i
 
 DURING A RESIDENCE IN FRANCE, 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 BEGINNING OF AUGUST, 
 
 TO THE 
 
 MIDDLE OF DECEMBER, 1792. 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED, 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE MOST REMARKABLE EVENTS 
 
 THAT HAPPENED AT PARIS FROM THAT TIME TO 
 
 THE DEATH OF THE LATE KING OF FRANCE. 
 
 BT JOHN MOORE, M. D. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 Opus opimum cafibus, atrox praeliis, difcors feditionibus, ipfa 
 etiam pace fevum. TACIT. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR G. G. J. AND J. ROBINSON, 
 PATERNOSTER-ROW. 
 
 1793,
 
 YHt 
 
 DC 
 
 M18: 
 
 v-1 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 i HIS Work has been fo much retarded 
 by unexpected incidents, that the Firft Vo- 
 lume only could be publifhed at prefent. 
 The Second will appear foon. 
 
 . 

 
 JOURNAL, &c. 
 
 IE FORE I was twenty-one years of 
 age, I refided for two years at Paris. 
 I afterwards made a tour into Flanders, 
 and returned through France, fome time 
 previous to my accompanying the Duke of 
 Hamilton to that and other countries of 
 Europe. 
 
 On all thofe occafions, the affability, 
 
 the eafe, and peculiar gaiety of the French 
 
 nation left a very pleafmg impreffion on 
 
 my mind, and I often regretted that a peo- 
 
 VOL, I. B pie
 
 pie fo formed for enjoying and communi- 
 cating happinefs, fhould labour under the 
 oppreffion of an arbitrary government, and 
 unequal laws. 
 
 I often faid, How fupremely happy would 
 a people of fuch difpofitions be, were they 
 to obtain a fyftem of government as free 
 and impartial as that which Great Britain 
 has enjoyed fmce the Revolution ! 
 
 From the moment, indeed, that I had 
 any opportunity of obferving how much 
 human nature is expofed to be infulted and 
 degraded, from the want of this blcfling, I 
 had moft earneftly wifhed it to every coun- 
 try of the globe ; and when the Revolu- 
 tion took place in France, in the year I 789, 
 I rejoiced in the hopes that fo extenfive 
 and populous a portion of Europe would 
 acquire it. 
 
 "With fuch fentiments, it was natural for 
 
 me to have a defire of vifiting the fame 
 
 people in a ftate of freedom, whofe com- 
 
 2 plicated
 
 ( 3 ) 
 
 plicated opprefiions I had fo often lamented 
 under their former government. 
 
 A very agreeable opportunity of accom* 
 plifhing this defire was propofed to me laft 
 fummer by the Earl of Lauderdale, with 
 whom I had the happinefs of being ac- 
 quainted from his early youth, and whofe 
 father had long honoured me with his 
 friendship. 
 
 His Lordfhip's ill (late of health ren- 
 dered a few months refidence in a mild 
 climate highly expedient. His plan was, af- 
 ter a fhort flay at Paris, to proceed farther 
 South ; and to make it ftill more accept- 
 able to me, he was fo obliging as to invite 
 the only one of my fons who had not 
 been in France, to be of the party. 
 
 We embarked at Dover on the morning 
 of the fourth of Auguft, and in a few 
 hours arrived at Calais, where I began the 
 following Journal. 
 
 B 2 Auguft
 
 Auguft 4, 1792. 
 
 ON our arrival at Calais, we were con- 
 dueled to the Town-houfe, where a cir- 
 cumftantial defcription of our features and 
 perfons was inferted in our pafiports for 
 
 Paris, 
 
 Auguft 5. 
 
 Lord Lauderdale's delicate ftate of health 
 did not permit us to go farther than Abbe- 
 ville this day. 
 
 The inhabitants of this country appear 
 as gay as ever, notwithftanding the formi- 
 dable armies now prepared to attack them. 
 At one village, near which we changed 
 horfes, about fifty cr fixty peafants were 
 dancing cotillons on a green plain under 
 the hade of trees : they difcovered no 
 
 fear of Auftrians or Pruffians, nor did care 
 
 
 of any kind feein to difturb their minds : 
 
 I thought them equally cheerful, and ra- 
 ther better drefled than I ever obferved the 
 peafants of this part of France before : it 
 
 is
 
 ( 5 ) 
 
 is Sunday, and of courfe they are all in 
 their beft clothes. In the higher ranks, in 
 every country, it is not uncommon to fee 
 people richly drefled with very forrowful 
 countenances. I do not recoiled: to have 
 ever met with any French people of the 
 lower order, male or female, in town or 
 country, with a forrowful face, when they 
 imagined themfelves well drefled. 
 
 The laft time I was at Abbeville, I read 
 an infcription on a column in one of the 
 churches, refpecting the Chevalier La Bar, 
 who was executed in this town on account 
 of fome indignity he was accufed of hav- 
 ing (hewn to an old wooden image of the 
 Virgin, which ftood on the bridge. He 
 was faid to have wounded it in the fhoul- 
 der with his couteati de chafle, as he ftag- 
 gered from a tavern, in company with a 
 let of young men as thoughtlefs and in- 
 toxicated as himfelf. This piece of etour- 
 derie, which might with propriety have 
 B 3 been
 
 ( 6 ) 
 
 been punifhed by fome weeks imprifon- 
 ment, occafioned a greater alarm, about 
 thirty years ago, in this town and its 
 neighbourhood, than the march of the 
 German armies at prefent. Although the 
 wound in the image was but flight, the 
 Virgin was fuppofed to be mortally offend^ 
 ed : many prayers and proceffions were 
 made to expiate the offence. After all, 
 fome, who judged of her difpofition by 
 their own, took pains to perfuade the peo-? 
 pie that nothing would fatisfy her, or avert 
 the vengeance of Heaven, but the life of 
 the Chevalier La Bar A criminal pro- 
 cefs was carried on with the hotted zeal, 
 and a fentence obtained againft him. 
 
 The unhappy youth was beheaded ac-^ 
 cordingly, and an account of the whole 
 tranfadion was infcribed in letters of gold 
 in the principal church, for the inftruction 
 of pofterity. Of late, however, this in, 
 fcription has been removed, which has 
 
 given
 
 ( 7 ) 
 
 given offence, I underftand, to the zealous 
 people of this place. 
 
 While we were at fupper, the landlord 
 of the inn read us part of a letter which he 
 had juft received from Paris, giving an ac- 
 count of petitions that had been read in 
 the National AfTembly, requiring a decla- 
 ration of the Decheance, that is, of the 
 King's having forfeited the crown. We 
 exprefled furprife at this, and I aiked the 
 landlord what he thought of it ? " Mais* ma 
 foi, Monfieur,'' faid he, with emphafis and 
 gefticulation and then paufing, he turned 
 the anfwer into a queftion, faying, " f Que 
 voulez-vous qu'on penfe, Monfieur r" This 
 was the amount of the landlord's opinion, 
 which he never varied, though he fpokc 
 feveral times afterwards on the fame fub- 
 jeft. 
 
 * 'Faith, Sir. 
 
 f What would you have me to think ? 
 
 B 4 Cler-
 
 ( 8 ) 
 
 Clermont, Auguft 6. 
 
 We met many carnages with people fly- 
 ing from Paris : wherever we flopped, or 
 had any opportunity of converfmg with 
 them, they gave an alarming account of 
 the ftate of that city, and were furprifed at 
 our thinking of going there at this time. 
 They all feemed to be imprefTed with the 
 notion that an important event is about to 
 happen. 
 
 One man faid, that certain people had 
 been of late engaged in a confpiracy which 
 would break out on the ninth of this month. 
 We could not help fmiling at the notion of 
 a confpiracy which was fo well known be- 
 forehand, and confidered his apprehenfions 
 as gfoundlefs. 
 
 I aiked, however, of a genteel looking 
 man who had juft arrived at this place in 
 the Diligence, whether he thought there 
 was any danger in being at Paris ? " Pas le 
 
 moindre,"
 
 ( 9 ) 
 
 moindre *," anfwered he. They talk, faid I, 
 of dethroning the King. " Tant pis pour 
 lui," faid the man ; " mais cela ne vous re- 
 garde pas t" To hear a Frenchman talk 
 with fo much indifference of dethroning a 
 King, however petty the Monarch might 
 be, was what I did not expecl ; but to hear 
 him fpeak with the fame indifference of de- 
 throning his own King, that, I confefs, af- 
 tonifhed me. I remember the time when 
 the moft . dreadful convulfion of nature 
 would have been confidered in France as 
 of lefs importance, and would have occa- 
 fioned lefs alarm. 
 
 Paris, Aug. 7. 
 
 We left Clermont early this morning, and 
 were too impatient to get to Paris, to flop 
 long at Chantilly, which, befides, wears at 
 prefent a lefs inviting afpet than it ufed to 
 
 * Not the leaft. 
 
 f So much the worfe for him, but that is nothing 
 to you, 
 
 do.
 
 ( 1 ) 
 
 do. While the horfes were changing, I 
 afked a poor fellow in rags, who affifted 
 the poftillion, if the People wifhed for the 
 return of the Prince. 
 
 All the poor do, faid the man. 
 
 He was very charitable then ? faid I. 
 
 " * Charitable comme un autre," replied 
 the man, " mais il etoit riche commc mille." 
 
 It would be unfortunate for the country 
 then, faid I, if his vaft eftate fhould ever 
 be divided among a thoufand proprietors ? 
 
 " f Ouida pour les pauvres aflurement," 
 replied he, " parceque c'eft des bontes des 
 Princes et des Grands que les pauvres vi- 
 vent." 
 
 Finding the reafoning of this philofopher 
 unanfwerable, I took my leave of him, and 
 proceeded to Paris, where we arrived about 
 
 * Charitable like another man but as rich as a 
 thoufand. 
 
 f Yes afluredly, for the poor, becaufe it is through 
 the bounty of Princes and Lords that the poor live. 
 
 two
 
 ( 11 ) 
 
 two o'clock, ^t the Hotel de Mofcovie, in 
 the fauxbourg St. Germain. After din- 
 ner we drove to the gardens of the Palais 
 Royal, which fwarmed with people of all 
 forts, who had as little the air of apprehen- 
 fion of an approaching enemy, and lefs 
 the air of anxiety of any kind than thofe 
 
 we left on croffing the Channel the 
 
 Piazzas refounded with various kinds of 
 mufical inftruments, and the voices of thofe 
 who fung as they walked or danced along. 
 I afked a fhopkeeper if they had received 
 any very good news from the Frontiers. 
 " Rien, Monfieur," anfwered he, " depuis 
 le Manifefte de Brunfwick *." 
 
 From the Palais Royal we went to the 
 National Aflembly. Here the fcene was 
 not fo gay : the debate was carried on 
 with a degree of violence which I have 
 hardly ever feen equalled ; yet the fubject, 
 
 * Nothing, anfwered he, fince Brunfwick's Mani- 
 fefto, 
 
 while
 
 while I ftaid, was not of a nature which 
 one could have expected would much 
 inflame the paflious- it regarded certain 
 bells which they propofed to coin into 
 money. 
 
 After being informed of what had pafled 
 at Paris a few days before our arrival, we 
 had more reafon to be furprifed at the eafy 
 air and gaiety of the inhabitants, than at 
 the alarm of thofe we met on the road hur- 
 rying from this city. 
 
 On the third of this month, M. Dejoly, 
 the Minifter of Juftice, delivered a meflage 
 to the National Aflembly from the King, 
 refpecting the Manifeflo of the Duke of 
 Brunfwick, although his Majefty declares 
 at the fame time, that in his opinion the 
 Manifefto does not bear fufficient marks of 
 authenticity. He aflerts, that he had been 
 averfe to the war, and had adopted that 
 meafure only in compliance with the una- 
 nimous opinion of his Council ; but, that 
 
 fmce
 
 ( '3 ) 
 
 fmce the declaration of war he had neglect- 
 ed no meafure to infure its fuccefs ; that 
 his efforts would augment in proportion to 
 the urgency of events ; and that he would 
 act in concert with the AfTembly, to ren- 
 der the^ evils infeparable from war, profit- 
 able for the liberty and -honour of the na- 
 tion *with many other patriotic expref- 
 fions. 
 
 On its being moved, that this meflage 
 from the King mould be ordered to be 
 printed, which is the ufual mark of refpeft 
 ihewn by the Aflembly to the addrefles or 
 petitions it approves, the motion was op- 
 pofed. One of the members obferved, that 
 it was not by words , but by atftims, that the 
 King mould prove his love of liberty and 
 the conftitution. 
 
 M. Ifnard went farther; he offered * 8 to 
 prove that what the King aflerted was not 
 true." He was interrupted, not fo much 
 on account of the indecency of this expref- 
 
 fion,
 
 ( H ) 
 
 fion, as becaufe he wandered from the 
 queftion in debate, which was, whether the 
 King's letter ought to be printed or not. 
 It was obferved, that what he had faid was 
 precifely in point, becaufe, if he proved 
 that the contents of the letter were not true, 
 it followed that it ought not to be printed. 
 
 Ifnard then faid, " That when fanatical 
 priefts had attempted to kindle a civil war, 
 the Aflembly had propofed repreflive de- 
 crees, which the King had refufcd to fanc- 
 tion. 
 
 " That he had difmifled the patriotic 
 minifters who poflefled the confidence of the 
 nation ; that he muft have been acquainted 
 for more than a year with the treaty of 
 Pilnitz, yet he had taken no meafure to de- 
 feat it, or to procure allies for France ; that 
 the minifters hadpromifed to have 150,000 
 men ready to acl; and yet, although war 
 was declared, nothing near that number 
 was levied, and thofe who were, had not 
 
 been
 
 ( 15 ) 
 
 been properly armed; and that every mea- 
 iure had been taken to render the enemy's 
 attack on France fuccefsful." 
 
 Another member faid, " That the only 
 thing which had determined the King to 
 fend die meflage was, that he knew that the 
 majority of the fections were about to ad- 
 drefs the AiTembly to diveft him of the 
 
 crown." 
 
 After a warm debate, the letter from his 
 Majefly was not ordered to be printed. 
 
 On the fame day Petion, the mayor of 
 Paris, at the head of a deputation of the 
 common council, and attended by a great 
 number of citizens from the different fec- 
 tions, came to the bar of the Aflembly, and 
 prefented an addrefs of a very extraordinary 
 nature. 
 
 It began by expreflions of forrow for the 
 neceflity of accufmg the Chief of the execu- 
 tive power, and proceeded to declare, c< that 
 although the people have great reafon to be 
 
 enraged
 
 ( '6 ) 
 
 enraged againft Lewis the Sixteenth, yet as 
 the appearance of anger does not become 
 power, they will ufe the language of mode- 
 ration." In this language of moderation^ 
 therefore, all that his enemies ever accufed 
 the King of previous to his accepting of the 
 constitution, was minutely enumerated, ac- 
 companied by a declaration that all thofe 
 crimes were obliterated, and covered by the 
 pardon granted by the people. But the ad- 
 dreflers declare, that they cannot help men- 
 tioning the King's ingratitude to a people 
 who have behaved fo generoufly to him. 
 " What right had he (fay they) to expect 
 they would replace him on the throne, after 
 he had attempted to fly from France that 
 he might reign at Coblentz ? Could he found 
 his expectation on his defcent from a race 
 of kings, among twenty of which there 
 was hardly one tolerable ? Yet the nation 
 had forgiven all, and reftored the crown to 
 him, fmce which moment he had never 
 
 ceafed
 
 ( 17 ) 
 
 ceafed to confpire againft the freedom of 
 his country ; that an army of traitors, led 
 by his brothers, invaded France; that to 
 avenge the caufe of Lewis the Sixteenth, the 
 execrable Houfe of Auftria defires to add a 
 new page to the hiftory of its crimes, and, 
 adopting the horrid idea of Caligula, wifhes 
 at one blow to ftrike off the heads of all the 
 good citizens of France." 
 
 After more in the fame ftrain, the addrefs 
 concludes with requefting, "that the King 
 be decreed to have forfeited the crown ; that 
 the government be put into the hands of 
 patriotic minifters named by the people, till 
 a National Convention be aflembled." 
 
 Thefe being the terms in which thofe 
 citizens addrefs their King when they are 
 calm, I fhould like to know what language 
 they make ufe of when they are in a rage. 
 
 The addrefs however, fuch as it was, 
 gained the loudeft applaufe of the people Jn 
 the galleries. 
 
 VOL. i. G Tbe
 
 The following day an addrefs from the 
 fe&ion of Mauconfeil was read in the Af- 
 femblyin this, fix hundred perfons of 
 that fedion declare, " that they have con- 
 ceived the noble deiign of affuming their 
 rights, of reftoring liberty, and deftroying 
 defpotifm. Too long (they fay) has a de- 
 fpicable tyrant ruled over us : without trou- 
 bling ourfelves with enumerating his crimes, 
 let us break this Coloflus of defpotifm to 
 pieces, and may the noife of his fall reach to- 
 the uttermoft parts of the earth, and make 
 every tyrant grow pale !" 
 
 It muft be acknowledged that this noble 
 defign of fix hundred perfons of the fetion 
 of Mauconfeil is a pretty bold one, and as 
 'boldly exprefied. It would feem that fome 
 members of a more tender confcience than 
 the reft, had fcruples about the oath of fide* 
 lity they had fworn to the King: thofe-. are 
 removed by the permer of this curious ad- 
 ,eh:efs with wonderful facility ; to break an 
 
 oath.
 
 oath, or to break the ColofTus of defpotifm, 
 ieems equally eafy to him. 
 
 " Let us break," cried he, " the oath we 
 have taken," 
 
 " Le parjure eft vertu, quand on a jure 
 
 im crime." 
 
 The applaufe which this addrefs received, 
 was intermixed with a good deal of laugh- 
 ter. That fome mad enthufiaft fhould 
 write a foolifh paper, and get fix hundred 
 idle people to fign it, muft be owned, is no 
 fare indication of the public mind. Yet 
 fuch a paper being allowed to be read in the 
 National Aflembly, is a proof that the difpo- 
 fition of a confiderable number, at leaft, of 
 this body is not friendly to the King. 
 
 Which appeared more evidently on the 
 fixth, when a tumultuous crowd Came from 
 the Champ de Mars, with a roll of parch- 
 ment figned by a great number of people 
 of all the fections. This parchment had 
 lain for eight days on the altar which was 
 C 2 built.
 
 built for the ceremony of the foe deration, 
 and was then brought to the door of the 
 Affembly as a petition, by a mob of both 
 fexes. After fome oppofition, it was or- 
 dered that twenty of them fhould be ad- 
 mitted to the bar. While this petition .was 
 read, one carried a pole crowned with a 
 rtfd cap, infcribed with thefe words, *De- 
 Jlrudtion du pouvoir perficuttf. 
 
 And the following words beneath, f Ap~ 
 pel au Peuple. 
 
 Thefe infcriptions excited the indignation 
 of the Aflembly; and they were ordered to be 
 torn off before the petition was read. The 
 petition was of a moft incendiary nature, 
 and the reading took near an hour. 
 
 Thefe violent fcenes fufficiently prove 
 the heats and animofities. which exift, and 
 account for a number of people retiring 
 
 * Deftru&ion to the perfecting power. 
 | Appeal to the People* 
 
 from
 
 from Paris from the dread of fome ftill 
 greater diforder. 
 
 Auguft 8. 
 
 A debate of great expectation took place 
 this day in the National Aflembly A com- 
 mittee of twelve members were fome time 
 fince appointed to deliberate on the conduct 
 of M. de la Fayette. Jean de Brie made the 
 report, in which he greatly blamed the con- 
 duct of the General, in having calumniated 
 and menaced the National Aflembly; in hav- 
 ing had the defign to march his army againft 
 Paris ; and in having aflumed unconftitu- 
 tional power: and the reporter concluded 
 by propofing a decree of accufation. 
 
 The diicourfe of Jean de Brie was greatly 
 applauded by the audience in the tribunes. 
 M. Vaublanc made an able and eloquent 
 defence of the General's conduct; but when 
 he propofed the previous queftion to Jean 
 de Erie's motion, the people in the galleries 
 raifed the moft violent exclamations and 
 C 3 murmurs,
 
 murmurs, which were, however, balanced 
 by the applaufe of the majority of the Af- 
 fembly. 
 
 Briflbt fpoke next, and added new force 
 to the reafoning of Jean de Brie. When 
 the decree of accufation was put to the vote, 
 it was rejected by a majority of near 200. 
 
 This occafioned frefh murmurs in the 
 galleries, and violent agitation in the Af- 
 fembly. 
 
 As this was confidered as a trial of 
 ftrength between the parties, it is to be pre- 
 fumed that the majority of the Aflembly is 
 with the Court; and that in future de- 
 bates it will rather augment than di minim, 
 as is ufually the cafe in the Britilh Houfes 
 of Parliament after a very great majority in 
 favour of either party. The minority how- 
 ever feem to have the people with them. 
 I am told indeed that thofe noify people in 
 the galleries are hired; but this does not ac- 
 count to me for the cry being all on one 
 
 fide,
 
 fide. The partifans of the Court, one 
 would imagine, might hire applauders as 
 well as the others. 
 
 Auguft 9. 
 
 I was informed late laft night, that the 
 great majority which voted in favour of La 
 Fayette had excited rage and indignation 
 among the partifans of oppofition, which 
 they manifefted in the moft open and 
 alarming manner ; that this victory, fo far 
 from difcouraging them from hew attempts 
 againfl the Court, feemed to prompt them to 
 greater exceffes than ever; and that feveral 
 members who had oppofed his being ac- 
 cufed, had been grofsly infulted as they went 
 from the AiTembly; and fome of them, par- 
 ticularly M. Vaublanc, had narrowly efcaped 
 affaffination. I was informed at the fame 
 time, that new addrefles were to be pre- 
 fented this day, requiring the dcch lance , or 
 at lead the fuipenfion of the King's power 
 during the war, and that this extraordinary 
 C 4 queftion
 
 queftkm would be debated in the AfTembly 
 to-day. 
 
 I went to the National Affembly this 
 morning about nine. The tribunes, and all 
 the places allotted for ftrangers, were full. I 
 underftood that an addrefs had been read, 
 as I was entering, from fome town, the name 
 of which I forget, demanding the deche'- 
 ance. 
 
 A very noify difcuflion occupied the Af- 
 fembly, arifmg fiom that and other propo- 
 fals, which I could not hear diflindly for a 
 confiderable time: but I underftood that it 
 was propofed to fufpend the King's autho- 
 rity during the whole time that the debate 
 on the fubject of the decheance continued; 
 for it is allowed that the queftion requires 
 fome days deliberation, and a decree was 
 propofed, confifting of feveral articles, for 
 that purpofe. But before thefe could be taken 
 into confideration, M. Merlet, the prefident, 
 informed the Aflembly, lhat he had received 
 
 a number
 
 ( 25 ) 
 
 a number of letters from members, which 
 he defired might be read. 
 
 In one, the writer complains " of having 
 been attacked in the ftreet the preceding 
 night by a number of men in the drefs of 
 the national guards, and grofsly infulted; 
 that he had informed them of his being a 
 member of the AfTembly, and had Ihewn 
 them the ribbon which the deputies wear: 
 on which one of them anfwered, that it was 
 precifely for that reafon, and his having 
 fpoken and voted in favour of the traitor La 
 Fayette, that they would put him to death; 
 which when they were preparing to do, 
 he had been faved by a grenadier and fomc 
 citizens." 
 
 Another member wrote, "that he had been 
 attacked in the fame manner ; that one man 
 had adually feized and lifted him from the 
 ground, while thofe around called out a la 
 lanterned 
 
 At this the people in the galleries ap- 
 plauded,
 
 plauded, evidently fignifying that they 
 ihould have rejoiced if the threat had been 
 completely executed. 
 
 This indecent behaviour in the audience 
 threw the Court party into fuch a paroxyfm 
 of rage, that they ftarted from the benches, 
 rufhed in a body towards the feat occupied 
 by the prefident, extending their arms, and 
 requiring that the infolence of the people in 
 the galleries fhould be checked and pre- 
 vented. 
 
 I expected of courfe that the galleries 
 would be cleared, and was more provoked 
 
 than before at the intolerable impertinence 
 
 of the people. 
 
 I exprefled my fears to the perfon next 
 
 me. " *Soyez tranquil le, Monfieur," faid 
 
 he, " et ne bougez pas." 
 
 Indeed I was foon convinced that the 
 
 people in the galleries were more likely to 
 
 * Be you at your eafe, Sir, and do not move. 
 
 thruft
 
 thruft out the members, than that the mem- 
 bers would expel them. For although fome 
 of the deputies fhook their hands in a 
 threatening manner at the people in the tri- 
 bunes, thofe threats and geftures only pro- 
 voked laughter. 
 
 A third letter gave an account " that feve- 
 ral deputies had been obliged to take refuge 
 in a corps de garde, from the fury of certain 
 perfons who had followed and abufed them 
 as they went home from the Affemblyj 
 that thefe perfons were not citizens of Paris, 
 but ftrangers, foecleres, as was fuppofed, 
 hired for the purpofe of infulting particular 
 members pointed out to them; that the 
 corps de garde was on the point of being 
 forced by thefe perfons, when the members 
 made their efcape by a back window." 
 
 Another letter informed the Afiembly, 
 " that a deputy having gone for refuge into 
 a fhop in the Rue St. Honore, one of the 
 fcederes had followed him, and declared, 
 
 that
 
 ( 28 ) 
 
 that if he ever faw him attempt to return to 
 the Aflembly, he would ftrike oft' his head 
 with a ftroke of his fabre, which he drew 
 half out of the fcabbard as he fpoke." 
 
 When mention was made in the former 
 letter of the deputy's efcaping by the win- 
 dow of the corps de garde, it excited fome 
 mirth in the galleries ; but at the idea of 
 one of their heads being cut off, I thought 
 there would have been no end of exultation: 
 there was a loud and univerfal peai of 
 laughter from all the galleries. 
 
 And the members on one fide of the hall 
 were as violent in expreflirig their indigna- 
 tion. Some called out to the prefident to 
 put an end to the meeting; others propofed 
 that it fhould be immediately decreed, that 
 the National Aflembly Ihould withdraw 
 from Paris to fome other town in France, 
 where they could deliberate in fafety, and 
 free from infult. 
 
 The noife and diforder were exceffive; 
 
 fifty
 
 tifty members were vociferating at once : I 
 never was witnefs to afcene fo tumultuous; 
 the bell, as well as the voice of the prefi- 
 dent, was drowned in a florm, compared 
 to which, the moft boifterous, night I ever 
 was witnefs to in the Houfe of Commons, 
 was calm. 
 
 When with much difficulty, and a great 
 deal of ringing and gefliculation, the pre- 
 fident could.be heard, he announced to the 
 Afiembly, that he was juft informed by two 
 members, that a number of armed men fur- 
 rounded the hall. On which a member 
 propofed, that proper meafures fhould be 
 immediately taken for the fecurity of the 
 Legiflative Body. 
 
 But two members having ftepped out to 
 aCcertain the fact, returned, and declared 
 that, although there were a number of citi- 
 zens at the doors, none were armed except 
 the guard of the Aflembly. 
 
 On which a tumult of another kind arofe; 
 
 5 the
 
 ( 3 ) 
 
 the preiident was loudly, and not in a very 
 refpectful manner, required to name thofe 
 who had given this falfe information, and 
 calumniated the worthy and peaceable citi- 
 zens of Paris. 
 
 The prefident, who feemed to me not 
 to be at all at his eafe, anfwered, with a 
 little hefitation, that he did not know the 
 members who gave him the information. 
 
 One of thofe who had given the infor- 
 mation then flood up and faid, that he had 
 feen men armed with fabres in the corri- 
 dors; that fome alfo had piftols, of which 
 he thought it his duty to acquaint the pre- 
 fident. 
 
 There was a cry againft thofe who had 
 calumniated the people. Some called out 
 to fend the member prifoner to the Abbaye ; 
 and one part of the Aflembly feemed in- 
 finitely more inclined to punilh thofe who 
 had given this information, than thofe who 
 4 had
 
 had infulted, abufed, and threatened their 
 colleagues. 
 
 La Ooix ex-claimed, " that they wifhed 
 to have a pretext for transferring the Af- 
 fembly to Rouen, and for that purpofe 
 aflerted that the hall was furrounded with 
 armed men, that the public might believe 
 that the deputies had not full liberty of de- 
 liberating and voting. 1 ' 
 
 But how can men be thought to delibe- 
 rate or vote with freedom, w T ho are purfued, 
 infulted, and menaced by a mob for the 
 opinions and votes they give? 
 
 After it had been infifted on for fome 
 time with violence, that the two members 
 who had given the erroneous information 
 fhculd be fent for three days to the Abbaye, 
 that meafure was dropped, and a letter was 
 read from Dejoly, the minifter of juftice, 
 informing the Aflembly that the people 
 were continually inftigated to violence and 
 to murder, by agitators hired for the pur- 
 pofe,
 
 ( 3* ) 
 
 pofe, and by placarts on the walls: he then 
 enumerated the infults the deputies had fuf- 
 fered the foregoing evening, and that he 
 had denounced fome perfons fufpe&ed of 
 thefe excefies to the criminal tribunal, by 
 orders from the King. 
 
 The moment the King was mentioned, 
 the tribunes refounded witli laughter, and 
 hooting in the mod indecent manner. 
 
 After thefe had in fome meafure ceafed, 
 the conclufion of the minifter's letter was 
 read, declaring, " that unlefs fome effectual 
 means of repreffing thofe diforders were 
 adopted, it would be impoflible for the go- 
 vernment to be anfwerable for the fafety of 
 cither the lives or property of the citizens.'* 
 
 A member afcended the tribune and de- 
 clared, " that as he was going out of the 
 hall laft night, but being ftill within the 
 walls, and walking through the paffage, he 
 
 was violently ftruck by a perfon unknown.'** 
 
 A voice
 
 C 33 ) 
 
 A -voice was heard demanding, on what 
 part? 
 
 This interruption raifed great indignation 
 on one fide of the hall. " I am afked," re-* 
 fumed the member, " on what part 1 was 
 ftruck. .1 anfwer, Behind: it is only from 
 behind that aflaffins ftrike ; and I now de- 
 clare, in the name of the nation, whofe 
 deputy I am, that I will no longer vote in 
 this Aflembly till the legiflative body can 
 enfure me liberty and fafety." 
 
 M. Vaublanc then gave an account, " that 
 he had been fought after and purfued by 
 aflaffins, who had even abufed his fervant 
 for declaring he did not know where his 
 mafter was; that having been informed of 
 this, he had not ventured to fleep at his own 
 houfe, but had pafled the night at the houfe 
 of a friend." 
 
 He proceeded in a very eloquent and 
 perfpicuous ftyle, to {hew that it was not 
 fimple indignities offered to individuals they 
 
 VOL. j. D were
 
 ( 54 > 
 
 were now called to reprefs and punifh, 
 thofe offered to the French nation. " What," 
 faid he, " when an ambaflador of the King 
 was infulted in a foreign nation, you 
 thought it a fufficient caufe of war; and will 
 you permit the deputies of the French na- 
 tion to be treated in a manner as outrageous 
 as they could fuffer from the Pruffians or 
 Auftrians ?" 
 
 He added, " that as the Aflembly was 
 not free, and could not deliberate with fafe- 
 ty, meafures fhould be taken to fecure the 
 inviolability and liberty of the members : 
 befides, he propofed that it (hould be im- 
 mediately decreed, that all the foederes 
 fhould leave Paris." 
 
 Kerfaint feemed to approve of this, fo I 
 fuppofe it will be adopted. 
 
 At this time I left the Aflembly ; and 
 after calling on an acquaintance, I returned 
 by the key of the Louvre, intending, be- 
 fore I went to the Hotel de Mofcovie, juft
 
 ( 35 ) 
 
 to (lep into the gardens of the Tuileries, 
 by the gate next the Pont Royal, and was 
 a good deal furprifed to find that two 
 Swifs fentinels refufed entrance to all but 
 thofe who prefented a ticket : while I flood 
 on the bridge I faw feveral perfons ad- 
 mitted by that means, and the gate care- 
 fully fhut immediately after them. This 
 feemed to be viewed with an evil eye by 
 the people fome of whom murmured, and 
 talked of the garden's belonging to the 
 public, and not to the family lodged in the 
 Palace^ of all of whom the populace fpoke 
 with irreverence, and of fome of them in 
 terms too indecent to be repeated. 
 
 From the violent manner in which the 
 debates are carried on in the National Af- 
 fetnbly, and other circumftances I have re- 
 marked fmce my arrival at Paris, I am, 
 flrongly inclined to think, that the fudden 
 tranfition which the French have made 
 from a government of powerful and rigid 
 D 2 % controul,
 
 ( 36 ) 
 
 controul, to one fo very indulgent and lax 
 as that now eftabliftied, will have fomc 
 bad efie&s on the minds and conduct of a 
 people of fo much vivacity as the natives 
 of this country. Befides, the French have 
 been thought to have more levity of cha- 
 racter than the natives of other countries 
 of Europe. This levity was a fource of con- 
 folution to them under an oppreffive go- 
 vernment ; it prevented the tyranny which 
 was exercifed over them, from making the 
 fame imprcffion that it would have made 
 on a people of more ferious reflection : but 
 the fame levity and vivacity of character 
 which proved a confolation to them in the 
 gloom of defpotifm, may prove pernicious 
 in the funfhine of liberty. 
 
 Perhaps they would have borne a free 
 government with more moderation, affd of 
 courfe they would have had a better chance 
 of enjoying it long, had it been obtained 
 in a- more gradual manner, 
 
 The
 
 ( 37 ) 
 
 The French have reared the pillar of Li- 
 berty with fuch rapidity, and to fuch a 
 height, that it feems to have rendered them 
 more giddy than ever. 
 
 I had a good deal of converfation this 
 evening with a man of confiderable under- ' 
 {landing, who has lived many years in this 
 place, and is thought to have opportunities 
 of knowing the true ftate of the public af- 
 fairs : his opinion is, that the Duke of 
 Brunfwick's Manifefto has been of infinite 
 prejudice to the King, becaufe gre-at pains 
 have been taken to make it believed that 
 it was compofed with his knowledge and 
 approbation. But this gentleman Hill thinks, 
 that not only the majority of the National 
 Affembly, but alfo of the mofl refpectable 
 citizens, and of the national guards them- 
 felves, are enemies to the idea of dethron- 
 ing the King ; and wifh, bonafide^ to main- 
 tain the Conftitution to which they have 
 {"worn ; and that they difapprove of all tu- 
 D 3 multuous
 
 multuous affemblings of the people of the 
 fauxbourgs, with a view to force or terrify 
 the King to withdraw his veto from any 
 decree of the Aflembly, or on any other 
 account. They highly difapprove of that 
 which took place on the twentieth of laft 
 June, when the mob entered the palace of 
 the Tuileries, behaved in a very infolent 
 manner, and when the lives of the King 
 and Queen were in imminent danger. 
 
 It is imagined, however, that fomething 
 of the fame kind is intended to-morrow by 
 the inhabitants of the fauxbourgs, in con- 
 junction with about twelve or fourteen 
 hundred foederes, who lately arrived from 
 Marfeilles and from Brittany. 
 
 But the national guards being now aware 
 of this intention, and having, no doubt, 
 received inftructions how to act, it is pro- 
 bable that the attempt will not be made ; 
 or, if it is, will prove abortive ; in which 
 Cafe, like moft unfuccefsful infurredions,
 
 ( 39 ) 
 
 it will tend to ftrengthen, inftead of weak- 
 ening the hands of Government. 
 
 I am alfo informed, that befides a com- 
 plete battalion of Swifs, whofe barracks 
 are in the Caroufel adjacent to the palace,, 
 a considerable number of difbanded of- 
 ficers, and other perfons attached to the 
 Court, deep every night within the walls 
 of the palace itfelf, which feems more than 
 fufficient to prevent any effectual attempt 
 from a diforderly multitude : and I fhould 
 think it probable, that many of tire citizens 
 who were violent patriots at the beginning 
 of the revolution, are now tired of the dif- 
 orderly ftate of affairs, and think, that fup- 
 porting the King is the mod likely way of 
 obtaining that tranquillity which they have 
 fo much need of. They may alfo think, 
 with great reafon, that thofe who excite the 
 populace in the fuburbs, wifli the ruin of 
 the Conftitution. 
 
 Between eleven and twelve at night, I 
 D 4 was
 
 ( 40 ) 
 
 was difturbcd by a great noife in the ftreeu 
 from the beating of drums and repeated 
 huzzas. The landlord informs me, that 
 orders have been given to ail the citizens to 
 illuminate their windows ; that there is 
 reafon to apprehend an attack on the Cha* 
 teau of the Tuileries; that the drum has 
 beat to arms, and that the national guards 
 are all at the alarm pofts of their refpedive 
 departments. I went into the ftreets, which 
 are all illuminated the Pont Neuf is co- 
 vered with foldiers under arms a large 
 party of the national guards are alfo in 
 pofleflion of the Pont Royal nobody is 
 allowed to pafs : yet all feems to be con- 
 ducted with fo much regularity, that what- 
 ever mifchief may have been intended, will, 
 I hope, be prevented. 
 
 I was awaked about two in the morning 
 by the found of the tocfin, and am in* 
 formed by the people of the hotel, who 
 not been in bed, that the inhabitants 
 
 of
 
 ( 41 ) 
 
 of the fauxbourgs St. Antoine, St. Mar- 
 ceau, St. Jacques, &c. are afTembled ; that 
 they are joined by the fcederes from Mar- 
 feilles and Brittany, in the intention of 
 marching to the Tuileries to require of 
 the King to -withdraw his veto from the 
 decree of the National AfTemSly againft 
 the priefts who refufe the constitutional 
 oath, and that for afiembling an army of 
 20,000 men in the neighbourhood of Paris. 
 I hope they will be prevailed on to dif- 
 perfe without making an attempt fo uncon- 
 ftitutional, If the King is not allowed the 
 exercife of his veto when he judges it ex~ 
 pedieut, to give it him was a mockery. 
 
 Augufl 10. 
 
 Having fallen afleep about three, we 
 xvere awakened at nine by the firing of 
 cannon and were told, that the Chateau 
 was attacked. Soon after, we heard the 
 cry of <{ To arms, citizens, to arms ! they 
 
 {laughter
 
 ( 4' ) 
 
 {laughter your parents, your brethren, your 
 fons !" and we faw men running' half fran- 
 tic through the ftreets, exclaiming in that 
 manner. Lord Lauderdale, being ftill in- 
 difpofed, could not go out j and my fon re- 
 mained at the hotel with him. 
 
 As foon as I was drefled I went into the 
 ftreets ; a party of the national guards, with 
 a number of citizens armed, were march- 
 ing towards the Tuileries another body 
 of men followed foon after, dragging fe- 
 veral cannons along the Quai de Mazarin, 
 where I was, to the Pont Royal. Some 
 men flying from the Tuileries along this 
 bridge, were killed by the national guards 
 before they reached that end to which the 
 cannon were advancing. Thofe cannon 
 being mounted on the bridge, were repeat- 
 edly difcharged againil that part of the 
 Chateau which looks to the Seine. Some 
 women who ftood near me on the Quai de 
 Voltaire, as foon as they heard the firfl 
 
 difcharge,
 
 ( 43 ) 
 
 dlfcharge, fell a-clapping their hands, and 
 cried, Bravo ! Bravo ! 
 
 In the mean time there was fome firing 
 of muiketry from the windows of the 
 Louvre facing the river a few people were 
 killed and wounded on the keys. Thofe 
 who were on the fide next the Louvre had 
 run from the key to the brink of the river, 
 that they might be flickered from the fhot 
 by the parapet. A party of national guards 
 who marched along the Quai Mazarin, as 
 often as they faw a group of people con- 
 verting together, called Bas les motions* , and 
 
 tlifperfed them the officer at the fame 
 
 time advifmg all who were without arms 
 to retire to their houfes. A little after, as a 
 
 * No motions.- The queflicns moved and debated 
 
 in clubs refpecling the meafures of Government, are 
 called motions. From clubs and focieties,- fuch as 
 the Jacobins, they were extended to coffee-houfes, parr 
 iicularly the Caffe de Foi in the Palais Royal ; and at 
 length the fame kind of debates were carried on in the 
 groups formed by people who met accidentally in the 
 public walks and gardens. The guards did not think 
 this a proper moment for fuch debates or motions.
 
 ( 44 ) 
 
 body of pikemen hurried pair, one of them 
 in a very decifive ftyle pointed me out 
 as an ariftocrate. Such an accufaticn in the 
 ftreet;s of Paris, any time thefe four years, 
 would have expofed a man to infult : in 
 the preient circumftances, when execution 
 is generally the immediate confequence of 
 accufation, it might have proved fatal ; 
 but the valet de place, who accompanied 
 me, declared, that fo far from being an 
 ariftocrate, or any thing like it, I was tin 
 Anglais. <c Bon !" cried the pikemen, and 
 continued their courfe. 
 
 After this admonition I retired to the 
 houie of an acquaintance, in the Rue Ja- 
 cob, from whence I went, a little after, to 
 the Hotel de Mofcovie. In the ftreets I 
 met with great numbers of the national 
 guards and fuederes returning home, all of 
 them with pieces of the red uniform of the 
 Svvifs guards who had been killed, ftuck as 
 trophies on the point of their/ bayonets. 
 
 An
 
 ( 45 ) 
 
 An officer with a party of the national- 
 guards conducted Monfieiir d'Affre, in A 
 coach, to the priibn of the Abbaye, which 
 is near our hotel. A lady, very genteelly 
 drefled, was guarded through the ftreets on 
 foot, to the fame priibn, a little before. 
 
 \Ve were informed, " that in the courfe 
 of the preceding night great preparations 
 had been made at the Tuilcries to repel 
 the threatened attack from the fauxbourgs; 
 thatfeveral thoufandsof armed men had been 
 introduced into the Chateau for that pur- 
 pofe, independent of the battalion of Svvifs 
 guards ; that many of the national guards 
 had been pra&ifed on by the agents of the 
 Court, to join the Swifs, and thofe of the 
 Chateau, who are drftinguimed by the 
 name of Chevaliers du Poignard, againfl 
 the people ; that while thofe within the 
 Tuileries were making preparations for 
 the engagement that was expected in the 
 morning, falfe patrols were detached all 
 
 around,
 
 ( 46 ) 
 
 around, under the femblance of patrols of 
 the national guards to keep the peace, but, 
 in reality, with the moft hoftile intentions 
 againft the citizens ; that one of thofe de- 
 tachments had been met by a body of the 
 national guards, a fkirmifh had enfued, 
 ^noft of the former had foon fled, but that 
 many had been taken and carried prifonera 
 to the guard-room at the Feuillans ; that 
 the people having heard of this, came in 
 crowds early in the morning, infixing on 
 their being delivered up to them ; that a 
 municipal officer had tried to prevent 
 it, but his endeavours had proved vain ; 
 the corps de garde had been forced. Four 
 of the prifoners, who were confidered as the 
 moft guilty, becaufe they were difguifed 
 in the uniform of the national guards, and 
 armed with poniards and piftols, had been 
 cruelly flaughtered, and their heads cut off 
 and carried on pikes ; that the lives of the 
 reft had been fpared at the entreaty of the 
 
 foldiers
 
 ( 47 ) 
 
 ibldiers who took them ; that the people of 
 the fauxbourgs, with the Marfeillois and 
 Bretons, had marched to the fquare of the 
 Caroufel, and demanded admittance into 
 the palace of the Tuileries; that the King, 
 Queen, and Royal Family had retreated 
 from the palace, and taken fan&uary in the 
 National Aflembly ; and that, in about 
 three quarters of an hour after they were 
 there, the Swifs guards, and thofe within 
 the Chateau, had fired grape mot and muf- 
 ketry on the people drawn up in the court 
 of the Chateau, and continued a rolling 
 fire of ten minutes j that the fcederes, fup- 
 ported by the people of the fauxbourgs, had 
 rallied and attacked the defenders of the caf- 
 tle, had driven them out of it into the gar- 
 den, where, in their flight, they had been 
 (laughtered by the national guards, who 
 now, both foot and horfe, took a decided 
 part againft the Court, and for the People. 
 That a great number of the citizens and 
 
 fosderes
 
 foederes had been killed, as well as many 
 of the Chevaliers du Poignard ; but that 
 very few of the Swifs guards were left alive; 
 for thofe who, inftead of flying into the 
 garden or ftreets, had fought fhelter in the 
 apartments of the palace, had been mafia - 
 cred with the domeftics of the King and 
 Queen, and all, of whatever quality or de- 
 nomination, who were fuppofed to favour 
 their caufe. We have alfo heard, with much 
 regret, that an Abbe, I forget his name, the 
 preceptor of the Prince Royal, w r as killed, 
 with fome Swifs foldiers whom he had hu- 
 manely attempted to faveby concealing them 
 in a clofet of his apartment. Clermont Ton- 
 nerre, we hear, was alfo killed in the flreet." 
 Such is the account which, with fome 
 variations, we have heard this day. All 
 agree that the Swifs began hoftilities by 
 giving the firft fire on the people. It is 
 even aflerted, that they pretended to be 
 well difpofed to the caufe of the people, 
 
 {hook
 
 ( 49 ) 
 
 fhook hands with fome of them ; and 
 
 ing thus thrown them off their guard, they 
 
 mod perfidioufly fired on them. 
 
 This account, however, I do not credit* 
 becaufe it is contrary to the character of 
 the Swifs, who are an honeft and plain- 
 dealing people ; and becaufe, after the King 
 and Royal Family had forfaken the caftle, 
 I can fee no motive which the Swifs could 
 have for firing, but felf-defence. I there- 
 fore think it moft probable, efpecially con- 
 fidering the vivacity of the one people, and 
 the phlegm of the other, that the French 
 were the aggreflbrs. 
 
 I fhall endeavour to get a circumftantial 
 and accurate account of this action here- 
 after ; but, at prefent, the accounts are fo 
 oppofite, that nothing is to be depended on* 
 
 I have this day been witnefs to many 
 interefting, and even affecting fcenes in the 
 ftreets. During the cannonade and noife 
 
 VOL. I. E of
 
 ( 5 ) 
 
 of the mufketiy, the grief and anxiety of 
 all for the friends and relations they knew 
 to be then engsgcd, produced a moft ex- 
 preflive filence in fome, while the air was 
 rent by the exclamations of others, parti- 
 cularly the women and children, who 
 trembled for the lives of fathers, huibands, 
 and brothers, who had left their families 
 at the firft call to arms, and had not been 
 feen fince. When the action was over, 
 and the national guards returning, many 
 of the women rumed into the ranks to 
 embrace and felicitate their hufbands and 
 brothers on their fafety. I faw one father 
 of a numerous family met at his own door 
 by his wife and children. After embracing 
 each as they crowded around him, he en- 
 tered the fhop, carrying one of his chil- 
 dren in each of his arms j his daughter fol- 
 lowing with his grenadier's cap in her hand, 
 and his two little boys dragging his mufket. 
 
 Auguft.
 
 Auguft ii. 
 
 When the King and Queen entered the 
 hall of the National Aflerably, they were 
 accompanied by the Dauphin, their daugh- 
 ter, and the Princefs Elizabeth ; and at- 
 tended by the minifters and fome members 
 of the municipality of Paris. 
 
 The King, at firft, placed himfeif at the 
 fide of the prefident, and faid, " I am come 
 hither to prevent a great crime I believe 
 myfelf in fafety in the midft of you, Gen- 
 tlemen.* 
 
 The prefident anfwered, " that he might 
 rely on the Aflembly, who had fworn to 
 die at their poft in fupporting the rights of 
 the nation and of the conilituted authori- 
 
 ties." 
 
 It was obferved by one of the members, 
 that the King's prefence put a reftraint on 
 the ^debates ; on which he defcended to the 
 bar where his family was, and with them, 
 was conducted into a box on the right 
 E 2 hand
 
 ( 5* ) 
 
 hand of the prefident, called La Loge du 
 Logographe, where feven or eight perfons 
 ufed to fit around a table to take down in 
 writing the debates, and every thing re- 
 markable which pafled in the Aflembly. 
 
 They had not been fituated long there 
 when the adion began. The National Af- 
 fembly is very near the place in which the 
 engagement was. Several cannon bullets 
 - {truck the roof of the hall, and fome mufket 
 fhot entered the windows. What intereft all 
 within muft have taken in this action, will 
 be eafily imagined. Some members rofe and 
 changed their featswhenthecannonwere firfl 
 heard; but the prefident, calling to order, faid 
 it was the duty of every member to remain 
 with fteadinefs at his poft, and to ferve his 
 country to the beft of his abilities. After 
 this every member kept his place, except 
 fuch as were deputed on fome particular bu- 
 finefs by the prefident. 
 
 The
 
 ( 53 ) 
 
 The King faid to the prefident, that he 
 had given orders to the Swifs not to fire. 
 
 The firing of the cannon and mufkets 
 continue. The AfTembly remain filent for 
 fome time. 
 
 A member then made a motion, that it 
 fhould be immediately decreed, that all pro- 
 perty and perfons fhould be under the fafe- 
 guard of the law and of the people. 
 
 This was applauded and decreed. 
 
 They next decreed an act or proclama- 
 tion to all the citizens, inviting them to 
 have confidence in their reprefentatives, 
 who had fworn to fave the country. 
 
 Some time after the action was over, a 
 deputation from the new chofen community 
 of Paris appeared at the bar : this election 
 had been made the preceding night; and the 
 new elected council had ufurped the council 
 chamber, and driven out the old, all but 
 Petion, the mayor of Paris; Manuel, the 
 procureur; and Danton, minifter of juftice : 
 E 3 they
 
 ( 54 ) 
 
 they were preceded by three banners, on 
 which were inicribcd, " Liberte! Patrie! 
 Egalite !" One of them fpoke as follows: 
 
 " Legiflateurs! Ce font de nouveaux ma- 
 giftrats du peuple qui fe prefentent a votre 
 barre. Les dangers de la patrie ont pro- 
 voque notre nomination. Les circonflances 
 la confacrent; et notre patriotifine faura 
 nous en rendre dignes. Le peuple, las enfiu 
 d'etre depuis quatre ans 1'eternel jouet des 
 perfidies de la cour et des intrigans, a fenti 
 qu'il etoit terns d'arreter 1'empire fur les 
 bords de Tabyrne. 
 
 " Legiflateurs, il ne nous refle plus qu'a le 
 feconder. Nous venons ici en fon nom vous 
 demander des mefures de falut public. Pe- 
 tion, Manuel, et Danton font toujours 
 nos collegues. Santerre eft a la tete de la 
 force armee. Que les traitres fremiflent a 
 leur tour! Ce jour eft le triomphe des ver- 
 tus civiques. 
 
 " Le fang du peuple a coule ; des troupes 
 
 etran-
 
 ( 55 ) 
 
 ^trangeres, qui nc font reftccs dans nos rriurs 
 que par un nouveau clclit du pouvoir execu- 
 tif, ont tire fur les citoyens ; nos malheureux 
 freres ont laifles des veuves et des orphe- 
 lins. 
 
 " Le peuple, qui nous envoie vers vous, 
 nous a charges de vous declarer, qu'il ne 
 pouvoit reconnoitre pour juge <les mefures 
 extraordinaires auxquelles la neeeflite et la 
 refiftance a TopprefTion 1'ont porte, que le 
 peuple Francois, votre fouverain et le notre, 
 dans fes affemblees primaires *." 
 
 This 
 
 * Legiflators 1 The new magiflrates of the people 
 appear at your bar; the dangers of the country occa- 
 fioned our eleftion ; the circumftances rendered it ne- 
 ceflary, and our patriotifm renders us worthy of it. The 
 people, at length tired of being during four years the 
 dupes of the perfidy of die Court, have thought it time 
 to endeavour to fave the empire on the brink of ruin. 
 
 Legiflators, all we have to do is to afiift the people. 
 
 We come here, in their name, to be advifed by you in 
 
 meafures for die public fervice. Petion, Manuel, and 
 
 E 4 Danton
 
 ( 56 ) 
 
 This addrefs, which was received with 
 high applaufe by the people in the tribunes, 
 muft have been exceedingly offenfive to the 
 King; yet I am told he heard it with appa- 
 rent tranquillity, while the Queen fhewed 
 evident marks of indignation. 
 
 It was decreed that the prefent minifters 
 had loft the confidence of the nation ; and 
 that the National Aflembly fhould appoint 
 fix new ones, none of whom were to be 
 
 Danton are (till our colleagues. Santerre is at the 
 head of the armed force. 
 
 Let traitors tremble in their turn ; this day is the 
 triumph of civic virtue. Foreign troops, who have 
 remained within our walls only by a new crime of the 
 executive power, have fired upon the citizens. Our 
 unhappy brethren have left behind them widows and 
 orphans. 
 
 The people, who have deputed us to you, have given 
 us in charge to declare, that they will acknowledge no 
 Other judges of the extraordinary meafures which 
 necefftty and refiftance to oppreflion obliged them to 
 adopt, but the French people united in the primary 
 aflemblies, 
 
 taken
 
 ( 57 ) 
 
 taken from its own body* But when they 
 were about to proceed in the ufual form to 
 this nomination, it was obferved, that three 
 patriotic minifters lately difmiffed, and who 
 carried with them the efteem of the people, 
 naturally prefented themfelves to their 
 choice. It was immediately decreed, that 
 Roland, Servan, and Claviere fliould be 
 appointed provifionally. 
 
 This laft word was added, becaufe the 
 King may be reinftated in his authority by 
 the enfuing Convention ; in which cafe he 
 will have the right to confirm or reject 
 them, and name others. Thefe three are 
 for the home affairs, the war department, 
 and contributions. 
 
 I went this morning to fee the places 
 where the action of yefterday happened. 
 The naked bodies of the Swifs, for they 
 were already ftripped, lay expofed on the 
 ground. I faw a great number on the ter- 
 race, immediately before the palace of the 
 
 Tuileries;
 
 Tuileries ; fome lying fingle in different 
 parts of the gardens ; and fome in heaps, 
 one above another, particularly near the 
 terrace of the Feuillans. 
 
 The garden and adjacent courts were 
 crowded with fpedtators, among whom there 
 was a confiderable proportion of women, 
 whofe curiofity it was evident was fully 
 equal to their modefty. 
 
 The bodies of the national guards, of the ci- 
 tizens of the fauxbourgs, and of the fcederes, 
 have been already removed by their friends; 
 thofe of the Swifs only lie- expo fed in this 
 fhocking manner. Of about 800 or IOQO of 
 thefe, who were yefterday muftered in the 
 Tuileries, I am told there are not 200 
 . left alive. 
 
 Seeing a number of people going up the 
 grand ftaircafe of the palace, to fee the ra- 
 vage that was made in all the rooms by the 
 action of yefterday, I intermingled with 
 the crowd, and had afcended half way, 
 
 when
 
 ( 59 ) 
 
 when I heard the fhrieks of fome one above, 
 and foon after the body of a man was car- 
 ried down. I was told that he had been de- 
 tected in the at of dealing fome of the fur- 
 niture belonging to the palace, and was 
 inftantly put to death by the people around 
 him. 
 
 This expeditious method of executing 
 juftice removed all inclination of vifiting 
 the royal apartments: I defcended to the 
 terrace, and took another melancholy walk 
 among the bodies of thofe whom I had 
 feen two days before in all the pride of 
 health and military pomp. In point of 
 fize and looks, I do not fuppofe there is a 
 finer battalion of infantry in Europe than 
 they formed at that time. 
 
 After they gave way, they were flaugh- 
 tered by thofe who kept aloof while they 
 refifted. Some were purfued through the 
 ftreets, and dragged from the ihops and 
 houfes whither they fled for (belter. About 
 4 fifty
 
 ( 60 ) 
 
 fifty or fixty who afked for quarter, were 
 faved by the Marfeillois : they were de- 
 livered to the national guards, and con- 
 duded by them to the Maifon de Ville. 
 While thofe unfortunate men were detained 
 in the fquare, waiting for orders from the 
 municipality into what prifon they were to 
 be confined, the multitude, enraged no doubt 
 by the death of their friends and relations, 
 and irritated at the fight of the wounded 
 citizens who were carrying to their houfes 
 and to the hofpitals, began to cry for ven- 
 geance on the prisoners ; and at length, like 
 a parcel of drunken favages, they burfl 
 through the ranks of the national guards, 
 and butchered the defencelefs Swifs in cold 
 blood. I cannot deem the national guards 
 guiltlefs. I have been told that they could 
 not fave the Swifs without killing the citi- 
 zens: but fuch furies do not deferve the 
 name cf citizens, and were infinitely more 
 criminal than the Swifs. 
 
 From
 
 From the gardens of the Tuilerles I 
 walked through the centre gate of the pa- 
 lace into the court, and the Caroufel, where 
 the adion firft began. At the very begin- 
 ning, a number of the crowd were killed and 
 wounded at the bottom of the great ftairs, 
 by an unexpected fire from the top of the 
 firft flight of ftairs. Some of the Swifs 
 themfelves, who were intermingled and con- 
 verfing with the people, were killed by this 
 fire. The bodies of the Swifs were lying in 
 various parts of the area. 
 
 The barracks of the Swifs guards, which 
 divide this large area from the Caroufel, had 
 been fet on fire *yefterday, and are ftill burn- 
 ing. Many of the bodies were thrown inta 
 the flames I faw fome half confumed. 
 
 Sick at the fight, I hurried from this 
 fcene of horror, and about mid-day I went 
 to the National AffembTy. While I waited 
 at the door which enters to the Aflembly 
 from the garden of the Feuillans, for the 
 S gentleman
 
 gentleman who was to procure me admit- 
 tance, a long proceffion advanced to the 
 gate : it confifted of a number of perfons, 
 fome in the uniform of the national guards, 
 and fome in the drefs of citizens, each of 
 whom held a man in a white waiftcoat, but 
 without a coat, by the hand. The latter 
 were generally pale and dejected; and the 
 men under whofe protection they were, en- 
 couraged and fupported them. 
 
 I was immediately informed that a con- 
 fiderable number of the Swifs were faved, 
 and had been confined in the corps de garde 
 of the poft of the Feuillans : a mob, how- 
 ever, had begun to gather about the guard- 
 room, and fome horrid wretches among 
 them cried aloud for the heads of thofe 
 unhappy foldiers. On this, it was deemed 
 the beft means for their fafety to conduct 
 them to the bar of the Aflembly, and de- 
 mand its protection. 
 
 Lafource hadened to inform the AfTem- 
 
 bly
 
 ( 63 ) 
 
 bly of the danger in which the poor Swifs 
 were, and to requeft its protection ; while 
 Gorfas remained at the door of the guard- 
 room haranguing the mob, and ufmg every 
 means which humanity infpired, to prevent 
 them from attacking the prifoners. 
 
 They were conducted accordingly from 
 the guard-room to the Aflembly door in 
 the manner above mentioned, by fome 
 citizens, among whom was Lafource, and 
 others of the deputies. I entered a lit- 
 tle before the Swifs, and got a feat in 
 the body of the houfe among the mem- 
 bers. 
 
 The King, Queen, with their fon and 
 daughter, and the Princefs Elizabeth ; the 
 Princefs Lamballe, and three or four other 
 attendants, had remained in the Loge du 
 Logographe, yefterday, from nine in the 
 morning till late at night. They had been 
 then conducted to an adjacent committee- 
 room, where they had remained all night, 
 
 and
 
 ( 64 ) 
 
 and returned to the fame Loge in the morn- 
 ing, when the Aflembly met. My eyes 
 were naturally directed to the box in which 
 they were. From the place in which I fat 
 I could not fee the King, but I had a full 
 view of the Queen and the reft of the 
 Royal Family. Her beauty is gone ! No 
 wonder. She feemed to liften with an un- 
 difturbed air to the fpeakers. Sometimes 
 fhe whifpered to her fifter-in-law, and to 
 Madame de Lamballe ; once or twice fhe 
 ftood up, and, leaning forward, furveyed 
 every part of the hall. A perfon near me 
 remarked, that her face indicated rage and 
 the moft provoking arrogance. I perceived 
 nothing of that nature ; although the turn 
 of the debate, as well as the remarks which 
 were made by fome of the members, muft 
 have appeared to her highly infolent and 
 provoking. On the whole, her behaviour 
 in this trying fituation feemed full of pro- 
 priety and dignified compofure. 1 know 
 
 not
 
 not whether the height from which this 
 unhappy Princefs has fallen, and her pre- 
 fent deplorable fituation, may not make me 
 view her with additional intereft and par- 
 tiality ; but I am furprifed to find that the 
 edge of that rancour which has prevailed 
 in this country againft her, feems to be 
 in no degree blunted by her misfortunes. 
 
 It was impofiible to look at the Prince 
 Royal without reflecting that his lot, which 
 no doubt has been confidered as the high- 
 eft of all prizes, was now, of a fudden, and 
 without any fault of his, changed into the 
 moft unfortunate that could be drawn in 
 the lottery of life. At prefent he is too 
 young to calculate the amount, or tafte the 
 bitternefs of the calamity which has be- 
 fallen him ; and feemed to me to fuffer 
 more from being fo long confined in ftich 
 a narrow place, than from all that has- 
 happened befides, either to his parents or 
 himfelf. 
 
 VOL. i. F My
 
 ( 66 ) 
 
 My attention was drawn from the Royal 
 Family to the Swifs, as foon as they ap- 
 peared at the bar. One of their own na- 
 tion, as I fuppofed by his accent, addreffed 
 the Aflembly in their favour : it was evi- 
 dently the defire of the members that they 
 ihould be faved ; but all thofe in the tri- 
 bunes were not in the fame difpofition 
 one exclaimed, " Us ont affafline nos fre-. 
 res*." 
 
 L;.i Crolx made a fpeech, the tendency 
 6f which was to foften the minds of the 
 people, and incline them to mercy. 
 
 Notwithftanding which, fome wretches 
 from the tribunes called for juftice and 
 vengeance for the death of their friends. 
 
 The members in various parts of the 
 hall fpoke directly up to the people in 
 the tribunes immediately above them, 
 and feemed to entreat them to be more 
 humane. One member near me ad- 
 
 * They afiafiinated our brethren. 
 
 drefled
 
 ( 67 ) 
 
 drefied them in the moft earneft manner, 
 alluring them, that the unhappy men at 
 
 the bar were well difpofed towards the 
 
 
 
 French nation ; that they had acted from 
 
 ignorance, and in obedience to thofe whom 
 they thought it their duty as foldiers to 
 obey ; but had they known that they were 
 intended to be employed againft the citi- 
 zens, they would have refufed even to re- 
 main in the Chateau. 
 
 This expostulation produced an effecl: on 
 many, but a few ftill murmured ; on which 
 a deputy loft his temper fo far as to ad- 
 drefs that part of the gallery from whence 
 the murmur proceeded, in angry terms. 
 He was flopped by thofe next him, who put 
 him in mind, that this might irritate the 
 people ftill more, and prevent what he 
 wifhed : he fat down, faying, " Ces gens 
 font des betes'feroces *." 
 
 * Thefe people are ferocious brutes. 
 
 F 2 I do
 
 ( 68 ) 
 
 I do not remember that I ever felt my- 
 ielf more affected than during this conteft. 
 I often threw my eyes into the Loge du 
 Logographe. What muft have been the 
 feelings of the King and Queen ! What 
 thofe of the poor Swifs themfelves ! While 
 any of the members were fpeaking in their 
 favour, and afTuring the people that they 
 had acted from conftraint, and never were 
 the enemies of the French nation, they 
 flretched out their arms in confirmation of 
 \vhat was faid. I was filled with indigna- 
 tion at the obduracy of fome wretches in 
 the galleries, who Itill remained inexorable, 
 although by far the greater part was now 
 moved to companion. 
 
 Lafource, at laft, made an obfervation 
 which feemed to have great effect. It is 
 not the people, faid he, who thirft for the 
 blood of tho'fe men, but a few villains who 
 excite you to maflacre them for fear that 
 
 they
 
 they fhould give teftimony of the confpira- 
 cies of the Court. 
 
 After ail, however, La Croix propofed 
 that they (hould not be immediately car- 
 ried back to the guard-room, but remain 
 in the Affembly till there (hould be a cer- 
 tainty that the people without were dif- 
 perfed. They were ordered to take feats 
 accordingly, which they did behind the de- 
 puties. 
 
 This meafure occurred to La Croix, on 
 hearing that fome of the porters at the ho- 
 tels who are called Swifs, although moft 
 of them are Frenchmen, have been killed 
 by the undifcriminating fury of the mob. 
 
 The poor fellow who opens the gate of 
 our hotel has taken the alarm, and begs that 
 in future we may call him the Porter, and 
 not the Swifs. All of the fame profeflion 
 in Paris follow his example; they have al- 
 ready removed the infcription, " Parlez au 
 SuiiTe," which is generally fixed on a board 
 
 F 3 at
 
 f 7 ) 
 
 i 
 
 at the gate of hotels, and put up in its 
 ftead, Parlcz au Portier." 
 
 The remaining three miniilers were 
 eleded by, what is called, Appel nominal. 
 The majority of voices were for Le-Brun 
 for foreign affairr, Monge for the marine, 
 and Danton as minifter of juftice. 
 
 I faw fome of the minifters, and San- 
 terre, who is appointed commander in chief 
 of the Parifian national guards, take the 
 oaths before I left the Aflembly ; and 
 when I went away the Swifs foldiers 
 were ftill in it ; but on going our, 1 was 
 forry to fee a great number of men, whole 
 afpecls I did not much like, ftill furround- 
 ing the hall: this gave me uneafmefs on. 
 account of the Swifs. But I was informed 
 in the evening, that fome hours after I left 
 the Aflembly, it had been propofed, that 
 to fecure the lives of the Swifs, they mould 
 be accompanied to the Hotel de Bourbon by 
 the members of the AiTembly, This was
 
 ( 7' ) 
 
 prevented by a number of the fcederes from 
 Marfeilles, the very men whofe intrepid at- 
 tack had put the Swifs to flight, appearing 
 at the bar. <c The Swifs," faid they, " are no 
 longer our enemies, we will efcort them." 
 
 They were conveyed accordingly to the 
 Palais de Bourbon, protected by their con- 
 querors from the cowardly rage of thofe 
 \vho had fhrunk from them when they 
 were armed, and dared to attack them only 
 now when they were defencelefs prifoners. 
 
 The magnificent palace of the Conde fa- 
 mily is, I underftand, at prefent, a kind of 
 military poft. The Swifs are ordered to 
 be detained in fome courts belonging to 
 that palace, till a court martial (hall finally 
 determine their fate. This meafure was 
 propofed by La Croix, by way of appeaf- 
 ing the people ; but there is no queftion 
 that the defign is to acquit them all. I am 
 told the number is above a hundred. 
 
 It is a relief to my mind that it has 
 F 4 ended
 
 ( 72 ) 
 
 ended fo. I had many unpleafant fenfa- 
 tions this day while I remained -in the Af- 
 fembly, being anxious for the fafety of the 
 Swifs, {hocked at ther favage difpofition 
 manifefted by fomeof the people in the gal- 
 leries, and filled with indignation to fee the 
 legiflators of a nation forced to entreat an acl: 
 of juftice and humanity from thofe whom 
 they have a right to command. This is the 
 temporary effect of thai diforder which na- 
 turally attends a great convulfion. 
 
 I have already mentioned, that the Af- 
 fembly difplayed great firmncfs daring the 
 engagement yefterday. When the cannon 
 were firit heard, one of the deputies ex- 
 claimed u Do you hear ! They are now 
 endeavouring to deftroy freedom, and re- 
 eftablifh defpotifm. Our enemies have been 
 encouraged to this audacious attempt by 
 our fvipinenefs. Let us roufe with the 
 people let us fwear to maintain Liberty 
 Equality." 
 
 8 On
 
 (73 ) 
 
 On this, all the members ftarted up, 
 ftretched forth their right hands, and pro- 
 nounced, " Oui, nous le jurons *." 
 
 The enthufiafm inftantly fpread to the 
 fpectators in the galleries, and the cries of 
 " Vive la liberte ! Vive la nation f !" re- 
 founded through the hall. 
 
 During the fitting of yefterday, the Af- 
 fembly decreed, That the French Nation is 
 invited to form a Conventional Aflembly, 
 of which the mode and time of election 
 will be particularifed hereafter. 
 
 That Louis XVI. is fufpended from his 
 authority, till fuch time as the Conventional 
 Aflembly fliall decide on proper meafures 
 for fecuring the blefling of freedom to the 
 people. 
 
 The payment of the Civil Lift is likewife 
 fufpended. 
 
 * Yes, we fwear. 
 
 | Liberty for ever ! The country for ever ! 
 
 The
 
 ( 74 ) 
 
 The King and Royal Family are to re- 
 main under the immediate fafeguard of the 
 Aflembly, and within the walls where it 
 meets, till fuch time as tranquillity is efta- 
 blifhed in Paris ; and then they are to be 
 conduced to the palace of Luxembourg, 
 and there put under the protection of the 
 citizens and of the laws. 
 
 All public officers, whether military or 
 civil, who fhall leave their pods in the pre- 
 fent moment of danger and alarm, are de- 
 clared infamous, and traitors to their coun- 
 try. 
 
 Thofe and other decrees of yefterday 
 were fent to the 83 departments of France, 
 by couriers who fet out lad night, 
 
 Auguft 12, 
 
 On the night of the loth, commifTaries 
 were fent from the National Aflembly to 
 the armies to explain the motives of thefe 
 decrees. Thefe commuTanes have the 
 
 power
 
 ( 75 ) 
 
 power of pronouncing the fufpenfion of 
 the general officers of whatever rank; they 
 are enjoined to explain to officers and fol- 
 diers the decrees pronounced by the A {Terri- 
 bly, and conciliate them to the prefent mea- 
 
 
 fures. Three in particular went off* that 
 
 night to the army commanded by La Fay- 
 ette. It will not be a very eafy tafk to re- 
 concile that general to what has happened. 
 It is by fome people believed that the com- 
 mifTaries have orders to put him under ar- 
 reft. It is a bold meafure to arreft a popu- 
 lar general at the head of an army by whom 
 he is beloved, and the Aflembly have ac- 
 cordingly entrufted very bold men with the 
 execution of it. Kerfaint, who is the per- 
 fon moft to be depended on in the commif- 
 fion, is a naval officer of great profeffional 
 merit, and who alfo has the reputation of 
 being a man of fenfe, courage, and inte- 
 grity. Some people, however, think that 
 the comrniflaries run a greater rifk of being 
 
 hanged
 
 ( 76 ) 
 
 hanged by the orders of the general, than 
 the general runs of being arrefted by theirs. 
 At all events, France is at prefent in more 
 extraordinary and more critical circum- 
 ftances than we have any record of any na- 
 tion's having ever been. After having, 
 by a miraculous effort, overthrown a vafl 
 fabric of defpotifm, and formed a new fyf- 
 tem of limited monarchy, the people, 
 whether with or without reafon, I cannot 
 yet determine, become at once convinced 
 that their King is betraying them; they at- 
 tack his palace, confine his perfon, and fuf- 
 pend his authority. In the mean time, the 
 Legiflative Affernbly thinking themfelves 
 mflified by neceffity in going thus far, and 
 unwilling to give an example of an ufurpa- 
 tion of power, decree a National Convention 
 to meet within feven weeks, and that their 
 own diflblution mall take place as foon as 
 the Convention is formed : the elections 
 for that purpofe to go on at a time when the 
 
 nation
 
 ( 77 ) 
 
 nation itfelf is threatened by Ruffia, Sar- 
 dinia, Spain, and a coalition of the Princes 
 of Germany ; and when the frontiers of 
 France are attacked by the numerous dif- 
 ciplined forces of Auftria and Pruflia, abetted 
 by Princes of the blood, at the head of 
 22,000 emigrants. 
 
 In fuch circumftances, France may iy 
 with Frederic the Second of Pruflia, " I 
 know not whether I lhall furvive this war ; 
 but, lure I am, my enemies can obtain no 
 glory by overcoming me." 
 
 The National Aflembly have decreed, 
 that the ftatues in the public places (hall be 
 dcftroyed, and monuments in honour of 
 Liberty fubftituted in their ftead. The 
 ftatue of Louis XIII. in the Place Royal, 
 thofe of Louis XIV. in the Places Vendomc 
 and Victoire, with that of Louis XV. in the 
 beautiful opening which bore his name, but 
 which, I underftand, is to bear it no longer, 
 are already overturned, and are to be re- 
 moved.
 
 moved. All the amiable and popular qua- 
 lities of Henry IV. will not fave his ftatue 
 on the Pont Neuf from the fame fate. To 
 the amateurs who lament over this as bar- 
 barous and Gothic, it is anfwered, *' L'art en 
 gemira peut-ctf e, mais pour un chef-d'oeuvre 
 perdu, la Liberte en reproduira mille *." 
 
 As the AiTembly have only fufpended the 
 exercife of the regal power, but have not 
 abolifhed royalty, this decree againft the 
 ftatues is rather exceeding the limits they 
 had traced to themfelves : it is intended no 
 doubt as a hint to the Conventional Af- 
 fembly. 
 
 But whatever reafon the French may have 
 for proceeding in the manner they do with 
 refpeft to their own kings or their ftatues, 
 I fee no wifdom or neceffity in their pro- 
 voking the hatred of all the crowned heads 
 
 * The Arts may fuffer for a time ; but for one maf- 
 ter-piece that is deftroyed, Liberty will produce 
 
 thoufands. 
 
 in
 
 ( 79 ) 
 
 in Europe. They feem to have rufhed a 
 little wantonly into their prefent war with the 
 Emperor. But if they can give good political 
 reafons for that, there certainly is none for 
 their induftrioufly drawing on themfelves 
 the enmity of all other monarchies. 
 
 Yet thofe of the beft talents among them 
 may be accufed of this imprudence. Briflbt, 
 in a difcourfe, pronounced on the gth of 
 July laft, " Sur les caufes des dangers de 
 la patrie," talking of the combination of 
 princes againft France, ufes the following ex- 
 preflion : " Ces puifTances ne tendent pas a 
 prendre quelques villes, a. gagner quelques 
 batailles, a s'arrondir, a s'aggrandir. Non, 
 tine idee bien plus profonde les dirige et le& 
 rallie. Le fyfteme de liberte qui gouverne la 
 France les inquiete : ils y voient une fource 
 intariflable d'ou s'ecouleront, tot ou tard, des 
 torrens qui doivent renverfer tous les trones 
 de 1'Europe : ils voient que les Rois font 
 murs, et ils veulent prevenir Fepoque ou ils 
 2 doivent
 
 ( 8 ) 
 
 doivent tomber. C'eft done ici, Meffieurs, 
 line guerre a mort entre la royaute et la 
 liberte. Les tyrans de TEurope veulent 
 nous ecrafer, ou perir #." 
 
 And Barbaroux, one of the deputies from 
 Marfeilles, in anfwer to an infmuation from 
 fome of the members, that the fcederes from 
 that town had defigns againft the life of the 
 King, faid this morning in the AfTembly, 
 " Eh, Meflieurs-, les Marfeillois n'aiment 
 pas lesrois ) car ils font les fleaux de la terre: 
 mais ils ne s'en debarrafJeront jamaispar tin 
 crime ; ils attendront le jugernent du peu- 
 ple fouverain : et d'ailleurs Louis XVI. a 
 
 * The chief aim of thofe powers is not to take a few 
 towns, or to [;ain battles, or to increafe their dominions. 
 A more ferious idea directs and unites them. That 
 fyflem of liberty which governs France, difquiets themj 
 in it they fee an inexh audible fource from which tor- 
 rents will flow, which fooner or later mufl overwhelm 
 all the thrones in Europe. They fee that Kings are 
 ripe, but they wifh to poflpone the time of their falling. 
 This, Gentlemen, is a mortal war between royalty and 
 liberty the tyrants of Europe muft crufh us, orperifh. 
 
 creuie
 
 creufe lui-meme le tombeau de la royaute* : 
 c'eft le feul bien qu'il nous ait fait *." 
 
 It is impoffible for me, a ftranger juft ar-' 
 rived at Paris, to know whether the trea- 
 chery imputed to the King is well or ill 
 founded ; but I fee the neceflity of charging 
 him with it, to juftify the prefent meafures 
 in the eyes of the public. At Paris they 
 feem inclined enough to believe the whole. 
 Whether the armies and provinces are in the 
 fame difpofition, is yet to be feen. 
 
 Auguft 13. 
 
 The primary afTemblies for choofmg the 
 electors are appointed for the 26th of this 
 month. The electors or deputies for the 
 
 * I acknowledge, Gentlemen, that we men of Mar* 
 feilles are not fond of Kings, for they are the fcourges 
 of the earth ; but we will never rid ourfelves of them in 
 a criminal manner : we will wait for the judgment of 
 the Sovereign People. Befides, Lewis the Sixteenth 
 has himfelf dug the grave of royalty: it is the only good 
 he ever did us. 
 
 VOL. I. G enfuing
 
 ( 8' ) 
 
 enfuing Convention are to aflemble on the 
 2d of September. The members chofen 
 for the Convention, which are not to 'ex- 
 ceed in number the prefent Legiflative Af- 
 fembly, are to meet at Paris on the 2Oth of 
 the fame month. 
 
 The former diftinction of the citizens into 
 actifs et non adifs is fupprefled : all that is 
 neceflary to entitle a man to a vote is, that 
 he is 21 years of age, a Frenchman, who 
 has lived for one year in the country on 
 his own revenue, or the produce of his 
 labour, and is not in a ftate of fervitude. 
 The electors are to have three livres a day 
 during their mifiion, and are allowed at the 
 rate of one livre a league for the diftance 
 from their ufual place of refidence to that 
 in which the election of members for their 
 department is to be held. 
 
 'The -only conditions requifite for eligibi- 
 lity, either as elector or deputy, are thofe 
 "above mentioned, whatever his profeffion 
 
 is
 
 Is or has been. The citizens in the primary 
 affemblies, and the electors in the electoral 
 aflembly, are to take the oath to maintain 
 Liberty and Equality, or die in defend- 
 ing them. 
 
 The above regulations will no doubt be 
 obferved although they are not decreed^ but 
 only recommended by the prefent Aflembly, 
 who do not aflume the right of ordaining a 
 form for the exercife of fovereignty in the 
 formation of a National Convention, 
 
 Inftead of decreeing^ therefore, the Aflem- 
 bly merely invite the people to obferve this 
 method. 
 
 In the mean time, I occasionally fee 
 people who, when the Convention is men- 
 tioned, fhrug their fhoulders and fmile, in a 
 manner which plainly implies, that in their 
 opinion there will be no Conventional Af- 
 fembly. And one perfon aflured me in a 
 whifper, that if there fhould happen to be a 
 Convention at Paris, on or about the 2oth 
 G 2 of
 
 of September, he was convinced it would b 
 compofed of Prufliens adifs et citoyens 
 paflifs. 
 
 This, hoxvever, does not feem the opi- 
 nion of the people in general. The public 
 walks are crowded with men, women, and 
 children of all conditions, with the moft 
 gay unconcerned countenances imaginable. 
 A ftranger juft come to Paris, without hav- 
 ing heard of the iate tranfa&ions, and walk- 
 ing through the gardens of the Tuileries, 
 Place de Louis XVI. and Champs Elifees, 
 would naturally imagine, from the friiky be- 
 haviour and cheerful faces of the company 
 he meets, that this day was a continuation 
 of a feries cf days appointed for diflipation, 
 mirth, and enjoyment; he could not pof- 
 fibly imagine that the ground he is walking 
 over was fo lately covered with the bodies 
 of flatightered men ; or that the gay lively 
 people he faw were fo lately overwhelmed 
 with forrow and difmay. 
 
 I drove
 
 I drove to many places in Paris this morn- 
 ing. The epithet royal, which was formerly 
 fo profufely aflumed and infcribed with 
 pride and oftentation, is now carefully 
 effaced from every fhop, magazine, auberge, 
 or hotel; all thofe alfo who were fo vain of 
 announcing over their doors that they were 
 the tradefmen of the King or Queen, or in 
 any way employed by them, have removed 
 every word, emblem, or fign which could 
 revive the remembrance of fuch a connec- 
 tion ; and at prefent a taylor would rather 
 advertife that he was breeches-maker to a 
 fans culottes, than to a prince of the blood 
 royal. 
 
 Above the great gate of the church of 
 Notre Dame, are the figures in ftone of 
 twenty-fix Kings of France, from Childe- 
 bert the Firft to Philip Auguft. I was told 
 that in this general fury againft kings, all 
 thofe venerable perfonages had been hewn 
 to pieces by the people. I had the curiofity 
 Q 3 to
 
 ( 86 ) 
 
 to go to the cathedral on purpofe, to fee 
 whether abfurd zeal had been carried this 
 length, and had the fatisfaction of finding 
 this royal fociety-fafe and uninjured by any 
 hand but that of Time. 
 
 The ridiculous gigantic ftatue of St. Chrif- 
 topher, with the Bon Dieu upon his fhoul- 
 ders, which I remember to have ftood for- 
 merly within the church, is now removed ; 
 but I believe the revolution cannot claim the 
 merit of this improvement, as it was made 
 before it began. 
 
 I ; rom the Notre Dame I accompanied a 
 young man to the Carmelites in the Rue 
 St. Jacques; he had a curiofity to fee the 
 famous Magdalene by Le Brun. The ut- 
 moft excefs of grief is flrongly exprefTed in 
 this picture, particularly in the eyes and 
 tipper part of the face; but I cannot believe 
 the ftory, fo often repeated, that the Duchefs 
 cle la Valiere, who retired to this convent 
 when (lie found herfelf iupplanted in the 
 
 affections
 
 ( 8? ) 
 
 affe&ions of Louis XIV. by Madame de 
 Montefpan, ever fat for this picture. How 
 could it be believed that a woman who re- 
 tired from the world, whether from difap- 
 pointed love, or devotion, would afiume, 
 like an aclrefs, the features of exceflive for- 
 row, and fit in a chofen attitude, that a 
 painter might draw her in a particular cha- 
 racter ? Vanity prompts people to this kind 
 of ccnftraint every day, but real grief or 
 devotion, never. 
 
 If Ihe never fat for it then, it is not proba- 
 ble that it has much refemblance of Madame 
 de la Valiere: yet more people are drawn to- 
 fee it, from the notion of its being her por- 
 trait, than from the pleafure they take in- 
 viewing a fine picture. : . 
 
 The man who (hewed us the Carmelite 
 church, faid there were at prefent forty 
 nuns in the convent, all of whom had the 
 liberty to leave it, but they chofe to remain.- 
 " They are very old, I fuppofe," faid L 
 G 4 " OQ
 
 ( 88 ) 
 
 *' On the contrary," replied the'man, "there 
 arefome of them young and handfome.'*' 
 
 If there is any merit in retiring from the 
 world and becoming ufelefs to fociety, thefe 
 nuns have a claim to more now than for- 
 merly, fince they do that fpontaneoufly, 
 which before they poflibly could not help. 
 
 Auguft 14, 
 
 Although the French are lefs fubject to 
 ennui than any other people, yet they are 
 extremely inventive of expedients to pre- 
 vent it. Of all the contrivances for that pur- 
 pofe I ever heard of, one of the moft fmgular 
 was what I was informed of this morning. 
 
 As I flood on the key of the Louvre, 
 a battalion, part of which was already on the 
 Pont Royal, marched paft ; we were told 
 that the mayor of Paris was in the front; 
 they were conducting fome Swifs to the 
 Abbaye. While I was contemplating this 
 fcene, a man, who feemed at leaft feventy 
 years of age, entered into converfation 
 
 8 with
 
 with me : a girl of about ten or eleven held 
 him by the arm. He praifed the appear- 
 ance of the men ; and the young girl was 
 delighted with the rough caps and immenfe 
 mouftaches of the grenadiers. 
 
 " Mademoifelle is your daughter ?" faid I. 
 
 " No," anfwered he, " I do not know 
 that I ever had any children, although I 
 have lived all my life a bachelor. This 
 poor little girl," added he, " has lived with 
 me feveral years. She was quite deftitute, 
 and I took her from charity. People arc 
 often at a lofs how to amufe themfelves, 
 particularly towards the decline of life. I 
 have had a great deal of pleafure,for my own 
 part, in teaching this little girl mathematics." 
 
 A young gentleman who was prefent 
 burft into laughter ; and the old man per- 
 ceiving that I could with difficulty re- 
 frain, t{ I fee," faid he good-humouredly, 
 " that you do not credit what I tell you ; 
 but it is literally true. I have found much 
 
 araufe-
 
 ( 90 ) 
 
 amufement in inftructing this child in alge- 
 bra and the mathematics. She is a very 
 apt fcholar, as you fhall fee. 
 
 " Tell me, my dear, what are the 
 three angles of any triangle equal to ?" 
 
 " Two right angles," anfwered {he. 
 
 " Exactly," faid the old man ; " and 
 pray, what is the cube root of eight ?'* 
 
 " Two," anfwered the girl. 
 
 ct And what is the cubic number of 
 four ?" refumed he. . . 
 
 She immediately replied, <c Sixty-four." 
 
 Having enjoyed our furprife a little, and 
 finding we were going a different road, he 
 took his leave of us in high fpirits, and 
 walked away with the girl holding his arm. 
 I mention this rencontre merely for its fm- 
 gularity, and not by way of advice to men 
 in the decline of life. For, although it 
 feems to have fucceeded wonderfully with 
 this particular old man, it would be ram to 
 infer, that it would be equally fafe and fa 
 
 lutary
 
 lutary for every old man to amufe himr 
 felf in teaching a young girl mathematics. 
 
 On quitting him I walked to the Na- 
 tional Aflembly. One of the cannoneers 
 who had diftinguimed himfelf in the action 
 of the i oth, on the fide of the people, was 
 at the bar : a considerable quantity of filver 
 plate had been taken by this man from 
 thofe who had ftolen it from the palace ; 
 and having been brought by him to the 
 Aflembly, now lay on the table. 
 
 Many inftances of the fame difinterefted 
 fpirit were exhibited, as I have been re- 
 peatedly told by thofe who were prefent in 
 the Aflembly immediately after the engage- 
 ment. The jewels of the Queen, many 
 mafTy pieces of plate, very valuable pieces 
 of furniture which could have been eafily 
 concealed, all the filver utenfils belonging 
 to the chapel, were brought to the Aflem- 
 bly by thofe who made the firft irruption 
 into the palace. Some poor fellows who 
 
 had
 
 ( 9* ) 
 
 had not whole clothes on their backs, 
 brought little facks of gold and filver coin, 
 and depofited them unopened in the hall 
 of the AfTembly. One foldier brought his 
 hat full of louisj and emptied it on the 
 table. 
 
 It is in the times of great political ftruggles 
 and revolutions, that the minds of men are 
 moil apt to be exalted above the felfilh 
 confiderations of ordinary life : thofe are 
 the epochs of great virtues as well as of 
 great vices. It is an error to imagine, that 
 men of the lowed rank in life are unfuf- 
 ceptible of heroic and generous fentiments. 
 All who are 1 fufceptible of enthufiafm are 
 capable of being actuated by them. It is 
 the minions of fortune, thofe who have 
 been pampered from their infancy by the 
 hand of luxury, and early accuftomed to 
 every kind of profufion, whofe minds fmk 
 into torpor for want of exertion ; it is fuch 
 as thofe that are the moft likely to be un- 
 
 fufceptible
 
 ( 93 ) 
 
 fufceptible of generous fentiments, and ia* 
 capable of heroic efforts. 
 
 Auguft ij. 
 
 I went this morning to call on M. Gau- 
 tier the banker. As I crofled the court to 
 go to his office, I met an old gentleman, 
 whofe face I thought I had feen before, 
 but was not certain. We faluted each 
 other without fpeaking. When I entered, 
 I was informed by M. Gautier it was the 
 Abbe Raynal. I was happy at this infor- 
 mation, becaufe I had heard, that hap- 
 pening to have flept the preceding night 
 in the palace of the Tuileries, he had been 
 killed on the morning of the loth, as I fear 
 many real friends of liberty were. 
 
 Although the National Affembly had de- 
 creed, that the Royal Family mould be 
 lodged in the palace of Luxembourg, this 
 was delayed, becaufe a deputation from the 
 Section des Quatre Nations reprefeoted to 
 
 the
 
 ( 94 ) 
 
 the A (Terribly, that there are fubterraneous 
 pafTages belonging to that building, by 
 which the King might be carried off. 
 
 On the fame day another petition was 
 prefented of a fingular nature indeed. In 
 this the AfTembly are reproached for having 
 decreed only the fufpeniion of the King, 
 when all France wifhes his being dethroned. 
 " Pourquoi," continue thefe modeft peti- 
 tioners, " attendre la Convention Natio- 
 nale ? Le peuple eft la pour fanclionner vos. 
 decrets. Louis XVI. eft atteint de la ma- 
 lediction nationale ; il a lachement fui de 
 fon palais, pour laifler plus audacieux les 
 aflfaffins du peuple ; il n'eft venu d|ns vo- 
 tre fein que pour dieter votre arret, fi fes 
 agens euffent ete victorieux. Des veuves, 
 des enfans defoles vous demandent venge- 
 ance. Qui de vous n'eft pas difpofe a deve- 
 nir le juge ievere du fcelerat Louis XVI i? 
 Gommandez vos generaux de faire lire 
 
 a tous
 
 ( 95 ) 
 
 fc tous les peuples la declaration : des droitt 
 xle I'homme, et de proclamer la guerre a 
 tous les tyrans *." 
 
 The terms in which thofe petitioners 
 mention the King, are equally odious on 
 account of their barbarity and their falfe- 
 hood. 
 
 They are alfo infolent to the National 
 Afiembly, which has declared, that not 
 prefuming to determine what the will of 
 the nation is refpeding the King, this 
 
 . * Why wait for the National Convention? The 
 people are ready to fanction your decrees. Lewis XVI, 
 is covered with the curfes of his country. He (hame- 
 fully abandoned his palace, that the aflaflins of the 
 people might act more boldly. He came among you 
 for no other purpofe but to pronounce your condemna- 
 tion, if his troops had been victorious. Widows and 
 wretched infants call to you for vengeance. Can any 
 of you be unwilling to become the fcvere judge of the 
 flagitious Lewis ? Give orders to your generals that 
 the declaration of the rights of man be read to every 
 
 : 
 
 people, and let them declare war againft all tyrants. 
 
 2 point
 
 ( 96 ) 
 
 point is left to the decifion of the nation 
 itfelf, to be exprefled by the organ of a 
 Convention of its own choofmg. This is 
 all unnecefiary, fay the petitioners. What 
 you do not know we will tell you. All the 
 people wiih the King to be dethroned ; 
 take our word for it, and fave the trouble 
 of calling a Conventional Aflembly. 
 
 If, however, this addrefs to the Aflem- 
 bly is intended as an order^ which I am in- 
 formed many late petitions are, then all 
 the expreflions are not fo improper ; we 
 are then only furprifed at its being entitled 
 a petition. 
 
 The Commune de Paris, which is a 
 council or aflembly compofed of members 
 from the 48 fedions of Paris, not approv- 
 ing of the Luxembourg for the King's 
 fefidence, fent a deputation to the bar of 
 the National Aflembly, where Manuel, their 
 procureur, faid, " La France eft libre, car 
 Louis eft fujet de la loi. Nous venons 
 
 vous
 
 ( 91 ) 
 
 vbus propofer pour fa demeure le Temple 
 nous vous propofons de le faire conduire 
 avec tout le refpeff dti a F'injortum*" &c. 
 
 The Aflembly applauded his fpeech, and 
 agreed to the propcfal ; but it were to be 
 wifned that the treatment of the unfortunate 
 family had correfponded with the fentiments 
 which the Aflembly approved. 
 
 The lodge or box in which the royal family 
 fat for three days front morning till night, is 
 a fmall room of about nine or ten feet fquare, 
 at the prefident's right hand, and feparated 
 from the hall of the Aflembly by fmall iron 
 bars : the entry is behind from the corridor 
 into a kind of fmall clofet, through which 
 you pafs into the lodge. This clofet was the 
 only place into which they could retire; and 
 they came into the lodge at nine of the morn* 
 
 * France is free, becaufe Lewis is fubjeft to law. 
 We propofe the Temple for his refidence, and we 
 wifh him to be conducted thither with all the regard 
 due to the unfortunate. 
 
 VOL. i. H ing
 
 ing of the ioth,and remained till midnight, 
 when they xvere conducted to an adjacent 
 
 committee-room, where they paffed the 
 
 * 
 
 night, returning to the lodge about ten in 
 the morning. 
 
 On the nth and I2th they retired at 
 about nine or ten at night ; and on the I3th 
 they were conducted to their prifon at the 
 Temple. As this fmall cloiet was the only 
 place to which they could retire, they were 
 under the neceffity of taking every refrefh- 
 ment they needed through the day, there. 
 On the loth the King ate nothing but a 
 little bifcuit and a glafs of lemonade ; the 
 Queen, nothing but a bafon of foup. On 
 the fubfequent days they had their dinner 
 from a neighbouring traiteur, which was 
 ferved in the fame little clofet. Their fole 
 occupation, during all this time, was hear- 
 ing the debates of the Aflembly. This 
 would probably have been a fevere punifh- 
 ment, although perfonal abufe had been 
 
 abftained
 
 ( 99 ) 
 
 abftained from ; which, however, was not 
 always the cafe. One member*, in the 
 inidft of his harangue, faid, " that all the 
 bloodfhed of that day* and all the miferies 
 of the country, were owing to the perjury 
 and treafon of that traitor," pointing to the 
 King. This certainly was not obferving 
 tout le refpeft du h I'infortune. To give way to 
 fuch an outrage againft a man, not to fay a 
 King, in this unhappy fnuation, required 
 the heart of a tiger, and the manners of a 
 Capuchin. 
 
 Some time after the firing on the loth 
 was quite over, the Queen, being impatient 
 to know the particulars of what had pafled, 
 defired a young man who had the care of 
 the box, with whom I have converfed, to 
 go to the Tuileries and Caroufel, and bring 
 her an account of what he faw. The young 
 man went; and without making a very mi- 
 nute furvey, or walking over half the 
 
 * Chabot, formerly a Capuchin Friar. 
 
 H 2 ground
 
 ground on which the fighting had been, he 
 reported that he had counted a hundred and 
 twenty dead hodies. The Queen flied 
 tears at this report, and afked him no more 
 queftions on that fubjecl. 
 
 It muft feem ftrange, the whole Aflembly 
 being witnefs to the uncomfortable and inde- 
 cent fituation of the royal family for fo long 
 a fpace of time, that none of them propofed to 
 remedy it ; which might have been done, in 
 fome degree, by their having the ufe of fomc 
 other fmall rooms which are under the fame 
 roof with the Aflembly hall. 
 
 I fuppofe that thofe who wifhed it, were 
 afraid to fhew any attention to the royal 
 family; and thofe who could have done it 
 with fafety, wanted the inclination; for it 
 is evident that a considerable part of the 
 members, fince the decifive affair of the 
 loth, are under peribnal apprehenfion. 
 Thofe who voted in favour of M. laFayette 
 have been threatened by the populace. 
 
 Gorfas,
 
 ( 101 ) 
 
 Gorfas, the editor of the Courrier, has been 
 applied to, to publifh their names, which 
 he humanely refufes to do. The only- 
 meaning of fuch requeft certainly is to point 
 them out to the fury of the mob. 
 
 When the royai family were conducted 
 from their very narrow apartment in the 
 AfTembly to the Temple, the affluence of 
 people was prodigious; they exacted that 
 the windows of the carriage fhould be kept 
 down-r this was complied with. In going 
 through the Place Vendome, whether it 
 happened from the mere confluence of 
 people, or by premeditated defign, the 
 carriage was flopped a confiderable time 
 near the overturned ftatue of Louis XIV. 
 
 The Queen was thought to throw difdain-r 
 ful looks en the people. Whether this was 
 really the cafe, or imaginary, I know not; 
 but I am afTured that Petion, the mayor of 
 Paris, who was in the coacb, begged of the 
 Queen to look with more mildnefs, asfome 
 H 3 of
 
 of them feemed provoked, and he dreaded 
 the confequence. 
 
 Her Majefty after this threw down her 
 eyes without looking at the people at all. 
 
 The King feemed lefs forrowful or pen- 
 five. When they were going into the car- 
 riage at the Aflembly hall, jfome one faid, 
 they were putting too many into the coach. 
 On which his Majefty, with a look of good 
 humour, replied, " Not at all ; M. Petion 
 knows that I can fupport a much longer 
 journey with a great many in the carriage." 
 
 This alluded to his return to Paris after 
 being flopped at Varennes, when the King, 
 Queen, Dauphin, and Madame Elizabeth, 
 
 fame carriage. 
 
 There were fome cries of Vive la Nation ! 
 as they pafled through the flreets ; but on 
 the whole the people were more filent and 
 lefs tumultuous than was expected by many, 
 
 and
 
 and the royal family arrived fafely at the 
 Temple. 
 
 The Princefs Lamballe, Madame Tour- 
 zelle, governefs of the royal children, and 
 fome other women of the Queen's family, 
 were carried to the Temple at the fame time. 
 
 There have been a great number of per- 
 fons arrefted fmce the i oth. All thofe who 
 are known to have pafled the night between 
 the 9th and loth in the palace of the Tuile- 
 ries, or are fufpecled of it, are fearched for 
 with diligence. Two men accufed of an 
 intention of afTafimating Petion have been 
 taken up, and are in prifon. What proofs 
 there are of fuch an intention, I know not ; 
 but it is a very ferious misfortune, at this 
 particular time, to be under the fufpicion. 
 
 While I was in the Aflembly, fome mem- 
 bers propofed a call of the houfe, by way of 
 afcertaining who were.prefent during the 
 late important fittings. It was at nrrt agreed 
 for the morrow at mid-day; but one calling 
 H 4 out
 
 ( 104 ) 
 
 out u this night at midnight," this laft pro T 
 pofal, which feems a little whimfical, was 
 adopted. 
 
 The extreme fenfibility and vivacity of 
 the French prompt them too often to de- 
 cide on fudden impulfes, without taking 
 time to weigh and deliberate. In the pre- 
 fent inftance, a rapidity of decifion can be 
 of no confequence ; but they fometimes 
 fhew the fame quicknefs in matters of feri- 
 ous import. 
 
 A little English phlegm would be of ufc 
 in their councils. 
 
 I underftand that thofe appointed to exa- 
 mine the papers of Monf. Laporte have 
 found matters of accufation againft the 
 King, and the mmifter himfelf ; and alfo 
 fome curious papers concerning the myf- 
 terious bufmefs of the pearl necklace, and 
 Madame de la Motte. 
 
 Augufl 1 6. 
 
 Having made it my bulinefs, ever fmce I 
 
 have
 
 have been in France, to take every oppor- 
 tunity of converfmg with the people, I find 
 a great alteration, I will not venture to fay 
 in. their fentiments, but afluredly in their 
 difcourfe. 
 
 Before the loth of this month, many 
 fpoke in favour of the King, and juftified 
 his giving the veto to the two decrees of 
 the National AfTembly one refpecling a 
 camp of 20,000 men in the neighbourhood 
 of Paris, and the other regarding the priefts 
 who refufed to take the oaths to the Con- 
 ftitutron; they faid, " the King had a right, 
 by the Conftitution, to make ufe of this 
 power of rejecting decrees at his difcretion, 
 and that none but feditious perfons would 
 attempt to force his confent." 
 
 They blamed thofe, as fuch, who had ex- 
 cited the tumultuous proceflion of the inha- 
 bitants of the fuburbs on the zoth of June ; 
 lamented that the executive power was net 
 ftrong enough to punifh them; hoped that 
 
 this
 
 this would foon be the cafe ; and declared 
 their belief that the King was calumniated 
 by factious men who were enemies to the 
 Conftitution, while he fmcerely wifhed to 
 maintain it according to the oaths he had 
 taken. 
 
 Some tradefmen who did duty as national 
 guards have acknowledged to me, that 
 when called to arms on the night of the 
 9th, they confidered that the purpofe for 
 which they were afiembled, was to repel 
 any attack on the palace, and defend the per- 
 fons of the royal family; which duty it was 
 their intention to perform, till they heard 
 the general cry that the Swifs were mafia- 
 cring the people; and then they joined with 
 the citizens againft the Swifs, and thofe in 
 the caftle. 
 
 The truth, I have reafon to believe, is, 
 that few of the national guards took part in 
 the action till the palace was forced, and 
 the Swifs with all within it began to fly: 
 
 and
 
 and if the fcederes and thpfe from the 
 fuburbs had been difperfed, a great part of 
 the national guards would have declared in 
 that event, as they did in the other, for the 
 vi&orious party. 
 
 Now every body feems to have the fame 
 fentiments, and hold the fame language, 
 namely, that the King was in correfpond- 
 ence with the emigrant princes, and betray- 
 ing the country to the enemy. Certain pa- 
 pers have been found in the palace, which, 
 it is faid, make it very clear. On this fub- 
 ject I have not as yet been able to form a 
 decided opinion ; nor am I at all certain that 
 the fentiments, which I hear announced by 
 thofe who have furer grounds of judging, 
 are conformable to their real opinion ; for it 
 is by no means fafe to avow any way of 
 thinking but one. 
 
 Great pains are taken to convince the 
 people at large of the treachery of the court, 
 and that a profcription was made, and a 
 
 maflacre
 
 maflacre intended, of the moft diftinguiflicd 
 patriots, in cafe the court had been victo- 
 rious: this is not only infmuated in the 
 journals, but pafted up in printed papers on 
 the walls all over Paris. 
 
 In the mean time, in the gardens of the 
 I Tuileries, in the Place de Louis XV. and 
 Palais Royal, men are feen mounted on 
 chairs haranguing to little circles which 
 form around them : the continual theme of 
 thefe orators, who are no doubt hired for 
 the purpofe, is the treachery of the King, 
 and the profligacy of the Queen, whom they 
 generally diftinguifh by the appellation of 
 Monfieur and Madame Veto. 
 
 When I fee fuch artful induitry to en- 
 rage the people againft the King and Queen, 
 and hear of intended malTacres without any 
 proofs, fo far from being convinced of the 
 truth of what is fo afiiduoufly circulated, I 
 rather dread that all thefe pains are taken to 
 
 prepare
 
 ( '09 ) 
 
 prepare the people's minds for meafurcs 
 which cannot yet be avowed. 
 
 The influence of theatrical entertainments 
 on the public mind is too powerful to be 
 neglected on the prefent occafion : the mu- 
 fic, the pantomime, and the new pieces 
 brought forth, all are calculated to infpirc 
 fentiments and paflions favourable to the 
 iecond Revolution, for the affair of the i oth 
 is already dignified with that name. 
 
 I am much miftaken, however, if there 
 was not a confiderable riik of its terminat- 
 ing ib as that, inftead of a revolution, it 
 would have been called a rebellion; in which 
 cafe we mould have heard a very different 
 language from the fame mouths at the 
 theatres. 
 
 Auguft 17. 
 
 I have had a great curiofity to fee the 
 famous club of Jacobins ever fmce my ar- 
 rival at Paris, which was not gratified till 
 
 this
 
 this evening, when one of the members 
 procured me admiffion. 
 
 This fociety originated in a fmail num- 
 ber of deputies from Brittany, who occa- 
 iionally met at Verfailles in the year 1789. 
 Many deputies from other provinces, the 
 moft zealous for liberty, foon joined them; 
 and even fome of the fame difpofition who 
 were not deputies, were admitted into the 
 fociety, which then had the name of Co- 
 mite Breton. 
 
 In this fociety it was firft propofed to 
 conftitute the majority of the Eftates Ge- 
 neral into a National Affembly. 
 
 When the National Affembly was tranf- 
 ferred to Paris, this fociety held its meetings 
 in the convent of Jacobins in the Rue St. 
 Honore, and affumed the name of Societe de 
 la Revolution, and afterwards that of Amis 
 de la Conftitution ; but they are generally 
 called fimply Jacobins. A great number of 
 the moft diftinguifhed for talents of the 
 
 Affembly,
 
 .( lit ) 
 
 Aflembly, as well as of the citizens of Paris, 
 were gradually elected members ; and the 
 number, I am told, has been above 1400. 
 
 The avowed bufmefs of this fociety is to 
 deliberate and debate on fubjects of govern- 
 ment, and watch over the general interefts 
 of liberty. 
 
 Societies of the fame name and nature are 
 eftablimed all over France, which hold a 
 regular correfpondence with the parent fo- 
 ciety at Paris and, by mutually communi- 
 cating information and advice, act with 
 wonderful efficacy on important occafions. 
 
 M. Alexander Lameth and M. Duport, 
 as I have been informed, were the firft who 
 propofed the project of eftablifhing focieties 
 of the fame kind with the Jacobins of Paris 
 all over France, and having a regular cor- 
 refpondence with them. 
 
 This conftant intercourfe accounts for 
 
 the immediate and univerfal approbation 
 
 which has been given through all the de- 
 
 2 partments
 
 partments to certain meafures of the ArTem- 
 bly ; which muft have appeared very extra- 
 ordinary to foreigners, unacquainted with 
 this conftant rapid circulation of fentiment. 
 I underftand there are at leaft ten thoufand 
 focieties of this kind in France. 
 
 Moft queftions of great importance arc 
 difcufled in the Jacobin fociety of Paris, be- 
 fore they are introduced into the National 
 Aflembly ; and the fuccefs they are likely to 
 have in the fecond, may be generally 
 known by that which they have had in the 
 firfr. 
 
 The hall in which the Jacobins meet, is 
 fitted up nearly in the fame ftyle with that 
 of the National Aflembly. The tribune, or 
 pulpit from which the members fpeak, is 
 oppofite to that in which the prefident is 
 feated : there is a table for the fecretaries 
 and galleries for a large audience of both 
 fexes, in the one as in the other. Men are 
 appointed, who walk through the hall to 
 
 command
 
 "3 ) 
 
 command, or rather folicit, filence when the 
 debate becomes turbulent at the club of Jaco- 
 bins, in the fame manner as the huiffiers do at 
 the National Aflembly, and ufually with as 
 little effecl: : the bell of the prefident, and 
 voices of the huiffiers, are equally difregarded 
 in ftormy debates at both Afiemblies : it is 
 doubtful if JEolus himfelf, who 
 
 Luclantes ventos tempeftatefque fonoras 
 Imperio premit, 
 
 could at once filence certain turbulent mem- 
 bers, when 
 
 Illi indignantes magno cum murmure - 
 Circum clauftra fremunt. 
 
 I have been told that fome of the mod 
 diftinguifhed members in point of talent and 
 character, have lately withdrawn from this 
 fociety, and that it is not now on fuch a re- 
 fpectable footing as it has been. Roberf- 
 pierre, who was a member of the Confti-. 
 tuent Aflembly, and of courfe cannot be of 
 the prefent, has great fvvay in the club of 
 
 VOL. i. I Jacobins,
 
 Jacobins, by which means his influence in 
 the AfTembly, and in the common council 
 of Paris, is very confiderable. 
 
 M. la Fayette, in his famous letter of 
 the 1 6th of June, from the camp of Mau- 
 beuge, fpeaking of this fociety, fays, " La 
 faction Jacobine a caufe tous les defordres; 
 c'eft elle que j'en accufe hautement. Or- 
 ganifee comme un empire a part, et aveugle- 
 rnent dirigee par quelques chefs ambitieux, 
 cette fe&e forme une corporation diftinde 
 au milieu du peuple Francois, dont elle 
 ufurpe les pouvoirs, en fubjugant fes repre- 
 fentans et fes mandataires *." 
 
 This letter to the National AfTembly, and 
 his leaving his army and appearing in the 
 AITembly on the 2 8th of June, turned the 
 
 * The Jacobin fadtion has produced all the difordersj 
 it is that fociety which I loudly accufe. Organized like 
 an empire, and blindly governed by fome ambitious 
 men, this fociety forma a di(linl corporation in the 
 middle of the French nation, ^wliofc power it ufurps, 
 
 and whofe reprefentatives it fubdues. 
 
 tide
 
 ( "5 ) 
 
 tide of popularity entirely againft him ; 
 and there is at prefent a rumour that Ge- 
 neral la Fayette is going to march his army 
 againft Paris. 
 
 There was not, properly fpeaking, a de- 
 bate at the Jacobins to-day, but rather a fe- 
 ries of violent fpeeches againft him. I un- 
 derftand indeed, that of late the fpeakers are 
 generally of one opinion; for Roberfpierre's 
 partifans raife fuch a noife when any one 
 attempts to utter fentiments oppofite to what 
 he is known to maintain, that the voice of 
 the fpeaker is drowned, and he is obliged to 
 yield the tribune to another orator whofe 
 doctrine is more palatable. 
 
 The moft imiverfally agreeable motion 
 that was made while I was prefent was, 
 that a price fhould be fet on the head of M. 
 la Fayette, and that chaque citoyen put 
 courlr fus\ which is as much as to fay, that 
 any body that pleafed to murder him fhould 
 be rewarded for fo doing. 
 
 I 2 A little
 
 ( u6 ) 
 
 A little before the Aflembly broke up, 
 one of the Marfeillois, who feemed not to 
 be an officer, mounted the tribune : he 
 faid there was a report that the commif- 
 fioners from the Aflembly to La Fayette's 
 army were arrefted at Sedan ; if fo, that 
 he and others of his countrymen intended 
 to afk permiflion of the National Aflembly 
 to march to Sedan, and return with the 
 heads of thofe villains who had prefurned to 
 arreft their cominiflioners. " Nous fom- 
 mes," continued he, " des pauvres gens qui 
 couchent fur la paille; mais quand il s'agit du 
 bonheur de la patrie, nous nous montrerons 
 des homines du dix d'Aout *." 
 
 There were abundance of women in the 
 galleries ; but as there were none in the body 
 of the hall w r here the members are feated, I 
 was furprifed to fee one enter and take her 
 
 * We are but poor fellows, who lie upon ftraw ; but 
 when our country is in danger, we will difplay the fame 
 fpirit we did on the icth of Auguft. 
 
 feat
 
 ( "7 ) 
 
 feat among them : fhe was drefled in a kind 
 of Englifli riding-habit, but her jacket was 
 the uniform of the national guards. On 
 enquiry, I was informed that the name of 
 this amazon is Mademoifelle Theroigne: 
 flie diftinguiihed herfelf in the action of the 
 loth, by rallying thofe who fled, and at- 
 tacking a fecond time at the head of the 
 Marfeillois. 
 
 She feems about one or two and thirty^ 
 is fomewhat above the middle fize of wo- 
 men, and has a fmart martial air, which in 
 a man would not be difagrecable. 
 
 I walked home about nine : the night 
 was uncommonly dark; my way lay acrofs 
 the Caroufel, along the Pont Royal, to the 
 fauxbourg St. Germain. I have frequently 
 come the fame way alone from the Gaffe de 
 Foy in the Palais Royal after it was dark. I 
 never was attacked, nor have I heard of a 
 fingle ftreet robbery, or houfe-breaking, 
 .fince I have been in Paris. 
 
 I 3 This
 
 This feems to me very remarkable. In 
 the ungovernable ftate in which Paris may- 
 be fuppofed to be fmce the loth of this 
 month. 
 
 The mob certainly killed on the fpot 
 feveral men on that day who attempted to 
 fteal the plate of the palace; they are eafily 
 excited to afiafiinate any body who is point- 
 ed out to the;n as a Chevalier du Poign rd, 
 or a traitor to the country. Society is af- 
 furedly in a moft dangerous and dreadful 
 (late, when a fet of hot-headed ignorant 
 men, affuming the prerogatives of judges 
 and executioners, commit fuch excefles 
 with impunity. But it is fingular that thofe 
 "who carry their contempt of law and order 
 a more criminal length than the highway- 
 man and houie-breaker, do not occafionally 
 rob in the ftreets and highways alfo; and it 
 muft appear in a peculiar manner ftrange 
 to perfons accuftomed to live in a country 
 where there are frequent robberies and bur- 
 glaries,
 
 C "9 ) 
 
 glaries, in fpite of the government's being 
 undifturbed, and the laws in full force, to 
 find none where all the hinges and fupports 
 of law and government are loofe, and 
 ihaking from a recent convulfion. 
 
 Auguft 1 8. 
 
 The accounts of the commiflaries from 
 the National A {Terribly being arrefted at 
 Sedan, is confirmed. 
 
 M. de la Fayette having been advifed by 
 couriers from his friends at Paris, of what 
 was intended, immediately fent directions 
 to the magistrates of Sedan to arreft the 
 commifTaries as foon as they entered the 
 town : he reprefented what had happened 
 in Paris on the loth, as the temporary in- 
 furrec~tion of a mob, which would foon be 
 quelled, and by this means prevailed on the 
 magistrates to arreft and imprifon them as 
 importers. 
 
 It would feem from this, however, that 
 
 he is not perfectly fure of his army ; 
 
 I 4 other-
 
 otherwife he would probably have allowed 
 the commiffaries to advance to the army, 
 and then arrefted them as rebels. It de- 
 pends on the army whether the general or 
 the commifiaries lhall be judged rebels. 
 
 In the mean time, the National Aflem- 
 bly have fent two new commiflaries to in- 
 ftrut the department, to order the mayor of 
 Sedan and fourteen of his afliftant adminif- 
 trators to appear at the bar, and anfwer 
 for their conduct ; and the Aflembly declare 
 all who fhall oppofe thefe orders, infamous 
 and traitors to the country, and decree that 
 all the citizens of Sedan fhall be refponfible 
 on their lives for the fafety of their corn- 
 mi flaries. 
 
 A deputation from the battalion of Mar- 
 feilles came to the bar this day, and made 
 the fame offer which they announced laft 
 night at the Jacobins, namely, to bring the 
 heads of the magiftrates of Sedan on pikes 
 to their bar. 
 
 They
 
 ( I" ) 
 
 They were thanked by the prefident fojr 
 their generous offer ; but were told at the 
 fame time, that the Affembly preferred fee- 
 ing the magiftrates in the ufual form with 
 their heads on their moulders. 
 
 A price is put on the head of M. la Fay- 
 ette ; and, according to the ancient phrafe, 
 chaque citoyen peut courir fus. 
 
 Decrees of accufation are made againft 
 Barnave, Alex. Lameth and others, who, 
 although now confidered as traitors, were 
 thought patriots formerly. 
 
 There is often as little candour among 
 zealots in politics, as thofe in religion. He 
 whofe religious creed or ideas of freedom 
 keep the hundredth part of a degree beneath 1 
 theirs, is confidered with as much horror / 
 and contempt as the avowed atheift or moft j 
 flavim courtier. 
 
 Auguft 19. 
 
 They talk of forming a fortified camp for 
 40,000 men near Paris, including Mont 
 
 Martre,
 
 Martre, and all that fide of the city which 
 lies next to St. Denis ; which looks as if 
 they began to dread the approach of the 
 Germans. 
 
 I faw no figns of this however at the 
 Champs Elifees, through which I drove 
 this evening. 
 
 All thofe extenfive fields were crowded 
 with company of one fort or other; an im- 
 menfe number of fmall booths were erected, 
 where refremments were fold, and which 
 refounded with mufic and finging. Pan- 
 tomimes and puppet-fhews of various kinds 
 are here exhibited, and in fome parts they 
 were dancing in the open fields. " Are 
 tliefe people as happy as they feem ?' ; faid I 
 to a Frenchman who was with me. " Us 
 font heureux comme des dieux,Monfieur*," 
 replied he. 
 
 " Do you think the Duke of Brunfwick 
 never enters their thoughts?" faid I. u Soyez 
 
 * They are as happy as the gods. 
 
 fur,
 
 ( 12 3 ) 
 
 fur, Monfieur," refumed he, t que Brunf- 
 wick eft precifement rhomme du monde 
 au quel ils penfent le moins *." 
 
 One fellow, on a kind of ftage, had a 
 monkey who played a thoufand tricks. 
 When the man called him ariftocrate, the 
 monkey flew at his throat with every mark 
 of rage ; but when he called him un bon 
 patriote, the monkey exprefTed fatisfaclion, 
 and careiTed his mafter. 
 
 I fee a great many monkeys every day, 
 who affedt to be bons patriotes. 
 
 One has no great objection to thofe pa- 
 triots who dance about like monkeys ; but 
 they who to the airs of the monkey join 
 the difpofition of tigers, and dance with 
 heads upon pikes, are horrible. 
 
 A petition was read to the Aflembly, in 
 which, with others of the fame (lamp, was 
 this affected and inhuman expreffion, " Que 
 
 * Depend upon ir, Sir, that Brunfwick is the man 
 on -earth of whom they think the leaft. 
 
 toute
 
 ( 4 ) 
 
 toute communication entre Louis XVI. ct 
 fon epoufe cefle. La France fera fauvee lorf- 
 que cette Medicis ne foufHera plus fes fureurs 
 dans 1'amc du nouveau Charles IX*." 
 
 They muft furely have the hearts of 
 tigers who cculd fugged fuch an ufelefs 
 piece of cruelty, and come parading with 
 it to the bar of the National Aflembly. 
 
 There is not, befides, the lead refem- 
 blance between the yielding difpofition of 
 Louis XVI. and the Hern ferocity of Charles 
 IX. ; and the Queen of France was never 
 before accufed, even by her greateft ene- 
 mies, of the diflimulation, treachery, and 
 cruelty of Catherine of Medicis. 
 
 Auguft 20. 
 
 I was feveral hours this day at the Na- 
 tional AlTembly. BrifTot and Lafource, and 
 
 * Let all communication between Louis XVI. and 
 his wife be put an end to. France will be faved when 
 that Medicis (hall no longer have it in her power to in- 
 fpire her fury into the foul of this new Charles JX. 
 
 many
 
 ( "5 ) 
 
 many others fpoke. I was not furprifed at 
 the eloquence and ingenuity of their dif- 
 courfes, becaufe I had read fome of the 
 writings of the former, and had heard of the 
 talents of both ; but I was furprifed at the 
 number of fpeakers, and that all delivered 
 themfelves with facility. 
 
 In point of ingenuity, learning, and 
 ftrength of reafoning, there is perhaps as 
 much difference between the fpeakers of the 
 National AfTembly, as there is between thofe 
 of the Houfe of Commons ; but in facility 
 of utterance and flow of words, all the 
 fpeakers in the former are nearer on an equa- 
 lity. 
 
 I have not fecn among them any of that 
 hefitation and perplexity of expreflion 
 which is fometimes obferved in the Houfe 
 of Commons ; yet one might imagine that 
 young members, and all who are unac- 
 cuftomed to fpeak in public, would feel 
 themfelves more embarrafTed in fpeaking 
 
 from
 
 ( "6 ) 
 
 from a lofty confpicuous place, fuch as the 
 tribune of the National Aflembly, than 
 fpeaking in their place, as is done in the 
 Houfe of Commons. 
 
 I have not heard one fpeaker from the 
 tribune who wanted either words or courage 
 in pronouncing them. As for mauvaife 
 honte, there is no fuch thing in this coun- 
 try: I wonder how they came by the ex- 
 preflion. 
 
 The Britiih AmbaUador informed me to- 
 day that he was recalled. 
 
 The Princefs Lamballe, Madame de 
 Tourzelle, Mademoifelle Pauline de Tour- 
 zelle, and feme other attendants on the 
 King and Queen, were carried from the 
 Temple to what is called La Maifon Com- 
 mune, and "there interrogated refpe&ing 
 certain fecret correfpondenccs they are ac- 
 cufed of having carried on. And after this 
 examination they were carried to a prifon 
 
 named
 
 named Hotel de la Force, inftead of being 
 conducted back to the Temple. 
 
 How fhocking to treat perfons of their 
 rank and fex with fuch indignity and cru- 
 elty, whofe greateft crime feems to be at- 
 tachment to their benefactors ! If it were 
 even proved that they had endeavoured to 
 carry on the correfponderice with which 
 they are charged, this cannot excufe fuch 
 treatment. In times like thefe, the paf- 
 fions of hatred and revenge burn with aug- 
 mented violence; and when, in addition, 
 they are excited by confcious guilt and per- 
 ibnal fear, they carry men to the height of 
 wickednefs. 
 
 I have been told that fome perfons of 
 horrid difpofitions have been lately added 
 -to the acting committee of the Commune 
 de Paris. 
 
 Auguft 21. 
 
 I advifed Lord Lauderdale to leave Paris 
 
 and go to Spa ; but it is difficult at this time 
 
 2 to
 
 to obtain paflports : they have been refufed 
 to many (hangers, who for fome time paft 
 found Paris a difagreeable refidence, and 
 thought it would become more fo, as the 
 German armies, who have already en- 
 tered France,, were advancing to the capital. 
 Britifh fubjects in particular are about to 
 lofe one great inducement to remain, by 
 the expected departure of Lord Gower and 
 Lady Sutherland. 
 
 Before we left England, it had been fug- 
 gefled, that, at fuch a period, we might meet 
 with the difficulty we now experienced. 
 Lord Lauderdale therefore had accepted of a 
 letter from M. Chauvejin to the mayor of 
 Paris, the import of which was, defiring him 
 to facilitate our propofed journey to the 
 fouth, in cafe of any difficulty or obftrudtion. 
 
 This letter had been left at the houfe of 
 the mayor ; but the confuflons which took 
 place immediately after our arrival, pre- 
 vented our having feen him. It was ima- 
 6 gineJ
 
 gined that through his influence we might 
 obtain pafTports. An acquaintance of M. 
 Petion offering to conduct us to the Maifon 
 de Ville, we determined to make the trial. 
 
 When we arrived at the outer gate, and 
 told our bufmefs was with the mayor, we 
 were admitted. There was a body of 
 about fifty men under arms at this time 
 before the gate. The Maifon de Ville had 
 more the appearance of the head quarters of 
 the general of an army, than the refidence 
 of a mayor. One of the national guards 
 took hold of my cane, aiking if there was a 
 concealed weapon in it. I prefented it, and 
 told him there was not. An Englishman, 
 who was in the uniform of the national 
 guards, addrefled me in his native language* 
 I told him we had brought a letter from. 
 M. Chauvelin to the mayor, and wimed to 
 fee him. 
 
 What this man's name is I know not ; he 
 feemed to have fome authority among them, 
 
 VOL, i. K for
 
 for he immediately concluded us up (lairs, 
 and through fome rooms, into a large hall r 
 where there were ten or a dozen foldiers 
 with their arms, befides officers and others, 
 who I fuppofe were waiting to fpeak to 
 M. Petion. When the Englilhman had 
 fent in our names by a fervant who attended 
 for that purpofe, he left us, and I never 
 faw him afterwards. 
 
 While we waited in this hall, a corporal 
 came and afked if we had received any or- 
 der or ticket for admifiion to the place where 
 we were j for without thefe nobody who 
 did not belong to the guard ought to re- 
 main. We informed him of our bufinefs, 
 and that we were Englifh j on which he 
 defired us to May, faying, the mayor would 
 wait on us directly. Many people in mu- 
 nicipal fcarfs, or officers' uniforms, patted 
 ,and repaired. We were at length intro- 
 duced. 
 
 M. Petion is a well-looking fair man, of 
 
 a genteel
 
 a genteel addrefs and cheerful countenance, 
 with an habitual fmile. He made an apo- 
 logy for not having come fooner, faying, he 
 had been detained by bufmefs which did 
 not admit of an inftant's delay. On telling 
 him we wiftied for paflports to Spa, by 
 Civet, he faid that, at v that particular 
 time, no paflports were granted by that 
 route ; at any rate he would not advife us to 
 take it, becaufe we might run a rifk of being 
 pillaged by the Hulans, or other irregular' 
 troops of the Auftrian army ; adding, that 
 within a very (hort time we might have 
 paflports for England. 
 
 \Ve hinted an inclination to relide for a 
 inert time in fome province of France, if 
 we might remain there with fafety, and 
 could not go directly to Spa, but that it was 
 neceflary to have paflports before we could 
 be allowed to go out of Paris. M. Petion 
 faid , he was convinced that reftraint would 
 continue only a few days, but that Paris 
 K 2 was
 
 ( '3* ) 
 
 -was by much the fafeft place of France we 
 eould be in ; for that in the provinces alarms 
 might be fpread, and difturbances arife, while 
 the enemy were in the country, but at Paris 
 there would always be a fufficient force to 
 keep all quiet. 
 
 On being afked if there were any news 
 from the frontiers ? 
 
 He anfwered with a careleis air, that he 
 imderftood that Brunfwkk had entered 
 France. He may advance twenty, or per- 
 haps thirty leagues. Wei!, continued he, 
 the farther he advances, the greater will be 
 the lofs of his army ; and if they continue 
 to advance much farther, they will be en- 
 tirely furrpunded, and few of them will ever 
 get back. The Pruffians, added he, relied 
 on a confpiracy here in their favour : the 
 loth of Auguft put an end to that hope, 
 and they will foon be bewildered, and not 
 know how to proceed. 
 
 I heard him with a great deal of attention, 
 
 but
 
 ( 133 ) 
 
 but very little faith in his predi&ion, and 
 ibon after we took our leave. 
 
 Augufl 22- 
 
 Accounts are arrived that M. la Fayette 
 finding no difpofition in his army to adhere 
 to him, but, on the contrary, that many of 
 the officers, and almoft all the foldiers, were 
 for fupporting the decrees of the National 
 Aflembly, has retired from his army with 
 a part of his principal officers, and is fup- 
 pofed to have gone to Holland in his way 
 to England. 
 
 M. Kerfaint, and the other commiflaries 
 who were imprifoned at Sedan, are now fet 
 at liberty, with many apologies from the 
 Commune for the treatment they had re- 
 ceived, which they impute to the mifrepre- 
 fentation of La Fayette, on whom they 
 transfer the name of traitor, which they had 
 before beftowed on Kerfaint, who, with his 
 companions, is now with the army, where 
 K 3 they
 
 ( 134 ) 
 
 they have been received with acclamations 
 of joy. 
 
 This is not precifely the iflue I expected 
 when I firft heard of the commiflfaries being 
 fent, and ftill lefs what I thought probable 
 <>n hearing of their imprifonment. 
 
 Nothing now is heard of but addrefles from 
 all parts of France to the Aflembly, congra- 
 tulating them on what they call the glorious 
 victory of the loth of Auguft, and highly 
 approving of the fufpenfion of the King. 
 
 This however does not prevent us from 
 wifhing to have it in our power to remove 
 from Paris when we think it expedient j a 
 wifli which is rather increafed by my hav- 
 ing heard it repeatedly afferted by fome of 
 my French acquaintance, that it is generally 
 believed that many agents from the Court 
 of Great Britain are now in Paris, whofe 
 errand is to promote confufjon, and excite 
 that fpirit of jealoufy and fedition which aj* 
 ready exifts fo much all over France. 
 
 On
 
 ( 135 ) 
 
 On my laughing at this idea, a very fen- 
 fible man, who was a member of the Con- 
 flituent Afiembly, and will probably be of 
 the Convention, if that fhould ever take 
 place, declared that he was convinced of 
 the fa&, and afked how the great number of 
 guineas now in circulation at Paris could 
 be otherwife accounted for ? 
 
 I anfwered, that I knew nothing of the 
 circulation of guineas; but I had always un- 
 derftood that our Adminiftration had too 
 great a demand for them at home, to think 
 offending them abroad. At any rate I was 
 perfuaded they would not ftoop to fuch a 
 manoeuvre, which was as unjuftifiable as it 
 would be for the executive power of France 
 to fmuggle over men to England, for the 
 purpofe of exciting feditious infurreftions 
 againft the Britiih Government. 
 
 He allowed that it would be juft as bad 
 
 in the one as in the other ; and repeated 
 
 K 4 his
 
 ( '36 ) 
 
 his perfuafion, that it had been done by 
 England, but not by France. 
 
 As I was entirely convinced that he was 
 in an error, I took a good deal of pains to 
 remove it, but without fuccefs ; and I men- 
 tion it as a very ftrong inftance of the 
 power of prejudice over a very acute and 
 enlightened mind. 
 
 However groundlefs this notion is, its 
 prevailing among the mob of Paris may be 
 attended with difagreeable confequences to 
 the Englifh here, at a time when govern- 
 ment is fo feeble j and when, notwithftand- 
 ing the prudent conduct of the Britifh Am- 
 baflador, his being recalled is a fufficient ' 
 mark of the difapprobation of his Court of 
 the late meafures. 
 
 I determined to call on M. Claviere, the 
 miniftre des contributions, for whom I had 
 a letter from M. Durouverie, and try whe- 
 ther, by his influence, we might not get 
 paflports to leave Paris, His porter in- 
 formed
 
 ( 137 ) 
 
 formed me laft night, that he faw people 
 on. bufinefs from fix in the morning till 
 nine. I called at his hotel this morning at 
 eight, and was conducted into a room where 
 feveral people were waiting. My name 
 was taken down in writing, as thofe of all 
 prefent had previoufly been, and carried to 
 the minifter. I was called in my turn ; and 
 after I had informed him of my bufinefs, 
 he wrote a letter to M. le Brun, the minifter 
 for foreign affairs, whofe bufinefs it is to 
 give pafifports, recommending it to him to 
 provide Lord Lauderdale and me with them, 
 as foon as the prefent interdiction was re- 
 moved. 
 
 M. Claviere then faid, " that the affair 
 of the loth, he underftood, had been greatly 
 mifreprefented in England, but that all 
 Europe would be foon convinced that all 
 the blood fhed on that day was owing to the 
 treachery of the Court ; that France had de- 
 termined to be free, and would not fufTer 
 
 5
 
 ( '38 ) 
 
 any thing within itsownbofom to undermine 
 or counteract that freedom ; that fmall ftates, 
 fuch as Geneva, and even Holland, were 
 fometimes obliged to fuffer controul from 
 their neighbours, with refpect to their own 
 internal government ; but that a powerful 
 nation like France could not be dictated to ; 
 and that whatever form of government the 
 French fliould think proper by their repre- 
 fentatives to choofe, they were able to main- 
 tain ; and it was not in the power of all 
 the Auftrians, Pruflians, and Ruffians on 
 earth to prevent it.'* 
 
 Several new battalions, which are called 
 chaiTeurs nationaux, have been raifed lately, 
 J was in the National Aflembiy when a de- 
 putation from them appeared at the bar: 
 one fpoke in the name of the reft. The 
 object of his difcourfe was, to exprefs the 
 regret of his companions, and his own, at 
 being fo long detained in Paris, where they 
 lived a life of idlenefsj while their wilhes 
 
 were
 
 were to haften to the frontiers, that they 
 might repel the enemies of their country, or 
 perim in the attempt. They all earneflly 
 requefted the AfTembly to iflue immediate 
 orders agreeably to their ardent wifhes. 
 
 This fpeech was pronounced with grace, 
 and heard with applaufe. The young ora- 
 tor and his companions were invited to the 
 honneur de la feance, and about forty of 
 them marched through the hall to their feats. 
 Their uniform is blue jackets, with green 
 epaulets, buff-coloured waiftcoat, and nar- 
 row trowfers of the fame cloth, and fliort 
 boots, with very well contrived fmart hel- 
 mets. They were in general from about 
 eighteen to twenty- four years of age, all 
 very fine looking young men, and all, I am 
 convinced, full of martial ardour; their ap- 
 pearance however approached nearer to Ho- 
 mer's defcription of Paris, than of Hector 
 going to battle. I do not know what figure 
 will make in the eyes of the Pruffians, 
 
 by?
 
 but they made a very brilliant one in the 
 Aflembly hall. I thought the ladies in the 
 galleries would never have done with their 
 applaufe. 
 
 Auguft 22. 
 
 Nothing is more difficult than the difco- 
 very of truth regarding recent events of an 
 important and complicated nature, which 
 many people are interefted in falfifying, 
 and almoft every body inclined to reprefent 
 according to their own prejudices. 
 
 I have experienced this ftrongly in my 
 enquiries concerning the incidents which 
 occurred on the loth of Auguft, and the 
 circumftances which led to the cataftrophe 
 of that day. 
 
 Every thing is viewed through fuch dif- 
 ferent mediums, and from fuch oppofite 
 points, that the various accounts which pour 
 in from all quarters, crofs, joftle, and con- 
 found each other in fuch a manner, that I 
 have on fome occafions been tempted to 
 
 fufped,
 
 fufpect, that as my information increaied 
 my knowledge diminimed. 
 
 I have fometimes had reafon to imagine 
 that all has happened in confequence of a 
 preconcerted and well executed plan, the 
 authors and conductors of which have been 
 alfo mentioned to me. 
 
 On farther enquiry, I have been aflured 
 that there was no well digefted defign on 
 either fide; that a vaft thoughtlefs mafs 
 of populace had been put in motion by a fet 
 of needy adventurers, who, without any 
 precife object, wiihed for a new ftorm, in 
 which they might be gainers, but had no- 
 thing to lofe ; that it was for fome time 
 doubtful whether the infurredion would 
 terminate againft, or in favour of the Court; 
 that there was a very confiderable chance 
 of its ending, like that of the 2Oth of June, 
 in mere parade, drunkennefs, and noife ; in 
 which cafe it would have tended to the in- 
 creafe of the King's authority, by rendering 
 
 men
 
 teen, more averfe to the difgufling power ef 
 a rabble. 
 
 I have been told by others, whofe autho- 
 rity is more refpectable, that the plan was to 
 feize on the perfon of the King, carry him 
 dire&ly to the caftle of Vincennes, and there 
 confine him till aNational Convention fhould 
 decide on his fate, and the future form of 
 government: this it is believed was the plan 
 of the Republican party, and that it was pre- 
 vented from being literally executed, by the 
 refolution which his Majefty took of going 
 to the National Afiembly, which the form" 
 crs of this plan had not taken into their 
 calculation. 
 
 It could not efcape their reflection, how- 
 ever, that in attempting to feize on his per- 
 fbn and carry him to Vincennes, he might 
 very poffibly be killed. 
 
 Whatever the fecrct wifhes of particular 
 perfons in the Court might be, and what- 
 ever their connections with the enemies of 
 
 France,
 
 ( '43 ) . 
 
 France, it feems evident that on the loth 
 of Auguft the King's fchemes were entirely 
 of a defenfive nature. 
 
 Some people think, however, that in the 
 difpofition in which a great part of the na- 
 tional guards were, and with the force af- 
 fembled in the Tuileries, if they had been 
 directed with ability, and the firft advantage 
 followed up with energy, the fcederes and 
 the rabble from the fuburbs would have been 
 completely difperfed, the belt part of the 
 citizens would have declared for the King, 
 and there can be little doubt of all the ar- 
 mies on the frontiers following their ex- 
 ample. To accufe him of being the ag- 
 greflbr on that day, which is the common 
 cry now, is without foundation. 
 
 The following particulars refpeding the 
 tranfa&ions of the loth of Auguft, I began 
 to infert in my Journal this day; and al- 
 though I came to the knowledge of them at 
 various times, fome of them at later periods, 
 
 as
 
 ( '44 ) 
 
 as appears in the original Journal, I have 
 thought proper to put them all together 
 under this date. 
 
 The motion made by M. Vaublanc be- 
 fore I left the Aflembly on the gth, and 
 which I thought would have pafled, namely, 
 that the foederes fhould be ordered to re- 
 move from Paris, although it was frequent- 
 ly renewed by him and others, was always 
 poftponed, and never decreed. 
 
 The Aflembly continued fitting all the 
 night of the 9th ; but for fome part of the 
 time there was not always during that time 
 the legal number to make a decree, namely 
 two hundred. 
 
 Petion the mayor was in the palace till 
 two or three o'clock of the morning of the 
 ioth He had been with the King to give 
 an account of the ftate of Paris, but remained 
 in the palace or on the terrace after leaving 
 hisMajefty; which gave occafion for fp read- 
 ing a report among the citizens, that he 
 
 was
 
 ( H5 ) 
 
 Was kept there againft his will, as a pledge 
 for the fafety of the King ; and it was even 
 ailerted in the Aflembly, that he was re- 
 tained by force in the palace : but that was 
 refuted by one of the members declaring 
 he had feen him a few minutes before walk- 
 ing on the terrace of the Feuillans with ano- 
 ther municipal officer; they had both come 
 out of the palace for a little frefh air, and 
 were about to return to it, when this member 
 fpoke to them, and Petion told him that he 
 intended to remain there till the public 
 tranquillity was re-eftablimed. 
 
 Notxvithftanding this afilirance, as fuf- 
 picions of his danger were infmuated, it was 
 thought proper to fend a meflage to the pa- 
 lace for the mayor, which was accordingly 
 done, and he directly came to their bar. 
 
 This is a fatisfadtory proof that Petion 
 
 was under no controul from the King ; and, 
 
 in my opinion, it forms a prefumption that 
 
 the mayor was not privy to any plot againft 
 
 VOL. i. L the
 
 the life of the King, or even of any inten- 
 tion to feize his perfon and carry him to 
 Vincennes ; for he could not imagine that 
 either the one or the other could be accom- 
 plifhed without a conteft, in which it muft 
 have occurred to Petion that he would have 
 been facrificed, and therefore he would have- 
 taken care not to be prefent. 
 
 It is faid by fome, that he went as a fpy 
 to examine what force there was in the 
 Tuileries, and confider in what parts the 
 caftle would be attacked with the moft 
 advantage ; alfo to mark who were the 
 leaders, that he might afterwards be their 
 accufer. 
 
 This however would have been a fervice 
 pf.great danger, and as unneceflary as dan- 
 gerous ; a hundred other people were better. 
 qualified than Petion to have given this in- 
 formation. 
 
 On his arrival at the palace that night, he 
 went dire&ly and. made his. report to the 
 
 King
 
 ( '47 ) 
 
 Ring; all the time he remained afterwards, 
 he was under the eye of the Swifs, and of 
 gentlemen attached to his Majefty. 
 
 There is reafon to imagine that Petion, 
 having had fome hint of a meafure intend- 
 ed to be taken at the town-houfe, and not 
 approving of every part of it, chofe rather 
 to be at the palace than there during that 
 tranfadion. Soon after his going from 
 the palace to the National AfTembly, he 
 was configned to his own houfe under a 
 guard, by the Council General of the Com- 
 mune de Paris, that he might not feein to 
 have any part in tranfactions which were 
 of a nature more violent and decifive than 
 \vas agreeable to his character. 
 
 The meafure here alluded to was as fol- 
 lows: While the tocfin was founding, the 
 general beating, and the citizens of courfe 
 under arms at the alarm pods, a few of each 
 feclion, under the pretext that the prefect 
 common council of the city of Paris had 
 L 2 loft
 
 loft the confidence of the people, aflembled 
 and ele&ed new members for that council, 
 inflead of the former, to the number of near 
 two hundred. 
 
 Thofe new chofen counfellors went di- 
 rectly to the hall where the council general 
 of the community aflemble, declared them- 
 felves the real council, drove out the other 
 all except Petion, Manuel, and Danton, and 
 then began the exercife of their functions 
 in a more vigorous manner than ever was 
 known before. 
 
 Mandat, the commander in chief of the 
 national guards, is now reprefented as a 
 traitor, whofe defign was to maflacre the peo- 
 ple. But I underftand from thofe who have 
 been long acquainted with him, that he was 
 an honeft man, though of no extenfive ca- 
 pacity ; and of his treafon I have heard no 
 other proof than that he thought it his duty 
 to oppofe the entrance of the multitude into 
 the King's palace, in cafe they mould at- 
 tempt
 
 tempt to force their way ; and that he had 
 encouraged thofe under his command to ad- 
 here to the conftitution, and defend the 
 royal family from violence. Mandat had 
 alfo taken a prudent ftep in placing a party 
 of the national guards on the Pont Neuf 
 with fome cannon, on purpofe to cut off the 
 communication between thofe who were 
 affembling in the different fuburbs of the 
 oppofite fides of the river. 
 
 The new council general faw the detri- 
 ment that this poft was of to their defigns; 
 they therefore fent fome of their body with 
 thefcarfs of the municipal officers, to order 
 the guard to be removed from the bridge, 
 and a free intercourfe to be opened between 
 the infurgents on each fide of the Seine. 
 
 The ancient council were of the fame fen- 
 timents with Mandat. He had therefore 
 given no direction to the officer who com- 
 manded at this poft, not to obey any order 
 vy hich came from them ; fuch an idea could 
 L 3 not
 
 not naturally occur to him, for neither he 
 nor the officer knew that the original coun- 
 cil was diflblved, and that a new one had 
 ufurped their authority; this officer there- 
 fore obeyed what he thought a legal power, 
 and removed his guard. 
 
 The new council about the fame time 
 fent a meflage to Mandat to come to the 
 town-houfe, on the pretence that they had 
 fomething of importance to communicate 
 to him regarding the public fafety. Mandat 
 ciid not immediately go ; he was at the 
 Tuileries with a large body of national 
 guards when he received this meflage, and 
 frefh parties of the national guards were ar- 
 riving every minute to put themfelves un- 
 der his command, and he was afligning 
 them their pofts. 
 
 A fecbnd meflage, more prefling than the 
 firfl, came to him while he was thus em- 
 ployed He then thought he could delay no 
 longer he left the palace about four, and 
 
 haftened
 
 liaftened to the town-houfe. It 'is faid, thaif 
 he had an order in his pocket, figned by 
 Petion, authorifing him to repel force by 
 force, in cafe the populace attempted to 
 force their way into the palace. The coun- 
 cil wiihed to get pofleffion of this order. 
 
 On his entering the hall where the council 
 were met, he was furprifed to fee a very 
 different afiembly from what he expected. 
 They accufed him of a defign to attack 
 and Daughter the people during their in- 
 tended march from the fuburbs to the pa- 
 lace, and of having made arrangements for 
 that purpofe. 
 
 The man was equally confounded at what 
 he faw, and what he heard. 
 
 After a fhort examination, he was de- 
 fired to withdraw; but as he arrived at the 
 top of the flair, he was mot through the 
 head with a piftol, and at the fame inftant 
 thruft through the body. 
 
 The council then appointed Santerre com- 
 *L 4 mander
 
 C 
 
 
 
 mander in chief of the national guards. 
 This Santerre was originally a brewer, and 
 carried on a great trade in the fuhurbs of St. 
 Antoine, where he gave employment to a 
 very confiderable number of men. As his 
 manners and converfation were on a level 
 with thofe he employed, it is not furprifmg 
 that he was popular, and had influence in 
 that neighbourhood. How a perfon in his 
 fituation, a-'.d with his manners, came to 
 attract the attention of the Duke of Orleans, 
 is not fo obvious. 
 
 I am allured, however, that the Duke 
 did honour M. Santerre with his acquaint- 
 ance, and had him occafionally at his con- 
 vivial parties, previous to his being honour- 
 ed with the command of the national guard. 
 
 The council affumed the whole authority, 
 and fent orders wherever it was thought ne- 
 cerTary, vvhich were generally obeyed. 
 
 The officer who had been appointed by 
 Mandat to guard the arfenal, was ordered
 
 ( '53 ) 
 
 by the council to repair with the men under 
 his command to the fuburbs of St. Antoine. 
 A number of mufkets from the arfenal were 
 diftributed among the people ; and the 
 guard, whofe duty it was to have prevented 
 this, marched at the head of thofe people 
 againft the Tuileries. 
 
 That a body of men elected at midnight, 
 in the mid ft of confufion and alarm, Ihould 
 be able to annihilate an eftablifhed council, 
 ufurp all the executive authority, and find 
 itfelf inftantly and univerfally obeyed, will 
 feem very extraordinary. 
 
 It is not to be imagined however that 
 this originated in an inftantaneous refolu- 
 tion of the various fe&ions of Paris : all had 
 been arranged by a junto of men, of which 
 Danton was fuppofed to be a leading mem- 
 ber, and of whom the electors of the fections 
 were the tools. The newdeputies,havingbeen 
 prcvioufly pointed out by the junto, found 
 little difficulty in difmiffing the old; for, 
 
 befide
 
 befide their being of bolder characters than 
 their predeceilbrs, it is natural for attackers 
 to act with more fpirit than thofe who de- 
 fend, efpecially if the attack is made when 
 it is not expected. And it is equally true 
 that, 111 critical times, men are apt to fhrink 
 from refponfible fituations. Many members 
 of the old commune therefore might not 
 be difpleafed with the ufurpation. 
 
 Whatever may be thought of this mea- 
 fure in other refpects, it muft be allowed to 
 have had a decifive influence on the events 
 of that night. 
 
 Previous to this, many circumftances ap- 
 peared favourable to the King. There 
 were about fifteen hundred gentlemen, of- 
 ficers, and others of various ranks within 
 the palace, all attached to the King, and 
 ready to die in his defence, and that of the - 
 royal family; there were a thoufand Swifs 
 in the barracks of the Garoufel, and about 
 half that number of the national guards, who 
 
 6 ufually
 
 ( 155 ) 
 
 
 
 ufually did duty with them at the Tuileries; 
 and before Mandat received the fummons 
 to the town-houfe, between two and three 
 thoufand of the national guards had arrived 
 by his orders in different detachments at the 
 Tuileries: formerly they had done duty by 
 battalions, but by a late decree of the Na- 
 tional Aflembly, they were directed to do 
 duty by detachments from all the various 
 battalions. If the former method had con- 
 tinued, Mandat would have chofen thofe 
 battalions which were known to be bed 
 affected to the King for this night's fervice; 
 which would have been a very great advan- 
 tage, as fome battalions, particularly thofe of 
 the feclions of Petits Peres and Filles St. 
 Thomas were entirely fo. This being out of 
 his power, and he ordering a detachment equal 
 to three battalions, fome of the difafFected 
 muft have been among them, and a few fo 
 inclined were in danger of corrupting many: 
 .however, thefe detachments, by coming early, 
 
 roanifefted
 
 ( '56 ) 
 
 manifefted a defire of obeying their com- 
 mander, and protecting the royal family. 
 
 Thofe various detachments brought with 
 them twelve pieces of cannon, which were 
 placed around the palace in the manner 
 thought moft advantageous for repelling an 
 attack. Two were placed with a ftrong party 
 at the Pont-tournant, which is at the diftance 
 of the whole length of the gardens from the 
 palace, fronting the grand alley of the firft, 
 and the principal gate of the fecond. This 
 bridge is over a kind of fofle, which fepa- 
 rates the gardens of the Tuileries from tli 
 fpacious Place de Louis XV. 
 
 Of all thefe troops the cannoniers were 
 the mod fufpected of being unfavourably 
 difpofed to the King. 
 
 Befide the troops above enumerated, 
 there was a body of a thoufand cavalry, 
 called gendarmerie a cheval, all under arms, 
 and polled in various places, under differ- 
 ent commanders, all attached to the King. 
 
 Another
 
 ( '57 ) 
 
 Another circuraftance in favour of hU 
 Majefty was that degree of indignation 
 pretty generally felt by the inhabitants of 
 Paris, exclufive of thofe of three of the 
 fuburbs, for the enormities that were com- 
 mitted on the 2oth of June. When to 
 thefe it is added, that the majority of the 
 National Aflembly certainly difapproved of 
 the diibrderly and alarming meafures to 
 which the multitude were prompted, and 
 wifhed them checked, we muft conclude, 
 that with more unanimity, firmnefs, and 
 decifion among thofe who directed the 
 council within the palace, the defign of the 
 original fchemers of the infurrection would 
 have been baffled ; the event would have 
 been different, perhaps the very reverfe of 
 what happened. 
 
 The mod fincere friends of freedom muft 
 have been fatigued and alarmed by thofe 
 repeated diforders, and willing to feize that 
 opportunity of extending the power of the 
 
 King,
 
 ( 158 ) 
 
 King, fo far as is necefTary to prevent them 
 for the future. 
 
 As for the King himfelf, I am inclined 
 to believe, from his mild and unambitious 
 character, from his conduct fmce the com- 
 mencement of his reign, from his piety, and 
 from all I have heard from cool and candid 
 authority fmce I came here, that it was his 
 defire and determination to be faithful to the 
 confutation, provided the conftitution was 
 allowed to be faithful to him ; and that he 
 defired no other alteration than fuch as 
 could fecure the prerogatives which the 
 confutation allowed him. 
 
 That lie ever entered into any engage- 
 ment, or affifted any projecl for the re- 
 ftoration of the old government, is what 
 I have found no fatisfa&ory proof of. 
 
 Whatever plans may have been formed 
 by the King and his council for the defence 
 of the Tuileries, the repelling the aflailants, 
 
 and
 
 ( '59 ) 
 
 and for the meafures to be purfued on their 
 being difperfed, all were rendered ineffec- 
 tual by the illegal and wicked, but decifive 
 meafure, of appointing a new council at 
 the town-houfe, murdering the commander 
 of the national guards, and by that council 
 ufurping the whole power of the State. 
 
 After Mandat left the Tuileries and went 
 to the town-houfe, as he defigned to return 
 immediately, he left no particular orders. 
 The various detachments of national guards 
 which at his requilition were affembled 
 around the palace, and in its different courts, 
 were long in impatient expectation of feeing 
 him : in his abfence they knew not whom 
 to obey, or how to act in the different emer- 
 gencies which occurred. 
 
 About fix -o'clock in the morning, the 
 King, who had not gone to bed the pre- 
 ceding night, defcended into the courts of 
 the palace to review the Swifs and national 
 guards. He was accompanied by fome per- 
 
 fons
 
 fons of rank, and officers of diflin&ion. The 
 Swifs began the cry of Vive le Roi ! as 
 foon as he appeared, and the national 
 guards repeated it ; but all the cannoniers 
 cried, Vive la Nation! which not being ac- 
 companied with the other, was a fign of 
 difapprobation. 
 
 P*rom the courts the King went into the 
 gardens, and reviewed the troops there, and 
 on the terrace of the Tuileries : he after- 
 wards walked all the way to the poft of the 
 Pont-tournant. On his return to the palace, 
 he understood that fome bodies of national 
 guards, jufl arrived, feemed to have caught 
 the difpofition of the cannoniers ; they 
 fhouted, Vive la Nation ! and fome of them 
 cried, Vive Petion ! 
 
 The detachments which had afTembled 
 early by orders of Mandat were difturbed 
 at this, and at hearing nothing of theif 
 commander; fome of them began to change 
 
 r 
 
 their original difpofitions, through the 
 2 infmuations
 
 infi nuations and example of the canno- 
 niers. 
 
 In the mean time an immenfe multi- 
 tude, headed by the fcederes, were ad- 
 vancing from the fuburbs of St. Antoine ; 
 every ftreet and alley which led to the pa- 
 lace was crowded by rabble, and by parties 
 of a kind of irregular national guards, fome 
 armed with fufees, and fome with pikes, who 
 came from every quarter of Paris, without 
 knowing what was intended, or how they 
 themfelves were to aft, and who were ready 
 to cry, Vive le Roi! or Vive la Nation! 
 according to the humour of the ftreet 
 through which they paffed, and the turn 
 which things might take. 
 
 The gendarmerie a cheval, who were 
 drawn up in an opening near the Caroufel, 
 were gradually fhoved off their ground by 
 the ftill augmenting multitude, and removed 
 to the Place du Palais Royal, from whence 
 alfo they were foon obliged to fnift their 
 
 YOL. I, M ground.
 
 ground. To allow cavalry to be thus prefTed 
 upon, and all their movements impeded, 
 \vas rendering them ufelefs, and expofing 
 them to he infected, partly through fear and 
 partly by example, with the fpiritof the crowd 
 which furrounded them, which accord- 
 ingly happened ; for although they feemed 
 in the morning determined to do their duty 
 by defending the palace and royal family, 
 and under proper management would pro- 
 bably have done fo, yet being from the mere 
 preffure of the crowd forced from one place 
 to another, and in obedience to that crowd 
 obliged to cry Vive la Nation as they rode 
 through the ftreets, they gradually loft their 
 original intention ; and afterwards,whenthey 
 iaw the Swiis give way, and flying through 
 the Place of Louis XV. and the plain called 
 the Eiyfian Fields, great part of this body of 
 cavalry abandoned their officers, and at- 
 tacked and cut down the unhappy fugitives, 
 the very men whom that fame morning 
 
 8 they
 
 they had confidered as their friends, and 
 engaged in the fame caufe with them- 
 felves. 
 
 The gendarmerie a cheval were not the 
 only part of the national guards who acted 
 in this manner ; and it was pretty evident^ 
 a confiderable time before the attack, that 
 thofe who were placed in the garden and 
 the courts of the palace were no longer to 
 be depended on. 
 
 The whole body of Swifs, however, a 
 party of national grenadiers, and all the 
 officers, gentlemen, and others who were 
 within the palace and immediately about 
 the King's perfon, remained unfhaken, and 
 ready to facrifice themfelves in his defence 
 and in that of his family. 
 
 After the King's return from the gardens, 
 fome arrangements were made for the de- 
 fence of the palage ; parties were placed at 
 different pofts, and under the command of 
 particular leaders. Among thofe leaders 
 M 2 were
 
 were men who had, in the courfe of their 
 lives, enjoyed high commands. 
 
 Of all belonging to the royal family the 
 Prince and Princefs Royal only had gone to 
 bed; the Queen's anxiety on their account 
 had made her infift on this the preceding 
 night; the fame anxiety prompted her to 
 have them awaked early in the morning, as 
 fhe faw danger approaching, The light of 
 her children was befides a cordial which her 
 heart needed at a time fo depreffing and 
 afflictive. I am aflured that fhe behaved 
 with great firmnefs on this very trying oc- 
 cafion ; that fhe fpoke in an encouraging 
 manner to the guards, praifing their loyalty 
 and attachment to the royal family. 
 
 Nothing can be imagined more affecting 
 than the condition of this unfortunate 
 Princefs. Who could behold, without the 
 moft fympathetic emotion, a Queen of 
 France, the fitter of Emperors, in the pre- 
 fence of her hufband and children, implor- 
 ing
 
 ( 165 ) 
 
 ing the protection of a fmall band of gen- 
 tlemen, and a few grenadiers ? 
 
 Philofophy may demonftrate that a wo- 
 man in a far inferior walk of life, when her 
 hufband, her children, and herfelf, are in 
 the fame danger, and who has as much, or 
 perhaps more, happinefs to lofe in lofmg 
 them, ought to command our fympathy in 
 an equal, if not a fuperior degree. 
 
 After philofophy has demonftrated this, 
 even thofe who admit the demonftration 
 will ftiil enter more warmly into the diftrefs 
 of the Queen, than into that of the woman 
 in an inferior walk of life. 
 
 It may be repeated, that the latter is as 
 worthy and as amiable as the former ; that 
 fhe loves her huiband and her children, and 
 is beloved by them as much ; that in her 
 more humble fphcre, me enjoyed more 
 happinefs, and therefore in reality is in dan* 
 ger of iuftering a greater lofs than the other 
 
 - 
 
 can. When the voice of philofophy has 
 M 3 repeated
 
 ( 166 ) 
 
 repeated all this, what does the human 
 heart anfwer ? 
 
 Without difputing about what ought to 
 be, but avowing honeftly what w, the hu- 
 man heart, faithful to its firft impreflions, 
 or prejudices if you pleafe, will anfwer I 
 take a ftronger intereft in the diftrefles of 
 the Queen. 
 
 A little after feven o'clock, M. Rhoede- 
 rer, with other officers of the department, 
 entered the room where the King was, and 
 declared, " that the palace was furrounded 
 by an irrefiftible number of armed men ; 
 that the national guards who had come 
 early in the morning were corrupted, and 
 more ready to affift than oppofe the affail- 
 ants ; that the King, Queen, their children 
 and attendants, were on the point of being 
 flaughtered; and that there were no other 
 means of fafety left for them, but imme- 
 diately to put themfelves under the protec- 
 tion of the National Aflembly." 
 
 This
 
 ( 167 ) 
 
 This was a moft humiliating meafure, 
 particularly in the eyes of the Queen, who, 
 on hearing this idea once infinuated hefore, 
 had faid that fhe would rather be nailed 
 to the walls of the palace, and flill fhewed 
 the greateft averfion to going; but on its 
 being urged that there was no other refuge 
 for the King and her children, and that even 
 this would be loft if not taken immediately 
 heaving a profound figh, fhe faid, " It is 
 the laft facrifice, let it be made !" 
 
 The fame motive of tendernefs for her 
 children which determined the Queen, pre- 
 vented the King from hefitating longer. 
 The whole royal family fet out immediately, 
 accompanied by a detachment of Swifs and 
 of the national guards on duty within the 
 palace. Thofe troops formed a lane along 
 the terrace of the Feuillans, through which 
 the royal family and their attendants walk- 
 ed to the hall of the National Aflembly. 
 
 It is infinitely to be regretted that the 
 M 4 King,
 
 ( 168 ) 
 
 King, before he quitted the palace, did not 
 direct thofe who remained within it, imme- 
 diately to capitulate with the leaders of the 
 infurgents, and throw the gates open to the 
 people; this would have faved the lives of 
 many gallant men, which, however expe- 
 dient it might have been to rilk in defence 
 of the King and royal family, ought not to 
 have been expofed for the prefervation of 
 the walls and furniture of a palace. 
 
 This is to be imputed to the concern and 
 agitation of the King's mind at a time fo 
 critical and alarming: for I give no weight 
 to the affertion of thofe who pretend that 
 he took this ftep for the fake of having a 
 double chance in his favour, that if the 
 aiiailants were repulfed, he might be carried 
 victorious to the palace ; and if the reverfc 
 happened, he might dill remain in fafety 
 at the Aflembly. 
 
 Such an interpretation of this unhappy 
 Prince's conduct is not furprifmg, at a time 
 
 when.
 
 when his mod indifferent and even laudable 
 a&ions are perverted into crimes, by the 
 unrelenting rancour of his enemies. 
 
 Some time before the King reviewed the 
 troops in the courts and gardens of the 
 Tuileries, M. Dejoly, minifter of juftice, 
 had gone to the Alfembly, and informed 
 them of the King's having heard that unea- 
 fmefs had been exprefled refpeding the per- 
 fonal fafety of Petion : " His Majefty there- 
 fore aflured the Aflembly, that he had been 
 glad to fee the mayor of Paris in the palace ; 
 that he had ordered him to be treated with 
 all proper attention while he remained, and 
 allowed him to depart the moment the 
 Aflembly had fent for him. But his Ma- 
 jefty underftanding that there were ftill great 
 multitudes aflembled in fome of the fuburbs, 
 and that they fpoke of marching to the pa- 
 lace and to the hall of the Aflembly, he re- 
 commended it to the reprefentatives of the 
 people to confidcr cf meafures to prevent 
 
 the
 
 the ill confequenccs which might attend 
 fuch a flep." 
 
 One member obferved on this, that there 
 were laws exifting againft diforderly afiem- 
 blies of the people, and it was the bufinefs of 
 the executive power to put them in execu- 
 tion. 
 
 Accordingly no meafures for the King's 
 fafety were adopted by the Aflembly ; nor 
 was any other notice taken of the meflage, 
 than that conveyed in the crabbed obferva- 
 tion juft mentioned. 
 
 OfTelin, a municipal officer, came to the 
 Aflembly to give an account of the ftate of 
 Paris. He faid, that at the fedlion of Quinze- 
 virtgts he had found a great confluence of 
 people ; that it xvas with difficulty he could 
 get into the hall where the prefident was : 
 that they were occupied in making very vio- 
 lent motions ; the following among others ; 
 That if the National Affembly had not de- 
 creed \bQtttcbeance by eleven o'clock at night, 
 the tocfm fhould be founded. OfTelin faid, he 
 
 had
 
 had remonftrated againft fo violent a refolu- 
 tion ; that it would be affrontive even to a 
 country Juftice to dictate a particular judg- 
 ment, and exact that he fhould pronounce 
 it by a precife hour. 
 
 He proceeded to inform the AfTembly of 
 what he had obferved at other fections : 
 that he had met a drummer beating the 
 general, and had gone to the guard-room, 
 and required of the officer to order him to 
 ftop; which the officer refufed to do, faying, 
 that what was done was by authority of 
 Mandat. Oflelin accufed Mandat of being 
 the came of all the alarm in which Paris was, 
 by ordering the general to be beat, by 
 placing cannon at different pofts, and by 
 giving directions whe n the people fhould 
 move with a petition to the Tuileries, 
 to attack them in front and rear, and dif- 
 perfe them at all events. 
 
 OfTelm added, that after his courfe through 
 the fedions, he had returned to the town- 
 
 houfe,
 
 ( /* ) . 
 
 houfe, where he faw Mandat arrive, who 
 pretended he had received orders from 
 Petion, which would juftify all the mea- 
 fures he had taken ; but that he had not 
 fhewn any fuch orders. 
 
 A member of the AfTembly obferved, 
 that the mayor himfelf had acknowledged 
 that he had ordered the commander of the 
 national guards to double the number at 
 every poft, and to beat the retreat ; and 
 that, in fat, he underftood that it was the 
 retreat which was beat. 
 
 While they were difputing on this dif- 
 ference in the account, M. Dejoly returned 
 to the Aflembly, and faid, Aa the diforders 
 -of the capital were every moment afTuming 
 a more alarming afpecl, he imagined it 
 \vculd be proper to fend a deputation of 
 their members to be near the perfon of the 
 King, as had 'been done on the 2Oth of 
 June. 
 
 This was bppofed by fome ; one of the 
 6 members
 
 members fuid, that on the occafion alluded 
 to, that generous meafure of the AfTembly 
 had not prevented a perfidious and calumni- 
 ating proclamation, by the King's autho- 
 rity, from appearing the following day. 
 
 Thole who oppofed fo natural and fo juft 
 a propofal, may be fufpected of knowing 
 of fome violent meafure being intended 
 againft the King, which they were unwilling 
 to prevent. 
 
 Others however obferved, that when one 
 of the fupreme powers of the conftitution 
 was threatened, the other ought to defend 
 that which was in danger; therefore, as 
 the King was threatened, it was the duty of 
 the Affembly to fly to his afiiftance. 
 
 It was likewife propofed to invite the 
 King to come to the ArTembly, as a place 
 of greater fafety than the palace. 
 
 While this was debating, a ferjeant of 
 the national guard fuddenly entered the 
 hall, with evident marks of terror on his 
 
 counte-
 
 ( 74 ) 
 
 countenance. He declared that he had juft 
 feen a battalion of Marfeillois marching to 
 the Tuileries ; that they had pointed their 
 cannon againft the palace. I believe, con- 
 tinued he, that the King is in danger of 
 being aflaflina'ted. This man's emotion 
 was fo great, that he could hardly pro- 
 nounce the laft word. 
 
 In the mean time, fome members of the 
 council general, whofe power had been 
 ufurped in the manner already mentioned, 
 entered, and gave an account of that fin- 
 gular tranfaction. 
 
 It was directly moved by fome of the 
 deputies, to pafs a decree againft this 
 ufurpation, and reftore the original council. 
 
 This was oppofed by other deputies, 
 fome of whom no doubt had promoted the 
 hafty nomination made by the fedtions, 
 and approved of all that had been done 
 by the new council. 
 
 One member, obferving that there was 
 
 no
 
 ( 17S ) 
 
 no likelihood of their coming foon to an 
 agreement on that head, renewed the mo- 
 tion for fending a deputation to the palace, 
 putting them in mind of the danger ia 
 which the King was. 
 
 To this another fullenly replied, that 
 his condiments had not named him to the 
 National Aflembly, to be fent on deputa- 
 tions, but to ferve the public ; he would 
 therefore remain in the Aflembly, which 
 was his poft, and die, if neceflary, in the 
 iervice of his country. 
 
 M. Emmery faid, that he was as ready 
 to die in the iervice of his country as any 
 one ; but he alfo thought it his duty to do 
 every thing in his power to preferve the life 
 of the King, and the Royal Family, which 
 he feared were in danger; and therefore 
 moved, that a deputation mould be inftantly 
 fent to the palace to prot^cl: the perfon of 
 his Majefty, and accompany him and his 
 
 family
 
 ( '76 ) 
 
 family to the hall of the Aflembly, if they 
 chofe to come. 
 
 When this was about to be decreed, it 
 was announced, that the King and Royal 
 Family were on the way coming from the 
 palace to the AITembly. This threw the 
 Aflembly into great agitation, and fome of 
 the members feemed apprehenfive of the 
 King's fafety. 
 
 According to an article of the Conftitu- 
 tion, " as often as the King goes to the 
 Legiflative AfTembly, he ought to be re- 
 ceived, and reconducted to the palace, by a 
 deputation." 
 
 In the confufion of the prefent occafion, 
 the prefident probably did not recollect this; 
 but a number of the members of themfelves 
 went out to receive the King -, and foon 
 after, the King, Queen, the Princefs Royal, 
 and the Princefs Elizabeth, entered the hall 
 of the Aflembly, a grenadier walking before 
 
 with
 
 ( 177 ) 
 
 with the Prince Royal in his arms, whom 
 he placed on the table of the Secreta- 
 ries. 
 
 The King took his feat at the fide of the 
 prefident, and addrefled the Aflembly in the 
 words already mentioned. 
 
 The Queen, and the reft of the Royal 
 Family, placed themfelves on the bench ap- 
 pointed for the minifters, three ladies of 
 the court attending them. 
 
 After the King had fpoken, and the pre- 
 fident had anfwered, a ihort debate of a fin- 
 gular nature took place. 
 
 It was ^obferved by a member, that 
 " the Aflembly could not proceed to bufi- 
 nefs in the prefent fituation ; that the more 
 critical the ftate of affairs was, the more 
 ftri6Hy ought they to obferve the forms of 
 the conflitution. The words of the 8th 
 article of the 4th fection in the chapter on 
 the exercife of the legiflative power, are, 
 
 VOL. i. N Lt
 
 ( '78 ) 
 
 L,e carps tigijlatlfceffera d'etre corps deliberant^ 
 tant que le Rol fera prefent *. 
 
 He moved, therefore, that the King 
 fhould be defired to place himfelf at the 
 bar, adding, that he hoped the people would 
 offer no violence to his perfon. 
 
 Cambon faid, it would be more decent 
 to place the King in the tribune, which the 
 prefident had at his difpofal. 
 
 Since, faid another, the prefence of the 
 King arrefts all our proceedings ; and fmcc, 
 whether he remains at the fide of the pre- 
 fident, or goes to the feat at the extremity 
 of the hall, he is equally under the protec- 
 tion of the reprefentatives of the people ; 
 I move, that he be defired to take his feat 
 at one of the extremities of the hall f . 
 
 * The legiflative body fhall ceafe to be a deliberative 
 body as long as the King is prefent. 
 
 f- There are places at each end of the hall, behind 
 the benches for the members, and where flrangers are 
 admitted to fit. 
 
 2 At
 
 At that inftant the King whifpered the 
 prefident, who, addrefling the Aflembly, 
 faid that the King, of himfelf, defired to go 
 to one of the ends of the hall. 
 
 If the King or his family wifh to retire, 
 faid Cambon, they ought to have it in their 
 power. The feats at the extremity of the hall 
 are not proper for them ; the bar is ftill 
 lefs fo ; the place affigned by the conftitu- 
 tion for the King, as chief of the executive 
 power, is at the fide of the prefident ; he 
 cannot be feated at the bar. 
 
 To this a member replied, That although 
 the King was chief of the executive power, 
 he was ftill a citizen ; and therefore, like 
 other citizens, he might fit at the bar, in 
 which cafe he will not be within the limits 
 of the Aflemblyj and we may debate with 
 freedom. 
 
 The King on hearing this came directly 
 
 down from his feat, and placed himfelf with 
 
 N 2 his
 
 his family on the benches deftined for the 
 minifters. 
 
 But it was obferved, that he was ftill 
 within the AiTembly, and according to the 
 conftitution it would be impoifible for the 
 Affembly to do bu fin els. It was therefore 
 moved, that the King fliould go into the 
 box which has been already deferibed. His 
 Majefty and all the Royal Family, with 
 ibme of their attendants, went accordingly 
 and placed themfelves within that box. 
 
 After which M.Rhoederer (procureur of 
 the department), who had come with the 
 King, and had remained ever fince at the 
 bar, gave an account of many of the events 
 above mentioned ; only, as he did not know 
 of the death of Mandat, but thought him 
 under arreft at the town-houfe, he faid no- 
 thing of him, but declared that a vail mul- 
 titude of people being affernbled in the Ca- 
 roufel, and cannon being pointed againft 
 the palace, fome of the populace had knock- 
 ed
 
 ed with violence at one gate ; on which he, 
 with two municipal officers, had fpoken to 
 them. They faid they had a petition, and 
 muftfpeakto the King. M.Rhcedereranfwer- 
 ed, that the whole could not enter, but he of- 
 fered to admit a deputation of twenty of their 
 number, who fhould be fafely conduced to 
 prefent their petition to the King ; and that 
 they had retired to confer with their leaders 
 on this propolal. 
 
 M. Rhcederer continued to narrate that 
 he had, after this, fpoken to the national 
 guards within the area of the court, and 
 told them, that although they were there to 
 preferve the peace, yet the law allowed them, 
 in cafe of their being attacked, to repel 
 force by force, and that they feemed dif- 
 pofed to do their duty ; but on his fpeak- 
 ing the fame language to the cannoniers, 
 they, by way of anfwer, had unloaded their 
 pieces, and they plainly fhewed that they 
 would make no refiftance whatever to the 
 N 3 multi-
 
 ( 182 ) 
 
 multitude ; that having heard nothing of 
 the commander in chief of the national 
 
 guards, not knowing what his plan of de- 
 fence was, and there having -been no com- 
 munication whatever between the depart- 
 ment and the municipality fince Mandat 
 had left the palace to go to the town-houfe ; 
 hearing every moment of frefh multitudes 
 advancing from the fuburbs, and perceiving 
 no means of protecting the King and Royal 
 Family, he had propofed that they fhould 
 
 leave the palace, and feek an afylum in the 
 
 J 
 
 National A (Terribly. 
 
 He had hardly finifhed his narrative, 
 which was long and circumftantial, when 
 an officer appeared at the bar, and declare^ 
 that the gates of the palace were on the 
 point of being forced ; that many citizens 
 "would be murdered, and begged the Aflem- 
 b!y to think of fome means of faving 
 them. 
 
 M. Lamarque faid, " Without examining 
 
 at
 
 at prefent into the caufe of thofe events, 
 let us think only how to prevent the horrors 
 that are threatened. I move that the Aflem- 
 bly (hall inflantly order ten of their mem- 
 bers to go and admonifh the people againft 
 fuch excefles ; invite them to peace, order, 
 and obedience to law ; let the commhTaries 
 throw themfelves between the defenders 
 and the attackers of the palace ; prevent, 
 if poffible, this double maflacre of citizens ; 
 and I defire (continued he) to prefent myfelf 
 to their firft fire, if they fhall fire on each 
 other." 
 
 Guadet propofed alfo, that, as from M. 
 Rhcederer's account, it appeared that the 
 commander in chief was under arrefr, they 
 fhould appoint twelve members to go to 
 the town-houfe, take the commander out 
 of arreft, and re-eftablifh the communica- 
 tion between the department and the muni- 
 cipality. 
 
 Some members faid, they had juft heard 
 N that
 
 that the commander of the national guard 
 had been killed. 
 
 " If that is fo (refumed Guadet), your 
 deputation muft be authorized to appoint 
 fome other officer to that place in his 
 ftead." 
 
 The motions of Lamarque and of Gua- 
 det were both adopted ; and the prefident 
 having named the members for the firft de- 
 putation, they haftened to the Caroufel, to 
 prevent the commencement of bloodlhed. 
 
 A very mort time after they were gone, 
 the firing of cannon was heard, and a great 
 noife in the garden of the Tuileries. 
 
 In the intervals of the cannonade, a con- 
 tinued fire of mufketry was heard. 
 
 The people at the gates called to arms j 
 fome of the deputies ftarted up as if they 
 intended to leave the hall ; others called, 
 " No, no, this is our poft here we ought 
 to die." 
 
 Merlct,
 
 Merlet, the prefident, not being prefent, 
 Vergniaud had fat as prefident ; he now 
 yielded his place to Guadet, who faid, 
 
 " In the name of our country, I require 
 of the Aflembly to remain calm and in 
 filence." 
 
 In this ftate they did remain for a con- 
 fiderable time. 
 
 The cries of victory were heard, and 
 they were told that the Swifs were flying. 
 
 It was apprehended, that in their retreat 
 they might enter the hall. 
 
 " No armed force will enter here (faid the 
 prefident) ; I am juft informed that many 
 Swifs, who took no part in the action, are 
 difcharging their mufkets in the air, to mew 
 that they never intended to join thofe who 
 fired on the people." 
 
 The Minifter of the Marine declared that 
 he had carried orders from the King, to thofe 
 Swifs who were around the hall, not to ufe 
 their arms ; and he defired that the Aflem- 
 bly
 
 bly would order them to be accompanied, 
 by municipal officers, to fome place of 
 fafety. 
 
 At one time there was fuch a noife and 
 buftle in the paflage immediately behind 
 the two fmall rooms in which the Royal 
 Family were, that their attendants became 
 apprehenfive that fome ruffians were about 
 to break in and offer them violence ; and 
 therefore they endeavoured to wrench out 
 the iron bars which feparated the box from 
 the hall of the Affembly, that the Royal 
 Family might throw themfelves into the 
 hall, if neceflary: the bars were not rev 
 moved till the King himfelf affifted, and 
 by repeated efforts at laft forced the bars 
 out. 
 
 It was thought neceiTary to authorife a 
 commiffion to make a proclamation, in- 
 viting the people to refpedl the lives and 
 properties of the citizens ; the proclamation 
 
 to
 
 to be preceded by the words, five 
 
 It was propoied to add, Vive la Confti- 
 tution ! 
 
 This laft was not adopted. 
 
 After this, the deputation from the new 
 council, which had been elected the pre- 
 ceding night by the fe&ions, entered the 
 hall, and their prefident fpoke in the terms 
 formerly mentioned, 
 
 One of the moft remarkable occurrences 
 of that memorable day, and which forms 
 the ftrongeft contraft with moft of the 
 others, happened in the National Afleoibly 
 itfelf. 
 
 After the Swifs began to give way, and 
 when thofe ill-fated foldiers, aflailed on all 
 fides, were flaughtered without remorfe, a 
 citizen of Paris had the humanity and the r 
 courage to protect one of them whom he 
 faw overpowered by numbers, and ready 
 to be facrificed. 
 
 Having
 
 Having torn this poor Swifs from the 
 hands of his adailants, he conducted him 
 over the bodies of his countrymen to the 
 bar of the National Aflembly " Here 
 (cried the generous Frenchman) let this 
 brave foldier find protection I have faved 
 him from the fury of my fellow- citizens, 
 whofe enemy he never was, and only ap- 
 peared to be through the error of others; 
 that is now expiated, and Oh ! let him in this 
 hall find mercy!'* 
 
 Having exprefled himfelf in fuch terms, 
 he threw his arms around the neck of the 
 foldier; and overcome by fatigue of body 
 and agitation of mind, he actually fainted 
 in the arms of him whofe life he had 
 faved. 
 
 The fpe&ators could not but be afFeded 
 1)y this fcene. When the man had by their 
 care recovered his recollection, he begged 
 that he might be permitted to carry the 
 Swifs to his houfe; for he faid it would be 
 8 a happi-
 
 a happinefs to him, to lodge and maintain, 
 during life, the perfon whom he had had 
 the good fortune to fnatch from death. 
 
 Notwithstanding the indignation which 
 the King and Queen muft have felt at many 
 things they had heard, they were the firft 
 \vho began the applaufe on this occafion, 
 which inftantly became univerfal. 
 
 The prefident addrefled the citizen in thefe 
 words : " L'Aflemblee Nationale vous a en- 
 tendu avec interet. Elle applaudit a votre 
 courage et a votre generofite*. 1 ' 
 
 Several of the national guards came and 
 congratulated both the Swifs foldier and the 
 citizen who had faved him. 
 
 A member of the AfTembly propofed, 
 that the name of the citizen fliould be in- 
 ferted in the proces verbal, which was in- 
 
 * The National Aflembly has heard you with plc- 
 fure, and applaud* your courage and your gcncrofity. 
 
 0antly
 
 ftantly agreed to ; and one of the fecretaries 
 announced, that the generous citizen's 
 name was Clemence, and that he was by 
 profeffion a wine merchant. 
 
 Amidft the tranfactions of the loth of 
 Auguft, and thofe too prevalent of late in 
 this country, it is no fmall relief to the mind 
 to meet with one of this kind. 
 
 On a review of all the well authenticated 
 circumftances which have come to my 
 knowledge, relative to the affair of the loth 
 of lad Auguft, it feems moft probable that 
 nothing more than a plan of defence was in- 
 tended in the Tuileries, that the cataftrophe 
 of that day was owing to the ufurpation of 
 the new council of the Commune de Paris, 
 the murder of Mandat, and the boldnefs of 
 the fcederes from Marfeilles and Brittany. 
 
 That if Mandat had refufed to obey the 
 fummons of the new council, which he 
 certainly would have done, had he known 
 
 that
 
 that it was new; had he remained at the 
 Tuilerics to encourage the national guards 
 by his prefence and words, and had the 
 council within the palace been more deci- 
 five and uniform, the attack on the Chateau 
 would not have taken place ; or, if it had, 
 the event would have been very different, 
 perhaps quite the reverfe of what it was. 
 
 To talk of the King as a tyrant, who 
 had formed a plan of bloodfhed, &c. is of 
 a piece with the groundlefs accufations, 
 which men of all countries, when heated 
 by the fpirit of party, are apt to throw out 
 againft their opponents. So very far was 
 Louis XVI. from wifhing to flied the 
 blood of the people, that there is great 
 reafon to believe that his averfion to every 
 meafure which might lead to that is one 
 caufe of the triumph of his enemies, and his 
 own misfortunes. 
 
 As to the queftion of who fired firft, it 
 
 appears
 
 appears of little or no importance; for al- 
 though it were proved that it was the Swifs, 
 ftill it would be clear that the people were 
 the aggreffbrs. Did they not fhew a determi- 
 nation to break into the palace? What 
 were the Swifs placed there for ? Was it to 
 act as gentlemen-ufhers to an armed mul- 
 titude ? No ; they certainly did their duty as 
 foldiers in firing upon thofe who came for 
 no other purpofe than to force their poft ; 
 for whatever orders the King may have 
 given not to fire, it is certain that the Swifs 
 never received any fuch : they did not 
 even know that he and the royal family had 
 gone to the National Aflembly. What mo- 
 tive but the generous fentiment of defending 
 them from the fury of an outrageous rabble 
 could influence the Swifs at the time the 
 firing commenced? They fa w plainly that 
 the cannoniers were againft them ; that the 
 national guards were hefitating, and un- 
 willing
 
 ( '93 ) 
 
 willing to act j and that the fcederes were 
 burfting into the palace. If at fuch a mo- 
 ment they had remained paffive, they would 
 have forfeited that reputation of fidelity 
 and courage which belongs to their 
 country. 
 
 If orders from the King not to fire had 
 been brought to the Swifs, which certainly 
 was not the cafe (but let us for a moment 
 fuppofe it), even in that cafe the principle 
 of felf-defence, as well as the peculiar fenti- 
 ments of military men, would have justified 
 them in acting as they did ; for at the in- 
 ftant, before the firing began, the fury of 
 the afTailants was fo violent, that the Swifs 
 had no fecurity of not being mafiacred if 
 they had not repelled them by firing; and 
 at all events they would have had their 
 arms taken from them an idea unfupport- 
 able to foldiers. 
 
 On the whole, to imagine that the King's 
 VOL. i. O party
 
 ( 194 ) 
 
 party were the aggreflbrs on the loth of 
 Auguft, is as abfurd as to fuppofe that the 
 fcederts and their auxiliaries did not march 
 from the fuburbs of St. Antoine to the 
 Chateau of the Tuileries, but that the 
 Chateau went to the fuburbs and attacked 
 them. 
 
 Auguft 23. 
 
 A prodigious number of people have 
 been arrefled fmce the lOth, and are now 
 in prifon. I am told that a very flight 
 caufe of fufpicion is fufficient to pro- 
 duce thefe new kinds of lettres de cachet, 
 which are ifTued by certain members of the 
 Commune de Paris in great profufion. 
 
 What makes this the more dreadful, is, 
 that thofe who are arrefted have, at prefent 
 at leaft, no means of forcing their trial to 
 be brought on within a reafonable time 
 fo that a man, when arrefted and fent to 
 6 prifon,
 
 ( 195 ) 
 
 prifon, does not know how long he may 
 be confined before he has an opportunity 
 of proving his innocence. It is a great 
 while fmce fome of the ftate prifoners at 
 Orleans were confined, who have not yet 
 been able to obtain a trial. 
 
 For thofe reafons, many perfons who are 
 confcioiis of nothing criminal, but merely 
 not being connected with thofe who pro- 
 jected the infurrection of the loth, have 
 withdrawn from Palis, and fome have ab- 
 fconded among the latter is Monfieur Nar- 
 bonne, late minifter for the war department. 
 Having heard this gentleman reprefented as 
 a warm friend to the caufe of freedom, 
 and as I underftand that the report of the 
 committee on his adminiftration was en- 
 tirely in his favour, I was furprifed when 
 fir ft told that he had left the country: but 
 the irregular and perfecuting fpirit which 
 how prevail?, and whofe malignity is pecu- 
 O a liarly
 
 liarly directed againfl men of noble birth, 
 fuiHciently judifies the ftep he has taken. 
 
 M. de Narbonne is as much diftinguifhed 
 by his talents as his birth, which renders 
 him ftill more expofed to the attacks of 
 envy and malevolence ; for every fpecies 
 of pre- eminence is viewed with jealous eyes 
 during the prefent rage for egahte a term 
 fu eufy to be mifconftrued that it ought never 
 to have been ufed. 
 
 I heard a man who is well acquainted 
 with the diameter of the popular leaders 
 declare, that he was convinced that certain 
 perfons, whom he named, and who are 
 attached to Roland, would very foon be- 
 come odious ta thefe leaders, for no other 
 
 s 
 
 reaibn than that degree of eminence which 
 talents give, and of courfe would be point- 
 ed out by the populace as dangerous 
 men. 
 
 This kind of jealoufy is more univerfal 
 
 than
 
 ( 197 ) 
 
 than may be imagined : in fome it arifes 
 from their not being able to endure the con- 
 fcioufnefs of inferiority ; in others, from an 
 idea that their own intereft is mod likely 
 to be hurt by fuch men; and in a third clafs, 
 from downright ftupidity, which makes them 
 prefer men like themfelves, and difiike thofe 
 of a contrary charader. 
 
 The prefent ftate of Paris feems what 
 London would be during the fufpenfion of 
 the habeas corpus act, and a fufpenfion of 
 the courts of juftice at the fame time. 
 
 If thofe ma'ndates for arrefts are wantonly 
 given, as it is whifpered to me they are, 
 what a field is opened for the exercife of 
 private malice and revenge ! Yet thefe peo- 
 ple dance about the ftreets, finging hymns 
 to liberty, without regarding the defpodfm, 
 exercifed in their fight, without refiefling 
 that their fellow citizens are imprifoned 
 every day nobody knows why, and that 
 O 3 they
 
 they themfelves may be arrefted to-morrow 
 with as little reafon. For my own part, I 
 am exceedingly {hocked at the accounts I 
 hear of the proceedings of this new court 
 of inquilition, called I think Comite de Sur- 
 veillance ; and I have no patience with the 
 indifference and gaiety of thofe who, being 
 more nearly concerned, ought to be more 
 fhocked than I am. 
 
 During the execution of thefe arrefts, 
 the barriers are {hut, and paffports are in 
 general refufed fome, however, have been 
 indulged with them. The Abbe Dillon, I am. 
 told, prefented himfelf to take the new oath 
 to Liberty and Equality he was defired 
 to fign it he faid, that when he had done 
 fo he expected a paffport, as his affairs call- 
 ed him out of Paris. It was anfwered, that 
 he could not have one at that time. How 
 then can I fwear to maintain liberty, faid 
 the Abbe, fmce I find I am not free ; or 
 
 equalityj
 
 , ( . '99 ) 
 
 equality, when I know that others have 
 had paflports which are refufed to me ? 
 
 I was in the National Aflembly when 
 the note prefented by the Britifh minifter 
 on his being recalled was read ; it was heard 
 in filence, and no obfervation upon it was 
 made. 
 
 All the minifters were at the bar. 
 
 BrifTot then read a memorial to be pre- 
 fented to the Court of Great Britain, expla- 
 natory of the late meafures. This feemed 
 to be heard with approbation. 
 
 Auguft 24. 
 
 At the National Aflembly fome Chevaliers 
 de St. Louis offered their crofles as patriotic 
 gifts, and as proofs of their love of equa- 
 lity. The gift is trifling but the fpread- 
 ing this notion of equality may have mif- 
 chievous efFeds : w r ho knows what mean- 
 ing Le Peuple Souverain may at laft give to 
 the word egalite? 
 
 04 In
 
 ( 200 ) 
 
 In the Tuileries and Palais Royal I re- 
 marked to-day a greater number than uiual 
 of itinerant haranguers of the populace. On 
 joining the audience, I found that the fub- 
 jet at prefent is the vices of Kings, The 
 folly, extravagance, and wickednefs of the 
 French Princes ever fmce the beginning of 
 the monarchy was generally mentioned j 
 and the perfidious cruelty, the effeminacy, 
 the oftentatious emptinefs, and imbecility 
 of Charles IX. Henry III. Louis XIV, 
 and Louis XV. were particularly pointed 
 out. Henry the Fourth himfelf was not 
 fpared ; his adventure with the Princefs of 
 Conti, and fome oppreflive laws made dur- 
 ing his reign refpecting the prefervation of 
 game, and the fevere manner in which they 
 had been put in execution, were ftrongly 
 infifted on, to prove that even the beft of 
 kings are oppreflbrs of the people. 
 
 It is not probable that men who had even 
 that degree of hiftorical knowledge which 
 
 make*
 
 ( 201 ) 
 
 makes them acquainted with the characters 
 of thofe Kings, would have fpontaneoufly 
 gone to retail it from a chair or table in 
 thofe public places. 
 
 It follows that all thofe zealous orators 
 are hired for the purpofe of ihfpuing the 
 people with a horror of monarchy., and with 
 a love of another form of government. 
 Sometimes two orators ftand upon oppofitc 
 chairs, and difpute one reprefents anarifto- 
 crate, and flarts feme feeble arguments in fa- 
 vour of monarchy which are overfet in the 
 inftant by the arguments of his democratic 
 opponent, who overwhelms the defender 
 of kings and nobles with ridicule, and ex- 
 pofes him, with thofe he defends, to the 
 laughter of the audience : in fhort, every 
 fpring and engine which can have influence 
 on the minds of the people, is fet in motion 
 to bias them agamft monarchy, and prepare 
 them for the republican form of government 
 which is certainly intended.
 
 ( 202 ) 
 
 Auguft 25. 
 
 I went this morning to the Temple. 
 Great misfortunes intereil the mind like 
 great virtues. I do not believe that, during 
 the fhort flay I propofe to make in France, 
 I mould have thought of going to Verfailles, 
 had the Royal Family been living there 
 in the fame fplendour I have feen them 
 furrounded with on former occafions : but 
 the cruel reverfe they now experience, has 
 feldom been abfent from my thoughts fince 
 the i oth of this month ; and although there 
 was little chance of getting even a glimpfe 
 of them, I was attracted to the Temple 
 merely becaufe they are confined within it? 
 walls. 
 
 This building originally belonged to the 
 order of Knights Templars which arofe in 
 the time of the earlieft crufades, and was 
 deftroyed, with the mod {hocking circum- 
 ftances of cruelty, on incredible pretexts, in 
 the year 13135 by the avidity and revenge 
 
 Of
 
 ( 203 ) 
 
 of Philip the Fair, with the concurrence of 
 Pope Clement V. who was then in France. 
 The ground which belongs to the Temple 
 is furrounded by a high wall, on part of 
 which are a kind of battlements which, 
 I fuppofe, crowned the whole wall formerly. 
 This wall alfo enclofes a garden belonging 
 to the principal body of the building ; for a 
 great many houfes and feparate buildings 
 have been added, which are inhabited by 
 tradefmen who enjoy particular privileges, 
 and before the revolution the whole was an 
 afylum for debtors. 
 
 There were a great many of the national 
 guards at the principal gate, and a party 
 under arms in the inner court, when I ar- 
 rived ; but on being informed that there 
 was a particular fpot behind the building, 
 from which I had a greater probability of 
 having my curiofity gratified, I went there 
 in company with two gentlemen and a valet 
 $e place, 
 
 We
 
 ( 204 ) 
 
 We were told that the King and Queen 
 frequently walked in the garden ; and that 
 the Prince and Princefs Royal are feen there 
 flill oftener; that the King, who difcovers 
 lefs concern than the reft, fometimes afks 
 queftions of the workmen who are employ- 
 ed in the garden, and in repairing part of 
 the building. 
 
 We flood on a fort of rifmg terrace, 
 from whence we could over-look the wall. 
 A perfon whom I accidentally met on the 
 fpot gave me this information, and pointed 
 out two windows in the tower which he 
 faid belonged to the apartment of the 
 King and Queen, and at which they were 
 fometimes feen. While I ftood looking at 
 thefe windows, occafionally afking quef- 
 tions of our informer, one of the national 
 guards, who was a fentinel near the place, 
 came up, and, addrefling me, faid, Vous 
 prolongez vos obfervations un peu trop,
 
 Monfieur : paflez votre chemin, s*il vous 
 plait*. 
 
 Before I had time to fpeak, the valet de 
 place faid,Ces meflieurs font des etrangers 
 des Anglais f- 
 
 The fentinel replied, Ici je ne connais 
 perfonne J, and then repeated what he had 
 faid. 
 
 Mais, Monfieur, pourquoi || ? refumed the 
 valet. 
 
 Pourquoi ! faid the fentinel a little fierce- 
 ly, parcequ'il le faut . 
 
 I checked the valet, and we did what the 
 
 
 
 foldier required ; for, to borrow an expref- 
 fion of Dr. Johnfon, the requejl was reafon- 
 able, and the argument cogent. 
 
 * You prolong your obfervations a little too much, 
 Sir j you had better be gone. 
 
 f Thefe gentlemen are flrangers ; they are Engliih. 
 
 \ At this place, I make no diftinUon 
 
 [| But why ? 
 
 Why, becaufe it mud be fa. 
 
 lam
 
 ( 206 ) 
 
 I am told the King and Queen are more* 
 ftridlly confined fmce Madame de Lamballe 
 was fent to the Hotel de Force ; a proceed- 
 ing which, of itfelf, is fufficient to fill therri 
 with vexation and terror. 
 
 The leaft attention towards the royal 
 prifoners, beyond what is literally in the 
 inftrudions given to thofe who attend them, 
 creates fufpicion, and gives offence. I was 
 told that only two days ago the Prince Royal 
 and his fitter were playing at hand ball in 
 the garden, the King and Queen were look- 
 ing on ; the ball iodged in a part of the 
 wall which the children could not reach ; 
 one of the commiffaries of the commune^ 
 who was prefent in the garden, ran with 
 eagernefs and reached down the ball to the 
 Prince. This fmall piece of complaifaace' 
 has been repeated and blamed. 
 
 Independent x)f every confideration of 
 humanity, it would be good policy in thofe 
 who have the government of this country, 
 
 to
 
 to treat the King and Royal Family with 
 refpecl: and with delicacy ; and independent 
 of every confideration of policy, the fitua- 
 tion of that unfortunate family is fo affect- 
 ing, that it might awaken the feelings of 
 the moft callous-hearted and interefted ftatef- 
 
 men, and incline them to meafures of 
 
 i * 
 
 mildnefs, and even of generofity. 
 
 A contrary conduct will double every 
 prejudice againft the French Revolution, 
 and revolt the friends of freedom from the 
 prefent government of France. 
 
 Auguft 26. 
 
 I have heard certain members of the 
 National AfTembly complain of the delays 
 which have prevented the ftate prifoners 
 from being brought to trial ; particularly 
 thofe of Orleans. When I firft heard this 
 mentioned, I imagined it was from good- 
 will to the prifoners, who had been fo long 
 confmed without being allowed an oppor- 
 tunity
 
 ( 208 ) 
 
 tunity of juflifying themfelves ; but I foon 
 found that thofe who made fuch complaints, 
 took the guilt of all the prifoners for grant- 
 ed, and were only impatient for their exe- 
 cution. Indeed I heard this avowed one 
 night at the Jacobins, by a fpeaker whofe 
 face I had never before feen, and whofe 
 name nobody I queftioned could inform 
 me of. 
 
 After this equitable and 'humane declara- 
 tion, he alTeried that the ^people expected 
 that ample juftice fhould be fpeedily done 
 on all thofe traitors ; that the patience of 
 the people began to be exhaufted ; and 
 r then infmuated, in pretty plain terms, that 
 if le glaive de la lol was withheld much 
 longer, the people would feize it with their 
 own hands, and do therrifelves juftice. 
 
 If I was furprifed at fuch fentiments, I 
 was Hill more to hear them applauded by 
 the audience in the galleries. 
 
 I afterwards fpoke of this to an acquaint- 
 5 ance
 
 ( 209 ) 
 
 I have made fmce I came laft to 
 France, a Parifian. I faid " I had taken 
 fome pains to difcover the fentiments of the 
 people on this fubjed, by queftioning thofe 
 tradefmen I had any opportunity of know- 
 ing, by frequently converfmg with the (hop- 
 keepers^ and with the company I met in 
 coffee-houfes ; but I never had perceived in 
 any of them an impatience for the trial or 
 execution of the prifoners ; nor had I ever 
 feen any fymptom of a fanguinary difpofi- 
 tion in any of the people, except thofe in 
 the- galleries of the National AfTembly, and 
 the Jacobin club." 
 
 '* The people you mention (he replied) 
 are the induflrious citizens (la bourgeoifie) 
 of Paris : to them you do no more than 
 juftice they certainly are not fanguinary 
 though, if they are much longer accuftomcd 
 to fee heads carried through the ftreers upon 
 pikes, Heaven kaows what they may be- 
 come. But you muft remember that the 
 VOL. i. P rabble
 
 ( 210 ) 
 
 rabble wh inhabit fome of the fuburbs, 
 although of a different character, Hill are 
 the people as much as the others. And 
 even with regard to them (continued 
 he), they would know nothing of the 
 prifoners at Orleans or elfewhere, unlefs 
 pains were taken to inform them ; and, if 
 left to themfelves, would not trouble their 
 heads about them one way or the other. 
 
 " Their rage is feldom excited, but by the 
 high price of bread, when the only remedy 
 they think of, is the dragging of a baker or 
 engrofTer a la lanterne: there would ter- 
 minate their thirft of blood ; they never 
 would have a wifh for the death of other 
 prifoners, if they were not wrought upon 
 by wicked and ambitious men. And ftill 
 it may be afked, what intereft even thofe 
 men can have in exciting the minds of the 
 people againft the prifoners ? Why, in fome 
 it may proceed from a view of being 
 thought very zealous patriots ; in others, 
 & from
 
 from private hatred, or a principle of re* 
 vcnge ; and in a third fet, from a dread of 
 what the prifoners may have it in their 
 power to divulge when fet at liberty. 
 
 " As for the applaufe or murmurs of the 
 tribunes (added he), they are no fair indica- 
 tions of the public opinion. 
 
 " People are placed in different parts of 
 the houfe, with directions who and what 
 they are to applaud or condemn. Ap- 
 plauders and murmurers are to be had at 
 all prices ; and as females are more noify, 
 and to be had cheaper than males, you will 
 obferve there are generally more women 
 than men in the tribunes." 
 
 Such is the mofl probable account I have 
 received on this fubjecl ; but on whatever 
 principle this rancour againft the prifoners 
 depends, I am forry to fee it fo active. 
 
 A petition was prefented to the Na- 
 tional AfTembly, complaining of the de- 
 lay of the High National Court of Juf- 
 P 2 tice,
 
 ( 212 ) 
 
 .tke, created for the trial of the prifoners at 
 
 Orleans, and requefting its fuppreflion ; 
 
 and that thefe prifoners fhould be directly 
 
 brought to Paris, and tried by the criminal 
 
 court lately eftabliftied here. This petition 
 
 was intermingled with infinuations of the 
 
 determination of the people to have juftice ; 
 
 that they would not be trifled with ; but, in 
 
 cafe of longer delay, would be tempted to 
 
 avenge- themfelves. 
 
 La Croix the prefident, a man of great 
 firmnefs, made an anfwer which does him 
 honour, importing " that the High Court 
 of Juftice belonged to the Nation ; was in- 
 ftituted by the Constitution, and could not 
 be fupprefied by the National Aflembly ; 
 that fuch a power belonged to the Conven- 
 tion only ; that befides, it would be unjuil 
 to transfer to Judges, chofen by the fmglg 
 commune de Paris, that which the Nation 
 "h.ad configned to Judges elected by all the 
 fe&ions of the empire : you have fwora 
 
 equality
 
 ( 213 ) 
 
 equality not only of individual with indi- 
 vidual, but with refpect to all the fe&ions 
 of France." He fmifhed withthefe words : 
 " II eft minuit, et les reprefentans du peu- 
 ple n'ont point encore fufpendu leurs tra- 
 vaux : fans celTe occupes des grands interets 
 qui leur font confics, ils n'en feront detour- 
 nes ni par les menaces ni paries dangers *." 
 There is dignity in this anfwer ; but that 
 country muft be in a fad ftate, whofe legif- 
 lative body are obliged to hear threats 
 from a fmall portion of the people, without 
 having the power of punifhing them. 
 
 Auguft 27. 
 
 The news arrived yefterday at the Na- 
 tional Afiembly, that the town of Longwy 
 had furrendered to the Prufiians. 
 
 * It is midnight, and the reprefentatives of the peo- 
 ple have not yet ended their labours : continually oc- 
 cupied with the great interefts with which they arc 
 entrufted, they will not be prevented either by threats 
 or dangers, 
 
 P 3 As
 
 As this place is tolerably well fortified, 
 and had a garrifon of confiderable force be- 
 fides the citizens, the news was unexpect- 
 ed, and made evident impreffions on the 
 minds of the deputies. After a fhort fi- 
 lence, Jean Debry rofe and made a fpeech 
 on the prefent ftate of France ; obferving, 
 that ileftitute of a fmgle ally, and attacked 
 by a coalition of defpotic princes without 
 provocation, and for no other reafon than 
 that the French had thrown off a defpotic 
 
 and oppreffive government, and eftablifhed 
 
 t 
 
 a more free and equal one, which the ty- 
 rants, who were combined againft them, 
 imagined might excite their own wretched 
 fubjedts to attempt the fame ; and therefore, 
 forgetting former animofities, thefe defpots 
 
 made a common caufe againft France 
 
 he added, that as this was the moft profli- 
 gate and extraordinary caufe of war that 
 the world had ever known, it was necefiary 
 to repel and put an end to it by extraordi- 
 nary
 
 ( "5 ) ' 
 
 nary means. He therefore propofed that & 
 body of j 200 volunteers Ihould be levied, 
 
 whofe bufinefs fhould principally be his 
 
 words are, dont la mljjion fera principalement 
 de s attach er corps a corps aux chefs des armees 
 ennemies, et des rois qui les dirigent that is, 
 whofe bufinefs it fhould be to afTaflinate the 
 Generals and Princes who commanded the 
 armies which attacked France. He pro- 
 pofed that thefe felecl: volunteers fhould be 
 divided among the four armies which are 
 now in the pay of France ; that they fhould 
 be clothed and armed in the manner beft 
 adapted to the purpofe for which they were 
 to be employed ; that they fhould have 
 two thoufand livres of yearly penfion, with 
 reverfion to their children to the third ge- 
 neration. 
 
 This motion was warmly oppofed by 
 Vergniaud, as unworthy of a /ree and en- 
 lightened nation, equally unjuftifiable and in- 
 expedient ; " for (faid he), even if no argu- 
 P 4 ments
 
 ( 2l6 ) 
 
 meats of juftice or humanity could be 
 urged againft fuch a meafure, how can you 
 prevent the fame from being ufed againft 
 yourfelves ? If you form a band of tyranni- 
 cides, will not your enemies raife brigades 
 for the purpofe of afTaiTmating the leaders 
 of your armies ? In fuch a fituation, whom, 
 will you have to command your armies ?" 
 
 To this it was anfwered, " That the 
 fame reafons which are good refpeding the 
 conduct of other wars, do not apply to 
 this : this is a war of defpotifm againft 
 freedom, and muft end in the deftruction 
 of- the one or the other. If a ftranger 
 
 o 
 
 enters a houfe by violence for the avowed 
 purpofe of dictating the domeftic oeconomy 
 of the family, faying, I dp not approve of 
 
 I 
 
 your plan of life within thefe walls ; you 
 mufl arrange matters more to my tafte, 
 ctherwife 1 will put you all to death 
 are not the family juftifiable in deflroying 
 this intruder by every means in theirpower ? 
 
 44 Our
 
 <c Our enemies, we are told, will make re- 
 prifals. They certainly will ; but they will 
 as certainly ufe every means in their power 
 for our deftru&ion, whether we pafs this 
 decree or not." 
 
 Lariviere fpoke with much fervour againft 
 the decree. Other members fpoke perfonally 
 to Jean Debry, urging, that the paffing fuch 
 a decree might caufe the immediate murder 
 of many citizens of the town of Longwy, 
 now in the hands of the Pruffians. 
 
 This laft argument prevailed. Debry 
 faid: " As I confiderthe life of one innocent 
 perfon as of more value than any project 
 of decree, I confent that mine mail be fent 
 to the commit/ion extraordinaire.' 11 
 
 Lariviere exclaimed, that even this was 
 unworthy of the French nation, and he de- 
 manded the order of the day. 
 
 It was fent however to the committee ; 
 and there I hope it will be buried, as it 
 ought, for ever. 
 
 It
 
 It will feem furprifmg that fuch a proje& 
 w.:s produced in the National Afiembly, 
 and was afterwards approved of by fome 
 perfons without doors, who quoted the ex- 
 amples of Scsevola, Pelopidas, Timoleon, 
 Brutus, and drew a comparifon between 
 this intended, brigade of 1200, and the fa- 
 mous band of Greeks who obtained the 
 appellation of the facred band. Without 
 entering into the merits of this comparifon, 
 it is evident that the publicity of the decree 
 vras a pretty fure means of rendering it in- 
 effectual. 
 
 A report was made to the AfTembly, that 
 feveral members had been indirectly making 
 application for paflports, that they might 
 leave Paris at this crifis. 
 
 It was immediately propofed to decree, 
 that every deputy who mould abandon hi& 
 poft at this time, with or without a pafTport, 
 fhould be declared infamous, and a traitor 
 to his country. Thuriat faid, they ought 
 
 to
 
 to have feme mercy on thofe who quitted 
 a poft of -which they felt themfelves un- 
 worthy. 
 
 Fran^ais de Neufchateau propofed, that 
 they fliould fwear, not to leave their duty as 
 deputies till they fhould be replaced by 
 thofe chofen for the National Convention. 
 At the inftant all the members rofe and 
 pronounced this refolution ; an account of 
 which was ordered to be fent to every de- 
 partment of France. 
 
 Servan, the minifter at war 4 has written 
 to General Luckner in the following terms: 
 the letter was read in the National Aflembly. 
 *' J'ai ete comme vous, M. le Marechal, pene- 
 trc d'indignation centre les laches ou les 
 traltres qui ont livre a Fennemi la place de 
 Longwy. Comment ! deux mille trois cents 
 hommes de garnifon, dans une place bien 
 fortifiee, bien approvifionnee, ont-ils mis has 
 les armes, avant d'avoir fouifert les horreurs 
 d'un fiege, ct d'avoir vu leurs forterefles 
 
 ouvertes
 
 ( 220 ) 
 
 ouvertes en breches ! Et ce feroient-la des 
 Francais animes de 1'efprit de la liberte ? 
 Non, ce ne font que des laches ! 
 
 " J'imagine, M. le Marechal, que vous 
 n* avez point tarde ;i aflembler un cour mar- 
 tial pour juger ces coupables. Qu'ils per- 
 dent la vie avec ignominie tandis qu'ils au- 
 roient pu la defendre avec honneur, ou la 
 perdre avec gloire, et utilement pour la 
 patrie. II faut que la France apprenne la 
 punition en mme terns que le crime ; que 
 cette punition donne du courage aux plus 
 laches, et qu'elle vengq le nom Francais *"." 
 
 This 
 
 * I was equally with you, Sir, filled with indigna- 
 tion againft the cowards or traitors who have furren- 
 cered the town of Longwy to the enemy. How ! a 
 garrifon of two tlioufand three hundred men, in a place 
 \vcll fortified and well provided, to lay down their 
 arms without having fufFered the horrors of a fiege, 
 or any breach having been made in the ramparts ! And 
 are thofe Frenchmen animated with the fpirit of li- 
 berty ? No, they are a fet of cowards. 
 
 I imagine*
 
 ( "I } 
 
 This letter was univerfally applauded ; 
 and a little after M. Dubayet, a lieutenant- 
 colonel of a regiment and member of the 
 Afiembly, demanded permiffion to join hi? 
 regiment then on the frontiers, adding, " I 
 leave all my family as hoftages." 
 
 This was oppofed ; becaufe, as was db-a 
 ferved, if it was granted, all the military- 
 men then in the Afiembly, who no doubt 
 are equally willing to ferve againft the ene- 
 my, would demand the fame permiffion, 
 which ought to be granted to none, except 
 on condition that they gave in their demif- 
 
 I imagine, Sir, you have already ordered a court 
 martial to try thofe criminals : let them lofe their lives 
 with difgrace, fmce they have not chofen to defend 
 them with honour, or rilked-lofing them with glory to 
 themfelves, and utility to their country. 
 
 It is expedient that France mould hear cf the puniih- 
 ment as foon as the crime, that the punifiiment may 
 give courage to the mod cowardly, and avenge the 
 French nation. 
 
 fion
 
 ( 222 ) 
 
 lion as members, that others might be ele&cd 
 In their (lead. 
 
 Dubayet faid, That he did not confider 
 himfelf at liberty to refign a fituation to 
 which he was appointed by his country ; 
 but that his fituation was different from 
 that of his brother officers ; for the regi- 
 ment of Bourbonnois, of which he is lieu- 
 tenant-colonel, is actually on the frontiers, 
 neareft the enemy, which is not the cafe 
 with refpecl: to the regiments to which any 
 other military officer in the Aflembly be- 
 longs. " Ah ! de grace, meffieurs," con- 
 tinued he, " permettez moi d'aller montrer 
 aux braves foldats que je commande, im 
 officier qui ne veut point practifer avec les 
 
 ennemis de la liberte. Je ne veux point le 
 pardon de ces traitres ; je ne veux point de 
 paix avec les hommes feroces qui devaftent 
 le pays qui les vit naitre ; je leur declare la 
 guerre pour toute ma vie. Permettz mot 
 
 d'aller
 
 d'aller les combattre, les vaincre ou mou- 
 rir*" 
 
 One of the members obferved to him, 
 " Vousavezjure,comme nous,demourir au 
 pofte ou vous etes, vous ne devez pas oublier 
 ce ferment i." 
 
 The AlTembly pafled to the order of the 
 day. 
 
 There are people who think that, at this 
 crifis, a deputy who leaves the National 
 Affembly to join his regiment on the fron- 
 
 * For heaven's fake, gentlemen, allow me to go and 
 fh:w to the brave foldiers I command, an officer who 
 will not capitulate with the enemies of liberty ; I do 
 .not afk the pardon of thofe traitors ; I defire no peace 
 with thofe ferocious men who lay wade the country 
 which gave them birth; I declare everlafting war 
 againft them. Permit me to go and oppofe them, that 
 I may conquer them, or die. 
 
 f You have fworn, as well as we, to die at the pofl 
 where you now are placed ; you ought not to forget 
 that oath. 
 
 tiers,
 
 22 4 ) 
 
 tiers, would quit the poft of danger for 
 where he would be fafer. 
 
 The Aflembly have decreed, that thertf 
 fhall be an immediate levy of 30,000 men 
 in Paris and the neighbouring departments. 
 A number of petitions were read, fome of 
 them more remarkable for zeal than wifdom; 
 but as they were all expreffiveof patriotifm, 
 they were heard with patience by the Aflem- 
 bly, and with applaufe by. the galleries. 
 
 A great number of patriotic donations, 
 of no great value, were made ; chafleurs, 
 who are to fet out immediately to the fron- 
 tiers, require the honour of marching 
 through the hall : this is never refufed. 
 
 The ftudents of a college colled: a final! 
 fum, and prefent it for the ufe of the widows 
 and orphans of thofe killed on the loth. 
 One man fends a piece of old plate; another, 
 having no plate, fends his filver buckles ; 
 one fends four or five mufkets ; another as 
 many fvvords, for the ufe of thofe who 
 6 march
 
 march to the frontiers. A body of can- 
 noniers appear at the bar, and defire a piece 
 of ground to pradife in. " The enemy are 
 advancing," faid the fpeaker : " vos braves 
 cannoniers brulent de Ics terrafler," 
 
 It is natural for ftrangers to blame the 
 Aflernbly for allowing their deliberations to 
 be interrupted in this manner. 
 
 It ought to be remembered, however, that 
 the ferious part of the bufmefs is carried 
 on in committees, free from all diforder 
 and interruption. 
 
 It fhould likewife be remembered, that 
 many of thofe things which create noife, 
 tend to keep the people in good humour, 
 which of itfelf is a great point ; they alfo 
 contribute to keep alive that enthufiafrrx 
 which alone can enable the French nation 
 to withftand the powerful combined attack 
 which bears from all quarters againft it. 
 
 Servants letter was a cordial well calcu- 
 lated for preventing the increafe of that de- 
 
 VOL. i. Q^ jeclion
 
 ( 226 ) 
 
 jeclion which the news of the furrender of 
 Longwy had begun to fpread. A member 
 foon after afcended the tribune, and defired 
 to acquaint the audience with the difpofitions 
 in which the citiz-ens of Sarrelouis were. 
 He then read a letter from the magiftrates. 
 They write, that th$ enemy are within a 
 league of their town. " In a few days we 
 {hall hear the roaring of their cannon (add 
 they), and we expedt to be befieged imme- 
 diately ; but our inhabitants and garrifon, 
 fo far from imitating thofe of Longwy, are 
 determined to be cut to pieces (de fe faire 
 backer) rather than give up the town." 
 
 How the magiftrates and inhabitants of 
 Sarrelouis will behave when it is brought 
 to the teft, nobody can tell ; but nothing 
 can be more certain than that their letter 
 had an admirable effect upon the people in 
 the tribunes, who, by their enthufiaftic ap- 
 plaufe, plainly mewed that they thought no 
 
 more of the lofs of Longwy. 
 
 It
 
 It rhuft be confefled, that thofe people 
 have a moft happy difpofition for viewing 
 obje&s in a favourable light, who are com- 
 forted for the adlual lofs of one town, by 
 the promife that another will be better de- 
 fended. 
 
 Auguft 28. 
 
 Lord Gower and his family left Paris 
 yefterday to return to England : this gives 
 more concern to many of the moft intelli- 
 gent of the French, than even the furrender 
 of Longwy. They confider his Lordmip's 
 recall as a pretty ftrong prefumption of the 
 unfavourable difpofition of the Britifh 
 Court. Independent of all political confider- 
 ations, which may be fuppofed to incline 
 them to keep well with Great Britain at 
 this particular juncture, I am greatly de- 
 ceived if they have not a higher efteem for 
 the national character, and more good-will 
 to the individuals of it, than for thofe of 
 
 any
 
 any other country in Europe. They alfo 
 imagine it is for the mutual intereft of both 
 countries, that they fhould continue on good 
 terms. They allow that at the prefent mo- 
 ment France has a more prefling intereft in 
 this good fellowfhip than England ; but 
 they afTert it is the reverfe in general. 
 
 The French think they are lofers by the 
 oommercial treaty ; and they pretend that 
 they abide by it notwithftanding, to give 
 an unequivocal proof of good faith and 
 good will to the Englim nation. 
 
 Talking very lately with a Frenchman on 
 this fubjeft, he obferved, that he under- 
 flood it to be a prevailing notion in England, 
 that the Englifh are better fighters and 
 worfe negotiators than the French ; " but 
 continued he), without admitting the truth 
 of the firft part of that opinion, I imagine 
 there cannot be a flronger proof of the 
 fallacy of the fecond, than the late commer- 
 cial treaty, by which England has gained 
 
 more
 
 more frfem France than {he ever did by the 
 rnoft fuccefsful war." 
 
 T^hat prejudice in favour of the characlef 
 of its Own inhabitants, which I know no 
 nation devoid of, I believe the French pof- 
 fefs in full as great a degree as their neigh- 
 bours : it would be very fingular if they 
 did not, confidering how much their man- 
 ners have been imitated, and their writings 
 admired, by all Europe for thele two cen- 
 turies paft. 
 
 But with whatever complacency they con- 
 template themfelves, the very loweft among 
 the French fliew no pofitive hatred to fo- 
 reigners. They may perhaps imagine that it 
 is an honour to be born in France ; but they 
 do not think it a difgrace to be born elfe- 
 where, as the people of the fame rank in 
 England certainly do. 
 
 If a French coachman or fifh- woman 
 quarrel with a foreigner, they will make no 
 fcruple to give him the worft name they 
 
 caa
 
 ( 23 ) 
 
 can think of ; but after they have called 
 him a fcoundrel, or whatever other abufive 
 name occurs, they do not add, by way of 
 aggravation, Italian fcoundrel, German 
 fcoundrel, 'or Engli/h fcoundrel j whereas 
 thofe who deal in this kind of rhetoric in 
 England, are never contented with calling 
 a foreigner, whom they abufe, a fcoundrel, 
 becaufe poflibly the by-ftanders might ima- 
 gine him only an Englifh fcoundrel, and 
 of courfe merely on a level with honeft men 
 of other nations j they therefore add the 
 name of the country the man comes from, 
 by way of confummating his infamy. 
 
 This however is not always confidered 
 as an injury. In the year 1745, a Scottifh 
 foldier of the rebel army, who was woundr 
 ed at the affair of Clifton, and unable to 
 march with the corps to which he belonged 
 when they left Carlifle, was taken prifoner 
 with the garrifon, which confifted almofl: 
 pntirely of Englishmen. 
 
 A foldiejr
 
 A foldier of the King's army, who was 
 fentinel at the prifon where this man was 
 confined, told him one day, on his enquiring 
 for the furgeon " You need not trouble 
 yourfelf about a furgeon ; for I can allure 
 you, that you are to be hanged very foon 
 for a Scotch rebel.' 19 
 
 " Thanks to you kindly, Sir, for your in- 
 formation (replied the wounded man, in the 
 accent of his country); for, as I was found in 
 a garrifon of the natives, I was jufl fearing 
 they would, maybe, have hanged me for an 
 JLngli/h one" 
 
 An addrefs from the National Afiembly 
 to the inhabitants of the French frontiers 
 was read by M. Vergniaud, who rs reckon- 
 ed, in point of eloquence, to be equal, if 
 not fuperior, to any of the prefent deputies. 
 
 ** Citoyens, 
 
 " Votre pofition vous afiure la gloire de 
 combattre les premiers les ennemis de la 
 
 liberte.
 
 liberte. La nation compte fur votre Cod* 
 tage ; comptez fur fa reconnoiflance. Vo& 
 enfans feront ceux de la patric, et partout 
 Vous trouverez des compagnons de gloire, 
 on des Vengeurs *." 
 
 The three commiffioners, Kerfalnt, An* 
 tonelle, and Peraldy, fent from the National 
 Aflembly on the night of the i oth to the 
 army commanded by M.laFayette, appeared 
 this day in the hall. As the duly they 
 Were fent on was of a very dangerous na- 
 ture, and had been attended with more fuo 
 cefs than many people expected, they were 
 received with long continued applaufes. 
 
 Kerfaint, with manly and perfpicuous 
 eloquence, narrated the various incidents 
 which had occurred during their expedition. 
 
 * Your fituation fecures to you the honour of being 
 the firft to engage the enemies of liberty. Your coun- 
 try relies upon your courage-, do you rely on her grati- 
 tude. Your children will be adopted as hers ; and 
 you will find every where partakers of your glory, or 
 
 avengers of your death. 
 
 M. la
 
 M. la Fayette, by a fingular accident, 
 informed of what had happened on the 
 loth, before the accounts were brought to 
 any other perfon in his army. 
 
 He had fent M. Darblais, an officer of 
 diftintion in the army, with difpatches of 
 great importance, and fome confidential 
 meflages to the War Minifter. M. Darblais 
 arrived within a little of Paris on the morn- 
 ing of the I ith. Having changed horfes, he 
 was ftepping into his chaife, when a grena- 
 dier of the national guards, who had juft 
 arrived from Paris, faw him, and advertifed 
 him of the danger of continuing his route. 
 
 Some municipal officers, who had heard 
 what the grenadier faid, made difficulties 
 refpecling his being allowed to return. 
 Thefe difficulties were removed with infinite 
 addrefs and prefence of mind on the part 
 of Darblais, who pofted back with all ima- 
 ginable fpeed to M. la Fayette, whom he 
 found at Sedan, and informed him of all 
 
 he
 
 ( 234 ) 
 
 he knew. M. la Fayette, having given what 
 account of this buiinefs he thought moft 
 expedient, defired the magiftrates of Sedan to 
 arreftthe three commifTaries of the National 
 AfTembly as foon as they fhould arrive, and 
 thenhefet out for the army. The commhTaries 
 were arrefted accordingly ; and they were 
 detained in prifon from the I4th at night 
 till the morning of the 2oth. During this 
 period, M. la Fayette finding that the army 
 would not fupport him, but were determined 
 to obey the orders of the National Alterably, 
 thought it necedary to withdraw, accompa- 
 nied by M. Darblais and fome of his chief 
 officers. The magiftrates of Sedan, being 
 now fenfible of their error, releaied the 
 commiffaries, and implored their protec- 
 tion. 
 
 Kerfaint interceded with the Aflem- 
 bly in their favour : " Oubllez leurs /ante* 
 (omme nous les oub lions*" faid he in his 
 
 * Forget their faults as we do. 
 
 fpeech
 
 ( 2 35 ) 
 
 fpeech from the tribune ; and then proceeded 
 to give an account of his reception by the 
 army. Nothing certainly could be more cri- 
 tical than the fituation in which that army 
 feems to have then been; near to the enemy; 
 abandoned by their principal officers ; and 
 Jgnorant, till the arrival of the commiflaries, 
 what they ought to do. 
 
 When thefe commiflaries left Paris, it 
 was believed by fome people, with whom I 
 converfed, that they would be put to death 
 as foon as they fhould arrive at the army ; 
 and I fee fome perfons who ftill think that 
 would have been the cafe, if they had got 
 there as foon as they intended. 
 
 But what entirely refutes this fuppofition, 
 is M. la Fayette's having directed the ma>- 
 giftrates to ftop them at Sedan. If he had 
 had any defign of deftroying them, and 
 believed that the army alfo were fo difpofed, 
 he would not have prevented their coming 
 
 M. Ker
 
 M. Kerfaint in his fpeech fiates much 
 matter of accufation again ft la Fayette, 
 vet it feems evident that he was not in in* 
 telligence with the enemy ; for, if he had, 
 it would have been eafy for him to have 
 given them fuch information as would have 
 brought them upon his army when they 
 were deprived of their commanders, and 
 in that furprife and confufion which fuch 
 a ftate rnuft necefFarily produce. But the 
 enemy made no attempt on the French 
 army during this critical period ; which of 
 itfelf refutes part of the calumny with which 
 M. la Fayette has been purfued, and ren- 
 ders what is afTerted by his friends very 
 probable that although he was prefled by 
 every motive of perfonal fafety to haflen 
 his departure, he did not leave his army till 
 after he had made fuch a difpofition as put 
 it out of the enemy's power to attack it. 
 
 I cannot anfwer all the charges I daily 
 hear brought againil M, la Fayettej but they 
 
 are
 
 are of too general a nature, and urged with 
 too much paflion, to convince me that the 
 friend of Wafhington, the man who {hewed 
 fuch a love for the caufe of freedom, both 
 in America and in France, fhould, all at 
 once, become a traitor. 
 
 Auguil 29, 
 
 If there was nothing elfe to ruin the 
 public affairs of France, the continual ac- 
 cufations againft all men in office, whether 
 military or civil, would be fufficient for that 
 purpofe : men feem to be fufpedted of 
 treachery on no ftronger grounds, than be- 
 caufe treachery is in their power. But it 
 is impoffible to put any man into an office 
 of public trufl, xvithout putting treachery in 
 his power: at this rate, therefore, every man 
 enjoying an office of truft will be fufpected ; 
 in fuch a ftate of things^ how can govern- 
 ment go on ? 
 
 General Luckner, \vho is at the head of 
 
 the
 
 the army, is often abufed in ttie 
 prints, which appear here in vaft profufion j 
 and infmuations of the moft malignant na- 
 ture, and probably without foundation, are 
 daily fpread againft him. General Arthur 
 Dillon is expofed to attacks of the fame 
 nature. 
 
 It might have been hoped, that the recent 
 and deplorable fate of this gentleman's 
 friend and relation, Theobald Dillon, 
 marechal-de-camp, would have produced a 
 little caution and delicacy towards officers 
 of that name. 
 
 It is above a century fmce that gallant 
 family, originally from Ireland, were natu- 
 ralized in France. 
 
 The unfortunate General Theobald Dil- 
 lon was about the end of April laft ordered 
 upon an expedition from Lille to Tournay. 
 The party under his command, at fight of 
 the Auftrians, cried out, Traitor ! and fled. 
 A dragoon, whom the General attempted 
 
 to
 
 ( 239 ) 
 
 to ftop, fired his piftol and wounded him, 
 while another wounded his aide-de-camp in 
 the fame manner, and threw him from his 
 horfe. 
 
 On his return to Lille, the foldiers aflaf- 
 finated their commander, and alfo Colonel 
 Berthois, the chief engineer, to cover 
 their own cowardice or treachery ; for it is 
 believed by many, that fome foldiers had 
 been bribed by the enemy to fpread the 
 notion that the French army was betrayed 
 by their officers, which occafioned the dif- 
 order and flight of the troops, and the 
 murder of their leaders. 
 
 Juftice was afterwards done to the good 
 faith and good conduct of Dillon and Bei> 
 thois, by a court martial, and the afTaflins 
 punilhed. The National Aflembly alfo 
 made all the reparation in their power to 
 their families. A penfion was given to the 
 wife and children of Colonel Berthois. 
 General Dillon was not married ; but he 
 
 had
 
 had lived in the ftricteft intimacy with 
 Jofephine de Feville, by whom he had two 
 fons and a daughter. The youngeft fon was 
 born at Lille, at the time his father was 
 murdered, and the infant was carried to 
 baptifm acrofs the fquare on which the 
 mangled body of the father ftill lay. The 
 wretched mother, terrified by a report that 
 the aflafiins intended to deftroy herfelf and 
 her children, rofe from her bed, and in that 
 difmal condition walked on foot three quar- 
 ters of a league, to the houfe of M. d'Au- 
 mont, a French officer and the friend of 
 Dillon ; where fhe and her children were 
 hofpitably entertained for a long time, dur- 
 ing which fhe had languifhed under a dif- 
 eafe, the confequence of her terror and 
 fatigue. A narrative of thefe affecting cir- 
 cumftances was read in the Affembly ; to- 
 gether with the laft will of Theobald Dillon, 
 written in his own hand at Lille, immedi- 
 ately befpre he fet out on this unfortunate 
 
 8 expedi-
 
 ( 
 
 Expedition. In this teftament he recom- 
 mends his children and their mother to the 
 friendfhip and affection of his fitters and 
 relations, in the moft pathetic terms. 
 
 This laft proof of the tehdernefs of a 
 brave foldier, to thofe moft dear to him, 
 had great effect on the National Affembly ; 
 they immediately decreed a penfion of 1500 
 livres to Jofephine de Feville during her 
 life, and one of 800 livres to each of her 
 three children. 
 
 This plan of fpreading reports of treachery 
 among the Generals having fucceeded in 
 this inftance, encourages them to try it in 
 others. A rumour began to circulate lately, 
 that General Dumourier had paffed over to 
 the enemy : this however will go no great 
 length : a man was fent to prifon for :*- 
 peating it in a coffee-houfe, with thL ad I- 
 tion,that the Pruffiana gave no quarter. 
 
 It is generally thought that there are 
 many agents now in Paris, employed by 
 
 VOL. r. R the
 
 ( 242 ) 
 
 the emigrant princes to circulate alarming 
 reports of this nature, and to create univer- 
 fal diftruft and fufpicion. This, at leaft, is 
 infinitely more probable than the ridiculous 
 fiction, which however I find is credited 
 by many, namely, that the guineas of the 
 Britim treafury are fcattered over the fub- 
 urbs of St. Antoine, to keep up the fpirit 
 of difcord and -fedition. 
 
 Several perfons, I am told, have received 
 anonymous letters within thefe few days, 
 from pretended friends, earneftly entreating 
 them to fly from Paris with all poffible ex- 
 pedition, as events of the mofl dreadful 
 nature are about to happen. 
 
 Letters from unknown friends are ge- 
 nerally dictated by real enemies ; and thofe 
 difperfed on the prefent occafion, are pro- 
 bably intended to augment the inquietude 
 which begins to difturb the thoughts of 
 that portion of the inhabitants of this me- 
 tropolis who ever think at all. 
 
 It
 
 ( 2 43 ) 
 
 It is hardly poflible to conceive what ab- 
 furd and inhuman fuggeftions arife from 
 fear. A ftronger inftance cannot well be 
 given than what took place this day in the 
 National Aflembly ; where a member dif- 
 covered danger and deftrution advancing, 
 not from thedifciplined battalions of Pruffia, 
 or the vengeful fquadrons of the mperor, 
 but from the languid hands of a woman 
 ihut up in a prifon and opprefled with ag- 
 gravated calamity. 
 
 " Be allured (cried this man) that there 
 ftill exifts a confpiracy in Paris, every 
 minute part of which it is your duty to 
 trace. The vigilance of the guards on the 
 Temple has been lulled. The prifoners 
 there have found means of communi- 
 cation with the traitors at Coblentz. 
 N'eft-ce pas alTez (continued this unre- 
 lenting man) que cette femme barbare, que 
 cette femme bourreau, s'occupe dans fa re- 
 R 2 traite
 
 ( 2 44 
 
 traite des moyens de fe baigner encore dans 
 le fang des Francois ? N'eft-ce pas aflfez 
 qu'elle refpire encore, fans que vous la laif- 
 fiez renouer fes trames contre-revolution- 
 naires ? Otez-lui tous les moyens de corref- 
 pondre avec nos ennemis, et que Louis 
 XVI. livre a fa lourde nullite, ne corref- 
 ponde plus qu'avec fa honte et fes remords. 
 Je demande, i. que Ton cherche la prefle 
 clont fe fervent encore les confpirateurs : 2. 
 que tous les membres qui compofent la fa- 
 mille du Roi, foient enfermes feparement 
 fans aucune communication entre eux et 
 
 enfermes avec le dehors *.*' 
 
 This 
 
 * Is it not enough that this barbarous woman is em- 
 ployed inher confinement infchemes to enable her again 
 to bathe herfelf in the blood of Frenchmen ? Is it not 
 enough that" {he dill breathes, without your permitting 
 her to renew her plots againft the revolution ? De- 
 prive her of the means of correfponding with our ene- 
 mies, and let the weighty nullity of Louis XVI. have 
 
 no
 
 This vile fpeech was applauded by the 
 
 tribunes. They furely import negro - 
 
 drivers from the Weft Indies to place in 
 thofe tribunes. 
 
 The firft article only, however, was 
 adopted by the AfTembly ; the other was 
 rejected. 
 
 All this terror of a confpiracy arofe from 
 a book lately publifhed, entitled Les Bien- 
 faits de FAflemblee Nationale, ou Entretiens 
 de Madame Sauman. 
 
 This book, the orator faid, turned the 
 National Aflembly into ridicule, and filled 
 him with horror. I queftion much, how- 
 no correfpondence of any kind, except with his fhame 
 and with his remorfc. 
 
 I require in the firft place, that fearch may be made 
 for the prefs of which the confpirators make ufe ; in 
 the fccond place, that all the members of the King's 
 family mail be fcparately confined, without any com- 
 munication with each other, or with any perfonout of 
 the prifon. 
 
 R 3 ever,
 
 ever, if it is half fo ridiculous as hisfpeech; 
 I am fure it will not fill me with more 
 horror. 
 
 Aoguft 30. 
 
 The National AfTembly feem difpofed to 
 behave with republican fternnefs to thofe 
 who difappoint the expectations of their 
 country when before the enemy. 
 
 Some foldiers of the garrifon of Longwy 
 appeared at the bar, to give an account of 
 the reduction of the place, and apologize 
 for the cpnduct of the inhabitants and 
 garrifon. They accufed their officers and 
 the magiftrates ; they faid they had nar- 
 rowly efcaped being maflacred by the Pruf- 
 fians, who had promifed them the honours 
 of war. " You deferved the treatment you 
 received," cried fome of the members. 
 
 What could a garrifon of eight hundred 
 men do, when attacked by fixty thou- 
 fand? 
 
 " You might have died," was the cry of 
 
 the
 
 the Aflembly ; in imitation no doubt of the 
 r^uilmourut of Corneille. 
 
 The foldiers finifhed their memorial, by 
 protefting that they were determined on the 
 firft opportunity to avenge their country 
 and prove their courage. 
 
 This declaration was heard with a mur- 
 mur of incredulity, and their memorial was 
 fent to the Commifflon Extraordinaire. 
 
 A letter was read yefterday in the Na- 
 tional Aflembly from Merlin, one of the 
 magiflrates of Thionville, and father to the 
 deputy. He writes that the inhabitants ex- 
 pect foon to be befieged, but are determined 
 to be blown up with the town, rather than 
 Surrender. 
 
 On which Jean Debry exclaimed with 
 fervour " The moft inftant and vigorous 
 meafures muft be adopted in defence of our 
 country ;' the ex pence mud not be thought 
 of: within fifteen days we fhall enjoy free- 
 dom, or meet with death. If we are con- 
 R 4 quered,
 
 ( 248 ) 
 
 quered, we fhall have no need of money, for 
 we fhall not exift If we are victorious, dill 
 we fhall not feel the want of money, for we 
 fhall be free." 
 
 In confequence of a mandate from the 
 municipality of Paris, whu.u ieems to be the 
 fole executive power, each fedion was or- 
 dered to choofe comrnhTaries for making a 
 general fearch for arms and fuipedted per* 
 fons. 
 
 This fearch was made accordingly in the 
 courfe of lad night and this morning. The 
 -oininiffkries were attended with a body of 
 the national guards, and all avenues of the 
 fedions were watched to prevent any per- 
 fon from efcaping. They did not come to 
 our hotel till about fix in the morning. I 
 attended them through every room, and 
 opened every door of our apartment. They 
 behaved with great civility ; we had no 
 arms but piftols, which lay openly on the 
 chimney. 
 
 They
 
 ( 2 49 ) 
 
 They admired the nicety of the work- 
 manfhip of one pair, but never offered to 
 take them. 
 
 I underftand that a confiderable number 
 of muikets have been feized, and many 
 people arrefted. The matter of our hotel 
 was on guard laft night ; I faw him return 
 this morning in his warlike attire. He talked 
 a good deal of the fatigue he had under- 
 gone, and hinted a little of the dangers to 
 which he had been expofed in the courfe of 
 this fevere duty. 
 
 Being afked if he had been fuccefsful in 
 his fearch after fufpe&ed perfons 
 
 " Oui, milord, infiniment" 
 
 He could not have looked more lofty if 
 he had taken the Duke of Brunfwick 
 
 " Notre bataillon a attrape, quatre 
 pretres *." 
 
 I do not hear that thofe poor men are ac- 
 cufed of any other crime than that of not 
 
 * Our battalion has caught four priefts. 
 
 having
 
 having taken the oath to the new confti- 
 tution : this feems a prefumption that they 
 are men of principle, guided by the dictates 
 of conference, whether well or ill informed, 
 and ought to fubjecl: them to no punifh- 
 ment yet they were carried to the prifon 
 of the Abbaye. 
 
 When men's minds are agitated with 
 party and political diflenfions, they are apt 
 to lofe all idea of juftice and candour. 
 
 The clergy in general are extremely 
 odious in France at prefent. They cer- 
 tainly have been hardly ufed ; and it is an 
 old obfervation, that men often hate thofe 
 they havewronged. Theclergyhave unquef- 
 tionably loft influence in every country 
 of Europe of late years ; but more in France 
 than any where elfe. What an alteration 
 fmce the war of the League, and even fince 
 the revocation of the edict of Nantz ! 
 
 This body of men have been always ex- 
 pofed to the indifcriminating fatire of wit- 
 lings
 
 ( 251 ) 
 
 lings and profligates ; but now, in this 
 country, men of grave and ferious characters 
 turn alfo againft them. A member cf the 
 National AfTembly, and o the foregoing 
 defcription, had occafion yefterday in the 
 Aflembly to fay fomething in favour of 
 an ecclefiaftic : he added, '* He is indeed 
 the honeftefl prieft I am acquainted with 
 for I never was acquainted with another.'* 
 The AfTembly laughed. I did not join, 
 becaufe I have been far more fortunate in 
 my acquaintance with that order of men, 
 than the deputy. But what fhould fliock 
 fmcere catholics ftill more, was what hap- 
 pened two days fmce in the AflTembly. 
 Certain citizens brought to the bar a filver 
 ftatue of St. Roche. " We have often ad- 
 dre-fled prayers to our St. Roche (faid one 
 of them) againft the political plague which 
 makes fuch ravages in France he has given 
 us no anfwer we imagine his filence may 
 poffibly be owing to his form ; and there- 
 fore
 
 fore bring him to you, that he may be con- 
 verted into fpecie ; hoping that, in this new 
 fhape, he will better contribute to drive the 
 peftiferous race of our enemies out of 
 France." 
 
 This harangue was heard with applaufe 
 by the Aflembly and Tribunes, and the 
 faint was conducted to the mint. 
 
 A report of the moft abfurd nature pre- 
 vails at prefent ; it is circulated by many, 
 and believed by feme, that there is a plan 
 for placing his Royal Highnefs the Duke 
 of York on the throne of France. It is 
 thought that this meafure would fecure to 
 France an alliance with Great Britain, and 
 \vith Pruffia ; and on that account it may, 
 perhaps, be wifhed by more people in this 
 country than can poffibly believe it. It cannot 
 be wifhed for by any who are interested in 
 the continuation of the Duke's happinefs. 
 
 In the prefent difpofition of the French 
 
 nation j
 
 ( 253 ) 
 
 nation, the crown of France is afiuredly 
 not an object of defire* 
 
 Auguft 31* 
 
 As much pains is taken to fpirit up the 
 people againft priefts, as againft ariftocrates. 
 One reafon, no doubt, is, becaufe the clergy 
 in general are ariftocrates; another is the 
 diflike which a number of people, inde- 
 pendent of politics, bear to a fet of men who, 
 by profeflion, are obliged to cenfure and 
 condemn the mode of life which thofe peo- 
 ple choofe to live. 
 
 Then it is fo eafy a thing to pick out 
 fufficient matter for an abufive pamphlet, 
 from the writings which at all times have 
 appeared againft the priefthood, and apply 
 them to the clergy of the prefent times, 
 although as different from each other, as 
 , the prefent race of Parifians are from the 
 ancient Gauls, or the Parifians of the 
 League. 
 
 One
 
 One powerful engine that has been 
 brought to bear againft the clergy, as well as 
 againft the monarchy, is that old enemy of 
 the former, the Stage. I lately faw Les 
 VictimesCloitresat theTheatre de la Nation; 
 apiece evidently written to infpire horror and 
 indignation againft the priefthood, and to 
 place monks in particular in the moft atro- 
 cious point of view. The part was played 
 by Fleuri, an admirable actor, eafy and ele- 
 gant in comedy; full of energy, and pathetic 
 in the higheft degree, in tragedy; quite free 
 from that pompous fwell and ftrut fo com- 
 mon in French tragic acting, and which 
 certainly never prevailed in real life among 
 the fens of men. 
 
 Mademoifelle Contade is at the head of 
 French comic acting; and it is in comic 
 acting that the French excel. Here you fee 
 the polimed manners of high life reprefented 
 without grimace or affectation ; and all the 
 6 nature
 
 nature and fimplicity of the inferior ranks 
 without vulgarity. 
 
 The French actors and actrefles poflefs 
 befide, particularly in their comic operas, 
 a bewitching gaiety and playfulnefs of man- 
 ner, which is attempted without fuccefs on 
 other ftages. 
 
 The arrefting of citizens, by orders from 
 the confeil des reprefentans de la commune, 
 continues, and gives alarm and uneafmefs 
 to many for themfelves or relations : fome 
 have been taken up of late who were al- 
 ways confidered as warm patriots. I am 
 informed of this with caution ; for it is not 
 thought quite fafe to complain of thofe, 
 who, by fome means or other, poflefs al- 
 moft the whole power of the (late. 
 
 Complaints of this tyranny, however, 
 
 "have been made in the National Aflembly; 
 
 and Vergniaud has declaimed againft it with 
 
 the moft affecting eloquence. There can be 
 
 no doubt of his having convinced them of 
 
 the
 
 the greatnefs of the grievance, and givers 
 them all the defire poflible to redrefs it J 
 but there isreafon to believe that the Aflfem- 
 bly itfelf is under the influence of terror. 
 
 The walls of Paris are at this moment 
 covered with addrefies to the people againft 
 particular deputies with infinuations that 
 the majority are infected with ariftocracy. 
 Thefe papers are not all anonymous ; fome 
 of the moft abufive are figned Marat, the 
 name of a pretended patriot, and, from every 
 account I have received, a real incendiary. 
 
 Symptoms of mifunderftanding between 
 the Affembly and the confeil de la commune 
 have appeared pretty evidently of late. 
 As the Aflembly are the reprefentatives of 
 the whole French nation, and the council is 
 compofed of men deputed from the dif- 
 ferent fections of Paris, it is plain that the 
 council ought to be fubordinate to the Af- 
 fembly ; but by intrigue and management, 
 during the difordars which have exifted 
 
 fince
 
 fince the loth of Auguft, the council have 
 acquired the afcendancy. 
 
 The active citizens of the fuburbs of St. 
 Antoine and St. Marceau are more at the 
 command of the latter than of the former ; 
 and at prefent the inhabitants of thofe two 
 fuburbs are all that is felt in Paris of the 
 Peuple Souverain. What the Convention 
 may be able to effect, there is no knowing ; 
 but there is little probability that this Na- 
 tional Aflembly, which is on the point of 
 difTolution, will ever acquire the afcendancy 
 it ought ; and that the Conventional Affem- 
 bly fhould ever have an exiftence, feems 
 daily more and more problematical. 
 
 Commiflaries are appointed by the Na- 
 tional Aflembly to every feclion of the de- 
 partment of Paris and in the neighbourhood, 
 for the purpofe cf promoting the new levies; 
 which go on fo fuccefsfully,that they will be 
 completed within a very few days, although 
 only two men fhould be chofen out of three 
 VOL. j. S of
 
 of thofe who offer themfelves. To en- 
 courage thofe who work at the entrench- 
 ments now forming round Paris, fome 
 citizens in eafy and opulent circumftances 
 go there daily, and not only treat the hired 
 labourers with occaiional refrefhments, but 
 work with perfevering afliduity themfelves. 
 
 It appears iingular, that, in the midft of 
 this general alarm, the National Aflembly 
 was occupied, a confiderable portion of ye- 
 terday, on an intended decree, the object 
 of which is to facilitate the means of di- 
 vorce. 
 
 September i. 
 
 In the prefent agitation of men's minds, 
 with that prejudice and refentment which it 
 creates, there is reafon to fear that the courts 
 of juftice, as well as the National Aflembly, 
 are obliged to pay too much attention to 
 the opinions of the people without doors. 
 
 A criminal court was lately appointed 
 for the purpofe of trying the criminals of 
 
 the
 
 ( 259 ) 
 
 the loth of Auguft. One cTAngremont 
 was the firft prifoner brought before this 
 tribunal. He had formerly been fecretary 
 to the adminiftration of the national guards, 
 at the office of the Maifon de Ville, where 
 he was placed by the late minifters ; and 
 was now accufed of being the chief of a 
 great band of men, raifed and employed 
 for the purpofe of making anti-revolutional 
 motions in clubs ; holding- difcourfes of the 
 fame nature on the terrace of the Feuillans, 
 the gardens of the Palais Royal, and other 
 places of public refort, with an intention to 
 excite fedition, and raife the people to in- 
 furrecVions againft the National AflTembly, 
 and the public magiftrates, particularly the 
 mayor and other patriots. 
 
 This band Was divided into detach- 
 ments of ten men each, every detachment 
 having a captain and lieutenant. The 
 pay of the captains was ten livres ; that of 
 the lieutenants five ; and that of each pri- 
 S 2 vate
 
 ( 26o ) 
 
 vate man two livres ten fols daily. They 
 had particular figns and words, by which 
 they knew each other, at the public walks, 
 at the tribunes, and wherever the citizens 
 afTemble. They alfo carried a ftick of a 
 particular kind, which they called the 
 conftitution. 
 
 The number was faid to amount in all 
 to 1500 men. D'Angremont paid and 
 directed the whole. The captains gave an ac- 
 count daily to him of whatever had pafled : 
 and he made a kind of return of this in 
 three notes ; one to the King himfelf, and 
 the two others to two perfonsin public office. 
 
 The advocate for the prifoner, befides 
 various other defences, pleaded, that as 
 his client had been arrefted on the eighth 
 or ninth of Auguft, he could not be judged 
 by a tribunal conftituted for the trial of 
 crimes committed on the loth. But as 
 that which the prifoner was accufed of 
 
 referred
 
 referred to what happened on the loth, 
 this plea was over-ruled. 
 
 After a trial of thirty hours, three pro- 
 pofitions were given to the jury to delibe- 
 rate upon. They remained three hours 
 enclofed. On their return to court, the 
 firft article was ftated to them by the judge: 
 
 " Do you find it proved, that there was 
 on the i oth of Auguft a confpiracy within 
 the Tuileries to excite a civil war in the 
 country ?" 
 
 The foreman of the jury anfwered in 
 the negative. On this there was a general 
 murmur among the audience. 
 
 The judge next demanded <c Do you 
 find that there was a defign in the Tuileries 
 of feizing unconftitutional power ?" 
 
 To this queftion the jury anfwered in the 
 affirmative. 
 
 " Do you find it proved that the prifoner 
 was engaged in this defign ?" 
 
 The jury found this proved alfo. After 
 S 3 they
 
 ( 262 ) 
 
 they had given their verdict, the commif- 
 faire, according to the French phrafe, ap- 
 plied the law. 
 
 D'Angremont was condemned to be be- 
 headed. As he retired from the court, the 
 people having perceived that he wore the 
 uniform of the national guards, two of them 
 went into the prifon of the Conciergerie, 
 where this poor man was conducted after 
 receiving his fentence, and informed him 
 that the people required that he fhould not 
 appear on the fcaffold in that drefs. The 
 prifoner immediately took his coat off. 
 
 Five hours after his condemnation, he 
 was brought to the place of the Caroufel, 
 and executed by torch-light. When he 
 mounted the fcaffold, the fpectators teftified 
 their joy by acclamation and clapping their 
 hands ; which favage fign of fatisfadlion 
 they redoubled when his head, being fevered 
 from his body, was held up to their view 
 by the executioner. 
 
 This
 
 ( 263 ) 
 
 This was no great proof of their patrio- 
 tifm, though perhaps fome of them intended 
 it as fuch ; but it was a moft complete one 
 of their brutality. 
 
 Le Peuple Souverain begins to grow as 
 cruel as other defpots. 
 
 M. Laporte, intendant de la lifte civile, 
 was brought next before the fame tribunal. 
 He was accufed of having employed the 
 money of the civil lift in printing and 
 publifhing an immenfe number of pam- 
 phlets, libels, and placards, the tendency of 
 -which was to fpirit up the people againft" 
 the patriots, and bring about a counter- 
 revolution ; employing and paying a num- 
 ber of agents for the fame purpofe ; re- 
 mitting money to the emigrants at Coblentz, 
 particularly to tl.e King's body guards, who 
 were in that city. 
 
 In general he denied 'thefe charges. The 
 
 evidence adduced againft him confifted 
 
 chiefly of papers and letters found in the 
 
 S 4 King's
 
 King's cabinet on the i oth of Auguft. A 
 great many letters were found alfo among 
 his own papers from perfons who profefied 
 great loyalty, and willingnefs to rifk their 
 lives in defence of the King ; and requeft- 
 ing tickets to be admitted into the gardens 
 of the Tuileries, and alfo into the palace 
 itfelf, during the time that the former were 
 kept fliut from the public. 
 
 M. Laporte was afked how many of 
 thofe tickets he had diftributed. He an- 
 fwered, None ; that being the bufmefs of 
 the governor of the Tuileries. 
 
 He was afked how many had been di- 
 tributed. He anfwered, About 2000. 
 
 He was (hewn an order figned by him, 
 addrefied to the Marechaux de logis, order- 
 ing them to prepare accommodations for 
 fome officers of the Swifs guards, on the 9th 
 of Auguft, in the Chateau. Another order 
 figned by him to the commifiary of the 
 magazine, for 400 bed covers for Swifs 
 
 guards
 
 guards on the gth. He acknowledged thefc 
 fignatures. 
 
 Being afked of how many the Swifs 
 guard confifted that night, he anfwered, 
 that he did not know the exa number ; 
 but that it was double the ufual number. 
 
 Being afked if he had not paid the gardes 
 du corps at Coblentz ; if he had not tranf- 
 mitted money to the King's brothers and 
 other emigrants: Tothefe,and all queftions 
 of a nature to criminate himfelf eflentially, 
 he anfwered in the negative. It feems 
 ftrange to a Britifli fubject, that the court 
 allowed fuch queftions to be perfifted in. 
 If they had proof, they might have brought 
 it forth ; but it is highly unbecoming a court 
 of juftice to endeavour to entrap a prifoner 
 by drawing it from his own mouth. They 
 not only did fo, but, as it was then begin- 
 ning to grow dufkifh, the national com- 
 miflary required that lights might be placed 
 near M. Laporte, that the jury might ob- 
 
 ferve
 
 ( 266 ) 
 
 ferve the various impreffions which the 
 queftions made on his countenance. 
 
 What a very fallible kind of evidence 
 muft this have afforded ! 
 
 None but ikilful phyfiognomifts ought 
 to have been on this jury. 
 
 He was afked if he did not keep up a 
 correfpondence with the prifoners at Orleans. 
 
 He anfwered, that of all the flate pri- 
 foners there, he knew only MM. de Briflac 
 and DeleiTart ; the firft he had been ac- 
 quainted with at fchool ; the other he knew 
 only after he was minifter ; but that he had 
 kept up a correfpondence with neither. 
 
 There muft have been a great deficiency 
 of dire6t and fubftantial evidence, when 
 they were reduced to dwell on fuch weak 
 circumftances. 
 
 He was told by the court, that if he had 
 been a good citizen, he would have in- 
 formed the National Affembly of the great 
 expence which Louis XVI. was at to 
 
 maintain
 
 maintain counter-revolution agents, and a 
 counter-revolution fpirit in Paris. 
 
 He anfwered, that by his office he was to 
 pay thofe who brought orders from the 
 King. What man of worth would have 
 accepted of the office, if he had been told 
 that it was expected he was to do the duty 
 of a fpy ? or to accufe the King before the 
 National Aflembly > as often as he fpent his 
 money improperly ? 
 
 The public accufer recapitulated the 
 charges and evidence ; and the jury having 
 withdrawn for two hours, declared that the 
 prifoner was convicted of having expended 
 immenfe fums of money, to foment a civil 
 war, and by that means reftore the ancient 
 defpotifm. 
 
 He was condemned to lofe his head. 
 
 M. Laporte heard the fentence pro- 
 nounced without apparent emotion ; and 
 with equal calmnefs liftened to a kind of 
 
 exhort a-
 
 ( 268 ) 
 
 exhortation addrefled to him by the prefi- 
 dent. 
 
 He then, without taking notice of the 
 prefident, or his exhortation, turned to the 
 audience, and faid : " Citoyens, je protefte 
 que je meurs innocent ; puifle TefFufion de 
 mon fang ramener la tranquillite du roy- 
 aume ! mais j'en doute*." 
 
 M. Laporte retained the fame manly be- 
 haviour to his laft moment ; his appearance 
 on the fcaffold was modeft and dignified, fo 
 as to move the compaflion of many, and 
 cemmand the refpect of all the fpeda- 
 tors. 
 
 Durofoy, a man of letters, formerly edi- 
 tor of the Gazette de Paris, and of another 
 public paper entitled Le Royalifme, was 
 next brought to the bar. He was accufed 
 of a criminal correfpondence with the ene- 
 
 * Citizens, I proteft that I die innocent; may the 
 effufion of my blood reftore tranquillity to the king- 
 dom ! but I doubt it. 
 
 mies
 
 fnies of the revolution, both within and 
 without the kingdom ; with being the au- 
 thor of anti-revolution writings ; with be- 
 ing involved in the guilt of the icth of 
 Auguft ; and with having inferred in the 
 Gazette de Paris, of the 9th of Auguft, a 
 plan of defence, in cafe the Chateau of the 
 Tuileries fhould be attacked, 
 
 He denied having any connexion with 
 the i oth of Auguft ; that he was then at 
 Auteuil ; and faid that the article complain- 
 ed of was inferted in the Gazette without 
 his knowledge. Notwithstanding a very 
 eloquent defence, he was found guilty by 
 the jury, and condemned like the reft. 
 
 He heard his fentence with equal firm- 
 nefs, faying, " Un royalifte comme moi 
 devoit mourir le jour de St. Louis #." 
 
 He preferred his courage on the fcaffold, 
 
 * It becomes a royalift, fuch as I am, to die on 
 St. Lewis's day. 
 
 and
 
 ( 270 ) 
 
 and was beheaded amidft the cries of Vive 
 la Nation ! 
 
 The court in the next inftance tried M. 
 D'Oflbnville, juge de paix. He was accufed 
 of having protected D'Angremont and his 
 accomplices as often as they were brought 
 before him j and of being an accomplice of 
 his in his anti-revolution proceedings, and 
 involved in the confpiracy of the i oth of 
 Auguft. 
 
 The chief foundation of the accufation 
 againft this man was, that his name was in- 
 fcribed in a regifter, found inD'Angremont's 
 pofleflion, as the judge before whom he 
 and ail his partifans were to carry every 
 appeal or difpute they fhould h a; and 
 it was proved that there was a confiderable 
 connexion between them. 
 
 The jury was enclofed two hours, and 
 
 then gave a fpecialverdic~t,That D'Oflbnville 
 
 had co-operated in the plan of D'Angremont, 
 
 6 to
 
 to excite a civil war, and reftore a defpotic 
 government ; but that it was not proved 
 that he had affifted in this knowingly, and 
 of defign. 
 
 This prifoner had fo little expectation of 
 a favourable verdict, that while the jury 
 was enclofed, he faid to a perfon who 
 poured out a glafs of wine to him " The 
 wine you have poured out, my dear fir, is 
 the laft I fhall ever tafte." 
 
 I am glad I have to add, that the verdid 
 of the jury was followed by the long and 
 repeated applaufes of the audience. This 
 was really fome relief to my mind ; for I 
 was afraid that nothing but condemnation 
 was agreeable to the people ; and that the 
 opinion or prejudices of the public had too 
 much influence on the decifions of the 
 courts. 
 
 M. Montmorin, mayor of Fontainebleau, 
 and formerly colonel of the regiment of 
 Flanders, was brought before the tribunal. 
 
 He
 
 He had already undergone an examination 
 before the National Aflembly, in confe- 
 quence of which he was now brought to 
 his trial. He was accufed of having been 
 engaged in fdiemes which brought on the 
 action of the loth. 
 
 He made a very able defence, and {hewed 
 great prefence of mind during his trial. 
 The jury was enclofed three hours, and 
 then gave a verdict of the fame nature with 
 that given in the trial of M. D'Oflfonville 
 " That it was proved that there had been 
 plots and machinations, the tendency of 
 which was to kindle a civil war; that it was 
 alfo proved that M. Montmorin had aflifted 
 in fame of thefe ; but it was not proved that 
 he had aflifted wickedly ^ or with an Intention 
 to do mifckief" 
 
 This verdicl: was no fooner given, than 
 loud murmurs of difapprobation were heard 
 among the audience " You difcharge him 
 to-day (cried one of them)^ and within a 
 
 fortnight
 
 ( 2 73 ) 
 
 fortnight he will order our throats to be 
 cut." 
 
 This created fuch confufion, that fatal 
 confequences were feared. The prefident 
 expoftulated with the people, and pointed 
 out the fatal tendency of their interfering in 
 a cafe of this kind ; but he was not able 
 entirely to calm them, till he faid that per- 
 haps there were among the jury fome per- 
 fons whofe connection with the prifoner's 
 family had influenced their judgment, in 
 which cafe it would be proper to have the 
 verdict revifed by a new jury. 
 
 The prefident thought it neceffary to con- 
 duct M. Montmorin out of the court to 
 prifon, to protect him from the violence of 
 the people, who hifled and hooted him as he 
 paused. In the outer court, one of the na- 
 tional guards aimed a ftroke with his fword 
 at the prefident, which was parried by a by- 
 ftander ; fo that the judge received no 
 wound. 
 
 VOL. i. T Louis
 
 ( 274 ) 
 
 > 
 Louis XIV. and Louis XV. never gave 
 
 more alarming proofs of defpotifin than 
 when they interpofed their authority againft 
 the legal courfe of juftice. 
 
 This was complained of even when their 
 interpofition was to protect a criminal whom 
 the law condemned. If they had exercifed 
 their power in condemning whom the law 
 acquitted, it would have been ftill more 
 odious. On the prefent occafion, how- 
 ever, it is what the people are doing. 
 If therefore it was a power fuperior to 
 law which the French chiefly complained 
 of in their ancient monarchy, they have 
 not found it remedied by the abolition. 
 Yet this is at leaft as great a grievance 
 when exercifed by Le Peuple Souverain, 
 as by any other tyrant. 
 
 The vices of tyrants are faid to run in a 
 circle, and produce one another. Luxury 
 and prodigality beget rapine ; rapine creates 
 hatred in the fubjecT:, which raifes fear in 
 
 the
 
 the prince. Fear produces cruelty, cruelty 
 defpair, and defpair deftruction. 
 
 In the Peuple Souverain, cruelty is ridt 
 derived from the fame remote anceftors; but 
 fprings directly from power combined with 
 credulity in the moft abfurd accufations, and 
 a tafte for the fight of executions. 
 
 All tyranny is intolerable. If the French 
 cannot find the means of bringing that of 
 the people within the limits of law, they 
 will gain nothing by their revolution. 
 
 One particular circumftance renders Le 
 Peuple Souverain a more formidable ty- 
 rant than any other : namely that all 
 other tyrants are in fome refpect perfonally 
 anfwerable for their actions, which is fome 
 reftraint on them ; whereas the Peuple Sou- 
 verain indulge their caprice or fury without 
 any reftraint whatever. 
 
 Not fatisfied with trying to intimidate the 
 
 court, on purpofe to force a revifion of the 
 
 Verdict, and obtain one more to their mind, 
 
 T 2 an
 
 an attempt was made in the next place to in- 
 timidate the National Aflembly. The day 
 after the trial of M. Monttnorin of Fon- 
 tainebleau., fome perfons who called them- 
 felves Deputies from the People came to the 
 bar of the Aflembly, to exprefs their indig- 
 nation at the judgment pronounced by the 
 jury in his favour; and required, in the 
 name du Peuple Souverain, a fpeedy anfwer 
 on the fubjecT:. 
 
 To this very fturdy petition the prefident 
 anfvvered That the Aflembly would in- 
 quire into the object of their requeft; 
 that undoubtedly the people of France was 
 fovereign ; but this fovereignty lay in the 
 whole people, and not in any feparate part, 
 and never could be exercifed but by the re- 
 prefentatives of the whole nation. 
 
 This obfervation of the prefident is very 
 juft ; but there is reafon to dread that there 
 wiil be fome difficulty in making the people 
 uaderftanci it, and ftill more in making them 
 
 conform
 
 ( 2 77 ) 
 
 conform to it. For Le Peuple Souverain is 
 a. monarch compofed of heterogeneous fub- 
 flances, like the image of which Nebuchad- 
 nezzar dreamed; part is fine gold, part filver^ 
 part brafs, part iron, and a large portion 
 clay : each of thefe divifions occafionally 
 aifumcs the right of reprefenting the whole 
 fovereign ; and the clay portion is exceed- 
 ingly apt to bedaub all the others, when 
 they offer to difpute this right with it. 
 
 M. Montmorin, formerly the Minifter for 
 Foreign Affairs, was yefterday examined 
 before the National Aflembly. He was 
 not accufed of having any connection with 
 what happened on the I oth of Auguft ; but 
 the following articles of charge were exhi- 
 bited againft him : That he facrificed the 
 intereft of France to that of Auftria, in op- 
 pofing an alliance between France and 
 Pruffia That he concealed the league of 
 foreign powers againft France, and did not 
 ufe all the means in his power to prevent it 
 T 3 That
 
 - That he pretended to be ignorant of the 
 defigns pf the emigrant princes, and aided 
 by his filence their fchemes againft France. 
 
 M. Montmorin, when interrogated on 
 thefe three heads, anfwered, that he knew 
 nothing of the treaty of Pilnitz ; that he was 
 really ignorant of the defigns of the French 
 Princes, and therefore could not inform the 
 National Aflembly of either in time ; and 
 in general, that he was innocent pf the 
 whole charge. The Aflembly, however, 
 adopted the decree of accufation, and M. 
 Montmprin was ordered into cuftody. 
 
 M. Barnave, fo much diftinguimed for 
 his eloquence in the Conftituent Aflembly, 
 was lately arrefted at his country houfe near 
 Grenoble, and carried to the prifon of that 
 city. What gave occafion for this is a paper 
 found in the King's cabinet, and endorfed 
 in the King's hand Projet du Comite des 
 Miniftres, concerte avec M. M. Barnave et 
 Alex. Lameth.
 
 This paper confifts of various articles, or 
 hints of what it might be expedient to do. 
 
 1. To refufe the fanction. 
 
 2. To write another letter in a friendly 
 ftyle to the princes. 
 
 3. A new proclamation refpecting the 
 emigrants in a firm ftyle, and marking 
 a determination to maintain the confti- 
 tution. 
 
 4 A requifition to the neighbouring 
 powers to fuffer no aflemblies of armed 
 men on their territories. 
 
 With other hints of what the minifters 
 were to fay to the National Aflembly ; par- 
 ticularly to infift on the good efFecl: which 
 the King's former requifitions had produced 
 on the mind of the Emperor, &c. 
 
 Upon the whole, there feems nothing of 
 a treafonable nature in this paper; and if 
 there was, there is no proof that Barnave or 
 Alexander Lameth had any knowledge of 
 j.t. But at prefent the leaft circumflance 
 T 4 creates
 
 ( 280 ) 
 
 creates fufpicion, and the leaft fufpicion is 
 fufficient for an order of arreft. 
 
 I feel much concern for thefe proceed- 
 ings, becaufe 1 believe the minds of thofe in 
 power to be too much inflamed for candid 
 inveftigation of the conduct of men who 
 ated on principles oppofite to their own ; 
 and becaufe, although all that was charged 
 againft thofe unfortunate men had been 
 proved, ftill they might have conceived that 
 they were doing their duty, and acting in 
 fupport of the conftitution. 
 
 The court had been long attacked in jour- 
 nals, in papers and placarts fixed on the 
 walls, by men hired to harangue in public 
 places againft the King and his minifters, 
 who infmuated, and often aflerted, that the 
 country was betrayed, that there was a plot 
 to murder the patriots, and fell a great part 
 of the kingdom to the Emperor ; and ideas 
 of a republican nature were likewife fpread 
 about on ail convenient occafions, 
 
 a
 
 It was not unnatural in the King or his 
 minifters to think of defending themfelves, 
 and refitting this attack with the fame kind 
 of weapons that were ufed by their enemies. 
 They did no doubt accordingly penfion jour- 
 nalifts, and employ agents, to attend the tri- 
 bunes of the National Aflembly, to mix in 
 groups at the public places, to fix up placarts 
 on purpofe to counteract the defigns of their 
 enemies, and turn the public opinion in their 
 favour. For this purpofe D'Angremont and 
 his band may have been employed, Duro- 
 foy may have written, and they may have 
 believed in their confcience that they were 
 defending the King and fupporting the con- 
 ilitution, againft thofe who wifhed to deftroy 
 both, M. Laporte alfo might think he was 
 doing no injury to the conftitution, in ad- 
 vancing money which was at the King's dif- 
 pofal in defraying this expence, according 
 to the orders he received from his Majefty: 
 and there does not feem any thing highly- 
 criminal
 
 criminal in tranfmitting money by the 
 King's orders to a few of his old body 
 guards, who were flarving at Coblentz ; 
 which, however, he denied having done. 
 
 Befides, the indignation we feel againft 
 thofe whofe conduct we really condemn, is 
 greatly diminifhed when we think they acted 
 from principle ; and if our hearts are not 
 hardened by the unrelenting fpirit of party, 
 our indignation is converted into companion 
 when they come to fuffer. 
 
 From the converfations I have had with 
 the moft intelligent and beft informed of my 
 French acquaintance, from the very evafions 
 and palliations of fome, when the difcourfe 
 turned on certain fubjects, and the franknefs 
 of others, I think it highly probable that a 
 project was formed by many of the King's 
 friends, who were alfo the friends of the 
 conftitution, to remove the whole royal fa- 
 mily to the diftance of twenty leagues from 
 Paris. The difturbances which were threat- 
 ened
 
 cried every time the King made ufe of the 
 veto which the conftitution had given him, 
 the outrages committed by the mob in his 
 palace on the 2Oth of June, for which no- 
 body had been punifhed, convinced them 
 that this meafure was neceflary for the King's 
 fafety, and for his having the free ufe of his 
 prerogative. It was propofed that, every 
 thing being previoufly arranged, he fhould 
 inform the National Aflembly of his in- 
 tention to withdraw for fome time to that 
 diftance from the capital which the conftitu- 
 tion permits, and to fet out diredtly after, at- 
 tended by a body of cavalry, and followed by 
 the Swifs and fome battalions of the national 
 guards. It is likely that a detachment from 
 the army on the frontiers would have joined 
 thefe, if neceflary ; and all with no other 
 view than to give energy to the conftitution, 
 and prevent the powers of government 
 frorn being arrefted, as often as any meafure 
 
 was
 
 was taken that difpleafed the Jacobins or the 
 mob of Paris. 
 
 M. de la Fayette was in all probability 
 engaged in this project ; but I am inclined 
 to think that 
 
 The very head and front of his offending 
 Hath this extent, and no more, 
 
 His Majefty fometimes agreed to this 
 plan; but when it came to the point of exe- 
 cution, he always drew back : for although 
 Louis XVI, pofiefles a great {hare of paflive 
 courage, he fhrinks from exertion ; efpe- 
 cially when the meafure which he is ftimu- 
 lated to take has the leaft chance of being 
 attended with bloodfhed. By all I have 
 heard of the character of this prince, whom 
 they endeavour to reprefent as a wicked ty- 
 rant, he in truth 
 
 -lacks iniquity 
 
 Sometimes to do him fervice. 
 
 And I have fome reafon to fufpect that 
 
 the
 
 the moderation with which he bore certain 
 outrages provoked the republican party, be- 
 caufe it deprived them of the pretexts which 
 they wifhed to exhibit to the people, as rea- 
 fons for the deftruction of royalty ; but I 
 alfo believe, that this in a great degree pro- 
 ceeds from a conviction in their minds, that 
 the fplendor of royalty, even with the li- 
 mitations of their conftitution, cannot long 
 exift in France confident with freedom. 
 When they are reminded of the example of 
 the Britifh government, they anfwer that 
 the characters of the two nations are dif- 
 ferent ; but they feem to forget that thofe 
 very circumftances in the character of the 
 French, which render a limited monarchy 
 dangerous to freedom, may alfo render a 
 republican form of government inconfiftent 
 with any tolerable mare of tranquillity or 
 public happinefs. 
 
 The three perfons executed as above- 
 mentioned, I dare fay thought they had 
 2 acted
 
 ( 286 ) 
 
 acted meritorioufly ; and it depended on the 
 event of the infurrection on the loth of 
 Auguft, whether that was of was not to be 
 the avowed opinion of the public. Had 
 that event been the reverfe of what it was, 
 thofe men would have been praifed and re- 
 warded for the fame conduct for which they 
 Were now condemned, and fome of their 
 judges would have been executed in their 
 ftead. They will be dealt with in the other 
 World, no doubt, according to their own per- 
 final condutt through life ; but here the fate 
 of thofe men, and whether they were to be 
 confidered as innocent or guilty, depended 
 not on their own conduct, but on that of 
 the Swifs, the national guards, the foederes, 
 and thofe who directed them. 
 
 If it were clearly proved that the King 
 had entered into a plan for overturning the 
 conflitution, which he had accepted and 
 iworn to fupport, that he kept up a corre- 
 fpondence with the enemies of his country, 
 
 and
 
 ( 287 ) 
 
 and abetted their invafion for the purpofe of 
 re-eftablifhing the old government, and at 
 the rilk of the difmemberment of France ; 
 if thefe things were proved, no man who 
 has read the chapter of the Conjlhution 
 Franfaife, which concerns the King, can 
 have the leaft doubt of his having incurred 
 the penalty of forfeiture of the crown ; and " 
 beyond that penalty juftice cannot go with 
 refpect to him, were all thefe charges ever 
 fo clearly proved. 
 
 In that cafe, however, thofe who were 
 acquainted with his defigns, and aflifted him 
 in promoting them, would be juftly con- 
 demned to death as traitors. 
 
 But if none of thofe charges are clearly 
 proved ; if nothing is difcovered incompa- 
 tible with the idea that the King was con- 
 fcientiouily refolved to adhere to the con- 
 ftitution, and had formed no plan to reftore 
 the old government ; that the meafures he 
 took, and the arrangements he made withia 
 
 the
 
 ( 288 ) 
 
 the Tuileries, on, and for fome time before 
 the i oth of Auguft, were merely defenfive ; 
 and that the attack had been long meditated 
 by thofe who wiftied to deftroy the confti- 
 tution, and eftablifh a republican form of 
 government ; that the very men who now 
 exclaim againfl the King for fhedding the 
 blood of the people wantonly, are thofe* 
 who provoked the war with the Emperor, 
 and incited the attack of the Tuileries on 
 purpofe to enfnare the King, and afford 
 them opportunities of accufing him of a 
 correfpondence with the court of Vienna, 
 and of acting ofFenfively againft his own 
 fubjects ; that they might have pretexts for 
 injuring him in the minds of the people, 
 and eftabliming that republican form of go- 
 vernment which they fo much defire : if 
 thofe fuppofitions are founded on truth, the 
 King, and thofe who fuffer on this occafion, 
 muft engage our fympathy in the higheft 
 
 degree. 
 
 The
 
 ( 289 ) 
 
 The greateft pains are taken at the club 
 of Jacobins, in the public walks, at the 
 meetings of the fe&ions, in the coffee- 
 houfes, and wherever people meet and con- 
 Verfe, to perfuade the public that the King 
 had no right to give orders to fire on the 
 people aflembled in the Caroufel 3 that he 
 certainly left fuch orders with the Swifs and 
 others, when he left the Chateau, to go to 
 the Aflembly ; and for him to repel the 
 people by force, or order them to be fo re- 
 pelled, when they came to prefent a petition, 
 or remonftrance, is the greateft of all crimes, 
 leze nation. This doctrine is as new as ab- 
 furd ; that it was not received on the i oth, 
 even by the moft violent members of the 
 National AfTembly is evident, for M. Rhce- 
 derer, the procureur fyndic of the depart- 
 ment, in the account which he gave at the 
 bar of the AfTembly, in the prefence of the 
 King, a little before the firing began, faid, 
 that he addreffed the cannoniers, and the 
 VOL. I. U national
 
 ( 29 ) 
 
 national guards within the cattle, in theie 
 words : " Meffieurs, a Dieu ne plaife que 
 nous demandions que vous verfiez le fang 
 de vos freres, que vous attaquiez vos con- 
 citoyens ! Vos cannons, meffieurs, font la 
 pour votre defenfe ; ils ne font pas pour 
 1'attaque : mais je requiers au noin de la 
 loi, cette defenfe ; je la requiers au noin 
 du droit de votre conftitution ; je requiers 
 au nom de la furete que la loi garantie a la 
 maifon devant laquelle vous etes pofles. La 
 loi vous autorife, lorfque des violences fe- 
 ro:;t exercees centre vous, a les repoulfer 
 par une forte reaction. La loi vous autorife, 
 lorfque vous ferez a point d'etre forces dans 
 votre pofle, a le maintenir par la force ; et 
 encore un fois vous ne ferez point aflaillans, 
 
 vous ne ferez que fur la defenfive *." 
 
 This 
 
 * Gentlemen, Heaven forbid that we fhould require 
 you to fhed the blood of your brethren; that you fhould 
 attack your fellow-citizens ! Thofe cannon are there 
 for your defence, and not for attacking others : but in 
 the name of law I require that defence ; I require it in 
 
 the
 
 This language, which is that of nature 
 and common fenfe, was not blamed at the 
 time it was held, and if Rhoederer had had 
 the lead idea that it would, he is not the 
 man that would have held it ; but it has 
 been confidered in a different light fmce, 
 and M. Rhoederer has thought proper to 
 abfcond. 
 
 But had the King given direct orders to 
 fire on thofe who threatened to force their 
 way into his palace, he was not only jufti- 
 fiable on the principle of felf-defence, but 
 it was his duty to do fo as foon as he was 
 convinced they could be kept out by 
 
 the name of juftice and of the conftitution ; I require 
 it in the name of that fafety which the law guarantees 
 to the houfe before which you are polled. The law 
 authorifes you, as often as violence is ufed againft you, 
 to repel it with all your force. The law authorifes 
 you, when you are in danger of being driven from 
 your poft, to maintain it by force ; and ftill you will 
 not be aggreflbrs, you will be only acting on the de- 
 fenCve. 
 
 U no
 
 ( 292 ) 
 
 no other means, for he had fworn to defend 
 the conftitution; he himfelf was an eflential 
 part of the conftitution, and therefore, inde- 
 pendent of every confideration of felf-de- 
 fence as an individual, he was bound as 
 King to ad againft the infurgents on the 
 i oth of Auguft. 
 
 September i. 
 
 An incident of a fingular nature took 
 place yefterday. 
 
 Jean Julian, a poor waggoner of Vau- 
 
 girard, was condemned to ten years hard 
 
 labour, for I know not what crime. This- 
 
 man was placed on a fcaffold in the Place 
 
 de Greve, with his hands tied behind, there 
 
 to remain an hour, as a beginning of his 
 
 punifliment. Whether he was previoufly 
 
 mad, or made defperale by fo fevere a fen- 
 
 tence, I am not informed ; but while he 
 
 was in this fituation, the populace crying 
 
 Vive la Nation I the man exclaimed, Vive 
 
 le Roi ! Vive la Reine ! adding foijie 
 
 indecent
 
 indecent expreffions regarding la Nation, 
 prompted, in all probability, by rage and 
 defpair. 
 
 One could hardly imagine that a poor 
 helplefs wretch, in -this deplorable ftate, 
 could have provoked the refentment of any 
 individual; and if it did, the punifhment 
 to which be was condemned might have 
 been thought fufficient. It did not however 
 fatisfy le Peuple Souverain : the man was 
 on the point of being torn to pieces ; but 
 Manuel prevented this, and promifed that 
 the offended majefty of the people fhould 
 be avenged. 
 
 The offender was carried from the fcaffold 
 to prifon,and foon after accufed, before the 
 tribunal which had tried the -others, of 
 this new crime. The fentence no doubt is in 
 due form of law; it declares however what 
 nobody of common fenfe can believe : 
 
 " Qu'il a exifte une emeute populaire, 
 
 ou ledition, le premiere Septembre prefent 
 
 U 3 mois,
 
 mois, tendante a exciter une guerre civile, 
 par des cris de Vive le Roi, Vive la Reine, 
 Vive M. de la Fayette ! laquelle emeute ou 
 fedition eft une confequence naturelle de la 
 confpiration qui a eclate le 10 Aout dernier: 
 que Jean Julien eft convain9u des faits ci- 
 defftis, &c*." 
 
 He was then carried from the prifon to 
 the Caroufel, and there beheaded. 
 
 It is not pofiible that the court could 
 have believed that this waggoner intended 
 to excite any fedition ; what he faid, was a 
 mere rafh retort on the mob, who infulted 
 him in his mifery. If their cry had been 
 Vive le Roi et la Reine ! his would have 
 
 * That a popular commotion or fedition exiiled on 
 the firft of September, tending to raife a civil war, by 
 the cries of Long live the King, the Queen, M. 1 
 Fayette ! which commotion or fedition is a natural 
 confequence of the confpiracy which appeared on the 
 loth of Augufl, That John Julien is guilty of 'the 
 above, &c. 
 
 been.
 
 ( 295 ) 
 
 been Vive la Nation ! It is plain therefore 
 that he was condemned to die to pleafe the 
 people. It is hard to fay who excite greater 
 horror, thofe who order a man's head to 
 be cot off, to pleafe the people ; or the peo- 
 ple who are pleafed by fuch a fpeclacle. 
 
 Thofe who attend public executions, in 
 confequence of a tafte for fuch horrid 
 fights, were a few days ago gratified with 
 an after-piece, which was not announced. 
 
 On the 2yth of Auguft, three men were 
 beheaded for forging aflignats. After the 
 execution, it is cuflomary to hold up the 
 head, that it may be feen by the fpectators. 
 In performing this ceremony, the fon of the 
 executioner approached too near the edge 
 of the fcaffold, fell over, and was killed on 
 the fpot before his father's eyes. 
 
 I was this morning paffing the church 
 
 of Saint Louis du Louvre, and being told 
 
 that it was now frequented by a Proteflant 
 
 congregation, I immediately joined them. 
 
 U 4 To
 
 ( 296 ) 
 
 To behold an aflembly of Proteftants 
 worfhipping God according to the forms of 
 their own religion, in a Roman catholic 
 church, built on the fpot where the mafla- 
 ere of St. Barthelemy began, and near that 
 whence Charles IX. fired, with his own 
 hands, on his Proteflant fubjeds, was not 
 the leaft extraordinary thing I have had 
 oceafion to qbferve fmce I have been in 
 France. 
 
 The original name of this church was 
 St. Thomas du Louvre, and a painting of 
 the martyrdom, of St. Thomas, archbifhop 
 of Canterbury, is ftill one of its ornaments. 
 The roof falling into decay, was renewed 
 in the year 1740, when the church obtained 
 the new name of St. Louis, I know not 
 for what reafon, unlefs it w r as that the 
 .former was thought ominous ; for befide 
 the murder of the faint, whofe name it 
 originally bore, three of the prebendaries
 
 were crufhed to death by the fall of the old 
 roof in the year 1 739. 
 
 The principal ornament of this church 
 is the maufoleum of Cardinal Fleury, who 
 is reprefented expiring in the arms of 
 Religion. Louis XV. ordered this mag- 
 nificent tomb to be erected in honour of 
 his old preceptor and prime minifter ; but 
 the monarch's affection abated as the ex- 
 pence increafed, and became fo cool before 
 the work was rimmed, that it is thought the 
 tomb would never have been completed, 
 had not the Due de Fleury, and other rela- 
 tions of the family, joined in defraying the 
 expence, and animating the artifts, Thus 
 what was begun by gratitude, was finimed 
 by vanity. I mould be forry to fay that 
 in general the latter is the moft powerful 
 motive for expences of this nature ; but let 
 thofe who wifh to know, enquire of fculp* 
 tors and of fa'miers, to which they are moft 
 obliged. 
 
 \Yhen
 
 ( 298 ) 
 
 When I entered this church, I found it 
 crowded with an audience of a very re- 
 fpectable and devout deportment. 
 
 The demeanor of the clergyman was of 
 a piece with that of the audience. I en- 
 quired his name, and am forry I have for- 
 got it. His fermon was excellent, and 
 gracefully delivered ; he ufed more action 
 than is common with Englifh divines ; but 
 feemed free from affectation. He dwelt on 
 the benevolent fpirit of Chriftianity, and in- 
 culcated its precepts with a fervour that, I 
 thought, proceeded from the heart. A pa- 
 triotic form of prayer has been ufed in all 
 the churches fmce the revolution ; it refers 
 to that event, and is affecting and well com- 
 pofed : this was the only thing the minifter 
 read. The King and Royal Family were 
 included in it before the loth of Auguft : 
 the only thing which difpleafed me during 
 the fervice was, that, by order of the exift- 
 
 ing powers, they arc now left out. 
 
 The
 
 ( 2 99 ) 
 
 The very circumftance of their; being 
 omitted, however, would bring them into 
 the minds of the audience ; and thofe who 
 felt the true import of the fermon they 
 had juft heard, I am convinced, did not omit 
 mental petitions in favour of that moft un- 
 fortunate family. 
 
 On a part of the wall of this church, 
 where a faint formerly flood, is the follow- 
 ing infcription : 
 
 Le devoir d'un citoyen: 
 Adorez Dieu. 
 Refpeclez la Nation. 
 Obeir a la Loi. 
 
 Paix avec furvelllance. 
 Liberte fans licence. 
 Egalite fans indecence. 
 C'eft la veritable fcience. 
 The poetry of thefe lines is certainly not 
 very admirable : it were much to be wifhed 
 however, for the happinefs of France, that 
 fhe could obtain what is exprefied in the 
 
 fecond ;
 
 ( 3 ) 
 
 fecond ; as for fc/ence, fhe had no natural 
 bufmefs among them, and muft have been 
 dragged in by her unruly relation indeccnce. 
 
 When I went into the ftreet, people were 
 hurrying up and down with rapid fteps and 
 anxious faces ; groups were formed at every 
 corner : one told in general that a courier 
 had arrived with very badnews ; another 
 aflerted that Verdun had been betrayed like 
 Longwy, aod that the enemy were advanc- 
 ing ; others fliook their heads and faid, it 
 was the traitors within Paris, and not the 
 declared enemies on the frontiers that were 
 to be feared. 
 
 In the National AfTembly M. Vergniaud, 
 with his ufual eloquence, endeavoured to 
 check that alarm which had affected the 
 citizens ; his difcourfe was evidently ad- 
 dreffed to the audience in the gajleries. He 
 faid, "the plan of the enemy was to leave 
 the fortified towns behind them, and march 
 with all poffible fpeed to Paris ; that this 
 
 would
 
 would be their ruin; the French army 
 would follow ; a body of 60,000 men from 
 the capital would meet them ; and that 
 they muft be furrounded, ftarved, and cut 
 to pieces: but that to prevent any poffibility 
 of misfortune to Paris itfelf, the intrench - 
 ments around it muft be completed ; the zeal 
 of the citizens muft be ftimulated : and he 
 propofed that twelve members of the Na- 
 tional Aflembly fhould be fent daily txr en- 
 courage the labourers, not by vain dif- 
 courfes, but by their example ; that thofe 
 members mould themfelves take up the 
 (hovel and pick-axe, and work in the in- 
 trenchments. This was immediately de- 
 creed, and at the fame time, that an army 
 of 60,000 men Ihould be formed as foon as 
 poffible, and march to Chalons, while the 
 inhabitants, who remained in the. capital, 
 ihould labour in the intrench ments. 
 
 The alarm is increafed by the circum- 
 ftantial account which is publimed, and 
 
 6 carefully
 
 carefully circulated, of the plan agreed upon 
 by the Emperor and King of Pruflia, re- 
 jecting the conduct of their troops during 
 their march through France, and on their 
 arrival at Paris. 
 
 According to thofe accounts, a great 
 number of perfons of influence have given 
 affurance of their being ready to join the 
 invading army ; but they are defired to re- 
 main in their particular provinces, where 
 they will be of moft fervice to the caufe, 
 and only join the army when they can do 
 it with fafety, and bring the friends they 
 are now feducing with them ; that detach- 
 ments will be fent from the advancing army 
 to facilitate thofe junctions ; but that when 
 the combined German troops fhould ap- 
 proach near to Paris, the French, under the 
 Prince de Coride, were to be left behind to 
 protect the convoys, and keep the provinces 
 in obedience : while the Germans blockaded 
 
 Paris,
 
 ( 33 ) 
 
 J^aris, which would foon be obliged^ by 
 famine, to furrender. 
 
 Immediately after which, the whole of the 
 inhabitants were to be conducted to the plains 
 of St. Denis, where the men were to be 
 decimated and executed, with impartiality, 
 on the fpot ; the moft diftinguifhed patriots 
 having been previoufly felecled, who were 
 to be broken on the wheel : but that the 
 women and children were to be fpared, 
 except forty or fifty poiffards, who would 
 undergo the fame death w r ith the patriots, 
 as a warning to the fair fex not to take any 
 part in future revolutions. 
 
 Thefe pretended accounts from Germany 
 are evidently, I know not for what purpofe, 
 fabricated in Paris they fill many people 
 however with difquietude, and increafe the 
 general alarm. 
 
 One o'clock, mid-day. 
 
 While I was writing, the cannon were fired, 
 
 and the tocfin founded. People rufhed in to 
 
 7 inform
 
 inform us," That thePruffian army had taken 
 Chalons, and was in full march to Paris; that 
 their hufTars and light cavalry fwept every 
 thing before them, and were already within 
 ten leagues of the gates of Paris." When we 
 flated the improbability of this, the anfwer 
 was, < That if there had been the lead 
 doubt, the municipality would not have 
 ordered the cannon of alarm to be fired, nor 
 the tocfm to be founded.'* 
 
 " What is become of Luckner's army I 
 they would not allow buffers to pafs them. 
 The news cannot be true !" 
 
 *' Why then would the cannon be fired, 
 and the tocfm founded ?" 
 
 This mode of arguing I heard on all 
 fides ; and as nobody could give a good rea- 
 fon for the cannon being fired, and the toc- 
 fin founded, it was concluded that the 
 Pruffians were within ten leagues, and every 
 frefh report of a cannon, or toll of the 
 tocfm, ferved to confirm them in that belief* 
 
 Five
 
 ( 35 ) 
 
 Five in the afternoon. 
 
 The mod (hocking crimes are at this 
 moment perpetrating at the prifon of the 
 Abbaye, hard by the hotel in which I now 
 write ! a thing unequalled in the records of 
 wickednefs ! 
 
 The mob they call them the people 
 here ; but they dcferve no name by which 
 any thing which has the leaft relation to 
 human nature can be fignified a fet of 
 monfters have broken into the Abbaye, and 
 are mafiacring the prifoners ! 
 
 Nine at night. 
 
 They have been at this fhocking work 
 during feveral hours the Abbaye is quite 
 full of prifoners ; befides thofe that were 
 there before, great numbers have been fent 
 fmce the loth of Auguft; many on flight 
 fufpicions ; many poor priefts on no parti- 
 cular accufation, but merely becaufe they 
 are priefts ; many citizens, as I have been 
 
 VOL, i, X aflured,
 
 affured, have been arrefted of late, and fent 
 there, from the private hatred and revenge of 
 fome of the individuals, who at prefent be- 
 long to the commune de Paris. But fuppofe 
 there was the greatefl reafon to believe them 
 all guilty, which it is impoflible that any 
 body can, that would form no apology for 
 this violation of juftice, humanity, and pub- 
 lic faith ! A prifon ought to be the moft 
 facred of all afylums : there is more reafon 
 to confider the violation of it as impiety, 
 and the height of wickednefs, than that of 
 the church or altar ; becaufe in prifon all 
 who are accufed of crimes, are detained till 
 their guilt or innocence can be tried ; they 
 are, during this interval, under the fafeguard 
 of government, and the faith of the ftate. 
 On the prefent occafion there is more reafon 
 than ufual to fuppofe many innocent perfons 
 are among the prifoners, becaufe they have 
 been arrefted in hurry and confufion, on 
 flight furmifes, and often, it is probable, 
 
 5 from
 
 from privateliatred. Yet, {hocking to think 
 
 i 
 of! they are making an undiftinguifhed 
 
 maflacre of all. 
 
 Is this the work of a furious and deluded 
 mob? 
 
 How come the citizens of this populous 
 metropolis to remain paflive fpe&ators of 
 fo dreadful an outrage ? 
 
 Is it poflible that this is the accompliflv- 
 ment of a plan concerted two or three weeks 
 ago? that thofe arbitrary arrefts were or- 
 dered with this view ; that falfe rumours of 
 treafons and intended infurredions and maf- 
 facres were fpread to exafperate the people ; 
 and that, taking advantage of the rumours 
 of bad news from the frontiers, orders have 
 been iflued for firing the cannon and found- . 
 ing the tocfm, to increafe the alarm, and 
 terrify the public into acquiefcence ; while a 
 band of chofen ruffians were hired to maf- 
 facre thofe whom hatred^ revenge, or fear 
 X 2 had
 
 had deftined to deftruction, but whom 
 law and juftice could not deftroy ? 
 
 It is now paft twelve at mid-night, and 
 the bloody work ftill goes on ! Almighty 
 God! 
 
 September 3. 
 
 The fame horrid fcenes which began 
 yefterday afternoon, are ftill continuing at 
 the Abbaye ; are extended to the Hotel de 
 la Force, la Conciergerie, le Chatelet, to all 
 the prifons in Paris, and even the Bicetre, 
 which is a league out of town. 
 
 One continued carnage goes on at them 
 all.. The people are told the following 
 tale: 
 
 " That there was a horrid plot, a com- 
 bination between the Duke of Brunfwick 
 and certain traitors in Paris, that as foon 
 as all the new levies were completed, and 
 all the men intended for the frontiers had 
 marched out of Paris, then thofe fame 
 
 traitors,
 
 ( 309 ) 
 
 traitors, who have been long concealed under 
 the mafk of patriotifm, were to take the 
 command of a large body of men, now dif- 
 perfed over the capital and its environs, who 
 have been long in the pay of the court, 
 although they alfo are concealed ; that thofe 
 concealed leaders, at the head of their concealed 
 troops, were to have thrown open the pri- 
 fons, and to arm the prifoners ; then to go 
 to the Temple, fet the Royal Family free, 
 and proclaim the King; to condemn to 
 death all the patriots who remain in Paris, 
 and moft of the wives and children of thofe 
 who have marched out of it againft the ene- 
 mies of their country." 
 
 This is the ridiculous tale which is cir- 
 culated among the people, to juflify the 
 murders perpetrating in the prifons, to fti- 
 mulate the populace to aflift in them, or 
 terrify them from oppofition. 
 
 The ftrong impreffion made by the Duke 
 
 of Brunfwick's manifefto, with the other 
 
 X 3 caufes
 
 caufes of alarm, make the tale credited, and 
 the mafiacre tolerated. 
 
 I was this very day told, that " it is 
 natural for men to fecure their wives and 
 children when they arc going to be feparated 
 from them, ancl to ufe the moft effectual 
 means of preventing their being expofed to 
 the daggers of afiaffins." 
 
 An acquaintance informed me, that as 
 he pafied by the Abbaye, he had feen fome 
 prifoners filled, by being firft knocked on 
 the head, and then thruft through with 
 pikes ; and afterwards, that he faw feveral 
 Bodies dragged out and laid on a waggon. 
 We were near the Abbaye when he gave 
 me this account ; and he added, that if I 
 had any inclination, I might go with fafety. 
 I entered with him into the ftreet, and faw 
 about two hundred people {landing as fpec~ 
 tators before the gate of the Abbaye; but as 
 I drew nearer, I became fo much affected 
 he idea pf what was tranfa&ing, that I 
 
 turnec}
 
 turned out of the ftreet, with many others 
 who feerried equally filled with horror. 
 
 But why then is it not refifted ? Where 
 is the Minifter of Juftice ? Why is not the 
 commander of the national guards ordered 
 to march with an armed force to the prifons? 
 Why are thofe murderers allowed to conti- 
 nue with as little interruption from the 
 fpectators, as the legal executioner who 
 performs his office on a criminal condemned 
 in the mod regular manner ? 
 
 A prodigious flaughter has alfo been 
 made of the prifoners confined in the Hotel 
 de la Force : one who gave me a mock- 
 ing detail of this in the ftreet, added, that 
 the people, however, had mixed juftice with 
 their vengeance, for all the prifoners for 
 debt and flight crimes, had either been pre- 
 vioufly feparated from the reft, or fpared 
 by the people ; and none but well-known 
 criminals and traitors had fuffered. The 
 valet de place, who was with me, and lif- 
 X 4 tened
 
 ( 312 ) 
 
 tened to our converfation, here put in hh 
 word " Je vous 1'ai bien dit, Monfieur t 
 Ic peuple eft jufte *. At that inftant I faw 
 a crowd at a diftance ; I was told that they 
 were carrying the head of the Princefs 
 Lamballe on a pike, and were dragging her 
 body through the ftreets ! 
 
 I turned from this very {hocking fight, 
 and went diredly to call on M. Fran^ais, 
 one of the deputies of the National AiTem- 
 bly, with whom I am acquainted. I found 
 him greatly concerned on account of the 
 inhuman and difgraceful fcenes that were- 
 acting. I told him we had already obtain-, 
 cd paflports from the fedion des quatres 
 nations; but I uriderflood that fliil we were 
 in danger of being ftopt at the barrier. I 
 informed him alfo, that I had written to M. 
 le Brun, the miaifter, on the fubjecl, but 
 wiflied M. Fran^ais to fpeak to him for an 
 
 * I told you, Sir, that the people are always juft, 
 
 order,
 
 3 J 3 
 
 order, which might preclude any obftacle 
 we might otherwife meet with at the barrier 
 or the towns through which we were to 
 pafs. M. Frariais promifed to fpeak to the 
 minifter accordingly. 
 
 In the evening I converfed with feveral 
 who were at the Hotel de la Force when 
 Madame de Lamballe was murdered. This 
 unfortunate lady was in bed when me wa* 
 fummoned to appear before a kind of tribu- 
 nal within the court of the prifjn, which 
 they fay was conftituted by the people t5> 
 try the prifoners. 
 
 The perfon who carried her the meffage, 
 however, told her that it was intended to 
 remove her to the Abbaye. She faid, fincc 
 fhe muft be kept in prifon, me was as well 
 pleafed with that fhe was in, as another ; 
 and being a little indifpofed, wifhed to re- 
 main in bed. 
 
 She was then told that me muft get up 
 directly, to appear before the tribunal. She 
 
 begged
 
 ( 34 ) 
 
 begged of thofe who brought this fecond 
 meflage, who were two men in the uniform 
 of the national guards, to retire till Ihe was 
 drefled, and fhe would attend them. They 
 did fo and within a few minutes fhe was 
 by them conducted before thofe pretended 
 judges; it is faid they wimed to draw from 
 her fome matter of accufation againft the 
 Queen. In this they were difappointed; but 
 as there was no pofitive charge againft her- 
 felf, me was ordered to be removed, as is 
 afferted by fome, without any intention, on 
 the part of thefe judges, that fhe fhould be 
 murdered : what is certain, is, that if they 
 did not actually give the fignal of death, 
 they took no meafure to fave her ; for, as fhe 
 was conducted out of the prifon, ftagger- 
 ing with horror at the fight of the victims 
 which had been facrificed, fhe was ftruck 
 on the head by the bludgeon of one aflaflin, 
 and her head feparated from her body by the 
 fabrc of another. The body then was drag-
 
 ( 3-5 ) 
 
 ged, by fome of the wretches who flocked 
 around, into an adjoining court, where after 
 a feries of indignities, of a nature not to 
 be related, it was trailed by the mob 
 through the ftreets. The head, being fixed 
 on a pike, was carried to the Temple, for the 
 exprefs purpofe of fhocking the Royal Fa- 
 mily, and the Queen in particular, with a 
 fight fo dreadfully agonizing A new dicti- 
 onary is needed to furnifh words expreffive 
 pf fuch unheard-of wiekednefs ! 
 
 But this lad was a refinement which can- 
 not belong to the impetuous barbarity of a 
 mob ; it muft have been fuggefted by thofe 
 who have ftudied cruelty as a fcience, and 
 are acquainted with the rnqft acute fources 
 pf anguiih. 
 
 Thofe who had the guard of the Royal 
 Family, were at firft afraid of violence being 
 intended againft them. The commiflaries 
 from the municipality met the multitude, 
 Harangued and tried every means to prevent
 
 their entering the court of the Temple 
 pointing to the national ribbon of three co- 
 lours, which was drawn acrofs the gate; 
 they faid it was hoped that patriots, fuch 
 as they, would refpect that patriotic bar- 
 rier. 
 
 They read to them the following infcrip- 
 tion, which it bore : 
 
 Citoyens, vous qui a une jufte vengeance 
 favez allier 1'amour de 1'orde, refpe&ez 
 cette barriere. Elle eft neceflfaire a notre 
 furveillance et a notre refponfabilite*. 
 
 The directions underwhich thofe wretches 
 acted, did not extend to the murder of the 
 Royal Family, otherwife it is not probable 
 they would have been reftrained either by 
 the patriotic ribbon, or their love of order. 
 
 One of them faid, that no violence was 
 intended againft the prifoners in theTemple, 
 
 * Citizens, you who to a juft vengeance join a love 
 tvf order, refpeft this barrier. It is neceflary for our 
 juftification. 
 
 but
 
 ( 3*7 ) 
 
 but infifted that a few (hould be admitted 
 into the court, to make a proceffion with 
 the head before their windows, that thofe 
 who had confpired to betray the country, 
 anight behold the fatal termination of their 
 plots. 
 
 The officers yielded to this inhuman pro- 
 pofal two of them even went and adver- 
 tifed the Royal Family. The head was car- 
 ried around the court, and immediately be- 
 fore the Queen's window. 
 
 I underftand fhe inftantly fainted, and. 
 that the Princefs Elizabeth is alfo extremely 
 ill. 
 
 The friendfhip which fubfifted between 
 her Majeily and the Princefs de Lamballe 
 was well known : this very friendfliip had 
 prompted that unfortunate lady, after {he 
 herfelf was in fafety, to return to France, 
 and to the Queen, whofe difagreeable fitua- 
 tion required the confolation of a friend's 
 company. This generous friendfhip feems 
 8 to
 
 to have been the fole caufe of Madame de 
 Lamballe's murder ; for Madame de Tour- 
 zelle, her daughter, and other ladies who 
 \vere in the Hotel de la Force, were fpared< 
 The degree of rancour which thofe wretches 
 difplay againft the Queen, is as violent as 
 it is unaccountable. After murdering her 
 friend, merely becaufe (he was her friend, 
 they are not fatisfied with letting her know 
 that the afflicting event had taken place, 
 but muft alfo wring her heart with the moft 
 cruel of all fpectacles ! 
 
 From the Temple, Madame de Lamballe's 
 head was carried to the Palais Royal, fo as 
 to be recognized by thofe within. I have 
 fmce converfed with fome perfons who 
 were there at the time. 
 
 Although the Princefs Lamballe was a 
 near connexion of the proprietor of this 
 palace, I do not underftand that the ftiock 
 which the fight occafioned endangers his 
 health. 
 
 The
 
 ( 39 ) 
 
 The news of thofe maflacres having been 
 carried to the Bicetre, where there are a 
 great number of wretched people confined, 
 they prepared to make refiftance ; and I 
 underftand that feveral pieces of cannon 
 are to be carried there to make fure of 
 flaughtering them with fafety to the aflaffins. 
 The accounts are fo various and contradic- 
 tory, that nothing with regard to the num- 
 ber killed, and many other particulars, can 
 be depended upon. I mail endeavour to be 
 informed hereafter in many circumftances, 
 of which I have but vague and uncertain 
 notions at prefent. 
 
 Scenes have been acted fmce the begin- 
 ning of the French revolution, particularly 
 on the loth of Auguft, and thofe ftill more 
 horrid now performing, which are of a na- 
 ture to make the warmeft lover of liberty 
 reflect very long, and weigh every circum- 
 itance, before he engages inafcheme of over- 
 fetting oraltering the eftablifhed government
 
 of any country where law and order have a 
 con fiderable, though an imperfect, influence. 
 This reflection does not apply to thofe 
 happy political conftitutions which include 
 within them the fafe, regular, and legal 
 means of redreffing fuch abufes and incon- 
 veniences as an alteration of circumftances 
 muft produce in the very beft fyftem of go- 
 vernment. The great advantage of a con- 
 ftitution, thus admirably contrived, is, that 
 it poffeffes fuch falutary means of redrefs. 
 Thofe remedies, however, are not to be ap- 
 plied wantonly, or when there is no occafion 
 for any remedy but if we are told they 
 are never to be applied at all, then I confefs 
 I can fee nothing very admirable in having 
 fuch refources as part of the conflitution 
 the machine of government would have 
 been more ilmple by leaving them out. 
 
 When the means prcpofed is infurrecl'ion^ 
 the cafe is different and independent of per- 
 fonal confiderations ; every benevolent man 
 
 will
 
 ( 3" ) 
 
 will deliberate with much attention before 
 he adopts meafures which involves the 
 happinefs and mifery of thoufands of his 
 countrymen. 
 
 In fuch an abominable fyfterh of oppref- 
 fion as the French laboured under before 
 the revolution, where one large caft of men 
 were exempted from taxation, and, without 
 being themfelves free, practifed various 
 methods of opprefling their more enflaved 
 fellow-fubjects where another clafs pof- 
 fefled a prodigious proportion of the whole 
 lands of the country, fo unfairly divided 
 that, in general, thofe who feldom performed 
 any function of their profeffion, were re- 
 warded with an exorbitant fh.ire, while 
 thofe who diligently executed all its duties 
 were in a (late of abject poverty where the 
 will of one man could control the courfe of 
 law, and his mandate tear any citizen from 
 the arms of his family, and throw him into 
 a dungeon for years, or for life. 
 
 VOL. i. Y In
 
 In a country where fuch a fyftetn of go- 
 vernment prevails, infurredion, being the 
 fole means of redrefs, is not only jutifiable, 
 but it is the duty of every lover of man- 
 kind and of his country, as foon as any occa- 
 ilon presents itfelf which promifes fuccefs. 
 
 The neceflity of a total change of go- 
 vernment in France will be acknowledged ; 
 and the revolution that was begun in the 
 year 1789, will be approved of by many 
 who will condemn the tranfaclions of the 
 2oth of June^and the loth of Auguft laft, 
 as unjuft and inexpedient* 
 
 To pour a mob into the King's palace, 
 on purpofe to terrify him from exercifmg a 
 negative which the conftitution had given 
 him, and left entirely to his own difcretion, 
 was afluredly moft unjuftifiable ; and to 
 {laughter his guards, fufpend his authority, 
 and imprifon him and his whole family, be- 
 caufe the guards oppofed a fecond irruption 
 of tjbe mob into the palace, I fancy will hardly 
 2 be
 
 be approved by any impartial man, or jufti- 
 fied by all the treachery which the papers 
 found in his cabinet on the I oth of Auguft 
 w'll difclofe. 
 
 Louis XVI. was never confidered as an 
 unprincipled man, or a man of inordinate 
 ambition. I cannot help thinking that he 
 was fatisfied with the conftitution, and, as 
 he is a man of piety, would never have 
 thought of breaking his oaths by under- 
 
 mining it. 
 
 But thofe men, whoever they are, who 
 inftigated the maflacres, have fixed inde- 
 lible ftains on their country, and in all 
 probability have involved it in lading dif- 
 order and mifery. 
 
 The means they have employed to ftrike 
 terror, to attain power, and by which they 
 expect to keep it, is the populace ; but this 
 is an engine which often turns againft thofe 
 who undertake to direct it, and which nei- 
 ther they nor any others can always con- 
 Y 2 troul.
 
 troul. As well may they fay to the ocean in 
 a ftorm, Thus far (halt thou go, and no far- 
 ther. And fhould thefe bloody inftigators 
 go no farther, gracious Heaven ! what 
 dreadful lengths have they not already gone ? 
 what advantage in point of government can 
 France expet, what revolution is not 
 dearly bought at the expence of the na- 
 tional ftain, of the unprecedented horrors 
 of laft night, and this infamous third of 
 September ? 
 
 Chantilly, Sept. 4. 
 
 We were informed this morning, that 
 the barriers were ftill fhut, and nobody 
 allowed to leave Paris : however, having 
 received a letter from M. Le Brun, befides 
 the paffports from our feUon, we refolved 
 to attempt it. Two perfons belonging to 
 our fecYion, one of them in the national 
 uniform, accompanied us. We were al- 
 lowed to pafs without difficulty, though our 
 
 paflports
 
 ( 325 } 
 
 paflports were examined at different places 
 before we arrived here. 
 
 Our intention was to have proceeded 
 this day to Clermont ; but being informed 
 that a large body of Bretons, who are 
 marching to join the armies on the fron~ 
 tiers, are to pafs this night at Clermont, 
 we think it expedient to remain where we 
 are. 
 
 A party of national guards, detached by 
 orders of the commune de Paris, have been 
 here ; they only left Chantilly this morning : 
 they carried with them, in waggons, a vaft 
 quantity of fluff proper for foldiers tents 
 which was at this place. A party which 
 was here fome time ago, but fmce the 
 loth of Auguft, carried away all the horfes 
 of every kind which remained in the ftables, 
 alfo a ftatue of Louis XIV. which was 
 within the caftle. They alfo overfet and 
 broke in pieces the fine figures which orna- 
 mented the front of the magnificent ftables : 
 Y 3 they
 
 ( 3*6 ) 
 
 they treated in the fame manner the equef- 
 trian ftatue of Henry Montmorency, Con- 
 ftable of France in the time of Henry IV. 
 The materials of thofe, being metal, were 
 carried by the fame party in waggons to 
 Paris. They had the brutality, before 
 they fet out, to knock off the head of 
 the beautiful pedeftrian ftatue of the Great 
 Conde, which flood in the grand ftair-cafe 
 of the caftle. It is probable that thofe pa- 
 triots were not enough verfed in the hiftory 
 of their country to know that he had at one 
 period of his life carried arms again ft his 
 King, ptherwife their hatred of the original, 
 as a Bourbon, being qualified by their vene- 
 ration for him as a rebel, might have faved the 
 head of the ftatue. Had their hiftorical 
 knowledge extended a little farther back, 
 they might have had more fympathy for the 
 old conftable alfo ; for it is certain that he 
 was fo very illiterate that he could not 
 read Brantome fays, that he always figned 
 
 with
 
 ( 3*7 ) 
 
 with a mark; and Henry IV. ufed to fay, 
 w Avcc mon Gonnetable qui ne fait pas 
 lire, et mon Chancelier qui ne fait pas le 
 latin, il n'eft rien que je n'entreprenne avec 
 fucces. *" 
 
 It is impoflible to pafs the mutilated 
 ilatue of Conde without a fentiment of in- 
 dignation againft men who could manifeft 
 their rage in this defpicable manner againft 
 one of the moft diftinguifhed characters 
 their country ever produced. 
 
 The fuperior genius of Conde appeared 
 in irregular flames in his early youth, fhone 
 in full luftre in the fields of war during his 
 maturer years, and threw a long beam of 
 milder light on His old age. When retired 
 from the buftle of the world, he cultivated 
 the converfation of men of letters, and, by 
 
 * With my Conftable who cannot read, and my Chan- 
 cellor who does not underftand Latin, there is nothing 
 which I do not undertake with fuccefs. 
 
 4 his
 
 ) 
 
 his own tafte, aflifted by that of the fir ft 
 artifts, he rendered Chantilly at once the 
 moft magnificent and moft delightful place 
 in France. 
 
 The following verfes were infcribed be- 
 neath the ftatue of Conde : 
 
 Quern modo pallebant, fugitivis fiulibus amnes, 
 Terribilem bello, nunc dota otia princeps 
 Pacis amans, Isetos dat hortis ludere fontes. 
 
 I faid to the man who {hewed us the 
 apartments of the caftle, that I had never 
 feen Chantilly dans un fi trifte etat* . Aufli, 
 Monfieur, anfwered he with a figh, n'a-t-il 
 jamais etc fi trifte f. 
 
 Although an Englifhman has lately efta- 
 blifhed an inn near this, we have flopped 
 and ihall fleep at the French one/clofe by 
 the caftle : the people here being moftly 
 old fervants of the Prince, melancholy is 
 evidently marked on all their faces on 
 hinting at the fad fcenes which have taken 
 
 * In fo fad a (late. 
 
 f Neither was it ever fo fad. 
 
 place
 
 place at Paris, they throw up their eyes, 
 {hake their heads, and hold their tongues. 
 
 Whether thofe dreadful fcenes are to be 
 imputed to the blind fury of a multitude 
 driven to madnefs by an accumulation of 
 alarming circumftances, or to a few merce- 
 nary actors hired to ferve the vengeful or 
 ambitious views of fome invifible agents, I 
 cannot yet determine : it is certainly diffi- 
 cult to imagine how fix or feven hundred 
 thoufand people fhould permit two or three 
 hundred affaffins to commit fuchacts of atro- 
 city before their eyes, unlefs they approved 
 of what they faw Why did not the Na- 
 tional Aflembly, inftead of fending deputa- 
 tions of fix or eight of their number, go in 
 a body to protect the prifoncrs? they never 
 can do a more important duty, nor one in 
 which the honour of their country is more 
 concerned. Thofe who refpected the na- 
 tional ribbon, would affiiredly have refpected 
 the National Aflembly; or if the affaflins 
 
 had
 
 ( 33 ) 
 
 had been otherwife difpofed, fmce they 
 were but two or three hundred, the Aflembly 
 would have overpowered them. 
 
 This proves that the AfTembly thought 
 that it was not a handful of ruffians, but a 
 large body of the people who were engaged 
 in this horrid work : but even in that cafe, 
 it may be afked, why did they not fend for 
 Santerre, the commander of the national 
 guards, and order him to march with all the 
 men under his command to the protection 
 of the prifons ? 
 
 I was told this morning before we left 
 Paris, that M. Roland, the minifter, fent 
 repeated meflfages to Santerre without effecT:: 
 how he will account for this I know not. 
 As for a great number of the members of 
 the Aflembly, they were certainly under 
 the influence of terror : Briflbt, one of their 
 own body, had been accufed, and his pa- 
 pers examined ; many might be confcious 
 that, in the fame circumftances, they would 
 
 pot
 
 ( 33 1 ) 
 
 not have been able to clear themfelves fo 
 completely as he did, for Briflbt has long 
 been thought a republican, and I fancy on 
 good grounds his writings breathed that 
 fpirit long before the loth of Auguft. 
 Briflbt's accufer was no lefs a man than 
 Roberfpierre; and the crime of which he was 
 accufed was that of being bought by the 
 Duke of Brunfwick. ' The accufation was 
 fupported by mere afTertion and declama- 
 tion, which I am told are the ufual proofs 
 in which Roberfpierre deals; but he expected 
 that Briflbt would have been aflaffinated 
 ia which cafe proofs were fuperfluous. 
 Since a republican like Briflbt was expofed 
 to fuch danger, it was natural for others, 
 particularly all who voted on the yth of 
 Auguft in favour of La Fayette, to be un- 
 der upprehenfions, which probably pre- 
 vented their exerting themfelves with ail 
 the vigour they wiihed in defence of the 
 
 prifoners.
 
 ( 332 ) 
 
 prifoners. With regard to the citizens of 
 Paris, I certainly obferved nothing like a 
 difpofition in them to deftroy the prifoners; 
 on the contrary, wherever I went, I found 
 people lamenting their fate but at the fame 
 time alarmed with the accounts from the 
 frontiers, with the firing of the cannon and 
 founding the tccfin, and, above all, terrified 
 at ftories of confpiracies, and at the fight of 
 the band of aflaffins, who, followed by fome 
 of the loweft rabble, went from prifon to 
 prifon. 
 
 There is the ftrongeft reafon to believe, 
 that the National AfTembly have not deli- 
 berated in perfect fecurity and freedom 
 fince the loth of Auguft, and that the una- 
 nimity which has appeared on fome import- 
 ant occafions fince is produced by fear 
 more than conviction. 
 
 I myfelf am a witnefs, that the fame men 
 who were diametrically oppofite in fenti- 
 ments on the 7th, 8th, and gth of Auguft, 
 
 feemed
 
 ( 333 ) 
 
 feemed of the fame way of thinking for 
 fome time after the I oth. 
 
 Although the Court certainly had a ma- 
 jority of the Aflembly with them on my 
 firft arrival, yet even then the majority was 
 expofed to the rudeft infults from the people 
 for declaring their fentiments. On the 8th, 
 when M. Vaublanc, after a very excellent 
 fpeech, propofed the previous queftion to 
 the decree of accufation againft M. La 
 Fayette, he was hooted and exclaimed 
 againft by the audience in the gallery, and, 
 as has been mentioned, narrowly efcaped 
 aflafiination when he returned from the 
 Aflembly home. 
 
 However determined and fearlefs fome 
 individuals among them were, the gene- 
 rality cannot be fuppofed to have delivered 
 or fpoken their fentiments with freedom 
 afterwards, efpecially as their own col- 
 leagues, who formed the minority, feemed 
 6 very
 
 ( 334 ) 
 
 very well pleafed when they were thus in- 
 fulted. 
 
 It is however worthy of being remarked, 
 that notwithftanding the ill humour and 
 feditious expreffions of a few members, 
 yet, on the morning of the loth, when the 
 King and Royal Family came to the Af- 
 fembly, they were received in a refpectful 
 manner; at that time it was not known 
 how the conteft expected at the Tuileries 
 was to terminate ; and if, by any extraor- 
 dinary accident, it had ended in favour of 
 thofe who defended the palace, then the 
 refpect for the King would have been con- 
 tinued, and probably increafed. What is 
 moil certain is, that as foon as it was known 
 that the Swifs fled, then all appearance of 
 refpect for the Royal Family ceafed, and 
 the whole Afftmbly feemed to rejoice at the 
 victory. The oath of egalite was no 
 fooner propofed, than all the members flart- 
 ed up as if they had been moved by one 
 
 fpring,
 
 ( 335 ) 
 
 fpring, and took it. No German regiment, 
 -however feverely exercifed by the cane, how- 
 ever expert in military j erk, could have made a 
 more inftantaneous and uniform movement. 
 The fufpenfion of the King's authority 
 was decreed with more deliberation, but 
 equal unanimity ; yet not till after it was 
 known that the Swifs and all the defenders 
 of the caftle were mafTacred or fled. The 
 populace, of themfelves, or, what is more 
 probable, by the direction of thofe who, 
 without appearing, have directed the prin- 
 cipal movements of the revolt, began, on 
 the 1 1 th of Auguft, to overfet and break 
 in pieces the ftatues of the Kings which 
 adorned the public places of Paris; and then^ 
 but not before, the National Afiembly de- 
 creed that thofe ftatues and every fymbol of 
 royalty mould be deftroyed. 
 
 Every tranfadtion and decree of the Na- 
 tional Aflembly, I ftrongly fufped:, has 
 been in fome meafure influenced by that 
 
 general
 
 general council which was elected by the 
 fecTions on the night of the 9th of Auguft 
 while the tocfm was founding, a deputation 
 from which, immediately after the action 
 of the loth, appeared at the bar; declared 
 that they confidered themlelves as account- 
 able to the Primary Afiemblies of the 
 French nation only ; bullied the National 
 AfTeinbly into whatever they propofed, and 
 have by their agents kept it under terror 
 ever fmce. This council, of their own au- 
 thority, ordered the barriers to be {hut, 
 iflued mandates for arresting a prodi- 
 gious number of citizens, and filled the 
 prifons with thofe victims who begun to 
 be facrificed on the 2d of this month, and 
 of whom, how painful the thought ! the 
 flaughter perhaps ftill continues. 
 
 The popular RoLerfpierre, who was a 
 member of the condituent afTembly, and it 
 is thought will be one of the very firft 
 elected for the Convention, belongs alfo to 
 
 this
 
 ( 337 ) 
 
 this general council of the commune de 
 Paris. 
 
 As he has been confidered as the leading 
 member of the Jacobin fociety, and is dif- 
 tinguifhed by his great popularity, it fur- 
 prifed many when he offered to become a 
 member of the commune de Palis, und it 
 imprefTed an idea that this body intended 
 to aiTume the exercife of more important 
 functions than ever. 
 
 But he was not heard of on the loth of 
 Auguft, nor did he prefect himfelf to this 
 Confeil-general de commune till two or 
 three days after for although he is a pa- 
 triot of the firft eminence, and a moft un- 
 daunted haranguer and difputant in popu- 
 lar afTemblies, yet he is thought rather to 
 be inclined to fhun fuch contefts as that 
 which was carried on in the fquare of the 
 Caroufel on the loth of Auguft. 
 
 In perfon Roberfpierre is certainly not 
 VOL.)* 'L an
 
 '< 338 ) 
 
 an Ajax, although he is thought to agree 
 with that hero in one fentiment, 
 
 Tutius eft fictis igitur conterxdere verbis, 
 Quam pugnare manu. 
 
 Few men however can look fiercer than 
 Roberfpierre ; in countenance he has a ftrik- 
 ing refemblance to a cat-tiger. 
 
 Marat is likewife a very active member 
 of the general council of the commune. 
 This Marat is faid to love carnage like a 
 vulture, and to delight in human facriiiccs 
 like Moloch, God of the Ammonites. 
 
 Amiens, Sept. 5. 
 
 We left Chantilly early this morning, 
 and breakfafted at Clermont. The Bretons 
 whom we heard of were ftill at that place; 
 about four thoufand men from the province 
 of Brittany have patted through Clermont 
 within this week, they march in detach- 
 ments.
 
 ( 339 ) 
 
 ments. The party we faw ccnfifted of 600, 
 and are to leave Clermont to-morrow. 
 They arc flout young men, in high fpirits, 
 zealous for the fervice, but without arms, 
 and undifciplined. To think of oppofmg 
 thofe raw youths to the veteran troops of 
 Auftria or Pruflia, is fending them to cer- 
 tain (laughter they themfelves, however, 
 have no ideas of that nature, and are only 
 impatient for their arms, and to fee the 
 enemy. The gaiety of thofe thoughtlefs 
 young men made me melancholy ; I could 
 not help confidering them as victims doomed 
 to inevitable deftruction. Before we left 
 Clermont, however, I heard fomething 
 which tended to abate the intereft I took 
 in them. 
 
 Yefterday a man who fells fifh at Cler- 
 mont, had a difpute with fome of the Bre- 
 tons ; he was imprudent enough to provoke 
 them by abufive language, which included 
 the whole detachment: they threatened to 
 Z 2 put
 
 ( 340 ) 
 
 put the man to death for death is the only 
 punishment in the penal code of a French 
 mob for all fort of offences an Engliili 
 mob feldom go beyond ducking. They 
 were proceeding to execute the fentence 
 already pronounced : one of the magiftrates 
 ftept in crying, " Arretez,Meffieurs,s'ilvous 
 plait que diable on ne tue pas un homme 
 comrne a !*" He promifed that the Bretons, 
 fhould have juftice done them, and they 
 confented that the man who had infulted 
 them mould be carried to the town-guard, 
 till the offence fhould be legally examined 
 and redrerTed. The officer of the guard, 
 either through negligence or defign, allowed 
 the prifoner to efcape. The Bretons were 
 fo enraged at this that they threatened the 
 life of the officer, who immediately ab- 
 fconded. Not being able to wreak their 
 vengeance on him, they talked of fet- 
 
 * Stop, gentlemen, If you pleafe you do not think 
 
 of killing a man in this manner! 
 
 ting
 
 ting fire to the town, if either the prifoner 
 or the officer of the town-guard was not 
 found and punifhed. Twenty men were 
 detached on horfeback, by the magistrates, 
 all over the country in fearch of the fifh- 
 monger he was found at ten leagues dif- 
 tance from Clermont, and brought back 
 prifoner ; his guard imagining, that, at the 
 utmoft, he would be obliged to pay a fmall 
 fine, and make an apology to thofe he had 
 offended : a party of the Bretons forced the 
 guard as they entered Clermont, and cut 
 off the head of the prifoner. 
 
 Having fome converfation,as we paffed on 
 our way to Paris, with a citizen of Clermont, 
 and meeting the fame perfon ftanding be- 
 fore the inn this day, I renewed my acquaint- 
 ance with him, a'nd he gave me the forego- 
 ing account. Several other citizens flood by 
 while he made the recapitulation C'efl 
 affreux ! faid one C'eft horrible ! faid ano- 
 ther C'eft fans centre dit un homme de 
 7* 3 moins!
 
 ( 342 ) 
 
 moins ! * faid a third, taking a pinch of 
 fnuff. 
 
 The whole tranfaction, however, is very 
 {hocking ! 
 
 How is it to be accounted for ? Had the 
 fame thing happened at Paris, it would have 
 been faid, the Parifians have been accuf- 
 tomed to fcenes of blood, and are become 
 fanguinary. But here is a wanton murder, 
 committed by a fet of peafants who inhabit 
 the country at a diftance from the wicked- 
 nefs of large cities. Power, unlimited 
 power, is fufficient to pervert the beft dif- 
 pofition Thefe peafants perceive, that they 
 are under little or no controul; that the 
 inhabitants of the villages, through which 
 they pafs, fear them, and that they can 
 give vent to their paffions with impunity. 
 
 * It is frightful ! faid one It is (hocking ! faid ano- 
 ther It is undoubtedly one man lefs in the world, 
 faid a third, &c. 
 
 In
 
 ( 343 ) 
 
 In (horr, they are in pofleflion of power, 
 and therefore, like others in the fame fitua- . 
 tion, they indulge every incitement of ca- 
 price or pailion, which in other circum- 
 ftances they would have fupprefled. No 
 man who wifhes to continue virtuous, would 
 accept of the power of injuring his neigh- 
 bours with impunity, were it offered him. 
 No government, which values the general 
 happinefs, will permit the leaft privilege of 
 this kind in any of its clafles. The time 
 has been in France, when a Prince of the 
 Blood, or any man of high rank, could have 
 run a fimerinan through the body for 
 abufive language, with as much impunity 
 as thofe Bretons will meet with for the 
 murder of this poor man of Clermont. But 
 if power were to continue in the hands of 
 peafants, things would be worie than ever; 
 and, notwithftanding all the injuftice and 
 oppreffion of the old government, France 
 would be a lofer by the revolution. 
 
 Z 4 Amiens,
 
 ( 344 ) 
 
 Amiens, Fept. rf. 
 
 We remained this day at Amiens : I 
 walked to the cathedral, which is a build* 
 ing of great antiquity, and is equal in 
 magnificence to any in France. At a large 
 table, immediately before the pulpit, feveral 
 officers of the municipality fat, and were em- 
 ployed in enrolling volunteers for the fron- 
 tiersa man went up to the pulpit, and 
 read aloud a lift of the names of thofe per- 
 fons who had fent patriotic gifts for the 
 equipment of the volunteers ; annexed to 
 the name was the fum each gave. Notwith- 
 flanding all the genuine public fpirit that 
 prevails at prefent in France, this manner of 
 proclaiming every donation, no doubt, is 
 neceflary to awake the liberality of many. 
 A young man of a very prepofTefiing ap- 
 pearance afcended the pulpit when the other 
 came down. In a diftinct voice, and with 
 a modeft air, he fpoke to the following 
 gffeft *" I am one of a company, ready to 
 
 march
 
 { 345 ) 
 
 inarch againft the enemies of our country; 
 after clothing and arming ourfelves at our 
 own expence,, we alfo offer a finall pittance 
 in money towards defraying that of the 
 public ; all we can afford is a trifle ; nothing 
 but our lives, which we devote to the fer- 
 vice of our country, will be confidered of 
 more importance. When I fpeak of facri- 
 ficing our own. lives, I am inftrud:ed by my 
 companions to declare, that we expetl: to 
 be able to facrifice the lives of thofe flaves 
 xvho, without any animofity to us, are 
 obliged by their tyrants to march againft 
 France, becaufe its inhabitants are relblved 
 to be free. Many of us have parents and 
 relations who depend for their maintenance 
 on our induflry, we recommend them to the 
 humanity and gratitude of our fellow- 
 
 citizens." 
 
 He defeended amidft the applaufe of the 
 audience ; and, I muft acknowledge, that I 
 have heard in other countries, as well as in 
 
 France,
 
 ( 346 ) 
 
 France, many difcourfes from the pulpit 
 lefs interefting than this. 
 
 Amidft the diforders and fad events 
 which have taken place in this country 
 of late, it is impoffible not to admire tfie 
 generous fpirit which glows all over the 
 nation in fupport of its independency. Be- 
 fore 1 left Paris, I heard of a lady who had 
 offered to the National Aflembly, to take 
 twelve poor children, whofe parents died in 
 defence of their country, and to be at the 
 whole expence of educating and fupporting 
 them to the age of fixteen ! I have heard of 
 many fnnilar inftances ! No country ever 
 difplayed a nobler or more patriotic enthu- 
 fiafm than pervades France at this period, 
 and which glows with increafing ardour 
 fincethe publication of the Duke of Brunf- 
 wick's manifefto, and the entrance of the 
 PruiTians into the country. None but thofe 
 whofe minds are obfcured by prejudice, or 
 perverted by feltifhnefs, will refufe this juf- 
 8 tice
 
 ( 347 ) 
 
 tice to the general fpirit difplayed by the 
 French in defence of their national inde- 
 pendence. A deteftation of the excefles 
 committed at Paris, and againft the favage 
 demagogues, who facrifice the honour and 
 tranquillity of their country to ambition 
 and revenge, not only is compatible with 
 an admiration of this fpirit ; but it is fuch 
 well-formed minds alone as poflefs fufficient 
 candour and fenfibility to admire the one, 
 who can have a due horror of the other. 
 
 What have thofe citizens, flocking from 
 every province of this extenfive kingdom, 
 fpontaneoufly undergoing all the fatigues, 
 and expofing themfelves to all the dangers 
 of war, in defence of their country; what 
 have fuch citizens in common with aflaflins? 
 Or thofe others, whofe fex, or age, or infir- 
 mities confine them at home, but who lavHh 
 their fortunes in the fame generous caufe 
 what have they in common with perfecu- 
 tors, vile informers, and falfe accufers ? Su- 
 perior
 
 ( 348 ) 
 
 perior to political and national prejudices, & 
 generous Englifhman will difcriminate with 
 candour he will envy freedom to no na- 
 tion; he will praife that public fpirit in ano- 
 ther people which warms his own breaft, and 
 which he admires in his own countrymen; 
 he will not rejoice in the calamities of 
 France, and wifh fo many millions of his 
 fellow-creatures to be again forced under 
 the yoke of defpotifm, merely becaufe France 
 has formerly been at war with Great 
 Britain. 
 
 But France may be at war with Great 
 Britain again. 
 
 S If that (hould happen, France will then 
 be the enemy of Great Britain, and every 
 true Britifh fubject will be the enemy of 
 France, and do all in his fphere to fubdue 
 and bring her to reafon. 
 
 But, in the mean time, fhould a band 
 of wicked men acquire undue influence 
 with the people of France by zealous pre- 
 
 tenfions
 
 ( 349 ) 
 
 tenfions to patriotifm, or mould the expell- 
 ed National Aflembly itfelf, through folly, 
 ambition, or barbarity, or by a combination 
 ef all the three, blaft the hopes of a free 
 conflitution, and ruin the happinefs of their 
 country, ftill the caufe for which the revo- 
 lution was undertaken remains the bed 
 in which men can engage ; the folly, 
 ambition, and barbarity of individuals, 
 may confign their own names to the exe- 
 cration of mankind, but cannot cHminim 
 the intrinfic value of freedom. 
 
 It is, however, when the caufe of liberty 
 is in danger of being difhonoured by fome 
 who pretend to be its fupporters, that thofe 
 who have a jufl fenfe of the bleffings it 
 confers will avow their icntiments, and 
 refufe to join the undifcerning herd, who 
 turn that indignation, which is due to the 
 wretches who difgrace the caufe of freedom, 
 againft freedom itfelf. It is at fuch times 
 that their avowed attachment is of moil 
 
 import-
 
 ( 350 ) 
 
 importance, becaufe it is then only that, in 
 a free country, the interefted votaries of 
 power dare to preach their flavifh doctrines. 
 There was no need to inculcate the value 
 of liberty when the tyranny of Louis XIV. 
 was dragooning his fubjecls out of their 
 country, or {hutting them up in dungeons, 
 or chaining them to oars : the example of 
 fuch atrocious deeds rendered precept fuper- 
 fluous. But when {hocking crimes are per- 
 petrated under the banners of liberty, by the 
 tools of defpotifm, it is then necefTary to 
 vindicate the purity of the one from, the 
 guilt of the other* 
 
 Before I left Paris, I heard a perfon who 
 was filled with indignation at the recital of 
 the horrors then committing, cry, '* D n 
 liberty, I abhor its very name!" The in- 
 dignation was juft; but furely it was ill 
 directed. 
 
 If he had been hearing a recital of the cru- 
 elties which have been exercifed on various 
 
 occafions
 
 ( 35' ) 
 
 occafions under the pretext of zeal for the 
 Chriftian religion, whole eflence is mercy 
 and good- will to man, he might with equal 
 juftice and difcernment have find, " D n 
 the Chriftian religion, I abhor its very 
 name 1" 
 
 No difpaffionate man will deny that 
 liberty in the abftrad: is good; yet it becomes 
 a blefiing in fociety only as retrained by 
 juft laws, and combined with government: 
 men of the beft characlers, who are equally 
 the friends of liberty, will differ with regard 
 to the mode of this combination. 
 
 From the effects it has hitherto produced, 
 few will admire that which has exifted in 
 France fince the I oth of Auguft ; but what- 
 ever horror we may feel at the crimes of 
 ambitious, unprincipled individuals, the can- 
 did will approve of the national fpirit of the 
 people in defence of their national indepen- 
 dency; and the benevolent will wifh that it 
 
 may
 
 ( sr- ) 
 
 may be rewarded with the bleffing of a free 
 
 and well-regulated government. 
 
 With refped to thofe with whom fen- 
 
 timents of general benevolence have little 
 erTecl, it may be ufeful to remind them, 
 that the profperity of England, as a com- 
 mercial country, fuflers by the mifery of 
 France. 
 
 Flexcourt, Sept. 7. 
 
 We intended to have left Amiens early 
 this morning, and ordered poft horfes ac- 
 cordingly the poftmafter detained us by 
 pretending he had no pcftillion : we after- 
 wards found that he had furnifhed horfes 
 and poftillions to others, and detained us 
 under frivolous and falfe pretexts. The 
 only reafon I could imagine for this prefe- 
 rence was, that inftead of going to the poft- 
 houfe we had driven to another inn. Un- 
 dcrftanding that there were two commit- 
 
 iaries
 
 ( 353 ) 
 
 fairies from the National AfTembly at Amiens, 
 We made a complaint to them of the poft- 
 mafter: they directly ordered a corporal 
 and four of the national guards to bring the 
 poftmafter before them. They told him 
 it was his duty to have poftillions ready for 
 the ufe of travellers : they accufed him of 
 ferving others who came after we had or- 
 dered horfes, and faid, it was his duty to 
 be impartial ; but if favour was to be {hewn 
 it ought to be to ftrangers, and particularly 
 to the Englifh, a people for whom they 
 had a great efteem, and whom they confi- 
 dered as their friends. Without liftening to 
 the man's explanations, they threatened to 
 fend him to prifon if he did not provide us 
 with horfes and poftillions directly. After 
 abufing and threatening the man a great 
 deal, one of the commiffioners faid, Eh, 
 bien 1'ami, you will provide the gentlemen 
 with what they want, will you not ? The 
 poftmafter faid he would do his bed ; on 
 VOL. I. A a which,
 
 ( 354 ) 
 
 which, by an inftantaneous tranfltion from 
 every appearance of anger, affuming a con- 
 ciliatory countenance and accent, he filled a 
 tumbler full of Burgundy to the poftmafter, 
 and defired him to drink a la nation, and 
 difmifled him. We had the poflillions and 
 horfes a few minutes after. 
 
 I went laft night to the playhoufe at 
 Amiens. The houfe is commodious, the 
 play was well acted, and the audience nu- 
 merous^ they feemed highly pleafed with 
 their entertainment. I am aftonimed at 
 the mirth and gaiety which the French dif- 
 play at all public places, in the prefent ftate 
 of the country : had I come into Amiens 
 without any previous knowledge of the 
 circumflances in which France at prefent 
 is, I fhould not have had the leafl fufpi- 
 eion, from the appearance of the inhabitants 
 in the ftreet, and ftill lefs at public places,, 
 that they were threatened with any danger 
 or calamity. 
 
 A little-
 
 ( 355 ) 
 
 A little before we left Amiens, accounts 
 were received that the inhabitants of a vil- 
 lage within a few leagues of that town were 
 in a ftate of infurre&ion. -Three hundred 
 and fifty of the national guards, and two 
 hundred dragoons, were ordered by the 
 commiffioners to march againft the villagers, 
 who it was underftood were prepared for 
 refiftance. The troops were drawn up and 
 ready to march when we left Amiens. I 
 had fome converfation with one of the offi- 
 cers : I remarked, that they were going on a 
 difagreeable fervice he anfwered, that its 
 being difagreeable did not proceed from the 
 danger, becaufe he was convinced the pea- 
 fants would fubmit as foon as the troops 
 appeared but he was fure that it would 
 be more agreeable to the whole party to be 
 fent againft the Pruflians. 
 
 It was fo late in the afternoon before we 
 
 left Amiens, that we fhall pals the night at 
 
 this place : we were a good deal retarded 
 
 A a 2 on
 
 on the road by a coach with four horfes, 
 which we overtook, but were not allowed 
 to pafs. By the ordinance refpecting port- 
 ing, cabriolets or chaifes with three horfes 
 each, cannot pafs a coach with four : this 
 appears an abfurd regulation ; on my fpeak- 
 ing of it at the inn here, the landlord faid, 
 that it was ordained under a fevere penalty, 
 and therefore ftriclly adhered to, unlefs 
 thofe in the coach defired it to be difpenfed 
 with. On this a genteel-looking elderly 
 man came up, and affured me that he did 
 not know of our being retarded by his 
 carriage, otherwife he fhould certainly have 
 defired his poftillion to let us pafs. 
 
 This gentleman remains all night at 
 Flexcourt alfo ; 1 had fome converfation 
 xvith him apart he fpoke with great horror 
 of what lately happened at Paris and ex- 
 preffed furprife that ftrangers, efpecially 
 EngUihmen, could bear to be in France at 
 prefent. Yours is a happy country, added 
 
 he;
 
 ( 357 ) 
 
 he ; you enjoy freedom without anarchy. 
 I faid, that I hoped that his country would 
 attain the fame bleffing, and that the trou- 
 bles of France were near an end. There is 
 more reafon to fear, refumed he with ear- 
 neftnefs, that they are but beginning. The 
 people are mifled; they have been taught 
 dangerous maxims, which it will be very 
 difficult to induce them to relinquifh. 
 Every thing is pufhed to excefs, fo that 
 the remedy of certain evils has become 
 worfe than the evil itfelf. The people of 
 France were tyrannized over, to remedy 
 which they are now made tyrants. I my- 
 felf, continued he, heard fome members of 
 the National Aflemblyreafon with a fet of the 
 populace, to perfuade them not to perfift in 
 an outrage again ft which there was a decree 
 of the AfTembly, and to prove to them tbat 
 they ought to obey the dictates of the fu- 
 preme court of the nation. What do you 
 think was the anfwer of one of the crowd 
 A a 3 to
 
 ( 358 ) 
 
 to this remonftrance ? " The National Af- 
 fembly ought rather to obey our dictates, 
 fmce they are only the reprejentativcs of the 
 people, whereas we are the people ourfelves." 
 This {hews, added the gentleman, in what 
 a dreadful ftate we are: a fet of villains 
 miflead the people, and, by the means of the 
 people, domineer over the National Aflem- 
 bly; this will be the ruin of France, con- 
 tinued he, and not the army of Brunfwick. 
 I mentioned the Bretons and other troops 
 I had feen going to reinforce their army, and 
 hinted that their want of difcipline would 
 give the enemy a great advantage over 
 them. " Many of my countrymen will be 
 deftroyed undoubtedly," anfwered he, " but 
 others will prefs on in their place ; courage 
 and impetuofity will overpower difcipline, 
 and, believe me, France has nothing'to fear 
 from foreign enemies, but every thing from 
 internal difcord and villany. This idea I 
 find univerfal among the French : thofe 
 
 who
 
 ( 359 ) 
 
 who approve of the revolution, expecT: that 
 France will foon enjoy more power and pro- 
 fperity than ever ; thofe who difapprove of 
 it, lament the diforder under which their 
 country fufFers, but Hill think the foreign 
 armies will be baffled." 
 
 Abbeville, Sept. . 
 
 I was informed by the landlord of the 
 inn at Flexcourt, that the gentleman with 
 whom I converfed laft night had fct out very 
 early this morning. The bufmefs of this 
 inn is carried on by the landlady and her two 
 daughters, the landlord being a gofliping 
 fat man, who does nothing ; and is harmlef* 
 in all refpedts, except that he is eternally in 
 the way, and teafes the guefts a good deal 
 with his converfation. 
 
 ATter he had told me that the gentleman 
 
 was gone, that he lived at fome leagues dif- 
 
 tance, that he had known him long, and that 
 
 he was a very good kind of man, he drew 
 
 A a 4 me
 
 ( 36 ) 
 
 me a little afide, and added, Ct C'eft un 
 fier ariftocrate ; mais je me fuis fait un 
 principe de ne le dire a qui que ce foit an 
 monde, parceque cela pouvoit lui occafioner 
 quelque malheur et vraimentc'eft un digne 
 homme, et mon ami de tout temps*." I was 
 going away, but he held me a little by the 
 fleeve, and added, " Surtout, n'en dites rien 
 a ma femme, parce qu'elle eft une demo- 
 crate enragee, et qu'il lui eft impoifible de 
 garder un fecrett." 
 
 No. no, faid I, 
 
 
 
 " Oh jamais !" continued the landlord, 
 " fi elle le f^avoit une fois, elle ne pourroit 
 s'empecher de le dire au premier palTantJ." 
 
 * He is a great ariftocrate ; but I make it a rule 
 never to mention this to any body, as it might bring 
 him to trouble, for he is a worthy man, and has always 
 been a good friend to me. 
 
 f Above all, fay nothing of this to my wife, becaufe 
 {he is a violent democrate, and, befides, never could 
 Jceep a fecret. 
 
 Never If me knew it, me would tell it to the firft 
 ftran^er who arrives. 
 
 On
 
 On arriving at the gates of this town, we 
 were concluded to the town-houfe by one 
 of the national guards. Some of the ma- 
 giftrates were there, who, having examined 
 our paflports, behaved with great civility, 
 and afked many queftions regarding the 
 ftate of affairs at Paris. The election for 
 the Conventional Aflembly is carrying on 
 at prefent in this town. A great many of 
 the electors live at the inn in which we are: 
 of thirteen members to be chofen here, fix 
 are already elected. One of the electors 
 told me, that they once had thoughts of 
 electing Mr. Thomas Paine as one of the 
 deputies of this department ; but they had 
 dropped that idea on hearing that he was 
 already elected for the departments of the 
 Pas de Calais, and that ofTOife. 
 
 Abbeville, Sept. 9, 
 
 As the elections are carrying on, we re- 
 main here. I went yeflerday and to-day to 
 the church, where the election is made by 
 
 ballot.
 
 ( 362 ) 
 
 ballot. One deputy was chofen yefterday, 
 and another this morning very early. One 
 of the electors, who accompanied me from 
 the inn, told me, that a confiderable num- 
 ber had loft their votes by coming too late, 
 by which means a man who was par ttat 
 un cuhivateur was eleded that very day. 
 This profeffion of a farmer is becoming 
 more refpectable every day in France; and 
 if they ever fhould enjoy a well-eftablifhed 
 free government, the nation will be full of 
 yeomanry. I aiked of my informer what 
 kind of man this cultivateur was ? He an- 
 fvvered, that he was a very worthy man, 
 with plain found fenfe, although his under- 
 ilanding had not been fo much enlightened 
 by learning as that of his opponent, who 
 was a lawyer : but, added he, " Pent etre il 
 n'y a rien a regreter, car Tintegrite vaut 
 bien la litterature pour un legiflateur *." 
 
 * Perhaps there is no reafori to be forry for this, 
 becaufe integrity is full as valuable as learning in a 
 
 Legifiater, 
 
 Thit
 
 ( 363 ) 
 
 This town makes rather a gayer appear- 
 ance than ufual : the election of deputies 
 for the Conventional Afiembly has attracted 
 a great number of ftrangers. I hardly re- 
 member to have feen the ftreets of any pro- 
 vincial town of France fo much crowded, 
 except on fome feftival day, as thofe of 
 Abbeville are at prefent ; nor did I ever fee 
 the lower orders in any town feem more at 
 their eafe, or in general better drefled. Ab- 
 beville is a manufacturing town, and moft 
 of the tradefmen are able to purchafe the 
 national guard uniform : the country people 
 who frequent the markets here, feem re- 
 markably clean and healthy. I do not 
 know how it happens, but the female part 
 of the French peafantry drefs not only with 
 neatnefs, but a kind of elegance ; while the 
 drefs of the males is the moft formal, clumfy, 
 unbecoming thing in the world: that wo- 
 men fhould drefs with more tafte and fancy 
 than men, is natural j but why this fhould ap- 
 pear
 
 pear in a greater degree among one clafs of 
 one particular nation, than in others, I know 
 no reafon. This is evidently not the cafe 
 in England. 
 
 What will difturb the gaiety of this town, 
 and fill the breafts of many with fear and 
 inquietude, is the departure of five hundred 
 of the inhabitants for Chalons, which is to 
 happen to-morrow : thefe form a band of 
 fine-looking young men, all well clothed 
 
 jp 
 
 and well armed ; they have been embodied 
 for fome time, and feem expert at the ufual 
 manoeuvres of military exercife ; but the 
 chief quality, and that which mud be moil 
 depended en in thofe who are marching 
 from every part of France againft the fo- 
 reign enemy, is that active enthufiaftic ar- 
 (lour with which they are all inflamed. 
 
 As I was walking with my fon this day 
 on the ramparts, we overtook a perfon, 
 with whom I entered into converfation. 
 He informed me that he was a proteftantj 
 
 that
 
 that he lived at fome leagues diftance from 
 Abbeville, and was now here in the quality 
 
 of an elector. I fpoke to him of the uni- 
 
 r 
 
 verfal fpirit which pervaded the country, 
 and the numbers coming from all corners to 
 fight in its defence, which, I added, left 
 little doubt of the enemies being ultimately 
 repulfed. 
 
 " If the Almighty (replied he) takes the 
 part of France, the enemy will undoubtedly 
 be repulfed with lofs and difgrace ; but if he 
 is otherwife inclined, the number and bra- 
 very of our armies will be of little avail. It 
 is not," continued he, u the Pruffians, or 
 Auftrians, or Ruffians no nor all the 
 combined powers of Europe that we have to 
 fear, but the difpleafure of God, on account 
 of our neglect of religious duties:" He 
 added, with a figh, " that this neglect had 
 arrived at a moft alarming height in France 
 of late." There was no denying the flrft 
 claufe of his obfervation, and I had no in- 
 6 clination
 
 ( 366 ) 
 
 clination to difpute the fecond ; however, I 
 faid, that it afforded me pleafure to find that 
 the proteftants were fo much better treated 
 now than formerly. u It is fortunate for us 
 proteftants (he replied) that we are not per- 
 fecuted as we were in former times; but 
 it is unfortunate for all France, that, along 
 with the fpirit of perfecution, that of re- 
 ligion daily diminifhes." 
 
 I obferved that, as nothing could be more 
 oppoiite to true religion than a fpirit of 
 perfecution, the former, it was to be hoped, 
 would return without the latter ; but, in the 
 mean time, the proteftants were happy in 
 not only being tolerated in the exercife of 
 their religion, but alfo on being rendered 
 capable of enjoying every privilege and 
 advantage which the catholics themfelves 
 enjoy. 
 
 " We are not allowed thofe advantages 
 (refumed he) from any regard they bear to 
 
 our
 
 ( 367 ) 
 
 our religion, but from a total indifference 
 for their own." 
 
 Whatever the caufe may be, faid I, the 
 effect is the fame with regard to you. 
 
 No, replied he, the effect might be better, 
 not only with refpedl to us, but to all France, 
 for the fpirit of perfecution might have dif- 
 appeared without an indifference for all re- 
 ligion coming in its place ; and in that cafe 
 there would have been more probability of 
 the true religion gaining ground ; for it is 
 cafier to draw men from an erroneous doc- 
 trine to a true one, than to imprefs the 
 truths of religion on minds which defpife all 
 religion whatever. 
 
 But although you may not be able to 
 make them converts, I replied, ftill you 
 may live happy among them, in the quiet 
 pofleflion of your own religion, and all your 
 other advantages. 
 
 I doubt it much, refumed he ; being per- 
 fuaded that, in a country where religious 
 
 fentlmenti
 
 ( 368 ) 
 
 fentiments are effaced from the minds of the 
 bulk of the people, crimes of the deepeft 
 guilt will prevail in fpite of all the reftraints 
 of law. 
 
 It is a pretty general opinion, and has 
 been much infifted on, and varioufly illuf- 
 trated by the philofophers of this century, 
 that religious zeal inftigates men to more 
 exorbitant ads of cruelty and injuflice than 
 any other motive. 
 
 I was reflecting on this, after parting 
 with my proteftant acquaintance, when, by 
 accounts from Paris, I learned, that, on the 
 very morning of the day on which we left 
 that city, above two hundred priefts who 
 refufed to take the oaths (pretr.es refradaires), 
 and were confined in the convent of the 
 Cannes it is mocking to relate but I am 
 affured that there was confiderably above 
 two hundred of thofe poor men inhumanely 
 maflacred within the walls of that convent* 
 M. Sicard, the celebrated inftructor of the 
 
 deaf
 
 deaf and dumb, was the only perfon favcd, 
 and he, by the active and intrepid efforts of 
 a M. Monnot. 
 
 Nobody will pretend that thefe horrid 
 maflacres proceeded from religious zeal : 
 thofe poor priefts were the minifters of the 
 fame religion with their aflaflins. What 
 can the records of religious perfecutions 
 prefent more atrocious ? Other motives* 
 then, can inftigate men to as exorbitant 
 acts of cruelty and injufcice, as a rniftaken 
 zeal for religion ever did. 
 
 A mob of fanatics may be inftigated ta 
 murder thofe whom they believe to be the 
 enemies of God and of religion, but will 
 refufe to aflaffinate their fellow-creatures iii 
 any other caufe. A mob, devoid of reli- 
 gious impreffions, may be inftigated to 
 murder, in any caufe where their intereft is 
 concerned, when they think they can do it 
 with fafety ; and it cannot be doubted, that 
 if religious fcntirnents had kept any hold of 
 VOL. i B b the
 
 ( 37 ) 
 
 tfie minds of the directors or executes of 
 the late maffacres at Paris, they never 
 would have beeh either the one or the 
 other. 
 
 In the prefent times, therefore, when all 
 idea of perfecuting men on account of a dif- 
 ference of religion is banimed from Europe, 
 I am perfuaded that promoting a fenfe of 
 religion in the minds of the people at large, 
 would be lefs liable than ever to be per- 
 verted into wicked purpofes, and, of courfe* 
 more beneficial to general fociety. 
 
 Boulogne, Sept. to. 
 
 This mofcning, a little before we quitted 
 Abbeville, a very fingular incident occurred 
 in the church where the deputies were 
 elected. A lady of that town had, feme 
 time fince* ferit a liberal patriotic gift to 
 the National Aflembly ; fhe was much 
 praifed for thi& act, which made a great 
 impreffion on one elector in particular. 
 
 What this gentleman moft admired in hu- 
 
 - 
 
 7
 
 fftstl nature, was the art of compofmg verfes, 
 and the quality of generofity ; he had a 
 higher relifh for the firft in himfelf than in 
 others, whereas the fecond delighted hint 
 more in others than in himfelf. 
 
 He compofed a poem in praife of the 
 lady above-mentioned, wherein he enume- 
 rated all her virtues, and infifted particularly 
 on that of which fhe had given a recent 
 proof. He carried this compofition to the 
 church during t*he election, and was read* 
 ing it to a circle of the electors, when one, 
 who did not hear diftinctly, called " a la 
 tribune.'* The poet inftantly afcended the 
 pulpit, and read his verfes with aftonifhing 
 emphafis. They pleafed in fuch a manner 
 
 that the whole audience fell into repeated 
 
 
 fits of laughter, and the poet was delighted 
 
 with the fuccefs of his verfes. At laft fome 
 one, who thought that fuch a happy compo- 
 fition (hould be enjoyed in all fhapes, ex- 
 claimed, " Chantez les!" which requeft 
 B b a
 
 ( 372 ) 
 
 being repeated by others, the author, after 
 
 a few preparatory hems, adapted the verfes 
 
 
 
 to a tune of his own immediate recollection. 
 I can hardly imagine that any of 'his coun- 
 trymen, on the frontiers, will {hew more in- 
 trepidity than this man displayed on this 
 occafion. 
 
 The ftate prifor.ers, who have been fo 
 long confined at Orleans, were ordered to 
 
 be conducted to Paris ; but on the dreadful 
 
 
 
 cHforders which happened in that city, it 
 was thought improper to carry them thither, 
 and. the Afl'cinbly ordered that, inllead of 
 Paris, they fnould be taken to Saiimur. 
 The guards who had been lent to perform 
 this duty, perilled in executing the firft or- 
 der, even after they had received the fecond : 
 this gave great uneafmefs to the friends of 
 the prifoncrs ; and, on its being mentioned 
 in the Aflemblj', a third order -was ifTued to 
 carry the prifoners to Saumur. The guards, 
 we are informed, obeyed the orders of the 
 
 8 Affembly,
 
 (373 ) 
 
 Aftembly, by nor taking them to Paris, 'but 
 difobeyed them in refufifig to condudt thefe 
 prifoners to Saumur; and, inftead of either, 
 are actually carrying them to Verfailles. 
 
 What is the meaning of this ? thofe troops 
 would not difobey the Aflembly of them- 
 felves They muft be acting under the in- 
 fluence of fome man, or body of men, who 
 do not appear. 
 
 Yet while Paris is fo little under govern- 
 ment, that it is thought unfafe to carry pri- 
 font'rs to it, ftill I hear of no private aflafli- 
 nations, no ftreet robberies all the viila- 
 nies of this people feem to be committed 
 under fome pretext of a public or patriotic 
 nature. 
 
 Although the people in general, both 
 thofe of Paris and thofe I have converfed 
 with fmce we left it, lament the manner in 
 which the prifoners were put to death ; yet 
 many believe that they deferved to-die, and 
 that they would have been equally executed 
 B b 3 had
 
 ( 374 ) 
 
 had the forms of law, and rules of juftice, 
 been previoufly ufed. 
 
 If this could be proved, which certainly 
 it cannot, it would form no palliation of 
 the criminality of the authors of the maf- 
 facres. He that, from private hatred or 
 rnere wantonnefs, (labs a murderer, who is 
 in the hands of juftice, and about to be tried 
 for his life, commits a murder ; and the 
 man who is guilty of fuch a violation of 
 law, would offer in vain to prove the guilt 
 of the perfon he had ftabbed ; it would 
 not be allowed in his defence. 
 
 Very great pains have been taken, boww 
 ever, to urge this notion of the guilt of the 
 prifoners as a vindication of the affeffins ; 
 and atfo, that the aflaflins were no other 
 than a promifcuous crowd of the citizens of 
 Paris. 
 
 This idea is propagated in all Uie journals 
 printed at Paris. If the editors of thofe 
 journals were fo inclined, they durft not
 
 ( 375 ) 
 
 a contrary account of the matter; 
 for if thofe maflacres were not committed 
 by a furious multitude, which the eyes of 
 government cannot dlfcriminate, nor the 
 hands feize 'by whom were they com- 
 mitted ? This is a queftion which, I am 
 aflured, it would be much more eafy than 
 it would be fafe to anfwer. 
 
 But what may lead to confequences of 
 the moft extenfive mifchief, and is as dif- 
 gufting as the maflacres themfelves, is to 
 fee them juftified in public journals, where 
 they have been fpoken of as a terrible but 
 necefiary example of the juftice of the people. 
 
 Men of cold phlegmatic characters," fay 
 gazetteers, " aflert that the fword of 
 law only has a right to ftrike at the neck 
 of criminals. True," add they, " if we 
 were not in a ftate of war, if an army of . 
 foreign mercenaries had not entered our 
 Country, who are in correfpondence with 
 b 4 thofe! 
 
 .c
 
 thofe prifoners, to enflave the nation, and 
 murder its defenders. 
 
 I'allien, one of the commiffaries fe^t by 
 the general council of the commune de 
 Paris to the National A (Terribly, on the 
 third of September, to give an account 
 of w r hat was paffing, and had paffed, in, 
 the prifons fpeaking to the Affembly, 
 ufed thefe remarkable words, " Les com- 
 miffaires ont fait ce qu'ils ont pu pour 
 empecher les defordres (the mafiacring the 
 prifoners is what he calls diforders), mais ils 
 n'ont pu arreter, en quelque forte, la jujle 
 vengeance du peuple *. 7 ' 
 
 The juft vengeance of the people ! If the 
 National Affembly had not been overawed, 
 would they have liftened with patience to 
 fuch exprefiions ? 
 
 * The CommiiTaries did all they could to prevent the 
 diforders, but it was not in their power to flop the ven- 
 geance of the people, which, in fome meafure, was 
 
 It
 
 ( 377 ) 
 
 It never can be juft in the people to ex- 
 ercife vengeance that belongs to the laws 
 alone. 
 
 The manifefto publifhed by the Duke of 
 Brunfwick has irritated the minds of all 
 ranks, and rilled France with one fentiment 
 of indignation. That prince rauft have 
 been wonderfully mifinformed refpe&ing 
 the ftate of people's minds in this country : 
 but, indeed, I queftion if there would have 
 been fo much unanimity among them, had 
 that manifefto not appeared. 
 
 Let the King of Pruffia and Duke of 
 Brunfwick tyrannife over their own fub- 
 jects, fay they, and cane their foldiers into 
 fighting machines, fince they can bear it : 
 but are they to tell the French nation, the 
 late alteration in your government difpleafes 
 us you mud re-eftablifh things on the 
 old footing ; and when you have done fo, 
 
 4 
 
 we will confider what punifhment is to be 
 inflicted on thofe who propofed the altera- 
 tions.
 
 C 378 ) 
 
 tions. Such is the language I hear very 
 frequently* 
 
 Boulogne, Sept. u. 
 
 This town is not near fo populous, nor, 
 in my opinion, fo agreeable as Abbeville, 
 The fituation of the high town, however, 
 is advantageous and lofty, and furrounded 
 with ramparts. The emigration of the no- 
 blefle, who formerly lived here, tends, no 
 doubt, to throw a gloom on the place, which 
 I think more remarkable here than in any 
 town of France that I recollect. This was 
 diffipate4 for fome time to-day by a mar- 
 riage : The bride and bridegroom, with a 
 number of their friends of both fexes, in 
 their beft attire, walked in procefTion to the 
 church, accompanied with a band of mufic, 
 playing a ira ; to which the people at the 
 {hop doors and windows nodded in time, 
 and fbme joined with their voices. 
 
 This nation feems always in unifon with 
 eheerfulnefs $ arid if an accidental gloom 
 
 begins
 
 ( 379 ) 
 
 begins to overfhadow them, the (lighter! ray 
 of gaiety is fufficient to difperfe it, and 
 enable them to join, in full chorus with the 
 voice of joy. 
 
 A few days before we left Paris, the in* 
 habitants were certainly not in a cheerful 
 mood, but that was owing to a concurrence 
 of circumftances of a nature to have hung 
 the blackeft clouds of melancholy over the 
 minds of many people for life. I under- 
 fland that theirs have brightened up in a 
 great degree already, and that the Pruffian 
 armies, though further advanced into France^ 
 and nearer Paris than ever, give them no 
 kind of concern; they are now fully con- 
 vinced that they will be repulfed, or com- 
 pletely deftroyed. It is fortunate for a na- 
 tion, when attacked by powerful enemies^ 
 to retain a proper confidence in their own 
 ftrength and refources, becaufe that very 
 confidence contributes to their fuccefs ; but 
 J i]iould have full as much reliance on their 
 
 courage.
 
 ( 38 ) 
 
 courage, if it were more modeftly expreffed 
 titan it fometimes is at the bar of the Na- 
 tional Aflembly. 
 
 One detachment fwear that they never 
 will quit their aTms, " Qu'apres avoir purge 
 la terre des briga'nds couronnL-s *." 
 
 Another that they will, in the day of 
 battle, keep their ground, and remain at their 
 poft, *' Auffi inebranlables que le Mont- 
 Martre 1'eft devant Paris f." 
 
 Another, after declaring an everlailing 
 hatred to tyrants, adds, {t Nous faifons le 
 ferment des Spartiates, de revenir avec nos 
 boucliers, ou d'etre portesdefTiis; nous nous 
 Jerons tous couper en morceaux plutot que 
 de ceder a Tennemi le champ de bataille, et 
 nous nous fervirons encore de nos dents pour 
 dernieres armes. Nous promettons de rap- 
 
 * Till after they have cleared the earth of crowned 
 robbers. 
 
 f As unmoveable as Mont-martre before Paris. 
 
 porter
 
 porter fur nos cafques, a chacun pour cri- 
 niere, la longue chevelure d'un Germain */-' 
 Men who fpeak fuch language, muft fight 
 very bravely indeed to equal the expecta- 
 tioi\ which they wilh to raife : for my own 
 part, I am inclined to believe, that the 
 French will fhew a great deal of courage, 
 hecaufb it belongs to the national character 
 at all times ; and becaufe, at this particular 
 time, their fpirits are mounted by the ener- 
 gy of enthufiafm highly above the natural 
 ftandard. From what I have heard, and 
 am able to obferve fince I have been in this 
 country, I am alfo led to believe, that the 
 German armies will be difappointed in their 
 expectations of being joined by the inha- 
 
 * "We fwear, like the Lacedaemonians, cither to bring 
 back our bucklers, or to be carried back upon them ; 
 we will all be cut in pieces fooner than yield the field 
 of battle to the enemy - t we will fight even with our 
 teeth if other arms fail; and we promife, that each of 
 us will return with the long hair of a German as an 
 
 Qrnament to our helmets. 
 
 bitants,
 
 . ( 382 ) 
 
 bitants, or of infurre&ions in their favour- 
 But, notwithftanding that thefe are my 
 opinions, I confefs that I do not feel the> 
 fame perfuafion that feems to prevail all 
 over France, that the Duke of Brunf\#ick 
 will not be able to penetrate to Paris, fo 
 high is my idea of his military fkill, sand of 
 the fuperiority of difciplined troops, The 
 confidence of the French makes them over- 
 look or defpife thofe articles, arid forne- 
 times manifefts itfelf in a fingular man- 
 ner ! 
 
 On the firft of this month) in a company 
 who were dining together, the chance of 
 the Duke of Brunfwick's coming to Paris 
 became the fubjecl; of difcourfe ; One gen- 
 tleman offered to bet considerable odds that 
 he would not get fo far, nobody thought pro- 
 per to accept the bet : he then offered flill 
 greater odds, and a perfon prefent took them, 
 which he had no fooner done, than another 
 bferved to him, that it was furprifing that 
 
 he,
 
 ( 383 ) 
 
 he, of all men, (hould have done fo, becatlfe 
 he had often aflerted, that he thought it 
 quite impoffible for the Duke of Brunfwick 
 to force his way to Paris : I think fo ftill, 
 replied the other j but it is very poffible he 
 may be brought here prifoner, and on that 
 chance only, I took the odds. 
 
 The commiflioners, which are fent from 
 the National Aflembly to every department 
 of FrancCj are endowed with the power of 
 breaking the municipalities and ordering a 
 new fet of magiftrates to be elected : alfo 
 of fufpending the public officers, civil of 
 military, when there is any reafon to fuf* 
 peel their conduct. Thefc commifTariea 
 muft likewife have very great influence in 
 fpreading thofe opinions which tne ruling 
 part of the Aflembly wifti to prevail. That 
 republican fentiments are of this number, 
 feems probable from many circumftances that 
 have lately occurred, and particularly from 
 their being avowed and even proclaimed by 
 
 ft*
 
 ( 384 ) 
 
 the candidates for the enfuing National Af- 
 fembly. Rabaut de St. Etienne, who was a 
 member of the firft aflembly, has been lately 
 elected a deputy to the convention : it 
 would appear that fomebody had circulated 
 a report that he was a friend to a monarchi- 
 cal form of government, and had no aver- 
 fion to kin^s, provided they were honeft 
 men : this he confiders as calumnious ; 
 and in his letter to the aflembly, announcing 
 his election, he profeffes a determined hatred 
 to royalty and kings without exception. 
 " C'eft ainfi," he adds, " que je reponds aux 
 calomnies, qui font le fruit de la malveil- 
 lance, accueillies par la credulite.*" 
 
 From this a pretty ftrong prefumption may 
 be formed of what the complexion of the 
 national convention will be, if ever it fhould 
 exift, for there are people who ftill harbour 
 
 * This is the anfwer I give to calumnies^ which 
 are the fruits of malevolence gathered by credu- 
 lity. 
 
 doubts
 
 ( 335 ) 
 
 doubts on that head there are however a 
 confiderable number of the deputies already 
 elected, and, contrary to the opinion of 
 many,- aU who are'eledted have accepted. 
 
 Boulogne, Sept. 12. 
 
 The council of the commune de Paris 
 have the power at prefent of fending com- 
 mifTaries, as well as the National Aflembly; 
 and it would feem that the power of thofe 
 fent by the former is as extenfive as that of 
 thofe delegated by the latter. A letter was 
 lately read in the National AlTembly from 
 a commiflloner fent by the commune to 
 the army under Luckner, at Chalons, 
 in which the commiflary, whofe name is 
 Billaud de Varennes, complains of the con- 
 duel: of the municipality, talks of breaking 
 them if he finds that the majority do not 
 adopt the meafurcs which he and his bro- 
 ther commiffaries think expedient. He alfo 
 makes fome very fevere remarks on the con- 
 VOL. i. C c duel:
 
 ,du6l of General Luckncr, and gives fuch 
 an account of the neglect of many things 
 neceffary for the troops, and the confufion 
 and want of fyftem upon the whole, as 
 greatly increafes the chance of the Duke 
 of Brunfwick's being able to penetrate to 
 Paris. 
 
 One would naturally have imagined that 
 the troops of the line were more to be de- 
 pended on than the new levies made at 
 Paris ; but this does not feem to be the 
 opinion of Billaud de Varennes, for after 
 the difcCuraging ftatement of the fituation 
 of the troops .at Chalons, and hinting at 
 the fmall force which Dumourier has to 
 oppofe to the numerous and difciplined 
 army under the Duke, he gives the Aflera- 
 bly to know, that what they have moft to 
 rely on is the Parifian army and concludes 
 his letter with thefe words: " Courage, mes, 
 chere concitoyens ! Brunfwick doit trembler, 
 
 car
 
 car ies Parifiens font a dix lieiies de fon 
 camp*." 
 
 Moft people (exclufive of the French 
 themfelves) will he of opinion, that it is 
 not the Duke of Brunfwick who has the 
 greateft reafon to tremble ; and that the 
 Parifians will at wifely in not approaching 
 nearer to his camp. 
 
 Boulogne, Sept. 13, 
 
 The character of fome of the deputies 
 already chofen by the department of Paris, 
 does not tend to convey high expectations 
 of the enfuing Convention. Marat is 
 of the number j he is fuppofed to have 
 obtained this honour partly by his own 
 popularity among the low clafles, and partly 
 through the influence of a faction, at the 
 head of which are Danton, the minifter of 
 
 * Take courage, my fellow-citizens! Brunfwick may 
 tremble, for the Parifians are within ten leagues of his 
 amp. 
 
 C C 2 juftice,
 
 juftice, and Roberfpierre. As the reputation 
 of Marat was not of pure white previous 
 to the 2d of September, and has been con- 
 fidered of a fcarlet hue fmce, it was thought 
 necefiary to prepare the minds of the elec- 
 tors, and endeavour to conciliate them in his 
 favour, before the day of election : for this 
 purpofe Chabot, who. was formerly a Fran- 
 cifcan friar, has been fince a patriotic ora- 
 tor, and is already chofen a deputy to the 
 Convention, made an oration in his favour 
 in the fociety of Jacobins, of which many of 
 the electors are members. As this difcourfc 
 is certainly of a very extraordinary nature, 
 and as it difcovers the difpofition both of 
 the orator and the perfon he recommends, 
 I fhall give the following paffage from it 
 " On a reproche a Marat," faid the capu- 
 chin, " d'avoir etc fanguinaire; d'avoir, par 
 exemple, contribue au maffacre qui vient 
 d'etre fait dans les prifons ; mais en cela il 
 ctoit daus le fens de la revolution ; car il 
 
 n'etoit
 
 ( 389 ) 
 
 n'etoit pas naturel, pendant que les plus 
 vaillans patriotes s'en alloient aux frontieres, 
 de refter ici expofe aux coups des prifon- 
 niers a qui Ton promettoit des armes et 
 la liberte pour nous aflaffiner. On die 
 qu'il a etc fanguinaire parce qu'il a de- 
 mande plusd'unefois le fang des ariftocrates, 
 et me me le fang des mernbres corrompus 
 de I'aflemblee conftituante. Mais il eft 
 connu que le plan des ariftccrates a toujours 
 ete et eft encore de faire un carnage de tous 
 les fans-culottes : or, comme le nombre de 
 ceux ci eft a celui des ariftocrates comme 
 99 eft a un, il eft clair que celui qui de- 
 mande que Ton tue i pour eviter qu'on ne 
 tue pas 99, n'eft pas fanguinaire. II n'eft 
 pas non plus incendiaire, car il a pro- 
 pofe de donner aux fans-culottes les depend 
 illes des ariftocrates j il ne peut done pas 
 etre accufe d'avoir voulu les incendier*?" 
 
 Not* 
 
 * Marat is reproached with being of a fanguinary 
 C c 3 difpo-
 
 ( 39 ) 
 
 Notwithftanding the merciful fpirit and 
 logical force of reafoning which appears in 
 this precious morfel of eloquence, it was 
 not thought fafe to truft entirely to it 
 
 difpofition : that he contributed, for example, to the 
 late mafiacres in the prifons ; but in doing fo he aled 
 in the true fpirit of the revolution, for it was not to be 
 expedled that, while our braved patriots went to the 
 frontiers, we fhould remain here expofed to the rage of 
 the prifoners, who were Jjromifcd arms, and the op- 
 portunity of afiaflinating us. We are told that he is 
 f<mguinary, becaufe oftener than once he demanded 
 the blood of the ariftocrates, and alfo that of the 
 corrupt members of the conftituent affembly. But it 
 is well known, that the plan of the ariftocrates always 
 has been, and ftill is, to make a general carnage of the 
 fans-culottes. Now, as the number of the latter is to 
 that of the former in the proportion of ninety-nine, 
 to one, it is evident that he who propofes to kill one, 
 to prevent the killing of ninety-nine, is not a blood- 
 thirfty man. Neither can he juftly be called an incen- 
 diary, for he propofed to give the fpoils of the arifto 
 crates fo the fans-culottes ! how then can he be accufed 
 of wifliing to burn them ? 
 
 8 '' Robcr-
 
 ( 39 1 ) 
 
 Roberfpierre thought it neceflary to add 
 the weight of his eloquence. In a harangue 
 made by him in the electoral aflembly, the 
 import of which was to point out the qua- 
 lities of moil importance in a deputy for the 
 conventional aflembly ; he at length pointed 
 out Marat and Le Gendre as two men highly 
 worthy of the fuffrages of the electors 
 They were both chofen accordingly. 
 Marat's merit is notorious : what recom~ 
 mended Le Gendre to the patronage of 
 Roberfpierre I know not, unlefs it be that 
 he is by profeflion a butcher. 
 
 Calais, Sept. 14. 
 
 Before we left Boulogne this morning, 
 we heard that the ftate prifoners, foon after 
 their arrival from Orleans, were maflacred 
 in the ftreets of Verfailles ! Thefe repeated 
 maflacres fill the mind with horror create a 
 deteftation of the people who can fufFer fuch 
 
 things, and will injure the French revolu- 
 C c 4 tion
 
 ( 39 2 ) 
 
 tion more than if the Duke of Brunfwick 
 had beaten their armies, and were in pof- 
 feffion of Paris itfelf. 
 
 I abhor writing any more about them 
 Wretches ! 
 
 Calais, Sept. 15. 
 
 I fhould be forry to fay any thing in fa- 
 vour of that defpotifm which has prevailed 
 in far the greater part of the globe, from 
 the earlieft period of recorded manners and 
 government nor do I wiih to urge any 
 thing in extenuation of that complex fyflem 
 of flavery under which the whole French 
 nation, though in unequal degree?, were 
 debafed and opprefled ; and lead of all 
 would I depreciate the merit of thofe 
 who, from honeft indignation at injuflice 
 and tyranny, and a generous defire of ob- 
 taining equal laws, and a limited monarchy, 
 united their efforts in overthrowing the old 
 arbitrary fyftem. 
 
 But
 
 ( 393 ) 
 
 But had thofe patriots been able to fore- 
 fee all the confequences with which their 
 well-intended efforts have been followed, 
 the wild and deftructive notions with 
 which the multitude have been infpired by- 
 unprincipled men, under the mafk of pa- 
 triotifm, who, from the bafeft and moft 
 wicked motives, direct the blind fury of 
 the people againft their beft friends, and 
 render them more cruel and oppreffive than 
 their greater): oppreflbrs ^ and, finally, could 
 thofe patriots have forefeen the barbarous 
 maffacres which have difgraced France of 
 late, would it not have puzzled their wills, 
 and made them rather bear thofe Ills they had, 
 than fly to others that they knew not of? 
 What ! are men to bear all the various 
 wanton indignities and oppreflions of a ty- 
 rannical government, rather than attempt 
 to overturn it, left a worfe thing mould be- 
 fal them ? 
 
 No independent mind can ever fubfcrihe 
 
 to
 
 (394 ) 
 
 to fueh a doctrine 5 though there is reafon 
 to fear, that the horrid things which have 
 of late been tranfaded in France will pro- 
 cure it more profelyles. than ever. But thofe 
 horrid tranfadions are not the neceffary 
 confequence of a ftruggle againft tyranny 
 they are unprecedented in the hiftory of the 
 world ; they are not the work of the lovers 
 of freedom, but of the infernal agents of 
 fome cowardly defpot, who dares not yet 
 rear his head. 
 
 But, terrible as the rilk of fuch fcenes are, 
 let it be remembered, that imagination 
 can hardly paint any thing more intoler- 
 able, than that di final, hopelefs gloom, 
 which a defpotic government throws over 
 the minds of men who have acquired a ve- 
 neration for equity, for impartial laws, and 
 a juft idea of liberty. Shut out knowledge, 
 and every fentiment of this kind, and men 
 will live with occafional comfort in the 
 moft abjed flavery : but fuch fentiments and 
 
 ideas
 
 ( 395 ) 
 
 ideas having once entered the mind of 
 man, he is wretched under defpotifm, and 
 cannot tafte tranquillity without rational 
 freedom. 
 
 Such confiderations naturally lead the 
 mind to reflect on the enviable condition 
 of that fmall portion of the inhabitants of 
 Europe who live under governments free 
 from the evils which opprefled France, and 
 particularly thofe who live under a oonfti- 
 tution fo admirably poifed that it requires 
 no dangerous renovation, and contains 
 within its fabric the fafe means of repair 
 when they are needed. 
 
 There was a fearch for arms all over 
 Calais laft night ; I fuppofe the fame has 
 taken place, or will foon, in every town ia 
 France : they find it very difficult to find 
 arms for the immenfe armies now on 
 foot. 
 
 Calais, Sept. 16. 
 
 When the magiftrates and citizens of 
 
 Verdun
 
 ( 396 ) 
 
 Verdun {hewed a difpofition to capitulate, 
 and deliver up the town to the Pruffians, 
 Beaurepaire, colonel of the regiment of 
 Mayenne and Loire, and commandant of 
 the garrifon of Verdun, no fooner heard 
 of their intentions, than he haftened from 
 the ramparts, where he was encouraging 
 the foldiers, to the town- hall, where the 
 magiftrates were aflembled, and ufed all 
 his influence to perfuade them to hold out : 
 but finding them determined on a meafure 
 which he thought disgraceful, he pulled a 
 piftol from his pocket, and {hot himfelf in 
 the middle of the council. The volunteers 
 whom he commanded would not allow his 
 body to be buried at Verdun, of which the 
 Pruffians were immediately to take pof- 
 felT.on, but carried it to Saint-Menchould. 
 
 M. Delaunay having heard of this, pro- 
 pofed in the National Affembly, that the 
 remains of Beaurepaire fliould be brought 
 from St. Menehould, and interred in the 
 
 French
 
 ( 397 ) 
 
 French Pantheon " Let us treat his afhes," 
 laid he, " as Rome, had me preferved her 
 liberty, would have treated thofe of Cato 
 and Marcus Brutus. The road all the 
 way from the Pantheon to St. Menehould 
 is at prefent covered with foldiers, and 
 filming with bayonets and pikes. 
 
 " Figure to yourfelves," added he, " what 
 an impreffion it will make on the minds 
 of our warriors, when they meet the fu- 
 neral chariot of one who died for liberty ! 
 the fight will e!e5li'ife their fouls, infpire 
 them with courage, and fill their hearts 
 with a defire of vengeance." 
 
 However natural it was for a high-fpirhed 
 officer to be driven to defpair at a meafure, 
 the difgrace of which, he thought, would 
 reach himfelf, yet fuicide is fo contrary to 
 the fpirit of the Chriilian religion that it 
 might have been imagined the legiflative 
 aflembly of a Chriftian country (for they 
 have not yet decreed the abolition of Chrif- 
 
 tianity)
 
 tianity) would have had fome difficulty in 
 adopting this meafure. No fuch thing - 
 A Roman fenate could not have fhewn lefs. 
 They immediately decreed that the body 
 of Beaurepaire fhould be tranfported from 
 St. Menehould,and interred in the Pantheon 
 at Paris, with the following infcription on 
 his tomb, " II aiina mieux fe donner la 
 mort que de capituler avec les tyrans*." 
 
 It was ordained at the fame time, which 
 the moil fcrupulous Chrifiian in the affem- 
 bly could have no objection to, that the 
 penfion of Beaurepaire fhould be continued 
 to his widow and fon during their lives. 
 
 The whole of this meafure feems to be 
 approved by the nation ; thofe who may 
 be fuppofed to be offended at any part of 
 it keep their fentiments concealed, while 
 thofe who approve, proclaim theirs in the 
 
 * He chofe to put himfclf to death, rather than 
 capitulate with tyrants, &c. 
 
 moft
 
 ( 399 ) 
 
 moft oftentatious manner. In one journal 
 I find the following paragraph Que nt)s 
 regrets honorent le trepas de Beaurepaire 
 faifons tomber devant la juftice et la recon- 
 nouTance ce prejuge barbare, qui trop long 
 temps appella foiblefTe et fureur le devou- 
 ment courageux de Brutus et de Caton *. 
 
 In another it is faid, " La mort eft une 
 reflburce qu'il ne faut point oter a la \ f ertu 
 opprimee En decretant que Beaurepaire 
 eft digne de Tapotheofe, T Aflemblee Na 
 tionale a non feulement acquitte une dette 
 facree, rnais elle a plus fait encore pour les 
 progres de la morale que tous les trahxs 
 de nos beaux efprits f." 
 
 If 
 
 * Let our grief do honour to tlie death of Beau- 
 repaire let juftice and gratitude overthrow that barba- 
 rous prejudice, which too long has given the epithets 
 of vveaknefs or madnefs to the noble deaths of Brutus 
 and of Cato. 
 
 f Death is a refource of which we ought iiot deprive 
 
 opprefle<l
 
 ( 400 ) 
 
 If this be true, nothing can give a flronger 
 idea of the inefficacy of the writings of the 
 beaux efprits towards the progrefs of mo- 
 rality. 
 
 I am greatly deceived, however, if filicide 
 is not the effed: of feeling rather than rea- 
 fom'ng ; and if the National Afiembly by 
 their decrees, and the beaux efprits by their 
 writings, can render men happier, they 
 will more effectually check the practice of 
 iuicide than all that can be faid or written 
 again it it. 
 
 A French acquaintance of mine having 
 pointed out the foregoing palTages in the 
 journals, (aid with a triumphant air, " Vous 
 autres Angfois croyez qu'a vous feuls ap- 
 partenoit le droit de fe tuer." 
 
 opprefled virtue. In decreeing that Beaurepaire is 
 worthy of apotheofis, the National Affembly have not 
 only difcharged a facred debt, but it has done more 
 for the advancement of morality than the works of our 
 moft brilliant writers. 
 
 Calais,
 
 Calais, Sept. 1 7. 
 
 About the beginning of this month, two 
 waggons full of arms deftined for the army 
 were paffing through the town of Charle- 
 ville, conducted by an officer of the artillery: 
 the populace, taking it into their heads 
 that they were going to the enemy, arrefted 
 the waggons, and murdered the officer. 
 
 The fon of the poftmafter of St. Amand, 
 on a fufpicion of having given intelligence 
 to the enemy, was killed by the populace, 
 and his body dragged through the ftreets. 
 
 M. Bayeux, one of the magiilrates of 
 Calvados, being fufpected of a treafonable 
 correfpondence with the emigrants, was 
 arrefted, tried, and acquitted ; but the po- 
 pulace continuing to threaten him, he was 
 detained in prifon with a view to his being 
 fet at liberty, when that could be done with 
 fafety: the prifon. was forced by the mob, 
 and the magiftrate immediately murdered. 
 
 VOL. i. D d All
 
 ( 402 ) 
 
 All thofe horrors, and others which could 
 be enumerated, have happened within 
 thefe few days ; from which it might na- 
 turally be concluded, that it is dangerous 
 to travel through the country of France, 
 or walk in the ftreets of any of the large 
 towns. Extraordinary and unaccountable 
 as it may feem, however, the truth certainly 
 is, that travellers are quite fafe on the high 
 roads,' and that there is no fuch thing as 
 ilreet-robberies or houfebreaking in Paris : 
 all the murders and outrages which are 
 committed at prefent in this country 
 are in the caufe of the public, and not 
 from private intereft. This is no alleviation 
 of the evil ; on the contrary, it were much 
 lefs grievous for the citizens to be cxpofed 
 to ft reet- robberies and houfebreakings, 
 which were puniihed when difcovered, 
 than that a mifguided populace fhould be 
 tolerated in the exercife of juftice upon 
 whoever they confider as ftate criminals. 
 
 I men-
 
 I mention this merely as a fmgular faft, 
 not a proof that France is in a ftate of in- 
 ternal tranquillity ; for what can be more 
 miferable for a nation, than that fuch dread- 
 ful excefles can be committed with impu- 
 nity ? Innocent people are murdered, and 
 then we are told that the people meant 
 well, but were miftaken. -Many of the 
 journals palliate their greateft outrages, 
 and fay they proceeded from an excefs of 
 patriodfm None dare blame them ; never 
 was tyrant more feared and flattered than 
 le peuple fouverain at prefent. 
 
 Calais, Sept. 18. 
 
 I went this morning to the Convent of 
 Dominican Nuns, and had a long conver* 
 fation at the grate with one of them, an 
 old lady of feventy years of age She told 
 me {he had been forty-three years in this 
 convent ; that during that long period fhe 
 had lived fo free from care, and enjoyed 
 D d 2 fuch
 
 fuch a degree of content, that fhe had 
 never wifhed to change her fituation. 
 
 As a proof of this aflertion, fhe faid that, 
 " by a decree of the conftituent aflembly, 
 when convents were thrown open, thofe 
 nuns who chofe to withdraw were allowed, 
 and permiffion was at the fame time given 
 to thofe who were of a contrary opinion . 
 to remain in the convent In confequence 
 of which fhe and twenty-three other nuns 
 had remained, with no other wifh. than to 
 be permitted to end their lives there ; but 
 that now they were deprived of that hope, 
 having lately received an order from the 
 prefent National Aflembly to leave the con- 
 vent, which is deftined for other purpofes ; 
 they were to leave it accordingly within 
 ten days. She complained of this as a great 
 hardfhip on herfelf in particular, who had 
 lived fo long out of the world that fhe 
 had forgot how to live in it : that eight of 
 them had agreed to try to keep houfe in 
 
 Calais,
 
 Calais, by joining their fmall penfions, and 
 living together; the reft were to go to their 
 refpedive relations She ended by faying 
 that fhe had great reafon to be thankful to 
 God for the happinefs and tranquillity fhe 
 had enjoyed, particularly during the laft 
 forty-three years of her life, which, from 
 her own obfervation while fhe had lived 
 in the world, and from all fhe had learnt 
 fince, was far greater than the portion ufu- 
 ally allotted to mankind; and that although 
 fhe had no reafon to expect fo much fe- 
 licity for the remainder of her life, Ihe had 
 the comfort to think that the period of 
 her fuflfering, if fhe was to experience 
 fuffering, would be far fhorter than the 
 long courfe of calm enjoyment which, 
 through the goodnefs of the Almighty, 
 fhe had pofleffed for fo many years." 
 
 This nun, in fpite of her age and long 
 
 confinement, feems to enjoy good health 
 
 and fpirits; her deportment was eafy, and her 
 
 D d 3 man-
 
 ( 406 ) 
 
 manners polite: though fome part of her 
 narrative will appear fmgular, it feemed 
 to me devoid of affectation or hypocrify, 
 and to come from the heart. 
 
 When I took my leave of this lady, I 
 went to the Convent of Benedictine Nuns, 
 where a relation of my own had formerly 
 been a penfioner My calling at the Domi- 
 nicans was through miftake When I was 
 introduced to the parlour of the Benedic- 
 tines, I fent word that I wifhed to fpeak 
 to a particular nun who I knew had been 
 acquainted with my relation A nun of a 
 very genteel and interefting appearance 
 came to the grate. 
 
 I faw fhe had been crying, though fhe 
 attempted to look cheerful : fhe enquired 
 affectionately about my relation, and fpoke 
 with great efteem of another lady who had 
 been in the convent at the fame time. 
 After a fhort converfation, I afked if they 
 were in the fame fituation with the Domi- 
 
 . nican
 
 ( 47 ) 
 
 mean nuns ? Helas ! oui, Monfieur *, flic 
 replied, and burft into tears She was un- 
 able to fpeak for fome time ; but when Ihe 
 had recovered herfelf a little, fhe faid, that 
 the fame option had been given to them, 
 and that twenty-four of their number had 
 alfo chofen to pafs the remainder of their 
 lives in the convent ; that they were happy 
 in each other's fociety, and in their being 
 free from all cares, except the important one 
 of their falvation But now we are thrown 
 back into a world which we had renounced, 
 which we wifh to forget, and for which 
 we have no relifh ; Ah^ Monjleur ! nous 
 fommes bien a plaindre. She continued 
 crying and fobbing for fome time; and 
 then wiping her eyes, with a look of com- 
 pofure and refignation fhe faid, But it is 
 the will of God, and it becomes us to fub- 
 mit. 
 
 * Alas ! yes, Sir. 
 
 D d 4 Some
 
 ( 4S ) 
 
 Some readers will fufpeft that both the 
 old and the young nun on this occafion af- 
 fected forrow they did not feel : all I 
 can fay is, that if they did, they are 
 the beft a&refles I ever beheld, and the 
 moft difmterefted ; for, more appearance of 
 natural grief I cannot conceive, and for 
 what purpofe it could be affumed I cannot 
 divine. 
 
 I had hitherto confidered the opening of 
 convents as the giving liberty to the moft 
 unhappy of mortals, the miferable victims 
 of avarice and fuperflition. In general no 
 doubt this is the cafe ; but my converfa- 
 tion with thofe two nuns confirms what I 
 have had frequent occafion to remark, that 
 when religious impreffions are deeply en- 
 graven on the heart, they become a fource, 
 of happinefs, which compenfates for many 
 deprivations, and throw a conftant confoling 
 ray of light into fituations which, to the 
 general eye of the world, feem quite hope- 
 
 lefs
 
 ( 49 ) 
 
 lefs and gloomy. Thofe who, being neither 
 feduced by tafte nor obliged by neceffity 
 to confine fuch imprefllons to cells or con- 
 vents, where they can be of little ufe to 
 any except to the poffeflor, but carry them 
 into fociety with all the energy of active 
 virtue, are certainly the happieft of mankind. 
 By accounts received this day, it appears 
 that the populace have at laft taken to ftreet 
 robbery in Paris ; it has feemed very fur- 
 prifing to me that, in the prefent weak ftate 
 of the executive government, they have ab- 
 ftained from it fo long. But their robbe- 
 ries, like their murders, are performed un- 
 der the mafk of patriotifm: they ftop men 
 in the ftreets, and make them furrender 
 their filver {hoe-buckles and their watches 
 Women in the public walks have alfo had 
 their rings and bracelets taken from them ; 
 but they have the aflurances of the robbers 
 that all thofe commodities are to be applied 
 to the ufe of the public on the prefent 
 emergency. 
 
 2 Not-
 
 Notwithftanding all the pains which have 
 been taken to provide the troops with arms, 
 they are ftill in want of mufkets. By a 
 decree of the National AfTembly, the mufkets 
 are to be taken from the cannoneers, which 
 is a very numerous and expert corps in 
 France, and given to the volunteers who 
 flock to the armies ; fome regiments of 
 dragoons have likewife been deprived of 
 theirs for the fame purpofe. 
 
 Accounts are induftrioufly circulated, 
 of advantages obtained by the French ar- 
 mies over the Pruflians; nothing feems 
 more improbable : the Germans have, 
 however, failed in their attempt on Thion- 
 ville ; yet, in fpite of that failure, and the 
 pretended advantages gained over them, 
 they continue to advance. 
 
 Calais, Sept. 19. 
 
 Nothing can be more furprifing than the 
 fecurity and confidence of this people in 
 the prefent alarming crifis. I have feen 
 
 letters
 
 ( 4" ) 
 
 letters from Lille and Dunkirk, which de- 
 fcribe the inhabitants of thofe towns in the 
 fame perfuafion with thofe of Calais yet 
 it is known that the Swifs regiment of Cha- 
 teauvieux has gone in a body to the enemy, 
 and there is reafon to believe that the Swifs 
 Cantons will declare war againft France- 
 Spain, it is thought, is in the fame difpo- 
 fition ; and it is already announced in the 
 National A {Terribly, that the German Empire 
 is arming againft them. " II ne faut pas 
 fe le diffimuler," faid Merlin de Thionville 
 in the Affembly, " nous avoris a com- 
 battre tous les tyrans du monde, et ils ne 
 fopt pas a craindre pour un peuple libre 
 et arme: il faut rompre definitivement avec 
 eux. Je demande le rappel de tous les 
 Miniftres de France*." Before he made 
 
 fo 
 
 * It is not to be denied that we have to fight againft 
 all the tyrants in the world, and they are not to be 
 feared by a free and armed people Let us break with 
 
 them
 
 ( 4" ) 
 
 fo rafh a propofal, he fhould have proved 
 that the people were armed, and, what is ftill 
 more to be doubted, that they are free ; but 
 this fame Merlin is not confidered as fo great 
 a conjurer as his namefake was the Af- 
 fembly, therefore, did not follow his advice. 
 
 But what confirms me in my opinion that 
 the affairs of this country are now in a more 
 defperate ftate than ever, is, that it is com- 
 plained of in the National AfTembly, by a 
 deputation from the municipality of Co- 
 lombe, near Paris, that certain perfons un- 
 known, but who pretend to be members of 
 the common council of Paris, and of the 
 National Aflembly itfelf, break open doors, 
 enter houfes, and take away what they 
 pleafe, and harafs the inhabitants of the 
 town and adjacent villages in various ways, 
 on pretext of the public fervicc. 
 
 The minifter Roland alfo complains of 
 
 them entirely I demand that all the M'.nifters of 
 Trance at foreign courts be recalled, 
 
 the
 
 the anarchy which reigns in Paris, and which 
 all his efforts cannot fubdue. 
 
 Petion the Mayor, who feems willing to 
 (late things in the moft favourable light, 
 fays, in a letter to the Aflembly, that the 
 outrages committed in the open ftreets, by- 
 robbing the citizens of their watches and 
 rings, are put an end to : and adds, " Paris, 
 au furplus, eft tranquille ; tout en renfer- 
 ment dans fon fein des element tres inflam- 
 mable *." 
 
 Mafuyer expreflfed himfelf in thefe terms: 
 " Si I'Aflemblee Nationale ne prend pas une 
 mefure vigoureufe, on ne peut plus refter a. 
 Paris: on en fait un lieu plus dangereux, 
 cent fois, que les forets les plus infeftees dc 
 brigands |, &c." 
 
 * Paris is calm for the prefent, but contains within 
 her circuit much inflammable matter. 
 
 f If the National Aflembly does not adopt fome 
 vigorous meafure, it will be impoflible to remain any 
 longer at Paris : it is become a refidence a hundred 
 times more dangerous than the foreft the moft harafled 
 with robbers. 
 
 And
 
 ( 4*4 ) 
 
 And Vergniaud, with that affecting elo- 
 quence which he has at his command, after 
 mentioning the unwillingnefs which the 
 citizens of Paris {hew to work in the in- 
 trenchments forming round the city, adds, 
 ** Quelle peut etre la caufe de cette inertie 
 des meilleurs citoyens ? Ah, meflieurs, ne 
 nous diffimulons pas, ces haines particulieres, 
 ces delations infames, ces arreftations arbi- 
 traires, ces cris de profcription, ces com- 
 plots, ces atteintes portees fur les individus, 
 cette violation des proprietes, cet oubli des 
 loix, ces agitations inquietantes ont repandu 
 la confirmation et TefFroi. 
 
 " L'homme vertueux fe cache, il fuit avec 
 horreur ces fcenes de fang, et il faut bien 
 qu'il fe cache Thornine vertueux, quand le 
 crime triomphe, il n'en a pas Thorrible fen- 
 timent, il fe tait, il s'eloigne, il attend pour 
 reparaitre des temps plus heureux. 
 
 " Les temps de revolution produifent ces 
 hommes a la fois hypocrites et froces, 
 
 comme
 
 ( 4'5 ) 
 
 comme les pores de la terre produifent dcs 
 infectes malfaifans apres la tempete. Au- 
 jourd'hui ces pervers ariftocratifent la vertu 
 meme pour la fouler impunement aux pieds. 
 Us democratifent le crime pour avoir le droit 
 de le commettre : et c'eft ainfi qu'ils def- 
 honncrent la plus belle des caufes, celle du 
 peuple, et de la liberte. 
 
 " O citoyens ! vous voyez ma profondc 
 emotion ; citoyens arrachez le mafque a. 
 ces pervers qui n'ont, pour vous tromper 
 et vous perdre, que la baflefle de leur moyens 
 et Taudace de leurs preventions. Gitoyens, 
 vous les reconnoitrez facilement ; lorfque 
 Tennemi s'avance, celui qui vous invite a 
 egorger des femmes et des hommes def- 
 armes, celui-la vous a trahit et vous perd ; 
 cet autre qui vous invite a la paix entre 
 vous, qui vous crie de marcher fur les 
 Prufliens : eh, bien ! celui la eft votre ami. 
 Repouflez done les traitres qui vous agitent 
 et vous divifent ; faites cefler les defordres, 
 
 les
 
 les profcriptions, ct vous verrez une foulc 
 de defenfeurs fe reunir a vous, travailler ct 
 combattre pour vous. 
 
 " J'entends dire, mais rios armees peuvent 
 eprouver des revers : et alors, les Pruffiens 
 viendront-ils a Paris ? Non, ils n'y vien- 
 dront pas, non, {i les citoyens fe reunif- 
 fent, et fi Paris fe met en etat de defenfe : 
 car alors ils feroient accables fous le debris 
 de 1'armee qu'ils auroient vaincue, comme 
 Samfon fous le Temple qu'il avoit ren- 
 verfe*." 
 
 This 
 
 *' What can be the caufe of this unwillingnefs 
 among the beft citizens ? Ah ! Gentlemen, there is no 
 concealing it; thofe hatred s,thofe infamous accufations, 
 thofe arbitrary arrefts, thofe rumours of profcriptions, 
 of plots ; thofe perfonal attacks, thofe violations of pro- 
 perty, this contempt of the laws, all thofe diftrefling 
 circumftances have fpread conflernation and terror. 
 
 The virtuous man hides himfelf ; he flies with hor- 
 ror from thofe fcenes of blood: good reafon have the 
 virtuous to hide themfelves when the wicked triumph. 
 
 They
 
 ( 4'7 ) 
 
 This is unqueftionably a very fine piece 
 of eloquence ; but what effect can eloquence 
 have on the hearts of men capable of rob- 
 bery 
 
 They are filent, they retire, and wait for happier 
 times before they appear again. . 
 
 Times of revolution produce men who are at once 
 hypocritical and ferocious, as, after tempefts, the pores 
 of the earth fend forth deftructive infects. 
 
 Thofe perverfe men accufe virtue itfelf of ariftocracy, 
 that they may trample upon it with impunity j and 
 adorn crimes with the name of democracy, that they 
 may be allowed to commit them : thus they difgrace the 
 nobleft of all caufes, thofe of the people, and of liberty. 
 
 O my fellow-citizens, you fee how deeply I am 
 affected ! Citizens, tear the mafk from thofe wretches 
 who have nothing to deceive you with, but the mod 
 defpicable means, and the moft impudent pretenfions. 
 
 Citizens, you may eafily difcover them. He who, 
 when the enemy advances, excites you to flaughter 
 women and unarmed men, it is he who betrays and 
 ruins you. That other, who perfuades you to peace 
 among yourfelves, and to march againft the Pruffians, 
 he is your friend. 
 
 Reject then the traitors who agitate and divide you. 
 
 Tot, i. Ee Tut
 
 ( 4'8 ) 
 
 bery and murder ? they muft be fubdued by 
 other weapons. 
 
 Calais, Sept. 20. 
 
 There is great reafon to believe that 
 anarchy and fome new event of horror will 
 foon take place at Paris ; our accounts re- 
 ceived this day inform us, that the fame 
 manoeuvres are going on at prefent that 
 were performed previous to the fecond of 
 September. News are induftrioufly fpread 
 one day, that Dumourier has gained a vic- 
 tory ; and the following day it is circulated, 
 with equal induftry, that he is defeated; 
 and it is thought that this is done by emif- 
 
 Put an end to diforder and prescription, and you will 
 immediately behold a nuraber of defenders, who will 
 unite their efforts, and fight for you. 
 
 But it is faid, our armies may be repulfed, and then 
 the Pruffians will come to Paris. No, they cannot 
 come if the citizens unite, and if Paris is put in a ftate 
 of defence, becaufe tney will be crufhed by the remains 
 of the army they defeated, as Sarafon was by the 
 temple he overthrew. 
 
 fanes
 
 ( 4*9 ) 
 
 fanes of the enemy, that the people, while 
 their minds are agitated, may fall on fome 
 deftructive meafure now, as they did then. 
 Placarts have been ftuck on the walls, in- 
 viting the populace to exterminate the four 
 hundred members of the National AfTembly 
 who voted againft accufing M. la Fayette. 
 At one of the fedions, the inequality of 
 fortune was declaimed againft, and an agra- 
 rian law propofed. 
 
 This was to have been expected from the 
 inftant that the word Egal/te was brought 
 forward in the way it has lately been Equal 
 laws, and impartial juftice, may have been 
 originally meant; but equal wealth, it was 
 natural to expert, would be the explanation 
 of the people, particularly fuch as have no- 
 thing. 
 
 The Duke of Orleans is chofen one of the 
 
 deputies for the department of Paris: he 
 
 was propofed, according to our accounts, 
 
 by the fame people who propofed Marat ; 
 
 E e 2 but
 
 ( 420 ) 
 
 but the name of Orleans, as being nearly 
 allied to the crown, gave offence to the 
 electors; he, therefore, defired the general 
 council of the commune of Paris to give 
 him another name, more agreeable to the 
 ears of his fellow-citizens. In confequence 
 of this requeft, the council have fignified to 
 him that, as a reward for that zeal for 
 liberty which he had manifefted from the 
 commencement of the revolution, and even 
 before that period, and for his attachment 
 to the caufe of the people ever fmce, they 
 would adorn him with the beautiful name 
 of Equality (du beau nom d'Egalite.) 
 
 Confidering the immenfe fortune of Mon^ 
 fieur Egalite, and the difproportion it bears 
 to what would fall to his fhare in cafe the 
 patriots who pufh the agrarian law fhould 
 carry their point, one can hardly think that 
 this new name is very agreeable to him. His 
 former name gave offence becaufe too near 
 p the crown j his prefent beautiful new 
 
 nainq
 
 name may give offence, becaufe it is at too 
 great a diftance from the immenfity of his 
 wealth. 
 
 All the patriotifm he has difplayed before 
 or fmce the revolution, however pure and 
 free from refentment or felfim motives, may 
 not fecure him from that ingratitude which 
 heroes and ftatefmen fo often experience. 
 
 Were not all the fervices rendered to their 
 country by Miltiades, Ariftides, Camillas, 
 and Scipio, repaid with ingratitude ? What 
 then can Monfieur Egalite expect ? The 
 prefent race of Parifians differ in fome re- 
 fpects, it is true, from the ancient Greeks 
 and Romans ; they may, however, referable 
 them in ingratitude : but, even in that cafe, 
 they cannot deprive him of the tejilmony of 
 his conference. 
 
 Holland, the minifter, has informed the 
 
 Aflembly that, on the night of the fixteenth 
 
 of this month, the Garde- Meuble, where 
 
 the crown-jewels are kept, was broke open, 
 
 E e 3 and
 
 ( 422 ) 
 
 and that diamonds and other valuable things 
 had been carried away. 
 
 The Pruffian army, now on the road to 
 Paris, may probably conceive that this lofs 
 falls on them, rather than any body elfe. 
 
 Calais, Sept. 21, 
 
 The French and German armies have al- 
 ready met they have had fome partial 
 fhocks ; the fuperiority of the latter appears 
 on every occafion, as every body indeed 
 forefaw, particularly thofe who have been 
 bred to the military profefTion, many of 
 whom I have heard aflert, before I came to 
 France, that twenty or twenty-five thoufand 
 of the difciplined troops of Pruflia, would 
 drive all the noify rabble of national guards 
 before them like a flock of fheep, and that 
 they could meet with no ferious oppofition 
 except from fortified towns. I was always 
 unwilling to believe, that feverity of dif- 
 cipline gave a greater probability of victory 
 than all the enthufiafm which could fpring 
 
 from
 
 from the beft of caufes : it is difagreeable to 
 imagine, that the cane of the ferjeant can 
 make men fight better than the idea of de- 
 fending all that is dear in life. From what 
 has happened hitherto in this campaign 
 againft France, that proportion, difagree- 
 able as it is, wiH be confirmed. For what 
 have the French done with all their enthu- 
 fiafm ? The only towns on their frontiers that 
 have been ferioufly attacked are taken ; their 
 armies continue to retire before the enemy ; 
 General Dumourier himfetf, in a letter to 
 M. Servan, the minifter of the war depart- 
 ment, fays, that, in an attack on his rear, 
 ten thoufand men had run away fhamefully 
 from fifteen hundred of the enemy What 
 is to be expected from fuch an army ? 
 
 Every thing, in the mean time, feems 
 in a dreadful ftate at Paris. M. Rolland 
 has made fome very earneft reprefentations 
 of the diforders which exift, to the National 
 Aflembly ; in one, he fays, that five hun- 
 E e 4 dred
 
 ( 424 ) 
 
 dred citizens have been arrefted by orders 
 of the committee of the municipality, and 
 that the prifons will foon be as full as they 
 were before the fecond of September ; in 
 confequence of which, Vergniaud declaims, 
 and the Aflembly decree ; but the remedies 
 pointed out are not applied, the decrees are 
 not obeyed, the executive power feems ftili 
 to be in the hands of committees chofen 
 from the community of Paris, which are 
 thought to be directed by men of atrocious 
 characters, fufpeded of being the authors 
 of the maflfacres. In the midft of this awful 
 fcene of confufion, the Aflembly fpend 
 many hours in regulating the various ar- 
 ticles of the propofed decree refpeding 
 divorce. 
 
 At a time when two frontier towns arc 
 taken, their armies repulfed, and the enemy 
 advancing when their fellow-citizens are 
 thrown into prifon in the moil arbitrary 
 manner, and they themfelves threatened 
 
 by
 
 by aflaflins; for men, at fuch a moment, to 
 {hew as much anxiety to get rid of their 
 wives, as of all the other evils put together, 
 gives a ftrong idea of the mifery which 
 thofe poor men mud have endured in their 
 married ftate. 
 
 A courier arrived laft night from the Na- 
 tional Aflembly, requiring ten thoufand 
 men more from this department, Du Pas-de- 
 Calais : this occafions a good deal of unea- 
 fmefs the town of Calais will be under 
 fome difficulty to furnim its quota. 
 
 It has rained incefTantly for fome days ; 
 if the fame has been the cafe where the 
 Duke of Brunfwick's army is, it muft greatly 
 impede his progrefs, and diftrefs the fol- 
 diers. 
 
 As I flood for fhelter from the rain, un- 
 der the piazza of the town-houfe, I ob* 
 ferved two women who had juft obtained 
 paflports for England, one was in the cha 
 racier of maid to the other : ihe who was 
 
 drefled
 
 drefled as the maid, is a woman of rank ; I 
 had feen her frequently, when at Paris, in 
 her real quality : they feemed impatient to 
 get away, and crofled the fquare in the 
 midft of the rain to go to the packet-boat. 
 Her impatience proceeded partly, I fuppofe, 
 from uneafmefs at being recognifed, though 
 I turned my face from her the moment I 
 faw her, for fear of giving that fufpicion. I 
 am happy to think they have got away 
 without farther trouble. This lady, how- 
 ever, muft have flrong reafons for quitting 
 France at prefent, becaufe,by the law againft 
 emigrants, which, by an unjuft and cruel 
 cxtenfion, reaches to females, her whole 
 fortune will be forfeited. 
 
 A number of poor priefts have fled to 
 this place, and are fkulking in different 
 houfes, till fuch time as they can find op- 
 portunities to crofs over to Dover. 
 
 I know one pious and charitable lady, 
 who has been very ferviceable to feveral, 
 
 and
 
 ( 4^7 ) 
 
 and conceals and entertains them till they 
 can be conveyed away with fafety. 
 
 September 22. 
 
 I have heard and read of many perfecu- 
 tions which were excited by priefts in all 
 countries : the only perfecution I ever was 
 witnefs to, is that which exifts at prefent 
 againft them in this country, and a moft 
 fevere one it is. 
 
 The diflike which fome people are fond 
 of expreffing againft particular clafles of 
 men, which, from their nature, muft com- 
 prehend men of all characters, like that 
 which others exprefs to the natives of par- 
 ticular countries, always proceeds from a 
 childifh, illiberal, and uncandid turn of 
 mind. 
 
 The clergy of France have been treatdd 
 with cruelty fince the beginning of the re- 
 volution : that the church required a radi- 
 cal reform, with regard not only to the ex- 
 tent of her pofleflions, but alfo the manner 
 
 in
 
 in which they were diftributed, will be 
 pretty generally allowed : it was, perhaps, 
 expedient that many of the great benefices 
 fhould be applied to the public ufe as they 
 became vacant ; but what men have ob- 
 tained the pofTeflion of by the exifting laws 
 of their country, they cannot juftly be de- 
 prived of by any future law ; and the le- 
 vity with which the hardfhips put on the 
 clergy of France is fpoken of, by many of 
 the laity of this country, is very difgufting, 
 
 But the indifference with which men 
 look on ats of oppreffion to which they 
 themfelves are not expofed, and the indig- 
 nation they exprefs againft every act of the 
 fame nature to which themfelves are liable, 
 does not belong exclufively to men of par- 
 ticular profeffions or countries, it is, I fear, 
 in human nature. 
 
 I have heard people who profeffed much 
 public fpirit, and uncommon affecYion for 
 their country, declaim on the utility of ap- 
 plying
 
 plying two-thirds of the church livings int 
 England to the extinction of the national 
 debt. When the hardmips to which this 
 project would fubject the clergy, was ftated 
 as a flight objection, they declared it no 
 objection at all, but rather a circumftance in 
 favour of the project, becaufe it would be a 
 juft punifhment for their felfifhnefs, and they 
 would ftill have too much left for men of mo- 
 derate defires. But when a fmall reduction 
 of the legal intereft of money was hinted, as 
 a means which would alfo facilitate the pay- 
 ment of a debt which feemed to lie fo 
 heavy on their minds, thofe patriots, whofe 
 money was inverted in the funds, exclaimed 
 againft fuch an idea as a flagrant breach of 
 public faith, and the mod horrid injuflice. 
 
 Thofe who, taking advantage of a par- 
 ticular tide of prejudice, direct its current 
 againft the clergy, under the pretext that 
 priefls have been perfecutors, would them- 
 felves, in thofe days of perfecution, have 
 
 been
 
 ( 430 ) 
 
 been the greateft of all perfecutors, had they 
 been priefts. 
 
 The feverity of fome late decrees againft 
 thofe of the French clergy who refrain from 
 taking the oaths, feems to me highly un- 
 juftifiable. How can any candid mind feel 
 refentment againft men for facrificing their 
 intereft, their eftablifhment in life, from a 
 icruple of confcience ? Taking it in the 
 word light, it can only be conftrued into 
 weaknefs. 
 
 Yet thefe confcientious, or fimple men, 
 have been deprived of their livings, banifh- 
 ed their country, and many of them maf- 
 facred as they were going into banimment. 
 
 But many of the clergy, who refufe to 
 take the oaths, are accufed of exciting the 
 people to infurredlion againft the new go- 
 vernment, and to infult the clergy who 
 have takea them. Let thofe againft which 
 this is proved be punimed according to law; 
 but let not the innocent be puniihed in a 
 6 manner
 
 manner which would be barbarous, if evea 
 inflided on the guilty. 
 
 Nothing has expofed the King to fo much 
 fufpicion and obloquy, as his choofmg his 
 chaplain and confeiior from among thofe 
 priefts who refufe to take the oaths : none 
 but of this clafs were feen at court, or ad- 
 mitted into the Tuileries for fome time be- 
 fore the i oth of Auguft, which was thought 
 a proof of his Majefty's approbation of their 
 principles and conduct ; and, in fpite of his 
 having himfelf accepted and fworn to the 
 conftitution, this partiality to the priefts 
 who had done neither, was reprefented by 
 his enemies as an evidence that in his heart 
 he hated the conftitution, had a fecret corre- 
 fpondence with his brothers, and was doing 
 every thing he durft venture to favour the 
 defigns of the enemies of France. 
 
 There is abfurdity, however, as well as 
 want of charity in this interpretation; for if 
 the King is fo devoid of principle as to en- 
 gage
 
 ( 432 ) 
 
 gage in a plot to betray his country, and 
 overturn the conftitution to which he has 
 fworn to be faithful, how fhould he be fo 
 fcrupulous as to refufe to employ thofe 
 priefts who could render him moft popular, 
 and, of courfe, enable him the better to 
 carry on the plot ? 
 
 To fuppofe he was engaged in fuch a 
 confpiracy, is fuppofmg him a man of nei- 
 ther principle nor piety : to accufe him of 
 employing priefts whom his confcience ap- 
 proved, in preference to thofe whom policy 
 pointed out, is admitting that he pofieffes 
 both. 
 
 From all I have learnt of Lewis the Six- 
 teenth, he is a man of integrity, devoid of 
 ambition, but with an uncommon fhare of 
 indolence ; whofe difpofition is better than 
 his underftanding, and his underftanding 
 fuperior to his conduct ; whofe inclinations 
 are naturally benevolent ; whofe opinions 
 are generally juft, but whofe actions are 
 
 fometimes
 
 ( 433 ) 
 
 fometimes improper, becaufe they are in- 
 fluenced by thofe who poiTefs lefs rectitude 
 than himfelf. 
 
 The preference he gives to priefts who 
 refufe to take the oaths feems to injure 
 him as much in the minds of the po- 
 pular leaders, as that which Charles the 
 Firft gave to the clergy of the church of 
 England injured him in the minds of the 
 prefbyterians and independents. Charles 
 has even been confidered as a martyr to the 
 church of England. The inviolability 
 which the conftitution gives to Lewis will 
 fecure him from the fame fate, whatever de- 
 gree of rancour his enemies may bear him. 
 
 September 23. 
 
 Orders came a few days fmce from M. Ser- 
 van, the war minifter, for one thoufand 
 nine hundred mufkets to be carried from 
 St. Omer to Reims for the ufe of the volun- 
 teers going to Dumourier's army, many of 
 whom advance no farther than the latter 
 
 VOL, i. F f town
 
 ( 434 } 
 
 town for want of arms. As this convoy 
 patted through the town of St. Quintin, it 
 was flopped by three battalions of national 
 volunteers ; they alfo were in want of muf- 
 kets, which, however, were ready for them 
 at the department of the north, to which 
 thofe battalions were marching. Without 
 liftening to this afiurance, or any thing elfe 
 that was faid, they feized the arms of the 
 convoy ; many were broken in the tumult, 
 and the troops at Reims difappointed. 
 
 General Dumourier writes to the war 
 minifter, that, having thought proper to 
 change his fituation, his army was attacked 
 by the enemy during his march ; that a 
 panic had feized the rear of his army ; that 
 fome cowardly or treacherous foldiers had 
 called out, " Sauve qui peut, nous fommes 
 trahis * !" that ten thouiand men had fled 
 from one thoufand five hundred of the 
 enemy ; and that if thofe one thoufand 
 
 * Let thofe fave themfelves who can, we are all 
 betrayed. 
 
 five
 
 ( 435 ) 
 
 five hundred had pufhed on with vigour, the 
 whole army might haVe been thrown into 
 confufion : but this not having been done, 
 his army had recovered their fpirits, and 
 were now in a good fituation. He writes 
 in a ftyle of the greateft confidence, that he 
 expeds to form a junction with Kellerman 
 and Bournonville very foon, and has not 
 the leaft doubt of repulfing the enemy. 
 
 It may be highly proper in a General to 
 write in this manner to the laft ; but I can- 
 hardly think that he has the confidence he 
 pretends. What dependance can be had on 
 men who rob their own convoys, and run 
 away at the fight of the enemy ? Thefe are 
 the chara&eriftics of a mob, not of foldiers. 
 I do not know what impreffion this letter 
 made on the National Aflembly, but the 
 inhabitants of this place are fully perfuaded 
 that Dumourier will be as good as his word ; 
 not that they believe their General to be fu- 
 perior in military fldll to the Duke of 
 F f 2 Brunfwick,
 
 Brunfwick, their expectations are founded 
 on their conviction of the fuperior valour of 
 the French over that of the Germans, or any 
 other people ; and fhould they hear that Du- 
 mourier is beaten, and his army difperfed, I 
 am perfuaded they will impute it to him, or 
 to the mercenaries in the pay of France, but 
 not to want of fpirit in the national troops. 
 The misfortunes of war are apt to be laid 
 to the charge of the General by the popu- 
 lace of every country, who are all convinced 
 that their countrymen are fuperior to their 
 neighbours in the moft eflential part of a 
 foldier's character; and therefore, when 
 the armies receive a fcvere check, or are 
 defeated, they immediately fufpect the Ge- 
 neral of treachery. The French, pofTeffing 
 more fenfibility, and perhaps more levity, 
 than fome of their neighbours," are, of courfe, 
 more fubject to thofe fufpiciona; though 
 their neareft neighbour, who is generally 
 believed to be of a far more cold and 
 
 phlegmatic
 
 ( 437 ) 
 
 phlegmatic temperament, has given dreadful 
 proofs of being fufceptible of the fame un- 
 juft way of thinking, and of all the excefTes 
 which it is apt to produce *. 
 
 National pride is lefs offended when the 
 lofs of battles is imputed to the treachery 
 of a few, or indeed to any caufe whatever, 
 rather than to an inferiority of fpirit or 
 courage in the troops. Courage is a quality 
 which the inhabitants of every country in 
 the world, fmce the beginning of the world, 
 have claimed to themfelves in a fupreme 
 degree. 
 
 The French have always thought them- 
 felves fuperior to any nation in Europe, in 
 military virtue; that they even think them- 
 felves a match for feveral combined again ft 
 them, they afford a ftrong proof at prefent. 
 
 Nee pluribus impar, was confidered as a 
 rodomontade when adopted as a motto 
 
 * The maflacre of the De Witts's by the Dutch. 
 
 Ff 3 by
 
 ( 438 ) 
 
 by Louis XIV. it is now confidered as a 
 truth by the generality of the French na- 
 tion. 
 
 I have heard Scotchmen aflert, that the 
 entire conqueft of France by the Englifh, 
 in the reign of Henry V. was prevented 
 folely by a body of feven thoufand Scots, 
 commanded by their countryman the Earl 
 of Buchan, Conftable of France : and others 
 endeavour to prove, that the victories of 
 Guftavus Adolphus were chiefly owing 
 to about the fame number of Scots who 
 ferved in his army. The common people 
 of Scotland, at this day, would think any 
 man deprived of his reafon, who would 
 for a moment imagine that an army of 
 any nation, commanded by any General that 
 ever lived, could have withflood half the 
 number of their countrymen led by Sir 
 William Wallace. 
 
 The Englifh, who laugh at their neigh* 
 bours for this national partiality, are fuf- 
 
 peded
 
 ( 439 ) 
 
 pede 3 of having their full mare of it, and 
 of not always confining it to the human 
 inhabitants of their country. 
 
 A good many years ago, returning from 
 Paris to London, I met with a certain 
 Englimman at Calais, who had been ex- 
 hibiting in fome of the towns of Flanders 
 and the French provinces with a fwarm of 
 bees ? which he pretended to have under 
 his command: among other manoeuvres, 
 he faid, he could make two fwarms of thefe 
 animals engage in battle with each other 
 an Englim fwarm, for example, with a 
 French. 
 
 And pray, faid a Frenchman who was 
 prefent, can you make which fide you pleafe 
 victorious ? 
 
 To which the other very gravely replied, 
 
 that he could not give the victory to the 
 
 French unlefs they were a little more than 
 
 double the number of the Englifh ; becaufe 
 
 F f 4 an
 
 ( 440 ) 
 
 an Englifh bee was precisely equal to twe 
 French ones. 
 
 When we came to Dover, the French- 
 man, who was going to London, and 
 had taken his paflage in the fame packet- 
 boat with me, put me in mind, a little be- 
 fore we parted, of the bee-man's declara- 
 tion, which he had not been able to digeft, 
 and afked if I really believed that there was 
 fuch a difference between French and Eng- 
 lifh bees. 
 
 Till that inflant I had not remarked that 
 the Frenchman was hurt ; I had taken it 
 for granted that he had feen the bee-man's 
 aflertion in the fame light that I did, 
 
 Being now convinced of my error, I an* 
 fwered coldly, that perhaps the bee-man 
 had gone too far in averting that one Eng- 
 li{h bee was equal to two French ones; but 
 that I was inclined to believe that two 
 Englifh bees would be a pretty good match 
 
 for three French, 
 
 Ah,
 
 ( 44* ) 
 
 Ah, Monfieur! faid the Frenchman 
 complaifantly, cela peut-etre. 
 
 But, whatever they may think of the 
 prowefs of their bees, a very ftrong preju- 
 dice has always prevailed in every country 
 in favour cf the perfoual valour and mili- 
 tary virtues of their countrymen. They 
 may grant that other countries have a fu- 
 periority in philofophy, in divinity, in the 
 fine arts, in all the arts of peace in all the 
 arts which tend to render men happy, but 
 never in that which fpreads devaftation and 
 mifery, never in that art which gives the 
 power of fubduing and domineering. 
 
 Excudent alii fpirantia mollius rera, 
 Credo equidem j vivos ducent de marmore vultus; 
 Orabunt caufas melius : ccelique meatus 
 Defcribent radio, et furgentia fidera clicent : 
 Tu regere imperio populos, Romane, memento : 
 Hx tibi erunt artes ; pacifque imponere morem, 
 Parcsre fubje&is, et debellare fuperbos. 
 
 September
 
 ( 44 2 ) 
 
 September 24. 
 
 A gentleman of character, on whofe vera- 
 city I have reliance, informed me that he was 
 at Verfailles on the day that the maflacre of 
 the prifoners from Orleans happened : he had 
 left Paris that morning, and, on his arrival 
 at Verfailles, heard that the prifoners were 
 expedted; but had no idea when he fet out, 
 nor did he obferve any thing after he ar- 
 rived at Verfailles, which gave him a fuf- 
 picion of fuch an event : he went and 
 walked a confiderable time in the gardens; 
 during this interval the prifoners arrived, 
 and that moft atrocious fcene of bloodihed 
 was performed. On his return from the 
 gardens, he faw the mangled bodies of 52 
 men lying in a flreet on the left hand as 
 you go to the chateau from Paris ! Some 
 of the lower fort of the inhabitants of Ver- 
 failles were looking on; the reft, ftruck with 
 terror, were fhut np in their mops and 
 
 houies.
 
 ( 443 ) 
 
 houfes. The body of the Duke of Brlflac 
 was pointed out the head and one of the 
 hands was cut off! a man flood near 
 fmoking tobacco, with his fword drawn, 
 and a human hand fluck on its point! 
 another fellow walked carelefsly among the 
 bodies with the entire arm of another of 
 the prifoners fixed to the point of his fword ! 
 This gentleman afterwards faw a waggon 
 arrive, into which was thrown as many of 
 the flaughtered bodies as the horfes could 
 draw ! A boy of about fourteen years of 
 age was within the waggon, affifting to re- 
 ceive the bodies as they were put in, and 
 packing them in the moft convenient man- 
 ner, with an air of as much indifference as 
 if they had been fo many parcels of goods ! 
 One of the wretches who threw in the bo- 
 dies, and who probably had affifted in the 
 maflacre, faid to the fpectators, in praife of 
 the boy's activity, " Voyez ce petit bon 
 homme, comme il eft hardi." 
 
 S ' Tho
 
 ( 444 ) 
 
 The aflaflins of the prifoners were a party 
 who had come from Paris on the preced- 
 ing evening, moil of them in poft-chaifes, 
 for that purpofe, and who attacked thofe 
 unhappy men while they remained in the 
 flreet waiting till the gate of the prifon 
 which was prepared for their reception 
 fhould be opened. 
 
 The circumftances of thofe aflaflins hav- 
 ing come from Paris the night before, and 
 moft of them in poft-chaifes, or in the 
 ufual carriages which go to Verfailles, are 
 ftrong prefumptions, that they were a de- 
 tachment from the bloody band who per- 
 formed the executions in the prifons, and 
 that thefe executions by no means pro- 
 ceeded from the emotions of rage and de- 
 fpair in the people, but from a pre- deter- 
 mined plan, formed by a fet of men who 
 have ufurped a great deal of power of late, 
 which they wifli to increafe, and who think 
 this dreadful act was neceflary for their own 
 
 fafety.
 
 ( 445 ) 
 
 fafety* The detachment which had guard- 
 ed the prifoners from Orleans, flood (hame- 
 ful and paflive fpectators of the maflacre. 
 
 The miferable prifoners being all unarm- 
 ed, and fome of them fettered, could do 
 nothing in their own defence : they were 
 moft of them ftabbed and a few, who at- 
 tempted refiftance, were cut down with 
 fabres. 
 
 There never was a more barbarous and 
 daftardly action performed in the face of 
 the fun. Gracious Heaven ! were thofe 
 barbarities, which would difgrace favages, 
 committed by Frenchmen ! by that lively 
 and ingenious people, whofe writings are 
 fo much admired, whofe fociety has been 
 to much courted, and whofe manners have 
 been fo much imitated by all the neigh- 
 bouring nations ? This atrocious deed, ex- 
 ecuted in the ftreets of Verfailles, and the 
 horrors committed in the prifons of Paris, 
 will fix. indelible flains on the character
 
 ( 446 ) 
 
 of the French nation. It is faid, thofe bar* 
 barities revoked the hearts of many of the 
 citizens of Paris and Verfailles, as much as 
 they could thofe of the inhabitants of Lon- 
 don or Windfor. It is alfo faid, that thofe 
 maffacres were not committed by the inha- 
 bitants of Paris or Verfailles, but by a fet 
 of hired aiTailins ! But who hired thofe 
 affaffins ? Who remained in fhameful ftupor 
 and daftardly inactivity while their laws 
 were infulted, their prifons were violated, 
 and their fellow-citizens butchered in the 
 open flreets ? I do not believe, that from 
 the wickedeft gangs of highwaymen, houfe- 
 breakers, and pick-pockets, that infeft Lon- 
 don and the neighbourhood, men could be 
 felected who could be bribed to murder, 
 in cold blood, fuch a number of their 
 countrymen ! and if they could, I am con- 
 Tinced that no degree of popular delufion 
 they are capable of, no pretext, no motive 
 whatever, could have made the inhabitants 
 
 of
 
 ( 447 ) 
 
 of London or Windfor, or of any town of 
 Great Britain, fuffer fuch dreadful execu* 
 lions to be performed within their walls. 
 
 September 25. 
 
 General Dumourier has ordered fifty of 
 the rnoft guilty of thofe who, by their cow- 
 ardly or treacherous cries, fpread confufion 
 through his troops on their retreat from his 
 camp at Grand Pre, to be ftript of their uni- 
 form, pinioned, and in this difgraceful con- 
 dition carried to Paris, and delivered to the 
 fection to which they belong. 
 
 He has publimed a proclamation or ad- 
 drefs to the foldiers, the import of which, 
 is to encourage them, and to give them the 
 ftrongeft aflurances of victory, provided 
 they have confidence in their officers, and 
 {hut their ears againft the voice of traitors ! 
 He ends this addrefs with thefe words - 
 " Camarades, fi on fe reunit fous mes eten- 
 dards avec la confiancc quc des enfant 
 
 doivent
 
 avoir en leur pere et non autrement, 
 je reponds de ces rois du nord, de ces al- 
 tefles fereniflimes, de ces cordons de toutes 
 les coulenrs, de ces paladins Francois, qui fc 
 qualifient encore des vains noms que nous 
 leur avons enleves : ils iront a Paris, puif- 
 qu'ils le dcfirent ; ils iront en triomphe, 
 rnais ce fera a notre fuite*." 
 
 He writes to M. Servan, that he is now 
 certain of effecting a junction with the Ge- 
 nerals Kellerman and Bournonville; and adds, 
 ** After having been able to keep the nume- 
 rous armies of the Germans and French 
 emigrants in check, for fo long a time, 
 
 * Feltow-fbldiers, it you will re-unite under my 
 ftandard with that confidence which children ought to 
 have in their father, I will be anfwerable for thofe 
 tings of the north, for thofe high mightinefTes with 
 their ribbons of all fort of colours ; for thofe French 
 knight-errants, who ftill aflume thofe empty titles which 
 we ftript them of: they fliall go to Paris! yes, 
 no doubt they {hall go, but it {hall be as our prifoners* 
 
 7 with
 
 ( 449 ) 
 
 with a handful of men, you may reft 
 allured that there is nothing to be feared, 
 now that my army is equal to theirs." 
 
 This is fpeaking in fo very confident a 
 ftrain, that I mould, however, take it all for 
 rodomontade, were it not for his having 
 honeftly and fairly acknowledged the flight 
 and ill behaviour of part of his army on the 
 march : which, to be fure, is like a man de- 
 termined to declare the truth ; for nothing 
 could be more mortifying to the army, to 
 the Affembly, and to the French in general. 
 He is, befide, univerfally fpoken of as a man 
 of great acutenefs and activity. But, after 
 all, it is impoflible to imagine that the 
 Duke of Brunfwick, a general of the firft 
 reputation of the age, with a numerous 
 army of the beft difciplined troops in 
 Europe, can be baffled by an army of raw 
 foldiers, led by one who, with all his na- 
 tural quicknefs, is without much military 
 experience : at all events, the affair muft 
 
 VOL. I. G g be
 
 ( 450 ) 
 
 be deckled foon, the armies are within fight 
 of each other ; and while the Pruffians 
 threaten Chalons and Rheims, the Auftrians 
 harafs the country near Lille, and fome of 
 their light cavalry have advanced within a 
 very little of the gates of Douay. It is 
 thought that they will attempt the fiege, 
 or at leaft the blockade, of the former. 
 We hear, however, that the Convention is 
 aflembled ; but I own I ftill think it will 
 not fit long at Paris. What renders this con- 
 jedure the more probable, and may be added 
 to the extraordinary circumftances above 
 enumerated, is, that Marat is ftill permitted 
 to publiih his inflammatory papers, the in- 
 tention of which evidently is to excite new 
 maflacres ! In one which was parted on the 
 Trails of Paris, on the I9th, he accufes 
 many of the deputies chofen for the Con- 
 vention of ariftocratical and antirevolu- 
 tional principles : he denounces the gene- 
 rals who commaud the armies as traitors ; 
 
 and
 
 ( 45' ) 
 
 and almoft all the prefent minifters, particu- 
 larly Roland, he paints as the enemies of free- 
 dom ! Danton, the prefent minifter of juf- 
 tice, is the only one of the fix who is not 
 included in his profcription ; and this omif- 
 fion is, in the minds of men of fenfe and 
 integrity, as prejudicial to Danton, as the 
 peculiar rancour he {hews againft Roland 
 is honourable to the latter. 
 
 September 26. 
 
 The deputies to the National Aflembly, 
 to the number of 371, met on the 21 ft, in 
 a hail of the Tuileries : they chofe Petion 
 for prefident, and Condorcet, Briflbt, Verg- 
 niaud, Rabaud, La Source, and Camus, for 
 fecretaries, and adjourned till the following 
 day ; when being again aflembled in the fame 
 hall, they fent a deputation of twelve of their 
 members to inform the National Aflembly 
 that the Convention was conftituted, and 
 about to begin the exercife of the powers 
 G g 2 which
 
 ( 452 ) 
 
 which had been placed in their hands by 
 the people of France. . 
 
 The National Aflembly immediately de- 
 creed, that their prefident, M. Frai^ois de 
 Neufchateau, at the head of a deputation 
 of their members, fhould wait on the Con- 
 vention, and conduct them to the hall of 
 the Feuillani. The prefident then declared 
 the National Affembly diflblved, and the 
 members attended him in a body to the 
 Tuileries, where M. Fnui9ois pronounced a 
 congratulatory difcourfe, in which he in- 
 formed the Convention, " That the Na- 
 tional Aflembly being diffblved, their firft 
 aft as citizens would be to ferve as a guard 
 to the Convention, that they might give an 
 example to every individual, of that refpect 
 which they owed to the repreieritatives of 
 the nation : that, in chooling them as mem- 
 bers of this Convention, the French people 
 had confecrated the extraordinary means 
 which they had been obliged to ufe for the 
 
 prefer-
 
 ( 453 ) 
 
 prefervation of twenty-four millions of peo- 
 ple, from the fatal effects of the perfidy of 
 one man : that the object of their meeting 
 was, to eftabliih a conftitutlon on the bails 
 of freedom and equality; to give to the 
 nation liberty, laws, and peace : liberty, 
 without which the French difdained to live ; 
 laws, the firmed foundation of liberty ; 
 and peace, the fole end and object of 
 war." 
 
 The Convention then walked from the 
 Tuileries to the hall of the Feuillans, con- 
 ducted by the members of the National 
 Aflembly, through a lane formed by an 
 immenfe multitude of people, a body of 
 the national guards being under arm?, the 
 drums beating and trumpets founding dur- 
 ing the proceffion. The Convention having 
 taken pofleffion of the hall, Manuel pro- 
 pofcd that the prefident of the Conven- 
 tional Aflembly fhould be lodged in the 
 Tuileries j that, as often as he appeared in 
 G g 3 public,
 
 ( 4*4 ) 
 
 public, he fliould be preceded by guards ; an4 
 that every day, when he opened theAflembly, 
 all the members fhould rife; obferving, at the 
 fame time, that thofe marks of diftindtion 
 would tend to render the Aflembly more 
 refpedtable in the eyes of the French na- 
 tion, as well as of ftrangers : and he men- 
 tioned the ftory of Cyneas, the ambafiador 
 of Pyrrhus, who, on being introduced into 
 the Roman fenate, faid, they appeared like 
 an affembly of kings. 
 
 Whether being compared to kings dif- 
 gufted them, I know not ; but this propofal 
 was warmly cppofed by feveral members, 
 and particularly by Chabot, who faid that 
 fuch external pomp was defpicable in itfelf, 
 and improper for a popular government, 
 in which the deputies mould have no other 
 dignity than that of being mixed and con- 
 founded with the fans-culottes who had 
 elected them as their reprefentative?. This 
 Chabot was formerly a capuchin, and flill 
 
 difplays
 
 C 4S5 ) 
 
 difplays in his drefs and perfon that par- 
 tiality for dirt which dlftinguifhes the, monks 
 of that order. He is now the rival of Ma- 
 rat, as an apoftle of Liberty; they feem con- 
 genial in their taftes in drefs, as well as po- 
 litics : nature has not been partial to either 
 in point of looks; few men, therefore, could 
 be more excufable in endeavouring to con- 
 ceal her unkindnefs by a few of the orna- 
 ments of art ; yet no two republicans of 
 Greece or Rome ever {hewed more con- 
 tempt for any auxiliary of that fort. Marat 
 (lands in much more need of it than Chahot, 
 but he ufes it lefs there appears fomething 
 even recherche in the fhabbinefs of Marat; he 
 feems to think it a proof of patriotifm, for in 
 qneof his lateplacarts againft Petion,among(l 
 other crimeshe accufeshim of being trop bien 
 frife. Marat is a little man, of a cadaverous 
 complexion, and a countenance exceedingly 
 expreflive of his difpofition : to a painter of 
 maffacres, Marat's head would be ineftima- 
 G g 4 ble.
 
 ble. Such heads are rare in this country, 
 yet they are fometimes to be met with at 
 the Old Bailey. The only artifice he ufes 
 in favour of his looks, is that of wearing a 
 round hat, fo far pulled down before as to 
 hide a great part of his countenance. 
 
 I am convinced that Manuel's motion, or 
 fomething of the fame nature, would be of 
 fervice. In decreeing guards and other 
 marks of dignity to the prefident of the 
 Convention, they would render both him 
 and the other members more refpe&ed by 
 the people ; it would difpofe them more to 
 obedience and to order, without injuring the 
 caufe of liberty. What danger can there 
 arife from power or dignity, which is en- 
 trufted only for fifteen days in the hands of 
 the fame man ? 
 
 The prefent French reformers are in dan- 
 ger of falling into the fame error with Jack 
 in the Tale of a Tub, who tore his coat in 
 pieces through zeal to remove the lace ; in 
 
 like
 
 ( .457 ) 
 
 like manner, they may injure the efiential 
 parts of government, by precipitately de- 
 ftroying the ornamental. 
 
 Danton is a man of too much importance 
 to be left out of the Convention on any ac- 
 count; in conformity with the principle 
 that no one citizen mould poflefs two offices 
 under the government, he fent his refigna- 
 tion of the office of minifter of juftice, and 
 retained that of member of the Convention. 
 He was the firft who propofed that the con- 
 flitution which they were about to form 
 fhould be prefented to the nation, and mould 
 not have force till it was accepted by tfie 
 majority of the people of France, united in 
 primary aflemblies. 
 
 This and another propofal of his were 
 decreed, namely, that property and perfons 
 were under the fafeguard of the nation. 
 
 It was next decreed, that all laws not 
 abrogated, and all powers not fufpended, 
 ihould continue in force, and that the pub- 
 lic
 
 ( 458 ) 
 
 lie contributions fliould be levied as hereto-* 
 fore. 
 
 Towards the end of the meeting, M. Col- 
 lot d'Herbois, who formerly was an a&or, 
 appeared in the tribune, and directly, with- 
 out circumlocution, propofed the abolition 
 of royalty. This was fupported and en- 
 larged upon by the Bifhop Gregoire, who 
 ufed the following argument, and fubfe- 
 quent flower of eloquence : " Le mot de 
 Roi eft encore un talifman, dont la force 
 magique peut etre le principe de beaucoup 
 de defordres ; il faut done 1'abolition de la 
 royaute. Les rois font en morale ce que 
 les monftres font en phyfique: les cours font 
 toujours les foyers de la corruption, et Tat- 
 telier des forfaits *." 
 
 The word King is dill a kind of talifman, whofe 
 magic power may create many diforders ; the abolition 
 of royalty therefore is neceiTary. Kings are, in the 
 moral world, that which monfters are in the natural : 
 courts are always the centre of corruption, and the 
 
 workhoufe of crimes. 
 
 Although
 
 Although many circuraftances announced 
 a difpofition to a meafure of this kind, I 
 had no idea that it would have been adopt- 
 ed on the very firft day of the meeting of 
 the Convention, and without a ftrong con- 
 teft. The propofal was heard with the 
 united applaufe of the deputies, and the. 
 people in the galleries. 
 
 Bazire alone faid, that a decree of fo 
 much importance required a little cool dif- 
 cuffion, and ought not to be decreed in a 
 moment of enthufiafm : but this very en- 
 thufiafm, which rendered the Aflembly unfit 
 for deciding upon fuch a point at that time, 
 was the caufe of its being decided inftantly. 
 The reafonable propofal of Bazire excited 
 murmurs, and every mark of difappro- 
 bation : it was in vain that he called out 
 that he had as little affection for royalty as 
 any of them, and only wifhed that the 
 queftion ihould be poftponed, and debated, 
 after mature reflection, with coolnefs, which 
 2 would
 
 ( 460 ) 
 
 would give the people at large the more 
 caufe to be fatisfied with their determina- 
 tion, and render it more likely to be per- 
 manent. 
 
 All this had no other effect than to render 
 Bazire lefs popular. The abolition of 
 royalty was decreed, and the Aflembly 
 broke up. 
 
 There feems to be a contradiction in de- 
 creeing, firft, that whatever conftitution the 
 Convention might form, it could have no 
 force till it was approved and. accepted by 
 the majority of the people ; and decreeing, 
 in the fecond place, the abolition of royalty. 
 
 How does the Aflembly know that a 
 limited monarchy is not more acceptable to 
 the majority of the people, than any other 
 form of government ? 
 
 The firfl decree implies, that whatever 
 conftitution is mofl agreeable to the majority 
 of the nation, and no other, ft all be the 
 conftitution of France. The fecond de- 
 
 clareSj
 
 ( 46' ) 
 
 clares, that no modification of monarchy 
 ihall be the confutation of France, whe- 
 ther it be agreeable to the majority of the 
 people or not. 
 
 But this precipitate decree, for the aboli- 
 tion of royalty, feems not only inconfiflent 
 with their own principles, but unjuft in it- 
 lelf ; becaufe it is punifhiiig the King before 
 trial, before they have made any examina- 
 tion into his conduct, or given him any op- 
 portunity of anfwering the charges made 
 againft him : not only pimiihing him, but 
 inflicting the very fevereft punifhment 
 which, by the conftitution, can, with any 
 fhadow of juftice, be inflicted on him, al- 
 though all were proved, and even more, 
 than he is charged with ; for, by the fecond 
 article of the conftitution, which regards the 
 King, his perfon is declared inviolable and 
 facred ; and the fixth article is conceived io. 
 thefe words : <{ Si le Roi fe met a la tete 
 d'une armee, et en dirige les forces centre la 
 
 nation ;
 
 nation ; ou s'il ne s'oppofe pas, par un ale 
 forme], a ,une telle entreprife, qui s'execu-- 
 teroit en fon nora, il fera cenfe avoir ab- 
 dique la royaute V 
 
 To inflict, therefore, as fevere a punifli- 
 ment for a crime which is only charged, but 
 not -proved, as could with juftice be applied 
 to a greater after full proof, is the height 
 of cruelty and injuflice. 
 
 September 27. 
 
 It would feem, from what happened on 
 the firft day of the meeting, that the Con- 
 vention confifted entirely, or almoft entirely, 
 of republicans ; and it is natural to conclude 
 from this, that the fame fpirit prevails all 
 over France. For it is afked, how could a 
 
 * If the King (hould put himfelf at the head of an 
 
 army, and direct its force againft the nation ; or if he 
 
 {hall not, by a formal aft, oppofe fuch an enterprize, 
 
 when attempted in his name, he (hall be confidered as 
 
 . having forfeited royalty. 
 
 fairer"
 
 ( 463 ) 
 
 fairer trial be made of the fentiments of the 
 people, than was made at the laft election ? 
 The National Aflembly, after fufpending 
 the King's authority, decree, that deputies 
 (hall be chofen by the people, for the ex- 
 prefs purpofe of forming a constitution* 
 There was, at this time, nothing to corrupt 
 or bias the people in the elections, in favour 
 of men whofe principles they difapproved : 
 any bias that could be prefumed, would in- 
 cline them to choofe the friends of the royal 
 family; for the French princes, fupported by 
 numerous armies, were advancing into the 
 heart of the kingdom. This was the time 
 for all royalifts to mew themfelves, either 
 by joining the princes, or choofing men for 
 the Convention of the fame fentiments with 
 themfelves. Butnobody joinsthe princes,and 
 the people chcofe men of republican principles 
 to give them a conftitution. What inference 
 can be drawn from this, but that the French 
 
 people
 
 pedple in general wiflied for a republican 
 form of government ? 
 
 It is difficult, however, to believe, that a 
 nation who were fondj to idolatry, of mo- 
 narchy a very few years ago, fhould fo fud- 
 denly have adopted republican principles ; 
 or if the majority really have done ib, there 
 is reafon to believe, that this majority does 
 not confift of people of any property what- 
 ever, but of the very loweft of the populace, 
 who have nothing. It muft be remem- 
 bered, that when the National Aflembly, 
 on the loth of Auguft, decreed a Conven- 
 tion, they alfo decreed, that, fetdng afide the 
 former diftinction of active and inactive 
 citizens, every Frenchman, who is not in a 
 ftate of fervitude, whether he could pay any 
 tax or not, mould be entitled to a vote for 
 an elector to the Convention; by which 
 means a vaft crowd of the moft indigent 
 rabble, who were excluded formerly, did 
 
 vote
 
 vote for the members of the prefent Con- 
 vention. It ought alfo to be remembered^ 
 that the elections were carried on after the 
 flaughter of the Swifs, and of the King's 
 friends in the Tuileries, while the royal fa- 
 mily were prifoners, and immediately after; 
 the maflacres in the beginning of the prefent 
 month ; that the rulers at Paris had emif* 
 faries at all the departments influencing the 
 elections ; and that to oppofe any election* 
 fupported by them, might raife a fufpicion 
 of ariftocracy : finally, it is natural to be- 
 lieve that, in fuch circumftances, thofe 
 who would have preferred a limited mo- 
 narchy to a republic, ufed what influence 
 they had, not to be elected deputies, and 
 that none but republicans endeavoured to be 
 chofen. Thefe confiderations may account 
 for the number of republicans chofen as . 
 deputies for the Convention, without this 
 being a fatisfactory proof that the majority 
 of that part of the French nation, who can 
 VOL. i. H h be
 
 ( 466 ) 
 
 be fuppofed to trouble their heads about 
 government at all, has adopted republican 
 principles, or really believe the republican 
 form the moft fuitable for fo extenfive and 
 populous a country as France. 
 
 September 28. 
 
 The treatment which M. la Fayette has 
 met with, fince he was obliged to abandon 
 his army, forms a ftrong prefumption of 
 the falfehood of the rumours of a correfpond- 
 cnce between the court and the enemy on 
 the frontiers ; and is a proof, that he had 
 not that treafonable intelligence with them 
 of which he was loudly accufed. People 
 are at a lofs to difcover, upon what principle 
 of juftice he is detained and imprifoned by 
 the Pruffians. 
 
 It does not appear that M. la Fayette had 
 any view but to maintain the King's authority 
 as it was limited by the conftitution. BrifTot 
 and other republicans were his accufers. He 
 did all in his power, it muft be confefled, to 
 
 over-
 
 overturn the ancient arbitrary government in 
 France, and to eftablifh a limited monarchy 
 in its ftead. The fentiments and opinions 
 of the French nation, with refpecl to go- 
 vernment, have, no doubt, undergone a 
 great alteration fince the armies and fleets 
 returned from ferving in America ; but the 
 prevalence of republican notions in France 
 is of a much later date, and M. la Fayette 
 never adopted them : a very few indivi- 
 duals excepted, the moft zealous friends 
 of freedom among the French had no wifh 
 beyond that of a limited monarchy ; and 
 fome of the moft enlightened men, that 
 have appeared fince the revolution, were 
 convinced that monarchy, under proper 
 limitations, is the firmeft and moft durable 
 foundation upon which a fyftem of national 
 liberty can be built. The flight of the 
 King to Varennes offered a pretext for 
 the abolition of monarchy, if fuch a defire 
 had prevailed in France at that timej and 
 H h a the
 
 the fentiments of the Parifians were a&ually 
 tried at that very period. Condorcet, Brif- 
 fot, Petion, Bazot, Gregoire, Bonnville, 
 and fome others, had conferences and cor- 
 refpondences with each other, on the fub- 
 jet of eftablifhing a republic on the ruins of 
 the French monarchy. They were tempted 
 by the opportunity which the flight of the 
 King prefented, by the very flight appear- 
 ance of uneafmefs or alarm which that in- 
 cident oceafioned, by the tranquillity and 
 mutual confidence which appeared among 
 the members of the National Aflembl'y, 
 and, perhaps, they were excited by a con- 
 vi&ion that the King never would act fm- 
 cerely in fupport of a limited conftitution ; 
 and that the only fecurity they could have 
 againft defpotifm, was in a republican form 
 of government. But the endeavours of 
 this junto at that time were without effect ; 
 every hint of that nature was coldly re- 
 ceived at Paris, and, of courfe, had little 
 
 chance
 
 chance of producing heat in any other part 
 of the kingdom : even the fociety of Ja- 
 cobins were then againft it; and Rober- 
 fpierre himfelf, in his declamations, avowed 
 that he was an enemy to republicanifm ; 
 for although he attempted to be a dema- 
 gogue from the beginning of his political 
 courfe, he did not declare himfelf a repub- 
 lican, till the torrent of public opinion feem- 
 ed to rufh violently that way. For the clafs 
 of real republicans above mentioned, find- 
 ing the nation averfe to their favourite 
 fcheme, poftponed any farther direct at- 
 tempt at that time, but continued in con- 
 verfation, and in writings, to propagate 
 their principles and opinions, being deter- 
 mined to feize the firft opportunity that of- 
 fered to put them in adion ; and that fuch 
 opportunities might occur the more fre- 
 quently, they were extremely afliduous in 
 impreffing on the minds of the people a 
 continual jealoufy of the King, and the idea 
 H h 3 that
 
 that there exifted, what they called, an 
 Auftrian party, whole object was to over- 
 turn the conftitution, and eftablifli the an- 
 cient arbitrary government in France. 
 
 There are ftrong reafons for believing 
 that they ufed every means to provoke a 
 war with the Emperor, in the hopes that, 
 during a war, the people's fufpicions would 
 increafe, and that the court would be tempted 
 into meafures, which would afford the re- 
 publicans pretexts, and, perhaps, the means 
 of overwhelming monarchy, in the ruins of 
 a conftitution which they confidered as but 
 a feeble fupport for freedom. Republican 
 principles were at length adopted, and 
 avowed in the fociety of the Jacobins of 
 Paris ; they, by their influence and nume- 
 rous correfpondences, fpread them all over 
 France; and they flourilhed with peculiar 
 ftrength and exuberancy in the fouth, 
 
 Mirabeau was always a friend to a limited 
 jnonarchy, an d againft a republican form of 
 
 government j
 
 ( 47' ) 
 
 government ; which, in his opinion, wa* 
 incompatible with the extent of the French 
 empire, and the character of the French 
 nation. On his death-bed, he faid, that 
 with him the French monarchy would die : 
 he probably knew of the project formed in 
 favour of a republic, and that it would 
 fucceed, for a time at leaft, when no man 
 of equai powers with himfelf remained in 
 France to oppofe it. 
 
 September 29. 
 
 By late accounts from Paris, the treat- 
 ment which the King and royal family ex- 
 perience at the Temple is harfher than 
 ever. In the Affembly, the members fpeak 
 of him as the greateft of criminals, and the 
 populace are infpired with hatred, and a 
 defire of vengeance. 
 
 'Of all the means which the republican 
 party have adopted to bring about their fa- 
 vourite plan, the moft unjuftifiable is, the 
 calumniating the King. Ever fince his ac- 
 ceptance of the conftitution, they have been 
 H h 4 indefa-
 
 ( 47* ) 
 
 indefatigable in their endeavours to render 
 him, his government, and monarchical go- 
 vernment in general, odious in the eyes 
 of the people. 
 
 If a vaft majority of the French nation 
 wimed for a republican form of govern- 
 ment, and had pronounced their wifhes in 
 a clear unequivocal manner ; and if the 
 members of the Convention were con- 
 vinced that it would be more conducive 
 than any other to the proiperity of their 
 country, it would have been more manly, 
 more juft, and, perhaps, more politic, to 
 have decreed that form of government, and 
 given thofe for their reafons, than to pre- 
 tend that they .were driven into that mea- 
 fure by the treachery of the King, and ac- 
 cufe him of a defign to overturn that con- 
 flitution, which they themfelves were un- 
 dermining; and to reprefent a prince of 
 moderation and humanity, as a deipotic 
 blood- thir fly tyrant. Politicians are fo ha- 
 bituated
 
 ( 473 ) 
 
 bituatedto conceal the real motives of their 
 conduct, that they fometimes affign falfe 
 ones unneceflarily, and when the true would 
 have been more creditable. 
 
 This method of rendering a republic 
 palatable in France, refembles in falfehood 
 the policy of thofe who, at the time of the 
 revolution in England, propagated the de- 
 fpicable ftory that, when the Queen pre- 
 tended to be in labour, a child, in a warm- 
 ing-pan, was introduced into her bed-cham- 
 ber, to be impofed on the nation as the 
 Prince of Wales. 
 
 To give this as a reafon for placing Wil- 
 liam and Mary on the throne, was an impli- 
 cation that, if the child could be proved to 
 be the real ion of James, William would 
 have had no right to the crown ; and was 
 departing from the great whig principle, 
 that a King who endeavonrs to fubvert the 
 conftitution of the kingdom, by breaking 
 the original contract between the King and 
 
 people,
 
 C 474 ) 
 
 people, and violating the fundamental laws, 
 is deemed to have forfeited the crown. 
 Which furely is a much more manly foun- 
 dation to build a revolution upon, than the 
 ftory of the warming-pan, whether true or 
 falfe. 
 
 One among many differences between the 
 ftate of the two nations at thefe two periods 
 is, that England, a little before the year 
 1688, was fo much intimidated by the exe- 
 cutions on account of the Rye-Houfe Plot, 
 and of Monmouth's in furred ion, that no- 
 thing lefs than the perfevering attacks upon 
 the laws and religion of the country, by the 
 infatuated King, could have animated the 
 nation to trrofe exertions which brought 
 about the revolution. 
 
 Whereas France feems to have been fo 
 much elevated by her recent fuccefs, in re- 
 ducing the power of the crown, as to drive 
 on furioufly to republicanifm, regardlefs of 
 the conceflion'S and accommodating temper 
 
 of
 
 ( 475 ) 
 
 of the prince, of the particular character 
 of her own children, and of the dangers 
 and difficulties attending a republican form 
 of government. 
 
 Since, however, they have 'decreed that 
 kind of government, whether they are 
 thought to have acted wifely or fooliftily 
 in fo doing, policy unites with humanity in 
 declaring, that they ought to behave in all 
 other refpects with generofity to the unfor- 
 tunate prince and his family, who are the 
 victims of that decree ; and if they do not, 
 it requires no fpirit of prophecy to forefee, 
 that they will draw upon themfelves the 
 hatred and execration of mankind. 
 
 The republican party are aware of this, 
 and have no hand in the harfh meafures now 
 adopted ; but they have it not now in their 
 power to flop the effect of that prejudice, 
 which they themfelves have fo much con- 
 tributed to raife againft the King ; and 
 which another fet of men, their enemies, 
 
 arc
 
 are endeavouring to make fubfervient to 
 views of their own. 
 
 The republicans wifhed for the deftruc- 
 tion of monarchy, but not the murder of 
 the monarch ! Their rivals may have re- 
 folved on the deftruclion of the monarch, 
 while they hope to find an opportunity of 
 re-eftablifhing monarchy under a prince of 
 
 their own choofing. 
 
 
 
 September 30. 
 
 A man arrived at this town yefterday, 
 who pretended that he came frcrn Dumou- 
 rier's army : he faid, they had furroundcd 
 the Pruflians, who were in the moft deplor- 
 able condition for want of provifions ; that 
 they had already been driven to the necef- 
 fity of eating one half of their horfes, and 
 would furrender at difcretion when the re- 
 mainder of their cavalry was devoured. 
 
 This was the ftate of affairs when he left 
 the camp; but having been detained a day 
 
 on the road by a fall, a courier from the 
 
 army
 
 ( 477 ) 
 
 army had overtaken him, who was going to 
 Paris with accounts that the French, not 
 having patience till the Pruffians fhould 
 finifh their horfes, had attacked their 
 entrenchments, cut a great number of 
 them in pieces, and that the reft were re- 
 treating as faft as they could. I had heard 
 this man's ftory and faw him telling it to 
 one circle after another in the market-place ; 
 and to fhew how effectually the Pruffians 
 had been hacbe en morceaux, that was his 
 phrafe, he fiouri(hed with his fabre, in- 
 viting the fpectators to examine it, for hg; 
 declared he had received it as a prefent from 
 the courier, who had taken it from a Pruffian 
 grenadier in the field of battle, and had after- 
 wards turned its edge againft thofe for 
 whom it had been drawn. 
 
 The crowd gazed with awful admiration 
 on the fabre : fome of the boldeft touched 
 it, and as it was a good deal hacked, it was 
 confidered as a confirmation of the victory, 
 
 and
 
 and bf the truth of every circumftance of 
 the iftah's narrative. Some incredulous per- 
 fons, however, fufpe&ed that he had been 
 fent with an encouraging tale to fpirit up 
 people to offer themfelves as volunteers. 
 
 October r. 
 
 In all likelihood there will be no farther 
 account of yefterday's victory ; but it is 
 certain, that an unfuccefsful attack was made 
 by the Pruflians on General Kellerman's 
 army, encamped on the heights of Valrriy, 
 en the 2Oth. As it appears th,t Kellerman 
 maintained his pofition, fo far it may be con- 
 ftdered as a victory. Dumourier however 
 fays, in his letter to the war minifter, that 
 although the Pruffians did not carry theif 
 point, they continue their march- by his 
 kft, and he expects to be attacked imme- 
 diately : he writes with his ufual confidence, 
 prom^es to prefs them very clofe, and 
 finally, to give a good account of them 
 8 but
 
 ( 479 ) 
 
 but ftill it appears that the Germans are ad- 
 vancing. 
 
 October 2. 
 
 I heard feme time fince that the Duke of 
 Rochefoucault was aflaffinated as he was 
 going from his houfe in Normandy to the 
 waters of Forge, in company with the 
 Duchefs ; I did not then believe it, but 
 now find this horrid fat confirmed. The 
 murder of no man in France could excite 
 more juft horror and indignation : M. de 
 la Rochefoucault was univerfally efteemed 
 as a man of integrity, and an early and dif- 
 interefted friend of freedom : it is given out 
 that the murder was accidental and through 
 miftake: I fear it was by fuch an accident 
 as produced the maflacre at Verfailles. The 
 Duke was prefident of the department of 
 Paris on the 2oth of June, and active to 
 bring the leaders and abettors of the fhame- 
 ful infurredion of that day to juftice. I 
 
 delay
 
 delay mentioning the particulars of this 
 murder till I have them from better autho- 
 rity than I have hitherto had. 
 
 O&ober 3. 
 
 Among the fmall number of prifoners who 
 were faved from the fwords of the aflaflins 
 on the bloody 2d of September was M. 
 Cazotte, a man of 74 years of age, formerly 
 commiflioner general of the marine, but 
 who had for feveral years lived in retirement 
 at his villa near Epernay. 
 
 This old gentleman had been arrefted at 
 his houfe in the country, and brought to 
 the prifon of the Abbaye, in confequence 
 of letters written by him and found among 
 the papers of a M. Pouteau, fecretary to M. 
 de la Porte ; from which it appeared, that 
 he was in correfpondence with the emi- 
 grants ; that he advifed the King to efcape 
 from Paris, and had tranfmitted a plan for 
 that purpofe ; that he had alfo advifed 
 
 the.
 
 the difiolution of the National AfTembly : 
 for thefe, and other parts of his conduct to 
 the fame tendency, he was detained in the 
 Abbaye in expectation of a legal trial. 
 
 But, on the 2d of September, when de- 
 termined murderers made a mockery of the 
 forms of law, and chofen aflaffins feized the 
 fword of juftice; when the prifoner was 
 furrounded at his trial by pikes fmoking 
 from recent flaughter, and within hearing 
 of the fcreams of thofe who had been juft 
 dragged from the bar where he flood ; on 
 that dreadful day, M. Gazette was brought 
 before the horrid tribunal within the prifon. 
 Several prifoners had already been carried 
 there none had furvived their mort exa- 
 mination above two minutes ! A fign from 
 the pretended judge, or an equivocal word, 
 was the fatal fentence, and the blow of 
 death followed as the prifoner was led from 
 the bar. 
 
 VOL. i. I i When
 
 When M. Gazette appeared the lift of 
 names was examined by thefe inquifitors, 
 no mark of favour was feen at his the 
 fignal of death was given, and he was led 
 out to (laughter ! But, before he received 
 the ftroke of death, his daughter, a beautiful 
 young lady of feventeen, fprung upon her 
 father's neck, exclaiming in a tranfport of 
 terror and filial affection, Mercy ! mercy ! 
 O, mercy! my father ! my father ! 
 
 The grey hairs of the old man, the affect- 
 ing appearance and exclamations of the 
 young lady, arrefted the arms of the afiaffins, 
 and melted the hearts of the people! The 
 cries of Grace, grace ! and Vive la Na- 
 tion !* were heard. The old gentleman and 
 his daughter were conducted in fafety to 
 the houfe of a friend, amidil the applaufe of 
 the multitude ! 
 
 This admirable young woman had never 
 
 feparated from her father, overcoming her 
 
 6 horror
 
 horror for a prifon crowded with men ; 
 furmounting her terror, her delicacy, ancl 
 every confideration which could render the 
 fituation repugnant to her mind : filial love, 
 and a ftrong fenfe of duty, enabled her to 
 attend him during his confinement in the 
 Abbaye, and to adminifler every comfort 
 and confolation in her power. 
 
 I wim, from my foul, that the flory had 
 ended here. 
 
 This unfortunate old man was again 
 arrefted, again imprifoned, and, in virtue of 
 a decree of the nth of September, brought 
 before the tribunal which had been appoint- 
 ed on the i yth of Auguft for the trial of 
 confpirators, and whofe functions had 
 been interrupted by the maflacres. 
 
 The firft defence he offered was in the 
 
 form of a proteft againft a ftcond trial, as he 
 
 had been already tried by judges conftituted 
 
 by the Peuple Souverain to examine the 
 
 I i 2 .
 
 guilt or innocence of the prifoners : that he 
 had been acquitted, and fet at liberty by the 
 voice of the people, and could not be made 
 to undergo a new trial, without infulting 
 the fovereignty of the people, which they 
 all profefled to acknowledge. 
 
 This plea was difregarded, the trial went 
 on; the accufation was thought to be prov- 
 ed, and M. Cazotte was condemned to lofe 
 his head. 
 
 Without confidering the merits of the ori- 
 ginal accufation, or of the proteft which 
 the prifoner, by the advice of counfel no 
 doubt, had entered, did not companion and 
 humanity plead like angels trumpct-tongued 
 againft his condemnation ? 
 
 Let it be fuppofed that he deferved the 
 pains of death Good God ! had he not 
 already fuffered them a thoufand times over? 
 Had he not drank, to the very dregs, the 
 bitterefl cup of mortality that f ould be pre- 
 
 fented
 
 fented to the lips of man ? In what do the 
 pains of death confift? not furely in the 
 actual ftroke which puts an end to reflection 
 and feeling, but in what this moft unfortu^ 
 nate man had already endured in the ago- 
 nies and terrors which the view of an im- 
 mediate, violent, and cruel death produces 
 in the mind. 
 
 What unfeeling hearts muft they have, 
 who, unmoved by thofe confiderations, and 
 the tears of his virtuous daughter, could 
 fentence him to undergo a fecond time the 
 pains of death ! 
 
 The old gentleman, however, heard the 
 fentence with a ferene countenance, took a 
 tender leave of his inimitable daughter, and 
 went to the place of execution with un- 
 fliaken courage ! He made his grey locks, 
 be cut from his head, folded them carefully, 
 and defired that they might be delivered to 
 ker a recollection of her forrow alone 
 I i 3 could
 
 ( 486 ) 
 
 could difturb him ! it is faid that he gave 
 this meflage with a faultering voice Then 
 turning to the executioner, he aflumed ar\ 
 undaunted air, and bade him do his duty. 
 
 O&ober 4. 
 
 It is now certain that the Pruffians are 
 retreating. Dumourier has made good all 
 the aflfurances he gave to the Conventional 
 Aflembly ; and that felf-confidence, which 
 was by many imputed to a. vain-glorious 
 and boafting difpofition, is now thought to 
 have proceeded from fuperior talents and 
 penetration. 
 
 This news occafions univerfal joy in 
 France ; yet a very fenfible man told me 
 to-day, that he thought it more than coun- 
 terbalanced by the fpirit of party and dif- 
 fention which appears in the National Af- 
 fembly. Marat has been prompting the 
 people to new maflacres! In one of his late 
 
 journals
 
 journals there is the following pafTage : 
 " If the bafis of the conftitution is not fixed 
 within the firft eight days after the meeting 
 of the Convention, you have nothing to 
 expect from your deputies." And he con- 
 cludes with thefe fignificant words : " O 
 peuple babillard,Jitu f$avois aglr /" Yet this 
 man is fo great a favourite of the people, 
 that the Convention feem to be afraid of 
 ordering him to be arrefted and puniflied. 
 It is aftoniming how he retains their affec- 
 tions, for the only means he ufes is, ex- 
 citing one half to cut the throats of the 
 other; yet the more people are murdered, 
 the remainder feem to like him the better. 
 This brings to my remembrance a fellow 
 I once faw few.ing up the mouths of ferrets; 
 mocked at the unfeeling manner in which 
 he paiTed and repaffed the needle through 
 the poor little animal's lips, which were all 
 flowing with blood, I defired him to defift, 
 fayjn^, How can you be fo cruel ? 
 IH 4
 
 ( 488 ) 
 
 toard, Sir, replied he, -it be'en't cruel; 
 they likes it. 
 
 Likes it! 
 
 Aye, that they does, refumed the brute; 
 and the more I makes them bleed, they likes 
 me the better. 
 
 Oaober 5. 
 
 The great evil of the ancient government 
 of France was, that the executive powev 
 was too ftrong, and all the other powers 
 of the flate too weak : fo that however un- 
 juftly the former was exercifed, the people 
 had no means of redrefs or of refiftance 
 but by open infurre&ion ; a meafure always 
 dangerous, and hardly ever ufed, except 
 when men are rendered defperate. 
 
 The framers of the late constitution of 
 France fell into the oppofite extreme ; they 
 left the executive power too much expofed 
 to attacks, and too unable to defend thofe 
 rights and prerogatives with which the con- 
 ftitution endowed it : at lead this was evi- 
 
 9 dently
 
 dently the cafe at the beginning of their 
 new government, before the nation, which 
 was intoxicated with the victory over de* 
 fpotifm, had time to acquire more fedate 
 and more rational notions concerning free- 
 dom. 
 
 Perhaps, however, that form of govern- 
 ment which was reared by the Conftituent 
 Aflembly might have flood, and, by the 
 gradual alterations which time would have 
 diicovered to be necefiary, might have 
 been matured into a profperous and lafting 
 fyftem, had it not been for the fociety of 
 Jacobins. This fociety, by diffufmg the 
 fpirit of liberty, and keeping the people of 
 France fteady to the caufe of freedom, was 
 of great fervice while the conflitution was 
 forming, but proved its deftruclion after it 
 was formed. 
 
 Let us fuppofe a fociety as numerous as 
 that of the Jacobins, with fome members of 
 both houfes of parliament in it, eftablifhed 
 
 in
 
 ( 49 ) 
 
 in Palace-yard, and that every queftion of 
 a public nature was debated and decided 
 in this club, before it was brought into 
 either houfe of parliament, or while it 
 was in agitation there ; and let us farther 
 fuppofe, that a mob are always ready, at the 
 command of the leading members of this 
 fame fociety, to infult thofe of either houfe 
 of parliament, of whofe public conduct they 
 difapprove ; in this cafe, what would be- 
 come of the prefent conflitution of Great 
 Britain ? 
 
 This is precifely the ftate in which the 
 legiflature of France was for feveral months 
 previous to the loth of Auguft. For the 
 conduct of the Jacobin fociety in Paris 
 tended to vilify the National Aflembly, and 
 to render the executive power a mere pa- 
 geant j this had driven fome of the mod 
 refpedtable members out of that club. There 
 can be no doubt, therefore, that the King 
 \viftied for fuch a check upon this fociety, 
 
 as
 
 as would put it out of its power to arreft 
 the adion of government, and raife a fer- 
 mentation in the country as often as any 
 public meafure was adopted which it dif- 
 approved : every friend of the conftitution 
 muft have had the fame defire. Thofe 
 who had the greateft influence with the Ja- 
 cobins were averfe to the war, and {hewed 
 great folicitude to prevent it. There is 
 reafon to believe that the Court of Vienna 
 did not defire war more than they; butdi- 
 played fome hoftile appearances, to give the 
 King and his minifters the more weight in 
 their endeavours to refift the attacks of that 
 fociety, and to obtain a decree of the Na- 
 tional Aflembly, precluding thofe queftions 
 which were to be debated in the Aflembly 
 from being previoufly difcufled in the fo- 
 ciety. The only communication which was 
 between the Court of the Tuileries and .that 
 of Vienna, had this for its object, and no- 
 thing elfe ; and even this communication 
 
 was
 
 ( 49* ) 
 
 was begun and carried on by certain agents, 
 who pretended to the latter that they had 
 more influence with the former than they 
 had in reality, and made the fame preten- 
 fions to the former refpeding their influence 
 with the latter, by which means both were 
 deceived. But, taking this in the word 
 light, it is very different from the King's 
 having an understanding with that Court, 
 after hoftilities were begun, with a view to 
 facilitate the entrance of foreign armies into 
 France. 
 
 There are good grounds for believing that 
 a great majority of the members of the Le- 
 giflative Afiembly were fmcere fupporters of 
 the conftitution, and had no fear of the King's 
 having any defign to overturn it : Why then 
 <Jid this majority allow a minority to deftroy 
 a conftitution with which they werefatisfied? 
 Becaufe the leaders of the, minority were 
 members of the focicty of Jacobins, had in- 
 fluence with ibme of the fedions to befiege 
 
 the
 
 ( 493 ) 
 
 the bar of the National AfTembly with inflam- 
 matory addrelTes againft the King and hi$ 
 minifters, while they had a mob always ready 
 at their inftigation, to infult thofe deputies 
 who fupported government ; and at length, 
 finding that they could not carry the queftion 
 againft M. de la Fayette, they found means 
 to new model the general council of the 
 municipality of Paris, excited the infurrec- 
 tion of the I oth of Auguft, and ufurpcd the 
 whole power of the flate, as has been 
 fhewn. 
 
 In other revolutions of which hiftory 
 gives us an account, thofe who are at firft 
 employed as the inftruments of infurreclion, 
 are afterwards thrown afide by the chiefs as 
 ufelefs or dangerous ; but in this revolution 
 in France, thofe who were employed as in- 
 ftruments retain their importance, and the 
 chiefs are thrown afide. 
 
 The Lameths, and M. Duport, who firft 
 propofed the plan of eftablifhing political 
 
 Societies
 
 ( 494 ) 
 
 focieties all over France, which maintain a 
 conflant correfpondence with the Jacobin 
 fociety at Paris, have fallen viclims to that 
 meafure. 
 
 The Duke of Rochefoucault, M. la Fay- 
 ette, Barnave, Talleyrand, Lewis of Nar- 
 bonne, M. Beaumetz, Gamier, Clermont- 
 Tonnere, were all inftrumental in bringing 
 about the revolution, prompted, as there is 
 every reafon to believe, by a genuine love 
 of freedom, and a fincere defire of eftablifh- 
 ing a limited monarchy in France, and of 
 maintaining that conditution for which 
 fome of them had made very great facrifices. 
 What is become of thefe men ? Some have 
 been ajTaffinated, fome imprifoned, and the 
 reft obliged to fly from their country. 
 
 Gondorcet, Buzot, BriiTot, Petion, Ker- 
 faint, Genfonet, Bonnville, fhewed an early 
 partiality for a republican form of govern- 
 ment, either from a belief that it is prefer- 
 able to any other, or from a fufpicion that 
 
 the
 
 ( 495 ) 
 
 the King would not reft fatisfied with the 
 conftitution, but ufe all the powers it left 
 in his hand to reftore the ancient defpo- 
 tifm. Acting on this fufpicion as if it were 
 a certainty, they ufed every means in their 
 power to give their countrymen the fame 
 partiality for a commonwealth which they 
 had themfelves; and, among other means, 
 they did not fcruple to accufe the King of 
 plots for overturning the conftitution, of 
 which they had not better proof, perhaps, 
 than the idea that it was natural for him to 
 wim it overturned. 
 
 Vergniaud and Gaudet, both men of 
 diftinguifhed talents, were originally friends 
 to a limited monarchy as eftablifhed by the 
 conftitution, as appears by a memorial fign- 
 ed by them, and prefented to the King ; but 
 having a better opinion of the republican 
 party than any other in the Aflembly, they 
 joined them after the joth of Auguft, and 
 have acted with them ever fmce. 
 
 This
 
 This party, however, had no immediate 
 active hand in exciting or carrying on the 
 attack upon the palace on the loth of 
 Augufl ; they feem to have waited for the 
 event, in the intention of eftablifhing their 
 favourite form of government in cafe the 
 afTailants fhould be fuccefsful, and to afford 
 them protection in a contrary event. 
 
 The moft active agents of the infurrec- 
 tion, were, Albite, Bazire, Camille Def- 
 moulins, Merlin of Thionville, and, above 
 all, Chabot the capuchin, who were con- 
 tinually going to the different fuburbs, and 
 preaching revolt among the people. Thefe 
 jnen were members of the Jacobin fociety, 
 aflifted in this work by other members, par- 
 ticularly Santerre, and the leader of the 
 fcederes from Marfeilles. M. Barbaroux, 
 who was fmce chofen a deputy from Mar- 
 feilles to the Convention, and who had 
 great influence with the band of fcederes, 
 was alfo a moil active agent in the infurrec- 
 
 tion,
 
 ( 497 ) 
 
 tlon, 'though otherwife unconnected with 
 Danten's party, and intimately attached to 
 the friends of Roland. 
 
 It appears fomewhat furprifing, that while 
 thofe juft named were inftigating the people 
 to attack the palace of the Tuileries ; while 
 Danton, Chabot, Collot d'Herbois, and 
 others, were new-modelling the general 
 council of the commune ; and while Gaudet 
 and Vergniaud were prefiding alternately in 
 the Aflembly, during the alarming and dan*- 
 gerous night of the 9th and morning of 
 the loth of Auguft, there is no mention of 
 Roberfpierre. He had been, however, the 
 chief perfonage in the fociety of Jacobins 
 for feveral months before that epoch ; but 
 be did not judge it proper to appear again 
 till the affair was decided by the flaughter 
 of the Swifs, and the imprifonment of the 
 Royal Family. Ke then refumed his place 
 at the Jacobin club, and foon after got him- 
 ielf elected of the general council of the 
 
 VOL. i. K k municipality,
 
 ( 498 ) 
 
 municipality, of which he became a leading 
 member; and, in conjunction with Panis, 
 Servan, and Le Gendre the butcher, was 
 moft afliduous in promoting the numerous 
 arrefts, and filling the prifons, which were 
 dreadfully emptied at the beginning of Sep- 
 tember. 
 
 But, as the republican party had ftill lefs 
 connection with the maflacres of September 
 than with the infurrecYion in Auguft ; as 
 they exprefs a defire of enquiring into that 
 horrid tranfaction, and of bringing the au- 
 thors to punifhment ; and as they are all 
 attached to the minifter Roland, of whofe 
 integrity they are convinced ; Danton, Cha~ 
 bot, Merlin, Camille Defmoulins, Collet 
 d'Herbois, Bazire, Albite, and Roberfpierre, 
 declare againft them, excite Marat to pro- 
 fcribe them in his bloody journal, and ufe 
 every means to expofe them to the fury of 
 the people : M. Egalite himfelf, perceiving 
 tfjat thofe means are already attended with 
 
 fome
 
 ( 499 ) 
 
 fome degree of fuccefs, and probably ima- 
 gining that it will increafe, feems inclined 
 to attach himfelf to the party of Danton, Ro- 
 berfpierre, and their followers. So that very 
 poflibly thofe who took fo much and fuch 
 early pains to eftablifh a republic, and who 
 expected, no doubt, to act a principal part 
 in it when eftabliflied, may, like thofe who 
 brought on the revolution, and formed the 
 conftitution, be fupplanted and deprived of 
 power, perhaps of life, by a fet of men far 
 inferior to them in talents, but who feem at 
 prefent to enjoy more of the people's favour. 
 Thus, through all the flages of this revolu- 
 tion, thofe who have been the authors of the 
 moft important alterations, whether for the 
 better or the worfe, have been fupplanted 
 by inferior agents j becaufe, having obtained 
 their object by flattering the people, they 
 then wifh the hands of government to be 
 ftrengthened, the laws to be put in force, 
 and the future exertions of thofe to be re- 
 
 K k 2 ft rained,
 
 ( 500 ) 
 
 drained, by whom, they obtained their 
 power. But other demagogues ftart up, 
 who, having no part in the new govern- 
 ment, tell the people that many improve- 
 ments are flill needed ; that their new go- 
 vernors, under the pretence of reftoring 
 law and order, want to tyrannize over them. 
 They adopt fome favourite prejudice of 
 the people, and offer them fome new privi- 
 lege, however pernicious, which has been 
 hitherto refufed, and fo gain their confi- 
 dence ; for, thofe who promife new favours 
 have a great advantage over thofe who put 
 men in mind of old ones, and an harangue 
 in praife of licentioufnefs pleafes the multi- 
 tude more than one which inculcates obe- 
 dience to law. 
 
 Thus the fecond clafs of leaders are driven 
 out of power by a third, who, on the fame 
 principles, may foon be excluded by a 
 fourth : but le Peuple Souverain retains 
 the power, and, although divided into dif- 
 ferent
 
 ferent parts, like the polypus, every de- 
 tached portion preferves its activity, and 
 aflumes all the faculties and energy of the 
 complete fovereign. 
 
 If the prefent ftate of affairs continues 
 much longer, anarchy and confufion muft 
 overwhelm the land ; and it will be of little 
 importance to wretched individuals, whe- 
 ther their mifery is derived from a combi- 
 nation of foreign invaders, or their own in- 
 ternal diflentions. 
 
 But as a National Convention, from all 
 the departments of France, is now afTembled 
 at Paris, and as another very unexpected 
 event has likewife taken place, namely, the 
 retreat of the Pruffian army, it might be 
 imagined that a permanent and free go- 
 vernment would ftill be eftablimed. It muft 
 be confefled, however, that the account we 
 hear of fome of the deputies does not 
 greatly fupport this expectation: thofe elect- 
 ed by the department of Paris, in particular, 
 7 arc
 
 are neither celebrated for talents, nor for thnt 
 degree of moderation and prudence which 
 the times require ; and many augur ill of 
 the wifdom of the Convention, from the 
 precipitate manner in which they agreed to 
 the abolition of the constitution, and of 
 royalty, on the firft day of meeting, at the 
 propofition of a man of little or no weight. 
 Yet, on the meafures which this Conven- 
 tional Afiembly, fuch as it is, fhall adopt, 
 the fate of the extenfive and populous na- 
 tion of France, perhaps the tranquillity of 
 Europe, feems in a confiderable degree 
 to depend : this confideration excites fo 
 ftrong a defire of being witnefles to their 
 proceedings, that we have refolved to fet 
 out to-morrow for Paris, through part of 
 French Flanders, by the way of Lille* 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

 
 -TT)