DR. M I L L I N G E N 
 
 IS PREPARING FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION HIS 
 
 ERSOBJAL RECOLLECTIONS, 
 
 AS SURGEON TO THE FORCES, &c. 
 DURING THE LATE 
 
 WAR IN THE PENINSULA. 
 
RECOLLECTIONS 
 
 OF 
 
 DR. MILLOGEN. 
 
 REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 
 

 
 
 ■ 
 
 ^/T^ //^U^Z^y^t 
 
 LoncL fenryC 
 
RECOLLECTIONS 
 
 REPUBLICAN FRANCE, 
 
 FROM 1790 TO 1801 
 
 BY 
 
 J. G. MILLINGEN, M.A. M.D. 
 
 FIRST CLASS SURGEON TO THE FORCES, OF THE ANCIENT FACULTY OF MEDICINE AT 
 PARIS. MEMBER OF THE MEDICAL SOCIETY OF BORDEAUX 
 
 &c. &c. &c\ 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 "the curiosities of medical experience," 
 " mixd axd matter," &c. 
 
 LONDON: 
 HENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER, 
 
 GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 
 1848. 
 

 LONDON : 
 
 Printed by Schulze and Co., 13, Poland Street. 
 
 • 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Having had frequent occasions of relating to 
 the circle of my acquaintance, many of the 
 eventful scenes of my chequered career, I have 
 often been urged to submit an account of them 
 to the public. I am well aware, that the 
 incidents in the life of a humble member of 
 society, are of little importance to the commu- 
 nity at large ; yet, when that individual has 
 witnessed the most momentous occurrences of 
 his times, his recollections may not only be 
 interesting, but useful. 
 
 It has been said that, " no man appears great 
 in the eyes of his valet," and this truth is 
 rendered more striking, when the conduct (often 
 
 b 
 
 oo i Of' "; 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 unaccountable) of public characters becomes the 
 subject, either of contemporary writings, or of 
 future historians' labours. Puzzled, indeed, 
 must be those historians, when, in another 
 age, they will have to record the events of the 
 French Revolution, and to collect the scattered 
 materials that their work will require ! 
 
 Many histories of those fearful times have 
 been laid before the world. De Stael, Thiers, 
 Mignet, Michelet, Lamartine, and many other 
 able writers have described those convulsions, 
 which have shaken the universe to its very 
 foundation, and appear, even now, to throw 
 open the sluice-gates that have hitherto re- 
 strained an overwhelming inundation. Yet, 
 when reading the accounts given by these 
 writers, both of events, and of the principal 
 actors in the terrific drama, they vary so essen- 
 tially, both in general conclusions and individual 
 details, that one could scarcely believe that they 
 are relating the same transactions. The reason 
 of these apparent discrepancies of opinion is 
 obvious; — all these writers, or rather biographers, 
 were influenced not only by personal motives 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 and their particular political doctrines, but by a 
 desire, either to extenuate crime, on the plea of 
 expediency, or to depreciate virtuous actions, 
 on the score of timidity, or self-interest. 
 
 When we register the actions of public men 
 in the annals of the world, we must not take a 
 partial view of their deeds, in their public sta- 
 tions — in the field of battle, or in the legislative 
 rostrum — in numerous assemblies, and in critical 
 positions • — we must follow them in the privacy 
 of their retirement — in their domestic circle : 
 we must, I might say, become eaves-droppers, 
 and overhear the soliloquies of their ambition, 
 their disappointments, and their revengeful pro- 
 jects. Man, like unorganized bodies, must be 
 tested by analysis and synthesis ; — he must pass 
 through the crucible of prosperity and adversity. 
 It is only then, that we can venture to appreciate 
 his actions, or his motives — it is only then, that 
 we can form an estimate of his true character, 
 and often discover, that acts, which appear to 
 display resplendent abilities and lofty genius, are 
 but the results of accidental occurrences and of 
 fortuitous contingencies, and that energetic 
 
 b 2 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 resolves, which are attributed to deep and com- 
 prehensive forethought, are but the offspring of 
 that quick apprehension and prompt determi- 
 nation which have enabled great men to avail 
 themselves of a fortunate opportunity, and 
 prove that — 
 
 " There is a tide in the affairs of man, 
 
 " Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune." 
 
 It has been my lot (from circumstances with 
 which my readers will become acquainted) to 
 have been, I may say, behind the scenes during 
 the fatal events that I have recorded. I have 
 known some of the actors — have seen them dis- 
 robed of their dramatic trappings, and in the 
 trivial scenes of ordinary life, have beheld them 
 unmasked. It is chiefly these trifling circum- 
 stances that I have endeavoured to relate. Histo- 
 rians are more indebted to the private memoirs 
 and to the diaries of their dramatis persona, 
 than to the contemporary accounts of their 
 ostensible characters. In these cases, the most 
 humble observer may contribute more essen- 
 tially to the history of the epoch than a Tacitus. 
 What would we not give for a diary kept by a 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 prompter, or even a scene-shifter, of Shakspeare's 
 time, who had noted down all the little incidents 
 of green-room, and rehearsal, and performance — 
 the gossip, the chit-chat, behind and before the 
 curtain, and followed the immortal philosopher 
 in all his haunts and wanderings ! We can 
 place reliance on such recollections : whereas 
 professors of histriology, for the purpose of 
 serving the views of party or of patronage, will 
 stretch the unfortunate Clio on a Procrustean 
 couch ; and, according to circumstances, torture 
 her fettered limbs into a gigantic stature, or a 
 dwarfish degeneracy. 
 
 In the following pages, I have not been in- 
 fluenced by any interested or biassed motives. 
 I have given an unvarnished statement of facts, 
 as far as my memory served me. It may be 
 urged that, at so early a period of life, I was 
 unable to form any opinion concerning passing 
 events. This, to a certain degree, is true ; but 
 it must be borne in mind, that I was surrounded 
 by persons of sound judgment and shrewd 
 observation, whose conversation I daily, nay, 
 hourly, listened to. Moreover, catastrophes, 
 
 b 3 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 such as those that I then witnessed, are of such 
 an astounding nature as to impress on the mind 
 even of a child, indelible reminiscences. Mixing 
 with the people, I have described them, and their 
 habits, their pursuits, their absurd convictions, 
 and their wild excesses. I have shown what the 
 French were — what, in my humble opinion, 
 they still are, and what most likely they will be, 
 until time, and dearly-bought experience may 
 effect a total change in their national character, 
 and qualify them to be ruled by gentle means, — 
 fitting them to appreciate the blessings of free 
 institutions, and to comprehend what is meant 
 by the word Liberty, of which they have no more 
 notion than of the quadrature of the circle ; for, 
 as to perpetual motion, that has hitherto been 
 considered an impossibility, I must do them the 
 justice to say, they may fairly claim its 
 discovery. 
 
 J. G. M. 
 
 London : 
 
 4th May, 1848. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Birth and parentage — Town of Miilingen — Effects of a 
 skull — Chinese sympathetic balls — Cracherode — Numis- 
 matics — Tovvnley — Taste for prints and shells — A terrible 
 fire — An Anabaptist preacher — Long grace, and its dire 
 results — A short-hand writer — Matthews, the clerical book- 
 seller — Early taste for the drama — Count d'Estaing — Dis- 
 honesty of the French Government— The Revolution- 
 Departure for Paris ..... 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 First impressions in France — Van de Niver — French cookery — 
 Vulgar taste — National Guard — Royal Bonbons — Lafayette — 
 Cromwell Grandison — Remains of the Bastille — The Royal 
 Family — Mirabeau — His death and obsequies— The Veto — 
 The Calotins — Flight to Varennes — Drouet — Horror of a 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Republican embrace— Taught the piano— Abbe Servois — 
 Abbe Gregoire — Thomas Paine — Anacharsis Clootz — State 
 of Paris — Popular excitement and enthusiasm — Newspapers 
 — Festivities of the Federation . , ,21 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Affair of the Champ de Mars — Bailly — Anacharsis Clootz — 
 Apotheosis of Voltaire — Dramatic spectacle — General cor- 
 ruption and demoralization — Its causes — My education — 
 Auricular confession — Black and white pebbles — Les Gamins 
 de Paris make their first appearance — Barra and Viola — 
 Popularity — Barnave — His attachment to the Queen — Fickle- 
 ness of the French . . . . .60 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Barthelemi — Barbier du Bocage — Denon — Walkenaer — Study 
 of the art of war, combined with archaeological pursuits— 
 Our neighbours, the breeches-maker and fruiterer — The 
 English accused of devouring their prisoners — Notions of 
 equality — Mydog introduces me toDugazonand the actors of 
 the Comedie Francaise — Kind reception in the green-room — 
 Departure for Calais — The buns of an actress poison to soul 
 and body — Mesdemoiselles Contat and Lange — The Arch- 
 bishop's niece — Privileges of the Opera — Defrene— Lais — 
 Balbatre — Chenier— Charles IX. — Talma — Schisms in the 
 theatre — Gamier, the painter — A studio in the Louvre — 
 Berthon — A political model — Scenes d' Atelier, or mystifica- 
 tion of a studio — David and Napoleon — Their vanity — 
 David's death-bed — Displeasure of Napoleon — Classical taste 
 and its absurdities ..... 78 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Reflections on the state of France — Tenth of August — Marat — 
 Danton — Theroigne de Mericour, or la Belle Liegeoite — 
 Her ferocity — Conduct of the Clergy — Servois' daring pro- 
 ceedings during the massacre in the prisons — Frightful con- 
 dition of Paris — Cruelty of the murderers in the Massacre of 
 September — Conduct of the authorities — Natural ferocity of 
 the French — Collot d'Herbois— Persecution of the French 
 Actors and Actresses— Their narrow escape from the scaffold 
 — La Bussiere — His stratagem to save them — Dugazon — 
 Mademoiselle Devienne — State of the Drama . 114 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Trial of Louis XVI. — His execution — His speech to the people 
 on the scaffold stopped by a natural son of Louis XV. — 
 Reflections on those events — The iron chest — Character of 
 the Ring and Queen — General considerations — Commence- 
 ment of the Reign of Terror . . . .156 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 A famine — The maximum — The Marquis de Langle — My 
 father denounced as an accapareur — Depreciation of paper 
 currency — Purchase of National property — My brother 
 imprisoned — My father and mother exiled from Paris — The 
 Brother Albittes — Madame de Caux — The Scotch college 
 converted into a prison — A faithful dog — Ferocity of Henriot 
 — Mademoiselle de Beranger — Daily executions — The guillo- 
 tine— Sanson, the executioner — Collot d'Herbois again — 
 Domiciliary visits — Law of the suspects — Camille Desmoulin's 
 ironical speech on the subject — Singular pastimes of the 
 
IV CONTENTS. 
 
 prisoners — Lapagne — My uncle and cousins guillotined with 
 Madame du Barry — My father arrested — His life endangered 
 by an incautious letter of mine — Generous behaviour of an 
 Irish interpreter — The rights of man — English prisoners in 
 the Scotch College, and their fair neighbours confined in the 
 adjoining building, the Dames Anglaises — Rose, the jailor — 
 Moutons, or informers placed in the prisons . . 193 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Amusements of the Parisians — The Poetry of the day — La 
 Marseillaise — Le Chant du Depart — Veillons au salut de 
 l'Empire — Hymn of the Bordelais and Versaillais — Song of 
 La Montagne — Palais Egalite — Les Epaulettiers — Popular 
 balls, or Bastringues — Societes popuiaires — Popular meeting 
 of female Jacobins — Their Presidente Citoyenne Lacombe — 
 Their debates and speeches — David discovers that there was 
 an Indian divinity called Sans-culotte — The inauguration of 
 its image — New names substituted for those of the Saints- 
 Complimentary days — Civic banquet — My father again 
 endangered for sending an indifferent dinner to the banquet 
 — The Quack Doctor, and Fofo, the pretty rope-dancer — 
 Mes premiers amours .' — Opiate Bordelais much used by the 
 ladies of the ballet ..... 232 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Apostacy of the clergy, and its results — Anacharsis Clootz, and 
 Chaumette — Gobel, the Bishop of Paris— Gregoire— The 
 Goddess of Reason — Her worship — Catherine The'os, the 
 " Mother of God " — A creature of Robespierre — Gerles — 
 Ceremonies performed in her sanctuary — The creed of 
 Ibrascha, a fanciful religion introduced in the prisons — The 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 worship of a Supreme Being introduced by Robespierre — 
 His speeches on the occasion — Pomp of the inauguration — 
 Hymn a l'Etre Supreme .... 256 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 I exert myself to obtain my brother's liberation — Interview 
 with Robespierre— His mode of living— Cornelie Duplay — 
 His unhappy disposition — Strange delusions — Miserable 
 existence, and inordinate vanity — General opinion on the 
 impracticability of a Republican form of Government — Marat 
 and Danton's view of the subject — Various absurd schemes 
 of Government— Duke d'Orleans— Transmutation of metals 
 — Remains of Pascal . .... 281 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Approaching struggles— Madame de Ste. Amaranthe— Madame 
 de Sartines — Grandmaison — Cecile Renault — L' Admiral — 
 Robespierre involved in a supposed conspiracy — The 
 Eleves de Mars— Vadier— Aristocracy of Robespierre— His 
 fall . . . . . . . 303 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Royalist reaction— Public amusements— Display of luxury 
 
 Mesdames Tallien and Recamier— Madame Lajollais— Dr. 
 Sue's Lectures on Picturesque Anatomy — I commence the 
 study of medicine— Hospital of La Charite— Boyer— Hotel 
 Dieu— Pelletan— Medical students— Their poverty and mode 
 of living— Grisettes of the Pays Latin— Their character- 
 Events of the 13thVendemaire— Barras— Buonaparte— Dani- 
 
n CONTENTS. 
 
 can — My first smell of gunpowder — A miss is as good as a 
 mile — My hat wounded — A musket brings me into a scrape 
 — Terror — Buonaparte again — His general information — His 
 hostility to the English — Siege of Toulon — General O'Hara 
 — Buonaparte wounded by the English — Strange forebodings 
 respecting this wound — Anecdote of his dislike to every 
 thing English . . . . .322 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Depreciation of assignats — Great distress, and great opulence 
 — The Directories — Barras — His circles — Buonaparte — 
 Hoche — Society of the Eveilles — Barbceuf — His conspiracy to 
 establish le bonheur Commun — Drouet — Society of les amis 
 du suicide — Commercial mania — Madame Lajollais — La 
 machine infernale — I am involved in a plot — My brother 
 arrested by mistake — I determine to leave France. 361 
 
PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Birth and parentage — Millingen famous for its bricks— 
 Effects of a scull — Chinese sympathetic balls — Cracherode 
 — Numismatics — Townley — Taste for prints and shells — 
 A terrible fire — An Anabaptist preacher — Long grace, 
 and its dire results — A short-hand writer — Matthews, the 
 clerical bookseller — Early taste for the drama — Count 
 d'Estaing — Dishonesty of the French Government — The 
 Revolution — Departure for Paris. 
 
 The night of the 8th of September, 1782, 
 ushered me into the world. My father then 
 resided at No. 9, Queen Square, Westminster, at 
 that period a fashionable locality. I was 
 christened at St. Margaret's, and received the 
 name of John Gideon, from my godfather, Sir 
 John Gideon Loten, a Governor of Ceylon ; 
 
 vol. i. B 
 
RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 and I possess one of the early engravings of 
 Bartolozzi, in the year 1755, representing a 
 Madonna and child, dedicated to him. 
 
 This said father of mine, was Michael Van 
 Millingen, a native of Rotterdam. He had 
 left his family at an early period of life, and went 
 out to Batavia as a writer. From whence we 
 derived the name of Millingen (a small town in 
 Holland), I know not ; but I have heard that 
 our armorials are over the town-hall, and the 
 Duke Bernard of Saxe Weimar told me that it 
 was a place celebrated for its bricks. 
 
 Of my father's career in India, I know but 
 little : he became a partner in the commercial 
 house in which he was employed — was an officer 
 in the militia — distinguished himself in some 
 revolt of the Chinese population, and, when en- 
 camped in a morass, caught a sciatica, which 
 ever after annoyed him occasionally. Moreover, 
 he had realized a tolerable independence, and 
 married a wealthy orphan, my beloved mother, 
 Elizabeth Westplaten Cole, whose uncle was an 
 Admiral in the Dutch service. 
 
 Soon after this marriage he repaired to Eng- 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 3 
 
 land, the land of his predilection ; for, although 
 a Dutchman, he disliked his countrymen, and 
 abhorred their tyrannical and arbitrary sway in 
 their East India possessions, which he had visited, 
 as well as such parts of China as were open 
 to their trade. I recollect his relating to me an 
 occurrence that took place at Canton. The cus- 
 tom-house officers examined his packages, and, 
 amongst other articles, was a trunk belonging to 
 a surgeon, containing books, and a scull. The 
 moment the Chinamen beheld it, they all jumped 
 overboard into their praam, without any further 
 search. My father was in possession of many 
 Chinese and Japanese curiosities, rich speci- 
 mens of lacker, arms, and some of those 
 mysterious sympathetic metallic balls, described 
 by several travellers (Thunberg among others), 
 and which were in great demand amongst the 
 Chinese ladies — whose morality, no doubt, has 
 been improved, since I never hear those strange 
 articles mentioned now-a-days. 
 
 Unfortunately for his family, my worthy 
 father was prone to follow two fearful pursuits — 
 speculation and travel. He could never allow 
 
 B 2 
 
4 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 cither his purse or his person a moment's rest, 
 or stagnation. Keep moving should have been 
 his motto, instead of the one we bear — a Lege 
 et Rege — a constitutional monarchic device, the 
 origin of which I never was able to trace, 
 although I have been told that we descended 
 from a King of Poland, I think yclept Schalde- 
 raval, but at what time he reigned, I leave to 
 the inquisitive to inquire. Our crest, a lion pas- 
 sant, was alleged as a confirmation of something 
 like an aristocratic origin. 
 
 Although of a roving disposition, my father 
 was well read, and cultivated more especially, 
 French literature ; Voltaire, Rousseau, D'Alem- 
 bert, Raynal, were his favourite authors. He was, 
 moreover, very fond of music, played a little on 
 the violin, and was no bad judge in the fine arts. 
 He resided for several years in Italy, and, when 
 at Rome, he became acquainted with the cele- 
 brated Ganganelli, who presented a copy of the 
 "Pilgrim's Progress" to my mother, as a fit 
 work for a heretic; — my mother was a rigid 
 Lutherar . 
 
 When at Rome, my father indulged in one of 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 5 
 
 his visionary speculations, and joined a company 
 that had undertaken to turn the course of the 
 Tiber, to seek for the objects of fine art sup- 
 posed to have been cast into that river by the 
 Northern barbarians. As might have been fore- 
 seen, the attempt proved a failure, and the 
 treasure obtained did not defray the expense of a 
 week's labour. A small mutilated statuette of 
 the Farnesian Hercules, and one or two broken 
 lamps, were all that fell to my father's share. 
 
 On his return to London, my eldest brother 
 died at the age of fourteen, of a putrid sore 
 throat. He was a Westminster boy, and lies 
 buried in the cloisters of the Abbey, with 
 an epitaph on his tomb-stone, indited by 
 Cowper, who was an occasional visitor at our 
 house. 
 
 The second son was my brother James, the 
 well-known antiquarian. He was born on the 
 18th of January, 1774, and was also placed at 
 Westminster School, under Mr. Wlngfield, 
 afterwards Dr. Wingfield, who at that period 
 was an usher. 
 
 Amongst our neighbours in Queen Square, 
 
6 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 was the celebrated Cracherode. This acci- 
 dental circumstance materially influenced the 
 destinies of my brother. The learned divine 
 was a collector of coins and prints, and young 
 James Millingen experienced great delight in 
 seeing him arranging his medal-cases, and 
 beholding the coinage of ancient times — the 
 effigies of Roman Emperors and Greek Princes 
 — the attributes of extinct Empires and Cities 
 — coins that had probably passed through the 
 hands of the heroes and the sages of whom he 
 daily read. I know not how it is, but the view 
 of a collection of ancient medals produces in my 
 mind more vivid associations of by-gone glories 
 and historic turpitude than the sight of ruined 
 buildings or of busts and statues. I behold, 
 perhaps, the identical pieces that may have 
 jingled in the pockets (I presume the ancients 
 wore pockets) of Alexander and Csesar, Plato 
 and Aristotle — perhaps one of the very gold pieces 
 that Diogenes may have dropped in the lap of 
 Lais, or one of the Denarii that had bribed 
 Judas Iscariot. 
 
 I am not aware that the same notions were 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 7 
 
 entertained by my brother ; but, from that early 
 period of life, he became a Numismatic collector, 
 and an ardent student in archaeologic lore, in 
 which he eventually distinguished himself so 
 pre-eminently as to have been called by German 
 biographers the Nestor of ArchEeology. 
 
 Mr. Cracherode had observed this dawn 
 of future learning, and encouraged his juvenile 
 pursuits in every possible manner, by giving 
 him duplicate coins, Pinkerton's and Hunter's 
 Numismatic works, &c. ; and all his pocket 
 money was spent in roaming about curiosity- 
 shops and purchasing medals. This vocation, 
 for such it might be called, was also assisted by 
 the antiquarian Townley, who lived near us in 
 Park Place, and his gallery of sculpture was ever 
 open to the young student. Mr. Townley was 
 an enthusiastic collector. A Roman Catholic, 
 he had been sent to France at an early age for 
 education. He afterwards travelled over Greece 
 and Italy, in pursuit of objects of classic venera- 
 tion ; and such was his ardour, that, it is related 
 of him that, on arriving at Syracuse, harassed 
 and exhausted by a long journey, he would 
 
8 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 neither take rest nor food until he had visited 
 the Fountain of Arethusa. Although a wealthy 
 man, his mode of living was most quiet and 
 frugal. His statues and busts, he called his 
 dead family, and, in collecting their remains 
 and relieving his tenantry, he expended his 
 whole fortune, and did not even keep a carriage. 
 
 I often, although but a child, accompanied 
 my brother ; and Mr. Townley gave me the first 
 print I ever possessed, an engraving of his 
 beautiful Discobolus, which now adorns the 
 British Museum. To this circumstance, I 
 attribute my taste for prints, that afforded me 
 much gratification many years after ; for, at the 
 age of sixteen, I had already collected upwards 
 of four hundred Callots, De la Bellas, and Leclercs, 
 and had written the life of C allot, with a 
 Catalogue Raisonne of his engravings, improved 
 on the Catalogue de V Or anger e, a celebrated 
 collector of his ceuvres. At that period, both my 
 brother and I also collected shells, of which my 
 father was very fond, and, to encourage me in 
 this pursuit, I recollect he gave me the works 
 en conchology of Rumphius and D'Argenville, 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 9 
 
 and on my birthday, a Hammer Oyster, a 
 thorny woodcock, and a nautilus, with the 
 Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle of Vahnont 
 de Bomare. Alas ! those were happy days ! 
 
 But to return to my narrative. Our neigh- 
 bour, Mr. Cracherode, was, I full well recollect, 
 a most extraordinary character. Well do I 
 remember his mild, benevolent countenance, his 
 sleek black suit, and his snow-white wig ! He 
 was a perfect woman-hater — retraced his steps 
 when, in coming down stairs, he met one of 
 the house-maids, and walked out of the room 
 when a female entered. Cracherode had also 
 been a Westminster boy. He was a man of 
 the most regular habits, and of a sedentary 
 disposition. He possessed a fine estate in 
 Herefordshire, and had never ventured to go so 
 far as to look at it. He often observed that 
 the extent of his journeys had been to Clapham 
 and Richmond. For forty years of his life, 
 when not prevented by indisposition, he daily 
 went to his bookseller and printseller, Elmsley, 
 and Paine, and every Saturday he repaired to 
 Mudge's, to regulate his watch. He bequeathed 
 
 B 3 
 
10 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 his valuable collection to the British Museum. 
 Fortunately, it was not consumed when his 
 house at the Park side corner of Queen Square 
 took fire. I well recollect being borne on the 
 back of our black footman to see the conflagra- 
 tion, which I looked upon as a bonfire, and, 
 strange to say, through life I have always felt 
 the greatest excitement in hearing of, and have 
 gone great distances to be present at, a fire. 
 
 His sister, too, was an oddity, an intimate 
 friend of my mother, who constantly visited 
 her. She possessed a collection of coloured 
 diamonds and of spaniels — I think they were 
 of the Blenheim breed. These pets used to take 
 a morning airing with a footman in the Bird- 
 cage Walk. Although 1 was ever most partial 
 to dogs, I took a dislike to these creatures when 
 I found that they were fed every day with roast 
 chickens. 
 
 It was about this time that our house- 
 keeper, a Mrs. Griffiths, a double-dipped Ana- 
 baptist, assured my mother, who spoke much 
 better Malay and Dutch than English, that 
 she was going headlong to destruction — in 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 11 
 
 short, she persuaded her to become an Anabap- 
 tist, and took her to chapel in Grafton Street, 
 where a fashionable preacher, a Mr. Martin, 
 was said to perform miracles. There my 
 mother, dear soul, had got herself dipped on a 
 Christmas eve, and caught a cold that was 
 followed by a glandular swelling of the breast, 
 that the celebrated practitioner Justamond, 
 feared would degenerate into a cancer, and 
 which resisted even my mother's favourite ap- 
 plication of blue flannel, nine times dyed, which 
 was supposed to be possessed of some mystic 
 property. 
 
 Howbeit, the Rev. Mr. Martin soon became 
 a constant visitor at our house, and very 
 frequently dined with us ; being very partial to 
 curry and rice — a standing dish in the family. — 
 On these occasions our holy guest was so 
 prolix in his grace, that the dinner stood a 
 chance of getting cold, and, as my father was of 
 the opinion of Boileau, that 
 
 Un diner rechauffe ne valut jamais rien ; 
 
 being, moreover, what might be called a free 
 thinker in theological matters, he was in the prac- 
 
12 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 tice of falling to without further preamble. Not 
 so with my brother and poor me — we were con- 
 demned to hear the lengthy Benedicite out, 
 and to answer thereunto with a solemn Amen ! 
 
 It so happened that, one unlucky day, Mr. 
 Martin lowered his uplifted eyes upon me, when 
 in the sacrilegious act of making the most 
 hideous faces at him. This sight interrupted 
 his invocations. He thumped the table and 
 swore that unless I was flayed alive, the wrath 
 of Heaven would light on the house. 
 
 I know not whether his prediction was 
 true — for certainly we have all been unfor- 
 tunate enough — but this ejaculation excited the 
 wrath of my father, who addressed Mr. Martin 
 with such severity, that he left the house 
 without his dinner, — a circumstance that leads 
 me to conclude, that my father's objurgations 
 must have been somewhat of a galling nature. 
 Warm arguments in Dutch and Malay followed 
 this scene. My brother went to school — I was 
 dispatched to the nursery, where Mrs. Griffiths, 
 my mother's spiritual adviser, would in all 
 likelihood have put Mr. Martin's sentence into 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 13 
 
 execution, but for my dear little nurse, Maria, 
 who, I well remember, damned the parson as 
 heartily as my father. 
 
 Early impressions lay the foundation of many 
 of our future opinions. It is, perhaps, to this 
 circumstance that may be attributed the horror 
 I have ever entertained of priestcraft and cant, 
 of ever} 7 creed and of all countries. But to return 
 to my story. My brother and I owed Mr. 
 Martin a grudge, and we did not well know 
 how to liquidate our debt, until a favourable 
 opportunity presented itself in a most unex- 
 pected manner. 
 
 We accompanied my mother to chapel, and 
 one evening, the pew being full, she sent us both 
 up to the gallery, where we took our seats close 
 to the reporter of Mr. Martin's sermons. This 
 worthy scribe had not yet arrived, but his 
 ink-horn was fixed to the front of the gallery, 
 close to a branch candlestick ; my brother took 
 out one of the candles, cut off the end of 
 it, and stuck it in the ink-horn. Before the 
 sermon began, the amanuensis made his ap- 
 pearance. I fancy that I behold him — a tall, thin 
 
14 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 man, with a bald head, and a long hooked nose 
 on which rode a pair of spectacles. On Mr. Martin's 
 ascending the pulpit, amidst the sighs, and groans, 
 and coughs of the congregation, who were anxious 
 to have their cough out, not to interrupt the 
 homily, our secretary, with eyes fixed on the 
 preacher, was prepared to note down every word 
 that flowed from his evangelic mouth, fancying 
 himself as important a personage as one of the 
 Septuagesimal interpreters. He now dipped his 
 pen in the horn — he began to write — but, oh, 
 horror ! he soon perceived he left no traces on 
 his paper. He looked with ghastly vacancy 
 on the nib of his pen — he peered in the ink- 
 stand — but when he found them both full of 
 tallow, he uttered a dismal groan, to which one 
 of Jeremiah's would have been a chuckle, and 
 he staggered out of chapel, no doubt to fetch 
 fresh materials ! We could not contain our 
 mirth, and followed him — first going to a neigh- 
 bouring pastry-cook's shop to eat apple puffs, 
 and then returning to a safe quarter of the 
 chapel. 
 
 Suffering from a severe ophthalmia, I was 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE, 15 
 
 six years of age before I could read ; and the 
 first book placed in my hand was the Bible. 
 Not only was I obliged to read aloud two 
 chapters of the Old and New Testament morn- 
 ing and evening, but additional lectures were 
 inflicted on me as a punishment whenever (and 
 that was daily) I committed any misdemeanour ; 
 and, when my eyes became more inflamed, I was 
 accused of rubbing them, to prevent me from 
 perusing the sacred volume, of which, at last, 
 I entertained a perfect dread. My excellent 
 mother, who had once been of a cheerful 
 temper, and, although always of a serious dispo- 
 sition in religious matters, could enjoy public 
 amusements, had now become moody and 
 irritable, and, the misfortunes of her husband in 
 various speculations having materially reduced 
 their circumstances, it was not without much 
 difficulty that she submitted to many privations, 
 which were more severely felt by one accus- 
 tomed, from her infancy, to all the luxuries 
 of an Eastern life ; for, so habituated had she 
 been to Indian customs that, even at this 
 period, she carried a Betel-box with her 
 
16 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 wherever she went. At this time I recollect she 
 often took me with her to her theological 
 bookseller, Matthews, in the Strand, near Craven 
 Street, the father of our celebrated comedian : 
 little did I think at that time that the son of 
 the clerical Bibliopole would have played in one 
 of my dramatic productions ! # 
 
 I can date my partiality to theatricals to the 
 earliest period of my life. My brother, not- 
 withstanding his serious studies, was fond of 
 puppet-shows, and constructed a theatre in 
 which he exhibited to his school-fellows some 
 miniature pantomimes. These were to me a 
 source of great amusement : but, my father 
 having taken me to Astley's, where I beheld 
 Harlequin cut into pieces and put together by a 
 magic wand, I verily believe that the motley 
 hero, Columbine, Pantaloon, and the Clown were 
 my day-thoughts and my night-dreams. I 
 shall shortly relate how a pet dog became in- 
 strumental in further developing this taste for 
 the drama. 
 
 While these trivial scenes were passing in 
 
 * The Beehive. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 17 
 
 our domestic circle, my father's mind was 
 engrossed by subjects of still more importance 
 in my future destinies. He had lost the 
 greater part of his fortune in various specula- 
 tions and vexatious law-suits, and he repaired to 
 his native country, with what intention I never 
 could ascertain. He was not long absent. An 
 ardent lover of what is termed liberty, he 
 was delighted with the emancipation of the 
 United States of America, and, a short time 
 after his return to England, the French Revo- 
 lution burst forth on the dark horizon of 
 despotism like a fiery meteor; and, after the 
 fall of the Bastille, my father started for Paris. 
 His abhorrence of the house of Bourbon was 
 inveterate, and founded both on public and on 
 private grounds : in a public point of view, 
 on the corruption of the Court and all that 
 breathed its pestilential atmosphere; and from 
 private feeling, on the shameful conduct of the 
 French Government towards him. 
 
 It appears that a French fleet, disabled in 
 a storm, and under the command of the Comte 
 d'Estaing, was obliged to put into Batavia for 
 
18 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 the purpose of refitting. The Admiral was 
 under the necessity of negotiating a loan to 
 enable him to put to sea ; and my father 
 took shares, I think, to the amount of £10,000, 
 naturally concluding that the French ministry 
 would ratify the transaction. However, on the 
 return of the fleet to France, when the Dutch 
 merchants applied for payment according to the 
 tenor of the loan, the Government repudiated the 
 debt, and it was not until after a long correspon- 
 dence, and through the influence of the Dutch 
 minister, that they were repaid; His Majesty, 
 Louis XVI., having been graciously pleased to 
 permit them to place the amount of the loan in 
 the French funds, merely allowing a miserable 
 interest for the investment of capital that saved 
 one of their fleets from destruction. Thus 
 did my father become an involuntary rentier in 
 the French stocks. 
 
 Towards the latter end of the year 1789, my 
 father returned to London, bearer of one of the 
 keys of the Bastille, which he was commis- 
 sioned to give to some person in England, I 
 think to Tom Paine, or Perry, of the Chronicle ; 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 19 
 
 and he moreover showed with exultation a 
 fragment of stone, collected in the ruins of 
 the captured fortress. 
 
 We were now made acquainted with his 
 determination of removing his family to Paris, 
 and he forthwith proceeded to sell all his goods 
 and chattels. My brother, who was to have 
 been sent to College, left Westminster school. 
 I was to have been booked as a guinea-pig 
 on board an Indiaman, commanded by a friend 
 of my father's, a Captain Purvis, as I was con- 
 sidered so stupid and perverse, as to be unfit for 
 anything else. Thus were all the plans of 
 our future career in life changed by the great 
 political event that threatened ever) 7 institution in 
 the world with destruction, and was likely to 
 subvert in time every established government 
 and engulph all hereditary possessions. 
 
 My father looked upon France as an El 
 Dorado of freedom and abundance. - My poor 
 mother foresaw nothing but misery and ruin — 
 her forebodings were but too sadly realized ! 
 
 In the beginning of the year 1790, we left 
 England. The political horizon was beginning 
 
20 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 to darken in portentous clouds, and my father, 
 with every other patriot, expected that the British 
 nation would soon follow the example of their 
 Gallic neighbours. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 21 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 First impressions in France — Van de Niver — French 
 cooker)- — Vulgar taste — National Guard — Royal Bonbons 
 — Lafayette — Cromwell Grandison — Remains of the Bas- 
 tille — The Royal Family — Mirabeau — His death and obse- 
 quies — The Veto — The Calotins — Flight to Varennes — 
 Drouet — Horror of a Republican embrace — Taught the 
 piano — Abbe Servois — Abbe Gregoire — Thomas Paine — 
 Anacharsis Clootz — State of Paris — Popular excitement 
 and enthusiasm — Newspapers — Festivities of the Feder- 
 ation. 
 
 If the first visit to a foreign land surprises 
 the traveller, from the difference of the customs, 
 costumes, and character of its inhabitants, when 
 compared to those of his countrymen, although 
 merely divided by a narrow channel, a shallow 
 stream, or conventional boundaries ; to a child, 
 the change appears the effect of a magic power. 
 
22 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 The contrast between England and France is 
 perhaps more striking than any that may be ob- 
 served in the different countries of Europe ; for, 
 although the lower orders may still preserve their 
 national costume, the upper classes exhibit but 
 a trifling variation from the adopted dress and 
 habitudes of what are called civilized people. 
 
 Never shall I forget my amazement when I 
 landed at Calais ; but I was more particularly 
 struck with the wooden shoes of the people — the 
 dirty white uniform and the miserable ap- 
 pearance of the soldiery — the curious garb of 
 priests and monks ; young as I was, a gloom 
 hung over me : without any tie to my native 
 country, still I felt regret in leaving it, as though 
 I had been attached to it by affection or by pre- 
 judice. The merry chimes of the Hotel de 
 Ville's belfry (which any one who has visited 
 Calais may remember) could not enliven me. I 
 think that I must have shed many a bitter tear 
 without knowing why. We put up at Meurice's 
 Hotel, and, wandering about the court-yard, my 
 first French acquaintance was a raven, who was 
 hopping about, and seemed to welcome me with 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 23 
 
 an ominous flapping of his sable wings. In 1801, 
 I found the bird still alive, and he positively ap- 
 peared to recognise me ; he was old and blind ; 
 but, turning towards me his dark eyes, he seemed 
 to say, " Alas ! I foretold you long ago all that 
 was to befall you !" # 
 
 We had brought over our own carriage, and 
 proceeded on our journey by what was called post- 
 ing ; the jack-boots of our postillion appeared to 
 me a most extraordinary contrivance, as I could 
 with ease have slipped into one of them. But 
 objects of greater amazement soon caused me 
 much wonder. i\fter the fertile and variegated 
 scenes of Kent that we had traversed, the plains 
 we crossed appeared a desert — gloomy and deso- 
 
 * There is something singularly sinister in this bird, 
 despite his apparent merry hop. A very delightful lady of my 
 acquaintance, Mrs. M — G — n — , fancies that the souls of de- 
 praved clergymen assume their appearance, and, as though they 
 were aware both of their transmigration and of her views of 
 the matter, ravens invariably recognise her the moment they 
 perceive her. Some time ago she went to visit the Tower, 
 and, observing two or three of these birds at their meal, she 
 said she was certain they would fly at her. She had scarcely 
 uttered these words, when they attacked her, napped their 
 wings about her, and pecked her with bitter animosity. 
 
24 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 late ; the corn-fields, extending to the boundary 
 of the horizon, were covered with stubble ; and 
 the interminable roads, called by the French 
 soldiers, from their constant and endless turnings, 
 rubans de queue — or pig-tail ribands — bordered 
 with lofty, leafless elms, seemed to lead the Lord 
 knows where. For miles and miles, nothing 
 altered the sameness of the aspect, save an old 
 grey chateau, and here and there, at considerable 
 intervals, under the protection of a sloping ground 
 and in a dirty dell, stood a few 7 mud cottages, 
 surrounded by a clump of elder-trees. The only 
 appearance of any comfort in the dreary w T aste, 
 w 7 ere a few seats on the road-side, on w T hich the 
 weary traveller might rest his aching limbs. 
 The villages we passed through were im- 
 bedded in muck, and the squalid peasantry 
 seemed more dirty than their dwellings. We 
 often stopped to change horses, and entered 
 their wretched abodes. The black bread, made 
 chiefly of rye and fern, struck me with disgust ; 
 and, on asking my father how 7 it came to pass, 
 that, in a country apparently so rich in corn, 
 such coarse food could be found, he replied that 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 25 
 
 the wheaten bread was for the use of the no- 
 bility and clergy. Could I doubt it when 
 I beheld men, women, and children yoked 
 to the plough ? 
 
 On our arrival in Paris, we took up our abode 
 at the Hotel de France, in the Rue Vivienne, 
 kept by an old lady of the name of Angibault, 
 a dame of the old regime, and who, although 
 she was no doubt glad to receive travellers, 
 seemed surprised that any rational person should 
 bring over his family in such fearful times. Her 
 house was opposite that of M. van de Niver, a 
 Dutch banker, a connexion of my mother's, who 
 had been mainly instrumental in bringing my 
 father to France, for he was also a Batavian Re- 
 publican, and hailed the Revolution as a most 
 auspicious event, little suspecting that he and 
 his sons would be numbered amongst the early 
 victims of its excesses.* 
 
 We dined three or four times a week at 
 the worthy banker's. He kept an admirable 
 table, and I was much amused at all the strange 
 
 * This Hotel is at present partly occupied by the 
 Galignanis. 
 
 VOL. I. C 
 
26 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 scenes that I daily witnessed. I recollect 
 there were no knives at table ; many of the 
 guests pulled one out of their pockets, or were 
 handed one by their servants, who stood behind 
 their chairs, in what appeared to me, grotesque 
 liveries. 
 
 Inviting company to dinner in those days was 
 most expensive, as every guest brought his ser- 
 vant with him. The remains of the dinner 
 were then sold to the keepers of little eating- 
 houses ; and, in many instances, these gargotiers' 
 stalls were in front of some of the most 
 sumptuous hotels. Strange contrast between a 
 Sybarite luxury and the most abject poverty ! 
 Yet, to the credit of the French peuple, it must 
 be admitted that they never seemed to repine 
 at their lot. In all their outbreakings, they 
 never appeared to be influenced by any am- 
 bitious desire of improving their condition by 
 imitating their superiors in life ; nay, if they had 
 possessed better garments, they would have 
 scorned to wear them; and had the most 
 sumptuous repasts been spread before them, they 
 no doubt would have relished their dainties, but 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 27 
 
 have returned without any feeling of regret to 
 their usual fare. In their desperate struggles, the 
 people seemed to have sought only for a share 
 in the rights of every citizen — for work and for 
 food. Hence, in all their excesses, in all 
 their bloody deeds, they rarely robbed to enrich 
 themselves. 
 
 The only change in our mode of living, to 
 which I got rapidly reconciled, was the cookery 7 ; 
 although my taste, in general, was of a very vulgar 
 nature — for, when at home in England, as we were 
 allowed to order our own dinner on our birth- 
 days, I recollect that, while my brother named 
 various dainties — fish, game, and wild fowl — I 
 asked for tripe, a lamb's fry, bacon and cabbage, 
 and a trifle, the only aristocratic nicety that I 
 fancied. 
 
 My poor mother's chief distress was the 
 want of tea — it was then only to be procured at 
 the apothecary's, until our friend, Van de Niver, 
 recommended us to a grocer of the name of 
 Piebot, in the Rue Montmartre, where this 
 scarce article was to be found. 
 
 It was soon arranged that my brother was to 
 
 c 2 
 
28 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 enter the banking-house as a clerk, and I was 
 to be sent to school. By a strange diversity of 
 pursuits, my brother, although constantly applying 
 himself to numismatic study, had always wished 
 to be an engineer. This predilection, however, 
 had been overruled on account of his bad 
 health. He had suffered from asthma at an 
 early period, and he was thought unfit for 
 a military career. 
 
 The French metropolis, at this period, pre- 
 sented scenes of constant confusion and ex- 
 citement. The National Guard was embodied: 
 even children were formed into batallions, in a 
 corps nominally commanded by the Dauphin, 
 and therefore called Royal Bonbons. The 
 little fellows were in uniform ; their tiny 
 grenadiers wore bear-skin caps, and their pigmy 
 officers strutted about with all the pomp of 
 vain-glorious conquerors. They had a train 
 of light one-pounders attached to them, and I 
 felt great delight in seeing them manoeuvring 
 in the Champs Elysees. 
 
 My father was constantly rambling about the 
 busy streets, the squares, and gardens, and 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 29 
 
 frequently took me with him in his perambu- 
 lations. In these wanderings we often met 
 Lafayette ; he was the idol of the people, who 
 thronged round him, shouting the most up- 
 roarious vivas ; and, on his white horse, he 
 appeared to me something supernatural. We 
 went to see the royal family dine in state ; I 
 beheld the unfortunate King and Queen, the 
 Dauphin, the Princess Royal, surrounded with 
 all the pomp of royal grandeur ; but, young as 
 I was, I looked upon them as insignificant 
 personages when compared to Lafayette. My 
 father appeared pleased with this sentiment ; 
 not so my mother and brother ; the former told 
 me that the King was an anointed of the Lord ; 
 mv brother seemed to worship Marie Antoinette, 
 and I recollect his making use of a singular 
 expression on the subject : — " Should that 
 glorious woman," he exclaimed, " go out riding, 
 I should like to crawl on the ground, that she 
 might step upon me to mount her horse." 
 Thus, from childhood, my brother was a 
 worshipper of royalty, while my sentiments (if, at 
 that period of life, I could have entertained 
 
30 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 any distinct idea on the subject) were essentially 
 democratic. In after life, my brother was a 
 decided liberal. 
 
 Amongst the daily rumours that were circu- 
 lated, it was currently reported that Louis XVI. 
 intended to collect an army on the heights com- 
 manding Paris, and bring the populace to a 
 sense of their duty. My brother gloried in the 
 idea, and exulted in the prospects of reducing 
 the city to ashes, unless the rebels submitted ; 
 but Lafayette and the National Guard appeared 
 to me invincible. There was a prestige of 
 superiority — I might almost say of innate 
 superiority — that, like a distinctive halo, crowned 
 this popular chief. If it be true that there 
 can exist any physical distinction between the 
 patrician and the plebeian — any sign of gentle 
 blood in form and feature — Lafayette did not 
 belie his distinguished birth. He looked essentially 
 aristocratic, even when mixing familiarly amongst 
 the very lowest orders. He seemed to be the 
 idol of the multitude. I recollect him well ; 
 his affable smile, his ingratiating manner, his 
 dignified calmness, amidst surrounding con- 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 31 
 
 liicts, that threatened the destruction of all 
 social order, gave him a power of fascination 
 that could lay the gathering storm. 
 
 In this he might have succeeded, had he not 
 committed a great fault, by producing a feeling 
 of hostility between the National Guard and the 
 people — trusting to the armed force for the 
 repression of excesses. The people, therefore, 
 soon looked upon the burgher guard as an 
 aristocratic and privileged body, which had some- 
 thing to lose, and therefore, something to protect. 
 It was from this circumstance that, in many of 
 the numerous outbreaks of the reckless and 
 heedless rabble, the National Guard neither 
 did nor could repress their turbulence. They 
 were citizens, divided in interests and opinions, 
 and only uniting for security : whereas their 
 opponents formed numerous masses, inspired 
 by one sentiment — havoc and revenge — and at 
 the orders of any faction that paid them, or 
 excited their evil passions. Had Lafayette 
 amalgamated the National Guard with the 
 people, it would have been a much wiser plan, 
 and might possibly have guarded the country 
 
32 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 against many future fearful contingencies, as 
 the fusion might have neutralized many of the 
 mistaken notions of the lower orders. The 
 effects of example and discipline are most 
 powerful, even when a rabble is submitted to 
 their influence ; for, under such circumstances, 
 an organized mob can be inspired with notions 
 of honour and generous feelings, for nothing 
 drives to desperation more promptly than a 
 degrading sense of despised isolation arising 
 from poverty and birth. 
 
 Had he been an ambitious man — had he 
 wished to become a dictator at the head of the 
 armed force of France — there perhaps was a time 
 when Lafayette might have saved the country 
 from the horrors that were to spread desolation 
 and dismay over the land ; but he was a patriot, 
 in the full and honest acceptation of the word ; 
 incapable of conducting a base intrigue, or of 
 coping with intriguers. He was accused of being 
 a waverer, and undecided in action when sur- 
 rounded by obstacles that could only be over- 
 come per fas et nefas. Most undoubtedly, had 
 Lafayette betrayed the trust reposed in him by 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 33 
 
 the people, he might have saved Louis XVI., and 
 exposed his country to all the horrors of a foreign 
 invasion, and the revenge of the royalists ; 
 while, on the other hand, had he not been 
 attached to the unfortunate King, whom he 
 hoped to see reigning in the hearts of his 
 subjects, a constitutional sovereign,* he might 
 have joined the party of the infuriated democrats, 
 and precipitated the fall of the monarchy. It 
 was the usual gentle bearing of Lafayette, which 
 made Mirabeau, who suspected him of aiming at 
 a dictatorship, call him Cromwell Grandison. 
 
 Young as I was, I participated in the general 
 enthusiasm that welcomed this patriotic Com- 
 mander of the National Guard wherever he 
 appeared. The excitement at that period was 
 most fearful. Thousands crowded to behold 
 the ruins of the Bastille, and my father 
 led me to contemplate this fallen fortress 
 of tyrannic power. In the ruined dungeons 
 
 * Lafayette had, no doubt, imbibed Republican principles 
 in America ; but he looked upon a constitutional monarchy 
 as a rational and safe Republic, and he deemed it imma- 
 terial whether the chief magistrate was called a President or 
 a King. 
 
 c 3 
 
34 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 close to the ditch, and infested with water-rats, 
 toads, and other reptiles, were still to be seen 
 stones, on which had reposed the unfortunate 
 prisoners doomed to expire in the oubliettes, 
 forgotten by all the world, condemned to be 
 buried alive, and the iron rings to which their 
 chains had been fastened were still riveted 
 in the flinty couch, w T hich from the constant 
 friction and pressure of the unhappy victims 
 of despotism, bore the impression of their aching 
 limbs. 
 
 The prisoners found in those dismal vaults, with 
 grisly and snow-white beards, of many a year's 
 growth, blanched frcm the privation of light and 
 air, were still triumphantly paraded about the 
 streets, scarcely able to drag along their tottering 
 limbs, crippled by long imprisonment and inaction. 
 Two skeletons found in the dungeons, with 
 chains and a cannon ball on their ankles, were 
 also exhibited ; and such scenes were well cal- 
 culated to inspire the most indifferent citizens 
 with a patriotic enthusiasm, an indignant spirit 
 prompt to avenge their wrongs, and bring to 
 condign punishment the perpetrators of such 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 35 
 
 iniquities. Man could scarcely believe that 
 he lived in times, when any power could have 
 thus trampled on his rights. The heart 
 sickened at the view of such a fearful abuse of 
 authority — the more so, as, although it might 
 frequently have been suspected and spoken of, 
 its effects were still occult. But now that the 
 people had overthrown the walls of this hateful 
 Pandemonium, its horrors were exaggerated in 
 all the high colouring of party spirit and re- 
 vengeful eloquence. 
 
 The dark and dismal pile had long been 
 viewed with dismay. The humblest artisan 
 passing by its moat, although his position in 
 life did not expose him to be immured in its 
 dungeons, shuddered with an unaccountable 
 feeling of dread, as the superstitious peasant 
 glides by a haunted castle when night sets 
 in, tremblingly recollecting stories of goblins and 
 mischievous elves. Such was the Bastille ; and, 
 in storming its formidable works, the people 
 imagined that they had carried the stronghold of 
 despotism. 
 
 At this period, with the exception of those 
 
36 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 who were associated with arbitrary power, the 
 whole nation experienced that maddening exulta- 
 tion that would inspire captives doomed to 
 eternal seclusion from the world, in all the 
 horrors of solitude, hunger, thirst, and oblivion ; 
 whose chains had been broken by some magic 
 power, and who were now commanded by a voice 
 from Heaven — the voice of Liberty — to hurl 
 destruction on their former merciless oppressors. 
 
 Such were the Royal Family represented to 
 the people, by the leaders of the political move- 
 ment. They were told that the Comte 
 d'Artois and the emigrant Princes were im- 
 ploring the different sovereigns of Europe, not 
 only to restore the overthrown tyranny from 
 which they had just escaped, but to punish, 
 to exterminate, every one, who, directly or 
 indirectly, either by his actions or his influence, 
 had assisted in the downfall of despotism. 
 
 To increase the fermentation, provisions were 
 becoming scarce, and a famine was apprehended. 
 This was also attributed to the Court and 
 its partizans, who were accused of stopping 
 the supplies that were proceeding to Paris, for 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 37 
 
 the purpose of starving its inhabitants. The 
 Court was even charged with poisoning the bread 
 that was distributed to the Gardes Francaises, 
 for having joined the popular movement. In 
 the gardens of the Palais Royal, in the Tuileries, 
 in streets and squares, public orators were 
 exciting the people collected in groups around 
 them, to wage a war of destruction against 
 the Court and the aristocracy Mirabeau in 
 the tribune, Camille Desmoulins in the byways 
 and the highways, displayed all the powers of 
 their commanding eloquence ; and history records 
 the apostrophe of Mirabeau to the Marseillois. 
 " When the last of the Gracchi expired, he 
 flung- dust towards heaven, and from this dust 
 sprung Marius, not so renowned for having ex- 
 terminated the Cimbri, as for having annihi- 
 lated the aristocracy of Rome !" 
 
 One of the most singular anomalies in the 
 character of the French people is their rapid 
 transition from the worship of a popular idol 
 to its execration and destruction. Their Kings 
 were at one time gods, and soon after, demons. 
 
38 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 They believed implicitly all they were told of 
 their benevolence and glory, as well as the most 
 idle reports of their perfidiousness and cruelty. 
 This was instanced in the case of Louis XV. as 
 well as during the reign of his successor : at 
 one time he was Louis le bien aime, and soon 
 after, the populace credited the report that, 
 for the restoration of his health in the hate- 
 ful Pare aux Cerfs, he bathed in the blood 
 of little children who were kidnapped for the 
 purpose ! 
 
 My father was a great admirer of Mirabeau, 
 and, during the illness that terminated his sin- 
 gular and erratic career, he used to send me and 
 a servant every day to his hotel, to bring a 
 report of the bulletin, published to satisfy the 
 thousands who surrounded his house. I recol- 
 lect hearing of a student, who offered to 
 have his young blood drawn from him, if its 
 transfusion in the veins of the sick patriot 
 could prolong his precious life. 
 
 The last moments of this extraordinary man 
 might be called Anacreontic, — he asked for 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 39 
 
 music, begged to be sprinkled with perfumes, 
 covered with garlands of flowers, and requested 
 that opium might be dropped in his goblet 
 of wine, to usher him to eternal sleep. 
 
 His obsequies I can well remember. The 
 cortege extended from the Chaussee d'Antin 
 to the Boulevard du Temple, and the dense 
 mass of citizens of every class of society, must 
 have numbered three or four hundred thousand. 
 The body was borne on a funeral car, drawn 
 by eight black horses, and covered with a pall 
 of black velvet, studded with silver stars, sur- 
 mounted by a figure of Fame. The mass of 
 mourners gradually increased during the pro- 
 cession to the church of St. Genevieve — then 
 transformed into a National Pantheon. Strange 
 anomaly in the history of men and of nations, 
 when we behold one of the most corrupt and 
 profligate debauches casting a veil of universal 
 mourning over the entire country ! The child 
 of materialism endowed with immortality ! 
 spiritualizing eternal dust ! 
 
 We had a footman of the name of Cote', a 
 most determined democrat, and, to improve me 
 
40 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 in the French language, he was allowed to take 
 me with him, and certainly he did introduce me 
 into the most motley society of jieuristes, enlu- 
 mineuses, &c. It may he easily imagined that 
 I soon became an enthusiastic demagogue. I 
 wore, much to the annoyance of my mother 
 and brother, an enormous tricoloured cockade, 
 and, without the most distant notion of what it 
 meant, called the King and Queen, Monsieur and 
 Madame Veto. 
 
 This outcry of Veto, which formed the 
 burthen of speech and of song, especially 
 of the Carmagnole, was one of the strange 
 absurdities of those fearful times. Strictly 
 speaking, the term applied to the power with 
 which the monarchic party wished to invest the 
 sovereign, of opposing, either by a suspensive or 
 absolute Veto, the decisions of the National 
 Assembly. Some of the people, however, con- 
 ceived that Veto meant a vexatious taxation ; 
 others gave it an impersonation, and loudly 
 demanded that Veto should be given up to the 
 people and hanged ; and it is related that 
 a countryman, when discussing the matter 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 41 
 
 with another peasant, explained this obnoxious 
 power by asserting, that if a man had his plate 
 full of porridge, and the King ordered him to 
 throw it away, Veto would compel him to do it 
 without delay. Others maintained, that if a noble- 
 man wanted to claim his droit du Seigneur, 
 Veto would oblige the husband to give up 
 his lovely bride ! 
 
 The Revolution, in fact, was now assuming 
 the form of a living being — but it was still in 
 its infancy — weak, helpless, undecided, and, 
 like the ocean, terrible from its instability — 
 its ebbing and flowing required dykes and 
 dams — and there was no one able to under- 
 take the gigantic and problematic labour, and 
 check the headlong course of the torrent. 
 
 In short, every lever was applied to raise 
 the populace, and even the middle classes, on 
 the fulcrum of terror ; and since it was un- 
 doubtedly believed, that the court party and the 
 clergy, assisted by the emigrants, who en- 
 deavoured, chiefly at Coblentz, to arm all 
 Europe against their mother country, and were de- 
 termined not only to restore the despotic power of 
 
42 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 absolute monarchy, but to exterminate all those 
 who had contributed to its fall, the Aristo- 
 crats and the Calotins, as the priests were 
 called — from the black calotte, or skull-cap that 
 covered the crown of their heads, the nobility 
 and clergy, and all about the Court, became 
 objects of general execration ; while bribes 
 scattered amongst the people and the Federalists 
 who had flocked to Paris, and approach- 
 ing famine and foreign invasion, produced 
 constant excitement, and the supposed, or real 
 authors of these calamities, were in constant 
 danger of being sacrificed to public indignation. 
 While the people were thus exasperated 
 against the aristocracy, the nobles, on their side, 
 seemed determined to feed the fire that was 
 to consume them, by every insulting and aggra- 
 vating means in their power. Thus, when 
 letters of nobility were abolished, and armorial 
 bearings prohibited, many imprudent aristocrats 
 had a cloud painted over the armorials on 
 their carriages, intimating that it was only a 
 passing mist that obscured their glory ; others, 
 liveries being also forbidden, dressed their 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 43 
 
 laquais and their coachmen in the most fan- 
 tastic manner ; and I recollect seeing destroyed 
 on the Boulevard de la Madeleine, by the popu- 
 lace, a Berline, on the panels of which a passing 
 cloud had been depicted, while two footmen 
 behind it were dressed as Pierrots (the French 
 clowns), the owner of the vehicle escaping the 
 fury of the mob with the greatest difficulty. 
 
 Child as I was, I partook of the general 
 opinion, despite the admonitions of my mother, 
 who was constantly asserting the sacred inviola- 
 bility of the Sovereign. When the King was 
 brought back, after his flight to Varennes, 
 I was walking with her on the Boulevard 
 of the Bains Chinois, when Drouet, the 
 post-master of Sainte Menehould, who had 
 stopped the fugitive royal family, crowned 
 with a wreath of laurels, was conducted about 
 the streets amidst popular bursts of enthusiasm. 
 Every woman the mob met was obliged to 
 kiss the supposed saviour of the country, and 
 my poor mother, despite her remonstrance in 
 broken French, was compelled to submit to 
 the rude embrace, which was reiterated amidst 
 
44 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 shouts of laughter : when the poor, dear soul 
 wiped her mouth and face, shedding bitter 
 tears, amidst roars of c'est une Anglaise ! c'est 
 une Anglaise ! 
 
 On her return home, followed by the mob, 
 my poor mother was in a sad state of dismay, 
 insisted on immediately going back to England, 
 and was most indignant with me, when I 
 declared that I could have kissed Drouet myself, 
 for having taken up Monsieur and Madame 
 Veto. 
 
 Nor was this sentiment surprising, when we 
 consider the state of Paris on this melancholy 
 occurrence. The flight of the Royal Family 
 had excited a general indignation, mingled with 
 terror — indignation at what was considered the 
 breach of the monarch's solemn engagement — 
 terror, when it was asserted that Louis was to 
 return at the head of foreign armies to chastise 
 France. The populace were roving about the 
 streets in frantic turbulence — effigies of the Kinff 
 and Queen were carried about and burnt, while 
 the mob danced round the auto-da-fe, singing 
 " Ah ca ira" and " La Carmagnole." Wooden 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 45 
 
 heads, fantastically dressed up, with straw stuffed 
 in their mouths, representing the Monarch and 
 Marie Antoinette, were carried about stuck upon 
 pikes, and wherever the word Royal was in- 
 scribed over theatres, lottery offices, tobacconists, 
 &c. &c, it was effaced with mud or paint, and 
 every symbol of royalty was dashed to pieces, or 
 torn down by the infuriated multitude. I well 
 recollect the morning after the flight, our porter 
 came into our apartment, and, in language not 
 very polite, informed us that "Les Capets ontf — s 
 le camp." My father instantly observed, " Then 
 all is over." Prophetic words, that, at this dis- 
 tance of time, still resound in my ears ! 
 
 We then lived in the Rue de la Michaudiere, 
 in the same house with Viotti, the celebrated 
 violin-player. He used to have quartettes on 
 Sundays, to which he was kind enough to invite 
 me and my father, despite my mother, who con- 
 sidered it a desecration of the Sabbath. 
 
 Viotti was a stanch democrat, and was 
 ordered out of England at a subsequent period (I 
 think in 1800), for his violent revolutionary 
 principles. 
 
46 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 My father was exceedingly fond of music, 
 particularly of the Italian school, and Pergolese 
 and Anfossi were his favourite composers. It 
 was thought I showed a disposition for music, 
 and a master of the name of Beure was taken to 
 teach me the harpsichord. This Monsieur 
 Beure I held in utter detestation : when he first 
 came, he was dressed in a black suit, with a bag- 
 wig and sword ; a costume which appeared to 
 me most ridiculous. My progress with him was 
 very slow, and I was much pleased when a 
 master of the name of Nadderman, a plain, 
 honest German, succeeded the powdered and 
 aristocratic Frenchman. With my new teacher 
 I got on better, and was soon able to play the 
 great test of improvement — the Battle of 
 Prague. At this time, instead of progressive 
 exercises, the custom was to teach at once 
 sonatas, but more especially overtures ; and I 
 soon strummed, tant bien que mal } those of 
 Blaise et Babet, La Caravarie, Iphigenie en 
 Aulide ; but I must confess my favourite prac- 
 tice was in playing Ah ca ira ! La Carmagnole, 
 and La Marseillaise . 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 47 
 
 Fortunate, indeed, would it have been for me, 
 if, instead of being sent to a day-school, where I 
 learnt less than nothing, I had been placed in 
 a regular college ; but colleges were now broken 
 up. Ecoles Primaires were open, and it was 
 decided that I should receive lessons from a pri- 
 vate tutor. The one selected for me was my 
 ever dear friend, Abbe Servois, who then lived 
 in the Place Dauphine, in the Cite. This amiable 
 man was a little hunchback, and he looked most 
 undignified in his soutane, buttoned from his 
 chin down to the skirt ; but his countenance was 
 most expressive, and under this uncouth form 
 beat the most generous and patriotic heart, that 
 ever could endear a man to country and to 
 friends. When the head-quarters of the 
 British army were at Cambrai, Servois was 
 Vicar-General of the diocese, and private secre- 
 tary to Delmas, the Archbishop. I have heard 
 that the Duke of Wellington particularly noticed 
 him when at the Episcopal Palace, for he spoke 
 a little English, which he had gradually learned 
 from me. He was the translator of " Chandler's 
 
48 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 Travels in Greece," which my brother had placed 
 in his hands. 
 
 Abbe Servois had taken the civic oath, and 
 was therefore excommunicated by the non-jurors. 
 He was appointed to a curacy at the Petits 
 Peres, the church of which was afterwards the 
 meeting-place of the Section de Guillaume Tell, 
 and some of the most energetic and constitutional 
 speeches were delivered in that assembly by my 
 eloquent friend, whose patriotic fire seemed to 
 inspire every one around him with a love of 
 country and of order. 
 
 He brought to our house his own particular 
 friend, Abbe Daire, and also Bishop Gregoire, 
 and Royer, afterwards Archbishop of Paris. 
 About the same time, Thomas Paine and 
 Anacharsis Clootz were also frequent visitors ; 
 and it was surrounded by these remarkable men, 
 that my unconnected notions of democracy 
 assumed a more concrete form, and, I became, 
 in heart and soul a thorough Republican. I at- 
 tributed all the miseries of mankind to arbitrary 
 power. I could not understand how such a 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 49 
 
 glaring disparity in rank and fortune — such 
 painful contrasts between splendid luxury and 
 squalid misery could exist, unless it were the 
 work of evil men. Fraternity and equality — 
 words that were constantly ringing in my 
 ears — I looked upon as Divine dictates; and, 
 brought up myself with notions of religion nar- 
 row and circumscribed, I may say that my reason 
 gradually soared to a loftier contemplation of the 
 duties of man both towards his Creator and his 
 fellows. I, therefore, young as I was, felt 
 an instinctive aversion to despotism and priest- 
 craft, and my excellent tutor impressed upon my 
 mind, that in the sublime doctrines of Chris- 
 tianity were to be found the fundamental prin- 
 ciples of those bonds of society that tyranny had 
 burst asunder. 
 
 Such must have been the case, when I inces- 
 santly heard the conduct of the unfortunate 
 Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette discussed and 
 commented on — of daily surrenders made to 
 the people — proclamations against emigration 
 and emigrants promulgated ; and, finally, war 
 against Austria declared, when, at the very 
 
 VOL. I. D 
 
50 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 same time the Queen and the Court party 
 corresponded with the Allied Powers and the 
 absent nobility, and endeavoured to accelerate, 
 by all the means in their power, the invasion of 
 the country, and the chastisement of every one 
 who had aided the revolutionary movement. 
 Such perfidious conduct aroused my feelings of 
 hatred towards all those who, I understood, 
 intended to wreak their vengeance on an entire 
 nation, and threatened to destroy Paris so 
 effectually, that, to use their own expressions, 
 children should ask their parents where it had 
 once stood ! 
 
 I had seen heads carried upon pikes, with 
 straw stuffed in their mouths. My horror 
 ceased when I was told that they had been 
 struck off the bodies of men who had starved 
 the people, and maintained that straw was good 
 enough for them. Such was the case of the 
 unfortunate and silly Foulon, whose mouth was 
 crammed with hay, in allusion to his unguarded 
 expressions that the people should " be mowed 
 down." I had seen three or four men killed and 
 hanged in the streets by the mob • but I thought 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 51 
 
 that they deserved their fate, when I heard that 
 they had corresponded with the enemies of the 
 country, to bring in les hordes etrangeres, ivres 
 de sang et aVorgueil. 
 
 In such times of universal excitement, of 
 virulent antagonistic action and reaction, it is 
 difficult for contemporary writers and prejudiced 
 or interested eye-witnesses to pronounce the con- 
 demnation of a nation, driven to desperation by 
 every possible means ; — menaced from within 
 with extermination by the nobility, the clergy, 
 and the Court, and from without by a host of 
 departed nobles ; when the King's own brother, 
 and all the armies of Europe, had decreed the de- 
 struction of France. No doubt many of the leaders 
 of the popular, or I should say the national 
 movement, distributed bribes to the lower orders ; 
 and I have often heard my father say, that 
 he thought that the Due d'Orleans was the chief 
 fomenter of these scenes of fearful discord ; but 
 subsequent observation and reflection have con- 
 vinced me that such was not the case. Many 
 of the assassins were bribed to commit the 
 most horrible murders; but millions could 
 
 d 2 
 
52 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 not have produced the spontaneous energies of 
 the French people, when they heard that they 
 were doomed to annihilation. 
 
 It was generally reported and believed that 
 these bribes were distributed by England, to 
 revenge herself for the treachery of the Court of 
 France, in having assisted the Americans in 
 throwing off their allegiance ; and it was also 
 said that it was the Duke of Orleans who 
 received these secret sums in London and 
 brought them over. It is no doubt true, that 
 the French revolution had many partisans in 
 England, and several Englishmen, who had ad- 
 vocated the popular cause, were made French 
 citizens, amongst others Thomas Paine. 
 
 But this system of corruption could never be 
 brought home to our Government, which was also 
 accused of having bribed the mob in several sea- 
 ports to murder their best naval officers. So far 
 from the British Government having acted in an 
 unfair and ungenerous manner towards France, it 
 had given it a moral lesson, by returning good for 
 evil ; for, notwithstanding the perfidious conduct 
 of the Bourbons in the affairs of America, when 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 53 
 
 the Royalist party offered to surrender Brest to 
 England, our Minister immediately communi- 
 cated the project to the French Cabinet. 
 
 Maugre the Anglomania that was then 
 prevalent in Paris, the most absurd reports were 
 circulated of the monstrous designs of Pitt, 
 and afterwards, of Cobourg, and when bread 
 rose or a conspiracy was discovered, it was im- 
 mediately attributed to the " infames projets de 
 Pitt et de Cohourg .'" 
 
 No words could describe the popular enthu- 
 siasm when a foreign invasion was expected. 
 Every one flew to arms ; pikes were fabricated 
 by millions — every weapon that could arm a 
 soldier — musket, pistol, fowling-piece, sword, or 
 couteau de chasse, was deposited by the 
 owner on the altar of the country in every 
 Section. Women, young and old, and little 
 children, assembled by thousands in the churches, 
 to make up linen for the army, and lint and 
 bandages for the wounded ; while every man 
 who had two pairs of shoes, gave up one of them 
 for the use of the volunteers proceeding to defend 
 the frontiers. At the same time, leaden coffins 
 
54 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 were torn out of the vaults, the remains of the 
 dead scattered in the street, until the atmosphere 
 was putrid, while the lead was cast into bullets, 
 and little children were taught to make 
 cartridges. The walls of the cellars of every 
 house were regularly scraped, to be run into a 
 lixivium for the extraction of saltpetre. The 
 National Guard were drilled day and night, both 
 in the manual and platoon exercise, and the use 
 of artillery; while thousands nocked to the 
 heights of Montmartre, Montrouge, and other 
 points covering the capital, on which field-works 
 were thrown up. Thither they carried their 
 humble meals in a basket, and worked from 
 break of day until dark, with spade, mattock, 
 and pick-axe. When exhausted with toil, they 
 staggered to their distant homes, still singing the 
 burthen of the Marseillaise. 
 
 Most of the days were thus occupied in 
 national preparations for defence. Mournful 
 and dismal were the nights ! Reports were 
 constantly circulated that the Faubourgs of 
 St. Antoine and St. Marceau were on the 
 march to attack the Palace, and murder all the 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 55 
 
 aristocrats. Then the drum of the National 
 Guard would beat to arms in every direction, 
 the tocsin toll in every church, and crowds 
 rush through the streets crying, " Lampions ! 
 Lampions !"* when every citizen was obliged to 
 place one in each window. 
 
 Jacobin newspapers were now circulated in 
 every quarter, calling on the people to destroy 
 their domestic enemies before they proceeded 
 to exterminate their foreign foes. Amongst 
 the most virulent were le Pere Duchene, con- 
 ducted by Hebert and Manuel ; VAmi du Peuple, 
 of Marat ; Prudhomme's "Revolutions de Paris •" 
 Camille Desmoulins' " Discours de la Lanterne ;" 
 and not only were these journals thrown into 
 immense circulation, but they were occasionally 
 placarded on the walls for general perusal. 
 Every passion that could drive to acts of 
 desperate daring was excited, and the whole 
 population of Paris kept in a state of 
 
 * Lampions were pans containing tallow, with a thick 
 cotton wick dipped in spirits of turpentine. They were 
 generally used for the purpose of illuminations in 
 festivals, &c. 
 
56 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 feverish fermentation. Proclamations from the 
 Sections were stuck upon every wall, urging 
 the people to maintain peace and order, while 
 each hour announced invasion and the rapid 
 advance of the enemy. 
 
 Battalions of volunteers, many of them boys 
 of fourteen or fifteen, without uniform, badly 
 armed, without appointments or ncessariees, 
 were marching against the enemy. Their mothers, 
 their sisters, their sweethearts were clinging 
 round them, bathed in tears, and pouring forth 
 execrations on the heads of the authors of 
 all their misery; and bitter were the pangs 
 of eternal separation, when nightfall obliged 
 them to bid farewell to all they held dear in 
 life, and mothers, smothering their grief, gave 
 a parting kiss to their sons, and exhorted them 
 to conquer or die. Alas ! on their return to their 
 desolate hearth, they did not even find bread 
 to eat ; when, to use their own disconsolate 
 expressions, they exclaimed, " they had nothing 
 left them but eyes to weep /" 
 
 These scenes are as vivid in my recollection 
 as though they had been of recent occurrence. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 57 
 
 With my faithful Cote, I also used to lend my 
 feeble hand to the entrenchments of Paris, 
 only regretting that I was not old enough to 
 join the departing legions. How fondly I gazed 
 on their new colours — red, blue, and white, with 
 a fasces surmounted by a cock — the symbol of 
 vigilance ; and on their banners was inscribed, 
 in golden letters, La Nation ! La Loi et le 
 ROI ! — the very monarch who was inciting the 
 legions of Europe to exterminate those generous 
 bands, that but a short time before would 
 have fought knee deep in blood to defend him 
 against popular outrage. 
 
 In the first years of the Revolution, the over- 
 throw of the monarchy was not contemplated 
 by the people, although a Republican form of 
 Government might have been the vision of 
 many Utopian politicians. The violent Camille 
 Desmoulins declared that at that period there were 
 not ten of the journalist es of France who were 
 Republicans. The press did not endeavour to 
 overthrow royalty, but to strenghten local 
 power by a federative union of the country, and 
 a national representation. Robespierre himself 
 
 d 3 
 
58 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 was obliged to admit that a spirit of Repub- 
 licanism had crept into parties, he knew 
 not how ; in fact, it was only when an 
 actual government had ceased to exist, that 
 the people endeavoured to govern themselves 
 — like landsmen, obliged to seize the helm 
 of a vessel abandoned by the crew, although 
 entirely ignorant of the science of navigation, 
 and without a compass or a chart. 
 
 So far from the King's being disliked, he was 
 considered a weak Prince, deceived by the 
 Austrian Queen and the profligate Court that 
 surrounded him. As a proof of this being the 
 case, whenever the monarch appeared in public, 
 and endeavoured by fair persuasion to soothe 
 popular excitement, he not only was received 
 with loud acclamations of devotion, but on 
 many occasions, when the unfortunate man 
 seemed affected by passing events and the 
 wants of the people, tears of gratitude were 
 shed by the very refuse of the rabble; 
 and never can I forget the joy — the frantic 
 joy — of the multitude on the Federation of the 
 anniversary of the 14th of July, in the Champ 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 59 
 
 de Mars, when the King swore to maintain the 
 Constitution, and the Queen held up the 
 Dauphin to the populace, as a pledge of the 
 sincerity of their oaths ! Men, women, and 
 children, citizens and soldiers, priests and lay- 
 men, were embracing each other with tears of 
 delight ; and, for three days and nights, public 
 festivities, dancing and banqueting were going 
 on, amid shouts of Vive la Nation ! Vive le 
 Roi ! although during the first two days and 
 nights the rain was falling in torrents. Poor 
 Cote' got into sad disgrace on this occasion, for 
 he had taken me, with some demoiselles de sa 
 connaissance, to the Champ de Mars, where we 
 all indulged in cervelats a Vail, gaieties and 
 echaudes with sour wine and bonne Mere de 
 Mars, a discretion ; and to the great terror of 
 my dear mother, we only came home on the 
 following morning, when my worthy guide would 
 have been turned away but for my entreaties. 
 
60 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Affair of the Champ de Mars — Bailly — Anacharsis 
 Clootz — Apotheosis of Voltaire — Dramatic spectacle — 
 General corruption and demoralization — Its causes — 
 — My education — Auricular confession — Black and white 
 pebbles — Les Gamins de Paris make their first appear- 
 ance — Barra and Viala — Popularity— Barnave— His at- 
 tachment to the Queen — Fickleness of the French. 
 
 The excitement produced by the flight of the 
 Royal Family, and the subsequent decree of the 
 Assembly, that declared their inviolability, far 
 from subsiding, became every day more and 
 more alarming ; not only to the Court party, 
 but to the Constitutionalists ; the clubs and 
 the majority of the people loudly demanded a 
 Republican form of government, and the 
 punishment of the perjured monarch. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 61 
 
 Several Englishmen at this period frequented 
 our house ; among them was Thomas Paine, 
 who drew T up an address to the French people, 
 under a fictitious name. In this insidious 
 production, he insisted that the King had, de 
 facto, abdicated, and that the short absence 
 of the monarch had produced an interregnum 
 far more desirable for the future welfare of the 
 country than his perfidious misrule. I recollect 
 this address was read at my father's, who then 
 received Home Tooke, Macintosh, Williams, 
 and other English gentlemen, with Anacharsis 
 Clootz, a most extraordinary foreigner, with 
 long bushy hair, and who appeared to me, 
 by the violence of his franctic gestures, to be 
 out of his mind. He was the first person I saw 
 who wore a red Phrygian cap — the emblem of 
 liberty — which was afterwards generally adopted. 
 
 These Englishmen were in constant corre- 
 spondence with the London society for Consti- 
 tutional Reform ; and Fox, Francis, Whitbread, 
 Courtnay, Grey, Sheridan, were members of 
 this association, that had presented a con- 
 gratulatory address to the National Assembly, 
 
62 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 after the events of the 1 Oth of August. Thomas 
 Paine spoke French very indifferently, and, 
 although his " Age of Reason," and other works, 
 had been translated, and were much admired, 
 he was considered at that period a visionary 
 incendiary, and even Robespierre, when speaking 
 of him, said : " The fire of this Englishman is 
 not calculated to illumine, but to consume." 
 
 The affair of the Champ de Mars, when 
 Bailly unfurled the red flag, and Lafayette 
 ordered the National Guard to fire on the 
 people, who were assembled on the altar of the 
 country, to sign an address to the Assembly, 
 demanding the deposition of the King, added 
 to the general exasperation. It was rumoured 
 that four thousand men, women, and children, 
 had been killed and wounded — a preposterous 
 exaggeration ; still a great number of dead, and 
 many persons grievously wounded, were carried 
 by our door, followed by a multitude, vociferating 
 the most fearful maledictions on the King, Bailly 
 and Lafayette. Incapable of forming a judg- 
 ment on this fatal occurrence, I must confess that 
 I partook of the general indignation, which 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 63 
 
 denounced the authors of what was called " the 
 massacre of the people" to public vengeance; 
 and the American hero lost, in my mind, much 
 of his former popularity. Yet, I recollect my 
 father thought otherwise. In fact, the National 
 Guard was chiefly composed of citizens, who 
 had something to protect ; and, when it was in- 
 timated that the inhabitants of the Faubourgs, 
 under Santerre, the brewer, meditated not only 
 the destruction of the Palais, but the plunder 
 of Paris, the Civic Force cheerfully dispersed 
 the mob, and would have acted with still 
 greater energy in their destruction, had it not 
 been for Lafayette, who, on beholding the effect 
 of the first volley of musquetry, threw himself 
 before one of the guns, when the artillery was 
 about opening its fire on the flying crowd. This 
 event materially tended to widen the breach 
 between the armed force and the populace. 
 
 I was but a child ; but, alas ! on such occa- 
 sions, the majority of the masses are little 
 better than children, and the sight of the 
 mangled dead and the gory wounded operated 
 more powerfully on my young mind, than my 
 
64 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 father's sensible remarks, which were contrary to 
 the opinions of most of our visitors, who, so far 
 from condemning the fury of the people, seemed 
 disposed to fan the flame of popular exaspera- 
 tion. 
 
 As usual during these fearful days, a festivity 
 followed this deplorable event, and the attention 
 of all Paris was drawn from the slaughter of the 
 people, to the apotheosis of Voltaire — one of the 
 most singular and imposing pageants that could 
 be exhibited to an excited population. My 
 father took me, on the preceding evening, to the 
 place of the Bastille, where the remains of this 
 illustrious writer, who might be considered as 
 one of the most powerful promoters of the 
 Revolution, were placed on a pedestal raised on 
 the ruins of the very prison in which he had 
 once been confined. The following day, the 
 procession that accompanied his sarcophagus to 
 the Pantheon, was as numerous as the mass of 
 mourners who followed the mortal remains of 
 Mirabeau. The whole was got up in theatrical 
 style. All the actors and actresses, singers and 
 dancers, of the different theatres, were grouped 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 65 
 
 round a statue of the philosopher, in the various 
 costumes of his dramatis persons. Zaire was 
 walking next to Mahomet, Julius Csesar arm-in- 
 arm with CEdipus, and Brutus with the widow 
 of Malabar ; while another group represented 
 Calas and his family. One of the most singular 
 objects in the procession was a portable press, 
 which worked off various hand-bills, as the 
 cortege proceeded, which were scattered amongst 
 the people.* A numerous chorus was pouring 
 forth the praises of the great man, and dancers, 
 
 * These slips bore analogous passages of his writings ; 
 thus on one was printed the lines in Mahomet : — 
 
 Les hommes sont egaux, ce n'est point la naissance 
 Mais la seule vertu qui fait leur difference. 
 
 On another : — 
 
 Tu dors, Brutus! et Rome est dans les fers! 
 
 A third :— 
 
 A de viles grandeurs ton ame accoutumee, 
 Juge ainsi du merite, et pese les humains 
 Au poid que la fortune avait mise en tes mains ; 
 Ne sais-tu pas encore! homme faible et superbe, 
 Que l'insecte insensible enseveli sous l'herbe, 
 Et l'aigle imperieux qui plane au haut du ciel, 
 Rentrent dans le neant aux yeux de l'Eternel ? 
 
66 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 decked with flowers, were grouping round them. 
 All the houses in the streets through which the 
 pageant passed were decorated with garlands, 
 and the ropes of the reverberes, or street lamps, 
 were festooned with oak leaves. The members 
 of the Assembly, of the political clubs, the 
 National Guards, the federal detachments from 
 the departments, all the colleges and public 
 schools, marched in array, with numerous flags 
 and banners, bearing appropriate inscriptions ; 
 while the martial sounds of trumpets, drums, 
 and military bands, were chiming with the 
 ringing of bells and the booming of ordnance. 
 The annals of literature never recorded a 
 greater or a prouder triumph of human intellect, 
 and the gigantic power of the press over fana- 
 ticism and bigotry. 
 
 The sarcophagus was borne on a gorgeous 
 car, drawn by twelve white horses, splendidly 
 caparisoned, preceded by twenty young girls in 
 white robes, strewing flowers from golden 
 baskets, and headed by Madame Villette, the 
 daughter of M. Villette, in whose house, on the 
 Quai des Augustins, since called Quai Voltaire, 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 67 
 
 the cynic scoffer expired. She was crowned 
 with laurels, and bore a golden lyre. In front 
 of every theatre, a station was erected, where 
 hymns to his memory, written by Chenier and 
 composed by Mehul and Gossec, were sung 
 with enthusiasm. Over the Theatre Francais, 
 since the Odeon, a statue of the great dramatist 
 was placed on a pedestal, that bore the inscrip- 
 tion, 
 
 "A 17 ans il ecrivit (Edipe, a 83 ans il ecrivit Irene." 
 
 My father had a fine edition of Voltaire's 
 works, and, on my return from this imposing 
 ceremony, I well recollect that I gazed on the 
 volumes and the portrait of their gigantic author 
 with a sort of worship, and I laid out my 
 pocket-money in purchasing his bust, which 
 my dear mother threw into the fire, calling 
 Voltaire an infidel — an unbeliever, although she 
 had never read a line of his writings. Abbe 
 Servois had put into my hands the " Henriade," 
 which I did not understand ; and I am sorry to 
 say, that the first production of his that fixed my 
 
68 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 attention was the " Pucelle d'Orleans," a copy 
 of which I found among my brother's books, 
 and purloined to read on the sly. 
 
 It may be easily concluded that, during these 
 disturbed times, my education was much neg- 
 lected. As I have already stated, I was sent 
 to a day-school, where I only learnt to read 
 French, with the first rudiments of Latin. My 
 tutor, Abbe' Servois, after he had taken charge of 
 me, made me write Latin themes and versions, 
 and the first works placed in my hands were 
 Cornelius Nepos, Phasdrus, Cicero and Erasmus's 
 Colloquies : but, being half my time in the 
 streets, mixing, with my faithful Cote, in every 
 mob and group, it is needless to add that, 
 much to the annoyance of my instructor, I 
 made but slow progress in my studies, to 
 which was added the drawback of several hours 
 applied to music and fencing. 
 
 Paris, at this time, presented a fearful 
 spectacle of systematic demoralization. The 
 Palais Royal was the theatre of every pos- 
 sible depravity. The entresols over every 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 69 
 
 shop in the lateral galleries were tenanted 
 by prostitutes, who exhibited themselves at 
 their windows during the day, and at night 
 mingled in the crowd of Federalists from 
 the departments, and young volunteers prepar- 
 ing to march, and taking leave of Parisian 
 pleasures, while members of the various political 
 clubs, more especially of the Cordeliers and 
 Jacobins, joined the motley throng, and excited 
 popular fermentation by every possible means. 
 The estaminets and cafes were crowded with 
 noisy politicians and blustering soldiers; and 
 at every step the ears were assailed with blas- 
 phemous ribaldry, obscene songs, accompanied 
 by the clang of steel scabbards rattling along 
 the pavement, while the air was redolent with 
 perfumes of half drunken girls and the 
 smoke of infamous tobacco. At every corner 
 of the galleries, ruffians were selling, at low 
 prices, the most indecent works, the erotic poetry 
 of Piron, the Abbes Chaulieu, Grecourt, Jean 
 Baptiste Rousseau, &c. &c. ; while, for the 
 edification of those who were fond of classic 
 
70 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 reading, the dialogues of Meursius, and the 
 private life of the twelve Caesars, with illustra- 
 trations from antique intaglios and cameos, were 
 widely circulated. It would appear that, while 
 the writings of the Encyclopedists were sapping 
 the foundations of the Christian religion, the 
 most effectual means of destroying every moral 
 principle of action were resorted to, by a party 
 determined to construct the edifice of their 
 ambition on the ruins of everything that had 
 been considered sacred and respectable. Thus 
 was the way paved for the worship of 
 Reason, whose dogmas were the enjoyment 
 of life. Terror and voluptuousness became the 
 chief instruments of this demoralizing and 
 destructive work. There must have existed a 
 secret fund to bear the expences of the circu- 
 lation of corruption, for these books were sold 
 for a few sous, and could not possibly remu- 
 nerate their publishers, even by the sale of large 
 numbers, it being chiefly confined to the 
 metropolis, and their vendors seemed more 
 anxious to distribute the moral poison amongst 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 71 
 
 the younger part of the community, in whom 
 its instillation might be more easily obtained. 
 In short, universal corruption appeared the order 
 of the day, while the words of virtue and 
 wisdom were ever on the lips of the corruptors. 
 
 If I was then exposed to this baneful influence, 
 my worthy mother did certainly exert, as heretofore, 
 her best endeavours in administering antidotes. 
 I was every morning and evening obliged to read 
 aloud two chapters of the Old and New Testa- 
 ments, in addition to which Bunyan's " Pilgrims' 
 Progress," and " Holy Wars," the latter an epic 
 poem, that ever delighted me, were also made 
 the subjects of my perusal, with Saurin's excellent 
 sermons, and Sturm's " Considerations sur les 
 (Euvres de Dieu." When Abbe Servois was 
 selected as my tutor, it was expressly stipulated 
 by my mother, that he was not to convert me to 
 the Roman Catholic faith ; and I must do the 
 excellent man the justice to say, that he most reli- 
 giously observed the compact : indeed, had 
 I been of a disposition likely to be worked upon 
 by bigotry, and by the romances of Popery, 
 
72 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 the constant remarks that greeted my ears 
 on that subject, were well calculated to 
 make me consider Romanism in the light in 
 which both my father and mother looked 
 upon it. My father, who, I have already 
 stated, had been on terms of intimacy when 
 at Rome with Ganganelli (Clement XIV.), 
 was as hostile to the Jesuits as that Pontiff, and, 
 amongst the many grounds of dislike to the 
 Romish faith, a most trivial circumstance added 
 to my mother's antipathy. We had long sus- 
 pected a servant-maid of many acts of dis- 
 honesty ; my father called in a Commissary of 
 Police to search her boxes, in which, in addition 
 to various stolen articles, was found a little bag, 
 containing black and white pebbles. When 
 questioned as to the use of this collection, she 
 admitted that they were for the purpose of con- 
 fession ; for, as her memory was somewhat 
 treacherous, whenever she committed a capital 
 sin, she popped in a black pebble, and a white 
 one was the record of any venial delinquency. 
 On confession days, therefore, she merely counted 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 73 
 
 her pebbles to her spiritual director, who imposed 
 penitential exercises on the sum total, without 
 the trouble of looking over items. 
 
 About this period, several Deputies of the 
 National Assembly had openly asserted their dis- 
 belief in a God, while the refractory clergy were 
 persecuting and exterminating the Constituent 
 priests who had taken the civic oath. They had 
 already kindled a civil and religious war in many 
 provinces ; and, in the midst of this confusion in 
 theological matters, it was not easy for a 
 youth to come to any distinct belief. I make 
 use of the word youth, for I may say, I never 
 passed through the transition of boyhood, but 
 was ushered from childhood into precocious 
 manhood, without partaking of the sports, 
 and the joyous recreations of careless boy- 
 hood; for, while boys of my age generally 
 applied their hours of relaxation to juvenile pas- 
 times, I was mixed up in scenes of political con- 
 vulsion and bloody strife. Lads of fourteen and 
 fifteen were in arms, and many of the gamins de 
 Paris had marched to the frontier. In the 
 Vendee, two boys, of the name of Barra 
 
 VOL. i. e 
 
74 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 and Viala, had saved a detachment of the 
 Republican troops, by cutting away the ferry- 
 rope of a raft, on which a body of the Royalists 
 were crossing the Loire. They were both killed 
 on the spot, and their remains removed in great 
 pomp to the Pantheon, while their busts were 
 carried about the streets, and hymns to their 
 praise sung at every festival. One of these 
 hymns was written by Chenier, and the music 
 composed by Gossec. It ended by the following 
 lines : — 
 
 " Honneur, honneur a la memoire 
 
 De Barra, de Viala, morts pour la liberte, 
 
 Et que nos chants de gloire, 
 
 Montent jusqu'au sejour de l'immortalite !" 
 
 On another hand, while my dear mother, who 
 sadly missed Mr. Martin, of Grafton Street 
 Chapel, attended divine service in a Pro- 
 testant church in the Rue Louis le Grand, 
 in which a worthy minister of the name of 
 Marolles officiated, my father was daily pon- 
 dering over Voltaire, Raynal, Rousseau, Hel- 
 vetius, and other philosophers of the school of 
 universal reform. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 75 
 
 It may be truly said that, during these 
 disastrous events, no one seemed to entertain 
 any decided opinion on any subject. Both the 
 leaders of faction and then* factious followers 
 were vacillating in their views, and consequently 
 in their conduct ; and the man who was one day 
 not only the favourite of the mob, but of the 
 more intellectual portion of the community, be- 
 came, in the fluctuation of public tergiversation, 
 an object of inveterate hate. Thus Lafayette and 
 Bailli, who were held up to general execration as 
 the blood-thirsty murderers of the Champ de 
 Mars, were again considered the saviours of their 
 country, when the King accepted the Constitu- 
 tion, and the most ardent Republicans joined in 
 the air-rending shout of Vive le Roi ! Nay, the 
 very Deputies of the Assembly, who on one day 
 abolished the titles of Sire and Majesty, revoked 
 their own decree the following evening, and 
 received their Sovereign with enthusiastic rap- 
 tures and cries of Vive sa Majeste'. One might 
 say, that the entire country laboured under a 
 maniacal excitement, with a few moments of 
 lucid intervals — alas ! but few and far be- 
 
 e 2 
 
76 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 tween ! — Strange anomalies arose in this per- 
 nicious fickleness of mind. Thus we beheld 
 Barnave, who had left Paris to bring back the 
 royal family, and drag them perhaps to the 
 scaffold, become enamoured with the beauti- 
 ful Marie Antoinette, and, from having been 
 her most bitter enemy, transformed into her 
 devoted slave ! How truly has it been said 
 of this great, and at the same time this puny 
 nation, that they united the ferocity of the tiger 
 to the frivolity of the monkey ! he tigre singe ! 
 In their insane manifestations, each party 
 seemed determined to commit suicide, as if 
 by self-destruction they fancied they could 
 involve their enemies in the general ruin, like 
 Sampson, sharing the fate of the crushed 
 Philistines. The very aristocracy, in order to 
 recover their power, excited and encouraged 
 their foes to dark and desperate resolves, in the 
 criminal hope that the excesses of the Jacobins 
 and the Girondins would ultimately exhaust the 
 country, and render it an easy prey to the 
 avenging foreigner. Thus it must have been 
 when, labouring under a paroxysm of suicidal 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 77 
 
 desperation, that Louis XVI. and his advisers 
 offered to the Duke of Brunswick the post of 
 Generalissimo of the French armies, with the 
 prospect of his ultimately succeeding to the 
 throne. The reply of that Prince must have 
 read a fearful lesson to the tempters — " My 
 blood is German, and my honour Prussia's ! My 
 ambition is satisfied with being the second person 
 in that monarchy, which has adopted me ; and I 
 would not exchange for a doubtful glory and 
 the chances of a revolution, the high position and 
 the unsullied reputation that I have secured for 
 myself in my fatherland." 
 
78 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Barthelemi — Barbier du Bocage — Denon — Walkenaer — 
 Study of the art of war, combined with archaeological 
 pursuits — Our neighbours, the breeches-maker and 
 fruiterer — The English accused of devouring their pri- 
 soners — Notions of equality — My dog introduces me 
 to Dugazon and the actors of the Comedie Francaise — 
 Kind reception in the green-room — Departure for Calais 
 — The buns of an actress poison to soul and body — 
 MesdemoisellesContatandLange — The Archbishop's niece 
 — Privileges of the Opera — Defrene— Lais — Balbatn — 
 Chenier— Charles IX. — Talma — Schisms in the theatre — 
 Gamier, the painter — A studio in the Louvre — Berthon — 
 A political model — Scenes d' Atelier, or mystification of a 
 studio — David and Napoleon — Their vanity — David's 
 death-bed — Displeasure of Napoleon — Classical taste and 
 its absurdities. 
 
 Fortunately for me, if I breathed such 
 a corrupted atmosphere, a powerful antiseptic 
 agency counteracted the contagion. In addition 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 79 
 
 to the demagogues, both French and foreign, 
 who frequented our house, it was the evening 
 rendezvous of many delightful savans and literary 
 men, who continued to cultivate sciences and arts 
 as calmly as if they lived in the most halcyon 
 days of peace. Amongst these were the Abbe 
 Barthelemi de Courci, keeper of the anti- 
 quities in the Bibliotheque du Roi, and brother 
 to the celebrated author of Anacharsis ; Barbier 
 du Bocage, the well-known geographer ; Vivant 
 Denon, who afterwards went to Egypt with 
 Napoleon. Of all these visitors, the one 
 that interested me the most was Denon: 
 his manners were most polite, and he was 
 a delighful raconteur. Possessed of great 
 versatility, his career in life had been marked 
 by many curious events. At an early age 
 he had written a comedy called, "Julie, ou 
 le bon Pere" This piece had been rejected 
 by the Comite de Lecture of the French 
 theatre, but several of the actresses, who were 
 delighted with the author, overruled the 
 opinions of their camarades, and brought it out. 
 The result, however, confirmed the opinion of 
 
80 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 the actors ; it was one of those milk-and-water 
 productions, which the French call a Veau de 
 rose. Denon now devoted himself to en- 
 graving, and, under the patronage of Madame 
 de Pompadour, was made an engraver of 
 the Court, and had his entrees at Versailles, 
 having been appointed a Gentilhomme de la 
 Chambre. He used to relate an anecdote of 
 his calling upon Voltaire when passing through 
 Ferney. The cynic philosopher refused to 
 see him, when his visitor sent back the 
 servant to tell his master that Vivant Denon 
 being a Gentilhomme de la Chambre du Roi, 
 had his entrees everywhere. Voltaire, struck 
 with the impertinence of the message, sent him 
 word, that since he claimed his entrees in the 
 "regions of the shades," he might come in. 
 They breakfasted together. Voltaire was much 
 pleased with his guest, and requested him to 
 draw his portrait. Denon complied, but his 
 production did not please his host, who affirmed 
 that he had made him much too old, and 
 certainly very ugly — an offence which he never 
 forgave. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 81 
 
 Denon's engravings, more especially his 
 etchings, were very clever, and he imitated 
 Rembrandt so admirably that, in several 
 instances, the most experienced collectors of 
 prints could not distinguish the originals from 
 the copies. His " Adoration of the Shepherds," 
 after Giordano, was considered so able a pro- 
 duction, that he was admitted an Associate of 
 the Academy. Few men could boast or boasted 
 more of his bonnes fortunes, and his vanity was, 
 at times, very ridiculous. When appointed 
 Director of the Museums by Napoleon, he had 
 a medal struck with his effigy, and on the 
 reverse, surrounded with a wreath of oak leaves 
 and of laurel, was inscribed — Et moi aussi j'ai 
 ve'cu dans le grand siecle. As a man of taste, 
 he was sadly deficient, and his contempt of 
 Canova was a striking illustration of his 
 want of judgment in the fine arts. A singular 
 anecdote is related regarding the statue of 
 Napoleon by that great sculptor. The statue was 
 a naked figure. The Emperor, on seeing it, asked 
 Denon what he thought of it. He hesitated in 
 
 e 3 
 
82 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 giving an answer ; but Napoleon insisting upon 
 knowing his opinion, he confessed he did not 
 like it as a work of art, and that he also 
 objected to it on the score of its casting a reflec- 
 tion on the Emperor, as he had given to his 
 statue the torso of a Hercules, contrasting with 
 his slight figure, to his disadvantage. Strange 
 to say, the vanity of the great man felt 
 hurt, and he immediately ordered the statue 
 to be re-covered with its green serge, and re- 
 moved from his presence. It was afterwards pur- 
 chased at a low price, and found its way to Prussia. 
 Denon used to mention a curious occurrence 
 of his younger days. He laboured under the 
 stone, and, fearful of the operation, he asked 
 his surgeon how long it would last. He re- 
 plied, ten minutes or a quarter of an hour. By 
 the watch, this time did not appear very 
 long, but one day passing before Notre Dame 
 and looking up at the clock, he went up to the 
 gallery, and seating himself on the parapet, 
 watched the progress of the enormous minute- 
 hand on the dial-plate, it appeared to him a 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 83 
 
 month — a year — of anguish, and he refused to 
 submit to the operation until his sufferings ren- 
 dered it indispensable. 
 
 Denon's reputation of being an antiquarian 
 and a savant was usurped by charlatanism. 
 He had a mere smattering of archseologic science, 
 and his museum, which resembled those curiosity- 
 shops, which the French call de bric-a-brac, was 
 a proof of his want of taste and judgment. It 
 was a heap of valuable and worthless articles, 
 huddled together without any discrimination or 
 order. But Denon possessed most ingratiating 
 manners, was, at the same time, shrewd and 
 keen, and had been successfully employed 
 during the former regime in various diplomatic 
 missions. 
 
 Millin, keeper of the cabinet of medals, 
 was also a man whose attainments had been 
 much overrated. He used to write both on 
 antiquities and on natural history, and when 
 his works on archaeology were disparaged, his 
 friends would say, Que voulez-vous ? Millin 
 est un naturaliste : and on the other hand, 
 when his books on Natural History were spoken 
 
84 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 of with contempt, they would observe, Que 
 voulez-vous ? Millin est un antiquaire ! 
 
 Walkenaer, who afterwards attained great cele- 
 brity in literature, was also a constant visitor. I 
 may therefore say that, from my childhood, 
 I was surrounded by men of talent and 
 notoriety. As I have already stated, this con- 
 nexion gave me an early taste for works of 
 art, and my pocket-money was applied to the 
 purchase of prints, chiefly etchings, and shells, 
 while I pursued the study of entomology with 
 Walkenaer, when, with the Faunus of Paris in 
 hand, we wandered about fields and gardens 
 in search of insects, of which I had formed a 
 tolerable collection, chiefly of the Coleoptera. 
 
 The versatility of tastes in the same per- 
 son is often remarkable. Although my bro- 
 ther was mostly occupied in archaeologic 
 pursuits, yet the science of war seemed 
 his favourite vocation. He pored over the 
 works of Vauban, Belisle, when he laid down 
 Folard's Polybius, and round his room were 
 suspended plans of the campaigns of Marl- 
 borough and Conde. At other times, he 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 85 
 
 moulded fortifications in clay, and collected 
 models of artillery, pontoons, &c. I have already 
 mentioned that he had always wished to 
 be an engineer, but his bad health had in- 
 duced my father to oppose this desire. During 
 the agitation that then prevailed, I think that 
 he would have joined the emigrants, if circum- 
 stances, and prudence, had not prevented him 
 from taking so rash a step. 
 
 Thus passed my early life, which I may say 
 had been cradled in confusion and turmoil. 
 About this time we removed from the Rue de 
 la Michaudiere to the Rue Neuve St. Roch, 
 where we occupied the first floor of a house 
 opposite the lateral entrance of the church. My 
 father seemed determined to approach as near 
 as possible to the focus of strife. To the right 
 and left of the porte-cochere, resided a fruiterer 
 and his wife, and a German leather breeches- 
 maker — both of them fierce Jacobins. The 
 fruiterer's name was De Latre ; the culottier.s 
 Hoffmann. I soon became a prime favourite 
 with the fruiterer ; he was corporal in the 
 National Guard of the section de la butte des 
 
86 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 moulins — and vowed destruction to royalty, 
 aristocracy, and every man of fortune, whom 
 he considered as an accapareur, or monopolist — 
 a hateful term in times of dearth, when starva- 
 tion is attributed to the wealthy. I well recol- 
 lect, at a time when the most absurd reports 
 were circulated about England and the British 
 Government, and war had broken out, Citizeness 
 De Latre, the fruitier e, bringing some peaches to 
 my mother, observed in her armoire a large stock 
 of linen, when she exclaimed, that she saw no rea- 
 son why an aristocrate should have more clothes 
 than any other citizen, more especially une An- 
 glaise, since the English, under Pitt, had acted 
 so infamously towards the Republican de'fenseurs 
 de la patrie, having sent to India for savages to 
 devour their prisoners ! and that those who 
 were allowed to live, for the purpose of being 
 exchanged, were fed with bouillon, made of their 
 murdered comrades. Indeed, the stories related 
 of the English, the emigrants, and the satellites 
 of Pitt and Cobourg, although more absurd 
 than any fairy tale, were generally credited by 
 the people. I am confident that my family would 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 87 
 
 have been sacrificed by their infuriated neighbours, 
 but for me, whom they looked upon as a most 
 promising youth, sadly regretting that I was 
 not un Francais. One of my mischievous 
 tricks procured me the admiration of all the 
 neighbourhood. In the centre of one of the 
 side windows of St. Roch was a stained pane of 
 glass, bearing a double L, the initials of Louis, 
 and a crown. Somehow or other, this emblem 
 of royalty had escaped the searching eyes of the 
 plebeians of our quartier, when I took up a 
 stone, and smashed the offensive cypher of 
 monarchy. I verily think, that if they could 
 have afforded it, they would have had my 
 bust moulded, and placed it in the Temple of 
 Reason. 
 
 It was through the instrumentality of the 
 worthy fruiterer, who had made me purchase a 
 carbine, and often took me with him to parade, 
 that my taste for dramatic pursuits was first 
 developed. I had always delighted in theatricals ; 
 and the first piece my father took me to see in 
 Paris was Racine's " Athalie," which was per- 
 
88 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 formed, with the choruses of Gossec, at the 
 Theatre Rue Favart ; and I much regretted 
 that my visits to the play-house were of rare 
 occurrence. Howbeit, it was otherwise or- 
 dained. 
 
 I had a little spaniel, called Chloe, a dog 
 of the Blenheim breed, very fond of me; 
 but most noisy and destructive. My father, 
 therefore, insisted on my parting with my pet. 
 Great was my grief; when my friend De Latre 
 came to comfort me, by informing me that there 
 was a good citizen, and a most worthy man, 
 who had always expressed a desire to possess 
 such an animal ; for, although he abhorred the 
 English Government, yet he esteemed British 
 patriots, and was partial to British dogs. This 
 worthy citoyen was no other than Dugazon, the 
 celebrated actor of the Comedie Francaise. My 
 kind neighbour informed me that with citizen 
 Dugazon my Chloe would be as happy as a 
 princess. This promise reconciled me to my 
 loss, and, with bitter tears in my eyes, I took 
 up my pretty companion under my arm, and, 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 89 
 
 with Citizen De Lfitre, proceeded to the house of 
 Citizen Dugazon, who then resided on the Quai 
 Voltaire. 
 
 The comedian received me with open arms, 
 gave me a fraternal kiss, caressed my Chloe, 
 and, bidding me dry up my tears, told me that 
 I might come and see her as often as I liked, 
 and that, if I wished to go to the theatre, he 
 would give me orders whenever I wished. The 
 following day, I dined with him and his delight- 
 ful sister, Madame Vestris, and Mademoiselle 
 Candeille, and afterwards proceeded to the 
 theatre. In the foyer, or green-room, he intro- 
 duced me to the two Baptistes, to Monvel, St. 
 Phal, Mademoiselle Contat and her sister, 
 Mademoiselle Lange, who had not then seceded 
 from the theatre ; and le petit Anglais, as they 
 called me, was ever after the bien venu of 
 the circle, which I enjoyed the more from my 
 dear mother having often told me that players 
 were the most abominable set of people in the 
 creation. This dislike to the profession was 
 strongly illustrated by an occurrence that took 
 place at Calais. 
 
90 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 After the events of the 10th of August, my 
 mother was so terrified and shocked at what 
 passed under our very window, that she insisted 
 on returning to England with my brother and me. 
 In fact, a more heroic woman would have been 
 struck with terror. A drunken ruffian, who 
 carried the head of an unfortunate Swiss 
 soldier on a pike, brought it to our window, 
 and then dashed it on the street against a post. 
 My poor mother, more dead than alive, shrieked 
 at the sight of the ghastly visage, and ordered 
 our man, Cote, to cover it with straw. This 
 order Cote, with much reluctance, obeyed ; but 
 the neighbours were furious, uncovered the 
 head, and were about breaking our windows, 
 when the fruiterer and the breeches-maker 
 interfered, and assured them that we were des 
 Citoyens Bataves et des bons enfans ! My poor 
 mother was of a different opinion ; and, after a 
 consultation with our good friends, the Van de 
 Nivers, it was decided that we were to set off" for 
 Calais, and there await events for our future 
 guidance. 
 
 At Calais, my brother got acquainted with a 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 91 
 
 young man belonging to the Treasury, who 
 was about emigrating, and they frequented the 
 theatre every play night. I remember that, at a 
 corner of the Rue de la Comedie, there was a 
 segment of a bomb inserted in the wall, with 
 an inscription, that this shell had been thrown 
 into the town, when bombarded by les infames 
 Anglais. Howbeit, at the play-house they got 
 acquainted with several actresses ; and, as I 
 sometimes accompanied the party — much against 
 my mother's wishes, and by dint of tears and 
 uproarious opposition — I met a young come- 
 dienne, who gave me a bag of cakes and sugar- 
 plums, although she appeared to me much 
 sweeter than her macarons and her bonbons. 
 The remains of the present I took home. When 
 my mother asked me who had given me those 
 dainties, without hesitation, I told her the truth, 
 that I had received them from a pretty little 
 actress, when the dear Anabaptist snatched them 
 from me, and, to my utter amazement, threw 
 them out of the window, telling me that they 
 were poison both to my body and soul. This 
 
92 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 denunciation I by no means could comprehend, 
 and I became outrageous for the loss of my 
 goodies, which, no doubt, were picked up by 
 some French infidel, who, in all probability, de- 
 voured them without apprehension of death or 
 eternal perdition. 
 
 I had related this anecdote to my new friend, 
 Dugazon, who made me repeat it in the green- 
 room, to the no small amusement of the ladies 
 of the party. Here it was that I became 
 acquainted with Picard, the actor and dramatist, 
 and Pigault Lebrun, who spoke English 
 remarkably well. 
 
 A singular incident, occurred about this time, 
 when difference of political opinion brought on 
 a schism in the theatre. One evening, Miles. 
 Contats and Lange took me home with them, 
 and, after many caresses, begged of me to break 
 off with Dugazon and his clique ; adding, " si 
 tu frequentes ces gens-la, mon petit ami, tu es 
 perdu." 
 
 However, these friendly admonitions were of 
 no avail; they appeared, with many of their 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 93 
 
 camarades, to regret most deeply the ancien 
 regime, in which they were treated as servants of 
 the Crown, and liable to be imprisoned in Fort 
 l'Eveque if they offended any person about the 
 court, or even the public — they seemed to glory 
 in their abject slavery, proud of wearing golden 
 chains. This fraction of the stage was essen- 
 tially royalist, and satisfied with a lot that even 
 deprived their remains of Christian sepulture, — 
 while the singers and dancers of the Acade'mie 
 Royale de Musique claimed an exception from 
 that ban, ever since Louis XIV, he Grand 
 Monarque, took it into his head to figure in the 
 corps de ballet. Strange anomaly! — any mere- 
 tricious figurante of the opera had claims on the 
 Church which were refused to the most distin- 
 guished followers of the drama — nay, the pre- 
 cincts of the opera were a sanctuary, in which, 
 even the Church could not interfere. A curious 
 anecdote was related on this subject — a niece (qy 
 daughter?) of one of the Archbishops of Paris was 
 much attached to a young chorister of Notre 
 Dame ; — their love being discovered, the young 
 man was expelled the Church, and joined the 
 
94 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 Acade'mie de Musique ; the young lady, per- 
 sisting in her resolution to marry him, was 
 about being immured in a nunnery, when her 
 lover, on representing to the manager of the 
 theatre and the gentilhomme de la chambre, that 
 she possessed a beautiful contralto voice, and 
 was moreover a beautiful girl, procured her an 
 engagement, which she duly signed. He then 
 carried her off in a hackney coach to the 
 theatre. It was on an evening when the opera 
 of " Orpheus" was performed. The poor girl, 
 who had never entered a playhouse, and who had 
 been told that it was a hell upon earth, was 
 sadly terrified, when, on going up stairs to the 
 manager's room, she encountered various black, 
 blue and red devils, and hobgoblins, horned and 
 tailed, with torches in their hands, and heard 
 the loud peals of the mimic thunder. She 
 fell upon her knees and recited her orisons, 
 thinking herself in the infernal regions; nor 
 was it without great difficulty that she was 
 convinced of the real state of affairs ; but love 
 prevailed over religious terror, and she became 
 one of the Academy. The worthy Prelate 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 95 
 
 applied in vain for his truant niece — the rules 
 and regulations of the establishment could 
 not be broken — she was une pensionnaire 
 du Roi. 
 
 So bigoted were the prejudices against the 
 stage, that, at a period of great public distress, 
 when the Parisian Theatres gave charitable per- 
 formances, and actually realised above 36,000 
 francs (about £1,500), the cures of the 
 different parishes, by order of the diocesan, 
 refused to accept the donation, unless it was 
 handed to them by the Lieutenant de Police. 
 On this occasion, the Come'die Francaise made 
 10,500 and the Opera 11,600 francs. 
 
 On the other side of the question, Talma, 
 Monvel, Dugazon, and many of their coma- 
 rades, who wished to claim for their profession 
 the rights of citizens and of men, were 
 looked upon as Jacobins ; it may, therefore, 
 be readily conceived, that, in spite of the 
 friendly advice of my fair friends, I remained 
 true to my old acquaintance. In addition to this 
 circumstance, which launched me on the troubled 
 
96 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 waters of the drama, my pursuit of prints, 
 especially of Callot's delightful etchings, had pro- 
 cured me the acquaintance of Defrene, the 
 singer of the opera, who possessed a most 
 valuable collection. Although he was a 
 mode're, through him I became acquainted 
 with Lais, the celebrated singer, who was a most 
 furious Jacobin ; so much so, that, after the 
 events of the 9th Thermidor, when the power of 
 terrorisme was overthrown, he was hissed and 
 hooted off the stage in the opera of Les 
 Pretendus ; — on this occasion he wore a red 
 coat, when a man in one of the front boxes 
 exclaimed, Lais, as-tu teint ton habit avec le 
 sang de tes victimes ? This apostrophe was 
 followed with tumultuous shouts of execration, 
 and he was obliged to quit the stage. 
 
 I recollect an amusing occurrence after his 
 retirement — a doublure, or substitute, appeared 
 for him in " Anacre'on." The pit, not satisfied 
 with his voice, expressed their disapprobation, 
 when, no ways intimidated, he stepped to the foot- 
 lights and very quietly said : 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 97 
 
 " Citoyens et citoyennes, si favais une voix de 
 20,000 francs par an, est-ce que vous croyez 
 que je serais assez bete pour vous la donner 
 pour mille ecus ?" 
 
 This naivete was received with immense 
 applause, and he proceeded in his part without 
 any further interruption. 
 
 A fatality seemed to be attached to me in my 
 theatrical attractions. My music-master was then 
 Balbastre, organist of St. Roch and harpsichord- 
 master to the unfortunate Queen. He was the 
 inventor of a Piano organise', which combined 
 both the piano and the organ at will. The 
 harpsichord on which I played at his house was 
 an instrument given to him by Marie 
 Antoinette, and painted by Watteau, on a gilt 
 ground. 
 
 Balbastre's son was a violin-player at the 
 opera, and he frequently took me there, to 
 encourage, as my father thought, my taste for 
 music. At this time he was on terms of 
 intimacy with the beautiful Clotilde, who 
 subsequently personated the Goddess of Reason : 
 this divinity took a great liking to the petit 
 anglais, and I became an habitue' of the foyer. 
 
 But I still preferred the society of Dugazon, 
 
 vol. i. F 
 
98 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 for at this period much excitement prevailed in 
 the Comedie Francaise, occasioned by Chenier's 
 celebrated tragedy of Charles IX., illustrating 
 the massacre of St. Bartholomew. 
 
 Talma had appeared in this production with 
 immense success, and had excited the jealousy 
 of the hitherto famed Larive. The piece 
 became immensely popular, but, as it denounced 
 despotism and priestcraft, the king, on the 
 application of the clergy, prohibited its perform- 
 ance, through M. Duras, then Gentilhomme 
 de la Chambre ; while, on the other hand, the 
 Commune de Paris, and the people, loudly de- 
 manded it. Mirabeau himself, in the name of the 
 Federalists from the provinces, went to the theatre 
 to request its being brought out, when he met 
 with a plump refusal from the Comediens du Roi, 
 who, still considering themselves the servants of 
 the sovereign, denied any other authority. Bailly, 
 then Mayor of Paris, summoned the committee 
 of the society to the town-house, when they 
 were ordered to play the piece ; they then 
 proceeded to expel Talma from their company, 
 and my friend Dugazon immediately resigned. — 
 The people, however, insisted on the tragedy and 
 Talma — a regular theatrical row followed — the 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 99 
 
 pit benches were torn up, and a fragment of a 
 seat was thrown on the stage, and was nigh 
 killing Fleury, who had been one of the leaders 
 of the opposition to the will of the people — who 
 soon carried the day. Charles IX. was played, 
 but Mme. Raucourt, Mile. Contat and other 
 performers sent in their resignation ; — it was 
 after this scene that Fleury challenged Dugazon, 
 and, after a long contest, in which both (very 
 probably wishing to avoid danger,) were slightly 
 wounded in the sword arm. 
 
 It may easily be imagined that, while I was 
 subject to such distractions, my classic studies 
 got on but slowly, much to the annoyance of my 
 dear good tutor, who was himself constantly 
 occupied in his section, where he was one of 
 the most energetic and eloquent speakers, in 
 endeavouring to control factious disorders, and 
 consolidate the constitutional power. 
 
 It was some years after, that my father, 
 much annoyed at my slow progress, took 
 it into his head that I had a taste for 
 drawing, and, by the advice of Denon, I 
 was sent to the Louvre, under Garnicr, the 
 painter, well known by his admirable pic- 
 tures of Daedalus and Icarus, and the Grief 
 
 f 2 
 
100 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 of the family of Priam on the walls of Troy. I 
 remained two years in his studio, and, as I shall 
 shortly relate, left it when beginning to draw 
 from the cast. 
 
 Nothing could be more singular than the life 
 of an atelier. As the youngest pupil, I was 
 made what is called a gringallet, or a colour- 
 grinder and fag, when I was also honoured with 
 the appellation of Rapin. 
 
 For the preservation of my morals, I was not 
 allowed to remain in the studio when a female 
 model sat. One of ours was a lovely girl, named 
 Victoire, and somehow or other I made her 
 acquaintance in the corridor of the gallery, and 
 on the dark winding stairs that led to it ; and 
 not unfrequently I accompanied her home to her 
 little lodgings, near La Halle aux Bles, as Vic- 
 toire wished to take lessons in English, and had 
 a great desire to see England, where she was 
 told that a good model was a very scarce article. 
 Pretty Victoire was, moreover, a royalist, and 
 would not sit for David, but chiefly posed for 
 my master, who was also a staunch enemy of 
 republicanism. 
 
 I now became acquainted with my friend 
 Berthon, who was a pupil of David's, and 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 101 
 
 resided with Denon. He was then a youth, and 
 the first time I saw him, he was painting a 
 scull crowned with a chaplet of roses. Many 
 years after, I met with him at Bordeaux, and he 
 related to me a most entertaining anecdote of 
 another political model, who was as much at- 
 tached to Napoleon as Victoire had been to the 
 Bourbons. 
 
 Berthon was portrait-painter to the Emperor, 
 a situation that he owed both to his talents and 
 toDenon's recommendation; and, when Napoleon 
 abdicated, Berthon could not witness the Restora- 
 tion without concern and regret for the fall of 
 his patron, and withdrew in disgust to Tours. 
 There he was employed on an historical painting 
 that required a female model. He enquired of 
 a brother artist if such a person could be pro- 
 cured, when he was informed that there was a 
 woman in the place, who had been a vivandiere 
 in the Imperial army, and who had also sat as a 
 model. However, since the Restoration, she had 
 refused to follow this avocation, on political 
 grounds. 
 
 Berthon, somewhat surprised that the state of 
 politics should thus influence this singular per- 
 sonage, sent for her ; when she confirmed all 
 
102 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 that he heard on the subject, adding that, " since 
 the fall of the Emperor, she could no longer 
 assist les beaux arts" Our painter replied that 
 no one could deplore the abdication of Napoleon 
 more deeply than he did, since in him he had 
 lost a generous and a kind protector. He fur- 
 ther assured her, that he had left his dear Paris 
 not to witness the degradation of his country, in 
 being again subjected to the Bourbons. 
 
 Our model was delighted with this informa- 
 tion. With eyes streaming with tears, she em- 
 braced Berthon, and assured him that she would 
 sit for him with the greatest delight. The next 
 day she gave him a seance, when, to his utter 
 amazement, she displayed the cause of her ob- 
 jection to sit for any artist of the Restoration, 
 which was simply, that some of the braves had 
 tattooed on the lower part of her back a capital 
 N., the initial of the Emperor, surmounted with 
 a crown, and under it could be read in most 
 legible characters the following device of military 
 fidelity : — 
 
 "Toujours Fidele au 32eme de Ligne !' 
 
 A French studio presents a singular scene to 
 the uninitiated. The students were up to every 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 103 
 
 kind of mischievous tricks ; but they were 
 chiefly practised on unfortunate amateurs and 
 would-be judges of painting, who occasionally 
 visited the master, who himself set an example 
 to his pupils in mystifying troublesome intruders. 
 These mystifications were called scies d' atelier, 
 or studio saws, sawing, on these occasions, being 
 synonymous in some degree with our expression 
 of boring. Hence the common French saying, 
 when a man is bored by serious conversation — 
 " II me scie le dos avec un confessional ;" — (he 
 saws my back with a confessional.) Oftentimes, 
 when one of these troublesome cognoscenti came 
 to visit Gamier, and teased him with absurd re- 
 marks, he would begin one of his scies, and I now 
 recollect two of his favourite ones, which I could 
 not well explain without a dialogue, to illustrate 
 the relative position of amateur and painter: — 
 
 Amateur. — Now tell me, my dear sir, which 
 of the Carracci do you prefer in regard to 
 drawing, colouring, and keeping — Annibal, Luigi 
 or Augustine ? 
 
 Gamier (continuing to paint.) — Why, my 
 dear sir, Annibal has done some fine things — 
 bien tappe's — very fine ; so has Luigi, and I 
 must say that Augustine sometimes avait du 
 
104 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 chique. — (Then he would hum the beginning of 
 his scie.) 
 
 Quant les poules vont aux champs, 
 La premiere va devant. 
 
 Amateur. — May I ask you what do you mean 
 by the word tappe ? 
 
 (Here a general titter amongst the students at 
 the extreme ignorance of the stranger.) 
 
 Gamier. — Tappe', my dear sir, means du 
 chique. 
 
 Amateur. — I am still in the dark, for I do 
 not know what chique means. 
 
 Gamier. — Ma foi, Monsieur — une croute 
 n'est ni chiquee ni tapee. 
 
 (Sings on). 
 
 La seconde suit la premiere 
 La troisieme vient derriere. 
 
 Amateur {somewhat discomposed). — Now, 
 Mr. Gamier, which of the artists of the modern 
 school do you think most approaches the divine 
 Raphael. 
 
 Gamier. — Why, perhaps, myself. 
 
 (Sings on) — 
 
 Quant les poules vont aux champs 
 La premiere va devant. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 105 
 
 From this specimen of the conversation, it 
 may be easily imagined that the intruder did not 
 prolong his stay, nor was he disposed to pay 
 another visit to an atelier for information in 
 painting ; and, on his departure, amidst the ge- 
 neral hilarity of the students, he might have 
 heard remarks not altogether flattering to his 
 taste as an amateur of painting ; when often an 
 atelier chant and chorus would follow, and, the 
 more absurd the words, the more popular were 
 they. The following is a specimen : — 
 
 1st Voice — II y avait quatre jeunes gens du quartier. 
 2nd — II y avait quatre jeunes gens du quartier. 
 3rd — II y avait quatre jeunes gens du quartier. 
 4th — lis etaient tous quatre malades. 
 5th — lis etaient tous quatre malades. 
 Chorus — Ades, ades, ades. 
 1st Voice — On les conduit al'hopital. 
 2nd — On les conduit a l'hopital. 
 Chorus— Al, Al, Al. 
 
 2. 
 
 3rd Voice — lis deraandent du bouillon. 
 4th— lis deraandent du bouillon. 
 5th — Mais il n'etait ni chaud ni bon. 
 6th — Mais il n'etait ni chaud ni bon. 
 Chorus — On, On, On. 
 
 F 3 
 
106 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 3. 
 
 1st Voice — On les mit tous quatre tete beche * 
 2nd — On les mit tous quatre tete beche. 
 3rd — C'est l'usage de la maison. 
 4th — C'est l'usage de la maison. 
 Chorus — On, On, On. 
 1st Voiec — -Ca commence a vous ennuyer. 
 2nd — Ca commence a, vous ennuyer. 
 Chorus— Eh, Eh, Eh. 
 1st Voice — Eh bien, je vais recommencer, 
 
 II y avait quatre jeunes gens du quartier, &c. 
 
 And then the rhapsody, or some other compo- 
 sition equally absurd, would recommence. 
 
 I had frequent occasion at this time to meet 
 the celebrated David. He was in every respect 
 a most forbidding person. His looks, naturally 
 sinister, were rendered more hideous by a tumour 
 in the cheek, the nature of which I could not 
 understand. He was considered as the founder 
 of a new and what was called a classic school ; 
 the manierism of Boucher, Vanloo, and Coypel, 
 he abhorred. He had commenced his studies 
 under Boucher, whom he left for the atelier 
 of Vien. However, disgusted with the style 
 of the day, he repaired to Italy, where he 
 
 * Tete beche means heads and tails. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 107 
 
 said the sight of the chef-d' centres of that 
 school and the conversation of antiquarians had 
 cured him of the cataract. He then adopted 
 a classic purity of style, and, despising 
 colouring and what he used to call perspective 
 and chromatic harmony, he applied himself 
 chiefly to correct drawing, a method which gave 
 to his productions the appearance of sculptured 
 marble bassi-relievi, more than of living scenes ; 
 and many of his figures were borrowed from 
 antique intaglios and cameos. He wished that 
 each figure should be an academic study, that 
 might be copied separately out of the grouping. 
 Despising everything modern as barbarous and 
 maniere, he was a slave of antiquity ; and he 
 often told Talma that he first admired him in his 
 Britannicus, when he fancied that he beheld a 
 Roman statue descend from its pedestal and 
 walk before him . A staunch Republican, he threw 
 himself headlong into the revolutionary vortex, 
 and was, perhaps, one of the most ferocious and 
 unrelenting members of the Jacobin Club. When 
 numerous and indiscriminate executions took 
 place, he would chuckle with delight, and ex- 
 claim, " C'est ca, ilfaut encore broyer du rouge." 
 His vanity could only be equalled by his cruelty, 
 
108 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 and one day, when he was boasting of being in- 
 corruptible, like Robespierre, Fabre d'Eglantine 
 replied, " I know what would bribe you !" — 
 " What ?" he exclaimed with indignation. " An 
 apotheosis in the Pantheon during your life- 
 time," was the answer. This vanity was exhibited 
 on his death-bed, when, to ascertain the state of 
 his faculties, an engraving of his picture of 
 Thermopylas was shewn to him : he cast on it his 
 glassy eyes, and muttered, " II vHy a que moi qui 
 pouvait concevoir la tete de Leonidas." These 
 were his last words. 
 
 Yet this miscreant, bold in his career of 
 crime, was both a sycophant and a coward. 
 When painting by order of Napoleon, he often 
 crouched like a spaniel before his insolent 
 protector, who frequently put his patience to a 
 severe test. In his celebrated picture of the 
 distribution of the eagles to his legions, David 
 had represented Victory soaring over them, and 
 holding forth crowns of laurel. " What do 
 you mean, Sir, by this foolish allegory ?" said 
 the Emperor; "it was unnecessary. Without 
 borrowing such absurd fictions, the world must 
 know that all my soldiers are conquerors." So 
 saying, he quitted the studio ; but, on returning 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 109 
 
 a few days after, he found that the artist had 
 painted three scrolls on the ground, bearing 
 the names of Buonaparte, Hannibal, and 
 Charlemagne. Napoleon was delighted with 
 the compliment. David used to relate another 
 anecdote of his employer. When he had ordered 
 him to paint his portrait, he asked him how he 
 intended to represent him. " On the field of 
 victory, Sire, sword in hand." " Bah !" replied 
 the Emperor. " Victories are not gained by 
 the sword alone. Sir, represent me dashing 
 forward on a fiery steed." When requesting 
 Napoleon to sit a little more steadily, that he 
 might the more easily catch the resemblance, he 
 replied : " Pshaw, Sir ! who cares for a re- 
 semblance ? What are mere features, Sir? 
 The artist should represent the character of the 
 physiognomy — all its fire — all its inspiration. 
 Do you think, Sir, that Alexander ever sat to 
 Appelles ?" 
 
 His talents alone saved him after the fall of 
 Robespierre and his party. When accused of 
 his crimes by Petion, he quailed with terror, and 
 sought to excuse himself by the most silly and 
 contemptible subterfuges. He declared that, 
 at the time alluded to, he was ill — very ill j 
 
110 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 that he had never courted Robespierre ; that, 
 on the contrary, Robespierre had courted him ; 
 he solemnly declared that he had never embraced 
 him, but had been embraced by him. This 
 disgusting defence met with general contempt. 
 
 He was, I believe, the only French artist who 
 exhibited his works for money. This was the 
 case with the " Sabines," which he exposed at 
 one franc admission. This circumstance gave 
 rise to a vaudeville, in which one of the songs 
 winds up with the severe compliment — 
 
 David, pour l'honneur de la France, 
 Ne quitte jamais tes pinceaux. 
 
 Several of David's pupils, in imitation of 
 their master's love of antiquity, had formed 
 themselves into a society, called, Les Penseurs. 
 They wore a Phrygian costume, and used to 
 assemble, and remain for a long time in silent 
 cogitation, until one of them spoke, and de- 
 livered his opinion on Grecian perfection. 
 
 Talma would often consult David on costume, 
 and attended not only to the dress of the cha- 
 racter, but to all the properties, such as swords 
 shields, &c, which were always most correct. It 
 is rather strange, but this attention of David to 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 1 1 1 
 
 theatrical dresses was the occasion of Xapoleon 
 taking a dislike to Talma, who had once been 
 one of his greatest favourites. In David's mon- 
 ster picture of the Coronation, the most minute 
 attention was paid to the costume of the two 
 hundred figures that were brought into it ; when 
 the Emperor harshly exclaimed : " Sir, this is a 
 melo-dramatic scene, instead of a solemn con- 
 secration. I suppose you were directed by that 
 histrion, Talma." A few days after, a decree 
 was issued, that prohibited the admission of any 
 actor into the 4th class of the Institute. 
 
 During this classical delirium, every thing 
 assumed what they considered an antique type. 
 Tinkers and tailors, nightmen and rag-pickers, 
 would call themselves by Grecian and Roman 
 names — Cato, and Brutus, and Mutius Scaevola, 
 without the most distant notion of the cha- 
 racter of the great men who bore these 
 distinguished names. Many of these assump- 
 tions were most ludicrous j and, in a play that 
 came out after the 9th Thermidor, a patriot 
 recommended his porter to call himself C?esar, 
 " ce fameux Republicain" to which the fellow 
 replies, " Ccesar ! tiens ! c'est le nom de noire 
 chien /" 
 
112 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 At the same time, this introduction of ancient 
 works of art tended to alter and improve the 
 taste of the day. For instance, the Tuileries 
 had been ornamented with statues of Costou 
 and Coisevox, of the Boucher and Vanloo 
 genre. Several antique statues were now brought 
 from the royal palaces in the country, and 
 magnificent bronze casts, by the celebrated 
 founders the Kellers, of the group of Laocoon, 
 the Gladiator, the Belvidere Apollo, and 
 many other chef-d'ceuvres of antiquity were 
 placed in the gardens, exhibiting a strong con- 
 trast between prettiness and the sublime and 
 beautiful. 
 
 Still, ridiculous anomalies were frequently 
 observable ; for instance, when public func- 
 tionaries wore the Spanish trunk and hose, and 
 turned-up hats and plumes, a Grecian sword 
 would be slung by their side. An affectation 
 of the antique was also common under the 
 reign of Napoleon, and this is illustrated in 
 the pedestal of the Column in the Place Ven- 
 dome, in which military costumes are repre- 
 sented standing erect like armour : uniform coats, 
 hussar dolmans and pelisses, &c, sculptured 
 as if they were made of solid materials instead 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 113 
 
 of yielding cloth. If they exist at some future 
 and distant period, it will be maintained by the 
 antiquarians of the day, that those appointments 
 were of some protective metal, like a cuirass. 
 During those fearful saturnalia, it might be truly 
 said that the French were stalking about on 
 stilts. 
 
114 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Reflections on the state of France — Tenth of August — Marat 
 — Danton — Theroigne de Mericour, or la Belle LQgeoise — 
 Her ferocity — Conduct of the Clergy — Servois' daring 
 proceedings during the massacre in the prisons — 
 Frightful condition of Paris — Cruelty of the murderers 
 in the Massacre of September — Conduct of the authori- 
 ties—Natural ferocity of the French — Collot d'Herbois — 
 Persecution of the French Actors and Actresses — Their 
 narrow escape from the scaffold — La Bussiere — His 
 stratagem to save them — Dugazon— Mademoiselle De- 
 vienne — State of the Drama. 
 
 Having thus sketched the pursuits and occu- 
 pations of my younger years, which materially 
 influenced the views that I entertained of passing 
 events, and, at the same time, laid the founda- 
 tion of the principles that actuated me in after 
 life, I return to the consideration of the most 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 115 
 
 striking occurrences that I witnessed in this fearful 
 period of national transition. 
 
 My father's opinion regarding France and 
 the crisis that convulsed it had greatly changed 
 when the Constituent Assembly had terminated 
 its sittings. Much has been said of the labours 
 of its members. They have been extolled to the 
 skies by historians, and considered the saviours 
 of the country, as having framed a wise constitu- 
 tion, and established what many citizens fancied 
 a constitutional monarchy. No doubt this as- 
 sembly, composed of many wise and worthy 
 men, meant well ; no doubt they endeavoured 
 to remodel the laws and destroy despotism ; 
 belonging themselves, in a great measure, to 
 the Tiers-etat, they had restored to the nation 
 their natural rights, and subjected all classes, 
 without any regard to privilege, to an equality 
 in the administration of the law, and in their 
 claims to preferment in the State. However 
 wise these measures might have been, they 
 were far from deserving the poetic eulogies 
 conferred upon them by a late writer, who 
 asserts, " If ever inspiration was visible in 
 the prophet or ancient legislator, it may be 
 
1 1 6 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 asserted that the Constituent Assembly had two 
 years of sustained inspiration. France was the 
 inspired of civilization."* 
 
 With all due respect to the opinion of this 
 historian, who, to use the words of Chateaubriand, 
 " gilded the guillotine" it did not require much 
 foresight to conclude, that they had prepared 
 the road to anarchy and republicanism. They 
 had certainly propped the throne with a consti- 
 tutional support, but the crown had been shorn 
 of its splendour, neutralized in its power, and 
 every attribute of monarchy had been trampled 
 under foot. The aristocracy had been abolished, 
 and the sovereign placed under the protection 
 of the people, while terror of approaching 
 events, that cast their shadows before them, 
 induced the aristocracy and nobility to fly 
 the country and abandon their king; at the 
 same time, the sale of church property 
 roused the greater part of the clergy to oppose 
 any reform that interfered with their wealth or 
 power. 
 
 Lamartine himself admits that, on the break- 
 ing up of the Constituent Assembly, the King 
 
 * Lamartine. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 117 
 
 was irresponsible, and consequently passive, the 
 respectful picture of suppressed royalty. I cannot 
 comprehend how a suppressed royalty can be 
 the type of a constitutional monarchy, which it 
 was the boast of the Constituent Assembly to 
 have established on what they considered a firm 
 and legal basis. At the same time, it must be 
 admitted that, had this body been composed of 
 Solons and Lycurguses, they could not have 
 stopped the natural current of the public opinion, 
 or have controlled the torrent of troubled water 
 that was rolling in an impetuous course to an 
 ocean of anarchical turmoil. What was most 
 strange in this assembly was the singular fact, 
 that a universal suffrage should have returned 
 so many wise and virtuous representatives of the 
 nation — a nation in a state of general efferves- 
 cence, when the scum rose to the surface. For, 
 in fact, when the King convoked the States, he 
 threw himself on a universal suffrage that con- 
 sisted of above five millions of electors. It is, 
 no doubt, true that the masses did not actually 
 vote; but, as every tax-payer of more than 
 twenty-five years of age, including poll taxes, 
 had the power of nominating the electors, the 
 greater proportion of the population might 
 
118 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 have been looked upon as voters. The King's 
 government, in fact, had evoked a giant — a 
 monstrous giant — from the earth. They quailed 
 before the menacing Colossus of their own 
 creation. Yet they treated him with as much con- 
 tempt as the Lilliputians treated Gulliver. They 
 fancied that, when he reposed and slumbered, 
 they could bind down his mighty arms with 
 gossamer ligatures ; that their puny swords, 
 mere pins and needles, could inflict tiny punc- 
 tures that would disable him, and prevent him 
 from wielding his herculean club. On every 
 occasion they irritated the people, forgetting that 
 they themselves had invited them to share the 
 sovereignty of the land, until they became sole 
 arbiters of its destinies. Insult was added to 
 injury. The ignorant masses became instru- 
 ments of ambition and of discontent. They had 
 learned their physical power, and were determined 
 to exert it, wherever and whenever they were told 
 to strike the blow by their selfish demagogic 
 leaders and oracles. 
 
 Howbeit, I am not writing the history of the 
 times, but have merely ventured on this digression 
 to show that my father's apprehension of approach- 
 ing anarchy and destruction was well founded. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 119 
 
 In regard to his personal position, having be- 
 come, as I have already stated, an involuntary 
 holder of French funds, the issue of the as- 
 signats, which any one could foresee would soon 
 be depreciated, threatened both public and private 
 ruin, and I feel confident that, had he possessed 
 means of so doing, he would have returned to 
 England with his family. 
 
 My own notions, I must confess, experienced 
 a material change after the 10th of August. 
 My father had taken me to the Tuileries after 
 the conflict, and, accustomed though I had been 
 to scenes of bloodshed, the ferocity of the rabble 
 made me shudder. The atrocious and wanton 
 cruelties practised upon the poor Swiss, who 
 had merely done their duty as faithful 
 mercenaries, were revolting. Their heads 
 were carried about on pikes, and women 
 and children, wallowing in their blood, 
 sported their ears and noses pinned to 
 their caps or their bosoms, like cannibal 
 cockades ; while their limbs were dragged 
 about with ropes, and mangled with savage 
 ingenuity. 
 
 The Palace presented a fearful sight. The 
 vestibule and stairs were covered with clotted 
 
120 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 pools of blood, on which myriads of flies were 
 disporting themselves. The smell of blood was 
 appalling. All the doors had been broken open, 
 and their gilded panels shivered to pieces. The 
 beds and then hangings were torn down, and well 
 do I recollect a ruffian, with a bloody pike in 
 one hand, holding a little boy by the other, and 
 exclaiming, when the urchin was admiring the 
 splendour of the bed of state, " Vas, mon 
 petit ! nous dormons mieux sur notre paille /" 
 What a philosophic observation in such a 
 terrific scene ! 
 
 All the rich suits of clothes and court 
 dresses were pulled to tatters, and every one 
 sought to decorate his or her person with 
 some fragment of the devastation ; while ruf- 
 fians, who had broken into the royal chapel, 
 dressed themselves in stoles and rich canonicals, 
 and, reeling with wine, were perambulating the 
 gardens, chanting some mimic passage of the 
 church service. Not satisfied with the butchery 
 of the day, and the havoc of their enemies, 
 the rabble were bent upon mutual destruction. 
 They fought and killed each other for liquor or 
 the possession of some spoil ; while, on the plea 
 of honesty, they shot and piked to death any 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 121 
 
 one who was found making off with plate, 
 jewels, or any valuable article of plunder, and 
 when there were no more Swiss to slaughter, 
 they scattered themselves about the adjacent 
 streets, and wherever they saw the words ' Parlez 
 au Suisse' over the porter's lodges of private 
 houses, they dragged out the poor wretches 
 and massacred them, forgetting that Suisse 
 was synonymous with portier, and that their 
 victims had no more to do with Switzerland 
 than with Cochin China. 
 
 The evening of this ominous day was lovely. 
 The Tuileries was crowded with anxious 
 visitors, quietly beholding the people collecting 
 the bodies of the slain, which amounted to 
 above a thousand, and piling them in heaps. 
 During the night, the remains of friends and foes 
 were consumed together. 
 
 In the midst of this confusion, the leaders 
 of the people were pretending to restrain the 
 excesses to which they had urged their satellites. 
 Several of them were making idle harangues to 
 check their excesses, and Danton, and Marat, 
 who had been concealed during the attack, now 
 made their appearance, flourishing a sabre, and 
 with pistols in their belts — these monsters only 
 
 VOL. I. G 
 
1*22 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 joining the people when the conflict was over, 
 and when a Prussian officer, of the name of 
 Westermann, whom they had placed in command 
 of the fe'deres and the rahble of the Faubourgs, 
 had gone to inform them of the issue of the battle. 
 He found Danton weeping, with his wife and 
 children ; Marat concealed in a cellar ; but, the 
 contest ended, this miscreant crowned himself with 
 a wreath of laurels, as the conqueror of the day ! 
 Santerre, a Polish officer of artillery, who 
 commanded the artillery of the Faubourgs, and 
 many others, were to be seen in various direc- 
 tions; but their efforts were vain in checking 
 the torrent of popular fury. Yet, strange to 
 say, crowds of curious persons, amongst whom 
 we figured, went about unmolested. However, 
 the number of drunken ruffians who issued 
 forth from the cellars of the Palace, soon rendered 
 the garden and the precincts of the Tuileries a 
 perilous promenade ; and amateurs very wisely 
 took their departure. Santerre had surrounded 
 the palace with the National Guards ; but still 
 the mob who had carried the day, were keep- 
 ing up a straggling fire of musquetry against 
 each other, till night set in, and they were 
 too drunk or fatigued to do any more mischief. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 123 
 
 During the outrages of this eventful day, a 
 woman had been most conspicuous in exciting the 
 fury of the populace, and their revengeful spirit. 
 This was Theroigne de Mericour. The wretched 
 creature had been a prostitute of Luxem- 
 bourg, whose beauty had obtained for her the 
 name of la belle Liegeoise. While yet a young 
 girl, she had been inspired with revolutionary 
 fanaticism, and had mainly contributed, both by 
 her persuasive language and her fascinations, to 
 the defection of the troops in garrison. Thrown 
 into a fortress by the Emperor of Austria, she 
 was, unfortunately, liberated, and immediately 
 repaired to Paris, which presented a wider field 
 for her revolutionary exploits. There she was, 
 in turn, the mistress of a brother of Abbe Sieyes 
 — some said of Sieyes himself ; of an adventurer 
 called Riomme, who pretended to be a French 
 quaker ; and of a Count Strogonoff, a Russian. 
 During the popular effervescence, she was to be 
 seen in all the public places, dressed in a blue 
 riding-habit, a cap of liberty on her head, and 
 brandishing a sabre, with a brace of pistols stuck 
 in her girdle. She was usually followed by a 
 band of infuriated women, and rendered herself 
 
 g 2 
 
124 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 conspicuous during the massacres in the prisons. 
 At the Conciergerie, when a poor girl of 
 great beauty was brought out, who was named 
 la belle bouquetiere, our harpy dragged her for- 
 ward, and, telling her that the world should 
 decide between her charms and those of la belle 
 Liegeoise, she had her stripped naked, and her 
 out-stretched limbs nailed to a door ; she then 
 ordered a slow fire to be kindled under the un- 
 fortunate creature, got her demoniac companions 
 to nip off her breasts, and, as she expired in horrid 
 agonies, they danced, and sang the Carmagnole 
 and Ca ira with frantic gesticulations. At the 
 Abbaye, she decapitated one of her former lovers. 
 This miserable maniac died a lunatic in the 
 Asylum of La Salpetriere, in 1 8 1 7. In her furious 
 paroxysms, she ever laboured under her former 
 delusions, and would incessantly cry out, " He is 
 an aristocrat — a mode're — off with his head — 
 a la lanteme /" 
 
 Never shall I forget the terror and agony of 
 my poor mother during that fearful conflict. 
 She mechanically went now and then to the 
 window, scarcely knowing what she was about. 
 It was then, as I have already related, that a 
 miscreant raised his pike, bearing the bloody 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 125 
 
 head of a Swiss soldier, to our window, and 
 then dashed it to the ground against a post. 
 
 Abbe Servois was with us during the greater 
 part of this sanguinary day ; and I well recollect 
 his mentioning several priests who were the 
 instigators of the attack ; among others, the 
 Vicar-General of Blois. I have often reflected 
 with surprise on the conduct of the clergy on 
 these disastrous occasions. Many of them not 
 only excited the people to deeds of atrocious 
 cruelty, but proudly boasted of having hitherto 
 deceived them, and preached what they knew to 
 be false, going so far as to deny the very ex- 
 istence of a God ; thus proclaiming themselves 
 base and despicable impostors. Such a re- 
 cantation of principles — such an abnegation of 
 every feeling of honour, or of self-respect, can 
 only be attributed to the delirium of a fevered 
 brain — a maniacal state of enthusiasm ! How 
 can we otherwise account for proceedings so 
 opposed to the usual principles of action of 
 egotism ? One can easily imagine that the 
 oscillation of events — a change in the con- 
 dition of a nation — expediency — may induce an 
 ambitious man to alter the course of his pursuits 
 — that a demagogue may become the advocate 
 
126 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 of a monarchic or an oligarchic form of govern- 
 ment. Circumstances, experience, reflection, 
 interest, may occasion such apparent tergiversa- 
 tion ; but, in general, when a man seeks for 
 power, popular influence, and importance in the 
 community, he endeavours to obtain the good 
 opinion and confidence of those whose support 
 and assistance he solicits. Here we see men 
 courting power, by asserting that they had been 
 the most despicable and contemptible hypocrites. 
 It may truly be said, that in times of revolu- 
 tionary effervescence, the actions of public 
 characters, as well as private individuals, drawn 
 into the vortex of confusion, are often unac- 
 countable, and verging on insanity. 
 
 My friend Servois, as well as his brother 
 clergymen Gregoire and Royer, were well- 
 meaning men, virtuous in every sense of the 
 w T ord; but they felt the absolute necessity of 
 a universal reform in Church and State, as both 
 were crumbling to the ground in tottering 
 decrepitude, from a long-undermining corruption. 
 They had taken the civic oath imposed on the 
 clergy — both from motives of prudence and of wis- 
 dom. This obligation was, to be faithful to the 
 nation, the laws and the king. In short, they were 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 127 
 
 pledging themselves to nothing more than the 
 government had a right to expect from any 
 citizen, more especially, if his social position 
 gave him a great influence over the people. It 
 is true, that to a certain extent, they denied the 
 temporal, and perhaps on some occasions the 
 spiritual authority and infallibility of the Pope ; 
 but in many former instances the French clergy 
 had disputed the Transmontain domination. 
 Another most praiseworthy motive had led the 
 assermente priests to make these concessions, and 
 that was the conscientious feeling, that it was far 
 better to submit to a decision that might be called 
 compulsory, (since it not only deprived the de- 
 pendent clergy of their livings, but exposed them 
 to persecution and death had they resisted,) than 
 to abandon their flocks without any spiritual guide 
 or comforter in the midst of a general confusion 
 that threatened alike to overthrow every notion, 
 not only of religion but of morality. The 
 refractory clergy were far more condemnable — 
 for even if they could not conscientiously consent 
 to take the oath forced upon them, they 
 certainly were not obliged to kindle civil wars 
 that involved the most fertile provinces in strife 
 and bloodshed ; a conduct that may be more 
 
128 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 fairly attributed to revenge and cupidity, than to 
 any attachment to their sovereign or to their faith ; 
 — most certainly it could not be for the interest of 
 religion, that the non-jurors were to leave the 
 country without any private or any public worship; 
 since they excommunicated all the ecclesiastics 
 who had taken the obnoxious oath, and declared 
 all the sacraments administered by them, not only 
 null and void, but destructive to soul and body ; 
 in short, they were determined to sacrifice the 
 whole country from mere motives of personal 
 interest and lucre.* 
 
 The conduct of the sworn clergy was diame- 
 trically opposed to that of the non-jurors : most 
 of them were curates, on whom had fallen the 
 arduous duties of the church, while the wealthy 
 and proud incumbents were indulging in 
 luxurious pleasure, and a pomp totally incon- 
 sistent with the pure and humble dictates 
 of Christianity. While these prelates and 
 their followers were kindling civil war, their 
 excommunicated brethren were exerting their 
 
 * At this period, the property of the church comprised 
 one fifth of the land, and was estimated at four thousand 
 millions of francs — about one hundred and sixty millions 
 sterling; yet many country curates received only £12 or 
 £14 a year ! ! 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 129 
 
 best endeavours to maintain tranquillity, and 
 exhorting the people to preserve order, and 
 oppose the efforts of the evil-minded to disturb 
 the public peace. It is true, that several 
 members of the clergy had thrown up their 
 ecclesiastical functions, and, to use a vulgar 
 saying : — " jette leur froc aux orties" — 
 Having lost all chance of preferment in 
 the Church, they looked upon a political 
 career as more likely to forward their views. 
 But, in general, the assermente clergy dis- 
 played great heroism, and the most manly 
 virtues. Of this, we had a proof in our own 
 family. During the massacres of September, 
 Abbe Servois heard from our servant that the 
 murderers had proceeded to the Abbaye, where 
 numerous priests had been imprisoned ; amongst 
 them were two or three aged friends of his. 
 Regardless of the danger he was about to incur, 
 and despite our remonstrances, he flew to the 
 prison. The mock tribunal that was sitting on 
 these victims, were amazed at the daring of a de- 
 formed and diminutive being, — heard his prayer 
 in favour of his sexagenarian friends with feelings 
 of admiration, and allowed him to depart with 
 the poor creatures he had thus courageously 
 
 G 3 
 
130 RECOLLECTIONS Of 
 
 saved. Yet in this noble act, a sore trial was 
 reserved for him ; as he passed the hatch of the 
 prison, a ruffian, reeking in gore, mixed a cup 
 of blood and wine — and compelled him to quaff 
 the horrible beverage as a proof of his civisme. 
 He came to our house with two of these 
 unfortunates ; one of them was about 80 years 
 of age — my worthy friend was faint and 
 weary — smeared with blood; — and it was an 
 awful yet a glorious sight, to behold these poor 
 creatures, thus heroically rescued from slaughter, 
 embrace their saviour and throw themselves at 
 his feet. The dwarf assumed the altitude of 
 a giant ! 
 
 While the people were throwing up defensive 
 works on the heights of Montmartre, Montrouge, 
 and the other hills commanding the capital, 
 numbers of priests were actively employed in 
 the national labour, exhorting and encouraging 
 the untaught engineers by their example and 
 their enthusiasm; while their enemies, with a 
 crucifix in one hand, and a dagger in the other, 
 were exciting the population of the provinces to 
 a murderous and implacable war. 
 
 Amongst the ecclesiastics who visited us, the 
 most remarkable person was Bishop Gregoire. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 131 
 
 He was an enthusiastic Republican, and he had 
 founded these principles upon the Gospel. He 
 considered that Christianity was a code of 
 Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. That it 
 w T ould, in time, crush all despotic pow T er, and 
 overthrow all the thrones in the world. When 
 it was observed to him, that the Saviour had said, 
 " give unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's ;" 
 he replied, that most undoubtedly every one 
 was obliged to contribute his proportion of 
 taxation to the support of the country ; hut 
 that paying imposts, even when unjustly levied, 
 did not preclude men from the right of crushing 
 a tyrannical despot ; and, he added, " liberty 
 does not belong to Caesar, it is the right of the 
 people and of human nature." The hatred of 
 tyrants he fully expressed in one of his speeches, 
 when he exclaimed : " kings are, in the moral 
 order, what monsters are in the physical order. 
 Their courts are the workshops of crime, and their 
 history the martyrology of nations." He often 
 quoted the 8th chapter of the 1st of Samuel, as ex- 
 hibiting a faithful picture of a monarch. He voted 
 for the king's death conscientiously, and used to 
 say, " I condemned him as a senator, but I would 
 have sacrificed my life to have saved him as a man." 
 
132 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 Gregoire's appearance was most austere, and even 
 clerical. — He generally wore a long black or 
 purple surtout, buttoned up to the throat, with 
 a white stock. A Jansenist, and a determined 
 enemy of the Jesuits, he used often to make 
 what he called a pilgrimage to the ruins of Port 
 Royal, and to the Tennis-Court at Versailles, 
 where he once presided at the States, when they 
 were threatened with destruction, urging them 
 to be calm in the midst of danger, exclaiming : 
 " Impavidum f event ruince." To his stern 
 remarks, I used to listen with reverential atten- 
 tion ; and when my poor mother was told that 
 he was most pious, she could not reconcile his 
 notions of religion with what she considered the 
 respect due to the anointed of the Lord. 
 
 The sanguinary excesses of the massacre 
 of September, added to the horror that per- 
 vaded every class of society. Yet, strange to 
 say, notwithstanding the universal indignation 
 that filled every generous breast — when one 
 hundred determined armed citizens might have 
 saved all these miserable victims — not a man 
 stirred from his fire-side — not a drum beat to 
 arms — not a bell sounded the alarm, to muster 
 the National Guard, and prevent the perpetration 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 133 
 
 of one of the most atrocious proceedings in the 
 annals of a country's outbreaks. 
 
 On this occasion, as on many others, wherever 
 one met with pompous and sentimental ver- 
 biage, he rarely witnessed corresponding actions. 
 Thus, the men of action of the northern provinces 
 overthrew all the eloquent orators of the south. 
 The members of the Montagne were stern and 
 inflexible enthusiasts, who never temporized or 
 hesitated. " Whoever hesitates is lost" was 
 the axiom of these determined, wholesale re- 
 formers ; to which they added the fearful maxim 
 of Barrere — " II vHy a que les morts qui ne 
 reviennent pas." They had drawn the revolu- 
 tionary sword, and cast its scabbard to the winds 
 — it had slaughtered the prisoners who were sup- 
 posed to be hostile to the Revolution— it was 
 deemed necessary to render the gulf that 
 separated the hostile parties impassable. 
 
 Much has been said and written on the mas- 
 sacre in the prisons, which continued uninter- 
 rupted for seven days. This infernal act was 
 planned by Marat, Danton, Santerre, and Bil- 
 laut Varennes. They had hired an attorney, of 
 the name of Maillard, to direct it. This outcast 
 
134 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 organized the murderers, who chiefly consisted 
 of a number of the he'ros of the 10th of August, 
 many of whom were Federes from Marseilles 
 and other towns in the south of France, and 
 they were aided by hired assassins, some of 
 whom received about 24 francs a day, paid by 
 the commune of Paris, and Danton and Marat's 
 agents. 
 
 Infamous as it was, this crime was extenuated 
 in some degree by many wise and good men. 
 It must be recollected that the Duke of 
 Brunswick, in his manifesto, had threatened 
 the destruction of Paris. Upwards of 150,000 
 allies of the King were advancing on the frontiers, 
 whilst the Royalist forces in the departments, 
 led on by nobles, but chiefly by priests, were also 
 menacing the capital ; a levy en masse had been 
 decreed, and every man able to bear arms was 
 ordered to meet the invaders. At this moment, 
 the prisons were crowded with nobles and ecclesi- 
 astics, who were well known to belong to the party 
 of the Counter-Revolutionists, ready to join their 
 confederates on their entrance into the capital ; 
 the general cry, therefore, in the Assembly, the 
 Commune, and among the people, supported the 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 135 
 
 denunciation of Danton, who exclaimed, " We 
 will not retreat ; we will perish in the ruins of 
 Paris, but our enemies shall perish before us." A 
 commission was issued, directing the arrest of all 
 suspicious persons ; the barriers or gates of Paris 
 were closed, and guard-boats rowed up and down 
 the river, to prevent the escape of any royalists or 
 aristocrats. Domiciliary visits were ordered — 
 every citizen was enjoined to denounce any person 
 whom he suspected, and every one not found 
 at home when his residence was searched, was 
 to be considered as a conspirator, and treated as 
 such. Danton demanded 60,000 heads. 
 
 Every speech in the Convention craved for 
 blood, and Billaud Varennes exclaimed, " The 
 most dangerous assassin is the one who resides 
 in our house, and we can only prevent the pre- 
 meditated murder of the social body, by the 
 destruction of the conspirators." After the mas- 
 sacre, the most eloquent of the Deputies, even 
 the smooth-tongued Barrere, not only excused 
 the atrocity on the plea of necessity, but 
 considered it indispensable and meritorious. 
 
 During this fearful confusion and general fer- 
 mentation, the enemy was advancing : 60,000 
 Prussians were moving on Luxembourg and 
 
136 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 Longwy ; 40,000 Austrians were marching on 
 the right flank of the Prussians, and 10,000 
 Hessians operating on their left, while several 
 columns of emigrants, under the Prince of 
 Conde, were rapidly concentrating on different 
 points. To oppose this formidable force, the 
 French had only about 43,000 undisciplined 
 troops, left in a state of confusion and anarchy 
 by Lafayette. Longwy had already surrendered, 
 and, had not dissension arisen, respecting the 
 plan of campaign, between the King of Prussia 
 and the Duke of Brunswick, in all proba- 
 bility the combined armies would have encoun- 
 tered but little difficulty in marching upon the 
 capital. Thus the tumultuous inhabitants of the 
 capital, excited by the frantic Federes, who were 
 preparing to take their departure, were driven 
 to desperation by the fomentors of the horrible 
 project of massacring the prisoners, for the 
 purpose of striking terror into the minds of their 
 domestic enemies, and who assured them that, 
 when they had quitted their homes to meet the 
 common foe, the nobles and priests who still re- 
 mained in the country would be liberated, and 
 destroy, in their hate and revenge, the wives and 
 children of the country's defenders. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 137 
 
 This diabolical project of the wholesale 
 butchery of all that were even suspected of 
 being counter-revolutionists was, no doubt, 
 conceived, and mainly carried into execution by 
 the Republican party, and, to a certain extent, 
 the nation might claim some exemption from 
 the odious accusation of having perpetrated the 
 unparalleled atrocity ; yet France, notwithstand- 
 ing the apologies of her historians, must bear 
 its bloody responsibility. I have no hesitation 
 in asserting, that the great mass of the people 
 approved of the immolation of those whom 
 they had been taught to consider their enemies. 
 On this revolting occasion, the people, one and 
 all, men, women, and children, displayed a 
 natural ferocity ; they crowded, and danced, and 
 sung the Carmagnole, round the mangled 
 corpses of the victims. Gorged with blood and 
 liquor, mothers and their little ones were seated 
 on the heaps of dead, that loaded the tumbrils 
 that removed them. The National Guard, 
 the Gendarmes, who guarded the prisoners, 
 provided both with arms and amunition, 
 cheerfully surrendered their sacred trust to a 
 handful of miscreants, without any authority 
 from their commanding officers. Moreover, the 
 
138 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 carnage lasted for seven days, without any oppo- 
 sition on the part of the civil or military 
 authorities, who thus became, in every moral 
 sense of the word, participators and abettors 
 of the massacre. The assassins were regularly 
 paid and mustered ; and, their work being a job, 
 their emoluments were regulated by the blood 
 they had shed ; their murdering they considered 
 and called their work (leur ouvrage) ; and their 
 wives and children brought them their meals 
 at regular hours, wading through clotted blood, 
 and trampling over human bodies. The politi- 
 cal, or supposed political criminals dispatched, 
 they still demanded employment, and proceeded 
 to the business of destruction in prisons and 
 asylums, containing persons detained for debt 
 or misdemeanours, lunatics, prostitutes, and 
 paupers — they heeded not the nature of the 
 offence or the accusation — all they wanted was 
 blood. Bicetre was a monster asylum for 
 vagabonds and lunatics ; it contained upwards 
 of two thousand inmates, and those they took 
 five nights and five days to butcher. The next 
 day, they proceeded to the Saltpetriere, another 
 house of correction ; there the bloody work 
 recommenced ; they massacred all the old 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 139 
 
 women, and bore away in triumph all the young 
 ones, amongst whom were little girls of ten or 
 twelve years of age, whom they slaughtered, 
 after having satisfied their brutal and sanguinary 
 lust. Petion, the Mayor of Paris, and the 
 ruffian, Santerre, made their appearance, and 
 addressed the ferocious band ; but this was a 
 mere mockery of humanity ; they had no 
 armed force to support them ; when two hundred 
 of the National Guard and a few detachments of 
 Gendarmes might have put an end to the ferocious 
 proceeding. Now, the great error of not amal- 
 gamating the people with the bourgeoisie became 
 evident. The people joined the hired assassins ; 
 and the Burgher Guard would not oppose 
 either, dreading the desperate confederation of 
 all the vagabonds in the town, who, having 
 nothing to lose, had every thing to expect. 
 
 It is impossible that all the eloquence of the 
 historian can wipe off this foul stain from the 
 character of the French nation. I have already 
 observed, that the momentous state of affairs — ■ 
 despair, terror, might have led a mob to massacre 
 their supposed enemies ; but neither despair 
 nor terror can turn human beings into cannibals, 
 
140 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 They drank the blood of their victims, mingled 
 with wine, and brandy, and gunpowder. They 
 tore out their hearts, and devoured them ; and 
 mark ! none of those Anthropophagi had 
 suffered any injury from these victims of their 
 ferocity ; they were hired labourers in the 
 field of carnage. Mangin, a drummer, of the 
 Section du Temple, broiled the heart of the 
 beautiful Princesse de Lamballe, and ate it en 
 carbonnade. I heard the ruffian boast of it. 
 This wretch I afterwards found in London — a 
 royalist emigrtf ! a fencing-master in the Hay- 
 market ! ! 
 
 It must also be borne in mind, that this mas- 
 sacre was not confined to the capital. A band of 
 murderers proceeded to Orleans, Versailles, 
 Meaux, Rheims, and other towns, where the 
 population — the municipal authorities — the Na- 
 tional Guard — allowed them either to slaughter 
 or bear away the prisoners in their jails. No 
 sophistic ingenuity can absolve a nation from 
 the foul imputation of having countenanced this 
 carnage ; nay, had they not approved of it, they 
 had ample means of protecting the sacred 
 persons of untried prisoners ; and I have no 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 141 
 
 hesitation in saying, that I do not believe that 
 there breathes a people on the face of the earth 
 who could have been guilty, under any circum- 
 stances, of similar crimes. In the excitement 
 of battle, in the struggles of an internicine 
 war, it can readily be conceived that many un- 
 pardonable acts of cruelty and vengeance may 
 be exercised ; but such a cold-blooded slaughter 
 could only be perpetrated by Frenchmen, whether 
 in the prisons of France, or in the caverns of 
 Algeria ! I repeat it, an infuriated and drunken 
 soldiery, accustomed to deeds of blood, may be 
 guilty of many a revolting act, in which a spirit 
 of mischief is often combined with a ferocious 
 recklessness; but when we behold thousands of 
 women and children glorying and mingling 
 in the carnage, we must, however reluctantly, 
 conclude that the thirst for blood is a national 
 appetite. 
 
 The adoration paid to the sanguinary 
 monster, Marat — not only by the people, but 
 by the legislature — his apotheosis as a divinity; 
 the general mourning that followed his immo- 
 lation by that glorious martyr of liberty, 
 Charlotte Corday, the tears that were shed 
 in torrents over the cannibal's tomb, and 
 
142 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 the urn provided to contain his execrable 
 heart, which was called the " precious relic 
 of a God," these are not the acts of hired 
 bravos, or of an injured and hungry populace. 
 They are national characteristics, and as such, 
 must be recorded in the annals of the land. 
 Nor can these atrocious feelings be compensated 
 by an occasional display of humanity and 
 of clemency. They only showed the instability 
 of a people, ever ready to commit the most 
 odious crimes, or to be moved by accents of 
 pity and generosity by the leaders of the day 
 whose evil or good passions exercise a plastic 
 power over their vacillating mind. 
 
 There can be no doubt, at the same time, that 
 many acts which appear to be of a sanguinary 
 and wanton nature, might have been necessitated 
 by the fearful situation of the country on which I 
 have already dwelt. In the constant struggle 
 for power, when parties are waging against 
 each other a war implacable — the destruction 
 of an antagonist, either in the field or on the 
 scaffold, may be considered an inevitable, nay, 
 an indispensable act of vigour and of determina- 
 tion ; for in that case, one of the parties must 
 destroy the other, and even the conqueror must 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 143 
 
 fall in time before a more powerful opponent. 
 It is a melancholy fact, but in times of revolu- 
 tions and violence, victory in the cabinet must 
 be obtained by the same means as victory in 
 the field, when even prisoners may be sacrificed. 
 But on this occasion the French massacred 
 prisoners who were utterly unconscious of 
 ever having been hostile to them in word or 
 deed ! 
 
 During these sad events, a contempt of 
 life seemed to pervade the land, and the 
 most reckless acts of revenge for private in- 
 juries, supposed or well founded, were per- 
 petrated by persons considered humane and 
 quiet. A singular instance of this nature was 
 related to me at the Theatre de la Nation. 
 Preville, the celebrated comic actor, had retired 
 from the stage at an advance period of life, 
 and lived at Senlis. He belonged to a com- 
 pany of Arquebusiers (riflemen) composed of 
 citizens, who went to amuse themselves occa- 
 sionally in firing at a target. One evening, when 
 they were proceeding to their exercise-ground, 
 a fire was opened upon them from the window 
 of a house, that killed and wounded several of 
 the party. They rushed into the dwelling, but 
 
144 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 scarcely had they crossed the threshold, when a 
 mine exploded, and blew up, not only several of 
 the riflemen, but the landlord himself. This mis- 
 creant was a watchmaker, who had been turned 
 out of the company for misconduct, and he 
 thus revenged himself, perishing with his foes. 
 Poor Preville, on this occasion, was amongst 
 the crowd, and deprived of the sight of one 
 eye. 
 
 It was for the gratification of a revengeful 
 spirit, that thousands were sacrificed during the 
 Reign of Terror, whose death was attributed to 
 the leaders of the Montagne; when, in fact, 
 these unfortunate victims of private resentment 
 had been denounced to, or by, the revolu- 
 tionary committees of the sections, formed of 
 infuriated Jacobins, whose clamorous demands 
 could not be resisted by the parties who 
 owed their power to their support. Any 
 unfortunate person denounced to the com- 
 mittee of Salut Public or Siirete Gene- 
 rale as a suspected, or an aristocrat, was 
 doomed to decapitation. Many of the poli- 
 tical leaders of the day, have therefore been 
 accused of acts of wanton cruelty, which, 
 in truth, they had not committed ; and, 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 145 
 
 on the other hand, suspected persons, whose 
 lives were perilled, denounced others to save 
 themselves, and obtain a certificate of civisme. 
 
 There were upwards of forty thousand revolu- 
 tionary committees in France, each formed of 
 twelve of the most desperate and blood-thirsty 
 ruffians of the town. Their line of duty was 
 traced by the Re'pre'sentants du Peuple sent 
 to the Departments by the Comite de Salut 
 Public, and they were, moreover, subject to the 
 influence of the Societes Populaires, ramifica- 
 tions of the Jacobin Club, with which they were 
 in constant communication. Thus a net-work 
 of destruction was cast over the land, and happy 
 were those who could extricate themselves from 
 its meshes. 
 
 It may be easily imagined that private 
 animosities were thus gratified, when men had 
 the power of sacrificing those who had in- 
 jured them, or even offended their vanity. A 
 striking instance of this revengeful spirit, was 
 displayed in the case of Collot d'Herbois. 
 This monster had been an actor, and hissed off 
 the stage at Lyons. When that city revolted, 
 and Fouche and Couthon were sent to subdue 
 the insurrection by destroying the town, Collot 
 
 VOL. I. H 
 
146 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 d'Herbois volunteered his services, and was 
 inflexible in the fearful vengeance that visited 
 that unfortunate city. When the artillery were 
 opening upon it, and its buildings were in 
 flames, he encouraged the gunners, and often 
 exclaimed, as the conflagration spread in its 
 most wealthy quarters, "You'll not hiss me 
 again, gentlemen !" 
 
 Such was the ferocity of this wretch, that, 
 when heaps of dead and dying were interred 
 with scarcely any earth scattered over their 
 palpitating remains, and he walked over their 
 shallow graves, and saw the ground moved by 
 the convulsions of some of his agonized victims 
 buried alive, he would plunge his sword in it 
 and dispatch them with his own hand. 
 
 This Collot d'Herbois was the determined 
 enemy of every actor whom he could accuse, 
 and denounced several performers of the 
 Theatre Francais ; amongst whom were 
 the most popular players, Dazincourt, Fleury, 
 Louise and Emilie Contat, Lange, and Rau- 
 court. 
 
 The following letter from him was found in 
 the papers of Fouquier Tinville, the accusateur 
 public of the Revolutionary Tribunal. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 147 
 
 " Le comite t'envoie, Citoyen, les pieces 
 concernant les ci-devant comediens Francais : 
 tu sais, ainsi que tous les patriotes, combien 
 ces gens-la sont contre-revolutionnaires ; tu les 
 mettras en jugement le 13 Messidor. A 
 l'egard des autres, il y en a quelques-uns parmi 
 eux qui ne meritent que la deportation ; au 
 surplus, nous verrons ce qu'il en faudra faire, 
 apres que ceux-ci auront ete juges. 
 Salut et Fraternite, 
 
 COLLOT D'HERBOIS." 
 
 Fortunately for these intended victims of the 
 histrioni's malevolence, the accusatory docu- 
 ments were destroyed in a most singular manner 
 by an official of the Committee, of the name of 
 Labussiere. This extraordinary personage had 
 been an officer in the army, and then a comic 
 actor at one of the minor theatres. He met 
 with many strange adventures, and became an 
 employe in the Bureau des Correspondences, 
 which received denunciations from the Depart- 
 ments, together with what they called notes 
 individuelles, on which the members of the 
 Committee grounded their accusation when 
 sending prisoners to be tried. It was in this 
 
 H 2 
 
148 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 office, that the charges against these actors fell 
 into his hands, and he destroyed them in a most 
 ingenious manner. It was during the summer. 
 There was no fire to consume them ; moreover, 
 the smell of burned papers, and their ashes, would 
 have led to suspicion, and probably to detection. 
 He, therefore, concealed these documents under 
 his shirt, and repaired to one of the baths on 
 the river. There he took a bath and soaked the 
 papers in hot water, until they were reduced to 
 a pulp. Then he rolled them up in little pellets, 
 and, casting them into the bath, on pulling up 
 the plug, they were drawn away into the current. 
 Not only these comedians, but a considerable 
 number of persons, in whom Labussiere took 
 an interest, were saved by similar means. This 
 loss of documents to try prisoners was complained 
 of by Fouquier Tinville in the following letter, 
 in which he expresses his fears that there were 
 traitors in the Committee, who impeded the 
 execution of the counter-revolutionists. 
 
 "Ce 5 Thermidor, an 11 de la Republique 
 " Franfaise, une et indivisible. 
 
 " LlBERTE, EGALITE OU la MORT. 
 
 " L'accusateur public pres le Tribunal Revo- 
 lutionnaire. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE, 149 
 
 "Aux Citoyens, membres representants da 
 peuple, charges de la police generate. 
 
 " Citoyens Representants ! 
 
 " La denonciation qui a ete faite, ces jours 
 derniers a la tribune de la convention n'est que 
 trop vraie ; votre bureau de detenus n'est com- 
 pose que de Royalistes et de contre-revolution- 
 naires, qui entravent le marche des affaires. 
 
 " Depuis environ dix mois, il y a un desordre 
 total dans les pieces du comite; sur trente 
 individus qui me sont designes, pour etre juges, 
 il en manque presque toujours la moitie ou les 
 deux tiers, et quelquefois d'avantage. Derniere- 
 ment encore, tout Paris s'attendait a la mise en 
 jugement des Comediens Francais, et je n'ai 
 encore rien re^u de relatif a cette affaire, les 
 representants Couthon et Collot m'en avaient 
 cependant parle. J 'attends des ordres a cet 
 egard. 
 
 " II m'est impossible de mettre en jugement 
 aucun detenu sans les pieces qui m'en indiquent 
 au moins le nom et la prison, etc. 
 " Salut et Fraternite, 
 
 " FOUQUIER TlNVILLE." 
 
 There can be no doubt that the seceding 
 
150 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 performers of the French theatre were opposed 
 to the Revolution, and had displayed much 
 rashness in the manifestation of their opinions. 
 On several occasions, they refused to obey the 
 orders of the Municipality, and resisted the 
 outrageous demands of the ruffians who crowded 
 the parterre for popular songs, &c. These 
 fellows went by the names of tapes dur, or 
 knocli-hards. They were dressed in the cos- 
 tume called the Carmagnole, which consisted of 
 a jacket and trousers of coarse woollen cloth, and 
 a red cap on their head, and they generally 
 brandished a bludgeon, which they called a 
 " Constitution." On many occasions these ban- 
 dits, who were under pay, would interrupt the 
 performance, and apostrophise the performers. 
 Such was the case when the Come'diens Fran- 
 cats were arrested. The play was Pamela, in 
 which was the following passage : — 
 
 "Ah ! les persecuteurs sont les seuls condamnables, 
 Et les plus tolerants sont les plus raisonables." 
 
 To which Fleury replied, — 
 
 " Tous les honnetes gens sont d'accord la-dessus." 
 
 On which, a ferocious-looking fellow threat- 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 151 
 
 ened the actor, and exclaimed, " Citoyen, this 
 counter-revolutionary expression is not in the 
 
 play." 
 
 Fleury replied, " I assure you, Monsieur, that 
 I speak the author's words." This aristo- 
 cratic word, Monsieur, produced an outrageous 
 uproar. The ruffian who had addressed him 
 quitted the house, and soon after returned with 
 a detachment of the Section, and arrested all 
 the performers, who were immediately transferred 
 to the prison of the Madelonettes. 
 
 My friend Dugazon was at that time aide-de- 
 camp to Henriot, and in justice to him it must 
 be stated, that he, together with Mademoiselle 
 Devienne, exerted themselves to serve their 
 former comrades ; nor were Talma and Monvel 
 wanting in their endeavours. It must also be 
 stated that, after the massacre of September, the 
 theatre closed for eighteen nights, and it re- 
 opened with a piece of Vigie's, called " La Mati- 
 nee d'un jolie Femme /" 
 
 The stage, at the different epochs of the Revo- 
 lution, became mainly instrumental in forwarding 
 the views of each succeeding party. It was 
 on the boards that the clergy were attacked and 
 turned into ridicule in the plays of Les Victimes 
 
152 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 Cloitrees, Les Visitandines, &c. &c, while 
 Royalty and despotism were arraigned in the 
 Mahomet, and the Mort de Cesar of Voltaire; 
 the Charles IX. of Chenier, Timole'on, &c. 
 The drama was equally active in propagating 
 Republican ideas, and a theatre in the centre of 
 the Palais National (formerly the Palais Royal) 
 brought out pantomimes to keep up popular ex- 
 citement. On festive days, the play-houses were 
 thrown open gratis, and the performance an- 
 nounced on the bills — de part et pour le peuple. 
 On these occasions, the houses were crowded to 
 the ceiling, and a hired clique distributed to 
 applaud every allusion favourable to the views of 
 their employers, or to call for national tunes. 
 Crowds of boisterous poissardes and tricoteuses* 
 were clustered in the boxes, and one night 
 a fish-woman, who had never been to a 
 theatre but in the gallery, called le Paradis, 
 being in a stage box, and seeing the prompter's 
 head appearing out of his trap, exclaimed, 
 
 * Les tricoteuses, or knitters, were those fiends in female 
 form, who used to attend the popular clubs, knitting mecha- 
 nically stockings or garters, while attending to the infuriated 
 outpourings of their orators, and greeting their denuncia- 
 tions with shrieks of approbation. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 153 
 
 c< Tiens ! regardez ce sacre chien la, qui a fait 
 
 un trou au theatre pour avoir de la place /" 
 
 In this fearful tragedy, everything was dra- 
 matic, and got up as a spectacle, both to excite 
 and amuse the people, by working at the same 
 time on their good and evil passions ; and, while 
 blood was demanded on all sides, the most phi- 
 lanthropic exhibitions were displayed to move 
 the gentler feelings of mankind. Thus, in their 
 processions, you would see the cradles of found- 
 lings carried in triumph, and decked with 
 flowers ; aged and decrepid men and women 
 crowned with oak-leaves, leaning on young 
 maidens clad in virgin robes; the deaf and 
 dumb signifying their delight by signs, and 
 bearing the bust of l'Abbe de l'Epee — the blind, 
 led by little boys, who also bore the effigy of 
 Sicard, their teacher ; triumphal cars, laden with 
 the produce of the earth, agricultural and hor- 
 ticultural implements, and surrounded by la- 
 bourers, vine- dressers, shepherds and shep- 
 herdesses; and then would follow trophies of 
 the spoils of tyranny — broken thrones — mu- 
 tilated figures of Kings ; shattered armorial 
 bearings, chains and manacles, piled up with 
 crowns and sceptres. In these pageants were 
 
 h 2 
 
154 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 also carried funeral urns, supposed to contain 
 the ashes of the brave, who had fallen in the de- 
 fence of their country, with women and children 
 holding lachrymatory vases ; while on nume- 
 rous banners were inscribed the names of the 
 warriors, or the supposed statesmen who had 
 deserved well of their country. 
 
 Amongst the melo-dramatic performers, a 
 miscreant of the name of Nicholas, who had been 
 a model at the Academy — a fellow with a mag- 
 nificent head and long beard, dressed himself 
 as a Grecian slave, and figured in every bloody 
 transaction of the times. This maniac com- 
 menced his atrocious career by chopping off the 
 heads of the gardes du corps, who were killed by 
 the mob at Versailles, and used to call himself 
 sometimes Cincinnatus, and at other times 
 Mutius Sccevola — a name which made the boys 
 who followed him, shout out, " Monsieur Cerve- 
 lat !" for the rabble looked upon him as an 
 idiot. 
 
 Not unfrequently these diabolical excesses of 
 the mob were diversified with what they con- 
 sidered comic interludes. Thus, when the 
 wretched Foulon was dragged to the town-house 
 — as he had been heard to say, during the scarcity 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 155 
 
 of provisions, that the people might be fed on 
 hay or thistles, they made him crawl on all fours, 
 put a collar of thistles round his neck, loaded 
 him with trusses of hay, and led him by a horse- 
 collar to the Place du Greve. The most 
 execrable obscenity was often exhibited in their 
 Saturnalia of blood. 
 
 In fact, the people, constantly excited, and 
 paid without the necessity of working, had no 
 time to reflect on the probable issue of passing 
 events ; while the middle and upper classes, in 
 incessant apprehension of losing their lives, 
 could scarcely bestow a thought on the suffer- 
 ings of others, that merely foreboded their 
 own sad destinies. 
 
156 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Trial of Louis XVI— His execution— His speech to the 
 people on the scaffold stopped by a natural son of 
 Louis XV— Reflections on those events— The iron chest- 
 Character of the King and Queen— General considera- 
 tions—Commencement of the Reign of Terror. 
 
 The events of the 10th of August, and the 
 massacre of September, were the prelude of the 
 condemnation and execution of the unfortunate 
 Louis XVI. This catastrophe had been anti- 
 cipated by every one who maturely considered 
 the state of the country, and the struggle of the 
 different factions that contended for power. 
 
 The general anxiety that prevailed during the 
 trial, could only be equalled by the consternation 
 that his execution spread over the land. The pres- 
 tige attached to royalty had not lost its magic in- 
 fluence over the people, who, notwithstanding the 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 157 
 
 fearful convulsions that had shaken the throne, 
 still held in a sort of reverential respect the name 
 of King. The populace, joined and instigated in 
 their excesses by the Republican party, were, no 
 doubt, loud in their denunciations of despotism — 
 for Royalty and despotism were to them synoni- 
 mous ; but still the upper and the middle classes 
 of Paris were, more or less, attached to the 
 grand monarque. A Republic appeared to 
 them a problem of difficult solution. It was 
 thought an impossibility — an idle vision of 
 by-gone days. It seemed to many as unnatural 
 for a country to exist without a monarch, as 
 for children to be born without a father or 
 mother. Therefore, on this occasion, every 
 countenance bore the impress of grief and 
 despair. Terror had sealed the lips of 
 many ; but the vacant aspect of horror, the 
 mournful and elongated features of young 
 and old, of men and women, bore a resem- 
 blance to that look of fearful anxiety which 
 we should expect to observe in a multitude 
 threatened with a renewed shock of a destructive 
 earthquake, ready to engulph those who had 
 escaped a previous convulsion of nature. 
 
158 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 On the day of the execution, every shop was 
 closed ; a deadly stillness reigned throughout the 
 streets, although throngs of curious people were 
 threading their way, in mournful silence, to- 
 wards the Boulevards, and the quarters through 
 which the dismal cortege was to proceed towards 
 the place of execution — the Place Louis XV — 
 then called Place de la Revolution, where the 
 guillotine was erected. 
 
 Although no apprehension could be enter- 
 tained of any popular outbreak, or bold attempt 
 of the Royalists, with a sufficient force, to rescue 
 their King, yet measures were taken by the 
 Republicans that seemed to indicate the fear 
 of some coup-de-mahi to snatch their victim 
 from their fangs. Every street leading to the 
 Boulevards was occupied by troops, posted by 
 Santerre, and cannon planted in different 
 stations, by which the sad procession was to 
 pass. 
 
 With my faithful Cote, whose democratic 
 energies were now damped by the solemnity of 
 the day, and who, notwithstanding his en- 
 deavours to appear indifferent, was every now 
 and then sobbing and wiping off a falling tear, 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 159 
 
 I went to the corner of the Rue Michaudiere, 
 and took up my station before the Bains 
 Chinois. I cannot describe what my feelings 
 were on that memorable occasion. I felt as 
 though I were witnessing the agonized death of 
 a dear friend or a parent. It was not pity, for, 
 young as I was, from all that I had heard 
 around me, I looked upon the unfortunate 
 Prince as guilty ; but still there lingered about 
 the name and appearance of majesty that feeling 
 of respect which our plastic education impresses 
 on the mind of the masses, who do not consider 
 that a sovereign is no more than the chief magis- 
 trate of a country. 
 
 The morning was bitterly cold and misty. 
 The approach of the column was announced by 
 a thundering roll of drums — it appeared to 
 me that there must have been more than a 
 hundred drummers ; while now and then a 
 flourish of trumpets added to the solemnity of 
 the gloomy music of this unmelodious death- 
 march. Thousands of National Guards and 
 federes, followed by the populace of the Fau- 
 bourgs, armed with pikes, and two brigades of 
 field-pieces, preceded the immediate escort of the 
 condemned monarch. The carriage he was in 
 
160 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 was nearly concealed by the mounted Gen- 
 darmes that surrounded it, so that I could 
 not catch a glimpse of his person. Santerre, 
 with a numerous staff, followed, and the march 
 was closed by hosts of soldiers belonging to the 
 National Guard and the line, in marching 
 order. 
 
 Notwithstanding the general excitement kept 
 up by the Republican party, both by the distri- 
 bution of money and of liquor, a dead silence 
 prevailed. Not a cry was heard during the 
 progress of the funereal procession to the place 
 of execution. One might have thought that 
 the freezing atmosphere of the day had be- 
 numbed every tongue. However, the Com- 
 mune and Santerre had stationed their satellites 
 round the scaffold in great numbers ; and then 
 it was that the vociferations of this ruffian crew, 
 — amongst whom the Septembriseurs, and the 
 most violent federes, from Marseilles and 
 Bordeaux, were the most conspicuous — rent the 
 air. 
 
 Contemporary historians have amply related 
 the details of this melancholy sacrifice ; but the 
 execution of Louis XVI, was attended by a 
 casual circumstance, which must lead to the 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 161 
 
 most solemn reflections on the mysterious ways 
 of Providence and its retributive justice, and 
 teach a fearful lesson to mankind. When Louis 
 XVI, attempted to address the mob that 
 crowded around the scaffold, he was instantly in- 
 terrupted by a loud roll of drums. The order was 
 said to proceed from Santerre — this was not the 
 case — the command that silenced the last appeal 
 of Louis XVI to his former subjects, issued from 
 the lips of one of the natural sons of Louis XV,, 
 le Comte d'Oyat, who was then Chef d'Etat- 
 Major. Strange ! awful coincidence ! 
 
 After the execution, a vast number of people 
 rushed to the scaffold and dipped handkerchiefs 
 in the royal blood ; these relics, for such were 
 they considered by many, were sold in bits and 
 scraps, at the most exorbitant prices; and the 
 revendeuses a la toilette, made it a lucrative 
 branch of trade in the aristocratic families they 
 frequented, where the precious drops were sold 
 in solemn secrecy, and no doubt, the blood of 
 sheep and pigs was frequently dearly purchased, 
 as le sang de St. Louis. 
 
 The execution of this unfortunate monarch 
 has now become matter of history ; and in 
 future ages will be viewed in various lights 
 
162 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 according to the time in which the historian 
 lives; so powerful is the influence of existing 
 circumstances and institutions on both public and 
 private opinion, according to the oscillations of 
 political doctrines. 
 
 I was very young at the time ; but in my 
 father's house the subject had been continually 
 discussed both by French and English visitors. 
 I have since conversed on the event with men 
 of all parties, and have read the opinions of many 
 political writers of various factions. Therefore, 
 although I am not writing history, I may be 
 allowed to venture on some observations on 
 this most important feature of the French 
 Revolution. 
 
 The principal question to be mooted, was : 
 first, was the King guilty or innocent of the 
 charges brought against him ; secondly, had the 
 assembly, or the representatives of the nation, a 
 right to try him ; and thirdly, if guilty, what was 
 the sentence that ought, in justice and in pru- 
 dence, to be passed upon him. In this inquiry, 
 we must dismiss all ideas of humanity. Revo- 
 lutions, like battles, are never influenced by that 
 consideration. Expediency has superseded the 
 obsolete word in a statesman's lexicon ; and 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 163 
 
 indeed, in many instances, mistaken humanity and 
 ill-judged clemency lead to much greater loss of 
 blood, and to more disastrous events, fraught 
 with paramount misery — not only to our country 
 but to mankind, than an indispensable sacrifice. 
 
 That this unfortunate monarch was guilty of 
 some of the charges brought against him, there 
 can be no doubt. On the other hand, it was alleged 
 that he was fully exonerated, by his inviolability, 
 from any acts of his ministers and officers. This 
 inviolability had been claimed by his defenders, and 
 became the subject of long and furious debates, 
 for the proceedings of the Convention during 
 this momentous crisis, displayed all the virulence 
 of party spirit and of personal ambition and 
 hostility. In fact, it was a contest for power 
 between the Girondins and the Montag- 
 nards — the former appealing to the more 
 sober sense of the nation ; — the latter, excit- 
 ing universal terror through the instrumen- 
 tality of the Jacobin club, and its affiliated 
 popular societies. 
 
 Still both Girondins and Montagnards 
 wished for a Republic, and had decided either 
 the downfall of the Monarch, or his death. 
 
164 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 Many departments had sent not only petitions 
 to the Convention, to spare the king's life, but a 
 vast number of Federes had flocked to the 
 capital and loudly professed the interest they 
 took in his fate. This re-action, the Jacobins 
 met by a corresponding excitement, and 
 threats, not only of renewed massacres in 
 the prisons, but of the destruction of every 
 member of the Convention who did not vote for 
 death, were held out in every quarter of the 
 metropolis. 
 
 There could be no doubt that Louis XVI. had 
 broken every promise he had made to the nation ; 
 — no doubt that, although he had sufficient 
 wisdom to see that a change in the government 
 of the country was not only loudly demanded, 
 but indispensable — he most reluctantly pledged 
 himself to promote this reform, both in Church 
 and State. In regard to the Church, he 
 had consented to its spoliation, not only against 
 his conscience, but contrary to the solemn 
 injunction of his immediate spiritual advisers; 
 and in opposition to the express command of the 
 Pope, and he only exempted himself from ex- 
 communication by retaining a refractory clergy 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 165 
 
 about him, a downright infraction of the laws he 
 had sanctioned.* 
 
 That he had corresponded not only with the 
 members of his family, and the nobles who had 
 emigrated, but with foreign powers requesting 
 their armed intervention to maintain his 
 rights and crush his enemies, was a fact that 
 could not be denied ; and what rendered this 
 breach of the mutual faith between him and the 
 people, still more condemnable, was the circum- 
 stance that, at the very time when he was thus 
 inviting a destructive invasion of his country — 
 an invasion in which fire and sword would have 
 
 * Educated by La Vauguyon, Louis XVI. was most 
 unquestionably a bigot, and under the influence of Jesuitical 
 advisers, who sometimes drove him to madness. The clergy 
 about him, went so far as to tell him, that the death of the 
 Dauphin had been a divine punishment for his having 
 solicited the aid and the councils of Protestant advisers ; 
 more especially Necker, whom they accused, in their blind 
 fury, of having caused a famine for the mere purpose of ac- 
 celerating the march of the Revolution ; while it is well 
 known that he had disposed of his property and raised 
 money on his own account to procure provisions for the 
 people. This is the man whom the clergy of France called, 
 in derision, the virtuous reformer ; and accused of having 
 kept large quantities of corn afloat until they had become 
 rotten, when he allowed them to be carried to market ! 
 
166 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 devastated the kingdom, while the emigrants, 
 and the expatriated clergy would have avenged 
 their wrongs by the most fearful examples, 
 he was ostensibly taking steps to organize 
 his armies and oppose his allies. But he 
 was a weak man, incapable of coming to any 
 firm resolve, easily influenced by his proud Queen, 
 in whose veins the blood of Maria Theresa 
 flowed in turbulent circulation ; and he had been 
 persuaded that regular armies would easily dis- 
 comfit the hasty levies of an undisciplined popu- 
 lation. He might, otherwise, have come to the 
 conclusion that he ought frankly and honestly to 
 have moved with the tide of public opinion, and not 
 attempted to breast a torrent that would inevitably 
 sweep away all opposition ; or, if he could not 
 conscientiously act in concert with the people — 
 abdication became a duty which he owed both to 
 himself and to his subjects. 
 
 Sad experience had taught him this lesson ; 
 but too late. In his generous and truly christianly 
 will, he thus expresses himself in his injunctions 
 to the poor Dauphin, " let him remember, that 
 he can only make his subjects happy by reign- 
 ing according to the laws of the land ; but when 
 a king can no longer cause these laws to be 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 167 
 
 respected — from being opposed in his actions, 
 and no longer respected by his subjects, he 
 becomes more injurious than useful to the 
 country." 
 
 Such should have been his conviction when 
 he fled from Paris to join the army of Bouille, 
 one of his most faithful and devoted officers. 
 It was idle to suppose, for a moment, that he 
 depended solely upon the troops who served 
 under this General, who was himself convinced 
 that he could only place confidence in the 
 foreign contingents of his command. There- 
 fore, it is obvious that he w T ould have crossed 
 the frontier, and headed the foreign legions, to 
 re-conquer his throne. By this flight, he had 
 virtually abdicated ; and the most fatal error 
 of the Constituent Assembly was, the not pro- 
 nouncing his abdication, and at once proclaim- 
 ing a Republican form of government. Such 
 a decided line of conduct would not only have 
 saved the Royal Family from their sad destiny, 
 but have spared France and Europe many a 
 fearful catastrophe. This want of firmness and 
 decision on the part of the Assembly, led to 
 the eventual destruction of every contending 
 faction. 
 
168 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 It may be said, and perhaps with truth, 
 that the Assembly wished for a constitutional 
 monarchy, founded on the same principles as 
 our Constitution, which is ever held out as a 
 model for the legislature of every nation anxious 
 to shake off the yoke of a despotic power, for- 
 getting that our constitution has been the result 
 of centuries, and not the deposit of a volcanic 
 eruption. Moreover, there are few nations fit 
 to emerge from the thraldom of despotism, or the 
 darkness of fanaticism, to claim an assumption of 
 a people's rights, and suddenly face the dazzling 
 light of religious reformation, and entertain a 
 philosophic view of fanaticism and superstition. 
 
 The French nation more especially were essen- 
 tially unfit to enjoy the blessings of a free 
 government. Accustomed to abject subjection, 
 without the check of a middle class to stand 
 between the powerful and the weak, the wealthy 
 and the needy ; it must have been foreseen, 
 that so soon as their chains were broken, they 
 would hurl the fragments of their fetters, in 
 frantic enthusiasm, at all who dared to oppose 
 their licentiousness. Thus, their Legislators 
 were Utopian dreamers, and the people an 
 ignorant and infuriated rabble of emancipated 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 169 
 
 slaves, unable to reflect, and prompt to follow 
 any turbulent adventurer. To add to the utter 
 impracticability of any settled form of govern- 
 ment, when surrounded with such clashing ele- 
 
 o 
 
 ments of universal discord, the Assembly com- 
 mitted a national suicide, by their absurd decree 
 that rendered their members ineligible to any 
 succeeding representation of the people. Thus 
 many great and wise men abdicated a power, 
 rendered more efficient by daily experience, into 
 the hands of ambitious jntriguers, and ardent 
 and intemperate youths, fresh from the benches 
 of college, and inspired with all the stilted en- 
 thusiasm of ancient Greece and Rome, who 
 seized the helm of public affairs, till the vessel of 
 the State was wrecked on the wild ocean of 
 chaotic confusion, in a chartless expedition in 
 search of liberty. 
 
 To return to the painful consideration of 
 these melancholy events. The King's defenders 
 could not claim his inviolability. The inviolability 
 of a monarch only attaches to the ostensible acts 
 of his Government, and the conduct of his 
 Ministers, who act in his name, and are sup- 
 posed to do so with his consent, under their 
 advice ; but a King cannot claim the preroga- 
 
 vol. i. I 
 
170 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 tive of being held irresponsible for private acts of 
 his own, unknown to his Ministers, and resorted 
 to without their consent. When Louis XVI. 
 and his family pressed the sovereigns of Europe 
 to come to their assistance, to punish the rebel- 
 lious subjects of the former, and to restore him 
 all the plenitude of his power — when, in fact, he 
 called for the destruction of the land, and the 
 slaughter of the brave who had wished to defend 
 their mother country from the sword of the 
 despoiler, — these wer j£ ac ts of the King 
 himself, for which he alone could be held 
 answerable. 
 
 The question is not, whether a King deprived 
 of his power, robbed of his attributes, shorn of 
 all the splendour of his throne, had not a right 
 to seek to re-conquer what he had lost. Most 
 undoubtedly, it was a natural effort on his part to 
 grasp the reins of former authority, if he could ; 
 but if, in this struggle for authority, he failed — 
 if he had not been able to deluge the country 
 with blood — to bring the Prussians and the 
 Austrians to protect his person, and crush his 
 people, — the victorious people, or their repre- 
 sentatives, had an undeniable right to consider 
 that the contract formed between the monarch 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 1 7 1 
 
 and the country had been broken, and that their 
 monarch, reduced by his own acts to the condi- 
 tion of a simple citizen, was amenable to the 
 charge of treason against the State. 
 
 In his own opinion, this ill-fated Prince, the 
 scape-goat of his profligate predecessors, thought, 
 no doubt that, in calling in the foreigner, he 
 was consulting the best interests of the country ; 
 while seeking, at the same time, to recover his 
 lost power. Nay, it is possible that he was right 
 in this view of the matter ; for, certainly, all the 
 excesses of a foreign army could not have 
 inflicted greater misery on the country than the 
 execrable atrocities of the factions that tore its 
 bosom for many years, and the odious military 
 despotism that succeeded them. Still he was 
 guilty of having sought to expose his country 
 to all the horrors of a vindictive invasion and a 
 civil war. 
 
 He was also guilty of bribing Mirabeau and 
 other statesmen. This was proved by the 
 papers found in an iron chest in the Palace. 
 But here, again, he was excusable, for there was 
 no crime in seeking to obtain support, when 
 assailed on all sides by his enemies. But there 
 was a circumstance respecting this iron chest, 
 
 I 2 
 
172 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 trifling in itself, but which materially injured 
 his cause in the opinion of his friends. There 
 was a dereliction of truth in denying that he 
 knew of the existence of this mysterious deposit, 
 which he himself had placed in a secret place of 
 concealment. The history of this iron box is 
 rather curious, 
 
 Louis XVI, it was well known, was a most 
 expert locksmith, and, having these important 
 papers to conceal, he discovered a niche behind 
 the wainscot of one of his private chambers, 
 in which he deposited them. Not able 
 to enclose it by himself, he called in the 
 aid of a workman who had often done various 
 little jobs for him in the Chateau, and on whom 
 he had heaped many acts of kindness. In 
 this man he thought, and not without just 
 reason, that he might confide. It so happened, 
 however, that the fellow being over- heated by 
 his work, the King gave him a glass of wine- 
 and-water. This wine was Malaga, and, of a 
 description unknown to him, had an extra- 
 ordinary taste. He experienced a sudden chill, 
 and went home much indisposed. His health 
 gradually declined, and he imagined that the 
 King had given him some slow poison to get 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 173 
 
 rid of so dangerous a witness. Under the in- 
 fluence of this apprehension, he confided the sus- 
 picion to his wife, who immediately repaired 
 to Roland, then in the administration, who 
 sought the workman, and, accompanied by 
 him, lost no time in going to the Tuileries, 
 when the secret recess was pointed out to him, 
 and he bore away the papers, which he sub- 
 mitted to the Convention. Such, alas ! was 
 the excitement of the times, and the horror 
 which this unfortunate Prince inspired in the 
 minds of the vulgar, that this poor creature 
 verily believed that the King had been base 
 enough to destroy him, while his wife, seeing 
 him daily sinking under disease, encouraged the 
 horrible suspicion ! 
 
 Truth, even amongst the falsest of mankind, 
 is respected, and the King's positive denial of 
 his knowledge of this concealed box, produced a 
 profound sentiment of disgust, which, in a great 
 measure, neutralized his noble bearing on this 
 solemn occasion. 
 
 We now come to consider, whether the Con- 
 vention had a right to try the King, as the 
 representatives of the nation, and the framers of 
 its laws. Thev constituted the first tribunal 
 
174 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 in the land. They were the appointed guar- 
 dians of the people's rights and safety, and as 
 such, it is clear that they had the power of 
 sitting in judgment on a Prince, arraigned on a 
 charge of high treason against the State and 
 the integrity of his country. He was brought 
 to trial by a national decree, and most un- 
 questionably the nation had a right to judge 
 him. 
 
 It was on this principle that many Deputies 
 voted for an appeal to the people, through the 
 organ of the forty-four thousand Sections of the 
 country. This proposal was overruled, on the 
 ground that the difference of opinions between 
 the monarch's Mends and foes, would inevitably 
 lead to a civil war, and there is no doubt that 
 such would have been the case, without any 
 favourable result for the King, who would, to a 
 certainty, have been murdered by the populace 
 of Paris. 
 
 Found guilty by a majority of sixty-six votes, 
 the sentence to be pronounced on him became 
 a question of vital importance. The populace 
 of Paris, excited by the Jacobin party, were in a 
 state of frantic excitement. They demanded 
 the head of Capet, with terrific vociferations. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 175 
 
 Armed ruffians surrounded the hall of the 
 Convention. Every Jacobin member who went 
 in, was hailed with uproarious applause. Every 
 deputy whose vote was doubtful, was threatened 
 with death, and could only penetrate the hall 
 under the protection of an escort. Under this 
 threat, the Girondins, who well deserved then- 
 future fate, were base enough to do the work of 
 their antagonists ; and not only did not oppose 
 the fatal condemnation, but, to the astonishment, 
 even of the most violent enemies of the fallen 
 sovereign, their leader, Vergniaud,. voted .for his 
 death ! 
 
 Had the ill-fated Monarch been tried by 
 ballot, there cannot be the least doubt but this 
 sentence would not have been passed. Many 
 Deputies acted under the influence of terror ; in 
 the gallery there were furies in the form of 
 women, who were pricking the votes on cards, 
 and when the ushers called out a name, it 
 was immediately transmitted to the mob, 
 amidst yells of execration or shouts of triumph. 
 The populace, satisfied with the majority they 
 had obtained, had no reason to notice those who 
 had voted against their wishes, and their leaders 
 
176 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 exerted themselves to prevent any excess, on the 
 ground that the security of the friends of Capet 
 might show that a fair trial had been given 
 him. Strange to say, few of those who boldly 
 voted in favour of the King, or who at any rate 
 sought to gain time by postponing the execution, 
 suffered for their opinions, while the Montagne 
 sacrificed nearly every regicide who, from cow- 
 ardice or weakness, had assisted them in the 
 bloody deed. 
 
 That this sentence was most unjust cannot be 
 denied. That it might have been necessary 
 under the then existing circumstances, becomes 
 a question of difficult solution. This question 
 must be considered in two points of view, 
 national and individual ; or rather, how far it 
 was desirable for the welfare of the nation, and 
 its triumph over its external enemies, or for the 
 consolidation of the Jacobin party, or the Mon- 
 tagne, and their victory over their opponents. 
 
 It is a matter of doubt, whether the sparing 
 the life of the King would not have caused a civil 
 war, which would have deprived the country of 
 its defenders, engaged in intestine strife, instead 
 of meeting the enemy ; thus adding to the 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 177 
 
 chance of a successful invasion, the distracted 
 state of domestic affairs. The death of the 
 King was likely to put an end to all the hopes 
 entertained by his partisans, who would be 
 crushed or exterminated by the system of terror 
 that was adopted so soon as the Royal head had 
 fallen. The manifesto of the Prussians had 
 threatened the destruction of Paris, and of the 
 whole country, if a hair of the Monarch's head 
 were touched by sacrilegious hands. Now that 
 that head had been taken off, and the scabbard 
 of the sword that struck the blow cast to the 
 wide winds, an impassable abyss had been hewn 
 between France and the Sovereigns of Europe — 
 it became a war of destruction ; their legions or 
 France must have been destroyed. An European 
 league was formed against the Republic — its an- 
 nihilation had been decreed — the Republicans, 
 nay, the mass of the nation, had no option left 
 between a deadly and desperate defence, or ex- 
 termination. Therefore, the whole country had 
 to rise en masse to defend itself, or perish. 
 
 The recent victory of Jemappes, when the raw 
 levies of France had attacked one of the best dis- 
 ciplined armies of Europe, commanded by expe- 
 rienced Generals, and occupying a position 
 
 i 3 
 
178 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 rendered, in their opinion, impregnable, had 
 excited a general enthusiasm over the land. 
 Every man able to bear arms was rushing to 
 the conflict, while, on the other hand, the spirit 
 of the enemy was broken — the spell of their 
 invincibility had vanished before the daring and 
 undaunted attack of men, who scarcely knew on 
 which shoulder they were to carry their muskets. 
 Moreover, the proclamation of France against 
 tyranny — the sight of an army, in which a 
 private soldier could aspire in time to the 
 rank of a General — every circumstance tended 
 to demoralize the allies ; at the same time, the 
 conduct of the emigrants at Coblentz and other 
 places on the Rhine, profligate and gasconading, 
 had disgusted the people. They fancied that they 
 could act towards the German peasants with the 
 same impunity with which they had treated 
 their French vassals. Even misfortune could 
 not temper their haughty arrogance and insolent 
 demeanour. Their heedless extravagance, at 
 the expense of confiding tradesmen — their 
 impertinence to women and young girls — 
 their own quarrelsome orgies and disgusting 
 ribaldry, had excited the contempt and the 
 indignation of the inhabitants of the towns 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 179 
 
 where they had congregated : so little con- 
 fidence was placed in them by the allies, that 
 on many occasions they were not allowed to 
 co-operate with their troops, although it is pos- 
 sible that this exclusion was resorted to, from 
 their intention to conquer France on their 
 own account. Considering this posture of 
 affairs, it was thought by many, that the 
 death of the king would have left no other 
 claimant to the throne, to be raised to power 
 on the bucklers of his adherents and allies 
 and it was even contemplated to educate the 
 Dauphin as a rough citizen, and send him to 
 fight the battles of his country in the same ranks 
 as the two sons of Egalite. 
 
 The disunion and jealousies which prevailed 
 amongst the foreign sovereigns — who already dis- 
 puted their future share in the booty of the inva- 
 sion — was also well known ; therefore, the death 
 of the king was likely to produce an unity of in- 
 terests in France, formidable to monarchs thus 
 divided in their selfish speculations. 
 
 It is no doubt true, that France herself was 
 torn by internal conflicts ; but the Jacobins, 
 decided, bold and desperate in their actions, had 
 determined to establish a system of terror that 
 
180 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 should intimidate the most sanguine of their 
 enemies. Every man who dared to regret the 
 fallen monarch — who ventured to express 
 sentiments hostile to the regenerators of the 
 country, (for such they considered themselves) 
 was doomed to die — the axe spared neither age 
 nor sex : their most violent and blood-thirsty 
 companies were sent to the Departments and 
 to the armies, and any general who had been 
 defeated, or who had not followed up a victory, 
 was sent to the guillotine. In short, they had 
 overthrown every existing institution, however 
 ancient and held sacred ; and they sought to 
 construct a new edifice, consecrated to Liberty 
 and Equality, out of the scattered fragments of 
 the ruins, cemented with blood and tears. 
 
 The fall of the monarch's head was the signal 
 for the universal decapitation of all those who did 
 not join them, hand in hand, in their work of 
 destruction ; whoever hesitated was considered a 
 mode're, and, therefore, an enemy. This state 
 of things had been prophetically denounced by 
 Fauchet, an ex-priest and one of the deputies, 
 who, when the penalty of death was under con- 
 sideration, expressed himself in the following 
 words : — " Let us avail ourselves of this oppor- 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 181 
 
 tunity to annul the barbarous penalty of death. 
 Let us effectually put a stop to the shedding of 
 human blood ; and appease that thirst of it, 
 which seems to consume so many perverse 
 individuals bent upon the destruction of the 
 Republic. Recollect that barbarians (Marat, 
 Danton) have asked for one-hundred and fiftv- 
 thousand heads : gratify them with the head 
 of the fallen despot, and will you be able to 
 refuse them as many more as they may 
 crave ?" 
 
 There can be no doubt that this ferocious 
 reign of terror mainly contributed to the pro- 
 tection of the country, both from foreign invasion 
 and the accumulated horrors of civil war ; while, 
 to aid this desperate expediency, an artificial 
 famine was kept up, and the people were per- 
 suaded that their sufferings arose from the 
 monopoly of the aristocracy. This conviction 
 was displayed by the joy that the populace 
 manifested, whenever a poor wretch accused of 
 being an accapareur, or of having sold any 
 article of food at a higher rate, then the cele- 
 brated tariff or maximum, was conveyed to the 
 scaffold. It may, therefore, be said, that the 
 report of the cannon that announced the fall of 
 
182 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 Louis's head, was the signal of a general 
 onslaught on wealth and generous feelings. 
 
 This event was also the precursor of a general 
 war : the king was heheaded on the 2 1 st of 
 January, and, the English Government having 
 dismissed the French Ambassador, war was 
 declared by the Convention against England 
 and Holland, on the 1 st of February — or eleven 
 days after the execution, thus producing a 
 national rupture with all the States of Europe ; 
 and orders were issued to proclaim, in every 
 monarchial country, the sovereignty of the peo- 
 ple — the abolition of feudality, of tithes, and all 
 oppressive taxation that weighed on the indus- 
 trious classes. The war-cry was — " Guerre aux 
 chateaux — paix aux chaumieres" 
 
 The first step taken by the Montagne and 
 their clubs, was the formation of a Revo- 
 lutionary tribunal, and the destruction of their 
 opponents — the Girondins. This party had 
 displayed considerable energy in their eloquence, 
 and in their exertions to overthrow the monarchy 
 and establish a Republican form of government ; 
 the fond dream of Madame Roland and the fac- 
 tion that formed her coterie ; but they were 
 not men of action, and certainly ill-calculated 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 183 
 
 to save the country in the perilous situation in 
 which it was placed. 
 
 They were averse to a sanguinary and de- 
 structive course, and would have exerted their 
 best endeavours to oppose the system of uni- 
 versal terrorism that was about to be adopted, 
 and which their opponents considered indis- 
 pensible for the external and internal defence of 
 the empire. It is possible that their views were 
 correct, for certainly personal fear, both for life 
 and property, produced a general feeling of 
 heartless egotism, and the sad fate of the Royal 
 Family was soon forgotten in the presence of 
 actual danger, and the sight of daily immola- 
 tions and ruthless cruelty, exercised on all who 
 ventured to oppose the overwhelming tornado 
 of demagogic fury and recklessness. 
 
 In this state of national perplexity, many 
 there were who considered the fallen mo- 
 narch as the author of their sufferings — 
 some accusing him of having betrayed 
 the cause of the nobility and aristocracy, 
 by his timidity and want of firmness in 
 moments of danger; while others were of 
 opinion that when he ceased to reign, de facto, 
 as well as de jure, he should have abdicated, 
 
184 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 and not have continued to wield a sceptre reduced 
 to a reed, and wear a diadem converted into a 
 crown of thorns. 
 
 Louis XVI. was what might have been 
 called a good, easy man, although frequently 
 positive in his will, and violent when contra- 
 dicted. His judgment was generally sound, 
 and his principles were good. His education, 
 both as an individual and a Prince born to 
 sovereignty, had been sadly neglected. His 
 ideas in both capacities were narrow and preju- 
 diced. He endeavoured, by reading and much 
 application, to make up for this deficiency, 
 and became a tolerable Latin scholar, and pos- 
 sessed a slight knowledge of the English and 
 German languages. He courted solitude, but 
 detested idleness : when he had nothing else to 
 do, he amused himself in various mechanical 
 occupations, but chiefly as a locksmith. Though 
 he entertained a tolerable idea of history and 
 geography, yet he was deplorably ignorant of 
 the fundamental laws of the empire which he 
 governed, dwelling upon events and their pro- 
 gress, without seeking to investigate causes. 
 Although occasionally self-willed in trifling 
 affairs, he yielded to flimsy arguments, and 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 185 
 
 coincided with the last adviser in matters of 
 moment. He was not remarkably fond of 
 women ; yet the Queen, although in some 
 instances, it is said, he had suspected her 
 fidelity, exercised over him an irresistible 
 power. He watched her looks, and anticipated 
 her every wish. But she ought to have been 
 constantly by his side, for her advice, or rather 
 injunctions, were over-ruled the moment he was 
 placed in relation with those who opposed her 
 views. His appearance was what might have 
 been called respectable, yet his manners did not 
 command respect. There was too much of the 
 bonhommie of the private gentleman about him 
 for a King of France. Those around him forgot, 
 in the simplicity of his habits, that he was a 
 monarch. Hence, during the progress of the 
 Revolution, his very domestics ceased to treat 
 him or consider him as a King. Once, when 
 signing an order for Baron de Benseval, 
 Governor of Paris, one of his valets had the 
 impertinence to look over his shoulder, to see 
 what he was writing. The King, justly indig- 
 nant at conduct so insolent, seized a pair of 
 tongs, and would have knocked the fellow down, 
 but for the Baron's interference. The scoundrel 
 
186 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 left the room, in fits of laughter. In fact, long 
 before his fall, he had become a cypher in his 
 palace, and a by-word of fickleness and inde- 
 cision in the land. 
 
 Had he possessed firmness and determina- 
 tion, although he could not, in all likelihood, 
 have prevented the spread of revolutionary 
 doctrines, or ultimately have checked the spirit of 
 reform that was widely diffused over the coun- 
 try, yet, had he had recourse to arms when first 
 threatened by his subjcets, he might possibly have 
 prolonged his reign, more especially if he had 
 yielded to the first demands and expectations of 
 the nation, after having crushed the unruly 
 rabble, who endeavoured to overthrow his power. 
 In such a perilous juncture, he should have 
 adopted the maxim of Tacitus : — " Justum est 
 helium, quibus necessarium ; et via arma, quibus, 
 nisi in armes, opes est nulla." 
 
 But this ill-fated Prince dreaded both his 
 nobility and the people ; and when the latter 
 demanded a relief from the taxation under which 
 they groaned, he replied, that he would sanction 
 an equality of taxation, whenever the clergy and 
 the nobility should be willing to renounce their 
 pecuniary privileges. He might as well have 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 187 
 
 told a bare-footed mob that they should wear 
 shoes whenever their bishops thought proper 
 to put down their equipages. Thus, to in- 
 dulge the Comte d'Artois and a handful of 
 perfumed minions around him, he dared 
 and insulted armed millions, determined to 
 assert their just rights, or perish in the at- 
 tempt. 
 
 The Queen, although a woman whom nature 
 seemed to have created for sovereignty, whose 
 every look commanded admiration and respect, 
 had fallen into a similar error, when, by her 
 habits, she divested the crown of that prestige 
 of royalty calculated to dazzle the people, more 
 especially the French. Fond of a select society, 
 she sacrificed to enjoy it the splendour and 
 etiquette of Court. Entirely taken up with 
 those persons whose conversation she preferred, 
 she paid no attention to less favoured courtiers, 
 and thereby offended their pride and vanity. 
 She exchanged the gorgeous halls of Versailles 
 for the snug retreat, and the luxurious boudoir 
 of the Petit Trianon. One of her beauteous 
 smiles would have won the hearts of all ; 
 whereas a look of hauteur or a nod of recogni- 
 tion, created her enemies at every levee and 
 drawing-room. 
 
188 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 The Duchess de Polignac, belonging to a 
 family devoted to the crown, was her chief 
 favourite. She was a sensible and amiable 
 woman. It would, perhaps, have been for- 
 tunate for Marie Antoinette, had she more 
 frequently followed her good advice. She was 
 not wanting in natural abilities, but they had 
 not been cultivated. A few novels constituted 
 her chief reading ; she disliked any serious con- 
 versation, but enjoyed all the idle chit-chat of 
 the day ; nor, in this frivolous course of life was 
 she offended at any double entendre, although 
 not altogether gauzed. This, perhaps, is one 
 of the reasons that led her enemies to doubt 
 her morality, and accuse her of many acts of 
 depravity, which, in reality, were mere over- 
 sights of prudence. It may naturally be in- 
 ferred from such a character, that she had no 
 great susceptibility of lasting friendship, and was 
 incapable of stability. Open to adulation the 
 most fulsome, her vanity led her into many 
 fatal errors. Such, for instance, was her blind 
 partiality to the wretched minister, de Brienne, 
 which simply arose from the vain glory of 
 having herself raised him to the elevated station 
 he so disastrously filled. The cunning and 
 ambitious prelate availed himself of this 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 189 
 
 weakness, to assume such an empire over her, 
 that he shared in the general odium in which 
 she was held. Even after his fall, she added to 
 the public dissatisfaction, by procuring him a 
 Cardinal's hat, and promoting most of the mem- 
 bers of his familv.* 
 
 * The unpopularity of Brienne is somewhat unaccount- 
 able, for he not only had been a reformer of many vicious 
 establishments in the church, but a friend of d'Alembert 
 and other philosophers of the day. Abbe Baruel, in his 
 absurd work on Jacobinism, calls him an " Hypocrite 
 Scelerat," or a " Monstrueux Pre'lat," and his wise regula- 
 tions for religious houses of both sexes, this fanatic Jesuit 
 says, "caused the good monks to shed tears of blood." On the 
 other hand, he was accused of having wished to give to 
 monasteries an aristocratic influence, as a certificate of 
 nobility was required for admission. Thus this vain 
 minister, who endeavoured to make the monastic orders 
 subservient to the Crown, was accused of having entertained 
 impious and Jacobinical views. One might have imagined 
 that the patronage of Marie Antoinette, was quite sufficient 
 to exonerate him from such a charge. Yet Baruel, the 
 advocate of the faithful clergy of his time, says of him, " II 
 fallait toute l'ambition de Brienne, il fallait toute la 
 sceleratesse et tout le judaisme de son ame pour se faire 
 Archeveque de Paris, il se serait fait Pape, pour trahir 
 Jesus Christ et son Eglise." Poor France, with all her 
 crimes, with all her miseries, what would have been her 
 fate, if the Royalists had triumphed, the foreigners 
 devastated her territory, and the people, bound hand and 
 foot, been given up to the tender mercies of the Jesuits and 
 emigrants ! 
 
190 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 While she thus exposed herself to the hos- 
 tility of courtiers out of favour, and to that of the 
 people, she made numerous enemies amongst the 
 women of the Court. She could not suffer the 
 presence of pretty women, without evident 
 marks of discontent, although she constantly col- 
 lected them around her, and, when she most pro- 
 bably expected to outshine them by her attrac- 
 tions, she experienced the mortification of seeing 
 them triumph over her. She was accused of 
 dissimulation. No charge could have been 
 more unfounded, for she never could well dis- 
 guise her feelings or belie her high blood. Proud, 
 haughty, and courageous, she would have 
 headed the armies in the field, had she been 
 born a reigning princess ; but, in the distracted 
 state of her husband's councils, all her energies 
 were lost, and personal danger, as well as the 
 dread of forfeiting her high position in the 
 world, often induced her, however reluctantly 
 and painfully, to make concessions to the cla- 
 mourous rabble, that frequently threatened her 
 life. 
 
 The mutual attachment that existed between 
 the Queen and the Comte d'Artois, which led 
 to many malignant surmises and conjectures, 
 did them both an infinity of mischief. He was 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 191 
 
 considered as the head of the profligate and 
 insolent young nobility that thronged around 
 the Palace, and who, in moments of thought- 
 less dissipation, and under the influence of wine, 
 would often insult the people with impunity, 
 and the mousquetaires gris et noirs of the 
 Royal Guards were held in utter detestation. 
 
 The dislike entertained towards VAutri- 
 chienne, as she was called, was fully exhibited 
 when the unfortunate Princess was executed. 
 The populace heaped every possible insult on 
 her, and a general indifference prevailed in the 
 capital. No doubt the cruel treatment, the 
 refined barbarity which she had experienced, 
 excited the indignation of every well-disposed 
 person, who pitied her more as a wretched 
 mother torn from her children, than as 
 a fallen Queen ; but, when it was recollected 
 that her intrigues, had they been successful, 
 would have covered the land with bloodshed and 
 desolation, the bitter tears she shed in her 
 proud agonies, were considered as dew-drops 
 when compared to those that would have flowed 
 from the eyes of thousands of widows and 
 orphans had her plans been brought to matu- 
 rity, and foreign hordes decimated the people. 
 
192 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 In her last moments, she displayed a blind devo- 
 tion to the bigotry of the Court, and preferred 
 to die without spiritual comfort, rather than 
 accept the services of priests, whose only crime 
 had been to swear allegiance to their country, 
 its laws, and her ill-fated husband, and who had 
 remained to watch over their distracted flock, 
 instead of kindling a civil war in every direction 
 where these incendiary denunciations were 
 heeded. 
 
 Thus, in the hour of need, the royal family 
 found themselves abandoned by their army and 
 by the people, and could only repose con- 
 fidence in a few trusty, but rash and insolent 
 guards, and some Swiss mercenaries, who 
 bravely perished in their defence — one might 
 say ingloriously, since no advantage was derived 
 from their noble fidelity. Recent events have 
 proved that the race of Bourbons was rendered, 
 by the gradual corruption of age, unfit to 
 govern, and all w T ho advocated their cause, and 
 sought to uphold their power, shared their 
 misfortune, and sunk in public estimation. 
 Striking examples of the perils incurred, when 
 fidelity to a sovereign is contrary to the interests 
 of our country and the general welfare of society. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 193 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 A famine — The maximum — The Marquis de Langle — My 
 father denounced as an accapareur — Depreciation of paper 
 currency — Purchase of National property — My brother 
 imprisoned — My father and mother exiled from Paris — The 
 Brother Albittes — Madame de Caux — The Scotch col- 
 lege converted into a prison — A faithful dog — Ferocity 
 of Henriot — Mademoiselle de Beranger — Daily executions — 
 The guillotine — Sanson, the executioner — Collot d'Herbois 
 again — Domiciliary visits — Law of the suspects — Camille 
 Desmouliu's ironical speech on the subject — Singular pas- 
 times of the prisoners — Lapagne — My uncle and cousin 
 guillotined with Madame du Barry — My Father arrested 
 — His life endangered by an incautious letter of mine — 
 Generous behaviour of an Irish interpreter — The rights of 
 man — English prisoners in the Scotch College, and their fair 
 neighbours confined in the adjoining building, the Dames 
 Anglaises — Rose'; the jailor — Moutons, or informers placed 
 in the prisons. 
 
 The reign of universal terror had now com- 
 menced. Danger threatened the country in every 
 direction, and civil war breaking out in several 
 provinces, added to the apprehension of the 
 foreign legions that menaced revolutionary France. 
 To increase these embarrasments, provisions of 
 
 VOL. i. K 
 
194 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 every description had become scarce. Monopolists 
 hoarded their goods, and would only* 1 sell them at a 
 higher rate than the established maximum. The 
 Convention, therefore, decreed, that any person 
 who kept more than one month's provision in 
 his house, should be considered an accapareur, 
 and punished accordingly, while it was considered 
 criminal to refuse the assignats or paper currency 
 at par. Bread and meat were issued to the people 
 according to the number of the . members of a 
 family, and to receive these limited rations, the 
 inhabitants of Paris were obliged to form at 
 the doors of the bakers and butchers, what 
 was called une queue, or tail. A cord was at- 
 tached to the shop window, and was held by the 
 anxious and hungry applicants, who were formed 
 in a string, two-and-two. Sometimes a mischievous 
 or turbulent person would cut the string, and then 
 the clamorous mob would rush forward in numbers, 
 until an armed force compelled them again to 
 form regular ranks, two deep, and many persons, 
 to obtain an early supply, remained all night on 
 their posts. 
 
 It was during this dearth of provisions, that my 
 father, and perhaps all of us, were well nigh suffering 
 the rigour of the sanguinary edicts of the day. 
 A certain Marquis de Langle, an ex-noble, who 
 was the author of a " Voyage to Spain," and of an 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 195 
 
 infamous book, a publication erroneously attributed 
 to Laclos, proposed to my father the sale of several 
 bags of rice, an article that was daily becoming 
 scarce, provided he would advance a certain sum. 
 As the offer was what might have been con- 
 sidered a bargain, he imprudently accepted it, and 
 placed in his hands the stipulated amount. But 
 no rice appeared — days and weeks elapsed — until 
 one day my father met this ex-noble in the street, 
 and publicly brought him to account for his 
 dishonesty. He excused himself in the best 
 manner he could on various pretences, and 
 promised that that very night part of the rice 
 should be sent. On this occasion he kept his 
 word, and towards midnight three or four sacks 
 were clandestinely brought to our house, and con- 
 cealed in a store-room. 
 
 However, the following morning, our neighbour, 
 the fruiterer, hastened to inform us that this 
 scoundrel had denounced us to the Comite Revo- 
 lutionaire of the Section, and he advised us to 
 lose no time in distributing this rice among our 
 poorer neighbours. Tins recommendation my 
 father very reluctantly followed, and we had 
 scarcely shared the provision, chiefly with the 
 fruiterer and the German-breeches maker's family, 
 when the Commissaries of the Section, with a 
 
 k 2 
 
196 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 guard of pikemen, arrived to make a visite 
 domiciliaire, when all our neighbours interfered, 
 vouching for the civisme of our family, and the 
 Marquis himself was denounced as a secret agent 
 of Pitt and Cobourg. We heard sometime after 
 of his being apprehended, on a similar accusation, 
 and I believe he was eventually guillotined, 
 although he pleaded, in his defence, that he had 
 been a secret agent of the Commune or Munici- 
 pality of Paris. 
 
 The depreciation of paper, was, at this period, 
 attributed to the schemes of Pitt, to ruin France 
 by depriving her of the means of defending her- 
 self. No doubt paper was frequently exchanged 
 for effects upon London, as also on Hamburgh, 
 Amsterdam, and other commercial cities, while 
 wiser people, as the depreciation increased, bought 
 national property of considerable value with their 
 assignats, and became proprietors of large estates. 
 My father, strange to say, had purchased gold 
 in bars, which he thought the most profitable and 
 safe exchange, as it was a property easily concealed 
 or removed, although constantly urged to buy 
 houses, and amongst others, I recollect the Hdtel 
 de Crequi, in the Faubourg St. Honore, was 
 offered to him for a few hundred pounds in 
 specie. So valuable was the concern, that 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 197 
 
 the Albittes,* two Jacobin deputies, who lived in 
 the same house with us, purchased the Hotel, 
 and the mere sale of the looking-glasses, &c, 
 when cash payments were resumed, defrayed the 
 original cost. It may appear extraordinary, 
 but my father had always the greatest repugnance 
 to possess houses or landed property, and was 
 constantly engaged in hazardous speculations and 
 bubble projects, which ultimately reduced him 
 
 * Albitte was accused of being one of the ferocious execu- 
 tioners of the Jacobin party at Lyons. He certainly was sent 
 there, but was superseded by Collot d'Herbois and Fouche, for 
 being too dilatory and merciful in the destruction of that ill- 
 fated city. It has been endeavoured to exonerate Couthon 
 from the atrocious proceedings. But Couthon, although he 
 affected leniency, was a most blood-thirsty hypocrite, and 
 lacked the determination to commit the crimes to which he 
 excited more daring demagogues. At the same time Albitte 
 did him the justice to admit, that his temporising in obeying 
 the sanguinary orders he received, allowed a great number of 
 persons compromised in the revolt to effect their escape. Both 
 the Albittes, whom I daily saw when they were in Paris, 
 always mentioned the event of Lyons with deep concern, and 
 whenever they spoke of Fouche, the colleague of the ferocious 
 Collot d'Herbois, and who had been a priest, they always 
 mentioned his name with the most sovereign contempt, as a 
 wretch who combined cruelty with avarice, thirsty alike for 
 blood and gold. According to them, it was he who stimulated 
 the ferocity of the revolutionary army, and who disposed of 
 and appropriated the confiscated property of the inhabitants. 
 The massacre of Toulon was also confided to Fouche, who 
 again complained of Albitte's want of energy. 
 
198 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 to the most exiguous circumstances. It was under 
 this impression, that he frequently attended auc- 
 tions, and purchased most extraordinary and 
 useless articles, merely because they were cheap, 
 and full well do I remember his once sending 
 home a piece of striped velvet waistcoating out of 
 fashion for nearly a century, and which he wanted 
 us to wear. On another occasion, he bought 
 several sets of buttons, with views of Paris, and 
 little objects of natural history, under glass, which 
 he wore himself, to the amazement of every one, 
 when my brother and I rebelled, and refused 
 what he considered a very handsome present. 
 
 Alas ! this was only the beginning of our mis- 
 fortunes and tribulations. To increase the horrors 
 of famine, the English Government had blockaded 
 the ports of France, and confiscated every neutral 
 vessel that was laden with provisions for its relief. 
 This very questionable proceeding, in which the 
 sufferings of a people were increased, to oppose their 
 Government, excited general indignation ; and the 
 Convention decreed that every English person in 
 France, from the ages of twelve to sixty, should be 
 imprisoned until peace. Not long after, an order 
 was sent to the armies not to give quarter to any 
 English soldier; and another decree enacted that 
 every foreigner taken on board an English vessel 
 should be considered a pirate, and hung up at the 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 199 
 
 yard-arm as such. Our Government threatened 
 retaliation, and the atrocious edict was never put 
 into execution. 
 
 In consequence of this law, my brother James 
 was arrested during the night by members of the 
 Section, who placed seals on all the papers which 
 they found and collected in a secretaire. I was 
 not of the age specified for imprisonment ; besides, 
 our neighbours, I verily believe, would have rescued 
 me at any price. My father and mother were 
 Dutch — Citoyens Bataves — and were exiled from 
 Paris, taking up their residence at Sucy St. Leger. 
 However, this exile was of short duration ; for our 
 neighbours, the Albittes, urged by their sister, 
 Madame de Caux, who was then a very lovely 
 woman, obtained an order for their recall from the 
 Comite de salut public, to whom they presented a 
 memorial, signed by all our neighbours, who at- 
 tested the civisme of the citoyen Van Milling en, 
 and the constant kindness of the family to the 
 sans-culottes of the Section. Our faithful Cote, no 
 longer called a servant, but our homme de confiance 
 had gone from door to door to obtain signatures, 
 and I accompanied him, with a red cap on my 
 head, in a blue carmagnole, and a couteau de chasse 
 by my side. 
 
 My brother was first carried to the prison des 
 
200 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 Madelonettes, but it was so crowded, that he was 
 transferred, with other English detenus, to the 
 Luxembourg, that palace having been converted 
 into a prison. There we found many British 
 subjects, amongst others General O'Hara, who had 
 been taken at Toulon. 
 
 It did not enter into the views of the Jacobin 
 Government to sacrifice any English prisoners, and 
 as many persons accused of counter-revolutionary 
 plots were in the Luxembourg, and were daily sent 
 to the scaffold, for fear of mistakes (for in the in- 
 discriminate system of terror that prevailed, it not 
 unfrequently happened that mistakes took place, 
 and many wrong victims were sent to the Tribunal 
 Re volution aire), the English were again transferred, 
 and my brother, with many others, was sent to the 
 College des Ecossais, Rue des Fosses St. Victor, 
 near the Jardin des Plantes, and the female prisoners 
 were confined in the Dames Anglaises, formerly 
 an English convent, next door to the Scotch 
 College. 
 
 At first all the prisoners were put on jail al- 
 lowance, in honour of equality, but it was afterwards 
 decided by the Commune, that those who could 
 afford it should be supplied from some restaurateurs, 
 or by their families. Of course, the last arrange- 
 ment was made for my brother, and for upwards of 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 201 
 
 twelve months, accompanied by my faithful Cote, 
 I carried him his dinner : no trifling distance from 
 the Rue Neuve St. Roch. 
 
 These supplies were most carefully examined at 
 the entrance, lest any letters or secret communica- 
 tion should take place, and the jailor or turnkeys 
 not only cut into every pie or joint of meat, but 
 actually examined fruit and vegetables. The most 
 ingenious stratagems were resorted to, to elude this 
 vigilance, some of them of fatal consequence to 
 their devisers. At the Luxembourg, one of the 
 prisoners corresponded with his disconsolate wife 
 through a dog that always accompanied the servant 
 that brought his food. One day the caresses of 
 the animal were warmer than usual : he would not 
 quit his master a moment : he barked and yelped, 
 and rubbed his collar repeatedly against his hands 
 and knees. His master, thinking it galled him, 
 loosened it. A letter was pinned to the lining ! 
 The answer was transmitted by the same dumb 
 messenger, who, while charged with the sacred 
 trust, could not be approached ; — he growled at 
 the turnkeys, and would have torn to pieces any 
 stranger who durst attempt to seize him. The 
 poor creature was soon punished for his fidelity. 
 The wretch Henriot, who had once been a seller of 
 contre-marques, or cheques, at the theatre, and was 
 one of the most merciless and ferocious Jacobins of 
 
 k 3 
 
202 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 the day, ever glutted with blood and liquor, was 
 then Commandant of Paris. One day on his 
 inspectorial visits, he observed the suspicious ap- 
 pearance and conduct of the dear animal ; and, 
 sending for his master, accused him of aristocracy. 
 " This cur, sir," he said, " has been taught by you 
 to snarl and bark at Republicans, like the hounds 
 that the perfidious English employed to hunt down 
 their slaves ; you have brought him to know the 
 scent of a Sans-Culottes, and made him insult the 
 sovereignty of the people." So saying, he drew his 
 sabre : two of his brave staff followed his example, 
 and, assisted by gendarmes, they attacked the un- 
 fortunate animal, which, after a desperate defence, 
 fell weltering in its blood, his dying looks fixed 
 upon his distracted master, who, restrained by 
 three or four ruffians, was compelled to witness the 
 sad fate of his faithful companion and friend. 
 Struggling with the guard, he endeavoured in vain 
 to assist him, and in his impotent rage, poured 
 forth his just indignation on the assassins. The 
 letter was found in the collar. He was imme- 
 diately transferred to the Conciergerie, tried by the 
 Tribunal Revolutionnaire, and beheaded. His 
 wife was also arrested for having corresponded 
 clandestinely with her husband, to whom she 
 was so speedily to be united in death. How 
 fondly then must they have hoped that brutes 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 203 
 
 (as they are called) possessed an immortal soul, that 
 they might meet again, never more to part ! 
 
 Alas ! in these dismal times, those who lived 
 were desirous to follow the objects of their affection. 
 In the same prison was an amiable girl, of the name 
 of Beranger. Her father, her mother, and her 
 younger sister were arrested : somehow or other she 
 was not included in the roll of death. She tore her 
 hair in frantic agony, and clung to her parents, ex- 
 claiming, " Shall we not die together ?" A 
 gendarme brought a fresh act of accusation. She 
 was on the list ; joy beamed in every feature ; and, 
 looking over the paper with as much delight as if 
 it had been an order for her liberation, she em- 
 braced her mother, saying, " Mother, dear mother, 
 I now shall perish with you !" Contented, 
 she cut off her own luxuriant hair, and strove 
 to soothe the agony of her aged parents, as 
 the cart of death slowly traversed the dense 
 and atrocious populace of Paris, that rolled their 
 angry waves around them, yelling like hyenas for 
 their prey. 
 
 Every execution was attended by a gang of 
 furies, in the shape of women, who were called les 
 aboyeuses, and les insulteuses (the barkers, and the 
 insulters), from their loud and opprobrious vocifera- 
 tions. They not only accompanied the tumbrils of 
 death to the scaffold, but would often cling to their 
 
204 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 wheels, while pouring forth the bitterest and the 
 most obscene vollies of execration — spitting at the 
 wretched victims, not being able to tear them 
 to pieces in their demoniac rage ; and it was more 
 particularly young and beauteous martyrs that 
 excited their malevolence. Each of these harpies 
 received two francs a day. 
 
 Never can I forget the mournful appearance of 
 these funereal processions to the place of execution. 
 The march was opened by a detachment of mounted 
 gendarmes — the carts followed ; they were the 
 same carts as those that are used in Paris for car- 
 rying wood ; four boards were placed across them 
 for seats, and on each board sat two, and some- 
 times three victims ; — their hands were tied 
 behind their backs, and the constant jolting of the 
 cart made them nod their heads up and down, 
 to the great amusement of the spectators. On 
 the front of the cart stood Sanson, the executioner, 
 or one of his sons or assistants ; gendarmes 
 on foot marched by the side ; then followed 
 a hackney-coach, in which was the Rappor- 
 teur and his clerk, whose duty it was to witness 
 the execution, and then return to Fouquier 
 Tinville, the Accusateur Public, to report the 
 execution of what they called the law. 
 
 The process of execution was also a sad and 
 heart-rending spectacle. In the middle of the 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 205 
 
 Place de la Revolution was erected a guillotine, in 
 front of a colossal statue of Liberty, represented 
 seated on a rock, a Phrygian cap on her head, a 
 spear in her hand, the other reposing on a shield. 
 On one side of the scaffold were drawn out a 
 sufficient number of carts, with large baskets 
 painted red, to receive the heads and bodies of the 
 victims. Those bearing the condemned moved 
 on slowly to the foot of the guillotine ; — 
 the culprits were led out in turn, and, if 
 necessary, supported by two of the executioner's 
 valets, as they were formerly called, but now 
 denominated e'leves de V Executeur des hautes 
 wuvres de la justice* ; but their assistance was 
 rarely required. Most of these unfortunates 
 ascended the scaffold with a determined step — 
 many of them looked up firmly on the menacing 
 
 * The functions of executioners, both in France and several 
 other countries on the continent, are hereditary. Those 
 wretched men bore the name of the town to which they be- 
 longed, and were called, M. de Paris — M. de Lyons — or 
 M. de Bordeaux. They formerly wore a yellow uniform. An 
 anecdote is related of the execution of Damiens, when all the 
 bourreaux of France were summoned to attend, not only to add 
 to the Mat of the ceremony, but to suggest some more refined 
 torture. They were all grouped round the scaffold, when an 
 English amateur strove to make his way through the crowd 
 to obtain a better view of the exhibition ; the French hang- 
 men, with national politeness, made room for him, exclaim- 
 ing : — " Faites place a M. de Loudres !" 
 
206 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 instrument of death, beholding for the last 
 time the rays of the glorious sun, beaming on the 
 polished axe ; and I have seen some young men 
 actually dance a few steps before they went up to 
 be strapped to the perpendicular plane, which was 
 then tilted to a horizontal plane in a moment, 
 and ran on the grooves until the neck was 
 secured and closed in by a moving board, when 
 the head passed through what was called, in 
 derision, la lunette re'publicaine ; the weighty 
 knife was then dropped with a heavy fall ; and, with 
 incredible dexterity and rapidity, two executioners 
 tossed the body into the basket, while another 
 threw the head after it. On many occasions, when 
 a celebrated victim was despatched, Citizen Sanson 
 would seize the head by the hair, and hold it out, 
 streaming with gushing blood, to the delighted 
 public, who, on those occasions, would rend the 
 air with the cries of Vive la Republique ! while 
 the gendarmes flourished their bright sabres. In 
 the case of Charlotte Corday, and some other noble 
 personages, the executioner would slap both the 
 cheeks of the victim, to the great delight of the 
 peuple souverahi ; many of them dissatisfied with 
 the shortness both of the spectacle and the actor's 
 sufferings, and loudly demanding that Marat's 
 ingenious proposals should be adopted — for this 
 hideous monster, in the Ami du Peuple, of which 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 207 
 
 he was editor, urged the expediency of adding to the 
 sufferings of the aristocrats, by pouring hot oil in 
 their ears, putting out their eyes with red-hot irons, 
 slitting their noses and tongues, tearing off their 
 nails, &c. &c. It was this eloquence of blood that 
 obtained him the appellations of the " Divine 
 Marat," and the " Sacred Apostle of Liberty." 
 
 The execution over, the carts were drawn to the 
 cemetery of the Madeleine, or the field of Clamart, 
 and the remains of the decapitated cast into deep 
 graves, containing quick lime, while the carriage of 
 the Rapporteur, escorted by gendarmes, returned to 
 report progress to the tribunal of blood. In the 
 departments, the executions were considered a 
 festivity ; for instance, at Arras, the scaffold was 
 erected before the theatre, and Le Bon, the Deputy, 
 with his wife and his friends, were seated on a 
 balcony to enjoy the sight, while a band of music 
 was playing Ah ca ira ! and La Carmagnole ! 
 The executioners afterwards went home to sup 
 with the Representant du peuple, and bets were 
 made on the rapidity with which they could 
 strike off heads, with as much avidity as similar 
 wages could be laid on the speed of a racer. The 
 Parisians were denied this entertainment. When 
 executions became more numerous, the inhabitants 
 of the Faubourg St. Antoine complained bitterly of 
 the privation they experienced in not being able 
 
208 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 to attend the service of the holy guillotine — la 
 sainte guillotine, as it was called, without great 
 difficulty, from the distance between the Place de 
 la Revolution arid their abodes, more particularly 
 as their wives and children could not walk so far. 
 This application was duly entertained by the con- 
 siderate Commune, and executions took place 
 alternately at the old spot and the Barriere du 
 Trone; while criminals who were condemned for 
 offences that were not of a political nature were 
 beheaded on the old-fashioned Place de Greve ; the 
 scene of various executions in former days, so 
 admirably delineated by Callot in his engraving 
 called " Les Supplices."* 
 
 It is certain that the caterers of this kind of 
 public amusement w T ere much less ingenious in 
 the metropolis than in the departments. Thus, 
 at Nantes, Carrier displayed great ingenuity and 
 skill in varying the entertainments. For instance, 
 
 * Notwithstanding the assertion that these executions 
 produced a general gloom, and that shops and windows 
 were shut in the streets through which the sad cortege 
 passed, I can affirm that those exhibitions were festive enter- 
 tainments for the people. The carts passed within three doors 
 of our house, and I daily witnessed the fearful scene. Not 
 only was the Rue St. Honore crowded with spectators, but a 
 mass of the populace followed the tumbrils, and I generally 
 remarked that their shouts of savage glee were in proportion to 
 the number of the condemned, or their former popularity. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 209 
 
 one day he announced the Republican marriages, 
 which were celebrated by stripping young boys and 
 girls, then lashing them together face to face, and 
 then turning them round in a most ingenious sort 
 of waltz to national music, until they reached the 
 river or the field of execution, where they were 
 either cast into the Loire, or massacred by a detach- 
 ment of the armee Re'volutionnaire. On another 
 day, priests were embarked in smacks, which put 
 out to sea, and when they were at a certain distance, 
 valves in the sides of the vessel were opened, and 
 the boats were sunk ; but as this scene was not suffi- 
 ciently dramatic, boats with guards followed the wake 
 of the ship, and whenever a priest appeared strag- 
 gling with the waves, he became a target for ball 
 practice. Collot d'Herbois, ^hom I have already 
 mentioned, in gratifying his revenge on the inhabi- 
 tants of Lyons who once hissed him, when a strol- 
 ling player, showed a perfect knowledge of a grand 
 melo-dramatic spectacle ; and when the guillotine 
 was not found sufficiently expeditious in despatching 
 his victims, he had recourse to artillery, as grape- 
 shot was much more effective than the axe. 
 Then, again, when the houses of the aristocrats 
 were demolished, the labour of masons was a slow 
 process, and he directed the buildings to be mined 
 and blown up. In his enthusiastic report of this 
 
210 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 popular vengeance to the Convention, he expressed 
 himself in a most eloquent manner. " The 
 Lyonese," he wrote, " are conquered ; but they 
 still assert they will, some time or other, revenge 
 themselves. It was, therefore, urgent to strike 
 these rebels with terror, as well as those who might 
 follow their example. The instrument of death 
 did not act with sufficient celerity, and the pickaxe 
 and mattock were too slow in demolition ; there- 
 fore, grape-shot destroyed men, while mines 
 destroyed buildings. All those who perished had 
 imbrued their hands in the blood of patriots ; and 
 the popular commissioners, at one glance at the pri- 
 soners, selected those who should be smitten." 
 
 The ferocity of the Jacobins at Lyons was so 
 ingenious, that, afteT the massacre in the prisons 
 directed by Chalier, a monster who had been 
 brought up to the church, the bodies of the victims 
 were hung up on trees in the public walk, and their 
 limbs linked together, to form what they called 
 une guirlande Republicaine. This Chalier, during 
 those first outbreaks, carried about a crucifix, 
 which he spat upon and trampled under foot, after 
 his orations to his followers. Yet this monster, 
 when on the scaffold, kissed the image of the 
 Saviour he had thus insulted, with apparent pious 
 resignation and contrite repentance. The execu- 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 2 1 1 
 
 tion of this cannibal was most terrific. The knife 
 of the guillotine was slowly lowered on his neck, 
 seven or eight times, and his head, one may say, 
 was severed by inches. There can be no doubt 
 that Lyons, terrified by the atrocities of the 
 Jacobins, after having been driven to arms, and 
 openly to avow the cause of royalty, had exposed 
 itself to a fearful vengeance ; nor can we exactly 
 blame the Republican party for having treated 
 them as enemies ; but the indiscriminate butchery 
 of the guilty and the innocent, and the destruction 
 of a city, whose commerce and industry was one 
 of the principal props of the French revenue, were 
 acts of such unparalelled barbarity and folly, that 
 posterity will scarcely credit the terrific account of 
 the sufferings, and the heroic fortitude of the popu- 
 lation ; for, amongst the victims were many staunch 
 Republicans, who sang the Marseillaise, and the 
 parting hymn of the Girondins, when brought out 
 to be butchered. 
 
 The prisons in Paris were now encumbered 
 with suspected persons. Nothing could equal the 
 solemnity of the fearful nights. The stillness was 
 only interrupted by the measured steps of the 
 members of the Revolutionary Committees, and 
 their armed myrmidons, here and there stopping at 
 the door of a denounced family, and, after a heavy 
 
212 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 rap of the ponderous knocker, that vibrated like a 
 death-knell, pronouncing the fatal words, 
 
 "OUVREZ — AU NOM DE LA LOl!" 
 
 The trembling porter obeyed. The gates were 
 thrown open. The party ascended the stairs with 
 the same solemn step. All was silent, nothing 
 was heard except the clanging of the sabres on 
 the stairs, and the clashing of the pikestaves. 
 The door of the accused was opened with the 
 same fatal sesame of assassination, and the mandat 
 d 'arret, or warrant, was read, seals placed on every 
 article of furniture that could contain papers, and 
 the unfortunate prisoners were borne away to the 
 Committee, amidst the tears and agonized en- 
 treaties for pity of compassion of wives and 
 children, doomed, most probably, to behold them 
 no more — since accusation and death were 
 synonymous. 
 
 Such was the fate of the suspected ; and few 
 could hope to escape from this denuncia- 
 tion, which involved, 1st., All those who, in 
 popular assemblies, checked the energies of the 
 people by insidious discourses, turbulent expres- 
 sions, or threats. 2nd. All those who, from 
 motives of prudence, spoke mysteriously of the 
 misfortunes of the Republic, appeared to pity tne 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 213 
 
 people, and were always ready to circulate bad 
 news, with an affectation of grief. 3rd. All those 
 who had altered their conduct and their lan- 
 guage according to events, and who, while silent on 
 the crimes of Royalism and Federalism, expressed 
 themselves emphatically on any trifling act of 
 misconduct of patriots, and assumed, to pass for 
 Republicans, a studied austerity and severity which 
 was not equally observable when a Moderate or an 
 Aristocrat was the subject of conversation. 4th. All 
 those who should show compassion for farmers and 
 avaricious traders, whom the law was obliged to 
 punish. 5th. All those who had constantly on 
 their lips the words of Liberty, Republic, and 
 Country, and yet associated with ex-nobles, priests, 
 counter-revolutionists, Aristocrats, and Moderates, 
 or who appeared to take any interest in their fate. 
 6th. All those who had not taken an active part 
 in anything that concerned the progress of the 
 Revolution : and who, to exculpate themselves 
 for this neglect, adduced their devotion to 
 the country, or their services in the National 
 Guard. 7th. All those who accepted the Repub- 
 lican constitution with indifference, or expressed 
 any doubt or apprehension in respect to its dura- 
 tion. 8th. All those who, not having done any- 
 thing against liberty, had done nothing for it. 
 9th All those who neglected to assist the meetings 
 
214 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 of their Sections, and gave as an excuse that they 
 were not accustomed to public speaking, or that 
 they had been prevented by their private affairs. 
 10th. All those who spoke without proper respect, 
 or with contempt, of the constituted authorities, 
 the symbols of the law, or of the defenders of 
 liberty. 11th. All those who had signed counter- 
 revolutionary petitions, or frequented anti-civic 
 clubs or societies, &c. &c. 
 
 It was scarcely possible for any quiet citizen, or 
 upright member of society, to escape from such a 
 proscription. It was admirably described by 
 Camille Desmoulins, one of the first and the most 
 enthusiastic advocates of the Revolution, in a speech 
 delivered at the Jacobin Club, where, in an allego- 
 rical description of Rome, he alluded to the miser- 
 able condition of France, — a sarcastic oration that 
 sealed his fate, and soon after sent him to expiate 
 on the scaffold his former rashness and tardy 
 repentance. 
 
 "According to Tacitus," he said, "there 
 once existed a law amongst the Romans, which 
 specified the crimes of Lese Majeste and State 
 offences. Expressions constituted a crime, and a 
 man criminated himself by a single look — by grief 
 — by compassion — by a sigh, and even by his 
 silence. The city of Nursia was guilty of a 
 counter-revolutionary offence, for having erected a 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 215 
 
 monument to its inhabitants who fell at the siege 
 of Modena. Libonius Drusus committed a crime, 
 when he asked a fortune-teller if he would not some 
 day or other possess great riches. Cremutius 
 Cordius, the journalist, was a criminal, for having 
 called Brutus and Cassius, the basest of the 
 Romans. One of the descendants of Cassius was a 
 criminal, for having been found in possession of the 
 portrait of his ancestor. Marcus Scaurus crimi- 
 nated himself, for having written in one of his 
 tragedies a passage that could bear a doubtful con- 
 struction. Petreius was a counter-revolutionist, for 
 having dreamed of Claudius ; Pomponius, for having 
 given hospitality in his villa to a friend of Sejanus. 
 The mother of Fusius Germinus was accused of 
 having wept for her unhappy son. It was then a 
 a State offence to grieve for a relation or a friend. 
 
 " When a citizen obtained popularity," he con- 
 tinued, " he might become a dangerous rival to the 
 Prince, and excite civil war. Studia civium in 
 se verteret, et si multi idem audeant, helium esse. — 
 Suspect. 
 
 " If a citizen avoided popularity, and remained 
 by his fire-side ; this retirement made him conspi- 
 cuous — Quantd metu occultior, tanto plus famd 
 adeptus. — Suspect. 
 
 " Were you wealthy, you might bribe and cor- 
 
216 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 rupt the people — Auri vim at que opes Plauti 
 principi infensas. — Suspect. 
 
 " Were you poor, you must be narrowly watched: 
 no one is more daring than the man who possesses 
 nothing — Syllam inopem, unde yrceclpuam auda- 
 ciam. — Suspect. 
 
 " Were you of a dull and sombre character, me- 
 lancholy, or slovenly, it arises from your grief in 
 beholding the prosperity of the country — Hominem 
 publicis bonis mozstum. — Suspect." 
 
 The effects of this tyrannical enactment were 
 soon obvious. Thousands were incarcerated on 
 mere suspicion, and in every daily paper a numeri- 
 cal return of the prisoners was published for the 
 gratification of the public. Thus, in a very short 
 time, the people became so accustomed to execu- 
 tions and imprisonments, that both lost their 
 horrors, and death and the privation of liberty were 
 looked upon as the common lot of every one who 
 bore a good name, or had any thing to lose. 
 
 In the prisons, executions were spoken of as a 
 matter of course, and when an official came to bear 
 away the victims selected for immolation, and the 
 propitiation of the ferocious leaders of the day, 
 a cordial farewell marked the separation, and each 
 sought to comfort his departing companions by 
 observing, " To-morrow will be my turn." 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 217 
 
 The guillotine became a toy ; children played 
 with models of the fearful instrument, and a little 
 figure, whose head was fixed on with a bit of carrot 
 or turnip, w T as decapitated as an amusement, with 
 all the forms of an execution. 
 
 Jewellers imitated this destructive machine, and 
 women and young girls wore golden and silver 
 guillotines in pins, and brooches, and combs, even in 
 ear-rings. One of the forfeits of social games, was 
 to stretch a young girl on her face upon three 
 chairs, so that her head and neck extended beyond 
 the edge of the last seat, and a young man was to 
 creep towards her on his back, and give her a kiss 
 in that helpless position. In fact, the whole nation 
 seemed to be intoxicated with blood, and I have no 
 hesitation in affirming, from all that I then wit- 
 nessed and heard, that the Royalist party, had they 
 triumphed, would have displayed an equal refinement 
 in ferocious re-action, and that the refractory clergy 
 would have consulted the records of the Inquisition 
 to devise ingenious torments. 
 
 Not only did death hold out no terrors to the 
 prisoners, the grim foe was often trifled with, and 
 the scaffold became the subject of a sort of dramatic 
 entertainment. One prisoner performed the part 
 of Dumas, the President of the Revolutionary 
 Tribunal; another personated Fouquier Tinville, 
 the public accuser. The jury sat on pallet-beds, 
 
 VOL. I. L 
 
218 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 while the accused was placed on a table. The most 
 absurd and fantastic plots were then denounced. 
 One prisoner had seduced the wife of a Jacobin ; 
 another had stolen the breeches of a sans-culotte ; 
 a third had scalded the mouth of a Republican by 
 giving him hot soup ; a fourth had combed 
 his hair and cleaned his teeth, which were con- 
 sidered aristocratic habits, and counter-revolutionary 
 practices. The accused, after a defence equally 
 ludicrous, was of course sentenced to death. A 
 sham execution then took place. His hands were 
 tied behind his back ; a bench tilted on a table re- 
 presented the board of the guillotine, when a blow 
 of a knotted handkerchief struck off the head. 
 After his supposed death, the sufferer wrapped 
 himself up in a sheet, and, playing the ghost, he de- 
 nounced, in a solemn tone of voice, the most awful 
 retributive justice on his judges, and endeavoured 
 to terrify such of his fellow-prisoners, as, not 
 feeling disposed to join these mad freaks, had 
 sought a few hours' repose on their sad couches, 
 attempting to lull themselves into a temporary 
 oblivion of all worldly ties of endearment. 
 
 One of these scenes was truly ludicrous. It was 
 in the Conciergerie. A ruffian, called Lapagne, 
 who had been Mayor of Ingouville, at Havre, as 
 cowardly as he was cruel, had fallen asleep during 
 one of these performances, and the prisoner who 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 219 
 
 played the ghost was a townsman, acquainted with 
 all his atrocities. This wretch had once been a 
 highway robber, and sentenced, in the ancien 
 regime, to be broken on the wheel for a foul murder. 
 A nobleman had obtained his pardon, and he 
 requited the generous action by sending his bene- 
 factor to the scaffold. The supposed apparition 
 now pulled him by the legs, and, standing before 
 him, reproached him with his crimes in a sepulchral 
 voice, and closed his denunciation by calling out, 
 "Lapagne! Lapagne ! Lapagne ! arise and follow 
 me to the infernal regions !" The miscreant, more 
 dead than alive with terror, shaking from head to 
 foot, with big drops of sweat trickling from his 
 brow, rose with looks of horror, and followed the 
 spectre towards the door, until roars of laughter 
 convinced him of his error. Such were the amuse- 
 ments of many of the prisoners, who stepped out 
 merrily to judgment and to death — rushing like a 
 war horse on the hostile steel. 
 
 The case of the unfortunate Girondins, stern 
 Republicans, who died the martyrs of their creed, 
 will form one of the most interesting episodes of 
 those disastrous times. In their enthusiastic 
 rhapsodies, although several of them entertained 
 hopes of acquittal from a consciousness of their 
 innocence, they had inscribed upon the walls of 
 their prison, some of them with their blood, 
 
 L 2 
 
220 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 ancient and modern maxims of freedom, and glo- 
 rious deaths in her cause. Such as " Dulce et 
 decorum per patrid mori." " Potius mori quam 
 fcedari." When condemned, although beholding 
 the bloody corpse of their dear friend and com- 
 panion, Valaze, who had stabbed himself to deprive 
 his enemies of the gratification of seeing him ascend 
 the scaffold, they sang the Marseillaise in chorus ; 
 and when proceeding to execution, continued to 
 chaunt the national hymn, with the defiance of 
 Roland at Roncevaux, the first verse of which was 
 as follows : — 
 
 " Entends tu le son de mon cor ? 
 Je te dene a toute outrance, 
 M'entends tu, superbe Altamor ? 
 Ce bras te donnera la mort. 
 Ou si je tombe sous ta lance, 
 Je m'ecrirai fier de mon sort. 
 Mourir pour la patrie, 
 C'est le sort le plus beau, le plus digne d'envie !" 
 
 These lines were also sung by the victims 
 slaughtered at Lyons, even while kneeling to receive 
 the grape-shot that mowed them down ! 
 
 The night before their execution, the Girondins 
 ordered a splendid supper, and sat at their last re- 
 past until day-break, discussing the question of the 
 soul's immortality ! It was during this supper, 
 that Vergniaud, in an eloquent speech, delivered his 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 221 
 
 prophecy of the destinies of France — " These 
 people are too childish to wield its laws without, 
 injuring themselves. It will return to its Kings, as 
 children return to their toys I" 
 
 The levity that was remarkable in the hall of 
 the sittings of the dreadful tribunal, was also sur- 
 prising. It was a compound of mock judicial 
 solemnity and reckless indifference. In the centre 
 of the hall, under a statue of justice, holding 
 scales in one hand, and a sword in the other, with 
 the book of laws by her side, sat Dumas, the 
 president, with the other judges. Under them 
 was seated the public accuser, Fouquier Tinville, 
 and his scribes. Three coloured ostrich plumes 
 waved over their turned up hats, a la Henri IV, 
 and they wore a tri-coloured scarf. To the right 
 were benches on which the accused were placed in 
 several rows, and gendarmes, with carbines and fixed 
 bayonets by their sides. To the left was the jury. In 
 many instances the accused were allowed to defend 
 themselves, but whenever it was apprehended that 
 their defence might excite compassionate feelings 
 amongst the auditors, they were thrown hors des 
 debats, and judgment proceeded to without any 
 further delay. 
 
 I little thought, when I first visited this hall of 
 horrors, that some of my earliest friends and 
 connexions would appear on the fatal benches. 
 
222 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 I have already mentioned that, on our arrival in 
 France, we were received by a relative of my 
 mother, a Dutch banker, of the name of Van de 
 Niver. He had been accused of negotiating 
 paper, both on Amsterdam and London, and 
 when Anacharsis Clootz was denounced to the 
 Jacobins, and expelled from the club on the motion 
 of Robespierre, one of the charges against him 
 was, his having associated with my uncle and 
 cousins, who had corresponded with emigrants 
 and sent them money, but more especially with 
 Madame Dubarry. This wretched woman had 
 buried some diamonds and other valuables in the 
 garden of her country-house at Luciennes, and 
 had the temerity to come over for these articles. 
 No one was acquainted with the circumstance but 
 a negro slave, whom she had emancipated, and who, 
 purposely or not, confided the secret to an Irish 
 gardener, on whom, in more fortunate days, she 
 had heaped obligations. This ruffian denounced 
 her. She was taken up and conveyed to Paris. 
 Van de Niver and his two sons were also thrown 
 into prison, and in a few days they were all con- 
 demned to death. The trial w T as short — for 
 proofs of their correspondence were evident. But 
 the public accuser was delighted with the oppor- 
 tunity of casting eveiy possible obloquy on the 
 unfortunate roval favourite, and he was most 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 223 
 
 eloquent in attributing to her and other courtezans, 
 all the horrors of the Bastille, the iniquity of the 
 Lettres de Cachet, and the misery of the people ; 
 in fact, he described the unhappy creature, who 
 was supplicating for mercy in an agony of despair, 
 as a monster of corruption and profligacy. Shouts 
 of applause greeted her condemnation. My poor 
 uncle and cousins displayed a stoic indifference. 
 It was only at the foot of the scaffold that the 
 old man's courage failed; and he begged, as a 
 favour, that he might be beheaded before his 
 sons, as he feared the sight of their execution 
 might shake his fortitude. The executioner stated 
 the request to the Rapporteur, who, instead of 
 acceding to it, ironically directed, that to spare 
 the poor man's feelings, he should be led under the 
 scaffold, that the blood of his sons might trickle over 
 his guilty head. It was done — his two sons fell — ■ 
 he was then borne on the scaffold, when Sanson, 
 the executioner, showed him both their streaming 
 heads, which he held by the hair, and he was 
 further doomed to witness the decapitation of 
 of Du Barry, who was rending the air with her 
 cries for help and mercy. * When her once lovely 
 
 * It is singular that Du Barry and Camille Desmoulins were, 
 perhaps, the only victims of those terriffic days, who, to 
 the last moment, seemed to entertain hopes of being saved, 
 and were loud in their appeals to the multitude, little thinking 
 
224 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 head was held out to the people, their applause 
 was most tumultuous, and the executioner kept 
 up the excitement, by displaying the bloody 
 trophy on the four sides of the scaffold, that no 
 portion of the people should be deprived of the 
 exhibition. 
 
 An unguarded letter of mine, was nigh 
 dooming my father and brother to a similar 
 fate. It may be recollected that, after the events 
 of the 10th of August, my mother, terrified at 
 all that took place around us, supplicated my 
 father to allow her and her children to return to 
 England. We went as far as Calais, when 
 pecuniary circumstances prevented my father from 
 meeting her wishes, and we returned to Paris. 
 When we left the capital, Van de Niver had placed 
 in our hands a parcel of papers addressed to 
 Madame du Barry, requesting us to conceal 
 them, and carry them over. An opportunity 
 offered. The papers were sent, and I had the 
 imprudence to write to my father to tell Van de 
 Niver that these important papers had been 
 transmitted by a safe conveyance I had, of course, 
 completely forgotten the circumstances. How- 
 ever, two nights after the execution of Van de 
 
 that their attachment to life added to the exultation of the 
 people, and their gratification in witnessing sufferings more acute 
 than usual. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 225 
 
 Niver, the awful knock of a domiciliary visit 
 struck our door. We all arose. The officers of 
 the Section entered, and arrested my poor father. 
 Never shall I forget his stoical indifference and 
 sang froid. My distracted mother wanted him 
 to take a parcel of clothes and linen with him. 
 He quietly put on two shirts, two pairs of drawers, 
 and two pairs of stockings ; then, putting a red 
 night-cap in his pocket, he calmly said, " This is 
 enough to last me till I'm executed !" 
 
 I accompanied my father to the police office 
 of the sanguinary Commune, hut was soon 
 obliged to leave him, as he was transferred to the 
 Luxembourg, I immediately sought our neigh- 
 bours the Albittes ; the eldest was on a mission. 
 The youngest, Dorival, yielded to my entreaties 
 and the prayer of his sister, Madame de 
 Caux, and repaired to the Comite de Salut 
 Public, 
 
 Their reply was alarming. They could only 
 decide after the examination of the papers found in 
 my father's possession, and these, being in English, 
 had been handed over to the interpreter of the 
 Committee. He was an Irishman — how I do 
 lament that his name has escaped my memory ! 
 I hastened to him with Abbe Servois ; we were 
 bearers of a letter from Dorival Albitte, and 
 another that his sister had procured from Barrere. 
 
 L 3 
 
226 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 The interpreter was an ill-looking man, gruff and 
 rude in his manner. He was surrounded with 
 shelves, on which were placed cartons con- 
 taining the different documents that needed 
 translation. There was a carton on the table ; it 
 was labelled, Affaires de la Du Barry et ses com- 
 plices. Several letters were before him. 
 
 He received us in a most distant and repulsive 
 manner; but, after having perused our notes of 
 introduction, he calmly drew out my unfortunate 
 letter to my father, and, handing it to Servois, 
 merely said, — lisez ! 
 
 The pallor of Servois's countenance, his anxious 
 and disconcerted looks, evidently expressed the 
 greatest alarm. The interpreter did not seem to 
 notice it, but, addressing himself to me in English, 
 asked me many questions concerning my family, 
 and then, turning round to my worthy preceptor, 
 he took the letter out of his hands, and replaced it, 
 with other papers, in the carton. Servois observed 
 that the letter was written by a mere child ; to 
 which the interpreter sternly replied, " This is no 
 child's play." So saying, he got up on a stool, 
 and placed the carton on the top of a lofty shelf, 
 and adding, " Many things may turn up before 
 these papers are examined again," he quietly dis- 
 missed us, with the singular injunction to Servois, 
 " Instead of teaching this lad Latin and Greek, 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 227 
 
 teach him " Les Droits de Vhomme" — a sort of 
 prophetic advice. 
 
 Two days after, the Comite de Salat public 
 ordered the liheration of my father. Servois had 
 purchased a copy of Les Droits de Vhomme, et 
 du Citoyen, in the form of a popular catechism, 
 which he made me learn by heart, and repeat to 
 him every evening. Strange to say, an officer 
 from the Comite' Re'uolutionnaire called upon us 
 to withdraw a carte de civisme, which my father 
 had received, and replaced it with a carte de surete, 
 in which he was ordered to present himself to the 
 Section twice in every decade. He then pro- 
 ceeded to inquire if I attended the e'coles pri- 
 maires with the children of the patriots of the 
 Section, and examined me as to my knowledge 
 of les Droits de Vhomme. On being satisfied on 
 that head, he took his leave, recommending me to 
 attend regularly the debates of the Societe' 
 Populaire ; but, previously to his departure, he 
 questioned my father regarding the companv 
 he kept, and entered the names of our usual 
 visitors in a memorandum-book. My father was 
 prudent enough to mention such of our acquaint- 
 ances as were well known for thefe civisme, and 
 amongst them were Gregoire, Royer, the two 
 Albittes, and Serres, the Deputy. Strange, in- 
 quisitorial inquiry, that showed the extent of the 
 
228 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 political ramification of the times. After his 
 departure, we found that this man was Heron, an 
 agent of the Comite de Surete Generate, and the 
 confidential informer of Robespierre. 
 
 My brother was very comfortable in the College 
 des Ecossais. Its former superior, Abbe Inez, 
 was detained in his own apartments, in which 
 was suspended a curious panel painting of Mary 
 Queen of Scots ; and he also showed a little relic 
 case of that ill-fated Princess in a walnut-shell, 
 ornamented with curious workmanship. There 
 w T ere many English detenus in the prison, who, 
 formed in different coteries, took their meals 
 together. My brother's circle consisted of Sir 
 Robert Smith, of Beerchurch Hall, Essex, wiiose 
 wife and daughter, with his son, the present Sir 
 Henry, often visited him ; — a young medical 
 student, a pupil of Desault, of the Hotel Dieu, 
 and subsequently of Gerard's and of the Veterinary 
 School of Alford, of the name of Charles 
 Este, the son of the well-known Parson Este, who 
 was once the editor of the " World," and one of 
 the most outrageous of English Jacobins ; — a 
 Scotch wine-merchant of the nameof McGlashan; — 
 a Major Magsey, and his nephew, Hugh Magsey, 
 who w T as afterwards an officer in our service — the 
 1 6th Foot — and was married to a wealthy widow of 
 the county of Cork, whose name, I believe, was 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 229 
 
 O'Donnel ; — another Irishman, of the name of 
 Hickson, a most extraordinary personage, who 
 called himself a teacher of languages, and a poor 
 creature who lived on the bounty of his fellow- 
 prisoners, named Fidler, The days were spent in 
 card or ball-playing, or playing at fives in the 
 garden ; and the prisoners clubbed the dinners 
 sent to them by their friends, or ordered from a 
 neighbouring trait eur. Indeed, the time passed 
 merrily enough — some of the young men amusing 
 themselves in corresponding with ladies confined 
 in the Dames Anglaises, the garden of which 
 was separated from that of the College by a wall. 
 This correspondence was carried on by balls, on 
 the leather of which were written various effusions 
 in prose and in verse, covered with an envelop, 
 and an address on white kid. The answers were 
 conveyed in a similar manner, and thrown over 
 the enclosure. However, I never heard that this 
 amatory correspondence led to any result. 
 
 Amongst other sources of amusement, Professor 
 Hickson contributed to the general merriment by 
 his merciless barbarisms in the English language. 
 He was generally called Murphy, in consequence of 
 his often saying, when withdrawing to rest earlier 
 than his companions, that he was going to seek re- 
 pose in the arms of Murphy ! It appeared that the 
 poor man was much embarrassed when he was ar- 
 
230 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 rested, and, after his liberation, many of his creditors 
 pestered him for payment, and presented their ac- 
 counts, when he invariably pretended to know 
 nothing about them, exclaiming : " Connais paw 
 jamais viou." I had nearly forgotten another 
 prisoner, an Irishman, and a great songster, named 
 Mowett. He used to chaunt slang songs with 
 great gusto, and " The night before Larry was 
 stretched," and the " Christening of Salmon Joe," 
 were among his gems. 
 
 The jailor, a man called Rose, although of a for- 
 bidding appearance, and very rigid in obeying his 
 instructions, was a kind and warm-hearted fellow, 
 and when the prison was broken up, an ex-noble, 
 I think of the name of Duhautoy, appointed him 
 concierge to his chateau. The Guichetiers, or turn- 
 keys, were also very civil, and did all in their power, 
 with a little application of palm-oil, to contribute to 
 the comfort of the prisoners, who were exempt from 
 the horrors of frequent calls from the Tribunal Re- 
 volutionnaire. Very few of them were sent to 
 execution ; nor were there in the College any of 
 those secret agents of the police, who passing, for 
 prisoners, were actual spies and informers, and 
 who went by the name of Moutons, from the 
 mild and insinuating manners which they af- 
 fected, to worm themselves into the confidence of 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 231 
 
 the unguarded prisoners, who were deceived by 
 their hypocritical gentleness. 
 
 The safety of the English imprisoned in Paris 
 was a strange occurrence, and, as I shall shortly 
 show, it was owing to their incarceration ; for, other- 
 wise, from the general hatred entertained towards 
 them, not only by the masses of the people, but by 
 the leaders of the Jacobins, who attributed every 
 atrocity to Pitt's machinations and bribery, they 
 most certainly would have been massacred during 
 the bloody convulsions that so frequently threatened 
 general destruction. I have already stated that the 
 most monstrous statements regarding the ferocity 
 of the English were circulated, such as their sending 
 for savages to devour the French prisoners, &c. &c. 
 The very name of England seemed to excite a feel- 
 ing of horror and of hate, and it may be truly said, 
 that the French imbibed these hostile feelings from 
 the vers' bosoms of their mothers. 
 
232 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Amusements of the Parisians— The Poetry of the day— La 
 Marseillaise— Le Chant du Depart— Veillons au salut de 
 1'Empire — Hymn of the Bordelais and Versaillais— Song of 
 La Montagne— Palais Egalite— Les Epaulettiers— Popular 
 balls, or Bastringues— Socie'te's populaire — Popular meeting 
 of female Jacobins — Their Presidente, Citoyenne Lacombe — 
 Their debates and speeches— David discovers that there was 
 an Indian divinity called Sans-culotte— The inauguration of 
 its image — New names substituted for those of the Saints — 
 Complimentary days— Civic banquet— My father again 
 endangered for sending an indifferent dinner to the banquet 
 —The Quack Doctor, and Fofo, the pretty rope-dancer— Mes 
 premiers amours I — Opiate Bordelais much used by the 
 ladies of the ballet. 
 
 While every popular assembly was excited by 
 the eloquent discourses of the leaders, or meneurs, 
 the aid of poetry and music was called in to kindle 
 a similar enthusiasm in the theatres, the streets, 
 and public gardens. Pont Neuf ballads, of the most 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 233 
 
 vulgar nature, and sublime specimens of patriotic 
 inspirations, were heard in every direction. The 
 Carmagnole, a favourite song, which was danced 
 to in a chaine patriotique round the tree of 
 liberty, or the guillotine, was a most doggrel 
 composition. If I recollect well, the first verse 
 was as follows : — 
 
 Monsieur Veto avait promis, 
 Monsieur Veto avait promis, 
 De faire egorger tout Paris, 
 De faire egorger tout Paris, 
 Mais son coup a manque 
 Grace a nos cannoniers, 
 Dansons la Carmagnole. 
 Vive le son ! 
 Vive le son ! 
 
 Dansons la Carmagnole. 
 Vive le son 
 Du canon ! 
 
 The words of the famous Ah ! ca ira were equally 
 trivial — 
 
 Ah ! 9a ira ! 
 
 Les aristocrates a la lanterne 
 
 Ah ! 9a ira ! 
 
 Les aristocrates on les pendra ! 
 
 However, this blood-thirsty ballad was founded 
 on the Ah ! ca ira of the year 1790, which, strange 
 to say, inculcated a maxim of the Gospel — 
 
234 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 Ah 9a ira ! ?a ira ! 9a ira, 
 Le peuple en ce jour sans cesse repete 
 
 Ah 9a ira ! 9a ira, 9a ira, 
 Suivent la maxime de l'evangile 
 
 Du legislateur tout s'accomplira, 
 Celui qui s'eleve on abaissera 
 Celui qui s'abaisse on l'elevera 
 
 Ah ! 9a ira ! 9a ira ! 9a ira ! 
 
 But the hymn which inspired the greatest en- 
 thusiasm, was the celebrated Marseillaise. This 
 fearful cantate was written by a young artillery 
 officer, of the name of Rouget de Lisle. The 
 soul-stirring effusion was poured forth in the 
 enthusiasm of love, patriotism, and poverty — three 
 mighty levers of human passions. De Lisle 
 lodged in the house of an obsure citizen, named 
 Dietrich, who had been raised to the dignity of 
 the Mayor of Strasbourg. He loved his daughter, 
 and, over a humble repast, he composed this 
 glorious song, which, even to the present day, 
 despite the crimes and the desolation which it 
 ushered in its triumphant career, excites a glow 
 of enthusiastic love of country, when we reflect, 
 that at that period it became a march to death 
 and glory. France had been doomed to destruction 
 by the foreigner, and destruction threatened every 
 hearth. It has been asserted that the Marseillaise 
 was a spontaneous production — a national inspira- 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 235 
 
 tion in a moment of ecstatic exultation. Little 
 did the enthusiastic youth foresee that the father 
 of his beloved was to be one of the earliest 
 victims of popular frenzy, and that he him- 
 self would be banished from his country, 
 and, on his venturing to return, cast into 
 prison, and only saved by the events of the 9th 
 Thermidor. 
 
 The Chant du Depart was another glorious 
 composition, and sung by the volunteers leaving 
 their homes to meet the advancing enemies. The 
 music, by Mehul, was in keeping with the exal- 
 tation of the poetry. When the Parisian con- 
 tingents were marching, they filed across the stage 
 of the Opera amidst thunders of frantic applause, 
 while all the performers were pouring forth the 
 soul-stirring strains. The first verse ran thus : — 
 
 La victoire en chantant vous ouvre la barriere, 
 
 La liberte guide vos pas ; 
 
 Et du nord au midi, la trompette guerriere, 
 
 A sonne l'heure des combats ! 
 
 Tremblez, ennemis de la France, 
 
 Rois ivres de sang et d'orgueil, 
 
 Le peuple souverain s'avance. 
 
 Tyrans, descendez au cerceuil ! 
 
 La Republique vous appelle 
 
 Sachez vaincre ! ou sachez mourir ! 
 
 Un Francais doit vivre pour elle, 
 
 Pour elle un Frangais doit perir. 
 
236 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 The second stanza was sung by the supposed 
 mothers of the departing youth. 
 
 De nos yeux maternels, ne craignez pas les larmes, 
 
 Loin de nous, de laches douleurs ; 
 
 Nous devons triompher, quand vous prenez les armes. 
 
 C'est aux Rois a verser des pleurs ! 
 
 Nous vous avons donne la vie. 
 
 Guerriers elle n'est plus a vous 
 
 Tous vos jours sont a votre patrie, 
 
 Elle est votre mere avant nous ! 
 
 La Republique vous appelle, etc., etc 
 
 Stanzas were also sung by fathers and sisters. 
 It would be impossible to describe the enthusiasm 
 excited by this performance ! 
 
 Veillons au salut de VEmpire, was another 
 National anthem sung at all the theatres, to the 
 popular tune of "vous qui d' amour euses aventures," 
 &c, in the opera of Renault d'Aste. The follow- 
 ing verse, which I recollect, will give an idea of 
 this song : — 
 
 Veillons au salut de l'Empire, 
 
 Veillons au maintien de nos droits, 
 
 Si l'aristocratie conspire 
 
 Conspirons la perte des Rois, 
 
 Liberte ! Liberte ! 
 
 Que tout mortel te rende hommage ! 
 
 Tyrans, tremblez, vous allez expier vos forfaits ; 
 
 Plutot la mort, que l'esclavage, 
 
 C'est la devise des Francais. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 23 7 
 
 These songs, or rather hymns, became popular 
 throughout the entire country, while different 
 towns and Departments had their own local 
 ehaunts. Thus, the Bordelais had a quick march, 
 with the following words : — 
 
 On dit par tout le raonde, 
 L'Hymne des Marseillais, 
 Que Ton chante a la ronde 
 Celui des Bordelais. 
 Pour aller a la guerre, 
 La leur a des attraits ; 
 Mais la notre, aussi fiere 
 Annonce un Bordelais. 
 
 This last line was most characteristic of the 
 gasconading style of the inhabitants of that 
 versatile city. There was also a hymn of the 
 Bretons, which I now forget, but it expressed an 
 old saying of that head-strong, dogged race, un 
 Breton marche vingt-cinq pas, devant le Ion 
 Dieu ! 
 
 Even the inhabitants of Versailles had their 
 anthem, of which I recollect the first inflated 
 stanza. 
 
 Quels accents ! quel transports ! 
 Partout la gaiete brille. 
 
 La France, n'est elle done qu'une seule famille. 
 Aux lieux meme ou les Rois etalaient leur fierte, 
 On celebre la liberte ! 
 
238 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 Est-ce une illusion! suis-je au siecle de Rhee ? 
 J'entends partout chanter d'une voix assuree ! 
 Nous ne reconnaissons, en respectant les lois 
 Que l'amour des vertus, et la haine des Rois. 
 
 During the successful reign of the Mon- 
 tagne, a song was written in their praise, 
 which, from its character, is worth preserv- 
 ing; and, though so many years have elapsed 
 since I was in the habit of singing it, I be- 
 lieve I can give it with tolerable correct- 
 
 ness. 
 
 1. 
 
 Heureux habitans des montagnes ! 
 
 Chez vous regne la liberte ! 
 
 En tous temps elle eut pour compagne, 
 
 L'innocence et la verite ! 
 
 Ici le soleil sans nuages 
 
 Chaque jour frappe vos regards 
 
 A vos pieds vous voyez les orages 
 
 Et restez toujours montagnards ! 
 
 2. 
 Ce fut sur la montagne antique ! 
 Que naquit l'homme libre et fier ; 
 C'est sur la montagne Helvetique 
 Que Tell pulverisa Guesler ! 
 Que dans la plaine les esclaves 
 Rampent aux genoux des Cesars, 
 Pour vous, sans maitres, sans entraves, 
 Vous restez toujours montagnards. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 239 
 
 3. 
 
 Londres, Berlin, Vienne et l'Espagne, 
 Pretendaient nous remettre aux fers 
 Mais du sommet de la montagne, 
 Un Dieu veillait sur l'Univers. 
 Par sa fermete, sa prudence. 
 Malgre leur batallions epars, 
 La montagne a sauve la France, 
 Gloire eternelle aux montagnards ! 
 
 The Sainte Guillotine had also her hymns 
 and her anthems, and in the Place de la Revolu- 
 tion were booths and exhibitions of all kinds, with 
 rope-dancing, and puppet-shows, where Polichinelle 
 cut off the head of an aristocrat, amidst shouts of 
 laughter. 
 
 I have already mentioned that every effort was 
 made, during that fearful period, to demoralize the 
 country. Immoral books were circulated at the 
 most trifling price, and the galleries of the Palais 
 Royal, then Palais de l'Egalite, were crowded even- 
 night by a dense mass of abandoned women and 
 ruffians ; amongst the latter, the soldiers of 
 the Arme'e Revolutionnaire were the most con- 
 spicuous, from the brutality of their manners, and 
 the coarseness of their language. They wore 
 large worsted epaulettes, and bore the name of 
 Epauletiers. 
 
 Balls were open in every direction, and even at 
 the windows of a third or fourth floor would be 
 
240 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 suspended an oiled paper lanthorn, with the word 
 ' Bal ; the police distributing free admissions to 
 these receptacles of corruption, and, not un- 
 frequently, orders for refreshment, gratis. Such 
 w r as the rabble here congregated, that over the 
 doors of some of them was inscribed, 
 
 " Une raise decente est de rigeur, et les ci- 
 toyennes sont invite'es a laisser leur sabots a la 
 porte." 
 
 In these dens you witnessed nothing but un- 
 blushing obscenity, and every outrage on common 
 decency. Of course these orgies often led to 
 bloodshed. Most of the abandoned women who 
 frequented them had their fancy men, whom 
 they called mon homme, and as the fellows were, 
 in general, good-looking ruffians, they not unfre- 
 quently became objects of jealousy, which led to 
 a meeting with the infantry sword, or briquet, in 
 the infantry, and the curved sabre, or bancal, in 
 the cavalry. Civilians, or Pekins, mostly settled 
 their differences by the savatte — a sort of pugi- 
 listic combat, in which each party endeavours to 
 trip up and kick the other ; or the double stick — 
 le baton a deux bouts, with which many of them 
 were most dexterous. It is somewhat remarkable, 
 that a great number of the favourites of the ladies 
 were journeymen butchers, and, to the present 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 24 1 
 
 dav, these gentlemen are celebrated in Paris for 
 their bonnes fortunes in that sphere of society. 
 As to their other accomplishments, they were in the 
 practice of giving a sound drubbing — what they, po- 
 litely, termed une rince'e — une vole'e — unesaboulade 
 — to their favourites, when they could not supply 
 them with money, no matter how obtained or 
 earned. This class, of both sexes, was known 
 by a slang appellation, an expression that cannot 
 be translated, but which conveys the idea of its 
 bearers being the most barefaced and audacious 
 vagabonds upon town. 
 
 In the fine season, these balls were transferred to 
 the Guinguettes surrounding Paris, where the same 
 indecency and contempt of all propriety prevailed, 
 if possible, with a still more determined abandon, 
 although, to the credit of the society of that period, 
 the modern cancan had not been introduced. 
 These assemblies were usually called Bastringues, 
 and each set was announced by a rude chorus of 
 the cavaliers : — 
 
 " Mesdemoiselles, voulez vous danser ? 
 Via le Bastringue, qui va coramencer :" 
 
 the word demoiselles being, on such occasions, 
 more distingue' than the common epithet of cito- 
 yennes. The refreshments usually consisted of 
 vol. i. M 
 
242 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 beer, bad wine, and brandy, with echaudes and 
 brioches ; the ladies generally paying chopine for 
 their partners, or giving them the goutte, or a 
 glass of brandy, technically called du sacre chien 
 tout pur. Such were the amusements of the 
 lower classes. Their superiors frequented balls 
 somewhat more re'cherche's, but equally decoletes ; 
 and rouge et noir, and roulette, were played in 
 adjoining rooms. Here, scenes of violence and 
 strife were also frequent ; and each morn- 
 ing witnessed various meetings in the Bois 
 de Boulogue, many of the duels taking place 
 between fencing- masters, or prevdts de salle 
 d'armes, who sought to display their skill in what 
 they called un coup de malin, similar to the cele- 
 brated coup de Jarnac. 
 
 Such was the state of society amongst the 
 patriots. The quiet and respectable members of 
 the community rarely frequented public places, 
 with the exception of the theatres, which constitute 
 a pursuit de premiere necessite for a Frenchman ; 
 but they met by stealth, and with cautious mystery, 
 at each other's houses, where even a whisper on 
 the state of public affairs became a matter of life 
 or death. 
 
 The utmost frugality and simplicity were every 
 where observable in private families. Plate had 
 either been melted down into cash, or concealed ; 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 243 
 
 and a person who would venture to display silver 
 covers before a neighbour who fed with a wooden 
 or a pewter spoon, was in danger of losing his 
 head. The order of the day was, to support the 
 poor with the property of the more wealthy ; and 
 Marat, the idol and oracle of the people, asserted, 
 in his Ami du Peuple, that " when a man is in 
 want of every thing, he has a right to take from 
 another the superfluities which he enjoys ; nay, 
 more, if he hesitates in giving it up, he has a right 
 to cut his throat, and devour his palpitating heart." 
 He adds : — " Whatever offence he may commit, 
 whatever outrage he may do against his fellows, 
 he no more troubles the order of nature than a 
 wolf does in devouring a lamb. Pity," he main- 
 tained, " was a fictitious and artificial sentiment ; 
 and if you never speak to a child of nature of 
 goodness, meekness, and such puerilities, he will 
 remain ignorant all his life, even of the name of 
 mercy." 
 
 At this period, the clubs of the Jacobins and 
 Cordeliers were crowded, and the popular assem- 
 blies of the sections filled the churches. A man's 
 civisme was tested by his attendance on those meet- 
 ings, and on the violence of his brawling discourses, 
 which were sure to meet with tumultuous applause 
 whenever they appealed to the violent and unruly 
 passions of the audience, a great part of which 
 
 M 2 
 
244 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 consisted of women, who, not to lose time, were 
 knitting stockings or garters during the proceed- 
 ings, and who w T ere therefore, as I have already 
 stated, called les tricoteuses. In this group 
 of hateful hags, it was painful to observe 
 many young women, who were equally enthu- 
 siastic in their patriotic fervour ; and, as every 
 man who attended these popular meetings received 
 forty sous, or \s. 8d., it may easily be imagined 
 that they were crowded with needy miscreants of 
 the lowest description. 
 
 The female demagogues, who had taken such 
 an active part in the ferocious excesses of the mob, 
 soon claimed a share in power and legislative 
 interference. Clubs of women were formed in 
 various quarters. Their debates were terrific, yet 
 amusing. One of their places of meeting was a 
 vaulted charnel house, in the Cemetery of St. 
 Eustache. The chair was often taken by a young 
 girl of uncommon beauty, of the name of Rose 
 Lacombe. She wore crimson trousers, a red cap, 
 and a tri-coloured scarf, and personated Liberty. 
 This enthusiastic creature had been on the stage, 
 and was the daughter of an ouvreuse, or box- 
 keeper, of Lyons. At one time her influence in 
 Paris was amazing. Her beauty, her wild elo- 
 quence, her tears, subdued the most obdurate 
 Jacobin, when she chose to serve an accused 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 245 
 
 favourite, and pleaded his cause ; while, at the 
 same time, her frantic language, and her fiery 
 countenance would kindle the most implacable 
 passions, when she denounced a victim to her 
 infuriated companions. Many of the members 
 were Dames de la Halle, market and fish-women, 
 and the effluvia of the scaly politicians of the 
 last class, even had they possessed the power of 
 syrens, would have deterred any person of suscep- 
 tible olfactory nerves from a long continuance in 
 the offensive circle. 
 
 The following speech, taken down at one of 
 these sittings, may give an idea both of their views 
 and their eloquence, — 
 
 " Fellow Citizens," said one of them, " since the 
 days of the famed Deborah, who succeded Moses 
 and Joshua, until those of our noble sisters who 
 have lately joined our Republican legions, every 
 epoch has produced a female warrior. Behold 
 Tomyris, Queen of the Massagetse, defeating 
 and exterminating the tyrant Cyrus ; Marsilla, 
 driving the Turks from Stalymena ; Catherine 
 Lisse, saving Amiens ; Debarry, defending Lavente 
 against the despot Henry III. ; The Maid of 
 Orleans, defeating the base ancestors of Pitt ; 
 Jeanne de Montfort, disputing the possession of 
 Brittany ; Margaret d'Anjou, commanding in 
 twelve battles; the noble Grecian maiden of 
 
246 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 Lemnos, who, armed with a sword and the shield 
 of her father, drove the Turks into the sea, and 
 killed with her own hand twenty janissaries ! But, 
 if our sex have shown valour in the field, what 
 have we not displayed in generosity and virtue ! 
 I shall not recall to your memory Cleopatra and 
 Lucretia, Flora and Portia, Semiramide and Dido. 
 You are all too well read in history, to need any 
 mention of these heroines. Then look at the 
 women of Aquileia, who made bow-strings with 
 their hair; the Carthaginian ladies, who con- 
 verted their flowing locks into rigging ! But why 
 have recourse to olden times ? Look at our illus- 
 trious citizen and fishmonger of the Halle, the 
 brave Reine Andre, who, heading a battalion of 
 her sisters, marched upon Versailles, defeated the 
 base Gardes du Corps, and brought the tyrant 
 Capet back to Paris ! Look at all our generous 
 sisters, who knew nothing of gunpowder but fire- 
 works, and yet dared the destructive cannon 
 of the Bastille ! Look, in short, at our lovely 
 President, Citoyenne Lacombe, who, in the 
 dress of an Amazon, fought on the glorious 
 10th of August, bled for the Republic, and con- 
 quered the satellites of the tyrant." 
 
 Some of the propositions and amendments of 
 these desperate women were often most ridiculous. 
 One evening, an old hag proposed that a levy 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 247 
 
 of thirty thousand women should be immediately 
 decreed, to commence by a regiment of light 
 infantry, composed of the girls of the town. 
 
 This strange proposition was vehemently op- 
 posed by a good-looking dame, who denounced 
 the motion as an infringement of equality. " I 
 have had the honour," she said, " of being ten 
 years upon what is called the town, and I see no 
 reason why any insulting distinction should be 
 made between us and other women. Who are 
 these saintes ni touche* whom you call virtuous 
 women ? They are mere hypocrites, who consent 
 to bend under the yoke of priestcraft. I long 
 have burst from these ignoble trammels. I have 
 given six sons to the Republic, and I shall en- 
 deavour to give it as many more. If they fall in 
 the glorious cause of Liberty, I shall die satisfied, 
 in the conviction that I have been more useful 
 to my country than any of your prudish, 
 morose devotes and old maids. These are not 
 times for idle words, but action ; our youths are 
 marching against the satellites of tyranny, and, as 
 they fall in the noble struggle, it is our duty 
 to fill up the vacancies. Let, therefore, every 
 young man, ere he joins the army, leave with 
 the object of his affection, a pledge both of love 
 
 * This term is applied to prudes who affect a mock 
 modesty. 
 
248 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 and patriotism. Let sterility be considered a 
 crime of Lese-Nationality — a sterile woman is 
 only fit to be the house-keeper of a priest. Let a 
 reward be granted to every woman who brings to 
 the altar of Liberty the greatest number of young 
 Republicans while the generous youth of France 
 is arrayed on our frontiers. Let the direction of 
 religion and education be confided to us. Women 
 have directed and saved kingdoms, and why 
 should we women dread to save a Republic ? 
 Catherine of Russia terminated the great labours 
 commenced by Peter. The beautiful Ferroniere 
 governed the tyrants Francis I. and Henry II. ; 
 the hateful Catherine of Medicis swayed Charles 
 IX. ; Gabrielle led Henry IV. ; Pompadour and 
 Du Barry made puppets of kings and ministers. 
 If such detestable wretches as those had power, 
 why should not pure and virtuous Republicans, 
 like ourselves, obtain the same influence in the 
 councils of the State?" 
 
 Another member moved, as an amendment, 
 " that every woman who, four months after the 
 present debate, should declare herself pregnant, 
 should receive a civic crown, and if she ultimately 
 bore a son, her name should be registered in her 
 Section, amongst the women who had deserved 
 well of their country. She further proposed, that 
 every married woman who, after eighteen months 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 249 
 
 marriage, had no child, should claim an unquali- 
 fied right of divorce." 
 
 It may appear strange that these mental 
 hallucinations were gravely entertained by the 
 Convention, and every woman who presented two 
 or three boys at their bar, was proclaimed as 
 having Men me'rite de la patrie, and invited tu be 
 present at their debates. 
 
 Shortly after, the influence and the turbulence of 
 these ladies attained such a formidable ascendency, 
 that both the Convention and the Commune were 
 obliged to put down their meetings ; suppressing, 
 at the same time, clubs of children who were 
 baptized with blood, and denominated les enfant s 
 rouges. In some instances, civic crowns were 
 placed on the heads of public functionaries 
 by these "innocents" as they were called, 
 being considered emblems of purity. The aboli- 
 tion of these female clubs, which had ventured 
 to trench on the functions of the Jacobins, was 
 the work of Robespierre, who, while he was 
 flattered by their fulsome adulations, dreaded the 
 ridicule that might attach to such a preposterous 
 association ; while, at the same time, he feared 
 their influence, as, in several instances, they had 
 been the means of saving many persons doomed 
 to the scaffold. 
 
 In the Jacobins, the most absurd speeches were"* 
 
 M 3 
 
250 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 also frequent, and once a pupil of David presented 
 the Society with a drawing, representing a naked 
 savage, armed with a shield and darts, and ex- 
 claimed, " See this image, brother citizens, and 
 let me inform you that my immortal master has 
 discovered that the words sans culottes are of divine 
 origin. Here is the representation of an Indian 
 god, called Camaltzeguis, which, in their lan- 
 guage, means without breeches. He is adored 
 as the dispenser of safety and liberty, the exter- 
 minator of tyrants, and the protector of virtue. 
 Let him, therefore, be our divinity." So saying, he 
 knelt down before the drawing, and, rising with 
 solemnity, proceeded to the altar of liberty, to 
 deposit the precious idol, amidst a deafening 
 chorus of the hymn, " Veillons au salut de 
 l'Empire." 
 
 To a rational person, the country must have ap- 
 peared to have been celebrating some bloody 
 carnival ; — running wild in the frantic pastimes of 
 some ferocious Saturnalia. Every one sought to 
 imitate some hero, or some sage of Greece or 
 Rome. A cobbler would call himself Cincinnatus, — 
 a nightman, Cato, and a common wench, Lucretia. 
 In the calendar, the names of Saints were altered to 
 the names of agricultural or mechanical implements 
 or tools. Jerome was a spade, Gregory, a plough, 
 Martin, a handsaw, and Matthew, a pitch-fork ; and 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 251 
 
 fatal was any ill-timed joke on the subject. Two 
 poor fellows were executed for having turned the 
 almanac into ridicule, by giving themselves ridi- 
 culous names. 
 
 Every housekeeper was compelled, under terrific 
 penalties, to hang up, or post on his door, a scroll, 
 on which was represented a fasces, surmounted 
 with the cap of liberty, with the words, " Libert e ! 
 Egalite ! Fraternite ! ou la mort — Vive la Re- 
 publique, une et indivisible, impe'risable et 
 e'ternelle " 
 
 On the last of the jours complimentaires, or 
 sans culo tides, or the five odd days after the 
 decimal division of the year, all the people were 
 obliged to dine together in the streets, at what 
 they called un banquet civique et fraternel. The 
 gutters in Paris run in the centre of the streets, and 
 over them long tables were laid, to which every 
 one brought his portion, according to his means. 
 In this pic-nic, the choice of dishes became a 
 dangerous affair. If you presented a luxurious 
 article, you were called an aristocrat, who fed upon 
 dainties, while the people were starving ; and if, on 
 the contrary, your contribution was humble, you 
 were accused of being a monopolist, insulting the 
 indigence of your neighbours. My poor father, I 
 recollect, sent a leg of mutton, and some bacon and 
 cabbage. Our neighbour, the German breeches- 
 
252 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 maker, who had brought some cervelas, swore that, 
 when we were at home, we could eat turkies 
 and capons, and that we thought a tough leg of 
 mutton good enough for the people, while cabbage 
 and pork were a common meal amongst them. 
 To appease him, my friend, the fruiterer, implored 
 me to send for a basket of wine, and a bottle of 
 brandy, which were brought by Cote, our homme 
 de conjiance : but, although the sight of the liquor 
 seemed to cool the culot tiers wrath, he swore 
 that we insulted the sovereignty of the people by 
 not allowing Cote to sit down to table with us. 
 The poor fellow, with much hesitation, placed 
 himself near me, and managed to get tolerably 
 drunk, when he joined in the boisterous cho- 
 ruses of patriotic songs, to his heart's delight, 
 and I was made to sing a verse of a chaunt, 
 beginning — 
 
 " Yaleureux Francais, marchez, a ma voix 
 Courez a. la victoire. 
 La liberte dans vos foyers 
 Vous comblera de gloire !" 
 
 Never shall I forget the misery of my poor dear 
 mother, (whose only consolation in her continual 
 agonies was devotional exercises) when she beheld 
 these detestable orgies, and was made to drink a 
 bumper of wine, to the health of " Les de'fenseurs 
 de la patrie" 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 253 
 
 When the repast was over, and nothing left to 
 eat and drink, the tables were cleared, and the 
 guests began dancing on them : in many instances 
 bringing them down, as they were chiefly formed 
 of boards placed upon tressels, and here were 
 seen footing it, both to voice and to discordant 
 fiddles and flutes, ladies of high birth with 
 draggle-tailed drabs, and young men of distin- 
 guished families hand in hand with the vilest vaga- 
 bonds, constantly roaring out for liquor, which was 
 amply supplied them by every one who could afford 
 it, to put a more speedy end to the hateful amal- 
 gamation, they being compelled, in the meantime, 
 to roar out, " Vive la Re'publique ! a has les aristo- 
 crat es /" To this day, when I call to my recollection 
 these strange scenes, they appear to me as a dream. 
 Some sort of love was often kindled in these 
 promiscuous meetings, and I recollect I was smitten 
 with a dear little girl, of the name of Alphonsine 
 Le Roy, familiarly called Fofo. She was my beau 
 ideal of feminine charms, despite her profession : 
 for my pretty Fofo was rope-dancer to an Italian 
 quack, who sold a sort of opiate, or orvietan, on 
 a stage in the Place de la Revolution, very near the 
 statue of Liberty, and of course of the Sainte Guil- 
 lotine. This nymph was beautifully made, and ap- 
 peared to great advantage when gracefully stepping 
 up and down the tight rope ; a flesh-coloured tricot 
 
254 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 and maillot, and a purple gauze tunic, studded with 
 spangles, being her only garments. Her mother was 
 gouvernante to the quack, whose name, I think, 
 was Albertini — the very type of the mother of 
 a dancer — a species sui generis, who seem to have 
 been cast by nature in the same mould. A short 
 time after, Fofo got tired of her monotonous life, 
 more especially as a part of her duties, when not 
 dancing, was to assist in pounding and making up 
 her master's preparations, of which Fofo had the 
 secret, which she greatly valued ; and, one evening, 
 she and her mamma wanted to persuade me to 
 take them to England, where we should most 
 undoubtedly make a fortune. If I recollect well, 
 some of the ingredients of this nostrum were 
 cinnamon, ginger, lytta, and honey of roses. 
 Fofo was mighty fond of it, and not unfrequently 
 made me partake of some of it on the sly, till 
 I was half crazy. I have since found that Signor 
 Albertini's compound was similar to the Venetian 
 Diabolini. However, Fofo, some time after, was 
 one of the most popular dancers at the Theatre 
 Moliere. She still indulged in her opiate, and, 
 strange to say, many years after, I found this 
 preparation sold in Bordeaux, and in general use 
 amongst danseuses, both in Paris and in London, 
 and called V Opiate Bordelais. The choreographic 
 ladies maintain that nothing keeps up their strength 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 255 
 
 more efficaciously, or, to use their own expression, 
 " Rien ne ravigotte comme ca." 
 
 Fofo, at last, became a favourite of Barras, and 
 one of the attractions of Grosbois, until the 
 director handed her over to a wealthy fournisseur, 
 who gave her splendid apartments in an hotel in 
 the Rue Richelieu, then Rue de la Loi, and I spent 
 many a pleasant evening at her petits soupers. 
 
256 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Apostasy of the clergy, and its results — Anacharsis Clootz, and 
 Chaumette — Gobel, the Bishop of Paris — Gregoire — The 
 Goddess of Reason — Her worship — Catherine Theos, the 
 "Mother of God" — A creature of Robespierre — Gerles — Cere- 
 monies performed in her sanctuary — The creed of Ibrascha, a 
 fanciful religion introduced in the prisons — The worship of a 
 Supreme Being introduced by Robespierre — His speeches on 
 the occasion — Pomp of the inauguration — Hymn a l'Etre 
 Supreme. 
 
 The fast-spreading state of utter demoralization, 
 and the destruction of everything in the shape of 
 public worship, or of religion of any kind, became 
 so alarming, that many of the leaders of the day 
 deemed it essential to introduce some sort of 
 creed. 
 
 To re-establish the Roman Catholic religion, or 
 any Christian rite, was out of the question. 
 As I have already stated, many priests had publicly 
 declared that they had been impostors, and that all 
 the mysteries that they had taught as sacred articles 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 257 
 
 of faith, were mystifications and holy juggles, to 
 deceive the people, and profit by their ignorance 
 and credulity These abjurations had been public. 
 Bishops, and priests of various grades, had gone in 
 procession to the Convention, and deposited at 
 the bar not only their pontificals, their rich 
 dresses, mitres and croziers, but the gold and 
 silver vessels used in the celebration of the mass, 
 with rich reliquaries and shrines containing the 
 sacred remains of saints and martyrs. Some of 
 these scenes were of the most disgraceful and dis- 
 gusting nature. The Bishops Torne, Faucher, and 
 Gay Vernon, for instance, took off each other's 
 calottes, kicked them about like foot-balls, and 
 tossed them up in the air, singing " ca ira." They 
 then tore up their breviaries, and distributed the 
 fragments. 
 
 Anacharsis Clootz was one of the most active 
 agitators in this subversion of all religious establish- 
 ments. He swore that the Pope had condemned 
 him to imprisonment for life in a dungeon of Fort 
 St. Angelo — that the Inquisition wanted to burn 
 him alive in Lisbon; but that in Paris only he 
 found the means of becoming the " orator of man- 
 kind" fVorateur du genre hamainj, and he there- 
 fore advocated the doctrine of atheism. Chaumette, 
 Hebert, and other Jacobins, joined him, and it was 
 decreed that no religious ceremonies should be 
 
258 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 allowed ; crosses were pulled down, all holy 
 symbols destroyed, and, where a crucifix had 
 been erected in cemeteries, a statue of Somnus, 
 the god of sleep, was set up. The dismal 
 cypress and yew were felled to the ground, and 
 graves were decked with flowers and evergreens, 
 Chaumette exclaiming that " the sweet odour, and 
 the beautiful blossoms of flowers, should call to 
 our minds cheerful associations, instead of lugubri- 
 ous reflections, and I could wish," he added, " were 
 it possible, to breathe in their perfumes the soul 
 of my fathers." The statues of the martyrs of 
 the Christian faith were knocked to pieces, and 
 replaced by busts of Marat and Le Pelletier, 
 who were considered martyrs of liberty. 
 
 Gobel, the Bishop of Paris, at the head of his 
 clergy, proceeded to the Convention. He wore 
 a cap of liberty on his head ; in his hands 
 he bore his mitre, his crozier, his cross, and 
 episcopal ring; and, depositing them on the 
 altar of the country, abjured his faith. Many 
 other Bishops followed the example ; but when 
 Gregoire was questioned, he replied, with dignity, 
 " If the revenue attached to a bishopric is a 
 questionable subject, 1 throw up mine without 
 regret or hesitation ; but, as regards my posi- 
 tion as a priest and a bishop, I cannot divest 
 myself of it. My religion forbids it, and I 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 259 
 
 claim the protection decreed to every form of 
 worship." 
 
 The churches were now stripped of all their 
 sacred ornaments and clerical dresses. The mob 
 carried them to the Convention, chaunting forth 
 hallelujahs and psalms, and dancing the Carmag- 
 nole, in surplices, stoles, and other canonical vest- 
 ments ; leading asses and oxen, decorated with sur- 
 plices, ecclesiastic caps and mitres ; and the canopy 
 that was once borne over the Host, was now carried 
 over the busts of Marat and Le Pelletier, while 
 the Cathedral of Notre Dame, and other churches, 
 were converted into Temples of Reason. A solemn 
 procession attended the Goddess of Reason, who 
 was represented by a very fine woman, the wife of 
 Monmoro, a printer. In our Section, the Goddess 
 was an opera-dancer, the mistress of young Balbastre, 
 of whom I have already spoken. She was dressed 
 in a white muslin robe ; an azure-coloured gauze 
 mantle, studded with stars, hung loose on her 
 shoulders, and her brow was crowned with a 
 wreath of white roses. As she ascended her 
 throne, the temple re-echoed hymns in her praise, 
 performed by numerous musicians and singers, 
 instead of the Gregorian chaunts that had so 
 often assembled the votaries of St. Roch ; who, 
 with his faithful companion, his dog, became 
 the subject of ribaldry, and of a song which 
 
260 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 alluded to his sanctified end, as recorded in his 
 legend, 
 
 " II rendit Tame, 
 En bon chretien, 
 Dans les bras de son chien." 
 
 Notwithstanding this melo-dramatic perform- 
 ance, and the revolting buffoonery that attended it, 
 the worship of the Goddess of Reason had many 
 proselytes ; nor can we be surprised at its popu- 
 larity, more especially amongst the lower order of 
 society. For many years, Deism had been pro- 
 fessed by the philosophic school, of whom Vol- 
 taire, Rousseau, Diderot, and their brother encycio- 
 psedians, were the acknowledged apostles ; but 
 atheism also had been maintained by Holbach, 
 and many of his followers and disciples. 
 
 In a publication entitled " Systeme de la Nature," 
 and attributed to Holbach, he plainly pleads the cause 
 of atheists, yet in so feeble a manner, that the most 
 sceptical reader who has maturely weighed his argu- 
 ments, and reflected on their futility, could not deny 
 the existence of a Creator. This work, abounding in 
 ingenious sophisms, was published under the name 
 of Mirabaud, Secretary to the French Academy, a 
 worthy man, who would have felt much surprised at 
 a mystification that attributed the work to him — a 
 work not only placed in the index, but burned by the 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 261 
 
 public executioner, — had he not died in 1760, or 
 twenty years before this production issued from 
 the press of Paris, although it bears the impression 
 of London. Mirabaud, who was a Jesuit, bore 
 the reputation of a very pious and worthy man, 
 and had been preceptor of several members of the 
 royal family. This detestable publication had also 
 been attributed to Robinet, author of another 
 atheistic treatise, " de la Nature ;" but I have 
 already said that Baron d'Holbach, assisted by 
 Diderot, was its presumed author. It is essen- 
 tially the production of a materialist, who doubts 
 of the existence of the mind, excepting as a prin- 
 ciple, depending on the organization of matter. 
 It also advocates many doctrines adduced in later 
 days, and seeks to prove, by various experiments, 
 that inanimate matter can pass into life — in short, 
 mind, according to this writer, is merely a modi- 
 fication of matter. 
 
 Marat, when in England in 1775, had pub- 
 lished an atheistical work on the same subject, 
 called " Man, or the Principles and Laws of the 
 Influence of the Soul on the Body, and of the Body 
 on the Soul." Amongst other absurdities, he 
 maintained that the connecting link between soul 
 and body — the former being lodged in the 
 meninges — is a semi-gelatinous fluid, and he en- 
 
262 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 deavoured to prove it by showing that spirituous 
 liquors, which renew the activity of the nervous 
 fluid, contain no gelatine ! 
 
 Impressed with these deistical doctrines, Chris- 
 tianity became the butt of the most disgusting and 
 impious satire ; and we cannot but marvel, when 
 we find Camille Desmoulins, on the eve of his 
 trial, and, of course, of his execution, writing to 
 his wife : — " I cannot but be persuaded that there 
 is a great God, and that we shall meet again. 
 Heaven has had pity on me, and blessed me with 
 a dream, wherein I beheld thy beloved image." 
 Yet the following day, when asked his age by 
 Fouquier Tinville, he replied, " I am of the same 
 age as the sans culotte, Jesus Christ — thirty- 
 three." One can scarcely credit such blasphemy, 
 even on the lips of an unbeliever, in the supreme 
 hour of death. 
 
 Under these circumstances, their faith already 
 shaken, and the ministers of the public worship 
 having acknowledged themselves base deceivers, 
 it is not just to accuse the nation of an infidelity 
 which arose from a combination of various causes. 
 This triumph was hailed by many men, even of su- 
 perior understanding, as the dawn of a more rational 
 religion, in which priestcraft and fanaticism would 
 lose their influence on mankind — an influence ob- 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 263 
 
 tained only by representing the Creator as an in- 
 flexible and jealous judge, whose propitiation consti- 
 tuted a source of immense revenue, and a most 
 iniquitous power ; in the exercise and maintenance 
 of which, humanity and every kindly feeling were 
 trampled under foot by a proud and intolerant 
 hierarchy, ever ready to overthrow any obstruction 
 that sprung up in their triumphant career. 
 
 While such was the reflection of the thinking 
 and reflecting part of society, the vulgar were 
 indulged with pageantry, which replaced the 
 mummeries of former ceremonies by more classic 
 and intellectual rites. Instead of frankincense, 
 burned in censors, flowers were scattered in the 
 temple of Reason, and instead of the chants of un- 
 taught lay-clerks, sublime compositions were per- 
 formed by able artists, accompanied by the rude 
 blast of the serpent, which effectually marred 
 the swelling peals of the solemn organ ; while 
 for prayers, in an unknown tongue, and suppli- 
 cations to a host of saints, eloquent discourses, 
 illustrating the dignity of man, and the power of 
 reason in guiding him to truth, were delivered by 
 enthusiastic orators. 
 
 The result was inevitable. The Roman Catholic 
 religion was destroyed, and none succeeded it. 
 My excellent friend, the late Archbishop of Bor- 
 deaux, when one day conversing on the want of 
 
264 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 a religion in France, gave as his opinion, " That 
 when a Roman Catholic ceased to believe the 
 assertions of his priest, he ceased to have any 
 creed. Amongts the Protestants," he added, " it is 
 different. There you may have a hundred dif- 
 ferent modes of worship and interpretations of 
 the Scriptures — but the Scripture is the key-stone 
 of all your multifarious establishments. It may 
 be interpreted and commented on in the most 
 absurd manner, and distorted by enthusiasm and 
 ambition, still it is a guide ; whereas, with us, the 
 only guide is the clergy." 
 
 At this period, the spiritual directors of the people 
 had not only abandoned them, but, in many instances, 
 we have seen, acknowledged themselves impostors. 
 I have already alluded to the refractory clergy, 
 who, having refused to take the oath of allegiance 
 to the country, had not only quitted their 
 flocks, but kindled civil war in every direction 
 where their voice was heard; thus, on the plea 
 of their ultra-montane devotion and subserviency, 
 adding to the perils of the State, and the calamities 
 of the times. 
 
 The absurdity, or rather, the inefficiency, of the 
 worship of Reason, soon became obvious — it was a 
 fabric raised on a tottering foundation, for the 
 operations of the reasoning faculties of man ac- 
 knowledge no dogma — no rationale. They may 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 265 
 
 be applied, according to circumstances, to the 
 most contradictory deductions and sophistical con- 
 clusions, since we cannot acknowledge any 
 established premises or principles of action, 
 and, in the midst of the greatest divergence of 
 opinion, any self-styled reasonable man may con- 
 clude that he is right, and that his opponents 
 have taken an erroneous view of the debated 
 matter. Hence arose different sects — I can 
 scarcely say doctrines, amongst these new-fangled 
 worshippers of an undefined deity ; comprehensible, 
 no doubt, and not enveloped in mystic obscurity, 
 but whose oracles were incessantly discrepant, and 
 not unfrequently absurd. Moreover, this new 
 creed, if such it may be named, was subversive 
 of every acknowledged rule of morality, conven- 
 tionally adopted for the welfare of society at 
 large ; for instance, one man might think it 
 reasonable to have half-a-dozen wives, and another 
 think that reason authorized him to take his 
 neighbour's wife or daughter. Analogous conclu- 
 sions might be arrived at in respect to any 
 property that a man might want or wish for, seeing 
 no reason why he should not be as well off in the 
 world, as a more successful or lucky competitor for 
 fortune's favour. Moreover, Reason was consi- 
 dered as the voice of Nature, and our animal 
 
 VOL. I. N 
 
266 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 propensities were not to be checked by what are 
 called artificial obstacles. 
 
 Enthusiasm and ambition now beheld a fair 
 field for innovation and different absurd doctrines. 
 Such was that of an old woman, called Catherine 
 Theos, who called herself the " mother of God," 
 and prophesied the advent a of new Messiah. A 
 Carthusian monk, of the name of Gessle, and 
 Robespierre, were the two apostles. The temple 
 of this beldam was in the Rue Contrescarpe, near 
 the Estrapade. When a disciple was admitted 
 into this sanctuary, he was received by Gessle, 
 who acted the part of high priest, in white robes 
 and with a white veil. He took the neophyte by the 
 hand, saying, " Come, humble mortal, and be 
 introduced to immortality. The mother allows 
 you to enter her sanctuary." 
 
 A woman of the name of Geoffrey, who was 
 called V Eclair euse, now made her appearance, and, 
 placing a bible on the table, with religious 
 solemnity, looked at a clock and said, " The hour 
 approaches; the mother will soon come to re- 
 ceive her children!" She then lighted a three- 
 branched chandelier, a bell tinkled, and, falling 
 on her knees, she exclaimed, "Now, children, 
 prepare yourselves to sing the glory of the 
 mother !" 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 267 
 
 Immediately a soft melody was sung, accom- 
 panied by an organ ; a curtain rose, and, on a 
 white throne, surrounded with a radiant halo, 
 appeared the mother, a decrepit old woman, ap- 
 parently shaking with, the palsy. On each side 
 of her were two lovely girls, dressed in all the se- 
 ductive transparency of opera-dancers : one of 
 them held a silver ewer, the other a damask napkin 
 Wings, of ostrich-plumes, hung from their shoulders, 
 and their tunics were of azure crape, spangled with 
 golden stars. 
 
 The religious rites now commenced. Dame 
 Theos washed her forehead, nose, eyes, and ears, in 
 rose-water, poured out for her by one of the pretty 
 acolytes, and another dried the ablution. The old 
 lady then said, in a tremulous voice, " Enter, ye 
 worshippers." Two folding doors were thrown open, 
 and the faithful, of both sexes, were introduced. 
 They were seated on benches ; when the priestess 
 took the book, saying, " Brothers and sisters ! Pro- 
 mise by a solemn oath to shed the last drop of 
 your blood to protect and defend the Mother of 
 God : if necessary, by force of arms, and to expose 
 yourselves to every kind of torture and even to 
 death in her cause." 
 
 The oath being taken, the priestess read aloud 
 a chapter of the Apocalypse, and said, " The seven 
 
 N 2 
 
268 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 seals are on the book of truth. Five are already 
 broken, and the Messiah has promised to appear 
 when the sixth seal shall be raised. But upon the 
 breaking of the seventh, be of good cheer, 
 humble mortals, whoever you may be, whatever 
 you may behold ! The earth shall be purified, — 
 all mankind shall perish, excepting the elect, who 
 shall never die. The first seal was the annuncia- 
 tion of the word ; the second, the separation of 
 religion ; the third, the Revolution ; the fourth, the 
 destruction of royal power ; the fifth, the union of 
 nations ; the sixth, the battles of the exterminating 
 angels ; the seventh, the resurrection of all the 
 dead." 
 
 The neophyte was now led to the foot of the 
 throne, when Catherine Theos gave him or her a 
 kiss adding, " Diffusa est gratia in labiis tuis. 
 My adopted child, thou hast received the seven 
 gifts." She now traced the sign of election, 
 by drawing her thumb in a horozontal line 
 across the forehead, and then an oblique line 
 from each temple, so as to describe a triangle ; and 
 the following hymn was sung : — 
 
 " Au seul Etre Supreme 
 Elevons tons nos cceurs, 
 Pour qu'il daigne lui-meme, 
 Dissiper nos malheurs. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 269 
 
 Pour son nom, pour sa gloire, 
 
 Formons des voeux, 
 Au champ de la victoire, 
 
 Courons heureux." 
 
 It has been affirmed, and I believe with some 
 truth, that this sect was devised by Robespierre, as 
 preparatory to his production of the worship of the 
 Supreme Being, of whom, in his enthusiastic 
 reveries, he considered himself the destined pontiff. 
 He availed himself of the abolition of the esta- 
 blished religion of the land, to introduce innovation ; 
 as it has been generally observed, that it is on such 
 occasions that various religious sects arise, from the 
 want men experience of some fresh illusions when 
 the former ones have been swept away. 
 
 Perhaps one of the most impious mummeries of 
 the time, was the establishment of a creed in the 
 prison of the Conciergerie, where they erected an 
 altar, dedicated to a divinity, whom they named 
 Ibrascha, no doubt from some eastern tradi- 
 tion, and they drew out the following table of his 
 tenets : — 
 
 " Woe to the man who believeth not in Ibrascha ; 
 but, nevertheless, show him compassion. 
 
 " Ibrascha was never incarnate, nor was he a 
 virgin's son. 
 
270 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 " Ibrascha said, ' Since I existed, the order of 
 nature has never been disturbed by miracles, nor 
 can its immutable laws ever be.' Ibrascha is an 
 intelligence, emanating from Divinity, twenty-two 
 thousand years ago. It wandered three thousand 
 years on the waters, without resting : it wandered 
 over fire, and birds, and beasts, and plants, and 
 minerals. It stopped for a moment on the 
 elephant, but it rested not. At last it rested on the 
 head of a man of wisdom, and philosophy was 
 created. This sage's name was Pyplasofu. He was 
 industrious, feared by the wicked, and beloved 
 by the just. When he had discovered truth and 
 detected guilt, he closed not his eyes until he had 
 promulgated the one, and chastised the other. His 
 body was as immaculate as his soul. But a false 
 sage appeared : his name was Majechasmet. He 
 was jealous of Pyplasofu, and he said, ' I will teach 
 falsehood to mankind,' and Religion was born — 
 Religion, hostile to God and man ! And the 
 sons of Majechasmet persecuted the children of 
 Pyplasofu. 
 
 " Glory to truth. Hearken, O ye men, to truth, 
 nothing but the truth. Ibrascha has conquered, — 
 light has dissipated darkness. Glory to Ibrascha ! 
 Praise his name, and curse all priests. A priest is 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 271 
 
 a parasite plant, that clings round the tree of truth, 
 and chokes its growth. The wise are children of 
 Ibrascha ; Socrates was his beloved son. Glory to 
 Ibrascha and to Socrates. 
 
 " Ibrascha has traced these words in letters of 
 eternal fire, ' Liberty, Equality, Humanity !' 
 Mothers, teach them to your babes, and cry, 
 Glory to Ibrascha !" 
 
 It is scarcely to be believed that such a wild 
 and impious creed could have originated amongst 
 men doomed shortly to perish on the scaffold, 
 perhaps, the very day after their fantastic invocation 
 to an imaginary divinity. But what absurdities — 
 what fatal errors, are not met with amongst 
 fanatics ! and Catherine Theos was not more 
 absurd in her prophetic impostures, than Johanna 
 Southcote or the disciples of Irvine ! 
 
 France, thus demoralized and disorganized in all 
 her former institutions, was now revelling in 
 excesses; and Robespierre, who sought, in the 
 daring flight of his luxuriant imagination and un- 
 bounded ambition, to become the founder of a sect, 
 promulgated the worship of the Supreme Being, 
 and the immortality of the soul. Some of his 
 speeches on the occasion may be quoted, as speci- 
 mens of an eloquence that might have been 
 displayed in a better cause, and under less sus- 
 
272 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 picious circumstances. In one of them he de- 
 nounces the doctrines of atheism in the following 
 energetic words : — 
 
 " Of what importance to us legislators are the 
 idle hypotheses of various philosophers, who en- 
 deavour to explain the phenomena of nature? 
 Let us leave such disquisitions to those eternal 
 wranglers. It is not as metaphysicians, or as 
 theologians, that we should consider them ; but, in 
 the eyes of legislators, everything that is beneficial 
 to the world, and practically good, constitutes truth. 
 The belief in a Supreme Being, and the immor- 
 tality of the soul, is a constant appeal to justice. 
 Who gave to these bold declaimers against the 
 existence of a God, the mission to proclaim to the 
 world that a Creator does not exist ? Proud 
 advocate of such a sterile doctrine, thou canst never 
 have felt a sublime love for thy country ! What 
 advantage can you reap by persuading man that 
 a blind power presides over his destinies, and 
 strikes, at hazard, both crime and virtue ? — That his 
 soul is nought but an idle breath, that expires at 
 the entrance of his tomb ? Will the idea of 
 nothingness and nonentity inspire him with more 
 noble and purer sentiments than the conviction of 
 glorious immortality ? Will it fill his breast with 
 greater respect for his fellows and himself — with 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 273 
 
 more devotion to his country, and more audacity 
 in braving the efforts of tyranny, and despising both 
 death and voluptuous enjoyments? You, who 
 weep the bereavement of a virtuous friend, are you 
 not gratified with the idea that his most noble part 
 has escaped from death ? You, who weep on the 
 tomb of a child or a wife, are you comforted 
 by the man who tells you that they are nought but 
 a vile dust ? And you, unfortunates who fall 
 under the blow of an assassin, is not your last 
 breath an appeal to eternal justice? Innocence 
 on the scaffold, will make a tyrant tremble on 
 his throne. Would it assume that ascendancy, 
 if the grave equalized the oppressor and the 
 oppressed ? 
 
 " Let us take history for our guide ■ observe 
 how those men who influenced the destinies of 
 empires, adopted one or other of these opposite 
 systems ; see with what art Caesar pleads in the 
 Roman Senate, in favour of the accomplices of 
 Catiline, and wanders in a digression against the 
 immortality of the soul : these notions appeared to 
 him calculated to extinguish, in the breasts of the 
 judges, the energies of virtue, so closely is the curse 
 of crime associated with atheism. On the other 
 hand, behold Cicero appealing to the sword of the 
 law, and the wrath of the immortal Gods, to 
 chastise treason. Socrates, on his couch of death, 
 
 N 3 
 
274 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 conversed calmly with his friends on the im- 
 mortality of the soul. Leonidas, at the Ther- 
 mopylae, when supping with his companions in 
 arms on the eve of the execution of the most 
 heroic project that human nature ever contem- 
 plated, invites them to join him, the following day, 
 at another banquet in regions of eternal glory. 
 Cato never wavered between Epicurus and Zeno. 
 Brutus and his illustrious colleagues, who shared his 
 dangers and his glory, also belonged to the sublime 
 sect of the Stoics, who entertained such exalted 
 views of the dignity of man. Stoicism produced 
 the noble emulation of Brutus and of Cato, in 
 the fearful epochs that followed the fall of Roman 
 liberty; that preserved the honour of human 
 nature, degraded, not only by the vices of the 
 descendants of Csesar, but by the criminal 
 apathetic patience of the people." 
 
 It was after this discourse that Robespierre pro- 
 posed a resolution, that the French people should 
 acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being 
 and the immortality of the soul, and that the 
 worship that was most welcome to the Supreme 
 Being was the practice of the duties of man. 
 Every tenth day, or De'cadi, was allotted to His 
 service, and festivals to honour social virtues, &c, &c, 
 were instituted on those solemn meetings. 1 . To the 
 Supreme Being ; 2. to mankind ; 3. to the French 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 2 75 
 
 people ; 4 . to the benefactors of humanity ; 5 . to 
 the martyrs of liberty ; 6. to liberty and equality ; 
 7. to the Republic ; 8. to the freedom of the world ; 
 9. to the love of country; 10. to the hatred of 
 tyrants and traitors ; 11. to truth ; 12. to justice ; 
 13. to modesty; 14. to glory ; 15. to friend- 
 ship; J 6. to frugality ; 17. to valour; 18. to 
 good faith ; 19. to heroism ; 20. to disinterested- 
 ness ; 21. to stoicism; 22. to love; 23. to 
 conjugal fidelity ; 24. to filial piety ; 25. to child- 
 hood; 26. to youth; 27- to manhood; 28. to 
 old age ; 29. to misfortune ; 30. to agriculture ; 
 31. to industry; 32. to our ancestors; 33. to 
 posterity ; 34. to happiness. 
 
 This worship being established, the celebration 
 of its inauguration was planned by Robespierre, 
 and directed in its details and execution by 
 the painter David, and Cuvelier, a celebrated 
 writer of pantomimes and spectacles. On the 
 facade of every church was inscribed in large 
 characters : 
 
 he peuple Franrais recommit Vexistence de 
 VEtre Supreme, et Vimmortalite de Vdme. 
 
 This new code was of course attended by the 
 most ridiculous circumstances, and an enthusiast, 
 of the name of Magenthies, proposed to the Con- 
 vention, that the punishment of death should be 
 
276 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 inflicted on all blasphemers who took the name of 
 the Supreme Being in vain. 
 
 The first celebration of these festivals was 
 most imposing. It was in the beginning of 
 June, and the day was most resplendent. 
 The preceding evening, crowds of young people 
 had repaired to the Bois de Boulogne to collect 
 branches of trees, and to the neighbouring 
 fields and gardens to cull flowers ; garlands and 
 festoons of oak foliage, and wheat- sheaves, 
 were hung from every window and thrown 
 across the streets on the ropes of the reverbhes, 
 or night-lamps. The procession was numerous, 
 and most picturesque in its appearance. Children 
 in white tunics crowned with violets ; youths 
 with their brows shaded with myrtle ; athletic 
 men, in a Roman costume, and with chaplets of 
 oak-leaves, were followed by old men, whose silvery 
 hair was braided with ivy and olive-leaves. 
 Women and children, in ancient costumes, bore 
 baskets of flowers ; and on a triumphal car, drawn 
 by twelve white oxen, was borne the goddess Ceres, 
 represented by Clotilde, of the Opera. In this 
 cortege moved the members of the Convention. 
 They were dressed in garter blue coats, with steel 
 buttons, with a tri-coloured scarf round their waists 
 and three-coloured plumes in their hats; each of 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 277 
 
 them carried a nosegay, with ears of wheat ; but 
 at their head, and several paces in advance, walked 
 Robespierre ; he stepped out with an assumed, 
 haughty, and proud bearing, little compatible with 
 the notions of equality then entertained. He was 
 evidently inflated with pride, and considered him- 
 self the pontiff of the reintegrated divinity. In 
 front of the centre pavilion of the Tuileries was 
 erected an immense amphitheatre, crowded with 
 musicians and public functionaries. The front 
 seats were reserved for the members of the Con- 
 vention, who gradually took their seats, as the head 
 of the procession reached the flight of steps leading 
 to them. In front, were erected colossal statues of 
 Atheism, Discord, and Egotism. Robespierre, in 
 the centre and front of the Assembly, still pre- 
 served his predominance. A glorious hymn to the 
 Supreme Being, the words by Chenier, the music 
 by Gossec, was now performed. It might be con- 
 sidered a paraphrase of Pope's Universal Prayer ; 
 and the two first verses, as well as I can recollect, 
 ran as follows : 
 
 Pere de l'univers, supreme intelligence, 
 Bienfaiteur ignore des aveugles mortels, 
 Tu revelas ton etre a la reconnaissance, 
 Qui sut t'elever des autels. 
 
278 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 Ton temple est sur les monts, sur la terre, et sur l'onde, 
 Tu n'eus pas de passe, tu n'as pas d'avenir, 
 Et sans les occupertu remplis tous les mondes, 
 Qui ne peuvent te contenir. 
 
 At the conclusion of this canticle, Robespierre 
 made a long oration on the solemn occasion, and 
 then, seizing a torch, he stepped down from the 
 amphitheatre, and set fire to the statues of Athe- 
 ism, Discord, and Egotism, which, being full of 
 combustibles and crackers, were rapidly consumed, 
 in a dense smoke, and with a loud explosion. 
 
 The orchestra now executed a piece of Mehul's, 
 descriptive of the Battle of Fleurus ; and the fire 
 of the contending armies was imitated by a sin- 
 gular accompaniment of musketry and field- pieces, 
 fired in time, at a signal of the leader. The effect 
 was most surprising and effective. While this 
 composition was performing, the procession 
 started again for the Champ de Mars, Robes- 
 pierre displaying, if possible, more arrogance and 
 pride than before, heading the National Con- 
 vention. 
 
 In the centre of the Champ de Mars (where the 
 altar of the country had once been erected, and 
 round which the mob had been fired upon by 
 Bailly and Lafayette), stood an artificial mountain, 
 of difficult ascent ; a spreading cedar-tree was on 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 279 
 
 its summit, and the members of the Convention 
 were seated around it, while the sanguinary trium- 
 virate, Robespierre, St. Just, and the crippled 
 Couthon, who had been carried up in an arm- 
 chair, occupied the centre of the mountain, casting 
 a look of proud disdain, not only on the multitude 
 around them, but on their colleagues of the Con- 
 vention. 
 
 Other hymns were now sung by numerous per- 
 formers. Young men drew their Roman swords, 
 and swore to die, if necessary, in the defence of 
 their country, and women held up their babes 
 and children, and consecrated them to the service of 
 France and the Supreme Being ! while salvos of 
 artillery were pealing from the platform of the 
 Invalides, and the procession returned to the 
 Tuileries in the same order. The gardens were 
 illuminated, fireworks were let off, and orchestras, 
 placed in different parts, invited the pious people 
 to end the festivity by dancing. Such was the 
 fele de VEtre Supreme, from whence may be 
 dated the downfall of Robespierre, its founder. 
 The summit of the pasteboard and canvas moun- 
 tain, raised by theatrical carpenters and machinists, 
 which he had proudly ascended, intoxicated with 
 pride, proved his Tarpeian rock. 
 
 A crisis was evidently drawing nigh ; a deadly 
 
280 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 struggle between the leading parties, even between 
 the Comite* de Salut Public and de Surete Gene- 
 rale, was about to take place. Still the guillotine 
 was daily fed by crowds of victims sacrificed indis- 
 criminately, to establish, if possible, a greater terror 
 in the land. These events are matters of history, 
 and for their cause and effect I must refer to the 
 historians of this dismal epoch. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 281 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 I exert myself to obtain my brother's liberation — Interview 
 with Robespierre — His mode of living — Cornelie Dnplay — 
 His unhappy disposition — Strange delusions — Miserable 
 existence, and inordinate vanity — General opinion on the 
 impracticability of a Republican form of Government — Marat 
 and Danton's view of the subject — Various absurd schemes 
 of Government — Due d'Orleans— Transmutation of metals 
 — Remains of Pascal. 
 
 My brother still remained a prisoner in the 
 College des Ecossais. Having been successful in 
 obtaining the recall of my father, and his liberation 
 when arrested, through the exertions of the Al- 
 bittes, I did not despair of being equally fortunate 
 in favour of my brother. The Albittcs afforded 
 me the facility I needed, to see the most influential 
 personages of the day, and my first visit was to 
 Robespierre. 
 
 He lived in an obscure house, No. 396, in the Rue 
 St. Honore, at a carpenter's, of the name of Duplay, 
 with whose family he boarded. Strange to say, I ob- 
 served, over the street entrance, a wooden eagle, that 
 
282 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 looked like a figure-head of a ship. A singular 
 coincidence in the dwelling of a man who, beyond 
 a doubt, aimed at dictatorship. I was ushered 
 into a large room on the rez-de-chausse'e, at the 
 bottom of a timber-yard, and was most kindly 
 received by an intelligent young man with a 
 wooden leg, whom I thought was his brother, 
 but found to be a nephew of the landlord, 
 and Robespierre's secretary : I read to him my 
 memorial, but when he saw that it was in favour 
 of an Englishman, he shook his head, and frankly 
 told me, that I had but little prospect of succeed- 
 ing in my application. He himself ushered me 
 into Robespierre's cabinet. He was reading at the 
 time, and wore a pair of green preservers : he 
 raised his head, and, turning up his spectacles on 
 his forehead, received me most graciously. My in- 
 troducer having stated that I was un petit ami de 
 Dorival Albitte, — un petit Anglais, 
 
 Que veux tu ? que demandes tu ? was his brief 
 and abrupt question. I referred him to the con- 
 tents of my memorial, on which he cast a mere 
 glance, and then said, " If it were in my power to 
 liberate an Englishman, until England sues for 
 peace, I would not do it — but why come to me ? 
 Why not apply to the Comite ? Every one applies 
 to me, as if I had an omnipotent power." Here a 
 strange twitching convulsed the muscles of his face. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 283 
 
 At this present moment I recollect the agitation of 
 his countenance. He then added, " Your brother is 
 much safer where he is. I could not answer for 
 the life of any Englishman were he free. All our 
 miseries are the work of Pitt and his associates ; 
 and if blood is shed, at his door will it lie. Do 
 you know, enfant, that the English have set a 
 price on my head, and on the heads of every one 
 of my colleagues ? That assassins have been 
 bribed with English gold — and by the Duke of 
 York — to destroy me ? The innocent ought not 
 to suffer for the guilty, otherwise every English- 
 man in France should be sacrificed to public ven- 
 geance." 
 
 I was astonished. After a short pause he 
 added, " Do you know that the English expected 
 that this Duke of York would have succeeded the 
 Capets ? Do you know Thomas Paine and David 
 Williams ?" he continued, looking at me with an 
 eagle eye ; " they are both traitors and hypocrites." 
 
 He now rose, and paced up and down his 
 room, absorbed in thought ; he then suddenly 
 stopped, and, taking me by the hand, said, 
 " Adieu, mon petit, ne crains rien pour ton frere." 
 He then turned off abruptly, and my guide led 
 me out. 
 
 There was something singularly strange and 
 
284 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 fantastic in this extraordinary man, at least, so 
 it appeared to me. He smiled with an affected look 
 of kindness ; but there was something sardonic 
 and demoniac in his countenance, and deep marks 
 of the small pox added to the repulsive character 
 of his physiognomy. He appeared to me like a 
 bird of prey — a vulture ; his forehead and temples 
 were low, and flattened ; his eyes were of a fawn 
 colour, and most disagreeable to look at ; his dress 
 was careful, and I recollect that he wore a frill 
 and ruffles, that seemed to me of valuable 
 lace. There were flowers in various parts of the 
 room, and several cages, with singing birds, were 
 hanging on the walls and near the window, open- 
 ing on a small garden. There was much of the 
 petit-maitre in his manner and appearance, 
 strangely contrasting with the plebeian taste of the 
 times. I was told that, in the society of women, 
 he could make himself very agreeable ; and the 
 hand which, perhaps, one hour before, had signed 
 the death-warrant of many of his supposed 
 enemies, would indict sonnets and acrostics : while 
 the voice that had eloquently denounced hundreds 
 of victims, would sing gentle romances and love- 
 sick ditties. 
 
 A few years before this sad epoch, he had got 
 his portrait painted, with one hand upon his 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 285 
 
 heart, and the other holding out a nosegay, with 
 the motto, "a celle que j'aime." 
 
 On taking my leave, his secretary told me 
 that he was certain Robespierre would be glad 
 to see me, if ever I needed his assistance. I 
 availed myself of this permission, and called upon 
 him several times, although I only saw him twice 
 after my first introduction ; indeed, it was very 
 difficult to obtain access to his presence. On these 
 occasions I never observed about the house those 
 bands of ruffians by whom he was said to be 
 guarded, although his door was crowded with 
 wretched postulants who claimed his protection 
 and influence. 
 
 By all accounts, his domestic concerns must 
 have been anything but comfortable. It appears, 
 that, after the events in the Champ de Mars, he 
 feared that he had been compromised, and sought 
 a refuge in the house of Duplay. He then 
 boarded with the family, which consisted of Duplay, 
 his wife, and three daughters ; to one of them, the 
 eldest, of the name of Leonore, he became at- 
 tached, and gave her the Roman appellation of 
 Cornelia. One of her sisters, Elizabeth, was 
 married to Lebon, a townsman of his, and one of 
 the most ferocious of the Departemental proconsuls. 
 From what I could learn, this partiality to Cor- 
 nelia, was the source of much discord. Robes- 
 
286 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 pierre's sister wanted him to reside with her, and 
 did all she could to embroil him with the family, 
 by exciting the jealousy of the favourite ; an easy 
 attempt, as Robespierre, whose vanity was in- 
 satiable, was, notwithstanding his stern and frigid 
 appearance, engaged in many affaires de coeur. 
 It would seem that his connexion with Eleonore 
 Duplay was not of an immoral nature, and it was 
 generally thought by the family that they were to 
 be married ; others, on the contrary, assert that 
 they lived as man and wife. 
 
 Of an atrabilious temperament, he was morose, 
 and apprehensive of constant perils ; inflexible in 
 his passions, he was wavering in his determination. 
 This indecision was evident in his manuscripts, in 
 which constant erasures and interlineations, not 
 only as to style, but in opinions, showed the uncer- 
 tainty of his mind. Although eloquent and 
 volcanic in his language, he was anything but 
 a man of action, and always hesitated in coming to 
 a determination in the hour of need. To a certain 
 degree he possessed moral courage, but it was 
 doubtful whether he was capable of displaying 
 physical bravery when tested by imminent 
 danger. This pusillanimity was shewn in various 
 events. On the 10th of August, and other 
 doubtful movements of the populace, he not only 
 did not appear, but concealed himself. All his 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 287 
 
 relatives asserted that from his childhood he had 
 been of a timid character, and naturally humane. 
 It is well known that, at the commencement of 
 his career, he used his best endeavours to obtain 
 the abolition of the penalty of death. But this 
 circumstance cannot extenuate his stern cruelty, 
 since Marat, the most blood-thirsty ruffian of the 
 day, had also striven to obtain the same object. 
 His subsequent apparent cold-hearted cruelty, sur- 
 prised all who knew him ; but I believe much of 
 that reckless spirit of destruction, arose from his 
 constant apprehensions of falling a victim to his 
 opponents, whom he sought to crush, ere they 
 overthrew his power. A man of his temperament, 
 who fed upon gall, and whose life was spent in a 
 constant fear of evil, and endeavours to avert it 
 — vain and ambitious, and little scrupulous about 
 the means in attaining his ends, may easily be 
 urged to the most ferocious determinations. He 
 was, moreover, a fanatic, both in politics and 
 religion, as far as he considered it necessary to his 
 purpose. His association with Catherine Theos, 
 his haughty and supercilious bearing, when he 
 considered himself a pontiff of the Supreme Being, 
 self-invested with sacerdotal authority, afforded 
 strong evidence of his enthusiastic pride. 
 
 Many of his convictions were positive hallucina- 
 tions. In every event he beheld Pitt and 
 
288 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 English gold, and he attributed to foreign 
 corruption, every calamity that visited the country. 
 His life might have been called an incubus. Like 
 a maniac escaped from restraint, he destroyed 
 everything that appeared to check his career. 
 For hours he would rest his forehead on both 
 his hands, and often complained of violent head- 
 ache, that obliged him to compress his brow with 
 a tightened handkerchief. His eyes, although they 
 seemed to scintillate with ardour, were painful and 
 impatient of light; he therefore wore green preservers. 
 His mode of living was abstemious and frugal in 
 the extreme, but he would occasionally indulge in 
 a free use of Burgundy wine. He drank a great 
 deal of strong coffee, which was followed by a 
 petit verre, and I have been informed that he 
 often took a dose of laudanum at night ; his sister 
 told me that he invariably carried poison about him. 
 He also rarely went out without pocket pistols, which 
 had once belonged to the King, and a stiletto. 
 On these occasions he was always accompanied 
 by a large dog, of the Pyrenean breed, of which he 
 was very fond. Strange to say, several of these 
 monstrous anomalies of the Reign of Terror, were 
 most partial to animals ; and the ferocious Couthon 
 would shed tears when his favourite spaniel was 
 ill. Robespierre's dog always kept watch at the 
 door of his master's bed-chamber. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 2S9 
 
 His suspicious nature made him break off with 
 all his friends, and he then considered them as 
 implacable enemies, whom he sought to destroy. 
 He has been known to send to the scaifold 
 women he had loved, if such a man was capable 
 of ever entertaining so generous a passion, so 
 soon as he suspected them of infidelity or indif- 
 ference. When boldly threatened, he was con- 
 vulsed with concentrated rage and fear — his harsh 
 features become more salient — he turned pale, and 
 his whole frame shook in convulsive rigors ; his 
 teeth chattered, his articulation became difficult, 
 and foam issued from the angles of his mouth. 
 On such occasions, he has been known to thrust 
 one of his hands in his bosom, and lacerate it with 
 his nails. 
 
 Such was the violence of his passions, that 
 he sometimes appeared threatened with suffoca- 
 tion. This circumstance occurred during his accu- 
 sation before the Convention, when one of the 
 Deputies exclaimed, " Robespieri'e, le sang de 
 Danton fetouffe /" A fearful denunciation, when 
 his conscience must have reminded him, that 
 Danton had once been the dearest and most 
 faithful of his friends. That the wretch had 
 moments of remorse, cannot be doubted : often 
 during the night he would start from his sleep, 
 and pronounce the name of one of his victims. 
 
 vol. t o 
 
290 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 He was always agitated when Madame Roland 
 was mentioned, for he could not have for- 
 gotten that this enthusiastic and fascinating 
 woman had not only saved his life, but assisted 
 to bring him, from comparative obscurity, into 
 public light. 
 
 It was under the influence of this constant ap- 
 prehension of all around him, that he entertained 
 the most absurd ideas, and although a man of 
 strong intellectual grasp,- when he was thus sus- 
 pecting every one and everything, he actually 
 became what the Parisians call a gobe-mouche, 
 or a person who attaches implicit credence to the 
 most absurd assertions. This was evinced by his 
 actual belief, that England and Austria were the 
 fomentors of all the disturbances that took place ; 
 to them he attributed the massacres in the prisons, 
 and even the establishment of the worship of the 
 goddess of Reason. Under this impression, he 
 delivered the following absurd speech to the Jaco- 
 bins, — " The anarchists, the corrupt, the atheists, 
 are all agents of Pitt ; and tyrants, satisfied with 
 the audacity and artifice of their agents, have 
 embraced every occasion to display, to their sub- 
 jects, a dismal picture of the disastrous absurdi- 
 ties which they themselves have paid for. Such, 
 they exclaim, is the French nation : what will you 
 then gain by overthrowing us, when you behold 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 291 
 
 these Republicans more corrupt than you may 
 imagine we are ?" 
 
 One can scarcely believe that such language 
 could issue from the lips of any one but a mono- 
 maniac. Yet, despite his hatred of the English, 
 he admired our institutions, and he once told me, 
 that he was descended, on the maternal side, from 
 an ancient Irish family. 
 
 In this wretched state of constant anxiety, he 
 often affirmed that he was the slave of liberty — a 
 living martyr of the Republic, doomed to be con- 
 sumed by a slow fire; and I verily believe, a 
 more miserable being could scarcely be found. 
 
 There can be no doubt that, as far as regarded 
 pecuniary interest, he deserved the appellation of 
 incorruptible. His ambition was to obtain a name 
 in history, and wealth he despised; nay, his 
 egregious vanity made him proud of his poverty. 
 If he was beloved, more especially by women, 
 he must have been cherished for his personal 
 qualifications, and not on account of any benefit 
 he could confer. If he was esteemed bv his 
 followers, this good opinion must have arisen from 
 a respect of what he considered his virtues. Still 
 was he a hypocrite. His pretended reconciliation 
 with the associates with whom he had quarrelled, 
 was a mere snare to draw them into his toils ; and, 
 when he professed friendship and cordiality, a 
 
 o 2 
 
292 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 deadly hate, and plans of revenge, were fostered in 
 his dark soul. 
 
 It is thus, that this too celebrated man has 
 been considered an historical riddle. According 
 to circumstances, ferocity and benevolence seemed 
 so blended in his character; virtue and vice so 
 ostensibly tangled in his actions, the Protean 
 forms he assumed were so various, that it was no 
 easy matter to delineate, or even to conceive, his true 
 disposition. His jealousy equalled his vanity ; 
 and, strange to say, although he professed to de- 
 sire the welfare of the Republic and the success 
 of her cause, every dispatch that brought tidings 
 of victory from her armies, was not only received 
 with evident displeasure, but he went so far as to 
 denounce the florid reports of those brilliant 
 successes as written with a le'gerete acade'mique ! 
 
 I saw him only three or four times. He re- 
 ceived me distantly, but cordially. But, on return- 
 ing home from these interviews, I full well 
 recollect telling my father, that he appeared to me 
 to be a madman. I often met his sister and 
 Eleonore Duplay. It was chiefly from them that I 
 collected the information regarding him ; which, as 
 far as my memory serves me, I have recorded in 
 these souvenirs. 
 
 Robespierre's eloquence was the result of study, 
 and of practice. At first, his delivery was difficult, 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 293 
 
 and his language anything but concise or logical ; 
 and, when his expressions were correct, his disa- 
 greeable, shrill voice rendered his orations ridi- 
 culous, and often subjected him to the sneers 
 of his auditors. To overcome these obstacles, 
 he endeavoured to form his style by the 
 perusal of Rousseau, whom he took as his 
 model, and by reciting tragedies of Racine 
 and Voltaire ; but the former writer was his 
 favourite, and he often read his works aloud to 
 the assembled family of the Duplays, who looked 
 upon him as a demi-god. St. Just, Couthon, 
 David, and Legendre, were his most frequent 
 visitors and companions ; and many mechanics, 
 friends of his hosts, would also spend their soirees 
 in this motley assembly. He had once moved in 
 the distinguished circle of Madame Roland, but 
 there his comparative insignificance lowered him in 
 his own estimation, and he ever after fostered that 
 deadly hatred that inferior capacities entertain 
 towards those that outshine them ; and, as a man 
 of action, backed by Marat and the multitude, he 
 soon triumphed over the intellectual superiority of 
 his opponents. 
 
 From all that I could ever hear of this fearful 
 meteor of the times, he aimed at an eventual 
 dictatorship. Marat, the Jacobin clubs, and the 
 
294 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 Commune, supported him with an overwhelming 
 physical power, ready to sweep away all obstacles 
 that could impede his career. Marat had re- 
 peatedly asserted that France wanted a powerful 
 Dictator. Danton was his most dangerous oppo- 
 nent. Both were convinced that a Republican 
 form of government was impossible. The country 
 was too extensive ; its geographical situation, its 
 neighbourhood of powerful monarchs, ever ready 
 to maintain a system of despotism — the reckless 
 ambition of the leaders of parties, rendered still 
 more perilous from the gross ignorance and in- 
 constancy of the masses, — were circumstances that 
 would invariably endanger the tranquillity of a 
 Republic, and plunge it in constant anarchy. 
 Danton was of a similar opinion ; he was anxious, 
 in concert with Dumouriez, to establish a military 
 form of government, ever ready to crush opposi- 
 tion. According to his plan, France was to be 
 ruled by a Generalissimo, and the military ad- 
 ministration entrusted to a tribunal presided over by 
 a Grand Judge, with a Grand Censor attached to 
 him, to act as an Attorney and Solicitor-General. 
 These magistrates were to be selected amongst 
 civilians, although obliged to wear a military 
 costume. Four judges, and as many substitutes, 
 were to form this court, which was to try every 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 295 
 
 individual who had infringed the constitution, which 
 was to have heen called Les Capitulaires de 
 France, and framed by an aulic council. 
 
 This body was to be considered as the Corps 
 Le'gislatif, and their laws submitted for approval 
 to the Generalissimo and his tribunal, and its 
 members were to be denominated the " Censors of 
 France, assembled in aulic council." They were to 
 sit for one third of each month, at the expiration of 
 which, the Capitulaires were to be drawn out and 
 presented. 
 
 The aulic council and tribunal were to nominate 
 the magistrates and the members of the minor 
 tribunals of the land ; and in every court, the 
 Generalissimo had a right to preside, to suspend 
 the debates, and to accept or reject the Capitulaires. 
 For the facility of this administration, France was to 
 be divided into military districts and cantons, each 
 having its tribunal. The aulic council was first to 
 be selected by the Generalissimo, and afterwards 
 elect members to fill up casual vacancies. 
 
 Previously to his demise, the Generalissimo was 
 to nominate his successor, in a secret act confided 
 to the council, but which act, during his life, he 
 might alter at pleasure, the last alteration remain- 
 ing in force. 
 
 The Generalissimo was to have the command of 
 the army, and to be entrusted with the military execu- 
 
296 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 tion, and the maintenance, of the law. The aulic 
 council, the tribunal, and the Generalissimo, were 
 to be independent of each other. The General- 
 issimo, the Grand Judge, and the Grand Censor, 
 to be inviolable ; all the other members of the 
 State subject to the decision of jury, formed of 
 the chiefs of every military division, convoked 
 by the Generalissimo at the request of the 
 accused, who could be imprisoned only by a warrant 
 of the Grand Judge, issued under the authority of 
 the president of the aulic council, after a due de- 
 liberation of that body. 
 
 There can be no doubt that the Due d'Orleans 
 at one time aimed at the sovereignty, and after- 
 wards at the post of Generalissimo. Laclos and 
 Danton aided his endeavours — both were sordid 
 and ambitious ; yet it is not believed that Egalite 
 expended much money in bribery ; he was of 
 too avaricious a character. He had often been 
 heard to say that he preferred a crown of six 
 francs, to popular opinion ; and so great was his 
 thirst for wealth, that it has been positively main- 
 tained that he not only believed in the possibility 
 of the transmutation of metals, but actually worked, 
 in a secret laboratory, in the pursuit of the 
 great work. It is affirmed that, on one occasion, 
 when a crazy astrologer told him that the bones 
 of a person who had died under some peculiar 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 297 
 
 stellary influence were necessary for the experi- 
 ments, on examining almanacs, the celebrated 
 Pascal was found to answer these mystic desi- 
 derata, and that the sexton of the church in 
 which he was buried was bribed to allow his coffin 
 to be broken open. 
 
 Another scheme was, to divide the Republic into 
 northern and southern states ; then came a munici- 
 pal form of government, each principal district and 
 city to frame its own municipal and local laws, 
 and levy its own revenue. Endless were the 
 schemes of government entertained by all parties ; 
 but all were unanimous in the conviction that a 
 Republic was a Utopian dream that could never 
 be realized. In a Republic that can present any 
 chance of stability, the nation must be of a re- 
 flective, moderate, and calm character. A reck- 
 less, fickle, and frivolous people like the French, 
 are not calculated to stand by any permanent form 
 of elective government, and need the iron hand 
 of power to control their aberrations. 
 
 The Girondins were staunch and pure Repub- 
 licans — such they lived and died — and with them 
 died the young Republic. After their fall, France was 
 governed by the Committees, and these were ruled 
 by a triumvirate. The first triumvirate consisted of 
 Robespierre, Danton, and Marat. The latter having 
 been assassinated, and Danton sent to the scaffold, 
 
 o 3 
 
'298 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 Robespierre associated himself with St. Just 
 and Couthon. When it is maintained that 
 Robespierre did not approve of the bloody scenes 
 that daily disgraced the country, the assertion 
 falls to the ground when we consider the character 
 of his immediate and confidential associates in 
 power : — Danton, the organizer of the massacre of 
 the prisons ; Marat, the most ferocious of the 
 Jacobins; Couthon, a cold-hearted and smooth- 
 tongued murderer ; and St. Just, one of the 
 pro-consuls of the armies, but also one of the 
 most sanguinary executioners of the Reign of 
 Terror : a very young man, he was an enthusiast 
 in bloodshed, and, at the same time, calculated 
 deeply and calmly on passing events. Robespierre 
 needed his influence with the armies, in which he 
 was a check upon the commanders ; but, once a 
 Dictator, St. Just would have been one of his first 
 victims. Couthon he did not fear ; he was the 
 mere instrument — the arm of slaughter. St. Just's 
 was the head that planned his operations, and 
 Robespierre must have struck it off to reign. 
 
 At this period, I also saw Barrere, to whom I 
 had been introduced both by the Albittes and my old 
 friend, Dugazon, the comedian. He lived in the 
 Rue St. Honore, near the Place Vendome, in an 
 elegant apartment, the ante-chamber of which was 
 ever crowded with petitioners, soliciting his assist- 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 299 
 
 ance. He was a man of highly polished manners, 
 possessing much suavity, and would have been 
 thought of gentle disposition. He spoke English 
 tolerably well. In his room was a collection of shells, 
 and when he observed that I was looking at them 
 with a curious eye, he said, "As the son of a 
 Dutchman, I suppose you must like shells ;" and 
 when he heard me remark on the beauty of some 
 of his, he gave me some very valuable duplicates. 
 He made the same observation as Robespierre 
 on my brother's imprisonment, and added, "that 
 the English were much safer in a maison de 
 detention than if they were at large in such trou- 
 blesome times." 
 
 Barrere's gentleness of manners had obtained for 
 him the name of VAnacreon de la guillotine; 
 and he certainly would have deceived the most 
 observant. He was the rapporteur of the Comite' de 
 Salut Public, and clothed the most sanguinary 
 reports with an elegance of language that scat- 
 tered roses on the tombs of their victims, whom he 
 decorated with garlands before their immolation. 
 In the whole Revolution, there was perhaps not an 
 actor in the fearful transactions of the day whose 
 heart was more corrupt. Fouche was the only 
 one who could have vied with him in utter 
 depravity. Barrere had been educated in the 
 profligate school of the Due d'Orleans. 
 
300 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 The only member of the Government I saw, 
 whose brutality revolted me, was Danton. There 
 was something inexpressibly savage and ferocious 
 in his looks, and in his stentorian voice. His 
 coarse shaggy hair gave him the appearance of a 
 wild beast. To add to the fierceness of his repul- 
 sive countenance, he was deeply marked with the 
 small-pox, and his eyes were unusually small, 
 and sparkling in surrounding darkness, like the 
 fabulous carbuncle. David, who looked upon him 
 as a demi-god, attempted several times to delineate 
 this horrid countenance, but in vain ; exclaiming : 
 " II serait plus facile de peindre V eruption d'un 
 volcan, que les traits de ce grand homme." 
 
 Danton had been the chief instigator of the 
 massacres in the prisons, and suggested the idea 
 of casting the mangled remains of the slaughtered 
 victims into the catacombs, that run under the 
 Faubourg St. Jacques. It has been said that he 
 bitterly repented the part he had taken in that 
 diabolical butchery ; and this tardy return to a 
 sense of common humanity was attributed to his 
 attachment to his young wife and children. 
 When Robespierre sent him to the guillotine, he 
 met his fate with his usual audaciousness and lofty 
 bearing ; but when on the scaffold, he shed min- 
 gled tears of grief and rage in being torn from all 
 he cared for in life, and subdued by an antagonist 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 301 
 
 whom he thoroughly despised, and had so often 
 and so boldly defied. Danton was a man of far 
 more elevated attainments than his opponent. He 
 was a shrewd and daring statesman, and capable of 
 entertaining extensive and comprehensive views 
 of public affairs. He despised the low craft and 
 hypocrisy of his rival in power. It was this con- 
 viction of superiority that lost him. He blindly 
 fell into the toils of his deceitful opponent, who 
 defended his cause, while his secret machina- 
 tions prepared his destruction. His execution was 
 a great triumph for Robespierre, although it ac- 
 celerated his own downfall, and Danton's exclama- 
 tion w T hen apostrophizing the tyrant, on his way to 
 the scaffold, was truly prophetic : " Malheur eux ! 
 je tfentrainerai dans la tombe avec moi /" His 
 execution witnessed one of those scenes of levity 
 that seemed to render death a jocose matter. 
 Lacroix, who was beheaded w 7 ith him, was a man of 
 colossal stature, and, as he descended from the cart, 
 leaning upon Danton, he observed, " Do you see 
 that axe, Danton ? Well, even when my head 
 is struck off, I shall be taller than you !" 
 
 Danton was venal, and in many instances had 
 received bribes from the Court and the Due d'Or- 
 leans, to whom he had once been devoted; but, 
 when a rupture took place between them, he 
 showed the malignity of his character, by asserting, 
 
302 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 amongst other malicious reports, that the Due 
 de Chartres was not the son of Egalite, but had 
 been exchanged at nurse for a female child ; and 
 he sought to prove his ignoble origin, by the 
 courage he displayed at the battle of Jemappes. 
 Howbeit, this monster gave me but little con- 
 solation regarding my brother ; and, after having 
 cast a hasty glance on my petition, he vociferated : 
 " You may thank your stars, petit malheureux, 
 that you and all your family have not been sacrificed 
 to public indignation, to avenge the wrongs inflicted 
 on us by your perfidious country !" I need not add, 
 that I was rejoiced when I left his room, and 
 hastened down stairs much more rapidly than I 
 had ascended them. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 303 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Approaching struggles — Madame de St. Amaranthe — Madame 
 de Sartines — Grandmaison — Cecile Renault — L'Admiral — 
 Robespierre involved in a supposed conspiracy — The Eleves 
 de Mars — Vadier — Aristocracy of Robespierre — His fall. 
 
 After the excitement of the fete de VEtre 
 Supreme, an ominous stillness seemed to prevail, 
 while clouds gathering on the political horizon, 
 threatened an approaching tempest. Hostile par- 
 ties appeared to view each other with that concen- 
 trated feeling of mingled hate and apprehension, 
 which might inspire two mighty armies on the eve 
 of the termination of an armistice ; applied by both 
 to recruit their forces and plan their destructive 
 operations. 
 
 My lovely protectress, Madame de Caux, who 
 was generally called by her party la belle Hortense, 
 and to whose influence with her brothers, the Al- 
 bittes. and with Barrere, I owed the life of my father 
 
304 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 and my brother, and probably my own, did not 
 disguise her apprehension ; and one evening, with 
 tears in her eyes, she felicitated herself that both 
 her brothers were on a mission, as there would 
 soon be une jolie debacle (a precious breaking up). 
 I observed that Barrere, who very rarely visited her 
 before, came frequently to see her. 
 
 Robespierre, inflated with imprudent pride, had 
 seriously compromised his power in the late festi- 
 vals, where, as we have seen, he assumed the 
 haughty bearing of a dictator and a Sovereign 
 Pontiff. He perceived his perilous position, and, 
 with his two associates, St. Just and Couthon, was 
 preparing to weather the approaching storm. 
 
 He rarely went to the Comite de Salut Public, 
 which had, without his participation, transferred 
 their sittings from the ground-floor of the pavilion 
 of the Tuileries, in which they had usually met, to 
 an apartment on the first floor, leading by a dark 
 corridor to the hall of the Convention, and here 
 they deliberated with closed doors. 
 
 Two days after the inauguration of the Supreme 
 Being, Robespierre, who had witnessed the cold- 
 ness with which he was received by his colleagues, 
 and whose ears had been struck by the murmurs and 
 whispered observations that arose from the sur- 
 rounding multitude, had been anxious to arm him- 
 self with still greater powers of destruction, and 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 30.' 
 
 had demanded of the Convention a re-organization 
 of the Revolutionary Tribunal, with an increased 
 jurisdiction. His enemies, who were now becom- 
 ing more numerous, plainly perceiving that this 
 additional influence was only demanded, to add their 
 names to those of the proscribed Girondins and all 
 his opponents, resisted the motion, and, for the 
 first time, displayed symptoms of an oppo- 
 sition to his tyrannical sway. Robespierre was 
 obliged to conceal his anger, but, from that day, his 
 visits to the Comite de Salut Public became less 
 frequent. 
 
 Although Robespierre did not attend their coun- 
 cils, he still employed his agents and satellites to 
 keep up the reign of terror, and executions were 
 more numerous and indiscriminate than ever. 
 Moreover, his host, Duplay, father of his Cornelie, 
 w 7 as foreman of the jury of the hateful Tribunal, 
 and, receiving his secret instructions from him, 
 exercised an arbitrary influence on his brother 
 jurors, although all of them were the devoted 
 creatures of the Dictator. 
 
 This increase of bloodshed not only formed part 
 of his project to overthrow his enemies, but arose 
 from a spirit of dire revenge, as, notwithstanding 
 his influence, he had not been able to save Madame 
 de St. Amaranthe and her lovely daughter, Madame 
 de Sartines, from the scaffold. 
 
306 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 Madame de St. Amaranthe had been on the 
 stage, and her society was considered one of the 
 most agreeable reunions in Paris ; her salon was 
 the rendezvous of distinguished literary men, 
 politicians, and popular actors ; a liaison had long 
 existed between her and Fleury, the comedian, and 
 her daughter, who had married M. de Sartines 
 son of a former Lieutenant-General of the police, 
 was not without her favourites amongst les amis 
 de la maison, nor did she betray any jealousy of 
 feeling when her husband publicly intrigued with 
 the actress Grandmaison, who was also an intime 
 of the family. During the Reign of Terror, Ma- 
 dame de St. Amaranthe was afraid of keeping up 
 any establishment, and her house became a sort of 
 pension, where the guests, ostensibly, paid for their 
 entertainment. Robespierre was first introduced 
 into this society by the Girondins. 
 
 The amiable hostess was an enthusiast, and 
 not unfrequently would indulge with Robespierre 
 in some of the religious illusions with which he 
 fancied himself inspired. We have seen that he 
 was the apostle of the creed of the " Mother of God," 
 Catherine Theos ; and his ambition and vanity 
 were both flattered by the distinction of being 
 considered the high priest of a sect, and a sort of 
 oracle in the aristocratic circle of La St. Ama- 
 ranthe. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 307 
 
 At one time she had quitted Paris, but, contrary 
 to the advice of all her friends, more especially of 
 La Grandmaison, she regretted her former fashion- 
 able influence, and returned to the capital, opening, 
 as I have already stated, a Pension Bourgeoise. 
 
 Here Robespierre frequently dined ; he often 
 spoke of Catherine Theos and Madame de St. 
 Amaranthe, her daughter, and several ladies of their 
 acquaintance visited the temple of the Sybil, and 
 were initiated in her mysteries. 
 
 Although Robespierre was in general a very 
 frugal and temperate man, yet would he occasion- 
 ally enjoy the pleasures of the table, and not 
 object to an exhilirating glass of Burgundy or 
 Champagne. He was flattered by the ladies 
 around him, and it is said that, smitten by 
 the charms of his lovely hostess, he was, some- 
 times, incautious in his conversation, allowing his 
 secret ambitious thoughts to transpire in his enthu- 
 siastic effusions, in what he called the worship of 
 the Supreme Being, and he not unfrequently hinted 
 that he contemplated a general reform in the con- 
 dition of France. 
 
 Mademoiselle Grandmaison, notwithstanding her 
 Unison with Sartines, kept up a former in- 
 timacy with Trial, an actor of the same theatre, who 
 had been an aide-de-camp of the ruffian Henriot, 
 the Commander of the National Guard, and a 
 
308 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 creature of the Jacobins. Somehow or other, he 
 had broken off with his chief, most probably on 
 account of his brutality, as he was always under the 
 influence of liquor, and most abusive and intem- 
 perate in his language. The imprudence of 
 Robespierre was made known to Trial by La 
 Grandmaison, and reached the ears of his party. 
 It has been said that the jealousy of Cornelie 
 Duplay, Robespierre's intended wife, or mistress, 
 had been excited, and that she had determined to 
 rid herself of a rival, and hasten the destruction of 
 Madame de St. Amaranthe. However this may 
 be, Robespierre's frequent visits to her house had 
 often been the subject of warm discussion between 
 them. The coterie of the St. Amaranthes was 
 doomed to destruction. A determined enemy of 
 Robespierre, Vadier, was their accuser ; he knew 
 that, in denouncing this unfortunate, but fascinating 
 family, he would either induce Robespierre to seek 
 to save them at his peril, or expose him to the 
 charge of the basest ingratitude, and want of every 
 feeling of honour, if he allowed them to perish. 
 
 Having hatched this diabolical plot, Vadier 
 associated the St. Amaranthe family with a sup- 
 posed conspiracy of a young girl of the name of 
 Cecile Renault, and an unfortunate man named 
 L' Admiral, who had formed the project of assassi- 
 nating Robespierre. This L'Admiral had been 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 309 
 
 employed in the commissariat of Dumouriez, and 
 had realised a considerable sum at Brussels by his 
 peculations. Dismissed from the army, he led a 
 wandering life, until poverty irritated him, and he 
 contemplated the destruction of Robespierre. Not 
 being able to meet him, he fell upon Collot 
 d'Herbois, whom he considered a buveur de sang 
 as atrocious as his chief; but, his pistol having 
 hung fire, Collot seized him, and he was sent to 
 the Conciergerie. 
 
 About the same time, a young girl, of the name 
 of Cecile Renault, was accused of having attempted 
 the life of Robespierre. She had repeatedly asked 
 to see him, but to no purpose ; and her earnest in- 
 quiries about him leading to suspicion, she was 
 apprehended and searched. Two knives were 
 found about her, one of them a couteau 
 poignard, and on being examined as to her 
 intentions, she replied, that she only wanted 
 to see what sort of a man was a tyrant. This 
 reply appeared a mere subterfuge ; and, two 
 English guineas having been found in her purse, 
 which she asserted had been put in it she 
 knew not how, it was decided that she was an 
 emissary of Pitt. A most ridiculous story was 
 also circulated, that Charlotte Corday, in a white 
 robe, stained with blood, had appeared to her, with 
 a dagger in her hand, and, telling her that she was 
 
310 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 then in a realm of bliss, beyond mortal control, 
 exhorted her to follow her sublime example, and 
 rid the world of a sanguinary monster — more cruel, 
 if possible, than Marat. Although this romantic 
 story was most absurd, it was generally believed ; 
 and Barrere, in denouncing the plot for assassi- 
 nating both Robespierre and Collot d'Herbois, as 
 a conspiracy of Pitt and the English Government, 
 proposed that, from that day, every Englishman 
 or Hanoverian taken prisoner should be imme- 
 diately put to death. 
 
 This supposed plot produced a powerful sensation 
 and, to all appearance, tended to restore Robespierre 
 to his former popularity. But this was not the 
 intention of his enemies. They had discovered that 
 he contemplated their overthrow — that he and his 
 colleagues received the reports of their emissaries 
 without the knowledge of the Comite* and that 
 they were directed to them, often written either in 
 cypher or in sympathetic ink. 
 
 Another circumstance increased their appre- 
 hension. Robespierre had proposed and obtained 
 
 * These reports were forms drawn out in columns, for the 
 insertion of the names, the abodes, the private and public 
 conduct of the persons whose movements they wished to 
 be ascertained, with the names of their friends and associates, 
 the hours of their meeting, and, if possible, the subject of 
 their conversation, &c. &c. an espionnage, resembling the reports 
 of the familiars of the inquisition. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 3 1 1 
 
 the formation of a corps of about six thousand 
 youths, between the age of fourteen and seventeen, 
 incapable of forming any decided opinion on pass- 
 ing events. They were formed in a legion called 
 Les Eleves de Mars, and encamped on the Plaine 
 des Sablons, near the Bois de Boulogne. They 
 were under the command of an officer of the name 
 of Labreteche, a devoted instrument of Robespierre 
 and St. Just. 
 
 The formation of this corps, which might have 
 been called a Praetorian guard, did not excite the 
 slightest suspicion. It was intended as a model 
 for the organization of the army, and a school for 
 officers. Nothing, indeed, could be more ad- 
 mirable than this phalanx of young men. Their 
 uniform was devised by David, and consisted of a 
 brown frock coat or tunic, double-breasted, red 
 trowsers, and an elegant leather helmet ; they wore 
 no stiff stocks, but their shirt collars were broad 
 and turned down. Their arms consisted of a 
 musket, and a Roman sword of the most chaste 
 design ; the colour of the cloth of the scabbard 
 varying according to companies. They had no 
 pouches, but in front of the leather girdle of each 
 was a cartouche-box, covered with a flap of tiger or 
 leopard skin. Nothing could exceed the martial 
 appearance of this youthful body. They were 
 
312 REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 
 
 constantly drilled, but they did not complain of 
 the fatigue, for vanity made them anxious to 
 submit to it, as crowds of Parisians used to flock 
 to their camp, to witness their exercises and their 
 manoeuvres. Two brigades of field pieces, ad- 
 mirably served, formed part of this levy. 
 
 Robespierre's antagonists did not view this exclu- 
 sive force in the same light as the public, but 
 shrewdly considered it as forming part of his occult 
 and crafty projects. 
 
 The supposed conspiracy of L 'Admiral and the 
 poor girl, Renault, proved an admirable opportunity 
 to involve Robespierre in irretrievable difficulties. 
 It was said that this plot was formed by the 
 Royalists and Aristocrats, and Vadier plainly told 
 Robespierre, that he accused the family of St. 
 Amaranthe, and their associates, of being deeply im- 
 plicated in its extensive ramifications. Robespierre 
 could not conceal his emotion on this information. 
 He not only had been an intimate visitor of the 
 family, but was devoted to the fascinating woman. 
 He dared Vadier to denounce them. Vadier, behold- 
 ing his triumph in the convulsed features of his 
 antagonist, smiled at his threat — and accused 
 him of aiming at the dictatorship, until he drew 
 from the cruel coward tears of smothered rage 
 and grief. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 313 
 
 From that moment his visits to the Comite 
 became even more distant, and it was evident that 
 he occupied his time in devising means of re- 
 pelling the intended attack. 
 
 His opponents, in the meantime, lost no precious 
 moments, and they endeavoured to heap ridicule on 
 their ambitious rival, well aware that ridicule, 
 with the French, was a most potent weapon of 
 destruction. The absurd creed and mummeries 
 of Catherine Theos, were now associated with the 
 Pontiff's masquerade of the Supreme Being. The 
 most ludicrous and indecent anecdotes on the sub- 
 ject were widely circulated, and his connexion with 
 the aristocrat Amaranthe, became not only a 
 ground of sarcasm, but of political accusations. 
 He was, therefore, bound to defend them, or save 
 them, as they were all doomed to die. 
 
 Sixty-two victims were sent to the scaffold. 
 With few exceptions, they were unknown to each 
 other. Some of the most distinguished nobles of 
 the land were carted to the guillotine at the same 
 time. They occupied eight tumbrils, and were all 
 clothed in the red cloaks (les chemises rouges), in 
 which assassins were executed. Tt is related of 
 the lovely daughter of Madame de St. Ama- 
 ranthe, Madame de Sartines, that when this 
 horrid garment was cast over them, she exclaimed, 
 with the usual levity displayed on similar occasions, 
 
 vol. i. p 
 
314 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 " They had better give us red hats, then we 
 shall all look like cardinals !" 
 
 I beheld the solemn procession on its march. 
 It was a terrific — a heart-rending exhibition. 
 Sixty-two fellow-creatures, wrapped in scarlet robes, 
 dragged to the scaffold ; the beauty of the 
 women, rendered more conspicuous by the blood- 
 coloured drapery they wore. Their attractions — the 
 youth of some of them ! Madame de St. Ama- 
 ranthe's son, who was but a boy of fourteen, excited 
 general compassion. For the first time, I beheld the 
 populace silent — some of them affected to tears ; 
 and many turned their heads away from the dismal 
 sight. The usual ingenuity of cruelty had not been 
 forgotten. To add to the wretched feelings of the 
 unfortunates, M. de Sartines was placed in the 
 same cart with his wife and his mistress ; for his 
 connexion with Grandmaison had involved her 
 in the destruction of his family — but the whVand 
 the mistress serenely smiled. There could not 
 linger any enmity in such a supreme hour of 
 agony. 
 
 Robespierre had now to drain the cup of bitter- 
 ness to its very dregs. This wholesale carnage 
 was attributed to him. The torrents of blood 
 spilt that day, fell like a cataract on his own 
 devoted head, hastening his fall ! 
 
 During the lifetime of this extraordinary man, 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 315 
 
 his character was but little known. Enthusiastic 
 and ambitious — it was thought by some that he 
 acted upon certain principles, and on a fixed idea. 
 I was too young to form an opinion on the sub- 
 ject ; but my father, who, in the affairs of others, 
 was a man of sound judgment and quick ap- 
 prehension, as well as my friend Servois, and 
 various persons who frequented our house, always 
 considered him a man whom vanity and pride 
 would have led to any excess that could carry his 
 views into execution. In regard to his crimes, it 
 is possible that he was not of a cruel disposition, 
 and that if he could have attained his ends by 
 less sanguinary means, he might have preferred 
 this course to the ferocious one he pursued : but, 
 determined to rise, per fas et nefas, he destroyed 
 indiscriminately every one who crossed his path to 
 a dictatorship, and every feeling of friendship or 
 esteem was obliterated in his visions of grandeur. 
 He was no statesman, and unable to grasp futurity 
 in his calculation. He found that he owed his 
 power to terror, and kept up a system of terrorism. 
 And, although it would be unfair to accuse him 
 of being the author of the many sacrifices that 
 daily took place, still the awful responsibility rests 
 upon him. The ferocity of his delegates, which 
 had excited horror amongst the respectable classes 
 of the nation, so far from being checked by his 
 
 p 2 
 
316 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 undoubted influence and authority, was sanctioned 
 by his silence, when reported to him, and his 
 refusal to entertain the numerous memorials sub- 
 mitted to him regarding the atrocities of the 
 Departamental pro- consuls, and Le Bon, Carrier, 
 Collot d'Herbois, and their blood-thirsty colleagues, 
 were neither recalled nor rebuked. 
 
 In his last moments, his natural character was 
 evident. He showed neither judgment nor cour- 
 age, occasionally suffocating with concentrated rage, 
 and soon after sunk into an apathetic dejection that 
 could not claim the title of stoicism. As I have 
 already said, the choice of his instruments showed 
 his disposition, and his lack of judgment. They 
 were only fit to serve his purpose of spreading 
 universal terror over the land, and devoid of any 
 of the qualifications that constitute statesmen. 
 The immense efforts, one might say the super- 
 natural efforts, of the Comites, de Salut Public, 
 et de Surete Generate, in defending the frontiers, 
 and meeting the disastrous contingencies to which 
 the country w T as exposed, were not his work ; 
 although Carnot, in the war department, and his 
 other colleagues in various branches of the adminis- 
 tration, availed themselves of the terror that pre- 
 vailed, to render their measures more energetic 
 and effectual. 
 
 He died as he had lived — a proud and haughty 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 317 
 
 coward. There cannot be the least doubt, notwith- 
 standing the assertion of some historians, who 
 would now wish to Pantheonize his name, that 
 he attempted his life by discharging a pistol in 
 his mouth. The proces-verbal of the surgeon 
 who dressed his wounds proves it, since the muzzle 
 of the pistol must have been close to his 
 mouth, and although a gendarme, of the name 
 of Meta, fired at him when he was rushing 
 to throw himself out of the window, this man 
 subsequently declared, that his arm had been 
 struck down by Leonard Bourdon, when in the 
 act of pulling the trigger. 
 
 I never can forget the day of his execution. 
 The crowd that lined the streets he passed through 
 was immense, and the shouts of joy and vengeance 
 were deafening. I could not make my way to 
 witness his last moments ; but it is said to have 
 been a most horrid sight. The executioner tore 
 off the dressings of his fractured jawbone with 
 such brutal violence, that his roar of agony, like 
 that of a wounded lion, or rather tiger, was heard 
 at an incredible distance. 
 
 When we dispassionately view this miserable man's 
 career, we cannot but be surprised at the opinion 
 of Lamartine, when he says that " Divine justice 
 has made of his memory an enigma of which 
 history trembles to pronounce the solution, fearing 
 
318 . RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 to do him injustice if she brand it as crime, or to 
 create horror if she should term it virtue." In 
 my opinion, he did not possess one single 
 redeeming virtue. His whole life showed him 
 a heartless hypocrite, whose carresses were fatal, 
 and whose praises might be compared to the foul 
 salaver with which the boa-constrictor lubricates 
 its prey. His affected Republicanism was a mere 
 assumption, for there never lived in his time 
 a more decided aristocrat. He never, for one 
 moment, believed in the possibility of a French 
 Republic ; and every act of his progressively proved 
 that a dictatorship was the only form of govern- 
 ment he considered applicable to so fickle a 
 people. His pride, in getting admitted into the 
 aristocratic circle of the St. Amaranthes, acceler- 
 ated his ruin ; for there he lost sight of his 
 democratic phraseology, and substituted the 
 Monsieur and the Madame, and the plural num- 
 ber, for the Citoyen, the Citoyenne, and the 
 adopted tutoiement of the day. Denon used to 
 relate a curious anecdote on this sudden alteration 
 in his manners. He was summoned to the Comite 
 de Salut Public a few days before the festival of 
 the Supreme Being. He waited in an ante-room 
 until twelve at night, when he was ushered into 
 the dread presence of Robespierre. They were 
 alone. He addressed him with all the courtesy 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 319 
 
 of the ancien regime, and proceeded to inform 
 Denon that he wanted to operate great changes in 
 France ; and, amongst other improvements, to 
 establish common sewers under Paris, which would 
 vie with those of ancient Rome. He further 
 stated, that he also was desirous of introducing a 
 new costume amongst the French, better calculated 
 both for the climate and for active exercise. He then 
 complimented Denon, always with a "Monsieur," 
 on his travels, and his talents as an artist, and 
 requested him to draw up un travail on the object 
 he contemplated. Denon was amazed — fancied 
 that he was labouring under some mental delusion, 
 and recommended David as a person better calcu- 
 lated to answer his views ; to which Robespierre 
 replied, that David was neither a Greek, a Roman, 
 nor a Frenchman, and persisted in his request. 
 Denon thought him mad. 
 
 But, whatever might have been the deficiencies 
 of Robespierre as a diplomate, he knew the charac- 
 ter of his countrymen, and that magniloquent 
 words were more effectual in moving their passions 
 than calm proceedings ; therefore, in all his speeches, 
 he burthened his phrases, from the exordium 
 to the climax, with the words of virtue, 
 modesty, chastity, humanity, generosity ; and a 
 stranger who should have listened to his orations, 
 would have looked upon him as a paragon of 
 
320 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 morality and benevolence. He was a theoretical 
 poet and an ideologist ; and Napoleon often said 
 that France would ultimately become the victim of 
 ideology. 
 
 Although the downfall of the usurper, for such 
 he was now denominated, had been the work of 
 Jacobins as criminal as himself, for Collot d'Her- 
 bois, Barrere, and Tallien had been, if possible, 
 as ferocious and as implacable, yet the people 
 fancied that all their miseries were over. The 
 events of the 9 th Thermidor had been kept from 
 the knowledge of the prisoners, and their friends 
 were not allowed to visit them ; while the Com- 
 mune, on hearing that their faction had been 
 accused and their leaders apprehended, directed the 
 ruffian, Henriot, to send his officers to the gaolers of 
 the different prisons, and order them not to receive 
 any prisoners brought to them by a mandate from 
 the National Convention. 
 
 I, of course, had hastened to the Ecossais, to 
 apprise my brother of the recent events, which 
 would soon liberate him ; but Rose, the concierge, 
 refused me admittance, as he had received special 
 orders from the Commune, and had declined receiv- 
 ing St. Just, when brought there by the gendarmes. 
 But the vendors of newspapers were loudly proclaim- 
 ing the astounding occurrences of the day. I saw 
 my brother and some other prisoners at the win- 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 321 
 
 dows of one of the pavilions of the prison, and 
 sent a hawker of papers to cry out the news within 
 their hearing ; and I must do the gaoler the 
 justice to say that, so far from preventing this 
 mode of communication, he did not appear in the 
 least displeased. A few days after, my beautiful 
 protectress, Hortense de Caux, rushed into our 
 apartment, with my brother's liberation ; and, with 
 eyes streaming with tears, embraced me as affec- 
 tionately as if I had been her own child. Provi- 
 dence had decreed that even in such disastrous 
 times, woman should alleviate our sufferings. 
 
 p a 
 
322 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Royalist reaction — Public amusements — Display of luxury — 
 Mesdames Tallien and Recamier — Madame Lajollais— Dr. 
 Sue's Lectures on Picturesque Anatomy — I commence the 
 study of medicine— Hospital of La Charite'— Boyer— Hotel 
 Dieu — Pelletan — Medical students — Their poverty and mode 
 of living — Grisettes of the Pays Latin — Their character — 
 Events of the 13th Vendemaire — Barras — Buonaparte — Dani- 
 can — My first smell of gunpowder — A miss is as good as a 
 mile — My hat wounded — A musket brings me into a scrape — 
 Terror — Buonaparte again — His general information — His 
 hostility to the English — Siege of Toulon — General O'Hara 
 — Buonaparte wounded by the English — Strange forebodings 
 respecting this wound — Anecdote of his dislike to every 
 thing English. 
 
 The execution of the Triumvirate, and the mem- 
 bers of the Commune, were public festivals ; and 
 the same populace that had but a few days before 
 followed their victims to the scaffold with loud 
 acclamations of delight, now rent the air with their 
 tumultuous shouts of execration. The re-action 
 that soon manifested itself all over the country, 
 illustrated the levity and the inconsistency of the 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 323 
 
 fickle nation. To the rude habits and costume of 
 the Jacobins, succeeded a display of foppery and 
 effeminate frivolity. Elegant coats, with black or 
 green collars (a sign of ralliement) , replaced the 
 coarse carmagnole ; the hair, instead of being cut 
 short, a la Brutus or a la Caracalla, was now 
 carefully dressed, and a cadenette, or tress, turned 
 up behind the head and fixed with a comb, left the 
 neck uncovered, in imitation of what was called 
 la toilette de la guillotine, when the back locks were 
 cut off by the executioner ; tresses were also dangling 
 down on each side, like the ears of a spaniel, and 
 called oreilles de chien. 
 
 In this recherche' appearance, the youth of Paris, 
 who called themselves la jeunesse dore'e, peram- 
 bulated the streets and gardens. Their language 
 underwent a similar metamorphosis ; instead of 
 the vulgar vocabulary of their fallen enemies, 
 they affected to lisp, and never pronounced 
 their r's or g's, swearing upon their pa'ole vete, 
 their pa'ole d'honneu ; and the ' Reveil du Peuple' 
 was now the avenging anthem, instead of the Mar- 
 seillaise and the Carmagnole. 
 
 The Hymn of the Republicans hurled defiance to 
 the foreign enemy ; the ' Reveil du Peuple' called 
 for the destruction of their personal foes, in an 
 energetic appeal to acts of retaliation. 
 
324 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 Peuple Francais ! peuple de freres ! 
 Peux-tu voir sans frerair d'horreur, 
 Le crime arborer la banniere 
 Du carnage et de la terreur ? 
 Tu souffres qu'une horde atroce, 
 Et d'assassins et de brigands, 
 Souille par son souffle feroce 
 Le territoire des vivants. 
 
 Voyez deja comme ils fremissent 
 lis n'osent fuir, les scelerats ! 
 Les traces du sang qu'ils vomissent, 
 Deceleraient partout leur pas. 
 Oui, nous jurons sur votre tombe, 
 Par tous nos freres malheureux ; 
 De ne faire qu'un hecatombe 
 De ces cannibales affreux ! 
 
 Many of the sons of the late victims of 
 terror appeared with crape round their hats and 
 arms ; and a ball was opened in the Rue de la 
 Micbaudiere, to which no one was admitted unless 
 they had lost a relation by the guillotine, and wore 
 the deepest mourning. This strange assembly was 
 called le Bal des Victimes. Splendid concerts 
 were given in the Theatre Feydeau, patronized by 
 Madame Tallien and Madame Recamier. The 
 former of these, a Bordelais lady, of Spanish 
 descent, was most attractive, and had been ren- 
 dered still more interesting by her conduct when 
 Tallien was deputed to her native city, where 
 he exercised many acts of wanton cruelty, and 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 325 
 
 would certainly have shed more blood, but for her 
 intercession. 
 
 Madame Recamier was also a beautiful woman, 
 and both appeared in the dress, or rather in the 
 undress, of Grecian women. The balls of the 
 Opera now became brilliant, and their lady Pa- 
 tronesses often appeared in the costume of Diana, 
 or a nymph, their arms, shoulders, and one breast 
 bared, and exposed to public admiration. Garat, 
 Elleviou, and Gavaudan were now the favourite 
 singers, and Paris once more assumed its former 
 gaiety and dissipation. Many commissaries, who 
 had realised large sums of money during the wars, 
 from levied impositions, now brought forth their 
 hoards and lived with pomp and magnificence, 
 while Tallien, and several of the deputies, showed, 
 by their opulence, that the charges of the most 
 shameful peculations and exactions in their mis- 
 sions, so often brought against them, were not 
 unfounded. 
 
 In opposition to the fashionable concerts then 
 in great vogue, a most singular exhibition was got 
 up in the Rue de Bac, called le Concert des Chats. 
 A fellow had collected a large number of these ani- 
 mals (cats), and had placed them in rows in an am- 
 phitheatre, their hind legs and tails being concealed. 
 The poor creatures were divided into instrumental 
 and vocal performers ; the former had mock instru- 
 
326 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 merits in their paws, the latter held rolls of paper. 
 The showman then pulled their tails, in solos, 
 duets, or chorusses, and the noise the wretched 
 animals made was truly terrific. This absurd 
 spectacle roused the indignation of Mesdames 
 Tallien and Recamier, and the police forbade the 
 barbarous performance. 
 
 A furious war was waged against the Jacobins 
 at this period, and continual frays took place be- 
 tween their followers and the golden youth. At 
 last, their atrocious society was closed, and its 
 members, called la queue de Robespierre, were 
 held up as objects of general execration. 
 
 The actors of the French Theatre, who had 
 remained in prison for several months, were 
 liberated, and once more made their appearance 
 amidst tumultuous applause ; while the ' Reveil du 
 Peuple' was sung, in full chorus, by all the spec- 
 tators ; and, notwithstanding a great scarcity of all 
 kinds of provisions, Paris was the seat of general 
 pleasure and excitement. The idols of terrorism 
 were demolished ; the bust of Marat, that had been 
 put up in every theatre and public place of meeting, 
 was smeared with blood, and then broken to 
 pieces, and dragged in the mire ; and his remains, 
 which, a few months before, had been carried in 
 triumph to the Pantheon, were exhumed, and cast 
 to the winds, with frantic maledictions. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 327 
 
 But the dearth of provisions soon threatened a 
 famine. The populace, hungry and pennyless, 
 became more and more troublesome. They loudly 
 called for the re-establishment of terrorism ; and, 
 instigated by many of the members of the fallen 
 faction, who still hoped that anarchy might restore 
 them to their lost sanguinary power, the peace of 
 the metropolis was constantly disturbed by this 
 outrageous multitude, who seized every opportunity 
 of measuring their strength with the golden youth, 
 who had assumed so great an influence over the 
 middle classes. 
 
 To understand the relative position of both 
 parties, it is necessary to consider the nature of the 
 Government that existed during the Reign of 
 Terror, which plainly proved the difficulty of 
 working the machinery of a Republic in such an 
 uncertain and unsteady society. 
 
 France had been virtually governed by the two 
 Comites of Salut Public and Surete Generate. 
 The Convention was merely an assembly of their 
 creatures, and a mockery of a representative body, 
 since no member dared to express an opinion 
 hostile to the leading parties, without endangering 
 his life. All debates were little better than a 
 contest betwen gladiators in a public arena, each 
 endeavouring to destroy his antagonist; and he 
 who fell in the contest, endeavoured to assume the 
 
328 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 stoic display of an utter contempt of death, and 
 expire in a classic attitude, or, to speak more 
 vulgarly, to die game. 
 
 The state of subjection of the members of this 
 assembly was maintained by the municipality, or 
 the Commune, who themselves were the mere 
 organs of the clubs, and the mob, assembled in 
 the popular societies of the sections, and who were 
 ever ready to support both the Communes and 
 the Comite's with their pikes — for every idle va- 
 grant became a member of these assemblies, 
 and received forty sous a day whenever he at- 
 tended their meetings, which were held three or 
 four times in the Decade. Thus, the Committees 
 actually kept up a numerous and desperate force 
 at their command, and, on the first sound of the 
 tocsin of the HStel de Ville, or the beat of the 
 rappel, they could muster from forty to fifty 
 thousand armed ruffians, ready for any mischief, 
 and ripe for destruction. 
 
 While the Montagne and the Jacobins possessed 
 such an influence in the capital, the Comite's sent 
 their duputies on missions, both to the Depart- 
 ments and to the armies. In the former, they 
 organized popular clubs, affiliated with the Jaco- 
 bins, and instituted, in the smallest town, a revo- 
 lutionary committee and societies, composed of the 
 very refuse of the inhabitants, who also received 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 329 
 
 their salary of forty sous. In the armies, the 
 pro-consuls acted in concert with the generals in 
 command, and kept up a constant emulation 
 amongst the troops, by promoting private soldiers 
 whenever a distinguished action had been reported, 
 and by keeping their generals in a state of sub- 
 jection — the enemy in their front — the guillotine 
 in their rear. 
 
 The members of the two Committees had 
 distinct duties allotted to them, and were, in 
 fact, dictators. They rarely interfered with each 
 other's specified attributions, and were only unani- 
 mous in the system of bloodshed. It was im- 
 possible, under any circumstances, that such a 
 Government could expect permanency. All was 
 confusion and discord, and nothing but absolute 
 terror could have held out a prospect of even an 
 ephemeral stability. The Revolution had assumed 
 the character of a war — a helium internecinum. 
 Each party fought for power. The Girondists 
 made the attempt, and w T ere destroyed ; the Com- 
 mune seized it, and perished ; Robespierre's party 
 strove to carry the day, and were sacrificed by the 
 Thermidorians, who would have ascended the 
 scaffold in turn, had not the former examples of 
 bloodshed led the triumphant party to avoid a 
 similar system of extermination, less from a feeling 
 of humanity, than from the apprehension of their 
 
330 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 eventually sharing the fate of all their predecessors 
 in power. 
 
 The form of government that succeeded Robes- 
 pierre's Triumvirate was, if possible, still more 
 complex in its machinery, and unwieldly in its 
 management. Every rational observer became 
 convinced that a Republic, without a chief magis- 
 trate, whatever might be his denomination and 
 the extent of his authority, was an idle dream of 
 visionary doctrinarians and ideologists. 
 
 The prisoners were now liberated, and every 
 Deputy could apply to the Comite de Salut 
 Public for the discharge of any detenu whom he 
 claimed. Still there was no security ; their dis- 
 charge was, to a certain extent, conditional ; for, 
 on the plea that crowds of Royalists and Aristocrats 
 had been let loose on the country, the tail of the 
 Jacobins insisted that the name of every Deputy 
 of the Convention who released a prisoner should 
 be published, annexed to the prisoner's name. 
 This proposal was rejected, on the motion of Tallien, 
 who maintained, that if the liberation of the 
 prisoners were made known, the names of 
 those who had obtained their incarceration should 
 also be published. Such a list must have led to a 
 civil war, since every foe of the late Govern- 
 ment would have revenged his wrongs on his secret 
 enemies and denouncers, now brought to light. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 331 
 
 As it was, fearful acts of vengeance were perpe- 
 trated in the Departments, chiefly in the South. 
 The Jacobins were murdered wherever they ap- 
 peared. Prisoners were massacred. A by-word 
 of hatred became a sentence of death. At Lyons, 
 Aries, Marseilles, this re-action was terrific: any 
 one suspected of terrorism was immolated without 
 pity, and the name of Matevon, the meaning 
 of which I could never discover, was enough to 
 doom the bearer to immediate assassination. 
 
 Our friends, the Albittes, no longer occupied 
 the second floor of the house we lived in, but went 
 to their hotel in the Faubourg St. Honore. The 
 society of my good friend, Madame de Caux, 
 was now what was called a Epaulettes, and 
 amongst the visitors who frequented her circle, 
 was the delightful Madame Lajollais, the wife 
 a Chef d'Etat-Major of Pichegru, and who, as 
 I shall shortly relate, involved me in alarming 
 difficulties. 
 
 I have already stated that I had been sent to 
 study painting under Gamier, and have given, by 
 anticipation, a sketch of a Parisian studio. It 
 now became urgent that I should choose a pro- 
 fession, and an accidental circumstance induced 
 me to follow that of medicine. 
 
 A course of lectures on Anatomie Picturesque, 
 was given at the Louvre, by Dr. Sue, father, I 
 
332 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 believe, of Eugene Sue, the well-known writer. 
 They were attended by students of both sexes, 
 who, after the lesson, drew, both from la bosse, or 
 the cast, and from the ecorche. For this purpose 
 the subject was immersed in hot water, until the 
 limbs had become flexible, and the body and 
 extremities were then placed in the same position 
 as the cast, and drawn from. The prosector* 
 of Sue was a young man of the name of Salbrune, 
 who spoke a little English. We became acquainted, 
 and he introduced me to the professor. Sue then 
 lived near the Boulevard des Capucins, and gave 
 evening lectures on Natural History, for which I 
 received a ticket of admission. It became a 
 fashionable place of resort ; many ladies, espe- 
 cially artistes, attended. Refreshments were dis- 
 tributed, and, the lecture over, the Doctor would 
 walk with his pupils round his little garden, and 
 give them some slight knowledge of botany, dwell- 
 ing, perhaps, more especially on the loves of the 
 flowers. 
 
 Dr. Sue had a tolerable knowledge of the 
 English language. He had translated Monro's 
 work on Comparative Anatomy, and in a short 
 time, he paid me more attention than I deserved. 
 It was evident that the fine arts, whatever might 
 
 * The anatomist who dissects the preparations. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 333 
 
 have been my taste in their cultivation, were never 
 intended as my profession, and Sue strongly recom- 
 mended me to turn my mind to the study of 
 Surgery, which he said was in a very backward 
 state in England, and where a French educa- 
 tion, would afford me a fine opening. The 
 advice was good, and, although I did not feel 
 exactly a predilection for the medical profession, 
 it struck me as the wisest plan I could adopt, 
 and in this opinion I was confirmed by my friend 
 Charles Este, whom I have already mentioned as 
 a fellow-prisoner of my brother, and who had been, 
 when arrested, a pupil of the celebrated Desault, at 
 the Hotel-Dieu. My father had been ruined. I 
 had expressed a wish to return to England, and enter 
 the army. This inclination was overruled, as my 
 father could not afford to purchase me a com- 
 mission, and it was decided that I should be a 
 Carabin, for so medical students were nicknamed 
 in Paris. I never could exactly find out the 
 origin of this appellation, but have heard it traced 
 to a certain emeute, in which the medical students 
 of St. Cosme had turned out armed with car- 
 bines. 
 
 The celebrated Boyer was then considered one 
 of the best teachers in Paris, and lectured at the 
 Hospice de la Charite, in the Rue des Saints 
 Peres, which was then called, Hospice de l'Unite. 
 
334 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 Deschamps was the head surgeon, and his son, 
 who, although a medical student, was a writer of 
 vaudevilles, and a good performer on the horn, 
 was a former acquaintance of mine. Moreover, my 
 friend Salbrune, Sue's assistant, was one of the 
 internes, or house-surgeons. 
 
 For eighteen months I followed Boyer's lectures 
 and walked the hospital, but I was also matricu- 
 lated in the Ecole de Medicine, where I took 
 out my inscriptions, and followed the courses 
 named in the curriculum. Sabatier was professor 
 of surgery, Chaussier of anatomy, Corvisart of 
 medicine, Fourcroy of chemistry, Deyeux of phar- 
 macy, and Thillaye gave lectures on the application 
 of bandages, a branch of the profession that is not 
 taught in England. 
 
 It was soon after deemed advisable that I should 
 become an eleve externe, or dresser, at the Hotel- 
 Dieu; this situation was given to candidates 
 who had been approved of by an examination 
 before the administrateurs ties Hospices. This 
 examination was both verbal and written. The 
 candidate was first examined viva voce by the 
 Board, and he then drew a written question out 
 of an urn : he was then conducted to a chamber, 
 and left there until he rang a bell, to announce 
 that his answer was concluded. This answer, 
 with the question, was then read aloud by the 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 335 
 
 Chairman, and the members proceeded to vote by 
 scrutin. It was according to a similar process 
 that all nominations to the hospitals took place. 
 My answer, fortunately, was approved of, and I 
 was appointed externe to the Salle St. Paul, a 
 surgical ward, my interne being a very intelli- 
 gent man, of the name of Chailly, who had 
 charge of a division of about forty beds : our hour 
 of attendance was six o'clock in summer, and seven 
 in winter. Much has been said regarding this 
 early hour of visiting the sick, when compared 
 with the practice in our hospitals, at a much 
 later hour. In my opinion, it was too early. The 
 wards could not be cleaned out, the patients could 
 not receive their breakfast, or be made comfortable 
 after the night. But, what rendered the practice 
 still more hard upon all parties, was the necessity 
 of waking many a poor wretched creature from his 
 comparatively sound morning's sleep, after a long, 
 and, perhaps, an agonizing night, which had 
 actually exhausted him. Many a time have the 
 sicurs and I, been obliged to shake a poor patient 
 until we had awakened him, to prepare him for 
 the visit, which took place about half-an-hour 
 after. 
 
 The head-surgeon was Pellctan, a most dis- 
 tinguished and amiable gentleman of the old 
 school, in every sense of the word ; most aristo- 
 
336 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 cratic in all his bearings, holding a sans culotte in 
 perfect horror. Of these there were many amongst 
 the numerous students who walked the hospital, 
 a great number of whom came from Gascony and 
 the southern provinces. 
 
 They were mostly sadly poor and mean in their 
 appearance ; a large great coat or houppclande, 
 trimmed with common fur, or plush, covered their 
 shabby habiliments, and they usually wore a 
 battered hat, covered with yellow or green oiled 
 silk ; their food was coarse and scanty, and their 
 breakfast, which generally consisted of what is 
 called a chapon de gascogne, or a hunch of bread, 
 rubbed over with a clove of garlic, rendered their 
 effluvia most pestiferous — it might perhaps have 
 been an antiseptic odour, for truly something 
 of the sort was requisite to cover the diversity of 
 odious smells of which they were redolent ; but, 
 to persons unaccustomed to the inhalation, it 
 was a fearful nuisance. 
 
 These young men were, in general, most indus- 
 trious. They had walked up to Paris with scarcely 
 a franc in their pockets, and many of them had 
 not £20 a-year to live upon. They inhabited 
 miserable lodgings in the Pays Latin, and con- 
 gregated together, so as to render their expenses 
 less onerous. They generally dined at what was 
 politely called a restaurant, but, in fact, one of 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 337 
 
 those atrocious dens of nastiness and pernicious 
 cookery, called une gargotte, where their messes, 
 or fricots, and frigousses, would have turned the 
 stomach of any well-bred hound. Still they ap- 
 peared happy, and longed for the day when they 
 could return to their Penates, and practice as 
 officiers de sante, the lowest grade in the medical 
 profession. All that they sought was sufficient 
 knowledge to pass an examination, to obtain it, 
 and few ever looked to a more elevated sphere in 
 the practice of the art of healing. Yet many of 
 the most illustrious French surgeons rose from 
 this class, and Boyer often related that he himself 
 walked from Gascony to Paris in a similar penu- 
 rious condition. 
 
 It may seem strange, but not only were these 
 young men apparently satisfied with their lot, but 
 they did not heed the conduct, sometimes con- 
 temptuous, of the aristocratic portion of their 
 fellow-students. They herded with each other, 
 and, notwithstanding the notions of liberty and 
 equality so recently promulgated, seemed conscious 
 of the inferior position in which their hard destinies 
 had placed them. It is true, that sometimes, 
 when any of their aristocratic comrades crossed 
 their path, or gave themselves airs of superi- 
 ority, they would mutter a ' sacre muscadin /' an 
 epithet bestowed on the better-dressed classes of 
 
 vol. i. <a 
 
338 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 society, and which alluded to the musk or other 
 perfumes that they carried. However, they were 
 not without some compensation to comfort them- 
 selves. Many of them beguiled their tedious 
 labours, and their necessities, by a liaison with some 
 humble grisette of the Pays Latin; for these 
 demoiselles had their distinctions in rank. 
 
 The lowest category was that of les enlumineuses, 
 whose occupation was to colour prints and fan- 
 paper. By hard labour, they would earn a franc 
 a day — a considerable increase to the carabin's 
 income — more especially as the poor girl cooked, 
 and washed, and mended his nippes, when 
 they were susceptible of repair. The higher 
 grades of grisettes were embroiderers, artificial 
 florists, fan-makers {evantaillistes), dress-makers, 
 
 &c. 
 
 These creatures were remarkable for their 
 fidelity, their frugality, and their disinterestedness. 
 Their delight was a dance at a guinguette or bal 
 d'Hiver on a Sunday, or a pork chop at night, 
 with a sauce piquante aux cornichons. At nine 
 o'clock, a horn was sounded, or a bell rang, at the 
 shop of the charcutier, to announce that the 
 cotelettes were ready ; and, when she could afford 
 it, the grisette answered the call, and brought 
 home the dainty, to share it with the sharer of her 
 many wants. Her little garret-room was in 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE 339 
 
 keeping with her humble notions of comfort ; 
 a stretcher bed, with a lit de plume, a rickety 
 table, two or three straw-bottomed chairs, and an 
 armoire, constituted her furniture. In the centre 
 was an earthen stove, with an opening on the top 
 to receive a casserole or a marmite ; and when 
 she possessed all these luxuries, she would boast 
 that she had been put " dans ses meubles." 
 
 Many instances have been known when these 
 simple girls, who never for one moment thought 
 that there was immorality or impropriety in their 
 conduct, refused the most brilliant offers of inde- 
 pendence, to drag on their life of toil and privation 
 with their bon ami ; nor, in the midst of their 
 penury, did they ever cast an envious eye on les 
 belles dames, who passed by them, or splashed 
 them in their carriages. The display of diamonds 
 tempted them not. They were contented with 
 their little croix d'or — their little golden heart, 
 suspended to a velvet ribbon. They did not 
 even covet a gold chain ; it was vulgar, and worn 
 by les Dames de la Halle. Alas ! times and 
 revolutions have changed all this. The genuine, 
 pure, unsophisticated grisette is no longer to be 
 found — she is a fossil. Her class now aims at the 
 distinction of a lorette. 
 
 I was now admitted into the confrerie of 
 surgeons, and my time, when I studied at the 
 
 q 2 
 
340 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 Charite, was passed very pleasantly. We all 
 clubbed for our dancing-master and fencing-master, 
 and found ample leisure in the evenings to repose 
 from the labour of the day ; although, in the winter 
 season, we generally dissected until eight o'clock. 
 
 The only public event in which I was engaged, 
 and worth relating, was on the occasion of the 
 attack on the Convention, on the 13th Vende- 
 maire. My father received regular billets de 
 garde to do duty in the National Guard of the 
 Section, in person or by proxy ; in the latter case 
 he had to pay a remplacant, or substitute, three 
 francs. I, therefore, volunteered the service, and 
 often mounted guard with our neighbour, the 
 fruiterer ; and the scenes of the corps de garde 
 were not unfrequently amusing, as well as the 
 various incidents of our night patroles. 
 
 At this period, the re-action of the counter- 
 revolutionists was most energetic. Many emi- 
 grants and priests had returned to France, and 
 exerted themselves to bring about a new order of 
 things. Madame Tallien and Madame Recamier 
 were still en vogue as leaders of the fashions ; 
 but the salons of Madame de Stael became, in a 
 political point of view, what the soirees of Madame 
 Roland had formerly been, a rallying-point of the 
 perturbators. Here, their secret projects were 
 anxiously discussed, in the apprehension of a 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 341 
 
 return to power of the Jacobin party — the Comite 
 de Surete Generate having liberated many of their 
 most blood-thirsty members, and it was not with- 
 out much opposition, that several of them were 
 ordered to be tried by the ordinary tribunals. A 
 new form of government became indispensable. 
 It was decreed that two chambers should be 
 nominated, that of the five hundred and that of the 
 two hundred and fifty — named des anciens, as no 
 deputy could be nominated to it under the age of 
 forty. The Executive Government w T as to consist 
 of a Directory, formed of five members. It was 
 evident that this new-fangled Government could 
 not last long ; but the state of anarchy in which 
 the country was plunged rendered some novel 
 mode of administration desirable; although, as 
 everv one had perceived, it led to fresh convulsions 
 and dangers. 
 
 Sad experience had shown that the Constituent 
 Assembly committed a suicidal act w T hen it decreed 
 its dissolution — and that none of its mem- 
 bers could be re-elected. To avoid a similar im- 
 prudence, which banished experienced and practical 
 men from the helm of affairs, the Convention 
 decreed that two-thirds of its members should 
 remain in the new legislative body, and it then 
 became a question, whether these two-thirds were 
 to be selected by themselves, or returned by the 
 
342 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 electoral assemblies. This last measure was 
 adopted ; it was decreed, that the new Constitution 
 should be submitted to the primary assemblies, 
 and to the armies, for their approval and accept- 
 ance, and that afterwards, they should proceed to 
 the election of their representatives. It would be 
 foreign to the nature of these Memoirs to dwell on 
 this important subject in all its various important 
 bearings ; suffice it to say, it was in every respect 
 calculated to produce political factions .and dis- 
 turbances, both in the army and amongst the peo- 
 ple, distracted by the incessant struggles between 
 the Jacobins, the Republicans, and the Royalists. 
 Each party strove, both by the eloquence of their 
 orations, and by bribery, to produce fresh commo- 
 tions, and, under their influence, it was proposed 
 that the Constitution should be accepted, but that 
 the Convention should be dissolved, and the new 
 Chambers composed of deputies, elected by the 
 nation. Many of the primary assemblies decided 
 that their sittings should be permanent, until this 
 dissolution, and the Government, such as it was, 
 alarmed at this menacing attitude of the Sections, 
 ordered troops to march upon Paris. 
 
 The forty-eight Sections, both uneasy and in- 
 dignant at the hostile attitude assumed by the 
 Convention, nominated forty-eight Commissaries to 
 express their determination. This measure the 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 343 
 
 Convention annulled, as illegal. They were led 
 to this determined step, when they learned that 
 the whole army had accepted the Constitution, 
 and that they could depend upon its support ; 
 and in addition to this security, the Sections were di- 
 vided in opinion. Moreover, all the Jacobins and 
 Republicans were in their favour, it being evident 
 that the opposition was promoted by the Royalist 
 party. The Convention, therefore, boldly pro- 
 claimed that the Constitution, and the admission of 
 two-thirds of their members to the new legislative 
 body, was a law of the land. 
 
 The Sections now decided that this resolution of 
 the Convention should be opposed by force of 
 arms. The golden youth of Paris, several chonans, 
 from the Vendee, and returned emigrants, excited 
 the people, and held out the fearful dread of a 
 return of the days of Terror ; on the other hand, 
 Menou, who had been appointed commander of 
 the troops in and near Paris, assembled his forces, 
 while a vast number of Jacobins, and vagabonds of 
 every description, flocked round the Convention, 
 offered their services, and received arms and 
 ammunition. 
 
 Seven or eight Sections, amongst which was 
 that of the Butte des Moulins, to which I be- 
 longed, beat the generate, and called upon the 
 National Guard to oppose the buveurs de sang, 
 
344 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 who once more threatened France with murder 
 and desolation. 
 
 General Menou, who owed his life to the events 
 of the 9th Thdrmidor, beheld with apprehension, 
 the bands of ruffians who had congregated to 
 defend the Convention, and hesitated in assuming 
 the command of such banditti. However, he 
 marched against the Section le Pelletier, and, after 
 a parley with the President, he withdrew his 
 troops and his artillery. The Convention, greatly- 
 alarmed at this apparent defection of the military, 
 immediately ordered Barras to supersede Menou. 
 This deputy, although bearing the rank of a general, 
 felt that he was not competent to act on such an 
 important and perilous occasion, and called to his 
 assistance a young artillery officer, whom he had 
 often met at Madame Tallien's — and this young 
 officer was Napoleon Buonaparte. 
 
 This active and intelligent soldier, finding that 
 he had only about six thousand men under his 
 command, looked to the artillery as his chief sup- 
 port, and immediately despatched Murat, then a 
 Chef d'Escadron, with three hundred horse, to 
 bring the park of artillery, from the camp of the 
 Sablons. On its arrival, he planted his field- 
 pieces and howitzers at every point on which an 
 attack was likely to take place, and awaited the 
 hostile movement of the National Guard, ready 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 345 
 
 to shower grape-shot on their advancing columns, 
 unprotected by any guns. 
 
 On the morning of the 1 3th Vendemaire, the 
 insurgent Sections were in motion, and our batal- 
 lion was formed at the Church of St, Roch, 
 opposite to which we resided. The first hostile 
 demonstration was exercised on an unfortunate 
 orderly of a cavalry regiment, who, having refused 
 to give up his dispatches, was fired on, and had 
 his thigh fractured. He was brought past our 
 door, to the Sisters of Charity, in the neighbour- 
 hood. 
 
 Tt was now five o'clock, Abbe Barthelemi 
 was dining with us, and, I recollect, was about 
 taking a spoonful of lentil soup, when the first 
 discharge of artillery was heard. He dropped his 
 spoon in the greatest alarm, and we all rushed to 
 the windows. The firing was continued, and I 
 beheld a pastrycook's boy, with a tray on his 
 head, carrying pies and tarts, killed by a shot, 
 and all his good things scattered in the street. 
 Melancholy as the sight might have been, I could 
 not check an involuntary laugh at the catastrophe, 
 and at all the upset pate's, for which I received a 
 severe admonition. Like a regular gamin de Paris, 
 I took my carabine and ran to join my friend, 
 the fruiterer, on the steps of the church, which 
 had been occupied by National Guards, now 
 
346 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 thinned by the fire of musquetry, and of a four 
 pounder and a howitzer, from the Cul de Sac 
 Dauphin, then called Rue de la Convention. The 
 artillery enfiladed the Rue Neuve St. Roch, but 
 only a portion of the front of the church was 
 exposed to the fire. The Sectionnaires, therefore, 
 kept up only a fire of tirailleurs, on the Conventional 
 troops. They were under the command of Dani- 
 can, who certainly made a great noise by his 
 vociferations, en avant, but to little purpose, as the 
 skirmishers, generally speaking, fell en arriere. 
 In truth, I must observe that the jeunesse dore'e, 
 who, for the sake of wearing red and green 
 epaulettes, were chiefly in the flank companies of 
 the batallions, were those who displayed the less 
 share of valour, and who gradually disappeared 
 most rapidly. 
 
 The contest was most unequal, as the musketry 
 of the Sections told but little, while the grape and 
 shells of their opponents, swept everything within 
 its range, as far as the Rue Gallion. At the 
 corner of the Cul de Sac Dauphin, was a wine-shop, 
 and^that of a chemist named Neret. Their front 
 doors opened in the Rue St. Honore, but they had 
 several windows in the street occupied by Buona- 
 parte's troops. Young as I was, I thought that, 
 if we could break into these houses and occupy 
 their windows, we should be able to open a fire of 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 347 
 
 musketry with more precision and better effect. 
 I suggested this to the captain of the company, 
 a worthy pastry-cook, who submitted the plan to 
 General Danican, but he hesitated in its adoption, 
 and was evidently alarmed by the heavy fire of 
 artillery, kept up on our left in the Rue de 
 rEchelle, and, on our right, on the Place Vendome, 
 At last he disappeared, and I never saw him 
 again until I met him at Lewis Goldsmith's, in 
 London, when, much to my surprise, he related 
 his gallant and desperate doings on that occasion 
 in a manner which, truly, made me entertain some 
 doubts whether I had been there or not ; although 
 a musket-ball through my hat had proved to me 
 that it was not a vision. 
 
 This badge of danger, strange to say, afforded a 
 singular example of maternal feelings. My poor 
 mother, who was distracted at my having quitted 
 home, used to show this hat, with pride, to every 
 visitor who came to the house, although exclaim- 
 ing at the same time, " That the desperate boy 
 would be her death !" 
 
 The contest did not last two hours. About six 
 o'clock, the fire of the Sections had slackened, from 
 the best of all possible reasons, — the greater num- 
 ber of combatants, of whom I formed one, having 
 thought it advisable to return to their respective 
 homes. The pas de charge, which had been beating 
 
348 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 the whole time, sounded nearer ; the rumbling of 
 gun-carriages announced the advance of the Con- 
 ventional force, and in a few minutes they were in 
 possession of the post we had occupied ; when 
 Buonaparte, wheeling his guns to the right and to 
 the left, poured a shower of grape up and down 
 the Rue St. Honore — I should think with little 
 effect, as most of the fugitives, very wisely, made 
 off, by the adjoining lateral streets. 
 
 Thus ended this affair, which has been sadly 
 misrepresented and exaggerated by historians. On 
 our side — I mean, in our section, we had only about 
 fifteen or twenty men killed, and fifty or sixty 
 wounded. On the side of the Convention, I 
 should imagine the loss must have been trifling, as 
 the gunners who worked the artillery, were the only 
 men exposed to a straggling and unsteady fire. 
 
 On this occasion, there was neither organization 
 nor unanimity in the Sections ; it was evidently a 
 Royalist re-action ; and many of the National 
 Guard fought, not exactly knowing why, but more 
 particularly in the apprehension of plunder, as it 
 was generally rumoured that the forces of the Con- 
 vention chiefly consisted of the Jacobins and Sep- 
 tembriseurs, who were anxious to restore the Reign 
 of Terror, which had just been overthrown. 
 
 The next morning, several of the Sections were 
 disarmed, and all persons possessing arms were 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 349 
 
 ordered, under a heavy penalty, to surrender them 
 at the Comite', within twenty-four hours. My 
 brother, who was an ardent Royalist, had enter- 
 tained some idea of joining the insurgents, for 
 which purpose he had purchased a musket. How- 
 ever, he had left it at the Hotel Van de 
 Xiver, with one of the nephews of the unfortu- 
 nate banker, a M. de Villeminot, and, as I was 
 the general fag, I was sent to fetch it and give 
 it up. It so happened that, passing by a post of 
 the line, mounting on the Treasury, in the Rue 
 Yivienne, a soldier observed the bright firelock on 
 my shoulder, and asked permission of his officer to 
 exchange his piece, which was out of order, for 
 mine. This change being sanctioned, I received 
 his musket, which I carried to the Comite ; but 
 both the muzzle and the pan were black from the 
 preceding evening's firing, and, being in the hands 
 of an English youth, the circumstance was nigh 
 bringing me again into trouble ; but I explained 
 the case in a plain unvarnished manner, and 
 referred the President to the post at the Treasury ; 
 whether he sent to inquire or not, I do not know, 
 but here ended the matter. 
 
 It was after this event that I first saw Napo- 
 leon. The deputies Albittes, as I have already 
 stated, had left our house, and had removed to their 
 magnificent hotel, and they were succeeded by 
 
350 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 another deputy, of the name of Serres. His wife 
 was an amiahle, quiet person, and they occasion- 
 ally had bouillotte parties in the evening, which 
 we frequented. The Serres were very intimate 
 with Buonaparte, and he was often there. I recol- 
 lect that when Madame Serres told him how much 
 he had terrified them by firing down our street, 
 several shots having struck the house, he replied, 
 with great gallantry, that if it had not been in con- 
 sideration of her, he would have shelled the quartier. 
 My father used often to converse with the young 
 General ; and I well remember his observing that 
 he had rarely met so intelligent a person. His 
 conversation generally dwelt on the East Indian 
 trade of Holland, with which my father was 
 of course conversant, and on the means best 
 calculated to improve it to the prejudice of 
 England ; and my father observed that he was 
 surprised at his accurate information on the sub- 
 ject. Napoleon was then a pale, sickly-looking 
 man, with a sallow complexion, and his long, 
 lanky hair gave a still more cadaverous appear- 
 ance to his countenance ; but his eyes were dark and 
 penetrating. He very rarely remained long, and 
 generally took an abrupt departure. Amongst the 
 visitors of the family was an officer of Pichegru's 
 staff; if I recollect well, his name was Laba- 
 douchy. When he entered, Buonaparte would 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 351 
 
 cast an ineffable look of contempt on him and 
 leave the room. I remember he once said to 
 M. de Serres, on seeing him walking in the apart- 
 ment, " Comment ! vous recevez de ces gens la ?" 
 I much regret that I did not direct more attention 
 to his usual conversation, little suspecting, at the 
 time, what would be his future destinies ! He 
 generally stood before the fire, and many of the 
 visitors were grouped around him, and seemed to 
 listen to him with peculiar interest. My brother 
 related to me a curious anecdote. I have already 
 stated, that he was very partial to the study of the 
 art of war ; and, on one occasion, the artillery being 
 the subject of conversation, my brother asked him 
 some questions, and expressed his regret at not 
 having entered the army. Buonaparte dryly 
 replied: "Monsieur, on doit toujours avoir des 
 regrets, quand on ne sert pas sa patrie ;" and so 
 saying, he turned on his heel in a most rude and 
 abrupt manner. Whenever the English, or our 
 fleets, or armies were spoken of, he betrayed impa- 
 tience. During the short peace of 1802, at one of 
 the reviews in the Carrousel, he observed an 
 English officer in the Highland uniform. He 
 went up to him and asked him if he belonged to 
 the 42nd regiment ? On the officer replying that he 
 was in a Fencible corps, Napoleon turned from 
 him, taking a pinch of snuff, and added, " Ah ! 
 
352 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 Monsieur est, sans doute, dans la Garde Na- 
 tionale." This remark might appear trivial, but 
 Napoleon alluded to the motley crowd of English 
 who then flocked to Paris, in various fancy uniforms, 
 many of them passing themselves for officers in 
 the British army. 
 
 Napoleon never lost a favourable opportunity in 
 making himself acquainted with every particular 
 regarding the discipline and economy of our troops. 
 His first successes were obtained at the siege of 
 Toulon, when serving against our auxiliary forces, 
 commanded by General O'Hara, who fell into his 
 hands by a sad want of military experience and 
 foresight. 
 
 Admiral Hood had landed a British force to 
 assist the inhabitants of Toulon, who had revolted 
 against the existing Government. The siege of 
 the place was carried on but slowly, and many 
 difficulties arose that obstructed the progress of the 
 besiegers ; until at last, Buonaparte, who was then 
 an officer of artillery, suggested the plan of carry- 
 ing the Fort of l'Eguilette, which commanded the 
 harbour, and the occupation of which would have 
 compelled the English fleet to put to sea, and most 
 probably to re-embark their troops. Buonaparte 
 carried on his operations with much secresy, and 
 suddenly opened the fire of a masked battery on 
 Fort Malbosquet. General O'Hara, thus taken by 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 353 
 
 surprise, determined to storm the battery, which 
 he attacked and carried with great gallantry, at the 
 head of about 1500 men. Buonaparte moved to 
 the support of the position with a bataUion, 
 and, advancing in close column, in a boy cut, commu- 
 nicating with the covered way, poured in a voile) 
 on the English detachment. General O'Hara 
 unfortunately imagined that this fire proceeded 
 from a party of his own troops, and rushed forward 
 to stop it, when he received a wound in the head, 
 and was taken prisoner, his men being compelled 
 to retreat by the rapid advance of the French, 
 another body bearing down on them to cut them 
 off from the town. 
 
 It is not generally known, but, in this affair, 
 Buonaparte received a bayonet-wound in the thigh. 
 Of this I was assured by the Dowager Grand 
 Duchess of Baden, the niece of Josephine. This 
 circumstance he kept a profound secret, and en- 
 tertained singular presentiments, of a sinister 
 nature regarding it ; often fancying that it was 
 ominous of his ultimate fall under the British 
 power. His hatred to the English was most 
 inveterate ; and Countess de Walsh, dame d'hon- 
 neur to the Grand Duchess Stephanie, related to me 
 an anecdote which showed that he sometimes dis- 
 played this hostile feeling in a most trivial manner. 
 One evening, at Malmaison, the Court were 
 
354 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 sitting round a table, engaged in various pursuits, 
 and Princess Hortense was amusing herself in 
 writing in various hands. Napoleon looked over 
 her shoulder, and asked what sort of hand she 
 was then imitating. She replied, " UAnglaise" 
 the name given in France to a running hand. 
 Napoleon instantly snatched the paper, tore it, 
 and stamped in under his foot, exclaiming fiercely, 
 " Madame, nimitez Hen qui appartienne a cette 
 nation /" 
 
 I had witnessed the creation of the French 
 Republic. I now had been present at its ex- 
 tinction. After the 13th Vendemaire, and the 
 dissolution of the National Convention, its blood- 
 red star had set for ever. All France had beheld 
 the experiment. It proved a dream of ideologists. 
 The character of the nation, as I have already said, 
 was not compatible with popular institutions. It 
 was an endeavour to strike the foundation of a 
 mighty fabric in moving sands ; and it was evident 
 to any intelligent observer, that the reins of public 
 affairs would, sooner or later, be grasped by 
 some daring adventurer, whatever might be 
 the appellation which, for an appearance of po- 
 litical consistency, the nation might bestow on 
 him. 
 
 The Convention had closed its sittings. The 
 proceedings of that fierce assembly, composed of 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 355 
 
 the most heterogeneous and discordant elements, 
 will be recorded in the history of the world, as an 
 eternal monument of human wisdom, and of 
 mortal frailty — of energy when the country was in 
 danger, and of pusillanimity when its own inde- 
 pendence, and honour, were trampled upon by 
 ambitious competitors for supremacy. 
 
 Ere its members separated, they were resolved, 
 if possible, to efface from the annals of their 
 country, the atrocities committed under their 
 authority — as if a tardy repentance could atone for 
 their guilt in the eyes of God or man ! 
 
 They decreed, that all those who did not 
 wish to remain in France, under Republican law T s, 
 should be allowed to leave the country, with their 
 property; while, at the same time, having just 
 repelled the last attack of the Royalist party, 
 they resolved that no returned emigrants, or 
 any of the relations of an emigrant, should be 
 invested with civil or military authority, until a 
 general peace ; and finally, they abolished the 
 penalty of death in all political cases, and changed 
 the name of the blood-stained Place de la Re- 
 volution for that of Place de la Concorde. At 
 the same time, a general amnesty was proclaimed, 
 with the exception of persons who had participated 
 in the last attempt to restore the power of royalty. 
 The members then rose from their seats — seats 
 
356 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 so often vacated by the hand of the executioner — 
 which had once been occupied by the most pure 
 and the most disinterested Republicans, now con- 
 suming, in the quick-lime of their promiscuous 
 sepulchres, with their merciless destroyers, — amidst 
 tumultuous shouts of Vive la Republique ! The 
 President then announced, " that the National Con- 
 vention had fulfilled its mission, and its sittings 
 were concluded." 
 
 What a mission ! when we consider the 
 difficulties, apparently insurmountable, with which 
 they had to contend. When they came into office, 
 France was distracted with intestine discords — her 
 frontiers threatened by Europe in arms ; yet the 
 dangers of the Republic constituted its salvation. 
 War, the most destructive war, became the safety- 
 valve of the country. The immolation of Louis XVI., 
 was one of their first acts, for it rendered such 
 a war inevitable ; and, in a few months, a million 
 of men were in arms, who had no option between 
 victory or starvation. The confiscation of the 
 immense revenue of the church, the seizure of the 
 property belonging to the wealthy emigrants, the 
 issue of a forced paper currency, and the guillotine, 
 enabled them to raise this immense force, which 
 soon supported itself on the theatre of its opera- 
 tions, by heavy impositions and requisitions on 
 the inhabitants, who had, moreover, to keep the 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 357 
 
 soldiery on free quarters. But the nature of these 
 efforts was stupendous; an army of 1,200,000 
 men of all arms, parks of artillery, both for 
 field service and sieges, pontoon trains, commis- 
 sariat waggons, and all the implements of war, 
 were provided in three months. As I have already 
 stated, the leaden coffins were torn out of the 
 graves to make bullets, and the bronze of church 
 bells cast into projectiles, or metamorphosed into a 
 copper coinage, to pay the army on their march to 
 hive in other lands. 
 
 But for this outlet — with an empty exchequer, 
 without trade or income, this multitude must have 
 obtained work, or have fed like locusts upon the 
 country. Danton was once asked how these hungry 
 men could have been supported ; he replied, " that to 
 meet their necessities, every man above sixty, and 
 every woman above fifty, should be sacrificed on the 
 altar of the country, as useless subjects of the 
 commonwealth !" 
 
 During the three years of its sittings, the Con- 
 vention did more for the State than the Roman Re- 
 public and its Emperors in centuries : although its 
 members seemed occasionally to be thrown into a 
 state of delirium by the feverish excitement of the 
 times ; now, inspired with the most vivid exalta- 
 tion, now sunk to a condition of despondency, bor- 
 
358 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 dering upon a collapse of every energy ; now 
 hurling in proud defiance the thunderbolts of war, 
 and soon after crouching before infuriated usurpers 
 of their representative authority. 
 
 Such will always be the case in public bodies, 
 when danger is imminent, and desperate resolves 
 must be adopted on the spur of the moment. 
 The majority, timid and hesitating, without any 
 fixed idea or decided plan of operation, will inva- 
 riably give way to the influence of men of action 
 and audacious presumption ; and the yea and nay 
 voters must yield to enthusiastic preponderance. 
 Then, the weak become tools in the hands of the 
 strong, and must either bend or be broken. 
 
 The Constituent Assembly had framed what 
 they considered to be a just constitutional code of 
 laws ; the Convention, instead of consolidating 
 their labours, destroyed the work of their predeces- 
 sors, and proclaimed a Republic, before the notions 
 and the habits of the people had fitted them for 
 the transition j a transition that was not the result 
 of gradual deposits and stratas, but a change of 
 the very configuration of the land, operated by the 
 tremendous fall of a volcanic mountain ; while, in 
 accordance with the geological notions of Strabo, the 
 convulsions of an earthquake had thrown up mar- 
 vellous formations, unknown in the moral cosmo- 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 359 
 
 genv of our globe. The consequence was soon 
 obvious : anarchy overthrew the founders of the Re- 
 public, and a Dictatorship became inevitable. There 
 no longer existed an independent and a courageous 
 power to counterpoise brute force, and that force 
 ultimately consumed itself in the expansion of its 
 own boundless energies. 
 
 It was then, that the Convention became a mere 
 nominal body, ruled by the members of its 
 Comites, to whom the management of all State 
 affairs had been confided. The Revolution had 
 been intended to obtain a reform of the most 
 fearful abuses, and establish a wise balance of 
 power in the State; under the Convention, two 
 counter-revolutionary influences tended to neutralize, 
 if not to destroy, the result of this first movement : 
 the counter-revolution of the Royalists, and the 
 ultra revolution of the Jacobins. The fulcrum on 
 which both parties rested the lever of their 
 authority was anarchy and terror. The Royalist 
 re-action had been crushed on the 13th Vende- 
 maire, soon after the Jacobins had been ostensibly 
 overruled. The Convention had abandoned the 
 helm of the State in the midst of a storm, and 
 France was doomed to become the stake of poli- 
 tical gamesters, her destinies hanging upon the 
 hazard of a die. 
 
360 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 It was my lot to witness the early struggles for 
 this disputed power, during what might be called 
 the riotous wake of the deceased Republic, and 
 young as I was, found myself involved, most in- 
 nocently, as I shall shortly relate, in one of the 
 most desperate and wild conspiracies of the mo- 
 mentous epoch. 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 361 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Depreciation of assignats — Great distress, and great opulence 
 — The Directories — Barras— His circles — Buonaparte — 
 Hoche — Society of the Eueilles — Babceuf — His conspiracy to 
 establish le bonheur commun — Drouet — Society of les amis 
 du suicide — Commercial mania — Madame Lajollais — La 
 machine infernale — I am involved in a plot — My brother 
 arrested by mistake — I determine on leaving France. 
 
 The Reign of Terror was over; yet many 
 moderate persons regretted that more energetic 
 measures had not been adopted by the Govern- 
 ment to punish the late perturbators of an 
 approaching tranquillity. The country was, if 
 possible, in a more distracted state than at any 
 previous period of the Revolution. The partisans 
 of Royalty and Jacobinism were exerting them- 
 selves to renew a struggle for ascendancy; and 
 the finances of the nation were in a hopeless con- 
 dition. Misery and hunger were spread over the 
 land. It is true that Paris was brilliant and gay. 
 
 vol. I. R 
 
362 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 The theatres and public places of amusement were 
 thronged; but those who participated in these 
 enjoyments, were men who had hoarded their 
 property during the preceding disastrous days, and 
 now burst into light from their obscure chrysalic 
 condition. 
 
 The depreciation of assignats was such, that a 
 Louis d'or was worth two thousand francs ; yet 
 the holders of funds received their rentes in this 
 worthless paper ; while to meet the emprunt 
 force, or forced loan, of six hundred millions, they 
 were obliged to pay their contributions, one half 
 in paper and the other half in specie; and, as 
 rentiers de VEtat, we should have starved, had 
 not my father, as I have already stated, purchased 
 gold in bars, and now and then chopped off a 
 morsel to meet our daily wants. 
 
 Fortunately, the odious maximum was abolished, 
 and provisions became less scarce. During the 
 Reign of Terror, the farmers and corn-dealers 
 were compelled, by the fear of the guillotine and of 
 public vengeance, to supply the capital ; but, 
 when they no longer entertained that dread, they 
 withheld their stock until they could obtain a fair 
 price for it in an open market. 
 
 Those who had money, were, therefore in a 
 flourishing condition ; but rent-holders, and clerks 
 in public offices — in fact, all those who derived 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 363 
 
 their income from the State, were in absolute 
 penury. With the usual sophistry of French 
 arguments, the Government insisted that there 
 was no national bankruptcy, since every one who 
 depended upon the revenue was placed on a similar 
 footing ; their publicists maintaining that a country 
 was only in a state of insolvency when one 
 class lost and another category of society gained ; 
 and, strange to say, this absurd doctrine was advo- 
 cated by several of their most distinguished^/mtm- 
 ciers; and even Calonne wrote a pamphlet, in 
 London, to show that the burthen of assignats was 
 a mode of becoming bankrupt without any declara- 
 tion of insolvency ! 
 
 The Directory could not boast of any man of 
 genius amongst its members, with the exception 
 of Carnot, whose chief duties were confined to the 
 war department. Sieyes had refused a seat in the 
 Government. The cunning priest, who always 
 stood behind the scenes, holding the strings of 
 the political puppets who figured on the stage, 
 wisely foresaw that such a state of things could 
 not be durable. He was, perhaps, the only man 
 in France who could have been of permanent 
 service to the commonwealth in its overwhelming 
 difficulties. Barras, was, no doubt, a courageous 
 and bold administrator ; but his character partook 
 
 r 2 
 
364 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 of the fire of his native Provence. He was a poet 
 and an ideologist ; and, although a brave and 
 determined soldier, thought more of the pleasures 
 of his villa at Grosbois, his luxurious table, his 
 courtezans, and his horses, than of the pressing 
 affairs of the State. He was determined to 
 make amends for the privations and forced 
 appearances of frugality which he had expe- 
 rienced during the Reign of Terror. He had 
 realized large sums of money, both by bribes 
 and speculations ; and his splendid salon was 
 crowded with general officers, commissaries, 
 and contractors, who, in the course of a short 
 time, had not only realized large fortunes, but 
 educated themselves with such industry, that their 
 natural habits and manners had been completely 
 metamorphosed. A gallaxy of beautiful women 
 of every description added to the attraction of 
 his soirees ; and the choicest spirits of the day, 
 in literature and the fine arts, were also constant 
 visitors of his circle ; while, amongst the promising 
 young soldiers of the epoch, Buonaparte, and 
 Hoche, were most conspicuous. Hoche, an am- 
 bitious, generous youth, had been a sergeant in 
 the Gardes Francaises, and purchased books, to 
 educate himself, out of the produce of waistcoats 
 which he embroidered for his officers. La Reveillere 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 365 
 
 Lepaux was busied in introducing his favourite 
 creed of Theophilanthropy, to replace the worship 
 of Reason, and the rites of VEtre Supreme, and 
 was as inactive and feeble as his other colleagues. 
 
 The Directory had been deprived of its power of 
 action by the new constitution; for the Convention, 
 when, considering the abject subserviency into 
 which it had been thrown by the executive com- 
 mittees of their body, wished to provide against a 
 similar encroachment of its power, and rendered 
 the executive branch of the Government de- 
 pendent on the representatives of the country. 
 
 In consequence of this want of firmness and 
 energy, France was distracted by constant plots 
 and disturbances. In the southern provinces, the 
 Royalist party not only exercised fearful retaliations, 
 to which I have already alluded ; but new societies, 
 calling themselves " Les Enfans de Jesus" 
 " Les Enfans du Soleil" were formed in various 
 quarters, and initiated in their mysteries of blood 
 all those whom they thought likely to join their 
 banners. One of these societies was called Les 
 Eveille's, or the Wide Awake ; and all those who 
 did not belong to them were named Les Dormeurs, 
 or the Sleepers. These enthusiasts held meetings in 
 woods and caverns. A ' Sleeper' would receive a 
 written intimation to attend at a certain place, at 
 
366 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 the peril of his life. If fear, or political motives, 
 induced him to comply with the order, he found 
 two or three persons, perfect strangers to him, who 
 led him to the assembly of the society, advising 
 him to muster all his courage on the occasion. As 
 the party proceeded, a clashing of swords was 
 heard, with loud cries of help. They hastened 
 their steps — and beheld three or four bodies, 
 apparently dead, stretched on the ground, with 
 their conquerors standing over them, wiping the 
 blood off their swords. One of the party anxiously 
 inquired what had been the cause of the fray, 
 when he was sternly informed that they had 
 " dispatched some Sleepers who would not open 
 their eyes." The trembling visitor was now led 
 before the terrific leader of the band : he was an 
 old man, with a long white beard, and surrounded 
 with fierce-looking satellites, in blue jackets, with a 
 white scarf, and armed to the teeth ; over his 
 head was perched a large eagle, whose fiery eyes 
 were wandering in every direction, and on the 
 table before him was an enormous owl. Certain 
 oaths, under the most terrific penalties, were now 
 imposed upon the visitor ; but they chiefly engaged 
 him to sacrifice, without pity or remorse, all the 
 enemies of the Crown or the Church, and to 
 hold himself ever ready to shed his blood in 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 367 
 
 defence of Vaigle imperieux. Every meeting of 
 these desperate men was followed by the death of 
 the unfortunate beings they had condemned. 
 
 While the Royalists were thus engaged, 
 the Jacobins were not idle. One day I was 
 requested to go over to a public house, nearly 
 opposite to us, where, to my surprise, I found 
 our old servant Cote, whom we had been 
 obliged to discharge from motives of economy, 
 dressed as a debardeur.* He took me into a 
 private room, and with tears in his eyes, supplicated 
 me to persuade my family to leave Paris, as there 
 was to be a mouvement populaire to plunder the 
 capital and slaughter every one who possessed 
 more than two thousand francs per annum. I 
 thought the poor fellow deranged, but still deemed 
 it advisable to communicate his message to my 
 father, who laughed at the absurdity of the report. 
 This did not satisfy me, and I repaired to my 
 usual confidante and adviser, Madame de Caux, 
 to whom I related the circumstance. She imme- 
 diately saw Barras, who was now a frequent 
 visitor at her hotel : but the Director, so far from 
 being surprised at the intelligence, acknowledged 
 that such a conspiracy was actually hatching, and 
 that the movement was of such a nature, that the 
 
 * Debardenrs were men who loaded and unloaded barges on 
 the river. 
 
368 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 Government had thought it advisable to remove 
 all the archives of the State to Fontainebleau, to 
 which place the Assembly of Five Hundred, and 
 the Ancients, would have to remove their sittings. 
 
 This conspiracy was the famous conjuration 
 of Babceuf. In the amnesty of the Convention, 
 murderers and thieves were not included, and 
 proceedings had been threatened against many of 
 the assassins of the massacre of September. This 
 slaughter had been considered of a political nature, 
 and, therefore, it was expected that its perpetrators 
 were included in the amnesty. Babceuf, who had 
 assumed the name of Gracchus, was one of the 
 Septembriseurs, and determined to appeal to the 
 people against what he considered the tyranny of 
 the Counter-revolutionary Government. He aimed 
 at the popularity of Marat, and, although an ig- 
 norant and uneducated man, he had commenced 
 the publication of a paper called, " Le Tribun du 
 Peuple," in which the sanguinary exhortations of 
 Marat, in the " Ami du Peuple," were seasoned 
 with all the blasphemy and obscenity of Hebert's 
 Pere du Chesne. 
 
 This Babceuf was of a very low condition, and 
 in his language and dress imitated the class from 
 which he had arisen. His appearance was that of 
 a Farau de port, whose costume was something 
 like that of a debardeur — broad sailor's trousers, 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 369 
 
 shoes with low insteps and large silver buckles, 
 a short jacket, with a red sash, the bosom open, 
 to show the large shirt frill, a round hat, with a 
 broad velvet band ; the hair greased and powdered 
 with flour, with a club tail. 
 
 This ruffian considered himself another Massa- 
 niello. He frequented various wine-shops where 
 his followers congregated, and the signal of meeting 
 was a nourish or a fanfare of French horns, a 
 melody sui generis, not unfrequent in public houses. 
 Several thousands of the very lowest of the most 
 desperate classes, were enlisted under the banner 
 of this vagabond. Unfortunately, too much im- 
 portance was given to this association from the 
 circumstance of Babceuf being merely an instru- 
 ment of more influential persons ; and Drouet, one 
 of the Deputies given up to the Austrians, and 
 who had lately returned, when exchanged, with his 
 fellow-prisoners for Madame Royale, the daughter 
 of Louis XVI., was a chief promoter of this plot, 
 
 Drouet had been cruelly treated by the Aus- 
 trians, stripped nearly naked and dragged about 
 their camp in chains, exhibited to the soldiers 
 as a wild beast, and exposed to every possible 
 brutality, and he could not understand how the 
 Government could negociate for peace with a 
 power which had thus trampled on the rights of 
 
370 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 nations, since he had not been a prisoner of a war, 
 but betrayed into the hands of his enemies by a 
 conspirator. He, therefore, was anxious to over- 
 throw an administration which he considered so 
 unpatriotic and unjust, and Babceuf's project was 
 to place the reins of the Government in the hands 
 of the people. 
 
 His system was formed on what he called, in 
 his paper, ' le bonheur commun,' or common hap- 
 piness. He demanded an agrarian law — an equal 
 distribution of property and of labour, an equal 
 participation in all public and private revenues, 
 and insisted that the industrious classes alone had 
 the right, not only to direct public works, but 
 to have a share in private speculations. To com- 
 mence this reign, on the breaking out of the 
 conspiracy, the members of the Directory, of the 
 Council of the Ancients, and the Five Hundred, 
 were to be massacred ; the Treasury seized, with the 
 telegraph, the arsenal, and the park of artillery of 
 Meudon ; and the contents distributed to the people, 
 who were to be allowed to plunder all the shops 
 in the Palais Royal, the Rues St. Martin, St. 
 Denis, St. Honore, Vivienne, Neuve des Petits 
 Champs, and the Quai des Orfevres for six hours. 
 The plunder was to begin at the sound of the French 
 horn, and to end when the same instrument had 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 371 
 
 announced that the hour for the appropriation 
 of public property had ceased. 
 
 After this devastation, the mobacracy were to be 
 quartered on and maintained by the more wealthy 
 inhabitants, and any one who refused to give them 
 provisions was to be hung up at the next lamp- 
 post. It was further provided, that any soldier 
 who joined the people with his arms and ammuni- 
 tion, should be promoted to the rank of officer, 
 or allowed to leave the service on a pension for 
 life : but, to keep up the army, allowances were 
 to be granted to every soldier of such an advan- 
 tageous nature, that there could be no fear of 
 the ranks being thinned by those who retired. 
 Rossignol, the blood-thirsty Commander of the 
 Revolutionary Army in the Vendee, was to be 
 their Commander-in-Chief. 
 
 Gracchus Babceuf, when apprehended, had the 
 audacity to address the Directory, stating "That 
 he was a power {une puissance), therefore 
 claimed a right to treat with them on equal terms." 
 He added, " I am the Chief of a formidable sect 
 that you will not destroy by sending me to the 
 scaffold, and which will avenge my death by terrific 
 examples. You may hold the threads of the con- 
 spiracy. It is nothing to have seized upon a few 
 individuals, other chiefs will arise in various 
 quarters. Shed not blood uselessly ; treat with the 
 
372 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 patriots and the people. They recollect that you 
 yourselves were once sincere Republicans, and they 
 will forgive you, if you join them in their 
 endeavours to save the Republic." 
 
 This deluded miscreant flattered himself that 
 the people would rescue him, but his condemna- 
 tion and execution were scarcely noticed. Drouet 
 was allowed, by Barras, to effect his escape ; but in 
 addition to Drouet, several other deputies were 
 involved in this daring affair ; amongst others, 
 Laignelot, Vacher, Amar, Chouchon, Pelletier and 
 St. Fargeau, brother to the one who had been 
 assassinated by a Garde du Corps, during the 
 early days of the Revolution. Strange infatua- 
 tion ! men of education, of acknowledged abilities, 
 joining such a reckless and destructive conspiracy ! 
 They truly believed that the masses possessed 
 sufficient virtue and self-command, to legislate for 
 themselves ! 
 
 The power of the Directory, and its utter in- 
 capacity in the government of the country, have 
 been fully detailed by the historians of the times. 
 Its reign, however, produced great changes in 
 the state of society. A romantic mania at one 
 time prevailed, and the most absurd metaphysical 
 notions were adopted and followed. For instance, 
 a society of the ' friends of suicide' was instituted, 
 consisting of twelve members. A lot was cast, 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE, 373 
 
 to decide which of them should commit suicide 
 in the presence of the other. Each member was 
 required to be a man of honour — to have ex- 
 perienced the injustice of mankind, the ingratitude 
 of a friend, or the falseness of a wife or a mistress, 
 to have experienced, for years, a certain vacuity of 
 the soul, and a discontent with everything in the 
 lower world ! 
 
 Another fashionable mania was a commercial 
 one : every one, high or low, became a trader. 
 Ladies would purchase pieces of muslin, or silk, 
 or lace, and go about selling them by retail, at 
 advanced prices. Many ladies of the bon ton of 
 the day, were speculating in oil, and butter, and 
 salt fish, and carried about samples of these com- 
 modities. The men assembled at the entrance of 
 the Palais Royal, leading to the Rue Vivienne, and 
 called, from its steps, Le Perron, and there they 
 would negotiate the sale, not only of stock and 
 shares in public and private funds, but of horses, 
 cloth, leather, anything, in short, that could be 
 bought or sold to advantage; others, of more 
 elevated mind, dealt in books, pictures, prints, &c, 
 and attended auctions for bargains to be disposed of 
 afterwards in private houses. Such was the rage 
 for traffic that, in a soiree, you would see ladies, 
 young and old, exchange or sell their trinkets — 
 their watches, and no Israelite ever chuckled with 
 
374 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 greater delight when they fancied that they had 
 done a purchaser ! I recollect my dear friend la belle 
 Hortense, asking me to endeavour to dispose of 
 some splendid gilt chenets (fire dogs), which the 
 Albittes had purchased with the Hotel de Crequi, 
 and which bore the armorials of that ancient 
 family, and my poor father, but for our entreaties 
 would have put all we had to auction. 
 
 In the meantime, I continued my medical 
 studies with great assiduity, although I did not — 
 could not, relinquish my dramatic pursuits : not 
 only did I perform in private theatricals, but, in 
 conjunction with Charles Este, wrote a melodrama 
 for the Theatre de la Cite, founded on an English 
 romance, and called, " Alphonse et Angelina, 
 ou, le Spectre du Chateau." This gave me a 
 free entrance to the theatre, and I soon after 
 brought out " Le Rendez-vous au Foyer," " Reg- 
 nard a Algiers," " Le Premier Grenadier de 
 France," &c. With this double pursuit, I had to 
 work hard, and was obliged to make up by 
 night, reading and dissecting, for my indulgences of 
 the day. Notwithstanding all these attractions, 1 
 was determined to go to England, and circum- 
 stances soon accelerated my departure. 
 
 Amongst the acquaintances I made at Madame 
 de Caux's, T visited a Madame Lajollais, who was 
 a most delightful enthusiast: Madame Roland was 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 375 
 
 her divinity, and Charlotte Corday a saint in her 
 calendar. Her husband was a Chef d'Etat-Major 
 of Pichegru. I constantly frequented her de- 
 lightful soirees, and had observed, for some 
 time much mystery in the conversation of her 
 guests, who were chiefly military men. She 
 often, entrusted me with papers to deliver to 
 a person of the name of Chevroolat, who 
 resided at the Garde-Meuble. I was as igno- 
 rant then as I am at the present moment of 
 the nature of these papers. I was not long 
 undeceived, at any rate, as to their dangerous 
 tendency. The machine infernale exploded in 
 the Rue St. Nicaise, and, as it is well known, was 
 nigh blowing up Buonaparte. All Paris was in a 
 state of consternation ; and every one attributed 
 this plot to the English. It was asserted that it 
 had been planned at a meeting at a French res- 
 taurant in Leicester Square. To my utter 
 surprise, I received a note from Madame Lajollais, 
 to inform me that she had been obliged to fly from 
 Paris, and requesting me to conceal myself, as my 
 name had, most unfortunately, been included in 
 the list of the accused. I was thunderstruck, and 
 immediately repaired to my ever dear counsellor, 
 Madame de Caux, who consulted her brothers, 
 and it was decided that I should keep out of the 
 
376 RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 way, until the affair had been cleared up. I, of 
 course, left Paris, and sought a retreat with a Mr. 
 Whittle, a friend of my father, who had once 
 been a Governor in India, and was now living at 
 C handily . 
 
 My brother, at the time, was on his way from 
 Calais — where he had married and was settled — to 
 Paris, and, on arriving at Arras, being, no doubt, 
 mistaken for me, he was arrested, and thrown into 
 the prison of the Dominicans, not a little sur- 
 prised at so unexpected an occurrence. 
 
 The moment I heard of his mishap, I started 
 for Arras, and called upon the mayor, a worthy 
 man of the name of Chevalier, and a woollen- 
 draper, who very wisely advised me to return to 
 Paris, and exert myself to prove my innocence 
 and liberate my brother ; and added, very 
 sagaciously, " You will gain nothing by being both 
 in prison." 
 
 On my return, I found that my friends had not 
 been idle ; and I also repaired to an intime, of the 
 name of Trobriand, who was then an officer in the 
 hussars, called les Serins de Madame Buonaparte, 
 as they were dressed in a light yellow uniform, 
 and formed part of her husband's guard. Tro- 
 briand, who afterwards rose to the rank of General, 
 was brother to Madame Dervieux, another friend 
 
REPUBLICAN FRANCE. 377 
 
 of mine, who then, it is said, lived with Lucien 
 Buonaparte; in short, I succeeded in proving 
 what was the fact, that I knew nothing whatever of 
 the conspiracy. 
 
 This event, however, decided me to lose no 
 time in returning to England. My father had 
 already received a letter to apprize him that I was 
 recommended to an assistant surgeoncy in the East 
 India Company's sendee ; and I bade a sad and 
 last farewell to all that I then held dear in life — 
 not only to my parents, whom I felt I should 
 never embrace again, but to other friends and 
 connexions whom I fondly loved. My mother's 
 entreaties to remain, were unavailing. After all 
 that I had witnessed, I felt a strong reluctance 
 to continue in a country constantly convulsed by 
 factions, and, somehow or other, I experienced a 
 proud feeling in being an Englishman. In vain I 
 was often told, more especially by my fascinating 
 friend, Madame de Caux, that, being born of Dutch 
 parents, I was not bound by any allegiance to the 
 spot of my birth ; and, at the time, she pressed me 
 to accept an offer made to me of being attached 
 to the young and enterprising Hoche, (who then 
 contemplated an expedition to Ireland or Eng- 
 land,) in the ostensible quality of a surgeon, but 
 in reality, of private secretary. I rejected the 
 
378 RECOLLECTIONS, &C. 
 
 proposal, as an insult. Servois, my excellent, my 
 virtuous preceptor, not only praised my conduct, 
 but confirmed my resolution ; and, with a heavy 
 heart, I quitted friends, the like of whom I never 
 found again. 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 Printed by Schulze and Co., 13, Poland Street. 
 
NOW IN COURSE OF PUBLICATION, 
 
 A New and Revised Edition, with Numerous Passages 
 
 now restored from the Original Manuscript, and many 
 
 additional Notes, 
 
 To be completed in Six vols, post 8vo. with Portraits, &c, price 
 10s. 6d. each bound; the First of which is now Ready, 
 
 DIARY AND CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 OF 
 
 SAMUEL PEPYS, ESQ., F.R.S. 
 
 Secretary to the Admiralty in the Reigns of Charles II. and James II. 
 
 Edited by RICHARD LORD BRAYBROOKE. 
 
 The authority of Pepys, as an historian and illustrator of a consi- 
 derable portion of the seventeenth century, has been so fully acknow- 
 ledged by every scholar and critic, that it is now scarcely necessary 
 even to remind the reader of the advantages he possessed for pro- 
 ducing the most complete and trustworthy record of events, and the 
 most agreeable picture of society and manners, to be found in the 
 literature of any nation. A New Edition of this work, comprising the 
 restored passages so much desired, with such additional annotations 
 as have been called for by the vast advances in antiquarian and his- 
 torical knowledge during the last twenty years, will doubtless be 
 regarded as one of the most important, as well as most agreeable, 
 additions that could be made to the library of the general reader. 
 
 Now Ready in 2 vols, with Illustrations, 21s. bound, 
 
 FIVE YEARS IN KAFFIRLAND; 
 
 With Sketches of the late War in that Country, 
 
 to the Peace in 1848: Written on the Spot. 
 
 By Mrs. Harriet Ward. 
 
 Wife ok Captain Ward, 91st Regiment. 
 
 Now Ready in post 8vo. 7s. 6d. bound. 
 
 THE CAPE AND ITS COLONISTS, 
 
 WITH HINTS FOR SETTLERS IN 1848. 
 
 By George Nicholson, jun., Esq. 
 
 A LATE RESIDENT. 
 
 HENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER, 
 
 13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 
 
POPULAR NEW NOVELS, 
 
 JUST PUBLISHED BY MR. COLBURN. 
 TO BE HAD AT ALL THE LIBRARIES. 
 
 I. 
 
 ANGELA; 
 
 or, THE CAPTAIN'S DAUGHTER. 
 
 By the Author of " Emilia Wyndham," 3 vols. 
 
 " We believe ' Angela' to be one of the very highest productions of 
 an English pen." — Weekly Chronicle. 
 
 II. 
 
 A FATHER'S CURSE, 
 
 A DAUGHTER'S SACRIFICE: 
 
 Trials of Domestic Life. 
 
 By Mrs. BRAY. Author of " The White Hoods," &c. 3 vols. 
 
 in. 
 
 JAMES THE SECOND: 
 
 AN HISTORICAL ROMANCE. 
 
 Edited by W. H. Ainsworth, Esq. 3 Vols. 
 
 IV. 
 
 MRS. ARMYTAGE; 
 
 or, FEMALE DOMINATION. 
 
 By Mrs. Gore. 
 
 Forming the New Volume of " Colburn's Standard Novels," 
 price 5s. bound with Portrait of the Author. 
 
 v. 
 
 ADVENTURES OF A MEDICAL STUDENT. 
 By the late R. Douglas, Surgeon, R.N. 
 
 With a Memoir of the Author. 3 vols. 
 
 VI. 
 
 LEONORA, A LOVE STORY. 3 Vols. 
 
 " In ' Leonora,' Lady Boothby has proved the universality of her 
 talent in depicting character, both as a novelist and an actress." — 
 Jerrold's Newttpaper. 
 
 VII. 
 
 THE HALL AND THE HAMLET. 
 By WILLIAM HOWITT. 2 Vols. 
 
13, Great Marlborough Street. 
 
 MR. COLBUM'S 
 
 LIST OF NEW WORKS. 
 
 BURKE'S 
 
 HISTORY OF THE LANDED GENTRY; 
 
 A GENEALOGICAL DICTIONARY 
 
 OF THE UNTITLED ARISTOCRACY OF ENGLAND, 
 
 SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND: 
 
 A COMPANION TO ALL-PEERA GE S. 
 
 2 vols, rojal 8vo. beautifully printed in double columns, 2/. 10s. bound. 
 
 The Landed Gentry of England are so closely connected with the 
 stirring records of its eventful history, that some acquaintance with 
 them is a matter of necessity with the legislator, the lawyer, the his- 
 torical student, the speculator in politics, and the curious in topogra- 
 phical and antiquarian lore ; and even the very spirit of ordinary 
 curiosity will prompt to a desire to trace the origin and progress of 
 those families whose influence pervades the towns and villages of our 
 land. This work furnishes such a mass of authentic information in 
 regard to all the principal families in the kingdom as has never before 
 been brought together. It relates to the untitled families of rank, as 
 the "Peerage and Baronetage" does to the titled, and forms, in fact, 
 a peerage of the untitled aristocracy. It embraces the whole of the 
 landed interest, and is indispensable to the library of every gentleman. 
 
 " A work in which every gentleman will find a domestic interest, as 
 it contains the fullest account of every known family in the United 
 Kingdom. It is a dictionary of all names, families, and their origins, — 
 of every man's neighbour and friend, if not of his own relatives 
 :ind immediate connexions." — BeWs Messenger. 
 
 "A work which contains curious information nowhere else to be 
 found, and to which professional genealogists may refer with advan- 
 tage." — Quarterly Beview. 
 
 " A work of this kind is of a national value. Its utility is not merely 
 temporary, but it will exist and be acknowledged as long as the fa- 
 milies whose names and genealogies are recorded in it continue to form 
 an integral portion of the English constitution. As a correct record 
 of descent, no family should be without it." — Morning Post. 
 
MR. COLBURN'S NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 WALPOLE'S MEMOIRS 
 
 OF THE REIGN OF 
 
 KING GEORGE THE SECOND; 
 
 EDITED, WITH A PREFACE AND NOTES, 
 
 BY THE LATE LORD HOLLAND. 
 
 Second Edition, Revised, in 3 handsome volumes 8vo, with Portraits, 
 price only 24s. bound (originally published in 4to, at 51. 5s.). 
 
 The manuscript of these "Memoirs of the Reign of George the 
 Second" was found at Strawberry Hill on the death of Horace Walpole, 
 along with that of the " Memoirs of the Reign of George the Third," 
 lately edited by Sir Denis Le Mavchant, in two chests, relative to 
 wliich the author left written directions that they were not to ke 
 opened till a considerable period after his decease. That time having 
 arrived, the seals were removed, and the nobleman to whom the 
 Memoirs had been bequeathed (the Earl of Waldegrave), decided on 
 giving them to the public ; and that they might possess every possible 
 advantage, it was arranged that they should appear under the editorial 
 auspices of the late Lord Holland, whose intimate acquaintance with 
 the period illustrated, family connexion with the most celebrated indi- 
 viduals of the time, and distinguished scholarship, appeared to point him 
 out as, above all men, peculiarly fitted for the task of preparing them 
 for the press. 
 
 Known as the son of the ablest minister the age produced (Sir Robert 
 Walpole), and havingmany of his nearest friends and relatives members at 
 different periods either of the government or of the opposition, it is impos- 
 sible to imagine an individual more favourably circumstanced than Horace 
 Walpole to record the stirring scenes and great events that made the reign 
 of George II. so remarkable. But to these advantages must be added a 
 talent in portraying the characteristics of his contemporaries, and a viva- 
 city in describing the scenes in which they figured so conspicuously, in 
 which he is without a rival. The result is a history which, with the 
 veracity of a cluonicle, affords equal entertainment with the most viva- 
 cious romance, and though sufficiently attractive in its own merits to all 
 classes of readers, is essential to every library containing any portion of 
 the Walpole Works and Correspondence. 
 
 "We are glad to see an octavo edition of this work. The publisher has 
 conferred a boon on the public by the republication." — Britannia. 
 
 "Few historical works that have appeared can equal these volumes, 
 either in amusement or instruction." — Sunday Times. 
 
 "Perhaps, without exception, the liveliest piece of historical gossip in 
 any language. It is a valuable contribution to the history and philosophy 
 of human nature." — Daily News. 
 
 "A work of greater interest than has been placed before the public for 
 a considerable time. The Memoirs abound in matter which is both useful 
 and amusing. The political portions of the work are of undoubted value 
 and interest, and embody a considerable amount of very curious historical 
 information, hitherto inaccessible even to the most determined and perse- 
 vering student." — Morning Post. 
 
HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 LIVES OF THE QUEENS OF ENGLAND, 
 
 NOW FIRST PUBLISHED FROM OFFICIAL RECORDS, 
 AND OTHER AUTHENTIC DOCUMENTS, PRIVATE AS WELL AS PUBLIC. 
 
 BY AGNES STRICKLAND. 
 
 DEDICATED BY PERMISSION TO HER MAJESTY- 
 
 To be completed in 12 vols., embellished with Portraits, and other Illus- 
 trations, 10*. 6d. each, bound; either of which may be had separately. 
 Vols. I to XI., are now ready. 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PKESS. 
 
 " These volumes have the fascination of a romance united to the 
 integrity of history." — Times. 
 
 " Miss Strickland has made a very judicious use of many authentic 
 MS. authorities not previously collected, and the result is a most inte- 
 resting addition to our biographical library." — Quarterly Review. 
 
 "A most valuable and entertaining work. There is certainly no lady 
 of our day who has devoted her pen to so beneficial a purpose as Miss 
 Strickland. Nor is there any other whose works possess a deeper or more 
 enduring interest. Miss Strickland is to our mind the first literary lady 
 of the age." — Chronicle. 
 
 " A valuable contribution to historical knowledge. It contains a mass 
 of every kind of historical matter of interest, which industry and research 
 could collect. We have derived much entertainment and instruction from 
 the work." — Athenaum. 
 
 "We must pronounce Miss Strickland beyond all comparison themosten- 
 tertaininsr historian in the English language. She is certainly a woman of 
 powerful and active mind, as well as of scrupulous justice and honesty of 
 purpose. And, ns we before remarked, the considerable number of new 
 documents to which she has had access, and the curious nature of some of 
 these documents, impart to her production a character of which it would be 
 hard to determine whether the utility or the entertainment predominated." 
 — Morning Post. 
 
 " This work is written by a lady of considerable learning, indefati- 
 gable industry, and careful judgment. All these qualifications for a 
 biographer and an historian she has brought to bear upon the subject 
 of her volumes, and from them has resulted a narrative interesting to 
 all, and more particularly interesting to that portion of the community 
 to whom the more refined researches of literature afford pleasure and 
 instruction. The whole work should be read, and no doubt will be 
 read, by all who are anxious for information. It is a lucid arrange- 
 ment of facts, derived from authentic sources, exhibiting a combina- 
 tion of industry, learning, judgment, and impartiality, not often met 
 with in biographers of crowned heads." — Times. (Third Notice.) 
 
 _ _ 
 
MR. COLBURN S NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 HISTORY OF 
 
 THE CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON 
 
 AT ST. HELENA. 
 
 BY GENERAL COUNT MONTHOLON, 
 
 The Emperor's Companion in Exile, and Testamentary Executor, 
 
 Now first translated and published from the author's original manuscript. 
 
 4 vols. 8vo. Vols. III. and I V. may be had separately to complete sets. 
 
 "General Count Moutholon, Napoleon's companion in exile, and tes- 
 tamentary executor, has determined by detailed and honest statements, 
 to bring- every thing connected with this important event before the 
 eyes of civilised Europe. We have read his volumes with intense 
 interest and curiosity, and we are eager to acknowledge the general 
 good sense, right feeling, and strong desire for impartiality that have 
 signalised them. They contain innumerable passages of interest, 
 amusement, and information." — Court Journal. 
 
 THE ONLY AUTHORISED ENGLISH EDITION. 
 
 Now in course of publication, embellished with portraits. The first 
 six volumes may now be bad bound in three, price 3 Is. 6d. 
 
 M. A. THIERS' HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 TOE CONSULATE AND THE EMPIRE 
 
 OF FRANCE, UNDER NAPOLEON. 
 
 A sequel to bis History of the French Revolution. Translated, with 
 the sanction and approval of the Author, by D. Forbes Campbell, Esq. 
 
 Having filled at different times, the high offices of Minister of the 
 Interior, of Finance, of Foreign Affairs, and President of the Council, 
 M. Thiers has enjoyed facilities beyond the reach of every other 
 biographer of Napoleon, for procuring, from exclusive and authentic 
 sources, the choicest materials for his present work. As guardian to 
 the archives of the state, he had access to diplomatic papers and other 
 documents of the highest importance, hitherto known only to a privi- 
 leged few, and the publication of which cannot fail to produce a great 
 sensation. From private sources, M. Thiers, it appears, has also de- 
 rived much valuable information. Many interesting memoirs, diaries, 
 and letters, all hitherto unpublished, and most of them destined for 
 political reasons to remain so, have been placed at his disposal ; while 
 all the leading characters of the empire, who were alive when the 
 author undertook the present history, have supplied him with a mass 
 of incidents and anecdotes, which have never before appeared in print, 
 and the accuracy and value of which may be inferred fiom the fact of 
 these parties having been themselves eye-witnesses of, or actors in, the 
 great events of the period. 
 
 * # * To prevent disappointment, the public are requested (o bo par- 
 ticular in giving their orders for "Colburn's Authorised Edition, 
 
 TRANSLATED BY D. FoilBES CAMPBELL." 
 
HISTORY AM) B10GRAFIIV 
 
 THE 
 
 COURT AND TIMES OF JAMES I., 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY AUTHENTIC AND CONFIDENTIAL LETTERS, FROM 
 VARIOUS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS. 
 
 EDITED, WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND NUMEROUS NOTES, BY THE 
 AUTHOR OF "MEMOIRS OF SOPHIA DOROTHEA." 
 
 2 vols. 8vo. 
 
 It may be asserted with confidence that scarcely any similar publi- 
 cation can exceed these volumes in interest, or rival them in the extent 
 and variety with which they illustrate contemporary history. They 
 contain the Confidential Correspondence of the Reign of James I. 
 written to and from the Principal Ministers of State, Ambassadors, 
 and other persons either connected with the court, or occupying 
 positions which afforded them means of obtaining the most secret 
 information. Among these will be found, Robert Cecil, Marquis of 
 Salisbury ; Dudley Carleton, Viscount Dorchester ; Gilbert, Earl 
 of Shrewsbury ; Henry, Earl of Northampton : "William, Earl of 
 Pembroke ; Edward, Lord Wot ton ; Richard, Earl of Dorset ; George 
 Calvert, Baron Baltimore; Viscount Andover; Thomas, Earl of Arun- 
 del and Surrey ; Sir Clement Edmondes ; Sir Isaac Wake ; Sir Henry 
 Fanshawe ; Sir Thomas Edmondes ; Sir John Throckmorton ; and 
 various other eminent diplomatists and statesmen. 
 
 Of the innumerable subjects on which the volumes afford informa- 
 tion, it is scarcely possible to give an adequate idea, but among many 
 others may be named, The Trial of Sir Walter Raleigh and bis sub- 
 sequent history — The Gunpowder Plot — The Murder of Sir Thomas 
 Overbury — The Trial of the Earl and Countess of Somerset — The 
 Rise of Villiers, Duke of Buckingham and his Family — The Early 
 History and Death of Henry, Prince of "Wales — The Private Lives 
 of Queen Anne of Denmark and Prince Charles — The Stories of 
 Arabella Stuart and Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia — The Visits of 
 the King of Denmark and the Count Palatine of the Rhine— The 
 Proceedings of the Houses of Parliament, the Privy Council, the 
 Courts of Law, and the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge — The 
 Court Masques and Entertainments — The Revels of the Inns of Court 
 —The Theatres, &c. 
 
 In its illustrations of the Literary History of the time, the work is 
 extremely rich, abounding in anecdotes of Ben Jonson, Carew, Wither, 
 Daniel, the Killegrews, Sir Henry Saville, Sir Robert Cotton, Camden, 
 the brothers Shirley the famous travellers, Bacon, Sir Julius Ca;sar, 
 Dr. Donne, Sir Henry Wotton, and many scholars of note both 
 at home and abroad. Added to these interesting features the work 
 contains notices of almost every person of celebrity in the king- 
 dom, so that there is scarcely a family whose members have figured in 
 the history of this portion of the seventeenth century, that will not find 
 in these volumes some reference to their ancestors. 
 
MR. COLBURN'S NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 DIARY AND CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 OF 
 
 JOHN EVELYN. 
 
 A NEW AND REVISED EDITION. 
 
 To be completed in 3 volumes, handsomely printed in post 8vo, with 
 Illustrations. 
 
 DIARY AND MEMOIRS OF SOPHIA 
 DOROTHEA, 
 
 CONSORT OF GEORGE I. 
 
 NOW FIRST PUBLISHED FROM THE ORIGINALS. 
 
 Second Edition, in 2 vols. 8vo, with Portrait, 21s. bound. 
 
 "A work abounding in the romance of real life." — Messenger. 
 
 " A book of marvellous revelations, establishing beyond all doubt 
 the perfect innocence of the beautiful, highly gifted, and inhumanly 
 treated Sophia Dorothea." — Naval and Military Gazette. 
 
 LETTERS OF MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS. 
 
 EDITED, WITH AN HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION AND NOTES, 
 
 By AGNES STRICKLAND; 
 
 New and Cheaper Edition with numerous Additions, uniform with 
 Miss Strickland's "Lives of the Queens of England," in 2 vols., post 
 8vo, with Portrait, &c, 21s. bound. 
 
 " No public or private library can be considered complete without 
 this valuable work." — Morning Post. 
 
 "The best collection of authentic memorials relative to the Queen 
 of Scots that has ever appeared." — Morning Chronicle. 
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE CHARLES STUART, 
 
 COMMONLY CALLED THE " YOUNG PRETENDER," 
 
 WITH NOTICES OF THE REBELLION IN 1745. 
 
 BY C. L. KLOSE, ESQ. 
 Second edition. 2 vols. 8vo, with Portrait, 21s. bound. 
 "This work may justly claim the credit of being the fullest and 
 most authentic narrative of this great era of English history." — 
 Messenger. 
 
 MEMOIRS -AND LITERARY REMAINS 
 OF LADY JANE GREY. 
 
 BY SIR HARRIS NICHOLAS. 
 1 vol. 8vo, 8s. 6<1. bound. 
 
HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 MADEMOISELLE DE MOSTPENSIER; 
 
 GRAND -DAUGHTER OF HENRI QtJATRE, AND NIECE OF HENRIETTA 
 MARIA OF ENGLAND. 
 
 WRITTEN BY HERSELF. 
 
 EDITED FROM THE FRENCH. 
 
 3 vols, post Sro, with Portrait, 31s. 6</. bound. 
 
 This illustrious lady, who was generally styled "La Grande Ma- 
 demoiselle," acquired a widely-spread and well-merited renown on 
 account of the extraordinary nature of the enterprises in which she 
 was so conspicuously engaged. She was related to the great Conde, 
 and took a leading part in the events of the troublous times in which 
 she lived— a part, indeed, fitted rather for a captain-general, than for 
 one of her gentle sex and high station; but in which, however, she 
 acquitted herself to admiration. 
 
 Imbued with the chivalrous spirit of the age, Mademoiselle de Mont- 
 pensier joined the League of the Fronde, and it seems difficult to 
 decide whether she or the illustrious Conde, — was the head, or as 
 it has been termed " the soul," of that famous confederacy. By her 
 connexion with it, she forfeited the Queenly crown of France, besides 
 involving herself in many subsequent disasters. Nothing, however 
 could deter her from pursuing what she conceived to be the line of her 
 duty, and she never once faltered in her devotion to the cause which 
 she had espoused. 
 
 After various remarkable adventures, Mademoiselle de Montpensier 
 signalized herself in an especial manner during the last terrific struggle 
 of her party— the Battle of St. Antoine. Reckless of danger, by her 
 presence in the thickest of the fight, she animated the spirits of the 
 devoted band of heroes under Conde, who so distinguished themselves 
 on that occasion; and, by her courage and address, succeeded in res- 
 cuing them from the dangers by which they were environed. 
 
 The subsequent career of "La Grande Mademoiselle" assumes a 
 more pacific character. She was no less distinguished in love than in 
 war, having been importuned by a host of suitors, who aspired to 
 the honour of her hand; and, at one time, her destiny seemed likely to 
 be linked to that of her great warrior-relative, Conde. After rejecting 
 the overtures of kings and princes,— among whom may be mentioned 
 Charles the Second of England,— this Sovereign Princess finally fixed 
 her affection upon the Cadet of a noble house— the Duke de Lauzun, 
 the same who rendered such good service to the Queen of James the 
 Second, and who was conspicuous alike by his birth and his courage. 
 For him no sacrifice appeared too great to be made by her— no trial of 
 strength and constancy of woman's love, too severe. Her adventures, 
 indeed, may be said to combine the charm of romance with the authen- 
 ticity of history. 
 
MR. COLBURN'S NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 MEMOIRS OF LADY HESTER STANHOPE, 
 
 Comprising her Opinions, and Anecdotes of the most remarkable Persons 
 of her Time. 
 
 New Edition, 3 vols, post 8vo, with portraits, Sec, 21s. bound. 
 
 These memoirs must interest all classes of readers. Throughout 
 the whole of the brilliant period of the life of her UDcIe, Mr. Pitt, 
 Lady Hester Stanhope (who was the partner of his secret counsels) 
 was drawn into daily intercourse with the most remarkable people of 
 the age — statesmen, wits, diplomatists, men of letters and science, 
 women of fashion and celebrity, and all the members of the royal 
 family, with whom she was upon terms of familiar intimacy. 
 
 " These volumes are such as no one who takes them up can easily lay 
 down." — Quarterly Review. 
 
 THE SEVEN YEARS' TRAVELS 
 
 OF 
 
 LADY HESTER STANHOPE, 
 
 FORMING THE COMPLETION OF HER MEMOIRS. 
 
 3 vols, post 8vo, with numerous Illustrations. 
 
 "This work is intended to complete the 'Memoirs of Lady Hester 
 Stanhope.' As the ' Memoirs' embraced a period of about fifteen years, 
 in which were traced the causes which led to the ' decline and fall' of 
 her Ladyship's somewhat visionary Empire in the East, the * Travels' 
 take up her history from the time she quitted England, and, by 
 a faithful narrative of her extraordinary adventures, show the rise 
 and growth of her Oriental greatness. A distinct line may at once be 
 drawn between this and all other books of travels in the East — for it 
 boasts of a heroine who marches at the head of Arab tribes through 
 the Syrian Desert — who calls Governors of Cities to her aid while she 
 excavates the earth in search of hidden treasures — who sends Generals 
 with their troops to carry fire and sword into the fearful passes of a 
 mountainous country to avenge the death of a murdered traveller — 
 and who then goes defenceless and unprotected to sit down a sojourner 
 in the midst of them." 
 
 THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON'S MAXIMS 
 AND OPINIONS; 
 
 WITH A BIOGRAPHICAL, INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Second Edition, in 8vo, with Portrait, 12s. bound. 
 "The best book that has been published respecting the Duke of 
 Wellington."— Times. 
 
HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 MISS BURNEY'S DIARY. 
 
 VOLS. VI. AND VII, COMPLETING THE WORK. 
 THE DIARY AND LETTERS 
 
 OF 
 
 MADAME D ' A R B L A Y, 
 
 AUTHOR OF " EVELINA," " CECILIA," &c. 
 Including the period of her residence at the Court of Queen Charlotte. 
 
 EDITED BY HER NIECE. 
 
 CRITICAL OPINIONS. 
 
 " Madame d'Ai'blay- lived to be a classic. Time set on her fame, 
 before che went hence, that seal which is seldom set except on the 
 fame of the departed. All those whom we have been accustomed to 
 revere as intellectual patriarchs seemed, children when compared with 
 her; for Burke had sat up all night to read her writings, and Johnson 
 had pronounced her superior to Fielding, when Rogers was still a 
 schoolboy, and Southey still in petticoats. Her Diary is written id 
 her earliest and best manner ; in true woman's English, clear, natural, 
 and lively. It ought to' be consulted by every person who wishes to 
 be well acquainted with the history of our literature and our manners. 
 The account which she gives of the king's illness will, we think, be 
 more valued by the historians of a future age than any equal portions 
 of Pepys' or Evelyn's Diaries." — Edinburgh lieview. 
 
 " This publication will take its place in the libraries beside Walpole 
 and Bosvvell." — Literary Gazette. 
 
 " In our minds, this delightful Diary has been the most agreeable 
 variety of the season. Miss Burney's first volume ought to be placed 
 beside Bos well's ' Life,' to which it forms an excellent supplement." — Times, 
 
 "A work unequalled in literary and social value by any thing else of 
 a similar kind in the language." — Naval and Military Gazette. 
 
 "This work may be considered a kind of supplement to Boswell's 
 Life of Johnson. It is a beautiful picture of society as it existed in. 
 manners, taste, and literature, in the early perioJ of the reign of Georgo 
 the Third, drawn by a pencil as vivid and brilliant as that of any of 
 the celebrated persons who composed the circle." — Messenger. 
 
 "Miss Burncy's Diary, sparkling with wit, teeming with lively 
 anecdote, and delectable gossip, and full of sound and discreet views 
 of persons and things, will he perused with interest by all classes of 
 readers." — Post. 
 
 "This work presents an unrivalled combination of attraction. 
 That extraordinary man Johnson is painted far better than he is by 
 Boswell." — Court Journal. 
 
 " We know not when we have been so delighted with a book aa 
 with Miss Burney's Diary. Every page teems with interest." — 
 Weekly Chronicle. 
 
 in 
 
10 MR. COLBURN'S NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE ALBERT; 
 
 AND THE HOUSE OF SAXONY. 
 
 Second Edition, revised, with Additions, by Authority. 1 vol. 
 post 8vo, with a Portrait of the Prince, 8s. 6d. bound. 
 " The best and most authentic Work on the subject of the Prince 
 Consort and his Family." — John Bull. 
 
 THE SECOND VOLUME OF 
 
 LORD BROUGHAM'S LIYES OF MEN OF 
 LETTERS AND SCIENCE, 
 
 WHO FLOURISHED DURING THE REIGN OF GEORGE III. 
 
 (With Original Letters), 
 
 Comprising Adam Smith (with an analytical view of his great work), 
 
 Lavoisier, Gibbon, Sir J. Banks, D'Alembert, and Dr. Johnson. 
 
 Royal 8vo, with Portraits, 21.9. bound. 
 
 WOMAN ANDIIER MASTER; 
 
 OK, THE HISTORY OF THE FEMALE SEX FROM THE 
 
 EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE PRESENT DAY. 
 
 BY LADY MORGAN. 
 
 2 vols., post 8vo, 16s. bound. 
 
 "Lady Morgan has imparted to history the charm of romance. 
 
 We have read her series of rapid but brilliant and vigorous sketches 
 
 with an interest which many a Novel fails to excite." — Weekly Chronicle. 
 
 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 LITERARY LADIES OE ENGLAND. 
 
 BY MRS. ELWOOD. 
 
 2 vols., post 8vo, with portraits, 12s. bound. 
 "The literary ladies of England form a brilliant list, many of the most 
 beautiful and permanently useful portions of our literature being the pro- 
 ductions of female pens. A collection of memoirs of those eminent per- 
 sons was much wanted, and Mrs. Elwood's work supplies the desideratum. 
 It will furnish, especially to young readers of her own sex, much instruc- 
 tive matter in an interesting form." — Chronicle. 
 
 LIEE OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, 
 
 By THOMAS ROSCOE, Esq. 
 1 vol., small Svo, with Portrait. 
 * This life of the Conqueror is the first attempt made to do full justice 
 to his character and talents." — Britannia. 
 
 "From various sources Mr. Roscoe has drawn facts which have never 
 yet appeared in relation to the life of William the Couqueror." — Weekly 
 Chronicle. 
 
HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. 11 
 
 MEMOIRS OF LADY SUXDOX ; 
 
 AND OF THE 
 
 COURT OF QUEEN CAROLINE, CONSORT OF 
 GEORGE II.; 
 
 Including Letters of the most Celebrated Persons of tbe Time, 
 now First Published from tbe Originals, 
 By Mrs. THOMSON,; 
 Author of " Memoirs of the Court of Henry VIIL," &c. 
 2 vols., post 8vo, with Portraits, 24s. bound. 
 " We recommend this work to general circulation, not less for its 
 attractiveness as a record of Court personalities than for its historical 
 value." — Atlas. 
 
 " Lady Sundon was the Queen's Premier — at once her favourite atten- 
 dant and chief Minister. She had correspondence with the most eminent 
 and most notorious persons of her time, and hence her Memoirs become 
 veritable and amusing illustrations of the Court of George II. We con- 
 scientiously recommend the volumes." — Britannia. 
 
 LETTERS OF THE KINGS OF ENGLAND; 
 
 Now first collected from the Originals in Royal archives and from 
 other authentic sources, private as well as public. 
 
 Edited, with an Historical Introduction and Notes, by J. O. 
 Halliwell, Esq., F. R. S., &c. 2 vols, post 8vo, with portraits, 21s. 
 bound. 
 
 " A valuable addition to our mass of historic materials — as valu- 
 able no doubt, as almost any other that has appeared in our time." — 
 Athenaeum, 
 
 " We have here the sayings and doings of our sovereigns told by 
 themselves in a manner far more interesting than in any work we are 
 acquainted with." — Literary Gazette. 
 
 LETTERS OF ROYAlTiLLUSTRIOUS LADIES 
 
 OF GREAT BRITAIN, 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND; 
 
 Now first published from the Originals, with Introductory Notices, 
 
 By MARY ANN EVERETT WOOD. 
 
 3 vols, post 8vo, with Facsimile Autographs, &c. 
 
 " This collection of letters is very curious and very valuable. The 
 
 general reader will derive great instruction from its pages, and the 
 
 reader of history will find it of considerable service. The editress has 
 
 accomplished well a remarkably laborious task. She^ has collected 
 
 together the letters of the most illustrious women of England, whose 
 
 lives extend over a period of four centuries and a half, and has 
 
 taken infinite pains to render the subject of the letters intelligible to 
 
 the reader by prefixing notes, varying in lengthy as the occasion 
 
 requires. The work certainly deserves a wide success." — Sunday Times. 
 
12 MR. COLBURN'S NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 BURKE'S PEERAGE AND BARONETAGE, 
 
 New and Revised Edition, 
 
 Corrected throughout from the personal communications of the Nobility, 
 &c, and containing all the New Creations. In 1 vol. (comprising as 
 much matter as twenty ordinary volumes), with upwards of 1500 En- 
 gravings of Arms, &c, 38s. bound. 
 
 "Mr. Burke's 'Peerage and Baronetage' is the most complete, the 
 most couvenient, and the cheapest work of the kind ever offered to the 
 public." — Sun. 
 
 " Mr. Burke's ' Peerage and Baronetage' is certainly the most perfect 
 and comprehensive encyclopaedia of personal and national history ever 
 given to the public ; combining surprising accuracy and important in- 
 formation, with the greatest brevity and clearness, and exhibiting, in a 
 condensed and lucid form, the lives and achievements of the many 
 eminent men who have shed lustre on the rolls of our nobility, from the 
 steel-clad barons of Cressy and Agincourt, to the heroes of Blenheim 
 and Waterloo." — Globe. 
 
 BURKE'S DICTIONARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 EXTINCT, DORMANT, AND ABEYANT 
 
 PEERAGES OF ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND 
 IRELAND. 
 
 A COMPANION TO ALL OTHER PEERAGES. 
 
 Cheaper Edition, beautifully printed, in one volume, Svo, containing 
 S00 double column pages, 21s. bound. 
 
 It should be particularly noticed that this work appertains nearly as 
 much to extant as to extinct persons of distinction; for though dignities 
 pass away, it rarely occurs that whole families do. 
 
 MEMOIRS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS; 
 
 Comprising the Lives of the Speakers and Eminent Statesmen, and 
 Lawyers, from the Convention Parliament of 16SS-9, to the passing of the 
 Reform Bill in 1832 ; 
 
 BY WM. CHARLES TOWNSEND, ESQ., M.A. 
 
 RECORDER OF MACCLESFIELD. 
 
 2 vols. 8ro, 21s. bound. 
 
 " Much useful and curious information is scattered throughout these 
 volumes." — Quarterly Review. 
 
 " I take the opportunity of acknowledging the valuable assistance which 
 I have on several occasions received from Mr. Townsend's ' History of the 
 House of Commons.' " — Lord Campbell — Lives of the Chancellors. 
 
HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 REMINISCENCES OF TALLEYRAND; 
 
 WITH EXTRACTS FROM HIS POLITICAL WRITINGS. 
 2 vols., post Svo, 21s. bound. 
 
 LIFE AND LETTERS OF 
 
 THE EMPRESS JOSEPHINE. 
 
 BY MADEMOISELLE DUCREST. 
 3 vols., small Svo, 18s. — The same in French. 
 
 MEMOIRS OF THE 
 
 COURT OF MARIE ANTOINETTE. 
 
 By MADAME CAMP AN, First Lady of the Bedchamber to the 
 
 Queen. 
 Cheaper Edition, in 2 vols. Svo, with Portraits, 125.— The same in 
 
 French. 
 " We have seldom perused so entertaining a work— it is as a mirror 
 of the most splendid court of Europe, at a time when monarchy had 
 not been shorn of any of its beams, that it is particularly worthy of 
 our attention/'— Morning Chronicle. 
 
 MEMOIRS OF THE QUEENS OF FRANCE. 
 
 BY MRS. FORBES BUSH. 
 Second Edition, dedicated, by permission, to ber Majesty the Queen 
 of the French, and including a Memoir of her Majesty. In 2 vols, 
 post 8vo, with Portraits, 12s. bound. 
 
 " This charming Work comprises a separate Memoir of every Queen 
 of France from the earliest of ber annals to the present time. The 
 work of Mrs. Bush cannot fail of being a desirable acquisition to every 
 library in the kingdom." — Sun. 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 THE BABYLONIAN PRINCESS, 
 
 IVIARIA THERESA ASMAR, 
 DAUGHTER OF EMIR ADALLAH ASMAR; 
 
 Containing a narrative of her residence in Mesopotamia, Jerusalem, 
 Mount Lebanon, Kurdistan, Ispahan, Teheran, and Shiraz, together 
 with an account of her travels in Italy, France, England, &c. 
 Dedicated, by permission, to Her Majesty the Queen Dowager. 
 2 vols, post 8vo, with Portrait, 21s. bound. 
 
14 MR. COLBURN's NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 STORY OF HIE PENINSULAR WAR. 
 
 BY THE MARQUIS OF LONDONDERRY. 
 
 A Companion Volume to the " Story of the Battle of Waterloo." 
 With six Portraits and Map, 7s. 6d. bound. 
 
 It is the object of this publication to present the English Nation with 
 what has long been a desideratum— A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE 
 PENINSULAR WAR, down to the peace of 1814, in the smallest pos- 
 sible compass, and at so moderate a cost, as to be accessible to all classes 
 of readers ; and it is confidently trusted that this narrative, as completed 
 by its able Editor, will satisfy all who take an interest in the glorious period 
 to which it refers, and will be regarded as a worthy and indispensable 
 companion to " The Story of the Battle of Waterloo." 
 
 THE NEMESIS IN CHINA; 
 
 COMPRISING 
 A COMPLETE HISTORY OP THE WAR IN THAT COUNTRY ; 
 
 With a Particular Account of the Colony of Hong-Kong. 
 Prom Notes of Capt. W. H. HALL, E.N., and Personal Obser- 
 vations by W. D. BERNARD, Esq., A.M., Oxon. 
 
 New and cheaper edition, with a new Introduction, 
 1 Volume, with Maps and Plates, 10s. 6d. bound. 
 
 " The most amusing and instructive voyage that Las appeared since the 
 days of Anson." — Sun. 
 
 " A work which will take its place beside that of Captain Cook in the 
 annals of the maritime history of this country." — Weekly Chronicle. 
 
 " This is the most important publication that has appeared respecting 
 our late contest with China. In all that relates to the Nemesis espe- 
 cially, and to the nayal operations of the Expedition, it is replete 
 with the most lively and stirring interest." — Naval and Military 
 Gazette. 
 
 TRAVELS IN ALGERIA. 
 
 BY VISCOUNT FEILDING AND CAPTAIN KENNEDY 
 
 2 vols., post 8vo, with Illustrations, 21s. bound. 
 
 " We feel special pleasure in recommending this interesting and en- 
 tertaining work as one which throws much light on the customs and 
 condition of a brave but unfortunate people, and affords much valuable 
 information as to all that is remarkable in the country they inhabit." 
 — Hood's Magazine. 
 
HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. 15 
 
 REVELATIONS OF RUSSIA. 
 
 By an ENGLISH RESIDENT. 
 
 Third edition, revised by the Author, with additional Notes, and 
 brought down to the present time. 2 vols., post 8vo, with Illustra- 
 tions, 21s. bound. 
 
 "Such books as the ' Revelations of Russia' are to be had only for 
 their weight in gold ; and I know an instauce where as much as 
 500 roubles (about 22/.) were paid for the loan of a copy." — Letter from 
 St. Petersburg!!, in the Athcnaum. 
 
 RUSSIA UNDER THE AUTOCRAT 
 NICHOLAS I. 
 
 By IVAN GOLOVINE, a Russian Subject. 
 
 Second Edition, 2 vols., with a full length Portrait of the Emperor, 
 16s. bound. 
 
 "These are volumes of an extremely interesting nature, emanating 
 from the pen of a Russian, noble by birth, who has escaped beyond 
 the reach of the Czar's power. The merits of the work are very con- 
 siderable. It throws a new light on the state of the empire— its 
 aspect, political and domestic — its manners ; the employes about the 
 palace, court, and capital; its police; its spies; its depraved society, 
 &c." — Sunday Times. 
 
 REVELATIONS OF SPAIN. 
 
 By T. M. HUGHES, Esq. 
 
 Second Edition, revised and corrected. 2 vols, post 8vo, 21s. bound. 
 
 "A very clever book — the result of considerable experience." — Ex- 
 aminer. 
 
 " As a picture of the actual state of Spain, this work is intensely 
 interesting. We cannot too strongly recommend it to the notice of 
 the reader. There is scarcely any subject of interest connected with 
 Spain and its iuhabitants that the author has not handled in detail." 
 —John Bull. 
 
 REVELATIONS OF PORTUGAL, 
 
 AND NARRATIVE OF AN OVERLAND JOURNEY 
 
 TO LISBON. 
 
 BY T. M. HUGHES, ESQ. 
 
 Second Edition. 2 vols., post 8vo, 21s. bound. 
 
 " Mr. Hughes' volumes are full of entertainment, and contain much 
 
 valuable information on the real state of the Peninsula.'" — Britannia. 
 
16 MR. COLBURN'S NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 LORD CASTLEREAGirS NARRATIVE 
 
 OF HIS JOURNEY TO DAMASCUS, . 
 
 THROUGH EGYPT, NUBIA, ARABIA PETR.EA, PALES- 
 TINE, AND SYRIA. 
 2 vols., post 8vo, with Illustrations, bound. 
 " These volumes are replete with new impressions, and are especially 
 characterised by great power of lively and graphic description." — New 
 Monthly. 
 
 to the traveller — his visits to Mount Siuai and other places famous in Bib- 
 lical history — his descriptions of Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and the sacred 
 localities of Christianity — his characteristic sketches of the modern 
 Egyptians, Arabs, Armenians, Jews, Druses, and Turks, and his personal 
 recollections of Mehemet Ali and the nobles of his Court, the great 
 Sheiks of the Desert, and the Princesses of the Lebanon. To future tour- 
 ists in the East the work will be extremely valuable." — Globe. 
 
 NARRATIVE OF AN 
 
 OVERLAND JOURNEY ROUND THE 
 
 WORLD. 
 
 BY SIR GEORGE SIMPSON, 
 
 GOVERNOR-IN-CHIEE OF THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY'S TERRITORIES 
 IN NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 2 vols. 8vo, with Map, &C, 31s. 6d. bound. 
 
 " The great novelty of this expedition arises from its having been prin- 
 cipally performed Overland. The position and influence of the author, 
 his enterprise and scientific attainments, have enabled him to make exten- 
 sive additions to our limited knowledge of the various interesting portions 
 cf the globe which Le traversed. The contributions to the geography of 
 the great American Continent, in particular, over which he proceeded 
 from Canada to Vancouver, will be found extremely valuable, as well as 
 his notices of the various tribes of the aborigines with whom he came in 
 contact — his residence at Sitka, and account of the Aleutian Archipelago 
 — his descriptions of Kamschalka and Siberia — and his journeys over 
 those vast regions of the Russian Empire, concerning which we havs 
 hitherto received such scanty information." 
 
 " A more valuable or instructive work, or one more full of perilous 
 adventure and heroic enterprise, we have never met with." — John Bull. 
 
 " It deserves to be a standard work in all libraries, and it will become 
 so. " — Messenger. 
 
 "The countries of which this work gives us a new knowledge are pro- 
 bably destined to act with great power on our interests, some as the rivals 
 of our commerce, some as the depots of our manufactures, and some as 
 the recipients of that overflow of population which Europe is now pour- 
 ing cut from all her fields on the open wilderness of the world." — Black- 
 woods Magazine. 
 
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. 17 
 
 HOCHELAGA; 
 
 OR, ENGLAND IN THE NEW WORLD. 
 
 Edited by ELIOT WARBURTON, Esq., 
 
 Author of " THE CRESCENT AND THE CROSS." Third Edition. 
 
 2 vols., post Svo, with illustrations, 21s. bound. 
 
 " We recommend ' Hochelaga' most heartily, in case any of our readers 
 may as yet be unacquainted with it." — Quarterly Review. 
 
 "This work has already reached a third edition. We shall be sur- 
 prised if it do not go through many. It possesses almost every qualifica- 
 tion of a good book— grace, variety, and vigour of style— a concentrated 
 power of description, which has all the effect of elaborate painting— infor- 
 mation carefully collected and judiciously communicated — sound and en- 
 larged views of important questions — a hearty and generous love of coun- 
 try and the whole pervaded by a refined but sometimes caustic humour, 
 
 which imparts a constant attraction to its pages. We can cordially recom- 
 mend it to our readers, as well for the amusement of its lighter portions, 
 the vivid brilliancy of its descriptions, and the solid information it contains 
 respecting Canada, and the position generally of England in the new 
 world." — John Bull. 
 
 NARRATIVE OF THE 
 
 TEN TEARS' VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY 
 
 ROUND THE WORLD, 
 
 OF H.M.S. ADVENTURE AND BEAGLE, 
 
 UNDER THE COMMAND OF CAPTAINS KING AND FITZROY. 
 
 Cheaper Edition, in 2 large Vols. 8vo, with Maps, Charts, and upwards of Sixty 
 
 Illustrations, by Landseer, and other eminent Artists, price 1/. Us. Grf. bound. 
 
 " One of the most interesting: narratives of voyaging- that it has fallen to our 
 
 lot to notice, and which must always occupy a distinguished space in the history 
 
 of scientific navigation."— Quarterly Review. 
 
 These volumes detail the various incidents which occurred during the examina- 
 tion of the Southern Shores of South America, and the Beagle's circumnavigation 
 of the Globe, and add considerably to our knowledge of Hydrography, Geography, 
 and Natural Historv, and of the Habits, &c, of the Aborigines, there will be 
 found in them the materials of two distinct works, embracing every thing worthy 
 of notice in the expeditions during a period of nearly ten years. The first volume 
 by Captain P. P. King, F.R.S., relates to the expedition under his command, with 
 an Appendix by Major Sabine, R.A., F.R.S., containing discussions on the mag- 
 netic observations made during the voyages. The second volume is by Captain 
 Robert Fitzroy, and relates to the second voyage, with an Appendix, giving the 
 determination of many positions and measurements of meridian distances, and 
 other nautical information. The work is beautifully illustrated with etchings and 
 engravings on steel, by Mr. Landseer and other eminent artists, from drawings by 
 Mr. Martens and Mr. Earle ; and with Charts and Plans by Mr. Gardner and 
 Messrs. Walker : and an entirely new Map of South America, by Mr. J. Arrow- 
 smith, in which the position of places may be ascertained to within less than two 
 miles. In the volumes notices will be found of the Cape Ver.l, Falkland, and other 
 Islands in the Atlantic Ocean— of the coasts of South America, from Pernambuco to 
 Guayaquil— of the Galopagos Islands— the dangerous Archipelago, or Low Islands 
 — Otaheite— New Zealand— Australia— The Keeling Islands— Mauritius— the Cape 
 of Good Hope, &c. 
 
 N. B. Mr. Darwin's Journal of the Geology and Natural History of the Voyage 
 may be had in a single volume, 8vo, price 18*. bound. 
 
18 MR. COLBURA's NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 THREE YEARS IN CONSTANTINOPLE, 
 
 OR, DOMESTIC, MANNERS OF THE TURKS. 
 
 Bv CHARLES WHITE, Esq. 
 Second and Cheaper Edition, 3 vols, post 8vo, with 34 Illustrations from 
 Original Drawings, price 21s. bound. 
 " Mr. White's useful work is well worthy of the attentive study of 
 all who would know Turkey as it is. It may be safely taken as a text 
 book, with respect to Turkey, its people, and its manners. Full, 
 searching, complete, it will dissipate many prejudices, dispel many 
 vague notions popularly entertained of the much maligned Turks." — 
 Morning Chronicle. 
 
 TRAYELS IN KASHMERE, 
 
 The Countries adjoining the Mountain Course of the Indus, and the 
 Himalaya, North of the Punjab. 
 BY G. T. YIGNE, ESQ., F.G.S. 
 2 vols., 8vo, with a valuable Map, engraved under the sanction of the 
 Hon. East India Company, and 22 Illustrations. 21s. bound. 
 *' These volumes place their author in the foremost rank amongst 
 the adventurous travellers who have explored the jealous regions con- 
 tiguous to the British Indian Empire,, in the condition of which we have 
 reason to feel so deep an interest." — Herald. 
 
 LETTERS 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 SHORES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 
 
 BY LIEUTENANT-COLONEL NAPIER. 
 
 2 vols., post 8vo, with Illustrations. 2ls. bound. 
 
 TRAYELS AND TRAVELLERS. 
 
 BY AIRS. TROLLOPE. 
 
 Authoress of " The Barnabys," " The Robertses," &c. 
 
 2 vols, post 8vo, 21s. bound. 
 
 A WINTER IN ITALY. 
 
 BY MRS. ASHTON YATES. 
 2 vols, post 8vo, 21s. bound. 
 "Mrs. Yates' Letters indicate a mind of the highest intellectual cul- 
 ture." — Quarterly Review. 
 
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. 19 
 
 LORD LINDSAY'S LETTERS ON THE HOLY 
 LAND. 
 
 Fourth Edition, revised and corrected, one vol., post Svo, 10s. 6d. bound. 
 " Lord Lindsay has felt and recorded what he saw with the wisdom 
 of a philosopher, and the faith of an enlightened Christian." — Quar- 
 terly Review. 
 
 THE CRESCENfAND THE CROSS; 
 
 OR, 
 
 ROMANCE AND REALITIES OF EASTERN TRAVEL. 
 
 By ELIOT B. G. VTARBURTON, Esq. 
 
 Sixth edition, 2 vols., with numerous Illustrations, 21s. bound. 
 
 " Remarkable for its colouring power and play of fancy, its useful 
 
 and interesting information. Among its greatest and most lasting 
 
 charms is its reverent and serious spirit." — Quarterly Review. 
 
 LETTERS FROM THE EAST. 
 
 BY JOHN CARNE, ESQ. 
 
 Written during a Tour through Turkey, Egypt, Arabia, the Holy 
 
 Land, Syria, and Greece. 
 
 Third Edition, 3 vols., post 8vo, 18s. 
 
 u Mr. Carne's -works are rendered peculiarly valuable by the graphic 
 
 descriptions, -written on the spot, of the present actual state of the 
 
 places which have been the theatres of the great events recorded in the 
 
 Bible." — Courier. 
 
 TRAVELS IN PALESTINE, 
 
 Through the countries of Bashan and Gilead,East of the River Jordan; 
 including a visit to the Cities of Geraza and Gamala, in the 
 Decapolis. 
 
 BY J. S. BUCKINGHAM, ESQ. 
 Second Edition, 2 vols., 8vo. "With numerous Engravings, 21s. 
 
 Also, by the same Author, 
 
 TRAVELS IX MESOPOTAMIA, 
 
 Including a Journey to the Ur of the Chaldees, and the Ruins of 
 
 Nineveh and Babylon. 
 
 Second Edition, 2 vols., Svo, with Thirty Engravings, 21s. 
 
 Also, by the same Author, 
 
 TRAVELS IN ASSYRIA, MEDIA, & PERSIA 
 
 2 vols., 8vo, 21s. 
 " These volumes conclude the series of the author's Journeys in the 
 East, which present the reader, not only with the modern condition of 
 the interesting countries described, but the results of personal inves- 
 tigations as to their antiquities, which enables the author to throw 
 light upon ancient history; and also upon the inspired writings." 
 
20 MR. COLBURN'S NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 CANADA AND THE CANADIANS. 
 
 By Lieut.-Col. Sir RICHARD BONNYCASTLE. 
 2 vols., post 8vo, 21s. bound. 
 " There is excellent advice as well as information of a practical kind 
 which ought to be treasured up by the intending emigrant, to whom 
 we recommend a perusal of Sir Richard's book, as giving graphic views 
 of the present toil, for future independence, which all must encounter." 
 • — Morning Chronicle. 
 
 PETERSBURG^ AND MOSCOW; 
 
 A VISIT TO THE COURT OF THE CZAR. 
 
 BY RICHARD SOUTHWELL BOURKE, ESQ. 
 
 2 vols., post 8vo, 21s. bound. 
 
 ECHOES FROM THE BACKWOODS; 
 
 OR, SKETCHES OF TRANSATLANTIC LIFE. 
 
 By CAPTAIN LEVINGE. 
 
 Cheaper Edition, in 1 vol., post 8vo, with Illustrations, 10s. 6d. bound. 
 
 ADVENTURES IN GEORGIA, CIRCASSIA, 
 AND RUSSIA. 
 
 By Lieut.-Colonel C. POULETT CAMERON, C.B., K.T.S., &c. 
 
 Employed on a Special Service in Persia. 
 2 vols., postSvo, 21s. bound. 
 
 ADVENTURES ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER, 
 
 Comprising the Narrative of a Residence of Six Years on the Western 
 Side of the Rocky Mountains, among various tribes of Indians 
 hitherto unknown; together Avith a Journey across the American 
 Continent. 
 
 BY ROSS COX, ESQ. 
 2 vols., 8vo, with Plates, 16s. 
 " During the period which Mr. Cox spent among the various tribes 
 on the banks of the Columbia, he ascended the river nine times, and 
 descended it eight. Dangers of the most trying kind and adventures 
 of every description, fearful and agreeable, accompanied his steps. 
 He recorded the real romance in which he took a part, and has now 
 enabled us in-dwellers of cities to participate in its extraordinary 
 interest." — Morning Herald. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 21 
 
 IA.NCEED; 
 
 OR, THE NEW CftUSADE. 
 
 By B. DISRAELI, M.P. 
 
 Author of " Coningsby," " Sybil," &c. Third Edition. 3 vols., post 
 
 8vo, 31s. 6d. 
 
 " ' Tancred' is full of charming effects of style and fine delineations. 
 
 The descriptions of oriental life are only to be compared with those of 
 
 Anastasius or Eothen." — Edinburgh Review. 
 
 " ' Tancred' is a brilliant book. It has entertained us more than either 
 * Ccningsby' or ' Sybil/ and we think may stand higher in public favour." 
 — Athenaurr, 
 
 " We hold it to be impossible for the author of ' Vivian Grey* to write 
 a work of fiction which shall not be clever, brilliant, witty, and dashing. 
 ' Tancred' is all this, and something more. Its writer has borrowed for a 
 season the pencil of Roberts, and become a gorgeous painter." — Times. 
 
 ZOOLOGICAL RECREATIONS. 
 
 By W. J. BRODERIP, Esq. F.R.S. 
 
 1 vol., post 8vo, 10s. 6d. bound. ^ 
 
 " We believe we do not exaggerate in saying that, since the publication 
 of White's 'Natural History of Selborne,' and of the 'Introduction to 
 Entomology,' by Kirby and Spence, no work in our language is better cal- 
 culated than the ' Zoological Recreations' to fulfil the avowed aim of its 
 author — to furnish a hand-book which may cherish or awaken a love for 
 natural history." — Quarterly Review. 
 
 ■ THE COUNTESS 0E BI ESSINGTON'S 
 
 JOURNAL OF HER CONVERSATIONS WITH LORD 
 BYRON. 
 
 8vo, With a Portrait by Count D'Orsay, 10s. 6d. 
 " Beyond all comparison, the best thing that has been written on 
 Lord Byron— the truest, cleverest, and most pleasing. With all pos- 
 sible delicacy, consideration, and good nature, the true character of 
 Byron is laid opeu even to its inmost recesses." — Spectator. 
 
 ADVENTURES ~0~F THE GORDON 
 HIGHLANDERS, 
 
 IN SPAIN, FRANCE, AND BELGIUM. 
 By JAMES GRANT, Esq., late 62d Regt. 
 " The main charm of this very attractive work must ever be the 
 truthful outline it presents of the heroic devotion and dauntless daring 
 of the heroes 'in the garb of old Gaul,' during that momentous con- 
 flict ending with Wellington's last triumph on the plains of Waterloo." 
 Caledonian Mercury. 
 
22 MR. COLBURN'S NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 "THE JESUIT AT CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 BY Sill GEORGE STEPHEN. 
 
 2 vols., post 8vo, 21s. bound. 
 
 " One of the best written novels published for many years, both as 
 
 regards its excellent purpose and vigorous style. Nothing can be more 
 
 exact to truth than the author's painting of the scenes of college 
 
 life." — Messenger. 
 
 " This vigorous protest against Jesuitical growth displays consum- 
 mate literary tact, and is a production of infinite talent." — Somerset 
 Gazette. 
 
 Z E N » ; 
 
 AN HISTORICAL NARRATIVE. 
 
 By the Rev. RICHARD COBBOLD, M.A. 
 
 Second Edition, 3 vols., post 8vo, 21s. bound. 
 
 " The incidents of this work are at once various and striking, and 
 
 moral and religious truths of great importance are both simply and 
 
 powerfully expressed. The work has afforded us so much pleasure 
 
 that we can sincerely recommend it to our readers." — Messenger. 
 
 By the same Author. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF MARGARET CATCHPOLE, 
 
 A SUFFOLK GIRL. 
 
 Fifth EditioD, 1 vol., with Illustrations, 10s. 6d. bound. 
 
 '' Truth is stranger than fiction. We hare here a veritable history 
 with incidents more startling and extraordinary than are to be found 
 in any romance with which we are acquainted." — Norfolk Chronicle. 
 
 "Compressed into the compass of one volume, this biography will 
 become a standard work." — Britannia. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF MARY AME WELLINGTON, 
 
 THE SOLDIER'S DAUGHTER, WIFE, & WIDOW. 
 
 DEDICATED, BY EXPRESS PERMISSION, TO HER MAJESTY THE 
 QUEEN DOWAGER. 
 
 Second Edition, 1 vol., with Illustrations, 10s. 6d. bound. 
 
 " This interesting work we have no doubt will attain a greater popu- 
 larity even than Margaret Catchpole." — Sunday Times. 
 
 " In this most interesting work, we have the stirring scenes of a 
 soldier's life, and the history of his daughter, wife, and widow, under the 
 various difficulties of a situation calling for all the energies of a manly 
 heart, and all the strength and relying love of a woman's unshrinking 
 spirit. The work is full of incidents, narratives of extraordinary events, 
 perils, and preservations." — Bury Herald. 
 
POETRY. 23 
 
 KING ARTHUR. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF " THE NEW TIMON." 
 
 Post 8vo, 5s. 
 
 THE NEW TIMON: 
 
 A POETICAL ROMANCE. 
 
 Fourth edition, 1 vol. post 8vo, 6s. bound. 
 
 " One of the most remarkable poems of the present generation — re- 
 markable in a threefold degree — its conception being strictly original — 
 its language and imagery new — its tendency eminently moral. It has 
 beauties of no ordinary lustre; the animus of the work is essentially 
 humanising, its plot ingenious, and its effect altogether bold, harmo- 
 nious, and original. No poem of equal length has issued from the 
 English press for a number of years, with any thing approaching to 
 the ability of ' The New Timon,' — it augurs a resuscitation of our 
 Bardic glories." — Sun. 
 
 POETICAL WORKS OF HORACE SMITH, 
 
 ONE OF THE AUTHORS OF " REJECTED ADDRESSES." 
 Now First Collected, 2 vols., post 8vo, with Portrait, 12s. bound. 
 
 "A host of readers we are confident will participate in our grati- 
 fication at the publication of these volumes, for Horace Smith is now 
 amongst the English classics." — iSmvo! and Military Gazette. 
 
 " In this work the reader will find, not only Christrnasreading for 
 every day in the year, but as abundant proof of honest cheerfulness, 
 manly warmth of feeling, and genuine enjoyment of every thing enjoy- 
 able, as in any two hearty little volumes of the same size in the 
 language." — Examiner. 
 
 POETICAL 
 WORKS OF BARRY CORNWALL. 
 
 3 vols., small 8vo, 21s. 
 " It is delightful to turn awhile from moral and political animosities 
 to the unalloyed sweets of such poetry as Mr. Cornwall's; and to 
 refresh our fancies, and strengthen and compose our good affections 
 among the images of love and beauty, and gentle sympathy and sorrow, 
 with which it everywhere presents us." — Edinburgh Review. 
 
24 .AIR. COLBURN'S NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 THE HALL AND THE HAMLET. 
 
 By WILLIAM HOWITT. 
 
 Author of " The Book of the Seasons," " Rural Life in England," &c, 
 2 vols., post 8vo. 21s. bound. 
 
 "This work is full of delightful sketches and sweet and enchanting 
 pictures of rural life, and we have no doubt will be read not only at 
 the homestead of the farmer, but at the mansion of the squire, or 
 the castle of the lord, with gratification and delight. In these vo- 
 lumes there is more originality, more wit, more humour, more pathos, 
 than in any of those which have already issued from the same pen." — 
 Sunday Times. 
 
 CHEAP LIBRARY OF ENTERTAINMENT. 
 
 Elegantly bound in 18 Volumes, price only 6s. each, printed uuiformly with 
 Byron and Scott, and beautifully embellished with the Portraits of the 
 Authors, and other Engravings, by the Findens and other eminent Artists, 
 
 COLBUM'S STANDARD NOVELS; 
 
 A Select Collection of the best Works of Fiction of the most Dis- 
 tinguished Modern English Writers, which cannot be procured in any- 
 other collection. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Emilia Wyndham. By the Author of 
 
 "Two Old Men's Tales." 
 Mr. Ward's Tremaine. 
 Capt. Marryat's Frank Mildroay. 
 Mr. H. Smith's Brambletye House. 
 Mr. H. Smith's Zillah. ATale of the 
 
 Holy City. 
 Sir E. L. Bulwer's Pelham. 
 Sir K. L. Bulwer's Disowned. 
 Sir E. L. Bulwer's Devereux. 
 Lady Morgan's O'Dounell. 
 Lady Morgan's Florence Mararthy. 
 Lady Morgan's Wild Irish Girl. 
 Mr. Gleig's Chelsea Pensioners. 
 Mr. Lister's Granby. 
 
 Mr. James's Richelieu. 
 Mr. Hook's Gurney Married. 
 Mr. Hook's Sayings and Doings. 
 (First Series); comprising Danvers, 
 The Friend of the Family, Met- 
 ton, &c. 
 Mr. Hook's Sayings and Doings. 
 (Second Series) ; comprising The 
 Sutherlands, The Man of Many 
 Friends, Doubts and Fears, and 
 Passion and Principle. 
 Mr. Hook's Sayings and Doings. 
 (Third Series) ; comprising Cousin 
 William and Gervase Skinner. 
 
 " ' Colburn's Standard Novels' present a series of those works of 
 6ction that have most tended, with the writings of Sir Walter Scott, 
 to elevate this description of literature. This publication presents a 
 concentration of imaginative genius." — Globe. 
 
 " A truly popular undertaking. The series so got up and embel- 
 lished, and so cheap, must extend the fame even of the author of 
 •Pelham.'" — Literary Gazette. 
 
 "What an admirable opportunity is here presented to such as are 
 about to form a select library of fiction !" — Sun. 
 
 C. Whiting,] [Beaufort llouse. 
 
1(\f 
 
 RETURN TO the circulation desk of any 
 
 
 
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