothing to help them ; on the contrary, the cruelties and fhifts com- mitted by them, made the inhabitants Detain all their baggage, which was left after the troops ; who ran through the town without flopping for any thing, carrying with them an incredible number of wounded, amongft whom was poor General Starary, whofe words were too prophetick. He was carried through the Jown alive, and witnefled how little the inhabitants, thanked him for defending them } and in a few days he was refigned to an honorable grave. Next day after this (to me a melan- choly tragedy) the 28th of the month, ill was dy. The ringing of bells, and preparations to receive their deliverers the ( 93 ) ihe French, filled the town with jocun* dity and enthufiafm. All were drafted in their Deft apparel, with tri-couleur rib* bons, and National cockades; their plate and money were all dug up, and every thing in the beft gala order. The French did not march into town till mid-day. The inhabitants had gone out, carrying every fprt of provifion to their camp for four days the troops had tafted nothing but fome hard ftale bread, brought from BrufTelr, without even water; and their ufual vivacity and gaiety was perfectly re-eftabliihed. It would need the pen of a Homer to defcrihe their tuurnphal enrry. Several thoulan^s of ibeir dragoon-; paffcd firft, all in high order the men cl-an and gay, as ii thf- V:^ not come from : C 94 ) fevere hard duty ; after them came the troops of the line, all joyous and neatly dreft, paying their compliments to every perfon whom they patted, and each man with a loaf of bread, a leg of mutton, or a piece of beef, on his bayonet. The troops were all in an inftant lodged by theinhabitants.-- When general Dumou^ rier arrived with his officers, without any guard, amidft the (houts and bleilings of themob, he went into the town-houfe, where he addrefTed the people in a fhort fpeech -, afluring them, that it gave him the moft lively pleafure, having aflifted them in getting rid of a government fo obnoxious to them j tha.t be meant neither to ufe force or entreaty, leaving them to ftudy how they could be moft happy, freed from the defpotic go- vernment of priefts " Unite us to France" ( 95 ) France," was loudly re-echoed by the whole. The General, after feveral of the n- habitants had fpoken to thank him and the French nation, for having given them man's bed gift, freedom, was preparing to leave the Hotel de Ville ; when a circumftance happened to awaken pity in every breafl not dead to feeling : An unfortunate leader of the laft revolt, who had been confined ever fmce in a dungeon, and never once allowed to fee his wife, whom he doted upon, was now brought out ; when alas ! the joy of feeing once more the light, and tailing a cordial to fupport his exhaufted ema- ciated frame, was foon to be damped by the fevereft blow of affliction. His His wifebri hearing that the French 'had heat off the Auftrians, the caufe of* all her forrow,wa& in fuch tranfport at the" thoughts of feeing her beloved hufband, who had fo long been immured under ground, that, unable to bear the excefs of joy, mixt with fufpenfe, without any dileafe fhe expired, from Warring fen- 4 fibility, before he could be releafed. Another fimilar proof of female fenil- bility I had witneffed juft before I left Spa. A poor man was flogged'almoft to death for having uttered fome words, when intoxicated, in favour of liberty; his wife, then very big with child, with two young infants in her arms, almofr, diftracled, kneeling, implored mercy for her hufband infult was added to cruelty, ( 97 ) cruelty; her heart, too good for the con- flict, broke {lie inftantly was delivered, and expired. Her huiband, neverthelefs, was torn from his helplefs infants and thrown into a dungeon, from whence the French delivered him. The General, after having in the moil feeling manner condoled with the& unhappy fufferers, left the Hotel de Ville to take pofleflion of the palace which was prepared for his reception. We, with a large party of ladies, were in the crowd to fee him ; a Liege gentle- man told him who we were. As foon as he found we were Englifli, his affurances of refpect and attachment to the nation became unbounded; he begged that we would command his fervices in every thing, and a/king Mifs Maxwell, if fhe O was V 98 )' was fitter to the gallant Maxwell in India, I told him I had that honour. He faid he was well acquainted with his great military character and diftinguifhed courage, and begged of me when I wrote to him, that I would allure him of his efteem and admiration, and how lin- cerely he wiftied to ferve a campaign 'with ib able an officer, for that he hoped never to ferve againft his brothers of freedom, the Englifh; which meflage I faithfully fentfix months ago, to (hew my dear brother, that all Europe had a juft fenfe of his valour and lervices $ which, 1 hope, will prove a fmall recom- pence for his hair- breadth efcapes and toils in battle. J now faw, for the firft time, the Due deChartres, whole amia-r bie character and elegant manners ren- der h"ioi fo unlike the vile Egalue 5 O his U 99 ) his polite attention to me, as well as that of General Dumourier, {hewed me how obnox'ous his father's condudl was to them, otherwife they would not have treated with every mark of refpedt and civility, one who had held him forth to the odium of the public. The character of the French troops was fo decided, for being fcrupuloufly honeft, that no one had ever, where- ever they went, loft a farthing's worth by them ; I therefore now fent for my baggage from Maeftriecht. The crowds that filled the theatre the firft night of their arrival, together with the crowds in the ftreets, prevented us from going to fee the conqueror crowned with laurel. Next day we O a attended attended the ceremony of planting the Tree of Liberty in the market-place. A proceffionof citizens marched firft with red woollen caps on their heads j they carried a very large tree, which they painted tri-couleur, and after planting it, they put an immenfe large red cap on it, all dreaming with the National colours. The General then made a fpeech to them complimenting them with their newly .acquired liberty conjuring them to ihew themfelves worthy of the blefllng, by unanimity and humanity j by pardoning all thofe who had oppofed "tfiem and he declared, that if any act of violence, or oppreflion, mould de- grade them, that he Would withdraw his prote&ion, and pronounce them unworthy to be free. I was. ( 101 ) I was entreated by fome ladies at the English convent, to apply to him for a protection, and to free them from levies of bread, &c. which he granted 5 and fuch marks of attachment, were always publickly (hewn by Dumourier to all the English. A circumftance occurred that evening which proved that this fentiment was general in the army. At the theatre the piece was Blaife and Babet, in which the country people bring a bouquet to the father of the village ; inftead of giving the bouquet to the actor, the aclrefs advanced to the prince's box ; {he put a wreath of laurel on Dumourier's head, and gave him the bouquet, which he inftantly gave to me. Loud applaufes refounded from every part of the theatre, and falute the Englifh lady. Long live Liberty, England, and France! re-echoed from every mouth. After After theplay, theceremonyof taking the civic oath was the ballet ; and followed by the fong of the Marfeillois, the tocfin, and all that flage ejfeft which awakens fiich enthufiaftic ardor in the ttoops. The French were ever a fing-fong nation, andfuch power had thefe patriotic fongs over their minds, that they became al- moft delirious, intoxicated by the fervor which they infpired. The whole au- dience joined in chorus, and between the play and the farce, they fung fomc poignant farcafms on the Brunfwick Manifefto, and the Pruflian misfortunes; they then all retired quietly to their lodgings ; for no riot, drunkennefs, in- fult, or depredation, has ever been com- mitted by them in any place where I found them. General General Dumourier at the play, prc- iented to me the intrepid Baptiite, and his two beautiful aids de-camps, the Mifs Fernicks. Their houfe being at- tacked by the Auftrians in the night, and razed to the ground, they were obliged to fly with their brother, to feek refuge in the French camp ; when no female attire being found, the aids-de- camps gave'them their uniforms, which the General advifed them not to change for that of a female ; and declaring that he would feverely chaftife any man who Jfhould treat them but as young gentle- men, configned by fortune to their care ; iince both honour and humanity called on them, to proten of> for the king of France, to bt r fto one who leaves the caufe from what- ever motives. Were they well treated they would prove'an incitement to others. But perfecuted the Republicans mufl , die hard, and never difunite, iince on earth they will find no refuge. After the reception he met with, I need not attempt to defcribe his feelings at quiting that country he has for nearly half a century fo highly extolled; and wifhed anxioufly to fee, as the cen- ter of Liberality Happinefs and Li* berty ! Pall Mall, 2%thofjune, 1793, FINIS, University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. OCT 30 1 DUE2WKSFROMD EWABLE U 95 TE RECEIVED NON-Ril^WABLE 2000 RECEIVED DUE 2 WKS FROM MAR \ A 000 000 292 3