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FRANCE IN EIGHTEEN 
 HUNDRED AND TWO 
 
VERSAILLES AND THE TRIANONS 
 
 By Pierre de Nolhac, Director of the Versailles 
 Museum. With 50 pictures by R. Binet, reproduced 
 in colour. One Volume, price i6s. net. Edition de 
 Luxe, limited to 100 copies, numbered and signed, 
 price Two Guineas net. 
 
 THE FLIGHT OF MARIE ANTOINETTE 
 
 From the French of G. Lenotre, by Mrs. Rodolf 
 Stawell. I vol., with 50 illustrations, 10s. 6d. net. 
 
 NAPOLEON, KING OF ELBA 
 
 From the French of Paul Gruyer. i vol., 24 full-page 
 illustrations, los. 6d. net. 
 
 MADAME RECAMIER 
 
 (According to many hitherto unpublished. documents) 
 From the French of Edouard Herriot. By Alys 
 Hallard. 2 vols., 16 photogravure plates, los. 6d.net 
 each volume. 
 
 FRENCH SONGS OF OLD CANADA 
 
 Pictured by Graham Robertson. Coloured Plates and 
 Music. 4to, picture boards, 31s. 6d. net. 
 
 FELICITY IN FRANCE 
 
 By Constance Maud, Author of " An English Girl in 
 
 Paris." 1 vol., 6s. 
 " The sight of a book on France from the able and witty 
 pen of Miss Maud is almost as good as a trip thither in 
 person — only much cheaper. . . . We can imagine no better 
 unconventional guide-book, giving the life and soul rather 
 than the dry bones of fact." — Outlook. 
 
 WILLIAM HEINEMANN, 21 Bedford Street, W.C. 
 
^ 
 
A CONTEMPORARY MEDALLION PORTRAIT, 
 BY TAZZI, OF THE FIRST CONSUL (date 1803) 
 
FRANCE IN EIGHTEEN 
 HUNDRED AND TWO 
 
 DESCRIBED IN A SERIES OF 
 CONTEMPORARY LETTERS 
 BY HENRY REDHEAD YORKE 
 
 EDITED AND REVISED WITH A 
 BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX BY J. A. C. 
 SYKES AND AN INTRODUCTION BY 
 RICHARD DAVEY 
 
 LONDON 
 WILLIAM HEINEMANN 
 
 MCMVI 
 

 Co^right 1906 by William Heinemann 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 BY RICHARD DAVEY 
 
 Some months ago Lady Sykes accidentally came across 
 a very rare work — Henry Redhead Yorke's " Letters 
 from France, written in 1802." She immediately be- 
 came its possessor, and a perusal of its contents 
 suggested the excellent idea of editing the book for 
 modern publication : for, although intensely interesting, 
 Yorke's ^^ Letters" were written in the verbose style 
 characteristic of his day. By judicious pruning and 
 omissions Lady Sykes has reduced the volume by about 
 a third, without, however, omitting anything of the least 
 importance ; whereby she enables in a concise manner 
 students of French history to bridge over the important 
 though little known period which elapsed between the 
 downfall of Robespierre and the Consulate. 
 
 Many imagine that immediately after the Reign of 
 Terror ended things settled down very quickly in France, 
 and that whatever benefits accrued from the Revolution 
 soon blossomed and bore abundant fruit. It was, however, 
 very much otherwise ; and the prevalent idea, that the 
 prosperity of modern France is due to the great Revolu- 
 tion, is a fallacy ; for, independently of the chaos created 
 by the Reign of Terror, we must take into consideration 
 the decade of Napoleonic despotism which separates the 
 Revolution from the beginning of what is known as la 
 France moderne, 
 
 Henry Redhead was born in 1772, most probably in 
 the West Indies, whence he was fetched as a child, and 
 brought up at Little Eaton, near Derby. He was evidently 
 a youth of considerable observation and studious habits, 
 and before he was twenty had written a pamphlet against 
 negro emancipation, which, however, he recalled a couple 
 
 A 
 
 310176 
 
2 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 / of' y.ea^-s.l'it-e.r as- the -result of a visit to Paris, then in the 
 » early throes of the JRevolution. Redhead threw himself 
 heart and soul with the enthusiasm of youth into a 
 popular movement which he believed was to liberate 
 humanity from every sort of bondage, and bring about a 
 period of quite Utopian peace and prosperity. Whilst 
 under the influence of th^ buoyant rhetoric that marked 
 the first period of the Revolution, he was privileged to 
 witness many of the most striking events and scenes 
 in that momentous drama; including the trial of 
 Louis XVI., in connection with which he gives in these 
 ** Letters " several facts omitted by general historians. 
 There were at this time several other British enthusiasts 
 in Paris, amongst them Robert and John Sheares, with 
 whom he became acquainted, and who induced him to 
 join the British Club, an association at which were dis- 
 cussed such subjects as the advantage of liberating 
 England by the assassination of that harmless monarch 
 George IIL Redhead would not, however, hear of any 
 such project, and, after a violent quarrel with the Sheares, 
 left the Club, being denounced to the Convention by 
 Robert Rayment. He now concluded it were wiser to 
 put the frontier between himself and the disorderly and 
 fanatical horde of informers and informed who had, 
 with surprising rapidity, seized the reins of administration 
 in Paris. He changed his name, assumed that of Yorke, 
 and, travelling through Holland, reached England in 
 1793, where he joined a liberal debating society in Derby, 
 and became distinguished for his rhetorical eloquence. 
 It was soon alleged against him, however, that he had, 
 amongst other revolutionary ebullitions, declared, " You 
 have before you, young as I am (about twenty-two years 
 of age), a man who has been concerned in three revolu- 
 tions already, who essentially contributed to serve the 
 Republic in America, who contributed to that of Holland, 
 who materially assisted in that of France, and who will 
 continue to cause revolutions all over the world." This 
 striking boast did not receive the support Redhead 
 imagined it would ; for he was promptly arrested, and at 
 
INTRODUCTION 3 
 
 the York Spring Assizes in 1795, true bills were found 
 against him for conspiracy, sedition and libel. His trial 
 took place on July 23, 1795, at York, but his co-defendant, 
 Joseph Gales, printer of the "Sheffield Register," and 
 Richard Davison, compositor, absconded. Although he 
 repudiated the violent words imputed to him, and declared 
 himself to be a loyal citizen. Redhead was none the less 
 sentenced to two years' imprisonment in Dorchester 
 Castle, whence he was not released until March 1799. 
 Whilst in prison his views, political and otherwise, became 
 greatly modified, and, although he remained a staunch 
 Liberal, he conceived an abhorrence of revolutionary 
 methods, considering them as the most unlikely to 
 conduce to true freedom or to the prosperity of the 
 peoples who employed them. In 1802 he revisited 
 France, the result of his observations on this occasion 
 being embodied in the "Letters from France." He 
 remained in Paris three months, making notes of all he 
 saw, visiting such old friends as had survived the Terror, 
 and seeing for himself all the havoc the Revolution had 
 wrought. On his return to England Redhead continued 
 to place his talents at the disposal of the Liberal party. 
 In 181 1 he appeared in London, and delivered a series of 
 lectures on historical and political subjects ; but his health 
 completely broke down, and although he had been 
 induced by Richard Valpy to undertake the continuation 
 of John Campbell's " Lives of British Admirals," he was 
 too ill to finish that work, and died at Chelsea, after a brief 
 illness,- on January 28, 1813. Mr. Redhead married in 
 1800 the accomplished daughter of Mr. Andrews, keeper 
 of Dorchester Castle, by whom he had four children. 
 This lady accompanied him, and together with her 
 friend, Mrs. Cosway, the wife of the celebrated painter 
 and herself a fine artist, was his companion on most of 
 his excursions in that city and its neighbourhood. 
 
 Redhead was a man of very keen perception, generous 
 impulse, and, having the courage of his opinions, 
 was never ashamed to own that circumstances had 
 occasionally compelled him to change them. The best 
 
4 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 known of his numerous publications is this volume of 
 *^ Letters from France/' written with the object of exposing 
 the fruits of a tyrannical and corrupt form of government, 
 whose wires were pulled by unscrupulous miscreants in 
 the oft-blasphemed names of " Liberty, Equality, and 
 Fraternity." These *' Letters " were not published until 
 after the author's death, when Mrs. Redhead found 
 copies of them amongst her husband's effects, and a 
 very limited edition was printed ; so that at present the 
 work is exceedingly scarce. 
 
 The value of Redhead Yorke's " Letters from France" 
 consists not only in the remarkable picture he gives of 
 Paris eight years after the Reign of Terror, but in the 
 fact that, as he was intimately acquainted with many of 
 i\\u^e who played a prominent part in that tragedy, he 
 wa:i frequently able to give an account of their latter 
 years. In 1802 the majority, however, of those with 
 whom he had lived on terms of fairly good fellowship on 
 the occasion of his first visit to France, had been guillo- 
 tined ; and, on the other hand, not a few who had been 
 but little known in his earlier years had now risen to 
 conspicuous official positions — which, more often than 
 not, they did not fill so much for their country's good as 
 for their own. He gives us a very interesting account of 
 a conversation which he had with Tom Paine, whem he 
 had known and admired previously, but whom he now 
 discovered in a state of abject poverty on the very day 
 that the American Republic determined to bring him 
 back to his own country, where, however, he lived, after 
 all his sufferings and misery in France, only two years. 
 Our author was also well acquainted with that remarkable 
 woman, Miss Helen Williams ; and he supplies many 
 unedited anecdotes of other Revolutionary celebrities, 
 including Th^roigne de Mirecourt; David, the celebrated 
 painter, and his wife ; the partially insane English revolu- 
 tionary. Colonel Oswald ; Joseph Le Bon, and the 
 brothers Sheares. One of them was the son of that 
 unhappy Amazon, Theroigne de Mirecourt. 
 
 The perusal of these " Letters "will probably convince 
 
IKTRODUCTION 5 
 
 many readers that this Revolution did not benefit 
 humanity to a quarter of the extent which its enthusiasts 
 would have us believe it did. In fact, Redhead, like 
 most travellers in France at that period, soon came to 
 the conclusion, from personal and unprejudiced obser- 
 vation, that the much-vaunted great Revolution had been 
 a failure. The class which was to have more especially 
 benefited by it was reduced to a greater depth of 
 degradation and poverty in the first decade of the nine- 
 teenth century than ever it had been under the ancien 
 regime : the peasantry and the working classes in general 
 were for the most part out of employment ; and the 
 pernicious forced recruitmg system which Napoleon had 
 introduced was draining the country of useful men, 
 whose place in the fields and manufactories had to be 
 filled by incompetent lads, old men, and even by girls 
 and women. At least a third of the arable land had 
 gone out of cultivation, and French manufactures had 
 sunk to the utmost insignificance. The rich landowners 
 who had hitherto helped the peasantry were either dead 
 in exile or else banlcrupt. The village school, like the 
 village church, was generally closed ; and the rustic 
 population were endeavouring to escape the conscrip- 
 tion which weighed so heavily on the country. Higher 
 education was also at a standstill : the richly endowed 
 universities, colleges, and public schools which had been 
 founded in the eighteenth century, had been pillaged, 
 many of their buildings were in ruins, and their libraries 
 confiscated by the Revolutionaries, had not yet been 
 restored. So it was with the scientific and literary 
 institutions in the capital and larger towns, though in 
 1802 some of these were beginning to slowly revive. The 
 Revolution was, in short, an orgy of brute force, a 
 destroyer producing nothing great either in art, literature, 
 or science. David was the representative painter, and 
 his pictures, when put up for auction in a modern sale- 
 room, now fetch scarcely the price of the canvas and 
 frames on which they are painted and stretched. The 
 exquisite highly finished art-work of the eighteenth 
 
6 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 century in bronze, furniture, and ceramic, which still 
 sells for fabulous prices at Christie's and the Hotel 
 Drouet, was lost ; and it was not until the Empire was well 
 established that it began gradually to improve, a proof, if 
 one were needed, that the artistic taste of the nation had 
 not been entirely extinguished in the general disorder 
 that had overwhelmed the capital and country. The 
 utmost licentiousness reigned supreme in Paris at this 
 period ; and Redhead's description of the nightly and 
 indecent scenes in the Palais Royal, which proved so 
 attractive to British and other foreign bachelors, shows 
 that they were not unlike those that draw crowds of 
 tourists to the heights of Montmartre in 1906. The shop 
 windows in 1802, as at present, were filled with abomin- 
 able and blasphemous prints : and the whole atmosphere 
 of Parisian life was charged with an unwholesome miasma 
 which filled Redhead with horror and disgust, despite 
 his fiery advocacy of the Revolution in its earlier 
 stages. 
 
 The man of genius who was destined eventually to re- 
 establish order was only First Consul ; but even then 
 people were beginning to whisper that he intended to 
 make himself King or Emperor. Naturally, Redhead, as 
 an Englishman, has not many compliments to bestow on 
 Napoleon ; though, had he lived to see the accomplish- 
 ment of the great Corsican's work, he might have enter- 
 tained a higher opinion of the ^^ ogre." As it was. 
 Redhead was disgusted with Napoleon's ostentatious 
 display, and above all with the manner in which the 
 spoils stolen from Italy were exhibited in Paris ; one of 
 his most interesting letters being that in which he 
 describes the condition of the Louvre even as he saw it 
 stuffed with the treasures of Italy, many of which bore 
 inscriptions he considered an outrage to decency. Thus, 
 for instance, on the Madonna del Orto might have 
 been read, ^' This picture was taken from the church of 
 Santa Maria del Orto at Venice," or again, ^^ This picture, 
 one of the best that Paul Veronese ever painted, was 
 taken from the church of the nuns of St. Zacharia at 
 
INTRODUCTION 7 
 
 Venice," and so on. Unfortunately, many of the pictures 
 brought to Paris were injudiciously restored ; and when, 
 after the Treaty of Vienna, they were returned to Italy, 
 it was found that they had been irreparably damaged. 
 Not content with carrying off pictures, statues, and other 
 works of art. Napoleon carted away the chief archives of 
 the foremost Italian cities ; and these were so carelessly 
 packed that many hundreds of valuable documents were 
 irretrievably lost. From the artistic and historical point 
 of view, the French Revolution was especially injurious 
 to Italy. Venice not only lost her independence, but half 
 her art treasures. During the French occupation at the 
 beginning of the nineteenth century, forty of her churches 
 were closed and thirty of them destroyed, amongst the 
 finest of them being San Gregorio, still standing though 
 desecrated ; and the Servi, one of the largest and most 
 historical in the city, not a stone of which exists. Eugene 
 Beauharnais, when Governor of Venice, pulled down 
 Palladio's Church of San Geminiano, which stood 
 opposite St. Mark's, to increase the Royal Palace, and 
 over thirty of the characteristic and beautiful campanikf 
 or church towers, which form so delightful a feature in 
 Venetian scenery, were destroyed, their material being 
 carted away to build the new fortifications. At Verona 
 the magnificent church of San Zeno was desecrated 
 (since restored), and two out of three of its splendid 
 cloisters were wantonly laid level. Padua, and, indeed, 
 every other city in Venetia, suffered losses. Ravenna lost 
 three of the handsomest of her ancient basilicas, includ- 
 ing San Agnese, whose fine mosaics are now in the 
 Berlin Museum. Milan lost fifty churches full of fine 
 frescoes by Leonardo, Luini, Foppa, and Proccaccino. 
 At Genoa, thanks to the French Revolutionaries, the 
 magnificent Church of San Domenico was demolished, 
 as well as that of San Francesco, which contained the 
 tombs of the Doges, not one of which was spared. 
 Moreover, the sudden suppression of the law of primo- 
 geniture ruined half the Italian nobility, and obHged 
 them to sell at low prices the accumulated art treasures 
 
8 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 of their ancestors. To this day Italy is covered with 
 churches and chapels ruined during the French occupa- 
 tion — which was effected on the pretext of '' liberating " 
 that country from superstition. 
 
 Every subsequent Revolution which has taken place in 
 France since 1793 — in 1838, 1848, and 1870 — has 
 originated in the continuance of the Jacobin traditions, 
 1 1 the main object of which is to substitute free-thought for 
 Christianity. In each case the Revolution has ended in 
 disorder and bloodshed, and has been succeeded by a 
 more or less modified form of autocracy ; yet the dawn 
 of the twentieth century is witnessing what may be 
 termed the most powerful combat between the Revolu- 
 tionary traditions and those of the aticien regime which 
 has taken place since the execution of Louis XVI. 
 Europe is to-day watching with anxiety the result of the 
 abrogation of that very Concordat in honour of the sign- 
 ing of which a Te Deum was sung in Notre Dame amidst 
 the utmost ecclesiastical, civil, and military pomp, and 
 attended by Napoleon and his Court, a function described 
 by Redhead in a letter which is especially interesting at 
 the present time. 
 
 It is not by religious persecution that a lasting Republic 
 can be established. France, so generous in her impulses, 
 so artistic, and, above all, so literary, has not yet learned 
 that a true democracy can only be founded upon a more 
 practical interpretation of the motto, ^^ Liberty, Equality, 
 and Fraternity," than the one that is now in vogue 
 amongst the majority of Frenchmen in both camps. 
 
 At the end of this volume will be found a very interest- 
 ing series of biographies, compiled by Lady Sykes, of the 
 persons connected with the Revolution mentioned in 
 Redhead Yorke's " Letters," many of whom are little 
 known even to close students of Revolutionary history. 
 
I 
 
 ARRIVAL AT CALAIS 
 
 I WILL endeavour in these letters to give some details of 
 the present moral and political condition of France. 
 
 Twelve years of unceasing revolution have changed the 
 face of a country highly favoured by nature. Amidst the 
 dilapidations of civil discord, and the ravages of foreign 
 armies, France has become doubly formidable to Europe, 
 and after the bloodshed, the misery, and the upheaval of 
 the Revolution, the nation has resumed all the habits of 
 her ancient system, and seeks internal repose in the arms 
 of a military despotism. We embarked at Dover, on 
 board the Venus for Calais. 
 
 Before the war, the price of the passage was half a 
 guinea, on the signature of the preliminaries of peace six 
 guineas was the price demanded ; but this is now reduced 
 to one guinea and a half for each person, with five shillings 
 to the mate, and seven to the steward. The sailors also 
 expect to be remembered. For taking a carriage on 
 board the fee is two guineas. 
 
 At Dover and Calais passports are examined with the 
 greatest attention. 
 
 My passport was signed by the King, and countersigned 
 by Lord Pelham, Secretary of State. At Dover all that 
 was required was that it should be properly verified at 
 the Custom House, where it was again countersigned by 
 the controller. 
 
 At Calais the ceremony was much more scrupulous and 
 imposing. Unfortunately, at the time of our arrival the 
 tide was ebbing, and we were forced to wait outside the 
 harbour until the tide flowed. We did not enter until 
 three in the morning, having been at sea fourteen 
 hours ! 
 
10 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 When we anchored, an officer came on board to inspect 
 our passport. 
 
 He informed us that it was impossible to enter the town 
 until the gates were opened at eight o'clock in the 
 morning, but that there was a little " cabaret," to which 
 strangers were permitted to visit for refreshment. 
 
 I gave the officer a letter of recommendation addressed 
 to the Commissary-General Mengoud, requesting him, 
 on behalf of. the lady who was with me, to deliver it 
 immediately, not doubting that it would facilitate us the 
 disagreeable necessity of sitting up all night in the public 
 cabin of the packet. 
 
 The officer declared he dared not disturb Monsieur 
 Mengoud at night 
 
 We remained until seven o'clock in the morning, in 
 this uncomfortable situation, when exhaustion compelled 
 us to leave the vessel and repair to the ^* cabaret." 
 
 We were then conducted to a little pig-stye beside the 
 gates of the town, where we underwent a pleasant cere- 
 mony called " La visite de la personne." 
 
 Four of the passengers could only be admitted at a 
 time. Two officers of the Customs passed their hands 
 over the ladies' dresses, and contented themselves with 
 asking the gentlemen whether they had any contraband 
 goods about them. After this we were allowed to enter 
 the '^ cabaret," a filthy hovel, full of fishermen, drinking 
 beer and gin. Here we were regaled with coffee and 
 bread, so disgustingly bad that we could not touch 
 either, and for which each person was charged three 
 English shillings. 
 
 I could not help observing to my hostess, that I did not 
 doubt but that when I next visited France, I should have 
 the honour of waiting upon her husband as Mayor of 
 Calais, for she was certain of soon amassing a vast 
 fortune. 
 
 There were nine of us in company, and she cleared 
 twenty-seven shillings in a moment. 
 
 I conversed with one of the fishermen sitting in the 
 room. He stated that in no part of France had the peace 
 
ARRIVAL AT CALAIS ii 
 
 of England caused more joy than at Calais, which had 
 suffered extremely by the war, where the inhabitants 
 were in a most deplorable condition ; the young and the 
 middle-aged, to avoid being famished, had no other 
 resource than to join the armies, which chiefly subsisted 
 upon the plunder of foreign countries, for they had no 
 alternative between famine and conquest. 
 
 These opinions were fully supported by a young man 
 who joined in the conversation, who said that only dire 
 necessity forced him to become a soldier. 
 
 He had served with reluctance in all the campaigns 
 against the English, and was now a captain of Grenadiers. 
 The French army, he said, took no interest in the 
 events occurring in Paris, nor in the Revolution, their 
 common principle being to obey their officers and plunder 
 for bread. The language of every general was the same, 
 " Behind you is nothing but want and misery, before you 
 glory and plenty." 
 
 They fought for glory and plenty, but never liberty, 
 which he acknowledged no Frenchman could either 
 understand or enjoy. 
 
 I remarked upon the inconvenience to which travellers 
 were exposed by the port regulations. He replied : ^* It 
 is no fault of our municipality, they are men of worth. 
 It is the will of the First Consul and must be obeyed." 
 I inquired whether a " douceur " would not produce 
 admittance into the town. He answered no sum of 
 money could purchase disobedience to an order of the 
 Consul, for the Argus he had planted in it was the terror 
 of the whole department, and nothing escaped the prying 
 eyes of his spies and informers. 
 
 About nine o'clock the officer returned with the welcome 
 news — " Monsieur Mengoud would be happy to receive 
 us." We were then all conducted to the town-hall, 
 where we answered to our names, then we were permitted 
 to go to our respective inns, after a solemn charge to 
 hold ourselves in readiness to present our passports. 
 
 After refreshing myself at the " Lion d' Argent" (one of 
 the best hotels in France, and where an Englishman is 
 
12 FRANCE IJSI 1802 
 
 sure to meet with attention and civility) I proceeded 
 to the house of the Commissary-General, a man who, 
 fulfilling the orders ot the executive directors, had intro- 
 duced French troops and ignited the flames of civil 
 discord in unhappy Switzerland. 
 
 Such an interview could not be grateful to one of my 
 habits of thinking,the more sothatamidstthe cloud-capped 
 mountains and retired valleys of that once free, inde- 
 pendent and prosperous country, I had passed the 
 happiest hours of my life. 
 
 The secretary announced my name. A voice of thunder 
 roared, " Show him in 1 " 
 
 I entered. Monsieur Mengoud desired me to be seated ; 
 the door was shut, and we were left alone altogether. 
 
 He was a man of vast stature, and immense calibre, 
 with a round countenance, not unlike in appearance to 
 our Henry VI H., large rolling eyes, and bristly black 
 hair. 
 
 The room was hung with carbines, horse pistols, daggers 
 and a pike — proper symbols of his trade. 
 
 I mentioned that as I had a lady with me, I had taken 
 the liberty of asking the officer to present my letter of 
 introduction at an early hour, hoping, from the known 
 politeness of the French, she might have experienced the 
 indulgence always conceded to her sex. 
 
 Mengoud. The orders of the Government make no 
 distinction of sex. 
 
 Myself. I am aware a law is general, but I flattered 
 myself there might be some discretionary power in the 
 person entrusted with its execution. 
 
 Mengoud. There is no power vested in any hands 
 but those of the Government of France. 
 
 Myself. I recollect an instance of the same kind which 
 occurred while I was in the garrison at Douvi, a fortified 
 town. 
 
 Mengoud. Examples drawn from the ancient Tyranny 
 cannot apply to the Republic. 
 
 Myself. Will this regulation continue ? 
 
ARRIVAL AT CALAIS 13 
 
 Mengoud. It is all the same to me. 
 Myself. Shall I experience any difficulties on my 
 route to Paris ? 
 Mengoud. None. 
 Myself. When may I depart ? 
 Mengoud. Now, if you choose. 
 
 Here he called his secretary, ordered him to bring up 
 my passport, which he instantly signed, and after having 
 desired me to proceed to the Municipality for counter- 
 signment, with a profound bow gave me leave to depart. 
 
 As soon as I had despatched my business at the Muni- 
 cipality I returned to the ** Lion d'Argent," and found I 
 had another ceremony to go through at the Custom 
 House, our portmanteaux had not been visited. Accord- 
 ingly I hastened thither, and after a most rigid search 
 had been made, and I had chastised one of the officers 
 for strutting about wearing my cocked hat for the amuse- 
 ment of his fellows, my things were removed to the inn. 
 
 While our property was being repacked, and the horses 
 sent for, I paid a visit to a respectable merchant I had 
 known some years before, and who had survived the 
 havoc of the Revolution. 
 
 The information I received from him will form the 
 subject of my next letter. 
 
 II 
 
 CHARACTER OF THE CITIZENS 
 OF CALAIS 
 
 Calais is one of the very few French towns which escaped 
 the horrors of the Revolution. This circumstance is the 
 more remarkable because from its vicinity to England 
 and the attachment borne by its inhabitants to our 
 countrymen, it became an object of suspicion to the 
 Committee of Public Safety. 
 
 To the firmness and humanity of one man who filled 
 
14 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 the office of mayor, and to the unblemished character of 
 the persons who composed the MunicipaHty, do the 
 citizens of Calais owe the preservation of their lives and 
 properties. 
 
 The Committee of Public Safety accused the inhabit- 
 ants of Anglomania, and ordered the ferocious Joseph 
 Le Bon* to visit this guiltless town and re-organise the 
 constituted authorities. During those cruel days the 
 visit of a constitutional deputy was really the visit of a 
 public executioner, and in the dismal catalogue of men 
 who were distinguished by unfeeling severity, Le Bon 
 was foremost. He had just perpetrated the most horrible 
 cruelties at Arras before proceeding to Calais. The follow- 
 ing anecdote will delineate the fierceness and brutality of 
 his character. 
 
 Two young ladies of Arras, neither of whom had 
 attained the age of twenty, practising on the pianoforte 
 the same morning that the news of the surrender of 
 Valenciennes reached their city, Le Bon happened to 
 pass their window and paused to listen. They were 
 playing the tune, "Qa Ira," a most revolutionary air, 
 which one would have imagined was a proof of their 
 civism. 
 
 Nevertheless, by Le Bon's orders, these beautiful girls 
 were arrested, tried, and condemned the next day, and, 
 notwithstanding their youth and innocence, were exe- 
 cuted for ^' playing on the piano on the day the news of 
 a Republican defeat had arrived, a defeat at which they 
 evidently rejoiced." 
 
 This atrocious action struck even Jacobins with 
 horror. In the defence of the accused it was stated to 
 the Revolutionary Tribune that ^'Qs. Ira " was a Republican 
 march, written to animate armies on the day of battle. 
 To this Le Bon replied that this popular air had been 
 converted into a vehicle of mischief, and that the time 
 these young people had selected for playing ^'Qa, Ira" 
 proved their evil dispositions. *^ They played *(fa. Ira,' " 
 said he, ^* for the Austrian army, they had doubtless heard 
 * See Appendix. 
 
THE CITIZENS OF CALAIS 15 
 
 of the surrender of Valenciennes, and they meant by Qa 
 Ira, that they desired the Austrian advance and the 
 capture of other French fortresses. Why did they not, 
 if they were true patriots, play * Le Reveil du 
 Peuple?'" 
 
 This argument induced the jurors to condemn the 
 unfortunate young persons to death. Thin, indeed, was 
 the thread upon which human existence was suspended 
 in these days of wretchedness and terror. The effect 
 upon the minds of the people was to make the very name 
 of liberty odious, and the vast majority sighed for a return 
 of that ancient despotism in which they lived secure. 
 Tormented by those who had abused their confidence 
 and exasperated at the accumulation of public wrongs, 
 they were prepared by degrees for those astonishing 
 events which I shall relate in my future letters. 
 
 But to return from this digression. The instant Le 
 Bon received his orders, he departed for Calais, where 
 he found prevailing the utmost order, good conduct 
 and tranquillity. This condition of affairs appeared to 
 the Revolutionary emissary a strong symptom of 
 aristocracy. Accordingly, he deposed the mayor, dis- 
 solved the Municipality, convoked an assembly of the 
 people in the market-place, when he desired them to 
 elect true sans culottes in place of their former magis- 
 trates. 
 
 To his surprise he found not a single person would 
 accept of a situation in the Municipality while their 
 former magistrates were destituted. He attempted in 
 vain to form a Jacobin Club or to establish a Revolu- 
 tionary Tribunal. In vain he threatened individuals 
 with arrest. 
 
 There were not a dozen Jacobins in the whole town. 
 
 The mayor boldly remonstrated, and by his prudence 
 and the loyalty of his fellow citizens, Le Bon, muttering 
 vows of vengeance, was driven from the town. 
 
 Immediately after his departure the former magistrates 
 resumed their functions. In cases where a peremptory 
 mandate from Paris obliged them to arrest any individual, 
 
1 6 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 the order was executed with the utmost humanity. The 
 victim was not sent to prison, but allowed to remain in 
 his own house, and even to walk out attended by 
 gendarmes of his own choice. ( 
 
 Thus the citizens of Calais never saw the blood of 
 their countrymen flow upon the scaffold, nor were any 
 delivered to the homicidal rage of inquisitors, whose 
 sense of freedom consisted in privileged misrule and 
 promises of fraternity, terminated in slaughter. Had the 
 municipal officers of other great towns in France dis- 
 played the same courage and determination as those of 
 Calais, many thousands of lives would have been saved, 
 and France avoided much dishonour, misery, and 
 shame. 
 
 The humane and uncorrupted character of the people 
 of Calais proves that they have not degenerated from the 
 high repute of their ancient burghers. 
 
 Ill 
 
 MODE OF TRAVELLING IN FRANCE 
 
 There are three modes of travelling in France : by 
 diligence ; by post chaise ; in your own carriage. The 
 diligence is the cheapest, but it is a method of con- 
 veyance quite out of the question for those who travel 
 for recreation, or in search of information. 
 
 The traveller is exposed to the inconveniences atten- 
 dant on a journey of two hundred miles in a vast 
 unwieldy machine, less comfortable than an English 
 waggon, which travels all night, and makes no stoppages 
 except to change horses. Those who wish to make a 
 trip to Paris and its environs will do best to take their 
 own carriage from England. 
 
 It will be found, even including the expense of the 
 packet, that this is a cheaper plan than to hire a carriage 
 at Calais. But as it was my intention to extend my tour 
 beyond Paris, to penetrate through La Vendee as far as 
 
MODE OF TRAVELLING IN FRANCE 17 
 
 Bordeaux, it became necessary I should provide myself 
 with a strong carriage, capable of passing over horrible 
 and neglected country roads. I therefore resolved upon 
 procuring a carriage at Calais. 
 
 This was a Post-chaise or Cabriolet, which runs on two 
 wheels and is very light and convenient, having, besides 
 plenty of room for two persons and their luggage, a 
 number of pockets for almost every kind of article, and 
 on each side a pillow for the ease of the traveller while 
 sleeping. It opens in front, and is so constructed as to 
 give complete shelter in bad weather. 
 
 When the carriage is secured it is important to be 
 provided with a sufficient sum of money to carry you to 
 your journey's end. A letter of credit is more advan- 
 tageous than English bank-notes or guineas. 
 
 The former are not of that value they were at the 
 commencement of the Republic ; and the exportation of 
 guineas being unlawful, no honest Englishman should 
 carry them out of his country. A guinea is not worth 
 five sous more now in France than in England. 
 
 A device has lately been discovered and employed in 
 France for raising money to repair the high roads. It 
 consists in the erection of Barrieres, at which every 
 carriage must pay a toll. These Barrieres are stationed 
 at irregular distances, at some I have paid eighteen, at 
 others only three sous. In former times a Cabriolet 
 might run the thirty-four posts between Calais and Paris 
 (each post containing two leagues, six miles) for two 
 hundred and thirteen livres, ten sous, exclusive of the 
 hire of the carriage. But now the number of Barrieres 
 and the exactions of the postillions considerably augment 
 the expenditure. Although the postillions legally can 
 only demand fifteen sous per post, it is customary never 
 to give them less than thirty and frequently fifty to sixty 
 sous. 
 
 I am sorry to say that several of our dashing British 
 sparks have corrupted postillions on the road by their 
 improvident donations. 
 
 Hence during the whole of my route between Calais 
 
 B 
 
1 8 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 and Paris, I never found one of the fellows satisfied with 
 thirty sous for a single post, and I was always teased 
 out of more. This is trifling to men who can afford to 
 throw away many thousand pounds during a six weeks' 
 visit to Paris, but to a plain animal like myself, it is a 
 matter of serious consequence. This remark I have 
 often had occasion to make in Switzerland, when that 
 delightful but now wretched country was the favourite 
 resort of our gentry. They were so prodigal of their 
 money, that I have often heard the Swiss declare " Les 
 Anglais sont de braves gens, mais ils sont fous." Nor is 
 there any rational motive for such extravagance. Such 
 persons are often accused of being emissaries of Mr. 
 Pitt, despatched to France to illustrate the wealth of 
 Great Britain and to prove we understand the art of 
 becoming rich in the midst of war and alarms. 
 
 The French, for the greater part, laugh at all such 
 folly, and say that the English are doing their best to 
 refund the products of that commerce which Mr. Pitt 
 had completely wrested from them. 
 
 French people are keen and artful, and though they 
 receive such squanderers with bows and smiles, they 
 secretly despise their folly. These truths I write 
 reluctantly, because whatever is disreputable to our 
 nation's character wounds me to the quick. 
 
 I make these observations from no desire to deprive 
 the poor postillions of any advantage they may derive 
 from the folly of travelling Englishmen, but because this 
 system has extended to the inns on the road and to the 
 hotels and shops in Paris and is severely felt by persons 
 of inferior fortune and sober disposition. 
 
 It is an established principle in France that in travel- 
 ling you pay for as many horses as there are people, not 
 excepting servants. 
 
 But this regulation is not always rigidly adhered to 
 The postmasters in general seldom put on more thai 
 three horses, even for four persons. They are civil anc 
 obliging men, and I have often found their conversatioi 
 interesting and instructive. 
 
JOURNEY TO AMIENS 19 
 
 The service of posting is well managed, and for good 
 order, regularity, and promptness, excels any other part 
 of Europe. 
 
 This must by no means be ascribed to the effects of 
 the Revolution, for it was projected and executed under 
 the ancient regime, and since the establishment of the 
 Republic the best part of the establishment, i.e.^ the 
 excellent roads, have been utterly neglected, and in many 
 cases almost destroyed, notwithstanding the enormous 
 charges at the Barrieres, for the ostensible purpose of 
 keeping them in good order. 
 
 The traveller has nothing whatever to apprehend 
 from highway robbers or footpads, and this I attribute 
 to the number of Gens d'armes, extremely well mounted, 
 who are continually riding along the roads to ensure the 
 safety of travellers. 
 
 IV 
 
 JOURNEY TO AMIENS, WITH AN 
 ACCOUNT OF THE PRESENT STATE 
 OF THE COUNTRY 
 
 After all our arrangements had been concluded we 
 proceeded on the route towards Paris. 
 
 We were forcibly struck by the backward state of the 
 vegetation in the Department of Calais, and we compared 
 the poverty of the exhausted soil with the luxuriant 
 richness of the county of Kent this early spring. 
 
 Over the service of vast unenclosed tracts of land we 
 perceived scarcely any but women employed in culture 
 of the earth. 
 
 The implements of village husbandry, as well as the 
 cattle, were the worst I ever beheld, and the population 
 did not seem in any way adequate to the extent of the 
 country. Wherever any vestiges of religion or aristocracy 
 remained we traced the ravages of the Revolution. Monas- 
 teries and churches were heaps of ruins ; if a church had 
 
20 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 escaped the general wreck, an inscription over its portal, 
 " This is the Temple of Reason and Truth," denoted that 
 it had been abused for atheistical purposes. 
 
 In every village through which we passed crowds of 
 children, women and old men pressed upon us, begging 
 charity and bread. I inquired into the causes of this 
 melancholy spectacle. My informer pointed to a monastery 
 in ruins, and shook his head. I felt the force of this 
 explanation. 
 
 The agreeable seaport of Boulogne presented itself 
 before us. When we reached the gates I asked whether 
 Parker was alive. 
 
 I heard he still kept the same hotel where I slept in 
 1792. 
 
 When we reached it I found him grown grey, however, 
 with suffering and persecution. He received me with 
 unfeigned pleasure, few Englishmen had hitherto passed, 
 and the sight of a countryman rejoiced his heart. He told 
 me that during the time of Terror, Dounne, * the Con- 
 ventional Deputy, took up his quarters in his hotel, and 
 fared sumptuously upon the fat of the land. In a very 
 short time this representative of the people contrived to 
 absorb a vast quantity of wine, particularly port, for 
 which he had a great relish, and for none of this did he 
 ever pay one farthing. 
 
 One day after dinner he sent for Parker and inquired 
 whether he had any more port. The latter replied that 
 unfortunately his stock was exhausted. At this the 
 Citizen Deputy expressed great regret. Two hours later, 
 he ordered, in consequence, poor Parker into arrest, and 
 sent him to a prison in Paris, without permitting him to 
 make any arrangements respecting his family concerns, 
 or even to take leave of his family. 
 
 He remained eighteen months in jail, cut off from his 
 friends and relations, while his house and property were 
 completely at the mercy of the Jacobins. 
 
 He has now returned to try his fortune once more at 
 Boulogne, and I sincerely hope English travellers will 
 * See Appendix. 
 
JOURNEY TO AMIENS 21 
 
 encourage a countryman, who is highly deserving of 
 their patronage. 
 
 I traversed after dinner several streets of the town. I 
 found a great number of private houses, convents and 
 monasteries utterly demolished and reduced to piles of 
 ruins, giving the town the appearance of having experi- 
 enced a long and severe siege. I thought (for I forgot 
 for a moment the enlightened age of Reason) that all this ^ 
 devastation was the result of the late bombardment of 
 Lord Nelson. But I was in error. Only one bomb fell 
 into the town, and did no mischief. 
 
 The ruins everywhere visible were formerly the habita- 
 tions of suspected persons and religious and charitable 
 foundations destroyed by the Jacobins, when they 
 overthrew what they were pleased to call prejudice and 
 superstition. Some of these buildings were remarkably 
 handsome, and it might have been supposed could have 
 served for the use of the public, but when the waters 
 of bitterness overflow, destruction is general and indis- 
 criminate. 
 
 During the bombardment of the town, the French 
 naval officers, among whom was Jerome Bonaparte, 
 brother of the First Consul, messed every day at Parker's. 
 In contradistinction to the Deputy of the Convention, 
 they conducted themselves with the greatest liberality to 
 this Englishman during their residence. 
 
 Jerome put up at Parker's by the express desire of his 
 elder brother. The inhabitants and the French officers 
 scouted the idea of a French invasion of England, and 
 wondered that the bravest and most distinguished 
 admiral of the British Fleet should have been sent to 
 oppose an inconsiderable flotilla moored in Boulogne 
 waters. 
 
 *' Your countrymen," they said, *^ are very brave, but 
 you are a mercantile nation, and merchants are always 
 nervous. This town, as well as Calais and Dunkerque 
 were, before the war, filled by English refugees, per- 
 sons who sought shelter from the pursuit of their 
 creditors." 
 
22 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 Considering the extraordinary severity of the English 
 law of debtor and creditor, I cannot avoid looking upon 
 these with some slight approbation, as affording to the 
 unfortunate and improvident the means of becoming 
 careful ar^d honest 1 and more advantageous resorts for 
 the debtor than the wood of America among rattlesnakes 
 and savag'^s. 
 
 So far, since the Peace, few persons of this des- 
 cription have arrived at Boulogne, though many are 
 expected. 
 
 To give any account of the present state of commerce 
 here is quite out of my power. I doubt if the town can 
 be said to possess any. Formerly the fishing was pros- 
 perous, and much shipbuilding was undertaken and a 
 smart smuggler's trade carried on with the seaports on 
 the opposite side of the water. 
 
 It had been my intention to have slept at Montreuil- 
 sur-Mer, a distance of four posts or about twenty-three 
 miles from Boulogne, but my companion was so exhausted 
 that we settled to pass the night at Samur, the nearest 
 post town. Although we were obliged to lodge at a 
 miserable inn, nothing could exceed the kind attention 
 of the people who owned it, they had but milk and 
 coffee to give us, which were but slender supports for 
 persons just recovered from sea-sickness, and seven hours 
 had elapsed since dinner. However, as we had provided 
 ourselves at Calais with a fowl and two bottles of burgundy 
 we were thus enabled to make an excellent supper ; the 
 milk and coffee I poured into a bowl and gave wtth a big 
 French roll to a miserable creature at the gate. The 
 manner in which they were received and devoured abso- 
 lutely confounded me, for I had never seen the like in 
 old France. 
 
 The next day we proceeded to Cormont, about five 
 miles and a half, where we changed horses, and from 
 thence to Montreuil, situated on a steep mountain and 
 formerly a strong fortress. 
 
 Before the Revolution there was here an English con 
 vent, and a number of English families, but the convent 
 
JOURNEY TO AMIENS 23 
 
 has been demolished, and the town altogether abandoned 
 by our people. 
 
 I entered into a political dialogue with two very 
 respectable persons whom I found at the inn, and asked 
 them what was their opinion of the Peace and their 
 present Government. They expressed themselves content 
 with both. They observed that no man who had witnessed 
 such scenes as they had done could avoid rejoicing at an 
 event which promised repose to France. 
 
 The blood which had been spilt within and without 
 their country had sickened the French people with the 
 very name of war. Then followed the old and trite 
 remark, that if England and France could join in a 
 cordial union they might command the whole world and 
 retain it in a state of permanent peace. In their opinion the 
 Peace was in favour of England, and when I enumerated 
 the names of the different colonies we had restored to 
 France they laughed at me and said, <' You have taken 
 away our commerce, and what have we taken from 
 you ? " 
 
 They expressed themselves satisfied with the present 
 Government, and avowed that any Government which 
 maintained order was preferable to a state of anarchy. 
 They assured me that they had witnessed scenes which 
 could not be described. They said, ** We lived in times 
 when no man could trust his neighbour, much less speak 
 his thoughts. A brother could not confide in a brother." 
 Then I observed, *' You have doubtless had the guillotine 
 permanent in your town ?" " No, sir, it has never been 
 erected here, but many of our fellow townsmen were 
 imprisoned and executed at Arras." " By Joseph Le 
 Bon ? " " The same." ^' What induced your people to 
 destroy the Convent ? " '^ With many fear of death, with 
 others because it was the fashion." While we were 
 engaged in conversation, a person brought in a hare and 
 a leveret, for which our hostess paid ten sous. On my 
 observing that provisions must, to judge from this price, 
 be extremely cheap in France, it was quickly proved to 
 me that any articles of necessity were inordinately dear ; 
 
24 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 bread I U and was a halfpenny a pound dearer than in 
 En^hti.d. Our horses being now harnessed, or rather 
 corded; we took our leave, but we had literally to pene- 
 trate through a column of beggars before we mounted the 
 carriage. They were mostly boys between fourteen and 
 seventeen years of age, and their number was three-and- 
 twenty. I requested the person with whom I had been 
 conversing to explain why at eleven o'clock in the 
 morning these lads were not at work. He answered that 
 they had no work, and were in an utter state of indigence, 
 their parents not having the means of providing them 
 with subsistence. On which I observed that they might 
 find ample occupation in the pursuits of agriculture and 
 husbandry, and asked if it was not highly injurious to the 
 community to suffer their boys not to be brought up to a 
 trade. He then whispered that while the Noblesse resided 
 in the country, and the Monasteries existed, vast num- 
 bers found employment, and those who were out of 
 a place were assisted by a charity of the religious orders, 
 but that since their destruction, the land had devolved 
 in other hands, and often to proprietors who were in 
 Paris and never lived on their estate. " It is evident," 
 said I, *'that these poor people are punished for their 
 folly." A fact he fully admitted. He mentioned that the 
 parents of these children were the persons now employed 
 in the business of agriculture, and that as for trades all 
 those who were not requisitioned for the armies were 
 only too glad for the sake of bread to serve different 
 tradesmen and perform the duties formerly fulfilled by 
 boys, but, he added, *' all in good time. These lads will 
 be in the next conscription, and then they will be pro- 
 vided for." I thanked him for his description, and after 
 distributing a little money among these children, I 
 resumed my journey, pondering on the reversed order of 
 social life. 
 
 The Revolution, which was brought about ostensibly for 
 the benefit of the lower classes of society, has sunk them 
 to a degree of degradation and misfortune to which they 
 never were reduced under the ancient m.onarchy. They 
 
JOURNEY TO AMIENS 25 
 
 have been disinherited, stripped and deprived of every 
 resource for existence, except defeats of arms and the 
 fleeting spoil of vanquished nations. In the sententious 
 language of Montesquieu, '* With an hundred thousand 
 arms they have overthrown everything, while with an 
 hundred thousand feet they have crawled like insects." 
 This reversion of social order must destroy sentiments 
 of moral obligation. 
 
 Boys of fifteen beg for charity while their fathers and 
 mothers toil in the field ! Full-grown men are engaged 
 in avocations peculiar to youth. A life of habitual 
 indolence is encouraged in those who should be 
 toiling for those who gave them birth. From this 
 they will shortly be transplanted to the armies, with- 
 out having been taught one occupation by which they 
 might obtain a livelihood when the period of service 
 has expired. 
 
 What is to be expected of such young men on their 
 return as citizens ? They will be a dead stock on the 
 community — a load on their friends, an incumbrance to 
 themselves, they who have been taught no other trade 
 but to handle a firelock, to parade and plunder — will 
 merely be the terror of peaceful citizens, and the Govern- 
 ment will find the only mode of disposing of them to 
 send them back to the army. 
 
 Thus an immense permanent military establishment will 
 result, and will consist of an army which is the reservoir 
 of the indolent and profligate, who must be supported by 
 the speculations of the merchant and the labours of the 
 farmer. This is in itself far more pernicious than the 
 corvees, the abolishment of which was one of the pleas 
 for the extirpation of the aristocracy. 
 
 To foreign nations the possession by France of such 
 an immense force ready to burst upon them at a single 
 word of command must be an object of terror and 
 alarm. And in self-defence they too must maintain 
 powerful armies in the centre of Europe, in the midst of 
 a profound and general peace. 
 
 If an estimate is made of the many hundred thousand 
 
26 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 hands thus withdrawn from the pursuits of agriculture, 
 manufactures, and commerce, some idea may be formed 
 of the loss which huge standing armies cause to the com- 
 munity at large. 
 
 Such arguments are, however, vain while the vast 
 military establishment of France is upheld. 
 
 Necessity compels every nation in Europe to provide 
 for its own security. The military force of France is 
 justly pleaded as a reason for maintaining a strong stand- 
 ing army in our island. How much more reason have 
 continental nations to adopt a similar precaution, for 
 they do not possess our advantage of being separated 
 from France by a ditch ? A man who proposed the 
 reduction of the English army at the present time would 
 be esteemed a madman. The continental powers are 
 only pursuing a system forced upon them by imperious 
 necessity. 
 
 Nevertheless, much is to be hoped from the versatile 
 and ingenious character of the French people. A 
 Frenchman can turn himself to occupations which would 
 never enter the brain of an Englishman or German, and 
 it is a common adage that if a Frenchman be turned 
 adrift and penniless on the wide world he will thrive and 
 prosper. 
 
 If the situation of the nations on the continent be 
 contrasted with that of our happy country, we shall 
 perceive that Great Britain enjoys a decided advantage. 
 AH our soldiers and most of our sailors, before their 
 entrance into the Navy or Army, have been previously 
 educated to some industrial pursuit. Hence after a long 
 war they rejoice in returning to their former pursuits, 
 and the country has nothing to apprehend from them. 
 They resume their former relations to society, and every 
 species of trade and manufacture is open to them. 
 
 The present Government should seriously reflect upon 
 these undoubted facts if the First Consul is sincerely 
 desirous of peace. 
 
 These reflections have led me out of my road to 
 Nampont (a post and a half from Montreuil). Here we 
 
JOURNEY TO AMIENS 27 
 
 changed horses and proceeded to Bernay, where we 
 again changed. 
 
 The weather was favourable and we hastened on, 
 hoping to reach Amiens before dark. Nouviou was our 
 next stage, whence we traversed a flat and unpleasant 
 tract of country to Abbeville. 
 
 We passed a pretty chateau surrounded by trees. It 
 belonged to a Monsieur de St. Quentin, who, having 
 emigrated, found himself deprived of his property, which 
 was purchased for a trifling sum from the Republican 
 Government by a merchant of Abbeville. 
 
 Since the proscription of emigrants has been removed 
 by the First Consul, Monsieur de St. Quentin has 
 returned to France. He now resides at a little village, 
 formerly belonging to him, within sight of the mansion 
 which was once his. None of his property has been 
 restored to him, and no allowance so far granted by the 
 State, he therefore lives in a forlorn state of poverty. 
 Our postillion had lived twelve years with M. de St. 
 Quentin in the capacity of a gardener. He pointed to a 
 young plantation and said, sadly, *^ All those trees were 
 planted by me." 
 
 Love of country must be a predominant passion in 
 the mind of a man who after twelve years' exile is con- 
 tent to reside in it in penury, and endure the morti- 
 fication of being constantly within view of his former 
 property. We dined at Reichord's hotel, were well 
 entertained, and the charges reasonable. But our meal 
 was rendered uncomfortable on account of the crowd of 
 beggars who were looking through the window and 
 craving charity. As fast as one crowd was dismissed 
 another advanced upon their heels. A gentleman who 
 was there declared he counted over a hundred persons. 
 The city of Abbeville is old and wretchedly built, many 
 of the houses being made of wood there is a gloomy 
 aspect in every part of it. Before the Revolution it was 
 celebrated for its damasks, and the vast establishment of 
 Vau Robois, established by Louis XIV., gave employment 
 to over 4000 persons ; but this industry perished in the 
 
28 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 Revolution. Before the war the population of Abbeville 
 was computed at 22,000, it is now reduced to less than 
 18,000 souls. 
 
 Ally-le-haut Clocher was our next stopping-place — the 
 only circumstance worthy of notice there was a red cap 
 on the top of the church steeple, a mark of Jacobinism ; 
 during the nine miles traversed between Abbeville and 
 this place we never remarked one cheerful prospect or 
 one well cultivated lot of ground. At Flixcourt stood a 
 tree of Liberty, the first we had noticed since our arrival 
 in France. From this place we proceeded to Pecquigny, 
 where we again changed horses and thence to Amiens, a 
 stage of nine miles. It was late when we arrived, and to 
 our misfortune (as you will learn later) I mistook the 
 house to which I had been recommended. By the light of 
 the lantern I read Pollet instead of La Poster and in conse- 
 quence drove to Madame PoUet's inn, " Le Lion d'Or." 
 
 Before I close this letter I will make a few observa- 
 tions on the general face of the country and the state of 
 agriculture. The soil is good, but cultivation is 
 deplorable. 
 
 There are scarcely any enclosures, trees have been 
 ruthlessly cut down, and the hills completely stripped of 
 timber. I saw neither cattle nor sheep pasturing. 
 
 Nothing can exceed the wretchedness of the imple- 
 ments of husbandry employed but the wretched ap- 
 pearance of the persons using them. Women at the 
 plough and young girls driving a team give but an 
 indifferent idea of the progress of agriculture under the 
 Republic. There are no farmhouses dispersed over the 
 fields. The farmers reside together in remote villages, 
 a circumstance calculated to retard the business of culti- 
 vation. The interiors of the houses are filthy, the farm- 
 yards in the utmost disorder, and the miserable con- 
 dition of the cattle sufficiently bespeaks the poverty of 
 their owner. Meat of all kinds is poor and unnutritious, 
 but the poultry is excellent. The wine is sour and worse 
 than vinegar and water, and even in the great inns where 
 I paid a high price for so-called burgundy and bordeaux, 
 
DESCRIPTION OF AMIENS 29 
 
 I never drank one glass of even tolerable wine (Chantilly 
 excepted) between Calais and the capital. 
 
 Between Montreuil and Flixcourt we were greatly 
 diverted at the sight of two women ploughing with three 
 asses, although this confirms the opinion upon which I 
 have always insisted, but not ludicrously, that if we in 
 England made more use of asses in husbandry advantage 
 might be derived to the community and a saving to the 
 farmer. If instead of harassing and ill-treating these use- 
 ful animals We gave them a little more consequence in 
 the society of brutes and raised them from the condition 
 of slaves to servants, they would possess more spirit and 
 energy and be more tractable. 
 
 The asses at the plough looked plump and sleek and 
 performed their work apparently as well as horses. After 
 having seen a goat at the plough I think no one should 
 be surprised that I plead the cause of the poor ass, 
 besides I acknowledge myself to be the friend of asses. 
 
 V 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF AMIENS, AND HAPPY 
 RELEASE FROM THE ''LION D'OR" 
 
 At the time we arrived at the inn, the people of the town 
 were just leaving the theatre, which overflowed on 
 account of a new piece having been represented that 
 night. A Frenchman would rather be called a knave 
 than be accused of a want of gout. Hence the theatres 
 are always crowded at the representation of a new piece 
 (whatever may be the celebrity of the author, or even if 
 he enjoy no celebrity at all). 
 
 In England, at a first representation, the house is 
 seldom half filled, except by friends of the author, who is 
 either bowing to the manager or quaking in the green 
 room, waiting for the sentence of the critics in the 
 pit, 
 iAn France, every man fancies himself a born critic, and 
 
30 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 makes a point of attending the theatre to form part of the jl 
 general tribunal. ' 
 
 The author generally stations himself in the most dis- 
 tinguished part of the theatre, where, with all the assur- 
 ance of certain success, he bows to the pit, gallery, and 
 the ladies. If the piece succeeds he carries himself 
 high, and confesses that his countrymen are the only men 
 of taste in the world. But should the play unhappily be 
 damned (a not unfrequent circumstance) his deportment 
 changes, he clenches his lists, gives a horrible and 
 ghastly smile, and swears the audience are a gang of 
 / — canaille, scelerats, bandits, and to crown all, " Des gens 
 de niauvais gotltJ" When he has reached this climax of 
 epithets he rushes furiously from the theatre. 
 
 It happened that on the night of our arrival at Amiens 
 a very good piece had been presented to the pubhc. 
 But my inclinations (a proof of mauvais gmt) were 
 directed to a good supper. 
 
 In order to give a proper notion of the dexterity 
 of Madame Pollet, hostess of the *' Lion d'Or," I must 
 describe our mode of living in her house. 
 
 We were shown into a large room, containing four 
 chairs, a small round table, and a chest of drawers. In 
 a corner stood a dome bedstead, prettily hung with blue 
 silk curtains, the bed covered by a blue silk counter- 
 pane. It is a nasty custom in France to eat and drink 
 in one's bedroom at an inn. I ordered supper for two 
 persons. 
 
 In a quarter of an hour the following dishes were 
 served in succession. A jowl of salmon (the largest and 
 fattest I ever saw), two of the finest soles I ever beheld, a 
 partridge, a pigeon, a hashed hare, a fowl, bouillie beef, 
 spinach, and other vegetables — a bottle of Picardy beer, 
 a bottle of champagne, and one bottle of Volnay wine. 
 The unceasing procession of viands surpassed the scene 
 at Barataria. 
 
 My wife ate scarcely anything, but I was hungry and 
 took courage. No sooner had I despatched my quota of 
 a dish when another followed, and another and another. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF AMIENS 31 
 
 I do believe it would have continued all night if nature, 
 being entirely exhausted, had not obliged me to cry 
 mercy. 
 
 Having successfully begged for quarter and forbidden 
 any dessert, I retired for the night, having desired to see 
 the Cathedral in the morning. It must not be imagined 
 that I attacked every dish as it advanced — I made a 
 hearty supper on a bit of salmon, part of a sole and 
 some hashed hare ; the rest of the feast went down 
 untouched. 
 
 In the morning we went to see the Cathedral — one of 
 the finest monuments of the piety of ancient days. It 
 has escaped in some measure the onslaughts of Revolu- 
 tionaries, though its decorations have been grievously 
 mutilated. At the principal portal all the heads of the 
 saints have been struck off, and the sculptured groups 
 representing Scripture history have been so disfigured as 
 to be rendered ridiculous. The admirable marble statue 
 of the weeping child has received considerable injury, 
 but the beautiful chapels on each side of the choir are 
 in an excellent state of preservation, as well as the marble 
 statues over the altars. 
 
 Nothing is missing from them but the gold and silver 
 candlesticks and the rich ornaments of the church ; even 
 the bones of the tutelary saint have been unmolested, 
 although the immense box of silver in which they were 
 deposited has been seized. The grand altar-piece of the 
 Cathedral, which spreads across the whole breadth of the 
 church and rises majestically towards the top, has out- 
 lived the fury which threatened its destruction ; a cir- 
 cumstance which must be ascribed solely to the spirit 
 and good sense of the citizens of Amiens. For when the 
 Revolutionary army from Paris had commenced a 
 general sack of the Cathedral and were demolishing its 
 ornaments, the National Guard of Amiens arrived with 
 its drums beating ; a pitched battle ensued in the aisles, 
 which did not finish till the sans culottes were driven 
 out of the Cathedral ; the citizens afterwards mounted 
 guard over the minster and saved it from the common 
 
32 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 ruin a ruffianly horde had involved S. Denys and half of ij 
 the finest churches in France. " 
 
 Bishop Evrard began to build this edifice in the year 
 1220, during the reign of Philip Augustus. Three archi- 
 tects superintended the work — Robert de Luzarche, 
 Thomas de Cormont, and Maitre Renoult. In three 
 years the foundations were laid, a marvellously rapid 
 work when their solidity and extent are considered. The 
 Cathedral is built on irregular ground, and required very 
 deep foundations. 
 
 Upon the death of Evrard, his successor, Godfroi 
 d'Eu, continued the building, and during the fourteen 
 years he held the episcopal see piles were raised and the 
 Cathedral completed as far as the arched roof. 
 
 Arnold d'Amiens succeeded Godfroi, and he was 
 followed by Gerard of Couchy and Alexander of Neuilly ; 
 and under their successor, Bernard of Abbeville, the 
 work was completed in 1260, forty years after the founda- 
 tion stone was laid. This last ecclesiastic adorned the 
 Cathedral with an immense pointed window, which now 
 ornaments the central part of the choir. Beneath it may 
 still be read the following inscription : *' Bernardus Epis, 
 me dedit anno MCCLIX," 
 
 Nothing can now^ exceed the gloomy appearance of 
 this church, shorn of all its former decorations. When 
 we entered there were not more than six old women 
 and a veteran soldier of artillery at their matins, all 
 shivering with cold and hunger. When we associated 
 this circumstance with the absence and former persecu- 
 tion of all ministers of religion, it gave a chilly aspect to 
 the whole scene and damped all those emotions of the 
 soul which arise from contemplating a vast edifice 
 formerly consecrated to piety. 
 
 On our return we viewed the ruins of a building, once 
 the palace of Henry IV., situated at the back of the " Lion 
 d'Or." It is surprising that the Revolutionary army, in its 
 rage for destruction, left this vestige of royalty untouched. 
 But the fury of the Jacobins seems to have been directed 
 principally against the sculptured heads of saints, for 
 
DESCRIPTION OF AMIENS 33 
 
 none of the houses in the Close, formerly the Canons' 
 residences, have been destroyed. They became national 
 property, but they remain until this day without a 
 purchaser. I have been informed that it is the intention 
 of the First Consul to revive the discipline of the Cathe- 
 dral and restore these houses to the Chapter. A Bishop 
 has been already nominated ; but as the Episcopal Palace 
 has been destroyed, a proper house will be provided for 
 him at the expense of the Government. 
 
 When a person is travelling in the French Republic, 
 if he arrives at any town which has been a theatre of 
 Revolutionary carnage, he will have no difficulty in 
 collecting anecdotes (should he desire it), some pathetic, 
 some ludicrous, and some horribly jocose, together with 
 many entertaining lies. 
 
 France still bleeds at every pore — she is a vast mourn- 
 ing family, clad in sackloth. It is impossible at this 
 time for a contemplative mind to be gay in France. At 
 every footstep the merciless and sanguinary route of 
 fanatical barbarians disgust the sight and sicken humanity 
 — on all sides ruins obtrude themselves on the eye and 
 compel the question, " For what and for whom are all 
 this havoc and desolation ? " 
 
 It was in this city that that execrable villain, Joseph Le 
 Bon met his well-earned doom. He was executed among 
 the curses and yells of that very populace who a few 
 weeks previously had received him with shouts of 
 approval and loaded him with caresses. 
 
 When he first reached Amiens a poor harmless priest 
 fell under his displeasure. Le Bon issued an order for 
 the arrest of the ecclesiastic, who sought refuge in the 
 woods. This roused the fury of the vindictive tyrant, 
 who wrote instantly to the Committee of Public Safety, 
 declaring he had discovered a great conspiracy, and that 
 an agent of Pitt had fled to the woods, but he was about 
 to adopt vigorous measures to bring the criminal to 
 justice. 
 
 The generale was beaten, the tocsin sounded, and all 
 armed citizens were ordered to scour the woods and seize 
 
34 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 upon the agent of Pitt. On the ensuing day the poor 
 priest, exhausted with fatigue, hunted like a wild beast 
 and utterly famished, returned to the city and surren- 
 dered himself to his tormentors. He was at once carried 
 before the Revolutionary Tribunal. He was asked his 
 name, and had no sooner replied than the jury, without 
 hearing indictment or evidence, pronounced him guilty, 
 and he was sentenced to death. Being remanded to the 
 prison he spent the night in prayer. When the Gens 
 d'armes arrived the next morning to take him to the 
 place of execution they found him resigned and 
 courageous. Fortified by his religious sentiments and 
 conscious innocence, he proclaimed that he preferred 
 death to living in a society in which every spark of justice 
 was extinguished. The time was come, he said, when 
 good men should no longer desire to live, and he would 
 show his fellow-citizens in how calm a manner an 
 innocent man could die. He refused to get into the cart, 
 and with a steady step and cheerful countenance, 
 surrounded by the Sbirri of Le Bon and the miscreants 
 who delight in bloodshed, he walked to the scaffold, 
 which he mounted with joy. But even in the moment 
 of death the bloody tyrant continued to torment him, he 
 desired the execution to be delayed until his women 
 appeared at the window of an opposite house ; and when 
 these unfeeling wretches, with a ferocity which disgraced 
 their sex, waved their handkerchiefs as a symptom of 
 exultation, the fatal knife was permitted to fall and the 
 victim released from a world which was unworthy of 
 him. 
 
 I have described this melancholy event in order to 
 contrast it with Le Bon's own behaviour at the place of 
 execution. The night before he suffered excruciating 
 agonies of mind. At intervals he attempted to destroy 
 himself, but fear and hope withheld his hand. He was 
 heard to give loud shrieks, yells of rage, disappointment, 
 terror and despair. When he was brought out of the 
 prison to be seated in the cart, the shout that rent the 
 air cannot be described — a person who was present 
 
DESCRIPTION OF AMIENS 35 
 
 assured me that the howls of cannibals were nothing 
 compared to it. The populace spat upon him ; they 
 asked him, as it was a fine day why he did not walk to 
 the guillotine, as the priest had done a few weeks pre- 
 viously, and die like a man ? He was goaded with a 
 thousand terrible questions ; and as the procession moved 
 women and children danced in the streets, clapping their 
 hands, and reproaching him with a number of bitter 
 recollections. 
 
 Le Bon was convulsed with passion, and sometimes he 
 cried ; but when he reached the scaffold he gave a 
 horrible cry, which drew peals of laughter from the 
 spectators. He had to be lifted out of the cart, fear had 
 paralysed his strength ; during the short period before 
 the knife descended a hundred mocking voices wished 
 him bon voyage and a happy meeting with his friends 
 in hell. Thus amidst curses did this ferocious monster 
 expire. 
 
 Amiens exhibits nothing new or interesting since the 
 Revolution. The shag and plush manufactories and the 
 manufactory of woollen stuffs and goats' hair continue, 
 but have suffered severely by the events of the last ten 
 years. Trade is still dull, but it is hoped it will soon be 
 rendered more brisk by the return of peace. 
 
 On our return to the " Lion d'Or " we were charged seven 
 pounds eight shillings sterling money of the Kingdom of 
 Great Britain for a supper in the Republic of France ! 
 I ordered horses, resolving never to set foot again in a 
 house where I had been so egregiously cheated. Just 
 before 1 stepped into the carriage Madame Pollet made 
 her appearance and exclaimed, '' Etes-vous content, 
 monsieur ? " 
 
 I promised to let my countrymen know what good 
 cheer they might expect at her house, not forgetting the 
 reasonableness of her charges. I have now fulfilled my 
 promises. 
 
36 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 VI 
 
 JOURNEY TO CHANTILLY, AND 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THAT PLACE 
 
 Hebricourt was the next great town upon our route, 
 and here we found another church consecrated to Reason. 
 The cap of Liberty, appropriately placed upon the weather- 
 cock, veered round with every different gust of wind — 
 over the door of the church the words *' Temple de la 
 Raison " were inscribed. 
 
 At Breteuil, twenty-three miles from Amiens, we dined, 
 or rather starved, at the Hotel de I'Ange. They made a 
 thousand apologies for the wretched fare put before us, 
 and explained that there was a fair in the town, and the 
 crowd of country people flocking to it had completely 
 demolished every vestige of provision. 
 
 After the plates were removed from the table and we 
 had finished our apology for a meal, we visited the fair. 
 There was a great concourse of people, but no noise or 
 disorder. The women were in holiday clothes, wearing 
 close caps. The men were decently attired, but with 
 cocked hats, which gave them a most puritanical appear- 
 ance. I did not see a single person intoxicated, nor 
 much show of articles of trade. There were many Merry 
 Andrews, quack doctors and puppet shows. 
 
 During the greater part of our journey from Amiens to 
 Breteuil we observed lands in much better order and 
 farmhouses neater and more comfortable than any we 
 had seen in France ; the country is agreeably diversified, 
 and woods appear in every direction. 
 
 After Breteuil the country becomes flat and the soil 
 chalky. We changed horses at Wavigny, St. Just and 
 Clermont, the latter being twenty-seven miles from 
 Breteuil. The road was paved and in excellent order, 
 the country pleasing and fertile, and woods frequent. 
 
 A little before we reached Clermont we passed the 
 
JOURNEY TO CHANTILLY 37 
 
 grounds and plantations of the Duke de Fitzjames.* 
 The elegant Chateau was completely destroyed by the 
 Revolutionists, and is at this time a heap of ruins. But 
 the name of the duke has just been erased from the list 
 of emigres, and all his estates restored to him. He is now 
 in Paris, making arrangements for his future life. The 
 return of their old master is eagerly awaited by the 
 country people, and it is hoped that this beautiful spot 
 will once more flourish. 
 
 At Clermont there is a manufactory of painted linen ; 
 the environs of the town are gay and picturesque, the 
 neighbouring hills afford several pleasing landscapes, and 
 the culture of the vine gave a charming variety to the 
 scenery. To the left is Liancourt, the magnificent seat 
 of the Duke de la Rochefoucauld. * This nobleman, well 
 known for his useful writings on agricultural subjects and 
 his travels in North America, has returned from exile, 
 and is improving and embellishing his patrimonial estate. 
 
 Cultivation here is more diversified than in the northern 
 Department, through which we have just travelled. Besides 
 vineyards there are fields of lucerne, wheat, clover and 
 corn, and a large quantity of fruit trees. From Lingueville, 
 the next post town, we had a delightful ride through the 
 park of Chantilly. On our arrival at Chantilly we slept 
 at the post-house, where a neatness prevailed we had not 
 yet observed in France. The kitchen and stables, usually 
 filthy in a French establishment, were clean and well 
 arranged. 
 
 On the next morning we sent to see Chantilly, so famed 
 for its magnificent gardens and for the heroes of Mont- 
 morency and Conde who have inhabited it. Alas ! it is 
 now one vast heap of ruins. After the fatal August 1792, 
 a horde of Paris miscreants ransacked, pillaged and 
 destroyed the greater part of the chefs d'oeuvres of art. 
 The servants, faithful to their ancient master, con- 
 cealed a number of valuable articles in the woods, and 
 found means to convey most of them to the Prince de 
 Conde. 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
38 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 Of the fidelity and affection of the Prince's domestics 
 we heard a great deal, and nothing can exceed the respect 
 in which his memory is held by the villagers. On more 
 than one occasion we saw the honest tear start from their 
 eyes at the mention of his name, and the solicitude they 
 expressed for his welfare and their many tender inquiries 
 respecting his present situation in England, convinced us 
 these poor people were sensible they had lost their best 
 friend. When I told them the Prince de Conde * lived 
 near London, and was in fairly easy circumstances and 
 kindly received by the King and Royal Family and by 
 the Ministers of State, they were so greatly affected as to 
 excite in our minds a sympathetic emotion of soul, and 
 on the ruins of the Chateau of Chantilly, on the very spot 
 where once stood the statue of the Great Conde, we 
 shed tears over the fate of his forsaken and proscribed 
 descendant. 
 
 No one can be sensible of the desolation of Chantilly 
 unless they saw the gardens, jets d'eau and variegated 
 plantations there previous to 1792. 
 
 The Palace is now completely destroyed, there is not 
 even a vestige remaining, all is ruin. As we approached 
 its sight several troops of cavalry were exercising on the 
 lawn. The stables, upon the left, have escaped the fury 
 of the Revolutionists. It is a magnificent building, with 
 all the appearance of a Palace itself. It was originally 
 built for 240 horses. But 400 animals belonging to the 
 Chasseurs stationed at Chantilly are now quartered there 
 without inconvenience. 
 
 It is an immense oblong, well paved, with mangers and 
 racks on either side. In the centre is a spacious dome 
 with several apartments now occupied by the smiths of 
 the regiment. All the stags' heads which ornamented 
 the interior of the building have been struck off, only 
 stumps being left behind. There was formerly a pretty 
 emblematical figure over the reservoir of water under the 
 dome, this has been completely annihilated. 
 
 To the left of the stables is the menage, an open 
 * See Appendix. 
 
I 
 
 JOURNEY TO CHANTILLY 39 
 
 circular piece of ground, encircled by Doric pillars. Here 
 we found the subaltern officers of the regiment instructing 
 their men in the art of riding. The French soldiers, in 
 general, keep their seats well, but their position does not 
 appear so easy as that of the English. They ridicule our 
 long trot as ungraceful, perhaps with some reason ; but 
 horses and riders using it are better able to support a 
 long journey than a Frenchman, erect as a post, jogging 
 on a dancing horse. 
 
 On one side of the menage is the court for carriages 
 and grooms, and a few yards behind the tennis court, as 
 large as the one at Versailles, enclosed in a noble stone 
 building. A merchant has purchased this place, and is 
 resolved to reconvert it to its original purpose. From 
 these edifices, which are all in fair order, we advanced to 
 the scene of horror. The Palace is a heap of ruins ; it 
 was purchased by two persons, who demolished it for the 
 sake of the materials, which they sold for above ten times 
 the original purchase money. It is just the name of 
 these Vandals should descend to posterity, they are 
 Damois, an ironmonger of the Faubourg St. Antoine, 
 Paris, and Boulet, a carpenter of Compiegne. 
 
 The Chateau d'Enghien has escaped, and is now used 
 as a barrack for Chasseurs. The Chateau of the Due de 
 Bourbon, where the family, except on State occasions, 
 formerly resided, was in the days of the Revolutionary 
 Tribunal converted into a prison, 750 prisoners were 
 therein confined ; men and women intentionally herded 
 together in the same apartments, in defiance of decency. 
 The Chateau of Bourbon has been completely stripped 
 of decorations and furniture, only the bare walls remain. 
 The beautiful bridge of La Voliere, which formed the 
 communication between the Palace and the Island of 
 Love, was broken down lest the prisoners should escape 
 over it. 
 
 We traversed the lonely apartments, and were shown 
 the study of the exiled Prince de Conde, a room the 
 former beauty of which the mutilated paintings still 
 remaining gave a lively idea. The gallery of Conquest, 
 
40 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 formerly filled with pictures representing the achieve- 
 ments of Montmorencies and Condes, exhibits now 
 merely a dead wall. As we descended the staircase we 
 observed the walls covered by inscriptions of the names 
 of prisoners, often accompanied by verses alluding to 
 their forlorn condition. 
 
 The gallery of marble vases opposite to the Pavilion of 
 Apollo, consisting of twenty-two rams' heads, which 
 spouted into basins beneath them, is utterly destroyed. 
 The Island of Love is a bog, and the Pavilion of Venus 
 no more. 
 
 At the foot of the grand staircase was once a jet 
 d'eaUf remarkable for its size and beauty. It had a 
 superb marble column in the centre, around which swans 
 sailed in majestic order, while immense quantities of tench 
 played upon the surface of the water. The column, the 
 jet d'eau and the swans have vanished — the water 
 drawn off and the tench devoured by the Revolutionary 
 army.' The romantic cottage by the mill has been pulled 
 down — the carcase of the dairy is still standing, but every 
 article it contained was pillaged, for our guide remarked, 
 " The Jacobins never slept as long as there was anything 
 left to seize." The small cascade, situated opposite the 
 menagerie, was demolished for the sake of the leaden 
 pipes, profitable articles of sale, indeed all the leaden 
 conduits were removed, so that the numerous communi- 
 cations between the different reservoirs of water and the 
 court being destroyed, the waters in rainy weather over- 
 flow their basins and pour upon the adjacent ground. 
 Every step we went we trod in' water, and to this circum- 
 stance the wretched appearance of the Island of Love 
 is due. 
 
 There was formerly a great menagerie on the opposite 
 side of the court. The Revolutionary army condemned to 
 death the beasts and birds which inhabited it, on the ground 
 that they were agents in the alleged conspiracy of Conde 
 to starve the people. But as they were apprehensive these 
 animals might make a rally, and feeling their courage 
 unequal to the shock of a pitched battle, and being afraid 
 
JOURNEY TO CHANTILLY 41 
 
 to butcher the animals in detail, they stationed a couple 
 of pieces of artillery on the neighbouring height, and the 
 onslaught commenced. A heavy fire was opened on the 
 imprisoned sovereigns of the forest by the sovereign 
 people — after a breach had been effected the drums beat 
 a general charge, the centre of the Revolutionary army 
 advanced, bayonets fixed, while the right and left wings 
 kept up a smart fire of musketry upon the invisible enemy. 
 The army entered the breach, and the whole garrison 
 being put to the sword, the majesty of the people shone 
 forth in all its glory. 
 
 A person who was'an eye-witness of the affair described 
 to me in detail this patriotic act of carnage. 
 
 At the end of the great court a place was erected by 
 the Prince of Conde for the accommodation of the sick 
 who resorted there to drink the water of a mineral spring. 
 The spring is filled up, and four mills for boring cannon 
 supplant the building. The violence of destruction was 
 so great that the source of these mineral waters cannot 
 now be traced. The immense kitchen garden has been 
 preserved, and the house, which once belonged to 
 Monsieur Hatorme, steward or honime d'affaires of the 
 Prince. It is now inhabited by Damois, the ironmonger, 
 one of the Vandals who bought and destroyed the Chateau. 
 When the Jacobins came to murder Monsieur Hatorme 
 he fortunately escaped by a small secret door at the back 
 of the house. 
 
 No better idea can be given of the general horror and 
 desolation effected everywhere by the Revolutionists than 
 a sight of Chantilly. Thistles and grass cover every part 
 of the gardens, here and there a few solitary tuHps peep 
 out of the earth. The fox that peeped through the 
 crevices of the desolate Castle of Ossian could not give a 
 more faithful conception of ruin than those lonely and 
 deserted flowers. 
 
 It would not be amiss to give here a description of 
 Chantilly, given fifteen years ago by that acute and 
 intelligent traveller, Mr. Arthur Young : 
 
 '' Chantilly ! Magnificence is its reigning character. 
 
42 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 The Chateau is great and imposing. The gallery of the 
 great Condi's victories and the cabinet of natural history, 
 rich in fine specimens, most advantageously arranged, 
 demand particular notice. The stable exceeds anything 
 of the kind I have ever seen. It is 580 feet long and 40 
 broad, and is filled with 240 English horses. I came to 
 Chantilly prepossessed against the idea of a court, but 
 the one here is striking, and gives the effect which 
 magnificent scenes impress. This arises from extent and 
 from the right lines of the water uniting with the 
 regularity of the object in view. Lord Kaimes says the 
 part of a garden contiguous to a house should partake of 
 the regularity of the building. The effect here is lessened 
 by the parterre before the Castle, in which the divisions 
 and the diminitive jets deau do not correspond in size 
 with that of the court. 
 
 ** The menagerie is very pretty, and exhibits a prodigious 
 quantity of domestic poultry from every part of the world, 
 one of the best objects to which a menagerie can be 
 applied. The hamcau contains an imitation of an English 
 garden. The most English idea I saw was the lawn in 
 front of the stables ; it is large, of good verdure and well 
 kepi. The labyrinth, the only complete one I have ever 
 seen. In the Sylvae are many fine and scarce plants. 
 The great beech is the finest I ever saw, straight as an 
 arrow, between eighty and ninety feet in height and twelve 
 feet in diameter, five feet from the ground. Two others 
 near it are almost equal to this superb tree." 
 
 We were accompanied as guide at Chantilly by a man 
 named Touret, formerly garde de chasse to the Prince. 
 He is a very sensible and good-natured man. He was 
 accused of an attachment to his ancient master, and for 
 that crime pursued by the Jacobins with unrelenting 
 vigour. He was compelled to fly into the woods, where 
 he subsisted on acorns, nuts and berries for several 
 days, and concealed himself in secluded haunts, which 
 from his former situation as gamekeeper were known 
 to him. 
 
 The contrast between this poor faithful fellow and that 
 
JOURNEY TO CHANTILLY 43 
 
 of Hautoir, administrator of the district of Genlis, is 
 great. The former, Hke Shakespeare's Adam, fled to the 
 woods for the love he bore his master ; the latter is an 
 ungrateful miscreant, who rioted on the spoils of his 
 ancient patron. The Prince of Conde had granted to 
 this fellow, who was originally a grocer, every species of 
 parental favour and indulgence. In return for these 
 acts of kindness Hautoir marched at the head of the 
 Revolutionary army to the superb Chateau, opened it 
 to the ravages of those sanguinary vagabonds, and 
 affixed the municipal seal on the doors of his former 
 benefactor. 
 
 Fanaticism in those awful days transported many 
 individuals to the commission of outrages of which I 
 have heard them now express the deepest and most 
 heartfelt repentance. This rogue could only plead a 
 thirst for pillage, which very shortly afterwards was 
 signally proved by his being publicly detected in a par- 
 ticularly mean theft. 
 
 The Bishop of Chalons had a pretty pavilion on the 
 lawn, which I have already described. This prelate was 
 compelled to fly, and his retreat occupied by Jacobins. 
 His property was seized and advertised for sale. 
 Hautoir, * as administrator of the district, superintended 
 the business. 
 
 While he was announcing the business of the day he 
 was detected with having in his pocket a valuable snuff- 
 box belonging to the Bishop, which he had stolen from the 
 cabinet of the ecclesiastic when placing seals on the 
 property. He was not arrested owing to his position as 
 a Revolutionary delegate, but he was severely hissed at 
 the auction, deprived of his position, and now resides in 
 obscurity at Morli la Ville. 
 
 After having taken leave of Touret, who had attended 
 us from morning till night during our three days' excur- 
 sions in the immense Forest of Chantilly, which, with its 
 territorial domains, extends to more than one hundred 
 miles in circumference, we drove from a spot where, 
 * See Appendix. 
 
44 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 from the charms of the surrounding country, the serenity 
 of the season and the uncommon attractions of all around 
 us, we had passed the sweetest days of melancholy we 
 had ever experienced. 
 
 VII 
 
 JOURNEY TO S. DENYS, DESCRIPTION 
 
 OF THAT PLACE AND THE FEUDAL 
 
 CASTLE OF ECOUEN. ARRIVAL IN 
 
 PARIS 
 
 The road to Luzarches from Chantilly is exceedingly 
 pretty. After passing through part of the Forest we 
 entered upon a magnificent paved road, bordered by 
 trees and lands, which exhibited on either side a little 
 better cultivation than those we had hitherto passed. 
 
 Luzarches is seven miles from Chantilly. We were 
 compelled to stop for some time at a miserable inn in 
 this wretched town. One of the wheels of our carriage 
 was broken, and it was necessary to have it repaired. In 
 a miserable room, containing two dirty beds, cold and 
 famished (for we could not touch a morsel that was 
 brought to us), we remained seven hours. The wheel 
 being repaired we proceeded to Ecouen and from thence 
 to S.Denys, but we quitted the public road for the purpose 
 of visiting the Castle of Ecouen, built by Anne de Mont- 
 morency, Constable of France. The fchateau is com- 
 pletely stripped of furniture, even the tapestry being torn 
 away. Two hundred unhappy Vendeans were imprisoned 
 here. It was converted later into a military hospital. 
 Upon the whole nothing is now left of this stately Castle 
 but the walls. It stands on an eminence and commands 
 an extensive prospect. There is a large kitchen garden 
 in front of the grand entrance. A Swiss, formerly in the 
 service of Spain during the siege of Gibraltar, is entrusted 
 
JOURNEY TO S. DENYS 45 
 
 with the care of the place. He conducted us over every 
 part of the Castle. 
 
 It has all the appearance of a modern prison, and does 
 not convey that appearance of feudal grandeur which 
 distinguishes the Castles on the banks of the Danube and 
 the Rhine. 
 
 We arrived at a late hour at the S. Denys post-house, 
 where we were well lodged and comfortably entertained, 
 and early the next day went to visit the Cathedral. 
 
 My astonishment was great when the old Swiss, whom I 
 remembered ten years before, opened the door, and I 
 perceived this once beautiful gothic edifice was a heap of 
 ruins. My guide entered into my sentiments of horror 
 and disgust, and certainly did not spare the authors of 
 this devastation. The tombs and mausoleums of the 
 Kings and Queens of France, of Guesclin, of Turenne, 
 and of the most illustrious warriors and great men, were 
 deposited in various compartments of the Cathedral, and 
 formed a striking and splendid decoration. But these, 
 together with the oriflamme of Clovis, the sceptre and 
 sword of Charlemagne, the portrait and sword of the 
 Maid of Orleans, the bronze chair of Dagobert, the 
 reliques and shrines, royal robes and crowns, ancient 
 manuscripts and an immense number of curiosities, 
 sacred and profane — now all vanished ; some destroyed : 
 others, by the industry of Monsieur Le Noir, removed to 
 the museum of French monuments in Paris. The Cathe- 
 dral is unroofed, and it is fraught with peril to traverse 
 any part of it, for stones are continually falling. Our 
 Swiss described with minute precision where every tomb 
 stood, from Pepin to Louis XV. A small room formerly 
 used as a sacristy our pious guardian had converted into 
 an ossory. And here lay in one indistinguished heap the 
 bones of kings, princes and heroes, who for ages had 
 slept undisturbed in the mansions of death. I inquired 
 into the cause of all this ruthless destruction, and was 
 told that the Revolutionary Committee of S. Denys, com- 
 posed of twelve citizens, six of whom were labouring 
 men, decreed that this ancient and noble ornament of 
 
46 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 their town should be pulled to pieces for the sake of the 
 lead and iron it contained. Their determination was 
 carried into effect, on the plea that arts and science were 
 of no utility to mankind, and that respect for the habita- 
 tions of the dead was a mark of puerile superstition. At 
 that time Lavoisier was executed, being told at his trial 
 that the French Republic stood in no need of chemists. 
 After we had quitted the Cathedral we visited the chapel 
 of Mesdames de France. When we entered Divine service 
 was being celebrated therein. The chapel has been 
 stripped of all its ornaments, and was scarcely worth the 
 trouble of a walk to visit it. 
 
 S. Denys is not distant more than four miles from 
 Paris. 
 
 The approach to the capital is through a wide and 
 magnificent paved road, bordered with double rows of 
 trees, on either side of which are extensive and well- 
 cultivated fields of corn and other grain ; but none of 
 those neat and diversified habitations are seen which in 
 our country denote the fruits of commercial industry 
 and mercantile opulence. For that order of men, whom 
 we in England denominate country squires or persons 
 living on their own small estates, the Republic has done 
 nothing ; in truth, there are no such persons in France, 
 neither arc there any country houses erected with a view 
 to their being inhabited by such a description of beings, 
 much less by merchants and tradesmen. In the "great 
 nation " nothing is so conspicuous as disparity or in other 
 words inequality. Magnificence and filth, opulence and 
 beggary are beside each other. There is no medium in 
 France ; in fact, the great middle class which in our 
 country intervenes between rich and poor and forms the 
 solid Doric pillar of society, is unknown in any European 
 country but Great Britain. This class is the most sub- 
 stantial boon for the consolidation of an enlightened 
 form of government ; it is the nursery of statesmen, 
 freedom, and equal laws ; to the want of it France may 
 ascribe the origin of the greater part of her misfortunes, 
 to the possession of it England is indebted for her 
 
\ 
 
 JOURNEY TO S. DENYS 47 
 
 independence, her regulated power, and her system of 
 jurisprudence. 
 
 Rational liberty can never flourish where there are no 
 classes but high and low. Laws can never be executed, 
 except by the point of the bayonet, in any State where a 
 numerous body of men do not exist who are sufficiently 
 independent to prevent the oppressions of the great from 
 trampling the poor under foot and sufficiently strong to 
 repress the reaction of the poor on the property and 
 security of the great. 
 
 Every thinking Englishman must feel the dissolution 
 of this middling order of men would transform the State 
 into an absolute military power, or, what is worse, a 
 tyrannical and licentious democracy. This argument 
 finds an apt illustration in a great commercial city which 
 is under aristocratic government. Hamburg, by the 
 encouragement afforded to that body, is one of the best 
 regulated cities of Europe. Multitudes of country seats 
 belonging to traders are scattered plentifully on the 
 banks of the Elbe ; and even Denmark, although a purely 
 absolute monarchy, owes much of its happiness and 
 strength to the importance attached to this order of men 
 — an order which in France has never so far existed. Hence 
 during the old monarchy despotism wantoned in power, 
 or was mildly exercised according to the views and 
 inclinations of the rulers, while during every stage 
 of the Republic the leaders of the people, drunk 
 with authority, wallowed in the blood of their fellow 
 citizens. At this very moment an absolute military 
 despot is governing the country, and the people are, 
 as before, mere slaves, insecure of property or personal 
 security. 
 
 The entrance to Paris from S. Denys is not calculated 
 to give a foreigner a favourable idea of the capital. The 
 city has every appearance of filth and poverty, and the 
 Triumphal Arch or Porte S. Denys, under which we 
 passed, has such a sombre cast as to give the traveller 
 the impression that he is going into the courtyard of a 
 prison. I ordered the postillion to drive to the hotel in 
 
48 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 the Rue Coquenon, where I resided in 1792 and 1793, 
 and where I had left all my books. 
 
 When we arrived there I saw written in large letters 
 over the porte-cochere ^' Maison de Commission." I 
 alighted and inquired what had become of the former 
 proprietor. I was told that he had been guillotined. 
 We then drove to the Hotel Morigny, where I afterwards 
 learnt a celebrated Corsican, when times went hard with 
 him, lodged in a small apartment at seven shillings per 
 week. There were, however, no rooms vacant, we 
 therefore took up our lodgings at the Coq Heron — an 
 hotel lately established and kept by an Englishman 
 named Guillandeau, the greatest blackguard in Christen- 
 dom. 
 
 We afterwards removed to private apartments in the 
 Rue Mirabeau, ci-devant Chaussee d'Antin. 
 
 VIII 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OF THE MODB 
 
 I AM once more in Paris. A thousand painful recol- 
 lections obtrude themselves on my mind, and I am almost 
 afraid to inquire after my former acquaintances. I know 
 not where I shall address myself for information, or 
 where I shall first set my foot. When I reflect upon the 
 strange vicissitudes of fortune I have experienced ; when 
 I recall the whirlpool of danger I have passed, and the 
 proscription which, with some mean and pusillanimous 
 minds, is still considered to hang over me, I am doubtful 
 whether I am prudent to venture again into the source 
 of all my injuries. The motive that brought me from 
 England, the desire of ascertaining the fate of a relative, 
 so dearly beloved and so long lost, gives strength to my 
 resolution and dissipates my personal anxieties. But I 
 am both low and dejected in mind and spirits. 
 
 I will attempt to give a faithful account of this capital, 
 which may be considered as the manufactory whence all 
 
A DESCRIPTION OF THE MODE 49 
 
 the horrors and changes of the Revolution have originated. 
 France as a country should not be judged by the dissolute 
 principles of the inhabitants of her metropolis. In the 
 provinces remote from the centre of government as 
 much character and simplicity exist as in the best 
 regulated empires. 
 
 The Revolution may in some degree have changed the 
 innocence of the peasantry, and corrupted the primitive 
 integrity of their character. The cause of this may be 
 traced to the artifices of demagogues and atheists. In the 
 mountains of the Vosges, in La Vendee and in the 
 South-Western parts of the Republic, the people of both 
 town and country possess an originality of character 
 founded on sentiments of generosity and virtue. But in 
 many Departments of the Republic, particularly the 
 Department of the Seine, every principle of Society is 
 inverted, and Society itself is loathsome, abhorrent, 
 corrupt, poisoned and poisonous. 
 
 My first duty was to visit those old friends who had 
 survived the general wreck of moral order. From them 
 I hoped to learn the history of those who had perished. 
 With an anxious mind I hastened after dinner to the Rue 
 Jacob, in the Faubourg S. Germain, to see if my old 
 friend M. Suedaeur was alive. I inquired if the doctor 
 resided there ; the answer was affirmative, but he was 
 not at home. I proceeded to the Rue Nicoise and found 
 M. de la Metherie in perfect health and better spirits than 
 on that gloomy night in 1793 when we last parted. From 
 him I learnt the fatal end of many of my acquaintance, 
 but he mentioned several who were not only in existence 
 but prosperous, and gave me considerable encouragement 
 in what was the main object of my journey to Paris. 
 
 I returned home to find a citizen hairdresser playing 
 the devil with my wife's locks. He had so clipped and 
 twisted them as to give her the air of a person just issued 
 from the bath. Upon my seriously remonstrating against 
 this wild appearance, he very coolly informed me that 
 it was La Mode^ and unless my pate was better 
 organised it would be impossible for me to go into good 
 
so FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 company. I immediately submitted to an operation. My 
 tail was instantly amputated and the hair of my unfor- 
 tunate head frizzled into such a multitude of compound 
 forms as to give me precisely the appearance of one of 
 the ourang outangs which is to be seen over Exeter 
 Change. Having undergone this ceremony, I supposed 
 I was now in the Mode. But no ! He pulled from his 
 pocket two horrible whiskers, which were to extend from 
 my cheek bones and meet at the bottom of my chin, and 
 another piece of hair which was to be hid under my 
 neckcloth and fly up so as to cover my chin. 
 
 " What is all this apparatus for ? " 
 
 " To complete you in the Parisian mode." 
 
 " I will not submit to be made into a baboon." 
 
 " But, sir, you must ! It is La Mode ! " 
 
 " I tell you I will not obey La Mode ! " 
 
 *' Done, monsieur, vous etes perdu ! " 
 
 " If you trouble me with another word on this subject 
 I shall be under the indispensable necessity of knocking 
 you down." 
 
 Thus by an act of matchless fortitude I rescued myself 
 from the hands of this prattler, but not till he had 
 extracted from me eighteen shillings for having made my 
 companion look wild, myself like a monkey, and annoyed 
 me with perfumes and gallipots. 
 
 Before we were allowed to retire to rest a tailor, a 
 hatter and a glover made their appearance. All honest 
 tradesmen in Paris are really to be pitied, a long and 
 sanguinary war has ruined their commerce, and these 
 poor hungry wretches are as voracious as sharks. It is 
 impossible to complain of them. To all these civil 
 gentlemen I returned a plain answer, saying I had 
 brought from England every article necessary for use 
 during my residence in France. On which they retired 
 with great politeness, and left me for the first time in nine 
 years to take repose in the capital of a nation whose 
 former rulers thirsted to shed our blood. 
 
THE MINISTER OF POLICE 
 
 IX 
 
 ATTENDANCE UPON THE MINISTER 
 
 OF POLICE 
 
 i The following morning my landlord informed me I must 
 at once wait upon the Minister of Police, present my 
 passport and have it ratified. He added that otherwise 
 he might be called to account, as police emissaries called 
 frequently and unexpectedly at every hotel to ascertain 
 the names of the residents. 
 
 Accordingly I engaged a very good chariot at six 
 guineas a week for my stay in Paris, and after paying 
 my respect to our Minister, Mr. Jackson (the British 
 Embassy is lodged in the Faubourg S. Germain), I 
 hastened to the office of the notorious Fouche,* the 
 Minister of Police, on the Quai Voltaire, opposite the 
 Louvre, where I was admitted into an ante-chamber, 
 crowded with ninety persons ; their number I knew 
 because on entering I received a billet marked 91 from 
 a soldier. I had to wait two hours and a half for my 
 audience. 
 
 During this long period I was able to make the 
 following observations. I was never more surprised 
 than at the want of courtesy shown to females in a coun- 
 try which has always boasted more of its gallantry than 
 its virtue. Several well-dressed ladies received their 
 billets long after mine, but when I offered them the pre- 
 cedence, the brute who attends the entrance pushed 
 them back with disgusting insolence and violence. I 
 remarked that I cheerfully resigned my right to the 
 ladies ; he replied with a savage sneer, " If you don't 
 choose to take your turn, pass to the bottom." In this 
 ante-chamber stood a motley group whose countenances 
 evidently bespoke the sentiments of their hearts. The 
 returned emigrants might easily be distinguished, supple 
 * See Appendix. 
 
52 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 and servile, and never suffering the lowest commissary of 
 police, who wore a little gold or silver tinsel about his 
 coat, to pass without offermg him a profound reverence. 
 And they were right, for the ancient aristocracy were 
 lofty and self-conceited, but affable and courteous withal. 
 The modern aristocracy of France, that is those men 
 who have been transplanted from the dunghill to the 
 exercise of public functions, are, in general, brutal in 
 their manners to inferiors, cringing to their superiors 
 and insolent to unofficial persons, they also show strong 
 traits of a ferocity of character. 
 
 An unanswerable proof of this degeneracy may be 
 found in the degraded condition of the fair sex, who are 
 no longer treated with that decorous respect which here- 
 tofore characterised the French people. This is a nation 
 of soldiers, not cavaliers — not a solitary blade would 
 leap out of its scabbard to resent an insult to the finest 
 woman in the Republic. The sword here is now used, 
 ' not for the defence of the feeble, but as an instrument to 
 acquire wealth and power. 
 
 The Republican soldier is fully as brave as was the 
 V' soldier of the Royal army, but he is destitute of the 
 honour and urbanity which distinguished the latter. 
 
 An army of soldiers, organised for conquest, propelled 
 by avarice, and inured to victory, resemble more the 
 hordes of an Attila or Ghengiz Khan, than the forces of 
 a polished Empire. The Republican troops are now 
 masters of the State, their defeats obliterated, and their 
 victories confirmed by triumphing over the liberties of 
 their fellow citizens. 
 
 The other personages who composed this assembly 
 were waggoners, farmers, tradesmen, persons about to 
 depart for the colonies, ladies, and common women. An 
 army subaltern officer came in while we were waiting ; 
 without taking a billet he entered the bureau, every 
 person hastily making way for him. I inquired of the 
 doorkeeper the reason of his admittance before his turn, 
 and he replied that no officer of the army was ever kept 
 waiting. 
 
THE MINISTER OF POLICE 53 
 
 We were drawn up in the ante-chamber in two opposite 
 lines, like files of soldiers. A sentinel patrolled backwards 
 and forwards with a drawn bayonet in his hand and 
 maintained discipline. If any one happened to advance 
 a little too forward, he or she received a far from gentle 
 tap from the bayonet to compel them to keep their 
 position. 
 
 When at length I was admitted into the bureau I was 
 informed that in consequence of a recent regulation the 
 business of examining passports and giving certificates 
 was transferred to the office of the Prefect, on the Quai 
 du Louvre, the other side of the river. 
 
 In the office of the Prefect I experienced no delay. 
 The passport I had received from the Calais Municipality 
 was taken from me and I received another in exchange. 
 On its top was a figure of the Republic, garbed as 
 Minerva, her right hand supported by the fasces and a 
 hatchet. In her left she holds a spear, at her feet a 
 game-cock, standing on one leg, denotes vigilance. On 
 either side are the laughable words in this country : 
 " Egalite, Liberte, Fraternite," and below as follows, 
 which I insert by way of contrast to passports of former 
 times : 
 
 PREFECTURE DE POLICE. 
 
 We, Prefect of the Police of Paris, invite the Civil and 
 Military Authorities to permit to pass freely in this Com- 
 mune, Henry Redhead Yorke, English Gentleman, who 
 declares he lodges in Paris, at the Hotel Coq Heron, 
 accompanied by his wife. The present pass is only to be 
 in force two months, when it must be revised at the 
 Prefecture, under penalty of being arrested, conformably 
 to the law of the 4th Floreal, year three. Done at the 
 Prefecture of Police, Paris, 23 Germinal, Year 10 of the 
 Republic, one and indivisible. 
 
 (Signed) For the Prefect, 
 
 (Here followed an illegible signature.) 
 
54 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 OFFICE OF PASSPORTS. 
 
 Note : — No passport will be delivered on this pass, and 
 the bearer arrested if he be found elsewhere in France, 
 save in the Department of the Seine. 
 
 For a longer residence than two months in Paris a 
 petition must be made to the Prefect of Police, without 
 delay. 
 
 Residence must not be changed without permission. 
 
 Then followed description of my appearance, age, 
 person and signature. On changing my residence the 
 Secretary wrote the day of the month, the street and 
 number of the house upon my pass and returned it to 
 me. 
 
 The want of a pass is attended by disagreeable circum- 
 stances. One such occurred to me a day or two after 
 our arrival at Paris. Being desirous of saving a little 
 distance on my way to the Pont Neuf, I was stopped by 
 a sentinel and my pass demanded ; but not having it about 
 me, and notwithstanding my plea of being a foreigner, I 
 was compelled to make a very considerable detour before 
 I reached my destination. 
 
 In England no one would tolerate the introduction of 
 I/' such a system which would prove the destruction of 
 commerce. There are merchants who travel from 
 Bristol, Manchester, and Liverpool to London, merely 
 to settle in the course of a few hours their great concerns 
 and then to return. Conceive what an obstacle to their 
 affairs would be a two hours' attendance in the ante- 
 chamber of a Minister of Police. Suspicion is the result 
 of fear — the jealousy of a despotism doubtful of its 
 existence — a system proper for the present government 
 of France. But there is more charbonnerie than effective 
 vigour in the boasted police of M. Fouche. If the 
 French Government be seriously inclined to extend their 
 commerce there must be a relaxation in this perplexing 
 system of police, they must give free scope to industry, 
 
THE PRESENT STATE OF FRANCE 55 
 
 and not jealously inquire into the motives which may 
 lead their fellow countrymen to visit the capital or pass 
 from one district of France to another. If the present 
 plan is continued the revenues will be less productive, 
 and the support of an immense military, as well as the 
 extensive pageantry of a pompous Government, will be 
 provided for with difficulty and only by imposing 
 severe taxes which depress and ruin the cause of 
 agriculture. 
 
 I would not dare to affirm that these consequences are 
 to be traced exclusively to police espionage ; but when 
 this latter is contemplated as a brand of a widely extended 
 system of jealous government, it enters into a considera- 
 tion and forms a constituent of a policy the French 
 Republic will long have good reason to deplore. 
 
 X 
 
 GENERAL VIEW OF THE PRESENT 
 STATE OF FRANCE 
 
 Without a preconcerted plan a person who visits Paris 
 will be lost among the multitude of captivating subjects 
 which require his attention, and he will return to his 
 native country having seen many things but obtained a 
 knowledge of none. 
 
 Apart from the private motive which brought me here 
 I live in France only for the good of my country. 
 
 My inquiries, conversations and labours, are directed to 
 that end. On the final result of this examination of the 
 state of the French Republic depends my future resolu- 
 tions and my future destiny. 
 
 After twelve years of active engagement on the disturbed 
 theatre of public life ; after having seen the rise and fall 
 of contending factions at home and abroad ; after having 
 beheld the theories I had studied completely belie them- 
 selves in practice, I may, I think, be entitled to give an 
 
S6 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 opinion on political occurrences and public establish- 
 ments. 
 
 On such considerations I proceed to describe the 
 governments, laws, institutions, manners, relative form, 
 internal resources and ultimate view of a people, whom 
 I have seen at one time frivolous, abject and superstitious ; 
 at another period starting like Lazarus from a dead 
 repose, roused to a vindication of national liberty ; after- 
 wards the base tools of sanguinary demagogues, furious, 
 vindictive and cowardly, renouncing their obligations to 
 God and man, and astounding the civilised world by 
 their folly and their crime — next sighing after that 
 regulated freedom and social order for which they had 
 shed the blood of millions, but never been worthy or able 
 enough to establish ; lastly, conscious of their unfitness 
 to be free, relapsing again into the bosom of that ancient 
 despotism, which they had disdainfully trodden under 
 foot, with all the super-added terrors of military govern- 
 ment, and a suspicious administration ; laughing at the 
 very names of public virtue and public liberty, and them- 
 selves the terror and the mockery of Europe. These are 
 great events, worthy of solemn investigation ; they have 
 no parallel in the history of mankind. The principal 
 agents in these scenes merit alternate pity and indigna- 
 tion, but the scenes themselves illustrate and present to 
 our minds during the short space of ten years the history 
 of men for ages. 
 
 XI 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF LONGCHAMPS. BOIS 
 
 DE BOULOGNE AND THE BOULEVARDS 
 
 Strangers in Paris are always recommended to visit 
 the theatres and places of public amusements. Arts, 
 manufactures, courts of justice, useful institutions and 
 distinguished characters in the literary and political 
 worlds rarely trouble. We arrived in good time to see 
 
BOIS DE BOULOGNE 57 
 
 the Easter Promenade de Longchamps in the Bois de 
 Boulogne. This ceremony is for the time uppermost in 
 the heads of the Parisians, it was the only subject of 
 conversation ; and every one quitted his house and shop 
 to take a share in the spectacle. 
 
 The uninitiated might therefore conclude that this 
 favourite diversion of the public was a grand and 
 splendid scene, rivalling the marriage of the Adriatic or 
 the Carnival at Rome. 
 
 It is on the contrary an insipid and contemptible show, 
 consisting merely in the procession of a long string of 
 coaches, cabriolets, carts and horsemen ; with a few 
 boobies mounted on asses, making wry faces, and a 
 number of Merry Andrews playing fantastic antics for 
 the diversion of the populace. There was much noise 
 but no real mirth. 
 
 The Boisde Boulogne has been extolled, but it presents 
 no object or coup d'ceil either agreeable or attractive. 
 The roads are miserable tracks of sand, and the Wood (?) 
 contains no lofty trees, it consists of an extensive copse, 
 composed of shrubs, none of which exceed eight feet in 
 height. There is a sheet of water laden with boats, which 
 plain calculating English Islanders would call a duck- 
 pond. 
 
 On our return from this excursion we drove round the 
 Boulevards of Paris. They are by far the most pleasant, 
 neat and lively parts of the capital. Indeed, the expres- 
 sions I have employed do not convey an adequate idea 
 of their beauty and elegance. They extend around the 
 city 12,100 yards in length, and are at least eighty feet 
 wide, bordered by four rows of trees, which form 
 three alleys, the middle for the use of carriages and 
 horsemen and the two collateral ones for passengers on 
 foot. 
 
 On the Northern Boulevards the fashionable and idle 
 resort to while away their time in theatres and puppet 
 shows — at Tivoli, Frascati, public baths and eating- 
 houses ; but especially at an exhibition of waxwork, so 
 horrible and disgusting that its mere description would 
 
S8 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 make the hair of the most abandoned English Hbertine 
 stand on end. 
 
 I feel no hesitation in saying that I would rather a 
 child of mine should inhabit hell itself than be a spectator 
 of what I have seen there. 
 
 The Southern Boulevard is more agreeable and serene ; 
 it has more moral views, and though no meretricious 
 forms render it the haunt of fashionable votaries, there 
 is an air of tranquillity about it, which denotes the 
 absence of guilt and the resort of innocence. This is the 
 part frequented by the industrious tradesman and his 
 family. There are two public gardens on the Northern 
 Boulevard, which from the decorum observed there are 
 justly deserving of encomium, especially when contrasted 
 with other public places in Paris. I mean Tivoli and 
 Frascati. 
 
 Tivoli is celebrated for its mineral waters and baths as 
 well as its garden. The French compare its walks to 
 those of our Vauxhall, but the comparison is ridiculous, 
 as well compare the sun to a farthing rushlight. In the 
 first place there are no variegated lamps. The gardens 
 are not lighted at all except the platform appropriated to 
 dancing. 
 
 The sheet of water is about sixty yards long and three 
 yards broad. Upon this the gay Parisians perform their 
 nautical exploits or promenade sur I'eau. The illumina- 
 tions and fireworks are on such an inferior scale that the 
 price of admission, three livres (or half a crown), is 
 absolutely exorbitant. Frascati, at the corner of the rue 
 de la Loi, on the boulevard, is the most elegant lounge 
 in Paris. The garden is small but well lighted — along 
 each walk are busts of the French and English poets, and 
 at the extremity of the principal one is a pretty little 
 hermitage, arranged with great taste. Nothing is paid 
 for admission, the proprietors are amply compensated 
 by the prices the fashionable company of Paris pay for 
 the exquisite ices in the form of peaches and other 
 refreshments supplied at no very immoderate price. 
 There is no place of public amusement here which unites 
 
THE BOULEVARDS 59 
 
 so much elegance with decency, and I was never satisfied 
 with the fascinations of Frascati below stairs. Above the 
 apartments are reserved for gamblers. 
 
 Chantilly, in the Champs Elys^es, is a lower kind of 
 Tivoli, a franc is the price of admission, which includes 
 refreshments. The inferior orders in France conduct 
 themselves with more propriety and are less riotous than 
 the Londoners who assemble at Bagnigge Wells and the 
 so-called tea gardens of our Metropolis. 
 
 On the other side of the water, near the residence of 
 the British Minister, in the Faubourg S. Germain, is a 
 fashionable walk in the Garden of Biron. But that 
 which gave me most pleasure was the solitary and 
 unfrequented garden of the Luxembourg. To this 
 solitude I fled when I wished to avoid the noise of Paris. 
 It was also a place of conversation with my friends. 
 Here I learnt the true history of the French Revolution 
 from personages who had distinguished themselves in 
 that wonderful event, here I was instructed in the 
 characters of those who now govern France ; this was 
 the rendezvous of concealed Royalists and avowed 
 Republicans. I shall never forget the walks in the 
 Gardens of the Luxembourg. We were too remote from 
 the office of Fouche for our whispers to reach it, and we 
 were too well guarded to become objects of suspicion. 
 
 The Government are now repairing the Palace, and 
 the new Senate is to hold its sittings there. The garden 
 will then be cleared and beautified. 
 
 There are three or four other public walks in Paris. 
 The Gardens of the Arsenal, the Soubise and the Temple, 
 but they are totally deserted. The garden of the 
 Tuileries, attached to the residence of the First Consul, 
 the Garden of the Palais Royal and the Jardin des Plantes 
 I have not yet described. Each of these gardens has 
 been the scene of extraordinary events and deserve a 
 detailed account and description. 
 
6o FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 XII 
 
 GARDEN OF THE TUILERIES. FOUNDA- 
 TIONS OF THE REPUBLIC. ANECDOTE 
 OFMLLE. THEROUANNE. KNIGHTS OF 
 THE POIGNARD. NATIONAL CONVEN- 
 TION. TRIAL OF LOUIS XVI. ATTEMPT 
 TO SAVE HIM 
 
 The garden of the Tuileries is large and handsome. It 
 evokes the memories of the glorious efforts of the brave 
 Swiss Guard, murdered for their fidelity to their trust on 
 August 10, 1792. I have been informed on very good 
 authority that if the King could have been persuaded to 
 remain in the Palace, surrounded by his faithful guards, 
 the victory v^ould have terminated in favour of the Royal 
 cause. Several persons who were then members of the 
 Legislative Assembly have assured me the majority of the 
 Convention never dreamt of a deposition until they per- 
 ceived their victim at their mercy. The King's fatal 
 resolution determined those who were yet undecided. 
 But even then it was supposed Royalty would be con- 
 tinued in different hands. The Orleans faction were, 
 however, afraid to exert their power. Those engaged in 
 the conspiracy of the Duke neglected to seize the moment 
 and thus secure their object. They were duped by men 
 who had no share in their treachery, a convincing proof 
 that in political matters too much refinement and fine- 
 spun preliminaries wil^ never avail against unity of 
 principle. 
 
 Above a month elapsed before the Orleans faction and 
 the Republican party felt their mutual strength. The 
 former were employed in sounding the minds of others 
 and in treaty ; the latter, while they held out encouraging 
 hopes to the former, were concentrating their forces and 
 
FOUNDATIONS OF THE REPUBLIC 6i 
 
 preparing to strike a decisive blow. Thus they compelled 
 the Orleans party to become their blind instruments. 
 
 At length the National Convention assembled on 
 September 21 ; the Orleans party awaited with eager 
 expectation that some distinguished member of the other 
 side, with whom they had been tampering, should move 
 the deposition of King Louis. They then intended to 
 propose a Regent should be nominated in the person of 
 Philippe of Orleans.* The Republicans, however, 
 expected a motion for the total abolition of Royalty. 
 
 A solemn pause ensued. How the heart of Orleans 
 must have palpitated ! On a sudden the thunder burst 
 from an unexpected quarter ; it was reserved for an 
 ecclesiastic to pronounce the doom of a throne which 
 had existed for centuries. Gregoire,* Bishop of Blois, 
 exclaimed : 
 
 Why debate when all are agreed ? Kings are in the moral 
 economy of the world what monsters are in the natural ; Courts are 
 the repositories of crimes and the dens of tyrants. The history of 
 Kings is the martyrology of nations. As we are all convinced of 
 these truths, why, I repeat, should we debate ? 
 
 This speech operated like an electric shock upon the 
 Convention, the members rose en masse, and called for 
 the question. This proposition was then decreed : 
 Royalty is Abolished in France. Thus vanished 
 the prospects of Orleans and his abettors, and so was a 
 Republic established in France. 
 
 The fears and listlessness of Louis XVI. were the 
 proximate causes which led to his ruin and overthrow. 
 As a corroborating proof of this statement I give the 
 evidence of a young and beautiful but fanatical girl, 
 Mademoiselle Therouanne de Mirecourt,* who has 
 repeatedly declared to me que c'Mait la poltronnerie seule 
 du tyran qui sauva la France. 
 
 Before 1 quit this subject I cannot avoid noticing the 
 character of this young woman. During the attack upon 
 the Tuileries she headed a body of pikemen and showed 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
62 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 absolute fearlessness and marvellous courage. I have 
 often been in her company, and remarked that she 
 possessed by nature a fund of humanity and a tolerable 
 share of information ; but that vanity, desire of popularity 
 and fanaticism made her wild, savage and ferocious. 
 One day she invited me to breakfast with her, and on my 
 entering her apartment I beheld a pike, a sword, a brace 
 of pistols, and suspended over the chimney-piece the 
 bonnet rouge; scattered about the floor lay above a 
 hundred books and pamphlets, on her bed newspapers, 
 on her table Marat's ^w/t/w Peuple. On my inquiry why 
 a lady of her charms kept such dreadful instruments 
 in her room, she replied : '* No compliments. Citizen. 
 Society is undergoing a change, a grand re-organisation, 
 and women are about to resume their rights. We shall 
 no more be flattered in order to be enslaved, these arms 
 have dethroned the tyrant, and conquered freedom. Sit 
 down and take your chocolate." 
 
 With all this severity of character she possessed some 
 attractions and captured the heart of John Sheares,* who 
 was executed for treason during the late rebellion. His 
 affection for her was so great that he proposed marriage 
 to her. Had he been gratified in his inclination there is 
 good reason to suppose he might have been now alive, 
 and she in a happy situation. For he often assured me 
 that should his suit prove successful he would abandon 
 politics altogether and retire into private life. He was 
 one of the finest young men I ever beheld, and a 
 handsomer pair would have rarely been seen. But 
 fortune decided their fate should be disastrous. When 
 he tendered his proposals she pulled a pistol from her 
 pocket and threatened to shoot him if he said another 
 word upon the subject. He returned to Ireland, to fall a 
 victim five years later to offended justice. She is now in 
 a miserable state of insanity, confined in a madhouse in 
 the Rue de Sevre, Faubourg S. Germain. 
 
 The Garden of the Tuileries brings to my recollection 
 the famous story of the Knights of the Poignard, when on 
 ^ See Appendix. 
 
KNIGHTS OF THE POIGNARD 63 
 
 February 23, 1791, a number of the Knights of S. Louis 
 were supposed to have entered into a conspiracy to carry 
 off the King. I was present on the occasion, and a 
 spectator of the scene. An immense concourse of people 
 collected about the Palace, and there was much noisy 
 talk about concealed daggers, but I saw none, nor any 
 blade save that of La Fayette's * sword, who, mounted on 
 his white charger, galloped to and fro as if the fate of the 
 world depended on his actions. 
 
 One moment he formed the National Guard into line. 
 At the next he ordered them to file off, then he dis- 
 mounted and bolted into the Palace — in a trice he was 
 again on horseback — in short he created more alarm 
 among the people than if an Austrian army had reached 
 the barriers. At length, after a great deal of marching, 
 counter-marching, bustling and puffing, the Marquis 
 assured the mob that all was safe. Here followed great 
 applause, and the populace quietly dispersed. Some 
 Knights of S. Louis were present and were very roughly 
 handled by the people, but no other motive had carried 
 them to the Tuileries except an anxious desire to defend 
 the King against attacks by the mob. There is one fact 
 established by this event, that even at that period 
 Louis XVI. was respected by the people, and they con- 
 sidered their security to be identified by his person. I 
 have not the least doubt that a decided majority of the 
 people of France would at this day rejoice in the restora- 
 tion of their ancient line of Princes. 
 
 The Hall used by the National Convention stands on 
 one side of the Tuileries garden. It was formerly the 
 King's stables. It is the intention of the First Consul to 
 restore it to its original purpose. 
 
 Curiosity induced me to enter a place which had been 
 the focus of so many revolutions, where the Republic 
 was declared, the unhappy King tried, and more bloody 
 tragedies performed in one twelvemonth than in all 
 Europe in the space of two hundred years. 
 
 I found it completely dismantled, the galleries, 
 * See Appendix. 
 
64 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 the Tribune, the flag of Liberty that was planted over 
 the Bastille and suspended in triumph over the centre 
 of the hall, all have been destroyed, even the floor 
 removed, and we trod upon the bare earth. The place 
 was, however, so familiar to me that I was able to give 
 my companion a very accurate description of it, and to 
 point out the spot on which the unfortunate King was 
 placed during his trial. 
 
 Now that I am upon this subject I will mention some 
 circumstances respecting this event which have not, I 
 believe, been ever made known to the public. I was 
 present at the trial and sat very near to the King. Before 
 he was brought to the bar, it was decreed, on the motion 
 of one Legendre,* a butcher, that " No person, except 
 the President, should be permitted to speak a word 
 while Louis Capet was present." Legendre premised 
 his motion by this remark : " Citizen President, I demand 
 that this Assembly preserves the mournful silence of the 
 tomb, so that when the bloody tyrant enters it may strike 
 his guilty soul with horror." This speech was received 
 with unbounded applause, and the bloodstained hypocrite 
 Barr^re,* who was President, apostrophised the people on 
 the propriety of observing silence. There were very few 
 people of respectable or even decent appearance in the 
 galleries ; they were filled with the vilest rabble. During 
 the night preceding this mock trial the people in the 
 galleries kept themselves awake by singing the Marseil- 
 laise hymn, which was vociferated more than a hundred 
 times. The officers of the National Guard provided wine 
 and cakes for those who were willing to purchase them. 
 In the morning the deputies assembled and proceeded 
 upon the order of the day, Santerre,* the brewer, being 
 despatched to the Temple to conduct the King to the 
 Convention. 
 
 It was arranged the President should first read the 
 
 whole of the charges and then propose them severally 
 
 to the King, demanding answers. He w^as authorised to 
 
 interrogate the monarch, and any refusal to answer was 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
THE NATIONAL CONVENTION 65 
 
 to be construed into a confession of guilt. Santerre now 
 presented himself at the bar, and thus addressed the 
 President : 
 
 " Citizen President, Louis Capet awaits your orders." 
 
 Before Barrere * had time to reply, Mailhe, one of the 
 Secretaries, exclaimed : " Bring him in ! " The King 
 attended by several of the officers of the Paris Etat-Majeur, 
 and followed by Santerre, then advanced to the bar, 
 standing erect and firm, and casting (as it seemed to me) 
 a look of defiance upon the silent Assembly. A little 
 before the King entered a member of the Convention 
 said to an Englishman who was present: '^This will give 
 you a correct idea of your country in the last century." 
 To which he replied with uncommon spirit : " No, indeed, 
 we shall see too many tricks here." 
 
 I watched the King with the minutest attention, and I 
 observed that in looking round the assembly, he cast his 
 eye upon the standards taken from the Austrians and 
 Prussians, and gave a sudden start, from which, how- 
 ever, he recovered himself in an instant. 
 
 A wooden chair was brought, upon which Barrere 
 invited him to be seated. He then read the whole of the 
 charges, during which the King fixed his eyes attentively 
 upon him. To every charge he answered directly, with- 
 out premeditation, and with such skilful propriety that 
 the audience were astonished. 
 
 When he was accused of shedding the blood of French- 
 men he raised his voice with all the conscientiousness of 
 innocence, and replied : " No, sir, I have never shed the 
 blood of any Frenchman." His spirit was evidently 
 wounded at this charge, and I perceived a tear trickle 
 down his cheek ; but, as if unwilling to give his enemies 
 an opportunity of weakness in his conduct, he instan- 
 taneously wiped his face and forehead to denote he was 
 oppressed by heat. 
 
 After all his answers had been obtained several papers 
 were handed to him, with some degree of politeness, by 
 one of the Huissiers. This civility was a contrast to the 
 * See Appendix. 
 
 £ 
 
(A FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 brutal behaviour of Mailh6,* the Secretary, who was 
 afterwards desired to present some papers to the King. 
 These papers were said to have been signed by the 
 monarch, and to have been found in a box concealed in 
 a secret part of his cabinet. Their contents were not of 
 great importance, but the object of the Convention was 
 to identify the King's handwriting. A chair was placed 
 for Mailh6 close to the King, but within the bar. Im- 
 mediately he was seated the unfeeling monster turned it 
 completely round, so as to face the President and show 
 his back to the King. The insulted monarch felt the 
 affront, and showed by the manner in which he resented 
 it a proud superiority over his dastardly enemy. He rose 
 from his seat and remained on his legs during the whole 
 of the examination. Mailhe retained his position, and, 
 sitting with one leg crossed over the other, read aloud 
 each paper and then handed it over his right shoulder to 
 the sovereign, accompanied each time by the query : 
 ** Louis, is that your handwriting ? " The unfortunate 
 monarch snatched it abruptly from his hand and answered 
 indignantly : " No, it is not my writing." 
 
 A multitude of papers were presented on the one part 
 and denied on the other, in the same style. 
 
 Finally Mailhe rose from his seat, exclaiming dramati- 
 cally, " Louis denies everything ! Louis recollects nothing 
 at all!" 
 
 A voice from the boxes, behind the Deputies, shouted : 
 ** Take off his head ! " but it was not noticed. 
 
 Thus far victory was on the side of the King. Never 
 were charges more completely refuted by a forsaken 
 individual, deprived of the support of friends or counsel. 
 
 The President was at a loss how to proceed. Barbaroux * 
 and several Deputies rushed up to his chair and whispered 
 in his ear. This confused him the more. At length 
 , Manuel,* nicknamed the Solon or Solomon or Socrates 
 of France (I forget which), advanced into the area of the 
 hall, and in a bungling manner said : ^* President, the 
 representatives of the people have decreed that none of 
 * See Appendix. 
 
THE NATIONAL CONVENTION 6^ 
 
 us shall speak while the King — Louis, I mean — is amongst 
 us. Now I propose that Louis be made to withdraw for 
 a little while, so that every member may deliver his 
 opinion/' 
 
 No words can give an idea of the silly appearance of 
 Manuel when he found the word King had escaped 
 from his lips. At the sound of that name I perceived 
 Legendre,* his body writhing and distorted, preparing to 
 bellow. As he was sitting down he gave Bourdon I'Gise * 
 a tremendous box on the ear for calling him to order, 
 which the other returned by a sound blow in the face. 
 
 Several Deputies parted them. In the midst of this 
 confusion, when all the members were talking together, 
 Barrere rang his bell and told the King he might with- 
 draw. The King then said to the President : ** I request 
 to have the assistance of counsel," and then withdrew 
 before an answer could be given. 
 
 That artful and infernal villain, Barrere, during this 
 trial affected great sympathy towards his injured sove- 
 reign, articulated all the charges in a faltering accent, and 
 remained uncovered during the whole time the King 
 was present. Most of the members wore their hats. 
 The Duke of Orleans, who seated himself in full view 
 of his fallen relative, was, however, uncovered. 
 
 The King was plainly dressed in an olive silk coat, and 
 looked remarkably well. Barrere wore a dark coat and 
 scarlet waistcoat, lead-coloured kerseymere breeches and 
 white silk stockings. Robespierre wore black. Orleans 
 was habited in blue. The majority of the members 
 looked like blackguards. Legendre wore no neckcloth, 
 but an open collar a la Brutus. 
 
 Manuel was much agitated by the misapplication of 
 the word King. Not so the monarch, who dropped a 
 similar expression. As he was giving an account of the 
 invitation to the entertainment at Versailles, which the 
 Queen had received from the Gardes de Corps, he caught 
 up his words and said : " La ci-devant Reine, ma femme." 
 The rest of this affecting spectacle is sufficiently known. 
 * See Appendix. 
 
68 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 I have mentioned the incidents above because I have 
 never seen them in any printed accounts of that melan- 
 choly day. 
 
 It has been generally asserted that no effort was made 
 to rescue the captive monarch. This assertion is false. 
 I am personally acquainted with a man who had 15,000 
 livres deposited in his hands for the purpose of rescuing 
 the King. This sum was so prudently distributed and 
 the plan so judiciously made, that if Santerre had not 
 ordered drums to beat, to drown the forcible appeal the 
 Royal sufferer was making to the people, I surely believe it 
 would have been carried into effect. There were persons 
 on the fatal spot prepared to seize the moment of oppor- 
 tunity, had the fickle character of the Parisian populace, 
 who would send up shouts to Heaven to-morrow at the 
 execution of the First Consul, whom they adore to-day, 
 made it likely that they would have joined or divided in 
 the enterprise. 
 
 There is not a spot in this Hall of Convention which 
 does not revive a thousand sublime and painful recol- 
 lections. 
 
 I remember seeing Mirabeau,* Barnave ^ and the 
 Lornettes,* and on the same side of the Hall those 
 conspicuous members who thundered against the Clergy, 
 the Feudal Laws, and the despotism of the Throne. I 
 have heard the virtuous Mounier * pour forth the language 
 of generous indignation against the motion of Barnave 
 on the emigration of the aunts of the King. Methmks 
 I hear again the nervous eloquence of Cazalis * on 
 behalf of his King and the established laws of the 
 country. Here I have heard Mirabeau on the Veto ; 
 the celebrated speech of Cardinal Moury* on Avignon 
 and the Comtal Venaissin,* the gloomy metaphysics of 
 Condorcet * and the eloquent if mistaken enthusiasm 
 of Gregoire. 
 
 I have also beheld, O wTetched change ! — this Hall 
 polluted by monsters breathing nothing but death and 
 devastation. I have heard in that Tribune the san- 
 * See Appendix. 
 
GARDEN OF THE PALAIS ROYALE 69 
 
 guinary suggestions of Danton and Robespierre, the 
 bowlings of Marat — the ravings of Brissot, Anarcharsis 
 Cloots * and Gondet,* and the calembours of the Gascon 
 Barrere. 
 
 There, too, I have seen Tom Paine * stand up Hke a 
 post, while another read a translation of his speech. 
 What noise, what uproar and cabals have originated 
 within these walls ! They seeni besmeared with human 
 blood. The images they excite arise in dreadful succes- 
 sion, and stalk before my imagination like the shades of 
 Banquo's line. 
 
 Never shall I forget the day when in the midst of a 
 solemn speech Gensonne* was delivering, the impudent 
 little Marat,* who could scarcely reach his throat, gave 
 him a box on the ear. The other took him in his arms 
 and threw him neck and heels out of the Tribune. 
 
 XIII 
 
 GARDEN OF THE PALAIS ROYALE. 
 
 MANNERS OF THE PEOPLE 
 
 The greatest beauty in the world becomes by pollution 
 an odious and repulsive creature. Health and charm 
 flourish only in the practice of virtue and in the abodes 
 of innocence. The prostitute is shunned by every 
 woman of honour and reputation, and dens of vice are 
 avoided by every man to whom virtue is not an empty 
 word. 
 
 I am now about to treat of the Palais Royale, that hot- 
 bed of revolution and crime, that nursery of every 
 loathsome vice, that abomination of all virtue and pro- 
 fanation of all religion. 
 
 This infernal sink of iniquity is situated in the very 
 
 centre of Paris, and by certain vicious inhabitants of the 
 
 capital is considered its brightest ornament, just as the 
 
 Devils in Milton's *' Paradise Lost " admired the Palace 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
70 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 of the Pandemonium. In my last letter I mentioned that 
 Duke of Orleans, who styled himself Philippe Egalite, 
 during the Revolution. This wretch was the proprietor 
 of the Palais Royale. His great grandfather, who was 
 nearly though not quite as great a scoundrel as his great 
 grandson, was the first who made this place the focus for 
 his illicit pleasures ; it has ever since been dedicated to 
 Cabal, Bloodshed, Rapine and Debauchery. 
 
 During the first moments of the Revolution it was 
 the rendezvous of the desperate, the ambitious and the 
 cut-throat. Political mountebanks, mounted on tables, 
 harangued the people on the Rights of Man. The Palais 
 Royale became the arsenal wherein were forged the 
 instruments of anarchy and murder. Here could an 
 unsophisticated provincial, newly arrived in Paris, listen 
 to provocatives to civil discord and learn those arts by 
 which the repose of France has been disturbed for above 
 ten years. The orators had the words Liberty and 
 Virtue continually in their mouths, but their hearts were 
 rank and rotten to the core, and the real objects they 
 courted were licentiousness and vice. 
 
 Their ignorance was only equalled by their effrontery ; 
 they talked of subjects they did not understand ; they 
 encouraged their countrymen to revolt, they passed their 
 days in exciting the populace to murder, and rioted away 
 their nights in taverns and styes of prostitution. They 
 promoted confusion and civil strife ; covetous without 
 economy, and bold without courage, they were deaf to 
 the voice of honour and honesty. The frequenters of 
 this place are in the present day * no better than their 
 predecessors. The former march of the Parisian cannibals 
 to Versailles was arranged at and begun from this spot, 
 it was also the rendezvous of the apostles of Marat and 
 the sbirri of Robespierre. 
 
 I remember the last interview had in this garden with 
 the mad Colonel Oswald, who asserted that a representa- 
 tion of the people was as great a despotism as absolute 
 monarchy. He asserted as a man could not eat by 
 
 '•' 1 8055. 
 
GARDEN OF THE PALAIS ROYALE 71 
 
 proxy, so he could not think by proxy. He proposed, 
 therefore, that men and women should assemble in an 
 open plain and there make and repeal laws. I endeavoured 
 to persuade him that his plan was not sufficiently extensive, 
 as he had excluded from this grand assembly the most 
 populous portion of his fellow creatures, /.^., cats, dogs, 
 horses, chickens, sheep, cattle, &c. 
 
 Oswald was originally a captain of a Highland 
 regiment in the British service, and when quartered in 
 India lived some considerable time with some Brahmins, 
 who turned his head. From that period he never tasted 
 flesh meat. He did not, however, embrace the whole 
 Brahmin theology, for he was a professed atheist and 
 denied the metempsychosis, and drank plentifully of 
 wine. Such a man, living in a fermented capital, was 
 capable of doing much mischief. He dined on his roots 
 one day at a party of some members of the Convention 
 at which I was present, and coolly proposed, as the most 
 effectual way of averting civil war, to put to death every 
 suspected man in France. I was deeply shocked to hear 
 such a sentiment proceed from the mouth of an English- 
 man. The expression was not suffered to pass unnoticed, 
 and the famous Thomas Paine remarked : " Oswald, you 
 have lived so long without tasting flesh that you have 
 now a most voracious appetite for blood." 
 
 In consequence of my remarks upon this occasion, 
 Oswald invited me to meet him in the gardens of the 
 Palais Royale. As soon as I arrived I found him already 
 there. He darted forward, drew his sword and exclaimed : 
 "You are not fit to live in civilised society!" Having 
 uttered these words he returned his sword into the 
 scabbard and disappeared in a moment. His regiment 
 was ordered to La Vendee, when, while bravely leading 
 on his men at the battle of Pont-de-Ce, he was killed by 
 a cannon ball ; and at the same instant a discharge of 
 grape shot laid both his sons, who served as drummer 
 boys in the corps he commanded, breathless on 
 their father's corpse. He had two wives, who still 
 reside in Paris. They were both singularly handsome, 
 
72 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 and, strange to say, lived together in friendship and 
 harmony. 
 
 The history of this warrior brings to my recollection a 
 curious rencontre I had in this place with Anarcharsis 
 l/Clootz, who called himself ^' Orator of the human race." 
 For four hours did this man expose his political dreams. 
 In six months the tricolour flag was to wave over the 
 dome of S. Sophia at Constantinople. A month later it 
 would be seen on Mount Caucasus, and then at St. Peters- 
 burg and Pekin. 
 
 Paris would be the capital of the world, mankind 
 composed of one family, subordinate to one government, 
 and French be the sole international language. 
 
 All this would be accomplished in the short space of 
 three years. Before these wonders could come about 
 Anarcharsis was publicly executed, together with many 
 other fanatics. I have actually heard this man propose 
 at the Jacobin Club that the moment the French army 
 came in sight of the Austrian and Prussian soldiers, they 
 should, instead of attacking the enemy, throw down their 
 own arms and advance towards them, dancing in a 
 friendly manner. Such a measure, he was persuaded, 
 would strike the wretched victims of tyranny with a 
 sentiment of affection, which would be announced by an 
 equally sympathetic movement. 
 
 After such a proposition I suspected that the accusa- 
 tion by which he perished, namely that he was a 
 pensioner of the King of Prussia, had some foundation. 
 
 Unquestionably Clootz, by his speeches and conduct, 
 cast more ridicule than anyman else upon the Revolution. 
 His abominable deification and worship in the Cathedral 
 Church of Notre Dame of an abandoned woman, whom 
 he created Goddess of Reason, and the manoeuvres he 
 employed to induce Gobel, Archbishop of Paris, to 
 renounce his character and belief at the bar of the 
 Convention, are proofs either of madness or conspiracy. 
 The Palais Royale is an immense building, in the form 
 of a parallelogram, within which is a garden distributed 
 into separate gravelled walks. In the piazzas which run 
 
GARDEN OF THE PALAIS ROYALE 73 
 
 along the sides of the edifice are shops, coffee-houses, 
 bagnios, money-changers, gambling-houses, and stock- 
 brokers. The jewellers' shops are as numerous and 
 brilliant as if neither misery nor miserable human beings 
 existed. You see nothing but chains, half pearl, half 
 diamond. The woollen drapers unfurl from the top of 
 their shops to the floor every kind of stuff. The stuffs 
 are under your hand, no one watching you ; and the 
 master is careless and sorry when you ask him the price. 
 
 The odour of exquisite ragouts ascends in vapours to 
 the air, the side tables are loaded with fruit, confectionery 
 and pastry, and you may dine to the sound of musical 
 instruments and French horns played by girls who are 
 not nymphs of Diana. Petty gaming-houses support the 
 shops of women who sell garters, lavender water, tooth- 
 brushes and sealing-wax. Booksellers' shops allure the 
 libertine and entrap innocent youth. Pictures from 
 curious collection books, licentious engravings, libidinous 
 novels serve as signs to a crowd of loose women, lodging 
 in the wooden shops. Their nets are ten feet distant 
 from the sauntering youth, idle and already emaciated 
 in the flower of his age. Above the wooden shops are 
 gambling-rooms, where all the passions and torments of 
 hell are assembled. 
 
 As soon as the day closes all the arcades are suddenly 
 illuminated, the shops become resplendent and the crowd 
 more numerous. This is the moment when the gaming- 
 houses open under the sanction of the Government 
 and afford it a productive revenue. While the great 
 sharpers are employed in the drawing-rooms above, the 
 lesser ones are at work in the through passages, which 
 communicate with the adjacent street and serve as gliding 
 holes to swarms of pickpockets and money jobbers. 
 Your steps under the arcades are arrested by smoke, 
 which pricks your eyes, it is the kitchen flame of the 
 restaurateurs. Close to them are the balls beginning in 
 subterraneous grottoes. Across the air-holes you see 
 circles of girls, leaping, giggling, rushing on their gallants 
 like Bacchantes. In the auction rooms the brokers, 
 
74 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 dealers, retailers are all seated. Women's wigs, chimney 
 pendulums, shawls, handkerchiefs, shirts, beds a la 
 Duchesse were sold to the highest bidder. Spies of the 
 police prowl in every coffee house, but no one dares 
 now talk politics in them. Under the arcades are holes 
 of shops, where young girls attract the passengers by their 
 glances. These places are the assiduous rendezvous of 
 every man fattened by rapine, army contractors, agents, 
 administrators of tontines and lotteries, professors of 
 nocturnal robberies, and stock-jobbers. 
 
 These places are to the seraglio what the cookshops 
 are to the restaurateurs. At these latter places you are 
 served by a nod. The dish is placed on the table the 
 moment it is ordered. Private rooms offer you every- 
 thing to satiate gluttony and sensuality. The glasses 
 which decorate them offer to the libidinous eye of an old 
 satyr the charms of his mistress, and all the seats are 
 elastic. There is a private saloon in which you drink the 
 coolest liquors, and where burnt incense escapes from 
 boxes in light cloudy streams. There you dine a 
 rOrieniale ! and find on certain days all the pomp and 
 singularity of a repast of Trimalcion. On a signal given 
 the ceiling opens, and from above descended heathen 
 goddesses in classical attire. The amateurs choose, and 
 the divinities, not of Olympus, but the ceiling, join the 
 mortals. 
 
 Such is the infected lazar house, placed in the middle 
 of a great city, which has reduced the whole of society 
 to degradation and corruption. Independently of the 
 fatal contagion of gaming, the excuses of cupidity under 
 all its forms, and the licentiousness of morals, blasphemy 
 and infidelity in every mouth, and at every moment, 
 brutal and depraved language has pervaded every con- 
 dition and made a sport of sacred words heretofore never 
 pronounced without respect. Everywhere you meet 
 troops of children, without order or modesty, who swear, 
 blaspheme, and scandalise chaste and pious ears. At 
 Sodom and Gomorra they would not have allowed such 
 books to circulate as are printed and sold in the Palais 
 
GARDEN OF THE PALAIS ROYALE 75 
 
 Royale. The infamous work of De Sade,* " Justine, or 
 the Misfortunes of Virtue/' is exposed on every stall, and 
 a hundred other productions, equally distinguished for 
 turpitude and vice, are there to finish the decomposition 
 of what instinctive morality remains in the hearts of 
 young people. 
 
 I cannot help expressing the utmost indignation against 
 the compiler of a publication just issued, entitled, *' A 
 Practical Guide, during a journey from London to Paris," 
 in which the writer asserts " that no station, no age, no 
 temper could leave the Palais Royale without an ardent 
 desire to return." It is proper the English public should 
 not be thus abused by perversions and falsehoods, and 
 on this account I have entered more fully into a detail of 
 the wanton and disgusting scenes at the Palais Royale 
 than their monstrous enormities would otherwise deserve. 
 
 Accompanied by an English gentleman, like myself a 
 married man, we visited every part of this Temple of Sin, 
 and we agreed in opinion that as long as it existed it will 
 be vain to look in Paris for any sincere demonstrations 
 of either moral probity, decency in private or honesty in 
 public life. The Government appears sensible of the 
 evil, though they have taken no steps to prevent it. It 
 is believed, and from what I have seen I do not entertain 
 the least doubt upon the subject, that they protect these 
 scenes of voluptuousness for the purpose of enervating 
 the minds and diverting the attentions of the Parisians 
 from the consideration of public affairs. 
 
 If this is not the case why should the legislators and 
 the Government be continually preaching up the ad- 
 vantage of morality, and the necessity of establishing 
 a national education system for the encouragement 
 of virtue and the suppression of vice, when they 
 receive at the same time a considerable revenue from 
 the wages of harlots and the profits of gambling-houses ? 
 Why is a soldier stationed at the door of every one of 
 these dens of impurity but to demonstrate that they are 
 tolerated ? There is another circumstance which is 
 * See Appendix. 
 
76 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 noticeable in the Palais Royale, this is the domineering 
 aspect and conduct of the military, the airs and con- 
 sequence assumed by the soldiers, and the manifest 
 superiority they affect and maintain over their fellow 
 citizens. Every one makes room for them to pass, the 
 officers strut or saunter along arm in arm, the clinking 
 of their sabres along the pavement announcing their 
 approach warns the servile citizen to make way. The 
 very prostitute, leaning on the arm of the large whiskered 
 regimental pantaloon, feels an importance far above her 
 sisters. She laughs and talks loud, and as she moves 
 exacts from the spectators the ecstatic apostrophe : ^^Eh ! 
 regardez-ld, comme elle est belle!" 
 
 These things are better ordered in our country, which 
 is at once a land of liberty and of paramount laws. The 
 soldier, with us, comprehends the obligation he owes the 
 laws, and while he displays the utmost loyalty to his 
 sovereign he associates under the idea of duty a regard 
 for his fellow subjects. I cannot conclude this subject 
 without noticing a remark made to me by one of the 
 founders of the French Revolution, an ex-Bishop and 
 now a member of the Senate. 
 
 The thing [said he] which gives me most pleasure in your 
 EngUsh institutions is the general appearance of moral conduct 
 that everywhere prevails, the astonishing observance of Sunday and 
 holy days, the respect for religion, and the orderly and unaffected 
 manners of your soldiers, who are neither insolent nor con- 
 sequential, but who seem to feel they are neither masters nor 
 slaves. 
 
 XIV 
 
 EXCURSION TO VERSAILLES 
 
 Versailles is four leagues from Paris, and the road 
 leading to it is perhaps the finest and most elegant in the 
 world. I was prompted by curiosity to pass two or three 
 days in a city formerly the seat cf government and 
 
EXCURSION TO VERSAILLES 77 
 
 pleasure, and which now presents a striking contrast with 
 its ancient splendour. When I last saw Versailles it was 
 the pride and boast of the French nation. What a change 
 does it now exhibit ! how silent are those streets, formerly 
 the scenes of gaiety, bustle and delight ! In consequence 
 of the events of the Revolution and the removal of the 
 Court, its population is reduced from 80,000 to 18,000 
 souls. It is now, therefore, the cheapest town in France, 
 and to those who are fond of sequestered walks and 
 retired scenery offers a most enchanting residence. There 
 are excellent libraries, quiet and good society, plenty of 
 rational amusements, and the disgusting orgies of vice and 
 sensuality so prevalent in the capital are here unknown. 
 
 The Palace is built on an elevated site, and is a gorgeous 
 and massy pile. The following is the account given of 
 its origin. Louis XIII. purchased the land of John de 
 Soissy* in 1627, and erected upon it a hunting lodge. 
 Louis XIV. was delighted with the site, and decided to 
 erect a magnificent Palace upon thisj spot. He collected 
 skilful architects and artists, converted the village into a 
 city and the hunting lodge into the finest royal residence 
 in the world. The work commenced in 1673, ^.nd was 
 completed in 1680. The artists employed were Mansard * 
 for the architecture, Andre le Nostre * for the arrange- 
 ment of the gardens, and Charles le Brun * for the 
 department of painting, sculpture and design. The 
 stables were planned by Mansard, commenced in 1679 
 and completed in 1685, they are remarkable for the 
 regularity of their structure, and relieved by some good 
 pieces of sculpture. 
 
 The entrance to the interior of the Palace by the 
 grand marble staircase is closed. It was the original 
 design of the Government to have converted this Palace 
 into a museum of the French School, by retaining the 
 paintings and ornaments it contained. But since the 
 whole of the Republic is now squeezed to furnish wealth 
 and splendour to the Metropolis, the greater part of those 
 paintings have been removed to Paris. The Cabinet of 
 * See Appendix. 
 
78 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 Natural History has also been stripped of all its beauties 
 for the benefit of the Parisians. We entered by the last 
 staircase on the North Terrace, into the Saloon of 
 Hercules, sixty-four feet long by fifty-four feet broad, 
 superbly decorated. The ceiling is painted with a repre- 
 sentation of Olympus and the apotheosis of Hercules. 
 In the middle of this saloon is the marble Cupid formerly 
 in the Temple of Love at Trianon. 
 
 The second great apartment is the Hall of Plenty, the 
 ceiling painted by Houdon,* then comes the Hall of 
 Diana, painted by Blanchard.* The fourth apartment 
 is called the Hall of Mars. Audran * has painted this 
 deity in his car, surrounded by all his martial attributes. 
 Here is an ingenious mechanical clock by Moraud, which 
 played a carillon every hour, but since the Revolution 
 the tunes have been altered. Through the Halls of 
 Mercury and Apollo we reach the Saloon of War. Over 
 the chimney-piece is a fine oval bas-relief of Mars on 
 horseback, but as the head of Mars was a copy of the 
 features of Louis XV., the Sovereign People thought 
 proper to knock it off. It is in contemplation to repair 
 this mischief by placing a resemblance of a celebrated 
 Corsican gentleman in the stead of the former master. 
 
 It would be folly to dispute the superiority of the 
 French in the art of decoration ; their public edifices, 
 without excluding those constructed since the Revolu- 
 tion, exhibit the highest proof of excellence in the 
 ornamental art, and in no part of Europe is there any 
 apartment to compare with the Grand Gallery of Ver- 
 sailles, for both arrangements or magnificence. It is 220 
 feet in length, 30 in breadth and 32 in height, and 
 contains seventeen large windows, opposite which are as 
 many arcades, filled with looking-glasses that reflect the 
 gardens and their water pieces. 
 
 Between the arcades and the windows are forty-eight 
 pilasters of the rarest marbles, the bases and capitals 
 being of gilded bronze. 
 
 The Gallery terminates in the Saloon of Peace, which 
 * See Appendix. 
 
EXCURSION TO VERSAILLES 79 
 
 formed part of the apartments of the Queen of France. 
 Beyond this chamber are two apartments, which com- 
 plete this magnificent suite, they are superbly ornamented 
 with plate glasses, vases, columns and busts. In the last 
 there are twenty-two paintings by Leseuer, brought from 
 the Chartreuse monastery. 
 
 Formerly we might have passed through the apart- 
 ments of the late King and descended by the marble 
 staircase, but these rooms are now all occupied by 
 military invalids. We had to return through the state 
 saloons and descend to the gallery which leads to the 
 Opera House, unquestionably the most magnificent in 
 Europe. This building was commenced in 1753, and 
 it was only finally completed in 1770, being first used for 
 the festivities given in honour of the marriage of the late 
 unfortunate Louis XVI., then Dauphin. 
 
 It would be tedious to detail every particular of this 
 elegant hall, suffice it to observe that it combines taste 
 with splendour, and that the orchestra is large enough to 
 contain eighty musicians. The Chapel of the Palace was 
 finished in the year 17 10 and is a superb monument. 
 This chapel has been preserved with great care from 
 the havoc of the Revolution, and is in the same state 
 as when it was the daily resort of the Royal family of 
 France. 
 
 The Library is detached from the Palace, and consists 
 of a collection of books in different languages, by no 
 means comparable, either for choice or arrangement, to 
 his Majesty's collection at Buckingham House. 
 
 One compartment was peculiarly appropriated to the 
 use of the late King and Queen, and their handwriting is 
 often to be met with in turning over the books. There 
 is a splendid volume in vellum, containing an account of a 
 tournament given by Louis XIV. at the conclusion of a 
 general peace, when the Princes of the blood and the 
 nobility appeared in costumes of different nations and 
 characters. Larcher's translation of Herodotus is printed 
 on the richest paper I ever beheld. The librarian tells 
 me it was a favourite work of Louis XVI. 
 
8o FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 The Palace is surrounded to the west by three enclo- 
 sures the last of which, called the Great Park, is thirty 
 miles in circumference, and comprises the villages of 
 Bac, St. Cyr, Bois d'Arcy Bailly. On the north of this 
 Great Park are Nursery Gardens, and on the south the 
 furthermost ponds and aqueducts which conduct into 
 the reservoirs of the Deer Park. There were very few 
 deer there, but an immense quantity of game, which has 
 been entirely destroyed by the Sovereign People. The 
 circuit of the little park comprises several farms, one of 
 which, the Menagerie, has been presented by Bonaparte 
 to the celebrated Abbe Siezes.* This property and 
 Trianon are enclosed at the two extremities of the two 
 arms of the canal. 
 
 The most noble entrance to the Park is by the great 
 stairs of the greenhouse. When the waterworks played 
 the coup deceit was exquisite. Various parts of the garden 
 are ornamented with groves, groups, antique statues, 
 bottes, vases, basins and fountains in marble, bronze or 
 gilded metal. The principal groves are the Rock or Bath 
 of Apollo, the colonnade, the domes and the three 
 fountains. 
 
 The Bath of Apollo is the masterpiece of Girardon.* 
 This divinity is represented surrounded by nymphs 
 offering their services, the two groups of horses held by 
 Tritons are admirably executed. The figures of Apollo 
 and the nymphs are on an elevated situation at the 
 entrance of the Grotto of Thetis, upon the top of a 
 rock which has been wrought into a most romantic 
 form. On either side the horses are seen in the act of 
 drinking ; a large quantity of water falls into a great 
 reservoir, with wild and picturesque beauty, and the 
 whole piece is enclosed within a plantation of wild 
 and exotic trees. Nothing can exceed the extreme 
 beauty of this spot and the exquisite sculpture of the 
 horses. 
 
 The Grove of the Colonnade is remarkable for the 
 group representing the Rape of Proserpine. The Domes 
 * See Appendix. 
 
VERSAILLES 8i 
 
 contain two cabinets supported by eight marble columns 
 and enriched with bas-reliefs of bronze and metal. 
 
 The statues of Amphitrite, Acis and Galatea are the 
 most distinguished in this collection. 
 
 All the other groves are ornamented with bas reliefs 
 and pieces of sculpture. The basins of water, fountains, 
 arcades and spouts which abound in them, give additional 
 charm to the scenery. 
 
 Amongst the groups scattered about the garden are 
 two by Puget — these are Milo of Crotona and Perseus 
 delivering Andromeda. The great piece of Neptune is 
 a vast basin of water, ornamented with five groups and 
 twenty-two .great vases of bronze metal. The principal 
 groups represent Neptune, Amphitrite, Proteus and the 
 Ocean. 
 
 The greenhouse was built in 1685, upon the plan of 
 Mansard. The parterre, decorated with marble vases, is 
 surrounded with a considerable number of orange trees, 
 some of them as old as the time of Francis I. 
 
 The hothouse is 480 feet long and 38 wide, in the 
 middle is a statue in white marble executed by Dessardin, 
 10 feet 9 inches high, of Mars, dressed Roman fashion. 
 Why this divinity has been placed in the abode of Flora 
 I have not been able to understand. 
 
 Opposite to the greenhouse is a large basin, 2100 feet 
 in length and 700 in breadth, called La Piece des Suisses, 
 at the extremity of which is an equestrian statue of 
 Louis XIV. They have changed the traits of the coun- 
 tenance so that it now represents Quintus Curtius. These 
 metamorphoses are very common in France, and have 
 been occasionally carried to blasphemous impiety. A 
 picture represented the Descent of the Saviour from the 
 Mountain — the countenance of the Redeemer was altered 
 so as to represent that of Robespierre ; should the painting 
 descend in this dishonoured state to posterity it will be a 
 memorable record of the iniquity and madness of the 
 days of the Terror. 
 
 On one side of the Pi^ce des Suisses are 50 acres of 
 land, which formerly served as the King's Garden. 
 
 F 
 
82 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 The canal is 4800 feet in length, the two branches join 
 on one side of Trianon ; but the whole is in a wretched 
 state and almost destitute of water. 
 
 Trianon, called in the twelfth century Trianum, is the 
 name of an ancient palace belonging to the diocese of 
 Chartres. Louis XIV. purchased it from the Abbaye of 
 Ste. Genevieve. It has always been called the region of 
 flowers on account of the enchanting gardens, by which 
 it is surrounded. The two wings are united by a peristyle 
 of twenty-two columns of the Doric order, and the whole 
 building contains only a ground floor. 
 
 The gallery and the billiard-rooms are ornamented 
 with a great many different views of Versailles and 
 Trianon, but all the gilded fleurs de lys which were 
 affixed to the frames have been torn off by order of 
 the Jacobin Municipality at Versailles. A fine portrait 
 of the Emperor Joseph II. in this Palace was destroyed 
 years ago. 
 
 Charles Delacroix attended the sale of the movables, 
 and when this picture was put up to be sold, he observed 
 to the citizens that no true Republican could desire to 
 have any resemblance of the family of Marie Antoinette, 
 and therefore he should serve this portrait as he would 
 like to deal with all kings. Accordingly he drew a 
 carving knife from his side and decapitated the Emperor 
 Joseph. It was Hildebrand, the Suisse keeper of 
 Trianon, from whom we heard this anecdote ; and as he 
 told it to us, he grinned a horrible and ghastly smile over 
 the acts of the Revolutionists. 
 
 Little Trianon is at the extremity of the Park belong- 
 ing to Trianon. The beautiful gardens are now going to 
 decay. The pavilion and grounds are held for three 
 years at the rent of 18,000 livres {£7S^ sterling a year) 
 by a man who was formerly cook to the late Queen. 
 He realises considerable sums by the curiosity of the 
 traveller and the visit of Parisian cockneys, the admis- 
 sions being a franc for each male and half a franc for 
 each female. 
 
 But although he contracted to keep the place in good 
 
VERSAILLES 83 
 
 repair he has allowed it to go to ruin. For instance, the 
 lovely little Temple of Love, situated in the midst of 
 artificial rocks and surrounded by a thick wood, has been 
 completely ransacked, the marble floor pulled up and 
 removed and the little Cupid transferred to Versailles. 
 All the cottages are falling to pieces, and the water has 
 been drawn off the lake. 
 
 This once enchanting spot was once the favourite 
 resort of the late Queen, who often amused herself in 
 sailing thither from the sheet of water in the Great 
 Park. 
 
 These are the chief places of any note at Versailles. I 
 have been rather minute in my narrative in order to 
 establish a comparison between the ancient and present 
 state of that celebrated place. 
 
 Versailles, as the capital of the Department, possesses 
 a Criminal Tribunal, composed of a President, two 
 Judges and Assistants, a Registrar and a sworn Com- 
 missary. 
 
 Justices of the Peace abound in every district, but it is 
 in contemplation to reduce their number. 
 
 A project has been submitted to the Council-General 
 of Versailles to make a number of embellishments and 
 build a magnificent town hall for the use of the mayor 
 and municipality ; but as the town is already consider- 
 ably in debt it would be a prudent and honest measure, 
 though one not much practised by the present French 
 Government, to postpone these decorations until they 
 have liquidated their debts. 
 
 An hospital, under very excellent administration, is 
 established here, and there are public baths near the 
 park, open from four in the morning till nine at 
 night. 
 
 We passed our time very agreeably at Versailles and 
 were well accommodated, though the charges could not 
 be called reasonable. The expenses of a dinner for four 
 and lodging for ourselves and two servants for one 
 night amounted to over four pounds sterling. We 
 arrived at an unlucky moment in the hotel. For a young 
 
84 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 Irishman of rank was unfortunately in the house with 
 his newly-married bride, and when we reflected that in 
 less than six weeks' residence in Paris he contrived 
 to spend ^£16,000 it was not surprising that we too were 
 bled in honour of our national character for generosity. 
 
 An English gentleman of our acquaintance and also 
 personally acquainted with this young man and his lady, 
 paid them a visit, and told me that they displayed to him 
 a purchase of fifty-six snuff-boxes and twenty-five 
 watches. 
 
 This recital excited our merriment, and we tried to 
 imagine what motive could induce those young persons 
 t o throw away their money in such a ridiculous manner. 
 He could not take snufif, it always made him sick. A 
 man of his fortune could not have bought those trinkets 
 as an article of merchandise, and they were too many and 
 certainly unsuitable to decorate the girdle of his lady at a 
 birthnight ball.* 
 
 Finally we united in surmising that these costly articles 
 were intended as presents for the electors of the county 
 
 of X , for which he proposed to be returned as member 
 
 at the coming election. 
 
 Having now thoroughly investigated the remains of 
 the once magnificent Versailles, we took leave of Mr. 
 
 B , who set off for La Vendee, and returned to 
 
 Paris through the Bois de Boulogne. 
 
 * These articles have since 1802 increased a hundredfold in 
 value. — [Ed.] 
 
ASYLUM FOR AGED AT CHAILLOT 85 
 
 XV 
 
 ACCOUNT OF AN ESTABLISHMENT AT 
 CHAILLOT FOR THE RECEPTION OF 
 THE AGED AND DESTITUTE 
 
 The French Revolution having overthrown those humane 
 establishments, which had for long ages subsisted in the 
 country, some private individuals are generously endea- 
 vouring to repair those breaches which crime has effected 
 in the order of society. 
 
 Nothing tends more to the happiness of society than 
 the discovery of practical methods which may increase 
 the comforts of those who are no longer able to support 
 themselves. 
 
 When a nation has increased in number and power, 
 it is bound to provide for its people additional means of 
 subsistence. Beneficence should not be stationary when 
 nations are progressive. I will now enter into a detail 
 of the establishment of Chaillot, which is equally praise- 
 worthy for its benevolent views and ingenuity. 
 
 I happened to fall into company with a ci-devant 
 nobleman, named Duchaillot,* who, during the time of 
 the Terror, lost all his fortune and took refuge in Berlin. 
 
 I found he possessed a sound and inquisitive mind, and 
 was thoroughly conversant in every branch of domestic 
 economy. He inquired whether we had in Great Britain 
 and Ireland any institutions which offered a retreat for 
 old age. I answered they were numberless. But this 
 answer did not satisfy him, and he placed his question on 
 a different footing. ^' Have you," said he, *'any institu- 
 tion independent of charitable purposes, in which male 
 and female persons, after they have reached the age of 
 seventy can by right and without asking the favour of 
 any individual, place themselves in order to pass the 
 remainder of their days in comfort and repose ? '* As I 
 '^ See Appendix. 
 
86 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 failed to recollect any such establishment in England, he 
 immediately said : " Come and dine at my house to- 
 morrow and I will show you one." 
 
 The house of Monsieur Duchaillos is beautifully 
 situated at Chaillot, in the Champs Elysees, commanding 
 an extensive view of the city, the Seine and the Champ 
 de Mars. In front, there is a large and elegant parterre, 
 terminating in an extensive kitchen garden. Behind 
 there is another large house, formerly the monastery of 
 S. Ferine, which also belongs to this establishment, and 
 a field of about four acres, bordered by a well-cultivated 
 garden. 
 
 In this retreat I found above one hundred aged 
 persons, of both sexes, whose manners and appearance 
 showed that they had once figured in the genteeler walks 
 of life, and whose countenances indicated the most perfect 
 happiness and content. 
 
 *' This," said he, " is the retreat I have established for 
 old age." 
 
 The chambers occupied by the female part of the 
 society compose the right wing of the house. Each 
 female has a bed-chamber to herself, and there is a 
 parlour or sitting-room appointed to two females. Their 
 clothing, if required, is found for them. 
 
 The left wing of the house is occupied by the males, 
 the arrangements being precisely similar to that adopted 
 for the females. Husbands and wives have rooms to 
 themselves. 
 
 The diet corresponds with the neatness and simplicity 
 of the apartments. 
 
 At one o'clock a plentiful dinner is served to the whole 
 society in the refectory, and at seven they re-assemble for 
 supper. Besides a sufficient quantity of meat and vege- 
 tables each person is allowed a pound-and-half of bread 
 and a bottle of wine daily. 
 
 In case of sickness they are removed to a part of the 
 house used as an infirmary, where medical attendance is 
 provided, and they receive every possible attention. In 
 case of decease, they are decently interred in the neigh- 
 
ASYLUM FOR AGED AT CHAILLOT 87 
 
 bouring church, at the expense of the society, or elsewhere 
 at the expense of their friends. 
 
 Their time is entirely at their own disposal. They may 
 even employ themselves in any lucrative occupation, 
 provided it does not interfere with the quiet and general 
 rules of the house. 
 
 I observed several females engaged very profitably in 
 needle work and embroidery. What little emoluments 
 they acquire by their industry supply them with pocket- 
 money. The men pass their time in reading, walking 
 in the neighbouring fields or in the garden. I observed 
 they were usually less active than the women, but 
 much more devout. I met an old Abbe whose whole 
 time is spent in reading his breviary, missal and other 
 religious books. His library was composed of about 
 200 volumes. 
 
 Another, about seventy-four years of age, had seen much 
 of the world. His manners were prepossessing, and his 
 conversation proved him a man who lived for others 
 rather than himself. 
 
 He was pious without austerity, cheerful without dissipa- 
 tion, and polite without frivolity. He had seen better days, 
 and been one of those sufferers whom the Revolution had 
 plundered and proscribed on account of his attachment 
 to religion. He never spoke with the least asperity of 
 what had happened, he only shrugged his shoulders and 
 smiled contemptuously at the miserable efforts of his 
 countrymen to establish liberty and equality. He was 
 well read in French literature and fond of astronomy. 
 But his favourite books were a Bible and Don Quixote, 
 Cervantes being an author to whom he was especially 
 partial. 
 
 Just as we were sitting down to dinner one of the old 
 gentlemen entered, and with great vivacity, informed 
 Monsieur Duchaillot he proposed going to the play. On 
 inquiry, I found he had been an amateur of music ; and 
 that at seventy-two years of age his taste for it was 
 still so predominant that he was about to avail himself 
 of a ticket a friend had sent him to see the second repre- 
 
88 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 sentation of Poesiello's Zingari in Flora, at the Opera 
 Buffa. 
 
 I have entered into these details to show that there is 
 no restriction on their amusements, and that they are 
 entirely their own master. Upon the whole, I observed 
 that they were all more or less engaged in religious 
 exercises. 
 
 At that period of life when mind and body require 
 repose, when it is necessary old age should " walk pensive 
 on the silent solemn shore of that vast ocean it must sail so 
 soon," what can be more consolatory than a retreat where 
 wants are supplied and infirmities alleviated without 
 reluctance or repining ? 
 
 It has been alleged against most governments of Europe 
 that there is nothing seen but youth going to the gallows, 
 and old age to the workhouse. 
 
 A government is no more responsible for the mis- 
 fortunes than for the crimes of its subjects, and all that 
 can be expected is that it should give a proper direction 
 to charitable provisions, and guard them with the sacred 
 sanction of the law. 
 
 It will be found a true maxim of public economy that 
 these charitable institutions should spring from the 
 natural sympathy of mankind — nothing is needful for 
 government than to see that they are administered 
 honestly. 
 
 This fact has been illustrated in Britain, where there 
 exist more usual monuments of piety and bene- 
 volence, than in all the other countries of Europe put 
 together. 
 
 In the course of my visits to Chaillot, Monsieur 
 Duchaillot often expressed a wish that a similar establish- 
 ment should be attempted in England. At first it appeared 
 to me liable to some objections, but these he successfully 
 removed. I thought that respect for aged parents being 
 a quality inherent in the character of every Briton, that 
 such an institution might have a tendency to look as if 
 we meant to canonise ingratitude and place old age in 
 the light of a burdensome load upon the community. 
 
ASYLUM FOR AGED AT CHAILLOT 89 
 
 Barbarous natives are accustomed to destroy the old in 
 order that the young may live. But in civilised countries, 
 where agriculture, arts and commerce flourish, and where 
 a greater degree of population promises a greater degree 
 of stock, such motives could never for a moment enter 
 the breast of a human being. I am aware however that 
 some eight years ago it was seriously proposed in the 
 Jacobin Club, to knock all the old people on the head or 
 starve them to death, lest they should consume what 
 would be necessary for the support of soldiers and 
 citizens. 
 
 But even in that wild and guilty assembly there were 
 some persons who had not utterly abandoned the feel- 
 ings of men, and this abominable principle was not 
 carried into execution. 
 
 Monsieur Duchaillot combated my opposition to his 
 scheme, by pointing out that it is the object of the institu- 
 tion at Chaillot not to destroy but to give efficacy to 
 domestic attachments. All persons who enter there can 
 experience the attentions of their kinsmen by receiving 
 their visits or visiting them. 
 
 Secondly, the institution is only intended for those 
 who cannot provide for themselves, and whose friends 
 and relations cannot provide for them. 
 
 Thirdly, more comforts and enjoyments, more atten- 
 tion can be procured under one establishment than 
 when a number of persons are dispersed individually in 
 private houses. 
 
 Fourthly, it is not necessary that every one who 
 becomes a member of this Society should be either a 
 father or a mother. There are a multitude of unmarried 
 persons of both sexes, to whom such an establishment 
 offers a happy asylum. 
 
 Fifthly, many fathers and mothers of families would 
 prefer the society of persons of their own age and cir- 
 cumstances, and if they are discontented with the 
 institution they can leave it when they choose. 
 
 After hearing these arguments I became convinced 
 that similar establishments would be thankfully received 
 
90 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 by every rational man in our country, who at all reflects 
 on the uncertain chances of prosperity in life. 
 
 How many industrious persons contemplate the ap- 
 proach of old age with horror. How many respectable 
 worthy people meet misfortune in the decline of Hfe. 
 Is it right there should be no refuge between death and the 
 workhouse ? Should not some encouragement be held 
 out for securing a retreat against misfortune and the 
 inevitable ills attendant on old age ? 
 
 I will now give M. Duchaillot's own account of his 
 establishment. 
 
 RETREAT FOR OLD AGE AT CHAILLOT. 
 
 Several zealous and humane persons, who wish to 
 assist and befriend the unfortunate, have united to 
 execute a beneficent plan, by which industry itself may 
 generate the means which will give a certain property to 
 those who, worn out by age and misfortune, possess 
 none. To attain this object a small voluntary sacrifice 
 only is required, according to a progression almost 
 imperceptible to persons who are not even in easy cir- 
 cumstances. The difference between this institution 
 and hospitals consists in this, the subscriber has a right 
 to the possession of this property for life, acquired by 
 his own economy and labour, and for which he is in- 
 debted neither to the compassion nor the liberality of 
 others. Here no act of patronising benevolence humbles 
 self love or mortifies pride. 
 
 This institution encourages morality, by habituating 
 persons to make a proper use of their small surplus, 
 resulting from their profits or labour, which is too often 
 squandered in debaucheries. It will animate them to be 
 industrious as an infallible resource against that 
 adversity which is inseparable from old age without 
 fortune. 
 
 The plan is simple and inexpensive, its execution 
 prompt and within the reach of every one. 
 
ACCOUNT OF ASYLUM 91 
 
 Some years ago Mr. Pitt submitted several excellent 
 proposals to amend the Poor Laws. They struck me 
 forcibly as being useful, sensible and moral. They were 
 aimed so as to give the poor occupation in their home- 
 steads, instead of dragging them to the workhouse. 
 This was a generous idea, worthy of the great mind 
 that conceived it, unhappily it was never carried into 
 effect. 
 
 Since my first visit to Chaillot I have had excellent 
 accounts of the progress of the institution. The First 
 Consul pays thirty subscriptions and has founded several 
 places in the establishment and confided the superin- 
 tendence of them to the Archbishop of Paris,'an aged and 
 respectable man, who from his own experience of mis- 
 fortune will be able to select such unfortunate persons 
 as deserve no longer to remain so. 
 
 The Archbishop, accompanied by a number of his 
 clergy, thought proper to visit Chaillot before making 
 any nominations. He was delighted with the beauty of 
 the situation, the purity of the air, the neatness, order 
 and decorum which prevailed. When dinner was on 
 the table eighty-seven aged persons of both sexes 
 appeared, with countenances expressive of the greatest 
 happiness and satisfaction ; many of them declaring 
 they felt as much at their ease as when in their own 
 families. 
 
 The Archbishop at first imagined he was the eldest 
 person present, but it was found on examination that 
 many had the advantage of him in years. 
 
 He was so sensibly affected by this serene spectacle, 
 that he expressed his regret that he had not before been 
 made acquainted with this asylum. For in that case the 
 First Consul must have forced him out of it, to have 
 raised him to his Episcopal See of Paris. 
 
 The indispensable condition of acquiring the right of 
 admission is to take a subscription. The rules are that 
 every subscriber pays from the age of ten till thirty 
 years of age, tenpence or a franc a month. Fifteen 
 pence per month from thirty to fifty — twenty pence or 
 
92 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 two francs a month from fifty to seventy years of age. 
 These different payments amount in their entirety to 
 ;£45, which must be completely paid before a person 
 can acquire the right of admission. Hence if any one 
 more than ten years of age should offer as a subscriber, 
 he or she must deposit at the time of subscription and 
 according to his or her age, the sum which would have 
 been advanced, had the subscriptions commenced at 
 ten. In order to give encouragement to benevolence, 
 all persons who may be disposed to subscribe, may 
 transfer their right to as many persons as they have 
 made subscriptions on condition that the person to be 
 benefited by the transfer shall not be admitted until the 
 ;^45 be paid in its entirety. The funds are placed on 
 securities and subjected to an administration which is in 
 every respect safe and undeniable. 
 
 XVI 
 
 GARDEN OF PLANTS. GALLERY OF 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY. PHILOSOPHICAL 
 
 LECTURES 
 
 We had heard so much of the Jardin des Plantcs that we 
 became impatient to see it. Our friend De la Metherie 
 procured us an admission on a day the place is closed to 
 the public, to give us a better and more convenient 
 opportunity of examining its contents. 
 
 We made up a small party, the two ladies and Monsieur 
 
 de la Metherie went in one carriage, and M. , the 
 
 late President of the Cis Alpine Republic, and myself in 
 another. I have already mentioned, and it cannot be too 
 often repeated, that the French greatly surpass our 
 country in the arts of decoration. Of this truth we found 
 a striking proof in the classification of the subjects of 
 Natural History and the superb embeUishments of the 
 gallery. 
 
 When we first entered this gallery we saw merely large 
 
GALLERY OF NATURAL HISTORY 93 
 
 green curtains extending from one end to the other of 
 the hall. But in less than two minutes we were most 
 agreeably surprised by a display of beauty, richness and 
 grandeur of which no pen can do sufficient justice. 
 
 The attendants withdrew the curtains, a blaze of crea- 
 tive glory dazzled our sight, and in this moment of 
 admiration I could not refrain from whispering to the 
 philosopher from whom I had before received several 
 lessons on the different degrees of French Atheism : 
 " There is a God ! " He smiled and returned for answer 
 that I was evidently in an ecstasy. 
 
 Before I relate the various dispositions of the museum, 
 I will giye an account of the impressions which the whole 
 excited in our minds. All the variegated productions of 
 Nature were before our eyes ; and the perilous researches 
 of the most adventurous circumnavigators and natural 
 historians submitted to our examination. Whatever is 
 great and wonderful in the operations of Providence, 
 whatever has been discovered in regions so far explored 
 by man, we had an opportunity of seeing. 
 
 The quadrupeds form a distinct compartment and the 
 whole collection of other animals, together with fossils, 
 shells, minerals and stones, is disposed in glass cases, 
 extending from the top of the gallery to the floor. There 
 is also a compartment allotted to esculent roots and 
 specimens of trees. On the right hand stands the alba- 
 tross, which has been so beautifully described in Captain 
 Cook's voyages ; next the maimed bird which has no 
 wings and lives entirely on the water. It has an immense 
 cylindrical body, behind which are fixed what may be 
 called two oars instead of feet. The body is covered 
 by a species of hard down, having the appearance of 
 close-shaved hair, shooting out in small shining tubes 
 and forming a coat of mail impervious to the water.* 
 Then follow the crane, the swan, the heron, the ibis, the 
 ostrich, the pelican, &c. 
 
 It is not my intention to give an account of every 
 animal we saw, much less to mention all their names ; 
 '' This bird is undoubtedly a Penguin. 
 
94 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 for, in the first place, it would be attempting a subject on 
 which I am ashamed to confess my ignorance, and, in 
 the second, would occupy a volume. I only wish to 
 notice singularities. Amongst these was the largest and 
 most beautiful bird I ever beheld. The body, completely 
 white, the wings tinged with a gold colour.* I am still 
 unacquainted with its name, as no one could inform us 
 to what species it belonged ; but I mention it on account 
 of the following anecdote, which conveys a forcible 
 impression in a few words. 
 
 "Where did this bird come from ? " said one of our 
 party. 
 
 " We borrowed it from the Stadtholder," replied the 
 attendant ; adding, "and if he had not lent it, we should 
 have taken it." 
 
 In the same way they obtained possession of the head 
 of a petrified crocodile, which was originally found in a 
 quarry in the neighbourhood of Maestricht. It belonged 
 to one of the priests who resided in that town ; and as 
 his house was known to be situated near the ramparts, 
 and the French Natural Philosophers had long coveted 
 this head, orders were issued at the time of the siege that 
 the house containing the crocodile's head should not be 
 bombarded. Professor Thouin t was at that time with 
 the French Army, and wrote to his colleagues : " Le 
 si^ge de Maestricht jse pousse avec vigueur ; dans deux 
 jours je compte faire partir pour Paris la tete du 
 crocodile." 
 
 The French Army entered Maestricht, and the poor 
 priest was stripped of his treasure for the benefit of the 
 Great Nation. 
 
 The collection of caterpillars, butterflies and insects 
 surpasses anything of the kind I ever saw. The library 
 is composed of a choice and rare collection of books in 
 every language upon subjects of natural history. M. 
 Tuscan, the librarian, obligingly displayed to us some 
 admirable paintings of plants. Mrs. Cosway, who was of 
 our party, and is an exquisite artist herself, pronounced 
 * Probably an albatross. f See Appendix, p ^ 
 
LIVING ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTION 95 
 
 them very beautiful, and executed in a masterly style. 
 The number of books in the library is about 8000, which 
 is a noble library upon one science, ^the very nature of 
 which requires costly publications on account of the 
 infinite number as well as the richness of the drawings 
 and the plates. 
 
 After having amused ourselves with all the different 
 compartments, we proceeded to the garden and paid a 
 visit to the living beasts in the menagerie. These are 
 dispersed in various districts of the enclosure, and with 
 as much regard as possible to their original mode of 
 life. 
 
 An enormous elephant enjoys a courtyard to himself, 
 and his keeper is an Englishman named Thompson. The 
 animal is very docile, and has been taught to play at 
 what we call Bob Cherry with pieces of bread. Nothing 
 can be more ridiculous, except the idea of a lion catching 
 flies. 
 
 Camels and dromedaries are allowed to posture under 
 the trees, and the stags and deer distributed in the field 
 beside the river. All the tame animals are placed within 
 a large grass enclosure. The savage beasts and birds 
 kept in cages so small that the poor creatures can hardly 
 turn themselves, in consequence of which, together with 
 the wretched food, many have perished, and none of the 
 survivors are in good condition. There are three bears, 
 several wolves, leopards and tigers, one hyaena, a fox, a 
 cockatoo, an hedgehog, a vulture, a cassowary, and a 
 number of other fierce birds stolen from the menagerie 
 of the Stadtholder of Holland. There are also a number 
 of monkeys. 
 
 Upon the whole this collection is very insignificant 
 and compares very badly with Pidcocks Exhibition, over 
 Exeter Change. The lions and one of the elephants are 
 dead. Most of these animals were transported to Paris 
 from the Royal Menagerie at Versailles, but in order to 
 increase the effect of the scene, it was decreed by 
 Governmental order that those wild animals which were 
 exhibited about the country at fairs, should be put into a 
 
96 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 state of requisition in order to add to the savage popula- 
 tion of the garden. Cossal (the Parisian Pidcock), who 
 had made a valuable collection of rare animals which he 
 sent about the country to public shows, was robbed of 
 all of them and to indemnify him in some manner for 
 his ruin, made Warden of the National Menagerie at a 
 small salary. ^^ 
 
 He was not the only sufferer in conformity withctne) 
 political principle of the Revolution, that individual pro- 
 perty must ever be ready as a sacrifice to the Nation, 
 every man who led about a dancing bear in the street or 
 a monkey, playing his tricks on the back of a dromedary, 
 was obliged to lay aside his flageolet and tambourine and 
 conduct his Bruin, his camel or his ape, to replenish the 
 national stock. The two elephants were borrowed from 
 the Stadtholder, they came originally from Ceylon, 
 whence they were sent to Holland, where they had 
 remained fourteen years. The mode of transporting 
 them was the subject of very grave discussion among the 
 philosophers of Paris. It was first proposed to march 
 them from Holland to Paris and to throw temporary 
 wooden bridges over the canals, to facilitate their passage 
 but on account of their aversion to water this sapient 
 scheme was abandoned. A caravan was now constructed 
 mounted on wheels, in order to drag the ponderous 
 brutes along and in order to accustom them to their 
 movable dwelling, they were never to be fed except in 
 their travelling carriages. On the day of their departure, 
 the elephants were driven into their conveyance and the 
 keeper bolted the door. The moment the procession 
 started, the male elephant gave the door a gentle tap 
 with his head, which instantly shivered the panel to 
 pieces, and the continent of organised matter marched 
 out with the greatest ease. By separating the male and 
 the female they at length succeeded in conveying these 
 vast creatures to Paris. Thompson, the keeper, assured 
 me that when the elephants met again in the garden, 
 after their long journey, the air resounded with their 
 cries and their eyes were bedewed with tears. The 
 
THE AMPHITHEATRE 97 
 
 French had never seen an elephant in their country 
 since the middle of the seventeenth century, when, in 
 1668, the King of Portugal presented one (which only 
 survived thirteen years) to Louis XIV. 
 
 Upon inquiry I learnt that the greater part of the 
 curiosities collected in this place were the fruits of 
 victorious pillage, and I was told that this measure was 
 justified by the right of conquest. *^ Par suite de la con- 
 quete de la Hollande, ils sont tombes au pouvoir des 
 Frangais — nous les avons emportes comme trophees de 
 nos victoires. Ainsi Alexandre le Grand fit passer dans 
 la Grece les elephans du Roi de Perse." 
 
 The amphitheatre is a public building, within this 
 garden, where lectures are given by professors, nominated 
 and paid by the Government. 
 
 I attended the chemical lecture of Fourcroy ; he 
 delivers himself with purity, eloquence and cleverness. 
 He exercises (what would be deemed extraordinary in 
 any country but this) the two functions of a public 
 lecturer on science and a Counsellor of State, in v*^hich 
 latter capacity he often discusses political measures 
 before the Legislative Body. All the benches of the 
 amphitheatre are in a semicircular form, rising one 
 above the other, and capable of containing 2000 persons. 
 The lecturer is stationed at the bottom, with a large table 
 and apparatus before him. 
 
 There is no doubt students in chemistry derive advan- 
 tages from those lectures, but much of their good effect 
 is impaired by the amphitheatre being considered a 
 fashionable lounge for the idle and a favourite place of 
 *' rencontre" between the fair Parisian and her lover. 
 The women constitute a distinguished part of the 
 auditory, and in number and noise are not inferior to the 
 males. 
 
 There are thirteen professors in this institution, where- 
 of seven are members of the French "Academic," or 
 Institut, and one an Associate. Fourcroy, Professor of 
 Chemistry ; Desfoniaines, Botany ; Lamark, Zoology ; 
 Thonin, Gardening ; and Vanspaendorick, of Ichnography, 
 
98 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 have each a pleasant dwelling, free of expense, in the 
 garden. In the centre of the garden and near a pool of 
 water, is a small hamlet, where philosophical students and 
 the curious may entertain themselves on girls and 
 burgundy, of a wretched quality and at a trifling expense. 
 I am at a loss to explain how the sage superintendent of 
 his museum should have licensed the existence of his 
 hovel, devoted to disreputable practices, in the sequestered 
 bowers of Academe. Unless it be meant as a practical 
 illustration of the moral tendency of Darwin's Loves of 
 the Plants — a work greatly admired here. The Botanical 
 Garden, itself, fell very far short of my expectations ; it 
 is neither well laid out nor pleasing to the eye. 
 
 The garden is about 2000 feet long and 700 wide, 
 divided mto three alleys, terminating in the public walks. 
 
 Henry IV. was the first who established a Botanical 
 Garden in France. He authorised John Robin to rear 
 in a private garden some plants several navigators had 
 brought from America. It was his intention to have had 
 this garden in Paris, but he was persuaded that these 
 exotics would flourish better in the southern part of 
 France ; in consequence, Montpellier was preferred, and 
 a physician appointed in 1598 to superintend the enter- 
 prise. But Gui la Brosse * persuaded Louis XIII. some 
 twenty years later of the inconvenience of this arrange- 
 ment, and an edict was issued for the establishment of 
 the present '^ Jardin des Plantes." By la Brosse's exer- 
 tions two thousand plants were placed in it, in the space 
 of ten years. 
 
 The Government then numbered three professors to 
 make known their properties and virtues and an exhibitor 
 to display them. 
 
 The Garden was, in course of time, greatly enlarged 
 and beautified, but its most rapid progress was during 
 the reign of the late unfortunate Louis XVI. 
 
 On the left of the Museum is a plantation of trees and 
 shrubs, called "The Labyrinth." The greatest part of 
 the trees are ever-green, and there is a noble cedar of 
 * See Appendix. 
 
REMINISCENCES OF THE TERROR 99 
 
 Lebanon. It was brought from England and planted by 
 the famous Bertrand de Sussien * in the year 1734 ; 
 beneath its shades stands a pedestal, formerly supporting 
 the bust of Linnaeus/ which was destroyed by the revo- 
 lutionists under the notion it represented an aristocrat. 
 From the top of the Labyrinth there is a very extensive 
 view of Paris from a tower, which M. de la Metherie * 
 
 and myself ascended, the ladies and S having 
 
 returned home. Here, while we were looking at the city, 
 M. de la Metherie pointed to a large building, not far 
 distant, and desired me to look at the third window upon 
 the second floor — he further remarked, " I was imprisoned 
 there." Confounded for the moment by this observation 
 (for I had never understood the ruffians had meddled with 
 him), I could not help laughing, and he joined heartily 
 in my merriment. But two persons standing near, who, 
 though wearing lay attire, were evidently priests, turned 
 round and addressed us with much agitation. " This is 
 not a laughing matter ; what honest man has not been 
 imprisoned in this land of scelerats ? " This observation 
 restored our gravity, and I said to one of them : '' I hope, 
 sir, you have not been a sufferer ? " To which he abruptly 
 replied : '* I was imprisoned five times and sentenced to 
 the guillotine. My life, however, was spared, and, by 
 way of compensation for my sufferings, they took all my 
 property from me ! " De la Metherie introduced me, 
 saying, " Monsieur est Anglais." Upon this they took off 
 hats, and the speaker remarked : " Vous avez raison, 
 monsieur, de vous vous moquer de la France I" 
 
 We requested him to oblige us with his history. He 
 said he lived formerly in Bordeaux and possessed con- 
 siderable property in that neighbourhood. He had been 
 arrested and confined in the prison of that city, together 
 with a multitude of persons of both sexes. The only 
 accusation against him was, that being a priest, he must 
 necessarily be an aristocrat He explained that he had 
 not exercised sacerdotal functions since the Decree of the 
 National Convention, and that his whole and sole pursuit 
 ^ See Appendix. 
 
100 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 was the science of Botany — ^' Botany ! " exclaimed the 
 Judge and President of the Court — '^ c'est une science 
 royale ! — it abounds with aristocratic terms, was the 
 favourite diversion of Kings and Princes, and is of no use 
 to a Republic — your attachment to this study clearly 
 proves your hankering after the old regime, and convicts 
 you I " He was hurried off to prison and close confine- 
 ment at once. However, he escaped destruction, and 
 recovered his liberty by paying a large sum of money as 
 a bribe for his release. He returned with joy to the 
 house of a friend, and was just sitting down to dinner 
 when an officer of the Municipality entered the apart- 
 ment, stating he had come to arrest him. He acquainted 
 the officer with the fact that he had only two hours 
 before been released by an arret of the Municipality. '' I 
 know that perfectly well," was the reply ; " you were 
 dismissed upon the charge laid against you, but since then 
 another serious charge has been established against you, 
 by Citizen Tallien,* and I am ordered to arrest you on 
 suspicion of being suspected ! ! ! There was no resisting 
 the dreadful name of Tallien, and the unhappy priest 
 was reconducted to his former cage. As the name of 
 Tallien was mentioned, I interrupted the conversation to 
 ask whether the atrocities said to have been committed at 
 Bordeaux by Tallien and Lequino were not greatly 
 exaggerated. He answered ^'Unhappily those enormities 
 could hardly be exaggerated, for there was scarcely a 
 family in that city and district which did not mourn the 
 murder of a relative or friend. The butcheries of Tallien 
 were perpetrated chiefly in the streets and on the scaffold. 
 He often took large sums of money from the persons, 
 upon condition of releasing them, and the next day they 
 were sure to be guillotined. This removal from the prison 
 to the scaffold Tallien, in his merry moods, used to call a 
 Republican release in full of all demands. Lequino * was 
 never suspected of having realised money in this manner, 
 he confined his little peculations to the public revenues. 
 But his brutal and ferocious nature exercised itself within 
 '^^ See Appendix. 
 
PERSECUTED PRIEST ANDPHILOSOPHER loi 
 
 as well as without the walls of the priscins-, ty frei^iieritly 
 shooting at the prisoners with pistols and killing them 
 without any discrimination. He dined almost daily with 
 the public executioners. 
 
 But to continue — after a long confinement, the priest 
 was brought to a trial with a number of other persons, 
 and charged with conspiring against the Republic. He 
 and they were all found guilty and condemned to public 
 execution. But at that moment a courier arrived with 
 news of the fall and death of Robespierre, and orders to 
 suspend all carnage until further directions from the 
 Committee of Public Safety. 
 
 " What evidence was adduced against you ? " I asked. 
 
 " None, save that I was a ci-devant minister of 
 religion." 
 
 *' You have suffered," said I, " because you were a 
 priest ; and here," pointing to de la Metherie, " is one who 
 has suffered because he was a philosopher." 
 
 In the progress of the fiery Revolution, the different 
 Governments of France must have been inspired by the 
 spirit of a merry devil, for if such charges were sufficient 
 to deprive a man of his liberty nine-tenths of the French 
 people ought to have been locked up. But although de 
 la Metherie was in no way interested in politics, he was 
 suspected of being a suspicious man. When the ruling 
 power wished to criminate or murder a man, every 
 circumstance of his life from infancy was raked up and 
 passed under review, and therefore no accused individual 
 could hope to escape if his destruction was decided 
 upon. 
 
 The accusation against this philosopher was that of 
 coolness, indifference and incivism, because, amidst the 
 noise of arms and domestic slaughter, he continued to 
 cultivate in the sequestered shade of private life, the 
 philosophy of nature. 
 
 By a miracle he escaped — the fall of the tyrant Robes- 
 pierre calmed the fury of the Terror, and de la Metherie 
 was more fortunate than Lavoisier * — after a few months' 
 '^' See Appendix, 
 
102 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 r:gc>rc'us cortfinf^nient he was released from his prison. 
 He was permitted to return to his house, the seals were 
 taken off his hbrary, his beautiful collections of plants 
 and minerals, and his manuscripts. The Journal de 
 Physique, which he had edited for above twenty years, 
 again shone forth in all its wonted splendour. 
 
 Monsieur de la Metherie assured me that during the 
 time of the Revolutionary Tribunals, it was in serious 
 contemplation to reduce the population of France to 
 14,000,000. Dubois Crouee* was a very distinguished 
 and enthusiastic partisan of this humane and philo- 
 sophical policy. 
 
 One of the most horrible and affecting anecdotes I 
 ever heard related to a young married lady of rank and 
 beauty, whose husband was immured in the same prison 
 cell with de la Metherie. After having solicited one 
 Bureau, petitioned another, and bribed a third in vain to 
 obtain her husband's hberty, she applied in person to 
 the representative of the people, by whose influence her 
 husband had been arrested. The hypocritical assassin 
 returned her supplications with scorn. At length after 
 many entreaties he informed her that there was one way 
 in which she might obtain her husband's liberty. 
 Anxious to save his life, the distracted female sacrificed 
 her honour to the brutal lust of this deputy of the 
 National Convention. On the next day, when she went 
 to the prison to bring to her husband the joyful news of 
 his impending delivery, she found him bound and 
 seated in the cart, which a moment later carried him to 
 the place of execution. Frantic with rage and despair, 
 and shuddering with horror at the unavailing sacrifice 
 she had made of her chastity, the hapless young woman 
 rushed into the presence of her betrayer and severely 
 rebuked him for his perfidy ; in return for which he 
 caused her to be arrested, and she was guillotined upon 
 the following day. 
 
 •"* See Appendix. 
 
THE ARSENAL 103 
 
 XVII 
 
 THE ARSENAL. SITE OF THE BASTILLE. 
 FAUBOURG STE. ANTOINE. THE DON- 
 JON DE VINCENNES. SHORT ACCOUNT 
 OF FRANCOIS DE NEUFCHAtEAU. 
 THE TEMPLE 
 
 My principal object in going beyond the Bois des 
 Vincennes was to examine the agricultural dispositions 
 and the improved plough of Francois de Neufchateau,* 
 who has obtained a considerable celebrity in France for 
 the great encouragement he, when Minister of the 
 Interior, afforded to husbandry. 
 
 In this excursion we were accompanied by two men 
 
 of very different political characters. Monsieur P , 
 
 an avowed Royalist, and Monsieur Dumond,* a moderate 
 Republican. The former is distinguished for his 
 dramatic writings and by a very ingenious mode he has 
 invented to enable foreigners to pronounce French 
 correctly without the aid of an instructor. Monsieur 
 Dumond is what we should call a gentleman farmer — 
 and has a large establishment at Epluches, near Pontoise, 
 where he makes an annual exhibition of sheep reared 
 upon his own estate. He possesses excellent stock and 
 great skill in this branch of rural economy. We promised 
 ourselves great pleasure from ihe political battle I was 
 determined they should wage, and the instructive con- 
 versation of M. Dumond upon farming and agricultural 
 subjects. 
 
 After traversing the city in an easterly direction we 
 alighted at the Arsenal. This place was gutted at the 
 outbreak of the Revolution to supply arms to the 
 sovereign people. It has never since been replenished. 
 
 There are, however, still some considerable quantity 
 * See Appendix. 
 
104 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 of arms in it, but I observed nothing particularly 
 deserving of notice. The Bastille, so famous in the 
 early history of the Revolution, from having been the 
 first fortress over which the triumphant banner of the 
 people waved, is now no more. But the gardens, the 
 *' fosse," and part of the wall remain. The site of the 
 Bastille, which the French vainly flattered themselves 
 would become their Runnymede, is instead a lasting 
 monument of their unfitness to be free — for it is impos- 
 sible to walk over these ruins without despising a race 
 of men who, in a paroxysm of jealousy, pulled down an 
 ancient fortress for the sake of liberty, and twelve years 
 later suffered their whole country to be converted into a 
 vast prison where free speech and a free press are not 
 tolerated. 
 
 From the site of the Bastille we proceeded along the 
 Faubourg St. Antoine, now the cleanest and most 
 unfrequented part of Paris. What a melancholy silence 
 now reigns in that place ! Who would suppose that this 
 district of Paris was formerly the focus of intrigue and 
 its inhabitants the successive instruments of every 
 ambitious adventurer — of an Orleans, a Robespierre,* a 
 Marat and a Baboeuf ? * In the days of the Convention 
 this was the arsenal of blood and murder, here pikes 
 were forged and poignards sharpened, and from hence 
 an armed banditti issued to execute the bloody mandate 
 of demagogues. But now no spirit-stirring drum is 
 heard, no uplifted bleeding heads are carried as standards 
 by butchering battalions. Santerre himself scarce dare 
 show his face, and the whole Jacobin colony has been 
 disarmed, and by a little thing from Corsica, who, acting 
 as lieutenant to Barras in 1794, commenced his military 
 operations against the liberties of France by a triumph 
 over the fanatics of this Faubourg. The pike-men 
 stand in awe of the heroes of Lodi and Marengo, who 
 surround the palace of the usurper. Santerre, it is 
 true, often murmurs vengeance, but the Government 
 either laugh at this consequential man of no consequence 
 -• See Appendix. 
 
VINCENNES 105 
 
 or treat him with the most perfect contempt. He had 
 an interview with Bonaparte soon after the latter became 
 First Consul and was received with civility and attention, 
 but the Consular Guard was not then formed, and 
 Santerre might still be useful. Bonaparte, who must 
 have heard that at the first fire of the Vendeans upon 
 the Parisian Guard, Santerre actually ran away, said : 
 ** I think, general, you made war in La Vendee." 
 " Qui, g^n^ral," replied the brewer, *^ avec beaucoup 
 d'eclat." The Corsican grinned a smile, and Santerre 
 withdrew, and boasted after the interview ^'that 
 Bonaparte had treated him with proper consideration 
 and acknowledged his great services in La Vendee." 
 
 The famous donjon de Vincennes is situated close by 
 the public road, in the middle of a wood, and was in 
 ancient times a royal castle, where State prisoners were 
 confined. Since the Revolution it has been converted 
 into a common jail — at present it is reserved entirely for 
 deserters and runaway conscripts. We found about 600 
 of these in confinement. They were walking in the court- 
 yard, and seemed extremely sorrowful and dejected. 
 
 We were not permitted to enter the Gothic tower, 
 which is the finest part of :the building ; but if we may 
 form an estimate of the interior by the exterior, the state 
 prisoners formerly lodged there must have drawn out a 
 wretched existence — yet here were confined the great 
 Conde and the celebrated Mirabeau. 
 
 The attraction of this fortress is its antiquity. Draw- 
 bridges, battlements, covered galleries and fosses dis- 
 play the ancient mode of defence. Some companies of 
 infantry and a troop of horse are in barracks within the 
 walls. After having sufficiently gratified our curiosity 
 we continued our route, and the name of Mirabeau being 
 mentioned I thought a favourable opportunity had 
 arrived for us to enjoy our French companions. 
 
 The project succeeded, and the Revolution was 
 furiously discussed from the time of Mirabeau to the 
 present hour. I asked M. Dumond (the Republican) 
 what was now the pay to the different ranks of general ? 
 
io6 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 M. P (the Royalist) answered before his friend had 
 
 time to reply : " Nothing, we allow them to thrive and 
 take what they please." This unexpected answer pro- 
 duced a good laugh, in which M. Dumond joined. Some 
 days after, happening to be in company with a celebrated 
 general, as honest as it is possible for a modern French 
 general to be, I asked him whether it was true that the 
 Republican generals received no salary from the State, 
 but were at liberty to take what they pleased, he 
 answered : " You have been misinformed. The French 
 generals are well paid ; but as they are fond of good 
 living and their expenses are great, they naturally make 
 some provision for themselves out of the contributions 
 of conquered countries." This reply fully confirmed M. 
 P 's assertion. 
 
 At the extremity of the Bois de Vincennes in a hollow 
 stands the Chateau of Monsieur Francois. All the 
 country hereabouts is in a fine state of cultivation, the 
 fruits exquisite, and the wine from the vineyards is highly 
 esteemed in Paris. 
 
 Monsieur Franyoisde Neufchateau's house is of mode- 
 rate size, the gardens large and well disposed. The barns 
 and other out-houses make a respectable appearance, 
 but I perceive none of the animals essential to husbandry 
 or a thifty farmyard. Most of the ground we went over 
 had been sown. I perceived, however, no grass or 
 meadow land. The French are an age behind us in this 
 branch of agriculture. All the arable land was well 
 cleared and showed care and attention had been be- 
 stowed upon it. But I saw no yards, either near or 
 distant to the house, for raising poultry or pigs, &c., 
 which constitute no small proportion of the wealth of a 
 well-managed farm. 
 
 After we had sufficiently viewed the general distribu- 
 tion of the grounds, we examined the improved drill 
 plough, to inspect which had been the principal object 
 of our journey. But I discovered not a single property 
 in it which is not already known to the English 
 agriculturist. 
 
FRANCOIS DE NEUFCHATEAU 107 
 
 Perhaps I am wrong in thus entering into the 
 particulars of a farm which, though in a very satis- 
 factory state, promises to be much better when the 
 owner's attention can be spared upon it. The house has 
 not long been in the possession of its present proprietor. 
 There are only two bedrooms furnished and not one 
 sitting-room, though there is an excellent library, contain- 
 ing many beautiful editions of the most celebrated works. 
 
 The gallery upon the first floor contains some inte- 
 resting plans and drawings of canals and other public 
 works of France, conceived, executed or repaired when 
 M. de Neufchateau was Minister of the Interior. 
 
 Monsieur Nicholas Frangois, for that is his real and 
 only proper name, was born at the village of Neufchateau, 
 where he married a woman like himself of humble 
 parentage, and endeavoured to live by writing poetry 
 and scribbling nonsensical verses. 
 
 He is the first instance in the history of nations 
 of a poet who exchanged his tattered garments for the 
 mantle of a chief magistrate. M. Frangois being cast 
 upon the surface of the revolutionary cauldron, con- 
 tributed his humble mite in the holy work of human 
 regeneration, under a variety of Protean shapes, some- 
 times as a punster in the public journals, at other times 
 by striking off a few calembours and diatribes and then 
 by some fine-spun antitheses, and next by fulsome 
 adulations heaped on the great scoundrels who have 
 successively disturbed the peace of France and of man- 
 kind. M. Francois contrived to at length receive the 
 reward of his indefatigable labours, in the appointment 
 to the very arduous and important functions of Minister 
 of the Interior to the French Revolution. 
 
 No sooner had he begun to figure upon the revolu- 
 tionary stage, over which was inscribed Libertyf Equality, 
 Abolition of Titles and Privileged Caste, than he assumed 
 the feudal name of Frangois de Neufchateau, a name to 
 which under the old regime he would have no more 
 pretensions than the political adventurer who now rules 
 France would have to that of Bonaparte of Ajaccio. 
 
io8 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 Another instance of his philosophic mind was shown 
 at the same time. He discarded his virtuous wife, the 
 humble companion of his adverse fortunes, as unworthy 
 to share in the splendour of his new situation, and a 
 handsome and elegant woman was introduced in her 
 stead as mistress of his mansion, and she still continues 
 to fill in the midst of plenty and opulence the place of a 
 legitimate wife now driven to want and wretchedness. 
 
 But these are trifles in Paris at the present day, and 
 Monsieur Francois de Neufchateau passes for a mild, 
 amiable and virtuous man. 
 
 Of the administration of this man I shall have much 
 to say in a future letter, he certainly contributed towards 
 the establishment of many salutary institutions in the 
 Republic, ue.y he revived such of the old government as 
 were contented to promote the happiness and prosperity 
 of France upon the return of a general peace. 
 
 I am the more astounded at this as from the conver- 
 sation I had with him and from the relations made to me 
 by those most intimately acquainted with him he appeared 
 to be a man of weak, contemptible and superficial 
 character. Nevertheless we find him in a short time 
 seated upon the curule chair, and forming one of that 
 junto of rapacious tyrants who under the name of the 
 Executive Directory, by their imbecility, wickedness and 
 crimes, prepared the way for the reign of the usurper 
 who stole like a coward from Egypt to complete the 
 misery of France. Frangois, it appears, took no active 
 part in the directorship, he was merely an empurpled 
 pageant, whose sole occupation was to sign his name 
 whenever ordered to do so by his more wily colleagues. 
 At length finding his situation irksome he profited by an 
 offer from his more ambitious partners and left the 
 Government before the Government left him. In con- 
 sideration of a douceur of a million livres, ^£40,000 
 sterling, he connived at a sham ballot by which he 
 voluntarily blackballed himself from the further enjoy- 
 ment of the executive magistracy. 
 
 His conduct was fortunate as well as prudent. For 
 
VISIT TO THE TEMPLE 109 
 
 when the Corsican made short work of the Directory, 
 instead of being banished Hke Barras * or discarded like 
 la Reveillere* and Leproux, we find him admitted into the 
 new tyrant's Senate and actively receiving at the present 
 time ^2000 a year sterling during his life for registering 
 the edicts of his master. This annuity, together with 
 his ;£40,ooo indemnification money, and the little pickings 
 he was able to secure during his Ministry, enable him to 
 live in better style than ever before fell to the lot of a 
 French rhymer, for he can now jingle cash as well as 
 the words of the great nation. 
 
 This visit to M. Francois brought on a second engage- 
 ment between ourselves and our two comrades, and we 
 made an expedition the following day to the Temple, 
 where the unhappy Louis XVI. and his family had been 
 confined. The place is now greatly altered, indeed I should 
 hardly have recognised it. All the surrounding buildings 
 have been pulled down and a large opening formed 
 which absolutely sedudes it from all immediate com- 
 munication with the city. It is impossible to obtain 
 admission into this State prison — it is rigidly guarded 
 within and without the walls. Persons are daily conveyed 
 there by a lethe de cachet from the Grand Inquisitor 
 Fouche, without any preliminary examination and often 
 without the knowledge of their friends. This is the real 
 history of those sudden disappearances of a number of 
 persons, which the French journalists ascribe to robbers 
 and assassins. A trial is never an absolute necessity in 
 this land of liberty to establish innocence or guilt ; hence 
 the *' Cayenne diligence '* is always in readiness to take 
 up such passengers as are not required to make a long 
 stay in the Temple, which is the safest place of baiting 
 between the Bureau of the Minister of Police and 
 Rochefort. 
 
 It is not until the wretched victims are upon the eve 
 
 of embarking upon the Salaminian vessel of state that 
 
 they are permitted to disclose their fate to their relations 
 
 and to announce their destination to the delectable 
 
 ** See Appendix. 
 
 i 
 
no FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 regions of the most luxurious climate of Central America. 
 Even this indulgence is however frequently denied to the 
 hapless sufferers. 
 
 Yet the constant talk in France is of freedom and 
 equality. It is impossible to live here without imbibing 
 daily fresh causes of detestation and abhorrence of the 
 laws and government of this unhappy country ; and I 
 already contemplate with pleasure the moment when I 
 shall take an everlasting leave of France, a country which 
 at one time I almost loved as well as I do my own. 
 
 XVIII 
 
 CELEBRATION OF THE ESTABLISH- 
 MENT OF GENERAL BONAPARTE'S 
 CONCORDAT WITH THE POPE, AND OF 
 THE GENERAL PEACE PROCESSION TO 
 NOTRE DAME. ILLUMINATION OF 
 PARIS 
 
 We had not yet seen the tyrant. Hence we did not 
 hesitate to take advantage of the opportunity offered us 
 by the public exhibition of his personage on Easter 
 Sunday. The ceremonial had been pompously 
 announced in the Parisian Gazettes; and M. Chaptal, the 
 Minister of the Interior, displayed great skill in making 
 arrangements for giving a fine stage effect to the pious 
 exhibition of the Church Militant. Bonaparte himself is 
 also very clever at such work, and I have it on unques- 
 tionable authority -that he himself actually arranged the 
 plan of the procession, as well as that of the solemn farce 
 acted afterwards in Notre Dame. A person with whom 
 I am acquainted related to me a conversation he over- 
 heard between the First Consul and the various under- 
 lings who were to carry out his orders, a conversation 
 which shows the little man can take as much interest in 
 a puppet show as in a victory. When the leader of the 
 
 -C* 
 
CONSULAR CEREMONIAL in 
 
 orchestra waited upon him to mention the arrangements 
 he had made for placing the music in front of the 
 Consuls, Bonaparte desired him to change the position, 
 for he was determined a battalion of soldiers should stand 
 in front and behind. The conductor observed the effect 
 of the music would be totally lost by this scheme ; but 
 the reply was, "N'importe, il me faut tou jours des 
 bataillons." Another instance of his taking upon himself 
 the business of stage manager was his order to Monsieur 
 de Talleyrand that the latter should write to the different 
 foreign Ambassadors and Ministers requesting that they 
 would repair to the Palace of the Tuileries with four 
 horses to their carriages, instead of two. All the foreign 
 envoys, in consequence, clapped on an additional pair of 
 animals, which should by right have been jackasses, to 
 their coaches. The Consuls' own Ministers also, not 
 only drove four horses, but their domestics sported, by 
 order, the same liveries — yellow turned up with red. 
 Their carriages were ranged to the right of the door, 
 exactly opposite the Ambassadors. Soon after arrived 
 the Councillors of State, Senators, the Legislative Body, 
 the Tribunats, the Prefets and the Generals in their 
 respective costume. All this time the foreign Ministers 
 were in a room below, called Salle des AmhassadeiirSy 
 waiting until his Highness should be graciously pleased 
 to condescend to admit them to his presence. Count 
 Cohentzel, the Austrian Minister, stood near the door 
 in full view of the spectators. I could not refrain from a 
 feeling of disgust and rage at beholding the representa- 
 tive of the once proud house of Austria standing like a 
 suppliant upon the threshold of the Corsican adven- 
 turer. 
 
 The whole of the day's exhibition was humiliating to 
 every one concerned, save to Bonaparte and his 
 satellites. After all the carriages were ranged in their 
 places and the different regiments of horse and foot 
 taken their positions in front of the Palace, a signal gun 
 was fired, and a little thing leaped with uncommon 
 agility upon the back of a white horse, superbly 
 
112 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 caparisoned, and set off at full trot along the line, 
 followed by a numerous train of generals and aides-de- 
 camp. Upon inquiry I learnt that the white horse was 
 called Marengo, and its rider was Napoleon Bonaparte, 
 First Consul of France. 
 
 Nothing was now heard but trumpets and kettledrums, 
 and the whole spectacle was certainly an imposing one ; 
 as Bonaparte passed along the officers saluted and the 
 men presented arms. He never returned a single 
 salute. 
 
 His dress was very plain but extremely neat, in the 
 uniform of the Consular Guard — a blue coat, faced with 
 white, gold epaulettes, white kerseymere breeches and 
 waistcoat, a small hat with a tri-colour bow. 
 
 None of the portraits or engravings which I have seen 
 in England purporting to resemble this man are exactly 
 like him. The picture by Masquier, representing him 
 on his return from reviewing the Consular Guard, though 
 the best likeness we have, is nevertheless a feeble repre- 
 sentation of what is one of the most penetrating and 
 animated countenances in the world. The complexion 
 of Bonaparte is sallow, his face oval and his chin long, 
 his eyes are of a dark blue, so dark as to appear black at 
 a distance, they are keen and piercing, long in form and 
 sunk deeply in his head. His black hair is cut short and 
 he wears no powder. His smile is sweet and fascinating, 
 but his visage terrible when ruffled with anger. His 
 voice deep-toned, rather coarse and disfigured by a 
 provincial accent.* He looks extremely well on horse- 
 back, his carriage thereon remarkably erect, and not 
 unlike that of a riding master or cavalry drill sergeant. 
 The lineaments of his face bespeak a violent nature, it is 
 marked with the expression of dark and unruly passions. 
 Upon the whole I do not hesitate to acknowledge he 
 possesses the most interesting countenance I ever beheld. 
 
 After the First Consul had reviewed his troops ^^au 
 trot " he hastily dismounted, shot like an arrow into the 
 Palace, and soon after the general procession to Notre 
 ^^ Italian or rather Corsican pronunciation. 
 
PROCESSION TO NOTRE DAME 113 
 
 Dame began to form, and commenced with the slow 
 march of the infantry towards the Cathedral. 
 
 The cavalry followed and the foreign Ministers and 
 Ministers of State. Madame Letitia Bonaparte,* the 
 Consul's mother, a truly good, respectable woman, and 
 Madame Bonaparte,* the reigning Queen, with Madame 
 Louis Bonaparte,* her daughter, proceeded by another 
 route (not taking part in the procession). They occupied 
 with their suite two splendid coaches and four, each 
 horse led by a running footman in green and gold livery 
 and escorted by a squadron of Hussars. The corps of 
 \ Mamelukes, leading six beautiful chargers of the First 
 Consul, each horse caparisoned to the tune of ;^2500, 
 preceded the state coach, which contained the three 
 Consuls, attired in their consular garb of scarlet velvet, 
 embroidered with gold. These rulers were drawn by 
 eight bay horses and followed by a regiment of Hussars. 
 Discharges of artillery continued from their departure 
 from the Palace till their arrival at the Cathedral Church 
 of Paris. 
 
 Three chairs of state were placed in front of the altar 
 for the Consuls, that of Bonaparte's was advanced a little 
 in front of the other two, and he drew it still further 
 forward before he seated himself. He sat erect during 
 the whole ceremony, except during the Consecration of 
 the Host and Communion, when he stood. At the 
 elevation of the Host he crossed himself with the most 
 sanctified composure, using that same hand which in 
 Egypt had signed his abjuration of the Christian faith. 
 The Consul le Brun* sat on his right hand and 
 Cambaceres* on his left. When High Mass was over, 
 the Bishops approached in turn to take the oath of 
 allegiance : as each mitred apostle knelt before Bona- 
 parte he gave a gentle nod ; but one poor old prelate, 
 almost blind by age and too weak to kneel, having by 
 mistake, directed his obeisance to Cambaceres, the First 
 Consul gave such a frown that the poor old man was 
 almost terrified out of his wits. 
 
 '!'• See Appendix. 
 
114 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 To form a just idea of the feelings of those present one 
 must remember that the greater part of the company 
 consisted of the Senate, the Corps Legislatif, the Tribuna- 
 late and the Generals, nearly all of whom had been or 
 were avowed atheists, notorious for murders, thefts and 
 atrocities they had perpetrated, while the Chief Magistrate 
 had a few years earlier worshipped at the altar of atheism 
 in Paris and embraced the religion of Mahomet in Africa. 
 These persons were now assembled together to adore a 
 God in whom they had no faith and to propose a religion 
 they despised merely that they might be enabled to pre- 
 serve their authority over the people and retain their 
 lucrative places and appointments. To my mind this is 
 an occurrence in the history of pious fraud only equalled 
 by the action of Judas Iscariot. 
 
 I may safely affirm that with exception of the Bishops 
 and clergy, there w^as not a single official personage in 
 the church who quitted this religious mockery with a 
 sentiment of piety in his heart, nor one who did 
 not perfectly see through the whole object of the 
 ceremony. 
 
 When the bowing, kneeling and swearing were ended 
 the First Consul and his two scarlet supporters departed. 
 Fresh discharges of cannons accompanied their return 
 journey to the Tuileries. 
 
 The opinion entertained by the people of this day of 
 ceremony was that of indignation, mixed with con- 
 temptuous ridicule. 
 
 In the evening Madame Bonaparte gave a grand rout 
 to the ladies of the constituted authorities, and the city 
 was illuminated. The illuminations were poor indeed, a 
 few farthing rushlights stuck in paper lanterns hung 
 out from every third or fourth house in the streets, and 
 were called general illuminations, and even of those the 
 greater part was put out by the wind. The Palace of the 
 Tuileries was handsomely illuminated a la chinoise with 
 variegated lamps. Cambaceres, the Second Consul, also 
 illuminated his house with great taste and splendour. 
 
 Vast numbers of people filled the streets and walks — 
 
THEATRE OF OPERA BUFFA 115 
 
 great decorum and sobriety were everywhere observed, 
 a circumstance which practically always distinguishes 
 Frenchmen on such occasions. 
 
 In the midst of all these pompous festivities the minds 
 of the people are still greatly divided respecting the future. 
 They are gratified by the return of peace — but they are 
 suspicious of its continuation. To this may be added 
 the general apprehension of some fresh changes in 
 France, from the restless character of its present ruler, 
 and his disposition to interfere in the internal economy 
 of other States. 
 
 XIX 
 
 THEATRES. OPERA BUFFA. CORONA- 
 TION OF PAESIELLO 
 
 The theatres of Paris at the present time display such 
 gross acts of licentiousness among the spectators and 
 such obscene dialogue on the stage, that it is impossible 
 to accompany a modest woman to most of them. To 
 those where the rules of decency were observed, our 
 ladies went, and the Opera Buffa was one of the few 
 where we could resort with comfort and convenience. 
 
 This theatre is in the Rue de la Victoire, and here one 
 could listen to the charming music of Cimarosa, Marti- 
 nelli and Paesiello.* This last composer has attained an 
 immense success by a piece, called Zingari in FlorUf 
 which attracts crowded houses. On the third night of 
 its representation Paesiello himself, just arrived from 
 Naples, made his appearance in the box next the stage, 
 opposite the one in which the First Consul, his wife, 
 Louis Bonaparte and his wife, ci-devant Mdlle. Beau- 
 harnais, and the lady of Joseph Bonaparte were sitting. 
 
 The instant Paesiello was recognised, he was saluted 
 with loud and repeated applause, and all the spectators 
 stood up to pay their respects to the genius who had so 
 ^' See Appendix. 
 
ii6 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 often charmed them by his powers of composition. A 
 lady then stepped into his box, and placed a crown of 
 laurel on his head, the plaudits then redoubled, while 
 Bonaparte passed his hand over his own forehead as an 
 indication of what was uppermost in his mind. He 
 condescended to notice Paesiello, and signified by a move- 
 ment of his head that he participated in the general 
 sentiment of approbation. 
 
 The respect paid to the composer by the band of 
 musicians was remarkable. They all rose at his entrance, 
 turned towards him, and retained this position during the 
 rest of the evening. Great decorum and good conduct 
 are maintained in every part of this theatre, and even 
 behind the scenes. Sentinels are planted, not only behind 
 the curtain to preserve order, but plenty of them are 
 stationed in every part of the house, boxes, pit and gallery. 
 Their conduct is exemplary. The spectators, at this the 
 best of the Paris theatres, behave themselves with 
 infinitely more propriety than the audiences at Drury 
 Lane and Covent Garden. The Cyprian corps also set 
 an example of orderly conduct, which their frail sisters in 
 the fashionable London resorts would do well to follow. 
 
 On the night of Paesiello's coronation we were so 
 extremely fortunate as to obtain a box nearly opposite to 
 that occupied by the First Consul and his relatives, and 
 we remarked that Madame Bonaparte, her daughter, and 
 Madame Joseph Bonaparte were the only French women 
 in the theatre whose dress was modest as well as elegant. 
 I was peculiarly gratified to observe this circumstance, 
 because, when the force of example is considered, these 
 persons may be enabled, owing to their distinguished 
 positions, to do much to check the mativais gout in the 
 fashionable Parisian toilettes of to-day. 
 
 The three distinguished ladies sat in front of the box, 
 and were attired much as would be a respectable English 
 woman of the upper classes wearing evening dress. 
 
 Mesdames Napoleon, Louis and Joseph, wore fine 
 diamond necklaces and drop earrings. 
 
 Behind them, with his back to the audience, sat the 
 
A REVIEW AT THE TUILERIES 117 
 
 First Consul, who conversed during the whole evening 
 with his step-son, young Beauharnais. 
 
 During the whole evening Bonaparte never exchanged 
 a syllable with the female members of his party, and 
 when the play was over he darted from his seat and 
 departed by a side entrance, leaving his family to be 
 conducted from the theatre by their attendants. 
 
 XX 
 
 REVIEW OF THE CONSULAR GUARD. 
 CONVERSATION WITH ONE OF THE 
 HEADS OF THE REPUBLIC, RESPECT- 
 ING BONAPARTE 
 
 I WISH to describe a grand review of the Consular 
 Guard, which took place on the Place du Carrousel, at 
 this very Easter-tide — a review of which so much has 
 been said all over Europe. It is really nothing more nor 
 less than a parade, for not a single evolution is made. 
 Indeed, if it were wished to make an evolution the size 
 and situation of the Place du Carrousel would not 
 admit it. 
 
 The order in which the troops are disposed shows the 
 impossibility of manoeuvring them, for the place in which 
 6000 men, horse and foot, besides artillery, are collected, 
 is not so large as our Horse Guards Parade at Whitehall. 
 
 The review really consists in the First Consul, his 
 generals, his aides-de-camp and his Mamelukes, trotting 
 very fast through the lines. He then takes his station in 
 front of the gates of the Tuileries, and the troops pass 
 him in quick time, afterwards filing off to their respective 
 quarters. 
 
 In order that I may give a clear idea of this military 
 show, I will briefly state the order in which the troops 
 take their positions and move from the ground. 
 
 A battalion of Grenadiers, with their band, is stationed 
 
ii8 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 from the left corner of the Tuileries to the Palace door, 
 from the right corner to the same door is another battalion 
 of Grenadiers, called the Column of Granite, because at 
 the battle of Marengo, " firm as adamant," they withstood 
 the charges of Austrian cavalry. About sixteen paces in 
 front the first line commences with a battalion of Invalids, 
 without a band or even pipes, having only half a dozen 
 drums attached to it. Next to these are two battalions 
 composed of select troops from the line. An intervening 
 space of thirty-six paces here occurs, when another line 
 of infantry, composed of two heavy battalions without 
 music, extend along the whole area. Behind these are 
 two regiments of Hussars. A little on their side at the 
 right two troops of flying Artillery, and then the famous 
 regiment of Guides, commanded by Eugene de Beau- 
 harnais * (the Consul's step-son) surnamedthe Casse Cous, 
 because they are said neither to give nor receive quarter. 
 Opposite this corps, at the other extremity of the lines 
 and under the Gallery of the Louvre, stands the corps of 
 Mamelukes — they retain their national costume, and 
 every means is employed to attach them to the interests 
 of the French people — which they are made to believe 
 are identical with those of their Mussulman Caliph. 
 
 Three generals of division commanded the Consular 
 troops under Bonaparte, who reserves to himself the 
 chief command. 
 
 As soon as the First Consul had mounted Marengo, 
 the drums beat a tattoo, and the men shouldered arms. 
 
 Preceded by several Mamelukes and four aides-de-camp 
 in superb Hussar uniforms, he rode at full trot through 
 the lines. When he returned to the centre a detachment 
 from an Artillery corps, now serving in Italy, marched 
 up to the Consul to receive their standard. It was held 
 by a sergeant. The Consul made them a short speech, 
 ordering them to swear they would rather die than 
 abandon it. The infantry guard then passed before the 
 Consul, beginning with the battalion of Invalids and 
 ending with the Column of Granite, then came the Flying 
 * See Appendix. 
 
BONAPARTE 119 
 
 Artillery, the regiments of Horse, and, last of all, the 
 regiment of Guides, beyond comparison the finest corps, 
 whether for men or horses, I ever beheld, their Colonel, 
 Beauharnais, being the handsomest young man amongst 
 them. This regiment is dressed in green, as Hussars, 
 and wheeled with uncommon precision and velocity. 
 The Column of Granite was the only battalion which 
 seemed to pay any attention to distance or time ; its 
 sections wheeled and performed like a piece of machinery, 
 but all the other battalions were remarkably deficient in 
 this branch of discipline. I remarked to a French general 
 upon the slovenly manner in which those battalions 
 wheeled ; he nodded assent to the observation, remarking 
 shrewdly and wisely : *^ It is of no matter of consequence, 
 they know how to fight." 
 
 As soon as the last section had passed, the Consul, who 
 seemed to be in a very ill-humour, rode to the door of 
 the Palace, dismounted and disappeared. He was not in 
 a general's uniform, but wore the same dress as that in 
 which he appeared on the morning of the procession to 
 Notre Dame. 
 
 Upon the whole, I cannot say that this review answered 
 my expectations. The troops were tall and well-clothed. 
 The cavalry were magnificently mounted, and made a 
 noble appearance, but still the tout ensemble did not excite 
 my admiration to a very great extent. 
 
 While Bonaparte was passing the lines, one of my 
 acquaintance exultingly turned to me and said : " Voila 
 le maitre de la terre ! " Several English gentlemen, 
 who were not very distant from me, made themselves 
 conspicuous by their ecstatic exclamations of adulation 
 towards Bonaparte, one of them, a person of rank and 
 fortune, bawling out loud enough to be heard by fifty 
 people, " By G — d ! this man deserves to govern the 
 world ! " 
 
 On our return from the parade, we went into a large 
 party of ladies and gentlemen, among whom were several 
 members of the Government. One of them took me 
 aside ; he questioned me as to the state of feeling in 
 
I20 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 England on the subject of the peace, and asked me 
 whether I read with attention the English papers. Upon 
 my answering in the affirmative, he remarked that 
 though the liberty of the Press was an essential principle 
 of our British Constitution, persons in foreign countries 
 were often exposed to the highest and most malignant 
 censures from its abuse. I now understood the drift of 
 his conversation ,and observed that natives of England, 
 as well as foreigners, frequently had to smart under the 
 lash of the British Press and that no one had been more 
 severely, handled (on some occasions) than myself. I 
 explained that we in England never noticed those things, 
 unless by retorting upon our opponents through the 
 medium of the Press. He then said with some hesita- 
 tion : "I have excellent authority for saying that the 
 First Consul i^ incensed beyond measure at the liberties 
 taken with his character and government in the English 
 papers." *' If that be all," I replied, ''his anger will not 
 go down with the sun, for I may venture to promise him 
 an unceasing fire from the British Press as long as he 
 discloses an ambition that is fatal to the security of 
 Europe." " And to France," he exclaimed. Then taking 
 me by the arms, he said with great energy, " When, my 
 dear friend, you return to England, animate every person 
 concerned in the public journals to give him no quarter. 
 It is only through the medium of your papers that we 
 know our situation ; the sound philosophy of your prin- 
 ciples (meaning the English nation's) will finally rescue 
 France from slavery." Having uttered these words 
 under strong symptoms of agitation, he left the room. 
 
 Thunderstruck and confounded at this unexpected 
 termination of our discourse, I was for a moment at 
 a loss what to think and how to act, when fortunately 
 the ex-Director Barthelemi came up and asked whether 
 I was pleased with the review. This made me recover 
 my senses, and I was enabled to enter into genial conver- 
 sation. I was introduced to Archbishop Faesh,* 
 Bonaparte's uncle ; and to Visconti,* but the only news 
 * See Appendix. 
 
ENGLISHMEN AND FIRST CONSUL 121 
 
 they communicated were the details of the operations in 
 San Domingo, brought home by Jerome Bonaparte. 
 We soon afterwards left the party. I conveyed the 
 ladies back to the hotel, and then drove to the house of 
 the person with whom I have been engaged in the 
 conversation related above. 
 
 He received me with great consideration and politeness, 
 and stated how happy he was to be able to confer with 
 me alone, as it was not safe to enter into particular details 
 in a mixed assembly. I agreed with him, and he imme- 
 diately entered more fully into the subject. 
 
 He told me that there were at present in France several 
 Englishmen employed by the First Consul to write 
 against our Government and in support of his (Bona- 
 parte's) administration. That an Englishman named 
 Joliffe was employed by Monsieur de Talleyrand to trans- 
 late all the articles in our newspapers which had any 
 reference to France, and that Talleyrand carried them to 
 Bonaparte as regularly as he did his official despatches. 
 He mentioned the names of several other Englishmen 
 employed by the Consul for similar purposes, among 
 whom were Messrs. Morgan, Stone and Dr. Watson. 
 
 The two objects he seemed extremely anxious to 
 impress upon me were, first that the Government and 
 person of Bonaparte ought to inspire us with extreme 
 aversion, but secondly that we ought to abstain rigidly 
 from involving ourselves in another war with him. 
 
 These points seemed rather paradoxical, and I asked 
 how Great Britain would be compromised in case of a 
 renewal of the war. To this he answered that 50,000 or 
 60,000 such military automatons as I had seen to-day 
 were always ready to execute without reflection or care 
 whatever orders the First Consul might issue. Then, 
 again, the violent spirit of Bonaparte was greatly to be 
 dreaded. In case of a war between England and France 
 he would infallibly attack some of the weaker Powers 
 of Europe under the pretext that they favoured our 
 cause. Upon my expressing my astonishment that an 
 enlightened nation should passively submit to a system 
 
122 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 of tyranny which they disapproved of, and that himself, 
 who had so great an influence, together with many of 
 his colleagues, were taking no steps to abridge the power 
 of this Corsican, he observed with great feeling : " The 
 Revolution was made for the people, but not by the 
 people. The principles of philosophy upon which it 
 was founded have been trampled under foot by the 
 military, and under every form of our government they 
 have been masters. Whoever got possession of the 
 power of the sword ruled and rules the Republic. France 
 is the prize of generals whom our folly has placed on 
 too high an eminence." 
 
 The conversation was next resumed on the dissatisfac- 
 tion which the government of Bonaparte had occasioned 
 throughout the Republic ; and of my speaking favourably 
 of the character, abilities and influence of Moreau,* he 
 differed from me, and observed that General Moreau was 
 a man of passive qualities, destitute of energy to under- 
 take any grand political scheme. His chief employment 
 consisted in reading all the military memoirs and books 
 which had ever been written and playing with his pretty 
 wife. 
 
 Upon the whole, after a conversation of about three 
 hours, he ended the dialogue by observing that he was 
 at a loss whether to think war or peace would be most 
 favourable to the views of those who wished the destruc- 
 tion of Bonaparte. He^urged me, however, on my return 
 to England, that I should describe in the Press the 
 horrible state of slavery to which ^' Le Petit Caporal " 
 had reduced the French. After having solemnly enjoined 
 me to be very guarded in my expressions during my 
 stay in France, we took leave of each other. The senti- 
 ments I have detailed being those of a distinguished 
 member of the Government, what must be those of the 
 people ? 
 
 ^' See Appendix. 
 
DAVID'S STUDIO 123 
 
 XXI 
 
 VISIT TO DAVID. ACCOUNT OF HIS 
 
 PAINTINGS 
 
 We have just returned from passing a very agreeable 
 evening at the apartments of David,* in the Louvre. It 
 seemed strange to find myself under the roof of a man 
 who actually signed a warrant for my arrest some years 
 ago. But in this capital these are things of course, and it 
 would have been quite natural in 1793 for me to dine with 
 him, and he had sent me the same evening to prison and 
 two days later to the guillotine. The fact is we were very 
 desirous of seeing this man, both on account of his 
 political character and his reputation as the first artist in 
 France. We were received by Madame David and her 
 two daughters with great politeness, and Citizen David 
 comported himself as an human being. 
 
 I met in this society a number of intelligent and 
 respectable characters, and had several opportunities of 
 entering into conversation with Monsieur David. The 
 names of several English and French artists were men- 
 tioned, but he never condescended to make an observation 
 about them. 
 
 His lady frequently desired me to give my opinion of 
 his celebrated picture of the Sabines, and she assured me 
 it would be a good speculation to purchase it for exhibi- 
 tion in London. The price is ;^5ooo ! 
 
 I have heard much of the character, public and private, 
 of M. David, and it is but an act of justice to declare that 
 amidst the most unfavourable circumstances that hover 
 over his public life, I have not been able to trace any 
 relative to his private reputation. 
 
 The picture of the Sabines, which is now publicly 
 exhibited in the ancient Academy of Architecture, is con- 
 sidered by David as his masterpiece, and he grounds its 
 *^' See Appendix. 
 
124 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 character principally on the persons of Hersillia, Tatius 
 and Romulus. Poussin has pencilled the Rape of the Sabine 
 women, but David has chosen the sequel of the story at 
 the moment when the Sabine women rush between the 
 two hostile armies for the purpose of reconciling the 
 Roman and Sabine soldiers. 
 
 The two chiefs, Romulus and Tatius, are about to 
 engage in single combat, the former, while holding his 
 uplifted javelin in his right hand, in the attitude of 
 preparing to hurl at his antagonist, his left is concealed 
 under a broad shield, which also covers the left part of 
 his body ; on his head he wears a splendid helmet, a 
 shoulder-belt suspends his sword, and his feet are laced 
 with sandals. 
 
 In every other respect he is painted stark naked. Tatius 
 is displayed full to the view in piiris naturalihiis. He also 
 wears not only a helmet and sandals, but carries a shield 
 and a scarlet mantle buckled upon the breast, but so 
 contrived as to exhibit his whole body in a state of 
 nature. 
 
 Between these two figures stands Hersillia ; she is robed 
 in white a la grecquCf in other words according to the 
 present fashion. Her hair hangs dishevelled over her 
 shoulders. At her feet lie her two naked infants. In the 
 centre ground groups of Sabine women are seen, carrying 
 their naked infants amidst heaps of dead and horses 
 furious in combat. Others are placing their children at 
 the feet of the soldiers of both armies, who struck with 
 the sight ground their spears. The general of the horse 
 sheathes his sword. Numbers of soldiers wave their 
 helmets as a signal of peace. The walls of Rome form 
 the backgroundf. These are all the circumstances con- 
 nected with the picture. I must now give M. David's 
 vindication of the nakedness of his heroes. 
 
 *' It was a received custom among the painters, statu- 
 aries and poets of antiquity to represent naked their gods, 
 heroes, and in general all those whom they intended to 
 illustrate. If they painted a philosopher, he was naked 
 with a cloak over his shoulders and the attributes of his 
 
DAVID'S STUDIO 125 
 
 character ; if a warrior, he was likewise naked except for 
 a hehnet on his head, a shield on his arm and sandals on 
 his feet ; sometimes they added drapery to give grace to 
 the figure." 
 
 Among the many paintings we had seen from his hand 
 his ** Horatii " is by far the most striking and most justly 
 executed. Those which were hastily drawn for days of 
 ceremonies, in order to be exposed in the open air, are 
 on an immense scale and are not less horrible to the 
 sight than the objects which they were designed to repre- 
 sent were terrific to the mind. He has also drawn the 
 figure of Bonaparte on horseback, at the passage of S. 
 Gothard, for which he received one thousand pounds. 
 
 But the picture which interested me most was the 
 representation of the Deputies of the Tiers Etats 
 assembled at Versailles while their President is reading 
 the Declaration of the Rights of Man. The portraits of 
 some of the members were astonishingly striking, par- 
 ticularly those of Mirabeau and Barnave ; in most, 
 however, Citizen David has failed in the correctness of 
 his representations, especially in those of Siege and 
 Gregoire. 
 
 The public character of David is well-known and held 
 in general detestation. In the course of my conversation 
 with him I once took a favourable opportunity of asking 
 whether he recollected having signed a warrant for my 
 arrest. To these questions he simply replied that it was 
 impossible for him to recall to memory all the warrants of 
 arrest which had been issued at the time he was a member 
 of the Committee of General Vigilance ; that hundreds 
 were sometimes signed in one day, and that in the hurry 
 of business, he had often put his name to warrants on the 
 reports of his colleagues. I remarked that through this 
 hurry of business a great deal of injustice had been 
 committed. 
 
 This he frankly confessed, but defended the measures 
 by the old plea : " What could we do surrounded by 
 traitors, who were paid by Pitt and his government to sap 
 the fojundations of the Republic ?" I could not help 
 
126 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 observing that the conduct of the Committee reminded 
 me of the hangman in an English play, who states to 
 his friends, that having a great deal upon his hands one 
 day in the hurry of business whipped the rope round a 
 bystander's neck, and did not discover his mistake until 
 a full hour after the man had been hanging. 
 
 Whenever the atrocities of the different rulers of France 
 are made the subjects of inquiry, I have always found 
 the same language employed to extenuate the guilt of 
 their principal agents. Murders, rapes, burnings, pro- 
 scriptions and pillage are all laid upon the Revolution, 
 which is a generic term for every species of crime ; but 
 the agents, the authors of these horrors, remain unmo- 
 lested and riot in the blood and tears they have caused 
 to flow. 
 
 If it be necessary to offer an apology for deeds of 
 blood, the gold of Pitt is displayed in all its wonder- 
 working efficacy ; if the murder of an innocent person 
 be lamented, we are instantly told he was an agent of 
 Pitt. 
 
 However penitent some of these miscreants may affect 
 to be, their example does not appear to be followed by 
 David. In general he is silent and reserved upon 
 political subjects. Nothing seems to distress him more 
 than the recollection of the conventional period. But 
 his distress arises not from the awakening voice of 
 nature, nor from the reproaches of an accusing con- 
 science. It originates in idea that the days of blood and 
 proscriptions are no more. 
 
 I am convinced that David regrets the halcyon times 
 when thousands were butchered to illustrate the reign of 
 liberty and equality. Speaking of St. Just,* the hated 
 Decemvir, he declared : " Notwithstanding the fate of 
 that unfortunate young man and the ^rd^yzf(i/cd5 entertained 
 against him, he was veritablement a la hauteur de la 
 Revolution." In an unguarded moment he proceeded 
 to pour forth the bloody sentiments of his ferocious 
 soul. 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
CHARACTER OF DAVID 127 
 
 He did not scruple to avow that the Committee of 
 Pubhc Safety had been the saviours of France and the 
 founders of her gigantic empire ; and after a flourish on 
 the civil wars and massacres attendant on the acquisition 
 of our English freedom, said it was impossible to 
 establish a Republic except by wading through seas of 
 blood. 
 
 I asked him whether it was true that a project had 
 been in contemplation to reduce the population of France 
 to one-third of its present number. He answered that 
 it had been seriously discussed, and that Dubois Crouce 
 was the author. 
 
 M. David, like every other Frenchman, is utterly 
 ignorant of the nature of the liberty we enjoy and of all 
 our institutions. 
 
 They have not a conception of the possibility of 
 freedom existing in any state with a monarch at its 
 head ; with them there is not a vestige of liberty among 
 any people who have not high-sounding Roman titles. 
 
 In the same measure they cannot comprehend the 
 bemg of that middle class of society which constitutes 
 the bulwark of our isle. According to their notions of 
 Britain, a man must be noble or a pauper. 
 
 Thanks to our barbarous forefathers we have the 
 whole essence of regulated freedom, without the gilded 
 terms of Roman despotism ; we have gothic names for 
 the enjoyment of an enlightened people. David recog- 
 nises no freedom that is not open to holy insurrection 
 against established authority. Wherever shrieks of 
 murder and the notes of the trumpet are not heard, there 
 can be no liberty. A person who is conversant in the 
 science of physiognomy would pronounce the character 
 of this monster at first sight. With a hideous wen upon 
 his lip, which shows his teeth and for ever marks him 
 with the snarling grin of a tiger — with features and eyes 
 which denote a lust for massacre, he is a savage by 
 instinct and an assassin by rule. He is an atheist in 
 faith and practice, and a murderer by choice. 
 
 While he was a member of the Committee of Public 
 
128 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 Safety and General Vigilance, his greatest pleasure con- 
 sisted in frequenting the prison, where he feasted his 
 eyes upon those who were condemned to die and loaded 
 the unhappy victims with imprecations. It was his 
 constant practice to call every morning at the prisons 
 to inquire how many were to be guillotined, and on 
 being told one day that there were sixteen, he instantly 
 exclaimed in a furious attitude : " How, only sixteen ! 
 The Republic is undone ! " 
 
 Retributive justice eventually overtook David, and he 
 was committed to prison in order to be tried for his life. 
 After he had lain some time in jail, two individuals sent 
 to inform him that they were commissioned by certain 
 persons in England to save his life. A powerful inter- 
 position did take place, and he was restored to liberty. 
 Some time after he was officially informed (I heard this 
 from his own mouth) that he was wholly indebted to the 
 English for his life and liberation. 
 
 I endeavoured in vain to persuade him that if this were 
 
 true it must have been the work of private friendship or 
 
 some ardent admirer of his distinguished talents. He 
 
 persisted in the belief that it was the interference of the 
 
 English Government which saved him, notwithstanding 
 
 the obvious improbability of such an occurrence. 
 
 ^^ When we perceive on all sides in France at the present 
 
 / day nothing but the ruins of religion and morality, it is 
 
 ^ a relief to the soul and a debt of justice due to an 
 
 \ innocent family to describe them as they are, devoid of 
 
 guile and unstained with their father's crimes. 
 
 Madame David, during the Terror, retired with her 
 children to a country residence, where she lived in igno- 
 rance of her husband's conduct in Paris. She was what 
 the French then termed an aristocrat, that is an honest 
 loyal woman, who believed in God, loved good order and 
 cherished the affections of domestic life. 
 
 The French Revolution has produced many amazons 
 and many female philosophers, who have died cursing 
 God and man. It has also exhibited magnificent traits of 
 female heroism, and the scaffold has reddened with the 
 
MADAME DAVID 129 
 
 blood of women who have sacrificed their private interests 
 for the pubhc cause. But Madame David in her way is 
 as great a heroine as any of these. As soon as the intelli- 
 gence reached her that her husband was in prison and 
 about to be tried for his life, she forgot at once the 
 religious and political differences which had estranged 
 her from him, and set off instantly for Paris, making 
 herself the companion of his misfortunes. 
 
 During the whole period of his confinement, at the 
 risk of arrest on suspicion, she was assiduous in her 
 attendance upon him, and spared no expense to procure 
 him all the comforts of which his situation would admit. 
 She was also unceasing in her work to save him. Every 
 day she was to be seen at the different bureaus or at the 
 houses of the men in power, entreating and even intriguing 
 for her husband. It may be justly questioned whether 
 David does not owe his life to her exertions rather than 
 those of some Enghsh emissary. 
 
 Of the rest of the family I can speak in equal terms of 
 respect. His daughters are modest and prepossessing, 
 and their good sense is as marked as their good manners. 
 The son devotes his whole time to a study of the Greek 
 language, in which he is in a fair way of excelling. Once 
 a week he has a conversazione, at which every respectable 
 native of Greece, resident in Paris, is invited, as well as 
 all who cultivate Greek literature. 
 
 His Attic conversations are extremely well attended, for 
 I have met there Villaison, Viscomti, Mangez,* Corn us,* 
 Bitaube,* and Larcher. As soon as young David has 
 completed his course of Greek studies he intends to pro- 
 ceed to Greece, and the islands of the neighbouring 
 Archipelago, from whence he will pass over into the 
 Troad and visit Asia Minor. 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
I30 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 XXII 
 
 EXCURSION TO RINCY. AMUSEMENTS 
 
 OF THE VILLAGES ON SUNDAY 
 
 EVENING 
 
 The late Duke of Orleans owned Rincy, and took great 
 pains to arrange his park and garden in the English taste. 
 Since his death it has fallen into decay, but the Parisians 
 frequent it on Sunday, much as our Londoners regale 
 themselves at Richmond or at Greenwich Parks. 
 
 We departed at an early hour, accompanied by Mrs. 
 Cosway. Rincy is thirteen miles from the capital and 
 situated on the Strasburg road. On our journey we met 
 two open carts filled with criminals, principally robbers, 
 who were under their way to the metropolis under an 
 escort of gens d'armes. The first cart contained two 
 captains of those predatory bands of thieves who infest 
 the Departments near the Rhine, and of whose exploits 
 such terrible accounts have been given. One of them 
 seemed to be placed in an unusually conspicuous position, 
 so that he might be easily recognised. He was extra- 
 ordinarily tall, and under an immense round hat exhibited 
 features almost equalling in ferocity those of the painter 
 David. 
 
 It seemed incomprehensible that the Government 
 should go to the expense and inconvenience of trans- 
 porting these wretches 200 miles from the theatre of their 
 crimes, in order to take their trials before the criminal 
 tribunal in Paris, where all witnesses for and against 
 could only be produced at a very great public cost. When 
 I returned to Paris I attempted to probe this matter to 
 the bottom, when the only rational answer I obtained was 
 that the citizens of Paris were fond of seeing the execu- 
 tion of great criminals ! I suggested that this taste for 
 blood might be as easily gratified if the culprits were 
 transferred after their conviction to the Parisian guillotine, 
 
THE CHATEAU OF RINCY 131 
 
 having been first tried in the Department where their 
 crimes were committed. I was told, however, the effect 
 would not be the same. 
 
 I resume my narrative. We had hitherto been favoured 
 with fine weather, but just as we arrived at the gates of 
 the chateau a heavy shower of rain began to fall — the 
 coachman desired the woman to open the gates, which 
 she bluntly refused to do unless we produced a permit^ 
 from the present proprietor. Upon which I held out " un 
 petit ecu," and received this reply from the female citizen : 
 " C'est impossible, monsieur, ce n'est pas une affaire du 
 gouvernement ! " A more open and honest avowal of 
 the venality of the present government of France was 
 impossible. 
 
 But a further parley and exhibition of our papers of 
 identity effected what bribery could not accomplish, and 
 we were suffered eventually to pass. 
 
 Just at the entrance of the park is a traiteur's (or 
 restaurant), where, it being Sunday, many of the bourgeois 
 of Paris were regaling themselves. The grounds them- 
 selves resemble an Englishman's park. It has, of course, 
 suffered from the effects of the Revolution, but enough 
 remains to indicate that it was once a most voluptuous 
 spot. The chateau unhappily is demolished, and the 
 massive pillars lie broken and dispersed upon the ground. 
 The lodge is repairing for the actual proprietor, a wealthy 
 Parisian merchant and the present keeper of Madame 
 Tallien, the wife of the Conventional butcher of Bordeaux. 
 
 Opposite to this edifice stand the stables, in a tolerably 
 good state of presei-vation. The gravel walks are in good 
 order, the fountains, aqueducts and basins in a complete 
 state, and the copses and woods have not been cut down. 
 The magnificent dairy is untouched, and at the top of 
 the hill which overlooks the park, the Sunday excursionists 
 amuse themselves by wandering in a labyrinth and 
 surveying the ''jetsd'eau" which are continually play- 
 ing. 
 
 In ascending the hill we found a pretty cottage, at the 
 doorof which stood a man whose physiognomy announced 
 
132 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 his English extraction. He also perceived we were 
 English and invited us in our own language to rest in his 
 house. His name is Hudson, he was gamekeeper to the 
 late Duke of Orleans for fourteen years, and had accom- 
 panied him from England on the occasion of that Prince's 
 visit when Due de Chartres to our country. He had a 
 son of about ten years of age, who spoke English and 
 French with equal facility. The extreme neatness of the 
 little cottage showed it was not inhabited by a French- 
 man — everything was arranged in English fashion. A 
 fine ham was on the table and several flitches of bacon 
 decorated the ceiling. Durmg Robespierre's reign 
 Hudson was imprisoned, and was to have been executed, 
 but the death of that monster happily intervening, he was 
 liberated. 
 
 Hudson made many affectionate and respectful inquiries 
 after the young Princes of the House of Orleans, and was 
 very particular in his questions respecting the Count of 
 Beaujolais, whom he had taught to ride, and for whom 
 he seemed to entertain a great affection. He did not 
 appear the least disposed to quit France, nor to leave the 
 situation he now holds under another master. He con- 
 soles himself with the idea "that things are coming round 
 again as they were before the Revolution, and he hoped 
 he should do as well at Rincy under the new proprietor 
 as he did under the late Duke." He is one of those 
 beings who are satisfied with any master so long as he 
 is well provided for. 
 
 I inquired for the celebrated breed of merino sheep, 
 and was told the whole flock had been removed to Ram- 
 bouillet. We then retired to the traiteur's, where we 
 were provided with an excellent dinner ; and after eating 
 it, while the horses were harnessing, entered into con- 
 versation with an old man who had formerly received a 
 pension from the late Duke, and who now, with so many 
 others, was quite destitute. 
 
 Most bitterly did he deplore the Revolution and curse 
 its abettors. We were surprised to find nearly all the 
 people at Rincy speak of the late Duke in terms of deep 
 
THE PANTHEON 133 
 
 regret. On our return to Paris we were serenaded in 
 every village, and twice alighted to watch the diversions 
 of the peasants. At one place they were dancing by 
 moonlight on a green, and at another in a large room 
 lighted for the purpose. They were neatly dressed in 
 their Sunday clothes, and seemed to enjoy their sports. 
 We did not pass a single village where there was not a rural 
 ball ; and on the left of the high road a great number 
 of rooms were lighted in which suppers were preparing 
 for the dancers. These rooms were interspersed among 
 the trees and gave a pleasing and lively appearance. 
 
 Such innocent diversions reminded us of the old days 
 of France, when the country people were remarkable 
 for their innocent gaiety and good-natured mirth; as the 
 sweet poet sings : 
 
 " Gay sprightly land of mirth and social ease, 
 Pleased with itself, whom all the world can please, 
 Alike all ages. Dames of ancient days 
 Have led their children through the mirthful maze, 
 And the gay grandsire, skilled in jestic lore. 
 Has frisked beneath the burden of fourscore." 
 
 Goldsmith's Traveller, 
 
 XXIII 
 
 THE PANTHEON AND ITS LIBRARY. 
 
 HALLE AU BLED. THE SORBONNE. 
 
 OBSERVATIONS 
 
 In 1793 a visit to the Pantheon in the Rue St. Jacques 
 was considered a duty for every patriot, who thus 
 made a pilgrimage to the shrines of the departed saints 
 of Liberty. It was an affecting sight to behold the 
 regenerated children of freedom besmeared with blood 
 and their feverish heads covered with bonnets rouges^ 
 descending into the vaults where the remains of their 
 Satanic hierarchs reposed, and invoking, by the glimmer- 
 
134 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 ing light of funeral torches, the shades of Marat and le 
 Pelletier,* St. Fargeon. 
 
 In the more rational and early part of the Revolution 
 this place was consecrated to the memory of those who 
 by their genius, their discoveries, or their civil and 
 military services, had contributed to raise the prosperity 
 of their country. France, in St. Denis, possessed a Royal 
 Mausoleum, but she was destitute of a cemetery for her 
 national benefactors, and nothing could therefore be 
 more laudable than the appropriation of the vaults (for 
 this purpose) of one of the finest churches in Christendom, 
 and accordingly this church of St. Genevieve was 
 selected for this purpose. But this Christian temple was 
 soon converted into a temple of Paganism, and its name 
 changed to a heathen one, while instead of becoming an 
 offertory to genius, its vaults became the receptacle of 
 the bodies of bloody-minded maniacs. 
 
 I remember to have seen the tombs of Voltaire* and 
 Mirabeau at the extremity of these caverns, and they were 
 the only great men who, in 1792, were judged worthy of 
 being pantheonised. The remains of the latter were soon 
 disturbed, for after the deposition of the King, he was 
 suspected of being a Royalist and therefore a traitor to 
 that Republic which, at the time of his death, was non- 
 existent. The relics of the Man of the People were 
 therefore removed and flung into the Seine. But the 
 ashes of Voltaire, the economist of monarchical govern- 
 ment, the flatterer of kings, a determined aristocrat and a 
 man who entertained as hearty a contempt for republican 
 institutions as does Bonaparte himself, were left to 
 moulder undisturbed. 
 
 If I am not mistaken, Voltaire would, I am persuaded, 
 had he lived in these times, have been the panegyrist of 
 Bonaparte. Such a man as the First Consul would have 
 captured the senses of the Philosopher of Fernay, and the 
 declarations of this affected Mussulman delighted the 
 eulogist of Mahomet. 
 
 Whoever is acquainted with the writings of Voltaire 
 '^' See Appendix. 
 
VOLTAIRE 135 
 
 must perceive that the vivacity of his imagination carries 
 him beyond himself. Acute, penetrating and ingeniously 
 sceptical, no man was more easily deceived by appear- 
 ances. A successful usurper and a great man were, in 
 his mind, identical ; with him goodness and greatness 
 were correlative terms. The vilest scoundrel on earth, if 
 possessed of Imperial power, is a great man. Hence we 
 find Voltaire calumniating Constantine because he was a 
 convert to Christianity and complimenting the most 
 perfidious, cruel and barbarous conquerors because they 
 were not Christians ; extolling the licentious despotism 
 of a puny tyrant of France, because infidelity flourished 
 in his court and camp and publicly avowing that no con- 
 queror existed without being at the same time a man of 
 good understanding. 
 
 The legislators of modern France, I am convinced, 
 never read with any attention the works of Voltaire, 
 much less penetrated the spirit and object of his com- 
 positions. They denominated him a Republican simply 
 because Condorcet* commented on Voltaire's atheistical 
 doctrines from the tribune of the Convention, and because 
 they were not able to distinguish a desire to sap the 
 foundations of Christian belief from a love of anarchy and 
 misrule. Voltaire was the champion of kings, but the 
 implacable enemy of priests. 
 
 From the private correspondence of Voltaire, it is 
 evident he held in utter contempt the applause of the 
 multitude. He aspired to obtain the suffrages of the 
 great and to make proselytes of kings, countries, states- 
 men, women who possessed an influence over public men, 
 and these personages he flattered unceasingly. The kind 
 of revolution he wanted to establish was as distinct from 
 Jacobinism as true liberty from licentiousness. I do not 
 wish it to be understood from this remark that I approve 
 of the work of Voltaire, nor do I deny that he planted the 
 seeds of that irreligious movement which in France has 
 proved a powerful auxiliary to political disorder. Vol- 
 taire neither loved nor understood libert}^, he treated with 
 '^ See Appendix. 
 
136 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 contempt the Parliaments and States-General of France ; 
 he apostrophised civil despotism wherever it despises 
 religion, and criticised Montesquieu without understand- 
 ing him. 
 
 Such was the man whose bones were unmolested, while 
 the great advocate of Public Freedom was committed to 
 the muddy waters of the Seine. I have had many con- 
 versations with Mirabeau, and I am certain that although 
 no Republican, he did not detest a Republican system of 
 government. The portals of the Pantheon, after the 
 removal of the body of Mirabeau, were opened to receive 
 the corrupt carcase of that miserable little demoniac, 
 Marat, and a multitude of other sages, who had rendered 
 themselves, by their villainies, their buffooneries and 
 their insanities, worthy of immortality. Later on Marat 
 was unpantheonised and tossed into the public sewer, and 
 I apprehend the greater number of the men whom their 
 grateful country has canonised in this polluted Temple 
 have been served a similar trick ; for upon inquiring on 
 our visit there we learnt that there were no immortals at 
 present in preservation. 
 
 There is nothing, therefore, now (1802) to be seen in 
 Ste. Genevieve but ruins ; it has sunk considerably, and 
 fresh supports have been placed to the foundations. The 
 edifice, commenced thirty years ago, is not finished. We 
 were warned it was not safe to traverse the interior ; we 
 did, however, cross two of the naves, though repeatedly 
 warned to desist. Behind the church is the cloister, in 
 which there is a library of 30,000 volumes open all day 
 for the use of the public. It is kept in great order and 
 decorated with a multitude of busts of the literati of 
 France, and at the extremity is a glass case containing a 
 model of the city of Rome. 
 
 Dannon, an ex-legislator, is the principal librarian. 
 
 The next object we visited was the Halle au Bled, or 
 corn market. This is a very interesting place — both on 
 account of the different species of corn offered for sale 
 and of the vast cupola which covers the whole of the 
 market This cupola is the largest in France, and its 
 
SORBONNE AND OBSERVATORY 137 
 
 diameter is 120 feet — only 13 feet less than that of the 
 Pantheon at Rome, considered the greatest in the world. 
 The vast Doric column employed the genius of Catherine 
 de Medicis, who believed in both astrology and magic. 
 There are several allegorical figures upon it which denote 
 the Queen's widowhood. The world cannot produce 
 such another extraordinary spectacle. The dome is con- 
 structed with finely ornamented wood, and so contrived 
 that each partition is supported by another ; there are no 
 pillars used to uphold the fabric. 
 
 The word Sorbonne recalls to my mind that of the 
 Inquisition. In the hall of these controversialists, it has 
 solemnly been discussed whether black was not white, 
 assassination has been alternately extolled and con- 
 demned. The same doctrines have been deemed 
 heretical and orthodox, according to the circumstances 
 of the times. I have no other word to say respecting the 
 Sorbonne, except that it exhibits nothing now but bare 
 walls and ruins, and is scarcely worth the trouble of a 
 visit. 
 
 The National Observatory is situated near the Rue S. 
 Jacques ; it was erected by Perrault, who was a better 
 architect than an astronomer. The meridian line is 
 traced along the great hall of the first storey. Under the 
 edifice are subterranean caves or catacombs, which form 
 a labyrinth from which no stranger can hope to extricate 
 himself without the services of a guide. 
 
 The rooms are bare and destitute of furniture or accom- 
 modation for those who ought to assemble in them. 
 
 Cassini, the able director under the Royal Government, 
 was driven away by the Revolution. No leading astro- 
 nomers go to this Observatory. 
 
 From the top of the building we had a magnificent 
 view of Paris and its environs. 
 
 The astronomical instruments are stationed in the 
 great hall, but on account of the absence of the officials 
 connected with the building we were unable to examine 
 them or to see the immense telescope. Upon the whole 
 this edifice is, like all French pubhc buildings, superior 
 
138 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 in architecture to anything of the kind in England, but 
 greatly inferior in utility, and far less calculated to answer 
 its object than that at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, 
 was under the direction of Dr. Maskelyne.* 
 
 XXIV 
 
 EXCURSION TO ST. CLOUD. PORCELAIN 
 
 MANUFACTORY AT SEVE. A DUEL 
 
 Queen Marie Antoinette paid dearly for the vast sums 
 expended upon this palace. A fourth part of the money 
 expended upon St. Cloud would have sufficed to purchase 
 by bribery all the demagogues of France. 
 
 This place derives its name from a very remote an- 
 tiquity. When the grandsons of Clovis and Ste. Clotilde 
 were murdered by their ambitious and unnatural uncles, 
 one (Cleodold) escaped, and was conveyed by his nurse to 
 a secret place, where he was educated for the priesthood. 
 He eventually founded a monastery in the vicinity of 
 Paris, called after him St. Cleodold or St. Cloud. In 
 later years a Royal chateau was built upon the same site. 
 Before the Revolution his tomb was still preserved, in- 
 scribed with a very ancient epitaph. 
 
 St. Cloud is about six miles from Paris. The chateau 
 stands upon an eminence commanding a full view of the 
 capital and adjacent country ; and the Seine, which 
 widens at this point, meanders slowly beside the grove of 
 trees planted along the banks. During the life of the 
 Queen, the paintings in the gallery, the magnificence of 
 the furniture in all the apartments, and the beauty of the 
 walks, waters and cascades, made St. Cloud a most 
 attractive spot. But the paintings and furniture were 
 destroyed, and the place is now fitted up in a most costly 
 style for the residence of the First Consul. 
 
 It is his intention to hold his Court here occasionally, 
 and to enrich it with some choice pictures from the gallery 
 * See Appendix. 
 
ST. CLOUD 139 
 
 in the Louvre. I have been informed that he intends to 
 make it the depot for all the gold and silver utensils which 
 he stole out of private houses during the campaign in 
 Italy. 
 
 A considerable quantity of Church plate which he pur- 
 loined he has sent to a silversmith's to be melted, and after- 
 wards wrought into salvers and other domestic vessels, 
 marked with his initials, so that the Consular family will 
 always be served upon gold and silver plates and dishes. 
 
 The cascades of St. Cloud are perfectly preserved, and 
 they play once a month for the amusement of the Parisian 
 populace. The expense of these exhibitions amounts to 
 ;^ 1 2,750 per annum. The waterworks of Marli, which 
 originally cost ;£200,ooo sterling, are to be destroyed in 
 order to increase the celebrity of those which ornament 
 the Consular residence. 
 
 I have more than once had occasion to animadvert on 
 the facilities open to licentiousness and debauchery in 
 almost every place of public resort in Paris. There is a 
 circumference of wickedness traced within twelve miles of 
 this metropolis, seemingly on purpose to prevent unwary 
 youth from escaping the bonds of infection. No repose 
 or time for reflection is allowed to the voluptuous inhabi- 
 tant of Paris. Of this melancholy truth the detail of 
 what I saw in the village of St. Cloud is a proof. 
 
 This place being in the vicinity of Paris, and only a 
 pleasant promenade from that capital, it is frequented by 
 the Sunday devotees of pleasure. It is chiefly the resort 
 of young persons of both sexes, who, after wandering 
 about the charming walks, retire to an auberge at the foot 
 of the bridge where there are a number of little hermit- 
 ages in which they procure refreshments. These hermit- 
 ages, though in the style of English tea-gardens, are 
 refinements on the dull insipid morality of British rural 
 architecture, because in France it is a prevailing maxim 
 that elegant vice is preferable to dull virtue. 
 
 Into one of these little boxes we were ushered for the 
 purpose of taking refreshment. After we had rested 
 awhile I perceived a small door which excited my 
 
140 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 curiosity ; I opened it, when, behold ! . . . Confounded 
 at what I saw, I resolved to find out whether we might 
 not have been introduced into this hut by mistake ; but, 
 after examining at least twenty others, I found they were 
 precisely upon the same plan and with the same views, 
 only a few of them surpassed the others in decoration and 
 scenery, 
 
 I inquired of the mistress of the place why so many 
 little bedrooms were annexed to these boxes ; she replied 
 coolly that they were for the accommodation of such 
 ladies and gentlemen who came to St. Cloud, and who 
 desired a private tete-a-tete. 
 
 We then visited the celebrated porcelain manufactory 
 of Seve, which is at all times open to public inspection. 
 The range of apartments in which the porcelain is ex- 
 hibited is extensive. A few groups of figures are in glass 
 cases, but all the other articles exposed to the touch of 
 the visitor. The price is affixed to each article, and no 
 abatement whatever is made to purchasers. 
 
 The trade in porcelain, we are told, has for long been 
 dull and heavy, but it is expected the general peace will 
 open a vent for the sale of these articles. 
 
 The highest price of any article we saw was ;^2o 
 sterling for a single plate, a price we thought exorbitant. 
 
 I maintain that the porcelain manufactured at Derby 
 will stand a comparison with that at Seve. If the latter 
 be more pellucid and delicate in its white colour, the 
 finishing of the figures is equal, if not superior, at the 
 former. I saw some years ago at Derby a dessert service 
 manufactured for the Prince of Wales, and I did not find 
 anything so beautifully executed at Seve. 
 
 We thoroughly examined this elegant exhibition, and 
 were received with great politeness and attention. We 
 then returned by the walks of St. Cloud, and drove off to 
 Paris through the Bois de Boulogne. 
 
 On our way we saw several persons carrying the dead 
 body of General d'Estaing,* who had just been shot by 
 General Regnier* in a duel. The cause of the quarrel 
 * See Appendix. 
 
NEGLECT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION 141 
 
 arose in Egypt, where both officers served with distinction. 
 D'Estaing was an able man, and is much regretted ; but 
 Regnier is possessed of very splendid abilities and an 
 acute and penetrating genius, as is shown in the admirable 
 account he has sent the Agricultural Society concerning 
 the state of agriculture in Egypt. This unfortunate affair 
 does not excite the sensation here that the death of a 
 fighting booby does in London. Duelling is by no means 
 so frequent as under the Monarchy, the point of honour 
 being little understood by the Republican nobles. 
 
 XXV 
 
 ESTABLISHMENTS FOR PUBLIC IN- 
 STRUCTIONS. THE MILITARY SCHOOL. 
 THE CHAMPS DE MARS. THE GOBELIN 
 MANUFACTORY. THE HOTEL DE VILLE 
 AND THE GARDE MEUBLE ^ 
 
 In old France there were more universities, colleges and 
 public schools than in any other part of the world. All 
 these were overthrown by the Jacobin Revolution, and the ^ ^ 
 funds allotted to their support squandered on the adven- ^X 
 turers who figured and still figure on the theatre of the (y y^ 
 French Republic. A^ 
 
 To this hour there is no general plan of education in ^, 
 
 the country. There are only three central schools in 
 Paris, and their organisation is essentially defective. 
 
 Abstract sciences and history fill up the whole course 
 of education until the pupil is eighteen years of age. 
 
 Geography is not taught ; there is no professor of 
 foreign languages, and only one lecturer upon the ancient 
 and classical tongues, who once a week reads aloud a dis- 
 course rather for his own amusement than for the 
 advantage of his pupils. 
 
 In consequence of these arrangements the understand- 
 ing of the scholar is never exercised. To teach the abstract 
 
142 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 sciences to boys merely by reading dissertations to them 
 is much the same as to attempt the demonstration of a 
 problem by Euclid without pen, ink or paper. 
 
 These central schools therefore are no manner of use, 
 they only serve as a parade of useless erudition on the part 
 of the professor, and nurse consummate ignorance and 
 vanity in the students who attend them. 
 
 However, when the pupils have somehow or other gone 
 through their classes, they are removed to the Polytechnic 
 school, which is the Parisian University. 
 
 About 400 boys are here finishing at this Polytechnic 
 school, laboratories, mechanical workshops and philo- 
 sophical apparatus are provided for the use of the 
 pupils. 
 
 If a young person is ambitious of acquiring the elements 
 of science, he must work at home and pay his own 
 masters, for the central schools cannot possibly render 
 him any useful assistance. When he has educated him- 
 self he may possibly derive some advantage from attend- 
 ing the lectures of certain Professors. They are the 
 following. In the Geographical School, the science of 
 geography is well taught, but only twenty pupils are 
 admitted to this establishment. The School of Roads 
 and Bridges is also a very useful institution. It was 
 founded by M. Prony* during the Monarchy, thirty-six 
 Polytechnicans are received into this school. The School 
 of Naval Architecture is also an institution of the old 
 Monarchy. The School of Medicine contains 1000 
 students, twenty professors, a modeller in wax and a 
 designer. There is a school of pharmacy, a mineral 
 school and a veterinary school at Alfort near Charenton. 
 
 But the most important college still remaining is the 
 "College de France," Place de Cambrai, which has sur- 
 vived the storms of the Revolution and retains its ancient 
 reputation. It has seventeen professors, who are all men 
 of the greatest merit and celebrity in the Republic of 
 letters. 
 
 Lalande, perhaps the ablest astronomer in Europe, is 
 * See Appendix. 
 
CHAMPS DE MARS 143 
 
 the professor of astronomy ; la Croix, a profound geome- 
 trician, professor of mathematics ; and my estimable and 
 revered friend, de la Metherie, professor of natural history. 
 These different colleges are supported entirely at the 
 expense of the State ; the professors are paid out of the 
 public revenues, and students of all ages and countries 
 permitted to consult and attend their lectures free of any 
 expense. 
 
 But these establishments are not in the least suitable 
 for those who have not long overstepped the boundaries 
 of elementary knowledge, and they are beyond the reach 
 of juvenile or vulgar understandings. 
 
 The Ecole Militaire, erected in 175 1, after the designs 
 of Gabriel, did not suffer as a building during the Revo- 
 lution, because it was used as a barrack for the troops of 
 the Convention. 
 
 It is now converted into a barrack for the Consular 
 Horse Guards commanded by Eugene Beauharnais. 
 
 We were permitted to walk round the piazzas that 
 encircle the court, beneath which soldiers were sleeping 
 in groups. So solemn a silence reigned through the 
 building we might have fancied ourselves in a Benedictine 
 monastery. 
 
 The Champs de Mars is by many people mistaken for a 
 Campus Martins, but the origin of its designation is taken 
 from the fact that this spot was in early ages used for the 
 holding of those assemblies of the people which were 
 precursors of the more modern Parliaments. As these 
 meetings were usually held in the month of March, the 
 places where they were held were termed the Fields of 
 March. This great enclosure is now one of the dullest 
 and least frequented spots in Paris. Formerly the Altar 
 of Federation stood in its centre, but that, with every 
 other ornament of the Revolution, is now levelled with 
 the ground. 
 
 But when we reflect upon the many philosophical, 
 conventional and dictatorial antics which have been 
 exhibited and practised here within the last decade, it is 
 worth the trouble of visiting this place. 
 
144 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 All the blasphemous pantomimes which were performed 
 in commemoration of the sanguinary freaks of the 
 Republic were represented on the Champs de Mars. 
 
 The pencil of David has been often employed on the 
 scenery, and the pen of Chenier ran with blood as he 
 composed the paeans of Jacobinism. " 
 
 It was here also that Robespierre, with a lighted torch, 
 set fire to the altar to the Etre Supreme, while the people 
 shouted '' Vive Robespierre I Vive la Convention ! " All 
 this sounds like fiction, and yet it all took place on this 
 very field. 
 
 The manufactory of Gobelins still exists, though its 
 productions past and present are in no request and have 
 grown out of fashion. 
 
 During the Monarchy it was a most thriving and pros- 
 perous industry, and a vast number of workmen were 
 employed there. The different apartments contain many 
 beautiful tapestries, taken from original paintings by great 
 French artists, but they find no purchasers. 
 
 Nothing can be more exquisite than the colouring and 
 exquisite workmanship of the articles produced here ; a 
 single piece requires two or three years' labour. The 
 workmen are not paid more than three shillings a day for 
 their sedentary and difficult occupation. This is accounted 
 for by the fact that the Government supports the manu- 
 factory, and that there is no sale whatever for the 
 works. 
 
 Fashions are changing constantly, and perhaps the 
 Gobelins may again have its day. Gilles Gobelins, a 
 celebrated dyer, erected the manufactory during the reign 
 of Francis I. 
 
 The Hotel de Ville is worthy of a traveller's attention 
 on account of its antiquity and its having been the focus 
 of many extraordinary events. It was built in the middle 
 of the sixteenth century and contains a great number of 
 apartments. After August 10, 1792, all the ancient 
 inscriptions and ornaments were taken down and either 
 removed or destroyed. When the King was brought to 
 Paris from Versailles by the mob, prepared and hired for 
 
HOTEL DE VILLE 14S 
 
 that purpose, he was exhibited at one of the windows to 
 the populacej and Monsieur Bailly, the Mayor, informed 
 him that it was a fine day, and presented him with the 
 National cockade instead of a bouquet. 
 
 This is the place where Robespierre first took refuge 
 when he had been outlawed, and in front of it is the lamp 
 iron from which so many victims have been suspended. 
 Here the red flag, with the inscription Citoyens, la patrie 
 est en danger i was first unfurled, to serve as the signal for 
 massacre, and here the guillotine is preserved for the 
 inspection of the curious. 
 
 Twelve years ago the Garde Meuble was one of the 
 principal curiosities which attracted the attention of 
 foreigners. The apartments were filled with ancient 
 armoury, national and foreign, rare tapestries, after the 
 cartoons and designs of Diirer, Lucas of Leyden, Julius 
 Romano, Raphael, le Brun and Coypel ; precious vases, 
 presents from ambassadors, jewels, pearls, diamonds, and 
 a multitude of other rich and valuable articles. In the 
 month of September 1792, a band of thieves broke into 
 the halls and carried off a great quantity of these riches, 
 among other things the Pitt diamond, the largest belong- 
 ing to the Crown. However, there are still some precious 
 antiques remaining, such as the sword of Henry IV., the 
 spontoon of Paul V., and the polished armour worn by 
 Francis I. at the Battle of Pavia, with which on the day 
 of the capture of the Bastille a cobbler of the Faubourg 
 St. Antoine, then on guard, completely caparisoned him- 
 self, to the utter astonishment of the spectators. The 
 exterior of this vast edifice has not suffered by the blows 
 of the Revolution. It is not yet decided to what 
 purpose the Government intend to convert it. 
 
146 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 XXVI 
 
 THE CONSERVATORY OF ARTS AND 
 
 MACHINES 
 
 The ravages of the Revolution completely laid waste the 
 whole of France intellectually, as well as morally, and 
 the labours of eminent artists and inventors were either 
 suspended or transferred to foreign countries. 
 
 The murderers of Lavoisier could scarcely be expected 
 to patronise either arts or useful sciences. 
 
 In the short space of ten years more injury has been 
 done to the useful arts in France than by all the Alarics 
 and Omars of antiquity. 
 
 However, the Revolutionists had not proceeded very 
 far in the route of devastation, when a few enlightened 
 men, who perceived the extent of the mischief threatened 
 to be entailed upon posterity, courageously opposed their 
 further progress, and adopted the most provident precau- 
 tions to stop the fury of the evil. 
 
 Through the indefatigable exertions of Bishop Gregoire 
 the National Convention on October 11, 1794, decreed 
 the establishment of a Conservatory of Arts, whose object 
 was to collect machines, utensils, designs, descriptions and 
 experiments, relating to the improvement of industry, so as 
 to diffusesomeknowledgeof them throughoutthe Republic. 
 
 But it was one thing to decree and another to execute. 
 By a studied remissness the law was suspended for three 
 years. National edifices were granted by dint of favour 
 to useless projectors, but the Conservatory of Arts could 
 find no place to display its riches and means of instruc- 
 tion. At length a decree, passed on May 7, appropriated 
 a portion of the former Abbey of St. Martin des Champs 
 to this object, and the inadequate sum of 56,000 livres, or 
 ;f2240 sterling, was voted for the reparations of the 
 building, the purchase of the land and the indemnity 
 accorded to the renter. 
 
CONSERVATOIRE D'ARTS 147 
 
 Thus finally organised, the Conservatory of Arts pre- 
 sents a splendid accumulation of useful machines, always 
 open for the inspection and improvement of the public. 
 The machines, which Pajot d'Ozemberg gave to the 
 ancient Academy of Sciences, and the greater part of the 
 beautiful models which composed the celebrated gallery 
 of mechanical arts belonging to the late Duke of Orleans, 
 are now in this Conservatory. Also the 500 machines 
 bequeathed to the Government by the celebrated Vaucou- 
 son, to whom the French nation is as much indebted as 
 to Olivier des Serres and Bernard Palissy. 
 
 In addition to these collections there is an infinite 
 number of machines relative to agricultural labours, such 
 as draining, irrigation, preparation of oil, &c. 
 
 The Conservatory also contains machines for twisting 
 tobacco, taken from on board an English vessel, as well 
 as a very important chart of North America, executed by 
 order of our Government. It has been greatly enriched 
 by the " discoveries " of certain French savans, those 
 learned robbers of the National Institute who followed 
 the victorious march of the Republican armies in Holland 
 and Italy. Whole waggon loads of instruments of 
 science have been filched from their proprietors and 
 transmitted to this National reservoir by those indus- 
 trious, indefatigable and erudite thieves. Citizens Thonin, 
 Fanjos, Leblond, Bertholet, Barthdemy, Monge, Moitte 
 and De Wailly. 
 
 The object of the Conservatory is not only to secure to 
 the public the knowledge of those inventions for which 
 the Government has conferred rewards or granted 
 patents, but also to become the common depot of all 
 inventions. Thus it is for the useful arts what the 
 Louvre is for sculpture or painting. 
 
 Upon the whole this Conservatoire d'Arts is one of the 
 most beneficial and laudable estabhshments in France. 
 It has a direct tendency to encourage industry and 
 stimulate genius. Some persons who have not suffi- 
 ciently examined the matter object to it on the plea, that 
 by rendering handicrafts more simple by mechanical 
 
148 FRANCE IN 1802 n1^ 
 
 force, a multitude of workmen will be deprived of the ^ 
 means of subsistence. ^ 
 
 Such arguments were used by the watermen of /J^ 
 London when Westminster Bridge was built. i 
 
 But the world possesses more scope for labour than it v 
 possesses hands, and the powers of mechanism by simpli- -Sw 
 fying the process of manufacture also d iminish the pric e >^ 
 of the article, bringing it thereby into general circulatioTr— 
 and opening a more lucrative commerce to a nation by 
 underselling the produce of foreign countries and so 
 putting an end to all competition. 
 
 The true principle of public economy begins to be 
 studied in every part of Europe, and we are making a slow 
 but certain progress in improvement. 
 
 But if the rash spirit of innovation takes possession of 
 the minds of those who govern mankind, if they will ' 
 insist on bringing all things within a punctilious system 
 of rules, they must not be surprised if their fondness for 
 precision should terminate in a similar anarchy to that 
 which has oppressed and ruined France. 
 
 XXVII 
 
 THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE 
 
 The decay of letters and philosophy during the progress 
 of the French Revolution placed the French under the 
 necessity of establishing some measures to restore the 
 cultivation of science and literature. Thus the National 
 Institute was eventually formed. The old Academies had / * 
 been completely destroyed, their members banished, )'v-^ 
 murdered, or dispersed. ♦^ 
 
 The National Institute is designed to remedy this evil 
 by once more collecting together the genius, talents and 
 industry of France, and it belongs to the whole Republic 
 and is fixed at Paris. It is composed of one hundred and 
 forty-four members resident in the capital^ and 144 Asso- 
 ciates, taken from different parts of the Republic, together 
 
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE 149 
 
 with 24 learned foreigners. Every preference in this 
 arrangement is manifestly given to Paris, at the expense 
 of the Departments. 
 
 The Departments, containing a majority of 30 to i 
 compared with the metropolis, are never expected to pro- 
 duce more great men collectively than the latter. This 
 is absurd, for every one knows that under the old Monarchy 
 there were men scattered over the provinces often equal 
 and in many instances far superior to the members of the 
 Parisian Academies. 
 
 Montesquieu * was a member of the Academy of Bor- 
 deaux in 1716, and it was not till the year 1728 that he 
 was admitted into the Academic Frangaise. Indeed, an ^.• 
 admittance into that famous society was often no evidence 
 of supereminent merit. Genius had to contest against 
 cabal, intrigue and Court favour ; so that the literati of 
 Europe looked for great and estimable men in other 
 Academies of France, such as Aix, Marseilles, Lyons, 
 Bordeaux, &c. 
 
 The pre-eminence thus accorded to the Parisian savans, 
 who are in general a gang of the vilest ruffians in the 
 world, is a marked insult to the rest of the Republic, and 
 proves that to rule France it is only necessary to be master 
 at Paris. For the sake of this city, France, as well as 
 foreign countries, has been laid under contribution and 
 pillaged of whatever transportable monuments of art and 
 genius they possessed. Had it been possible, the triumphal 
 arch at Orange, the bridge of Gard, the amphitheatre at ^^*4 
 ^ Nismes would have been removed here to gratify the fancy 
 of the Parisian rabble of philosophers and legislators. 
 
 The law by which the learned men of a single city were 
 placed on a level with those who people the whole of a 
 vast country was made by the very men who afterwards 
 became self-elected members of this miscalled National 
 Institute. It is no trivial matter to be one of the 144 
 resident in Paris. It leads to fame and fortune, to places 
 and appointments, and it is the highest step on the ladder 
 of philosophical ambition. 
 
 * See Appendix, 
 
I50 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 To return to the laws of the Institute, it is divided into 
 three classes : 
 
 First Class. — Physical and Mathematical Sciences, 
 (i) Mathematics, (2) mecharnical arts, (3) astronomy, 
 (4) experimental physics, (5) chemistry, (6) natural his- 
 tory, (7) botany, (8) anatomy and zoology, (9) medicine 
 and surgery, (10) rural economy and veterinary art. 
 
 Second Class. — Moral and Political Sciences. 
 
 (i) Analysis of sensations and ideas, (2) morals or moral 
 philosophy, (3) social science and legislation, (4) political 
 economy, (5) history, (6) geography. 
 
 It will be observed that in this class there is no section 
 for despised theology, which surely should have a foremost 
 place therein. 
 
 Third Class. — Literature and the Fine Arts, 
 
 (i) Grammar, (2) ancient languages, (3) poetry, 
 (4) antiquities and monuments, (5) painting, (6) sculp- 
 ture, (7) architecture, (8) music and declamation. 
 
 When the National Institute was about to be established 
 a law was enacted (3rd Brumaire, year 4) by which the 
 Directory were authorised to provide salaries for each 
 member, and the five members of the Executive 
 Directory were empowered to nominate the first 48 
 members, who thus elected had power to choose the 
 remaining 144 Associates. 
 
 In nominating the first 48, the Directors first elected 
 each other, then their friends, and those friends nominated 
 other friends in Paris and the Departments. 
 
 Every class of the Institute assembles twice in each 
 decade ; the assemblies are private, but each member is 
 allowed to introduce a visitor. 
 
 The secretaries of each class assemble once a year to 
 prepare a report of its labours, which is presented to the 
 Institute, and whose president then writes to the Minister 
 of the Interior to know when it shall please his consular 
 majesty to give admission to his sacred person in order 
 that they may present it. 
 
RULES OF NATIONAL INSTITUTE 151 
 
 When that gala day arrives, the members of the In- 
 stitute appear with clean shirts, dressed in their grand 
 uniform, and neatly shaved. The First Consul receives 
 them, habited in all his paraphernalia, and as gorgeously 
 attired as any Emperor or King in Europe. Every mem- 
 ber of the Institute receives 1600 livres (;f6o sterling) per 
 annum. Every member has a silver medal v^ith the head 
 of Minerva on one side and his name on the other, which 
 serves as his passport into every place in which the Institute 
 is concerned. The First Consul, who is so fond of stage 
 effect that he will not allow an assembly of grave philo- 
 sophers to think and act without a uniform, was graciously 
 pleased to command one for the members of the Institute. 
 The State dress consists of a black satin coat, waistcoat, 
 and breeches, embroidered throughout with branches of 
 olive in deep green silk, not a la Frangaise. 
 
 The undress costume is similar, but only embroidered 
 at the collar and cuffs. This regulation was signed and 
 countersigned by the First Consul and the Minister of the 
 Interior. 
 
 On the 5th Frimaire, year 10, the Institute decreed that 
 on the death of a member the president, the senior of the 
 two secretaries of each class, as well as the members of 
 the section to which the deceased belonged, were, unless 
 prevented by some unavoidable cause, to assist at his 
 funeral. The procession departs from the National 
 Palace of the Louvre at noon precisely, in order that the 
 moment it arrives at the late residence of the deceased 
 the funeral ceremony may immediately be despatched. 
 
 Formerly a hole was dug in the earth and the philo- 
 sopher's carcase quickly deposited therein, but since it 
 has become the fashion to be a Christian the old 
 service for the dead is to be revived. The Conservatory 
 of Music are to execute a solemn dirge, and black crape 
 is to be worn upon the left arm. An historical memoir 
 of the deceased is to be made in the course of the year by 
 the secretaries and read at a public sitting of the Institute, 
 when the family of the dead member are to be seated in 
 a distinguished place. The precision with which all these 
 
152 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 ceremonies are minutely marked out leaves room for 
 regret that it has not been mentioned at what signal from 
 the president the assembly shall begin to cry. 
 
 I ought, perhaps, to give a list of the members of this 
 Institute, with details of their characters previous to and 
 since the Revolution, and their respective claims to literary 
 pre-eminence. Such a narrative would be interesting, as 
 the greater part of them have rendered themselves less 
 conspicuous in the world of letters than in taking a very 
 active part in some of the most bloody tragedies of the 
 Republic. 
 
 For instance : Bonaparte, Carnot,* Mouge,* le Blond,* 
 Berthelet,* Foucroy,* Revelliere,* Lepoux,* Cambaceres, 
 Merlin,* Talleyrand,* Roederer,* Francois deNeuf chateau, 
 Chenier,* Thonin,* Mouette,* have all been known for 
 their assassinations, robberies and atrocious crimes. 
 Foucroy was the cause, for instance, of the murder of 
 the immortal Lavoisier. All these ruffians and others 
 space prevents my naming, furnish abundant matter for 
 inquiry and reflection, but it is impossible to include such 
 a length of biographies in a letter ; but before I leave Paris 
 I intend to procure sufficient authentic documents by 
 which upon my return (should I escape in safety from 
 the tyrant's grasp) I shall be then enabled to drag these 
 philosophical murderers and thieves out of their National 
 Palace, strip them of their silken disguises, and expose 
 them in all their naked deformity to the execration of 
 mankind. 
 
 In vain do they flatter themselves that by the arts of a 
 meretricious rhetoric they elude the vigilant pursuit of 
 injured innocence and affronted justice, in vain do they 
 suppose that they shall court foreign applause by associat- 
 ing with the learned of other countries. It is a disgrace 
 and a dishonour to be favoured by the National Institute 
 where a band of sanguinary ruffians pollute the halls 
 consecrated to learning, science and wisdom. Whoever 
 lives under a government where religion, morals and 
 public freedom are revered, ought to reject their silver 
 * See Appendix. 
 
MUSEUM OF THE LOUVRE 153 
 
 medal and proces verbal, as he would cast away from him 
 food contaminated with poison. 
 
 If it be an honour to be elected a member of a society, 
 learned, indeed, but fundamentally vicious and depraved, 
 why not petition to be admitted to the Palace of 
 Pandemonium ? 
 
 The devils in hell are fully as knowing as the members 
 of the Institute, and, for ought I know, not done greater 
 evil to mankind. They are the fittest colleagues for such 
 men, and not the upright and pensive cultivators of science 
 and literature. 
 
 XXVIII 
 
 THE CENTRAL MUSEE DES ARTS. 
 
 THE GALLERY OF THE LOUVRE 
 
 When the French Republicans first took up arms, they 
 protested to the world that they fought not for conquest, 
 butto spread their beneficent doctrines of Liberty, Equality 
 and Fraternity, and that wherever their victorious 
 standards were spread, the liberty and property of 
 nations should be respected. Their first campaigns were 
 directed against their warlike neighbours who hovered 
 round their frontiers ; and when they succeeded in 
 repelling the veteran troops of the continental Powers, 
 they began a career of robbery, pillage, rapine and 
 destruction, which has no parallel in the history of dis- 
 ciplined nations, nor even in that of predatory hordes of 
 barbarians. 
 
 The principle on which the robberies of the French 
 have been conducted has been to aggrandise France by 
 the utter impoverishment of other countries. 
 
 After having demolished the monuments of the genius 
 and industi-y of their own countrymen, they went forth 
 to ransack other countries, and destroyed all they could 
 not carry away with them. Whatever had been raised 
 by the talents, the piety or the care of the lovers of 
 
<.' 
 
 154 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 science, arts and literature, became the object of their 
 vandalism or their peculation. Their policy had no 
 element but to divide in order to conquer, and so arrive 
 at universal domination by universal confusion. Occupied 
 constantly on the destruction of Europe in detail, they 
 trampled under their feet Monarchies and Republics 
 alike. 
 
 Every time I have paced along the galleries of the 
 Louvre sentiments of hatred and indignation took pos- 
 session of my breast. Amidst all the blaze of artistic 
 beauty I never entered nor left without feelings of 
 disgust. 
 
 I confess I received no gratification from all the 
 Raphaels, Titians, and Correggios I saw there. 
 
 In their proper places I could have gazed with trans- 
 port upon these masterpieces, but I cannot look with 
 pleasure on productions thus violently torn from their 
 lawful owners. 
 
 Of all the countries which have been undone by French 
 havock Italy has suffered the most, and its miseries are 
 least known to the world. The French have literally 
 exhausted upon that country the fecundity of rapine, 
 cheating and fury. They have rendered themselves 
 masters of its correspondence, and all we know now of 
 the existence of that desolated country is through the 
 frequent eruptions of a tyranny without remorse, of a 
 powerless despair and of the accumulations of spoil 
 which decorates the public exhibitions of Paris. The 
 contributions of the French were nothing less than a 
 general sack, the encyclopaedia of their thefts forms a 
 monument of curiosity. 
 
 The barbarians who formerly overran Italy despised 
 art, and neglected to take possession of such treasures. 
 The fanatical Mussulman destroyed them as monuments 
 of idolatry. But in our times Academicians, poets, 
 orators,! philosophers, members of the National Institute, 
 have crossed the Alps to strip Italy of her talents, to force 
 from her the labours of her children, the most sacred 
 illustration of a people, a property which the laws of war 
 
STOLEN PICTURES 155 
 
 among civilised nations has hitherto held to be inviolable 
 until the present epoch, when a gang of savage sophists 
 have repliinged Italy into a darkness worse than any of 
 the early ages of Europe. 
 
 Those who are ignorant of the methods by which a 
 thief has realised an immense fortune may be forgiven 
 for their admiration of his wealth and treasures, but the 
 man who is acquainted with the villainy employed in 
 such an accumulation is inexcusable should he lavish 
 praises on objects in that thief's possession. Therefore, 
 with the knowledge that none of these pictures belong to 
 France, and that they are all stolen goods acquired by 
 fraud, injustice and murder, I could not coolly fix my 
 eyes upon them nor repeat ecstacies of vulgar adulation. 
 
 No sooner have you entered the Gallery than you are 
 presented with a catalogue of these paintings, in^which 
 the robbers do not blush to avow their robberies. The 
 facetious rascals of the National Institute talk and write 
 of the knavery with as much sangfroid as they take a 
 pinch of snuff. 
 
 The paintings are styled *^ Tableaux conquis en Italic, 
 recueillis dans la Lombardie, a Bologne, Cento. Modene, 
 Parme, Plaisance, Rome, Venise, Verone, Florence, 
 Turin." 
 
 With this register of pillage in your hand, you enter 
 the Gallery containing the spoils of nations, and nearly 
 every picture bears at the bottom an inscription declaring 
 it to be a stolen article. Scarcely a page of the catalogue 
 but contains such proclamations of theft as these : *' Ces 
 deux tableaux viennent de la Cathedrale de Plaisance, ou 
 ils pendoient aux deux coins du Sanctuaire. Ce 
 tableau est tire de la galerie de Turin. Ce tableau vient 
 du Palais Pitti. Ce tableau est tire du Palais Pontifical 
 de Monte Cavallo a Rome. Ce tableau vient du Cabinet du 
 ci-devant Roi de Sardaigne a Turin. Ce tableau, un des 
 meilleurs qu'a produit Paolo Veronese, est tire de I'eglise 
 des Religieuses de St. Zacharin a Venise. Ce tableau 
 vient du maitre autel de I'eglise de San Giorgio a Venise. 
 Ce tableau est tir6 de I'eglise de Santa Maria del Orto a 
 
156 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 Venise. Ce precieux et magnifique tableau que les 
 artistes regardent comme un des chefs d'oeuvres de 
 Titian, le martyre de St. Pierre, vient de I'eglise San 
 Giovanni e Paolo a Venise. Ce portrait vient du Palais 
 du Prince Breschi a Rome." 
 
 There is no end to this catalogue of iniquity, it fills at 
 present three volumes, but much more will be added. I 
 question if the Newgate Calendar for the last 100 years 
 contains altogether a hundredth part ot the impudent 
 dexterity m the art of filching which the rogues of the 
 National Institute present to us m these three little 
 syllabuses of Republican iniquity. 
 
 Englishmen, happily shut out from the view of the 
 sack of the^continent by that sea which guards our honest 
 little island, have no adequate idea of the indignant feel- 
 ings of the wretched inhabitants of the wronged countries 
 which the French armies have plundered. I have visited 
 this gallery of paintings in company with some Italians 
 of distinction ; I perceived in their countenances a deep 
 and fixed look of unutterable anguish and regret. Such 
 a look that only the artists of Italy whose expatriated 
 portraits hung around us could delineate. 
 
 May Heaven preserve our country from ever experienc- 
 ing a similar stroke of humiliation and abasement ! How 
 should we Britons feel if one day in a later catalogue we 
 read among these : ^^ Notices sur plusieurs precieux 
 tableaux recueillis par les Philosophes de I'lnstitut pour 
 multiplier les jouissances du public. Ce tableau peint 
 sur toile est tire de I'autel de I'eglise cathedrale de 
 Westminster. Ce vitre vient de King's College a Cam- 
 bridge. Ce tableau est tire du Cabinet du ci-devant Roi 
 d'Angleterre a Windsor. Ce tableau de Shakespeare 
 vient de la bibliotheque de la librairie a Cambridge. Ce 
 tableau de la mort du General Wolfe est tire du cabinet 
 de la ci-devant Reine d'Angleterre a Buckingham House. 
 Cette statue vient du Cabinet de Milord Lansdowne. 
 Ce tableau peint par Claude vient du cabinet de Milord 
 Gwydir." 
 
 Having expressed with candour what my sentiments 
 
MRS. COSWAY 157 
 
 have ever been when I visited the gallery of paintings in 
 the Louvre, I now proceed to fulfil the important duty of 
 an historian. 
 
 Mrs. Cosway, whose taste and skill are well known, is 
 now occupied in copying all the paintings in the Gallery 
 on a small scale, intending to execute later an enlarged 
 account of them, together with the biography of their 
 respective masters. She has already executed several 
 compartments ; and not all the fascinations of society nor 
 the gaieties of the capital can allure her from the daily 
 pursuit of the labour of her choice. I tell her the Gallery 
 of the Louvre is her drawing-room, for when she is at 
 work all the English gather around her. However, she 
 loses no time, for she enters in conversation and paints 
 also, and it is difficult to affirm in which she most 
 excels. 
 
 The object of Mrs. Cosway is to represent, by etchings, 
 all the pictures precisely as they are fixed in the Gallery. 
 
 The Hon. Mr. E is struck with the undertaking, and 
 
 he has appropriated a particular part of his house at 
 H for the display of her works. 
 
 There is one circumstance attached to all the public 
 institutions of Paris on which I must bestow the highest 
 commendation, they are open to the public gratis. I wish 
 I could say the same of our excellent establishments at 
 home. With the exception of the British Museum, I do 
 not know of a single institution in Great Britain to which 
 a native or a foreigner can be admitted without a fee. 
 And these fees are generally exacted under so many 
 circumstances of barefaced imposition that one cannot 
 help feeling ashamed that such abuses should be tolerated, 
 and that the officers of these establishments are permitted 
 to exclude travellers who do not pay them gratuities for 
 viewing these interesting and instructive collections. 
 
 The only qualification in Paris to visit museums or 
 public institutions is to have your passport in your pocket 
 — without it the porter at the gate will assuredly forbid 
 your entrance. 
 
 Under the Monarchy, the Gallery of the Louvre alone 
 
158 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 was appropriated to the public, and contained a splendid 
 collection of paintings. Now the whole palace is appro- 
 priated to National uses. 
 
 It is not only the repository of pictures, but also of 
 antiquities ; the National Institute and the Polytechnic 
 Society designed to supply the Ancient Academy des 
 Belles Lettres, hold their assemblies here. 
 ' The productions of living artists are exhibited here 
 
 / once a year, and appartements are allotted free of expense 
 ♦^ to various artists and men of science. The museum is 
 
 ' maintained in a high state of cleanliness and propriety ; 
 and the orderly conduct of the spectators, who are all 
 admitted free of charge and without respect of persons, is 
 greatly to be commended. 
 
 The great Gallery of the Louvre is not well adapted for 
 the exhibition of pictures ; it is too narrow in proportion 
 to its length, and the windows which look out towards 
 the Seine defeat the effect of those which look towards 
 the Place du Carrousel. A great number of the paintings 
 thus appear to be covered with a continual mist, and 
 others are scarcely discernible, so that the principal efifect 
 of light and shade is destroyed. 
 
 • In addition to this misfortune a number of the noblest 
 masterpieces of the Italian School have been injudiciously 
 retouched by the French artists and been rendered quite 
 unnatural and in many instances ridiculous. The colour- 
 ing of the parts defaced has been executed in such a 
 bungling manner as to resemble a piece of patchwork. 
 They have likewise injured a multitude of exquisite per- 
 formances with a species of varnish, by which, when I 
 have approached them in search of the beauties of the a 
 artists, I have been mortified by a vision of my own homely^ 1 
 features. Things are often more spoilt by overdoing 
 than by remaining stationary, and by the neglect of this 
 maxim the French have ruined many of the finest pictures 
 in their stolen collection. 
 
THE GALLERY OF ANTIQUITIES 159 
 
 XXIX 
 
 THE GALLERY OF ANTIQUITIES AT 
 
 THE CENTRAL MUSEUM OF ARTS 
 
 I CANNOT better begin the description of this Gallery than 
 by quoting the declaration which preceded the catalogue 
 of the statues, busts and bas-reliefs therein contained. 
 
 The preface is as follows : — 
 
 " The greater part of the statues exhibited in this Gallery 
 are the fruits of the conquests of the army of Italy. 
 They have been selected out of the Capitol and the 
 Vatican by Citizens Barthel^my, Bertholet, Moitte, Monge, 
 Thonin, Tinet — the commissioners appointed by the 
 Government for that purpose. To the scrupulous care 
 with which these artists and savans have packed up 
 ^and transported them, we are indebted for the happy 
 ' preservation of these glorious fruits of victory ; and the 
 distinguished choice they have made from among the 
 masterpieces which Rome possessed, proves their know- 
 ledge and skill, and all lovers of the arts must owe them a 
 debt of eternal gratitude." 
 
 This account of the means by which they became 
 masters of these exquisite pieces of art is worthy of its 
 writers. They consider themselves worthy of credit for 
 their perfidy and their predatory adventures. 
 
 But I have already sufficiently animadverted on the 
 philosophical exploits of the National Institute, and will 
 therefore now describe to the best of my abilities this 
 Gallery, to which I paid particular attention. 
 
 It may appear strange, but I never felt equal disgust or 
 distress at the sight of these statues to that excited in my 
 mind by the magnificent gallery of paintings. 
 
 The herd of men flock to the gallery of paintings to 
 indulge their eyes with the brilliant luxury of beauty, but 
 in the hall of statuary very few admirers greet the trophies 
 of French conquest. 
 
i6o FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 Yet it contains more monuments of the capacity of 
 men than all the pictures in the Louvre put together. 
 Indeed, the Laocoon and the Belvidere Apollo alone, 
 both of which incomparable statues are here, may be 
 justly said to equal if not exceed in value all the pictorial 
 tributes wrung from ravaged Italy. 
 
 In the court through which you pass to enter the 
 Gallery are four colossal statues of slaves and the cele- 
 brated statue of Jupiter Hermes, all removed from 
 Versailles to enrich Paris. 
 
 For the Revolution was made in Paris. The Republic 
 / was founded in Paris — the rest of France was made for 
 Paris — therefore it must be fleeced for the sake of Paris. 
 ' In this way the patriotic members of the Institute con- 
 tinually reason. 
 
 Every article in the Gallery merits attention, but I will 
 only enumerate a few while giving a general description 
 of the various halls in their order. 
 
 "The Hall of the Seasons," which is so named on 
 account of the painted ceiling by Romanelli, representing 
 the Seasons. This hall contains twenty-six figures, of 
 which the most celebrated and beautiful are : — 
 
 A faun, reposing, and holding a flute (supposed to be 
 a copy of the famous satyr of Praxiteles), stolen from the 
 Museum of the Capitol at Rome. 
 
 A naked youth extracting a thorn from his foot, and a 
 young faun of Parian marble, stolen as above. 
 
 Venus issuing from a bath of Pentelicon marble, stolen 
 from the Museum of the Vatican. 
 
 Ariadne, stolen from the Belvidere of the Vatican. 
 Septimus Severus, from Ecouen. 
 
 A colossal bust of Antoninus Pius and one of Lucius 
 Verus, from the same place. 
 
 Augustus, stolen from the Cabinet of the Bevilacqua, 
 at Verona. 
 
 We then enter the " Hall of Illustrious Men," decorated 
 i by eight antique pillars of granatillo, plundered from the 
 nave of the church of Aix la Chapelle. 
 
 Here are statues of Zeus, the Philosopher from the 
 
SPOILS FROM THE VATICAN i6i 
 
 Capitol, Demosthenes, Trajan and a statue of Sextus, the 
 uncle of Plutarch — all removed from the Vatican. From 
 the Papal Museum are also statues of Menander, the 
 Greek poet, and a fine Minerva of Pentelicon marble. 
 
 The next chamber is the " Roman Hall." 
 
 The ceiling being ornamented with various subjects, 
 taken from Roman history. 
 
 It contains twenty-nine statues, all bearing relation to 
 the Roman people. Amongst them are : 
 
 The head of Scipio Africanus in bronze ; the bust of 
 Hadrian in the same metal, stolen from the Library of St. 
 Mark's at Venice. From the Capitol, the bust of Brutus ; 
 a Wounded Warrior* (this is a magnificent piece of work); 
 Urania, sitting on a rock. 
 
 From the Vatican, Melpomene, Antoninus, and Venus 
 at the bath, are the most striking figures. 
 
 And we now arrive at the *' Hall of the Laocoon." 
 
 This vast room is embellished with four beautiful 
 columns of verde antique, taken from the Mausoleum, 
 erected after the designs of BuUoin, of the famous Con- 
 stable of France, Anne de Montmorency. 
 
 Each is a massive single block of the richest quality, 
 about eleven feet high and half a yard in diameter. 
 
 In this hall are twenty-one figures, of which the first 
 which demands attention is that wonder of the world and 
 masterpiece of sculpture, " The Groups of the Laocoon," 
 executed by Agisander, Polydorus and Athenodorus. It 
 surpasses all comment, and displays at once the perfection 
 of sentiment, plan and composition. Some other statues, 
 worthy of particular notice, in this hall, are a Thrower 
 of the Disk ; a Hermes, representing Tragedy ; a statue 
 of an Amazon, drawing her bow ; and a colossal statue 
 of a Triton, this latter discovered by our countryman 
 Hamilton,! in the neighbourhood of Naples, and given by 
 him to Pope Ganganalli. These are all, like the Laocoon, 
 stolen from the Vatican. 
 
 The fourth compartment of the Gallery is termed the 
 
 * This statue is the celebrated dying Gladiator immortalised by 
 Byron. f See Appendix. 
 
i62 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 " Hall of Apollo, ornamented with four superb pillars of 
 red granite, stolen from a Cathedral in Italy. It contains 
 twenty-seven statues, of which " The Apollo Belvidere," 
 that subject of delight to every tasteful eye, stands in a 
 niche at the end of the hall — two sphinxes of oriental red 
 granite, brought from the Vatican Museum, are placed 
 on the steps which lead up to the statue of the Sun God. 
 These steps and the platform on which the Apollo is 
 fixed are of the most beautiful marble, and in the centre 
 there are five squares of mosaic antique, representing 
 animals in cars and other ornaments. 
 
 The pillars which ornament the niche were taken from 
 the tomb of Charlemagne at Aix-la-Chapelle. The statue 
 is preserved from too near approach by a handsome 
 railing. The name of the sculptor of this statue is un- 
 known. Giovanni Angelo di Montorsoli, pupil of Michael 
 Angelo, restored the right arm and left hand, which were 
 missing when the statue was discovered among the ruins 
 of Antium. 
 
 It was fixed in the Belvidere of the Vatican by Pope 
 Julius II., where for more than three centuries it excited 
 the admiration of mankind, until, to use the language of 
 the guide book provided by the Institute : " Un heros, 
 guide par la victoire, est venu Ten tirer pour la fixer a 
 jamais sur les rives de la Seine." 
 
 On the 1 6th Brumaire, year 9, the First Consul, 
 Bonaparte, celebrated the inauguration of the Apollo by 
 placing upon the pedestal of the statue the following 
 inscription, engraved upon a bronze tablet : 
 
 " Le statue d'Apollon, qui s'616Ye sur ce pi6destal, plac6 au 
 Vatican par Jules II., au commencement du XVI. si^cle, conquise 
 I'an 5 de la R6publique, par I'arm^e d' Italic, 
 
 Sous les ordres du General Bonaparte, 
 
 A 6t6 fix6e ici le 21 Germinal an VIII. 
 
 Premiere ann6e de son Consulat, 
 
 Bonaparte, ler Consul, 
 
 Cambaceres, lime Consul, 
 
 Lebrun, Illme Consul. 
 
 Lucien Bonaparte, Ministre de l'Int6rieur." 
 
HISTORICAL TOMBS 163 
 
 The thirty-six other statues, which decorate this hall, 
 are all of great merit ; a statue of Mercury, called the 
 Belvidere Antinous, from the Vatican, is perhaps the 
 finest and one of the most perfect remains of antiquity, 
 this once stood by the Apollo in the Vatican Belvidere 
 
 The Capitoline Venus is also exceedingly beautiful. 
 
 The sixth and last portion of this Museum is termed 
 the " Hall of the Muses ; " it contains twenty statues, 
 every one of which was stolen from the magnificent 
 gallery Pius VI. built as an addition or annex to the 
 Vatican Museum. The members of the National 
 Institute thus express themselves in the catalogue upon 
 the contents of this hall : 
 
 *' Since the revival of the arts, the admirers of 
 antiquity have several times attempted to form collec 
 tions or a series of the antique statues of the Muses ; 
 but none have proved so complete as that formed by the 
 industry of Pius V., a collection which Victory has 
 enabled us to transport to the National Museum." 
 
 This chamber contains, besides the celebrated Nine 
 Muses, heads of Bacchus, Hippocrates and a statue o 
 the Cytherian Apollo, a Hermes and busts of Socrates, 
 Virgil and Homer. 
 
 I have now mentioned the principal antiques contained 
 in the six compartments of this Gallery, but were I to 
 write a volume upon them I could give no adequate idea 
 of their exquisite beauty and artistic merit. 
 
 XXX 
 
 MUSEUM OF FRENCH MONUMENTS 
 
 One of the earliest calamities which the intemperate 
 zeal of her would-be reformers brought upon France 
 was the entire confiscation of all ecclesiastical property, 
 this property being placed at the disposal of the nation. 
 Broken loose from the bonds of subordination, the people 
 misinterpreted this decree, and in the effervescence of a 
 
i64 FRANCE IN 1802 ' 
 
 wanton and licentious spirit demolished the sanctuaries 
 of religion, persecuted their ancient pastors and disturbed 
 the tranquil ashes of the dead. 
 
 The National Assembly was finally compelled to 
 acknowledge its precipitate folly by ordering the com- 
 mittee which had charge of alienated property to take 
 measures for the preservation of those monuments of art 
 erected on the domains of the Church. 
 
 The municipality of the city of Paris nominated several 
 literary men and artists who were to point out what books 
 and monuments should be saved from destruction. These 
 persons formed a " Commission des Monuments." The 
 desecrated convent " des Petits Augustins " was chosen for 
 a deposit of sculpture and paintings and that of the 
 " Capucins " in the Rue St. Honore for books and manu- 
 scripts. 
 
 This was shortly before the actual and final downfall 
 of the Monarchy. But when a few months later Paris 
 was torn by strong convulsions and the Republic ushered 
 in amidst shrieks of murder and falling ruins, it became 
 the fashion to talk of nothing but philosophy and re- 
 generation, while the demon of havoc made his devasta- 
 ting rounds. 
 
 An era of uproar, confusion, fierce fanaticism and 
 mental darkness overspread France. 
 
 Science and learning were perverted to the vilest 
 purposes ; incendiaries and murderers, wearing the masks 
 of patriots and philanthropists, deluged France with 
 blood. 
 
 A man of mild and unassuming manners, of spotless 
 purity of principle, of general and profound knowledge, 
 and of inflexible perseverance, devoted the labours of his 
 life to collect and preserve from the general wreck the 
 monuments of his country. This man is Monsieur 
 Lenoir, the founder and director of the Musee des 
 Monuments Fran^ais. 
 
 This excellent man traversed France in every direction 
 to save and preserve the precious evidences of his 
 country's former exploits. Examining the tombs of the 
 
WORK' OF LENOIR 165 
 
 dead, amidst crackling flames and temples crushing 
 to atoms, he rescued much priceless worth from the 
 tempest of destruction. 
 
 Both my wife and myself consider it one of the 
 happiest events of our lives to have been introduced to 
 M. Lenoir and his lady. Grave, silent, modest and 
 pensive, his character and manner in speaking of his 
 work is that of an affectionate son who collects with 
 tender care the ashes of a murdered parent. 
 
 Monsieur Lenoir was for fifteen years the pupil of 
 Doyen, by whom he was presented to the municipality of 
 Paris as a proper person to act as conservator of the 
 depot of monuments, which by a decree of the Assembly, 
 January 4, 1791, was established in the convent des 
 Petits Augustins. He retained this post through all the 
 anarchy and fury of the years which followed. In many 
 cases he was able to arrest the hands of folly employed in 
 beating down statues and tearing to pieces valuable 
 pictures and destroying the finest bronzes. 
 
 *' From the Abbey de St. Denis," says M. Lenoir, '' the 
 interior of which the flames seem to have consumed from 
 the roof to the bottom of the graves, I have saved the 
 magnificent mausoleums of Louis XII., Francois I., 
 Henri II., Turenne and many more. I have collected 
 such of the precious remains that I could restore, and 
 I am already able to display those of Frangois I. and 
 Louis XII. in all their splendour. Happy shall I be if 
 I succeed in making posterity forget the ravages of 
 vandalism." 
 
 When we consider the light which monuments throw 
 upon chronology and history, it is strange to hear M. 
 Lenoir met with multiplied objections from artists (such 
 as David) against his preservation and accumulation of 
 the monuments of the Middle Ages — monuments which 
 they explained were of no service to art. Monsieur 
 Lenoir met their objections by affirming that their 
 presence was necessary to complete his series, and he also 
 justly observed that nothing tends more to give a just 
 notion of any art than the view of its progress and the 
 
1 66 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 opportunity of comparing distances between rudeness 
 and refinement. 
 
 M. Lenoir collected into one establishment all paintings 
 and statues which had any reference to the history of 
 France. *^ Such an imposing mass of monuments of 
 every period/' says he, " made me conceive the idea of 
 forming an historical and chronological museum in 
 relation to French art and French history, and, in despite 
 of the malevolent and in the face of great opposition, my 
 plan was favourably received by the Committee of Public 
 Instruction of the National Convention, and on the 15th 
 Germinal, year 4, the Museum was opened." 
 
 M. Lenoir, after ten years of assiduous researches, is 
 now able to display five centuries and also a sepul- 
 chral chamber, containing the fully restored tomb of 
 Francois L 
 
 This Museum embraces the sepulchral art of France, 
 from the age of Clovis to the present time. 
 
 Here French and English artists may find models of 
 costumes and arms of every age and rank in a regular 
 series, from Clovis to Philip IL There seems little varia- 
 tion in dress. Rapid changes in costume and fashion 
 appear only to have commenced after the return of the 
 Crusaders. 
 
 We enter the Museum through the portico of the now 
 demolished Chateau d'Anet (immortalised by Voltaire in 
 his Henriade). In the first hall are the monuments of the 
 Middle Ages ; many, including that of Fredegonde and her 
 husband Chilperic, have been taken from the church of 
 St. Germains des Pres. 
 
 The bones of Charlemagne, contained in a marble sar- 
 cophagus of Roman origin, were sent from Aix-la-Chapelle 
 by Dervailly, one of the Republican Commissioners. The 
 great conqueror, torn from his magnificent tomb, now lies 
 in a Museum ! 
 
 One of the most ancient stone coffins is that of an Abbot 
 of St. Germains des Pres, A.D. 990, in it his skeleton was 
 found extremely well clothed in a robe of satin of a faded 
 red colour, a long woollen tunic of purple brown, orna- 
 
ST. DENIS AND BACCHUS 167 
 
 mented with an embroidery upon which several figures 
 were wrought, sHppers of an extremely well-tanned black 
 leather served as shoes. 
 
 The southern gate of the Abbey of St. Denis, which is 
 in this hall, is a most important specimen of early art. 
 The large bas-rehef in the middle represents the punish- 
 ment of St. Denis and his companions Rusticus and 
 Eleutherus. 
 
 Denis is the saint to whom the temple was dedicated ; 
 but, what is very remarkable, a sprig of vine, laden 
 with grapes, is placed at his feet, precisely in the 
 form as a badge of Dionysus or Bacchus. M. Lenoir 
 says he cannot answer whether the priests who dedicated 
 these temples considered Denis and Dionysus to be 
 the same person, or whether by mere tradition they 
 ordered that to be executed which would certainly 
 characterise both. But it is certain that all the orna- 
 ments which decorate St. Denis are attributes of 
 Bacchus. The vine, hunting and tigers appear ; Bacchus 
 is cut to pieces by the Maenades ; Denis has his 
 head cut off at Montmartre ; Bacchus is placed in a 
 tomb and bewailed by women ; the body of Denis is 
 collected by holy women, who weep over his remains 
 and place them in a tomb ; Bacchus rises again ; Denis, 
 after undergoing execution, rises again, picks up his head 
 and walks. On this gate are two tigers, emblematical 
 of the worship of Bacchus. It presents as well a chro- 
 nology of thirty-six Kings of France. 
 
 On entering the hall which contains the monuments 
 of the thirteenth century there are ceilings at angles, 
 sprinkled with stars on a blue ground, supported by 
 posts, rudely decorated. These ceilings are also adorned 
 by the flowers of those times, three of which are emblems 
 of the Evangelists, the others consist of the cabbage 
 and the thistle in a variety of forms. The doors and the 
 windows, constructed from the remains of a ruined 
 building of the thirteenth century, which had been 
 destroyed by the Jacobins, and which Lenoir col- 
 lected at St. Denis, have been arranged according 
 
i68 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 to the revised taste in architecture by the celebrated 
 Montreau. 
 
 Three painted glass windows, representing moral 
 subjects, and taken from the refectory of St. Germains 
 des Pres, shed a gloomy light upon the spot. 
 
 The tombs Louis IX. erected to his predecessors are 
 only cenotaphs, merely large confines of hollowed 
 stone, in which the body was placed and covered by 
 another stone, the inscription, when there was one, being 
 engraven on the inside. According to 'St. Foix the tombs 
 of the Kings of the first race were small deep vaults of 
 stone. On these vaults neither figures nor epitaphs were 
 to be seen, as it was the inside that was engraven with 
 inscriptions and laid out with magnificence. Charlemagne 
 was originally buried in a sitting posture. His body 
 after being enbalmed was seated on a throne of gold, 
 clad in the Imperial dress, with the sword Joyeuse by its 
 side. The head of the dead Emperor was ornamented 
 with a golden chain in shape of a diadem. He held a 
 globe of gold in one hand, and a New Testament was 
 placed upon his knees. His gold sceptre and shield were 
 hung on the wall opposite to him. 
 
 After the cave had been filled with perfumes, aromatics, 
 and much treasure, it was shut up and sealed. 
 
 In the Hall of the Fourteenth Century are some very 
 curious monuments, which show the improvement in the 
 art of design, which the Crusaders brought back with 
 them. A new species of decoration, the Arabian taste, 
 was introduced into architecture. The heavy edifices of 
 the former age gave way to more elegant buildings, and 
 gilding and brilliant colours ornamented the churches. 
 This hall is decorated with the ruins of the St. Chapelle 
 in Paris, built about the year 1300. The Apostles, 
 sculptured in stone of natural size, were taken from this 
 chapel, and are remarkable for the naturalness of their 
 expression and excellent execution. Their habits give an 
 exact idea of the stuffs and embroidery then in fashion, 
 the former of which being not unlike our Indian shawls. 
 The mosaics which cover the ceilings and the walls of 
 
TOMB OF LOUIS XII. 169 
 
 this hall were formed from materials taken from St. Denis. 
 The painted windows in this hall are of the same century, 
 and were taken from the "Celestines" and the Bons- 
 hommes de Passy." 
 
 In the fifteenth century artists began to produce general 
 plans, and to connect the calculations of their minds with 
 a grand and careful execution. Gothic art in consequence 
 disappeared. As Paris did not afford many palaces or 
 ornamented houses of this century, M. Lenoir went 
 several times among the monuments left by Cardinal 
 d'Amboise, who employed in the decoration of his palaces 
 Jean Juste, a sculptor, born at Tours, whom the Cardinal 
 had sent at his own expense to Rome, for the purpose of 
 studying the revived Grecian art. 
 
 The ceiling, windows, and in general the whole embel- 
 lishment of this hall are composed on the type of the tomb 
 of Louis XIL, which stands in the middle of it, together 
 with the materials brought from the Chateau de Gaillon, 
 which has been lately demolished. The pillars which 
 support the gates are a present to M. Lenoir from the 
 Administrators of the Department of Eure et Loire, who, 
 to M. Lenoir's consternation, pulled down the portico of 
 the church of the St. Pere at Chartres in order to place 
 its fragments at his disposal. 
 
 This portico was erected in 1509, and superadded to 
 an ancient edifice built by Hildnard, a Benedictine monk, 
 in 1 1 70. Two bas-reliefs in this hall merit attention, one, 
 representing God the Father in the midst of angels, was 
 taken from the Cemetery of the Innocents. The other, 
 from the church of St. Genevieve, represents the Pente- 
 cost. The violet and blue grounds, the gilded frame- 
 work and the carmined legend are characteristic of the 
 fifteenth century. Four marble medallions are worthy of 
 careful notice, purchased from the ruined chateau of 
 Gaillon. Anne of Brittany is represented as Minerva, 
 Louis XII. as Mars, Gallas and Vespasian occupy the 
 remaining medallions. 
 
 In this hall stands a bust of Joan of Arc by Beauvollet, 
 after an ancient painting ; this bust is placed beside that 
 
I JO FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 of Charles VII., whom she maintained on the throne of 
 France. The Hall of the Sixteenth Century contains many 
 interesting figures, and its glass windows are taken from 
 Ecouen, Vincennes, Ault, and the Temple. The monu- 
 ment to the historian Philippe de Comines is an admi- 
 rable work, and rests on a grand bas-relief, representing 
 St. George and the Dragon. The tomb of Louis XII. and 
 Anne of Brittany, which occupies the centre of this hall, 
 is a superb monument. Unfortunately this fine mauso- 
 leum has greatly suffered from the fury of the revolu- 
 tionary fanatics. 
 
 Here are also the statues of Francois I", of Chancellor 
 de I'Hopital ; Montaigne, Prieur, Diane de Poitiers, 
 Philip Desportes the poet, Jean Goujon, the celebrated 
 artist and sculptor, a magnificent monument erected to 
 the Constable of France, Anne de Conde, and the tomb 
 of the Valois, surmounted by statues of Fran9ois 1^^ and 
 his wife Claude. 
 
 The Hall of the Seventeenth Century contains a fine 
 monument erected to the family of the Villeray ; one to 
 the celebrated historian de Thou, the statue of Louis XL, 
 the chef (Xceiivre of Girardon, containing the celebrated 
 group in marble designed by Lebrun, 14 feet long and 
 6 feet broad, which forms the mausoleum of Cardinal 
 Richelieu, the inscription bears : '^ Magnum disptitandi 
 argutnentuin." 
 
 This admirable sculpture, which had previously been 
 mutilated by anarchists who had forcibly entered the 
 chapel, was afterwards injured by the revolutionary 
 soldiers, who bayoneted M. Lenoir for opposing their 
 destructive intentions ; he still bears the scar of this 
 wound on his hand. 
 
 Cardinal Mazarin's monument of white marble, 
 executed by Coyzevox, is equal in artistic merit to that 
 of Richelieu. The Cardinal is represented on his 
 knees. 
 
 An admirable group in white marble by Girardon 
 represents Louvois, the French Minister, and History in 
 the form of a woman turning towards him and pointing 
 
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY MONUMENTS 171 
 
 to her book. The First Consul was attracted to this 
 monument on his visit to the Museum, and gazed upon 
 it a considerable time. When he was in the Hall of the 
 Thirteenth Century he said to M. Lenoir : " Lenoir, vous 
 me transportez en Syrie, je suis content." 
 
 The fine statue of Louis XIV. which stood in the Place 
 Vendome, was destroyed in 1792, but there is here an 
 exact representation in bronze. 
 
 Monsieur Lenoir has also re-erected one from the ruins 
 of that which stood on the Place des Victoires. In this 
 Hall of the Seventeenth Century are the busts of all the 
 great men who figured during that period in France. 
 
 The Hall of the Eighteenth Century contains a vast 
 number of subjects, but few of them are very remark- 
 able. 
 
 Here are busts of Louis XVI. and his Queen, and of 
 Brissac, who with the prisoners of Orleans was assassi- 
 nated at Versailles. In the garden belonging to this 
 institution an elysium is formed in which above forty 
 statues are placed. Here and there on a mossy ground, 
 pines, cypresses and poplars shroud these monuments, 
 and funereal urns placed on the walls serve to diffuse an 
 air of repose and melancholy over the whole. In this 
 enclosure a sepulchral chapel to the memory of Abelard 
 and Heloise has been formed out of part of the ruins of 
 the Abbey of St. Denis, in order to show the style of 
 architecture adopted in that age. 
 
 Much remains yet to be done by M. Lenoir, but he 
 has already effected wonders, and without ostentation 
 or bustle he has done more for France than she has had 
 the gratitude to acknowledge. Notwithstanding he is 
 extremely circumscribed in the sums allotted to him, 
 being only allowed ;^iooo per annum, he is always 
 collecting and is continually in advance for the benefit of 
 the institution. 
 
 What a contrast does the life of this disinterested 
 antiquarian present to that of the conduct of that gang 
 of philosophical thieves belonging to the National 
 Institute ! 
 
tya FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 M. Lenoir related to me two curious circumstances 
 connected with the taking up of the bodies of the Kings, 
 Queens, Princesses and celebrated men who during the 
 space of 1500 years had been buried in the Abbey of St. 
 Denis, which act of horrid indecency was ordered to be 
 executed by a special decree of the National Convention, 
 for the sake of extracting the lead belonging to these 
 tombs. On October 12, 1793, the workmen opened the 
 tomb of Turenne and found the body of this great man 
 in so perfect a state of preservation that neither were his 
 features deformed nor his countenance altered. 
 
 M. Lenoir, who had an opportunity of examining it, 
 stated that it resembled in every way the pictures and 
 medallions of the hero. 
 
 The body of Henri IV. was in a perfect state of 
 preservation and the features of his face unchanged. 
 
 A soldier who was present, moved by martial enthusiasm, 
 threw himself upon the body and embraced it, and after 
 a long silence of admiration cut off a long lock from the 
 beard and exclaimed, '' And I too am a French soldier, 
 henceforth I will have no other mustachios !" And^he 
 placed it on his upper lip. *^ Now," said he, " I am sure 
 to conquer, and I march to victory 1 " Immediately 
 after this he disappeared, and was never seen again in 
 the town. 
 
 XXXI 
 
 THE NATIONAL LIBRARY 
 
 This establishment was founded in the fourteenth century 
 by Charles the Wise, and consisted at first of about twenty 
 volumes ! the number of which naturally continued to 
 increase rapidly as time went on. It has now been 
 enriched by a multitude of books and manuscripts saved 
 from the monasteries, collections seized from proscribed 
 nobles, and plunder from the libraries of Italy. So it is 
 now one of the completest in the world. The large 
 
CURIOUS MANUSCRIPTS 173 
 
 building containing these treasures is in the Rue de 
 Richelieu, now called the Rue de la Loi. It is under 
 the direction of Messieurs Capperonier and van Praet. 
 In the first room of the principal floor a long table 
 extends nearly the whole length of the apartment, with 
 benches placed on each side for the convenience of 
 students. This room is lined with books from floor to 
 ceiling. 
 
 Before the French irruption into Italy the National 
 Library consisted of 200,000 volumes, besides a large 
 collection of manuscripts. It now contains 300,000 
 printed books, which are already arranged in five divi- 
 sions, besides a vast number which Monsieur van Praet 
 informed me had not been even examined. The library 
 is disposed with judgment and knowledge. No catalogue 
 has yet been published, but the directors are preparing 
 one, with a suitable explanation respecting the principal 
 authors and the names of the libraries from which the 
 books were stolen. 
 
 Here are some very curious documents in manuscript 
 relative to English history, well worthy of reference 
 to any author desirous of treating of that subject. The 
 celestial and terrestrial globes constructed by Coronelli 
 are preserved in one of the wings of the building ; they 
 are thirty feet in diameter, their circles are gilded, the 
 water is painted blue, the land white, and the mountains 
 with a green ground shaded with brown. These are the 
 largest globes in the world, they resemble air ballons, 
 and I cannot imagine any other mode for a philosopher 
 to use them than by putting himself in a little curule 
 chair suspended by ropes, and in this manner making 
 the tour of the universe. 
 
 The manuscripts exceed 80,000 in number, 30,000 of 
 which are on the history of France and are called the 
 Mazarin Gallery. The rest are in foreign and dead 
 languages, many written on vellum and superbly illumi- 
 nated. Many of these manuscripts contain most extra- 
 ordinary specimens of the state of poetry and genius in 
 ancient times. Among others here is this of Philippe 
 
174 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 d'Orleans, Comte de Vertus, who died in 1420, aged 
 twenty-four. 
 
 Ballade. 
 
 Jeune gente plaisante et d6bonnaire, 
 
 Par un priere qui vaut commandement, 
 Charge m'avez d'une ballade faire, 
 
 Si I'ai faite de cceur joyeusement ; 
 
 Or, la veuillez recevoir doucement 
 Vous y verrez, s'il vous plait k la lire, 
 
 Le mal que j'ai, combien que vraiment, 
 J'aimasse mieux de bouche vous le dire. 
 
 Votre douceur m'a s^u si bien atlraire, 
 
 Que tous vostre je suis entierement 
 Tres desirant de vous servir et plaire, 
 
 Mais je soffre mainte douloureux tourment, 
 
 Quand a mon gre je ne vous voi souvent 
 Et me d6plaist quand me font vous I'escrire ; 
 
 Car si fou je pouvois autrement 
 J'aimasse mieux de bouche vous le dire. 
 
 C'est par dangler mon cruel adversaire, 
 
 Qui m'a tenu en ses mains longuement. 
 En tous mes faits je le trouve contraire 
 
 Et plus se rit quand plus me voit dolent. 
 
 Si je voulais raconter pleinement 
 En cet escrit mon ennuyeux martyre 
 
 Trop long serois ; pour certainement 
 J'aimasse mieux de bouche vous le dire. 
 
 Besides these manuscripts there are many treasures of 
 inestimable value, particularly the cabinet of medals, a 
 rich and magnificent collection, to which has been added 
 the cabinets of medals and antiques taken from St. 
 Genevieve, St. Germains des Pr^s and the Petits Peres, 
 besides a vast accession from the plunder of Italy. The 
 late Abb6 Barth^lemy, author of the " Travels of Ana- 
 charnis," had the superintendence of the cabinet of medals, 
 and by his exertions several beautiful and rare additions 
 were made to the original collection. A very fine bust 
 of him stands at the extremity of the hall. 
 
 There is also a rich collection of engravings, amounting 
 to more than 5000 volumes. It requires whole months 
 to review and examine all the curiosities and beauties 
 
OVERTHROW OF INSTITUTIONS 175 
 
 contained within this library, and as it is impossible to 
 detail them without writing a volume, I consider the 
 synopsis I have given sufficient to explain their value to 
 the student of every nation. 
 
 XXXII 
 
 HUMANE INSTITUTIONS 
 
 THE HOSPITAL OF INVALIDES 
 
 The French Revolution wrought as much harm to the 
 cause of humanity as to letters, science, and art. I have, it 
 is true, described certain brilliant institutions which the 
 present Government has created, but they form the least 
 substantial part of social order, and are in a sense but 
 the holiday suit of the Republic. 
 
 It would be as wrong to judge the French nation by 
 this splendid exterior as of a private family by the same 
 rule. To form a correct judgment of the character of a 
 man we should enter his dwelling, see him as a parent, 
 husband or friend, and examine his domestic economy. 
 To contemplate him driving in a chariot, and surrounded 
 by glittering attendants, would give us no idea of his real 
 situation. 
 
 Much as we may admire establishments which ornament 
 and serve a nation, if haggard poverty and distress meet 
 the eye at every turn we cannot but infer that the nation 
 in which such things prevail has mistaken the true road 
 to grandeur and public felicity. 
 
 I speak with regret, and without prejudice or passion, 
 when I affirm that this is the case with the French Re- 
 public. They overthrew all their ancient national 
 charitable establishments, and by so doing exposed a 
 great portion of the community to misery and want. 
 They destroyed wholesome institutions without making 
 any provision for supplying their absence. They sup- 
 pressed convents and monasteries under many pleas, 
 the most specious of which was that they would put an 
 
176 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 end to mendicity by striking at indiscriminate charity, 
 which was, they maintained, the root of indolence. The 
 principle was good, but it was applied in an entirely un- 
 justifiable manner. Those who formerly aided the poor 
 and wretched were themselves driven to mendicity, and 
 the poor, the ailing, the afflicted were left even without 
 the hope of a resource. 
 
 Sensible of the alarming effect of these evils, which in 
 a land where the sources of industry have been suspended 
 for ten years, are absolutely terrific, the French Govern- 
 ment and some worthy and humane private individuals 
 have, during the last few months, seriously devoted their 
 attention to the means of eradicating them. 
 
 So far the state of public finance has not admitted of 
 the permanent establishment of any asylums for the de- 
 serving poor. A few which had been anciently endowed 
 are still poorly maintained at the public expense, but 
 the mass of the nation is without any provision whatever 
 for the miserable. 
 
 There is, however, one happy exception. The 
 Hospital of the Invalides retains its ancient excellence 
 and lustre. 
 
 This institution, the illustrious monum^ent of the grati- 
 tude of a Prince towards a people devotedly attached to 
 him, is appropriated to such superannuated or wounded 
 soldiers no longer fit for service. It will contain 5000 
 individuals, supported, clothed and fed at the expense of 
 the nation. There are four large halls where they 
 assemble to dinner ; it was the wish of Losis XIV. that 
 the aged or wounded warrior should live well during the 
 remainder of his days. Therefore their daily allowance, 
 besides an excellent dinner, at which there was always a 
 bouillie (or good meat soup), was a pound and a half 
 of bread and a quart of wine. This allowance is still 
 continued. 
 
 The edifice consists of fine courts, and a magnificent 
 saloon called the Temple of Mars, in which are suspended 
 as trophies all the standards taken during the late war. 
 The dome that surmounts the centre of this Temple, 300 
 
INTERIOR OF THE INVALIDES 177 
 
 feet in elevation from the level of the ground and 50 feet 
 in diameter, is a masterpiece of architecture ; the cupola 
 is decorated with paintings by Charles de la Fosse. 
 
 Four beautiful paintings represent the four quarters 
 of the globe, and there is also a huge canvas upon which 
 David has portrayed the triumph of man over religion 
 and royalty. The Devil himself could not have executed 
 a more infernal picture than is this work of the national 
 painter (Member of the Institute). Man, displayed 
 as a gigantic figure (stark naked), tramples on kings, 
 priests, crowns, sceptres, crosses and rosaries ; in one 
 hand he holds a flaming torch, in the other a sword. 
 The Goddess of Reason, tutelary genius of the Re- 
 public, majestically arrayed, smiles over her votary's 
 triumph. A multitude of other similar characters fill up 
 the hellish group, and complete a picture of horror and 
 iniquity. 
 
 By what fatal perversion of human nature, a temple, 
 consecrated to valour, patriotism and merit, should have 
 been selected as the depository of such a vicious pro- 
 duction, I know not. But I declare I felt petrified with 
 horror when I gazed upon it. It is strange that the rulers 
 of France ! should have [not already banished from the 
 public gaze such a sign of their past apostasy and hatred 
 for that religion they have lately found it convenient to 
 once more profess. 
 
 To an Englishman who views the trophies which adorn 
 this hall there is a reason for feelings of patriotic exulta- 
 tion. The banners of almost every European nation 
 weep over the disasters of the valorous defenders. But 
 only one solitary standard of Great Britain confesses to 
 the chances of war. 
 
 All the plans of Vauban,* in relievo, of the different 
 docks, harbours and fortifications of France were pre- 
 served here. They have now been removed to the Bureau 
 of the Minister of War. It was from a cabinet in the 
 Hotel des Invalides, containing an excellent collection 
 of military books and also plans for subjugating Egypt, 
 * See Appendix. 
 
 M 
 
178 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 conceived under the reign of Louis XIV., and which had 
 lain there for whole generations untouched but not for- 
 gotten, that the Council of War procured the information 
 which enabled Bonaparte to invade Egypt — an invasion 
 he accomplished with the most marvellous secrecy and 
 celerity. 
 
 This invasion, I know from the highest authority and 
 those who are most intimately acquainted with him, 
 he will again attempt whenever circumstalnces prove 
 favourable to his enterprise. 
 
 The monument formerly erected at St. Denis to 
 Marshal Turenne, which was saved from the Revolutionary 
 vandals by Monsieur Lenoir, almost at the risk of his 
 life, has been removed from the Museum, where it was at 
 first placed, to the Temple of Mars in this Hospital, where 
 it is now to be seen. 
 
 By a decree of the First Consul on the ist of Ven- 
 demaire year 9, the body of Turenne,* which had been 
 preserved by Lenoir in a secret tomb, was transported 
 with great funeral pomp to the Invalides, where it was 
 once more deposited in its ancient receptacle. 
 
 The car on which the body was laid was drawn by four 
 general officers of the Republic ; on arriving at the In- 
 valides it was received by a salvo of artillery, after which 
 Carnot, the Minister of War, pronounced the following 
 funeral oration : 
 
 " Citizens ! behold the body of Turenne the Great — a 
 warrior dear to every Frenchman, a man whose name 
 excites emotion in every virtuous bosom, and who should 
 be to after ages a model of heroes ! 
 
 ^^ To-morrow we celebrate the foundation of the Re- 
 public. Let us mitiate that festival by the apotheosis of 
 all that is praiseworthy and illustrious in the past. This 
 temple is allotted to all those who, in every age past and 
 present, have displayed virtues worthy of the nation. 
 Henceforward, O Turenne ! thy manes shall dwell 
 within these walls — they shall become naturalised among 
 the founders of the Republic ! 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
CARNOT'S PANEGYRIC OF TURENNE 179 
 
 " It is a sublime idea to place the mortal remains of a 
 hero in the midst of warriors who trod in his steps. To 
 the brave belong the ashes of the brave. After the death 
 of a warrior, his remains have a right to be preserved under 
 the safeguard of the warriors who survive him— to partake 
 with them the asylum consecrated to glory. 
 
 '* Praise be to the Government which strives to pay the 
 debt of gratitude to former benefactors ! 
 
 " Praise be to the chiefs of a warlike nation who are not 
 ashamed to invoke the shade of Turenne I 
 
 '^Turenne lived in an age wherein prejudice placed 
 imaginary distinctions of rank above signal services. But 
 in him noble rank disappeared before that conferred by 
 his victories. France, Italy, Germany re-echoed with his 
 triumphs, and the sublime eulogy pronounced after his 
 death by Monticuculi was the true description of his 
 virtues : A man is dead who was an honour to human 
 nature ! 
 
 " Ah ! what more glorious title catt' I add to that of 
 ' Father,' conferred on Turenne by his soldiers during his 
 whole life ? 
 
 " On the plains of Saltzbach Turenne commanded the 
 French army. Confident of victory, secure of position, 
 he fell slain by a musket ball. Confidence and hope dis- 
 appeared, and France was left to mourn. 
 
 *^ The Germans for many years left the spot untilled 
 upon v/hich he was killed, and the inhabitants of the 
 neighbourhood considered it hallowed ground. 
 
 ** The remains of Turenne were at first preserved in the 
 Cemetery of Kings. The Republicans have taken it from 
 this vainglorious oblivion, and have this day transferred 
 his body to the Temple of Mars, where veteran warriors 
 can daily repeat the history of his victories. 
 
 " Marble and brass decay in time, but this asylum of 
 French warriors whom old age or wounds has deprived 
 of the power of fighting, will exist from age to age. On 
 the tomb of Turenne the veteran will shed tears of 
 admiration and the youth of France perform his vows to 
 the profession of arms. After embracing this monument 
 
i8o FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 and invoking the shade of Turenne, he will feel himself 
 inspired by a holy enthusiasm. 
 
 " Had Turenne lived in our time, he would have been a 
 Republican. The love of country was his actuating prin- 
 ciple. His glory therefore must be identified with that of 
 the heroes of the Republic ; and it is in the name of the 
 Republic my hands depose these laurels on his tomb. 
 
 ^^ May the shade of the illustrious Turenne be sensible 
 of this act of national government, dictated by a govern- 
 ment which is only guided by principles of virtue. 
 
 ^' Citizens 1 let me not diminish the emotions which 
 you feel at this tremendous and awful funeral solemnity. 
 Language cannot describe what is now displayed before 
 your senses. What shall I say of Turenne ? Behold him ! 
 there he lies ! Behold the sword grasped by his victorious 
 hand ! Behold also the fatal ball which snatched him 
 from France and from the whole human race 1 " 
 
 Such was the discourse delivered by Carnot ; not quite 
 equal to the funeral oration of Pericles, but la la for a 
 philosopher of the National Institute ! 
 
 Had Turenne lived in our time he might possibly 
 have proved as great a rascal as any in the late 
 Directorate. 
 
 Marechal Turenne possessed military genius in a trans- 
 cendent degree, but he must also by every dispassionate 
 inquirer be condemned as a bad man, a worse citizen, a 
 rebel and an incendiary. He began his career as a 
 Marechal de France with an act of base ingratitude, perfidy 
 and treason towards his Sovereign and the laws of his 
 country. 
 
 No sooner had he been raised to the rank of Marechal 
 than he suffered himself to be prevailed upon by an 
 intriguing woman, the Duchess of Longueville (of whom, 
 although she made a jest of his passion, he was desperately 
 enamoured), to persuade the army which he commanded 
 to revolt against the infant King and his mother, the 
 Regent. 
 
 Being unsuccessful in this attempt, he quitted the army 
 a fugitive and a Bonaparte, and from General to the King 
 
CAREER OF TURENNE i8i 
 
 of France he became General of Don Estevan de Gomora, 
 this enemy of his King and country, by whom he was 
 defeated at Revel by French troops. 
 
 With respect to his policy it was merciless. 
 
 His glorious German campaign was achieved by 
 inflicting unheard-of calamities upon the defenceless 
 inhabitants. After the battle of Sintzheim he laid waste 
 with fire and sword the Palatinate, a level and fertile 
 country, full of rich cities and prosperous villages. 
 
 From his castle at Mannheim, the Elector Palatine 
 beheld two cities and twenty-five villages burnt before 
 his eyes. In the first emotion of resentment this unhappy 
 Prince wrote a letter to Turenne, filled with bitter 
 reproaches and defying him to single combat. 
 
 Turenne made a cool and ambiguous answer, conveying 
 an empty compliment. 
 
 In the same cold blood he destroyed all the ovens and 
 cornfields of Alsace, and afterwards permitted his cavalry 
 to ravage Lorraine. Turenne acted throughout this cam- 
 paign contrary to the orders of his Government, who 
 desired him to treat the conquered provinces with lenity. 
 
 But to return to the Philosophical Tribune of France. 
 The most curious part of the ceremony consisted in the 
 tears of Carnot ! He actually ! ! Carnot shed tears ! 1 ! 
 
 I cannot help thinking this as a most ludicrous instance 
 of the ceremonial. 
 
 Instead of sounding the praises of the present despotism 
 of France, Carnot might have recited the following lines 
 intended to have been inscribed on the pedestal of the 
 tomb of Turenne in St. Denis : 
 
 Turenne a son tombeau parmi ceux de nos rois, 
 C'est le fruit glorieux de ces fameux exploits. 
 On a voulu par-Ik couronner sa vaillance 
 
 Afin qu'aux si^cles k venir 
 On ne fit point de difference 
 Entre porter la couronne ou de la soutenir. 
 
 When we reflect upon the melancholy catastrophe 
 which has befallen the monuments of the most distin- 
 guished Frenchmen, it is to be considered a fortunate 
 
1 82 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 circumstance that the mausoleum of Turenne was rescued 
 from the general devastation. As the Abbey of St. Denis 
 is totally destroyed and there is no longer a place for the 
 illustrious dead, except the Pantheon, in which their 
 bodies would be commingled with those of the ruffians of 
 the Republic, the Temple of Mars is undoubtedly the 
 most honourable asylum for the body of one who, not- 
 withstanding his faults, was perhaps the greatest General 
 of France. 
 
 The Hospital of the Invalides maintains its pre-eminence 
 over every other charitable institution of France. 
 
 The funds for the disbursement of its expenses are paid 
 with great exactitude, and its internal organisation is 
 conducted with exactitude and decorum. 
 
 Had other institutions of France, not less useful, been 
 maintained with equal scrupulousness, my pen would not 
 have found an opportunity of portraying the wickedness 
 and folly of a people whose history during the last ten 
 years is nothing but a disgusting record of rapine, murder 
 and impiety. 
 
 XXXIII 
 
 HUMANE INSTITUTIONS-^^;^/^/^^^^ 
 
 SOUP ESTABLISHMENTS 
 
 During the last winter (1801-1802) the distress of the 
 lower orders rose to such a height that it became necessary 
 to open subscriptions for the distribution of soup to the 
 poor. A committee was formed for the purpose, and 
 this committee distributed 164,000 rations of soups, besides 
 what was sold from different furnaces, established by 
 voluntary contributions. 
 
 The committee commenced their useful labours with 
 the names of only one hundred subscribers. The price of 
 each subscription is eighteen francs or fifteen shillings 
 and ninepence sterling, and any person is at liberty to 
 take as many subscriptions as he thinks proper. In con- 
 
HUMANITY OF BONAPARTE 183 
 
 sideration of every subscription the subscriber receives 240 
 bonuses of soup from any establishment he may prefer, 
 or he may leave the disposal of them to the committee. 
 
 Madame Bonaparte, the wife of the First Consul, who 
 is a most benevolent, charitable and kind-hearted woman, 
 gave 600 francs towards the establishment of a furnace in 
 her division. 
 
 The committee solicited the generosity of the public 
 functionaries, " Not because they are wealthy, bnt because 
 as the greater part of them were known for their 
 philanthropy, their example would encourage others to 
 subscribe." The result of this appeal to these rich 
 philanthropists who fatten upon the blood of the people 
 was somewhat ludicrous, considering the small subscrip- 
 tions it drew forth. The Senate granted a subsidy of 
 1500 livres, or ;£6o sterling ; the Council of State took 
 forty-six subscriptions, about £3^; the Bank of France, 60, 
 about £/[o ; the Mont de Piete, 20, about £1^ ; and 
 the officers of the Consular Guard, 84, making a total of 
 about ;£252 ! 
 
 The First Consul generously put down his name for a 
 1000 subscription, which would have amounted to £^8^ 
 sterling. But there was no security for his payment 
 except his inclination ; his servile vassals, however, boasted 
 of his magnificence, and the Commissioners who drew 
 up the report on the distribution of the soup broke forth 
 into the following apostrophe : — "Our eyes are turned 
 with complacency on the 1000 subscription of the First 
 Consul. The Conqueror of Marengo has made humanity 
 the companion of glory. His triumphant hand has 
 repaired the edifice of social happiness ; this hero, who 
 seemed to have attained the summit of perfection and 
 grandeur, has proved that a good action may make him 
 still motint, and lift him above sublimity itself ! " 
 
 Unluckily for the trumpeters of this *^ astonishing man " 
 this hero who has made humanity the companion of 
 glory has not to this hour paid one sou of the thousand 
 subscription to which he signed his name and entered 
 into a solemn engagement. 
 
i84 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 In the report made by Cadet de Vaux to the Minister 
 of the Interior it is stated — "Of all the branches of polite 
 economy the least advanced among us is public bene- 
 ficence. Formerly there was an organised system of 
 charity, but now unhappily this branch of our adminis- 
 tration is defective. When there were clergy resident in 
 every parish, their profession gave them the privilege of 
 asking charity from the rich and of penetrating into the 
 secret wants of the poor, and they therefore possessed 
 much greater opportunities of doing good than does the 
 present Board of Public Assistance, notwithstanding its 
 activity and zeal. Among the religious orders some cor- 
 porations were distinguished for their zeal in affording 
 relief to the poor, particularly the Sisters of Charity, who 
 devoted their whole lives to the most fatiguing details of 
 charitable benevolence 1 " 
 
 These respectable Associations no longer exist, but it is 
 under consideration to permit the re-assembling of the 
 dispersed communities. 
 
 In France at this time there are neither parochial rates 
 nor workhouses such as we have in England. For idle, 
 disorderly or viciously disposed persons no midway exists 
 between the high road and the prison, and no kind of 
 provision exists which affords employment to persons 
 who, from sickness, misfortune, or lack of employment, 
 have been thrown out of work. Hence the poverty of 
 a French pauper is the consummation of wretchedness ; 
 rags, filth and disease waste his constitution and destroy his 
 body, while despair for ever settles on his soul. If he have 
 strength enough to carry a musket he is instantly trans- 
 ported into a soldier ; and if this means of subsistence 
 fail, his only alternative is to steal or to become a beast of 
 burden, performing labour that in other countries is only 
 executed by horses and asses. 
 
 But miserable as he is, the lot of the female beggar is 
 infinitely worse. Objects of loathsome corruption and 
 horrible aspect, they seem planted in the streets of this 
 capital, only to laugh to scorn the Revolution, and to 
 rebuke the greedy and the sumptuous magnificence of 
 
HOSPITALS 185 
 
 the upstart. As you traverse the streets they follow you, 
 conjuring you in the name of God, and, with entreaties 
 which would melt a heart of flint, implore you to give 
 them a little charity. 
 
 The charitable are deprived of the power of discri- 
 minating ; they must attend to the cries of beggary or 
 submit to be pursued for half a mile by the same forlorn 
 wretch, imploring for mercy and pity. This is indeed a 
 wretched state of society, yet we are told the Revolution 
 was the work of philosophers, made for the benefit of the 
 people to dispel the darkness of their prejudices, and to 
 remove all the moral and physical evils under which they 
 groaned before the advent of freedom. 
 
 XXXIV 
 
 HUMANE INSTITUTIONS— continued 
 
 LA SALPETRIERE. HOTEL DIEU. HOPI- 
 
 TAL DE JESUS, DE LA CHARITE, DE 
 
 LA PITIE. THE FOUNDLING SOCIETY 
 
 La Salpetriere, before the Revolution, was a prison for 
 females ; since that event it has been converted into an 
 ordinary prison, an infirmary, and at length a hospital. 
 It is an immense building, extremely well situated near 
 the river, and is now appropriated as a receptacle for 
 girls, above 1500 of whom are maintained in it. I am 
 sorry to say I can say little in favour of its comfort or 
 cleanliness. 
 
 The Hotel Dieu, changed into Hotel de I'Humanit^by 
 the Revolutionists, is an infirmary for the sick and diseased. 
 It will contain 4000 people. 
 
 The Hospital of Jesus is not upon so large a scale. The 
 Hospital of Charity is appropriated exclusively for males. 
 The Hopital de la Pitie is somewhat similar to our parish 
 charity schools, for the maintenance and instruction of 
 poor boys ; this hospital is under very good discipline. 
 
1 86 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 The Hospital of the Trinity of St. Sulpice and of the 
 Incurable are well regulated, particularly the latter, where 
 the utmost attention and humanity are shown to its 
 miserable inhabitants. 
 
 The Foundling Hospital, now called that of La Mater- 
 nite, overflowed with little helpless infants during those 
 periods of the Revolution when the holy rites of marriage 
 were treated with derision, and licensed vice was the order 
 of the day. Consequently the number of foundlings ever 
 since the accession of the Corsican hero still exceeds 
 that of all Europe. 
 
 This establishment embraces two objects, provision for 
 lying-in women and maintenance for foundlings. 
 
 I can dwell with complacency and pleasure upon the 
 advantages of this hospital, and I am glad to be able to 
 praise its excellent management. 
 
 It is divided into two compartments, one for the recep- 
 tion of pregnant women, who are received into this house 
 during the eighth month, upon their presenting themselves 
 for admission, and are allowed to remain until a proper 
 time has elapsed after their delivery. The second com- 
 partment is allotted to those children who have been ex- 
 posed or abandoned by their parents. Nothing can be 
 more interesting than the spectacle of so many infants in 
 cradles, arranged in lines. They are put into the hands 
 of wet nurses belonging to the institution, until women 
 out of the country can be found to take charge of them in 
 their own homes. Each wet nurse in the institution has 
 care of two infants, her own and a foundling. 
 
 This establishment has supplied the place of that which 
 was in pre-Revolution days called 1' Hospice des Enfants 
 Trouves ; a charity which owes its origin to the efforts of 
 S. Frangois de Paul. 
 
 It is a happy idea to blend the principles of the former 
 institution with a provision for poor lying-in women, who 
 formerly in their hour of labour had to resort to the Hotel 
 Dieu and be delivered amongst the sick. 
 
 The building for these women is part of the house 
 once occupied by the Society of the Oratorians. 
 
OLD FOUNDLING HOSPITAL 187 
 
 It is spacious and airy and has very large galleries, 
 leading to the respective apartments, in each of which 
 not more than six or seven beds are prepared. 
 
 The children are accommodated in the ci-devant 
 Abbey of Port Royal — a convent formerly occupied by 
 nuns. During the days of proscription and massacre, 
 this edifice was converted into a prison. The passages 
 were blocked up, daylight shut out, and circular walls 
 raised. The revolutionary demoniacs changed the name 
 of Port Royal into that of Port Libre. 
 
 Whilst it was used as a Foundling Hospital, 500 
 infants, 200 wet nurses, belonging to the house, 200 
 women either expecting a child or having already laid 
 in, and forty sick persons were indiscriminately crowded 
 together, besides a multitude of attendants and the 
 apothecary. The multitude of partitions impeded the 
 circulation of the air and retained the offensive effluvia 
 which proceeded from this multitude of children, always 
 clothed in dirty linen. There was not one apartment 
 of the building through which a pure draught of air 
 passed. 
 
 It was difficult to inspect so many dark rooms detached 
 from each other, it frequently happened that two women 
 who had just become mothers slept in the same bed. A 
 general cleansing and whitewashing of the place was 
 unknown. The institution was burdened with children 
 left upon the hands of the charity, for the country nurses 
 having been paid with assignats or paper money and 
 thus deprived of the full value of their wages, nurses 
 would not now offer themselves. The great influx of 
 children required a proportionate number of house 
 nurses, and hence arose the impossibility of selecting 
 them, the necessity of complying with all their demands 
 and a great want of management. 
 
 The food and the linen, in consequence of the low ebb 
 to which the credit of the house was sunk, were left to be 
 provided by contractors. The nurses had no clothes 
 found them, pregnant women could get none, and the 
 infants were not even provided with linen which is an 
 
1 88 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 absolute necessity. These evils resulted from the prodigal 
 waste of public money which during the Directorship 
 was diverted from its proper objects to gorge the 
 insatiate appetite and hungry rapacity of the officials of 
 the Government. Indeed, I am in possession of un- 
 answerable vouchers to prove that to this circumstance 
 {i.e., public and private plunder) the present shameful and 
 dilapidated condition of the hospitals is to be attributed. 
 So forcible are the representations of the Consular 
 precepts on this subject that many go so far as to boldly 
 assert that the grants made for the support of the hospitals 
 have been scandalously diverted from their original 
 destination and lavished without account on less neces- 
 sary purposes. 
 
 However, in 1801 the Council General of the Institu- 
 tion were enabled to create and carry out a most neces- 
 sary series of reforms. 
 
 The first duty they had to discharge was to secure and 
 regulate the payment of the country nurses. 
 
 Only £2^0 was due to these women, yet even this was 
 paid with difficulty. This debt has now been discharged, 
 and this has been attended with a very striking effect. 
 The infants have been sent to nurse much sooner, and 
 the amount of deaths has in consequence greatly 
 diminished ; so many house nurses have not been 
 required, so those who are employed are now selected 
 with care and kept under a regular management ; persons 
 who were of no use whatever to the Institution have 
 been discharged. Attention has been directed to 
 salubrity, economy and supply of clothing and linen. 
 The small outbuildings, which were in a ruinous state, 
 have been pulled down ; the partitions which divided the 
 wards taken away ; the number of windows increased, 
 and cleanliness introduced over the whole hospital. 
 
 Walls have been close scraped and afterwards white- 
 washed ; rotten timbers have been repaired, and the 
 unserviceable and antiquated window frames renewed 
 and replaced. 
 
 The inspectors observed that a quantity of the pro- 
 
*'MATERNITE" CHARITY 189 
 
 visions disappeared, and the people of the house were 
 constantly complaining they had not enough. The 
 truth being that they sold the victuals supplied to 
 them. 
 
 To remedy this evil refectories have been established, 
 where they all eat together. In the lying-in part of the 
 hospital the food is now abundant, wholesome and 
 varied. The children's kitchen, in which milk, panade 
 and broth are prepared, is under especial inspection. 
 The place of apothecary has been suppressed. Plenty 
 of linen is provided for the children. The servant girls 
 and house nurses as well as the women patients are now 
 well supplied with clothes. 
 
 All double bedsteads have been removed. 
 
 Each woman and each nurse has a separate bed, and 
 the latter two cribs, one for each of the infants they 
 suckle. The bedsteads and cribs have been repainted, 
 and the vermin which used to infect them has dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 Two next excellent regulations have been adopted 
 which deserve notice. The women near their time were 
 formerly suffered to be without employment, in conse- 
 quence of which they fell into a languor and lowness of 
 spirits, frequently not disassociated from bodily indis- 
 position. Work-rooms have now been established where 
 they are employed in sewing and embroidery under the 
 direction of a proper person belonging to the house. 
 The charity might convert their earnings to the benefit 
 of the hospital, but instead it pays them for items, the 
 intention being to encourage them to moderate work, 
 so that when they quit the hospital they may not be 
 distressed by the painful uncertainty of not knowing 
 where to search for the subsistence of the morrow. 
 
 The second regulation establishes a course of mid- 
 wifery for female pupils, from all the departments. There 
 were generally four pupils under the chief midwife, whom 
 she instructs in the practice of midwifery for three 
 months. This has just given rise to a public school of 
 midwifery in the Hospital of Maternity, to which are 
 
190 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 invited as many midwives as can be procured from the 
 several Departments. The theoretical part is to be taught 
 by M. Bandelocque, principal accoucheur, and the 
 practical by Madame la Chapelle, principal midwife. 
 The school will open three months hence, on August 23. 
 France has long "stood in need of such an establishment 
 on which the lives of so many individuals depend. 
 
 All these improvements, which have so entirely changed 
 this vitally important establishment, are to be attributed 
 to the energy and determination of one man, whose name 
 deserves to be remembered and revered by future genera- 
 tions of Frenchmen. This individual is Monsieur Camus, 
 member of the General Council of Hospitals. 
 
 Citizen Bailly, the steward and housekeeper, has also 
 greatly contributed towards the establishment of order 
 and the direction and accomplishment of the several kinds 
 of work. 
 
 I hope I have not been too prolix in these details, but 
 it is impossible and unjust to applaud or to censure 
 institutions without entering into very minute particulars 
 respecting them ; besides which, as the above statements 
 have been privately but officially communicated to me, 1 
 cannot help thinking they have some public interest. 
 With a very few exceptions the account of one hospital 
 in Paris contains the history of every other. 
 
 By an exposure of the disgraceful decay into which 
 one of the most important charitable establishments of 
 old France was allowed to fall, when it came under the 
 administration of the friends of the people, some con- 
 ception can be formed as to the amount of interest the 
 French Government during the last ten years has bestowed 
 upon such subjects. 
 
 At this moment the very existence of all charitable 
 institutions in France (I do not except the hospitals) 
 depends entirely on the personal industry of the few 
 good and virtuous men and women who adorn the 
 commonwealth. 
 
 All the hospitals and other institutions for the protection 
 of the poor of Paris are maintained by the Government, 
 
SISTERS OF CHARITY REQUIRED 191 
 
 the private endowments having all been confiscated 
 during the Revolution. It is, therefore, just and proper 
 that the conduct of that Government should be fully in- 
 vestigated, when complaints resound from every quarter, 
 against its inattention to the fundamental principles of 
 the establishment. 
 
 I conclude these remarks by presenting the observa- 
 tions and requisitions of the present Prefect of the 
 Department of the Seine : 
 
 *^ Re-establish the former Sisters of Charity, place them 
 at the head of the hospital department, authorise them 
 to choose others, that this useful institution may be per- 
 petuated. Employ in sedentary labours the old men and 
 the infirm ; the produce of their work may be divided 
 between themselves and the hospital. Provide for the 
 necessities of the hospitals by securing on them national 
 property equal in value to the amount of what they formerly 
 possessed, 
 
 " This restitution will supply the place of assessments, 
 whose produce is insufficient, in the meantime let the 
 produce of these assessments be paid into the treasuries 
 of the hospitals in order that they may never be diverted 
 from their primitive destination. Establish houses of 
 instruction for the reception of foundlings, when they 
 have passed their infancy, and habituate them to 
 industry. 
 
 " Repair the buildings. Provide linen. Discharge the 
 debts of the hospitals, and confide to a single administra- 
 tion the direction of the succour to be afforded to the 
 whole department, and let it be distributed in proportion 
 to the population of the Commune." 
 
192 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 XXXV 
 
 HUMANE INSTITUTIONS— ^^///zV^^^^ 
 NATIONAL INSTITUTION FOR THE 
 DEAF AND DUMB UNDER THE DIREC- 
 TION OF THE ABBE SICARD. THE 
 SAUVAGE D'AVEYRON 
 
 The Abbe Sicard* is a man who, as a classical, humane 
 and scientific instructor of the deaf and dumb, inspires 
 the liveliest emotions of admiration and respect. 1 was 
 present at one of his lectures. The abbe commenced by 
 explaining the cause of dumbness to be the privation of 
 hearing (which precludes the possibility of imitating 
 sounds) — and not any absolute defect in the organ or 
 instrument of speech. Such have been the labours of 
 the immortal Abbe de I'Epee and his successor, the Abbe 
 Sicard, that they have actually taught deaf and dumb 
 persons how to communicate by speech, as well as signs, 
 with the rest of humanity. 
 
 They have taught some to pronounce aloud any sen- 
 tence written for them. This pronunciation is the effect 
 of a compelled mechanical utterance, produced by the 
 abbe placing his lips and mouth in certain positions and 
 appearing to the scholar to make certain motions, which 
 motions necessarily bring forth a sound more or less like 
 that required. 
 
 The degree of force which it is necessary the scholar 
 should apply to pronounce distinctly any word is regu- 
 lated by the abbe pressing his arm gently, moderately or 
 strongly. 
 
 I attended a lecture at which the Abbe Sicard showed 
 to an audience the first mode of communication with the 
 deaf and dumb. A boy about thirteen years of age, whom 
 the abbe had not even seen, was sent out of the institu- 
 tion. A sheet of paper was brought on which were 
 * Co,o Appendix. 
 
THE LITTLE SAVAGE 193 
 
 painted many of the most common objects, such as a 
 horse, a carriage, a bird, a tree, and so on. Upon the 
 abbe pointing these pictures out to the boy, the latter 
 appeared delighted to show by signs that he fully com- 
 prehended the representation. These signs, attentively 
 observed by the abbe, formed the basis of future con- 
 versation. To prove that speech is merely a matter of 
 imitation, the abbe produced a girl about seventeen years 
 old, who had lost her hearing at the age of six. She had, 
 therefore, acquired a small vocabulary of words and ideas 
 such as might be expected from a child of six years of 
 age. Her mode of enunciation was that of a young 
 child. She pronounced ^* chat " '' sa." There had been 
 a dog in the house where she passed her infancy, whose 
 name was Toutou — she remembered the word and called 
 every dog Toutou. This girl was a curious instance of 
 the primary effects of education. 
 
 At this lecture the abbe stated a curious occurrence. 
 He was once told that a blind man, on being asked to 
 describe the sound of a trumpet, said he believed it to 
 be of a red colour. He himself asked one of his deaf 
 and dumb pupils to define his idea of scarlet, the pupil 
 immediately replied : ** The blast of a horn." 
 
 As soon as the lecture was ended,'our party proceeded 
 to the top of the building in order to take a peep at the 
 
 " Sauvage d'Aveyron." When M. P , the gentleman 
 
 who introduced us to Abbe Sicard, made the proposal I 
 was not aware that he was going to show us anything 
 human. Accordingly I followed close at his heels, and 
 after I had entered the room, perceiving only a man, a 
 woman and a boy, I inquired for the savage. '^This is 
 
 he," said M. P , pointing to the boy, ** Kiss him." 
 
 And without waiting for me to recover myself, he actually 
 pushed me on to the lad, and in this attitude of kissing I 
 was discovered when the ladies entered the apartment, 
 the little savage holding me at the same time by the arms. 
 I was not a little confused at this involuntary fraternal 
 buss, which I was obliged to make, and which has been 
 ever since a subject of merriment. 
 
 N 
 
194 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 However, the savage no sooner saw ladies at the door 
 than he sprang from me, went to the window, and, after 
 looking out for a few moments, turned suddenly round 
 and moved (for it could not be called walking) very fast 
 up and down the room, without seeming to pay them the 
 least attention. 
 
 I had by this time recovered myself, and grasped him 
 firmly by the arm ; but he took no manner of notice of 
 me. He had a vacant countenance, but not an idiotic 
 one. He broke out in a most extraordinary manner, how- 
 ever, a few minutes later, stamping with both his feet, 
 rolling his body from side to side, and howling in a strange 
 and dreadful tone. 
 
 This savage phenomenon was found in the forest of 
 Aveyron, and here his history begins and ends. During 
 the two years of his captivity he has not made any pro- 
 gress in knowledge or speech, and though in the possession 
 of his senses he does not seem to have a human idea. 
 
 Civil society has no charm for him, and nothing has 
 been known to attract his attention. Every effort has 
 been made to impress him with some kind of sentiment. 
 A good deal has been published respecting this ^' child of 
 nature," as he has been foolishly nicknamed by the 
 Parisian wits ; and the wretched condition of his mind 
 has furnished several philosophists with arguments in 
 which they have attempted to reason away the under- 
 standing and virtue of mankind. But this is a ridiculous 
 mode of reasoning, and what Dr. Paley* has said in his 
 Elements of Moral Philosophyt respecting Peter the Wild 
 Boy of Germany, may be applied with equal force to the 
 Wild Boy of France. 
 
 The conversations into which I have been led in con- 
 sequence of my visit to this young savage have been very 
 interesting, chiefly because they were carried on with 
 avowed atheists, members of the National Institute. It 
 is really astonishing to what extremities they push their 
 subtle sophisms ; and while they affect to discard every- 
 thing that is not material and appurtenant to this globe, 
 * See Appendix. 
 
RENTE VIAGERE 195 
 
 they are continually soaring extra flammentia mania 
 mundi. 
 
 In a solemn discussion I had the other day with a man 
 who is considered one of the first natural philosophers in 
 the world, he told me gravely that Lagrange, Lacroix and 
 several members of the Institute had sent a German to 
 the interior of Africa to request he would make the 
 experiment of uniting an ourang outang to a negro woman, 
 and that he looked forward with eager expectation to the 
 result of these nuptials ! 
 
 Such a project is worthy of the philosophers of the 
 National Institute. 
 
 XXXVI 
 
 ECONOMICAL ESTABLISHMENTS. PRO- 
 GRESSIVE ANNUITY FUND. SOCIETY 
 FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF NA- 
 TIONAL INDUSTRY 
 
 A PLAN is in preparation for the establishment of an 
 annuity fund. It is to be named Caisse des Placemens en 
 Viager, It is to be established at 440 Rue Saint M^ry and 
 435 Rue du Renard Saint Mery. Its motto is surety, 
 stabiliiy, simplicity. Those who hold shares are to enjoy 
 a progressive annuity. This annuity is paid according to 
 their ages, and not to their shares ; hence all the holders 
 of shares who have attained any particular age receive the 
 same rate of interest whatever may have been the price of 
 their shares. The minimum of rate for the first age is 
 six livres per share, and is assigned to the first class only ; 
 the primitive rate of the subsequent classes rises gradually 
 to the twelfth, which comprehends the holders of shares 
 who have attained their sixtieth year. By reckoning from 
 the rate assigned to the first class, the annuity increases 
 at fixed epochs, and rises by thirty-five gradations to the 
 maximum of 5000 livres, which belongs to all the classes, 
 
196 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 and is paid to all holders of shares who have attained the 
 age to which this last term of theprogression relates. All the 
 intermediate terms determine equally what is to be paid, 
 without any distinction to the holders of shares in each 
 class, in proportion as they arrive at the different ages 
 which correspond to each rate of annuity. Those holders 
 are divided into twelve classes, and each class into twelve 
 series, each of which has a separate and distinct account. 
 
 At first view this plan seems to resemble a Tontine, but 
 it is a very different thing. A Tontine divides annually 
 amongst the survivors the shares of those deceased, but 
 in this fund the probabilities of human life have been 
 calculated, and by making them agree with the decrease 
 of the capital invested, which together with their interest 
 serve to augment the annuities, the movement of the 
 funds and the death of the holder of shares are so com- 
 bined that every holder knows at any given point the 
 benefits he will derive at the different periods of his life. 
 
 The principle of the establishment consists ^'in an 
 equality of annuities, payable to the same ages, whatever 
 may have been the time of investment of the share, com- 
 bined with an equality in the number of survivors among 
 such holders of shares as have attained the same age, 
 whatever may have been the time of becoming such." 
 
 The holders have been distributed into twelve classes, 
 the first of which has been fixed at 3200. It comprises 
 only such individuals as are under a year old, and serves 
 as a regulation of the decreasing numbers of each subse- 
 quent class. Thus the numbers decreasing of the shares 
 in each class are as follows : 
 
 First . 
 
 . 3200 
 
 Fifth . 
 
 . 1940 
 
 Ninth . 
 
 . 1200 
 
 Second 
 
 . 2400 
 
 Sixth . 
 
 • 1792 
 
 Tenth . 
 
 . 1020 
 
 Third . 
 
 . 2242 
 
 Seventh 
 
 . 1648 
 
 Eleventh 
 
 . 838 
 
 Fourth . 
 
 . 2102 
 
 Eighth . 
 
 . 1438 
 
 Twelfth 
 
 . 656 
 
 In order to make the annuities equal for all ages it has 
 been necessary only to reproduce in each class, at the 
 age wherein each of the subsequent classes are introduced, 
 an operation which consists simply in dividing this capital, 
 
RENTE VIAGERE 
 
 197 
 
 the same for all the classes which have attained the same 
 ages, by the number of shares in the class in question, 
 which number is the same as that to which all former 
 classes are reduced. 
 
 The twelve classes comprise from one year to sixty-five 
 years ; each class contains different periods of five, six, or 
 seven years ; all the individuals comprehended under these 
 periods are considered as being of the same age, and paid 
 as such until the extinction of the amount to which they 
 belong. The total number of shares cannot exceed 
 245,712, and the prices of shares in the respective classes 
 are thus regulated : 
 
 Prices of Shares. 
 
 1. Those who have not completed their first year 
 
 2. Those who have not completed their eighth year 
 From 8 to 13 years of age .... 
 
 „ 13 to 18 „ „ .... 
 
 3. 
 
 4- 
 5- 
 6. 
 
 7. 
 
 8. 
 
 9. 
 10. 
 II. 
 12. 
 
 18 
 24 
 30 
 36 
 43 
 50 
 55 
 60 
 
 » 24 
 » 30 
 ,, 36 
 » 43 
 » 50 
 », 55 
 „ 60 
 
 shareholders 
 
 
 Cen- 
 
 Livres 
 
 . times. 
 
 140 
 
 
 
 199 
 
 75 
 
 223 
 
 26 
 
 242 
 
 39 
 
 260 
 
 91 
 
 279 
 
 98 
 
 301 
 
 53 
 
 .335 
 
 65 
 
 383 
 
 28 
 
 427 
 
 27 
 
 479 
 
 84 
 
 552 
 
 84 
 
 These 
 share as follows 
 
 receive a progressive annuity per 
 
 Annuity. 
 
 Until 8 years of age . 
 From 8 to 13 years of age 
 
 „ 13 to 18 „ 
 
 ,, 18 „ 24 „ 
 
 » 24 „ 30 „ 
 
 M 30 „ 36 » 
 
 » 3^ » 43 M 
 
 » 43 » 50 „ 
 
 »» 50 „ 55 », 
 
 " 55 » 60 „ 
 
 ., 60 till death 
 
 
 Cen. 
 
 Livrej 
 
 ;. times 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 23 
 
 G 
 
 28 
 
 
 
 34 
 
 
 
198 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 There is no limit to the number of shares a person may 
 hold. Each class is to be closed as soon as the fixed 
 number of shares shall have been completed. 
 
 As soon as a series of each class is closed, a new one 
 will be opened, to be closed in its turn when the number 
 of its shares shall be completed. 
 
 When 144 series of a class are closed, no further 
 investments will be admitted. Besides the above 
 annuity, the four last survivors of a class and of each 
 series will divide between them the four-fifths of the 
 residue of their account in proportion to the number of 
 shares belonging to them, the remaining fifth belonging 
 to the administration. The object of this institution, 
 Hke the one I have described at Chaillot, is to make a 
 comfortable provision for old age, by giving encourage- 
 ment to a habit of economy. It is open to foreigners 
 as well as to Frenchmen. 
 
 The Society for the Encouragement of National Industry 
 is held at the Louvre and is open to all the world. Any 
 person may be admitted a member on being presented by 
 a member, received by the Council of Administration, 
 and on paying annually at least a sum of thirty-six 
 livres. The object of this society is to offer prizes for 
 the invention, improvement and execution of machines 
 or processes, advantageous to agriculture, arts and manu- 
 factures, to diffuse information respecting agriculture, arts 
 and manufactures and to make experiments in order to 
 ascertain the utility of new inventions and to afford pecu- 
 niary assistance to artists whose personal poverty prevents 
 them being able to try the effects of their inventions. 
 
 The administration of this society is composed of men 
 of first-rate ability, and is divided into five distinct com- 
 mittees : The Committee of Mechanical Arts, the Com- 
 mittee of Commerce, the Committee of Agriculture and 
 those of Economical and Chemical Arts. 
 
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY 199 
 
 XXXVII 
 
 THE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF 
 THE DEPARTMENT OF THE SEINE. 
 GENERAL VIEW OF THE STATE OF 
 AGRICULTURE IN FRANCE 
 
 Of all the institutions in Paris, the Agricultural Society 
 afforded me most satisfaction. It is unexceptionable and 
 praiseworthy in a high degree, and partakes of the inno- 
 cence and simplicity of rural economy. The formation 
 of such an establishment in such a city as Paris is an 
 anomaly in politics, and, extraordinary to say, the members 
 are nearly all men of good character, fortune and 
 talents. 
 
 This Society supplies the place of the old Royal Society 
 of Agriculture. Its members are limited to sixty resident 
 in the Department of the Seine, and not more than 150 
 Associates, one of whom at least is chosen from each 
 Department. It also elects foreign Associates. The Society 
 assembles for the present at the Prefecture de la Seine in 
 the Place Vendome. I was present at the last meeting, 
 and sixteen members were there, including my excellent 
 friend Gr6goire ; also Francois de Neuf chateau, Huzard, 
 Parmentier, Silvestre, the Secretary and others. It was 
 with extreme pleasure I perceived the zeal manifested by 
 all the members of the Society for the promotion of the 
 great and important science of agriculture. In old 
 France the business of the husbandman was considered 
 the lowest and most grovelling form of vassalage. The 
 order of nature and of sound policy was thus reversed. 
 
 But agriculture in France may now be said to be pro- 
 gressive, and if it be allowed time and be spared from 
 vexation it will truly enrich the Republic. When we take 
 into consideration the immense extent of France, the 
 variety of its climate and the fertility of its soil, together 
 
200 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 with the vast resources it contains, one cannot avoid look- 
 ing with affection on an establishment so well adapted to 
 collect into one focus the experiments, details and 
 improvements, native and foreign, by which these natural 
 advantages may be rendered more politically beneficial to 
 the country. 
 
 The condition of the labouring classes of France has 
 so far not been in the least bettered by the Revolution ; 
 they are yet in the same abject state for which they were 
 heretofore distinguished. That mutual hatred which 
 existed between the inhabitants of the population of town 
 and country still prevails ; notwithstanding that liberty 
 and equality have been written in characters of blood all 
 over France. The Agricultural Society are endeavouring 
 to connect together the labourer and the artisan, by point- 
 ing out their reciprocal obligations to each other, and by 
 giving rewards to such persons as shall point out the most 
 effective methods of rendering their common exertions 
 serviceable to the State. A variety of publications, some 
 ingenious and lively, others grave and argumentative, have 
 been circulated to show the immense importance of rural 
 economy to a State, and to exalt the character of the 
 agriculturist. 
 
 The members of the Agricultural Society are well aware 
 of the many difficulties which they have to encounter, 
 and the obstinate prejudices they must remove, before 
 they can hope to bring the rural economy of France to 
 that point of perfection of which it is susceptible. A great 
 obstacle in the way of agricultural improvement in France 
 is the astonishing multitude and diversity of local customs, 
 which even the violence of the Revolution has failed to 
 alter much less eradicate. 
 
 Upon the whole, notwithstanding the present unfavour- 
 bl e appearance of the general state of husbandry in the 
 Republic, I entertain little doubt that a peace of ten years 
 will wonderfully alter the face of things. The means of 
 giving efficacy to the zeal and ardour of the French I am 
 sensible are wanting, nevertheless so long as zeal prevails 
 a well-founded hope exists that in defiance of the poverty 
 
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY 201 
 
 and extravagance of the Government, much will be done 
 by the people themselves. Unfortunately a general senti- 
 ment is at this time predominant in France that nothing 
 can be done or undertaken without the Government. It 
 is true the Government listens with attention to every 
 scheme, but their interest appears to go no further. The 
 only way to prevent all things from going to decay is by 
 continually aiming to better them in some respect or 
 other, and to afford an attentive ear to every project for 
 that purpose. It must frequently happen that many of 
 those projects will be chimerical, but men who expose 
 themselves and desert the common and certain roads of 
 gain in pursuit of advantages for the public and not for 
 themselves, must necessarily have something odd and 
 singular in their characters. It is the character of pride 
 and laziness to reject all offers, as it is that of weakness 
 and credulity to listen to all without distinction. Crom- 
 well, partly from his circumstances, but more from his 
 genius and disposition, received daily a number of pro- 
 posals which were often most useful, and often remote 
 from probability and good sense. But he made a signal 
 use of many things of this kind. 
 
 Colbert spent much of his time in hearing every sort 
 of scheme for the extending of commerce, the improve- 
 ment of agriculture and the arts ; and spared no pains or 
 expense to put them in execution, and bountifully 
 rewarded and encouraged their authors. By these means 
 France advanced during the reign of Louis XIV. and 
 under this Minister more than it had done for a couple of 
 centuries, and by these means also in the midst of wars, 
 which brought France and the rest of Europe almost to 
 destruction, amidst all the faults in the royalicharacter and 
 many errors of his Government, a seed of industry and 
 enterprise was sown, which on the first respite of the 
 public calamities, and even while th-ey oppressed the 
 nation, rose to produce that flourishing internal and 
 external wealth and power for which France was after- 
 wards distinguished. 
 
202 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 XXXVIII 
 
 THE POST OFFICE. HALLS OF THE 
 LEGISLATIVE BODIES. COURTS OF 
 JUSTICE. THE JUDGMENT OF SOLO- 
 MON REVIVED 
 
 Any person who has paid a visit to our General Post 
 Office in Lombard Street, and is acquainted with the 
 extraordinary bustle united to the utmost precision visible 
 there, would think, should he happen to alight on a 
 sudden in the Rue Coqueron without knowing in what 
 part of the world he was, that the Post Office therein was 
 that of some small trading town, instead of the capital 
 of the greatest nation on earth. 
 
 Should he judge of the population by the revenue of 
 each place, he would conclude Great Britain contained 
 some 100,000,000 souls and France not above 3,000,000. 
 
 It does not require much skill in political economy to 
 discover the causes of this disparity. 
 
 Commercial nations have a greater number of artificial 
 wants and a most extensive circle of correspondents. To 
 them the expense of postage is no burthen, it is a source 
 of profit. A merchant therefore exults in the number of 
 his letters. Hence the duties of postage are never paid 
 with reluctance. You would never see in the General 
 Post Office of such countries, piles of returned letters 
 sufficient to supply a bonfire. Amsterdam, at the period 
 of its commercial prosperity, received more letters in one 
 day than the citizens of Paris in a week. I will now 
 compare the London and Paris Post Offices, and this 
 comparison is really an entertaining one. 
 
 I wrote to the Mayor of Chatillon in La Vendue an 
 important letter, requiring a reply. Consequently I was 
 obliged to go frequently to the General Post Office in 
 order to make inquiries for it. 
 
IRREGULAR POSTAL SYSTEM 203 
 
 Upon the first time I presented myself at the office, I 
 inquired whether the post had arrived ? " No." " When 
 do you expect it ? " " To-day." *' But you desired me to 
 be here at one o'clock." " Eh, monsieur I one cannot be 
 so precise." *' When shall I call again ? " " To-morrow." 
 On the next day I returned. " Now, what say you ? " 
 " The post is not arrived." *' When will it come ? " 
 ''To-night or perhaps to-morrow." ''How do you 
 account for this irregularity?" "Who knows? the 
 courier may have broken his neck, one cannot be par- 
 ticular." " But the post from England is regular 
 enough I " " C'est une autre affaire, les routes de Calais 
 a Paris sont superbes." 
 
 The next evening the post did arrive. I asked the 
 reason for delay, and was coolly replied : " there was 
 none." 
 
 If I had been a merchant what fatal consequences 
 might have ensued from this delay had I been under 
 the necessity of making a considerable payment ! 
 
 I will relate another circumstance, sufficiently ludicrous, 
 though a general and useful deduction may be drawn 
 from it. My valet de chambre, who fortunately for me 
 cannot read, brought me one afternoon a letter which, 
 after a hundred apologies for the liberty he was taking, 
 he begged / would read to him. It came from his 
 father, who is a well-to-do farmer near Besangon. The 
 style of the letter was good, but the writing difficult to 
 decypher. After the usual expressions between a parent 
 and a son, he proceeded in the letter to ask four distinct 
 questions, every one of which required an explicit 
 answer. One of them, upon which he laid the greatest 
 stress, was to inform him by its reply whether his 
 daughter had been safely delivered. The letter, how- 
 ever, had a postscript ; " Au Nom de Dieu ne reponds pas 
 a cette lettre, le prix des facteurs est trop cher ! " 
 
 Now without any invidious allusion to Ireland I may 
 be permitted to observe that no so-called Irish bull was 
 ever so simple as this remark. 
 
 No English labourer whose daughter was in a similar 
 
204 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 condition would have grudged a few sous upon such 
 occasion, and the expense of internal postage in France 
 is cheaper than with us. 
 
 Disinclination to correspond extends to men in better 
 circumstances. Amidst the most sumptuous festivities 
 and the Oriental style of living peculiar to the Consular 
 Satrap, there is throughout the mass of the Parisians a 
 chilling penury that would excite compassion, if we could 
 forget that they had been the voluntary authors of their 
 own wretchedness. 
 
 The extensive operations carried on, the numerous 
 armies maintained on the Continent by the Republic, 
 have rendered it extremely difficult for persons to know 
 the destination and circumstances of their relatives. 
 
 Hence a new species of egoism has been introduced 
 into society. The social claim is dissolved and every one 
 lives on conjecture or only for himself. The charms and 
 joys of friendship cannot exist in such a state. 
 
 It must be observed that trade is at a standstill ; not on 
 account of want of opportunities but for want of means. 
 Property has not yet made its appearance from out the 
 holes where the spirits of fraud, rapine and fear have 
 deposited it. Concealment of spoil is the universal adage ; 
 for with all the fulsome panegyrics on the Central 
 Government, which originate with its subaltern agents, 
 and are despatched by the Prefects of the Departments, 
 doubt and anxiety are pictured on every countenance, 
 except the military and the immediate counsellors of the 
 consulate authority. If a merchant be disposed to make 
 a venture, the next moment his fears deter him. He 
 hesitates to trust, and least of all is he inclined to 
 trust his Government. Under such circumstances it 
 is little wonder the General Post Office does so little 
 business. 
 
 I have stood for hours in the court-yard in order to see 
 the arrivals of the different couriers. 
 
 Nothing can be more ridiculous than the contrast 
 between the English and French mail coaches. The 
 French post waggons are huge unwieldy machines, drawn 
 
POSTAL TRANSIT 205 
 
 by cart horses, harnessed with ropes and moving at a 
 slow pace, their arrival is nevertheless always announced 
 by tremendous cracks of whips. 
 
 When this is compared with the smart dress and cheer- 
 ful horns of our coachmen and guards, the elegant 
 neatness and convenience of our mail coaches, the beauty 
 of our horses, and the expedition with which they are 
 received and despatched to pursue their different routes 
 almost to a minute, it is impossible not to feel a proud 
 opinion of the " little nation of shopkeepers " as the Master 
 of the Earth is pleased to call the inhabitants of our 
 islands. I shall conclude this account of the Post Office 
 with observing first, from official documents on my 
 table, that I could sail with a light wind to Jamaica before 
 a letter in France would arrive at some of the cross posts 
 in the Interior. 
 
 For instance, between Bourges and Sancerre, in the 
 Department of Cher, there is at present no communica- 
 tion. Between Orleans and Montargis, in the Department 
 du Loiret, there is no established mode of correspondence. 
 But the Prefect hopes later to accomplish the matter by 
 putting a tax on all the inhabitants. 
 
 There is no communication between Langagne and 
 Genvielhac, in the Department of Lozere ; none between 
 Roquefort and Bordeaux, in the Lower Pyrenees, although 
 the merchants of Pau have proved it would be a shorter 
 route than through Toulouse. 
 
 In the Eastern Pyrenees the correspondence of the 
 Department with that of the Department of Aude takes 
 up five days ; it should be done in one. 
 
 The most egregious villainies having been perpetrated 
 in the Department of the Haut Rhin, it has been thought 
 wise, prudent, and politic to suspend the postal arrange- 
 ments there altogether. 
 
 Unless letters addressed to Ministers and officers of the 
 Government are prepaid, they will never reach their 
 destination. The Ministers make an annual charge of 
 postage, and cabbage the difference. At first sight this 
 perquisite may seem trivial for the fingers of an officer 
 
2o6 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 of State. But these officers are Ministers who have their 
 fortunes to make. 
 
 Hence every little helps. 
 
 It should seem that circumstances, times, places, 
 persons, things are of more importance in France than 
 elsewhere. This was a common mania under the old 
 Government, but it had the great resources of commerce, 
 arts, and the wants of a great number of rich proprietors, 
 who, unhappily, have now, with arts and commerce, 
 been destroyed. Nevertheless, the opinion still prevails 
 that the Government can command the harvest, and 
 compel persons to sell and buy. 
 
 The business, however, of the Government is to correct 
 itself by experience, to secure itself against the mistakes 
 and bad measures of commercial administration. For 
 no private industry, no knowledge of commercial affairs, 
 can secure individuals against the folly of a bad Minister, 
 or the pernicious effects of his administrative regulations. 
 This reasoning has no influence in France ; Government 
 is required to invent, to build, to manufacture — in short, 
 to do everything but consume ; and yet this latter is the 
 precise article in which the present Government excels and 
 takes the greatest delight. 
 
 The perquisites of postage must be immense, as when- 
 ever despatch is required, a solicitation, to be successful, 
 must be accompanied by a very considerable pecuniary 
 compliment. Therefore, the Minister who holds the port- 
 folio of the Postes amasses a considerable sum during his 
 Ministry. 
 
 THE LEGISLATIVE BODY. 
 
 This Tribunate meets in those departments of the 
 •Palais Royale which are opposite the Rue St. Thomas. A 
 few shabby-looking individuals compose what is called 
 their Guard of Honour. I had the honour and privilege 
 of being admitted to one of these meetings, and I will try 
 to describe what passed on this occasion. Having ob- 
 tained an order of admittance at the door in exchange for 
 our cards, we were ushered into a seat appropriated for 
 
CORPS LEGISLATIF 207 
 
 the friends of the members, and just opposite to the 
 Presidential chair. Immediately behind us were the 
 reporters, and beyond them the place reserved for the 
 public, who on that particular day consisted of eight 
 persons. The room itself is small and mean, furnished 
 with benches covered with blue cloth. After we had 
 waited about twenty minutes, during which time two or 
 three individuals peeped through the folding doors oppo- 
 site to us, much in the same way as a head is sometimes 
 seen through the green curtain at Drury Lane, in the act 
 of exploring the house, a sudden crash of drums as a 
 signal was heard, and the folding-door vanished as if 
 touched by the wand of Harlequin. The drums then beat 
 a salute, and the scene that opened presented us with a 
 very fine perspective of soldiers presenting arms. In a 
 minute or two the procession commenced, with six men 
 in fancy dresses, whose appearance was a burlesque upon 
 French legislation. 
 
 They were dressed in grey coats and pantaloons, with 
 scarlet waistcoats and red half-boots. Upon their heads 
 a round hat turned up in front with a blue feather, a red 
 sash round the waist, and a good-sized stick in their 
 hands. 
 
 Next followed the President, his round hat garnished 
 with three upright tri-coloured feathers ; he wore a 
 mazarine-blue coat embroidered in silver, breeches to 
 match, and a white silk waistcoat bound in by a silk tri- 
 colour sash with silver fringes. 
 
 Behind followed the secretaries, and a motley group 
 whose appearance provoked great merriment amongst 
 us. Most of them were in full costume, like the President, 
 but some with worsted, others with black silk, stockings. 
 They wore pantaloons and half-boots, and several had 
 whole boots with dirty brown tops. 
 
 Except the President and secretaries, there were but 
 three in this crowd who wore a clean pair of shoes and 
 looked like gentlemen. These three were Lucien Bona- 
 parte, the First Consul's next brother, who was not only 
 in full uniform, but appeared in silk stockings and clean 
 
2o8 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 linen, and had in every respect the manners and address 
 of a gentleman, with the countenance of an Italian Jew ; 
 Chauvelier,* formerly resident for the late unfortunate 
 King of France in our country ; and Carnot, the ex- 
 Director, who was dressed in a suit of black worthy of a 
 courtier. He seemed very surly, and during the whole 
 sitting employed himself reading a pamphlet. All the 
 rest looked like blackguards in masquerade. As soon as 
 the President mounted his tribune, he rang a handbell ; 
 he then took off his hat, and remarked, '' La Seance est 
 ouverte." The six gentlemen in grey already mentioned 
 began to get up a hissing resembling geese. This was to 
 obtain silence (for they were gentlemen ushers). The 
 order of the day w^as then read. No debate took place. 
 After each law proposed, every man (as his name was 
 called) advanced to the tribune, and put the ball which 
 recorded his vote into the urn. This ceremony was 
 repeated a number of times, and, indeed, this figuring 
 continued for above three hours. The President then rang 
 his bell again, and declared, '' La Seance est levee ! " In- 
 stantly the folding doors disappeared once more with a 
 crash, and exeunt President, secretaries, and tribunes to 
 their respective dressing-rooms, where they exchanged 
 their fine fancy clothes for their ordinary habiliments. 
 
 Having described the nature and object of this body, 
 I shall now endeavour to do the same by that extra- 
 ordinary assembly of Mutes, which goes by the name of 
 the Legislative Council of France^ in which 300 choice 
 spirits are collected together to be dumb by law during 
 four months in ever year. According to the code of 
 ^^ Minos" Bonaparte, article 34, we find : ^'The legisla- 
 tive body enacts the law by secret scrutiny and without 
 the least discussion on the part of its meniherSj upon the 
 plans of the law debated before it, by the orators of the 
 Tribunate and thejGovernment." 
 
 This is exquisite ! Each mute is allowed the sum of 
 ;£436 sterling per annum, with permission to talk during 
 eight months of the year. Such is the best account I 
 * Chauvilet. 
 
A SILENT PARLIAMENT 209 
 
 can give of this marvellous assembly. It is called a 
 Legislative Council, but this designation is an improper 
 one. In the French, as well as the English language, 
 the word council, derived from the Latin concilium, 
 signifies a body of men met together for the purpose of 
 consultation. Now, except in " Dean Swift's Voyage to 
 Laputa," I have never heard or read of a number of men 
 assembled together only to think, not even at a Quaker 
 meeting. 
 
 The hall where these thoughtful meetings take place 
 was constructed during the Directorate ; it is now 
 pompously called ** The Palace of the Legislative 
 Bodies," and it merits the name of palace, for it is one of 
 the most elegant and beautiful rooms in Europe. It is 
 semicircular, with benches rising one upon the other, 
 for the convenience of members. Above the uppermost 
 bench, and extending along the semicircle, are a number 
 of arcades of fine marble, the capitals composed of 
 bronze. 
 
 Within these persons who have obtained cards of 
 admission are stationed, and considerably above them, 
 nearly at the top of the ceiling is a gallery, for spectators. 
 Opposite to the benches of the members, and in the 
 middle of its diameter, is the chair of the President, a 
 little below him the place of the secretaries and the 
 tribune from which the orators of the Government, viz., 
 the Council of State and those of the Tribunate harangue 
 the assembly. These are all made of solid mahogany, 
 inlaid with gold, and the pedestal of the tribune has a 
 beautiful relief in marble, filched from Italy. On the 
 right of the President there are three niches, within which 
 are the statues of Lycurgus, Demosthenes and Solon, on 
 the left three others, in which Brutus, Cato, and Cicero 
 are fixed. 
 
 The floor, which forms the area between the tribune 
 and the benches of the members, is of marble. 
 
 We were never present at the opening of the seance, 
 so I cannot say whether the drums beat as at the Tribunate, 
 but I think it likely this assembly has also a guard of 
 
2IO FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 honour. There is a semicircular bench on the floor 
 opposite to the President appropriated for those tribunes 
 and orators of the Government who are detached for the 
 purpose of discussing the laws. They are preceded by 
 huissiers at their entrance into the hall, and the doors are 
 always opened as if by magic and with a crash. 
 
 The mutes wear the same uniforms as the tribunes, 
 except that their clothing is embroidered with gold ; they 
 are by no means so slovenly in their appearance as the 
 gentlemen of the lower chamber. A great many general 
 officers are among their number. 
 
 The palace to which this hall is attached is the Palace 
 Bourbon, formerly the Parisian residence of the Prince 
 de Conde. It is situate on the other side of the Seine, 
 opposite to the place once Place Louis XV., now Place 
 de la Concorde, on the middle of which the unfortunate 
 monarch of France and innumerable numbers of his 
 former subjects were put to death. 
 
 The beautiful bridge, Pont de la Concorde, which leads 
 to the palace, and the triumphant portal between two 
 noble pavilions, to which it is connected by a double 
 row of lofty columns of the Corinthian order, add to the 
 splendour of its appearance. We must not forget while 
 admiring so many noble specimens of architecture that 
 not one of them is the work of the genius of Republican 
 France ; on the contrary, they were raised and embel- 
 lished by the liberaHty of Princes, whose descendants an 
 ungrateful people have driven into exile. 
 
 The only pieces of architecture produced by the 
 Republic are several wooden houses erected upon barges 
 on the river for shows and bagnios where the lascivious 
 and polluted may at any hour of the day or night regale 
 themselves with girls, liqueurs, coffee, dainties of all 
 kinds and hot and cold baths. 
 
 In the interior of the Palais du Corps Legislatif there 
 are several halls dedicated to peace and victory, and to 
 those funny divinities. Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. 
 
 I will now describe the Palais de Justice, 
 
 This is another magnificent edifice. It is enclosed 
 
CRIMINAL COURT 211 
 
 within agate 120 feet in length, which forms the boundary 
 of a large area. The fapade presents a very dignified 
 appearance, at the middle of which, after ascending a 
 flight of steps, the people enter through a vast open- 
 ing. 
 
 Among the different courts there is one which can 
 never fail to att-^ ict a foreigner — the hall where the 
 Revolutionary Tribunal assembled to murder innocents 
 by wholesale. It is now called the Chamber of the 
 Court of Appeal, and is completely altered since I last 
 saw it in 1793, when a set of drunken cannibals, selected 
 from the filthiest styes of the Metropolis, with red caps 
 upon their heads, made human nature tremble, inundated 
 France with blood, and caused every honest man to envy 
 the days of Nero and Caracalla. The person who was 
 with me gave me a very minute account of the trials 
 of the Queen and Princess Elizabeth, where they 
 were stationed, and how calm and dignified was their 
 behaviour. 
 
 In the Criminal Court four young men were being tried 
 for their lives. The room, the seats of the judges, 
 advocates, jury and spectators, made me think I was in 
 one of the circuit courts of our own country. Every 
 person was uncovered. The judge politely invited us to 
 sit within the tribunal, so we saw and heard all that 
 passed distinctly. 
 
 There were three judges, who wore the same gowns as 
 our Masters of Arts. The prisoners were seated on their 
 left, attended by two gens d'armes and their counsel on 
 a seat below them ; to the right the jury and public 
 prosecutor were stationed. This latter official was 
 habited like the judges. 
 
 One of the prisoners completely established an alibi, 
 the others succeeded so far as to render the evidence 
 against them all ambiguous, so in consequence they were 
 acquitted. 
 
 The Revolution caused such havoc among the corps of 
 lawyers that the profession is scarcely deemed reputable. 
 Every advocate of the old Monarchy, who entered into 
 
212 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 the spirit of the times, is now either a member of the 
 Tribunate or the Conservative Senate. 
 
 The most lamentable circumstance in the interests of 
 justice is the mean salaries granted to the judges, the 
 principal of whom do not receive more than ;£400 sterling 
 a year ; and when the importance of their functions and 
 their relative rank in society are contrasted with their pay, 
 one cannot avoid thinking that there is a deliberate 
 intention to degrade the name of Justice in this country, 
 by rendering it infinitely below the scale of military 
 authority. 
 
 This opinion is corroborated by what took place a short 
 time ago at the Tuileries, when the Civil Code was under 
 discussion. Cambaceres, the Second Consul, had actually 
 persuaded Bonaparte that in England there were no juries 
 in civil causes. Upon further inquiry St. Jean d' Angely 
 assured him of the contrary. '^ How is'this, Cambaceres," 
 said the First Consul, ^* I am now told that the English 
 always have juries in civil as well as criminal causes ? " 
 The latter still persisting, Blackstone was appealed to, but 
 as no one present understood enough English to read 
 this law book, Bonaparte extricated himself from the 
 dilemma by saying : *' Oh ! as to these matters, one says 
 one thing and another another ; there appears to be no 
 certainty at all about what is the practice in England, 
 nor is it of any consequence whatever, but I decide 
 there shall be no juries in France in civil causes 1" Ainsi 
 soit'il / 
 
 With this stupendous effort of human judgment I finish 
 my account of the mode in which justice is administered 
 in this enlightened Republic. 
 
FRENCH NEWSPAPERS 213 
 
 XXXIX 
 
 NEWSPAPERS. CHARACTERS OF THOSE 
 CONCERNED IN THEM 
 
 In the inaugural address pronounced by the celebrated 
 Montesquieu on his admission to the French Academy, 
 January 24, 1728, he said : "Talents without virtues are 
 fatal presents, only proper to add strength to our vices 
 and to render them more conspicuous." 
 
 Had Montesquieu lived to this day he would have 
 thought in the same spirit. 
 
 But he would not have survived the Revolutionary storm 
 unless he had taken refuge in exile. 
 
 I well remember a rebuke I once received from Robes- 
 pierre when I extolled '^ The Spirit of Laws." 
 
 *' The Spirit of Laws," said he, " is the production of a 
 fanatic and weak mind (imbecile), replete with dogma and 
 prejudice ; if Montesquieu were now alive he would very 
 soon be less by a head, car il etait un parlementaire, nonpas 
 un bon Republicain." The word parlementaire means, 
 strictly speaking, a Roundhead or a Whig ; but such a 
 person was not sufficiently divested of prejudice to be a 
 good RepubHcan in the eyes of Robespierre ; besides, as 
 the tyrant continued, " being a member of the ancient 
 parliament of France(he was president of that at Bordeaux) 
 he was necessarily an enemy of Republican Government, 
 for which reason, notwithstanding his dogmas and pre- 
 judices in favour of public liberty, he was without doubt 
 worthy of death as an aristocrat and a conspirator." 
 
 When I heard that Montesquieu would have been less 
 by a head had he fallen into Robespierre's hands, I felt 
 an unpleasant sensation in my throat, and I therefore was 
 immediately convinced that the tyrant's arguments were 
 correct; but knowing that extremes of servility and oppo- 
 sition were alike obnoxious to him, I endeavoured to 
 appease him with observing that it was very true, the 
 
214 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 author of "The Spirit of Laws" groped in darkness, 
 especially in the article in which he treats of Influence of 
 Climate, as it was now clear ih^it the enlightened principles 
 of the Revolution were equally applicable to the whole 
 race of man, and that there would probably be a National 
 Convention very soon in China ; but still that I could not 
 avoid considering Montesquieu, as well as Machiavel, in 
 the light of a pioneer of liberty ! " " Machiavel, the pioneer 
 of liberty ! " he cried (giving me a fixed look with his two 
 large tigerish eyes and clenching his fists, the usual pre- 
 liminaries of a warrant of arrest), " you are not acquainted 
 with the true principles, the doctrines of Machiavel estab- 
 lished tyranny over the whole of Europe." Every one who 
 has read Machiavel with attention, which I am persuaded 
 Robespierre never did, if he read him at all, must be 
 satisfied that his book " The Prince," was written solely to 
 expose the machinations of tyrants, and caution the people 
 of free States against their intrigues. 
 
 I have been led to these remarks in order to expose the 
 worthlessnessof the literary claims oithose political writers 
 and orators who affect a great deal of information when 
 they possess none. N© people possess greater facility 
 than the French in persuading the world that they know 
 everything, when in fact they know little or nothing. 
 
 When 1 was about to depart for France I was requested 
 by the proprietors of a long-established daily paper in 
 London to procure if possible some intelligent person in 
 whom they might confide to act as a proper correspon- 
 dent, to give them authentic information of what was 
 passing in France. When I arrived in Paris I therefore 
 addressed myself to men of approved talents in science, ' 
 and, as I had been informed, of knowledge in politics. 
 
 The sum I was empowered to offer was sufficiently capti- 
 vating, and they buzzed about me in consequence like so 
 many paupers round the overseer of a parish in the act of 
 distributing bread. With respect to operas, plays, mas- 
 querades, concerts, balls and all the other equipage of 
 folly and pleasure, information respecting them was none 
 of my object. I wanted such communications as should 
 
FRENCH NEWSPAPERS 215 
 
 prove useful to men of understanding, to the politician, 
 the manufacturer and the merchant ; I did not care to 
 learn whether the First Consul slept at Malmaison or the 
 Tuileries. The points upon which accurate information 
 might be of incalculable advantage to the British public 
 were, who was the last person robbed, banished, poisoned, 
 or otherwise murdered by the order of the chief of the 
 State, what measures were in agitation to sap the founda- 
 tions of any kingdom, and what independent community 
 was next to be overthrown and enslaved. 
 
 Accordingly I stated distinctly to my would-be corres- 
 pondents that we required /ac/s and facts only. Politics 
 were the principal topics of conversation during our 
 interviews, and I was utterly astonished to discover 
 the profound ignorance my new acquaintances dis- 
 played. 
 
 None of them seemed to have any just notion either of 
 the state of Europe or their own country. After a short 
 intercourse I discovered that with the little information I 
 had gained I already knew more of the affairs of France 
 than they did. 
 
 However, that I might not be led away by my own 
 opinions, I suggested to five of those gentlemen, who I 
 selected from the crowd owing to their distinguished 
 credentials, that they should take up their pens and give 
 a specimen of their manner of treating things, that I 
 might forward such writings immediately to the two 
 gentlemen in England who had commissioned me to seek 
 for correspondents. I told this to each applicant sepa- 
 rately, and requested he should choose his subject for 
 himself. Two of those individuals were members of the 
 National Institute, one a very celebrated Professor, and 
 the two others distinguished and respected savans ! Five 
 hours after the conversation I received an esiafette from 
 one of the Institute men, and before two days had elapsed 
 despatches arrived from all the rest. After having read 
 them all over with repeated attention, I decided, for the 
 sake of my own credit, to send none of them to England, 
 They were so puerile that I will stake my honour upon a 
 
2i6 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 boy at Eton or Westminster writing more and better to 
 the purpose. 
 
 They were full of flowers, tropes and metaphors, but 
 contained nothing solid ; and all overflowed with the 
 commonplace metaphysics of the new Philosophy. My 
 embarrassments now increased, for the Club of Sages, 
 whom the report of my commission collected round me, 
 besieged my lodgings day after day, like suitors in the 
 antechamber of Talleyrand ; and notwithstanding their 
 courteous carriage and apparent indifference they all 
 asked me anxiously what news I had received by the post. 
 The awkward situation in which I found myself com- 
 pelled me eventually to say that my colleagues had altered 
 their plans and determined to confide their correspond- 
 ence to an English gentleman now in Paris — i.e., myself. 
 
 But although these philosophers did not obtain any 
 ulterior benefit from my offer, I was enabled by my inter- 
 course with them to obtain considerable information 
 respecting the state of the Press in Paris at the present 
 time, and I here give the result of my inquiries. 
 
 Newspapers in France are under the immediate control 
 of the police, and are principally edited by those 
 illuminated children of science, better known under the 
 title of the National Institute. 
 
 The Moniteur is the first in order in baseness and 
 infamy. It is considered the official paper of the Govern- 
 ment. As all its papers are under the superintendence of 
 the police, they are all official. Its nominal proprietors 
 are Messrs. Roederer * and Hautrive,* but the profits 
 belong to a club consisting of five Ministers, those of 
 Finance, Interior, Foreign Affairs, War and Police. 
 Roederer receives a stipend of ;£8oo a year (which, with 
 his income of a Councillor of State, gives him ^3500 to 
 spend) as a salary for editing the paper, for which he is 
 of course considered the responsible person. All the 
 expenses of paper, printing and publishing, are defrayed 
 by the Treasury. 
 
 Hautrive is not a stipendiary or responsible editor, but 
 * See Appendix. 
 
CHARACTERS OF EDITORS 217 
 
 he writes in the MoniUur, and his articles are well paid. 
 The Decemvir Barrere receives ;^iooo per annum for his 
 literary assistance, but he is really acting as a private spy 
 for the First Consul, on the operations of the Jacobins. 
 He is likewise engaged as spy upon the Grand Spy, 
 Fouche, Minister of Police. 
 
 The different Ministers frequently employ the pens of 
 their subalterns in office. You cannot be mistaken 
 respecting the authors of the articles, as their style con- 
 victs them. The following may, however, serve as general 
 rules for the discovery of the distinguished literati 
 engaged. 
 
 Ferocious and blustering passages on the power of the 
 Republic^ in the style of epic prose. — Treilhard,* ex-Avocat, 
 ex-Director, ex-Negotiator, and Councillor of State. 
 
 Religious homilies and pious incantationSy with much 
 whining about the restoration of the Catholic Faith, but 
 written in good style. — Portales,* the Elder Councillor of 
 State, who from a professed atheist, having read tht Bible 
 over and over again, as he says, during his exile at 
 Homburgh, has found himself converted, and on his 
 return converted Bonaparte to believe what he believes, 
 and is now a saint as well as his disciple. 
 
 Gasconades, calembours, bombast, apostrophes to nature, 
 mothers with infants at their breasts. Hard-hearted men 
 who never had children, heaving bosoms of humanity, all 
 the impure verbiage of the Tribunal of the National Con- 
 vention, — Barrere, ex-member of the Council of Public 
 Safety. Practical reporter of all its atrocities, who 
 signed the death warrants of about 40,000 of his country- 
 men, avowing in the Committee that dead men tell no 
 tales ; afterwards sentenced to transportation ; turned 
 Christian in jail, won the good opinion of his jailer, at 
 whose table he said grace before and after meals. 
 Escaped from prison and secreted himself till Bonaparte 
 attained supreme power, to whom he sent a fulsome 
 address, declaring he was the reporter who made known 
 to astonished Europe the exploits of the hero of Italy ; 
 * See Appendix. 
 
2i8 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 liberated by the commiseration and sympathy of his 
 master, he now licks his feet and is his humble servant ; 
 though retired (as his profession requires) he lives in 
 good style, near my lodgings, keeps a girl of his own and 
 is allowed by the First Consul to share in the profits of a 
 house of ill fame which he founded. 
 
 Comparisons between Great Britain and the great 
 nations ; between porter and burgundy, coals and wood, 
 roast beef and bouillie, — Chaptal,* the chemist, Minister of 
 the Interior, one of the basest of slaves. 
 
 Surly remarks on the tyrants of the ocean, the insolence 
 and intrigues of British Government, the cravings and 
 jealous disposition of the Nation of Shopkeeper s, the National 
 Debt of England, its exhausted resources, bad faith and 
 sincere integrity of France, — Roederer, Councillor of State, 
 member of the National Institute, ex-avocat, has always 
 sided with every party in order to illustrate practically his 
 valuable treatise on making loans and on solving the 
 question whether the State should pay its debts. He 
 was Procureur-General, Syndic of the Department of 
 Paris, during the expiring moments of the Monarchy. 
 
 The same in more fluent and easy language. — Hautrive,* 
 a pensioner of the Consul and nominal sub-editor of the 
 paper. 
 
 Sallies respecting Malta and hints respecting Egypt and 
 the Mediterranean. — Regnault de St. Jean d'Angely Coun- 
 cillor of State, in great favour with Bonaparte, formerly 
 an avocat of Saintogne, a furious royalist as long as Louis 
 XVI. continued to fee him. Intrepid royalist, editor ot 
 the Jountal de Paris in 1791 ; violent Jacobinist, editor 
 of the Gazette de Milan under the auspices of Bonaparte 
 in 1796. Member of the Constituent Assembly, in which 
 capacity he was pensioned by the Order of Malta to plead 
 on behalf of its rights ; in return for which he betrayed 
 his clients, went to the island as the Commissary of the 
 Directory, and superintended the administration of 
 the plunder. Completely sacked the Palace of the Grand 
 Master, Baron de Homfesch, pilfered all the plate and 
 * See Appendix. 
 
FALSE NEWS 219 
 
 money he could lay his hands on, composed a Revo- 
 tionary Gazette for the Islands of the Archipelago, and 
 returned to France laden with an immense booty, is a 
 member of the National Institute in the class of Political 
 Economy ; is a married man with a family, keeps a girl, 
 but is saving and takes care of the main chance. 
 
 Barefaced lies and swindling propositions — Talleyrand, 
 Minister of Foreign Affairs, ex-Bishop of Autun ; 
 renounced Christianity and his Order, went to England, 
 1793, to assist Chauvelin and Moret in lulling the English 
 Government. Trembling for his head remained there 
 after the war broke out. Took lodgings at Mr. Colpus's, 
 near Highgate Pond, during which time he made a point 
 of eating boiled beef on Fridays, departed for America, 
 whence he humbly sued for permission to return to 
 France. The Directorate, being in want of a dexterous 
 rascal to manage the pillage, sequestration of the German 
 abbeys, and other ecclesiastical possessions, permitted 
 him to return home, and gave him the portfolio of Charles 
 de la Croix ; since which he has been actively engaged 
 in the decomposition of Europe and in converting the 
 German Empire into a State Lottery for himself and his 
 masters — takes bribes from all and cheats all, with placid 
 composure. Feels a great reluctance to enter into 
 negotiation without a preliminary douceur (the American 
 commissioners to wit) ; the greatest swindler in Europe. 
 Rich as Lucullus, has lately resumed Christianity and sent 
 to request the Pope will unfrock him and give him 
 absolution for his past sins. The First Consul has 
 promised to make it his care that his Holiness shall 
 execute this request, and in return for which special 
 grace Talleyrand will richly reward the Pontifical Am- 
 bassador for the expenses incurred in negotiating the 
 business. — Keeps Madame Grand, of Indian fame, at the 
 hotel of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she acts 
 in every way as if she were his lawful wife. He also 
 keeps a young tit at a little chateau where he transacts 
 private business. 
 
 Is a man of rank, education and princely birth, 
 
220 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 possesses transcendent abilities, and perhaps is the 
 greatest Hving rogue and Har in Christendom. 
 
 Sensible data on the public law in Europe^ afforded 
 though not written for publication y but digested by Roederef 
 for the Press. — Rosensthiel, formerly principal Secretary of 
 Legation to the French Ministers at the farcical congress 
 of Radstadt in 1799, the pupil and friend of Pfeffer, long 
 employed in the diplomatic department under the old 
 Monarchy ; devotedly attached to his King, detesting the 
 Revolution, on that account dismissed by Dumouriez, 
 when Minister of Foreign Affairs ; having been imprisoned, 
 proscribed and ruined. Father of a large family, he was 
 constrained from the necesssity of his circumstances 
 to accept the Consulship of Elsineur in 1796, whence, 
 being the only Frenchman profoundly versed in the 
 history and practice of public law, he was again trans- 
 ferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Modest, mild, 
 virtuous and learned, he is therefore not a member of 
 the National Institute. 
 
 These are the principal workmen who furnish the 
 Moniteur with leading articles, most of which are a 
 vehicle for blustering and imposture. 
 
 The next Parisian newspaper in rank and circulation 
 to the Moniteur is the Journal des Defenseurs de la 
 Patrie. In this paper there are often good articles and 
 useful literary criticisms. But all political reflection is, 
 for obvious reasons, banished from its pages. 
 
 One, Joseph la Vallee, without appearing ostensibly 
 to lake any interest in this paper, is really paid ;£26o 
 sterling by the Government for watching its concerns. 
 
 I have seen a great deal of la Vallee ; he is endowed 
 with great intellectual acquirements. He is a modest, 
 inoffensive man, extremely anxious to oblige^ not loqua- 
 cious, but interesting in conversation. 
 
 He is not a member of the National Institute, which 
 may account for his integrity. In one of our conversa- 
 tions he complained bitterly of the English newspapers 
 for their animadversions on the French Government, and 
 particularly on the First Consul, expressing his fears that 
 
CONTROL OF PRESS BY BONAPARTE 221 
 
 these attacks might lead to bloodshed between the two 
 countries. 
 
 I desired him to name the papers he alluded to ; he 
 mentioned the Porcupine and the Mofning Post. I ex- 
 plained to him that the Porcupine was non-existent, having 
 been for some months merged in the True Briton, He 
 was quite confounded by this information, for he had 
 no idea the Porcupine had been relinquished. He 
 observed that the True Briton was however also extremely 
 violent. 
 
 " Why then,"^, I returned, " do you not, my dear friend, 
 answer them with equal vehemence ? " " Because these 
 political discussions are not agreeable to the Government, 
 for if we replied it would be impossible to do so without 
 translating and so publishing the arguments of the enemy, 
 for such discussions would only unsettle the minds of 
 people and might shake the Government. *' Ah, vive la 
 Liberte," said I. " I thought I was in a free Republic ! " 
 He gave no reply, and our conversation abruptly ended. 
 
 A curious incident took place a few years ago here. It 
 was common talk the Senate (Legislatif Conseil) were to 
 pass a decree continuing Bonaparte in the Consulate for 
 life. A paper was circulated containing remarks upon 
 the meanness of such a project, declaring national grati- 
 tude should proclaim Napoleon Bonaparte Emperor of 
 the Gauls, and make the throne hereditary to his race. 
 
 The very next day there appeared in the Journal des 
 Defenseurs a well-written article in the true spirit of a 
 Republican against not only the Imperial project, but also 
 against that of making the Consulate a life-long appoint- 
 ment. Soon after I had read it la Valine called on me. 
 " You see," said he, " Frenchmen can write as they 
 please. Nothing shall deter me," continued the indignant 
 Republican. " I never disliked the late King, nor shared in 
 the events of the Revolution ; but rather than see any one 
 of my fellow citizens upon the throne of France, I would 
 burn this hand if I did not write against him \" 
 
 Two days after this animated declaration, I took up the 
 same journal and read a long laboured dissertation on the 
 
222 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 innumerable advantages the Republic would obtain by 
 conferring the Consulate for life *' on the genius of victory 
 and peace." I became extremely desirous of another 
 interview with the intrepid Republican. But he never 
 came near us for several days. At length we met him at 
 a dinner party, consisting of twenty persons. He betrayed 
 on seeing me some confusion and sheepishness. I shook 
 him heartily by the right hand, whispering in his ear, ^' I 
 am happy to find you have not burnt it." I was sorry I 
 gave way to this not ill-natured jest, for a visible dejection 
 overspread his features, and he remained depressed and 
 dispirited during the whole time he was in my company 
 that evening. 
 
 Le Chef du Cabinet, the best printed of the Parisian 
 journals, is compiled with care, and gives in general a 
 fairly faithful account of continental news. 
 
 One of the principal writers in this paper and in Le 
 Puhliciste is Garot, member of the Senate, and also of the 
 National Institute. Before the Revolution he was what 
 the French call homme des lettres, i.e., a poor lawyer with- 
 out practice. In England, our men of letters, successful 
 or otherwise, are almost invariably men of a classical 
 education and cultivated talents. But in France, a mere 
 smattering of Greek and Latin, learnt principally through 
 the medium of translations, constitute their principal 
 studies. 
 
 He began his career with writing paragraphs for the 
 Mercure, He was next a member of the Constitutional 
 Assembly, in which his talents were considered in so con- 
 temptible a light that he was never noticed. 
 
 But in later years he attributed his silence in that 
 Assembly to his philosophy. He then became editor of 
 the Journal de Paris, Here he seems to have been most 
 liberally paid, as out of six months' savings, he managed 
 to find 32,000 livres (;^i28o sterling), with which he 
 purchased a house and garden. 
 
 In April 1792, he arrived in England, in the suite 
 of the French Embassy. After the memorable loth 
 of August in the same year, he having returned to 
 
JOSEPH LA VALLEE 223 
 
 France, was made by the Convention Editeur de la Gazette 
 Nationale. 
 
 Less than two months later, on October 9, he was 
 appointed Minister of Justice. Here was a leap ! 
 
 During his short ministry, he truckled to every faction, 
 and courted the goodwill of every demagogue. He was 
 nevertheless pronounced an imbecile, deposed, arrested 
 for a day, and released. He next composed a book, in 
 which he compared himself to Sully, Turgot, and our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. He was appointed Commissary of 
 Public Instruction, but shortly afterwards cashiered. 
 Then sent as French Ambassador to the Court of Naples, 
 in order to pave the way for the irruption of a Repub- 
 lican army. 
 
 Recalled and nominated a member of the Council of 
 the Ancients, dismissed by Bonaparte — he retired into a 
 corner, and quitted his obscurity for a seat among the 
 Mutes. He then became the apologist of Bonaparte, as 
 he had before been of Robespierre and Danton — gets a 
 pension of ;f 3000 sterling per annum of the pubHc spoils, 
 and finally becomes a member of the National Institute. 
 He, now, in a work of his lately published, calls Robes- 
 pierre un monstre, un fou, scelerat, etranger a une bonne 
 logique, having a soul filled with suspicion^ terror, vanity 
 and vengeance. His elocution, he pronounces to have 
 been senseless babbling, eternal and tiresome repetition of 
 the same sentiments for the rights of man, the sovereignty of 
 the people on principles of which he incessantly harangued 
 without ever propounding a new or correct idea. 
 
 The following epistle was found among the papers of 
 Robespierre after his execution ; it was a letter, written by 
 this very Garot to the man whom he afterwards described 
 as given above. 
 
 October 30, 1793. 
 
 " I have read your report on foreign powers, and the 
 extracts of your last speech, delivered to the Jacobins : 
 as I have not at this time an opportunity of making my 
 sentiments known to the public, I hasten to acquaint 
 
224 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 you yourself with the impressions they have made on 
 me. 
 
 " The report is a magnificent piece of policy, Republican 
 morality, style and eloquence. It is with such profound 
 and exalted sentiments of virtue, and I will add with such 
 language^ that the nation one represents is honoured in 
 the eyes of all mankind. The style of the report on 
 foreign Powers is throughout dignified, pointed and 
 elegant, and rises to the tone of the highest order of 
 eloquence by the grandeur of its sentiments and its 
 ideas. 
 
 *^ Your speech to Louvet, your speech on the trial of 
 Louis Capet, are in my opinion the most exquisite pieces 
 which have appeared during the whole Revolution. They 
 will be studied in the schools of the Republic as models 
 of classic eloquence, and they will be transcribed upon 
 the pages of history as the most powerful causes that 
 have operated on the destiny of France." 
 
 Le Citoyen Frangais is the most independent paper in 
 Paris. Before the usurpation of Bonaparte, Thomas 
 Paine frequently furnished it with articles, but since that 
 event he has withdrawn his assistance. 
 
 Le Journal de Commerce is under the direction of 
 Monsieur Penchet, member of the Commercial Council 
 and the Board of Commerce. He is a respectable 
 man, possessed of enlightened views and scientific and 
 practical knowledge. 
 
 The Publiciste, the Gazette de France, Journal des Debdts 
 are the remaining newspapers, worthy of notice. It is 
 refreshing to the national pride of an Englishman to 
 contrast the wretched state of the craven French Press 
 with the free and vigorous reasoning which appears in 
 the London journals ; I become hourly more enamoured 
 of my country and more disgusted with the Republic. 
 
 Louis XIV. during the whole of his reign never 
 degraded the Press of his country as it is now degraded. 
 But with respect to other branches of literature, the French 
 still shine with uncommon brilliancy, and as no man is 
 
MAGAZINES AND OTHER PERIODICALS 225 
 
 more ready than myself to do them justice, when they 
 deserve it, I will describe some of those publications in 
 my next letter. 
 
 XL 
 
 PHILOSOPHICAL, LITERARY AND 
 
 OTHER PERIODICAL PUBLICATIONS 
 
 During the Old Monarchy, France made great advances 
 in practical philosophy, but scientific knowledge was still 
 confined within very circumscribed limits. The Revolu- 
 tion has enabled scientific and literary men to diffuse 
 their acquirements over the surface of the Republic. A 
 short review of the leading Iperiodicals of the day will 
 demonstrate their respective objects. 
 
 The first of those periodicals, in point of respectability 
 and talent, is the Journal de Physique^ edited and con- 
 ducted "by one of the ablest and most virtuous men in 
 France, Dr. de la Metherie. I have already mentioned he 
 had been imprisoned during those days of persecution, 
 when it was the fashion to oppress every man of worth 
 and talents. But to this hour no ground has ever been 
 given for his arrestation. He is now Professor of 
 Mineralogy in the College de France, and receives for 
 this £iOQ per annum. As editor of the Journal de 
 Physique he receives ;£200 a year, and this is the whole 
 emolument his literary labours bring him. 
 
 The Annales de Chimie is a publication which merits 
 attention, and I believe every eminent chemist in France 
 contributes to its contents and reputation. 
 
 Annales de V Agriculture Fran^aise is published by 
 Tessier, and is now advanced as far as the twelfth volume. 
 It is one of the best and most valuable publications extant 
 in the Republic, and has afforded great encouragement 
 and information to the cultivator. Although Tessier is 
 the editor of the work. Monsieur Hugard is the principal 
 manager. He is an honest, indefatigable and learned man. 
 
226 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 He was brought up as a practising farrier in his father's 
 shop, to which circumstance he is indebted for the 
 beginning of his knowledge (now that of an expert) upon 
 the diseases and treatment of horses and other cattle. 
 
 He has a sound and vigorous intellect, looks as plump 
 and jolly as John Bull, and possesses all the good nature 
 of that character. 
 
 Annates Statistiques is likely to prove one of the most 
 valuable productions of France. It is extremely well 
 printed on good paper, and a number appears every 
 month. 
 
 Bibliotheque Commerciale is a new work determined to 
 diffuse information upon subjects of commerce and 
 navigation. 
 
 Annates des Arts et Manufactures. This is a periodical 
 publication, accompanied by a number of engravings. 
 
 The editor is one O'Reilly, an Irishman, once a pro- 
 nounced and violent Jacobin. 
 
 As citizen O'Reilly, in the year 1792, he succeeded in 
 expelling two Englishmen from White's in the Rue des 
 Petits Peres, because they opposed the maniac Irish 
 propositions of Citizen Lord Edward Fitzgerald and the 
 two unhappy Sheares, all of whom met a tragic fate in 
 Ireland.* O'Reilly, however, remained in France and 
 
 * I must here relate two very extraordinary circumstances 
 respecting the younger Sheares, whom I described in Letter XII. 
 as a charming young man and the admirer of Mile. Th6ronne 
 (Th^roigne). During the King's trial he sat near me, and was so 
 extremely affected he shed tears, observing at the same time that 
 the French would dishonour their name and the cause of freedom 
 by this proceeding. 
 
 Some days later we visited Versailles together, and as we were 
 contemplating the scenery of the beautiful garden at Petit Trianon, 
 laid out by the Queen, he went to the top of the look-out, fell upon 
 one knee, and exclaimed, drawing a dirk : " By heaven ! I'll thrust 
 this dirk into the heart of the man who shall dare to propose the 
 least injury to Marie Antoinette." His brother, who was of a more 
 cool and less enthusiastic temperament, immediately observed, 
 " You had better set off post to Paris and take her out of the 
 Temple." It may appear incredible to those who have been uncon- 
 nected with any of the agents of those convulsions which have 
 
CITIZEN O'REILLY 227 
 
 thereby saved himself from the fate which his deserts 
 fully entitled him. The Colonel Commandant of Tyrone 
 in Ireland during the rebellion, informed me that 
 Citizen O'Reilly had been hanged. I was therefore 
 not a little astonished one day in Paris, when about to sit 
 down to dinner at a party to which I had been invited, to 
 see my old friend enter the room, quite debonnair and 
 dressed or rather masked a la frangaise. In this land of 
 magic I had been so accustomed to see supposed dead 
 men once more in the flesh, that I eyed this ghost for a 
 considerable time before addressing him, but he hearing 
 my name mentioned, at once exclaimed : God bless me ! 
 is it you, Mr. Yorke ? do you not recollect me ? *^ Upon 
 my word, sir, yes ; you are so much like a gentleman of my 
 acquaintance who had the misfortune to be hanged four 
 years since in Ireland, that I could swear you were the 
 very man." After some explanation, I found he had 
 escaped the hands of Jack Ketch, and is now, as he 
 expressed it, "a French citizen and no subject of the 
 King of England." He seemed desirous of taking every 
 opportunity to affront the English and asperse our 
 Government. 
 
 This man would not have occupied so much of my 
 space did I not know him to be one of the rankest con- 
 spirators against our country. He ran away from 
 England on account of the debts which he had incurred 
 as one of the proprietors or managers of the Opera 
 House, and set up in Paris as a persecuted Irish patriot. 
 From the year 1792 to the present hour he has been 
 ceaselessly engaged in plots against England, and his 
 hatred increases daily against our country to whose genial 
 soil he knows he can never return. He has fought against 
 
 disturbed the world for the last twelve years, that men previously 
 distinguished for the sensibility of their natures and for their 
 humanity, have proved, when immersed in the Revolution whirlpool, 
 the most cruel and inexorable of incarnate devils. Carrier, Robes- 
 pierre, Foquet-Tinville, and most of those exterminating furies who 
 thinned the best part of the population of France, are instances in 
 point. 
 
228 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 England in the French armies, and glories in the fact. 
 He is a favourite with Bonaparte in consequence of his 
 suggesting a new plan of gun vessels for transporting an 
 invading army to our shores. He is an ardent and 
 active member of the Irish Club in Paris, and avows his 
 heart and soul are bound up in the hope and desire of 
 emancipating Ireland. After he left the army he returned 
 to Paris and commenced the periodical work I have 
 already mentioned. It is in high esteem, and its sale 
 must be great or his means of subsistence amply supplied 
 by the Government, for he has a press of his own, lives 
 in style and keeps his girl. 
 
 Bibliotheque BrUanniqiie^ printed at Geneva, has a great 
 sale in Paris. It is edited by Messrs. Picter and Mourin, 
 and contains a digest of the most valuable philosophical 
 treatise in our language. 
 
 Mazarin Encyclopcedie ou Journal des Sciences, Lettres et 
 Arts, edited by A. L. Millier, keeper of the antiques and 
 medals in the National Library, is considered one of the 
 most valuable periodical journals in France. 
 
 La Decade Philosophique, Litteraire et Politiquey appears 
 three times every month, and has the greatest circulation 
 of any other periodical work in France. But this is no 
 evidence of its superiority. It is a farrago of modern 
 philosophical trash and impiety. It is a critical review, a 
 poetical repository, a novelists' magazine, a political 
 register, a literary advertiser, a theoretical reporter, a 
 herald of folly, a base and servile declaimer in favour 
 of the ruling power, and a recorder of obscenity and 
 atheism. 
 
 Ginguene,* member of the National Institute and the 
 Senate, is the avowed editor of this political decade. 
 This person, before the era of the Republic, was employed 
 as a secretary by Madame Necker. Being patronised by 
 Marmontel, he soon became a man of consequence. He 
 next became the tool of Mirabeau, then the spaniel of 
 Danton. Then a first-rate Jacobin, a hireling of the 
 Directoire, and now a humble servant of the First Consul. 
 * See Appendix. 
 
TOM PAINE 229 
 
 Such a career deserved a rich reward in such a Republic 
 as this of France. 
 
 He was accordingly preferred to the post of Director 
 of Public Instruction, but he solicited a more brilliant 
 destiny, and was accordingly turned into an ambassador 
 and sent to Turin to assist General Bruno in preparing 
 the dethronement and exile of the Piedmontese sovereign. 
 On his return to Paris he has been temporarily gratified 
 by a membership in the Conservative Senate, and the 
 editorship of this periodical, a lucrative situation. 
 
 I could mention many more interesting literary works 
 and periodicals of the highest literary interest, but I have 
 commemorated enough works of uncommon merit, edited 
 and produced most of them by men of great ability and 
 furnished with means and opportunities of increasing the 
 knowledge they already possess. It is but a tribute of 
 justice which every man owes to superior genius to 
 declare that in point of real science, experimental 
 philosophy and literary merit, " France is without a 
 rival." 
 
 XLI 
 
 THOMAS PAINE. JACK BARLOW. THE 
 
 ABBE COSTI. DR. SUDAEUR 
 
 The name of Tom Paine is familiary to every English- 
 man. Had I not been previously acquainted with him I 
 should have contrived an interview with him during my 
 stay in Paris. Nearly ten years had elapsed since we 
 were last together, and I felt deeply interested in learning 
 his opinions concerning the French Revolution, after all 
 the experiences, so long a period of storms and convulsion, 
 must have afforded him. 
 
 It was not without considerable difficulty that I dis- 
 covered his residence, for the name of Thomas Paine is 
 now odious in France, far more so than in England. A 
 bookseller's shop in the Palais Royal appeared a likely 
 
230 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 place for inquiries, but I had no sooner mentioned his 
 name than the bookseller, his wife and a bystander 
 fell upon me, in the most unmerciful manner, calling 
 Paine " Scelerat, handity coquin ! " and ascribing to him 
 the resistance Leclerc had received from the negroes of 
 St. Domingo, of which repulse to French arms they had 
 just received intelligence, so that I found it necessary to 
 decamp as soon as possible. 
 
 Being at a loss how to proceed, I determined to inquire 
 at the hotel of the American Minister, where I was in- 
 formed that Paine lived at a bookseller's in the Rue du 
 Theatre Frangais. an American bookseller, who inhabited 
 No. 2. I immediately repaired to the house, and after 
 mounting to the second storey, was shown into a little 
 dirty room, containing a small wooden table and two 
 chairs. " This," said the portress, who had guided me 
 upstairs, " is Mr. Paine's room ; he is taking a nap, but 
 will be here presently." I never saw such a filthy apart- 
 ment in the whole course of my life. The chimney 
 hearth was a heap of dirt. There was not a speck of 
 cleanliness anywhere. Three shelves were filled with 
 pasteboard boxes, each labelled after the manner of a 
 Minister of Foreign Affairs: " Correspondance Americaine, 
 Ditto Britannique — idem Fran9aise. Notices politiques. 
 Le Citoyen Fran^ais," &c. In one corner of the room 
 stood several huge bars of iron, curiously shaped, and 
 two large trunks ; opposite the^fireplace a board covered 
 with pamphlets and journals, having more the appearance 
 of a dresser in a scullery than a sideboard. Such was the 
 wretched habitation where I found Thomas Paine, one 
 of the founders of the American Independence, whose 
 extraordinary genius must ever command attention, and 
 whose writings have summoned to action the minds of 
 the most enlightened politicians of Europe ! How 
 different the dwelling of the apostle of Freedom from 
 the gorgeous mansions tenanted by the apostles of the 
 French Republic ! 
 
 After I had waited for a short time, Mr. Paine came 
 downstairs, dressed in a long flannel gown. 
 
INTERVIEW WITH PAINE 231 
 
 I was shocked by his altered appearance. Time seemed 
 to have made dreadful ravages over his frame, and a 
 settled melancholy was visible over his countenance. 
 He pressed me by the hand, his countenance brightened 
 as he recollected me, and a tear stole down his cheek. 
 Nor was I less affected than himself. *' Thus we are met 
 once more, Mr. Paine, after a separation of ten years, 
 and after we have both been severely weather-beaten." 
 
 "Aye," he replied, " and who would have thought that 
 we should meet in Paris," he continued, with a smile of 
 contempt ; ^' they have shed blood enough for liberty, and 
 now they have liberty in perfection, no honest man 
 should live in this country, they do not and cannot 
 understand the principles of free government. They 
 have conquered half Europe only to make it more miser- 
 able than before." 
 
 I replied that I thought much might yet be done for 
 the Republic. '^ Republic ! " he exclaimed, *' this is no 
 Republic ! I know of no Republic but that of America, 
 and that is the only place for men like you and I. It is my 
 intention to return as soon as possible. You are a young 
 man, and may see better times. For myself I renounce 
 all European politics." 
 
 I enumerated my objections, concluding with the want 
 of society and the apprehension I had of contracting 
 yellow fever. These objections he met by declaring 
 there was as good and even better society in America 
 than in Europe ; and as to the yellow fever, proper pre- 
 cautions would cause it wholly to disappear. In the 
 course of our long conversation about America he put 
 into my hands a letter written to him by Mr. Jefferson, 
 the President of the United States. 
 
 It was dictated with the freedom of an old friend. Mr. 
 Jefferson began by congratulating Mr. Paine upon his 
 determination to settle finally in the New World, for he 
 says he will find on his return a favourable change in the 
 political opinions of the citizens, who are happily come 
 back to those enlightened principles which he, Mr. 
 Paine, had so usefully contributed to spread over the 
 
232 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 world. As Mr. Paine had expressed a desire to return in 
 a public manner y he states that the sloop of war which 
 brought the Minister Livingston from France would 
 return at a given time and convey him to America if he 
 could make it convenient to take advantage of the occasion. 
 The rest of the letter is couched in terms of the warmest 
 friendship, assuring Mr. Paine of a hearty reception. 
 
 When I had perused this letter he observed that only 
 four persons now survived who had acted in concert 
 during the American Revolution, John Adams,* Jefferson,* 
 Livingston* and himself. He continued laughingly : 
 " It would be a curious circumstance if I were sent as 
 Secretary of Legation to the British Court, which out- 
 lawed me. What a hubbub it would create at the King's 
 levee to see Tom Paine presented by the American 
 ambassador ! All the bishops and great ladies would 
 faint away ; the women supposing I came to rob and 
 ravish them, the bishops to rob and ravish their titles. I 
 think it would be a good joke ! " 
 
 But he finally added that this was not a probable event 
 to occur at his time of life, but that he should dispose of 
 his American property, live on the interest, and amuse 
 himself by writing memoirs of his life and correspon- 
 dence, two volumes of which he had already completed. 
 The estate he possesses in America is valuable, he 
 estimates it at about ;^7ooo. 
 
 I inquired how he had passed his life since we parted. 
 He gave a long account of his occupations since he was 
 sent to prison. During our invasion of Holland he went 
 to Brussels, where he passed a few days with General 
 Bruno, with a view, he declared, of accompanying him to 
 Holland, "to see the last of John Bull." But he said 
 that in France and in the French army there was but 
 one opinion concerning that event, i.e.y the final certain 
 success of the English. 
 
 When he was in prison he wrote " The Age of Reason," 
 and amused himself by carrying on a correspondence 
 
 with Lady S , under the assumed name of "The 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
PAINE AND LADY S. 233 
 
 Castle in the Air." To this her ladyship answered under 
 the title of "The Little Corner of the World." This 
 correspondence still continues. 
 
 He showed me some of it, which, notwithstanding the 
 dreadful places in which it was composed, is beautiful 
 and interesting. He is the author of that beautiful song 
 on the death of General Wolfe, which a few years ago 
 was in every one's mouth. The following extract from 
 one of his manuscript essays affords a competent idea of 
 his manner in treating subjects less solemn and invidious 
 than politics. 
 
 TO FORGETFULNESS. 
 
 From the ** Castle in the Atr," to the *^ Little Corner of the 
 World." 
 
 Memory like a beauty that is always present to hear 
 herself flattered, is flattered by every one. But the silent 
 goddess Forgetfulness has no votaries, yet we owe her 
 much. She is the goddess of ease, though not of pleasure. 
 
 When the mind is like a room hung with black, and 
 every corner of it is crowded with the most horrid 
 images Imagination can create, this kind speechless god- 
 dess Forgetfulness is following us night and day with her 
 opium wand and gently touching first one and then 
 another, benumbs them into rest, and at last glides away 
 with the silence of a departing shadow. 
 
 How dismal must the picture of life appear to that soul 
 which resolves on darkness and to die ! Yet how many 
 of the young and beautiful, timid in everything else, have 
 shut their eyes upon the world and made the waters their 
 sepulchral bed ! Ah ! if at that crisis they had thought 
 or tried to think that Forgetfulness would eventually 
 come to their relief, they would lay hold on Hfe. 
 
 All grief, like all things else, will yield to the obliterat- 
 ing power of time, while Despair is preying on the mind. 
 Time is preying upon Despair and Forgetfulness will 
 change the scene. 
 
 I have twice been present at a scene of attempted 
 suicide. The one a love-distracted girl in England ; the 
 
234 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 other a patriotic friend in France. I will relate these 
 circumstances to you. They will in some measure 
 corroborate my assertion upon Forgetfulness. 
 
 About the year 1766 I was in Lincolnshire on a visit to 
 a widow lady, Mrs. E. It was summer and after supper 
 one evening Mrs. E. and I went to take a turn in the 
 garden. It was about eleven o'clock, to avoid the night 
 air of the Fens, we were walking in a bower shaded by 
 hazel bushes. On a sudden she screamed and pointed to 
 a white shapeless figure without head or arms, moving 
 along one of the walks at some distance away. I quitted 
 my companion and went after it. When I got up into 
 the walk where the figure was, it took a cross walk. 
 There was a holly bush on the corner of the two walks, 
 which, being night, I did not observe, and as I continued 
 to step forward the holly bush came in a straight line 
 between me and the figure, which thus appeared to have 
 vanished. But when I had passed the bush I caught 
 sight of the figure again, and coming up to it put out my 
 hand to touch it. My hand rested on the shoulder of a 
 human figure. I spoke, it answered *' Pray let me alone." 
 I then recognised a young lady on a visit to Mrs. E., who 
 that evening, on the plea of indisposition, had not joined 
 us at supper. I said, " My God ! I hope you are not 
 going to do yourself some hurt ! " She replied, with 
 pathetic melancholy, ^* Life has not one pleasure left for 
 me." I got her into the house, and Mrs. E. took her to 
 sleep in her room. 
 
 The case was, the man who had tpromised to marry 
 her had forsaken her, and was about to be married to 
 another. The shock and sorrow appeared to her too 
 great to be borne. She had retired to her room, and 
 when, as she supposed, all the family had gone to bed, 
 she undressed herself, tied her apron over her head — 
 which, descending below her waist, gave her a shapeless 
 figure — and was going to drown herself in a pond at the 
 bottom of the garden, when I arrested her progress. 
 
 By gentle usage, and leading her into subjects that 
 might distract her mind and occupy her thoughts, we 
 
PAINFS FORGETFULNESS 235 
 
 gradually stole her from the horror and misery she was 
 in. In the course of a few months she recovered her 
 former cheerfulness, and was afterwards a happy wife and 
 mother of a family. 
 
 The other case is as follows : * In Paris, in 1793, I had 
 lodgings in the Rue Faubourg St. Denis, No. 63 ; they were 
 agreeable, except for the fact that they were too remote from 
 the Convention, of which I was a member. But this was 
 recompensed by the lodging being also remote from the 
 alarms and confusion into which the interior of Paris was 
 so often thrown at this time. The house, which was 
 enclosed by a wall and gateway from the street, was a 
 good deal like an old mansion farmhouse, and the court- 
 yard was stocked like a farmyard, with fowls, turkeys and 
 geese, which for amusement we used to feed out of the 
 window of the parlour on the ground floor. There were 
 some hutches for rabbits, and a stye or two for pigs. 
 Beyond was a garden of two acres, well laid out and 
 stocked with excellent fruit-trees. The orange, the apple, 
 the greengage and the plum were the best I ever tasted. 
 The place had formerly been occupied by some curious 
 person. 
 
 My apartments consisted of three rooms. The first 
 for wood, water, &c., with an old-fashioned chest high 
 enough to hang up clothes in. The next was the bed- 
 room, and beyond the sitting-room. At the end of 
 the sitting-room was a glass door leading to a flight of 
 narrow stairs, by which I could descend privately into 
 the garden. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 I went into my chamber to write and sign a certificate 
 for them, which I intended to take into the guard- 
 house to obtain their release. Just as I had finished it, 
 a man came into my room dressed in the uniform of a 
 
 * A peculiar motive, which I shall not here explain, obliges me to 
 omit the insertion of the case alluded to, but I have given the 
 beginning, which contains an account of Mr. Paine's mode of life 
 before he was sent to prison, and the conclusion. 
 
236 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 captain, spoke to me in good English and with a good 
 address. 
 
 He told me that two young Englishmen were arrested 
 and detained at the guard-house, and that " the section " 
 had sent him to ask me if I knew them and would answer 
 for them, and in that case they would be liberated. 
 
 This matter being soon settled between us, he talked 
 to me about the ^' Rights of Man," which he had read in 
 English, and finally took his leave in the politest and 
 most friendly manner, saying he was always at my service. 
 
 This man, who so civilly offered me his service^ turned 
 out to be Samson, the public executioner, who guillo- 
 tined the King and all the political victims of the 
 
 Revolution. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 As for me, I used to find some relief by walking alone 
 in the garden after it was dark, and cursing with hearty 
 good will the authors of that terrible system which had so 
 altered the character of that Revolution I had been so 
 proud to defend.* 
 
 I went but little to the Convention, and then only to 
 show an appearance, because I found it impossible to join 
 in their tremendous decrees^ and useless and dangerous to 
 oppose them. My having voted, as well as extensively 
 spoken (more so than any member) against the execution 
 of the King, had already fixed a mark upon me ; neither 
 dared any of my associates in the Convention translate 
 and speak in French for me, as they formerly did when I 
 wished to make my views publicly known. f 
 
 * * * * 
 
 Pen and ink was then of no use to me. No good could 
 be done by writing what no printer dared to print ; and 
 
 * This passage and the following, which I have marked in 
 italics, deserves the solemn reflection of every one who formerly 
 entertained a favourable prepossession in behalf of the French 
 Revolution. 
 
 t At this period the French talked of the " Rights of Man," of the 
 Republic one and indivisible, democratic and imperishable ; and 
 branded English people with the epithets of English slaves, serfs of 
 George, &c. &c. 
 
PAINE'S FORGETFULNESS 237 
 
 whatever I might have written for my private amusement 
 as anecdotes of the times would have been continually 
 exposed to be examined and tortured into any meaning 
 the rage of party might fix upon it. And my heart was in 
 distress at the fate of my friends, and my harp strung 
 upon the weeping willows. 
 
 It was summer ; we therefore spent most of our time 
 in the garden, and passed it away in childish amuse- 
 ments, such as marbles, scotch hop, battledore, &c., so as 
 to try and keep reflection from our minds. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 In this retired manner we remained about six or seven 
 weeks. Our landlord went every evening into the city to 
 
 bring us the news of the day and the Evening Journal, 
 
 * * * * 
 
 He recovered, and being anxious to get out of France, 
 a passport was obtained for him and his friend, chiefly, I 
 believe, by the means of the huissier Rose, and secretly by 
 the influence of some of the members of the Committee.* 
 They received their passport late in the evening, but set 
 off that same night in a post-chaise to Basle, which place 
 they reached in safety. The very morning after their 
 departure I heard a rapping at the gate, and looking 
 out of the window I beheld entering the courtyard a 
 guard with muskets and fixed bayonets. It was a guard 
 to take up the fugitives, but they were already, happily, 
 out of their reach. t 
 
 The same guard returned a month later and took the 
 Landlord Geit and myself to prison I 
 
 * Of the Committee of Public Safety, at that time the executive 
 power of France in every sense of the word. For the benefit of the 
 Great Nation they pocketed ;^400 for signing these very passports, 
 permitting two of the " serfs of George and agents of Pitt " to escape 
 from France. 
 
 f So that the ;^400 these Public Safety scoundrels had touched 
 would have caused their murder had they delayed their departure 
 for a few hours, as Barrere wisely observed, " dead men tell no 
 tales " — it would have been vain to plead the bribe ; this plea itself 
 would have been such an outrage to the Majesty of the Republic 
 that it alone would have satisfied the consciences of the jury of the 
 Revolutionary Tribunal. 
 
238 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 I have often been in company with Mr. Paine since my 
 arrival in Paris. I was surprised to find him quite 
 indifferent about the public spirit in England or the 
 influence of his doctrines upon his fellow countrymen. 
 Indeed he disliked the mention of the subject, and when 
 one day I casually remarked that I had altered my opinions 
 upon my principles, he said : 
 
 " You certainly have the right to do so, but you cannot 
 alter the nature of things ; the French have alarmed all 
 honest men, but still truth is truth. My principles are 
 possibly almost impracticable and might cause in their 
 carrying out much misery and confusion, but they are 
 just." Here he spoke with the greatest severity of Mr. 
 
 , who had obtained a seat in Parliament, and said : 
 
 " parsons were always mischievous fellows." I then hinted 
 to him that his publication of the ^' Age of Reason " had 
 lost him the good opinion of many Englishmen. He 
 became uncommonly warm at this remark, and said he 
 only published it '* to inspire mankind with a higher idea 
 of the Supreme Architect of the Universe, and to put an 
 end to villanous imposture." 
 
 He then broke out into violent invectives against 
 Christianity, declaring at the same time his intense 
 reverence for the Omnipotent Supreme Being. He 
 avowed himself ready to lay down his life in support of 
 his opinions and said " The Bishop of Llandaff may roast 
 me in Smithfield if he likes, but human torture cannot 
 shake my opinions." 
 
 I assured him that the Bishop of Llandaff was a man 
 of too enlightened, tolerant and humane a disposition to 
 wish to roast any man for differing with him in opinions, 
 and that his celebrated apology breathes tolerance in every 
 page. 
 
 " Aye, it is an apology indeed, for priestcraft. Parsons 
 will meddle and make mischief, they thus hurt their own 
 cause, but I have a rod in pickle for Mr. Bishop." Here 
 he reached down a copy of the Bishop's work, interleaved 
 with remarks upon it, which he read to me. It seems as 
 if in proportion to his present listlessness in politics, his 
 
RETENTIVE MEMORY OF PAINE 239 
 
 zeal in his religious or anti-religious opinions increases ; 
 of this the following anecdote is an instance. 
 
 An English lady of our acquaintance, as remarkable 
 for her talents as her charm of person and manners, 
 entreated me to arrange a meeting for her with Mr. Paine. 
 As this lady is a very rigid Roman Catholic I cautioned 
 Mr. Paine beforehand to be very discreet in touching upon 
 religious subjects, and with much good nature he promised 
 to be so. For about four hours he kept every one of the 
 company on this occasion in astonishment and admiration 
 of his memory, of his keen observation of men and 
 women, his numberless anecdotes of the American Indians, 
 of the American War, of Franklin, Washington and even 
 of his Majesty the King, of whom he told several curious 
 anecdotes of humour and benevolence. His remarks on 
 genius and taste can never be forgotten by those 
 present. 
 
 So far all went excellently well, and the sparkling 
 champagne gave a zest to his conversation, and we were 
 all delighted. But, alas ! alas ! one of the company 
 happened to allude to his " Age of Reason," he then broke 
 out immediately. He began with astronomy, and 
 
 addressing himself to Mrs. Y , the lady in question, 
 
 he declared that the least inspection of the motion of the 
 stars proved Moses to be a liar. Nothing would then 
 stop him. In vain I attempted to change the subject by 
 every artifice in my power. He returned to the charge 
 with unabated ardour. 
 
 The ladies gradually stole unobserved from the room, 
 and left three other gentlemen and myself to contest or 
 rather leave him master of the field of battle. 
 
 I felt extremely mortified, and reminded him of his 
 promise. 
 
 " Oh ! " says he, '^ what a pity people should be so pre- 
 judiced ! " One of the most extraordinary properties 
 belonging to Mr. Paine is the power of retaining every- 
 thing he has written during his life. He can repeat word 
 for word every sentence in his " Common Sense " — 
 '' Rights of Man "— " Age of Reason " and others. This I 
 
240 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 attribute first to the unparalleled slowness with which he 
 composes every passage he writes, and secondly to his 
 dislike of reading other books than his own. Wonderful 
 and productive as his mechanical genius is, he assured 
 me he never has read anything on this subject. This he 
 told me when showing me one day the beautiful models 
 of two bridges he had devised. These models exhibit an 
 extraordinary degree of skill and taste. They are wrought 
 with extreme delicacy, entirely by his own hands. The 
 longest is nearly four feet long, the iron work, the chains 
 and every other article belonging to it were forged and 
 manufactured by himself. It is intended to be a model 
 for a bridge to span the Delaware extending 480 feet, 
 with a single arch. The other is to be erected over a 
 lesser river (whose name indeed I have forgotten), and is 
 likewise a single arch of his own w^orkmanship, except- 
 ing the chains, which instead of iron are cut out of paste- 
 board, by the fair hands of his correspondent, " Little 
 Corner of the World." He was offered X3000 sterling 
 for those models, but has refused it. He intends to 
 dispose of them to the American Government. The iron 
 bars, I noticed in the corner of his room, are also forged 
 by himself, and as the model of a new description of 
 crane. He put them together and exhibited to me the 
 power of a lever in a surprising degree. 
 
 It would require the leisure and the memory of James 
 Boswell himself to relate in detail the conversations I had 
 while in Paris with Thomas Paine, or the opinions and 
 anecdotes he recounted. I shall therefore only conclude 
 this account of him with a few words, respecting his 
 acquaintance with Bonaparte. 
 
 When the hero of Italy had returned to Paris, in order 
 to take the command of that " Army of England " (whose 
 left wing he afterwards conducted to the burning sands 
 of Egypt instead of the Valley of Thames) he called on 
 Mr. Paine and invited him to dinner. 
 
 In the course of his rapturous ecstasies, he declared 
 that a statue of gold ought to be erected to him in every 
 city in the universe; he also assured Paine that he (Bona-. 
 
BONAPARTE AND PAINE 241 
 
 parte) always slept with a copy of the " Rights of Man " 
 under his pillow, and conjured him to honour him with 
 his counsel and advice. 
 
 When the Military Council of Paris, who then directed 
 the movements of Bonaparte, came to a serious consulta- 
 tion about the invasion of England, Mr. Paine was at 
 the sitting by special invitation. After they had ransacked 
 all the plans, charts and projects of the Monarchical 
 Government, Bonaparte submitted to them that they 
 should hear what Citizen Paine had to say on the matter. 
 They were, however, already all of opinion that the measure 
 was impracticable and dangerous in idea, much more in 
 attempt. General d'Arcor, a celebrated engineer (who 
 directed the siege of Gibraltar during the American War), 
 was one of this Council. He laughed at the project, and 
 said there was no Prince Charlie nowadays, and that they 
 might as well attempt to invade the moon as England, 
 considering her superior fleet at sea. " Ah ! but," 
 exclaimed Bonaparte, " there will be a fog." ** Yes," 
 replied d'Arcor, " but there will be an English fleet in 
 that fog." " Cannot we pass ? " said Bonaparte. " Doubt- 
 less," answered the other, " if 3^ou dive below twenty 
 fathoms of water." Then, looking steadfastly at the hero, 
 "General," he continued, *^ the earth is ours, but not 
 the sea ; we must recruit our fleets before we can hope 
 to make any impression on England, and even then the 
 enterprise would be fraught with perdition, unless we 
 could raise a diversion among the people." 
 
 Then Bonaparte rose and said with dignity and em- 
 phasis : " That is the very point I mean — here is Citizen 
 Paine, who will tell you that the whole English nation, 
 except the Royal Family and the Hanoverians, who have 
 been created Peers of the Realm and absorb the landed 
 property, are ardently burning for fraternisation." 
 
 Paine being called upon said : " It is now many years 
 since I have been in England,and therefore I can judge 
 of it by what I knew when I was there. I think the people 
 are very disaffected, but I am sorry to add that if the 
 expedition should escape the fleet, I think the army 
 
 Q 
 
242 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 would be cut to pieces. The only way to kill England is 
 to annihilate her commerce." This opinion was backed 
 by all the Council, and Bonaparte ; turning to Paine, 
 asked him how long it would take to annihilate British 
 commerce ? Paine answered that everything depended 
 on a Peace. From that hour Bonaparte has never spoken 
 to him again, and when he returned from finishing his 
 adventures in Egypt, he passed by him at a grand dinner 
 given to the Generals of the Republic a short time before 
 his usurpation, staring him in the face and then remarking 
 in a loud voice to General Lasnes, *' The English are all 
 alike, in every country they are rascals " (canailles). 
 
 Mr. Paine thinks the Directorate determined upon the 
 Egyptian expedition in consequence of the rejection of 
 the project to invade England by the Council. The 
 popularity of Bonaparte was so excessive and his inflam- 
 matory and determined character so great that they were 
 glad to get rid of him in any way they could. Paine 
 detests and despises Bonaparte, and declares he is the 
 completest charlatan that ever existed. 
 
 Mr. Joel Barlow lives at No. 50, Rue Vaugirard, one of 
 the finest houses in Paris. As he was not at home when 
 I first called, I inquired of the servant if any one lived 
 there besides Mr. Barlow, and was answered that it was 
 his own house and he had purchased it (it was confiscated 
 property and sold much below its value). The next day 
 Mr. Barlow called on me and invited us to visit him, 
 when he received us with great cordiality and showed 
 us over his magnificent hotel. It was however, wholly 
 destitute of furniture, excepting four rooms, occupied by 
 himself and his family. He explained he had bought the 
 house some years previously, purely as a speculation, with 
 the idea that at the return of Peace he might sell it to 
 some English ambassador or nobleman, who should 
 choose to reside in Paris, when he hoped to get ;£6ooo 
 sterling instead of the 6000 livres Frangais he originally 
 gave for it. It certainly would suit an ambassador in 
 point of accommodation, and its situation is desirable. 
 The lawn at the back, consisting of two acres of pleasure 
 
JOEL BARLOW 243 
 
 ground, bordered by a shrubbery, is bordered by fruit 
 trees, but it is far from the centre of the city, and I doul?t 
 he will get the price he asks, notwithstanding the influx 
 of strangers. He informed me that the instant he had 
 disposed of this property he intended to return to 
 America with Mrs. Barlow. Of the Republic and its 
 rulers he entertains a profound contempt. Respecting 
 the English Government and its rulers, he said very little, 
 but that little was in their favour. He confessed his utter 
 astonishment at the exertions we had made during the 
 War, and avowed that he had entirely mistaken the 
 financial resources and patriotic spirit of Great Britain. 
 
 " I have been calculating," he said, " year by year the 
 downfall of the Government, and could not conceive it 
 possible you could stand up another year. Whenever I 
 took up a paper and saw the Committee of Ways and 
 Means and read of your subsidies, I looked for a national 
 bankruptcy in the course of the ensuing twelve months. 
 But when Mr. Pitt came forward with the Income Tax, 
 all the wise heads of this metropolis (Paris) gave you 
 over as lost, and I pronounced you saved. When I saw 
 the nation cheerfully submit to it, I was convinced you 
 might carry on the war for fifty years." He spoke of 
 Mr. Pitt in terms which surprised me, and declared he 
 believed in his conscience, if he had dared to execute to 
 the full extent of what he thought, he would have 
 succeeded in changing the face of Europe. "At all 
 events," said he, " it cannot be denied that he has the 
 merit of having saved the old fabric (meaning the Con- 
 stitution), if it be worth saving." 
 
 On my asking what he thought of the Peace and our 
 present situation, he said that he saw nothing censurable 
 in it, but had cut out plenty of work for the French 
 which he was sure they would never finish." " If they 
 do, woe betide you 1 " I asked for an explanation, and 
 he replied, " If the French Government are intent on 
 Peace they will set themselves seriously to work on their 
 colonies ; and such is the activity of the French that they 
 will soon repair their losses, create a vast commerce, 
 
244 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 which their local possessions and influences will facilitate, 
 and they will end with a powerful navy." On my 
 noticing that they had already excluded our commerce, 
 he answered : " That will just give you an idea what a set 
 of fools they are. This false step at the first start is a 
 convincing proof they don't know how to go to work. 
 The prohibition of your manufactories has created an 
 avidity for them. They should have opened a free trade 
 with you and gradually cozened away your industry and 
 mechanics. But this Government is in such a confounded 
 hurry that instead of sticking to any given point, it 
 attempts five hundred different projects and only succeeds 
 in one, enslaving the people ! " 
 
 He thought the Peace might be permanent if any 
 change took place in the Government ; but with Bona- 
 parte at its head he was convinced it could not be of long 
 duration. For the First Consul is essentially the creature 
 of the army, and hungry generals and soldiers are hourly 
 importuning him. Unless he could find them employ- 
 ment they would employ him. 
 
 I asked if he thought Bonaparte secure. He replied : 
 " Not more so than any of his predecessors ; they are 
 satisfied and grateful because he does not use the guillotine, 
 but we have not yet got to the end of the third act of the 
 Revolution. It is impossible to tell, but my guess is it 
 will end either in the complete subjugation of Europe or 
 in a bloody civil war between rival Generals, Republicans, 
 Jacobins and Royalists, and bring back out of its confusion 
 a Royal establishment. 
 
 The Abbe Costi is a phenomenon ; he is eighty-four 
 years of age, and as frolicsome as a boy of eighteen. His 
 reputation as the first poet of Italy has long been estab- 
 lished, and it is certain he would be now Laureate to the 
 First Consul had it not been for his enthusiastic admira- 
 tion for the principle of true liberty. We have frequently 
 been in his company, and have always found him in the 
 same lively humour, but it is rather unpleasant to hear 
 him speak, as he has lost the roof of his mouth. He is 
 endeavouring to procure a subscription for a splendid 
 
DR. SUEDAEUR 245 
 
 edition of his works, and proposes visiting England for 
 that purpose. 
 
 Dr. Suedaeur intended to have gone to Naples and 
 established himself there as a physician, but the sbirri of the 
 Committee of Public Safety arrested him as he was leaving 
 France on foot and in disguise. They gave him his choice 
 — to go to prison and appear a day or two later before the 
 Revolutionary Tribunal, or to be a Director of a public 
 establishment in which some chemical operations were 
 being carried out for the use of the armies. The doctor 
 naturally accepted the latter. As soon as he had taken up 
 his position in his new residence an order came that he 
 was never to go out of the house on pain of being in- 
 stantly sent to prison. This was a cruel joke, as the 
 doctor was of course virtually a close prisoner during the 
 eighteen months he was superintending this factory. At 
 length he was allowed to breathe the fresh air, attended 
 by a guard, and to visit certain patients ; but the guard 
 attended him even into the chambers of the sick, even 
 under circumstances of peculiar delicacy. Upon his pre- 
 senting a remonstrance against this indecorum, he was 
 sent straight to prison, with a promise that he should be 
 tried with the next batch of prisoners for conspiring 
 against the unity and indivisibility of the Republic. After 
 keeping him in jail for some time, he was taken out of 
 his bed at midnight, put into a hackney coach and brought 
 back to his lodging in the Governmental establishment. 
 The next morning, just as he was putting things there a 
 little in order, he was again arrested and carried before 
 the Committee of General Vigilance, of which the painter 
 David was a present member, who, giving him one of his 
 snarling tiger grins, asked him how he dared as a foreigner 
 have his name inscribed at his Section. While the doctor 
 was endeavouring to explain, David accused him of being 
 an agent of Pitt, and he was remanded to prison. Two 
 days later a guard took him once more to the Committee 
 of Public Safety, who told him there had been a mistake 
 in his affair. 
 
 It was a lucky thing the mistake was discovered, as on 
 
246 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 that very morning all his fellow-prisoners were tried and 
 found guilty of conspiring against the Republic and 
 summarily executed. 
 
 He was once again remanded to his Directorship and 
 forbidden to leave his lodgings. 
 
 At last an end came to those days of blood and peril, 
 
 and the doctor was liberated, after being duly ruined. 
 
 Thrown upon the wide world at his age, when something 
 
 ike comfort and ease had become necessary, he found he 
 
 had to beat up again his learning through life. 
 
 Sometimes he thought of going to America or England. 
 A mere accident repaired his fortunes. A female person- 
 age of high consequence was suddenly taken ill in her 
 husband's absence. Suedaeur attended and cured her. 
 He was thenceforward recommended and pushed among 
 the Governmental people. He now keeps his carriage, 
 and makes, as he tells me, over 50,000 livres (;£2ooo 
 sterling) per annum. 
 
 The effect of his sufferings is, however, very apparent. 
 He looks older than his years. He has lost his vivacity 
 and his tongue is sealed on politics, in which he declares 
 he will never more have any concern. 
 
 But he told us many histories of the Terror, and one 
 which struck me as peculiarly sad and horrible I will 
 relate, because it concerns an Englishman. 
 
 Young L (whose mother is still alive and resides in 
 
 London) was sent to Paris in order to polish and keep 
 him out of harm's way. I remember him well ; he was a 
 good-natured lad, very incautious, aud possessed of great 
 simplicity of manners. He was a most impassioned 
 English patriot, and openly cursed the French and their 
 measures, for which indiscretion Suedaeur remonstrated 
 with him in vain. The Committee of Public Safety, wanting 
 some English heads for exhibition, ordered his arrestation. 
 Suedaeur visited him in prison. He was always merry, 
 full of the heyday of youth, and continued to blaspheme 
 the French Republic. *' Rule Britannia " and ^^ God Save 
 the King" were the favourite songs with which he made 
 his prison walls resound. But these very songs proved 
 
EXECUTION OF COLONEL NEWTON 247 
 
 him to be a "serf" of King George and an agent of Pitt. 
 It was evident, said Fouquier-Tainville,the Public Accuser, 
 that he was engaged in a conspiracy to destroy the unity 
 and indivisibility of the Republic. Accordingly he was 
 brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal, with a vast 
 number of other persons of both sexes, among whom was 
 Colonel Newton, who was sentenced to death for playing 
 at cards.* 
 
 As the poor youth knew scarcely anything of the 
 French language, he was quite unaware of what passed. 
 They asked him no questions, merely sentenced him to 
 die. When he returned to prison he was as unconcerned 
 and gay as ever, for he had not the most distant idea he 
 had ever been tried. The next morning he was led down 
 into the courtyard, where the fatal cart, attended by gens- 
 d'armes awaited him. At the same instant Dr. Suedaeur 
 entered the prison to take a last adieu of him and Colonel 
 Newton. Colonel Newton was seated in the cart already, 
 bound and looking very dejected. The spectacle of 
 Newton bound and in that situation surprised and 
 startled the young man, who inquired where they were 
 going to take him. He could not make himself under- 
 stood, as he did not speak French. At that instant 
 Suedaeur overwhelmed with grief, came up to him. He 
 asked hastily, " Dr. Suedaeur ! what are they going to 
 do with me ? " " My poor lost boy," said Suedauer, 
 quite overcome and bursting into tears, **you are going 
 to instant death 1 " '^ To death I " he cried, ** I have not 
 been tried ! " Then wringing his hands, he exclaimed, 
 "Oh God ! Oh God ! " and swooned away in the arms 
 of the doctor. While in this condition he was flung into 
 the cart. He recovered before he reached the scaffold, 
 and cried more bitterly. Colonel Newton (who had long 
 served under Suwarroff, and received twelve wounds at 
 the storming of Ishmael, and was colonel of the Regi- 
 
 * The use of packs of cards with figures of royal personages, i.e.^ 
 the kings and queens of hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades, were 
 forbidden by the revolutionary authorities as being emblems of 
 royalty, and those who used them were condemned as Royalists. 
 
248 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 ment of Dragoons which guarded the King to the 
 scaffold), pitying the distress of the youth, employed the 
 last moments of his existence in administering comfort 
 to him. But Nature was uppermost, the misery of his 
 afflicted mother rushed into his mind, and he did not 
 cease to exclaim : "My poor mother ! my poor mother !" 
 until the fatal axe closed his eyes upon this world. His 
 person was extremely prepossessing, and the sight of his 
 unaltered countenance was enough to wring a tear from 
 a heart of stone. He was but eighteen years of age, and 
 the only child of his widowed mother. 
 
 XLII 
 
 HELEN MARIA WILLIAMS. MADAME 
 
 TALLIEN. KOSCIUSKO 
 
 Miss Helen Maria Williams* lives at the hotel of 
 Alexander Berthier, Minister of War. Helen is a per- 
 sonage, and at the Ministry of War she holds her court. 
 
 The notorious Mr. Stone,* who has driven away from 
 his side and cruelly ill-used his wife, lives with Helen, in 
 a virtuous philosophical platonic friendship. It is 
 singular so spiritual a damsel should harbour and enter- 
 tain a man of whom no one, not even in Paris, speaks a 
 good word. It is difficult to describe his services ; his 
 functions being so variously compounded of the German 
 squire, the Italian cicisbeo, the English master of the 
 ceremonies, and the French peroquet (as those fellows 
 are termed whom the French Republican ladies keep to 
 puff them, their beauty, toilets and talents in the 
 Journals). 
 
 He also acts as her ''garde des archives" and her 
 chamberlain. He is in short a man of all work ! 
 
 These things give no offence in this easy capital, where 
 it is a common thing for a man to sit down at table with 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
LAX VIEWS ON MARRIAGE 249 
 
 his wife and children and his mistress, and vice versa. I 
 have been present at many of these happy meetings, or, as 
 they are called here, melanges morales. 
 
 A Parisian man of fashion told me the other day in the 
 presence of his wife, a very handsome woman, that after 
 the first child, he thought both parties were at liberty to 
 do as they pleased. This would have been a good plea 
 before an English jury for the mitigation of damages. In 
 Paris they are more enlightened than in London, and 
 you never hear of a single action for " crim. con." from 
 beginning to the end of the year in the French capital. 
 
 I have assisted at a dinner given by Madame Tallien,* 
 who has long been separated from her husband, and now 
 lives with a rich merchant, who I mentioned in a former 
 letter as the present proprietor of the late Duke of Orleans' 
 chateau of Rincy. There were sixteen persons at table, 
 exclusive of Madame and her " cher ami," and one of the 
 sixteen was Tallien himself. He sat by the side of his ci- 
 devant spouse, and was engaged during most of the 
 banquet in an animated and almost affectionate conver- 
 sation with her. 
 
 A fashionable French philosopher has lately announce, 
 after the most recondite meditation, that he has discovered 
 " marriage to be the most odious of all monopolies." This 
 important discovery has, so far, made no progress in 
 England ; but in this city, the favourite abode of true 
 philosophy, it is taught in every stoa poecile. If I could 
 borrow the pencil of Gilray, I might hope to delineate 
 this nuptial banquet in its proper colours — a banquet at 
 which Venus Suadala was present, accompanied by all 
 the Loves and Graces in playful dalliance. 
 
 When Tallien was in Egypt, his patriotic wife, feeling 
 for the grievous losses which the Republic had sustained 
 in the number of its sons cut off by the sword, pestilence 
 and famine, with a generous and disinterested ardour 
 contributed her material labours towards making up the 
 deficiency in the population. Two little Republicans, 
 presented to the State during her husband's absence, 
 * See Appendix, 
 
250 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 attest her zeal, and it is pleasant to add she was by no 
 means singular in this sublime and Spartan devo- 
 tion. 
 
 On the return of the illustrious Commissioner, he fol- 
 lowed (for it is by no means etiquette for a husband and 
 wife to go together) his lovely spouse to a ball. 
 
 When he arrived, he found her in a state so resembling 
 a state of nature (she had but one apology for a garment, 
 and that was of the thinnest muslin), that he was indig- 
 nant. He reproached her for her indecent attire, and 
 received the reply that he was free to get another wife to 
 dress more to his mind. She told him coolly that she had 
 never loved him, and only married him to save her life. 
 But that as she was no longer in terror of the guillotine, 
 he was welcome to her fortune, but should have nothing 
 more to do with her person. " You know," she added, 
 *' what I can tell if I choose." 
 
 The ladies of Paris, from Madame Bonaparte down- 
 wards, highly approve of the spirited conduct of Madame 
 Tallien, whom they consider a persecuted beauty as well 
 as a charming woman. 
 
 The fact is that when she was Marquise de Fontenay, 
 and in prison at Bordeaux, Tallien, then on a mission to 
 that city, which he was reorganising in torrents of blood, 
 proposed to save her head if she would surrender to 
 him her purse and person, but threatened her with death 
 should she reject his offer. She gave her hand, there- 
 fore, to this renowned Sans Culotte — a circumstance 
 which engendered an irreconcilable hatred between him 
 and Robespierre, which exploded on the 9th of Thermidor 
 in favour of the former. 
 
 Some of Tallien's exploits during the Revolution are 
 worthy of record. In the days of September 1792, he 
 knocked out with his own hands the brains of one old 
 priest eighty years old, and bludgeoned six others. At 
 Bordeaux only eighteen persons were executed on his own 
 personal recommendation, but he brought away with him 
 from that city 1,700,000 livres (;^64,ooo sterling) in solid 
 cash — money paid to him as bribes for generously 
 
WILLIAMS AND BECCARIA 251 
 
 restoring to liberty "good citizens he discovered to have 
 been falsely accused." 
 
 But to return from this digression to Helen Williams. 
 This priestess of the Revolution has a nightly synod at her 
 apartments, to which the political dramatists and literati 
 of the capital resort. Here she is in her glory. Perched 
 like the bird of wisdom on her shrine, she snuffs up the 
 mounting incense of adulation offered up by homicides 
 and plunderers of the public. At the instant of inspira- 
 tion she becomes convulsed like the Delphic Priestess. 
 By an ingenious device she contracts her lips into the 
 form of a pipe, and literally whistles out the words of the 
 oracle she pronounces. The keeper of the archives is at 
 hand to record what passes for the benefit of the book- 
 sellers. The instant each ruling party is overthrown, out 
 come two or four little duodecimos, which this fanatical 
 female calls " Anecdotes of the Founders of the French 
 Revolution," &c., in which she records all their sayings, 
 and abuses in turn those whom she before received with 
 smiles at her conversaziones. If you wish to become 
 acquainted with a devil in the shape of a philosopher, a 
 general, a legislator, a quiz or a thief, you will find any 
 of these characters at Helen's coteries. 
 
 I mention Madame de Beccaria in this place by way of 
 a contrast. She is the daughter of the celebrated Marquis 
 de Beccaria, author of the book on Crimes and 
 Punishments. Elegant in her manners, she is pos- 
 sessed of a pleasing person, and is modest, affable, and 
 good-natured. Though a rigid Catholic, she does not 
 pose as a saint, nor does she keep a coterie, or wish to 
 take advantage of her father's celebrity to collect around 
 her the fops of philosophy. She had a great disappoint- 
 ment in her marriage. Her husband was an Italian 
 nobleman, whose union with her has been annulled on 
 account of his insanity. 
 
 Madame de Beccaria * will go to England very shortly 
 for the purpose of having her father's writings translated 
 there. She made me a present of her father's portrait, 
 * See Appendix. 
 
252 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 assuring me that he never wrote an Italian work entitled 
 Saggio sopra la Politica e la Legislatione Romana, 
 
 Kosciusko has disappointed my expectations ; perhaps 
 I judge of him too rashly, but if in two hours' conver- 
 sation with any man upon subjects most interesting, not 
 a spark of extraordinary light is emitted, I think it is but 
 fair to conclude that such a man is not fit to move out of 
 the common circle. According to my way of thinking, 
 the negro General Toussaint is immeasurably his intel- 
 lectual superior. But his valour and sufferings will always 
 excite sympathy, and the cause in which he strove the 
 interest of mankind. 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 We did not experience any difficulty in getting out of 
 Paris, after our four months' stay there. 
 
 I went to the office of Minister Talleyrand with my 
 passport. It was punctually returned by noon the next 
 day, and after sending our heavy luggage to the office of 
 the diligence and laid in a stock of provisions for the 
 journey, we stepped into our chaise and took our leave 
 of the French capital. As it was my wish to gratify my 
 companion with the sight of as much of France as our 
 time would permit, we did not return by the road we 
 came, but shaped our course for Brussels. The account 
 of that extensive tour would be out of place here, being 
 too long for insertion. Suffice it to say that though 
 bowed down under the yoke of a most horrible despotism, 
 the rest of France, unlike Paris, presents everywhere 
 objects of interest and sympathy. The moral influence 
 of the Revolution has by no means wrought such per- 
 nicious effects as might have been expected. The people 
 retained much of their civility and engaging manners of 
 former times, and until my second interview with the 
 brutal Mengard at Calais, there was not one place from 
 Senlis where we did not feel a regret at leaving. 
 
CONCLUSION 253 
 
 The roads are inconceivably wretched ; and sometimes 
 very dangerous. We were often obliged to go for many 
 miles at a foot's space. Between Arras and Lille ruts 
 were often three feet deep, our traces were continually 
 breaking, and fresh horses constantly required. In some 
 places the people did not even know the Peace had been 
 signed, for no English had come that way. While getting 
 out of the carriage they once asked me, with looks of 
 inexpressible anxiety, whether I had brought them peace 
 at last. On my answering " Yes," they exclaimed : " Ah ! 
 but has the King of England signed it?" 
 
 These letters give my opinions of the present Govern- 
 ment of France. I purpose, however, to give the subject 
 a more ample and serious discussion, although I do not 
 pledge myself to execute this work. 
 
 I left the Republic convinced that it was the interest 
 of France to be at peace with England, but with mani- 
 fold doubts of that Peace's long continuance. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 [BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES] 
 TO 
 
 LETTERS FROM FRANCE 
 
 IN 1802 
 
 THESE BIOGRAPHIES COMPRISE SHORT NOTICES OF 
 CERTAIN PERSONS MENTIONED BY MR. REDHEAD 
 YORKE IN HIS LETTERS FROM FRANCE. 
 I HAVE NOT THOUGHT IT NECESSARY TO INCLUDE 
 THEREIN BIOGRAPHIES OF ANY MEMBER OF THE 
 BONAPARTE FAMILY NOR OF SUCH WELL-KNOWN 
 ENGLISHMEN AS WILLIAM PITT AND CHARLES FOX. 
 BUT MERELY ENDEAVOURED TO GIVE A BRIEF DE- 
 SCRIPTION OF CERTAIN LEADING CHARACTERS IN 
 THE FIRST FRENCH REVOLUTION WHOM A LATER 
 GENERATION HAS FORGOTTEN, AND ALSO DE- 
 SCRIBED CERTAIN OTHER HISTORICAL PERSON- 
 AGES. 
 
 V. A. C. SYKES. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 ADAMS, John. 
 
 The sailor who led the mutiny on the Bounty against Lieu- 
 tenant Bligh in 1789. Fearing the eventual reprisals of the British 
 Government, he persuaded a number of his companions to leave 
 Otaheite and seek fortune among the then unknown islands of 
 the Southern Sea. They eventually settled at Pitcairn Island, 
 and founded a colony. 
 
 John Adams was born in 1754 and died at Pitcairn Island, 
 May 5, 1829, having fully earned the title by which he was known 
 — ''The Patriarch of Pitcairn." 
 
 ANDRON. 
 
 A Greek sculptor, believed to have lived some time in the 
 second century a.d. 
 
 BARNAVE, Antony Peter Joseph Marie. 
 
 Born at Grenoble, October 22, 1761 ; executed in Paris, 
 November 30, 1793. One of the great promoters of that 
 Revolution of which he eventually became a victim. 
 
 His father was a Procurator of Parliament and his mother the 
 daughter of a military officer. In those days professions were 
 hereditary, and young Barnave was therefore destined for the 
 Bar. In early life he showed signs of talent and an impetuous 
 disposition ; he was sixteen when he fought his first duel, and he 
 published a remarkable book at the age of twenty. 
 
 In 1783 he was chosen by the lawyers of the Grenoble Bar to 
 pronounce the speech before the vacation at the local Parliament. 
 He chose for his subject "The Divisions of Political Power in a 
 State." This discourse excited much interest, not only in Dauphiny, 
 but all over France ; the speaker was then twenty-two years of age. 
 
 His political career did not commence until he was twenty- 
 eight, when, having been elected Deputy to the States-General, he 
 proceeded to Versailles. 
 
 Barnave was, a few days after the opening of that Assembly, 
 named a Commissioner by the " Tiers Etat," and he composed 
 
 R 
 
258 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 the first petition, or address, that body presented to the King. 
 During the session of the Assembly he became more and more 
 prominent ; he was still a believer in the monarchical system, 
 and — under a constitutional form of government — a strong sup- 
 porter of the throne. 
 
 On October 25, 1790, Barnave was elected President of the 
 Assembly. 
 
 A few weeks after the death of Mirabeau, April 2, 1791, the 
 Royal Family fled from Paris and were arrested at Varennes : 
 Barnave was commissioned with Pethion to bring them back to 
 Paris. The many hours he thus spent in their company greatly 
 influenced him in their favour, and the Queen's charm exercised 
 an influence over him which dominated the remainder of his 
 short life. The question of the inviolability of Royalty arose 
 immediately after the King's return, and Barnave made a moving 
 and eloquent speech on this subject. The discussion of the 
 new Constitution commenced on August 8, 1791. On the 14th 
 the King took the oath, and on the 30th the Assembly was 
 dissolved. 
 
 The public career of Barnave then terminated, and his final 
 speech was made before a different tribunal. He returned to 
 Grenoble in January 1792, and there wrote "The Introduction 
 to the French Revolution." On August 15 of the same year the 
 Deputy La Riviere denounced the author of this book from the 
 Tribune; on the 29th of the same month Barnave was arrested. 
 After ten months' imprisonment at Grenoble he was removed to 
 Paris on November 3, 1793. He appeared on December 28 
 before the Revolutionary Tribunal ; two days later he perished. 
 
 Barnave addressed the crowd from the scaffold, his last words 
 being, as he pointed to the fatal knife, " This is the reward for all 
 I have done for France and for Liberty." 
 
 BABCEUF (suRNAMED " Caius Gracchus "), Francois Noel. 
 Born at St. Quintin in 1764 ; died May 25, 1797. 
 
 In early life he was apprenticed to an architect, and when quite 
 a young man he wrote articles for newspapers at Amiens. He 
 hailed with joy the principles of the Revolution. 
 
 He was tried in 1790, in Paris, owing to the violence of his 
 writings ; although acquitted, he had to undergo another trial in 
 1 792, under an accusation of embezzlement, when he was a second 
 time acquitted and soon after appointed administrator of a 
 Department ; he did not return to Paris until Thermidor 1794. 
 
APPENDIX 259 
 
 He created the journal Le Tribun du Peuple^ and developed in 
 its pages, under the synonym "Caius Gracchus," the doctrine of 
 the absolute equality of mankind. Two years later Baboeuf and 
 his followers, now a numerous body, constituted themselves into a 
 secret society, with the object of re-establishing the regime of 1793. 
 
 This society spread its emissaries over France, and early in 1796 
 was prepared for a rising. With the aid of 16,000 men, soldiers 
 belonging to the garrison of Paris, and of artillery posted at 
 Vincennes and at the Invalides, and of certain disaffected 
 members of Grenadiers and police, together with a large number 
 of the labouring classes — these conspirators planned to seize 
 the Directorate, the Legislative Assembly, and the Military 
 Staff of the Etat Major. Their arrangements were apparently 
 perfect, but, as is usual in such cases, traitors among the plotters 
 revealed the whole scheme to the Directorate. The heads of this 
 conjuration, to the number of sixty-five, were arrested, and 
 Baboeuf himself was seized just as he was dictating the manifesto 
 which was to be issued after the rising had taken place. 
 
 The trial of the conspirators lasted three months and was held 
 at Vendome. After the sentence of death was pronounced, 
 Baboeuf and his friend Dartre stabbed themselves, but were 
 nevertheless, like Robespierre and his friends, carried in an 
 expiring condition to the scaffold and beheaded. 
 
 Baboeuf s principles were those of the most advanced Socialism, 
 one of his precepts for the government of the Utopia of his 
 dreams being, " Whoever pronounces the word ' property ' shall be 
 imprisoned as a dangerous madman." 
 
 BARBAROUX, Charles Jean Marie. 
 
 Born in Marseilles, 1767 ; guillotined at Bordeaux, June 23, 
 1794. 
 
 As a very young man he showed scientific aptitude, and when 
 quite a boy was in correspondence with Franklin . He became 
 an advocate at the Bar of Marseilles, and had already obtained 
 much success as a pleader when the Revolution broke out. 
 
 He was made secretary to the new Commune of Marseilles, 
 and after quelling a Royalist insurrection at Aries, was despatched 
 to Paris as Deputy for Marseilles. He became a member of 
 the " Jacobin Club," and an intimate friend and ally of Roland 
 and his wife. He took an active part in the events of August 10, 
 1792, and was soon after named President of the ** Elective 
 Assembly," and, later, a member of the Convention. From the 
 
z6o FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 outset of his legislative career he was an opponent of the Extreme 
 Left ; he denounced Robespierre and Marat, insisting upon the 
 punishment of the authors of the bloody massacres of September. 
 An excellent economist, Barbaroux treated in a masterly manner 
 the question of commercial administration. 
 
 At the trial of Louis XVI. he voted against the execution of 
 the monarch. A movement was set on foot to drive Barbaroux 
 from the Convention, and on May 31 he was forced to fly from 
 Paris. He was declared a traitor to his country. At Caen he 
 had an interview with Charlotte Corday, and it is he who is 
 supposed to have inspired this young girl with the idea of killing 
 Marat. 
 
 He was a man of remarkable personal beauty, and unjustly 
 accused of having carried on a guilty intrigue with Mme. Roland. 
 He took refuge at Bordeaux, but was discovered and arrested. 
 Although he shot himself twice, he retained sufficient appearance 
 of life to enable the possibility of his public execution. 
 
 BARRAS, Jean Paul FRAN901S, Comte de. 
 
 Born in 1755 at Lohenpoux, Provence; died at Chaillot, 
 
 near Paris, 1829. 
 He entered the army at the age of eighteen, went with his regi- 
 ment to the He de France in 1775, and eventually joined the 
 French Indian Army at Pondicherry. After the capture of that 
 town he took service undei Suffren, and spent some time at the 
 Cape of Good Hope, returning to France with the rank of 
 captain. 
 
 He then proceeded to lead a life of debauchery and extrava- 
 gance. Many ruined rakes perceived in the Revolution a chance, 
 as they thought, of retrieving their fallen fortunes ; among such 
 was Barras. He was present at the attack on the Bastille in 1789, 
 and at the sack of the Tuileries three years later. He was a 
 member of the Convention, and voted for the instant execution of 
 Louis XVI. without appeal. 
 
 As a delegate to the South of France he assisted in those 
 sanguinary repressions of the revolt against the Republic in Pro- 
 vence. At Nice he arrested Brunet and Trogoff, whom he accused 
 of ceding Toulon to the English. He was present at the siege 
 and capture of that town, and helped to carry out horrible mas- 
 sacres of supposed traitors. Nevertheless, he was an object of 
 distrust to Robespierre, who disliked the intense immorality of 
 his private life, and doubted the sincerity of his Republicanism. 
 
APPENDIX 261 
 
 Barras therefore directed his efforts towards the overthrow of 
 the Montague^ and was the principal instigator of the events of 
 Thermidor, which led to the fall of Robespierre. 
 
 Later he obtained control of the home military force — and the 
 Presidency of the Convention. He declared Paris in a state of 
 siege, and when the mob surrounded the Assembly, shouting for 
 bread and the Constitution of 1793, he directed the armed force 
 which dispersed the people. 
 
 To him Bonaparte owed the command, by which the latter, 
 in the name of Barras, suppressed the attempted Royalist 
 revolution. 
 
 During the Directorate, Barras reigned practically alone until 
 the advent of Sieyes. He amassed a vast fortune, although 
 during his official reign he squandered money lavishly upon his 
 pleasures and lived in great state. 
 
 The Revolution of the i8th Brumaire annulled his political 
 power, and he sought and obtained permission to leave Paris. 
 
 During the rest of his life he ceased to be a man of any public 
 importance ; he was frequently exiled, and perpetually intriguing 
 with the Bourbons. After the second Restoration he returned to 
 Paris, and settled at Chaillot, where he died at the age of seventy- 
 four. 
 
 BARRERE DE VIEUZAC, Bertrand. 
 
 Born at Tarbes, September 10, 1755; died January 15, 
 1841. 
 
 He studied law and was advocate to the Parliament of 
 Toulouse. Later he returned to Tarbes, from whence he 
 eventually went as Deputy to the States-General. Here he 
 soon took a prominent place, defending the liberty of the press ; 
 and brought forward successfully numerous motions as to the 
 confiscation of Crown lands and the declarations of the rights of 
 citizens. 
 
 The National Assembly being dissolved, Barrere became a 
 member of the Tribunal of Cassation, and in 1792 Deputy for 
 the Department of the Upper Pyrenees. He publicly defended 
 the September massacres on the ground of their being a necessity 
 to save the State. He was elected President of the Convention 
 of December 1792, his first act being to press for the immediate 
 judgment of " Louis the Traitor," as he termed the King, saying 
 that " the tree of Liberty would never flourish until it had been 
 
262 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 watered by the blood of kings/' He voted the death of Louis XVI. 
 without respite, and later in the year brought forward a pro- 
 ject of ostracism against the Duke of Orleans and the Ministers 
 Roland and Pache. 
 
 The triumph of the Montague over the Girondins caused 
 Barrere to join forces with the former. Terror for his own 
 life made him ruthless in the destruction of the lives of 
 others. 
 
 He became in July 1793 a member of the Committee of Public 
 Safety, and, soon after, chief of that body, and its principal acts 
 were carried out by his order and at his instigation. By his 
 command the royal tombs at St. Denis were destroyed, Paoli 
 declared a traitor, the expulsion of those EngHsh who arrived in 
 France after July 14, 1789, decreed, as well as instant confisca- 
 tion of all property belonging to the emigres. He caused the 
 Chateau de Caen to be razed to the ground, sent troops to 
 punish Lyons, created a revolutionary army, and promulgated 
 the decree, "Terror is the order of the day." He also planned 
 the speedy execution of the Queen, and proposed that every 
 Frenchman who had not already made his declaration of adhesion 
 to the Republic should be transported, and all persons accused of 
 spreading false news brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal. 
 He implored the Assembly to treat with the utmost severity all 
 enemies of the nation, saying : " Have pity on them to-day and 
 they will massacre you to-morrow. It is only the dead who cannot 
 return." 
 
 Until the fall of Robespierre, Barrbre was his lieutenant and 
 obedient servant ; but after the coup d'etat against Robespierre, 
 Barrere was violent and condemnatory against the " conspirator 
 whose projects had up to then been veiled in mystery." Never- 
 theless, Barrere did not succeed in escaping; he was arrested, 
 with Callot, D'Herbois and Billaud, on March 2, 1795. He and 
 they were condemned to transportation, but later on Barrere 
 obtained a re-trial of his case, and was removed to another prison, 
 from which he succeeded in making his escape. He evaded re- 
 arrest until the law of amnesty for political prisoners was passed. 
 He remained in obscurity till 181 5, when, during "the hundred 
 days," he was elected a Deputy. 
 
 After the second Restoration he was banished as a regicide, 
 and retired to Brussels, where he resided until 1830, when he 
 returned to France and there remained until his death, at the age 
 of eighty-six years, in 1841. 
 
APPENDIX 263 
 
 BLANCHARD DE DA MUSSE, FRANgois Gabriel Ursin. 
 Born at Nantes, 1752; died at Rennes in 1836. 
 
 A pupil and friend of Delisle de Sales. He was called to the 
 Bar at Rennes, capital of Brittany, and became Councillor of the 
 Parliament of that town. He was one of those arrested suspects 
 saved by the Revolution of Thermidor, 1794. 
 
 After the i8th Brumaire his well-known honesty and amia- 
 bility of character caused his nomination as a judge of the High 
 Court at Treves and later Nantes. In 1815 he was, as a Liberal, 
 deprived of his functions, but reinstated the following year. 
 
 He wrote much poetry and several philosophical treatises. 
 
 BRISSOT DE WARVILLE, Jean Pierre. 
 
 Born at Chartres, January 1754 ; executed in Paris, October 
 
 1793. 
 
 The thirteenth child of a wealthy innkeeper, Brissot early 
 showed signs of talent, and his first book, Theories des Lois crimi- 
 nelles, evoked a complimentary letter from the aged Voltaire, to 
 whom the work was dedicated. 
 
 In Paris, Brissot entered a lawyer's office, where Robespierre 
 was his fellow clerk. But he soon abandoned law for journalism, 
 and became a well-known pamphleteer. He visited England, 
 and his book upon English literature was at one time considered 
 a classic. 
 
 On his return from England he was falsely accused of being the 
 author of a lampoon upon the Queen of France, and imprisoned 
 in the Bastille. Here he remained four months, but was released 
 by the influence of Mdme. de Genlis and the Duke of Orleans. 
 He was advised to take refuge in London. He joined the Abo- 
 lition of Slavery League, and resolved to establish a similar 
 League in France under the title of Les Amis des Noirs. He went 
 to America to study the question of slavery. 
 
 On his return from America he devoted all his talents and his 
 efforts to add to the impetus of the French Revolution. 
 
 Brissot was elected one of the members for Paris in the National 
 Assembly. An honest man and a true patriot, he fought against 
 anarchy. He was an opponent of the massacres of September, 
 and of the King's trial. 
 
 Constantly attacked by the Robespierre faction, he was arrested 
 at Moulins ; incarcerated in the Abbaye at Paris ; condemned to 
 death with twenty-one of his friends on October 12, 1793, and 
 executed on the following day. 
 
264 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 Brissot was one of the writers who exercised great influence 
 in those various publications which aided the advance of the 
 French Revolution, and accelerated that movement. His books 
 on law and legislature, his innumerable pamphlets, his speeches 
 at the Assembly and Convention, attest his earnest devotion to 
 the Revolutionary cause in its infancy. 
 
 BOURDON DE L'OISE, Francois Louis. 
 
 Born at Remy, near Campieges; died in 1797 ^t Simamari 
 in Guiana. 
 
 He commenced his career as a lawyer, became Procureur of 
 the Parliament of Paris, and eventually embraced the Revolutionary 
 cause in 1789, taking part in the attack on the Tuileries, August 
 10, 1792. 
 
 He became a member of the Convention by a trick. Another 
 Frangois Louis Bourdon, to whom he was in no way related, was 
 elected both by the Department of I'Oise and also that of the 
 Loiret as a Member of the Convention. This Bourdon chose to 
 represent the Loiret ; and his namesake, whom the electors had 
 never seen, profiting by the similarity of names, presented himself 
 to the Convention, took his seat without any difficulty, and held 
 it without question. 
 
 He first distinguished himself by the ferocity of his utterances. 
 He voted for the death of Louis XVI. without an appeal to the 
 people, and denounced all the more moderate Deputies, such as 
 Brissot, as being Royalists at heart. He defended the Reign of 
 Terror, violently attacking the Abbe Gregoire for his desire to 
 Christianise the Revolution. 
 
 As he later showed signs of pity towards the Royal insurgents 
 in La Vendee, Robespierre and Hebert accused him of modera- 
 tion, and caused him to be excluded from the Jacobin Club. 
 Bourdon, alarmed, threw his influence in the scale against Robes- 
 pierre in the Thermidor contra- Revolution^ and went so far as to 
 suggest that every Deputy who resisted the decree for Robes- 
 pierre's arrest should be shot upon the spot. He was one of the 
 escort that accompanied Robespierre and his partisans to the 
 scaffold. 
 
 From this time Bourdon declared himself the enemy of the 
 Revolutionary system, and the protector of priests and nobles. 
 Nevertheless, when sent to Chartres to discover traces of those 
 who were supposed to have plotted against the Convention, 
 Bourdon showed excessive and merciless cruelty. He eventually 
 
APPENDIX 265 
 
 became a Member of the Council of the Five Hundred, and real- 
 ised a large fortune by dealing in assignats and in the national 
 property. 
 
 The Directorate contained many of his mortal enemies, who 
 inscribed his name upon the list of those to be transported to 
 Cayenne, and he was arrested and deported; shortly after his 
 arrival at Simamari Bourdon expired, broken down by impotent 
 rage, remorse and despair. 
 
 BITANBE, Paul Jeremie. 
 
 Born at Kcenigsburg in Prussia, 1732; died in Paris, 
 1808. 
 
 Descended from a Huguenot family, banished from France by 
 the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. He was a learned student, 
 and a voluminous writer. 
 
 His translation of the Iliad, published in Berlin in 1762, 
 brought him the patronage of Frederick the Great, who allowed 
 him to settle in France, in order that he might perfect his know- 
 ledge of the French language. He published various translations 
 from the Greek in Paris, and was naturalised as a French 
 citizen. 
 
 He was arrested during the Terror, and, together with his wife, 
 suffered a lengthy imprisonment ; the 9th Thermidor brought his 
 release. 
 
 He was one of the principal members of the new Institute and 
 there represented literature and the fine arts. His writings are 
 somewhat marred by the fact that they were composed by a man 
 who had not thoroughly grasped the intricacies of the French 
 language. 
 
 LE BON, JosEPHE. 
 
 Born at Arras, September 25, 1765; executed at Amiens, 
 
 1795- 
 He made his first studies at an Oratorian College, and even- 
 tually became a member of that congregation. At the age of 
 eighteen, he was already a teacher of rhetoric in the College of 
 Beaune in Burgundy, and enjoyed a great reputation for piety 
 and learning. His sympathy with the Revolution caused him to 
 become a " Constitutional " parish priest at Vernois, and a year 
 later he was appointed to a cure of souls near Arras. 
 
266 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 Robespierre, St. Just, and Le Bas were his intimate friends : 
 at their persuasion he abandoned Christianity, married, and 
 adopted a political career. He was appointed Mayor of Arras 
 and Syndic for the whole Department of Pas de Calais, and, at 
 first, showed much judgment and great moderation. 
 
 In 1793 he was despatched on a mission to the Pas du Calais, 
 and was at first so indulgent, that Suffray, his neighbour and 
 enemy, denounced him to the Committee of Public Safety as a 
 protector of the aristocrats and a persecutor of patriots. He was 
 recalled to Paris, but under Robespierre's guarantee and his own 
 promise to redeem the past, was sent back to the Pas de Calais 
 with unlimited powers, and the order to crush the anti-revolu- 
 tionary movement in the towns of this Department. He carried 
 out these orders without mercy. Terrified by these responsibilities 
 and by the fact that the Austrian army occupied the neighbouring 
 frontier, he imagined enemies of the Republic on every side, and 
 wherever he went blood flowed freely. So great, however, were 
 his cruelties that he was again accused. But Barrere declared 
 that Le Bon had saved Cambrai by his energy, and for a time 
 the accusation lapsed ; his severities, however, made his enemies 
 thirst for revenge. In May 1795, a committee was appointed 
 to inquire into his conduct, and the report they returned 
 was: 
 
 1 . That he had been guilty of public assassination. 
 
 2. Of oppressing citizens. 
 
 3. Exercising personal vengeance in his summary executions of 
 accused persons. 
 
 He was then tried and found guilty of an "unlimited abuse of 
 the guillotine." 
 
 Le Bon exclaimed, as they dressed him in the red garment 
 reserved for murderers upon their road to the scaffold ; "It is 
 not I who should wear this garment, but those whose orders I 
 obeyed." He showed pitiable cowardice at his execution, and 
 his cries and groans rent the air. 
 
 Lamartine says of Le Bon : 
 
 He decimated the Departments of Le Nord and Pas du Calais. This 
 man is a striking example of the kind of vertigo by which men of weak 
 mind are affected in great political crises. Certain periods of history 
 excite criminality. Blood is in the air. Revolutionary fever has its 
 delirium. Le Bon during his short life of thirty years experienced all the 
 phases of this mental disease. In ordinary times he would have left 
 behind him the reputation of a worthy, respectable, and religious man. 
 In those sinister days he became a pitiless proscriptor. 
 
APPENDIX 267 
 
 BEAUHARNAIS, Eugene, Duke de Leuchtenberg, Prince 
 
 OF ElCHSTADT, ViCEROY OF ItALY. 
 
 Born in Paris, 1781, died February 22, 1824. 
 
 His father was executed by order of the Revolutionary 
 Tribunal in 1794, and his mother would have shared the same 
 fate but for the fall of Robespierre. At the age of fourteen he 
 was taken by General Hoche, who had been his father's friend, 
 to join the army in Brittany. His mother's marriage to Napoleon 
 in 1796 changed the course of his existence. In 1797 he was 
 created sub-lieutenant, and from that time was the constant 
 companion of his stepfather ; and for the future that stepfather's 
 fortunes were his own. 
 
 He was only twenty-four when he became ruler of Italy, and 
 showed extraordinary intelligence and moderation during his 
 Vice-Royalty. After the signature of the Treaty of Pressburg, 
 he married in 1806 Princess Louisa of Bavaria, and Napoleon 
 bestowed upon him the titles of " Prince of the Empire, 
 adopted son and heir-presumptive to the crown of Italy." 
 
 After the fall of Napoleon, Prince Eugene retired with his 
 wife and family to Bavaria, and was created Duke de Leuchten- 
 berg by the King, his father-in-law. He spent a few years in 
 seclusion, devoting himself to the education of his children. 
 He died suddenly from an accident when only forty-three years 
 of age. 
 
 His sons and daughters made brilliant alliances, his eldest 
 son marrying Donna Maria della Gloria, Queen Regnant of 
 Portugal; his younger son, Olga, daughter of the Emperor 
 Nicholas. Of his daughters, the eldest became Queen of 
 Sweden, the second Princess Hohenzollern, and the third 
 Empress of Brazil. 
 
 The present Russian semi- Imperial family of Leuchtenberg is 
 descended from Prince Eugene. 
 
 BARLOW, Joel. 
 
 Born at Reading in Connecticut, 1755 ; died in December 
 1 81 2, in Russian Poland. 
 He served as chaplain to a regiment during the American War 
 of Independence, and attained some celebrity by the patriotic 
 songs he composed. 
 
 In 1788 he abandoned the clerical profession and sailed for 
 Europe as agent of the Ohio Company. He settled in Paris, 
 
268 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 where he identified himself with the Revolutionary party, and 
 was intimate with the leaders of the Girondins. 
 
 In 1791 he published several pamphlets and poems in farour 
 of the Revolution, and in 1792 he addressed "A letter to the 
 National Convention" begging them to abolish royalty, and 
 presented in person an address to that Assembly from English 
 Republicans. When the Abbe Gregoire went to Savoy on a 
 special mission from the Convention, Barlow accompanied him 
 and made many speeches at Chambery against the King of 
 Savoy. 
 
 On his return to Paris he was appointed American Consul at 
 Tripoli ; in 1805, after another long stay in Paris, he returned to 
 America ; in 1 8 1 1 he was sent as American Minister to Paris. 
 The following year he started to join the Duke de Bassano in 
 Russia, which the French had just invaded, but falling ill on his 
 way to Wilna he expired in a miserable village near Cracow. 
 
 CAMBACERES and Prince of Parma, Jean Jaques Regis, 
 
 Due DE. 
 
 Born at Montpellier, 1753 ; died at Paris, 1824. 
 
 He belonged to an ancient family of the Long Robe, and many 
 of his ancestors and family connections had been distinguished 
 lawyers and churchmen. He was intended for the magistrature, 
 and made law his chief study. In 1789 he proceeded to Paris 
 and became a popular leader during the first years of the Revolu- 
 tion. He was elected a member of the Convention in 1792. 
 Through the next two stormy years Cambaceres, by the exercise 
 of extreme prudence, kept himself free from suspicion, although 
 he was never identified with the extreme party, and opposed the 
 execution of Louis XVI. He was President of the Assembly in 
 1794, and a member of the Committee of Public Safety. He 
 was Minister of Justice during the Directory, and when Napoleon 
 Bonaparte assumed the head of affairs after the eighteenth 
 Brumaire he appointed Cambaceres as Second Consul, with 
 power to act for the First Consul during the latter's absence. 
 
 When Napoleon assumed the title of Emperor Cambaceres 
 was created Arch-Chancellor, with perpetual Presidency of the 
 Senate. He held this position during the whole of the reign of 
 Napoleon I. None of his councillors were esteemed more highly 
 by the Emperor than Cambaceres; his advice was usually 
 moderate and sensible. He opposed the Austrian marriage and 
 the Russian campaign. It was he who in 18 14 conducted 
 
APPENDIX 269 
 
 Marie Louise and her child to Blois and delivered them over to 
 the Austrian commissioners. Her flight from Paris was con- 
 trary to his advice. 
 
 During "the hundred days" he resumed his position as 
 Chancellor. The Second Restoration banished him from France 
 as a regicide. In 181 8 the decree of his banishment was 
 reversed, and he returned to Paris, where he died six years later 
 at the age of seventy-one. 
 
 CARNOT, Lazare Nicholas Marguerite. 
 
 Born at Noisy, Burgundy, 1753; died at Magdeburg, in 
 Prussia, 1827. 
 
 Educated in Paris at a military school he joined the army with 
 the grade of lieutenant in 1773. He was soon distinguished by 
 his scientific attainments as well as his literary talents. 
 
 When the Revolution broke out Carnot addressed many 
 memorials to the Assembly on the subject of financial reform. 
 Had his proposals been then carried out national bankruptcy 
 might have been prevented. 
 
 He became a Deputy in 1791, and after the events of August 
 10, 1792, Carnot was despatched to the Republican army of the 
 Rhine. During the next two years he commanded armies on the 
 frontier, and gained many brilliant victories. He took no part 
 in the atrocities of the Terror, but has been unjustly accused both 
 by his contemporaries and by posterity of having approved the 
 massacres at Avignon and the executions at Lyons. As a mem- 
 ber of the Committee of Public Safety his name is attached to the 
 decrees ordering these cruel punishments, but he was at this time 
 fighting on the banks of the Rhine. He hated Robespierre and 
 Robespierre detested him, often saying, " We need Carnot now 
 for the war, but as soon as the war is over his head shall fall." 
 
 Carnot became one of the five Directors, and in that capacity 
 gave Napoleon Bonaparte command of the army of Italy. 
 During that campaign the other four Directors opposed Carnot ; 
 he was stripped of his office and even of his seat in the Institut, a 
 body he had virtually founded, was impeached and forced to fly 
 for his life to Switzerland. He remained in exile until the events 
 of the 1 8th Brumaire, when he was recalled and appointed 
 Minister of War and Tribune. He was opposed to the creation 
 of a life consulate, and later on to that of an Empire. 
 
 From 1807 to 18 13 he retired into private life, employing his 
 leisure in scientific studies and the education of his children. 
 
270 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 The disasters of 181 3 brought him out of his retreat, and he again 
 offered his services to the Emperor. 
 
 Napoleon appointed him Governor of Antwerp on January 24, 
 1 8 14, which place he defended with so much ability that it was 
 still in the possession of the French at the conclusion of the war. 
 He again retired into private life, but when Napoleon returned 
 from Elba he made Carnot Minister of the Interior. He held 
 his appointment for less than three months, but during that 
 short period brought about many educational reforms which are 
 still in use. 
 
 After Waterloo, Carnot was a member of the Provisional 
 Government, but as soon as the Bourbons returned he was 
 banished and outlawed. The Emperor Alexander gave him a 
 passport to Poland. He eventually fixed his residence with 
 his family at Magdeburg in Prussia, where he died at the age 
 of seventy. 
 
 CHAPTAL, CoMTE DE Chanteloup, Jean Antoine. 
 Born June 4, 1756; died 1832. 
 
 A celebrated chemist. His uncle, a rich physician at Mont- 
 pellier, gave him his first education. He studied chemistry at the 
 University of Montpellier, received the title of Doctor in 1777, 
 and went to Paris. In 1 781 he returned to his native town a 
 celebrated man. 
 
 The State of Languedoc founded in his honour a Professorship 
 of Chemistry at the School of Medicine. Chaptal had adopted 
 the theories of Lavoisier. The young professor considered 
 chemistry, then in its infancy, likely to become the most useful 
 and practical of sciences. By his uncle's death he inherited a 
 large fortune, and he devoted the whole of it to constructing 
 various laboratories, where experiments could be carried out, and 
 large establishments in which scientific productions might be 
 manufactured. 
 
 By his inventive studies, and assisted by his large fortune, 
 manufactories of alum, soda, and saltpetre were successfully 
 established, and the Government recompensed this work by 
 giving him a patent of nobility and the Grand Cordon of the 
 Order of St. Michael. 
 
 Chaptal adopted all the ideas of the Revolution, although he 
 disapproved its excesses. He was in consequence arrested ; but 
 his scientific knowledge was too important to the Government, 
 and he was Hberated and appointed Director of the Saltpetre 
 
APPENDIX 271 
 
 Manufactory at Grenoble. After this he directed also the 
 re-organisation of the School of Medicine. During the Con- 
 sulate, Chaptal succeeded Lucien Bonaparte as Minister of the 
 Interior, and in that capacity rendered great service to the State ; 
 he was appointed Treasurer of the Senate under the title of Count 
 Chanteloup. When Napoleon returned from Elba, Chaptal 
 accepted the portfolio of Minister of Commerce. After the 
 Restoration, Louis XVIII. erased his name from the list of Peers 
 of France, but a few years later his peerage was restored. He 
 was a member of the Academy of Sciences, and wrote several 
 important scientific works in his old age. 
 
 Before his death, at the age of seventy-five, he had many 
 pecuniary misfortunes, and died in comparative poverty. 
 
 CIMAROSA, DoMENico. 
 
 Born 1 749 at Aversa, in the Kingdom of Naples ; died in 
 Venice, 1801. 
 
 The son of a poor mason, he was but seven years of age 
 when his father was killed by a fall from a scaffold. In her 
 distress the boy's mother applied to a charitable monk for help. 
 This good man gave Cimarosa a few Latin lessons, and was so 
 struck by the child's intelligence that he decided to adopt him. 
 This monk was organist of the convent, and taught his pupil 
 music. Discovering the boy's extraordinary aptitude for musical 
 composition, he obtained his admission into the Conservatory at 
 Santa Maria di Loretto. 
 
 At the age of twenty-four Cimarosa produced his first opera at 
 Naples. His next ten years were a succession of triumphs, and 
 he produced innumerable operas and other musical compositions. 
 In 1787 the Empress Catherine offered him the title of Imperial 
 Composer, with a high salary. He journeyed to Russia, was 
 treated with great distinction, and many operas written by him in 
 Russia were performed during his five years' stay in that country. 
 He returned to Naples in 1793. 
 
 In 1799 he joined the Revolutionary party in Italy, was thrown 
 into prison, and but for the intercession of the Russian 
 Ambassador would have been executed. Upon his release he 
 took refuge at Venice, where he died. 
 
 He composed over a hundred operas, many of which still hold 
 the stage. 
 
272 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 CLOOTZ (surnamed AN ACH ARSIS), Jean Baptiste, Baron de. 
 Born inCleves in Germany, 1755 ; guillotined in Paris, 1794. 
 
 He was educated in Paris, possessed considerable natural 
 intelligence, but was led astray by the violent excitability of his 
 nature. He had confused dreams of social regeneration, and 
 declared that his life was to be devoted to the reformation of the 
 world. 
 
 He inherited a vast fortune, renounced his title of baron, 
 taking the romantic name of Anacharsis, travelled over Germany, 
 Italy and England, preaching his extraordinary doctrines, and 
 spending money with unbridled extravagance. 
 
 The French Revolution filled him with delirious joy ; it appeared 
 to realise all his mad projects. On June 19, 1790, he presented 
 himself at the bar of the Assembly to read an address in which 
 he requested that all strangers residing in Paris might be 
 admitted to the Grand Federation which was to take place on 
 July 14 of the same year. He called himself "the Ambassador 
 of Humanity " to France, and gave large sums to the " nation " 
 for the fitting out of a regiment *' to fight in the holy war against 
 tyranny." 
 
 The events of August 10 seem to have shaken Clootz's reason. 
 Not content with attacking all the kings and princes of the earth, 
 he delivered a violent tirade against the Almighty, declaring him- 
 self the personal enemy of God. He pubhcly abjured all 
 religion. He complimented the Convention upon their victories 
 near the Rhine, and requested the members to put prices upon 
 the heads of the Duke of Brunswick and the King of Prussia. A 
 decree of August 20, 1792, having granted him the title of citizen, 
 he repaired to the Bar of the Assembly and delivered a long 
 speech of thanks, and in the praise of regicide. After he became 
 a member of the Convention he wearied his co-Deputies by long 
 rambling speeches. He voted for the death of the King " in the 
 name of the whole generation of mankind," adding, " he personally 
 condemned Frederick William of Prussia to death." 
 
 Robespierre was his secret enemy, and by his (Robespierre's) 
 Influence Clootz was excluded from the club of the Jacobins and 
 arrested, the only accusation against him being that he was rich 
 and of noble birth. Clootz was condemned to death with his 
 supposed accomplices. He received his sentence with calmness, 
 and passed his remaining hours preaching materialism to his 
 fellow victims. At the scaffold he requested permission to sUiSei 
 
APPENDIX 273 
 
 last, as he wished to make some observations while watching the 
 heads of his companions fall. 
 
 He wrote several books, as strange in their contents as was his 
 own character. 
 
 CONDORCET, Jean Antoine Nicolas de Carinton, 
 
 Marquis de. 
 Born at Ribemont, in Picardy, 1743. 
 
 A member of a very ancient and noble family : being her only 
 surviving son, his mother devoted him to the Virgin, making him 
 wear girl's clothes until the age of eleven. 
 
 He became one of the most illustrious mathematicians and 
 philosophers of Franee. He was not quite twenty-two when 
 he presented his celebrated essay, " Sur le calcul integral " before 
 the Academy. He was elected member of the Academy of 
 Science after composing an eulogy on the death of La Fontaine 
 in 1771. 
 
 During the next fifteen years he published many books of 
 historical and philosophical interest. 
 
 Turgot inspired Condorcet with a tr.ste for political economy. 
 
 In 1789, notwithstanding his great position in the world of 
 literature and politics, Condorcet was not elected a member of 
 the States-General. But in 1791 he was a Deputy for Paris 
 in the second Assembly. He voted against the execution of 
 Louis XVI. 
 
 Condorcet was shortly after denounced as an Academician, a 
 conspirator, and an enemy of the people. He was also accused 
 of having attacked the " sublime efforts of the Committee of Public 
 Safety," and on October 3 the Convention ordered his arrest. 
 For a time various friends concealed the illustrious refugee in their 
 houses, but he was obliged to fly on April 6, 1794, from his last 
 hiding-place. Hunger drove him into a baker's shop to buy 
 bread, where the whiteness of his hands, the fineness of his linen, 
 and the fact that he was carrying a volume of Horace excited 
 suspicion, and he was arrested. He committed suicide the same 
 night in prison, swallowing poison contained in a ring. He was 
 fifty years of age. 
 
 Condorcet was one of the most illustrious of Frenchmen, a 
 true friend of liberty, a gentleman, an honest man, an elegant 
 speaker, a brilliant writer, and a distinguished geometrician ; he 
 fell a victim, with many others almost equally distinguished, to the 
 
274 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 fury of those revolutionary demagogues who deprived France of 
 most of the benefits she might have received from the Revolution 
 of 1789. 
 
 C0Nd6, Prince Louis Joseph de Bourbon. S 
 
 Born at Chantilly, 1736 ; died in Paris, 18 18. 
 
 The son of that Duke de Bourbon (afterwards Prince de Conde) 
 who succeeded the Regent Duke of Orleans as Prime Minister to 
 Louis XV. This Prince died in 1739, when his only son was 
 three years of age. 
 
 From his earliest childhood the young Prince de Conde was 
 devoted to military studies. His guardian, the Count de Charolais, 
 gave him an excellent general education. The Prince made a good 
 classical scholar, and through life was fond of making quotations 
 of Greek and Latin authors. He wrote an admirable history of 
 the life of his ancestor, the great Conde. 
 
 During the Seven Years War he showed military genius and 
 personal courage, and the victory of Johannesburg was principally 
 due to his efforts (1762). He married at the age of seventeen 
 Mile, de Soubise, by whom he had a son and a daughter. She 
 died when her husband was twenty-seven and she but twenty- 
 five years old. 
 
 His disposition was noble and generous, and his political views 
 distinctly liberal. He violently opposed the suggestions of 
 Count St. Germain (the War Minister) that Russian discipline, 
 including the caning of soldiers, should be introduced into the 
 French army. Deserving officers, not of noble birth, found in 
 him a friend and protector, as he used his influence to assist their 
 promotion. 
 
 The Prince de Cond^ spent twenty years of his life in embel- 
 lishing and improving his magnificent residence at Chantilly and 
 the surrounding domain. Here he entertained the German 
 Emperor, Joseph IL, the Emperor Paul, when Grand Duke 
 Cesarovitch, Gustavus, King of Sweden, the Duke of Brunswick, 
 and many other potentates. He was a generous landlord and a 
 public benefactor during the famine (1775); he bought up, at 
 any and every price, all the grain he could possibly obtain, this 
 corn being re-sold to the people at the usual price given in pros- 
 perous years for wheat. 
 
 Governor of Burgundy, that province owed to his efforts new 
 roads and bridges, the encouragement of local art, and the founda- 
 
APPENDIX 275 
 
 tion of useful and literary institutions. In 1787, as President of 
 the Assembly of Notables, his discourses were in favour of order, 
 economy and reform. Nevertheless, he was one of the first 
 objects of attack by the Revolutionary party, and menaced on 
 every side. Very shortly after the destruction of the Bastille he 
 departed with his family from France. He went first to Austrian 
 Flanders, and later to Turin, where he helped to combine the 
 movement which brought about the counter revolution in Lyons 
 and Southern France. He was chosen to command the body of 
 French noblemen and gentlemen known as Larmie du Rhin or 
 Des Emigres. 
 
 A decree of the Assembly, 1791, deprived him of an annuity 
 of ;£"2 4,000 a year (granted by the State to the House of Conde 
 in exchange for the territory of Clemontain). His property at 
 Chantilly was confiscated, and, as he was without resources, he 
 sold all his plate, diamonds and jewels. 
 
 When the civil war began he commanded a body of five 
 thousand men. At the close of the first campaign he possessed 
 no funds beyond a sum of money the Empress Catherine sent 
 him as a present. Shortly after this he entered regularly into the 
 service of the Emperor of Austria and received the pay of an 
 ordinary general. 
 
 In the campaign of 1793 the Prince de Conde performed many 
 brilliant feats of strategy, entering Alsace and occupying Berstein ; 
 the enemy drove his troops to Hagenau, and he marched on foot 
 at the head of his regiment and retook Berstein by a bayonet 
 charge. During the two following campaigns, Conde's army was 
 occupied only in guarding the Rhine. He suffered from the 
 jealousy and malevolence of the Austrian commanders, and was 
 supplied with bad provisions and spoilt flour ; but the Prince 
 ordered his table to be served with similar bread to that of the 
 soldiers. 
 
 During the whole of this time (in 1795) Conde was negotiating 
 with Pichegru, who commanded the Republican army on th« 
 opposite bank of the Rhine. They agreed that Cond6 should 
 pass over the Rhine with his army and join Pichegru ; they were 
 to march jointly on Paris and restore the monarchy. The Prince, 
 being subordinate to the Austrian Commander-in-Chief, 
 Werhmer, considered it a point of honour to communicate this 
 scheme to his superior officer. The Cabinet of Vienna refused 
 to assent to Conde's arrangement with the RepubHcan general, 
 unless Strasburg and the other Alsatian fortresses were occupied 
 
276 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 by the Imperial troops. The Prince refused his consent, and 
 Pichegru, whose first condition had been "no Austrian soldier 
 shall set his foot on French soil," naturally refused to entertain 
 the proposal for an instant. The project was, therefore, 
 abandoned. 
 
 The forces of Conde, consisting of 10,000 men, were now an 
 integral part of the regular Austrian army. The passage of 
 Moreau over the Rhine caused the retreat of the Austrians, and 
 although Conde and his troops invariably distinguished themselves, 
 and at the battle of Biberach saved the Austrian army from 
 a crushing defeat, the advance of Moreau was never seriously 
 checked. 
 
 After the peace of Campo-Formio in the following year, Conde 
 and his remaining followers took service under Paul I. of Russia. 
 In 1799 Paul abandoned the Austrian alliance, and made peace 
 with France ; the army of the Emigres then passed over to the 
 English. Conde fought in Bavaria and defended the passage of 
 the Inn. But after the battle of Hohenlinden the whole of his 
 remaining forces were disbanded. In 1801 the Prince joined his 
 son, the Duke de Bourbon, in England, the British Government 
 providing them with a small allowance. 
 
 Conde settled in the ancient abbey of Malmesbury, where he 
 found a devoted companion in his second wife, the Dowager 
 Princess of Monaco. In 1804 the news reached him of the 
 assassination of his grandson, the Duke d'Enghien, the last male 
 heir of his race. In 18 13 he lost his wife, at the very moment 
 when his long and cruel exile was about to terminate. 
 
 He landed at Calais with Louis XVIII. in May 18 14. Not- 
 withstanding his great age (he was nearly eighty) he was the only 
 member of the royal family who did not instantly attempt flight 
 from Paris on the return of Napoleon from Elba. 
 
 "We should fight," he cried, as the carriage in which he 
 had been forcibly seated was bearing him away towards the 
 frontier. 
 
 On his return after Waterloo he spent the remaining five years 
 of his life at the Palais Bourbon (now the Chamber of the French 
 Legislature) and at a small chateau at Chantilly, the last relic ot 
 its ancient splendour. 
 
 He died in Paris, aged eighty two, and was, by order of 
 Louis XVIII., buried at St. Denis, in the vault of the Kings of 
 France. 
 
 
APPENDIX 277 
 
 DANTON, George Jacques. 
 
 Born October 28, 1759; executed April 6, 1794. 
 At the time of the outbreak of the Revolution he was a needy 
 lawyer. The immorality of his private life caused him to be 
 greatly discredited by members of his profession, and he seldom 
 obtained employment. He therefore hailed with joy the social 
 changes, and threw himself with all the energy of his tempera- 
 ment into the Revolutionary movement. He made the acquaint- 
 ance of Mirabeau, who found him a man whose actions and 
 unscrupulousness were likely to be of great use to his poHtical 
 plans. Mignet, in his " History of the Revolution," says : 
 
 Danton was a revolutionary giant. He saw nothing condemnable in 
 any action which could serve his purpose. His theory was that with 
 audacity one could achieve anything and everything. 
 
 Danton, who had been surnamed "the Mirabeau of the populace," 
 possessed the following characteristics in common with the great Tribune. 
 Strongly marked features, a loud voice, an imperious mien, a bold elo- 
 quence, and a dominating presence. Their vices were similar, with this 
 difference, that in all his debaucheries Mirabeau remained a patrician, 
 and Danton never ceased to be a democrat. 
 
 President of the Cordeliers, Danton took for his satellites 
 Marat and Camille Desmoulins. Danton became the orator of 
 the people, and was ready to speak anywhere and everywhere 
 either in a public hall or in the street, from an open window or 
 in the Tribune of the Assembly. 
 
 The political role and public life of Danton did not attain real 
 importance until the return of the Royal Family from Varennes. 
 For a time he sold himself to the Court party, and as he was 
 under an order of arrest for debts he gladly accepted the terms 
 offered him by the anti-revolutionists. He received altogether 
 ;£"i 2,000 sterling, but as soon as supplies ceased he rejoined his 
 former friends and was a more implacable revolutionist than 
 before. When the " Federals " arrived from Marseilles, Pethion, 
 the Mayor of Paris, placed them under Danton's orders. He 
 plied them with wine and led them himself, with that personal 
 courage which never deserted him, to the attack on the Tuileries 
 on August 10. During the whole of that eventful day Marat and 
 Robespierre were hiding in a cellar. 
 
 After August 10, Danton was appointed, as a reward for his 
 services, Minister of Justice. He began his ministry by ordering 
 domiciliary visits in every part of Paris, by arresting the clergy 
 
278 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 and all suspected Royalists. He then assembled the General 
 Committee of National Defence, and in a speech to that body on 
 September i, 1792, said: " My advice is that it is necessary to 
 terrify all Royalists." 
 
 The following day he appeared in the Legislative Assembly at 
 the head of the authorities, and in a voice of thunder shouted to 
 the trembling Deputies : 
 
 It is at this moment, gentlemen, you can decree that Paris is worthy 
 of France. The cannon you are about to hear sound, is not the cannon 
 of alarm, it is the first step taken to destroy our enemies. What is 
 required to vanquish them ? Audacity ! still more audacity ! ! and ever 
 increasing audacity 1 ! ! 
 
 A few hours afterwards the massacres of September commenced. 
 They lasted four days, and to the assassinations of defenceless 
 prisoners in Paris succeeded those of the equally defenceless 
 prisoners at Orleans on the ninth of the same month ; a day or 
 two later, a similar scene of slaughter occurred at Versailles. 
 
 Elected one of the Paris Deputies to the Convention, Danton 
 resigned his Ministerial post. He was a violent promoter of the 
 trial of Louis XVL, and to a friend who suggested the Convention 
 was not by right of law a court of justice, he replied ; " You are 
 right ; and we will not judge him, we shall kill hijn." 
 
 Bertrand de Molleville, ex-Mmister of Marine, who had taken 
 refuge in London, informed Danton he possessed a letter written 
 by him (Danton) at the time he was in the pay of the Royalists. 
 This he threatened to publish if Danton used his influence to 
 condemn Louis XVL Danton left Paris in consequence and did 
 not return until the last day of the King's trial. Immediately 
 after the King's execution, Danton and Lacroix repaired to 
 Belgium, which Dumouriez had just invaded. They received 
 4,000,000 of francs (^^ 600,000) to be used in promoting a 
 Revolution in Flanders and the Netherlands. 
 
 They were accused of having appropriated the greater part of 
 this enormous sum, and there is every reason to believe this accusa- 
 tion was a just one. In order to avert suspicion, Danton replaced 
 himself at the head of the most extreme revolutionists. He pro- 
 posed and carried a motion for the levying of an army of 300,000 
 men, and also suggested the devastation of France in case of 
 invasion. On March 10 he decreed the establishment of the 
 famous Revolutionary Tribunal, which a year later sent him to 
 the scaffold. 
 
APPENDIX 279 
 
 The Committee of Public Safety was formed and became the 
 real governing power of France. Danton was its foremost 
 member, and now reached the apogee of his career. But he was 
 menaced on two sides ; by the party of the Girondins, who 
 clamoured for the punishment of those who had by murder soiled 
 the cause of Liberty^ and by the " Purists " of the Montague , who 
 accused him of the embezzlement of funds in Belgium, As, 
 according to his own cynical remark, ** authority in a Revolution 
 should always belong to rogues," he joined Robespierre and 
 Pache and brought about the trial and execution of the Girondins. 
 Soon afterwards the influence of Danton began to wane, he was 
 now reproached with too much moderation, and of being desirous 
 to coerce the actions of the Revolutionary Tribunal. He had 
 denounced the Saturnalia of the Feast of Reason. 
 
 Robespierre decided Danton should fall, and many of his 
 (Danton's) friends advised him to fly while there was yet time. 
 He replied : "They would not dare !" and remained, lulled by 
 this false security, until he was arrested in his own house on the 
 night of March 30, 1794. Many members of the Convention 
 tried to save him, and an effort was made to give him an oppor- 
 tunity of appearing before the Assembly and publicly attesting 
 his patriotism ; but this was vetoed by Robespierre, who with 
 feigned indignation said : " We shall see whether the Convention 
 will be able to break a rotten idol, or will allow that idol to 
 destroy in its fall not only the Convention but the people of 
 France." 
 
 St. Just ascended the Tribune, and poured forth a violent 
 impeachment of his former ally, whom he accused of every 
 possible form of treachery to the Republic. "Terror was voted 
 as the order of the day," and Danton's fate was sealed. 
 
 After he and his companions had undergone a mock trial, 
 devoid of every semblance of justice, they were sentenced to 
 death. Danton's answer to the sentence was : " We are being 
 immolated by a few cowardly brigands ; but they will not long 
 enjoy the fruits of their victory. Robespierre, that infamous 
 coward, will soon follow me." 
 
 Danton was executed on April 5 with Camille Desmoulins, 
 Lacroix, Fabre d'Eglantine, Hermit, Le Sechelle, Philippeaux, 
 Declannoy de Angers, Chalet and Bazire (all of these men were 
 Deputies of the Convention) the famous Abbe d'Espagne, General 
 Westerman, a Spaniard, a Dane, and two Austrians. His last 
 words were : Montrez ma tete au Feuple^ elle en vaut la peine. 
 
28o FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 He was thirty-five years of age when he perished. Robespierre 
 enjoyed the sight of the execution of his rival from a neighbour- 
 ing window, and after the fall of the knife retired into the 
 Tuileries gardens to take his daily walk, rubbing his hands with 
 satisfaction. 
 
 DAVID, Jacques Louis. 
 
 Born in Paris, 1748; died in Brussels, 1824. 
 
 Left an orphan at an early age, his grandfather, an architect, 
 adopted him. When a boy at school he met with an accident 
 which deformed his face for Hfe. A stone struck him in the 
 mouth, broke several teeth, and a growth eventually formed upon 
 his upper lip which gave him a savage and ferocious expression. 
 In early childhood he showed promise of artistic talent. His 
 uncle intended the boy to follow his profession of an architect, 
 but when the youth begged to be allowed to study painting he 
 yielded to his entreaties. 
 
 The famous painter, Boucher, then a very old man, saw some 
 sketches made by young David, and offered to take him into his 
 studio as a pupil. After Boucher, the painter Vien became 
 David's master, and the student competed for the " Grand Prix 
 de Rome " ; he was unsuccessful four times, but finally carrying 
 off the prize started for Italy in 1776. He devoted himself to the 
 study of the antique, and adopted that severe classical style by 
 which his work is distinguished. While at Rome he painted 
 " The Pests of Saint Roch " for the Lazaretto at Marseilles. In 
 1780 he returned to Paris and produced "Belisarius" and "The 
 Death of Hector," after which he was elected to the Academy, 
 given an appointment in the Louvre^ and opened a school for 
 young painters. 
 
 He married Mademoiselle Pecconi, a beautiful Italian girl, on 
 the occasion of his second visit to Rome in 1784. He exhibited 
 the "Horaces" in Paris, and was proclaimed " The Regenerator 
 of Art." Louis XVI. patronised the painter, and commissioned 
 him to paint " Brutus," which picture was finished early in 1789. 
 
 The Revolution changed David's life and ideas; in 1790 the 
 National Assembly commissioned him to paint " The Oath in the 
 Tennis Court." In 1792 the artist was elected Deputy for Paris 
 in the Convention. This position seemed to affect his intellect 
 and excite his brain. 
 
 The painter of " Brutus " considered himself another Brutus?, 
 
APPENDIX 281 
 
 and imagined Louis XVI. deserved death because, being a king 
 he must necessarily be a tyrant. 
 
 During the early months of the Republic David organised 
 those fetes which were intended to imitate the ancient popular 
 feasts of Greece and Rome. 
 
 He painted, amongst other numerous pictures, "The Assassina- 
 tion of Michel le Pelletier" and that of "Marat by Charlotte 
 C'orday." These pictures were exhibited to the public in the 
 courtyard of the Louvre. 
 
 He became the most violent among the violent Terrorists. 
 His speeches in the Convention invariably contained cries for 
 more bloodshed. He was the intimate friend and ally of 
 Robespierre. After the fall of the latter, David was twice 
 arrested, and remained first four, and then three, months in 
 prison. 
 
 Bonaparte, after his first campaign in Italy, and when the 
 peace of Campo-Formio was concluded, sent for the painter, 
 with whom he had an interview. The General desiring he should 
 paint his portrait David said, " I will paint you sword in hand in 
 the midst of a battle." Bonaparte replied, "Battles are not 
 now gained with swords. Paint me seated on a fiery charger." 
 This idea was realised in that well-known picture, " The Return 
 from Marengo." Napoleon, after assuming the imperial title, 
 appointed David his painter-in-ordinary, and commissioned him 
 to paint four immense pictures to cover the walls of the throne 
 room in the Tuileries. " The Coronation " and " The Distribu- 
 tion of Eagles in the Champ de Maers " were the only two exe- 
 cuted. " The Coronation " occupied the artist during three years 
 of incessant work. Until 1814 David remained in Paris, an 
 imperial favourite and a fashionable portrait-painter, enjoying the 
 reputation of being the greatest artist of his day. On the return 
 of the Bourbons, of whom he had been in a certain sense a 
 personal enemy, he was not allowed to exhibit his great picture, 
 " The Thermophyles," in public. 
 
 After the Second Restoration he was banished from France, to 
 which country he never returned. Before his departure he cut 
 his two great works, "The Coronation" and *'The Distribution 
 of the Eagles," to pieces with his own hands. By the order of 
 Louis XVIII. the fragments were re-united, and the pictures may 
 now be seen in the museum at Versailles. 
 
 During his twenty years exile David continued to paint with 
 industry and vigour, dying at Brussels in 1824. 
 
282 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 D'ESTAING, General. 
 
 The General mentioned by Yorke was a member of a very 
 ancient family, whose archives date back to the tenth century. A 
 Count D'Estaing saved the life of Philippe Augustus in battle. As 
 a reward the D'Estaing family were granted the privilege by that 
 King of quartering the Royal arms of France upon their escut- 
 cheon. An Admiral D'Estaing, uncle of General D'Estaing, was 
 one of the most distinguished French naval officers of the 
 eighteenth century ; his opinions were liberal, and he at first 
 favoured the Revolutionary changes. He was, nevertheless, a 
 devoted friend of Marie Antoinette, and when she was tried in 
 October 1793, in^de an effort to assist in her defence. He fell 
 in consequence under the suspicion of the Committee of PubUc 
 Safety, and was condemned and executed. When sentence of 
 death was pronounced upon him, he exclaimed : " You had 
 better send my head to the English ; they will pay you highly 
 for it." 
 
 FITZ JAMES, Edouard, Duke De. 
 
 Born at Versailles, 1776; died in Paris, 1838. 
 
 His family emigrated in the early days of the Revolution, and 
 settled in Italy. 
 
 After the formation of Conde's army, young Fitz James joined 
 its ranks, became aide-de-camp to Marshal Castries, showing on 
 many occasions great personal bravery. After the forcible dis- 
 persion of the French Emigre Regiment, Fitz James visited 
 England and Scotland, and married in London a Mdlle. 
 Latouche. 
 
 During the Consulate he applied for, and received, permission 
 to reside in France. 
 
 He refused to accept any place or dignity at the hands of 
 Napoleon, and took no part in public affairs until December 1813 
 (when the fall of the Empire appeared imminent). He then 
 entered the National Guard as a non-commissioned officer, with 
 the object of obtaining a secret influence over the men. In this 
 he was successful, for his arguments and actions practically caused 
 the refusal on the part of the National Guard to attack the Allied 
 Army then marching upon Paris. 
 
 After the capitulation of that city, Fitz James organised and 
 headed a vast demonstration in favour of the restoration of the 
 Bourbons. Thousands of young men rushed through the streets 
 
APPENDIX 283 
 
 of Paris, waving white flags and shouting Vive le Rot f This 
 popular manifestation greatly affected the Emperor Alexander, 
 and caused his final decision in favour of the Restoration of the 
 ancient monarchy. 
 
 When Louis XVIII. assumed the sovereignty of France, Fitz 
 James was created a Peer, Colonel of the National Cavalry, and 
 Chamberlain to Count d'Artois. During the second Restoration 
 Fitz James was one of the principal instigators of the severe 
 reprisals on the Royalist side, known as the "White Terror." 
 Marshal Ne/s execution was caused by the efforts of Fitz James. 
 
 He unsuccessfully endeavoured to bring about the condemna- 
 tion to death of General Bertrand, although the latter was his own 
 brother-in-law. 
 
 A wild fanaticism seemed at this period to have affected 
 his mind. He opposed every constitutional concession on the 
 part of the Government, and showed himself so hostile to Minis- 
 terial and even Royalist projects, that he was finally forbidden to 
 appear at Court. 
 
 After the Revolution of 1830, Fitz James, as a Peer of France, 
 took the oath of allegiance to Louis Philippe. But in secret he 
 was still loyal to the exiled King. 
 
 At the time of the rising in La Vendee excited by the Duchess 
 de Berry, Fitz James was arrested, but released owing to lack of 
 evidence against him. 
 
 He became Deputy for Toulouse in 1834, and until his death 
 four years later was a prominent member of the Right in the 
 French Parliament, and took a considerable part in the debates. 
 
 FOUCHE, Duke of Otranto, Joseph. 
 
 Born at Nantes, 1763; died at Trieste, 1820. 
 
 He was intended by his father, a sea captain, for the merchant 
 service, but owing to his deHcate health this project was 
 abandoned. He was sent to the Oratorian College in Nantes, and 
 later to an establishment of the same Order in Paris. He received 
 the tonsure and became an abbe ; at the time of the Revolution 
 he was a professor in the Nantes University. He quitted the 
 cassock, married, and proceeded to Paris. 
 
 In 1792 he was elected member of the Convention, and became 
 intimate with Robespierre. The King's trial gave him his first 
 opportunity of publicly expressing his extreme views. He said in 
 a speech from the Tribune : *' I demand the execution of the 
 
284 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 tyrant, for it would almost appear as if we regretted our courage 
 in abolishing Royalty, were we to tremble before its wretched 
 shadow." 
 
 In March 1793, Fouche was despatched to his native town 
 (Nantes), armed with full powers to crush a rebellion against the 
 Republic in the West of France. He opened the campaign by 
 a violent attack on every form of Christianity, confiscated all 
 ecclesiastical buildings, arrested and imprisoned the priests, 
 commanded the destruction of all religious emblems, and ordered 
 this inscription to be placed on the gates of the cemeteries : 
 " Death is an Eternal Sleep." 
 
 He affected a disdain for wealth, writing to the Assembly, 
 " Let us abolish gold and silver and fling away all such idols of 
 Monarchy ! " 
 
 These deeds and sentiments caused his rapid promotion, and 
 he was sent to Lyons in company with Herbois, with orders to 
 chastise with fire and sword that recalcitrant city. The two com- 
 missioners inaugurated their mission by celebrating a " Feast of 
 Reason," which, like that of Paris, was a licentious and impious 
 orgie. One of its principal features was a procession headed by 
 an ass, upon whose head was fixed a mitre, while to his tail were 
 fastened the Books of the Old and New Testaments. An altar 
 was erected, at which a mock Mass was celebrated, and the ass 
 given food and drink from consecrated vessels. A bonfire fed 
 with religious emblems and sacred books was extinguished by a 
 violent storm of rain and wind, which finally broke up the '•^ Feast. ^^ 
 Upon the next day the massacres of Lyons began. The tribunal 
 decided that the guillotine was too slow a form of execution. 
 They therefore decreed the condemned should be mowed down 
 in batches by cannon shot. As many as fifty-nine persons were 
 on one occasion blown to pieces at the same instant. During 
 their four months' reign in Lyons, over 1700 persons are known to 
 have been destroyed by order of the commissioners. 
 
 On the retaking of Toulouse by the Republican forces Fouche 
 wrote to Callot, who was charged with the administration of 
 "justice " to the rebels : '^ Annihilate all traitors. Take Nature's 
 example, strike and scorch as one does with lightning and 
 thunderbolts, so that the very ashes of the enemies of the Republic 
 may disappear from the soil of Liberty. Tears of joy flow from 
 my eyes and inundate my soul. We celebrate your victory to- 
 day by sending 213 rebels to be destroyed by the thunder of 
 our guns ! " 
 
APPENDIX 285 
 
 During his residence at Lyons, Fouche was denounced by 
 Ilcbert at the Jacobin Club; it was with satisfaction, therefore, that 
 he saw the former fall with Danton. When, in April 1794, Fouche 
 returned to Paris, after an absence of eight months, he found 
 Robespierre at the zenith of his power. When' rendering an 
 account of his services, Fouche ended his speech with these 
 words: " Criminal blood fertilises the soil of Liberty and establishes 
 justice upon secure and immovable foundations." He was almost 
 immediately afterwards selected as President by the Jacobin 
 Club. 
 
 On the occasion of the celebrated Fete de PEtre Supreme, 
 I'ouche had the imprudence pubHcly to mock Robespierre's devo- 
 tion to the new Deity, saying Tu nous embetes avec ion etre supreme. 
 Ivobespierre impeached him before the Jacobin Society, and 
 caused Fouchd's expulsion from the Club of which he was Presi- 
 dent, but the loth Thermidor was not far off; and the execution 
 of Robespierre saved the life of Fouche. 
 
 For a time the latter retired into private life. Two years later 
 he ostensibly joined the party of Baboeuf, the SociaHst, but when 
 he had thoroughly mastered the details of Baboeufs plot he 
 revealed the whole of the affair to the Directorate. 
 
 After the execution of Baboeuf, Fouche obtained, as the price 
 of his services, an array contractorship, and later was created 
 ambassador to the Cisalpine Republic. After remaining some 
 time in this capacity at Milan he returned to Paris in January 
 1799. In July of the same year he was nominated Minister of 
 Police. Notwithstanding the opposition of Siezes, Fouche retained 
 this appointment until the establishment of the Consular Govern- 
 ment. Napoleon, who thoroughly appreciated the abilities and 
 understood the astuteness of Fouche's character, made use of him 
 as his most confidential Minister until 18 10. 
 
 The remarkable system of secret police which distinguished the 
 Consular and Imperial Governments was originated and carried 
 out by Fouche. It was he who discovered the plot of Georges ; 
 who prevented the assassination of the First Consul by an infernal 
 machine in 18 10; and upon his head, more than upon his master's, 
 that the guilt of the murderous execution of the Duke d'Enghien 
 rests. 
 
 Fouche was too wise and far-seeing to approve of the divorce 
 and re-marriage of Napoleon, and he particularly opposed the 
 Austrian Alliance; for this the Emperor never forgave him, and 
 when he discovered that his union with Marie Louise did not 
 
2 86 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 induce the British Government to recognise his sovereignty, he 
 dismissed Fouche, and in 1810 gave the portfoHo of Police to 
 Savary. Fouche was not, at first, openly disgraced, but appointed 
 Governor of Rome. Before his intended departure, however, 
 Napoleon ordered him to give up all political documents in his 
 possession. Fouche sent some insignificant papers, declaring he 
 had destroyed the remainder. Napoleon was furious, and the 
 ex-Minister was obliged to fly from France. 
 
 A compromise was arranged, and two years later Fouche 
 returned. In 1813 he was appointed Governor of Illyria. In the 
 following April, after the first abdication of the Emperor, he 
 returned to Paris, headed the deputation which received the 
 Comte d'Artois, and shortly afterwards Louis XVIII. took him into 
 his confidence and consulted him on many points. He did not, 
 as he desired, become Police Minister. 
 
 Upon the return of Napoleon and the flight of the Royal 
 Family, Fouche accepted his old post, but during the whole of 
 the hundred days he secretly intrigued with the exiled Princes. 
 
 After the Second Restoration, he was immediately summoned 
 to the Tuileries and re-appointed Police Minister, but he only 
 retained office three months ; he had too many enemies in the 
 Royal entourage, and found foes among Liberals and reactionaries 
 alike. He was made Ambassador to the Court of Saxony, but the 
 law of 181 5 — which banished all regicides — deprived him of this 
 position and drove him again into exile. He became a naturalised 
 Austrian, and died four years later at Trieste, on Christmas Day, 
 1820. He was but fifty-seven years old> but a life of excitement 
 and mental overwork had given him the appearance of extreme old 
 age. He left a fortune of ;^ 5 60, 000, amassed, it is supposed, by 
 subtle and dishonest means during his occupation of the Ministry 
 of Police. 
 
 FOUQUIER-TINVILLE, Quentin Antoine. 
 
 Born at Herouet in 1747 ; guillotined in Paris May 8, 1795. 
 
 He was a son of a wealthy farmer, and after studying law in 
 Paris bought a charge of procureur at the Chatelet. Although 
 active and intelligent, his well-known immorality prevented his 
 achieving success in his profession, and he was forced to sell his 
 charge to avoid bankruptcy 
 
 Reduced to any and every expedient to earn a livelihood, he 
 addressed some flattering verses to Louis XVI., which, by the 
 
 
APPENDIX 287 
 
 efforts of the Abbe Delille, obtained for their author an appoint- 
 ment in the bureau of poHce. 
 
 On the outbreak of the Revolution, Fouquier-Tinville, became 
 an extremist, and was made commissionary over the district in 
 Paris where he resided. 
 
 He passed the evening of August 9 in the Commune, pro- 
 nouncing the most sanguinary discourses, and took a prominent 
 part in the attack upon the Tuileries the following day. 
 
 Robespierre and Danton appointed him a member of the jury 
 of the Revolutionary Tribunal. 
 
 His legal knowledge, his calm determined manner, and his gift 
 of eloquence led very shortly afterwards to his nomination to the 
 post of " Public Accuser." From this moment he considered that 
 he was " Minister of Political Justice," the Committee of Public 
 Safety being his sovereign, and the jury and executioners his 
 servants. He interrogated the accused as a judicial formality, but 
 he made no inquiry as to the innocence or guilt of the prisoner. 
 Every evening at ten o'clock he repaired to the Committee of 
 Public Safety, to give an account of his doings during the day. 
 His lodgings were in the Palace of Justice, and he never left them, 
 except to go in the daytime to the Tribunal, and in the evening 
 to the Committee. 
 
 It was before him that Marat appeared on April 24, 1793, 
 accused by the National Assembly. Fouquier facihtated his 
 acquittal ; this was the only instance in which he ever showed 
 mercy. Before him passed in vast procession during the next 
 fifteen months the victims of the Revolution. 
 
 He accused and delivered to death Danton, Hebert and the 
 whole Commune of Paris, as mercilessly as he prosecuted the last 
 Queen of France. When Robespierre and his companions were 
 dragged before the Tribunal, Fouquier said to the jury, who were 
 in doubt as to the course they should pursue : "We are dispensers 
 of justice, and justice must be executed upon all who come before 
 us." 
 
 After the 12 th Thermidor, Barrere was desirous of retaining 
 Fouquier-Tinville in his sanguinary functions. But a universal 
 outcry prevented this. Fr^ron, who had himself an odious 
 reputation for cruelty, denounced Fouquier, saying: *'It is time 
 Fouquier-Tinville were sent to hell to expiate his bloody 
 deeds." 
 
 The Assembly decreed his trial, and five days later he appeared 
 at the bar of the Convention. He attempted to throw all the 
 
288 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 blame for his acts upon Robespierre, but he was arrested and 
 imprisoned. His trial lasted forty-one days, over two hundred 
 witnesses, who gave lengthy evidence, being interrogated 
 He was found guilty of 
 
 having caused the death of innumerable innocent persons of both sexes 
 under pretence of being conspirators ; of having on one occasion sent 
 during the space of three hours eighty persons to the scaffold without 
 respecting legal formalities ; of having crowded upon carts (prepared in 
 readiness before their trial), victims who had not had any semblance of 
 justice and whose condemnations were never signed ; of having ordered 
 the execution of a number of pregnant women. 
 
 Fouquier's defence was as follows : 
 
 The Convention having declared Terror to be the order of the day, in 
 the same breath ordered the extermination of all rebels. The prisoners 
 were merely sent before me in order that I might carry out certain legal 
 formalities. It was therefore your orders, citizen representatives, that I 
 obeyed. Which of you ever gave me a word of blame ? Blood was the 
 perpetual cry upon the lips of your orators. If I am guilty, then you are 
 all guilty. I was but the weapon of the Convention ; do you punish the 
 executioner's axe ? 
 
 He was condemned to death with fifteen other persons, and 
 conducted the following day to the scaffold. The populace 
 followed the cart which bore him to punishment with yells of 
 execration and insult. He spoke to them cynically, and to a man 
 who cried out, Tu li as plus la parole aujourd'hui — the taunt he 
 used to those of his victims who wished to defend themselves 
 before the Tribunal — Fouquier said : 
 
 *' And thou, wretched creature, go and claim thy three ounces 
 of bread at the Section ; I at least die with a full stomach and 
 have never known want." 
 
 GANGENELLI, POPE CLEMENT XIV., Jean Vincent 
 Antoine. 
 Born, October 1705 ; died, September 22, 1774. 
 
 He was the son of a doctor, and became a Franciscan monk 
 at the age of nineteen. An ardent student of philosophy 
 and theology, he was sent to the College of St. Bonaventura 
 at Rome to teach theology, and made a doctor of divinity. 
 Later he became Professor of Philosophy at Ascoli. He was 
 also a noted orator, and his reputation as a preacher was high at 
 Bologna, Milan, Ferrara, Venice, and Florence. 
 
 In 1 741 he was recalled to Rome. 
 
 
APPENDIX 289 
 
 He led as retired a life as practicable in Rome, though he was 
 fond of exercise and riding on horseback. He declared it to be 
 his most earnest wish to return to the monastery of S. Francis at 
 Assisi, and twice refused to accept the position of General of his 
 Order. Nevertheless his great reputation as a theologian caused 
 his elevation to the Cardinalate in 1759 and ten years later to the 
 Papacy. His election surprised every one, himself most of all, for 
 Cardinal Ganganelli was not even a Bishop when nominated to 
 the headship of the Church. 
 
 His five years' reign was one of the most important during the 
 history of the Papacy. At that time the Order of Jesus was 
 assailed on all sides, and every reigning Prince of Europe desired 
 its dissolution. Still the Society was so powerful, so numerous, 
 and had been so staunch a supporter of the Holy See that its 
 position was considered impregnable. Clement XIV., after due 
 consideration and much diplomatic action, decreed in 1773 the 
 suppression of the congregation founded by S. Ignatius Loyola. 
 
 He died the following year, and the Jesuits have frequently 
 been accused of having poisoned him. Historical researches 
 have proved the injustice of this statement. He was in his 
 seventieth year, and completely worn out by mental anxiety and 
 over-work. 
 
 He was one of the very ablest as well as one of the worthiest 
 successors of St. Peter. 
 
 GIRARDON, FRAN901S. 
 
 Frangois Girardon, a celebrated French sculptor, born in 1628, 
 died in 171 5 (the same year as his patron and employer, 
 Louis XIV.). 
 
 From 1652 until his retirement in extreme old age he was 
 employed, first in conjunction with Le Brun, and afterwards 
 singly in directing the art work undertaken in Paris and at 
 Versailles by Louis XIV. 
 
 His greatest achievements were considered to be the Bain 
 d'ApoUon^ the "Rape of Proserpine" at Versailles and the 
 equestrian statue of Louis XIV., which, before its destruction 
 during the Revolution, occupied the centre of the Place Venddme. 
 
 GREGOIRE, Henri. 
 
 Henri Gregoire, born near Luneville, 1750, died in Paris, 
 1 83 1, was Cure of Embermesnil. Elected to the States-General 
 
 T 
 
290 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 as representative of the clergy of Lorraine he proceeded to 
 Versailles, 1789. 
 
 His liberal opinions were already well known by a book he had 
 published, entitled " Regeneration of the Jews." This book was 
 in 1788 crowned by the Academy of Metz. 
 
 At Versailles the Abbe Gregoire^ soon became intimate with 
 the leading members of the Tiers Etat. He exercised an ever- 
 increasing influence over those among the clerical members of 
 the Assembly who, like himself, were drawn from the ranks of 
 the people. 
 
 At the very moment when the attack upon the Bastille was pro- 
 ceeding, and when a large proportion of the Deputies expressed 
 apprehension, fear and alarm, Gregoire delivered a vehement 
 oration in the Assembly in favour of the Revolution. 
 
 His influence in the Constitutional Assembly was invariably 
 directed towards the advancement of those reforms by which he 
 hoped the enfranchisement of the people might be accelerated. He 
 took an active part in the abohtion of the privileges possessed by 
 the nobility and clergy, voted against the law of primogeniture, 
 and demanded that Jews and negroes should have equal civil 
 rights with Christians and white men. 
 
 When the Clerical Constitution was promulgated, Gregoire was 
 the first priest who took the oath ; and he accepted the Bishopric 
 of Blois under the new rigime. He represented the Department 
 Loir et Cher (in which his episcopal see is situated) in the Con- 
 vention, and on September 22 brought forward a motion in favour 
 of the total abolition of Royalty and the proclamation of a 
 Republic ; his favourite axiom being, " The history of kings is 
 the martyrology of the people." 
 
 He was not present at the trial of Louis XVL, but wrote from 
 Chambery to the Convention, declaring his opposition to a death 
 sentence upon the King. 
 
 Gregoire became a prominent member of the Committee of 
 Public Instruction, and by his efforts the Conservatoire des Arts 
 et Metiers was established. 
 
 He persuaded the Assembly to vote for the political and civil 
 emancipation of the Hebrew race in France, and to pass a law 
 abolishing negro slavery in the French colonies. 
 
 Gregoire continued to be an earnest and ardent Christian 
 throughout the bitter religious persecutions of " the Terror," and 
 constantly proclaimed the sincerity of his religious beliefs. He 
 had, indeed, been first attracted towards the Revolution because 
 
APPENDIX 291 
 
 he imagined it would bring the adoption of Gospel principles into 
 ordinary life. Bourdon de I'Oise accused him in the Jacobin 
 Club of a design to Christianise the Revolution. Gregoire, in 
 reply, declared this his earnest desire. 
 
 After the closing of the Convention, Gregoire joined the Council 
 of the five hundred ; in 1798 he became a Member of the Corps 
 Legislatif \.o the Presidency, of which he was soon after elected. 
 He did not hold this post many weeks. His intense Re- 
 publicanism was distasteful to the new Government, while his 
 faith in Christianity aroused against him the animosity of the 
 Radical party. 
 
 Gregoire became a senator in 1801, and retained his senator- 
 ship during Napoleon's reign. He was opposed to the Imperial 
 policy, protesting against the occupation of the Papal States and 
 the divorce and re-marriage of Napoleon. After the Restoration 
 Gregoire suffered considerable persecution. The Government 
 deprived him of his pension as a Senator and of his membership 
 in the Academy and Institute. He was reduced to such a depth 
 of poverty as to be compelled to sell his library in order to support 
 existence. 
 
 The next fifteen years of his life were spent in complete retire- 
 ment ; he carried out during this period a vast amount of literary 
 work, and kept up a very extensive correspondence with eminent 
 and learned men belonging to various European countries. 
 
 His situation was not improved by the Revolution of 1830. 
 Louis Philippe obliged him to resign his commandership of the 
 Legion of Honour, and when, a few months later, he was upon his 
 death bed, the last sacraments were refused him, by the express 
 order of the Archbishop of Paris. A courageous priest, the 
 Abbe Gallon, did, however, administer the viaticum to the dying 
 ex-bishop. 
 
 HAMILTON, William Richard. 
 
 William Richard Hamilton was born in London in 1777. In 
 1799 he accompanied Lord Elgin to Constantinople as private 
 secretary, and was employed by that nobleman (British 
 Ambassador to the Porte) to bring from Rome those artists who 
 assisted him in his selection of certain statues and friezes, known 
 as the Elgin Marbles, which are now in the British Museum. 
 These marbles were placed on the Mentor^ this ship being 
 wrecked in September 1803, near the Island of Cos. Hamilton, 
 
292 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 who was on board, saved most of these priceless relics of antiquity 
 by his presence of mind and intelligence. 
 
 Pie travelled shortly afterwards in Egypt, and published in 
 1809 a book, " Egyptian Monuments," which was the first work 
 of any importance on that subject since the days of Herodotus. 
 
 Mr. Hamilton was permanent Under Secretary at the English 
 Foreign Office from 1809 to 1822 ; British Minister to the Court 
 of Naples from 1822 to 1829, and President of the Geographical 
 Society in London from 1837 to 1841. 
 
 HAUTERIVE, Count Blanc de Lanautte (Alexandre 
 Maurice). 
 Born in 1754 at Aspres, in Dauphine ; died in Paris, 1830. 
 
 He was the thirteenth child of noble born but poor parents. 
 
 One of his uncles, a priest, adopted him, and he was intended 
 for the Church, and educated at an Oratorian College. He refused 
 to take orders, and became a lay professor in the University of 
 Tours. 
 
 When the Duke de Choiseul visited this College, young 
 Hauterive composed and delivered the discourse of welcome. 
 The great nobleman was so well satisfied that he invited the 
 youthful professor to Chanteloup. Here he found the Count de 
 Choiseul de Gauffier, who was about to depart as Ambassador to 
 Constantinople. Hauterive was offered and accepted the post of 
 private secretary to this Minister, whom he accompanied to the 
 Levant in 1784. 
 
 When he reached Constantinople he was appointed French 
 secretary to the Hospodar of Moldavia, an important and highly 
 paid situation. 
 
 Four years later he returned to Paris and married a rich and 
 handsome widow. When the Revolution broke out he refused to 
 emigrate, and remained in France a faithful servant to the house 
 of Choiseul. He was in consequence totally ruined. 
 
 In 1792 he was given the French Consulship at New York, but 
 he soon lost this appointment on account of his anti-Republican 
 views. He was at last reduced to great poverty, and worked for 
 a time as a day labourer. While in America he was joined by 
 Talleyrand, who, however, soon returned to France. In 17981 
 Hauterive ventured back to Paris, and obtained a clerkship at the 
 Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 
 
 After the Revolution of the i8th Brumaire (November 1799)] 
 Bonaparte, who required an intelligent individual capable of 
 
APPENDIX 193 
 
 composing a general manifesto to the nations of Europe, was 
 recommended by Talleyrand to employ Hauterive. 
 
 In six weeks the work appeared under the title of " The 
 Condition of France at the End of the Year VIII." Napoleon 
 was greatly pleased, and Hauterive became one of his most 
 trusted councillors. He was the principal factor in the diplomatic 
 work of France during the Consulate. The most important of his 
 achievements was the Concordat. His ancient theological studies 
 among the Oratorians fitted him well for his task, and, as he had 
 never taken holy orders, he was not, like Talleyrand, under the 
 stigma of being a renegade priest. All through the Empire 
 Hauterive continued to act as diplomatic adviser and agent for 
 Napoleon all over Europe ; he was also the guardian of the 
 archives of France. In 1809 he received the title of Count of 
 the Empire. 
 
 In 1814 he retired into private life. During "the Hundred 
 Days " he refused to join the Ministry, and only solicited the 
 restitution of his position as " Director and Guardian of the 
 Archives of France." 
 
 When the Bourbons returned, Hauterive was restored in this 
 position by the Duke of Richelieu, the Prime Minister. 
 
 Hauterive exercised great influence during the reign of Louis 
 XVIII., who had an immense respect for him. His literary work 
 during the fifteen years of the Restoration was colossal. He 
 died in 1830, aged seventy-six. 
 
 HOUDON, Jean Antoine. 
 
 Born at Versailles, 1740; died, July 16, 1828. 
 
 He gained at the age of nineteen the "Grand Prix" of 
 Sculpture, and immediately departed for Rome. He was in 
 Italy when Herculaneum and Pompeii were discovered. He 
 remained for ten years in the Italian Peninsula, and executed 
 the colossal statue of St. Bruno, founder of the Cistercian order, 
 which still stands in the Portico of Santa Maria dei Angeli in 
 Rome. 
 
 After his return to France he attained great celebrity, and 
 " L'Ecorche," the well-known study of a man's body after the skin 
 has been removed, showing all the sinews and muscles, was his 
 work. This model is still used in all Art Academies. 
 
 The United States having decreed that a statue of Wash- 
 ington should be erected, Houdon was invited to America 
 that he might undertake the commission. He accompanied 
 
294 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 Franklin to Philadelphia on the return of the latter from his 
 embassy in France. Washington gave him many sittings, and 
 the statue in question is now in the City Hall of Richmond, 
 Virginia. 
 
 Many of his later works are well known, particularly the seated 
 figure of Voltaire in the foyer of the Theatre Fran9ais. 
 
 KOSCIUZKO (Thaddeus of Warsaw). 
 
 Born in Poland, February 12, 1746 ; died in Switzerland, in 
 1817. 
 
 A member of an ancient and noble family belonging to Lithu- 
 anian Poland. Being disappointed in love, he left his native 
 country in 1775, for America, offering his services to Washington 
 as a volunteer. During the War of Independence he became 
 the intimate friend of Lafayette. He served with great distinc- 
 tion throughout the long campaign, and, on the conclusion of 
 peace in 1783, was awarded a considerable share in those pecu- 
 niary gifts decreed by Congress for those who aided the cause of 
 Freedom ; he received the rank of Brigadier-General, and the 
 order of Cincinnatus. He returned to Poland, and proceeded to 
 take a considerable and active part in the politics of his native 
 country. 
 
 When, after the first treaty of partition, the Russians occupied 
 Poland under various pretexts, Kosciuzko acted successfully as 
 General-in-Chief of the Polish Army and repulsed the enemy ; but 
 the pusillanimous King Stanislaus commanded his troops to lay 
 down their arms. The Russians entered Warsaw in 1792, and 
 from that moment the independence of Poland virtually 
 terminated. 
 
 Kosciuzko headed an insurrection against the Russians in 1794, 
 and after many successes was defeated, seriously wounded and 
 taken prisoner at the battle of Maciejovice, while Warsaw and 
 Praga were brutally sacked by Suwaroff. The patriot Pole was 
 thrown into a dungeon, where he remained until the death of 
 Catherine H. in 1796. 
 
 Paul I. reversed his mother's policy and released Kosciuzko, 
 who proceeded first to France and then to England. In both 
 countries he was received with the greatest honour and respect ; 
 the former granted him the title of Citoyen Franqais. Napoleon, 
 as First Consul, favoured the Polish general, and employed him 
 in hopes of obtaining redress for his country's wrong ; the latter 
 was ready to serve and did serve either Napoleon or Alexander I., 
 
APPENDIX 29s 
 
 but his hopes were always frustrated, and after the peace of 181 5, 
 when the Duchy of Warsaw was finally united to the Russian 
 Empire, he retired into voluntary exile and died at Solenme in 
 Switzerland in 181 7. His body was eventually removed to Cracow 
 in Austrian Poland, and his coffin placed in the cathedral of that 
 city between those of John Sobieski and Joseph Poniotowski. 
 
 LAFAYETTE, Marie Paul Motier, Marquis de. 
 Born, 1757 ; died, May 19, 1834. 
 
 Lafayette's father fell at Minden a few months before his son's 
 birth, his mother died when he was an infant. Lafayette 
 inherited a large fortune, and at the age of seventeen married 
 an heiress, Mdlle. de Novilles. 
 
 Refusing briUiant offers to Court appointments, and regardless 
 of the entreaties of his young wife and other relatives, he insisted, 
 when but twenty years of age, in fitting out a ship at his own 
 expense and offered his sword to Washington in aid of American in- 
 dependence. He fought for two years in the War of Secession, was 
 wounded at the battle of Brandy- Wine, and assisted in the retreat 
 of Barren Hill, where he showed much courage and tactical skill. 
 
 On hearing there was a likelihood of war breaking out between 
 England and France, he returned to Europe. He succeeded in 
 persuading Louis XVL to send out 4000 troops under the joint 
 command of Count Rochambeau and himself to assist Washington, 
 and this reinforcement was mainly instrumental in obtaining the 
 American final successes. 
 
 Lafayette defended Virginia against Lord Cornwallis, and it was 
 he who was the principal means of causing that commander to 
 capitulate at York Town. 
 
 Lafayette returned to France in 1785 with a glorious reputa- 
 tion. 
 
 When the States-General assembled, Lafayette was member for 
 Auvergne. He was elected Vice-President of the Assembly ; was 
 in Paris during the taking of the Bastille, and used every effort in his 
 power to produce moderation in the Revolutionary party, of which 
 he was a member. When the mob attacked Versailles his presence 
 of mind and influence over the crowd were the means of saving 
 the lives of the Queen and the whole Royal Family. During their 
 terrible drive to Paris, Lafayette rode the whole way by the side 
 of their carriage, and saved them from as much outrage as 
 possible. 
 
 His popularity declined after the flight to Varennes, which he 
 
296 FRANCE IN 1802 ■ 
 
 was suspected to have assisted. He was given the command of 
 the army on the frontier, and succeeded in putting these irregular 
 troops into some kind of order and discipline. He fell into dis- 
 grace and was deprived of his command, owing to the fact that 
 he dared to report unfavourably of the Jacobin Club; forced 
 to fly from France, arrested in Austria, and imprisoned for five 
 years at Olmutz. 
 
 His wife and daughters having escaped after fifteen months' 
 captivity in the dungeons of Robespierre, joined him in his exile. 
 
 When at last released the Directorate forbade his return to 
 France, which he did not re-enter until after the events of 
 18 Brumaire. Napoleon received him with favour, made him a 
 Counsellor, and offered him a Senatorship. He voted against the 
 Life Consulate and the Empire, and retired from public life until 
 the end of the Napoleonic regime. 
 
 After Waterloo he took part in the Provisionary Government 
 which held the reins of power until the Allies re-entered Paris. 
 He met with little favour from the Government of the Restora- 
 tion, his opinions were too Hberal, and he was suspected of 
 RepubHcanism. 
 
 In 1824 he returned to the United States, where he was received 
 with unbounded enthusiasm. In recognition of his services that 
 Government voted him in land and money a sum equivalent to 
 
 ;^30,000. 
 
 He took a leading part in the Revolution of 1830, and greatly 
 assisted Louis Philippe in obtaining the sovereignty of France ; 
 for in his opinion a constitutional monarchy was the best of 
 republics. 
 
 He died in 1834 at the age of seventy-seven. 
 
 LARCHER, Pierre Henri. 
 Born, 1726; died, 1812. 
 
 One of the greatest Greek scholars of modern times. He trans- 
 lated Herodotus and innumerable Greek plays and poems. His 
 writings are very numerous. 
 
 During the Revolution, although his religious convictions were 
 well known, he escaped persecution and was allotted a pension of 
 3000 francs a year by the Directory. He was one of the founders 
 of the Institut, and was nominated Professor of Greek when aged 
 eighty-four. Notwithstanding his great age he carried out his 
 duties in this capacity satisfactorily until his death three years 
 later. 
 
APPENDIX 297 
 
 L'ASNE, Michel. 
 
 Born in Paris, 1594; died, 1667. 
 He was a celebrated draughtsman and engraver. His engravings 
 after Rubens and Paul Veronese are now of great value. He also 
 drew and engraved the portraits of great and distinguished men. 
 
 LAVOISIER, Antoine Laurent. 
 
 Born in Paris, 1743 ; guillotined, May 8, 1794. 
 
 The founder of modern chemistry. His father, a wealthy 
 merchant, gave him an excellent education, but from his early 
 youth he showed a precocious taste for science, and when only 
 twenty-one he received the prize that the Academy of Science had 
 offered "for discovering the best manner of lighting the streets of 
 great towns." In 1768 he was elected Academician. Turgot, in 
 1776, gave to this great chemist the direction of the manufacture 
 of gunpowder and saltpetre. In the course of the next ten 
 years Lavoisier made innumerable useful scientific discoveries. 
 
 Elected Deputy to the National Assembly in 1789; in 1791 
 he was named Com missionary of the Treasury, and propounded a 
 scheme which, had it been carried out, would have been of 
 immense economical service to France. He took an active part 
 in the construction of the new system of weights and measures, 
 and constructed in the gardens of the arsenal apparatus for 
 experiments to aid this purpose. 
 
 In 1793 he measured the base of the new meridian; as 
 Treasurer of the Academy he put in order the whole of the accounts 
 of that body ; and was able to discover funds which no one 
 was aware the Academy possessed. In 1769 he had received 
 a post as Fermier-Gineral from the Crown ; and although 
 such offices had long ceased to exist Robespierre caused his 
 arrest in 1794, and, on the sole plea that it was the will of the 
 people that no Fermier-GineraV s life should be spared, the head 
 of this great citizen fell upon the scaffold : four other former 
 Fennier-Generaux^ including his father-in-law, M. Poulze, perished 
 the same day. 
 
 LE BRUN, Due de Plaisance, Charles Fran^ais. 
 Born, March 19, 1739 ; died, June 16, 1824. 
 In early life he showed an extraordinary disposition for learning 
 languages, and he resolved to perfect this talent by travelling in 
 
298 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 foreign countries. He went to England, where he spent some 
 time. He was delighted with the country, its inhabitants and its 
 liberty, notwithstanding its aristocracy and monarchy. 
 
 After his return to France he became a lawyer. In 1768 he 
 was appointed Inspector-General of the Crown Lands. He was 
 Chief Secretary to Maupeau, the Chancellor, whose speeches he 
 composed. In 1774, after the accession to the throne of Louis 
 XVI., when Maupeau shared the fate of all the favourites of 
 Louis XV., and had to deliver up his seals of office, le Brun lost 
 his place too; he continued to practise his profession till the 
 outbreak of the Revolution ; he was Deputy to the States-General, 
 and spoke in that assembly in favour of the reform of all abuses. 
 In the Constitutional Assembly he opposed the issue of paper 
 money and the creation of public lotteries. 
 
 He was the editor and reporter of the new financial laws. 
 Le Brun was named President of the Directorate of Seine and 
 Oise. In 1792, riots having occurred in his Department, he put 
 them down by energetic measures. 
 
 After August 10 he threw up all his employments and retired 
 into private life ; he was shortly afterwards arrested and imprisoned 
 at Versailles, but, under the surveillance of a gaoler, he was 
 allowed to visit his friends and relatives. When Robespierre 
 attained supreme power, le Brun's captivity became severe ; but 
 for the events of the 9th Thermidor he would certainly have 
 perished upon the scaffold. 
 
 Le Brun re-entered public life in 1795. In December 1799, 
 Bonaparte appointed him Third Consul, with control of the 
 Finance Department, and, after the establishment of the Empire, 
 Arch-Treasurer of France. 
 
 Notwithstanding le Brun's objection to hereditary titles, the 
 Emperor insisted on creating him Due de Plaisance. 
 
 To le Brun France owes the establishment of the Cour des 
 Comptes. 
 
 In 1805 the RepubHc of Genoa was annexed to France. 
 Napoleon despatched le Brun as Governor-General. He re- 
 mained a year in Genoa, and showed both ability and moderation 
 there. On his return to Paris he had the courage to remonstrate 
 with the Emperor upon the proposed abolition of the *' Tribunal," 
 and resigning his Arch-Treasurership, retired into private life. 
 
 In 1 8 10 Napoleon, who respected his honesty and valued his 
 intellectual powers, commanded le Brun to undertake the 
 Governorship of Holland, the throne of that country being 
 
APPENDIX 299 
 
 vacant owing to the abdication of Louis Bonaparte. Le Brun 
 was now seventy-one years of age, yet he undertook this arduous 
 task with the vigour of a young man, and in fifteen months com- 
 pletely reorganised the little kingdom. He was called *' the good 
 Stadtholder " by the Dutch. 
 
 In the disastrous Russian retreat the second son of le Brun 
 perished, and after the battle of Leipzig the Cossacks invaded 
 Holland. The Dutch, anxious to regain their independence, rose 
 against the French. Their respect for the Viceroy was, however, 
 so great that they conducted him to the frontier with an 
 honourable escort and every possible courtesy. 
 
 During the events of the first two months of 18 14, le Brun 
 assisted the Imperial Government to the best of his power, and 
 vigorously opposed the departure from Paris of the Empress 
 Marie Louise. 
 
 He accepted, in the " Hundred Days," the Grand Mastership 
 of the University of Paris. After the Second Restoration his 
 name was erased from the list of peers of France. It was restored 
 in 181 9, after which date, though eighty years of age, he made 
 many important speeches in the House of Peers, and occupied 
 himself with literary as well as poHtical work until his death in 
 1824, aged eighty-five. 
 
 He was not only a great statesman, but a distinguished author, 
 and besides writing many important works, translated Tasso's 
 Jerusalem Delivered and the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer. 
 
 LE CLERC, Jean Baptiste. 
 Born, 1756; died, 1826. 
 
 A philosopher of the school of Jean Jacques Rousseau, he led 
 until the outbreak of the Revolution, a secluded and studious life, 
 devoted to literature, music and philosophy, in his native town of 
 Angers. 
 
 Elected to the States-General as a representative of Anjou he 
 embraced extreme revolutionary views, and, becoming later a 
 member of the Assembly, invariably voted with the majority : as 
 a member of the Convention he voted for the immediate death of 
 the King. He was suspected of favouring the principles of the 
 Girondins, and arrested and imprisoned, but released after the fall 
 of Robespierre. 
 
 When on the Council of the Five Hundred he created the 
 French Conservatoire of Music. 
 
 In 1 80 1 Le Clerc was elected President of the Corps LigislaHj^ 
 
300 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 but only retained this office for a year. He then retired to 
 Chalonnes, refusing all honours from Napoleon. 
 
 The act of 1 8 16 banished Le Clerc as a regicide. 
 
 Some years before his death he was permitted to return to 
 France. 
 
 He wrote books upon history, philosophy and music, besides 
 much poetry and many moral tales. 
 
 LEGENDRE, Jean Sebastian. 
 
 Born, 1755; died, 1794. Until 1789 he was a butcher in 
 Paris. 
 
 He headed that procession which on July 13, 1789, carried 
 round Paris busts of the Duke of Orleans and Necker. On 
 the following day he conducted the mob to the Tnvalides, 
 where they plundered the armoury, previous to attacking the 
 Bastille. He soon became one of the principal revolutionary 
 leaders, and was instrumental in forming the Club des Cordeliers. 
 He it was who, when the crowd invaded the Tuileries upon 
 June 20, 1792, forced the red cap upon Louis XVI. On 
 August 10 he took a prominent part in the attack upon the 
 Palace. 
 
 Member for Paris in the Convention, he pressed incessantly for 
 the speedy trial and execution of the King. During that trial he 
 was constantly appearing at the Convention and in the Jacobin 
 Club, where mounting the tribune he demanded with violence 
 that the body of Louis after his execution should be divided into 
 eighty-four pieces, so that a portion of the tyrant's remains might 
 be despatched to every Department in the RepubHc. Legendre 
 as Member of the Committee of Public Safety was, like Marat, 
 one of the principal instigators of the proscription and execution 
 of the Girondins. When Lanjuna made an attempt to speak in 
 their defence, the ex-butcher threatened to hurl the orator from 
 the tribune, unless he was instantly silent. In January 1794, 
 Legendre was accused oi Hibertisme^ and threatened with expulsion 
 from the Jacobin Club, but he escaped by proving his intimate 
 friendship with Marat. Danton had been his friend and ally, and 
 when the former was arrested Legendre at first spoke in his 
 favour ; finding that the Convention were against such a proceeding, 
 he immediately declared that he answered for no one's patriotism, 
 and would never again defend an accused person. Legendre 
 became the ally of Tallien and Freron, and played an important 
 
APPENDIX 301 
 
 part in the revolution of 9th Thermidor. As soon as the decree 
 
 of arrest against Robespierre had been carried, Legendre sprang 
 into the tribune and harangued with great heat and much vigour 
 against the accused, after which he rushed to the Jacobin Club, 
 forced every member to quit the building, locked the doors and 
 brought the keys to the Convention. From that day Legendre 
 never ceased clamouring for the immediate condemnation of the 
 members of the very party of which he had so long been a leader, 
 caUing them " blood drinkers " and " terrorists." 
 
 He was elected President of the Convention, and in that 
 capacity marched at the head of the troops who dispersed and shot 
 down the surging mobs who surrounded the walls of the Convention 
 demanding bread. 
 
 This was his last exploit. His excesses and the violence of his 
 temperament had undermined his constitution, and as Member of 
 the Council of Ancients, he took little part in debate. A few 
 weeks before his death he made a speech indicting the Government 
 for their leniency towards the emigres. He bequeathed his body 
 to the School of Medicine, " so that even after his death he might 
 still serve mankind." 
 
 LIVINGSTONE, Robert. 
 
 Born, 1 746 ; died, 1 8 1 3. He was descended from an ancient 
 Dutch family that settled on the banks of the Hudson, in the 
 seventeenth century. 
 
 A lawyer, one of the committee of five who drew up the Act 
 of Independence, in 1780 he became Foreign Secretary, and 
 distinguished himself during the whole of the American War by 
 his zeal and intelligence. On the conclusion of peace he was 
 named Chancellor for the State of New York. 
 
 In 1 80 1 President Jefferson despatched him to Paris as 
 American Minister, when he, conjointly with Monroe, carried out 
 successfully the negotiations for the cession of Louisiana to the 
 United States. 
 
 Upon his return to his native country in 1805 he founded the yy 
 New York Academy of Art, of which he was first President. 
 
 MARAT, Jean Paul. 
 
 Born at Boudry, 1744; assassinated in Paris, July, 3, 1793. 
 In early life he was a medical student, and the author of various 
 
302 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 treatises on physical science, and of a pamphlet in favour of the 
 abolition of capital punishment. 
 
 He settled in Paris, and after attempting unsuccessfully many 
 careers, such as savant, romantic writer and philosopher, was 
 finally glad, after many efforts, to obtain the position of doctor to 
 the body guard of the Comte D'Artois. He had lost this 
 situation some time before the Revolution. 
 
 When that took place, Marat adopted the surname of "Friend 
 of the People " : editing and publishing under that title a weekly 
 newspaper. 
 
 Towards the close of 1789, in one of his articles he proposed 
 the erection of 800 gibbets within the Tuileries Gardens, upon 
 each of which was to be hanged one of those whom he called 
 "traitors to the community"; of these the first was to be 
 Mirabeau. In consequence of this audacious proposal the Con- 
 stitutional Assembly ordered the arrest of the author, who took 
 refuge first in the house of an actress at the Theatre Frangais, and 
 later in the presbytery of the cure of St. Louis at Versailles. 
 
 Marat was one of those seven members of the Commune who 
 signed the order for the September massacres in the prisons of 
 Paris. 
 
 At the King's trial his (Marat's) vote was couched in these 
 terms : " No appeal to the people, only an accomplice of the 
 tyrant would demand this." 
 
 After the execution of Louis XVL Marat was seized with a 
 frenzied thirst for blood and massacre, " Let us slay," he wrote in 
 his journal, "270,000 partisans of the a/z^rzV;? regime^ and reduce 
 by executions the number of the Convention by a quarter." He 
 constantly complained that too few persons were executed, adding, 
 " Only the dead do not return." 
 
 The Girondins succeeded in bringing him before the Revolu- 
 tionary Tribune, but by the efforts of Fouquier-Tinville he was 
 triumphantly acquitted. He soon revenged himself upon them, 
 for all the Girondin party were ordered into arrest upon the 2nd 
 of June following. 
 
 A few escaped from Paris, amongst these was the young gallant 
 and handsome Barbaroux, who took temporary refuge at Caen in 
 Normandy, where he met a female descendant of the great 
 Corneille, Charlotte Corday. Barbaroux's recitals of the cruelties 
 being exercised in Paris moved her profoundly ; and when a few 
 days later the news of his execution at Bordeaux reached Caen, 
 she determined to proceed to Paris and kill Danton or Marat. 
 
APPENDIX 303 
 
 The sequel of her journey is too well known to need repetition 
 here. 
 
 After the death of Marat his body lay in state ; he was accorded 
 a magnificent funeral; his bust placed in all French muni- 
 cipalities, and the honours of the Pantheon decreed to him. 
 
 When the reaction came his bust and statue were destroyed, his 
 remains disinterred and burnt, and their ashes flung into the main 
 sewer of the Rue Montmartre. 
 
 MIRECOURT, Th^roigne de. 
 
 Born at Mirecourt, Flanders, 1752 ; died in Paris, 181 7. 
 
 The true name of this heroine of the French Revolution was 
 Anne Josephe Terwagne of Marcourt, a small town in Luxemburg. 
 The daughter of a rich farmer, Pierre Theroigne or Ter- 
 wagne, by the kindness of a distant cousin, who was the Abbess, 
 she was, although not of noble birth, educated in the Convent of 
 Robermont. At the age of seventeen she left her home and 
 followed her lover, a young nobleman, to Paris. 
 
 Here we find her settled, apparently independently, in 1 789. A 
 contemporary describes her as having " a waist you could span with 
 two hands and the face of the Venus of Praxiteles." She adopted 
 violent revolutionary principles, and never missed attending a 
 meeting of the Assembly. 
 
 She held a kind of salon in her apartment, where she received 
 the Abbe Siezes and his brother Roussin, Camille Desmoulins, 
 Pethion and other well-known revolutionists ; adopted an extra- 
 ordinary semi-masculine military costume, never appearing in 
 public without a couple of pistols in her girdle, and a sword 
 by her side. She attended all the principal revolutionary meetings, 
 making violent and incendiary harangues on every possible 
 occasion ; was present at the taking of the Bastille, and rode 
 in front of the mob which marched on Versailles. After the 
 arrival of the Royal family in Paris her speeches in Flemish to 
 the soldiers of the " Regiment de Flandre " assisted greatly in 
 shaking their loyalty to the King. 
 
 In 1790 she returned to her native country, and remained some 
 time at Liege. She was arrested there by the Austrians and carried 
 off to the fortress of Kuffstein in the Tyrol, being accused of 
 plotting against Marie Antoinette. 
 
 The Emperor Leopold IL had an interview with Theroigne at 
 Vienna, and was so much smitten by her charms as not only to 
 order her release, but to pay the expenses of her journey back to 
 
304 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 France. When she reached Paris she found herself the heroine 
 of the hour. Soon after her return she commanded the 3rd Army 
 Corps in the Faubourg on the occasion of the riots of June 20, 
 1792, and when the fight was over, the Federals, as a compliment 
 to her bravery, decreed her a civic crown. 
 
 Suleon, the editor of a newspaper, having insulted Theroigne in 
 a leading article, she, in company with a band of devoted adherents, 
 laid in wait for him ; and although he was at the time actually one 
 of a patrol of the National Guard going their rounds, seized 
 him by the coat collar and dragged him into the middle of the 
 street, where she and her companions despatched him with their 
 sabres. 
 
 She professed opinions similar to those of the Girondins, 
 and when the fall of this party was imminent, declaimed loudly 
 in their favour in public places. On one occasion when making 
 a speech in the gardens of the Tuileries a number of women 
 belonging to the so-called Societe Fraternelle, stripped her naked 
 and flogged her on the spot. This terrible punishment drove her 
 mad, and she never recovered her reason. She died at the age of 
 fifty-four in the public madhouse of La Salpetriere, where, with 
 one or two brief intervals, she had been confined for over twenty- 
 four years. 
 
 METHERIE, Jean Claud de la. 
 
 Born near Magon, 1743 ; died in Paris, 181 7. 
 A medical doctor and a great celebrity in his day as a chemist. 
 He made many remarkable discoveries, particularly on the subject 
 of oxygen and other gases. During the last thirty years of his 
 life he devoted himself to the study of mineralogy and geology. 
 He was appointed in 1812 Professor of Natural Science to the 
 College de France, which post he retained until his death. 
 
 MERLIN, Antoine Christophrr. 
 Born, 1762; died, 1833. 
 The eldest of four remarkable brothers, who all took a promi- 
 nent part in the days of the Revolution and the Empire. Intended 
 for the Church, he resolutely refused to take holy orders, and leav- 
 ing his home in Lorraine at the age of twenty-one, arrived in Paris 
 with only twenty-five louis in his pocket. He obtained a place as 
 usher in a military school. The following year he was reconciled 
 to his family, and his father being President and Procureur of 
 
APPENDIX 305 
 
 Thionville, he agreed to act as his head clerk, intending eventually 
 to succeed to his parent's appointments. 
 
 When the Revolution commenced, Merlin joined the Jacobin 
 party, returned to Paris, and in 1791 represented Moselle in the 
 Legislative Assembly. According to his views, Royalty, clergy, 
 and nobility were alike to be annihilated without delay. Living 
 as he had done upon the road to Coblentz, he had been able to 
 watch emigration upon the spot. He wearied the Assembly by 
 his rages and recriminations, accumulating, as he said, proof upon 
 proof of treason. His violent speeches, his fierce activity, and his 
 wild passion made him a leader in the Jacobin Club. He de- 
 manded the deportation to the American penal colonies of all 
 priests who refused the oath, the confiscation of the property of 
 every emigre, and the establishment of a Committee of Public 
 Safety. 
 
 After the abolition of the Monarchy these proposals were all 
 adopted, and he made an audacious appeal to insurrection. " It 
 is not with speeches," he said, " but with cannon we should 
 attack kings in their palaces, if we wish to ensure the liberty of 
 the people." 
 
 When the Tuileries was invaded upon June 20, the spectacle 
 of the Royal family, abandoned by their friends and covered with 
 insult and opprobrium, affected him to tears. " You weep," said 
 the Queen, " at the sight of a great King brought so low." 
 '* Madame," he answered, " my tears are not for a King but for a 
 good father of a family and his estimable wife, who are suffering 
 misfortune." 
 
 He took an active part in the events of August 10. He per- 
 suaded the King and his family to leave the Chateau of the Tuil- 
 eries, protecting them on their way to the Assembly. At the 
 peril of his own life he saved later in the day those of the Due 
 de Choiseul and a number of the officers of the Swiss Guard. 
 
 After these events his conduct in the Legislature was more 
 violent than before. His cry was : " War upon Kings, and peace 
 for Nations." At the moment of the invasion he encouraged the 
 people to meet the enemy at the frontier. Commissioner of the 
 Assembly, he rode over the five Departments surrounding Paris, 
 obtaining money, horses and provisions everywhere he went; 
 through his eloquence volunteers flocked to the Republican flag. 
 He used his influence to prevent massacres of prisoners and 
 suspected persons. 
 
 His joy at the proclamation of the Republic was intense. He 
 
 U 
 
3o6 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 took his seat in the Convention on the benches of the Montague, 
 and soon became as ferocious as the most ferocious of his com- 
 panions. He declared it would be an honour to stab, with his 
 own hand, any person who aspired to become a tyrant. He 
 pressed forward the trials of the "infamous Louis" and the 
 " infamous Antoinette." He defended Robespierre against 
 Louvet, and was a mortal enemy to Roland. 
 
 At the time of the trial of Louis XVL Mervin was with the 
 army at Mayence, he therefore did not vote for the King's 
 death; but he wrote to Paris on Januarys, 1793: "We are 
 surrounded by the dead and dying. In the name of Louis Capet 
 our brothers are slain, and yet Louis Capet still lives!" Merlin, 
 who was in supreme command, showed great ability and prodigies 
 of courage during the siege of Mayence, which lasted from March 
 to July of the same year, but famine and the superior number of 
 the enemy prevailed, and the town capitulated on July 24, 1793. 
 
 On his return to Paris he was arrested as a traitor, and accused 
 of selling Mayence to the enemy ; but was triumphantly acquitted, 
 a victim being found to assuage the vanity of the Republic in the 
 person of General Alexandre de Beauharnais, the first husband of 
 the Empress Josephine, who, being a noble, was a more agreeable 
 offering to the guillotine than Merlin. 
 
 Merlin for a short time commanded part of the Republican 
 army in La Vendee, but was recalled and returned to the 
 Convention after an absence of nearly a year. During this time 
 the political condition of France had undergone a complete 
 change. 
 
 Merlin, who had now become more a soldier than a politician, 
 joined no party, until a few days before the fall of Robe- 
 spierre. 
 
 He made a speech in favour of Danton, and also brought 
 forward a motion (which was carried) that all the riches and art 
 treasures of conquered nations should be brought to Paris. It 
 was upon this very motion Bonaparte acted when he first began 
 to plunder the art collections of Italy. Merlin terminated his 
 speech in these words : " People of foreign nations may complain ; 
 the remedy is, however, in their own hands, — let them destroy 
 their monarchs." 
 
 When the 9th Thermidor arrived. Merlin at once entered into 
 direct antagonism with Robespierre, and as head of the Committee 
 of War despatched various brigades of the Parisian Gendarmerie 
 in detachments to various positions in the city. He descended 
 
APPENDIX 307 
 
 into the street, haranguing the people, whom he called upon to 
 rise in defence of the Convention. Henriot was arrested by 
 Merlin's soldiers, and the same men made the celebrated seizure 
 at the Hotel de Ville of Robespierre and the proscribed represen- 
 tatives. The real success of the 9th Thermidor rising is entirely 
 due to Merlin. On August 1 7 he was elected President of the 
 Convention, and he prosecuted the Jacobins without mercy, 
 insisting upon the dissolution of that club (of which he had once 
 been a leading member), " Let us close," said he, " this cavern of 
 brigands and murderers." It was mainly through his influence 
 that this society was dissolved. 
 
 In October 1794 he was again despatched to the army of the 
 Rhine, and gave further proof of excellent generalship and military 
 ability. The taking of Mannheim, the occupation of Luxemburg 
 and another siege of Mayence marked this campaign. 
 
 After his return to Paris he assisted in quelling the insurrection 
 of April I, 1/95, in the Faubourgs of Paris. He was even then 
 only thirty years of age; and strange to say (although he was still 
 a member of the Five Hundred), his political and military career 
 may be then said to have closed. He saw with disgust the 
 Republic alienating itself from the people and entirely depending 
 upon the army. His dreams of universal freedom were over, and 
 he did not seek re-election in 1798. He retired to Commengaux 
 near Chauny, and devoted himself to the cultivation and improve- 
 ment of an estate he had purchased during the Ventes des Biens 
 Nationaux^ and the only public function he exercised was the 
 modest one oi juge de paix. 
 
 As he was absent from Paris during the trial of Louis XVI. 
 the law against regicides did not affect him. He was threatened 
 with banishment on account of the message he sent the Con- 
 vention on January 8, 1793, but he addressed a letter to the 
 Ministers of Louis XVIII. which gained his pardon ; it 
 terminated in these words j " Messeigneurs, I was twenty-seven 
 when I wrote from Mayence ; I am now fifty, and my opinions 
 have changed. I rely upon the clemency and justice of his 
 Majesty Louis XVIII." 
 
 MIRABEAU, HoNOR]^ Gabriel Richietti, Comte de. 
 Born, March 9, 1749; died, April 2, 1791. 
 At the age of three he suffered from the smallpox, which dis- 
 figured him for life and completely transformed his features. 
 His father was a bigoted Jansenist, despotic, harsh, and cruel 
 
3o8 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 to his son, whose ardent nature and genius he did not in the 
 least understand. He compelled Honore, at the age of fifteen, to 
 enter the army. After five years with his regiment, the young 
 man had shown such aptitude for military study that he was 
 about to receive promotion, when his father discovered that he 
 had lost forty louis at play; was in debt, and engaged in an 
 amorous intrigue with a young woman of the people. The old 
 marquis, therefore, obtained a lettre de cachet^ by which his son was 
 imprisoned in the fort of the Ik de Re. Here Mirabeau wrote 
 his famous " Essay upon Despotism." After his release he went 
 with his regiment to Corsica, where he conducted himself with 
 so much distinction as to be recommended for a captaincy of 
 dragoons. But his arbitrary old father would not consent to 
 this, as he now wished his son to leave the army and to embrace 
 a rural life. 
 
 The result was a breach between father and son, though a 
 reconciliation was effected a few months later. The maternal 
 grandmother of young Mirabeau died in 1770, and left a vast 
 fortune, which her daughter attempted to secure entirely for 
 herself by obtaining a separation from her tyrannical hus band. 
 The result was a lawsuit lasting fifteen years, during the whole 
 of which time Mirabeau was in the painful position of a son 
 between two parents who furiously hated one another. In 1772 
 Mirabeau married, under pressure from his father, the only 
 daughter of the Marquis de Mariguana, a plain girl of eighteen, 
 reputed to be a great heiress. He never received any fortune 
 with her, beyond an annuity of 3000 francs, for her father survived 
 his son-in-law twelve years, dying in 1803. 
 
 The young couple lived for some time quietly together in the 
 Chateau of Mirabeau, but Mirabeau's fortune was not in any way 
 equal to his rank, and he soon contracted heavy debts ; this 
 again excited his father's anger, and he caused him to be arrested 
 in 1774. Mirabeau was therefore reimprisoned, this time in the 
 Chateau d'lf, in the Gulf of Marseilles. From the Chateau dTf 
 he was transported to Fort de Jaux in the Jura. The governor, 
 who sympathised with him, accorded him semi-liberty, and he 
 was able to make acquaintances in the town of Portarlier, where 
 he was hospitably received by the leading families. One of these 
 was that of the Marquis de Monnier, an old man of seventy, with 
 a young, beautiful and intelligent wife. Mirabeau became her 
 lover, and he and she eloped, first to Switzerland, and then to 
 Holland, where they took up their abode in Amsterdam, The 
 
APPENDIX 309 
 
 two fugitives were arrested, and Mirabeau was imprisoned in the 
 Castle of Vincennes, where he remained for four years, his 
 lengthy incarceration being the result of the efforts of his 
 implacable father. 
 
 He wrote in prison his Lettres a Sophie.^ and executed much 
 literary work. After personally conducting two law cases, one 
 to cause the revocation of the act against him as ravisher of 
 Mdme. Monnier, and the other to re-establish his conjugal rights 
 over Mdme. Mirabeau — both of which he won, after showing 
 prodigious eloquence, though he had never before spoken in 
 public — he proceeded to London, where he printed " Considera- 
 tions upon the Order of Cincinnatus." 
 
 When the States-General assembled, Mirabeau endeavoured to 
 obtain a membership ; but his own order, the nobility, refused to 
 accept him as a candidate. He therefore hired a shop in the 
 town of Aix in Provence, and wrote over the door " Mirabeau, 
 Cloth Merchant." He was elected by the Tiers Etat Deputy for 
 Aix. 
 
 After the opening of the States-General, Mirabeau soon became 
 the most noted orator in the Assembly, and although on the 
 side of liberty and freedom he showed much moderation and 
 common sense. It is probable that had he lived France might 
 have enjoyed the benefits of a constitutional monarchy, and all 
 the horrors of the Revolution been averted ; but his irregular 
 life had destroyed even his robust constitution, and he expired 
 on April 2, 1791, aged forty-two. 
 
 MOtJGE, CoMTE DE Peluse Gaspard. 
 
 Born at Beaune in Burgundy, 1746; died in Paris, 1818. 
 
 Early in life he attained extraordinary knowledge in mathe- 
 matics, chemistry and geometry. At the age of sixteen he made 
 a plan of his native town with only the aid of geometrical instru- 
 ments he had manufactured himself. This plan was exhibited in 
 the Hotel de Ville of Beaune, and was there seen by a distin- 
 guished engineering officer, who invited its creator to enter 
 the famous College of Mezieres. This offer was accepted ; Mouge 
 became Professor of Mathematics in this College, and was admitted 
 to the Academy of Sciences in 1780. He retained this post until 
 the Revolution closed both College and Academy. 
 
 In 1792 Mouge was appointed Minister of Marine; he held 
 this position for a year — from August 11, 1792, to August 12, 
 1793. 
 
3IO FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 At this moment the indignation of Europe against France had 
 reached its height ; the whole continent was prepared to attack 
 her. The French Government, without money and without credit, 
 required fourteen armies — and they obtained them. A miUion 
 men were at their disposal, but these men were unarmed. Until 
 this period all war material, iron, bronze, steel, even gunpowder 
 had been supplied from abroad ; but importation had now ceased. 
 Mouge now showed the resources of his genius; he wrote, "All 
 we require to aid the triumphs of our soldiers, all we formerly 
 asked for from the stranger is concealed in our soil — it remains 
 only for us to pluck it out." 
 
 He placed himself at the head of a body of metallurgists, 
 mechanics and chemists, and directed night and day the manu- 
 facture of arms and explosives. Bells were turned into cannon, 
 old iron hardened into steel, and saltpetre extracted from the 
 simplest materials. An immense quantity of powder filled the 
 magazines, and cannons and other weapons were cast or forged in 
 enormous quantities. 
 
 These great efforts ended, Mouge determined to open, at his 
 own expense, a house where he might entertain and instruct a 
 number of young men destined for the artillery of engineers. 
 This establishment was the nucleus from which the Ecole PolyUch- 
 nique sprang. 
 
 In 1792, when Mouge was Minister of Marine, he received with 
 kindness a young artillery officer who was out of employment. 
 This same artillery officer, four years later, became the conqueror 
 of Italy. 
 
 Mouge received an order to proceed to Italy to value, collect, 
 and attempt to preserve, those works of Italian art it was proposed 
 to remove to France. He received the warmest greeting from 
 Bonaparte, who gave him every token of friendship. 
 
 Mouge was despatched by Bonaparte in 1797 to Rome — when 
 the Pope was forced to fly and the Roman Republic established— 
 with the order to bring statues and pictures from the Vatican to 
 Paris. 
 
 He accompanied Napoleon to Egypt, together with many other 
 men of science, to bring back the spoils of that country, in the 
 same way they had removed those of ancient Rome. While the 
 French occupation of Egypt continued, Mouge made many dis- 
 coveries there, and explored the Temples of the Nile, travelling as 
 far as the Second Cataract. He followed Bonaparte to Syria, 
 and was his constant companion during that disastrous expedition. 
 
APPENDIX 311 
 
 When Napoleon quitted Egypt surreptitiously for France, August 
 22, 1799, Mouge was one of the passengers on board the small 
 frigate which carried General Bonaparte and his destiny. 
 
 On his return to France, Mouge continued his scientific work. 
 After the establishment of the Empire, he was appointed Governor 
 and Director of the Ecole Poly technique^ Senator, and given the 
 title of Comte de Peluse. He retained these honours until the 
 second Restoration, when Louis XVIII. erased his name from the 
 list of the Institute, besides depriving him of the Directorship of 
 the Poly technique^ which he (Mouge) had founded. 
 
 Mouge felt this deprivation deeply, and the last three years of 
 his life were passed in melancholy depression and regret. He died 
 in 18 1 8, at the age of seventy-two. 
 
 MOITTE, Pierre-Etienne. 
 Born, 1722 ; died, 1780. 
 A celebrated French engraver. His works are now of high 
 commercial value. 
 
 NECKER, Suzanne Curchod. 
 
 Born at Grassier in the Canton of Vaud, 1739; died at 
 Lauzanne, 1794. 
 
 Her father was a Protestant pastor, who educated her. At the 
 age of twenty she had a perfect and intimate knowledge of modern 
 and classical literature. She was tall and handsome, her manners 
 amiable and dignified. Her parents were poor ; she was therefore 
 obliged to give private lessons in families. Gibbon, the historian, 
 knew and admired, and even desired to marry her. His father, 
 however, absolutely refused his consent on account of Mdlle. 
 Curchod's want of means. 
 
 Having lost both her parents she went to Paris as the com- 
 panion of a Mdme. de Verenenon, a rich widow. Mdme.Verenenon 
 possessed a suitor, one Monsieur Necker, a wealthy banker of 
 about thirty-two years of age. 
 
 When M. Necker met the young companion he transferred his 
 affections to her, and they were married in 1764. Their union 
 was a very happy one. 
 
 Mdme. Necker's salon was one of the most agreeable and cultured 
 in Paris, her habituh being Buffon, Thomas, St. Lambert, Suard, 
 Marmontel, Saurin, Duclose, Diderot, D'Alembert, De la Harpe, 
 Guibert, Abbe Delille, Abbe Arnaud, Abbe Morellet, Comte de 
 
312 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 Creutz, Due d'Azeu, Marquis de Caraccioli. Her greatest friends 
 were Buffon and Thomas. 
 
 During her husband's first Ministry, Mdme. Necker occupied 
 herself particularly with the Paris Hospitals, then in a deplorable 
 condition, and at the moment when the Revolution drove her 
 from France, she was busy arranging a model hospital she had 
 founded at her own expense. 
 
 She died, aged fifty-four, at Lausanne. 
 
 She had an only daughter, the celebrated Madame de Stael, 
 born in 1766. The relations of mother and child were, unfortu- 
 nately, never happy, as the amiable, pious, but rigid Calvinist 
 mother could in no way understand the character or disposition 
 of her brilUant daughter. M. Necker, on the contrary, made his 
 child his friend and companion from her early girlhood, and in 
 consequence a violent jealousy existed between the mother and 
 daughter, which as years went on embittered both their lives, and 
 continued until Mdme. Necker's death. M. Necker died ten years 
 later, in 1804. 
 
 NEUFCHATEAU, Nicholas Francois, Comte de. 
 Born, 1750; died, 1828. 
 
 Son of a schoolmaster in T^orraine, Nicholas Francois was 
 educated at a Jesuit College, where he was known as " the 
 Infant Prodigy." At the age of fourteen he published a volume 
 of poems and fables, imitations of Ovid, Horace, and Virgil ; and 
 was crowned by the Academy of Dijon. Voltaire, then seventy- 
 two years of age, invited the youthful genius to Ferney, and 
 wished to make him his private secretary (1767), but the Comte 
 df^ Henin, who was the patron of Frangois, insisted upon his 
 proteg/ leaving Ferney and accepting a post in the magistracy. 
 The town of Neufchateau solemnly adopted their illustrious young 
 citizen, who from thenceforward added the name of Neufchateau 
 to that of Frangois. 
 
 He was brought under the notice of Marechal de Costires, then 
 Minister of Marine, who appointed Frangois Procurator to the 
 General Council in the Colony of St. Domingo, now the Island 
 of Hayti. 
 
 After spending five years in the West Indies, the young magis- 
 trate obtained leave ot absence, and started for France, bringing 
 with him the literary work of five years, including a complete 
 translation of the works of Ariosto. His ship was wrecked, and 
 he was cast on a desert island ; all his manuscripts going down 
 
APPENDIX 313 
 
 with the ill-fated vessel. Frangois Neufchateau considered this 
 loss to be the great catastrophe of his life. He was finally 
 rescued, reaching France in safety, and receiving a pension of 
 3000 livres (;£i2o), proposed to devote his life to literature and 
 poetry. 
 
 The events of 1789 altered the current of his existence. He 
 was elected a member of the Assembly, and the following year 
 sent as Commissionary to the Vosges for the organisation of that 
 new Department. 
 
 He was eventually appointed President of the first Legislative 
 Assembly. 
 
 He refused the Ministry of Justice, choosing instead the 
 humbler but safer position oi juge de paix in the Department 
 of Vosges. 
 
 His friends persuaded him to return to Paris to superintend the 
 rehearsal of his play " Pamela " (translated from one of Goldoni's 
 comedies) at the Theatre Frangais. Produced on August i, 
 1793, this innocent and simple drama achieved an immense 
 success, and was played for eight consecutive nights. The curtain 
 was just about to rise upon the ninth performance, when a message 
 from the Committee of Public Safety arrived to stop the play, the 
 author was summoned before the Committee the same evening, 
 and ordered to bring with him the manuscript of the piece. 
 Neufchateau submitted humbly to all demands as to corrections 
 and excisions, altered, as desired, the fourth and fifth acts of the 
 play, and even gave it a different ending. Robespierre and his 
 Council permitted the performance of the revised play. It was 
 reproduced September i, and again ran for eight nights; upon 
 the ninth evening this verse was applauded : — 
 
 Ah ! les persecuteurs sont les seuls condamnable, 
 Et les plus tol^rants sont les plus raisonnable. 
 
 Before the play was finished, the Committee of Public Safety 
 served the following order at the Theatre Frangais : 
 
 "The Theatre Fran fats is to be immediately closed, the actors, 
 actresses, and employees arrested, together with the author of 
 * Pamela,' and conveyed to the Prison of La Force." 
 
 In this prison Neufchateau remained eleven months, until 
 August 4, 1794, when he was released, and shortly afterwards 
 appointed Judge of the High Court during the Directorate, after 
 being Governmental Commissionary for some time in the district 
 of the Vosges. He became Minister of the Interior in 1797. In 
 
314 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 all these appointments he gave many proofs of capacity, judg- 
 ment, moderation, and kindliness of heart. 
 
 When the Consulate was established he was not only made a 
 Senator, but occupied the Presidential Chair of the Senate until 
 1808, when he abandoned politics for scientific and literary 
 pursuits. He was deprived of his peerage (Napoleon had made 
 him a Count of the Empire) at the Restoration, but allowed to 
 retain his membership of the Academy. 
 
 Although married four times, he left only one surviving son. 
 A painful malady rendered Neufchateau a helpless invalid for the 
 last ten years of his Hfe, but he retained his lively philosophic 
 character to the last, and was constantly surrounded by friends and 
 admirers, who enjoyed his witty as well as learned conversation. 
 He continued his literary work until his death. 
 
 His moral tales, poems, and philosophical and historical 
 treatises are now forgotten ; but his writings upon scientific agri- 
 culture are still consulted by experts in that science. 
 
 LE NOTRE, ANDRig. 
 
 A celebrated designer of gardens. Born, 1613 ; died, 1700. 
 
 Louis XIV. commissioned him to lay out the park and gardens 
 of Versailles, and gave him entire control over the royal gardens 
 of France. The geographical situation of Versailles made any 
 arrangements for gardens, fountains, and terraces extremely diffi- 
 cult, but Le Notre overcame all difficulties, and fed the fountains 
 by constructing a canal to carry off the waters of a neighbouring 
 marsh, which was thus rendered a fertile and cultivated spot. 
 
 Le Notre created the gardens of Marly, and also constructed the 
 splendid terrace at St. Germain. He laid out the gardens of Chan- 
 tilly for the Prince de Conde of the day. Those at Fontainebleau 
 and St. Cloud were also designed by him. Proceeding to England 
 in the reign of Charles H., he laid out and arranged the present 
 Parks of Greenwich and St. James. The lake in the latter was 
 constructed by Le Notre. 
 
 Le Notre was a man of the most simple and natural nature, and 
 for that very reason was probably one of the greatest favourites, 
 among his servants, of Louis XIV. This anecdote, which is his- 
 torically true, describes the character of the man: In 1678 he 
 made a visit to Italy to study the beautiful gardens which surround 
 the great villas of that country. He was received in audience by 
 Pope Innocent XL, who treated him with much distinction, and 
 Le Notre, as he was taking leave, remarked : " 1 have now nothing 
 
APPENDIX 315 
 
 more to desire ; I have seen the two greatest men in the world — 
 your Hohness and the King of France." " There is a great differ- 
 ence between us," rephed the Pope ; " the King of France is a great 
 and victorious Prince, I am but a poor priest, the servant of the 
 servants of God." Le Notre, delighted with this reply, slapped 
 the Pope familiarly on the back, saying, " Holy Father, do not be 
 despondent ; you look in perfect health, and may live to bury every 
 present member of your sacred College." Innocent XL burst into 
 a fit of laughter, and Le Notre threw himself on the Pope's neck, 
 kissing him affectionately. Le Notre retired, delighted with his 
 interview, and proceeded to write full details of it to Bontemps, 
 the confidential valet of Louis XIV. ; this letter was read aloud 
 at the Petit Levee of the King. Several courtiers doubted the 
 truth of its contents, but the King said, " Why not ? Whenever 
 I return from a campaign and give Le Notre an audience he always 
 embraces me, so he most likely embraces the Pope also." 
 
 At the age of eighty, when he wished to retire, Le Notre only 
 obtained permission to do so on the condition he would pay a 
 weekly visit to the King. He died at eighty-seven, and was buried 
 in the church of St. Roche in Paris, in a chapel he had founded. 
 
 He refused armorial bearings when offered a patent of nobility, 
 declaring his only crest was a spade. - Tt^L 0/? ftAy/t-c ca«d I 
 
 D'ORLEANS, Louis Philippe Joseph, Due (Philippe 
 
 Egalite). 
 Born at St. Cloud, April 13, 1747. Guillotined in Paris, 
 November 6, 1793. 
 
 His tutor was the Comte St. Meurice, and great pains were 
 taken with his education. 
 
 He appears to have inherited the character and disposition of 
 his great grandfather, the Regent, without the firmness of dispo- 
 sition and great natural intelligence and perspicuity possessed by 
 that Prince. 
 
 In 1769 he married Louise de Bourbon, only daughter of the 
 Duke de Penthievre. At the wedding he greatly scandalised the 
 Court by his behaviour, although his offence was only that natural 
 to a lively young man. Being accidentally placed on the left, 
 instead of the right, of the bride, he took a running leap and 
 jumped over her train to reach the other side. 
 
 Soon after his marriage, he entered on a life of wild dissipation, 
 became a Freemason, declared his admiration for everything 
 English, and imported horses and jockeys from the other side of 
 
3i6 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 the Channel. He also made every effort to gain popularity with 
 the people. In 1 771 he opposed the decree by which, in the last 
 years of the reign of Louis XV., the Chancellor Maupeon had 
 suppressed the provincial Parhaments of France, and was in con- 
 sequence exiled to his country seat during the remainder of that 
 King's reign. Immediately on his accession, Louis XVI. re-estab- 
 lished these Parliaments, and the Due de Chartres (as he then 
 was) returned to Court. 
 
 When the war broke out between France and England, the 
 young Duke petitioned that he might act for his father-in-law, the 
 Duke de Penthievre, who was Grand Admiral of France. This 
 was refused ; he was, however, given a nominal command in the 
 fleet of Admiral d'Orvilliers. He was present at the battle of 
 Onessant, where he commanded the squadron of the blue, under 
 the surveillance of Admiral Lamotte Picquet, who was really in 
 charge of this portion of the fleet. The admiral gave an excellent 
 account of the courage and coolness shown by the Prince when 
 under fire. 
 
 The French were victorious, but, owing to the incompetency of 
 d'Orvilliers, gained no real advantage from the combat. 
 
 The fleet returned to Brest, August 2, 1778, and when the 
 Due de Chartres reached Paris he was received with so much 
 enthusiasm by the populace as to excite the apprehension of the 
 Court party and to evoke an indignant hostility from the 
 Queen. 
 
 Shortly afterwards the Duke returned to his duties on the fleet, 
 and his enemies at Court took the opportunity of his absence 
 to spread against him the most scandalous libels — amongst others 
 that the Duke de Penthievre was persuaded that his son-in-law 
 desired to supplant him in the post of Grand Admiral, whereas 
 he only desired to act as his deputy. So well did his enemies 
 work, that when Chartres returned after a few months' absence, 
 he was as coldly received by the populace as by the courtiers. 
 More than this, when he wished to return to the fleet, his command 
 was taken from him and he was compelled to leave the Navy. 
 This treatment was rendered the more bitter, as the first intimation 
 he received of it was in a letter from his avowed enemy the 
 Queen. 
 
 From this moment the Duke avoided the Court, although he 
 retained a friendship for the Comte d'Artois, and the two young 
 Princes were companions in pleasure. The Queen, who was 
 greatly attached to her young brother-in-law, used all her influence 
 
APPENDIX 317 
 
 to draw him away from the " contagion " of Orleans. She per- 
 fAiaded the King to buy the Chateau de S. Cloud from the Duke 
 (it was the favourite residence of the latter), and although 
 d'Orleans was both furious and chagrined at being compelled to 
 part with his chateau^ he had no alternative but to obey the order 
 of his sovereign. The huge sum raised to buy this palace was a 
 serious drain on the exhausted Treasury, and the Queen lived to 
 bitterly regret her imprudent action. A libel was freely circulated 
 and believed all over France, on the occasion of the death of 
 the Prince de Lamballe, only son of the Duke de Penthievre. It 
 was said that d'Orleans had poisoned his brother-in-law, in order 
 that his wife might be sole heiress to the vast fortune of her father. 
 The Queen went so far as to say publicly she feared a similar fate 
 would soon befall the Comte d'Artois. Driven from the Court 
 by these outrages, the Duke d'Orleans' amiable and debonnaire 
 nature became utterly soured. In the first Assembly of Notables 
 he became one of the leaders of the Opposition. On November 
 19, 1787, when the King proposed to this Assembly two edicts — 
 one for the creation of a stamp duty, the other for a graduated 
 loan of 440,000,000 francs — the Duke d'Orleans rose and boldly 
 questioned the monarch, asking him whether this sitting was *'a 
 bed of justice " or " an open debate." " It is a royal sitting," the 
 King replied. " If that is the case," answered the Duke, ** I 
 protest against this measure ; for I declare that the right of voting 
 taxes only belongs to the States-General." Only two other 
 Councillors agreed with the Duke, and the edicts were immediately 
 carried. Freteau and Sabatier, the Councillors in question, were 
 immediately exiled to lies d'Hyeres, the Duke of Orleans to 
 Villers. This disgrace immensely increased the Duke's popularity. 
 He did not return to Paris for a year, and when the States-General 
 was assembled he was ele ted deputy for Crespy. During the 
 solemn procession at Versailles (May 4, 1789), before the opening 
 of this Assembly, it was noticed with what affectation the Duke 
 sought to mingle with the ranks of the Deputies of the Tiers 
 Atat 
 
 In the first sittings of the States-General, the Duke pronounced 
 energetically in favour of the reunion of all the orders. On June 25 
 he, together with forty-six other noblemen, joined the Tiers J&tat, 
 now the National Assembly ; on July 3 he was elected President, 
 but refused the honour. On the 12 th the people, exasperated by 
 the fall of Necker, carried the busts of Necker and the Duke about 
 Paris under the leadership of Legendre. It was from the gardens 
 
3i8 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 of the Duke's house (the Palais Royal) that, two days later, the 
 organised mob departed to take the Bastille. 
 
 Had d'Orleans possessed at this moment sufficient determination 
 and intellectual force, he might easily have become Lieutenant- 
 General of the Kingdom, with Necker for his Prime Minister. But 
 he had not enough courage, nor, possibly, enough ambition to 
 carry out any definite project ; and he drove his partisans, among 
 whom was Mirabeau, to despair by his hesitating and undecided 
 conduct. He remained a member of the Extreme Left of the 
 Assembly, but scarcely ever made a public speech. In October 
 of the same year, the Court party, and also the bourgeois^ were so 
 exasperated against the Duke of Orleans, that Lafayette himself was 
 persuaded to order the Duke out of France. He was sent to London 
 on an imaginary mission : returned the following summer, was ac- 
 claimed by the Assembly, and renewed his alliance with Mirabeau. 
 
 After the flight of Louis XVL, in June 1791, the throne was 
 temporarily vacant; and again, had the Duke chosen to come 
 forward, his advances would have been well received by the nation 
 and the Assembly. He did not dare to do so, and so lost his last 
 opportunity. 
 
 The next month the new Constitution ordained that French 
 Princes could not be elected to any functions by the votes of the 
 people ; Orleans, therefore, publicly renounced all prerogatives or 
 privileges accorded to Royalty, and declared himself a simple citizen. 
 
 At that time there was an attempted reconciliation between the 
 King and the [Duke, which was doubtless sincere on both sides. 
 The new Minister of Marine, Bertrand de Motteville, arranged 
 that the Duke of Orleans should be one of the Vice- Admirals in 
 the reorganised fleet. The project was communicated to Louis 
 XVL, who expressed himself satisfied, and the Duke was grateful. 
 The King and he, by the medium of de Motteville, had a private 
 interview, and parted on friendly terms. The following Sunday 
 (January 1792) the new Admiral came to the Tuileries to pay 
 homage to the King. It was the dinner-hour, the table for the 
 King and Queen was already laid, and the room was full of 
 courtiers. As soon as the Duke appeared, he became the object 
 for the most opprobrious insults. " Take care of the dishes ! " was 
 shouted on all sides — the insinuation being he was about to put 
 poison in them. He was pushed about, his feet were purposely 
 trodden on, and as he descended the stairs several persons spat 
 on his head and clothes. He left in a state of indescribable rage, 
 beheving that the King had enticed him to the Palace in order to 
 
APPENDIX 319 
 
 insult him ; the King was really innocent of the whole matter, but 
 sent no message of apology or regret. 
 
 From that day Orleans threw himself with energy into the 
 extreme revolutionary party, and by becoming Danton's banker 
 drew him away from the Court party, in whose pay that corrupt 
 politician had for some time been. 
 
 Orleans became Deputy for Paris in the Convention, accepting 
 the name of Philippe Egalite^ which title was bestowed upon him 
 on September 15, 1792. When the King's trial took place, 
 ^^Egalite" said Robespierre, '*is the only member who has a right 
 to refuse to vote." But Orleans thought he would save his own 
 head and his credit with the Jacobins by condemning his relative. 
 When his name was called, he said : " Entirely preoccupied by a 
 sense of duty, and convinced that all those who attempted to 
 reign or have reigned as sovereigns over the people merit death — 
 I vote for death." This speech did not have the expected effect, 
 those who were not indignant being disgusted at it. 
 
 On April 6 of the same year the Convention ordered that " all 
 members of the Bourbon family be detained as hostages " ; on the 
 7th, Orleans was arrested and conducted to Marseilles. He 
 addressed petition after petition to the Convention without effect, 
 and was removed to Paris and imprisoned at the Conciergerie on 
 October 3. Both Queen Marie Antoinette and d'Orleans simul- 
 taneously occupied cells in this prison for a space of a few days. 
 Two or three weeks after her execution the Duke was put upon 
 his trial ; he defended himself with courage and coolness, but his 
 fate was sealed in advance. After condemnation he asked to be 
 executed without delay ; and on the same afternoon, four hours 
 after the trial, he was conducted to the scaifold with five Deputies, 
 condemned, like himself, as Girondists. He passed by his former 
 palace on the way to execution, and, pointing to it, exclaimed, 
 with a gesture of contempt, " How they applauded me once ! " 
 When he had left the cart and mounted the plank of the guillotine 
 he said to the executioner, " Do not let your fellows pull off my 
 boots until I am dead, they will come off easier then ; make 
 haste ! make haste ! " These were his last words. 
 
 PAINE, Thomas. 
 
 Born at Thetford, Norfolk, in 1737; died at New York, 
 
 1809. 
 Paine was the son of a Quaker staymaker. He learnt 
 to read, write, and cypher at a free school, and at the age 
 
320 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 of sixteen worked at his father's trade. He twice ran away 
 from home to go to sea; but married in 1759 and settled in 
 Sandwich, still working as a staymaker. His wife dying two years 
 later, he went to London, and obtained a situation as school- 
 master in an elementary school, and toiled hard for two years at 
 his own self-education. 
 
 In 1 77 1 he married the daughter of a tobacconist, and joined 
 his father-in-law in trade. His affairs did not prosper, and 
 three years later he became bankrupt. He decided to emigrate 
 to America ; having made the acquaintance of Franklin (at that 
 time in London), the latter, as a fellow Quaker, gave him letters 
 of recommendation. Paine was thirty-seven when he embarked 
 for America ; on his arrival in Philadelphia he was engaged as 
 editor for a periodical called the Philadelphian Magazine. His arti- 
 cles began to excite attention, particularly several against slavery. 
 
 He took the most ardent interest in the struggle between 
 England and America. After the battle of Bunker Hill it was 
 still undecided whether the colonists would demand complete 
 independence and separation, or be satisfied with certain conces- 
 sions on the part of the mother country. It was then Paine 
 published his famous pamphlet " Common Sense," which produced 
 a tremendous impression, more than 100,000 copies being sold. 
 From an obscure individual he became a celebrity. During the 
 remainder of his life Paine invariably signed himself " Common 
 Sense," and was convinced that had he not written the work in 
 question the United States, as a nation, would never have come 
 into existence. 
 
 The following autumn he joined the American army as aide-de- 
 camp to General Green, and in 1777 tie was appointed by 
 Congress Secretary to the Committee of Foreign Affairs ; after 
 two years he was dismissed, under the accusation of indiscretion 
 as to diplomatic secrets. In 1781 he accompanied Colonel 
 Laurence, whom Congress had commissioned to try and raise a 
 loan, to France. This mission was a complete success. Louis XVI. 
 lent six millions of francs, and guaranteed another ten millions 
 promised by Holland. 
 
 Peace having been declared, Paine returned to America. As a 
 return for his services, Congress voted him 5500 dollars in two 
 separate sums, and gave him a grant of 300 acres of land and a 
 house. 
 
 Paine proceeded to work out various scientific and n.echanical 
 problems, by which he hoped to realise a large fortune, his 
 
APPENDIX 321 
 
 favourite dream being to throw an iron bridge over the Schuykill. 
 Want of capital, and the impossibility of getting iron properly 
 wrought or cast in America, caused his return to Europe. He 
 proposed to present the model of his bridge to the French 
 Academy of Science, Franklin giving him letters of introduction : 
 the Academy received him well, and their committee made a 
 favourable report. But politics, and not science, were in the air, 
 and no one could be persuaded to put money into the venture. 
 Paine then went to London in hopes of better luck ; a Yorkshire 
 ironmaster took up the invention, and an American merchant 
 advanced the money ; but the expenses proved far heavier than 
 had been anticipated, the ironmaster went bankrupt, and his 
 creditors arrested Paine, who only obtained his liberty at the 
 sacrifice of most of his little fortune. 
 
 The Revolution had now broken out in France, and the English 
 Whig party, which had at first shown much sympathy with the 
 movement, became alarmed and shocked at the excesses and dis- 
 orders it entailed. In 1790 Burke published his celebrated 
 treatise, "Thoughts on the French Revolution," which Paine 
 answered by his equally well-known work, " The Rights of Man." 
 This book excited immense indignation in England among the 
 general public, and its author was burnt in effigy in the streets. 
 The second part of the " Rights of Man," which was published 
 in February 1792, was still more violent, containing direct 
 personal attacks upon George III. These books delighted 
 the extremists, and were immediately translated into French. 
 The British Ministry issued a royal proclamation forbidding 
 seditious writings, and summoned Paine before the Court of 
 King's Bench. 
 
 At the same time a deputation of electors arrived from France 
 to inform Paine that he had been elected a Member of the 
 Convention ; flattered by this distinction, he started at once for 
 France, and an hour after he had sailed the order for his arrest 
 arrived. He was tried by default, and his sentence was banish- 
 ment for life from Great Britain and Ireland. As he could not 
 speak French, he was unable to take part in the debates of the 
 Convention; but when the King's trial took place he fought 
 courageously against the death sentence, and caused the following 
 expression of his opinions to be read aloud by one of his fellow 
 members : 
 
 To kill Louis would not only be a gross act of inhumanity, but also of 
 insane folly. His death would augment the number of your enemies. If 
 
 X 
 
322 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 I could speak French I would now descend and appear as a humble 
 suppliant before your bar, imploring you in the name of my generous 
 American brethren not to send Louis to execution. 
 
 This generous action on the part of Paine completely destroyed 
 his credit with the Jacobins, and also in a great measure his 
 general popularity in France. The governing party were from 
 that time his open enemies ; Robespierre erased his name from 
 he list of members of the Convention, as "a foreigner who was 
 an enemy to Liberty and Equality." He was arrested and im- 
 prisoned in the Luxemburg. 
 
 Thomas Paine remained for more than a year in prison in daily 
 expectation of death. It was only by a mistake on the part of 
 his gaoler in reading out the names of the condemned that he 
 escaped execution. Even the fall of Robespierre did not give 
 him freedom; and he was at length liberated in November 1794, 
 by the influence of Monroe, the American Minister, who claimed 
 him as a citizen of the United States. 
 
 He attempted to obtain a seat in the Assembly, but was not 
 elected. The long imprisonment had not only affected his health 
 but also his intelligence. He published a work entitled the " Age 
 of Reason " — a violent attack upon Christianity, which aroused a 
 sensation in England, and evoked much energetic refutation of 
 its teaching. It made Paine a vast number of enemies in the 
 United States, and he rendered the situation still more impossible 
 by publishing in 1797 a letter, full of bitterness and ill-nature, 
 criticising the character and administration of Washington. 
 
 He did not leave France until the autumn of 1802, when he 
 returned to America, where he found he had lost the considera- 
 tion and respect which he formerly enjoyed in the United States. 
 
 His last years were spent in loneliness and neglect. He was 
 thought by his enemies to be avaricious, dirty and careless of his 
 appearance, and to indulge in intemperate habits. He died, 
 almost forgotten, in New York in 1809, aged seventy-one, and 
 was buried upon his farm at New Rochelle. In 1837 Cobbett 
 transported the remains to England, where they were reverently 
 received by the Radicals and Chartists of the day. 
 
 PIUS VI., Giovanni Angelo, Count de Braschi. 
 
 Born, December 27, 1717 ; died at Valence, August 29, 1799. 
 
 He was the only child of Count More Aurelius Braschi, the 
 
 head of one of the oldest famiUes in the Romagna. To his parents' 
 
 M 
 
APPENDIX 323 
 
 grief he insisted upon taking holy orders, and was appointed 
 secretary to his maternal uncle, Cardinal Rufifio, Legate at 
 Ferrara. Later Braschi became auditor to the Bishoprics of 
 Ostia and Velletri; while in the latter city, in 1744, when there 
 was an encounter between the Austrians and NeapoHtans (the 
 latter commanded by King Charles IIL of Spain, then King of 
 Naples), Braschi was able by his presence of mind to save the 
 Neapolitan archives. This circumstance brought him to the 
 notice of the King of Naples, who promised him his protection : 
 shortly afterwards he successfully conducted a mission from the 
 Pope to the King of Naples, and was appointed Camariere Segreto 
 and Canon of St. Peter's. In 1758 he became a Prelate, and 
 Treasurer-General of the Apostohc Chamber. Clement XIV. 
 created him a Cardinal in 1773, ^"^ in 1775 he was elected Pope, 
 under the title of Pius VI. 
 
 His reign inaugurated an era of reform ; he issued many rules 
 and regulations as to the dress and general conduct of the clergy, 
 which at the time, owing to the indifference and weakness of 
 his immediate predecessor's administration, left much to be 
 desired. 
 
 His position as treasurer had given him an insight into the 
 abuses prevailing in the financial department of the Papal Govern- 
 ment, and a reduction or suppression of a number of dishonestly 
 obtained pensions took place. He published various laws for the 
 protection of farmers and corn-dealers, and offered substantial 
 pecuniary rewards to industrious and intelligent peasant farmers. 
 A Congregation of Cardinals was called together to pass regulations 
 to put a stop to the grave disorders occasioned by idleness, 
 mendicity, and too low wages ; the system of weights and 
 measures was thoroughly investigated, and one contractor in 
 particular, who had received 900,000 crowns from the Apostolic 
 See during the famine of 1771-72 to buy grain for the assistance 
 of ruined farmers, was forced to restore 280,000 crowns of this 
 money to the Treasury. Pius VI. ordered the drainage of the 
 Pontine Marshes, and employed for this purpose the celebrated 
 engineer, Louis Benck ; and although the work was not finished, 
 owing to the Revolution, 12,000 acres were reclaimed. He also 
 cleared the Appian Way, then impassable owing to the vast 
 multitude of stone heaps from ruined buildings by which it was 
 encumbered. Pius VI. embellished, completed, arranged, and 
 classified the " Museo Clementino." Combined with these 
 reforms he gave great attention to charitable institutions, initiated 
 
324 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 those schools of the Christian Brothers which are now spread all 
 over the world, and erected many orphanages and refuges for 
 poor children of both sexes. 
 
 Pius's serious troubles began with the accession of that mis- 
 guided but well-meaning monarch, Joseph II. of Austria. This 
 Emperor's intentions were excellent, nor was he impious or 
 irreligious, yet by his exorbitant pretensions to sovereignty in 
 every department of the State, and his avowed intention to re- 
 organise on his own responsibility the spiritual affairs of his 
 Empire, he was a powerful agent to the enemies of Christianity. 
 After having continued for some time a correspondence with the 
 Emperor which led to no satisfactory understanding on either 
 side, Pius VI. determined to seek a personal interview with him. 
 Leaving on February 27, 1782, he arrived on March 22 at 
 Vienna. The Emperor received the Pope with the utmost 
 courtesy, but remained inflexible, and Pius VI. soon perceived 
 that his long journey had been in vain. However, Joseph II. 
 treated the Pope with the greatest outward magnificence, and 
 endeavoured to appease him by offering the brevet of a Prince 
 of the Holy Roman Empire to Count Louis Braschi, the Pontiff's 
 nephew and heir. This the Pope refused, saying : " We are not 
 occupied with the advancement or grandeur of our family, our 
 interests are concentrated on those of the Church." The follow- 
 ing year Joseph II. returned the Pope's visit, but on his way to 
 Rome he appointed a new Archbishop of Milan without consult- 
 ing the Holy See ; but gave way, however, on this point later, 
 and the result of the visit was the signature of a Concordat 
 between the Pope and Austria, which put an end to the principal 
 misunderstandings, although, until his death, Joseph never ceased 
 to be a source of anxiety and annoyance to his Holiness. 
 
 The French Revolution brought more trouble to Pius VI. 
 After the measures taken against the clergy, attacks began to be 
 levelled at the Roman Curia. The Assembly introduced the 
 " Constitution Civile du Clerge," which, by abolishing the various 
 hierarchical degrees, destroyed the ancient Gallican Church ; and 
 Avignon, a part of the Papal States since medieval times, was 
 formally united to France. The Pope was powerless, and the 
 storm of war began to descend on Italy : Savoy and Nice were 
 invaded, the clergy compelled to fly before the persecutions of the 
 Republic, and the States of the Church were crowded by destitute 
 ecclesiastics of every condition, who were hospitably entertained 
 by the Pope, whose own turn of misfortune was at hand ; the 
 
APPENDIX 325 
 
 French Government accused him of being "an enemy of the 
 changes in the French Government " ; they invaded the Pontifical 
 territory, and Pius signed in 1797 the treatyofTolentio, by which 
 he gave up Bologna, Ferrara, and Romagna, and renounced all 
 claims to the sovereignty over Avignon. 
 
 Throughout these reverses Pius VI. showed courage, self- 
 control and prudence. The Directorate were determined to drive 
 him from Rome; they therefore excited a riot in the city, and 
 under pretence of quelling it, despatched an army, commanded 
 by General Berthier, which camped under the walls of Rome, 
 January 29, 1798. (As Bonaparte was at that time in Egypt, and 
 did not return until after the death of the Pope, he took no part 
 in the events which followed.) 
 
 On February 15, the French general threw off the mask, entered 
 Rome, and the robbery and sacrilege commenced. Five days 
 later the Swiss Haller, the corrupt treasurer of the French army, 
 seized the person of the Pontiff, flung him by force into a post- 
 chaise, and, without attendants, luggage or any conveniences for a 
 winter's journey, carried this infirm old man of eighty into exile. 
 He was first taken to Siena, then to the Benedictine mountain 
 fortress of San Cassiano, to Florence, to Parma, to Piacenza, to 
 Turin ; at length, worn out and half paralysed, he arrived at 
 Valence on July 14, after enduring five months' imprisonment, 
 privation and misery, during which time no pity had been shown 
 him, although his physical condition was most pitiful, for he had 
 suffered a paralytic stroke, and from sheer weakness his body 
 had become covered with ulcers. He was incarcerated in the 
 ordinary prison of the citadel at Valence and kept in solitary 
 confinement; but by this time he was indifferent to earthly 
 affairs, and his time spent entirely in prayer. He retained his 
 faculties to the last, and, as a special favour, permitted to 
 receive the last Sacraments at the hands of a fellow prisoner, 
 Mgr. Spina, Archbishop of Corinth. 
 
 Pius VI. died on August 26, 1799, at one o'clock in the morning, 
 aged eighty-one years and eight months. His body was buried 
 without any ceremony in the desecrated chapel of the citadel; but 
 after the establishment of the Concordat it was, by the orders of 
 the First Consul, removed to Rome, and now lies there in the 
 Church of St. Peter. He was Pope for more than twenty-four 
 years. 
 
326 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 PELLETIER, Jacques. 
 
 Bom, 1760; died, 1839. 
 
 A rich landed proprietor who adopted revolutionary prin- 
 ciples, represented the Department of Cher in the Conven- 
 tion, and voted for Louis XVI.'s death, subject to an appeal to the 
 people. After the 9th Thermidor, he was sent to administer 
 Languedoc, showed firmness, justice and moderation, and in 
 1795 was one of the Commissioners for the Directorate. 
 
 Banished as a regicide in 18 16, he was allowed to return to 
 France in 18 19, and the last twenty years of his life were 
 uneventful. 
 
 PRIEUR, Claude Antoine Duvernois. 
 Born, 1763; died, 1832. 
 
 The son of a receiver of taxes at Auxonne, Prieur was an officer 
 in the Engineers at the time of the Revolution, which he joined 
 from its outset. Elected by the Coie d'Or to the Assembly, the 
 Convention, and finally to the Council of the Five Hundred, he 
 sat in all these Assembhes from 1791 to 1793, and distinguished 
 himself by his genuine Republicanism, was for a short time Presi- 
 dent of the Convention, but after August 10 joined the Army of 
 the Rhine. 
 
 At the King's trial he voted for the immediate execution of the 
 accused. Three months later the Convention sent him to 
 Normandy to put down the counter revolutionary projects of the 
 Girondins, who succeeded in arresting Prieur and his brother 
 commissionary, and they remained fifty-one days in the prisons of 
 Caen. On his return to Paris, Prieur became a member of the 
 Committee of Public Safety (August 1793). At the time of the 
 Revolution of i8th Brumaire, Prieur was once more with the army, 
 acting as a colonel in the Engineers, but being too republican to 
 serve the First Consul, he in 1800 retired from military service. 
 
 He was one of those few among the revolutionists who was an 
 admirable organiser and a practical man. He worked heart and 
 soul for the re-establishment of Public Instruction, and together 
 with Mouge helped to found the Ecole Poly technique. Prieur was 
 the author of the great reform in the metric system. 
 
 PRONY, Gaspat^d Clair Franqais Marie Riche de. 
 Born, 1755; died, 1839. 
 One of the greatest engmeers of France. In 1787 he commenced 
 the bridge, first called Pont Louis XVI.j and now Pont de la 
 
APPENDIX 327 
 
 Concorde, which was completed in 1791, when Prony was appointed 
 chief engineer of France. The same year he undertook the com- 
 position of new tables of trigonometry adapted to the decimal 
 division of the circle. Prony completed his^work in three years, 
 and in 1798 became the Director of the Ecole des Fonts et des 
 Chaussees and professor of mechanics and mathematics at the 
 Ecole Poly technique. Bonaparte made every effort to induce 
 Prony to abandon this appointment and accompany him to Egypt, 
 but was unsuccessful. During the Consulate and Empire, Prony's 
 word was considered law in all that concerned civil engineering in 
 France, and after the restoration he retained his post at the Ecole 
 Poly technique. In 18 18 he was sent to Italy to carry out improve- 
 ments in the Ports of Genoa, Pola, and Ancona, and to give an 
 opinion upon the possible regularisation of the course of the Po, 
 and in 1827 he carried out works which successfully stopped the 
 annual floods in the Rhone valley, for which service Charles X. 
 created him a Baron. 
 
 He died at the age of eighty-four. 
 
 LA REVEILLIERE, Louis Marie. 
 Born, 1753 ; died, 1824. 
 One of the five Directors, and at the time of the dissolution 
 of the Directorate their President. UnHke Barras and his 
 co-directors, la Reveilliere was an honest man and a sincere 
 Republican. He refused to take the oath of allegiance to Napoleon 
 as First Consul or Emperor, and retired into private life after the 
 events of the i8th Brumaire (Nov. 1799). 
 
 REGNIER, Due de Massa, Claude Ambroise. 
 Born, 1736; died, June 24, 1814. 
 He was at the time of the Revolution one of the most 
 distinguished lawyers in Nancy. He pronounced violently in 
 favour of the new doctrines, and was elected by the Tiers Etat 
 of his native town as their representative at the States- 
 General. He took a considerable part in the debates of the 
 Assembly, and defended Nancy against the attacks of the Jacobins. 
 When the Convention took extreme measures, Regnier dis- 
 appeared from Paris until the events of the 9th Thermidor 
 were concluded. In 1795 he joined the Council of the 
 Ancients, and became first Secretary to and then President of the 
 Council. He opposed the return of the exiled emigres and 
 caused the transportation of many priests (February 1796). He 
 
328 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 was re-elected in 1799, but as he was persuaded, by this time, that 
 the Directorate could neither serve the peace nor the aggrandisement 
 of France, he took an active part in arranging the coup d'etat of 
 the i8th Brumaire (Nov. 1799). It was in his house that the 
 conspirators met the day before this event took place. When he 
 was appointed a member of the Coiiseil d'Etat^ he catalogued and 
 investigated all details with regard to the National Domains. He 
 was the principal author of that code of laws known as the 
 Code Napoleon, still the law of France. In 1802 he became 
 Minister of Justice and also Chief Judge of France ; he held these 
 offices until 18 13. He was created Due de Massa by the Emperor 
 in 1805. In 18 13, after resigning the portfolio of Minister of 
 Justice, Regnier became President of the Corps Legislatif. After 
 the first abdication of Napoleon Regnier hoped to retain 
 his position, but he was doomed to be disappointed, a mis- 
 fortune which, together with the fall of the Emperor, to whom 
 he was personally attached, probably hastened his death, which 
 occurred two months later, at the age of seventy-eight. 
 
 ROBESPIERRE, Maximilien Marie Isidore de. 
 
 Born at Arras, May 6, 1756; died in Paris, July 1794. 
 
 The public history of Robespierre is so well known that it is 
 unnecessary to give it here. A short description of his early life, 
 previous to becoming a Deputy to the States-General in 1789, may, 
 however, be of interest, as but little is known. 
 
 Robespierre's father, a lawyer, was a man of eccentric habits 
 and peculiar disposition, who after the death of his wife left his 
 native town, and, it is believed, went to England and America. 
 Nothing was again seen of him in France, nor did he ever com- 
 municate with his family. He left behind him three young 
 children, Augustus, Maximilien, and a daughter Margaret. Of 
 these Maximilien was adopted by two maiden aunts, who sent him 
 to the College at Arras, and defrayed the expenses of his education. 
 The religious circle in which his aunts lived brought the boy in 
 contact with the wealthy and influential clergy of the town ; a 
 canon of the Cathedral of Arras took him under his immediate 
 protection, and obtained for him, when twelve years of age, a 
 bourse or scholarship at the College of Louis le Grand, Paris. 
 Robespierre, during his six years' stay at this College, was studious, 
 obedient, and intelligent, and took a first prize in the class of 
 rhetoric. Among his schoolfellows were Camille, Desmoulins, 
 
APPENDIX 329 
 
 and Freron. On leaving college, Robespierre, who was very poor, 
 studied law. A letter addressed by him to the Abbe Proyart, is 
 still extant, in which he begs for a little help towards purchasing a 
 decent suit of clothes in which to present himself before the 
 Bishop of Arras, one of his protectors then in Paris. At this time 
 (1778) Robespierre was twenty years of age. After completing 
 his legal studies, he returned to his native town and exercised his 
 profession as lawyer. His reputation had preceded him, and he 
 soon obtained many clients, unfortunately for him most of 
 them poorer than himself. Many reports of his pleadings 
 remain — they are (most of them) mere declamations or speeches 
 upon political and social questions; full of tirades against the 
 " ignorance, prejudice, and those passions which form a redoubt- 
 able league against all men of genius — in order to punish these 
 men for the services they render to humanity." These speeches 
 produced a great sensation. Robespierre invariably interlarded 
 his discourses with the most fulsome eulogies of the King. In 
 one speech he speaks of "that beloved and sacred head, the 
 head of the Prince who is the delight and glory of France." He 
 occupied his spare time in literary pursuits, and wrote a great deal 
 of indifferent poetry. He was in 1783 elected member of the 
 Academy of Arras. His reputation for eloquence and intellect 
 was now such that when the States-General assembled he was 
 immediately chosen one of the sixteen representatives for the 
 province of Artois. He was then so poor that he was obHged to 
 borrow ten louis and a travelling trunk in order to be able to 
 proceed to Paris. The inventory of the contents of his trunk 
 is preserved, viz. : "six shirts, six neckcloths, and six pocket 
 handkerchiefs, of which the greater portion are in good order." 
 
 ROCHEFOUCAULT, Francois Alexandre Frederic, Duke 
 DE LE {Liancourt.) Born, 1737 ; died, 1827, aged eighty. 
 This distinguished nobleman was the son of the Duke d'Estissac 
 and of Marie, daughter and heiress of the Duke Alexandre de la 
 Rochefoucault, from whom he inherited his title. He joined the 
 regiment of Carabineers when a mere lad, and married at the age 
 of seventeen. His father was Grand Master of the King's Garde- 
 robe, this appointment being hereditary in the family. The 
 young Duke of Liancourt, as he was then called, did not find 
 favour with Madame du Barry. He left Court in 1769, and paid 
 a long visit to England. On his return he put into practice, upon 
 his estate at Liancourt, the industrial and agricultural improve- 
 
330 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 ments he had observed upon his journey ; amongst other under- 
 takings he started a model farm, and brought cattle from 
 Switzerland and Germany, to improve the breed of cows. He 
 founded an industrial school at Liancourt for the education and 
 instruction of the children of poor soldiers. In 1786 de la 
 Rochefoucault accompanied Louis XYI. on a progress through 
 Normandy, and showed the King the various industrial and 
 agricultural establishments of that province, then in a very 
 prosperous condition. When the States-General assembled, the 
 Duke de Liancourt was elected Deputy by the nobility of Clermont. 
 His position in the Assembly was that of a defender of Royalty, 
 and also of public liberty. On July 12, 1789, the Duke de 
 Liancourt, who, though no courtier, was one of the few sincere 
 friends of Louis XVI., for whom he had a personal regard, 
 appeared at Versailles and gave a true and succinct account of the 
 agitation which was pervading the capital. " It is a revolt," said 
 the astonished monarch. *'Sire," replied the Duke, "it is a 
 Revolution.'^ The Bastille fell two days later. On July 18 
 the Duke was invested with the Presidency of the Assembly. 
 After the session of the Assembly had concluded, he returned to 
 Liancourt, where he continued his industrial experiments, and 
 founded in 1790 work-rooms for spinning and weaving cotton and 
 wool under a new process. As a Heutenant-general, his rank in 
 the army, he commanded a military division in Normandy, and, 
 when the first excesses of the Revolution began, implored the 
 King and Royal Family to take refuge at Rouen. Had this 
 proposal been accepted much trouble might have been averted. 
 Upon the King's refusal of his offer the Duke generously put at 
 his disposal the sum of 150,000 livres (;£6ooo). The horrors 
 of August 10 decided the Duke to fly from France, and pass 
 into England. In exile he was almost without resources. An old 
 maiden lady, in whom — although she had never seen him — he 
 inspired a romantic interest, left him her whole fortune, some 
 ^£"50,000. He refused to accept any part of the legacy, and 
 handed the money to her legal heirs. The death of Louis XVI. 
 induced the Duke de la Rochefoucault (since the massacre of 
 his cousin in 1793, he had assumed this title) to leave Europe and 
 spend several years in America, devoting his time to scientific 
 studies, and observations of the Government and character of the 
 people of the United States, and even of the Indians in Canada. 
 Louis XVIII. sent him in 1798 an impierious message, com- 
 manding him to join him and take up his duties as Grand Master 
 
APPENDIX 331 
 
 of the royal household, an order which the Duke respectfully 
 declined ; Louis XVIII. never forgave him, and there is little 
 doubt the neglect and quasi- disgrace with which la Rochefoucault 
 was treated after the Restoration arose mainly from this un- 
 forgotten incident 
 
 In 1799 Rochefoucault returned to France, and dwelt for some 
 time ignored in Paris ; he was still, however, conferring benefits 
 upon humanity. As soon as his name was erased from the list of 
 e7?iigres he started a committee for vaccination in Paris, and 
 opened a dispensary for the purpose of making this remedy known 
 among the people. When he was allowed to return to Liancourt, 
 he found to his delight that notwithstanding the storms of the 
 Revolution, every succeeding Government since his departure had 
 respected the institutions he had created. The Emperor Napoleon 
 bestowed upon him the legion of honour, but affected to treat 
 him as a manufacturer, and did not offer him a peerage. The 
 Duke lived entirely at Liancourt. In 1809 when Napoleon 
 restored his title, and gave him the right of grand entry to the 
 Imperial Court, la Rochefoucault did not take advantage of this 
 favour, and remained in retirement until the Restoration. Louis 
 XVIII. treated him with marked coldness and disfavour, and did 
 not appoint him to any office at Court. Rochefoucault, never- 
 theless, was a member of the House of Peers as a Duke of France. 
 In 18 16 he was elected member of the general council of the 
 hospitals of Paris. The Duke de la Rochefoucault inaugurated 
 the " Society of Christian Morals " in 1821, and soon afterwards 
 became President of the school of Arts et Metiers^ founded by 
 him at Liancourt, now transferred to Chalons, and member of the 
 Councils of Agriculture, Hospitals and Prisons. In 1823 the 
 reactionist Ministry, who disapproved of his poHtical views, 
 relieved him of all his public but strictly honourable functions, on 
 the ground of his age (76). Not daring to deprive him of his 
 Presidency of the Committee on vaccination, they suppressed this 
 Committee altogether. On March 21, 1827, whilst the Duke was 
 speaking in the Chamber of Peers, he was suddenly seized with a 
 fit, and expired four days later. 
 
 On the day of his funeral, a number of old students of his 
 school of Arts et Metiers came to the church, with the intention 
 of carrying his coffin ; when they attempted to do so, they were 
 suddenly charged by a troop of mounted gens d^ar7nes in the 
 Rue St. Honore, and the Duke's coffin fell in the mud, his coronet 
 and other symbols of the peerage being trampled under foot. 
 
332 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 ROEDERER, Pierre Louis, Comte de. 
 Born 1654 at Metz ; died in 1735. 
 
 His father, a lawyer at Strasbourg, compelled his son, who was 
 an ardent disciple of Jean Jacques Rousseau, to follow the 
 parental profession, much against his will. 
 
 Roederer began his political life in 1788, by publishing a 
 pamphlet on the " Deputation to the States-General," when he 
 also became a journalist. Sent by the electors of Metz to the 
 States-General, as a representative of the Tiers Etat, he took an 
 important part in the debates, proposing the new law reforms, the 
 institution of trial by jury, the abolition of religious orders and of 
 titles of nobility, and demanding also liberty for the press and 
 equality in political rights for every citizen. He showed great 
 financial ability, compiled the new stamp and patent laws, invent- 
 ing a new system of taxation. He was a member of the Jacobin 
 Society until June 20, 1792, after which date (the day of the 
 first invasion of the Tuileries) he seceded from the club, and 
 from that period the extreme party were his mortal enemies. On 
 August 10 he, together with Merlin, conducted the Royal 
 Family to the Assembly, and protected, helped, and comforted 
 them to the best of his power. 
 
 The following day he was denounced by the Jacobins, but not 
 arrested, and he prudently disappeared from the Assembly, and 
 devoted himself entirely to the sub-editorship of the Journal de 
 Paris. An article in this paper, dated January 6, 1793, in 
 which Roederer denied the right of the Convention to try the 
 King, brought him into immediate danger ; however, he fled from 
 Paris, and did not reappear there until after the 9th Thermidor 
 (July 28, 1794). 
 
 In 1795 he became editor of the Journal de Paris. He was 
 threatened with transportation to Guienne during the Directorate, 
 and only saved by the direct intervention of Talleyrand. He was 
 now satisfied that a firm and stable government was the sole 
 means of the regenerating of France, and was therefore an active 
 agent for what he termed the "generous and patriotic conspiracy " 
 of the 1 8th Brumaire. He wrote the " Address to the Parisians," 
 which was placarded upon the walls of Paris on that eventful 
 morning. 
 
 Bonaparte made him Councillor of State on 25th December, 
 V 1799, and in 1802 he was named Director of L Esprit Public^ a ' 
 position which gave him control of all the theatres and of public 
 
APPENDIX 333 
 
 instruction. In 1806 he was sent to Naples, of which Joseph 
 Bonaparte had just been created King, and by Napoleon's orders 
 undertook the duty of Neapolitan Finance Minister, which post 
 he continued to hold under Murat. In 181 o he was appointed 
 administrator to the Grand Duchy of Berg. When the Bourbons 
 returned, he quitted political life and retired to his country seat, 
 the Chateau of Bois Roussel, devoting himself until 1830 to 
 literary pursuits. 
 
 After the accession of Louis Philippe he was again summoned 
 to the Chamber of Peers, and, notwithstanding his advanced age, 
 took a considerable part in debate, publishing a pamphlet, Lettre 
 aux Constituttonnels, which caused a violent excitement all over 
 Paris. In it he attacked the doctrine that "The King reigns, but 
 does not govern." 
 
 Roederer died from an accident at the age of eighty-one, when 
 still in the enjoyment of good health and spirits. 
 
 DE SADE, Marquis Alphonse Franqais. 
 
 Born in Paris 1740; died in the mad-house at Charenton, 
 1814. 
 
 De Sade, a man of noble family and high position, being 
 Lieutenant-General of Bresse and Valroney, appears at the age of 
 twenty-six to have been seized with a form of insanity which only 
 showed itself in the use of obscene language, writings, and 
 deeds. 
 
 He was arrested at Marseilles in 1772 for a terrible offence 
 against public morality, and from that time, under a lettre de 
 cachet^ was imprisoned in various fortresses, amongst others 
 Vincennes and the Bastille. During this imprisonment he wrote 
 those notoriously obscene books which have rendered his name 
 infamously famous. He was liberated in 1790 by the decree 
 which released all prisoners imprisoned under lettres de cachet. 
 
 His wife obtained a separation from him, and for the next ten 
 years he continued to publish books and plays of the most 
 appalling immorality. When Bonaparte returned from Egypt, 
 De Sade sent him copies of his two novels, " Juliette " and 
 " Justine," illustrated by himself, and with a dedication to the 
 First Consul. Napoleon, filled with disgust, had the books 
 burned, and De Sade arrested as a dangerous lunatic, and 
 incarcerated in the mad-house at Charenton, where he died 
 fourteen years later. 
 
 Those who visited him there describe him as a venerable 
 
334 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 looking old man, with beautiful features and abundant snow- 
 white hair, exquisite manners and an amiable expression ; but as 
 soon as he opened his mouth, every word he spoke was either 
 indecent or profane. 
 
 SANTERRE, Antoine Joseph General. 
 Born, 1752, in Paris; died in 1809. 
 
 Son of a Flemish brewer who had established himself in the 
 Faubourg St. Antoine, he continued to follow his father's trade. 
 He was rich, and had an excellent reputation among the working 
 classes for the generosity and kindness he showed his employees. 
 Santerre was one of those electors of Paris who met on July 
 14, 1789, at the Hotel de Ville ; he commanded the National 
 Guard of his district, and for the next three years the brewery 
 and beerhouse of Santerre were a rendezvous for all the agitators 
 of the Faubourg, indeed it was here that the attack upon the 
 Tuileries of June 20, 1792, was agreed upon. 
 
 Upon that day Santerre marched at the head of the crowd 
 which invaded the National Assembly, and standing at the foot 
 of the tribune he directed the march of the people through the 
 Chamber. After thanking the Deputies for the marks of friend- 
 ship they had shown to the inhabitants of the Faubourg St. 
 Antoine, he presented them with a flag, and then went out to join 
 his men upon the Place Carousel, from whence he led them to the 
 Tuileries. He also took a prominent part in the second attack 
 upon August 10, and the Commune afterwards created 
 him commander-in-chief of the National Guard of Paris, a com- 
 mand originally held by the Marquis of Lafayette (!) in which 
 capacity he conducted Louis XVI. and his family to the Temple. 
 On January 21, 1793, he was in command of the troops 
 who surrounded the scaffold, and it was at his signal that the 
 drums were beaten to drown the dying speech of King Louis. 
 
 In April of the same year, Santerre obtained a release from 
 the debt of 40,500 francs which he owed to the State for taxes he 
 should have paid upon malt and beer, the reason for the remission 
 of this debt being " that the beer in question had all been con- 
 sumed by patriots." 
 
 Santerre, who was raised to the rank of a general of division, 
 in July 1793, expressed a desire to show his prowess in the field, 
 and asking for employment in the army, was sent to fight the 
 Royalists in La Vendee. He met with nothing but disaster, 
 owing to his complete ignorance of miUtary tactics, and after 
 
APPENDIX 335 
 
 being defeated at Corow on September 3, was recalled to 
 Paris. Shortly afterwards he was arrested, and remained in 
 prison until the death of Robespierre. 
 
 In July 1794, he was deprived of his rank as general and 
 •returned to private life ; but his business had perished, and he 
 was entirely ruined. He addressed petitions to various 
 authorities, and finally, in January 1800, appealed to the First 
 Consul for employment in the army or "any post by which I 
 can live." 
 
 Bonaparte did not employ him, but he placed his name on the 
 list of retired generals, by which means Santerre enjoyed a pension 
 for the rest of his life. Santerre has been quoted as a monster of 
 ferocity, no doubt owing to the part he played on January 
 21, 1793: but he was in reality neither brutal nor cruel, and 
 constantly sought to calm the ardour of his partisans, and saved 
 the lives of persons whose opinions were opposed to his own. 
 He was, however, a man without either capacity or originality, 
 whom the irony of fate placed for a short time in a prominent 
 and powerful situation. 
 
 SIEVES, Emmanuel Joseph, Comte de. 
 
 Born, 1748 at Fregus ; died in Paris, 1896. 
 
 Being the youngest of seven children his father insisted upon his 
 embarking in an ecclesiastical career. Sieyes remained for ten years 
 at the seminary of Saint Sulpice in Paris, until he had, at the 
 age of twenty-four, received priest's orders. While at college he 
 devoted himself to the study of metaphysics, Locke being his 
 favourite author. 
 
 He was made Canon of Tregnier in Brittany in 1775, and in 
 1780 transferred to a Canonry at Chartres, united to the posts of 
 Vicar-General and Chancellor. 
 
 The revolutionary period approached, and Provincial Assem- 
 blies were called together, Sieyes being a member of the Assembly 
 at Orleans in 1787. He published a succession of pamphlets in 
 the course of the next two years, which added greatly to his literary 
 and political reputation. 
 
 The electors of Paris sent him as the twentieth member for 
 their town to the States-General, where he represented the Tiers 
 (TEtat and not the clergy. He took a prominent part as soon as he 
 entered this assembly ; it was he who promoted the meeting of the 
 Orders, framed the oath administered in the Tennis Court ; and 
 the division of France into Departments was entirely his work. 
 
336 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 His influence in the Assembly was so great that Mirabeau gave 
 him the nickname of "Mahomet." In February 1791 he was 
 offered the Constitutional Bishopric of Paris, which he refused. 
 He was elected member of the Convention in 1792, and appointed 
 to the leadership of the Committee U Instruction Publique. Sieyes 
 was too prudent and, possibly, too humane to take any prominent 
 part in that noisy and ill-regulated assembly ; but at the trial of 
 Louis XVI. he voted for death, without adding a single word 
 beyond recording his vote ; indeed, with the exception of the occa- 
 sion when he publicly abjured his religious faith and declared he 
 had ceased to be a priest, Sieyes never made a speech in the 
 Convention, though he recorded his vote in favour of every 
 revolutionary measure. 
 
 He was asked, in later life, what he had done during the Terror. 
 He replied significantly, " I lived." 
 
 In 1795 he went to Holland, and while in that country was 
 offered a place in the Directorate, which he refused, but the coup 
 d^etat of Vendemaire brought him out of his retreat, and he was 
 named President of the Five Hundred (November 25, 1797). 
 
 The following year he went as Ambassador to Berlin, and on 
 May 16, 1799, ^^ returned to Paris and replaced Rewbell in the 
 Directorate. On June 1 9 he undertook the Presidency of the 
 disorganised Government, his object being to make an end of 
 RepubHcanism, and he joined forces with Bonaparte. 
 
 During the Revolution of i8th Brumaire, Sieyes showed great 
 ability and coolness, and Napoleon appointed him one of the 
 three provisionary Consuls. He was soon succeeded by le Brun, 
 after which his active political life may be said to have concluded, 
 for Bonaparte, supported by the army, easily effaced his rival. 
 The constitution planned by Sieyes was not even discussed, and 
 Napoleon entirely destroyed his public influence by creating him 
 a Senator, and bestowing upon him as a national gift the fine 
 estate and chateau of Crosne. 
 
 In later years Sieyes was given the Presidency of the Senate, 
 the grand cross of the legion of honour, and created a Count. 
 After the second restoration the law of 18 16 exiled him as a 
 regicide, and he retired to Brussels until 1830, dying at Paris six 
 years later, aged eighty-eight. 
 
 SICARD, RocH Ambroise, Abbe. 
 
 Born, 1742; died, 1822. Ordained priest at Toulouse and 
 joined the Congregation de la Doctrine Chretiefine. 
 
APPENDIX 337 
 
 In 1784, the Archbishop of Bordeaux, who intended to open 
 an asylum and school for the deaf and dumb in his cathedral 
 town, sent the Abbe Sicard to Paris, that he might study the 
 method of instructing deaf mutes invented by the Abbe TEpee. 
 He returned to Bordeaux two years later, and the school was 
 immediately opened, the Abbe Sicard proving extraordinarily suc- 
 cessful, many of his pupils making rapid and even astonishing 
 progress. The Abbe I'Epee died in 1789, and Sicard was ap- 
 pointed to succeed him in Paris. 
 
 Sicard adopted the principles of the Revolution, and although 
 he did not take the civil or constitutional clerical oath, he took 
 that of fidelity to liberty, equality and fraternity. On August 26, 
 1792, he was arrested as a suspect; his pupils addressed a touch- 
 ing petition to the Assembly in favour of their master, but it was 
 disregarded, and on September 2 he was conveyed with other 
 priests to the Abbaye. Nearly all of his companions were 
 slaughtered as soon as they reached the prison, but Slcard's life 
 was saved by a watchmaker, Mounet. Sicard remained for some 
 time in prison expecting immediate death, but was eventually 
 liberated and returned to his Institution. 
 
 When the "Institute" was created in 1795, he was one of its 
 first members, but writing some offensive articles in a publication 
 entitled Les Annales Religieuses^ he was arrested and condemned 
 to transportation ; he escaped this fate, but was not replaced in 
 his functions at the deaf and dumb asylum until after the i8th 
 Brumaire, 1799. He found an ardent protector in Choptal, the 
 Minister of the Interior, who caused a printing press to be erected, 
 at the Abbe's request, at the Institution. 
 
 For some unknown reason Napoleon always detested the Abbe 
 Sicard, and refused to ratify his appointment as Canon at Notre 
 Dame ; nor would he give him the legion of honour ; but he 
 was more fortunate under the Restoration, when he received the 
 coveted decoration, a canonry, and other honourable and well-paid 
 appointments. 
 
 Abbe Sicard wrote a number ot books on the deaf and dumb, 
 and even some for their use. 
 
 SAINT FARGEON, Louis Michel le Pelletier, De. 
 Born, 1760; assassinated, 1793. 
 He was the great grandson of the celebrated Comte de Saint 
 Fargeon, Minister of Finance from 1726 to 1730; at the outbreak 
 of the Revolution he possessed an annual income of 600,000 francs 
 
 Y 
 
338 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 (^24,000). He was chosen as one of the ten Deputies to repre 
 sent the nobility of Paris in the States-General ; of these only ten 
 the Count de Mirepoix and himself, joined the Tiers Atat^ anc 
 from that time they became the most democratic among th< 
 Deputies. Saint Fargeon said, " If one has 600,000 francs a yeai 
 one must either be at Coblentz or join the Jacobins." 
 
 In January 1790, as Member for Criminal Jurisprudence, he 
 first proposed the abolition of the death penalty, the galleys, anc 
 branding or flogging, and in June the same year he succeeded ir 
 passing a decree replacing hanging by decapitation. In the same 
 month he proposed a motion, which was adopted, abolishing all 
 titles, and took the name of le Pelletier instead of Fargeon. \ 
 
 At the trial of Louis XVI. he declared his intention of voting i 
 against the death penalty ; but when the time came he pronounced ' 
 in favour of immediate execution, saying : 
 
 If we decide the fate of Louis Capet in a way which is contrary to the 
 conscience and intimate feelings of the French people, would it be against 
 the prisoner in the Temple that the people would have a right to execute 
 their vengeance ? No, for in his case treason is unarmed and vanquished. 
 It would be against her unfaithful representatives that the nation would 
 have a right to rise, because in such a case they would find treason and 
 power united. 
 
 This speech persuaded a number of Deputies who were 
 wavering to vote for the death penalty, and thus decided a 
 majority in its favour. 
 
 A former soldier of the King's body guard swore to revenge 
 the death of Louis XVI. upon one of his judges. Le Pelletier, 
 de Saint Fargeon, like the Duke of Orleans and many other 
 persons of high rank, voted the death penalty in order to save 
 his own life and fortune, and for this very reason he excited the 
 bitterest hatred among the Royahsts. On the evening of the 
 King's trial he went to dine at Feorier's, the restaurant in the 
 Palais Royale, and was pointed out to the soldier in question as 
 he was sitting at table. The young man, wrapped in a clonk 
 under which he concealed a sword, came forward and said ; 
 " Is it thou, infamous le Pelletier, who has just voted for the 
 death of thy King?" Le Pelletier answered; "Yes, but I am 
 not infamous, I voted according 'to my conscience.'" The 
 soldier, whose name was Paris, replied ; " Here is thy recom- 
 pense," and drawing the sword, thrust Saint Fargeon through 
 the body ; he fell mortally wounded and was carried to his hdtel^ 
 where he expired. The Convention buried him in the Pantheon, 
 
APPENDIX 339 
 
 and his daughter, aged eight, was formally adopted by the 
 Republic. 
 
 The soldier Paris escaped at the time, but when about to be 
 arrested a few days later, he blew out his brains. 
 
 SHEARES, John. 
 
 Born, 1766; executed, 1798. 
 This young Irish patriot, who is described by Yorke as having 
 been the fervent admirer of and even suitor for the hand of 
 Theroigne de Mirecourt, was the fourth son of Henry Sheares, 
 of Whiterock (who was a connection of the then Earl of Shannon). 
 This gentleman was a member of the Irish Parliament from 1761 
 to 1767, and was eventually appointed to a well-paid Governmental 
 sinecure office. When his father died, John Sheares, a student 
 in Trinity College, Dublin, inherited ;£^3ooo. He was called to 
 the Irish Bar in 1790. 
 
 In 1792 he and his brother Henry visited France and he 
 became a convert to the views of the most revolutionary party in 
 that country. He was a member of the Convention, voted for 
 the death of Louis XVI., and was present at his execution. He 
 was obliged to fly from France, as his views were considered too 
 moderate by the leaders of the Jacobin Club. He returned to Dublin 
 and there led a retired and literary life, following at the same time 
 his profession as a barrister, when unfortunately for himself he 
 began to take a leading part in Irish politics. 
 
 When the '* Press," an anti-Governmental organ, was started 
 by Arthur O'Connor in 1797, Sheares wrote several leading 
 articles for it ; and one of these, a violent attack upon Lord 
 Clare, caused the total suppression of that newspaper in 
 March 1798. 
 
 The hostility of Lord Clare having stopped him in the practice 
 of his profession, Sheares and his brother Henry decided to 
 emigrate to America. But they not only did not do so but joined in 
 a plot to disaffect the militia in King's County against the Govern- 
 ment. A certain Captain Armstrong of that regiment made their 
 acquaintance, and after having gained their confidence, informed 
 against them, and they were both arrested May 21, 1798, and 
 confined in Kilmainham Gaol. They were tried for high treason 
 six weeks later. John Sheares, knowing that his own fate was 
 sealed, only desired and hoped to save his brother Henry, his 
 senior by thirteen years, a married man with six children, and 
 
340 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 whom he declared had acted entirely under his (John Sheares') 
 guidance. 
 
 The only witness against the brothers was Armstrong. The 
 trial lasted for sixteen consecutive hours — an adjournment was 
 moved for by the prisoner's counsel, as every one connected with 
 the affair was sinking from exhaustion, but the motion was 
 opposed by the Attorney-General — and at eight o'clock in the 
 morning, after a summing up lasting only a few minutes, a 
 hurried verdict of guilty against the prisoners was returned by the 
 wearied and worn out jury. Henry Sheares fainted in court upon 
 hearing the sentence of death pronounced. After their condem- 
 nation no friends or relatives were allowed an interview with the 
 brothers, who were hanged the following morning before the 
 prison gates. After remaining for some time on the gallows their 
 heads were struck off; but their bodies were not quartered 
 (July 14, 1798). 
 
 ST. JUST, Louis Antoine de Saint Just. 
 
 Born August 25, 1767; guillotined, July 28 (loth Thermidor), 
 1794, in Paris. 
 
 His father, a retired army captain, died in 1777, and St. Just 
 was placed in the Oratorian school of Soissons, where he remained 
 for seven years. On leaving school he studied law for a short 
 time at Rheims, but finally decided to embrace a literary career. 
 Having written a volume of poems, he proceeded to Paris, to 
 arrange about their publication, towards the close of the year 
 1789, and he there became an enthusiastic revolutionary, giving 
 up literature for politics. His youthful ardour and natural 
 eloquence were assisted by an extraordinary beauty of form and 
 feature, grave and serious manners, and a haughty and resolute 
 demeanour. His private life was that of an ascetic until the 
 termination of his short but chequered career. 
 
 The inhabitants of his native town, Decize (Minervais) elected 
 him lieutenant-colonel of their newly formed National Guard, 
 and he conducted a detachment of that regiment to Paris in 1790 
 to join in the Feast of Federation, His youth prevented his 
 election to the Legislative Assembly until September 1792, when 
 he attained the age of twenty-five. 
 
 From that time he took a most active part in the Government, 
 and became the intimate (perhaps the only intimate) friend of 
 Robespierre. 
 
 On November 12, when the question of the King's trial came 
 
APPENDIX 341 
 
 before the Convention, St. Just's diatribe was by far the most 
 violent of the many violent and fanatical speeches made on that 
 occasion. On December i6 he proposed the exile of all the 
 Bourbons. At the trial of Louis XVI. he voted for the immediate 
 execution of the King. 
 
 In the meantime the Republic was attacked on all sides, from 
 both without and within, for, of the eighty-four Departments, 
 sixty-five were known to be secretly hostile to the Revolution, 
 and to desire the restoration of the ancien regime. On April 24, 
 i793> St. Just presented to the Convention the following 
 scheme ; 
 
 The Republic, one and indivisible, was to be represented by a Legis- 
 lative Assembly, elected every two years by universal suffrage and by a 
 Council elected every three years by the electors of the second degree. 
 This Council, composed of a member for each Department, could only 
 act by the authority of the Assembly, and the Ministers whom it was to 
 appoint were to have no personal or individual power. Any conflict between 
 the Council and the Assembly should be settled by an appeal to the 
 people. 
 
 This impossible and impracticable project gives an excellent 
 example of the exaggerated humanitarianism which at that time 
 pervaded the opinions of the young legislator. The Girondins 
 were, in the opinion of St. Just, a danger to the Republic. Their 
 dreams of a federation by which France would be governed in the 
 same way as the United States, and Paris cease to be the head 
 and centre of government, filled him with apprehension. When 
 the Girondins fell St. Just took an important part in their im- 
 peachment ; his report on the matter was received with applause, 
 and in July he became one of the leading members of the 
 Committee of Public Safety. 
 
 From this moment a coalition was formed between Robespierre, 
 Couthon, Le Bas, and St. Just, which continued until they all 
 perished twelve months later. They banded themselves together 
 with a settled purpose, and pitilessly destroyed any and every 
 individual who opposed their views. St. Just was the principal 
 instrument of Robespierre; he read, on October 10, the report 
 upon the organisation of a revolutionary government until a 
 general peace should be declared. " In the present circumstances," 
 he said, "no Constitution can be estabhshed; for it would be an 
 attack upon liberty ; with a Constitution the Government could 
 not use sufficient violence against the enemies jof the Republic' 
 He then proposed a decree, which was unanimously adopted by 
 
342 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 which the Ministers, the Generals, the Admirals, the Executive 
 Council, and all constitutional bodies were to be placed under 
 the immediate supervision of the Committee of Public Safety. 
 
 On October 16, the very day of the execution of the Queen, 
 St. Just presented a report by which all foreigners residing in 
 Paris, and particularly the English, were to be arrested. He 
 referred to the death of Marie Antoinette in these words : "Your 
 Committee has punished Austria by bringing a scaffold and the 
 infamy of a public execution into the reigning family of that 
 country." 
 
 A few days later St. Just was despatched to Alsace as a superin- 
 tendent of miHtary operations ; le Bas accompanied him. Arrived 
 at Strasburg, they immediately established a commission to punish 
 summarily '* crimes, disorders, and abuses." No legal forms were 
 observed : a colonel accused of having spoken against the 
 Republic was shot upon the spot ; an ofificer accused of striking 
 one of his men was degraded to the ranks ; General Elsenberg, 
 who had been defeated by the Austrians, was executed without a 
 trial. The soldiers were in want of boots. St. Just wrote to the 
 Strasburg municipality : " Ten thousand men in the army are 
 bare-footed ; strip the boots and shoes from the feet of the 
 aristocrats of Strasburg. To-morrow, before 10 o'clock, 10,000 
 pairs of boots must be on their way to the military headquarters." 
 An immense number of persons were arrested and imprisoned, 
 and innumerable executions took place. The commissioners left 
 Strasburg and joined the army beyond the Rhine, where the 
 generals were treated in the same high-handed manner. On the 
 1 2th Frimaire (November 9) St. Just wrote to General Hoche : 
 '* Thou hast taken at Kaysenlauten (where he had won a great 
 battle) a further engagement ; for instead of one victory, we require 
 
 TWO." 
 
 After remaining two months with the army St. Just returned to 
 Paris in January 1794. He only remained a couple of weeks in 
 the metropolis, departing for Flanders to supervise the conduct 
 of those military chiefs who commanded in the north. In a few 
 days he had inspected the various posts on the frontier, and, after 
 carrying out his usual policy, he gave the supreme command to 
 Pichegru, and returned to Paris. On February 19 St. Just was 
 elected President of the Convention. 
 
 In March the fall of Hebert was followed by that of Danton. 
 The impeachment of the latter was carried out by St. Just, his 
 speech being composed from notes made by Robespierre. He 
 
APPENDIX 343 
 
 accused Danton of having served the " Tyrant/' of being the 
 protege of Mirabeau, the friend of Lameth, the accompHce of 
 Dumouriez, and of having defended the Girondins. 
 
 Danton's execution, and those of his immediate allies, delivered 
 Robespierre and St. Just from the enemies they feared, and they 
 flattered themselves they could now carry out their plans without 
 interruption. 
 
 On April 29 St. Just returned to the army, Robespierre remain- 
 ing the head and centre of all government in Paris. This was 
 the most sanguinary period of the Terror. 
 
 St. Just remained with the army in Flanders until June 27, 
 when, Charleroi having fallen and the army of the Republic 
 being everywhere victorious in Belgium, he returned in triumph 
 to Paris. The conspiracy which was to break out on July 27 
 (9th Thermidor) was already in process of formation, but St. Just 
 suspected nothing, and continued to attend the meetings of the 
 Committee of Public Safety and to make many violent speeches. 
 He attacked Fouche, Tallien, and other members without mercy, 
 and on the very morning of 9th Thermidor was speaking in the 
 Tribune, when he was interrupted by Tallien, and the well-known 
 violent scenes which resulted in the arrest of Robespierre and his 
 immediate friends took place. 
 
 St. Just, unlike Couthon, le Bas, and Robespierre, did not 
 attempt suicide ; he followed the mutilated bodies of his friends 
 on foot, with his hands bound behind him, from the Hotel de 
 Ville to the Conciergerie. The next day he mounted the scaffold 
 and died silently and courageously. He was not quite twenty- 
 seven years of age. 
 
 TALLEYRAND, Perigard, Prince de Benevento, Charles 
 
 Maurice de. 
 
 Born, 1754; died, 1838. 
 
 To give a description of the life and work of this statesman would 
 far exceed the limits of this biographical supplement ; but the 
 following few facts may interest the reader. 
 
 The eldest son of the Comte de Talleyrand, as he was lame and 
 slightly deformed he could not enter the army, he was therefore 
 compelled by his parents to take holy orders ; he had no vocation 
 whatever for the priesthood. He received valuable ecclesiastical 
 preferment, and in 1778 was ordained Bishop of Autun. He 
 joined the revolutionary party, an^ was a member of the National 
 Assembly. 
 
344 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 On July 14, 1790, it was he who celebrated the Mass of the 
 Federation in the Champs de Mars, and in December of the same 
 year he took the constitutional oath. He ordained several of the 
 constitutional bishops, and was in consequence excommunicated 
 by the Holy See, who declared all constitutional priests and bishops 
 schismatics. 
 
 He was sent to England in Februaiy 1792 as an envoy by the 
 French Government, with the idea of reconciling the British 
 Sovereign and his Ministers to the revolutionary changes being then 
 carried out in France. He did not, however, inspire any confidence 
 in either George IH. or Pitt, with whom he had several interviews. 
 He returned privately to London in December 1792, and three 
 months later was accused of conspiring against the Republic. He 
 continued to remain in England until the death of Louis XVL, 
 when, finding his position intolerable, owing to the indignation 
 the death of the King excited against all supposed revolutionaries, 
 he departed to America, where he remained until his sentence of 
 banishment from France was revoked in 1795. He did not arrive 
 in France till the following year ; he was accompanied by the then 
 notorious Mdme. Grand, with whom he cohabited for a consider- 
 able time before he married her. She was the divorced wife of a 
 merchant at Calcutta, and had created a considerable scandal in 
 India owing to her intrigue with Sir Philip Francis, the enemy of 
 Warren Hastings, and reputed author of the Junius Letters. 
 Talleyrand reached Paris, March 1796. 
 
 In 1797, by the influence of Barras, and notwithstanding the 
 opposition of Carnot (who was probably the only sincere and dis- 
 interested member of the Directorate), Talleyrand was appointed 
 Minister of Foreign Aflfairs. He took a considerable part in the 
 coup (Tetat oi i8th Fructidor (September 4, 1797), by which the 
 Directorate re-established, in the name of liberty, most of the 
 tyrannical excesses of the Convention. He had already dis- 
 covered the extraordinary genius of Bonaparte, and from that time 
 until the fall of the Empire was more or less attached to the 
 fortunes of the then youthful hero. 
 
 It was Talleyrand who drew up the treaty of Campo-Formio 
 (October 17, 1794), which Talleyrand and Bonaparte concluded 
 in direct opposition to the desires of the Directorate. Talleyrand 
 first suggested to Bonaparte the idea of an expedition to Egypt, 
 in lieu of that invasion of England which was then the favourite 
 scheme of the French Government. 
 
 Bonaparte endeavoured to persuade Talleyrand to accompany 
 
APPENDIX 345 
 
 him to Egypt ; but this he refused, and remained in Paris during 
 the Egyptian and Syrian campaigns, carrying out unchecked his 
 ingenious and tortuous foreign policy. He it was who brought 
 about the occupation of the Papal States by the French, and the 
 imprisonment and capture of the Pope (see Pius VI.), and he 
 also caused the destruction of the Swiss Republic, on the 
 ground that its government was not sufficiently democratic. By 
 diplomatic ruses and threatened violence he extorted an act 
 of abdication from Charles Emmanuel, King of Sardinia, 
 December 9, 1 798. 
 
 During this time Talleyrand was obtaining in various ways large 
 sums of money for his own private use, more particularly from the 
 Kings of Spain and Portugal, who by lavish bribes to the French 
 Minister of Foreign Affairs hoped to prevent the invasion of their 
 kingdoms. 
 
 These circumstances, coupled with the fact that the French 
 army met with defeat after defeat, and, since the departure of 
 Bonaparte, lost all hold over Northern Italy, brought about a 
 violent movement against Talleyrand, who resigned his office as 
 Minister of Foreign Affairs in July 1799. 
 
 The return of Napoleon changed the situation, and on November 
 22 Talleyrand once more occupied his old post, which he held 
 until 1807, when, a month after the treaty of Tilsit, he gave up the 
 seals of this office to Champagny, Duke de Cadore. He was pro- 
 moted to the dignity of a Prince Electeur of the Empire ; he had 
 been created Prince of Benevento, with a fief granted from the 
 Papal States in the previous year. 
 
 He continued to hold the key of office as Lord High Chamber- 
 lain until 1809, but his intimate relations with the Emperor ceased 
 from the time he abandoned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His 
 astute nature had already foreseen the inevitable fall of the Empire, 
 and he secretly used every effort to hasten this catastrophe. He 
 continued to act, nevertheless, as Napoleon's emissary with foreign 
 Powers ; gave up his chateau at Valencay as a State prison for the 
 Spanish Princes ; was present at the interview between Napoleon 
 and Alexander at Erfurt, and in an audience with the Russian 
 Emperor, explained to that sovereign Napoleon's project for a 
 divorce, and asked him, in his master's name, for the hand of the 
 Grand Duchess Catherine Paulovna, sister to the Czar. 
 
 In 18 1 3, when the troubles of the Empire had reached their 
 zenith, Talleyrand was summoned to St. Cloud, and offered the 
 portfolio of Foreign Affairs. He consented to take it on condition 
 
346 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 peace should immediately be concluded. His advice was not 
 accepted. 
 
 During the winter of 1814 he was in secret communication 
 with the Bourbons ; had much to do with the conclusion of peace 
 in the April of that year, and entered as Foreign Minister into 
 the first Cabinet of Louis XVIII. May 12, 1814, he represented 
 France at the Council of Vienna. 
 
 On the return of Napoleon, Talleyrand during " the Hundred 
 Days " absolutely refused to Hsten to any offer from the Emperor. 
 After the Second Restoration he took up his old office in the 
 Cabinet, but his opposition to the return of the artistic treasures 
 with which the RepubHc and the Empire had enriched the 
 Museums of Paris, and his efforts to prevent any cession of French 
 territory, diminished his credit with the Czar and the English 
 commander-in-chief, who were at that time the rulers of France. 
 By their influence he was compelled to leave the Cabinet, Louis 
 XVIII. creating him the same day Lord Chamberlain with a 
 salary of 100,000 francs (;£"4ooo). 
 
 During the whole of the Restoration, Talleyrand was excluded 
 from taking any leading part in public affairs. 
 
 After the Revolution of 1830, to which he had contributed not 
 a httle, Talleyrand, who had had for a considerable period a 
 private understanding with Louis Philippe, became his principal 
 political auxiliary. 
 
 In September 1830, Prince Talleyrand was sent as Ambassador 
 from the King of the French to the Court of St. James'. He 
 remained in London in that capacity for four years, and notwith- 
 standing his great age showed himself an astute and admirable 
 diplomatist. He received a warm welcome in all the higher circles 
 of English society. 
 
 In November 1834 he retired from political life ; but his mind 
 was still fresh and vigorous, and his life during the next four years 
 was occupied by social amenities and intellectual pursuits. On 
 March 3, 1838, having entered his eighty-fifth year, he gave an 
 address to the Academy of Science upon the death of the Comte 
 Reinhard, a celebrated diplomatist. 
 
 A few weeks later he was suddenly attacked by a painful internal 
 malady, and died on May 1 7, aged eighty-four years and three 
 months. Before his death he received the Sacraments, signing a 
 letter in which he regretted his abjurations and sins against reli- 
 gion ; this letter was despatched to Pope Gregory XVI. 
 
APPENDIX 347 
 
 TALLIEN, Jean Lambart. 
 
 Born in 1769 ; died in 1820. 
 
 The son of the house steward of the Marquis de Bercy. He 
 received, through the kindness of this nobleman, a good education, 
 and became a notary's clerk. 
 
 At the outbreak of the Revolution he gave up this employment 
 for journaHsm, publishing for five months under the title of LAmi 
 des Citoyens, a newspaper which was a worthy companion to the 
 Ami du Peuple of Marat. His newspaper was financed by the 
 Jacobin Club. 
 
 He took a prominent part in the events of August 10, and in 
 the massacres in the prisons on September 2. Elected member 
 of the Convention, he defended Marat and denounced General 
 Montesquieu and Roland (then Minister). His speeches against 
 Louis XVI. and the Royal family were so violent and so frequent 
 as actually to evoke a vote of censure from the Convention. At 
 the King's trial he voted, " For instant death in the interests of 
 humanity." 
 
 It was upon his proposal five months later that the Girondins 
 were put hors de la loi ; and in September 1793, Tallien departed 
 with Ysabeau for Bordeaux, " to utterly extirpate any remains of 
 that hydra Girondism." 
 
 Here he instituted a reign of terror. He added tortures to 
 executions, and, under the name of "requisitions," made, as he 
 said, war upon the commercial aristocracy, by plundering all the 
 wealthy merchants of the town. To the mean cruelties of the 
 worst form of Roman pro-consul he added in his private life the 
 luxury and pomp of a Persian satrap. 
 
 He met Mdme. Fontenay and fell desperately in love with her. 
 He saved her from prison and brought her back with him to Paris. 
 He was in consequence ill received by the Committee of Public 
 Safety, who immediately imprisoned the woman he loved, on the 
 accusation of being an aristocrat. 
 
 To avert suspicion, Tallien affected an even more vehement and 
 sanguinary patriotism than he had previously shown, and on March 
 22, 1794, was elected President of the Convention. Robespierre 
 denounced him to the Convention on June 12. He also erased 
 the name of Tallien from the Jacobin Society ; this was tantamount 
 to a sentence of death. 
 
 Tallien determined to strike first, and to save not only his own 
 life, but that of his mistress ; he therefore joined those who feared 
 
348 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 and hated the triumvirate of Robespierre, St. Just, and le Bas, 
 and who wished to avenge Danton and save their own lives. 
 TalHen became the leader of the party who six weeks later over- 
 threw Robespierre. 
 
 After this he occupied for a short time the place that the death 
 of Maximilien Robespierre had left unoccupied. He married the 
 woman he loved, closed the Club of the Jacobins, and put upon 
 their trial le Bon, Fouquier-Tinville and other agents of terrorism. 
 He retained predominant power in the State until July 1795, when 
 he visited the army on the western frontier on a mission to General 
 Hoche. Here he was once more guilty of summary executions 
 and caused much unnecessary bloodshed. 
 
 The advent of the Directorate in October of the same year 
 practically finished his active political career. He was accused 
 of venality and treason, and though he became a member of the 
 Five Hundred, his speeches were received with indifference or 
 insult. 
 
 In May 1798 he left that assembly, and here his public life may 
 be said to have terminated. 
 
 He accompanied the expedition of Bonaparte to Egypt in the 
 capacity of a savant ! Bonaparte and he were friends at the 
 time owing to the intimacy of their wives, and he had acted as 
 witness when the general married Madame Beauharnais. 
 
 In Egypt Tallien was appointed Administrator of the Interior, 
 and he wrote a work called " Decade Egyptienne." On his return 
 to Europe a year after the departure of Napoleon, the ship upon 
 which he sailed was taken by an English cruiser and he was carried 
 to London. Here he was enthusiastically received by the Radical 
 party. 
 
 After the peace of Amiens he returned to France, but did not find 
 a warm welcome. His wife had been notoriously unfaithful to him 
 during his absence ; he divorced her immediately. 
 
 After vainly petitioning the First Consul for an appointment he 
 received, by the influence of Talleyrand and Fouche, the unen- 
 viable situation of Consul in the unhealthy Spanish seaport of 
 Alicante several months later. Here he remained for some years, 
 nearly dying on one occasion of yellow fever, by which he lost the 
 sight of an eye. 
 
 He returned to France, and ended his days living in obscurity 
 on a small pension, and dying in 1820, at the age ot fifty-one. 
 
I 
 
 APPENDIX 349 
 
 TALLIEN, CoMTKSSE of Caramon, Princesse de Chimay, 
 Theresa Cabarrus. 
 
 Born at Saragossa, in Spain, 1773 ; died at Chimay, in 
 Belgium, 1835. 
 
 This beautiful woman was the daughter of the Count of 
 Cabarrus, Spanish Minister of Finance. At the age of sixteen 
 she married M. Devin de Fontenoy, Counsellor to the Parliament 
 of Bordeaux. Her married life was unhappy; and when the 
 Republic instituted divorce, she obtained one from her husband. 
 After this she led a life of absolute freedom, joined the revolu- 
 tionary party, and became a conspicuous feature in their meetings 
 at Bordeaux. For some reason, now unknown, she was im- 
 prisoned. Tallien, on his mission to Bordeaux as Commissionary 
 of the Republic, heard her beauty praised, visited her in her cell, 
 fell madly \in love with her, and carried her back with him to 
 Paris ; there she was arrested and again imprisoned. After her 
 release and marriage to Tallien, she became one of the most 
 brilliant leaders of the corrupt and immoral society of the 
 Directorate. Her conduct, during the absence of her husband in 
 Egypt, passed all bounds of decency, and she gave birth to two 
 children, whom Tallien refused to acknowledge. He divorced her 
 in 1802. 
 
 In 1805 she married M. de Caramon, who became Prince de 
 Chimay, by whom she had a family of two sons and two 
 daughters. 
 
 Although she had been the companion in prison of Josephine 
 Beauharnais, and both Tallien and herself intimate friends of the 
 Bonapartes in the early days of their married life, Napoleon would 
 never allow his wife to receive her publicly at the Tuileries, either 
 as Mdme. Tallien or the Princess de Chimay. 
 
 TREILHARD, Jean Baptiste, Comte de. 
 
 Born at Brives, January 3, 1742 ; died in Paris, 18 10. 
 He began life as a lawyer, being a prominent notary at Limoges. 
 The whole aristocracy and higher clergy in the town put their 
 business affairs into his hands. In 1789 he was sent to Paris as 
 a member of the Tiers j^tat. His opinions were moderate at 
 first, but soon became intensely democratic. It was he who 
 undertook the business of reporting on Church property, and he 
 presided over the Ecclesiastical Committee in the Assembly. He 
 
350 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 proposed and passed a decree which suppressed all religious orders, 
 and made the property of the Church national. In 179 1 he proposed 
 that Voltaire should receive the honours of the Pantheon, adding 
 " that Voltaire was perhaps the man amongst the dead who most 
 deserved the honours accorded to great patriots." During the 
 session of 1792, Treilhard presided over the criminal tribune of 
 the departments of Paris. He decreed that Louis XVI. was 
 guilty of conspiracy against public liberty, and against the security 
 of the State. At the King's trial he voted for his death, but with 
 a respite and appeal to the people. He was sent to Bordeaux to 
 suppress the rising of the Girondins, but recalled under the 
 accusation of showing too much moderation, and was replaced by 
 Tallien. 
 
 He was Minister of Justice under the Directorate. Later he 
 underwent much persecution, owing to the intrigues of Sieyes, 
 who was his enemy. Napoleon appointed him President (or 
 Judge) of the High Court of Appeal, and he held this appointment 
 till 1808, when he became President of the Council of State 
 until his death, two years later, at the age of sixty-eight. 
 
 TURENNE, Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de. 
 Born at Sedan, September 11, 161 1; killed at Salzbach, 
 July 27, 1675. 
 
 The second son of Henri, Due de Bouillon, and Elizabeth, 
 daughter of William the Silent, Prince of Orange, and 
 granddaughter of Admiral Coligny. He was educated in his 
 mother's religion, Calvinism. At the age of fifteen (1626), he 
 went to study military science and the art of war under his 
 uncles, the Princes Maurice and Henry of Nassau. In 1630 
 he arrived in France, and Richelieu gave him the colonelcy of a 
 regiment. For the next eight years he was incessantly engaged in 
 active service, and distinguished himself as a commander, both 
 on the Rhine and in Flanders. Richelieu, who had the highest 
 opinion of his military capacity, wished to attach him to his 
 interests, and offered him the hand of one of his nieces who had 
 a large dowry. Turenne took advantage of the difference of 
 religion as a pretext for refusing this alliance. 
 
 In 1639 Turenne served in Italy, and saved the army of the 
 Prince de Carignan by the celebrated battle of the " Route de 
 Quiers." His courage and tenacity of purpose brought about 
 the capture of Turin. The Duke de Bouillon, his elder brother, 
 was implicated in the plot of Cinq Mars and arrested. Turenne 
 
APPENDIX 351 
 
 used his influence over the Cardinal to obtain his brother's 
 release. The Duke left France, abjured Calvinism, and became 
 commander-in-chief of the Papal army. At the commence- 
 ment of the Regency of Anne of Austria, Turenne was command- 
 ing the French army in Italy ; but Richelieu, fearing that he and 
 his elder brother might become allies against him, despatched 
 Turenne to Germany, with orders to collect and reform the 
 dispersed and broken mercenary Westphalian troops, then in the 
 pay of France. In this he was successful. From 1644 to 1648 
 he continued the German campaign, until the conclusion of the 
 Treaty of Westphalia (October 24, 1648), which terminated the 
 Thirty Years War. At this time the troubles of the Fronde, which 
 had been long simmering, blazed out. The Duke de Bouillon, 
 Turenne's brother, was one of the principal leaders of the move- 
 ment. The Queen, Conde, and the Cardinal used every effort to 
 prevent Turenne following his brother's example. Mazarin offered 
 him one of his nieces in marriage and the Governorship of Alsace. 
 Turenne brought his troops back to France, and then attempted to 
 lead them against the Minister ; but the men, having been bribed 
 by Cardinal Mazarin, refused to obey their general, who was com- 
 pelled to take refuge in Holland. A month later he returned to 
 Paris. When the Princes were arrested (January 18, 1650), 
 Mazarin lagain offered him his protection, and the command of 
 the army in Flanders. By this time the seductive graces of the 
 Duchess de Longueville had completely captivated Turenne, and 
 he left Paris for Stenay, a fortified town near Sedan, in the 
 principality of the Duke de Bouillon. Here he was joined by the 
 Duchess. Under her influence he signed a treaty with the 
 Spaniards, by which he agreed to fight with them against France 
 until the imprisoned Princes should be released. He joined the 
 Archduke Leopold, marched through Picardy, took several 
 towns, and pushed on until he and his army were within a few 
 hours of Vincennes, where the Princes had been confined ; but 
 hearing chey had been transferred to the Castle of Marcoussis, 
 near Rambouillet, he recrossed the River Aisne and directed his 
 march in that direction ; he encountered the whole Royal army, 
 19,000 strong, and though enormously outnumbered, was forced 
 to fight in a valley near Sompuis. He was totally defeated. He 
 then retired from the civil war, and returned to the Archduke 
 the 100,000 crowns which the latter had given him to continue 
 the campaign. The Princes were shortly afterwards released, 
 Mazarin exiled, and the Due de Bouillon's just claims, which he 
 
352 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 had been making unavailingly for eight years, fully satisfied. 
 Turennethen returned to France, and married, in 165 1, Charlotte 
 de Caumont, daughter of the Marechal Armand de la Force. The 
 bridegroom was forty and the bride thirty, but their attachment 
 had lasted many years, and it was for her sake Turenne had 
 already refused many brilliant alHances. 
 
 Turenne was greatly opposed to the second rebellion of Conde, 
 who up to that time had been his intimate friend. He conducted 
 the campaign against the army of the Fronde during the critical 
 year of 1652, defeated the rebellious Princes, and was able to 
 bring back the King to Paris on October 21. Conde and his 
 allies, the Spaniards, were eventually absolutely vanquished and 
 driven from France, but the war lasted for nearly seven years, and 
 it was not until November 1659, that a peace, glorious for France, 
 was concluded by the Treaty of the Pyrenees. 
 
 From this time forth Turenne was one of those few men in 
 whom Louis XIV. had absolute confidence, and he consulted 
 him on all matters of foreign policy, Turenne took a very 
 considerable part in the restoration of Charles II. In 1667 a 
 fresh war with Spain was imminent, the King of France 
 informed Turenne that it was his intention to march at the 
 head of the army, and learn from his commander-in-chief the 
 art of war. 
 
 At this time Turenne abjured Calvinism and joined the 
 Catholic Church. There is every reason to believe his change 
 of religion was sincere and not dictated by political motives. He 
 had for two years been anxious to become a Catholic, and made 
 a serious study of religious questions under the guidance of 
 Bossuet; and in 1668 he was privately re-baptised by the 
 Archbishop of Paris. 
 
 Turenne in 1672 took supreme command on the occasion of the 
 war with Holland ; the King acting as a figure-head. The cam- 
 paign was long, arduous and only partially successful. 
 
 The year 1674 was the apogee of the military career of 
 Turenne. At a moment when several armies were gathered to- 
 gether ready to invade France, he determined, notwithstanding 
 the inferiority of his forces, to divide his enemies and attack them 
 separately. He marched down the left bank of the Rhine, and» 
 meeting the Imperialists, defeated them at Sinzheim upon June 
 16. He then passed the river, and defeated another body of the 
 enemy's troops at Ladenburg. The allies, having reorganised 
 their army, invaded Alsace and established there their winter 
 
APPENDIX 353 
 
 quarters. Turenne brought his troops by the Vosges mountains, 
 entered Alsace, and attacking the Imperialists (who were taken 
 entirely by surprise, not expecting an army would venture to 
 move in the winter), defeated them first at Mulhouse (December 
 29) and at Turckheim on January 5. Alsace was thus entirely 
 reconquered. Turenne made a triumphant return to Versailles, 
 where Louis XIV. publicly embraced him. 
 
 In the following year, 1675, Turenne found himself the 
 adversary of Montecuccoli, the greatest living tactician in Europe. 
 For six weeks the two generals manoeuvred and out-manoeuvred 
 each other in their respective efforts to cross the Rhine. At 
 length Turenne found a favourable opportunity. The two armies 
 were face to face near the village of Salzbach (July 27), and 
 Turenne was riding round the advance posts, when his lieutenant- 
 general, St. Hilaric, rode up to inform him a column of the enemy 
 was approaching. At this moment a shell struck the party, St. 
 Hilaric lost his left arm, and Turenne was wounded in the side. 
 The marshal never spoke again, but fell dead from his horse. 
 
 His death caused universal mourning all over France. General 
 Montecuccoli, on hearing of the death of his rival, said : " A 
 man has died to-day who was an honour to humanity." Turenne 
 is buried under the same dome as Napoleon — ^at the Invalides. 
 
 VAUBAN, Sebastian le Prestre, Seigneur de. 
 
 Military engineer and Marshal of France. Born, May i, 
 1633; died, March 30, 1707. His father, the cadet of an 
 ancient family, was styled by himself " the poorest gentleman in 
 France." 
 
 Young Vauban, left a penniless orphan at the age of ten, was 
 adopted and educated by the village priest. At seventeen he 
 enlisted in Conde's rebel army, being taken prisoner a year later, 
 md brought before Mazarin, who, discovering his natural genius, 
 gave him a commission of lieutenant and put him under the 
 orders of the Chevalier de Clermont, the greatest military engineer 
 of the day. 
 
 In 1655 Vauban obtained the brevet of engineer. Hisreputa- 
 :ion grew rapidly. Acting under the orders of Turenne he was of 
 the greatest service at the sieges of Stenay, Clermont, Landrecies, 
 Conde, Valenciennes, and Montmedz, and this notwithstanding 
 the fact that he was several times severely wounded. 
 
 In 1658 he directed on his own responsibiHty the sieges and 
 ittacks upon Mardyk, Gravelines, Oudenarde and Ypres. After 
 
354 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 the Peace of the Pyrenees he employed the succeeding next years 
 of profound peace iu constructing new fortresses and modernising 
 old ones. When, in 1667, war broke out again he at once re- 
 assumed his old post. In the presence of Louis XIV. he con- 
 ducted the sieges of Tournai and Douai, and took Lille after only 
 eighteen days' investiture. 
 
 The following year he captured Dole, and was then desired by 
 Loubois, who was his principal protector, to construct new forti- 
 fications at all the recently conquered Flemish towns. He carried 
 out these orders so completely that when the Dutch war occurred 
 five years later the northern frontier of France was defended by a 
 chain of almost impregnable forts. The siege of Maestrichtj 
 which fell after an attack lasting only thirteen days, raised hi 
 credit to an enormous height. 
 
 In 1674 he was created Brigadier of the Royal army, and ii 
 1675 Marechal de camp. Two years later he succeeded the 
 Chevalier M. Clermont as Commissary-General of the fortification 
 of France. During the next ten years he surrounded Frano 
 from north to south with admirably planned and almost impreg 
 nable fortresses. He also constructed the aqueduct of Maintenoi 
 and the canal of Riquet. Another war taking place in 1688 
 Vauban conducted the sieges of Phillipsburg, and, after savinj 
 Dunkirk and other French towns from the enemy, conquerea 
 Mons and Namur in the King's presence. In 1697 the Peace of 
 Ryswick put an end to his military career, during which he had 
 built or repaired 333 fortresses, conducted 53 sieges, and been 
 present at 140 battles and skirmishes. 
 
 After the Peace of Ryswick, Vauban devoted the remaining ten 
 years of his life to the study of political economy ; and the result 
 of his labours was the composition of a book, famous in its day 
 and still remembered by economists, called Dime Royale. This 
 book described the system of political economy Vauban wished 
 to introduce, which was to substitute for all taxes and levies of 
 money from the people a contribution of the tenth part (or less) 
 of the annual value of all lands and money in the hands of private 
 individuals ; in fact, a graduated income tax. 
 
 He wished to abolish all taxes and Governmental duties on 
 articles of food and upon salt \ but he desired to retain duties 
 upon atricles of luxury and certain merchandise, such as spirits, 
 tea, coffee and tobacco. This book, which also included a graphic 
 description of the misery and want which the lower classes in 
 France were suffering at the time, appeared in 1707. 
 
APPENDIX 355 
 
 St. Simon gives a vivid description of the King's fury, when 
 he received a copy from Marechal Vauban. His Majesty had 
 already obtained a pretty good idea of the scope and matter it 
 contained. 
 
 A few weeks later the book was seized and confiscated by an 
 Act of Parliament, and its publication stopped. Vauban did not 
 long survive the blow ; he died in Paris three weeks after this 
 decree was promulgated. To quote St. Simon : 
 
 The King looked now upon Marshal Vauban as a fanatical defender of 
 the people, and a criminal who was attempting an attack upon the 
 authority of the Ministers, and, through them, upon the Crown. The 
 unfortunate Marshal could not survive the loss of the favour of a master 
 to whom he was deeply attached and whom he had served so faithfully ; 
 he died soon after, seeing no one and consumed with grief. The King 
 received the news of his death with indifference, and did not even recognise 
 that he had lost one of his most illustrious servants. 
 
 The writings of Vauban upon fortifications and military matters 
 are well-known to all experts, and are still the best works that 
 have been written on these subjects. 
 
 VISCONTI, Ennio Quiring. 
 
 Born in Rome, 1751 ; died in Paris, 18 18. 
 
 He was an extraordinarily precocious child, and at the age of 
 thirteen had translated " Hecuba " of Euripides and the 
 " Olympics " of Pindar. He obtained the degree of doctor of law 
 and literature in 1771 (aged twenty), and was then appointed 
 camararis to the Pope and sub-librarian to the Vatican. He 
 steadily refused to take holy orders, notwithstanding personal 
 pressure from the Pope. When he married in 1785, he was 
 dismissed from the Vatican, although he had compiled the whole 
 of the catalogues of the Muses Clementius. Prince Chigi then 
 took him into his service as librarian. During the next ten years 
 he arranged and classified the collections the two Englishmen, 
 Jenkins and Wortley, had made from excavations at Athens and 
 other parts of Greece. He also organised the Borghese Museum. 
 
 When the French entered Rome in January 1798, Visconti was 
 appointed by General Berthier Minister of the Interior, and, later, 
 one of the five Consuls who were to govern the Roman Republic ; 
 he had only occupied this post seven months, when the intrigues 
 of his enemies compelled his flight to Perugia, his honesty and 
 moderation having excited the hatred of his four fellow Consuls. 
 
 The Neapolitans retook Rome in 1799, and Visconti^ separated 
 
356 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 from his wife and family, was exiled, and departed for France. 
 Here he was immediately employed in organising and arranging 
 the Museum of the Louvre, then just founded. He was appointed 
 Professor of Arcaehology and Member of the Institute. In 1801 
 appeared his celebrated Livret du Musee. He also made a com- 
 plete catalogue containing elaborate descriptions of the works of 
 art in the Louvre. By Napoleon's orders he commenced the de 
 dessino antiques^ which was to contain illustrations drawn and 
 engraved by him, comprising portraits of all the illustrious heroes 
 of antiquity. The Academies of Europe vied with one another 
 in asking his advice and judgment upon matters ofart. In 1814 
 he was summoned to London to give his opinion upon the merits 
 or possible demerits of the Elgin marbles, the English Government 
 not being willing to give Lord Elgin the price demanded. Visconti 
 valued them at 800,000 francs (;^3 2,000) and decided that they 
 were all the work of Phidias and his pupils. This sum was paid. 
 Soon after his return to Paris he was attacked by a painful 
 internal malady, and died, aged sixty-six. 
 
 LA VALLEE, Marquis Joseph de Bois, Robert de. 
 Born in 1747; died in 181 6. 
 He was captain in a regiment of Champagne before the Revo- 
 lution. He became an enthusiastic democrat ; later, a devoted 
 adherent of Napoleon. During the Empire he was head of the 
 ChanceUerie of the Legion of Honour. He lost this appointment, 
 however, under the Restoration, and retired to London, where he 
 died. La Vallee was a voluminous writer, a great linguist, and 
 had a knowledge of ancient art and literature. 
 
 VOLTAIRE, Francois Marie, de. 
 
 Born, 1694, at Sceaux ; died in Paris, 1778, 
 He was the son of Maitre Frangois Arouetj'a lawyer who held a 
 position in the Cour des Comptes in Paris. The birth of Voltaire 
 took place under peculiar circumstances. His mother, who was not 
 immediately expecting her confinement, joined a party one after- 
 noon for a long walk in the environs of Paris. Before she could 
 get home, she was taken suddenly in labour, and her child was 
 prematurely born in a stranger's house. The infant was so weak, 
 small, and feeble that it could not be taken to church for baptism 
 until nine months after its birth. Young Arouet lost his mother 
 a few years later. His relations with his father were not happy, 
 
APPENDIX 357 
 
 and his only brother, ten years his senior, was a bigoted 
 Jansenist. 
 
 When only ten years of age, Frangois Arouet was placed at 
 the College of Louis le Grand, directed by the Jesuit Fathers. 
 Here he remained for seven years, the favourite of his 
 teachers, who considered him their most brilliant scholar, his 
 amusing sallies and lively wit gained him popularity with his 
 fellow students. At college, Voltaire (who through life assiduously 
 cultivated intimacy with exalted personages) contracted friendships 
 with the sons of noblemen, ministers and magistrates. When he 
 was eleven years of age his godfather, the Abbe Chateauneuf, 
 presented him to Ninon de I'Enclos, then nearly ninety years old, 
 but still mentally and physically attractive. The clever and 
 witty child delighted the aged courtesan, who in her will left 
 him 2000 francs {£So) to buy books. He also met Jean Jacques 
 Rousseau a few years later : the latter embraced him, and predicted 
 a glorious future for the youthful genius. 
 
 After he left college, Arouet soon profited by the friendships 
 he had made among his superiors in rank and position, and 
 succeeded in obtaining a footing which he maintained till 1726 
 in the most exclusive and fashionable society in Paris. He had 
 many adventures, notably a romantic affair when attached to the 
 Legation in Holland. Accused of writing a series of satirical 
 poems against the Government of the Regency, he was sent to 
 the Bastille ; but this only increased his fame and added to his 
 notoriety. Released a year later, the Regent granted him a 
 private and friendly interview, settling upon him a pension of 
 1000 livres (;!^i2o) a year. Ever afterwards he wrote in most 
 eulogistic terms of the Regent, and dedicated his Tragedy oj 
 CEdipus to the Duchess of Orleans. He continued to write 
 successful plays and to publish books of poetry and prose as well 
 as to move in the highest society until 1726, when a catastrophe 
 occurred which changed the bent of his whole life. 
 
 Arouet, who had now assumed the name and style of de 
 Voltaire, was on December 10 of this year dining with one of his 
 chief patrons, the Duke de Sully. Among the guests was a 
 dissolute middle aged man, the Chevalier de Rohan (younger son 
 of the Duke de Rohan). The Chevalier inquired in a loud voice 
 — "Who was the young man who talked so much and gave his 
 unasked-for opinion so freely?" Voltaire answered, "He is a 
 man who cannot boast of an exalted name, but who understands 
 how to keep up the honour of the humble name he does bear." 
 
358 FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 This sally almost convulsed de Rohan with fury, being a direct 
 allusion to his notoriously evil reputation. Three days later 
 Voltaire was seized on the very steps of the Hotel du Sully and 
 soundly flogged there and then in the open street by three of the 
 chevalier's lackeys, De Rohan enjoying the spectacle seated in 
 a coach drawn up hard by. The chevalier's victim could obtain 
 no redress, his adversary refused to fight him, and when Arouet 
 made further efforts to obtain satisfaction, he was again confined 
 in the Bastille. Upon his release he immediately started for 
 England, his pride forbade his reappearance among his old 
 companions. His host in London was Bolingbroke, who had 
 only just returned to Great Britain after a long exile. Arouet 
 remained three years in England, making an earnest and thorough 
 study of English literature, and becoming intimate with Pope, 
 Addison, and Swift. 
 
 In 1729 he went back to Paris and recommenced his literary 
 career. The bold unconventionality of his writings and the 
 freedom of his opinions in religion and poHtics made the author 
 an object of suspicion to the French Government. His " Letters 
 from England" were suppressed, his Lettres Philosophiqties 
 publicly burnt by the common hangman, and their publisher 
 incarcerated in the Bastille ; to avoid sharing his fate, Voltaire 
 again fled from France. 
 
 His liaison with the beautiful and cultivated Madame du 
 Chatelet commenced about this time. She was about twenty- 
 eight years of age. The Marquis and Marchioness du Chatelet 
 inhabited a chateau in Lorraine, and there Voltaire principally 
 lived until the death of the Marquis in 1 749. He was occasionally 
 absent for considerable periods — at Brussels in 1739, in Paris, 
 1740. 
 
 He had several interviews with Frederick the Great when the 
 latter was Prince of Prussia. 
 
 After the Battle of Fontenoy in 1744, an ode he composed 
 upon that victory brought him once more into favour at Ver- 
 sailles, and for two years he enjoyed the immediate patronage 
 of Madame de Pompadour. He could not, however, control his 
 powers of satire, and in 1746 fell into disgrace at Court, from 
 which he never successfully emerged. He then, in company 
 with Madame du Chatelet, joined the literary coterie of the Duchess 
 de Maine at Sgeaux, and afterwards, still accompanied by his fair 
 friend, paid a visit to the Court of the ex-King Stanislaus, father 
 of the Queen of France, at Luneville. Here Madame du Chatelet 
 
APPENDIX 359 
 
 fell desperately in love with a handsome young officer, thirteen 
 years her junior, the Marquis de St. Lombert. Voltaire accepted 
 the situation with philosophic calm, saying he wished to change 
 his position as lover for that of a sincere and devoted friend. A 
 year later the Marquise died in child-bed, and a grotesque as well 
 as melancholy scene took place ; the three men, her husband, the 
 Marquis du Chatelet, Voltaire, and St. Lombert, all weeping in 
 each other's arms over her body ! 
 
 Voltaire established himself in Paris : a widowed niece, Mdme. 
 Denis, whom he adopted as his daughter, kept house for him, and 
 remained his companion for the rest of his life. In 1750 Frede- 
 rick the Great invited the distinguished author to settle at 
 Potsdam as his permanent guest. Voltaire accepted the offer, 
 reaching BerHn in July of the same year. He was received with 
 almost regal honours : a pension of 20,000 livres, the golden key 
 of Great Chamberlain, and the Cross of the Order of Prussia 
 bestowed upon him. All his plays were performed in succession 
 at the theatre of Potsdam. At the King's private suppers the 
 French poet was privileged to make any remarks he pleased, and 
 not bound to observe any form of Court etiquette. This (to 
 Voltaire) ideal existence lasted two years and six months, during 
 which time he wrote and published at Berlin the Siecle de Louis 
 XIV, Voltaire began to take too great an advantage of the 
 licence accorded to him by the Prussian monarch ; he presumed 
 to correct Frederick's French prose, and to make light of his 
 verses. He quarrelled with the Court banker, Hirsch (the direct 
 ancestor of the late great financier Baron Hirsch), about a doubtful 
 monetary speculation, and a lawsuit took place between them. It 
 seems probable that this affair, which has never been satisfactorily 
 cleared up, contributed far more than a literary dispute to the 
 final rupture between King Frederick and his pet philosopher. 
 Voltaire had always shown great financial ability, and had amassed 
 a large fortune, which he continued to increase during the 
 remainder of his career. 
 
 In the early spring of 1753, Voltaire and Frederick parted 
 never to meet again, mutually disgusted with one another. The 
 poet departed with his niece to Weime, on a visit to the Grand 
 Duke and Duchess. Frederick, discovering soon after that Vol- 
 taire had taken with him a volume of very obscene, scurrilous, 
 and questionable verse, which the King had had printed for 
 private circulation only, a commission, led by a stupid and hot- 
 headed officer named Freytag, was despatched in pursuit, with 
 
36o FRANCE IN 1802 
 
 orders to take it by force if necessary from the former favourite, , 
 together with his golden key, and the Cross of Prussia. Voltaire 
 and Mdme. Denis were accordingly arrested at Frankfort and 
 kept in durance for thirty-six days, during which time they were 
 subjected to every possible form of arrogant insult. 
 
 Although Voltaire desired to conciliate the religious party in 
 France, even going so far as to confess and communicate at 
 Easter in Lyons, he could not persuade them to overlook his 
 anti-Christian publications. The appearance in print of the Steele 
 de Louis XIV., and an abominable skit upon Joan of Arc, called 
 La Pucelle, destroyed the last chance of his ever again being 
 received at Court. He therefore purchased an estate in Switzer- 
 land, where he built a charming villa called Z(?5 Delices ; in 1760 
 he bought the estate of Ferney, near the Swiss and French frontier, 
 but in French territory. For the next eighteen years he resided 
 there in great state, and was visited by innumerable famous and 
 distinguished personages, from kings and princes to authors and 
 actors. One of his visitors has thus described life at Ferney : 
 
 Voltaire is very rich ; he is as proud of his wealth as of his literary 
 reputation. He loves to act the part of Seigneur du Village, and to show 
 his guests his houses, gardens, fields, woods, horses (of which he has twelve 
 in his private stable), and his cattle. He dresses with elegance and care; 
 on feast days his attire is splendid. He has built a church for the 
 villagers, and attends Mass in state on Sundays, with an escort of two 
 game-keepers carrying loaded muskets. He exacts all feudal rights and 
 privileges as a landlord. He is always ill, or ailing, and yet an indefatig- 
 able worker, with an activity and liveliness of mind and intellect of a 
 young man. His temper is variable. He is by turns capricious, obstinate, 
 irascible, passionate, and revengeful. His reputation for avarice is unde- 
 served, but, on the other hand, he is often very liberal and generous ; 
 though, being a man of great business capacity, he administers his afifairs 
 with practical common sense, and will not allow himself to be cheated of 
 a farthings 
 
 His writings continued to make more and more stir in the world 
 of letters, and he was to a great extent the arbiter of intellectual 
 thought all over Europe during the last twenty years of his life. 
 He hailed the advent of Louis XVI. to the throne of France with 
 joy, believing a new and enlightened regime was about to begin. 
 
 Pressure was put upon him on all sides to return to Paris, 
 Queen Marie Antoinette herself interceded with the King to give 
 the required permission for the exile's reception at Court, and in 
 February 1778, Voltaire quitted Ferney and arrived in Paris on the 
 evening of the loth of that month. He had been an exile for 
 
APPENDIX 361 
 
 twenty-nine years. From this time until his death his existence 
 was one perpetual ovation. The excitement of this round of 
 entertainments and receptions — which culminated, when after a 
 performance of his new tragedy Irene^ his bust was crowned upon 
 the stage of the Theatre Fran^ais — was too much for his aged 
 feeble frame to support, and taken suddenly ill he expired on 
 May 30, 1778, aged eighty-four and three months. He desired to 
 receive the last Sacraments, but when the priest arrived the 
 patient was already unconscious. He had, however, confessed 
 himself to the Abbd Gauthier, an ex-Jesuit, and received the 
 Communion on the previous March 2, when he signed a retrac- 
 tation of his deistic and infidel opinions. He added — " I shall die 
 adoring God, loving my friends, and detesting superstition of 
 every kind." 
 
 Voltaire was buried in the Abbey of Scellieres, where his body 
 lay until it was removed to the Pantheon by the order of the 
 Convention. 
 
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 Tavistock Street, London 
 
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