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)