THE
HISTORY
OF NATIONS
THE FRENCH-
REVOLUTION
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THE HISTORY OF NATIONS
HENRY CABOT LODGE,Ph.D.,LLD. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
THE FRENCH
REVOLUTION
from 1789 toi815
by
FRANCOIS AUGUSTS MIGNET
Member of the French Academy
Edited with additional chapter on the
Hundred Days
by
JANES WESTFALL THOMPSON,Ph.D.
Professor ot History
University of Chicago
Volume X
1 11 ustrat ed
The H .W. Snow and Son Company
C li i c a ^ o
Copyright, 1907, by
JOHN D. AIORRIS & COMPANY
Copyright, 1910
THE H. W. SNOW & SON COMPANY
DO/ pfg7?>^*--
THE HISTORY OF NATIONS
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
HENRY CABOT LODGE, PkD., L.L.D.
Associate Editors and Authors
ARCHIBALD HENRY SAYCE, LL.D.,
Professor of Assyriology, Oxford Uni-
versity
SIR ROBERT K. DOUGLAS,
Professor of Chinese. King's College, Lon-
don
CHRISTOPHER JOHNSTON, M.D., Ph.D.,
Associate Professor of Oriental History and
Archaeology, Johns Hopkins University
C. W. C. OMAN, LL.D.,
Professor of History, Oxford University
THEODOR MOMMSEN,
Late Professor of Ancient History, Uni-
versity of Berlin
ARTHUR C. HOWLAND, Ph.D.,
Department of History, University of Penn-
sylvania
JEREMIAH WHIPPLE JENKS, Ph.D., LL.D..
Professor of Political Economy and Pol-
itics, Cornell University
KANICHI ASAKAWA, Ph.D.,
Instructor in the History of Japanese
Civilization, Yale University
WILFRED HAROLD MUNRO, Ph.D.,
Professor of European History, Brown
University
G. MERCER ADAM,
Historian and Editor
FRED MORROW FLING, Ph.D..
Professor of European History, University
of Nebraska
CHARLES MERIVALE, LL.D.,
Late Dean of Ely, formerly Lecturer in FRANCOIS AUGUSTE MARIE MIGNET.
History, Cambridge University
Late Member of the French Academy
J. HIGGINSON CABOT, Ph.D.,
Department of History, Wellesley College
JAMES WESTFALL THOMPSON, Ph.D.,
Department of History, University of
Chicago
SIR WILLIAM W. HUNTER, F.R.S.,
Late Director-General of Statistics in India
SAMUEL RAWSON GARDINER, LL.D.,
Professor of Modern History, King's Col-
lege. London
GEORGE M. DUTCHER, Ph.D.,
Professor of History, Wesleyan University
R. W. JOYCE, LL.D.,
Commissioner for the Publication of tbt"
Ancient Laws of Ireland
ASSOCIATE EDITORS AND AUTHORS-Continued
jusTin McCarthy, ll.d..
Author and Historian
PAUL LOUIS LEGER,
Professor of the Slav Languages, College
de France
AUGUSTUS HUNT SHEARER. Ph.D..
Instructor in History. Trinity College. WILLIAM E. LINGLEBACH. Ph.D.,
Hartford Assistant Professor of European History,
University of Pennsylvania
W. HAROLD CLAFLIN, B.A.,
Department of History, Harvard Uni- BAYARD TAYLOR,
varsity
Former United States Minister to Germany
CHARLES DANDLIKER, LL.D.,
President of Zurich University
SIDNEY B. FAY, Ph.D.,
Professor of History, Dartmouth College
ELBERT JAY BENTON, Ph.D.,
Department of History, Western Reserve
University
SIR EDWARD S. CREASY,
Late Professor of History, University Col-
lege, London
ARCHIBALD CARY COOLIDGE, Ph.D.,
Assistant Professor of History, Harvard
University
WILLIAM RICHARD MORFILL, M.A.,
Professor of Russian and other Slavonic
Languages, Oxford University
CHARLES EDMUND FRYER. Ph.D..
Department of History, McGill University
E. C. OTTE.
Specialist on Scandinavian History
J. SCOTT KELTIE, LL.D.,
President Royal Geographical Society
ALBERT GALLOWAY KELLER, Ph.D..
Assistant Professor of the Science of So-
ciety, Yale University
EDWARD JAMES PAYNE, M.A.,
Fellow of University College, Oxford
PHILIP PATTERSON WELLS, Ph.D.,
Lecturer in History and Librarian of the
Law School, Yale University
FREDERICK ALBION OBER,
Historian, Author and Traveler
JAMES WILFORD GARNER, Ph.D.,
Professor of Political Science, University
of Illinois
EDWARD S. CORWIN, Ph.D.,
Instructor in History, Princeton Uni-
versity
JOHN BACH McMASTER, Litt.D., LL.D..
Professor of History, University of Penn-
sylvania
JAMES LAMONT PERKINS, Managing Editor
The editors and publishers desire to express their appreciation for valuable
advice and suggestions received from the following: Hon. Andrew D. White.
LL.D., Alfred Thayer Mahan, D.C.L., LL.D., Hon. Charles Emory Smith.
LL.D., Professor Edward Gaylord Bourne, Ph.D., Charles F. Thwing,
LL.D., Dr. Emil Reich, William Elliot Grikfis, LL.D., Professor John
Martin Vincent, Ph.D., LL.D., Melvil Dewey, LL.D., Alston Ellis, LL.D.,
Professor Charles H. McCarthy, Ph.D., Professor Herman V. Ames, Ph.D.,
Professor Walter L. Fleming, Ph.D., Professor David Y. Thomas, Ph.D.,
Mr. Otto Reich and Mr. O. M. Dickerson.
vii
PREFACE
There are four distinct periods observable in the histories of the
French Revolution. The first is the epoch of contemporary his-
tories, like that of Rabaut de St. Etienne : " Histoire de la Revolu-
tion frangaise," which appeared in 1792. Naturally the authors of
such works stood too close to the events whereof they wrote to be
able to judge them properly; all were deeply imbued with the preju-
dices of the time; moreover, their information was necessarily
limited, for this was the age when the documentary evidence was
in process of production. Then came the period of the First
Empire and the Restoration (1804-1824), in which a flood of recol-
lections, memoirs, correspondence, etc., appeared. This mass of
material paved the way for the first complete histories of the revo-
lution. The first portions of Thiers's great work appeared in 1823 ;
the French version of the work here edited next appeared, and
the histories of Quinet, Louis Blanc, and Michelet followed in the
middle of the century. But the writing of each of these his-
torians was deeply imbued with the spirit of the age in which he
lived. Louis Blanc was inspired by the socialistic movements in
Europe which culminated in the revolution of 1848; Quinet was
influenced by the national sentiment stirring in Germany, and espe-
cially Italy, and was romantically affected. Such also had been the
case with Thiers and Mignet. The prophecy of Chateaubriand had
been verified, at least partially, in the case of Thiers. The genius
of Napoleon had enthralled his imagination ; he honored the revo-
lution as the mother and maker of Napoleon, and him he worshiped.
With Alignet this was so in a less degree. He worshiped the revo-
lution ; he had neither in his heart nor in his mind to write much of
Bonaparte. Yet although thus dift'ering in the object of their
admiration, JNIignet and Thiers were alike in this respect: The
history of each one of them was affected by the times in which he
lived. Each was a liberal in politics and each was hostile to the
narrowness, the bigotry, the stupidity of the Bourbon Restoration.
Each was a journalist and actively interested in politics; "they
X PREFACE
wrote the histoiy of the revolution to justify the hopes or to
strengthen the position of the Liberal party." This attitude of mind
explains Mignet's idealization of the French Revolution. The
glamour of the revolution had cast its spell over him, so much so,
that despite his crisp almost cold precise style, he continually
warms to his theme. One other peculiarity may also be noticed in
Mignet. In spite of the great change which twenty-six years of
revolution and of war had wrought in Europe, classic influences still
obtained in literature. The early Frank kings are depicted in a
romantic way, and some of the revolutionary leaders seem to have
the pose of the actors of a Greek tragedy.
The manner of writing history changed in the middle of the
last century. The influence of Ranke, Hausser, Sybel, Pertz, and
other German specialists not only established new and more
scientific modes of writing history, but also emancipated the his-
torian from the earlier prejudices. Each of them might be a
student of a certain theme, as for example, the economic history of
the revolution or its foreign politics, but no one of them was a
partisan. The influence of such men in due time inspired the
greatest French historians, such as Mme. Sorel, one of the great-
est historians of France, living or dead, Aulard, AIortimer-Ter-
naux, Wallon, and Vandal.
And yet, although eighty years have elapsed since Mignet
wrote, despite the enormous mass of new information which has
been brought to light and in spite of more scientific methods, '' The
French Revolution " of Mignet has never been surpassed. The
late Charles Kendall Adams wrote of it: " This still continues to
be the most satisfactory short history of the revolution. In style
it is compact, and in method of treatment it is clear, thoughtful,
and just. The author believed in constitutional government, and
his reflections on the mistakes of the revolutionists are worthy of
careful attention. Mignet was one of the most conscientious and
judicial of modern French writers." And Dr. Andrew D. White,
than whom there is no higher authority, says : " Thorough enough
for the general student, thoughtful, just, clear in style, compact in
matter; the best, by far, of all the short histories."
The work of the editor has been twofold : First, to correct
errors where Mignet has made them. It is inevitable that in the
course of three generations of historical research, much new nia-
terial unknown in 1824 must have been published and tlie truth
PREFACE
XI
brought to light. Thanks to Mignet's conscientiousness, however,
this portion of the task has been comparatively light. The heavier,
yet the pleasanter one, has been the endeavor to bring the book to
present day ideas, and this has required the modification or enlarge-
ment of many paragraphs of the original. Where deemed advisable
for the purposes of this book the text has been entirely rewritten, but
where extensive changes were not necessary short notes have been
preferred. Throughout references have been made to standard au-
thorities so that the critical reader may compare for himself. As
large an amount of new information as practicable within the com-
pass of this book has thus been added and the effort made to embody
the results of even recent research. In addition an introductory
chapter on the Old Regime, a chapter upon the important subject of
the finances of the revolution and one upon the Hundred Days,
have been prepared in order to give the treatment greater com-
pleteness.
(AMAJL^^L^yUh
University of Chicago.
CONTENTS
PART I
FALL OF THE ABSOLUTE MONARCHY. 1789
CHAPTER PAGE
L The Old RI^gime 3
II. The Beginning of the Revolution. 1789 . . 17
III. Establishment of the States-General. May 5-
AuGUST 4, 1789 41
PART II
THE NATIONAL CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY. AUGUST
4, 1789-SEPTEMBER 30, 1791
IV. The Rise of Popular Government. August 4-
OcTOBER 6, 1789 . . . . . .79
V. Separation of National Parties. 1789- 1791 . loi
VI. The Close of the Assembly. September 30, 1791 132
PART III
THE FIRST REPUBLIC. OCTOBER i, 1791-
JUNE 2, 1793
VII. The National Legislative Assembly. October i,
1791-SEPTEMBER 21, 1792 .... 151
VIII. Tin: National Convention and the Trial of Louis
XVI. September 21, 1792-jANUARY 21, 1793 . 215
IX. Fall of the Girondists. January 2i-June 2, 1793 239
PART IV
THE TERROR AND THE REACTION. JUNE 2,
1793-OCTOBER 28, 1795
X. Beginning of the Terror. June 2, 1793-ApRiL, 1794 267
XI. Fall of Robespierre. April 6-July 28, 1794 . 296
xiv CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
XII. The Tiiermidorian Reaction. July 28, 1794-MAY
20, 1795 320
XIII. The Close of the National Convention. May 20-
OcTOBER 26, 1795 341
PART V
THE DIRECTORY. OCTOBER 26, 1795-NOVEMBER 10, 1799
XIV. The Government of the Directory. October 26,
1795-SEPTEMBER 5, 1797 .... 367
XV. Fall of the Directory. September 5, 1797-NovEM-
15ER 10, 1799 395
XVI. The Finances of the French Revolution . . 418
PART VI
THE EPOCH OF NAPOLEON. NOVEMBER 10,
1799-JUNE 18, 181S
XVII. Nafoleon and the Consulate. November 10, 1799-
December 2, 1804 . . . . .431
XVIII. The Empire. 1804-1814 ..... 461
XIX. The Hundred Days, March-June, 1815 . . 498
Bibliography ......... 507
Index . . . . . . . . . 513
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1807." Napoleon at Friedland (Photogravure)
Frontispiece
FACING PAGE
. 14
Jean Jacques Rousseau
Louis XVI
Marie Antoinette
Camille Desmoulins in the Garden oe the Pauais Royal
In the Lowest Dungeon of the Bastile . . . .
Mob Escorting Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette back
to Paris , . .
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette during the Storming
of the tuileries ........
Maximilien Marie Isidore Robespierre . . . .
Last Interview of Louis and Family . . . . .
The Last Supper of the Girondists . . . . ,
Charlotte Corday Assassinates Marat . . .
Marie Antoinette on the Way to Her Execution
Anno 1793 . . . .
Calling the Roll of the Victims of the ReiGxN of Terror
The Wounded Robespierre in the IIall of the Convention
The Revolution in the Vendee
Napoleon Crossing the Saint r>ERNARD . . . .
Josephine, Empress of the French . . . . .
24
56
66
96
194
218
236
264
268
278
286
298
318
350
438
480
TEXT MAPS
Ancient Provinces of France
Paris
Historic Places of the Revolutionary Epoch
The Vendean Insurrection ....
Campaigns in Italy. 1794-1800
France at the Height of Napoleon's Power
Campaigns of 1813-1815
Europe. 181 5
PAGE
6
103
211
344
382
468
489
500
PART I
FALL OF THE ABSOLUTE MONARCHY
1789
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
Chapter I
THE OLD REGIME
THE French Revolution was the last of those profound
movements which, with the Renaissance and the Refor-
mation, have formed modern history. As the Renais-
sance had been a movement for liberal knowledge, as the Reforma-
tion had liberalized religion, so the French Revolution liberalized
politics. It was a supreme effort on the part of France and of all
Europe to overthrow the medicTval structure of society and to build
anew the social and political fabric of the state. It was essen-
tially a social revolution, and in this respect differs from the
others in its underlying causes as well as in^the unparalleled tragic
grandeur of its course. From the beginning it had a very pow-
erful propagandist character. " The French Revolution," says
Tocqueville, *' acted with regard to things of this world precisely
as religious revolutions have acted with regard to things of the
other. It dealt with the citizen in the abstract, independent of
particular social organizations, just as religions deal with man-
kind in general, independent of time and place. It inquired
not what were the particular rights of French citizens, but what
were the general rights and duties of mankind in reference to
political concerns." Although its local character is stamped upon
it with gkjwing distinctness, yet the French Revolution initiated
in Europe the revolution which the United States had begun for
the whole western civilized world.
In order to understand the nature and the depth of this great
" crisis of modern reconstruction," it is necessary to know some-
thing of the political organization and social structure which it
was the aim of the French Revolution to change.
The constitution of France was not written, but rested upon
tradition. In theory the authority of the king was absolute. In
fact, that authority was frequently traversed by feudal interests,
4. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
by tradition, and by conflicting- precedents. The administration
which obtained before the revolution had acquired fixity during
the long reign of Louis XIV. (1643-1715); its institutions had
then been definitively formed and did not vary from that time
down to 1789, save in detail.
The king had the supreme political authority, which he either
exercised in person or delegated. The royal prerogative was
theoretically whole and complete, and every organ of the govern-
ment was auxiliary to the crown and was operative only within
the discretion of the king. Li France the councils had not been
formed, as in England, by division of duties, but had become tech-
nical boards with a less direct relation to the administration than
the British exchequer, admiralty, or treasury. The French par-
lement, the chambre des comptes (chamber of accounts), and the
grand conseil were only in indirect connection with the govern-
ment. The most influential administrative body was the conseil
du roi. It had general supervision of foreign affairs, and from it
emanated the royal acts, ordinances, edicts, and declarations ; it
fixed the sum of the taxes to be raised and distributed them among
the provinces. No budget existed. The taxes once levied con-
tinued to be levied indefinitely. This council was formed of certain
persons, all chosen by the king and removable by him at pleas-
ure without any formality, not even the signature of the chancellor.
The number of members was variable, but always very small. For
the dispatch of business, the conseil du roi was divided into various
sections in which the same members were differently grouped, each
presided over by a minister. The most important of these were
those concerned with foreign affairs, and in which the chancellor
did not have a seat, war, and finance. The three other ministers
were those of marine, the interior, under the controleur-general,
and the chancellorship. These various boards were, at least in
theory, directed by the king in person. Louis XV. for a long time
left the general direction to Cardinal Fleuiy. But after his death
the ministers were left without regular direction. The actual gov-
ernment depended upon the influence which each minister exercised
over the king, and the king too often was influenced by his mistress
or his confessor.
Below the king's council was the conseil d'etat, formed of
members named by the king, and of maitres des requetes. who had
purchased their places, often for sums as high as 200,000 livres,
THEOLDREGIME 6
and whose business it was to prepare the preliminary work. This
body was administratively of great importance, because the intend-
ants were generally taken from it. Some of the legislative work,
such as the preparation of edicts and ordinances, was also in the
'Care of this body.
These two bodies were the most important organizations of
the government. Their members were recruited from the new
nobility which had purchased position during the reign of Louis
XIV. The king was therefore under the combined influence of his
court, the royal family, the reigning favorite, and these function-
aries. Instead of a landed aristocracy, as in England and Austria,
a bureaucratic aristocracy prevailed in France.
In the provinces the central government was represented by
two species of officials, the governors, who were drawn from the
old nobility and whose duty was mostly ceremonial, and the inten-
dants, generally former maitres des requetes, who were sent into the
provinces and endowed with unlimited administrative authority.
Most of the provinces were little more than administrative sections
used by the government ; some of them, however, called pays d'etat,
enjoyed special privileges. Such were Brittany, Normandy, Langue-
doc. There was nothing the intendants did not do or control. France
was divided into thirty-three administrative divisions under them.
But if the people had learned to consider themselves impotent, they
had also learned to shift the whole responsibility on the govern-
ment. And when later the revolutionary spirit burst forth it was
with the cry " Down with the intendant ! " and the intendant was
the first victim of the maddened populace. But the provinces and
the generalites of the intendants were but two sorts of adminis-
trative divisions. We must reckon also the ecclesiastical jurisdic-
tions, the dioceses, of which there were 135, besides thirty-four
recruiting areas.
There were only two sorts of assemblies in France not di-
rectly under the king. The assembly of the clergy of France,
inckiding only the prelates of the ancient kingdom, for the bishops
of the newly-acquired provinces liad no scats in it, was convened
every five years in order to vote a gift of money, called the don
gratuit, to the crown. Aside from this, the only other assembly
in anv sense independent was to be found in certain of the prov-
inces (pays d'etat) which had preserved a vestige of their old
feudal independence and in which the local estates had become a
6
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
sort of fiscal board. Properly speaking, however, these bodies
were not political in their nature.
There was a third species of organization, the courts, or par-
lements, whose jurisdiction was limited to prescribed regions.
There were fourteen such parlements, the most important being
that of Paris. It had a grand chamber, the chamber of inquests,
and the chamber of petitions. Like the council of state, it was an
oligarchy of families who perpetuated their control, the members
of the parlement being an hereditary nobility, the noblesse de robe,
S I TZCKUANO
who transmitted the office from father to son. It was the parle-
ment of Paris which, by virtue of its position in the kingdom and
the social prestige of its members, was the most powerful indepen-
dent body of the kingdom. In a state where no power existed by
the side of arbitrary government, it was the sole body representing
the law and possessing the means of publicly manifesting its opin-
ion. It was thus that the parlement came to play so prominent a
part immediately before the revolution
The administration of criminal justice was the only public
THE OLD REGIME 7
department in which the nobility still had a hand. The criminal
law preserved most of the horrors of medieval criminal practice.
The gallows, mutilation, breaking upon the wheel, etc., were fre-
quent penalties, and the complexity of the law was very great. In
the civil law there were no less than 384 different practices. Other
institutions were as bad. The army and the navy were mutinous
and badly cared for. The officers' places were reserved for the
scions of noble families, and compulsory military service was
required in the ranks. In order to get a higher price for the cap-
tainships, the captains were allowed to appoint the inferior officers,
from whom in their turn they received a remuneration. In con-
sequence, the number of officers and under-officers became out
of all proportion to the privates. The rich captains spent their
time at court and proved novices at war. The privates were
so badly fed, so badly clothed, and treated so like brutes that the
number of deserters was calculated at 16,000.
The social institutions of France were as far from being
in harmony with the new ideas as the political. The nation was
divided into a hierarchy of unequal classes. The nobility monopo-
lized the high offices of the government, and with the clergy en-
joyed exemption from taxes, while the rich bourgeoisie of the cities
controlled commerce and industry. An examination of the struc-
ture of society affords ample evidence of the unjust order of things
prevailing in France. The high offices of the church were closed
to men not of noble birth, not legally, but in fact. The clergy
owned almost one-half the land of France, and save the don gratuit,
which was a mere pittance when compared with their incomes,
enjoyed exemption from taxation. The 298 members of the
Ijenedictine monastery of Cluny enjoyed a revenue of 1,800,000 ^
livres; the Dominicans of Toulouse disposed of two millions;
Cardinal Rohan, the Bishop of Strasburg, lived like a prince of
the blood, as he could well afford to on an income of over a mil-
lion. By historical development, by moral authority, and veritably
in wealth, the clergy were tlie first estate. As for the nobility
of France in 1789, that class was, perhaps, one three-hundred-
twenty-fifth of the population ; yet they owned one-fifth of the land,
so that more than one-half of France was possessed by classes
exempt from taxation. The nobles enjoyed a large number of
1 The livre (approximately igi cents) was superseded in 1795 by the franc,
which has since been the unit of the French monetary system.
8 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
manorial privileges, chief among which were local justice, the right
to exact forced service (corvee) from their dependents, and hunt-
ing rights, which were bitterly hated by the peasantry. Except in
Brittany, the evils of absenteeism everywhere prevailed.
The court swallowed up the revenues of the nation. The
household of the king comprised twenty-two departments, and
every great noble attempted to imitate the life at Versailles. The
drain upon the people was thus increased. The extravagance of
the king almost baffles belief. The retinue of the king in 1770
numbered 9050 persons, causing a yearly expense of 8,000,000
livres.
" The king has some ninety gentlemen to take care of his
bedchamber, nearly five hundred for his table, and more than
fifteen hundred to attend to his horses. These offices about the
royal person and household are considered the most honorable in
the kingdom, since they are all filled by nobles whose pay is high,
while their duties are very light or even nominal. Besides the
household officers, the king has his guards, French and Swiss, cav-
alry and infantry, more than nine thousand men, costing the
people annually more than $1,500,000. When the king makes a
journey, all these people must accompany him, at the expense of
the state. In 1783 no less than $33,800 was paid for feeding the
king's horses, and more than $10,000 for feeding his hunting-dogs.
The coffee and bread for each of the ladies of the bedchamber
costs $400 a year. The court-kitchen, according to the printed
register, employs two hundred and ninety-five cooks, and the total
number of persons to be supported by the king amounts to more
than fifteen thousand."
The king also gave many presents ; this was especially true of
Louis XV. Louis XVI., in 1785, gave away more than %2y,-
000,000, and Von Sybel reckons that the annual average given in
this way would reach $20,000,000. As for Louis XV., it is known
that in one year he spent about $36,000,000 on his own pleasures.
The palace of Versailles itself cost more than $50,000,000, while
on the bridges, roads, public and scientific institutions not more
than $7,000,000 was expended.
Owing to the exemption of the privileged orders, the burden
upon the mass of the nation became a fearful one. The bourgeoisie
of Paris and some others of the great cities grew rich, for the
monopolies of trade, the prohibitions upon manufacturing, were
THEOLDREGIME 9
manipulated by them. The guilds, originally created to emanci-
pate and enlarge trade and commerce, had now become close cor-
porations mastered by a few wealthy " bosses." Like so much else,
they too had become poisoned with the virus of privilege and as-
serted and adhered to the doctrine that the right to labor had to
be granted.
When we turn to agriculture, aside from the mediaeval meth-
ods used, it was crushed by the weight of feudal dues, the outworn
survival of mediaeval conditions. " A system of tillage . . .
prevailed without industry, without science, and above all, without
capital." Quesnay,. in 1750, estimated the uncultivated land as
one-fourth the arable soil of France, and Young in 1790 thought
it to be at least one-fifth. Taine has estimated that, all told, the
French peasant bore a tax of eighty-one per cent., and Von Sybel
figuring on data for the year 1785, computes that the nation
bore a tax of some 800 millions, which, in terms of the present
purchasing power of money, would to-day equal thrice that sum.
Great as these amounts are, however, we must not lose sight of
the fact that it was the inequality, not the weight, that was the
real source of the burden. If the nobles and clergy had paid in
proportion to their resources, instead of paying taxes upon con-
sumption merely, the injustice would not have existed. But the
actual value in figures does not measure the extent of the oppres-
sion suffered, for " taking all in all," concludes Von Sybel,
" France, under the old monarchy, was four times as poor in man-
ufactures, three times as poor in agriculture, and more than three
times as poor in commerce."
The French Revolution came as the protest against this unjust
political and social regime. But the French Revolution was not a
sudden outburst of popular fury, however volcanic it may seem to
be in certain of its phases. In reality the revolution was preceded
and prepared by a series of conflicts, some knowledge of which is
necessary in order accurately to understand the movement. This
agitation may be divided into three phases : ( i ) From the death
of Louis XTV. in 1715 down to 1754 the opposition was carried on
by the parlement of Paris only, and the church was the object of
attack: (2) from 1754 to 1774 all the parlements of France were
united in a common agitation for better go\ernment; (3) from
1774 to 1789 many attempts at reform were made. In the first
period the question turned upon the attempt of the clergv, in al-
10 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
liance with the Jesuits, to force upon the French people the papal
bull which dealt with the Holy Sacrament. The government found
itself drawn into the conllict, in the sense that it espoused the cause
of the clerical party. This is the moment of the birth of the oppo-
sition of the people of Paris and of the legist class to the church and
the absolute monarchy. But the idea of a revolution was yet vague
and intangible. It is not until the second half of the reign of Louis
XV. that the conflict becomes continuous and general. The pro-
vincial parlements then also began to attack the government, and
frequent demands were made for reorganization and reformation.
But the actions of the parlements were continually ridden down by
the edicts of the king, who naturally supported the royal preroga-
tive. Still the opposition gathered head and the idea of revolu-
tion grew broader and deeper. This agitation had no direct results,
but it familiarized the people with the ideas and the formulas which
came to be employed during the revolution.
The second phase of this broad opposition (1754-1774) is nat-
urally divided into three periods : ( i ) The conflict during the Seven
Years' War (1756-1763) : (2) the conflict over the taxes (1763-
1767) ; (3) the conflict over the financial policy of the Abbe Terray,
which brought about some violent measures on the part of the crown
against the parlement.
The conflict during the Seven Years' War is distinguished
from preceding conflicts in that it was not local, but general, in its
character. All the parlements took a hand in it and sustained that
of Paris by making similar remonstrances. This cooperation of the
parlements is noteworthy; and as this is the first time that we see
any manifestation of it, their alliance had an important effect upon
the future.
The immediate occasion of the conflict, as said, was the ques-
tion of the sacraments. The king's council had been a docile instru-
ment of the Jesuits, and on October 10, 1755, had formally approved
the pontifical action. Not so the parlement, which replied by some
remonstrances on November 2^, 1755. It propounded a new
theory, based upon the authority of the great chancellor of the
sixteenth century, L'liopital, namely, that all the parlements of
France were but a single grand institution, the provincial parle-
ments being but different classes of the parlement of Paris. This
therjry was manifestly contrary to actual history, for the various
parlements had been created in each province even before their
THE OLD REGIME' 11
annexation to the royal domain. But the idea flattered the pro-
vincial parlements, which were thus made of equal rank with that
of Paris. In consequence the parliamentary party solidly united in
a common resistance. A long series of remonstrances followed.
The government, in order to suppress the opposition, reverted to a
process already applied in 1732. The declaration of the king was
read in a bed of justice ^ on December 10, 1756. The parlement
repudiated the act, but the chamber of inquests and the chamber
of petitions yielded. The influence of Madame de Pompadour, and
still more, the dismissal of the elder Maupeou, effected a temporary
reconciliation. The exiled members of the parlement were per-
mitted to return on condition of keeping silent.
Within a year, however, opposition broke out anew (1759-
1761). This time a provincial parlement was the offender. The
intendant of Franche-Comte, who had been named first president of
the parlement of Besangon, encountered a storm of opposition from
the members of the parlement with reference to the don gratuit, the
quinquennial gift in money made by the church to the king. Vio-
lence resulted, and some thirty of the members were exiled. There-
upon the parlement of Paris protested that the king's use of lettres
de cachet was an excess of his prerogative. The government reas-
serted the absolute authority of the king, though it prudently
yielded the point immediately in controversy, owing to anxiety with
reference to the v/ar, and the exiled councilors of Besangon were
recalled.
Peace again was of short duration. The second period of
the conflict (1763-1767) began when the government resorted to a
new species of taxes. Almost all the parlements refused to register
the edicts. The most daring of them was tliat of Rouen. It called
upon the government to justify the new taxes by giving to the
public an honest statement of the finances. The parlement of Paris
seconded the demand. It reasserted the theory of free verification
and asserted the right of a supervisory control over the budget of
the government. The crown had to resort to force, and the edicts
-The lit dc justice (bed of justice) was a sitting of tlie parlement of Paris
at which the king was present on the wool sack, hence the name. The parle-
ment enjoyed the privilege, sanctihed by tradition, to register all roval edicts.
It sometimes abused the privilege to combat the monarchy by refusing assent,
and thus compel the king either to withdrav,' or amend an ordinance. The
king could only overcome the veto by a personal sitting and ordering registra-
tion. Notable instances of opposition by the parlement arc during the Fronde,
in 1771 and in 1787.
12 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
were registered with an array of soldiers in the chamber. By this
time the idea of revolution was everywhere, and Voltaire and Lord
Chesterfield both anticipated it.
Hitherto the government had always respected the jurisdiction
of the parlements over their seats, but Maupeou, who had become
vice-chancellor, adopted a new policy with those of Rennes and Pau.
Some members having handed in their resignations, the govern-
ment assumed charge of the vacant seats and appointed new
members whose docility to the crown was assured. Again the par-
lement remonstrated. On March 3, 1776, the king read a declara-
tion affirming the royal theory. He denied the solidarity of the
parlements or that there was any constructive force in the par-
lement's privilege of confirmation, declaring that the parlement
was but an instrument of publication. Legally the king was per-
fectly correct, for the crown was the fountain of both law and
justice. But the theory and the fact were widely separated the one
from the other.
For a time the storm blew over, but in 1769 broke out anew
when the Abbe Terray, a creature of the king's mistress, was
controleur-general of finances. This minister introduced some new
financial measures, not the least of which was an arbitrary reduc-
tion of the interest on the government's bonds. Open opposition
ensued, and the Chancellor Maupeou resorted to drastic measures.
On the night of January 19, 1771, the members of the parlement
were arrested in their beds by the soldiery. Under this pressure
forty approved the edict. The rest refused to yield. Two days
later the exile of the parlement of Paris was decreed, and on April
13 this famous body was suppressed by royal ordinance. Its func-
tions passed over to a superior council, permitted to render justice
and to register ordinances without remonstrance. The members
of this new council were named and appointed by the king. As
might have been imagined, the provincial parlements poured in
their protests against this new order of things. But the govern-
ment was angry, and some of the provincial parlements were
treated as that of Paris had been. Their members were either
exiled or dismissed, and the vacant seats filled by new appointees.
The government, in theory and in fact alike, was now absolute, but
the crisis had produced a profound moral impression. The spirit
of protest and of reform was wakened never to perish.
The literary movement of the eighteenth century had much
THEOLDREGIME 13
to do with promoting the new spirit, although it is not to be re-
garded as the cause of the revolution so much as a symptom of it.
Mignet makes a profound observation when he says : " The phi-
losophers of the eighteenth century succeeded to the litterateurs of
the seventeenth " for the transition from the classicism of the age
of Louis XIV. was characterized by the rise of a generation of
writers keenly observant and mordantly critical.
There were in France two generations of political theorists:
one which included Voltaire (1694- 1778) and Montesquieu (1689-
1755) in the first half of the eighteenth century; the other, Rous-
seau, Diderot, and the materialists, who flourished after 1750. The
first generation founded its theories upon observation. It was
the historical school, accepting the general foundations of society
as it found them and not demanding its overthrow. It regarded the
body of institutions as the direct inheritance of France from the
past and was willing to accept them with all their inequalities,
only seeking to bring about a reform of them, both in church and
state. These two schools influenced the thought of France in dif-
ferent epochs and with different classes. The historic school, for
half a century, held sway among the cultivated classes and among
men of public affairs throughout all Europe. It was this school
which initiated the movement of political reform in Europe in the
middle of the eighteenth century which has come to be known as
" enlightened despotism."
Voltaire and Montesquieu were avowed disciples of the Eng-
lish. Until his enforced retirement to England Voltaire had been
wholly occupied with literature. But his three years of exile, dur-
ing which he learned the language and made the acquaintance of
the great men of England, especially Bolingbroke, gave him a new
point of view, and his impressions of English life and institutions
are to be found expressed in the " Lettres Philosophiqitcs." Hence-
forth Voltaire was much interested in social and political questions,
although he wrote no systematic work upon that subject. Montes-
quieu's first work was the " Lettrcs Pcrsancs'' which was a satire,
cameo-likc in its detailed criticism of the French government.
After its publication he also visited England, and it is to the in-
spiration of this sojourn that his most famous work, " U esprit des
Lois," is due. Politically Voltaire and Montesquieu agreed, be-
lieving that the English guarantees for individual liberty should
be emulated in other states. Followinof out the theories of Locke
11 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
and of Bolingbroke, Montesquieu asserted that liberty could not
exist except when the different powers which constituted govern-
ment were counterbalanced. Using the English constitution as an
illustration, he established the distinction between the functions of
government and the separation of the three pow'ers, executive, leg-
islative, and judicial, a mode of interpretation which exercised a
large influence over the political thought of the eighteenth century,
and is seen to-day in tlie Constitution of the United States. Both
of these eminent writers were in no sense advocates of revolution-
ary dogma. They regarded the church and the state as the pillars
of society, and venerated the body of institutions which centuries
of historical revolution had created and formed.
Another class of genuine political thinkers remains to be noted
the physiocrats. In the eighteenth century a school of political
economists came into being, wdio, from the nature of their teachings,
w-ere called physiocrats. Though the teaching of their theories
can be traced back to Jean de Serres and Sully, it was not until
Quesnay appeared that their doctrines became broadly known.
Ouesnay was born in 1694 and was educated as a physician. His
political theories first found expression in the famous "Encyclo-
pedic." The doctrine of tlie physiocrats was that agriculture was
the economic foundation of a perfect society; that it was only ag-
ricultural nations that could found durable empires, and they
quoted with approval the old proverb, " Poor peasant, poor realm ;
poor realm, poor king." Industry to them was only a branch of
agriculture, since manufacturing was dependent upon the develop-
ment of the natural resources of the country. Quesnay distin-
guished three classes in society : first, the proprietary class, that
had the wealth and which claimed the exclusive possession of po-
litical rights ; second, the producing class, that is to say, the culti-
vators of tlie soil ; and third, the industrial and commercial class,
who politically w^ere dependent upon the first, and economically
upon the second. Quesnay argued that the burden of taxation
should fall solely upon the source of all wealth, namely the land,
and that all other taxes were indirect, and he gave high sanction to
his teachings by asserting that God had established certain eco-
nomic laws, and that the physiocratic doctrines were most con-
formable thereto. The teachings of the physiocratic school had
a great effect upon ^^irgot. But he was a profounder student
than Quesnay and had better knowledge of the workings of eco-
J KAN J A( <.J(K> KOI S.-KVr
Ml. 11-11 171J. Died 177^)
Painting; by Oiioitiii dc hi lour
Museum of Chautilly
THEOLDREGIME 15
nomic forces like production and exchange; his theories with
reference to the division of labor and the influence of capital mark
him as one of the greatest of political economists. Particular
teaching aside, the general effect of the economic thought of the
eighteenth century was to secure a wider liberty both for commerce
and for industry, not merely by adopting new principles of action,
but by the suppression of the old economic burdens inherited from
a feudal regime, and the abolition of protections and monopolies.
In this sense, therefore, as standing for a larger liberty, the physio-
crats were in alignment with Voltaire and Montesquieu.
The second generation of political thinkers was made up, in the
main, of pure theorists and doctrinaires. It was a dogmatic school
which asserted certain principles and deduced absolute regulations
from them. It was hostile to the prevailing social order and wished
to return to " a state of nature." It wanted to uproot the oldest
institutions, even proprietorship and the family relation. Equality
was their dogma, and to secure it they preached revolution. The
difference between these two conceptions is perhaps to be accounted
for in two ways. In the first place, the position and education of
the leaders of the two schools were different. Voltaire and Mon-
tesquieu were men of the upper class, used to the prevailing in-
equality, while Rousseau (171 2-1 778) and Diderot, on the contrary,
had been born in a lower social stratum and hated the social in-
equalities and the privileges which their class in society had to
endure. Again, the mass of the people, and above all the men of
letters, being in fact and by principle excluded from actual political
life, while the tendency of the leading literary minds was to make
politics a part of their legitimate domain, the result of this strange
contrast between their actual condition and their tendency led the
French writers to believe those things in politics which were really
ncjt so. The facts were misunderstood, or not understood, because
the people were excluded from active political life, and so they
substituted hypotheses for facts. Starting from these hypotheses
as if they were facts, they went on arguing, and their results were
mere philosophical speculations : they had little conception of the
great historical laws of cause and effect. They proceeded not from
a historic basis of facts, but from a condition that never had ex-
isted or could exist, and the longer they pursued their speculations,
the more radical they became, for, not dealing with facts, they
had nothing to restrain them.
16 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
The encyclopedists had a common interest with the follow-
ers of Rousseau in that the teaching of both was so critical even
destructive, of the existing state of things. " France was now
reaping the fruit of that . . . negative bent of thought intro-
duced by Locke's philosophy, from the first ardently studied here,
with especial attention to its materialistic bearings. Condillac set
aside reflection as a source of ideas, Helvetius reduced virtue to
egoistic hedonism, La Mettrie and Maupertuis, the latter in the
famous Systcme de la Nature, advanced a coarser, yet decrying
belief in God, freedom, and a soul separable from the body, as base-
less and mischievous vagaries. . . . Yet the negative and de-
structive in this tendency stopped far short of what might have
been predicted from the execrable abuses prevalent in both state
and church, conditions which should temper our judgment even of
such then existing skepticism as we cannot after all excuse." ^
To conclude: The reign of Louis XIV. had closed wath a
general exhaustion of France. Religiously, skepticism had become
general among the upper classes at the court and at Paris; politi-
cally, economic unrest and social discontent were everywhere. Just
a century later than the English people, the French people were to
take the exactly opposite course from that which experience had
proved to be expedient in England. The compromise established
in England between old institutions and new ideas by the revolution
of 1688 could not be produced in France. The revolution over-
threw the fundamental condition of civilized political life, for it
subverted the principles and practices prevailing among societies
wdiich had existed since the origin of the civilized world, and re-
placed them by a new and opposite principle. Listead of a personal
ruler exercising sway in the name of a mystic principle of religious
sanction, each of these revolutions established a government in the
name of the people. But the English Revolution stopped short with
political change ; not so the French Revolution. It is this supreme
fact which gives it exceptional importance in the political history
of the world. It was preeminently a social revolution.
^ Andrews, " Institutes of General History," pp. 361-362.
I
Chapter II
THE BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION. 1789
AM about to take a rapid review of the history of the French
Revolution, which began the era of new societies in Europe,
as the Enghsh Revokition had begun the era of new gov-
ernments. This revolution not only modified the political power,
but it entirely changed the internal existence of the nation. The
forms of the society of the Middle Ages still remained. The land
was divided into hostile provinces, the population into rival classes.
The nobility had lost all their powers, but still retained all their
distinctions : the people had no rights, royalty no limits ; France
was in an utter confusion of arbitrary administration,^ of class
legislation and special privileges to special bodies. For these abuses
the revolution substituted a system more comformable with justice
and better suited to our times. It substituted law in the place of
arbitrary will, equality in that of privilege ; delivered men from the
distinctions of classes, the land from the barriers of provinces, trade
from the shackles of corporations and fellowships, agriculture from
feudal subjection and the oppression of tithes, property from the
impediment of entails, and brought everything to the condition of
one state, one system of law, one people.
In order to effect such mighty reformation as this, the revo-
lution had many obstacles to overcome, involving transient excesses
with durable benefits. The privileged sought to prevent it, Europe
to subject it; and thus forced into a struggle, it could not set
bounds to its efforts, or moderate its victory. Resistance from
within brought about the sovereignty of the multitude, and aggres-
sion from without, military domination. Yet the end was attained,
in spite of anarchy and in spite of despotism : the old society was
destroyed during the revolution, and the new one became established
under the empire.
1 In the light of recent critical history of the French Revolution this para-
graph must be considered as exaggerated. It is an error to believe that "the
whole- system of society and government was so utterly bad that nothing short
of a complete social upheaval could do any good to France." Ed.
17
18 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789-1815
When a reform has become necessary, and the moment for
accompHshing it has arrived, nothing can prevent it, everything
furthers it. Happy were it for men could they then come to an
understanding; would the rich resign their superfluity, and the
poor content themselves with achieving what they really needed,
revolutions would then be quietly effected, and the historian would
have no excesses, no calamities to record ; he would merely have
to display the transition of humanity to a wiser, freer, and happier
condition. But the annals of nations have not as yet presented
any instance of such prudent sacrifices ; those who should have
made them have refused to do so; those who required them have
forcibly compelled them ; and good has been brought about, like
evil, by the medium and with all the violence of usurpation. As
yet there has been no sovereign but force.
In reviewing the history of the important period extending
from the opening of the states-general to 1814,^ I propose to explain
the various crises of the revolution, while I describe their progress.
It will thus be seen through whose fault, after commencing under
such happy auspices, it so fearfully degenerated ; in w^hat w^iy
it changed France into a republic, and how upon the ruins of the
republic it raised the empire.
The period between 1789 and 18 15 has two distinct phases,
a destructive one and a constructive one. The epoch of the revo-
lution answ^ers to the first; that of the directory and Napoleon to
the second. Within the space of barely a quarter of a century
France experienced six successive forms of government which it
will be well to fix in mind: (i) States-General and National Con-
stituent Assembly, from May 5 (June 17), 1789, to September
30, 1 791; (2) Legislative Assembly, from October i, 1791, to
September 21, 1792; (3) National Convention, from September
22, 1792, to (July 27, 1794, Ninth Thermidor) October 25, 1795;
Directory, from October 26, 1795, to November 9, 1799 (Eight-
eenth Brumaire) ; Consulate, from November 9, 1799 (December
25, 1799), to May 20, 1804; First Empire, from May 20, 1804, to
(April, 18 14) June 22, 1815.^
These various phases w^re almost inevitable, so irresistible
was the power of the events which produced them. It would per-
2 A supplemental chapter has been added by the editor which continues the
history through 1815 the Waterloo campaign.
^ Ploetz, " Epitome of Universal History," p. 447; Tocqueville, " Old Regime,"
introd. p. v.
BEGINNING OF REVOLUTION 19
481-751
haps be rash to affirm that by no possibility could the face of things
have been otherwise; but it is certain that the revolution, taking
its rise from such causes, and employing and arousing such pas-
sions, naturally took that course, and ended in that result. Before
we enter upon its history, let us see what led to the convocation of
the states-general, which themselves brought on all that followed.
The immediate occasion of the re\olution was the enormous deficit
which threatened national bankruptcy. Had that been provided
against b}^ wise administrative reforms, tlie revolution would prob-
ably have been averted. If Louis XVL had sustained Turgot,
his one capable minister, he might have bridged the crisis."*
From its establishment the French monarchy had had no set-
tled form, no fixed and recognized public law. Under the first races
the crown was elective, the nation sovereign, and the king a mere
military chief, depending on the common voice for all decisions
to be made, and all the enterprises to be undertaken. The nation
elected its chief, exercised the legislative power in the Champ de
Mars under the presidentship of the king, and the judicial power
in the courts under the direction of one of his officers.*''' Under
the feudal regime, this royal democracy gave way to a royal aris-
tocracy. Absolute power ascended higher, the nobles stripped the
people of it, as the prince afterward despoiled the nobles. At this
period the king became an hereditary monarch, not as king, but as
individually possessor of a fief; the legislative authority over their
vast territories belonging to the seigneurs, or in the barons' parle-
ments, and the judicial authority to the vassals in the manorial
courts. In a word, power had become more and more concentrated,
and, as it had passed from the many to the few, it came at last
from the few to be invested in one alone. During centuries of
continuous efforts, the kings of France were battering down tlie
feudal edifice, and at length they established themselves on its
ruins, having step by step usurped the fiefs, subdued the vassals,
suppressed the parlements of barons, annulled or subjected the
manorial courts, assumed the legislative power, and effected that
* See Hale, "Franklin in France," vol. II. p. 406.
^ Mignet is describing the constitution of the primitive Franks, rather
than that under the first race of kings, the ^Merovingians (481-751). Since
Mignet wrote, German and French scholars have shown tliat the Merovingian
state was much more feudalized than used to be supposed. The Champ de Mars
was the March-field, the annual spring meeting of all freeman capable of
bearing arms.
20 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1180-1715
judicial authority should be exercised in their name, and on their
behalf, in parlements of legists.^
The states-general, which they convoked on pressing occasions
for the purpose of obtaining subsidies, and which were composed
of the three orders of the nation, the clergy, the nobility, and the
third estate or commons, had no regular existence. Originated
while the royal prerogative was in progress, they were at first con-
trolled, and finally suppressed by it. The strongest and most
determined opposition the kings had to encounter in their projects
of aggrandizement proceeded much less from these assemblies,
which they authorized or annulled at pleasure, than from the nobles
vindicating against them, first their sovereignty, and then their
political importance. From Philip Augustus (i 180-1223) to Louis
XL (1461-1483) the object of all their efforts was to preserve their
own power; from Louis XL to Louis XIV. (1643-1715) to be-
come the ministers of that of royalty. The Fronde ^ was the last
campaign of the aristocracy. Under Louis XIV. absolute mon-
archy definitively established itself, and dominated without dispute.
The government of France, from Louis XIV. to the revolu-
tion, was still more arbitrary than despotic ; for the monarchs had
much more power than they exercised. The barriers that opposed
the encroachments of this immense authority were exceedingly
feeble. The crown disposed of persons by lettres de cachet,^ of
property by confiscation, of the public revenue by imposts. Certain
bodies, it is true, possessed means of defense, which were termed
Against the severity of this arraignment we must weigh the fact that
the growth of the king's prerogative was the surest remedy for the evils of
feudalism. " The absolute monarchies of the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seven-
teenth centuries . . . gave liberty to the common man at the same time that
they subjected the nobles to the law of the state." Burgess, " Political Science
and Constitutional Law," vol. I. p. 56. Cf. Von Ranke, " Franzosische Ge-
schichte," vol. I. p. 34, and his " EngUsche GescJiiclite," vol. I. p. 97; Von Sybel :
" Ueber die Entzi'ick clung dcr absolutcn Monarchie in Preussen," vol. III. p.
24 ff; Krone?, " Geschichte Oesterreichs," vol. IV. p. 488.
^ The last armed rising of the French nobility, during the minority of
Louis XIV., in order to prevent the continual growth of absolutism. There
were two distinct movements, one in 1649, the second, and more formidable
one, in 1650. Spanish intrigue was implicated in it. A combination of the
two was crushed in 1653. The word Fronde means sling. The warfare of the
nobles was so nicknamed in allusion to a dangerous game of the gamins of
Paris, which consisted in throwing each other into the fosses of the Bastile, in
spite of the efforts of the police to prevent them.
** Lettres de cachet were warrants of arbitrary arrest. Their issuance was
one of the grievances of France before 1789, but they were never issued in
blank, as sometimes asserted.
BEGINNING OF REVOLUTION 21
1643-1715
privileges, but these privileges were rarely respected. The parle-
ment had that of ratifying or of refusing an impost, but the king
could compel its assent, by a bed of justice, and punish its members
by exile. The nobility were exempt from taxation; the clergy
were entitled to the privilege of taxing themselves, in the form of
free gifts ; some provinces enjoyed the right of compounding the
taxes, and others made the assessment themselves. Such were the
trifling liberties of France, and even these all turned to the benefit
of the privileged classes, and to the detriment of the people.
And this France, so enslaved, was moreover miserably organ-
ized ; the excesses of power were still less endurable than their
unjust distribution. The nation, divided into three orders, which
subdivided themselves into several classes, was a prey to all the
attacks of despotism, and all the evils of inequality. The nobility
were subdivided : into courtiers, living on the favors of the prince,
that is to say, on the labor of the people, and whose aim was gov-
ernorships of provinces, or elevated ranks in the army; ennobled
parvenus, who conducted the interior administration, and whose
object was to obtain comptrollerships, and to make the most of
their place while they held it, by jobbing of every description;
legists who administered justice, and were alone competent to
perform its functions; and landed proprietors who oppressed the
country by the exercise of those feudal rights which still survived.
The clergy were divided into two classes : the one destined for the
bishoprics and abbeys, and their rich revenues; the other for the
apostolic function, and its poverty (cures). The third estate,
ground down by the court, humiliated by the nobility, was itself
divided into corporations, which, in their turn, exercised upon each
other the evil and the contempt they received from the higher
classes. It possessed scarcely a third part of the land, and this
was burdened with the feudal rents due to the lords of the manor,
tithes to the clergy, and taxes to the king. In compensation for
all these sacrifices it enjoyed no political right, had no share in the
administration, and was admitted to no public employment.
Louis XIV. wore out the mainspring of absolute monarchy
by too protracted tension and too violent use. Fond of sway, ren-
dered irritable by the vexations of his youtli, he quelled all re-
sistance, forbade ever)- kind of opp(^sition tliat of tlie aristocracy
which manifested itself in revolt; that of the parlements displayed
by remonstrance ; that of the Protestants, whose form was a liberty
22 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1643-1789
of conscience which the church deemed heretical, and royalty fac-
tious. Louis XIV. subdued the nobles by summoning them to his
court, where favors and pleasures were the compensation for their
dependence. Parlement, till then the instrument of the crown,
attempted to become its counterbalance, and the prince haughtily
imposed upon it a silence and submission of sixty years' duration.
At length, the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685) completed
this work of despotism. An arbitrary government not only will
not endure resistance, but it demands that its subjects shall approve
and imitate it. After having subjected the actions of men, it perse-
cutes conscience ; needing to be ever in motion, it seeks victims
when they do not fall in its way. The immense power of Louis
XIV. was exercised, internally, against the heretics; externally,
against all Europe. Oppression found ambitious men to counsel
it, dragoons to serve, and success to encourage it; the wounds of
France were hidden by laurels, her groans were drowned in songs
of victory. But at last the men of genius died, and the victories
ceased, industry emigrated, money disappeared ; and the fact be-
came evident that the very successes of despotism exhaust its
resources, and consume its future ere that future has arrived.
The death of Louis XIV. was the signal for a reaction; there
was a sudden transition from intolerance to incredulity, from the
spirit of obedience to that of discussion. Under the regency (1715-
1726) the third estate acquired in importance, by their increasing
wealth and intelligence, all that the nobility lost in consideration,
and the clergy in influence. Under Louis XV. the court prosecuted
ruinous wars attended with little glory ,^ and engaged in a silent
struggle with opinion, in an open one wnth the parlement. Anarchy
crept into its bosom, the government fell into the hands of royal
mistresses, power was completely on the decline, and the opposition
daily made fresh progress.
The War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748). France wasted blood
and treasure to no profit. In the history of colonial America " King George's
War " is a part of this great conflict.
The Seven Years' War (1756-1763), fought in Europe, America the
" French and Indian War " and India. France lost to England Nova Scotia,
Canada, Cape Breton, all territory east of the Mississippi, the French West
Indian islands of St. Vincent, Dominique, Tobago, and Grenada; to Spain,
Louisiana, v.liich was rctmcedcd to France in 1796 and sold by Napoleon to the
United States. As the result of the war in India between France and Eng-
land, British influence displaced that of France among the native princes,
especially of the south.
BEGINNING OF REVOLUTION 23
1643-1774
The parlements had undergone a change of position and of
system. Royalty had invested them with a power whicli they now
turned against it. No sooner had the ruin of the aristocracy been
accompHshed by the combined efforts of the parlement and of
royaky than the conquerors quarreled, according to the common
practice of allies after a victory. Royalty sought to destroy an
instrument that became dangerous when it ceased to be useful, and
the parlement sought to govern royalty. This struggle, favorable
to the monarch under Louis XIV., of mixed reverses and success
under Louis XV., only ceased with the revolution. The parlement,
from its very nature, was only called upon to serve as an instrument.
The exercise of its prerogative, and its ambition as a body, leading
it to oppose itself to the strong and support the weak, it served
by turns the crown against the aristocracy and the nation against
the crown. It was this that made it so popular under Louis XV.
and Louis XVI., although it only attacked the court from a spirit
of rivalry. Opinion, without inquiring into its motives, applauded
not its ambition, but its resistance, and supported it because de-
fended by it. Rendered daring by such encouragement, it became
formidable to authority. After annulling the will of the most
imperious and best-obeyed of monarchs (Louis XIV.) ; after pro-
testing against the Seven Years' War; after obtaining the control
of financial operations and the destruction of the Jesuits, its re-
sistance became so constant and energetic that the court, meeting
with it in every direction, saw the necessity of either submitting to
or subjecting it. It accordingly carried into execution the plan of
disorganization proposed by the Chancellor ]\Iaupeou. This daring
man, who, to enjoy his own expression, had offered rctircr la
coiirunne dc grcffc, re])laced this hostile parlement by one devoted
to power, and subjected to a similar operation the entire magistracy
of France, Vi,'ho were following the example of that of Paris.
But the time had passed for coups cVctat. The current had
set in against arbitrary rule so decidedly that the king resorted to
it with doubt and hesitation, and even encountered the disapproba-
tion of his court. A new power had arisen that of opinion ;
which, though not recognized, was not the less influential, and
whose decrees were beginning to assume sovereign authority. The
nation, hitherto a nonentity, gradually asserted its rights, and with-
out sharing power inlhicnccd it. Such is the course of all rising
powers ; they watch over it from without before they are admitted
24. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1774
into the government; then, from the right of control they pass
to that of cooperation. The epoch at which the third estate was
to share the sway had at last arrived. It had at former periods
attempted to effect this, but in vain, because its efforts were pre-
mature. It was then but just emancipated, and possessed not that
which estabhshes superiority, and leads to the acquisition of power ;
for right is only obtained by might. Accordingly, in insurrections,
as in the states-general, it had held but the third rank ; everything
was done with its aid, but nothing for it. In times of feudal
tyranny, it had served the kings against the nobles; when min-
isterial and fiscal despotism prevailed it assisted the nobles against
the kings; but, in the first instance, it was nothing more than the
servant of the crown; in the second, than that of the aristocracy.
The struggle took place in a sphere, and on the part of interests,
with which it was reputed to have no connection. When the nobles
were definitively beaten in the time of the Fronde, it laid down its
arms; a clear proof how secondary was the part it had played.
At length, after a century of absolute submission, it reappeared
in the arena, but on its own account. The past cannot be recalled ;
and it was not more possible for the nobles to rise from their defeat
than it would now be for absolute monarchy to regain its position.
The court was to have another antagonist, for it must always have
one, power never being without a candidate. The third estate,
which increased daily in strength, wealth, intelligence, and union,
was destined to combat and to displace it. The parlement did not
constitute a class, but a body; and in this new contest, while able
to aid in the displacement of authority, it could not secure it for
itself.
The court had favored the progress of the third estate, and had
contributed to the development of one of its chief means of ad-
vancement, its intelligence. The most absolute of monarchs aided
the movement of mind, and, without intending it, created public
opinion. By encouraging praise he prepared the way for blame;
for we cannot invite an examination in our favor without under-
going one afterward to our prejudice. When the songs of triumph,
and gratulation, and adulation were exhausted, accusation began,
and the philosophers of the eighteenth century succeeded to the
litterateurs of the seventeenth. Everything became the object of
their researches and reflections; governments, religion, abuses,
laws. They proclaimed rights, laid bare men's wants, denounced
^ 5
< .A, =
; -^ =1 :^
1" s
BEGINNING OF REVOLUTION 25
1774
injustice. A strong and enlightened public opinion was formed,
whose attacks the government underwent without venturing to at-
tempt its suppression. It even converted those whom it attacked;
courtiers submitted to its decisions from fashion's sake, power
from necessity, and the age of reform was ushered in by the age of
philosophy, as the latter had been by the age of the fine arts.
Such was the condition of France when Louis XVL ascended
the throne on May lo, 1774. Finances, whose deficiencies neither
the restorative ministry of Cardinal Fleury ^*' (1726- 1743), nor the
bankrupt ministry of the Abbe Terray ^^ had been able to make
good; authority disregarded; intractable parlements; an imperious
public opinion such were the difficulties which the new reign in-
herited from its predecessors. Of all princes, Louis XVL, by his
tendencies and his virtues, was best suited to his epoch. The people
were weary of arbitrary rule, and he was disposed to renounce its
exercise; they were exasperated with the burdensome dissolute-
ness of the court of Louis XV. ; the morals of the new king were
pure and his wants few ; they demanded reforms that had become
indispensable, and he appreciated the public want, and made it his
glory to satisfy it. But it was as difficult to effect good as to con-
tinue evil ; for it was necessary to have sufficient strength either
to make the privileged classes submit to reform, or the nation to
abuses; and Louis XVL was neither a regenerator nor a despot.
He was deficient in that sovereign will which alone accomplishes
great changes in states, and which is as essential to monarchs who
wish to limit their power as to those who seek to aggrandize it.
Louis XVL possessed a sound mind, a good and upright heart, but
he was without energy of character and perseverance in action. His
projects of amelioration met with obstacles which he had not fore-
seen, and which he knew not how to overcome. He accordingly
fell beneath his efforts to favor reform, as another would have fallen
i*' Cardinal Fleury was one of the best ministers France ever had. He
reorganized the currency and put it on a stabler basis than it had been since
Henry IV. (i5tSq-i6io) ; he paid off the enormous debts of the reign of
Louis XIV.; enabled France to recover from the financial disasters of the
regency, especially John Law's " Mississippi Bul)ble " : and left a surplus of
fifteen millions in the treasury when he died. Cf. Perkins, " France imder
Louis XIV."
11^ The Abbe Terray was controleur-general during the last years of tlie
reign of Louis XV. He forcibly reduced the interest from five per cent, to two
and one-half per cent, in 1770. Voltaire was one of the victims of this act.
He was notoriously corrupt. See Rocquain, " L'EsM'it rcvoltitioiniaire avant la
Revulutiou," pp. 273, 305.
26 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1774
in his attempt to prevent it. Up to the meeting of the slates-general,
his reign was one long and fruitless endeavor at amelioration.
In choosing, on his accession to the throne, Maurcpas as prime
minister, Louis XVL eminently contributed to the irresolute char-
acter of his reign. Young, deeply sensible of his duties and of his
own insufficiency, he had recourse to the experience of an old man
of seventy-three, who had lost the favor of Louis XV. by his opposi-
tion to the mistresses of that monarch. In him the king found not
a statesman, but a mere courtier, whose fatal influence extended
over the whole course of his reign. Maurepas had little heed to the
welfare of France or the glory of his master; his sole care w'as
to remain in favor. Residing in the palace at Versailles, in an
apartment communicating with that of the king, and presiding over
the council, he rendered the mind of Louis XVI. uncertain, his
character irresolute; he accustomed him to half measures, to
changes of system, to all the inconsistencies of power, and especially
to the necessity of doing everything by others, and nothing of
himself. Maurepas had the choice of the ministers, and these cul-
tivated his good graces as assiduously as he the king's. Fearful
of endangering his position, he kept out of the ministry men of
powerful connections, and appointed rising men, who required his
support for their own protection, and to effect their reforms. He
successively called Turgot, Malesherbes, and Xecker, to the direc-
tion of affairs, who undertook to effect ameliorations each in that
department of the government which had been the immediate ob-
ject of his studies.
Malesherbes, descended from a family in the law, inherited
parliamentary virtues, and not parliamentary prejudices. To an
independent mind he united a noble heart. He wished to give to
every man his rights ; to the accused, the power of being defended ;
to Protestants, liberty of conscience; to authors, the liberty of the
press ; to every Frenchman, personal freedom ; and he proposed
the abolition of the torture, the reestablishment of the Edict of
Xantes, and the suppression of lettres de cachet and of the censure.
Turgot, of a vigorous and comprehensive mind, and an extraordi-
nary firmness and strength of character, attempted to realize still
more extensive projects. He joined Malesherbes, in order, with
his assistance, to complete the establishment of a system which was
to bring back unity to the government and equality to the country.
This virtuous citizen constantly occupied himself with the ameliora-
BEGINNING OF REVOLUTION 27
1774
tion of the condition of the people; he undertook, alone, what the
revolution accomplished at a later period the suppression of servi-
tude and privilege. He proposed to enfranchise the rural districts
from statute labor, provinces from their barriers, commerce from
internal duties, trade from its shackles, and lastly, to make the
nobility and clergy contribute to the taxes in the same proportion
as the third estate.
Turgot was born in 1727, of noble origin, and was educated for
the church, actually becoming prior of St. Sulpice. But being at-
tracted to the law, he resigned his living. He made the acquaint-
ance of Diderot and D'Alembert, and, having become intensely
interested in economic subjects, was asked to contribute to the
" Encyclopcdie." As a political economist Turgot belonged to the
physiocratic school. In 1761 he was appointed intendant in Li-
mousin, where he speedily applied his theories by abolishing the
corvee for public works and breaking down the interior barriers
to trade and commerce. His reports to the controleur-general, ad-
vocating national reforms, attracted the attention of the govern-
ment in a marked degree. He steadily refused promotion under
Louis XV., knowing the inability of anyone successfully to combat
the court influences of the king's declining years. But in 1774,
when the accession of Louis XVL was hailed as the dawn of a
better day, he accepted the post of controleur-general. His financial
policy may be summarized under three heads : ( i ) Xo state bank-
ruptcy, either admitted or veiled; (2) no increase of taxes; (3)
no loans at high interest. He began by assigning fifteen millions
for pensions. The effect was magical. The rate of interest
dropped to four per cent. Credit revived. Turgot was able at once
to borrow sixty millions of Dutch bankers and ten millions at
home, for the purpose of redeeming old loans contracted at much
higher rates. Then ensued a rapid series of reforms : the estab-
lishment of free trade in grain; the abolition of the corvee on
public works throughout France; the suppression of the guilds;
the organization of a Bank of Discount to lend money for tlie
furtherance of manufacturing and commerce at a low rate of inter-
est and on long terms; fin.ally, the prospect to all possessors of
pr(,)])crtv of a gradually increasing sliare in local administration,
through the establisluncnt of pro\'inc!al asscnil)]ics.^"
1- Sec Von Sybel, "lii^lory of tlio I'Vcncli Revolution.'" vol, T. p. 40 it;
Blanqui, "History of Political Hcononn-," cb.. xxxiii. ; Morlcy, " Crictical Mis-
28 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1774-1781
This great minister, of whom Malesherbes said, " he has the
head of Bacon and the heart of L'Hopital," wished by means of
provincial assemblies to accustom the nation to public life, and pre-
pare it for the restoration of the states-general. He would have
effected the revolution by ordinances, had he been able to stand.
But, under the system of special privileges and general servitude,
all projects for the public good were impracticable. Turgot dis-
satisfied the courtiers by his ameliorations, displeased the parle-
ment by the abolition of statute labor, wardenships, and internal
duties, and alarmed the old minister by the ascendancy which his
virtue gave him over Louis XVL The prince forsook him, though
at the same time observing that Turgot and himself were the only
persons who desired the welfare of the people : so lamentable is
the condition of kings !
Turgot was succeeded in 1776 in the general control of the
finances by Clugny, formerly comptroller of Saint Domingo, who,
six months after, was himself succeeded by Necker. Necker was
a foreigner, a Protestant, a banker, and greater as an adminis-
trator than as a statesman ; he accordingly conceived a plan for re-
forming France, less extensive than that of Turgot, but which he
executed with more moderation, and aided by the times. Ap-
pointed minister in order to find money for the court, he made use
of the wants of the court to procure liberties for the people. He
reestablished the finances by means of order, and made the prov-
inces contribute moderately to their administration. His views
were wise and just; they consisted in bringing the revenue to a
level with the expenditure, by reducing the latter; by employing
taxation in ordinary times, and loans when imperious circumstances
rendered it necessary to tax the future as well as the present; by
causing the taxes to be assessed by the provincial assemblies, and by
instituting the publication of accounts, in order to facilitate loans.
This system was founded on the nature of loans, which, needing
credit, require publicity of administration ; and on that of taxation,
which needing assent, requires also a share in the administration.
Whenever there is a deficit and the government makes applications
to .meet it, if it address itself to lenders it must produce its balance
ccllanies," \iA. IT.; T.owcll, " Kvc of the Frcncli Revolution." Tlie I)est book
upon this entire achiiinislration is I'^oncicr, " Essai snr Ic miiiisti-rr Turgot."
Condorcet wrote a life of Turgot. His "Works," with a memoir, have been
published by Dupont dc Nemours.
BEGINNING OF REVOLUTION S9
1781
sheet; if ii address itself to the taxpayers, it must give them a
share of the power. Thus loans led to the production of accounts,
and taxes to the states-general ; the first placing authority under
the jurisdiction of opinion, and the second placing it under that
of the people. But Necker, though less impatient for reform than
Turgot, although he desired to redeem abuses which his predecessor
wished to destroy, was not more fortunate than he. His economy
displeased the courtiers ; the measures of the provincial assemblies
incurred the disapprobation of the parlements, which wished to
monopolize opposition; and the prime minister could not forgive
him an appearance of credit. He was obliged to quit power in
1 78 1, a few months after the publication of the famous Compte
Rendu of the finances, which suddenly initiated France in a knowl-
edge of state matters, and rendered the return of an absolute gov-
ernment impossible,
Necker was not a constructive financier like Turgot, however.
His art consisted in managing to secure great sums of money with-
out raising the taxes, a doubtful benefit derived from his high per-
sonal credit as a private banker. He had no new ideas to apply
and he had little constructive ability as a financier. It was largely
owing to this minister that France aided the American colonies
against England. His pride was hurt when doubt was expressed
of French ability to do so, in the almost bankrupt condition in
which the government was. The American Revolution cost France
between one thousand and twelve hundred millions,^-"^ The inevi-
table consequence of such participation Necker could not have
failed to foresee. Yet he declared France was able to do so, and
this in face of the fact that in the last five years 500,000,000 francs
had been added to the old debt, with no increase in taxation !
Necker was mortgaging the future to a terrible degree.
The methods by which he proposed to raise this loan will give
us an idea of the prevailing financial methods of the times. From
1730 to 1754 every treasurer of France had employed the lottery to
a greater or less extent, and Necker proposed to raise eighty-five
millions by this means. Another method used was the " rentes
viageres," a species of annuity. The purchaser of this annuity
miglit buy under any one of four plans 10 per cent, interest ceas-
ing at death of purchaser, 9 per cent, payable to two generations, 8^^-
^ Stourm, " Lcs Uminccs dc I'ancicnnc regime et de la Revolution" vol. II.
p. 20;.
30 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1774-1781
per cent, to three generations, or 8 per cent, to the fourth genera-
tion, after which the principal reverted to the state. This rate of
interest was exorbitant. Of course it decreased with the death of
beneficiaries, but at the rate mentioned it would consume the prin-
cipal in thirty-seven years, while the records show that the average
life of these rentes viageres was from forty to forty-five years. It
is estimated that those negotiated by Necker alone caused to the state
a loss of six millions a year, or, taking their average length at forty
years, a total of 240 millions. Necker also used the credit of the
pays d'etat, and raised ninety-one millions through them at 5 per
cent. Right here comes a very clear illustration of the condition
of state finances. Paris raised money on rentes viageres at 7 per
cent., while the state paid 8| to 10 per cent. Another vicious method
of financiering employed by all the controleurs from Necker's time
on, was the sale of the revenues at a discount before they had been
paid. These " anticipations " had increased until, in 1787, they
reached the enormous amount of 255 millions.
But the day came when Necker's credit failed. No more loans
could be made, and in his dismay and alarm to save his reputation
as a financier he published the Compte Rendu the Red Book in
1780. The receipts and the expenses of the government were there
given in detail. This was an unheard of proceeding, for hitherto
absolute secrecy had been the policy of the ancient regime. But
Necker did not truthfully present the facts. The figures were cor-
rect as far as they went, but the picture did not represent the real
financial condition of France. This was partly because of the dex-
terous way in which the figures were grouped, partly because of
what was omitted from the account. Of the enormous cost of
French participation in America, he said nothing. The amounts due
from the farmers and the clergy were put in the credit column,
though many millions of tliem had already been advanced to the gov-
ernment, and many were arrears of payment too old ever to be col-
lected. In figuring the extra resources of the state, so hard pushed
was the controleur-general that he figured among the outside re-
sources the bail bonds, or security bonds of treasury employees !
By this juggling llie revenue for the ensuing year was made to show
an excess of 10,000,000 over the expenditure. The actual situation
was that the expenses exceeded the revenue by 219,000,000.
The death of Maurcpas followed close upon the retirement of
Necker. The queen took his place with Louis XVL, and inherited
BEGINNING OF REVOLUTION 31
1781-1786
all his influence over him. This good but weak prince required to
be directed. His wife, young, beautiful, active, and ambitious,
gained great ascendency over him. Yet, it may be said, that the
daughter of Marie Therese resembled her mother too much or too
little. She combined frivolity with domination, and disposed of
power only to invest with it men who caused her own ruin and that
of the state. Maurepas, mistrusting court ministers, had always
chosen popular ministers ; it is true he did not support them ; but
if good was not brought about, at least evil did not increase. After
his death, court ministers succeeded the popular ministers, and by
their faults rendered the crisis inevitable, which others had endeav-
ored to prevent by their reforms. This difference of choice is very
remarkable; this it was which, by the change of men, brought on
the change in the system of administration. The revolution dates
from this epoch; the abandonment of reforms and the return of
disorders hastened its approach and augmented its fury.
Calonne was called from an intendancy to the general control
of the finances. Two successors had already been given to Necker,
when application was made to Calonne in 1783. Calonne was dar-
ing, brilliant, and eloquent; he had much readiness and a fertile
mind. Either from error or design he adopted a system of adminis-
tration directly opposed to that of his predecessor. Necker recom-
mended economy, Calonne boasted of his lavish expenditure.
Necker fell through courtiers, Calonne sought to be uplield by them.
His sophisms were backed by his liberality; he convinced the queen
by fetes, the nobles by pensions ; he gave a great circulation to the
finances, in order that the extent and facility of his operations
might excite confidence in the justness of his views ; he even deceived
the capitalists, by first showing himself punctual in his payments.
l"he annual deficit whicli Necker found at 30 to 35 millions,
readied in 1783 the sum of 80 millions, and at the end of Calonne's
administration in 1787, 115 millions, by his own statement, but
140 millions according to the committee of notables appointed to
examine his accounts. All tliis, too, in time of peace, and in spite
of the fact that the revenues had been increased annually by the
addition of almost 53 millions of new taxes. Calonne began his
administration by getting the king to pay his debts, which amounted
to 230,000 francs. He actually congratulated the state upon having
within it so many abuses by the abolition of which a saving might
be made! The confidence of the courtiers in his policy, because of
32 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1786-1787
his munificence, was great. One of them is reported to have said:
" I never doubted M. Calonne could save the state, but I did not
think he would be able to do it so quickly." But below his outward
frivolity Calonne was a man of some force. After the great efforts
which had been necessary to float a new loan of 80,000,000 francs
in December, 1786, Calonne submitted a comprehensive reform to
the king, based on the leading ideas of Turgot, and planned to put
a part of the weight upon the privileged classes. He knew that the
parlement would reject the reforms suggested, and so he resorted to
an assembly of notables, which met at Versailles on February 22,
1787. Richelieu had last made use of them. This assembly of
notables consisted of 144 members: 7 princes of the blood; 14 of
the clergy; 36 of the nobility; 12 members of the conseil du roi; 38
representatives of the noblesse de robe; 12 deputies from the pays
detats ; 25 officials from the chief cities. In the whole body there
were but 27 representatives of the third estate.
Th notables, chosen by the government from the higher
classes, formed a ministerial assembly, which had neither a proper
existence nor a commission. It was, indeed, to avoid parlements
and states-general that Calonne addressed himself to a more subor-
dinate assembly, hoping to find it more docile. But, composed of
privileged persons, it was little disposed to make sacrifices. It
became still less so when it saw the abyss which a devouring admin-
istration had excavated. It learned with terror that the loans of a
few years amounted to 1646 millions, and that there was an annual
deficit in the revenue of 140 millions.
Calonne knew that there was no hope of getting the privileged
classes to tax themselves. But to compass his purpose he had cut
up the assembly into seven bureaux, each of which was to deliberate
and vote by itself. But at the time of the opening Calonne was ill,
and instead of meeting separately, the notables met together. The
opposition thus was able to concert a programme. The assembly
demanded a statement of accounts. Calonne refused. He criti-
cised Necker's financial policy and thus ranged public opinion
against him.
The disclosure of the deficit was the signal for Calonne's
fall. He fell, April 17, 1787, and was succeeded by Brienne,
Archbishop of Sens/'* his opponent in the assembly. Brienne
1* Brienne was Arclibisliop of Tonloii?e at this time. He became Arch-
bishop of Sens and was made a cardinal after his resignation, in 1788.
BEGINNING OF REVOLUTION 33
1787
thought the majority of the notables was devoted to him, because it
had united with him against Calonne. But the privileged classes
were not more disposed to make sacrifices to Brienne than to his
predecessor; they had seconded his attacks, which were to their
interest, and not his ambition, to which they were indifferent.
The Archbishop of Sens, who is censured for a want of plan,
was in no position to form one. He was not allowed to continue
the prodigality of Calonne; and it was too late to return to the
retrenchments of Necker. Economy, which had been a means of
safety at a former period, was no longer so in this. Either taxation
must be had recourse to, and that parlement opposed ; or loans, and
credit was exhausted; or sacrifices on the part of the privileged
classes, who were unwilling to make them. Brienne, to whom
office had been the chief object of life, who with the difficulties of
his position combined slenderness of means, attempted everything,
and succeeded in nothing. His mind was active, but it wanted
strength ; and his character rash without firmness. Daring, pre-
vious to action, but weak afterward, he ruined himself by his irreso-
lution, want of foresight, and constant variation of means. There
remained only bad measures to adopt, but he could not decide upon
one, and follow that one; this was his real error.
The assembly of notables was but little submissive and very
parsimonious. After having sanctioned the establishment of pro-
vincial assemblies, a regulation of the corn trade, the abolition of
corvees, and a new stamp tax, it broke up on May 25, 1787. It
spread throughout France what it had discovered respecting the
necessities of the throne, the errors of the ministers, the dilapidation
of the court, and the irremediable miseries of the people. Brienne,
deprived of this assistance, had recourse to taxation, as a resource,
the use of which had for some time been abandoned. He demanded
the enrollment of various reforming edicts by the parlement. In
June-July, 1787, as follows: the edict for establishing free trade in
grain, on June 17; that for the provincial assemblies on June 22;
the redemption of the corvee on June 27. The territorial subsidies
act was introduced on July 16 and was forced through the parlement
in a bed of justice on July 30, the parlement making the notable pro-
test that only the states-general could affirm a permanent tax.
But parlement, which was then in the full vigor of its existence
and in all the ardor of its ambition, and to which the financial
embarrassment of the ministry offered a means of augmenting its
34 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1787-1788
power, refused the enrollment. Banished to Troyes (August), it
grew weary of exile, and the minister recalled it on condition that
the two edicts should be passed. But this was only a suspension of
hostilities; the necessities of the crown soon rendered the struggle
more obstinate and violent. The minister had to make fresh appli-
cations for money; his existence depended on the issue of several
successive loans to the amount of 440 millions. It was necessary to
obtain the enrollment of them. The whole amount was not to be
taken up at once, but was to be distributed over five years. It is a
significant fact that Lomenie de B>rienne was finally driven to the
issuance of paper, in part payment of the interest and pensions, etc.,
due from the state. The decree promulgating these bills insists,
however, that they are not to be classed as paper money, " of which
the king," says he, " knows the inconvenience. They are bills of
the Royal Treasury." Brienne's cautious utterance shows that the
memory of John Law's financial operations was yet vivid in the
minds of the French people. They soon, however, forgot the mis-
fortunes which they had experienced from paper money.
Brienne, expecting opposition from the parlement, procured
the enrollment of this edict, by a " bed of justice," and to conciliate
the magistracy and public opinion, the Protestants were restored to
their rights in the same sitting, and Louis XVI. promised an annual
publication of the state of finances, and the convocation of the states-
general before the end of five years. But these concessions were
no longer sufficient: parlement refused the enrollment, and rose
against the ministerial tyranny. Some of its members, among
others the Duke of Orleans, were banished. Louis XVI. had con-
verted the sitting of the parlemeni: into a " royal session " by allow-
ing a free discussion of the measures. When he finally ordered the
registration of the edict, the Duke of Orleans protested on the
ground that the registration was illegal. Alarie Antoinette inter-
ceded for him and he soon returned. Parlement protested, by
a decree dated May 3, 1788, against lettres de cacliet, and required
the recall of its members. This decree was annulled by the king,
and confirmed by parlement. The warfare increased. The magis-
tracy of Paris was supported by all the magistracy of France, and
encouraged by public opinion. It proclaimed the rights of the nation,
and its own incompetence in matters of taxation ; and, become li])eral
from interest, and rendered generous by oppression, it exclaimed
against arbitrary imprisonment, and demanded regularly convoked
BEGINNING OF REVOLUTION 35
1788
states-general. After tliis act of courage, it decreed the irremova-
bility of its members, and the incompetence of any who might usurp
their functions. This bold manifesto was followed by the arrest of
two members, D'Epremesnil and Goislard, by the reform of the
body, and the establishment of a plenary court.
Brienne understood that the opposition of the parlement was
systematic, that it would be renewed on every fresh demand for
subsidies, or on the authorization of every loan. Exile was but a
momentary remed}-, which suspended opposition, without destroy-
ing it. He then projected the reduction of this body to judicial
functions, and associated with himself Lamoignon, keeper of the
seals, for the execution of this project. Lamoignon was skilled in
coups d'etat. He had audacity, and combined with ]\Iaupeou's ener-
getic determinati(m a greater degree of consideration and probity.
But he made a mistake as to the force of power, and what it was
possible to effect in his times. Maupeou had reestablished parle-
ment, changing its members ; Lamoignon wished to disorganize it.
The first of these means, if it had succeeded, would only have pro-
duced temporary repose; the second must have produced a definitive
one. since it aimed at destroying the power, which the other only
tried to displace ; but Maupeou's reform did not last, and that of
Lamoignon could not be eft'ected. The execution of the last was,
however, tolerably well framed. All the magistracy of France
was exiled on the same day, in order that the new judicial organi-
zation might take place. The keeper of the seals deprived the par-
lement of Paris of its political attributes, to invest with them a
plenary court, ministerially composed, and reduced its judicial com-
petence in favor of bailiwicks, the jurisdiction of which he extended.
Public opinion was indignant; the Chatelet ^^ protested, the prov-
inces rose, and the plenary court could neither be formed nor act.
Disturbances brcjke out in Dauphine, Brittany, Provence, Flanders,
Languedoc, and Beam ; the ministry, instead of the regular opposi-
tion of parlement, had to encounter one much more animated and
factious. The nobility, the third estate, the provincial states, and
even the clergy, took part in it. Brienne, pressed for money, had
called together an extraordinary assembly of the clergy, who imme-
diately made an .'uldrcss to the king, demanding the abolition of his
^^The CliaU'lct v.tis tlie chief criminal court of Paris. Technically, it was
only the crinriiial court of the prevote of Paris, hut the importance of the cap-
ital gave it iirei-ininence. 1 iistorically it was one of the oldest institutions of
Paris, some historians even claiming a continuity from Roman times.
36 THE FRENCHREVOLUTION
1788
plenary court, and the recall of the states-general : they alone could
thenceforth repair the disordered state of the finances, secure the
national debt, and terminate these disputes for power.
The Archbishop of Sens, by his contest with the parlement,
had postponed the financial, by creating a political difficulty. The
moment the latter ceased, the former reappeared, and made his
retreat inevitable. Obtaining neither taxes nor loans, unable to
make use of the plenary court, and not wishing to recall the parle-
ments, Brienne, as a last resource, promised the convocation of the
states-general. By this means he hastened his ruin. He had been
called to the financial department in order to remedy embarrass-
ments which he had augmented, and to procure money which he had
been unable to obtain. So far from it, he had exasperated the
nation, raised a rebellion in the various bodies of the state, compro-
mised the authority of the government, and rendered inevitable the
states-general, which, in the opinion of the court, w^as the worst
means of raising money. He succumbed on August 25, 1788. The
cause of his fall was a suspension of the payment of the interest on
the debt, wdiich w-as the commencement of bankruptcy. This min-
ister has been the most blamed because he came last. Inheriting the
faults, the embarrassments of past times, he had to struggle with
the difficulties of his position with inefficient means. He tried
intrigue and oppression ; he banished, suspended, disorganized par-
lement; everything was an obstacle to him, nothing aided him.
After a long struggle he sank under lassitude and weakness ; I dare
not say from incapacity, for had he been far stronger and more
skillful, had he been a Richelieu or a Sully, he would still have
fallen. It no longer appertained to anyone arbitrarily to raise
money or to oppress the people. It must be said in his excuse, that
he had not created that position from which he was not able to
extricate himself; his only mistake w^as his presumption in accepting
it. Pie fell through the fault of Calonne, as Calonne had availed
himself of the confidence inspired by Necker for the purposes of
his lavish expenditure. The one had destroyed credit, and the
other, thinking to reestablish it by force, had destroyed authority.
The states-general had become the only means of government,
and the last resource of the throne. They had been eagerly de-
manded by parlement and the peers of the kingdom, on July 13,
1787; by the states of Dauphine, in the assembly of Vizille; by the
clergy in its assembly at Paris. The provincial states had prepared
BEGINNING OF REVOLUTION 37
1789
the public mind for them ; and the notables were their precursors.
The king after having, on December i8, 1787, promised their con-
vocation in five years, on August 8, 1788, fixed the opening for
May I, 1789. Necker was recalled, parlement reestablished, the
plenary court abolished, the bailiwicks destroyed, and the provinces
satisfied; and the new minister prepared everything for the election
of deputies and the holding of the states.
At this epoch a great change took place in the opposition,
which till then had been unanimous. Under Brienne, the ministry
had encountered opposition from all the various bodies of the state,
because it had sought to oppress them. Under Necker, it met with
resistance from the same bodies, which desired power for them-
selves and oppression for the people. From being despotic, it had
become national, and it still had them all equally against it. Parle-
ment had maintained a struggle for authority, and not for the public
welfare; and the nobility had united with the third estate, rather
against the government than in favor of the people. Each of these
bodies had demanded the states-general : the parlement, in the hope
of ruling them as it had done in 1614; and the nobility, in the hope
of regaining its lost influence. Accordingly, the magistracy pro-
posed as a model for the states-general of 1789, the form of that of
1614, and public opinion abandoned it. If this recommendation had
been followed, whole provinces would have been in practice disfran-
chised. For example, Poitou, with 694,000 inhabitants, would have
had no more representation than Gex, with 1300; Vermandois, with
774,000 inhabitants, would have had no more than Dourdan, with a
population of 7800.^ The nobility refused its consent to the
double representation of the third estate, as in Languedoc, Provence,
Hainault. In most of them, however, as Brittany, Artois, Bur-
gundy, an equal representation was the rule. Thus a division broke
out between these two orders.
This double representation was required by the intellect of tlie
age, the necessity of reform, and by the importance which the third
estate had acquired. It had already been admitted into the pro-
vincial assemblies. Brienne, before leaving the ministry, had made
an appeal to tlie writers of the day, in order to know what would be
the most suital)lc method of composing and holding the states-
general. Among the works favorable to the peo])]e there appeared
^"Cy. Stephens, " J'Vench Revolution," vol. I. pp. 14-15; "Memoirs of Tal-
leyrand," vol. I. pp. 85-86.
38 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
the celebrated pamphlet of Sieyes on the third estate, and that of
D'Entraigues on the states-general. Sieyes asked these questions,
which he proceeded to answer: What is the third estate?
Everything, What has it been thus far? Nothing. What does
it want to be? Something.^^ Opinion became daily more de-
cided, and Necker wishing, yet fearing, to satisfy it, and desirous
of conciliating all orders, of obtaining general approbation, con-
voked a second assembly of notables on November 6, 1788, to delib-
erate on the composition of the states-general, and the election of its
members. He thought to induce it to accept the addition of the
third estate, but it refused, and he was obliged to decide, in spite
of the notables, that which he ought to have decided without them.
Necker was not the man to avoid disputes by removing all difficul-
ties beforehand. He did not take the initiative as to the representa-
tion of the third estate, any more than at a later period he took it
with regard to the question of voting by orders or by poll. When
the states-general were assembled the solution of this second ques-
tion, on which depended the state of power and that of the people,
was abandoned to force.
Be this as it may, Necker, having been unable to make the
notables adopt the representation of the third estate, caused it to
be adopted by the council. The royal declaration of November 2j
decreed that the deputies in the states-general should amount to at
least a thousand, and that the deputies of the third estate should be
equal in number to the deputies of the nobility and clergy to-
gether. Necker, moreover, obtained the admission of the cures into
the order of the clergy, and of Protestants into that of the third
estate.
]\Iay I, 1789, was the day fixed for the convening of the states-
general. The letters convoking the electors were sent out in Febru-
ary. Each order named its deputies. With the third estate every
Frenchman of twenty-five years of age paying any direct tax what-
soever had the right to vote. The form of the elections was the
same as in 16 14. The deputies of the three orders were nominated
from bailiwicks. The clergy and the nobility named their represen-
tatives directly, but with the third estate indirect election prevailed,
delegates being chosen in the jiarishes and villages to a subscf|ucnt
1" The flood of namplilcts at this time was enormous. Gouvcrneur Morris
writes, in June, 1789, " liven lackeys are poring over them at the gates of
hotels," and Arthur Young records about the same time, " Thirteen came out
to-day ; sixteen yesterday ; and ninety last week."
BEGINNING OF REVOLUTION 39
1789
assembly held in the chief place of the bailiwick, this body electing
the actual deputies to the states-general.
The local election machinery was very various the clergy gen-
erally elected out of the chapter, the monastic bodies from among
their brotherhoods ; industrial and mercantile interests were organ-
ized into crafts or guilds. Robespierre was elected by the cobblers'
guild of Arras. About 5,000,000 voters thus elected 1139 deputies.
Parlement had but little influence in the elections, and the
court none at all. The nobility selected a few popular deputies, but
for the most part devoted to the interests of their order, and as
much opposed to the third estate as to the oligarchy of the great
families of the court. The clergy nominated bishops and abbes
attached to privilege, and cures favorable to the popular cause,
which was their own ; lastly, the third estate selected men enlight-
ened, firm, and unanimous in their wishes. Of the 285 nobles
elected, 270 took their seats; of the clergy, 308 were elected and
291 took their seats; of the third estate, 621 were elected and 578
took their seats. The deputation of the nobility was comprised of
242 gentlemen and 28 members of parlement ; that of the clergy,
of 48 archbishops or bishops, 35 abbes or deans, and 208 cures;
and that of the communes, of 2 ecclesiastics, 12 noblemen, 18 magis-
trates of towns, 200 county members, 212 barristers, 16 physicians,
and 216 merchants and agriculturists. Among the nobles were the
king's two brothers, the Count of Provence, later Louis XVIII.
(1814-1824), and the Count d'Artois, afterward Charles X. (1824-
1830) ; Philip, Duke of Orleans; and Lafayette. Talleyrand, then
Bishop of Autun, the Abbe Maury, and " the great Gregoire " were
among the clergy. Among the deputies of the third estate, besides
12 nobles and 2 priests, there were 13 municipal magistrates, 102
magistrates from bailiwicks, 216 lawyers, 16 physicians, and about
100 merchants and farmers. ^^ Conspicuous among them were Mira-
beau, Sieyes, Robespierre, Petion, Bailly, Barrere, Malouet, ]\Iou-
nier, Target, Lameth, and Dr. Guillotin, The Paris deputies in-
cluded 9 lawyers, 6 tradesmen, 2 tailors, i grocer, i painter, i
jeweler, i wine merchant. The opening of the states-general was
fixed for A lay 5, 1789.
Thus was the revolution brought about. The court in vain
tried to prevent, as it afterward endeavored to annul it. Under the
IS Oil the whole matter see Lowell, " Eve of the French Revolution," ch.
xxi. ; Stephens, '" l~rench Revolution," vol. I. pp. 30-50.
40 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
direction of Maurepas the king nominated popular ministers and
made attempts at reform ; under the influence of the queen he nom-
inated court ministers and made attempts at authority. Oppression
met with as Httle success as reform. After applying in vain to
courtiers for retrenchments, to parlement for levies, to capitalists
for loans, he sought for new taxpayers, and made an appeal to the
privileged orders. He demanded of the notables, consisting of the
nobles and the clergy, a participation in the charges of the state,
which they refused. He then for the first time applied to all France,
and convoked the states-general. He treated with the various bodies
of the nation before treating with the nation itself; and it was only
on the refusal of the first, that he appealed from it to a power whose
intervention and support he dreaded. He preferred private assem-
blies, which, being isolated, necessarily remained secondary to a
general assembly, which, representing all interests, must combine
all powers. Up to this great epoch every year saw the wants of the
government increasing, and resistance becoming more extensive.
Opposition passed from parlements to the nobility, from the nobil-
ity to the clergy, and from them all to the people. In proportion as
each participated in power it began its opposition, until all these
private oppositions were fused in or gave way before the national
opposition. The states-general only decreed a revolution already
formed.^''
^^ Gouverneur Morris, the American patriot, was in Paris at this time
on private business, and was later made minister to France. In the spring
of 1789 he wrote : " A spirit which has lain dormant for generations starts up
and stares about, ignorant of the means of obtaining but ardently desirous to
possess the object; consequently active, energetic, easily led, but alas! easily, too
easily, misled." " Diary and Letters of Gouverneur Morris," vol. I. p. 21. And
later, on April 29, 1789, he wrote to Washington : " The materials for a revolution
in this country are very indifferent. Everybody agrees that there is an utter
prostration of morals, but this general position can never convey to the Amer-
ican mind the degree of depravity. It is not by any figure of rhetoric, or force
of language, that the idea can be communicated. An hundred anecdotes and a
hundred thousand examples are required to show the extreme rottenness of
every member. There are men and women who are greatly and eminently virtu-
ous but they stand forward from a background deeply and darkly shaded.
It is, however, from such crumbling matter that the great edifice of freedom
is to be erected here. Perhaps it may harden when exposed to the air, but
it seems quite as likely that it will fall and crush the building." Ibid., vol. I.
pp. 68-69.
Chapter III
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE STATES-GENERAL
MAY 5-AUGUST 4, 1789
MAY 5, 1789, was fixed for the opening of the states-
general. A rehgious ceremony preceded their installa-
tion. The King, his family, his ministers, the deputies
of the three orders, on May 4 went in procession from the
church of Notre-Dame to that of Saint Louis, to hear the opening
mass. Lavarre, Bishop of Nancy, preached the sermon, which was
much like a political harangue. In his prayer, he said : " Accept the
homage of the clergy, the respect of the nobility, and the very hum-
ble requests of the third estate." Men did not without enthusiasm
see the return of a national ceremony of which France had for so
long a period been deprived. It had all the appearance of a festival.
An enormous multitude flocked from all parts to Versailles ; the
weather was splendid ; they had been lavish of the pomp of decora-
tion. The excitement of the music, the kind and satisfied expression
of the king, the beauty and demeanor of the queen, and, as much as
anything, the general hope, exalted everyone. But the etiquette,
costumes, and order of the ranks of the states in 1614 were seen
with regret. The clergy, in cassocks, large cloaks, and square caps,
or in violet robes and lawn sleeves, occupied the first place. Then
came the nobles, attired in black coats with waistcoats and facings
of cloth of gold, lace cravats, and hats with white plumes, turned
up in the fashion of Henry IV. The modest third estate came last,
clothed in l.)lack, with short cloaks, muslin cravats, and hats without
feathers or loops. In the church the same distinction as to places
existed between the three orders.
The royal sittings took place the following day in the Salle
des ]\Tenus. Galleries, arranged in the form of an ampliitheater, were
filled with spectators. The deputies were summoned and introduced
according to the order established in 1614. The clergy were con-
ducted to the right, the nobility to the left, and the commons in
front of the throne at the end of the hall. The deputation from
41
42 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
Dauphine, from Crespy, in Valois, to which the Duke of Orleans
belonged, and from Provence, were received with loud applause.
Necker was also received on his entrance with general enthusiasm.
Public favor was testified toward all who had contributed to the
convocation of the states-general. When the deputies and ministers
had taken their places the king appeared, followed by the queen,
the princes, and a brilliant suite. The salle resounded with applause
on his arrival. When he came in, Louis XVL took his seat on the
throne, and when he had put on his hat, the three orders covered
themselves at the same time. The commons, contrary to the custom
of the ancient states, imitated the nobility and clergy without hesi-
tation: the time when the third order should remain covered and
speak kneeling was gone by. The king's speech was then expected
in profound silence. Men were eager to know the true feeling of
the government with regard to the states. Did it purpose assimi-
lating the new assembly to the ancient, or granting it the part which
the necessities of the state and the importance of the occasion as-
signed to it ?
" Gentlemen," said the king, with emotion, " the day I have
so anxiously expected has at length arrived, and I see around me
the representatives of the nation which I glory in governing. A
long interval had elapsed since the last session of the states-general,
and although the convocation of these assemblies seemed to have
fallen into disuse, I did not hesitate to restore a custom from which
the kingdom might derive new force, and which might open to the
nation a new source of happiness."
These words which promised much were only followed by
explanations as to the debt and announcements of retrenchment in
the expenditure. The king, instead of wisely tracing out to the
states the course they ought to follow, urged the orders to union,
expressed his want of money, his dread of innovations, and com-
plained of the uneasiness of the public mind, without suggesting any
means of satisfying it. He was nevertheless very much applauded
when he delivered at the close of his discourse the following words,
which fully described his intentions : " All that can be expected from
the dearest interest in the public welfare, all that can be required of
a sovereign, the first friend of his people, you may and ought to
hope from my sentiments. That a happy spirit of union may per-
vade this assembly, gentlemen, and that this may be an ever-memor-
able epoch for the happiness and prosperity of the kingdom, is the
THE STATES-GENERAL 43
1789
wish of my heart, the most ardent of my desires; it is, in a word,
the reward which I expect for the uprightness of my intentions,
and my love of my subjects."
Barentin, keeper of the seals, spoke next. His speech was an
amplification respecting the states-general and the favors of the
king. After a long preamble he at last touched upon the topics of
the occasion. " His majesty," he said, " has not changed the form
of the ancient assemblies, by granting a double representation in fa-
vor of the most numerous of the three orders, that on which the bur-
den of taxation chiefly falls ; has not changed the form of the an-
cient deliberations ; although that by poll, producing but one result,
seems to have the advantage of best representing the general desire,
the king wishes this new form should be adopted only with the free
consent of the states, and the approval of his majesty. But what-
ever may be the opinion on this question, whatever distinctions may
be drawn between the different matters that will become the sub-
jects of deliberation, there can be no doubt but that the most entire
harmony will unite the three orders on the subject of taxation."
The government was not opposed to the vote by poll in pecuniary
matters, it being more expeditious ; but in political questions it
declared itself in favor of voting by order, as a more effectual check
on innovations. In this way it sought to arrive at its own end
namely, subsidies, and not to allow the nation to obtain its olDJect,
which was reform. The manner in which the keeper of the seals
determined the province of the states-general discovered more
plainly the intentions of the court. He reduced them, in a measure,
to the inquiry into taxation, in order to vote it, and to the discussion
of a law respecting the press, for the purpose of fixing its limits,
and to the reform of civil and criminal legislation. He proscribed
all other changes, and concluded by saying: " All just demands have
been granted; the king has not noticed indiscreet murmurs; he has
condescended to overlook them with inrlulgence ; he has even for-
given the expression of tliose false and extravagant maxims under
fa\or of which altcn'i})ts have Ijeen made to substitute pernicious
chimeras for the unalterable principles of monarchy. You will
with indignation, gentlemen, rc])el the dangerous innovations which
tlie enemies of public good seek to confound with the necessary and
liappy changes whicli this regeneration ought to produce, and whicli
form the first wisli of his majesty."
This speech displayed h'ttic knowledge of the wishes of the
44. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
nation, or it sought openly to combat them. The dissatisfied assem-
bly looked to Necker, from whom it expected different language.
He was the popular minister, had obtained the double representa-
tion, and it was hoped he would approve of the vote by poll, the
only way of enabling the third estate to turn its members to account.
But he spoke as comptroller-general and as a man of caution. His
speech, which lasted three hours, was a lengthened budget, and
when, after tiring the assembly, he touched on the topic of interest,
he spoke undecidedly, in order to avoid committing himself either
with the court or the people. Since Brienne's ministry, Necker said,
the deficit had been reduced by 20,000,000 francs, and now amounted
to 56,000,000. The truth was the state was bankrupt, for it was
carrying a floating debt of 551,500,000, a sum that could not be
paid even the interest upon it unless reform was made. On
Necker's reappointment, specie payments had been immediately
resumed, September 14, 1788. Indeed, Necker was reappointed
for just that purpose. From this time until the meeting of the
states-general in 1789 he had concentrated his entire attention on
keeping things going. By sheer personal strength he carried the
finances through this period, using his own personal credit time and
again to do it. When the states-general met, on May 5, 1789, his
statement showed an annual deficit of only 56 millions, and he added
that it was a small matter, and one that the king alone could easily
deal with ! This is the assembly whose call had been suggested by
the notables to provide for Calonne's deficit of 140 millions, the
assembly whose election proceeded so slowly that Brienne had been
forced to resort to issues of paper, and yet, on its first gathering,
it is told by the minister that there really is no occasion for its meet-
ing. By a stroke of the pen Necker had cut off more than 100
millions of deficit. What was Necker's object in this policy? Was
it to prevent any action by the assembly in the hope that, being left
to himself, he would in the course of time be able to fund the float-
ing debt, and so systematize the financial system that the expenses
and receipts w^ould hereafter be in equilibrium ? Or was it that he
really had no plan to propose? Whatever guided his policy, one
thing is certain, and that is that in not presenting to the assembly
on May 5, 1789, a definite plan for the rehabilitation of the treasury,
he missed the opportunity of his life. In all probability the assem-
bly would have passed any reasonable bill that he might have pro-
posed, for there is no doubt that the majority of the members, at
THE STATES-GENERAL 45
1789
the opening of the sessions, felt strongly their own inability to deal
unaided with a problem so complicated.
The government ought to have better understood the impor-
tance of the states-general. The restoration of this assembly alone
announced a great revolution. Looked for with hope by the nation,
it reappeared at an epoch when the ancient monarchy was sinking,
and when it alone was capable of reforming the state and providing
for the necessities of royalty. The difficulties of the time, the nature
of their mission, the choice of their members, everything announced
that the states were not assembled as taxpayers, but as legislators.
The right of regenerating France had been granted them by opin-
ion, was devolved on them by public resolutions, and they found in
the enormity of the abuses and the public encouragement strength
to undertake and accom.plish this great task.
It behooved the king to associate himself with their labors.
In this way he would have been able to restore his power and insure
himself from the excesses of a revolution by himself assisting in
bringing it about. If. taking the lead in these changes, he had fixed
the new order of things with firmness, but with justice; if, realizing
the wishes of France, he had determined the rights of her citizens,
the province of the states-general, and the limits of royalty; if, on
his own part, he had renounced arbitrary power, inequality on the
part of the nobility, and privileges on the part of the different bod-
ies ; in a word, if he had accomplished all the reforms which were
demanded by public opinion, and executed by the constituent assem-
bly, he would have prevented the fatal dissensions which subse-
quently arose. It is rare to find a prince willing to share his power,
or sufticiently enlightened to yield what he will be reduced to lose.
Yet Louis XVI. would have done this, if he had been less influenced
by those around him, and had he followed the dictates of his own
mind. But the greatest anarchy per\^aded the councils of the king.
When the states-general assembled, no measures had been taken,
nothing had been decided on, which might prevent dispute. Louis
X\T. wavered between his ministry, directed by Xecker, and his
court, directed by the queen and a few princes of his family.
X^ecker, satisfied with obtaining the representation of the third
estate, dreaded the indecision of the king and the discontent of the
court. X"ot appreciating sufficiently the importance of a crisis which
he considered more as a financial than a social one, he waited for
the course of events in order to act, and flattered himself with the
46 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
hope of being able to guide these events, without attempting to pre-
pare the way for them. He felt that the ancient organization of the
states could no longer be maintained; that the existence of three
orders, each possessing the right of refusal, was opposed to the exe-
cution of reform and the progress of administration. He hoped,
after a trial of this triple opposition, to reduce the number of the
orders and bring about the adoption of the English form of govern-
ment, by uniting the clergy and nobility in one chamber, and the
third estate in another. He did not foresee that the struggle once
begun, his interposition would be in vain : that half measures would
suit neither party ; that the weak through obstinacy, and the strong
through passion, would oppose this system of moderation. Con-
cessions satisfy only before a victory.
The court, so far from wishing to organize the states-general,
sought to annul them. It preferred the casual resistance of the great
bodies of the nation to the sharing authority with a permanent
assembly. The separation of the orders favored its views ; it reck-
oned on fomenting their differences, and thus preventing them from
acting. The states-general had never achieved any result, owing to
the defect of their organization ; the court hoped that it would still
be the same, since the first two orders were less disposed to yield
to the reforms solicited by the last. The clergy wished to preserve
its privileges and its opulence, and clearly foresaw that the sacrifices
to be made by it were more numerous than the advantages to be
acquired. The nobility, on its side, while it resumed a political inde-
pendence long since lost, was aware that it would have to yield more
to the people than it could obtain from royalty. It was almost
entirely in favor of the third estate, that the new revolution was
about to operate, and the first two orders were induced to unite with
the court against the third estate as but lately they had coalesced
with the third estate against the court. Interest alone led to this
change of party, and they united with the monarch without aft"ec-
tion, as they had defended the people without regard to public good.
No efforts were spared to keep the nobility and clergy in this
disposition. Tlie deputies of these two orders were the objects of
favors and allurements. A committee, to which the most illustrious
persons belonged, was held at the Countess de Polignac's; the
principal deputies were admitted to it. It was here that were gained
D'Empremesnil and D'Entraigues, two of the warmest advocates of
liberty in parlement, or before the states-general, and who after-
THE STATES-GENERAL 47
1789
ward became its most decided opponents. Here also the costume
of the deputies of the different orders was determined on, and
attempts made to separate them, first by etiquette, then by intrigue,
and, lastly, by force. The recollection of the ancient states-general
prevailed in the court ; it thought it could regulate the present by the
past, restrain Paris by the army, the deputies of the third estate by
those of the nobility, rule the states by separating the orders, and
separate the orders by reviving ancient customs which exalted the
nobles and lowered the commons. Thus, after the first sitting, it
was supposed that all had been prevented by granting nothing.
On May 6, the day after the opening of the states, the nobility
and clergy repaired to their respective chambers, and constituted
themselves. The third estate being, on account of its double repre-
sentation, the most numerous order, had the Salle des fitats allotted
to it, and there awaited the two other orders ; it considered its situ-
ation as provisional, its members as presumptive deputies, and
adopted a system of inactivity till the other orders should unite with
it. Then a memorable struggle commenced, the issue of which was
to decide whether the revolution should be effected or stopped. The
future fate of France depended on the separation or reunion of the
orders. This important question arose on the subject of the verifica-
tion of powers. The popular deputies asserted very justly that it
ought to be made in common, since, even refusing the reunion of
the orders, they could not deny the interest which each of them had
in the examination of the powers of the others ; the privileged depu-
ties argued, on the contrary, that since the orders had a distinct
existence, the verification ought to be made respectively. They felt
that one single cooperation would, for the future, render all separa-
tion impossible.
The commons acted with much circumspection, deliberation,
and steadiness. It was by a succession of efforts, not unattended
with peril, by slow and undecided success, and by struggles con-
stantly renewing, that they attained their object. The systematic
inactivity they adopted from the commencement was the surest and
wisest course; there are occasions when the way to victory
is to know how to wait for it. The commons were unanimous,
and alone formed the numerical half of the states-general; the
nobility had in its bosom some popular dissentients; the majority
of the clergy, composed of several bishops, friends of peace, and of
the numerous class of the cures, the third estate of the church,
48 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
entertained sentiments favorable to the commons.* Weariness was
therefore to bring about a union; this was what the third estate
hoped, what the bishops feared, and what induced them on May 13
to offer themselves as mediators. But this mediation was of neces-
sity without any resuU, as the nobiHty would not admit voting by
poll, nor the commons voting by order. Accordingly, the concilia-
tory conferences, after being prolonged in vain till May 27, were
broken up by the nobility, who declared in favor of separate
verification.
The day after this hostile decision the commons determined to
declare themselves the assembly of the nation, and invited the clergy
to Join them in the name of the God of peace and the common weal.
The court, taking alarm at this measure, interfered for the pur-
pose of having the conferences resumed. The first commissioners
appointed for purposes of reconciliation were charged with regu-
lating the differences of the orders ; the ministry undertook to regu-
late the differences of the commissioners. In this way the states
depended on a commission, and the commission had the counsel of
the prince for arbiter. But these new conferences had not a more
fortunate issue than the first. They lingered on without either of
the orders being willing to yield anything to the others, and the
nobility finally broke them up by confirming all its resolutions.^
Five weeks had already elapsed in useless parleys. The third
estate, perceiving the moment had arrived for it to constitute itself,
and that longer delay would indispose the nation toward it, and
destroy the confidence it had acquired by the refusal of the privi-
leged classes to cooperate with it, decided on acting, and displayed
herein the same moderation and firmness it had shown during its
inactivity. Mirabeau announced that a deputy of Paris had a motion
to propose ; and Sieyes, physically of timid character, but of an enter-
^ In each of the privileged orders a motion toward union was made and
defeated: in that of the clergy, by a vote of 133 to 1 14; in that of the nobility,
by a vote of 188 to 47.
2 Louis XVI. lost a golden opportunity at this time by failure to take any
initiative. Gouverneur Morris wrote on June 2, 1789: "I propose to tliat
the king should cut the knot which the states cannot untie, viz. : that he should
prescribe to them the future constitution and leave them to consider." " Diary
and Letters," vol. I. p. g6. Fundamentally, though, the blame must fall on
Necker, as the king's chief minister. Of him Morris a little later than the
above, on July i, 1789, wrote to Washington: "If his abilities were equal to his
genius and he was as much supported by firmness as he is swayed by ambition,
he would have the exalted honor of giving a free constitution to above twenty
millions of his fellow-creatures." (Ibid. vol. I. p. no).
THE STATES-GENERAL 49
1789
prising mind, who had great authority by his ideas, and was better
suited than anyone to propose a measure, proved the impossibihty
of union, the urgency of verification, the justice of demanding
it in common, and caused it to be decreed by the assembly that the
nobility and clergy should be invited to the hall of the states in order
to take part in the verification, which would take place, whether
they were absent or present.
The measure for general verincation was followed by another
still more energetic. The commons, after having terminated the
verification on June 17, on the motion of Sieyes, constituted them-
selves the national assembly.^ This bold step, by which the most
numerous order and the only one whose powers were legalized,
declared itself the representation of France, and refused to recog-
nize the other two till they submitted to the verification, determined
questions hitherto undecided, and changed the assembly of the states
into an assembly of the people. The system of orders was lost in
political powers, and this was the first step toward the abolition of
classes in the private system. This memorable decree of June 17
contained the germ of the night of August 4, but it was necessary
to defend what they had dared to decide, and there was reason to
fear such a determination could not be maintained.
The first decree of the national assembly was an act of sov-
ereignty. It placed the privileged classes under its dependence, by
proclaiming the indivisibility of the legislative power. The court
remained to be restrained by means of taxation. The assembly
declared the illegality of previous imposts, voted them provisionally,
as long as it continued to sit, and their cessation on its dissolution;
it restored the confidence of capitalists by consolidating the public
debt, and provided for the necessities of the people by appointing a
committee of subsistence.
Such firmness and foresight excited the enthusiasm of the
nation. But those who directed the court saw that the divisions
thus excited between the orders had failed in their object; and that
it was necessary to resort to other means to obtain it. They con-
sidered the royal authority alone adequate to prescribe the continu-
ance of the orders, which the opposition of the nobles could no
longer preserve. They took advantage of a journey to Alarly to
3 Of this famous resolve it has been well said that " except the Declaration
of Independence it was the most decisive step ever taken by any body of men."
On July 9, the national assembly officially added the term " constituent " to the
earHer title.
50 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
remove Louis XVL from the influence of the prudent and pacific
counsels of Necker, and to induce him to adopt hostile measures.
This prince, ahke accessible to good and bad counsels, surrounded
by a court given up to party spirit, and entreated for the interests
of his crown and in the name of religion to stop the pernicious
progress of the commons, yielded at last and promised everything.
It was decided that he should go in state to the assembly, annul its
decrees, command the separation of the orders as constitutive of the
monarchy, and himself fix the reforms to be effected by the states-
general. From that moment the privy council held the government,
acting no longer secretly, but in the most open manner. Barentin,
the keeper of the seals, the Count d'Artois, the Prince de Conde,
and the Prince de Conti conducted alone the projects they had con-
certed. Necker lost all his influence ; he had proposed to the king a
conciliatory plan, which might have succeeded before the struggle
attained this degree of animosity, but could do so no longer. He
had advised another royal sitting, in which the vote by poll in mat-
ters of taxation was to be granted, and the vote by order to remain
in matters of private interest and privilege. This measure, which
was unfavorable to the commons, since it tended to maintain abuses
by investing the nobility and clergy with the right of opposing their
abolition, would have been followed by the establishment of two
chambers for the next states-general. Necker was fond of half-
measures, and wished to effect, by successive concessions, a political
change which should have been accomplished at once. The moment
was arrived to grant the nation all its rights, or to leave it to take
them. His project of a royal sitting, already insufficient, was
changed into a stroke of state policy by the new council. The latter
thought that the injunctions of the throne would intimidate the
assembly, and that France would be satisfied with promises of
reform. It seemed to be ignorant tliat the worst risk royalty can
be exposed to is that of disobedience.
Strokes of state policy generally come unexpectedly, and sur-
prise those they are intended to influence. It was not so with this;
its preparations tended to prevent success. It was feared that the
majority of the clergy would recognize the assembly by uniting
with it; and to prevent so decided a step, instead of hastening the
royal sittings, they closed the hall of the states, in order to suspend
the assembly until the day of the sittings. The preparations ren-
dered necessary by the presence of the king were the pretext for this
THE STATES-GENERAL 51
1789
unskillful and improper measure. At that time Bailly presided over
the assembly. This virtuous citizen had obtained, without seeking
them, all the honors of dawning liberty. He was the first president
of the assembly, as he had been the first deputy of Paris, and was to
become its first mayor. Beloved by his own party, respected by his
adversaries, he combined with the mildest and most enlightened
virtues the most courageous sense of duty. Apprised on the night
before June 20, by the keeper of the seals, of the suspension of the
sittings, he remained faithful to the wishes of the assembly and did
not fear disobeying the court. At an appointed hour on the follow-
ing day he repaired to the hall of the states, and finding an armed
force in possession, he protested against this act of despotism. In
the meantime the deputies arrived, dissatisfaction increased, all
seemed disposed to brave the perils of a sitting. The most indig-
nant proposed going to Marly, and holding the assembly under the
windows of the king; one named the tennis court; * this proposition
was well received, and the deputies repaired thither in procession.
Bailly was at their head ; the people followed them with enthusiasm ;
even soldiers volunteered to escort them, and there, in a bare hall,
the deputies of the commons standing with upraised hands, and
hearts full of their sacred mission, swore, with only one exception,
not to separate until they had given France a constitution.
This solemn oath, taken on June 20, in the presence of the
nation, was followed on the 22d by an important triumph. The
assembly, still deprived of their usual place of meeting, unable to
make use of the tennis court, the princes having engaged it pur-
posely that it might be refused them, met in the church of Saint
Louis. In this sitting the majority of the clergy joined them in the
midst of patriotic transports. Thus the measures taken to intimi-
date the assembly increased its courage and accelerated the union
they were intended to prevent. By these two failures the court
prefaced the famous sitting of June 23.
At Icngtli it took place. A numerous guard surrounded the
hall of the states-general, the door of which was opened to the depu-
ties, but closed to the public. The king came surrounded with the
pomp of power ; he was received, contrary to the usual custom, in
profound silence. His speech completed the measure of discontent
* The tennis court was not an open piece of ground, but a covered building,
not far from tlie palace of Versailles. It stands to-day, as a monument historiquc,
and is used as a inuseuni of tlie revolution.
52 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
by the tone of authority with which he dictated measures rejected
by pubhc opinion and by the assembly. The king complained of a
want of union, excited by the court itself; he censured the conduct
of the assembly, regarding it only as the order of the third estate;
he annulled its decrees, enjoined the continuance of the orders,
imposed reforms, and determined their limits; enjoined the states-
general to adopt them, and threatened to dissolve them and to pro-
vide alone for the welfare of the kingdom if he met with more
opposition on their part. After this scene of authority, so ill-suited
to the occasion, and at variance wuth his heart, Louis XVL withdrew,
having commanded the deputies to disperse. The clergy and nobil-
ity obeyed. The deputies of the people, motionless, silent, and indig-
nant, remained seated. They continued in that attitude some time,
when Mirabeau, suddenly breaking silence, said: "Gentlemen, I
admit that what you have just heard might be for the welfare of the
country, were it not that the presents of despotism are always dan-
gerous. What is this insulting dictatorship? The pomp of arms,
the violation of the national temple, are resorted to to command
you to be happy! Who gives this command? Your mandatary.
Who makes these imperious laws for you? Your mandatary; he
who should rather receive them from you, gentlemen from us, who
are invested with a political and inviolable priesthood; from us, in
a word, to whom alone twenty-five millions of men are looking for
certain happiness, because it is to be consented to, and given and
received by all. But the liberty of your discussions is enchained ; a
military force surrounds the assembly! Where are the enemies of
the nation? Is Catiline at our gates? I demand, investing your-
selves with your dignity, with your legislative power, you inclose
yourselves within the religion of your oath. It does not permit you
to separate till you have formed a constitution."
The grand master of the ceremonies, finding the assembly did
not break up, came and reminded them of the king's order.
" Go and tell your master," cried Mirabeau, " that we are here
at the command of the people, and nothing but the bayonet shall
drive us hence." ^
" You are to-day," added Sieyes calmly, " what you were yes-
terday. Let us deliberate."
The assembly, full of resolution and dignity, began the debate
^ There are various versions of this famous utterance by Mirabeau. Some
authorities deny the speech i)i toto.
THE STATES-GENERAL 53
1789
accordingly. On the motion of Camus, it was determined to per-
sist in the decrees already made; and upon that of Mirabeau the
inviolability of the members of the assembly was decreed.
On that day the royal authority was lost. The initiative in
law, and moral power passed from the monarch to the assembly.
Those who by their counsels had provoked this resistance did not
dare to punish it. Necker, whose dismissal had been decided on that
morning, was in the evening entreated by the queen and Louis
XVI. to remain in office. This minister had disapproved of the
royal sitting, and by refusing to be present at it he again won the
confidence of the assembly, which he had lost through his hesitation.
The season of disgrace was for him the season of popularity. By
this refusal he became the ally of the assembly, which determined
to support him. Every crisis requires a leader, whose name becomes
the standard of his party; while the assembly contended with the
court that leader was Xecker.
At the first sitting that part of the clergy which had united
with the assembly in the church of Saint Louis again sat with it;
a few days after forty-seven members of the nobility, among whom
was the Duke of Orleans, joined them ; and the court was itself
compelled to invite the nobility, and a minority of the clerg}% to dis-
continue a dissent that would henceforth be useless. On June 27
the deliberation became general. The orders ceased to exist legally,
and soon disappeared. The distinct seats they had hitherto occu-
pied in the common hall soon became confounded ; the futile pre-
eminences of rank vanished before national authority.
The court, after having vainly endeavored to prevent the for-
mation of the assembly, could now only unite with it to direct its
operations. With prudence and candor it might still have repaired
its errors and caused its attacks to be forgotten. At certain mo-
ments the initiative may be taken in making sacrifices; at others, all
that can be done is to make a merit of accepting them. At the open-
ing of the states-general the king might himself have made the con-
stitution, now he was obliged to receive it from the assembly ; had
he submitted to tliat position he would infallibly have improved it.
^'' The nobles have this day. agreeably to a request of the king-, joined the
other two orders. So that at length tlu' great question is determined and the
votes will be par tcte (by poll). It remain'^ for them only to form a constitution,
and as the king is extremely timid, he will, of course, surrender at discretion.
The existence of the monarchy, therefore, dejiends on the moderation of the
assembly." " Diary and Letters " of Gouverncur }iIorris, vol. I. p. io6.
54 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
But the advisers of Louis XVI., when they recovered from the first
surprise of defeat, resolved to have recourse to the use of the bay-
onet, after they had failed in that of authority. They led the king
to suppose that the contempt of his orders, the safety of his throne,
the maintenance of the laws of the kingdom, and even the well-being
of his people depended on his reducing the assembly to submission ;
that the latter, sitting at Versailles, close to Paris, two cities decid-
edly in its favor, ought to be subdued by force and removed to some
other place, or dissolved ; that it was urgent that this resolution
should be adopted in order to stop the progress of the assembly,
and that in order to execute it, it was necessary speedily to call
together troops who might intimidate the assembly and maintain
order at Paris and Versailles.
While these plots were hatching, the deputies of the nation
began their legislative labors, and prepared the anxiously expected
constitution, which they considered they ought no longer to delay.
Addresses poured in from Paris and the principal towns of the
kingdom, congratulating them on their wisdom, and encouraging
them to continue their task of regenerating France. The troops,
meantime, arrived in great numbers.'^ Versailles assumed the as-
pect of a camp; the hall of the states was surrounded by guards,
and the citizens refused admission. Paris was also encompassed
by various bodies of the army, ready to besiege or blockade it, as
the occasion might require. These vast military preparations,
trains of artillery arriving from the frontiers, and the presence of
foreign regiments, whose obedience was unlimited, announced sinis-
ter projects. The populace were restless and agitated ; and the
assembly desired to enlighten the throne with respect to its projects,
and solicit the dismission of the troops. At Alirabeau's sugges-
tion, it presented on July 9 a firm but respectful address to the king,
which proved useless. Louis XVL declared that he alone had to
judge the necessity of assembling or dismissing troops, and as-
sured them that those assembled formed only a precautionary army
to prevent disturbances and protect the assembly. He moreover
offered the assembly to remove it to Noyon or Soissons, that is to
say, to place it between two armies and deprive it of the support
of the people.
'' There were eight foreign regiments. The plan was to reduce Paris to
famine and to take two hundred members of the national assembly prisoners.
See "Diary and Letters" of Gouverneur IMorris, vol. I. p. 128,
THE STATES-GENERAL 55
1789
Paris was in the greatest excitement ; this vast city was unani-
mous in its devotion to the assembly. The perils that threatened
the representatives of the nation, and itself, and the scarcity of
food disposed it to insurrection. Capitalists, from interest and the
fear of bankruptcy; men of enlightenment and all the middle
classes, from patriotism ; the people, impelled by want, ascribing
their sufferings to the privileged classes and the court, desirous
of agitation and change, all had warmly espoused the cause of the
revolution. It is difihcult to conceive the movement which dis-
turbed the capital of France. It was arising from the repose and
silence of servitude; it was, as it were, astonished at the novelty
of its situation, and intoxicated with liberty and enthusiasm. The
press excited the public mind, the newspapers published the debates
of the assembly, and enabled the public to be present, so to speak,
at its deliberations, and the questions mooted in its bosom were
discussed in the open air, in the public squares.* It was at the
Palais Royal,^ more especially, that the assembly of the capital
was held. The garden was always filled by a crowd that seemed
permanent, though continually renewed. A table answered the
purpose of the tribune, the first citizen at hand became the orator;
there men expatiated on the dangers that threatened the country,
and excited each other to resistance. Already, on a motion made
at the Palais Royal, the prisons of the Abbaye had been broken
open, and some grenadiers of the French guards, who had been
imprisoned for refusing to fire on the people, released in triumph.
This outbreak was attended by no consequences ; a deputation had
already solicited, in behalf of the delivered prisoners, the interest
of the assembly, who had recommended them to the clemency of
the king. They had returned to prison, and had received pardon.
But this regiment, one of the most complete and bravest, had
become favorable to tlie popular cause.
* On the state of Paris at this time see Taine, " French Revolution," vol. I.
ch. ii. ; Stephens, "French Revolution," vol. I. pp. 128-193.
^ This palace is still standing and is at present occupied by the council
of state. It was built by Cardinal Richelieu. After his death it became the
residence of Aime of Austria, the widow of Louis XIII. (died 1643) ; Louis
XIV. gave it to his brother, Philip, Duke of Orleans, from which time it was
known as the Palais Royal. It was his son, a second Philip, regent of France
during the minority of Louis XV., who built the rows of shops around the
garden, which he rented for commercial purposes. These still exist in their
original form. As Philip of Orleans was notoriously hostile to the king, the
cafes on the ground floor, facing the garden, early became a rendezvous of
the revolutionists.
56 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
Such was the disposition of Paris when the court, having
estabhshed troops at Versailles, Sevres, the Champ de Mars, and
Saint Denis, thought itself able to execute its project. It com-
menced, on July II, by the banishment of Necker and the complete
reconstruction of the ministry. The marshal de Broglie, La
Galissonniere, the Duke de la Vauguyon, the Baron de Breteuil,
and the intendant Foulon were appointed to replace Puysegur,
jVIontmorin, La Luzerne, Saint-Priest, and Necker. The latter re-
ceived, while at dinner on July ii, a note from the king enjoining
him to leave the country immediately. He finished dining very
calmly, without communicating the purport of the order he had
received, and then got into his carriage with Madame Necker, as
if intending to drive to Saint Omer, and took the road to Brussels.
On the following day, Sunday, July 12, about four in the
afternoon, Necker's disgrace and departure became known at Paris.
This measure was regarded as the execution of the plot the prep-
arations for which had so long been observed. In a short time the
city was in tlie greatest confusion ; crowds gathered together on
every side ; more than ten thousand persons flocked to the Palais
Royal, all affected by this news, ready for anything, but not know-
ing what measure to adopt. Camille Desmoulins, a young man,
more daring than the rest, one of the usual orators of the crowd,
mounted on a table, pistol in hand, exclaiming: " Citizens, there is
no time to lose ; the dismissal of Necker is the knell of a Saint
Bartholomew for patriots ! This very night all the Swiss and
German battalions will leave the Champ de Mars to massacre us
all ; one resource is left : to take arms ! " These words were received
with violent acclamations. He proposed that cockades should be
worn for mutual recognition and protection. " Shall they be
green," he cried, "the color of hope; or red, the color of the free
order of Cincinnatus? " "Green! green!" shouted the multitude.
The speaker descended from the table and fastened the sprig of a
tree in his hat. Everyone imitated him. The chestnut-trees of
tlie palace were almost stripped of their leaves, and the crowd went
in tumult to the house of the sculptor Curtius.
Tliey take busts of Necker and the Duke of Orleans, a report
having also gone abroad that the latter would be exiled, and cover-
ing them with crape, carry them in triumph. This procession
passes through the streets Saint ]\Iartin, Saint Denis, and Saint
Plonore, augmenting at every step. The crowd obliges all they
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THE STATES-GENERAL 67
1789
meet to take off their hats. Meeting the horse-patrol, they take
them as their escort. The procession advances in this way to the
Place Vendome, and there they carry the two busts twice round
the statue of Louis XIV. A detachment of the Royal-allemand
comes up and attempts to disperse the mob, but are put to flight by
a shower of stones; and the multitude, continuing its course,
reaches the Place Louis XV. Here they are assailed by the
dragoons of the Prince de Lambesc ; after resisting a few moments
they are thrown into confusion ; the bearer of one of the busts and
a soldier of one of the French guards are killed. The mob dis-
perses, part toward the quays, part fall back on the boulevards, the
rest hurry to the Tuileries by the Pont Tournant. The Prince de
Lambesc, at the head of his horsemen, with drawn saber pursues
them into the gardens, and charges an unarmed multitude who
were peaceably promenading, and had nothing to do with the pro-
cession. In this attack an old man is wounded by a saber cut; the
mob defend themselves with the seats, and rush to the terraces;
indignation becomes general ; the cry To arms ! soon resounds on
every side, at the Palais Royal and the Tuileries, in the city and in
the faubourgs.
We have already said that the regiment of the French guard
was favorably disposed toward the people : it had accordingly been
ordered to keep in barracks. The Prince de Lambesc, fearing that
it might nevertheless take an active part, ordered sixty dragoons to
station themselves before its depot, situated in the Chaussee-d'An-
tin. The soldiers of the guards, already dissatisfied at being kept
as prisoners, were greatly provoked at the sight of these strangers,
with whom they had had a skirmish a few days before. They
wished to fly to arms, and their officers, using alternately threats
and entreaties, had much difficulty in restraining them. But they
would hear no more, when some of their men brought them intel-
ligence of the attack at the Tuileries, and the death of one of their
comrades : they seized their arms, broke open the gates, and drew
up in battle array at the entrance of the barracks, and cried
out: "Qui vk'c?" " Royal-aUcmand." "Are you for the third
estate? " " We are for those who command us." Then the French
guards fired on them, killed two of their men, wounded three, and
put the rest to flight. They then advanced at quick time and with
fixed bayonets to the Place Louis XV., and took their stand be-
tween the Tuileries and the Champs Elysees, the people and the
58 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
troops, and kept that post during the night. The soldiers of the
Champ de Mars were immediately ordered to advance. When
they reached the Champs Elysees the French guards received them
with discharges of musketry. They wished to make them fight,
but they refused : the Petits-Suisses were the first to give this ex-
ample, which the other regiments followed. The officers, in despair,
ordered a retreat ; the troops retired as far as the Grille de Chaillot,
whence they soon withdrew into the Champ de Mars. The defec-
tion of the French guard, and the manifest refusal even of the
foreign troops to march on the capital, caused the failure of the
projects of the court.
During the evening the people had repaired to the Hotel de
Ville, and requested that the tocsin might be sounded, the districts
assembled, and the citizens armed. Some electors assembled at
the Hotel de Ville and took the authority into their own hands.
They rendered great service to their fellow-citizens and the cause
of liberty by their courage, prudence, and activity during these
days of insurrection ; but in the first confusion of the rising it was
with difficulty they succeeded in making themselves heard. The
tumult was at its height; each answered only the dictates of his
own passions. Side by side wnth well-disposed citizens were men
of suspicious character, wdio only sought in insurrection opportuni-
ties for pillage and disorder. Bands of laborers employed by the
government in the public works, for the most part without home or
substance, burned the barriers, infested the streets, plundered
houses, and obtained the name of brigands. The night of the
I2th and 13th was spent in tumult and alarm.
The departure of Necker, which threw the capital into this
state of excitement, had no less effect at Versailles and in the as-
sembly. It caused the same astonishment and discontent. The
deputies repaired early in the morning to the hall of the states : they
were gloomy, but their silence arose from indignation rather than
dejection. " At the opening of the session," said a deputy, " sev-
eral addresses of adherence to the decrees were listened to in
mournful silence by the assembly, more attentive to their own
thoughts tlian to the addresses read." Mounier began; he ex-
claimed against the dismission of ministers beloved by the nation,
and the choice of their successors. He proposed an address to the
king demanding tlieir recall, showing him the dangers attendant
on violent measures, the misfortunes that would follow the em-
THE S T A T E S - G E N E R A L 59
1789
ployment of troops, and telling him that the assembly solemnly
opposed itself to an infamous national bankruptcy. At these words,
the feelings of the assembly, hitherto restrained, broke out in clap-
ping of hands and cries of approbation. Lally-Tollendal, a friend
of Necker, then came forward with a sorrowful air, and delivered
a long and eloquent eulogium on the banished minister. He was
listened to with the greatest interest; his grief responded to that
of the public; the cause of Necker was now that of the country.
The nobility itself sided with the members of the third estate, either
considering the danger common, or dreading to incur the same
blame as the court if it did not disapprove its conduct, or perhaps
it obeyed the general impulse.
A noble deputy, the Count de Virieu, set the example, and
said : " Assembled for the constitution, let us make the constitu-
tion; let us tighten our mutual bonds; let us renew, confirm, and
consecrate the glorious decrees of June 17; let us join in the cele-
brated resolution made on the 20th of the same month. Let us all,
yes, all, all the united orders, swear to be faithful to those illustri-
ous decrees which now can alone save the kingdom." " The con-
stitution shall be made, or we will cease to be,'' added the Duke de
la Rochefoucauld. But this unanimity became still more confirmed
when the rising of Paris, the excesses which ensued, the burning of
the barriers, the assembling of the electors at the Hotel de Ville, the
confusion of the capital, and the fact that citizens were ready to be
attacked by the soldiers or to slaughter each other, became known
to the assembly. Then one cry resounded througli the hall : " Let
the recollection of our momentary divisions be effaced ! Let us
unite our efforts for the salvation of the country! " A deputation
was immediately sent to the king, composed of eighty members,
among whom were all the deputies of Paris. The Archbishop of
Vienne, president of the assembly, was at its head. It was to rep-
resent to the king the dangers that threatened the capital, the
necessity of sending away the troojxs. and intrusting the care of
the city to a militia of citizens; and if it obtained these demands
from the king, a deputation was to be sent to Paris with the con-
solatory intelligence. But the members soon returned with an
unsatisfactory answer.
The assembly now saw that it must depend on itself, and that
the projects of the court were irrevocably fixed. Far from being
discouraged, it only became more firm, and immediately voted
60 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
unanimously a decree proclaiming the responsibility of the present
ministers of the king, and of all his counselors, of whatever rank
they might be; it further passed a vote of regret for Necker and
the other disgraced ministers; it resolved that it would not cease
to insist upon the dismissal of the troops and the establishment of
a militia of citizens; it placed the public debt under the safeguard
of French honor, and adhered to all its previous decrees. After
these measures, it adopted a last one, not less necessary; appre-
hending that the hall of the states might, during the night, be
occupied by a military force for the purpose of dispersing the
assembly, it resolved to sit permanently till further orders. It
decided that a portion of the members should sit during the night,
and another relieve them early in the morning. To spare the
venerable Archbishop of Vienne the fatigue of a permanent presi-
dency, a vice-president was appointed to supply his place on these
extraordinary occasions. Lafayette was elected to preside over
the night sitting. It passed off without a debate, the deputies
remaining in their seats, observing silence, but apparently calm and
serene. It was by these measures, this expression of public regret,
by these decrees, this unanimous enthusiasm, this sustained good
sense, this inflexible conduct, that the assembly rose gradually to a
level wnth its dangers and its mission.
On the 13th the insurrection took at Paris a more regular
character. Early in the morning the populace flocked to the Hotel
de Ville ; the tocsin was sounded there and in all the churches ; and
drums were beat in the streets to call the citizens together. The
public places soon became thronged. Troops were formed under
the titles of volunteers of the Palais Royal, volunteers of the
Tuileries, of the Basoche, and of the Arquebuse. The districts ^'^
assembled, and each of them voted two hundred men for its de-
fense. Arms alone were wanting, and these were eagerly sought
wherever there was any hope of finding them. All that could be
found at the gunsmiths' and sword-cutlers' were taken, receipts
being sent to the owners. They applied* for arms at the Hotel de
Ville. The electors, who were still assembled, replied in vain that
tliey had none: they insisted on having them. The electors then
sent the head of the city, Flesselles. the provost of the mercliants,"
1*^ AUgnet has anticipated one of the features of the reorganization of Paris
after the fall of the Rastile. Old Paris was divided into fanhourgs.
11 The provost of the merchants was the mayor of Paris ; he was assisted
THE STATES-GENERAL 61
1789
who alone knew the military state of the capital, and whose popular
authority promised to be of great assistance in this difficult conjunc-
ture. He was received with loud applause by the multitude. " My
friends," said he, "I am your father; you shall be satisfied." A
permanent committee was formed at the Hotel de Ville, to take
measures for the general safety.
About the same time it was announced that the Maison des
Lazaristes,^' which contained a large quantity of grain, had been
despoiled ; that the Garde-Meuble ^^ had been forced open to obtain
old arms, and that the gunsmiths' shops had been plundered. The
greatest excesses were apprehended from the crowd ; it was let
loose, and it seemed difficult to master its fury. But this was a
moment of enthusiasm and disinterestedness. The mob itself dis-
armed suspected characters ; not a single house was plundered,
and the carriages and vehicles filled with provisions, furniture,
and utensils, stopped at the gates of the city, were taken to tlie
Place de Greve, which became a vast depot. Here the crowd in-
creased every moment, shouting Arms! It was now about one
o'clock. The provost of the merchants then announced the imme-
diate arrival of twelve thousand guns from the manufactory of
Charleville, which would soon be followed by thirty thousand
more.
This appeased the people for some time, and the committee
was enabled to pursue quietly its task of organizing a militia of
citizens. In less than four hours the plan was drawn up, discussed,
adopted, printed, and proclaimed. It was resolved that the Parisian
guard should, till further orders, be increased to forty-eight thou-
sand men. All citizens were invited to enroll their names ;
every district had its battalion: every battalion its leaders;
the command of this army of citizens was offered to the Duke
in the government b}' four cchevins (aldermen) and twenty-four conseillers
(common councilmen), elected by the guilds and confirmed by the king. The
origin of this form of government is to be found in the fact that all municipal
government in the Middle Ages developed out of the guild system, sometimes
a merchant guild, as at Paris, sometimes a craft guild, as was frequently the
case in Italian cities. On Paris see ATonin, " fit at de Paris en i^8g," p. 497 ff.
^- Founded by the Lazarists in the seventeenth century as a leper hospital,
but it was also used as a prison. The report turned out to be untrue. The
mob stole nothing at the hospital. Cf. a letter of Thomas Jefferson to John
Jay, July ig, T789, in his "Works," vol. II. p. 309.
^"The crown jewels were kept here. They disappeared during the mas-
sacres of September, 1792.
62 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
d'Aumont, who required twenty-four hours to decide. In the
meantime the Marquis de la Salle was appointed second in com-
mand. The green cockade was then exchanged for a blue and red
one, which were the colors of the city. All this was the work of
a few hours. The districts gave their assent to the measures
adopted by the permanent committee. The clerks of the Chatelet,
those of the Palais, medical students, soldiers of the watch, and
what was of still greater value, the French guards, offered their
services to the assembly. Patrols began to be formed and to per-
ambulate the streets.
The people waited with impatience the realization of the
promise of the provost of the merchants, but no guns arrived ;
evening approached, and they feared during the night another
attack from the troops. They thought they were betrayed when
they heard of an attempt to convey secretly from Paris five thou-
sand weight of powder, which had been intercepted by the people
at the barriers. But soon after some cases arrived, labeled
artillery. At this sight, the commotion subsided ; the cases were
escorted to the Hotel de Ville, it being supposed that they contained
the guns expected from Charleville. On opening them they were
found to contain old linen and pieces of wood. A cry of treachery
arose on every side, mingled with murmurs and threats against the
committee and the provost of the merchants. The latter apolo-
gized, declaring he had been deceived ; and to gain time, or to get
rid of the crowd, sent them to the Chartreux, to seek for arms.
Finding none there, the mob returned, enraged and mistrustful.
The committee then felt satisfied there was no other way of arming
Paris, and curing the suspicions of the people, than by forging
pikes; and accordingly gave orders that fifty thousand should be
made immediately. To avoid the excesses of the preceding night,
the town was illuminated, and patrols marched through it in every
direction.
The next day the people, who had been unable to obtain arms
on the preceding day, came early in the morning to solicit some
from the committee, blaming its refusal and failures of the day
before. The committee had sent for some in vain ; none had
arrived from Charleville, none were to be found at the Chartreux,
and the arsenal itself was empty.
The mob, no longer satisfied with excuses, and more convinced
than ever that they were betrayed, hurried in a mass to the Hotel
THE STATES-GENERAL 63
1789
des Invalides/* which contained a considerable depot of arms. It
displayed no fear of the troops established in the Champ de Mars,
broke into the Hotel, in spite of the entreaties of the governor,
De Sombreuil, found twenty-eight thousand guns concealed in the
cellars, seized them, took all the sabers, swords, and cannon, and
carried them off in triumph. The cannon were placed at the en-
trance of the faubourgs, at the palace of the Tuileries. on the
quays and on the bridges, for the defense of the capital against the
invasion of troops, which was expected every moment.
Even during the same morning an alarm was given that the
regiments stationed at Saint Denis were on the march, and that
the cannon of the Bastile were pointed on the Rue Saint Antoine.
The committee immediately sent to ascertain the truth, appointed
bands of citizens to defend that side of the town, and sent a depu-
tation to the governor of the Bastile, soliciting him to withdraw
his cannon and engage in no act of hostility.^^ This alarm, to-
gether with the dread which that fortress inspired, the hatred felt
for the abuses it shielded, the importance of possessing so promi-
nent a point, and of not leaving it in the power of the enemy in a
moment of insurrection, drew the attention of the populace in that
direction. From nine in the morning till tv/o the only rallying
word throughout Paris was "a la Bastile! a la Bastile." The
citizens hastened thither in bands from all quarters, armed with
guns, pikes, and sabers. ^ The crowd which already surrounded it
was considerable ; the sentinels of the fortress were at their posts,
and the drawbridges raised as in war.
A deputy of the district of Saint Louis de la Culture, named
Thuriot de la Rosiere, then requested a parley with Delaunay, the
governor. \Mien admitted to his presence he summoned him to
change the direction of the cannon. The governor replied that the
!* The Hotel dcs Invalides was a soklicrs' hospital, founded by Louis XIV.
in 1670, on the left bank of the Seine near the Champ de Mars.
^'> This deputation came to see Delaunay, the commandant, at eight o'clock
in the morning. Delaunay received them courteously and invited them to
breakfast. He withdrew the cannon from the embrasures.
i"This is an exaggeration. Dr. Rigby, an Englishman, in Paris at this time,
records in his "Journal": "We had gon.e to see the gardens of Monceaux in
the afternoon, and on our return at 5 i*. m. met a regiment of soldiers . . .
learned that the Bastile had been attacked . . . ran down the Rue St.
Honore. at the (east) end of which we met the victors of the Bastile," p. 59.
As a matter of fact, tl'.ere was ^o nu:ch din of arms all over the city, due to
riotous bands or citizens at target practice, tb.at Paris as a whole probably was
not aware of the attack upon the Bastile until it was over.
64 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
cannon had always been placed on the towers, and it was not in
his power to remove them ; yet, at the same time, having heard of
the alarm prevalent among the Parisians, he had had them with-
drawn a few paces, and taken out of the port-holes. With some
difficulty Thuriot obtained permission to enter the fortress further,
and examine if its condition was really as satisfactory for the town
as the governor represented it to be. As he advanced he observed
three pieces of cannon pointed on the avenues leading to the open
space before the fortress, and ready to sweep those who might
attempt to attack it. About forty Swiss and eighty Invalides were
under arms. Thuriot urged them, as well as the staff of the place,
in the name of honor and of their country, not to act as the enemies
of the people. Both officers and soldiers swore they would not
make use of their arms unless attacked. Thuriot then ascended the
towers, and perceived a crowd gathering in all directions, and the
inhabitants of the Faubourg Saint Antoine, who were rising in a
mass. The multitude without, not seeing him return, were already
demanding him with great clamor. To satisfy the people he ap-
peared on the parapet of the fortress, and was received with loud
applause from the gardens of the arsenal. He then rejoined his
party, and having informed them of the result of his mission,
proceeded to the committee.
But the impatient crowd now clamored for the surrender of
the Bastile. From time to time the cry arose, " The Bastile ! w^e
will have the Bastile ! " At length, two men, more determined
than the rest, darting from the crowd, sprang on a guard-house
and struck at the chains of the drawbridge with heavy hatchets.
The soldiers shouted to them to retire, and threatened to fire ; but
they continued to strike, succeeded in breaking the chains and low-
ering the bridge, and then rushed over it, followed by the crowd.
In this way they advanced to cut the chains of the second bridge.
The garrison now dispersed them with a discharge of musketry.
They returned, however, to the attack, and for several hours their
efforts were confined to the second bridge, the approach to which
was defended by a ceaseless fire from the fortress. The mob, in-
furiated by this obstinate resistance, tried to break in the gates
with hatchets, and to set fire to the guard-house. A murderous
discharge of grape-shot proceeded from the garrison, and many
of the besiegers were killed and wounded. They only became the
more determined, and, seconded by the daring and determination
THE STATES-GENERAL 65
1789
of the two brave men, EHe and Hulin, who were at their head,
they continued the attack with fury.
The committee of the Hotel de Ville were in a state of great
anxiety. The siege of the Bastile seemed to them a very rash
enterprise. They ever and anon received intelHgence of the dis-
asters that had taken place before the fortress. They wavered
between fear of the troops should they prove victorious, and that
of the multitude who clamored for ammunition to continue the
siege. As they could not give what they did not possess, the mob
cried treachery. Two deputations had been sent by the committee
for the purpose of discontinuing hostilities, and inviting the gov-
ernor to confide the keeping of the place to the citizens ; but in the
midst of the tumult, the cries, and the firing they could not make
themselves heard. A third was sent, carrying a drum and banner,
that it might be more easily distinguished, but it experienced no
better fortune : neither side would listen to anything. The assem-
bly at the Hotel de Ville, notwithstanding its efforts and activity,
still incurred the suspicions of the populace. The provost of the
merchants, especially, excited the greatest mistrust. " He has al-
ready deceived us several times during the day," said one. " He
talks," said another, " of opening a trench ; he only wants to gain
time, to make us lose ours." Then an old man cried : " Comrades,
why do you listen to traitors? Forward, follow me! In less than
two hours the Bastile will be taken ! "
The siege had lasted more than four hours when the French
guards arrived with cannon. Their arrival changed the appear-
ance of the combat. The garrison itself begged the governor to
yield. The unfortunate Delaunay, dreading the fate that awaited
him, wished to blow up the fortress, and bury himself under its
ruins and those of the faubourg. He went in despair toward the
powder magazine with a lighted match in his hand. The garrison
stopped him, raised a white standard on the platform, and reversed
the guns, in token of peace. But the assailants still continued to
fight and advance, shouting " Lower the bridges ! " Through the
battlements a Swiss officer proposed to capitulate, with permission
to retire from the building with the honors of war. "No! no!"
clamored the crowd. The same officer proposed to lay down arms,
on the promise that their lives should be spared. " Lower the
bridge," rejoined the foremost of the assailants, " you shall not be
injured." The gates were opened and the bridge lowered, on this
66 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
assurance, and the crowd rushed into the Bastile. Those who led
the multitude wished to save from its vengeance the governor,
Swiss soldiers, and Invahdes; but cries of "Give them up! give
them up ! they fired on their fellow-citizens, they deserve to be
hanged ! " rose on every side. The governor, a few Swiss soldiers
and Invalides v/ere torn from the protection of those who sought
to defend them, and put to death by the implacable crowd. ^^
The permanent committee knew nothing of the issue of the
combat. The hall of the sittings was invaded by a furious multi-
tude, who threatened the provost of the merchants and electors.
Flesselles began to be alarmed at his position; he was pale and
agitated. The object of the most violent reproaches and threats,
they obliged him to go from the hall of the committee to the hall
of the general assembly, where a great crowd of citizens was as-
sembled. "Let him come; let him follow us," resounded from all
sides. " This is too much! " rejoined Flesselles. " Let us go, since
they request it ; let us go where I am expected." They had scarcely
reached the great hall, when the attention of the multitude was
drawn off by shouts on the Place de Greve. They heard the cries
of "Victory! victory! liberty!" It was the arrival of the con-
querors of the Bastile which this announced. They themselves
soon entered the hall with the most noisy and the most fearful
pomp. The persons who had most distinguished themselves were
carried in triumph, crowned with laurels. They were escorted by
^" Thuriot, their leader, was a lawyer wlio became a member both of
the legislative assembly and of the convention. He survived the revolution and
became a minor official under the empire. He came with no mandate, as was the
ca5e with the commission which came earlier to Delaunay, and pushing his way
in began to make a political harangue to the soldiers. While he busied himself
within, the crowd had multiplied on the outside. The garrison was composed
of ninety-five Invalides, and thirty-two Swiss, with fifteen cannon, only one
of which, that commanding the drawbridge, was fired. Moreover, Delaunay kept
his word. The mob had broken the chains which let the outer drawbridge fall,
and were in the second court, themselves directing a heavy fire upon tlie
garrison, before Delaunay gave the word. The " murderous discharge of grape-
shot" was fired clearly in the line of duty. See Funck-Brentano, " Lcgcndes ct
archives de la Bastile" (1898), pp. 250-255. This author, who is custodian of
the archives at the arsenal, has stripped off the myih and legend which has
gathered around the history of this famous day.
It cannot truthfully be said that the Bastile was taken; Elie and Hutin
did their ])est to keep their promise and to protect the garrison, if it would
surrender. Ninety-six of the mob were killed on this day or died afterward
of injuries then received. Delaunay's body was hacked into pieces and carried
about tlie streets.
IN 'niE LOW F.ST m'N(,i:()X of tite p.astile
Pdiiituig by r. Jiiiiuv
THE STATES-GENERAL 67
1789
more than fifteen hundred men, with glaring eyes and disheveled
hair, with all kinds of arms, pressing one upon another, and mak-
ing the flooring yield beneath their feet. One carried the keys and
standard of the Bastile; another, its regulations suspended to his
bayonet; a third, with horrible barbarity, raised in his bleeding
hand the buckle of the governor's stock. With this parade, the
procession of the conquerors of the Bastile, followed by an im-
mense crowd that thronged the quays, entered the hall of the Hotel
de Ville to inform the committee of their triumph, and decide the
fate of the prisoners who survived. A few wished to leave it to
the committee, but others shouted : " No quarter for the prisoners !
No quarter for the men who fired on their fellow-citizens ! " La
Salle, the commandant, the elector Moreau de Saint-Mery, and the
brave Elie succeeded in appeasing the multitude, and obtained a
general amnesty.
It was now the turn of the unfortunate Flesselles. It is said
that a letter found on Delaunay proved the treachery of which he
was suspected. " I am amusing the Parisians," he wrote, " with
cockades and promises. Hold out till the evening, and you shall
be reinforced." The mob hurried to his office. The more mod-
erate demanded that he should be arrested and confined in the
Chatelet ; but others opposed this, saying that he should be con-
veyed to the Palais Royal, and there tried. This decision gave gen-
eral satisfaction. "To the Palais Royal! To the Palais Royal ! "
resounded from every side. " Well be it so, gentlemen," replied
Flesselles, with composure ; " let us go to the Palais Royal." So
saying, he descended the steps, passed through the crowd, which
opened to make way for him, and which followed without offering
him any violence. But at the corner of the Quay Pelletier a
stranger rushed forward and killed him with a pistol-shot.^*^
After these scenes of war, tumult, dispute, and vengeance, the
Parisians, fearing, from some intercepted letters, that an attack
would be made during the night, prepared to receive the enemy. ^'*
The whole population joined in the labor of fortifying the town ;
tliey formed barricades, opened intrenchments, unpaved streets,
forged pikes, and cast bullets. Women carried stones to the tops
of the houses to crush the soldiers as tliey passed. The national
^^ Flesselles, like Delaunay, had only tried to do his duty and suppress
the anarehy.
^^Tliis was no more than a natural rumor. The "letters" have never
come to light.
68 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
"guard were distributed in posts; Paris seemed changed into an
immense foundry and a vast camp, and the whole night was spent
under arms, expecting the conflict.
While the insurrection assumed this violent, permanent, and
serious character at Paris, what was doing at Versailles? The
court was preparing to realize its designs against the capital and
assembly. The night of the 14th was fixed upon for their execu-
tion. The Baron de Breteuil, who was at the head of the ministry,
had promised to restore the royal authority in three days. Marshal
de Broglie, commander of the army collected around Paris, had
received unlimited powers of all kinds. On the 15th the declara-
tion of June 23 was to be renewed, and the king, after forcing the
assembly to adopt it, was to dissolve it. Forty thousand copies of
this declaration were in readiness to be circulated throughout the
kingdom ; and to meet the pressing necessities of the treasury more
than a hundred millions of paper money was created. The move-
ment in Paris, so far from thwarting the court, favored its views.
To the last moment it looked upon it as a passing tumult that might
easily be suppressed ; it believed neither in its perseverance nor in
its success, and it did not seem possible to it that a town of citizens
could resist an army.
The assembly was apprised of these projects. For two days
it had sat without interruption, in a state of great anxiety and
alarm. It was ignorant of the greater portion of what was passing
in Paris. At one time it was announced that the insurrection was
general, and that all Paris was marching on Versailles ; then that
the troops were advancing on the capital. They fancied they heard
cannon, and they placed their ears to the ground to assure them-
selves. On the evening of the 14th it was announced that the king
intended to depart during the night, and that the assembly would
be left to the mercy of the foreign regiments. This last alarm was
not without foundation. A carriage and horses were kept in readi-
ness-, and the body-guard remained booted for several days. Be-
sides, at the Orangery, a terrace adjoining the Tuileries, incidents
truly alarming took place ; the troops were prepared and stimulated
for their expedition by distributions of wine and by encouragements.
Everything announced that a decisive moment had arrived.
Despite the approaching and increasing danger, the assembly
was unshaken, aud persisted in its first resolutions. Mirabeau,
who had first required tlie dismissal of the troops, now arranged
THE S T A T E S - G E N E R A L 69
1789
another deputation. It was on the point of setting- out when the
Viscount de Noailles, a deputy, just arrived from Paris, informed
the assembly of the progress of the insurrection, the pillage of the
Invalides, the arming of the people, and the siege of the Bastile.
Wimpfen, another deputy, to this account added that of the per-
sonal dangers he had incurred, and assured them that the fury of
the populace was increasing with its peril. The assembly proposed
the establishment of couriers to bring them intelligence every half
hour. Ganilh and Bancal-des-Issarts, dispatched by the committee
at the Hotel de Ville as a deputation to the assembly, con-
firmed all they had just heard. They informed them of the
measures taken by the electors to secure order and the defense of
the capital ; the disasters that had happened before the Bastile ; the
inutility of the deputations sent to the governor, and told them that
the fire of the garrison had surrounded the fortress with the slain.
A cry of indignation arose in the assembly at this intelligence,^*'
and a second deputation was instantly dispatched to communicate
these distressing tidings to the king. The first returned with an
unsatisfactory answer ; it was now ten at night. The king, on learn-
ing these disastrous events, which seemed to presage others still
greater, appeared affected. Struggling against the part he had
been induced to adopt, he said to the deputies : " You rend my heart
more and more by the dreadful news you bring of the misfortunes
of Paris. It is impossible to suppose that the orders given to the
troops are the cause of these disasters. You are acquainted with
the answer I returned to the first deputation; I have nothing to
add to it." This answer consisted of a promise that the troops of
the Champ de Mars should be sent away from Paris, and of an
order given to general ofiRcers to assume the command of the guard
of citizens. Such measures were not sufficient to remedy the dan-
gerous situation in which men were placed ; and it neither satisfied
nor gave confidence to the assembly.
Shortly after this the deputies D'Ormesson and Duport an-
nounced to the assembly the taking of the Bastile, and the deaths
of Delaunay and Flesselles. It was proposed to send a third depu-
tation to the king, imploring the removal of the troops. " No,"
said Clermont-Tonnerre, " leave tliem the night to consult in; kings
-"The feeling of the assembly was not so much indignation "that the fire
of the garrison had surrounded the fortress with the slain," as anxiety over the
state of spontaneous anarchy which prevailed.
70 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
must buy experience as well as other men." In this way the assem-
bly spent the night. On the following morning another deputation
was appointed to represent to the king the misfortunes that would
follow a longer refusal. When on the point of starting, Mirabeau
stopped it. " Tell him," he exclaimed, " that the hordes of
strangers who invest us, received yesterday visits, caresses, ex-
hortations, and presents from the princes, princesses, and favorites;
tell him that, during the night, these foreign satellites, gorged with
gold and wine, predicted in their impious songs the subjection of
France, and invoked the destruction of the national assembly; tell
him that, in his own palace, courtiers danced to the sound of that
barbarous music, and that such was the prelude to the massacre' of
Saint Bartholomew ! Tell him that the Henry whose memory is
universe-known, he, w'hom of his ancestors he said he would make
his model, sent provisions into Paris, revolted, when besieging it in
person,"^ while the savage advisers of Louis send away the corn
which trade brings into Paris loyal and starving." -"
But at that moment the king entered the assembly. The Duke
de Liancourt, taking advantage of the access his quality of master
of the robes gave him, had informed the king, during the night, of
the desertion of the French guard, and of the attack and taking
of the Bastile. At this news, of which his councilors had kept him
in ignorance, the monarch exclaimed, with surprise : " This is a
revolt!" " No, sire! it is a revolution." This excellent citizen had
represented to him the danger to which tlie projects of the court
exposed him ; the fears and exasperation of the people, the disaffec-
tion of the troops, and he determined upon presenting himself
before the assembly to satisfy them as to his intentions. The news
at first excited transports of joy. ^Mirabeau represented to his col-
leagues that it was not fit to indulge in premature applause. " Let
us wait," said he, *' till his majesty makes knov.m the good inten-
tions we are led to expect from him. Tb.e blood of our brethren
flows in Paris. Let a sad respect be the first reception given to the
king by the representatives of an unfortunate people : the silence of
the people is the lesson of kings."
-^ Henry IV., durir.:.,' the siege of Paris in 1593.
-- Tliere are various versions of this speecli. ^lirabean was a statesman,
but he was not aljovc being a "practical" politician. Tie liad a hou'^c iti Paris
in the di>trict of the Oratoire, and controlled the suffrages of the quarter.
Bailly. in his " Memoirs," perhaps unjustly, criticises his affiliation with the more
radical element.
THE STATES-GENERAL 71
1789
The assembly resumed the somber demeanor which had never
left it during the three preceding days. The king entered without
guards, and attended only by his brothers. He was received at
first in profound silence; but when he told them he was one with
the nation, and that, relying on the love and fidelity of his subjects,
he had ordered the troops to leave Paris and Versailles; when he
uttered the affecting words '" Eh hicn, ccst moi qui me fie a vo^is,"
" Ah, well, I entrust myself to you," general applause ensued. The
assembly arose spontaneously and conducted him back to the
chateau.
This intelligence diffused gladness in Versailles and Paris,
where the reassured people passed, by sudden transition, from ani-
mosity to gratitude. Louis XVL thus restored to himself, felt the
importance of appeasing the capital in person, of regaining the
affection of the people, and of thus conciliating the popular power.
He announced to the assembly that he would recall Necker, and
repair to Paris the following day. The assembly had already
nominated a deputation composed of eighty persons to precede
the king to the capital. It was received with enthusiasm. Bailly
and Lafayette, who formed part of it, were appointed, the former
mayor of Paris, the latter commander-in-chief of the citizen guard.
Bailly owed this recompense to his long and difficult pres-
idency of the assembly, and Lafayette to his glorious and
patriotic conduct. A friend of \\'ashington, and one of the
principal authors of American independence, he had, on his return
to his country, first pronounced the name of the states-general, had
joined tlie assembly with the minority of the nobility, and had
since proved himself one of the most zealous partisans of the revo-
lution. For the events of the 14th hastened to a conclusion a plan
suggested on June 25, and adopted the day before the capture of the
Bastile. Paris was divided into sixty districts, which were later
reduced to forty-eight and called " sections," each district furnish-
ing a battalion composed of seven companies. Lafayette was per-
mitted t(3 name his aides-de-camp, but the other officers were
elected. /V small property qualification was required until April,
1 79 1, designed to prevent tlie enlistment of volunteers from the
mob element."'*
-^' See a valuable note in Fletcher's edition of Carlyle, " French Revolution,"'
vol. I. pp. J15-J16. The sixty districts served as election wards for the civil
administration.
12 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
On the 27th the new magistrates went to receive the king at
the head of the municipah'ty and the Parisian guard. " Sire," said
Bailly, " I bring your majesty the keys of your good town of Paris;
they are tlie same which were presented to Henry IV. ; he had re-
gained his people; now the people have regained their king." From
the Place Louis XV. to the Hotel de Ville the king passed through
a double line of the national guard, placed in ranks three or four
deep, and armed with guns, pikes, lances, scythes, and staves. Their
countenances were still gloomy; and no cry was heard but the oft-
repeated shout of " Vive la Nation! " But when Louis XVL had
left his carriage and received from Bailly's hands the bi-colored
cockade, and, surrounded by the crowd without guards, had confi-
dently entered the Hotel de Ville, cries of " Vive le Roil " burst
forth on every side. The reconciliation was complete; Louis XVL
received the strongest marks of affection.^* After approving the
choice of the people with respect to the new magistrates, he re-
turned to Versailles, where some anxiety was entertained as to the
success of his journey, on account of the preceding troubles. The
national assembly met him in the Avenue de Paris ; it accompanied
him as far as the chateau, where the queen and her children ran to
his arms.
The ministers opposed to the revolution, and all the authors
of the unsuccessful projects, retired from court. The Count
d'Artois and his two sons, the Prince de Conde, the Prince de Conti,
and the Polignac family, accompanied by a numerous train, left
France. They settled at Turin, where the Count d'Artois and the
Prince de Conde were soon joined by Calonne, who became their
agent."^ Thus began the first emigration. The emigrant princes
were not long in exciting civil war in the kingdom, and forming an
European coalition against France.
Necker returned in triumph. This was the finest moment of
his life; few men have had such. The minister of the nation, dis-
graced for it, and recalled for it, he was welcomed along the road
from Bale to Paris, with every expression of public gratitude and
^i Dr. Rigby says "he received neither applause nor insult from the popu-
lace; the only person who was hissed was the Archbishop of Paris." "Journal,"
p. 88. Louis XVI. was welcomed with Masonic honors at the Hotel de Ville.
JTe had become a member of the order in 1776.
^^ The Count d'Artois had married a princess of Savoy, which explains his
residence at Turin : he left France on July 18. There is an important history
of the emigres by Forneron.
THE STATES-GENERAL 73
1789
joy. His entry into Paris was a day of festivity. But the day
that raised his popularity to its height put a term to it. The
muUitude, still enraged against all who had participated in the
project of July 14, had put to death, with relentless cruelty,
Foulon, the intended minister, and his nephew, Berthier.^^ In-
dignant at these executions, fearing that others might fall victims,
and especially desirous of saving the Baron de Brezenval, com-
mander of the army of Paris, under Marshal de Broglie, and de-
tained prisoner, Necker demanded a general amnesty and obtained
it from the assembly of electors. This step was very imprudent,
in a moment of enthusiasm and mistrust. Necker did not know the
people; he was not aware how easily they suspect their chiefs and
destroy their idols. They thought he wished to protect their en-
emies from the punishment they had incurred ; the districts assem-
bled, the legality of an amnesty pronounced by an unauthorized
assembly was violently attacked, and the electors themselves re-
voked it. No doubt it was advisable to calm the rage of the people,
and recommend them to be merciful ; but instead of demanding the
liberation of the accused, the application should have been for a
tribunal which would have removed them from the murderous jur-
isdiction of the multitude. In certain cases that which appears
most humane is not really so. Necker, without gaining anything,
excited the people against himself, and the districts against the
electors ; from that time he began to contend against the revolution,
of which, because he had been for a moment its hero, he hoped to
become the master. But an individual is of slight importance
during a revolution which raises the masses ; that vast movement
either drags him on with it or tramples him under foot ; he must
either precede or succumb. At no time is the subordination of men
to circumstances more clearly manifested ; revolutions employ many
leaders, and when they submit, it is to one alone.
The consequences of July 14 were immense. The movement
of Paris communicated itself to the provinces ; the country popula-
tion, imitating that of the capital, organized itself in all directions
into municipalities for purposes of self-government, and into bodies
-" T'oulon had been intendant-general of the army in the Seven Years' War.
He was the victim of popular fury, because he was reported to have said that
grass was good enough for the hungry masses.
Berthier was a son-in-law of Foulon, and intcndant of Paris at this time.
He had done good service in relieving the distress of Paris in the hard winter
of 1788.
74 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
of national guards for self-defense. Authority and force became
wholly displaced ; royalty had lost them by its defeat, the nation had
acquired them. The new magistrates were alone powerful, alone
obeyed ; their predecessors were altogether mistrusted. In towns,
the people rose against them and against the privileged classes,
whom they naturally supposed enemies to the change that had been
effected. In the country, the chateaux were fired and the peasantry
burned the title-deeds of their lords. ^^ In a moment of victory it
is difficult not to make an abuse of power. But to appease the
people it was necessary to destroy abuses, in order that they might
not, while seeking to get rid of them, confound privilege with
property. Classes had disappeared, arbitrary power was de-
stroyed; with these, their old accessory, inequality, too, must be
suppressed. Thus must proceed the establishment of the new order
of things, and these preliminaries were the work of a single night.
The assembly had addressed to the people proclamations cal-
culated to restore tranquillity. The constituting the Chatelet a
court for trying the conspirators of July 14 had also contributed to
the restoration of order by satisfying the multitude. An important
measure remained to be executed, the abolition of privileges. On
the night of August 4 the Viscount de Noailles gave the signal
for this. He proposed the redemption of feudal rights, and the
suppression of personal servitude. With this motion began the
sacrifice of all the privileged classes ; a rivalry of patriotism and
public offerings arose among them. The enthusiasm became gen-
eral ; in a few hours the cessation of all abuses was decreed. The
Duke du Chatelet proposed the redemption of tithes and their con-
version into a pecuniary tax ; the Bishop of Chartres, the abolition
of the game-laws ; the Count de Virieu, that of the law protecting
doves and pigeons. The abolition of seigneurial courts, of the
purchase and sale of posts in the magistracy, of pecuniary immuni-
ties, of favoritism in taxation, of surplice money, first-fruits, plu-
ralities, and unmerited pensions, were successively proposed and
carried. After sacrifices made by individuals came those of bodies,
-' Taine has shown, " Ancient Regime," pp. 374-388, that there had been
upward of thirtj' local risings in the provinces since January, so that the event
of July 14 must be looked upon as both cause and effect. Professor II. Morse
Stephens, "History of the French Revolution," I. pp. 174 ff., has admirably
studied the psychology of this mob-movement. Readers of Dickens. " Tale of
Two Cities," will recall the description of the burning chateau. In Burgundy
one castle a day was burned, on an average, during the months of July and
August, and in Dauphine, seventy-two in two weeks.
THE STATES-GENERAL 75
1789
of towns, and provinces. Companies and civic freedoms v^^ere
abolished. The Marquis des Blacons, a deputy of Dauphine, in
the name of his province pronounced a solemn renunciation of
its privileges. The other provinces followed the example of
Dauphine, and the towns that of the provinces. A medal was
struck to commemorate the day ; and the assembly decreed to Louis
XVL the title of Restorer of French Liberty,
That night, which an enemy of the revolution designated at
the time the Saint Bartholomew of property, was only the Saint
Bartholomew of abuses. It swept away the rubbish of feudalism ;
it delivered persons from the remains of servitude, properties from
seigneurial liabilities; from the ravages of game, and the exaction
of tithes. By destroying the seigneurial courts, that remnant of
private power, it led to the principle of public power; in putting an
end to the purchasing posts in the magistracy, it threw open the
prospect of unbought justice. It was the transition from an order
of things in which everything belonged to individuals, to another
in which everything was to belong to the nation. That night
changed the face of the kingdom ; it made all Frenchmen equal ; all
might now obtain public employments ; aspire to the idea of property
of their own, of exercising industry for their own benefit. That
night was a revolution as important as the insurrection of July 14,
of which it was the consequence. The precipitate conduct of the
assembly, though, was a grave blunder. Mirabeau, who was not
present during the events of this famous night, called it an " orgy."
He was close to the truth. Although the renunciations were made
with the best intentions in the world, it was both an imprudent and
an unjust action. For by destroying the whole fabric of the feudal
system the assembly destroyed the only existing administrative
institutions in France. They committed the great error of abolish-
ing the only form of government yet remaining before they had
framed a constitution to replace it. The result was that on August
5 France awoke to discover itself to be utterly without an adminis-
trative system. Instead of allaying the disturbances, the assembly
aggravated the anarchy.'^
The revolution had progressed rapidly, had obtained great
-^'' Taine makes a striking comparison between the action of August 4 and
the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. In both cases, he points out.
a superior class was legislated against, deprived of property rights, and reduced
to poverty and exile. He estimates that 123.000.000 francs' worth of property.
equal to two thousand millions to-day, passed by that act from a creditor to a
76 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
results in a very short time; it would have been less prompt, less
complete, had it not been attacked. Every refusal became for it
the cause of a new success; it foiled intrigue, resisted authority,
triumphed over force ; and at the point of time we have reached the
whole edifice of absolute monarchy had fallen to the ground
through the errors of its chiefs, June 17 had witnessed the dis-
appearance of the three orders, and the states-general changed
into the national assembly; with June 23 terminated the moral
influence of royalty; with July 14 its physical power; the assembly
inherited the one, the people the other; finally, August 4 completed
this first revolution. The period we have just gone over stands
prominently out from the rest; in its brief course force was dis-
placed, and all the preliminary changes were accomplished. The
following period is that in which the new system is discussed, be-
comes established, and in which the assembly, after having been
destructive, becomes constructive.
debtor class without redress or indemnification. " Through a great wrong, an
entire class, the greatest part of which had no share in the favors of the court,
were confounded with the parasites of Versailles . . . twenty-five thousand
families, the nursery of the army and the fleet, the elite of the agricultural
population, became the pariahs of a canton." Taine, " Ancient Regime," p. 61.
Even so liberal a person as Sieyes protested against the action of the assembly.
There is no doubt that much of the economic and social phenomena of the
revolution later on was due to the violent disturbance of such conditions at
this time.
PART II
THE NATIONAL CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
AUGUST 4, 1789-SEPTEMBER 30, 1791
Chapter IV
THE RISE OF POPULAR GOVERNMENT
AUGUST 4-OCTOBER 6, 1789
THE national assembly, composed of the elite of the nation,
was full of intelligence, pure intentions, and projects for
the public good. It was not, indeed, free from parties, or
wholly unanimous ; but the mass was, under the empire, neither of
an idea nor of a man ; and it was the mass which, upon a conviction
ever untrammeled and often entirely spontaneous, decided the de-
liberations and decreed popularity. The following were the di-
visions of views and interests it contained within itself:
The court had a party in the assembly, the privileged classes,
who remained for a long time silent, and took but a tardy share in
the debates. This party consisted of those who during the dispute
as to the orders had declared against union. The aristocratic
classes, notwithstanding their momentary agreement with the com-
mons, had interests altogether contrary to those of the national
party; and, accordingly, the nobility and higher clergy, who
formed the Right of the assembly, were in constant opposition to it,
except on days of peculiar excitement. These foes of the revolu-
tion, unable to prevent it by their sacrifices, or to stop it by their
adhesion, systematically contended against all its reforms. Their
leaders were two men who were not the first among them in birth
or rank, but who were superior to the rest in talents. Maury and
Cazales represented, as it were, the one the clergy, and the other
the nobility.
These two orators of the privileged classes, according to the
intentions of their party, who put little faith in the duration of
these changes, rather protested than stood on the defensive ; and in
all their discussions their aim was not to instruct the assembly, but
to bring it into disrepute. Each introduced into his part the par-
ticular turn of his mind and character. Maury made long speeches,
Cazalcs lively sallies. The first j^reserved at the tribune his habits
as a preacher and academician ; he spoke on legislative subjects
79
80 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
without understanding them, never seizing the right view of the
subject, nor even that most advantageous to his party; he gave
proofs of audacity, erudition, skill, a brilliant and well-sustained
facility, but never displayed solidity of judgment, firm conviction,
or real eloquence. The Abbe Maury spoke as soldiers fight. No
one could contradict oftener or more pertinaciously than he, or
more flippantly substitute quotations and sophisms for reasoning,
or rhetorical phrases for real bursts of feeling. He possessed
much talent, but wanted the faculty which gives it life and truth.
Cazales, who had been a captain in the French army, was the
opposite of Maury: he had a just and ready mind; his eloquence
was equally facile, but more animated; there was candor in his
outbursts, and he always gave the best reasons. No rhetorician,
he always took the true side of a question that concerned his
party, and left declamation to Maury. With the clearness of
his views, his ardent character, and the good use he made of his
talents, his only fault was that of his position: Maury, on the
other hand, added the errors of his mind to those which were in-
separable from the cause he espoused.
Necker and the ministry had also a party, but it was less nu-
merous than the other, on account of its moderation. France was
then divided into the privileged classes opposed to the revolution,
and the people who strenuously desired it. As yet there was no
place for a mediating party between them. Necker had declared
himself in favor of the English constitution, and those who from
ambition or conviction were of his views rallied round him.
Among these was Mounier, a man of strong mind and inflexible
spirit, who considered that system as the type of representative
governments; Lally-Tollendal, as decided in his views as the
former, and more persuasive; Clermont-Tonnerre, the friend and
ally of Mounier and Lally; in a word, the minority of the nobility,
and some of the bishops, who hoped to become members of the
upper chamber should Necker's views be adopted.
The leaders of this party, afterward called the monarchical
party, wished to effect a revolution by compromise, and to introduce
into France a representative government, ready formed, namely,
that of England. At every point they besought the powerful to
make a comjiromise with the weak. Before July 14 they asked
the court and privileged classes to satisfy the commons ; after-
ward they asked the commons to agree to an arrangement with
POPULAR GOVERNMENT 81
1789
the court and the privileged classes. They thought that each
ought to preserve his influence in the state; that deposed parties
are discontented parties, and that a legal existence must be made
for them, or interminable struggles be expected on their part. But
they did not see how little their ideas were appropriate to a mo-
ment of exclusive passions. The struggle was begun, the struggle
destined to result in the triumph of a system, and not in a com-
promise. It was a victory which had made the three orders give
place to a single assembly, and it was difficult to break the unity of
this assembly in order to arrive at a government of two chambers.
The moderate party had not been able to obtain this government
from the court, nor were they to obtain it from the nation: to
the one it had appeared too popular; for the other, it was too
aristocratic.
The rest of the assembly consisted of the national party. As
yet there w^ere not observed in it men who, like Robespierre, Petion,
and Buzot, wished to begin a second revolution when the first was
accomplished. At this period the most extreme of this party were
Duport, Barnave, and Lameth, who formed a triumvirate, whose
opinions were prepared by Duport, sustained by Barnave, and man-
aged by Alexander Lameth. There was something remarkable
and announcing the spirit of equality of the times in this intimate
union of an advocate belonging to the middle classes, of a counselor
belonging to the parliamentary class, and a colonel belonging to
the court, renouncing the interests of their order to unite in views
of the public good and popular happiness. This party at first took
a more advanced position than that which the revolution had at-
tained. July 14 had been the triumph of the middle class; the
constituent assembly was its legislature, the national guard its
armed force, the mayoralty its popular power. Mirabeau, La-
fayette, Bailly, relied on this class; one was its tribune, the other
its general, and the third its magistrate. Duport, Barnave, and
Lameth's party were the principles, and sustained the interests
of that period of the revolution; but this party, composed of
young men of ardent patriotism, who entered on public affairs
with superior qualities, fine talents, and elevated positions, and
who joined to the love of liberty the ambition of playing a leading
part, placed itself from the first rather in advance of the revolu-
tion of July 14. Its fulcrum within tlie assembly was the members
of the extreme Left; without, in the clubs; in the nation, in the party
82 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
of the people who had cooperated on July 14 and who were un-
willing that the bourgeoisie alone should derive advantage from
the victory. By putting itself at the head of those who had no
leaders, and who being a little out of the government aspired to
enter it, it did not cease to belong to this first period of the revolu-
tion ; only it formed a kind of democratic opposition, even in the
middle class itself, only differing from its leaders on a few unim-
portant points, and voting with them on most questions. It was,
among these popular men, rather a patriotic emulation than a
party dissension.
The debate upon the constitution first brought out these party
differences in the national assembly. The terms Right, Left,
Center, etc., did not come into vogue until after the events of
October 5-6, 1789, when the assembly, brought to Paris, found
a place of meeting in a riding-hall adjoining the Tuileries palace.
The horse-shoe shape of this amphitheater is said to have given
rise to the distinctions. It is a singular circumstance that the
terminology thus invented has passed into the political language of
every Continental parliament to-day. The Right of European
legislatures is the conservative party, the Left the radical. In
proportion as the revolution becomes radical, the Right disap-
pears, and the Left of one assembly becomes the Right of the
succeeding assembly. Thus the Left of the national assembly
became the Right of the legislative assembly; and the Left of
the legislative assembly became the Right of the convention. The
Left of the convention were those red terrorists knovvn as the
Mountain party; so named originally from the high seats they fre-
quented in the hall.
Duport, who was strong-minded, and who had acquired pre-
mature experience of the management of political passions, in the
struggles which parlement had sustained against the ministry, and
which he had chiefly directed, knew well that a people reposes the
moment it has gained its rights, and that it begins to grow weak as
soon as it reposes. To keep in vigor those who governed in the
assembly, in the mayoralty, in the militia ; to prevent the public
activity from slackening, and not to disband tlie people, whose aid
he might one day require, he conceived and executed the famous
confederation of the clubs. This institution, like everything that
gives a great im|iulse to a nation, caused a great deal of good, and
a great deal of harm. It impeded legal authority, when this of
POPULAR G O ^ E R N :VI E N T 83
1789
itself was sufficient ; but it also g"ave an immense energy to the
revolution, when, attacked on all sides, it could only save itself
by the most violent efforts. For the rest, the founders of this as-
sociation had not calculated all its consequences. They regarded it
simply as a wheel destined to keep or put in movement the public
machine, without danger, when it tended to abate or to cease its
activity; they did not think they were working for the advantage
of the multitude. After the flight to Varennes (June 20, 1791),
this party had become too exacting and too formidable ; they for-
sook it, and supported themselves against it with the mass of the
assembly and the middle class, whose direction was left vacant by
the death of Mirabeau. At this period it was important to them
speedily to fix the constitutional revolution : for to protract it would
have been to bring on the republican revolution.
The mass of the assembly, we have just mentioned, abounded
in just, experienced, and even superior minds. Its leaders were
two men, strangers to the third estate, and adopted by it. Without
the Abbe Sieyes, the constituent assembly would probably have
had less unity in its operation, and, without Mirabeau, less energy
in its conduct.
Sieyes was one of those men who create sects in an age of
enthusiasm, and who exercise the ascendency of a powerful reason
in an enlightened age. Solitude and philosophical studies had
matured him at an early age. His views were new, strong, and
extensive, but somewhat too systematic. Society had especially
been the subject of his examination; he had watched its progress,
investigated its springs. The nature of government appeared to
him less a question of right than a question of epoch. His vast
intellect ranged the society of his day in its divisions, relations,
powers, and movement. Sieyes, though of cold temperament, had
the ardor which the pursuit of truth inspires, and the passion
which its discovery gives ; he was accordingly absolute in his views,
disdaining those of others, because he considered them incomplete,
and that, in his opinion, half truth was error. Contradiction
irritated him; he was not communicative. Desirous of making
himself thorougldy known, he could not do so with everyone. His
ade])ts imparted his systems to others, whicli surrounded him with
a sort of mystery and rendered him the object of a species of
reverence. He had the authority which complete political science
procures, and the constitution might have emerged from his head
8i THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
completely armed, like the Minerva of Jupiter, or the legislation of
the ancients, were it not that in his day everyone sought to be
engaged in the task, or to criticise it. Yet, with the exception of
some modifications, his plans were generally adopted, and he had
in the committees more disciples than colleagues.
Mirabeau obtained in the tribune the same ascendency as
Sieyes in the committees. He was a man who only waited the
occasion to become great. At Rome, in the best days of the re-
public, he would have been a Gracchus; in its decline, a Catiline;
under the Fronde, a Cardinal de Retz; and in the decrepitude of a
monarchy, when such a being could only find scope for his im-
mense faculties in agitation, he became remarkable for the vehe-
mence of his passions, and for their punishment, a life passed in
committing disorders, and suffering for them. This prodigious
activity required employment; the revolution provided it. Accus-
tomed to the struggle against despotism, irritated by the contempt
of a nobility who were inferior to him, and who excluded him from
their body; clever, daring, eloquent, Mirabeau felt that the revolu-
tion would be his work, and his life. He exactly corresponded to
the chief wants of his time. His thought, his voice, his action,
were those of a tribune. In perilous circumstances his was the
earnestness which carried away an assembly; in difficult discus-
sions, the unanswerable sally which at once put an end to them ;
with a word he prostrated ambition, silenced enmities, disconcerted
rivalries. This powerful being, perfectly at his ease in the midst
of agitation, now giving himself up to the impetuosity, now to the
familiarities of conscious strength, exercised a sort of sovereignty
in the assembly. He soon obtained immense popularity, which
he retained to the last ; and he w^hom, at his first entrance into the
legislature, every eye shunned, was, at his death (April 2, 1791),
received into the Pantheon amid the tears of the assembly and
of all France. Had it not been for the revolution, Mirabeau
w^ould have failed in realizing his destiny, for it is not enough to
be great : one must live at the fitting period.
The Duke of Orleans, to whom a party has been given, had
but little influence in the assembly; he voted with the majority,
not the majority with him. The personal attachment of some of
its members, his name, the fears of the court, the popularity his
opinions enjoyed, hopes rather than conspiracies had increased his
reputation as a factious character. He had neither the qualities
POPULAR GOVERNMENT 85
1789
nor the defects of a conspirator ; he may have aided with his money
and his name popular movements, that would have taken place just
the same without him, and which had another object than his ele-
vation. It is still a common error to attribute the greatest of
revolutions to some petty private maneuvering, as if at such an
epoch a whole people could be used as the instrument of one man.
The assembly had acquired the entire power; the corporations
depended on it ; the national guards obeyed it. It was divided into
committees to facilitate its operations and execute them. The
royal power, though existing of right, was in a measure suspended,
since it was not obeyed, and the assembly had to supply its action
by its own. Thus, independently of committees intrusted with the
preparation of its measures, it had appointed others to exercise a
useful superintendence without. A committee of supply occupied
itself with provisions, an important object in a year of scarcity; a
committee of inquiry corresponded with the corporations and
provinces ; a committee of researches received informations against
the conspirators of July 14. But finance and the constitution,
which the past crises had adjourned, were the special subjects of
attention.
After having momentarily provided for the necessities of the
treasury, the assembly, although now become sovereign, consulted
by examining the petitions, the wishes of its constituents. It then
proceeded to form its institutions with a method, a liberal and
extensive spirit of discussion, which was to procure for France a
constitution comformable with justice and suited to its necessities.
The United States of America, at the time of their independence,
had set forth in a declaration the rights of man and those of the
citizen. This will ever be the first step. A people rising from
slavery feels the necessity of proclaiming its rights even before it
forms its government. Those Frenchmen who had assisted at the
American Revolution, and who cooperated now, proposed a simi-
lar declaration as a preamble to the laws. This was agreeable to
an assembly of legislators and philosophers, restricted by no limits,
since no institutions existed, and who were directed by primitive
and fundamental ideas of society, for it was the pupil of the eigh-
teenth century. Though this declaration contained only general
principles, and confined itself to setting forth in maxims what the
constitution was to put into laws, it was calculated to elevate the
mind, and impart to the citizens a consciousness of their dignity
86 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
and importance. At Lafayette's suggestion the assembly had
before commenced this discussion ; but the events at Paris and the
decrees of August 4 had interrupted its labors; they were now re-
sumed, and concluded by determining the principles which were to
form the table of the new law, and which were the assumption of
right in the name of humanity.
Lafayette's motion had been made on July 11. It is a com-
mon statement of French and German works upon the French
Revolution that the adoption of these principles by the assembly
was in imitation of the United States. The facts do not warrant
this statement. The American declaration of the Rights of Man
at the head of the Declaration of Independence was of much more
active political force in the anti-slavery conflict than in either the
American or the French Revolution. The American colonists in
1776 were struggling for their rights as Englishmen, and v/hen
they secured independence, they had recovered the essential parts
of the legal structure which they had inherited from England. In
France the metaphysical abstractions called the Rights of ]\Ian
were not the result of the influence of America, but had their root
in the pseudo-political philosophy of the eighteenth century. It is
significant that there is nothing like the " glittering generalities "
of the opening paragraph of the Declaration of Independence in
any article of the Constitution of the United States.^
These generalities being adopted, the assembly turned its at-
tention to the organization of the legislative power. This was one
of its most important objects; it was to fix the nature of its func-
tions, and establish its relations with the king. In this discussion
the assembly had only to decide the future condition of the legisla-
tive power. Invested as it was with constituent authority, it was
raised above its own decisions, and no intermediate power could
suspend or prevent its mission. But what should be the form of
the deliberative bodv in future sessions? Should it remain indi-
"^ There is a brief but admirable discussion of the real influence of America
upon the French Revolution in the preface to the American edition of H. Alorse
Stephens, "History of the PVench Revohition," Cf. Bancroft, "History of
United States" (centenary edition), vol. V. pp. 519-550. or last edition, vol. V.
pp. 244-560; Buckle, "History of Civilization,'' vol. TI. pp. 415-41S and 666-667;
Charlemagne Towers, " Lafayette in America " ; Andrew D. \\'hite, " Circular
No. 2 of United States P.ureau of Education " ; '" Diary and Letters " of Gou-
verneur Morris, vol. I. pp. 114-139; Tocqueville, "The Old Re.trime and the Revo-
lution," p. 179; Rosenthal. "America and France," and review of same in the
New York Nation, vol. XXXIV. p. 525.
POPULAR GOVERNMENT 87
1789
visible, or be divided into two chambers? If the latter form should
be adopted, what should be the nature of the second chamber?
Should it be made an aristocratic assembly, or a moderative
senate? And, whatever the deliberative body might be, was it to
be permanent or periodical, and should the king share the legisla-
tive power with it? Such were the difficulties that agitated the
assembly and Paris during the month of September.
If we consider the position of the assembly and its ideas of
sovereignty, we shall easily understand the manner in which these
questions were decided. It regarded the king merely as the heredi-
tary agent of the nation, having neither the right to assemble its
representatives nor that of directing or suspending them. Ac-
cordingly, it refused to grant him the initiative in making laws and
dissolving the assembly. It considered that the legislative body
ought not to be dependent on the king. It moreover feared that
by granting the government too strong an influence over the as-
sembly, or by not keeping the latter always together, the prince
might profit by the intervals in wliich he would be left alone, to
encroach on the otlier powers, and perhaps even to destroy the new
system. Therefore to an authority in constant activity, they
wished to oppose an always existing assembly, and the permanence
of the assembly was accordingly declared. The debate respecting
its indivisibility, or its division, was very animated. Necker,
Mounier, and Lally-Tollendal desired, in addition to a representa-
tive chamber, a senate, to be composed of members to be ap-
pointed by the king on the nomination of the people. They con-
sidered this as the only means of moderating the power, and even
of preventing the tyranny of a single assembly. They had as
partisans such members as participated in their ideas, or who hoped
to form part of the upper chamber. The majority of the nobility
did not wish for a house of peers, but for an aristocratic assembly,
whose members it should elect. They could not agree; Mounier's
parly refusing to fall in with a project calculated to revive the
orders, and the aristocracy refusing to accept a senate, which
would confirm the ruin of the nobility. The greater portion of the
deputies of the clergy and of the commons were in favor of the
unity of the assembly. The po])ular party considered it illegal
to appoint legislators for life; it thought that the upper chamber
would become tb.e instrument of the court and aristocracy, and
would then be dangerous, or become useless by uniting with the
88 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
commons. Thus the nobihty, from dissatisfaction, and the na-
tional party, from a spirit of absokite justice, ahke rejected the
upper chamber.
This determination of the assembly has been the object of
many reproaches. The partisans of the peerage have attributed all
the evils of the revolution to the absence of that order; as if it had
been possible for anybody whatsoever to arrest its progress. It
was not the constitution which gave it the character it has had,
but events arising from party struggles. What would the upper
chamber have done between the court and the nation? If in favor
of the first, it would have been unable to guide or save it; if in
favor of the second, it would not have strengthened it; in either
case, its suppression would have infallibly ensued. In such times
progress is rapid, and all that seeks to check it is superfluous. In
England, the house of lords, although docile, was suspended dur-
ing the crisis. These various systems have each their epoch ;
revolutions are achieved by one chamber and end with two.^
The royal sanction gave rise to great debates in the assembly
and violent clamors without. The question was as to the part of
the king in the making of laws ; the deputies were nearly all agreed
on one point. They were determined, in admitting his right to
sanction or refuse laws ; but some desired that this right should be
unlimited, others that it should be temporary. This, in reality,
amounted to the same thing, for it was not possible for the king
to prolong his refusal indefinitely, and the veto, though absolute,
would only have been suspensive. But this faculty, bestowed on
a single man, of checking the will of the people, appeared exorbi-
tant, especially out of the assembly, where it was less understood.
Paris had not yet recovered from the agitation of July 14 ;
the popular government was but beginning, and the city experi-
enced all its liberty and disorder. The assembly of electors, who
-The single house was adopted on September 11, by a vote of 499 to 89.
" I learn that the national assembly have agreed to a single chamber of legis-
lation and a suspensive veto in the king. This is traveling on the highroad to
anarchy, and that worst of all tyrannies, the despotism of a faction in a popular
assembly." " Diary and Letters " of Gouverneur Morris, vol. I. p. 154 (written on
September 13).
For a discussion of the merits of the bicameral system of government, see
Lieber, "Civil Liberty and Self-Government," pp. 197-200. Benjamin Franklin
was a believer in the single legislative house, and his influence prevailed upon
the framers of the early constitution of Pennsylvania so to provide. But it
was soon abandoned. Vermont and Georgia are the only other common-
wealths which have ventured to try the experiment in the United States.
POPULAR GOVERNMENT 89
1789
in difficult circumstances had taken the place of a provisional cor-
poration, had just been replaced. A hundred and eighty members,
nominated by the districts, constituted themselves legislators and
representatives of the city. While they were engaged on a plan
of municipal organization each desired to command ; for in France
the love of liberty is almost the love of power. The committees
acted apart from the mayor; the assembly of representatives arose
against the committees, and the districts against the assembly of
representatives. Each of the sixty districts attributed to itself the
legislative power, and gave the executive power to its committees;
they all considered the members of the general assembly as their
subordinates, and themselves as invested with the right of annul-
ling their decrees. This idea of the sovereignty of the principal
over the delegate made rapid progress. Those who had no share
in authority formed assemblies and then gave themslves up to dis-
cussion ; soldiers debated at the Oratoire, journeymen tailors at the
Colonnade, hair-dressers in the Champs Elysees, servants at the
Louvre; but the most animated debates took place in the Palais
Royal. There were inquired into the questions that occupied the
national assembly, and its discussions criticised. The dearth of
provisions also brought crowds together, and these mobs were not
the least dangerous.
Such was the state of Paris when the debate concerning the
veto was begun. The alarm aroused by this right accorded to the
king was extreme. It seemed as though the fate of liberty de-
pended on the decision of this question, and that the veto alone
would bring back the ancient system. The multitude, ignorant of
the nature and limits of power, wished the assembly, on which it
relied, to do all, and the king, whom it mistrusted, to do nothing.
Every instrument left at the disposal of the court appeared the
means of a counter-revolution. The crowds at the Palais Royal
grew turbulent ; threatening letters were sent to those members of
the assembly who, like Alounier, had declared in favor of the
absolute veto. They spoke of dismissing them as faithless repre-
sentatives, and of marching upon Versailles. The Palais Royal
sent a deputation to the assembly, and required the municipality of
Paris to declare the deputies revocable, and to make them at all
times dependent on the electors. The commune remained firm,
rejected the demands of the Palais Royal, and took measures to
prevent the riotous assemblies. The national guard supported it;
90 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
this body was well disposed; Lafayette had acquired its confidence;
it was becoming orcfanized, it wore a uniform, submitted to dis-
cipline after the exam])le of the French guard, and learned from
its chief the love of order and respect for the law.^ But the middle
class that composed it had not yet taken exclusive possession of
the popular government. The multitude which was enrolled on
July 14 was not as yet entirely disbanded. This agitation from
without rendered the debates upon the veto stormy; in this way a
very simple question acquired great importance, and the ministry,
perceiving how fatal the influence of an absolute decision might
prove, and seeing, also, that the unlimited veto and the suspensive
veto were one and the same thing, induced the king to be satisfied
with the latter, and give up the former. The assembly declared
that the refusal of his sanction could not be prolonged by the prince
beyond two sessions; and this decision satisfied everyone.
The court took advantage of the agitation in Paris to realize
other projects. For some time it had influenced the king's mind.
At first * he had refused to sanction the decrees of August 4,
although they were constitutive, and consequently he could not
avoid promulgating them. After accepting them, on the remon-
strances of the assembly, he renewed the same difficulties relative
to the declaration of rights. The object of the court was to repre-
sent Louis XVL as oppressed by the assembly, and constrained
to submit to measures which he was unwilling to accept ; it endured
its situation with impatience, and strove to regain its former au-
thority. Flight was the only means, and it was requisite to legi-
timate it; nothing could be done in the presence of the assembly,
and the neighborhood of Paris. Royal authority had fallen on
June 23, military power on July 14; there was no alternative but
civil war. As it was difficult to persuade the king to this course,
" These sentences give a rosy view of the state of Paris after July 14.
Lafayette, in truth, found the formation of the national guard a difficult task;
he admits that he could not make them do guard mount when it rained ! The
murder of Foulon and Bcrthier shows that at least ten days after the fall of tlie
Bastilc anarchy prevailed, and Lafayette himself says that his personal inter-
vention rescued more than twenty persons from being murdered by rioters
during this time. " Mcmoires et Correspondence dc Lafayette" vol. IL, 153, 164.
* Louis XVL's reply shows more political insight than he commonly dis-
played : " T can but admire the sacrifice, but I will never consent to deprive
myself r)f nobility and clergy. T am obliged to give way to force. I can but
give way, but in that case there will be no longer either monarchy or a monarch
to Franco." Van Laun, "Hi.story of the French Revolution," vol. L, p. 112.
The king did not yield until October 5.
POPULAR GOVERNMENT 91
1789
they waited till the last moment to induce him to flee: his hesita-
tion caused the failure of the plan. It was proposed to retire to
Metz, to Bouille, in the midst of his army; to call around the
monarch the nobility, the troops who continued faithful, the parle-
ments ; to declare the assembly and Paris in a state of rebellion ;
to invite them to obedience or to force them to it; and if the ancient
system could not be entirely reestablished, at least to confine them-
selves to the declaration of June 20. On the other hand, if the
court hid an interest in removing the king from Versailles, that
it might effect something, it was the interest of the partisans of
the revolution to bring him to Paris ; the Orleans faction, if one
existed, had an interest in driving the king to flight, by intimida-
ting him, in the hope that the assembly would appoint its leader
lieutenant-general of the kingdom ; and, lastly, the people, who
were in want of bread, wished the king to reside at Paris, in the
hope that his presence would diminish or put a stop to the dearth
of provisions. All these causes existing, an occasion was only want-
ing to bring about an insurrection ; the court furnished this occa-
sion. On the pretext of protecting itself against the movements
in Paris, it summoned troops to Versailles, doubled the household
guards, and sent for the dragoons and the Flanders regiment.
All this preparation of troops gave rise to the liveliest fears ; a re-
port spread of an anti-revolutionary measure, and the flight of the
king and the dissolution of the assembly were announced as at
hand. Strange uniforms and yellow and black cockades were to
be seen at the Luxembourg, the Palais Royal, and at the Champs
Elysees ; the foes of the revolution displayed a degree of joy they
had not manifested for some time. The behavior of the court con-
firmed these suspicions, and disclosed the object of all these
preparations.
The officers of the Flanders regiment, importuned with anxiety
by the town of Versailles,'"' were feted at the chateau and even ad-
mitted to the queen's card tables. Endeavors were made to secure
their devotion, and a banquet was given to them by the king's
'' The attitude toward the regiments was originally misstated. But it is clear
that the municipality of Versailles, in fear of the rioters from Paris, had formally
petitioned the king to reinforce the garrison. The Flanders regiment was brought
to VersailU's in compliance with this wish. (T.omenie, " Lcs Mirabcati." vol. IV.
p. 45<S.) Moreover, the presence of the foreign regiments afforded a pretext for
revolutionary violence more llian it occasioned fear. "'The foreign regiments are
not numerous enough to make any serious impression," writes IMorris on July 7.
" Diar3' and Letters," vol. T. p. 115.
92 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
guards. The officers of the dragoons and the chasseurs, who were
at Versailles, those of the Swiss guards, of the hundred Swiss, of
the prevote, and the staff of the national guard were invited. The
theater in the chateau, which was reserved for the most solemn
fetes of the court, and which, since the marriage of the second
brother of the king, had only been used for the Emperor Joseph II.,
was selected for the scene of the festival. The king's musicians
were ordered to attend this, the first fete which the guards had
given. During the banquet toasts to the king and royal family
were drunk with enthusiasm, while the nation was omitted or re-
jected. At the second course the grenadiers of Flanders, the two
bodies of Swiss, and the dragoons were admitted to witness the
spectacle and share the sentiments which animated the guests. The
enthusiasm increased every moment. Suddenly the king was an-
nounced; he entered attired in a hunting dress, the queen leaning
on his arm and carrying the dauphin. Shouts of affection and
devotion arose on every side. The health of the royal family was
drunk with swords drawn; and when Louis XVI. withdrew,
the music played, " O Richard, O mon roi! I'univers fabandonne."
The scene now assumed a very significant character; the march
of the Hullans and the profusion of wine deprived the guests
of all reserve. The charge was sounded; tottering guests climbed
the boxes as if mounting to an assault; white cockades were dis-
tributed; the tri-colored cockade, it is said, was trampled on, and
the guests then spread through the galleries of the chateau, where
the ladies of the court loaded them with congratulations and deco-
rated them with ribbons and cockades.
Such was this famous banquet of October i, which the court
was imprudent enough to repeat on the 3d. One cannot help
lamenting its fatal want of foresight; it could neither submit to
nor change its destiny. This assembling of the troops, so far
from preventing aggression in Paris, provoked it ; the banquet
did not make the devotion of the soldiers any more sure, while it
augmented the ill disposition of the people. To protect itself there
was no necessity for so much ardor, nor for flight was there need-
ful so much preparation; but the court never took the measure
calculated to make its designs succeed, or else it only half took it,
and, in order to decide, it always waited until there was no longer
any time.
The news of this banquet produced the greatest sensation in
POPULAR GOVERNMENT S3
1789
Paris. On the 4th suppressed rumors, counter-revolutionary provo-
cations, the dread of conspiracies, indignation against the court,
and increasing alarm at the dearth of provisions, all announced
an insurrection; the multitude already looked toward Versailles.
On the 5th the insurrection broke out in a violent and invincible
manner; the entire want of flour was the signal. A young girl,
entering a guard-house, seized a drum and rushed through the
streets beating it, crying, " Bread ! Bread ! " She was soon sur-
rounded by a crowd of women. This mob advanced toward the
Hotel de Ville, increasing as it went. It forced the guard that
stood at the door and penetrated into the interior, clamoring for
bread and arms ; it broke open doors, seized weapons, and marched
toward Versailles. The people soon rose en masse, uttering the
same demand, till the cry, " To Versailles ! " rose on every side.
The women started first, headed by Maillard, one of the volunteers
of the Bastile. The populace, the national guard, and the French
guards requested to follow them. The commander, Lafayette, op-
posed their departure a long time, but in vain; neither his efforts
nor his popularity could overcome the obstinacy of the people. For
seven hours he harangued and retained them. At length, impatient
at this delay, rejecting his advice, they prepared to set forward
without him; when, feeling that it was now his duty to conduct
as it had previously been to restrain them, he obtained his authoriza-
tion from the corporation, and gave the word for departure about
seven in the evening.^
6 Mignet's account has been allowed to stand, but in light of later research
there is much misstatement in this paragraph and those following. To begin
with, as far back as August 30, a plan had been concerted in Paris for an
attack similar to this upon the court. (Malouet, " Memoir cs I' vol. II. p. 299.)
It was fear of such an event that led the corporation of Versailles, as has been
shown, to ask for an increase of troops. In the second place, the " dearth of
provisions" was more fictitious than real. (See Lomenie, " Lcs Mirabeau," vol.
IV. p. 489.) The official market bulletin Bulletin des Holies of October 3,
proves that there was plenty of provisions in Paris on that day. The scarcity on
the 5th was due to the timidity of the small grocers to open their shops, for fear
of rioters. The mobs of women reached the Hotel de Ville between ten and
eleven o'clock; the members of the national guard on duty there showed reluc-
tance to use force against them, but it is an exaggeration to say that they
" requested to follow them." As for Lafayette, he showed an almost crim-
inal remissness at this time. (See Von Hoist, "The French Revolution Tested
by Mirabeau's Career," vol. IT. p. 58 ff. Cf. Von Sybel, "French Revolution,"
vol. I. p. 127.) He had had full information from his lieutenants of the insurrec-
tionary condition, but instead of being alive to tlie danger he delayed action. Not
until after the crowd of women were on the road to Versailles did he appear
94 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
The excitement at Versailles was less impetuous, but quite as
real; the national guard and the assembly were anxious and irri-
tated. The double banquet of the household troops, the approbation
the queen had expressed, " J'ai etc enchantcc de la joiirnce de Jendi "
the king's refusal to accept simply the Rights of Man, his con-
certed temporizings, and the want of provisions, excited the alarm
of the representatives of the people and filled them with suspicion.
Petion, having denounced the banquets of the guards, was sum-
moned by a royalist deputy to explain his denunciation, and make
known the guilty parties. " Let it be expressly declared," exclaimed
Mirabeau, " that whosoever is not king is a subject and responsible,
and I will speedily furnish proofs." These words, which pointed
to the queen, compelled the Right side to be silent. This hostile
discussion was preceded and succeeded by debates equally animated,
concerning the refusal of the sanction, and the scarcity of provisions
in Paris. At length, just as a deputation was dispatched to the
king to require his pure and simple acceptance of the Rights of
Man, and to solicit him to facilitate with all his power the supply-
ing Paris with provisions, the arrival of the women, headed by
Maillard, was announced.
Their unexpected appearance, for they had intercepted all the
couriers who might have announced it, excited the terrors of the
court. The troops of Versailles flew to arms and surrounded the
chateau, but the intentions of the women were not hostile. Maillard,
their leader, had recommended them to appear as suppliants, and
in that attitude they ]:)resented their complaints successively to tlie
assembly and to the king. Accordingly, the first hours of tliis
about I p. M. Even then he dallied for three hours more, leaving for Versailles
after four o'clock, declaring that he could not go without the authorization of the
commune. Lafaj-ette did not " oppose their departure a long time " ; he did not
"harangue them for seven hours." Camille Desmoulins writes with just deri-
sion, '' I^c tcmporisateiir Fabii'-s! On pretend que Ic chcval blanc mit ncuf
hcurcs a faire la route de Paris a Versailles," for he did not reach Versailles
until II p. M. ! I'lie women had been there since three o'clock. Counting the
gentlemen of tlie court who volunteered, there were 2800 soldiers available for
defense of the palace. But when Louis XVT. was asked for orders, he
asked: "What orders? against women? You mock me." Tt seems likely
that Lafayette, who was fond of admiration, wanted to have the king and queen
put in distress that he miglit dramatically play the part of rescuer. Gouverneur
and his partakes most of the latter." "Diary and Letters," vol. L p. 1,^6. Even
^Morris penetrated his character, in writing: "lie is a lover of freedom from
ambition, of which there are two kinds: one born of pride, the other of vanity,
Jefferson wrote of him: "His foible is a canine appetite for popularity and
fame." Ed.
POPULAR GOVERNMENT 95
1789
turbulent evening were sufficiently calm. Yet it was impossible
but that causes of hostility should arise between an excited mob
and the household troops, the objects of so much irritation. The
latter were stationed in the court of the chateau opposite the na-
tional guard and the Flanders regiment. The space between was
filled by women and volunteers of the Bastile. In the midst of the
confusion, necessarily arising from such a juxtaposition, a scuffle
arose; this was the signal for disorder and conflict. An officer of
the guards struck a Parisian soldier with his saber, and was in turn
shot in the arm. The national guards sided against the household
troops ; the conflict became warm, and would have been sanguinary
but for the darkness, the bad weather, and the orders given to the
household troops first to cease firing and then to retire. But as
these were accused of being the aggressors, the fury of tlie multi-
tude continued for some time ; their quarters were broken into,
two of them were wounded, and another saved with difficulty.
During this tumult the court was in consternation; the flight
of the king was suggested, and carriages prepared ; a picket of the
national guard saw them at the gate of the Orangery, and having
made them go back, closed the gate: moreover, the king, either
ignorant of the designs of the court, or conceiving them imprac-
ticable, refused to escape. Fears were mingled with his pacific
intentions when he hesitated to repel the aggression or to take
flight. Conquered, he apprehended the fate of Charles I. of Eng-
land; absent, he feared that the Duke of Orleans would obtain
tlie lieutenancy of the kingdom. But. in tlie meantime, the rain,
fatigue, and the inaction of the household troops lessened the fury
of the multitude, and Lafayette arrived at the head of the Parisian
army.
His presence restored security to tlie court, and the replies
of the king to the deputation from Paris satisfied the multitude
and the army. Li a short time Lafayette's activity, the good sense
and discipline of the Parisian guard restored order everywhere.
Tranquillity returned. The crowd of women and volunteers, over-
C(^me by fatigue, gradually dispersed, and some of the national
guard were intrusted with the defense of tlie chateau, while others
were lodged with their companions in arms at Versailles. The
n^yal family, reassured after the anxiety and fear of this painful
niglit, retired to rest about two o'clock in tlie morning. Toward
five. Lafayette, having visited the outposts which had been con-
96 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
fided to his care, and finding the watch well kept, the town cahn,
and the crowds dispersed or sleeping, also took a few moments'
repose.''
About six, however, some of the lower class, more en-
thusiastic than the rest, and awake sooner than they, prowled
round the chateau. Finding a gate open, they informed their com-
panions, and entered.* Unfortunately, the interior posts had been
intrusted to the household guards, and refused to the Parisian
army. This fatal refusal caused all the misfortunes of the night.
The interior guard had not even been increased, the gates scarcely
visited, and the watch kept as negligently as on ordinary occasions.
These men, excited by all the passions that had brought them to
\^ersailles, perceiving one of the household troops at a window,
began to insult him. He fired and wounded one of them. They
then rushed on the household troops, who defended the chateau
breast to breast and sacrificed themselves heroically. One of them
had time to warn the queen, whom the assailants particularly threat-
ened, and, half-dressed, she ran for refuge to the king. The tumult
and danger were extreme in the chateau.
Lafayette, apprised of the invasion of the royal residence,
mounted his horse and rode hastily to the scene of danger. On
the square he met some of the household troops surrounded by an
infuriated mob, who were on the point of killing them. He threw
himself among them, called some French troops, who were near,
and having rescued the household troops and dispersed their assail-
ants, he hurried to the chateau. He found it already secured
by the grenadiers of the French guard, w4io at the first noise of
the tumult had hastened and protected the household troops from
the fury of the Parisians. But the scene was not over ; the crowd
assembled again in the marble court under the king's balcony, loudly
called for him, and he appeared. They required his departure
for Paris; he promised to repair thither with his family, and this
' Details of this tumultuous night and the actual time of events are uncer-
tain. Lafayette says he intended to go to bed after 2 A. M., when he had
visited the palace, Init was interrupted by the alarm, which was certainly much
earlier than six o'clock. See the note in Carlyle's " French Revolution," ed.
Fletcher, vol. I. p. 333.
^ Owing to tlie carelessness of the officer in charge of it, this door had not
been secured. The ]\larqnis de Parroy, an officer of the guards, writing to his
wife the next day, says he was wakened by the shouts of the mob crying out
against the queen. Published in " Revolution franqaise," vol. I. no. 2.
z
5 ^
.
POPULAR GOVERNMENT 97
1789
promise was received with general applause. The queen was re-
solved to accompany him; but the prejudice against her was so
strong that the journey was not without danger; it was necessaiy
to reconcile her with the multitude. Lafayette proposed to her to
accompany him to the balcony; and after some hesitation she con-
sented. They appeared on it together, and to communicate by
a sign with the tumultuous crowd, to conquer its animosity and
awaken its enthusiasm, Lafayette respectfully kissed the queen's
hand; the crowd responded with acclamations. It now remained
to make peace between them and the household troops. Lafayette
advanced with one of these, placed his own tri-colored cockade on
his hat, and embraced him before the people, who shouted " Vivent
Ics gardcs-du corps! " Thus terminated this scene ; the royal fam-
ily set out for Paris, escorted by the anny, and its guards mixed
with it.
The insurrection of October 5-6 was an entirely popular move-
ment. We must not try to explain it by secret motives, nor attrib-
ute it to concealed ambition; it was provoked by the imprudence
of the court. The banquets of the household troops, the reports
of flight, the dread of civil war, and the scarcity of provisions
alone brought Paris upon Versailles. If special instigators, which
the most careful inquiries have still left doubtful, contributed to
produce this movement, they did not change either its direction or
its object. The result of this event was the destruction of the
ancient regime of the court ; it deprived it of its guard, it removed
it from the royal residence at Versailles to the capital of the revo-
lution, and placed it under the surveillance of the people. The last
events had struck terror into the assembly. In one week, after
October 6, more than 300 members demanded passports and 120
resigned.
Tlirough Mirabeau's correspondence with La Marque we see
that he foresaw the events of the 5th and 6th. From the first he
had offered the king and the ministers his support. At the close
of September he told La iMarque to tell the king and queen that
they could and must confide in him, but tlie}^ still refused him
their confidence. On October 17 Mirabeau went to La Marque
and said: " If you have any means to get the ear of the king and
queen, convince them that they are lost unless they leave Paris.
I am busy with a plan to get them out of it. Assure them that
they can count upon my assistance." Mirabeau gave him his plan
98 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
in the memoir of October 15. He saw that it was absolutely neces-
sary to get the king out of Paris. The whole history of the revo-
lution after October 6 verified this. The memoir was as a prophecy
of the whole future history.
Mirabeau begins by stating that neither the king nor the
national assembly are free in Paris, and he proceeds to ask
whether the king is personally safe, and answers the question thus:
" In the situation in which he is, the slightest catastrophe could
compromise his safety. The excited mob at Paris is irresistible.
What will Paris be three months hence? A hospital or perhaps a
theater of horrors ! The ministers are without resources. Only
Necker still enjoys some popularity, but does not know how to
use it." Then he goes on: "The provinces are not as yet torn
from one another. There will come a time w^hen there will be a
danger of France becoming geographically disrupted. The ex-
change of provisions is more and more interrupted, and the nation
has become disused to work." He goes on :
" The public force lies in public opinion and the revenues of
the state. All ties of public opinion are severed. There is no
government, because there is no freedom in the national assembly
nor in the king. And at the same time the nation is getting dis-
used to work. The more concentrated the revolutionary action
becomes, the narrower and easier its basis of public opinion grows.
The more absolutely radicalism holds sway, the less the number
grows of those who pretend to represent the sovereign public
opinion. Only the direct taxes are paid, and even these in part
only, while half of the taxes are indirect ones. This means that
they are rapidly going toward bankruptcy."
Mirabeau goes on : "A dull commotion is in course of prep-
aration. When the body politic falls into solution, a crisis is nec-
essary to regenerate it. The only means to save the state and the
forming constitution is to bring the king- into a situation which
will allow him to unite himself with his people not to take issue
with the revolution, not to cross swords with them. The only
means is to unite the king and the people.
" Paris for a long time has swallowed up all the revenues of
the state. It is the seat of the fiscal regime abhorred by the prov-
inces. Paris has caused the public debt, ruined jiublic credit, and
compromised the honor of the nation by these pernicious stock-
jobbings. Is the national asseml)ly going to ruin all iM'ance for
POPULAR G O V E R N ]M E N T 99
1789
this one city? Can Paris save itself? No; Paris is lost if it is
not forced to moderation."
Mirabeati then discusses the means by which these dangers
may be arrested. The king must not withdraw to ]\Ietz or the
frontier, for that would be to declare war to the nation. Nor
should he unite with the nobility. To go away in order to gain
liberty, renounce the national assembly, and dissolve every con-
nection would be a less violent measure, but not less dangerous,
for the king would then have neither the nobility nor the people
with him. A great revolution is necessary to save the kingdom.
The nation must regain its riglits and have them consolidated.
Only a national convention can regenerate France, and the king
must unite with the people.
In the nature of things it is impossible to get out of a great
political danger without danger and the statesman must use all
his efforts to prepare moderately and direct the crisis, but not
prevent or postpone it, for that would serve to make it more violent.
^lirabeau's plan '* was as follows: Preparatitms should be made
for the departure of the king, and public opinion in the provinces
should be prepared for the impending events. By asking the as-
sistance of the national assembly, its eyes would be opened to its
own peril. To insure the king's departure, guards consisting of
national regiments and amounting to 10,000 men should be sta-
tioned l)etween Paris and Rouen. Then the king could depart in
broad daylight. Rouen was chosen because it was in the interior,
and besi'J.es, it could be easily provisioned, and finally Brittany and
Anjou were loyal and within easy reach.
Proclamations should announce that the king threw himself
into the arms of the people for protection, because he had been
denied c\'cn the rights of a I'^rench citizen, and that he confided his
honor and safety to the lM"ench loyalty. Proclamations should
be issued enliglitening the people about their true interests, and a
change of the public opinion would soon work a change in the na-
tional asseml)iv. Tlie Icing would work for the welfare of the citi-
zen, and wanted himself to be only a citizen.
The reader may consult the orij^inal text of this famous memoir in the
" Corrcspoinlciicc ciifrc Mirabcau ct Ic Comic dc la Marqitc'' vol. I. pn. 364-3S2.
It is translated in the " University of Pennsylvania Translations and Reprints,"
vol. T. book 5. pp. R-tS.
Consult al-^o Yon Ilolst. ''The Frcich Revolution Tested by ]\Iirabcau's
Career," vol. 11, ])p. 6S \1.\ Sle])hens. " T'"rencli Revolution." vol. 1. pp. 245 ff . ;
\''^n Sybrl. "llistory of the ]'"rench Revolution, vol. I. p. 1,^8.
100 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789
Tliis plan ought to have been carried out at once. But noth-
ing came of it. The memoir fell into the hands of the king's eldest
brother, who praised it and then pocketed it. Mirabeau's plan was
the only means to save the king's head, spare France the reign of
terror, and the ensuing despotism of Napoleon.
Mirabeau sincerely sought to conciliate the interests of the
crown and those of the nation. His famous oratorical outbursts
of June 23 and July 15 are simply manifestations of great impa-
tience. He was not present on the night of August 4, and had no
hand in the events of October 5 and 6. When a decree of the as-
sembly forbade any minister to hold a seat in the body, he became
the secret counselor of the court, demanding an absolute veto for
the king, with power of dissolving the assembly and the right
to declare w-ar and peace. Mirabeau's greatest speech is probably
that of September 26, 1789, upon the means to avoid national
bankruptcy.
Chapter V
SEPARATION OF NATIONAL PARTIES
1789-1791
THE period which forms the subject of this chapter was
less remarkable for events than for the gradually decided
separation of parties. In proportion as changes were in-
troduced into the state and the laws, those whose interests or
opinions they injured declared themselves against them. The revo-
lution had had as enemies, from the beginning of the states-general,
the court ; from the union of orders and the abolition of privileges,
the nobility; from the establishment of a single assembly and
the rejection of the two chambers, the ministry and the partisans
of the English form of government. It had, moreover, against it
since the departmental organization, the provinces; since the de-
cree respecting the property and civil constitution of the clergy,
the whole ecclesiastical body; since the introduction of the new
military laws, all the officers of the army. It might seem that the
assembly ought not to have effected so many changes at once, so
as to have avoided making so many enemies ; but its general plans,
its necessities, and the very plots of its adversaries required all
these innovations.
After October 5 and 6 the assembly emigrated as the court
had done after July 14. Mounier and Lally-Tollendal ^ deserted it,
despairing of liberty from the moment their views ceased to be fol-
lowed. Too absolute in their plans, they wanted the people, after
having delivered the assembly on July 14, suddenly to cease acting,
which was displaying an entire ignorance of the impetus of revolu-
tions. When the people have once been made use of, it is difficult
1 Lally-Tollendal was descended from an Irish partisan of the Stuarts,
who settled in France after the failure of the Jacobite cause. His father was
court-martialed and sentenced to death for the reverses experienced by the
French arms in India during the Seven Years' War. The sentence was an
unjust one, and the son secured a reversal of the judgment in 1778, too late to
save his father's life, although it saved his honor. Louis XVI. personally
interested himself in the case, which accounts for Lally's strong support of the
king's cause.
101
102 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789-1791
to disband them, and the most prudent course is not to contest, but
to regulate their intervention. Lally-Tollendal renounced his title
of Frenchman, and returned to England, the land of his ancestors.
Mounier resigned his seat when he saw that a constitution after the
English form was hopeless, preferring this course to that of an
obstructionist in the assembly. He had been a leader in his native
province, and had advocated the revival of the ancient estates of
Dauphine in place of the provincial assemblies established by Xecker.
Grenoble had rebelled in June, 1788, and Mounier had had a hand
in the rising. At this time, however, he contented himself with
protesting tliat the national assembly had exceeded its powers. He
retired to Switzerland.
After October 5 and 6 the national representatives followed
the king to the capital, which their common presence had contrib-
uted greatly to tranquilize. The people were satisfied with pos-
sessing the king; the causes which had excited their ebullition
had ceased. The Duke of Orleans, who, right or wrong, was con-
sidered the contriver of the insurrection, had just been sent away;
he had accepted a mission to England; Lafayette was resolved to
maintain order; the national guard, animated by a better spirit, ac-
quired every day habits of discipline and obedience ; the corporation,
getting over the confusion of its first establishment, began to have
authority. There remained but one cause of disturbance the
scarcity of provisions." Notwithstanding the zeal and foresight
of the committee intrusted with the task of providing supplies,
daily assemblages of the people threatened the pul)lic tranquillity.
The people, so easily deceived when suffering, killed a baker called
Francois, who was unjustly accused as a monopolist. On October
21 a martial law Vv'as proclaimed, authorizing the corporation to
employ force to disperse the mob, after having summoned the
citizens to retire. Power was vested in a class interested in main-
taining order; the districts and the national guard were obedient
to the assembly. Submission to the law was the prevailing passion
of that epoch. The deputies on their side aimed only at com-
- During- July tlie price of the four-pound loaf of bread had been fixed at 13
sous 6 deniers. After that there was no legislation in regard to bread till 179.3.
The government had started " relief works " during the hard winter of 1788
and the distributions there made had drawn thousands of vagrants to Paris.
.Seventeen thousand were fed in August. Not until June. 1791, was this practice
discontinued. Belief in tlie "distress" of Paris must be taken with catU.ion.
1 he cau.-e of disturbance had its scat in a moral unrest rather than in adversity.
SEPARATION OF PARTIES
103
1789-1791
pleting the constitution and effecting the reorganization of the
state. They had the more reason for hastening their task, as the
enemies of the assembly made use of what remained of the ancient
regime, to occasion it embarrassment. Accordingly, it replied to
each of their endeavors by a decree which, changing the ancient
order of things, deprived them of one of their means of attack.
It began by dividing the kingdom more equally and regularly.
The provinces, which had witnessed with regret the loss of their
privileges, forming small states, in extent too vast and in administra-
PARIS
tion too independent, so that it was essential to reduce their size,
change their names, and subject them to the same government. On
December 22 the assembly adopted in this respect the project con-
ceived by Sieyes and presented by Thouret in the name of a com-
mittee, which occupied itself constantly on this subject for two
months.
France was divided into eighty-three departments, nearly equal
in extent and population: these were divided into districts, the
districts into cantons. Their administration received a uniform
104. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789-1791
and hierarchical form. The department had an administrative
council composed of thirty-six members and an executive directory
composed of five members: as the names indicate, the functions
of the one were to decide and of the other to act. The district
was organized in the same way: although on a smaller scale, it
had a council and a directory, fewer in number and subordinate to
the superior directory and council. The canton, composed of five
or six parishes, was an electoral, not an administrative, division ; the
active citizens, and to be considered such it was necessary to pay
taxes amounting to three days' earnings, united in the canton to
nominate their deputies and magistrates. Everything in the new
plan was subject to election, but this had several degrees. It
appeared imprudent to confide to the multitude the choice of its
delegates, and illegal to exclude them from it; this difficult ques-
tion was avoided by the double election. The active citizens of the
canton named electors intrusted with nominating the members of
the national assembly, the administrators of the department, those
of the district, and the judges of tribunals; a criminal court w^as
established in each department, a civil court in each district, and a
police court in each canton.
Such was the institution of the department. It remained to
regulate that of the corporation: the administration of this was
confided to the general council and a municipality, composed of
members whose numbers were proportioned to the population of
the towns. The municipal officers were named immediately by the
people, and they alone could authorize the employment of armed
force. The corporation formed the first step of the association, the
kingdom formed the last ; the department was intermediate between
the corporation and the state, between universal interests and purely
local interests.
The working of the system, however, disappointed the
authors of it. Before the revolution France had been divided into
four jurisdictions : ( i ) Dioceses, of which there were one hun-
dred and eleven ; (2) provinces, numbering forty-one; (3) gen-
eralites and dependencies of a fiscal character; (4) military
recruiting areas. Xo state could have suffered, without harm, so
violent an uprooting of its historic institutions as this drastic ac-
tion. The abrupt break made by it with the past did much to de-
stroy reverence for tradition and respect for law in the minds of
the French people. The new and artificial nature of the sys-
SEPARATION OF PARTIES 105
1789-1791
tern was made less likely to succeed by the fact that probably one-
half of the authorities in the cantons and small municipalities were
unable to read or write. Although it had been decided that the
old boundaries and facility of intercourse should receive as much
consideration as possible, yet in fact the kingdom was divided,
without heeding historical development, into 83 departments, 574
arondissements, 4730 cantons, and 44,000 municipalities. The
acquisition of Avignon, Venaissin, and Vaucluse in 1791 added
an eighty-fourth department; the department of the Rhone-and-
Loire was later separated into two, giving 85 departments, and a
similar division in the region of the Garonne created 86. Except
during Napoleon's conquests this remained the number of depart-
ments until Napoleon III. added Nice and Savoy in 1859, making
three new departments. The loss of Alsace-Lorraine in 1871 re-
duced the number again to 86, as France is to-day. Paris received
a special organization. The capital had been divided after the fall
of the Bastile into 60 " sections," which were not to have the
right to meet together unless convoked by the city council. But
this was rendered null by an article that required this convocation
whenever asked by eight sections. For each section there was a
permanent committee of sixteen persons, whose functions were not
clearly defined. The question of the organization of Paris is the
pivotal point of the revolution in its succeeding phases.
The states of Languedoc and Brittany protested against the
new division of the kingdom, and on their side the parlements of
Metz, Rouen, Bordeaux, and Toulouse rose against the operations
of the assembly which suppressed the chambres de vacations, abol-
ished the orders, and declared the commissions of the states in-
competent. The partisans of the ancient regime employed every
means to disturb its progress : the nobility excited the provinces,
the parlements took resolutions, the clergy issued mandates, and
writers took advantage of the liberty of the press to attack the revo-
lution. Its two principal enemies were the nobles and the bishops,
l^arlement, having no root in the nation, formed only a magistracy,
whose attacks were prevented by destroying the magistracy itself,
whereas the nobility and the clergy had means of action which sur-
vived the influence of the body. The misfortunes of these two
classes were caused by themselves. After harassing the revolution
in the assembly, they afterward attacked it with open force the
clergy, by internal insurrection the nobility, by arming Europe
106 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789-1791
against it. They had great expectations from anarchy, which, it
is true, caused France many evils, but which was far from rendering
their own position better. Let us now see how the hostihties of
the clergy were brought on; for this purpose we must go back
a little.
The revolution had commenced with the finances, and had not
yet been able to put an end to the embarrassments by which it was
caused. More important objects had occupied the attention of
the assembly. Summoned, no longer to defray the expenses of
administration, but to constitute the state, it had suspended its
legislative discussions, from time to time, in order to satisfy the
more pressing necessities of the treasury. Necker had proposed pro-
visional means, which had been adopted in confidence, and almost
without discussion. Despite this zeal, he did not without displeasure
see the finances considered as subordinate to the constitution,
and the ministry to the assembly. A first loan of thirty millions
($6,000,000), voted on August 9, had not succeeded; a subsequent
loan of eighty millions ($16,000,000), voted on the 27th of the same
month, had been insufficient.^ Duties were reduced or abolished,
and they yielded scarcely anything, owing to the difficulty of col-
lecting them. It became useless to have recourse to public confi-
dence, which refused its aid ; and in September Xecker had
proposed, as the only means, an extrao-rdinary contribution of a
fourth of the revenue, to be paid at once. Each citizen was to fix
his proportion himself, making use of that simple form of oath,
which well expressed these first days of honor and patriotism:
" I declare with truth."
]\Iirabeau now caused Necker to be invested with a complete
financial dictatorship. He spoke of the urgent wants of the state,
of the labors of the assembly, which did not permit it to discuss
the plan of the minister, and which at the same time prevented its
examining any other; of Necker's skill, which insured the success
of his own measure ; and urged the assembly to leave with him
the responsil^ility of its success, by confidently adopting it. As
some did not approve of the views of the minister, and others sus-
pected the intentions of ]\Tirabeau with respect to him. he closed
2 Necker had first negotiated these loans at five per cent. The national
assembly cut the rate down to four and one-half. The American War had cost
France between 1000 and 1200 millions, and part of this amount still remained
unpaid and was included in the loan proposed by Necker. Stourm, " Les
Finances de fancienne regime ct de la Revolution," vol. 11. p. 205.
SEPARATION OF PARTIES 107
1789-1791
his speech, one of the most eloquent he ever delivered, by displaying'
bankruptcy impending, and exclaiming: "Vote this extraordinary
subsidy, and may it prove sufficient! Vote it; for if you have
doubts respecting the means, you have none respecting the want,
and our inability to supply it. Vote it, for the public circumstances
will not bear delay, and we shall be accountable for all postpone-
ment. Beware of asking for time; misfortune never grants it.
Gentlemen, on the occasion of a ridiculous motion at the Palais
Royal, an absurd incursion, which had never had any importance,
save in feeble imaginations, or the minds of men of ill designs
and bad faith, you once heard these words, ' Catiline is at the gates
of Rome, and yet they deliberate ! ' And yet there were around
us neither Catiline, nor perils, nor factions, nor Rome. But now
bankruptcy, hideous bankruptcy, is there; it threatens to consume
you, your properties, your honor, and yet you deliberate ! " Mira-
beau had carried away the assembly by his oratory, and the pa-
triotic contribution was voted with unanimous applause.
There was another important financial expedient of Necker's.
He had recourse to a modified form of tlie old Bank of Dis-
count, to be called the Caisse Patriotique. In order to convert
the old organization into a national bank, the directors of it were
to be chosen by the national assembly. The notes to be put in
circulation were to be fixed at 240,000,000. and the state, by a spe-
cial decree of the government, was to guarantee their security. The
capital of the Bank of Discount, which represented at this time
some thirty millions in circulation, was to be increased to fifty
millions by the creation of 12,500 sliares. Numbers of the deputies
opposed this measure on the ground tliat it would associate the
government in the possible bankruptcy of the bank. They argued
that if the Bank of Discount were strong enough, it had no need
of a national guarantee to protect its credit; and if the state had
"* The orig-inal idea was to persuade tlie nation to make a don patriotique
a patriotic gift to the government, payable in three annual installments.
When this suggestion failed of approval, Xeckcr came forward with an income
tax of twenty-five per cent., from which he hoped to acquire 400,000,000 francs!
It is true tliat in favor of this mea-ure Mirabeau. who had a horror of bank-
ruptcy in the government, made one of h.is greatest speeches. But it is hardly
accurate to say that it " was voted with unanimous applause." Necker's enemies
adopted the measure, hoping that he and it would fall together. Cf. Morris,
" Diary and Letters," vol. I. p. 162. The plan failed from the very beginning.
Morris writes on September 20: "The finances . . . seem to be going fast
to the devil."
108 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789-1791
the credit, it ought not to associate Its name with a private corpora-
tion. Necker proposed this expedient on November 14, 1789; it
was adopted on December 17, and on December 19 the Caisse
Patriotique was opened to the pubhc. Six days afterward the notes
of the bank were two per cent, below par value. The patriotic
loan was a failure. By January, 1791, it had amounted to only
thirty millions.
In the meantime, immediately after the granting of the pa-
triotic loan, September 26, 1789, there arose a movement which,
while having no direct bearing on the issue of assignats, is of in-
terest as showing the feeling that existed throughout France with
reference to the condition of the treasury. This was the outbreak
of enthusiasm which manifested itself in what were called the
" patriotic gifts." Each day the president of the assembly an-
nounced new offerings. The announcement is made that " M.
Carre and his wife offer 48 livres ; M. de Montmouron makes
a gift of 8000 livres " ; another sends in the annual inter-
est on a loan. The comedians of the king raise a subscription
of 23,000 livres, payable the following January. A collegian offers
a box of medals. One of the officers of the state offers his services
without salary. A manufactory contributes five per cent, of its
profits. Watch chains, silver buckles, earrings, jewelry of all sorts,
are offered in great abundance. Besides these little gifts there were
many larger ones. The young business men of Paris give 6029
livres, a gentleman servant of the king 6000 livres, an " intendant
de la guerre 26,000 livres."
But this resource had only afforded momentary relief. The
finances of the revolution depended on a more daring and more
vast measure. It was necessary not only to support the revolution,
but to repair the immense deficit which stopped its progress and
tlireatened its future destiny. One way alone remained to declare
ecclesiastical property national, and to sell it for the rescue of the
state. Public interest prescribed this course ; and it could be done
with justice, the clergy not being the proprietors, but the simple
administrators of this property, devoted to religion, and not to the
priests. The nation, therefore, by taking on itself the expenses of
the altar, and the support of its ministers, might procure and ap-
propriate an important financial resource and obtain a great
political result.
It was important not to leave an independent body, and espe-
SEPARATION OF PARTIES 109
1789-1791
cially an ancient body, any longer in the state; for in a time of
revolution everything ancient is hostile. The clergy, by its formid-
able hierarchy and its opulence, a stranger to the new changes,
would have remained as a republic in the kingdom. Its form be-
longed to another system : when there was no state, but only
bodies, each order had provided for its own regulation and exist-
ence. The clergy had its decretals, the nobility its law of fiefs,
the people its corporations ; everything was independent, because
everything was private. But now that functions were becoming
public, it was necessary to make a magistracy of the priesthood as
they had made one of royalty; and in order to make them de-
pendent on the state it was essential they should be paid by it, and
to resume from the monarch his domains, from the clergy its prop-
erty, by bestowing on each of them suitable endowments. This
great operation, which destroyed the ancient ecclesiastical regime,
was effected in the following manner:
One of the most pressing necessities was the abolition of tithes.
As these were a tax paid by the rural population to the clergy, the
sacrifice would be for the advantage of those who were oppressed
by them. Accordingly, after declaring they were redeemable on the
night of August 4, they were suppressed on the nth, without pro-
viding any equivalent. The clergy opposed the measure at first,
but afterward had the good sense to consent. The Archbishop of
Paris gave up tithes in the name of all his brethren, and by this
act of prudence he showed liimself faithful to the line of conduct
adopted by the privileged classes on the night of August 4; but
this was the extent of his sacrifices. The Abbe Maury precipitated
the discussion on September 24 by suggesting the restoration of the
tithes to the clergy. It is interesting, at this point, to recall that
in June the clergy had offered the church property as a guarantee
of the public debt, as had been done before in France, under Charles
IX. and Henry III. (1560-1589). At that time it would still have
been possible to save the credit of the state by the generous offer.
Now, the progress of the revolution had annihilated the credit of
the state.
On October 10, 1789, the debate respecting the possession of
ecclesiastical property began. Talleyrand, Bishop of Autun, pro-
posed to the clergy that they should renounce it in favor of the
nation, which would employ it in defraying the expenses of worship
and liquidating its debt. He proved the justice and propriety of
110 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789-1791
this measure, and he showed the great advantages which would
accrue to the state. The property of the clergy amounted to several
thousand millions of francs. After paying its debts, providing
for the ecclesiastical services and that of hospitals, and the endow-
ment of its ministers, sufficient would still remain to extinguish
the public debt, whether permanent or annuities, and to reimburse
the money paid for judicial offices. The clergy rose against this
proposition. The discussion became very animated ; and it was
decided, in spite of their resistance, that they were not proprietors,
but simple depositaries of the wealth that the piety of kings and of
the faithful had devoted to religion, and that the nation, on pro-
viding for the service of public worship, had a right to recall such
property. The decree which placed it at its disposal was passed on
December 2, 1789.
From that moment the hatred of the clergy to the revolution
broke out. At the commencement of the states-general it had been
less intractable than the nobility, in order to preserve its riches ; it
now showed itself as opposed as they to the new regime, of which
it became the most tenacious and furious foe. Yet, as the decree
placed ecclesiastical property at the disposal of the nation, without,
as yet, displacing it, it did not break out into opposition at once.
The administration was still confided to it, and it hoped that the
possessions of the church might serve as a mortgage for the debt,
but would not be sold.
It was, indeed, difficult to effect the sale, which, however, could
not be delayed, the treasury only subsisting on anticipations, and
the exchequer, which supplied it with bills, beginning to lose all
credit on account of the .number it had issued.
They obtained their end, and proceeded with the new financial
organization in the following manner: The necessities of this and
the following year required a sale of this property to the amount
of four hundred millions of francs ; to facilitate it, the corporation
of Paris made considerable subscriptions, and the municipalities of
the kingdom followed the example of Paris. They were to return
to the treasury the equivalent of the property they received from the
state to sell to private individuals; but they wanted money, and
they could not deliver the amount since they had not yet met with
purchasers. What wms to be done? they supplied municipal notes
intended to reimburse the public creditors until they should acquire
the funds necessary for vnthdrawing the notes. Once arrived thus
SEPARATION OF PARTIES 111
1789-1791
far, they saw that, instead of municipal notes, it would be better
to create exchequer bills, which would have a compulsory circula-
tion and answer the purpose of specie : this was simplifying the
operation by generalizing it. In this way the assignats had their
origin.
The invention was of great utility to the revolution, and alone
secured the sale of ecclesiastical property. The assignats, which
were a means of payment for the state, became a pledge to the
creditors. The latter by receiving them were not obliged to accept
payment in land for what they had furnished in money. But sooner
or later the assignats would fall into the hands of men disposed to
realize them, and then they were to be destroyed at the same time
that they ceased to be a pledge. In order that they might fulfill
their design, their forced circulation was required ; to render them
safe, the quantity was limited to the value of the property proposed
for sale ; and that they might not fall by too sudden a change, they
were made to bear interest. The assemb]}^ from the moment of
their issue, wished to give them all the consistency of money. It
was hoped that specie concealed by distrust would immediately
reappear, and that the assignats would enter into competition with
it. Mortgage made them quite as sure, and interest made them
more profitable; but this interest, which was attended with much
inconvenience, disappeared after the first issue. Such was the
origin of the paper money issued under so much necessity, and with
so much prudence, which enabled the revolution to accomplish such
great things, and which was brought into discredit by causes that
belonged less to its nature than to the subsequent use made of it.
When the clergy saw by a decree of December 29 the admin-
istration of church property transferred to tlie municipalities, the
sale they were about to make of it to the vakie of four hundred
millions of francs, and the creation of a paper money calculated to
facilitate this spoliation and render it definitive, it left nothing un-
done to secure the inter\-ention of God in the cause of its wealth.
It made a last attempt: it ofi^ered to realize in its own name the
loan of four hundred millions of francs, which was rejected, be-
cause otherwise, after having decided that it was not the proprietor
of cluirch property, it would thus have again been admitted to be
so. Tt then sought every means of impeding the operations of the
municipalities. In tlie soutli it raised CathoHcs against Protes-
tants ; in the pulpit it alarmed consciences ; in the confessional it
112 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789-1791
treated sales as sacrilegious, and in the tribune it strove to render
the sentiments of the assembly suspected.
Such was the disposition of the clergy, when, in the months
of June and July, 1790, the assembly turned its attention to its
internal organization. The clergy waited with impatience for this
opportunity of exciting a schism. This project, the adoption of
which caused so much evil, went to reestablish the church on its
ancient basis, and to restore the purity of its doctrine; it w^as not
the work of philosophers, but of austere Christians, who wished to
support religion by the state, and to make them concur mutually in
promoting its happiness. The reduction of bishoprics to the same
number as the departments, the conformity of the ecclesiastical cir-
cumscription with the civil circumscription, the nomination of
bishops by electors, who also chose deputies and administrators,
the suppression of chapters and the substitution of vicars for
canons were the chief features of this plan ; there was nothing in
it that attacked the dogmas or worship of the church. For a long
time the bishops and other ecclesiastics had been nominated by the
people; as for diocesan limits, the operation was purely material,
and in no respect religious. It moreover generously provided for
the support of the members of the church, and if the high digni-
taries saw their revenues reduced, the cures, who formed the most
numerous portion, had theirs augmented.
The consequences of this reorganization were enormous. The
bounds of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction were older than any other
sort. At the time of the recognition of Christianity by Constantine
(311 A. D.) the dioceses of the church had largely coincided with the
provincial jurisdictions of the Roman Empire. The fact that a con-
stitution nearly fifteen hundred years old was wiped out by decree
cannot be lightly regarded. It provided : ( i ) That each department
should be a diocese; (2) that pastors and bishops should be elected
by citizens; (3) that church authorities should be subject to control
of civil authorities; (4) that all priests should be required to take
the oath of loyalty to nation, laws, and king, and to support the
new constitution, although they could not know what this meant,
for nobody as yet knew what the new constitution would be, and
did not until a year later. The death of the Bishop of Grampy
brought the question up. The assembly rendered two decrees,
giving local courts jurisdiction in such cases and depriving priests
of salary who refused oath. A majority of the clergy refused it
SEPARATION OF PARTIES 113
1789-1791
and were deprived of their seats in the assembly. The nation was
henceforth divided in the great schism. It irrevocably determined
the future course of the revolution and opened the breach between
the king and the revolution in every Christian conscience. It made
a gulf which could not be bridged over, and therefore it doomed the
monarchy to destruction. But the question had another defect :
the last possibility was lost to establish between the king and Mira-
beau that confidence which was the prerequisite to the carrying out
of the latter's plans. Mirabeau was in a high degree responsible
for the objectionable decrees, and the king could never throw him-
self into the arms of a man who had done violence to his con-
science, even if he were fully convinced that this man was the
only one who could save his life and his throne.
Only nine archbishops out of 135 took the oath among them
the Cardinal-Archbishop of Sens, Lomenie de Brienne, Jarente,
Archbishop of Orleans, and Talleyrand. July 24 was set as the
time limit of oath, and on November 27, 1790, all bishops and cures
not taking the oath were declared refractories. It was reluctantly
sanctioned by Louis XVI. on December 21, 1790.
The civil constitution of the clergy was eagerly seized upon
by those opposed to the revolution. From the outset of the discus-
sion the Archbishop of Aix protested against the principles of the
ecclesiastical committees. In his opinion the appointment or sus-
pension of bishops by civil authority was opposed to discipline; and
when the decree was put to the vote, the Bishop of Clermont re-
capitulated the principles advanced by the Archbishop of Aix and
left the hall at the head of all the dissentient members. The decree
passed, but the clergy declared war against the revolution. From
that moment it leagued more closely with the dissentient nobility.
Equally reduced to the common condition, the two privileged
classes employed all their means to stop the progress of reform.
The departments were scarcely formed when agents were sent
by them to assemble the electors and try new nominations. They
did not hope to obtain a favorable choice, but aimed at fomenting
divisions between the assembly and the departments. This project
was denounced from the tribune, and failed as soon as it was made
known. Its authors then went to work in another way. The
period allotted to the deputies of the states-general had expired,
their power having been limited to one year, according to the de-
sire of the districts. The aristocrats availed themselves of this
114 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789-1791
circumstance to require a fresh election of the assembly. Had
they gained this point, they would have acquired a great advantage,
and with this view they themselves appealed to the sovereignty of
the people. " Without doubt," replied Chapelier, " all sovereignty
rests with the people ; but this principle has no application to the
present case ; it would be destroying the constitution and liberty to
renew the assembly before the constitution is completed. This is,
indeed, the hope of those who wish to see liberty and the constitu-
tion perish, and to witness the return of the distinction of orders,
of prodigality in the public expenditure, and of the abuses that
spring from despotism." At this moment all eyes were turned to
the Right and rested on the Abbe Maury. " Send those people
to the Chatelet," said the latter sharply ; " or if you do not know
them, do not speak of them." " The constitution," continued
Chapelier, " can only be made by one assembly. Besides, the former
electors no longer exist; the bailiwicks are used in the departments,
the orders are no longer separate. The clause respecting the limi-
tation of power is consequently without value; it will therefore be
contrary to the constitution, if the deputies do not retain their seats
in this assembly; their oath commands them to continue there, and
public interest requires it."
"You entangle us in sophisms," replied the Abl^e ]\Iaury;
" how long have we been a national convention ? You talk of the
oath we took on June 20, without considering that it cannot
weaken that which we made to our constituents. Besides, gen-
tlemen, the constitution is completed ; you have now only to declare
that the king enjoys the plenitude of the executive power. We
are here for the sole purpose of securing to the French nation the
right of influencing its legislation, of establishing the principle that
taxation shall be consented to by the people, and of securing our
liberty. Yes, the constitution is made ; and I will oppose every
decree calculated to limit the rights of the people over their repre-
sentatives. The founders of liberty ought to respect the liberty of
the nation ; the nation is above us all, and we destroy our authority
by limiting the national authority."
The Abbe ^Taury's speech was received with loud applause
from tlie Riglit. IMirabeau immediately ascended the tribune.
" It is asked," said he, " liow long the deputies of the people have
been a national convention? I answer, from the day when, find-
ing tlie door of their session-house surrounded bv soldiers, tliev
SEPARATION OF PARTIES 115
1789-1791
went and assembled where they could, and swore to perish rather
than betray or abandon the rights of the nation. Whatever our
powers were, that day their nature was changed ; and whatever
powers we may have exercised, our efforts and labors have ren-
dered them legitimate, and the adhesion of the nation has sanctified
them. You all remember the saying of the great man of antiquity,
who had neglected legal forms to save his country. Summoned
by a factious tribune to confess that he had violated the laws, he
replied, 'I swear I have saved my country!' Gentlemen," he
exclaimed, turning to the deputies of the commons, " I swear that
you have saved France! "
The assembly then rose by a spontaneous movement and de-
clared that the session should not close till their task was
accomplished.^
Anti-revolutionary efforts were increasing, at the same time,
without the assembly. Attempts were made to seduce or disor-
ganize the army, but the assembly took prudent measures in this
respect. It gained the affections of the troops by rendering pro-
motion independent of the court, and of titles of nobility. The
Count d'Artois and the Prince de Conde, who had retired to Turin
after July 14, corresponded with Lyons and the south; but the
emigrants, not having yet the external influence they aftei'ward
acquired at Coblentz, and failing to meet with internal support, all
their efforts were vain. The attempts at insurrection, originating
with the clergy in Languedoc, had as little effect. They brought
on some transient disturbances, but did not effect a religious war.*'
Time is necessary to form a ])arty; still more is required to induce
it to decide on serious hostilities. A more practicable design was
that of carrying oft* the king and conveying him to Peronne. The
Marquis de Favras, with the secret support of ]Monsieur, the king's
^ The national assembly met every clay in the week, including Sundays,
generally holdini:^ two sessions each daj-, one at 9 a. m.. the other in the evening.
After I^Iarch, 1790, a regular routine was adopted, three days being devoted
to financial considerations and fou.r to the formation of the constitution. The
eveni!-.g sessions were occupied with social or casual business. Aulard, " Lcs
Oratcurs dc I'Asscmbh'c coiisliluciitc;' pp. 4,V4.s.
This may conveniently he made the place to note a measure which Mignet
docs not mention, the l:i\v of Decemlx'r 2.1, T7S9, declaring Protestants, Jews,
and actors eligil)le for all civil and military offices.
f' There is an excellent work npnu tin's subject by Ernest Daudet, "Lcs
Conjurations royalislcs dii Midi," Paris, 1881. Cf. Von Sybel, "French Revo-
hilion," vol. T. p. 227.
116 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789-1791
brother, was preparing to execute it, when it was discovered. The
Chatelet condemned to death this intrepid adventurer, who had
failed in his enterprise through undertaking it with too much dis-
playJ The king's flight, after the events of October, could only
be effected furtively, as it subsequently happened at Varennes.
The position of the court was equivocal and embarrassing.
It encouraged every anti-revolutionary enterprise and avowed
none; it felt more than ever its weakness and dependence on the
assembly; and while desirous of throwing off the yoke, feared to
make the attempt because success appeared difficult. Accordingly,
it excited opposition without openly cooperating in it; with some
it dreamed of the restoration of the ancient regime, with others it
only aimed at modifying the revolution. Mirabeau had been re-
cently in treaty with it. After having been one of the chief
authors of reform, he sought to give it stability by enchaining fac-
tion. His object was to convert the court to the revolution, not to
give up the revolution to the court. The support he offered was
constitutional ; he could not offer any other ; for his power depended
on his popularity, and his popularity on his principles. But he was
wrong in suffering it to be bought. Had not his immense neces-
sities obliged him to accept money and sell his counsels, he would
not have been more blamable than the unalterable Lafayette, the
Lameths and the Girondins, who successively negotiated with it.
But none of them gained the confidence of the court ; it had recourse
to them only in extremity. By their means it endeavored to
suspend the revolution, while by the means of the aristocracy
it tried to destroy it. Of all the popular leaders Mirabeau had
perhaps the greatest ascendency over the court, because he was the
most winning and had the strongest mind.
"' The nature and extent of this plot are alike a matter of doubt. It is
not certain whether a counter-revolution on a formidable scale was planned,
or only the escape of the king. Favras' last words on the scafifold were : " It
is not I who was the chief of the plot, but they needed a victim and took me."
Cf. "Revue de la Revolution frangaise" vol. V. p. 64. He never divulged the
secret.
* La Marque says: " Mirabeau's worst enemies were his creditors." His
father had died in the first month of the revolution and Alirabeau inherited
enough to pay his debts, but he was too much absorbed in politics to attend to his
personal affairs. He accepted from the king, first, the payment of his debts,
amounting to something over 200,000 livres; secondly, a payment of 6000
a month to pay his running expenses; and thirdly, and for this he had not
extenuating explanation, the promise that he would receive a million if he
would remain faithful to the engagement until the end of the assembly.
SEPARATION OF PARTIES 117
1789-1791
Mirabeau sent on May lo, 1790, a written statement of his
promises. But if anything was to be effected, it was necessary
that Mirabeau have also the power to act. His written advice,
clandestinely put into the hands of the king, would at best elicit
reluctant consent, but unless the character of the king underwent a
radical change, his accepting it so as to carry it out with determina-
tion was absolutely out of the question.
The assembly worked unceasingly at the constitution in the
midst of these intrigues and plots. It decreed the new judicial or-
ganization of France. All the new magistracies were temporary.
Under the absolute monarchy all powers emanated from the
throne, and all functionaries were appointed by the king ; under the
constitutional monarchy all powers emanating from the people, the
functionaries were to be appointed by it. The throne alone was
transmissible ; the other powers, being the property neither of a
man nor of a family, were neither of life-tenure nor hered-
itar}'.
The legislation of that period depended on one sole principle,
the sovereignty of the nation. The judicial functions had them-
selves that changeable character. Trial by jury, a democratic in-
stitution formerly common to nearly all the Continent, but which in
England alone had survived the encroachments of feudalism and
the throne, was introduced into criminal causes. For civil causes
special judges were nominated. Fixed courts were established, two
courts of appeal to prevent error, and a cour de cassation intended
to secure the preservation of the protecting forms of the law. This
formidable power, when it proceeds from the throne, can only be
independent by being fixed ; but it must be temporary when it
proceeds from the people, because, while depending on all, it de-
pends upon no one.
The new judicial organization was more commendable than
most of the other features of the constitution. But its completion
was deferred until October, 1790, and until it could be put in
operation France was virtually without courts. Thus lawlessness
and anarchy profited. Trial by jury did not extend to civil causes.
On May 5, 1790, the motion passed that judges should be elected
by the people, for six years. Each canton was to have a justice of
the peace. Robespierre said that the duty of the cour de cassation
was " to wage war against the adulterers of the moral existence of
the people."
118 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789-1791
In another matter, quite as important, the right of making
peace or war, the assembly decided a new and dehcate question,
and this in a sure, just, and prompt manner, after one of the most
kmiinous and eloquent discussions that ever distinguished its sit-
tings. As peace and war belonged more to action than to will, it
confided, contrary to the usual rule, the initiative to the king. He
who was best able to judge of its fitness was to propose the ques-
tion, but it was left to the legislative body to decide it.
The definition of the war power in the constitution was forced
forward by the prospect of war between England and Spain over
Nootka Sound (Vancouver), in Alay, 1790. By the Family Com-
pact of 1762 France had become an ally of Spain, and there
was; therefore, prospect of France being drawn into the coming
struggle. The king had been induced by the warlike attitude of
England to order fourteen ships of the line to be got ready for the
campaign. War had a number of partisans among the people of
influence. A group animated by the war fever, was headed by La-
fayette, partly because the part of a great general and a con-
quering hero suited his fancy, for his exploits in the American
Revolution had, in his own mind at least, settled the question of his
military genius without a doubt, and partly because he wanted to
humor his old aversion to England.
Very different from Lafayette's position toward the question
was that of the Jacobins. The war rumors were w'elcome to them,
and the war apprehensions they fanned with all the characteristic
energy of every radicalism. What other subject could they have
fciund so apt to stir all the strongest passions of the human nature
in tlie most violent excitement as war? But though the Jacobins
made the most of war rumors, and war apprehensions, they dreaded
nothing more than a war. They so little understood the true na-
ture of the legitimate growth of their own policy that they were
convinced that a war would result in at once propping up the
tottering throne.
Tills delusion that the war would prop up the throne was
sliared by some others, who thought that the best way to quencli
the fire in tlie interior was to send the turbulent elements to the
frontier. But it was a mistake to think that those who made
July \j\. anrl October 5, and wlio afterward carried througli the
wholesale biitchen,- in the September massacres, would be the most
eager to hurry to the frontier to face the enemy.
SEPARATION OF PARTIES 119
1789-1791
The Left wanted the Right to declare war and peace to be
vested in the national or legislative assembly. The Right con-
tended that it must remain the exclusive prerogative of the crown.
The discussion lasted several days, and both parties had taken the
floor when Mirabeau took it. This speech is one of his best ef-
forts. The motion with which he closed his speech commenced by
declaring that the right of peace and war belonged with the nation,
and then he proceeded to state how and to whom the exercising
power should be delegated by the nation. The right to watch over
the external safety is confided in the king. He alone is the organ
of all international relations. He negotiates and makes the
preparations for war, but when the legislative body has expressed
its dissatisfaction with the war, the executive is bound to take all
measures calculated to bring about its immediate cessation.
Barnave was charged with refuting him from the rostrum.
He was a keen dialectician and an expert in supporting his dialec-
tics with venomous insinuations. His leading idea was that the
constitution was a division of powers, based on the fact that the
expression of the general will is exclusively the province of the rep-
resentatives of the people. ^lirabeau replied with the coldest
and most sober reasoning. He showed that Barnave presumed the
legislative power and the legislative body to be identical. The
principle underlying the constitution was that they are not. i\c-
cording to the constitution the legislative power was not vested
exclusively in the legislative body, but in the legislative body
conjointly with the king. The simplest legislative act had been
made dependent upon the approval of the king till the time for the
suspensive veto had expired with regard to peace and war; but
just where all questions of expediency imperatively demanded his
cooperation, the other delegate of the nation the king was not
to be deprived of his share in the legislative power,
Barnave tried to answer him, but no answer was possible. A
large majority voted with ]\Iirabeau.
The popular torrent, after having burst forth against the
ancient regime, gradually subsided into its bed ; new- dykes re-
strained it on all sides. The government of the revolution was
rapidlv becoming established. The assembly had given to the new
regime its monarch, its national representation, its territorial di-
vision, its armed force, its municipal and administrative power, its
popular tribunals, its currency, its clergy; it had made an arrange-
120 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
i*v J. iA 1789-1791
ment with respect to its debt, and it had found means to reconstruct
property without injustice.
From the end of the year 1789 "fraternal associations" had
been formed in various parts of France. Such were the Federation
dc I'Etoile. near Valence, in November, 1789; the federation of
15,000 national guards, in Brittany, in January, 1790; the Federa-
tions de I'Est, of the garrisons and the national guards, with
headquarters at Epinal, organized March 6, 1790; the Federation
de Lyons, May 30, 1790; the Federation Alsacienne, under the
presidency of the mayor of Strasburg, June 13, 1790. From Dau-
phine the movement spread throughout the valley of the Rhone,
and thence over all France.
July 14 approached: that day was regarded by the nation
as the anniversary of its deliverance, and preparations were made
to celebrate it with a solemnity calculated to elevate the souls
of the citizens and to strengthen the common bonds of union. A
confederation of the whole kingdom was appointed to take place
in the Champ de Mars; and there, in the open air, the deputies
sent by the eighty-three departments, the national representatives,
the Parisan guard, and the monarch, were to take oath to the con-
stitution. By way of prelude to this patriotic fete, the popular
members of the nobility proposed the abolition of titles; and the
assembly witnessed another sitting similar to that of August 4.
Titles, armorial bearings, liveries, and orders of knighthood were
abolished on June 20, and vanity, as power had previously done,
lost its privileges.
This sitting established equality everywhere, and made things
agree with words, by destroying all the pompous paraphernalia
of other times. Formerly titles had designated functions ; armorial
bearings had distinguished powerful families; liveries had been
worn by whole armies of vassals; orders of knighthood had de-
fended the state against foreign foes, Europe against Islamism ; but
now nothing of this remained. Titles had lost their truth and
tlieir fitness; nobility, after ceasing to be a magistracy, had even
ceased t(; be an ornament; and power, like glory, was henceforth
to spring from plebeian ranks. But whether the aristocracy set
more value on their titles than on their privileges, or whether they
only awaited a jjretext for openly declaring themselves, this last
measure, more than any other, decided the emigration and its
attacks. It was for the nobility, what the civil constitution
SEPARATION OF PARTIES 121
1789-1791
had been for the clergy, an occasion, rather than a cause, of hos-
tiHty.
July 14 arrived, and the revolution witnessed few such glori-
ous days the weather only did not correspond with this magnifi-
cent fete. The deputies of all the departments were presented to
the king, who received them with much affability ; and he, on
his part, met also with the most touching testimonies of love,
but as a constitutional king. " Sire," said the leader of the Breton
deputation, kneeling on one knee and presenting his sword, " I
place in your hands the faithful sword of the brave Bretons : it
shall only be reddened by the blood of your foes." Louis XVI.
raised and embraced him and returned the sword. " It cannot be
in better hands than in those of my brave Bretons," he replied;
" I have never doubted their loyalty and affection ; assure them
that I am the father and brother, the friend of all Frenchmen."
" Sire," returned the deputy, " every Frenchman loves and will
continue to love you, because you are a citizen-king."
The confederation was to take place in the Champ de Mars.
The immense preparations were scarcely completed in time; all
Paris had been engaged for several weeks to get the arrangements
ready by the 14th. At seven in the morning the procession of elec-
tors, of the representatives of the corporation, of the presidents
of districts, of the national assembly, of the Parisian guard, of the
deputies of the army, and of the federates of the departments, set
out in complete order from the site of the Bastile. The presence
of all these national corps, the floating banners, the patriotic inscrip-
tions, the varied costumes, the sounds of music, the joy of the
crowd, rendered the procession a most imposing one. It traversed
the city and crossed the Seine amidst a volley of artillery, over
a bridge of boats which had been thrown across it the preceding
day. It entered the Champ de Mars under a triumphal arch
adorned with patriotic inscriptions. Each body took the station
assigned it in excellent order and amid shouts of applause.
The vast space of the Champ de ]\Iars was inclosed by raised
seats of turf, occupied by four hunclrcd thousand spectators. An
antique altar was erected in the middle; and around it, on a vast
amphitheater, were the king, his family, the assembly, and the cor-
poration. The federates of the dc])artments were ranged in order
under their banners ; the deputies of the army and the national
guards were in their ranks and under their ensigns. The Bishop
122 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789-1791
Talleyrand, of Aiitiin, ascended the altar in pontifical robes; four
hundred priests in white robes and decorated with flowing tri-colored
sashes were posted at the four corners of the altar. Mass was cele-
brated amid the sounds of military music ; and then the Bishop of
Autun blessed the oriflamme, or military standard of the French
kings, and the eighty-three banners of the departments.
A profound silence now reigned in the vast inclosure, and
Lafayette, appointed that day to the command in chief of all the
national guards of the kingdom, advanced first to take the civic
oath. Borne on the arms of grenadiers to the altar of the country,
amid the acclamations of the people, he exclaimed with a loud
voice, in his own name and that of the federates and troops : " We
swear eternal fidelity to the nation, the law, and the king; to
maintain to the utmost of our power the constitution decreed by
the national assembly and accepted by the king; and to remain
united with every Frenchman by the indissoluble ties of fraternity."
Forthwith the firing of cannon, prolonged cries of "" Vive la na-
tion! " " Vive le roi!" and sounds of music mingled in the air.
The president of the national assembly took the same oath, and all
the deputies repeated it with one voice. Then Louis XVL rose
and said : " I, king of the French, swear to employ all the power
delegated to me by the constitutional act of the state, in maintain-
ing the constitution decreed by the national assembly and accepted
by me." The queen, carried away by the enthusiasm of the moment,
rose, lifted up the dauphin in her arms, and, showing him to the
people, exclaimed : " Behold my son, he unites with me in the same
sentiments." At that moment the banners were lowered, the ac-
clamations of the people were heard, and the subjects believed in
the sincerity of the monarch, the monarch in the affection of the
subjects, and this happy day closed w^ith a hymn of thanksgiving.
1 he fetes of the confederation were protracted for some days.
Illuminations, balls, and sports were given by the city of Paris to
the deputies of the departments. A ball took place on the spot
where stood, a year before, the Bastile ; gratings, fetters, ruins
were observed licre and there, and on the door was the inscription,
" Ici on (hnise." a striking contrast with the ancient destination of
the spot. A contemporary observes : " They danced indeed with
joy anrl security on the ground where so many tears had been shed ;
where courage, genius, and innocence had so often groaned; where
so often tlie cries of despair had been uttered in death." A medal
SEPARATION OF PARTIES 123
1789-1791
was struck to commemorate the confederation ; and at the termina-
tion of the fetes the deputies returned to their departments.
The confederation only suspended the hostihties of parties.
Petty intrigues were resumed in the assembly as well as out of
doors. The Duke of Orleans had returned from his mission, or,
more strictly speaking, from his exile. The inquiry respecting the
events of October 5 and 6, of which he and Mirabeau were accused
as the authors, had been conducted by the Chatelet. This inquiry,
which had been suspended, was now resumed. By this attack the
court again displayed its want of foresight; for it ought to have
proved the accusation or not to have made it. The assembly having
decided on giving up the guilty parties, had it found any such,
declared there was no ground for proceeding; and Mirabeau, after
an overwhelming outburst against the whole affair, obliged the
Right to be silent, and thus arose triumphantly from an accusation
which had been made expressly to intimidate him.''
They attacked not only a few deputies, but the assembly itself.
The court intrigued against it, but the Right drove this to exaggera-
tion. "We like its decrees," said the Abbe Maury; "we want
three or four more of them." Hired libelists sold, at its very doors,
papers calculated to deprive it of the respect of the people ; the min-
isters blamed and obstructed its progress. Xecker. still haunted by
the recollection of his former ascendency, addressed to it memorials
in which he opposed its decrees and gave it advice. This minister
could not accustom himself to a secondary part ; he would not fall
in with the abrupt plans of the assembly, so entirely opposed to his
ideas of gradual reform. At length, convinced or weary of the
inutility of his efforts, he left Paris, after resigning, on September
4, 1790, and obscurely traversed those provinces which a year before
he had gone through in triumph. In revolutions men are easily
forgotten, for the nation sees many in its varied course. If we
would not find them ungrateful, we must not cease for an instant
to serve according to their own desire.
Necker's retirement forced forward a grave political question,
namely, how far did the king have a right to select his ministers?
Already, in the debates upon the formation of the constitution. Mir-
abeau had argued that the ministers should have seats in the assem-
Lomcnie, " Lcs Mirabeau!' vol. TV. ch. xxvii., takes an adverse view of
Aliraheau's political honesty. Von Hoist, "The French Revolution Tested by
Alirabeau's Career," holds a brief in his defense. Cf. the note in Fletcher's
edition of Carlyle : " French Revolution," vol. I. p. 344.
124, THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789-1791
bly. after the manner of the Enghsh form of government. The
Kiglit and Left were, from opposite reasons, opposed to Mira-
beau's motion, but i>art of them were with him, and the Center
seemed at first secure. When a motion to exclude the ministers
from tiie assembly was made Mirabeau had replied in a scathing
speech. But he did not change the votes. The motion was carried.
This meant the adoption of the principle that the executive and
administrative departments of the nation were antagonistic. Now,
a"-ain, Mirabeau made an unsuccessful effort to inject strength into
the constitution.
On the other hand, the nobility, which had found a new subject
of discontent in the abolition of titles, continued its anti-revolu-
tionary efforts. As it did not succeed in exciting the people, who
from their position found tlie recent changes very beneficial, it had
recourse to means which it considered more certain ; it quitted the
kingdom, with the intention of returning thither with all Europe
as its armed ally ; but while waiting till a system of emigration could
be organized, while waiting for the appearance of foreign foes to
tlie revolution, it continued to arouse enemies to it in the interior of
tlie kingdom. The troops, as we have before observed, had already
for some time been tampered with in various ways. The new mil-
itary code was favorable to the soldiers ; promotion formerly granted
to the nobility wastnow granted to seniority. Most of the officers
were attached to the ancient regime, nor did they conceal the fact.
Ci:)mpel]ed to take the oath of fidelity to the nation, the law, and
the king, which was become the common oath, some left the army
and increased the number of emigrants, while others endeavored to
win the soldiers over to their party.
General Bouille was of this number. After having long refused
to take the civic oath, he did so at last with this intention. He had
a numerous body of troops under his command near the northern
frrtnticr; he was clever, resolute, attached to the king, opposed to
tlie revolution, such as it was now become, though the friend of
retdrin, a circumstance that afterward brought him into suspicion
at Col)lentz. He kept his army isloated from the citizens, that it
might remain faithful and that it might not be infected w-ith the
spirit of insul)()r(li:i,'itir)n wliich they communicated to the troops.
By skillful management and the ascendency of a great mind he also
succeeded in retaining the confidence and attachment of his soldiers.
Jt wa'- not t;ius elsewhere. The officers were the objects of a general
SEPARATION OF PARTIES 125
1789-1791
dislike; they were accused of diminishing the pay and having no
concern for the great body of the troops. The prevailing opinions
had also something to do with this dissatisfaction. These combined
causes led to revolts among the men; that of Nancy, on August 31,
1790, produced great alarm and became almost the signal of a civil
war. Three regiments, those of Chateauvieux, Maitre-de-camp,
and the Regiment-du roi, rebelled against their chiefs.^" Bouille was
ordered to march against them ; he did so at the head of the garrison
and national guard of Metz. After an animated skirmish he sub-
dued them. The assembly congratulated him ; but Paris, which saw
in Bouille a conspirator, was thrown into fresh agitation at this
intelligence. Crowds collected, and the impeachment of the minis-
ters who had given orders to Bouille to march upon Nancy was
clamorously demanded. ^^ Lafayette, however, succeeded in allaying
this ebullition, supported by the assembly, which, finding itself
placed between a counter-revolution and anarchy, opposed both with
equal wisdom and courage.
The aristocracy triumphed at the sight of the difficulties which
perplexed the assembly. They imagined that it would be compelled
to be dependent on the multitude or deprive itself entirely of its
support ; and in either case the return to the ancient regime appeared
to them short and easy. The clergy had its share in this work. The
sale of church property, which it took every means to impede, was
effected at a higher price than that fixed. The people, delivered
from the tithes and reassured as to the national debt, were far from
listening to the angry suggestions of the priests ; they accordingly
made use of the civil constitution of the clergy to excite a schism.
i<> There was only one full regiment, that of IMaitre-de-camp. Besides this,
there were four battalions of the Regiment-du-roi and two battalions of the
Swiss. It is an interesting fact that the regiment to which Napoleon was
attached had mutinied in August, 1789. Chuquet, " La jeuncsse de Napoleon''
vol. I. p. 118. That there was wisdom in Bouille's precaution is proved by the
action of the national assembly, which on August 6, 1790, forbade the organization
of political clubs among the soldiers.
^ Aulard has shown that radical members of the national assembly actually
wrote to the soldiers at Nancy, inciting them to revolt! Bouille intercepted
some of the letters. Bouille died in England in 1800 one of the best soldiers
and truest patriots France had in these difficult times.
The Swiss regiment, who had been the leaders of the insurrection of
Nancy, were praised as the martyrs of liberty and the avengers of the law.
Bouille. who had put down the revolt, was denounced as alone responsible
for the shedding of blood. So, imdcr the pressure of the Jacobin Club and the
galleries, the Swiss were amnestied by the assembly.
16 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
l^O X iLXu X 1789-1791
We have seen that this decree of the assembly did not affect either
the (h'scipline or tiie creed of the churdi. The king sanctioned it on
December 21 ; but the bishops declared that it encroached on the
si)iritual authority. The Pope, consulted as to this purely political
measure, refused' his assent to it. which the king earnestly sought,
and encouraged the opposition of the priests. The latter decided
that they would not concur in the establishment of the civil consti-
tution; that those of them who might be suppressed would protest
against this uncanonical act, that every bishopric created without
the concurrence of the Pope should be null, and that the metropoli-
tans should refuse institution to bishops appointed according to civil
fonns.
The assembly strengthened this league by attempting to frus-
trate it. If, contrary to their real desire, it had left the dissentient
priests to themselves, they would not have formed the elements of a
religious war. But the assembly decreed that the ecclesiastics should
swear fidelity to the nation, the law, and the king, and to maintain
the civil constitution of the clergy. Refusal to take this oath was to
be attended by the substitution of others in their bishoprics and
cures. The assembly hoped that the higher clergy from in-
terest and the lower clergy from ambition would adopt this
measure.
The bishops, on the contrary, thought that all the ecclesiastics
would follow their example, and that by refusing to swear they
would leave the state without public w^orship and the people with-
out priests. The result satisfied the expectations of neither party;
the majority of the bishops and cures of the assembly refused to
take the oath, but a few bishops and many cures took it. The dis-
sentient incumbents were deprived and the electors nominated suc-
cessors to tliem, who received canonical institution from the Bishops
of Autun and Lida. But the deprived ecclesiastics refused to aban-
don tlicir functifjus, and declared their successors intruders, the
sacraments administered by them null ; and all Christians who should
venture to recognize them excommunicated. They did not leave
tlicir dioceses; they issued charges and excited the people to disobey
tlie laws; and thus an affair of private interest become first a matter
of religi<,n and then a matter of party. There were two bodies of
clergy, one "constitutional," the other "refractory"; each had
it< partisans and they treated each other as rebels and heretics. Ac-
cording to passion (,r interest, reh'gion became an instrument or an
SEPARATION OF PARTIES 127
1789-1791
obstacle ; and while the priests made fanatics the revolution made
infidels. The people, not yet affected with this malady of the upper
classes, lost, especially in towns, the faith of their fathers from the
imprudence of these who placed them between the revolution and
their religion. " The bishops," said the Marquis de Ferrieres, who
will not be suspected, " refused to fall in with my arrangements,
and by their guilty intrigues closed every approach to reconciliation,
sacrificing the Catholic religion to an insane obstinacy and a dis-
creditable attachment to their wealth."
Every party sought to gain the people ; it was courted as sov-
ereign. After attempting to influence it by religion, other means
was employed, that of the clubs. At that period clubs were private
assemblies in which the measures of government, the business of
the state, and the decrees of the assembly were discussed; their
deliberations had no authority, but they exercised a certain influ-
ence. The first club owed its origin to the Breton deputies, who
already met together at Versailles to consider the course of proceed-
ing they should take. When the national representatives were
transferred from Versailles to Paris the Breton deputies and those
of the assembly who were of their views held their sittings in the
old convent of the Jacobins, which subsequently gave its name to
their meetings. It did not at first cease to be a preparatory assem-
bly, but as all things increase in time, the Jacobin Club did not con-
fine itself to influencing the assembly; it sought also to influence
the municipality and the people, and received as associates members
of the municipality and common citizens. Its organization became
more regular, its action more powerful ; its sittings were regularly
reported in the papers ; it created branch clubs in the provinces and
raised by the side of legal power another power which first counseled
and then conducted it.
The growth of the Jacobin Club was phenomenal. There was
one in Marseilles before the end of the first year of the revolution ;
in June, 1790, there were sixty; by autumn they numbered a hun-
dred and fifty; in two months, in 1791, six hundred new clubs were
organized ; by June, 179.2, there were over a thousand Jacobin Clubs.
While their membership was large, it was the fine organization
which was the secret of success.
The official style of the Jacobin Club was " Societe des Amis
dc la Constitution." On September 21, 1792, this was changed to
" Socictc dcs Jacobins amis dc la liber tc ct de I'cf^alite/' The meet-
128 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1789-1791
ings of tlic club were closed until October 12, 1791, when they were
thrown open to the public.'''
Secession from the Jacobin Club did not take place until after
the attempted flight of the king to Varennes, June 20, 1791. After
that event the Club of '89, poi)ularly called the Feuillant Club, from
the Maison des h>uillants in the Rue St. Honore, was organized.
Sieves, Chapclier, Lafayette, La Rochefoucauld directed it, as
Lameth and Barnave directed that of the Jacobins. Mirabeau be-
longed to both, and by both was equally courted. These clubs, of
which the one prevailed in the assembly and the other among the
people, were attached to the new order of things, though in different
degrees. Both clubs were monarchical in political tendency, but
the Jacobins inclined toward radical democracy, and ultimately be-
came republican. Throughout the history of the revolution the
Jacobin Club reflects the dominant politics of the time. The '" Club
(ics Cordeliers, societc des droits de I'homme et du citoyen," named
from its meeting place in the convent of the Cordeliers, was even
more inclined to republicanism. It was not an offshoot of the
Jacobin Club, but an organization of the electors in the district of
the Cordeliers. Its first political move was to demand the deposi-
ti(^n of the king and the establishment of a republic, on June 20,
1 791. When the Jacobins became republican, the difference be-
tween the two clubs was more one of method than of political belief.
Hie Cordeliers never had the complete organization enjoyed by the
Jacobin Club. It was extinguished with the Terror in 1794. Dan-
ton was its political chief, Camille Desmoulins its intellectual leader.
His paper, the Vieu.r Cordelier, was the organ of the society. It
first appeared in December, 1793.
The aristocracy sought to attack the revolution with its own
arm?; it opened royalist clubs to oppose the popular clubs. The
" Club des Iiupartiaux" was founded in January, 1790, but did not
last long. It appeared under another form a year later as the
" Socicte des Amis de la Constitution Monarchique " the " Club
Mouarehiquc." It sought to render itself popular with the lower
classes, and distributed bread ; but far from accepting its overtures,
the people considered such establishments as a counter-revolutionary
movement. It disturbed the sittings, and obliged the members
'- See 'I'aine, " I'Vcnch Rcvolutinn " ; Aulard, "La Socu'ic des Jacobins;'
2 vr,k., i,S,S<). At p. S[ f,f tl.c first voiunie is to he found the coiistitiitioii of tlie
snriH\ an-I llu' li.-t of affiliated c]ul)s. See also Challemel. " Lcs Clubs contrc-
r,z'o!nliu>iaircs," 1895.
SEPARATION OF PARTIES 129
1789-1791
several times to change their place of meeting. The Jacobin Club
formally denounced it on Christmas Day, 1790, and it was closed
by the city authorities on March 28, 1791, as a police measure, in
order to prevent rioting.
The distrust of the multitude was extreme; the departure of
the king's aunts, to which it attached an exaggerated importance,
increased its uneasiness and led it to suppose another departure was
preparing. These suspicions were not unfounded, and they occa-
sioned a kind of rising which the anti-revolutionists sought to turn
to account by carrying off the king. This project failed, owing to
the resolution and skill of Lafayette. While the crowd went to
Vincennes to demolish the dungeon which they said communicated
with the Tuileries, and would favor the flight of the king, more than
six hundred persons armed with swords and daggers entered the
Tuileries to compel the king to flee. Lafayette, who had repaired
to Vincennes to disperse the multitude, returned to quell the anti-
revolutionists of the chateau, after dissipating the mob of the popu-
lar party, and by this second expedition he regained the confidence
which his first had lost him.^^
The attempt rendered the escape of Louis XVL more feared
than ever. Accordingly, a short time after, when he wished to go
to Saint Cloud, he was prevented by the crowd and even by his own
guard, despite the efforts of Lafayette, who endeavored to make
them respect the law and the liberty of the monarch. The assembly
on its side, after having decreed the inviolability of the prince, after
having regulated his constitutional guard and assigned the regency
to the nearest male heir to the crown, declared that his flight from
the kingdom would lead to his dethronement. The increasing emi-
gration, the open avowal of its objects and the threatening attitude
of the European cabinets, all cherished the fear that the king might
adopt such a determination.
Then, for the first time, the assembly sought to stop the prog-
ress of emigration by a decree, but this decree was a difficult ques-
tion. If they punished those who left the kingdom they violated
^2 The attack of the mob upon the chateau of Vincennes was inspired by
the same feeling as that which had actuated the men who beset the Bastile.
Each structure was regarded as the symbol of absolutism. The immediate
occasion was due to an endeavor of the municipality of Paris to put the castle
in a state of repair in order to use it as a prison. The populace misunderstood
the purpose of the act. Some time before this Lafayette had urged Louis
XVI. to make himself popular by demolishing the castle. " Mcmoires," vol. IL
P- 465.
130 THE FRKNCII REVOLUTION
1789-1791
the maxims of liberty, rendered sacred by tbe declaration of rights;
if they did not raise obstacles to emigration they endangered the
safety of France, as the nobles merely quitted it in order to in-
vade' it. In the assembly, setting aside those who favored em-
igration, some looked only at the right, others only at the danger,
and everyone sided with or opposed the restrictive law, accord-
ing to his mode of viewing the subject. Those who desired the
law wished it to be mild: but only one law could be practica-
ble at such a moment, and the assembly shrank from enacting it.
This law, by the arbitrary order of a committee of three members,
was to pronounce a sentence of civil death on the fugitive and
the confiscation of his property. " The horror expressed on
the. reading of this project," cried Mirabeau, "proves that
this is a law worthy of being placed in the code of Draco, and
cannot find place among the decrees of the national assembly of
France. I proclaim that I shall consider myself released from every
oath of fidelity I have made toward those who may be infamous
enough to nominate a dictatorial commission. The popularity I
covet, and which I have- the honor to enjoy, is not a feeble reed ;
I wish it to take root in the soil, based on justice and liberty." The
exterior position was not yet sufficiently alarming for the adoption
of such a measure of safety and revolutionary defense.^*
Mirabeau did not long enjoy the popularity which he imagined
he was so sure of. That was the last sitting he attended. A few
days afterward lie terminated a life worn out by passions and toil.
His death, which happened on April 2, 1791, was considered a pub-
lic calamity; all Paris attended his funeral; tliere was a general
mourning tliroughout France, and his remains were deposited in
the Pantheon, which had just been " consecrated to the great men
of France by a grateful country." No one succeeded him in power
and popularity; and for a long time, in difficult discussions, the
eyes of the assembly would turn toward the seat from which
they had been accustomed to hear the commanding eloquence that
terminated their debates. IMirabeau, after having assisted the revo-
lution with his daring in seasons of trial, and with his powerful
^''Ihc prnpHMtion forcibly to prevent emigration was first made on Feb-
n-ary 21, 17 ji. '1 iic motion to create a committee of three was made a week
later, and failed to carry, chicly owing to Mirabeau's attack. The question
did IV, 1 coinc up aiiain until n:i(!:-unnn-r. It is interesting to observe that the
formidable di^crvtionary i)o\ver. here advocated fur the committee foreshadow
the creatinn of iI.l comauucc < f public safety.
SEPARATION OF PARTIES 131
1789-1791
reasoning since its victory, died seasonably. He was revolving vast
designs; he wished to strengthen the throne and consolidate the
revolution : two attempts extremely difficult at such a time. It is
to be feared that royalty, if he had made it independent, would have
put down the revolution; or, if he had failed, that the revolution
would have put down royalty.^^ It is perhaps impossible to con-
vert an ancient power into a new order; perhaps a revolution must
be prolonged in order to become legitimate, and the throne, as it
recovers, acquire the novelty of the other institutions.
From October 5 and 6, 1789, to the month of April, 1791, the
national assembly completed the reorganization of France; the court
gave itself up to petty intrigues and projects of flight; the privileged
classes sought for new means of power, those which they formerly
possessed having been successively taken from them. They took
advantage of all the opportunities of disorder which circumstances
furnished them with to attack the new regime and restore the old by
means of anarchy. At the opening of the parlements the nobility
caused the chambres de vacations to protest; when the provinces
were abolished it made the orders protest. As soon as the depart-
ments were formed it tried new elections ; when the old wTits had ex-
pired it sought the dissolution of the assembly; when the new mili-
tary code passed it endeavored to excite the defection of the officers ;
lastly, all these means of opposition failing to effect the success of
its designs, it emigrated to excite Europe against the revolution.
The clergy, on its side, discontented with the loss of its possessions
still more than with the ecclesiastical constitution, sought to destroy
the new order by insurrections and to bring on insurrections by a
schism. Thus it was during this epoch that parties became gradu-
ally disunited and that the two classes hostile to the revolution pre-
pared the elements of civil and foreign war,
1^' The opinion of critical historians to-day is that IMirabeau was the
greatest statesman of the revoUitionary period and that, if he had lived, the
fall of the monarchy might have been averted. Cf. Von Sybel, " History of
the French Revolution " vol. T. p. 300 ff. ; Von ?Tolst, " The French Revolution
Tested by >.lirabeau's Career," passim, espec. vol. II. pp. 241 ff.
Chapter VI
THE CLOSE OF THE ASSEMBLY
SEPTEMBER 30, 1791
THE French Revolution was to change the political state of
Europe, to terminate the strife of kings among them-
selves and to commence that between kings and people.
This would have taken place much later had not the kings themselves
provoked it. They sought to suppress the revolution, and they ex-
tended it; for by attacking it they were to render it victorious.
Europe had tlien arrived at the term of the political system w^hicli
swayed it. The existence of the several states after being internal
under the feudal government had become external under the mon-
archical government. The first period terminated almost at the
same time among all the great nations of Europe. Then kings who
had so long been at war with their vassals, because they were in
contact with them, encountered each other on the boundaries of
their kingdoms and fought. As no domination could become uni-
versal, neither that of Charles V. (15 19-1556) nor that of Louis
XIV. (1642-1715), the weak always uniting against the strong,
after several vicissitudes of superiority and alliance, a sort of Euro-
pean equilibrium was established. To appreciate ulterior events it
will not be unuseful to consider this equilibrium before the revolu-
tion.
Austria, England, and France had been from the Peace of West-
phalia (1648) to the middle of the eighteenth century the three
great powers of Europe. Literest had leagued the first tw^o against
the third. Austria had reason to dread the influence of France in
the Xetherlands; England feared it on the sea. Rivalry of power
and commerce often set them at variance, and they sought to weaken
or i)]un(ler cacli other. Spain, since a prince of the house of Bour-
bon had been cm the throne, was the ally of hVance against England.
This, however, was a fallen power; confined to a corner of the Con-
tinent, oppressed by the system of Philip IL, deprived by family
0)mj)act of tlie only enemy that could keep it in action, bv^sea only
had it retained any of its ancient superiority. But France had
132
CLOSE OF THE ASSEMBLY 133
1791
other allies on all sides of Austria: Sweden on the north; Poland
and the Porte on the east ; in the south of Germany,, Bavaria ; Prus-
sia on the west; and in Italy, the kingdom of Naples. These pow-
ers, having reason to dread the encroachment of Austria, were
naturally the allies of her enemy. Piedmont, placed between the
two systems of alliance, sided, according to circumstances and its
interests, with either. Holland was united with England or with
France, as the party of the stadtholder or that of the people pre-
vailed in the republic. Switzerland was neutral.
In the last half of the eighteenth century two powers had risen
in the north, Russia and Prussia. The latter had been changed
from a simple electorate into an important kingdom by Frederick
William (1713-1740), who had given it a treasure and an army;
and by his son, Frederick the Great ( 1740- 1786), who had made use
of these to extend his territory. Russia, long unconnected with the
other states, had been more especially introduced into the politics of
Europe by Peter I. (1689- 1725) and Catherine II. (1762- 1796).
The accession of these two powers considerably modified the ancient
alliances. In concert with the cabinet of Vienna, Russia and Prus-
sia had executed the first partition of Poland in 1772 ; and after the
death of Frederick the Great the Empress Catherine and the Em-
peror Joseph united in 1785 to effect that of European Turkey.
The cabinet of Versailles, weakened since the imprudent and
unfortunate Seven Years' W^r, had assisted in the partition of
Poland without opposing it, had raised no obstacle to the fall of
the Ottoman empire, and even allowed its ally, the republican party
in Holland, to sink under the blows of Prussia and England, with-
out assisting it. The latter powers had in 1787 reestablished by
force the hereditary stadtholderate of the United Provinces. The
only act which did honor to French policy was the support it had
happily given to the emancipation of North America. The revolu-
tion of 1789, while extending the moral influence of France, dimin-
ished still more its diplomatic influence.
England, under the government of the younger Pitt, was
alarmed in 1788 at the ambitious projects of Russia, and united
with Holland and Prussia to put an end to them. Hostilities were
on the point of commencing when the Emperor Joseph died in
February, 1790, and was succeeded by Leopold, who in July ac-
cepted the Convention of Reichenbach. This convention, by the
mediation of England, Russia, and .Holland, settled the terms of
134 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1791
the peace between Austria and Turkey, which was signed definitely,
on August 4, 1 79 1, at Sistova. The convention at the same time
provided for the pacification of the Netherlands. Urged by Eng-
land and Prussia, Catherine 11. also made peace with the Porte at
Jassy, on December 29. 1791. These negotiations, and the treaties
they gave rise to, terminated the political struggles of the eighteenth
century, and left the powers free to turn their attention to the
French Revolution.^
The princes of Europe, who had hitherto had no enemies but
themselves, viewed it in the light of a common foe. The revolu-
tion, by placing France in an exceptional situation, had changed
its relations with the other states. By accomplishing a revolution
within, FYance had introduced a new cause of conflict: the oppo-
sition between two political systems, between two opposing concep-
tions of government. The destruction of the old regime was an
example given to other peoples, an act of indirect political propa-
ganda. So great was this disquietude on the part of the European
states that on May 22, 1790, the national assembly denounced any
warlike enterprise " with a view of making conquests." In the
very next month this pacific declaration was seriously compro-
mised. The people of Avignon, a county on the Rhone, were
subjects of the Pope, but in June, 1790, rebelled and asked to be
annexed to France. The government of France refused so to do,
but in the interest of public safety in Avignon it sent French troops
to establish order. Later France acknowledged the " right of a
sovereign people to choose its own ruler," and annexed the terri-
tory (September 14, 1791) thereby overthrowing the international
hiws of Europe; it rejected tradition and the doctrine of obedience
to an arbitrary sovereign. The ancient relations of war and of
alliance, already overlooked during the Seven Years' War, now
ceased entirely: Sweden united with Russia and Prussia with
Austria. Hiere was nothing now but tlie kings on one side and the
I)co])les on the other, waiting for the auxiliaries which its example,
or tlie faults of tlie princes, might give it. A general coalition was
soon formed against the French Revolution. Austria's participa-
tion was in order to prevent the spread of revolutionary influences
in tlie Austrian Xetlierlands (Belgium). England sought to avenge
^ The Isest arcnmit of the important history here briefly summarized is to be
found in tlic first volume of Sorel ; ' L'Enropc et la Revolution fraiicaisc." or tlie
same author's '-Tlie Kastern Question in the Eighteenth Century," which has
been translated into EngHsh.
CLOSE OF THE ASSEMBLY 135
1791
the American war and to preserve herself from the spirit of the
revolution, her chief fear being lest the Austrian Netherlands
should rebel against Austria and side with France, in which event
as happened in 1792 the Scheldt River and the port of Ant-
werp, which had been closed since 1648, would be opened, to
the detriment of English and Dutch commerce. Prussia wanted
to strengthen the threatened absolute power, and profitably to en-
gage its unemployed army ; moreover, Prussia, like Austria, feared
revolutionary propaganda in the Prussian Rhinelands. The Ger-
man states engaged in it to restore feudal rights to some of their
members who had been deprived of them by the abolition of the
old regime in Alsace ; ^ the King of Sweden, who had constituted
himself the champion of arbitrary power, to reestablish it in
France, as he had just done in his own country; Russia, that it
might execute without trouble the partition of Poland, while the
attention of Europe was directed elsewhere; finally, all the sov-
- A great number of German princes owned large estates in Alsace. The
Westphalian Peace of 1648 guaranteed sovereign rights to them in these pos-
sessions. But these rights had been all swept away on the night of August 4,
1789. Though their claims were incontestable, yet the chance of enforcing them
was very small. The Alsatian nobles appealed to the treaty of 1648, which
guaranteed their rights and feudal privileges, and refused to subm.it to the
decrees of the assembly. The matter was brought before the national assembly,
which, in principle, sustained the Alsatian people in their contention for free-
dom : " The Alsatian people," said the report presented to the assembly, " has
united with tlie French people because it has willed so to do; it is therefore its
will alone and not the Treaty of IMunster, which has legalized the union." In
sustaining this principle the national assembly really overthrew the old inter-
national law and established a new authority, the will of the sovereign people.
However, in order to sugar-coat the pill, the assembly passed a decree providing
for the indemnification of those Alsatian nobles who had suffered. Legal rights
of the foreigners were opposed by reasons of state. Morris's legal quality of
mind grasped the difficulty. He admirably expresses it:
" This controversy reduces itself to one point of right and the other of
fact. By various treaties the princes have stipulated that the fiefs in question
shall be held as heretofore by the German empire. The point of right, there-
fore, is, whether this tenure does not exempt them from the general decisions
of the French nation respecting that species of property. The point of fact
is whether the chief of the French or German empire be, by those treaties
quoad hoc the liege lord. This, being a matter of interpretation, must be de-
cided by the publicists, but the whole question being between sovereign nations,
it is probable that the decision will depend on everything except the real merits."
-''Diary and Letters," vol. 1. p. 243.
The question was the subject of protracted negotiations between France and
the empire. France offered to indemnify the dispossessed German nobles, but
the diet refused to accept the terms. On the whole subject see Von Sybel,
" History of the French Revolution," vol. L pp. 231 ff.
136 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1791
ercii^ns of the house of Dourbon,-"^ from the interest of power
aiKf family attachments. The emigrants encouraged them in these
projects and excited them to invasion. According to them, France
was without an army, or at least without leaders, destitute of
money, given up to disorder, weary of the assembly, disposed to
the ancient regime, and without either the means or the inclination
to defend itself. They flocked in crowds to take a share in the
promised short campaign, and formed into organized bodies under
tiie Prince de Conde at Worms and the Count d'Artois at
Coblentz.'*
The Count d'Artois especially hastened the determination of
the cabinets. The Emperor Leopold was in Italy, and the count
repaired to him, with Calonne as minister, and the Count Alphonse
de Durfort, who liad been his mediator with the court of the Tuile-
ries, and who had brought him the king's authority to treat with
Leopold. The conference took place at Alantua, and the Count
de Durfort returned and delivered to Louis XVL in the name of
the emperor a secret declaration, in which was announced to him the
speedy assistance of the coalition. Austria was to advance thirty-
five thousand men on the frontier of Flanders ; the German states,
fifteen thousand on Alsace; the Swiss, fifteen thousand on the
Lyonnese frontier; the King of Sardinia, fifteen thousand on that
of Dauphine; Spain was to augment its army in Catalonia to
twenty thousand ; Prussia was well disposed in favor of the coali-
tion, and the King of England was to take part in it as Elector of
Hanover. All these troops were to move at the same time, at the
end of July; the house of Bourbon was then to make a protest and
the powers were to publish a manifesto; until then, however, it
was essential to keep the design secret, to avoid all partial insur-
rection, and to make no attempt at flight. Such w^as the result of
the conferences of Mantua on May 20, 1791.^
Louis XVL, either from a desire not to place himself entirely
at the mercy of foreign powers or dreading the ascendency which
the Count d'Artois, should he return at the head of the victorious
'' TIk' following princes of Europe may be considered of the Bourbon house :
Charles iV, King of Spain; Victor Amadeus III., King of Sardinia, who was
father-in-law of Louis XVI. 's brothers; Queen Alaria of Portugal; Charles
IV., King of Xai)les; and Ferdinand, Duke of Parma.
'i he llmperor Leopold or<iered the Elector of Treves to disperse these
groups of (mii;rant-;.
''Almost the whole of this grand plan was a figment of the imagination
of iJurfort.
CLOSE OF THE ASSEMBLY 137
1791
emigrants, would assume over the government he had established,
preferred restoring the government alone. In General Bouille he
had a devoted and skillful partisan, who at the same time con-
demned both emigration and the assembly, and promised him refuge
and support in his army. For some time past a secret correspond-
ence had taken place between him and the king. Bouille prepared
everything to receive him. He established a camp at Montmedy
under the pretext of a movement of hostile troops on the frontier;
he placed detachments on the route the king was to take to serve
him for escort, and as a motive was necessary for these arrange-
ments, he alleged that of protecting the money dispatched for the
payment of the troops.
The royal family on its side made every preparation for de-
parture; very few persons were informed of it and no measures
betrayed it. Louis XVL and the queen, on the contrary, pursued
a line of conduct calculated to silence suspicion ; and on the night
of June 20 they issued at the appointed hour from the chateau, one
by one, in disguise. In this way they eluded the vigilance of the
guard, reached the boulevard, where a carriage awaited them, and
took the road to Chalons and Montmedy. Throughout this course
Louis XVI. was a passive follower of Marie Antoinette, who had
taken the initiative and conducted the negotiations necessary to
their flight. The king's behavior shows how little he understood
the situation. He exposed himself to the eyes of the curious and
was several times recognized. A postmaster at length stopped his
progress.
On the following day the news of this escape threw Paris into
consternation ; indignation soon became the prevailing sentiment ;
crowds assembled and the tumult increased. Those who had not
prevented the flight were accused of favoring it. Neither Bailly
nor Lafayette escaped the general mistrust. This event was con-
sidered the precursor of the invasion of France, the triumph of
the emigrants, the return of the ancient regime, and a long civil
war. But the conduct of the assembly soon restored the public
mind to calmness and security. It took every measure which so
difficult a conjuncture reciuired. It summoned the ministers and
authorities to its bar ; calmed the people by a proclamation ; used
proper precautions to secure public tranquillity; seized on the ex-
ecutive power; comnii5si(jned Montmorin, the minister of foreign
affairs, to inform the European powers of its pacific intentions;
138 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1791
sent commissioners to secure the favor of the troops and receive
their oath, no longer made in the name of the king, but in that of
the assembly ; and, lastly, issued an order through the departments
for the arrest of anyone attempting to leave the kingdom. " Thus,
in less than four hours," says the Marquis de Ferrieres, " the as-
sembly was invested with every kind of power. The government
went on ; public tranquillity did not experience the slightest shock ;
and Paris and France learned from this experience, so fatal to
royalty, that the monarch is almost always a stranger to the gov-
ernment that exists in his name."
Meantime Louis XVL and his family were drawing near the
termination of their journey. The success of the first days' journeys,
the increasing distance from Paris, rendered the king less reserved
and more confident; he had the imprudence to show himself, was
recognized, and arrested at Varennes on the 21st. The national
guard were under arms instantly; the officers of the detachments
posted by Bouille sought in vain to rescue the king; the dragoons
and hussars feared or refused to support them. Bouille, apprised
of this fatal event, hastened himself at the head of a regiment of
cavalry. But it was too late ; on reaching Varennes he found that
the king had left it several hours before ; his squadrons were tired
and refused to advance. The national guard were on all sides under
arms, and after the failure of his enterprise he had no alternative
but to leave the army and quit France.
The assembly, on hearing of the king's arrest, sent to him, as
commissioners, three of its members, Petion, Latour-Maubourg,
and Barnave. They met the royal family at Epernay and returned
with them. It was during this journey that Barnave, touched by
the good sense of Louis XVL, the fascinations of Marie Antoinette,
and the fate of this fallen family, conceived for it an earnest in-
terest. From that day he gave it his assiduous counsel and sup-
l)ort. On reaching Paris the royal party passed through an
immense crowd, which expressed neither applause nor murmurs,
but observed a reproachful silence.^
cOn the whole episode pee Oscar Browning, "The Flight of the King to
Varennes" (1892); Bimhert, " Fnite de Louis XVI. a Varennes" (1868);
Daniels. Lndici'^ A7 7. nnd Marie Antoinette und dcr Fleucht nach Montmcdy."
Hcrhn, iXoci; Stcplicn';. "French RevoUition," vol. I. pp. 439-454; Von Sybel,
" History of tlie Frencli Revohition," vol. I. pp. 301-314; the itinerary may be
found, with times and 'li^tances, in Fletcher's edition of Carlyle, "French Revo-
lution," vol. IV. p. 109. note 2.
CLOSE OF THE ASSEMBLY 139
1791
The king was provisionally suspended: he had had a guard
set over him, as had the queen, and commissioners were appointed
to question him. Agitation pervaded all parties. Some desired
to retain the king on the throne, notwithstanding his flight ; others
maintained that he had abdicated, by condemning, in a manifesto
addressed to the French on his departure, both the revolution and
the acts which had emanated from him during that period, which
he termed a time of captivity.
The republican party now began to appear. Hitherto it had
remained either dependent or hidden, because it had been without
any existence of its own, or because it wanted a pretext for display-
ing itself. The struggle, which lay at first between the assembly
and the court, then between the constitutionalists and the aristocrats,
and latterly among the constitutionalists themselves, was now about
to commence between the constitutionalists and the republicans.
In times of revolution such is the inevitable course of events. The
partisans of the order newly established then met and renounced
differences of opinion which were detrimental to their cause, even
while the assembly was all powerful, but which had become highly
perilous, now that the emigration party threatened it on the one
hand and the multitude on the other. Mirabeau was no more. The
Center, on which this powerful man had relied, and which con-
stituted the least ambitious portion of the assembly, the most at-
tached to principles, might, by joining" the Lameths, reestablish
Louis XVL and constitutional monarchy, and present a formidable
opposition to the popular ebullition.
This alliance took place ; the Lameth party came to an under-
standing with Andre and the principal members of the Center, made
overtures to the court, and opened the club of the Feuillants in op-
position to that of the Jacobins. But the latter could not want
leaders ; under Mirabeau they had contended against the Lameths ;
under the Lameths against ^Mirabeau; under Petion and Robes-
pierre they contended against the Lameths. The party which desired
a second revolution had constantly supported the most extreme
actors in the revolution already accomplished, because this was
bringing within its reach the struggle and the victory. At this
period, from subordinate it had become independent ; it no longer
fought for others and for opinions not its own, but for itself and
under its own banner. The court, by its multiplied faults, its im-
prudent machinations, and, lastly, by the flight of the monarch, had
UO THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1791
given it a sort of autliority to avow its object; and the Lameths,
by forsaking it, had left it to its true leaders.
The Lameths, in their turn, underwent the reproaches of the
multitude, which saw only their alliance with the court, without
examining its conditions. But supported by all the constitution-
alists, they were strongest in the assembly; and they found it es-
sential to establish the king as soon as possible, in order to put a
stop to a controversy which threatened the new order, by authorizing
the public party to demand the abolition of the royal power while
its suspension lasted. The commissioners appointed to interrogate
Louis XVL dictated to him a declaration, which they presented in
his name to the assembly, and which modified the injurious effect
of his flight. The reporter declared, in the name of the seven com-
mittees intrusted with the examination of this great question, that
there were no grounds for bringing Louis XVL to trial or for
pronouncing his dethronement. The discussion which followed
this report was long and animated; the efforts of the republican
party, notwithstanding their pertinacity, were unsuccessful. Most
of their orators spoke; they demanded deposition or a regency;
that is to say, popular government, or an approach toward it. Bar-
nave, after meeting all their arguments, finished his speech with
these remarkable words : " Regenerators of the empire, follow
your course without deviation. You have proved that you had cour-
age to destroy the abuses of power; you have proved that you pos-
sessed all that was requisite to substitute wise and good institutions
in their place ; prove now that you have the wisdom to protect
and maintain these. The nation has just given a great evidence
of its strength and courage; it has displayed, solemnly and by a
spontane(jus movement, all that it could oppose to the attacks which
threatened it. Continue the same precautions; let our boundaries,
let our frontiers, be powerfully defended. But while we manifest
our ])nvver. let us also prove our moderation; let us present peace
to the world, alarmed by the events which take place among us;
let us present an occasion for triumph to all those who in foreign
lands have taken an interest in our revolution. They cry to us
from all parts: you are powerful; be wise, be moderate; let that
be the height of your glory. Thus will you prove that in various
circumstances you can employ various means, talents, and virtues."
Tlie assembly sided with Barnave. But to pacify the people
and to provide for the future safety of France it decreed that the
CLOSE op: the assembly 141
1791
king should be considered as abdicating, de facto, if he retracted
the oath he had taken to the constitution. The president ^ of the
assembly in his first communication of the news did not speak of
the king's flight as such, but that the king had been carried off.
Robespierre was undoubtedly right in declaring his assertion a
palpable untruth. A note which the king had left admitted of no
question that the fatal step had been taken by his own initiative
and in pursuance of his most ardent desire. What was to be done
with the king? was the question now to be solved by the national
assembly. On the 25th the assembly declared that all persons who
had accompanied the royal family should be arrested and the king
and queen and dauphin be watched by a special guard. It was
moved that these persons should be examined by the tribunal of
Versailles. Robespierre demanded that the king and queen, like
the rest, should be examined by the tribunal. The motion of the
committee about those who had accompanied the royal family was
carried, but that left the question open, " What should be done
with the king?" Robespierre argued: i. The question as to
what position had been assigned in the constitution to the king,
with regard to common crimes, was not at issue, for to try to get
out of the country was not a common crime. 2. The constitution
had not forbidden the king to leave the country. 3. The consti-
tution had not conferred upon the national assembly the right to sit
in judgment over the question whether the king had put himself
without the pale of the constitution or not. Just because the ques-
tion of the flight of the king was not treated in the constitution in
any way whatever, it was not a question at all of law. It was a
political question. Robespierre demanded that the fate of the king
be submitted to the people. Buzot went farther and demanded
that the king be at once proceeded against and receive his sentence.
The assembly decided that the king should be suspended till the
adoption of the constitution, and on September 13 Louis XVL
gave the constitution his sanction.
On the day that this decree was adopted by the assembly the
leaders of the republican party excited the multitude against it.
But the hall in which it sat was surrounded by the national guard,,
and it could not be assailed or intimidated. The agitators, unable
to prevent the passing of the decree, aroused the people against it.
They drew up a petition in which they denied the competency of the
assembly; appealed from it to the sovereignty of the nation, treated
142 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1791
Louis XVL as deposed since his flight, and demanded a substitute
for him. This petition, drawn up by Brissot, editor of the Pa-
triate Francois, and president of the Comite des Recherches of
Paris, was carried, on July 17, to the aUar of the country in the
Champ de ]\Lars: an immense crowd flocked to sign it. The as-
sembly, apprised of what was taking place, summoned the munici-
])al authorities to its bar and directed them to preserve the public
tranqiu'llity. Lafayette marched against the crowd, and in the
first instance succeeded in dispersing it without bloodshed. The
munici])al ofincers took up their quarters in the Invalides; but the
same day the crowd returned in greater numbers and with more
determination. Danton and Camille Desmoulins harangued them
from the altar of the country. Two Invalides, supposed to be
spies, were massacred and their heads stuck on pikes. The insur-
rection became alarming. Lafayette again repaired to the Champ
de Alars at the head of twelve hundred of the national guard.
Bailly accompanied him and had the red banner unfurled. The
crowd w\as then summoned to disperse in the name of the law ; it
refused to retire, and, contemning authority, shouted: "Down with
the red flag!" and assailed the national guard with stones. La-
fayette ordered his men to fire, but in the air. The crowd was not
intimidated with this and resumed the attack; compelled by the
obstinacy of the insurgents, Lafayette then ordered another dis-
charge, a real and effective one. The terrified multitude fled, leav-
ing many dead on the field. The disturbances now ceased, order
was restored, but blood had flown, and the people never forgave
Bailly or Lafayette the cruel necessity to wdiich itself had driven
them. This was a regular combat, in w'hich the republican party,
n(jt as yet sufficiently strong or established, was defeated by the
constitutional monarchy party. The attempt of the Champ de
Mars was the prelude of the popular movements w^hich led to
August 10.
\\ hile this was passing in the assembly and at Paris, the
emigrants, whom the flight of Louis XVL had elated with hope,
were thrown into consternation at his arrest. Monsieur, wdio had
fled at tlie same time as his brother, and with better fortune, ar-
rived alone at l*>russels with the powers and title of regent. The
emigrants thenceforth relied only on the assistance of Europe; the
officers (|uilte(l their colors; two hundred and ninety members of
the assembly protested against its decrees; in order to legitimatize
CLOSE OF THE ASSEMBLY 143
1791
invasion, Bouille wrote a threatening letter, in the inconceivable
hope of intimidating the assembly, and at the same time to take
upon himself the sole responsibility of the flight of Louis XVL ;
finally, the emperor, the King of Prussia, and the Count d'Artois
met at Pilnitz.
On July 6 the Emperor Leopold had addressed a letter to the
leading European powers, proposing that they should conjointly
declare the cause of Louis XVL their own, demanding the king's
personal liberty and safety, and announcing that the new order of
things in France would only be recognized by them in case it was
voluntarily sanctioned by the king. This circular letter was an
absolutely empty demonstration.
What is said of the circular letter is true in a still higher de-
gree of the Pilnitz convention. The two monarchs made an en-
tirely vague promise to help the king, dependent upon a condition
which they knew could not be fulfilled. The very wording of the
document shows this :
" His Majesty, the Emperor, and His Majesty, the King of
Prussia, having given attention to the wishes and representations
of Monsieur (the brother of the King of France), and of jNI. le
Count d'Artois, jointly declare that they regard the present sit-
uation of his Majesty, the King of France, as a matter of common
interest to all the sovereigns of Europe. They trust that this
interest will not fail to be recognized by the powers, whose aid is
solicited, and that in consequence they will not refuse to employ, in
conjunction with their said majesties, the most efficient means in
proportion to their resources, to place the King of France in a
position to establish, with the most absolute freedom, the founda-
tions of a monarchical form of government, which shall at once be
in harmony with the rights of sovereigns and promote the welfare
of the French nation. In that case (Alors ef dans cc cas) their
said majesties the Emperor and the King of Prussia are resolved to
act promptly and in common accord with the forces necessary to
obtain the desired, common end.
" In the meantime they will give such orders to their troops as
are necessary in order that these may be in a position to be called
into active service." The emperor is reported to have said : " The
words '' Alors et dans ce cas ' are the law and the prophets for me.
If England fails us the ' cas ' will not exist at all." ^
''Quoted from Von Sybel, "French Revolution," vol. II. ch. vi.
114 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1791
In order to understand this equivocal conduct on the part of
the emperor, we must glance at eastern European politics where
the dominant interest of the powers lay.
Leopold was determined to cut loose from Russia, with the
ultimate view of dividing Turkey between the tw^o powers. The
state of Austria was infinitely superior to that of Frederick William
ir., who had succeeded to Frederick the Great in 1786. Poland
was now entering- upon a new phase of life. The Polish princes
of late had been greatly embittered against Russia. A bold at-
tempt was made to bring about a radical political reorganization
of tiie kingdom.
On j\Iay 3, 1791, King Stanislas appeared in the diet and
submitted the draft of a new constitution, which was to restore the
vitality of the kingdom. Changes made by this were: i. The
crown to become hereditary in the house of Saxony, instead of
elective. 2. The Liberum veto to be abolished. 3. The bour-
geoisie to be admitted to political rights. This coup d'etat w^as
justified by the assertion, unfounded, that Russia and Prussia
contemplated a new partition of Poland. In the history of Poland
there is no brighter day than May 3, 1791.
The interest of Austria w'as evidently to support any move-
ment tending to restore some degree of vitality to Poland, because
it would attach a heavy \veight to the feet of Russia, which was
constantly and energetically striving to block Austria's w-ay in the
East, and at the same time, on the other hand, keep Prussia, Aus-
tria's rival, in check. To Prussia, too, the political regeneration
of Poland was, in the strictest sense of the word, a vital question,
and she had in consequence, to the last strenuously to oppose the
intention to make the crown hereditary. Everything concerning
France is determined with these powders in the last place by what
their interests in their opinion dictate with regard to the Eastern
Question. The Prussian ministers w'ere fully aware that not a
sound pf)litical reason could be adduced for Prussia's interv^ening
in iM-ancc, while many reasons, of the greatest weight, admonished
her to desist from such a policy.
1 In's carefully worded declaration, although meant far more as
a sop to the importunate emigrants than as a threat to France, only
served [n irritate the assembly and the people. Men asked one
anotlicr wliat riglit the i>rinces (,)f Europe liad to interfere in the
gn\ crnnicni nf h'rance ; by what right they gave orders to a great
CLOSE OF THE ASSEMBLY 145
1791
people, and imposed conditions upon it; and since the sovereigns
appealed to force, the people of France prepared to resist them.
The frontiers were put in a state of defense; a hundred thousand
men of the national guard were enrolled.
Meantime, the assembly approached the close of its labors ;
civil relations, public taxation, the nature of crimes, their prosecu-
tion, and their punishment had been by it as wisely regulated as
were the public and constitutional relations of the country. Equal-
ity had been introduced into the law of inheritance, into taxation,
and into punishments ; nothing remained but to unite all the con-
stitutional decrees into a body and submit them to the king for his
approval. The assembly was growing weary of its labors and of
its dissensions; the people itself, who in France ever become tired
of that which continues beyond a certain time, desired a new na-
tional representation; the convocation of the electoral colleges was
therefore fixed for August 5. Unfortunately, the members of the
present assembly could not form part of the succeeding one; this
had been decided before the flight to Varennes.^
The collection of the constitutional decrees into one body led
to the idea of revising them. But this idea of revision gave great
dissatisfaction, and was almost of no effect ; it was not desirable
to render the constitution more aristocratic by after-measures, lest
the multitude should require it to be made more popular. To
limit the sovereignty of the nation, and, at the same time, not to
overlook it, the assembly declared that France had a right to revise
its constitution, but that it was prudent not to exercise this right
for thirty years.
The act of the constitution was presented to the king by sixty
deputies ; the suspension being taken off, Louis XVL resumed the
exercise of his power, and the guard the law had given him was
placed under his own command. Thus restored to freedom, the
constitution was submitted to him. After examining it for several
days, " I accept the constitution," he wrote to the assembly (Sep-
tember 13,1791): "I engage to maintain it at home, to defend
it from all attacks from abroad, and to cause its execution by all
the means it places at my disposal. I declare that, being informed
of the attachment of the great majority of the people to the consti-
s Robespierre in May had moved the famous "self-denying" ordinance,
which provided that no member of the national assembly might sit in the legisla-
tive assembly'. Such a doctrinaire resolution simply deprived France of whftt
political wisdom and experience it had acquired since 1789.
146 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1791
tution, I renounce my claim to assist in the work, and that, being
responsible to the nation alone, no other person, now that I have
made this renunciation, has a right to complain."
This letter excited general approbation. Lafayette demanded
and procured an amnesty in favor of those who were under prose-
cution for favoring the king's flight, or for proceedings against the
revolution. Next day the king came in person to accept the consti-
tution in the assembly. The populace attended him thither with
acclamations ; he was the object of the enthusiasm of the deputies
and spectators, and he regained that day the confidence and affec-
tion of his subjects. The 30th of September was fixed for the
closing of the assembly; the king was present; his speech was often
interrupted by applause, and when he said : " For you, gentlemen,
who during a long and arduous career have displayed such inde-
fatigable zeal, there remains one duty to fulfill when you have re-
turned to your homes over the country : to explain to your fellow-
citizens the true meaning of the laws you have made for them ; to
urge those who slight them ; to improve and unite all opinions by
the example you shall afford of your love of order, and of sub-
mission to the laws," cries of "Yes! yes!" were uttered by all
the deputies with one common voice. " I rely on your being the
interpreters of my sentiments to your fellow-citizens." "Yes!
yes! " " Tell them all that the king will always be their first and
most faithful friend; that he needs their love; that he can only be
happy with them and by their means ; the hope of contributing to
their happiness will sustain my courage, as the satisfaction of hav-
ing succeeded will be my sweetest recompense."
" It is a speech worthy of Henry IV.," said a voice, and the
king left the hall amid the loudest testimonials of love.
Then Thouret, in a loud voice, and addressing the people, ex-
claimed : " The constituent assembly pronounces its mission ac-
complished, and that its sittings now terminate." Thus closed this
first and glorious assembly of the nation. It was courageous, in-
telligent, just, and had but one passion a passion for law. It
accomplished in two years, by its efforts and with indefatigable
perseverance, the greatest revolution ever witnessed by one gener-
ation of men. Amid its labors it repressed despotism and anarchy
by frustrating the conspiracies of the aristocracy and maintaining
the multitude in subordination. Its only fault was the not confid-
mg the guidance of the revolution to those who were its authors;
CLOSE OF THE ASS.EMBLY 147
1789
it divested itself of power, like those legislators of antiquity who
exiled themselves from their country after giving it a constitution.
A new assembly did not apply itself to consolidating its work, and
the revolution, which ought to have been finished, was recom-
menced.
The constitution of 1791 was based on principles adapted to
the ideas and situation of France. This constitution was the work
of the middle class, then the strongest; for, as is well known, the
predominant force ever takes possession of institutions. When
it belongs to one man alone, it is despotism ; when to several, it is
privilege ; when to all, it is right ; this last state is the limit, as it is
the origin, of society. France had at length attained it, after
passing through feudalism, w4iich was the aristocratic institution,
and absolute power, which was the monarchical institution. Equal-
ity was consecrated among the citizens, and delegation recognized
among the powers; such were to be, under the new system, the
condition of men and the form of government.
In this constitution the people was the source of all powers,
but it exercised none ; it was intrusted only with election in the
first instance, and its magistrates w'ere selected by men chosen from
among the enlightened portions of the community. The latter
constituted the assembly, the law courts, the public offices, the cor-
porations, the militia, and thus possessed all the force and all the
power of the state. It alone was fit to exercise them, because it
alone had the intelligence necessary for the conduct of government.
The people were not yet sufficiently advanced to participate in
power, consequently it was only by accident and in the most casual
and evanescent manner that jDower fell into its hands; but it re-
ceived civic education, and was disciplined to government in the
primary assemblies, according to the true aim of society, which is
not to confer its advantages as a patrimony on one particular class,
but to make all share in them, when all are capable of acquiring
them.
This was the leading characteristic of the constitution of 1791 ;
as each, by degrees, became competent to enjoy the right, he
was admitted to it ; it extended its limits with the extension of civ-
ilization, which every day calls a greater number of men to the
administration of the state. In tliis way it had established true
equality, whose real character is admissibility, as that of inequality
is exclusion. In rendering power transferable by election, it made
148 THP: FRENCH REVOLUTION
1791
it a public magistracy; while privilege, in rendering it hereditary
by transmission, makes it private property.
The constitution of 1791 established homogeneous powers
which corresponded among themselves, and reciprocally restrained
each other; still, it must be confessed, the royal authority was too
subordinate to popular power. It is never otherwise; sovereignty,
from whatever source derived, gives itself a feeble counterpoise
when it limits itself. A constituent assembly enfeebles royalty; a
king who is a legislator limits the prerogatives of an assembly.*'
This constitution was, however, less democratic than that of
the United States, which had been practicable, despite the extent
of the territory, proving that it is not the form of institutions,
but the assent which they obtain, or the dissent which they excite,
which permits or hinders their establishment. In a new country,
after a revolution of independence, as in America, any constitution
is possible ;^'^ there is but one hostile party, that of the metropolis,
and when that is overcome, the struggle ceases, because defeat
leads to its expulsion. It is not so with social revolutions among
nations who have long been in existence. Changes attack inter-
ests, interests form parties, parties enter into contest, and the more
victory spreads the greater grows opposition. This is what hap-
pened in France. The work of the constituent assembly perished
less from its defects than from the attacks of faction. Placed be-
tween the aristocracy and the multitude, it was attacked by the one
and invaded by the other. The latter would not have become
sovereign had not civil war and the foreign coalition called for its
intervention and aid. To defend the country it became necessary
that it should govern it ; then it eifected its revolution, as the
middle class had effected its own. It had its July 14 in August 10;
its constituent assembly, the convention ; its government, w'hich was
the committee of public safety; yet, as we shall see, without emigra-
tion there would have been no republic.
^ For scimc estimates of the work of the national assembly in daring, de-
stroying, and doing, see Pierre, " Assemblccs poVuiqucs en France," ch. i. ; Burke's
"Reflections upon the l'>ench Revolution"; Stephens, "French Revolution," vol.
I. pp. 464 ff. : Taine, " I'Vench Revolution," vol. I. p. 214 ff.
'" I iiis statement sliows the author's inability to recognize the diflference
between institutions which have grown and institutions which have been made.
PART III
THE FIRST REPUBLIC. OCTOBER 1, 1791-
JUNE 2, 1793
Chapter VII
THE NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
OCTOBER I, 1791-SEPTEMBER 21, 1792
THE new assembly opened its session on October i, 1791.
It declared itself immediately the national legislative as-
sembly, and sat in the riding-hall which stood in the
present Rue de Rivoli, on ground actually a portion of the garden
of the Tuileries. The national assembly had occupied this hall
when it came to Paris, and it was the place of meeting of the con-
vention down to May 9, 1793. From its first appearance it had oc-
casion to display its attachment to the actual state of things and the
respect it felt for the authors of French liberty. The book of the
constitution was solemnly presented to it by the archivist Camus
accompanied by twelve of the oldest members of the national
representation. The assembly received the constitutional act stand-
ing and uncovered, and, amid the acclamations of the people who
occupied the tribunes, took the oath " to live free or perish ! "
A vote of thanks was given by it to the members of the constituent
assembly, and it then prepared to commence its labors.
But its first relations with the king had not the same character
of union and confidence. The court, doubtless hoping to regain
under the legislative the superior position which it had lost under
the constituent assembly, did not employ sufficient management
toward a susceptible and anxious popular authority, which was
then considered the first of the state. The assembly sent a deputa-
tion of sixty of its members to the king to announce its opening.
The king did not receive them in person, and sent word by the
minister of justice that he could not give them audience till noon
on the following day. Tliis unceremonious dismissal, and the indi-
rect communication between the national representatives and the
prince, by means of a minister, hurt the deputation excessively.
Accordingly, when the audience took place Duchastel said to him
laconically: "Sire, the national legislative assembly is sitting; we
are deputed to inform you of this." Louis XVI. replied still more
151
152 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1791
dryly : " I cannot visit you before Friday." This conduct of the
court toward the assembly was impolitic, and little calculated to
conciliate the affection of the people.
The assembly approved of the cold manner in which the presi-
dent of the deputation had expressed himself, and soon indulged in
an act of reprisal. The ceremony with which the king was to be
received among them was arranged according to preceding laws. A
fauteuil in tlie form of a throne was reserved for him; they used
toward him the titles of sire and majesty, and the deputies, standing
and uncovered on his entrance, were to sit down, put on their hats,
and rise again, following with deference all the movements of the
prince. Some restless and exaggerated minds considered this con-
descension unworthy of a sovereign assembly. The deputy Grange-
neuve required that the words sire and majesty should be re-
placed by the " more constitutional and finer " title of king of the
French. Couthon strongly enforced this motion, and proposed that
a simple fauteuil should be assigned to the king, exactly like the
president's. These motions excited some slight disapprobation on
the part of a few members, but the greater number received them
eagerly. " It gives me pleasure to suppose," said Guadet, " that the
French people will always venerate the simple fauteuil upon which
sits the president of the national representatives, much more than
the gilded fauteuil where sits the head of the executive power. I will
say nothing, gentlemen, of the titles of sire and majesty. It aston-
ishes me to find the national assembly deliberating whether they
shall be retained. The word sire signifies seigneur; it belonged to
the feudal system, which has ceased to exist. As for the term
majesty, it should only be employed in speaking of God and of the
people." ^
The previous question was demanded, but feebly; these mo-
tions were put to the vote and carried by a considerable majority.
Yet, as this decree appeared hostile, the constitutional opinion pro-
nounced itself against it, and censured this too excessive rigor in
the application of principles. On the following day those who had
demanded the previous question moved that the decisions of the
day before should be abandoned. A report w^as circulated at the
same time that the king would not enter the assembly if the decree
^ It was Couthon who first used this famous phrase. Compare it with the
utterance of Challet on March 21, 1793, in the Central Chibs of Lyons: "Know
that ynu are kings and crowned kings. Do you not feel the sovereignty which
circulates in your veins ! "
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 153
1791
were maintained; and the decree was revoked. These petty
skirmishes between two powers who had to fear usurpations,
assumptions, and more especially ill will between them, terminated
here on this occasion, and all recollection of them was effaced by
the presence of Louis XVL in the legislative body, where he was
received with great respect and the most lively enthusiasm.
General pacification formed the chief topic of his speech. He
pointed out to the assembly the subjects that ought to attract its
attention finance, civil law, commerce, trade, and the consolida-
tion of the new government ; he promised to employ his influence
to restore order and discipline in the army, to put the kingdom in
a state of defense and to diffuse ideas respecting the French Revo-
lution calculated to reestablish a good understanding in Europe.
He added the following words, which were received with much
applause : " Gentlemen, in order that your important labors, as
well as your zeal, may produce all the good which may be expected
from them, a constant harmony and unchanging confidence should
reign between the legislative body and the king. The enemies of
our peace seek but too eagerly to disunite us, but let love of coun-
try cement our union, and let public interest make us inseparable !
Thus public power may develop itself without obstacle; govern-
ment will not be harassed by vain fears ; the possessions and faith
of each will be equally protected, and no pretext will remain for
anyone to live apart from a country where the laws are in vigor,
and where the rights of all are respected." Unfortunately there
were two classes, without the revolution, that would not enter into
composition with it, and whose efforts in Europe and the interior
of France were to prevent the realization of these wise and pacific
words. As soon as there are displaced parties in a state a struggle
will result, and measures of hostility must be taken against them.
Accordingly, the internal troubles, fomented by nonjuring priests,
the military assemblings of emigrants, and the preparations for the
coalition soon drove the legislative assembly further than the con-
stitution allowed, and than itself had proposed.
The composition of this assembly was completely popular.
The prevailing ideas being in favor of the revolution, the court,
nobility, and clergy had exercised no influence over the elections.
There were not in this assembly, as in the preceding, partisans of
absolute power and of ])rivilege. The two factions of the Left
side, who had separated toward the close of the constituent assem-
164 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1791
bly, were again brought face to face, but no longer in the same
proportion of number and strength. The popular minority of the
previous assembly became the majority in this. But unfortunately
France was compelled, on account of the mad motion of Robes-
pierre, to take without a single exception men who were without
any political, or at least without any legislative, experience. More-
over, the middle classes were tired of politics. Wherever elections
took place only the minority went to the polls. The more radical
becomes the revolution, the deeper the weariness and lassitude of
politics in the overwhelming majority of the people, and the more
radical the small minority who had, in fact, the monopoly of
politics. Opinions and parties soon became known. As in the
constituent assembly there was a Right, a Center, a Left, but of a
perfectly different character.
The Right, composed of firm and absolute constitutionalists,
composed the Feuillant party. Its principal speakers were Dumas,
Ramond, Vaublanc, and Beugnot. It had some relations with the
court, through Barnave, Duport, and Alexander Lameth, who were
its former leaders, but whose counsels were rarely followed by
Louis XVI., who gave himself up with more confidence to the ad-
vice of those immediately around him. Out of doors it supported
itself on the club of the Feuillants and upon the bourgeoisie. The
national guard, the army, the directory of the department, and in
general all the constituted authorities were favorable to it. But
this party, which no longer prevailed in the assembly, soon lost a
post quite as essential, that of the municipality, which was occupied
by its adversaries of the Left.
These formed the party called Girondist, and which in the
revolution formed only an intermediate party between the middle
class and the multitude. It had then no subversive project, but it
was disposed to defend the revolution in every way, and in this
differed from the constitutionalists, who would only defend it with
the law. At its head were the brilliant orators of the department of
the Gironde, who gave their name to the party, Vergniaud. Guadet,
Gensonne, and the Provencal Tsnard, who had a style of still more
impassioned eloquence than theirs. Its chief leader was Brissot,
who. a member of the corporation of Paris during the last session,
had subsequently become a member of the assembly. The opinions
of Brissot, who advocated a complete reform; his great activity of
mmd, whicli he developed at once in the journal the Patriate, in
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 155
1791
the tribune of the assembly, and at the club of the Jacobins ; his
exact and extensive knowledge of the position of foreign powers
gave him great ascendency at the moment of a struggle between
parties, and of a war with Europe. Condorcet possessed influence
of another description; he owed this to his profound ideas, to his
superior reason, which almost procured him the place of Sieyes in
this second revolutionary generation. Petion, of a calm and
determined character, was the active man of his party. His tran-
quil brow, his fluent elocution, his acquaintance with the people,
soon procured for him the municipal magistracy, which Bailly had
discharged for the middle class."
The Left side had in the assembly the nucleus of a party more
extreme than itself, and the members of which, such as Chabot,
Bazire, Merlin, were to the Girondists what Petion, Buzot,
Robespierre had been to the Left side of the constituent. This
was the commencement of the democratic faction which, without,
served as auxiliary to the Gironde, and which managed the clubs
and the multitude. Robespierre in the society of the Jacobins,
where he established his sway after leaving the assembly; Danton,
Camille Desmoulins, and Fabre d'Eglantine at the Cordeliers,
2 Mignet uses the name Girondist by anticipation. Tlie Girondist party was
not so called until the time of the convention. In the legislative assembly they
were generally called Brissotins. Bire, "La Lcgendc des Girondins," 1882, p. 34.
On the party see Guadet, " Lcs Girondins," pp. 8-16, 36-39; Taine, "French Rev-
olution," vol. II. 70-73; Von Sybel, "History of the French Revolution," vol. I.
pp. 373-380. Lamartine's famous " History of the Girondists " created a cult in
their behalf in the middle of the last centurj% but it is now recognized that as a
party the Girondists merit more reproach than honor. With individual excep-
tions, like Condorcet, it was a party without principle and of ineffective leadership.
Brissot had won a doubtful reputation in America. The more the revolution
took a radical turn, the more he commanded the favor of the mob. There was
nothing of the statesman in him, but if anyone, he had been destined by nature
for a political agitator. He used his pen and tongue with equal readiness.
Mignet's eulogy is an altogether false judgment of Petion. He deserves
nothing but execration.
Mignet's statement that the Girondist party " was disposed to defend the
revolution in every way, and in this differed from the constitutionalists, who
would only defend it with the law," is a euphemistic way of saying that the
revolution had not been revolutionary enough; it is approval of further revolu-
tion. The Girondists had the conviction that the constitution was no longer
abreast of the times. The basis of its leading members was a purely negative one.
They schemed to supplant a monarchical form of government by that of a repub-
lican type. They were eminently fitted to excite the masses, but absolutely unfit to
guide and restrain them. After they had demolished everything there was to
demolish, after they had driven the country into a war of which nobody could
sec the end, they were powerless to control events. Ed.
156 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1791
where they had founded a club of innovators more extreme than
the Jacobins, composed of men of the bourgeoisie ; the brewer San-
terre in the faubourgs, where the popular power lay, were the true
chiefs of this faction, which depended on one whole class, and
aspired at founding its own regime.
The Center of the legislative assembly was sincerely attached
to the new order of things. It had almost the same opinions, the
same inclination for moderation as the Center of the constituent
assembly; but its power w^as very different: it was no longer at the
head of an established class, and by the aid of which it could master
all the extreme parties. Public dangers, making the w^ant of ex-
alted opinions and parties from without again felt, completely
annulled the Center. It was soon won over to the strongest side,
the fate of all moderate parties, and the Left swayed it.
The situation of the assembly was very difficult. Its pred-
ecessor had left it parties which it evidently could not pacify.
From the beginning of the session it was obliged to turn its atten-
tion to these, and that in opposing them. Emigration was making
an alarming progress : the king's two brothers, the Prince de
Conde and the Duke de Bourbon, had protested against the accept-
ing of the constitutional act by Louis XVI., that is, against the
only means of accommodation ; they had said that the king could
not alienate the rights of the ancient monarchy; and their protest,
circulating throughout France, had produced a great effect on their
partisans. Officers quitted the armies, the nobility their chateaux,
whole companies deserted to enlist on the frontiers. Distaffs were
sent to those who wavered ; and those who did not emigrate were
threatened with the loss of their position when the nobility should
return victorious. In the Austrian Low Countries and the border-
ing electorates there was formed what was called " La France ex~
tcricurc.'' The counter-revolution was openly preparing at Brussels,
Worms, and Coblentz under the protection and even with the
assistance of foreign courts. The ambassadors of the emigrants
were received, while those of the French government were dis-
missed, ill received, or even thrown into prison, as in the case of
Duveryer. French merchants and travelers suspected of i)atri-
otism and attacliment to the revolution were scouted throughout
Europe. Several powers had declared themselves without dis-
guise: of this number were Sweden, Russia, and Spain, the latter
at that time being governed by the :Marquis de Blanca-Florida, a
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 157
1791
man entirely devoted to the emigrant party. At the same time
Prussia kept its army prepared for war: the Hnes of the Spanish
and Sardinian troops increased on the Alpine and Pyrenean fron-
tiers, and Gustavus was assembling a Swedish army.
The dissentient ecclesiastics left nothing undone which might
produce a diversion in favor of the emigrants at home. " Priests,
and especially bishops," says the Marquis de Ferrieres, " employed
all the resources of fanaticism to excite the people, in town and
country, against the civil constitution of the clergy." Bishops
ordered the priests no longer to perform divine senuce in the same
church with the constitutional priests, for fear the people might
confound the two. " Independently," he adds, " of circular letters
written to the cures, instructions intended for the people were cir-
culated through the country. They said that the sacraments could
not be effectually administered by the constitutional priests, whom
they called Intruders, and that everyone attending their ministra-
tions became by their presence guilty of mortal sin ; that those who
were married by Intruders were not married; that they brought a
curse upon tliemselves and upon their children; that no one should
have communication with them, or with those separated from the
church ; that the municipal officers who installed them like them
became apostates ; that the moment of their installation all bell-
ringers and sextons ought to resign their situations. . . . These
fanatical addresses produced the effect which the bishops expected.
Religious disturbances broke out on all sides."
Insurrection more especially broke out in Calvados, Ge\'au-
dan, and La Vendee. These districts were ill-disposed toward the
revolution, because they contained few of the middle and intelli-
gent classes, and because the populace, up to that time, had been
kept in a state of dependence on the nobility and clergy. The
Girondists, taking alarm, wished to adopt rigorous measures
against emigration and the dissentient priests who attacked the
new order of things. Brissot proposed putting a stop to emigra-
tion by giving" up the mild system hitherto observed toward it. He
divided the emigrants into three classes: The principal leaders,
and at their head the 1)ruthers of the king ; public functionaries
who forsook their posts and country and sought to entice their
colleagues; private individuals, who, to preserve life or from an
aversion to the revoluti(jn or from other motives, left their native
land without taking arms against it. He required that severe
158 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1791
laws should be put in force against the first two classes, but
thought it would be good policy to be indulgent toward the last.
With respect to nonjuring ecclesiastics and agitators, some of the
Girondists proposed to confine themselves to a stricter surveil-
lance; others thought there was only one safe line of conduct to
be pursued toward them; that the spirit of sedition could only
be quelled by banishing them from the country. " All attempts at
conciliation," said the impetuous Isnard, " will henceforth be in
vain. What, I ask, has been the consequence of these reiterated
pardons? The daring of your foes has increased with your in-
dulgence; they will only cease to injure you when deprived of the
means of doing so. They must be conquerors or conquered. On
this point all must agree; the man who will not see this great truth
is, in my opinion, politically blind."
The constitutionalists were opposed to all these measures;
they did not deny the danger, but they considered such laws arbi-
trary. They said that before everything it was necessary to respect
the constitution, and from that time to confine themselves to precau-
tionary measures ; that it w-as sufficient to keep on the defensive
against the emigrants, and to w'ait, in order to punish the dis-
sentient priests, till they discovered actual conspiracies on their
part. They recommended that the law should not be violated even
toward enemies, for fear that once engaging in such a course, it
should be impossible to arrest that course, and so the revolution be
lost, like the ancient regime, through its injustice. But the assem-
bly, which deemed the safety of the state more important than the
strict observance of the law, which saw danger in hesitation, and
whicli, moreover, was influenced by passions which lead to expedi-
tious measures, was not stopped by these considerations. With
common consent it again, on October 30, passed a decree relative
to the eldest brother of the king, Louis Stanislas Xavier. This
prince was required, in the terms of the constitution, to return to
France in tw(j months, or at the expiration of that period he would
be considered to have forfeited his rights as regent. But agree-
ment ceased as to the decrees against emigrants and priests. On
November 9 the assembly resolved that the French gathered to-
getlicr beyond tlie frontiers were suspected of conspiracy against
tlieir country; tliat if tliey remained assembled on January i, 1792,
they would he treated as conspirators, be punishable by death, and
that after condemnation to death for contumacy, the proceeds of
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 159
1791
their estates were to be confiscated to the nation, always without
prejudice to the rights of their wives, children, and lawful creditors.
On the 29th of the same month it passed a similar decree respecting
the dissentient priests. They were obliged to take the civic oath,
under pain of being deprived of their pensions and suspected of
revolt against the law. If they still refused, they were to be closely
watched; and if any religious disturbances took place in their
parishes, they were to be taken to the chief town of the department,
and if found to have taken any part in exciting disobedience, they
were liable to imprisonment.
The king sanctioned the first decree respecting his brother;
he put his veto on the other two. A short time before he had dis-
avowed emigration by public measures, and he had written to the
emigrant princes recalling them to the kingdom. He invited them
to return in the name of the tranquillity of France, and of the at-
tachment and obedience they owed to him as their brother and their
king. " I shall," said he, in concluding the letter, " always be
grateful to you for saving me the necessity of acting in opposition
to you, through the invariable resolution I have made to maintain
what I have announced." These wise invitations had led to no
result: but Louis XVL, while he condemned the conduct of the
emigrants, would not give his consent to the measures taken
against them. In refusing his sanction he was supported by the
friends of the constitution and the directory of the department.
This support was not without use to him, at a time when, in the
eyes of the people, he appeared to be an accomplice of emigration,
when he provoked the dissatisfaction of the Girondists, and sep-
arated himself from the assembly. He should have united closely
with it, since he invoked the constitution against the emigrants in
his letters, and against the revolutionists by the exercise of his
prerogative. His position could only become strong by sincerely
falling in with the first revolution, and making his own cause one
with that of the bourgeoisie.
But tlie court was not so resigned ; it still expected better
times, and was thus prevented from pursuing an invariable line of
conduct, and thus induced to seek grounds for hope in every quarter.y
Now and then disposed to favor the intervention of foreign pow-
ers, it continued to correspond with Europe; it intrigued with its
ministers against the popular party, and made use of the Feuillants
against the Girondists, though with much distrust. At this period
160 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1791
its chief resource was in the petty schemes of Bertrand de Molle-
ville, who (Hrected the council ; who had estabhshed a Club frangais,
the members of wliich he paid ; who purchased the applause of the
tribunes of the assembly, hoping by this imitation of the revolu-
tion to conquer the true revolution, his object being to deceive
parties and annul the effects of the constitution by observing it
literally.
By this line of conduct the court had even the imprudence to
weaken the constitutionalists, whom it ought to have reinforced;
at their expense it favored the election of Petion to the mayoralty.
Through tlie disinterestedness with which the preceding assembly
had been seized, all who had held popular posts under it suc-
cessively gave them up. On October i8 Lafayette resigned the
command of the national guard, and Bailly had just retired from
the mayoralty. The constitutional party proposed that Lafayette
should replace him in this jfirst post of the state, which, by per-
mitting or restraining insurrections, delivered Paris into the power
of him who occupied it. Till then it had been in the hands of the
constitutionalists, who by this means had repressed the rising
of the Champ de Mars. They had lost the direction of the assem-
bly, the command of the national guard ; they now lost the corpora-
tion. The court gave to Petion, the Girondist candidate, all the
votes at its disposal. " M. de Lafayette," observed the queen to
Bertrand de Molleville, " only wishes to be mayor of Paris in order
to become mayor of the palace. Petion is a Jacobin, a republican,
but he is a fool, incapable of ever leading a party." On November
4 Petion was elected mayor by a majority of 6708 votes in a total
of 10,632. Only one-eighth of those enjoying the franchise had
gone to the polls! In this election flannel became public prose-
cutor, Danton assistant prosecutor, and Santerre, the brewer of the
Faubourg Saint Antoine, was made commander-in-chief of the
national guard.
It becomes necessary, at this place, to allude to an extremely
important event of this time the revolt of San Domingo. San
Domingo was a French \\'est Indian colony which had, for a long
time, constituted an important factor in tlie economic life of the
kingdom. The value of its imports to France preceding the revo-
lution had been great. On ^lay 15, 1791, the national assembly
abolished -lavery on all French soil, and conferred equal rights of
citizenship uix)n all. This legislation was of a piece with that of
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 161
1791
August 4, 1789, for already the revolutionary propaganda had
spread to the French colonies, and a fierce negro insurrection had
taken place in San Domingo. Too late, September 23, the assem-
bly saw its folly and repealed the act, substituting the right of self-
rule by the island planters. But already the white population had
revolted from France. There were three elements in San Do-
mingo : ( I ) The wealthy whites, who discussed questions of rep-
resentation being demanded from the mother country, or separation
from her; (2) the 15,000 free mulattoes who deemed themselves
entitled to some share in the blessings of the revolution; (3) even
the 400,000 slaves laid claim to the Rights of Man. The free
colored people arose, supported by the slaves. The whole island
was turned into a field of fearful carnage. Only in the city the
whites had some chance to hold their own sufficiently at least to
save their lives.
The effect of these events upon the mother country was seri-
ous. Bankruptcies in the seaboard cities followed one another.
Tropical products and sugar rose to unheard of prices. Riots grew
frequent after December, 179 1. Organized bands captured the
grain transports destined for the large cities and fixed the prices
of the necessaries of life. The legislative assembly did nothing but
denounce the ministers. It paid no attention to what the minis-
ters demanded in order to enable them in the remotest degree to be
a government.^
The Girondists were not content with the acquisition of the
mayoralty. France could not remain long in this dangerous and
provisional state. The decrees which, justly or otherwise, were to
provide for the defense of the revolution, and which had been
rejected by the king, were not replaced by any government meas-
ure ; the ministry manifested either unwillingness or sheer indiffer-
ence. The Girondists, accordingly, accused Delessart, tlie minister
for foreign affairs, of compromising the honor and safety of the
nation by the tone of his negotiations with foreign powers, by his
procrastination and want of skill. They also warmly attacked
Du Portail, minister of war, and Bertrand de ]\Iolleville, minister
of the marine, for neglecting to put the coasts and frontiers in a
state of defense. The conduct of the Electors of Treves, Mayence,
and of the Bishop of Spire, who favored the military preparations
"On the whole subject, see Von Sybel, "Ilistorv of the French Revolution,"
vol. III. ch. i.
162 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1791
of the emigrants, more especially excited the national indignation.
The diplomatic committee proposed a declaration to the king, that
the nation would view with satisfaction a requisition by him to the
neighboring princes to disperse the military gatherings within
three weeks, and his assembling the forces necessary to make them
respect the right of nations. By this important measure they also
wished to make Louis XVL enter into a solemn engagement and
signify to the Diet of Ratisbon, as well as to the other courts of
Europe, the firm intentions of France.
Isnard ascended the tribune to support this proposition. " Let
us," said he, " in this crisis rise to the full elevation of our mis-
sion ; let us speak to the ministers, to the king, to all Europe, with
the firmness that becomes us. Let us tell our ministers that hith-
erto the nation is not well satisfied with the conduct of any of them ;
that henceforth they will have no choice but between public grati-
tude and the vengeance of the laws; and that by the word
responsil)iHty we understand death. Let us tell the king that it is
his interest to defend the constitution ; that he only reigns by the
people, and for the people; that the nation is his sovereign, and
that he is subject to the law. Let us tell Europe that if the French
people once draw the sword, they will throw away the scabbard,
and will not raise it again till it may be crowned wath the laurels
of victory; that if cabinets engage kings in a war against the
people, we will engage the people in a mortal warfare against
kings. Let us tell them that all the fights the people shall fight at
the order of despots " here he was interrupted by loud applause
" Do not applaud," he cried " do not applaud ; respect my en-
thusiasm; it is that of liberty! Let us say to Europe that all the
fights which the people shall fight at the command of despots re-
semble the blows that two friends, excited by a perfidious instiga-
tor, inflict on each other in darkness. When light arrives they
throw down their arms, embrace, and chastise their deceiver. So
will it be if, when foreign armies are contending with ours, the
light of philosophy shine upon them. The nations will embrace
in the presence of dethroned tyrants of the earth consoled, of
Heaven satisfied."
The assembly unanimousl}^ and with transport, passed the
proposed measure, and (jn November 29 sent a message to the
king. Vaublanc was tlie leader of the deputation. " Sire," said
he to Louis XVL, " the national assembly had scarcely glanced at
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 163
1791
the state of the nation ere it saw that the troubles which still agitate
it arise from the criminal preparations of French emigrants. Their
audacity is encouraged by German princes, who trample under
foot the treaties between them and France, and affect to forget that
they are indebted to this empire for the Treaty of Westphalia, which
secured their rights and their safety. These hostile preparations,
these threats of invasion, will require armaments absorbing im-
mense sums, which the nation would joyfully pay over to its cred-
itors. It is for you, sire, to make them desist; it is for you to
address to foreign powers the language befitting the king of the
French. Tell them that wherever preparations are permitted to
be made against France, there France recognizes only foes ; that
we will religiously observe our oath to make no conquests ; that we
offer them the good neighborship, the inviolable friendship of a
free and powerful people ; that we will respect their laws, their
customs, and their constitutions; but that we will have our own
respected! Tell them that if princes of Germany continue to
favor preparations directed against the French, the French will
carry into their territories, not indeed fire and sword, but liberty.
It is for them to calculate the consequences of this rousing up of
nations."
Louis XVI. replied that he would give the fullest considera-
tion to the message of the assembly; and in a few days he came
in person to announce his resolutions on the subject. They were
comformable with the general wish. The king said, amid ve-
hement applause, that he would cause it to be declared to the
Elector of Treves and the other electors that, unless all gatherings
and hostile preparations on the part of the French emigrants in
their states ceased before Januar)^ 15, he should consider them as
enemies. Fie added that he would write to the emperor to engage
him, as chief of the empire, to interpose his authority for the pur-
pose of averting tlie calamities which the lengthened resistance of
a few members of the Germanic body would occasion. " If these
declarations are not heeded, then, gentlemen," said he, " it will only
remain for me to propose war war, which a people who have
solemnly renounced conquest, never declare without necessity, but
which a free and generous nation will undertake and carry on when
its honor and safety recjuire it."
The steps taken by the king with the princes of the empire
were supported by military preparations. On December 6 a new
16i THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1791
minister of war replaced Du Portail; Narbonne, taken from the
Feuillants, young, active, ambitious of distinguishing himself by the
triumph of his party and the defense of the revolution, repaired
immediately to the frontiers. A hundred and fifty thousand men
were placed in requisition; for this object the assembly voted an
extraordinary supply of twenty millions of francs; three armies
were formed under the command of Rochambeau, Luckner, and
Lafayette and finally a decree was passed impeaching Monsieur, the
Count d'Artois, and the Prince de Conde as conspirators against
the general safety of the state and of the constitution. Their prop-
erty was sequestrated, and the period previously fixed on for
^Monsieur's return to the kingdom having expired, he was deprived
of his claim to the regency.
Most of this demur against the emperor and other foreign
princes for their support of the emigrants was mere verbiage. The
Girondists were determined to have war and had fixed upon a war
policy, because their efforts to overthrow the monarchy by previous
means had failed. They had endeavored and partially succeeded
in antagonizing the king and the nation by their drastic legisla-
tion against the king's brothers, and the nonjuring priests. Now
they advocated war as a last resort. They argued, in event of a
successful war, they as the authors of it could dictate their ideas
to the king and the nation, i. e., a republican government; on the
other hand, in event of failure in w^ar, they calculated that at least
such an event would overwhelm the monarchy, and then, upon its
ruins, they would hope to erect a republic. Very curiously, the
constitutionalists were also in favor of war. They counted that
successful war would make the king sufficiently strong to enable
him to recover authority as the executive ; w^hile, if unsuccessful,
the patriotism of France would rally around the king and endow
him with dictatorial powers. Thus it came to pass that two par-
ties hostile to one another both wanted war. This accounts for
Xarbonne's presence as minister of war in the cabinet.
But the Girondists were also influenced by other motives.
Their financial situation involved the whole policy and success of
the party. The danger of emitting the assignats had now become
manifest. All the evils of an ill-regulated paper currency were
besetting France. The first emission of four hundred millions had
not reduced the debt at all, and had perceptibly injured the credit
of the government. In August, 1790, the public debt was esti-
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 165
1791
mated at 190,000,000 livres. Nevertheless an additional issue of
800,000,000 in assignats was made in September, an action which
had some influence upon Necker's resignation. Now, in prospect
of war, recourse was again had to the press and new currency was
printed. The national assembly, for current expenses, had spent
800,000,000. Other resources than the paper-press did not exist,
so it was resolved on December 17 to issue 300,000,000 more, and
in the worst possible shape, that is, in notes from 50 to 10 sou
(about one dollar to 20 cents). The aggregate of assignats in
December, 1791, amounted to 2,000,000,000.
The calculations of the revolutionists were anything but dis-
tinguished for sobriety and exactness. Narbonne was compelled
to ask for a law for the more effective levying of troops, for the
actual number of troops fell fully 50,000 short of the number on
the paper. The French marine was more an object of contempt
than of apprehension.
Narbonne's glowing reports had been composed for the satis-
faction of the galleries. There was an insufficient number of men,
and especially of officers ; in ever-increasing numbers they were
leaving the country. Four weeks of campaign soon swallowed
52,000,000. Claviere proposed to declare France bankrupt in order
to carry on the war. On April 27 300,000,000 of assignats were
issued. On May 15 it was resolved to stop payment of all debts
which amounted to more than 10,000 livres till further notice.
Robespierre was the only notable leader opposed to the idea
of war. He had been from the beginning decidedly against war.
" This war," he said, " was planned by the court and all the ene-
mies of liberty in order to form a fit instrument for a counter-
revolution and an army hostile to the people. It is madness to
commence war against the audacious despots under any leader like
Lafayette, the traitor and venal henchman of despotism, against
whom the cries of the patriots murdered on July 17 call to
Heaven." He could keep the Jacobin club divided on the war
question, but he could not prevail upon it to adopt his views.
Brissot carried the day, but at the expense of complete rupture with
Robespierre. Narbonne and the Girondists plotted war with the
view of getting hold of the reins of government. \\'ith him, as
with hundreds of others, personal wishes and desires were the
only true motives of his doings.
On the contrary, the policy of the powers was a pacific one.
166 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
In December, 1791, Austria, Prussia, and Bavaria came to an
agreement that the force of amicable argument should be tried
once more. But the Girondists were determined to have a war,
because they were tempted by bloody laurels, and because they
hoped a war would help them out of many of the dangers with
which they did not know how to deal. Brissot delivered a speech
at the Jacobins which left no doubt as to who it was who really
wanted war. He said : " We need war firmly to establish liberty.
We need war to cure it from the vices of despotism. We need
war to rid ourselves of the men who could destroy it."
The assembly determined to force the hand of the emperor.
It looked on the electors as merely his agents, and on the emigrants
as his instruments; for the Prince von Kaunitz recognized as
legitimate " the league of sovereigns united for the safety and
honor of crowns." The Girondists, therefore, wished to anticipate
war, in order not to give Austria time for more mature prepara-
tions. They required from the emperor, before February 10, a
definite and precise explanation of his real intentions with regard
to France.* They at the same time proceeded against those minis-
ters on whom they could not rely in the event of war. The inca-
pacity of Delessart, and the intrigues of Molleville especially, gave
room for attack ; Narbonne was alone spared.
What " gave room for attack " still more was the attitude of
England. Late in January, 1791, Talleyrand had been sent to
England, authorized to propose the cession of the island of France
and Bourbon, and the island of Tobago, as the price of an alliance
against the emperor. Brissot de Warville even went so far as to
4 ^ligiiet has omitted certain important details concerning Leopold's conduct
at tliis time. I quote from Fyffe, " History of Modern Europe," vol. I. pp. lo-ii :
" On January i6, 1792, Louis informed the assembly that the emigrants had
been expelled from the electorate and acknowledged the good offices of Leopold
in effecting this result. The substantial cause of war seemed to have disap-
peared ; but another had risen in its place. In a note of December 21 the Aus-
trian minister Kavmitz used expressions which implied that a league of the
powers was still in existence against France. Nothing could have come more
opporttmcly for the war party in the assembly. Brissot cried for an immediate
declaration of war, and appealed to the French nation to vindicate its honor by
an attack both upon the emigrants and upon their imperial protector. The issue
depended upon the relative power of the crown and the opposition. , Leopold
saw that war was inevitable unless the constitutional party, which was still in
rifFire. rallied for one last effort and gained a decisive victory over its antagonists.
In tlir hfipe of turning pulilic opinion against the Gironde, he permitted Kaunitz
to ^(.nd a flispatcli to Paris which loaded the leaders of the war party with abuse
and exhorted tlic brenth nation to deliver itself from men who would bring
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 167
1791
propose the retrocession of Calais and Dunkirk. Further, Talley-
rand offered to destroy the fortifications of Cherbourg, over
against Portsmouth, and an extension of commercial advantages.
When England refused to enter into an alliance with France, Tal-
leyrand asked Pitt for a promise of English neutrality. This he
got, but events soon put an end to this attitude on the part of
England.
When the Girondists heard that England was determined to
remain neutral they pressed with more energy to war. Narbonne,
the minister of war, being eager for war, Delessart and the
Feuillants thought that by crowding him out of the cabinet it
would still be possible to obviate war. Not to provoke public
opinion, the stanch royalist, Bertrand de Molleville, should go at
the same time. Rochambeau, Luckner, and Lafayette wrote let-
ters from the frontier in which they declared the dismissal a public
calamity, and these letters were published in the papers. Mean-
while the emperor had officially announced his determination not
to go to war unless he was absolutely left to no choice. He in-
formed the Elector of Treves that the emigrant corps must be
dissolved at once, and the elector obeyed the imperial orders.
On February 17 the emperor replied to the decree of the as-
sembly. He mentioned how he had enforced the dissolution of the
emigrant corps, and that he honestly desired peace. He said
the European coalition had but a conditional existence since the
adoption of the constitution by the king, but that it would not be
dropped while the king was endangered by republican faction. But
Leopold did not live to see one of the greatest wars in history
actually declared. On ]\Iarch 9 the news was received that
Leopold had died. He was succeeded by his son, Francis H., great
in nothing but his absolutistic obtuseness and his crusade zeal
upon it the hostility of Europe (February 17). The dispatch gave singular proof
of the inability of the cleverest sovereign and the most experienced minister of
the age to distinguish between the fears of a timid cabinet and the impulses of an
excited nation. Leopold's vituperations might have had the intended effect if
they had been addressed to the Margrave of Baden or the Doge of Venice;
addressed to the French nation and its popular assembly in the height of civil
conflict, they were as oil poured upon the flames. Leopold ruined the party
which he meant to reinforce ; he threw the nation into the arms of those whom
he attacked. His dispatch was received in the assembly with alternate murmurs
and bursts of laughter; in the clubs it excited a wild outburst of rage. The
exchange of diplomatic notes continued for a few weeks more; but the real
answer of France to Austria was the ' Marseillaise' composed at Strasburg
almost simultaneously with Kaunitz's attack upon the Jacobins."
168 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
against the revolution. Leopold, had he remained living, could not
have avoided war, but the character of the war would have been
somewhat different. The first impression produced in Paris by his
death was that the preservation of peace had been secured, so com-
pletely had the Girondists pulled the wool over the eyes of the
people.
In truth Leopold's death had broken down the last bar-
rier. The war party was aided by the divisions of the council,
which was partly aristocratic in Bertrand de Molleville, Delessart,
and others, and partly constitutional, in Narbonne and Cahier de
Gerville, minister of the interior. Men so opposed in character and
intentions could scarcely be expected to agree; Bertrand de Molle-
ville had warm contests with Narbonne, who wished his colleagues
to adopt a frank, decided line of conduct, and to make the assembly
the fulcrum of the throne. Narbonne succumbed in this struggle,
and his dismissal involved the disorganization of the ministry. The
Girondists threw the blame upon Bertrand de Molleville and
Delessart; the former had the address to exonerate himself, but
the latter was brought before the high court of Orleans. Brissot
made a furious attack upon Delessart, on the strength of the cor-
respondence with Austria, which the assembly had received with
applause. Brissot now demanded the minister to be impeached for
high treason. Violent denunciation made up for his utter lack of
proof, and Delessart was thrown into prison.
As Lafayette had some share in the overthrow of the old
cabinet, so now he had sufficient influence in the formation of the
new to prevent its being exclusively Girondist.
The minister of war, Du Grave, had been brought into the
cabinet by Delessart ; still his relation to Petion and Gensonne con-
nected him with the Girondists. Claviere, the minister of finance,
and Duranthon, the minister of justice, were considered Giron-
dists.^
1 lie king, intimidated by the assaults of the assembly upon the
members of his council, and more especially by the impeachment of
Delessart. had no resource but to select his new ministers from
among the victorious party. An alliance wnth the actual rulers of
the rev(jhition cr)u](l alone save liberty and the tlirone, by restor-
Hig concord between the assembly, the supreme authority, and
the niunicipriliiy; and if this union had been maintained, the
^ Sec Von SyKl, " JJistory of the French Revolution," vol. I. 433-435.
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 169
1792
Girondists would have effected with the court that which, after the
rupture itself, they considered they could only effect without it.
The members of the new ministry were: Minister of the marine,
Lacoste; of finance, Claviere; of justice, Duranthon; of war, Du
Grave, soon afterward replaced by Servian ; o foreign affairs,
Dumouriez ; of the interior, Roland. The two latter were the most
important and most remarkable men in the cabinet.
Dumouriez was forty-seven years of age when the revolution
began ; he had lived till then immersed in intrigue, and he retained
his old habits too closely at an epoch when he should have employed
small means only to aid great ones, instead of supplying their
place. The first part of his political life was spent in seeking those
by whom he might rise : the second, those by whom he might
maintain his position. A courtier up to 1789, a constitutionalist
under the first assembly, a Girondist under the second, a Jacobin
under the republic, he was eminently a man of circumstances. But
he had all the resources of great men : an enterprising character,
indefatigable activity, a ready, sure, and extensive perception, im-
petuosity of action, and an extraordinary confidence of success ; he
was, moreover, open, easy, witty, daring; adapted alike for arms
and for factions, full of expedients, wonderfully ready, and, in
difficult positions, versed in the art of stooping to conquer. It is
true that his great qualities were weakened by defects; he was
rash, flighty, full of inconsistency of thought and action, owing
to his continual thirst for movement and machination. But his
great defect was the total absence of a political conviction. In
times of revolution nothing can be done for liberty or power by
him who is not decidedly of one party or another, and when he is
ambitious, unless he see further than the immediate objects of that
party, and have a stronger will than his colleagues. This it was
made Cromwell ; this it was made Bonaparte ; -while Dumouriez, the
employed of all parties, thought he could get the better of them
all by intriguing. He wanted the passion of his time: that which
completes a man and alone enables him to sway.
Roland was the opposite of Dumouriez; he had simple man-
ners, austere morals, tried opinions; enthusiastically attached to lil)-
erty, he was capable of disinterestedly devoting to her cause his
whole life, or of perishing for her, without ostentation and without
regret. A man worthy of being born in a republic, but out of place
in a revolution, and ill adapted for the agitation and struggle of
170 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
parties ; his talents were not superior, his temper somewhat uncom-
pliant; his political sagacity was confined to the maxim that to
secure increased liberty the power of the crown must be absolutely
paralyzed. He had no sense of official decorum, and was never
anything more tlian the minister of his faction. He had formerly
been an official of the treasury department. He was unskilled in
the knowledge and management of men; and though laborious,
well informed, and active, he would have produced little effect but
for his wife. Madame Roland attracted men not by her youth or
beauty, but by her intellect and the restless urgency of her political
ambition. All he wanted she had for him ; force, ability, elevation,
foresight. Madame Roland was the soul of the Gironde; it was
at her house that those brilliant and courageous men assembled to
discuss the necessities and dangers of their country; it was she who
stimulated to action those who she saw were qualified for action,
and who encouraged to the tribune those whom she knew to be
eloquent.*'
The court named this ministry, which was appointed during
the month of March, Le jMinistere Sans-Culotte. The first time
Roland appeared at the chateau with strings in his shoes and a
round hat, contrary to etiquette, the master of the ceremonies re-
fused to admit him. Obliged, however, to give way, he said
despairingly to Dumouriez, pointing to Roland; "Ah, sir no
buckles in his shoes." " Ah, sir, all is lost," replied Dumouriez,
with an air of the most sympathizing gravity. Such were the trifles
which still occupied the attention of the court. The first step of
the new ministry was w^ar. The position of France was becoming
more and more dangerous ; everything was to be feared from the
enmity of Europe. Leopold was dead, and this event w^as calcu-
lated to accelerate the decision of the cabinet of Vienna. His
young successor, Francis 11., was likely to be less pacific or less
prudent than he. Moreover, Austria was assembling its troops,
forming camps, and appointing generals ; it had violated the terri-
tory of Bale, and placed a garrison in Porentrury, to secure for
itself the entry of the department of Doubs. There could be no
doubt as to its projects. The gatherings at Coblentz had recom-
"TIic reader is referred to the following upon Madame Roland: Stephens,
vol. If. pp. r^-if); Von Syhel, vol. I. p. 378: St. Beaiive, "Portraits of Celebrated
WoiTu-n"; Danbaiii. "Etude snr Madame Roland"; Yonge, "Life," etc.; Ida M.
'1 arbell. " Madame Roland."
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 171
1792
menced to a greater extent than before ; the cabinet of Vienna had
only temporarily dispersed the emigrants assembled in the Belgian
provinces, in order to prevent the invasion of that country at a
time when it was not yet ready to repel invasion ; it had, however,
merely sought to save appearances, and had allowed a staff of gen-
eral officers, in full uniform and with the white cockade, to re-
main at Brussels. Finally, the renly of the Prince von Kaunitz
to the required explanations was by no means satisfactory. He
even refused to negotiate directly, and the Baron von Cobentzel
was commissioned to reply that Austria would not depart from the
required conditions already set forth. The reestablishment of the
monarchy on the basis of the royal sittings of the 23d of June ; the
restitution of its property to the clergy; of the territory of Alsace,
with all their rights, to the German princes ; of Avignon and the
Venaissin to the Pope; such was the ultimatum of Austria, All
accord was now impossible ; peace could no longer be maintained.
France was threatened with the fate which Holland had just ex-
perienced, and perhaps with that of Poland. The sole question
now was whether to wait for or to initiate war, whether to profit
by the enthusiasm of the people or to allow that enthusiasm to cool.
The true author of war is not he who declares it, but he who
renders it necessary.
In justice to Austria it should be stated, however, that these
terms were required only after Dumouriez, in imperative and cate-
gorical terms, had demanded that Austria should both dissolve the
alliance with Prussia and disarm. Count Cobentzel's demand was
a counter-demand. The Girondists seem to have made a demand
impossible to comply with, in order that war might be inevitable,
but at the same time that they might escape criticism for having
provoked it. Was the war thus begun offensive or defensive ? ^
On April 20, 1792, Louis XVI. went to the assembly, attended
by all his ministers. " I come, gentlemen," said he, " to the national
assembly for one of the most important objects that can occupy
the representatives of the nation. I\Iy minister for foreign affairs
will read to you the report drawn up in our council, as to our
political situation." Dumouriez then rose. He set forth the
"Upon the grounds of war, see Von Sybcl, '"'History of the French Revo-
lution, vol. I. pp. 381-304; Fyffc, "Modern F.urope," vol. I. pp. 11-13; Stephens,
"French Revolution." vol. Tl, pp. 66-78; Thiers, "French Revolution," vol. I.
pp. 236-239; Talleyrand, "Memoirs," vol. T. pp. 166-167. Upon the condition of
Europe at this time, see Fyffe, " Modern Europe," vol. I. pp. 14-40.
172 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
grounds of complaint that France had against the house of
Austria; the object of the conferences of Mantua, Reichenbach,
and Pilnitz ; the coaHtion it had formed against the French Revolu-
tion; its armaments becoming more and more considerable; the
open protection it afforded to bodies of emigrants; the imperious
tone and the undisguised procrastination of its negotiations; lastly,
the intolerable conditions of its ultimatum ; and after a long series
of considerations founded on the hostile conduct of the King of
Hungary and Bohemia (Francis H. was not yet elected emperor) ;
on the urgent circumstances of the nation; on its formally declared
resolution to endure no insult, no encroachment on its rights; on
the honor and good faith of Louis XVI., the depositary of the
dignity and safety of France, he demanded war against Austria.
Lous XVL then said, in a voice slightly tremulous : " You have
heard, gentlemen, the result of my negotiations with the court of
Vienna. The conclusions of the report are based upon the unan-
imous opinion of my council ; I have myself adopted them. They
are conformable with the wishes often expressed to me by the
national assembly, and with the sentiments frequently testified by
bodies of citizens in different parts of the kingdom; all prefer war
to witnessing the continuance of insult to the French people, and
danger threatening the national existence. It was my duty first
to try every means of maintaining peace. Having failed in these
efforts, I now come, according to the terms of the constitution, to
propose to the national assembly war against the King of Hungary
and Bohemia." The king's address was received with some ap-
plause, but the solemnity of the circumstances and the grandeur of
the decision filled every bosom with silent and concentrated emo-
tion. As soon as the king had withdrawn the assembly voted an
extraordinary sitting for the evening. In that sitting war was
almost unanimously decided upon. Thus was undertaken, against
the chief of the confederate powers, that war which was protracted
throughout a quarter of a century, which victoriously established
the revolution, and which changed the whole face of Europe.
All France received the announcement with joy. War gave a
new movement to the people already so excited. Districts, munic-
ipalities, and popular societies wrote addresses; men were enrolled,
voluntary gifts offered, pikes forged, and the nation seemed to
rise up tu await Europe, or to attack it. But enthusiasm, which
ensures victory in the end, does not at first supply the ])lace of
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 173
1792
organization. Accordingly, at the opening of the campaign the
regular troops were all that could be relied upon until the new
levies were trained. This was the state of the forces. The vast
frontier from Dunkirk to Huninguen was divided into three great
military districts. On the left from Dunkirk to Philippeville, the
army of the north was under the orders of Marshal de Rocham-
beau. Lafayette commanded the army of the center, occupying the
district between Philippeville and the lines of Weissenburg. Lastly,
the army of the Rhine, extending from the lines of Weissenburg to
Bale, was under the command of Marshal Luckner. The frontier
of the Alps and Pyrenees was confided to General Montesquiou,
whose army was inconsiderable; but that part of France was not
as yet in danger.
The Marshal de Rochambeau was of opinion that it would be
prudent to remain on the defensive and simply to guard the fron-
tiers. Dumouriez, on the contrary, wished to take the initiative
in action, as they had done in declaring war, so as to profit by the
advantage of being first prepared. He was very enterprising, and
as, although minister of foreign affairs, he directed the military
operations, his plan was adopted. It consisted of a rapid invasion
of Belgium. This province had, in 1790, essayed to throw off the
Austrian yoke, but, after a brief victory, was subdued by superior
force. Dumouriez imagined that the Brabant patriots would
favor the attack of the French as a means of freedom for them-
selves. With this view, he combined a triple invasion. The two
generals, Theobald Dillon and Biron, who commanded in Flanders
under Rochambeau, received orders to advance, the one with 4000
men from Lille upon Tournai, the other with 10,000 from
Valenciennes upon I\Ions. At the same time Lafayette with a
part of his army quitted j\Ietz and advanced by forced marches
upon Namur, by Stenai, Sedan. Mezieres, and Givet. But this
plan implied in the soldiers a discipline which they had not of
course as yet acquired, and on the part of the chiefs a concert very
difficult to obtain ; besides, the invading columns were not strong
enough for sucli an enterprise. Theobald Dillon had scarcely
passed the frontier when, on meeting the first enemy on April 28,
a panic terror seized upon the troops. The cry of sauvc qui pent
ran through the ranks, and the general was carried off and massa-
cred by his troops. Aluch the same thing took place, under the
same circumstances, in the corps of Biron, who was obliged to
174 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
retreat in disorder to his previous position. The sudden and con-
current flij^ht of these two columns must be attributed either to fear
of the enemy, on the part of troops who had never before stood
fire, or to a distrust of their leaders, or to traitors who sounded the
alarm of treachery.
Lafayette, on arriving at Bouvines, after traveling fifty
leagues of bad roads in two or three days, learned the disasters of
Valenciennes and Lille; he at once saw that the object of the in-
vasion had failed ; and he justly thought that the best course would
be to effect a retreat. Rochambeau complained of the precipitate
and incongruous nature of the measures which had been in the
most absolute manner prescribed to him. As he did not choose to
remain a passive machine, obliged to fill, at the will of the minis-
ters, a post of which he himself ought to have the full direction,
he resigned. From that moment the French army resumed the
defensive. The frontier was divided into two general commands
only, the one intrusted to Lafayette, extending from the sea to
Longwy, and the other, from the Moselle to the Jura, being con-
fided to Luckner. Lafayette placed his left under the command of
Arthur Dillon, and with his right reached to Luckner, who had
Dillon as his lieutenant on the Rhine. In this position they
awaited the allies.
Meantime the first checks increased the disunion of the
Feuillants and the Girondists. The generals ascribed to them the
plans of Dumouriez, the ministry attributed them to the manner
in which its plans had been executed, or rather, not executed, by
the generals, who, having been appointed by Narbonne, were of
the constitutional party. The Jacobins, on the other hand, accused
the anti-revolutionists of having occasioned the flight by the cry
of sairo'c qui pent! Their joy, which they did not conceal, the
declared hope of soon seeing the confederates in Paris, the emi-
grants returned, and the ancient regime restored, confirmed these
suspicions. It was thought that the court, which had increased the
household troops from 1800 to 6000 men, and these carefully
selected anti-revolutionists, acted in concert with the coalition.
The public denounced, under the name of Comite Autrichien, a
secret committee, the very existence of which could not be proved,
and mistrust was at its height.
The asscml)ly at once took decided measures. It had entered
upon the career of war, and it was thenceforth condemned to regu-
NATIONAL ASSEMBLE 175
1792
late its conduct far more with reference to the pubhc safety than
with regard to the mere justice of the case. It resolved upon sit-
ting permanently, although it was shallow pretension for the
Girondists to assert that a permanent sitting was made necessary
by reason of the war. The Girondists' principal purpose was to
break down the power of the king, which they hoped to do in this
way. They actually established a republican newspaper with the
government money. The assembly discharged the household
troops; on account of the increase of religious disturbances it passed
a decree exiling refractory priests, so that it might not have at the
same time to combat a coalition and to appease revolts. It also
sought to excite the public mind by revolutionary fetes, and began
to enroll the multitude and arm them with pikes, conceiving that no
assistance could be superfluous in such a moment of peril.
The establishment of the camp of the federates was another
scheme of the Girondists to overcome the monarchy. The minister
moved on June 4 that every canton should be ordered to send five
men to the anniversary of the Bastile. After the festival these
20,000 men were to be encamped near Paris and be given the artil-
lery of the national guard. Thus the feet of the national guard
were to be chained and the Gironde proposed getting an army of
its own. In vain petitions were sent to the assembly to pray it
to desist from the formation of the camp of the federates.
Lafayette now again formed the Feuillants, and Dumouriez de-
termined to break with the Gironde. Dumouriez read a long
memoir concerning the pitiable condition of the army, and laid the
blame upon the Girondist ministers, Du Grave and Servan. The
king could not be prevailed upon to confinn this indictment, and
Dumouriez resigned.
All these measures were not carried without opposition from
the constitutionalists. They opposed the establishment of the
camp of 20,000 men, which they regarded as the army of a party
directed against the national guard and the throne. The staff of
the latter protested, and the recomposition of this body was imme-
diately effected in accordance with the views of the dominant party.
Companies armed with pikes were introduced into tlie new national
guard. The constitutionahsts were still more dissatisfied with this
measure, wliich introduced a lower class into their ranks, and
which seemed to them to aim at superseding the bourgeoisie by
the populace. Finally, they openly condemned the banishment of
176 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
the priests, which in their opinion was nothing less than pro-
scription.
Louis XVL had for some time past manifested a coolness
toward his ministers, who on their part had been more exacting with
him. They urged him to admit about him priests who had taken
the oath, in order to set an example in favor of the constitutional
religion, and to remove pretexts for religious agitation; he steadily
refused this, determined as he was to make no further religious
concession. These last decrees had put an end to his concord with
the Gironde; for several days he did not mention the subject, much
less make know^n his intentions respecting it. It w^as on this occasion
that Roland addressed to him his celebrated letter on his consti-
tutional duties, and entreated him to calm the public mind and to
establish his authority, by becoming frankly the king of the revolu-
tion.
This letter still more highly irritated Louis XVL, already
disposed to break with the Girondists. He was supported in this
bv Dumouriez, who, forsaking his party, had formed, with Du-
ranthon and Lacoste, a division in the ministry against Roland,
Servan, and Claviere. But, able as well as ambitious, Dumouriez
advised Louis, while dismissing the ministers of whom he had to
complain, to sanction their decrees, in order to make himself popu-
lar. He described that against the priests as a precaution in their
favor, exile probably removing them from a proscription still more
fatal ; he undertook to prevent any revolutionary consequences
from the camp of 20,000 men by marching off each battalion to the
army immediately upon its arrival at the camp. On these condi-
tions Dumouriez took upon himself the post of minister of war
and sustained the attacks of his own party. The king dismissed
his ministers on June 13, and, acting wholly within his prerogative,
rejected the decrees on the 29th, and Dumouriez set out for the
army, after having rendered himself an object of suspicion. The
assembly declared tliat Roland, Servan, and Claviere carried with
them the regrets of tlie nation.
The king selected his new ministers from among the Feuil-
lants. Scipio Chambonnas was appointed minister of foreign
affairs; Terrier ^lonteil, of the interior; Beaulieu, of finance;
L<-ijarrc, of war; Lacoste and Duranthon remained provisionally
ministers of justice and of the marine. All these men w'ere with-
out reputation or credit, and their party itself was approaching the
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 177
1792
term of its existence. The constitutional situation, during which
it was to sway, was changing more and more decidedly into a revo-
lutionary situation. How could a legal and moderate party main-
tain itself between two extreme and belligerent parties, one
of which was advancing from without to destroy the revolution,
while the other was resolved to defend it at any cost? The Feuil-
lants became superfluous in such a conjuncture. The king, per-
ceiving their weakness, now seemed to place his reliance upon
Europe alone, and sent Mallet-Dupan on a secret mission to the
coalition. It has been well said that " the choice of such a man
proves that the king had nothing to do with the emigrants."
Meantime, all those who had been outstripped by the popular
tide, and who belonged to the first period of the revolution, united
to second this slight retrograde movement. The monarchists, at
whose head were Lally-Tollendal and Malouet, two of the principal
members of the Mounier and Necker party ; the Feuillants, directed
by the old triumvirate, Duport, Lameth, and Barnave; lastly, La-
fayette, W'ho had immense reputation as a constitutionalist, tried to
put down the clubs and to reestablish legal order and the power of
the king. The Jacobins made great exertions at this period ; their
influence was becoming enormous; they were at the head of the
party of the populace. To oppose them, to check them, the old
party of the bourgeoisie was required ; but this was disorganized,
and its influence grew daily weaker and weaker. In order to
revive its courage and strength, Lafayette, on June i6, addressed
from the camp at Maubeuge a letter to the assembly, in which he
denounced the Jacobin faction, required the cessation of the clubs,
the independence and confirmation of the constitutional throne,
and urged the assembly in his own name, in that of his army, in
tliat of all the friends of liberty, only to adopt such measures for
the public welfare as were sanctioned by law. This letter gave rise
to warm debates between the Right and Left in the assembly.
Though dictated only by pure and disinterested motives, it ap-
peared, coming as it did from a young general at the head of his
army, a proceeding a. la Cromwell, and from that moment La-
fayette's reputation, hitherto respected by his opponents, became
the object of attack. In fact, considering it merely in a political
point of view, this step was imprudent. The Gironde, driven from
the ministry, stopped in its measures for the public good, needed
no further goading; and, on the other hand, it was quite unde-
178 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
sirable that Lafayette, even for the benefit of his party, should use
his influence.
The Gironde wished, for its own safety and that of the nation,
to recover power, without, however, departing from constitutional
means. Its object was not, as at a later period, to dethrone the
king, but to bring him back among them. For this purpose it had
recourse to the imperious petitions of the multitude. Since the
declaration of war petitioners had appeared in arms at the bar of
the national assembly, had offered their services in defense of the
country, and had obtained permission to march armed through the
house. This concession was blamable, neutralizing all the laws
against military gatherings; but both parties found themselves in
an extraordinary position, and each employed an illegal means ; the
court having recourse to Europe, and the Gironde to the people.
The latter was in a state of great agitation. The leaders of the
faubourgs, among whom were the deputy Chabot, Santerre, Le-
gendre, a butcher, Gonchon, the Marquis de Saint Hurugues, pre-
pared them, during several days, for a revolutionary outbreak,
similar to the one which failed at the Champ de Mars. June 20
was approaching, the anniversary of the oath of the tennis-court.
Under the pretext of celebrating this memorable day by a civic fete,
and of planting a May pole in honor of liberty, an assemblage of
about 8000 men left the faubourgs Saint Antoine and Saint Mar-
ceau on June 20 and took their way to the assembly. Everyone
was aware that not merely a harmless procession was intended.
The worst of the Jacobin faction were the leaders of the scheme.
Though Santerre and Alexandre were apparently the chief actors
in it, Danton Was the mover behind the scenes.
Petion's participation in this abominable policy of the Giron-
dists was a disgrace to his office. June 20 w^as the supreme
attempt of the Girondists to overwhelm the monarchy. They
never afterward commanded so much power. In order to suc-
ceed it was necessary to have Petion, the mayor, as an ally.
Petion's desire to increase his power led him to aid the scheme on
foot. On June 19 the directory of the department forbade the
carrying out of the programme of the suburbs, because it was
illegal for armed crowds to present petitions. Petion consulted
with the captains, among whom were the leaders of the whole
movement, Santerre and Alexandre. They declared it impossible
to make the people desist from their purpose.
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 170
1792
Upon the sugg-estion of St. Prix, that the illegal acts of the
people might be made legal by ordering the guardians of the law to
participate in these illegal acts, Petion wrote to the directory. The
next morning Petion was again peremptorily ordered to prevent
the crowd going armed. Petion was in no hurry to send the coun-
ter-order, and when he did so he sent it by policemen who did not
wish to give it. Several of the captains tried to make their men
obey orders, but it was of no avail. Santerre, seeing the whole
plot was likely to miscarry, called to his men : " Petion is with you ;
forward march." Upon this the procession started, followed by
dense crowds. The assembly was informed that 8000 men were
coming to present petitions. The Right insisted on the law for-
bidding the presentation of petitions of armed men. The Giron-
dists assured the assembly that the mob had none but honest in-
tentions.^ Vergniaud declared that the assembly would violate every
principle by admitting armed bands among them; but, considering
actual circumstances, he also declared that it was impossible to deny
a request in the present case, that had been granted in so many
others.
It was difficult not to yield to the desires of an enthusiastic
and vast multitude, when seconded by a majority of the representa-
tives. The crowd already thronged the passages, when the assem-
bly decided that the petitioners should be admitted to the bar. The
deputation was introduced. The spokesman expressed himself in
threatening language. He said that the people were astir; that
they were ready to make use of great means the means comprised
in the declaration of rights, resistance of oppression ; that the dis-
sentient members of the assembly, if there were any, would purge
the world of liberty, and would repair to Coblentz ; then, returning
to the true design of this insurrectional petition, he added: "The
executive power is not in union with you ; we require no other
proof of it than the dismissal of the patriot ministers. It is thus,
then, that the happiness of a free nation shall depend on the caprice
of a king! But should this king have any other will than that
of the law? The people will have it so, and the life of the people
is as valuable as that of crowned despots. That life is the gen-
ealogical tree of the nation, and the feeble reed must bend before
^ On these events see: Stephens, "French Revohition," vol. II. pp. 82-97;
Thiers, '" French Revohition," vol. T., pp. 266-273 : Mortimer-Terneaux, " La
Tcrrcnr," vol. I. pp. 129-223; Von Sybel, "French Revolution," vol. I. p. 476.
180 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
this sturdy oak ! We complain, gentlemen, of the inactivity of our
armies; we require of you to penetrate into the cause of this; if it
spring from the executive power, let that power be destroyed ! "
The assembly answered the petitioners that it would take
their request into consideration ; it then urged them to respect the
law and legal authorities, and allowed them to defile before it.
This procession, amounting to 30,000 persons, comprising women,
children, national guards, and men armed with pikes, among whom
waved revolutionary banners and symbols, sang, as they traversed
the hall, the famous chorus, " Ca ira," and cried : " Vive la nation! "
" Vivent les sans-culottes! " *' A has le veto! " It was led by San-
terre and the Marquis de Saint Hurugues. On leaving the as-
sembly it proceeded to the chateau, headed by the petitioners.
The outer doors were opened at the king's command; the
multitude rushed into the interior. They ascended to the apart-
ments, and while forcing the doors wath hatchets, the king ordered
them to be opened, and appeared before them, accompanied by a
few persons. The mob stopped a moment before him ; but those who
were outside, not being awed by the presence of the king, continued
to advance. Louis XVI. was prudently placed in the recess of a
window. He never displayed more courage than on this deplor-
able day. Surrounded by national guards, who formed a barrier
against the mob, seated on a chair placed on a table, that he might
breathe more freely and be seen by the people, he preserved a calm
and firm demeanor. In reply to the cries that arose on all sides
for the sanction of the decrees, he said : " This is neither the mode
nor the moment to obtain it of me." Having the courage to re-
fuse the essential object of the meeting, he thought he ought not to
reject a symbol, meaningless for him, but in the eyes of the people
that of liberty: he placed on his head a red cap presented to him on
the top of a pike. The multitude were quite satisfied with this
condescension. A moment or two afterward they loaded him
with applause, as, almcst suffocated with hunger and thirst, he
drank off, without hesitation, a glass of wine presented to him by a
half-drunken workman. In the meantime, Vergniaud, Isnard.
and a few deputies of the Gironde had hastened thither to protect
the king, to address the people, and put an end to these indecent
scenes. The assembly, which had just risen from a sitting, met
again in haste, terrified at this outbreak, and dispatched several
successive deputations to Louis XVI. by way of protection. At
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 181
1792
length Petion, the mayor, himself arrived; he mounted a chair,
harangued the people, urging them to retire without tumult, and
the people obeyed.
The events of June 20 excited the friends of the constitution
against its authors. The violation of the royal residence, the
insults offered to Louis XVL, the illegality of a petition presented
amid the violence of the multitude, and the display of arms were
subjects of serious censure against the popular party. The latter
saw itself reduced for a moment to the defensive; besides being
guilty of a riot, it had undergone a complete check. The constitu-
tionalists assumed the tone and superiority of an offended and pre-
dominant party; but this lasted only a short time, for they were
not seconded by the court. The national guard offered to Louis
XVL to remain assembled round his person ; the Due de la Roche-
foucauld-Liancourt, who commanded at Rouen, wished to convey
him to his troops, who were devoted to his cause. Lafayette pro-
posed to take him to Compiegne and place him at the head of his
army; but Louis XVL declined all these oft'ers. He conceived that
the agitators would be disgusted at the failure of their last attempt ;
and, as he hoped for deliverance from the coalition of European
powers, rendered more active by the events of June 20, he was un-
willing to make use of the constitutionalists, because he would have
been obliged to treat with them.
Lafayette, however, attempted to make a last effort in favor
of legal monarchy. After having provided for the command of
his army, and collected addresses protesting against the late events,
he started for Paris, and on June 28 he unexpectedly presented
himself at the bar of the assembly. He required in his name, as
well as in that of his army, the punishment of the insurrectionists
of June 20 and the destruction of the Jacobin party. His proceed-
ing excited various sentiments in the assembly. The Right warmly
applauded it, but the Left protested against his conduct. Guadet
proposed that an inquiry should be made as to his culpability in
leaving his army and coming to dictate laws to the assembly.
Some remains of respect prevented the latter from following Gua-
det's advice ; and after tumultuous debates Lafayette was admitted
to the honors of the sitting, but this was all on the part of the
assembly. Lafayette tlien turned to tlie national guard, that had
su long been devoted to him, and hoped with its aid to close the
rlubs, disperse the Jacobins, restore to Louis XVL the authority
182 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
which the law gave him, and again estabHsh the constitution. The
revoUitionists were astounded, and dreaded everything from the
daring and activity of this adversary of the Champ de Mars. But
the court, which feared the triumph of the constitutionahsts, caused
Lafayette's projects to fail; he had appointed a review, which it
contrived to prevent by its influence over the officers of the royalist
battalions. The grenadiers and chasseurs, picked companies, and
those better disposed than the rest, were to assemble at his resi-
dence and proceed against the clubs; scarcely thirty men came.
Having thus vainly attempted to rally in the cause of the constitu-
tion and the common defense, the court and the national guard,
and finding himself deserted by those he came to assist, Lafayette
returned to his army, after having lost what little influence and
popularity remained to him. This attempt was the last symptom
of life in the constitutional party.
The assembly naturally returned to the situation of France,
which had not changed. The extraordinary commission of twelve
presented, through Pastoret, an unsatisfactory picture of the state
and divisions of party. Jean Debry, in the name of the same
commission, proposed that the assembly should secure the tran-
quillity of the people, now greatl)^ disturbed, by declaring that
when the crisis became imminent the assembly would declare the
country to be in danger, and that it would then take measures for the
public safety. The debate opened upon this important subject.
Vergniaud, in a speech which deeply moved the assembly, drew a
vivid picture of all the perils to which the country was at that mo-
ment exposed. He said that it was in the name of the king that the
emigrants were assembled, that the sovereigns of Europe had
formed a coalition, that foreign armies were marching on the fron-
tiers, and that internal disturbances were taking place. He accused
him of checking the national zeal by his refusals, and of giving
France up to the coalition. He quoted the article of the constitution
by which it was declared that " if the king placed himself at the head
of an army and directed its force against the nation, or if he did not
formally oppose such an enterprise, undertaken in his name, he
should be considered as having abdicated the throne." Supposing,
tlien, tliat Louis XVT. voluntarily opposed the means of defending
the country, in th.at case, said he : " Have we not a right to say to
him: *0 king, who tliought, no doubt, with the tyrant Lysander,
that truth was of no more worth than falsehood, and that men were
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 18S
1792
to be amused by oaths, as children are diverted by toys; who only
feigned obedience to the laws that you might better preserve the
power that enables you to defy them; and who only feigned love
for the constitution that it might not precipitate you from the
throne on which you wished to remain, only to destroy the consti-
tution, do you expect to deceive us by hypocritical protestations?
Do you think to deceive us as to our misfortunes by the art of your
excuses? Was it defending us to oppose to foreign soldiers forces
whose known inferiority admitted of no doubt as to their defeat?
to set aside projects for strengthening the interior? Was it de-
fending us not to check a general who was violating the constitu-
tion, while you repressed the courage of those who sought to serve
it? Did the constitution leave you the choice of ministers for our
happiness or our ruin ? did it place you at the head of our army for
our glory or our shame? did it give you the right of sanction, a
civil list and so many prerogatives, constitutionally to lose the
empire and the constitution? No! no! Man, whom the generosity
of the French could not affect, whom the love of despotism alone
actuates, you are now nothing to the constitution you have so
unworthily violated, and to the people you have so basely
betrayed ! ' "
The only recourse of the Gironde, in its present situation,
was the abdication of the king; Vergniaud, it is true, as yet only
expressed himself ambiguously, but all the popular party attributed
to Louis XVL projects which Vergniaud had only expressed in
the form of suppositions. In a few days Brissot expressed him-
self more openly. " Our peril," said he, " exceeds all that past
ages have witnessed. The country is in danger, not because we
are in want of troops, not because those troops want courage, or
that our frontiers are badly fortified, and our resources scanty.
No; it is in danger because its force is paralyzed. And who has
paralyzed it? A man one man. the man wliom the constitution
has made its chief, and whom perfidious advisers have made its foe.
You are told to fear the kings of Hungary and Prussia; I say the
chief force of these kings is at the court, and it is there that we
must first conquer them. They tell you to strike the dissentient
priests throughout tlie kingdom. I tell you to strike at the Tuile-
ries, that is, to fell all the priests with a single blow; you are told
to prosecute all factious and intriguing conspirators ; thev will all
disappear if you once knock loud enough at the door of the cabinet
184, THE FRP:NCH REVOLUTION
1792
of the Tuileries, for that cabinet is the point to which all these
threads tend, where every scheme is plotted, and whence every im-
pulse proceeds. The nation is the plaything of this cabinet. This
is the secret of our position, this is the source of the evil, and here
the remedy must be applied."
In this way the Gironde prepared the assembly for the ques-
tion of deposition. But the great question concerning the danger
of the country was first terminated. The three united committees
declared that it was necessary to take measures for the public
safety, and on July 5 the assembly pronounced the solemn declara-
tion: Citizens, the country is in danger! All the civil authorities
immediately established themselves en surveillance permanente.
All citizens able to bear arms, and having already served in the
national guard, were placed in active service ; everyone was obliged
to make known what arms and ammunition he possessed ; pikes
were given to those who were unable to procure guns; battalions
of volunteers were enrolled on the public squares, in the midst of
which banners were placed bearing the words " Citizens, the
country is in danger! " and a camp was formed at Soissons. These
measures of defense, now become indispensable, raised the revolu-
tionary enthusiasm to the highest pitch. It was especially observ-
able on the anniversary of July 14, when the sentiments of the
multitude and the federates from the departments were mani-
fested without reserve. Petion was the object of the people's
idolatry, and had all the honors of the federation. A few days
before he had been dismissed, on account of his conduct on June
20, by the directory of the department and the council ; but the
assembly had restored him to his functions, and the only cry on the
(lay of the federation was: "Petion or death!" The directory
of the department had undertaken an examination of the events of
the 20th and declared and decreed the suspension of Petion and
? C'.i.-eur ]\Ianucl. The approval of the king was necessary,
though the national assembly was empowered to annul the sentence,
even after the approval of the king. If the king confirmed the sen-
tence, he again provoked the passions of the masses; if he did not,
he delivered tlie directory, which strove to maintain law and order,
up to the rage of the mob. He asked them to dispense with
his action, but tlic Left refused.
Petiticn alter petition was sent in for the reinstatement of
Petion in his office. On the 12th the king's approval of the sus-
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 185
1792
pension was sent in. Petion appeared before the assembly and
hurled accusation and insult upon the directory and the king.
The Right demanded to have the documents bearing on the case
read. The Left thought no proofs were needed. The suspension
of the mayor was canceled.
The national guard and the great majority of the better classes
of the population were incensed and disgusted over the 20th. A
petition in this sense received 20,000 signatures. The directory
of the department is entitled to praise for having done with
resoluteness and circumspectness everything in its power to set
things right, but its legal power did not correspond with its will
and judgment. The constitution had created the hierarchical
power of the public authorities, but not in a single case had it
accorded the higher authorities the means effectually to control
their inferiors.
The Girondists had not the heart to take the lead of the ele-
ments who evidently were very soon to dictate the law. On July
20, Guadet, Gensonne, and Vergniaud sent a letter to the king
offering him an alliance. It was as certain that the king would
not accede to their request as that it would be regarded by the
Jacobins as a capital crime. The leaders were very much sur-
prised at the refusal of the king. Guadet moved an address to
the king. The Left boldly took the offensive. Couthon even ad-
vocated that in the future the decrees necessitated by circumstances
should not need the approval of the king. As the assembly could
declare any law such, it would be the abolishment of the constitu-
tional veto power of the king. The assembly contented itself with
simply affirming the existing law against armed crowds and the
presentation of petitions by such. The Radicals grew bolder, and
intended to renew the demands of the 20th on the 21st and the
27th, but it was not carried out. A few battalions of the
national guard, such as that of the Filles-Saint-Thomas, still
betrayed attachment to tlie court; tliey became the object of popu-
lar resentment and mistrust. A disturbance was excited in the
Champs Elysees between the grenadiers of the Filles-Saint-Thomas
and the federates of Marseilles, in which some grenadiers were
wounded. Every day the crisis became more imminent ; the party
in favor of war could no longer endure that of the constitution.
Attacks against Lafayette multiplied; he was censured in the jour-
nals, denounced in the assembly. At length hostilities began.
186 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
The club of the Feuillants was closed ; the grenadier and chasseur
companies of the national guard which formed the force of the
bourgeoisie were disbanded; the soldiers of the line, and a portion
of the Swiss, were sent away from Paris, and open preparations
were made for the catastrophe of August lo.
The progress of the Prussians and the famous manifesto of
Brunswick contributed to hasten this movement. Prussia had
joined Austria and the German princes gainst France. This coali-
tion, to which the court of Turin joined itself, was formidable,
though it did not comprise all the princes that were to have joined
it at first. The death of Gustavus, appointed at first commander
of the invading army, detached Sweden ; the substitution of the
Count d'Aranda, a prudent and moderate man, for the minister
Blanca-Florida, prevented Spain from entering it; Russia and
England secretly approved the attacks of the European league,
without as yet cooperating with it. After the military operations
already mentioned they watched each other rather than fought.
During the interval Lafayette had inspired his anny with good
habits of discipline and devotedness ; and Dumouriez, stationed
under Luckner at the camp of Maulde, had inured the troops con-
fided to him by petty engagements and daily successes. In this
way they had formed the nucleus of a good army, a desirable
thing, as they required organization and confidence to repel the
approaching invasion of the coalesced powers.
The Duke of Brunswick directed it. He had the chief com-
mand of the enemy's army, composed of 70,000 Prussians and
68,000 Austrians, Hessians, or emigrants. The plan of invasion
was as follows. The Duke of Brunswick w^ith the Prussians was
to pass the Rhine at Coblentz, ascend the left bank of the Moselle,
attack the French frontier by its central and most accessible point,
and advance on the capital by way of Longwy, Verdun, and
Chalons. The Prince de Hohenlohe, on his left, was to advance in
the direction of Aletz and Thionville, with the Hessians and a body
of emigrants; while General Clairfait, UMth the Austrians and an-
other body of emigrants, was to overthrow Lafayette, stationed
before Sedan and Mezieres, cross the ]\leuse, and march upon Paris
by Reims and Soissons. Thus the center and two wings were to
make a concentrated advance on the capital from the Moselle, the
Rhine, and the Netherlands. Other detachments stationed on the
frontier of the Rhine and the extreme nortb.crn frontier were to
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 187
1792
attack the French troops on these sides and facihtate the central
invasion.
When the army began to move from Coblentz, July 28, 1792,
the Duke of Brunswick published a manifesto in the name of the
emperor and the King of Prussia. He reproached those who had
usurped the reins of administration in France with having dis-
turbed order and overturned the legitimate government ; with hav-
ing used daily renewed violence against the king and his family ;
with having arbitrarily suppressed the rights and possessions of the
German princes in Alsace and Lorraine; and, finally, with having
crowned the measure by declaring an unjust war against his
majesty the emperor and attacking his provinces in the Nether-
lands. He declared that the allied sovereigns were advancing to
put an end to anarchy in France, to arrest the attacks made on the
altar and the throne, to restore to the king the security and liberty
he was deprived of, and to place him in a condition to exercise his
legitimate authority. He consequently rendered the national guard
and the authorities responsible for all the disorders that should
arise until the arrival of the troops of the coalition. He summoned
them to return to their ancient fidelity. He said that the inhab-
itants of the towns, who dared to stand on the defensive, should
instantly be punished as rebels, with the rigor of war, and their
houses demolished or burned; that if the city of Paris did not
restore the king to full liberty and render him due respect, the
coalesced princes would make it, all the members of the national
assembly, of the department, of the district, the corporation, and
the national guard, personally responsible with tlieir heads, to be
tried by martial-law, and without hope of pardon ; and that if
the chateau were attacked or insulted, the princes would inflict
an exemplary and never-to-be-forgotten vengeance, by delivering
Paris over to military execution and total subversion. He prom-
ised, on the other hand, if the inhabitants of Paris v.-ould promptly
obey tlie orders of the coalition, to secure for them the mediation of
the coalesced princes with Louis XVI. for the pardon of their
offenses and errors. If this manifesto liad been dictated to the
duke by the Jacobins they could hardly have produced a paper
better calculated to serve their purposes.
This ficrv and impolitic manifesto, which disguised neither
the designs of the emigrants nor those of Europe, which treated a
great nation with a trulv extraordinarv tone of command and
188 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
contempt, which openly announced to it all the miseries of an in-
vasion, and moreover, vengeance and despotism, excited a national
insurrection. It more than anything else hastened the fall of the
throne, and prevented the success of the coalition. There was but
one wish, one cry of resistance, from one end of France to the
other, and whoever had not joined in it would have been looked
on as guilty of impiety toward his country and the sacred cause
of its indejiendence. The popular party, placed in the necessity
of conquering, saw no other way than that of annihilating the
power of the king, and in order to annihilate it than that of de-
throning him. But in this party everyone wished to attain the
end in his own way: the Gironde by a decree of the assembly; the
leaders of the multitude by an insurrection. Danton, Robespierre,
Camille Desmoulins, Fabre d'Eglantine, Marat, formed a dis-
placed faction requiring a revolution that would raise it from the
midst of the people to the assembly and the corporation. They
were the true leaders of the new movement about to take place by
the means of the lower class of society against the middle class, to
which the Girondists belonged by their habits and position. A
division arose from that day between those who only wished to
suppress the court in the existing order of things and those who
wished to introduce the multitude. The latter could not fall in
with the tardiness of discussion. Agitated by every revolutionary
passion, they disposed themselves for an attack by force of arms,
the preparations for which were made openly and a long time
beforehand. Their enterprise had been projected and suspended
several times. On July 26 an insurrection was to break out ; but it
was badly contrived, and Petion prevented it. When the federates
from ^Marseilles arrived, on their way to the camp at Soissons, the
faubourgs were to meet them, and then repair, unexpectedly, to
the chateau. This insurrection also failed. Yet the arrival of the
Marseillese encouraged the agitators of the capital, and conferences
were held at Charenton between them and the federal leaders for
the overthrow of the throne. The sections were much agitated;
that of ]\Iauconseil was the first to declare itself in a state of in-
surrection, and notified this to the assembly.^ The dethronement
'llic Secti(.n Alaiiconscil on July 31 had, on its own account, declared the
king a traitor, givincf notice that it no longer recognized him, and asking all
other sections to join in tliis declaration. When these resolutions were pre-
sented to the assembly, the assembly deemed it an excess of patriotism to refuse
the deputation the honor of the session.
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 189
1792
was discussed in the clubs, and on August 3 the mayor, Petion,
came to solicit it of the legislative body in the name of the com-
mune and of the sections. The petition was referred to the ex-
traordinary commission of twelve. On the 8th the accusation of
Lafayette was discussed. Some remains of courage induced the
majority to support him, and not without danger. He was
acquitted ; but all who had voted for him were hissed, pursued, and
ill treated by the people at the breaking up of the sitting.
The following day the excitement was extreme. The assem-
bly learned by the letters of a large number of deputies that the
day before on leaving the house they had been ill used and threat-
ened with death for voting the acquittal of Lafayette. Vaublanc
announced that a crowd had invested and searched his house in
pursuit of him. Girardin exclaimed : " Discussion is impossible
without perfect liberty of opinion ; I declare to my constituents
that I cannot deliberate if the legislative body does not secure me
liberty and safety." Vaublanc earnestly urged that the assembly
should take the strongest measures to secure respect to the law.
He also required that the federates who were defended by the
Girondists should be sent without delay to Soissons. During
these debates the president received a message from De Joly, min-
ister of justice. He announced that the mischief was at its height,
and the people urged to every kind of excess. He gave an account
of those committed the evening before, not only against the depu-
ties, but against many other persons. " I have," said the minister,
" denounced these attacks in the criminal court ; but law is power-
less; and I am impelled by honor and probity to inform you that
without the promptest assistance of the legislative body the gov-
ernment can no longer be responsible." In the meantime, it was
announced that the section of the Ouinze-vingts had declared that
if the dethronement were not pronounced that very day, at mid-
night they would sound the tocsin, would beat the generale and
attack the chateau. This decision had been transmitted to the
fcirty-eight sections, and all had approved it except one. The as-
sembly summoned the recorder of the department, who assured
them of his good will, but his inability; and the mayor, who replied
that, at a time when the sections had resumed their sovereignty,
he could only exercise over the people the influence of persuasion.
The assembly broke up without adopting any measures.
The insuro'ents fixed tlie attack on the chateau for the morn-
190 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
ing of August lo. On the 8th the Marseillese had been trans-
ferred from their barracks in the Rue Blanche to the Cordeliers,
with their arms, cannon, and standard. They had received five
thousand ball cartridges, which had been distributed to them by
command of the commissioner of police. The principal scene of
the insurrection was the Faubourg Saint Antoine. In the evening,
after a very stormy sitting, the Jacobins repaired thither in pro-
cession; the insurrection was then organized. It was decided to
dissolve the department ; to dismiss Petion, in order to withdraw
him from the duties of his place and all responsibility; and finally,
to replace the general council of the present commune by an insur-
rectional municipality. The municipal council was the blind tool
of the gang which called itself " The Commissaries of the Sec-
tions." Upon their behest the municipal council broke down in
one place after another the ability of the legal authorities to offer
any resistance. It had summoned the commissaries of the sec-
tions to the Hotel de Ville on August lo to deliberate on the
formation of a camp at Paris. This furnished a pretext to call
upon the ultra-revolutionists to assemble. Agitators repaired at
the same time to the sections of the faubourgs and to the barracks
of the federate ]\Iarseillese and Bretons. In the -government of
Paris the following organizations are to be distinguished: The
corps municipal, presided over by the mayor; it included the bureau
municipal, formed of i6 administrators, and the conseil municipal,
of 32 members. These 48 members, united wnth 82 others, com-
posed the general council of the commune, having a procureur-
syndic and 2 substitutes. They were all theoretically appointed by
a process of double election, but in point of fact the leaders of the
clubs imposed their choice upon the electors. The commune dis-
posed of a force of 32,000 men, divided into 48 battalions.
The court had been apprised of the danger for some time and
had placed itself in a state of defense. At this juncture it probably
thought it was not only able to resist, but also entirely to reestab-
lish itself. The interior of the chateau was occupied by Swiss to the
number of eight or nine hundred, by officers of the disbanded
guard, and by a troop of gentlemen and royalists, wdio had offered
their services, amied with sabers, swords, and pistols. Mandat,
the general-in-chief of the national guard, had repaired to the
chateau, with his staff, to defend it; he had given orders to the
battalions most attaclied to the constitution to take arms. Mandat
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 191
1792
was one of the true heroes of the revolution, although the part he
played was confined to one day. The national guard to the number
of 950 men were ordered to Paris, but of these only a part could
be relied upon.
Mandat's plan was to meet the crowds coming from Saint
Antoine and Saint Marceau separately and outflank them both.
Yet for this important work he had to trust the gendarmerie, who
had first set the example of mutiny in the army. What could be
expected from such men?
The ministers were also with the king; the recorder of the
department had gone thither in the evening at the command of
the king, who had also sent for Petion, to ascertain from him
the state of Paris, and obtain an authorization to repel force by
force.
At midnight the tocsin sounded ; the generale was beaten.
The insurgents assembled and fell into their ranks ; the members
of the sections broke up the municipality and named a provisional
council of the commune, which proceeded to the Hotel de Ville
to direct the insurrection. In spite of assertions to the contrary,
it is now proved that the demagogues succeeded with great difii-
culty in getting the revolution properly under way; in all the sec-
tions but a small minority of the citizens acted. In several sections
the most radical emphatically protested against the insurrection ;
the church doors were forcibly opened by roving bands to sound
the tocsin ; the principal conspirators conspired cautiously, in the
background; in a word, we know that tlie revolution of August
10, 1792, owed its success not merely to the exertions of the popu-
lace, but to the partially cowardly and partially criminal failure of
all legitimate authorities to act with vigor. The battalions of the
national guard, on their side, took the route to the chateau and
were stationed in the court, or at the principal posts, with the
mounted gendarmerie; artillerymen occupied the avenues of the
Tuilerics, with their pieces, while the Swiss and volunteers
guarded the apartments. 1"hc defense was in the best condition.
Some deputies, meanwhile, aroused l)y the tocsin, had hurried
to the hall of the legislative body, and had opened the sitting under
the presidentship of Verginaud. Hearing that Petion was at the
Tuileries, and presuming he was detained tliere, and wanted to be
released, they sent for him to tlie l)ar of the assembly, to give an
account of the state of Paris. On receiving this order he left the
192 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
chateau; he appeared before the assembly, where a deputation
again inquired for him, also supposing him to be a prisoner at the
Tuileries. With this deputation he returned to the Hotel de Ville,
where he was placed under a guard of three hundred men by the
new commune. The latter, unwilling to allow any other authority
on this day of disorder than the insurrectional authorities, early
in the morning sent for the commandant Mandat to know what
arrangements were made at the chateau. Mandat hesitated to
obey; yet, as he did not know that the municipality had been
changed, and as his duty required him to obey its orders, on a
second call which he received from the commune he proceeded to
the Hotel de Ville. On perceiving new faces as he entered, he
turned pale. He was accused of authorizing the troops to fire on
the people. He became agitated and was ordered to the Abbaye.
He was asked to sign an order commanding half of the troops
at the Tuileries to retire. He declined and was condemned to
prison, and the commissaries nominated Santerre in his place.
The municipal council protested against this, and then they rushed
into their room and pushed the counselors from their seats. Man-
dat was shot as he was being taken out of the room.
The court was thus deprived of its most determined and in-
fluential defender. The presence of Mandat and the order he had
received to employ force in case of need were necessary to induce
the national guard to fight. The sight of the nobles and royalists
had lessened its zeal. Mandat himself, previous to his departure,
had urged the queen in vain to dismiss this troop, which the con-
stitutionalists considered as a troop of aristocrats.
About four in the morning the queen summoned Rcederer,
the recorder of the department, who had passed the night at the
Tuileries, and inquired what was to be done under these circum-
stances. Rocderer replied that he thought it necessary that the
king and the royal family should proceed to the national assembly.
" You propose," said Dubouchage. " to take the king to his foes."
Rcjederer replied that two days before four hundred members of
that assembly out of six hundred had pronounced in favor of
Lafayette, and tliat he had only proposed this plan as the least
dangerous. The (|ueen then said, in a very positive tone : " Sir,
we have forces here: it is at length time to know who is to pre-
vail, tlic king and the constitution or faction?" "In that case,
madame," rejoined Rocderer, " let us see what arrangements have
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 193
1792
been made for resistance." Laschenaye, who commanded in the
absence of Mandat, was sent for. He was asked if he had taken
measures to prevent the crowd from arriving at the chateau? If
he had guarded the Carrousel? He repHed in the affirmative, and
addressing the queen, he said, in a tone of anger: "I must not
allow you to remain in ignorance, madame, that the apartments
are filled with people of all kinds, who very much impede the
service, and prevent free access to the king, a circumstance which
creates dissatisfaction among the national guard." " This is out
of season," replied the queen ; " I will answer for those who are
here ; they will advance first or last, in the ranks, as you please ;
they are ready for all that is necessary ; they are sure men," They
contented themselves with sending the two ministers, De Joly and
Champion, to the assembly to apprise it of the danger, and ask
for its assistance and for commissioners.
Division already existed between the defenders of the chateau,
when Louis XVI. passed them in review at five o'clock in the
morning. He first visited the interior posts, and found them ani-
mated by the best intentions. He was accompanied by some mem-
bers of his family and appeared extremely sad. " I will not," he
said, " separate my cause from that of good citizens ; we will save
ourselves or perish together." He then descended into the yard,
accompanied by some general officers. As soon as he arrived they
beat tc arms. The cry of " Vive Ic roi! " was heard, and was
repeated by the national guard; but the artillerymen and the bat-
talion of the Croix Rouge replied by the cry of " Vive la nation! "
At the same instant new battalions, armed with guns and pikes,
defiled before the king and took their places upon the terrace of
the Seine, crying "" Vive la nation!" " Vive Pet ion!" The king
continued the review, not, however, without feeling saddened by
this omen. He was received with the strongest evidences of devo-
tion by the battalions of the Filles-Saint-Thomas and Petits-Peres,
who occupied the terrace, extending the length of the chateau. As
he crossed the garden to visit the ports of the Pont Tournant the
pike battalions pursued him with the cry of " Down with the
veto!" "Down with the traitor!" and as he returned they
quitted their position, placed themselves near the Pont Royal, and
turned their cannon against the chateau. Two other battalions
stationed in the courts imitated them, and esta1)lished themselves
on the Place du Carrousel in an attitude of attack. On reentering:
194 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
the castle the king was pale and dejected, and the queen said : " All
is lost! This kind of review has done more harm than good."
While all this was passing at the Tuileries the insurgents
were advancing in several columns; they had passed the night in
assembling and becoming organized. In the morning they had
forced the arsenal and distributed the arms. The column of the
Faubourg Saint Antoine, about 15,000 strong, and that of the
P^aubourg Saint Marceau, amounting to 5000, began to march
about six. The crowd increased as they advanced. Artillerymen
had been placed on the Pont Neuf by the directory of the depart-
ment in order to prevent the union of the insurgents from the two
sides of the river. But Manuel, the town clerk, had ordered them
to be withdrawn, and the passage was accordingly free. The van-
guard of the faubourgs, composed of Marseillese and Breton feder-
ates, had already arrived by the Rue Saint Honore, stationed them-
selves in battle array on the Carrousel, and turned their cannon
against the chateau. De Joly and Champion returned from the
assembly, stating that the attendance was not sufficient in number
to debate, that it scarcely amounted to sixty or eighty members,
and that their proposition had not been heard. Then Rrederer, the
recorder of tlie department, with the members of the department,
presented himself to the crowd, observing that so great a multitude
could not have access to the king or to the national assembly, and
recommending them to nominate twenty deputies and intrust them
with their requests. But they did not listen to him. He turned to
the national guard, and reminded them of the article of the law
which enjoined them when attacked to repel force by force. A very
small part of the national guard seemed disposed to do so, and a
discharge of cannon was the only reply of the artillerymen.
Roederer, seeing that the insurgents were everywhere triumphant,
that they were masters of the field, and that they disposed of the
multitude, and even of the troops, returned hastily to the chateau,
at tlic head of tlic executive directorv.
The king held a council with the queen and ministers. A
municipal officer had just given the alarm by announcing that the
columns of the insurgents were advancing upon the Tuileries.
"Well, what do they want?" asked De Joly, keeper of the seals.
" Abdication." rei)lied the officer. " And what will follow abdi-
cation?" inf|uirc(l the queen. The municipal officer bowed in
silence. At this moment Rccderer arrived and increased the alarm
NATIONAL A S S E M B L 'S 195
1792
of the court by announcing that the danger was extreme, that the
insurgents would not be treated with, and that the national guard
could not be depended upon. " Sire," said he urgently, " your
majesty has not five minutes to lose: your only safety is in the
national assembly; it is the opinion of the department that you
ought to repair thither without delay. There are not sufficient
men in the court to defend the chateau ; nor are we sure of them.
At the mention of defense the artillerymen discharged their can-
non." The king replied, at first, that he had not observed many
people on the Carrousel; and the queen rejoined with vivacity that
the king had forces to defend the chateau. But, at the renewed
urgency of Roederer, the king, after looking at him attentively for
a few minutes, turned to the queen and said as he rose : " Let us
go." " Monsieur Rcederer," said Madame Elizabeth, addressing
the recorder, "you answer for the life of the king?" "Yes,
madame, with my own," he replied. " I will walk immediately
before him."
Louis XVL left his chamber with his family, ministers, and
the members of the department, and announced to the persons as-
sembled for the defense of the chateau that he was going to the
national assembly. He placed himself between two ranks of
national guards summoned to escort him and crossed the apart-
ments and garden of the Tuileries. A deputation of the assembly,
apprised of his approach, came to meet him. " Sire," said the presi-
dent of this deputation, " the assembly, eager to provide for your
safety, offers you and your family an asylum in its bosom." The
procession resumed its march and had some difficulty in crossing
the terrace of the Tuileries, which was crowded with an animated
mob breathing forth threats and insults. The king and his family
had great difficulty in reaching the hall of the assembly, where they
took the seats reserved for the ministers. " Gentlemen," said the
king, " I come here to avoid a great crime ; I think I cannot be
safer than with you." " Sire," replied Yergniaud, who filled the
chair. " you may rely on the firmness of the national assembly. Its
members have sworn to die in maintaining the rights of the people
and the constituted authorities." The king then took his seat next
the president. But Chabot reminded him that the assembly could
not deliberate in the presence of the king, and Louis XYI. retired
with his family and ministers into the reporter's box behind the
president, whence all that took place could be seen and heard.
196 THE FREXCH REVOLUTION
1792
All motives for resistance ceased with the king's departure.
The means of defense had also been diminished by the departure
of the national guards who escorted the king. The gendarmerie
left their posts crying "Vive la nation!" The national guard
began to move in favor of the insurgents. But the foes were con-
fronted, and although the cause was removed, the combat never-
theless commenced. The columns of the insurgents surrounded
the chateau. The Marseillese and Bretons who occupied the first
rank had just forced the Porte Royale on the Carrousel and entered
the court of the chateau. They were led by an old subaltern, called
Westermann, a friend of Danton and a very daring man. He
ranged his force in battle array, and approaching the artillerymen,
induced them to join the Marseillese with their pieces. The Swiss
filled the windows of the chateau and stood motionless. The two
bodies confronted each other for some time without making an
attack. A few of the assailants advanced amicably, and the Swiss
threw some cartridges from the windows in token of peace. They
[)enetrated as far as tlie vestibule, where they were met by other
defenders of the chateau. A barrier separated them. Here the
combat began, but it is unknown on which side it commenced. The
Swiss discharged a murderous fire on the assailants, who were
dispersed. The Place du Carrousel was cleared. But the Marseillese
and Bretons soon returned with renewed force ; the Swiss were
fired on by the cannon and surrounded. They kept their posts
until they received orders from the king to cease firing. The ex-
asperated mob did not cease, however, to pursue them, and gave
itself up to the most sanguinary reprisals. It now became a mas-
sacre rather tlian a combat ; and the crowd perpetrated in the
chateau all the excesses of victory. Some of the Swiss reached the
manege and were imprisoned by the assembly; others were cut
clown on the march by the firing from windows and corners. At
the Tuileries the worst excesses were committed. Everyone be-
longing to the male sex, even to the kitchen bo}', was massacred.
The women came near sharing the same fate.
Xapoleon, an eye-witness, says that the Tuileries were stormed
by the worst canaille of Paris; ]\Iarat spent August lo in a cellar;
Danton and Camille Desmoulins showed themselves for a moment,
but no more. Xot the heroes of the terror, but the unadulterated
rabble of Paris did all the work of August lo.
All this time the assembly was in the greatest alarm. The
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 197
1792
first cannonade filled them with consternation. As the firing be-
came more frequent, the agitation increased. At one moment the
members considered themselves lost. An officer entering the hall
hastily exclaimed : " To your places, legislators ; we are forced ! "
A few rose to go out. " No, no," cried others ; " this is our post."
The spectators in the gallery exclaimed instantly : " Vive Vasscm-
blee nationale! " and the assembly replied: "Vive la nation!"
Shouts of victory Avere then heard without, and the fate of mon-
archy was decided.
The assembly instantly made a proclamation to restore tran-
quillity, and implore the people to respect justice, their magistrates,
the rights of man, liberty, and equality. Apparently the assembly
had achieved a great victory, for it was the only piece of the old
constitution left.
In truth, it had been prostrated by the rabble as completely
as royalty itself. A deputation from the commissaries appeared
before the bar of the assembly. Huguenin, the worthy president
of the sections, says : " These are now the magistrates of the
people. Circumstances rendered our election necessary. Legis-
lators, we come here in the name of the people to concert with
you the measures of the public welfare." Thus the sections con-
stituted themselves another national representation. He goes on:
" The people who have sent us have charged us to declare to you
that they recognize as judge over the extraordinary measures to
which they were driven by necessity and the resistance against op-
pression, only the French people united into the primaries, you
and our sovereign."
Guadet, the president of the assembly, replied : *' The assem-
bly does you honor ; the victory applauds your zeal. It can only
see in you good citizens, desirous to restore peace, tranquillity,
and order."
The multitude and their chiefs had all the power in their
hands, and were determined to use it. The new municipality came
to assert its authority. It was preceded by three banners, inscribed
with tlie words " Patric. lihcrtc, cgalitc." Its address was im-
perious, and concluded by demanding the deposition of the king
and a national convention. Deputations followed, and all ex-
pressed the same desire, or rather issued the same command.
The assembly felt itself compelled to yield; it would not, how-
ever, take upon itself the deposition of the king. V^ergniaud as-
198 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
cended the tribune, in the name of the commission of twelve, and
said : " I am about to propose to you a very rigorous measure ; I
appeal to the affliction of our hearts to judge how necessary it is to
adopt it immediately." This measure consisted of the convocation
of a national assembly elected by citizens over twenty-five years of
age, and of twelve montlis' residence, the dismissal of the ministers,
and the suspension of the king. The assembly adopted it unani-
mously. The Girondist ministers were recalled; the celebrated de-
crees were carried into execution, about four thousand nonjuring
prists were exiled, and commissioners were dispatched to the armies
to make sure of them. Louis XVI., to whom the assembly had at
first assigned the Luxembourg as a residence, was transferred as a
prisoner to the Temple by the all-powerful commune, under the
pretext that it could not otherwise be answerable for the safety of
his person.
Finally, September 23 was appointed for opening the ex-
traordinary assembly, destined to decide the fate of royalty. But
royalty had already fallen on August 10, 1792, that day marked by
the insurrection of the multitude against the middle class and the
constitutional throne, as July 14, 1789, had seen the insurrection of
the middle class against the privileged class and the absolute power
of the crown. On August 10 began the dictatorial and arbitrary
epoch of the revolution. Circumstances becoming more and more
difficult to encounter, a vast warfare arose, requiring still higher
energy than ever, and that energv irregular, because popular, ren-
dered the domination of the lower class restless, cruel, and op-
pressive. The nature of the question was then entirely changed ;
it was no longer a matter of liberty, but of public safety ; and the
conventional period, from the end of the constitution of 1791 to
the time when the constitution of the year IIL established the
directory, was only a long campaign of the revolution against
parties and against Europe. It was scarcely possible it should be
otherwise. " 'I"he revolutionary movement once established,'' says
De .Maislre, in his " Coiisideraiicus sii?- la France," " France
and the monarchy could only be saved by Jacobinism. Our grand-
children, who will care little for our sufferings, and will dance on
our graves, will laugh at our present ignorance: they will easily
console tliemselvcs for the excesses we have witnessed, and which
will have preserved the integrity of the finest of kingdoms."
The dc[)artnients adhered tu the events of August 10. The
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 199
1792
army, which shortly afterward came under the influence of the
revolution, was as yet of constitutional royalist principles; but as
the troops were subordinate to parties, they would easily submit to
the dominant opinion. The generals, second in rank, such as
Dumouriez, Custine, Biron, Kellermann, and Labourdonnaie, were
disposed to adopt the last changes. They had not yet declared for
any particular party, looking to the revolution as a means of
advancement. It was not the same with the generals-in-chief.
Luckner floated undecided between the insurrection of August
lo, which he termed " a little accident that had happened to
Paris and his friend Lafayette." The latter, head of the con-
stitutional party, firmly adhering to his oaths, wished still to de-
fend the overturned throne and a constitution which no longer
existed. He commanded about 30,000 men, who were devoted to
his person and his cause. His headquarters were near Sedan. In
his project of resistance in favor of the constitution he concerted
with the municipality of that town, and the directory of the de-
partment of Ardennes, to establish a civil center round which all
the departments might rally. The three commissioners, Kersaint,
Antonelle, and Peraldy, sent by the legislature to his army, were
arrested and imprisoned in the tower of Sedan. The reason as-
signed for this measure was that the assembly having been
intimidated, the members who had accepted such a mission were
necessarily but the leaders or instruments of the faction which had
subjugated the national assembly and the king. The troops and
the civil authorities then renewed their oath to the constitution, and
Lafayette endeavored to enlarge the circle of the insurrection of
the army against the popular insurrection.
General Lafayette at that moment thought, possibly, too much
on the past, on the law% and the common oath, and not enough on
the really extraordinary position in which France then was. He
only saw the dearest hopes of the friends of liberty destroyed, the
usurpation of the state by the multitude, and the anarchical reign
of the Jacobins ; he did not perceive the fatality of a situation which
rendered the triumph of the latest comer in the revolution indis-
pensable. It was scarcely possible that the bourgeoisie, which had
been strong enough to overthrow the old system and the privileged
classes, but which had reposed after tliat victory, could resist the
emigrants and all Europe. For this tliere was needed a new shock,
a new faith; there was needed a numerous, ardent, inexhaustible
200 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
class, as enthusiastic for August lo as the bourgeoisie had been for
July 14. Lafayette could not associate with this party; he had
combated it, under the constituent assembly, at the Champ de
Mars, before and after June 20. He could not continue to play his
former part, nor defend a cause just in itself, but condemned by
events, without compromising his country, and the results of a
revolution to which he was sincerely attached. His resistance, if
continued, would have given rise to a civil war between the people
and the army, at a time when it was not certain that the combi-
nation of all parties would suffice against a foreign war.
It was August 19, and the army of invasion, having left
Coblentz on July 30, was ascending the Moselle and advancing on
that frontier. In consideration of the common danger, the troops
were disposed to resume their obedience to the assembly ; Luckner,
who at first approved of Lafayette's views, retracted, weeping
and swearing, before the municipality of Metz ; and Lafayette
himself saw the necessity of yielding to a more powerful des-
tiny.
Lafayette was the one person in a position to have reversed
tlie wheel of events in Paris, and in doing that the majority of the
people would perhaps have ranged themselves on his side. The
army was then said to be devoted to him. If he had appeared in
Paris at the head of it, a large part of the national guard might
have joined him. If, however, the attempt had failed, he would
have paid for it with his head. If he had remained quiet, he could
not have been reproached for it. But he pursued a middle course.
He ought to have moved upon Paris at once with his army. In-
stead, he tried to bring about a counter-revolution by influencing
the departments, and through them to bring pressure to bear upon
the assembly to alter its course. Not a single department stirred
a finger, and as these departments did nothing, so did also all the
rest of those who might have done anything. He left his army,
taking upon himself all the responsibility of the whole insurrection.
He was accompanied by Bureau-de-Pusy, Latour-Maubourg, Al-
exander Lameth, and some officers of his staff. He proceeded
through the enemy's posts toward Holland, intending to go to the
United States, his adopted country. But he was discovered and
arrested with his companions. In violation of the rights of na-
tions, he was treated as a prisoner of war, and confined first in the
dungeons of Magdeburg, and then by the Austrians at Olmiitz.
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 201
1792
The English parliament itself took steps in his favor; but it was
not until the Treaty of Campo-Formio that Bonaparte released him
from prison. During four years of the hardest captivity, subject
to every description of privation, kept in ignorance of the state of
his country and of liberty, with no prospect before him but that of
perpetual and harsh imprisonment, he displayed the most heroic
courage. He might have obtained his liberty by making certain
retractions, but he preferred remaming buried in his dungeon to
the abandoning in the least degree the sacred cause he had
embraced.
The authors of the events of August lo became more and
more divided, having no common views as to the results which
should arise from that revolution. The more daring party, which
had got hold of the commune or municipality, wished by means of
that commune to rule Paris ; by means of Paris, the national assem-
bly ; and by means of the assembly, France. After having effected
the transference of Louis XVL to the Temple, it threw down all
the statues of the kings and destroyed all the emblems of the
monarchy. The department exercised a right of superintendence
over the municipality; to be completely independent, it abrogated
this right. The law required certain conditions to constitute a
citizen ; it decreed the cessation of these, in order that the multitude
might be introduced into the government of the state.
The revolutionary commune consisted of 288 persons, being
six persons from each of the forty-eight sections of Paris.
The reader is asked to observe how completely the legislative
assembly had lost control of events. With adroitness the revolu-
tionary commune had made itself the head of the national uprising.
France was compelled to acknowledge tliat the municipal council,
with the will and ability to organize, was the only power in France
to organize her that she might cope with tlie allied powers. It
strove to concentrate all power in its hands.
The following demands, in the name of the commune, were
made: (i) a law of urgency, forbidding every Frenchman to leave
the country while it was in danger; (2) the sequestration of the
property of those who acted in contravention of this law; (3) the
establishment of a vigilance committee in the municipality.
The deposition was everywhere discussed in the most direct
manner. Robespierre in a speecli foreshadowed the committee
government of the terror, saying: " The root of all evils is in the
202 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
executive, but it is also in the legislative. The deposition of the
king is necessary, but who will govern when the name of the king
has disappeared? , . I know nothing so terrible as the idea
of unlimited power put in the hands of a numerous assembly, even
if they were sages,"
At the same lime it demanded the establishment of an ex-
traordinary tribunal to try the conspirators of August lo. As the
assembly did not prove sufficiently docile, and endeavored by
proclamations to recall the people to more just and moderate senti-
ments, it received threatening messages from the Hotel de Ville.
" As a citizen," said a member of the commune, " as a magistrate
of the people, I cjme to announce to you that this evening, at mid-
night, the tocsin will sound, the drum beat to arms. The people
are weary of not being avenged; tremble lest they administer jus-
tice themselves." " W, before two or three hours pass, the foreman
of the jury be not named," said another, " and if the jury be not
itself in a condition to act, great calamities will befall Paris." To
avert the threatened outbreaks the assembly was obliged to appoint
an extraordinary criminal tribunal. This tribunal condemned a
few persons, but the commune having conceived the most terrible
projects, did not consider.it sufficiently expeditious.
The assembly, under the intimidation of the commune, re-
solved to send the defenders of the Tuileries before a court-martial
appointed by Santerre. A proclamation of the council declared :
"All the guilty ones will perish on the scaffold." On the 15th
Robespierre declared the punishing of the crimes of the loth, that
is, the resistance to the insurrectionary mob, not sufficient, and
that revenge must be extended to all traitors and conspirators.
Robespierre continued :
" Liberate us from the constituted authorities. Abolish this
twofold degree of jurisdiction which, by rendering justice slower,
grants immunity. We demand the guilty ones to be judged in a
sovereign manner and definitely, by commissioners taken from
each section."
The assembly tried to compromise with the commune. A
deputation (A the commune again came to tliem, and they were told
that if they did not at once do that, the tocsin would ring again,
the people rise once more, to destroy the national assembly as they
had destroyed royalty. The assembly could not defy such argu-
ments fur any length oi time, and the first revolutionary tribunal
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 203
1792
was established in the way demanded by the commune. Four days
afterward its first victim's head was severed by the guillotine. On
the following days others were sent to the scaffold. The. system
of hostages was introduced methodically and to an appalling extent.
Wives and near relatives of emigrants accused for political crimes
were seized in order to induce the accused to deliver themselves into
the hands of their persecutors. The wife of Lafayette was one of
the first to be arrested.
The national guard was dissolved. A new organization was
effected, companies taking the place of battalions. The better
classes were allowed to leave the ranks, some being even expelled.
By the law of August 1 1 the police was rendered completely
the tool of the commune.
Article one of the new law made it the duty of the municipal-
ity to search for crimes against the security of the state. Article
two invited the citizens to denounce the conspirators and suspected.
Article three authorized the arrest of those who had l^een thus
denounced. Article eiglit authorized every public official and
active citizen to bring before the municipality such persons.
The question of the reorganization of the department brought
about a conflict between the two authorities. The departmental
government had been cashiered by the commune, and the assembly
had submitted to that, but had at the same time ordered a new
election. The commune advised the sections not to go to the polls.
The sections obeyed, and the rural meml)ers elected were not
enough to constitute a quorum. But the sections abandoned their
passive resistance to the assembly, and the Hotel de Ville was com-
pelled to adopt more energetic measures. Robespierre appeared at
the bar of the assembly and said the sections had been " forced to
take the most vigonms measures to save the state, those whom they
had elected to be tlieir officials must have the fullness of power be-
longing to the sovereign. After the people have saved the country,
after you hrive convoked a national convention, what else can be
your business but to obey tlie demands of the people? "
At the head of the commune were Marat, Panis, Sergent,
Duplain, Lefent, Jourdeuil, Collot dTIerbois, Billaud-Varennes,
and Tallien ; but the cin'ef leader of the party at that time was
Danton. ITe was a gigantic revolutionist; he deemed no means
censurable so they were useful, and according to him men could
do whatever tlicv dared attempt. Danton. who has been termed
204 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
the Mirabeau of the populace, bore a physical resemblance to that
tribune of the higher classes ; he had irregular features, a powerful
voice, impetuous gesticulation, a daring eloquence, a lordly brow.
Their vices, too, were the same, only Mirabeau's were those of a
patrician, Danton's those of a democrat; that which there was of
daring in the conceptions of Mirabeau was to be found in Danton,
but in another way, because in the revolution he belonged to an-
other class and another epoch. Ardent, overwhelmed with debts
and wants, given up to his party, he was formidable while in the
pursuit of an object, but became indifferent as soon as he had
obtained it. This powerful demagogue presented a mixture of the
most, opposite qualities. He did not seem sordid ; he was one of
those who, so to speak, give an air of freedom even to baseness. He
was an absolute exterminator, without being personally ferocious ;
inexorable toward masses, humane, even generous toward individ-
uals. At the time the commune was arranging the massacre of
September 21, he saved all who applied to him; he, of his own ac-
cord, released from prison Duport, Barnave, and Charles Lameth,
his personal antagonists. Revolution, in his opinion, was a game
at which the conqueror, if he required it, won the life of the
conquered. The welfare of his party was, in his eyes, superior
to law and even to humanity; this will explain his endeavors
after August 10, and his return to moderation when he considered
the republic established. Danton came of a provincial bourgeoisie
family in comfortable circumstances ; was educated by the Orato-
rians, learning Latin, English, and Italian; entered the law in 1785 ;
in 1787 became avocat-en-conseils-du-roi, and when the revolution
suppressed the offices of the old regime Danton was indemnified
in the sum of seventy thousand livres. His revolutionary activity
began with the Cordelier Club. He played a prominent part in
the events preceding June 20, 1791, and was made procureur-sub-
stitut of Paris as a reward for his services. He was not dissolute,
as Mirabeau. He had the disposal of large sums of money and
was a careless accountant ; but he probably never filched a sou ; tlie
assertion that " he had sold himself to the court " is unfounded.
With the outward semblance of a demagogue in many particulars,
Danton is second only to Mirabeau as the statesman of the French
Revolution. He was a great man.^"
"> Sec Belloc, "Danton," London, 1899, a capital book; Aulard, " Les ora-
tcurs dc I'Asscmblrc Icgislatwe et de la convention."
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 205
1792
At this period the Prussians, advancing- on the plan of
invasion already described, passed the frontier after a march of
twenty days. The army of Sedan was without a leader and in-
capable of resisting a force so superior in numbers and so much
better organized. On August 20 Longwy was invested by the
Prussians; on the 21st it was bombarded, and on the 24th it capitu-
lated. On the 30th the hostile army arrived before Verdun,
invested it, and began to bombard it. Verdun taken, the road to
the capital was open. The taking of Longwy, and the approach of
so great a danger, threw Paris into the utmost agitation and
alarm.
The taking of Longwy opened the people's eyes to how badly
France was prepared for war. The assembly decreed that ( i ) it
should be a crime to speak, in a besieged city, of surrender; (2)
all persons living in Longwy at the time of its surrender should
have their political rights taken from them, criminal suits insti-
tuted against them, and the commander be sent to court-martial.
The executive council, composed of the ministers, was sum-
moned by the committee of general defense to deliberate on the
best measures to be adopted in this perilous conjuncture. Some
proposed to wait for the enemy under the walls of the capital, oth-
ers to retire to Saumur. " You are not ignorant," said Danton,
when his turn to speak arrived, " that France is Paris ; if you
abandon tlie capital to the foreigner, you surrender yourselves, and
you surrender France. It is in Paris that we must defend ourselves
by every possible means. I cannot sanction any plan tending to
remove you from it. The second project does not appear to me
anv better. It is impossible to think of fighting under the walls of
the capital. The loth of August has divided France into two
parties, the one attached to royalty, the other desiring a republic.
The latter, the decided minority of which in the state cannot be
concealed, is the only one on wliicli you can rely to fight; the other
will refuse to march : it will excite Paris in favor of the foreigner,
while your defenders, placed between two fires, will perish in re-
pelling him. Should tliev fall, which seems to me beyond a doubt,
your ruin and that of France are certain ; if, contrary to all expec-
tation, they return victorious over the coalition, this victory will
still be a defeat for you ; for it will liave cost ynu thousands of brave
men, while the rovalists. mnre numerous than you, will have lost
nothing of their strcrigih and intluence. It is my opinion that to
206 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
disconcert their measures and stop the enemy we must make the
royalists fear." The committee, at once understanding the mean-
ing of these words, were thrown into a state of consternation.
" Yes, I tell you," resumed Danton, " we must make them fear."
As the committee rejected this proposition by a silence full of alarm,
Danton concerted with the commune. His aim was to put down
its enemies by terror, to involve the multitude more and more by
making- them his accomplices, and to leave the revolution no other
refuge than victory.
It became more apparent that the only alternative for the com-
mune was to crush all its adversaries with one terrible blow or to
be crushed itself. The courage of the assembly to join issue with
the commune increased every day. There was a growing dissatis-
faction among the sections themselves. Several recalled their rep-
resentatives from the Hotel de Ville. It is a question whether the
honor of the first idea of the use of terror belongs to Danton or to
Alarat. Marat was half mad, but with remarkable skill he wrapped
himself in a mysterious veil of eccentricities which exercised a most
powerful charm over the masses. He spoke for " liberty by the
liberating alliance of assassination with dictatorship."
On August 28 Danton had hurried to the assembly and de-
manded to be heard. " Our enemies have taken Longwy. But
France is not Longwy. Only by a great revolution have we anni-
hilated despotism in the capital ; only by a national revolution can
the despots be repelled. Everything must be put at the disposal of
the municipality, and the barriers must be opened to bring the capi-
tal again into free communication with the country. The suspects
must be seized. The houses must be searched for arms." The
assembly yielded. Every section appointed commissioners for the
house visitation. Seven hundred houses were searched. Nobody
paid the slightest attention to the provisions of the decree. Who-
ever had money, whoever was thought fit prey for the September
massacres, was arrested. Statements of arrests vary from 3000 to
8000.
The commune and Danton saw that the only way to maintain
themselves for tlie moment and to make sure of the future was
through terror. This is the key to the September murders.
Marat's idea, if it was his originally, was not only accepted, but
developed systematically on a gigantic scale.
The pretext of action was the resolution of the assemblv.
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 807
1792
which had decided to put into operation the law which the king
had vetoed against the priests who did not take the required oath.
Those who would not do this were required to take their passports
and make for the frontier. But when they came to get them they
were cast into prison, or rather, as was said at the time, brought to
" places of detention,"
The commune demanded that the prisoners at Orleans also
should be brought to Paris, but the assembly would not comply.
So looo federates and national guards left for Orleans to massacre
the prisoners. The assembly ordered the cabinet to send troops for
their protection. The cabinet, however, intrusted this task to the
band which had just gone out to murder them.
Domiciliary visits were made with great and gloomy cere-
mony ; a large number of persons whose condition, opinions, or con-
duct rendered them objects of suspicion were thrown into prison.
These unfortunate persons were taken especially from the two
dissentient classes, the nobles and the clergy, who were charged
wath conspiracy under the legislative assembly. All citizens ca-
pable of bearing arms were enrolled in the Champ de Mars and
departed on September i for the frontier. The generale was beat,
the tocsin sounded, cannon were fired, and Danton, presenting
himself to the assembly to report tlie measures taken to save the
country, exclaimed: " The cannon you hear are no alarm cannon,
but the signal for attacking the enemy! To conquer them, to pros-
trate them, what is necessary? Daring, again daring, and still
again and ever daring! "
Intelligence of the taking of Verdun arrived during the night
of September i. The commune availed themselves of this mo-
ment, when Paris, filled with terror, thought it saw the enemy at
its gates, to execute their fearful projects. The cannon were again
fired, the tocsin sounded, the barriers were closed, and the massacre
began.
During three davs the prisoners confined in the Carmes, the
Abbaye. the Conciergcrie, and La Force, were slaughtered by a
band of about three hundred assassins, directed and paid by the
commune. This body, witli a calm fanaticism, prostituting to
murder the sacred forms of justice, now judges, now executioners,
seemed rather to be practicing a calling than to be exercising ven-
geance : they massacred without question, without remorse, with the
conviction of fanatics and the obedience of executioners. If some
208 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
peculiar circumstances seemed to move them, and to recall them
to sentiments of humanity, to justice, and to mercy, they yielded to
the impression for a moment, and then began anew. In this way a
few persons were saved ; but they were very few. The assembly
desired to prevent the massacres, but were unable to do so. The
ministry were as incapable as the assembly; the terrible commune
alone could order and do everything; Petion, the mayor, had been
cashiered; the soldiers placed in charge of the prisoners feared to
resist the murderers, and allowed them to take their own course;
the crowd seemed indifferent, or accomplices ; the rest of the citi-
zens dared not even betray their consternation. We might be
astonished that so great a crime should, with such deliberation, have
been conceived, executed, and endured, did we not know what the
fanaticism of party will do, and what fear will suffer. But the
chastisement of this enormous crime fell at last upon the heads of
its authors. The majority of them perished in the storm they had
themselves raised, and by the same violent means that they had
themselves employed. Men of party seldom escape the fate they
have made others undergo.^^
The executive council, directed, as to military operations, bv
General Servan, advanced the newly levied battalions toward the
frontier. As a man of judgment, he was desirous of placing a
general at the threatened point ; but the choice was difficult.
Among the generals who had declared in favor of the late political
events Kellermann seemed only adapted for a subordinate com-
mand, and the authorities had therefore merely placed him in the
room of the vacillative and incompetent Luckner. Custine was but
little skilled in his art; he was fit for any dashing coup de muin,
but not for the conduct of a great army intrusted with the destiny
of France. The same military inferiority was chargeable upon
Riron, Labourdonnaie, and the rest, who were therefore left at their
'^ Probably 1500 persons perished. Mortimer Ternaux proves that 1368 per-
sons perished. "La Tcrrcur," vol. III. p. 297 ff.
1 he assembly declared the commune dissolved. The commune addressed
the assembly and declared that it had saved the country. For an ingenious
justification of these massacres the reader is recommended to Gronhmd, '' Ca
ira," pp. 89-93. See also Fletcher's Carlyle, "French Revolution," vol. II. pp.
324-326; Wallon, "La Tcrrcur," vol. I. pp. 31-45: Von Sybel, "History of the
French Revolution," vol. II. pp. C7-104; Taine, "French Revolution," vol. II.
pp. 219-233: Stephens, "French Revolution," vol. 11. pp. T39-150; Mortimer Ter-
naux, " Ilistolrc dc la Tcrrcur!' vols. III. and TV.; P)uche5: et Roux, " Histoire
parlcmcntairc," vol. XVli. pp. 331-475; vol. XVllI. pp. 70-177.
NATIONAL A S S E ]\I B L Y 209
1792
old stations, with the corps under their command. Dtimouriez
alone remained, against whom the Girondists still retained some
rancor, and in whom they, moreover, suspected the ambitious
views, the tastes, and character of an adventurer, while they ren-
dered justice to his superior talents. However, as he was the only
general equal to so important a position, the executive council gave
him the command of the army of the Moselle.
Dumouriez repaired in all haste from the camp at Maulde t(j
that of Sedan. He assembled a council of war, in which the gen-
eral opinion was in favor of retiring toward Chalons or Reims, and
covering themselves with the Marne. Far from adopting this dan-
gerous plan, which would have discouraged the troops, given up
Lorraine, the three bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun, and a
part of Champagne, and thrown open the road to Paris, Dumouriez
conceived a project full of genius. He saw that it was necessary,
by a daring march, to advance on the forest of Argonne, where he
might infallibly stop the enemy. This forest had four issues ; that
of the Chene-Populeux on the left, those of the Croix-au-Bois and
of Grandpre in the center, and that of Les Islettes on the right,
which opened or closed the passage into France. The Prussians
were only six leagues from the forest, and Dumouriez had twelve
to pass over, and his design of occupying it to conceal, if he hoped
for success. He executed his project skillfully and boldly. Gen-
eral Dillon, advancing on the Islettes, took possession of them with
7000 men; he himself reached Grandpre, and there established a
camp of 13,000 men. The Croix-au-Bois and the Qiene-Populeux
were in like manner occupied and defended by some troops. It
was here that he wrote to the minister of war, Servan : " Verdun
is taken: I await the Prussians. The camps of Grandpre and Les
Islettes are the Thermopyl-E of France ; but I shall be more fortu-
nate than Leonidas."
In this position Dumouriez might have stopped the enemy
and himself have securely awaited the succors which were on their
road to him from every part of France. The various battalions of
volunteers repaired to the camps in the interior, whence they were
dispatched to his armv as soon as they were at all in a state of
discipline. P)eurn()n\ille. who was on the Flemish frontier, had
received orders to adwuice willi 9000 men, and to be at Rhetel, on
Dumouriez's left, l)v Se])tember 13. Duval was also on the 7th to
march with 7000 men to tlie Clicne-Populeux ; and Kellermann was
210 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
advancing from Metz, on his right, with a reinforcement of 22,000
men. Time, therefore, was all that was necessary.
The Duke of Brunswick, after taking Verdun, passed the
Meuse in three columns. General Clairfait was operating on his
right and Prince Ilohenlohe on his left. Renouncing all hope of
driving Dumouriez from his position by attacking him in front, he
tried to turn him. Dumouriez had been so imprudent as to place
nearly his whole force at Grandpre and the Islettes, and to put only
a small corps at Chene-Populeux and Croix-au-Bois posts, it is
true, of minor importance. The Prussians, accordingly, seized
upon these, and were on the point of turning him in his camp at
Grandpre, and of thus compelling him to lay down his arms. After
this grand blunder, which neutralized his first maneuvers, he did
not despair of his situation. He broke up his camp secretly during
the night of September 14, passed the Aisne, the approach to which
might have been closed to him, made a retreat as able as his advance
on the Argonne had been, and concentrated his forces in the camp at
Sainte-Menehould. He had already delayed the advance of the
Prussians at Argonne. The season, as it advanced, became bad.
He had now only to maintain his post till the arrival of Kellermann
and Beurnonville, and the success of the campaign would be cer-
tain. The troops had become disciplined and inured, and the army
amounted to about 70,000 men, after the arrival of Beurnonville
and Kellermann, which took place on the 17th.
The Prussian army had followed the movements of Du-
mouriez. On the 20th it attacked Kellermann at Valmy, in order
to cut off from the French army the retreat on Chalons, There
was a brisk cannonade on both sides. The Prussians advanced in
columns toward the heights of Valmy, to carry them. Kellermann
also formed his infantry in columns, enjoined them not to fire, but
to await the approach of the enemy, and charge them with the
bayonet. He gave this command with the cr\^ of " Vive la nation! "
and this cry, repeated from one end of the line to the other, startled
the Prussians still more than the firm attitude of the troops. The
Duke of Brunswick made his battalions, already a little shaken,
retrograde; the firing continued till the evening; the enemy at-
tempted a fresh attack, but were repulsed. The day was a victory
for France, and the. in itself, almost insignificant success of Valmy
produced on tlie troops and upon opinion in France, the effect of
the most complete victory.
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
211
1792
From the same epoch may be dated the discouragement and
retreat of the enemy. The Prussians had entered upon this cam-
paign on the assurance of the emigrants that it would be a mere
mihtary promenade. They were without magazines or provisions;
in the midst of a perfectly open country they encountered a re-
sistance each day more energetic; the incessant rains had broken
up the roads ; the soldiers marched knee-deep in mud, and, for four
days past, boiled corn had been their only food. Diseases, pro-
duced by the chalky water, want of clothing, and damp, had made
great ravages in the army. The Duke of Brunswick advised a
retreat, contrary to the opinion of the King of Prussia and the
emigrants, who wished to risk a battle and get possession of
Chalons. But as the fate of the Prussian monarchy depended on
its army, and the ruin of that army would be the inevitable conse-
quence of a defeat, the Duke of Brunswick's opinion prevailed.
212 THE FKENCH REVOLUTION
1792
Negotiations were opened, and the Prussians, abating their first
demands, now only required the restoration of the king upon the
constitutional throne. But the convention had just assembled, the
republic had been proclaimed, and the executive council replied
" that the French republic could listen to no proposition until the
Prussian troops had entirely evacuated the French territory." The
Prussians, upon this, commenced their retreat on the evening of
September 30.^^ It was slightly disturbed by Kellermann, whom
Dumouriez sent in pursuit, while he himself proceeded to Paris to
enjoy his triumph and concert measures for the invasion of Bel-
gium.
Verdun was abandoned by the allies on October 12, and
the French troops reentered it and Longwy ; and the enemy, after
having crossed the Ardennes and Luxembourg, repassed the Rhine
at Coblentz, and by October 23 the last of the invading armies
crossed the frontier. This campaign had been marked by general
success. In Flanders the Duke of Saxe-Teschen had been com-
pelled to raise the siege of Lille. This siege began on September
16; the trenches were opened on September 29; on October 5 the
siege was raised, after a severe bombardment, contrary', both in its
duration and its useless barbarity, to all the usages of war. On
the Rhine Custine had taken Treves, Spires, and !Mayence. In
the Alps, General Montesquiou had invaded Savoy, and General
Anselme the territory of Nice. The French armies, victorious in
all directions, had everywhere assumed the offensive, and the revolu-
tion was saved.
If we were to present the picture of a state emerging from a
great crisis, and were to say: there were in tliis state an absolute
government whose authority has been restricted; two privileged
classes which have lost their supremacy; a vast population, already
freed by the effect of civilization and intelligence, but without po-
litical riglits, and which have been obliged, by reason of repeated
refusals, to gain these for themselves; if we were to add: the gov-
^'- The time between September 22-28 had been filled with negotiations,
Mignet is right in emphasizing the great moral effect of Valmy. (See Fyffe,
"Modern Juirope," vol. I. p. 46fif.)- But otherwise Duniouriez's position was
still a dangerous one, and his negotiations were protracted in order to give time
for recruits to join him. In addition to the causes mentioned by Mignet which
induced the retirement of the allies, it should be stated that the Austrians were
concerned over Belgium and that the Prussian anxiety over the Polish situation
was incr' asiug. On the (ieninrali/ation of the Prussian host, see the interesting
note in l'"k-li-l.i';-'s C"arlyl;\ " iMench Revolution," vol. 11. p. .Hi. note 2.
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 213
1792
ernment, after opposing- this revolution, submitted to it, but the
privileged classes constantly opposed it, it might probably be con-
cluded from these data :
The government will be full of regret, the people will exhibit
distrust, and the privileged classes will attack the new order of
things, each in its own way. The nobility, unable to do so at home,
from its weakness there, will emigrate in order to excite foreign
powers, who will make preparations for attack; the clergy, who
would lose its means of action abroad, will remain at home, where
it will seek out foes to the revolution. The people, threatened from
without, in danger at home, irritated against the emigrants who
seek to arm foreign powers, against foreign powers about to attack
its independence, against the clergy who excite the country to in-
surrection, will treat as enemies clergy, emigrants, and foreign
powers. It will require first surveillance over, then the banishment
of the refractory priests; confiscation of the property of the emi-
grants ; war against coalesced Europe, in order to forestall it. The
first authors of the revolution will condemn such of these measures
as shall violate the law ; the continuators of the revolution will, on
the contrary, regard them as the salvation of the country; and dis-
cord will arise between those who prefer the constitution to the
state and those who prefer the state to tlie constitution. The mon-
arch, induced by his interests as king, his affections and his
conscience, to reject such a course of policy, will pass for an accom-
plice of the counter-revolution, because he will appear to protect it.
The revolutionists will then seek to gain over the king by intimida-
tion, and failing in this, will overthrow his authority.^^
Such was the history of the legislative assembly. Internal
disturbances led to the decree against the priests ; external menaces
to that against the emigrants ; the coalition of foreign powers to
war against Europe; the first defeat of the armies, to the formation
of the camp of twenty thousand. The refusal of Louis XVI. to
adopt most of these decrees rendered him an object of suspicion to
the Girondists ; the dissensions between the latter and the constitu-
tionalists, who desired some of them to be legislators, as in time of
peace, others, enemies, as in time of war, disunited the partisans of
the revolution. With tlie Girondists the question of liberty was
involved in victory, and victory in tlie decrees. June 20 was
''' Witli tliis estimate tlie reader is rceominended to read the notable letter
vi Morris, in "Diary and Letters," vol. 1. I'p. 597-603.
2U THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
an attempt to force their acceptance; but having failed in its ef-
fect, they deemed that either the crown or the revolution must be
renounced, and they brought on August lo. Thus, but for emi-
gration which induced the war, but for the schism which induced
the disturbances, the king would probably have agreed to the con-
stitution, and the revolutionists would not have dreamed of the
republic.
Chapter VIII
THE NATIONAL CONVENTION AND THE TRIAL
OF LOUIS XVL SEPTEMBER 21, 1792-
JANUARY 21, 1793
THE convention constituted itself on September 20, 1792,
and commenced its deliberations on the 21st. There were
749 deputies in the convention, 486 of whom were new-
members. The deputies of Paris were : Robespierre, Danton, Marat,
Camille Desmoulins, Manuel, Billaud-Varennes, Collot d'Herbois,
Legendre, Robert, the younger Robespierre, David, Panis, Sergent,
Fabre D'Eglantine, Freron, Osselin, and Philip of Orleans. In its
first sitting it abolished royalty and proclaimed the republic. On
the 22d it appropriated the revolution to itself, by declaring it
would not date from the year IV. of Liberty, but from the year I. of
the French republic. After these first measures, voted by acclama-
tion, with a sort of rivalry in democracy and enthusiasm in the two
parties, which had become divided at the close of the legislative as-
sembly, the convention, instead of commencing its labors, gave itself
up to intestine quarrels. The Girondists and the Mountain, before
they established the new revolution, desired to know to which of
them it was to belong, and the enormous dangers of their position
did not divert them from this contest. They had more than ever to
fear the efforts of Europe. Austria, Prussia, and some of the Ger-
man princes having attacked France before August 10, there was
every reason to believe that the other sovereigns of Europe would
declare against it after the fall of the monarchy, the imprisonment
of the king, and the massacres of September. Within, the enemies of
the revolution had increased. To the partisans of the ancient
regime, of the aristocracy and clergy, were now to be added the
friends of constitutional monarchy, with whom the fate of Louis
XVI. was an object of earnest solicitude, and those who imagined
liberty impossible without order, or under the empire of the multi-
tude. Amid so many obstacles and adversaries, at a moment when
their strictest union was requisite, the Gironde and the Mountain
attacked each other with the fiercest animosity. It is true that these
two parties were wholly incompatible, and that their respective
215
216 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
leaders could not combine, so strong and varied were the grounds
of separation in their rivalry for power, and in their designs.^
The Girondists found that during the course of the late events
they had lost the assistance of the constitutionalists without pro-
curing that of the democrats ; they had a hold upon neither extreme
of society.- Accordingly, they only formed a half party, which was
soon overthrown, because it had no root. The Girondists, after
August ID, were, between the middle class and the multitude, what
the monarchists, or the Mounier and Necker party, had been after
July 24, between the privileged classes and the bourgeoisie.
The Mountain, on the contrary, desired a republic of the peo-
ple. The leaders of this party, annoyed at the credit of the Giron-
dists, sought to overthrow and to supersede them. They were less
intelligent and less eloquent, but abler, more decided, and in no
degree scrupulous as to means. The extremest democracy seemed
to them the best of governments, and what they termed the people,
that is, the lowest populace, was the object of their constant adula-
tion and most ardent solicitude. No party was more dangerous;
most consistently, it labored for those with whom it fought.
Ever since the opening of the convention the Girondists had
occupied the right benches, and the IMountain party the summit
of the left, whence the name by which they were designated.^ The
Girondists were the strongest in the assembly; the elections in the
departments had generally been in their favor. A great num-
^ Fyfife, " Alodern Europe," vol. I. pp. 48-49, admirably shows the difference
between these parties, although both were republican :
" The elections were held in the crisis of invasion, in the height of national
indignation against the alliance of the aristocracy with the foreigner, and, in
some districts, under the influence of men who had not shrunk from ordering
the massacres in the prisons. At such a moment a constitutional royalist had
scarcely more chance of election than a detected spy from the enemy's camp.
The Girondins, who had been the party of extremes in the legislative assembly,
were the party of moderation and order in the convention. By their side there
were returned men whose whole being seems to be compounded out of the
forces of conflict, men who, sometimes without conscious depravity, carried into
political and social struggles that direct, unquestioning employment of force
which has ordinarily been reserved for war or for the diffusion of religious doc-
trines. The moral differences that separated this party from the Gironde were
at once conspicuous: the political creed of the two parties appeared at first to
be much the same."
2 The " legend " of the Girondists has been destroyed by Bire, " La Legende
dcs Girondins," new edition, 1896.
'' The reader is again asked to note how the Left of one assembly becomes
the Right of that which follows; i. e., the revolution grows more radical. In
course of time the Mountain split into three groups: (i) the followers of Robes-
CONVENTION AND LOUIS XVI 217
1792
ber of the deputies of the legislative assembly had been reelected,
and as connection effects much, as in these days habit and associa-
tion go a great way, the members who had been united with the
deputation of the Gironde and the commune of Paris before August
lo returned with the same opinions. Others came without any
particular system or party, without enmities or attachments; these
formed what was then called, from tlie seats they occupied, the Plain
or the Marsh. This party, taking no interest in the struggles be-
tween the Gironde and the Mountain, voted with the side they con-
sidered the most just, so long as they were allowed to be moderate;
that is to say, so long as they had no fears for themselves.
The Mountain was composed of deputies of Paris, elected
under the influence of the commune of August lo, and of some
very decided republicans from the provinces ; it, from time to time,
increased its ranks with those who were rendered enthusiastic by
circumstances, or who were impelled by fear. But though inferior
in the convention in point of numbers, it was none the less very
powerful, even at this period. It swayed Paris ; the commune was
devoted to it, and the commune had managed to constitute itself
the supreme authority in the state.* The Mountain had sought to
master the departments by endeavoring to establish an identity of
views and conduct between the municipality of Paris and the pro-
vincial municipalities; they had not, however, completely succeeded
in this, and the departments* were for the most part favorable to
their adversaries, who cultivated their good will by means of
pamphlets and journals sent by the minister, Roland, whose house
the Mountaineers called a bureau d'esprit public, and whose friends
they called intrigants. But beside this junction of the communes,
which sooner or later would take place, they were adopted by the
Jacobins. This club, the most influential as well as the most an-
cient and extensive, changed its views at every crisis without
changing its name ; it was a frame-work ready for every domi-
nating power, excluding all dissentients. That at Paris was the
pierre; (2) the Dantonists; (3) the Ilebertists, or representatives of the revo-
lutionary commune. In the struggle the extremes fall first; i. e., the Girondists
on the Right, then the Hebertists on the extreme Left, then the Dantonists,
and finally Robespierre.
4 This is quite true, strong as the statement is. Not until the establishment
of the committee of public safety was the convention able to emancipate itself
from the dictatorship of the commune. (See Mortimer Ternaux, "La Tcrreur,"
vol. IV. p. 18 ff.). But the convention never displayed the weakness and cow-
ardice of the legislative assembly, and finally did rise superior to the situation.
218 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
metropolis of Jacobinism, and governed the others almost im-
periously. The Mountaineers had made themselves masters of it;
they had already driven the Girondists from it by denunciation
and disgust, and replaced the members taken from the bourgeoisie
by sans-culottes. Nothing remained to the Girondists but the
ministry, who, thwarted by the commune, were powerless in Paris.
The Mountaineers, on the contrary, disposed of all the effective
force of the capital, of the public mind by the Jacobins, of the
sections and faubourgs by the sans-culottes, of the insurrectionists
by the municipality.
The first measure of parties after having decreed the republic
was to contend with each other. The Girondists were indignant
at the massacres of September, and they beheld with horror on the
benches of the convention the men who had advised or ordered
them. Above all others, two inspired them with antipathy and
disgust: Robespierre, whom they suspected of aspiring to tyranny,
and Marat, who from the commencement of the revolution had in
his writings constituted himself the apostle of murder. They de-
nounced Robespierre with more animosity than prudence ; 'he was
not yet sufficiently formidable to incur the accusation of aspiring
to the dictatorship. His enemies by reproaching him with inten-
tions then improbable, and at all events incapable of proof, them-
selves augmented his popularity and importance.
Robespierre was born at Arras in 1759, was early left an
orphan, was educated by the Bishop of Arras at the College Louis-
le-Grand in Paris, and became a lawyer in his native city. His pub-
lic career began with his election to the States General in 1789. He
was ineligible for the legislative assembly, but was offered the post
of prosecuting attorney for the criminal tribunal of the Seine. This
he declined, however, to become the political leader of the Jacobin
Club. In 1792 he was elected to the convention as a deputy of Paris,
and was now beginning to take a prominent position. Hitherto,
despite his efforts, he had had superiors in his own party; under the
constituent assembly, its famous leaders ; under the legislative, Bris-
sot and Petir^n ; on August 10, Danton. At these different periods he
had declared himself against those whose renown or popularity of-
fended him. Only able to distinguish himself among the celebrated
personages of the first assembly, by the singularity of his opinions
he had shown himself an exaggerated reformer; during the second
he became a constitutionalist, because his rivals were innovators.
MAXI.MU.IF.N MAKIK I-IDUKF. KOBKSl'I FJ<RE
(Horn 175S. Died 1794)
CONVENTION AND LOUIS XVI 219
1792
and he had talked in favor of peace to the Jacobins, because his
rivals advocated war. From August lo he essayed in that club to
ruin the Girondists and to supplant Danton, always associating the
cause of his vanity with that of the multitude. This man, of or-
dinary talents and vain character, owed it to his inferiority to rank
with the last, a great advantage in times of revolution; and his
conceit drove him to aspire to the first rank, to do all to reach it,
to dare all to maintain himself there.
Robespierre had the qualifications for tyranny; a soul not
great, it is true, but not common ; the advantage of one sole pas-
sion, the appearance of patriotism, a deserved reputation for incor-
ruptibility, an austere life, and no aversion to the effusion of blood.
He was a proof that amid civil troubles it is not mind, but conduct,
that leads to political fortune, and that persevering mediocrity is
more powerful than wavering genius. It must also be observed
that Robespierre had the support of an immense and fanatical sect,
whose government he had solicited, and whose principles he had
defended since the close of the constituent assembly. This sect
derived its origin from the eighteenth century, certain opinions of
which it represented. In politics its symbol was the absolute sov-
eignty of the " Social Contract " of Rousseau, and for creed it
held the deism of " The Profession of Faith of a Savoyard Vicar " ;
at a later period it succeeded in realizing these for a moment in the
constitution of '93, and the worsliip of the Supreme Being. More
fanaticism and system existed in the different epochs of the revolu-
tion than is generally supposed.
Whether the Girondists distinctly foresaw tlie dominion of
Robespierre, or whether they suffered themselves to be carried
away by their indignation, they accused him, with republicans, of
the most serious of crimes. Paris was agitated by the spirit of
faction ; the Girondists wished to pass a hn.v against those who
excited disorders and violence, and at the same time to give the
convention an independent force dcri\cd from the eighty-three de-
partments. Thev a]:)pointcd a commission U^ jirc^ent a report on
this subject. The Mountain attacked tliis measure as injurious to
Paris: the Gironde defended it by pointing out the project of a
triumvirate formed bv tlie deputation of I'aris. " I was born in
Paris," said Osselin ; "T am deputy for that town. It is an-
nounced that a ])arty is formed in the very heart of it, desiring a
dictatorship, triumvirs, and tribunes. I declare that extreme ig-
220 THE FKKXCH R i: V O L U T I O N
1792
tiorance or profound wickedness alone could have conceived such
a project. Let the member of the deputation of Paris who has
conceived such an idea be anathematized ! " " Yes," exclaimed
Rebecqui of Marseilles, " yes, there exists in this assembly a party
which aspires at the dictatorship,, and I will name the leader of this
partv: lv(ibesi)icrrc. That is the man whom I denounce.*' Bar-
baroux supported this denunciation by his evidence; he was one of
the chief authors of Aug-ust lo; he was the leader of the Marseil-
Icsc, and he possessed immense influence in the south. He stated
that about August lo the Marscillese were much courted by the two
parties who divided the capital ; he was brought to Robespierre's,
and there he was told to ally himself to those citizens who had
acquired most popularity and that Panis expressly named to him,
Robespierre, as the virtuous man who was to be dictator of France.
P>arban)ux was a man of action. There were some members of
the Right who thought, Vk^th him, that they ought to conquer their
adversaries in order to avoid being conquered by them. They
wished, making use of the convention against the commune, to op-
pose the departments to Paris, and while they remained weak,
by no means to spare enemies, to whom they would otherwise
be granting time to become stronger. But the greater number
dreaded a rupture, and trembled at the idea of energetic measures.
This accusation against Robespierre had no immediate conse-
quences ; but it fell back on Marat, who had recommended a dic-
tatorship in his journal L'Ami du Pcuplc, and had extolled the
massacres. When he ascended the tribune to justify himself a
shudder of horror seized the assembly. "Down! down!" re-
sounded from all sides. Marat remained imperturbable. In a
momentary pause lie said : " T have a great number of personal
enemies in this assembly. ["All! all!''] I beg of them to re-
member decorum ; I exhort them to abstain from all furious clamors
and indecent threats against a man who has served liberty and
tliemselves more tlian they think for. For once let them learn to
listen." And this man delivered in the midst of the convention,
astounded at his audacity and smig-froid, his views of the proscrip-
tions and of the dictatorship. For some time he had fled from
cellar to cellar to a\'oid public anger an.d the warrants issued
against him. I lis sanguinary journal alone appeared; in it he
demanded heads and prepared tlie multitude for the massacres of
September. There is no follv which mav not enter a man's head.
CONVENTION AND LOUIS XVI 221
1792
and what is worse, which may not be realized for a moment.
Marat was possessed by certain fixed ideas. The revolution had
enemies, and, in his opinion, it could not last unless freed from
them ; from that moment he deemed nothing- could be more simple
than to exterminate them and appoint a dictator, whose functions
should be limited to proscribing; these two measures he proclaimed
aloud, not cruel, but indifferent ; with no more regard for propriety
than for the lives of men, and despising as weak minds all those who
called his projects atrocious, instead of considering them profound.
The revolution had actors really more sanguinary than he, but none
exercised a more fatal influence over his times. He depraved the
morality of parties already sufiiciently corrupt ; and he had the two
leading ideas which the committee of public safety subsequently
realized by its commissioners or its government extermination in
mass, and the dictatorship.^
IMarat's accusation was not attended with any results ; he
inspired more disgust, but less hatred, than Robespierre; some
regarded him as a madman ; others considered these debates as
the quarrels of parties, and not as an object of interest for the
republic. Moreover, it seemed dangerous to attempt to purify the
convention or to dismiss one of its members, and it was a difficult
step to get over, even for parties. Danton did not exonerate
Marat. " I do not like him,'' said he; " I have had experience of
his temperament; it is volcanic, crabbed, and unsociable. But why
seek for the lang"uage of a faction in what he writes? Has the
general agitation any other cause than that of tlie revolutionary
movement itself,? '' R(.)bespierre, on liis part, protested that he knew
very little of Marat; that, previous to August lo. he had only had
one conversation with him, after which Marat, whose violent
opinions lie did nf)t a])pro\e, had considered his jxjlitical views so
narrow that he had stated in his journal that he had neither the
higher views nor the daring of a statesman.
But he was the object of much greater indignation because
he was more dreaded. The first accusation of Rebecqui and Bar-
baroux had not succeeded. A short time afterward the minister,
Roland, made a report on the state of France and Paris; in it he
denounced the massacres of September, the encroachments of the
^ The reader will find the salient features of Ararat's life and copious refer-
ence to authorities in Fletcher's Carlyle, ' I*"rcuch Revolution," vol. I. pp. ('17-69.
See also Belfort Box, " .Marat," which favorably regards him.
coo THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
coninume. and the proceedings of the agitators. " When," said
he, " they render the wisest and most intrepid defenders of hberty
odious or suspected, when principles of revolt and slaughter are
boldly professed and applauded in the assemblies, and clamors arise
against the convention itself, I can no longer doubt that partisans
of the ancient regime, or false friends of the people, concealing their
extravagance or wickedness under a mask of patriotism, have con-
ceived the plan of an overthrow, in which they hope to raise them-
selves on ruins and corpses, and gratify their thirst for blood, gold,
and atrocity."
He cited, in proof of his report, a letter in which the vice-
president of the second section of the criminal tribunal informed
him that he and the most distinguished Girondists were threatened ;
that, in the words of their enemies, another bleeding was wanted,
and that these men would hear of no one but Robespierre.
At these words the latter hastened to the tribune to justify
himself. " No one," he cried, "dare accuse me to my face! " " I
dare!" exclaimed Louvet, one of the most determined men of the
Gironde. " Yes, Robespierre," he continued, fixing his eye upon
him, " I accuse you ! " Robespierre, hitherto full of assurance,
became moved. He had once before, at the Jacobins, measured
his strength with this formidable adversary, whom he knew to be
witty, impetuous, and uncompromising. Louvet now spoke, and in
a most eloquent address spared neither acts nor names. He traced
the course of Robespierre to the Jacobins, to the commune, to the
electoral assembly: "calumniating the best patriots; lavishing the
basest flatteries on a few hundred citizens, at first designated as
the people of Paris, afterward as the peoj^le absolutely, and then
as the sovereign ; repeating \he eternal enumeration of his own
merits, perfections, and virtues: and never failing, after he had
dwelt on the strenglli, grandeur, and sovereignty of the people, to
protest that he was the people too." He then described him conceal-
ing himself on August lo. and afterward swaying the conspirators
of the commune. Tlien he came to the massacres of September,
and exclaimed: "The revolution of tlie loth of August belongs
to all ! " and added, pointing out a few ^Mountaineers of the com-
mune, " but that of tlie 2d of September, that belongs to them and
to none but tliem ! ] {;i\ c they not glorified themselves by it? They
themsehes, with brutal contempt, only designated us as the patriots
of the lotli of .Xugu^t. With ferocious pride tliey called them-
CONVENTION AND LOUIS XVI 223
1792
selves the patriots of the 2d of September! Ah, let them retain
this distinction worthy of the courage peculiar to them ; let them
retain it as our justification, and for their lasting shame! These
pretended friends of the people wish to cast on the people of Paris
the horrors that stained the first week of September. They have
basely slandered them. The people of Paris can fight; they cannot
murder! It is true, they were assembled all the day long before
the chateau of the Tuileries on the glorious loth of August; it
is false that they were seen before the prisons on the horrible 2d
of September. How many executioners were there within? Two
hundred ; probably not two hundred. And W'ithout, how many
spectators could be reckoned drawn thither by truly incompre-
hensible curiosity? At most, twice the number. But, it is asked,
why, if the people did not assist in these murders, did they not
hinder them? Why? Because Petion's tutelary authority was fet-
tered ; because Roland spoke in vain ; because Danton, the minister
of justice, did not speak at all, . . . because the presidents of
the forty-eight sections waited for orders the general in command
did not give; because municipal officers, wearing their scarfs, pre-
sided at these atrocious executions. But the legislative assembly?
the legislati\'e assembly! representatives of the people, you will
avenge it ! The powerless state into which your predecessors were
reduced is, in the midst of such crimes, tlie greatest for which these
ruffians, wliom I denounce, must be punished.'' Returning to
Robespierre. Louvet pointed out his ambition, his efforts, his ex-
treme ascendency over the people, and terminated his fiery philippic
by a series of acts, each one of which was preceded by this ter-
rible form: " Robespierre, I accuse thee! "
Louvet descended from the tribune amid applause. Robes-
])ierre mounted it to justify himself: he was pale, and was received
with murmurs. Either from agitation or fear of prejudice, he
asked for a week's delay. The time arrived ; he appeared less like
(me accused than as a triumphcr ; lie re])ellcd with irony Louvet's
reproaclies. and entered into a ]i>ng apology for himself. It must
be admitted that the facts were vague, and it required little trouble
to weaken or overturn them. Persons were placed in the gallery
to applaud him; even tlie convention itself, who regarded this
quarrel as the result of a ])ri\;tte i)i(|uc. and, as Barrcre said, did not
fear a man of a day. a ]U'tty leader of riots, was disposed to close
these del}ates. Accordingly, when Robespierre observed, as he
224. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
finished : " For my part, I will draw no personal conclusions ;
I have given up tlie easy advantage of replying to the calumnies of
my adversaries by more formidable denunciations; I wished to
suppress the offensive part of my justification. I renounce the
just vengeance I have a right to pursue against my calumniators;
T ask for no other than the return of peace and triumph of liberty! "
he was ai)plauded, and the convention passed to the order of the
day. Louvet in vain sought to reply; he was not allowed. Bar-
baroux as vainly presented himself as accuser, and Lanjuinais op-
posed the motion for the order without obtaining the renewal
of the discussion. The Girondists themselves supported it: they
committed one fault in commencing the accusation and another
in not continuing it. The Mountain carried the day, since they
were not conquered, and Robespierre was brought nearer the as-
sumption of the part he had been so far removed from. In times
of revolution men very soon become what they are supposed to be,
and the Mountain adopted him for their leader because the Gi-
rondists pursued him as such.
But what was much more important than personal attacks
was the discussion respecting the means of government and
the management of authorities and parties. The Girondists struck,
not only against individuals, but against the commune. Not one of
their measures succeeded ; they were badly proposed or badly sus-
tained. They should have supported the government, replaced the
municipality, maintained their post among the Jacobins and swayed
them, gained over the multitude, or prevented its acting; and they
did nothing of all this. One among them, Buzot, proposed giving
the convention a guard of three thousand men, taken from the de-
partments. This measure, which would at least have made the
assembly independent, was not supported with sufficient vigor to
be adopted. Thus the Girondists attacked the Mountaineers with-
out weakening them, the commune without subduing it, the fau-
bourgs without suppressing them. They irritated Paris by invoking
the aid of the dci)artments, without procuring it, thus acting in
opposition to the most common rules of prudence, for it is always
safer to do a thing than to threaten to do it.
The political short-sightedness of the Girondists is remark-
able; their hypocrisy little less. They did not hesitate to claim the
rewards of August lo, and appropriated most of the offices of
state, while at the same time they violently condemned Marat,
CONVENTION AND LOUIS XVI 225
1792
Danton, and Robespierre. They made the mistake of giving their
antagonists the advantage of a defensive position, and without
taking protective measures inveighed against the Mountain in the
very home of its partisans Paris.
Their adversaries skillfully turned this circumstance to ad-
vantage. They secretly circulated a report which could not but
compromise the Girondists ; it was that they wished to remove
the republic to the south, and give up the rest of the empire. Then
commenced that reproach of " federalism," ^ which afterward be-
came so fatal. The Girondists disdained it because they did not
see the consequences; but it necessarily gained credit in proportion
as they became weak and their enemies became daring. What had
given rise to the report was the project of defending themselves
behind the Loire, and removing the government to the south, if
the north should be invaded and Paris taken, and the predilection
they manifested for the provinces, and their indignation against
the agitators of the capital. Nothing is more easy than to change
the appearance of a measure by changing the period in which the
measure was adopted, and discover in the disapprobation expressed
at the irregular acts of a city, an intention to form the other cities
of the state into a league against it. Accordingly, the Girondists
were pointed out to the multitude as federalists. While they de-
nounced the commune, and accused Robespierre and Marat, the
Mountaineers decreed the unity and indivisibility of the republic.
This was a way of attacking them and bringing them into suspicion,
although they themselves adhered so eagerly to these propositions
that they seemed to regret not having made them.'^
But a circumstance, apparently unconnected with the disputes
of these two parties, served still better the cause of the Mountain-
eers. Already emboldened by the unsuccessful attempts which had
been directed against them, they only waited for an opportunity
to become assailants in their turn. The convention was fatigued
by these long discussions. Those members who were not interested
in them, and even those of the two parties who were not in the
first rank, felt the need of concord, and wished to see men occupy
themselves with the republic. There was an apparent truce, and
^ See Stephens, " French Revohition," vol. II. p. 170 ff. ; Guadet, " Les Giron-
dins," p. 243 ff. ; Von Sybel, "History of the French Revohition," vol. II. p. 153 ff.
P^or some proofs that the charge of " federalism " was not wholly an empty term,
see Carlyle, " French Revolution," edition of Fletcher, vol. III. p. 12, note.
' Sec Moniteur, 1693, Nos. 102-104: Guadet, " Lr,? Girondins'' pp. 266-275.
226 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
the attention of the assembly was directed for a moment to the new
constitution, which the Mountain caused it to abandon in order to
decide on the fate of the fallen prince. The leaders of the extreme
Left were driven to this course by several motives: they did not
want the Girondists, and the moderate members of the Plain, who
directed the committee of the constitution, the former by Petion,
Condorcet, Brissot, Verg-niaud, Gensonne, the others, by Barrere,
Sieycs, and Thomas Paine, to organize the republic. They would
have established the system of the bourgeoisie, rendering it a little
more democratic than that of 1791, while they themselves aspired
at constituting the people. But they could only accomplish their
end by power, and they could only obtain power by protracting the
revolutionary state in France. Besides the necessity of preventing
the establishment of legal order by a terrible coup d'etat, such as
the condemnation of Louis XVL, which would arouse all passions,
rally round them the violent parties, by proving them to be the
inflexible guardians of the republic, they hoped to expose the senti-
ments of the Girondists, who did not conceal their desire to save
Louis XVL, and thus ruin them in the estimation of the multitude.
There were, without a doubt, in this conjuncture, a great number
of IMountaineers who, on this occasion, acted with the greatest
sincerity, and only as republicans, in whose eyes Louis XVL ap-
peared guilty with respect to the revolution; and a dethroned king
was dangerous to a young democracy. But this party would have
been more clement had it not had to ruin the Gironde at the same
time with Louis XVL^
For some time past the public mind had been prepared for
his trial. The Jacobin Club resounded with invectives against him ;
the most injurious reports were circulated against his character;
his condemnation was required for the firm establishment of liberty.
The popular societies in tlie departments addressed petitions to
the convention with the same object. The sections presented them-
selves at the bar of tlie assembly, and they carried through it, on
litters, the men wounded on August 10, who came to cry for
vengeance on Louis Capet. They now only designated Louis XVL
''Upon this subject, tlie identification of the cause of the king with the
Girondists, see Von Sybel, " Plistory of the French Revolution," vol. H. pp. 260-
2Q5 ; Stephens, " I->c!ich Revohition," vol. TT. pp. 212-222. The Girondists were
forced to vote for the death of the king in order to free themselves from the
charge of " royalism." But the Mountain, which had forced the fighting, took
tlie laurel of victory.
CONVENTION AND LOUIS XVI 227
1792
by this name of the ancient chief of his race, thinking to substitute
his title of king- by his family name.''
Party motives and popular animosities combined against this
unfortunate prince. Those who, two months before, would have
repelled the idea of exposing him to any other punishment than
that of dethronement, were stupefied ; so quickly does man lose
in moments of crisis the right to defend his opinions! The dis-
covery of the iron chest especially increased the fanaticism of the
multitude, and the weakness of the king's defenders. After August
lo there were found in the offices of the civil list documents which
proved the secret correspondence of Louis XVL wuth the discon-
tented princes, with the emigration, and with Europe. In a report,
drawn up at the command of the legislative assembly, he was ac-
cused of intending to betray the state and overthrow the revolution.
He was accused of having written, on April i6, 1791, to the
Bishop of Clermont that if he regained his power he would re-
store the former government, and the clergy to the state in which
they previously were ; of having afterward proposed war merely
to hasten the approach of his deliverers ; of having been in corre-
spondence with men who wrote to him " War will compel all
the powers to combine against the seditious and abandoned men
who tyrannize over France, in order that their punishment may
speedily serve as an example to all who shall be induced to trouble
the peace of empires. You may rely on a hundred and fifty thou-
sand men, Prussians, Austrians, and Imperialists, and on an army
of twenty thousand emigrants"; of having been on terms with
his brothers, whom his puljlic measures had discountenanced; and,
lastly, of having constantly opposed the rf /olution.
Fresh documents were soon brought forward in support of this
accusation. In the Tuileries, behind a panel in the wainscot, there
^ The name Capet, wliicli was no more the name of Louis XVI. than Plan-
tagenet or Tudor is tb.e family name of Edward VII.. was derived from Hugh
Capet, the first king of the liouse which, as Capetian, Valois, and Bourbon, ruled
P'rance for 802 years. But " Capet " was a nickname, probably derived from
the circumstance that Hugh, as his father before him, used to wear a small cape
or chapette as the insignia of his position as lay abbot of St. Denis. The name,
however, does not occur before the eleven.th century, a fact which militates
against this theory. The fann'ly name of the house was Robert, from Robert le
I"\)rt, who died in battle against the Northmen in 8^)6. His son, Odo, became
Count of Paris and Duke of L'Vance. When the Duke of France, in the person
of Hugh Capet, ascendt-d the throne the name of the duchy was applied in
exte>iso to thr kingdum.
}e28 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
was a hole wrought in the wall, and closed by an iron door. This
secret closet was pointed out by the minister, Roland, and there
were discovered proofs of all the conspiracies and intrigues of the
court against the revolution; projects with the popular leaders to
strengthen the constitutional power of the king, to restore the
ancient regime and the aristocrats; the maneuvers of Talon, the
arrangements with Mirabeau, the propositions accepted by Bouille,
under the constituent assembly, and some new plots under the leg-
islative assembly. This discovery increased the exasperation against
Louis XVL Mirabeau's bust was broken by the Jacobins, and the
convention covered the one w^hich stood in the hall where it held
its sittings/"
For some time there had been a question in the assembly as
to the trial of this prince, who, having been dethroned, could no
longer be proceeded against. There was no tribunal empowered to
pronounce his sentence, no punishment which could be inflicted
on him : accordingly, they plunged into false interpretations of
the inviolability granted to Louis XVL, in order to condemn him
legally. For the king could not be tried legally ; for there was no
provision for impeachment in the constitution. Despite ingenious
arguments to the contrary, the question was, and had to be, a
political question.
On October i6, 1792, the convention had received a peti-
tion from the Jacobins of Auxerre, who demanded the trial of
the king. At bottom no one in the convention had any interest
in his fate, for Louis XVT. had ceased to be dangerous, but once
the question was raised, neither the Mountain nor the Girondists
dared to risk the accusation of being moderates, for fear of being
compromised. Two reports upon the matter were made to the
cunvention, one by a Girondist, the other by a Mountaineer, both
recommending the trial of the king (X^ovember 6-7). On X^ovem-
ber 13 the debate opened upon the question as to whether the
convention could sit in judgment upon Louis XVL Morrisson,
taking his stand upon the precedent of 1791, argued for the in-
violability of the king. Saint-Just now made himself famous, for
the first time, by declaring: " Citizens: I sliall undertake to prove
^^ Both the nature and the extent of these compromising papers is uncer-
tain. It is of curious significance that none of the Girondists were incriminated
by the "documents." A committee of twenty-four persons had been appointed
on October i to report upon tlie papers. Roland, who " discovered " the secret
receptacle, was popularly bclie\ ed to have suppressed sonu' and fabricated others.
CONVENTION AND LOUIS XVI 229
1792
that the opinion of Morrisson, who asserts the king's inviolability,
and that of the committee, which wishes to judge him as a citizen,
are equally false. I say that the king should be judged as an
enemy. ... To judge a king as a citizen! This word will
astonish posterity. To judge is to apply the law. A law is an
institution of justice. What institution of justice is there between
humanity and kings? Kingship is an eternal crime. No man can
reign and be innocent." This doctrine, which was that of the
Jacobins, was sustained by Robespierre in his speech on December
3. As was to be expected, the convention decided to bring Louis
XVI. to trial and appointed a commission of twenty-one members
to prepare the process.
The greatest error of parties, next to being unjust, is the desire
not to appear so. The committee of legislation commissioned to
draw up a report on the question as to whether Louis XVI. could
be tried, and whether he could be tried by the convention, decided
in the affirmative. The deputy ]\Iailhe opposed, in its name, the
dogma of inviolability; but as this dogma had influenced the pre-
ceding epoch of the revolution, he contended that Louis XVI. was
inviolable as king, but not as an individual. He maintained that
the nation, unable to give up its guarantee respecting acts of powxr,
had supplied tlie inviolability of the monarch by the responsibility
of his ministers; and that, when Louis XVL had acted as a simple
individual, his responsibility devolving on no one, he ceased to be
inviolable. Thus Alailhe limited the constitutional safeguard given
to Louis XVL to the acts of the king. He concluded that Louis
XVI. could be tried, the detlironement not being a punishment,
but a change of government ; that he might be brought to trial, by
virtue of the penal code relative to traitors and conspirators; that
he could be tried by the convention, without observing the process
of other tribunals, because, the convention representing the people
the people including all interests, and all interests constituting
justice it was impossible that the national tribunal could violate
justice, and that, consequently, it was useless to subject it to forms.
Such was the chain of sophistry by means of which the committee
transformed the convention into a tribunal. Robespierre's party
showed itself much more consistent, dwelling only on state reasons,
and rejecting forms as deceptive.
The discussion commenced on Xovember 13, six davs after
the report of the committee. The partisans of inviolability, while
230 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
they considered Louis XVL guilty, maintained that he could not
be tried. The principal of these was Morrisson. He said that
inviolability was general ; that the constitution had anticipated more
than secret hostility on the part of Louis XVL, an open attack, and
even in that case had only pronounced his deposition; that in this
respect the nation had pledged its sovereignty; that the mission of
the convention was to change the government, not to judge Louis
XVL ; that, restrained by the rules of justice, it was so also by the
usages of war, which only permitted an enemy to be destroyed
during the combat after a victory, the law vindicates him ; that,
moreover, the republic had no interest in condemning Louis; that
it ought to confine itself with respect to him, to measures of general
safety, detain him prisoner, or banish him from France. This
was the opinion of the Right of the convention. The Plain shared
the opinion of the committee; but the Mountain repelled, at the
same time, the inviolability and the trial of Louis XVL
" Citizens," said Saint-Just, " I engage to prove that the opin-
ion of Morrison, who maintains the king's inviolability, and that
of the committee, which requires his trial as a citizen, are equally
false; I contend that we should judge the king as an enemy; that
we have less to do with trying than with opposing him : that hav-
ing no place in the contract which unites Frenchmen, the forms
of the proceeding are not in civil law, but in the law of the right of
nations; thus, all delay or reserve in this case are sheer acts
of imprudence, and next to the imprudence which postpones the
moment that should give us laws, the most fatal will be that which
makes us temporize with the king." Reducing everything to con-
siderations of enmity and policy, Saint-Just added : " The very men
who are about to try Louis have a republic to establish : those who
attach any importance to the just chastisement of a king will never
found a republic. Citizens, if the Roman people, after six hundred
years of virtue and of hatred toward kings; if Great Britain after
the death of Cromwell saw kings restored in spite of its energy,
what ought not good citizens, friends of liberty, to fear among us,
when they see tlie ax tremble in your hands, and a people, from
the first day of tlieir freedom, respect the memory of their chains? "
This violent party, who wished to substitute a coup d'etat for
a sentence. \n fnllMw no law. no form, but to strike Louis XVL
like a conf|ucre(l prisoner, by making hostilities even sun-ive
victory, had but a verv feeble maioritv in the convention; but
CONVENTION AND LOUIS XVI 231
1792
without it was strongly supported by the Jacobins and the com-
mune. Notwithstanding the terror which it already inspired, its
murderous suggestions were repelled by the convention; and the
partisans of inviolability, in their turn, courageously asserted rea-
sons of public interest at the same time as rules of justice and
humanity. They maintained that the same men could not be judges
and legislators, the jury and the accusers. They desired also to
impart to the rising republic the luster of great virtues, those of
generosity and forgiveness ; they wished to follow the example of
the people of Rome, who acquired their freedom and retained it
five hundred years, because they proved themselves magnanimous ;
because they banished the Tarquins instead of putting them to
death. In a political view, they showed the consec[uences of the
king's condemnation, as it would affect the anarcb.ical party of the
kingdom, rendering it still more insolent; and with regard to
Europe, whose still neutral powers it would induce to join the
coalition against the republic.
But Robespierre, who during this long debate displayed a
daring and perseverance that presaged his power, appeared at the
tribune to support Saint-Just, to reproach the convention with
involving in doubt what the insurrection had decided, and with
restoring, by sympathy and the publicity of a defense, the fallen
royalist party. " The assembly," said Robespierre, '' has involun-
tarily been led far away from the real question. Here we have
nothing to do with trial: Louis is not an accused man; you are
not judges, you are, and can only be statesmen. You have no
sentence to pronounce for or against a man. but you are called
on to adopt a measure of public safety ; to perform an act of na-
tional precaution. A dethroned king is only fit for two purposes,
to disturb the tranquillity of the state, and shake its freedom, or
to strengthen one or the other of them.
"Louis was king; the republic is founded; the famous ques-
tion vou are discussing is decided in these few words. Louis cannot
be tried ; he is already tried, he is condemned, or the republic is
not absolved." He required that the convention should declare
Louis XVL a traitor toward the hVcnch. criminal toward humanity,
and sentence him at once to death, by virtue of the insurrection.
The Mountaineers, by these extreme propositions, by the popii-
laritv they attained without, rendered condemnation in a measure
inevitable. By gaining an extraordinary advance on the other par-
^2 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792
ties, it obliged them to follow it, though at a distance. The ma-
jority of the convention, composed in a large part of Girondists,
who dared not pronounce Louis XVL inviolable, and of the Plain,
decided, on Petion's proposition, against the opinion of the fanatical
Mountaineers and against that of the partisans of inviolability, that
Louis XVL should be tried by the convention. Robert Lindet
then made, in the name of the commission of the twenty-one, his
report respecting Louis XVL The arraignment, setting forth
the offenses imputed to him, was drawn up, and the convention
summoned the prisoner to its bar.
Louis had been confined in the Temple for four months. He
was not at liberty, as the assembly at first wished him to be in
assigning him the Luxembourg for a residence. The suspicious
commune guarded him closely; but, submissive to his destiny,
prepared for everything, he manifested neither impatience, regret,
nor indignation. He had only one servant about his person, Clery,
who at the same time waited on his family. During the first months
of his imprisonment he was not separated from his family ; and he
still found solace in meeting it. He comforted and supported his
tW'O companions in misfortune, his wife and sister; he acted as
preceptor to the young dauphin, and gave him the lessons of an
unfortunate man, of a captive king. He read a great deal, and
often turned to the " History of England," by Hume; there he read
of many dethroned kings, and one of them condemned by the
people. Man always seeks destinies similar to his own. But the
consolation he found in the sight of his family did not last long:
as soon as his trial was decided he was separated from them. The
commune wished to prevent the prisoners from concerting their
justification; the surveillance it exercised over Louis XVL became
daily more minute and severe.
In this state of things Santerre received the order to conduct
Louis XVL to the bar of the convention. He repaired to the
Temple, accompanied by the mayor, who communicated his mis-
sion to the king, and inquired if he was willing to descend. Louis
hesitated a moment, then said: " This is another violence. I must
yield ! " and he decided on appearing before the convention, not
objecting to it, as Charles L had done with regard to his judges.
" Representatives," said Barrere, when his approach was announced,
" you are about to exercise the right of national justice. Let your
attitude be suited to your new functions"; and turning to the
CONVENTION AND LOUIS XVI 233
1792
gallery, he added : " Citizens, remember the terrible silence which
accompanied Louis on his return from Varennes; a silence which
was the precusor of the trial of kings by nations." Louis XVL
appeared firm as he entered the hall, and he took a steady glance
round the assembly. He was placed at the bar, and the president
said to him in a voice of emotion: "Louis, the French nation
accuses you. You are about to hear the charges of the indictment.
Louis, be seated." A seat had been prepared for him ; he sat in it.
During a long examination he displayed much calmness and pres-
ence of mind ; he replied to each question appropriately, often in an
affecting and triumphant manner. He repelled the reproaches ad-
dressed to him respecting his conduct before July 14, reminding
them that his authority was not then limited; before the journey
to Varennes, by the decree of the constitutent assembly, wdiich had
been satisfied with his replies; and after August 10, by throwing
all public acts on ministerial responsibility, and by denying all the
secret measures which were personally attributed to him. This
denial did not, however, in the eyes of the convention, overthrow
facts, proved for the most part by documents written or signed by
the hand of Louis XVI. himself; he made use of the natural right
of every accused person. Thus he did not admit tlie existence of
the iron chest and the papers that were brought forward. Louis
XVI. invoked a law of safety, which the convention did not admit,
and the convention sought to protect itself from anti-revolutionary
attempts, which Louis XVI. would not admit.
When Louis had returned to the Temple the convention con-
sidered the request he had made for a defender. A few Mountain-
eers opposed the request in vain. The convention determined to
allow him the services of a counsel. It was then that the venerable
Malesherbes offered himself to the convention to defend Louis
XVI. " Twice," he wrote, " have I been summoned to the council
of him who was my master, at a time when that function was the
object of ambition to every man ; I owe him the same service now,
when many consider it dangerous." His request was granted.
Louis XVL in his abandonment was touclied by this proof of
devotion. When ]\Ialesherbes entered his room, he went toward
him, pressed him in his arms, and said with tears: " Your sacrifice
is the more generous since you endanger your own life without
saving mine." Alaleslierbes and Tronchet toiled uninterruptedly
at his defense, and associated De Seze with them; thev sought
234 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793
to reanimate the courage of the king, but they found the king little
inclined to hope. " I am sure they will take my life ; but no matter,
let us attend to my trial the same as if I were about to gain it. In
truth, I shall gain it, for I shall leave no stain on my memory."
At length the day for the defense arrived; it was delivered
by De Seze; Louis was present. The profoundest silence per-
vaded the assembly and the galleries. De Seze availed himself
of every consideration of justice and innocence in favor of the royal
prisoner. He appealed to the inviolability which had been granted
him; he asserted that as king he could not be tried; that as ac-
cusers the representatives of the people could not be his judges.
In this he advanced nothing which had not already been main-
tained by one party of the assembly. But he chiefly strove to
justify the conduct of Louis XVI. by ascribing to him intentions
always pure and irreproachable. He concluded with these last and
solemn w^ords : " Listen, in anticipation, to what History will say
to Fame; Louis ascending the throne at twenty, presented an
example of morals, justice, and economy; he had no weakness, no
corrupting passion : he was the constant friend of the people. Did
the people desire the abolition of an oppressive tax? Louis abol-
ished it: did the people desire the suppression of slavery? Louis
suppressed it: did the people solicit reforms? he made them: did
the people wish to change their laws? he consented to change them :
did the people desire that millions of Frenchmen should be restored
to their rights? he restored them: did the people wish for liberty?
he gave it them. Men cannot deny to Louis the glory of having
anticipated the people by his sacrifices; and it is he whom it is
proposed to slay. Citizens, I will not continue ; I leave it to History ;
remember, she will judge your sentence, and her judgment will
be that of ages." But passion proved deaf and incapable of
foresiglit.
The Girondists wished to save Louis XVI., but they feared
the imputation of royalism, which was already cast upon them by
the Mountaineers. During the whole transaction their conduct was
rather equivocal ; they dared not pronounce themselves in favor of or
against the accused; and their moderation ruined them without
serving him. At that moment his cause, not only that of his throne,
but of his life, was their own. They were about to determine, by
an act of justice or by a coup d'etat, whether they should return to
the legal regime or prolong the revolutionary regime. The triumph
CONVENTION AND LOUIS XVI 235
1793
of the Girondists or of the Mountaineers was involved in one or
the other of these solutions. The latter became exceedingly active.
They pretended that, while following forms, men were forgetful
of republican energy, and that the defense of Louis XVL was a
lecture on monarchy addressed to the nation. The Jacobins pow-
erfully seconded them, and deputations came to the bar demanding
the death of the king.
Yet the Girondists, who had not dared to maintain the question
of inviolability, proposed a skillful way of saving Louis XVL from
death, by appealing from the sentence of the convention to the
people. The extreme Right still protested against the erection
of the assembly into a tribunal ; but the competence of the assembly
having been previously decided, all their efforts were turned in
another direction. Salles proposed that the king should be pro-
nounced guilty, but that the application of the punishment should
be left to the primary assembly. Buzot, fearing that the conven-
tion would incur the reproach of weakness, thought that it ought
to pronounce the sentence, and submit tlie judgment it pronounced
to the decision of the people. This advice was vigorously opposed
by the Mountaineers, and even by a great number of the more mod-
erate members of the convention, who saw in the convocation of
the primary assemblies the germ of civil war.
The assembly had unanimously decided that Louis was guilty,
when the appeal to the people was put to the question. Two hun-
dred and eighty-three voices voted for, 424 against it; ten declined
voting. Then came the terrible question as to the nature of the
punishment.^^ Paris was in a state of the greatest excitement:
11 Six hundred and eighty-three against 26 declared Louis guihy of con-
spiracy against the liberty of the nation ; 424 against 283 voted against appeal to
the people ; 387 deputies voted for death without condition, 334 for death with
delay of execution or for punishment less than capital. The majority for death
was 53. The first two votes were taken on January 15, 1793. Barrere had
succeeded in having a motion carried to the effect that the vote should be taken
by calling the roll instead of by ballot. This subtle species of intimidation
accounts for the large vote. Worse still was the intimidation by the mob in
the galleries. Cf. Stephens, "French Revolution," vol. TI. p. 216 ff. The vote is
analyzed by persons in Fletcher's edition of Carlyle's " I-'rench Revolution," vol.
II. p. 391, note.
It is interesting to Americans especially to know that Thomas Paine, the
author of "Common Sense," who had a new field of political activity in France
after the American Revolution, who was naturalized and was elected a deputy
of Pason-Calais to the convention, tried to induce the convention to exile Louis
XVI. to the United Stales. Dr. Priestly, the eminent chemist, and a famous
radical, also was a member of the convention and supported Paine's suggestion.
236 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793
deputies were threatened at the very door of the assembly; fresh
excesses on the part of the populace were dreaded; the Jacobin
clubs resounded with extravagant invectives against Louis XVL
and the Right. The Mountain, till then the weakest party in the
convention, sought to obtain the majority by terror, determined,
if it did not succeed, none the less to sacrifice Louis XVL Finally,
after four hours of nominal appeal, the president, Vergniaud, said:
" Citizens, I am about to proclaim the result of the scrutiny. When
iustice lias spoken, humanity should have its turn." There were
7JI voters. The actual majority was 361, as 26 deputies voted for
death with Maihli's amendment for postponement.^^ Opinions were
very various; Girondists voted for his death, with a reservation, it
is true ; most of the members of the Right voted for imprisonment
or exile, a few Mountaineers voted with the Girondists. As soon
as the result was known, the president said, in a tone of grief : " In
the name of the convention, I declare the punishment, to which it
condemns Louis Capet, to be death." Those who had undertaken
the defense appeared at the bar; they were deeply affected. They
endeavored to bring back the assembly to sentiments of compas-
sion, in consideration of the small majority in favor of the sentence.
But this subject had already been discussed and decided. " Laws
are only made by a simple majority," said a Mountaineer. " Yes,"
replied a voice, " but laws may be revoked : you cannot restore the
life of a man." Malesherbes wished to speak, but could not. Sobs
prevented his utterance ; he could only articulate a few indistinct
words of entreaty. His grief moved the assembly. The request
for a reprieve was received by the Girondists as a last resource;
but this also failed them, and the fatal sentence was pronounced.
Louis expected it. When Malesherbes came in tears to an-
nounce the sentence, he found him sitting in the dark, his elbows
resting on a table, his face hid in his hands, and in profound medi-
tation. At the noise of his entrance, Louis rose and said: " For
two hours I have been trying to discover if, during my reign, I
liave deserved tlie slightest reproach from my subjects. Well, M.
(le Maleslierbes, I swear to you, in the truth of my heart, as a man
about to ai^pear before God, that I have constantly sought the
hai)piness of my people, and never indulged a wish opposed to it."
Mak\slierl)es urged tliat reprieve wimld not be rejected, but this
Louis did wi expect. As b,e saw ^Malesherbes go out, Louis
begged him not to forsake him in his last moments; Malesherbes
'- On January i6.
CONVENTION AND LOUIS XVI ^^37
1793
promised to return, and came often and was always admitted,
though he was searched before being permitted to enter. Louis
received without emotion the formal announcement of his sen-
tence from the minister of justice. He asked three days to prepare
to appear before God; and also to be allowed the services of a
priest, and permission to communicate freely with his wife and
children. Only the last two requests were granted. The Abbe
Edgeworth, a nonjuring priest of his selection, was admitted, and
his family was allowed to see him.
The interview was a distressing scene to this desolate family;
but the moment of separation was far more so. Louis on parting
with his family promised to see tliem again the next day, but on
reaching his room he felt that the trial would be too much, and,
pacing up and down violently, he exclaimed: *' I will not go!"
This was his last struggle; the rest of his time was spent in prepar-
ing for death. The night before the execution he slept calmly.
Clery awoke him, as he had been ordered, at five, and received
his last instructions. He then communicated, commissioned Clery
with his dying words, and all he was allowed to bequeath, a ring,
a seal, and some hair. The drums were already beating, and the
dull sound of traveling cannon, and of confused voices, might be
heard. At length Santerre arrived. " ^'ou are come for me,"
said Louis; "I ask one moment." He deposited his will in the
hands of the municipal officer, asked for his hat, and said, in a
firm tone : " Let us go."
The carriage was an liour on its way from the Temple to the
Place de la Revoluti(jn. A double row of soldiers lined the road ;
more than forty thor.sand men \vere under arms. Paris presented
a gloomy aspect. The citizens present at the execution manifested
neitlier applause nor regret; all were silent. On reaching tlie place
of execution Louis alighted from the carriage. He ascended tlie
scaffold with a firm step, knelt to receive the benediction of the
priest, who is recorded to have said, " Son of Saint Louis, ascend
to heaven ! " With some repugnance he submitted to the binding
of his hands, and Vv-alked hastily to the left of the scaffold : " I die
innocent," said he; *' I forgive my enemies; and you, unfortunate
people ..." Here, at a signal, the drums and trumpets
drowned his voice, and the three executioners seized him, and
"hortly after ten o'clock of January 21, 1793, he had ceased to live.
Thus perished, at the age of tliirty-nine, after a reign of six-
238 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793
teen years and a half, spent in endeavoring to do good, the best
but weakest of monarchs. His ancestors bequeathed to him a revo-
hition. He was better calculated than any of them to prevent and
terminate it ; for he was capable of becoming a reformer-king be-
fore it broke out, or of becoming a constitutional king afterward.
He is. perhaps, the only prince who, having no other passion, had
not that of power, and who united the two qualities which make
good kings, fear of God, and love of the people. He perished, the
victim of passions which he did not share; of those of the persons
about him, to which he was a stranger, and to those of the multitude,
which he had not excited. Few memories of kings are so com-
mendable. History will say of him, that, with a little more strength
of mind, he would have been an exemplary king.
Chapter IX
FALL OF THE GIRONDISTS
JANUARY 2I-JUNE 2, 1793
THE death of Louis XVI. rendered the different parties
irreconcilable, and increased the external enemies of the
revolution. The republicans had to contend with all
Europe, with several classes of malcontents, and with themselves.
But the Mountaineers, who then directed the popular movement,
imagined that they were too far involved not to push matters to
extremity. To terrify tlie enemies of the revolution, to excite the
fanaticism of the people by harangues, by the presence of danger,
and by insurrections; to refer everything to it, both the govern-
ment and the safety of the republic; to infuse into it the most
ardent enthusiasm, in the name of liberty, equality, and fraternity;
to keep it in this violent state of crisis for the purpose of making
use of its passions and its power ; such was the plan of Danton
and the Mountain, who had chosen him for their leader. It was
he who augmented the popular effcrxcscence by the growing dan-
gers of the republic, and who, under the name of revolutionary
government, established the despotism of the multitude, instead of
legal liberty. Robespierre and Marat went even nuich further
than he. They sought to erect into a permanent government what
Danton considered as merely transitory. The latter was only a
political chief, while the others were true sectarians; the first, more
ambitious, the second, more fanatical.
The Mountaineers had, by the catastrophe of January 21,
gained a great victory over the Girondists. I'hey were accused of
being the enemies of the people, because they opposed their excesses ;
of being the accomplices of the tyrant, because they had sought to
save Louis XVI. ; and of l)etraying tlie republic, because they recom-
mended moderation. It was with these reproaches that the Moun-
taineers persecuted them with constant animosity in the bosom of
the convention, from January 21 till May 31, and June 2. The
Girondists were for a long time supported by the Center, which
240 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793
sided witli the Right against murder and anarchy, and with the
Left for measures for pubhc safety. The mass, which, properly
speaking, formed the spirit of the convention, displayed some cour-
age, and balanced the power of the Mountain and the commune as
long as it possessed those intrepid and eloquent Girondists, who
carried with them to prison and to the scafifold all the generous
resolutions of tlie assembly.
For a moment union existed among the various parties of the
assembly, Lepelletier-Saint-Fargeau was stabbed by a retired mem-
ber of the household guard, named Paris, for having voted the
death of Louis XVL The members of the convention, united by
common danger, swore on his tomb to forget their enmities ; but
they soon revived them. Some of the murderers of September,
whose punishment was desired by the more honorable republicans,
were proceeded against at Meaux. The Mountaineers, apprehen-
sive that their past conduct would be inquired into, and that their
adversaries would take advantage of a condemnation to attack them
more openly themselves, put a stop to these proceedings. This
impunity further emboldened the leaders of the multitude; and
Marat, who at that period had an incredible influence over the
multitude, excited them to pillage the dealers, whom he accused
of monopolizing provisions. He wrote and spoke violently, in his
pamphlets and at the Jacobins, against the aristocracy of the burgh-
ers, merchants, and statesmen (as he designated the Girondists),
that is to say, against those who, in the assembly or the nation
at large, still opposed the reign of the sans-culottes and the Moun-
taineers. There was something frightful in the fanaticism and in-
vincible obstinacy of these sectaries. The name given by them to
the Girondists from the beginning of the convention was that of
i)if}'iganfs, on account of the ministerial and rather stealthy means
with which they opposed in the departments the insolent and
public conduct of the Jacobins.
Accordingly, they denounced them regularly in the club, " At
Rome, an orator cried daily: ' Carthage must be destroyed! ' well,
let a Jacobin mount this tribune every day. and say these single
words: 'The {ntrij^inifs must be destroyed!' Who could with-
stand us ? We oppose crime, and the ephemeral power of riches ;
but we have trutli, justice, poverty, and virtue in our cause.
With such arms, the Jacobins will soon have to say: 'We had
only to pass on, tlicy were already extinct.' " Marat, who was
FALL OF GIRONDISTS 241
1793
much more daring than Robespierre, whose hatred and projects
still concealed themselves under certain forms, was the patron of
all denouncers and lovers of anarchy. Several Mountaineers re-
proached him with compromising their cause by his extreme coun-
sels, and by unseasonable excesses; but the entire Jacobin people
supported him even against Robespierre, who rarely obtained the
advantage in his disputes with him. The pillage recommended in
February, in L'Ami du Peuplc, with respect to some dealers, " by
way of example," took place, and Marat was denounced to the
convention, who decreed his accusation after a stormy sitting. But
this decree had no result, because the ordinary tribunals had no
authority. This double effort of force on one side, and weakness
on the other, took place in the month of February.^ The absolute
breach between the Girondists and the ^Mountain may be said to
date from January 20, when the former flung down their defiance
in supporting and carrying Gensonne's motion that the minister
of justice initiate proceedings against the perpetrators of the Sep-
tember massacres. The daring of the Girondists was great, at
least. The day after they voted against their wishes for the king's
execution, and on January 23 Roland resigned. More decisive
events soon brought the Girondists to ruin.
Hitherto, the military position of h'rance had been satisfactory.
Dumouriez had just crowned the brilliant campaign of Argonne by
the conquest of Belgium. After the retreat of the Prussians he had
repaired to Paris to concert measures for the invasion of the Aus-
trian Netherlands. Returning to the army on October 20, 1792,
he began the attack on the 28th. The plan attempted so inappro-
priately, with so little strength and success, at tlie commencement
of the war, was resumed and executed with superior means. Du-
mouriez, at the head of the army of Belgium. 40,000 strong, ad-
vanced from Valenciennes ujjon Mons, supported on the right by
the army of the Ardennes, amounting to about 16,000 men, under
General Valence, who marched from Chvet upon Xamur ; and on
his left, by the army of the north, 18,000 strong, under General
Labourdonnaie, who advanced from Lille upim Tournai. The
Austrian army, posted before Mons, awaited battle in its intrench-
ments. Dumouriez completely defeated it ; and the victory of
^ On tlic mi^taki-s o'i the Girondists at tlii< rrilicil \\n\c. see Taine, " Freneli
Revolution." vol. 11. p. ,^231!.; Morlinicr 'J'eriiaux. " Jlistairr dc la Tcrrcur," vol.
VII. p. 297 ff.
242 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793
Jemmapes opened Belgium, and again gave to the French arms
the ascendency in Europe. A victor on November 6, Dumouriez
entered Mons on the 7th, Brussels on the 14th, and Liege on the
28th. Valence took Namur, Labourdonnaie Antwerp; and by the
middle of December the invasion of the Netherlands was completely
achieved. The French army, master of the Meuse and the Scheldt,
took up its winter quarters, after driving beyond the Roer the
Austrians, whom they might have driven beyond the Lower Rhine.
From this moment hostilities began between Dumouriez and
the Jacobins. A decree of the convention, dated November 16,
abrogated the Belgian customs and democratically organized that
country. This decree was the famous " opening of the Scheldt."
It was a direct attack upon the system of the balance of power, and
therefore a defiance of the prevailing principles of international
law. For the Scheldt Antwerp had been closed to commerce
since the Treaty of Westphalia ; the act had been confirmed numer-
ous times in other European settlements; and only as late as 1788
England had guaranteed the closure to the house of Orange. The
war, on the part of France, had become " a crusade of democracy."
The convention further passed a decree (November 19, 1792)
offering assistance to peoples who rose against their governments;
and a month later, on a motion of Cambon (December 15) declared
that: "Wherever French armies shall come, all taxes, tithes, and
privileges of rank are to be abolished; all existing authorities an-
nulled, and provisional administrators elected by universal suffrage.
The property of the fallen government, of the privileged classes and
their adherents, is to be placed under French protection." ^
The early objects of the allies protection against expansion
of revolution and restoration of pacific (monarchic) govern-
ment in France had now given way to other motives. The war had
degenerated on the part of the allies into a war of aggrandizement.
i. e., " the just acquisition of indemnities." Austria had conceived
the idea of forcibly reducing Bavaria, in order to recompense her-
self for the loss of the Austrian Netherlands. This Prussia was
bent on preventing, which accounts for the fact that the Prussian
army was allowed to remain idle on the Rhine. But Poland offered
greater rewards. The causes leading to its division may be seen
in the following note on the part of Russia : " Should Poland be
-Rose, "Revolutionary and Napoleonic F.ra," p. 73. The decree of Novem-
ber 19 is in Thiers, "French Revolution," vol. II. p, 188.
FALL OF GIRONDISTS 243
1793
firmly and lastingly united to Saxony, a power of the first rank
will arise, and one which will be able to exercise the most sensible
pressure upon each of its neighbors. We are greatly concerned
in this, in consequence of the extension of our Polish frontier ; and
Prussia is no less so, from the inevitable increase which would
ensue of Saxon influence in the German empire. We therefore
suggest that Prussia, Austria, and Russia should come to an inti-
mate understanding with one another on this most important
subject." ^
The Jacobins sent agents to Belgium to propagate revolutionary
principles and establish clubs on the model of the parent society;
but the Flemings, who had received them with enthusiasm, became
cool at the heavy demands made upon them, and at the general
pillage and insupportable anarchy which the Jacobins brought with
them. All the party that had opposed the Austrian army, and
hoped to be free under the protection of France, found French
rule too severe, and regretted having sought its aid, or supported
l'>ance. Dumouriez, who had projects of independence for the
Flemings, and of ambition for himself, came to Paris to complain of
this impolitic conduct with regard to the conquered countries. He
changed his hitherto equivocal course ; he had employed every
means to keep on terms with the two factions ; he had ranged him-
self under the banner of neither, hoping to make use of the Right,
through his friend Gensonne, of the Mountain, by Danton and
Lacroix, and of awing both by his victories. But in this second
journey he tried to stop the Jacobins and to sa\-e Fouis XVL ; not
having been able to attain liis end, he returned to the army to begin
tlie second campaign, very dissatisfied, and determined to make
his new victories the means of stopping the revolution and chang-
ing its government.
This time all the frontiers of h^rancc were to be attacked by
the Furopean powers. The military successes of the revolution,
and tlie catastrophe of January 21, had made most of the undecided
or neutral gcn-ernments join the coalition.
The cabinet of Saint James, on learning the death of Louis
XVT., dismissed the ambassador, Chauvelin, whom it had refused
"Upon the influence of Poland on continental policies at tins time, and also
of the efifect of the denationalization of Poland the second partition took place
in January, 1793 and the sentiments of tiie convention, see Bourgeois, "Man-
uel liistoriquc de politique efraiigcre." pp. 85-02; l-VfTe, "Modern Europe," vol. 1.
pp. ^PrHj: Von Svliel, "Iti-tory of the I'reurh Revolution/' vol. TX.
iii4> THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793
to acknowledge since August lo and the dethronement of the king.
The convention, finding England already leagued with the coalition,
and consequently all its promises of neutrality vain and illusive,
on February i, 1793, declared war against the King of Great Brit-
ain and the Stadthokler of Holland, who had been entirely guided
by the cabinet of Saint James since 1788. England had hitherto
presen-ed the appearances of neutrality, but it took advantage of
this opportunity to appear on the scene of hostilities.* For some
time disposed for a rupture, Pitt employed all his resources, and
in the space of six months concluded seven treaties of alliance and
six treaties of subsidies. England thus became the soul of the
coalition against France; her fleets were ready to sail; the minister
had obtained 3,200,000/. extraordinary, and Pitt designed to profit
by the revolution by securing the preponderance of Great Britain,
as Richelieu and Alazarin had taken advantage of the crisis in
England in 1640 to establish the French domination in Europe.
The cabinet of Saint James was only influenced by motives of
English interests ; it desired at any cost to effect the consolidation
of the aristocratical power at home, and the exclusive empire in the
two Indies, and on the seas.
The cabinet of Saint James then made the second levee of the
coalition. Spain had just undergone a ministerial change; the
famous Godoi, Duke of Alcudia, and since Prince of the Peace, had
been placed at the head of the government by means of an intrigue
of England and of the emigration. This power came to a rupture
with the republic, after having interceded in vain for Louis XVI.,
and made its neutrality the price of the life of the king. The
German empire entirely adopted the war; Bavaria, Suabia, and the
Elector Palatine joined the hostile circles of the empire. Naples
followed the example of the Holy See ; and the only neutral powers
were Venice, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, and Turkey. Russia
was still engaged with the second partition of Poland.
The republic was threatened on all sides by the most warlike
troops of Europe. It would soon have to face 45,000 Austro-
Sardinians in the Alps ; 50,000 Spaniards on the Pyrenees ; 70,000
Austrians or Imperialists, reinforced by 38,000 Anglo-Batavians.
on the Lower Rhine and in Belgium; 33,400 Austrians between the
Meuse and the Moselle; 112,600 Prussians, Austrians and Imperial-
* On England's entrance into the struggle, see Oscar Browning"^ article in
hortnighily Rt'iiczc, rCbrr.ary, 1S82.
FALL OF GIRONDISTS 245
1793
ists on the Middle and Upper Rhine. In order to confront so many
enemies, the convention decreed, February 24, 1793, a levy of 300,-
000 men. Two milliards of assignats were appropriated and eighty-
two members of the convention detached as " deputies on mission,"
for the oversight of the armies. This measure of external defense
was accompanied by a party measure for the interior. At the mo-
ment the new battalions, about to quit Paris, presented themselves to
the assembly, the Mountain demanded the establishment of an ex-
traordinary tribunal to maintain the revolution at home, which the
battalions were going to defend on the frontiers. This tribunal,
composed of nine members, was to try without jury or appeal.
The Girondists arose with all their power against so arbitrary and
formidable an institution, but it was in vain ; for they seemed to be
favoring the enemies of the republic by rejecting a tribunal intended
to punish them. All they obtained was the introduction of juries
into it, the removal of some violent men, and the power of annulling
its acts, as long as they maintained any influence.
This was really the revival of an extraordinary tribunal first
created on August 17, 1792, in order to expedite matters in the
days following August 10. It was abolished by the Girondists on
November 13, 1792. Now on March 9, 1793, the permanent vevo-
lutionary tribunal was established. Its functions were to punish
crimes against the state, i. c, traitors, rebels, and counterfeiters of
the assignats. There was a jury until June, 1794, named by the
judges. The jury voted openly; there was no appeal, and but one
penalty death. ^
The principal efforts of the coalition w-ere directed against the
vast frontier extending from the North Sea to Huninguen. The
Prince of Coburg, at the head of the Austrians, was to attack the
French army on the Roer and the Meuse, to enter Belgium ; while
the Prussians, on the other point, should march against Custine,
give him battle, surround Mayence, and after taking it renew the
preceding invasion. These two armies of operation were sustained
in the intermediate positions by considerable forces. Dumouriez,
engrossed by ambitious and reactionary designs, at a moment when
he ought only to have thought of the perils of France, proposed to
himself to establish the royalty of 1791, in spite of the convention
^ See Campardon. " Le Tribunal rcvolutionaire" ; Wallon, " Le Tribunal
rcvolutionairc" ; Wallon. "La Tcrrcitr," vol. II. ch. ii. ; Stephens, "French Revo-
lution," vol. IT. pp. 440-443.
246 THE IKExNCH REVOLUTION
1793
and Europe. What Bonille could not effect for an absolute nor
Lafayette for a constitutional throne, Dumouriez, at a time much
less propitious, hoped alone to achieve for an abolished constitution
and for a royalty without a party. Listead of remaining neutral
among factions, as circumstances dictated to a general, and even
to an ambitious man, Dumouriez preferred a rupture with them, in
order to sway them. lie conceived a design of forming a party
out of France; of entering Holland by means of the Batavian re-
publicans opposed to the stadtholdership, and to English influence ;
to deliver Belgium from the Jacobins ; to unite these countries in a
single independent state, and secure for himself their political pro-
tectorate after having accjuired all the glory of a conqueror. To
intimidate parties, he was to gain over his troops, march on the
capital, dissolve the convention, put down popular meetings, re-
establish the constitution of 1791, and give a king to France.
This project, impracticable amid the great shock between the
revolution and Europe, appeared easy to the fiery and adventurous
Dumouriez. Instead of defending the line, threatened from May-
ence to the Roer, he threw himself on the left of the operations and
entered Holland at the head of 20,000 men. By a rapid march he
was to reach the center of the United Provinces, attack the for-
tresses from behind, and be joined at Nimeguen by 25,000 men
under General Miranda, who would probably have made himself
master of Maestricht. An army of 40,000 men was to observe the
Austrians and protect his right.
Dumouriez vigorously prosecuted his expedition into Hol-
land ; he took Breda and Gertruydenberg, and prepared to pass the
Biesbos and capture Dort. But the army of the right experienced
in the meantime the most alarming reverses on the Lower Meuse.
The Austrians assumed the offensive, passed the Roer, beat Mia-
zinski at Aix-la-Chapelle ; made Miranda raise the blockade of
Maestricht, which he had uselessly bombarded ; crossed the Meuse,
and at Liege put the French army, which had fallen back between
Tirlemont and Louvain, wholly to the rout. Dumouriez received
from the executive council orders to leave Holland immediately
and to take command of the troops in Belgium ; he was compelled
to obey, and to renounce in part his wildest but dearest hopes.
1 he Jacobins, at the news of these reverses, became much more
intractable; unable to conceive a defeat without treachery, es-
pecially after the brilliant and unexpected victories of the last cam-
FALL OF GIRONDISTS 247
1793
paign, they attributed these mihtary disasters to party combina-
tions. They denounced the Girondists, the ministers, and generals
who, they supposed, had combined to abandon the repubhc, and
clamored for their destruction. Rivalry mingled with suspicion,
and they desired as much to acquire an exclusive domination as to
defend the threatened territory; they began with the Girondists.
As they had not yet accustomed the multitude to the idea of the
proscription of representatives, they at first had recourse to a plot
to get rid of them ; they resolved to strike them in the convention,
where they would all be assembled, and the night of March lo was
fixed on for the execution of the plot. The assembly sat per-
manently on account of the public danger. It was decided on the
preceding- day at the Jacobins and Cordeliers to shut the barriers,
sound the tocsin, and march in two bands on the convention and
the ministers. They started at the appointed hour, but several
circumstances prevented the conspirators from succeeding. The
Girondists, apprised, did not attend the evening sitting; the sections
declared themselves opposed to the plot, and Beurnonville, minister
of war, advanced against them at the head of a battalion of Brest
federalists ; these unexpected obstacles, together with the ceaseless
rain, obliged the conspirators to disperse. The next day Verg-
niaud denounced the insurrectional committee who had projected
these murders, demanded tliat the executive council should be com-
missioned to make inquiries respecting the conspiracy of March lo,
to examine the registers of the clubs, and to arrest the members of
the insurrectional committee. " We go," said he, " from crimes to
amnesties, from amnesties to crimes. Xumbers of citizens have
begun to confound seditious insurrections witli the great insurrec-
tion of liberty; to look on the excitement of rol)bers as the out-
bursts of energetic minds, and robbery itself as a measure of gen-
eral security. We have witnessed the development of that strange
system of liberty, in which we are told: 'you are free; but think
with us, or we will denounce you to tlie vengeance of the people;
you are free, but bow down your liead to the idol we worship, or
we will denounce vou to the vengeance of the people; you are free,
but join us in persecuting the men whose proljity and intelligence
we dread, or we will denounce you to the vengeance of the people.'
Citizens, we have reason to fear that tlie revolution, like Saturn,
will devour successively all its children, and only engender despot-
ism and the calamities which accompany it." These prophetic
248 THE F HEN C H R E \ O L U T ION
1793
words produced some effect in the assembly ; but the measures pro-
posed by Verguiaud led to nothing.
The Jacobins were stopped for a moment by the failure of
their first enterprise against their adversaries ; but the insurrection
of La Vendee gave them new courage. The Vendean war was an
inevitable event in the revolution. This country, bounded by the
Loire and the sea, crossed by few roads, sprinkled with villages,
hamlets, and manorial residences, had retained its ancient feudal
state. In La Vendee there was no civilization or intelligence, be-
cause there was no middle class ; and there was no middle class, be-
cause there were no towns, or very few. At that time the peasants
had acquired no other ideas than those few communicated to them
by the priests, and had not separated their interests from those of
the nobility. These simple and sturdy men, devotedly attached to
the old state of things, did not understand a revolution, which was
the result of a faith and necessities entirely foreign to their situa-
tion. The nobles and priests, being strong in these districts, had
not emigrated; and the ancient regime really existed there, because
there were its doctrines and its society. Sooner or later, a war
between France and La Vendee, countries so different, and which
had nothing in common but language, Avas inevitable. It was
inevitable that the two fanaticisms of monarchy and of popular
sovereignty of the priesthood and human reason, should raise their
banners against each other, and bring about the triumph of the old
or of the new civilization.
Partial disturbances had taken place several times in La
Vendee. In 1792 the Count de la Rouairie had prepared a general
rising, which failed on account of his arrest; but all yet remained
ready for an insurrection, when the decree for raising 300,000 men
was put into execution.^' This levy became the signal of revolt.
The Vendeans beat the gendarmerie at Saint Florens, and took for
leaders, in different directions, Cathelineau, a wagoner, Charette, a
naval officer, and Stofflet, a gamekeeper. Aided by arms and
money from England, the insurrection soon overspread the coun-
* The War of La Vendee may be divided into three periods : in the first
(March-October. 1793), the Vendeans are successful. In the second (October,
1793-January, 1794), they suffer the defeats of Cholet, of Mans, and of Savenay,
which put an end to the war proper. Then began the guerrilla warfare known
as the Chouannerie, which was not crushed until 1796. The name " Chouan-
neric" was derived from the famous smuggler, Jean Cotterau, called " Le
Chouan" the owl. See Stephens, "French RevnlutiDn," vol. II, p. 259 iT.
FALL OF GIRONDISTS 249
1793
try ; 900 communes flew to arms at the sound of the tocsin ; and then
the noble leaders, Bonchamps, Lescure, La Rochejacquelin, D'Elbee,
and Talmont, joined the others. The troops of the line and the
battalions of the national guard, who advanced against the insur-
gents were defeated. General Marce was beaten at Saint Vincent
by Stofflet; General Gauvilliers at Beaupreau, by D'Elbee and Bon-
champs ; General Ouetineau at Aubiers, by La Rochejacquelin ; and
General Ligonnier at Cholet, The Vendeans, masters of Chatillon,
Bressuire, and Vihiers, considered it advisable to form some plan
of organization before they pushed their advantages further.
They formed three corps, eacli from 10,000 to 12,000 strong, ac-
cording to the division of La Vendee, under three commanders ; the
first, under Bonchamps, guarded the banks of the Loire, and was
called L'Armee d'Anjou; the second, stationed in the center,
formed the Grande Armee under D'Elbee; the third, in Lower
Vendee, was styled L'Armee du Marais, under Charette. The in-
surgents established a council to determine their operations, and
elected Cathelineau generalissimo. These arrangements, with this
division of the countiy, enabled them to enroll the insurgents, and
to dismiss them to their fields, or call them to arms.
The intelligence of this formidable insurrection drove the
convention to adopt still more rigorous measures against priests
and emigrants. It outlawed all priests and nobles who took part
in any gathering, and disarmed all who had belonged to the privi-
leged classes. The former emigrants were banished forever; they
could not return, under penalty of death; their property was con-
fiscated. On the door of every house the names of all its inmates
were to be inscribed ; and the revolutionary tribunal, which had
been adjourned, began its terriljle functions.
At the same time tidings of new military disasters arrived,
one after the other. Dumouriez, returned to the army of Bel-
gium, concentrated all his forces to resist the Austrian gen-
eral, the Prince of Coburg. His troops were greatly discouraged
and in want of everything; he wrote to the convention a threatening
letter against the Jacobins, who denounced him. After having
again restored to his army a part of its former confidence by some
minor advantages, he ventured a general action at Neerwinden
(March 18, 1793) and lost it. Belgium was evacuated, and Du-
mouriez, placed between the Austrians and Jacobins, beaten by the
one and assailed by the other, had recourse to the guilty project of
250 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793
defection, in order to realize his former designs. He had confer-
ences with Colonel Mack, and agreed with the Austrians to march
upon Paris for the purpose of reestablishing the monarchy, leaving
them on the frontiers, and having first given up to them several
fortresses as a guarantee. It is probable that Dumouriez wished
to place on the constitutional throne the young Duke de Chartres,'^
who had distinguished himself throughout this campaign; while
the Prince of Coburg ^ hoped that if the counter-revolution reached
that point, it would be carried further and restore the son of Louis
XVL and the ancient monarchy. A counter-revolution will not
halt any more than a revolution; when once begun, it must ex-
haust itself. The Jacobins were soon informed of Dumouriez's
arrangements ; he took little precaution to conceal them ; whether
he wished to try his troops, or to alarm his enemies, or whether
he merely followed his natural levity. To be more sure of his
designs, the Jacobin Club sent to him a deputation, consisting of
Proly, Pereria, and Dubuisson, three of its members. Taken to
Dumouriez's presence, they received from him more admissions
than they expected. " The convention," said he, " is an assembly
of 735 tyrants. While I have four inches of iron I will not suffer
it to reign and shed blood with the revolutionary tribunal it has
just created; as for the republic," he added, " it is an idle word.
I had faith in it for three days. Since Jemmapes I have deplored
all the successes I obtained in so bad a cause. There is only one
way to save the country that is, to reestablish the constitution of
1791, and a king." " Can you think of it, general? " said Dubuis-
son ; " the French view royalty with horror the very name of
Louis " " What does it signify whether the king be called
Louis, Jacques, or Philippe?" "And what are your means?"
" My army yes, my army will do it, and from my camp, or the
''Afterward King Louis Philippe (1830-1848). He distinguished himself at
both Valmy and Neerwinden. He refused to bear arms against his country.
For a time he taught mathematics in Suabian Germany ; went to Sweden, and
sailed thence to the United States in 1796; later he lived for many years in
England, and returned to France after the fall of Napoleon. Consult Stephens,
"French Revolution," vol. H. pp. 224-231, on Neerwinden.
* Coburg was the Austrian commander ; he signed the armistice with reluc-
tance, although Dumouriez offered to surrender the border fortresses in proof of
his sincerity. Everything fell to the ground when the convention suspected
Dumouriez's treachery, and he had no other recourse. But Austria seems to have
been suspicious of him, too, and would not accept his services. He died in 1823,
a pensioner of the English government.
FALL OF GIRONDISTS 251
1793
stronghold of some fortress, it will express its desire for a king."
" But our project endangers the safety of the prisoners in the
Temple." " Should the last of the Bourbons be killed, even those
of Coblentz, France shall still have a king, and if Paris were to add
this murder to those which have already dishonored it, I would in-
stantly march upon it." After thus unguardedly disclosing his in-
tentions, Dumouriez proceeded to the execution of his impracti-
cable design. He was really in a very difficult position ; the soldiers
were very much attached to him, but they were also devoted to
their country. He was to surrender some fortresses which he was
not master of, and it was to be supposed that the generals under
his orders, either from fidelity to the republic or from ambition,
would treat him as he had treated Lafayette. His first attempt
was not encouraging; after having established himself at Saint
Amand, he essayed to possess himself of Lille, Conde, and Valen-
ciennes, but failed in this enterprise. The failure made him hesi-
tate, and prevented his taking the initiative in the attack.
It was not so with the convention ; it acted with a promptitude,
a boldness, a firmness, and above all, with a precision in attaining
its object, which rendered success certain. When we know what
we want, and desire it determinately and promptly, we nearly
always attain our object. This quality was wanting in Dumouriez,
and the want impeded his audacity and deterred his partisans. As
soon as the convention was informed of his projects it summoned
him to its bar. Lie refused to obey; without, however, immedi-
ately raising the standard of revolt. The convention instantly
dispatched four representatives, Camus, Ouinette, Lamarque Ban-
cal, and Beurnonville, minister of war, to ])ring him before it, or
to arrest him in the midst of his ami}'. This is the first use of a
practice which soon became formidable. The representatives on
mission were endowed with the full powers of the committee of
public safety. Like, the ancient intcndants, they were first attached
to the armies. Conspicuous among them were Saint-Just, with the
army of the Rhine; ]\Ierlin of Thionville in Maine and La Vendee;
the younger Robespierre at Toulon; Couthon, CoIlot-d'Herbois
and Louche, at Lyon; Carrier at Nantes; Tallien at Bordeaux.
Dumouriez received tlie commissioners at the head of his staff.
Tliey presented to him the decree of the convention; he read it and
returned it to t1iem, saying that the state of his army would not
admit of his leaving it. He offered to resign, and promised in a
252 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793
calmer season to demand judges himself, and to give an account of
his designs and of his conduct. The commissioners tried to induce
him to submit, quoting the example of the ancient Roman gen-
erals. " We are always mistaken in our quotations," he replied ;
" and we disfigure Roman history by taking as an excuse for our
crimes the example of their virtues. The Romans did not kill
Tarquin; the Romans had a well ordered republic and good laws;
they had neither a Jacobin Club nor a revolutionary tribunal. We
live in a time of anarchy. Tigers wish for my head ; I will not give
it them." " Citizen general," said Camus then, " will you obey the
decree of the national convention, and repair to Paris? " "Not at
present." " Well, then, I declare that I suspend you ; you are no
longer a general ; I order your arrest." " This is too much," said
Dumouriez; and he had the commissioners arrested by German
hussars, and delivered them as hostages to the Austrians. After
this act of revolt he could no longer hesitate. Dumouriez made
another attempt on Conde, but it succeeded no better than the first.
He tried to induce the army to join him, but was forsaken by it.
The soldiers were likely for a long time to prefer the republic to
their general; the attachment to the revolution was in all its fervor,
and the civil pow'er in all its force. Dumouriez experienced, in
declaring himself against the convention, the fate which Lafayette
experienced when he declared himself against the legislative as-
sembly, and Bouille when he declared against the constituent
assembly. At this period, a general, combining the firmness of
Bouille with the patriotism and popularity of Lafayette, wnth the
victories and resources of Dumouriez, would have failed as they
did. The revolution, with the movement imparted to it, was nec-
essarily stronger than parties, than generals, and than Europe.
Dumouriez went over to the Austrian camp with the Duke de
Chartres, Colonel Thouvenot, and two squadrons of Berchiny,
April 4, 1793. The rest of his army went to the camp at Famars
and joined the troops commanded by Dampierre.
The convention, on learning the arrest of the commissioners,
established itself as a permanent assembly; declared Dumouriez a
traitor to his country, authorized any citizen to attack him, set a
price on his head, decreed the famous committee of public safety,
and banished the Duke of Orleans and all the Bourbons from the re-
public. The convention did its work through the medium of sixteen
committees, of which the committee of general defense and the com-
FALL OF GIRONDISTS 253
1793
mittee of public safety were much the most important. The former
was created in January, 1793 ; it was composed of twenty-four mem-
bers. It originally included nine Girondists Petion, Gensonne,
Vergniaud, Buzot, Guadet, Condorcet, Isnard, Lasource ; nine of the
Plain, of whom Barrere, Sieyes, Cambaceres and Camus were the
principal ; and six of the Mountain, including Danton, Robespierre,
and Camille Desmoulins. The defection of Dumouriez so alarmed
the convention that on April 6 Isnard moved to concentrate execu-
tive power in the hands of nine members, to be known as the com-
mittee of public safety. Its conferences were to be secret and it
was to have a fund at its disposal, of which it did not have to give
particular account. Theoretically, the members were to be renewed
every three months, but the rule was a dead letter from the begin-
ning. Until after Thermidor the only changes were those due to
politics, i. c, after June 2, 1793, all the Girondists were expelled
from it; after April, 1794, all the Dantonists. The committee of
public safety divided itself into these groups: (i) the gens d'ex-
amen, who, like Carnot and Cambon, gave their whole attention to
external events or general administrative questions ; the gens rcvohi-
tionaires, Collot d'Herbois, Barrere, Billaud-Varennes, who were
genuine terrorists under the remaining three, Robespierre, Danton,
Hebert later Robespierre, Couthon, and Saint-Just, who were
the political chiefs. Local committees of public safety were
created in each section of Paris and in every commune. The
widespread organization of the Jacobin clubs made this an easy
matter.
Although the Girondists had assailed Dumouriez as warmly
as had the Mountaineers, they were accused of being his accom-
plices, and this was a new cause of complaint added to the rest.
Their enemies became every day more powerful ; and it was in mo-
ments of public peril that they were especially dangerous. Hitherto,
in the struggle between the two parties, they had carried the day
on every point. They had stopped all inquiries into the massacres
of September; they had maintained the usurpation of the com-
mune; they had obtained, first the trial, then the death, of Louis
XVI.; through their means the plunderings of February and the
conspiracy of ]\larch 10 had remained unpunished; they had pro-
cured the erection of the revolutionary tribunal despite the Giron-
dists; they had driven Roland from the ministry in disgust; and
they had just defeated Dumouriez. It only remained now to de-
254 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793
prive the Girondists of their last asylum ^the assembly; this they
set about on April lo, and accomplished on June 2.
Robespierre attacked by name Brissot, Guadet, Vergniaud,
Petion, and Gensonne in the convention; Marat denounced them
in the popular societies. As president of the Jacobins, he wrote
an address to the departments, in which he invoked the thunder
of petitions and accusations against the traitors and faithless dele-
gates who had sought to save the tyrant by an appeal to the public
or his imprisonment. The Right and the Plain of the convention
felt that it was necessary to unite. Marat was sent before the
revolutionary tribunal. This news set the clubs in motion, the
people, and the commune. By way of reprisal, Pache, the mayor,
came in the name of thirty-five sections and of the general council
to demand the expulsion of the principal Girondists. Young Boyer
Fonfrede required to be included in the proscription of his col-
leagues, and the members of the Right and the Plain rose, exclaim-
ing : " All ! all ! " This petition, though declared calumnious, was
the first attack upon the convention from without, and it prepared
the public mind for the destruction of the Gironde.
The accusation of Marat was far from intimidating the
Jacobins who accompanied him to the revolutionary tribunal.
Marat was acquitted April 24, 1793, and borne in triumph to the
assembly. It was evident that the conflict could not end except
in the extermination of one of the two adversaries. The Girondists
still had the aid of the Plain, and thanks to the latter Isnard was
made president of the convention on May 16. Then the com-
mune and the Jacobin Club anew demanded the expulsion of the
Girondist leaders. On May 18 the Girondists, by decree, estab-
lished a committee of twelve, all of the party, authorized to take
the necessary measures to secure public peace. The first act of this
committee was to arrest Hebert, the editor of the atrocious paper
known as Lc Pere Duchesne. A week later the commune de-
manded the liberation of Hebert and the suppression of the twelve.
One section even went so far as to demand their trial before the
revolutionary tribunal. Isnard, in replying, sustained the authority
of the convention and defied the communards in the most haughty
terms. As might have been expected, the sections rose in revolt,
and on the night of May 27-28 some deputies of the Mountain,
with whom citizens of Paris were mingled upon the benches, voted
the suppression of the committee of twelve and the arrest of many
FALL OF GIRONDISTS 255
1793
of the Girondists. But the latter bravely stood their ground and
carried the day. The communards had no other recourse but more
violent revolt. Thus was the way paved for the famous rising
of May 31.
From that moment the approaches to the hall were thronged
with daring sans-culottes, and the partisans of the Jacobins filled
the galleries of the convention. The clubists and Robespierre's
tricoteuses (knitters) constantly interrupted the speakers of the
Right, and disturbed the debate; while without, every opportunity
was sought to get rid of the Girondists. Henriot, commandant of
the section of sans-culottes, excited against them the battalions
about to march for La Vendee. Guadet then saw that it was time
for something more than complaints and speeches; he ascended
the tribune. " Citizens," said he, " while virtuous men content
themselves with bewailing the misfortunes of the country, con-
spirators are active for its ruin. With Cxsnr they say : * Let them
talk, we will act.' Well, then, do you act also. The evil consists
in the impunity of the conspirators of March 10; the evil is in
anarchy; the evil is in the existence of the authorities of Paris
authorities striving at once for gain and dominion. Citizens, there
is yet time; you may save the republic and your compromised
glory. I propose to abolish the Paris authorities, to replace within
twenty-four hours the municipality by the presidents of the sec-
tions, to assemble the convention at Bourges with the least possible
delay, and to transmit this decree to the departments l)y extraordi-
nary couriers." The IMountain was surprised for a moment by
Guadet's motion. Had his measures been at once adopted, there
would have been an end to the domination of the commune, and
to the projects of the conspirators ; but it is also probable that the
agitation of parties would have brought on a civil war, that the
convention would have been dissolved by the assembly at Bourges,
that all center of action would have been destroyed, and that the
revolution would not have been sufficiently strong to contend
against internal struggles and the attacks of Europe. This was
what the moderate party in tlie assembly feared. Dreading an-
archy if the career of the commune was not stopped, and counter-
revolution if the multitude were too closely kept down, its aim
was to maintain the balance between the two extremes of the con-
vention. This party comprised tlie committees of general safety
and of public safety. It was directed by l':u-rcrc, who, like all men
256 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793
of Upright intentions but weak characters, advocated moderation
so long as fear did not make him an instrument of cruelty and
tyranny. Instead of Guadet's decisive measures, he proposed to
nominate an extraordinary commission of twelve members,
deputed to inquire into the conduct of the municipality; to seek out
the authors of the plots against the national representatives, and
to secure their persons. This middle course was adopted; but it
left the commune in existence, and the commune was destined to
triumph over the convention.
The commission of twelve threw the members of the com-
mune into great alarm by its inquiries. It discovered a new con-
spiracy, which was to be put into execution on May 22, and ar-
rested some of the conspirators, and among others, Hebert, the
deputy recorder, editor of Pere Duchesne^ who was taken in the
very bosom of the municipality. The commune, at first astounded,
began to take measures of defense. From that moment, not con-
spiracy, but insurrection was the order of the day. The general
council, encouraged by the Mountain, surrounded itself with the
agitators of the capital ; it circulated a report that the twelve
wished to purge the convention, and to substitute a counter-revolu-
tionary tribunal for that which had acquitted Marat. The Jacobins,
the Cordeliers, the sections, sat permanently. On May 26 the agi-
tation became perceptible; on the 27th it was sufficiently decided
to induce the commune to open the attack. It accordingly appeared
before the convention and demanded the liberation of Hebert and
the suppression of the twelve; it was accompanied by the deputies
of the sections, who expressed the same desire, and the hall was
surrounded by a large mob. The section of the city even presumed
to require that the twelve should be brought before the revolu-
tionary tribunal. Isnard, president of the assembly, replied, in a
solemn tone : " Listen to what I am about to say. If ever by one
of those insurrections, of such frequent recurrence since March 10,
and of which the magistrates have never apprised the assembly, a
^ The newspapers of Paris during the revokition were legion and of every
shade of poHtics. The most prominent royalist journals were the Journal de la
Cour et de la Ville, the Journal dcs Ilallcs, the Ami du Roi, the Actes dcs
Apotres. Of revolutionary journals may be mentioned the Revolutions dc
Paris, edited by Loustallot, the Oratcur du Peuplc, edited by Freron, the Revolu-
tion de France et dc Brabant, edited by Camille Dcsmoulins, the I^oint de Jours,
by Barrere. The worst sheets were the Ami du Pcuple, of Marat, and the Pcrc
Duchesne, of Hebert.
FALL OF GIRONDISTS 257
1793
hostile hand be raised against the national representatives, I de-
clare to you in the name of all France, Paris will be destroyed.
Yes, universal France would rise to avenge such a crime, and soon
it would be matter of doubt on which side of the Seine Paris had
stood." This reply became the signal for great tumult. " And I
declare to you," exclaimed Danton, " that so much impudence
begins to be intolerable; we will resist you." Then turning to the
Right, he added : " No truce between the Mountain and the
cowards who wished to save the tyrant."
The utmost confusion now reigned in the hall. The strangers'
galleries vociferated denunciations of the Right; the Mountain
broke forth into menaces; e\ery moment deputations arrived with-
out, and the convention was surrounded by an immense multitude.
A few sectionaries of the Alail and of the Butte-des-Moulins, com-
manded by Raffet, drew up in the passages and avenues to defend
it. The Girondists withstood, as long as they could, the deputa-
tions and the Mountain. Threatened within, besieged without,
they would have availed themselves of this violence to arouse the
indignation of the assembly. But the minister of the interior,
Garat, deprived them of this resource. Called upon to give an
account of the state of Paris, he declared that the convention had
nothing to fear; and the opinion of Garat, who was considered
impartial, and whose conciliatory turn of mind involved him in
equivocal proceedings, emboldened the members of the IMountain.
Isnard was obliged to resign the chair, which was taken by Herault
de Sechelles, a sign of victory for the ]\Iountain. The new presi-
dent replied to the petitioners, whom Isnard had hitherto kept in
the background. " The power of reason and the power of the
people are the same thing. You demand from us :i magistrate and
justice. The representatives of the people will give you both." It
was now very late; the Right was discouraged, some of its mem-
bers had left, llic petitioners had moved from the hall to the
seats of the representatives, and there, mixed up with the ]\Ioun-
tain, with outcry and disorder, tlicy voted, all together, for the
dismissal of the twelve and the liberation of the prisoners. It
was at half-past twelve, amid the applause of the galleries and
the people outside, that this decree was passed.
It would, perhaps, have been wise on the part of the Gi-
rondists, since thev were really not the strongest party, to have
made no recurrence to this matter. The movement of the preced-
258 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793
ing- day would liave had no other result than the suppression of
the twelve, if other causes had not prolonged it. But animosity
had attained such a height that it had become necessary to bring
the quarrel to an issue ; since the two parties could not endure each
other, the only alternative was for them to fight; they must needs
go on from victory to defeat, and from defeat to victory, growing
more and more excited every day, until the strongest finally tri-
umphed over the weaker party. Next day the Right regained its
position in the convention; they declared the decree of the pre-
ceding day illegally passed, in tumult and under compulsion, and
the commission was reestablished. " You yesterday," said Danton,
" did a great act of justice; but I declare to you, if the commission
retains the tyrannical power it has hitherto exercised; if the magis-
trates of the people are not restored to their functions; if good
citizens are again exposed to arbitrary arrest; then, after having
proved to you that we surpass our enemies in prudence, in wisdom,
we shall surpass them in audacity and revolutionary vigor." Dan-
ton feared to commence the attack; he dreaded the triumph of the
Alountain as much as he did that of the Girondists : he accordingly
sought, by turns, to anticipate May 31, and to moderate its results.
But he was reduced to join his own party during the conflict, and
to remain silent after the victory.
The agitation, wdiich had been a little allayed by the sup-
pression of the twelve, became threatening at the news of their
restoration. The benches of the sections and popular societies
resounded with invectives, with cries of danger, with calls to in-
surrection. Hebert, having quitted his prison, reappeared at the
commune. A crown was placed on his brow, which he trans-
ferred to the bust of Brutus, and then rushed to the Jacobins to
demand vengeance of the twelve. Robespierre, ]\Iarat, Danton,
Chaumette, and Pache then combined in organizing a new move-
ment. The insurrection was modeled on that of August 10. May
29 was occupied in preparing the public mind. On the 30th mem-
bers of the electoral college, commissioners of the clubs, and
deputies of sections assembled at the Eveche, declared themselves
in a state of insurrection, dissolved the general council of the com-
mune, and immediately reconstituted it, making it take a new oath ;
Henriot received the title of commandant-general of the armed
force, and the sans-culottes were assigned forty sous a day while
under arms. These preparations made, early on the morning of
FALL OF GIRONDISTS 259
1793
the 31st the tocsin rang, the drums beat to arms, the troops were
assem.bled, and all marched toward the convention, which for some
time past had held its sittings at the Tuileries.
The assembly had met at the sound of the tocsin. The min-
ister of the interior, the administrators of the department, and
the mayor of Paris had been summoned, in succession, to the bar.
Garat had given an account of the agitated state of Paris, but
appeared to apprehend no dangerous result. L'Huillier, in the name
of the department, declared it was only a moral insurrection.
Pache, the mayor, appeared last, and informed them, with a hypo-
critical air, of the operations of the insurgents; he pretended that
he had employed every means to maintain order; assured them
that the guard of the convention had been doubled, and that he had
prohibited the firing of the alarm cannon ; yet, at the same moment,
the cannon was heard in the distance. The surprise and excite-
ment of the assembly were extreme. Cambon exhorted the mem-
bers to union, and called upon the people in the strangers' gallery
to be silent. " Under these extraordinary circumstances," said he,
" the only way of frustrating the designs of the malcontents is to
make the national convention respected.'' " I demand," said
Thuriot, " the immediate abolition of the commission of twelve."
" And I," cried Tallien, " that the sword of the law may strike the
conspirators who profane the very bosom of the convention." The
Girondists, on their part, required that the audacious Henriot
should be called to the bar for having fired the alarm cannon
without the permission of the convention. "If a struggle take
place," said Vergniaud, " be the success what it may, it will be the
ruin of the republic. Let every member swear to die at his post."
The entire assembly rose, applauding the proposition. Danton
rushed to the tribune: "Break up the commission of twelve! you
have heard the thunder of the cannon. If you are politic legis-
lators, far from blaming the outbreak of Paris, you will turn it to
the profit of the rcpu1)lic, by reforming your own errors, by dis-
missing your commission. I address those," he continued, on
hearing murmurs around him, " wlio possess some political talent,
not dullards, who can only act and speak in obedience to their
passions. Consider the grandeur of your aim; it is to save the
people from their foes, from the aristocrats, to save them from
their own blind fury. If a few men. really dangerous, no matter
to what partv they belong, should then seek to prcjlong a move-
260 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793
nient, because useless, by your act of justice, Paris itself will hurl
them back into tiieir original insignificance. I calmly, simply, and
deliberately demand the suppression of the commission, on political
grounds." The commission was violently attacked on one side,
feebly defended on the other; Barrere and the committee of public
safety, who were its creators, proposed its suppression, in order to
restore i>eace, and to save the assembly from being left to the mercy
of the multitude. The moderate portion of the Mountain were
about to adopt this concession, when the deputations arrived. The
members of the department, those of the municipality, and the
commissaries of sections, being admitted to the bar, demanded not
merely the suppression of the twelve, but also the punishment of
the moderate members, and of all the Girondist chiefs.
The Tuileries was completely blockaded by the insurgents;
and the presence of their commissaries in the convention embold-
ened the extreme Mountain, who were desirous of destroying the
Girondist party. Robespierre, their leader and orator, spoke :
" Citizens, let us not lose this day in vain clamors and unnecessary
measures; this is, perhaps, the last day in which patriotism will
combat with tyranny. Let the faithful representatives of the
people combine to secure their happiness." He urged the con-
vention to follow the course pointed out by the petitioners rather
than that proposed by the committee of public safety. He was
thundering forth a lengthened declamation against his adversaries,
when Vergniaud interfered : " Conclude this ! " " I am about to
conclude, and against you ! Against you, who, after the revolu-
tion of August lo, sought to bring to the scaffold those who had
effected it. Against you, who have never ceased in a course which
involved the destruction of Paris. Against you, who desired to
save the tyrant. Against you, who conspired with Dumouriez,
Against you, who fiercely persecuted the same patriots whose heads
Dumouriez demanded. Against you, whose criminal vengeance
provoked those cries of vengeance which you seek to make a crime
in your victims. I conclude : my conclusion is I propose a decree
of accusation against all the accomplices of Dumouriez, and
against those who are indicated by the petitioners." Notwith-
standing tlie violence of this outbreak, Robespierre's party were
not victorious. The insurrection had only been directed against
the twelve, and the committee of public safety, who proposed
their suppression, prevailed over the commune. The assembly
FALL OF GIRONDISTS 261
1793
adopted the decree of Barrere, which dissolved the twelve, placed
the public force in permanent requisition and, to satisfy the peti-
tioners, directed the committee of public safety to inquire into
the conspiracies which they denounced. As soon as the multitude
surrounding the assembly was informed of these measures it
received them with applause and dispersed.
But the conspirators were not disposed to rest content with
this half triumph : they had gone further on May 30 than on the
29th; and on June 2 they went further than on May 31. The in-
surrection, from being moral, as they termed it, became personal ;
that is to say, it was no longer directed against a power, but
against the deputies; it passed from Danton and the Mountain to
Robespierre, Marat, and the commune. On the evening of May
31 a Jacobin deputy said: "We have had but half the game yet;
we must complete it, and not allow the people to cool." Hcnriot
offered to place the armed force at tlie disposition of the club. The
insurrectional committee openly took up its quarters near the con-
vention. The whole of June i was devoted to the preparation of
a great movement. The commune wrote to the sections: "Citi-
zens, remain under arms : the danger of the country renders this
a supreme law." In the evening Marat, who was the chief author
of June 2, repaired to the Hotel de Ville, ascended the clock-tower
himself, and rang the tocsin; he called upon tlie members of the
council not to separate till they had obtained a decree of accusation
against tlie traitors and the " statesmen." A few deputies assem-
bled at the convention, and tlic conspirators came to demand the
decree against the proscribed parties; but they were not yet suffi-
ciently strong to enforce it from the convention.
The whole night was spent in making preparations ; the tocsin
rang, drums beat to arms, the people gathered together. On Sun-
day morning, about eiglit o'clock, Henriot presented himself to
the general council and declared to his accomplices, in the name of
the insurrectionary people, that they would not lay down their
arms until they had obtained the arrest of the conspirator deputies.
lie then placed himself at the head of the vast crowd assembled in
the Place de I'Hotel de Ville, harangued them, and gave the signal
for their departure. It was nearly ten o'clock when the insurgents
reached the Place du Carnmsel. 1 lein-iot posted round the chateau
bands of the most dcNotcd men, and the convention was soon sur-
rounded by 80,000 men, the greater part ignorant of what was
262 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793
required of them, and more disposed to defend than to attack the
deputation.
The majority of the proscribed members had not proceeded
to the assembly. A few, courageous to the end, had come to brave
the storm for the last time. As soon as the sitting commenced
the intrepid Lanjuinais ascended the tribune. " I demand," said
he, " to speak respecting the general call to arms now beating
tliroughout Paris." He was immediately interrupted by cries of
" Down ! down ! He wants civil war ! He wants a counter-revolu-
tion ! He calumniates Paris ! He insults the people." Despite the
threats, the insults, the clamors of the Mountain and the galleries,
Lanjuinais denounced the projects of the commune and of the
malcontents ; his courage rose with the danger. " You accuse us,"
he said, " of calumniating Paris ! Paris is pure ; Paris is good ;
Paris is oppressed by tyrants who thirst for blood and dominion."
These words were the signal for the most violent tumult; several
IMountain deputies rushed to the tribune to tear Lanjuinais from
it; but he, clinging firmly to it, exclaimed, in accents of the most
lofty courage: "I demand the dissolution of all the revolutionist
authorities in Paris. I demand that all they have done during the
last three days may be declared null. I demand that all who would
arrogate to themselves a new authority contrary to law, be placed
without the law, and that every citizen be at liberty to punish
them." He had scarcely concluded, when the insurgent petitioners
came to demand his arrest, and that of his colleagues. " Citizens,"
said they, " the people are weaiy of seeing their happiness still
postponed ; they leave it once more in your hands ; save them, or
we declare that they will save themselves."
The Right moved the order of the day on the petition of the
insurgents, and the convention accordingly proceeded to the previ-
ous question. The petitioners immediately withdrew in a menacing
attitude ; tb.e strangers quitted the galleries ; cries to arms were
sliouted, and a great tumult was heard without : " Save the
people ! " cried one of the IMountain. " Save your colleagues, by
decreeing their provisional arrest." "No, no!" replied the Right,
and even a portion of the Left. "We will all share their fate!"
exlaimcd La Rcvcillere-Lepaux. The committee of public safety,
called upon to make a report, terrified at the magnitude of the
danger, pri^jxjscd, as on ]\Iay 31, a measure apparently concilatory,
to satisfy the insurgents, without entirely sacrificing the proscribed
FALL OF GIRONDISTS 263
1793
members. " The committee," said Barrere, " appeal to the gener-
osity and patriotism of the accused members. It asks of them the
suspension of their power, representing to them that this alone can
put an end to the divisions which afflict the republic, which can
alone restore to it peace." A few among them adopted the proposi-
tion. Isnard at once gave in his resignation ; Lanthenas, Dessaulx,
and Fauchet followed his example; Lanjuinais w^ould not. He
said: " I have hitherto, I believe, shown some courage; expect not
from me either suspension or resignation. When the ancients," he
continued, amid violent interruption, " prepared a sacrifice, they
crowned the victim with flowers and chaplets, as they conducted
it to the altar; but they did not insult it." Barbaroux was as firm
as Lanjuinais. "I have sworn," he said, "to die at my post; I
will keep my oath." The conspirators of the Mountain themselves
protested against the proposition of the committee. Marat urged
that those wdio make sacrifices should be pure; and Billaud-
Varennes demanded the trial of the Girondists, not their sus-
pension.
While this was going on Lacroix, a deputy of the Mountain,
rushed into the house and to the tribune, and declared that he had
been insulted at the door, that he had been refused egress, and that
the convention was no longer free. i\Iany of the Alountain ex-
pressed their indignation at Henriot and his troops. Danton said
it was necessary vigorously to avenge this insult to the national
majesty. Barrere proposed to the convention to present themselves
to the people. " Representatives," said he, " vindicate your lib-
erty; suspend your sitting; cause the bayonets that surround you
to be lowered." The whole convention arose and set forth in pro-
cession, preceded by its sergeants and, headed by the president,
who was covered, in token of his aflliction. On arriving at a door
on the Place du Carrousel they found there Henriot on horseback,
saber in hand. " What do the people require? " said the president,
Herault de Sechelles : '' the convention is wholly engaged in pro-
moting their happiness." " Herault," replied Henriot. "the people
have not risen to hear phrases; they rc(iuirc twenty-four traitors
to be given up to them." " Give us all up! "' cried those who sur-
rounded the president. Henriot then turned to his people and
exclaimed : " Cannoneers, to your guns." Two pieces were di-
rected upon the convention, who, retiring to the gardens, sought
an outlet at various points, but found all the issues guarded. The
264 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793
soldiers were everywhere under arms. Marat ran through the
ranks, encouraging and exciting them. "No weakness," said he;
" do not quit your posts till they have given them up." The con-
vention then returned within the house, overwhelmed with a sense
of their powerlessness, convinced of the inutility of their efforts,
and entirely subdued. The arrest of the proscribed members was
no longer opposed. Marat, the true dictator of the assembly, im-
periously decided the fate of its members. " Dessaulx," said he,
" is an old twaddler, incapable of leading a party; Lanthenas is a
poor creature, unworthy of a thought; Ducos is merely chargeable
with a few absurd notions, and is not at all a man to become a
counter-revolutionary leader. I require that these be struck out
of the list, and their names replaced by that of Valaze." These
names were accordingly struck out, and that of Valaze substituted,
and the list thus altered was agreed to, scarcely one-half of the
assembly taking part in the vote.
These are the names of the illustrious men proscribed : the
Girondists, Gensonne, Guadet, Brissot, Gorsas, Petion, Vergniaud,
Salles, Barbaroux, Cambon, Buzot, Birotteau, Lidon, Rabaud,
Lasource, Lanjuinais, Grangeneuve, Lehardy, Lesage, Louvet,
Valaze, Lebrun, minister of foreign affairs, Clavieres, minister of
taxes, and the members of the council of twelve, Kervelegan,
Gardien, Rabaud-Saint-fitienne, Boileau, Bertrand, Vigee, Molle-
veau, Henri la Riviere, Gomaire, and Bergoing. The convention
placed them under arrest at their own houses, and under the pro-
tection of the people. The order for keeping the assembly itself
prisoners was at once withdrawn, and the multitude dispersed, but
from that moment the convention ceased to be free.
The consequences of this disastrous event did not answer the
expectations of anyone. The Dantonists thought that the dis-
sensions of parties were at an end : civil war broke out. The mod-
erate members of the committee of public safety thought that the
convention would resume all its pow'er: it was utterly subdued.
The commune thought that Alay 31 would secure to it domination;
domination fell to Robespierre and Danton, and to a few men de-
voted to his fortune, or to the principle of extreme democracy.
Lastly, there was another party to be added to the parties defeated,
and thenceforth hostile; and as after August 10 the republic had
been opposed to the constitutionalists, after May 31 the reign of
terror was opposed to the moderate party of the republic.
PART IV
THE TERROR AND THE REACTION
JUNE 2, 1793-OCTOBER 28, 1795
Chapter X
BEGINNING OF THE TERROR
JUNE 2, 1793-APRIL, 1794
IT was to be presumed that the Girondists would not bow to
their defeat, and that May 31 would be the signal for the insur-
rection of the departments against the Mountain and the com-
mune of Paris. This was the last trial left them to make, and they
attempted it. But in this decisive measure there was seen the same
want of union which had caused their defeat in the convention. It
is doubtful whether the Girondists would have triumphed had they
been united, and especially whether their triumph would have saved
the revolution. How could they have done with just laws what the
Mountaineers effected by violent measures? How could they have
conquered foreign foes without fanaticism, restrained parties with-
out the aid of terror, fed the multitude without a maximum, and
supplied the armies without requisition? If ]\Iay 3 had had a differ-
ent result, what happened at a much later period would probably
have taken place immediately, namely, a gradual abatement of the
revolutionary movement, increased attacks on the part of Europe,
a general resumption of hostilities by all parties, the days of Prairial,
without power to drive back the multitude ; the days of Vendemiaire,
without power to repel the royalists; the invasion of the coalesced
powers, and, according to the policy of the times, the partition of
France. The republic was not sufficiently powerful to meet so many
attacks as it did after the reaction of Thermidor.
However this may be. the Girondists, who ought to have re-
mained quiet or fought all together, did not do so, and after June 2
all the moderate men of the party remained under the decree of
arrest; the others escaped. Vergniaud, Gensonne, Ducos, Ton-
frede, were among the first : Pction, Barbaroux, Guadct, Louvet,
Buzot, and Lanjuinais among the latter. They returned to Evreux,
in the department of tlie Eurc, where Buzot had much intluence, and
thence to Caen, in Cnlvados. They made tin's town the center o>f
the insurrection. r>rittany soon joined them, 'i'he insurgents, under
the name of the assembly of the departments assemblcil at Cac:i,
2(i7
268 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793
formed an army, appointed General Wimpfen commander, arrested
the Mountaineers Romme and Prieur de la Marne, commissaries of
the convention, and prepared to march on Paris. From this place a
young, beautiful, and courageous woman, Charlotte Corday, went
to punish Marat, the principal author of May 31 and June 2. She
hoped to save the republic by sacrificing herself to its cause. But
tyranny did not rest with one man; it belonged to a party, and to
the violent situation of the republic. Charlotte Corday, after exe-
cuting her generous but vain design, died with unchanging calmness,
modest courage, and the satisfaction of having done well.^ But
Marat, after his assassination, July 13, 1793, became a greater
object of enthusiasm with the people than he had been while living.
He was invoked on all the public squares ; his bust was placed in all
the popular societies and he was granted the honors of the Pan-
theon. At the same time Lyons arose, Marseilles and Bordeaux took
arms, and more than sixty departments joined the insurrection.
This attack soon led to a general rising among all parties, and the
royalists for the most part took advantage of the movement which
the Girondists had commenced. They sought especially to direct
the insurrection of Lyons, in order to make it the center of the move-
ment in the south. This city was strongly attached to the ancient
order of things. Its manufactures of silver and gold and silken
embroidery, and its trade in articles of luxury, made it dependent
on the upper classes. It therefore declared at an early period against
a social change which destroyed its former connections and ruined
its manufactures by destroying the nobility and clergy. Lyons ac-
cordingly, in 1790, even under the constituent assembly, when the
emigrant princes were in that neighborhood, at the court of Turin,
had made attempts at rising. These attempts, directed by priests
and nobles, had been repressed, but the spirit remained the same.
There, as elsewhere after August 10, men had wished to bring about
the revolution of the multitude and to establish its government.
1 The following are a few of the replies of this heroic girl before the revolu-
tionary tribunal: "What were your intentions in killing IMarat?" "To put an
end to the troubles of France." "Is it long since you conceived this project?"
" Since the proscription of the deputies of the people on May 31." " You learned
then by the papers that Marat was a friend of anarchy?" "Yes, I knew that
he was perverting France. I have killed," she added, raising her voice, " a man
to save a hundred thousand; a villain, to save the innocent; a wild beast, to
give tranquillity to my country. I was a republican before the revolution, and I
have never been without energy." But compare Stephens' account, " French
Revolution," vol. l[. p. 251, and especially his estimate, p. 253.
THETERROR 269
1793
Chalier, the fanatical imitator of :Marat, was at the head of the
Jacobins, the sans-culottes, and the municipahty of Lyons. His
audacity increased after the massacres of September and January
21. Yet nothing had as yet been decided between the lower repub-
lican class and the middle royalist class, the one having its seat of
power in the municipality and the other in the sections. But the
disputes became greater toward the end of May; they fought and
the sections carried the day. The municipality was besieged
and taken by assault. Chalier, who had fled, was apprehended and
executed. The sectionaries, not as yet daring to throw off the yoke
of the convention, endeavored to excuse themselves on the score of
the necessity to which the Jacobins and the members of the corpora-
tion had reduced them of taking arms. The convention, which
could only save itself by means of daring, losing everything if it
yielded, would listen to nothing. ]\Ieanwhile the insurrection of
Calvados became known, and the people of Lyons, thus encouraged,
no longer feared to raise the standard of revolt. They put their own
town in a state of defense ; they raised fortifications, formed an army
of 20,ooo men, received emigrants among them, intrusted the com-
mand of their forces to the royalist Precy and the ]\Iarquis de Vir-
ieux, and concerted their operations with the King of Sardinia.
The revolt of Lyons was so much the more to be feared by the
convention that by its central position it w^as supported by the
south, which took arms, while there was also a rising in the west.
At Marseilles the news of May 31 had aroused the partisans of the
Girondists : Rebecqui repaired thither in haste. The sections were
assembled; the members of the revolutionary tribunal were out-
lawed; the two representatives, Baux and Antiboul, were arrested,
and an army of 10,000 men raised to advance on Paris. These
measures were the work of the royalists, who, there as elsewhere,
only waiting for an opportunity to revive their party, had at first
assumed a republican appearance, but n.)w acted in their own name.
They had secured the sections; and the movement was no longer
effected in favor of the Girondists, but for the counter-revolutionists.
Once in a state of revolt, the i)arty whose opinions are the most
violent and whose aim is the clearest supplants its allies. Rebecqui
perceiving this new turn of the insurrection threw himself in despair
into the port of ]\Iarseilles. The insurgents took the road to Lyons ;
their example was rapidly imitated at Toulon, Ximes, Montauban,
and the principal towns in the south. In Calvados the insurrection
270 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793
had had the same royalist character, since the Marquis de Puisaye,
at the head of some troops, had introduced himself into the ranks
of the Girondists. The towns of Bordeaux, Nantes, Brest, and
L'Orient were favorable to the persons proscribed on June 2, and a
few openly joined them ; but they were of no great service, because
they were restrained by the Jacobin party or by the necessity of
fighting the royalists of the west.
The latter, during this almost general rising of the departments,
continued to extend their enterprises. After their first victories the
Vendeans seized on Bressuire, Argenton, and Thouars. Entirely
masters of their own country, they proposed getting possession of
the frontiers and opening the way to revolutionary France, as well
as communications with England. On June 6 the Vendean army,
composed of 40,000 men under Cathelineau, Lescure, Stofflet, and
La Rochejacquelin, marched on Saumur, which it took by storm. It
then prepared to attack and capture Nantes, to secure the possession
of its own country and become master of the course of the Loire.
Cathelineau, at the head of the Vendean troops, left a garrison in
Saumur, took Angers, crossed the Loire, pretended to advance upon
Tours and Le Mans, and then rapidly threw himself upon Nantes,
which he attacked on the right bank, while Charette was to attack
it on the left.
Everything seemed combined for the overthrow of the conven-
tion. Its armies were beaten on the north and on the Pyrenees,
vrhile it was threatened by the people of Lyons in the center, those
of Marseilles in the south, the Girondists in one part of the west, the
Vendeans in the other, and while 20,000 Piedmontese were invading
France. The military reaction which, after the brilliant campaigns
of Argonne and Belgium, had taken place, chiefly owing to the dis-
agreement between Dumouriez and the Jacobins, between the army
and the government, had manifested itself in a most disastrous man-
ner since the defection of the commander-in-chief. There was no
longer unity of operation, enthusiasm in the troops, or agreement
l)ctween tlie convention, occupied with its quarrels, and the discour-
aged generals. The remains of Dumouriez's army had assembled
at the camp at Famars, under command of Dampierre; but they had
been ol)iigcd to retire after a defeat under the cannon of Bouchain.
Dampierre was killed. The frontier from Dunkirk to Givet was
threatened by superior forces. Custine was promptly called from
the Moselle to the army of the north, but his presence did not restore
THETERROR 271
1793
affairs. Valenciennes, the key to France, was taken (July 24,
1793); Conde shared the same fate (July 10, 1793); the army,
driven from position to position, retired beyond the Scarpe, before
Arras, the last post between the Scarpe and Paris. Mayence, on the
other side, sorely pressed by the enemy and by famine, gave up all
hope of being assisted by the army of the Moselle, reduced to inac-
tion; and despairing of being able to hold out long, capitulated
(July 23, 1793). Lastly, the English government, seeing that
Paris and the departments were distressed by famine, after May 31
and June 2 pronounced all the ports of France in a state of blockade
and that all neutral ships attempting to bring a supply of provisions
would be confiscated. This measure, new to the annals of history
and destined to starve an entire people, originated the law of the
maximum, which was authorized September 29, 1793. It regu-
lated the maximum price of food-stuffs and the wages of artisans.
An absolute prohibition was put upon foreign imports, and the
penalties for infringement were very severe. The situation of the
republic could not have been worse.
The convention was, as it were, taken by surprise. It was dis-
organized, because emerging from a struggle, and that the conquer-
ors had not had time to establish themselves. After June 2, before
the danger became so pressing both on the frontiers and in the de-
partments, the Mountain had sent commissioners in every direction
and immediately turned its attention to the constitution, which had
so long been expected and from whicli it entertained great hopes.
The Girondists had wished to decree it before January 21, in order
to save Louis XVI., by substituting legal order for the revolutionary
state of things; they returned to the subject previous to ]\Iay 31 in
order to prevent their own ruin. But tlie Mountaineers, on two
occasions, had diverted the assembly from this discussion by two
coups d'etat, the trial of Louis XVI., and the elimination of the
Gironde. Masters of the field, they now endeavored to secure the
republicans by decreeing the constitution. Herault de Scchelles
was the legislator of the iMountain, as Condorcet had been of tiie
Gironde. In a few days this new constitution was adopted in the
convention and submitted to the approval of the primary assemblies.
It was approved by 1,800.000 votes, out of about 4.000,000 electors.
There were very few negative votes, those disapproving of it staying
away from the polls. It is easy to conceive its nature with tlie ideas
that then prevailed respecting democratic government. Tlie con-
272 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
17S3
stituent assembly was considered as aristocratical ; the law it had es-
tablished was regarded as a violation of the rights of the people,
because it imposed conditions for the exercise of political rights ; be-
cause it did not recognize the most absolute equality ; because it had
deputies and magistrates appointed by electors, and these electors by
the people ; because, in some cases, it put limits to the national sov-
ereignty, by excluding a portion of active citizens from high public
functions and the proletariats from the functions of acting citizens ;
finally, because, instead of fixing on the population as the only basis
of political rights, it combined it in all its operations with property.
The constitutional law of 1793 established the pure regime of the
multitude: it not only recognized the people as the source of all
power, but also delegated the exercise of it to the people ; an unlim-
ited sovereignty ; extreme mobility in the magistracy ; direct elec-
tions, in which everyone could vote; primary assemblies, that could
meet without convocation, at given times, to elect representatives
and control their acts; a national assembly, to be annually renewed,
and which, properly speaking, was only a committee of the primary
assemblies ; such was this constitution. As it made the multitude
govern, and as it entirely disorganized authority, it was impractica-
ble at all times; but especially in a moment of general war. The
Mountain, instead of extreme democracy, needed a stern dictator-
ship. The constitution was suspended as soon as made, and the
revolutionary government strengthened and maintained till the
peace.
Both during the discussion of the constitution and its presenta-
tion to the primary assemblies the Mountaineers learned the danger
which threatened them. These daring men, having three or four
parties to put down in the interior, several kinds of civil war to
terminate, the disasters of the armies to repair, and all Europe to
repel, were not alarmed at their position. The representatives of
the 44,000 municipalities came to accept the constitution. Adinitted
to the bar of the assembly, after making known the assent of the
people, they required the arrest of all suspected persons and a levy en
masse of the people. " Well," exclaimed Danton, " let us respond
to their wishes. The deputies of the primary assemblies have just
taken the initiative among us in the way of inspiring terror! I
demand that the convention, which ought now^ to be penetrated with
a sense of its dignity, for it has just been invested with the entire
national power, I demand that it do now, by decree, invest the pri-
THETERROR 273
1793
mary assemblies with the right of supplying the state with arms,
provisions, and ammunition ; of making an appeal to the people, of
exciting the energy of citizens and of raising 400,000 men. It is
with cannon-balls that we must declare the constitution to our foes !
Now is the time to take the last great oath that we will destroy
tyranny or perish ! " This oath was immediately taken by all the
deputies and citizens present. A few days after Barrere, in the
name of the committee of public safety, which was composed of
revolutionary members and which became the center of operations
and the government of the assembly, proposed measures still more
general: "Liberty," said he, "has become the creditor of every
citizen; some owe her their industry; others their fortune; these
their counsel ; those their arms ; all owe her their blood. Accord-
ingly all the French, of every age and of either sex, are summoned
by their country to defend liberty; all faculties, physical or moral;
all means, political or commercial ; all metal, all the elements, are her
tributaries. Let each maintain his post in the national and military
movement about to take place. The young men will fight ; the mar-
ried men will forge arms, transport the baggage and artillery and
prepare provisions ; the women will make tents and clothes for tlie
soldiers and exercise their hospitable care in the asylums of the
wounded; children will make lint from old linen; and the aged,
resuming the mission they discharged among the ancients, shall
cause themselves to be carried to the public places, where they shall
excite the courage of the young warriors and propagate the doctrine
of hatred to kings and the unity of the republic. National buildings
shall be converted into barracks, public squares into workshops ;
the ground of the cellars will serve for the preparation of saltpetre;
all saddle-horses shall be jjlaced in requisition for tlie cavalry; all
draught-horses for the artillery ; fowling-pieces, pistols, swords, and
pikes belonging to individuals shall be employed in the scrv-ice of the
interior. The republic being but a large city in a state of necessity
bTance must be converted into a vast camp."
The measures proposed by Barrere were at once decreed. All
Frenchmen from eighteen to twenty-five tcjok arms, the armies were
recruited by levies of men and supported by levies of provisions.
One million two hundred thousand soldiers were exi)cctcd as the
result of the Icrcc cii masse. The united armies did not exceed
750,000 men. I'^rance, while it became a camp and a workshop for
the republicans, became at the same time a pri.^tMi for those who did
274 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793
not accept tlie republic. While marching against avowed enemies it
was thought necessary to make sure of secret foes, and the famous
law of suspects was passed. All foreigners were arrested on the
ground of their hostile machinations, and the partisans of constitu-
tional monarchy and a limited republic were imprisoned, to be kept
close until the peace. At the time this was so far only a reasonable
measure of precaution. The bourgeoisie, the mercantile people and
the middle classes furnished prisoners after May 31, as the nobility
and clergy had done after August 10. A revolutionary army of 6000
soldiers and 1000 artillerymen was formed for the interior. Every
indigent citizen was allowed forty sous a day to enable him to be
present at the sectionary meetings. Certificates of citizenship were
delivered in order to make sure of the opinions of all who cooper-
ated in the revolutionary movement. The functionaries were placed
under the surveillance of the clubs, a revolutionary committee was
formed in each section, and thus they prepared to face the enemy on
all sides, both abroad and at home.
The insurgents in Calvados were easily suppressed ; at the very
first skirmish at Vernon the insurgent troops fled, Wimpfen en-
deavored to rally them in vain. The moderate class, those who had
taken up the defense of the Girondists, displayed little ardor or
activity. When the constitution w^as accepted by the other depart-
ments it saw the opportunity for admitting that it had been in error
when it thought it was taking arms against a mere factious minority.
This retraction was made at Caen, which had been the headquarters
of the revolt. The Mountain commissioners did not sully this first
victory with executions. General Carteaux, on the other hand,
marched at the head of some troops against the sectionary army of
the south ; he defeated its force, pursued it to Alarseilles, entered
the town after it, and Provence would have been brought into sub-
jection like Calvados if the royalists, who had taken refuge at Tou-
lon after their defeat, had not called in the English to their aid and
placed in their hands, August 2^, I793> this key to France. Ad-
miral Hood entered the town in the name of Louis XVII., whom he
proclaimed king, disarmed the fleet, sent for 8000 Spaniards by sea,
occupied tlie surrounding forts and forced Carteaux, who was
advancing against Toulon, to fall back on Marseilles.
Notwithstanding this check the conventionalists succeeded in
isolating the insurrection, and this was a great point. The iMoun-
tain commissioners had made tlieir entry into the rebel capitals:
T H E T E R R O R 275
1793
Robert Lindet into Caen ; Tallien Into Bordeaux; Barras and Freron
into Marseilles. Only two towns remained to be taken Toulon
and Lyons.
A simultaneous attack from the south, west, and center was no
longer apprehended, and in the interior the enemy was only on the
defensive. Lyons was besieged by Kellermann, general of the army
of the Alps ; three corps pressed tlie town on all sides. The veteran
soldiers of the Alps, the revolutionary battalions, and the newly
levied troops reinforced the l)esiegers every day. The people of
Lyons defended themselves with all the courage of despair. At first
they relied on the assistance of the insurgents of the south ; but these
having been repulsed by Carteaux, the Lyonnese placed their last
hope in the army of Piedmont, which attempted a diversion in their
favor, but was beaten by Kellermann. Pressed still more energet-
ically, they saw their first positions carried. Famine began to be
felt and courage forsook them. The royalist leaders, convinced of
the inutility of longer resistance, left the town, and the republican
army entered the walls, where they awaited the orders of the con-
vention. A few months after Toulon itself, defended by veteran
troops and formidable fortifications, fell into the power of the repub-
licans. The battalions of the army of Italy, reinforced by those
which the taking of Lyons left disposable, pressed the place closely.
After repeated attacks and prodigies of skill and valor they made
themselves masters of it, and the capture of Toulon, December 19,
1793, finished what that of Lyons had begun.
Everywhere the convention was victcjrious. The Vendeans had
failed in their attempt upon Nantes, after having lost many men and
their general-in-chief, Cathelineau. This attack put an end to
the aggressive and previously promising movement of the Vendean
insurrection. The royalists repassed the Loire, abandoned Saumur,
and resumed their former cantonments. They were, however, still
formidable; and the republicans who pursued them were again
beaten in La Vendee. General Biron, who had succeeded General
Berru3'er, unsuccessfully continued the war with small bodies of
troops; his moderation and defective system of attack caused him
to be replaced by Canclaux and Rossignol, who were not more for-
tunate than he. There were two leaders, two armies, and two cen-
ters of operation the one at Xantcs and the other at Saumur,
placed under contrarv influences. General Canclaux could not agree
with General Rossignol, nor the moderate Mountain commissioner
276 T H E F R E N C H REVOLUTION
1793
rhilip})eaux with l^ourbotte, the commissioner of the committee of
piil)lic safety; and tliis attempt at invasion failed like the preceding
attempts, for want of concert in plan and action. The committee
of public safety soon remedied this by appointing one sole general-
in-chief, Lechelle, and by introducing war on a large scale into La
Vendee. This new method, aided by the garrison of Mayence, con-
sisting of 17,000 veterans, who, relieved from operations against
the coalesced powers after the capitulation, were employed in the
interior, entirely changed the face of the war. The royalists under-
went four consecutive defeats, two at Chatillon, two at Cholet.
Lescure, Bonchamps, and D'Elbee were mortally wounded, and the
insurgents, completely beaten in Upper Vendee, and fearing that
they should be exterminated if they took refuge in Low'er Vendee,
determined to leave their country, to the number of 80,000 persons.
This emigration through Brittany, which they hoped to arouse to
insurrection, became fatal to them. Repulsed before Granville,
utterly routed at Mons, they were destroyed at Savenay, and barely
a few thousand men, the wreck of this vast emigration, returned to
Vendee. These disasters, irreparable for the royalist cause, the
taking of their land of Noirmoutiers from Charette, the dispersion of
the troops of that leader, the death of La Rochejacquelin, rendered
the republicans masters of the country. The committee of public
safety, thinking, not wnthout reason, that its enemies were beaten
but not subjugated, adopted a terrible system of extermination to
prevent them from rising again. General Turreau surrounded
Vendee with sixteen intrenched camps; twelve movable columns,
called the infernal columns, overran the country in every direction,
sword and fire in hand, scoured the woods, dispersed the assemblies
and diffused terror throughout the unhappy country."
Tlie foreign armies had also been driven back from the fron-
tiers they had invaded. After having taken Valenciennes and
Conde, blockaded ]\Iaubeuge and Quesnoy, the enemy advanced
on Cassel, ITondtschoote, and Furnes, under the command of the
Duke of ^'ork. The committee of public safety, dissatisfied with
Custine, whose measures they looked on with suspicion as a Giron-
dist, superseded liim by General Houchard. The enemy, hitherto
successful, was defeated at Hondtschoote, September 6-8, 1793, and
- On tlic Vendean War, see Stephens, " French Revohition," vol. IT. p. 259 ff. ;
Von Syl)el, "History nf the French Revohition," vol. III. pp. 251-257; Fyffe,
" Modern Furope," vol. I. p. 83 ff.
THETERROR 277
1793
compelled to retreat. The military reaction began with the daring
measures of the committee of public safety. Houchard himself
was dismissed. Jourdan took the command of the army of the
north, gained the important victory of Wattignies, October i6, 1793,
over the Prince of Coburg, raised the siege of Maubeuge, and re-
sumed the offensive on that frontier. Similar successes took place
on all the others. The immortal campaign of 1 793-1 794 opened.
What Jourdan had done with the army of the north, Hoche and
Pichegru did with the army of the ]\IoselIe, and Kellermann with
that of the Alps. The enemy was repulsed and kept in check on all
sides. Then took place, after Alay 31, that which had followed
August 10. The want of union between the generals and the lead-
ers of the assembly was removed ; the revolutionary movement,
which had slackened, increased, and victories recommenced. Armies
have had their crises, as well as parties, and these crises have
brought about successes or defeat, always by the same law.
In 1792, at the beginning of the war, the generals were consti-
tutionalists and the ministers Girondists. Rochambeau, Lafayette,
and Luckner did not at all agree with Dumouriez, Scrvan, Claviere,
and Roland. There was, besides, little enthusiasm in the army ; it
was beaten. After August 10 the Girondist generals, Dumouriez,
Custine, Kellermann, and Dillon, replaced the constitutionalist gen-
erals. There was unity of views, confidence, and cooperation be-
tween the army and the government. The catastrophe of August 10
augmented this energy by increasing" the necessity for victory; and
the results were the plan of the campaign of Argonne, the victories
of Valmy and Jemappes, and the invasion of Belgium. The struggle
between the Alountain and the Gironde, between Dumouriez and
the Jacobins, again created discord between the army and govern-
ment and destroyed the confidence of the troops, who experienced
immediate and numerous reverses. There was defection on the
part of Dumouriez, as there had been withdrawal on the part of
Lafayette. After May 31, which overtlircw the Gironde party,
after the committee of public safety had become established and
had replaced the Girondist generals, Dumouriez, Custine, Houchard,
and Dillon, by the ?^Ionntain generals, Jourdan, Hoche, Pichegru,
and ^Moreau; after it had restored the revolutionary movement by
tlie daring measures we hax'c described, tlie cam])aign of Argonne
and of j^)elginin was renewed in that of 1794, and the genius of
Carnot ecjualed tliat of Dumouriez, if it did n(jt surpass it.
278 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793-1794
During this war the committee of public safety gave way to
the most terrible executions. Armies confine themselves to slaugh-
ter on the field of battle ; it is not so with parties, who, under violent
circumstances, fearing to see the combat renewed after the victory,
secure themselves from new attacks by inexorable rigor. The usage
of all governments being to make their own preservation a matter of
right, they regard those who attack them as enemies so long as they
fight ; as conspirators when they are defeated ; and thus destroy them
alike by means of war and of law.
All these views at once guided the policy of the committee of
public safety, a policy of vengeance, of terror, and of self-preserva-
tion. This was the maxim upon which it proceeded in reference to
insurgent towns : " The name of Lyons," said Barrere, " must no
longer exist. You will call it Ville Aifranchie, and upon the ruins
of that famous city there shall be raised a monument to attest the
crime and the punishment of the enemies of liberty. Its history
shall be told in these words : ' Lyons warred against liberty ; Lyons
exists no more.' " To realize this terrible anathema, the committee
sent to this unfortunate city Collot d'Herbois, Fouche, and Couthon,
who slaughtered the inhabitants with grapeshot and demolished its
buildings. Couthon was reproved by the convention for being
lenient! Between December, 1793, and April, 1794, 1682 persons
were executed in Lyons alone. x-Vt Nantes, Carrier's noyadcs
drowned 58 priests at one time, 90 at another, we know not how
many at other odd intervals, but on one occasion no less than 800
persons; Legendre had suggested this means of execution in a
speech at the Jacobin Club in May, 1792. The insurgents of Tou-
lon underwent at the hands of the representatives, Barras and
Freron, a nearly similar fate. At Caen, Marseilles, and Bordeaux
the executions were less general and less violent, because they were
proportioned to the gravity of the insurrection, which had not been
undertaken in concert with foreign foes. It must also be remem-
bered tliat the Vendeans and Chouans were not one whit behind the
republicans in massacres when they had the opportunity.
There was real system in the conduct of the committee of public
safety. For tlie second time in history the first being Sulla's dic-
tatorship in tlic latter days of the Roman republic the world wit-
nessed tlie scientific application of terror as a principle of rule.
In the interior the dictatorial government struck at all the par-
ties with which it was at war in the persons of their greatest mem-
MAKIF. \X roIXKlTI--. iiX TIIK \VA^ lO IIKK KNF.rrTIOV
THETERROR 279
1793
bers. The condemnation of Queen Marie Antoinette was directed
against Europe; that of the twenty-two against the Girondists; of
the wise Bailly against the old constitutionaHsts ; lastly, that of the
Duke of Orleans against certain members of the Mountain who
were supposed to have plotted his elevation. The unfortunate widow
of Louis XVI. was first sentenced to death by this sanguinary revo-
lutionary tribunal. The proscribed of June 2 soon followed her.
She perished on October 16 and the Girondist deputies on the 31st.
Those who then met death were: Brissot, Vergniaud, Gensonne,
Fonfrede, Ducos, Valaze, Lasource, Sillery, Gardien, Carra, Duprat,
Beauvais, Duchatel, Mainvielle, Lacaze, Boileau, Lehardy, Anti-
boul, and Vigee.^ Seventy-three of their colleagues, who had pro-
tested against their arrest, were also imprisoned, but the committee
did not venture to inflict death upon them. Custine and Beauhar-
nais, generals of the French army, were recalled to Paris for not
having attempted to deliver Valenciennes and IMainz, tried before
the revolutionary tribunal, and guillotined.
During the debates these illustrious prisoners displayed uniform
and serene courage. Vergniaud raised his eloquent voice for a
moment, but in vain. Valaze stabbed himself with a poignard on
hearing the sentence, and Lasource said to the judges : " I die at a
time when the people have lost their senses ; you will die when they
recover them." They went to execution displaying all the stoicism
of the times, sino-ing tlie " Marseillaise " and applying it to their
own case:
"Allans, cnfants dc la patrie,
Lc jour dc ^loirc est arriz'c:
Contrc nous dc la tyrainiic
Le coutcaii saui^lant est Ict'c," etc.
Nearly all the other leaders of this party had a violent end.
Salles, Guadet, and Barbaroux were discovered in the grottos of
2 Upon the work of tlic terror government in the departments see Ste-
phens, " French Revohition," vol. IT. ch. ii. ; Taine, "' French Rcvohition," vol.
IT. p. 35 ff. ; Wallon, "' Trihiowl rcvolutionaiyc," vol. V. p. 326 ff. .\ snccinct ac-
count of the organization of the rcvohitionary government, from the pen of
Auhird, is to be found in Lavisse and Rambaud, " llisloirc ^encralc," vol. VIII.
pp. 196-199.
Historians are divided into tliose who condemn and those who. justify the
terror, some contending, like Alignet, Thiers, Qninet, Louis Blanc, and Aulard,
who is the greatest living authority upon the period, that the terror saved France
from being destroyed by anarchy within and made the armies effective abroad;
others, notably Sorel and Taini\ seek to prove that "the victories were in
spite of, not because of the terror." C{. I'yfTe, "Modern Furope," vol. I. p. 46;
Fletcher's Carlyle, "French Revolution," \ul. III. \). i iS. note very valuable.
280 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793
Saint Emilion, near Bordeaux, and died on the scaffold. Petion
and Buzot, after wandering about some time, committed suicide;
they were found dead in a field, half devoured by wolves. Rabaud-
Saint-Etienne was betrayed by an old friend ; Madame Roland was
also condemned to death, and displayed the courage of a Roman
matron. Her husband, on hearing of her death, left his place of
concealment and killed himself on the highroad. Condorcet, out-
lawed soon after June 2, was taken while endeavoring to escape,
and saved himself from the executioner's knife only by poison. Lou-
vet, Kervelegan, Lanjuinais, Henri la Riviere, Lesage, La Reveil-
lere-Lepeaux, were the only leading Girondists who, in secure
retreat, awaited the end of the furious storm.
The revolutionary government was formed ; it was proclaimed
by the convention on October lo. Before May 31 power had been
nowhere, neither in the ministry, nor in the commune, nor in the
convention. It was natural that power should become concentrated
in this extreme situation of affairs, and at a moment when the
necessity of unity and promptitude of action was deeply felt. The
assembly being the most central and extensive power, the dictator-
ship would as naturally become placed in its bosom, be exercised
there by the dominant faction and in that faction by a few men.
The committee of public safety of the convention created on April
6 in order, as the name indicates, to provide for the defense of the
revolution by extraordinary measures, was in itself a complete frame-
work of government. Formed during the divisions of the Mountain
and the Gironde, it was composed of neutral members of the con-
vention till May 31 ; and at its first renewal of members of the
extreme Alountain. Barrere remained in it; but Robespierre ac-
ceded and his party dominated in it by Saint-Just, Couthon, Collot
d'Herbois. and Billaud-Varennes. He set aside some Dantonists
who slill remained in it, such as Herault de Sechelles and Robert-
Lindet, gained over Barrere, and usurped the lead by assuming the
direction of the public mind and of police. His associates divided
the various departments among themselves. Saint-Just undertook
the sur\-eil]ance and denouncing of parties; Couthon, the violent
propositions requiring to be softened in form; Billaud-Varennes
and Collot d'Herbois directed the missions into the departments;
Carnot look the war department; Cambon, the exchequer; Prieur
de la Cote d'Or, Prieur de la Marne, and several others, the various
branches of internal administration ; and Barrere was the daily ora-
THETERROR 281
1793
tor, the panegyrist ever prepared, of the dictatorial committee.
Below these, assisting in the detail of the revolutionary administra-
tion, and of minor measures, was placed the committee of general
safety, composed in the same spirit as the great committee, having,
like it, twelve members, who were reeligible every three months,
and always renewed in their office.
The whole revolutionary power was lodged in the hands of
these men. Saint-Just, in proposing the establishment of the decem-
viral power until the restoration of peace, did not conceal the motives
nor the object of this dictatorship. " You must no longer show any
lenity to the enemies of the new order of things," said he. " Liberty
must triumph at any cost. In the present circumstances of the repub-
lic the constitution cannot be established ; it would guarantee impu-
nity to attacks on our liberty, because it would be deficient in the
violence necessary to restrain them. The present government is
not sufficiently free to act. You are not near enough to strike in
every direction at the authors of these attacks ; the sword of the law
must extend everywhere ; your arm must be felt everywhere." Thus
was created that terrible power which first destroyed the enemies
of the Mountain, then the Mountain and the commune, and, lastly,
itself. The committee did everything in the name of the conven-
tion, which it used as an instrument. It nominated and dismissed
generals, ministers, representatives, commissioners, judges, and
juries. It assailed factions; it took tlie initiative in all measures.
Through its commissioners, armies and generals were dependent
upon it and it ruled the departments with sovereign sway. By
means of the law touching suspected persons, it disposed of men's
liberties; by the revolutionary tribunal, of men's lives; by levies and
the maximum, of property : by decrees of accusation in the terrified
convention, of its own members. Lastly, its dictatorsliip was sup-
ported by the multitude, who debated in tlie clubs, ruled in the revo-
lutionary committees ; whose services it paid by a daily stipend and
whom it fed with the maximum. The multitude adhered to a sys-
tem which inflamed its passions, exaggerated its importance, as-
signed it the first place and ap]:)eared to do everything for it.
Tlie innovators, separated i)y war and Ijy their laws from all
states and from all forms of government, determined to widen the
separation. Bv an unprecedented revohition they estabhshed an
entirelv new era; thcv cliangcd the dix'isions of the year, the names
of the months and days: they substituted a republican for the Chris-
282 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1792-1793
tian calendar, the decade for the week, and fixed the day of rest, not
on the Sahhath, but on the tenth day. The new era dated from Sep-
tember 22, 1792, the epoch of the foundation of the repubHc. There
were twelve equal months of thirty days, which began on Septem-
ber II in the following order: Vendemiaire, Brumaire, Frimaire,
for the autumn ; Nivose, Pluviose, Ventose, for the winter ; Germi-
nal, Floreal, Prairial, for the spring ; Messidor, Thermidor, Fructi-
dor, for the summer. Each month had three decades, each decade
ten days, and each day was named from its order in the decade:
Primidi, Duodi, Tridi, Quartidi, Quintidi, Sextidi, Septidi, Octidi,
Nonidi, Decadi. The surplus five days were placed at the end of
the year; they received the name of sans-culottides, and were con-
secrated, the first, to the festival of genius; the second, to that of
labor; the third, to that of actions; the fourth, to that of rewards;
the fifth, to that of opinion,^ The constitution of 1793 led to the
establishment of the republican calendar, and the republican calendar
to the abolition of the Christian worship. We shall soon see the
commune and the committee of public safety each proposing a
religion of its own : the commune, the worship of reason ; the com-
mittee of public safety, the worship of the Supreme Being. But
we must first mention a new struggle between the authors of the
catastrophe of May 31 themselves.
The commune and the Mountain had effected this revolution
against the Gironde, and the committee alone had benefited by it.
During the five months we have just gone over, from June to No-
vember, the committee, having taken all the measures of defense,
had naturally become the first power of the rqDublic. The actual
struggle being, as it were, over, the commune sought to sway the
committee, and the Mountain to throw off the yoke of the latter.
The municipal faction was the end of the revolution. Having an
object opposed to that of the committee of public safety, instead
of the conventional dictatorship, it desired the most extreme local
democracy; and instead of religion, the consecration of materialism.
Political anarchy and religious atheism were the symbols of this
party, and the means by which it aimed at establishing its own rule.
A revolution is the effect of the different systems which have agi-
4 Napoleon abolished this decimal calendar in 1806. Fletcher makes the
pomt that " the calendar is not at all an nnrcasonable one, as September 22 is
the first day of autumn and is the ancient Egyptian and Babylonian New Year's
Day." Fletcher's edition Carlylc's " French Revolution," vol. III. p. 88, note.
THETERROR 283
1793
tated the age which has originated it. Thus, during the continuance
of the crisis in France, ultramontane Cathohcism was represented
by the nonjuring clergy; Jansenism by the constitutionist clergy;
philosophical deism by the worship of the Supreme Being, instituted
by the committee of public safety; and the materialism of Hol-
bach's school by the worship of Reason and of Nature, decreed by
the commune. It was the same with political opinions, from the
royalty of the ancient regime to the unlimited democracy of the
municipal faction. The latter had lost in ^Nlarat its principal sup-
port, its true leader, while the committee of public safety still re-
tained Robespierre. It had at its head men who enjoyed great popu-
larity with the lower classes ; Chaumette ^ and his substitute, He-
bert, were its political leaders ; Ronsin, commandant of the revolu-
tionary army, its general ; the atheist, Anacharsis Clootz, its apostle.
In the sections it relied on the revolutionary committees, in which
there were many obscure foreigners, supposed, and not without
probability, to be agents of England sent to destroy the republic by
driving it into anarchy and excess. The club of the Cordeliers was
composed entirely of its partisans. The old Cordeliers of Dan-
ton, w^ho had contributed so powerfully to August lo, and who con-
stituted the commune of that period, liad entered the government,
and the convention, and had been replaced in the club by members
whom they contemptuously designated the patriotes dc la troisieinc
requisition.
Hebert's faction, which, in the sheet called Pcrc Duchesne,
popularized obscene language and low and cruel sentiments, and
which added derision of the victims to the executions of party, in a
short time made terrible progress. It compelled the Bishop of Paris
and his vicars to abjure Christianity and decree that the worship of
Reason should be substituted for the Catholic religion. In tb.is policy
we must carefully distinguish between the ci^nduct of the commune
and the conduct of the convention. In the beginning the conven-
tion adopted without ch;inge the religi()ns policy of the national
and the legislative assembly. It scrupulously respected the civil
constitution of the clergy. On September 30, 1792, Cambon,
^* Cliaumettc's blood-thirstiness seem? to have l)ecn tlic most extravagant
type of pohtical fanaticism. When not politically intlnenced, he seems to have
hccn a kind-hearted man. It was due to lu'm that a separate bed was provided
for each patient in the h'wpifals of Pari^, that whipping was abolished in the
schools, and that e(|ual i)iirial honors should lie given to all citizens, without
di.-tinction of wealth or of class.
284. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793
in the name of the committee of finance, had demanded the
suppression of the salaries of the clergy. Robespierre strongly
opposed the proposition, and the convention declared that it " never
had had the intention to deprive the country of the ministers of the
Catholic religion." On June 27, 1793, during the terror, it again
declared that " the support of the clergy was a part of the national
debt." On August i, 1793, the convention authorized the destruc-
tion of the tombs of the kings of France at St. Denis. This act is
probably the most outrageous piece of legislation of which the con-
vention was the author, for it is not true that the convention ever
proscribed Christianity. In general, such legislation was due to
the commune of Paris, which actually passed an ordinance for the
destruction of church spires, because they were " symbols of
inequality."
But the civil wars prevailing in the provinces, in which some
of the priests of France were active, had the effect of producing
vigorous measures against the "recalcitrant" clergy (decrees of
April and September, 1793). On September 18, 1793, all clerical
salaries were reduced, and on the i6th Brumaire, communes were
given the legal right to suppress parishes.^ This policy seemed too
moderate for radical revolutionists like Chaumette and Anarcharsis
Clootz, who wished to dechristianize France. Under their influ-
ence the commune of Paris, not the convention, passed decrees (No-
vember 28) ordaining the festival of Reason (November 10) and
the closure of the churches.
Gubel, the " constitutional " Archbishop of Paris, Thomas Lin-
det. Bishop of Evreux, with a few others, abjured the Christian
religion. Gregoire courageously vindicated his conscience, and at
the \-cry height of the terror sat upon the benches of the Mountain,
clad in the violet robes of a bishop. Not so Sieyes, who issued a
"letter of renegation " on November 10, 1793. The convention,
while not strong enough to crush the madness of the commune,
nevertheless frowned upon it. The churches were shut up or con-
verted into temples of reason, and fetes were established in every
town, which became scandalous scenes of atheism. The committee
of public safety grew alarmed at the power of this ultra-revolution-
ary faction and liastcncd to stop and to destrov it. Robespierre soon
attacked it in tlic asscm1)]y on tlie 15th iM-imairc (December 5,
1793). "Citizens, representatixc? of the people." said he. "the
*"' C'/. Aulard, "La scpayation dc VEglise ct dc I'Etat sous la Convention."
T H E T E R R O R 285
1793
kings coalesced against the republic are making war against us with
armies and intrigues; we will oppose their armies by braver ones;
their intrigues, by vigilance and the terror of national justice. Ever
intent on renewing their secret plots, in proportion as they are
destroyed by the hand of patriotism, ever skillful in directing the
arms of liberty against liberty itself, the emissaries of the enemies
of France are now laboring to overthrow the republic by repub-
licanism and to rekindle civil war by philosophy." He classed the
ultra-revolutionists of the commune with the external enemies of the
republic. " It is your part," said he to the convention, " to prevent
the follies and extravagances which coincide with the projects of
foreign conspiracy. I require you to prohibit particular authorities
(the commune) from serving our enemies by rash measures, and
that no armed force be allowed to interfere in questions of religious
opinions." And the convention, which had applauded the abjura-
tions at the demand of the commune, decreed, on Rol^espierre's
motion, that all violence and all measures opposed to the liberty of
religion are prohibited.
The committee of public safety was too strong not to triumph
over the commune; but at the same time it had to resist the moder-
ate party of the 3,Iountain, which demanded the cessation of the
revolutionary government and the dictatorship of the committees.
The revolutionary government had only been created to restrain,
the dictatorship to conquer; and as Danton and his party no longer
considered restraint and victory essential, they sought to establish
legal order and the independence of the convention ; they wished to
frown down the faction of the commune, to stop tlie operation of
the revolutionary tribunal, to empty the prisons now filled with sus-
pected persons, to reduce or destroy the powers of the committees.
This project in favor of clemency, humanity, and legal government
was conceived by Danton, Philippeaux, Camille Dcsmoulins, Fabre
dEglantine, Lacroix, General Westcrmann, and all the friends of
Danton. Before all these things they wanted that the republic
should secure the field of battle; but after conquest they wished
to conciliate. Danton proved his statesmanship in advocating this
policy. As a matter of fact, the terror government had done its
work, both within and without iM-ancc. After tlie great victories of
the autumn of 1703 and tlie crusliing -if ci\-il war in tlie depart-
ments, terror had no longer a reason for l)cing.
This party, become moderate, had renounced power; it had
286 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793
withdrawn from tlie government, or suffered itself to be excluded by
]\obes{)icrre's jiarty. Aforeover, since May 31, zealous patriots had
considered Dantun's conduct equivocal. He had acted mildly on
that day and had subsequently disapproved the condemnation of the
twenty-two. They began to reproach him w^ith his disorderly life,
his venal passions, his change of party, and untimely moderation.
To avoid the storm he had retired to his native place, Arcis-sur-
Aube, and there he seemed to have forgotten all in retirement.
During his absence the Hebert faction made immense progress; and
the friends of Danton hastily summoned him to their aid. He re-
turned at the beginning of Frimaire (December). Philippeaux im-
mediately denounced the manner in which the Vendean war had been
carried on ; General \\^estermann, who had greatly distinguished
himself in that war, and who had just been dismissed by the com-
mittee of public safety, supported Philippeaux, and Camille Des-
moulins published the first numbers of his Viciix Cordelier. This
brilliant and fiery young man had followed all the movements of the
revolution, from July 14 to May 31, approving all its exaggerations
and all its measures. His heart, however, was gentle and tender,
though his opinions were violent and his humor often bitter. He
had praised the revolutionary regime because he believed it indis-
pensable for the establishment of the republic ; he had cooperated in
the ruin of the Gironde, because he feared the dissensions of the
republic. For the republic he had sacrificed even his scruples and
tlie desires of his heart, even justice and humanity; he had given
all to his party, thinking that he gave it to the republic; but now
he was able neither to praise nor to keep silent ; his energetic ac-
tivity, which he had employed for the republic, he now^ directed
against those who were ruining it by bloodshed. In his Vieiix
Cordelier he spoke of liberty with the depth of IMachiavelli, and of
men with the wit of Voltaire. But he soon raised the fanatics and
dictators against him by calling the government to sentiments of
moderation, compassion, and justice.
He drew a striking picture of present tyranny, under the name
of a past tyranny. He selected his examples from Tacitus. " At
this period,"' said he, " w^ords became state crimes: there wanted
hut one step mf)rc to render mere glances, sadness, pitv, sighs
c\-en silence ilsclf criminal. It soon became high treason or an
anti-revolutionary crime, for Crcmutius Cordus to call Brutus and
Cassius the last of the Romans ; a counter-revolutionarv crime in
T H E T E R R O R 287
1793-1794
a descendant of Cassius to possess a portrait of his ancestor; a
counter-revolutionary crime in Mamercus Scaurus to write a trag-
edy in which there were hnes capable of a double meaning; a
counter-revolutionary crime in Torquatus Silanus to be extrava-
gant; a counter-revolutionary crime in Pomponius, because a
friend of Sejanus had sought an asylum in one of his country
houses; a counter-revolutionary crime to bewail the misfortunes
of the time, for this was accusing the government ; a counter-revo-
lutionary crime for the consul Fusius Geminus to bewail the sad
death of his son.
" If a man would escape death himself, it became necessary
to rejoice at the death of his friend or relative. Under Nero,
many went to return thanks to the gods for their relatives whom
he had put to death. At least, an assumed air of contentment was
necessary; for even fear was sufficient to render one guilty. Every-
thing gave the tyrant umbrage. If a citizen was popular, he was
considered a rival to the prince, and capable of exciting a civil war,
and he was suspected. Did he, on tlie contrary, shun popularity,
and keep by his fireside, his retired mode of life drew attention,
and he was suspected. Was a man rich, it was feared the people
might be corrupted by his bounty, and he was suspected. Was he
poor, it became necessary to watch him closely, as none are so
enterprising as those who have nothing, and he was suspected. If
his disposition chanced to be somber and melancholy, and his dress
neglected, his distress was supposed to be occasioned by the state
of public affairs, and he was suspected. If a citizen indulged in
good living to the injury of his digestion, he was said to do so
because the prince lived ill, and he was suspected. If virtuous and
austere in his manners, he was thought to censure the court, and
he was suspected. Was he philosopher, orator, or poet, it was un-
becoming to have more cele1)rity than the government, and he was
suspected. Lastly, if anyone had oljtained a reputation in war,
his talent only served to make him dangerous; it became necessary
to get rid of the general, or to remove him speedily from the army;
he was suspected.
" The natural death of a celebrated man, or even of one
merely in place, was so rare lliat historians handed it down to
posteritv as an event worthy to l)e rcmemlicrcd in remote ages. The
death of so manv innocent and wfM'tliy citizens seemed less a ca-
lamitv than the insolence and disgraceful opulence of their mnr-
288 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793-1794
derers and tlenouncers. Every day the sacred and inviolable
informer made his triumphant entry into the palace of the dead,
and received some rich heritage. All these denouncers assumed
illustrious names, and called themselves Cotta, Scipio, Regulus,
Sievius, Severus. To distinguish himself by a brilliant debut, the
Marquis Serenus brought an accusation of anti-revolutionary
practices against his aged father, already in exile, after which he
proudly called himself Brutus, Such were the accusers, such the
judges; the tribunals, the protectors of life and property, became
slaughter-houses, in which theft and murder bore the names of
punishment and confiscation."
Camille Dcsmoulins did not confine himself to attacking the
revolutionary and dictatorial regime ; he required its abolition. He
demanded the establishment of a committee of mercy, as the
only way of terminating the revolution and pacifying parties. His
journal produced a great effect upon public opinion ; it inspired
some hope and courage. Have you read the Viciix Cordelier?
was asked on all sides. At the same time Fabre d' Eglantine.
Lacroix, and Bourdon de I'Oise excited the convention to throw
off the yoke of the committee; they sought to unite the Mountain
and the Right in order to restore the freedom and power of the
assembly. As the committees were all powerful, they tried to ruin
them by degrees, the best course to follow. It was important to
change the public opinion, and to encourage the assembly, in order
to support themselves by a moral force against the revolutionary
force, by the power of the convention against the power of the
committees. The Dantonist Mountaineers endeavored to detach
Robespierre from the other Decemvirs; Billaud-Varennes, Collot
d'Herbois and Saint-Just alone appeared to them invincibly at-
tached to the reign of terror. Barrere adhered to it through
weakness Couthon from his devotion to Robespierre. They
hoped to gain over the latter to the cause of moderation, through
his friendship for Danton, his ideas of order, his austere habits,
his profession of public virtue, and his pride. He had defended
seventy-three imprisoned Girondist deputies against the commit-
tees and the Jacobins ; he had dared to attack Clootz and Hebert as
ultra-revolutionists ; and he had induced the convention to decree
the existence of the Supreme Being. Robespierre was the most
popularly renowned man of that time; he was, in a measure, the
moderator of the republic and the dictator of opinion; by gaining
THETERROR 289
1793-1704
him, they hoped to overcome both the committees and the com-
mune, without compromising the cause of the revolution.
Danton saw him on his return from Arcis-sur-Aube, and they
seemed to understand one another; attacked at the Jacobins, he
was defended by him. Robespierre himself read and corrected the
Vicux Cordelier, and approved of it. At the same time he pro-
fessed some principles of moderation; but then all those who ex-
ercised the revolutionary government, or who thought it indis-
pensable, became aroused. Billaud-Varcnnes and Saint-Just openly
maintained the policy of the committees. Desmoulins had said of
the latter: " He so esteems himself, that he carries his head on
his shoulders with as much respect as if it were the holy sacra-
ment." " And I," replied Saint-Just, " will make him carry his
like another Saint Denis.'' Collot d'tlcrbois, who was on a mis-
sion, arrived while matters were in this state. He protected the
faction of the anarchists, who had been intimidated for a moment,
and who derived fresh audacity from his presence. The Jacobins
expelled Camille Desmoulins from their society, and Barrere at-
tacked him at the convention in the name of tlie government.
Robespierre himself was not spared; he was accused of moderat-
ism, and murmurs began to circulate against him.
However, his credit being immense, as they could not attack
or conquer without him, he was sought on both sides. Taking
advantage of this superior position, he adopted neither party, and
sought to put down the leaders of each, one after the other.
Under these circumstances he wished to sacrifice the com-
mune and the anarchists; the committees wished to sacrifice the
IMountain and the moderates. They came to an understanding :
Robespierre gave up Danton, Desmoulins, and their friends to the
members of the conmiittee ; and the members of the committee
gave up Hebert, Clootz, Chaumette, Ronsin, and their accom-
plices. By favoring the moderates at first, he prepared the ruin
of the anarchists, and he attained two (objects favorable to his
domination or to his pride he overturned a formidable faction
and he got rid of a revolutionary rc])utaii()n. the rival of his own.
Motives of public safety, it must be adnn'tted, mingled with
these combinations of party. At this ]icri(Hl oi general fury against
the repul)lic, and of victories nni yet definitive on its ])art, the com-
mittees (lid not think tlic moment for ])oacc witli Rin-ope and the
internal dissentients had arrived ; and they considered it impossible
290 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793-1794
to carry on the war without a dictatorship. They, moreover, re-
garded the Hebertists as an obscene faction, which corrupted the
people, and served the foreign foe by anarchy; and the Dantonists
as a party whose poHtical moderation and private immorahty com-
promised and dishonored the repubhc. The government accord-
ingly proposed to the assembly, through the medium of Barrere,
the continuation of the war, with additional activity in its pursuit;
while Robespierre, a few days afterward, demanded the continu-
ance of the revolutionary government. In the Jacobins he had
already expressed himself opposed to the Vieiix Cordelier, which
he had hitherto supported. He rejected legal government in the
following terms :
"Without," said he, "all the tyrants surround us; within, all
the friends of tyranny conspire against us; they will continue to
conspire till crime is left without hope. We must destroy the
internal and external enemies of the republic or perish with it.
Now, in such a situation, the first maxim of your policy should be,
to lead the people by reason, and the enemies of the people by
terror. If, during peace, virtue be the mainspring of a popular
government, its mainspring in the times of revolution is both
virtue and terror; virtue, without which terror becomes fatal,
terror, without which virtue is powerless. Subdue, then, the ene-
mies of liberty by terror; and, as the founders of the republic, you
will act rightly. The government of the revolution is the despotism
of liberty against tyranny."
In this speech he denounced the moderates and the ultra-revo-
lutionists, as both of them desiring the downfall of the republic.
" They advance," said he, " under different banners and by differ-
ent roads, but they advance toward the same goal ; that goal is the
disorganization of the popular government, the ruin of the con-
vention, and the triumph of tyranny. One of these two factions
reduces us to weakness, the other drives us to excesses." He pre-
pared the public mind for their proscription ; and his speech,
adopted witliout discussion, was sent to all the popular societies, to
all the authorities, and to all the armies.
After this beginning of hostilities, Danton, who had not given
up his connection with Robespierre, asked for an interview with
him. It took place at the residence of Robespierre himself. They
were cold and bitter; Danton complained violently and Robes-
pierre was reserved. " I know," said Danton, " all the hatred the
THETERROR 291
1793-1794
committee bear me ; but I do not fear it." " Yon are wrong," re-
plied Robespierre; "it entertains no ill designs against you; but
you would do well to have an explanation." "An explanation?"
rejoined Danton, "an explanation? That requires good faith!"
Seeing that Robespierre looked grave at these words, he added:
" No doubt it is necessary to put down the royalists, but we ought
only to strike blows which will benefit the republic; we must not
confound the innocent with the guilty." " And who says," ex-
claimed Robespierre sharply, " that an innocent person has been
put to death?" Danton turned to one of his friends who had ac-
companied him, and said, with a bitter smile : " What do you say
to this? Not one innocent person has perished!" They then
separated and all friendship ceased between them.
A few days afterward Saint-Just ascended the tribune and
threatened more openly than had yet been done all dissentients,
moderates, or anarchists. " Citizens," said he, " you wished for a
republic; if you do not at the same time desire all that constitutes
it, you will overwhelm the people in its ruins. What constitutes a
republic is the destruction of all that is opposed to it. We are
guilty toward the republic because we pity the prisoners; we are
guilty toward the republic because we do not desire virtue; we
are guilty to the republic because we do not desire terror. What is
it you want, those of you who do not wish for virtue, tliat you may
be happy? [Tlie anarchists.] What is it you want, those of you
who do not wish to employ terror against the wicked? [The
moderates.] What is it you want, those of y<m who liaunt pu1)lic
places to be seen, and to have it said of you: ' Do you see such a
one pass?' [Danton.] You will perish, those of you who seek
fortune, who assume haggard looks, and affect the patriot that the
foreigner may buy you up, or the government give you a place;
you of the indulgent faction, wlio seek to save the guilty; you of
the foreign faction, who direct severity against the defenders of the
people. Measures are already taken to secure the guilty; they are
hemmed in on all sides. Let us return thanks to the genius of
the French people that liberty has triumphed over one of the most
dangerous attacks ever meditated against it. The development of
this vast plot, llic panic it will create, and the measures about to
be proposed to you, will free the republic and the world of all the
conspirators."
Saint-just caused tlic go\crnnient to be invested with the most
Je92 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793-1794
extensive powers against the conspirators of the commtine. He
had it decreed that justice and probity were the order of the day.
The anarchists were unable to adopt any measure of defense ; they
veiled for a moment the Rights of Man at the club of the Cor-
deliers, and they made an attempt at insurrection, but without
vigor or union. The people did not stir, and the committee caused
its commandant, Henriot, to seize the substitute Hebert, Ronsin,
the revolutionary general, Anarcharsis Clootz, Monmoro, the orator
of the human race, Vincent and others. They were brought before
the revolutionary tribunal as the agents of foreign powers, and as
having conspired to place a tyrant over the state. That tyrant was
to have been Pache, under the title of Grand Juge. The anarchist
leaders lost their audacity as soon as they were arrested; they de-
fended themselves, were guillotined March 24, 1794, and, for the
most part, died without any display of courage. The committee
of public safety disbanded the revolutionary army, diminished the
power of the sectionary committees, and obliged the commune to
appear at the bar of the convention and give thanks for the arrest
and punishment of the conspirators, its accomplices.
It was now time for Danton to defend himself; the proscrip-
tion after striking the commune threatened him. He was advised
to be on his guard and to take immediate steps ; but not having
been able to overturn the dictatorial power, by arousing public
opinion and the assembly by the means of the public journals, and
his friends the jMountaineers, on what could be depend for sup-
port? The convention, indeed, was inclined to favor him and his
cause; but it was wholly subject to the revolutionary power of the
committee. Danton having to support him neither the govern-
ment, nor the assembly, nor the commune, nor the clubs, awaited
proscription, without making any effort to avoid it.
His friends implored him to defend himself, " I would
rather," said he, "be guillotined than be a guillotiner; besides, my
life is not worth the trouble; and I am sick of the world." " The
members of the cbmmittee seek thy death." " Well," he exclaimed
impatiently, " should Billaud, should Robespierre kill me, they will
be execrated as tyrants; Robespierre's house will be razed to the
ground ; salt will be strewn upon it ; a gallows will be erected on it,
devoted to the vengeance of crime! But my friends will say of
me, that I was a gi )od father, a good friend, a good citizen ; they
will nut furget me." " Thou mayst avert " " I would rather
THETERROR 293
1793-1794
be guillotined than be a guillotiner." " Well, then, thou shouldst
depart." " Depart! " he repeated, curling his lip disdainfully, " de-
part! Can we carry our country away on the sole of our shoe? "
Danton's only resource .now was to make trial of his so well
known and potent eloquence to denounce Robespierre and the com-
mittee, and to arouse the convention against their tyranny. He
was earnestly entreated to do this ; but he knew too well how diffi-
cult a thing it is to overthrow an established domination ; he knew
too well the complete subjection and terror of tlie assembly, to rely
on the efficacy of such means. He accordingly waited, thinking,
he who had dared so much, that his enemies would shrink from
proscribing him.
On the loth of Germinal he was informed that his arrest was
being discussed in the committee of public safetv, and he was again
entreated to save himself by flight. After a moment's reflection
he exclaimed : " They dare not! " During the night his house was
surrounded, and he was taken to the Luxembourg with Camille
Desmoulins, Philippeaux, Lacroix, and Westermann. On his ar-
rival he accosted with cordiality the prisoners who crowded round
him. " Gentlemen," said he, " I had hoped in a short time to lib-
erate you, but here I am come to join you, and I know not how the
matter may end." In about an hour he was placed in solitary con-
finement in the cell in which Hebert had been imprisoned, and
which Robespierre was so soon to occupy. There, giving way to
reflection and regret, he exclaimed: " It was at this time I insti-
tuted the revolutionary tribunal. I implore forgiveness from God
and man for having done so ; but I designed it not for the scourge
of humanity."
His arrest gave rise to general excitement, to a somhcr
anxiety. The following day, at the opening of tlie sittings in the
assembly, men spoke in whispers; they inquired with alarm what
was the pretext for this new proceeding against the representatives
of the people. "Citizens," at Icngtli exclaimed Legendre, "four
members of this assembly Iiave been arrested during the night.
Danton is one; I know not the others. Citizens, I declare that I
believe Danton to be as pure as myself, }ct he is in a dungeon.
Tliev feared, no doubt, tliat his replies would overturn the accusa-
tions brouglit again-^t him: I mexc, therefore, that before ynu
listen to anv rcpurt you send f^r tlic prisoners and liear them."
This motion was favoraI)]y received, and ins[)ircd the assembly
294 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1793-1794
with momentary courage : a few members desired it might be put
to the vote, but this state of things did not last long. Robespierre
ascended the tribune. " By the long since unusual agitation that
pervades the assembly," said he, "by the sensation the words of
the speaker you have just heard have produced, it is easy to see
that a question of great interest is before us: a question whether
two or three individuals shall be preferred to the country. We
shall see to-day whether the convention can crush to atoms a mock
idol, long since decayed, or whether its fall shall overwhelm both
the convention and the French people." And a few words from
him sufficed to restore silence and subordination to the assembly, to
restrain the friends of Danton, and to make Legendre himself re-
tract. Soon after Saint-Just entered the house, followed by other
members of the committees. He read a long report against the
members under arrest, in which he impugned their opinions, their
political conduct, their private life, their projects; making them
appear, by improbable and subtle combinations, accomplices in
every conspiracy and the servants of every party. The assembly,
after listening without a murmur, with a bewildered sanction
unanimously decreed, and with applause even, the impeachment of
Danton and his friends. Everyone sought to gain time with
tyranny, and gave up others' heads to save his own.
The accused were brought before the revolutionary tribunal ;
their attitude was haughty and full of courage. They displayed
an audacity of speech and a contempt of their judges wholly un-
usual. Danton replied to the president, Dumas, who asked him the
customary questions as to his name, his age, his residence : " I am
Danton, tolerably well known in the revolution; I am thirty-five
years old. My residence will soon be nothing. My name will
live in the Pantheon of history." His disdainful or indignant re-
plies, the cold and measured answers of Lacroix, the austere dignity
of Philippeaux, the vigor of Desmoulins, were beginning to move
the people. But the accused were silenced, under the pretext that
they were wanting in respect to justice, and were immediately con-
demned without a hearing. " We are immolated," cried Danton,
" to the ambition of a few miserable brigands, but they will not
long enjoy the fruit of their criminal victory, I draw Robespierre
after mc Robes'pierre will follow me." They were taken to the
Conciergcrie and thence to the scaffold.
They went to death with the intrepidity usual at that epoch.
THETERROR 295
1793-1794
There were many troops under arms, and their escort was nit-
meroiis. The crowd, generally loud in its applause, was silent.
Camille Desmoulins, when in the fatal cart, was still full of aston-
ishment at his condemnation, which he could not comprehend.
" This, then," said he, "is the reward reserv^ed for the first apostle
of liberty." Danton stood erect, and looked proudly and calmly
around. At the foot of the scaffold he betrayed a momentary
emotion. "Oh, my best beloved my wife!" he cried, "I shall
not see thee again." Then suddenly interrupting himself : " No
weakness, Danton!" Thus, on April 6, 1794, perished the last
defenders of humanity and moderation ; the last who sought to pro-
mote peace among the conquerors of the revolution and pity for the
conquered. For a long time after them no voice was raised against
the dictatorship of terror ; and from one end of France to the other
it struck silent and redoubled blows. The Girondists had sought to
prevent this violent reign the Dantonists to stop it ; all perished,
and the conquerors had the more victims to strike the more foes
arose around them. In so sanguinary a career there is no stopping
until the tyrant is himself slain. The Decemvirs, after the definitive
fall of the Girondists, had made terror the order of the day; after
the fall of the Hebertists, justice and probity, because these were
impure men of faction ; after the fall of the Dantonists, terror and
all virtues, because these Dantonists were, according to their
phraseology, indulgents and immorals.
Chapter XI
FALL OF ROBESPIERRE. APRIL 6-JULY 28, 1794
DURING the four months following the fall of the Danton
party the committees exercised their authority without
opposition or restraint. Death became the only means of
governing, and the republic was given up to daily and systematic
executions. It was then were invented the alleged conspiracies of
the inmates of the prisons, crowded under the law of suspects, or
emptied by that of the 22d Prairial, which might be called the law
of the condemned ; then the emissaries of the committee of public
safety entirely replaced in the departments those of the Mountain ;
and Carrier, the protege of Billaud, was seen in the west ; Maigret,
the protege of Couthon, in the south ; and Joseph Lebon, the
protege of Robespierre, in the north. The extermination en masse
of the enemies of the democratic dictatorship, which had already
been effected at Lyons and Toulon by grapeshot, became still more
horrible, by the noyadcs of Nantes, and the scaffolds of Arras,
Paris, and Orange.
]\Iay this example teach men a truth, which for their good
ought to be generally known, that in a revolution all depends on a
first refusal and a first struggle. To effect a pacific innovation, it
must not be contested ; otherwise war is declared and the revolu-
tion spreads, because the whole nation is aroused to its defense.
When society is thus shaken to its foundations, it is the most daring
who triumph, and instead of wise and temperate reformers, we
find only extreme and inflexible innovators. Engendered by con-
test, they maintain themselves by it ; with one hand they fight to
maintain their sway, with the other they establish their system with
a view to its consolidation; they massacre in the name of their
doctrines: the name of virtue, of humanity, of the welfare of the
people, of all that is holiest on earth, they use to warrant their
executions, and to protect their dictatorship. Until they become
exhausted and fall, all perish indiscriminately, both the enemies and
the partisans of reform. The tempest dashes a whole nation
296
FALL OF ROBESPIERRE 297
1794
against the rock of revolution. Inquire what became of the men
of 1789 in 1794, and it will be found that they were all alike swept
away in this vast shipwreck. As soon as one party appeared on
the field of battle, it summoned all the others thither, and all like
it were in turn conquered and exterminated : constitutionalists,
Girondists, the Mountain, and the Decemvirs themselves. At each
defeat the effusion of blood became greater, and the system of
tyranny more violent. The Decemvirs were the most cruel, be-
cause they were the last.
The committee of public safety, being at once the object of the
attacks of Europe, and of the hatred of so many conquered parties,
thought that any abatement of violence would occasion its destruc-
tion ; it wished at the same time to subdue its foes and to get rid of
them. " The dead alone do not return," said Barrere. " The more
freely the social body perspires the more healthy it becomes,"
added Collot d'Herbois. But the Decemvirs, not suspecting their
power to be ephemeral, aimed at founding a democracy, and sought
in institutions a security for its permanence in the time w'hen they
should cease to employ executions. They possessed in the highest
degree the fanaticism of certain social theories, as the millenarians
of the English Revolution, with whom they may be compared, had
the fanaticism of certain religious ideas. The one originated with
the people, as the other looked to God ; these desired the most abso-
lute political equality, as those sought evangelical equality; these
aspired to the reign of virtue, as those to the reign of the saints.
Human nature flies to extremes in all things, and produces, in a
religious epoch, democratic Christians in a philosophical epoch,
political democrats.
Robespierre and Saint-Just had given it the plan of that
democracy, whose principles they professed in all their speeches ;
they wished to change the manners, mind, and customs of Erance.
and to make it a republic after the manner of the ancients; they
sought to establish the dominion of the people; to have magistrates
free from pride; citizens free from vice; fraternity of intercourse,
simplicity of manners, austerity of character, and the worship of
virtue. The symbolical wcjrds of the sect may be found in the
speeches of all the reporters of the committee, and especially in
those of Robespierre and Saint-Just. Liberty and equality for the
government of the rei)ul)lic: in(livisil)ility for its form; puljlic safety
for its defense and preservation; virtue for its principle; the Su-
298 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1794
preme Being for its religion; as for the citizens, fraternity for their
daily intercourse; probity for their conduct; good sense for their
mental qualities; modesty for their public actions, which were to
have for object the welfare of the state, and not their own : such
was the symbol of this democracy. Fanaticism could not go
further. The authors of this system did not inquire into its prac-
ticability; they thought it just and natural; and having power, they
tried to establish it by violence. Not one of these words but served
to condemn a party or individuals. The royalists and aris-
tocrats were hunted down in the name of liberty and equality; the
Girondists in the name of indivisibility; Philippeaux, Camille Des-
moulins, and the moderate party, in the name of public safety;
Chaumette, Anacharsis Clootz, Gobet, Hebert, all the anarchical
and atheistical party, in the name of virtue and the Supreme
Being; Chabot, Bazire, Fabre d'Eglantine, in the name of probity;
Danton in the name of virtue and modesty. In the eyes of fanatics
these moral crimes necessitated their destruction, as much as the
conspiracies which they were accused of.
Robespierre was the patron of this sect, which had in the com-
mittee a more zealous, disinterested, and fanatic partisan than him-
self in the person of Saint-Just, who was called the Apocalyptic.
His features were bold but regular, and marked by an expression
determined but melancholy. His eye was steady and piercing;
his hair black, straight, and long. His manners cold, though his
character was ardent ; simple in his habits, austere and sententious,
he advanced without hesitation toward the completion of his sys-
tem. Though scarcely twenty-five years old, he was the boldest of
the Decemvirs, because his convictions were the deepest. Passion-
ately devoted to the republic, he was indefatigable in the committees,
intrepid on his missions to the armies, where he set an example
of courage, sharing the marches and dangers of the soldiers. His
predilection for the multitude did not make him pay court to
their propensities ; and far from adopting their dress and language
with Hebert, he wished to confer on them ease, gravity, and dignity.
But his policy made him more terrible than his popular sentiments.
He had much daring, coolness, readiness, and decision. Little
susceptible of pity, he reduced to form his measures for the public
safety, and put them into execution immediately. If he considered
victory, proscription, the dictatorship necessary, he at once de-
manded them. Unlike Robespierre, he was completely a man
FALL OF ROBESPIERRE 299
1794
of action. The latter, comprehending all the use he might
make of him, early gained him over in the convention. Saint-Just,
on his part, was drawn toward Robespierre by his reputation for
incorruptibility,^ his austere life, and the conformity of their ideas.
The terrible effects of their association may be conceived
when we consider their popularity, the envious and tyrannical pas-
sions of the one, and the inflexible character and systematic views
of the other. Couthon had joined them; he was personally de-
voted to Robespierre. Although he had a mild look and a par-
tially paralyzed frame, he was a man of merciless fanaticism.
They formed, in the committee, a triumvirate which soon sought
to engross all power. This ambition alienated the other members
of the committee and caused their own destruction. In the mean-
time, the triumvirate imperiously governed the convention and the
committee itself. When it was necessary to intimidate the assem-
bly, Saint-Just was intrusted with the task ; when they wished to
take it by surprise, Couthon was employed. If the assembly mur-
mured or hesitated, Robespierre rose, and restored silence and
terror by a single word.
During the first two months after the fall of the commune
and the Danton party the Decemvirs, who were not yet divided,
labored to secure their domination : their commissioners kept the
departments in restraint, and the armies of the republic were vic-
torious on all the frontiers. The committee took advantage of this
moment of security and union to lay the foundation of new man-
ners and new institutions. It must never be forgotten that in a
revolution men are moved by two tendencies, attachment to their
ideas and a thirst for command. The mcm1)crs of tlie committee,
at the beginning, agreed in their democratic sentiments ; at the end,
they contended for power.
Billaud-Varennes presented the theory of popular govern-
ment, and the means of rendering the army always subordinate
to the nation. Robespierre delivered a discourse on the moral
sentiments and solemnities suited to a republic: he dedicated festi-
vals to the Supreme P>cing, to Truth. Justice, Modesty, iM-iendship,
Frugality, Fidelity, Immortality, !\lisfortunc, in a word, to all
1 An opposite viow may well he taken. StMnc years before the revolution
began S.iint-Just bad stolen bis niotlier's plate and sf|iiand'Ted the m.)ney be
received for it. ITc was iinpri;oiii-d in conseqnenee, and imbibed a tierce
batred of Icttrcs dc UKhci and all the pulice power of the ancient regime.
800 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1794
the moral and republican virtues. In this way he prepared the
establishment of the new worship of the Supreme Being. Barrere
made a report on the extirpation of mendicity, and the assistance
the republic owed to indigent citizens. All these reports passed
into decrees, agreeably to the wishes of the democrats. Barrere,
whose habitual speeches in the convention were calculated to dis-
guise his servitude from himself, was one of the most supple
instruments of the committee; he belonged to the regime of terror,
neither from cruelty nor from fanaticism. His manners were
gentle, his private life blameless, and he possessed great modera-
tion of mind. But he was timid ; and after having been a consti-
tutional royalist before August lo, a moderate republican prior to
]\Iay 31, he became the panegyrist and the cooperator of the
decemviral tyranny. This shows that, in a revolution, no one
should become an actor without decision of character. Intellect
never knows when to stop, at a time when one ought always to be
prepared to die, and to end one's part or end one's opinions.
Robespierre, who was considered the founder of this moral
democracy, now attained the highest degree of elevation and of
power. He became the object of the general flattery of his party;
he was the great man of the republic. ]\Ien spoke of nothing but
of his virtue, of his genius, and of his eloquence. Two circum-
stances contributed to augment his importance still further. On
the 3d Prairial an obscure but intrepid man, named L' Admiral,
was determined to deliver France from Robespierre and Collot
d'Herbois. He waited in vain for Robespierre all day, and at
night he resolved to kill Collot. He fired twice at him with pistols,
but missed him. The following day a young girl, named Cecile
Renaud, called at Robespierre's and earnestly begged to speak
with him. As he was out, and as she still insisted upon being ad-
mitted, she was detained. She carried a small parcel, and two
knives were found on her person. " What motive brought you to
Robespierre's?" inquired her examiners. "I wanted to speak to
him." "On what business?" "That depended on liow I might
find him." " Do you know Citizen Robespierre? " " No, I sought
to know him ; I went to his house to see what a tyrant was like."
"What did you propose doing with your two knives?" " Notli-
ing, having no intention to injure anyone." "And your parcel?"
" Contains a change of linen for my use in the place I shall be sent
to." " Where is that? " " To prison : and from there to the guil-
FALL OF ROBESPIERRE 301
1794
lotine." The unfortunate girl was ultimately taken there, and
her family shared her fate.
Robespierre received marks of the most intoxicating adula-
tion. At the Jacobins and in the convention his preservation was
attributed to the good genius of the republic, and to the Supreme
Being, whose existence he had decreed on the i8th Floreal. The
celebration of the new religion had been fixed for the 20th Prairial
throughout France. On the i6th Robespierre was unanimously
appointed president of the convention, in order that he might
officiate as the pontiff at the festival. At that ceremony he ap-
peared at the head of the assembly, his face beaming with joy and
confidence, an unusual expression with him. He approached alone,
fifteen feet in advance of his colleagues, attired in a magnificent
dress, holding flowers and ears of corn in his hand, the object of
general attention. Expectation was universally raised on this
occasion : the enemies of Robespierre foreboded attempts at usur-
pation, the persecuted looked forward to a milder regime. He
disappointed everyone. He harangued the people in his capacity
of high priest, and concluded his speech, in which all expected
to find a hope of happier prospects, with these discouraging words :
" People, let us to-day give ourselves up to the transports of pure
delight ! To-morrow we will renew our struggle against vices and
against tyrants."
Two days after, on the 22d Prairial, Couthon presented a new
law to the convention. The revolutionary tribunal had dutifully
struck all those who had been pointed out to it: royalists, consti-
tutionalists, Girondists, anarcliists, and ^Mountaineers, had been all
alike dispatched to execution. But it did not proceed expeditiously
enough to satisfy the systematic exterminators, who wished
promptly, and at any cost, to get rid of all their prisoners. It
still observed some forms; these were sui)pressc(l. "All tardi-
ness," said Couthon, " is a crime, all indulgent formality a public
danger; there should be no longer delay in jnmishing the enemies
of the state than suffices to recognize them." Hitherto the pris-
oners had counsel ; they had them no longer. The law furnishes
l)atriot jurymen for the defense of calumniated patriots; it grants
none to conspirators. They tried them, at first, individually; now
they tried them ai masse. There had been some precision in the
crimes even when revolutionary; now all llie enemies of the people
were declared guilty, and all were pronounced enemies of the peo[)le
302 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1794
who sought to destroy Hberty by force or stratagem. The jury be-
fore had the law to guide their determination; they now only had
their conscience. A single tribunal, Fouquier-Tinville, and a few
jurymen were not sufficient for the increase of victims the new law
threatened to bring before it : the tribunal was divided into four sec-
tions, the number of judges and juries was increased, and the public
accuser had four substitutes appointed to assist him. Lastly, the
deputies of the people could not before be brought to trial without
a decree of the convention; but the law was now so drawn up that
they could be tried on an order from the committees. The law
respecting suspected persons gave rise to that of Prairial.
As soon as Couthon had made his report a murmur of aston-
ishment and alarm pervaded the assembly. " If this law passes,"
cried Ruamps, " all we have to do is to blow our brains out. I
demand an adjournment." This motion was supported ; but
Robespierre ascended the tribunal. " For a long time," said he,
" the national assembly has been accustomed to discuss and decree
at the same time, because it has long been delivered from the
thraldom of faction. I move that without considering the question
of adjournment, the convention debate, till eight in the evening,
if necessary, on the proposed law." The discussion was im-
mediately begun, and in thirty minutes after the second reading,
the decree was carried. But the following day a few members,
more afraid of the law than of the committee, returned to the de-
bate of the day before. The Mountaineers, the friends of Danton,
fearing, for their own sakes, the new provisions, which left the
representatives at the mercy of the Decemvirs, proposed to the con-
vention to provide for the safety of its members. Bourdon de
rOise was the first to speak on this subject; he was supported.
Merlin, by a skillful amendment, restored the old safeguard of
the conventionalists, and the assembly adopted Merlin's measure.
Gradually objections were made to the decree; the courage of the
Mountaineers increased and the discussion became very animated.
Couthon attacked the Mountaineers. " Let them know," replied
Bourdon de TOise " let the members of the committee know that
if they are patriots, we are patriots too. Let them know that
I shall not reply with bitterness to their reproaches. I esteem
Couthon, I esteem the committee; but I also esteem the unshaken
Mountain which has saved our liberty." Robespierre, surprised at
this unexpected resistance, hurried to the tribune. " The conven-
FALL OF ROBESPIERRE 303
1794
tion," said he, " the Mountain, and the committee are the same
thing! Every representative of the people who sincerely loves
liberty, every representative of the people who is ready to die for
his country, belongs to the Mountain! We should insult our
country, assassinate the people, did we allow a few intriguing per-
sons, more contemptible than others, because they are more hypo-
critical, to draw off a portion of the ^Mountain and make themselves
the leaders of a party." " It never was my intention," said Bour-
don, " to make myself leader of a party." " It would be the
height of opprobrium," continued Robespierre, "if a few of our
colleagues, led away by calumny rcsjiecting our intentions and the
object of our labors. . . . " " I insist on your proving what
you assert," rejoined Bourdon. " I have been very plainly called
a scoundrel." " I did not name Bourdon. Woe to the man who
names himself! Yes, the Mountain is pure, it is sublime; in-
triguers do not belong to the Mountain ! " " Name them ! " "I
will name them when it is necessary." The threats and the im-
perious tone of Robespierre, the support of the other Decemvirs,
and the feeling of fear which went round caused profound silence.
The amendment of ]\Ierlin was revoked as insulting to the com-
mittee of public safety, and the whole law was adopted.
From the day of the 22d Prairial until the 9th Thermidor
June ii-July 27 there were 1366 executions, or 31 per diem.
This was much the highest average. h>()m 13 per month before
November, 1793, it rose to 65 from thence till February, 1794;
during IMarch and April the average was 135; between April 20
and June 10 there were 636 executions.
During the course of the revolution the number of small pro-
prietors, already more considerable in iM-ance under the ancient
regime than elsewhere in Europe, was much increased. Among tlie
causes which favored this movement may be enumerated the abo-
lition of feudal rights, the abolition of the tithes, the supjircssion of
the taille and other reforms in taxation, the sale of the property
confiscated from the emigrants, and abo\c all the sale of the land of
the clergy. It was this class which suffered most in the last days
of the terror.
But the end of this system drew near. The sittings of
Prairial were the end of union for the members of the committees.
From that time silent dissensions existed among them. Thev had
advanced together, so Ictng as they had to contend together; but
304 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1794
this ceased to be the case when they found themselves alone in the
arena, with habits of contest and the desire for dominion. Moreover,
their opinions were no longer entirely the same : the democratic
party were divided by the fall of the old commune; Billaud-Var-
ennes, Collot d'Herbois, and the principal members of the com-
mittee of general safety, Vadier, Amar, Vouland, clung to this
overthrown faction, and preferred the worship of Reason to that
of the Supreme Being. They were also jealous of the fame and
anxious at the power of Robespierre, who, in his turn, was ir-
ritated at their secret disapprobation and the obstacles they opposed
to his will. At this period the latter conceived the design of
putting down the most enterprising members of the ]\Iountain,
Tallien, Bourdon Legendre, Freron, Rovere, and his rivals of the
committee.
Robespierre had a prodigious force at his disposal; the com-
mon people, who considered the revolution as depending on him,
supported him as the representative of its doctrines and interests ;
the armed force of Paris, commanded by Henriot, was at his com-
mand. He had entire sway over the Jacobins, whom he admitted
and ejected at pleasure ; all important posts were occupied by his
creatures ; he had formed the revolutionary tribunal and the new
committee himself, substituting Payan, the national agent, for
Chaumette, the attorney-general, and Henriot for Pache, in the
office of mayor. But what was his design in granting the most
influential places to new men, and in separating himself from the
committees? Did he aspire to the dictatorship? did he only seek to
estabhsh his democracy of virtue by the ruin of the remaining
immoral Mountaineers, and the factious of the committee? Each
party had lost its leaders ; the Gironde had lost the twenty-two ;
the commune, Hebert, Chaumette, and Ronsin; the Alountain,
Danton, Chabot, Lacroix, and Camille Desmoulins. But while
thus proscribing the leaders, Robespierre had carefully protected
the sects. Pie had defended the seventy-three prisoners against
the denunciations of the Jacobins and the hatred of the commit-
tees ; he had placed himself at the head of the new commune ; lie
had no longer reason to fear opposition to his projects, whatever
they might be, except from a few Mountaineers and the members
of the conventional government. It was against this double ob-
stacle that he directed his efforts during the last moments of his
career. It is probable that he did not separate the republic from
FALL OF ROBESPIERRE 305
1794
his protectorate, and that he thought to estabhsh both on the over-
throw of the other parties.
The committees opposed Robespierre in their own way. They
secretly strove to bring- about his fall by accusing him of tyranny ;
they caused the establishment of his religion to be considered as
the presage of his usurpation; they recalled the haughty attitude
he assumed on the 20th Prairial, and the distance at which he kept
even the national convention. Among themselves they called him
Pisistratus, and this name already passed from mouth to mouth.
A circumstance, insignificant enough at any other time, gave them
an opportunity of attacking him indirectly. An old woman, called
Catherine Theot, played the prophetess in an obscure habitation,
surrounded by a few mystic sectaries; they styled her the Mother
of God, and she announced the immediate coming of a Messiah.
Among her followers there was an old associate of Robespierre
in the constituent assembly, the Chartreux dom Gerle, who had
a civic certificate from Robespierre himself. When the commit-
tees discovered the mysteries of the ]^Iother of God, and her pre-
dictions, they believed or pretended to believe that Robespierre
made use of her instrumentality to gain over the fanatics, or to
announce his elevation. They altered her name of Theot into
that of Theos, signifying God; and they craftily insinuated that
Robespierre was the Messiah she announced. The aged Vadier,
in the name of the committee uf general safety, was deputed to
bring forward a motion against this new sect. He was vain and
subtle; he denounced those who were initialed into these mysteries,
turned the worship into derision, implicated Rubesi)icrre in it
without naming him, and had the fanatics sent to prison. Robes-
pierre wished to save them. Tlie conduct of the comnn'ttee of
general safety greatly irritated him, and in the Jacobin Club he
spoke of the speech of Vadier with contenii)t and anger. He ex-
perienced fresh opposition from the committee of public safety,
which refused in proceed against the persons he pointed (nit to
them. From that time he ceased to j lin his colleagues in the
government, and was rarely present at the sittings oi the conven-
tion. But he attended tlic Jacobins regiil:iiiy ; and from the tribune
of that club he hoped t(j overthrow his enemies as he had hitherto
done.
Naturally sad, suspicious, and timid, he became more melaii-
cholv and mistrustful than ever. He never went out without being
306 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1794
accompanied by several Jacobins armed with sticks, who were
called his body-guard. He soon commenced his denunciations in
the popular assembly. " All corrupt men," said he, " must be
expelled the convention." This was designating the friends of
Danton. Robespierre had them watched with the most minute
anxiety. Every day spies followed all their motions, observing
their actions, haunts, and conversation. Robespierre not only
attacked the Dantonists at the Jacobins; he even arose against the
committee itself, and for that purpose he chose a day when
Barrere presided in the popular assembly. At the close of the
sitting the latter returned home discouraged. " I am disgusted
with men," said he to Villate. " What could be his motive for
attacking you?" inquired the other. "Robespierre is insatiable,"
rejoined Barrere; "because we will not do all he wishes, he must
break with us. If he talked to us about Thuriot, Guffroi, Rovere,
Lecointre, Panis, Cambon, Monestier, and the rest of the Dan-
tonists, we might agree with him; let him even require Tallien,
Bourdon de I'Oise, Legendre, Freron, well; but Duval, Audoin,
Leonard Bourdon, Vadier, Vouland it is impossible to consent."
To give up members of the committee of general safety was to
expose themselves; accordingly, while fearing, they firmly awaited
the attack. Robespierre was very formidable, with respect to his
power, his hatred, and his designs ; it w^as for him to begin the
combat.
But how could he set about it? For the first time he was the
author of a conspiracy; hitherto he had taken advantage of all
popular movements. Danton, the Cordeliers, and the faubourgs
had made the insurrection of August lo against the throne;
Marat, the Mountain, and the commune had made that of May 31
against the Gironde ; Billaud, Saint-Just, and the committees had
efYected tlie ruin of the commune and weakened the Mountain,
Robespierre remained alone. Unable to procure assistance from
the government, since he had had declared against the committees,
he had recourse to the populace and the Jacobins. The principal
conspirators were Saint-Just and Couthon in the committee;
Fleuriot, the mayor, and Payan, the national agent, in the commune;
Dumas, tlic president, and Coffinhal, the vice-president, in the revo-
lutionary tribunal ; Henriot, the commander of the armed force,
and the popular society. On the 15th Messidor, three weeks after
the law of Prairial and twenty-four days before the 9th Ther-
1794
FALL OF ROBESPIERRE 307
midor, the resolution was already taken ; at that time and under
that date Henriot wrote to the mayor : " You shall be satisfied
with me, comrade, and w^ith the way in which I shall proceed;
trust me, men who love their country easily agree in directing all
their steps to the benefit of public affairs. I would have wished,
and I do wish, that the secret of the operation rested with us two;
the wicked should know nothing of it. Health and brotherhood."
Saint-Just was on a mission to the army of the north; Robes-
pierre hastily recalled him. While waiting liis return he prepared
the public mind at the Jacobins. In the sitting of the 3d Thermidor
he complained of the conduct of the committees, and of the persecu-
tion of the patriots, whom he swore to defend. " There must be no
longer traces of crime or faction," said he, " in any place what-
ever. A few scoundrels disgrace the convention; but it will not
allow itself to be swayed by them." He then urged his colleagues,
the Jacobins, to present their reflections to the national assembly.
This was the transaction of May 31. On the 4th he received a depu-
tation from the de])artmcnt of the Aisne, who came to complain to
him of the operations of the government, to which, for a month
past, he had been a stranger. "The convention," said Robes-
pierre, in his reply to the deputation, " in the situation in which it
now stands, gangrened l)y corrupticMi. and being wholly unable to
recover itself, cannot save the republic l)oth must perish. The
proscription of patriots is the order of the day. As for me, I have
one foot in the tomb; in a few days tlic other will follow it. The
rest is in the hands of Providence." lie was tlien slightly indis-
posed, and he purposely exaggerated his discouragement, his fears,
and the dangers of the rcpul)Iic in order to inflame tlie patriots,
and again bind the fate of the revolution with his own.
In tlie meantime Saint-Just arrived from the army. He ascer-
tained the state of affairs from Ivoljcspicrrc. He presented himself
to the committees, tlie members of which received him coldly;
every time he entered they ceased to dcliljcrate. Saint-Just, who,
from their silence, a few chance words, and the expression of per-
plexity or hostilitv on th.eir C(mntenances, saw there was no time
to be lost, pressed Robesjuerre to act. His maxim was t(j strike
at once, and resolutely. " i:)are." said he, " that is the secret of
revolutions." But he wislicd to prevail on Robespierre to take a
measure, which was impossible, by urging him to strike his foes
without apprising tliem. The force at his disposal was a force of
308 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1794
revolutionary opinion, and not an organized force. It was neces-
sary for him to seek the assistance of the convention or of the com-
mune, the legal authority of government, or the extraordinary
authority of insurrection. Such was the custom, and such must
be all coups d'etat. They could not even have recourse to insurrec-
tion until after they had received the refusal of the assembly; other-
wise a pretext was wanting for the rising. Robespierre was there-
fore obliged to commence the attack in the convention itself. lie
hoped to obtain everything from it by his ascendency, or if contrary
to its custom it resisted, he reckoned on the people, urged by the
commune, rising on the 9th Thermidor against the proscribed of
the ]\Iountain, and the committee of public safety, as it had risen
on May 31 against the proscribed of the Gironde and the commis-
sion of twelve. It is almost always by the past that man regulates
his conduct and his hopes.
On the 8th Thermidor he entered the convention at an
early hour. He ascended the tribunal and denounced the com-
mittee in a most skillful speech. " I am come," said he, " to de-
fend before you your authority insulted, and liberty violated. I
will also defend myself; you will not be surprised at this; you
do not resemble the tyrants you contend with. The cries of out-
raged innocence do not importune your ears, and you know that
this cause is not foreign to your interests." After this opening he
complained of those who had calumniated him; he attacked those
who sought the ruin of the republic, either by excesses or modera-
tion ; those who persecuted pacific citizens, meaning the committees,
and those who persecuted true patriots, meaning the ^Mountaineers.
He associated himself witli the intentions, past conduct, and spirit
of the convention; he added that its enemies were liis: "What
have I done to merit persecution, if it entered not into the general
system of their conspiracy against the convention? Have you not
observed that, to isolate you from the nation, they have given out
tliat you are dictators, reigning by means of terror, and disavowed
by the silent wishes of all Frenchmen? For myself, what faction
do I belong to? to yourselves. What is that faction that, from
the beginning of the revolution, has overthrown all factions and
got rid of acknowledged traitors? It is you, it is the people, it is
principles. Hiat is the faction to which I am devoted, and against
which all crimes are leagued. T'or at least six weeks my inal^ility
to do good and to ch.cck evil has oblijred me absolutelv to renounce
FALL OF ROBESPIERRE 309
1794
my functions as a member of the committee of public safety.
Has patriotism been better protected? have factions been more
timid? or the country more happy? At all times my influence
has been confined to pleading the cause of my country before the
national representation and at tlie tribunal of public opinion."
After having attempted to confound his cause with that of the
convention, he tried to excite it against the committees by dwelling
on the idea of its independence. " Representatives of the people,"
said he, " it is time to resume the pride and elevation of character
which befits you. You are not made to be ruled, but to rule the
depositaries of your confidence."
While he thus endeavored to tempt the assembly by the re-
turn of its power and the end of its slavery, he addressed the mod-
erate party by reminding tlicm that they were indebted to him
for the lives of the seventy-three, and by holding forth hopes of
returning order, justice, and clemency. lie spoke of changing the
devouring and trickster system of finance, of softening the revolu-
tionary government, of guiding its influence, and punishing its
prevaricating agents. Lastly, lie invoked tlie people, talked of
their necessities, and of llieir power. And wlien he had recalled all
that could act upon tlie interests, hopes, or fears of the convention,
he added : " We say, then, that there exists a conspiracy against
public liberty; that it owes its strength to a criminal coalition wliicli
intrigues in the very heart of the convention ; tliat this coalition
has accomplices in the committee uf general safety; that the enemies
of the republic have opposed tliis committee to the committee uf
public safety, and have thus constituted two governments; that
members of the committee of public safety are concerned in this
plot; that the coalition thus formed seeks the ruin both of patriots
and of the country. What remedy is there for this evil? Punish
the traitors; compose anew the committee (jf general safety; purify
this committee, and make it subordinate to tlie C(jmniitlee of public
safety; purify the latter committee itself; constitute tlie unity of
the government under the supreme anil;. 'ir.y of the convention;
crush every faction under the weight oi natiov:;il ;au]iority. and
establish on th.cir ruins the jjower of justice and liberty."
Xot a murmur, not a m;irk of ap[)l;uise welcomed this declara-
tion of ^\ar. Tlie .-ilence with which Robespierre wa.-^ heard con-
tinued long after ^ e luul ceased S])eaking. -Vuxious looks were
exchanged in all parts of the dotibtir.g a embly. At length Le-
310 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1794
cointre of Versailles arose and proposed that the speech should be
printed. This motion was the signal for agitation, discussion, and
resistance. Bourdon de I'Oise opposed the motion for printing
the speech as a dangerous measure. He was applauded. But
Barrere, in his ambiguous manner, having maintained that all
speeches ought to be published, and Couthon having moved that it
should be sent to all the communes of the republic, the convention,
intimidated by this apparent concord of the two opposite factions,
decreed both the printing and circulation of the speech.
The members of the two committees thus attacked, w^ho had
hitherto remained silent, seeing the Mountain thwarted and the
majority undecided, thought it time to speak. Vadier first opposed
Robespierre's speech and Robespierre himself. Cambon went
further. " It is time," he cried, " to speak the whole truth : one
man paralyzed the resolution of the national assembly; that man
is Robespierre." " The mask must be torn off," added Billaud-
Varennes, *' whatever face it may cover ; I would rather my corpse
should serve an ambitious man for his throne than by my silence
to become the accomplice of his crimes." Panis, Bentabole, Char-
lier, Thirion, Amar, attacked him in turn. Freron proposed to
the convention to throw off the fatal yoke of the committees, " The
time is come," said he, " to revive liberty of opinion ; I move that
the assembly revoke the decree which gives the committee power
to arrest the representatives of the people. Who can speak freely
while he fears an arrest?" Some applause was heard; but the
moment for the entire deliverance of the convention was not yet
arrived. It w^as necessary to contend with Robespierre from behind
the committees, in order subsequently to attack the committees more
easily. Freron's motion was accordingly rejected. " The man
who is prevented by fear from delivering his opinion," said Billaud-
Varennes, looking at him, " it not worthy the title of a representa-
tive of the people." Attention was again drawn to Robespierre.
The decree ordering his speech to be printed was recalled, and the
convention submitted the speech to the examination of the com-
mittees. Robespierre, who had been surprised at this fiery re-
sistance, then said: "What! I had the courage to place before
the assembly truths which I think necessary to the safety of
the country, and you send my discourse for the examination of the
members whom I accuse." He retired, a little discouraged, but
hoping to bring back the assembly to his views, or rather, bring
FALL OF ROBESPIERRE 311
1794
it into subjection, with the aid of the conspirators of the Jacobins
and the commune.
In the evening lie repaired to the popular society. He was
received with enthusiasm. He read the speech which the assembly
had just condemned, and the Jacobins loaded him with applause.
He then recounted to them the attacks which had been directed
against him, and to increase their excitement he added : "If neces-
sary, I am ready to drink the cup of Socrates." " Robespierre,"
cried a deputy, " I will drink it with you." " The enemies of Robes-
pierre," cried numbers on all sides, " are the enemies of the coun-
try; let them be named and they shall cease to live." During the
whole night Robespierre prepared his partisans for the following
day. It was agreed that they should assemble at the commune and
the Jacobins, in order to be ready for every event, while he, ac-
companied by his friends, repaired to the assembly.
The committees had also spent the night in deliberation. Saint-
Just had a])peared among them. His colleagues tried to disunite
him from the triumvirate; they deputed him to draw up a report
on the events of the preceding day and submit it to them. But
instead of that, he drew up an act of accusation, which he would
not communicate to them, and said, as he withdrew: "You have
withered my heart ; I am going to open it to the convention."
The committees placed all their hope in the courage of the assembly
and the union of parties. The ^Mountain had omitted n(3thing to
bring about this salutary agreement. They had addressed them-
selves to the most influential members of the Riglit and of the
Marsh. They had entreated P.oissy d'Anglas and Durand Mail-
lane, who were at their head, to join them against I'^obespierre.
They hesitated at iirst : they were so alarmed at his power, so full
of resentment against tlie Alountain, tliat they dismissed the Dan-
tonists twice witliout listening to them. At last the Dantonists
returned to the charge a third time, and then the Right and the
Plain engaged to support them. There was thus a coiispiracy on
both sides. AH the parties of the assembly were united against
Robespierre, all the accomplices of tlie triumvirs were preparetl
to act against the convention. In this state of affairs the sitting
of the 9th Thermidor began.
The members of the assciubly repaired there earlier than usual.
About half-past eleven they gathered in the i)assages. encouraging
each other. The ^Mountaineer Bourdon de I'Oise approaching Du-
312 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1794
rand-Maillane, a moderate, pressed his hand, and said: " The peo-
ple of the Rig^lit are excellent men." Rovere and Tallien came up
and mingled their congratulations with those of Bourdon. At
twelve they saw, from the door of the hall, Saint-Just ascend
the tribune. " Now is the time," said Tallien, and they entered
the hall. Robespierre occupied a seat in front of the tribune, doubt-
less in order to intimidate his adversaries with his looks. Saint-
Just began: "I belong," he said, "to no faction; I will oppose
them all. The course of things has perhaps made this tribune the
Tarpeian rock for him who shall tell you that the members of
the government have quitted the path of prudence." Tallien then
interrupted Saint-Just and exclaimed violently : " No good citizen
can restrain his tears at the wretched state of public affairs. We
see nothing but divisions. Yesterday a member of the government
separated himself from it to accuse it. To-day another does the
same. Alen still seek to attack each other, to increase the woes
of the country, to precipitate it into the abyss. Let the veil be
wholly torn asunder." "It must! it must!" resounded on every
side.
Billaud-Varennes spoke from his seat. " Yesterday," said he,
" the society of Jacobins was filled with hired men, for no one
had a card ; yesterday the design of assassinating the members of
the national assembly was developed in that society ; yesterday I
saw men uttering the most atrocious insults against those who have
never deviated from the revolution. I see on the Mountain one
of those men who threatened the republic; there he is." "Arrest
him! arrest him! " was the general cry. The sergeant seized him
and took him to the committee of general safety. " The time is
come for speaking the truth," said Billaud. " The assembly would
form a wrong judgment of events and of the position in which it
is placed, did it conceal from itself that it is placed between two
massacres. It will perish, if feeble." "No! no! It will not per-
ish!" exclaimed all the members, rising from their seats. They
swore to save the republic. The spectators in the gallery applauded,
and cried: " JHz'c la convention iiationalc! '" The impetuous Lebas
attempted to speak in defense of the triumvirs : he was not allowed
to d(j sr), and Billaud continued. He warned tlie convention of its
dangers, attacked Robespierre, pointed out his accomplices, de-
nounced his conduct and liis ])lans of dictatorship. All eyes were
directed tijward him. He faced tliem firmlv for some time; but
FALL OF ROBESPIERRE 31S
1794
at length, unable to contain himself, he rushed to the tribune. The
cry of " Down with the tyrant " instantly became general, and
drowned his voice,
" Just now," said Tallien, " I required that the veil should
be torn asunder. It gives me pleasure to see that it is wholly
sundered. The conspirators are unmasked; they will soon be de-
stroyed, and liberty will triumph. I was present yesterday at the
sitting of the Jacobins; I trembled for my country. I saw the
army of this new Cromwell forming, and I armed myself with a
poignard to stab him to the heart if the national convention wanted
courage to decree his impeachment." He drew out his poignard,
brandished it before the indignant assembly, and moved, before
anything else, the arrest of Henriot. and the permanent sitting of the
assembly. Both motions were carried in the midst of cries of
" Vive la rcpublique! " Billaud also moved the arrest of three of
Robespierre's most daring accomplices, Dumas, Boulanger, and
Dufrese. Barrere caused the convention to be placed under the
guard of the armed sections, and drew up a proclamation to be
caution. Vadier diverted the assembly for a moment from the
addressed to the people. Everyone proposed a measure of pre-
danger which threatened it, to the affair of Catherine Theos. " Let
us not be diverted from the true object of debate," said Tallien.
" I will undertake to bring you back to it," said Robespierre. " Let
us turn our attention to the tyrant," rejoined Tallien, attacking him
more warmly than before.
Robespierre, after attempting to speak several times, ascend-
ing and descending the stairs of the tribune, while his voice was
drowned by cries of " Down vs'ith the tryant ! " and the bell which
the president, Thuriot, continued ringing, now made a last effort to
be heard. " President of assassins," he cried, " for the last time,
will you let me speak?" But Thuriot continued to ring his bell.
Robespierre, after glancing at the spectators in the public gallery,
who remained motionless, turned toward the Right. '' Pure and
virtuous men,'' said he, '' I have recourse to you ; give me the
hearing which the assassins refuse." Xo answer was returned;
profound silence prevailed. Then, wholly dejected, he returned
to his place and sank on his seat exhausted by fatigue and rage.
He foamed at the moutli and his utterance was choked. " Wretch ! "
said one ()f the Mouniain, " tlic l)l()<ul of DaiUon chokes tlice."
Plis arrest was demanded and su])ported on all sides, ^'oung Robes-
314 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
pierre now arose. " I am as guilty as my brother," said he. " I
share his virtues and I will share his fate." " I will not be in-
volved in the opprobrium of this decree," added Lebas; " I demand
my arrest too." The assembly unanimously decreed the arrest of
the two Robespierres, Couthon, Lebas, and Saint-Just, The latter,
after standing for some time at the tribune with unchanged counte-
nance, descended with composure to his place. He had faced this
protracted storm without any show of agitation. The triumvirs
were delivered to the gendarmerie, who removed them amid general
applause. Robespierre exclaimed as he went out : " The republic
is lost, the brigands triumph." It was now half-past five, and the
sitting was suspended till seven.
. During this stormy contest the accomplices of the triumvirs
had assembled at the commune and the Jacobins. Fleuriot, the
mayor, Payan, the national agent, and Henriot, the commandant,
had been at the Hotel de Ville since noon. They had assembled
the municipal officers by the sound of the drum, hoping that Robes-
pierre would be triumphant in the assembly, and that they should
not require the general council to decree the insurrection or the
sections to sustain it. A few hours after a sergeant of the con-
vention arrived to summon the mayor to the bar of the assembly,
to give a report of the state of Paris. " Go, and tell your scoun-
drels," said Plenriot, " that we are discussing how to purge them.
Do not forget to tell Robespierre to be firm, and to fear nothing."
.\bout half-past four they learned the arrest of the triumvirs and
the decree against their accomplices. The tocsin was immediately
sounded, the barriers closed, the general council assembled, and
the sectionaries called together. The cannoneers were ordered to
bring their pieces to the commune, and the revolutionary committees
to take the oath of insurrection. A message was sent to the Ja-
cobins, who sat permanently. The municipal deputies were re-
ceived with the greatest enthusiasm. " The society watches over
the country," they were told. " It has sworn to die ratlier than
live under crime." At the same time they concerted together and
established rapid communications between these two centers of the
insurrection. ITcnriot, on his side, to arouse the people, ran through
the streets, pisttjl in hand, at the head of his staff, crying " To
arms!" haranguing the multitude and instigating all he met to
repair to the commune to save the country. While on this errand
two members (jf the convention perceived him in the Rue Saint
FALL OF ROBESPIERRE 315
1794
Honore. They summoned, in the name of the law, a few gen-
darmes to execute the order for his arrest : they obeyed, and
Henriot was pinioned and conveyed to the committee of general
safety.
Nothing, however, was decided as yet on either side. Each
party made use of its means of power; the convention of its de-
crees, the commune of the insurrection ; each party knew what
would be the consequences of defeat, and this rendered them both
so active, so full of foresight and decision. Success w'as long un-
certain. From noon till five the convention had the ui)per hand ;
it caused the arrest of the triumvirs, Payan, the national agent, and
Henriot, the commandant. It was already assembled, and the com-
mune had not yet collected its forces; but from six to eight the
insurgents regained their position, and the cause of the convention
was nearly lost. During this interval the national representatixes
had separated, and the commune had redoubled its efforts and
audacity.
Robespierre had been transferred to the Luxembourg", his
brother to Saint Lazare, Saint-Just to the hxossais, Couthon to La
Bourbe, Lebas to the Conciergerie. The commune, after lia\ing
ordered the jailors not to receive them, sent munici])al officers with
detachments to bring them away. Robes])ierre was hberated first,
and conducted in triumph to the Llotel de Ville. On arrixing he
was received with the greatest entliusiasm : ''Long live Robes-
pierre ! " " Down with the traitors ! " resounded on all sides. A little
before Coffinhal had departed, at the head of two Inindred can-
noneers, to release Llenriot, who was detained at the commiltee
of sreneral safetv. It was now seven o'clock, and tlie conveiUion
had resumed its sitting. Its guarrl. at the most, was a hundred
men. Coffinhal arrived, made his way tlirougli the outer courts,
entered the committee chamber, and delixercd llenridt. The latter
repaired to the Place du Carrousel, harangued the cannoneers, and
ordered them to point their ])ieces on tlie c<in\cntion.
The assembly was just then (li.-cussing the danger to which it
was exposed. It had just heard "i the alarming success of the con-
spirators, of the insurrectional orders (*t' the cininiunc. the rescue
of the triumvirs, their presence at the i h")tel dc \'ille, the rage of
the Jacobins, the successive convocation of the rcvoluticnary cmiui-
cil and of the sections. It was dreading a \i'ilc'nt iinasion every
moment, when the terrified members ui the coninu'ttees rushed in.
316 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1794
fleeing from Coffinhal. They learned that the committees were
surrounded and Henriot released. This news caused great agita-
tion. The next moment Amar entered precipitately, and announced
that the cannoneers, acted upon by Henriot, had turned their
pieces upon the convention. " Citizens," said the president, putting
on his hat, in token of distress, " the hour is come to die at our
posts ! " " Yes, yes ! we will die there ! " exclaimed all the mem-
bers. The people in the galleries rushed out, crying : " To arms !
Let us drive back the scoundrels ! " And the assembly courageously
outlawed Henriot.
Fortunately for the assembly, Henriot could not prevail upon
the cannoneers to fire. His influence was limited to inducing
them to accompany him, and he turned his steps to the Hotel de
Ville. The refusal of the cannoneers decided the fate of the day.
From that moment the commune, which had been on the point of
triumphing, saw its affairs decline. Having failed in a surprise
by main force, it was reduced to the slow measures of the insur-
rection ; the point of attack was changed, and soon it was no longer
the commune which besieged the Tuileries, but the convention
which marched upon the Hotel de Ville. The assembly instantly
outlawed the conspiring deputies and the insurgent commune. It
sent commissioners to the sections to secure their aid; named the
representative Barras commandant of the armed force, joining with
him Freron, Rouvere, Bourdon de I'Oise, Feraud, Leonard Bourdon,
Legendre, all men of decision ; and made the committees the center
of operation.
The sections, on the invitation of the commune, had assembled
about nine o'clock; the greater part of the citizens, in repairing
thither, were anxious, uncertain, and but vaguely informed of the
quarrels between the commune and the convention. The emissaries
of the insurgents urged them to join them, and to march their
battalions to the Hotel de Ville. The sections confined themselves
to sending a deputation; but as soon as the commissioners of the
convention arrived among them had communicated to them the
decrees and invitations of the assembly, and informed them that
there was a leader and a rallying point, they hesitated no longer.
Their battalions presented themselves in succession to the assembly ;
they swore to defend it, and they passed in files through the hall
amid shouts of enthusiasm and sincere applause. " The moments
are precious," said Freron ; " we must act ; Barras is gone to take
1794
FALL OF ROBESPIERRE SI7
orders of the committees; we will march against the rebels; we
will summon them in the name of the convention to deliver up the
traitors, and if they refuse, we will reduce the building in which
they are to ashes." " Go," said the president, " and let not day
appear before the heads of the conspirators have fallen." A few
battalions and some pieces of artillery were placed around the as-
sembly, to guard it from attack, and the sections then marched
in two columns against the commune. It was now nearly mid-
night.
The conspirators were still assembled. Robespierre, after hav-
ing been received with cries of enthusiasm, promises of devotedness
and victory, had been admitted into the general council between
Payan and Fleuriot. The Place de Greve was filled with men, and
glittered with bayonets, pikes, and cannon. They waited only the
arrival of the sections to proceed to action. The presence of their
deputies and the sending of municipal commissioners among them
had inspired reliance on their aid. Henriot answered for every-
thing. The conspirators looked for certain victory; they appointed
an executive commission, prepared addresses to the armies, and
drew up various lists. Half-past midnight, however, arrived, and
no section had yet appeared, no order had yet been given, the tri-
umvirs were still sitting, and the crowd on the Place de Greve
became discouraged by this tardiness and indecision. A report
spread in whispers that the sections had declared in favor of the
convention, that the commune was outlawed, and that the conven-
tional troops were advancing. The eagerness of the armed multi-
tude had already abated, when a few emissaries of the assembly
glided among them and raised the cry: "Vive la convention! "
Several voices repeated it. They then read the proclamation of
outlawry against the commune, and after hearing it the whole
crowd dispersed. The Place de Greve was deserted in a moment.
Henriot came down a few minutes after, saber in hand, to excite
their courage; but finding no one, cried, "What! is it possible?
Those rascals of cannoneers, wlio saved my life five hours ago,
now forsake me." He went up again. At that moment the col-
umns of the convention arrived, surrounded the Hotel de Ville,
silently took possession of all its outlets, and then shouted: " Vive
la convention nationalc! " The conspirators, finding they were lost,
sought to escape the violence of their enemies by committing
violence on themselves. Robespierre shattered his jaw with a
318 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1794
pistol-shot ; " Lebas followed his example, but succeeded in kill-
ing himself; Robespierre the younger jumped from a window
on the third story, but survived the fall; Couthon hid himself
under a table; Saint-Just awaited his fate; Coffinhal, after re-
proaching Henriot with cowardice, threw him from a window into
a gutter and fled. Meantime the conventionalists penetrated into
the Hotel de Ville, traversed the desolate halls, seized the con-
spirators, and carried them in triumph to the assembly. Bourdon
entered the hall crying " Victory ! victory ! the traitors are no
more ! '' " The wretched Robespierre is there," said the president ;
*' they are bringing him on a litter. Doubtless you would not have
him brought in." "No! no!" they cried; "carry him to the
Placie de la Revolution ! " He was deposited for some time at the
committee of general safety before he was transferred to the Con-
ciergerie; and here, stretched on a table, his face disfigured and
bloody, exposed to the looks, the invectives, the curses of all, he
beheld the various parties exulting in his fall, and charging upon
him all the crimes that had been committed. He displayed much
insensibility during his last moments. He was taken to the Con-
ciergerie, and afterward appeared before the revolutionary tribunal,
which, after identifying him and his accomplices, sent them to the
scaffold. On the loth Thermidor, about five in the evening, he
ascended the death cart, placed between Henriot and Couthon,
mutilated like himself. His head was enveloped in linen saturated
with blood; his face was livid, his eyes almost visionless. An
immense crowd thronged around the cart, manifesting the most
boisterous and exultant joy. They congratulated and embraced
each other, loading him with imprecations, and pressed near to view
him more closely. The gendarmes pointed him. out with their
sabers. As to him, he seemed to regard the crowd with contemptu-
ous pity ; Saint-Just looked calmly at them ; the rest, in number
2 This is the usual statement but it is a controverted question whether
Robespierre shot himself or was shot by Meda. A more responsible opinion
would seem to be that he was shot by Meda as the latter entered the room.
See Belloc's " Robespierre," especially note iii, in the appendix, where all
the evidence on both sides is summarized. Yet Professor J. R. Moreton-Mac-
donald in the volume on " The French Revolution " in the Cambridge Modern
History series, who is the latest writer of eminence upon this subject, says, p. 371 :
" Robespierre's jaw was shattered by a pistol shot, whether self-inflicted, or the
work of a certain Meda, who afterwards claimed the honor, has never been
decided." May not Rolicspicrrc have tried to shoot one of his associates and
bungled, or else the pistol was struck up?
FALL OF ROBESPIERRE 319
1794
twenty-two, were dejected. Robespierre ascended the scaffold last;
when his head fell shouts of applause arose in the air and lasted
for some minutes.
With him ended the reign of terror, altliough he was not
the most zealous advocate of that system in his party. If he sought
for supremacy, after obtaining it he would have employed modera-
tion; and the reign of terror, which ceased at his fall, would also
have ceased with his triumph. I regard his ruin to have been in-
evitable; he had no organized force; his partisans, though numer-
ous, were not enrolled ; his instrument was the force of o])inion and
of terror; accordingly, not being able to surprise his foes by a
strong hand, after the fashion of Cromwell, he sought to intimidate
them. Terror not succeeding, he tried insurrection. P>ut as the
convention, with the support of the committees, had become coura-
geous, so the section, relying on tlie courage of the convention,
would naturally declare against the insurgents. By attacking the
government, he aroused the assembly ; by arousing the assembly,
he aroused the people; and this coalition necessarily ruined him.
The convention on the 9th Thermidor was no longer, as on May
31, divided, undecided, opposed to a compact, numerous, and daring
faction. All parties were united by defeat, misfortune, and the
proscription ever threatening- them, and would naturally become
allied in the event of a struggle. It did not, therefore, depend on
Robespierre to escape defeat. As little was it in his power to
secede from the committees.'' At the point he had attained, one
wishes to be sole; one is consumed by one's passions, deceived by
one's hopes, and by one's fortune, hitherto successful : and war
once declared, peace, repose, the ]\'irtition of power, are as impos-
sible as justice and clemency when the scaffolds have once been
erected. One must tlien fall by the means by which one has arisen ;
the man of action must perish by the scaffold, as the concjuenjr
by war.
"The progress of events from the fall of T^aiiton to th.e death of Rolies-
pierre has been called the 'labyrinth of the revolution," Xn other period is
so intricate. I'-ven the actual sequence of event- on tlie Sth and yth 'I'hennidnr
is still a debated question. The be>t authority for the period is llrricaidt,
"Lfl Revolution dc Tlicrmidnr'' Paris, ^'i<7'^. .\d<l Vilate. '' Causrs srn:-!rs
dc la Rcrohitinn du /.V'-' Thcnmdor"; Von Syliel. History of the I'rench
Revohition," vol. IV. pp. 51 ff.; Wallon. l.c Tnlunal rcvolufiouaircr vol. V.
pp. 179-220; Hamcl, "Robespierre," pp. 744-''>o,^. '^ too jiartisan to be trustworthy.
The notes to Fletcher's Carlyle. ' French Revohition." vol. VI. ch. vi., are
valuable.
Chapter XII
THE THERMIDORIAN REACTION
JULY 28, 1794-MAY 20, 1795
THE 9th Thermidor was the first day of the revolution
in which those fell who attacked. This indication alone
manifested that the ascendant revolutionary movement
had reached its term. From that day the contrary movement
necessarily began. The general rising of all parties against one
man was calculated to put an end to the compression under which
they labored. In Robespierre the committees subdued each other,
and the decemviral government lost the prestige of terror which
had constituted its strength. The committees liberated the con-
vention, which gradually liberated the entire republic. Yet they
thought they had been working for themselves, and for the pro-
longation of the revolutionary government, while the greater part
of those who had supported them had for their object the overthrow
of the dictatorship, the independence of the assembly, and the
establishment of legal order. From the day after the 9th Ther-
midor there were, therefore, two opposite parties among the con-
querors, that of the committees and that of the Mountain, which
was called the Thermidorian party.
The former was deprived of half its forces; besides the loss
of its chief, it no longer had the commune, whose insurgent members,
to the number of seventy-two, had been sent to the scaffold, and
which, after its double defeat under Hebert and under Robespierre,
was not again reorganized, and remained without direct influence.
But this party retained the direction of affairs through the com-
mittees. All its members were attached to the revolutionary sys-
tem; some, such as Billaud-Varennes, Collet d'Herbois, Barrere,
Vadier, Amar, saw it was their only safety ; others, such as Carnot,
Cambon, and the Prieurs, feared the counter-revolution, and the
punishment of their colleagues. In the convention it reckoned
all the commissioners hitherto sent on missions, several of the
Mountain who had signalized themselves on the 9th Thermidor,
320
THEREACTION 321
1794
and the remnant of Robespierre's party which was called the New
Mountain, or more often Cretois (from la crete, top of a moun-
tain). Without, the Jacobins were attached to it; and it still had
the support of the faubourgs and of the lower class.
The Thermidorian party was composed of the greater number
of the conventionalists. All the Center of the assembly, and what
remained of the Right, joined the Mountain, who had abated their
former exaggeration of views. The coalition of the Moderates,
Boissy d'Anglas, Sieyes, Cambaceres, Chenier,^ Thirbeaudeau, with
the Dantonists, Tallien, Freron, Legendre, Barras, Bourdon de
rOise, Rovere, Bentabole, Dumont, and the two Merlins, entirely
changed the character of the assembly. After the 9th Thermi-
dor the first step of this party was to secure its empire in the
convention. Soon it found its way into the government, and suc-
ceeded in excluding the previous occupants. Sustained by public
opinion, by the assembly, by the committees, it advanced openly
toward its object; it proceeded against the principal Decemvirs
and some of their agents. As these had many partisans in Paris,
it sought the aid of the young men against the Jacobins, of the sec-
tions against the faubourgs. At the same time to strengthen it
it recalled to the assembly all the deputies whom the committee of
public safety had proscribed: first, the seventy-three who had pro-
tested against May 31, and then the surviving victims of that day
themselves. The Jacobins exhibited excitement: it closed their
club; the faubourgs raised an insurrection: it disarmed them.
After overthrowing the revolutionary government it directed its
attention to the establishment of another, and to the introduction,
under the constitution of the Year III., of a feasible, liberal, regu-
lar, and stable order of things, in place of the extraordinary and
provisional state in which the convention had been from its com-
mencement until then. But all this was accomplished gradually.
The two parties were not long before they began to differ,
after their common victory. The revolutionary tril-unal was an
especial object of general horrc-ir. On the iith Thermidor it was
suspended ; but Billaud-X'arenncs, in the same sitting, had the
decree of suspension rescinded, lie maintained that tlie accomplices
of Robespierre alone were guilty, that tlie majority of the judges
and jurors being men of integrity, it was desirable to retain tliem
1 Marie-Joseph Chenier. His brother Andre, the poet, had been guillotined
on 7th Thermidor.
322 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1794
in their offices. Barrere presented a decree to that effect : he urged
that the triumvirs had done nothing for the revolutionary govern-
ment ; that they had often even opposed its measures ; that their
only care had been to place their creatures in it, and to give it a
direction favorable to their own projects; he insisted, in order to
strengthen that government, upon retaining the law of suspects
and the tribunal, with its existing members, including Fouquier-
Tinville. At this name a general murmur rose in the assembly.
Freron, rendering himself the organ of the general indignation, ex-
claimed : " I demand that the earth be, at length, delivered from
that monster, and that Fouquier be sent to hell, there to wallow in
the blood he has shed." His proposition was applauded, and
Fouquier's accusation decreed.^ Barrere, however, did not regard
himself as defeated ; he still retained toward the convention the
imperious language which the old committee had made use of with
success; this was at once habit and calculation on his part, for he
well knew that nothing is so easily continued as that which has
been successful.
But the political tergiversations of Barrere, a man of noble
birth, and who was a royalist Feuillant before August lo, did not
countenance his assuming this imperious and inflexible tone. " Who
is this president of the Feuillants," said Merlin de Thionville,
" who assumes to dictate to us the law ? " The hall resounded with
applause. Barrere became confused, left the tribune, and this first
check of the committees indicated their decline in the convention.
The revolutionary tribunal continued to exist, but with other mem-
bers and another organization. The law of the 22d Prairial was
abolished on August i, 1794, and there were now as much delibera-
tion and moderation, as many protecting forms in trials, as before
there had been precipitation and inhumanity. This tribunal was
no longer made use of against persons formerly suspected, who
were still detained in prison, though under milder treatment, and
who, by degrees, were restored to liberty on the plan proposed by
Camille Desmoulins for his committee of clemency.
On the 13th Thermidor the government itself became the
- This is Mignet's original statement, but it is clear he is confused as to
time. The revolutionary tribunal was about the last feature of the terror gov-
ernment to be abolished. Fouquier's trial was in the spring of 1795 (March
28-May 6). He and fifteen others were executed on May 7, and ten days later
the tribunal's final sitting took place. It was legislated out of existence on
the 31st.
THEREACTION 323
1794
subject of discussion. The committee of public safety was deficient
in many members; Herault de Sechelles had never been replaced;
Jean-Bon-Saint- Andre and Prieur de la Marne were on missions;
Robespierre, Couthon, and Saint-Just had perished on the scaffold.
In the places of these were appointed Tallien, Breard, Eschas-
seriaux, Treilhard, Thuriot, and Laloi, whose accession lessened
still more the influence of the old members. At the same time were
reorganized the two commitlees, so as to render them more de-
pendent on the assembly and less so on one another. The com-
mittee of public safety was charged with military and diplomatic
operations; that of general safety with internal administration.
As it was desired, by limiting the revolutionary power, to calm
the fever which had excited the multitude, and gradually to disperse
them, the daily meetings of the sections were reduced to one in
every ten days ; and the pay of forty sous a day, lately given to
every indigent citizen who attended them, was discontinued.
These measures being carried into effect, on the nth Fruc-
tidor, one month after the death of Robespierre, Lecointre of
Versailles denounced Billaud, Collot, Barrere, of the committee
of public safety ; and Vadier, Amar, and Vouland, of the
committee of general safety. The evening before Tallien had
vehemently assailed the reign of terror, and Lecointre was en-
couraged to his attack by the sensation which Tallien's speech had
produced. He brought twenty-three charges against the accused ;
he imputed to them all tlie measures of cruelty or tyranny which
they threw on the triumvirs, and called them the successors of
Robespierre. This denunciation agitated the assembly, and more
especially tliose who sup])orted tlie committees, or who wished that
divisions might cease in the republic. " If the crimes Lecointre re-
proaches us witli were ])r()vc(l/' said Billaud-Varennes. " if they
were as real as tliey are absurd and cliimerical. tliere is. doubtless,
not one of us but would deserve to lose his head on the scaffold.
But I defy Lecointre to prove, by documents or any evidence worthy
of belief,' any of tlie facts he has charged us with." lie repelled
the charges brought against him i)y Lecointre; he reproached his
enemies with heintr corrui)t and inlriii-uing men, who wished to
sacrifice him to tlie memory of Danion, rni odious cons])n-ator, the
hope of all parricidal factions. " W hat seek these men."' he con-
tinued, " what seek these men wlio call us the successors of Robes-
pierre? Citizens, know you what they seek? To destroy liberty
SU THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1794
on the tomb of the tyrant." Lecointre's denunciation was prema-
ture; ahnost all the convention pronounced it calumnious. The
accused and their friends gave way to outbursts of unrestrained
and still powerful indignation, for they were now attacked for the
first time ; the accuser, scarcely supported by anyone, was silenced.
Billaud-Varennes and his friends triumphed for the time.
A few days after, the period for renewing a third of the com-
mittee arrived. The following members were fixed on by lot to
retire : Barrere, Carnot, Robert Lindet, in the committee of public
safety; Vadier, Vouland, Moise Baile, in the committee of general
safety. They were replaced by Thermidorians ; and Collot d'Her-
bois, as well as Billaud-Varennes, finding themselves too weak, re-
signed. Another circumstance contributed still more to the fall of
their party, by exciting public opinion against it ; this was the pub-
licity given to the crimes of Joseph Lebon and Carrier, two of the
proconsuls of the committee. They had been sent, the one to
Arras and to Cambrai, the frontier exposed to invasion ; the other
to Nantes, the limit of the Vendean war. They had signalized their
mission by, beyond all others, displaying a cruelty and a caprice
of tyranny, which are, however, generally found in those who are
invested with supreme human power. Lebon, young and of a
weak constitution, was naturally mild. On a first mission he had
been humane; but he was censured for this by the committee, and
sent to Arras, with orders to show himself somewhat more revolu-
tionary. Not to fall short of the inexorable policy of the committee,
he gave way to unheard of excesses ; he mingled debauchery with
extermination ; he had the guillotine always in his presence, and
called it holy. He associated with the executioner and admitted
him to his table. Carrier, having more victims to strike, surpassed
even Lebon ; he was bilious, fanatical, and naturally blood-thirsty.
He had only awaited the opportunity to execute enormities that the
imagination even of Marat would not have dared to conceive. Sent
to the borders of an insurgent country, he condemned to death the
whole hostile population priests, women, children, old men, and
girls. As the scaffold did not suffice for his cruelty, he substituted
a company of assassins, called Marat's company, for the revolution-
ary tribune, and, for the guillotine, boats, with false bottoms, by
means of which he drowned his victims in the Loire. Cries of
vengeance and justice were raised against these enormities. After
the 9th Thermidor Lebon was attacked first, because he was more
THEREACTION 325
especially the agent of Robespierre. Carrier, who was that of the
committee of public safety, and of whose conduct Robespierre had
disapproved, was prosecuted subsequently.
There were in the prisons of Paris ninety-four people of
Nantes, sincerely attached to the revolution and who had defended
their town with courage during the attack made on it by the Ven-
deans. Carrier had sent them to Paris as federalists. It had not
been deemed safe to bring them before the revolutionary tribunal
until the 9th Thermidor; they were then taken there for the pur-
pose of unmasking, by their trial, the crimes of Carrier. They
were tried purposely with prolonged solemnity; their trial lasted
nearly a month; there was time given for public opinion to declare
itself; and on their acquittal there was a general demand for jus-
tice on the revolutionary committee of Nantes, and on the i:iro-
consul. Carrier. Legendre renewed Lecointre's impeachment of
Billaud, Barrere, Collot, and Vadier, who were generously defended
by Carnot, Prieur, and Cambon, their former colleagues, who de-
manded to share their fate. Lecointre's motion was not attended
with any result; and, for the present, they only brought to trial
the members of the revolutionary committee of Xantes ; but we
may observe the progress of the Thermidorian party. This time
the members of the committee were obliged to have recourse to
defense, and the convention simply passed to the order of the day,
on the question of the denunciation made by Legendre, without
voting it calumnious, as they had done that of Lecointre.
The revolutionary democrats were, however, still very power-
ful in Paris; if they had lost the commune, the tribunal, the con-
vention, and the committee, they yet retained the Jacobins and
the faubourgs. It was in these popular societies that their party
concentrated, especially for the purpose of defending themselves.
Carrier attended them assiduously and invoked their assistance;
Billaud-Varennes, and Collot dTIerbois also resorted to them; but
these, being somewhat less threatened, were circimispect. They were
accordingly censured for their silence. " The lion sleeps," replied
Billaud-Varennes, " but his waking will be terrible." This club
had been expurgated after tlie 10th Then nidor, and it had con-
gratulated the convention in the name of the regenerated societies
on the fall of Robespierre and of tyranny. About this time, as
many of its leaders were proceeded against and many Jacobins
were imprisoned in the departments, it came in the name of tlie
326 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1794
united societies " to give utterance to the cry of grief that resounded
from every part of the republic, and to the voice of oppressed pa-
triots, plunged in the dungeons which the aristocrats had just left."
The convention, far from yielding to the Jacobins, prohibited,
for the purpose of destroying their influence, all collective petitions,
branch associations, and correspondence between the parent society
and its offsets, and in this way disorganized the famous confedera-
tion of the clubs. The Jacobins, rejected from the convention,
began to agitate Paris, where they were still masters. Then the
Hiermidorians also began to convoke their people by appealing to
the support of the sections." At the same time Freron called the
young men to arms in his journal, I'Orateur dii Peiiple, and placed
himself at their head. This new and irregular militia called itself
La jeunesse doree dc Freron. All those who composed it belonged
to the rich and the middle class; they had adopted a particular cos-
tume, called Costume a la victime. Instead of the blouse of the
Jacobins, they wore a square open coat and very low shoes ; the
hair, long at the sides, was turned up behind, with tresses called
cadenettcs; they were armed with short sticks, leadened and formed
like bludgeons. A portion of these young men and of the section-
aries were royalists ; the others followed the impulse of the
moment, which was anti-revolutionary. The latter acted without
object or ambition, declaring in favor of the strongest party, espe-
cially when the triumph of that party promised to restore order,
the want of which was generally felt. The other contended under
the Thermidorians against the old committees, as the Thermi-
dorians had contended under the old committees against Robes-
pierre; it waited for an opportunity of acting on its own account,
which occurred after the entire downfall of the revolutionary party.
In the violent situation of the two parties, actuated by fear and re-
sentment, they pursued each other unrelentingly, and often came
to blows in the streets to the cry of "Vive la Montague! " or
" Vive la convention! " The Jeunesse Doree were powerful in the
Palais Royal, where they were supported by the shopkeepers ; but
the Jacobins were the strongest in the garden of the Tuileries, which
was near their club.
These cjuarrels became more animated every day, and Paris
3 On December 24. 1794, the forty-eight sections of Paris were reduced to
twelve, and their local meetings to one every ten days. Schmidt, " Tableaux
dc la Revolution," vol. II. pp. 228, 254.
THERE ACTION 327
1794
was transformed into a field of battle, where the fate of the parties
was left to the decision of arms. This state of war and disorder
would necessarily have an end ; and since the parties had not the
wisdom to come to an understanding, one or the other must in-
evitably carry the day. The Thermidorians were the party in
progress, and victory naturally fell to them. On the day following
that on which Billaud had spoken of the waking of the lion in the
popular society, there was great agitation throughout Paris. It
was wished to take the Jacobin Club by assault. Men shouted
in the streets : " The great Jacobin conspiracy ! Outlaw the
Jacobins ! " At this period the revolutionary committee of Nantes
were being tried. On their defense they pleaded that they had re-
ceived from Carrier the sanguinary orders they had executed,
which led the convention to enter into an examination of his con-
duct. Carrier was allowed to defend himself before the decree was
passed against him. He justified his cruelty by the cruelty of the
Vendeans, and the maddening fury of civil war. " When I acted,"
he said, " the air still seemed to resound with the civic songs of
twenty thousand martyrs, who had shouted ' Vive la rcpiibliquc! '
in the midst of tortures. How could the voice of humanity, which
had died in this terrible crisis, be heard? What would my ad-
versaries have done in my place? I saved the republic at Xantes;
my life has been devoted to my country, and I am ready to die
for it." Out of 500 voters, 498 were for the impeachment; the
other 2 voted for it, but conditionally.
The Jacobins, finding their opponents were going from sub-
altern agents to the representatives, regarded themselves as lost.
They endeavored to rouse the multitude, less to defend Carrier
than for the support of their party, whicli was threatened more
and more. But they were kept in check by the Jeunesse Doree and
the sectionaries, who eventually proceeded to the place of their
sittings to dissolve the chib. A sharp conllict ensued. The be-
siegers broke tlie windows witli stones, forced the doors, and dis-
persed the Jacol)ins after some resistance on their part. The latter
complained to the convention of this violence. Rewbel, deputed
to make a report on the subject, was not favorable to them.
" WHiere was tyranny organized? " said he. " At the Jacobin Clulx
Where had it its supports and its satellites? At the Jacobin Club.
Who covered France witli mourning, tlirew families into despair,
filled the republic with bastiles, made the republican system so
328 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1794
odious that a slave laden with fetters would have refused to live
under it? The Jacobins. Who regret the terrible reign we have
lived under? The Jacobins. If you have not courage to decide in
a moment like this, the republic is at an end, because you have
Jacobins." The convention suspended them provisionally, in order
to expurgate and reorganize them, not daring to destroy them at
once. The Jacobins, setting the decree at defiance, assembled in
arms in their usual place of meeting; the Thermidorian troop who
had already besieged them there came again to assail them. It
surrounded the club with cries of "Long live the convention!"
" Down with the Jacobins ! " The latter prepared for defense ;
they left their seats, shouting " Long live the republic ! " rushed
to the doors, and attempted a sortie. At first they made a few
prisoners, but soon yielding to superior numbers, they submitted
and traversed the ranks of the victors, who, after disarming them,
covered them with hisses, insults, and even blows. These illegal
expeditions were accompanied by all the excesses which attend
party struggles.
The next day, November 12, 1794, commissioners came to close
the club and put seals on its registers and papers, and from that
moment the society of the Jacobins ceased to exist. A handful of
old members continued the club under another name, Societe du
Pantheon, and even met for a short time in the next year in the
original Jacobin convent. That popular body had powerfully ser\^ed
the revolution, when, in order to repel Europe, it was necessary to
place the government in the multitude, and to give the republic all
the energy of defense ; but now it only obstructed the progress of
the new order of things.
The situation of affairs was changed; liberty was to succeed
the dictatorship, now that the salvation of the revolution had been
effected, and that it w^as necessary to revert to legal order in order
to preserve it. An exorbitant and extraordinary power, like the
confederation of the clubs, would necessarily terminate with the
defeat of the party which had supported it, and that party itself
expire with the circumstances which had given it rise.
Carrier, brought before the tribunal, was tried, and condemned
to be executed on December 16, 1794, with the majority of his
accomplices. During the trial, the seventy-three deputies, whose
protest against ^Vlay 31 had excluded them from the assemblies,
were reinstated. Merlin de Douai moved their recall in the name of
THE REACTION 329
1794
the committee, of public safety; his motion was received with ap-
plause, and the seventy-three resumed their seats in the convention.
The seventy-three, in their turn, tried to obtain the return of the
outlawed deputies, but they met with warm opposition. The
Thermidorians and the members of the new committees feared that
such a measure would be calling the revolution itself into question.
They were also afraid of introducing- a new party into the conven-
tion, already divided, and of recalling- implacable enemies, who
might cause, with regard to themselves, a reaction similar to that
wdiich had taken place against the old committees. Accordingly,
they vehemently opposed the motion, and ^Icrlin de Douai went
so far as to say: " Do you want to throw open the doors of the
Temple? " The young son of Louis XVI. was confined there, and
the Girondists, on account of the results of May 31, were con-
founded with the royalists; besides, May 31 still figured among
the revolutionary dates beside August 10 and July 14. The retro-
grade movement had yet some steps to take before it reached that
period. The republican counter-revolution had turned back from
the 9th Thermidor, 1794, to October 3, 1793, the day on which the
seventy-three had been arrested, but not to June 2, 1793, when
the twenty-two were arrested. After overthrowing Robespierre
and the committee it had to attack Marat and the Mountain. In
the almost geometrical progression of popular movement a few
months were still necessary to effect this.
They went on to abolish the decemviral system. The decree
against the priests and nobles, who had formed two proscribed
classes under the reign of terror, was revoked; the maximum was
abolished December 2^^, ^794^ 5ii order to restore c(jnndence by
putting an end to commercial tyranny ; tlie general and earnest
effort was to substitute the most elevated liberty for the despotic
pressure of the committee of public safety. 1'his period was also
marked by the independence of the ])ress. the restoration of religious
worship, and the return (jf the property confiscated from the feder-
alists during- the reign of the committees.
Here was a complete reaction against the rcvolutionarv gov-
ernment; it soon reached Marat and the Mountain. After tlie
9th Thermidor it had been considered necessary to o])pose a great
revolutionary reputati(.)n to that of Robespierre, and Marat had
been selected for tlii-^ ]:)urpose. To him were decreed the honors
of the I'antheon. which Robespierre, while in power, had deferred
330 T H E F REN C U R E VOLUTION
1794-1795
granting him. lie, in his turn, was now attacked. His bust was
in the convention, the theaters, on the public squares, and in the
popular assemblies. The Jeunesse Doree broke that in the Theatre
L^vdeau. 1'he Mountain complained, but the convention decreed
that no citizen could obtain the honors of the Pantheon, nor his
bust be placed in the convention, until he had been dead ten years.
The bust of Marat disappeared from the hall of the convention,
and as the excitement was very great in the faubourgs, the sections,
the usual support of the assembly, defiled through it. There was,
also, opposite the Invalides, an elevated mound, a Mountain, sur-
mounted by a colossal group, representing Hercules crushing a
hydra. The section of the Halle-au-ble demanded that this should
be removed. The Left of the assembly murmured. " The giant,"
said a member, " is an emblem of the people." " All I see in it is
a mountain," replied another, " and what is a Mountain but an
eternal protest against equality." These w^ords were much ap-
plauded, and sufficed to carry the petition and overthrow the monu-
ment of the victory and domination of a party.
Next were recalled the proscribed conventionalists ; already,
some time since, their outlawry had been reversed. Isnard and
Louvet wrote to the assembly to be reinstated in their rights ; they
were met by the objection as to the consequences of May 31 and
the insurrections of the departments. " I will not," said Chenier,
who spoke in their favor, " I w-ill not so insult the national conven-
tion as to bring before them the phantom of federalism, which has
been preposterously made the chief charge against your colleagues.
They fled, it will be said; they hid themselves. This, then, is their
crime! would that this, for the welfare of the republic, had been
the crime of all ! Why were there not caverns deep enough to pre-
serve to the country the meditations of Condorcet, the eloquence
to Vergniaud? Why did not some hospitable land, on the loth
Thermidor, give back to light that colony of energetic patriots and
virtuous republicans? But projects of vengeance are apprehended
from these men, soured by misfortune. Taught in the school of
suffering, they have learned only to lament human errors. No, no;
Condorcet, Rabaud-Saint-Etienne, Vergniaud, Camille Desmoulins
seek not holocausts of blood ; their manes are not to be appeased
by hecatombs." The Left opposed Chenier's motion. " You are
about," cried Bentabole, "to rouse every passion; if you attack
the insurrection of May 31, you attack the eighty thousand men
T H E R E A C T I O N 331
1794-1795
who concurred in it." " Let us take care," replied Sieyes, " not to
confound the work of tyranny with that of principles. When men,
supported by a subaltern authority, the rival of ours, succeeded in
organizing the greatest of crimes, on the fatal May 31 and June 2,
it was not a work of patriotism, but an outrage of tyranny; from
that time you have seen the convention domineered over, the ma-
jority oppressed, the minority dictating laws. The i)resent session
is divided into three distinct periods; till May 31 there was op-
pression of the convention 1>y the people; till the 9th Thermidor.
oppression of the people of the convention, itself the object of tyr-
anny; and lastly, since the 9th Thermidor, justice, as regards
the convention, has resumed its rights." He demanded the recall
of the proscribed members, as a pledge of union in the assembly
and of security for the republic. ]\lcrlin de Douai immediately
proposed their return in the name of the committee of public safety;
it was granted, and after eighteen months' proscription the twenty-
two conventionalists resumed their seats ; among them were Isnard,
Louvet, Lanjuinais,* Kervelegan, Henri la Riviere, La Reveilliere,
Lepeaux, and Lesage, all that remained of the brilliant but unfortu-
nate Gironde. They joined the moderate party, which was com-
posed daily more and more of the remains of different parties. For
old enemies, forgetting their resentments and their contest for
domination, because thev had now the same interests and tlie same
objects, became allies. It was the commencement of jiacification
between those who wished for a republic against the royalists, and
a practicable constitution, in opposition to tlie revolutionists. At
this period all measures against the federalists were rescinded, and
the Girondists assumed the lead of the republican counter-revo-
lution.
The convention was. howe\cr, carried much too far by the
partisans of reaction; in its desire to repair all and t(^ punish all
it fell into excesses of justice. After the abolition of the deccm-
viral regime, the ]^ast slionld have been buried in oblivion, and rlic
revolutionary abyss closed after a few expiatory victims had been
thrown into it. vSecurity alone l)rings about ]iacilication ; and pacifi-
cation only admits of liberty. I'y again entering tipon a course
characterized by passion, they only effected a transference of tyr-
anny, violence, and calamity. Hitherto the bourgeoisie had been
sacritked to thie multitude, to the consumer^ : now it was just th.c
t.anjninais was not an ()ulri,t;ht (iirondi.^t.
332 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1794-1795
reverse. Stock-jobbing was substituted for the maximum, and
informers of the middle class altogether surpassed the popular
informers. All who had taken part in the dictatorial government
were proceeded against with the fiercest determination. The sec-
tions, the seat of the middle class, required the disarming and
punishment of the members of their revolutionary committees,
composed of sans-culottes. There was a general hue and cry against
the terrorists, and the number included under this denomination
was daily increased. The departments denounced all the former
proconsuls, thus rendering desperate a numerous party, in reality
no longer to be feared, since it had lost all power, by thus threaten-
ing it with great and perpetual reprisals.
Dread of proscription and several other reasons disposed
them for revolt. The general want was terrible. Labor and its
produce had been diminished ever since the revolutionary period,
during which the rich had been imprisoned and the poor had gov-
erned ; the suppression of the maximum had occasioned a violent
crisis, which the traders and farmers turned to account, by disas-
trous monopoly and jobbing. To increase the difficulty, the as-
signats were falling into discredit, and their value diminished daily.
More than eight thousand millions' worth of them had been issued.
The insecurity of this paper money, by reason of the revolutionary
confiscations, which had depreciated the national property, the want
of confidence on the part of the merchants, tradesmen, etc., in the
stability of the revolutionary government, which they considered
merely provisional, all this had combined to reduce the real value
of the assignats to one-fifteenth of their nominal value. They
were received reluctantly, and specie was hoarded up with all the
greater care, in proportion to the increasing demand for it and the
depreciation of paper money. The people, in want of food and
without the means of buying it, even when they held assignats, were
in utter distress. They attributed this to the merchants, the farmers,
the landed and other proprietors, to the government, and dwelt
with regret upon the fact that before, under the committee of public
safety, they had enjoyed both power and food. The convention had
indeed appointed a committee of subsistence to supply Paris with
provisions, but this committee had great difficulty and expense in
procuring from day to day the supply of fifteen hundred sacks of
flour necessary to support this immense city; and the people, who
waited in crowds for hours together before the bakers' shops, for
THEREACTION 333
1795
the pound of bad bread distributed to each inhabitant, were loud
in their complaints, and violent in their murmurs. They called
Boissy d'Anglas, president of the committee of subsistence, Boissy-
Famine. Such was the state of the fanatical and exasperated mul-
titude, when its former leaders were brought to trial.
On the 1 2th Ventose, a short time after the return of the re-
maining Girondists, the assembly had decreed the arrest of Billaud-
Varennes, Collot d'Herbois, Barrere, and Vadier. Their trial
before the convention was appointed to commence on the 3d Ger-
minal. On the 1st (March 20, 1795), the Decade day, when the
sections used to assemble, their partisans organized a riot to pre-
vent their being brought to trial; the outer sections of the Fau-
bourgs Saint Antoine and Saint ^Marceau were devoted to their
cause. From these cpiarters they proceeded, half petitioners, half
insurgents, toward the convention to demand bread, the constitu-
tion of '93, and the liberation of the imprisoned patriots. They
met a few young men on their way, whom they threw into the
basins of the Tuileries. The news, however, soon spread that the
convention was exposed to danger, and that the Jacobins were
about to liberate their leaders, and the Jeunessc Dorce. followed by
about 5000 citizens of the inner sections, came, dispersed the men
of the faubourgs, and acted as a guard for the assembly. The
latter, warned by this new danger, revived, on the motion of Sieycs,
the old martial law, under the name of Loi de Grande Police.
This rising in favor of the accused having failed, they were
brought before the convention on the 3d Germinal. Vadier alone
was contumacious. Their conduct was investigated with the great-
est solemnity; they were charged with having tyrannized over the
people and oppressed the convention. Though procjfs were not
wanting to support this charge, the accused defended themselves
with much address. They ascribed to Roljespierre tlie oppression
of the assembly and of themselves; they endeavored to i^alliate
their own conduct by citing the measures taken by the committee
and adopted by the convention, Iw urging ihc excitement of the
period, and the necessity of securing the defense and safety of the
republic. Tlieir former colleagues appeared as witnesses in tlieir
favor, and wished to make comuKMi cause witli them. I'he Cretois
(the name then given to tlic remnant of tlie Mountain) also sup-
ported them warmly. Their trial had lasted nine days, and each
sitting had been occupied by the prosecution and the defense. The
334. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1795
sections of the faubourgs were greatly excited. The mobs which
had collected every day since the ist Germinal increased twofold
on the 1 2th (April i), and a new rising took place, in order to
suspend the trial, which the first rising had failed to prevent. The
agitators, more numerous and bold on this occasion, forced their
way through the guard of the convention and entered the hall,
having written with chalk on their hats the words " Bread," " The
Constitution of '93," " Liberty for the patriots." Many of the
deputies of the Crete declared in their favor; the other members,
astounded at the tumult and disorder of this popular invasion,
a\\aited the arrival of the inner sections for their deliverance. All
debating was at an end. The toscin, which had been removed from
the commune after its defeat and placed on the top of the Tuileries,
where the convention sat, sounded the alarm. The committee or-
dered the drums to beat to arms. In a short time the citizens of
the nearest sections assembled, marched in arms to assist the con-
vention, and rescued it a second time. It sentenced the accused,
whose cause was the pretext for this rising,^ to transportation, and
decreed the arrest of seventeen members of the Crete who had
favored the insurgents, and might, therefore, be regarded as their
accomplices. Among these were Cambon, Ruamps, Leonard Bour-
don, Thuriot, Qiasles, Amar, and Lecointre, who, since the recall
of the Girondists, had returned to the ]\Iountain. On the following
day they and the persons sentenced to transportation were con-
veyed to the castle of Ham.
The events of the 12th Germinal decided nothing. The fau-
bourgs had been repulsed, but not conquered ; and both power and
confidence must be taken from a party by a decisive defeat before
it is effectually destroyed. After so many questions, decided
against the democratists, there still remained one of the utmost
importance the constitution. On this depended the ascendency
of the multitude or the bourgeoisie. The supporters of the revo-
^ The fact that the rising of 12th Germinal was due to economic and
social discontent, and not to political causes, is well brought out by Von Sybel,
" French Revolution," vol. IV. 252 ff. The repeal of the maximum law hastened
the crisis. It was used by some of the IMountain, who had been opposed to the
restoration of the Girondists, in the hope of procuring a political alternation.
The timely arrival of some battalions of the national guard, commanded by
Pichegru, saved the constitution. It was this rising which made the convention
resolve to stamp out the last vestige of the terror and so bring Fonquier-
Tinville to trial. Collot d'Herbois, Rillaud-Varennes, Barrere,. and Vadier
were also condemned to deportation. The last managed to escape.
THEREACTION 335
1796
lutionary government then fell back on the democratic consti-
tution of '93, which presented to them the means of resuming
the authority they had lost. Their opponents, on the other hand,
endeavored to replace it by a constitution which would secure all
the advantage to them, by concentrating the government a little
more, and giving it to the middle class. For a month, both parties
were preparing for this last contest. The constitution of 1793,
having been sanctioned by the people, enjoyed a great prestige. It
was accordingly attacked with infinite precaution. At first its
assailants engaged to carry it into execution without restriction;
next they appointed a commission of eleven members to prepare
the organic laws, which were to render it practicable ; by and by
they ventured to suggest objections to it on the ground that it
distributed power too loosely, and recognized only one assembly
dependent on the people, even in its measures of legislation. At
last a sectionary deputation went so far as to term the constitution
of '93 a decemviral constitution, dictated by terror. All its parti-
sans, at once indignant and filled with fears, organized an insur-
rection to maintain it. This was another ]\Iay 31, as terrible as
the first, but whicli, not having the support of an all-powerful
commune, not being directed by a general commandant, and not
having a terrified convention and submissive sections to deal with,
had not the same result.
The conspirators, warned by the failure of tlie risings of the
ist and I2th Germinal, omitted nothing to make up for their want
of direct object and of organization. On the ist Prairial'"' (Alay
20), in the name of the people, insurgent for tlic purpose of ob-
taining bread and their rights, they decreed the abolition of the
revolutionary government, tlie establishment of the democratic
constitution of '93, the dismissal and arrest of tlie mcml)ers of the
existing government, the liberation of the patri(^ts, tlie convocation
of the primary assemblies on the 25th Prairial. the convocation of
" Cy. Von Syl)cl, "History of the French Revolution," vol TV. pp. 300-3T5:
Sebmidt, "Tableaux dc la Rrrolnlion," vol. Ih p. 3-V, IT. Like that of the i_nh
Germinal, this rising was also chiefly economic, thout^h there was much more
politics in it than in the tlrst. Von Syhel says the daily ration of food di'-trihiited
was a half-pound of hread and a half-pound of rice. Prices had soared heyond
all previous figures hetween these two insurrection'^, (^win;-:: to the resumptinn cf
specie export on April 27. .As a conscf|uence. the disparity hetween gold coin
and the paper assignats hecame great it than ever. .Selnnidt, vol. 11. pp. 7,::f)-T,2/.
cites the case of a louis d'or (20 francs) heing olTered for sale for 900 francs in
April, 1795-
336 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1795
the legislative assembly, destined to replace the convention, on the
25th Messidor, and the suspension of all authority not emanating
from the people. They determined on forming a new municipal-
ity, to serve as a common center; to seize on the barriers, tele-
graph,'^ cannon, tocsins, drums, and not to rest till they had se-
cured repose, happiness, liberty, and means of subsistence for all
the French nation. They invited the artillery, gendarmes, horse
and foot soldiers, to join the banners of the people, and marched
on the convention.
Meantime, the latter was deliberating on the means of pre-
venting the insurrection. The daily assemblages occasioned by
the distribution of bread and the popular excitement had concealed
from it the preparations for a great rising, and it had taken no
steps to prevent it. The committees came in all haste to apprise
it of its danger; it immediately declared its sitting permanent,
voted Paris responsible for the safety of the representatives of the
republic, closed its doors, outlawed all the leaders of the mob, sum-
moned the citizens of the sections to arms, and appointed as their
leaders eight commissioners, among whom were Legendre, Henri
la Riviere, and Kervelegan. These deputies had scarcely gone
when a loud noise was heard without. An outer door had been
forced, and numbers of women rushed into the galleries, crying:
'* Bread and the constitution of '93 ! " The convention received
them firmly. " Your cries," said the president, Vernier, " will
not alter our position ; they will not accelerate by one moment the
arrival of supplies. They will only serve to hinder it." A fearful
tumult drowned the voice of the president and interrupted the pro-
ceedings. The galleries were then cleared ; but the insurgents of the
faubourgs soon reached the inner doors, and finding them closed,
forced them with hatchets and hammers, and then rushed in amid
the convention.
The hall now became a field of battle. The veterans and
gendarmes, to whom the guard of the assembly was confided,
cried " To arms ! " The deputy Auguis, sword in hand, headed
them, and succeeding in repelling the assailants, and even made a
'' The brothers Claude and Ignace Chappe, born 1763 and 1760, both
mechanical engineers, were the creators of the semaphore system of telegraphs.
The scheme was presented to the legislative assembly March 2, 1792 ; on April 4,
1793, the convention voted a sum of money for experiments, and on August 4
ordered the establishment of a line from Paris to Lille. Fletcher's Carlyle,
" French Revolution," iii. p. 161, note i.
1795
THEREACTION 337
few of them prisoners. But the insurgents, more numerous, re-
turned to the charge and again rushed into the house. The
deputy Feraud entered precipitately, pursued by the insurgents,
who fired some shots in the house. They took aim at Boissy
d'Anglas, who was occupying the president's chair, in place of
Vernier. Feraud ran to the tribune, to shield him with his body;
he was struck at with ])ikes and sa1)ers, and fell dangerously
wounded. The insurgents dragged him into the lobby, and, mis-
taking him for Freron, cut off his head and placed it on a pike.
After this skirmish they became masters of the hall. ;Most
of the deputies had taken flight. There remained only the mem-
bers of the Crete and Boissy d'Anglas, who, calm, his hat on. heed-
less of threat and insult, protested in the name of the convention
against this popular violence. They held out to him the bleeding
head of Feraud ; he bowed respectfully before it. They tried to
force him, by placing pikes at his breast, to put the propositions of
the insurgents to the vote ; he steadily and courageously refused.
But the Cretois, who approved of the insurrection, took possession
of the bureau ^ and of the tribune, and decreed, amid the applause
of the multitude, all the articles contained in the manifesto of the
insurrection. The deputy Romme became their organ. They
further appointed an executive commission, composed of Bour-
botte Duroy, Duquesnoy, Prieur de la Marne, and a general-in-
chief of the armed force, the deputy S'Uibrany. In this way they
prepared for the return of their domination. They decreed the
recall of their imprisoned colleagues, the dismissal of their enemies,
a democratic constitution, the recstablishment of the Jacobin Club.
But it was not enough for them to have usurped the asseml)ly for a
short time; it was necessary to cnnf|uer the sections, for it was
only with these they could really contend there.
The commissioners dispatched to the sections had quickly
gathered them together. The battalions of the Butte des Moulins,
Lepelletier, des Piques, de la Fontaine-Grenelle, who were the near-
est, soon occupied the Carrousel and its principal avenues. The
^ The bureau was the clerical staff of the ccmvcufion while in session. It
was the duty of these officials to keep a record of the proceedings, count votes,
receive notices of motion, propo-^ed laws, etc. I"or in I'rance then and now
the deputies speak from a platform the trilnnie and each mcmher wishing
to speak sent his name to the bureau. The officials of the bureau thus roughly
correspond to the clerks of the House of Ri'pre^entatives and the Senate, with
the difference that they are actual members of the house, also.
338 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1795
aspect of affairs then underwent a change ; Legendre, Kervelegan,
and Auguis besieged the insurgents, in their turn, at the head of the
sectionaries. At first they experienced some resistance. But with
fixed bayonets they soon entered the hall, where the conspirators
were still deliberating, and Legendre cried out : " In the name of
the law, I order armed citizens to withdraw." They hesitated a
moment, but the arrival of the battalions, now entering at every
door, intimidated them, and they hastened from the hall in all the
disorder of flight. The assembly again became complete; the
sections received a vote of thanks, and the deliberations were re-
sumed. All the measures adopted in the interim were annulled,
and fourteen representatives, to whom were afterward joined four-
teen others, were arrested for organizing the insurrection, or
approving it in their speeches. It was then midnight; at five in
the morning the prisoners were already six leagues from Paris.
Ten thousand arrests were made.
Despite this defeat the faubourgs did not consider them-
selves beaten ; and the next day they advanced en masse with their
cannon against the convention. The sections, on their side,
marched for its defense. The two parties were on the point of
engaging; the cannons of the faubourg, which were mounted on
the Place du Carrousel, were directed toward the chateau, when
the assembly sent commissioners to the insurgents. Negotiations
were begun. A deputy of the faubourgs, admitted to the con-
vention, first repeated the demand made the preceding day, adding:
" We are resolved to die at the post we now occupy, rather than
abate our present demands. I fear nothing! My name is Saint-
Leger. Vive la republiqiie ! Vive la convention! if it is attached
to principles, as I believe it to be." The deputy was favorably
received, and they came to friendly terms with the faubourgs,
without, however, granting them anything positive. The latter
having no longer a general council of the commune to support their
resolutions, nor a commander like Henriot to keep them under
arms till their propositions were decreed, went no further. They
retired after having received an assurance that the convention
would assiduously attend to the question of provisions, and would
soon publish the organic laws of the constitution of '93. That
day showed that immense physical force and a decided object are
not the only things essential to secure success ; leaders and an au-
thority to support and direct the insurrection are also necessary.
T H E R E A C T I O N 339
1795
The convention was the only remaining legal power: the party
which it held in favor triumphed.
Six democratic Mountaineers, Goujon. Bourbotte, Romme,
Duroy, Duquesnoy, and Soubrany, were brought before a military
commission. They behaved firmly, like men fanatically devoted
to their cause, and almost all free from excesses. The Prairial
movement was the only thing against them ; but that was sufficient
in times of party strife, and they were condemned to death. They
all stabbed themselves with the same knife, which was transferred
from one to the other, exclaiming, " Vive la rcpuhlique! "
Romme, Goujon, and Duquesnoy were fortunate enough to
wound themselves fatally ; Duroy and Bourbotte went to the scaf-
fold, June 17, 1795.
Meantime, the faul>ourgs, though repelled on the ist, and
diverted from their object on the 2d of Prairial, still had the
means of rising. An event of much less importance than the pre-
ceding riots occasioned their final ruin. The murderer of Feraud
was discovered, condemned, and on the 4th, the day of his execu-
tion, a mob succeeded in rescuing him. There was a general outcry
against this attempt, and the convention ordered the faubourgs
to be disarmed. They were encompassed by all the interior sec-
tions. After attempting to resist they yielded, giving up some
of their leaders, their arms, and artillery. The democratic party
had lost its chiefs, its clubs, and its authorities ; it had nothing left
but an armed force, which rendered it still formidable, and insti-
tutions by means of whicli it might yet regain everything. After
the last check tlie inferior class was entirely excluded from the
government of the state, the revolutionary committees which
formed its asseml)lies were destroyed; tlie cannoneers forming
its armed force were disarmed; the constitution of '93, which was
its code, was abolished ; and here the rule of the multitude
terminated.
From the 9th Thermidor to the ist Prairial the ^Mountaineer
was treated as the Girondist party had been treated from June 2
to the 9tli Tliermidor. Seventy-six of its nieml)ers were sentenced
to death or arrest. In its turn it underwent the destiny it had
imposed on tlie other; for in times wlien tlie jiassions are called
into play, parties know not how to come to terms, and seek only to
conquer. Like the Girondists, they resorted to insurrection, in
order to regain the ])o\ver wliich they !i;i(l lost: and like them,
340 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1795
they fell. Vergniaud, Brissot, Guadet, were tried by a revolu-
tionary tribunal; Bourbotte, Duroy, Soubrany, Romme, Goujon,
Duquesnoy, by a military commission. They all died with the
same courage : which shows that all parties are the same, and are
guided by the same maxims, or, if you please, by the same necessi-
ties. From that period the middle class resumed the manage-
ment of the revolution without, and the assembly was as united
under the Girondists as it had been, after June 2, under the
Mountaineers.
Chapter XIII
THE CLOSE OF THE NATIONAL CONVENTION
MAY 20-OCTOBER 26, 1795
THE exterior prosperity of the revolution chiefly con-
tributed to the fall of the dictatorial government and of
the Jacobin party. The increasing- victories of the re-
public to which they had very greatly contributed by their vigorous
measures, and by their enthusiasm, rendered their power super-
fluous. The committee of public safety, by crushing with its
strong and formidable hand the interit)r of France, had developed
resources, organized armies, found generals, and commanded vic-
tories which ultimately secured the triumph of the revolution with
respect to Europe. A prosperous positiiMi no longer required the
same efforts; its mission was accomplished, the peculiar province
of such a dictatorship being to save a countr}' and a cause, and to
perish by the very safety it had secured. Internal events ha\c
prevented our rapidly describing the impulse which the committee
of public safety gave to the armies after May 31, and the results
which it obtained from it.
The levy en masse that took place in the summer of 1793
formed the troops of the jNIountain. The leaders of that party
soon selected from the secondary ranks Mountaineer generals tn
replace the Girondist generals. Those generals were Jourdan.
Pichegru, Hoche, ]\Ioreau, W'estermann, Dugommier, Marceau,
Joubert, and Kleber. Carnot, by his admission to the committee
of public safetv, became minister of war and major general of all
the republican armies. Instead of scattered bodies, acting without
concert upon isolated points, he proceeded with strong masses,
concentrated on one object. He commenced the practice of a
great plan of warfare, which he tried with decided success at
W'attignies, in his capacity of commissioner of the convention.
This important victory, at which he assisted in person, drove the
allied generals. Clairfait and the Prince of Cnburg, behind the
Sambre and raised the siege of ^laui)cugc. During the winter of
3il
342 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1795
1793 and 1794 the two armies continued in presence of each other
without undertaking anything-.
The revolution had disorganized the army. Tlie national
assembly had suppressed the provincial militia. The army of the
line had been depleted by desertions, by the emigration of the
officers, and was ill-disciplined and mutinous. The military re-
forms included the suppression of the old militia and the dismissal
of the troops of the Maison du Roi, together with those of the
foreign regiments. The plan of reorganization included ( i ) an
active army of 150,000 men voluntarily enlisted for four years:
(2) a reserve army of 100,000; (3) a national guard composed of
all active citizens between eighteen and fifty years of age. The
regiments ceased to be designated after the old form, but were
known by numbers. New measures, such as fixed rules for pro-
motion, the abolition of merely nominal posts of command, the
establishment of courts-martial with a jury, and the adoption of
a new military code, entirely reorganized the army.
At the first threat of war the national assembly had had the
thought of using the national guard. In June, 1791, the assembly
ordered a volunteer enrollment of men of twenty-one or over in
each department; on August 17 it called for 101,000 volunteers
the " Volunteers of '91." They were formed into battalions. The
officers were elected by popular vote of the soldiers, and among
the first are to be found Davout, Kleber, Hoche, Massena, and
Marceau. The volunteers of 1792 were similarly called, and organ-
ized in battalions of federes, but did not make as good soldiers as
those of '91, who had become a disciplined and hardened soldiery.
This was owing to the fact that there were yet enough of the
trained officers of the ancient regime to leaven the mass. Under-
officers of the old line filled the places vacated by their superiors
and trained the raw recruits. The French artillery was the best in
Europe. The first volunteers were superior to the second group.
But all alike w^ere filled with a magnificent patriotism. The " Mar-
seillaise " to-day the national song of France was the expressir^n
of popular feeling at this time.
The great losses of the summer of 1793 had brought matters to
a crisis in the army. The levy of 300,000 had not been effective.
There was not enough cohesion between the old and the new
troops. There was a new emigration of officers, of moderate
royalist sentiments, after the execution of the king, and the army
CLOSE OF THE CONVENTION 343
1795
became disorganized. Moreover, there was friction between the
generals and the administration. They were spied upon, their
orders changed, deposed, imprisoned, by the deputies on mission,
to such an extent that a place of high command became almost
equivalent to a death-warrant.
Evidently great modifications must be made or the army
would dissolve in anarchy. " Amalgamation " became the new
order of the day. On June 19, 1793, the convention ordered the
consolidation of all the heterogeneous elements regiments of the
ancient service, volunteers of '91, federes of '92. One battalion
of infantry of the line was combined with two battalions of volun-
teers to form a demi-brigade ; there were ninety-six such regi-
ments. The cavalry were organized in a similar way, by regiments
and squadrons. Eight regiments of mounted artillery were cre-
ated. Two brigades formed a division, an army corps of from
twelve to fifteen thousand men, composed of twelve battalions,
eight squadrons, and a battery of six to eight cannon. These
changes made the great levy en inassc of August 23, 1793, a
success. It created the army capable of the victories of 1793- 1794.
In June, 1793, the effective army was 477,000 men; in December
it was 628,000, and in 1794 over a million, of whom 750,000 were
actually facing the enemy!
Simultaneously with the new composition of tlie armies a new
sort of tactics was introduced. Carnot recommended the com-
manders-in-chief to direct the hottest fire at one point and break the
enemies' lines in two. This new policy of concentrating fire be-
came the basis of Napoleon's victories. At the same time, the sol-
diers were allowed more freedom than under the iron regime of
Frederick the Great, and individual effort came to count for more.
Fired bv a vivid patriotism, the offensive movements of the h>ench
became irresistible. In storming intrenchments or battery-posi-
tions, as at \\'oertli in December, 1793, the bayonet became a ter-
ribly effective weapon.
Moreover, a new generation of field officers was coming up
of men capable of commanding, loving their troops and loved by
them. The barrier of caste between private and superior vanished
with the revolution. Tlie generals who commanded in 1792, La-
favette, Tuckner. Rochambcan. had disappeared from the scene.
Those who supi)1anted them, like Dumouriez. Custine. ^^lontes-
quiou, were little better, for they. too. harl been sclifw^led in the
344
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1795
Seven Years' War or under the ancient regime. Finally came the
genuine sons of Mars the generation of 1792, composed first of
subordinate officers raised to rank, like Kleber, Kellermann,
Scherer; then the young graduates of military schools, like Bona-
parte, Davout, Desaix, Clarke, Macdonald, Grouchy, Marmont ;
finally, new recruits who had risen by sheer merit, such as Lazare
Hoche, son of a soldier, born at Versailles, a stable-boy getting
the rudiments of education from the cure, working after hours to
earn the wherewithal to purchase books ; a volunteer in the national
guard, a volunteer of '92, he fought in the army of the Ardennes
and in Belgium, when he became aide-de-camp of General Veneur,
who recommended his promotion for merit at the siege of Dunkirk.
In October, 1793, he was put in command of the army of the
^loselle. He saved Alsace, but was unjustly cashiered and im-
prisoned in April, 1794, by Saint-Just, then deputy on mission to
the army, for not taking Treves ; he was released after Thermidor.
At the opening of the campaign of 1793- 1794 each side con-
ceived a plan of invasion. The Austrian army advanced upon the
towns on the Somme, Peronne, Saint-Quentin, Arras, and threat-
ened Paris, while the French army again projected the conquest of
Belgium. The plan of the committee of public safety was com-
1795
CLOSE OF THE CONVENTION 345
bined in a very different way to the vague design of the coalition.
Pichegru, at the head of 50,000 men of the army of the north,
entered Flanders, resting on the sea and the Scheldt. On his right,
Moreaii advanced with 20,000 men upon Menin and Courtray.
General Souham, with 30,000 men, remained under Lille to sustain
the extreme right of the invading army against the Austrians;
while Jourdan, with the army of the Moselle, directed his course
toward Charleroi by Arlon and Dinant, to join the army of the
north.
The Austrians, attacked in Flanders and threatened with a
surprise in the rear by Jourdan, soon abandoned their positions on
the Somme. Clairfait and the Duke of York allowed themselves
to be beaten at Courtray and Hooghlede by the army of Pichegru ;
Coburg at Fleurus by that of Jourdan, who had just taken Char-
leroi. The two victorious generals rapidly completed the invasion
of the Netherlands. The Anglo-Dutch army fell back on Antwerp,
and thence upon Breda, and from Breda to Bois-le-Duc, receiv-
ing continual checks. It crossed the Waal and fell back upon
Holland. The Austrians endeavored, with the same want of suc-
cess, to cover Brussels and Maestricht; they were pursued and
beaten by the army of Jourdan, which since its union had taken the
name of the army of the Sambre-et-Meuse, and which did not leave
them behind the Roer, as Dumouriez had done, but drove them
beyond the Rhine. Jourdan made himself master of Cologne and
Bonn, and communicated by his left with the right of the army of
the ]Moselle, which had advanced into the country of Luxemburg,
and which, conjointly with him, occupied Coblentz. A general
and concerted movement of all the French armies had taken place,
all of them marcliing toward the Rhenish frontier. At the time of
the defeats the lines of Weissenburg had been forced. The com-
mittee of public safety employed in the army of the Rhine the
expeditious measures pecuh'ar to its policy. The commissioners,
Saint-Just and Lebas, gave the cliief command to Hoche, made
terror and victory the order of the day; and Generals Brunswick
and Wurmser were very siion driven from Hagucnau on the lines
of the Lauter. and not Ix-ing al)le even to maintain that position,
passed the Rliine at Philipsburg. Spire and Worms were retaken.
Hoche was deprived of In's command 1)y Saint-Just on April 8,
1794, under orders from Carnot, who was angered because of iiis
not endeavoring to take Treves. He was imprisoned and not re-
346 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1795
leased until after gtli Thermidor. The republican troops, every-
where victorious, occupied Belgium, that part of Holland situated
on the left of the Meuse, and all the towns on the Rhine, except
Mayence and Mannheim, which were closely beset.
The army of the Alps did not make much progress in this
campaign. It tried to invade Piedmont, but failed. On the Span-
ish frontier the war had commenced under ill auspices; the two
armies of the eastern and western Pyrenees, few in number and
badly disciplined, were constantly beaten ; one had retired under
Perpignan, the other under Bayonne. The committee of public
safety turned its attention and efforts but tardily on this point,
which was not the most dangerous for it. But as soon as it had
introduced its system, generals, and organization into the two
armies, the appearance of things changed. Dugommier, after re-
peated successes, drove the Spaniards from the French territory
and entered the peninsula by Catalonia. Moncey also invaded it
by the valley of Bastan, the other opening of the Pyrenees, and
became master of Saint Sebastian and Fontarabia. The coalition
was everywhere conquered, and some of the allied powers began
to repent of their too confiding adhesion.
In the meantime news of the revolution of the 9th Thermidor
reached the armies. They were entirely republican, and they feared
that Robespierre's fall would lead to that of the popular govern-
ment; and they, accordingly, received this intelligence with marked
disapprobation; but as the armies were submissive to the civil
authority, none of them rebelled. The insurrections of the army
only took place from July 14 to May 31 ; because, being the refuge
of the conquered parties, their leaders had at every crisis the ad-
vantage of political precedence, and contended with all the ardor
of compromised factions. Under the committee of public safety,
on the contrary, the most renowned generals had no political influ-
ence, and were subject to the terrible discipline of parties. While
occasionally thwarting the generals, the convention had no difficulty
in keeping the armies in obedience.
A short time afterward the movement of invasion was pro-
longed in Holland and in the Spanish peninsula. The United Prov-
inces were attacked in the middle of winter, and on several sides,
by Pichegru, who summoned the Batavian patriots to liberty. The
party opposed to the stadtholderate seconded the victorious eft'orts
of the French army, and the revolution and conquest took place
CLOSE OF THE CONVENTION 347
1795
simultaneously at Leyden, Amsterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht.
The stadtholder took refuge in England; his authority was abol-
ished, and the assembly of the states-general proclaimed the sov-
ereignty of the people and constituted the Batavian republic, which
formed a close alliance with France, to which it ceded, by the Treaty
of Paris, of May i6, 1795, Dutch Flanders, Maastricht, Venloo,
and their dependencies. The navigation of the Rhine, the Scheldt,
and the Meuse was left free to l)oth nations. Holland by its wealth
powerfully contributed toward the continuance of the war against
the coalition. This important conquest at the same time deprived the
English of a powerful support, and compelled Prussia, threatened
on the Rhine and by Holland, to conclude at Basel with the French
republic a peace for which its reverses and the affairs of Poland
had long rendered it disposed.^
The fact of having secured an equivalent in Poland for her
losses was the decisive factor with Prussia. The peace with
Prussia was signed April 5, 1795. The articles guaranteed France
the left bank of the Rhine, so far as Prussia was concerned, but a
secret article provided for future indemnification of Prussia through
secularization of certain ecclesiastical states. A neutral line run-
ning due east through Germany was marked out, the states north of
it, as Saxony and Hesse, being guaranteed protection from French
aggrandizement, since they were regarded as under the wing of
Prussia.
The South German states continued to adhere to Austria
and were marked for conquest by the directory. It is interesting to
notice that patriotic P'rance. in three years, had accomplished more
than all the armies of Louis XIV. What with Nice and Savoy, the
left bank of the Rhine and Holland, the most extravagant advocate
of " natural frontiers '" ought to have been satisfied, h'iguieres and
the fortress of Rosas had been taken, and Perignon was advancing
into Catalonia, while ]\Ioncey. after becoming master of Villa
Real. Bilbao, and X'ittoria. marched against the Spaniards, who
had retired to the fn^nlicrs of Old Ca^lilc. The cabinet of Madrid
demanded peace. Saint Sebastian and Fontarabia were taken by
the French in August. 1794. This was followed by an invasion of
* Historians are divided in opinion as to rcspoii-^ihility for the breach hc-
tween the Prussian and the An-trian armies wliich tof,)k phacc at tin's time. The
eminent German In'storian, Von Syhel. champions tlie conduct of Pru--ia and
throws the blame upon Austria. On the other hand, the Austrian lii-torians,
Videnot and liuftcr, make Prussia ropou-ibic lor the division.
348 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1795
the Basque provinces, so that Spain had no other course. She
fenced diplomatically for a long time, for the sake of the dauphin,
for Spanish honor regarded the Family Compact as sacred. Final
settlement was made at Basel, July 22, 1795. It recognized the
French republic, who restored its conquests, and who received in
exchange the portion of Saint Domingo possessed by Spain. The
two disciplined armies of the Pyrenees joined the army of the
Alps, which by this means soon overran Piedmont, and entered
Italy Tuscany only having made peace with the republic on Feb-
ruary 9, 1795.
These partial pacifications and the reverses of the coalesced
troops gave another direction to the efforts of England and the
emigrant party. The time had arrived for making the interior of
France the fulcrum of the counter-revolutionary movement. In
1 79 1, when unanimity existed in France, the royalists placed all
their hopes in foreign powers; now dissensions at home and the
defeat of their allies in Europe left them no resource but in con-
spiracies. Unsuccessful attempts, as we have seen, never make
vanquished parties despair: victory alone wearies and enervates,
and sooner or later restores the dominion of those who wait.
The events of Prairial and the defeat of the Jacobin party
had decided the counter-revolutionary movement. At this period,
the reaction, hitherto conducted by moderate republicans, became
generally royalist. The partisans of monarchy were still as divided
as they had been from the opening of the states-general to August
10. In the interior, the old constitutionalists, who had their sittings
in the sections, and who consisted of the wealthy middle classes,
had not the same views of monarchy with the absolute royalists.
They still felt the rivalry and opposition of interest natural to the
middle against the privileged classes. The absolute royalists them-
selves did not agree ; the party beaten in the interior had little
sympathy with that enrolled among the armies of Europe ; but
besides the divisions between the emigrants and Vendeans, dissen-
sions had arisen among the emigrants from the date of their
departure from France. Meantime, all these royalists of different
opinions, not having yet to contend for the reward of victory, came
to an agreement to attack the convention in common. The emi-
grants and the priests, who for some months past had returned in
great numbers, took the banner of the sections, quite certain, if they
carried the day by means of the middle class, to establish their own
CLOSE OF THE CON'VENTION 349
1795
government; for they had a leader, and a definite object, which
the sectionaries had not.
This reaction, of a new character, was restrained for some time
in Paris, where the convention, a strong and neutral power, wished
to prevent the violence and usurpation of both parties. While over-
throwing the sway of the Jacobins, it suppressed the vengeance of
the royalists. Then it was that the greater part of the Jeunesse
Doree deserted its cause, that the leaders of the sections prepared the
bourgeoisie to oppose the assembly, and that the confederation of
the journalists succeeded that of the Jacobins. La Harpe, Richer,
de Serizy, Poncelin, Trongon du Condray, and Marchena became
the organs of this new opinion, and were the literary clubists. The
active but irregular troops of this party assembled at the Theatre
Feydeau, the Boulevard des Italiens, and the Palais Royal, and
began the chase of the Jacobins, while they sang the '' Rcvcil du
Peuple." The word of proscription at that time was terrorist, in
virtue of which an honest man might all conscientiously attack a
revolutionist. The terrorist class was extended at the will or the
passions of the new reactors, who wore their hair a la victimc, and
who, no longer fearing to avow their intentions, for some time past
had adopted the Chouan uniform a gray turned-back coat with a
green or black collar.
But this reaction was much more ardent in the departments,
where there was no authority to interpose in the prevention of
bloodshed. Here there were only two parties, that which had
dominated and that which had suffered under the Mountain. The
intermediate class was alternately governed by the royalists and
by the democrats. The latter, foreseeing the terrible reprisals to
which they would be subject if they fell, held out as long as they
could ; but their defeat at Paris led to their downfall in the depart-
ments. Party executions then took place, similar to those of the
proconsuls of the committee of public safety. The south was,
more especially, a prey to wholesale massacres and acts of personal
vengeance. Nearly alfthe South had its September 2. The power in
the convention had shifted from the Left to the Right, but the
Thermidorians, the moderates, and the Girondists, who dominated
in the convention, now perceived that from being threatened by
revolutionists, they were now threatened by counter-revolutionists.
After the 9th Thermidor there had been a large intlux of the
emigrants into France. The royalists again became a force in the
350 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1795
country. In the west of France bands of royalist brigands ap-
peared, who called themselves chaufifeurs. The Companies of Jehu
and of the Sun infested the public roads, robbed travelers and mer-
chants, and even pillaged whole towns. Lyons, Marseilles, Aix,
and Tarascon were even entered by them." At Lyons, after the
first revolutionary massacres, the members of the companies hunted
out those who had not been taken ; and when they met one, without
any other form than the exclamation, "There's a Matavon " (the
name given to them), they slew and threw him into the Rhone.
At Tarascon, they threw them from the top of the tower on a rock
on the bank of the Rhone. During this new reign of terror and
this general defeat of the revolutionists England and the emigrants
attempted the daring enterprise of Quiberon.
The Vendeans were exhausted by their repeated defeats, but
they were not wholly reduced. Their losses, however, and the
divisions between their principal leaders, Charette and Stofflet, ren-
dered them an extremely feeble succor. Charette had even con-
sented to treat with the republic, and a sort of pacification had been
concluded between him and the convention at Jusnay. The Mar-
quis de Puisaye, an enterprising man, but volatile and more capable
of intrigue than of vigorous party conceptions, intended to replace
the almost expiring insurrection of La Vendee by that of Brittany.
Since the enterprise of Wimpfen, in which Puisaye had a com-
mand, there already existed, in Calvados and Morbihan, bands of
Chouans, composed of the remains of parties, adventurers, men
without employment, and daring smugglers, who made expeditions,
but were unable to keep the field like the Vendeans. Puisaye had
recourse to England to extend the Chouanerie, leading it to hope
for a general rising in Brittany, and thence in the rest of France,
if it would land the nucleus of an army, with ammunition and
guns.
The ministry of Great Britain, deceived as to the coalition,
desired nothing better than to expose the republic to fresh perils,
while it sought to revive tlie courage of Europe. It confided in
Puisaye, and in the spring of 1795 prepared an expedition, in which
the most energetic emigrants took a share, nearly all the officers
of the former navy, and all who, wearv of the part of exiles and of
- Mahan, " Influence of Sea-Power upon the French Revohition," vol. I.
175 fF., is good upon this " White Terror." The reaction in the southern main-
land was watched with deep concern from the decks of English vessels.
CLOSE OF THE CONVENTION 351
1795
the distresses of a life of wandering, wished to try their fortune
for the last time.
The English fleet landed on the peninsula of Quiberon 1500
emigrants, 6000 republican prisoners who had embraced the cause
of the emigrants to return to France, 60,000 muskets, and the
full equipment for an army of 40,000 men. Fifteen hundred
Chouans joined the army on its landing, and it was soon attacked
by General Hoche. His attack proved successful ; the republican
prisoners who were in the ranks deserted, and it was defeated after
a most energetic resistance. In the mortal warfare between the
emigrants and the- republic, the vanquislied, being considered as
outlaws, were mercilessly massacred. Their loss inflicted a deep
and incurable wound on the emigrant party. Hoche conrpiered La
Vendee by a systematic " rounding-up " of the p()])ulation and com-
plete disarmament. This success had been followed by that at Qui-
beron, June 27, 1795. Tallien, who was deputy on mission in his
army, forced him, much against his will, to shoot 690 of the royal-
ists and Vendeans, at Arglos. Having had hard experience of
deputies on mission, he complied. This royalist reaction, combined
with the death of the daupliin, in the same month, on June 10,
ruined the faintest hopes of a monarchical constitution.''
The hopes founded on the victories of Europe, on the prog-
ress of insurrection and the attempt of the emigrants, being thus
overthrown, recourse was had to the discontented sections. It was
hoped to make a counter-revolution by means of the new constitu-
tion decreed by the convention on August .22. 1795. The consti-
tution was, indeed, the work of the moderate republican ])arty; but
as it restored the ascendency of the middle class, the nn-alist leaders
thought that by it they might easily enter the legislative body and
the government.
This constitution was tlie best, the wisest, the most liberal,
and the most provident that had as yet been established or
projected: it contained the result of six years' revolutionary and
legislative experience. At this period tlic convention felt the neces-
sity of organizing power, and of rendering tlie ])eo})lc settled, while
the first assembly, from its p(-)sition. felt (Mily the necessity of weak-
ening royalty and agitating the nriti(Mi. All had been exhausted,
from the throne t(^ tlie peo])lc: existence now depended on recoiv
''On llie prisdP.-lifc of tliis child, the in<ist innocent victim of the revolution,
see the note in Fletcher's Carlyle. " l>ench Revolution." vol. 111. pp. i8g-iQ0.
86 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1795
structing and restoring order, at the same time keeping the nation
in great activity. The new constitution accomphshed this. It
differed but Httle from that of 1791, with respect to the exercise
of sovereignty, but greatly in everything relative to government.
It confided the legislative power to two councils, that of the Cinq-
cents and that of the Anciens, and the executive power to a direc-
tory of five members. It restored the two degrees of elections
destined to retard the popular movement, and to lead to a more
enlightened choice than immediate elections. The wise but moder-
ate qualifications with respect to property, required in the members
of the primary assemblies and the electoral assemblies, again con-
ferred political importance on the middle class, to which it became
imperatively necessary to recur after the dismissal of the multitude
and the abandonment of the constitution of '93.
In order to prevent the despotism or the servility of a single
assembly, it was necessary to place somewhere a power to check or
defend it. The division of the legislative body into two councils,
which had the same origin, the same duration, and differed only
in functions, attained the twofold object of not alarming the people
by an aristocratic institution, and of contributing to the formation
of a good government. The council of five hundred, whose
members were required to be thirty years old, was alone intrusted
with the initiative and the discussion of laws. The council of an-
cients composed of 250 members, who had completed their fortieth
year, was charged with adopting or rejecting them.
In order to avoid precipitation in legislative measures, and
to prevent a compulsory sanction from the council of ancients in
a moment of popular excitement, they could not come to a decision
until after three readings, at a distance of five days at least from
each other. In urgent cases this formality was dispensed with ; and
the council had the right of determining such urgency. This coun-
cil acted sometimes as a legislative power, when it did not thor-
oughly approve a measure, and made use of the form " Lc Conscil
dcs anciens ne pent pas adopter," and sometimes as a consen-ative
power, when it only considered a measure in its legal bearing, and
said '' La Constitution annulc." For the first time partial re-
elections were adopted, and the renewing of half of the council
every two years was fixed, in order to avoid that rush of legislators
who came with an immoderate desire for innovation, and suddenly
changed the spirit of an assembly.
CLOSE OF THE CONVENTION 353
1795
The executive power was distinct irom the councils, and no
longer existed in the committees. Monarchy was still too much
feared to admit of a president of the republic being named. They,
therefore, confined themselves to the creation of a directory of five
members, nominated by the council of ancients, at the recommenda-
tion of that of the five hundred. The directors might be brought
to trial by the councils, but could not be dismissed by them. They
were intrusted with a general and independent power of execution,
but it was wished also to prevent their abusing it, and especially to
guard against the danger of a long habit of authority leading to
usurpation. They had the management of the armed force and
of the finances, the nomination of functionaries, the conducting of
negotiations, but they could do nothing of themselves ; they had
ministers and generals, for whose conduct they were responsible.
Each member was president for three months, holding the seals and
affixing his signature. Every year one of the members was to go
out. It will be seen by this account that the functions of royalty as
they were in 1791 were shared by the council of ancients, who had
the veto, and the directory, which held the executive power. The
directory had a guard, a national palace, the Luxembourg, for a
residence, and a kind of civil list. The council of the ancients,
destined to check the encroachments of the legislative power, was
invested with the means of restraining the usurpations of tlie direc-
tory; it could change the residence of the councils and of the
government.
But this foresight has another aspect. In their effort to
avoid the exorbitant concentration of powers whicli the terror
government had enjoyed, the framers of the constitution went
to the other extreme. As in the constituticm of 171)1, there
was so great a separation of the functions of government that,
in case of conflict, only an appeal to force was possible. The
provisions that one director sliould retire each year soon divided
the executive a""ainst itself a condition which brought about the
coup d'etat of the i8th Eructidor ( Septem1)cr 4. i;*)/). The truth
is, the directory held its place only througli negative forces. Since
the death of the daupliin and tlie royalist fia>co at Ouibcrcni a
monarchy was impossil:)lc. A rc])iih]ic;ni form of government, with
a single executive, was inipMssihlc. for who could he ])resi(leni .'
Then, again, much of the nation was too tired of ])ohtics to he ni-
terested. The directorv, from the first, was a makeshift govern-
354 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1795
ment, and was accepted because nothing else was possible. More
than any other class, the army was representative of France a
state of things which logically led to Napoleon, And yet the
directory was partially inclined to peace, as the exchange of
Madame Royale, the sister of the dauphin, shows. But it dared
not disband the armies after Basel, lest their home-coming increase
the army of unemployed and discontented, and to pay them aggres-
sion had to continue. The soldiery of Napoleon were paid out of
the loot of Italy.*
The members of the commission of eleven, who, previous to
the events of Prairial, had no other mission than to prepare the
organic laws of the constitution of '93, and who, after those events,
made the constitution of the year III., were at the head of the con-
ventional party. This party belonged neither to the old Gironden
nor to the old Mountain. Neutral up to May 31, subject till the
9th Thermidor, it had been in the possession of powder since that
period, because the twofold defeat of the Girondists and the Moun-
tain had left it the strongest. The men of the extreme sides, wdio
had begun the fusion of parties, joined it. Merlin de Douai repre-
sented the party of that mass Avhich had yielded to circumstances,
Thibaudeau, the party that continued inactive, and Daunou the
courageous party. The latter had declared himself opposed to all
coups d'etat, ever since the opening of the assembly, both January
21 and to May 31, because he wished for the regime of the con-
vention, without party violence and measures, x^fter the 9th Ther-
midor he blamed the fury displaA^ed toward the chiefs of the
revolutionary government, whose victim he had been as one of the
seventy-three. He had obtained great ascendency, as men grad-
ually approached toward a legal system. His enlightened attach-
ment to the revolution, his noble independence, the solidity and
extent of his ideas, and his imperturbable fortitude rendered him
one of the most influential actors of this period. He was the chief
author of the constitution of the year III., and the convention
deputed him, with some others of its members, to undertake the
defense of the republic during the crisis of Vendemiaire.
The reaction gradually increased ; it was indirectly favored
by the members of the Right, who, since the opening of that assem-
bly, had only been incidentally republican. They were not prepared
to repel the attacks of the royalists with the same energy as that of
the revolutionists. Among this number were Boissy d'Anglas,
'See Sorcl, " L' Europe ct la Revolution francaisc." vol. 'IV. p. 453 ff.
CLOSE OF THE CONVENTION 355
1795
Lanjuinais, Henri la Riviere, Saladin, and Aubry; they formed in
ine assembly the nucleus of the sectionary party. Old and ardent
Mountaineers, such as Rovere and Bourdon de I'Oise, carried away
by the counter-revolutionary movement, suffered the reaction to be
prolonged, doubtless in order to make their peace with those whom
they had so violently combated.
But the conventional party, reassured with respect to the
democrats, set itself to prevent the triumph of the royalists. It
felt that the safety of the republic depended on the formation of
the councils, and that the councils being elected by the middle class,
which was directed by royalists, would be composed on counter-
revolutionary principles. It was important to intrust the guardian-
ship of the regime they were about to establish to those who had
an interest in defending it. In order to avoid the error of the con-
stituent assembly, w'hich had excluded itself from the legislature
that succeeded it. the convention decided by a decree that two-
thirds of its members should be reelected. By this means it secured
the majority of the councils and the nomination of the directory ;
it could accompany its constitution into the state, and consolidate
it without violence. This reelection of two-tliirds was not exactly
legal, but it was politic, and the only means of saving b^rance from
the rule of the democrats or counter-revolutionists. The convention
granted itself a moderate dictatorship, by the decrees of the 5th
and 13th Fructidor (August 22 and 30. 1795). one of which es-
tablished the reelection, and the other fixed the manner of it. But
these two exceptional decrees were suljniiited to the ratification of
the primary assemblies at the same time as the constitiuional act.
The royalist party was taken by surprise by the decrees of
Fructidor. It hoped to form part of the government by the coun-
cils, of the councils by elections, and to cft'ect a change of system
when once in power. It inveigb.cd against tlie Cdiivention. The
royalist committee of Faris. wliose agent was an obscure man.
named Lemaitre, the jotirnah'st^. and the leaders of the sections
coalesced. They had no difhculty in securing tiie su])i:iort (U" public
opinion, of which tb.ey were the only organs; they .'iccuscd the con-
vention of perpetuating its ])ower and of assailing the sovereignty
of the people. The chief advocates of tlie two-thirds. I.ouvet.
Daunou, and Chenier, were nr^t spared, and every preparation was
made for a grand movement. Tlie l\-aibourg Saint Germain, lately
aliuost deserted, gradually filled : emigrants docked in, and the
356 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1795
conspirators, scarcely concealing their plans, adopted the Chouan
uniform.
The convention, perceiving the storm increase, sought support
in the army, which, at that time, was the republican class, and a
camp was formed at Paris. The people had been disbanded and
the royalists had secured the bourgeoisie. In the meantime the
primary assemblies met on the 20th Fructidor, to deliberate on the
constitutional act and the decrees of the two-thirds, which were to
be accepted or rejected together. The Lepelletier section (formerly
Filles Saint Thomas) was the center of all the others. On a mo-
tion made by that section, it was decided that the power of all
constituent authority ceased in the presence of the assembled people.
The Lepelletier section, directed by Richer de Serizy, La Harpe,
Lacretelle junior, and Vaublanc, turned its attention to the organi-
zation of the insurrectional government, under the name of the
central committee. This committee was to replace in Vendemiaire,
against the convention, the committee of August 10 against the
throne, and of May 31 against the Girondists. The majority of the
sections adopted this measure, which was annulled by the conven-
tion, whose decree was in its turn rejected by the majority of the
sections. The struggle now became open; and in Paris they sep-
arated the constitutional act, which was adopted, from the decrees
of reelection, which were rejected.
On the ist Vendemiaire the convention proclaimed the ac-
ceptation of the decrees by the greater number of the primary
assemblies of France. The sections assembled again to nominate
the electors who were to choose the members of the legislature. On
the loth they determined that the electors should assemble in the
Theatre Frangais (it was then situated on the left bank of the
Seine) ; that they should be accompanied there by the armed force
of the sections, after having sworn to defend them till death. On the
nth, accordingly, the electors assembled under the presidency of
the Duke de Nivernois, and the guard of some detachments of
chasseurs and grenadiers.
The convention, apprised of the danger, sat permanently, sta-
tioned round its place of sitting the troops of the camp of Sablons,
and concentrated its powers in a committee of five members, who
were intrusted with all measures of public safety. These members
were Colombel, Barras, Daunou, Le Tourneur, and Merlin de
Douai. For some time the revolutionists had ceased to be feared,
1795
CLOSE OF THE CONVENTION 357
and all had been liberated who had been imprisoned for the events
of Prairial. They enrolled, under the name of battalion of patriots
of '89, about 1500 or 1800 of them, who had been proceeded against,
in the departments or in Paris, by the friends of the reaction. In the
evening of the nth the convention sent to dissolve the assembly of
electors by force, but they had already adjourned to the following
day.
During the night of the nth the decree which dissolved the
college of electors, and which armed the battalion of patriots of '89,
caused the greatest agitation. Drums beat to arms ; the Lepelletier
section declaimed against the despotism of the convention, against
the return of the reign of terror, and during the whole of the 12th
prepared the other sections for the contest. In the evening, the
convention, scarcely less agitated, decided on taking the initiative
by surrounding the conspiring section and terminating the crisis
by disarming it. Menou, general of the interior, and Leporte, the
representative, were intrusted with this mission. The convent of
the Filles Saint Thomas was the headquarters of the sectionaries,
before which they had 700 or 800 men in battle array. These
were surrounded by superior forces, from the boulcxards on eac'n
side and the Rue Vivienne opposite. Instead of disarming them
the leaders of the expedition began to parley. It was agreed that
both parties should withdraw: but the conventicMial tr^.-ops had no
sooner retired than the sectionaries returned reinforced. This was
a complete victory for them, wliich being exaggerated in Paris, as
such things always are. increased their mnnlier and gave them
courage to attack the conventitm the next day.
About eleven at night the convention learned the issue of tlie
expedition and the dangerous effect which it had produced; it in^-
mediately dismissed Menou. and gave tlie c(Mnniand of the armed
force to Barras. tlie general in command on the 9th Thermidor.
Barras asked the comniitiec of fue to appoint as liis second in com-
mand a young officer who had distinguished himself at the siege of
Toulon, but had been dismissed by Atibry of the reaction ])arty; a
young man of talent and resolution, calculated to do good service to
the republic in a miMuent of ])eril. 1'his young officer was Bona-
parte."' He appeared before the c(tmniittec, but there w;is nothing
' Xapoleo!! Rdnaprirtc v\a- li'irit on Aii,t;M-i 15. ijfw). at Ajaccio in Cnr-ioa.
in the very vear \v'''n the i.^land pa-^.-ed to I-'rance. Tlie family oriyir.ally
ranie from Tuscany. Mis fatlier was a hiwyer, wlio iHcd liefdre the reviTiUi'Ui.
358 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1795
in his appearance that announced his astonishing destiny. Not a
man of party, summoned for the first time to this great scene of
action, his demeanor exhibited a timidity and a want of assurance,
which disappeared entirely in the preparations for battle and in the
heat of action. He immediately sent for the artillery of the camp
of Sablons, and disposed them, with the 5000 men of the conven-
tional army, on all the points from which the convention could be
assailed. At noon on the 13th Vendemiaire the enclosure of the
convention had the appearance of a fortified place, which could only
be taken by assault. The line of defense extended, on the left side
of the Tuileries along the river, from the Pont Neuf to the Pont
Louis XV. ; on the right, in all the small streets opening on the Rue
Saint Honore, from the Rues de Rohan, de I'Echelle and the Cul-
de-sac Dauphin, to the Place de la Revolution. In front, the
Louvre, the Jardin de 1' Infante, and the Carrousel were planted with
cannon ; and behind, the Pont Tournant and the Place de la Revolu-
tion formed a park of reserve. In this position the convention
awaited the insurgents.
The latter soon encompassed it on several points. They had
about 40,000 men under arms, commanded by Generals Danican,
Duhoux, and the ex garde-du-corps, Lafond, The thirty-two sec-
His mother, Laetitia Ramolino, survived her famous son. Napoleon was the
second member of the familj-. The eldest brother was Joseph, afterward King
of Spain, and the three younger were Lucien, Louis, and Jerome. There
were three sisters also, Elisa, Caroline, and Pauline. In 1778 Napoleon was
sent to a college in Autun, through the benefaction of Marbeuf, the governor
of Corsica. Thence he passed to a military school in Brienne, and later
to Paris. He showed a remarkable aptitude for scientific studies. He became
an officer of artillery in the regiment of La Fere, and lived in garrison
at Valence, Douai, and Auxonne. At this time he had no love for France,
indeed was bitterly hostile toward his adopted country. He sided with
the revolution, but took no active part in its movements tmtil late in its
course. After the fall of the monarchy, in September, 1792, he became
a captain in the fourth regiment of artillery. During the terror he was
an advocate of Robespierre and his name has been found upon a list of members
of the Jacobin Club. After the 9th Thermidor he fell under suspicion, like
all the terrorists, and lost his place in the army. He refused to serve under
Hochc in the Vendean war, and was contemplating going to Constantinople
with the hope of entering the army of the sultan, when the insurrection of the
13th Vendemiaire brought him again into fame. For this service he was made
a general of division in the army of the interior, and soon afterward married
Josephine, the widow of General Beauharnais, who had been guillotined during
the revolution. When the triple campaign against Austria was planned Na-
poleon was given command of the army of Italy, and thenceforth his career
was European in its importance.
CLOSE OF THE CONVENTION 359
1795
tions which formed the majority had suppHed their mihtary
contingent. Of the other sixteen, several sections of the faubourgs
had their troops in the battahon of '89. A few, those of the
Quinze-vingts and Montreuil, sent assistance during the action;
others, though favorably disposed, as that of Popincourt, could not
do so; and lastly, others remained neutral, like that of L'lndivisi-
bilite. From two to three o'clock, General Carteaux, who occupied
the Pont Neuf with 4000 men and two four-pounders, was sur-
rounded by several columns of sectionaries, who obliged him to fall
back on the Louvre. This advantage emboldened the insurgents,
who were strong on all points. General Danican summoned the
convention to withdraw its troops, and disarm the terrorists. The
officer intrusted with the summons was led into the assembly blind-
folded, and his message occasioned some agitation, several members
declaring in favor of conciliatory measures. Boissy d'Anglas ad-
vised a conference with Danican; Gamon proposed a proclamation
in which they should call upon the citizens to retire, promising
then to disarm the battalion of '89. This address excited violent
murmurs. Chenier rushed to the tribune. " I am surprised," said
he, *' that the demands of sections in a state of revolt should be
discussed here. Negotiation must not be heard of; there is only
victory or death for the national convention." Lanjuinais wished
to support the address, by dwelling on the danger and misery of
civil war; but the convention would not hear hin., and on the
motion of Fermond, passed to the order of the day. Tlie debates
respecting measures of peace or war with the sections were con-
tinued for some time, when about half-past four several discharges
of musketry were heard, which put an end to all discussion. Seven
hundred guns were brought in, and the convention took arms as a
body of reserve.
The conflict had now commenced in the Rue Saint Honore,
of which the insurgents were masters. The first shots were fired
from the Hotel de Noailles, and a murderous fire extended tlie
whole length of this line. A few moments afterward, on tlie other
side, two columns of sectionaries. abcAit 4000 strong, commanded
by the Count de ^Maulcvier, advanced by the c[uays and attacked tlie
Pont Royal. Tlie action then became general, Init it could not
last long; the place was too well defended to be taken by assault.
After an hour's fighting the sectionaries were driven froui Saint
Roche and the Rue Saint Honore bv the cannon of the convention
360 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1795
and the battalion of patriots. The column of the Pont Royal re-
ceived three discharges of artillery in front and on the side, from
the bridge and the quays, which put it entirely to flight. At seven
o'clock the conventional troops, victorious on all sides, took the
offensive; by nine o'clock they had dislodged the sectionaries from
the Theatre de la Republique and the posts they still occupied in the
neighborhood of the Palais Royal. They prepared to make barri-
cades during the night, and several volleys were fired in the Rue
de la Loi (Richelieu) to prevent the works. The next day, the
14th, the troops of the convention disarmed the Lepelletier section
and compelled the others to return to order.''
The assembly, which had only fought in its own defense, dis-
played much moderation. The 13th Vendemiaire was the August
10 of the royalists against the republic, except that the conven-
tion resisted the bourgeoisie much better than the throne resisted the
faubourgs. The position of France contributed very much to this
victory. Men now wished for a republic without a revolutionary
government, a moderate regime without a counter-revolution. The
convention, which was a mediatory power, pronounced alike against
the exclusive domination of the lower class, which it had thrown off
in Prairial, and the reactionary domination of the bourgeoisie,
which it repelled in Vendemiaire, seemed alone capable of satisfy-
ing this twofold want, and of putting an end to the state of warfare
between the two parties, which was prolonged by their alternate
entrance into the government. This situation, as well as its own
dangers, gave it courage to resist and secured its triumph. The
sections could not take it by surprise, and still less could they take
it by assault.
After the events of Vendemiaire the convention occupied
itself with forming the councils and the directory. The third part,
freely elected, had been favorable to reaction. A few convention-
alists, headed by Tallien, proposed to annul the elections of this
third, and wished to suspend, for a longer time, the conventional
government. Thibaudeau exposed their design with much courage
and eloquence. The whole conventional party adopted his opin-
ion. It rejected all superfluous arbitrary sway, and showed itself
impatient to leave the provisional state it had been in for the last
^ The royalists lost about two hundred men. Upon this revolt the following
references may be consulted : Von Sybel, " French Revolution," vol. IV. p. 412-
426; Thiers, "French Revolution," vol. III. pp. 312-332; Buchez et Roux,
" Histoire J'arlcmeniaire," vol. XXXVI. pp. 405-484.
CLOSE OF THE CONVENTION 361
1795
three years. The convention estabhshed itself as a national elec-
toral assembly, in order to complete the two-thirds from among its
members. It then formed the councils; that of the ancients, of
250 members, who according- to the new law had completed forty
years ; that of five hundred, from among the others. The councils
met in the Tuileries. They then proceeded to form the govern-
ment.
The attack of Vendemiaire was quite recent; and the republi-
can party, especially dreading the counter-revolution, agreed to
choose the directors only from the conventionalists, and further
from among those of them who had voted for the death of the king.
Some of the most influential members, amcjng whom was Daunou,
opposed this view, which restricted the choice and continued to
give the government a dictatorial and revolutionary character; but
it prevailed. The conventionalists thus elected were La Reveillere-
Lepeaux, invested w'ith public confidence on account of his ctjur-
ageous conduct on May 31, for his probity and his moderation;
Sieyes, the man who of all others enjoyed the greatest celebrity of
the day; Rewbel, possessed of great administrative ability; Le-
Tourneur, one of the members of the commission of five during the
last crisis; and Barras, chosen for his two pieces of good fortune of
Thermidor and Vendemiaire. Sieyes, who had refused to take
part in the legislative commission of tlie eleven, also refused to
enter under the directory. It is difticult to say whether this reluc-
tance arose from calculation or an insurmountable antipathy for
Rewbel. He was reijlaced by Carnot, the only member of the
former committee whom tliey were disposed to favor, on account
of his political purity and his great sliare in the victirries of the
republic. Such was the first composition of the directory. On the
4tli Brumaire the convention passed a law of amnesty, in order to
enter on legal government: changed i'ne name el the Place de la
Revolution into Place de la Concorde, and declared its session
closed.
The convention lasted three years, frdm September 21. 1792,
to October 26, 1795 ( 4lh P.rnmaire. year IW). it took several
directions. During the six first nmnths of its existence it was
drawn into the struggle wliich arose between tlie legal party of the
Gironde and the revolutionary jxirty of the Mountain. The latter
had the lead from M;iy 31, 1793, to the 9th Thermidor, year IT..
July 26, 1794. '1 hiC ci'n\enti()n then obeyctl llie comniiiiee ot
362 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1795
public safety, which first destroyed its old allies of the commune
and of the Mountain, and afterward perished through its own
divisions. From the 9th Thermidor to the month of Brumaire,
year IV., the convention conquered the revolutionary and royalist
parties and sought to establish a moderate republic in opposition
to both.
During this long and terrible period the violence of the situa-
tion changed the revolution into a war, and the assembly into a field
of battle. Each party wished to establish its sway by victory and
to secure it by founding its system. The Girondist party made the
attempt, and perished; the Mountain made the attempt, and
perished; the party of the commune made the attempt, and perished;
Robespierre's party made the attempt, and perished. They could
only conquer, they were unable to found a system. The property
of such a storm was to overthrow everything that attempted to be-
come settled. All was provisional ; dominion, men, parties, and
systems, because the only thing real and possible was war. A
year was necessary to enable the conventional party, on its return to
power, to restore the revolution to a legal position ; and it could
only accomplish this by two victories that of Prairial and that of
Vendemiaire, But the convention having then returned to the
point whence it started, and having discharged its true mission,
which was to establish the republic after having defended it, dis-
appeared from the theater of the world which it had filled with
surprise. A revolutionary power, it ceased as soon as legal order
recommenced. Three years of dictatorship had been lost to liberty,
but not to the revolution.
The convention is the only legislative body of the revolutionary
epoch any portion of whose work was really of a constructive char-
acter. As the political ideas and institutions of many states in
Europe may be to-day traced to the revolution, so some of the less
noticeable institutions of everyday life owe their origin to the legis-
lation of the convention.
The metric system of weight and measures was decreed upon
the report of Arbogast, August i, 1795. According to this system
the metre (39.37 inches) with its sub-divisions by tenths, was ap-
plied to all measures of length, surface, capacity and weight. The
most important reform of the convention, however, was in the mat-
ter of public education. To quote its own words. " There sliall be
created and organized a system of ])ublic instruction, common and
CLOSE OF THE CONVENTION 363
1795
free to all citizens, in those parts of education indispensable to all
men." In conformity with this programme three sorts of schools
were created. First, primary schools in every commune, where read-
ing, writing-, and arithmetic were taught, proficiency in which
was required for one's name to be inscribed upon the public
registers.
Unfortunately, the lack of resources obliged the convention to
forego the immediate establishment of many of these schools, but
the purpose of the assembly became the realization of France ere
many years. Second, central or secondary schools, intended to re-
place the old colleges. On an average there was to be one for each
department, but in Paris two were immediately organized; that of
the Quatre Nations, in the Palais ]\Iazarin, and that of the Pan-
theon, now the Lycee Henri Quatre. In these schools puj)ils over
twelve years of age were received and were taught the ancient
languages, mathematics, and the sciences, and a certain amount of
philosophy. As with the former class, the idea of the convention
was too great to be achieved. Third, special schools or ccolcs sii-
pcriciircs, notably the medical schools of Paris, Strasburg, and
Montpelier, the veterinary colleges of Lyons and Alfort, the school
of Oriental languages, designed to be of practical utility, but above
all the ficole Normale and the ficole Polytechnifjue, created for
the education of teachers and destined to exercise a greater in-
fluence upon the intellectual development of France than probably
any other two educational institutions.
Other educational institutions, famous throughout France and
the world to-dav, also owe their authorship to the convention: the
Conservatory of IMusic, the ^vluseum of Natural History, the Jardin
des Plantes, the Observatory of Astronomical Studies, the Con-
servatory of Arts and Inventions, the Military Museum, the
National Institute for Ueaf flutes, and the Institution of the
Blind.
The Biblothcf|ue Nationale, begun l)y Charles V., was increased
through the operation of a law requiring the (le])osit with it of two
copies of every work printed in iM-ancc. as well as by the confiscation
of the libraries of the suppressed convents, so that it attained at one
bound its rank as the largest c(^llccti>)n ^^\ books in the world. The
Archives Nationalcs received most of the d<Knments formerly dis-
persed in feudal chateaus and monasteries. The prdace of the
Louvre, which at the outbreak of the revolution in i78() was in a
664 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1795
semi-abandoned state, was completely changed by the convention
and converted into a great art gallery and museum. The Louvre
was enriched by collections of the royal palace, confiscations, and
finally by the magnificent donations made to it by Napoleon as the
result of his conquests. The organization of the Institute of France
by the union of the French Academy, the Academy of Inscriptions,
and the yVcademy of Arts and Sciences, under the name of the
Institut National, was also due to the assembly.
PART V
THE DIRECTORY. OCTOBER 26, 1795-
NOVEMBER 10, 1799
Chapter XIV
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DIRECTORY. OCTOBER
26, 1795-SEPTEMBER 5, 1797
THE French Revolution, which had destroyed the old gov-
ernment and thoroughly overturned the old society, had
two wholly distinct objects: that of a free constitution
and that of a more perfect state of civilization. The six years we
have just gone over were the search for government l^y each of the
classes which composed the French nation. The privileged classes
wished to establish their regime against the court and the bour-
geoisie, by preserving orders and the states-general ; the bourgeoisie
sought to establish its regime against the privileged classes and the
multitude, by the constitution of 1791 ; and the multitude wished to
establish its regime against all the others by the constitution of
1793. Not one of these governments could l>ecome consolidated,
because they were all exclusive. But during their attempts each
class, in power for a time, destroyed of the higher classes all that
was intolerant or calculated to oppose the progress of modern
civilization.
When the directory succeeded the convention the struggle
betw'een the classes was greatly weakened. Tlie higher ranks of
each formed a party which still contended for tlie possession and for
the form of government; but the mass of the nation, which had
been so profound! v agitated from T^Sf) to 1705. longed to become
settled again, and to arrange itself according to the new order of
things. This period witnessed the end of the mcnement for liberty
and the beginning of the movement toward civilization. The revo-
lution now took its second character, its diaracter of order, founda-
tion, repose, after the agitation, the immense toil, and system of
complete demolition of its early years.
This second period was remarkable, inasmuch as it seemed a
kind of abandonment of liberty. The difTcrent parties being no
longer able to possess it in an exclusive and durable manner, be-
came discouraged and fell back from public into private life. This
367
368 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1795
second period divided itself into two epochs : it was liberal under
tlie directory and at the commencement of the consulate, and mili-
tary at the close of the consulate and under the empire. The revo-
lution daily grew more materialized; after having made a nation of
sectaries it made a nation of working men, and then it made a
nation of soldiers.
Many illusions were already destroyed ; men had passed
through so many different states, had lived so much in so few years,
that all ideas were confounded and all creeds shaken. The reign
of the middle class and that of the multitude had passed away like
a rapid phantasmagoria. They were far from that France of July
14, with its deep conviction, its high morality, its assembly exer-
cising the all-powerful sway of liberty and of reason, its popular
magistracies, its citizen-guard, its brilliant, peaceable, and animated
exterior, wearing the impress of order and independence. They
were far from the more somber and more tempestuous France of
August 10, when a single class held the government and society,
and had introduced therein its language, manners, and costume, the
agitation of its fears, the fanaticism of its ideas, the distrust of its
position. Then private life entirely gave place to public life; the
republic presented, in turn, the aspect of an assembly and of a camp ;
the rich were subject to the poor; the creed of democracy combined
with the gloomy and ragged administration of tlie people. At each
of these periods men had been strongly attached to some idea : first
to liberty and constitutional monarchy, afterward to equality, fra-
ternity, and the republic. But at the beginning of the directory
there was belief in nothing; in the great shipwreck of parties all
had been lost, both the virtue of the bourgeoisie and the virtue of
the people.
Men arose from this furious turmoil weakened and wounded,
and each, remembering his political existence with terror, plunged
wildly into the pleasures and relations of private life which had so
long l)een suspended. Balls, banquets, debauchery, splendid car-
riages became more fashionable than ever; tliis was the reaction of
the ancient regime. The reign of the sans-culottes brought back
the (lomini(jn of the rich ; the clubs, the return of the salons.
For the rest, it was scarcely possible but that the first symptom of
the resumption of modern civilization should be thus irregular.
The directorial manners were the product of another society, which
had to appear again before the new state of society could regulate
THE DIRECTORY 369
1795
its relations and constitute its own manners. In this transition
luxury would give rise to labor, stock-jobbing to commerce, salons
bring parties together who could not approximate except in private
life; in a word, civilization would again usher in liberty.
The situation of the republic was discouraging at the installa-
tion of the directory. There existed no element of order or ad-
ministration. There was no money in the public treasury ; couriers
were often delayed for want of the small sum necessary to enable
them to set out. In the interior anarchy and uneasiness were
general; paper currency, in the last stage of discredit, destroyed
confidence and commerce ; the dearth became protracted, everyc^ne
refusing to part with his commodities, for it amounted to giving
them away; the arsenals were exhausted or almost empty. With-
out the armies were destitute of baggage-w'agons, horses, and suj)-
plies; the soldiers were in want of clothes, and the generals were
often unable to liquidate their pay of eight francs a month in specie.
an indispensable supplement, small as it was, to tlicir pay in as-
signats ; and lastly, the troops, discontented and undisciplined, on
account of their necessities, were again beaten and on the defensive.
Things were at this state of crisis after the fall of the com-
mittee of public safety. This committee had foreseen the dearth,
and prepared for it, both in the army and in the interior, by the
requisitions and the maximum. No one had dared to exempt him-
self from this financial system, which rendered the wealthy and
commercial classes tributary to the soldiers and the multitude, and
at that time provisions had not been withheld from the market.
But since violence and confiscation had ceased, the people, the con-
vention, and the armies were at the mercy of the landed proprietors
and speculators, and terri])]e scarcity existed, a reaction against tlic
maximum. The system of the convention had consisted, in ]iolitical
economy, in the consumption of an immense capital, represented
by the assignats. This assembly had been n rich government,
which had ruined itself in defending the revolntion. Nearly half
the French territory, consisting of domains of the crown, eccle-
siastical pro]:)erty. or tlie estates of the emigrant nobility. Iiad
been sold, and the produce applied to the support of tlie people,
who did little labor, and to the external defense of tlie
republic by the armies. More than eight thousand millions of
assignats had been issued before the 9th Thermidor, and since that
period thirty thousand millions had been added to that sum. already
370 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1795
SO enormous. Such a system could not be continued ; it was neces-
sary to begin the work again and return to real money.
The men deputed to remedy this great disorganization were,
for the most part, of ordinary talent ; but they set to work with
zeal, courage, and good sense. " When the directors," said
Bailleul,^ " entered the Luxembourg there was not an article of
furniture. In a small room, at a little broken table, one leg of
which was half eaten away with age, on which they placed some
letter-paper and a calumet standish, which they had fortunately
brought from the committee of public safety, seated on four straw-
bottom chairs, opposite a few logs of dimly-burning wood, the
whole borrowed from Dupont, the porter; who would believe that
it was in such a condition that the members of the new government,
after having investigated all the difficulties, nay, all the horror of
their position, resolved that they would face all obstacles, and that
they would either perish or rescue France from the abyss into which
she had fallen ? On a sheet of writing-paper they drew up the act
by which they ventured to declare themselves constituted, an act
which they immediately dispatched to the legislative chambers."
The directors then proceeded to divide their labors, taking as
their guide the grounds which had induced the constitutional party
to select them. Rewbel, possessed of great activity, a lawyer
versed in government and diplomacy, had assigned to him the de-
partments of law, finance, and foreign affairs. His skill and com-
manding character soon made him the acting man of the directory
in all civil matters. Barras had no special knowledge ; his mind
was mediocre, his resources few, his habits indolent. In an hour
of danger his resolution qualified him to execute sudden measures,
like those of Thermidor or Vendemiaire. But being, on ordinary
occasions, adapted only for the surv^eillance of parties, the intrigues
of which he was better acquainted with than anyone else, the police
department was allotted to him. He was well suited for the task,
being supple and insinuating, without partiality for any political
sect, and having revolutionary connections bv his past life, while his
birth gave him access to the aristocracy. Barras took on himself
the representation of the directory and established a sort of repub-
lican regency at the Luxembourg. The pure and moderate La
Reveillere, whose gentleness tempered with courage, whose sincere
'^" Rxamcn Critique dcs Considerations de Madame dc Stael, sitr la Revo-
lution fran^aise," by '\\. J. Ch. Bailleul, vol. II. pp. 275-281.
THE DIRECTORY 371
1795
attachment for the repubHc and legal measures had procured him
a post in the directory with the general consent of the assembly and
public opinion, had assigned to him the moral department, em-
bracing education, the arts, sciences, and manufactures. Le Tour-
neur, an ex-artillery officer, member of the committee of public
safety at the latter period of the convention, had been appointed to
the war department. But when Carnot was chosen, on the refusal
of Sieyes, he assumed the direction of military operations, and left
to his colleague Le Tourneur the navy and the colonies. His high
talents and resolute character gave him the upper hand in the direc-
tory. Le Tourneur attached himself to him, as La Reveillere to
Rewbel, and Barras was between the two. At this period the
directors turned their attention with the greatest concord to the
improvement and welfare of the state.
The directors frankly followed the route traced out for them
by the constitution. After having established authority in the
center of the republic they organized it in the departments, and
established, as well as they could, a correspondence of design be-
tween local administrations and their own. Placed l>etween the two
exclusive and dissatisfied parties of Prairial and Vendcmiaire, they
endeavored, by a decided line of conduct, to subject them to an
order of things, holding a place midway between their extreme
pretensions. They sought to revive the enthusiasm and order of
the first years of the revolution, " You, whom we summon to
share our labors," they wrote to their agents, " you who have, with
us, to promote the progress of the republican constitution, your first
virtue, your first feeling, should be that decided resolution, that
patriotic faith, which has also })roduced its enthusiasts and its
miracles. All will be achieved when, by your care, that sincere love
of liberty which sanctified the dawn of the revolution, again ani-
mates the heart of every Frenchman. The banners of liberty float-
ing on every house, and' the rei)ublican device written (-)n every door.
doubtless form an interesting sight. Obtain more ; hasten the day
when the sacred name of the republic shall be graven voluntarily
on every heart."
In a short time the wise and firm proceedings of the new gov-
ernment restored confidence, labor, and plenty. The circulation of
provisions was secured, and at the end of a month the direct. m'v
was relieved from the obligation to provide i'aris with sup]>lies.
which it eft'ected for itself. The immense activity created by tlie
372 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1795
revolution began to be directed toward industry and agriculture. A
part of the population quitted the clubs and public places for work-
shops and fields ; and then the benefit of a revolution, which, having
destroyed corporations, divided property, abolished privileges, in-
creased fourfold the means of civilization, and was destined to
produce prodigious good to France, began to be felt. The directory
encouraged this movement in the direction of labor by salutary in-
stitutions. It reestablished public exhibitions of the produce of
industry and improved the system of education decreed under the
convention. The national institute, primary, central, and normal
schools formed a complete system of republican institutions. La
Reveillere, the director intrusted with the moral department of the
government, then sought to establish, under the name of Theophi-
lanthropie, the deistical religion which the committee of public
safety had vainly endeavored to establish by the fete of the Supreme
Being. He provided temples, hymns, forms, and a kind of lit-
urgy for the new religion; but such a faith could only be indi-
vidual, could not long continue public. The theophilanthropists,
whose religion was opposed to the political opinions and the un-
belief of the revolutionists, were much ridiculed. Thus, in the
passage from public institutions to individual faith all that had been
liberty became civilization, and what had been religion became
opinion. Deists remained, but theophilanthropists were no longer
to be met with.
The directory, pressed for money and shackled by the disas-
trous state of the finances, had recourse to measures somewhat
extraordinary. It had sold or pledged the most valuable articles
of the wardrobe in order to meet the greatest urgencies. National
property was still left, but it sold badly and for assignats. The
directr)ry proposed a compulsory loan, wliich was decreed by the
councils. This was a relic of the revolutionary measures with
regard to the rich ; but, having been irresolutely adopted, and ex-
ecuted without due authority, it did not succeed. The directory
then endeavored to revive paper money ; it proposed the issue of
mandals territoriaux, which were to be substituted for the assignats
then in circulation, at the rate of thirty for one. and to take the
place of money. The councils decreed the issue of mandats terri-
toriaux t(j tlie amount of two thousand four hundred millions.
They had the advantage of being exchangeable at once and upon
presentation for tlie national domains which represented them.
1795
T H E D I R E C T O R Y 373
They caused the sale of a large extent of these, and in this way
completed the revolutionary mission of the assignats, of which they
were the second period. They procured the directory a momentar>-
resource; but they also lost their credit, and led insensibly to bank-
ruptcy, which was the transition from paper to specie.
The military situation of the republic was nut a brilliant one;
at the dose of the convention there had been an abatement of
victories. The equivocal position and weakness of the central
authority, as much as the scarcity, had relaxed the discipline of the
troops. The generals, too, disappointed that they had distinguished
their commands by so few victories, and were not spurred on by an
energetic government, became inclined to insubordination. The
convention had deputed Pichegru and Jourdan. one at the head of
the army of the Rhine, the other with that of the Sambre-et-Meuse,
to surround and capture Mayence, in order that they might occui)y
the whole line of the Rhine. Pichegru m;ide tliis project com-
pletely fail: although possessing the entire confidence of the re-
public, and enjoying the greatest military fame of tlie day, he
formed counter-re\olutionary schemes witli the Prince de Conde;
but they were unable to agree. Pichegru urged tlie emigrant
prince to enter France with his troops, by Switzerland or the
Rhine, promising to remain inactive, the only thing in his power
to do in favor of such an attempt. I'hc prince recjuired as a pre-
liminary that Pichegru should hoist the wliite Hag in his army,
which was, to a man, republican. Tliis Iiesitation, no doubt, in-
jured the projects of the reactionists, who were preparing tlic con-
spiracy of Vendemiaire. But Picliegru wisliing, one way or tlie
other, to serve his new allies and to betray liis countrv. allowed
himself to be defeated at Pleidelbcrg, compromised tlie army of
Jourdan, evacuated Mannheim, raised tlie siege of Mayence with
considerable loss, and exposed tliat frontier to tlic enemy.
The directory found the Rliine open tcnvarrl Mayence; the
war of La Vendee rekindled; tlie cr)asts of i'rance and Holland
threatened with a descent from England: lastly, the army of Italy
destitute of evervthing, and merely maintaining the defensive under
Scherer and Kellermann. France was really not in a C(inditi(^n t^)
wage offensive war. torn as the country was by political taction and
fierce reaction, with its commerce destroyed and agricnitnre rdmost
at a standstill. T!ie responsibility for the continuation of the war
is to be laid upon hhigland and Austria. IJoth of these powers
374 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1795
believed that France was so exhausted that it would be easily possi-
ble to crush out the last vestiges of Jacobinism.^
Carnot prepared a new plan of campaign, which was to carry
the armies of the republic to the very heart of the hostile states.
Bonaparte, appointed general of the interior after the events of
Vendemiaire, was placed at the head of the army of Italy, Jourdan
retained the command of the army of the Sambre-et-Meuse, and
Moreau had that of the army of the Rhine, in place of Pichegru.
The latter, whose treason was suspected by the directory, though
not proved, was offered the embassy to Sweden, which he refused,
and retired to Arbois, his native place. The three great armies,
placed under the orders of Bonaparte, Jourdan, and Moreau, were
to attack the Austrian monarchy by Italy and Germany, combine at
the entrance of the Tyrol, and march upon Vienna in echelon. The
generals prepared to execute this vast movement, the success of
which would make the republic mistress of the headquarters of the
coalition on the Continent.
The directory gave to General Hoche the command of the
coast, and deputed him to conclude the Vendean war. Hoche
changed the system of warfare adopted by his predecessors. La
Vendee was disposed to submit. Its previous victories had not led
to the success of its cause; defeat and ill-fortune had exposed it to
plunder and conflagration. The insurgents, irreparably injured by
the disaster of Savenay, by the loss of their principal leader and
their best soldiers, by the devastating system of the infernal col-
umns, now desired nothing more than to live on good terms with
the republic. The war now depended only on a few chiefs, upon
Charette, Stofflet, and others. Hoche saw that it was necessary to
wean the masses from these men by concessions and then to crush
them. He skillfully separated the royalist cause from the cause of
religion and employed the priests against the generals by showing
great indulgence to the Catholic religion. He had the country
scoured by four powerful columns, took their cattle from the inhab-
- Grenville wrote (to Eden, April 17, 1795): "We can never hope that
the circumstances, as far as they regard the state of France, can be more favor-
able than they are now." Quoted in Fyfife, " Modern Europe," vol. I. p. 98,
note. As Fyffe points out in three excellent pages (97-99), it would have been
well if every power in Europe had accepted the situation, for the territory gained
by France at the treaty of Basel was not more than the balance of power
justified, considering the recent partitions of Poland. But Austria and England
made an error of judgment at the psychological moment, and on a high wave
of militarism Napoleon rode to power.
THE DIRECTORY 375
1796
itants, and only restored them in. return for their arms. He left no
repose to the armed party, defeated Charette in several encounters,
pursued him from one retreat to another, and at last made him
prisoner. Stofflet wished to raise the Vendean standard ag-ain on
his territory, but it was given up to the republicans. These two
chiefs, who had witnessed the beginning- of the insurrection, were
present at its close. They died courageously, Stofflet at Angers,
Charette at Nantes, after having displayed character and talents
worthy of a larger theater. Hoche likewise tranquilized Brittany.
Morbihan was occupied by numerous bands of Chouans, who
formed a formidable association, the princijxd leader of which was
Georges Cadoudal. Without entering on a campaign they were
mastering the country. Hoche directed all his force and activity
against them, and before long had destroyed or exhausted them.
Most of their leaders quilted their arms and took refuge in Eng-
land. The directory on learning these fortunate pacifications
formally announced to both councils, on the 28th Messidor (June,
1796), that this civil war was definitely terminated.
In this manner the winter of the year IV. passed away. But
the directory could hardly fail to be attacked by the two parties,
whose sway was prevented by its existence, the democrats and the
royalists. The former constituted an inflexible and enterprising
sect. For them the 9th Thermidor was an era of pain and oppres-
sion: they desired to establish absolute equality, in spite of the state
of society, and democratic liberty, in spite of civilization. This sect
had been so vanquished as effectually to prevent its return to power.
On the 9th Thermidor it had been driven from the government,
on the 2d Prairial from society, and it had lost both power and
insurrections. But though disorganized and also ])r()scribed, it
was far from having disappeared. After the unfortunate at-
tempt of the royalists in Vendemiaire it arose through their
abasement.
The democrats reestablished their club at the Pantheon, which
the directory tolerated for some time. They had for their chief
" Gracchus " Balxcuf, who styled himself the " Tribune of the
people." He was a daring man. of an exalted imagination, an
extraordinary fanaticism of democracy, and with great influence
over his party. In his journal he prepared the reign of general
happiness. The society at the Pantheon daily became more
numerous, and more alarnu'ng to the directory, who at first en-
376 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1796
deavored to restrain it. But the sittings were soon protracted to
an advanced hour of the night; the democrats repaired thither in
arms and proposed marching against the directory and the coun-
cils. The directory determined to oppose them openly. On the
8th Ventose, year IV. (February, 1796), it closed the society of the
Pantheon and on the 9th bv a message informed the legislative
body that it had done so.
The democrats, deprived of their place of meeting, had re-
course to another plan. They seduced the police force, which was
chiefly composed of deposed revolutionists, and in concert with it
they were to destroy the constitution of the year III. The direc-
tory, informed of this new maneuver, disbanded the police force,
causing it to be disarmed by other troops on whom it could rely.
The conspirators, taken by surprise a second time, determined on a
project of attack and insurrection: they formed an insurrectionary
committee of public safety, which communicated by secondary
agents with the lower orders of the twelve communes of Paris. The
members of this principal committee were Babceuf,^ the chief of
the conspiracy, ex-conventionalists, such as Vadier, Amar, Chou-
dieu, Ricord, the representative Drouet, the former generals of the
decemviral committee, Rossignol, Parrein, Fyon, Lami. Many
cashiered officers, patriots of the departments, and the old Jacobin
mass, composed the army of this faction. The chiefs often assem-
bled in a place they called the Temple of Reason ; here they sang
lamentations on the death of Robespierre and deplored the slavery
of the people. They opened a negotiation with the troops of the
camp of Crenelle, admitted among them a captain of that camp,
named Grisel, whom they supposed their own, and concerted every
measure for the attack.
Their plan was to establish common happiness, and for that
purpose to make a distribution of property, and to cause the gov-
ernment of true, pure, and absolute democrats to prevail ; to create
a convention composed of sixty-eight Mountaineers, the remnant of
the numbers proscribed since the reaction of Thermidor, and to join
with these a democrat for each department; lastly, to start from the
different quarters in which they had distributed themselves, and
' Bal)cxuf was a native of Artois and was of Protestant ancestry. At one
time in life he was an engraver. In 1791 he became a member of the directory
of the department of tlie Somme, but was convicted of dishonesty. For a short
time during tlie revokition he pubhshed a new^spaper known as Le Tribun du
THE DIRECTORY 37t
(796
march at the same time against the directory and against the
councils. On the night of the insurrection they were to fix up two
placards; one, containing the words, "the constitution of 1793!
liberty! equality! common happiness!" the other, containing the
following declaration, " Those who usurp the sovereignty ought
to be put to death by free men." All was ready, the proclamations
printed, the day appointed, when thev w^ere betrayed by Grisel as
generally happens in conspiracies.
On the 2 1 St Floreal (Alay), the eve ot the day fixed for the
attack, the conspirators were seized in their conventicle. In the
house of Babceuf were found a plan of the plot and all the docu-
ments connected with it. The directory apprised the councils of it
by a message and announced it to the people by proclamation. This
strange attempt, savoring so strongly of fanaticism, and whicli
could only be a repetition of the insurrection of Prairial, without
its means and its hopes of success, excited the greatest terror. The
public mind was still terrified with the recent domination of the
Jacobins.
Babceuf, like a daring conspirator, prisoner as he was. proposed
terms of peace to the directory.
" Would you consider it beneath you, citizen directors," he
wrote to them, "to treat with me, as power witli ])()wer? You
have seen what vast confidence centers in me; wm ha\e seen that
my party may well balance equally in the scale your own; you have
seen its immense ramifications. I am con\inced you have trembled
at the sight." He concluded by saying: " T see but one wise mode
of proceeding : declare there has been no serious conspiracy, b'ive
men, by showing themselves great and generous, may now save the
country. I will answer for it, that the patriots will defend you
with their lives ; the patriots do not hate you ; they only hated ycnir
unpopular measures. h"or my part, I will give y(ni a guarantee as
extensive as is mv perpetual franchise." The directors, instead of
this reconciliation, published Babci-uf's letter and sent the con-
spirators l)efore tlie high court of Vendome.
Their partisans made one more attempt. On the 13th hTuc-
tidor (August), about eleven at night, tlicy marched, to the nunil)er
of six or seven hundred, armed witli sabers and pistols, against tlie
directory, whom they fouml defended by its guard. They ihen
repaired to the camp of Grenelle, whicli they ho])C(l to gain ovcm" by
means of a correspondence which they had established with it.
378 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1796
The troops had retired to rest when the conspirators arrived. To
the sentinel's cry of ''Qui vive?" they repHed: "Vive la repuh-
lique! Viz'e la constitution dc '^3!" The sentinels gave the
alarm through the camp. The conspirators, relying on the assist-
ance of a battalion from Gard, which had been disbanded, advanced
toward the tent of Malo, the commander-in-chief, who gave orders
to sound to arms, and commanded his half-dressed dragoons to
mount. The conspirators, surprised at this reception, feebly de-
fended themselves; they were cut down by the dragoons or put to
flight, leaving many dead and prisoners on the field of battle.
This ill-fated expedition was almost the last of the party; with
each defeat it lost its force, its chiefs, and acquired the secret con-
viction that its reign was over. The Crenelle enterprise proved
most fatal to it ; besides the numbers slain in the fight, many were
condemned to death by the military commissions, which were to
it what the revolutionary tribunals had been to its foes. The com-
mission of the camp of Crenelle, in five sittings, condemned thirty-
one conspirators to death, thirty to transportation, and twenty-five
to imprisonment.
Shortly afterward the high court of Vendome tried Baboeuf
and his accomplices, among whom were Amar, Vadier, and Darthe,
formerly secretary to Joseph Lebon. They none of them belied
themselves; they spoke as men who feared neither to avow their
object nor to die for their cause. At the beginning and the end of
each sitting they sang the " Marseillaise." This old song of victory
and their firm demeanor struck the public mind with astonishment
and seemed to render them still more formidable. Their wives ac-
companied them to the trial. Babceuf at the close of his defense
turned to them and said : " They should accompany them even to
Calvary, because the cause of their punishment would not bring
them to shame." The high court condemned Babceuf and Darthe
to death ; as they heard their sentence they both stabbed themselves
with a poignard. Baboeuf was the last leader of the old commune
and the committee of public safety, which had separated previous to
Thermidor, and which afterward united again. This party de-
creased daily. Its dispersion and isolation more especially date
from this period. Under the reaction it still formed a compact
mass; under Baboeuf it maintained the position of a formidable
association. From that time democrats existed, but the party was
broken up.
THE DIRECTORY 379
1796
In the interim between the Crenelle enterprise and Baboeuf's
condemnation the royalists also formed their conspiracy. The
projects of the democrats produced a movement of opinion con-
trary to that which had been manifested after Vendemiaire, and the
counter-revolutionists in their turn became emboldened. The secret
chiefs of this party lioped to find auxiliaries in the troops of the
camp of Crenelle, who had repelled the Baboeuf faction. This
party, impatient and unskillful, unable to employ the sectionary
mass, as in Vendemiaire, or the mass of the councils, as at a later
period on the i8th Fructidor, made use of three men without either
name or influence; the x^bbe Brothier, the ex-counselor of parle-
ment, La Vilheurnois. and a sort of adventurer, named Dunan.
They applied at once, in all simplicity, to ]Malo for the camp of
Crenelle, in order by its means to restore the ancient regime. Malo
delivered them up to the directory, who transferred them to the
civil tribunals, not having been able, as he wished, to have them
tried by military commissioners. They were treated with much
consideration by judges of their party, elected under the influence
of Vendemiaire, and the sentence pronounced against them was
only a short imprisonment. At this period a contest arose between
all the authorities, appointed by the sections, and tlie director}\
supported by the army, each taking its strength and judges
wherever its party prevailed ; the result was that the electoral i:)Ower
placing itself at the disposition of the counter-revolution, the di-
rectory was compelled to introduce the army in the state, which
afterward gave rise to serious inconvenience.
The directory, triumphant over the two dissident parties, also
triumphed over Europe. The new campaign opened under the
most favorable auspices. Bonaparte on arriving at Xice signalized
his command by one of the most daring of invasions. Hitherto his
army had hovered idly on the side of the AIjjs: it was destitute of
everything," and scarcely amounted to 30,000 men; but it was well
provided with courage and patriotism : and by tlieir means Bona-
parte then commenced that world-astonishment in which he carried
all before him for twenty years. lie broke up tlie cantoinnents.
and entered the valley of Savona. in order to march into Italy
between the Alps and the Apennines. There were before him
6t,ooo coalesced troops commanded in the center l)y Argentau,
" The corrcspoiulciu-e of Xapfilcnn during tlic campaign in Italy is eloquent
testimony to the truth of this assertion.
380 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1796
by Colli, commander of the Piedmontese troops, on the left, and
Beaulieu on the right. This was the line of the Maritime Alps and
of the Apennines from Stura to Bochetta. This immense army
was dispersed in a few days by prodigies of genius and courage.
Napoleon made a feint of attacking Genoa, thus forcing his enemies
to strengthen their wings to the disadvantage of the center, through
which he drove at the battle of Montenotte, April 12, 1796, which
crushed the Austrians, and the day following, at Millesimo, he
entirely divided the Sardinian from the Austrian army, and de-
feated the Piedmontese at Diego, thus achieving the separation
of the allies. They hastened to defend Turin and Milan, the
capitals of their domination. Before pursuing the Austrians the
republican general threw himself on the left to cut off the Sar-
dinian army. The fate of Piedmont was decided at Mondovi,
and the terrified court of Turin hastened to submit. At Cherasco
an amnesty was concluded, which was soon afterward followed
by a treaty of peace, signed at Paris, on May 15, 1796, between
the republic and the King of Sardinia, who ceded Savoy and the
countries of Nice and Tenda. The occupation of Alexandria,
which opened the Lombard country; the demolition of the for-
tresses of Susa and of Brunette, on the borders of France; the
abandonment of the country of Nice, and of the Savoy, and the
rendering available the other army of the Alps, under Kellermann,
was the reward of a fortnight's campaign and six victories. Savoy
was also forced to pay a money indemnity and to engage to take
no part in any league against France.
War being over with Piedmont, Bonaparte marched against
the Austrian army, to which he left no repose. He passed the Po
at Piacenza, May 6, and the Adda at Lodi, May 10, 1796. The lat-
ter victory opened the gates of Milan, May 14, and secured him the
possession of Lombardy. General Beaulieu was driven into the
defiles of the Tyrol by the republican army, which invested Mantua
(in June) and appeared on the mountains of the empire. General
Wurmser came to replace Beaulieu, and a new army was sent to
join the wrecks of the conquered one. Wurmser advanced to
deliver Mantua, and once more make Italy the field of battle; but
he was overpowered, like his predecessor, by Bonaparte, who, after
having raised the blockade of Mantua, in order to oppose this new
enemy, renewed it with increased vigor, and resumed his positions
in the Tyrol. The plan of invasion was executed with much union
THE DIRECTORY 381
1796
and success. While the army of Italy threatened Austria by the
Tyrol, the two armies of tlie Meuse and Rhine entered Germany ;
Moreau, supported by Jourdan on his left, was ready to join Bona-
parte on his right. The two armies had passed the Rhine at
Neuwied and Strasburg-, and had advanced on a front drawn up
in echelons to the distance of sixty leagues, driving back the enemy,
who, while retreating before them, strove to impede their march
and break their line. They had almost attained the aim of their
enterprise; Aloreau had entered Ulm and Augsburg, crossed the
Lech, and his advanced guard was on the extreme of the defiles of
the Tyrol, when Jourdan, who had beaten the Austrians at Alten-
kirchen, in Rhenish Prussia, in June, 1796, and then marched by
way of Frankfort, \\\irzburg, and Bamberg into south Germany,
with the intention of joining Aloreau, who had crossed the Rhine,
beaten the Archduke Charles at Rastatt and Baden and at Ner-
scheim in Wurtemburg, passed beyond the line, was attacked by
the Archduke Charles and completely routed. If Jourdan and
Aloreau could have united, the archduke would have been lost, but
in his extremity the Austrian commander performed a daring
maneuver. At the risk of allowing Aloreau to advance into Ba-
varia and so unite with Napoleon, who was expected to strike
Germany through the Tyrol, the archduke left only a small detach-
ment to oppose the advance of Aloreau, and uniting the bulk of his
army to that of Wartensleben, he threw himself upon Jourdan
with double the forces of the French. Jourdan had no other re-
course but retreat. Rid of the danger of Jourdan, the archduke
turned again upon Aloreau, in Bavaria, who, for fear oi being cut
off from France, was obliged to retreat. For twenty-six days the
French fell back through the Black Forest, and ultimately crossed
the Rhine. The repulse of Jourdan was a capital one : it prevented
the success of this vast plan of campaign and gave respite to the
Austrian government.
The cabinet of Vienna, which had lost Belgium in this war,
and which felt the importance of preserving Italy, defended it with
tlie greatest obstinacy. Wurmser, after a new defeat, was ()l)liged
to tlirow himself into Alantua witli the wreck of his army. General
Alvinczy, at the head of 50,000 Hungarians \v<\\ came to try his
fortune, while his lieutenant made a detour around the Lake of
Garda. to the west, in order to cut off the retreat oi the French.
Bonaparte profited by this division of his enemies; reasoning that
382
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1796-1797
he could beat the two armies one after the other, he raised the
siege of INTantua, defeated Quasdanovitch in two engagements
(July 30, August 4, 1796), and then fell upon Wurmser at Cas-
tiglione, before the two opposing armies had time to unite, and
forced Wurmser to recross the Mincio and to retire to the Tyrol.
The French army, before the battle of Castiglione, August 5, 1796,
was in so critical a condition that Napoleon called a council of war
the only one which he is said ever to have consulted. All of his
staff, even Massena, advised a retreat. Augereau alone was in
favor of attacking the enemy at daybreak. Napoleon, after listen-
ing to all his officers, said to the latter: "Eh bien! Je resterai
avec toi," and dismissed the conference. The checkmate of Jour-
dan and Moreau in Germany had enabled Austria to send rein-
forcements to Wurmser, under Alvinczy, who descended the Adige
with 40,000 men, while another general, Pro vera, with 20,000,
planned to effect a junction with Wurmser, who had returned from
the Tyrol and been able to throw himself into Mantua on Septem-
ber 12. The resulting actions, Arcole (November 15-17, 1796),
Rivoli (January 14-15, 1797), between Lake Garda and the Adige,
were almost decisive. Napoleon had 56,000 men, not all of whom
were available, however, since many were engaged in the siege of
IMantua. But by managing to keep his enemies separated from
one another, Napoleon was enabled to crush them in detail, and all
the efforts of Austria to relieve Mantua failed. Finally, after hav-
ing been reduced to the necessity of killing his horses for food,
Wurmser capitulated on February 2, 1797, surrendering Mantua
with 13,000 prisoners and 350 pieces of artillery. It was this dis-
T H E D I R E C T O R Y 383
1797
aster that opened the vvav to Vienna and forced the capitulation of
Leoben.
The army of Italy accomplished in Europe the work of the
French Revolution. This wonderful campaign was owing to the
union of a general of genius and an intelligent army. Bonaparte
had for lieutenants generals capable of commanding themselves,
who knew how to take upon themselves the responsibility of a
movement or a battle, and an army of citizens all possessing culti-
vated minds, deep feeling, strong emulation of all that is great;
passionately attached to a revolution which aggrandized their
country, preserved their independence under discipline, and which
afforded an opportunity to every soldier of becoming a general.
There is nothing which a leader of genius might not accomplish
with such men. He must have regretted, at this recollection of his
earlier years, that he ever centered in himself all liberty and intelli-
gence, that he ever created mechanical armies, and generals only
fit to obey. Bonaparte began the third epoch of the war. The
campaign of 1792 had been made on the old system, with dispersed
corps acting separately without abandoning tlieir fixed line. The
committee of public safety concentrated the corps, made them
operate no longer merely on what was before them, but at a dis-
tance; it hastened their movement and directed them toward a
common end. Bonaparte did for each battle what the committee
had done for each campaign. He brought all these C()ri)s on the
determinate point, and destroyed several armies with a single one
by the rapidity of his measures. He disposed of whole masses of
troops at his pleasure, moved them here or there, brought them
forward or kept them out of sight, had them wholly at his disposi-
tion, when, where, and how he pleased, whether to occupy a position
or to gain a battle. His diplomacy was as superior as his military
science.
Napoleon's military successes are largely due to the fact tliat
he utilized new conditions of warfare for a new strategy. He rarely
wasted time in sieges. He never made but two in his life, at
:\Iantua and at St. Jean d'Acre: he did not handle his army in
separated columns, but on the contrary concentrated liis forces; f(^r.
as he savs in a "Rapport siir la Positio)! drs .lr)urrs ihi Pinnouf ct
d'Espagnc," of 1794. the essential is not to scatter attacks. Init to
concentrate them. Tlis purpose ahnost invariablv was to tlirow
all his forces upon a given point and break it through, and then,
884 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1797
after attacking- the main army, to attack and disperse the wing's.
This strategy, of which Bonaparte has much to say in his writings
and in reported conversations, was revolutionary of the art of war,
hitherto grounded upon the practices of Frederick the Great. His
four maxims of warfare were : " Scatter to forage ; concentrate to
fight; unity of command is essential; time is everything."
These tactics were applied in Italy in 1796- 1797, and Napoleon
rarely departed from them. A notable exception is at ^Marengo,
June 14, 1800, where there were really two battles fought, the
first, which Napoleon lost, the second, which Desaix won.
All the Italian governments, except Venice and Genoa, had
adhered to the coalition, but the people were in favor of the French
republic. Bonaparte relied upon the latter. He abolished Pied-
mont, which he could not conquer; transformed the ^Milanese,
hitherto dependent on Austria, into the Cisalpine republic ; he
weakened Tuscany and the petty principalities of Parma and
Modena by contributions, without dispossessing them; the Pope,
who had signed a truce on Bonaparte's first success against Beau-
lieu, and who did not hesitate to infringe it on the arrival of
Wurmser, bought peace by yielding Romagna, Bologna, and
Ferrara,* which were joined to the Cisalpine republic; lastly, the
aristocracy of Venice and Genoa having favored the coalition,
and raised an insurrection in the rear of the army, their government
was changed, and Bonaparte made it democratic in order to oppose
the power of the people to that of the nobility. In this way the
revolution penetrated into Italy.
Napoleon's double dealing with reference to Venice is one of
the most notorious examples of his policy. He flattered the Vene-
tian senate at the very minute he was planning its destruction.
" I shall do everything in my power," he wrote to the seignory,
" to give you proof of the great desire I have to see your liberty
take root and to see this unhappy Italy, freed from the rule of the
stranger, at length take its place with glory on the world's stage
and resume among the great nations the rank to which nature, des-
tiny, and its own position call it." At the same time he wrote to
the home government, on ]May 26, 1797: " \'enice, which has been
* After the fall of Mantua, the Pope, who hitherto had been hostile to
the French, sued for peace. Napoleon granted it at Tolentino, upon the pay-
ment of 30.000.000 francs, the cession of Avignon to France, and that of Bologna,
Ferrara, Anroiia, and the entire Romagna, to form the Cisalpine republic,
February 19, 1797. Cf. the remarks of Fyffe, " Modern Europe," pp. 135-136.
THE DIRECTORY 385
1797
in decline since the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope and the
rise of Trieste and Ancona, can scarcely survive the blows we have
just struck. With a cowardly and helpless population, in no way
fit for liberty, without territory and without rivers, it is but natural
that she should go to those to whom we give the mainland."
Austria, by the preliminaries of Leoben, ceded Belgium to
France and recognized the Lombard republic. All the confederate
powers had laid down their arms, and England asked to treat;
France, peaceable and free at home, had without attained her
natural limits, and was surrounded by rising republics, which,
such as Holland, Lombardy, and Liguria, guarded its sides and
extended its system in Europe. The coalition was little disposed
to assail anew a revolution all the governments of which were
victorious: that of anarchy after August lo, of the dictatorship
after May 31, and of legal authority under the directory; a revo-
lution which at every new hostility advanced a step further upon
European territory. In 1792 it had only extended to Belgium; in
1794 it had reached Holland and the Rhine; in 1796 had reached
Italy and entered Germany. If it continued its progress the coali-
tion had reason to fear that it would carry its concjuests further.
Everything seemed prepared for general peace.
But the situation of the directory was materiallv changed by
the elections of the year V. (May, 1797). Tlicse elections, by in-
troducing in a legal way the royalist partv into the legislature and
government, brought again into question what the conflict of
Vendemiaire had decided. Up to this period a good understand-
ing had existed between the directory and the councils. Comjxxscd
of conventionalists, united by a common interest, and tlie necessity
of establishing the republic, after having been bli)wn about by the
winds of all parties, they had manifested much good will in their
intercourse, and mncli union in their measures. The councils had
yielded to the various demands of the directory; and with the ex-
ception of a few sliglit modifications tliey had approved its pr(\iects
concernine the finance and the administrati(Mi, its conduct with
regard to the conspiracies, the armies, and b'urope. The anti-
conventional minorit\- liad formed an oj)position in the councils:
but this opposition, while waiting tlic reinforcement of a new thiril,
had but cautiouslv CMniemled against the jxilicy of the (lircchTy.
At its head were lK-irl)c-Marl)o:s. J'astorct, X'aublanc. Dumas.
Portalis, Simeon, Tronc^on-Ducondray, Oupont de Xem..urs. m. ^t
386 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1797
of them members of the Right in the legislative assembly, and some
of them avowed royalists. Their position soon became less equiv-
ocal and more aggressive by the addition of the elected of the
year V.
The royalists formed a formidable and active confederation,
having its leaders, agents, budgets, and journals. They excluded
republicans from the elections, influenced the masses, who always
follow the most energetic party, and whose banner they mo-
mentarily assume. They would not even admit patriots of the first
epoch, and only elected decided counter-revolutionists or equivocal
constitutionalists. The republican party was then placed in the
government and in the army, the royalist party in the electoral
assemblies and the councils.
On the 1st Prairial, year V. (May 20), the two councils
opened their sittings. From the beginning they manifested the
spirit which actuated them. Pichegru, whom the royalists trans-
ferred on to the new field of battle of the counter-revolution, was
enthusiastically elected president of the council of the five hundred.
Barbe-Marbois ^ had given him, with the same eagerness, the presi-
dentship of the elder council. The legislative body proceeded to
appoint a director to replace Le Tourneur, who on the 30th Floreal
had been fixed on by ballot as the retiring member. Their choice
fell on Barthelemy, the ambassador to Switzerland, whose mod-
erate views and attachment to peace suited the councils and Europe,
but who was scarcely adapted for the government of the republic,
owing to his absence from France during all the revolution.
These first hostilities against the directory and the conven-
tional party were followed by more actual attacks. Its administra-
tion and policy were now attacked without scruple. The directory
had done all it had been able to do by a legal government in a situ-
ation still revolutionary. It was blamed for continuing the war
and for the disorder of the financial department. The legislative
majority skillfully turned its attention to the public wants: it sup-
ported the entire liberty of the press, which allowed journalists to
attack the directory, and to prepare the way for another system ; it
supported peace because it would lead to the disarming of the
republic, and lastly, it supported economy.
" Barbc-Marbois was secretary of the Frencli legation in the United States
during the American Revohition. He rose to the position of minister of finance
under Napoleon, who intrusted to him the negotiations cuhninating in the sale
of Louisiana to the United States during the administration of Jefferson.
T H E D I R E C T O R Y 387
1797
These demands were in one sense useful and national. France
was weary and felt the need of all these things in order to complete
its social restoration; accordingly, the nation half adopted the
views of the royalists, but from entirely different motives. It saw
with rather more anxiety the measures adopted by the councils
relative to priests and emigrants. A pacification was desired ; but
the nation did not wish that the conquered foes of the revolution
should return triumphant. The councils passed the laws with
regard to them with great precipitation. They justly abolished
the sentence of transportation or imprisonment against priests for
matters of religion or incivism ; but they wished to restore the
ancient prerogatives of their form of worship ; to render Ca-
tholicism, already reestablished, outwardly manifest by the use
of bells, and to exempt priests from the oath of public functionaries.
Camille Jordan, a young Lyonnese deputy, full of eloquence and
courage, but professing unreasonable opinions, was the principal
panegyrist of the clergy in the younger council. The speech which
he delivered on this subject excited great surprise and violent oppo-
sition. The little enthusiasm that remained was still entirely
patriotic, and all were astonished at witnessing the revival of an-
other enthusiasm, that of religion: the last century and the revolu-
tion had made men entirely unaccustomed to it, and prevented them
from understanding it. This was the moment when the old party
revived its creed, introduced its language, and mingled them with
the creed and language of the reform party, which had hitherto
prevailed alone. The result was. as is usual with all that is
unexpected, an unfavorable and ridiculous impression against Ca-
mille Jordan, who was nicknamed " Jordan-Carillon. Jordan-les-
Cloches." The attempt of the j^-otcctors of the clergy did not,
however, succeed; and the council of five hundred did not venture
as yet to pass a decree for tlie use of bells or to make the priests
independent. After some hcsitatitMi llic moderate ]iarty joined the
directorial partv and supported the civic oath with cries of " I iz'C
la rcpuhliquc! "
Meantime hostilities continued against tlie directory, espe-
cially in the council of five hundred, wliich was more zealous and
impatient than that of the ancients. All this greatly emboldened
the royalist faction in the interior. The cinnner-revohitionary rc-
])risals against tlie patriots and those who had ac(|uirctl national
property were renewed. I'^.migrant and dissentient priests returr.ed
388 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1797
in crowds, and being unable to endure anything savoring of the
revolution, they did not conceal their projects for its overthrow.
The directorial authority, threatened in the center and disowned
in the departments, became wholly powerless.
But the necessity of defense, the anxiety of all men who were
devoted to the directory, and especially to the revolution, gave
courage and support to the government. The aggressive progress
of the councils brought their attachment to the republic into sus-
picion; and the mass, which had at first supported, now forsook
them. The constitutionalists of 1791 and the directorial party
formed an alliance. The club of Salm, established under the
auspices of this alliance, was opposed to the club of Clichy, which
for a long time had been the rendezvous of the most influential
members of the councils. The directory, while it had recourse to
opinion, did not neglect its principal force the support of the
troops. It brought near Paris several regiments of the army of
the Sambre-et-Meuse, commanded by Hoche. The constitutional
radius of six myriametres (twelve leagues), which the troops could
not legally pass, was violated; and the councils denounced this
violation to the directory, which feigned an ignorance, wholly dis-
believed, and made very weak excuses.
The two parties were watching each other. One had its posts
at the directory, at the club of Salm, and in the army ; the other, in
the councils, at Clichy, and in the salons of the royalists. The
mass were spectators. Each of the two parties was disposed to act
in a revolutionary manner toward the other. An intermediate
constitutional and conciliatory party tried to prevent the struggle,
and to bring about a union, which was altogether impossible.
Carnot was at its head : a few members of the younger council,
directed by Thibaudeau, and a tolerably large number of the
ancients, seconded his projects of moderation. Carnot, who at
that period was the director of the constitution, with Barthelemy,
who was the director of the legislature, formed a minority in the
government. Carnot, very austere in his conduct and very obstinate
in his views, could not agree either with Barras or with the imperi-
ous Rewbel. To this opposition of character was then added
difference of system. Barras and Rewbel, supported by La Re-
veillerc, were not at all averse to a coup d'etat against the coun-
cils, while Carnot wished strictly to follow the law. This great
citizen, at each epoch of the revolution, had perfectly seen the mode
1797
T H E D I R E C T O 11 Y 389
of government which suited it, and his opinion immediately became
a fixed idea. Under the committee of pubhc safety the dictator-
ship was his fixed system, and under the directory, legal govern-
ment. Recognizing no difference of situation, he found himself
placed in an equivocal position ; he wished for peace in a moment
of war; and for law, in a moment of coups d'etat.
The councils, alarmed at the preparations of the directory,
seemed to make the dismissal of a few ministers, in whom they
placed no confidence, the price of reconciliation. These were Mer-
lin de Douai, the minister of justice ; Lacroix, minister of foreign
affairs, and Ramel, minister of finance. On the other hand, they
desired to retain Petiet as minister of war, Benesech as minister of
the interior, and Cochon de I'Apparent as minister of police. The
legislative body in default of directorial power wished to make
sure of the ministry. Far from falling in with this wish, which
would have introduced the enemy into tlie government, Rcwbel,
La Reveillere, and Barras dismissed the ministers protected by the
councils, and retained the others. Benesech was replaced by Fran-
gois de Xeufchateau, Petiet by IToche, and soon afterward by
Scherer; Cochon de I'Apparent by Lenoir-Laroche, and Lenoir-
Laroche, who had too little decision, by Sotin. Tallevrand like-
wise formed part of this ministry. He had been struck off the list
of emigrants from the close of the conventi(jnal session, as a revo-
lutionist of 1 791, and his great sagacity, whicli always placed him
with the party having the greatest ho\){t (if \icti')rv. made him at
this period a directorial republican. lie lield tlie portfolio of
Lacroix, and he contributed very much by his counsels and his
daring to the events of Fructidor.
War now appeared more and more inevitable. The directory
did not wish for a reconciliation, which, at the best, would only
have postponed its downfall and that of the rcjjublic to the elections
of the year \'I. It caused tlireatening addresses against tlie coun-
cils to be sent from the armies. I^onaparte had watched with an
anxious eye the events which were preparing in Paris. Though
intimate with Carnot. and corrcs])on(liiig directly witli him, he had
sent Lavalette, his aide-de-camp, to furnish him with an account
of tlic divisions in tlie governiiK'iit. and tlie intrigues and conspira-
cies witli which it was beset. Bonaparte had priMiiiscd the directory
the support of h.is army in case of actual danger. He sent
.Vugereau to Paris with addresses from liis troops.
390 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1797
royalists ! " said the soldiers. " From the Adige to the Seine is but
a step. Tremble ! Your iniquities are numbered ; and their recom-
pense is at the end of our bayonets." " We have observed with
indignation," said the staff, " the intrigues of royalty threatening
liberty. By the manes of the heroes slain for our country, we have
sworn implacable war against royalty and royalists. Such are our
sentiments ; they are yours, and those of all patriots. Let the
royalists show themselves, and their days are numbered." The
councils protested, but in vain, against these deliberations of the
army. General Richepanse, who commanded the troops arrived
from the army of the Sambre-et-Meuse, stationed them at Ver-
sailles, Meudon, and Vincennes.
The councils had been assailants in Prairial, but as the success
of their cause might be put off to the year VI., when it might take
place without risk or combat, they kept on the defensive after
Thermidor (July, 1797). They, however, then made every prep-
aration for the contest; they gave orders that the constitutional
circles should be closed, with a view to getting rid of the club of
Salm ; they also increased the powers of the commission of inspec-
tors of the hall, which became the government of the legislative
body, and of which the two royalist conspirators, Willot and
Pichegru, formed part. The guard of the councils, which was
under the control of the directory, was placed under the immediate
orders of the inspectors of the hall. At last, on the 17th Fructidor,
the legislative body thought of procuring the assistance of the
militia of Vendemiaire, and it decreed, on the motion of Pichegru,
the formation of the national guard. On the following day, the
1 8th (September 4, 1797), this measure was to be executed, and
the councils were by a decree to order the troops to remove to a
distance. They had reached a point that rendered a new victory
necessary to decide the great struggle of the revolution and the
ancient system. The impetuous General Willot wished them to
take the initiative, to decree the impeachment of the three directors,
Barras, Rewbel, and La Reveillcre; to cause the other two to join
the legislative body; if the government refused to obey, to sound
the tocsin, and march with the old sectionaries against the direc-
tory; to place Pichegru at the head of this legal insurrection, and
to execute all these measures promptly, boldly, and at midday.
Pichegru is said to have hesitated; and the opinion of tlie undecided
prevailing, the tardy course of legal preparations was acU^pled.
,797 ^^"^^ BIRECTORY 391
It was not, however, the same with the directory. Barras,
Rewbel, and La Reveillere determined instantly to attack Carnot,
Barthelemy, and the legislative majority. The morning of the i8th
was fixed on for the execution of this coup d'etat. During the
night^ the troops encamped in the neighborhood of Paris entered
the city under the command of Augereau. It was the design of
the directorial triumvirate to occupy the Tuilerics with troops
before the assembling of the legislative body, in order to avoid a
violent expulsion ; to convoke tlie councils in the neighborhood of
the Luxembourg, after having arrested their principal leaders, and
by a legislative measure to accomplish a coup d'etat begun by force.
It was in agreement with the minority of the couucils and relied
on the approbation of the mass. The troops readied the II6tcl de
Ville at one in the morning and spread themselves over the f|uavs,
the bridges, and the Champs Elysees, and before long 12,000 men
and forty pieces of cannon surrounded the Tuileries. At four
o'clock the alarm-shot was fired, and Augereau presented himself
at the gate of the Pont Tournant.
The guard of the legislative body was under arms. The in-
spectors of the hall, apprised the night before of the movement in
preparation, had repaired to the national palace (the Tuileries) to
defend the entrance. Ramel, commander oi the legislative guard,
was devoted to the councils, and he had stationed his 800 grena-
diers in the different avenues of the garden, sliut in by gates. But
Pichegru, Willot, and Ramel could not resist the directory with
this small and uncertain force. Augereau had no need even to
force the passage of the Pont Tournant : as soon as he came before
the grenadiers he cried out: "Are you republicans?" The latter
lowered their arms and replied: " Vive Aw^ereau! Vive la diree-
toire!" and joined him. Augereau traversed the garden, entered
the hall of the councils, arrested Piclicgru, Willot, Ramel, and
all the inspectors of the hall, and had them conveyed to the
Temple.
The members of the councils, convoked in liable by the inspec-
tors, repaired in crowds to their place of sitting; but they were
arrested or refused admittance by the armed force. Augereau an-
nounced to them that the directory, urged by the necessity of de-
fending the re])ul)lic from the conspirators among them, had
assigned the Ode-on and the School of Medicine for the i)lace of
their sittings. The greater part of the deputies present exclaimed
392 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1797
against military violence and the dictatorial usurpation, but they
were obliged to yield.
At six in the morning this expedition was terminated. The
people of Paris on waking found the troops still under arms, and
the walls placarded with proclamations announcing the discovery
of a formidable conspiracy. The people were exhorted to observe
order and confidence. The directory had printed a letter of Gen-
eral Moreau, in which he announced in detail the plots of his pred-
ecessor Pichegru with the emigrants, and another letter from the
Prince de Conde to Imbert Colonies, a member of the ancients.
The entire population remained quiet ; a mere spectator of an event
brought about without the interference of parties, and by the
assistance of the army only, it displayed neither approbation nor
regret.
The directory felt the necessity of legalizing, and more
especially of terminating, this extraordinary act. As soon as the
members of the five hundred and of the ancients were assembled at
the Odeon and the School of Medicine in sufficient numbers to
debate, they determined to sit permanently. A message from the
directory announced the motive which had actuated all its meas-
ures. " Citizens legislators," ran the message, " if the directory
had delayed another day, the republic would have been given up to
its enemies. The very place of your sittings was the rendezvous
of the conspirators ; from there they yesterday distributed their
plans and orders for the distribution of arms ; from there they cor-
responded last night with their accomplices; lastly, from there, or
in the neighborhood, they again endeavored to raise clandestine
and seditious assemblies, which the police at this moment is em-
ployed in dispersing. We should have compromised the public
welfare, and that of its faithful representatives, had we suffered
them to remain confounded with the foes of the country in the den
of conspiracy." The younger council appointed a commission,
composed of Sieyes, Poulain-Granpre, Villers, Chazal, and Boulay
de la Meurthe, deputed to present a law of public safety. The law
was a measure of ostracism ; only transportation was substituted for
the scaffold in this second revolutionary and dictatorial period.
The members of the five hundred sentenced to transportation
were : Aubri, J. J. Ainie, Bayard, Blain, Boissy d'Anglas, Borne,
Bourdon de I'Oise, Cadroy, Couchery% Delahaye, Delarue, Dou-
mcre, Dumolard, Duplantier, Gibcrt, Desmolieres, Henri la Ri-
,797 ^^^ DIRECTORY 393
viere, Imbert Colomes, Camille Jordan, Jourdan (des Bouches du
Rhone) Gall, La Carriere, Lemarchand-Gomicoiirt, Lemerer, Mer-
san, Madier, Maillard, Noailles, Andre, Alac-Cartin, Pavie, Pas-
toret, Pichegru, Polissard, Prairie-AIontaiid, Quatremere-Quency,
Saladin, Simeon, VauvilHers, Vienot-Vaublan'c, Villaret-Joyeiisei
Willot In the council of ancients: Barbc-Marbois, Dumas, Fer-
raud-Vaillant, Lafond-Ladebat, Laumont, Muriare, Murinais,
Paradis, Portalis, Rovere, Trongon-Ducoudray. In the directory:
Carnot and Barthelemy. They also condemned the Abbe Broth ier.
La Villeheurnois, Dunan, ex-minister of police Cochon ; ex-agent
of the police Dossonville, Generals Miranda and Morgan: the
journalist, Suard; the ex-conventionalist Alailhe; and the comman-
der Ramel. A few of the proscribed succeeded in evading the
decree of exile; Carnot was among the number. Most of them
were transported to Cayenne, but a great many did not leave the
Isle of Re. .
The directory greatly extended this act of ostracism. The
publishers of thirty-five journals were included in the sentence of
transportation. It wished to strike at once all the avenues of the
republic in the councils, in the press, in the electoral assemblies, the
departments, in a word, wherever they had introduced themselves.
The elections of forty-eight departments were annulled, the laws
in favor of priests and emigrants were revoked, and soon after-
ward the disappearance of all who liad swayed in the departments
since the 9th Thermidor raised the spirits of the cast-down repub-
lican party. The coup d'etat of h^uctidor was not ])urcly central :
like the victory of Vendemiaire, it ruined the royalist party, which
had only been repulsed by the preceding defeat. But. by again
replacing the legal government by the dictatorship, it rendered
another revolution necessary, of whicli we shall ])resently sj-)eak.
We may say that on the i8th Fructidor of the Year V. it was
necessary that tlie directory should triumph over the counter-revo-
lution by decimating the councils; or that the councils should
triumph over the republic by overthrowing tlie directory. The
question thus stated, it remains to in(|uire. ilrst, if the (lirect(M-y
could have conquered by any other means than a coup d'etat ; second,
whether it misused its victory."
The government had not the power of dissolving the cinuicils.
* Upon the i8th Fructidor, see Lanfrcy, "Life of Xapolcon." vol. I. pp.
211-232; Fyfte, "Modern Europe," vol. 1. pp. 1.43-15J,
39* THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1797
At the termination of a revolution, whose object was to estabhsh
the extreme Right, they were unable to invest a secondary author-
ity with the control of the sovereignty of the people, and in certain
cases to make the legislature subordinate to the directory. This
concession of an experimental policy not existing, what means
remained to the directory of driving the enemy from the heart of
the state? No longer able to defend the revolution by virtue of
the law, it had no resource but the dictatorship; but in having
recourse to that, it broke the conditions of its existence ; and while
saving the revolution, it soon fell itself.
As for its victory, it sullied it with violence by endeavoring
to make it too complete. The sentence of transportation was ex-
tended to too many victims ; the petty passions of men mingled with
the defense of the cause, and the directory did not manifest that
reluctance to arbitrary measures which is the only justification of
coups d'etat. To attain its object it should have exiled the leading
conspirators only ; but it rarely happens that a party does not abuse
the dictatorship, and that, possessing the power, it believes not in
the dangers of indulgence. The defeat of the i8th Fructidor
was the fourth of the Royalist party ; two took place in order to dis-
possess it of power, those of July 14 and August 10; two to pre-
vent its resuming it, those of the 13th Vendemiaire and i8th
Fructidor. This repetition of powerless attempts and protracted
reverses did not a little contribute to the submission of this party
under the consulate and the empire.
Chapter XV
FALL OF THE DIRECTORY
SEPTEMBER 5, 1797-NOVEMBER 10, 1799
THE chief result of the i8th Fructiclor was a return, with
slight mitigation, to the revolutionary government. The
two ancient privileged classes were again excluded from
society; the dissentient priests were again banished. The Chouans
and former fugitives, who occupied the field of battle in the depart-
ments, abandoned it to the old republicans : those who had formed
part of the military household of the Bourbons, the superior officers
of the crown, the members of the parlements, commanders of the
order of the Floly Ghost and Saint Louis, the Knights of Malta,
all those who had protested against the abolition of nobility, and
who had preserved its titles, were to quit the territory of the re-
public. The ci-devant nobles, or those ennobled, could only enjoy
the rights of citizens, after a term of seven years, and after having
gone through a sort of apprenticeship as Frenchmen. This party
by desiring sway restored the dictatorship.
At this period the directory attained its maximum of power;
for some time it had no enemies in arms. Delivered from all
internal opposition, it imposed the continental peace on Austria by
the Treaty of Campo-Formio (October, 1797), and on the empire
by the congress of Rastatt. The provisions of the Treaty of
Campo-Formio included the following : ( i ) Austria ceded Belgium
to France. (2) In return for this cession France gave Austria the
conquered territory of Venice, with Istria and Dalmatia, but retain-
ing" (v3) t^i^ Ionian Islands. (4) Austria recognized the Cisalpine
republic, and (5) agreed to the cession of the left bank of the
Rhine from Basel to Andernach with free French navigation of
the river. (6) A congress to be called at Rastatt was to settle the
details of this peace. It was understood, just as in the treaty of
1795, that the losing Rhine princes were to receive indemnification
in Germany for secularization, and there was a secret agreement
that France was to use her influence at the conference to secure to
Austria Salzburg and the Bavarian Tyrol, in order to increase
39j
S96 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1797
Austria's new acquisitions of territory as much as those of Prussia
and Russia through the partition of Poland.
The events in Italy gave a new face to things. To the just
demands and legitimate reprisals made in the beginning of the war
were added the conquest and exploitation of a conquered country.
By arbitrarily distributing the territory of Venice, Istria, and Dal-
matia, the directory set the bad example of this traffic in nations
since but too much followed. Besides, the Austrian dominion
would sooner or later extend in Italy, through this imprudent ces-
sion of Venice, To France, war had become both a means of exist-
ence and a source of profit. The armies increased the depleted
resources of the directory and hence had acquired an enormous
influence in the state. Military service, by reason of its profits and
its excitement, had ceased to be the fulfillment of a patriotic duty,
and had become a profession all too cynically pursued. The corre-
spondence between the directory^ and Napoleon affords ample evi-
dence of the truth of this statement.
The coalition of 1792 and 1793 was dissolved; England was
the only remaining belligierent power. The cabinet of London was
not at all disposed to cede to France, which it had attacked, in the
hope of weakening it, Belgium, Luxembourg, Porentruy, Nice,
Savoy, the protectorate of Piedmont, Genoa, Milan, and Holland.
But finding it necessary to appease the English opposition, and
reorganize its means of attack, it made propositions of peace ; it
sent Lord Malmesbury as plenipotentiary, first to Paris, then to
Lille. But the offers of Pitt not being sincere, the directory did
not allow itself to be deceived by his diplomatic stratagems. The
negotiations were twice broken off, and war continued between the
two powers. While England negotiated at Lille, she was preparing
at St, Petersburg the triple alliance, or second coalition.^
^England was the soul of the coalition. Upon the Continent she supported
the war by subsidies furnished to the enemies of France. On sea she blockaded
the French ports and preyed upon French commerce, besides seizing the French
colonies of the Antilles, and the Dutch colonies in the East Indies ; after the
naval defeats of St. Vincent (February 14, 1797), and Camperdown (October 11.
1797) French sea-power was annihilated, and the directory was forced to have
recourse to other means of retaliation. The most notable of these was French
encouragement of the rebellion in Ireland between 1796 and 1798. In December,
1796, Iloche made an unsuccessful attempt to land in Ireland, being prevented
by contrary winds. A new attempt was made in 1797, when 1500 men were
landed in Ireland under General Humbert ; but within twelve days Humbert
was obliged to capitulate, and the whole Irish enterprise ended in failure
(September 3).
FALL OF THE DIRECTORY 397
1797
The directory, on their side, without finances, without any
party in the interior, having no support but the army, and no emi-
nence save that derived from the continuation of its victories, was
not in a condition to consent to a general peace. It had increased
the pubhc discontent by the establishment of certain taxes and the
reduction of the debt to a consolidated third, payable in specie only,
which had ruined the fundholders. It became necessary to maintain
itself by war. The immense body of soldiers could not be dis-
banded without danger. Besides, being deprived of its power and
being placed at the mercy of Europe, the directory had attempted a
thing never done without creating a shock, except in times of great
tranquillity, of great ease, abundance, and employment. The direc-
tory was driven by its position to the invasion of Switzerland
and the expedition into Egypt.
Bonaparte had then returned to Paris. The conqueror of
Italy and the pacificator of the Continent was received with enthusi-
asm, constrained on the part of the directory, but deeply felt by the
people. Honors were accorded him never yet obtained by any gen-
eral of the republic. A patriotic altar was prepared in the Luxem-
bourg, and he passed under an arch of standards won in Italy on
his way to the triumphal ceremony in his honor. He was harangued
by Barras, president of the directory, who, after congratulating
him on his victories, invited him to crown so noble a life by a con-
quest which the great country owed to its insulted dignity. This
was the conquest of England. Everything seemed in preparation
for a descent, while the invasion of Egypt was really the enterprise
in view.
Such an expedition suited both Bonaparte and the directory.
The independent conduct of that general in Italy, his ambition,
which, from time to time, burst through his studied simplicity,
rendered his presence dangerous. He, on his side, feared by his
inactivity to compromise the already high opinion entertained of
his talents : for men always require from those whom they make
great more tlian they are a1)le to perform. Thus, while the direc-
tory saw in the expedition to Egypt the means of keeping a for-
midable general at a distance, and a prospect of attacking the
English by India, Bonaparte saw in it a gigantic conception, an
employment suited to his taste, and a new means of astonishing
mankind. Napoleon's Egv'ptian campaign, like the futile attack
upon Ireland, was made with the intention of overcoming the sea-
398 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1797
pKDwer of England by indirect means. Fantastic as the scheme
seems at first glance, it is an error so to consider it, for it really
has a direct connection with the traditional policy of France in the
eastern Mediterranean and in Asia. In the first place, there was
hope of founding in Egypt a new French colony, and through it
entirely to dominate the eastern Mediterranean, where for cen-
turies France had had so many interests. Secondly, there was
a possibility, in this event, of Egypt being made the basis of opera-
tions against the English in India, not only in a military way, but
in a commercial as well. Even if this latter portion of the project
should prove unsuccessful. Napoleon felt sure, owing to the weak
condition of the Turkish empire, of being able to flank Europe in
the southeast. Those who so desire may attach whatever im-
portance they wish to the idea ascribed to Napoleon that he was
emulous of the career of Alexander the Great. He sailed from
Toulon on the 30th Floreal, in the year VI. (May 19, 1798), with
a fleet of four hundred sail and a portion of the army of Italy ; he
steered for Malta, of which he made himself master, and thence
to Egypt.^
The directory, who violated the neutrality of the Ottoman
Porte in order to attack the English, had already violated that of
Switzerland in order to expel the emigrants from its territory.
French opinions had already penetrated into Geneva and the Pays
de Vaud; but the policy of the Swiss confederation was counter-
revolutionary, from the influence of the aristocracy of Berne. They
had driven from the cantons all the Swiss who had shown them-
selves partisans of the French republic. Berne was the headquar-
ters of the emigrants, and it was there that all the plots against the
revolution were formed. The directory complained, but did not
receive satisfaction. The Vaudois, placed by old treaties under
the protection of France, invoked her help against the tyranny of
Berne. This appeal of the Vaudois, its own grievances, its desire
to extend the directorial republican system to Switzerland, much
more than the temptation of seizing the little amount of treasure
in Berne, as some have reproached it v/ith, determined the di-
rectory. Some conferences took place, which led to no result, and
" In sailing from Toulon Napoleon had been fortunate in avoiding the fleet
of Nelson, which was on watch for his own, but which had been obliged to
put to sea on account of heavy weather. Malta was the property of the Knights
of St. John of Jerusalem, and was occupied on June lO. The French fleet
dropped anchor in Aboukir Bay on July 2.
FALL OF THE DIRECTORY S99
1798
war began. The Swiss defended themselves with much courage
and obstinacy, and hoped to resuscitate the times of their ancestors,
but eventually succumbed. Geneva was united to France, and
Switzerland exchanged its ancient constitution for that of the year
in. From that time two parties existed in the confederation, one
of which was for France and the revolution, the other for the
counter-revolution and Austria. Switzerland ceased to be a com-
mon barrier, and became the high road of Europe.
The portion of Switzerland annexed to France made two de-
partments: Mulhausen and the bishopric of Basel formed the
department of Mont Terrible; the canton of Geneva was formed
into the department of Leman. This annexation was made between
April and August, 1798. In the conquest of Switzerland the di-
rectory had made a pretext of an insurrection of the Vaudois
against the aristocratic senate of Berne. A democratic revolution
was urged on in Zurich, Lucerne, and Schaffhausen, which resulted
in a revolutionary diet being convened which promulgated a demo-
cratic constitution modeled upon that of France on April 12, 1798.
Switzerland has itself to blame, in some degree, however, for this
overthrow.
This revolution had been followed by that of Rome. General
Duphot was killed at Rome in a riot; and in punishment of this
assassination, which the pontifical government had not interfered
to prevent, Rome was changed into a republic. At Rome Rossignol
and other Jacobins, secretly backed by the French minister, Joseph
Bonaparte, instigated the Roman population, already discontented
owing to the heavy taxes imposed upon them as the result of the
Treaty of Tolentino, to rebellion. General Duphot was killed in a
riot on December 28, 1797. This was a pretext for intervention.
The directory sent General Bertliier to Rome with 18,000 men,
who proclaimed the Roman republic on l^'ebruary 15, 1798. The
new republican government was an absurd revival of classical
forms. The directors were called consuls, the divisions of the
Roman legislature were known as the senate and the tribunate, and
the civil and criminal courts of justice respectively known as the
proctorship and the quaestorship. A demand had been made upon
the Pope to renounce his temporal power, and when this was
refused the Vatican was occupied by I'rcnch troops, the Pope him-
self being exiled beyond the Alps to Valence, where he died in the
next year. All this combined to complete the system of the direc-
400 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1798
tory and make it preponderant in Europe; it was now at the head
of the Helvetian, Batavian, Ligurian, Cisalpine, and Roman re-
publics, all constructed on the same model. The conquest of
Belgium had been a stepping-stone to that of Holland. During
the severe winter of 1794 Pichegru had been able to drag his
artillery along the frozen canals of Holland and had entered
Amsterdam on January 20, 1795. The capture of the Dutch fleet
off the Texel followed. The stadtholder, William V., fled to Eng-
land, whereupon the revolutionary party in Holland proclaimed the
Batavian republic and signed a treaty of alliance with France on
May 16, 1795. This treaty guaranteed France the possession of
Dutch Flanders, with Maestricht, the right of maintaining garri-
sons at important points, free navigation of the rivers of Holland
and access to its ports, and a war indemnity of one hundred millions.
But while the directory extended its influence abroad, it was again
menaced by internal parties.
The elections of Floreal in the year VI. (May, 1798) were
by no means favorable to the directory; the returns were quite at
variance with those of the year V. Since the i8th Fructidor the
withdrawal of the counter-revolutionists had restored all the influ-
ence of the exclusive republican party, which had reestablished the
clubs under the name of Constitutional Circles. This party domi-
nated in the electoral assemblies, which, most unusually, had to
nominate 437 deputies, 298 for the council of five hundred, 139
for that of the ancients. When the elections drew near the direc-
tory exclaimed loudly against the anarchists. But its proclamations
having been unable to prevent democratic returns, it decided upon
annulling them in virtue of a law by which the councils, after the
18th Fructidor, had granted it the power of judging the operations
of the electoral assemblies. It invited the legislative body by a
message to appoint a commission of five members for that purpose.
On the 22d Floreal the elections were for the most part annulled.
At this period the directorial party struck a blow at the ex-
treme republicans, as nine months before it had aimed at the
royalists.
The directory wished to maintain the political balance which
had been the characteristic of its first two years ; but its position
was much changed. Since its last coup d'etat it could no longer
be an impartial government, because it was no longer a constitu-
tional government. With these pretensions of isolation, it dis-
FALL OF THE DIRECTORY 401
1798
satisfied everyone. Yet it lived on in this way till the elections of
the year VIL It displayed much activity, but an activity of a nar-
row and shuffling nature. Merlin de Douai and Treilhard, who
had replaced Carnot and Barthelemy, were two political lawyers.
Rewbel had in the highest degree the courage without having the
enlarged views of a statesman. La Reveillere was too much occu-
pied with the act of the theophilanthropists for a government
leader. As to Barras, he continued his dissipated life and his direc-
torial regency; his palace was the rendezvous of gamesters, women
of gallantry, and stock-jobbers of every kind. The administration
of the directors betrayed their character, but more especially their
position, to the embarrassments of which was added war with all
Europe.
While the republican plenipotentiaries were yet negotiating
for peace with the empire at Rastatt, the second coalition began
the campaign. The Treaty of Campo-Formio had only been for
Austria a suspension of arms. England had no difficulty in gain-
ing her to a new coalition; with the exception of Spain and Prussia,
most of the European powers formed part of it. The subsidies of
the British cabinet, and the attraction of the west, decided Russia ;
the Porte and the states of Barbary acceded to it because of the
invasion of Egypt; the empire, in order to recover the left bank of
the Rhine, and the petty princes of Italy, that they might destroy
the new republics. At Rastatt they were discussing the treaty
relative to the empire, the concession of the left bank of the Rhine,
the navigation of that river, and the demolition of some fortresses
on the right bank, when the Russians entered Germany, and the
Austrian army began to move. The French plenipotentiaries, taken
by surprise, received orders to leave in twenty- four hours; they
obeyed immediately, and set out, after having ol^tained safe con-
duct from the generals of the enemy. At a short distance from
Rastatt they were stopped by some Austrian hussars, who, having
satisfied themselves as to their names and titles, assassinated them ;
Bonnier and Riberjot were killed; Jean Debry was left for dead.
This unheard-of violation of the right of nations, this premeditated
assassination of three men invested with a sacred character, excited
general horror. The legislative body declared war, and declared
it with indignation against the governments on whom the guilt of
this enormous crime fell.
Plostilities had already commenced in Italy and on the Rhine.
402 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1798
The directory, apprised of the march of the Russian troops, and
suspecting the intentions of Austria, caused the councils to pass a
law for recruiting. The military conscription placed 200,000
young men at the disposal of the republic. This law, which was
attended with incalculable consequences, was the result of a more
regular order of things. Levies en masse had been the revolution-
ary service of the country; the conscription became the legal
service.^
The most impatient of the powers, those which formed the
advanced guard of the coalition, had already commenced the at-
tack. The King of Naples had advanced on Rome, and the King
of Sardinia had raised troops and threatened the Ligurian republic.
As they had not sufficient power to sustain the shock of the French
armies, they were easily conquered and dispossessed. The Aus-
trian General Mack, whom the military experts of the coalition
regarded as the ablest commander in Europe, had forced the French
to evacuate Rome on November 29, 1798, but receiving immediate
reinforcements. General Championet recovered the city on Decem-
ber 15, and having reestablished French rule there marched upon
Naples, which was easily taken and the Parthenopean republic was
proclaimed January 23, 1799. General Joubert occupied Turin,
and the whole of Italy was in the hands of the French when the
new campaign began.
The coalition was superior to the republic in effective force and
in preparation. It attacked it by the three great openings of Italy,
Switzerland, and Holland. It planned to furnish 360,000 men, of
which 240,000 were contributed by Austria, being thus distributed :
85,000 commanded by the Archduke Charles in Bavaria and upon
the upper Danube; 25,000 under Marshal Hotze in the Vorarlberg;
45,000 under Bellegarde in the Tyrol; 75,000 with ^Marshal Kray
on the banks of the Adige River. In addition there were 40,000
Russians under Suvarov, whose instructions were to unite with
Kray ; 30,000 with Korsakov, who was to occupy the Lake of Con-
" The law of the conscription was voted on September 5, 1798. in compliance
with a report rendered by Jourdan. Every Frenchman between twenty and
twenty-five years of age was required to do military service. The five years
formed five classes. There was no exemption except for physical infirmity. This
is the third form practiced with reference to the recruiting of the French army
since the revolution began. In 1791-1792 there were voluntary enrollments. In
1793 the process was technically requisition, not conscription. Only in 1799 was
conscription adopted. The first call was for 200,000 men.
FALL OF THE DIRECTORY 403
1799
Stance, while 30,000 English and Russians were to operate in Hol-
land and 20,000 English and Russians in south Italy. The directory-
put 170,000 men in the field, divided into five armies: the army of
Holland, under General Brune, 10,000 men; the army of Germany,
under Jourdan, 40,000; the army of Massena in Switzerland,
30,000; that of Italy, under Scherer, 50,000; and that of Naples,
under Macdonald, 30,000. The line of battle was 1500 miles long.
A strong Austrian army debouched in the duchy of Mantua, and
was soon joined by the bizarre and hitherto victorious Suvarov.
Scherer was repulsed near Verona and at Legnano (April 5, 1799).
In his retreat he abandoned the lines of the Mincio and the Oglio,
and retired behind the Adda in order to protect Milan. IMoreau
replaced Scherer, and was beaten at Cassano and forced to take
refuge in the territory between the Po and the Tanaro. He re-
treated toward Genoa in order to keep the barrier of the Apennines
and to join the army of Naples, commanded by Macdonald, which
was overpowered at Trebbia. The battle of the Trebbia was a
three-days' engagement (June 17-19, 1799), in which the French
lost half of their army, or 15,000 men. Nevertheless, by frightful
exertions, Macdonald succeeded in crossing the Apennines and unit-
ing the fragments of his army to that of Moreau in Genoa.
The Austro-Russians then directed their chief forces upon
Switzerland. Jourdan had crossed the Rhine on March i and
pushed into the region of the upper Danube, but had suffered a de-
feat on March 22 at the hands of the Archduke Charles, at Ostrach
and three days later another at Stockach, which forced him to re-
cross the Rhine. At the same time Massena had attempted to
drive the Austrian out of Switzerland, and had penetrated the val-
ley of the Inn River, but was forced to retire upon the appearance
of the victorious Archduke Charles, and was not even able to hold
Zurich, which was evacuated early in June. The Duke of York
had landed in north Holland on August 26, and after seizing the
Dutch fleet, had beaten Brune on the Zip, September 10. The
small republics which protected France were invaded, and a few
more victories would have enabled the confederates to penetrate
even to the scene of tlic revolution.
In the midst of these military disasters and the discontent of
parties the election of the I'loreal in the Year VII. (May, 1799)
took place; they were republican, like those of the preceding year.
The directory was no longer strong enough to contend with public
404. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1799
misfortunes and the rancor of parties. The retirement of Rewbel,
who was replaced by Sieyes, caused it to lose the only man able to
face the storm, and brought into its bosom the most avowed antag-
onists of this compromised and worn-out government. Hitherto
the victories of the armies had obscured the rottenness of the direc-
tory, but now that defeat was staring France in the face the direc-
tory was discredited. After the elections of Floreal, the directory,
feeling that " coming events cast their shadows before," proposed
an annullment of a portion of the elections. The proposal was met
by the demands of the moderate party and extreme republicans
for an account of the internal and external situation of the re-
public. The councils sat permanently. Barras abandoned his col-
leagues. The fury of the councils was directed solely against
Treilhard, Merlin, and La Reveillere, the last supports of the old
directory. They deposed Treilhard because an interval of a year
had not elapsed between his legislative and his directoral functions,
as the constitution required. The ex-minister of justice, Gohier,
was immediately chosen to replace him.
The orators of the councils then warmly attacked Merlin and
La Reveillere, whom they could not dismiss from the directory. The
threatened directors sent a justificatory message to the councils
and proposed peace. On the 30th Prairial the republican Bertrand
(du Calvados) ascended the tribune, and after examining the offers
of the directors exclaimed : " You have proposed union ; and I pro-
pose that you reflect if you yourselves can still preserve your func-
tions. If you love the republic you will not hesitate to decide. You
are incapable of doing good; you will never have the confidence of
your colleagues, that of the people or that of the representatives,
without which you cannot cause the laws to be executed. I know
that, thanks to the constitution, there already exists in the directory
a majority which enjoys the confidence of the people and that of
the national representation. Why do you hesitate to introduce
unanimity of desires and principles between the two first authorities
of the republic? You have not even the confidence of those vile
flatterers who have dug your political tomb. Finish your career
by an act of devotion, which good republican hearts will be able
to appreciate."'
2^1erlin and La Reveillere, deprived of the support of the gov-
ernment by the retirement of Rewbel, the dismissal of Treilhard,
and the desertion of Barras, urged by the councils and by patriotic
FALL OF THE DIRECTORY 405
1799
motives, yielded to circumstances and resigned the directorial au-
thority. This victory gained by the republican and moderate par-
ties combined turned to the profit of both. The former introduced
General Moulins into the directory ; the latter Roger Ducos. The
30th Prairial (June 18), which witnessed the breaking up of the
old government of the year III., was an act of reprisal on the part
of the councils against the directory for the i8th Fructidor and the
226. Floreal. At this period the two great powers of the state had
each in turn violated the constitution : the directory by decimating
the legislature, the legislature by expelling the directory. This
form of government, which every partv complained of, could not
have a protracted existence,
Sieyes after the success of the 30th Prairial labored to destroy
what yet remained of the government of the year III., in order to
establish the legal system on another plan. He was whimsical and
systematic; but he had the faculty of judging surely of situations.
He reentered upon the scene of the revolution at a singular epoch
with the intention of strengthening it by a definitive constitution.
After having cooperated in the principal changes of 1789 by his
motion of June 17, which transformed the states-general into a
national assembly, and by his plan of internal organization, which
substituted departments for provinces, he had remained passive and
silent during the subsequent interA^al. He waited till the period of
public defense should again give place to institutions. Appointed
under the directory to the embassy at Berlin, the neutrality of Prus-
sia was attributed to his efforts. On his return he accepted the
office of director, hitherto refused by him because Rewbel was
leaving the government, and he thought that parties were suffi-
ciently weary to undertake a definitive pacification and the establish-
ment of liberty. With this object he placed his reliance on Roger
Ducos in the directory, on the council of ancients in the legislature,
and without on the mass of moderate men and the middle class,
who after desiring laws merely as a novelty now desired repose a^
a novelty. This party sought for a strong and secure government,
which should have no past, no enmities, and which thenceforward
might satisfv all opinions and interests. As all that had been done
from July 14 till the 9th Thermidor by the people in connection
with a part of the government had been done since the 13th Ven-
demiaire by tlic soldiers, Sieyes was in want of a general. He cast
his eyes upon Joubert, who was put at the head of the army of
406 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1799
Italy, in order that he might gain by his victories and by the dehver-
ance of Italy a great political importance.
The constitution of the year III. was, however, still supported
by the two directors, Gohier and Moulins, the council of five hun-
dred, and without by the party of Manege. The decided republi-
cans had formed a club that held its sittings in that hall where had
sat the first of the assemblies. The new club, formed from the
remains of that of Salm, before the i8th Fructidor; of that of the
Pantheon, at the beginning of the directory ; and of the old society
of the Jacobins, enthusiastically professed republican principles,
but not the democratic opinions of the inferior class. Each of these
parties also had a share in the ministry, which had been renewed
at the same time as the directory. Cambaceres had the department
of justice ; Quinette, the home department ; Reinhard, who had been
temporarily placed in office during the ministerial interregnum of
Talleyrand, was minister of foreign affairs; Robert Lindet was
minister of finance, Bourbon (de Vatry) of the navy, Bernadotte,
of war; Bourguignon, soon afterward replaced by Fouche (of
Nantes), of police.
This time Barras remained neutral between the two divisions
of the legislature, of the directory, and of the ministry. Seeing that
matters were coming to a more considerable change than that of
the 30th Prairial, he, an ex-noble, thought that the decline of the
republic would lead to the restoration of the Bourbons, and he
treated with the pretender, Louis XVIII. It seems that in nego-
tiating the restoration of the monarchy by his agent, David Mon-
nier, he was not forgetful of himself. Barras espoused nothing
from conviction and always sided with the party which had the
greatest chance of victory. A democratic member of the Mountain
on May 31, a reactionist Mountainist on the 9th Thermidor, a
revolutionary director against the loyalists on the i8th Fructidor,
extreme republican director against his old colleagues on the 30th
Prairial, he now became a royalist director against the government
of the year III.
The faction disconcerted by the i8th Fructidor and the peace
of the continent had also gained courage. The military successes
of the new coalition, the law of compulsory loans and that of host-
ages, which had compelled every emigrant family to give guaran-
tees to government, had made the royalists of the south and west
again take up arms. They reappeared in bands, which daily became
FALL OF THE DIRECTORY 407
1799
more formidable, and revived the petty but disastrous v^^arfare of
the Chouans. They awaited the arrival of the Russians and looked
forward to the speedy restoration of the monarchy. This was a
moment of fresh competition with every party. Each aspired to
the inheritance of the dying constitution, as they had done at the
close of the convention. In France people are warned by a kind of
political odor that a government is dying, and all parties rush to be
in at the death.
Fortunately for the republic, the war changed its aspect on the
two principal frontiers of the Upper and Lower Rhine, The allies,
after having acquired Italy, wished to enter France by Switzerland
and Holland ; but Generals Massena and Brune arrested their hith-
erto victorious progress. Massena advanced against Korsakov and
Suvarov, During tw^elve days of great combinations and consec-
utive victories, hastening in turns from Constance to Zurich, he
repelled the efforts of the Russians, forced them to retreat, and dis-
organized the coalition, Brune won the victories of Bergen (Sep-
tember 19), Alkmaar (October 2), and Castricum (October 6).
The Duke of York, whose army had been reduced by disease and
battle, capitulated on October 18. French fortune was favored by
dissension among the allies. Paul I. of Russia had no mind to have
his. army used as a catspaw of Vienna, and neither the Austrian of-
ficers nor soldiers got along well with Russians. The Austrian
government tried to mend matters by arranging that the Russians
should have a clear field in Switzerland, leaving Italy and Ger-
many to its own armies. It was a false move, militarily speaking,
by which ]\Iassena profited. His position was a very precarious one,
for he had been caught between the army of the Archduke Charles
on the north and the united armies of Korsakov and Suvarov on the
east and south. But the new order from Vienna forbade Charles to
move farther in Switzerland, and Massena was able to slip away be-
fore the Russians could overtake him. When Korsakov made the
attempt to capture the French in Zurich he lost 13,000 men, a good
one-half of his troops (September 25), and was obliged to beat a
hasty retreat to the Rliinc, so hasty indeed that he abandoned his
baggage and one hundred pieces of artillery. Meantime Suvarov
had crossed the Saint Gbthard in the hope of making a flank move-
ment against the French, whom he expected to find hard pressed by
the Russians, but the ill luck of his lieutenant embarrassed him, and
he was forced to fight a costly, though not losing, battle on Septem-
408 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1799
ber 26. At last, after fearful privations and having suffered enor-
mous losses, Suvarov succeeded in making his way into Bavaria.
But furious at the discomfiture of his best general, Paul I. withdrew
from the coalition. France had lost Italy, but still retained Switzer-
land and Holland, and the peril of invasion had vanished. The
army of Italy alone had been less fortunate. It had lost its general,
Joubert, killed at the battle of Novi while leading a charge on the
Austro-Russians. But this frontier, which was at a distance from
the center of action, despite the defeat of Novi, was not crossed,
and Championet ably defended it. It was soon to be repassed by
the republican troops, who, after each resumption of arms, having
been for a moment beaten, soon regained their superiority and
recommenced their victories. Europe by giving additional exercise
to the military power, by its repeated attacks, rendered it each time
more triumphant.
But at home nothing was changed. Divisions, discontent, and
anxiety were the same as before. The struggle between the mod-
erate republicans and the extreme republicans had become more
determined. Sieyes pursued his projects against the latter. In the
Champs de Mars on August 10 he assailed the Jacobins. Lucien
Bonaparte, who had much influence in the council of five hundred,
from his character, his talents, and the military importance of the
conqueror of Italy and Egypt, drew in that assembly a fearful pic-
ture of the reign of terror, and said that France was threatened with
its return. About the same time Sieyes caused Bernadotte to be
dismissed, and Fouche, in concert with him, closed the meetings of
the Manege. The multitude, to whom it is only necessary to pre-
sent the phantom of the past to inspire it with fear, sided with the
moderate party, dreading the return of the reign of terror ; and the
extreme republicans failed in their endeavor to declare the country in
danger, as they had done at the close of the legislative assembly.
But Sieyes, after having lost Joubert, sought for a general who
could enter into his designs and who would protect the republic
without becoming its oppressor. Hoche had been dead more than
a year. Moreau had given rise to suspicion by his equivocal con-
duct to the directory before the i8th Fructidor and by the sudden
denunciation of his friend Pichegru, whose treason he had kept
secret for a whole year ; Massena was not a political general ; Berna-
dotte and Jourdan were devoted to the party of the Manege ; Sieyes
was compelled to postpone his scheme for want of a suitable agent.
FALL OF THE DIRECTORY 409
1799
Bonaparte had learned in the east from his brother Lucien and
a few other friends the state of affairs in France and the dedine of
the directorial government. His expedition had been brilliant, but
without results. The Battle of the Pyramids was fought July 21,
1798, and was followed by the French occupation of Cairo. Desaix
pursued Mourad-Bey southward and defeated him at the battle of
Sediman, October 7, but he managed to escape into Upper Egypt.
Napoleon left Egypt late in January, 1799, with 13,000 men,
and after traversing the Mediterranean seaboard began the siege of
Saint Jean d'Acre on March 19. For sixty days the combined
troops of England and Turkey resisted every effort of the French.
On May 20 Napoleon gave it up. It was the second siege and the
last he ever attempted, and was of decisive importance. He never
forgot the humiliation he experienced at Acre, and was wont to
allude to it as " that miserable hole which came between me and my
destiny.""*
The failure of the siege of Saint Jean d'Acre compelled Na-
poleon to return to his first conquest. There, after defeating an
Ottoman army on the coast of Aboukir, so fatal to the French fleet
the preceding year,^ when Nelson had gained the victory in the Bat-
tle of the Nile, he decided on leaving that land of exile and fame in
order to turn the new crisis in France to his own elevation.
Napoleon had been left for months in the east without information
or instructions from the directory, too much engaged in its own
affairs to watch over the interests of its general. He now learned
of the political situation in France through some French newspapers
which were sent to him by Sir Sidney Smith, the English com-
mander, during an exchange of prisoners. He left General Kleber
to command the army of the east and crossed the Mediterranean,
then covered with English ships, in a frigate. He disembarked at
Frejus on the 7th Vcndemiaire, year VHI. (October 9, 1799),
nineteen days after the battle of Bergen, gained by Brune over
the Anglo-Russians under the Duke of York, and fourteen days
after that of Zurich, gained by ]\lassena over the Austro-Russians
under Korsakov and Suvarov. Fie traversed France, from the
shore of the ^Mediterranean to Paris, in triumph. His expedition,
almost fabulous, had struck the public mind with surprise and had
* For the famous massacre of the prisoners at Jaffa by Napoleon consult
Ropes, " Napoleon," and Lanfrey, " Life of Napoleon," who give opposite views.
"' Fought on August i, 1798.
410 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1799
Still more increased the great renown he had acquired by the con-
quest of Italy. These two enterprises had raised him above all the
other generals of the republic. The distance of the theater upon
which he had fought enabled him to begin his career of independ-
ence and authority. A victorious general, an acknowledged and
obeyed negotiator, a creator of republics, he had treated all interests
with skill, all creeds with moderation. Preparing afar off his ambi-
tious destiny, he had not made himself subservient to any system,
and had managed all parties so as to work his elevation with their
assent. He had entertained this idea of usurpation since his vic-
tories in Italy, On the i8th Fructidor, had the directory been con-
quered by the councils, he purposed marching against the latter with
his army and seizing the protectorate of the republic. After the
1 8th Fructidor, finding the directory too powerful and the inactivity
of the continent too dangerous for him, he accepted the expedition
to Egypt, that he might not fall and might not be forgotten. At
the news of the disorganization of the directory, on the 30th Prai-
rial, he repaired with haste to the scene of events.
His arrival excited the enthusiasm of the moderate masses of
the nation. He received general congratulations and every party
contended for his favor. Generals, directors, deputies, and even
the republicans of the Manege waited on and tried to sound him.
Fetes and banquets were given in his honor. His manners were
grave, simple, cool, and observing; he had already a tone of con-
descending familiarity and involuntary habits of command. Not-
withstanding his want of earnestness and openness, he had an air
of self-possession, and it was easy to read in him an afterthought
of conspiracy. Without uttering his design, he allowed it to be
guessed; because a thing must always be expected in order to be
accomplished. He could not seek supporters in the republicans of
the Manege, as they neither wished for a coup d'etat nor for a dic-
tator; and Sieyes justly feared that he was too ambitious to fall in
with his constitutional views; accordingly Sieyes hesitated to open
his mind to him, but, urged by their mutual friends, they at length
met and concerted together. On the 15th Brumaire they determined
on their plan of attack on the constitution of the year III. Sieyes
undertook to prepare the councils by the commissions of inspectors,
who placed unlimited confidence in him. Bonaparte was to gain
the generals and the different corps of troops stationed in Paris,
who displayed much enthusiasm for him and much attachment to
FALL OF THE DIRECTORY 411
1799
his person. They agreed to convoke an extraordinary meeting of
the moderate members of the councils, to describe the public danger
to the ancients, and by urging the ascendency of Jacobinism to
demand the removal of the legislative body to Saint Cloud, and the
appointment of General Bonaparte to the command of the armed
force as the only man able to save the country ; and then, by means
of the new military power, to obtain the dismissal of the direc-
tory and the temporary dissolution of the legislative body. The
enterprise was fixed for the morning of the i8th Brumaire (No-
vember 9).
During these three days the secret was faithfully kept. Barras,
Moulins, and Gohier, who fonned the majority of the directory, of
which Gohier was then president, might have frustrated the coup
d'etat of the conspirators by forestalling them, as on the i8th Fruc-
tidor. But they gave them credit for hopes only, and not for any
decided projects. On the morning of the i8th the members of the
ancients were convoked in an unusual way by the inspectors; they
repaired to the Tuileries, and the debate was opened about seven in
the morning under the presidentship of Lemercir. Cornudet, Le
Brun, and Fargues, the three most influential conspirators in the
council, drew a most alarming picture of the state of public affairs,
protesting that the Jacobins were flocking in crowds to Paris from
all the departments, that they wished to reestablish the revolu-
tionary government, and that a reign of terror would once more
desolate the republic if the council had not the courage and wisdom
to prevent its return. Another conspirator, Regnier de la Meurthe,
required of the ancients, already moved, that in virtue of the right
conferred on them by the constitution they should transfer the legis-
lative body to Saint Cloud, and depute Bonaparte, nominated by
them to the command of the seventeenth military division, to super-
intend the removal, ^^'hether all the members of the council were
accomplices of this maneuver, or whether they were terrified by so
hasty convocation and by speeches so alarming, they instantly
granted what the conspirators required.
Bonaparte awaited witli impatience the result of this delibera-
tion at his house in the Rue Chantereine ; he was surrounded by
generals, bv Lefevre. the commander of the guard of the directory,
and bv three regiments of cavalry whicli he was about to review.
The decree of the council of ancients was passed about eight and
brought to him at half-past eight by a state messenger. He received
412 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1799
tlie congratulations of all around him; the officers drew their
swords as a sign of fidelity. He put himself at their head and they
marched to the Tuileries; he appeared at the bar of the ancients,
took the oath of fidelity, and appointed as his lieutenant Lefevre,
chief of the directorial guard.
This was, however, only a beginning of success. Bonaparte
was at the head of the armed force ; but the executive power of the
directory and the legislative power of the councils still existed. In
the struggle which would infallibly ensue it was not certain that
the great and hitherto victorious force of the revolution would not
triumph. Sieyes and Roger Ducos went from the Luxembourg to
the legislative and military camp of the Tuileries and gave in their
resignation. Barras, Moulins, and Gohier, apprised on their side,
but a little too late, of what was going on, wished to employ their
power and make themselves sure of their guard; but the latter,
having received from Bonaparte information of the decree of the
ancients, refused to obey them. Barras, discouraged, sent in his
resignation and departed for his estate of Gros-Bois. The directory
was, in fact, dissolved, and there was one antagonist less in the
struggle. The five hundred and Bonaparte alone remained opposed.
The decree of the council of ancients and the proclamations
of Bonaparte were placarded on the walls of Paris. The agitation
which accompanies extraordinary events prevailed in that great
city. The republicans, and not without reason, felt serious alarm
for the fate of liberty. But when they showed alarm respecting the
intentions of Bonaparte, in whom they beheld a Caesar or a Crom-
well, they were answered in the general's own words: " Bad parts,
wornout parts, unworthy a man of sense, even if they were not so
of a good man. It would be sacrilege to attack the representative
government in this age of intelligence and freedom. He would be
but a fool who, with lightness of heart, could wish to cause the loss
of the stakes of the republic against royalty after having supported
them with some glory and peril." Yet the importance he gave him-
self in his proclamations was ominous. He reproached the directory
with the situation of France in a most extraordinary way. " What
have you done," said he, " with that France that I left so flourishing
in your hands ? I left you peace, I find you at war ; I left you vic-
tories, I find nothing but reverses; I left you the millions of Italy,
I find nothing but plundering laws and misery. What have you
done with the hundred thousand Frenchmen whom I knew, my
FALL OF THE DIRECTORY 413
1799
companions in glory? They are dead! This state of things cannot
last; in less than three years it would lead us to despotism." This
was the first time for ten years that a man had ventured to refer
everything to himself, and to demand an account of the republic as
of his own property. It is a painful surprise to see a newcomer of
the revolution introduce himself thus into the inheritance, so labor-
iously acquired, of an entire people.
On the 19th Brumaire the members of the councils repaired
to Saint Cloud ; Sieyes and Roger Ducos accompanied Bonaparte
to this new field of battle; they went thither with the intention
of supporting the designs of the conspirators: Sieyes, who un-
derstood the tactics of revolutions, wished to make sure of
events by provisionally arresting the leaders and only ad-
mitting the moderate party into the councils; but Bonaparte
refused to accede to this. He was no party man; having hith-
erto acted and conquered with regiments only, he thought he could
direct legislative councils like an army, by the word of command.
The gallery of Mars had been prepared for the ancients, the Oran-
gery for the five hundred. A considerable armed force surrounded
the seat of the legislature, as the multitude on June 2 had sur-
rounded the convention. The republicans, assembled in groups in
the grounds, waited the opening of the sittings; they were agitated
with a generous indignation against the military brutalism that
threatened them, and communicated to each other their projects of
resistance. The young general, followed by a few grenadiers,
passed through the courts and apartments, and prematurely yield-
ing to his character, he said, like the twentieth king of a dynasty:
" I will have no more factions; there must be an end to this; I abso-
lutely will not have any more of it." About two o'clock in the after-
noon the council assembled in their respective halls, to the sound of
instruments which played the " Marseillaise."
As soon as the business of the sitting commenced Emile Gau-
din, one of the conspirators, ascended the tribune of the five hun-
dred. He proposed a vote of thanks to the council of ancients for
the measures it had taken, and to request it to expound the means
of saving the republic. This motion was the signal for a violent
tumult ; cries arose against Gaudin from every part of the hall. The
republican deputies surr(nmded the tribune and the bureau, at which
Lucien Bonaparte presided. The conspirators, Cabanis, Boulay
(de la Meurthe), Chazal, Gaudin, and Lucien, turned pale on their
414 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1799
seats. After a long scene of agitation, during which no one could
obtain a hearing, calm was restored for a few moments, and Delbred
proposed that the oath made to the constitution of the year III.
sliould be renewed. As no one opposed this motion, which at such
a juncture was of vital importance, the oath was taken with
an enthusiasm and unanimity which was dangerous to the con-
spiracy.
Bonaparte, learning what had passed in the five hundred, and
in the greatest danger of desertion and defeat, presented himself at
the council of ancients. All would have been lost for him had the
latter, in favor of the conspiracy, been carried away with the enthu-
siasm of the younger council. " Representatives of the people," said
he, " you are in no ordinary situation ; you stand on a volcano. Yes-
terday, when you summoned me to inform me of the decree for
your removal, and charged me with its execution, I was tranquil.
I immediately assembled my comrades ; w^e flew to your aid ! Well,
now I am overwhelmed with calumnies ! They talk of Caesar,
Cromwell, and military government ! Had I wished to oppress the
liberty of my country I should not have attended to the orders which
you gave me; I should not have had any occasion to receive this
authority from your hands. Representatives of the people ! I swear
to you, that the country has not a more zealous defender than I am ;
but its safety rests with you alone! There is no longer a govern-
ment ; four of the directors have given in their resignation, the fifth
(Moulins) has been placed under surveillance for his own security;
the council of five hundred is divided; nothing is left but the council
of ancients. Let it adopt measures ; let it but speak ; I am ready to
execute. Let us save liberty; let us save equality!" Linglet, a
republican, then arose and said: "General, we applaud what
you say: swear with us to obey the constitution of the year
IIL, which alone can maintain the republic." All would have
been lost for him had this motion met with the same reception
which it had found in the five hundred. It surprised the council,
and for a moment Bonaparte was disconcerted. But he soon re-
sumed:" The constitution of the year III. has ceased to exist; you
violated it on the i8th Fructidor; you violated it on the 22d Flor-
eal ; you violated it on the 30th Prairial. The constitution is invoked
by all factions, and violated by all ; it cannot be a means of safety
for us. because it no longer obtains respect from anyone; the consti-
tution being violated, we must have another compact, new guaran-
FALL OF THE DIRECTORY 415
1799
tees." The council applauded these reproaches of Bonaparte and
rose in sign of approbation.
Bonaparte, deceived by his easy success with the ancients,
imagined that his presence alone would sujffice to appease the stormy
council of the five hundred. He hastened thither at the head of a
few grenadiers, whom he left at the door, but within the hall, and
he advanced alone, hat in hand. At the sight of the bayonets the
assembly arose with a sudden movem.ent. The legislators, conceiv-
ing his entrance to be a signal for military violence, uttered all at
once the cry of " Outlaw him ! Down with the dictator! " Several
members rushed to meet him; and the republican Bigonet, seizing
him by the arm, exclaimed: "Rash man! what are you doing?
Retire; you are violating the sanctuary of the laws." Bonaparte,
pale and agitated, receded and was carried off by the grenadiers
who had escorted him there.
His disappearance did not put a stop to the agitation of the
council. All the members spoke at once ; all proposed measures of
public safety and defense. Lucien Bonaparte was the object of
general reproach; he attempted to justify his brother, but with
timidity. After a long struggle he succeeded in reaching the trib-
une, and urged the assembly to judge his brother with less severity.
He protested that he had no designs against their liberty, and recalled
his services. But several voices immediately exclaimed : " He has
lost all their rt^erit. Down with the dictator ! Down with the
tyrants ! " The tumult now became more violent than ever, and all
demanded the outlawry of General Bonaparte. " What," said
Lucien, " do you wish me to pronounce the outlawry of my
brother?" "Yes! yes! outlawry! It is the reward of tyrants!"
In the midst of the confusion a motion was made and put to the
vote that the council should sit permanently ; that it should instantly
repair to its palace at Paris ; that the troops assembled at Saint Cloud
should form a part of the guard of the legislative body ; that tlie
command of them should be given to General Bernadotte. Lucien,
astounded by these propositions, and by the outlawry, which he
thought had been adopted with the rest, left the president's chair
and, ascending the tribune, said, in the greatest agitation : " Since I
cannot be heard in tliis assembly, I put off the symbols of the popular
magistracy with a deep sense of insulted dignity." And he took off
his cap, robe and scarf.
Bonaparte, meantime, on leaving the council of the five hun-
416 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1799
dred, had found some difficulty in regaining his composure. Unac-
customed to scenes of popular tumult, he had been greatly agitated.
His officers came around him; and Sieyes, having more revolution-
ary experience, besought him not to lose time and to employ force.
General Lefevre immediately gave an order for carrying off Lucien
from the council. A detachment entered the hall, advanced to the
chair which Lucien now occupied again, placed him in their ranks,
and returned with him to the troops. As soon as Lucien came out
he mounted a horse by his brother's side, and although divested of
his legal character, harangued the troops as president. In concert
with Bonaparte, he invented the story, so often repeated since, that
poignards had been drawn on the general in the council of five hun-
dred, and exclaimed : " Citizen soldiers, the president of the council
of five hundred declares to you that the large majority of that
council is at this moment kept in fear by the daggers of a few repre-
sentatives, who surround the tribune, threaten their colleagues with
death, and occasion the most terrible deliberations. General, and
you, soldiers and citizens, you will only recognize as legislators of
France those who follow me. As for those who remain in the
Orangery, let force expel them. Those brigands are no longer rep-
resentatives of the people, but representatives of the poignard."
After this violent appeal, addressed to the troops by a conspirator
president, who, as usual, calumniated those he wished to proscribe,
Bonaparte spoke: " Soldiers," said he, " I have led you to victory;
may I rely on you? " " Yes! yes! Vive Ic General! " " Soldiers,
there were reasons for expecting that the council of five hundred
would save the country; on the contrary, it is given up to intestine
quarrels; agitators seek to excite it against me. Soldiers, may I
rely on you?" "Yes! yes! Vive Bonaparte!" "Well, then I
will bring them to their senses ! " And he instantly gave orders to
the officers surrounding him to clear the hall of the five hundred.
The council, after Lucien's departure, had been a prey to great
anxiety and indecision. A few members proposed that they should
leave the place in a body and go to Paris to seek protection amid
the people. Others wished the national representatives not to for-
sake their posts, but to brave the outrages of force. In the mean-
time a troop of grenadiers entered the hall by degrees, and the
officer in command communicated to the council the order for their
dispersion. The deputy Prudhon reminded the officer and his sol-
diers of the respect due to the representatives of the people; General
FALL OF THE DIRECTORY 417
1799
Jourdan also represented to them the enormity of such a measure.
For a moment the troops hesitated, but a reinforcement now arrived
in close column. General Leclerc exclaimed : " In the name of
General Bonaparte, the legislative body is dissolved; let all good
citizens retire. Grenadiers, forward ! " Cries of indignation arose
from every side, but these were drowned by the drums. The gren-
adiers advanced slowly across the whole width of the Orangery,
and presenting bayonets. In this way they drove the legislators
before them, who continued shouting " Vive la rcpuhlique! " as
they left the place. At half-past five, on the 19th Brumaire of the
year VIII. (November 10, 1799), there was no longer a rep-
resentation.
Thus this violation of the law, this coup d'etat against liberty,
was accomplished. Force began to sway. The i8th Brumaire was
the May 31 of the army against the representation, except that
it was not directed against a party, but against the popular power.
But it is just to distinguish the i8th Brumaire from its conse-
quences. It might then be supposed that the army was only an
auxiliary of the revolution as it had been on the 13th Vendemiaire
and the i8th Fructidor, and that this indispensable change would
not turn to the advantage of a man a single man, who would soon
change France into a regiment, and cause nothing to be heard of in
a world hitherto agitated by so great a moral commotion save the
tread of his army and the voice of his will.
<5 Much new light has been thrown upon the history of the directory, and
especially upon the events of the i8th Brumaire, by the recent work of Albert
vandal, " L'Avcncmcnt de Bonaparte." The book is the most recent and the
most critical estimate of Napoleon at this important stage in his life.
Chapter XVI
THE FINANCES OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
BEFORE proceeding to the events in sequence on the i8th
Brumaire it is well to consider what was the economic
and financial condition of this France to whose respon-
sibilities Napoleon succeeded. From the meeting of the states-
general in 1789 to the fall of the directory the financial difficulty
of the nation had remained the great question, obscured from time
to time, but not obliterated in the progress of the revolution.
Mirabeau, before the prospect of bankruptcy, " horrible,
hideous bankruptcy," put forth a plan for the issue of treasury notes
secured by church lands, and moved the confiscation of the
church estates on October 12. On November 2, 1789, the assem-
bly declared the church property to be at the disposal of the state,
and then immediately Mirabeau moved his plan, that the admin-
istration of the national debt be intrusted to a distinct board,
which, he said, would put into circulation paper notes resting on
good security, and thereby efifect the liquidation of the deficit. This
proposition was defeated by Lafayette and Necker, who were
momentarily drawn together through their mutual antagonism to
Mirabeau.
It was at this juncture that Necker brought forth his idea of a
national bank, with a circulation secured by the confiscated lands
of the church. But the paper money idea had taken hold of
the assembly, and it would have nothing to do with the national
bank. One of the speakers in the assembly argued as follows :
" Men ascribe this disorder to the revolution. It is completely
independent of it. It would have arisen just as well at another
time. The origin of the evil is to be found, in reality, in the ' Bank
of Discount.' It inundates the country with a most dangerous spe-
cies of paper money, since the fabrication of this money rests in the
hands of a company in no way accountable to the government. This
money, which is forced upon the people of France by law and which
418
FINANCES 419
is not convertible on presentation, is without value in the foreign
markets. We are not able to buy except for cash. They will not
accept our paper, for on presentation for payment they would be
paid in notes of the Bank of Discount. For these reasons wealth
must depart from France, even to the last crown, if this is not
remedied. Again, the need of grain and the necessity for paying
for it in gold will precipitate the same result." Mirabeau argued
against Necker's scheme that if the state had no credit its guarantee
of the circulation of the Bank of Discount would be worthless, and
that if it did have credit it did not need the help of the bank.
" But," said Petion of Villeneuve, on December lo, 1789,
*' why are we not able ourselves to hypothecate that wealth of which
the necessity is acknowledged? Are we not able to give it ourselves
the confidence of which it has need in order to circulate in all parts
of the realm ? We have at our disposal ecclesiastical domains. Let
us create obligations to order. Let us make them bear a certain
interest. Let us assign to them a certain payment. Shall we give
to the bank the apparent advantage of these deeds ? Let us give to
our true creditors the interest which we would give to the bank."
The committee on finance brought in a report, through its
chairman, Montesquiou, in which it stated that the debt of the state
already due was 950 millions, and then added, in the same breath,
that there was a surplus of 33 millions in tlie revenue. It made no
objection to a loan from the Bank of Discount, but insisted on a
sale of clerical lands to the amount of 400 millions. On this propo-
sition there followed a long discussion, in which the merits and
demerits of the issuing of assignats were discussed. Allarde and
Gouy supported the scheme of issuing 400 millions of assignats
against the church property on the ground that it w-as " securing
resources without paying interest."
On March 6 Necker was obliged to bring into the assembly a
report stating that he would need, in addition to the revenue, 280
to 310 millions. However, he said that he would be able to raise
it by surplus income, fresh anticipations, and a final loan from
the Bank of Discount. But the assembly and Paris w^ere impa-
tient to strike the final blow against the church and take pos-
session of its property. Thcref(M-e. on March 10, Bailly, the
mayor of Paris, proposed that I^aris should purchase from the
state all the monastic pr()i)crty situated within the city limits val-
ued at 150 millions and sell it again, and be satisfied with 16 mil-
420 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
lions as a commission for making the sale. So on March 17, 1790,
it was decreed that church property to the amount of 400 millions
should be turned over to the municipality and sold on a commission
of one-sixteenth. After stormy debates on April 14-17, 1790, the
assembly decreed the payment of the expenses of the church, the
confiscation of all the church property, the immediate sale of 400
millions, and the issue of assignats to that amount.
Therefore the assignats were devised simply to anticipate the
sales and by relieving the stress to furnish money with which the
people might purchase the lands. The face value of each assignat
was guaranteed by an equivalent amount of the confiscated lands
of the clergy, and each assignat was to be destroyed when that
amount of land was sold by the government. Mirabeau was
conscious of the two-edged character of this financial proposi-
tion, but he knew no choice of means. This was the beginning
of that assignat mischief which was to end in total bankruptcy.
His intention was to clear the road of the obstructions that it
was indispensable to get out of the way if a strong government
was to be established. Those who came after him used the
assignats as a handy means for disposing of the necessity of recon-
structing the economical basis of the commonwealth. The assem-
bly accepted what to him was only a regrettable but necessary means
to the attainment of a great end, and made it impossible for him to
use it for such a means, and therefore also impossible to attain
the end.
The assignat fever had seized hard hold of the members of the
national assembly. The committee on finance had reported : " It is
time to repudiate the principles of our ancient financial methods.
We shall offer you a new resource, a bold operation, but simple.
It is time to lay the foundation of a credit truly national. Let us
show to entire Europe that we know our resources and that we shall
shortly retake the highroad of our liberation."
One speaker said: "What is an assignat? It is a letter of
exchange, of which the cash value is guaranteed by the nation. It
is a better means of reanimating the circulation of money and of
traversing the difficult passage from an administration remarkable
for depredation and disorder to one just and wise." ^ " Further,"
he continues, " are 400 millions enough ? The anticipations and
present expenses amount to 1559 millions; you will receive only 450
millions. Therefore there are still 1109 millions unprovided for.
^Moniteur, vol. IV. p. 87.
FINANCES 421
The 400 millions proposed are insufficient. I think there should be
decreed enough assignats to reimburse the public debt."
The theory upon which the first issue of assignats was put
forth was this; That, if the state could, by means of the church
property, pay its immense debt and restore public credit and at the
same time put that much more money into circulation, it would at
once relieve the stringency in the money market and restore pros-
perity. The state had confiscated church lands variously estimated
to be worth from 1200 to 2000 millions. To throw this immense
amount of property on the market at a time when specie had disap-
peared and the country was held in the double grasp of hard times
almost bankruptcy and famine, meant to sacrifice it at much less
than its value, if it were possible to dispose of it at all.
But from the outset a serious miscalculation was made. The
Jansenists and disciples of Voltaire hated the convents, and the
finance committee began with them. The pensions required for the
20,000 inmates were about 16,000,000. The theory'' was: previous
income per year, 70,000,000. Value of real estate is thirty-three
times yearly rental. Therefore, 2,300,000,000 will be realized, of
which the clergy were to receive 100,000,000. These calculations
were a mistake. Of this 70 millions, 20 belonged to Maltesian
Knights, schools, and hospitals, Moreover, 33 was too high a
figure for most of the land. The results were that church property
sold for 1,250,000,000, instead of 2,300,000,000. Morris, writing
to Washington in January, 1790, says:
" It is proposed and detennined to sell about ten or twelve
millions sterling of the crown and church lands, . . . but
as it is clear that these lands will not sell well just now, they
have appointed a treasurer to receive what they will sell for here-
after, and they issue a kind of order upon this treasurer, which is
to be called an assignat, and is to be paid (out of the sales) one,
two, and three years hence. They expect that on these assignats
they can borrow money to face the engagements of the Bank of Dis-
count, and they are at the same time to pay some of the more
pressing debts with the same assignats. Now this plan must fail,
as follows: First, there will be some doubt about the title of these
lands, at least till the revolution is completed. Secondly, the repre-
sentative of lands must always (for a reason which will presently
appear) sell for less than a representative of money, and therefore,
until public confidence is so far restored as that the five per cents.
422 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
are above par, these assignats, bearing five per cent, must be below
par ; money, therefore, cannot be raised upon them but at a consid-
erable discount. Thirdly, the lands to be disposed of must sell a
great deal below their value, for there is not money to buy
them in this country, and the proof is that they never obtained
money on loan at a legal interest, but always upon a premium . . .
and as the revolution has greatly lessened the mass of money,
the effect of the scarcity must be greater. But further, there is a
solecism in the plan which escapes most of them and which is never-
theless very palpable. The value of lands in Europe is, you know,
estimated by the income. To dispose of public lands, therefore, is
to sell public revenue, and, therefore, taking the legal rate of interest
at five per cent., land renting for loof. ought to sell for 2000/. ; but
they expect that these lands will sell for 3000/., and that thereby
not only public credit will be restored, but a great saving will be
made, as the 3000/. will redeem an interest of i^of."'
To add to their other errors, the advocates of the new financial
measures took no account of the fact that the revenues, always hard
to collect, were now reduced to half their former sum. In other
words, they forgot altogether August 4. Since that day more than
170 millions of taxes had been voluntarily given up, and much of
what remained was uncollectable, owing to the state of the country.
Necker estimated that the redemption of the offices abolished
by August 4 would cost the state 350 millions. Ramel estimated
it at 492 millions, the national assembly at 800 millions. All
these renunciations had been left out of consideration in the theory
of the assignats. True, it was intended that they should be
used only for the liquidation of the existing public debt, but here
theory and practice failed to coincide. Of the first 1200 millions
of assignats issued only 108 millions were used toward reducing the
public debt. A larger share of the first issue was consumed in cur-
rent expenses.
Within six montlis the government found itself again in dis-
tress. The assignats were exhausted and the tide had again turned
against the government. Immediately there went up from all over
the land, and from the assembly, the cry of the thoughtless for
more assignats. There, however, the more thoughtful people, both
in the assembly and outside of it, began to be alarmed. Many of
the members who had favored the first issue under the restrictions
placed upon it now began to doubt. A few of the schemers of the
- Morris, " Diary and Letters," vol I. p. 284-285.
FINANCES 423
assembly were outspoken for another issue. It would effect the
sale of the lands more quickly, they said, by making- money plentier.
In vain Maury, Cazales, Necker, Le Brun, and others opposed it with
all their strength. Le Brun said : " All will change itself to paper.
Will you pay the soldiers with paper? Will you equip the waiting
vessels on the sea with paper? They say that these ' belle* opera-
tions will save the revolution. As for me, I say they will kill the
revolution and this assembly." '
Necker, discouraged and fatigued, resigned September 3, 1790.
Mirabeau's speech carried all with it, and on September 29-October
12 the assembly voted to increase the assignats to 1200 millions,
with the solemn pledge that the total should never exceed this
amount, and that as fast as they were paid into the treasury in
return for land they should be burned.
It remains to be shown now what the assignats proved to be in
practice. How they failed in realizing the prosperity and abundance
predicted by their advocates before their issue. The same causes
that swallowed up the first issue of 400 millions were still in opera-
tion and were increasing in destructive force in a geometric ratio
as time advanced. On September 29, 1790, the emission of 800
millions of assignats was determined upon, with the provision that
the amount in existence at any time should not be more than 1200
millions. The excise taxes were given up, and hence 382 millions
had to be raised from real estate, making a crushing burden. The
yearly budget presented a deficit of 220 millions. In three-quarters
of a year the 800 millions had been used up! After this issue all
felt that the proper plan to pursue would be to run the finances for
1 79 1 on a close, S3'stematic basis, and in accordance with this idea
the finance committee brought in a budget of 640 millions for 1791.
These figures, however, from a desire to conceal the fact that the
government under the assembly was costing more than under the
ancient regime, were underestimated to the amount of more
than 150 millions. But taking the total as reported by the
committees, it soon became evident from a study of the ways
in which thev propose to raise the amount that there will be, on
their own estimate, a deficit of 220 millions. Moreover, as this
deficit increased so did the national debt, but of this no mention
was made in the budget. Since August 4, 1789, there was a total
new debt of ncarlv T500 millions, bearing an annual interest of 72
millions. It was for the payment of this del)t that the assignats
424 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
had been issued, and yet, of the entire 1200 millions, as before
mentioned, less than 200 millions were applied to this purpose.
Thus the lands were gone, and still the debt remained.
The result of this issue on France at large in a commercial way
was very evident. Owing to the abundance of money everything
" boomed " for a time. Foreign merchants, owing to the difference
in exchange, hastened to place orders of all kinds with French man-
ufactories. It was simply the difference in exchange, however, not
any true, permanent want, that created this demand, and as soon as
exchange was equalized it ceased. Specie began to disappear from
circulation, prices rose, owing to the abundance of paper money,
and soon there broke forth again the cry, " lack of circulating
medium." This cry resulted in the evasion of the solemn pledges
to keep the issue of assignats down by burning all that were received
in payment for lands. The treasury, instead, reissued 100 millions
again, in the form of small notes. This, however, served only as a
drop in the bucket, and on June 19, 1791, nine months after the last
issue, 600 millions more were authorized, and the extreme limit
again fixed at 1800 millions. From this time forth France was
committed wholly and thoroughly to the paper-money idea, and
issue follows issue with frightful rapidity.
At the time of the second issue, October, 1790, the assignats
had depreciated to 92 per cent., while in June, 1791, at the third
issue, they fell to 87 per cent. With this third issue began that
greatest of evils, the issue of the smaller bills. By February, 1792,
silver, and even copper, had disappeared from circulation, and
church bells were melted down.
In order to bolster up the price of their paper money the assem-
bly decreed the sequestration of the estates of the emigrants. It did
not raise the price of assignats a single sou. In spite of the abun-
dance of money, and in spite of the high prices, wages did not rise.
One manufactory after another was closed. All that tariffs and
custom-houses could do was done to prevent the closing of factories,
but all in vain. Soon there were thousands of idle workmen all
over France. It was no longer safe for the government to trans-
port specie. Bread riots broke out all over the country. The na-
tional assembly voted millions for public workshops; 100,000 men
found employment in the army.
In order to assist the woollen manufacturers the assembly, in
February, 1792, forbade the exportation of wool, and in March a
FINANCES 426
duty of fifty per cent, was placed upon cotton to keep it out of the
country. The same troubles that beset the manufacturers appeared
among the agricultural classes. The property-holders had not in-
creased much in number. Land had just been differently grouped,
and had changed owners. Owing to the long terms on which the
government sold the land many of the peasantry had taken up as
much land as they could raise money :o make first payments on,
and as a result the majority had no capital left with which to work
the land, and it soon fell into the hands of speculators and capital-
ists. Then, too, many speculators would make a small advance on
the land, and then, having stripped it of its timber and whatever
else of value could be moved away, would default on any further
payments. Landowners, as the yields diminished and assignats
depreciated, soon abolished money-rents and received their rent in
corn, which they stored up in hope of a better price. Soon the
prohibition of the export of wool showed its effect : breeding of
sheep came to an end. Then came more complaints of the scarcity
of wool.
The state of opinion in the assembly as their troubles thickened
cannot better be shown than by an extract from the report of the
committee on finance, on July 31, 1792. It explains that a further
issue of assignats is impossible, and then asks for 300 millions more.
It asserts that the sale of the emigrants' land would depress rather
than raise the value of paper, and yet it does not conceal a desire to
see such a rich source of money made accessible. It warns against
taking the state forests, and then begs to be allowed to take them.
At the opening of the convention, September 23, 1792, Cam-
bon reported as follows : " There is no other financial resource
except assignats. All the taxes are exhausted ; the government
is neither able to borrow nor to lay taxes. Therefore it is necessary
to recur to the assignat, and as security to hasten the sale of national
goods and properties." He adds that the urgency is great and that
the paper is all ready for the issue, awaiting only the decree of the
convention. From this time on the finance committee had but two
aims : one was to keep up in the issue with the demands of the state;
the other was to try, by all means possible, to make their sale pro-
gress naturally by the accruing of property, each day, through de-
crees of confiscation that grew more and more severe.
The measures adopted by the terror to maintain the value of
this inflated currencv were ^iolent. A first decree forbade the sale
426 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
of specie in France or any of the countries held by the armies of
France, on pain of six years in prison. All transactions were
ordered to be exclusively effected in assignats. Anyone convicted
of proposing or decreeing two different prices for things, depending
on payments in assignats or in specie, was also liable to six years'
imprisonment. All persons refusing to receive assignats were com-
pelled to receive them and condemned to a fine equal to the sum
refused. (Decree of April 11-16, 1793.) After August i, 1793,
the fine was 3000 livres and three months' imprisonment, a repeti-
tion of the offense making the offender liable to twenty years' im-
prisonment. On September 5, 1793, the convention decreed that
all persons convicted of having refused to receive assignats in pay-
ment, of having given or received them at any reduction whatever,
or of having held any conversation tending to discredit them,
would be punished by death or with confiscation of goods. In May,
1794, the law of suspects was made to include (i) all persons
suspected of having bought or sold specie; (2) all persons suspected
of having decreed different prices in specie or assignats; (3) all
persons suspected of having held conversation tending to discredit
assignats; (4) all persons suspected of having refused assignats in
payment; (5) all persons suspected of having given or received any
reduction wdiatever, or of having asked before the conclusion or
at the beginning of a purchase, " in what money the payment should
be made." All such persons were to be immediately brought be-
fore the revolutionary tribunal and punished by death. No appeal
was allowed, and confiscation of goods was to follow conviction.
(May 10-20, 1794.)
Cambon, meanw^hile, proposed to effect a rise in the value of
assignats by three measures : first, to proceed against the bankers ;
second, to suppress the Bank of Discount ; and third, by a with-
drawal of the king's face from the assignats. This last measure
resulted in a virtual repudiation of over 200 millions of assignats
w^iich bore the king's portrait.
By far the most noteworthy measure adopted, however, to
maintain the value of the assignats was the Law of Maximum.
Early in 1793 a law had been passed fixing the maximum price
for corn (May 3). This was variable for the different depart-
ments. Now, however, in the fall of this same year a maximum
price for corn and meal was fixed for the entire republic. These
articles were only to be sold at fairs and markets and under the
FINANCES 427
regulation of the municipal body. Nearly all articles of consump-
tion, together with most raw materials, were also subject to a
maximum price, which was fixed at one-third more than the price
of the article in September, 1790. All people were forbidden to lay
in stores of goods, and shopkeepers had to expose over their doors
a list of the goods they had in stock. The government compelled all
persons to sell to it the war supplies it needed, under requisition,
at the maximum price, and paid for the goods in assignats at the
nominal value. A maximum was also fixed for wages, the most
the workman could receive being the wages he received in 1790.
Such measures as these, with assignats at 33-J per cent, of their
nominal value, worked untold hardships throughout all parts of the
country and among all classes of citizens ; and still the value of the
assignats kept on declining.
The directory, upon one occasion, emitted three milliards of
assignats at one time. In the first four months of its authority no
less than twenty milliards were issued. An assignat of 100 livres
was valued at 18 livres in the middle of the year 1795 ; it fell to .87
at the end of this year, then to .54 and even to .29. On February 19,
1796, Ramel announced to the councils that the various govern-
ments of the revolution had issued 45,581,411,018 livres in paper
currency ! A law of the 2d Nivose, year IV., forbade their emis-
sion, and the press was broken to pieces.
To such extremities was the directory brought at one time
that a strike of printers threatened to stop all the machinery of the
government by cutting off the supply of assignats. The printers
were kept at work from 6 a. m. until 8 p. :m. every da}-. A con-
spiracy among the printers was discovered in 1796, and immedi-
ately four workmen were arrested on the charge of " arousing the
workmen employed in fa])ricating assignats to cease work, thus
making all offices bankrupt, and causing the overthrow of the re-
public ! " By a decree of the i8th Brumaire, year IV., the directory
ordered the erection of a new paper mill, in order that there might
be on hand a sufficient supply of paper for the rapid fabrication of
assignats.^
The end (A this state of things is admirably expressed in the
following paragraph :
"Nothing but bankruptcy could end this state of things; it
^ The follo\\in,i^^ tabic, from Stnurm, " l^cs Fiuancrs dc Vaucicnnc rc^^inig
rt </( !a Rri'i'hilii'ii," \o\. 11., ]). 311, show^ the issues of assignats under the
428 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
cost you 800 francs to drive across Paris and 1000 francs to get a
decent meal at a restaurant. But the double bankruptcy of 1797
(February 4 and September 30) was made in the most cynical man-
ner. First, the law of February 4 demonetized 35 milliards of notes
which the state had expressly pledged itself to redeem in cash;
then the Faillit du Tiers Consolide consummated the ruin of the
hapless creditor who had carefully preserved his credentials of
shares in the national debt: for the 119 millions then inscribed on
the Grand Livre (so-called) of 1793 the directory simply took its
bill and wrote 43, thus striking out an annual debt of 76, or a capi-
tal of 1500 millions. By the same law of September 30 the annui-
ties and pensions were also reduced by two-thirds, and thereby 400
millions added to the bankruptcy. Thus, in the spring, France
failed for thirty-five milliards and in the autumn for almost two
milliards more.*
various governments, and their values, as compiled from the best-known
sources in 1797:
Amount issued Vahie on date
Named Per Cent.
The Constituent Assembly, 1800 milHons . . . 1790, Jan., 96
1796, July, 95
1791, Jan., 91
1791, July, 87
Legislative Assembly, 900 millions 1791, Oct., 84
1792, Jan., T2
1792, July, 61
The National Convention, 7278 millions . . . 1792, Sept., 72
1793- Jan., 51
1793- July. '2'Z
1794, Jan., 40
1794, July, 34
1795, Jan., 18
1795. July 2, 2.97
The Directory, 35,603 millons 1795, Nov. 3, -87
1796, Jan. I, .54
1796, Feb. I, .44
1796, Feb. 22, .29
*J. R. Moreton-Macdonald, "The Debt and Deficit and the Financial Con-
ditions of France, 1789-1795"; appendix to Fletcher's edition of Carlyle, "French
Revolution," vol. III. p. 341. Other admirable accounts of the assignats and
mandates of the French Revolution are Andrew D. White : " Fiat Money Infla-
tion in France: How it Came, what it Brought, and how it Ended." N. Y., D.
Appleton & Co., 1896; Levasseux : " Ilistoirc des classes ouvricres avant 1789'
vol. I. ch. 6. Von Sybel is excellent upon all financial and economic questions,
but his treatment is scattered throughout many pages.
PART VI
THE EPOCH OF NAPOLEON. NOVEMBER 10,
1799-JUNE 18, 1815
Chapter XVII
NAPOLEON AND THE CONSULATE. NOVEMBER lo,
1799-DECEMBER 2, 1804
THE 1 8th Brumaire had immense popularity. People did
not perceive in this event the elevation of a single man
above the councils of the nation ; they did not see in it the
end of the great movement of July 14, which had commenced the
national existence.
The 1 8th Brumaire assumed an aspect of hope and restoration.
Altliough the nation was much exhausted and little capable of en-
during a sovereignty oppressive to it, and which had even become
the object of its ridicule, since the lower class had exercised it, yet
it considered despotism so improbable that no one seemed to it to be
in a condition to reduce it to a state of subjection. All felt the
need of being restored by a skillful hand, and Napoleon Bonaparte,
as a great man and a victorious general, seemed suited for the task.
On this account almost everyone, except the directorial repub-
licans, declared in favor of the events of that day. Violation of the
laws and coups d'etat had occurred so frequently during the revolu-
tion that people had become accustomed to no longer judge them
by their legality, but by their consequences. From the party of
Sieyes down to the royalists of 1788 everyone congratulated him-
self on the i8th Brumaire and attributed to himself the future polit-
ical advantages of this cliange. The moderate constitutionalists
believed that definitive liberty would be established ; the royalists fed
themselves with hope by inappropriately comparing this epoch of
the revolution with the epoch of 1660 in the English Revolution,
with the hope that Bonaparte was assuming the part of Monk, and
tliat he would soon restore tlie monarchy of the Bourbons; the mass,
possessing- little intelligence and desirous of repose, relied on the re-
turn of order under a ]-)owerful protector; the proscribed classes and
ambitious men expected from him their amnesty or elevation. Dur-
ing the three m(~)nths which followed the iSth ]-5rumaire approbation
and expectation were general. A provisional government had been
4.31
432 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1799
appointed, composed of three consuls. Bonaparte, Sieyes, and Roger-
Ducos, with two legislative commissioners, intrusted to prepare the
constitution and a definite order of things. Talleyrand was minister
of foreign affairs, Cambaceres minister of justice, Gaudin minister
of finance, General Berthier minister of war, the Admiral Forfait
minister of marine, and Laplace minister of the interior.
The consuls and the two commissioners were installed on the
2 1 St Brumaire. This provisional government abolished the law
respecting hostages and compulsory loans ; it permitted the return
of the priests proscribed since the i8th Fructidor; it released from
prison and sent out of the republic the emigrants who had been
shipwrecked on the coast of Calais and who for four years were cap-
tives in France and were exposed to the heavy punishment of the
emigrant army. The civil constitution of the clergy was replaced
by the requirement of an oath of fidelity to the state. Other politic
acts included the accord of funeral honors to Pius VL, who had
died at Valence, and the complete pacification of La Vendee through
the mediation of the Abbe Bernier. All these measures were very
favorably received. But public opinion revolted at a proscription put
in force against the extreme republicans. Thirty-six of them were
sentenced to transportation to Guiana and twenty-one were put
under surveillance in the department of Charante-Inferieure, merely
by a decree of the consuls on the report of Fouche, minister of
police. The public viewed unfavorably all who attacked the gov-
ernment ; but at the same time it exclaimed against an act so arbi-
tary and unjust. The consuls accordingly recoiled before their own
act; they first commuted transportation into surveillance, and soon
withdrew surveillance itself.
It was not long before a rupture broke out between the authors
of the 1 8th Brumaire. During their provisional authority it did
not create much noise, because it took place in the legislative com-
missions. The new constitution was the cause of it. Sieyes and
Bonaparte could not agree on this subject: the former wished to
institute France, the latter to govern it as a master.
The constitution of Sieyes, which was distorted in the consular
constitution of the year VIIL, deserves to be known, were it only
in the light of a legislative curiosity. Sieyes distributed France
into three political divisions : the commune, the province or depart-
ment, and the state. Each had its own powers of administration
and judicature, arranged in hierarchical order: the first, the munici-
THE CONSULATE 433
1799
palities and tribunaux de paix and de premiere instance; the second,
the popular prefectures and courts of appeal ; the third, the central
government and the court of cassation. To fill the functions of the
commune, the department, and the state there were three budgets of
notability, the members of which were only candidates nominated
by the people.
The executive power was vested in the proclamateur electeur,
a superior functionary, perpetual, without responsibility, deputed
to represent the nation without and to form the government in a
deliberating state-council and a responsible ministry. The pro-
claimer-general selected from the list of candidates, judges from
the tribunals of peace to the court of cassation ; administrators, from
the mayors to the ministers. But he was incapable of governing
himself; power was directed by the state-council, exercised by the
ministry.
The legislature departed from the form hitherto established;
it ceased to be a deliberative assembly to become a judicial court.
Before it the council of state, in the name of the government, and
the tribunate in the name of the people, pleaded their respective pro-
jects. Its sentence was law. It would seem that the object of
Sieyes was to put a stop to the violent usurpations of party, and
while placing the sovereignty in the people to give it limits in itself;
this design appears from the complicated works of his political
machine. The primary assemblies, composed of the tenth of the
general population, nominated the local list of communal candi-
dates; electoral colleges, also nominated by them, selected from the
communal list the superior list of provincial candidates, and from
the provincial list the list of national candidates. In all which con-
cerned the government there was a reciprocal control. The
proclaimer-general selected his functionaries from among the candi-
dates nominated by the people ; and the people could dismiss func-
tionaries, by not keeping them on the list of candidates, which were
renewed, the first every two years, the second every five years, the
third every ten years. But the proclaimer-general did not interfere
in the nomination of tribunes and legislators, whose attributes were
purely popular.
Yet, to place a counterpoise in the heart of this authority itself.
Sieyes separated the initiative and the discussion of the law, which
was invested in the tribunate, from its adoption, which belonged to
the legislative assembly. But besides these different prerogatives,
434 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
the legislative body and the tribunate were not elected in the same
manner. The tribunate was composed by right of the first hundred
members of the national list, while the legislative body was chosen
directly by the electoral colleges. The tribunes, being necessarily
more active, bustling, and popular, were appointed for life, and by
a protracted process, to prevent their arriving in a moment of pas-
sion, with destructive and angry projects, as had hitherto been the
case in most of the assemblies. The same dangers not existing in
the other assembly, which had only to judge calmly and disinter-
estedly of the law, its election was direct and its authority transient.
Lasth', there existed, as the complement of all the other powers,
a conseiwatory body, incapable of ordering, incapable of acting,
intended solely to provide for the regular existence of the state.
This body was the constitutional jury, or conservatory senate; it
was to be for the political law what the court of cassation was to
the civil law. The tribunate, or the council of state, appealed to it
when the sentence of the legislative body was not conformable to
the constitution. It had also the faculty of calling into its own body
any leader of the government who was too ambitious, or a tribune
who was too popular, by the " droit d' absorption," and when sena-
tors they were disqualified from filling any other function. In this
way it kept a double watch over the safety of the whole of the
republic by maintaining the fundamental law and protecting liberty
against the ambition of individuals.^
Whatever may be thought of this constitution, which seems too
finely complicated to be practicable, it must be granted that it is the
production of considerable strength of mind, and even great prac-
tical information. Sieyes paid too little regard to the passions of
men ; he made them too reasonable as human beings and too obedient
as machines. He wished by skillful inventions to avoid the abuses
of human constitutions, and excluded death, that is to say, despot-
ism, from whatever quarter it might come. But I have very little
faith in the efficacy of constitutions ; in such moments I believe only
in the strength of parties in their domination and, from time to
time, in their reconciliation. But I must also admit that if ever a
constitution was adapted to a period it was that of Sieyes for France
in the year VIII.
After an experience of ten years, which had only shown exclu-
1 'I'liis description of the constitution of the year Y\U. is one of tlie faniou>
examples of Migiiet's \vritiii".
THE CONSULATE 435
1799
sive dominations, after the violent transition from the constitution-
aHsts of 1789 to the Girondists, from the Girondists to the Moun-
tainists, from the ]\Ionntainists to the reactionists, from the reac-
tionists to the director}-, from the directory to the councils, from
the councils to the military force, there could be no repose or public
life save in it. People were weary of wornout constitutions; that
of Sieyes was new ; exclusive men were no longer wanted, and by
elaborate voting it prevented the sudden accession of counter-revo-
lutionists, as at the beginning of the directory, or of ardent demo-
crats, as at the end of this government. It was a constitution of
moderate men, suited to terminate a revolution and to settle a nation.
But precisely because it was a constitution of moderate men, pre-
cisely because parties had no longer sufficient ardor to demand a
law of domination, for that very reason there would necessarily be
found a man stronger than the fallen parties and the moderate
legislators who would refuse this law, or, accepting, abuse it, and
this was what happened.
Napoleon took part in the deliberations of the constituent
committee; with his instinct of power he seized upon everything in
the ideas of Sieyes which was calculated to serve his projects and
caused the rest to be rejected. Sieyes intended for him the functions
of grand elector, with a revenue of six millions of francs and a
guard of three thousand men, the palace of Versailles for a resi-
dence and the entire external representation of the republic. But
the actual government was to be invested in two consuls, one of
war, the other of peace, functionaries unthought of by Sieyes in the
year III. but adopted by him in the year VIII., in order, no doubt,
to suit the idea of the times. This insignificant magistracy was far
from suiting Xapoleon. " I low could you suppose," said he, " that
a man of anv talent and lionor could resign liimself to the part of
fattening like a hog on a few millions a year? " From that moment
it was not again mentioned; Roger-Ducos and the greater part of
the committee declared in favor of Bonaparte ; Sieyes, who hated
discussion, was either unwilling or unable to defend his ideas. He
saw that laws, men, and France itself were at the mercy of the man
whose elevation he had ]:)romote(l.
On Dccem1)er 24. 1799 (Xivose, 3-ear \^III.), forty-five days
after the 18th Brumaire. was published the constitution of the year
VI TT. : it was com])osed of the wrecks of that of Sieyes, now become
a cen-tiiutiiin of <cr\'iuide. Tlie go\-ernmcnt was ])laced in the
436 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1799
hands of the first consul, who was supported by two others, having
a dehberative voice. The senate, primarily selected by the consuls,
chose the members of the tribunal and legislative body from the list
of the national candidates. The government alone had the initiative
in making the laws. Accordingly, there were no more bodies of
electors who appointed the candidates of different lists, the tribunes
and legislators; no more independent tribunes earnestly pleading
the cause of the people before the legislative assembly ; no legislative
assembly arising directly from the bosom of the nation and account-
able to it alone in a word, no political nation. Instead of all this
there existed an all-powerful consul, disposing of armies and of
power, a general and a dictator; a council of state destined to be
the advance guard of usurpation ; and lastly, a senate of eighty
members whose only function was to nullify the people and to choose
tribunes without authority and legislators who should remain mute.
Life passed from the nation to the government. The constitution
of Sieyes served as a pretext for a bad order of things. It is worth
notice that up to the year VIII. all the constitutions had emanated
from the Contrat-social, and that subsequently, down to 1814, from
the constitution of Sieyes.
The new government was immediately installed. Napoleon
was first consul, and he united with him as second and third consuls
Cambaceres, a lawyer and formerly a member of the Plain in the
convention, and Le Brun, formerly a coadjutor of the Chancellor
Maupeou. By their means he hoped to influence the revolutionists
and moderate royalists. With the same object the ex-nobleman,
Talleyrand, and the ex-Mountainist, Fouche, were appointed to the
posts of minister of foreign affairs and minister of police. Sieyes
felt much repugnance at employing Fouche, but Napoleon willed it.
" We are forming a new epoch," said he ; " we must forget all the
ill of the past and remember only the good." He cared very little
under what banner men had hitherto served, provided they now
enlisted under his and summoned thither their old associates in
royalism and in revolution.
The two new consuls and the retiring consuls nominated sixty
senators without waiting for the lists of eligibility; the senators
appointed a hundred tribunes and three hundred legislators; and
the authors of the i8th Bramaire distributed among themselves the
functions of the state as the booty of their victory. It is, however,
just to say that the moderate liberal party prevailed in this partition,
THE CONSULATE 437
1799
and that as long as it preserved any influence Bonaparte governed
in a mild, advantageous, and republican manner. The constitution
of the year VIII. was approved by 3,01 1,007 citizens. The negative
vote was only 1567. That of 1793 had obtained 1,801,918 suf-
frages, and that of the year III. 1,057,390. The new law satisfied
the moderate masses, who sought tranquillity rather than guaran-
tees; while the code of '93 had only found partisans among the
lower class; and that of the year III. had been equally rejected by
the royalists and democrats. The constitution of 1791 alone had
obtained general approbation; and, without having been subjected
to individual acceptance, had been sworn to by all France.
The first consul, in compliance Avith the wishes of the republic,
made offers of peace to England, which were refused. He naturally
wished to assume an appearance of moderation, and, previous to
treating, to confer on his government the luster of new victories.
Napoleon wrote two letters in person, one to the emperor, the
other to the regent for George III. in England, proposing peace.
But England was desirous of continuing the war, not merely be-
cause of her ancient hostility to France, but at this time in the hope
of acquiring more of the colonies of France and Holland. Paul I.
of Russia withdrew from the coalition, Prussia remained neutral,
and this also was the inclination of Spain. Austria alone of the
great powers adhered to the English alliance.
English historians, however, are skeptical of the sincerity of
Napoleon's overtures for a peace at this time, pointing out that
" the forces of Austria and southern Germany had held their own
on the Rhine, and had driven the French from all Italy except
Genoa and its coast-line; while British squadrons had taken
Minorca, were on the point of reducing Malta by blockade, and
kept a French army imprisoned in the sands of Egypt. Peace un-
der such conditions could only have been damaging to the prestige
of Bonaparte's new rule; but the sending of these overtures for
peace and again to George III. after Marengo enabled him to
pose as the would-be pacifier of a world weary of strife, while their
rejection speedily rallied around him the warlike enthusiasm of
France.'' ^ The continuance of the war was therefore decided on,
and the consuls made a remarkable proclamation, in which they
appealed to sentiments new to tlie nation. Hitherto it had been
called to arms in defense of liberty; now they began to excite it in
the name of honor; " Frenchmen, you wish for peace. Your gov-
^ Rose, " Revolutionary and Napoleonic Era," p. 124.
438 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1800
ernment desires it with still more ardor: its foremost hopes, its
constant efforts, have been in favor of it. The English ministry
rejects it; the English ministry has betrayed the secret of its hor-
rible policy. To rend France, to destroy its navy and ports, to
efface it from the map of Europe, or reduce it to the rank of a sec-
ondary power, to keep the nations of the Continent at variance, in
order to seize on the commerce of all, and enrich itself by their
spoils : these are the fearful successes for which England scatters
its gold, lavishes its promises, and multiplies its intrigues. It is in
your power to command peace; but to command it, money, the
sword, and soldiers are necessary; let all, then, hasten to pay the
tribute they owe to their common defense. Let our young citizens
arise; they no longer take arms for factions, or for the choice of
tyrants, but for the security of what they hold most dear; it is for
the honor of France, and for the sacred interests of humanity."
Holland and Switzerland had been sheltered during the pre-
ceding campaign, for the victories of Massena in Switzerland and
of Brune in Holland had prevented the invasion of France without
disarming the coalition. The first consul assembled all his force
on the Rhine and the Alps. He gave Moreau the command of the
army of the Rhine, and he himself marched into Italy. He set out
on the i6th Floreal, year VIII. (May 6, i8oo), for that brilliant
campaign which lasted only forty days. Bonaparte's plan of cam-
paign was as follows : to drive the Austrians out of Italy and south-
ern Germany, sending Moreau down the valley of the Danube in
order to beat back the Austrian Marshal Kray and prevent all com-
munication with Italy through Switzerland, while he himself, hav-
ing rapidly organized an army in east central France, between
Chalons-sur-Saone and Lyons, in order to leave the Austrians un-
certain until the last moment whether he intended to strike them
through Switzerland or through Italy, planned, by a sudden cross-
ing of the Saint Bernard, to crush the Austrian army of Melas
between his own and that of Massena in Genoa. It was important
that he should not be long absent from Paris at the beginning of
his power, and especially not to leave the war in a state of inde-
cision. Field Marshal Melas had 130,000 men under arms; he
occupied all Italy. The republican army opposed to him amounted
to only 60,000 men, for the unfortunate army of Massena was
slmt up in Genoa. Melas left the Field Mar?hal Lieutenant Ott
with 30.000 men before Genoa, and marched against the corps
NAPOLEON rHossi\(;
TIIK SAINT l!KRX\i;n FOR 11 1 K IWASIOX OF ITALY
Pdintiug hv I\ui! Dcl^irochc
THE CONSULATE 439
ISOO
of General Suchet. He entered Nice, prepared to pass the Var,
and to enter Provence. It was then that Napoleon crossed the
Great Saint Bernard at the head of an army of 40,000, descended
into Italy in the rear of Alelas, entered Milan on the i6th Prairial
(June 2), and placed the Anstrians between Suchet and himself.
Melas, whose line of operation was broken, quickly fell back upon
Nice and thence on to Turin; he established his headquarters
at Alexandria, and decided on reopening his communications by a
battle. Ott encountered Lannes, in command of 12,000 men, on
June 9 at Montebello and was beaten. Two days later Desaix
joined him, having come from Egypt, and occupied Novi in order
to block the road to Genoa. IMassena and Soult made a desperate
but unsuccessful resistance, and at last, on the verge of starvation,
were forced to surrender Genoa on June 4, ten days before Napo-
leon's victory at Marengo changed the whole situation.
It was on the plain of Marengo, on June 14 (25th Prairial),
that the fate of Italy was decided ; the Austrians were overwhelmed.
Melas had 40,000 troops, and planned to join battle in the plains
of Alexandria, in order that he would be able to use his cav-
ah-y to advantage. Napoleon had only 28,000 men, because he
had been obliged to detach many of them in order to block
the various passes through which the enemy might advance. The
disparity in numbers and the great extent of the field covered
forced Napoleon, for one of the few times in his history, to depart
from his favorite military tactics, that of concentrating all his
strength upon one single point of the enemy, and instead he spread
the French army in a long, thin line in the face of the Austrians.
The result was that the French line was broken so completely that
the oversanguine Melas believed that victory was in his grasp and
actually sent a courier off to Vienna, reporting the fact ; but just at
this desperate moment Desaix, who had heard the cannonading
from Novi, came up with 6000 French and jDulIed victory out of
the lire, though he himself was mortally wounded. Marengo is one
of the few battles in which Napoleon was truly defeated. How-
ever, young as he was yet, he had too much pride to admit it,
and altered or suppressed every account of the real facts of the
battle.
Unable to force the passage of the Bormida by a victory, the
Austrians were placed without opportunity of retreat between the
army of Suchet and that of the first consul. On the 15th they ob-
440 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1800
tained permission to fall behind Mantau, on condition of restoring
all the places of Piedmont, Lombardy, and the Legations ; and the
victory of Marengo thus secured possession of all Italy.
Eighteen days after, Napoleon returned to Paris. He was re-
ceived with all the evidence of admiration that such decided victories
and prodigious activity could excite; the enthusiasm was universal.
There was a spontaneous illumination, and the crowd hurried to
the Tuileries to see him. The hope of speedy peace redoubled the
public joy. On the 25th Messidor the first consul was present at
the anniversary fete of July 14. When the officers presented him
the standards taken from the enemy, he said to them : " When
you return to your camps, tell your soldiers that the French people
expect for the ist Vendemiaire, when we shall celebrate the anni-
versary of the republic, either the proclamation of peace, or, if the
enemy raise invincible obstacles, fruits of new victories." Peace,
however, was yet to be delayed some time.
The French garrison at Malta did not capitulate until Septem-
ber, 1800. In Egypt, Kleber, to whom Bonaparte had left command
upon his departure for France, had arranged with Sir Sidney Smith
for an honorable evacuation of the country and the return of the
French soldiers in English vessels. But the English government
refused to ratify the arrangements, and the Turkish army of 80,000
men invaded Egypt. Kleber defeated them in the battle of Heli-
opolis March 20, 1800, but was himself assassinated by a Moham-
medan fanatic at Cairo on June 14, the very day that his old comrade
in arms, Desaix, was killed at Marengo. The command fell to the
incompetent General Menou, who was beaten by a combined force
of English and Turks in the spring of 1801. Cairo surrendered
in June and Alexandria capitulated in September, 1801. The
French troops were taken back to France by the English.
In the interim between the victory of Marengo and the general
pacification, the first consul turned his attention chiefly to settling
the people, and to diminishing the number of malcontents, by em-
ploying the displaced factions in the state. He was very concilia-
tory to those parties who renounced their systems, and very lavish
of favors to those chiefs who renounced their parties. As it was a
time of selfishness and indifference, he had no difficulty in suc-
ceeding. The proscribed of the i8th Fructidor were already re-
called, with the exception of a few royalist conspirators, such as
Pichegru and Willot. Napoleon even employed those of the ban-
THE CONSULATE 44*1
1800
ished who, like Portalis, Simeon, Barbe-Marbois, had shown them-
selves more anti-conventionalists than counter-revolutionists. A
senatus considtum of April i6, 1802, recalled 150,000 emigrants.
Exception was made, however, of those bishops who had been
" recalcitrant," and members of the Bourbon house, and any who
held rank in foreign armies. The alienations of the revolution
remained irrevocable, but those whose property had not yet been
sold recovered it, save the forests, which became a portion of the
domain of the state. He had also gained over opponents of an-
other description. The late leaders of La Vendee, the famous
Bernier, cure of Saint-Lo, who had assisted in the whole insurrec-
tion, Chatillon, D'Autichamp, and Suzannet, had come to an accom-
modation by the Treaty of Mont Lugon (January 17, 1800). He
also addressed himself to the leaders of the Breton bands, Georges
Cadoudal, Frotte, Lapre\Tlaye, and Bounnont. The two last alone
consented to submit. Frotte was surprised and shot; Georges
Cadoudal, defeated at Grand Champ by General Brune, refused to
submit and retired to England. The western war was thus defin-
itively terminated.
But the Chouans, who had taken refuge in England and whose
only hope was in the death of him who now concentrated the power
of the revolution, projected his assassination. A few of them dis-
embarked on the coast of France and secretly repaired to Paris.
As it was not easy to reach the first consul, they decided on a con-
spiracy truly horrible. On the 3d Nivose, at eight in the even-
ing, Napoleon was to go to the Opera by the Rue Saint-Nicaise.
The conspirators placed a barrel of powder on a little truck, which
obstructed the carriage way, and one of them, named Saint Regent,
was to set fire to it as soon as he received a signal of the first con-
sul's approach. At the appointed time. Napoleon left the Tuileries,
and crossed the Rue Nicaise. His coachman was skillful enough to
drive rapidly between the truck and the wall; but the match was
already alight, and the carriage had scarcely reached the end of the
street when the infernal machine exploded, covered the quarter
Saint Nicaise with ruins, shaking the carriage and breaking its
windows.
The police, taken by surprise, though directed by Fouche,
attributed this plot to the democrats, against whom the first consul
had a much more decided antipathy than against the Chouans.
iMany of them were imprisoned, and a hundred and thirty were
442 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1800
transported by a simple senatus cotisultitm, asked and obtained dur-
ing the night. At length they discovered the true authors of the
conspiracy, some of whom were condemned to death. On this
occasion the consul caused the creation of special military tribunals.
The constitutional party separated still further from him, and
began its energetic but useless opposition, Lanjuinais, Gregoire,
who had courageously resisted the extreme party in the convention,
Garat, Lambrechts, Lenoir-Laroche, and Cabanis, opposed, in the
senate, the illegal proscription of a hundred and thirty democrats;
and the tribunes Isnard, Daunou, Chenier, Benjamin Constant,
Bailleul, and Chazal, opposed the special courts. But a glorious
peace threw into the shade this new encroachment of power.
The Austrians, conquered at Marengo and defeated in Ger-
many by Moreau, determined to lay down arms. Moreau had
crossed the Rhine on May i and after four engagements reached
Augsburg, driving the Austrians upon Ulm and thereby making it
impossible for them to communicate with Italy. This was the
moment when Napoleon drew away 18,000 of his troops. But
for fear of getting too deep into the enemy's country, Moreau
retraced his steps, crossed the Danube above Ulm, and defeated
the enemy at Hochstadt, on almost the same spot where Marl-
borough defeated the French in 1704, and then signed an armis-
tice with the Austrians, pending the settlement of terms of
peace if possible. At the beginning of the campaign Austria had
undertaken not to make terms of peace without the consent of
England, and the latter power now proposed conditions which
France refused to accept. Hostilities were renew^ed on November
28. Moreau was at Munich with 50,000 men, awaiting the ad-
vance of the Austrians under the Archduke John, younger brother
of the Archduke Charles. The battle of Hohenlinden was fought
on December 3 the most brilliant victory in the military career of
Moreau. The Austrians lost 8000 men, killed or wounded, with
12,000 prisoners, 300 wagons, and 87 cannon. The w^ay was opened
to Vienna, and the imperial government signed the armistice of
Steyer on December 25.
On January 8, 1801, the republic, the cabinet of Vienna, and
the empire concluded the Treaty of Luneville. Austria ratified all
the conditions of the Treaty of Campo-Formio, and also ceded
Tuscany to the young Duke of Parma. The empire recognized
the independence of the Batavian, Helvetian, Ligurian, and Cisal-
THE CONSULATE 443
1801
pine republics. The terms of Litneville are the true groundwork
of modern Germany. The revolution now displays itself, as in
France before, as a movement destructive of feudalism and yet as a
force of real constructiveness as well, in the formation of the mod-
ern states of Germany. Napoleon's German policy is here marked
out in its large lines. First, to increase Prussia on the Baltic, in
order to counterbalance x\ustria ; second, to cut off Austria from
central and western Europe ; third, to create a block of small Ger-
man states in the south and west, in order to check both Austria
and Prussia and aggrandize France on the Rhine.^ Napoleon's
mastery of the situation on the Continent is manifested in the follow-
ing extract from the official instructions : " You are forbidden to
entertain any proposition relating to the King of Sardinia or to the
stadtholder or to the internal affairs of Batavia, Helvetia, or the Re-
public of Italy." Secularization of ecclesiastical states and mediati-
zation, the euphemistic term to express the political destruction of
the petty German states, was the order of the day at Luneville.
The arrangements broadly concluded at Luneville were erected
into law by the imperial diet at Frankfort, where the protracted
negotiations were as shameful as those which had prevailed at
Rastatt. Germany was transformed. Of the preexisting ecclesi-
astical estates there were left only the Elector of ^Mainz, and the
grand masters of the order of Saint John and the Teutonic knights :
forty-two imperial cities lost their liberty, only Lubeck, Hamburg,
Bremen, Frankfort, Augsburg, and Nuremburg being left. All
other ecclesiastical states, even the electorates of Treves and Co-
logne, were abolished. Li their place four new electors appeared,
morally dependent upon France for their dignities: Baden, Wur-
temberg, Salzburg, and Hesse-Cassel. By secularization and medi-
atization Bavaria was enlarged by the bishoprics of W'urtemberg.
Bamberg, Augsburg, and Friesing; Baden by that portion of the
Palatinate on the right bank of the Rhine, including Heidelberg
and Mannheim, with portions of the bislioprics of Constance,
Basel, Strasburg, and Spires; Wurtemberg received all imperial
cities, ab1)eys, and monasteries within its limits. The favor of
Prussia was bought by gift of the bishoprics of Paderborn, Hildes-
heim, and the Tlnu-ingian portion of the old archbishopric of
Mainz, together with the abbeys of IMiinstcr and Ouedlinburg; Okl-
enbcrg was given tlie bishopric of Lubeck; Hesse was enriched by
the gift of Darmstadt and Cassel and former portions of Mainz,
2 See iMshcr, " Napoleonic Germany," 1903.
444 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1801-1802
Treves, and Cologne, on the right bank of the Rhine. Nassau re-
ceived the secularized abbey of Osnabruck. For the losses in Italy
which the Hapsburg princes suffered the Duke of Tuscany received
Salzburg and Berchtesgaden, the Italian duchy passing to Parma;
and the Duke of Modena was given the Breisgau, in exchange for
which Austria received the secularized bishoprics of Trent and
Brixen. The emperor and the empire consented to the cession of the
left bank of the Rhine to France. Germany lost 25,180 square
miles (including Belgium) and three and a half millions of
inhabitants.
The pacification soon became general, by the Treaty of Flor-
ence (February 18, 1801) with the King of Naples, who ceded
the Isle of Elba and the principality of Piombino, by the Treaty of
Madrid (September 29, 1801), by which Spain ceded Louisiana
to France in exchange for the kingdom of Etruria in Italy, which
was given to the Spanish Bourbon prince, and further engaged to
compel Portugal to renounce her alliance with England ; by the
Treaty of Paris (October 8, 1801) with the Emperor of Russia;
and, lastly, by the preliminaries (October 9, 1801) with the Otto-
man Porte. The Continent, by ceasing hostilities, compelled Eng-
land to a momentary peace. Pitt, Dundas, and Lord Grenville,
who had maintained these sanguinary struggles with France, went
out of office when their system ceased to be followed. The oppo-
sition replaced them ; and, on March 25, 1802, the Treaty of Amiens
completed the pacification of the world. England consented to all
the continental acquisitions of the French republic, recognized the
existence of the secondary republics, and restored the French
colonies.
Aside from being deserted by her continental allies, there were
internal conditions which influenced England to make peace. Hard
times prevailed, owing to a bad harvest and the enormous ex-
penses of the war. The public debt had increased since 1793 to
280,000,000/. Moreover, England's point of view had partially
changed. She had now a new colonial empire to compensate her
for the commercial losses caused by the French occupation of Bel-
gium and Holland and other points in Europe. Ceylon, the Cape
of Good Hope, and Trinidad, were rich rewards for her losses.
It is doubtful, though, if England ever would have consented to
this peace had Pitt still been at the helm. But Pitt had retired
from the ministry in February, 1801, because the British govern-
THE CONSULATE 445
1799-1804
ment had failed to keep its word, after the union of Ireland and
Great Britain, in the matter of Catholic exclusion from office.*
During the maritime war with England the French navy had
been almost entirely ruined. Three hundred and forty ships had
been taken or destroyed, and the greater part of the colonies
had fallen into the hands of the English. Saint Domingo, the most
important of them all, after throwing off the yoke of the whites,
had continued the American Revolution, which, having commenced
in the English colonies, was to end in those of Spain, and change
the colonies of the new world into independent states. The blacks
of Saint Domingo wished to maintain, with respect to the mother
country, the freedom which they had acquired from the colonists,
and to defend themselves against the English. They were led by a
man of color, the famous Toussaint L'Ouverture. France ought
to have consented to this revolution, which had already cost so
dearly to humanity. The metropolitan government could no longer
be restored at Saint Domingo; and it became necessary to obtain
the only real advantage which Europe could now derive from
America, by strengthening the commercial ties with the old colony.
Instead of tliis prudent policy, Bonaparte attempted an expedition
to reduce the island to subjection. The French landed in Saint
Domingo in January, 1802. By May the island was conquered,
but 15,000 men had died of fever in two months and the army
was reduced to 10,000, and within a year the whole island was
lost again to the French, save the capital city, in which they were
able to hold out for no less than seven years. At the end of that
time Dessalines, a lieutenant of Toussaint L'Ouverture, took the
city and proclaimed himself emperor under the name of James I.
After the loss of her fleets the h^rench endeavors to injure the
maritime power of England embraced three policies : first, from
1796 to 1798 it endeavored to foment the rebellion of Ireland;
second, from 1798 to 1801 the Egyptian expedition attempted to
compass tlie same end; third, after the failure of that attempt the
League of Neutrals was formed in the north of Euroj^e as a species
of commercial retaliation upon England. The idea of this league
was not originally Nai)<)leon's, though he was quick to see the
advantage to be afforded by it. During the American Revolution
* See Fyffe, " iModern Europe," vol. I. p. 240; vol. II. pp. 39-40; Bourgeois,
"Manuel Historiquc dc I'ohtuiuc Rtrair^nw" vol. II. p. 220. It was the Adding-
ton ministry which neg(jtiated the Peace of Amiens.
446 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1799-1804
Russia, Denmark, Sweden, and Prussia formed the northern conven-
tion, which asserted armed neutrahty at sea in order to protect tlie
commerce of these states from EngHsh coercion. Later, Portugal,
Spain, and France became parties to the convention, and Holland
would have joined if she had not been prevented by the threat of
declaration of war on the part of England. Now in 1800 the
former condition of things had again arisen. In order to smite
France, England had adopted the policy of coercing the commerce
of all other states, the United States included. This led to a re-
vival of the old northern convention, under the name of the
League of Neutrals, which asserted the inviolability of neutral
commerce on the seas, under the three following heads : ( i ) free
passage of neutral ships from port to port and along the coast of
those countries engaged in war; (2) neutrality of flag to cover
merchandise, save contraband of war; (3) a blockade to be bind-
ing only when effective. This action on the part of the northern
powers, of itself alone, even though it had been of no benefit to
France, was sufficient to anger England, which, in the spring of
1801, sent a fleet to bombard Copenhagen (April 2, 1801), and
forced Denmark, at least, to retire from the league.
Napoleon now turned all his attention to the internal pros-
perity of the republic and the organization of power. The
old privileged classes of the nobility and the clergy had returned
into the state without forming particular classes. Dissentient
priests, on taking an oath of obedience, might conduct their modes
of worship and receive their pensions from the government. An act
of pardon had been passed in favor of those accused of emigration ;
there only remained a list of about a thousand names of those who
remained faithful to the family and the claims of the pretender.
The work of pacification was at an end. Napoleon, knowing that
the surest way of commanding a nation is to promote its happi-
ness, encouraged the development of industry, and favored external
commerce, which had so long been suspended. He united higher
views with his political policy, and connected his own glory with
the prosperity of France; he traveled through the departments,
caused canals and harbors to be dug, bridges to be built, roads to
be repaired, monuments to be erected, and means of communica-
tion to be multiplied. He especially strove to become the protector
and legislator of private interests. The civil, penal, and com-
mercial codes which he formed, whether at this period or at a later
THE CONSULATE 447
1799-1804
period, completed, in this respect, the work of the revolution, and
regulated the internal existence of the nation in a manner some-
what more conformable to its real condition. Notwithstanding
political despotism, France, during the domination of Napoleon,
had a private legislation superior to that of any European society;
for with absolute government, most of them still preserved the civil
condition of the Middle Ages. General peace, universal tolera-
tion, the return of order, the restoration, and the creation of an
administrative system soon changed the appearance of the republic.
Attention was turned to the construction of roads and canals.
Civilization became developed in an extraordinary manner; and the
consulate was, in this respect, the perfected period of the directory,
from its commencement to the i8th Fructidor.
The administrative organization of France, made by Napoleon
during the consulate, remains to this day the basis of the French
government. The administrative genius of Napoleon in forming
it is contrasted with his wonderful military talent. The beginning
of the system may be said to be found in the decree of the 28th
Pluviose, year VIIL, which centralized the departmental system.
These grand administrative divisions were divided into arrondisse-
ments, and these in turn into cantons and communes. Each depart-
ment was governed by a prefect, aided by a council of prefectures
composed of five members, and a more general council ; the arron-
dissement was governed by a sub-prefect, ^vho also had a council ;
and each commune by a mayor and council. The canton had no
separate administration, being governed as a commune after the
manner of townships. The members of all these different admin-
istrations were nominated by the first consul.
The judicial organization is noteworthy. Every canton had
a justice of the peace, every arrondissement a civil court of first
instance. The consolidation of se\eral of these tribunals formed a
superior court, above which were twenty-nine courts of appeal.
The jury system prev.'iilcd in criminal processes. The supreme
court of France was the cour de cassation, which heard both civil
and criminal causes.
]\[ore than any otlicr administrative institution, however, the
famous Code Civil or C(Kle Napoleon is the monument of Bona-
parte's administrative genius. Tlie beginning of this great code
is, however, due to tlie convention. Their unfinished labors were
taken up by the first consul, who appointed a commission of four to
448 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1799-1804
complete the work. The whole was discussed at length, section by
section, by the council of state, over which Napoleon himself, or
Cambaceres, presided. In these labors Napoleon astonished
everybody by the originality and depth of his knowledge. At the
end of three years the code was presented to the tribunate and the
legislative corps and finally promulgated on March 21, 1804.
Napoleon revised the whole financial administration of
France. Inheriting a bankrupt government and a dilapidated
financial administration, he introduced order and efficiency into
the system of public accounts. He appointed a receiver-gen-
eral in each department and a deputy official in each arrondisse-
ment. Besides these, there were 840 inspectors to supervise ac-
counts and make suggestions as to revision of methods of taxation.
Not the least of Napoleon's successes was to have been able to
reign for fifteen years without ever resorting to the use of paper
currency. He was the founder of the Bank of France, as well as
the present money system of the country. In 1801 the national
debt was reorganized, and put upon the present basis of adminis-
tration.
The unfinished educational scheme of the convention was also
taken up by Napoleon and perfected. The entire system of educa-
tion was made dependent upon the government and organized as
the University of France. Primary instruction was provided in
the communes, but not everywhere. With secondary educa-
tion the case was different. Thirty-two lycces were established,
under a semi-military discipline. Instruction included the ancient
languages and modern languages and literature, with history and
the sciences ; 6400 scholarships were created in favor of the sons of
soldiers and public officials, besides 4000 other scholarships dis-
posed of by the first consul as he wished. In higher education
there were ten schools of law and six schools of medicine, besides
the College de France and the Sorbonne, rechristened the Uni-
versity of Paris the old name being applied technically only to
the tlieological school. Besides all these tliere were vari(ius techni-
cal schools and the cole Xormale and the ficole Superieure.
Even the famous academies of France did not escape reorgani-
zation, and the unfinished work of the convention was completed in
the establishment of the Institut de France. It is impossible to
more than allude to the work of Napoleon as a builder, and es-
pecially as the maker of the new Paris.
T H E C O N S U L A T E 449
1799-1804
It was more especially after the Peace of Amiens that Na-
poleon raised the foundation of his future power. He himself says,
in the memoirs published under his name,^ " The ideas of Napo-
leon were fixed, but to realize them he required the assistance of
time and circumstances. The organization of the consulate had
nothing in contradiction with these; it accustomed the nation to
unity, and that was a first step. Tliis step taken, Napoleon was
indifferent to the forms and denominations of the different con-
stituted bodies. He was a stranger to the revolution. It was his
wisdom to advance from day to day, without deviating from the
fixed point, the polar star, which directed Napoleon how to guide
the revolution to the port whither he wised to conduct it."
In the beginning of 1802 he was at one and the same time
forming three great projects, tending to the same end. He sought
to organize religion and to establish the clergy, which as yet had
only a religious existence; to create, by means of the Legion of
Honor, a permanent military order in the army; and to secure his
own power, first for his life, and then to render it hereditary. Na-
poleon was installed at the Tuileries, where he gradually resumed
the customs and ceremonies of the old monarchy. He already
thought of placing intermediate bodies between himself and the
people. For some time past he had opened a negotiation with
Pope Pius VII. on matters of religious worship. The famous
concordat, which created ten archbishoprics, fifty bishoprics, with
the institution of chapters, which established the clergy in the
state, and again placed it under the external monarchy of the Pope,
was signed at Paris on July 16, 1801, and ratified at Rome on
August 15, 1 80 1.
The concordat was negotiated by Cardinal Gonsalvi and Jo-
seph Bonaparte, with the assistance of Cretct. councilor of state,
and the Vendean priest, Bernicr. 'J'he principal other articles were
as follows: (i) Tlie church was to recognize the laws of the
state and no papal bull could be published and no council hekl with-
out the authorization (^f the government. (2) The ordination of
priests was conditioned upon age, fortune, and the number of those
already ofliciating. Those engaged in an educational capacity were
required to accept the Gallican decrees of 1682. (3) Sunday and
the frcfjucnt religious festivals of the church were recognized by
^' " Mi'ninircs pcur scrz'ir a l' Ilistotrc dc France sous Napoleon, ccrils a
Sainle Jlelcne," vol. I. p. 248.
450 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1802
the government as days of rest. (4) The civil marriage was re-
quired in advance of any religious ceremony, and indeed the re-
ligious marriage was made optional.
The same policy w^as followed by the government with ref-
erence to the Protestant cults, both the Lutheran and the Cal-
vinist. Their churches were grouped into consistories, and the
nomination of their pastors had to be approved by the govern-
ment, which paid the salaries of all clergy, Protestant and Catholic.
In 1808 this practice was extended also to the Jewish congre-
gations.
Napoleon, who had destroyed the liberty of the press, created
exceptional tribunals, and wdio had departed more and more from
the principles of the revolution, felt that before he went further it
was necessary to break entirely with the liberal party of the i8th
Brumaire. In Ventose, year X (March, 1802), the most energetic
of the tribunes were dismissed by a simple operation of the senate.
The tribunate was reduced to eighty members, and the legislative
body underwent a similar purgation. About a month after, the
15th Germinal (April 6, 1802), Bonaparte, no longer apprehensive
of opposition, submitted the concordat to these assemblies, whose
obedience he had thus secured, for their acceptance. They adopted
it by a great majority. The Sunday and four great religious
festivals were reestablished, and from that time the government
ceased to observe the system of decades. This was the first at-
tempt at renouncing the republican calendar. Napoleon hoped to
gain the sacerdotal party, always most disposed to passive obe-
dience, and thus deprive the royalist opposition of the clergy, and
the coalition of the Pope.
The concordat was inaugurated wnth great pomp in the
Cathedral of Notre Dame. The senate, the legislative body, the
tribunate, and the leading functionaries were present at this new
ceremony. The first consul repaired thither in the carriages of the
old court, with the etiquette and attendants of the old monarchy;
salvos of artillery announced this return of privilege, and this essay
at ro3'alty. A pontifical mass w-as performed by Caprara, the car-
dinal-legate, and the people were addressed by proclamation in a
language to whicli they had long been unaccustomed. " Reason
and the example of ages," ran the proclamation, " command us to
have recourse to the sovereign pontiff to effect unison of opinion
and reconciliation of hearts. The head of the church has weighed
T H E C O X S U L A T E 451
1802
in his wisdom and for the interest of the church, propositions dic-
tated by the interest of the state."
In the evening- there was an ilkimination and a concert in the
gardens of the Tuileries. The soldiery reluctantly attended at the
inauguration ceremony, and expressed their dissatisfaction aloud.
On returning to the palace Napoleon questioned General Delmas
on the subject. " What did you think of the ceremony? '"' said he.
" A fine mummery," was the reply. " Nothing was wanting but a
million of men slain in destroying what you reestablish."
A month after, on the 25th Floreal, year X. (^lay 15, 1802),
he presented the project of a law respecting the creation of a
Legion of Honor. This legion was to be composed of fifteen
cohorts, dignitaries for life, disposed in hierarchical order, having
a center, an organization, and revenaes. The first consul was the
chief of the legion. Each cohort was composed of 7 grand officers,
20 commanders, 30 officers, and 350 legionaries. Napoleon's
object was to originate a new nobility. He thus appealed to the
ill-suppressed sentiment of inequality. While discussing this pro-
jected law in the council of state, he did not scruple to an-
nounce his aristocratic design. Berber, counselor of state, having
disapproved an institution so opposed to the spirit of the republic,
said that: "Distinctions were the playthings of a monarchy."
" I defy you," replied the first consul, " to show me a republic,
ancient or modern, in which distinctions did not exist: you call
them toys; well, it is by tovs tliat men are led. I would not say
as much to a tribune, but in a council of wise men and statesmen we
mav speak plainly. I do not l)elicve that the French love liberty
and equality. The Frencli liave not been changed by ten years of
revolution ; they have l)ut one sentiment honor. That senti-
ment, then, must be nourished : they must have distinctions. See
how the people prostrate themselves before the ribbons and stars
of foreigners: they have been surprised by them: and they do not
fail to wear them. All has been destroyed: the question is. how to
restore all. There is a government, tliere are autht^ritics : but the
rest of the nation, what is it!^ Grains of sand. Among us we
have the old privilege* 1 classes, organized in principles and inter-
ests, and knowing well what they want. T can count our enemies.
"Rut we, ourselves, are dispersed, without system, union, or contact.
As lonp- as T am here. T will answer for the republic; but we must
provide for the future. D(^ you think the republic is definitively
45g THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1802
established ? If so, you are greatly deceived. It is in our power
to make it so; but we have not done it; and we shall not do it if
we do not hurl some masses of granite on the soil of France." "
By these words Napoleon announced a system of government op-
posed to that which the revolution sought to establish, and which
the change in society demanded.
Yet, notwithstanding the docility of the council of state, the
purgation undergone by the tribunal and the legislative body, these
three bodies vigorously opposed a law which revived inequality.
In the council of state the Legion of Honor had only 14 votes
against 10; in the tribunal, 38 against 56; in the legislative body,
166 against no. Public opinion manifested a still greater repug-
nance for this new order of knighthood. Those first invested
seemed almost ashamed of it, and received it w'ith a sort of con-
tempt. But Napoleon pursued his counter-revolutionary course
\vithout troubling himself about a dissatisfaction no longer capable
of resistance.
He wished to confirm his power by the establishment of privi-
lege, and to confirm privilege by the duration of his power. On
the motion of Chabot de I'Allier, the tribunal resolved : " That the
first consul, General Bonaparte, should receive a signal mark of
national gratitude." In pursuance of this resolution, on May 6,
1802, an organic senatiis consul tu7n appointed Napoleon consul for
an additional period of ten years.
But Bonaparte did not consider the prolongation of the con-
sulate sufficient; and two months after, on August 2, the senate, on
the decision of the tribunate and the legislative body, and with the
consent of the people, consulted by means of the public registers,
passed the following decree:
" I. The French people nominate, and the senate proclaim.
Napoleon Bonaparte first consul for life.
" II. A statue of Peace, holding in one hand a laurel of
victory, and in the other, the decree of the senate, shall attest to
posterity the gratitude of the nation.
" in. The senate will convey to the first consul the expression
of the confidence, love, and admiration of the French people."
^ This passage is extracted from M. Thibaudeaii's " Memoires of the Con-
sulate." There are in these memoirs, which are extremely curious, some
political conversations of Napoleon, concerning his internal government and
the principal sittings of the council of state, which throw much light upon
tliis epoch.
THE CONSULATE 453
1802
This revolution was complete by adapting to the consulship
for life, by a simple sciiafus consultum, the constitution, already
sufficiently despotic, of the temporary consulship. " Senators,"
said Cornudet, on presenting the new law, " we must forever close
the public path to the Gracchi. The wishes of the citizens, with
respect to the political laws they obey, are expressed by the general
prosperity; the guarantee of social rights absolutely places the
dogma of the exercise of the sovereignty of the people in the senate,
which is the bond of the nation. This is the only social doctrine."
The senate admitted this new social doctrine, took possession of
the sovereignty, and held it as a deposit till a favorable moment
arrived for transferring it to Xapoleon.
The constitution of the i6th Thermidor, year X. (August 4,
1802), excluded the people from the state. The public and ad-
ministrative functions became fixed, like those of the government.
The electors were for life. The first consul could increase their
number. The senate had the right of changing institutions, sus-
pending the functions of the jury, of placing the departments out
of the constitution, of annulling the sentences of the tribunals, of
dissolving the legislati\'e body and the tribunate. The council of
state was reinforced; the tribunate, already reduced by dismissals,
was still sufficiently formidal^lc to recjuire to be reduced to fifty
members.
Such, in the course of two years, was the terrible progress of
privilege and absolute power. 'I^nvard the dose of 180 J everything
was in the hands of the C(3nsiil for life, who had a class devoted to
him in the clergy; a military order in the Legion of Honor; an
administrative body in the council of state; a machinery for de-
crees in the legislatix'C assembly; a machinery for the constitution
in the senate. Not daring, ;is yet, to destroy the tril)nnatc, in which
assembly there arci'.ic, from time to time, a few words of freedom
and opposition, he dejjrived it of ils m^ ist c(un-ageous and elo(|uent
members that he miglit hear his will declared with docility in all
tlie asscmljlies of tlie nation.
This interior polic\' of u.-urpation was extended beyond the
country. On August 2() Xa])oleon united tlie Inland of hdba, and
on September 1 1. i8n_', riedmont, to the hrcnch territory. On
October 9 he took ]iosses<ion of the states of Parma, left vacant by
the death of the dnke; and lastly, on October 2\. he marched into
Switzerland an ;irmy of 30.000 men, to sup])ort a federative act,
454 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1802-1803
which regulated the constitution of each canton, and which had
caused disturbances. It is fair to say that Switzerland herself fur-
nished Napoleon the opportunity, by making overtures to him. It
was erected into a federal republic of nineteen cantons. He thus
furnished a pretext for a rupture with England, which had not sin-
cerely subscribed to the peace. This great extension of the power
of France to a country the neutrality of which had been guaranteed
since 1648 angered England. Napoleon retaliated by demanding
the English withdrawal from Malta. A violent conflict was waged
between the English newspapers and the Moniteur, the articles
of which were inspired by Napoleon, and some of them perhaps
even of his authorship. The French government even accused
England of protecting the would-be assassins of the first consul.
From the beginning of 1803 it was apparent that the Peace of
Amiens soon was to be broken. On February 18 a violent inter-
view took place between Napoleon and the British ambassador,
Lord Whitworth, in which Napoleon declared : " I would rather
see you in possession of the heights of Montmartre than of Malta."
The irritation of England was doubly great because of the contin-
ued occupation of Elba and Piedmont by France, and the revolution
wrought in Germany by the French. The British cabinet had only
felt the necessity of a momentary suspension of hostilities, and a
short time after the Treaty of Amiens it arranged a third coalition,
composed of England, Austria, Russia, Sweden, and Naples, as it
had done after the Treaty of Campo-Formio and at the time of
the Congress of Rastatt. The interest and situation of England
were alone of a nature to bring about a rupture, which was has-
tened by the union of states effected by Napoleon, and the influence
which he retained over the neighboring republics, called to com-
plete independence by the recent treaties. Napoleon, on his part,
eager for the glory gained on the field of battle, wishing to aggran-
dize France by conquests, and to complete his own elevation by
victories, could not rest satisfied with repose; he had rejected
liberty, and war became a necessity.
The two cabinets exchanged for some time very bitter diplo-
matic notes. At length, Lord Whitworth, the English ambassador,
left Paris on the 25th Floreal, year XL (May 13, 1803). Peace
was now definitely broken : preparations for war were made on
both sides. On May 26 the French troops entered the electorate
of Hanover. LTanover was a continental possession of the reigning
THE CONSULATE 455
1803-1804 ,
house of England. At the same time the French troops occupied
Holland, the Italian republics, the kingdom of Naples, and closed
their ports to English trade, while in compliance with the treaties
lately made Napoleon also demanded the closure of the Portu-
guese and Spanish ports to the governments concerned. This is
the first attempt at the famous continental blockade. The Ger-
manic empire, on the point of expiring, raised no obstacle. The
emigrant Chouan party, which had taken no steps since the affair
of the infernal machine and the continental peace, were encouraged
by this return of hostilities. The opportunity seemed favorable,
and it formed in London, with the assent of the British cabinet,
a conspiracy headed by Pichegru and Georges Cadoudal. The con-
spirators disembarked secretly on the coast of France and re-
paired with the same secrecy to Paris. They communicated with
General Moreau, who had been induced by his wife to embrace the
republican party. Just as they were about to execute their project
most of them were arrested by the police, who had discovered the
plot, and traced them.
Moreau was a sturdy republican and opposed to Napoleon's
monarchical ambitions. He had been interviewed by Pichegru,
who had escaped from French Guiana, but there is doubt of
Moreau's actual support of the conspiracy. At his trial Moreau
would admit nothing, because, he said, he knew nothing, and he
refused to attempt to clear himself of any accusation made without
proof. Pichegru was found strangled in prison on the morning
of April 6, 1804. It is not known whether he committed suicide
or was secretly put to death in this manner. Moreau was con-
demned to two years' imprisonment, which was commuted to
banishment. For some time he lived in the United States, but re-
turned in 1S13 and joined the coalition against Napoleon. He
was mortally wounded at the battle of Dresden. Georges Cadou-
dal was executed.
lliis conspiracy, discovered in the middle of February, 1804,
rendered the person of the first consul, whose life had been thus
threatened, still dearer to the masses of the people; addresses
of congratulation were presented by all the bodies of the state and
all the departments of the republic. About this time he sacrificed
an illustrious victim. On March 15, the Duke d'Enghien ''' was
" The Duke d'Enghien was son of the Duke de Bourbon and grandson of the
Prince de Conde. His execution was probal)ly the most debated act of Napoleon's
career. There are few apologists for it among historians.
456 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1804
carried off by a squadron of cavalry from the castle of Ettenheim,
in the grand duchy of Baden, a few leagues from the Rhine. The
first consul believed, from the reports of the police, that this prince
had directed the recent conspiracy. The Duke d'Enghien was con-
veyed hastily to Vincennes, tried, in a few hours, by a military
commission, and shot in the trenches of the chateau. This crime
was not an act of policy or usurpation, but a deed of violence and
wrath. The royalists might have thought on the i8th Brumaire
that the first consul was studying the part of General Monk ; but
for four years he had destroyed that hope. He had no longer any
necessity for breaking with them in so outrageous a manner, nor
for reassuring, as it has been suggested, the Jacobins, who no
longer existed. Those who remained devoted to the republic
dreaded at this time despotism far more than a counter-revolution.
There is every reason to think that Napoleon, who thought little of
human life or of the rights of nations, having already formed the
habit of an expeditious and hasty policy, imagined the prince to be
one of the conspirators, and sought, by a terrible example, to put
an end to conspiracies, the only peril that threatened his power
at that period.
The war with Great Britain and the conspiracy of Cadoudal
and Pichegru were the stepping-stones by which Napoleon as-
cended from the consulate to the empire. On the 6th Germinal,
year XII. (March 27, 1804), the senate, on receiving intelligence
of the plot, sent a deputation to the first consul. The president,
ErauQois de Neufchateau, expressed himself in these terms : " Citi-
zen first consul, you are founding a new era, but you ought to per-
petuate it: splendor is nothing without duration We do not doubt
but this great idea has had a share of your attention; for your cre-
ative genius embraces all and forgets nothing. But do not delay : you
are urged on by the times, by events, by conspirators, and by am-
bitious men; and in another direction, by the anxiety which agitates
the French people. It is in your power to enchain time, master
events, disarm the ambitious, and tranquilize the whole of France
by giving it institutions which will cement your edifice, and pro-
long for our children what you have done for their fathers. Citizen
first consul, be assured that the senate here speaks to you in the
name of all citizens."
On the 5th Floreal, year XII. (xA^pril 25, 1804), Napoleon
replied to the senate from Saint Cloud, as follows : " Your address
THE CONSULATE 457
1804
has occupied my thoughts incessantly; it has been the subject of
my constant meditation. You consider that the supreme magis-
tracy should be hereditary, in order to protect the people from the
plots of our enemies, and the agitation which arises from rival
ambitions. You also think that several of our institutions ought
to be perfected, to secure the permanent triumph of equality and
public liberty, and to offer the nation and government the twofold
guarantee which they require. The more I consider these great
objects, the more deeply do I feel that in such novel and important
circumstances, the councils of your wisdom and experience are
necessary to enable me to come to a conclusion. I invite you, then,
to communicate to me your ideas on the subject." The senate,
in its turn, replied on the 14th Floreal (May 3): "The senate
considers that the interests of the French people will be greatly
promoted by confiding the government of the republic to Napoleon
Bonaparte, as hereditary emperor." By this preconcerted scene was
ushered in the establisliment of the empire.
The tribune Curee opened the debate in the tribunate by a
motion on the subject. ITe dwelt on the same motives as the sena-
tors had done. His proposition was carried with enthusiasm.
Carnot alone had the courage to oppose the empire : " I am far,"
said he, " from wishing to weaken the praises bestowed on the first
consul; but whatever services a citizen may have done to his coun-
try, there are bounds which honor, as well as reason, imposes on
national gratitude. If this citizen has restored public liberty, if
he has secured the safety of his country, is it a reward to offer him
the sacrifice of that liberty; and would it not be destroying his
own work to make his country his private patrimony? When
once the proposition of holding tlie consulate for life was presented
for the votes of the people, it was easy to see that an afterthought
existed. A crowd of institutions evidently monarchical followed
in succession; but now the object of so many preliminary measures
is disclosed in a positive manner; we are called to declare our senti-
mcms on a formal motion to restore the monarchical system, and
to confer im])erial and hereditary dignity on the first consul.
"Has liberty, then, only been shown to man that he might
never enjoy it? No, I cannot consent to consider this good, so
universally preferred to all others, without which all others are
as nothing, as a mere illusion. My heart tells me that liberty is
attainable; tliat its regime is easier and more stable than any arbi-
458 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1804
trary government. I voted against the consulate for life; I now
vote against the restoration of the monarchy; as I conceive my
quality as tribune compels me to do."
But he was the only one who thought thus ; and his colleagues
rivaled each other in this opposition to the opinion of the only
man who alone among them remained free. In the speeches of
that period we may see the prodigious change that had taken
place in ideas and language. The revolution had retrograded to the
political principles of the ancient regime; the same enthusiasm
and fanaticism existed ; but it was the enthusiasm of flattery, the
fanaticism of servitude. The French rushed into the empire as
they had rushed into the revolution ; in the age of reason they re-
ferred everything to the enfranchisement of nations; now they
talked of nothing but the greatness of a man, and of the age of
Napoleon ; and they now fought to make kings, as they had for-
merly fought to create republics.
The tribunate, the legislative body, and the senate voted the
empire, which was proclaimed at Saint Cloud on the 28th Floreal,
year XII. (May 18, 1804). On the same day a senatus consultnm
modified the constitution, which was adapted to the new order of
things. The empire required its appendages, and French princes,
high dignitaries, marshals, chamberlains, and pages were given
to it. All publicity was destroyed. The liberty of the press had
already been subjected to censorship;^ only one tribune remained,
and that became mute. The sittings of the tribunate were secret,
like those of the council of state; and from that day, for a space
of ten years, France was governed with closed doors. Joseph and
Louis Bonaparte were recognized as French princes. Berthier,
Murat, Moncey, Jourdan, Massena, Augereau, Bernadotte, Soult,
Brune, Lannes, Mortier, Ney, Davout, Bessieres, Kellermann,
Lefevre, Perignon, and Serrurier, were named marshals of the em-
pire. The departments sent up addresses, and the clergy compared
Napoleon to a new Moses, a new Matthew, a new Cyrus. They saw
in his elevation " the finger of God," and said that " submission
was due to him as dominating over all ; to his ministers as sent by
him, because such was the order of Providence." Pope Pius VII.
came to Paris to consecrate the new dynasty. The coronation took
place on Sunday, December 2, in the Cathedral of Notre Dame.
^ Upon Napoleon's dealings with the press see Guillois, " Napoleon," Tome
II., pp 3^)8-448.
THE CONSULATE 459
1804
Prqiarations had been making for this ceremony for some
time, and it was regulated according to ancient customs. The
emperor repaired to the metropoHtan church with the Empress
Josephine, in a coach surmounted by a crown, drawn by eight
white horses, and escorted by his guard. The Pope, cardinals,
archbishops, bishops, and all the great bodies of the state were
awaiting him in the cathedral, which had been magnificently deco-
rated for this extraordinary ceremony. He was addressed in an
oration at the door; and then, clothed with the imperial mantle,
the crown on his head and the scepter in his hand, he ascended a
throne placed at the end of the church. The high almoner, a car-
dinal, and a bishop came and conducted him to the foot of the altar
for consecration. The Pope poured the three fold unction on his
head and hands, and delivered the following prayer : " O Almighty
God, who didst establish Hazael to govern Syria, and Jehu king
of Israel, by revealing unto them thy purpose by the mouth of the
prophet Elias ; who didst also shed the holy unction of kings on
the head of Saul and of David, by the ministry of thy prophet
Samuel, vouchsafe to pour, by my hands, the treasures of thy grace
and blessing on thy servant Napoleon, who, notwithstanding our
own unworthiness, we this day consecrate emperor in thy name."
The Pope led him solemnly back to the throne, and after he
had sworn on the Testament the oath prescribed by the new con-
stitution, the chief of the heralds at arms cried in a loud voice:
" The most glorious and most august Emperor of the French is
crowned and enthroned! Long live the emperor!" The church
instantly resounded with the cry, salvos of artillery were fired,
and the Pope commenced the Te Dciun. For several days there was
a succession of fetes; but these fetes by command, these fetes of
absolute power, did not breathe the frank, lively, popular, and
unanimous joy of the first federation of July 14; and, exhausted
as the people were, they did not welcome the beginning of despotism
as they liad welcomed tliat of liberty.
The consulate was the last period of the existence of the re-
public. The revolution was coming to man's estate. During the
first period of the consular government Napoleon had gained
the proscribed classes by recalling tliem, he found a people still
agitated by everv passion, and he restored tlicm to tranquillity by
labor, and to pros])erity bv restoring order. Finally he compelled
Europe, conquered for the third time, to acknowledge his elevation.
460 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1804
Till the Treaty of Amiens, he revived in the republic victory, con-
cord, and prosperity, without sacrificing Hberty. He might then,
had he wished, have made himself the representative of that great
age, which sought for that noble system of human dignity the con-
secration of far-extended equality, wise liberty, and more developed
civilization. The nation was in the hands of the great man or the
despot; it rested with him to preserve it free or to enslave it. He
preferred the realization of his selfish projects, and preferred him-
self to all humanity. Brought up in tents, coming late into the
revolution, he understood only its material and interested side; he
had no faith in the moral wants which had given rise to it, nor in
the creeds which had agitated it, and which, sooner or later, would
return and destroy him. He saw an insurrection approaching its
end, an exhausted people at his mercy, and a crown on the ground
within his reach. It is to be noted how completely changed are
conditions at this time (1804). Napoleon is no longer the child
of the revolution, nor attempting to enforce its ideas, but rather
is seeking to establish his personal domination over Europe."
9 A character study of the great conqueror might well be made at this
point. Suggestive reading is the following : Rose, " Napoleon " ; Lord Rose-
bery, " The Last Phase " ; Guillois, " Napoleon," Tome L, Book I. ; Taine :
" Modern Regime," I. Book I.
Chapter XVIII
THE EMPIRE. 1804-1814
/4 FTER the establishment of the empire power became more
/LA arbitrary, and society reconstructed itself on an aristocratic
-^ -A. principle. The great movement of recomposition which
had commenced on the 9th Thermidor went on increasing. The
convention had abolished classes; the directory defeated parties;
the consulate gained over men; and the empire corrupted them
by distinctions and privileges. The second period was the opposite
of the first. Under the one, we saw the government of the com-
mittees exercised by men elected every three months, wdthout
guards, honors, or representations, living on a few francs a day/
working eighteen hours together on common wooden tables; under
the other, the government of the empire, with all its paraphernalia
of administration, its chamberlains, gentlemen, prretorian guard,
hereditary rights, its immense civil list, and dazzling ostentation.
The national activity was exclusively directed to labor and war.
All material interests, all ambitious passions, were hierarchically
arranged under one leader, who, after having sacrificed liberty by
establishing absolute power, destroyed equality by introducing
nobility.
The directory had erected all the surrounding states into re-
publics; Napoleon wished to constitute them on the model of the
empire. He began with Italy. The council of state of the Cisal-
pine republic determined on restoring hereditary monarchy in favor
of Napoleon. Its vice-president, Melzy, came to Paris to com-
municate to him this decision. On the 26th Ventose, year XIII.
^ The original text is preserved. But in his allegiance to the revolution
^Mignt't shows himself incapable of appreciating the great constructive work of
Napoleon. As for " living on a few francs a day," Von Sybel gives ample evi-
dence of the waste and extravagance of the revolutionary government. The
actnrd wages of tlie various connnittees exceeded 590,000,000 francs per annum,
more than the entire budget of the ancient regime. Von Sybel, " History of the
French Revolution,"' vol. 111. p. 310. The commune spent 12,000 francs per
diem in the endeavor to keep duwn prices under the maximum law.
4GI
462 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1805
(March 17, 1805), he was received with great solemnity at the
Tuileries. Napoleon was on his throne, surrounded by his court
and all the splendor of sovereign power, in the display of which
he delighted. Melzy offered him the crown, in the name of his
fellow-citizens. " Sire," said he, in conclusion, " deign to gratify
the wislies of the assembly over which I have the honor to preside.
Interpreter of the sentiments which animate every Italian heart, it
brings you their sincere homage. It will inform them with joy
that by accepting, you have strengthened the ties which attach you
to tlie preservation, defense, and prosperity of the Italian nation.
Yes, sire, you wished the existence of the Italian republic, and it
existed. Desire the Italian monarchy to be happy, and it will
be so.''
The emperor went to take possession of this kingdom, and
on May 26, 1805, he received at Milan the Iron Crown of the
Lombards. He appointed his adopted son. Prince Eugene de
Beauharnais, viceroy of Italy, and repaired to Genoa, which also
renounced its sovereignty. On June 4, 1805, its territory was
united to the empire, and formed the three departments of Genoa,
Montenotte, and the Apennines. The small republic of Lucca was
included in this monarchical revolution. At the request of its
gonfalonier, it was given in appanage to the Prince of Piombino
and his princess, a sister of Napoleon. The latter, after this royal
progress, recrossed the Alps and returned to the capital of his
empire; he soon after departed for the camp at Boulogne, where
a great maritime expedition against England was preparing.
This project of descent which the directory had entertained
after the Peace of Campo-Formio, and the first consul, after the
Peace of Luneville, had been resumed with much ardor since the
new rupture. At the commencement of 1805 a flotilla of two
thousand small vessels, manned by 16,000 sailors, carrying an army
of 160,000 men, 9000 horses, and a numerous artillery, had as-
sembled in the ports of Boulogne, Staples, Wimereux, Ambleteuse,
and Calais. In this endeavor to make a direct conquest of Eng-
land Napoleon was true to the traditional policy of France, for
Louis XIV. had thus conceived of establishing James II. upon the
throne, and no later than 1796 Roche had failed in Ireland in a
similar endeavor. As the soul of the coalition, the conquest of
England, if achieved, would have placed all Europe under Na-
poleon's heel. Elaborate preparations were made at Boulogne,
THEEMPIRE 463
1805
where, in August, 1805, an army of 150,000 men was gathered
and artillery to the amount of 2300 small cannon and 3500 of
larger caliber. There were vessels sufficient to embark 30,000 men
within a few hours. Boulogne was the central point of embarka-
tion, where Soult was in command. The advance guard under
Lannes and Oudinot was to sail from Wimereux. The right wing
of the army, under Davout, was at Ambleteuse, and the left, under
Ney, at Staples. Napoleon's confidence is expressed in his words :
" If we are masters twelve hours after landing, England is van-
quished."
Aside from favorable weather, the success of the expedition
was dependent upon the movements of the French and English
fleets. In order to make himself master of the Channel it was
planned that Admiral Villeneuve was to sail from Toulon, pick
up the Spanish fleet in Cadiz harbor, and then sail, on a southwest
course toward the West Indies for the purpose of meeting two
other French squadrons, the commanders of v/hich had been in-
structed to sail from Brest and Rochefort as if going to the An-
tilles. The united fleet was then to double on its course, eluding,
if possible, the English fleet sent in pursuit of the two squadrons
sailing from the western harbors of France, and sweep up the
Channel to protect the French in crossing from Boulogne. Un-
fortunately for the success of this plan, however, though Villeneuve
had united the Spanish fleet with his own, the other two squadrons
were kept in harbor by the English. An attempt to penetrate the
Channel was prevented by the English Admiral Calder in an inde-
cisive combat on July 22, 1805. The French fleet was forced to
return to Cadiz for repairs, and Napoleon, despairing of success,
broke up the camp at Boulogne on August 27. Two months later
the united French and Spanish fleets, numbering thirty-three ves-
sels, were destroyed by Nelson in tlie battle of Trafalgar, October
21, 1805. Both Nelson and the Spanish admiral were killed in
the engagement, and Villeneuve surrendered. He committed sui-
cide when court-martialed for his conduct.
The emperor was hastening by his presence the execution of
this project, when he learned that England, to avoid the descent
with which it was threatened, had prevailed on Austria to come to
a rupture with France, and that all the forces of the Austrian
monarchy were in motion. There were four armies directed
against I'^rance : (i) An Anglo-Russian-Swedish force of 43,-
464 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1805
ooo men, to come by way of Hanover and Holland; (2) the
Austrian army of 80,000, on the upper Danube, under Mack and the
Archduke Ferdinand, who were to be reinforced by 60,000 Rus-
sians; (3) another Austrian army of 100,000, under the Archduke
Charles, intended for the invasion of Italy; (4) a combined Eng-
lish and Russian force was to be landed in Naples. Pitt, who had
returned to power after the weak administration of the Addington
ministry, seems to have made an error of judgment similar to that
of 1796, when he overestimated the strength of Austria; for this
time the illusion of Napoleon's loss of energy apparently deceived
him. The terms of the compact between England and other mem-
bers of the coalition provided that no peace was to be made with
France without common consent and that there should be no settle-
ment of conquests until final peace was made by a European
congress. The establishment of the kingdom of Italy, the annexa-
tion of Genoa and Piedmont to France, the open influence of the
emperor over Holland and Switzerland, had again aroused Europe,
which now dreaded the ambition of Napoleon as much as it had
formerly feared the principles of the revolution. The treaty of
alliance between the British ministry and the Russian cabinet had
been signed on April 11, 1805, and Austria had acceded to it on
August 9.
Napoleon left Boulogne, returned hastily to Paris, repaired
to the senate on September 23, obtained a levy of 80,000 men, and
set out the next day to begin the campaign. He passed the Rhine
on October i and entered Bavaria on the 6th with an army of
160,000 men. Massena stopped Prince Charles in Italy, and the
emperor carried on the war in Germany at full speed. In a few
days he passed the Danube, entered Munich, gained the victory
of Wertingen, and forced General Mack to lay down his arms at
Ulm. Mack had made the error of advancing so far that he was
unable to cooperate with the Russian force. The Austrians sur-
rendered 30,000 prisoners, and had already lost almost an equal
number in killed or wounded in seven previous engagements pre-
cipitated by desperate efforts of the Austrians to break the French
circle of arms. This capitulation disorganized the Austrian army.
Napoleon pursued the course of his victories, entered Vienna on
November 13, and marched into Moravia to meet the Russians,
round whom the defeated troops had rallied.
On December 2, 1805, the anniversary of the coronation, the
THEEMPIRE 465
1805
two armies met in the plains of Austerlitz. The enemy amounted
to 95,000 men, the French to 80,000. On both sides the artillery-
was formidable. The battle began at sunrise; these enormous
masses began to move; the Russian infantry could not stand
against the impetuosity of the French and the maneuvers of their
general. The enemy's left was first cut off; the Russian imperial
guard came up to reestablish the communication, and was entirely
overwhelmed. The center experienced the same fate, and at one
o'clock in the afternoon the most decisive victory had completed
this wonderful campaign. The battle of Austerlitz is often called
the "Battle of the three emperors." The allies lost 15,000 men,
killed, wounded, or drowned, 20,000 prisoners, 180 cannon, and
40 standards. The French loss was 7000. Napoleon ever re-
garded the battle of Austerlitz as the greatest day in his history,
and was wont frequently to refer to it. On the evening before the
battle, with almost fatalistic belief in his " star of destiny," in an
address to the soldiers he took them all into his confidence by
actually telling them what his strategy and tactics were to be on the
morrow ! The following day the emperor congratulated the army
in a proclamation on the field of battle itself. " Soldiers," said he,
" I am satisfied with you. You have adorned your eagles with
immortal glory. An army of 100,000 men, commanded by the
Emperors of Russia and Austria, in less than four days has been
cut to pieces or dispersed ; those who escaped your steel have been
drowned in the lakes. Forty flags, the standards of the Russian
imperial guard, a hundred and eighty pieces of cannon, twenty
generals, more than twenty thousand prisoners, are the result of
this ever memorable day. Tliis infantry, so vaunted and so superior
in numbers, could not resist your shock, and henceforth you have
no more rivals to fear. Thus, in two months, this third coalition
has been defeated and dissolved." A truce was concluded with
Austria ; and the Russians, who might have been cut to pieces, ob-
tained permission to retire by fixed stages."
The Peace of Presburg followed the victories of Ulm and
Austerlitz ; it was signed on December 26. The house of Austria,
which had lost its external possessions, Flanders and the Milanese,
was now assailed in Germany itself. It gave up the provinces of
Dalmatia and Al])ania to the kingdom of Italy; the territory of
- The accounts of the Gcncral-1)aron Lejcnnc and General Segur, to l)e found
iu their memoirs (English translations), are astonishing word-pictures of this
day, by eye-witnesses.
466 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1805-1806
the Tyrol, the town of Augsburg, the principality of Eichstett, a
part of the territory of Passau, and all its possessions in Suabia,
Breisgau, and Ortenau to the electorates of Bavaria and Wurtem-
berg, which were transformed into kingdoms. The grand duchy
of Baden also profited by its spoils. The Treaty of Presburg com-
pleted the humiliation of Austria, commenced by the Treaty of
Campo-Formio, and continued by that of Luneville. At the be-
ginning of the war of the third coalition Napoleon had declared
that Austria would not be spared, as had been done hitherto ; for,
except for loss of prestige, Austria had suffered very little hitherto.
Campo-Formio had deprived her of the Netherlands, but given her
Venetia in return ; Luneville had substituted French for Austrian
influence in southern and western Germany. Austria lost influence
there, but not territory. But the Treaty of Presburg (December 26,
1805) cut Austria off from Italy, Switzerland, and the Rhine, and
deprived her of 28,000 square miles of territory and 3,000,000 sub-
jects. The following cessions were made : Piedmont, Piacenza,
and Parma to France; Venetia, Istria, and Dalmatia to the king-
dom of Italy; the Tyrol, Passau, Trent, Brixen, Eichstadt, and the
free city of Augsburg passed to Bavaria ; Wurtemberg and Baden
were enriched by Austria's upper Rhine lands, the last remnants
of the possessions of Rudolph of Hapsburg, and were recognized
as kingdoms. The Holy Roman Empire never recovered from the
blow of Austerlitz, and on August 6, 1806, Francis II. laid down
a title as old as Charlemagne's and the Roman Ccesars'. So com-
pletely was Napoleon master of central and western Europe that
a stroke of the pen could dethrone the Bourbons of Naples. From
the imperial villa at Schoenbrunn the famous order went forth :
" La dynastie de Naples a cesse de regner." Joseph Bonaparte
became King of Naples, and the court of the Bourbons was moved
to Palermo, where it was safe under the shadow of English
guns.
It remains to speak of the policy of Prussia at this time. Of
all the powers united against France at the beginning of the revo-
lution Prussia was the least injured by the first conquests of the
convention and the first to make peace with France. After the
Treaty of Basel in April, 1795, Prussia had remained neutral and
with secret satisfaction had looked upon the disasters of Austria,
its great rival in Germany. This status was continued during the
war of the second coalition (1798-1802). In the League of
THEEMPIRE 467
1806
Neutrals Prussia sustained the French policy, and though, at the
beginning of the third coalition, she was inclined to hold aloof from
France, Austerlitz and Presburg convinced her of the expediency
of at least continuing her pacific relations with France. This ac-
tion of Prussia was largely due to the treasonable conduct of the
Prussian minister, Haugwitz. But when Napoleon discovered that
Haugwitz could be corrupted, he daringly bought the alliance of
Prussia by offering her Hanover in return for her support (De-
cember 15, 1806). The agreement was a doubly shameless one,
because, after the death of Pitt, a coalition ministry had succeeded,
at the head of which was Charles James Fox, the strongest advo-
cate of French policy in Great Britain. Fox made overtures of
peace to Napoleon, conditional upon the French withdrawal from
Hanover. Napoleon beguiled the English ministry by peace over-
tures which he never meant to keep, while he bought the alliance
of Prussia. As a piece of double dealing Napoleon's policy with
Hanover is notorious.^ The emperor, on his return to Paris
crowned with so much glory, became the object of such general
and wild admiration that he was himself carried away by the
public enthusiasm and intoxicated at his fortune. The different
bodies of the state contended among themselves in obedience and
flatteries. He received the title of Great, and the senate passed
a decree dedicating to him a triumphal monument.
Napoleon became more confirmed in the principle he had
espoused. The victory of Marengo and the Peace of Luneville had
sanctioned the consulate : the victory of Austerlitz and the Peace of
Presburg consecrated the empire. The last vestiges of the revolu-
tion were abandoned. On January i, 1806, the Gregorian calendar
definitely replaced the republican calendar, after an existence of
fourteen years. The Pantheon was again devoted to purposes of
worship, and soon even the tribunate ceased to exist. But the
emperor aimed especially at extending his dominion over the Con-
tinent. Ferdinand, King of Naples, having during the last war
violated the treaty of peace wnth France, had his states invaded,
and Joseph Bonaparte on March 30 was declared king of the two
Sicilies. Soon after (June 5, 1806) Holland was converted into
a kingdom, and received as monarch Louis Bonaparte, another
brother of the emperor. None of th.e republics created by the con-
" See Fyffc, " rslodcrn Europe," pp. 300-317; Ijourgeois, "Manuel Hisioriquc
de Politique Etrangi're," vol. II. pp. 270-272.
468
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1806
vention or the directory now existed. Napoleon, in nominating
secondary kings, restored the military hierarchical system and the
titles of the Middle Ages. He erected Dalmatia, Istria, Friuli,
Cadore, Belluno, Conegliano, Trevise, Feltra, Bassano, Vicenza,
Padua, and Rovigo into duchies, great fiefs of the empire. Marshal
Berthier was invested with the principality of Neufchatel, the
minister Talleyrand w^ith that of Benevento, Prince Borghese
FRANCE
AT THE MtlCHT OF NKPOLEON'S POWtH
and his wife with that of Gustalla, Murat with the grand duchy
of Berg and Cleves. Napoleon, not venturing to destroy the Swiss
republic, styled himself its mediator, and completed the organization
of his military empire by placing under his dependence the ancient
Germanic body. On July 12, 1806, fourteen princes of the south
and west of Germany united themselves into the Confederation of
the Rhine, and recognized Napoleon as their protector. On August
I they signified to the diet of Ratisbon their separation from the
THEEMPIRE 469
1806
Germanic body. The empire of Germany ceased to exist, and
Francis IL abdicated the title by proclamation. By a convention
signed at Vienna, on December 15, Prussia exchanged the terri-
tories of Anspach, Cleves, and Neufchatel for the electorate of
Hanover. Napoleon had all the west under his power. The pur-
pose of Napoleon in 1806 was to create a " Greater France," with
a swarm of vassal states : Louis Bonaparte in Holland ; Murat,
his brother-in-law, in Naples, and Eugene Beauharnais in Germany
and Italy. The actual extent of the empire, exclusive of these
vassal states, was enormous. The eastern frontier began at Lubeck
on the Baltic, ran southwesterly to the Rhine at Wesel, followed
up the Rhine to Lake Geneva, crossed the Alps, and so down the
Po River to Mantua, and struck the Mediterranean at Terricena.
There were 130 departments in the empire at its height, with 45,-
000,000 inhabitants. Absolute master of France and Italy, as em-
peror and king, he was also master of Spain, by the dependence
of that court; of Naples and Holland, by his two brothers; of
Switzerland, by the act of mediation; and in Germany he had at
his disposal the kings of Bavaria and Wurtemberg and the Con-
federation of the Rhine against Austria and Prussia. After the
Peace of Amiens, by supporting liberty he might have made himself
the protector of France and the moderator of Europe, but having
sought glory in domination, and made conquest the object of his
life, he condemned himself to a long struggle which would in-
evitably terminate in the dependence of the Continent or in his
own downfall.
This encroaching progress gave rise to the fourth coalition.
Prussia, neutral since the Peace of Basel, had, in the last campaign,
been on the point of joining the Austro-Russian coalition. The
rapidity of the emperor's victories had alone restrained her; but
now, alarmed at the aggrandizement of the empire, and encouraged
by the fine condition of her troops, she leagued with Russia to drive
the French from Germany. The cabinet of Berlin required that
the French troops should recross the Rhine, or w^ar would be the
consequence. At the same time it sought to form in the north
of Germany a league against the confederation of the south. The
emperor, who was in the plenitude of his prosperity and of national
enthusiasm, far from submitting to the ultimatum of Prussia, im-
mediately marched against her.
The immediate cause of Prussia's hostility to France was
470 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1806-1807
the discovery by Frederick William III. of the duplicity of Na-
poleon regarding Hanover. The emperor really had no more in-
tention of giving it to Prussia than to England, but used it as a
means to lure Prussia and to wheedle Fox. Additional causes
were the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine, the establish-
ment of which Prussia regarded as a menace to the integrity of the
German kingdom ; the French seizure of Verden and Essen ; and
in the popular mind the execution of the Nuremberg bookseller,
Palm, for selling an anonymous pamphlet entitled, " Germany in
its Deep Humiliation." But Prussia was ill prepared for war.
Since Frederick the Great's death in 1786 she had been living upon
her past reputation. The administrative system was antiquated
and inefHcient ; the country poor; the army a shell; the soldiers
were in a wretched condition, while the officers were superannu-
ated veterans of the Seven Years' War or mere sprigs of gentility.
Moreover, Prussia had no allies save Saxony and distant Russia.
The campaign opened early in October. Napoleon, as usual,
overwhelmed the coalition by the promptitude of his marches and
the vigor of his measures. On October 14 he destroyed at Jena
the military monarchy of Prussia by a decisive victory; on the
i6th 14,000 Prussians threw down their arms at Erfurt; on the
27th the French army entered Berlin, and the close of 1806 was
employed in taking the Prussian fortresses and marching into
Poland against the Russian army. Such fortresses as Spandau,
Erfurt, Stettin, and Kiistrin had fallen like card-houses. The
collapse of Prussia, as complete as it was unexpected, changed the
extent of Napoleon's demands. When the war began he had re-
solved to require the cession of the west bank of the Elba with
]\Iagdeburg. Now he was determined to force Prussia out of Ger-
many, compelling the Hohenzollern house to renounce Branden-
burg and to retire beyond the Vistula River. The surrender of
Konigsberg, Dantzig, Thorn on the lower Vistula, and Breslau in
Silesia was demanded for the purpose of establishing a strong
French frontier along this line. Even the weak Frederick William
nr. rejected such terms. The campaign in Poland was less rapid,
but as brilliant as that of Prussia. Russia, for the third time,
measured its strength with France. Conquered at Zurich and .\us-
terlitz, it was also defeated at Eylau (February y-S, 1807) ^^^^^
Friedland (June 14, 1807). Eylau was fought mainly against the
Prussians, only a detachment of Russians being present in the
THEEMPIRE 471
1807
battle, most of whom, on account of the winter, were not able to
come so early to the relief of Prussia. It was one of the most
murderous battles that Napoleon ever fought, the horror of the
carnage being increased by the fact that a blinding snowstorm
prevailed at the time. Marshal Ney was conspicuous for his brav-
ery on this day. Friedland, like Austerlitz, was a day Napoleon
loved to remember. After these memorable battles the Emperor
Alexander entered into a negotiation, and concluded at Tilsit, on
June 21, 1807, an armistice which was followed by a definitive
treaty on July 7.
The Peace of Tilsit increased the French domination on the
Continent. Prussia was reduced to half its extent. In the south
of Germany Napoleon had instituted the two kingdoms of Bavaria
and Wurtemberg against Austria; farther to the north he created
the two feudator}^ kingdoms of Saxony and Westphalia against
Prussia. That of Saxony, composed of the electorate of that
name, and Prussian Poland, called the grand duchy of Warsaw,
was given to the King of Saxony; that of Westphalia compre-
hended the states of Hesse-Cassel, Brunswick, Fulda, Paderborn,
and the greater part of Hanover, and was given to 'Jerome Bona-
parte. The Emperor Alexander, acceding to all these arrange-
ments, evacuated Moldavia and Wallachia. Russia, however,
though conquered, was the only power unencroached upon. Na-
poleon followed more than ever in the footsteps of Charlemagne;
at his coronation he had had the crown, sword, and scepter of
the Prankish king carried before him. A Pope had crossed the Alps
to consecrate his dynasty, and he modeled his states on the vast
empire of that conqueror. The revolution sought the establishment
of ancient liberty; Napoleon restored the military hierarchy of the
Middle Ages. The former had made citizens ; the latter made vas-
sals. The one had changed Europe into republics; the other trans-
formed it into fiefs. Great and powerful as he was, coming
immediately after a shock which had exhausted the world by its
violence, he was enabled to arrange it for a time according to his
pleasure. The grand empire rose internally by its system of ad-
ministration, which replaced the government of assembles ; its
special courts, its lyceums, in Vvhich military education was substi-
tuted for the republican education of the central schools ; its
hereditarv nobility, which in 1S08 completed the establishment
of inequality; its civil discipline, which rendered all France like
472 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1807
an army obedient to the word of command ; and externally by its
secondary kingdoms, its confederate states, its great fiefs, and its
supreme chief. Napoleon, no longer meeting resistance anywhere,
could command from one end of the continent to the other.
At this period all the emperor's attention was directed to
England, the only power that could secure itself from his attacks.
Pitt had been dead a year, but the British cabinet followed with
much ardor and pertinacity his plans with respect to France. After
having vainly formed a third and a fourth coalition it did not lay
down arms. It was a war to the death. Great Britain had de-
clared France in a state of blockade, and furnished the emperor
with the means of cutting off its continental intercourse by
a similar measure. The continental blockade, which began in
1807, was the second period of Napoleon's system. In order
to attain universal and uncontested supremacy, he made use of arms
against the Continent and the cessation of commerce against Eng-
land. But in forbidding to the continental states all communica-
tion with England he was preparing new difficulties for himself,
and soon added to the animosity of opinion excited by his despot-
ism, and the hatred of states produced by his conquering domina-
tion, the exasperation of private interests and commercial suffering
occasioned by the blockade. The germ of the idea of the famous
" continental system " is to be found in the doctrine of the " nat-
ural frontiers of France," as far back as the time of the directory,
whose policy it was to overcome England's sea power by shutting
out her trade from the Continent. In 1795 Cambaceres, Merlin
of Douai, Boissy d'Anglas, and Sieves were ardent advocates of
natural frontiers. " The republic," said Cambaceres, " has its
natural limits in the Alps and the Pyrennes. . . . But on the
north it is contiguous with foreign possessions, the delimitation of
which and the jealous governments of which have been the source
of centuries of war. . . . You will examine if the wisdom of
the nation and the experience of centuries does not require that
you conduct the negotiations with reference to the limits of the
French republic with a sure hand; if the execution of this great
design be not the basis of and the true guaranty of universal peace."
Dubois-Crancie had before this proposed to form Holland into a
republic in imitation of that of France, and to give lianovcr to
Prussia in compensation for its Rhenish possessions. As early as
1798 we find the thought of the establishment of the Confederation
THEEMPIRE 473
1807-1810
of the Rhine under French protection in the mind of the directory,
and the crowding of Prussia and Austria eastward in order that
France might acquire control of the mouths of the Elbe and Weser
Rivers and so close the seaboard to England.*
Napoleon felt, in the exuberance of victory after the battle
of Jena, that the time had come for putting his plans for excluding
England from the Continent into execution. Prussia in occupying
Hanover had issued a proclamation excluding British trade, March
28, 1806. England immediately declared the mouths of the Ems,
Weser, Elbe, and Trave in a state of blockade (April 8). This
was followed by the more comprehensive blockade announced
in the first document which was sent to all the representatives
of neutral powers then at London. The policy of England
served Napoleon as an excuse for his Berlin Decree, although he
was undoubtedly actuated by other motives in issuing it. January
7, 1807, England answered with an order in council prohibiting
coast trade between the ports of the enemy or of his allies. This
was deemed insufficient after the ministry had learned of the secret
articles of the Treaty of Tilsit, and three orders were issued
November 11, establishing an undisguised "paper" blockade. The
vague, cumbrous phraseology of these decrees became notorious, and
it was necessary to issue supplementary and explanatory orders, five
of which appeared November 25. One of these established the
rule that licenses had to be procured from the English govern-
ment by neutral traders. Napoleon replied with the ^Milan Decree,
and the President of the United States ordered the first embargo
December 22, 1807. Later decrees w'cre issued by Napoleon in
enforcing his system; for example that of Bayonne (April 17,
1808) ordered the customs officials to confiscate all American ves-
sels in French ports. That of the Trianon (August 5, 1810) was
directed against smuggling and that of Fontainebleau (October
18, 1810) ordered all English goods which could be seized to be
publicly burned. Finally the annexation of the coast of the North
Sea in December, 1810, was justified upon the ground that Eng-
land had rendered the measure necessary by her commercial
policy.^
^ See Jallifficr, " Histoirc Contcmporainc," p. 175, note, and Bourgeois,
"Manuel Historique dc Politique fitrang,i'rc," vol. IT., ch. xi.
^ The documents relating to the continental system have been gathered to-
gether ainl pulili^Iied in translation hy the department of history of the l^niver-
sity of l^ennsylvania, '"Translations and Reprints," vol. II., No. 2. The two
474 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1807-1808
Eng-Iand was placed under the ban of continental Europe
at the peace. Russia and Denmark in Northern Seas ; I'rance,
Spain, and Holland, in the Mediterranean and the ocean, were
obliged to declare against it. This period was the height of the
imperial sway. Napoleon employed all his activity and all his
genius in creating maritime resources capable of counterbalancing
the forces of England, which had then eleven hundred ships of war
of every class. He caused ports to be constructed, coasts to be
fortified, ships to be built and prepared, everything for combating
in a few years upon this new battlefield. But before that moment
arrived, he wished to secure the Spanish peninsula, and to found
his dynasty there, for the purpose of introducing a firmer and more
favorable policy. The expedition of Portugal in 1807, and the
invasion of Spain in 1808, began for him and for Europe a new
order of events.
Portugal had for some time been a complete English colony.
The emperor, in concert with the Bourbons of Madrid, decided
by the Treaty of Fontainebleau, of October 27, 1807, that the house
of Braganza had ceased to reign. A French army, under the com-
mand of Junot, entered Portugal. The prince regent embarked for
Brazil, and the French took possession of Lisbon on November 30,
1807. Napoleon's motive in seizing Portugal was to deprive Eng-
land of a foothold upon the Continent. The French occupation of
Spain logically followed. As far back as April 23, 1800, Napoleon
had written to Talleyrand : " Why, since Portugal refuses to
make peace, does not Spain seize on several provinces of that
kingdom which might be exchanged, at the general peace, for
Minorca?" This invasion was only an approach toward Spain,
In October, 1807, the emperor had made the Spanish king and his
minister, Godoy, acquainted with his purposes against Portugal,
but he did not tell them that he already harbored the idea of ruining
the Spanish Bourbons as he had the house of Braganza. The
Frencli minister in IMadrid provided the means, and Eugene Beau-
harnais encouraged Prince Ferdinand to intrigue against his father.
On October 12, 1807, the former wrote to Napoleon asking for the
hand of an imperial princess. The plots prevailing in the Spanish
royal house afforded Napoleon an opportunity to intervene in
most important decrees are those of "Berlin, November 21, 1806, and of Milan,
December 17, 1807. The conduct of England in retaliation bore heavily upon the
American neutral trade and occasioned Jefferson's famous embargo policy.
T H E E ]M P I R E 475
1807-1809
Spain without divulging his purposes. On October 28, 1807, how-
ever, Charles discovered proof of his son's treason, but did not
know of his relations with Napoleon, and in consequence walked
right into the trap by himself invoking French aid. Within a fort-
night the French general Clarke, who was minister of war, re-
ceived orders to move forward the army of the Gironde to the
Spanish frontier, and to fortify the strong places. In double con-
sternation Ferdinand now revealed the nature of his intrigues with
France, and Charles, in order to save himself from the impending
intervention, pardoned his son. But Napoleon was not to be
balked. On November 13 Napoleon informed Charles IV. that he
intended to increase the French army in Portugal, but instead of
so doing the new detachments were quartered in various Spanish
provinces. By February, 1809, there were three army corps of
12,000 men each in Catalonia, another in Navarre, while the occu-
pation of Pampeluna and Barcelona at either end of the Pyrennees
was evidence that the French occupation of Spain was an accom-
plished fact.
No doubt at this time he formed the project of putting one of
his brothers on the throne of Spain ; he thought he could easily
overturn a divided family, an expiring monarchy, and obtain the
consent of a people whom he would restore to civilization. Under
the pretext of the maritime war and tlie blockade, his troops en-
tered the peninsula, occupied the coasts and principal places, and
encamped near Madrid. It was then suggested to the royal family
to retire to Mexico, after the example of the house of Braganza.
But the people rose against this departure; Godoy, the object of
public hatred, was in great risk of losing his life, and the Prince
of the Asturias was proclaimed king, under the title of Ferdinand
VII. The emperor took advantage of this court revolution to bring
al)()ut his own. The h^rench entered ]Madrid (]\larch 23) and he
himself proceeded to Bayonne, whither he summoned the Span-
ish princes. I-'erdinand restored the crown to his father, who in
his turn resigned it in favor of Napoleon; the latter had it decreed
on his brother Joseph by a supreme junta, by the council of Cas-
tile, and the municipality of Aladrid. Ferdinand was sent to the
Chateau dc Valencav. and Cliarles IV. fixed his residence at Com-
piegne. Napoleon called his l)ri)t]icr-in-law, Murat, Grand Duko
of Berg, to the tin-one of Nai)les. in the place of Joseph.
At tliis period began the first opposition to tlic domination of
476 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1803
the emperor and the continental system. The reaction manifested
itself in three countries, hitherto allies of France, and it brought on
the fifth coalition. The court of Rome was dissatisfied; the penin-
sula was wounded in its national pride by having imposed upon it
a foreign king; in its usages, by the suppression of convents, of
the Inquisition, and of the grandees; Holland suffered in its com-
merce from the blockade, and Austria supported impatiently its
losses and subordinate condition. England, watching for an op-
portunity to revive the struggle on the Continent, excited the re-
sistance of Rome, the Peninsula, and the cabinet of Vienna. The
Pope had been cold toward France since 1805; he had hoped
that his pontifical complaisance in reference to Napoleon's corona-
tion would have been recompensed by the restoration to the eccle-
siastical domain of those provinces which the directory had annexed
to the Cisalpine republic. Deceived in this expectation, he joined
the European counter-revolutionary opposition, and from 1807 to
1808 the Roman states became the rendezvous of English emis-
saries.
After some warm remonstrances the emperor ordered Gen-
eral Miollis to occupy Rome; the Pope threatened him with
excommunication, and Napoleon seized on the legations of An-
cona, Urbino, Macerata, and Camerino, which became part of the
Italian kingdom. The legate left Paris on April 3, 1808, and the
religious struggle for temporal interests commenced with the head
of the church, whom Napoleon should either not have recognized
or not have despoiled.
The war with the peninsula was still more serious. On May
2, 1808, the people of Madrid, without reflecting an instant upon
the great disproportion between their forces and those of the
French, without regarding the fact that Murat had 25,000 men
against 3000 Spanish troops, with cavalry in addition and nine
pieces of artillery, attacked the French with the fury of a mob.
It was the signal for the revolt of all Spain. The Spaniards rec-
ognized Ferdinand VII. as king, in a provincial junta held at
Seville on May 27, 1808, and they took arms in all the provinces
which were not occupied by French troops. The Portuguese also
rose at Oporto on June 16. These two insurrections were at first
attended with the happiest results; in a short time they made
rapid progress. On May 30 the two representatives of the Span-
ish junta embarked on board a Jersey merchantman and on June
T H E E M P I R E 477
1808
6 landed at Falmouth. An English naval officer accompanied them
to London. Lord Wellesley Pool could hardly believe his ears
when he learned that in a remote corner of the impoverished king-
dom of Spain war had actually been engaged in against the French.
The English minister of foreign affairs, Canning, from the first
was deeply impressed with the nature of the uprising, and on June
15 the English government voted to form an offensive and de-
fensive alliance between England and Spain. General Dupont laid
down arms at Baylen in the province of Cordova, July 21, 1808,
and surrendered 17,000 men. This first reverse of the French arms
excited the liveliest hope and enthusiasm among the Spaniards.
The disaster of Cintra followed, where Junot also surrendered,
August 30, 1808. But these were not the sole reverses of the French
arms during this summer. Within three months, in addition to
what happened at Baylen and Cintra, Joseph left Madrid, where
Ferdinand VIL was proclaimed, and retired beyond the Ebro; Mon-
cey was beaten in Valencia ; Verdier was checked before Saragossa ;
Duhemse was repulsed at Gerona; and many of the Italian troops
had deserted to the Spanish.
Napoleon was largely to blame for the reverses in Spain. In his
ignorance of the nature of the country and the character of the
Spanish people he had based his tactics upon a rapid and complete
occupation of Madrid. It seemed to him that, with Madrid and
the road open between it and Pampeluna or Barcelona, he would
be master of Spain. He did not know that Spain was richer, more
populous and stronger in its provinces than in the capital; he did
not know that Madrid was an artificial creation and that its influ-
ence over the peninsula was infinitely less than that of Paris, Ber-
lin, or Vienna in their respective countries. The four provinces of
Andalusia in 1808 had a population of nearly two millions, and
the Spanish troops there numbered 35,000 men. By June the junta
had raised 60,000 men. Better acquainted with the condition of
things than the emperor, the ^Marshal ]\Ioncey had estimated that
at least 40,000 men would be required for the subjugation of An-
dalusia.
Napoleon gave General Dupont but half that number of men,
and 2500 of these were Swiss and Spanish of doubtful fidelity.
Accordingly the English general Wellington was able to take pos-
session of this kingdom with 25,000 men. ^Meanwhile, the Pope
was declaring against Napoleon; the Spanish insurgents were enter-
478 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1808
ing Madrid ; the English were again setting foot on the Continent ;
the King of Sweden avowed himself an enemy of the European
imperial league; and Austria was making considerable armaments
and preparing for a new struggle.
Fortunately for Napoleon, Russia remained faithful to the
alliance and engagements of Tilsit. The Emperor Alexander had
at that time a fit of enthusiasm and affection for this powerful and
extraordinary mortal. Napoleon wishing to be sure of the north,
before he conveyed all his forces to the peninsula had an interview
with Alexander at Erfurt, on September 27, 1808. The two mas-
ters of the north and west guaranteed to each other the repose and
submission of Europe. Napoleon marched into Spain, and Alex-
ander undertook Sweden. The presence of the emperor soon
changed the fortune of the war in the peninsula. He brought with
him 80,000 veteran soldiers, just come from Germany. Several
victories made him master of most of the Spanish provinces. He
made his entry into Madrid and presented himself to the inhab-
itants of the peninsula, not as a master, but as a liberator. " I have
abolished," he said to them, " the tribunal of the Inquisition,
against which the age and Europe protested. Priests should direct
the conscience, but ought not to exercise any external or corporal
jurisdiction over the citizens. I have suppressed feudal rights ; and
everyone may set up inns, ovens, mills, fisheries, and give free im-
pulse to his industry. The selfishness, wealth, and prosperity of a
few did more injury to your agriculture than the heats of the ex-
treme summer. As there is but one God, one system of justice
only should exist in a state. All private tribunals were usurped
and opposed to the rights of the nation. I have suppressed them.
The present generation may change its opinion ; too many passions
have been brought into play; but your grandchildren will bless me
as your regenerator; they will rank among their memorable days
those in which I appeared among you, and from those days will
Spain date its prosperity."
Such was indeed the part of Napoleon in the peninsula, which
could only be restored to a better state of things, and to liberty,
by the revival of civilization. The establishment of independence
cannot be effected all at once, any more than anything else; and
wlien a country is ignorant, poor, and behindhand, its social con-
dition must be reconstructed before liberty can be thought of.
Napoleon, the oppressor of civilized nations, was a real regenerator
T H E E M P I R E 479
1809
for the peninsula. But the two parties of civil liberty and religious
restitution, that of the cortes and that of the monks, though with
far different aims, came to an understanding for their common
defense. The one was at the head of the upper and the middle
classes, the other of the populace ; and they vied with each other in
exciting the Spaniards to enthusiasm with the sentiments of inde-
pendence or religious fervor.
Napoleon had engaged in a long and dangerous enterprise, in
which his whole system of war was at fault. Victory here did
not consist in the defeat of an army and the possession of a capital,
but in the entire occupation of the territory, and, what was still
more difficult, the submission of the public mind. Napoleon, how-
ever, was preparing to subdue this people with his irresistible
activity and inflexible determination, when the fifth coalition called
him again to Germany.
Austria had turned to advantage his absence, and that of his
troops. It made a powerful effort, and raised 550,000 men, com-
prising the Landwehr, and took the field in the spring of 1809.
The Tyrol rose, and King Jerome was driven from his capital by
the Westphalians ; Italy wavered ; and Prussia only waited till
Napoleon met with a reverse, to take arms. Poland had revolted
under Poniatowsky. But the emperor was still at the height of
his power and prosperity. He hastened from Madrid in the begin-
ning of February, and directed the members of the confederation
to keep their contingents in readiness. On April 2 he left Paris.
As so many times before, this campaign was fought both in Ger-
many and Italy. The Archduke John twice defeated Prince
Eugene near the Adige, but the chief operations of the Austrians
were in Germany, where the Archduke Charles, the ablest com-
mander the allies had yet found, crossed the Inn River on April 9,
1809, and entered Bavaria, where the h'rench army under Bcrtliicr
w^as spread over the country in order to maintain its subjection.
In order to prevent its consolidation the success of the Archduke
Charles depended upon the rapidity of his movements. But he
dallied for six precious days on the Iser River, in the hope of being
able to attack the strongest Frencli army corps, that of Davout.
The delay was fatal, for in tlie interval Xap<3leon arrived from
Paris, concentrated his forces and took the offensive with the hope
of cutting tb.e archduke off from his line of retreat, won the bat-
tles of Eckmiihl (April 22), Aspern-Essling (May 21-22), and
480 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1809-1810
Wagram (July 6), and for the second time occupied Vienna,
after a campaign of four months. While he was pursuing the
Austrian armies the English landed on the Island of Walcheren
and appeared before Antwerp; but a levy of national guards
sufficed to frustrate the expedition of the Scheldt. The Peace of
Vienna, of October ii, 1809, deprived the house of Austria of sev-
eral more provinces, and compelled it again to adopt the conti-
nental system.
Austria ceded Croatia, Carniola, Trieste, and most of Carin-
thia to the French empire; the grand duchy of Warsaw was
increased by the cession of West and New Galicia, the portion of
Austria's share of the Polish partition of 1795, and Cracow. Even
the czar received a slice of Austrian territory. Austria lost four
and one-half millions of subjects, her maritime provinces, and
agreed to pay an indemnity of $17,000,000.
This period was remarkable for the new character of the
struggle. It began the reaction of Europe against the empire, and
announced the alliance of dynasties, people, nations, the priesthood,
and commerce. All whose interests were injured made an attempt
at resistance, which at first was destined to fail. Napoleon, since
the Peace of Amiens, had entered on a career that must necessarily
terminate in the possession or hostility of all Europe. Carried
away by his character and position, he had created against the
people a system of administration of unparalleled benefit to power;
against Europe, a system of secondary monarchies and grand fiefs,
which facilitated his plans of conquest; and, lastly, against Eng-
land, the blockade which suspended its commerce, and that of the
Continent. Nothing impeded him in the realization of those im-
mense but insensate designs. Portugal opened a communication
with the English : he invaded it. The royal family of Spain, by
its quarrels and vacillations, compromised the extremities of the
empire : he compelled it to abdicate, that he might reduce the penin-
sula in a bolder and less wavering policy. The Pope kept up
relations with the enemy : his patrimony was diminished. He
threatened excommunication : the French entered Rome. He real-
ized his threat by a bull : he was dethroned as a temporal sovereign
in 1809. Finally, after the battle of Wagram, and the Peace of
Vienna, Holland became a depot for the English merchandise, on
account of its commercial wants, and the emperor dispossessed his
brother Louis of that kingdom, which on July i, 1810, became in-
JOSKrinXK. F.MTRF.SS OF THE FKF.XCII
I I'.orn 176J. Died 1S14)
Pain'iir-; in tl:e [Possession of Count Carx'allndo
PdintcJ by Fi\iiii;ois Pasco! G.->\irl
T H E E M P I R E 4.81
1810-1811
corporated with the empire. He shrank from no invasion, because
he would not endure opposition or hesitation from any quarter.
All were compelled to submit, allies as well as enemies, the chief
of the church as well as kings, brothers as well as strangers; but,
though conquered this time, all who had joined this new league
only waited an opportunity to rise again.
Meantime, after the Peace of Vienna, Napoleon still added to
the extent and power of the empire. Sweden having undergone
an internal revolution, and the king, Gustavus Adolphus IV., hav-
ing been forced to abdicate, admitted the continental system.
Bernadotte, Prince of Ponte-Corvo, was elected by the states gen-
eral hereditary Prince of Sweden, and King Charles XIII. adopted
him for his son. The blockade was obseiwed throughout Europe;
and the empire, augmented by the Roman ctates, the Illyrian
provinces, Valais, Holland, and the Hansa towns, had a hundred
and thirty departments, and extended from Hamburg and Dantzig
to Trieste and Corfu. Napoleon, who seemed to follow a rash but
inflexible policy, deviated from his course about this time by a
second marriage. He divorced Josephine that he might give an
heir to the empire, and married, on April i, 1810, Marie Louise,
Archduchess of iVustria. This was a decided error. He quitted
his position and his post as a parvenu and revolutionary monarch,
opposing in Europe the ancient courts as the republic had opposed
the ancient governments. He placed himself in a false situation
with respect to Austria, which he ought either to have crushed
after the victory of Wagram, or to have reinstated in its posses-
sions after his marriage with the archduchess. Solid alliances
only repose on real interests, and Napoleon could not remove from
the cabinet of Vienna the desire or power of renewing hostilities.
This marriage also changed the character of his empire, and sep-
arated it still further from popular interests; he souglit out old
families to give luster to his court, and did all he could to amalga-
mate together the old and the new nobility as he mingled old and
new dynasties. Austerlitz had established tlie plebeian empire;
after Wagram was established the noble empire. The birth, on
March 20, 181 1. of a son, who received the title f)f King of Rome,
seemed to consolidate the power of Napoleon by securing to him
a successor.
The war in Spain was prosecuted with vigor during the years
1810 and 181 1. The territory of the peninsula was defended inch
482 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1810-1811
by inch, and it was necessary to take several towns by storm.
Siichet, Sotilt, Mortier, Ney, and Sebastiani made themselves mas-
ters of several provinces; and the Spanish junta, unable to keep
their post at Seville, retired to Cadiz, which the French army began
to blockade. The new expedition into Portugal w^as less fortunate.
Massena, who directed it, at first obliged Wellington to retreat,
and took Oporto and Olivenza ; but the English general having
entrenched himself in the strong position of Torres- Vedras,
Massena, unable to force it, was compelled to evacuate the
country.
While the war was proceeding in the peninsula with ad-
vantage, but without any decided success, a new campaign was
preparing in the north. Russia perceived the empire of Napoleon
approaching its territories. Shut up in its own limits, it remained
without influence or acquisitions, suffering from the blockade,
without gaining any advantage by the war. This cabinet, more-
over, endured with impatience a supremacy to which itself aspired,
and which it had pursued slowly but without interruption since
the reign of Peter the Great. Recent researches have shown that
the ultimate dream of Napoleon probably was the French occupa-
tion of Constantinople and the overthrow of the Turkish empire;
and this single fact is sufficient to explain the new hostility of
Russia. This supreme purpose is the key to Napoleon's long and
complicated negotiations with the czar, for his purposes here ran
counter to the cherished tradition of the Russian state. After
Tilsit all arrangements W'Cre completed between Alexander and
Napoleon for a joint enterprise against Egy^pt (March i8, 1808),
and the partition of Turkey was sketched out. But Caulaincourt
and Roumantsov, the representatives of the two rulers, were un-
able to arrange a satisfactory compromise with reference to Con-
stantinople and the Dardanelles. Napoleon proposed a personal
interview with the Czar, but Alexander refused if he was not
promised Constantinople. In spite of the alliance at Tilsit
Napoleon and Alexander remained divided with reference to the
partition of Turkey. Talleyrand and Fouche did not sympathize
with this policy of Napoleon, and from 1808 secretly worked to
defeat his purposes. There is no doubt to-day of Talleyrand's
absolute treason to his sovereign and of his treacherous relations
with Metternich. Austria's determination to resort to war again
in 1809 was partially influenced by the hope of preventing
T H E E M P I R E 483
1810-1811
Napoleon from becoming dominant in the Balkan peninsula.*^
About the close of 1810, Russia increased its armies, renewed its
commercial relations with Great Britain, and did not seem indis-
posed to a rupture. The year 181 1 was spent in negotiations
which led to nothing, and preparations for war were made on both
sides. The emperor, whose armies were before Cadiz, and who
relied on the cooperation of the west and north against Russia,
^ The following is tlie celebrated letter which Napoleon wrote to the Czar of
Russia on February 2, 1808:
" Paris, 2nd February, 1808.
" SIR, jMY brother, General Savary has just arrived, I have spent
hours speaking with him about your majesty. . . . You have seen the debates
in the English parliament, and the decision to carry on the war. I have written
to Caulaincourt on this subject, and if your majesty will condescend to speak
with him he will acquaint you with my opinion. It is only by large and vast
measures that we shall be able to arrive at peace and consolidate our system.
Let your majesty augment and fortify your army. I will give you all the help
I can: no feeling of jealousy animates me against Russia: I desire her glory,
prosperity, and extension. Will your majesty allow a person tenderly and truly
devoted to you to give you a bit of advice? Your majesty should drive the
Swedes to a greater distance from his capital. Extend your frontiers on this
side as much as you like (id est, give up all idea of Constantinople).
" An army of 50,000 men Russians, French, and perhaps Austrians march-
ing upon Asia by way of Constantinople would no sooner have reached the
Euphrates than England would tremble and go down upon her knees. I am
ready in Dalmatia : your majesty is ready on the Danube. A month after coming
to terms an army could be on the Bosporus. The blow would reecho through
India and England would be subdued. I shall refuse none of the preliminary
stipulations necessary to attain so great an end. But the reciprocal interest of
our two countries should be combined and balanced. This can only be settled
in an interview with your majesty, or after sincere conferences between Roman-
zov and Caulaincourt, and a dispatch here of a man favorable to the system.
Count Tolstoy is an excellent man, but he is prejudiced against and distrusts
France, and is far from being on a par with the events of Tilsit and the new
position in which the close friendship between your majesty and myself have
placed the iniiverse. Everything can be signed and decided before March 15.
On May I our troops can be in Asia, and at the same epoch the troops of your
majesty at Stockliolm. Then the English, threatened in India, driven from the
Levant, will be crushed under the weight of events with which the atmosphere
is laden. Your majesty and myself would have preferred the pleasures of
peace, ar.d to pri'^s our lives in the midst of our vast empires, engaged in
vivifyintr them and rendering them happy by means of arts and a beneficent
administration. The enemies of the world object to this. We must become
greater in spite of ourselves. It is both wise and politic to do what destiny
orders, and to i^o wliere the irresistible march of events leads us. Then this
cloud (jf i)igmics will }ield and will follow the movement which your majesty
and I shall order, and the Russian people will be content with the glory, the
wealth, and the fortune which will be the result of these great events.
" Napoleon."
I'Voin Piinyham's "Letters and Dispatches of Xapolcfju," vol. II. pp. 36-I-365.
484 TPIE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1812
made with ardor preparations for an enterprise which was intended
to reduce the only power as yet untouched, and to carry his victori-
ous eagles even to Moscow. He obtained the assistance of Prussia
and Austria, which engaged by the treaties of February 24 and
March 14, 1812, to furnish auxiliary bodies, one of 20,000 and
the other of 30,000 men. All the unemployed forces of France
were immediately on foot. A scnaUis considtum divided the
national guard into three bodies for the home service, and appro-
priated a hundred cohorts of the first ban (nearly 100,000 men) to
active military service. On March 9 Napoleon left Paris on this
vast expedition. During several months he fixed his court at
Dresden, where the Emperor of Austria, the King of Prussia, and
all the sovereigns of Germany came to bow before his high for-
tune. On June 22 war was declared against Russia.
In this campaign Napoleon was guided by the maxims he had
always found successful. He had terminated all the wars he had
undertaken by the rapid defeat of the enemy, the occupation of his
capital, and concluded the peace by parceling out his territory. His
project was to reduce Russia by creating the kingdom of Poland,
as he had reduced Austria by forming the kingdoms of Bavaria
and Wurtemberg, after Austerlitz; and Prussia, by organizing
those of Saxony and Westphalia, after Jena. With this object he
had stipulated with the Austrian cabinet by the treaty of March
14 to exchange Galicia for the Illyrian provinces. The establish-
ment of the kingdom of Poland was proclaimed by the diet of
Warsaw, but in an incomplete manner, and Napoleon, who, accord-
ing to his custom, wished to finish all in one campaign, advanced
at once into the heart of Russia, instead of prudently organizing
the Polish barrier against it. His army amounted to about 500,000
men. The causes of the war with Russia may be said to be
Russia's refusal to sustain the continental system ; her fear lest
Napoleon would destroy Poland ; the deposition of the Duke of
Oldenburg, a relative of the czar, which Alexander regarded as a
personal affront; and finally, Russia's opposition to Napoleon's
projects in Turkey. He passed the Niemen on June 24. A halt
was made at Wilna from June 28 to July 16. It was here that
Napoleon made his first great blunder. Until this time the Poles
had constantly looked forward to the restoration of the kingdom
of Poland. Napolcf.n's failure to do this roused them to hostility
and created an enemy in his rear. He defeated the Russians at
T H E E M P I R E 485
1812
Witepsk, Astrowno, Polotsk, Mohilev, Smolensk (August i8), at
the Moskova, known as the battle of Borodino, and on September
14 made his entry into ^Moscow.
The Russian cabinet did not only rely for its defense upon
its troops, but on its vast territory, and on its climate. As the con-
quered armies retreated before the French, they burned all the towns,
devastated the provinces, and thus prepared great difficulties for
the foe in the event of reverses or retreat. According to this plan
of defense, Moscow was burned by its governor, Rostopchin, as
Smolensk, Dorigoboui, Viama, Gjhat, IMojaisko, and a great num-
ber of other towns and villages had already been. The em-
peror ought to have seen that this war would not terminate as the
others had done ; yet conciueror of the foe, and master of his capital,
he conceived hopes of peace which the Russians skillfully encour-
aged. Winter was approaching, and Napoleon prolonged his stay
at ]\Ioscow for six w'eeks. He delayed his movements on account
of the deceptive negotiations of the Russians, and did not decide
on a retreat till October 20. This retreat was disastrous, and began
the downfall of the empire. Napoleon could not have been de-
feated by the hand of man, for what general could have triumphed
over this incomparable chief? what army could have conquered
the French army? But his reverses were to take place in the
remote limits of Europe, in the frozen regions which were to end
his conquering domination. He lost, with the close of this cam-
paign, not by a defeat, but by cold and famine, in the midst of
Russian snows and solitude, his old army, and the prestige of his
fortune.'^ .
The retreat was effected with some order as far as the
Beresina, where it became one vast rout, November 26-29. After
the passage of this river Napoleon, who had hitherto accompanied
his army, started in a sledge for Paris, in great haste, a conspiracy
having broken out there during his absence. General IMallet, wit1i
a few others, had conceived the design of overthrowing this colos-
sus of power. His enterprise w-as daring, and as it was grounded
on a false report of Napoleon's death, it was necessary to deceive
too many for success to l)c probable. Besides, the empire was still
firmly established, and it was not a plot, but a slow and general
defecticMi to destroy it. ]\lallet's plot failed and its leaders were
executed. The emperor on his return found the nation astounded
^ Upon the Russian campaign sec the recent \vork of 11. B. George, " The
Russian Campaign of 1812."
486 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1813
at so unusual a disaster. But the different bodies of the state still
manifested implicit obedience. He reached Paris on December i8,
obtained a levy of 300,000 men, inspired a spirit of sacrifice, re-
equipped in a short time, with his wonderful activity, a new army,
and took the field again on April 15, 1813.
But since the retreat of Moscow, Napoleon had entered on a
new series of events. It was in 181 2 that the decline of his empire
manifested itself. The weariness of his domination became gen-
eral. All those by whose consent he had risen took part against
him. The priests had conspired in secret since his rupture with the
Pope. Eight state prisons had been created in an official manner
against the dissentients of his party. The national masses were as
tired of conquest as they had formerly been of factions. They had
expected from him consideration for private interests, the promo-
tion of commerce, respect for men; and they were oppressed by
conscriptions, taxes, the blockade, provost courts, and duties which
were the inevitable consequences of this conquering system. He
had no longer for adversaries the few who remained faithful to
the political object of the revolution, and whom he styled idealo-
gists, but all who, without definite ideas, wished for the material
advantages of better civilization. Without, w^hole nations groaned
beneath the military yoke, and the fallen dynasties aspired to rise
again. The whole world was ill at ease; and one check served to
bring about a general rising. " I triumphed," says Napoleon him-
self, speaking of the preceding campaigns, " in the midst of con-
stantly reviving perils. I constantly required as much address as
voice. Had I not conquered at Austerlitz, all Prussia would have
been upon me; had I not triumphed at Jena, Austria and Spain
would have attacked my rear; had I not fought at Wagram, which
action was not a decided victory, I had reason to fear that Russia
would forsake, Prussia rise against me, and the English were
before Antwerp." Such w'as his condition ; the further he ad-
vanced in his career, the greater need he had to conquer more and
more decisively. Accordingly, as soon as he was defeated, the
kings he had subdued, the kings he had made, the allies he had
aggrandized, the states he had incorporated with the empire, the
senators who had so flattered him, and even his comrades in arms
successively forsook him. The field of battle extended to ]\Tosco\v
in 181 2. drew back to Dresden in 1813, and to Paris in 1814; so
rapid was the reverse of fortune.
T H E E :M P I II E 487
1812
There is an ominous change in the spirit of France in 1812
a loss of conviction on the part of the people and a diminishing of
spirit in the army. There was also an alteration in the spirit of
the great military leaders, resulting in a coldness and even estrange-
ment between Napoleon and his older officers. But, as Seeley
points out : " To desert Napoleon at that moment was indeed im-
possible to France, for no other government could be thought of
and he alone could be expected to save the nation in a danger he
himself had brought on it." Seeley goes on to say that Napoleon's
resources were still great, the Confederation of the Rhine did not
dissolve, nor for some time was there even a defection from it, and
that " the defection of Austria from his cause did not take place
until a later time when all the circumstances were altered."
The unique position of Prussia at this moment is to be noticed,
for owing to the exhaustion of Russia and the silence of Austria,
Prussia was in a position to dictate. "Commanding some 18,000
Prussian troops in excellent condition, he [Yorck] w^as really in a
manner the arbiter of the situation." ^ The great fact in favor of
Prussia, however, was that her government had been completely
reorganized since Tilsit, chiefly through the efforts of two men :
Stein, who was born in Nassau, but had been in the Prussian civil
service since 1780, and in 1804 became minister of finance; Scharn-
horst, who had formerly been an officer in the Hanoverian army, but
in 1 80 1 became a lieutenant colonel in Prussia and through whose
agency the army was thoroughly reorganized. The work done by
these two great men in Prussia was precisely that which the revo-
lution had accomplished in France and in the states of southern
Germany. The judicial and financial administrations were reor-
ganized and brought up to date. Serfdom was abolished, industry
and commerce liberated, and the army put upon a tlioroughly
modern basis. Universal military service was adopted and promo-
tion was made according to merit. But the regeneration of Prussia
was more than a material improvement. The deep moral nature
of the people of nortli Germany was wakened to a patriotic fervor
by the utterances of Fichte and Schleiermacher, the poetry of
Arndt and K()rner, while even the scientific labors of the great
scholars, Humboldt and Niebuhr, wakened enthusiasm. It is not
a mere accident that the founding of the University of Berlin
(1810) coincides with the birth of the German spirit of liberation.
The cabinet of Berlin began the defections. On March i,
^ Seolc}-, " Life of Stein," vol. TIT. p. 26.
488 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1813
1813, it joined Russia and England, which were forming the sixth
coaHtion. Sweden acceded to it soon after; yet the emperor,
whom the confederate powers thought prostrated by the last dis-
aster, opened the campaign with new victories. The battle of
Lutzen, won by conscripts on May 2, the occupation of Dresden,
the victory of Bautzen, May 20-21, and the war carried to the
Elbe, astonished the coalition. Austria, which since 1810 had been
on a footing of peace, was resuming arms and already meditating
a change of alliance. She now proposed herself as mediatrix be-
tween the emperor and the confederates. Her mediation was
accepted ; an armistice was concluded at Plesswitz on June 4, and a
congress assembled at Prague July 21 to negotiate peace. It was
impossible to come to terms. Napoleon would not consent to di-
minished grandeur; Europe would not consent to remain subject
to him. The confederate pov\^ers, joined by Austria, required that
the limits of the empire should be to the Rhine, the Alps, and the
Meuse. The negotiators separated without coming to an agree-
ment. Austria joined the coalition June ^y, and war, the only
means of settling this great contest, was resumed.
The emperor had only 280,000 men against 520,000; he
wished to force the enemy to retire behind the Elbe, and to break
up, as usual, this new coalition by the promptitude and vigor of his
blows. Victory seemed, at first, to second him. At Dresden,
August 26-27, he defeated the combined forces ; but the defeats of
his lieutenants deranged his plans. Macdonald w^as conquered in
Silesia ; Ney near Berlin ; Vandamme at Kulm. Unable to obstruct
the enemy, pouring on him from all parts. Napoleon thought of
retreating. The princes of the Confederation of the Rhine chose
this moment to desert the cause of the empire. A vast engagement
took place around Leipsic between the two armies. Leipsic was
the center of the struggle, but the battlefield included the whole
surrounding country. It was fought during five days (October
14-19, 1813). The retreat of the French was made more dis-
astrous because of the error of a French subaltern who blew up
the wrong bridge over the river. The carnage of these days was
terrible. The French lost over 50,000 killed, wounded, and pris-
oners ; the allies lost even more. The Saxons and Wurtembergers
passed over to the enemy on the field of battle. This defection to
the strength of the coalesced powers, who had learned a more com-
pact and skillful mode of warfare, obliged Napoleon to retreat
THE EiNIPIRE
489
1813
after a struggle of three days. The army advanced with much
confusion toward the Rhine, where the Bavarians, who had also
deserted, attempted to prevent its passage. But it overwhelmed
them at Hanau, and reentered the territory of the empire on Oc-
tober 30, 1813. The close of this campaign was as disastrous as
that of the preceding one. France was threatened in its own limits,
as it had been in 1799; but tlie enthusiasm of independence no
I(jn<4er existed, and tlie man who depi'ived it of its rights found it,
at this great crisis, incap;ible of sustaining Iiim or defending itself.
The servitude of nations is, sooner or later, ever avenged.
Xapoleon returned to Paris on Xoveml>er 9, 181 3. He ob-
tained fruni the senate a lc\y of 300,000 men, and made with great
ardor preparations for a new campaign. He convtjked the legis-
Iati\-e bodv to associate it in the common defense; he communi-
cated t(j it the documents relative to the negotiations of Prague,
490 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1814
and asked for another and last effort in order to secure a glorious
peace, the general wish of France. But the legislative body,
hitherto silently obedient, chose this period to resist Napoleon.
He shared the common exhaustion, and without desiring it,
was under the influence of the royalist party, which had been
secretly agitating ever since the decline of the empire had revived
its hopes. A commission, composed of Laine, Raynouard, Gallois,
Flaugergues, Maine de Biran, drew up a very hostile report
censuring the course adopted by the government, and demand-
ing that all conquests should be given up, and liberty restored.
This wish, so just at any other time, could then only favor the
invasion of the foe. Though the confederate powers seemed to
make the evacuation of Europe the condition of peace, they were
disposed to push victory to extremity. Napoleon, irritated by this
unexpiected and harassing opposition, suddenly dismissed the legis-
lative body. This commencement of resistance announced internal
defections. After passing from Russia to Germany, they were
about to extend from Germany and Italy to France. But now, as
before, all depended on the issue of the war, which the winter had
not interrupted. Napoleon placed all his hopes on it, and started
from Paris on January 25 for this immortal campaign.
The empire was invaded in all directions. The Austrians
entered Italy; the English, having made themselves masters of the
peninsula during the last two years, had passed the Bidassoa, under
General Wellington, and appeared on the Pyrenees. Three armies
pressed on France to the east and north. The great allied army,
amounting to 150,000 men, under Schwartzenberg, advanced by
Switzerland ; the army of Silesia of 130,000, under Bliicher, by
Frankfort; and that of the north, of 100,000, under Bernadotte,
had seized on Holland and entered Belgium. The enemies, in their
turn, neglected the fortified places, and taking a lesson from the
conqueror, advanced on the capital. When Napoleon left Paris
the two armies of Schwartzenberg and Bliicher were on the point
of effecting a junction in Champagne. Deprived of the support
of the people, who were only lookers on. Napoleon was left alone
against the whole world with a handful of veterans and his genius,
which had lost nothing of its daring and vigor. At this moment
he stands out nobly, no longer an oppressor, no longer a conqueror,
but defending, inch by inch, with new victories, the soil of his
country, and at the same time, his empire and renown.
T H E E M P I R E 491
1814
He marched into Champagne against the two great hostile
armies. General Maison was charged to intercept Bernadotte in
Belgium ; Augereau, the Aiistrians, at Lyons ; Soult, the English,
on the Spanish frontier. Prince Eugene was to defend Italy; and
the empire, though penetrated to the very center, still stretched its
vast arms into the depths of Germany by its garrisons beyond the
Rhine. Napoleon did not despair of driving these swarms of foes
from the territory of France by means of a powerful military reac-
tion, and again planting his standards in the countries of the
enemy. He placed himself skillfully between P^liicher, who was
descending the Marne, and Schwartzenberg, who descended the
Seine; he hastened from one of these armies to the other, and de-
feated them alternately (February lo, 1814). The Russian divi-
sion under Olssouviev was beaten at Champ-Aubert, February 10,
1814; the Prussian Field Marshal Yorck was repulsed at Chateau
Thierry, February 12; and Bliicher at Vauchamps, February 13.
In six days tlie army of Silesia lost 40,000 men and 100 cannon.
When his army was destroyed Napoleon returned to the Seine, de-
feated the Austrians at Alontereau, February 18, and drove them
before him. His combinations were so strong, his activity so
great, his measures so sure, that he seemed on the point of entirely
disorganizing these two formidable armies, and with them anni-
hilating the coalition.
Napoleon's military genius probably never was more conspic-
uous than just at this time. Three great armies were advancing
upon Paris, and Napoleon had only the remnants of the army of
Germany to oppose them, hardly 70,000 men. His best troops
were far from the scene, or outside of France entirely. More than
100,000 were in Spain under Soult and Suchet: 40,000 were in
Italy under Eugene, and 120,000 were scattered in various cities
throughout Germany, notably at Hamburg, Dresden, Stettin, and
Dantzig. It is notliing short of marvelous that the emperor was
able not merely to prevent his enemies from uniting their forces,
but actually to defeat them. Under these blows the allies wavered
at Chatillon and offered Napoleon the possession of France with
the boundaries of 1792, but the emperor refused the terms.
But if he conquered wherever he came, the foe triumphed
wherever he was not. The English had entered Bordeaux, where
a party had declared f(^r the Bourbon family; the Austrians occu-
pied Lyons; the Belgian army had joined the remnant of that of
492 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1814
Bliichcr, which reappeared on Napoleon's rear. Defection now
entered his own family, and Murat had just followed, in Italy, the
example of Bernadotte, by joining the coalition. The grand offi-
cers of the empire still served him, but languidly, and he only found
ardor and fidelity in his subaltern generals and indefatigable sol-
diers. Napoleon had again marched on Bliicher, who had escaped
from him thrice : on the left of the Marne, by a sudden frost, which
hardened the muddy ways among which the Prussians had involved
themselves, and were in danger of perishing; on the Aisne, through
the defection of Soissons, which opened a passage to them, at a
moment when they had no other way of escape; at Craonne
(March 7), by the fault of the Duke of Ragusa, who prevented a
decisive battle by suffering himself to be surprised by night. After
so many fatalities, which frustrated the surest plans, Napoleon, ill
sustained by his generals, surrounded by the coalition, conceived
the bold design of transporting himself to Saint Dizier, on the
Marne River, and then to crush his enemies between his own army
and Paris. But the faint-heartedness of Joseph Bonaparte and Mar-
mont, upon whom the safety of Paris rested, ruined his project. It
is true that the position of Paris was little short of desperate, but
it was a sort of desperation out of which Napoleon might have
snatched victory. This daring march, so full of genius, startled
for a moment the confederate generals, from whom it cut off all
retreat; but, excited by secret encouragements, without being anx-
ious for their rear, they advanced on Paris.
This great city, the only capital of Europe which had not been
the theater of war, suddenly saw all the troops of Europe enter its
plains, and was on the point of undergoing the common humilia-
tion. It was left to itself. The empress, appointed regent a few
months before, had just left it to repair to Blois. Napoleon was at
a distance. There was not that despair and that movement of
liberty which drive a people to resistance ; w^ar was no longer made
on nations, but on governments, and the emperor had centered all
the public interest in himself, and placed all his means of defense in
mechanical troops. The exhaustion was great ; a feeling of pride,
of very just pride, alone made the approach of the stranger painful,
and oppressed every Frenchman's heart at seeing his native land
trodden by armies so long vanquished. But this sentiment was not
sufficient!}^ strong to raise the masses of the population against the
enemy; and the measures of the royalist party, at the head of which
T H E E M P I R E 493
1814
the Prince of Benevento placed himself, called the allied troops
to the capital. An action took place, however, on March 30, under
the walls of Paris; but on the 31st the gates were opened to the
confederate forces, who entered in pursuance of a capitulation.
The senate consummated the great imperial defection by forsaking
its old master; it was influenced by Talleyrand, who for some
time had been out of favor with Napoleon. This voluntary actor
in every crisis of power had just declared against him. With no
attachment to party, of a profound political indifference, he foresaw
from a distance with wonderful sagacity the fall of a government;
withdrew from it opportunely; and when the precise moment for
assailing it had arrived, joined in the attack with all his talents, his
influence, his name, and his authority, which he had taken care to
preserve. In favor of the revolution, under the constituent assem-
bly; of the directory, on the i8th Fructidor; for the consulate, on
the i8th Brumaire; for the empire, in 1804, he was for the restora-
tion of the royal family in 1814; he seemed grand master of the
ceremonies for the party in power, and for the last thirty years it
was he who had dismissed and installed the successive govern-
ments. The senate, influenced by him, appointed a provisional
government, and declared Xapoleon deposed from his throne, the
hereditary rights of his family abolished, the people and army freed
from their oath of fidelity. It proclaimed him tyrant whose des-
potism it had facilitated by its adulation. Meantime, Napoleon,
urged by those about him to succor the capital, had abandoned his
march on Saint Dizier, and hastened to Paris at the head of 50,000
men, in tlie hope of preventing the entry of the enemy. On his
arrival ( A])ril i ) he heard of the capitulation of the preceding day,
and fell back on I'ontainebleau, where he learned the defection of the
senate and his de])ositi(jn. Then finding that all gave way around
him in his ill f()rtune, the people, the senate, generals and courtiers,
he decided on abdicating in favor of his son. He sent Caulain-
court, Marslial Xey, and ^Marshal Macdonald as plenipotentiaries
to the confederates ; on their way they were to take with them
Marmont, who covered Fontainebleau with a corps.
Xapoleon, with his fifty thousand men and strong military
position, could yet oblige the coalition to admit the claim of his
son. But the Duke of Ragusa forsook his post, treated with the
enemy, and left b^jntaineblcau exposed. X'apoleon was then obliged
to submit to the conditions of the allied powers; their pretensions
494 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1814
increased with their power. At Prague they ceded to him the em-
pire, with the Alps and the Rhine for Hmits ; after the invasion of
France, they offered him at Chatillon the possessions of the old
monarchy only; later they refused to treat with him except in
favor of his son; but now, determined on destroying all that re-
mained of the revolution with respect to Europe, its conquest and
dynasty, they compelled Napoleon to abdicate absolutely. On
April I, 1814, he renounced for himself and children the thrones
of France and Italy, and received in exchange for his vast sov-
ereignty, the limits of which had extended from Cadiz to the Baltic
Sea, the little Island of Elba. On the 20th, after an affecting fare-
well to his old soldiers, he departed for his new principality.
Thus fell this man, who alone, for fourteen years, had filled
the world. His enterprising and organizing genius, his power of
life and will, his love of glory, and the immense disposable force
which the revolution placed in his hands, have made him the most
gigantic being of modern times. That which would have rendered
the destiny of another extraordinary, scarcely counts in his. Rising
from an obscure to the highest rank ; from a simple artillery officer
becoming the chief of the greatest of nations, he dared to conceive
the idea of universal monarchy, and for a moment realized it.
After having obtained the empire by his victories, he wished to
subdue Europe by means of France, and reduce England by means
of Europe, and he established the military system against the Con-
tinent, the blockade against Great Britain. This design succeeded
for some years ; from Lisbon to Moscow he subjected people and
potentates to his word of command as general, and to the vast
sequestration which he prescribed. But in this way he failed in
discharging his restorative mission of the i8th Brumaire. By
exercising on his own account the power he had received, by attack-
ing the liberty of the people by despotic institutions, the independ-
ence of states by war, he excited against himself the opinions and
interests of the human race ; he provoked universal hostility. The
nation forsook him, and after having been long victorious, after
having planted his standard on every capital, after having during
ten years augmented his power, and gained a kingdom with every
battle, a single reverse combined the world against him, proving by
his fall how impossible in our days is despotism.
Yet Napoleon, amid all the disastrous results of his system,
gave a prodigious impulse to the Continent; his armies carried witfc
T H E E M P I R E 495
1814
them the ideas and customs of the more advanced civilization of
France. European societies were shaken on their old foundations ;
nations were mingled by frequent intercourse ; bridges thrown
across boundary rivers; high roads made over the Alps, Apennines,
and Pyrenees brought territories nearer to each other; and Napo-
leon effected for the material condition of states what the revolu-
tion had done for the minds of men. The blockade completed the
impulse of conquest; it improved continental industry, enabling it
to take the place of that of England, and replaced colonial com-
merce by the produce of manufactures. Thus Napoleon, by agi-
tating nations, contributed to their civilization. His despotism
rendered him counter-revolutionary with respect to France; but his
spirit of conquest made him a regenerator with respect to Europe,
of which many nations, in torpor till he came, will live henceforth
with the life he gave them. But in this Napoleon obeyed the dic-
tates of his nature. The child of war war was his tendency, his
pleasure; domination his object; he wanted to master the world,
and circumstances placed it in his hand, in order that he might
make use of it.
Napoleon has presented in France what Cromwell presented
for a moment in England ; the government of the army, which
always establishes itself when a revolution is contended against; it
then gradually changes, and from being civil, as it was at first,
becomes military. In Great Britain, internal war not being com-
plicated with foreign war, on account of the geographical situ-
ation of the country, which isolated it from other states, as soon
as the enemies of reform were vanquislied, the army passed from
tlie field of battle to the government. Its intervention being pre-
mature, Cromwell, its general, found parties still in the fury of
their passions, in all the fanaticism of their opinions, and he
directed against them alone his military administration. The
French Revolution taking place on the Continent saw the nations
disposed for liberty, and sovereigns leagued from a fear of the lib-
eration of their people. It had not only internal enemies, but also
foreign enemies to contend with ; and while its armies were repel-
ling Europe, parties were overthrowing each other in the assemblies.
The militaiy intervention came later; Napoleon, finding factions
defeated and opinions almost forsaken, obtained obedience easily
from the nation, and turned the military government against
Europe.
496 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1814
This difference of position materially influenced the conduct
and character of these two extraordinary men. Napoleon, dis-
posing of immense force and of uncontested power, gave himself
up in security to the vast designs and the part of a conqueror.
While Cromwell, deprived of the assent which popular exhaustion
accords, incessantly attacked by factions, was reduced to neutralize
them one by the other, and was to the last the military dictator of
parties. The one employed his genius in undertaking ; the other in
resisting. Accordingly, the former had the frankness and decision
of power; the other, the craft and hypocrisy of opposed ambition.
This situation would destroy their sway. All dictatorships are
transient ; and however strong or great, it is impossible for anyone
long to subject parties or long to retain kingdoms. It is this that,
sooner or later, would have led to the fall of Cromwell (had he lived
longer), by internal conspiracies;^ and that brought on the down-
fall of Napoleon, by the rising of Europe. Such is the fate of all
powers which, arising from liberty, do not continue to abide with
her. In 1814 the empire had just been destroyed; the revolutionary
parties had ceased to exist since the i8th Brumaire. All the gov-
ernments of this political period had been exhausted. The senate
recalled the old royal family. Already unpopular on account of
its past servility, it ruined itself in public opinion by publishing a
constitution, tolerably liberal, but which placed on the same footing
the pensions of senators and the guarantees of the nation. The
Count d'Artois, who had been the first to leave France, was the first
to return, in the character of lieutenant general of the kingdom.
He signed, on April 23, the convention of Paris, which reduced the
French territory to its limits of January i, 1792, and by which
Belgium, Savoy, Nice, and Geneva, and immense military stores
ceased to belong to France. Louis XVIII. landed at Calais on April
24, and entered Paris with solemnity on May 3, 1814, after having
on the 2d made the declaration of Saint Omar, which fixed the prin-
ciples of the representative government, and which was followed on
June 2 by the promulgation of the charter.
At this epoch a new series of events begins. The year 18 14
was the term of the great movement of the preceding twenty-five
'* This estimate of Cromwell preserves the eighteenth century tradition of
him. Carlyle's " Cromwell's Letters," Gardiner's " England under the Common-
wealth and Protectorate," and Firth's " Oliver Cromwell," have proved the
true moral as well as political and military greatness of the Protector.
T H E E M P I R E 497
1814
years. The revolution had been political, as directed against the
absolute power of the court and the privileged classes, and military,
because Europe had attacked it. The reaction which arose at that
time only destroyed the empire, and brought about the coalition in
Europe, and the representative system in France; such was to be
its first period. Later, it opposed the revolution, and produced the
Holy Alliance against the people, and the government of a party
against the charter. This retrograde movement necessarily had its
course and limits. France can only be ruled in a durable manner
by satisfying the twofold need which made it undertake the revo-
lution. It requires real political liberty in the government; and
in society, the material prosperity produced by the continually
progressing development of civilization.
Chapter XIX
THE HUNDRED DAYS. MARCH-JUNE. 1815
THE measures which resuhed in the elevation of Louis
XVni. to the throne of France were taken by the alhed
governments during the months of April and May, 18 14.
They were all agreed as to the deposition of Napoleon, but divided
as to the policy to be pursued. To give the crown to the King of
Rome under the regency of his mother, Marie Louise, would have
given Austria too great an ascendency ; Alexander wanted Berna-
dotte, formerly one of Napoleon's marshals, and now King of Swe-
den, to be made king, and had proposed such a plan even before Na-
poleon's fall, in January. But no one else took kindly to the sug-
gestion, and the Bourbons alone remained to be considered. But
the voice of the French nation was silent, and the powers had re-
solved not to impose a government upon France at least not in
appearance. It was therefore necessary to organize a movement
that would have, at any rate, the semblance of natural feeling in
favor of the Bourbons. Talleyrand and Metternich undertook the
delicate task. On March 31, when the allies made their entrance into
Paris, shouts of " vive le roi! " the voices of some carefully se-
lected agents of Talleyrand began the " demonstration " in favor
of the exiled dynasty. Already the senators had been provided for,
through the foresight of Talleyrand, after the fall of Napoleon. The
senate had hastily compiled a constitution, the purpose of which was
to save the senators, deputies, and other governmental officials from
the anger of the powers, assure peaceable enjoyment of their prop-
erty to purchasers of the national domain, and pacify the fears of
the government's creditors. Talleyrand quieted the anxiety and
at the same time purchased the support of the senate by protecting
it. The senators became peers under the restoration, and all
officials of the imperial regime held over. Li return the senate,
on April 6, by a vote of 142 to 62,, and the chamber by one of 143
to yy, declared that " the French people freely calls Louis of France,
brother of the late king, to the throne." But Louis XVHI., in
498
THE HUNDRED DAYS 499
1814
order to save his sovereignty, rejected the proposed constitution, so
far as recognizing the right of the senate in the matter was con-
cerned, although he accepted it in form and ordained it as a
measure emanating from his own authority. Thus was the charter
put into operation. On April 23 the allies signed an armistice with
the Count d'Artois, the sole provision of which was that France
renounced every conquest made since 1792.
The definitive treaty of peace remained to be made. The
negotiations were delayed by the v;ish of the Russian emperor to
exile Napoleon to Elba. By the terms agreed upon France re-
turned to the boundaries it had possessed in 1792, with the excep-
tion of Savoy, Sarrelouis, and Landau ; the Isle of France, Tabago,
and Sainte-Lucia were ceded to England; no war indemnity was
demanded by the powers, but Prussia for a time insisted upon com-
pensation for the moneys Napoleon had wrung from them. The
treaty was signed on May 30, 18 14.
The skill of Talleyrand had saved France from being penalized
to a greater degree by victorious Europe. Meanwhile, bitter antag-
onism had developed among the powers. The great difficulty was
with reference to Poland and Saxony. Russia and Prussia wanted
to let Alexander have Poland, and to give Saxony to Prussia, in-
demnifying the Saxon king by a gift of territory upon the Rhine;
but Austria opposed the plan, for fear Prussia would become too
strong in Germany, and England was unwilling to see the czar estab-
lish his power so firmly in central Europe. Accordingly Russia and
Prussia made common cause together, and Austria and England
united policies. Tallevrand profited by the dissension to group the
minor states around him and invoked the principle of " legitimacy "
the policy of restoring things to the status of 1789. While this
policy was hard on the little states, for it united Belgium to Hol-
land, Schleswig-Holstein to Denmark, and reestablished Austrian
Lombardy, it saved France from greater humiliation.
The work of the Congress of Vienna was not completed when
Napoleon returned to France. The new order of things in France
had been far from pleasing to the people. It is true that the
country was tired of war and of Bonaparte's arbitrary government.
But Louis XVIII. had stirred up the resentment of the people :
to pretend that he was king by the grace of God when, as was wit-
tily said, " he had been brought back in the baggage of the allies,"
and to talk about " the twenty-fifth year of our reign " was an
500
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1815
offensive affectation. There were lesser grievances also: the
abolition of tlie tricolor and the return of the white cockade; the
reduction of the officers to half-pay; the octroi.
Napoleon profited by the discontent, and aided by Fouche,
who formed an imperialist party, he returned to France. Avoid-
ing the royalist region of the Rhone valley, he came straight to
Paris. The peasantry, the liberals, the imperials flocked to his
standards. Marshal Ney, whom the government sent to arrest
him, yielded to the influence of his old chief over him. Meanwhile
the Congress of Vienna, having outlawed Napoleon by a joint
declaration on March 13, 1815, hastened to conclude its labors.
The pen of the diplomat was laid aside for the sword of the
soldier.
In Paris Napoleon made herculean preparations for conflict.
Most of the old marshals, Macdonald, for example, had refused to
THE HUNDRED DAYS 501
1815
take up arms again. Only Ney, Soult, Suchet, Brune, and Davout
espoused his cause. Marmont accepted a command against the
emperor. Aiming to prevent England from supporting the other
allies, Napoleon took the offensive and crossed the Sambre at
Charleroi with 128,000 men. The allied army numbered about
200,000, that of Austria operating in Italy against Murat Na-
poleon's plan was to attack his enemies separately, and prevent the
union of the English and the Prussians. The battle of Waterloo
was really several separate engagements. On June i6th the French,
after a furious fight at Ligny, near Fleurus, put the Prussian army
under Bliicher to rout. Then ordering Grouchy to pursue the Prus-
sians in the direction of Namur, the emperor himself turned against
the English coming from Brussels. Ney, with a slight number of
troops at his disposal, on this first day had been unable to stop
the English progress, a misfortune which was aggravated by a
false maneuver, which left a whole army corps, under Drouet
d'Erlon, inactive between the two armies. In consequence the
English penetrated as far as Waterloo, where they entrenched
themselves upon the plateau of Mont St. Jean (June 18). About
70,000 men on each side, of whom 15,000 were cavalry, were
pitted against each other on this famous day. Napoleon planned
to take the English advance position, and then to crush their left
wing, in order to cripple the side of the army nearest to the Prus-
sians. But the rain had fallen in torrents during the night, and
owing to the mud the French could not begin the battle until
nearly noon. The loss of time was of serious consequence. The
English, at first overwhelmed by the heavy artillery fire from the
height of La Belle Alliance, where the emperor had taken up his
position, were driven back upon Ilougoumont by the infantry of
Reille and Drouet d'Erlon. But on the summit of the plateau the
English made a heroic and successful stand against the furious
charges of Xey's cavalry. Twice the English cannon were taken
and their lines broken. It seemed as if the last ounce of effort
had been expended on either side. Napoleon had anxiously sent
courier after courier ordering Grouchy to come; just as anxiously
Wellington watched fur Bliicher. Late in the day a new cannon-
ading was heard far off on the right. Was it Grouchy with re-
inforcements? or was it Bliicher? It was the Prussian generals
Bliicher and BiiUnv. Grouchy had made the fatal blunder of
attacking a Prussian column merely, and let the main body of the
502 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1815
Prussians, more than 60,000 men, effect a junction with the Eng-
Hsh forces. For a while the brave Lobau had delayed Biilow's
advance at Wavre, but when Blucher's column also came the
French could not longer hold their ground. They were ex-
hausted and outnumbered; brain and heart and hand could do no
more. In vain Ney cried out to his men : " Follow me, I will
show you how a marshal of France can die!" The Old Guard
was the only portion of the French army that stood firm in the
universal rout, the only group whom consternation, despair, and
the panic of defeat did not overcome. Even if the famous words
" the Guard dies but never surrenders " were not said until after-
ward, the Guard acted in the spirit of the utterance.
The day of Napoleon's destiny was over; the star of Auster-
litz and Wagram had declined forever. With more moderation
he might have made his conquest permanent; but when the people
of Europe realized that Napoleon's heel was treading down the
free ideals and crushing the institutions by which he himself had
been raised to power, then the France which he had robbed of
liberty and the Europe which he had despoiled rose against him.
Yet the mists of time transfigure. Not all the learning and critical
research of modern scholarship has dispelled the illusion that has
gathered around his name. The words of Chateaubriand are still
true: "The Bonaparte which we see to-day is not the true
Bonaparte : he is a legendary figure formed of the reveries of the
poet, the tales of the soldier, and the songs of the people. He is
the Charlemagne and the Alexander of the medieval epoch. The
hero of the imagination will remain the real personage: the other
portraits will vanish away."
For the second time France was crushed under the tread of
invading armies. The Hundred Days formed but an episode in the
history of Europe ; but it had serious consequences for France. For
after this second victory of the allies it was manifest that the feel-
ing of the powers toward France had hardened. France had taken
the part of the man whom Europe had outlawed and was there-
fore the accomplice of the emperor. The first restoration had
been merciful, the second would be terrible in its righteousness, in
its determination to subdue revolution. An indemnity of seven
hundred millions, payable in five years, with military occupation
^y 150^000 men to be supported by France until it was paid, and a
reduction of territory to the limits of 1790, was the punishment
THE HUNDRED DAYS 608
1815
meted out to the conquered country. Even her " natural fron-
tiers " were denied to France, for Savoy and part of Alsace were
taken away.
France faced the future with an alienated, if not an alien,
king, upon the throne; with a government which in principles and
in policy antagonized the nation. Fortunately, in the bosom of the
nation the truths of the great revolution still lived and were
destined to will and to work in succeeding years. Beneath Bour-,
bon suppression and beyond Bourbon reaction was the force of
things intense, elemental, national, which the spirit of 1789 had
waked imperishably. The history of France in the nineteenth
century is the epilogue of the revolutionary and Napoleonic eras,
and the prologue to the drama of the twentieth century.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
GENERAL HISTORIES
Carlyle, Thomas. " The French Revolution."
Many editions, the best being that edited by Fletcher. New York, 1902.
Fyffe, Charles Alan. " History of Modern Europe." New York.
Vol. I. of this history contains an excellent brief account of the Revolution
in France.
Gardiner, Mrs. B. M. "The French Revolution." London and New York.
An excellent manual, in the " Epochs of Modern History " series.
Mallet, Charles E. " The French Revolution." New York.
This is one of the best of the single volume histories.
Mathews, Shailer. " The French Revolution." New York, 1898.
Morris, W. O'Connor. "The French Revolution and the First Empire." Lon-
don and New York.
Rose, J. H. " The Revolutionary and Napoleonic Era." New York, 1894.
Stephens, H. Morse. " The French Revolution." 2 vols. New York, 1886.
" The Revolution and Europe." New York.
Stephens's works rank as the most scholarly in English.
Sybel, H. K. L. Von. " History of the French Revolution." 4 vols., London,
1868.
Impartial but unfavorable. Excellent in economic matters. This work is
translated from the German, Von Sybel being a pupil of Ranke.
Taine, H. A. " The French Revolution." London, 1885.
Brilliant and depicting vividly the social condition of France.
Thiers, Adolphe. " History of the French Revolution, the Consulate, and the
Empire." 10 vols. New York, 1862.
SPECIAL PERIODS AND TOPICS
Aulard, Prof. " Le Culte de la Raison ct dc I'Elrc snprhnc." 1892.
"La Diplomatie du premier Comitc dc Saint public" (Revue dc la Revolu-
tion franqaisc, 1890, vols. XVIII and XIX).
" L' Eloquence parlementaire pendant la Revolution." Paris, 1885.
Belloc, Hilaire. "Life of Danton." New York, 1902.
Beesley. " Robespierre." London, 1901.
Boiteau. "La France en 1789." Paris, 1883.
Ranks among the authorities on France just prior to the Revolution.
Bire, Edmond. "La Lcgendc des Girondins" Paris, i88r.
Buckle, Henry Thomas. " History of Civilization." New York.
Chapters VTTI to XIV in volume I bear directly on the Revolution. This
is the best authority to consult on the intellectual state of France.
50T
608 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Chuquet, A."Les guerres de la Revolution." Vol. I, "Premiere invasion
prussieune," Paris, 1886; vol. II., " Valniy," Paris, 1887; vol. III., "La
rctraite de Brunswick," Paris, 1887 ; vol. IV, " Jemmapcs ct la conquete de
la Bclgique," Paris, 1890 ; vol. V.," L' Expedition de Custine," Paris, 1890.
Doniol, 11. " La Revolution et la Feodalite." Paris, 1874.
Droz, Th. " Histoire du regne de Louis XV IL" 3 vols., 1839.
Dubost, Antonin. " Danton et les massacres de Septembre." Paris, 1885.
Duruy, George. "Histoire de France." Paris, 1858.
Hall, H. F. " Napoleon's Letters to Josephine." London, 1901.
This is the first time these letters have been collected and translated.
Hamel, Ernest. "Histoire de Robespierre." 1865.
Lewes, G. H. " Life of Maximilian Robespierre." London, 1849.
Lowell, E. J. " The Eve of the French Revolution." Boston, 1893.
An excellent work.
Lebon, Andre. " L'Angleterre et V Emigration." Paris, 1882.
Morley, John. " Rousseau." London, 1873.
"Voltaire." London, 1871.
Morris, Gouverneur. " Diary and Letters." New York.
Robinet, J. E. " Memoires stir la vie privee de Danton." Paris, 1865.
" Proces des Dantonistes." Paris, 1879.
"Danton emigre." Paris, 1887.
Sciout, L. " Le Directoire." 3 vols., 1897.
Sorel, A. " U Europe et la Revolution frangaisc." Paris.
Beyond question one of the ablest histories ever written. Extremely valu-
able for its discussion of the influence of the Revolution on Europe. Sin-
gularly strong and exact.
"La Paix de Bale." (Revue historique, vols. V to VII, 1877-1878).
" L'Autriche et le Comiie de Saliit public." (Ibid., vols. XVII and XVIII).
" L' Europe et le Directoire." {Revue des Deux Mondcs, 15 juillet-15
aout, 1897.)
Taine, H. A. " The Ancient Regime." New York.
It is said that Taine read 300,000 documents in the preparation of this work.
Tocqueville, Ale.xis de. " France before the Revolution." New York.
Terneaux, Mortimer. " Histoire de la Terreur, d'apres Documents authen-
tiques et inedits." Paris, 1862-1869.
Highly praised by Von Sybel.
Wallon, A. H. "Les Rcprcsentants en Mission." 5 vols., 1889-1890.
Young, Arthur. " Travels in France during the Years 1787, 1788, 1789." Lon-
don and New York.
This book gives much information respecting the agricultural condition of
the country. It is a valuable work, and is quoted by practically all historians
of the French Revolution.
NAPOLEON AND THE NAPOLEONIC ERA
Adams, Henry. " Historical Essays." New York.
Containing " Napoleon at St. Domingo."
Ashton, John. " English Caricature and Satire on Napoleon I." London, 1885.
Barras, Paul Francis John N., Comte de. " Memoirs." New York, 1895.
Bowman, H. M. " The Preliminary Stages of the Peace of Amiens." Toronto,
1900.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 509
Bingham, D. A. "Letters and Dispatches of the First Napoleon." 3 vols.
London, 1884.
Edited in a spirit hostile to Napoleon.
Bonaparte, Joseph de. "Memoirs." (An English translation of the letters in
these memoirs was published as " Confidential Correspondence of Na-
poleon Bonaparte and his Brother Joseph," New York, 1856.)
Browning, Oscar. " England and Napoleon in 1803." London, 1887.
With Lord Whitworth's dispatches.
Castlereagh, Lord. " Correspondence."
Relating to the first negotiations for peace, 1814.
Chesney, General C. " Waterloo Lectures." 3d edition. 1875.
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view, July and October, 1898.)
Ford, G. S. " Hanover and Prussia, 1795-1803." New York, 1903.
A study of the Prussian neutrality system.
Fisher, H. A. L. " Studies in Napoleonic Statesmanship." Oxford, 1903.
Fournier, Auguste. " Napoleon the First." Tr. by E. G. Bourne. New York,
1903.
Probably the best single volume life yet written. The appendix contains an
excellent bibliography.
George, H. B. " Napoleon's Invasion of Russia." London, 1899.
Lanfrey, P. " Histoire de Napoleon Icr." 4 vols.
Hostile to Napoleon.
Laughton, J. K. " Life of Nelson." 2d edition. London, 1900.
Mahan, A. T. " Life of Nelson, the Embodiment of the Sea Power of Great
Britain." Boston, 1897.
" Influence of Sea Power on the French Revolution and the Empire, 1793-
1812." Boston, 1892.
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Paget, Sir Arthur. " Diplomatic and Other Correspondence, 1794-1807." Lon-
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510 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sargent, H. H. " Napoleon Bonaparte's First Campaign." London, 1897.
" The Campaign of Marengo." London, 1897.
Seeley, Sir John Robert. " Short History of Napoleon the First." London.
" Life and Times of Stein." Boston.
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Scholarly yet popular. The set is beautifully illustrated.
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vols. New York.
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Paris, 1890.
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conceived but dominated exclusively by a single point of view as regards
Napoleon. But Taine's works are really studies in folk-psychology, it should
be remembered.
Tompkins, W. " Diary of a Cavalry Officer in the Peninsular and Waterloo
Campaigns." London, 1894.
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London, 1895.
INDEX
INDEX
Aboukir: battle of (i799), 409
Absolute Power: progress of, during the
consulate, 459
Admiral, L' : attempts to kill Collot-
d'Herbois, 300
Aix-la-Chapelle : battle of (1793), 246
Alkmaar: battle of (1799), 407
Adige: battles of the (1809), 479
Amiens, Treaty of (1802), 444
Ancicns, Council of the, 352
Andre: leader of the Center, 139
Antoinette : see Marie
Antiboul : death of, 279
Argonne : campaign of the, 209
Aspern-Essling: battle of (1809), 479
Assignats : sale of, 372
Astrowno: battle of (1812), 485
Aubiers: battle of (1793), 249
Augereau, Pierre Frangois Charles, Duke
of Castiglione : enters Paris at the
head of the troops, 391 ; arrests
Pichegru, 391
Angers : taken by Cathelineau, 270
Aumont, Duke d' : offered the command
of the militia, 62
Austerlitz: battle of (1805), 465
Austria : plan of the campaign against,
380
B
Babneuf, Gracchus: proposes terms of
peace to the directory, 2>77 '> trial and
death of, 378
Baboeuf Conspiracy, The, 376; betrayed
by Grisel, 277', trial and death of the
accomplices in, 378
Bailleul: his account of the state of the
T.uxembourg when the directors first
entered, 370
Bailly, Jean Sylvain : elected member of
the states-general, 39; presides over
the assembly, 51; appointed mayor
of Paris, 71 ; presents Louis XVI
with the keys of Paris, 72
Bancal-des-Issarts: appointed deputy to
the Versailles assembly, 69
Banquet of October First, The, 92
Barbaroux, Charles Jean Marie: death
of, 279
Barbe-Marbois, Franqois, Marquis de :
elected president of the elder coun-
cil, 386
Barentin : makes speech at the opening
of the states-general, 43 ; opposes in-
fluence of Necker, 50
Barnave, Antoine Pierre Joseph Marie :
leader of the national party, 81 ;
opposes the granting of the veto
power to the king, 119; directs the
Jacobin Club, 128; escorts Louis
XVI back to Paris, 138; his speech
in the assembly on the question of
the king's trial, 140
Barras, Paul Jean Franijois Nicolas,
Count of: appointed commander of
the armed force under the directory,
357; chosen a member of the direc-
tory, 361 ; harangues Bonaparte on
his return to Paris, 397; his disso-
lute course of life, 401 ; his change
of party, 406 ; treats with the pre-
tender, 406; resigns, 412
Barrcre de Vieuzac, Bertrand: elected
member of the states-general, 39;
proposes liberal measures in the con-
vention, 2y2, ; character and princi-
ples of, 300; arrest and trial of, 333
Barthelemy, Frangois, Marquis de : re-
places Le Tourneur in the directory,
386
Basel (Rale), Peace of (1795). 347
Bastile, The: siege of (1789), 63
Batavian Republic, The : constituted and
allied with PYance, 347
513
514
INDEX
Battalion of Patriots : enrollment of the,
357
Bautzen: battle of (1813), 488
Bavaria : erected into a kingdom, 466
Baylen: battle of (1808), 477
Bcauharnais, Alexandre de : death of,
279
Beauharnais, Eugene de : made viceroy
of Italy, 462
Beaulieu : made minister of finance, 176
BeaLipreau: battle of (i793)> 249
Beauvais : death of, 279
Belgium : ceded to France by Austria,
385
Bergen: battle of (1799), 407
Berlin: taken by the French (1806), 470
Berlin, University of: founded, 487
Berlin Decree (1806), 473
Bernadotte, Jean Baptiste Jules : see
Charles (XIV) John, King of
Sweden
Berthier : death of, TZ
Berthier, Alexandre : invested with the
principality of Neufchatel, 468
Billaud-Varrennes, Jean Nicolas : leader
of the commune, 203; attacks Robe-
spierre, 310; trial of, 2)ZZ
Biron, Armand Louis, Duke of: ordered
to advance upon ]\Ions, 173 ; retreat
of, 173
Blacons, Marquis des : pronounces re-
nunciation of privileges of Dauphine,
75
Bliicher, Gebhard Leberecht von : at the
battle of Waterloo, 501
Boileau : death of, 279
Boissy d'Anglas, Count Francois Antoine
de : his courageous conduct in the
assembly, before the insurgents, 2>2>7
Bolingbroke, Henry St. John, Viscount :
his influence on Voltaire, 13
Bonaparte, Jerome : receives Westphalia,
471 ; driven from his capital, 479
Bonaparte, Joseph : declared king of the
two Sicilies, 467; receives the crown
of Spain, 475 ; leaves Madrid, 479
Bonaparte, Louis; made king of Holland,
467
Bonaparte, Lucien: resigns his insignias
of office, 415
Bonaparte, Napoleon: see Napoleon (I)
Bonaparte
Borodino: battle of (1812), 485
Bouille, Frangois Claude Amour, Mar-
quis de: duplicity of, 124; establishes
a camp at Montmedy for the recep'
tion of the king, 137; death of, 125
note
Bread Riot, The, 93
Breteuil, Baron de: made member of the
ministry, 56
Brezenval, Baron de : imprisonment of,
Brienne, fetienne Charles de Lomenie de :
made minister of finance, 32; takes
oath of loyalty to the nation, 113
Brissot de Warville, Jean Pierre : peti-
tion drawn up by, demanding the
dethronement of the king, 142;
divides the emigrants into three
classes, 157; advocates rigorous
measures against the emigrants,
157; his speech respecting abdica-
tion, 183; attacked by Robespierre
and Marat, 254 ; death of, 279
Broglie, Victor Frangois, Duke de:
made member of the ministry, 56
Brune, Guillaume Marie Anne : victories
of, in Holland, 407; joins Napoleon
after his return, 501
Brunswick, Manifesto of (1792), 186,
Biilowr, Friedrich Wilhelm von : at the
battle of Waterloo, 501
Buzot, Frangois Nicolas Leonard : de-
mands trial of king, 141 ; death of,
280
Cadoudal, Georges : principal leader of
the Chouans, 375; conspiracy of,
455 ; execution of, 455
Caisse Patriotique: established, 107
Calendar, The Republican, 282
Calonne, Charles Alexandre de: made
minister of finance, 31 ; joins royal
exiles, 72
Calvados: insurrection in, 269; sup-
pressed, 274
Campo-Formio, Treaty of (1797), 395
Camus, Armand Gaston : at the meet-
ing of the assembly (1789), Si'i
presents the book of the constitu-
tion to the national assembly, 151
Capet: origin of name, 227 note.
INDEX
515
Carnot, Lazare Nicolas Marguerite : ap-
pointed minister of war, and major-
general of the republican armies,
341 ; replaces Sieyes in the directory,
361 ; tries to prevent the struggle
between the directory and the roy-
alists, 388
Carra, Jean Louis : death of, 279
Carrier, Jean Baptiste: impeachment of,
325 ; trial of, 328
Carteaux, Jean Franqois : pursues the
sectionary army to Marseilles, 274
Cassano: battle of (1799), 403
Castricum: battle of (1799), 407
Catherine II, Empress of Russia : growth
of Russia under, 133
Cazales, Jacques Antoine Marie dc :
sketch of, 79
Center, The : origin and use of the term,
82; makes overtures to the court,
139
Chambonnas, Scipio : made minister of
finance, 176
Champ-Aubert : battle of (1814), 491
Champ de Mars : confederation of the
kingdom at, 121
Championet, Jean fitienne : enters Na-
ples, 402
Chapelier: his opinion on the renewal
of the assembly, 114; directs the
Feuillant Club, 128
Chappe, Claude : invents system of tele-
graphs, 336 note
Chappe, Ignace : invents system of tele-
graphs, 336 note
Charles X, King of France : elected mem-
ber of the states-general, 39; opposes
influence of Nccker, 50; leaves
France, 72; opens correspondence
with Lyons, 115; hastens the de-
termination of the cabinets of the
coalition, 136; impeached, 164; signs
armistice with the allies, 499
Charles (XIV) John, King of Sweden:
dismissed through Sieves, 40S;
elected king of Sweden, 481
Chateau Thierry: battle of (1814), 491
Chateauvieux Regiment: revolt of, 125
Ciiatelct, Duke du : proi^o-^es the redemp-
tion of titlies, 74
Chatillon: battles of (1703). 276
Clugny de Nuis, Jean fitionnc Bernard:
becomes minister of linancc, 28
Chenier, Marie Joseph de : advocates the
tause of the proscribed conventional-
ists, 330
Cherasco, Amnesty of (1796), 380
Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope,
Earl of: anticipates the French
Revolution, 12
Cholet: battles of (1793), 248 note, 249,
276
Chouannerie, The: sketch of, 248 note
Chouans : plot against Napoleon, 441
Cinq-cents, Council of the, 352
Cintra: battle of (1808), 477
Cisalpine Republic: formed by Bona-
parte, 384
Clergy, The : oppose the revolution, 106
Clermont-Tonnerre, Stanislas, Count of:
opposes the sending of the deputa-
tion to the king, 69 ; favors the Eng-
lish constitution, 80
Clichy, The Club of, 388
Club Monarchique : sketch of, 128
Coalitions against France : the first
(1792-1797), 182, 244; the second
(1799-1801), 401; the third (1805),
462; the fourth (1806-1807), 469;
the fifth (1809), 476; the sixth
(i8i3-i8i5),488
Code Napoleon, 447
Collot-d'Herbois, Jean Marie : leader of
the commune, 203 ; arrest and trial
of, 2,?>2,
Commission of Eleven : formation of,
335
Commission of Twelve : appointment of,
256; insurrection against, 256
Committees, The : strive to bring about
the fall of Robespierre by means of
Catherine Tlieot, 305 ; its members,
320 ; democratic members replaced by
Thermidorian members, 323
Communal List, The : 433
Compte Rendu : Necker issues, 30
Compulsory Loans, Law of: effect of,
406; abolished, 432
Concordat of 1801. The, 449
Conde : taken by the allied powers. 271
Conde, Louis Joseph de Rourbnn. Prince
dc : opposes influence of Necker, 50;
leaves I'rauce, ~2\ opens correspond-
ence with Lvons, 11;; impeached,
164
Cciudorcct, Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas
516
INDEX
Caritat, Marquis of: poisons himself,
280
Constitutional Circles, The: ordered to
be closed, 390
Constitutionalists, The : oppose the meas-
ures against the emigrants, 158
Constitutions of France: (1791), 145;
(i793) 271; (the year III), 351; of
Sieyes, 432; (the year VIII), 435;
(the year X), 453
Conti, Prince de : opposes influence of
Necker, 50 ; leaves France, 72
Convention, The National (the third na-
tional legislative assembly of the
deputies of the French people) : con-
stitutes itself, 215 ; animosity of the
Gironde and the mountain, 215 ; de-
nounces Robespierre, 218; animosity
toward Marat, 218; fresh accusa-
tion of Robespierre, 222 ; question of
the king's trial, 228 ; speech of Saint-
Just, 230 ; speech of Robespierre,
231 ; the king brought to its bar,
232; De Seze's defense of the king,
234; condemns the king to death,
235 ; revival of animosities in, 240 ;
summons Dumouricz to its bar, 251;
arrest of its commissioners by Du-
mouricz, 252; Isnard's reply to the
deputies of the insurrections of May,
1793. 256; question of the abolition
of the Commission of Twelve, 259;
debate on the accusation of the Gi-
rondists, 262; position of, through
the insurrection of the departments,
270; liberal measures proposed by
Barrere, 273 ; its successes against
the insurrectionary towns and de-
partments, 275 ; condemns Marie
Antoinette to death, 278; condemns
the twenty-two Girondists to death,
279; decrees the existence of the
Supreme Being, 288 ; question of the
arrest of Danton, 293 ; Robespierre
appointed president, 301 ; Couthon
presents the law of the 22d Prairial,
301 ; Robespierre's speech of the 8th
Thermidor, 308; decrees the arrest
of the two Roliespierres, Couthon,
Lebas, and Saint-Just, 314; position
of, after tlie fall of Robespierre, 320;
question of recalling the proscribed
memberi, 330 ; arrest of Billaud, Col-
lot, Barrere, and Vadier, 333; re-
vives the old martial law, 333 ; its
reception of the insurgents of Ger-
minal, 336; united under the Girond-
ists, 340; decrees the constitution
of the year III, 351 ; passes decrees
requiring the reelection of two-thirds
of its members, 355 ; concentrates
its powers in a committee of five
members, 356; moderation of, in the
insurrection of the 13th Vendemiaire,
360; establishes itself as a national
electoral assembly, 361 ; its close, 362
Copenhagen: bombardment of (1801),
446
Corday, Charlotte : assassinates Marat,
268; her replies before the tribunal,
268 note; death of, 268
Cordeliers Club : sketch of, 128, 283
Council of Ancients, The : members of,
352; form of decision and rejection,
352; dispersed by Napoleon's orders,
416
Council of Five Hundred, The : its mem-
bers and functions, 352 ; list of its
members condemned to exile by the
law of public safety, 392
Courtray: battle of (1795), 345
Couthon, Georges: his character, 299;
presents the law of the 22d Prairial,
301; arrested, 314; released, 315;
executed, 318
Craonne: battle of (1814), 492
Crete (remnant of the Mountain) : arrest
of seventeen members of, 334
Custine, Adam Philippe, Count of: su-
perseded by General Houchard, 276;
death of, 279
D
Danican, General : summons the conven-
tion to withdraw its troops, 358
Danton, Georges Jacques : political leader
of the Cordeliers, 128; his character
and policy, 204; his interview with
Robespierre. 290 ; his refusal to de-
fend himself, 292; his arrest, 293;
his execution, 294
Dantonists, The: policy of, 285; fall of,
290 ; execution of their leaders, 295
Daunou, Pierre Claude Francois : his
character and principles, 354
INDEX
517
Davout, Louis Nicolas, Duke of Auer-
stadt and Prince of Eckmiihl : joins
Napoleon after his return, 501
Delaunay, Jourdan : at the siege of the
Bastile, 63
Delbred : proposes the renewal of the
oath to the constitution of the year
III, 414
Delessart, Antoine de Valdec : impris-
oned, 168
Democrats : system of, 297 ; symbolical
terms used by, 297; revolutionary
power of, 325 ; reestablish their club
at the Pantheon, 375 ; their society
closed by the directory, 376; last at-
tempt and final defeat of, 378; elec-
tions of the Year VI, 400; elections
of the Year VII, 403
Departments : insurrection of the, 267
Desmoulins, Benoit Camille : induces
populace to take up arms, 56; leader
of the Cordeliers, 128; his character,
286; expelled from the Jacobins,
289 ; his execution, 294
Dillon, Theobald: ordered to advance
upon Tournai, 173
Directory, The : creation of, 353 ; dura-
tion and powers of its members, 353 ;
first composition of, 361 ; wretched
condition of, in the Luxembourg,
370; its division of labor, 370; its
address to its agents, 371 ; attempts
to revive paper money, 372 ; proposes
mandats territoriaux, 372 ; attacked
by the royalists and democrats, 375 ;
changes in, 385 ; determines to at-
tack the legislative majority, 391 ; re-
moves the place of sittings of the
councils, 391 ; its message explaining
the reason of its measures, 392; the
act of ostracism, 392; returns to the
revolutionary government, 395 ; its
condition makes war its only sup-
port, 395; its nnavowed object in
the expedition to Lgypt, 397; an-
nuls the democratic elections of the
year VI, 400; disorganized by the
councils, 403 ; two new parties in,
405; reorganized, 406; end of, 412
Dresden: battle of (1813), 488
Du Portail : replaced by Narbonne, 164
Duchatel : death of, 279
Ducos, Jean Franqois : death of, 279
Ducos, Roger : introduced into the direc-
tory, 405 ; appointed one of the con-
suls, 432
Duniouriez, Charles Franqois: character
and ministry of, 169; his report as
to the political situation of France,
171; campaign of, 209; his expedi-
tion into Holland, 241 ; hostilities
between him and the Jacobins, 242;
his design of reestablishing constitu-
tional monarchy, 245 ; defection of,
249; his interview with a deputa-
tion from the Jacobins, 249; declared
a traitor by the convention, 252; ar-
rests the commissioners of the con-
vention, 252
Duphot, General: shot at Rome in a
riot, 399
Duplain : leader of the commune, 203
Duport, Adrien: announces the capture
of the Bastile to the assembly, 69;
leader of the national party, 81 ;
executes the confederation of the
clubs, 82
Duprat : death of, 279
Duranthon : made provisional minister of
the marine, 176
Durfort, Count Alphonse de : at the
Mantua Conference, 136
E, F
Eckmuhl : battle of (1809), 479
Egypt : expedition to, 398
Elie: leads attack on the Bastile, 65
Emigrants : consternation of, on the
king's arrest, 142; Girondists desire
rigorous measures against, 157; in-
vited by the king to return, 159; act
of pardon proposed in favor of the,
446
Empire, The : proclaimed, 458
Empremesnil, D' : joins advocates of lib-
erty, 46
Enghien, Louis Antoine Henri de Bour-
bon-Conde, Duke d' : death of, 456
Entraigues, D' : his pamphlet on the
states-general, 38; joins advocates of
liberty, 46
Epremesnil (Espremesnil), Jean Jacques
Duval d' : arrest of, 35
518
INDEX
Eylau: battle of (1807), 470
Fargeau, Lepelletier Saint: stabbed, 240
Favras, Marquis de : plans abduction of
the king, 115
Federation Alsacienne: formed, 120
Federation de I'Etoile : formed, 120
Federation de Lyons : formed, 120
Federations de I'Est: formed, 120
Feuillant Club: organized, 128; opened
in opposition to the Jacobins, 139
Feraud : killed by the insurgents, 337 ;
condemnation and rescue of his mur-
derer, 339
Finances of the French Revolution, 418
Flesselles, Jacques de : attempts to quiet
the populace, 60; death of, 67
Fleurus: battle of (1795), 345
Fleury, Andre Hercule de : sketch of, 25
note
Florence, Treaty of (1801), 444
Fonfrede, Jean Baptiste : death of, 279
Fontarabia: taken by the French (1795),
347
Fouche, Joseph, Duke of Otranto : ap-
pointed minister of police, 436; aids
return of Napoleon, 500
Foulon: made member of the ministry,
56; death of, 73
Fouquier-Tinville, Antoine Quentin :
his accusation decreed, 322
Fox, Charles James : makes overtures of
peace to Napoleon, 467
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor : ac-
cession of, 167
Franklin, Benjamin: believes in the
single legislative house, 88 note
Frederick the Great, King of Prussia :
growth of Prussia under, 133
Frederick William, King of Prussia :
power of, 133
French Club, The: established by Ber-
trand de Molleville, 160
French Revolution, History of: the old
regime, 3 ; the beginning of the
Revolution, 17; establishment of the
states-general, 41 ; the rise of popu-
lar government, 79 ; separation of
national parties, loi ; the close of
the assembly, 132; the national
legislative assembly, 151; the na-
tional convention and the trial of
Louis XVI, 215; fall of the Girond-
ists, 239 ; beginning of the terror,
267; fall of Robespierre, 296; the
Thermidorian reaction, 320; the
close of the national convention, 341 ;
the government of the directory, 367 ;
fall of the directory, 395 ; the fi-
nances of the French Revolution,
418; Napoleon and the consulate,
431 ; the empire, 461 ; the Hundred
Days, 498
Freron, Louis Stanislaus: obtains the
accusation of Fouquier - Tinville,
275 ; forms the Jeunesse Doree,
326
Friedland: battle of (1807), 470
Ganilh, Charles : appointed deputy to the
Versailles assembly, 69
Gardien : death of, 279
Gaudin, Emile : tumult occasioned by his
proposal of a vote of thanks to the
council of ancients, 413
Geneva : united to France, 399
Gensonne, Armand : attacked by Robe-
spierre and Marat, 254; death of,
279
Georgia, State of: experiments with a
single legislative house, 88 note
Gerona: battle of (1808), 477
Girondist Ministry, The: formed, 168;
fall of, 176
Girondist Party, The: its principal
speakers, 154 ; its true chief, 155 ;
wishes for rigorous measures against
the emigrants, 158; attacks the min-
istry, 161 ; motives of, 164 ; its prin-
ciples and position at the opening
of the convention, 215 ; denounced
by the Mountainists, 240; struggle
of with the Jacobins, 247; con-
spiracies against, 253 ; attacked by
Guadet, 255 ; accused by Vergniaud
of conspiring with Dumourier, 260;
insurrection against its two and
twenty leading members of, 260;
fall of, 265 ; raises an insurrection
in the departments, 267
Goislard : arrest of, 35
Grand Champ: battle of (1800), 441
Granville: battle of (1793), 276
INDEX
519
Gregoire, Abbe Henri: elected member
of the states-general, 39
Gregorian Calendar: replaces the re-
publican calendar, 467
Grenelle, Camp of: reception of the
Baboeuf conspirators at, 377
Grenoble : rebellion of, 102
Grouchy, Marquis Emmanuel de : at the
battle of Waterloo, 501
Guadet, Marguerite He : attacked by
Robespierre and Marat, 254; at-
tacks the Girondists in the conven-
tion, 255 ; death of, 279
Guillotin : elected member of the states-
general, 39
H
Hanau: battle of (1813), 489
Hebert, Jacques Rene: arrest of, 256
Hebertists, The : principles of, 283 ; at-
tacked by Robespierre, 284 ; struggle
of, with the committee of public
safety, 284
Heliopolis: battle of (1800), 440
Henriot : receives the title of command-
ant-general of the insurrectionists,
258; released by Coffinhal, 315; out-
lawed by the convention, 315; turns
the cannon upon the convention,
316; his execution, 318
Hoche, Lazare : receives the chief com-
mand of the republican army, 345 ;
successful attacks on the Chouans
and the English army on its landing,
351; his generalship, 374; receives
the command of the coast, 374
riochstadt: battle of (1800), 442
Hohenlinden: battle of (1800), 442
Holland: expedition of Dumouriez into,
246; conquest of, by the armies of
the republic, 346; converted into a
kingdom, 467
Hondtschoote : battle of (1793), 276
Hood, Samuel, Viscount Hood: enters
Toulon, 274
Hooghlede: battle of (1795), 345
Hostages, Law of: efYect of, 406; abol-
ished, 432
Houchard, Jean Nicolas: supersedes
Custine, 276
llulin: leads attack on tlie Bastilc, 65
Hundred Days, The, 498
T, J, K
Infernal Machine : the conspiracy of,
441
Insurrection of the loth of August, 190
Isnard, Maximin : his speech on the
question of a declaration of the
king, 162; his reply to the deputies
of the agitation of May, 1793, 256;
resigns the chair, 257
Italy : conquest of, 381 ; second cam-
paign in, 438
Jacobin Club: founding and growth of,
127; struggle of, with the Giron-
dists, 246; attacked by the Ther-
midorians, 327
Janus I, Emperor of Saint Domingo:
accession of, 445
Jarente : takes oath of loyalty to the
nation, 113
Jassy, Treaty of (1791), 134
Jeunesse Doree, The: formed by
Freron, 326; costume and composi-
tion of, 326
Jena: battle of (1806), 470
Jews : declared eligible for all civil and
military offices, 115 note
Jordan (Jourdan), Camille : ridicule at-
tached to him, 387
Joubert, Barthelemy Catherine : put at
the head of the army of Italy, 405 ;
death of, 408
Jourdan, Count Jean Baptiste : com-
mands the army of the Sambre-et-
Meuse, 373
Jourdeuil : leader of the commune, 203
Junot : his campaign in the Spanish
Peninsula, 474
Kaunitz, Prince von : attacks Jacobins,
166 iwte
Kulm: battle of (1813), 488
La Galissonniere : made member of the
ministry, 56
La Reveillere-Lepeaux, Louis Marie:
elected a member of the directory,
361 ; endeavors to establish the
dcistical religion, 372; attacked by
the councils, 404; resigns the direc-
torial autliority. 404
620
INDEX
La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, Frangois
Alexandre Frederic, Duke de :
pleads for the constitution, 59; di-
rects the Feuillant Club, 128
La Salle, Marquis de : made second in
command of militia, 62
La Vauguyon, Duke de : made member
of the ministry, 56
Lacaze: death of, 279
Lacoste : made provisional minister of
justice, 176
Lacroix : death of, 294
Lafayette, Marie Jean Paul Roch Yves
Gilbert du Motier, Marquis of:
elected vice president of the as-
sembly, 60; appointed commander-
in-chief of the citizen guard, 71 ;
attempts to quell bread riot, 93;
favors war with England, 118; at
the confederation of the kingdom,
122; directs the Feuillant Club, 128;
procures an amnesty for those who
favored the king's flight, 146; be-
gins to lose his high reputation, 177;
his last attempt in favor of legal
monarchy, 181 ; discussion of his ac-
cusation, 189; his acquittal, 189;
military insurrection of, against the
authors of the loth of August, 199;
arrested and confined at Magdeburg
and at Olmutz, 200
Lajarre: made minister of war, 176
Lally-Tollendal, Trophime Gerard, Mar-
quis de : pleads for Necker, 59
favors the English constitution, 80
desires the creation of a senate, 87
deserts the assembly, loi ; sketch of,
loi note
Lambesc, Prince de : attempts to quell
insurrection in Paris, 57
Lameth, Alexandre Theodore Victor,
Count : elected member of the states-
general, 39; leader of the national
party, 81 ; directs the Jacobin Club,
128
Lameths, The: join with the Center to
reestablish the king, 139
Lamoignon : policy of, 35
Lasource, Marie David Albin: death
of, 279
Latour-Maubourg, Charles Fay, Mar-
quis de : escorts Louis XVI back to
Paris, 138
Lavarre, Bishop of Nancy: at opening
of the states-general, 41
Law of Public Safety, The : presented by
the commission of the younger coun-
cil, 392
Lebas, Philippe Frangois: arrested, 314;
released, 315; his death, 318
Lebon, Joseph: character of, 324; im-
peachment of, 324
Lechelle: appointed sole general-in-
chief by the committee of public
safety, 276
Lecointre : denounces Billaud, Collot,
Barrere, of the committee of public
safety, and Vadier, Amar, and
Vouland, of the committee of gen-
eral safety, 323
Lefent : leader of the commune, 203
Left, The : origin and use of the term,
82; its principal speakers, 155
Legendre, Louis : renews Lecointre's im-
peachment of the democratic party
of the committees, 325
Legion of Honor: proposed by Napo-
leon, 451; reception of, 451
Legnano: battle of (1799), 403
Lehardy : death of, 279
Leipsic : battle of (1813), 488
Leoben, Treaty of (1797), 383
Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor :
death of, 167
Le-Tourneur : appointed member of the
directory, 361
hevy-en-masse. Decree of, 272
Ligny: battle of (1815), 501
igurian Republic, The : threatened by
the king of Sardinia, 402
Lille: siege of (1792), 212
Lindet, Robert : his report concerning
the king, 232
Lobau, George Mouton, Count de : at
the battle of Waterloo, 502
Lomenie de Brienne, fitienne Charles de:
see Brienne, fitienne Charles de
Lomenie de
Longwy: siege of (1792), 205
Louis XV, King of France : summary
of his reign, 22
Louis XVI, King of France : accession
of, 25 ; at the meeting of the as-
sembly (1789), 52; surrounds Paris
with troops, 54; before the Versailles
assembly, 71 ; given title of Restorer
INDEX
521
of French Liberty, 75 ; goes to Paris
from Versailles, 97 ; at the confed-
eration of the kingdom, 122; re-
ceives announcement of assistance
from the coalition, 136; sets out for
Montmedy, 137; arrested at Va-
rennes, 138; suspension of, 140;
declaration of Pilnitz regarding, 143 ;
closes the assembly, 145 ; his re-
ception of the deputies announcing
the opening of the National Legis-
lative Assembly, 151; question in
the assembly as to the manner of
addressing him, 152; his speech at
the assembly, 153 ; sanctions the de-
cree of the assembly respecting his
brother, 158; puts his veto on de-
crees respecting the emigrants and
the dissentient priests, 159; message
to, from the assembly, respecting
the neighboring princes, 162; intim-
idated by the impeachment of
Delesart, 168; visits the assembly
with a view to the question of war,
171 ; dismisses the Girondist min-
istry, 176; riots of the petitioners,
180; proposal of Lafayette for him
to go to Compiegne, 181 ; reviews
the defenders of the chateau on the
morning of the loth of August, 193;
treatment of, on leaving the Tuil-
eries, 195 ; imprisoned in the Tem-
ple, 198; his trial demanded, 226,
230; brought to the bar of the con-
vention, 232; Malesherbes offers to
be his defender, 233; the defense,
234; condemned to death, 235; his
conduct on hearing sentence, 237 ;
his death, 237; his character, 238
Louis XVIII, King of France: elected
member of the states-general, 39;
decree of the assembly relative to,
158; lands at Calais, 496; accession
of, 498
Louis Philippe, King of France : his early
career, 250 note
Lucca: given to the Prince of Piombino,
462
Luneville, Treaty of (1801), 442
Lutzen: Ijattle of (1813), 402
Lyons : revolt of, 269 ; defense and tak-
ing of, 275 ; sentence of the com-
mittee of public safety against, 278
'M
Macdonald, fitienne Jacques Joseph
Alexandre, Duke of Tarentum: re-
fuses to take up arms for Napoleon,
500
Madrid, Treaty of (1801), 444
Mailhe : opposes the dogma of the
king's inviolability, 229
Mainvielle : death of, 279
Maitre-de-camp Regiment : revolt of,
125
Malesherbes, Christian William de La-
moignon de: sketch of, 26; offers
to defend the king on his trial, 233
Mallet, General : plot of, 485 ; its failure,
485
Mallet-Dupan, Jacques : his mission to
the allied powers, 177
Malmesbury, James Harris, Earl of:
sent as plenipotentiary to France
and Lille, 396
Malouet, Victor : elected member of the
states-general, 39
Mandat, A. J. Gaillot de: plans to crush
insurrection of August 10, 190;
murdered at the Hotel de Ville, 192
Manege, The: so called, 406; meetings
of, closed, 408
Mans: battle of (1793), 248 note
Mantua : conference at, by the powers
opposed to the revolution, 136; ca-
pitulation of, 382
Manuel, Procurer : suspended, 184
Marat, Jean Paul : leader of the Com-
mune, 203; denounced in the con-
vention, 220; attacks the Girondists,
254 ; assassination of, 268 ; his in-
fluence after his death, 268
Marengo: battle of (1800), 439
Marie Antoinette, Queen of France:
secures the recall of the Duke of
Orleans, 34 ; sentence and execution
of, 279
Marie Louise, Empress of the French :
her marriage with Napoleon, 481
Marniont, Auguste Frederic Louis Viesse
de : accepts a command against
Napoleon, 501
"Marseillaise: " composed, 167 note
Martia' law: revived by the convention,
333
Massacre of September 2, The, 207
622
INDEX
Massena, Andre: victories of, in Switz-
erland, 407
Maupeou, Rene Nicolas Charles: vice-
chancellor, 12
Maurepas, Jean Frederic Philippe,
Count : influence of, 26 ; death of, 30
Maury, Jean Siffrein : elected member of
the states-general, 39 ; sketch of, 79 ;
his opinion on the renewal of the
assembly, 114
Maximun, Law of the (i793). 271
[Mayence: taken by allied powers, 271
Menou, Baron Jacques Francois de : re-
placed in the command of the army
by Barras, 357
Merlin de Douai, Count Philippe An-
toine : attacked by the councils, 404 ;
resigns the directorial authority, 404
IMetternich, Prince Clemens Wenzel
Nepomuk Lothar von : plans resto-
ration of the Bourbons, 498
Milan Decree (1807), 473
Mirabeau, Gabriel Honore Riquetti,
Count: elected member of the
states-general, 39; at the meeting
of the assembly (1789), 52; sug-
gests address to be presented to
king, 54; attempts to quell insur-
rection in Paris, 68; sketch of, 84;
foretells fate of the king, 98; his
greatest speech, 100; his opinion on
the renewal of the assembly, 114;
attempts to give the revolution
stability, 116; upholds the veto
power of the king, 119; urges ad-
mission of ministers to the assembly,
124 ; opposes fugitive law, 130 ; death
of, 83, 130
Miranda, Franisco Antonio Gabriel : his
campaign against the allied powers,
246
Mohilev: battle of (1812), 485
Molleville, Bertrand de: chief tool of
the court, 160
Mons: battle of (1793), 276
Montebello: battle of (1800), 439
Monteil, Terrier : made minister of the
interior, 176
Montereau : battle of (1814), 491
Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat,
Baron de : sketch of, 13
Mont Lngon, Treaty of (1800), 441
Montmedy ; camp established at, by
General Bouille, for the reception
of the king, 137
Montmorin : commissioned by the assem-
bly to inform the European powers
of its pacific intentions, 137
Moreau, Jean Victor: appointed by
Bonaparte to command the army of
the Rhine, 438
Moulins, Auguste: introduced into the
directory, 405
Mounier, Jean Joseph : elected member
of the states-general, 39; pleads for
Necker, 58; joins Necker's party,
80; desires the creation of a senate,
87; deserts the assembly, loi
Mountain, The: sketch of, 216; demands
the trial of Louis XVL 226; decrees
the constitution of 1793, 271 ; its
success against the insurrectionary
towns and departments, 274; its
measures against Robespierre, 311;
seventy-six of its members con-
demned to death, or arrested, 339
Moscow: taking of, 485
Mother of God : see Theot, Catherine
Murat, Joachim : made king of Naples,
475
N
Nancy: revolt of, 125
Nantes : trial of ninety-four of the in-
habitants of, 325
Naples : taken by General Championnet,
402
Napoleon (I) Bonaparte: early life of,
357 note; appointed second in com-
mand under Barras, 357; appointed
general of the interior, and placed
at the head of the army of Italy,
374; his campaign against Austria,
379; his conquest of Italy, 381; his
return to Paris, 397; his expedition
to Egypt, 397; learns the state of
affairs in France, 409; returns to
Paris in triumph, 409; plots with
Sieyes against the directory, 410;
his answer to the republicans, 412;
creates a commotion in the council
of the five hundred, 415 ; appointed
one of the consuls, 432; his govern-
ment, 436; sets out on the conquest
of Italy, 438; returns to Paris, 440;
INDEX
523
the infernal machine, 441 ; progress
of France under, 447; proposes the
creation of a Legion of Honor, 451 ;
appointed sole consul, 452; his
answer to a deputation from the
senate, 456; crowned emperor, 459;
receives the crown of the Lombards,
462; victories of Ulm and Auster-
Htz, 464; takes Vienna, 464;
marches against Prussia, 470; turns
his attention towards England, 472;
threatened with excommunication
by the Pope, 476; his entry into
Madrid, 478; divorces Josephine,
and marries the Archduchess Marie-
Louise, 481 ; birth of his son, the
king of Rome, 481 ; his campaign
against Russia, 484; his retreat
from Moscow, 485 ; the reaction
against his power, 485 ; his return
to Paris, 489; his abdication at
Fontainebleau, 493 ; his character,
494 ; compared with Cromwell, 495 ;
his return, 500
Narbonne: replaces Du Portail as min-
ister of war, 164; dismissed from
the ministry, 168
National Legislative Assembly: early
relations between it and the king,
151; question of the manner of ad-
dressing the king, 152; the king's
speech, 153; opening of the, 156;
its decree relative to the king's
brother, 158; its decree with regard
to the emigrants, 158; with regard
to the dissentient priests, 158; Is-
nard's speech, 162 ; decrees the dec-
laration, 162 ; question of a declara-
tion to the king requesting him to
require the neighboring princes to
summon the military gatherings,
162; passes a decree impeaching the
king's brother, the Count d'Artois,
and the Prince de Conde, 164;
question of war, 171 ; decrees the
formation of a camp of twenty thou-
sand men at Paris, 174; decrees the
banishment of the nonjuring priests,
175; letter to, from Lafayette, 177;
debates concerning the riots of the
20th of June, 178; division between
it and the commune, 201 ; question
of waiting for the Prussians under
the walls of Paris, 205; desires to
prevent the massacre of the 2d of
September, 207; concluding observa-
tion on, 212; see also Convention,
The National
Necker, Jacques: appointed minister of
finance, 28; retires, 30; recalled, 37;
at the opening of the states-general,
42; becomes the leader of assembly,
53; banished, 56; returns to France,
72; favors the English constitution,
80; desires the creation of a senate,
87; invested with a financial dic-
tatorship, 106; resigns, 123
Neerwinden: battle of (1793), 249
Nelson, Horatio: at the battle of Traf-
algar, 463
Neutrals, League of (1800), 446
Ney, Michel: yields to Napoleon's influ-
ence, 500
Nile: battle of the (1798), 409
Noailles, Viscount Louis Marie de: in-
forms the assembly of the Paris
insurrection, 69
Novi: battle of (1799), 408
O, P, Q
Orleans, Louis Philippe Joseph, Duke of,
surnamed Egalite: banished, 34;
joins the assembly, 53; his influence
in the assembly, 84 ; sent to Eng-
land, 102; returns to Paris, 123
Ormesson, Henri Frangois de Paule d' :
announces the capture of the Bastile
to the assembly, 69
Ostrach: battle of (1799), 403
Ott, Charles, Baron : his campaign in
Italy, 438
Paine, Thomas : his career in France,
23s note
Palais Royal : description of. 55 note
Panis : leader of the commune, 203
Paper Money : attempt of the directory
to revive, 2>72
Paris, Treaties of: (1795), 347; (1801),
444
Parthenopean Republic: proclaimed at
Naples. 402
Parties : state of. at the opening of the
national legislative assembly, 153 ;
5^4
INDEX
state of, at the death of Louis XVI,
240
Pennsylvania, State of: experiments
with a single legislative house, 88
note
Peter I, Emperor of Russia: growth of
Russia under, 133
Petion de Villeneuve, Jerome: elected
member of the states-general, 39;
denounces the banquets of the
guards, 94; escorts Louis XVI back
to Paris, 138; suspended, 184; at-
tacked by Robespierre and Marat,
254; death of, 280
Philippeaux, Pierre : denounces the
manner in which the Vendean war
had been carried on, 286; death of,
294
Pichegru,. Charles: elected president of
the younger council, 386; arrested
by Augereau, 391 ; conspiracy of,
455 ; death of, 455
Piedmont: termination of war with,
380; united to France, 453
Pilnitz, Declaration of, (1791), I43
Plenipotentiaries, The French : murdered
near Rastatt, 401
Plesswitz, Armistice of, (1813), 488
Polotsk: battle of (1812), 485
Portugal : invasion of, 474
Precy, Francois Perrin, Count: ap-
pointed to command the insurrec-
tionists of Lyons, 269
Presburg, Peace of, (1805), 415
Priestl}', Dr. : supports suggestion to
exile Louis XVI to the United
States, 235 7iote
Priests, The Dissentient: banished, 395;
allowed to conduct their worship
on taking an oath of obedience,
446
Protestants : declared eligible for all civil
and military offices, 115 note
Provincial List, The, 433
Prussia : campaign against, 470
Puisaye, Joseph, Marquis de : his con-
duct in the Vendean war, 350
Pyramids, Battle of the (1798), 409
Quesnay, Frangois : sketch of, 14
Quiberon: descent upon by the English
and the emigrants, 351
Quinze-Vingts: threaten insurrections
unless the king is dethroned, 189
Regiment-du-roi : revolt of, 125
Reichenbach, Convention of (1790), 133
Renaud, Cecile : her suspicious visit to
Robespierre's house, 300; her ex-
amination and fate, 300
Republican Party: first appearance of,
139; alarm of, at the increasing
power of Bonaparte, 412; proscrip-
tion put in force against, 432
Revolution, The French : see French
Revolution, History of
Rewbel, Jean Frangois : elected a mem-
ber of the directory, 361
Right, The: origin and use of the term,
82 ; its principal speakers, 154
Riot, The Bread, 93
Robespierre, Maximilien Marie Isidore:
elected member of the states-general,
39; demands that the fate of the
king be left with the people, 141 ; op-
poses war, 165 ; animosity of the
convention towards, 218; character
of, 219; again accused by Louvet,
222; excuses himself, 223; attacks
the Girondists, 254; attacks the
Hebertists, 284; accused of modera-
tion, 289; his speech regarding legal
government, 290; his interview with
Danton, 290; Cecile Renaud's visit
to his house, 300; his power and
position, 300; officiates at the cele-
bration of the new religion, 301;
appointed president of the conven-
tion, 301 ; his speech demanding a
renewal of the committees, 308;
violently attacked by Billaud-Va-
rennes, 310; his arrest, 314; liberated
and taken in triumph to the Hotel
de Ville, 315; his death, 319
Rochambeau, Jean Baptiste Donatien de
Vimeure, Count of : his opinion re-
specting the war with Holland and
Belgium, 173
Rcjederer, Pierre Louis : sent for by the
queen and questioned as to the
safety of the king, 192
Roland, Marie-Jeanne Phlipon : con-
demned to death, 280
Roland de la Platiere, Jean Marie :
character and ministry of, 169;
anecdote of him on going to court.
INDEX
625
170; kills himself on hearing of the
death of his wife, 280
Rome: riots at, 399; changed into a
republic, 399
Romme, Gilbert : appointed the organ
of the insurrection of Germinal, 337
Rouairie, Count de la : arrest of, for
the insurrection of La Vendee, 248
Royalist Conspiracy, 379
Royalist Party, The: its opposition to
the reelection of two-thirds of the
members of the convention, 355 ;
insurrection of, 356
Russia: at war with France, 484
Saint Jean d'Acre: siege of (1799), 409
Saint-Just, Antoine : his speech on the
king's inviolability, 230; his threat-
ening speech in the convention, 291 ;
his person and character, 299; re-
called from the army, 307 ; arrested,
314; released, 315; death of, 318
Saint-Leger : conduct and reception of,
at the convention, 338
Saint Sebastian: taken by the French
(1795), 347
Saint Vincent: battle of (1793), 249 note
Salles, Jean Baptiste : death of, 279
Salm, Club of, 388
San Domingo (Saint-Domingo) : revolt
of, 160; insurrection in, 445
Saragossa: siege of (1808), 477
Savenay: battle of (1793), 248 note. 276
Sections, The: reduction in the meet-
ings of, 323; disperse the insurgents
of Germinal, 337
Self-denying Ordinance, The (1791), 145
note
Senators : nomination of, 436
Scrgent : leader of the commune, 203
Seze, De : delivers the defense of the
king, 234
Sieyes (Sieyes), Count Emmanuel Jo-
seph : his pamphlet on the third es-
tate, 38; elected memljer of the
states-general, 39: at the meeting of
the assembly (1789), 52; sketch of,
83; directs the Feuillant Club. 128;
demands the recall of tlie proscribed
conventionalists, 331; replaced by
Carnot, 361 ; elected a member of
the directory, 361 ; labors to establish
legal reform, 405 ; attacks the
Jacobins, 408; appointed one of the
consuls, 432
Sillery: death of, 279
Smolensk: battle of (1812), 485
Sombreuil, Charles Virot de : pleads
with the mob at the Hotel des In-
valides, 63
Spain : invasion of, 474
States-General : establishment of, 41 ;
conduct of, on the departure of the
king, 137; commissions Montmorin
to inform the European powers of
their pacific intentions, 137; orders
arrest of anyone leaving the king-
dom, 138; question of the king's
trial, 140; closed by the king, 146
Steyer, Armistice of (1800), 442
Stockach: battle of (1799), 403
Suchet, Louis Gabriel : joins Napoleon
after his return, 501
Swiss Regiment : at the insurrection of
Nancy, 125 note
Switzerland : its change of constitution,
399
Talleyrand-Perigord, Charles Maurice
de. Prince of Benevento : elected
member of the states-general, 39;
proposes renunciation of church
property in favor of the nation, 109;
takes oath of loyalty to the nation,
113; at the confederation of the
kingdom, 122 ; appointed minister of
foreign affairs, 436: invested with
the principality of Benevento, 468;
plans restoration of the Bourbons,
498
Tallien, Jean Lambert; leader of the
commune, 203 ; his speech denounc-
ing the triumvirate, 313; proposes
to annul the third, 360; exposed
by Thibaudeau, 360
Target, Jean Baptiste : elected member
of the states-general, 39
Terror, Reign of. 265
Theophilanthropie : attempt of La R^-
vcliiere to establish the deistical
religion under that name, 2>7^
526
INDEX
Theot, Catherine: made use of by com-
mittees against Robespeirre, 305
Thermidorian Party: composition of,
321 ; replaces the democratic mem-
bers in the committee, 322; attacks
the Jacobin Ckib, 327
Thibaudeau, Count Antoine Claire de:
exposes the plan for annulling the
third, 360
Thuriot de La Rosiere : at the siege of
the Bastile, 63; sketch of, 66 note;
demands the abolition of the com-
mission of twelve, 258
Terray, Joseph-Marie, Abbe: controleur-
general of finances, 12; sketch of,
25 note
Tilsit, Peace of, (1807), 471
Tithes : abolition of, 109
Toulon: capture of, 275
Trafalgar: battle of (1805), 463
Trebbia: battle of C1799), 403
Treilhard : deposed, 404
Trianon Decree (1810), 473
Tribunes : nomination of, 436
Triumvirate, The Democratic : principles
and effects of the, 297; general at-
tack upon, 311; arrest of, 314; re-
leased, 315; death of, 318
Turgot, Anne Robert Jacques, Baron de
I'Aulne : sketch of, 14, 26
Tuileries, The : deserted by the king,
195 ; attack of, on the loth of Au-
gust, 196; blockade of, 260
Twelve, The Commission of: See Com-
mission of Twelve
U,V
Ulm: battle of (1805), 464
Vadier, Marc Guillaume : arrest and
trial of, 333
Valaze, Charles Dufriche : death of, 279
Valenciennes : taken by the allied powers,
271
Valmy : battle of (1792), 210
Varcnnes : see Billaud
Vaublanc: leads deputation to the king,
162
Vauchamps: battle of (1814), 491
Vendee, La: insurrection of, 248; pacifi-
cation of, 374
Verdun: siege of, (1792), 205
Vergniaud, Pierre Victurnien: his pic-
ture of the peril in which the country
stood in the middle of 1792, 182; at-
tacked by Robespierre and Marat,
254; accuses the Girondists of con-
spiring with Dumouriez, 260; death
of, 279
Vermont, State of: experiments with a
single legislative house, 88 note
Verona: battle of (1799), 403
Vienna: taking of (1805), 464; Peace of
(1809), 396
Vigee: death of, 279
Vincennes, Chateau of : attacked by mob,
129
Virieu, Count de: pleads for the con-
stitution, 59; proposes abolition of
law protecting doves and pigeons,
Virieux, Marquis de: appointed with
Precy to command the insurrection-
ists at Lyons, 269
Voltaire (Frangois Marie Arouet) : an-
ticipates the French Revolution, 12;
sketch of, 13
W, X, Y, Z
Wagram: battle of (1809), 480
Waterloo: battle of (1815), 501
Wattignies: battle of (1793), 277
Weissenburg : battle of (1795), 345
Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Duke
of: takes possession of Portugal,
477 ; at the battle of Waterloo, 501
Wertingen: battle of (1805), 464
Westphalia: given to Jerome Napoleon,
471
Westphalia, Treaty of (1648), 135 note
Witepsk: battle of (1812), 485
Wurtemberg: erected into a kingdom,
466
York, Frederick Augustus, Duke of:
disembarks in Holland with an
Anglo-Russian army, 403
Zip: battle of the (1799), 403
Zurich: battle of (1799), 407
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