¦^-.^^v 2 QIFT OF FREDERICK SHELDON PARKER BJ^LLB. YAJLB 1873 TO THE YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY I9ie ANNALS OF THE feeNch eevolution. AISFNALS OF THE FEENCH REVOLUTION OR, A CPIRONOLOGICAL ACCOUNT OF Its Princi/ial Events ; WITH A VARIETY OF ANECDOTES AND CHARACTERS HITIIEBTO UNPUBLISHED, BY A. F. BERTRAND DE MOLEVILLE, ^ V » MINISTER OF STATE. TRANSLATED By R. C. Dx\LLAS, Esci. FROM THE OUIGINAL MANUSCRIPT OF THE AUTHORj WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN PUBLISHED. IN FOUR VOLUMES. VOL. IL JLontion : PRINTED BY SAMPSON LOW, BERWICK STREET ; FOR T. CADE.LL, JUN. AND W, DAVIES, IN THE STRAND. 1800. 3o (3^. ^O CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. CHAPTER XIV. Page The Sovereignty of the People an Abfurdity — Its Confequences — Mob of Palais- Royal Patriots occafioned by the Veto— They fend a Deputation to M. de Lally ' — Anonymous Letters — Patriotic Offer ings of Silver Buckles and Jewels — Depu tation from the Palais-Royal Patriots to the Commune upon the Veto — Their Orators fent to Prifon — The Legiflative Body confined to one Chamber — A Let- A 3 .ter 11 CONTEis'TS. Pag© ter from Mr. Necker accompanied with a Memorial upon the Veto — The Aflembly pafs over the Memorial v/ithout reading it — The fufpenfi've Veto granted to the King — Fundamental Points ofthe French - Monarchy — The Throne hereditary — Dif- cuffion of the Rights of the Spanifh Branch f of the Houfe of Bourbon — The King's Obfervations upon the Refolutions of the 4th of Auguft — Difcontent and Infolence of the Aflembly — Failure of Public Cre dit — Manoeuvres and Murmurs occa fioned by the Scarcity of Coin — The King and Queen fend their Plate to the Mint — Report made, by Mr. Necker — He propofes a Patriotic Contribution— The Clergy offer the Plate belonging to the Churches — Remarkable Speech from Mirabeau — The AfTembly confidently adopt Mr. Necker's Plan. - _ ¦ _ 1 CHAPTER XV. Plan and Motives of the FaQious for remov ing the National Aflembly to Paris — Means concerted by the Royal Party to overturn the Proje£i — Feeble Meafures taken by -the Court — Arts employed to agitate the Parifians — French Guards — Conduft of M. de la Fayette, the Count "'. d'Efiaing, CONTENTS. iii Page d'Eftaing.'and the Municipality of Ver- failles — The Municipality petition the King for Troops — Manoeuvres of the Orleans FaQion — Arrival' of the Regi- ment of Flanders — Alarm of the Pari fians — Entertainment given by the Gardes- du-Corps denounced to the Aflembly — Mirabeau's Audacity — The King's Reply relative to the Conftitutional Articles pre- fented for his Aflent — Difcontent of the Aflembly — They demand the pure and unconditional pafling of thofe Articles. - 36 CHAPTER XVL Secret Negotiation between the King and M. de la Fayette — The Orleans FaQion are informed of it — rMeans employed by them to prevent the Confequences of it — Popular Commotions — Black Cockades torn from the Hats of thofe who wore them — Infurreftion of Women in the Fauxbourgs — They flock in Crowds to the Place. de-Greve, and propofe to hang a Baker — They force the Guard, and make their way into the Hotel-de-Ville — Are difpofed to go and force the Arfenal to get at Arms — They fet out in Crowds for Verfailles, accompanied by fome Brigands —The Alarm-bell rung, the Drums beat A 4 to IV COXTENl'6. Page to arms, all the Diftri£ls aflemble, the Men ¦who had compofed the French Guards march in Battle-array to the Place-de- Greve — Numerous Detachments from the different Battalions of the National Guard join them there — All cry out to be led to Verfailles — ^ M. de la Fayette for fome Moments oppofes it, but at laft applies to the Municipality for the Order, which they give him — The. National Guard fet out for Verfailles — Outrages of the 5th of 06lober, - _ _ _ . ^g CHAPTER XVIL The Outrages committed on the 6th of Oftober, - _ _ _ 106 CHAPTER XVIII. Agitation of the Capital on the Morning of the 6th of 06lober — Remarkable Note of M. de la Fayette's — Arrival of the Brigands carrying in Triumph the Heads ofthe two Gardes-du-Corps-^The Terror of the Parifians diflipated on hearing that the King and the Royal Family had fet out for Paris — The King goes with his Family to the Hotel-de-Ville — Speech — The Queen's Prefence of Mind — Falfe 1 Charges CoSTfeNTS. V Page Charges againfl; the Gardes-du-Coi-ps — A Letter from M. d'Eftaing to the Queen — M. Augeard — The Scarcity of Bread ceafes on the King's arrival — Stupidity ofthe Parifians— A Letter from the King to the Affembly — Proclamation — Retreat of feveral Deputies — The Municipality cf Verfailles petition the Afl"embly not to remove from that Town, and exprefs their wifhes for the King's fpeedy Return — Alarm of fome of the Deputies — Mira beau denounces M. de St. Prieft — The Repofitory fpr Pledges threafened to be pillaged; on what occafioh — Proceedings commenced upon the Outrages committed on the 5th and 6th of Oftober — Alarms— M. de la Fayette compels the Duke of Orleans to fet out for England. > - 146 CHAPTER XIX. The King obliged to difmifs the Gardes-du- Corps — The Aflembly remove to Paris — A Baker hanged by the People, and his Head placed on a Pike — Martial Law de creed — Denunciations againfl; the Minif- ters — The Affembly fend for the Keeper of the Seals — Memorial of the Minifl;ers addreffed to the Aflembly — Debate on the Property of the Clergy, which is decreed to vi CON'TENTS^ fags to be at the Difpofal of the Nation — Af- femblies of the Nobility in feveral Pro vinces ; the Advantage that might have been made of them — The ConduQ of the Aflembly on the Occafion— The Affembly fufpend all the Parliaments of the King dom — The Condua of the Courts of Va cations — Weaknefsof the Miniftry— Man date of the Bifliop of Tregnier — The States of Cambrefls recall their Deputies to the Affembly, and annul their Powers — The Affembly declare that Proceeding void. _ _ - _ - 178 CHAPTER XX. Scarcity of Money — Mr. Necker reads a / long Memorial to the Affembly — Report of the Committee of Finances— Debate upon the Plan propofed by Mr. Necker — The Affembly make a Gift to the Country of all the Deputies' Silver Buckles — De bate upon the Organization of the Muni cipalities — Impeachment at the Chatelet by the Committee of Inquiry againfl; the late Minifters, Marfhal Broglio, and the Baron de Buzenval— Trial of the latter ¦ — The fame Committee lodge Informa tions refpefting the Outrages committed on the 6th of 06lober — Infurreftion at Toulon CONTENTS. VJi Page Toulon — Condufl of the Affembly on that Occafion — Various Plans of Finance — Affignats- Arreft and Trial of the Mar quis de Favras, accufed of a Confpiracy — Sufpicions fpread abroad on that Occa- cafion againfl; Monsieur, the King'sBro- ther — He goes to the Hottl-de-Ville and diffipates them — Suppofed Murder. - - 212 CHAPTER XXI. Decree relative to Penfions — Deputation to the King for fettling the Civil Lift — His Majefty's Reply — The Marquis de Favras' Trial — Fury of the People — Affembling of Soldiers in the Champs Elifees fup- preffed by M. de la Fayette — The Mar quis de Favras condemned to Death and executed — His Heroifm — Organization ofthe New Mnnicipalities — An important Step taken by the King in the Affembly—^ — HisMajefl:y's Speech attended with great Applaufe — Expreflions of the Queen — Addrefs of Thanks to their Majefties — Oath taken by the Affembly and all the Speftators — Advantage that might have been drawn from that Circumftance — M, Malouet's Motion, on that Occafion rejeBed — The Prefident's Speech to the King — Te Deum — Illumination — Divi- fion Vm CONTENTS. Page fion of France into Diftrifts — An Ad drefs to the People decreed by the Affem bly, and drawn up by the Bifhop of Autun _ _ _ _ 249 CHAPTER XXIL Orders forged in the King's Name — Forged Decrees circulated in the Provinces — Infurreftions — Provifional Law on that Subje6l — Its Defefls — Injuftice and In- confiftency in the Suppreflion of the Feu dal Rights — A Plan for the new Organiza tion of the Army propofed by Alexander Lameth — The Judges at the Chatelet ac quit M. de Buzenval, M. de Barentin, and others, of the Charges preferred againfl them — The Minifters abufed 'on account of the new Penfions granted by the King — Decree — Diftrefs of the Peo ple — Memorial on the Finances by Mr, Necker — AnotTier Memorial by that Mi- nifter on the Formation pf a Treafury Office — Oppofed by the Committee of Finances — Affignats — The Property of tbe Clergy fet up to Sale — Offers of the Municipality of Paris — Compenfation for the Gabelle — Suppreflion of the India Company — Lettces de Cachet aboliflied — '• Report on the Compenfation for Tithes and CONTENTS. Ix Page and all Ecclefiaftical Property, and on the future Provifion for the Minifters of Reli gion — A Motion for decreeing the Catho» lie Religion to be the Religion of the State — Reje£led — Popular Commotions — Several Ecclefiaftics infulted — The Guard of the Affembly doubled — M. de la Fayette repairs to the Hall. - - 287 CHAPTER XXIII. Of the Red Book _ _ _ 343 CHAPTER XXIV. Debate and Decree relative to the limited Powers given to feveral Deputies — Some of them declare their Intention of vacat ing their Seats — Debate on the Organiza tion ofthe new Judicial Power — Appear ance of a War between England and Spain : the King informs the Affembly of the Meafures he had taken on this Occa- cafion — Important Debates — Decree — Debate on the Delegation of the Right to make War and Peace — Decree which de cides this grand Queftion conformably to a Motion made by Mirabeau - - 372 CHAP. X. CONTENTS. Page CHAPTER XXV. Violent Infurreftions and Affaflinalions at Nifmes, Marfeilles, Valence, Montauban, and other Places — A Commotion at Paiis excited by the [acobins againft the Club known by the Name of the Salon-Fran- ^ais, and againfl -the Deputies who had joined in the Capuchins' Church to fign a Proteft — The Populace hang three Thieves — M. dc la Fayette forces a Man who was already tied to a Rope at the Lantern out of the. Hands of the People — Conftitu tional Proclamation by the King — The Affembly enraptured fend a Deputation to his Majefty — Debate on the Conftitution of the Clergy — A fpeculative Sketch of the State of the Finances addreffed to the Affembly by Mr. Necker — Revolt of fome Regiments^The Royal Family go to St. Cloud — The Affembly requeft the King himfelf to fix his Civil Lift — His Majefty's Reply — Decree. - - - 415 CHAPTER XXVI. Decree of the Affembly relative to the Infti- tution of the Feftival of the Federation — Deputation of the Conquerors of the Baftille — Burlefque Deputation of the four Quarters CONTENTS. xi Quarters of the World — Motion againft the'four Figures chained at the Foot of Louis XlV's Statue in the Place des Vic- toires — Motions againft the Titles of No bility, againft Hereditary Nobility, againft Armorial Bearings and Liveries, and againft the Appellations of Monfeigneur, &c Decrees conformable to all thefe Motions — Obfervations publifhed by Mr. Necker againft thofe Decrees — The Ten- nis-Court Oath engraved on a Brafs Platq, carried in Triumph by the People, and prefented to .the Affembly — 'Maffacres at Avignon — Affair of Count de Lautree and Vifcount Mirabeau — The latter compared with his elder Brother. - - -452 CHAPTER XXVII. Singular Adventure which happened at. St. Cloud to two young Men deranged in Mind — The Affembly endeavour to in- creafe their Popularity by redoubling their ' Indulgence to Villains — ^*The Duke of Orleans writes to the Affembly, and in forms them of his Departure from Eng land, to be prefent at the Federation — — Preparations for that Feftival — The Citizens, Men and Women of all Claffes, go and work in the Champ de Mars — De cree JSU CONTENTS. Pago cree regulating the Order" to be obferv- ed at the Feftival, and the Oath to be taken — Report refpefcting Penfions, tend ing to fupprefs them, and to create new ones in their fl;ead, only to the Amount of ten Millions — Denunciation of M. de St. Prieft, M. de Maillebois, and M. de Bonne-Savardin — Arrival of the Fede rates — Harangues — The King's Anfwer ¦ — Details relative to the Feftival of the Federation. ' - - - » 495 ANNALS sa^aMs^i^^!^*^ ANNALS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAPTER XIV. The Sovereignty of the People an Abfurdity Its Confequences— Mob of Pdlais-Roy- al Patriots occafioned by the Veto— They fend a Deputation to M. de Lally— Ano nymous Letters— Patriotic Offerings of Silver Buckles and Jewels — Deputa tion from the Palais-Royal Patriots to the Commune upon the Veto— Their Ora' tors fent to Prifon— The Legifative Body confined to one Chamber— A Letter from Vol. II. B Mr I 2 ANNALS -OF THE [Aug. 1789. Mr. Ne€A€r-a€€^mpamed wtik-Or Memo rial upon the Veto — The Affembly pafs ever the Memorial without reading it — The fufpenfipe Veto granted to the King — Fundamental Points of the French Monarchy — The Throne hereditary — DifcuJJion of the Rights of the Spanifh Brahck of the Houfe bf Bbkr^on-r^T/ie King's Obfervations upon the Refolu' tions of the 4th of Augufl — Difcontent and Infolence -of the Affembly — Failure of Public Credit — Manoeuvres and Mur murs occafioned by the Scarcity of Coin — ¦ The King and Queefifend their Plate to the Mint — Report made by Mr. Necker — He propofes a Patriotic Contribution — The Clergy offer the Plate belonging to the Churches — Remarkable Speech from Mi rabeau— The Affembly Confidently adopt Mr. Necker's f tan. J XCOBlNISM has formed the fovereignty of the People into a principle, in <)t^^t to make it the rallying cry of Rebellion, and the efFential dogma of Revolutio»n. This principle, or rather this grofs error, has^ been maintained and combated by arguments ^fo profound and learfied, that it is ftow be come Aug. 17S9.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 3 come an abflrad: political queftion, above the underftanding of the common run of man kind. Too melancholy have been the con fequences of it not to make us eager to re move the obfcurity with which it i« ftill en veloped. The fimple light of common fenfe is enough to fhow its abfurdity ; fat abfurd we muft call every alTemblage of words which prefents no rational meaning, and to which we cannot even affix the idea of any thing poffible. The Fa<5tious, whofe intention it was to an nihilate the Monarchy, took great care not to let it be known that their obje6t was to feize the fupreme power themfelves. " It ' is to you," faid they to the multitude — ' it is to you that the fovereignty belongs, ' from you it has been ufurped j there were ' People ..before there were Kings ; King.s ' were made by the People } therefore, it i? ' you v/ho are the Sovereign, and all we ' want is to reftore you your rights." Thofe who have combated thefe fo- phifms * are by far too raetaphyfical in their reafon- * Nobody attacked them with more force than M. Malouet in the firft Affembly. See his Opinions, B 2 vol. iii. 4 ANNALS OF THE [AdG. 178$. reafonings. The People comprehend only iinriple ideas, and we muft prefent no others to them if we wifli them to underftand us. Thus, inftead of attempting ta prove " that the " principle of Sovereignty is in the People, " but that the exercife of the Sovereignty •' ought always to be feparated from its " principle, fo as that the People, who pro- " duce the elements ofit,fhould dif cover it " no more butfin avifible and cojnmand- " ing Reprefentation which impreffes them " with ^obedience." — I would have very plainly ftated the following evident truths : A Nation without a Government is not a focial body, but only a mafs, more or lefs numerous, of perfons living in i favage ftate, and always fubjedt to the law of the ftrongeft : this fovereignty is that of the lion or the tiger. When the majority of perfons in fuch a Nation have determined on any form of Go vernment whatever, it becomes a focial body, and the whole of the individuals to gether who compofe that fociety is denomi nated by the word People, vol. iii. pages 48. 50. ,144. 149. 152, and 153; and the Memoirs of the Archbilhop of J/.v relative to Avignon. 'As AtTtj, i7«9.]I FRENCH REVOLUTION. g As there can exift no focial body without a Government, or Government without So vereignty, the formation of the focial body is the original caufe of Sovereignty. Sovereignty confi'fts in the right of making laws united with the power necejTary to en force them ; thefe are its only and eftential ; elements. The Legiflative and Executive powers neither exift nor can be exercifed but by de legation, except in the cafe of conqueft. — Sovereignty, then, is a power eflentiaj.ly and neceflarily delegated. The right of delegating this power, and that of exercifing it, are two rights abfo- lutely diftindl which can never be united by the People ; the former is the only one they can poftibly exercife, and confequently the only one they can claim. A Government without Sovereignty could not exift; for it could govern nothing. It is .to the Government, then, that Sovereignty is infeparably united.. Great care muft be taken to diftinguiih be tween the Government and Sovereignty.-^ The form of the Government, that is to fay, the number of perfons to whom the jexercife pf Sovereignty is delegated, may B 3 vary ; 6 ANNALS OF THd of Govern^ ment that beft fuits them. In making their choice they exercife and confummate the only pght tKat belongs to them, pf that they can exercife as a National body. The right of doing a thing phyfically impoflible is a fuppofition void of fenfe. It is phyfically impoffible that a Natioq compofed of many millions of individuals fhould exercife in a mafs the Legiflative power ; they are therefore under the neceft!ity pf delegating the right of making or agrecr ing to laws for them. It is phyfically impoflible that fuch a Na tion fliould exercife in a mafs the Executive power ; for, on whom fliould they exercife it ? Where would be their fubjedls, if all the individuals were Co- Sovereigns ? They are therefore under the necefiity of delegatSng alfo the power of enforcing or executing the Jaws. In thus delegating, the two powers which ponftitute the Spycreignty, the People cannot be Aug. 1789.] FRENPH REVQL^TJION. 7 be faid to difpofl"ef§ themfelves of it j for, to difpoffefs ourfelves of 4 right it rriuft, bp yefted in us : npw, the right of doing a thing phyfically impofTiblp cqinnot be yefted any v/here. The delegation of thefe two povyprs, which muft necefTarily follow the adoption pf any form pf Government whatever, is, comparing great things with fmall, a right fimilar to thai exercifed by a meeting of In habitants when they proceed to appoint a Ivfayor, an Alderman, and other Civil Of ficers ; or by an Army privileged to chopfp their General J nor wpijld it be more abfurd to tell thofe Inhabitants that they are the Mayor and the Alderman, or the Arrny that thpy are the PenpraJ, than to tell the People that they are the Sovereign, Yet this ab^ furdity it is which has overthrown the moft ancient and the fineft Monarchy of Europe. The People, who have never annexed any other idea to the words Sovereign and So^ vereignty, than that of King and of Royalty, have argued thus — " The Nation is the So^ " vereign, the Sovereign is King; We are " the Nation, therefore we are King."— And the cry of " Five le Roi"' became *' Vive la Nation." B 4 This 8 ANNALS OF THE [Aug. 1789.' This fimple idea led them to another not lefs fo. " If the People be Sovereign, that " is to fay King, they ought to have fubi- *' jedts; for there cannot be a King without *' fubjeds. The Clergy, the Nobihty, the ** Ariftocrats, are not the People; thefe to " be fure then muft be our fubjedts." Such has been their logic, and they have reigned over their fubjedis according to their mode, by pillaging them, and cutting their throats *, In like manner was it the intention of the Palais-Royal Patriots to reign over the Af fembly themfelves, at the crifis when they * They who liad thrown the Sovereignty into the hands of the Brigands, fearing to be in their turn pil laged and maffacred, to pervert the danger, broached the maxim of political equality. The People, who as little underftood this phrafe as that oi fovereignty, zn~. nexed an !dea to it that was moft agreeable to their vanity and their covetaufnefs. As foon as the Clergy, Nobi lity, arid Ariftocrats, were annihilated, the claffes of the inhabitants were all confoun Jed in that of the Peo ple. The Sovereignty, become the right of all, had np objeft for its exercife, and.the bloody anarchy that was the confequence of this left it in the hands of the moft determined villains, Thus, as the word fovereignty of the Petiple had dethroned the King, the word equality de throned the-People, 3 weye Aug. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. n were difcufling the great queftion of the Royal affent. The Eledtors of Paris in formed the Minifter of the commotions in the Capital, by a letter dated the 30th of Auguft, at ten at night. This letter, com municated by M. de St. Prieft, was as fol lows : " The AlTembly of the Reprefentatives '• of the Capital charge me to inform you " that there is a confiderable number of ci- " tizens affembled in the Palais- Royal, •' who talk of proceeding to Verfailles. — " The Affembly have defired the Comman der in Chief to give orders for putting a ftop to it,, and for preventing the confe quences of this mob. We thought it pro per to inform you of it, that precautions *' might be taken." Another letter of the fame night, dated at two o'clock, informed the Minifter, that the fteps taken by M. de la Fayette had fubdued the ferment of the Palais-Royal meetings, and reftored peace. The reading of thefe letters was followed by intelligence much lefs^ tranquillifing. M. de Lally mentioned, that in the night he had been called upon by a Deputation, jcpmpofed of a Lawyer and an Engineer, who fl ft 10 ANNALS OF THE [Atd a. 1789.. who had told him '* that they were folemoly •' deputed to him as a good cieizan, to de«- •• liver into his hands a motion which had " been djruwn up in the PalaisrRoyal, md " which was to be fent round next d«iy to ' • all the diftri<5ts ; that the tendency of it " was, to call for an eledtion of new DepUt- ** ties, and an impeachment of thoje turned •' out, their perfpns ceafing to be jfivipla- *«. bJe; and that tht numb^er of the Depu- " tics fet down. as Triitor? awd Ariftocrats, '? who were for pafling the abfolute veto, *' was cpnfiderable." The Prefident then read the following anonymous letter dir€<^«dtpbim, and which he had juft received ; - * The Patriotic AfTembly of the Palais- ' ' Royal have the honour to noake it known *' to you, that if the Ariftoeratie Fad:ion, *' formed by fome of the Nobility, Clergy, '• and a hundred-and-twenty ignpi!a«K: and " corrupt members, continue to difturb the "" general harmony, and ftill infift upon the " abfolute affent ; 15,000 men are ready to " enlighten their country-feats and houfes, " and particularly your own." The Secretaries to the AfTembly had re ceived a letter much to the fame purpofe : — *' Your Aug. ijSg.l FRENCH REVOLUTION. 11 " Your houfes (it faid) (hall' anfwer for *' your opinions, and we hope that the old " leiTons will begin anew. Look to it, and *' take care of yourfelves." The following are the heads of the mo tion that was delivered to M. de Lally : " We are now arrived at the critical mo- '' ment of French Liberty-. Being informed " that feveral members are reftrained by ^* the different articles of their inftrudtions, " we think it is time to recall them ; and as * ' the perfon of a Deputy is facred and invi- ¦' olable, they may be impeached after *' their recall. " The Veto does not belong to one man, " but to twenty-five millions. *' The citizens affembled at the Palais- *" Royal are of opinion that the ignorant, *' corrupt, and fufpedled Deputies fhould " be recalled. " It has been unanimoufly refolved, to " go immediately to Verfailles; as well to •' put a ftop to the Ariftocratic effervefcence " there, as to proted: the lives of the worthy *' Deputies which are in danger *. " Refolved at the Palais-Royal, Auguft 30." Other f The framers of the Refo'.uiion had in faiS fet out, at 12 ANNALS OF THE [Aug. 1789. Other Deputies alfo mentioned anonymous letters received by them. The boldeft feized this occafion to difplay their intrepidity, while others preferved a marked filence. A motion was made and feconded, for remov ing^ the Aftembly to another place, fhould the Mayor, and Commander of the bourgeois militia, not be able to anfwer for the tran- quillity of Paris ; but Target, the advocate, known in the Revolution for his ridiculous phrafe of peace and concord followed by calm and tranquillity, very aptly obferved, that, as the laft official letter of the ,Paris Eledtors mentioned that all was quiet, there ^ were no grounds for a Refolution ; and the AfTembly adopted his opinion. It was beneath the dignity of a National AfTembly to be alarmed, or even to give their attention to the ferment of fome hun dred idlers of the Palais-Royal, whofe routs and afTemblings the old police would have difperfed in an inftant. But the Muni cipality, and Commander of the bourgeois militia, uniting the powers, had at their com mand more than means fufficient to reprefs all thofe patriotic extravagancies. They at the head of about fifteen hundred perfons ; but they were. prevented from going on by the bourgeois militia. might Aug. 1789.J FRENCH REVOLUTION. 33 might very eafily have prevented the mobs ; they might have extolled the wifdom and ci- .vifm of the Afl:emblies of the diftridts, to enable themfelves, without lofing their po pularity, to prohibit all other AfiTemblies, and confequently to fhut up the Clubs and CofTee-houfes at the Palais-Royal, where the moft worthlefs fellows and moft vio lent fpirits of the Capital were collefted, who while together kept up and increaf- ed their audacity to a formidable pitch, but difperfed in their refpedive diftridls would have made no impreffion. The debate upon the Royal AfTent, and on the abfolute or fufpenfive Veto, was protradted to the nth of September; when it was interrupted by the patriotic offerings of fome female artifts, who came to prefent to the Country their ear-rings, fhoe-ljuckles, watch-chains, baubles, and other articles of jewelry in gold or filver, which were all gratefully received by the AfTembly. Thefe ofTerings foon became the fignal for a gene ral attack upon every perfon, of what condi tion foever, who had the imprudence to ap pear in the ftreets with gold watch-chains or filver-buckles, which were prefently taken from them by bands of filhwomen, in the name 14 ANNALS OF THE [Aug. 1785. name of the Nation, for the payment ofthe Public Debt. The Palais- Royal Patriots being com pelled to renounce their projedt of going to Verfailles, fent a Deputation to the Com mune, demanding an immediate convocation ofthe AfiTemblies of the Diftridls, for the pur pofe of adopting a refolution upon the Veto, upon the recall or confirmation of the Deputies of Paris, and upon the necef- fity of drawing up new inftrudtions, expla natory of the former, relative to (he Veto*. Thfe Reprefentatives of the Commune gave a firm anfwer to this Deputation, and pafTed a fevere refolution, which for fome time re- prefTed thofe feditious operations : they charged the Commander in Chief of the * The people of Paris firmly believed that the Vett was a tax : in the country a much more dreadful idea was conceived of it. " Do you know (faid an honeft pea- " fant to his neighbour) what the Veto is V — "Not I ."— " Then I'll tell you : — You have your porringer full of " foup, the King tells yoa to fpill it, fpill it you njuft, " that's all." Another, whom I afked what he under ftood by Xhc fufpenfive Veto, againft which he was pour ing forth the moft violent imprecations, anfwered, that " li the. fipenfive (mifpronouncing the word) fliould pafs, " the King and his Minifters might hang whom they " pleajed." It was with fome difficulty I convinced him of the contrary. Bourgeois SzjKT. 17%.] FRENCH REVOLUTIftN, Ic Bourgeois Militia to make ufe of every force necefTary againft the diftilrbers of the peace, to caufe them to be arrefted and committed to prifon, in order tp be tried and puniflied as the cafe required. Several of them, and particularly a pretended Marquis of St. Hu- ruge, one of the moft noted brawlers at the Palais-Royal, were confined in the Chatelet till quiet was re-eftablifhed. The debate upon the Royal AfTent took in alfo the arrangement of the Legiflative body, or rather the queftion of its confifting of two chambers or one only. It was not without a view that thefe two queftions, fufficiently important and diftindl to have been treated feparately, were brought toge ther. The intereft of the former depended entirely upon the manner in which the latter fliould be decided. .With a Legiflative Body, compofed of two Chambers, having the mutual privilege of rejedting each what the other, had refolved, independently of the Royal Veto, the enemies of the Throne would have had much lefs means of over turning it : and if the plan of the two Cham bers- had prevailed> there is no doubt they would have united all their efforts to prevent the Veto's being granted tP the King. On 1 the iS Annals of the [SEi-r. i^^g^ t\ie other hand, with a Legiflative Body con fifting of a fingle Chamber, the abfolute or fufpenfive Veto, without the power of dif-. folvihg the AfiTembly, could only be a ufelefs prerogative to be fhut up with the anti quated trappings of the Throne ; or an in- ftrument moft fatal to the King who fhould attempt to ufe it. The arrangement then of the Legiflative Body was firft fettled : on the 8th of September it was decided that it fliould be permanent, and on the i oth that it fliould confift but of one Chamber. The- next day, at the opening of the Sit ting, the debate on the Royal AfTent having been concluded, juft as the queftion was about to be put to the vote, the Prcfident read a letter written to him by Mr. Necker, in which he obfprved, that the Minifters hav ing thought it their duty to confult the King on the fubjedl now before the AfTembly, his Majefty, upon confidering it, had authorifed him to fubmit to the AfTembly the Memo rial which accompanied his letter. The ' greateft feryice that the Minifters could have rendered the King on this occa fion, would have been to have made him take the refolution of accepting no Veto, before it were decided whether his Majefty fliould Sept. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 17, fhould or fliould not have the right of dif- folving the Aflembly, and of perfifting in his refufal if that right were not granted him. Several Deputies, and among the reft Mirabeau, fufpedting that this might be the objedt of Mr. Necker's Memorial, main tained, that fuppofing the King fliould refufe the Veto, that prerogative fhould never- thelefs be anne^ted to the Royal authority. Thofe who were for paffing the abfolute Veto were afraid left Mr. Necker flieuld propofe the fufpenfive. Both thefe motives concurred in producing a refolution that the Memorial fhould not be read. The quef tion upon the Royal AfTent was then re duced to three propofitions, which wer^ put to the vote in the following order : ift. May the King refufe his affent to the Adls of the Legiflative Power ? 2d. In the cafe of the King's refufing his affent, fhall fuch refufal be fufpenfive or abfolute ? 3d. In the cafe of the King's refufal be ing fufpenfive, for what time fhall it laft ? The firft propofition pafTed in the affirma tive almoft unanimoufly. On the fecond it was decided by 693 votes againft 325, that the King's refufal fliould be fufpenfive. Vol. II. C The iS ANNALS or THE [Sept. 17S9. The third propofition was adjourned till the next day; but the important queftions to which it gave birth, delayed the decifion of it till the 21ft, when it was decreed, con formably to what had been propofed by Mr. Necker in his Memorial which was publiflied, that the Royal AfiTent could be fufpended only for two AfTemblies ; and that it could.not be refufed to a third AfTem bly, if the rejedled plan of a law fhould be a fecond time prefented by them. In the interval between the Sitting of the •lith and that of the 2ift:, the AfiTembly re- cognifed with acclamations, and declared unanimoufly as fundamental points of the French Monarchy, ift. That the King's perfon was facred and inviolable. 2dly. That the Throne was indivifible. 3dly. That the Crown was hereditary in the male line by order of primogeniture, to the total exclufion of females and their de- Icendants. On this occafion the great queftion of the rights of the Houfe of Spain, and the vali dity of the renunciation made by Philip V. to the crown of France, was agitated. The warmth with which Mirabeau fupported the Sept. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTIPN. IQ the interefts of the branch of Orleans pro longed this debate for feveral Sittings, and rendered them very tumultuous: but the AfTembly in fpite of his efforts contented themfelves with declaring, that by the arti cle relative to the defcent of the crown, no thing was meant to prejudice the effedt of the renunciations *. Two days after the firft decrees -of the AfiTent were pafTed, the AfTembly gave the King an opportunity of exercifing this pre rogative, and of eftimating the exadl value of it. They ordered that the articles de creed on the 4th of Auguft, and drawn up in the following Sittings, fhould be prefented to his Majefty : but whether they fhould be prefented to receive his affent, or pofi- tively to be promulgated, was long the fub- jedt of altercation. They who held that the promulgation was all that was required maintained, that thofe refolutions being con- * One of the Members of the Affembly fBiauzaiJ moved, that it fhould be inferted in the Minutes that this great and important queftion had been difcuffed in the abfence ofthe Duke of 'Orleans. " Very proper (faid " another Member from the other end of the Hall) ; but " we muft add alfo that it was difcuffed in the abfence " of the King of Spain." This piece of wit difcon- ccrted the mover, and the motion fell to the ground. C 2 ftitutional. 20 ANNALS OF THE [Sept. 1789. ftitutionai, the King's afl^ent Was not want ing to them; a principle that Was pretty generally acknowledged by the AfiTembly : but the difficulty lay in determining Whether thofe refolutions were conftitutional, or whe ther they Were altogether, or in part, only adts of legiflation. The latter opiniori pre vailed ; and it was in confequerice decided that the Prefident fliould wait upon frhe King, to befeech him to give his affent to them. From this debate it Was very evident that not only the Conftitution Was tP bfe made without the King's concurrence, but that it would be the fame With every decree which the AfTembly fhould pleafe to term Conftitutional ; nor was it long before they abufed this openiiig. In the Sitting of the i8th the Prefident read the King's anfwer to the requeft that had been made to him, of afTenting to the refolutions of the 4th of Auguft and the fol lowing days. It was replete with mPdera- tion and wifdom. " Several of thefe arti- •' cles (faid his IVlajefty) are but the out- •' lines of laws which it is neceflary that the '• AfTembly fhould complete. I Wifh to *' know how you mean to apply them : ** for, while I approve of the general fpirit 3 " of Sept. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION, 21 " of your refolutions, there are a f(?w ar- " tides to which I could only give a con- " ditional fandtion. I will acquaint you " with the refult of my refledtions, and " thofe of my Council, on this fubjedt, ?' If afterwards I fliould- find it necefTary, " I fhall not hefitate to modify or even *' to relinquifh my opinions. It will al- *' ways give me great pain to fee or think " differently from the AfiTembly." This jntrodudtion was followed by very juft ob fervations on each ofthe articles, the greater number of which his Majefty approved, and to which he promifed to affent as foon as they were formed into laws. This letter, written in the friendly ftyle of a good father reafoning with his children, did not fatisfy the AfTembly, and exafpe^ rated the more violept members to fuch a degree, that one of them [Chapelier] had the infolence to begin his fpeech with thefe words : — The kind of language you have heard read from the King. Several Mem bers of the Order of the Nobility, fliocked at the indecency of the expreffion, interrupted the fpeaker, and obliged him to change his tone : yet it was decreed on his motion, fup ported by Mirabeau and the party, that the ,C 3 Prefident 22 ANNALS OF THE [Sept. 1789. Prefident fliould inftantly wait upon the King, not to afk as before his afiTent to the refolutions of the 4th of Auguft, for it was decided they did not ftand in need of that, but to befeech his Majefty to order the pro mulgation of them without delay. The Prefident was charged at the fame time to afiTure the King, that.^ when the National AfTembly went upon the detail of the la\ys, they would pay the moft refpedlful attention to the refledtions and obfervations which his Majefty had been good enough to communi cate to them. The King, in his anfwer to this fecond requeft, obferved, that promulgation belonged only to laws completed and drawn up in a regular form, fo that they could be imme diately put into execution ; but that as he approved the general fpirit of the refolutions of the 4th of Auguft, and feveral of their articles, he would order them to be pub lifhed throughout the Kingdom. " I do " not doubt (added his Majefty"), from the •' difpoiition you manifeft, that I fhall be " able with perfedl juftice to give my kfTent " to all the laws you fhall decree upon the *' various fubjedls" contained in your Refoi. " lutions." The Sept, 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTIPN. 23 The Conftitutionalifts and Democrats were completely fatisfied with this anfwer, which they confidered as a proof that the King be gan to underftand, that when they granted him the Veto, they meant nothing more than to impofe upon him the obligation of afl'enting, without hefitation, to all the de crees the AfiTembly fhould pleafe to prefent to him. The attack made, by the Refolutions of the 4th of Auguft, upon property of the higheft importance and hitherto the moft re- fpedted, completely extingUifhed the remains of credit from which Mr. Necker laboured to take advantage : his fecond loan was not more fortunate than his firft; the patriotic oflTerings and donations multiplied in vain ; they but the more expofgd the penurious fituation of the treafury, which was reduced to fuch miferable refources. This inevitable eflTedl of the deftrudtion of public credit was to be imputed, it was faid, to the pretended fcarcity of money; nor was it without a view that this impofition was propagated : it led to the belief of much more ferious ones. The Ariftocrats, already denounced in all the revolutionary pamphlets as en- grolTers of corn, and as attempting to fickgn C 4 thq 24 ANNALS OF THfi [Serr. 1789. the people of liberty by famine, were now alfo accufed of engroffing the coin and of fending it out of the kingdom, in order to ftop the Revolution by bankruptcy. A wag gon belonging to the Prince of Lambefc, covered with a tilt marked with his arms, containing fome of his goods, was reported to be loaded with gold, which the Queen was fending to the Emperor. It was ftop- ped at the barrier, and driyen to the Hotel- de-Ville, where it was examined and detained till a flecree of the AfTembly was pafTed to fuffer it to proceed on its way. But the ftory of the waggon of gold loft nothing of its effedt; it was repeated with the fame confidence, and always with fome new ex aggeration ; fometimes as to the fum, and fometimes as to the number of waggons. A declaration made by a fifhwoman or a workman at the Hotel-de-Ville was em ployed to con-firm this pretended fadl. It was by thus keeping the people in a perpe tual ftate of diflruft and irritation, that the fadlious were making way for the fuocefs of the decifive explofion they were meditating. The murmurs upon the fcarcity of mon^ becoming daily more violent, the King and Queen took the refolution of fending their plate Sept. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 25 plate to the Mint. When the Aflfembly were informed of it they appeared fenfible of the facrifice, and endeavoured to prevent its being put into execution. They diredted the Prefident to go inftantly to the King, and befeech him to keep his plate. — " I " am extremely fenfible (replied the King) " of the attention fhown me by the AfiTem- " bly, afTure them of it for me; but Tmuft " notwithftanding perfift in an intention " which the fcarcity of coin renders proper. " Neither the Queen nor myfelf think any " thing of this facrifice." This example would certainly have been generally folloWed, but it was no doubt feared left it fliould become a means of po pularity to thofe who fhould follow it ; and therefore all merit in the facrifice was de- ftroyed by making it a matter of neceffity. It was declared, that a lift of all thofe who fliould fend their plate to the Mint, with the date of the days when fent, fhould be pub lifhed every day in the Paris Journal, with an account of the number of ounces fent by each perfon : thus making it impoffible for thofe who had plate to preferve it without expofing themfelves to very feripus infults from 26 ANNALS OF THE [Sept. 1789. from the mob, on the bafe report of a fer- vant or workman. In the fitting of the 24th of September, Mr. Necker attended, and made a very cir- cumftantial report of the ftate of the Finan ces ; in which he fixed the deficit at fixty- one millions, and declared the neceffity of an extraordinary fupply of eighty millions for the following year,- the impoffibility of attempting new loans, and the ftate of all the redudtions and favings that could he made in the expenees, &c. The refources he propofed for the enfuing year confifted, ift. Of a temporary tax, under the name of Voluntary Contribution, which he calculated would amount to the fourth of the income. 2d, In a contribution of two or three per cent, on the value of plate, money and jewels. " The peafant's ** wife (faid he) will give her golden crofs " and ring, and not be the lefs happy «• for it." He informed the AfTembly, that in order to provide for immediate wants, the Kirig had authorifed the receiving the filver that fliould be brought to the Mint, giving re ceipts to the bearers for the amount, and a note S^PT, 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 27 note for the payment of its value. He pro pofed to fix the value of filver at 6 livres 15 fols* the ounce in receipts payable at fix months date, and at 7 livres 5 fols -f in favour of thofe who fhould agree to carry their re* ceipts to the loan without making it up with paper money. He depended alfo "a great deal upon the Caiffe d'Efcompte, and thought it might be prudent to eredt it into a National Bank. It was in the debate that took place upon this report that the Archbifliop of Paris offered, in the name of the Order of the Clergy, all the plate belonging to thr; churches that was not abfolutely necefTary to the decency of Divine worfhip. This generous facrifice was attended with tranf- ports of joy, and general applaufe. Thus the Clergy, already robbed of their landed property, were alfo ftripped of their move ables : their plate was wrought into crown- pieces, and ffiortly after their bells were melted into fous. Mirabeau, who was known to be Necker's enemy, fpoke as eloquently as artfully in favour of his plan : " The revenues of the * ^4 livres the mark. t 58 livres the mark. " State 28 ANNALS OF THE [S.ept. 1789. State (faid he) are exhaufted, the treafury empty, public authority has loft its fpring; to-rnorrow will your interppfition be ne- cefiTary, nay it is neeeflTary to-day, at thi^ very moment. In fuch cireumftances it appears to me impoffible either to offer 9, plan to the Minifter at the head of the Finances, or to be fcrupulous about the one he propofes to us. " It would not become your wifdom to render yourfelves refponfible for the event, either by reje^ipg means which you have no time to inveftigate, or by fubftituting any which you have not leifure thorough ly to digeft. The unbounded reliance which the Nation has at all times placed in the Minifter whom their acclamations recalled, fufficiently authorifcs you, I fliould imagine, to give him unlimited confidence in the prefent circumflancies. Agree, to his propofals without anfwering for them., as you have not time to confi- der them : agree to them through confi dence in the Minifter, and think^ that in beftowing upon him this kind of provi fional Didtatorfliip, you fulfill your duty as Citizens and Reprefentatives of the Nation. " If Sept. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 29 " If Mr. Necker fliould fucceed, we will •' blefs his'fuccefs, for which we fhall have ** given the better chance the more complete " our compliance, the more unreftrained " our confidejice. Should he, which God " forbid ! fail in his painful enterprife, " great no doubt would be the fhock re- " ceived by the National vefiTel in ftriking " the Ihoal on which her favourite pilot " fhould have run her : but the fhock would '• not difcourage us; you would ftill bt " there. Gentlemen, your credit unhurt, " and the public body remaining whole. " Let us look to happier omens; let us " decree the Minifter 's propofals, and truft " that his genius, aided by the natural re- •' fources of the fineft Kingdom on the earth, " and the fervent zeal of an AfTembly •' which has given, and ftill gives, fuch *' glorious examples, will be able to rife to •' the level of our neceffities and of our cir- '• cumftances." So much confidence and fo much praife lavifhed on Mr. Necker by the moft open enemy he had in the AfTembly, appeared fufpicious to his friends. Mirabeau's eager- nefs for the Minifter's plan being adopted, made them fear that he was certain it would fail, go ANNALS OF THE [SEiT. 17^^ fail, or that it was his defign to counteradt it* Some of them in the courfe of the debate fo plainly threw out this fufpicion, as to autho- rife Mirabeau to explain himfelf ; which' he did with the moft artful appearance of ftanknefs. " I have not the honour (faid " he) of being among the friends of the " Minifter at the head of the Finances ; but •' were I his moft affedtionatc friend, I " would not hefitate a moment, as the friend " of my Country, above all, as a Reprefenta- *' tive of the Nation, to expofe him rather ' ' than the National AfTembly to any hazard* *• Such are my real fentimerits; I never *' meant to deny or to difguife them ; and " I think, that although we authorifc a mea- *• fure completely necefTary, for which we " have at prefent nothing to fubftitute, we *' ought not to take it upon ourfelves, or to ?' make it our own work, not having time " to confider it, " Did our refpedt for public faith, our " horror at the infamous zoord bankruptcy, "¦ reft on lefs folemn declarations, I might "take upon me to inveftigate the fecret •' motives, perhaps, alas ! unknown to our- *' felves, which make us fo imprudently *' ftand aloof at the moment when we are ?' about Sep*. 1789.1 FRENCH REVOLUTION. 31 " about to proclaim an adt of great facrifice, •' certainly ineffedtual if it be not done im- " mediately and with full confidence. To " thofe who familiarize themfelves to the '• notion of violating public engagements, *' through the fear of facrificing too much, *' through the dread of taxation, I would " fpeak thus: — And what is bankruptcy " but the moft cruel, the moft iniquitous, *' the moft unequal, the moft difaftrous of *• taxes? My friends, hear but a word, a " fingle word. Two ages of depredations " and robberies have opened the gulph that " is ready to fwallow up the Kingdom. *' This horrible gulph muft be filled. Well, *' and here is a lift of Frenchmen of pro- *' perty. Choofe among the richeft, that *' the fewer Citizens may be facrificed; but " choofe, for ought not the fmaller number " to perifh in order to fave the mafs of the " people? Come, thefe two thoufand No- *' tables pofTefs what will fupply the deficit, *' reftore order to your finances, peace and " profperity to the Kingdom; ftrike, im- " molate without pity thefe wretched vie- " tims, precipitate them into the abyfs, and "it will clofe, — —Do you ftart back with " horror? 32 ANNALS OF THE [Sept. 1789. • ' horror ? — Inconfiftent/pufillanimous men ! " What ! do you not fee then that by de- " creeing bankruptcy, or, what is ftill more ** hateful, by rendering it inevitable without •• decreeing it, you difgrace yourfelves by •' an adt a thoufand times more criminal; " and, what is inconceivable ! criminal for " no purpofe; for, in fliort, the horrible " facrifice which is firft propofed would put " an end to the deficit before to-morrow. •• — Ye Stoical contemplators of the incal- " culable evils which bankruptcy would " pour forth upon France ! infenfible, fclf- " ifh men ! who imagine that thofe convul- " fions of defpair and mifery will pafs " away like fo many others, and the more " rapidly for being the more violent, are yc *' very fure that fuch a number of men •• Wanting bread will quietly fuflTer you to ". relilh meals, of which you could not ?• confent to decreafe cither the frequency '* or the luxury B — No. — Perifli ye will, and " in the general conflagration which ye do '* not fhudder at kindling; nor will the •• lofs of your honour fave a fingle one of ** your deteftable enjoyments ! " This SiPT. 1789]. FRENCH REVOLUTION. 33 " This is the road on which we are tra velling. I hear of patriotifm, the raptures of patriotifm, the invocations of patriot^ ifm : prithee do not proftitute the words patriotifm and country. Is it a very ge nerous effort, then, to give a part of your income in order to fave all you pofiTefs ? Why, Gentlemen, it is nothing more than common arithmetic ; and he who can hefi.* tate, could only difarm indignation by the contempt which his ftupidity muft ex^ cite. Yes, Gentlemen, it is the moft ordinary prudence, the moft daily wif dom, the grofTeft felf-intereft, to which I urge you; Vote then this extraordi™ nary fubfidy, and may it prove fufficient T \'ote it, becaufe although you have doubts upon the means (vague and unintelligible doubts) < you have none upon its necef-* fity at leaft, or upon our abihty of im mediately fupplying its place. Vote it, becaufe public circumftances admit of np delay, and becaufe we fhould be blamed for rejedting it. Take^ care not to afk for time, it is a thing misfortune neyer grants. — Gentlemen, you may recolledl that a few weeks ago, on a ridiculous Vol. II. p " motion 34 ANNALS OP THST [Sept. f 78:9/ *' motion made at the Palais-Royal, a lu- " dicrous infurredtion, which was of no • ' importance but in weak imaginations, or " the wicked defigns of fome knaves, we * ' were violently fummoned in thefe words : *• Catiline is at ike gates of Rome, and " yet you deliberate! — and certainly we " had about us neither Catiline, nor dan- " gers, nor fadtions, nor Rome. — But now, *' Bankruptcy, hideous Bankruptcy is here, '* and threatens to confume you, your pro- '• perty, your hcmour — and yet you de- " LIBERATE !" It is impoffible to fay what an impref fion was made by this unpremeditated fpeech upon the AfTembly. The extradls I have cited are enough to give an idea of the talents of Mirabeau. The follow ing chapters will bring us acquainted in other points with this extraordinary man, who gave almoft as much caufe to re gret his death, as he had given to curfe his birth. The decree which was the confequence of Mirabeau's Ipeech deferves to be re-i. ported, and was this : *' Confidering^ &EPT. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 35 " Confidering the urgency of circum- " ftances, and having heard the Report *' of the Committee of Finances, the Na- " tional AfiTembly accept, through confi- ?' dence, the plan of the Prime Minifter of " the Finances." D 2 CHAP- 36 AN'StalS of the CSEPT,r783/ CflAPTER XV* Plan and Motives of the FaQious for re moving the National Affembly to Paris — Means concerted by the Royal Party to overturn the ProjeSi-'— Feeble Meafures taken by the Court — Arts employed' to agitate the Parifians — French Guards—^ Condudi of M. dc la Fayette, the Count d'EJlaing, and the Municipality of Ver failles — The Municipality petition the King for Troops — Manceuvres of the Orleans Fadiion — Arrival of the Regi ment of Flanders — Alarm of the Pari fians — ¦ Entertainment given by the Gardes-du-Corps denounced to the Affem bly — -Mirabeau's Audacity — The King's Reply relative to the Conjlitutional Arti cles THE [SEpf, t-7?gi " ofthe Executive power to demand troops, " and to communicate the mptives fpr the * ' demand to the Legiflative power ; bu^ •' that no Municipality whatever, upon mo- " tives not communicated, had any right " to call for a body of regular troops to '' the place in which the Legiflative power * ' was refiding ; and that the AlTembly ha4 *' not given up the privilege of inquiring *' into the caufes which, in the town wher& " they afiTemblec}, had urged th? Municipa- *' lity to apply for troops." He was anfwer-r ed, that a formal Decree had authorifed the Municipalities to call fpr troops when they judged it to be necefiTary, and that that power had not been t^ken from the Municipality of Verfailles. This unanfwerable obfervation did not prevent him from rifing ag^in tp rev, peat his efforts iri other terms ; but the AfTem-r bly notwithftanding, refolved, that there was no room to deliberate, and all he could obtain was, that the words " as to the prefent"i fliould be added to the Decree. The motives which had determined the King to grant the Municipality of Verfailles the regiment of infantry they had afiied for, were officially notified to the AfiTembly by a letter from the Minifter of War, written by Sept. 1789-] FRENCH REyottJ'l'Ioif. M by command of his Majefty to the Prefideiit, to inform him, that upon various threats from evil-minded perfons, of coming ffom Paris with arms, he had taken meafures to fecure the refidence ofthe National AfTembly. The arrival of the regiment of Flanders at Verfailles alarmed the populace of Paris almoft as much as if it had been an army of a hundred thoufand men. What had the Capital to fear with a bourgeois militia of twenty times the number of all the troops then at , Verfailles ? Was it probabjle that the King, who had fhown no hoftile defign againft it when he had an army of 30,000 men at his command, and before the embo dying of the bourgeois militia, fliould have conceived the fenfelefs projedt of attacking Paris with a regiment of two battalions ? Neverthelefs, the alarms excited on this oc cafion by the ufual incendiaries among the People, were fo great, that M. Bailly wrote to the Minifter of War, to exprefs the ar dent wifhes of the Capital for removing the regiment of Flanders^ and to conjure him to give the necefTary orders for that purpofe. This letter was laid before the National AfiTembly in the Sitting of the 23d 46 ANNALS OF THE [Sept. 17%^ 23d of September, but they pzlid no atteri- tion to it; Thefe abfurd alarms would have remain ed an inexplicable enigma, had they not been excited by the fame perfons who were afterwards fecn taking the lead in the infur- redlion of the 5th of Odlober. The appre^^ henfions of thofe Villains at the arrival of the regiment of Flanders, could only have been raifed from their not having been cer tain at the time, of being able to carry the National Guard to Verfailles with the wretched mob which they propofed to lead thither, and which a regiment would have eafily difperfed. The regiment of Flanders entered Ver failles on the 23d of September, and marched to the Place d'Armes, where the men took the oath, adminiftered by the Municipality in prefence of the Officers of the National Guard of Verfailles, and 'began to do duty with them. As foon as this Was/known at Paris, it was refolved to employ every poffi ble means to corrupt the foldiers. A legion of common women, picked from among thofe who were the beft grounded in the patriotic- jargon, was fent to them, and unknown emiffaries ^EtT. 1789.] FRENCH REVOtUTioNw 47 cmifiTaries daily and fecretly diftributed abundance of money among them. They were foon prevailed updn to exchange the white cockade for the tri-coloured one. The Gardes-du-Corps, who were wit* neffes to thefe manoeuvres and to their fuc- cefs, became apprehenfive that the King would not long continue in fafety. The means which appeared to them the moft proper to anticipate this danger, was to en deavour to attach the regiment of Flanders and the National Guard of Verfailles more particularly to the defence of his Majefty's perfon. It was with this view that they gave an entertainment to the Officers of the regiment of Flanders, and to which they invited feveral Officers of the National Guard, of the Rangers of the Trois Evi- ches, and of the Prevote de I' Hotel. The King allowed this entertainment, fo innocent and fo mifreprcfented, to be given at the Theatre in the Palace. The day fixed for it was Thurfday the ift of Odtober, and the Hercules Saloon was the place of meet ing. The guefts being affembled at the ap pointed hour, to the number of about 240, went to the Theatre, where the dinner was ferved. The lights of the houfe, the crowd of 48 ANNALS OF THE [SePt. i789» of fpedlators Who filled the boxes, and the mufic of the band belonging to the Garde's- d^-Corps ]d\n\ng with that of the regiment of Flanders, gave this repaft the brilliancy and gaiety of a feftival. In the fecond courfe, the company draiik to the health of the King, Queen, Dauphin, and Royal Family. I have been affured by two per fons who were prefent at this entertainment^ that the words to the health of the Nation were alfo pronounced feebly by one of the guefts or one of the fpedtators, and that the not repeating or feconding this toaft was attended with no confequences. The cuftom of drinking to the health of the Nation had not been then cftablifhed, and one may be allowed, without a criiyie, to think that that was not the moment for introducing fuch an innovation ; yet one of the greateft crimes imputed to the Gardes-du-Corps was their not being willing to drink to the health of the Nation, that is to fay, to their own health, for they were indifputably a part of the Nation. Towards the end of the repaft, the King, accompanied by the Queen and the Dauphin, made his appearance. A moment before, a confiderable number of foldiers had been admitted. Oct. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 49 admitted, who joined their ffiouts of joy and clapping with thofe of the guefts, in ac knowledgment to their Majefties for the happinefs they added to the feaft by their prefence. The Queen took the Dauphin in her arms, and walked round the table with him, amidft the livelieft acclamations. The Gardesrdu-Corps, the Officers and the fol diers, with their fwords drawn, then drank to the health of the King, Queen, and Dau phin. Their Majefties were gratified with this refpedt, and retired. At that moment, the muficians, willing to teftify, in their manner, that they ffiared the fcntiments which animated the company, played fuit able airs, and among others — " 0 Rich ard ! 0 mon Roi! L'Univers t'abandonne, &c." It is eafy to imagine what effedt this mu fic would produce upon fome young people, whofe heads were already heated by the fumes of wine. They foon began to adt what the muficians played ; they grew animated at the lively airs, and foftened at the tender ones. When the charge was founded, they were feen fcahng the boxes, while the fpec- tators made the houfe ring with clapping. — In thefe joyous tranfports, heightened by a Vol. II. E degree 50 ANNALS OF THE [Oct, 1789^ degree of -intoxication, there efcaped fome buflToonery upon the tri-coloured cockade, and fome indifcreet words refpe€ting the white one. It is even faid, that cockades of white paper were ludicroufly tied to two or three hats. After the feaft, this noify merriment, efpecially the fhouts of " Vive le Roi !" " Vive la Reine ! " was continued for fome minutes, upon the terrace of the Palace, and in the Marble" Court. An Aide- de-Camp of Count d'Efiaing's, and a gre nadier, climbed up the balcony of the King's apartments : a dragoon, who had drunk too much wine to be able to follow them, think ing it a difgrace, was going to kill himfelf, and it was with difficulty he was brought to reafon. At the fame time, in the pafTage leading from the terrace to the great ftair-cafe of the Palace, a fcene was paffing of a much more ferious nature. A Ranger of the re giment of the Trbis Eveches ftood there, refting his head on the handle of his naked fword, and appeared opprefTed with the moft violent afflidtion.'- M. de Miomandre, an .Officer of the regiment of Turenne, hap pening to pafs near him, he feized him by the arm, and cried, in a tone of the deepeft defpair — Oct. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 51 defpair — ^" Ah! Sir, how wretched am 1} would I were dead!" His convulfive fobs, accompanied with tears, prevented his ut«. tcring more than half fentences. Looking about him with a wild air, and feeing only the Officer" by, he addreffed the following unconnedled words to him: — " Our good King I — Thefe excellent Gardes-du-Corps ! — Ah, Sir ! Sir !— — / am agreat fcoun- drel! — Monfiers ! What do they want me to do?''* " Who do you mean.?" faid M. de Miomandre — ^ — " Thofe rafcally Commanders and Orleans.'* Several people now came round him, when in a fit of fury he turned the point of his fword to bis heart, M. I)uverger, who happened tp be near, on being called by M. de Miomandre, ran up and difarmed the Ranger, but not before he had wounded himfelf. He was carried to the guard-houfe, drenched in his blood, and laid upon a bundle of ftraw ; where he re mained in a perfedt ftate of ftupor and de- preffion, till fome of his companions, inform ed of what had happened, haftcned to the guard-houfe ; wliere falling upon this mi ferable creature, they completely kicked him to death, nor did the ftanders-by interpofe to prevent it, or fven feem hurt at it, E2 It 52 ' ANNALS OF THE [OcT.1789, It has been faid that this man was drunk, and indeed nothing is more probable; but it was never faid that his companions, who afiTaffinkted him, were in liquor. What then could be their motives for treating with fuch ffiocking inhumanity a drunken- man, who had done them no harm; as the broken fentences which efcaped him applied only to the Commanders and the Duke of Or leans ? Was it for the fafety of thofe great criminals that they committed this murder, or to prevent more pofitive difcoveries ? One or the other it certainly was, but it might be either; and there, in my opinion, lies the only difficulty attending this enigma, which, at the time, the Minifters did not choofe or did not dare to inveftigate. In the evening of the fame day, fome white cockades were noticed in the King's anti-chamber, commonly called the Oeil-dC' beuf. It was even told, that fome ladies of the Court had taken the white ribbons from their head-drelfes, to put them into the hats of fome of the Officers of the National Guards, who had afked for them ; and this innocent favour was converted into a Na tional crime. Such is the exadt account of what paffcd at Oct. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 53 at the famous entertainment given by the Gardes-du-Corps, which Adrian Duport had the afTurance to be the firft to denounce to the AfiTembly, under the defcription of the fcandalous feafi of the Palace, and as one of thofe raving orgies, at which pru^ dence is terrified, and indigence murmurs. Petion improved upon this denunciation, and added, that imprecations had been ut tered at this feaift againft the National Af fembly. One of the members of the No bility, ffiocked at this impofturcj moved ^ that Petion's denunciation ffiould be figned by him, and laid upon the table. Mirabeau^ who faw the em.barrafTment into which this demand had thrown PetioUj and fearing, no doubt, left he fliould explain away a denun ciation which it was material to him ffiould be fupported', rofe to affift him with unpa^ ralleled audacity and effrontery. " I premife," faid he, •' that I confider " the motion for this denunciation as fu- ?* premely impolitic: however, if it be " perfifted in, I am myfelf ready to ftate all " the particulars, and to fign them; but I " ffiall move, that this Affembly previoufly " declare, that the perfon of the King alone 3 '• ^s 54 ANNALS OF THE i [Oct. 17*^9, •• is inviolable, and that all other perfons in *' the State, be they whom they may, arc " equally fubjedt and amenable to the *' law*." This unexpedted propofition ffiocked the cote droit, while it emboldened the cote gauche, and gave rife to fome fharp lan- . guage, which the Prefident put an end to^ by calling for the order of the day, which was the eonfideration of the King's Anfwer refpedting the Rights of Man, and other articles of the Conftitution, that had been decreed, and for which his fandtion had been demanded. Hiftory will preferve this An fwer aS an authentic monument of the wif dom of Louis XVI, and of the extreme good- ncfs of his heart. " As to the Declaration of Rights, and " the Articles of the Conftitution decreed, * ' my intentions are as follows : •' New Conftitutive Laws cannot be well ' ' confidered but by taking them together^ * Mirabeau faid, loud enough to be heard by thofe near him, / fljall denounce the ^ueen and ihe Duke de. Guide. See the depofition of M. Digoine, 168, a wit- nefs in the proceedings at the Chatelet. » " all Ott.iyBg.y JRENCH REVOLUTION. 55 *' all hang one upon another, in fo great '• and important a work* Neverthelefs, I •* think it very natural, that at a moment *' when we are inviting the Nation to make ¦*• every effort of patriotifm, we ffiould fa- " tisfy them on the chief objedt of their " concern. Therefore, in the hope that " the firft Conftitutional Articles which you " have prefented to me, in confequence of " your labours, will fulfil the wiffies of " my People, and fecure the tranquillity of " the Kingdom, I grant, according to your " defire, my afiTent to thofe Articles — ^but " upon the exprefs conditions, from which " I will never fwerve, that from the gene- " rai refult of your deliberations, the Exe- * • cutive power preferve its full effedt in the " hands of the Monarch. " A feries of fadts and obfervations, " which will be laid before you from me, " will convince you, that in the prefent ftate " of things, I cannot enforce the colledtion " of the taxes, nor the cirdulation of corn, " nor protedt perfonal liberty. I arn, howe- " ver, anxious to fulfil thefe effential duties " of Royalty ; the happinefs of my fubjedts ?* and the maintenance of focial order de- E 4 " pend q6 ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 1785, " pend upon it. I defire then that, we " may unite in removing all the different " obft'acles which might oppofe fo defirable " and fo necefTary a power. ** You are doubtlefs fenfible that the old " inftitutions and the judicial forms cannot " be changed till a new order of things be " fubftituted ; on this point, therefore, L " need make no obfervations to you. , ' ' It only remains for me to declare to you " frankly, that, although I give my affent -" to the different Articles you have prefented " to me, I am not ftruck with the idea of *' perfedtion equally in them all. " But I think it incumbent on me not to " defer paying attention to the prefent wilh *' of the Reprefentatives of the Nation, and " to the alarming circumftances which call " upon us to ftrive above every thing to re- " eftabliffi peace and order. " I make no comments on the Declaration " of the Rights of Man ; it contains very " good maxims for the diredtion of your " labours. But there are in it principles li- '/, able to different applications, and even to '/. diflTerent interpretations, which cannot be rightly underftood till their real fenfe be " fettled Oct. 1789,] FRENCH REVOLUTIPN. 57 '* fettled by the laws to which the Declara- *' tion is to ferve as a bafis. " (Signed) Louis." This Anfwer was applauded as it de- ferved, by many members of the fuperior Clergy and of the Nobility ; but it difpleafed the majority of the AfTembly, who were mifled by the violent declamations of Robef pierre, Adrian Duport, Petion, Mirabeau, and the other orators of their clafs. Not fatisfied with disfiguring all his Majefty's expreffions by falfe and perfidious interpre tations, they introduced into this debate un founded allegations of imaginary grievances, which were totally foreign to it, and which feemed to have no other objedt than that of pointing out to the people new pretences for infurredtion ; fuch as the entertainment given by the Gardes-du-Corps, and a fidtitious let ter, diredted to a miller, containing 200 livres, with a promife of as much more next week, if he would not grind corn. In fadt, it will be feen in the following chapter, that thefe were the only reafons given to the AfTembly by the leaders of the firft detach ment of the Parifian Populace, who arrived that very day at Vcj failles, and whofe harangue 58 ANNALS OF THE [OCT. 1 789, harangue one might have thought, and per haps without being miftaken, had been pre concerted with the fpeakers laft-mentioned. Be that as it may, the debate upon the King's Anfwer produced the following Decree : " The National AfTembly ordain that the '• Prefident, at the head of a Deputation, " do this day wait upon the King, in order " to befeech him to give his affent pure and " uncondittonal to the Articles of the De- " claration of Rights, and to thofe of the *' Conftitution, which have been prefented *' to him." In this then, as I have obferved, confifted the grand Royal Prerogative of the Sufpen- five Veto. It authorifed the King to grant, but not to refufe, his fandiion or afiTent, CHAP- Oct. 1789.3 FRENCH REVOLUTION. 59 CHAPTER XVI. Secret Negotiation between the King and M. de la Fayette — The Orleans FaSion are irformed of it — Means employed by them to prevent the Confequences of it- Popular ' Commotions — Black Cockades torn from the Hats of thofe who wore them — InfurreB,ion of Women in the Fauxbourgs — They fiock in Crowds to the Place-de-Greve, and propofe to hang a Baker — They force the Guard, and make their way into the Hotel-de-Ville — Are difpofed to go and force the Arfenal t& get at Arms — They fet out in Crowds for Verfailles, accompanied by fome Brigands — The Alarm-bell rung, the Drums beat to arms, all the DifiriSts affemble, the Men who had compofed the French Guards 6o ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 178J. Guards march in Battle-array to the Place-de-GreVe — Numerous Detachments from the different Battalions of the Na tional Guard join them there — All cry out to be led to Verfailles — M. dela Fayette for fome Moments oppofes it, but at lajl applies to the Municipality for the Order, which they give him — The National Guard fet out for Verfailles — Outrages of the gth of OBober. A FEW days after Mr. Necker's retreat, the King feeing that a Revolution of fome kind was inevitable, and that M. de la Fayette was the man, who from his fitua tion, his principles, and the effedt of cir cumftances, muft naturally be the leader of it, condefcended to enter into a negotiation with him. His Majefty flattered himfelf that he ffiould be able to moderate the in temperance of his American notions, and to make him adopt a plan of Revolution, the effedts of which might be reduced to all the improvements and necefTary reforms that could be made without a convulfion. There was no facrifice which Louis XVI. was not difpofed to make, to preferve France from the horrors of a civil war. The adtive and daily Oct. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 61 daily correfpondence which he maintained on this fubjedt with M. de la Fayette, and of which M. de Montmorin was the inter mediate agent, had continued fix weeks when the fecret got wind. The objedt of this negotiation was too adverfe to the cri minal views of the Orleans Fadtion not to roufe them to the immediate employment of the moft powerful means to overturn it, and they negledted none. From the moment it was known, the murmurs upon fcarcity, and the bad quality of the bread, became daily more violent, the manoeuvres of the fadtious more adtive, and the motions of the Palais- Royal more threatening : the women of the loweft clafs and the workmen of the Faux bourgs affembled, and talked of going to Verfailles to infift upon having bread ; in a word, the Capital was in a moft dreadful ftate of fermentation. On Sunday the 4th of Odtober, there was great agitation and diforder at the flour- market. On the fame day, fome perfons who appeared in the Champs Elifees and at the Palais-Royal with black cockades in their hats, were groffly infulted by the Na tional Guards and the People : their cockades were torn out and trodden under foot, and it was 62 ANNALS OE THE [Oct. 1789, was not \vithout great difficulty that they favcd their lives. The Commune on this occafion iffiied an ordinance forbidding all perfons tq Wear any other cpckade than a tri-cplpure4 one. The next morning by day -break the in, furredtion began to ffiow itfelf. A young woman fetting out frpm the neighbpurhood qf St. Eu/iache went into a guard-room, whence ffie took a drum, which ffie beat round the ftreets, crying at the fame time, that there was no bread at the bakers' ffiops. Many women colledted about her, and followed he? to the Hotel-de-Ville. From the gate St. Aur, toine other mobs of women ftill more nu merous fpread themfelves through the town, forqing all thofe they met to go alpngf with them : they hurried to the Place-de-t Greve, crying out Bread! Bread ! and de- fired to fpeak with the Reprefentatives of the Commune. It was then feven o'clock in th^ morning. At the Hotel-de-Ville there were only the Commiffioners on duty, who had been there all night, and a fmall de-? tachment of the National Guard. But the •Place-de-Greve was Jiow nearly -filled with an immenfe and furious populace, bawling to have a Baker given up to them, a man who Oct. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 63 who had been arrefted and carried before the Committee of Police, on fufpicion of felling bread under weight. Already was the fatal lantern prepared with a rope, and the Baker would have been fufpended to it, had the Major-General of the National Guard been lefs dexterous than he was in taking advan tage of a moment of confufion and tumult to fave this wretched man from death; at the fame time' he fent an order to all the Diftridts, to caufe the moft numerous de tachments that could be affembled to march immediately to the Place-de-^Greve. Before this affiftance arrived, the mobs of women attacked the Horfe-Guards who were pofted before the railing of the Hotel-de- Ville, and put them to flight. The Foot- Guards forming themfelves into a- fquare upon the fteps, kept the women for a moment in awe by prefenting their bayo nets : but a ffiower of ftones very foon dif perfed this company, and the Furies made their way into the Hotel-de-Ville. They ran through all the apartments calling with dreadful imprecations for bread and for arms. They fell upon all the papers they found, and would have fet them on fire, Becaufe (faid they) they were the work •of ' tlie 64 ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 1789, the Reprefentatives ofthe tommune, all bad citizens who deferved the lantern, Bailly and La Fayette' at the head of them. Others went to the Armory. Men provided with axes, crows, and hammers joined them, broke open the doors, and feized all the muf- kets and two pieces of cannon. The Hotel- de-Ville would have been fet on fire, had not Stanifiaus Maillard, the man who had played a chief part in the attack of the Baftille, fucceeded at the rifk of his life in forcing from two of the women the burn ing links which they had brought to fet fire to the papers and regifters belonging to the Committees. • * To Verfailles ! to Verfailles ! becanie''*thc general cry of the populace, and particularly of the women. They faid they would go and afk the King and the AfTembly fpi?" bread. The intrepid Maillard, more tur bulent than wicked, and conftantly led by the defire of gaining note in the popular commotions by fome diftinguiffied part, went down to the door of the Hotel-de-Ville with a drum in his hand, affembled the women about him, harangued them, and fucceeded fo well in gaining their confi dence, that they appointed him their Cap tain, DdT. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. ^^ tain, upoh condition ^that he led them to Verfailles. He had previoufly propofed this meafure to the Staff-Officers as the only one that could clear the Place-de-Greve, and fa cilitate the coUedting a force necefTary to reftore order. M. Dermigny, the Adjutant- General , told him J that he could give him no fuch commiffion* but that he was at liberty to adt as he pleafed, provided he did not difturb the public peace. He now thought that he Was fufficiently authorifed to put himfelf at the head of this army of Amazons, or rather of Megseras, already intoxicated with brandy. They pitched Upon the Champs Elifees for their headi quarters, and the main body of the army re paired thither, while many detachments marched through the different quSfters of the town raifing recruits. They affembled to the number of about 6000, armed with clubs, pitchforks, pikes, mulkets, arid pif-, tols, and they were almoft all in rags orna mented with ribbons of different colours. At firft they propofed to go to the Arfenal, to provide themfelves with what ammuni tion and arms they wanted; but from this they were, diverted by Maillard, who rc- prefented to them, that their plan being to Vol. II. F go 66 ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 17%, go to the AfTembly to afk them for juftice and for bread, they would be much more certain of obtaining both by going as fup- pliants, than by prefenting themfelves with arms in their hands. Struck with the force of this reafoning, they gave up the thought of going in queft of more arms, and even confented to leave thofe they already had in Paris. At length they fet out, preceded by eight or ten drums, and followed by a company of the Baftille Volunteers, who were joined by fome armed birigands, who never ceafed exafperating this fenfelefs mob againft the Gardes-du-Corps, and againft the Queen ; pouring forth the moft horrible execrations againft her Majefty, and openly anticipating her affaffination, The women continued flopping and preffitig into their plan every body they met upon the road : they even forced many ladies fright ened out of their fenfes to leave their car riages and v^alk with them to Verfailles. Meanwhile, the alarm-bell which had been ringing many hours, and the drums beating to arms, put the whole town in motion : the citizens repaired in crowds to the Affemblies of their Djftridts, the Na tional Guards to their battalion, and the I CO mpanies Oct. 1789.] FRENCH EEVOLtJTiON. 6'J companies of the Paid Guards*, called alfo the Companies of the Centre (formerly the French Guards), marched in order of battle to the Place-de^GreVe. They were foon followed by detachments from all the Dif- tridts, while an immenfe populace preffed about them and ftunned them with their clamours. Bread! Verfailles i Orders! Leaders ! were the oiily words that could be diftinguiffied amidft their ffiouts. The Reprefentatives of the Commune affembled were at a lofs what to do, and every minute increafed the embarraffment of their fituation. M. de la Fayette was then at the Hotel-de-Ville, in the chamber where the Committee of Police were fitting, and was didtating letters for the AfTembly and for the Minifters relative to the ftate of the Capital. A depvitation from fix companies of grenadiers went up to him, and their fpeaker addreffed him thus : " General ! we «' do not believe you to be a traitor, but we '• believe that the Government is betraying «« us — it is time for all this to have an end. *• We cannot turn our bayonets againft " women who are afking for bread. The " Committee of Subfiftence are guilty, or La Garde Soldee, F 2 " incapable 68 ANNALS OF tHE [Oct. tjt^, incapable of condudting their department ; in either cafe they ought to be changed. The people arc wretched, and the fource of the evil is at Verfailles. We ought to go for the King and bring him to Paris ; the Regiment of Flanders and the Gardes- du-Corps, who have dared to tread the National cockade under foot, ought to be exterminated. If the King is too weak to wear his crown,, let him lay it down: we will nominate his fon, have a Re gency, and things will go better." — What ! (replied M. de la Fayette), do you mean to make war upon the King, and compel him to defert us.?" — " No, General, we ffiould be very forry for it, for we love him very much ; but he will not quit us — though, if he did, we have the,Dauphin." He harangued, exhorted, and conjured them in vain; they conftantly anfwered, that the fource of the evil was at Verfailles, that there they ought to go^. and that all the people defired it. He went down to the Square, and tried with as little fuccefs to argue the Grenadiers into reafon. He brought to their mind their oath to the Nation, to the Law, and to the King ; but his voice was loft amid the inceffant ffiouts of, To Verfailles, to Verfailles! — M. Bailly, who Oct. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 6g who had been fent for by the Reprefentatives of the Commune to come and affift them with his counfel, arrived at this moment at the Hotel-de-Ville, and was affailed by the fame cries ffiouted at once by the National Guard and the People, The longer the debate of the Reprefenta-r tives of the Commune continued, the fer mentation and general impatience became the more dreadful : to ffiouts fucceeded threats and furious imprecations which were bellowed out againft the Muncipality, and againft M. de la Fayette himfelf; who re covered his popularity by ffiowing himfelf on horfeback at the head of his army, wait ing the decifion of the AfTembly of the Re prefentatives of the Commune, to whom he had fent feveral of his Aidesrde-Camp, one after the other, to tell them that it was im poffible for them to refufe any longer the demand of the People. The Affembly, con vinced in fadt that a longer refiftance would be as dangerous as ufelefs, refolved at length to fend M. de la Fayette the following prdeir : " On confidering the circumftances and ¦'the defire of the People, and upon the ^' reprefentation of the Commander in Chief Fa " that 70 ANNALS OF THE [Oct. i7«9. " that it was impoffible to refufe it; the " Affembly not only authorife but order " the Commander in Chief to proceed to ** Verfailles." At the fame time they ap pointed from the Commune four Commif fioners to accompany the army. The Ge neral, in confequence, gave the order for marching, and he was anfwered by the army and the people with the Ipudeft fhouts of joy- The advanced guard confifted of three companies of grenadiers and one of the fu- flleers. They carried with them three field pieces, and were preceded by feven or eight hundred men armed with, guns and pikes, The main body marched in three columns, with artillery and baggage waggons. In the ranks there were none but National Guards ; but between the companies were a great num ber of ragged vagabonds, oddly armed, and almoft all ftrangers, but naturalifed by the Revolution, and promoted, as plunderers, to the dignity of patriot, and to all its pre rogatives. This army was attended to the barrier by ffiouts of applaufe : the public joy feemed to be complete ; but no fooner were the tri-cploured ftandards out of fight, and the drums out of hearing, than difaf trous, Oct. 1789.3 FRENCH REVOLUTION. 71 trous forebodings, gloomy anxieties, and a profound and general fadnefs feized upon the Parifians, and the moft melancholy filence fucceeded the clamorous tranfports of joy and fury. Mothers and wives dreaded, fometimes the dangers to which their chil dren and their hufbands might be expofed, and foitjetimes the crimes in which they might be made to participate. It was afked, with groans, what were they gone tp Ver failles to do ? I was that day at Verfailles, and what was done there I ffiall now re late *. The King had gone to Meudpn to hunt. At half after one o'clock M. de St. Priefi wrote a letter to M. de Larboufi, one of the King's equerries, informing him that a great num ber of women, followed by a crowd of arm ed workmen, were on their way from Pa ris to Verfailles, and that it was neceffary the King ffiould be apprifed of it in time, to return before they arrived. The Mar- * I (hall relate not only what I faW, but the princi pal fads that were judicially proved in the proceedings - at the Ch|telet, upon the crimes of the 5th and 6th of OAober 1789 ; they are lying before 'me, together with the complete invefligation of them, made by M. de Blaire, in his excellent work, entitled *' The Crimes of the 6th of Odlober." F 4 quis ^2 ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 1783. quis de Cubieres, who was^lhen at M, de Larboufs, immediately mounted |iis horfe to carry M. de St. Prieji's letter to the King ; and he was fcarcely arrived at Meudon when a Chevalier of St. Louis^, who had been on the Paris road, was pre, fented to his Majefty, threw himfelf on his knees, and told him, that having on his Way to Paris met a large body of people, armed with pikes, guns, and bludgeons, he had -Returned with the utmoft fpeed to inform the King of it, adding, " I befeech your " Majefty not to be afraid." " Afraid!" replied the King, " I never was afraid in " my life.'? The Officer made an offer of his fervices. and fWore that he was ready to defend him to the laft drop of his blood. The King was much affcdled, and thanked him, then mounted his horfe to return to Verfailles. " I underftand," faid his Mar jefty to his attendants, f* that there has been " fome tumult in the market, and that the " Paris women are coming tP afk me for *' bread. Alas ! had I it in my power,. I f* ffiould npt wait till they came tp aflc foV f it." * M. de la Devefe, a Noble,man of Dauphin^. The OoT. 1789.;] FRENCH REVOLUTION, 73 The news of the brigands being on their way fpread alarm through Verfailles. The drums beat to arms. The Gardes-du-Corps were ordered to mount their horfes ; thofe on. duty repaired to the Palace, and four de tachments were ordered to go by different roads to meet the King, who had very few guards with him, but they had hardly fet out when his Majefty arrived. The Count of Luxembourg immediately afked him, if he had any orders to give for the guards. — " What! againft women?" replied the King withafmile; •* you arc laughing at me." The fame queftion was put to him relative to the carriages : his Majefty an fwered, that he had no occafion for them. At that time it was fuppofed, that only the women led by Maillard, followed by fome ill-armed men, were coming. M. de la Fayette, who was at firft refolved not to leave Paris, thought he had fufficient influ ence to reftrajn the National Guard. He depended upon it fo much, even after he had experienced his want of power over the Grenadiers, that he chofe that moment for fending a Reprefentative of the Commune to Verfailles, with difpatches to the Affem- f)Iy and to the Minifter, to inform theni of hvs 74 ANNALS OF THE * [Oct. 1789, his hopes of a fpeedy re-eftabliffiment of tranquillity in the Capital *. I am willing to believe that M. de la Fayette, whofe prcfumption had fo often deceived him, was alfo deceived in this in- ftance, and that he was fincere in the hopes he exprefiTed to the Court; But could he be ftill miftaken, when, in a quarter of an hour afterwards, he found himfelf obliged to apply to the Affembly of the Re, prefentatives of the Commune, for the order to lead to Verfailles an army in fury, of which he was far lefs the Commander than the docile inftrument? Was he fimple enough to flatter himfelf that he ffiould be better obeyed at Verfailles than at Paris? Was he fo blinded as not to forefee the enormities,^ at the head of which , he was about to be dbmpelled to figure? " What would you have had him do ?" faid all his friends the next day. What would I have had him da? I will not anfwer, that he * See the Moniteur, No. 70, of the 9th and 10th of ,06tober, and many other papers. It was likewife faid, in the following No. of the Moniteur, that thofe def- patches, which were fent from Paris at half after two o'clock, die! not arriva at Verfailles till after eight at night. Jhoidd Oct. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 75 fhould have died— his death would have been of no ufe ; but he might at leaft have laid down acommand of which he was in capable; he oUght efpecially, and in the firft place, to have informed the King of his fituation, and to have prevented the fatal ef fedts of the fecurity into which he had lulled his Majefty by the difpatches he had fent by the Reprefentative of the Commune. Among the numerous Aides-dc-Camp around him, he might eafily have found three or four fufficiently intelligent and zealous to have executed this commiffion perfedtly well. Had the Court been informed, as foon as it might have been, of the march of fo formidable an army, the King would not have been fo imprudent as to have waited for it at Verfailles; he would have fet out with his family forCompiegne. The very next day he might have adjourned the Affembly to Soiffons or to Tours ; and that removal, the motives of which all France would have applauded, would have faved every thing. But as only women and fome badly armed brigands were expeded, it was thought enough to ffiut the iron gates of the Palace, and to draw up on the Place d'Armes the re giment of Flanders, the Rangers of the Trois ^6 ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 1789, Trois Eveches, the Gardes-du-Corps, Mon sieur's Guards, thofe of the Count d'Ar- tois, and a fquadron of horfe. The bar racks, formerly belonging to the French Guards, were occupied by fome companies. of the National Guards of Verfailles. The Count d' Efiaing read a requifition of the Municipality to the troops, which en joined them to affift, in cpnjundtipn with the National Guards of Verfailles, to quell any diforder that might be committed by the multitude that was coming from Paris. , It was very natural that the members oP the Committee of Montrpiige ffiould be fooner and better informed than any body ofthe commotions of the Capital, and their pbjedt, as it was commonly by their Agentg that they were excited ; but Mirabeau's con-r dudt in the Affembly, four hours befpre the brigands arrived, was very remarkable. In the midft of the debate upon the King's Anfwer, and on the denunciation of the en-? tertainment given by the Gardes-du-Corps, he went up to the Prefident, and, fpeaking in a low voice, faid to him, " Mr. Prefi- *' dent, forty thoufand armed men are on ' ' their way from Paris : hurry the debate-* " break up the Sitting — pretend to be ill# or," Oct. 1789^] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 77 •' or fay that you are going to the King." — ** I never hurry the debates," replied Mounier coldly, " I think they are but too " often hurried through." — " But, Mr. Prc- •' fident, thofe forty thoufand men !'* — " So " much the better, they have but to kill us •' all — all, do you underftand me? and the " bufinefs of the State would go on the " better for it." — " That's prettily faid, *• Mr. Prefident." The King's intereft was certainly out of the queftion in this requeft of Mirabeau's, whofe ffiocking condudt that day and the next does not leave even a ffiadow of doubt refpedting it. He had therefore another objedt in view, and it could only be that of fright ening the King into the determination of leaving Verfailles : there is no doubt that it was not that day a part of the projedt of the Confpirators to murder the Royal Family ; but the King's flight would have facilitated, and might even have been the grounds of the appointment of the Duke of Orleans to the office pf Lieutenant-General of the King- dpm, which was ever the chief objedt of this Fadtion. Mounier knew this well, and the indifference of his reply difconcerted Mirabeau. About 78 ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 1789, About three o'clock in the afternoon the phalanx of women began to make their ap. peararice in the avenue. Their advanced guard ftopped for fome moments oppofite to the building where the Aflembly were fitting. Maillard, who was ftill at their head, took only fifteen of them with him into the Hall. The others all infifted upon going in with him, and it was with great difficulty he at length prevailed upon them to wait quietly till he returned. They went on to the Place d'Armes, where they were greatly aftoniffied to find battalions of infantry and fquadrons of horfe prefenting an impenetra ble front. Maillard prefented himfelf at the Bar with his retinue, and fet forth that for three days paft there had abfolutely been no bread in Paris. " We are come to Verfailles (added " he) to afk fpr fpme, and, at the fanie " time, to have the Gardes-du-Corps punifh- " ed for having infulted the patriotic cock- " ade. The Ariftocrats want to ftarve us. " This very day a note of 200 livres was *' fent to a Miller, defiring him not to " grind com, and promifing him a like fum " every week." He Oct. 17897] FRENCH REVOLUTION. yg He was called upon from every part of the Hall to name him. " I cannot (he re- " plied) name either the denounced or the " denouncers, becaufe I know neither one " nor the other; but three perfons, whom '• wc met this morning in a carriage be- " longing to Verfailles, told me that a cler- " gyman intended to denounce this crime to *' the National Affembly. I befeech you, " in order to reftore peace, to calm the '* general effervefcence and preyent mif- " chief, to fend a deputation to the Gardes- " du-Corps to perfuade them to take the " National cockade, and to make fome re- ^' paration for the infult offered to it." He then inveighed violently againft the black cockades, took one out of his pocket which he pretended had been taken from an Ariflocrat, tore it in a rage, and trampled it under his feet. The coarfenefs of fome of his expreffions drew from the Prefident an injundtion not to forget the refpedt he owed to the AfiTembly: "All who wifh to be " citizens (added the Prefident) may be fo " of their own accord, but none have a " right to force them." M-aillard replied, " There is nobody who •« would not be honoured' by that title; and « if 8o ANNALS OF. THE [Oct. ly^g. " if any Member of this auguft Diet could " think himfelf diffionoured by it, he ought " to be immediately expelled/' The Hall refounded with ffiouts of applaufe at this anfwer, and many voices repeated. Yes, yesf all ought to befo, we are all citizens. Several Deputies called out that the re ports fpread refpedting the Gardes-du-Corps were falfe, and at the fame time a National cockade was given to Maillard on the part of the Guards ; he ffiowed it to the women about him as a token of the pacific difpo- fition of that cPrps, and in an inftant they all ffiouted Vive le Roi ! Vivent les Gardes* du-Corps ! The fpeaker was then interrupted by the clamours of fome other women who had forced their way into the Hall, and who, mounted upon benches, were crying out all at once for bread, the difmiffion of the Re giment of Flanders, and the puniffiment of the Gardes-du-Corps, and were uttering the moft horrid imprecations againft the Queen. Some were contemptuoufly familiar in their expreffions, and infulted the Deputies, par ticularly thofe of the Order of the Clergy; defiring them to hold their tongues, or, in a flyle at once imperious and familiarj cpmmanding Oct. 1789:1 FRfe^CH REVOLUTION. Sl cdmmanding them to fpeak : — Come, Deputy, do you fpeak. Deputy, hold you your tongue. During this fcandalous fcene, too difgufting td be more minutely detailed, the Affembly charged the Prefideiit to go immediately to the Palace, at the head of a Deputation, and reprefent the calamitous fituation of Paris to the Kiiig. The moment that the Prefident {Mounier^ and the Deputation appeared out of the Hall, they were furroutided by a crowd of Wbmen, who declared in the moft pofitive tertris that they would go with them to the King; while a party of metl armed with pikes, hatchets and clubs drew round tli^ Deputation, to ferVe as an efcort for them. Mbwhier, after much folicitation, prevailed Upon them to cOnfent that only fix women ffiould go to the King with the Deputation ; but wheri they arrived at the Palace it was impoffible to reftrain them to that number, and with great difficulty they were reducpd to twelve. At the Place d'Armes the women who remained there began to abufe the troops; but as thefe did not feem to pay the leaft attention to, them, their threats were dropped. Soon, however, finding themfelves fupported Vol. IL G by 82 ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 1789. by all the, populace of Verfailles, they pro ceeded to violence againft the Gardes-du- Corps, who, fcattered through the town, and not receiving information all at the fame time, were going one hf one to join their corps. Thofe who went firft met no ob- ftacle, but they that went after the crowd of people armed with pikes had increafed and become more audacious from the inadlion, of the troops, were infulted and attacked. A pike thrown by a young man at one of the Guards went between the legs of his horfe, and made him fall. The mob inftantly ruffied upon him, and would infallibly have murdered him had he not been faved by an officer of the National Guards of Verfailles, named Defroches. That brave man, exaf- perated at fo unprovoked an attack, collared the aggreffor with the intention of fending him to prifon; but the people forced him out of his hands. This firft fuccefs, and ftill more the certainty of the King's having forbidden the Guards tp fire, and recommended the greateft mildnefs to them, infinitely increafed the in folence of the brigands. Depending upon being able to do every thing with impunity, they now took it into their heads to force the ranks of the Gardes-du-Corps. They went up Oct. 17890 FRENCH REVOLUTION. 83 Up to their horfes, and when by frightening them they had put the troop into diforder,. they attempted to go in among them. The prudence of the Guards, and their continual attention to clofing their ranks, friiftrated all thofe attempts, till a man in the uniform of the National Guard of Paris perceiving a fpace between the horfes at the head of the troop, puffied into the ranks with a fword i-n his hand, followed by eight or ten women. This frightened the horfes fo much that it was impoffible to prevent the man from pafling.. Three Officers of the corps went after him, and, giving him a blow or two on his back with the flat part of their fwords, left him : but fcarcely had they faced about to return to their ftation, when they were fired at ; one of them (M. de Sa- vonnieres) received a ffiot that broke his arm. At the fame inftant three pieces of cannon, loaded with canifter-ffiot, were pointed againft the Gardes-du-Corps, and the matches feveral times applied to the touch-holes — though without effedt, owing to the rain : at this time fome perfons were heard to utter thefe remarkable words. Stop ; it is not yet time. Q 2 M. de 84 ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 1789, M. de Savonnieres, on returning into the ranks among his comrades, thought only of repreffing their refentment. " You muft not," faidhe to them, '' think of me, but of the King and of the Royal Family ; may they efcape the danger that threatens them ! Remember, my friends, that the flighteft imprudence might endanger their lives." Thefe words were enough to re ftrain them : thofe brave officers, though fo greatly exafperated, did not hefitate a mo ment to make a facrifice of their feelings to the King ; but their heroic moderation did but increafe the audacity and the number of the affaffins. The Regiment of Flanders was treated in a much more ignominious manner ; a num ber of brazen women, among whom was feen the notorious Theroigne de Mericourt, forced their way into their ranks with money in their hands, which the officers could not prevent, and purchafed at a very paltry price the ffiame and inadtion of the foldiers. While on the Place d'Armes the Ghrdes- du-Corps were bearing the hootings, abufcs, and continual attacks of a mad mob, fuch of them as had been fent to the avenue to re- 1 connoitre, Oct. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 85 connoitre, and thofe who were ordered to join the picket of Rangers ftationpd oppofite the Hall of the National Affembly, were purfued and fired upon. The detachments which had been to meet the King were re ceived on their return with a fliower of ftones and feveral mufket-ffiot. The women who had gone into the Palace with the Deputation from ,the AfTembly, were extremely affedtcd at the fenfibility ffiown by the King on hearing the account of 'the pretended want of the Metropolis, One of them, whofe name was Louifa Chabry, a young woman of feventeen years of age, who worked at a carver's, and who was commiffioned to reprefent the griev ances of the Parifians to his Majefty, could not fupport the emotion of tendernefs or timidity ffie felt, and fainted. Every thing was done to recover her : as ffie was going away ffie wiffied to kifs the King's hand; but his Majefty, faying kindly to her that fhe deferved better than that, did her the honour to kifs her lips. They all retired well fatisfied, crying in the conxt, Vive le Roi ! God blefs the King , and his faiV/ily ! '^o -morrow wejhall have bread, Q3 The 86 ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 1789. The multitude crowded on the Square would not give credit to their report : fcarcely had they got to the Minifter's Court when they were Tainted with ffiouts, or rather with bowlings. " The jades have received " money," was the cry; "if they do not *' bring a writing from the King, they muft " be hanged." Two of the women who accufed them feized one of them, and put their garters round her neck to hang her at the firft lamp. She cries to the Gardes- du-Corps for affiftance ; the officer ftationed at the. iron-gate flies to her affiftance, difen-. gages her, and puts her back into the Royal Court with the other women who had ac» companied the Deputation of the Affembly to the Palace. They befeech him to con dudt them back to the King ; he yields to their felicitations ; and his Majefty alfo con-r fents to give them an order, figned by him felf, to caufe corn to be fent from Senlis and from Lagni, ,and to remove all the obfta^ cles in fupplying Paris with proyifions, It would not be eafy to defcribe the tranf-. ports of joy ffiown by thefe women, carry^ ing in triumph this writing of the King's, dancing, and Ihpwing it to the brigands, whg Oct. 1789.] FR-ENCH REVOLUTION. 87 who already began to fill the Minifters' Court. The treatment they now received made them amends for the outrages they had experienced a few minutes before. In a ffiort time there was nothing talked of in the Courts and Place d'Armes, but the pa ternal kindnefs of Louis XVI. Repeated acclamations of Vive le Roi! expreffed the gratitude of this portion of Maillard's army, who had been led away by the brigands, and who thought they were only come to Verfailles to afk for bread. Such was the fincerity of thefe women, that, after thofe who had fecn the King had related the fuc cefs of their embaffy to their companions, they propofed to go and carry the news to Paris ; and in fpite of the oppofition of fe veral villains, who cried that there was an order for remaining, they went in fearch of their General Maillard, and about forty of them fet off With him in the carriages which the King had ordered to be got ready for them. Nor had their credulity been lefs abufed refpedting the Gardes-du-Corps. They Were furprifed on coming out of the Oeil-de-Boeuf to fee that they had all white cockades, and afked them the reafon of it. On being an- G 4 fwered, 88 ANNAL6 OF THE [Oct. 1783, fwered, that they had never given up the white cockade, which was a part of their uniform, the wpmeri cried put, ' " Hp^ " bafely we have been deceived ! We were ? * tpld that you had only black ones ; wq *? looked -as we came, and faw tl^at you had " all white cockades." M. de St. Priefi, feeing that the populace and National Guard of Verfailles had joined the brigands of Paris, and that the protec* tion of the Royal Family was nsduced to z, fmall number of Gardes-du-Corps, and to the Regiment of Flanders, 'vyhich was al ready half corrupted, went to the King, painted with the utmoft energy a fituation fp perilous, and propofed to him, as the only means of fafety, tp fet out in an hour af fartheft with hi.s family for Rambouillet, At |:he fame time he laid before his Majefty a detail of the orders to be given, and of the meafures to h6 taken to fecure the execution of this plari, and tp prevent all the dapger? of it. " ' '¦ The King's natural repugnance \q all hafty refolutions making him hefitate tq adopt that which M. de St. Priefi propofe4 Xo him, that Minifter, as zealous as faithful, threw himfelf at his Majefty's feet ^ith his face pCT.iySg-] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 8^ face to the ground, and faid as he embraced them- — " Sire, I am fo fully convinced that •' all is loft if you rejedt the part I have juft " propofed to you, thaf^I will not quit this *' fpot unlefs your Majefty promifes me to " follpw it," — " But rife then, M. de St. f Priefi," faid the King to him, putting out his hand, "No, Sire," faid he, "I will not " rife till yoii give the promife I folicit." — " Well! I dp,"—" I go this inftant *• then," rephed M. de St. Priefi rif ing, "to give the neceffary orders, and ^I f ' ffiall haften to wait for your Majefty at V the end ofthe Park." Soon- aftef", the alarm of the Royal Family was allayed by the acclamations of Vive le -Roi! which w^ere heard in the Court when the women returned with the anfwer writ ten by his Majefty, and by the hopes given by the difpatches that had been juft received from M- de la Fayette, refpedting the pro bable re-eftabliffiment of tranquillity in J'aris. The carriages were countermanded, and jhe King fent word of it to M. de St. Priefi, who was already fet out. It was alfo. hope4_ that calm might be reftored at Yerfailles by withdravving the tropps, and |he King gave orders for it. Count d'Efiaing carried go ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 17!^, carried it himfelf to the National Guard of Verfailles ; and as it was the firft time they had feen their Commanded that day, they reproached him feverely for having deferted his poft at the moft critical moment. Several companies immediately obeyed the General's order ; but the greater number, feeing the Gardes-du-Corps remain on the Place d'Armes, declared they would not move till they had feen them file off. The brigands did not partake of this uneafiriefs. Satisfied with having feen the Gardes-du-Corps return their fwords to their fcabbards when they heard the cries of Vive le Roi, they were tef tify ing their content by repeated huzzas, at the time that the order for Jetreat arrived. The company of Noailles, which formed the rear-guard, had fcarcely begun to march down the avenue of Sceaux, when the hoot* ings and abufe recommenced, and were foon followed by a confiderable difcharge of muf* ketry, which wounded feveral of the Gar^lJ* du-Corps, and killed one of their horfes. It would have been eafy for them to have taken fignal vengeance for fo atrocious an adt of hoftility ; but, obedient to their orders, they contented themfelves with clofing their ranks. Oct., 1789.3 FRENCH REVOLUTION. 9I ranks, anH retreated in good order. It is almoft neceffary to have been a witnefs to thefe fcenes of horror, to be able to believe that that bafe and unprovoked difcharge was made by the National Guard of Verfailles only. Yes, by thofe very men on whom, three days before, the Gardes-du-Corps had laviffied, and from whom they had received, the moft affedtionate marks of friendlhip and good- will. While the Gardes-du-Corps were thus fired upon, fuch of their comrades as were upon duty within the Palace, being informed of the • hoftile intentions of the National •Guards of Verfailles, but not imagining that they could go to fuch excefs, refolved to 'fend them a Deputation to affure them of their pacific inclinations, to offer them their fricndffiip, and requeft theirs. The Count oi Luxembourg, accompanied by feveraf fu perior officers, brigadiers and guards, had gdtually fet out to execute this commiffion, when Count d'Efiaing being informed of it ran to meet them. " Whither are you " going?" faid he. " If you ftir out you *' will be all murdered : it is impoffible to '' make thofe furies liften to reafon; your " comrades qQ ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 178J, *" corrirades have juft been fired" upon. I ^' have myfelf been abufed and threatened; <" and it is with much difficulty I havq ef- " caped their fury." A captain of the National Guard who had ferved in the Gardes-du-Qorps, foon after con- firmed the fad account which M. d'Efiaing had given them. " I am juft come from ?• their barracks," faid he; '/ they are not " men, but wildbeafts; their fury agairjft " you is at its height. For God's fake do *' not go out ! The firft of you that is fo im- f ^ prudent will be maffacred : all the decent " men and almoft all the officers have left " them. When I attempted to fay fome-- " thing in your favour, they refolved to " carry me to the lantern, and it was with " great difficulty I faved myfelf." Count d'Albignac, at the head of the regiment, on the^ Place d'Armes, had fome time beforq. received the fame intelligence frpm another \ officer of the National Guard. ,>, In a itw minutes after the Gardes-d^r Corps had returned to their hotel, it was re ported that a projedt was formed of going to befiege them there with cannon. As it was not tenable, the Duke de Guic he .detexminei that the corps ffiould mount their horfes. He OdT. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. g^ He might without danger have led them out of the town — but that would have been leav ing the King; and the ambition of thofe faithful guards, and of their worthy com mander*, was to make a rampart of their bodies round the Royal Family. His Majefty had reftrained their courage, but he had not forbidden them to furround him : the refo lution therefore of returning to the Palace was adopted without hefitation ; and that they might not give the National Guards of Verfailles an opportunity or a pretence for committing new hbftilities, they went round through the ftreet de VOrangerie and up that of la Surintendance to the Minifters' Court, where they drew up; but thofe who on leaving the Place d'Armes had gone to the Hotel de Charofi were difperfed in the town, or blockaded in their ftables, and but very few of them could make their way to the Minifters' Court. In a pofition fo difad- vantageous for a fquadron of horfe, they * The condu6l of the Duke de Guiche on the fatal days of the 5th and 6th of Oftober merits the higheft eulogiums : he was conftantly with the Gardes-du-Corps, iliared all .their dangers, and fhewed himfelf to be truly worthy of being their commander by his courage, and by his zeal for the King. waited g^ ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 1789, waited a long v,'hile for orders, which they repeatedly requefted, and which they at length received, to march to the terrace in front ofthe Queen's apartment. They filed off one by one under the Princes' arch, and drew up upon the terrace. It was full time for them to retreat ; already were the cannon pPinted againft them, and the brigands, who were upon the Place d'Armes and in the barracks, might have fired upon them through the iron-raihng, which was their intention. This was known at the Palace, as well as that the Gardes-du-Corps had been ad^aieked, and every one trembled for the lives of the King and Queen. In this mo ment of trouble and alarm, fome of their Majefties' moft faithful fervants haftened to the ftables, where they found carriages ready, and horfes that had not been unharneffed: they endeavoured to carry them out by the Orangery and Dragoon Gates ; but it was no longer time to think of retreating ; all thc^ gates were guarded by the National Guards of Verfailles, who" were now become an auxiliary troop to the brigands. The car riages were flopped, and led back to the ftables. The Deputation of the Affembly who had gone Oct. 1789.3 FRENCH REVOLUTION. 95 gone to the King accompanied by the twelve women, had executed only a part of their commiffion. They did not think it their duty to fpeak to his Majefty before them of Conftj[tutional Articles and of the Declaration ofthe Rights of Man, the pure and uncon ditional acceptance of which the Affembly had charged them to demand. The Prefident had only informed the King, that he had to requeft an hour to be appointed for fpeaking to him upon an important fubjedt, and his Majefty had appointed nine o'clock in the evening. It was near ten when the King admitted them, Befieged-in his palace,- his ears aflailed in his apartments by the impre cations and menaces of a mad mob ; flatter ing himfelf perhaps to reftore calm by yielding to the defire of the; Affembly, he gave his affent to what was demanded, and charged the Prefident to affemble all his col- leagues, to inform them that his Majefty wiffied to confult them pn ther fteps to be taken, on the uneafy fituation in which he was, and that he invited them to come to the Palace. At this moment a confiderable group of the Parifian women and men, armed with pikes, airrived on the Efplanade, where the ^ mob 0 ANNAL.S of' TH'fe [6cT.. 17%; mob vrere difputing about one of th^ Gardes-du-Corps [M. de Moucheton), who'iil they wanted to behead. Luckily for him, the officer upon guard prop'ofed that he flioiild be tried before he was executed, and imme diately forrhed a kind of Court Martial, in which he took care to call in as judges thofe who appeared the moft eager to play the part ' of executioners. He harangued them a long time, endeavouring to moderate their fury ;' but fentence of death was unanimoufly paffed. The Court broke up, and the Judges haftened eagerly to feize upoti their vidtim : but he had been got away during the Court Mar tial, and fafely lodged in the Surgery of the French Guards. The rage ofthe brigands noW turned againft his deliverer! fome thought he ought to undergo the puniffiment intended for the Garde-du-Corfis ; others endeavoured to exculpate him. While they were debat ing the point, he found means to efcape, leavings behind the Garde-du-Corps' hoik i and the furies glutted at once their vengeance - and their hunger upon the unfortunate ani mal, which was half-roafted arid devoured'. Before the Deputies, a great number of whom had left the Hall, could be colledted, M. de la Eayette arrived at the head "of his army. Oct. 1789.3 FRENCH REVOLUTION. g'^ army. He made them halt before the Hall of the Affembly, and adminiftered to the National Guard the oath of being faithful to the JtS[ation, the Law, and the King. His apprehenfions being entirely removed by the apparent coxdiality with which this oath was taken," he entered the Affembly, where his arrival had been previoufly announced by one of his aides-de-camp. He found the Hall almoft entirely occupied by the Paris mob, who were fitting with the Deputies, and who, pretending that they had not eaten any thing for four- and-t wen ty hours, had by their clamours forced the Affembly to diftribute among them bread, wine, and faufages*. M. de la Fayette went up to * At this Shting a Deputation of Galley Slaves from Toulon, who owed their liberty to the Decrees that had been paffed relative to the Salt Duty, and to the offences againft the Game Laws, appeared at the Bar at eleven o'clock at night, to offer to the Reprefentatives pf the Nation their armsj and all in their power for the defence of the Conftitution and of Liberty. The auguft Affem- "bly accepted their offers, and decreed, that honourable mention fliould be made of them upon the Journals. It muft be allowed, that at that time there were not more than twenty Deputies in the Hall, and that thofe were, no doubt, not the leaft worthy of receiving fuch a Depu- " tation. Vol. IL H the gS ^ ANNALS OF THE [OcT, 1789. the Prefident, and affured him he need have no apprehenfions as to the confequences of that day ; that he had feveral times fworn the foldiers to remain faithful to the King and to the National Affembly, to obey them, and neither to do nor fuffer any violence. — " What then," faid the Prefident to him, " is the objedt of fuch a vifit, and what *' does your army Want?" — "Whatever be " its motive for coming," replied the Gtn^ rai, " having promifed to obey the King " and the National Affembly, it will im* " pofe no conditions : however, in order " to affift in removing the difcon,tent of the *' people, it would perhaps be advifeable to " fend the Regiment of Flanders away, and " that the King ffiould fay fomething in fa- " vourof the Patriotic cockade." He then, left the Affembly to go to the Palace, where he arrived at a quarter before eleven. After being near half-an-hour in the King's Cabi net, he came out and faid to thofe in the Oeil de Bceuf: — " I have perfuaded him to " make fome facrifices in order to fave " him." Then turning to the Gardes-du- Corps, and preffing feveral of them by the hand, he faid to them — "Gentlemen! every •' thing PC*. 1789.] ' FRENCH REVOLUTION, gg " thing is fettled; the Kirig confents that '* thofe who were formerly the French " Guards ffiould refume their pofts, and it " is his Majefty's intention that you ffiould " wear the National cockade to-morrow." Soon after M. de la Fayette had left the Palace, the Members of the Affembly whom his Majefty had invited appeared : but the arrival of the National Guard of Paris, the; affurances given by their Commander-in- chief, and the arrangements agreed upon with him, had entirely changed the face of affairs. In ffiort, the Affembly came much later than they ought to have done, and their dilatorinefs in repairing to the King at fo cri tical a moment, doubtlefs merited the fevereft reproaches ; but his Majefty contented him felf with making them feel it with the utmoft mildnefs. " I wiffied," faid the King to thofe Gentlemen, " circumftanced " as I am, to be furrounded by the Repre- " fentatives of the Nation, and I fentyOU " word that it was my defire to fee the " Marquis de la Fayette in your prefence,^ •* that I might have availed myfelf of your " counfels ; but he came before you, and " I have nothing more to fay to you, except Hl2 " that 100 'ANNALS OF THE [Ocf, 1789, " that I have had no intention to go away, " and that I ffiall never remove from the " National Affembly," Scarcely were the Deputies retired, when the regiment formerly the French Guards marched with their drums beating to the Minifters' Court, where they drew up, and foon after took' poffeffion of the pofts they had occupied previous to their defedtion. They required alfo that the gate of the Princes' Court, which as well as all the others of the Palace had been kept locked fince the arrival of the brigands, ffioi^ld be opened as it was formerly, to make a free entrance into the garden. The Officer of the Gardes- du-Corps ftationed at that gate (M. de Luil- lier) would not allow it to be opened before he received orders for fo doing. He went up to the King's apartments, and gave an account of the circumftance t® the Major of the Gardes-du-Corps ; who having received the order from the Captain of the Quarter, permitted that gate to be opened, in fpite of all that M. de Luillier could fay to ffiow the danger of it. The affurances given by M. de la .Fayette had fo lulled all appre henfions, that the moft neceffary precautions were unfortunately confidered as needlefs. The Oct, 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 101 The pofts being all thus relieved, the Pa rifian Army, exceffively fatigued, thought no longer but of finding places where they might go toreft. Several of the inhabitants and the National Guards of Verfailles were eager to ffiow their hofpitality to their bre thren in arms. Thofe who could find no lodgings at private houfes, retired with their battalions to fome of the churches and pub lic buildings to pafs the remainder of the night. One of their detachments took up its quarters in the Hotel of the Gardes-du- Corps, where there were not more than twenty of the latter remaining. The mob were fcattered among the public-houfes,, and wherever elfe they could find ffielter. The brigands as they retired continued vocifer^ ating their imprecations againft the Gardes- du-Corps, and declaring beforehand that they would next day hang them all up to the lanterns. M. de la Fayette muR cer tainly have been ignorant, or muft have defpifed thefe threats ; for at that very time he was telling the King, " that by affenting " to the Declaration of the Rights of Man " and the Conftitutional Articles, and by " permitting the former French Guards to " return to their old pofts, his Majefty had H 3 " allayed i02 ANNALS OF THE [Oct. ^789^ " allayed the fermentation j that the People " were tranquil, and that the army would " march -back next morning by break of " day. / befeech your Majefiy (added he) " to go to bed, and to repofe fully on my " care — I will be answerable foi^ " all." Upon fuch pofitive affurances heard and ati tefted by the Duke de Guiche, the latter at two o'clock in the morning went and joined the , detachment which he had left upon the Ter-r race fronting the Orangery, and led them to Trianon . All perfons who had come into the Royal apartments were fent out ; and their Majefties, full of confidence in the promifes and adtivity of M. de la Fayette, went to bed without uneafinefs, or at leaft with out ffiowing any, in a Palace furrounded with brigands and murderers, who, far from fleeping, were increafing their ferocity by wine. The Affembly, likeWife convinced by M. de la Fayette that order and tranquiUity would be maintained, broke up at his re queft; and this General, upon whofe care every body was to repofe, took no other care than that of going to bed himfelf, and fleeping very foundly. Hiftory in recordr ing this fleep, the confequences of which 2 were Oct, 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION, IO3 were fo difaftrous, will never be able to explain the problem, but by accufing M. de la Fayette of the moft horrible perfidy, or of the moft ftupid want of forefight. I do not hefitate to place it to the latter account, which I truly believe to be the real ground for cenfure. M. de la Fayette, mifled by the Revolutionary mania, by extravagant and ill-digefted ideas of liberty, had the mif- fortune to look too frequently with favour able eyes on the French Revolution, and to find a fair fide for almoft every atrocity; as through a prifm we fee the moft hideous objedts in beautiful colours. This defedt of his mind, more perhaps than of his heart, was the principal caufe of all the e\il he has done, or fuffered to be done. Amid crimes, alarms, confufion, and ge neral ftupor, the Queen majeftically dif- played the fublimeft and moft heroic cha- radter : her conftant ferenity, her counte nance firm and ever full pf dignity, trans- fufed her own courage into the foul of all who approached her. On that day ffie re ceived a great deal of company. To fome who expreffed uneafinefs, ffie replied : " I " know they are come from Paris to dei- " mand my head ; but I learned of my H 4 " mother 104 annals of TfiE [Oct. 1789; " mother not to fear death, and I will wait " for it with firmnefs." Her anfwer to the advice that was given to her, to fly from the dangers that threatened her, does not lefs deferve to be recorded. — " No, no," faid ffie; " never will I defert the King and " my children, I will ffiare whatever fate " awaits them," At one time a perfon whom nobody knew coming into the room where the Queen was, her Majefty broke off the converfation inftantly, and changed it to another fubjedt, and afterwards faid in a low voice to a Deputy of the Nobility of Burgundy who was near her: " I turned " the converfation, becaufe I faw a valet- " de-chambre of the Duke of Orleans; I " do not know how he got in here," Two hundred gentlemen, among whom were feveral Members of the Affembly, be ing determined to try every thing to fave the Royal Family, and not being able to flatter themfelves that they could -be of any affiftance to them but by forming a body of horfe, fent between eleven and twelve o'clock, by the means of Madame Elizabeth, to beg the Queen for an order for horfes from her ftables. Her Majefty with her own hand wrpte the following order, and fent Oct. 1789.]. FRENCH REVOLUTION. 1 05 fent it to the Prefident de Frondeville :— " I order two hundred horfes to be got " ready for M. de Luxembourg, to be em- *' ployed as he ffiall think proper if the " King's life be in the leaft danger; but if " I only am in danger, no ufe ffiall be " made of the prefent order," During the ten dreadful hours through which this auguft Princefs, this wonderful Heroine, had to fupport the moft difficult and moft fatiguing charadter, her courage and her prefence of mind never forfook her for a moment. Some hours of fleep happily came to repair her exhaufted ftrength, and to enable her to encounter on the next day, with equal magniminity, dangers ftill more horrid. CHAP- 106 annals OF THE [Oct. 1789. CHAPTER XVIL The Outrages committed on the 6th of October. Xn the courfe of the night preceding this execrable day, the Place d'Armes, and the avenue from Paris as far as the Hall where the Affembly were fitting, were lighted by great fires, around which vaft numbers of women and brigands were feen eating and- drinking. Others had taken ffielter in the Guard-houfe upon the Place d'Armes ; and the reft fpent the night in the Hall of the Affembly, which was filled with them. The Deputies were mixed among them, and endeavoured to continue their debates. The Affembly attempted in this tiodturnal and tumultuous Oct. 1789.;] FRENCH ^REVOLUTION. IO7 tumultuous fitting to enter upon the difcuf- fion of the criminal laws. Certainly a fub jedt more adapted to circumftances could not have been chofen. Never had there been more urgent pccafion for fevere and efiedtual laws againft robbery, affaffination, and even regicide. But the fpeakers were every inftant interrupted by the populace with the cries of. Bread I bread ! No long fpeeches ! What have we to do with your criminal laws, when Paris is without bread? *¦ I fhould be glad to know," cried Mirar ^eau with an intrepidity, attended with little danger to him, " upon what authority any ^' perfons prefume here to didtate laws to »' us ? Surely the friends of liberty are not " come here to rjeftrain the liberty of the " Affembly?" This appftrophe was greatly applauded, and impofed filence on the mul titude. The Affembly did not break up till four in the morning, and then upon repeated affurances that all XJoas quiet, and that there was nothing to fegr. Some Deputies never^ thclefs paffed the remainder of the night in the Hall J among whom were Barnave, Mi rabeau, Petion, and other zealous Dema gogues, From 108 ANNALS XJF THE [Oct. 1789; From about eighty to a hundred of the Gardes-du-Corps had remained within the Palace, and guarded all the pofts of it with the greateft vigilance. The ppfts on the outfide were occupied by the former French Guards, with no ftronger force than be fore the Revolution ; as if the prefence of fo many thoufands of brigands, whofe hor rible projedts were but too well known, re quired no further meafures of fafety than ufual. M. de la Fayette, by taking no pre cautions whatever, wiffied no doubt to prove that there was nothing to fear, and perhaps he was weak enough to believe it : but with fuch wcaknefs an honeft man may veiy often pafs for a great villain ; and muft al ways be as refponfible for thofe crimes he fuffers to be committed, which he had the power to prevent, as if he were perfonally guilty. To the ftupid fecurity of M, de la Fayette will hiftory therefore impute the crimes of this day. At a quarter paft five in the morning, a fmall party of women and brigands appeared at the iron-gate of the Princes' Court, which the former French Guards had infifted ffiould be left open ; the guard allowed them to pafs, and they hurried through the Princes' Court Oct. 1789.] FREiTCH REVOLUtlON, iog Court and got into the garden. They were feen and heard by the GarJes-du-Corps, and by two of the Queen's chamber*- women, who had not gone to bed, and who carefully watched all their motions. A few inftants after, two women, or men in difguife, were feen to come into the great hall, who, hav ing gone up the Princes* ftaircafe and looked about the place, difappeared. At half after five, the day beginning to dawn, groups of women and brigands, heated with the ftrong liquors which they had been provided with in profufTon, covered the Place d'Armes, and advanced towards the Palace, This extraordinary motion de termined the officer of the Gardes-du-Corps, who commanded at the Guard-houfe, to order his detachment under arms; and at a quarter before fix he marched at their head, to repair, as ufual, to the halls of the Palace, An immenfe crowd, armed with pikes, guns, and clubs, preffed about the King's gate. As foon as thofe furies per ceived the Gardes-du-Corps, they hooted them in the moft infulting manner. " Fire " upon thofe fcoundr els,' don't mifs them," was the general cry ; and at the fame time their guns were all levelled againft the Guards ; no ANNALS op THE [OcT. ivSj, Guards ; who in fpite of thefe threats croffed the Court in their ufual pace, and quietly entered the Palace; but they efcaped this firft danger only from the arms of the bri gands having remained expofed all night to the rain, by which the priming had got wet. The Marquis d'Aguejfeau, Major of the Gardes-du-Corps, ftill depending upon the promifes and on the vigilance of M. de la Fayette, did not imagine that an attack upon the Palace was to be feared, and contented himfelf with ordering the Officer on guard to ftation two of the Gardes-du-Corps at each gate. The King (added he) commands and requefis you not to fire upon, or to Jirike any perfon ; in fhort, not to defend yourfelves. They were very fenfible that the inevitable confequence of fuch an order was to leave them defencelefs to the mercy of the' moft ferocious cannibals, yet they neverthelefs promifed to obey it, " Sir," replied the Officer upon guard to M^ d'Aguej feau, " affure our unfortunate Mafier that " his orders Jhall be obeyed, but wejhall be " murdered." While the Gardes-du-Corps were taking the ftations affigned them at the different gates OCT, i789'3 JFRENCH REVOLUTION. Ill gates and in the halls of thePalace, the bri gands, who had made their way into the Minifters' Court, had formed into two co lumns. The fmaller one marched towards "^he Chapel, the other entered the Princes* Court, and both arrived at the fame time in the Royal Court. The two Guards who had juft taken their ftations at the gate of the latter {M. Defhuites and M. Moreau) Were inftantly furrounded and affailed by a crowd of affaffins. M. Defiiuttes feU under a thoufand wounds, and was dragged ex piring into the Minifters' Court. There a monfter, who wore his beard long *, ruffied forward with a horrible eagernefs, having an axe in his hand,, and after repeated ftrokes fevered the head of the unfortunate vidtim, which was inftantly placed on a pike, while the multitude applauded the dreadful fight with the moft, ferocious ffiouts. M. Moreau experienced the horror of feeing his comrade fall without being able to help him, while the fame fate feemed to * This villain, whofe name was Jourdan, and who ever after went by the name of Coupe-tete (the bcheader), was not only remarkable for his long beard, but for two white metal plates which he wore, one at his back and the other on his breaft. await 112 ANNALS OF THE [OcT. 1^89. await himfelf. His mufquetoon had been torn from him: feized by his crofs-belt he ftruggled with the murderers, and was for tunate enough to get from their hands; but he was purfued by the brigands, whofe numbers were every inftant increafing, armed with guns, piftols, bayonets, halberts, and ftieks with knives. Dreadful bowlings announced their entrance into the Palace : they foon arrived at the foot of the great ftaircafe, and ran up. in crowds, uttering* imprecations and the moft fanguinary threats againft the Queen. As foon as they ap- peared, the Gardes-du-Corps, who were ftationed on the baluftrade that ran from the King's hall to the Queen's, advanced- to receive the firft ffiock, and to give that un fortunate Princefs time to efcape. Eight or ten of them went down a few fteps and en deavoured to calm thofe furies : — " Friends," faid they, " you love your good Kijig, and " yet come into his Palace to difturb his " reft and make him uneafy." — Surrender-' your arms ! was. the reply they received from the crowd that puffied forward upon them. Overcome by numbers, they were forced to retreat, and fortunately entered. the Queen's hall in time to ffiut the door of it before Oct. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. IJ3 before the brigands could prevent it. The rage of thefe villains became but the more furious ; they cried out loudly for the Queen's head, and beat with violence at the door of the Hall where the guards were, and at that of the great Hall, which refifted for fome moments. The lower pannel of the latter was foon forced in : the Gardes-du- Corps ftopped it up with a large cheft that held fire-wood, which they drew to the opening in fpite of being pierced with pikes. Fruitlef^ efforts ! the brigands opened a paf- fage at laft, and overturned every thing in their way, M. de Varicourt was the firft they feized : he attempted to take" refuge in the great Hall, whither he was purfued, and fell beneath the fatal blow into the arms of one of his comrades. They ftabbed him again and again, and committed unheard of cruelties upon his body. At this time an other column of brigands came up by the Hall of the Cent Suiffes, croffed the great Haft, went into the Hall of the Queen's Guards, and joined the people who had entered by the great ftaircafe. Compelled to yield to numbers, feveral of the Gar des^du- Corps fell back to the Oeil-de- Boeuf, which they entered and barricadoed Vol. II. I therh- 114 ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 1789^ themfelves. Thofe Who remained in the great Hall and in that of the ^.Queen's Guards were at this moment tlie moft expofed to the rage of the brigands, who were crying out more than ever, that they mufi cut off the Queen's head, that they wanted to tear her heart out. M. Durepaire feeing thefe monfters take the way to her Majefty's apart ments, and fearing that ffie had not yet had time to leave it, throws himfelf before them, and calls to them — " Wretches! what arc " you going to do ?" He prefents his muf- ketoon at them ; thirty affaffins immediately fpring upon him, difarm and throw him down, then beat him, and drag him out of the Hall as far as the banifters of the gi-eat ftaircafe. A man with a pike attempts to pierce his heart ; he has fortunately ftrength enough remaining, and prefence of mind to feize the pike and tear it out of the hands of the villain; he makes ufe of it to parry the blows aimed at him : he now fees the door of the King's Hall half opened,. and makes a laft effort to reach it : his comrades run to fave him, draw him to them by his coat, fucceed in pulling him in, and thus refcue him from the hands pf his executioners. M. Mio- Oct, 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. II5 M. Miomandre de St. Marie feeing his comrade dragged along, flew to the Queen's apartments, half opens the door, and, per ceiving a woman at the extremity of the next room, calls out — -" Madam, fave the " Queen; they are feeking her life. lam " here alone againft thoufands of tigers; *' my comrades have been forced to quit " their Hall." He ffiuts the door, and after fome moments of refiftance is thrown upon the ground — an enormous blow from the butt-end of a gun lays his head open; his butchers feeing him weltering in his blood, and fuppofing that they have killed hini, leave him to go and get arms from the great Hall. He colledts his ftrength, and takes, advantage of that moment to fly to the King's HaU, where he rejoins M. Du repaire. The Queen, called by her two faithful chamber-maids, (Madame Thibaut and Ma dame Augue) has but juft time to crofs the Oeil-de-Boeuf, and efcape half naked. During this ffiort paffage the moft menacing clamours affail her ears — *' She is a Meffa- " Una," cry the monfters; "ffie has be- " trayed the Country, and fworn the ruin I 2 "of Il6 ANNALS OF THE [001,1789, " of the French; ffie muft be hanged, flie "muft be hanged." The King was not in his apartment. Sud denly awakened by the bowlings of the bri gands as they were breaking in, he had feen them from a window of the Clock Cabinet rufliing in a crowd towards the great ftair cafe. Trembling for the Queen's life he hurried on his clothes, and going out by the private paffage made under the Oeil-de-Boeuf, called the King's Paffage, arrived in her room juft as ffie had gone out of it. Here he found only fix of the Gardes-du-Corps, who apprized him of the Queen's fiight, the maffacre of their comrades, and begged that they might be permitted to efcort him. The King, fearing to expofe their lives, and wirhing to afcertain himfelf whether they might go out without danger, defired them to wait a moment in the Queen's chamber till he fent them orders, which in a minute after they ireceived, to repair to the OeiLde* Boeuf. The firft thing the Queen did in coming to the King's room, was to afk for her chil dren. She fent for her daughter, and at the fame time Madame de Tourzel arrived with the Oct. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 117 the Dauphin in her arms. Being now lefs uneafy as to the fate of her auguft family, her Majefty finiffied drcffing herfelf with the greateft hafte, to be the fooner ready to ffiow herfelf to the pepple clad as became her dignity, to prefent herfelf as a Queen to the weapons of her murderers, and to the ho mage of her faithful fubjedts. At the time that M. Durepaire was flying to the King's Hall, a piftol-ffiot that was di redted at him killed one of the brigands who preffed clofeft upon him. The dead body of the man was immediately carried into the Marble Court and laid upon the fteps, where it was told that he had been killed by the Gardes-du-Corps. This atrocious falfehood fpread in an inftant through all the Courts of the Palace, and redoubled the exafperation and fury of the populace againft the Guards, whom, in expiation of their crime, they talk of facrificing upon the body. Already were they leading M. de Lille up to it with that intention, when happily the phyfician Gon- dran,. a Captain of the Paris National Guard, who was juft come into the Marble Court with his detachment,- infpired his foldiers with fuch a fenfe of the horror of the murder, as to determine them to prevent it : % I 3 they Il5 ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 1789, they threw themfelves upon the band of brigands who were leading the Garde-du-, Corps, refcued him from their hands, and fent him back under a guard to the King's apartments.' - It is important to obferve here, that Cap tain Gondran, who, according to his depo- fition*, arrived in the Marble Court at a quarter paft fix, declared,' that fome time after he had got there the report of a pif- tol was heard, after which the dead body of a workman, with the fkuU fradtured, &c.' was brought out; It muft have been then half paft fix, or thereabouts; but the bri gands had entered the Palace a quarter be fore fix, and had previoufly maffacred two of the Gardes-du-Corps ; fo that, if it were even proved that the piftol that had killed this workman had been fired by the Gardes- du-Corps, it would be falfe and abfurd to fay with the Revolutionary "Journalifts, and with the Reporter Chabroud, a ftill more impudent liar, that the breaking into the Palace, and the firft enormities committed againft the Gardes-du-Corps, fh2id been iri * See his P;epofitipn, No. 28, p, 54, Vol. L of the Proceedings at the Chatelet. confequence Oct. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 1 19 confequence of the murder of this workman. Befides, the Proceedings prove the fadt rela tive to -the death of this man. One of the depofitions moft worthy of credit ffiows, that the ffiot which killed this workman was aimed^at the King's Guards, as it came froM a point where there were none oj them, nor any perfon in regimentals. Thefe were the very words given in evidence by Valdone, one of the Cent Suiffes who was ftationed at the bottom of the marble fteps : nor was it upon eonjedture or hearfay that he gave this evidence, but, on the contrary, he pofitively affirms that the man was ffiot clofe by him *. The depofitions upon which the Reporter Chabroud founds his impu tation of this murder to the Guards, are vague, infignificant, and ePntradidtpry ; con fequently unworthy of credit. Although the affaffins were moft exafpe rated againft the Guards who defended the entrance pf the Queen's apartment, all thofe who were on duty at the different ftations within were expofed to the fame danger. Several of them were wounded more or lefs * See his Depofition, No. 33, page 64, Vol. I. ofthe Proceedings at the Chatelet. I 4 danger- 120 ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 1789. dangeroufly. The Chevalier de Grdtery, feized by the collar ana beaten, was dragged out of the Palace by a large mob, who were crying furioufly y4 la lanterne! d la lantermJ He was fortunately obferved by fome grena diers of the late French Guards who took him under their protedtion, and offer^jl to efcort him. While they were condudting him, a daftardly affaffin came up and clap ped his piece to his head ; but as he fired, one of the grenadiers turned the gun away, and M. de Gratery was not hurt by it. He got to the Hotel of the Gardes-du-Corpf, whence he haftened in difguife, and took refuge at an honeft Citizen's of Verfailles, who gave him an afylum and faved him. The brigands, among whom were ob ferved many men difguifed as women, hav ing wounded or difperfed all the Gardes-duri Corps they had found in the Hall of the Queen's Guards, and having feized their arms, made their way without any obftacl.e to her Majefty's apartment. Tranfported with rage at not finding her there, they ex ercifed their ftupid ferocity upon the bed from which ffie had juft rifen ; fome of them crying out. We have miffed our aim. They yuffied back to the gallery with the hope of forcing, Oct. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 121 forcing the Oeil-de-Boeuf , where feveral of thQ Gardeff du-Corps were affembled; who firmly refdlved to defend the lives of the Royal Family to the laft' drop of their blood. They had barricaded the doors of the Hall, and piled up behind them chefts of drawers, fideboards, and the heavieft articles of furni ture they could colledt. While the brigands were attacking the door that opened on the gallery, one of the King's rnoft virtuous and zealous fervants, the Marquis de Vaudreuil, Lieutenant-Ge neral of the Marine, appeared at the oppo fite door. This loyal officer was eagerly haftening to ffiare with the Gardes-du-Corps the honour of making a rampart of their per fons for his Mafter. He found t|ie Hall be fore the Oeil-de-Boeuf occupied by an im menfe crowd, chiefly compofed of the Na tional Guard of Paris, who were exprcffing themfelves with violence againft the Guards, and preparing to attack them. The Mar quis de Vaudreuil, whofe red ribbon had caught their eyes, endeavoured to pacify - them ; " But why thefe bayonets ?" faid he ; " you will hurt yowrfelves : with whom " are you angry?" — " With the Gardes- " du-Corps, General," " What have they " done 122 ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 1789, "_done to you.?" — ¦" What have they done " to us ! Sent and defied us to attack them." — " You are deceived ; it is an impofition: V can you believe a hundred men mad " enough to defy thirty thoufand ?" This refledtion was too fenfible not to make fome impreffion, and doubtlefs contributed not a little to the happy ifl'ue that followed. As foon as the Marquis de Vaudreuil, who faw that he could not enter the Royal apartments on this fide, had left the Hall, the Gardes-du-Corps heard a violent knock ing at the door of the Oeil-de-Boeuf: on which they afked who was there? " The " Grenadiers." — " What is it you would " have?"' — " We would have you take the " National cockade," — ¦" We have the re« " gimental cockade which we have always " worn." — '* We have been deceived then, " and all Paris believes that you are wearing " the black cockade." This anfwer infpir- ing the Gardes-du-Corps with fome confi dence, one of them, M. de Chevannes, anx ious to be more pofitively affured of the difpofition of the Grenadiers, opened the door, appeared before them, and addreffed them thus : " Gentlemen, if a vidtim be " wanting, I come to offer myfelf; I am " one 001,1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. I23 *' one of the commanders of the ftation, and " to me belongs the honour of periffiing the " firft in defence of my King; but then " learn to refpedt our good King." The Captain of the Grenadiers, the brave .Gondran, whom I have already mentioned, greatly affedted by this fpeech, giving his hand to M. de Chevannes, replied: " Far " from feeking your life, we come to de- " fend you againft your murderers," At thefe words all the Grenadiers threw them felves into the arms of the Gardes-du-Corps, changed their caps Tor their hats, and the National cockade for the white. Having fealed this reconciliation with the kindeft embraces, they marched through the apart ments, drove out the brigands, and made Jthemfelves mafters of all the ftations, in order to fecure the Palace from a freffi irruption. I have hitherto fpoken only of the out rages committed by the column of brigands that entered the Palace by the Princes* Court. The brigands that compofed the one that took its- way by the chapel, were as obfti- nately and furioufly bent on the purfuit of the Gardes-du-Corps, but happily had lefs opportunity of exercifing their fury. The Chevalier de Raymond, who was on duty at 124 ¦ ANNALS OF THE [Oct, 1789. at the paffage of the Theatre, was unmerci fully beaten, difarmed, and ftripped; they left him only his ffiirt, and in that ftate dragged him by his hair as far as the bar racks of the late French Guards, where a Parifian National Guard took him under his protedtion, and faved his life. Two others of the Gardes-du-Corps, pur fued by the' brigands, paffed by Madame Elizabeth's door, and informed their com rade who was on guard there, that the Palace was forced, and that the lives of the King and Queen were threatened. He waked the Princefs's people, who offered him a retreat ; this he refufed, but Madame Eli zabeth compelled him by the moft exprpfs command to go into her apartment, and became his guardian angel. She had ever been the guardian angel of misfortune, and. was this day the protedtreft of valour and fidelity. The lives of two more of the Gardes-du-Corps were faved by the huma nity of Madame Adelaide and Madam ViEloire, the King's aunts : the 'former of thefe Princeffes fent away in time the guard who was on duty at her door, and the latter would have no guard at hers, A few Oct.' 1789.] FllENCH REVOLUTION. I25 A few of the Guards who had returned to their Hotgl the night before, were in a manner detained prifoners there by the Pa rifian National Guards, who had made them felves mafters of the Hotel on their arrival, as well as of the arms they found there. The firft who were informed of the irrup tion into the Palace, ruffied out precipitately to make their way thither. This was juft at the time that the affaffins, driven from the apartments, enraged at not having been able to execute the moft execrable of crimes, and at having fuffered fome vidtims to efcape, were fpreading themfelves through the town with the abominable projedt of glutting their vengeance upon all the Gardes-du- Corps they ffiould meet. The firft whom they faw was M. de Lukerque, whom they feized at the entrance of the Rue de I'Oran- gerie. A thoufand ferocious voices cried out at once, Cut his throat ! hang him ! Cruelly beaten and ftripped, he was dragged with a rope round his neck into the ftable- yard, and thrown upon the edge of the watering-plape. He rofe; but thoufands of pikes and bayonets, were pointed at him, and at the fame time he received a blow on his head from the butt end of a gun, which 2 brought 125 ANNALS OF THE [Oct, 1789, brought him to the ground. Weltering in his blood, he looked for death to terminate his torture ; and already was an axe raifed for the purpofe, when a grenadier of the Parifian National Guar^ fprung into the midft of the affaffins, and prevented it from falling. The intrepidity of this man awed the cannibals, who ftood motionlefs with ftupor, ftaring at the brave grenadier, who raifed M. de Lukerque, took him in his arms, and carried him to a group of fixteen or feventeen Gardes-du-Corps, who were at that moment coming out of the Hotel, efcorted by a large detachmeint of the Pari fian National Guard. One of M. de Lukerque's comrades who had come out of the Hotel with him (M, Vaquier de la Motte) had reached the de fcent of the avenue from Sceaux, when he was ¦ pulled fo violently by his coat as to draw him back fome fteps, althpugh he was a man of prodigious ftrength. The brigands preffed upon him in fuch numbers that they could not aim their blows well, and he was fortunate enough to parry them with his hands. This unequal ftruggle would have delayed his death but a very few. moments, if a difpute had not arifen among his Oct. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTIPN, 12/ his executioners upon the nature of the puniffiment they ffiould inflidt upon him. Some were, for beginning by cutting off his head; others, on the contrary, were for hanging him ; and he was alternately defend ed and dragged by one and the other party. One of the affaffins propofed as a means of conciliation, to carry the unfortunate Guard to Paris, and hang him on the Place-de- GHve. It was natural enough, indeed, to contrive for the good Parifians this little ffiare of a feaft fo worthy of them, and of which they defrayed all the expenees. This propofal, however, was anfwered with the moft- furious yells, and had nearly united all opinions for the readieft kind of execution. The monfter with the long beard was there, with his axe raifed, complaining that he had been made to come to Verfailles to cut off only two heads.,, and perfuading thofe who were holding M. Vaquier de la Motte by the hair, to throw him upon the ground. His vigorous refiftance and great fize, caught the eyes of two grenadiers of the late French Guards, who flew to his af fiftance, called their comrades, difperfed the brigands, and carried off the vidtim, — Their defire of faving fo brave a man deter- mined 128 ANNALS OF THE [Oc*. 1789. mined them to condudt him to the colours of the diftridt of the Feuillans ; but their hu- manity had nearly been very fatal. They had fcarcely come into the ranks of the bat talion of that diftridt, when a man in regi mentals was cowardly enough to fire a piftol at his back. Fortunately the ball ftruck up on the clafp of M. Vaquier de la Motte's crofs-belt, by which he efcaped being wounded. The National Guard, exafpe- rated, were for putting the affaffin to death immediately, and with much difficulty were fatisfied, on the folicitation of the OfficerSj, with taking him up that he might be tried and puniffied in a more regular manner. Several Gardes-du-Corps were wounded: more or lefs dangeroufly; and doubtlefs they, would have all periffied under the blows of the brigands, of whom the infamous Mi litia of Verfailles were the auxiliaries, had they not been thus conftantly, thus coura- geoufly, refcued. M. de la Fayette himfelf, when once awake, exerted all the zeal and adtivity he was capable of, not in repairing the irreparable mifchief which his credulity and his fleep had occafioned, but in flopping the courfe of it. He was on horfeback, and riding from place to place, to colledt his troops dcT. 1789.3 FRENCH RteVOLUTION. I29 troops together, when he perceived fifteen or fixteeri of the Gardes-dti-Corps dragged along by a furious populace, whofe defign was to hang them all at once on the lamp- irons in the Place d'Armes. He galloped up, harangued the people, declared he would not fnWet brave men who had done no harm to be murdered; that he took them under his protedtion, and that they muft maffacre himfelf before they j offered them the flighteft infult: While he was thus gaining time, a company of grenadiers came by. — " Brave grenadiers!" cried he to them, " will you fuffer brave men to be bafely af- " faffinated ? Swear to me, on the faith " of grenadiers, that you will not fuffer " any harm to be done them," The grena diers fwore it, placed the Guards in the midft of them, and condudted them to the Royal Court. The Royal Family, difmayed, had taken refuge in the King's Cabinet, when the Marquis de Vaudreuil entered. The Mi nifters had not yet been able to repair thi ther. They did not arrive till after the bri gands were driven out of the Palace, nor was their prefence either ufeful or encou raging : they kept the moft' mourn ful filence,= Vol. II. K Mr. 130 ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 1789* Mr. Necker ftanding in a corner of the ca* binet; with both his hands over his face, feemed plunged in the deepeft reverje. The King was in defpair. The Queen alone preferving her great charadter, confpled fome, encouraged others, and careffed her children. The liVely intereft ffie took in the fate pf the Gardes- du-Corps, and her hope of feeing them affifted, made her for get her own danger in ftanding too near the windows^ and ffie often went to therft to fee what was paffing in the Court. At one ' time, M. de la Luzerne, the Minifter of the Navy, faw a ball pafs within a few inches of the faffi where her Majefty was ftanding ; upon which he advanced immedi ately, and, without any affedtation, but with an air of curiofity, flipped between the window and the Queen. This was not M upon her Majefty, " I fee your motive," faid ffie to him, " and I thank ypi*^ M'- di " Luzerne i but I will not have you remain " there; it is not your place, but mine: " 'the King has need of fo faithful a fervant " as you." M. de la Luzerne infifted in vain ; ffie forced him to remove, but con fented, on his reprefentations, to ftand a lit tle farther from the window. If Oct. 178,9.] FRENCH REV^OLUTION. I3] If Mr. iV(?c;^dr had had the leaft energy, had he been as faithful a fervant as M. de la Luzerne, he might with much lefs dan ger, and'he ought to have ffiown himfelf to thofe furies, whofe idol he was, to have employed, all. the influence he derived from his popularity, in making them return to their duty, and to have produced his moft fentimental phrafes to recall the refpedt and lowe they owed their King. If he had not fucceeded, he would at leaft have had the glory of having tried. But Mr. Necker could only bewail the outrages that were committed, under the windows of the Palace, upon the unfortunate Guards. At that very moment the brigands were going to put four of them to death, quarter-maf- ters and brigadiers, whofe heads were white with age, and who faid to the people who were:about to facrifice them — " Our lives " are in your hands; you may put us to " death; but you will only ffiorten our days " a very little, and we ffiafl not die dif- " honoured. An Officer of the Parifian National Guard, affedted with this addrefs and the venerable air of the Offiers, threw his arms round the neck of the oldeft, and, embracing , him, faid — " No, we will not K 2 " put 132 ANNALS OF THE [Ofcr. ^78^. " put fuch brave men as you to death." — His comrades followed his example ; they embraced the Guards, and carried them in triumph into the Royal Court. ¦ This fudden movement, with the tumult and the ffiouts that accompanied it, had ftill, at fome diftance, fo great an appearance of fury, that the King was greatly alarmed at it. At the very time, too, he was told that his Guards were- every where purfued and put to death in a ffibckiiigmanner. Far then from fufpedting that thofe who were raifed up were carried in triumph,' he thought that they were going ' to be put to death ; and without confulting any body, he opened the window, appeared upon the balcony, and en treated the people to fpaire' them. At the fame time th.e Guards who were with the King, thinking only of faving their comrades, took off their bandoleers and threw them to the people, ffiewed'the National Cockade in their hats, and cried Vive la Nation! From that moment the chief aim of the confpirators was difappointed. Their fan guinary Agents began to be tired of the car- nao^e, and were befides reftrained by the Pa rifian National Guards, who, flattered by the King's condudt, and fatisfied with the. adtion Oct. 1789] FRENCH REVOLUTION. I33 adtion of his Guards, anfwered with tranf- port their ffiout of Vive la Nation ! with the unanimous ffiouts of Vive le Roi ! Vi vent les Gardes-du-Corps ! Thefe fliouts, a thoufand times repeated in the Courts and in the Place d'Armes, foon reached as far as the avenue ; and now the vidtims whom they were going to maffacre are kindly re ceived, and borne in triumph to the King's windows. Thofe about his Majefty are invited to come down ; they accept the invi- tatipn, and ffiare with their comrades the boifterous careffes of thofe very women, the ferocious embraces of thofe very brigands, who but the moment before would have put them all to death* Amidft thefe. tranfports of joy, and to in creafe their intoxication, the populace called loudly. to fee the Queen, She immediately appeared on the balcony, with Madame Roy- ale and the Dauphin. No children! no children! cried a thoufand voices. The Queen, not at all alarmed at the atrocious in tentions implied by thofe cries, did not hefi tate to fend in the children, and appeared alone with fuch dignity and magnanimity, that her favage affaffins, ftruck with afto- niffiment, forgot the arms that were in their K 3 hands, 134 ANNALS OP THE [001,1789, hands, and her Majefty ccafing to be the objedt of their malignity, became that of their admiration. This was the moment chofen by the- Duke of Orleans to go to the Palace. A few mi nutes before he had been feen in the Mini fters' Court, furrounded by brigands who looked upon him as their Chief, kindly fmil- ing at the horrible teftimonies of their at tachment. Their hands ftill reeking with blood had been laviffiing applaufes upon him, their contaminated mouths had been roaring about him the moft criminal accla mations joined with thofe of Vive le Due d' Orleans! * He did not ffiudder with horror — he did not reprefs them — ^ — Shall I fay it ? if we are to believe the witneffes who were examined in the proceedings at the Chatelet, he encouraged thofe acclamations. He had been feen at the head of the regicides, upon the great ftair-cafe, pointing the way to the Queen's apartments -f*. The Queen having left the balcony, a * See in the proceedings of the Chatelet the depofi tions of M. de la Chatre, M. de Frondeville, and M. Du val de Nampti. t Ibid. La Serris depofition, No. ccxxvi. page 82, vol. ii. fingle Oct. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION, 135 fingle voice from among the crowd that was colledted under the windows of the Palace cried out. The King to Paris. This cry was at firft repeated only by that multitude of fimpletons whofe chief part in a mob is to bear chorus in all the cries they hear, without trdubling themfelves about what they fig- nify; but it very foon became that of the people and of the army, whp till then had ffiewn no intention of carrying the King to Paris. Surrounded by brigands, whofe fury it was very eafy to excite anew, the King had evidently no means of refifting the imperious unanimity of their cries ; yet before he de cided, he wiffied to confult the National Af fembly, and fe%t them an invitation to come and hold their Sitting in the Palace. But to inform them of the King's defire to cou:- fer with them, it was neceffary to wait till they were affembled, which they could not be till eleven o'clock. The propofal of re pairing to the Palace was then put to the vote, and Would have been adopted by the majority, had not Mirabeau, who well knew what was paffing under the windows, oppofed the King's defire as fuccefsfully as hypocritically and wickedly. He doubtlefs feared that the Affembly might fecpnd the repugnance his Majefty muft have to going K4 to 136 ANNAI.S OF THE [Oct, 1789, to Paris, and thereby overthrow one of the moft important meafures of a plan of which there is reafon to believe that" he was the in- ftigator. He had the audacity to maintain, that " it was derogatory to the dignity of '? the Affembly to go to the Palace; that. " they could not deliberate under the roof " of Kings; that the Refofutions would b? " fufpedted; and that it would be fufficient "to fend a Deputation of fix-and-thirty* " Members." The Prefident protefted in vain againft this ; and fome other Mem-* bers tried, with as little fuccefs, to imprefs upon the Affembly, that it was the duty of the Reprefentatives of the Nation to fly to the affiftance of the Monarch in danger; The rabble _that filled the galleries, and who were but a detachment from thofe that were befieging the Palace, fupported Mira- heau's motion by fuch intimidating applaufe, ,that it was decreed, ^ « The impatience of the populace, their per. fevering cries, and M. de la Fayette's folicir tattons, no longer fuffered the King to delay coming to a refolution ; and feeing himfelf deferted by the National Affembly, he prpi mifed to fet out at noon for Paris; making no other conditions, for his departure, than that pf being accompanied by his familyi who Oct. 1789.;] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 137 who had made him promife not to fcparate himfelf from them. The principal motive that determined their Majefties to take fo hazardous a refolutiori was, the pofitive in telligence they received, that the agents of the Orleans Fadtion, who diredted at their pleafure all the motions of the brigands and rebels, were at that moment employing the moft adtive manosuvres to have the Duke of Orleans inftantly proclaimed King, if Louis XVI. ffiould refufe complying with the pre tended wiffi of the Capital, which the popur lace were ffiouting forth. The Duke of Orleans could certainly ap pear in the King's apartments at fo critical' a moment for no other purpofe than to pry into what was paffing there, and to give timely notice of it to the leaders of' his con fpiracy. He was neither difconcerted at not being fpoken to by any perfon, nor by the looks of indignation darted at him from every countenance. He went and placed hiinfelf at the door of the. Cabinet through which the King had paffed, remaining fpme minutes with his back fixed againft the wallv The Queen advancingto go into the Cabinet, he had the impudence to ftep tor wards her, offering his arm. Her Majefty ftruck with horror puffied it away with a dreadful 138 ANNALS OF THE . [Oct, 1789. dreadful frown, and going alone into the Cabinet ffiut the door after her. At length he quitted the King's apartments, where he, left the Royal Family, and the zealous Roy- alifts, by whom they were furrounded, in the utmoft anxiety refpedting the refolution their Majefties Were about to take. The Prefident de Frondeville*, a Member of the National Affembly, was among the number of thofe faithful fervants : in a profound re, Vcrie he put his elbow, without attention, againft a concealed doOr that appeared as a part of the wainfcot, and which opened intq a little back clofet of the King's. The door yielded, and the Prefident furprifed looked into the clofet, where he perceived the King and Queen, atid was haftily putting the door to, when the Queen called to him, and faid : " No, no, you may come in," She was fitting with a writing-box on her lap, in which ffie was looking for fome keys ; the Dauphin was at her fide, and the King ftanding up before her. — " Well! *' M. de Frondeville, (continued the Queen) " we are to go to Paris." The Prefident re plied by a gefture of refignation and of grief; the only reply that prudence could * M. de Frondeville was Prefident of the .Parliament of Rouen. ' didtate Oct, 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION, 139 didtate on fo delicate an occafion. " We " were thinking (continued her Majefty) *' where we ffiould be able tp lodge our good " Babet*; we wiffi that dear Sifter to be as " comfortable and as near us as poffible." The King, fad and penfive, did not fay a word. The Queen, after a ffiort filence, rofe with emotion, took her fon in her arms, and, prefenting him to the King, faid : " Promife me, I conjure you, in the name " of all that is moft dear to you, for the " welfare of France, for your own, for that " of this dear child— promife me, that if " ever the like circumftance happens again, " and you have the means of removing, you " will not lofe the opportunity." The King, greatly affedted, dropped a few tears, and went into another clofet without mak ing any anfwer. Soon after the Royal Family appeared again at the balcony, attended by the Mini fters and others who were then in the King's apartment, when M. de la Fayette announced to the People, that his Majefty had deter mined to go to Paris. He added, that evil- * The abbreviation of Elizabeth, and was the fami liar appellation given by the King and Queen to Ma- dame Elizabeth. difpofed 140 ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 1789, difpofed perfons were greatly interefted in exciting the people, whom they mifled, to infurredtion,; that he knew them very well, and would take a ''proper time to unmafk them. The King alfo fpoke to the people: '•' My children (faid he), you wiffi me to go " with you to Paris, and I confent to it, " provided I do not part with my wife and " my family." — Yes, yes, yes, ffiouted thoufands of voices, mingled with fome cries of Vive la Reine ! " My children, " (added the King) I demand fafety for my " Guards." Vive le Roi ! Vivent les Gar deS- du-Corps! was now heard from all quar ters ; and the cry was anfwered by the Gardes-du-Corps, with Vive le Roi ! Vive la Nation ! M. de la Fayette then made them take the oath, holding up their hats with the National cockades which were in them turned towards the people; on which the whole army raifed theirs on the points of their bayonets. This reconciliation had all the. appearance of fincerity, and was cele brated by a general difcharge pf artillery and a long volley of fmall arms. The intelligence of the King's depar ture for Paris fpread the greateft tranfr ports of joy through the Courts of th? Palace,- Oct. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 141 Palace, but the deepeft confternation reigned within. Several of the former French Guards themfelves were obferved in the apartments ffiowing their defpair, and no doubt their repentance too, by weeping bit terly. This fadt, which has been attefted to me by thofe who were eye- witneffes of it, and worthy of the higheft credit, is very far from being improbable. When the French Guards betrayed the King, they only fold their honour without forefeeing the confequences of it, which now appeared be fore their eyes in the moft hideous view, at a time when the wages of their guilt were fpent, and the ffiame and remorfe of it only remained : it was impoffible but they muft have been greatly affedted, and their feel ings returned and revolted againft a ftep for which they had by no means reckoned. The great event announced by fuch noify rejoicings was not yet known in the Affem bly, and it was reported that the King was going thither. After: deliberating for near an hour upon the manner in which they fhould receive him, they heard , that his- Majefty was preparing, to gp; to Paris.' Mirabeau pn this moyed, withput lofing a moment, that it ffiould be immediately de- 3 creed, 142 ANNALS DP THE [Oct. 1789. creed, that the National Affembly were in* feparable from the King during the prefent Seffion. I have already ffiown what inte reft the fadiious had in the removal of the Affembly to Paris. Mirabeau's motion cer tainly proceeded from no other motive;, but as on fuch an occafion it might be confi dered an adt of fidelity and devotion to the King, it was unanimoufty decreed. A De putation was appointed to go immediately and prefent this decree to his Majefty ; who replied in thefe terms : "I receive with " great fatisfadtion the freffi teftimonies- of " attachment which the Affembly give me. " I wiffi from my heart never to be fepa- " rated from them. I am going to Paris " with the Queen and my children, and' " will give the neceffary orders that the " Affembly may come and continue their " labours there." This anfwer was brought to the Affcaribly juft as they had decreed, that a deputation of a hundred of their members ffiould ac company the King to Paris. " To figna- " lize forever this memorable day of bar* ' ' mony (cried Mirabeau), and to ffiow that " the ftate veffel is no longer in danger, but " that it is about to move on as fmoothlyas " ever, 0^,1789.]- FkENCH REVOLUTION. I43 " ever, it is my opinion that we ffiould *' proceed immediately to the eonfideration " of a decree for the taxes pjefented by the " Minifter of the Finances, and upon an " addrefs to be fent to our Conftituents," During the debate the Prefident {Mou nier) being charged to name the Deputies who were to accompany the King to Paris, was engaged in drawing out the lift, from which he excluded Mirabeau, who had gpt his name infcribed by one of the Secretaries. Mirabeau complained very bitterly againft this, but in vain. He pretended that he had only afked to be in the deputation in order to appeafe the people, in cafe of any tumult on the King's arrival at Paris. " Sir," faid Mounier to him, " they who have power " enough over the minds of the People to " appeafe them, may alfo inflame them," The reft of the Sitting was engaged in difcuffing Mr. Necker's plan, which was Unanimoufly adopted with fome amendments. The King did not leave Verfailles till one o'clock. The Queen, the Dauphin, Madame Royale, Monfieur, Madame, Mudame Eli zabeth, and Madame de Tourzel., were in his Majefty's , coach ; which was followed by the Deputies in their carriages. A 2 ' detach- 144 ANNALS OF THfe fOcT. I78f, detachment of brigands carrying the heads of two of the Gardes-duXorps in triumph formed the advanced guard, and had fet out two hours before. Thofe cannibals ftopped a ffiort time at Sevcs, where they carried their ferocity to fuch a pitch ¦ as to force a wretched hair-dreffer to drefs the hair of the two bloody heads. The main body of the Parifian army followed them im mediately: before the King's coach walked the fiffi-women who had come from Paris the day before, and the whole army of abandoned females, the vile refufe of their fex, who were ftill intoxicated with rage and wine. Several of them fat aft ride on the cannon, commemorating with the moft hor rible fongs all the crimes they had been committing, or had been witnefs to. Others nearer the King's carriage fung allegorical airs, the infulting allufions of which they applied to the Queen by the groffeft geftures. Waggons of corn and flour, from Verfailles, formed a part of the proceflion efcorted by grenadiers, and furrounded by women and the porters of the market, armed with pikes, or carrying long branches of poplar.- This part of the proceffion had a very finigular effedt at a little diftance: it might- bef called a walking Oct, 1789.2 FRENCH REVOLUTION. 145 a walking foreft, through which the fteel points of pikes and the mufket-barrels were feen glittering. In the brutal tranfports of their joy, the women ftopped the paffengers, and, pointing to the King's carriage, roared out, " Courage, my lads ! We ffia'n't want • ' bread any more ; we bring you the baker, " the baker's wife, and the baker's boy." Behind his Majefty were fome of his -faith ful Guards, part on foot, part on horfeback, moft of them without hats, and all difarmed and exhaufted with hunger and fatigue. The file of carriages was preceded, accPmpanied, and followed by the Dragoons, the Regiment of Flanders, the Cent-Suiffes, and the Na tional Guards. I witneffed this heart-breaking fight — I beheld this ominous proceffion — I faw, in the midft of this tumult, of thefe clamours, of thefe fongs, interrupted by frequent dif- charges of fmall arms, which the hand' of treachery or of awkwardnefs might have rendered fo fatal — I faw, with tears of ad miration and of grief, the Queen preferv ing the moft undaunted tranquillity of mind, an inexpreffible air of noblenefs and dignity. Vol. II. L CHAP- 146 ANNALS OF THE [OtT. ty^j' CHAPTER XVIIL Agitation of the Capital on the Morning of the 6th of OBober — Remarkable Note of M. de la Fayette's — Arrival of the Brigands carrying in Triumph the Heads efthejwo Gardes-du-Corps — The Terror qf the' Parifians dijjipaled on hearing that the King and the Royal Family had fet out for Paris — The King goes with his Family lo the Hotel-de-Ville — Speech — The Queen's Prefence of Mind — Falfe Charges againfl the' Gardes-du-Corps — A Letter from M. d'Efiaing to the^ Queen — M. Augeard — The Scarcity of Bread ceafes on the King's Arrival — Stupidity of the Parifians — A Letter from the King to. the Affembly — Proclamation- Retreat Oct. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTIPN. I47 Retreat of feveral Deputies — The Muni cipality of Verfailles petition the Affembly not to remove from that Town, and ex prefs their Wifiies for the King's fpeedy Return — Alarm of fome of the Deputies — Mirabeau denounces M. de St. Priefi — The Repofitory for Pledges threatened to be pillaged ; on what occafion — Pro ceedings commenced upon the Outrages committed on the Qth and 6th of OSlober — Alarms— M. de la Fayette compels the Duke of Orleans to fet out for England. During the night between the 5th and 6th of Odtober, Paris was under the great eft alarms. All the ftreets were lighted up as at the beginning of the Revolution. Patrols and Deputations from Diftridts were feen every moment going and coming, one after the other, to the Hotel-de-Ville, to learn news of the army. The Reprefentatives of the Commune had received none themfelves, and were very uneafy at it, when one of the civil officers [Defmouffeaux] who had been commiffioned to accompany the Na tional Guards, arrived at fix o'clock in the morning. He gave an account of the events of which he had been witnefs at Verfailles, ,L 2 and 148 ANNALS OF THE [Oct, 1789. and delivered a note from the General to the Prefident, that informed him of the com plete re-eftabliffiment of tranquillity. M. de la Fayette had written this note before he went to bed, and at the very moment it was read in the Hotel-de-Ville, the King's Palace was ftained with the blood of his murdered Guards, and the moft horrible outrages en dangered the life of the Queen. The very fame morning too, M. de la Fayette, not a quarter of an hour before he was dragged to Verfailles by the Paris mob, had written to the Affembly and to M. de St. Priefi, to im part his hopes of the complete re-eftablifli- ment of the tranquillity of the Capital. This General was affuredly neither conjurer nor prophet ; and his moft encouraging; dif patches ffiould ever after have been the caufe of difmay. Bills ftuck up about the town by order of the Commune, on the 6th of Odtober in the morning, removed the fears of the Parifians, by informing them that' the National Guards had experienced no hoftility ; that the King had received them kindly, and had admitted them to do duty about his perfon. Some hours after, the group of men and women who were carrying in triumph the heads ofthe 2 two OCT. 1789.1 FRENCH REVOLUTIPN, I49 fwo Gardes-du-Corps murdered at thePalace made their appearatice, and the hcrrid fight again fpread confternation through the Capi tal. But a courier from M. de la Fayette and another advertifement from the Hotel- de-Ville foon make it known to the public, that the King and the Royal Family are cbming to Paris — and the moft lively joy fucceeds to the general grief. An immenfe body of people immediately fly to meet their Majefties; and the crowd of the curious ^ attradled by fo novel and unexpedted a fight, forms a lane from Paffy to the Hotel-de- Ville. M. Bailly went, according to cuftom, to receive the King, and pay his compliments to him at the Barrier. It was about feven o'clock in the evening when his Majefty ar rived there. What difguft, what indignation muft the Royal Family have felt, on hearing the Mayor of Paris, in his harangue, call it a glorious day ! that day of carnage and of horror, on which the King of France, tprn from his Palace by an army of ruffians, ar rived at the Hotel-de-Ville of his Capital, preceded by the bleeding heads of his- Guards, and forcibly dragged by" their mur derers ! L 3 The 1^0 ANNALS OF THE ( [OpT. 1789, - The King and Q^ieen holding their chiL dren by the hands entered the Affembly of the Reprefentatives pf the Commune with an air of the greateft ferenity, and placed themfelves upon the throne which had been prepared for them. Monsieur, Madame, and Madame Elizabeth accompanied their Majefties. The immenfe crowd that filled the Hall expreffed their joy by repeated cries of Vive le Roi! Vive la Reine! Vive le X)auphin! Vive la Famille Royale! The Prefident of the Commune addreffed his Majefty in the following Speech ; " Sire, if ever the French ffiould forget ?' that it is thejr intereft to cheriffi thcif «' King, we would atteft the virtues of " Louis XVI. to a People, among whoni " the love of their Prince is rather a necef. " fary enjoyment than a duty. You have " even, Sire, attached us more ftrongly to " you, by adopting that Conftitution which " will in future form a double tie between M the Throne and the Nation ; andnoW, to " leave nothing for us to wiffi, you are " come with the deareft objedts of your '? affedtion to dwell amongft us. How- H eyer ardept the fentiments that fill ouj- " t?pfpm¦¦' * See Appendix, No. vi. among 1^4 ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 1789* among M. d'Efiaing's papers, they cer tainly contained that incoherence of ideas, that emphatic tone, that obfcute and per plexed ftyle, which mark all his writings: it is therefore poffible that thofe papers were really found in his houfe, and I have no dif, ficulty in believing it. But they who were acquainted with M. d'Efiaing, know that one of his fancies, and he had many, was. to imagine himfelf in correfpondence with perfons of high rank, and to write many copies of letters which he never diredted to them, and which he often even left unfinilh. ed, though he preferved them with the greateft care. Among the number were his two let ters to the Queen : he never had fent them to her Majefty ; and had ffie even received them ffie could have paid no attention to them, for in fadt nothing that M. d'Efiaing wrote or faid merited any. I ufed to meet him very often at M. de Montmorin's; but never did I know a man who fo little juftified his reputation as this famous con queror of Grenada, Incapable of forming a j lift idea upon any' thing whatever, he mif- took the nature of danger as of every thing elfe; fo that he was fometimes found en countering the greateft with the raffinefs of a mad- Oct, 1789.3 FRENCH REV:OLUTI0N. I55 a madman, and on occafions a thoufand times lefs perilous betraying the fearfulnefs of a child. His cowardice on the 5th and 6th of Odtober was unparalleled ; and yet it was to his great reputation for bravery that he was indebted for his extraordinary pro^ motion. After the King's arrival, the bakers' ffiops were no longer befieged, and provifions ex-? ceeded the wants of the confumers, though their number had been cpnfiderably aug mented by the Court's being eftabliffied in the capital. This dreadful fcarcity, which had been made the pretence for the infurrec-- tion of the 5th of Odlober, was clearly then pnly a contrived one, only a powerful means, the effedts of which the Agents of the Or^r leans Fadtion fufpended or prolonged as they , pleafed ; for the fifty cart-loads of grain or of flour, brought by the mob to Paris, were certainly not fufficient to reftore plenty, being literally no more than a break-r faft for the Parifians, 3ut as it was become an effential objedt to the confpirators, that the King ffiould be deprived of the liberty of going out of Paris, they negledted no meafure which could, make the people believe that jt was to thg prefence of his Majefty they were 1^6 ANNALS OF THE [001,1789. were indebted for not wanting bread. This fatal impofture, artfully difguifed in expref fions of gratitude and homage to Louis XVI. was proclaimed in all their Journals, and fooliffily repeated in the fpeeches of all the Deputations fent to their Majefties the day after their arrival. An immenfe multitude were conftantly going to the Thuilleries : the garden and courts Were full the whole day through, and the moment the King and Queert appeared'at any window, the joy of the people broke out into the moft rapturous acclamations and clapping. The fame homage was paid to their children and to Madame Elizabeth.-— The King, affedted by all thefe demonftra- tions, and miftaking for love what was only ftupidity, reconciled himfelf the more rea dily to the idea of fixing his abode at Paris, as the atrocious condudt of the inhabitants of Verfailles could not but difguft him with that ungrateful town. His Majefty, in con fequence, wrote the following letter to the National Affembly : *' The teftimonies of affedtion and of al- " legiance which I have received from the " City of Paris determine me to make it the " place Oct, 1789.3 FRENCH REVOLUTION. I57 " place of my ufual refidence; and fully " depending upon the affurance which the " Affembly gave me,. I defire that they will " fend Conimiffioners to Paris to choofe the " moft convenient fituation for holding their " Sittings, Thus, without interrupting their " ufeful labours, I ffiall render the com- " munication which ought to exift, between " mc and the National Affembly more " pundlual and more intimate." On the fame day (Odtober g) the King caufed a Proclamation to be iffued which ran thus : "The King, fearing left his faithful fub- ' jedls of the Provinces ffiould learn with * pain the circumftances that have deter- ' mined him to refide in Paris, thinks it ' proper to inform them, that being ap- ' prifed before-hand of the march of the ' National Militia of Paris, and, of their ' defire of obtaining from his Majefty the ' honour of being his guard, it would have ' been eafy for the King to have re,moved ' from Verfailles to any other place befides ' Paris ; but his Majefty fearing that fuch " a determination on his part might be the " caufe 1^8 ANNALS OF ftiE [OC*. 1^%* " caufe of great commotion, and relying " upon the affedtion which he has aright to " expedl from all his fubjedls indifcrimi- " nately, he is come with confidertce to " live in the Capital, where he has re- " ceived the moft refpedtful demonftrations * ' of love and allegiance from the inhabi- " tants of his good City of Paris. He is " certain that they will never attempt to ** refirain in any jhape the determination , " of their Sovereign, and it is in the midft " of them that he announces to all the in- " habitants pf his Provinces, that, when " the National Affembly ffiall have finiffied " the great work of the reftoration of pub- " lie happinefs, the King will put into exe- " cution the plan he has long had in con- " templation of vifiting his Provinces with- " out any parade, in order to make him- " felf more particularly acquainted with " the good he may do them, and to prove " to them, jn the warmth of his heart, that " they are all equally dear to him. He antici- " pates in hope his being received by them " with marks of affedion and confidence, " which will ever be the objedt of his " wiffies and the real fource of his hap- " pinefs. The King alfo flatters himfelf « that Oct. 17«9.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. I59 " that this declaration on his part will en- " gage all the inhabitants of his Provinces " to fecond by their encouragement the la- " hours of the National Affembly, fo that, " under the ffielter of a happy Conftitution, " France may foon enjoy thofe days of " peace and of tranquillity which ffie has " long been deprived of 'by an unfortunate " divifion." From the time that the King had left Ver failles, the National Affembly, having re mained behind, continued coolly difcuffing fome conftitutional articles. They doubt lefs thought that they were keeping their dignity up to the height of circumftances *, by affedting to confider with the moft pro found indifference all the outrages they had juft been witneffes of. But their difcuffions were frequently interrupted by complaints of infults and menaces diredted for fome days paft againft a great number of the De puties. Many of them, little encouraged by the Decree which had declartid their per fons inviolable, withdrew themfelves, and * A la hauteur des circonjlances—h. Revolutionary ex preffion, ^ in l6o ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 1789, in the fpace of two days the Prefident had been obliged to give paffports to about three hundred of his colleagues, among whom were the Biffiop of Langres, M. de- Lally, and M. Mounier. The Affembly, alarmed at the multiplicity of thefe defertions, put a ftop to them, by decreeing, that in future no paffport ffiould be granted to any of the members but upon grounds ftated to and ap proved by the Affembly. There is no doubt but at this time the Fadtious employed all the means they could derive from circumftances, to alarm and re move, by threats of perfonal danger, all thofe whofe talents and influence were likely to embarrafs them. It wowld neverthelefs be a very great miflake to fuppofe that all the Deputies who retired were induced by motives of fear. Thofe whom I have named cannot certainly be accounted in this clafs. The .Biffiop of Langres being on the 5th of Odlober in the King's Chamber, where he paffed the whole day, faid very ani matedly to,y^he Archbiffiop of Aix, before the Archbiffiop of Rheims and the Biffiop of Laon: " Now more than ever are we bound to remain in our place, to fliow our courage." — " If the King goes, I go, if he Oc*. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 161 he remains, I remain," replied the Arch biffiop of Aix : " wherever he is we ought to be — we have no force to defend him, but We do -our duty," On the fame day Mou nier difplay ed the greateft courage, and M. de Lally, more inured than they, ftill pre ferved too much popularity to give room to the fadtious to flatter themfelves that they could frighten him. But they were all as difgufted as difcouraged at feeing the fac tious triumph fo completely, and compel the King not only to fandtion the new con ftitutional principles, but to fix his refidence at Paris. They could no longer hope to perfuade the Affembly to return to the fyf^ tem of two houfes, which from the begin ning they had adopted as the moft proper to render a Monarchical Revolution, which they faw approaching, and which, per haps, they were too hafty in judging inevit able. They doubtlefs likewife forefaw the fatal confequences of the outrages of the 6th of Odtober; and convinced that they ffiould labour in vain to prevent them, they. chofe to refign their places, and withdraw from the ftate of inability and inutility to whiph they faw themfelves reduced- VoL.IL M The 162 ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 1789. The retreat of nearly half of the Biffiopg ought much lefs to be attributed to fea* than to indignation, 'to the convidtion that all Was loft, and the embarraffment that would naturally be produced by fuch criminaf violence, among men whofe fituation, and the habits of tranquil life rendered them ftrangers to civil- commotions. Amidft this ftruggle of different fadtions they faw no poft tenable ; and as they defpaired of all the effo,rts they could make, they did not think that they failed in their duty by not attempting a ufelefs defence. Their fupport was ftill given to the writings and fpeechc? of the defenders of the Clergy. I am very far from blaming the motives of the Deputies who withdrew themfelves at this period. Without a doubt they were very pure and very laudable; yet it is but too true that the confequences of their with drawing were difaftrous. How many un- juft and atrocious Decrees might we not cite, which paffed by a very fmall majority, and which their votes would have prevent* ed I If there had been fufficient unanimity in the Order of the Clergy, and in that of the Nobility, to have induced one or both of Oct. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 163 of them to have retired altogether' in a body, their retreat might have been of the moft important fervice ; it would have annulled all the Adts of that Affejnbly of ufurpers, and rendered its diffolution inevitable ; Whereas a partial defertion of worthy men from all the Orders could but enfure a ma jority to the fadtious, and triumph to vil lains. In general, in thofe great political commotions from which the State is in danger, no man called by circumftances or his duty into any office whatever, can leave it with honour, and without failing in what he owes to his country ; it is there, and there only, that it has need of his fervice ; and if he deferts his poft he renders himfelf anfwerable not only for the lofs of all the good he could have done in it, but for all the evil which he might have prevented. The fear of feeing the National Affembly transferred to Paris not only made a great numbk of its members uneafy, but the citi zens of Verfailles alfo began to be alarmed at it ; they who two days before had ren dered that event inevitable, by the crimes for which they had given the fignal, and of which they had fet the example to the bri gands of Paris ! What indignation muft it M 2 not 164 ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 1789/ not have excited to hear the Municipality of that guilty town expreffing at the bar of the Affembly ' * the forrow of its inhabitants " for the lofs they had experienced, and for " that with which they were threatened ! fup- " plicating the Affembly not to defert Vcr- " failles, but to be the interpreters of their, " love to the King, and of their wiffies " for his Majefty's return to a town whichj " had been for two centuries the cradle and " the refidence of their Kings *," The Prefix dent politely replied to this fpeech, that the Affembly would take the regrets and requeft of the inhabitants of Verfailles into eonfi deration. On the next day, however, they received the letter in which the King inform ed them of his determination to fix his refi dence at Paris, and it was refolved that they ffiould remove thither as foon as the Com miffioners whom they appointed ffiould have chofen and prepared a proper place, * The refidence of our Kings had rendered thji marfliy and unwholefome hamlet of Verfailles one of the mofl confiderable towns of the' Kingdom, Its beft houfes had been built by the providers or the p'enfionerS of the Court, and all the inhabitants owed their eafe to its favours, or to the advantages arifing from its refi dence. The Oct. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION, 165 The deliberations of the Affembly were conftantly interrupted by freffi complaints of threats received by the Deputies, and by motions for renewing the decree which had declared them inviolable, for fecuring the freedom of the votes, and the like. In order to divert the difputes, reproaches, and mu tual charges which this debate gave rife to among the different parties, Mirabeau had the effrontery to advance, that the fecret blows given to the Affembly proceeded from a higher quarter: " It is publicly " known (faid he) that a Minifter, an3 " that Minifter is M. de St. Priefi, faid to " the phalanx of women who were crying " for bread. When you had but one King " you were not inw.ant of bread ; now that 'f you have twelve^ hundred, go and apply '• to them.''. He moved that the Com mittee of Reports be charged to inquire into this fadt. M. de St. Priefi, however, refuted the accufation, by the moft formal Cdntradidlion, in a letter which he wrote the fame day to the Chairman of the Com mittee,, and Mirabeau's denunciation was taken no farther notice of. At the fame Sitting a^ Deputation of the M 3 . Reprsfen- l66 ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 1789, Reprefentatives of the Commune of. Paris went and expreffed to the Affembly their extreme joy at the refolution which they had taken of removing their Sittings to the Capital ; adding " the affurance of the " moft profound refpedt of all the inhabi- " tants of Paris for the decrees of the Af- " fembly, and an inviolable promife of tak- '' ing every means of enfuring the tranquil- " lity and freedom of their deliberations, " and of warranting the perfonal inviolabi- " lity of every one of the members." . Thefe promifes in fome meafure quieted the appre henfions of^ thofe who were alarmed for their fafety ; and it was decreed in the fol lowing Sitting, that the Affenibly ffiould re move on Monday the igth of Odtober, and continue their meetings, pro tempore, at the Palace belonging to the Archbiffiop of Paris, till the place where they were to be perma nently eftabliffied was prepared for their re ception. Tranquillity feemed to be reftored in the Capital, when fome expreffions arifing from the Queen's goodnefs, mifunderftood, or mif- interpreted' to the people, occafioned a fedi tious commotion, in confequence of which 1 the Oct. 1789:] FRENCH REVOLUTION, iQ'] the Repofitory for Pledges* very narrowly efcaped being pillaged. The Fiffiwomen of Paris, emboldened by the gracious manner with which the Queen had received them, applied to her Majefty to obtain by her in terference a free return of all the things pledged - at the Repofitory for a fum under four-and-twenty livres. Though to this re queft the Queen had only anfwered by gene ral expreffions of good-will, her anfwer was confidered as a pofitive /promife : it was even announced, that all who had fuch effedts in the Repofitory would receive them on pro ducing cards or tickets fealed, which were to be diftributed among them. The eagernefs to obtain thefe ticket? attradled the ver}^ next day about the Thuilleries an immenfe mob, whom it was with much difficulty the Guards prevented from entering the Palace, by affuring them that the rickets they were calling loudly for were not to be given there. It was then fpread about, that the diftribution of them was made at the Dif- * The Repofitory. for Pledges, Mont-de-Piete, was an eftablifhment inftituted by the Government to prevent the ruinous praftice and ufury of pawnbrokers. Pledges were received, a third of the real value lent, and the in tereft was very moderate. M 4 tridts; l68 ANNALS OF THE [Oct, 1789. tridts ; whither the crowd immediately ran. The Commiffioners of the Diftridts, not comprehending what was meant by this de mand of tickets, and not being authorifed to give any, fent them all away very much dif» fatisfied, Their murmurs were foon foh lowed by noifes and violent threats againft the Repofitory ; and if a ftrong guard had not been immediately fent to defend it, it would infallibly have been pillaged or burnt. The King was, neverthelefs, defirous to realize, as far as the exigencies of the State would fuffer him, the hopes which the Queen's expreffion might have raifed : he ordered an account to be laid before him of what the free return of all the effedts pledged at the Repofitory for lefs than twenty-four livres would amount to ; and finding that the expence would be more than three mil-s lions, he caufed a proclamation to be iffued, expreffing, in the mpft affedting manner, his Majefty's regret at not bejng able to extend as far as he could wiffi the comfort of the moft indigent clafs of the Capital. This proclamation announced, at the fame time, the free return of all winter clothes and linen pledged' for fums under twenty-four livres. The King took the fum required for this Oct. 1789,] FRENCH REVOLUTION. l6g this adt of charity, which was confiderable, from his own private purfe. The inquiries commenced concerning the inftigators of the outrages of the 5th and 6th of Odtober, and what tranfpired from fome depofitions received by the Commif fioners of the Chatelet appointed to condudt the proceedings, foon fixed the public atten tion. The witneffes examined fpoke openly of the contents of their depofitions ; from which it appeared, that the infurredtion of the 5th of Odlober had been fecretly di redted by leaders who were pointed out, and had been encouraged by diftributions of money and brandy, which was imputed to a fadtion : the Duke of Orleans was named, and feveral Members of the Affembly with him. Violent motions w-ere .made againft him every day, even in the Palais-Royal, which the people talked of burning; and alfo of puniffiing the Duke of Orleans as a traitor, who had only taken the mafk of patriotifm to deceive the Nation, and to make them the inftrument of his ambitious projedts. At the fame time he was extolled by fe veral revolutionary journalifts, who, labour ing lyO ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 1^9,' ing to divert the agitation of the people into a contrary channel. Were daily denouncing new plots of their own invention, anti-patri otic enrolments, pretended colledlions of arms made by the Ariftocrats, and the like. The various commotions produced by thefe fufpicions and agitations were preparing the way for a new explofion, the iffue of which, the prefence of the Duke of Orleans, his riches, the talents of his Counfellors, and the villainy of his agents, might have ren dered doubtful. M.. de la Fayette was fo much alarmed as to propofe removing the Duke, as a meafure indifpenfable for the re ftoration of public tranquillity, and even for the fafety of the Royal Family, and under took to perfuade him to leave the kingdom : to do which it was only neceffary to frighten him, and nothing was eafier. This negotia tion did not take up much time, and the par ticulars of it are ftill unknown : the promife given to the Duke of Orleans, that they ffiould be kept fecret, has been held facred, and M. de la Fayette is the only perfon now who can tell the whole; a part was told by Mirabeau, at the time that the report was made to the Affembly of the pro-. ceedings Oct, 1789-] FRENCH REVOLUTipN. I7I ceedings at the Chatelet againft the out rages of the 5th and 6th of Odlober. " I learn from public report, (faid he) -" that after a converfation between M. " d'Orleans and M. de la Fayette, very " imperious on one fide, and very refigned " on the other, the former has accepted a " miffion, or rather has received orders tp " go to England. I inftantly forefaw the " confequences of fuch a ftep. To make " the friends of liberty uneafy, to fpread " clouds over the principles of the Revolu- " tion, to furniffi a new pretext to the dif- " contented, to feclude the King more and " more, arid to fow both at home and " abroad freffi feeds of diftruft, are the ef- " fedls which this precipitate departure, " which this condemnation without accu- " fation muft produce. Above all, it leaves " without a rival the man, whom the fortune " of events has raifed to a new Didlator- " ffiip; the man who at this moment is " adjufting in the bofom of liberty a Police " more expeditious than that of the old " fyftem ; the man who by that Police has " juft received a body of accufation without " accufing; the» man who by infifting on " M. d'Orleans' departure, inftead of im- " peaching 172 ANNALS OF THE [00^.1789.* " peaching him if he were guilty, had en^, " croached upon the inviolability of the " Members pf the Affembly, My refolu- " tion was taken immediately; and I told ." M- de Biron, with whom I never had !' any political cpnnedlion, though I have " ever greatly efteemed him, and from ". whom I have feveral times received '* friendly fervices, that M. d'Orleans was " unthinkingly about to leave the poft which " his Conftituents had confided to him; " that, if he did, I ffiould denounce and " oppofe his departure; if he remained, " and difcovered the invifible hand that at- " tempted to remove him, I would de- ^' nounce the authority that fuperfedes that " of the laws : let him take which of thefe *' alternatives he pleafed, M. de Biron " anfwered me with high-flown fentiments, " fuch as I expedted ; and M- d'Orleans, *' on being made acquainted with my deter- " mination, promifed to follow my advice; " but the very next day, while I Was in the " Affenibly, I received a note from M; de " Biron, which informed me ofthe Duke's " departure, I confefs, that in a tranfport " of indignation I made, ufe of an expref- " fion, which the reporter ffiould have made " known, Oct. 1789.3 FRENCH REVOLUTIPN. I73 " known, to take the liberty of Jaxing it " with indifcretion, and which I think " myfelf was infolent." This expreffion^ was the fame that Dodlor Fiffe, the 55th witnefs, declared in his depofi tion was ufed by Mirabeau in the Affembly, to the perfons about him, when he ffiowed them the letter informing him of the depar ture of the Duke of Orleans : " There, " read! (faidhe.) He is a. daftardly var- " let; a dirty fcoundrel, that does not de- " ferve the trouble that has been taken for " him." The fame witnefs alfo declared in his depofition, " That the Duke pf Orleans " being determined to go over to England, ?'. Mirabeau, to divert him from his purpofe; " had tpld him that there were only ffifpi- " cions againft him; that on>^this obferva- " tion, the Duke of Orleans had refolved " not to go; that Mirabeau had agreed " with him to denounce him; and -that on " -the day appointed for that purpofe he " had received a letter from the Duke of ." Orleans, confifting of thefe words : / " have changed my opinion; do nothing ; " we will meet to-night." For want of the light which M. de la Fayette 174 ANNALS OF THE [Oct, 1789. Fayette might throw upon tJiis circumftance, we are under the neceffity of fearching for the truth in Mirabeau's account, corredled by the depofition I have quoted. The pro- mife made by Mirabeau to the Duke of Orleans, to denounce him to the Affembly, is very eafily explained. It would haye been the part of a real friend to have de nounced him before the proceedings were more advanced ; it would have been bring ing on his trial at a time when there only exifted fufpicions againft him, and whep confequently the impoffibility of condemn ing him would have effedled his acquittak It is certain, at leaft, that this hppe made fufficient impreffion upon the Duke of Orleans to make him hefitate whether he ffiould keep his wor^^of going' to England or not. Then it was, no doubt, that M. de la Fay ette affumed towards him the imperious and menacing tone. He even ftrengthened his menaces with a ftep the moft likely to con vince him of their being very ferious. On the 13th of Odlober he fent an Officer of the National Guard to Verfailles, com miffioned to demand of the ^Affembly, on his part, a decree, declaring, that no place Oct. 1789,3 FRENCH REVOLUTION. I75 place was privileged for perfons guilty of the crime of treafon againft the Nation ; and the Affembly had immediately decreed, that State Criminals might be arrefted in any place wherever they were to be found. The Duke of Orleans being frightened no longer hefitated ; and the next day, at the opening of the Sitting, the Prefident announced that the Duke demanded a paffport for England, whither he was going on a miffion of a very urgent nature. This demand was accom panied by a letter from M. de Montmorin, informing the Prefident that the inftrudlions to be given to the Duke of Orleans were pre paring with great hafte. It is more than probable, that to obtain and reward this con- defcenfion, M. de la Fayette engaged to fay nothing, in his depofition at the Chatelet, which could, expofe the Duke: if it were fo, it was promifing to take a falfe oath, and M. de la Fayette kept this promife moft fcrupulouflyi he. fwore in the face of juftice that he fpoke all he knew, and his depofi tion is one of the moft infignificant in the whole proceedings. The laft Sittings held by the Affembly at Verfailles were employed in difcuffing and decreeing 170 ANNALS OF THE fOcT. 1789, decreeing fome Conftitutional Articles ; and particularly that by which the title of King of France and Navarre was aboliffied, not withftanding the remonftrances of the Depu ties of Navarre : King of the French was judged lefs def potic, more conformable to the unity of the Monarchy, and more proper to recall to the minds of Kings, that they are the chiefs of men, and not the owners and mafiers of the land. In this manner it was, that in this Affembly of the Lycurgufes of a day, round fonProus phrafes were al ways enough to enfure the fuccefs of the moft extravagant innovations. In fadt, if there could be a fuppofition more abfurd than that of a King the mafter of any coun try whatever, without being the chief obeyed by all thofe who inhabit it, it wPuld be that of a Kingdom, the King of which, fuffi ciently powerful to compel the obedience of all his fubjedts, was not the mafter of the country. What means would the King have in the firft cafe for preferving, fpr a iingle inftant, the fovereignty over the coun try ? and in the fecond, who would be able, or who would dare to difpute it with him ? Alas 1 there was nothing more remaining for Louis OCT, 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 177 Louis XVI. than the empty title of King of France, when the Affembly ftripped him of it to fubftitute that of King of the French, which was no lefs empty* The French no longer obeyed him, and the whole of France, not even excepting the patrimonial domains ' of the Royal Family, was about tp becprae the prpperty pf the Natipn. Vpl. II. N CHAP- ! 78 ANNAvLS QF THE [,001.1789. CHAPTER XIX, The King obliged to difmifs the Gardes-du- Corps — The Affembly remove to Paris-^* A Baker hanged by the People, and his Head placed on a Pike — Martial Law decreed — Denunciations againfi the Mi- nifiers — The Affembly fend for the Keeper of the Seals — Memorial of ihe Minifiers addreffed to the Affembly — Debate on the Property of the Clergy, -which is decreed to be at the Difpofal of the Nation — AJ- femblies of the Nobility in feveral Pro vinces ; the Advantage that might be. made of them — The ConduEl of the Aj' fembly on the Occafion — The Affembly fufpend all the Parliaments of the King- doin—The ConduEl of the Courts of Vaca- I tions Oct. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTIONi I79 tions — Weaknefs of the Minifiry— Man date of the Bifhop of Treguier — The States of Cambrefls retail their Deputies to the Affembly, and annul their Powers — The Affembly declare that Proceeding void. 1 HE ancient Palace of the Tliuilleries, which had been uninhabited fince the mino rity of Louis XV. was not fitted to any of thofe enjoyments of luxury, pleafure, and convenience, which habit renders a want, and which the King was accuftomed to find in all the other Royal feats. But Louis XVI. thought nothing of the lofs of his per fonal enjoyments, in the hope that his pre fence would reftore order to the Capital; where he was hardly arrived, when the Pari fians were barbarous enough to wring frpni him a much more painful facrifice. His brave Gardes-du-Corps , whofe fidelity and ^ heroic devotion had been lately fo] wonder fully difplayed, excited the jealoufy of the Parifians; who ought to have experienced no other fentiment in rdfpedl of them, than an anxiety to repair the unheard of cruelties and numberlefs outrages committed upon thofe worthy and loyal Knights. Not fatif- N 2 fied "iSa "Annals oi? the [Oct. 17% fied with feeing the French Guards re-in- ftated in all the pofts occupied by th^m be fore their defedtion, the people infifted that the duty performed by the Gardes-du-Corpi within the Palace, about the King and his family, fliould be taken by the National Guard ; to which his Majefty was forced to confent. Paris remained tranquil for the firft fort night after the King's arrival. On Monday the 19th of Odtober the Affembly proceeded to bufinefs in the Capital. The firft day paffed in deputations and harangues to the King, and from the Municipality to the Afl fembly. But next morning new mobs coL ledted about the doors of tl^e bakers. One of thefe, .falfely accufed of concealing his bread, by a woman who could not procure any, was condudted to the Hotel-de-Ville by the National Guard. The Reprefentatives of the Commune, having taken the depofii tions of his neighbours, and of the Deputies of his Diftridt, wlio all attefted that fince the Revolution he had rendered the greateft. fer vices to his quarter, by, baking ten batches of bread in a day, ufed every effort to calm the people, and to convince them of the baker's innocence, but were only anfwered with Oct. 1789.^ FRENPH REVPLUTJON. 181' with ffiovits of fury and the inoft violent threats. One of the Reprefentatives was feized by the collar by thofe furies, and de tained as a hoftage in a corner of the Hall. He was told that his head ffiould anfwer for the efcape of the accufed perfon. The florm increafed, from the immenfe crowd vyhich the National Guard had fuffered to enter the Hotel-de-Ville without the flighteft refiftance. Still the Cpmrqittee of Police made a laft effort to fave this unfortunate baker; propofing to examine him in the great Hall, in the prefence of the people, Tvho ffiould pronounce his fate after having heard him. But the people did pot want tp judge, they wanted to cut the throat of their vidtim, and did cut his throat ; for I heard from an eye-witnefs, that this baker, who was certainly carried to the lantern merely through form, was not dead when his head was cut off, tp place it according to cuftom on a pike, and carry it through the ftreets in t;"iumph. The wife of this unfortunate man, who was at the time three months adr vanced in -pregnancy, running up to his af fiftance, faw the bloody head of her hufband, and, at the fight pf the horrible trophy, fell N 3 breathlefs, 1 82 ANNALS OF THE [Oct, 1789, breathlefs, as if ffie had been ftriick witl^ lightning. A Deputation of the Reprefentatives of the Commune went immediately to the Af fembly, to give an account of this event. The mournful complaints and avowals con tained in the recital of thofe Deputies would prpve, if it were needful, tha.t it is much eafier to ufurjp the fupreme power than to exercife it *. It is an inftrument for wKic|^ all hands are not fit.^ force is enough to take hold of it and raife it, but it requires ability, wifdom, and long ufe, to handle it properly. It was on this occafion, and at the fa:mc Sitting, that martial law was decreed againft mobs, in fpite of the oppofition of Robef- pierre, who thought this ftep too vio lent, and wiffied wife meafures to be taken in order to difcoyer the fource of the evil, * " We have been threatened and ftruck by women ; " our heads were made to anfwer for that of the baker. " We come to implore your affiftance ; we are without " force, and vyithout provifions. We befeech you, in " the name of humanity, to aid us, and decree martial " law. Muft we tell it, Gentlemen ? our foldiers fell " back ! our foldiers deferted us ! We pray you to pro. " vide for the fubfiftcnce of the Capital." Speech of the Deputation of the Commune. " To Oct, 1789.] fren<:h revolution. 183 " To difconcert (added he) the confpiracy, •? which perhapis at the moment I am fpeak- " ing leaves us no alternative but to f^cri- " fice ourfelves brilliantly. It is neceffkry '' to appoint a tribunall truly National — it is " neceffary to hear the Committee of Re- " ports-^to hear the Committee of Inquiry ? ' — to difcover the confpiracy—- to ftifie the " confpiracy," M. de Cazales ftopped him, by calling upon him to explain his notions refpedting a confpiracy, or of being held criminal .towards the Nation and to wards the Affembly. Juftice for a moment refumed her courfe : the baker's murderer was arrefted the" fame day, condemned to death, and executed next morning with another villain convidled of having' diftribiifed hand-bills exciting an jnfurredlion. The Royal Family were deeply affedted to find thefe exceffes of popular fury, thefe bloody fcenes, fo fuddenly renewed, and al moft befpre their eyes. The King and Queen immediately fent tp the baker's widow, to inform her how much they felt for her misfortune. Their Majefties charged the Duke de Liancourt to go and affure her of their protedtion, and to give her for them N 4 a fum 184 ANNALS OF THE , [Oct, 1789. a fum of two thoufand crowns, to affift her in carrying on her bufinefs. The Com mune alfo deputed fome of their Members to go and confole her, and offer her affift ance : but the unfortunate young wpman^ a widow in the fpring of life, and dying her- felf with defpair, afked, as the only favour, that the laft duties might be paid to the fa4 remains of her huffiand. He was buried honourably, and feveral Members of the ~ Commune attended his fipieral. The National Affembly in changing theit^ place of meeting did not change their planl At Paris as at Verfailles they continued to ac- cufe the Executive Power, and the negligence or perfidy of its agents, of all the troubles and calamities that afflidted France. In the very fecond Sitting at the Capital, they called for the Keeper of the.Seals to give an account of his condudt, and particularly ofthe motives for his delays in the difperfion and publica tion of the decrees of the Affembly. The next day they decreed, that the Mini fters ffiould declare pofitively what were the means and the refources which the National Affembly could furniffi them with, to enable them to fecure fubfiftence for the Kingdom, and particularly for the Capital ; fo that the Affembfy, Oct, i7?9r3 FRENCH JElEVp']LUTI0N. l8^ Affembly, . on doing all that was in their povv^er for that purpofe, might depend upon the laws being executed, or render the Mini-s? fters and other agents of Adminiftration re fponfible for the negledt pf them. This de cree was paffed at the fame Sitting in which the Keeper pf the Seals" had bepn heard, and had given the moft fatisfadtory account of his condudt and of that of his colleagues, of their zeal, and of the purity of their inten tions. \ The Minifters did not fall into the ffiare that was laid for them by this Decree ; and their anfwer fo much embarraffed their an- tagonifts, that after hearing it read no one rofe to reply to it : and .the Affembly not knowing how to adt, adjourned ; after they had refolved, however, that the Minifters* Memorial ffiould not be printed. This Memorial contained a faithful report of the effort? which the King had never ceafed ¦ making to fecure fupplies of provi fion for the Capital ; of the refources thaf might be expedled from the neighbouring provinces and from abroad; of the mea fures taken to prevent exportation ; of the means ufed to encourage the interior circu lation ; of the obftacles raifed to it by the oppofition i$6 ANNAtS OF TErE gOci'. 1789, oppofition of the provinces, towns, and vil lages, in fpite of the decrees of the National Affembly, which had not yet. acquired the' dfcendant -tohich, no doubt, they would ac quire i-n- time. " The difficulties which f' obftru(5l their execution," obferyed this' Minifters, " arife from the difobedidnc'e of ^' the perfons employed, from the tribu- '•' nals being difcouraged and difgufted, and " from the abufe ofthe libdrty of the prefs; " the Committees, Diftridts, and Nationaf ^' GuardT all prefent a pidture of divifion, " Peace is every where fought in vain; fubv *' ordination, which enfures it, is no wherd " to be found.-!— Who could point out what " it would be neceffary to dp, fo that the " refponfibility demanded, and the fecurity " on the part of the Minifters, would no? " be the height of imprudence? — We de* *' dare to ypU that we enter into np fuch " engagement; that if you perfift in re- " quiring it in the name of the Nation, we " fhall refign our places to men V^^ho may " be rafh enough to encounter without ap- " prehenfion the hazard of circumftance^. " — It would be neceffary to be called to ," deliberate among you, or at leaft in con- " ference with fome of your Members, " upon PcT. 17^9-3 FRENCH REVOLUTION. 187 f Upon the qneflions that have occupied M you foi: fome months ; it would be alfp "" neceffary tp baniffi all diftruft; it would ?' be neceffary tp haye a cpnfidence found- f ed on efteem. If offier perfons have the ?^ means which we have not, point them ?' out to us and we will meet them. It rer f' quires more courage to keep fiich places f than to refign theni.'' (Such was, thus early, the infignificant and wretched part which the King's Mini fters were reduced to play. Denounced, ac cufed, and fent for on every queftion, they fpent their time in detedting impoftures, — Mr. Necker himfelf could only groan and fink vifibly into nothing, while the. Affem bly purfued as rapidly as audacioufly their fyftem of deftrudtion and'ufurpation. Before they left Verfailles they had opened the debajle relative to the poffeffions of the Clergy, f the property of which (according to the Biffiop of Autun' s motion*) " ought to be " declared to belong to the Nation, provid- " ing, neverthelefs, in a proper manner for " the decency of worffiip, the maintenance M of fhp Minifters pf the Gofpel, and-the * In the Sitting of the 10th of Qftober, " relief l88 ANNALS QF THE [Oct, 1789, " relief of the Poor." The law of thq ftrongeft being the only one that could be applied to for the fupport of a motion fo contrary to all the principles and laws of every country; they whp brought this quef, tion forward judged it would be importani; to delay the decifion of it till the time came when their arguments might be feconded by the manceuvres of the ftock-jobbers, by th? vociferations and menaces ofthe brigands of the Capital, and even by the proximity of the fatal lantern. For this purpofe this ira-i portant difcuffion, which was entered 'upon in the Sitting of the 121th of Odlober, on a motion of Mirabeau's tending to eftabliffi the principles contained in that of the Biffiop of Autun, was interrupted by other motions, or by debates on fome conftitutional points,; and was not refumed at Paris_ till the 23d of the fame month. The rights of the Clergy, defended eloquently, logically, and learn^^ edly, by the Archbiffiop of Aix and the Abbe Maury, were attacked only with fo- phifms, declamations, or grofs jefts on monks and nuns ; but the Nation, that is tc\ fav, the chofen brigands, with whom care; had been taken to fill the galleries and avenues of the Hall, pleading and voting after Oct. 1789.] FRfeNCH REVOLUTION. 189 after , their faffiion for the plunder of the Clergy, it was decreed by the following Adt:— ' " The National Affembly decree, ift. That " all Ecclefiaftical Property is at the difpo- " fal of the Natipn, but charged with pro- " viding, in a proper manner, for the ex- " pences of Divine Worffiip, the main- " tenance of its Minifters, and the relief of '-' the Poor, under the infpedtion and ac- " cording to the inftrudtions of the Pro- " vinces. " 2dly, That in the difpofition to be " made for fupplying the Minifters of Re- " ligion, the fums to be fettled on Cures " ffiall in no ihftance be lefs than 1200 li- " vres, exclufive ^f the houfe and garden " appendant*." The * This Decree, on which the votes were counted, paflfed by 568 againft 346 : there were 40 votes null. If the 246 members who were abfent from this Sitting had attanded, and voted againft the Decree, it would have been rejefted by 592 voices againft 568. Perfons fond of the ridiculous,, remarked that it was on le jour DES MORTS, fJll Souls dayjl^ov. 2, 1789, on the mo tion of a prelate (the Bilhop d' Autun), while the Clergy's Counfel -(Camus) was Prefident, and in the Hall of the 1^0 ANNALS OP THE [601.1789. The interval^ in the difcUffion of this grand bufinefs feafbnably itiariaged to weaken the impreffions that might haive been left by the fpeeches favourable to the Clergy, \<^ere filled tip with denunciations of infur- redlions on account of the want of provi fions, with fome Decrees of conftitutional articles,' and with debates that took place on the condudt of the Nobility in fome ProJ vinces ; a condudt at which the Affembly were greatly alarmed i and it was not with-* out reafon, for they and the Revolution would have been annihilated in lefs than a month, if they had not taken the prompteft meafures to prevent the condudt of thofe Provinces from being followed by the others. This circumftance is loo important to be paffed over without fome notice of the lead ing points. The .Nation did not look upon the out- rages of the 5th and 6th of Odlober as phlegmatically as their Reprefentatives did. They had excited the moft general indigna tion, and cries of vengeance were heard in the Archbilhop of Paris's Palace, that the National Affembly had declared, that all the property of the Clergy was at the difpofal of the Nation. every Oct. 1789.] FJlENCH REV0LU,TI0N* I9I every .part of the ilCingdom. The intetme.- diftte .Commiffion of Dauphine had convoked the States of that Province. The Nobility of Britany had affembled at St, Malo : thofe of .Languedoc at Touloufe. 'In this laft town ninety Gentlemen and eighty Members pf the Parliament affembled, and entered in to a .Refolution, of which the following is the fubftance : " The Nobility of Languedoc, deeply ' .afflidted at the misfortunes of the State, * and at the outrage committed againft the • facred perfon of the King, are bound to ' take a firm and prudent part to re-efta- ' blifh peace, and reftore tranquillity to ' themoft virtuous and moft unfortunate ' of Kings. The Nobility publicly dif- ' avow the tranfadlions entered into by ' their ^Reprefentatives, They confider it ' as a nioft urgent duty to engage the other ' Orders . to affemble, in order to reftore to ' ;P.el.igion its influence, to the Laws their ' force. and energy, to the Monarch his law- ' ful .authority, and, for they dare to fay ' it, 'his liberty ! The Affembly have in ' confequence charged four Commiffioners '- to communicate the prefent Refolution to '' the igZ ANNALS Ot THEi [Oct. 178^. «' the Clergy and Municipal Officers, and " to invite them to convoke the Affemblies " of their refpedtive Orders."" Thefe Affemblies were certainly contrarjr to the ordinances of the Kingdom, and to the Decrees of the National Affembly ; but they were fo evidently authorifed, ana even commanded, by the fupreme law of the fafety of the State, that there remained at that pe riod no other means of faving the Monarchy and the King. In fadt, there is no doubt, if the Bailiwick Affemblies of the three Orders had been able to affemble at the fame time throughout the Kingdom, that they would have voted, either unanimoufly or by an immenfe majority, for the revocation of thofe faithlefs Deputies, who had fo raflaly violated their inftrudtions only to overthrow , or ufurp every thing. But unfortunately; this fimultaneous affembling could not be effedled without the King's interference; and his Majefty had no Minifter about him faithful enough, or who poffeffed fufficient energy to think of or attempt executing fuch a meafure. It was more particularly Mr. Necker's duty : it was what he ought to have propofed on the horrid morning of the Oth of Oct. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION, 193 of Odtober, when he was only remarked in the Council Chamber by his deep fighs, and hiis profound and fterile reverie. What con- folation, what confidence, what hope would it not have given to thg Royal Family, if, at the moment of the reconciliation of the Gardes-du-Corps with the People, he had faid to the King: " Sire, all is fafe. " Let us blefs Providence, who feems to " have permitted fo many crimes, in order " to point put and render lawful and infal- " lible the only, meafure which can prevent " new dangers from attending the State and " yourfelf. The cfaniours which call you " to Paris do not exprefs the wiffies of the "People, but of the Fadtious ; be careful ." not to yield to them- I will immediately "go myfelf and declare to the People, who " are mifled, but who love you and have " confidence in me, that after a night of " fuch. agitation your .Majefty has need of " reft. I will promife in your name, that " you will honour the Capital with your " prefence as 'fpon as tranquillity is efta- " blilhed there, and I dare anfwer that this " promife wilffuffice. It will not, ho w- " ever, prevent your Majefty from fetting Vol. II. O " out 1^4 ANNALS OF THE [Oct. 1789, " out to-morrow for Compiegne, and re- " moving the National Affembly to Soif- " fons. In the morning I will take your " Majefty's orders for a new convocation of " the Affemblies of the BaiUwicks, who " ought to be informed not only of the ex- " ecrable outrages that have been juft com- " mitted, but of the imminent danger with " which the whole State is threatened. The " circulation of thefe orders, and the ap- " pointment of the days on which thofe * ' Affemblies ffiall be held in the different " Provinces, the Bailiwicks of Paris arid " Verfailles excepted, ffiall be fo managed, " that the news cannot be received in Paris " till the refolutions taken accompany it,--^ " They will be unanimous, do not doubt it, " Sire. The Nation, exafperated, will not " leave to the authors of fo many difafters " the power of prolonging them, and car- " rying them to farther exceffes, but will " recall their treacherous Deputies, will pe- " tition you to diffolve fo imprudent and fo " criminal an Affembly, and, relying with " full confidence on your wifdom, goodnefs "" and love, will defire to owe their happi- " nefs and liberty alone to you." r This Oct, 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. I95 This is what Mr. Necker ought to have faid and done, if he had been, I will not fay a great man, but a Minifter worthy of any efteem, and all would have been faved. But in this circumftance, as in every other that required a little energy, he was the moft vacant and infignificant of men. The King's refidence at Paris rendered the meafure I have been fpeaking of infinite ly lefs pradlicable. Neverthelefs, the -Affem bly, who' perceived all the danger of it, negledted nothing to prevent it ; — confe quently, in the Decree which they paffed on the 26th of Odlober relative to the Affemblies of the Nobility of Britany and Languedoc, and the convocation of the States of Dauphine, they declared, " That "no Convocation or Affembly by order " ffiould take place in the Kingdom; that " the Affemblies of the Bailiwicks, and "thofe within the jurifdidtions of the Se- " nefchals ffiould in future be convened " fingly, and -without diftindtion ofthe ranks; " and that all convocations of Provinces " and States ffiould be poftponed until the " Affembly ffiould have determined, with O2 " the I^x ANNALS OP THE [Oct. 1789, " the King's affent, the mode of their '.« convocktion." In Prder to fecure the exe- cutipti of this Decree, the Affembly laboured from that moment, with the greateft adtivity, to put an end to, the Pld divifion of the Kingdom into Provinces, Jurifdidtions, Baili wicks, &c. Under pretence of> its being founded pn the diftindlions of the Orders, and that it did not accord with the New Conftitution. All France was divided into Departments, Diftridts, Municipalities, &c. ^nd in the fettling of their refpedtive bounds, the Affembly avoided with a puerile aiffec- tation, all refpedt to the limits of the an cient divfions wherever they were not forced to it by the chains of mountains, or courfes of rivers *. ¦"As the immediate confequence of this ne^V divifion waslo be the organ izatioh of Af femblies 'for Departments, Municipalities, &c. it appeared important to obviate the chief obftacles that might obftrudt theiif eftablifhment, and efpecially to prevent the * The number of the Departments was nOt finally fettled till the 26t]i of February 1790, when it WkS fixed at eighty-three. refiftance Nov. 17^9.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. igj refiftance of the Parliarnents. The fuppref- fion of thofe bodies of the Magiftracy, which had been long announced, only de pended for its completion on a final Deere? relative to the new judicial arrangement ; but as a lingering death might be attended with troublefome convulfions, Alexander de Lameth, always fruitful in Revolutionary refources, propofed to bury them all alive, that is to fay, to fufpend them till the new organization of the judicial authority. This idea was not abfolutely unprecedented ; the Archbiffiop of Sens had alfo fufpended the Parliaments, to prevent their injuring the or ganization of his great Bailiwicks ; but the Affembly had no occafion to fufpend them, becaufe they were fufpended already ; all that could be done was to keep them in that fitua tion till their total extin£iion, and this they did after a ffiort hour's debate. They ordained by the fame Decree, *' That the Courts of " Vacations flioUld continue their fundtions, " and take cognizance of all caufes, fuits, " and proceedings, notwithftanding any " law or regulation to the contrary, until it " ffiould be otherwife enadted in this re^ " fpedt; and that all the other Courts ffiould O 3 " con- 198 ANNALS OF THE [Nov. 1789. " continue to adminifter juftice in the ufual '* manner.'^ It appears by the date of this Decree (the 3d of November) that in the fpace of two days the ancient power of the Parlia ments, and the much more ancient property of the Clergy of France fell beneath the fweeping fcythe of the National Affenibly. The hafte of the Keeper of the Seals - to fandtion thefe two Decrees, and to fend the latter by extraordinary meffengers to all the Parliaments of the Kingdom, excited gene ral aftoniffiment; and in fadt -it muft be al lowed, that the refignation with which the Archbiffiop of Bourdeaux, at the head of the Magiftracy, fubmitted to the degrada tion of his Department, and to the annihi- lation of all ecclefiaftical property, was more prompt than was naturally to be expedled.— The Courts of the Vacations did not carry their patriotifm quite fo far. That of Paris, go^ verned at hand by circumftances, and fituated amidft the brigands, and the lanterns which were organized for civic vengeance, could not butregifter the Decree in filence : but that of Rouen, and almoft all the others ofthe King dom, accompanied the enrolment with pror tefls Nov. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. igg tefts more or lefs energetic, and all replete with teftimonies of their loyalty to the King. That of Rouen, in their refolution of provi fional enrolment, expreffed themfelves in this manner: " Surely it is notat a mo- *' ment when moft of the citizens feem vo- ' luntarily refigned to abfolute blindnefs ' that it can be feafonable to produce the * light. When the laws are every where at- ' tacked, reviled, and difgraced, to attempt to ' enforce their power would be evidently to ' lay them open to new outrages. When the ' firft Monarch of the world, oppreffed with ' griefs as piercing as unmerited, deigns ' to filence in his own bofom every other ' fentiment but that of his inexhauftible ' tendernefs for his people ; in ffiort, when ' we have feen this Monarch, worthy for ' ey interme diate Commiffion, or the Board [Bureau, renforce) of the States of Cambrefis, not having power to reprefent the States of Cambray and of Cambrefis, and to exprefs the will of that Province, the Refolution of the faid Commiffion was void, and dero- f * The 17th,., 19th, and 24th of November. Vol. II. P gatory 210 A^^'ALS OF THE (Nov. 1785. gatory to the National Sovereignty and .to the Rights of the Citizens. They re folved, at the fame time, that the King ffiould be prayed to give the neceflary or ders for bringing back the members of the faid Commiffion -to their duty, and for caufing the Decrees of the Affembly to be executed by the people of Cambrefis, They concluded the Decree with a recommenda tion to the inhabitants of that Province, to perfift in the maintenance of order and peace, and in the confidence due to -the Decrees of the National Affembly. It is evident that, if inftead of having to repulfe the fingle attack of the intermediate' Comraiflion of one of the fmalleft Pro vinces of France, the Affembly had had to de- termine upon their own diffolution refulting from the revocation of the powers of all their members, pronounced at the fame time hy the fame Affemblies, who had invefted them with thofe powers, they would have been forced to fubmit, Thefe fimultaneous meetings of all the Eledloral Affemblies of the Kingdom . would have been very eafily effedled, if they had been urged by intel ligent and faithful Agents, fuch as the Mi- niftry ffiould have had in all the Provinces. But Nov. I7%D FRENCH REVOLUTION. 211 But the moft neceffary precautions in fo cri tical a moment had been negledted, and the King's principal Minifters were therAfelves no more than the hUmble and docile Agents of the National Affembly. P 2 CHAP- 212 ANNAX5 OF- THE [Nov, J 5 CHAPTER XX, Scarcity of Money — Mr. Necker reads -a long Memorial to the Affembly — Report of the Committee of Finances— Debate upon the Plan propofed by Mr. Necker^ The Affembly make a Gift to the Country of all the Deputies' Silver Buckles — De bate upon the Organization of the Muni cipalities — Impeathment at the Chatelet by the Committee of Inquiry _ againfl the late Minifiers, Marjhal Brdglio, and the Baron de Buzenval — Trial of ihe latter — The fame Committee lodge Infor mations refpeEling the Outrages commit ted on the 6th of OElober — InfurreBion at Toulon — ConduEl of the Affembly on that Occafion — Various Plans of Finance"— Affignats Nov, 1789,] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 213 Affignats — Arrefi and Trial of the Mar quis de Favras, accufed of a Confpiracy — Sufpicions fpread abroad on that Oc cafion againfi Monfieur, ihe King's Bro ther — He, goes to the Hotel-de-Ville and diffipates them — Suppofied Murder. X IME is the deftroyer of all things, and a fcythe is his emblem: but he is alfo re- prefented holding an hour-glafs, the repeated revolutions of which affign to every thing its end. They fix the degree of maturity which all human inftitutions require to pro duce their intended effedt,: and thus it is with great reafon faid, that a good Conftitu tion can only be the work of time. The Affembly, deaf to thefe truths, which men of fenfe wer? continually repeating to them, borrowed only the fcythe of Time, and thought without his aid tP give France immediately the moft perfedl Conftitution, In the midft of ruins, diyifions, and crimes, they laid the foundation of their edifice, or rather of a fecond Tower of Babel ; and not lefs difcord prevailed among the labpurr ers who' worked at the one, than among thofe who attempted to raife the other. This enterprife, as fatal as it was fpoliffi, and P 3 the 214 ANNALS OF THE [Noy. 1789. the deftrudlions and ufurpations with which it was accompanied, equally alarmed the landed and moneyed intereft. Terror ob- ftrudled the circulation of fpecie np fefs than that of provifions.' It became fcarcer every day at Paris, and the poycrty of the Royal treafury was extreme. Mr, Necker drew a pidture of this difaf- trous fituation in a Memorial, which he pre, fented to the Affembly on the 14th of No vember, and the reading of which lafted nearly two hours. The refult of it was, that a fupply of 170 millions was necef fary for the Royal treafury, to anfwer only the extraordinary expenees of the conclud ing year, and that which was commencing, without reckoning the deficiency that might' be caufed by the poffible and too probable delay in the payment of the taxes. After having difcuffed the different methods of procuring an extraordinary fupply.'fo con fiderable at a time when credit was fo very low, he pitched upon that of converting the Caiffe d'Efcompte into a National Bank, and ftated it as preferable to all the others. He propofed fixing at 240 millions the fum total of the bills of that Bank, which ffiould be fecured by the Nation, ftamped with I the Nov. 1789.3 FRENCH REVOLUTION. 2I5 the arms of France, and that the legend ffiould bq' the words National Security. The fecurities that ffiould be delivered to the National Bank for the recoyery of its advance, might be fettled on the funds to be raifed from the patriotic contributions, from the fale of the eftates of the Clergy, and from the demefne lands ; and might be payable by 'monthly inftalments of ten mil lions each: fo that in 17^1 the reimburfe- ment of the ijo millions, for .which the King ffiould only pay an intereft of four per cent, would be entirely completed.'. He infifted on thi^ plan, as being the only one likely to re-eftablifli order ; and yet he con cluded his fpeech by acknowledging, that,- in his own judgment, every part. of it was firongly tpnElured with the vexatious nature of the prefent cir cumftances. " Standing " alone, I feel (added he) what it cofts me " to depart from the ordinary principles of " Adminiftration, the ftridl adherence to " which has alone hitherto reconciled me to " the management of public affairs. I re- " queft that the refult of it fliould be con- " fidered as a mere opinion: difcufs it, and, " judge, — I ffiall not adopt it till you have " fully approved it, I did not decLne de- P 4 " ciding 2l6 ANNALS OF THE [Nov. 1789, "ciding, while only a fimple projedt of ? ' contribution was in queftion — but I ought " not to ftand alone refponfible for events, " It is fufficient to exift in anxiety while i* feeking to do good ; it is fufficient to ex-. '^ ert one's thougths to leffen the evils of " the State; it is fufficient to go on finking '^ under the immenfe burden with which 1 •f am continually loaded, without relaxation, . '^ Allow me, though addreffing you on " bufinefs, to offer you the tribute of my " fentiments and thoughts, I fliould con- '^ fine myfelf to fpeak to you in the fimple " language of reafon, but it is incomplete '¦ ' without fentiment ; for fentiment alone " can colleEt the ideas, which efcape the " effeEls and the grafp of the under^ " fianding^." The Committee of Finances a few days after prefented the refult of their labours, The Marquis de Montefquiou, who was charged with this Report, ftated in it with the greateft detail, the whole of the Finance^ * The extraordinary pathos of this laft fentiment is not within the reach of every body's underftanding, and it is far above mine ; but I could not have fuppreflTed it without mutilating the peroration of ' Mr. Necker's fpeech. of Nbv.1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 21 7 of the Kingdom, the prefent ftate of th^ Royal treafury, its wants, refources, and hopes, whether in adopting Mr. Necker's plan, or in eftabliffiing a National Bank in dependent of the Caiffe d'Efcompte. This, without diredtly attacking the Minifter's plan, was pointing out that another might be adopted. , In the Sitting of the igth of November, at the moment that the difcuffion upon Mr. Necker's Memorial was opening, a Deputa tion froni the little town of Iffoudun entered, and prefented to the Affembly 115 marks of filven, arifing from the buckles and jewels which the inhabitants of that Commune of fered to the Country. Thefe offerings were received with the greateft applaufe, which increafed when one of the Deputies, taking off his ffioes, gravely laid his buckles upon the table, and propofed to the Affembly to decree, that all the Members fhould do the fame. This motion was no fooner articu lated, than the Affembly unanimoufly de creed, that all the Members ffiould make a gift of their buckles to the Country. This puerile fupply had, unqueftionably, the qua lity of that which Mr, Necker demanded — it was "uery extraordinary ; but, unfortu nately. 2l8 ANNALS OF TIIE [Nov. 17^9, nately, it only amounted to about 170 louisn d'ors out of the 170 million livres that were to be raifed. Indeed, the Affembly flattered themfelves that all France would follow their example — ^but more brafs buckles \vere fold in confequence, than filver ones given. Mirabeau, who in all the difcuffions re lative to the Caiffe d'Efcompte had fliown himfelf the declared enemy of that eftablifh ment, oppofed with all the powers of elo quence, reafon, and ridicule, the plan pro-. pbfed by Mr, Necker. " We muft examine " (faid he) if the demand made, for the '4 national cloak to cover the nakednefs of " the Caiffe d'Efcompte be not an advan- " tage taken of the good faith of the Mi-f " nifter, an impolitic as well as immoral " calculation; a terrible aggravation of the " general decline to private intereft, hitherto " falfely reprefented as the impulfe of pa- " triotifm. " What indeed would be the paffport for " the circulation of thofe bank bills .? What: " inducement for the Capital and Provinces " to place confidence in the ufe of that " paper .? — ^The national credit ! the national " fecurity! — Let us breathe. Gentlemen— " all Nov. 1789-] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 21^ all is not loft-^rMr. Necker- does not de fpair of the credit pf France ! "Entirely fpunded on our credit,- this Bank then would deign to render us the efferitial fervice of lending us, upon the fecurity of our fubfcriptions, the fame notes to which our ftamp alone ffiould have given life and motion; and in re turn for this fervice, they demand of us an intereft of four per cent, in favour of the ftock-holders ! — Four per cent, ! — That is but little for the ftock-jobbers, but a great deal for the Nation, If a Prince at war ffiould didtate fuch terms to us, with what a difdainful fmile ffiould we oppofe fo bafe a treaty ! Let us, at length, dare to be fenfible that our coun try, in the ufe of its credit, can difpenfe with unneceffary mediums. Let us dare to believe, that every faving which pro ceeds from the returns of what we give, is but the fecret of an empiric. Such a national fund or bank as has been propofed by the Committee of Finances would unite all interefts were it once decreed; and four-and-twenty hours would not elapfe before we ffiould find a ^ife plan adapted to the nature of things, '' exempt 220 ANNALS OF THE [Nov. 1789, " exempt from difagreeable confequences, " and at leaft proper to reftore credit " promptly." He concluded with moving that Mr. Necker ffiould be informed, that the National Affembly would wait for the general plan he had mentioned to them be fore they came to a refolution. One of the fpeaTcf rs who followed Mira-i beau againft Mr. Necker's plan was of opi nion, that it was intended to cover the abufes of the Caiffe d'Efcompte; that it expofed that Bank to a third failure, and the Nation to a participation in the diffionour of a bank- ruptcy ; and that it allowed ufurious intereft , to name-lenders, and not to real lenders.. " Mr. Necker (cried he) would efface with " his tears what he has written with his " hand, could he forefee the confequences " of it," He concluded by mentioning a plan for creating a National Paper, under the infpedtion and diredtipn of Commiflionn er§ to be appointed by the Affembly. Du Pont de Nemours replied, and boldly defended the Caiffe d'Efcompte, and the Minifters' plan. After he had fpoken, the debate was adjourned till next day, when the following decree was paffed : " That " there Nov. 1789-] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 221 " there be laid before the Affembly authen- " tic information of the engagements en- " tered into by the Government with the " Caiffe d'Efcompte up to the 31ft of De- " cember following ; an account of what " appears from the vouchers of the extra- " ordinary expenees eftimated at 170 mil- " lions; of all that has been taken up be- " forehand; of the intereft, annuities, and " penfions in arrear; of the remainders due " by the Departments, and of the bills of " which payment was fufpended." In the mean time, till thefe papers were laid before them, the Affembly turned their attention to the organization of the Municipalities ; and the debates on that fubjedl nearly occupied them for a month. In that interval, the attention and curiofity of the Public, ever eager for new fcenes, were ftrongly excited by the proceedings of the Committee of Inquiry of the Municipa lity of Paris, That Committee, commif fioned to colledt all the proofs and documents neceffary to ground the denunciation which the Solicitor of the Commune was to make at the Chatelet againft the outrages of the 5th and 6th of Odtober, did not confine their commiffion to that objedl;, but went to work 222 ANNALS OF 1"HE [Nov. !789, work fo as not to endanger their popularity; and in confequence their firft refolution, which was taken on the i8th of November^ Was : " That the Solicitor of the Commune • ffiould, in the firft place, fpecially de- * nounce the Confpiracy formed againft the ' National Affembly and the City of Paris • ' between the month of May and the 15th ' of July laft; the affembling of troops ' compofed chiefly of foreigners, with a ' confiderable train of artillery, bombs, • mortars, and furnaces to heat balls ; the ' colled:ing all thefe implements of war be- ' tweeh Paris and Verfailles ; the National ' Affembly driven from their Sittings, and ' afterwards kept in confinement in the ' fame place, amidft the troops by which ' they were furrounded, their liberty vio- ' lated, and the moft facred laws of the ' State trampled upon in the Sitting of the ' 23d of June; all the preparations made ' at the Baftille for deftroying the Capital ; ' the orders given to cut down the unripe ' corn to feed the horfes of the troops ; the \ provifions defigned for the Capital inter- '. cepted, and given to the foldiers affembled ' againft its inhabitants ; thg order given to • the Prince de Lambefc to enter the Thuil- " leries Nov. 17S9.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 22^ '* leries at the head of his regiment, and " chafe the nnarmed townfmen, &c, &c, : " for which crimes, t^e Sieur Barentin, ' ' formerly Keeper of the Seals ; the Count ' ' de Puyfegur, formerly Minifter at War ; " Marffial Broglio, the Baron de Buzenval, " and Count D'Autichamp, ffiould be de*f " livered up, to be dealt with according ' ' to law for the faid crimes ; together with " their abettors, adherents, and accom- " phces." The very next day the Solicitor of the Commune denounced thofe pretended crimes to the King's Solicitor of the Cha'telet, who lodged informations againft. them the day following ; on which day the Chatelet be gan the profecution, in prefence of the pub hc, againft M. de Buzenval, who had been confined in prifon fince the month of July. As it was the firft criminal trial publicly condudted, the attradlion, novelty, and curio fity to hear the evidence againft M. de Bu zenval, and his replies to fuch ferious arti cles of accufation, drew an immenfe crowd to the Court at the Chatelet, where he ap peared with that calm air and unalterable ferenity whiph diftinguiffi innocence, Alas ! it could not be in the eyes of the rebellious Parifians fi34 ANNALS OF THE [Dec. 178^, Parifians that M. de Buzenval was culpable; on the contrary, they were obliged to him fpr making no ufe of the powers and means with which he was entrufted ta reprefs their outrages : before a Court Martial, indeed, he would have found it difficult to have jufti* iied himfelf. It was not till the ift' of December that the Solicitor ofthe Commune, authorifed by a refolution of the Committee of Inquiry of the 23d of November, denounced to the King's Solicitor at the Chatelet, ¦woi the out rages of the ^th and 6th of OElober, but only the outrages of the Qth of OElober, The Committee of Inquiry ffiamefully ad vanced in their refolution, that the objedt for which the People and National Guard of Paris went to Verfailles, was io reprefs dif order, and fecure peace, to the King and National Affembly ; and that on their ar rival they accomplifhed that facred object which they had made their law. The out rages of the next day were imputed to bri gands, who, induced by clandefiine ma nosuvres, had mixed with the citizens. In confequence, the information of the King's Solicitor was laid only againft certain au thors of the commotions of that day. In Dec. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 225 I In comparing thefe two denunciations, they prefent a very ftriking contraft of auda city and timidity, of calumny and referve. The one enters into the minuteft details of imaginary crimes, names the pretended cri minals, and calls down the vengeance ofthe laws' upon them; while the other fuppreffes the chief circumftances of real outrages, imputed to unknown brigands, to certain perfons ! What a popularity was that of the Committee of Inquiry * ! The feditious commotions- with which the whole Kingdom was agitated, and which every day produced new infurredtions, broke out at this period with the greateft violence in the port of Toulon. M. d' Albert de Rioms, who comrnanded there, obferving that fome workmen of the port, who had entered into the National Guard, negledted their work on that pretence, though paid for it, or per formed it in a flovenly manner,, very wifely j-udged that thofe two duties were incompa tible, and in confequence declared, that fuch Workmen as preferred rema^ining in the fer- * It was at that time compofed of the foUoviring per fons : Agier, Perron, Oudart, G arr an de Coukn, an The impofitions and contradidlions.. con tained in the public papers of that time, re lative to this infurredtion at Toulon, deter mined me to infert here the extradt which I made myfelf from the official papers refpedt ing: 236 ANNALS OF THE [Dec. 1789, ing the bufinefs, depofited in the Navyi, Office. I have reported enough to ffiow that the Officers of the Marine condudted themfelves on that occafion with as much wifdom as courage and loyalty. The difcuffion of the different plans of finance was refumed in the Sitting of. the 17th of December, Mr, Necker's obferva» tions upon that which the Affembly had fubmitted to his examination, and which had been drawn up by M. de Labor de, was read. After pointing out the defedts of this plan, the Minifter abandoned that which he had propofed himfelf, and prefented a new one which he had concerted with the Members of the Committee of Finances, and with the Diredtors of the Caiffe d'Efcompte. The debate on this important fubjedl produced on the I gth two decrees, the heads of which are as follow : The firft enadted, " That the notes pf the " Caiffe d'Efcompte ffiould continue to be " received in payment at all pubhc and " private banks until the ift of July 1790, " at which time it ffiould be held to make " its payments generally; that in the inter- " val it ffiould furniffi eighty millions for " the D«C 1789,] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 2gy " the public treafury; that the feventy mil- " lions advanced to the Royal treafury in *' 1787 ffiould he reimburfed by annuities " bearing five per cent, intereft, and three " per cent, for the reimburfement of the " capital in twenty years ; that for its ad- " vances ofthe preceding years, and of the " firft .fix months of the year 1 790, it ffiould " receive one hundred, and feventy millions *' in AJignats, Jrom the fund for the ex- " traordinary expenfes, or ffiares (billets " d'aehats, purchafe notes) in the funded " property; which ffiould.. be opened to " fale, bearing an intereft of five per cent. " and payable at the rate of ten millions per }* month, from the ift of January 1791." The four laft articles of this complicated decree, amended on Mr. Necker's reprefen tations, " empowered the Caiffe d'Efconipte to " create twenty-five millions of new funds, " fettled the dividend, the part of the profits " to remain in the treafury to form a com- " mutation fund, and they fixed likewife the " period and portions for redeeming the " funds, &c, &c." By the fecond decree the Affembly en adted, " That there fliould be eftabliffied a " par- 238 ANNALS 6f THE [Dec. 1789; ' particular fund for the extraordinary ex- ' penfes, the mortey of which ffiould be ' appropriated tP the payment pf 'money ' becoming dUe and in arrear, and to the ' reimburfement of the capitals of all the ' debts of which the extindtion ffiould be ' decreed. That the funds arifing, ift, ' from the patriotic contributions, the fale ' ofthe demefnes of the crown, .the forefls ' and royal palaces which his Majefty ' ffiould choofe to referve excepted ; and ' 2dly, from the fale of the ecclefiaftical ' demelhes, fo raife together a fum of four ' hundred millions, fliould be thrown into ' this fund; that there ffiould be iffued ' upon the credit of the extraordinary fund, ' Affignats of one thoufand livres each, ' bearing an intereft of five per cent, to ' the amount of the value of the faid pro- ' perty to be fold, which Affignats ffiould ' be received in preference for the purchafe ' of the faid property ; that of the faid '- Affignats there ffilDuld be extinguiffiedj by ' means of the faid fales, the produce of ' the patriotic contributions, and all other ' extraordinary receipts that might take ' place, one hundred and twenty mil- " fions Dec 17891] FRENCH REVdLUtlON. 239 " hons in 1791, eighty millions in 17^2, " eighty millions in 1793, eighty miUions " in 1794, and the furplus in 1795." The laft article was framed according to corredions propofed by Mr. Necker. Thus fprung up, under the name of Aff- gnats, that fatal paper-money, at firft devifed to cover a deficit of one hundred and feventy millions, and which in a little time became by audacious impofitions the moft difaftrous revolutionary means, the inftrument of all plundering, of every poffible ruin, the wages of every crime, in a word, the fcourge of France, of Europe, of humanity itfelf; till, by a biankruptcy of forty thoufand millions, it funk into the fame.^ulph into which it had precipitated all property. The end of this year of misfortunes and • of crimes prefents only one remarkable event more, that of the arreft of the unfor tunate Marquis de Favras, and the com mencement of his trial. This Gentleman, whofe youth had been very boifterous, ftill ¦retained in his riper years that ardent in triguing charadter, that prefumption and imprudence which had fo often mifled him ; and his attachment to royalty taking place of . ^ his 240 ¦ ANNALS OF THE [Dec 1789-. his Other paffions, . took alfo the nature of them. The outrages of the 5th and- 6th of Odtober raifed in him the ftrongeft defire to attempt every thing to refcue the Royal Family from the dangers that threateiicd them ; and he formed a fcheme with more zeal than prudence for carrying off the King. His mode of accomphftiing this, was to be by means of an army of about thirty thoufand Royalifts, whofe en- rolment and arming were to be effedled fo fecretly, that nothing of it was to tranfpirc till the moment of adtion. As an enter prife of this nature required confiderable funds, and as money was an article which the Marquis de Favras was the leaft pro vided with, he took every poffible ftep to procure it. He applied to feveral bankers, and communicated his plan to the Royalife. of his acquaintance whom he thought the likelieft to affift him with their purfes ; but he obtained more praife than confidence from them. - It happened at this time that Monsieur, the King's brother, who had for feveral months before been deprived of the poffef fion of his revenues by a feries of different operations Dec 1789'] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 24I operations of the Affembly, and who had confiderable payments to make in the month of January, was confidering how to fulfil his engagements without being burdenfome to the; public treafury. To do this in a lefs chargeable way than the general modes of borrowing in fo critical a moment, that Prince had formed a plan of negotiating bonds to the amount of the fum he wanted. M. de Fa,vras, "who fome years before had ferved in Monsieur's Swifs Guards, was pointed out to him by the Marquis de la Chdtre as a very proper perfon to accom- pliffi the bufinefs with the bankers Chomel and Sartorius : in confequence his Royal Highnefs had figned an obligation for two millions, and charged his treafurer to attend to the tranfadtion. The indifcretion of fome of the nume rous confidents of M. de Favras' plan, and his own imprudence in blending and purfuing together the fteps relative to that, arid thofe which concerned the negotiation of the obligation for two millions executed by Monsieur, excited the attention and uneafinefs of the Committee of Inquiry. They caufed the Marquis de Favras and Vol, n. R his 242 ANNALS OF THE tD"0,. 1789, iiis lady to be arrefted in the night be tween the 24th and 25th of December, and accufed them of "Confpiracy againft the " order of things eftabliffied by confent " ofthe Nation and of the King; of having " formed to that effedl a projedt for in- " troducing in the night-time armed men " into the Capital, to murder the three " chief perfons in the Adminiftration, at- " tack the King's Guard, carry off the " State feal, and remove their Majefties to " Peronne ; of having attempted to cor- " rupt fome of the National Guards, and '* to miflead them by promifes and de- " ceitful confidence ; of having had con- " ferences with bankers, for the purpofe " of obtaining very confiderable fums; and " with other perfons, for the purpofe of " extending the plot, if poffible, to diffe- " rent provinces." The day after M. de Favras and his wife were arrefted, the following paper was cir culated with the greateft profufion through the Capital : ?' The Marquis de Favras ( Place- Roy- " ale) was with his wife arrefted on the " night Dec 1789,] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 243 " night between the 24th and 25th, on " account of a plan which he had pro- " jedled to raife thirty thoufand men, to " caufe M. de la Fayette and the Mayor " of the town to be murdered, and then " to cut off our provifions. — Mon- " SIEUR, the King's brother, was at the " head of it. (Signed) Barauz, » This public denunciation of the King's brother, which was quickly aggravated by the commentaries of the fadtious, and by the exaggerations of calumny, raifed the greateft fermentation in the Capital, not only againft that Prince, but againft the King himfelf, who was fuppofed to be in combination with his brother. A violent and fuddden explofion feemed inevitable, and certainly would have taken place, if Monsieur, who was not at liberty to defpife dangers with which the King and the Royal Family wer,e not lefs threatened than himfelf, had not taken the only ftep that could difpel this ftorm. He repaired on the 26th to the Affembly of the Repre fentatives of the Commune, by whom he R 2 was 244 ANNALS OF THE [Dec 1783. was received with all the refpedt and at tention due to him. " Gentlemen," faid he, " the defire of repelling an atrocious " calumny brings me among you. M. de " Favras was arrefted the day before yef- " terday, by order of your Committee of " Inquiry, and it is now ftudioufly re- " ported that I am particularly connedled " with him. I thought I owed it to the " King, to you, and to myfelf, to come " and inform you of the only knowledge " I have of M. de Favras." After ftat- ing exadlly and fimply the fadts relative to the obligation of two millibns, as I have already mentioned, Monsieur added: "I " haye neither feen M. de Favras, writ- " ten to him, nor had any communication " whatever with him. Whatever befides " he may have done I am perfedtly unac- " quainted with ; yet I find a paper cir- " culating in great numbers through' the " town, figned Barauz, and in thefe " terms: — " He then read the paper, and faid : " You cannot certainly expedl " that I ffiould condefcend to juftify my- " felf againft fo vile a charge," &c. &c, &c. This fpeech was greatly and unanimoufly applauded Dec. 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 245 applauded by the Affembly and the galle ries. The Mayor, in his reply, expreffed the fentiments of refpedt and attachment felt by the Affembly for Monsieur,' and the boundlefs confidence infpired by his virtues. M. de la Fayette fpoke after M. Bailly, and faid, that he had taken care to have the authors of the paper ar refted, and that they were in prifon. Mon sieur requefted a pardon fpr them, but the Affembly decided that they flioiild be puniffied. The Prince thought it proper alfo to inform the National Affembly of the motives that had induced him to take this ftep, and in confequence fent them a copy of the fpeech he had made at the Hotel-de- Ville, accompanied by a note, in which he faid that he ffiould lay before the Affembly the ftate of the debts which he propofed to pay with the two millions for which he had executed the obligation. This condudt diffipated the uneafinefs and fufpicions which had been conceived refpedt ing the fentiments of Monsieur, and of the Royal Family, and the popular rage turned entirely againft M. de Favras. No doubt was entertained of his having formed R 3 a plot 246 ANNALS OF THE [Dec 1789 a plot for affaffinating M. Bailly and M. de la Fayette; and the Committee of Inquiry negledted nothing that could confirm the opinion. On the 29th of December they denounced to the Affembly a pretended at tack made upon the perfon of a fentincl of the National Guard, found the preced ing day mu/rdered in a fentry-box by a . perfon who could not be diftinguiffied from the darknefs of the night. In fadt, there had been found in the fentry-box a kind of long punch, the iron of which was rufty and bent, and a bit of papeK folded in two, on which was written : - Go before, La Fayette jhall follow you. The furgeon called to prove this pretended murder de- pofcd that the wound was not dangerous -, that the blow from the punch had been made obliquely, high on the fore part of the neck, below the chin, and had pene trated very fuperficially. One muft have been a member of the Committee of Inquiry not to prefume upon all the circumftances, that the murdered might be the. murderer, and to denounce fo inconfiderately to the' Affembly as a coun ter-revolutionary crime, an adtion which was Pec 1789.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 247 was certainly very atrocious and very awk ward, but which was abfolutely in -the fpirit of the Reyolution. The Diftridt of the Capuchins of the Marais, to which this fcntinel belonged, were not deceived in the bufinefs, and fent the man fo badly murdered to the prifon of the Abbaye, where the firft night of his confinement he ftabbed himfelf thrice with a knife, nor would he anfwer any interrogatories that were put to him. But thefe circum ftances were not known for four days after, and they did not weaken the opinion of thofe who were willing to believe the great plot formed againft M. de la Fayette. On the 31ft of December, the Prefident of the National Affembly, at the head of a numerous Deputation, went to the Palace at ten o'clock at night, to compliment the King and Queen on, the new year. The fpeech he addreffed to the King will be preferved by hiftory as an authentic tefti- mony of his Majefty's virtues. The King replied — " I only wiffi for the happinefs " of my fubjeds, and I hope, with you, ' ' that the year we are entering upon will R 4 •* be 248 ANNALS OF THE [Dec 1789. " be a period of profperity and felicity for " France." Alas ! it ftill depended on the Affembly to realize that hope. CHAP- Jan. 1790.J FRENCH REVOLUTION. 249 CHAPTER XXI. Decree relative to Penfions— Deputation to the King for fettling the Civil Lifi — His Mojcfiy's Reply — The Marquis de Favras' Trial — Fury of the People— -Af fembling of Soldiers in the Champs Eli fees fuppreffed by M. de la Fayette — The Marquis de Favras condemned to Death and executed — His Heroifm — Organiza tion of the New Municipalities — An im portant Step taken by the King in the Af fembly — His Majefiy's Speech attended with great Applaufe — Expreffions of the Queen — Addrefs of Thanks to their Ma- jefiies — Oath taken by the Affembly and all the Spectators — -Advantage that might have been drawn from that Circumfiance — M. Ma- 2^0 ANNALS OF THE [Jan. «79o. M. Malouet's Motion on that Occafion rejeEled — The Prefident's Speech to the King — Te Deum— -Illumination — • jDm- fion of France into DifiriEls — An Ad drefs to the People decreed by the Affem bly, and drawn up by the Bijhop oj Autun. 1 HE laft Sittings of the old year were occupied by the debates upon the redudlion of the penfions granted by the Government. The moft odious comparifons and the moft infulting epithets . had been laviffied on the unfortunate penfi^oners. Theix lifi was faid to be only a catalogue of vile courtiers or contemptible fiatterers : they were marked out for the public hatred, fometimes as leeches of the State, fometimes as the locujls that defiroyed the harvefis of Egypt. A Captain of Grenadiers, who had frequently purchafed with his blood the honour of be ing placed on that lift, irritated at finding himfelf fo unworthily treated, went to the houfe of one of the Deputies who had de claimed the moft violently againft the pen fions, and, ffiowing him his head, an arm, a leg, and a wrift, all of which had been ¦broken, faid, " Sir, I will corpe ftark naked " to Jan. 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTIPN. 25! " tp the dppr of the National Affembly, I " will expofe my fears, and I will call for " the favage who would reduce me to " want." This energetic expoftulation, which was repeated to the Affembly by the member to whom it was addreffed, (the Baron de Wimp- fen) mitigated their feverity : they never thelefs decreed, that the arrears of all pen fions and? falaries that did not exceed the fum of 3000 livres ffiould be paid according tP the exifting regulations, but that all above 3000 livres ffiould only be paid provifion ally that fum, old perfons of the age of fe venty years excepted, the' m.aximum of whofe payments was provifionally fixed at the fum of 12,000 livres. By the fame De cree it was ordained, that from the ift of January 1790 the payment of all penfions, referved falaries, gifts, and gratuities, be coming due, ffiould be deferred until the ift of July following, to be then made accord ing to .what ffiould have been decreed, and that a. Committee ffiould be appointed for the purpofe of immediately laying before the Affembly a plan for reducing, fuppref- fing, or augmenting the penfions or annual gratuities adlually exifting. This 252 ' . ANNALS OF THE [Jan. 1790, This Decree, which certainly preffed hard upon the clafs of the great penfioners, was didlated by neceffity ; and it would alfo have been as juft as circumftances would have permitted, had it not had a retrofpedlive ef- fedt in reducing the fums that had previoufly fallen due. But the particular murmurs ex cited by this reform Were nothing in compa- rifon to the applaufes obtained by the Affem bly, for the Decree paffed in the fame Sitting relative to the Civil Lift, They fent a De putation to the King, to beg that he would liimfelf have the goodnefs to fix the fum he would have. the Affembly vote for his per fonal expenees and thofe of his auguft fa mily ; and they expreffiy charged the head of the Deputation to befeech his Majefty to confult, on this occafion, lefs his fpirit of economy than the dignity of the . French Nation, which required that the Throne of the Monarch ffiould be fup ported with great luftre." The King made the following Reply to the Prefident of the Affembly, whp was at the head of the Deputation : " I am very fenfible of the Refolution " taken by the National Affembly, and of " the Jan. 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION, 253 " the fentiments you exprefs to me on their " part, I will not abufe their confidence; " anjd before I fignify my mind on the'fub- " jedt of their Deputation, I will wait till " from the refult of their labours there ffiall " be funds fecured for the payment of the " intereft due to the creditors of the State, " and to anfwer the neceffary expenees of " public order, and the defence of the " Kingdom, What perfonally regards my- " felf is; in the prefent fituation of things, " the leaft of my concerns." Although the King's fentiments were fuf ficiently known to give Toom for expedting this reply, it created the livelieft tranfports of enthufiafm, tendernefs, and joy : four different times did the ffiouts of Vive le Roi ! and a general clapping burft out at once from every part of the Hall and galleries. Mem bers and fpedlators all at that moment were Royalifts, Very different was the fcene publicly paff ing at the Chatelet, in the -affair of the Mar quis de Favras. The fury of the populace againft him had rifen to fuch a pitch of vio lence, that it was not poffible to continue the proceedings, in his trial. Twelve wit- neffe.s 254 ANNALS OF THE [Jan. 179(5. neffes attended the Court on the nth of January; but the horrible cry of Favras a la lanterne ! unanimoufly roared out by an immenfe crowd, forced both the witneffes and Judges to withdraw. Nor was the Court lefs tumultuous the next day, although all the National Guards were under arms, and feveral cannon placed before the Chatelet. On the fame day riotPus affemblies were formed in the Champs Elifees, principally compofed of the foldiers pf the former French Guards. The real motives of their affembling were not known : the demand of an augmen tation of pay and of farther engagement ap peared to be their objedt ; but fo donfiderable an armed meeting clofe to the Palace and td the National Affembly, could not but be very alarming. M. de la Fayette marched out with a fufficient force to reduce the ri oters, who feeing themfelves furrounded laid down their arms. M. de la Fayette caufed near 200 of them to be taken up, and their coats to be ftripped off their backs, and the fame day they were fent to the prifons of St, Denis. . - This adventure intimidated the populace, or rather the brigands who had taken up their winter quarters in the fuburbs of the ^ 2 Capital; Xan, 1790,] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 255 Capital ; and at laft on the 13th of January the trial of the Marquis de Favras came on, and fome of the witneffes were examined. The concourfe of people was not lefs than before, but a numerous guard fecured tran quillity. In the environs of the Chatelet they arrefted a perfon tolerably well dreffed, who was talking in a feditious manner, and carried him before Grandin the Commif- fioner. He appeared to be really aftoniffied at being arrefted, and complained bitterly to the Commiffioner of the miftake. " What ! ' " Gentlemen," faid he, " a'n't I a good " citizen? I, who cut off the heads of " Foulon and Launay ; who tore out their " hearts and bowels!" Then taking a knife out of his pocket, he ffiowed it as the inftru ment he had ufed. On its being obferved , to him, that his knife was too fmall for fuch a purpofe, he faid that he had been a butcher and a cook, and underftood ampu tations *. Such was already the progrefs of the morality profeffed by the Fadlious, and preached bytheir Agents ! the moft atrocious adts of barbarity were buta<^s of civifni — of patriotifm ! * See the paper of the Moniteur of the i^th of January 1790. Moft 256 ANNALS OF THE [Jan. 1790. Moft of the witneffes examined on tHe trial of M. de Favras gave only vague hearfay evidence refpedting the dangers of the King, the advantages that would refult from carrying off the Royal Family, the poffibility of executing fuch a plan, and the like. Two perfons of the names of Turcati and Morel were the only witneffes who precifely fpoke to any ferious fadts. The former declared, that M. de Favras had communicated to him " A plan for form- " ing a corps of cavalry, to be compofed of " the moft diftinguiffied perfons and moft " devoted to the King; that M. de Fa'uras " had commiffioned him to raife. a body of " troops and volunteers, in order to cany " off the King, Royal Family, and the " Keeper of the Seals; and laftly, that his " projedt was to make ufe of the horfes in ' ' the King's ftables for this body of troops, " but that M. de St. Priefi had refufed them " to him." M. de Favras denied all thefe fadts, or explained them in the moft fatisfadtory man ner. He faid, with refpedt to the horfes in the- King's ftables, " That being at Ver- " failles on the 5th of Odtober, he went id " the Oeil-de-Beeuf in the Palace, and ob/ " ferving Jan. 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 257 *•' ferring there a general depreffion at the " news that women were coming from " Paris with cannon, he propofed to M. de ' ' St. Priefi to furniffi him with horfes from " the King's ftables, to diftribute them " among his Majefty's moft zealous fer- " vants, and to go and take the cannon " from the women; that M. de St. Priefi. "going into the King's apartment made " him wait a long time, and at laft came " and told him that it was all unneceffary, " as M. de la Fayette was coming from " Paris with fix thoufand men to protedt " the P,alace." The truth of this ftatement was corroborated by the evidence of M. de . St. Priefi, and the other twp fadts advanced in Turcati's depofition were abfurdities too evident not to create very great fufpicion of impofture, M. de Favras, a man without fortune, and very little known, had no means, nor was he in any point of view in a fitua tion, to rally around him the moft difliii- guiffied perfons of the Kingdom : he was neither mad enough to flatter himfelf that he could, nor fool enough to fay it.' The pretended commiffion given to Turcati to raife a body of troops .and volunteers was not more probable. To levy troops required Vol. II. S funds'. 258 ANNALS ov THE [Jan. 1790, funds, and Turcati did not fay that he had ' received any money from M. de Favras ; fo that, if it had been even proved that the latter had fpoken what Turcati charged him with, common fenfe could look upon it in no other light than as an extravagant boaft or filly jeft. Morel's evidence was ftill more ferious, but not lefs fufpicious, than that of Tur cati's : He depofed, that M. de Favras had told him in confidence; " that he was " in correfpondence .with the Provinces of " Artois, Picardy, Hainaut, Lorraine, " Champagne, andAlface; tt^at he ffiould " affemble 26,000 Gentlemen from thefe " Provinces, at Montargis, for the purpofe " of effedting a Counter- Reyolution 5 that " in the mean-time, and to open this grand " bufinefs, he w;as to introduce into Paris " by night 1200 horfemen, divided into " three corps, who were to go to the " quarters of the town where M. Bailly, " M. de la Fayette, and M. Necker refided,., " to put them to death, and afterwards *' they were to meet in the Champs Elifees. " to carry off the Royal Family; that " M. de Favras, to prevail upon him to " "enter into his views, had told him that 1 ?' he Jan. 17915.] FRENCH REVOLUTIPN. 259 *' he had engaged the Officers and Serjeants " of the 8000 Swifs in his plan; that the " 26,000 Gentlemen were to repair to St. " Denis j to efcort the King to his deftina- " tion, and that he had provided magazines " of arms and ammunition at St. Ger- " main's and the neighbourhood, &c, &c." This witnefs on his re-examihation farther declared, that he was himfelf the perfon whom M. de Favras had charged to put M. de la Fayette to death* On his examination M. de Favras ex claimed with indignation againft all thefe affertions as falfe. " They cannot," faid he, " prove a fingle one. I never had any " connedtion with any Swifs Serjeant, How " could I think of affembling 26,000 men " at Montargis without its being known " and oppofed .? How could I have brought "them to St. Denis from fo many different " Provinces without their march exciting " fufpicions and alarm upon all the roads, " and without their being obftrudled? Let " my denouncers, for thefe pretended wit- " neffes are really my denouncers, and as " fuch cannot be admitted to give evi- " dence — 'but let them ppinl; out, however, S 2 " where 260 ANNAls of the [Jan. i79oi '«* where thofe pretended magazines of arms " were, where the 1 200 horfes, and what " was the place of meeting." Thefe two witneffes obftinately, refufed to make any anfwer to the queftions urged to them by M. de Favras in crofs-examining them, but perfifted in the truth of their de pofition. Suppofing againft all appearances, that Morel and Turcati were not falfe wit neffes, it is not lefs certain that the fadts fpoken to by the one, far from being the fame as thofe fpoken to by the other, were abfo- lutely different, and confequently they could not eftabliffi any legal proof; for, according to the old criminal jurifprudence of France, which was ftill adhered to at that period, ' the teftimo'ny of one perfon was not fuffi cient : tefiis unus tefiis nullus. But unfor tunately for M. de Favras the proceedings were carried on before the public; and he, had but too convincing a proof that this new mode, proper perhaps in times of tranquil-' lity, is in times of commotion as favour-' able to crimes as it is fatal to innocence.—? The populace were prefent— the brigands,' exafperated at having feen M. de Buzen val fet at liberty, and his criminal indidl- ment Jan, 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 261 ment converted into a civil adtion, ffiowed by their thi'eats and bowlings that they would not fuffer themfelves to be fo eafily deprived of this fecond vidtim, Thefe fe rocious clamours devoted M. de Favras to death: the Chatelet !— condemned him to it ! — M. de Favras protefted his innocence to the laft moment of his life ; and fubmit ted to his fate with a prefence of mind, fe renity, and courage fo extraordinary, that he excited the aftonifliment, and admiration of all who were prefent at his execution, Hiftory prefents few examples of fo heroic a death. While t|ie fermentation in the Capital was excited and kept up by the public Sit- fings at the Chatelet, the National Affembly were deliberating upon the divifion of France- into Diftridts, and upon the organization of the Muncipalities ; and the, Breton Club, now become the Club of the Jacobins, ex tending its powers and its affiliations through all the Provinces, was propagating every where the Revolutionary Fanaticifm, and all its fury. How muft it have mortified and grieved the King to fee that all the facrifices to which he had been led by the hope of mak- S 3 ing 262 ANNALS OF THE [Jan, 1790, ing his fubjedls happy, produced only com^ motion, calamity, and crimes; that, inftead of the tribute of love and confidence fo juftly his due, fufpicion, diftruft and ingra titude were the only returns for his cares and affedtion ; that his moft faithful fervants were every where the objedts of the perfcr cution and hatred of that people for whom he had done fo much ! His Majefty was particularly affedted by the fanguinary crucl^ ty that was difplayed againft M. de Favras, whpfe only crime was not having fufficiently. difguifed fentiments, perhaps too wfld, ii^ favour of Royalty. It was not eafy to find a remedy for fo many evils. What was tp be done to put an end to fo many vexations, fp many diffenfions ; to recoricile fuch oppo fite opinions and interefts ; to moderate on the one hand the Revolutionary enthufiafm, and on the other the refentment and zeal of the Royahfts .? The Minifters thought," and perfuaded the King, that the, only means from which he could hope this effedl, was to yield frankly and entirely to a Revolution which it was no longer poffible to avoid or to ftop ; to endeavour to fupply by popula rity the authority and "power he had loft, and, for this purpofe, to join in a more intimate and Feb. 1790.] .FRENCH REVOLUTION. 263 tnd folemn manner in the labours of the Affembly on the new Conftitution; in a word, to take tlie lead in the Revolution, J:he better to diredl it. This hope deter mined his Majefty to adopt the important condudt in the Affembly which I am nov/ to relate. On the 4th of February, in the morning, the King by a letter informed the Prefident that he intended to go to the Affembly at noon, and defired to be received without ce remony. The Prefident, however, who had been informed of it the day before, had or dered a chair and carpets. This was ap proved of by the Affembly, who voted a Deputation of four-and-twenty members to meet the King, and that the Prefident alone ffiould be empowered to fpeak in his Majef ty's prefence. The Secretary's defk was removed^ beyond the bar, A chair covered with purple velvet was put in the place oc cupied by the Prefident, and a fimilar- piece of Velvet was fpread as a carpet at the foot of the chair. The Prefident having no feat performed his office ftanding, till the King arrived ; when he went at the head of the Deputation to receive him .at the entrance of the Hall, condudted him to the chair appro- S 4 priated 264 ANNALS OF THE [Feb. 1790, priated for him, and took his place on the right of his Majefty. Repeated applaufes artd ffiouts of Vive le Roi ! refounded throughout the Hall the moment his Ma jefty appeared. He was attended only by his Minifters and fome of his pages. All the members of the Affembly vvere ftanding, and the King remaining fo likewife deli vered the follovying Speech : " Gentlemen, " I am come among you, impelled by the ferious fituation of our Country. The gra dual relaxation of all the bonds of order' and fubordination ; the fufpenfion or inadtivity of Juftice ; the difcontents arifing from pri vate loffes ; the oppofitions, the unfortunate; animolities, which are the unavoidable con fequences of long diffenfions ; the critical fituation of the finances, and the doubts re fpedting the public wealth; in fine, the general agitation, all feem to confpire to keep alive the anxiety of the real friends of the profperity and happinefs of the King- ¦doni, " A grand objedt lies before you, but it muft be attained without farther difturbances or new convulfions. I cannot but fay that it FM.1790-] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 265 it-^was my hope to have led you to it in a milder and more tranquil manner, when I formed the defign of affembling you, and of uniting for the public welfare the talents and inclinations of the Reprefentatives of the Nation ; but my happinefs and my glory are not the lefs clofely connedled with the fuccefs of your labours. " I have, with unremitting vigilance, protedled them againft the fatal influence which the unhappy circumftances of the times might have over them. The horrors of famine which ftared us in the face laft year, have been removed by infinite care, in confequence of which there have been immenfe fupplies of provifions. The dif order that might naturally enfue from the old ftate of the finances, from the finking of credit, the exceffive fcarcity of money, and the gradual decay of the revenue ; that diforder, at leaft in excefs, has been hitherto averted, I have every where, and efpecially iri the Capital, guarded againft the dan gerous confequences of the want of work, and notwithftanding the lofs of vigour in all the fprings of authority, I have main- taintd the Kingdom, not indeed in the -calm I could have wiffied, far from it, but 266 ANNALS OF THE [Feb. 1790, but in a ftate of tranquillity fufficient to re^ ceive the benefit of a wife and well-ordered liberty : laftly, in fpite of our domeltic fitu, ation generally known, and in fpite of the political ftorms that agitate other Nations, I have preferved peace abroad, and I have con tinued with all the powers of Europe in thofe bonds of refpedt and amity that are likely to render the peace durable. " Having thus fecured you from obfta cles which might fo eafily have obftrudl ed your cares and your labours, I think the moment is arrived when the intereft of the State requires that I ffiould join in a manner more exprefs and manifeft, in thq execution and iffue of ail that you have been planning for the good of France. I cannot, feize a more fuitable occafion than when you prefent me for my concurrence decrees for eftabliffiing throughout the Kingdom a new organization, which muft have fo im portant and propitious an influence on the welfare of my fubjedts, and the profperity of this Empire. " Gentlemen, you are aware, that more than ten years ago, and at a time when the wiffies of the Nation were not made known refpedting the Provincial Affemblies, I had begun Feb. 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 267 begun to fubftitute this kind of Adminiftra tion in the room of one that had been con- fecrated by immemorial ufage. Experience having convinced me that I was not miftaken in the opinion I had conceived of the utility of thefe eftabliffiments, I have endeavoured to extend the benefit of them through all the Provinces of my Kingdom ; and in or der to infpire general confidence in the new modes of Adminiftration, it was my defire that the members that were to compofe it ffiould be freely appointed by the citizens. You have improved thefe views in feveral ways, and particularly by that equal and wifely defigned fubdivifion, which by weakening the effedl of the former fepara- tiqn of Province from Province, and efta bliffiing a general and complete fyftem of an equal balance, better unites all the parts of the Kingdom in one mind and one in tereft-. This grand idea, this falutary con trivance, is entirely due to you ; but unani mity in the Reprefentatives of the Nation, and their juft afcendency over the general opinion, are neceffary in order to Undertake with confidence an alteration of fuch great importance, and to pvercpme with the force of 268 ANNALS OF THX [Feb. 1790. of reafon the refiftance of habit and pri vate intereft. " I will ufe all the means in my power to promote the fuccefs of this ftupendous organization, on which, in my opinion, the fafety of France depends : and I frankly tell you, that occupied as I am with the in terior fituation of the Kingdom, and having my eyes continually open uppn the dangers; of every kind with which we aro' furround ed, I cannot but be fully fenfible, that in the prefent difpofition of the public niind, and fituation of public affairs, it is necef fary that a new order pf things ffipuld. be eftabliffied calmly and peaceably, or the Kingdom will be expofed to all the calami-. ties of anarchy. " Let the real citizens refledt upon it as I have done, by fixing their attention only on the good of the State, and they will find, that even with different opinions they are now urged by a fupereminent intereft to unite. Time will corredl what may remain dcfedtive in the laws framed by this Affem bly; but every enterprife that tends to ffiake the principles of the Conftitution itfelf, every defign the objedt of which was to overthrow Feb. 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 269 overthrow or weaken the happy influence of it, would only ferve to introduce amongft us the frightful evils of difcord ; and fuppof ing that fuch an attempt againft my people and me ffiould be fuccefsful, the refult would deprive us of many advantages we have in view from the new order of things, with out fubftituting any thing in their ftead. " Let us then fincerely indulge in the hopes we may conceive, and let us think only of realifing them by unanimity. Let it be every where known, that the Monarch and the Reprefentatives of the Nation are united in one intereft and one wiffi, that this opinion and firm belief may fpread a fpirit ,of peace and good will throughout the Pro vinces, and that all citizens of good cha radter, all who are able to ferve the State cffentially by their zeal and their talents, may be ready to take a part in the different fubdivifions of the general Adminiftration, every link of which ffiould concur effica- cioufly in reftoripg the order and profperity ' of the Kingdom. " We muft not deceive ourfelves ; much is to be done before we can attain this. ob jedt. An invariable 'will, with a general and common effort, are abfolutely neceffary to infure 270 AT4NALS OF THE [Feb. i7gci infure fuccefs. Continue then your labours ^ unmixed with any paffion but that of doing good ; devote your firft attention to the lot of the people, and public liberty ; but take pains'alfo to abate, to remove all diftruft, and put an end as foon as poffible to the vex-' ations which drive fo many citizens from France, and the effedt of which is contrary to the laws of fafety and liberty you would eftabliffi. There can be no return of pro fperity without general content. We every where perceive hopes, let us be anxious to fee happinefs alfo every where. " I am fond of believing that one day all Frenchmen indifcriminately will acknow ledge the propriety of fuppreffing. entirely the diftindtion of Order or State, in calling on perfons to work in common for the pub lic good, for that profperity of the Country which concerns all citizens alike ; and every man ought to fee without pain, that in fu ture a reputation for talents and virtue will be a fufficient qualification for being ap pointed to ferve the State in any manner. " At the fame time, however, whatever recalls to the memory of a Nation the anti quity and continuance of the fervices of an honoured family, is a diftindtion which nothing iFEB. 1790-] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 27I nothing can aboliffi ; and as it is connedled with the duties of gratitude, thofe of 'every clafs of fociety who afpire to render their Country effential fervice, and thofe who enjoy the honour of having already done fo, are interefted refpedting that perpetuation of titles or remembrances which are the faireft in heritance that men can tranfmit to their children. " Neither can the refpedt due to the Mi nifters of Religion be effaced ; for, that re fpedt being principally connedled with the holy truths which are the fafeguard of or der and morality, all good and enlightened' citizens have an equal intereft in maintain ing and defending it. " No doubt, they who have relinquiflied their pecuniary privileges, they who no longer form, as heretefore, a political order in ths State, will find themfelves fubjedted to fa crifices of which I know all the importance-; but I am perfuaded their generofity will lead them to find confolation in the public advan tages to be hoped from the eftabli.ffiment of the National Affemiblies. " I too ffiould have many loffes to reckon, could f, in the nudft of the greateft in terefts 2^2 ANNALS OF THE [Feb. 1790! terefts of the State, wafte my thoughts on private calculations ; but I receive a com penfation that is enough for me, d full and complete cornpenfation, in the increafe'of the happinefs of my people, and it is from the bottom of my heart I here fay this. " I will defend, then, and maintain the conftitutional liberty, the principles of which have been confecrated by the general wiffi in union with mine. I will do more, and in concert with the Queen, whofe fentiments , are the fame as mine, I will early train the mind and heart of my fon to the new order of things which circumftances have intro duced. I will habituate him, from his earlieft years, to place his happinefs upon that of the French; and to know, in fpite of the language of 'flattery, that a wife Conftitution will ^ preferve him from the dangers of inexperience ; and that a juft liberty adds a freffi value to the fentiments of love and loyalty,, of which the Nation has for fo many ages given fuch affedting proofs to their Kings. ' ' I will not for a moment doubt, that in completing your work you will attend with wifdom and candour tp the fuppprt of the " ' Executive Feb.I79°-] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 273 Executive Power, without which neither durable order at home nor refpedt abroad can be maintained. You can have no rea- fonable diftruft remaining : it is therefore your duty, as Citizens, and as faithful Reprefentatives of the Nation, to fecure for the State and Public Liberty that ftability which can refult only from an adtive and tu telary authority. You will furely keep in mind, that without fuch an authority all the parts of your fyftem of Conftitution would be deftitute at once of connedtion and har mony ; and while you are attending to the liberty you love, and which I love too, you wiU not forget that diforder in Adminiftra tion, by introducing confufion in the powers, often degenerates through blind violence into the moft dangerous and moft alarming of all tyrannies. " Thus, Gentlemen, not for me, (for I throw perfonal interefts out of the queftion, in confidering laws and inftitutions that are to regulate, the deftiny of the Empire,) but for the happinefs of our Country, for its profperity and its power, I call upon you to difmifs from your minds all impreffions of the moment which might divert you from Vol. II. T con- 274 ANNALS OF TilE [Fee, 1790. confidering in its whole what- fuch a Kingdom as that of France requires, as well from its vaft extent and immenfe po- pulation, as from its inevitable relations abd " Neither will you refufe your attention to what is alfo required of you as legiflators, by the manners, charadter, and cuftoms of a nation which has become, from its fpirit and genius, too celebrated in Europe to make it a matter of indifference whether the fen- timents of mildnefs and confidence, which have gained it fo much reputation, ffiould _be' fupported or altered. ' " Give it likewife an example of that fpirit of juftice which is the fafeguard of property, of that right refpeded by all nations, which is not the work of chance, or indebted to opinion for privileges, but which is ftridlly connedled with the effential relations of public order, and the foundations of, focial harmony. " Why is it, when tranquillity was re turning, that new troubles have broken out in the Provinces ? Why is it, that the Peo ple there give themfelves up to new ex ceffes ? Join with me to put a ftop to them j kt Feb. I790-] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 275 let us ufe all our efforts- to prevent criminal violences from arifing to tarniffi thefe days in which the happinefs of the Nation is the bufinefs of our minds. Do you, who have fuch means of influencing the public, convince the People, who are mifled, of their real interefts ; that People who are fo dear to me, and by whom they who would confole me for my anxieties affure me that I am beloved. Did they know how un happy it makes me to hear of unjuft at tempts againft property, or a(3:s of violence againft the perfons of my fubjedls, per haps they would fpare me the heavy af flidtion. " While I am fpeaking of the great con cerns of the State, I cannot omit preffing you to attend earneftly and decifively to whatever relates to the re-eftabliffiment of order in the finances, and to the tranquillity of an immenfe number of citi;zens who are dependent on the public refpurees : it is time to relieve all uneafinefs ; it is time to reftore to this Kingdom the credit it ,has a right to enjoy. You cannot undertake every thing at Pnce ; I therefore invite you to referve for other times a part of thofe benefits which T2 the 276 ANNALS OF THE [Feb. 1795, the union of your talents has brought into your view. But when you have added to what you have already done, a wife and rea- fpnable plan fpr the adminiftratipn^ of juf tice,; when you have fecured the founda tions of a perfedt equilibrium between the revenue and the expenees of the State ; in fine, when you have completed the Confti tution, you ^yill be juftly entitled to the gratitude of the public ; and in the fucccf- fion of National Affemblies, a fucceffion founded on that very Conftitution, it will only be requifite to add from year to year new meafures of profperity to all thofe fet tled by you. May this day, on which your King comes to unite himfelf moft frankly and moft cordially with you, be a memora ble epocha in the hiftory of this Empire ! I truft it will, if my ardent wiffies, and my earneft exhortations, be the fignal of peace and unanimity. Let thofe who yet feel re- ludtant to joining heartily in a fpirit of har mony become fo neceffary, facrifice to me all their painful recolledtions, and I will re pay them with my gratitude and affedtion.— Let us all, and I fet you the example, pro- fefs but one opinion, one intereft, one will, an Feb. 1790-] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 277 an attachment to the new Conftitution, and an ardent defire for the. peace, happinefs, and profperity of France." This Declaration'^ fo paternal, fo concili ating, excited the livelieft emotion in the Af* fembly : continued clapping of hands inter rupted the King's fpeech almoft at every fentence, and anticipated to his Majefty the fincerity of the gratitude, refpedt, and love expreffed in the Prefident's reply. The Deputation that attended the King on his leaving the Affembly reported, that the Royal Family had come to meet the King, and that the Queen had addreffed thfe Deputation in the following' word^ : " My " fentiments are the fame as the King's, " and I concur with heart and mind in the " ftep which his love for his People has " now led him to take. Here is my fon ; " I will talk to him conftantly of the vir- " tues of the befl of Fathers. I will teach *' him early to cheriffi public liberty, and " I truft he will be the firmeft fupporter of " it." The Affembly, who, while their deputa tion 'Were attending the King on his return, T 3 ha4 278 ANNALS OF THE [Feb. 1790, had voted an addrefs of thanks to his Ma jefty, charged the Deputation appointed to prefent it, to pay the fame refpedls to the Queen, and to affure their Majefties, that all the members had concurred fincerely in heart, fentiments, and affedliori, to confe- crate this union. It was now unanimoufly decreed, that all the Deputies ffiould immediately take the civic oath by the call of names, and that thofe who were abfent ffiould not be admit ted but on condition of doing the fame. — The Prefident afcended the tribune firft, and took the oath in thefe terms : " I fwear to " be faithful to the Nation, the Law, and " the King, and to maintain to the utmoft " of my power the Conftitution decreed " by the National Affembly, and accepted " by the King," As foon as the call of names was finiffied, the crowd of fpedtators that filled the tri bunes, participating the enthufiafm, rofe and took the fame oath, amidft the applaufes of the Affembly. The motive on which the oath was propofed and adopted, was a hope of extinguiffiing all diffenfions, by rallying all parties in a common engagement around Feb. i>90-] FRENCH REVOLUTIPN. 279 arpund the Cpnftitution and the King, who had now made himfelf a part of it. What good effedts might haye been drawn from this general union and enthufiafm, had the Minifters known how to have taken advantage of it ! Had the King pointed out more precifely to the Affembly the part he wiffied them to take, his Majefty might have added at the conclufion of his fpeech fomething to the following effedt : " But, " Gentlemen, it is not in the midft of trou- " bles, of confufion, and of diforder, that " a new form of Government, of which the " foundations are not all laid, that a new " fyftem of Adminiftration and Police, ftill ?' incomplete, can be eftabliffied with fuc- ?¦'_ cefs. If this partial mixture of the old " and new fyftem were puffied farther, it " would inevitably lead to the deftrudtion of " the State, becaufe, in fpite of your efforts " and mine, the calamities and outrages that " rend this Kingdom daily increafe and " become enormous. Confider then whether " it be not more advantageous to wait the " end of your labours on the Conftitution in " all its parts, before you put it to the deci- '' five proof of execution; whether the, T 4 " fafety 28o ANNALS 'OF THE [Feb. 1790. " fafety of France does not make it necef- " fary for you to maintain in full force the " old laws and the power requifite to have " them e^^ecuted, till the time when the new " laws, matured by refledtion, and form- " ing a whole wifely combiried, might be " eftabliffied at once, without leaving the " leaft interval to anarchy. Let this im- " portant queftion be the immediate fubjedl " of your deliberation ; you haye not a " moment to lofe in deciding, for the fal- " vation of the Monarchy depends up-- " on it." If a requeft fo reafonable had been con^ Certed, as it might and ffiould have been; with fome of the principal members of the Affembly, there is no doubt it would have been the grounds of a Decree, at the conclu fion of the famous Sitting of the 4th of February ; a Decree that would neceffarily have included the abolition of all Clubs, and the fuppreffion of all the National Guard, or at leaft thofe of provincial towns. The licen- tioufnefs of the prefs would have been re ftrained. The jurifdidtions of the Provoft- Marffial, and the Marechauffee would have refumed their duty, the troops of the line their Feb. 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 28 1 their difcipline, the Courts their bufinefs, the Municipalities their obedience, and, in a word, the old fyftem of "powers and fubor dination would have reftored tranquillity, and difpelled the Revolutionary fanaticifm. That moment of refpite and of calm might have fecured a preference tp reafonable ideas over wild ones. The Nation, made wife by eight months dreadful experience, might have been induced to defire only reforms as falutary as eafy, inftead of a Revolution already marked by fo many difafters, and of which the termination was enveloped in as much darknefs as the confequences. The Affembly itfelf might have been forced by the public opinion to recede. Such are the precious fruits that the King might have gathered from the enthu fiafm which his condudt excited, had the Minifters who advifed it attended more to the effedts of it. As the King was reduced to the fad refource of courting popularity for the purpofe of recovering fome frag ments of his ^ower, the ufe that was to be^ made of fuch means ffiould at leaft have been underftood before it was reforted to ; and there could not be a more itfef ul leffon on 282 ANNAL-S OF THE [Feb. 1790. on that head than the example of the Mira- beaus, Barnaves, Chapeliers, &c. whofe popular declamatidns were always followed by an important motion, for which they en- fured fuccefs. Such motions made the next day, unaccompanied with the , patriotic preamble, which might be called their paffport, would have been rejedted. It re quired no more than one day to efface the impreffion that had been made by the King's Speech, In the Sitting of the next day the Affem bly applaudecl indeed the replies of their Majefties to the Addreffes of the Depata^ tion, but they applauded mechanically," without emotion, and b£caufe they had ap plauded the day before ; there was no longer any thing of the heart in it ; yet M, Mar louet was deceived by it : " I partake," faid he, " the fatisfadtion felt by the Affembly " at the account they have juft received; " but I think that the Sitting of yefterday " ffiould not be left without any other " trace than that of barren applaufe. The " King's condudt was the refult of impor- " tant motives, and it ought to be attended ' ' with important effedts ; I therefore move, " that FEB.-J790] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 283 *' that the King's Speech be now read, and " that this Sitting be devpted to the confi- " deration of the principal fubjedls men- " tioned by his Majefty." To order ! To the Conftitution ! refound ed from every part of the Hall. In vain did he urge '* that their Conftituents in the Pro- " vinces, when they fliould hear of the in- " terefting fcene that had fo greatly affedted " the Affembly, and ffiould read the King's " Speech, would be at a lofs tp conceive '* how they cpuld have attended in prefer- " ence to any other fubjedt." He was an- f\yered, that it was concurring in the King's views to accelerate the divifion of the Kingdom ; and in fadt the Affembly im mediately refumed the difcuffion relative to the divifion of the Departments into Dif tridts, having firft voted thanks to the Pre-f ^dent for the Speech he had addreffed to the ICing, at the head of the Deputation. That Speech, fincere when it was fpoken, but fince fo cruelly contradidted by the condudt of the Affembly, is rendered by the King's melancholy fate an effential part bf his Majefty's hiftory, and is as fol lows; " Sire, 284 ANNALS OF THE '[Feb; 1750. " Sire, we come to offer to your Majef- • ty the firft fruits of your patriotifm and ' virtues, the oblivion of all diffenfions, ' the harmony of wfll, and the union of ' private with public intereft. The happy • effedts of your Majefty's prefence in the ' National Affembly were, that the Repre- * fentatives ofthe French People took a' ' folemn oath to be faithful to the Nation, ' the Law, the King, and the Conftitu-. ' tion, and the crowd of citizens who were ' prefent demanded to be affociated in this ' auguft and holy covenant. Why was the ' humane, juft, and fenfible heart of your ' Majefty deprived of the affedting fight ? ' As we are the interpreters of the Nation's ' wiffies, fo ought we to be of its gratis ' tude. Deign, Sire, to accept the tribute ' of it with kindnefs: the love and confi-. ' dence of thei.r people are the real treaTur [Fbb, 1790* Treafury Office — Oppofed by the Commit tee of Finances — Affignats — The Pro perty of the Clergy fet up to Sale — Of. fers of the Municipality of Paris — Com penfation for the Gabelle — Suppreffion oj the India Company— Lettres de Cachet abolijhed — Report on the Compenjation jor Tithes and all Ecclefiaftical Property, and on the future Provifion for the Mi nifters oj Religion — A Motion jor de creeing the Catholic Religion to be the Religion oj the State — RejeEled — Popu lar Commotions — Several Ecclefiafiics injulted — TJie Guard oj the Affembly doubled — M. de la Fayette repairs to the HalL X HE pleafing emotions of joy and of hope experienced by the Parifians, in confe quence of the King's Speech, and of -'4'i3 '*7 ^ " in 1782 87,143,428 2 9— in 1783 145,438,131 '9 9 " in 1784 111,714,986 14 9. — in 1785 136,684,828 5 z " in 1786 87,958,401 6 7 — in 1787 82,913,075 16 1 " The whole amounting to - - 860,000,828 17 2" This violent declamation in the Introduc tion to the Red Book, which had nothing to do with, the ordonnauces de comptant, was certainly extremely mifplaced : but it was ftill more unjuft, and totally unfounded ; for, fo far were the ordonnances de comptant from' being contrived to cover expenees which dared not be avowed, that they were chiefly em ployed AfRii.i79p,] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 347 ployed in difcharge of the ufual and indif penfable public expenees. In fadt, the Re ceivers-General difcharged different expenees in the Provinces, for the work-houfes of the poor ; , for houfes of corredtion ; for re mittances x>r indemnities on cafualties ; for epidemical difeafes of the cattle ; for the ex penees of the Intendant's Offices; the defi ciencies in the taxes, or indemnifications granted to the Provinces ; accoutrements of foldiers; charges of arming, &c. &c. The difcharge of thefe expenees was verified by the Intendants, and the Receivers-General were reimburfed for them by thofe ordon nances de comptant; which was deemed ne ceffary to fpare the Chamber of Accotints the minute detail of an immenfe number faf receipts, fome of which might have been deficient in thofe ftridl formalities required in that Court. The ordonnances de comp tant were alfo employed for paying the in terefts of the fecurities or funds in advance of various Companies of Finance; the in tereft of the debts of the old India Com pany ; the interefts and cofts on moneys taken up by anticipated payments, and for feveral loans made on account of the Royal Treafury by the States of the Provinces. — Laftly, 348 ANNALS OF THE* " [ApRiLiygo. Laftlv, it was by thefe ordonnances de comptant that the Fermiers Ge'ne'raux were reimburfed the funds remitted to the payers of the annuities for their fervice, and which the Fermiers Ge'ne'raux threw into theRoyaf Treafury, for the purpofe of their being de livered to the payers of the annuities. The account of the Keeper of the Royal Treafury, who paid thefe Orders, was fettled by the King himfelf in his Council of Fi nances, compofed not only of his Minifters, but of feveral Counfellors of State. A ftate^ ment was drawn up before. them,, called the cafh acquittance, [acquit de comptant,) to the amount of the fums paid by virtue of the ordonnances de comptant, ¦ This ftate? ment was examined with the, orders them felves, and figned by the King and the Mi». nifters immediately after. the examination. — . The King ordered the Chamber of Accounts- to allow the Keeper of the Royal Treafury,. for diffiurfements, a fum equivalent to theJ amount of this ftatement^ the icoirredtnefs of which he certified. -The or donmnces de comptant there ineniioned were depbfited at^ the Louvre, to be preferved and e^ihibitedas occafion required, and there was not one which April 1796'] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 349 which did not exprefs the reafons for which it had been given':"- '¦ - • The Committee' had been informed of all thefe circumftances, and fome of their mem bers had even gone to the Louvre to exa mine 'the ordonnances de^comptant ; it was therefore with their eyes open that they took advantage of the ignorance of the public to criminate a form of Adminiftration which could have nothing in it reprehenfible, and -which had the merit of rendering the audit of the Royal Treafury more fimple and expe ditious. One might have fuppofed, on hearing the declamations of the Committee, that the Chamber of Accounts was a high National Court authorifed to difcufs and controul whatever expenees were ordered by the Ad miniftration ; whereas, on the contrary, it was a mere court of audit, eftabliffied by 'the Monarch to receive and fettle in the King's name, and for his eafe, the accounts of the Receivers and Treafurers of the Royal moneys and of the revenues ofthe State; and it was for this reafon that they admitted wiffiout examination the vouchers which the King-had taken the pains to examine him- ¦felf'in Council, fuch as the cajh .acquit tances ^acquits de 'comptant). " It 3^0 ANNALS OF THE [April i79», " It will be neceffary," add the Com mittee in their Introdudtion, " to expofe " to the view of the Nation the audacity of " the Minifters j one of whom, loaded with " the King's favours, and enjoying ftipends " and penfions to the amount of 98,622 li- " vres, after having obtained, on the 26th " of March 1785, penfions for ten of his " family, after having added an eleventh " penfion to that lift, granted to a relation " whom he had forgotten before, preferred " alfo, on' the 4th of September 1787, the " following petitions : for an hereditary " Duchy, with an annuity of 60,000 li- " vres, 1 5,000 of which Jo be fettled on each " of his two children;, and a fum of money " down to affift him in arranging his af^- " fairs. Another, while he took the ho- " nour with the public of receiving only " half the penfion of 20,090 livres ufually " granted to the Minifters, petitioned, on " the 26th of November 1788, for a dif- " charge of 100,000 livres, a fum for " which he was debtor in his own depart- " ment out of the moneys committed to " his diredtion; and gave as the ground of " his petition, that his predeceffors had ob- " tained almoft every year gratuities to " the ApRIL1790'!1 FRENCH REVOLUTION. 35I " ffie amount of from 80 to 100,000 li- " vres." Marffial de Segur, who was alluded to in the firft of thefe charges, repelled it with force and dignity in the following letter, which he caufed to be inferted in feveral of the public papers : " I have never anfwered pamphlets or li- " bels. My age, rank, fervices, wounds, " and the efteem of the army, were in my " eyes a fufficient defence againft injuftice " and Calumny ; but I have obferved in the " public papers, and heard cried in the ". ftreets, a work . entitled the Red Book, ¦*' and figned, to my great aftoniffiment, by " the Committee of Penfions, although " neither the King nor the National Affem- " bly had ordered or permitted the print- " ing of it. As the expenees in that book " had no reference either to myfelf or any "i belonging to me, I could not have ima- " gined that I ffiould have been unjuftly " cited in it by men who ought to have re- " fpedted me, and foir favours which were " not granted to me. My whole life is the '* only anfwer I fhall give to thefe indecent charges : it 352 AiTNALS'PF THE [ApJiii-1796. charges : yet I think iit proper to infprm the public, that the relations whom I am accufed of having enriched by penfions, are ten poor ; gentlemen of my narrie, who themfelves and their whole family ferved the King, and moft of whom had noteven the neceffaries of life. No other Mini fter but would have thought it right to af fift them ; and being their relation was no reafon why I ffibuldibe. unjuft towards them. The whole fum that "was divided among all .thofe Officer's was ii^penfion of 6000 livres : let the public judge whether that was cxceflrve or not. As to the im putation caft upon me for having on my own authority given a penfion to. an eleventh relation, it is a falfity. I never granted any thing during, my Adminiftra tion, which I .am bold, td terfn. irre proachable, without the King.'s order or approbation. .1 appeal, without feai: to the teftimony of a Monarch . whofe . can dour and virtues are well known. IJdid not expedt, after having flied my bloofd, and facrificed-my fortune for my country, that any one would have dared to haVe upbraided me with the King's favours as a crime, much lefs with thofe which he " might APKILI790-3 FRENCH REVPLUTION. 353 " might have been wifling, but which he " was not able to grant me, I wiffi, for the " fake of my country, that my detradlors " may be of as miich ufe to it as I have " been. This Wiffi ffiall be all my reply " and all my revenge," . There was no lefs injuftice in the imputa tion of covetoufnefs caft upon the other Mi nifter, who- having obtained ho gratuity dur ing his Adminiftration, and confenting to re ceive only the half of the penfion of 20,000 livres, which he had a right to expedt on retiring, petitioned to be difpenfed with re porting a fum of 100,000 livres, which he had received in advance, out of the funds of his department. But befides, fuppofing this petition a thoufand times more reprehenfi ble than in fadt it was, it had not been granted by the King. No mention was made of it in the Red Book,, more than of the ordonnances de comptant, or of the heredi tary Duchy and the penfion petitioned , foir,' but not obtained, by Marffial de Segur ; it is nherefore very evident that the Com mittee of Penfions, by filling their Intro dudtion to that Regifter entirely with calum niating declamations, which were entirely ' Vol. II. A a foreign 354 ANNALS OF THE £ApRiLi79(i. foreign to it, had no other objedt than that of feizing an occafion which appeared very favourable to publifli a libel againft the Mi nifters, To give an air of moderation to this in decent cbmpofition, in order to procure for it the more credit, the Committee had inferted great eulogiums on the ftridl economy of the King in every thing relating to his own af fairs or perfonal gxatifications, repeating his words — " There is no hurry"-—" Good, " provided it occafion no' new expenees." The conclufion of this Introdudtion, is too remarkable to be paffed over in filence— the words are, " The King's wiflies for the " relief of France fliall not be difappointed. " The Nation cannot but with great fatif- " fadiion perceive, that by fuppreffing in "future all indifcreet giftsy and.by. ceaf- "ing to be prodigal in order to be al- " ways generous, it will diminifh the bulk " of expenees. perhaps one-fifth yearly"^ It would, have been diffeult to puffi impof ture and buffoonery farther ; and to be fatif- fied pf it, we have only to caft our eyes on the fl litical Arrangements: This article was not comprifed in the expenees of foreign affairs, becaufe it was the refult of an arrangement which M. de Calonne had been authorifed to conclude diredly with the King of ;•¦ Sweden-,- AMiL 1730.1 FREtfCH RfiVOL'U'i'lON. 363 %i^edett, during the refidence of that Mo» narch at Paris. M. de Vergennes, then Mi- ftifter fpr fp^eigti affairs, had pnly figned the agreement which fettled the conditions ofthe fubfidy which the King, granted -to bifr S^8i?«diffi Majefty. The department of the Finances was charged with the payment 3f this fubfidy, which was i ,200,000 li vres payable half yearly, and which con- tihued five years ; in the laft year of which 3nly, by an arrangement inade with the Archbiffiop of Sens, the expence was car ried back to the department for foreign af fairs. That of the Finances was likewife charged with a fum of 4,500,v.-Oo florins, payable in Holland, and mentioned in this chapter for the year 1787. Thefe two arti cles, though relative to foreign affairs, made tio part of the expenees of that depart ment. It. appears from thefe particulars how ab- lurd the reports were concerning the pre tended immenfe fubfidies in favour of the Court of Vienna, which had neither received tior pretended to any fince the year 1763, thofe excepted which had been ftipulated previoufly, and the laft of which was paid in 1769. The 364 ANNALS OF THE [APEIH790. The fecret bufinefs of the Pofts, alfp in cluded in this chapter, amounted to 300,000 livres a year, and for the laft two years to 330,000 /^t/r .add without pain this facrifice to many ' others. But I do not fee what could be ' ' better than a perfedl harmony, and a con- V fknf. ^agreement towards the fame end; ' therefore, -it is not without .painful re- '. fiedtions that I look forward with hope to ' the day when I ffiall in turn leave the ' ftage to others. I do not, however, wiffi ' them fuch painful moments. I know ' better than any other how far I am ufe- ' Tul to the public ; and I fhall know too ' the moment I ceafe to be fo. Let me " then 358 ANNALS o'f the [4.PKIL1790. " then be trufted on this account,, and let "* unjuft hatred have a little patience. A •• fenfe of virtue, the fame which brought " me back from the foot of the Alps, ftill " retains me till the approaching failure of " my ftrength." Mr. Necker's friends were greatly affedted hy thefe complaints ; but his enemies faw in them only his- eVerlafting vanity, and laughed at them. I ffiall but obferve, that the pathetic ftyle ought never to be re forted to ' againft bafe calumniators ; they , Ihould be attacked and felled to the ground with the club of truth. Nothing could be more eafy on this occafion ; for .the fketch of the Red Book publiflied by the Commit tee, and of which I have given here a very exadt ftatement, evidently proved the falfity of the principal affertions contained in thp^ libel called" an Introdudtion, which was pre fixed to it; How in fadt could. the advocate' Camus, the moft inveterate of the members of that Committee, have been able to reply to the following obfervations .? You have ftated, that the fuppreffion of the prodigalities and pretended indifcreet gifts expofed by the publication of the Red Book APKiLiygo.] FRENCH REVOLtJl'ION. 369 Book would diminiffi the bulk of the ex penees a fifth every year. But the only ex penees that can admit thefe epithets are thofe which, in the fketch you have given of that Regifter, form the three firft chapters, and fome articles of the fifth. All the others are public or indifpenfible, though fecret; fuch as thofe of the eighth chapter : now thofe of the firft chapter amount to a fum total Liv. s. d. Of - - - 28,364,211 13 6 Thofe of the fecond to 6, 1 74, 793 19 10 Thofe of the third to - 2,221,341 13 4 Thofe of the articles of the fame nature con tained in the fifth chapter to - - 337'526 * — Liv. 37.137.873 6 8 Do you pretend, againft the evidence, againft the very ftatement of. your fl Affembly 's hav ing had a right to begin it. 5thly, That the applaufes of galleries and of the popu lace, and civic oaths of individuals, could not be confidered as a legal adherence to a future Conftitution, as yet unknown becaufe it was not made; and ftifl lefs did there re fult. from, them a unanimous National fuffrage fo regularly expreffed as to auth'orife the Af fembly of the States-General to imagine or declare themfelves a Conftituent Affembly. fithly, That the oath in the Tennis-Court had been taken only by a part of the Af fembly, and that it could never abfolve thofe who had taken it froni that which they had previoufly fworn to their Conftituents to be faithful tp their inftrudtions, that being the one by which they had been conftituted Deputies ; 2^8 , ANNALS PF THE [APIIL179©. Deputies. That befides, the indifcreet oath of doing what they had no right to do, being evidently void on every principle, could not excufe them from violating an oath not only legitimate but indifpenfible; and in ffiort, that it was abfurd to argue, that any Delegates whatever could legally agree among themfelves to violate the exprefs terms of their delegation. Ridiculous declamations and miferable fubtleties were the only anfwer given to the Abbe Maury. Mirabeau, more wary than the fpeakers who had gone before him, was very careful not to argue the queftion logically, but eluded the difficulty of it by one of thofe rhetorical flouriffies with which he was fo ready, and concluded by cutting it fliort in a very remarkable manner, " You " remember (faid he) the circumftance of " that great man of antiquity, who, to favfe " his country from a confpiracy, had been " obliged to decide contrary to the laws, " with that rapidity which the invincible " alarm of neceffity juftifies. He was " afked, if he had not adted contrary to his " oath.? and the captious tribune who in- " terrogated him thought to involve him in *' the dangerous dilemma either of a per- " jury, AP8IL1790-] FRENCH REVOLTTTION. 379 " jury, or an embarraffing confeffion. He *' replied, I fwear that I have faved the "-Republic! So; Gentlemen," cried Mira-^ beau, turning his looks and fuiting his geftures to the Cote-Gauche of the Affembly, *' J fwear that you have faved France !" This unexpedted apoftrophe erafed all re membrance of what had been faid by the preceding fpeakers. There was a clapping and a calling for the queftion ; and all the amendments having been difpofed of by the previous queftion, the Affembly adopted, by a great majority, the decree propofed by the Committee of the Conftitution ; and in confequence declared that, " Whereas the Conftituents of fome Deputies could not have given them powers to unite in form ing only a part of the Conftitution ; and confidering the oath taken on the 20tli of June by the Reprefentatives ofthe Nation not to feparate till the Conftitution was completed, which oath had been approved by the Nation itfelf, the Affembly decree that fuch powers as were accompanied with any limitation whatever, ffiould con tinue in force until the conclufion of the Conftitution, and that the limiting claufe; ffiould have no effedl." The gSo ANNALS OF THE [April 1750. The circumftance of the great man of an tiquity produced fo decifive an effedt on the Affembly, only becaufe, like- Mir aheau, they were convinced of the illegality of the de cree which they were about to pafs; for, un lefs they were fo convinced, this, quotation from the Roman hiftory would not have been applicable ; and if the falvation of France had been the confequence of the De cree, tlifre is no doubt but it would have over-ruled the nullity of it, as the falva tion of 'Rome had juftified the irregularity of Scipio's condudt. , But that great man took no falfe oath when he fwore that he had faved the Republic ; whereas the Decree in queftion, far from faving France, concurred on the contrary in accelerating its ruin. Who knows what would have happened if the bailiwicks whofe Deputies had limited inftrudtions had been affembled ? Might they not, inftead of authorifing them to finiffi the Conftitution, have feverely reprimanded them for having thought of beginning it? Had they not a right to addrefs the King and the Nation, to proteft againft all the pre tended Conftitutional Decrees as void, and to petition his Majefty to convoke anew the other bailiwicks, in order to colledt their fenfe APKILI790-] FRENCH REVOLUTIPN. 381 fenfe upon fuch a criminal abufe and viola- lationof their inftrudtions? There is no doubt that they might have adopted this meafure : they might ^lave proceeded much farther ; Conftituents have a right to im peach thofe who betray the trufts they have committed to them, and to demand puniffi ment. This was what the Affembly feared, and what they avoided by a Decree radically null, brpught forward by Mirabeau himfelf, and which only the falvation of France could have juftified. Now, it is but too manifeft that it was the Affembly, and not France, that was faved by the Decree of the 19th of April; therefore the nullity of it was not counterbalanced ; and it followed ne ceffarily and inconteftibly that every fubfe- quent Decree was equally defedtive, not withftanding the fandtion of the, King, which, far from being a voluntary or free adt, was then the only means left his Majefty to avoid the moft ferious outrages. Notwithftanding the Decree of the 19th of April, M. de Chailloue and M. deVrigny, Deputies of the Nobility of the bailiwick of Alen9on, wrote to the Prefident, and in formed him, " That their powers terminat- " ing at the month of May, they confidered "' their 382 ANNALS OF fHE [May 1796. " their feats as vacant; of which they gave " notice to the Affembly, that the order of " the Nobility of their bailiwick might be " authorifed to elcdt others in their places." But on a Deputy of the Commons from the fame bailiwick merely obferving that his colleagues had not limited inftrudtions, the Affembly paffed inftantly to the order of the day ; and decided that no mention ffiould be made of this letter in the minutes. They adted in the fame manner fome days after with refpedt to the declaration made by the Marquis de la Queuille, a Deputy of the Nobility of Auvergne, that he ffiould refire upon the farne principle which had guided the Deputies'^ of the Nobility of Alen9on. But on the fame day an addrefs of the Coun cil-General of the Commune of St, Malo, continuing the powers of its Deputies; and befieeching the National Affembly to go on with their labours till the Confiitution was completed, was read with much emphafis, and mentioned honourably in their Journals. Nobody remarked that this addrefs, fo agree^^ able and fo opportune, was not and could not be of any value; for the Council-Gene ral of the Commune of St. Malo had re turned no Members to the Affembly, and confequently May 1790,] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 383 confequently had no right to extend, re ftrain, or modify powers which did not pro ceed from them. The town of St. Malo was comprifed in the baihwick bf Rennes ; and it could only be the right of that baili wick to extend powers which that alone had granted. The Sittings in the beginning of the month of May were almoft entirely engaged by debates on the eftabliffiment of Juries, on the new organization of the Judicial Power, and chiefly on the following quef tions : Firft, Shall the appointment of the Judges continue in the hands of the King, or ffiall they be eledled by the People ? . And, in ffie fecond place. Shall they be approved by the King ? The former of thefe quef tions was very foon decided unanimoufly in favour of the People : but not fo the latter. The opinion of the Committee was, that the Magiftrates of the Police ffiould be ap pointed by the People, but that the other Judges could be appointed only by the King, from a prefentation which ffiould be made to him of three canditates, one of whom fhould be chofen by his Majefty. This was not only the moft reafonable mode, but the only one confiftent with the forms of the Monarchy, 384 ANNALS OF THE [May 179A Monarchy, even in the ftate of degradation to which the decrees already paffed had reduced it. The Affembly had in fadt previoufly ac knowledged that the Judicial Power, being but that of caufing the laws to be executed, was an emanation of one of the branches of the fupreme Executive Power "which they had delegated to the King, and On this prin ciple it was that they had decreed that juf tice fliould be adminiftered in the name of his Majefty. The Judges then being only the agents of fhe King, nothing' feemed more abfurd than to propofe his having no' ffiare in their appointment ; yet fuch was the opinion which prevailed in the Affembly, in fpite of the eloquence with which M. de Cazales, the Abbe Maury, M. Malouet, arid others, 'defended the Royal Prerogative, an^ refuted the democratic arguments of all the Orators of the Cote-Gauche. It was decreed,,, that the King ffiould not have the power of refufing his confent to the admiffion of a Judge eledled by the People, and that the Eledtors fliould prefent only one perfon to his Majefly. Debates no lefs important took place a few days after on a letter written by M. de Montmorin for the King lo the Prefident of the May 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 385 the Affembly, relative to the differences fub- fifting between Spain and England, and the extraordinary preparations making^ by the latter Power. The tenor of the letter was as follows : " Sir, The warlike preparations " which are making by a neighbouring " power, the prefs of failors which has " been ordered and is carried on with the '• greateft adtivity, together with the rea- " fons given for the armament, have fixed " his Majefty's attention. He thought, as " his firft duty is to watch over the fafety " of the State, that he could not delay tak- " ing proper meafures for that purpofe. " He is therefore going to order fourteen " ffiips of the line to be immediately got " ready in the ports of the Atlantic and " Mediterranean ; and ffiall in the mean time •' give diredtions to the Commanders ofthe " Navy in thofe different ports to be pre- " pared to augment the naval armaments, " if circumftances ffiould require it. *' His Majefty having ordered me. Sir, to " inform the National Affembly of thefe *' fteps through you, wiffies that they " ffiould be informed at the fame tirtie that *' they are purely the refult of prudence and " precaution. The King cheriffies well Vol. II. C c " grounded ^86 annals of the [May 1790. " grounded hopes that peace will not be " interrupted; as his Majefty has received " affurances. from the Court of London, " that the fole objeEl of thofe preparations " was a difference that had arifen between " that Power and Spain; a difference " which his Britannic Majefiy was fincerely " defirous jhould be terminated by a negoti- ." ation: and in fadt, Mr. Fitzherbert,. an " Ambaffador from England to Spain, is on " his way to Madrid. I'his communica- " tion was accompanied with affurances of " his Britannic Majefiy's defire to main- " tain with France the good intelligence- " which jo happily reigns between the two " Nations. " But however calculated this language is " to remove apprehenfions, his Majefty " holds himfelf bound not to negledt mea- " fures which prudence requires. There is no '* one but muft be fenfible that when Eng- " land is armed, France cannot and ought " not to remain unarmed ; and it behoves " us to demonftrate to Europe, that the ef- " tabliffiing of our Conftitution is far from' " being any obftacle to the employment of ' ' our forces . Befides , we cannot be ignorant " that both gratitude and our own intereft «' didtate May 1790.] FRENCH REVOLtJTION. 387 '• didtate to us on this occafion a condudt, " of which Spain has fet us an example " whenever we have been concerned. *' The King intends to ufe every means " in his power to effedt a reconciliation *' between the Courts of Madrid and " London, which he ardently wiffies. His " Majefty is too well acquainted with the " juftice and moderation of the King of " Spain, not to be perfuaded that he will " readily liften^ to every mode ofconcilia- '• tion compatible with the dignity and real *' intereft of his Crown. The difpofition *' teftified by the Court of St. James's gives " equal hopes that on their fide they will "require nothing but what is conformable " to juftice and mutual convenience, *' The King has ordered me to declare to " his Britannic Majefty, the full fenfe he " has of the friendly communication made " by him through his Ambaffador here; " and to give him the ftrongeft and moft " pofitive affurances of his extreme defire " that jhe harmony between the two Nations " ffiould not be difturbed, either on this oc- " cafion or on any other. " In fine, whatever be his Majefty's con- '• fidence in the efforts of a great Nation, C c 2 " which 388 ANNALS OF THE [MATr79&; which certainly would not allow the firft moments of its regeneration to be ftained by a condudt that ffiould refledt difgrace on the National honour^ he is fo ffiocked at the mi feries of every kind attendant on war, that he will fpare no trouble to avoid it. The King would feel inexpreffible forrow at feeing the Nation involved in it ; and it is entirely for the purpofe of averting fuch a misfortune that his Majefty thinks it neceffary for him to fend to his different ports the orders which I had the honour of making known to you at the begin ning of this letter. The objedt of them will neceffarily require fome extraordinary fupply for the Navy, His Majefty is too well convinced of the patriotifrn of the Reprefentatives of the Nation to doubt for a moment their readinefs to vote the fupplies, when a ftatement of what may be required is laid before them." This letter was fcarcely read, when feve ral members of the Affembly rofe at the fame time to fpeak, but they were informed by the Prefident that the precedence had been already befpoken by a great number; and that the lift was drawn up, containing nearly twenty names. Thofe who were not included May lygo.J FRENCl^ REVOLUTION, Q8g included wondered, and were angry that twenty perfons could have made up their minds on a fubjedt with which the Affembly had not been acquainted, Mirabeau did not allow this opportunity to efcape of declaim ing againft the mode of lifts, which he pre- ' tended had been invented only to enfure pre cedence to minifterial men. This pitiful altercation between the fpeakers infcribed on the lift and thofe who were not, took up the whole of the Sitting, On the next day the Duke de Biron moved, that the Prefi dent ffiould wait upon the King and thank him for the meafures he had taken for the fecurity of the empire and its commerce, and for the negotiations he had opened; and that his Majefty ffiould be requefted to order a ftatement to be laid before the Affembly of what would be requifite for the fervice of the navy, -Alexander de Lameth took a much more cxtenfive view of the queftion, " We muft "know," faid he, " we muft decide firft " of all, whether the Affembly be compe- " tent, or whether the Sovereign Nation " ought or not to delegate to the King the " right of making peace or war. This " queft:ipn ffiould be fettled of courfe be- C c 3 " fpre << 39© ANNALS OF THE [May 1790, " fore that relative to circumftances inci- " dental to it, or you would pre-fuppofe "it; and the Minifter fufficiently declares " it in his letter, I am of opinion, that if ^' you confine yourfelves to granting the required fupplies, the Nation may be led '* beyond the bounds which prudence " ffiould prefcribe. Before we decide we " ffiould be made acquainted with all the " circumftances, and know what has gone " before, Muft not the Nation be uneafy " when the Miniftry employ, at the Court " whofe affairs now occupy us, that man, " that Minifter, who was called to the " Council when the National Affembly *.' was furrounded by bayonets * ? It is pof- *^' fible that there may be reafons for declar- " ing war ; it is poffible too that there may " be arrangements forming among different " Courts, for it is the caufe of Kings againft, " Nations. The National Affenibly ought " to know on what account thefe prepara- " tions are making; they ought to examine " whether they can or cannot delegate the " right of making war and peace: though * The Duke de la Vauguyon, then AmbalTador. at Madrid, *' the Mat 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 39I " the queftion cannot be very doubtful in '.' this Affembly, Are we entitled tointruft " the dreadful right of caufing blood to be " fpilled, of fending thoufands of citizens " far from their homes, and of venturing " the National property ? I move that we " firft decide this Conftitutional quef- " tion." This motion, grounded upon infinuations fo fenfelefs if they were fincere, or fo per fidious if they were the language of facr- tion, was eagerly fupported, not only by the Barnaves,- the Rewbells, and the Robef- pierres, but alfo by M. d'Aiguillon, M. de Broglio, and M. de Menou. Mirabeau was the firft who dared to oppofe it, and who refuted it with the greateft force. He demonflrated it to be unreafonable and in confiftent, becaufe the King's meffage did not at all relate to a declaration of war, and might ftill exift, if it were even decided that the right of making peace and war be longed to the Nation alone, as the right of arming and preparing for fudden occafions , was not only the right but the duty of the Supreme Agent of the National will, " If," added he, " Minifterial manceuvres con- " cealed projedts againft the Nation, it C c 4 *' would 2^2 ANNALS OF THE [May 1790. *• would at moft be a confpiracy of pigmies : " nobody can think that fourteen ffiips put . " into commiffion would be alarming to " the Conftitution. Thus, if the Confti- " tutional queftion were decided, the King " might do what he has done, he might " take the meafures he has taken, attended " always with the refponfibility of the Mi- ^ " nifters." After much debating, in the courfe of which he frequently rofe to refute the objedtions of his antagonifts, the Affem bly decreed almoft unanimoufly : " that the " Prefident ffiould wait upon the King to " thank, hii Majefty for the meafures he " had taken to maintain peace, and that " the Conftitutional queftion relative to the ^' delegation of the right of making peace " and war ffiould be taken into confiderar " tion the very next day," To conceive the poffibility of doubting, under a Monarchical Government, that the right of making peace and war ffiould be delegated to the King, it was abfolutely ne^ ceffary to be in the fecret of the authors of the New Conftitution, and to keep in mind, that it was only through prudence, and out of refpedt to the attachment which the Nar tion ftill had for the Monarchy and the King, May 1790.3 FRENCH REVOLUTION. 393 King, that they had given the title of Mo narchical Government to that form which they intended to impofe on France ; but that in reality this title was but the mafk of the Democratical Arifiocracy which they w^erc organizing, and by which the Monarch, funk into the clafs of public Officers, was, in his quality of King, to be only the prime Agent and paffive Inftrument of an Affem bly of Reprefentatives of the People invefted with the plenitude of the fupreme autho rity : an authority already exclufively exer cifed by them ; for it was but too evident that the Veto, or right of fandtion delegated to the King-, was no more than an obliga tion to fandtion, under pain of being compelled to it by the moft ferious out rages. This fyftem, which though not avowed was ill diffembled, appeared more openly in the debates relative to the delegation of the right of making peace and w-ar. " You " have acknowledged," faid the Duke d'Aiguillon, in the Sitting of the 16th of May, " that all the powers belong to the " Nation ; of courfe then the right of mak- '• ing peace and war belongs to it. If I *• might be allowed to quote a well kno,wn " anecdote, 394 ANNALS OF THE [Mayi79(». anecdote, I would put you .in mind that Louis XIV. obferving one of the win dows of Trianon to be placed awry, threw himfelf into a very gieat rage.— . Louvois the Minifter and Surveyor-Gene ral faid to his confidants. The King at tends to things of too trifling a nature- he muft have more important occupa tions. War was kindled ! The blood of Frenchmen flowed ! — and for what ? For the window of Trianon, The whims of Miftreffes, and the ambition of Minifters, would thus then decide the fate of the Nation, This impropriety alone, even if contrary to principle, would be enough to determine the queftion. My opinion therefore is, that the right of making peace and war refides fully and exclu fively in the Legiflative Body." Charles de Lameth alfo maintained, that the impoffibility of delegating to the King the right of making peace and war, was the neceffary confequence of the principles al ready decreed. " That right," faid he, " is " the manifeftation of the general wiffi of " the Nation, now is it the King who can " exprefs this wiffi? A manifefto of war " is like the hanging out ofthe blpody- " flag MAYI790] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 395 " flag in a city : it is the citizens eledled " by the people who are to declare, that ac- " cording to the will of the people, and for " the general fafety, the public force is to " be employed againft the enemies of peace : " fo it is with a declaration of war — it is to " the Legiflative Body-r^it is to the grand " Municipality that it belongs to make it. " It is painful to Frenchmen to recolledl " circumftances injurious to the glory of " Henry IV. ; but at the time that France, " by a horrid crime, loft the beft of Kings, " that Monarch was about to fet Europe " inflames for the poffeffion of the Princefs " of Conde." Here the Abbe Maury, being irritated, called to him in a loud voice, '" that it was " a malicious afperfion." M. de Lameth complained of being in terrupted, repeated his affertion, and refer red to hiftorical vouchers, and to Sully's Memoirs, in anfwer to whatever contradic tions he had yet to meet with. He then entered upon a difcuffion of the motives that threw Very great fufpicion upon the prepara tions for this war, which he confidered as already declared, and which he attempted to reprefent as a confpiracy plotted by the powers 39^ ANNALS OF THE [MAyi7go." powers concerned in it. " You cannot but ** know," faid he, " the ties of Spain. — « *' You are aware that our Conftitution tcr- • rifies tyrants. You are acquainted with ' the fteps taken by Spaim to prevent the ' introdudtion of French publications into ' its dominions. A coalition is formed be. ' tween a Power that dreads the Revolutiort • for itfelf, a Power that wiffies to annihi- ' late our Conftitution, and a Family that ''may be adtuated by private confiderations, ' They want to dificredit the affignats, to • prevent the fale of the ecclefiaftical pro- ' perty, and to reftore the old order of ' things. If you declare that the King ' can make war, the Conftitution will be ^ attacked and may be deftroyed. The ' Kingdom will be drenched with blood in ' every quarter. If an army is affembled, ' it will be the refuge of thofe whom our ' juftice has made difcontented. The rich, ' for it is the rich who are the difcontented — ' ' they have enriched themfelves from ' abufes, and you have drained the odious ' fource of their opulence — the rich will ' employ all their means to fpread and ' maintain commotion and diforder : but they ffiall not conquer ; for if they have " gold MAti790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 397 " gold Wje have iron, and know how to " make ufe of it." At this menacing flouriffi addreffed to the rich,' the poor and miferable creatures that were heaped upon one another in the galle ries, no doubt confidering themfelves as the ^grand Conftituents of Charles de Lameth, feconded his affertions by the loudeft plaudits. May lyth.] M. de Sillery, profeffing the fame principles, difplayed them in the fol lowing eloquent profopopceia : " If you grant the King ^the right of making war, attend to the reproaches you have to ex pedl from the Nation. We had efcaped from flavery, and you have plunged us back again into it : you decreed that the Sovereignty refided cffentially in the Na tion, and yet we obey the will of a fingle man. You promifed to reftore us our rights, and you made us acquainted with them only to fnatch them away immedi ately. Have you relieved us from the ambition of Monarchs ? Will you caufe our blood to flow, without even deigning to inform us of the motive for which we are to fight ? The Nation is free and fo- vereign ; ' and if you 'forget its rights, " four- 398 ANNALS OF THE [MATiygo. " four-and-twenty millions of men will af- " fert them." Pethion de Villeneuve, afcending to the ori gin ofthe Monarchy, there faw, or thought he there faw, the people taking up arms only in confequence of having themfelves refolved it, and laying them down only in confequence of being vidlorious. " All the warriors," faid he, " concurred in grant ing peace to the enemy. In later times the Kings could never make war without the affent of the Counts and Barons.— r From 1356 to 1614 the Reprefentatives of the Nation in the States-General de- bated on peace and war, on treaties and alliances. The States-General vaniffied, and in their place appeared a phantom of power. The judicial bodies appointed by the King were fubftituted for the Na tional Court formed by the People. Then Kings no longer liftened to aught but their ambition, their paffions, and the unruly defire of vain-glory ; and thus committed the happinefs and lives of the people, without confulting them. Take a view of all thofe treaties, or thofe politi cal crimes, and you will fee every page " ftained MAYI790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 399 " ftained with the blood which the people " have ffied. Judge what may make a " defpot impetuous and inhuman : he will ** ftir up a war among his neighbours for the " purpofe of acquiring money — with that " money he will corrupt the army — he will " return a conqueror of foreign Nations— " and he will enflave the people, who will " proftrate themfelves before the vidlorious " hero. It is faid that fupplies may be " refufed: — Why not prevent the evil ra- " ther than be driven to feek a cure for it ? " Can the Executive Power have the right " of thus hazarding the fate of Empires? " It has not a right to make the fimpleft " law:— Why give it that of making trea- " ties, the confequences of which are fo " important? &c." "» May i%th.~\ " To determine that the King " ffiould have the right of making peace " and, war," faid Retobell, " is to deter- " mine to unite will and adtion, the law " and its execution; it is to confound all " the powers. Treaties of alliance are "nothing more than the right of levying " taxes, and of exhaufting the treafures of " the State: to grant this right to the King " is to give him conftitutionally the right " of 400 ANNALS OF THE [May I790. " of felling men like cattle. The Nation " fhould confide thefe dangerous rights pnly ** to their Reprefentatives ; they will always " have the fame intereft, whereas the Mi- " nifters will never feel other interefts than " thofe of the Court, of money, and of " ambition. You have declared that all " men are equal in rights. There is no " club fufficiently weighty to hammer thefe 1' principles into the heads of the Mini- " fters ; they will ever confider Princes as " every thing, or in other words — men as " nothing," May igth.] The danger of delegating the right of making peace and war, alfo alarmed M. dC' CriUon, M. Beauharnois, M. -Me nou, M. Freteau, and M. St. Fargeau. — Neither the power of refufing fupplies, nor the exaiTiple of England, could fatisfy M. St. Fargeau. " The profperity of the *' Engliffi," faid he, " gives a value to their " inftitutions. They refigned the right of " making war on two principles: — " I ft. Situated on an ifland, they had no- " thing to apprehend from foreign at- " tempts, and there is little danger in naval " forces to public liberty. 2dly. Their form " of Government makes the prefervation of " this May 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 4OI " this right impoffible) the priftciple of " their power refides in the Parliament, " that is to fay, in the Houfe of Com- " mons and in the Houfe of Lords. Each " of thefe houfes is invefted virith a Veto; " fo that their Conftitution gives room to a " temporary inadlion; and the right of mak- " ing war can only be confided to a power " ever adtive, and whof? determinations " nothing can ftop. ¦ In France, on the con- " trary, the unity of the Legiflative Body " is a reafon for confiding this right to " them, as being the leaft capable of abuf- " ing it." In quoting the moft fpecious arguments and remarkable paffages of the fpeeches againft the Royal prerogative, I have ftated the names of the fpeakers, and the dates of the Sittings in which they fpoke, that the feriipulous accuracy of my quotations may be proyed by the minutes of the Affembly, and the moft creditable journals of the times. There too will be found the fpeeches of the niany defenders ofthe Monarchy : thofe of M. M. Cazales, the Archbiffiop of Aix, Maury, Clermont Tonnerre, and others, are admirable ; but they are too long to be given entire, and :to extradt would be to weaken Vol. IL D d them. 402 ANNALS OF THE [May 1790. them. Befides, the mere light of reafon fuggefts the grounds of national intereft and the principles of public law on which this great queftion ought to haye been decided. The power of the fword, which is an effen tial attribute of Monarchy, was infeparable from the executive power delegated to the King; for it confifts iii the employment of the armed force for the protedtion both of national and private property, to maintain the public peace againft its enemies as well domeftic as foreign, and confequently to en force the execution of treaties as effedtually as of all the laws of the State. It was as eafy to demonftrate thefe truths as to unfold the fecret views of the party vvho difputed them. This M. Cazales did in a nervous ftrain, and in one fingle expreffion ofhis fpeech tore off the perfidious mafk under which the Conftitutionalifts of the day con cealed themfelves. " You have already," faid he, " taken from the King two of his " prerogatives, the adminiftration of domef- " tic police, and" the adminiftration of juf- " tice; take away the third, and we ffiall " have to impart a great fecret to the Na-' " tion, namely, that there is no longer a " King." I cannot May 1790.] FRENCH REVOLtJTION. 403 ' I cannot refrain from alfo ffiowing with what energy and dignity the attack upon the memory of Henry IV. was repelled. " You have been told," cried M- de Montlaufier, " that Henry IV. at the time " of his affaffination was about to kindle " a flame throughout Europe for the pof- ,•' feffion of the Princefs of Conde ! Thus " is it that contemptible orators who now " figure in our patriotic clubs, the bafe flat- " tercrs of popular tyranny, as they had " been of Kings, endeavour to ffied their " poifon on fuch charadlers as Marcus Au- " relius. It is on the" horrible crime of " Ravaillac that they pretend to give you " cojifolation." " Permit me," faid the Abbe Maury, " permit a Reprefentative of the Nation, " for. Henry's glory to recall. agrand thought "to your minds. No: he was not about to " fet Europe in flames for the gratification " of a l^eadftrong. paffion ; he was about to " execute a projedt which he had been me- " ditatingifor twenty-one years, which he " had concerted with the Queen of England, •¦ " which for a long time he was not able to " imprefs on his friend Sully, and which " that SM/Zy afterwards acknowledged to be D d 2 " eafy. 404 ANNALS OF THE_ [May 1790. " eafy, juft, and glorious : he was about " to form Europe into a grand confederacy. ' ' In this we find the reafon of the expreffion ' ' written by Henry IV. the day before his " death,: ' If I live to fee Monday, on " Monday my glory commences!' But on " Friday a monfter deprived the French of " their father, and deluged France, with " tears which not two centuries have beeiV " able to dry." In fpite of the efforts of the Royal party, the great queftion on the delegation of the right of making peace and war, which was debated in feven fucceffive Sittings,. would have been decided by a great ma jority againft the King, had not Mirabeau, feparating himfelf from the crowd of po pular fpeakers, difplayed all his powers of eloquence and reafoning againft their fyfteni. After demonftrating the inconfiftency and danger of placing the right of making peace and war in the Legiflative Body, he pro pofed a middle courfe, " Are we," faid he, " confined to add this right exclufively " to either the Legiflative or Executive " Power ? Is it impoffible to make the two "powers which ' conftitute the National " force and reprefent its wifdom, concur in " diredling May 1790.] FRENCH REVPLUTION. 405 " diredling one of the fundtions of the Go- " vernment, which depends at once on " adtion and will, on execution and deli- " beration, to the fame end ? Is it impoffi- " ble to reftrain the old abufes of royalty " without palfying the public force ? Is it " impoffible to know the wiffi of the Na- " tion refpedting war and peace by the fu- " preme organ of a Reprefentative Affembly, " without bringing upon us the difadvan- " tages we difcover in that part.of the pub- " lie law in the ancient republics, and in " fome of the modern . States of Europe? " In fliort, ought we not to fix the right of " making peace and war jointly in the two ''Powers?" Under this new point of view Mirabeau examined the queftion : he difcuffed it tho roughly—refuted the arguments of the chief fpeakers on both fides of the houfe who had fpoken before him, and concluded vvith pioving, " That the Affembly adopt, as " Conftitutional Articles, that the right of " making peace and war belonged to the " Nation, and that the exercife qf it fliould " be delegated jointly to the Legiflative and " Executive Powers." D d 3 From' 406 ANNALS OF THE.. [May 1790, From the articles of this motion- there re- fulted, I ft. That the King could declare war; but that it could not be continued without the confent of the Legiflative Body, whd might refufe the neceffary funds for carrying it on, 2dly, That the King might enter into ail fuch agreements with foreign pow ers as he ffiould judge neceffary for the good of the State ; but that treaties of peace, of afli.. ance, or of commerce, could be carried into execution only fo far as they ffiould be ratified by the Legiflative Body. This projedt reduced the rights of the Mo narch too much to pleafe ffie Royalifts en tirely, and left him enough to roufe the indignation of the Democrats. MirabeaU was inftantly denounced to the people as a deferter, and a traitor to the country ; while praifes, plaudits, and the honours of triumph were laviffied on the moft furious fpeakerS of the Cote-Gauche. One of them, Bar- nave, undertook to refute, article by article, the plan propofed, and in the conteft difplayed more talents than thofe who had fpoken be fore him on the fame fide ; for, although he faid nothing which had not been faid before, he ably feledled their moft fpecious argu- 1 ments. May 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 4Q7 ments, and applied them in the beft way to make an impreffion. He fo completely fuc ceeded, that there was a call for the queftion, to be inftantly ^ut to the vote ; and there is no doubt, if it had been at that moment, that he would have had a great majority for his opinion : but M. de Cazales and Mira beau oppofed the clofing of the debate, and the Affembly agreed to their requeft of ad journing the queftion till next day, and of then deciding it before they broke up. Mirabeau, ftripped of his popularity, dif- credited with his party, and without a hope of obtaining the flighteft confidence with the l^oyalifts, would in future have played but an infignificant part in the Revolution if he had failed in fo ftriking a circumftance : his motions, his fupport, his harangues, fo often fold to the higheft bidder. Would no longer have found purchafers ; he was therefore ex pedled to, difplay all his means and refources _ in the next Sitting, tp obtain a yidtory as~ important to his intereft as flattering to his felf-love, and the expedlation was not difap pointed. The talent of reply was that in which he chiefly excelled all the other fpeakers of the Affembly, and he employed it on this occafion with the complqteft fuc- D d 4 cefs. 408- ANNALS OF THE [MAY1790, cefs, turning into ridicule both the infults he, had received and the popular honours be ftowed on his opponents. " And me too,'*^ faid he, " me, a few days ago, they wanted ' to carry in triumph, and now they are - • hawking about the ftreets. The Grand ' Treason of Count Mirabeau! I ' had no need of this leffon to learn that ' the diftance was ffiort between the Capi- ' tol and the Tarpeian Rock ; but the man ' who contends for reafon and his country ''does not feel himfelf fo eafily overcome. ' He who is confcious of having deferved ' well of his country, and efpecially of ' being ftill ufeful to it ; he who is not ' puffed up with vain celebrity, and who ' for real glory defpifes the triumphs of a * day ; he who deterrnines to fpeak truth, ' who determines to purfue the public good ' independently of all motives arifing in ' popular opinion; that man carries with ' him the reward of his fervices, the balni ' of his cares, and the prize of his dangers: ' he is not to look for his harveft, his fate, ' the only fate he cares about, that of his ' name, but from Time, that incorruptible ' judge who does juftice to all. Let thofe ' who foretold my opinion a week ago " without MAY1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 409 " without knowing it, and who now afperfe " my fpeech without having underftood it, " accufe me of worffiipping impotent idpls " juft as they are thrown down, or of being " the bafe hireling of thofe whom I have " never ceafed oppofing; let then? denounce " as an enemy of the Revolution a man who " perhaps has not been ufelefs in it, and " who, had it nothing to do with his faihe, ." could without it have no hope of his " fafety ; let them give up to the rage of a " deluded people him who for twenty " years has been combating all oppreffions, " and who was fpeaking to the French of " liberty, of a conftitution, of refiftance, " while thefe mean flanderers were fubjedt "to all the prevailing prejudices. What is " it to me ? They may flab me as they will, " they ffiall not impede my courfe, I will " ftill fay to them, Anfwer me if you can, " then abufe me as much as you pleafe. I " enter the lifts, then, fupported by my prin- " ciples alone, and the firmnefs of my con- " fcience, &c.'* Mirabeau then went over the different objedtions of Barnave, 'comipletely refuted them all, and concluded with perfifting in his motion with an amendment made by Chapelier. 410 ANNALS OF TH« [May i^yo, r. He did not deny but that incon veniences might refult from it : " Put fuch," faid he, " is the lot pf all human inftitu- tions. Do you mean to fay, that a Govern ment made by men for men can be free from inconveniences ? Do you mean, becaufe there are dangers in Royalty, to make us renounce all the advantages of Royalty ? Speak out then, and let us fet about debating, whether becaufe fire burns we fliall renounce the heat and light we borrow from it, or not : every thing may afford an argument except a downright contradidtion ; tell us at once that there is no need of a King, but do not tell us that there is need only of a ufelefs King," Barnave would have replied ; but, the Affembly clofed the debate, and, by a very great majority, adopted the motion made by Mirabeau, which was rendered popular by the concurrence of M. de la Fayette, who fupported it with fome very emphatic ex- preff.ons he thought it proper to write, and of which the following are fome of the moft ftriking : " I find in this plan that diftribution of " powers which appears to me the beft " adapted to the true conftitutional princi- " pies May 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 411 ** pies of Liberty and the Monarchy, the " propereft to avert the fcourge of war, " and the moft. advantageous to the Nation. " At a moment when there feems to be an ** inclination to miflead the people refpedt- " ing this complicated queftion, when thofe " who have ever united for the popular " caufe now differ in opinion, ftill adopt- '' ing n~early the fame grounds; at this mo- " ment when an attempt is made to perfuade '' them that thofe only are their true friends " who vote for a particular decree, I think " it right that a different opinion ffiould be " plainly declared by a man on whom ex- " perience and fome labour in the career of " liberty have beftowed a right to have " an opinion. I think I cannot better dif- " charge the immenfe debt I have con- *' tradled with the Nation, than by refolv- " ing not to facrifice to the popularity of a " day the opinion which I believe to be " more ufeful to it. It is my wiffi that " ffiefe few words' ffiould be written, that " the infinuations of calumny may find no " avenue tp the great duty 1 am performing " towards the Nation to which my whole " hfe is devoted." The 412 ANNALS OF THE [May 1790. The Affembly broke up at fix o'clock at night with the loud applaufes of the Mem bers, and ffiouts of joy from the fpedtators. The Decree .which was the refult of thefe- debates was as follows : " The National Affembly decree as arti-. cles of the Conftitution, " ift. That the right of making peace and war belongs to the Nation. War can only be decided by a decree of the National, Affembly, which fliall be paffed in confe-. quence of a formal and requifite propofal by the King, and which ffiall be fandtioned by them. " 2dly. The care of attending to the ex ternal fecurity of the Kingdom, and of maintaining its rights and poffeffions, is de legated by the Conftitution to the King : he alone can form political connedtions abroad, condudt negotiations, appoint the agents of them, make preparations for war propor tionate to thofe of the neighbouring States, regulate the army and navy as he fliall judge right, and have the management of them in cafe of war. " 3dly. In cafes of hoftflities- threatened or May 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 413 or commenced, of an ally to fupport, or of a right to be maintained by force of arms, the King ffiall be bound to give notice of them without delay to the Legiflative Body, with the caufes and motives for them ; and if the Legiflative Body ffiould not be affembled at the time, it ffiall be immediately convened. " 4thly. On fuch notice, if the Legifla tive Body are of opinion that the hoftilities commenced are a culpable aggreffion on the part of the Minifters or other agents of the ^ Executive Power, the author of the aggref fion ffiall be profecuted for treafon againft the Nation ; as the National Affembly de clare to this effedl, that the French Nation renounces all thoughts of undertaking any war with the view of making conquefts, and that it will never employ its forces againft the liberty of any Nation. " 5thly, On the fame notice, if the Le giflative Body decide that war ought not to be made, the Executive Power ffiall be bound to take immediate meafures to put an end to or prevent hoftilities, the Minifters ftanding refponfible for all delays, " 6thly, Every declaration of war fhall be made in thefe terms : On the part of THE 4T4 annals OF THE [May 1-790, THE King of the French, and in the name of the Nation. " 7thly. Throughput the war, the Le giflative Body may require the Executive Power to negotia;te peace ; and the Execu tive Power ffiall be bound to yield to fuch requeft. " Sthly. At the conclufion of war, the Legiflative Body ffia"!! determine the time for diffianding the number of troops levied for the war, and reducing the army to a peace eftabliffiment : the pay of the faid ex- jtraprdinary troops ffiall be continued ~ only to that time ; after which if they remain af- .fembled the Minifter ffiall be refponfible, and ffiall be profecuted fpr treafon againft the Nation.' " gthly. It fhall be the part of the King to conclude with foreign powers aill treaties of peace, pf alliance, and pf commerce, and other conventions which he ffiall judge neceffary for the good of the Nation, and to fign the fame ; but the treaties and conven tions ffiall have effedt only fo far as they fliall be ratified by the Legiflative Body." CHAP- May 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 4I5 CHAPTER XXV. Violent InfurreElions and Affaffmations at Nifmes, Marfeilles, Valence, Montauban, and other Places — A Commotion at Paris ¦excited by the Jacobins againfi the Club known by the Name ofthe Salon-Frangais, and againfi the Deputies who had joined in the Capuchins' Church to fign a Proteft — The Populace hang Three Thieves-— M. de la Fayette forces a Man who was already tied to a Rope at the Lantern out of the Hands of the People — ''Conftitutional Proclamation by the King- — The Affem bly enraptured fend a Deputation to his Majefiy-^Debate on the Confiitution of the Clergy — A fpeculative Sketch of the State of the Finances addreffed to. the Affembly 4l6 ANNALS OF THE [May 1790, Affembly by Mr, Necker — Revolt of fome \ Regiments — The Royal Family go to St. Cloud — The Affembly requefi the King himjelj to fix his Civil Lifi — His Majefiy's Reply — Decree. The queftion relative to the right of making peace and war was certainly of great importance to the Affembly ; that right being almoft the only one remaining to be ufurped to place all thofe which conftituted fovereignty in theii: hands : but with refpedt to the King, the difcuffion was evidently no thing more than a vain difpute of words; for, even according to the fyftem of the moft zealous defenders of the Royal Prerogative, the Legiflative Body was to retain the power of refufing the means of fupporting war ; fo that the power of declaring it being fevered • from the means of carrying it on, and never to be exercifed but with the confent of the Affembly, was a right abfolutely illufory and ideal. The fame may be faid of that fu- . preme Executive Ppwer, pompoufly dele gated to the King after the annihilation 'of all the means neceffary to exercife it : and indeed the fpirit pf rebellion and anarchy, em boldened by impunity, was every day mak ing May 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 417 ing freffi progrefs ; never, from the begin ning of the Revolution, had feditious com motions, infurredtions, or affaffinations, been lb numerous as they were in the courfe of the month of May 1 790. At Nifmes fome foldiers of the National Guard having put the white cpckade into their hats, and one of them being infulted by a foldier of the Regiment of Guyenne, who tore out his cockade and trod it under foot, a quarrel enfued. Several of the Na tional Guard joined the men of the Regi ment of Guyenne, who had come up to the fuccour of their comrade, the battle became furious, and the Municipal Officers appeared and feparated the combatants. This event made an uproar in the town, which had for fome time been violently agitated by the fears of the Catholics and the hopes of the Proteftants, on the fubjedt of the Decrees already paffed relative to Religion and the Clergy, In the night, bands of men, armed with pikes, bludgeons, and torches, tra- Verfed the ftreets, notwithftanding the patrols^ had been doubled. Martial law being pro claimed next day put an end tp the diforder, but there was a dread of its being renewed every inftant. Baron de Marguerittes, a Vol. II Ee Member 4l8 ANNALS OF THE [May 1790. Member of the Aflembly, and Mayor pf Nifmes, where he then happened to be on leave, had on the ad of May invited two companies, of the National Guard to break- faft at his houfe, as they had paid him the compliment the day before of eredting a May- pole at his gate, and it was at the con clufion of this breakfaft that the quarrel above-mentioned had taken place. Nothing more was wanting to create a fufpicion of M. de Marguerittes' having fomented or en couraged it ; and - Pn this ground alone he was formally accufed in an addrefs from the Jacobin Club of Nifmes to the Affembly ; who, notwithftanding the refpedt due to one of their Members who was generally efteemed, ordered, without any farther explanation, that he ffiould appear at their bar without delay, to give an account of his condudt and of that of the Municipality of Nifmes, rela tive to the commotions in that town. The hearing of the bufinefs was referred to the Committee of Inquiry, and the Prefident of the Affembly was charged to wait upon the King to requeft him not to remove the Re giment of Guyenne from Nifmes. Baron Marguerittes obeyed the order, and completely juftified himfelf. 2 At Mat 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 419 At Marfeifles the National Guard feized upon all the forts, from ^which they drove the troops of the line, and maffacred the Chevalier de Beauffet, Major of the Garri fon, to whom they imputed the feeble re fiftance which fort St. John had made.- At Montpellier alfo the National Volun teers drove out the troops of the line, and took poffeffion of*the citadel. At Valence the Vifcount de Voifins, who had been induced^ by feditious appearances to add fifty men to the picket, guards, and to caufe the Generale to be beaten, was ac-' cufed by the People of having fent a foldier to prifon for having faid that he would not fire on his fellow-citizens. The Municipal Officers, compelled to go to M. de Voifins' houfe tp afk the motives of thefe proceedings, were accompanied thither by an immenfe crowd, who dragged him out and carried him to a church, where he mounted upon a chair to juftify himfelf: but he had hardly got down, when, in fpite of the efforts made by the Municipal Officers to protedt him, the naob fell upon him and maffacred him. To palliate this horrid crime, a great many copies of a counter-revolutionary letter, piretended to be found in his pocket after Ee 2 his 420 ANNALS 6f THE [May 1796, his death; were diftributed, and one of thefe copies, not fignfed, was fent to the Affembly; but the originafi letter^ never appeared, nor did any one ever dedare that he had feen it. Commotions fimilar to thofe which agi tated Nifmes. broke out at Montauban, but with much more violence, and foon affumed all the charadleriftics of a civil war be tween the Catholics and Proteftants* The Catholics were protedled, by the majority of the people and a battalion of National Guards, and the Proteftants by three other battalions of National Guards and the garrifon. The two parties that divided the town only waited an opportunity to proceed to blows. The day on which the Municipal Officers were to go to the Convent of Cordeliers, to take the inventory ordered by. the Affembly, being appointed, fix hundred women armed with fwords and clubs made their way to the door of the convent before the Municir pality, and forced them to retire. At this time the Proteftants and National Dragoons in difguife went with their arms to the Hotel- de-Ville, and took poffeffion of it. The news Off this being brought to the Corde liers, where the people were ftill affembled, they fet out furioufly and ran tp the Hotel- de- May 1790.} FRENCH REVOLUTION. 42 1 de-Ville. Many Gentlemen mixed with the multitude, and ufed their utmoft endeavours to calm them. When they arrived they drew their fwords^buf without commencing the attack; the battle began by a volley which the dragoons fired upon them, and by which three perfons were wounded. The entrance of the Hotel-de-Ville was imme diately forced by the people, four dragoons were killed on the fpot, eight mortally wounded, and not one would have^efcaped, had not the Regiment of Languedoc come up to defend them and place them under the protedtion of the Nobility. Martial Law was proclaimed, and the Municipality caufed the houfes of the Proteftants to be fearched, and" the arms and ammunition found in them to be feized. Such of them as appeared in the ftreets were infulted and beaten. The National' 'cockade was aban doned. The National Guards of Bourdeaux fept a detachment of 1500 m,en to fupport thofe of Montauban,- and it was declared, that thofe of Touloufe were going to fend a much ftronger one to the affiftance of the people. !At3iQaftres, Perpignanj/Pau, and through a great part of Alfaee, the jfale of the pro- E e 3 perty 422 ANNALS OF THi! [Ma Y 1790. perty of the Clergy created the moft alarm. ing commotions. At Toulon the workmen of the Arfenal mutinied againft their Officers, one of whorrt^ M. de Chaulet, was thrice wounded with a fword, and twice with a bayonet. In this port, as in thofe of Breft and Rochefort, the plunder of the Arfenals was carried on in the name of fhe Nation and of Liberty, and every adl of diforder was termed an adl of patriotifm. Nor vs/as the Capital in a more tranquil ftate. The Jacobin Club, that powerful and ftaunch auxiliary of the Cote-Gauche of the Affembly, employed their agents in ftirring up infurredtions againft the club or affocia- tion of Rbyalifts which had been formed under the title of the Salon Fran^ais, and againft the Deputies who had in great num bers joined with the Capuchins in figning a proteft againft the Decree of the 14th of April, relative to the property of the Clergy. The Chatelet, where the proceedings refpedt ing the outrages of the 5th and 6th of Oc tober were ftill affiduoufly carried on, was alfo the objedt of the moft atrocious calum nies, and fuch as were the moft adapted to excite the fufpicions and refentment of the people May 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 423 people againft the members of it. Thefts becoming daily more frequent, that Court was accufed in feveral pamphlets of encou raging the thieves, not" only by releafing them too eafily, but by hiring them to con tinue their depredations and inceffant moleft- ation of the citizens ; and the people firmly believing thefe abfurdities, murmured loudly againft them. They wxre in this frame of mind, when fiVe thieves, who had been dining at a tavern near the King's garden, went off with fome of the plate belonging to the tavern-keeper, who difcoVering the theft purfued them. They paffed the river in a fmall boat, and two efcaped, but three were taken : a crowd gathered, the thieves were fearched, and the filver fpoons and forks found upon them. They were carried before a Magiftrate, who, having taken down their examination, was going to fend theni to the Chatelet ; however, it was faid they boafted that they jhould jo on come out, and with money in their pockets too ; which exafperated the people, who, tearing them from the guard, hanged them immediately, and carried their rage to fuch excefs, that, the rope breaking with the laft man, they E e 4 cudgelled 424 ANNALS OF THE [May 1790, cudgelled him to death. The next day a man was caught ftealing a fack of corn on the quay de la Feraille, and the people imme diately hanged him at a lantern. M. de la Fayette happened to be paffing at the time, and went up to the fpOt with an officer, who cut the rope while the General harangued the multitude. Some villains among the crowd crying out. Hang away! hang away! don't hear him ! M. de la Fayette feized one of them, and : dragged him with his own hands to prifon, faying, that it was always honourable to obey the law, and give it every affiftance. But the wretch whom he had faved from the lantern died the night - following from the biruife he had received in his fall, and the blows the mob had given him. The King was the more affedted at the troubles that afflidted the Kingdom,, as they placed him in a moft embarraffing and cruel dilemma. If he had declared himfelf in favour of the Royal party, a civil war wouldffiave been the immediate effedt, and' of all calamities that awakened the greateft horror in his mind. Nor dould he avoid it but by huijibling and weakening his own party, May 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 425 party, which unfortunately he determined to do, and in confequence fent the following Proclamation to the Affembly : , " Never were there circumftances that " more imperioufly called upon all French- " men to unite with one fpirit, to rally " with courage about the Law, and to aid " with all their power the eftabliffiment of ** the Conftitution, We have negledted no " means of infpiring all the citizens with " thefe fentiments; we have ourfelves fet " them the moft unequivocal example of " confidence in the Reprefentatives of the " Nation, and of an unvarying inclination " for whatever may tend to the happinefs " of our fubjedls, and the profperity df " France. " Can it then be poffible that there are " men, enemies to the public good, who " are ftill endeavouring to difturb the im- " portant labours in which the Affembly " are engaged, in concert with ourfelves, " for fecuring the rights of the People, "and for laying the foundation of their "happinefs ? that there are men attempting " to agitate the minds of others, either by " vain terrors and falfe interpretations of " the 426 ANNALS OF THE [May 1790, the Decrees of the National Affembly, which have been accepted and fandtioned by us ; or by undertaking to raife doirbts as unfounded as injurious refpedting our intentions, and by veiling private interefts and paffions under the facred name of re ligion ? • ' So criminal an oppofition would afflidl us fenfibly, and at the fame time would call forth our fevereft cenfure. It is our conftant care to prevent and reprefs what ever has this tendency; and we even think it worthy of our paternal folicitudg to prohibit the very badges that are ufed to diftinguiffi divifions and parties. '* Induced by thefe confiderations, and informed that in various places of the Kihgdom, fome individuals had taken the liberty of wearing cockades different from the National one, which we wear ourfelves ; and confidering the mifchiefs that might enfue from, this difference, we think it right to forbid it, " Therefore, we forbid all our faithful fubjedts throughout the whole of our Kingdom to make ufe of any other cockade than the National cockade. " And we exhort all good citizens to ab. " ftain, May 1790'] FRENCH REVOLUTION, 427 " ftain, in their fpeeches as well as in their " writings, from all reproaches and names " calculated to exafperate and to foment " diffenfions, or that might even ferve as a " pretence for criminal exceffes. • ?' (Signed) Louis." The reading of this Proclamation in the Affembly was frequently interrupted by ex preffions of rapture, and was fcarcely finiffied before the Hall rung with the plaudits of the Cote-Gauche and of the galleries, and with repeated fhouts of Vive le Roi ! — It was decreed with rapture, " that a Deputation " of twenty-four members ffiould be fent " to the King to give him an account ofthe " tranfports of joy, and of the fentiments "' of attachment and of love which the " reading of this Proclamation had" excited, " and to thank his Majefty, in the name, of " the Nation, for the care he took to bring " back the People to concord, and to unite " all the French to their beloved Monarch." No fooner was this Decree paffed, than the univerfal applaufe demonftrated that it no lefs expreffed the fentiments of the fpedtators than of the Affembly. The fpeech made by this Deputation to the 423 ANNALS OF THE [May 1790. the King deferves to be known, as the Af fembly adopted it as the faithful expreffion of their oWn feelings, and ordered, it to be printed. It was in fubftance as follows ; -" Sire, " You ffiowed yourfelf to be the greateft " of Monarchs, when you invited/ the f French to liberty: you now ffiow your- " felf to be the beft of fathers by recalling " them to peace and brotherly union, "What " heart but will be affedted ? What heart ' ' but will be overcome ? The Affembly " have charged us to infprm you pf the " rapture produced by the reading of a Pro- " clamation, in which your goodnefs and *-' tender folici tude are fo adinirably depidted. " The expreffions of refpedt and inviolable " loyalty echoed amidft the Affembly as " they rofe from evejiy heart ; and wc " come, Sire, to lay the offering at your " feet. Never were we more truly the iri- " terpreters of the general will of ther " Nation." Is it poffible to refledt without indigna-^ tion, that it was by repea.ting on every oc cafion thefe adts of exceffive goodnefs and con- May 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION* 429 condefcenfion, more like a father than a King, that Louis XVL paved his Way to the fcaffold ? Is it poffible to do other than de vote to everlaftingr execration the monfters, as ftupid as ferocious, who dared to accufe of tyranny a King infinitely too good, and declare him guilty of a confpiracy againfi public liberty, and of attempts on the ge neral fecurity of the State? The debate upon the plan of a Conftitution for the 'Clergy in future was opened on the 29th of May, and occupied the greater part of the Sittings in June. The Archbiffiop of Aix, who fpoke firft, eftabliflied and claim ed, in a manly manner, in the name of his colleagues, the rights of ecclefiaftical power. " If," faid he, " you have not recourfe to " the authority of the Church, you forget " the Catholic unity, which is a part of the " Conftitution of the Empire, We can in " no cafe renounce the forms prefcribed by . " the Councils : \ye have pointed out to " you the objedts which may be regulated " in the Provincial Councils, and thofe that " require the concurrence of the civil and " ecclefiaftical powers. There are no law- " ful means of inveftigation, of concilia-. ^' tion. 430 ANNALS OF THE [May 1799. " tion, and decifion, which we have not " propofed; and we have at leaft the grati- " fication of having manifefted all the in- " clinations of minifters of concord and " peace. We therefore propofe to you to " confult the GalUcan Church by a Na- " tional convocation. It is there that the " power which fuperintends the truft of " faith refides ; it is there that, inftrudled in " our duties and your wiffies, we ffiall re- " concile the interefts of the People with " thofe of Religion. We moft earneftly. " befeech the King and the National Affera* •• bly to permit the convocation of this " Council : but if you now adopt the plan " propofed by your Committee, we declare " that we cannot join in any Decree refpedl- " ing pbjedls of a fpiritual jurifdidtion, " proceeding from a power entirely civil, " and without the intervention of the " Church*." This Declaration was fup- * Thefe principles, which ferved as the grounds of the defence ofthe Clergy, were fometime after enlarged upon by the Archbifliop of Aix, in the famous Adl enti- tlgd Expojition des Principes. This Ad, figned by all the Bifliops of France, was approved by the Pope, as con taining the true dodrine of the GalUcjui Church, See Appendix, No, ix, ported JcrK«i790'] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 43I ported by all the Bifhops prefent, and by all the ecclefiaftical Deputies who remained faithful to their duty. The Affembly, or rather the Anti-Ca tholic Fadiion which compofed the majority of it, congratulated .themfelves on having ©niy to rejedt the requeft of the Bifliops, to avoid the trouble. of refuting their objedtions againft moft of the articles of the plan formed by the Committee. The debate was refumed in the Sitting of the ift of June, on the Archbiffiop of Aisi's propofition which was oppofed in an elaliorate manner by the advocate Camus ; who maintained that the Affembly. being a National Convention had a right to alter the religion of the country ; that, neverthelefs, they did not wiffi to change it ; and that the plan of the Committee did not invade the fpiritual jurifdidtion, as it only related to temporal objedts. Six or feven country priefts fupported this opinion, and the Affembly decided by a great ma jority, that they ffiould pafs t© the order of the day, that is to fay, to the difcuffion of the articles of the plan of the Committee. — The Biffiops perfifted in taking no part in the determination relative to- it, and by fo doing 432 ANNALS OF THE [June 1790, doing rendered it, as far as they could, null. In the Sitting of the 29th of May alfo, Mr. Necker introduced to the Affembly a new fpeculative fketch of the fupplies want ed for the current year,, and the refources by which they were to be raifed. He had al ready communicated it to the Committee of Finances ; but the obfcure and cold appro bation of a Committee was not glory enough for Mr. Necker. The folemnity of a Mi nifterial reading in prefence of, the Repre fentatives of the Nation promifed him much more brilliant fuccefs, which he was not in clined to negledt, and he went to flatter- the Affembly that he might be flattered by them. " It is dear to me, Gentlemen," cried he with emotion, " to communicate with you at leaft now and then in a diredl manner. Although deprived of that habitual en couragement by the formation of your Committees, I do not concur with lefs zeal in the arrangements which are there preparing; but I cannot relinquifh, the very natural defire of fometimes engag ing your attention and kindnefs." In the general ftatement he gave of the receipts JtrNEi790-] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 433 receipts and expenees ordinary and extrapr- dinary for the eight laft months of the year 1790, The receipts amounted Livres. to - 654,625,000 And the expenees to - - 645,210,000 The furplus of receipts was "l therefore - 1 . | "-^'S-OOO This fpeculative fjcetch Would doubtlefs have been very confoling, if the head of receipts had not chiefly confifted of a patriotic contribution, valued at 30,000,000, of the funds which were expedled from the loan of September 1789, or from thofe of the Pays d' Etats, and of the 380,000,000 livres in Affignats remaining to make up the 400,000,000 which had been created. But how were refources fo immenfe, fo ruinous, to be replaced or renewed for the enfuing year ? How was this new order of things, which after reducing the revenue of the State almoft a half, had more than doubltd its expenees, .to be fupported ? How, in a Word, was complete order to be fecured in the Finances for the future? Here was the problem the moft important and neceffary to Vol. II. F f be 434 .>. ANNALS OF THE [Jitne 1790, be folved. The folution given to it by Mr, Necker, and the different articles of which he compofed his fpeculative fketch of future refources, ftood thus : Livres, 1. The taxes laid on thofe hitherto exempted, the amount of which he va lued at - -, - 32,000,000 L-d, The augmentation arif ing from the better divi fion of the two-twen tieths , - - Memorandum. 3d, The increafe of which the duty on collateral fucceffions is fufcepti- ble - - - Memorandum, 4th. The probable increafe of the duties of one per cent, on the fale of all real eftates, from thofe of the King's demefnes and of the Clergy, being .. open to alienation - Memorandum. 5 th. The augmentation which may be made to the revenue arifing from the Poft by means of a new June 179©.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 435 •new tariff, and ftridler regulations in refpedl of privileges and franks Memorandum. 6th. The poffible increafe of a produce from the woods of the King's demefne lands, by a bet ter management - Memorandum. 7 th. Idem, as to the de mefnes engaged - Memorandum. 8th. The gradual extindlion of the annuities - Memorandum. 9th, The probability that the Affembly, in poffef fion of the eftates of the Clergy declared National, will find in that wealth all expenees paid, agreat augmentation of reve nue - . > Memorandum. 30th. The annual introduc tion of new gold and filver into Europe, of which France takes a confiderable ffiare - Memoraiidum. i ith. Laftly, all that may be expedled from an Af- F f 2 fembly 438 ANNALS OF THE [JuNEi79a fembly where there is fo much khowledge ; ~ and all that a Nation fet in motion for thepublid good ffiall difcover of abufes, yet unknown, to be reformed, and of im- proX^ernents to urge or to make _ - _ Memorandurfi. Thefe numerous refources, calculated, not upon the imaginary value which wild hopes, revolutionary quacking, or ignorance might afcribe to them in a fpeculative fketch, but according to the real refult that ought to be expedled from theni, could not, and did not, produce an augmentation of a hundred millions to the revenue. In whatever man ner the eftates of the Clergy might have been managed, tithes being fuppreffed, it was impoffible they ffiould have produced a revenue fufficient to anfwer the expenees of divine worffiip, and the fupport of the old and new Clergy. Mr. Necker was certainly nPt ignorant of this. How then could he fincerely believe, or flatter himfelf to make others believe, that an augmentation of a hundred JUNBI790.] FRENCH. REVOLUTION. ^;^y hundred millions in the revenues of the State would fecure complete order in the Finances for the future, while it was clear, from the fpeculative fketch which he pre fented, that about 500,000,000 of extraordi nary funds added to the ordinary revenues of the year 1 790, produced in the receipts only a furplus of 11, ^i ^,000 livres ? However, after difplaying this fketch of fpeculative wealth and of' real mifery, he exclaimed, with tranfport — " What ideas. Gentlemen, are awakened by this compendious ftate ment of our immenfe refources ! Methinks there is pleafure in prefenting fuch a view both to the friends and to the enemies of France*. It gives ftill greater beauty to the noble, grand, and falutary decla ration you have niade of your love of peace, and of your derelidlion of all kind of aggrandifement of the French Em pire. How magnificent a Kingdom then is that which no event, no feries of abufes, or internal divifion can ruin ! Nor is it to be doubted but that your zeal and f One might be almoft tempted to think that Mr. Necker had already forefeen that the expenees of divine worfliip, and the incomes of the Clergy, would be fuon fupprefled. F f 3 '^ your 438 ANNALS OF THE [June 1790. *' your knowledge will unfold thofe grand ** and various means. It is impoffible not " to pay homage to that chain of ideas, to " that combination of knowledge, and that " rapidity of labour which have borne you '* over fo much matter in fo ftriking and '^ diftinguiffied a manner. Your great - •' work difplays the boldeft conceptions — " the moft commanding condudt, &c. &c." Mr. Necker, no doubt, confidered this difgnfting officipufnefs as a neceffary intro dudtion to the fplid advice he gave the Af fembly uppn the impprtance pf fuppreffing the cpmmotipns which were breaking put in every quarter, and the general difprder that reigned throughout the Kingdpm. He re prefented ftrpngly the neceffity " pf reftor- ""ing influence and effedtual authority tq " the Government, without which the Exct " cutive Power could not exercife that ac- " tive fuperintendance which was becprhe " more neceffary than ever. *' I know," added he, •* that to deter-? " mine you tp concur effedtually in all the " arrangements which order and the welfare " of the State require, it is neceffary that " diftruft ffiould ceafe : you ever pay a " juft homage to the virtues of the King-— I " virtues June 1790:] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 439 " virtues of which he is every day giving *' new proofs ; and his Minifters ffiould be " no obftacle to your plans, for they will " eagerly refign their cares and labours the " inftant that other perfons pointed out by " your confidence, or by the public opinion, " ffiall draw the King's attention, Mean- '' while, in the purenefs of their confcience, " and the prudence of their condudt, they " will feek amends for much injuftice, and " find that patience they ftand in need of ' ' againft the repeated attacks to which they " arc expofed. " Pardon me. Gentlemen, if, giving way " to my feelings, I have wandered, witho'ut " thinking, from the chief fubjedl of this " Memorial; but you would have permit- " ted it to one of your own members, and " being connedled fully as much as any " perfon with public affairs, I dare hope " the fame indulgence from you. Befides, " I fee the time approaching, when, re- " moved from the Adminiftration, I ffiall " have no ffiare in the promotion of the " happinefs of France but by my wiflies ; " and already tranfporting, myfelf in *' thought to that period of my life when F f 4 " age 440 ANNALS OF TH£ [JUNE1790. '/ age and retirement unite us in fome man- " ner to the impartiality of future times, I " addrefs you without fear or hope; and '^ that fituation can alone fupport me under " the fenfations of timidity which neceffa- ." rily accompany the refpedl due to fo 'f auguft an Affembly, ^nd the infinite de- " fire which I ffiall always feel to pleafe " you." The Affembly, fatisfied with finding itfelf fo augufi and fo rich, unanimoufly ap plauded the eulogium of their bold concep tions and tommanding conduEl. The Pre fident thanked Mr. Necker for it with great dignity, and concluded his fpeech with an expreffion, the fweetnefs of which could not but be reliffied by the Minifter's felf- love. " Whoever," faid he to liim, " talks " pf peace, of concord, of fraterriity, and " of the means of accelerating the felicity " of the Empire is always fure of the gra- " cious attention of the Affembly. Why '^ mix with thefe cheering ideas the fad " thought pf the rppmenj: when you may ',' ceafe to co-operate in putting thern into " execution ? There are ntien who ffipuld j' be acquainted only with the pleafing affec- •* tions- June 1790.] FEENCH REVOLUTION. 44J ',", tions of human nature which unite fenfi- " ble beings, and not with the evfls which ," afflidl them.^' While the genius of Mr, Necker, fe conded by Affignats, was thus re-eftabliffiing order in the Finances, the genius of the Re yolution was every where fomenting difor der and rebellion. In the Sitting of the 4th of June the Minifter of War, M. de la Tour-du-Pin, was. fent by the King to the ' Affembly, to give an account of the turbu lent "anarchy which prevailed in the army. '.' In feveral regiments," faid he, " the " bonds of difcipline are broken or relaxed ; •' the ordinances forgotten ; the chefts and ,'' cplours feized; the Officers defpifed and " ill-treated ; and, to complete the horror, " the Commanders murdered before their '• foldiers. Pubhc order. Gentlemen, and ?* the happinefs of the Country demand " your intei-ppfition. Unite your endea- *^ vours with the King's, to give his Ma- " jefty's Proclamation • the commanding *• charadter of the general wiffi.. A union " of hearts, and profound refpedt for the " laws, can alone enfure the -Revolution: '" it is the chief objedt of the King's foli- '• citude, 442 ANNALS DF THE [JpNE 1790. "'citude, who has declared himfelf the " head of it." The motions tending to the adoption of prompt and effedtual meafures for .fuppreff ing the mutiny of the regiments, or only for teftifying the Affembly 's approbation to thofe that had not departed from difcipline, and cenfuring the others, were all rejedted. The Affembly contented themfelves with voting thanks to the King- for his Meffage, and with fending the Minifter's Memorial to the Committee, recommending to them to make their report on the conftitution of the army as fpeedily as poffible. The Prefident announced on the fame day, that the King had informed him that hs was going to fpend fome days at St, Cloud, and that during this and every future excurfion he ffiould make in the fummer, he ffiould re turn frequently to Paris, that his commuriifca- tions with the National Affembly might al ways beprompt and eafy. The Municipalify had been made acquainted with the King's intention fome days before, by a letter frorh M. de St. Priefi, in which he expreffed his Majefty's fatisfadtion at the fervice of the Parifian National Guard about his perfon, and ?UNEI790-] FRENCH REVOLUTION, 443 and his defire that a detachment of the fame Guard ffiould be fent to St. Cloud to be on duty as long as the Royal Family remained there, Thefe excurfions were repeated f?-p veral times in the courfe of this year, with out creating the flighteft ferment in the Ca pital ; where, in fpite of the incendiary writings circulated by the Fadtious, the King was ftill beloved, and his virtues idolized ; and where the Affembly themfelves would not have dared to fail in refpedt to his perfon, without being puniffied for it by that very people who were every day ap plauding with rapture decrees the moft ad verfe to the Royal authority, becaufe they did not underftand them, and becaufe, the^ King not being named in them, they ima gined that they attacked only the authority pf the Minifters, Intendants, Agents of defpotifm, &c. Great and general was the applaufe obtained by the Reporter of the Committee of Finances (Le Brun), when prefenting the bafis on which all the heads of the expenees of the State were to be regulated ; and fpeaking of the Civil Lift he faid : " With refpedt to the " King's perfonal eftabliffiment, it is con- " fiftent with the greatnefs of the Nation to 444 ANNALS OF THE [JuNE'1790. " wave the difcuffion of thofe particulars; ?' and to his Majefty alone it belongs to re- *' gulate them according to his convenience ?• and tafte : from his virtues we have but " to fpar toO' rigid an economy. You wifli f ' your Monarch to be the moft magnificent " of Kings, as you are the greateft of. Na- " tions. You would not deftroy the luftre " which diftinguiffies the French Court.— *' It muft doubtlefs be your wiffi alfo that *''this Monarch, whom, had not Heaven " beftowed him upon you, you would have '* chofen, may be at eafe as to the income " for his auguft family. The Reftorer of *' French liberty ffiould not be fubjedl to *' doubts as to the expenees of his houfe. *' I propofe therefore that you decree, that •' his Majefty ffiould- be again entreated to *' fix his eftabliffiment in a manner corre- " fpondent to the majefty of his Throne, to " the love and to the loyalty of a great " Nation." This decree was immediately and unani moufly adopted with the livelieft acclama tions ; which were in a few days renewed with tranfports of joy and inexpreffible emotion on the reading of the King's an fwer, which was as follows : " To June 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 445 " To the Prefident of the National Affembly. Paris, June g, 1796. •* Sir, " Divided between the principles of rigid " economy, and the confideratipn of ex- " pendes which the luftre of the Throne " and the appearance of the Head of a " great Nation require, I could have wiffied •• to haVe left it to the National Affembly to " fettle the eftablifliment of my houfehold ; " but I yield on being again urged, and " fend my anfwer to you, which I requeft " you will communicate tP them." The King's Anfwer to the National Affem bly refpeEling his Civil Lifi, and a Pro vifion for the Queen. ' ' I could have wiffied to leave it entirely " to the National Affembly to fix the fum " to-be applied to the expenees of my efta- " bliffiment civil and military, but the re- " petition of their requeft, and the expref- " fions that accompany it, have made me " change my, refolution. I ffiall therefore " enter into a very plain explanation with " them. " The 446 ANNALS OF THE [JuNE 1796. " The expenees included under the tide *• of The King's Houfehold are, " ift. The expenees in refpedl to myfelf, •• the C^een, the education of my children, " the eftabliffiments of my aunts, and, " which I ffiould now immediately add, the ' ' eftabliffiment my fifter has a right to ex- *' pedl from me. *' 2dly, The buildings and Garde-meuble* " ofthe Crown. '¦' Laftly, My military eftabliffiment, " which, in the plans communicated to the " Military Committee, was npt included in " the expenees ofthe army. *' The whole of thefe different heads, " notwithftanding the redudtions that have *' taken place fince my acceffion to the ' * Throne, amounted to thirty-one millions, • * befides an aid from the town of Verfailles " of nine hundred thoufand livres, which " in future will make a part of the public " revenue, with the diminution owing to " my conftant refidence at Paris. * The buildings where the furniture of the King's palace, and of all the Royal country feats, caftles, &c, were depofited; and alfo the diamonds, jewels, &c, be longing to his Majefty, " I think June 1790.] FREllCH REVOLUTION. 447 •' I think that twenty-five mfllions, with ' the addition of the revenue arifing from ' the parks, demefnes, forefts, and country- * houfes, which I ffiall referve, may, by ' means of confiderable retrenchments, con- ' veniently fuffice for thofe expenees. " Although I include my military efta- ' bliffiment in the articles I have ftated, I ' have not yet entered upon its arrangement. ' I wiffi in this refpedl, as well as in every ' other, to reconcile my views with the ' new order of things. I do not hefitate to ' fay, that the number of troops defigned for ' the King's Guards ought to be fettled by ' a conftitutional regulation ; and as thofe • troops muft ffiare the honours and . dan- ' gers attached to the defence of the ' Country, they ought to be fubjedt to the ' general rules of the army. '* For thefe confiderations, I have poft- ' poned the period of my Gardes-du-Corps ' refuming their duty : and in this delay of ' the arrangement of my military eftabliffi- ' ment I feel the lefs inconvenience, as, ' fince the National Guards have taken the ' duty about me, I have experienced from ' ' them all the zeal and attachment I can ' wiffi ; and I defire that they never may " be 448 ANNAL^ OF THE [June q^d. " be removed from about my perfon."— [Here the reading was interrupted by clap ping^ — " It would be impoffible for mc to '^ difcharge from a confined annual fund *' the arrears of my houfehold, with which •' the Affembly are acquainted, arid I defire " that they will include this debt in the " general plans of liquidation. " I think, that as the Conftitution prohi* " bits the fale of Offices, the money paid for ' ' thofe of my houfehold, and for thofe of •' my brothers', ffiould be ordered to be re- " turned, and to make a part of the pre- " ceding: article. This arrangement will " naturally be attended to by the Affembly ; •• and it will be fo much the more juft, as " they who had facrificed confiderable fums " of mpney to purchafe the offices, had '• grounds for depending on favours which " the new order of things no longer fuffers " them to hope. •' I ffiall conclude with the article which " I have moft at heart. I *¦ ** By my marriage contradl I engaged " that the Queen, if ffiefurvived me, ffiould " have a fuitable houfe referved for her: " ffie has given up that which has ever " been referved for the Queens of France, " and June 1790.J FRENCH REVOLUTION. 449 " and which was valued at more than " four millions Pf livres. ¦' This is an additional reafon for my " wiffiing, that the indefinite engagement '•which I entered into with her and her " auguft mother ffiould be rendered certain " by the fettlement of a proper provifion : " it will be grateful to my feelings to owe ' ' to ffie Reprefentatives of, the Nation my " eafe on d point which fo cffentially con- " ccrns my happinefs. " Having now complied with the wiffies " of the National Affembly, with the con- <•• fidence which ought to reign between " them and me, let me add, that I never " will oppofe them in any arrangement re- " lativc to my own perfon. My true in- " terefts are thofe of the Kingdom ; and pro- " vided that liberty and public order, thofe *' two fources of the profperity of a State, " be fecured, I ffiall find the deficiency of " my own perfonal enjoyments made up^ "and even exceeded, by the* fatisfadtion I "ffiall reap from the daily view of public " felicity. (Signed) Louis." Vol. II. G g I have 45© ANNALS OF' THE [JtiUE i79 Secretaries. '• Lafisse, f All thefe patriotic arts were put in prac tice to conceal the real objedt of the Federa tion, and were devifed only to enfure the oath and fupport of all the National Guards of the Kingdom, in favour of the new Con ftitution, and thus to cure the radical defedt with which it was tainted, by the abfolute want of power in thofe who had joined in the forming of it. The fermentation excited by the approach of this great day in all the revolutionary heads, the affaults made upon one another by the different parties that were rivals in popularity, and the mad facrifices they con tended in making, from the hope of render ing themfelves ftill more popular, produced fcenes and decrees incredibly extravagant, — The Affembly had never in their moft tu multuous Sittings exhibited a ffiow of in- -fanity more complete than that which the igth of June prefented. It might have been faid that the auguft Reprefentatives of France 460 ANNALS OF THE [June 1790, France had devoted that day to reprefent only the portion of the Nation confined in the mad-houfes, at Charenton, and in all the lunatic hofpitals of the Kingdom, June igth.} 'The Affembly were fcarcely met when a Deputation of that band of ruffians of the Fauxboutg St. Antoine, who fince the 14th of July the year before had arrogated to themfelves the title of Con, ^querors of the Baftille, was introduced at the bar*. The feftival of the Federation being only the aniverfary of the taking of the Baftille, could not but bring to mind very ftrongly the gratitude that was due to thofe who were fuppofed to have rendered fo important a fervice ; and this was the moment they chofe to afk for the reward of it. The advocate Camus, who ^^^as charged with the report of their demand, recounted with rapture all their prodigies of valour, wondered that they had received no recom- penfe before this time, and declared, that * To thefe ragged heroes we muft afcend for the origin and illuftration of Sansculotifm, and it was in ho nour of them that the Conftitution pf 1793 beftott'ed the name of Sansculgtide,s on the five laft days of the year, according to the Republican Calendar, fince called complementary days. the JtJNEi79o] FRENCH REVOLUTION, 461 the Nation itfelf folicited a reward for thefe brave citizens, who thought nothing of their loffes and their wounds, provided they might enjoy the honour of having faved their coun try. The Decree he moved was adopted with acclamation, and was in fubftance as follows : " The Affembly, ftruck with admiration " at the heroic intrepidity of the Con- *' QUERORs OF THE Bastille; decree,' " that they ffiall be provided with a fuit of " regimentals and arms, complete.- Upon " the barrel of the muflcet, and the blade " of the fword, fliall be . placed thefe " words : — Given by the Nation to N r, " a Conqueror of the Baftille. There ffiall " be delivered to each of them an honoura- " ble certificate expreffive of the gratitude " of the country, A fimilar certificate " ffiall alfo be delivered to the widows of " thofe who fell at the fiege of the Baftille, " A place ffiall be appointed for them at " the Federation ofthe 14th of July, where *' France may contemplate at leifure the " firft reftorers of liberty. They ffiall be " infcribed in the archives of the Nation, " and 462 ANNALS OF THE [June 1790. " and the National Affembly ffiall confider ?• thofe to whom they owe pecuniary re- " wards*." This Sitting was followed by another ftill much more ridiculous. The Prefident an nounced a Deputation compofed of Engfiffi, Pruffians, Sicilians, Ruffians, Poles, Ger mans; Swedes, Italians, Spaniards, Braban- ters, inhabitants of Liege and of Avignon, Swifs, Genoefe, Indians, Arabians, Chal deans, Turks, Africans, &c. &c. who re quefted to pay their homage to the Affem bly. They were immediately introduced to the bar. One of thefe felf-created Deputies, who affumed the appellation of Baron i^tf Clootz du Val de Grace, a Pruffian, the fpeaker of the pretended Committee of Fo reigners and their Deputation, made an * The National and French Guards were fo highly irritateid at this Decree, that fome brutal explofion would have very foon followed, in which the glory of the Conquerors ofthe Baftille would have been ferioufly committed, had they not been in a hurry to go and re fign at the bar of the Aflembly (June 25th) the diftinc- tions and extraordinary honours which had been fo ri- diculoufly laViflied upon them. harangue JUNEI790-] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 463 harangue to the Affembly, that was as vio lently democratic as thofe which the moft furious fpeakers fometimes roared from the tribune of the Club of Jacobins. We may judge by the following fpecimens : •> " This civic folemnity (the Federation) * will not be the feftival of the French • only, but alfo the feftival of mankind. ' The trumpet that founds the refurredtion ' of a great Nation has echoed through the ' four quarters of the world, and the notes ' of joy of a chorus of twenty-five mil- ' lions of free men have awakened nations ' long buried in flavery the union of ' the children of France, that enchanting ' pidture, is a fource of bitter anxiety to ' defpots, and of juft hopes to nations • enflaved. " A great thought has alfo ftruck us, and ' we might venture to fay it will be a com- ' pletion of the great National day. A ' number of foreigners of all the countries ' of the earth requeft to be placed in the ' middle of the Champ de Mars, and the ' cap of Liberty, which they will raife with ' tranfport, ffiall be the pledge of the ap- " preaching 464 ANNALS OF THE [JUNE1790. • " proaching deliverance of their unhappy " countrymen. You will fee in your train " free men, whofe countries are in chains — " whofe countries ffiall one day be free by " the influence of your unffiaken courage, " and of your philofophical laws. " No embaffy was ever more facred. — " Our credentials are not figured upon *' parchment, but our miffion is written in " indelible charadlers upon the heart of " every man; and, thanks to the authors "of the Declaration of Rights, thofe cha- " radlers will no longer be unintelligible to •' tyrants. You have proved beyond a " doubt, that the Sovereignty refides in the " People : now the People every where are " under the yoke of Didtators, who call " themfelves Sovereigns, in fpite of your " principles. The Didlatorffiip is ufurped, " but the Sovereignty is inviolable; and *' the Ambaffadors of tyrants could not do " fo much honour to your auguft feftival as " moft of us whofe miffion is tacitly ac- " knowledged by our countrymen, that is " to fay, by oppreffed Sovereigns. What a " leffon for defpots ! what a confolation for " unfortunate nations, when we ffiall in- " form June 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 465 " form them that the firft Nation of Europe, " in affembling its banners, has given the " fignal of the happinefs of France, and " of the two worlds ! ' *' We will wait. Gentlemen, in refpedt- " ful. filenCe, your determination on the Pe- " tition which has been didlated to us by " the enthufiafm of univerfal Liberty." The Affembly feveral times interrupted the fpeaker by long plaudits, and the Prefi dent [Menou) made the following reply : — ' ' The xNational Affembly confent to your " taking a part in the ceremony at the Fe- " deration of France in arms ; but they " attach one condition to their confent, " which is, that when you return to your " refpedtive countries you will relate to " your countrymen what you have feen." The Deputy Turk, or he who was fo called, made an attempt to fpeak, but his broken French was underftood by nobody. It was precifely the fcene of the Mamamouchi ,of Moliere ; and the firaplicity with which the enraptured Affenibly was the dupe of this farce, placed them in the charadter of Vql. II. H h the j^66 ANNALS OF THE [June 1790. the Bourgeois Gentilhomme as completely as that of the Turkifli Prince was fuflained by the Deputation *. *' Citizens * M. de Boulainvilliers, who was that day at the Af fembly, obferved among the Deputation a negro who belonged to one of his friends. " AY, Azor I " faid he to him, " what are you come to do here ?"-^" Heigh, " Maffa!" replied the negro, " no me do de Afri- " can .?" It was difcovered the next day, that this embaffy of all the nations of the earth to the moft auguft Affembly of the Univerfe, and which formed the train of the Baron de Clootz t, was entirely compofed of vagabonds ' and foreign fervants hired at 12 livres a head. ~The fe cret was betrayed by an orthographical error. One of the vagabonds of the Deputation went the next day to the Marquis de Biancourt,^a. member of the Affembly, and ailced to be paid his 12 livres. " What do you " mean by your 12 livres?" faid M. de Biancourt, " I " do not know you, and how do I owe you any " thing?" "Becaufe, Sir, it was I who did the Chaldean " yefterday in the Affembly; we were engaged for " 12 livres a piece, and I was defired to come to you " to be paid." — " Indeed, Mr. Chaldean, you have " been fent to a wrong perfon ; I know nothing of the " engagement you talk of, and have nothing to do in t This pretended Baron de Clootx, who afterwards took the nime of Anackarjis Clootx., and the title of Speaker of the Human Race, was chofen a member of the Convention, and guillotined under the reign of Robejpiem towards the end of March 1794, '" that June 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 467 *' Citizens, affembled 'from all parts of " the world," cried the Deputy Fermont, ' ' are come to offer you the nobleft homage *' you can poffibly receive in recompenfe ' • for your labours : I move that their re- " queft be granted by acclamation, and that " the fpeech of tbeir leader be printed with *' the Prefident's anfwer." " Gentlemen," faid Alexander de La meth, " I fecond the motion made in fa- " vour of thefe gerierous ftrangers. But " I have another idea to lay before you : the •' day on which the Deputies of all the Pro- " vinces are to affemble to fwear to that " Conftitution which promifes liberty and " that bufinefs." Mi de Biancourt made no fecret of this vifit, and the particulars even got into feveral newf- papers. It was pretty generally fufpefted that an ill- ihaped L taken for a B had caufed the poor Chaldean's miftake, and th§ Duke de Liancourt Was in confequence fuppofed to be the Treafurer of the Embaffy ; which however he has conftantly denied. The author of this farce has been fought and aflced for in vain ; he has never made himfelf knoWn ; and it is not yet very clear whe ther the impofition was meant to be put upon the Public, or on the Affembly only. Certain it is, that the Public Was Hot impofed upon, and that the Affembly were, or appeared to be, completely fo. H h 2 " equality 468 ANNALS OF THE [June 1790, " equality to all Frenchmen, ffiould not re- " call to any of them, ideas of humiliation " and fervitude. The figures reprefenting " four Provinces, the Deputies of wl;iich " have always been efteemed in this Affem- " bly among the firmeft fupporters of the " rights of the Nation, are chained as ** images of tributary nations at the feet '* ofthe ftatue of Louis XIV. Gentlemen, *• ffiall we fuffer the eyes of the citizens " who are coming to fwear to the Confti- " tution for thofe generous Provinces to " be ftruck with a fight not to be borne by " free men? Thofe monuments of pride " cannot ftand in the reign- of Equality. — " Eredt ftatues to Princes who have deferved " well of their country ;- dedicate one to " the memory of the Reftorer of Liberty; ' ' but hafte to deftroy emblems that degrade " the dignity of man, and which muft " wound citizens whom we honour and '• cheriffi. I move, that the fouT figures in " chains, at the bottom of the ftatue of " Louis XIV. in the Place des ViEloires, be " taken away before the 14th of July." This motion, which the Cote-Droit en- deavoured to get rid of, was followed by I feveral JUNE1790-] FRENCH REVOLUTION, 469 feveral others not lefs conftitutional, — " This day," faid the Deputy Lambel, "we " dig the grave of Vanity : I move that all " perfons be prohibited from taking the " titles of Peer, Duke, Count, Marquis, " &c, &c, and that Nobility be no longer " hereditary." This motion was ftrongly fupported by Charles de Lameth, who maintained that the titles of Duke, Count, &c, being repugnant to the equality which formed the bafis of the new Conftitution, and /being derived from the Feodal fyftem which was aboliffied, could not exift without evident abfurdity; and that all citizens, therefore, fl-iould be pro hibited ufing any of thofe titles in their legal writings, " Hereditary Nobility," added he, " ffiocks reafon, and is repugnant to ' true liberty. There is no political equa- ' lity, no emulation left for virtue, where ' citizens have any other dignity but that ' which is annexed to the offices they fill, ' any other glory but that which they owe ' to their adtions ; the title of Noble, * therefore, ought alfo to be prohibited ' in legal writings. As for thofe who in ' common converfation, and in their letters, ' might affedl ftill to preferve thofe puerile H h 3 " dif. 470 ANNALS OF THE [June 179Q. " diftindlions, they will be puniffied in ber •' ing pointed at as among thofe who ftill " mifconceive'our happy Reyolution." At this time there exifted a very marked rivalry between M. de la Fayette and the Lameths. The latter maintained a conftant fuperiority over him in the Jacobin Club, and their pppularity began to gain greatly upon his throughout the Capital. The re peated applaufes which they had lately obr tained gave M. de la Fayette as much uneafi? nefs as embarraffment. His ffiare of apr plaufe was neceffary to make up a little for the ftart his rivals had got of him. and of which they had not failed to make the moft ; for none were more able than they to manage revolutionary means, and the art of profiting by circumftances. But at that moment of delirium, the only fentiments applauded were thofe of the moft outrageous demo cracy, and it was difficult to ftrike out any thing to equal the extravagance pf what had already been moved.- Meanwhile then, till M. de la Fayette's patriotifm ffiould fuggeftr to him fome motion of the fame nature, he contented himfelf with approving with dignity that which had been made by Charles de Lameth, " This motion," faid he JUNEI790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 47 1 he with great emphafis, " is fo neceffary, that "I do not think it will have occafion '* to be fupported; but if it has, I declare " I fecond it with all my heart," After him a Deputy of the Tiers-Etat [Goupil de Prefeln) fupported all the mo tions that had been made, 'and ffiowed that the fame ideas had long been the objedt of his meditations. In fadt, he prefented the plan of a Decree already drawn up, which included them all, and in which was added the fuppreffion of the titles of Monfeigneur and nos Seigneurs in every ftate and rank, the Princes only excepted. This exception afforded an opening to M. de la Fayette, and he made it the fubjedl of a brilliant motion, " I defire," faid he, " to make an obfervation on this ex- " ception. In a free country, there is no " diftindtion but ©f citizens and public of- " ficers, I know that the hereditary magif- *' tracy of the King requires great energy : " but why give the title of Prince to men " who in my eyes are but adtive citizens " when they have the qualifications for " fuch*?" M. de * This motion would no doubt have been excufable, H h 4 ^ if 472 ANNALS OF THE [June 1790, M. de Noailles declared that he ffiould fupport with all his ftrength, the motions that had been made ; and moved further, that, in future, incenfe be referved for the Deity, and be no more ufed in homage to men, let their rank and quality be what they may. He alfo befought the Affembly to take into their eonfideration the degraded clafs of fervants, and order that in future no livery be worn. M. de'St. Fargeau moyed for an order that every citizen ffiould ufe only his family name, and not that of an eftate; and, true to his principle, fubfcribed his mptioafimply Louis Michel le Pelletier, if the infainous Duke of Orleans had been the only Prince of the Blood in France ; but, Heaven be praifeil! the illuftrious race of the Bourbons then had, and ftill has, many auguft branches of the blood of St. Louis, Louis XU. and Henry IV. magnanimous Princes, Vho have fhown themfelves in their misfortunes more worthy than ever of recovering the inheritance of their anceftors, by proving that they have inherited all, their virtues. Alas ! for feven year? paft has France, bewil dered, been expiating, by the moft dreadful calamities, the crime of forgetting their kindnefs, and denying, their rights. May fhe, noW awakened by the continua tion of her difafters, at length repair errors that have been fo fatal to her ; and foon recover the tranquillity, fiifety, and happinefs fhe has loft ! Mathieu/ JUNEI790-] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 473 Mathieu de Montmorenci was at firft grieved for having come too late to the Af fembly, and found the field of reforms com pletely reaped; but was again foon delighted to have, ftill to move, on this day of the ge neral annihilation pf anti-focial diftindlions, the abolition of thofe that moft recalled to mind the feudal fyftem and fpirit of chival ry. He meant armorial bearings, and moved the fuppreffion of them, A member of the Order of the Nobility rifing to move an amendment of this mo tion, was fuddenly interrupted by thefe words from one ofhis colleagues: — "A " Gentleman can move no amendment — he *' cannot compound with honour." M. de Sillery obferved, that as their Kings could no more have private, quarrels, the legend ultima ratio Regum^'wiii-ch w^s ftamped on the cannon ought to be ef-^ faced. The Abbe Maury fupported M. de St. Fargeau's motion for refuming family names', but oppofed all the other motions. — He defended the glory of Zomw ^/F, and the Nobility with his ufual eloquence, — ¦' The Romans," faid he, " had Orders " of 474 ANNALS OF THE [June 1790. " of Knighthood, and yet were free. In *' France the Nobflity is Conftitutional; to '^ deftroy it is to deftroy the Monarchy." He concluded with moving, that the difcuf fion of fo important a queftion ffiould be adjourned till the morning. This motion was fupported by thofe members of the Nobility of the Cote-Droit, who fpoke in this Sitting. — They did not doubt "that fuch extravagant propofi tions, difcuffed coolly and before din ner, would be rejedted by a great majority. Many kept filence from a thorough per- fuafion that the more extravagant thefe De-- crees were the lefs could they be maintained; and that they might in their fall draw down many others. Indeed it was pretty generally believed, that the chief view of thofe who made the moft violent motions, and particu larly of M. de la Fayette, was to have De crees paffed, that were fo abfurd and fubver- five of the effential principles of the Mo narchy, that the King would be under the neceffity of refufing them his fandtion. The people might have been the more eafily fa tisfied on this refufal, from having read fome days before in the public papers, a letter written JUNEI790-] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 475 written by M. de St. Priefi to Cherin the genealogift, informing him " that his Ma- •^ jefty defired that he would receive no •' more genealogical documents, which " might be previoufly offered for his ex- " amination by the Gentlemen of the No- " bility who wiffied to be introduced at •' Court." This order, by which a favour was extended to Plebeians that had till that time been granted only to Gentle men, aboliffied the only honourable diftinc- tion the Nobility had remaining; for all their honorary rights, privileges, and pecu niary exemptions, were already taken from them ; and for a length of time the rich of all claffes were allowed to take what arms and livery they pleafed. Thus, if Nobility ftill recalled to the minds of real Gentlemen the virtues or the fervices of their anceftors, and the duty of imitating them ; it neither was nor could be regarded by the multitude but as a word abfolutely void of meaning, which could as little provoke jealoufy as flatter vanity. There was, therefore, no fear of an infurredtion at Paris on account of the refufal to fandtion the Decrees in queftion, a refufal which the Fadlious had much more powerful reafons for defiring. — They 476 ANNAL8 OF THE [June i7g». They would have magnified it to the ut moft, to difpel the doubt of the King's liberty fince his refidence in the Capital, and to prove that it was with his own free con fent he had given his fandtion to all the De crees before prefented to him, as it only de pended upon him to refufe it; that fuch fandtion had therefore been an adt abfolutely free, and was confequently inconteftably valid. But if fuch were the hope of the motion-makers of the 19th of June, it was completely difappointed. The King, fearing to weaken the manifeft nullity of the fanc- tion which he had been forced to give to all the Decrees paffed fince the outrages of the 5th and 6th of Odtober, fandtioned alfo on the 28th of June the Decrees ofthe igth, notwithftanding the entreaties of Mr, Necker, who wiffied the King not to affent to the Decree degrading the Nobility, till he had offered his obfervations to the National Af- fenribly. The Council did not approve of that ftep, and were of opinion that the fanc- tion ffiould be pure and unqualified. Mr, Necker did not the lefs perfift in his opinion, and made a ffiowy difplay of his oppofition to that of his colleagues, by a Memorial v/hich he publiffied with the King's con fent, June 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 477 y fent, in which he difcuffed the Decrees of the I gth of June, and proved with all pof fible politenefs that they were equally fooliffi, unjuft, and impolitic; and indeed we have but to read them to be convinced that they are fo.. ' The firft Decree: — [June 19.) — " The " National Affembly taking into confidera- " tion, that at the approach of the great day " which is to unite the citizens from every " part of France for the National Federa- " tion, it imports the glory of the Nation *' not to fuffer the exiftence of any mpnu- " ment that recalls ideas of flavery offenfive " to the provinces united to the Kingdom ; '* -that it becomes the dignity of a free peo- " pie to confecrate only adtions which they *' may themfelves have judged and acknow- '• Icdged to be great and ufeful; have de- " creed and do decree, that the four chained " figures in the Place des ViEloires ffiall be " removed before the 14th of July next; and " the prefent Decree, after receiving the •' King's fandtion, ffiall be fent to the Mu- " nicipality of Paris to be put in exe- " cution," The fecond Decree:. — " The National Affembly decree, that Hereditary Nobility " is 478 ANNALS OF THE [June 1790. *' is for ever iboliflied : that in confequence, " the titles of Duke, Count, Marquis, Vif- " count, Vidame, Baron^ Chevalier, Mef-- •' fire, Efquire, Noble, and all other fuch •' titles, ffiall neither be taken by nor given ** to any perfon whatfoever. " That every citizen ffiall take only the " real name of his family ; that no perfon ' ' can either wear or caufe to be worn a •' livery, or ufe armorial bearings; that in- " cenfe ffiall be burnt in places of worffiip " only in honour of the Deity, and ffiall not " be offered to any creature whatever. " That the titles of Monfeigneur and Mef. " feigneurs, of Excellency, Highnefs, Emi- " nencc and Greatnefs, ffiall never be ap- " plied either to any body of men, or any " individual. Prpvided neverthelefs, that *' no citizen, under pretence of the prefent " Decree, can or may make any attempt " to injure the monuments fixed in the •' -churches, pr the charters, titles, and other " documents concerning families or pro- " perty, or the decorations of any public or • ' private place ; and provided that the exe- *' cution of the regulation relative to feries " and arms painted on carriages, be not en- *' forced or required by any perfon whatfo- " ever June 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 479 " ever before the 14th of July, as to citizens "refiding at Paris^; and before three months '• as to fuch as live in the provinces. The " regulations of the prefent Decree ffiall not '• extend to* foreigners, who may continue " to ufe their liveries and armorial bearings •• in France," It was not till the conclufion of the debate which preceded thefe decrees, that the Cote- Droit of the Affembly began to perceive that it was ferioufly propofed to pafs them ; when feveral Deputies of the Nobility fprang towards the tribune, and demanded with warmth to be heard, but were refufed amidft the general ffiouts of the Cote-Gauche and of the galleries. The queftion was put on both decrees, and they were paffed by a great majority at eleven o'clock at night. As the Affembly was going to break up, a deputation of the citizens of Paris was in troduced into the Hall, preceded by a plate of brafs, decked with a crown of oak-leaves, and on which the oath taken by the Com mons in the Tennis-Court at Verfailles, on the 20th of June the preceding year, was engraved. One of the members of the^ De putation faid, " That the next day being the ?' anniverfary of the oath which the Depu- " ties 480 ANNALS OF THE [June 1790. " ties had fworn to render France free, this " monument ffiould be carried in a folemn " manner, and fixed in the place which had •' been confecrated by that memorable adt," This addrefs, and the patriotic reply made tP it by the Prefident, obtained the greateft applaufe ; and the Affembly rofe amidft tranfports of joy and noify acclamations. It was too much like the night of the 4th of Auguft preceding, not to terminate like it. And it was in the delirium of thofe turbu lent orgies that the Reprefentatives of the French Nation deftroyed its ancient Confti tution, and fubftituted in its ftead the moft abfurd reveries, under the impofing title of Conftitutional Decrees ! Several other remarkable events happened in the month of June 1790. On the 10th, the moft violent commotions broke out at Avignon. In the account fent by the Mu nicipal Officars of the town to the Affembly, they accufed the Arifiocrats of having feized on the Hotel-de-Ville and four cannon, and of having fired from all quarters on the honeft citizens, on the good patriots, more than thirty of whom had fallen vidtims to their zeal. The people had marched againft thofe affaffins, had feized and facrificed four of June 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION, 48 1 of them ; twenty-two more had been ar refted, and would have been put to death if the National Guards of the neighbouring Communes, who had flown to the affiftance of Avignon, had not prevented it,. The next day all the diftridts of the town af fembled, and unanimoufly voted an union of the Comtat of Avignon with France, The armorials of the Holy See were immediately deftroyed or removed, and the arms of France put in their place with great pomp, amidft the cries of Vive la Nation, la Loi, et le Roi ! The Affembly were informed of this event by an extraordinary meffenger, who arrived at Paris on the 17th of June. His difpatches announced that four Deputies had been appointed to repair immediately to the Affembly to folicit their confent to the union , \ While the fatal name of Ariftocrats was thus raifing the Avignon mob againft the Nobles and Priefts, and the Pope was ftrip ped of a portion of his States, as a punifliment no doubt for his prefumed ariftocracy, two Deputies of the Order of the Nobility, Count- de Touloufe- Lautree and Vifcount de Mira beau, who were abfent on leave, were ar refted; the former by the Municipality of Touloufe, and the latter by that of Caftel- VoL. II. I i naudarry. 482 ANNALS OF THE [June 1790, naudarry. M. de Lautree was accufed pf taking fteps to raife an infurredtion, and of endeavouring to bribe the men of the Na tional Guards to prevent the partial federa* tion which was to take place at Touloufe on the 14th of July, and to reftore the old fyftem. The King's Solicitor of the Senef- chal's jurifdidtion hearing by public rumour of this pretended plot, denounced it on the 17th of June by a formal information to the Municipality, who, on the depofition of two or three of the Guards, ordered M. de Lau tree to be arrefted. This was done the next day by a detachment of the National Guards, at a country-houfe where he had been refid ing fince the 10th of June, the day of his arrival, in fpite of his quality of Deputy and the inviolability annexed to it. He was detained at the Hotel-de-Ville, where he underwent an examination; in which he formally denied all the charges brought againft him, and the bribes he was accufed of having offered. He was notwithftanding kept in cuftody ; but the Municipality ftaid the proceedings againft him, until they ffiould receive orders from the National Af-, fembly, to whom they fent an account of the affair. The June 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 483 The Vifcount de Mirabdiu had more wit and natural talents, but lefs knowledge, than his elder brother : his charadter was in high eftimation for his franknefs and fincerity, his romantic bravery, his fentiments of honour,, and his loyalty to the King ; yet he was fu perior to his brother ftill more by his qua lifications than by his virtues. The elder Mirabeau, early plunged by the violence of his paffions and by the uncommon vigour of his conftitution into all manner of excefs, had fliaken off the yoke of principles, and had fubftituted in their place fyftems ever dependent, as to his condudt, on the fordid calculations of intereft. His long and fre quent imprifonments had confiderably foured and hardened his difpofition, and in the courfe of them he had alfo acquired the habit pf refledling deeply, of confidering a queftion under all its points of view, and of fupporting with equal fti;ength the affirmative or nega tive; whence that readjnefs, that fuperiority in reply which gave him an immenfe advan tage over all his opponents. Unfortunately, the beft caufe was always in his opinion that for which he was beft paid, and his elo quence at the fervice of the higheft bidder. He has been unjuftly accufed of cowardice : lis on 484 ANNALS OF THE [Juke ! 796. on feveral occafions when his life only was at ftake he has given unequivocal proofs of courage. But he was often daftardly through avarice or vanity : there was no infult how ever ferious which he could not bear when he had a large fum to receive, or an imgort^ ant fpeech to deliver in the Affembly next day ; and it feldom happened but that one or other of thefe was the cafe. Being a Royalift on convidtion, he would have fup ported the throne very powerfully, had not Mr. Necker fcrupled to purchafe his fervices ; and it Was not till he refufed them that he offered them to the democratic party, who' paid much more for them than he would have got from the Court, Mirabeau was far from being the author of all the fpeeches he delivered from the tribune. His attendance at the Affembly, and the parties of pleafure, or rather of im moderate debauch, in which he was perpe tually engaged, left him no time to write them, even had his head been fufficiently at liberty to compofe them. He had at com mand a certain number of writers, of more wit than 'fortune, who, flattered by his pa tronage, encouraged by his promifes, and affifted at times by trifling fums from his purfe, JUNEI790-] FRENCH REVOLUTION, 485 purfe, did themfelves the honour of working for him. He received them at his houfe at different hours, and employed them all un known to one another; telling each, under the feal of fecrecy, that he purpofed to make a motion of fuch a nature, but that he had fo little time to beftow upon thinking of it that it would be doing him a real friendffiip to give him fome ideas, fome notes which he might make ufe of, and that he had thought of him for fuch affiftance. There was not one of them but went inftantly to work as hard as he could, to juftify the con fidence of a man fo celebrated as Mirabeau. When they had all fent in their work, he feledled the beft paffages of each, form ing a whole out of them, which he arranged and enriched in his manner with fome pomp ous phrafes, and then fet out for the Af fembly. His fellow-labourers, who got there before him, recognized each the par ticular paffage he had furniffied him with, admired in fecret the advantage he had drawn from it, and never doubted that all the reft of the fpeech was his own compofition : they wondered at his being able to produce fo fine an oration in fo ffiprt a time, and left the Hall convinced that np man had more I i 2 talents 486 ANNALS OF THE [June 1798, talents than Mirabeau. And there is no doubt, in fadl, that he was very able, without the affiftance of any body, to make as good fpeeches as thofe he thus patched up : but he had a rarer- talent, and the moft ufeful to a ftatefman, that of appreciating the talents of others, and extradling the greateft poffible advantage from them. Charlemagne could hardly fign his name, and Cardinal Richelieu was an indifferent waiter; yet the one was the greateft King, and the other the ableft Minifter France ever had. But let us return to Vifcount de Mira beau's arreft, the occafion of which was this: being informed that a fpirit of dif order and revolt had proceeded to a very high pitch in the regiment of Touraine, of which he was Colonel, and that out of nine hundred foldiers fcarcely three hundred paid attention to their duty, he fet out with the King's permiffion and on leave from the Af fembly for Perpignan, where the regiment was in garrifon. He flattered himfelf that his prefence 'and endeavours would' reftore order and military difcipline. He arrived at Perpignan on the 9th of June, and imme diately wrote to the Municipal Officers to in form them of his intention to take the oath at the June 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 487 the head of his regiment as foon as poffible ; begging them to appoint the day, hour, and place, they pleafed to receive him. The next day was fixed, and in confequence M. de Mirabeau iffued orders for the regiment to be ready under arms to join in the ceremony : but three officers, whom perfonal infults had compelled to abfent themfelves, not hav ing been able to procure horfes to arrive at the hour appointed, the oath was poft poned till their return, and the orders given the day before to the regiment were revoked. The next morning, at half-paft feven o'clock, . a company of foldiers with the Adjutant at their head went to M. de Mirabeau's houfe, and forced his chamber door with a great noife. He ordered them out, telling them that it was not in that manner that foldiers ffiould enter the houfe of their Commander ; and they obeyed him. But he had fcarcely put on his night-gown, when he was in formed that above five hundred foldiers were at his gate ; to whom he fent orders for a de putation. Fifteen of them immediately went in, and afked him if it were true that it .was his intention to replace the abfent Of- ficers in the regiment. He reprimanded. tkem with dignity for the irregularity of I i 4 their 488 ^ ANNALS OF THE [June 1790, vifit and of their queftions, ordered them to return quietly to their quarters, and told them that he would himfelf come in a quar ter of an hour, and bring them the King's orders. They thought their Colonel in the right, promifed him obedience, and with.* drew. The cafe was not the fame with thofe who were waiting the refult of this meffage in the ftreet. They reproached the deputation bitterly for not having brought out their Colonel, and continued calling for him with fhouts mixed with the groffeft im precations, M. de Mirabeau came out to them, accompanied by feven Officers, The foldiers drew up on feeing him ; on which ' he repeated to them what he had faid to their comrades, and added, that it was not in the middle of a ftreet, or by a mutiny, that they ffiould obtain any anfwer from him. He then ordered tliern to return tb their quarters, to which a no unanimoilfl/ vociferated was the reply. After this order had been thrice repeated, and had eyery time received the fame reply, a foldier leaving the ranks went forwards to M. de Mirabeau, and faid' to him in a furious tone of voice : '• We know that you want to bring back " into the regiment the people who have " ufed June 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 489 •' ufed US ill, but they ffiall not come back " to it by G — d." The threatening geftures which accompanied this expreflion, required the more attention, as at the fame time fome of the foldiers were feen picking up ftonfes. An Officer informed M. de Mirabeau of it, who ftepped back, drew his fword, and, wav ing it in the air, called out, " Officers, this ''' way— Soldiers, obey your Commander." At the motion made by the Officers to draw their fwords, the foldiers in coming for wards from the fides of the ftreet, ruffied upon one another — fome fell, others called to arms, to which in fadl they ran, and very foon the diforder was complete. There was, however, no blood fpilled, M. de Mirabeau went to the Mayor's houfe, where he refided, and ufed in vain every. means of mildnefs and conciliation he could think of, to recall the foldiers to their obedience. The Muni cipality fuppofing that the return of public tranquillity depended on his departure, re quefted him to leave the town. With this requeft he complied, and fet out the next day, the 12th of June, at five o'clock in the morning, carrying with him the banners, — The regiment being informed the fame morning of the departure of their Colonel, went 490 ANNALS OF THE [June 1790. went at ten o'clock to the Mayor's tp take away their colours, and were feized with the greateft fury on feeing them ftripped of the banners. They accufed the Mayor [M. d'Aguilar) of having connived at their be ing taken away ; and in fpite of all he could fay to prove not only his innocence but his abfolute ignorance of the offence imputed to him, he was forced away by the foldiers, and followed by the whole regiment to the cita del, where he was detained as a hoftage, under a very ftrong guard, till the banners ffiould be returned. At the fame time feveral couriers were difpatched in purfuit of M. de Mira-^ beau, to claim the affiftance of all the Mu- nicipalities on the road, in the name of the Nation, the Law, and the King, to caufe that Officer to be arrefted, and to compel him to reftore the banners which he had carried off. The Affembly foon learned that M. de Mirabeau had been arrefted at Caftelnaudarry, where he was ftridlly guarded, and that the banners of the regi'- ment had been found in his portmanteau, On the report made by the Committee of Inquiry of this affair, and that of Count de Touloufe- Lauirec, it was decreed, that the Municipalities -of Touloufe and Perpignan ffipuld. June 1790.] FRENCH "REVPLUTIPN. 491 ffipuld immediately fet them at liberty, ,and that they ffiould both repair without delay to the Affembly to give an account of their condudt. They very foon arrived. The Affembly heard their juftification, referred all the papers which had been fent to them on thefe two affairs to their Military Com- inittee and Committees of Inquiry, and of Reports, and finally declared, after the moft ample examination, that there were no grounds of impeachment againft the Officers. The Vifcount de Mirabeau fpoke very nobly on the fadl of carrying off the banners, which was the only one that required any explanation. " I made a very fimple calculation," faid he-. " Three hundred foldiers, with brave *' and loyal Officers, remained firm to fheir " duty ; it was proper to preferve for the ' ' King this flower of a regiment which had " been fo often covered with glory, and " .which had ever been irreproachable. It ¦^ came into my mind to carry the banners ¦' to the King, and I ffiould have faid to " him, ' Sire, fend thefe to a diftant town, " and let the foldiers who remained faithful " be called thither; they will haften to join "their colours.' This projedl was that of " a man 492 ANNALS of THE [JUN8I790. a man of honour. It was faid that the banners were found in my portmanteau-*. 'tis falfe : they were here — on my breaft they ffiould have been taken only with my life, had not a citizen whom I confi der more than myfelf [M. d'Aguilar) been in danger," To complete this narrative with exadlnefs I ffiould add, that the day before the Vif count de Mirabeau was heard, a Deputation of the revolted foldiers of the regiment of Touraine had been admitted at the bar, had there delivered a fpeech, which was often interrupted by the greateft applaufes, and had been admitted to the honours of the Sitting, although the fpeech was but a continued ftrain of infolent declamation and falfities, proved by the authentic vouchers which the Affembly had previoufly received. As the affair of the regiment of Touraine contains nearly the hiftory of the diforr ganization and effedts which the Revolution produced in almoft all the regiments in the army, I thought it incumbent upon me to give an exadl report of the principal circum ftances, to ffiow how difficult it was for brave and faithful Officers, thenceforth under the neceffity of obeying inftead of com manding JrNEi790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 493 manding their foldiers, every day expofed to dangers without glory, and to outrages never puniffied, to remain with honour in a fer vice which a general contempt of difcipline had rendered equally ufelefs to the King and to their Country; and, indeed, almoft all of them refigned their commiffions. It was not only to the Deputies of muti nous regiments that the Affembly. granted the honours of the Sitting; they beftowed the fame diftindtion, and in a ftill more ftriking manner, on Deputations from fo reign nations, which their chapter of the Rights of Man had excited to rebel againft their lawful Sovereigns, and boafted withput ffiame of having infpired them with the thought of that crime. When the Deputations from Avignon were introduced at the bar, and there announced that the town and State of Avignon were determined no longer to ac knowledge the authority of the Pope their Sovereign, and had voted their union with France, the Prefident made them a reply, rendered more remarkable by having been firft communicated to the Affembly and ap proved by them. It was as follows : " The National Affembly will pay the 2 " greateft 494 , ANNALS OF THE CJUNB1790. ' greateft eonfideration to the objedt of your ' miffion. It is a glory to them to have in- ' fpired the citizens of Avignon with the ' wifhes you now exprefs. Whatever be ' the refult of your refolution, the Nation ' will always be flattered by your affedtion ' and confidence." Th^ total alienation of ecclefiaftical pro perty had been decreed the day before, and the Affembly, by their Decrees of reform or rather of annihilation of the Clergy, were encroaching every day upon the fpiritual power of the Pope : the ufurpation of his temporal power, and the invafion of his States, could not, to fuch legiflators, be an objedl of the fmalleft fcruple. CHAP- June 1790,] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 495 CHAPTER XXVII. Singular Adventure which -happened at St. Cloud to two young Men deranged in Mind-^—The Affembly endeavour to in creafe their popularity by redoubling their Indulgence to villains — The Duke of Orleans writes to the Affembly, and informs them oj his Departure jrom _ England, to be prejent at the Federation -—Preparations jor that Fefiival — The Citizens, M^n and Women oj all Claffes, go and work in the Champ de Mars — Decree regulating the order to be objerv- ed. at the Fefiival, ; and the Oath to be taken — Report rejpeEltng Penjions, tend ing to jupprefs them, and to create new ones in their ftead, only to the amount of ten Millions — -Denunciation of M. de St. 49^ ANNALS OF THE [June lyge, St. Priefi, M. de Maillebois, and M. de- Bonne-Savardin — Arrival of the Fede rates — Harangues — The King's Anfwer — Details relative to the Fefiival of the Federation. 1 H E tranquillity enjoyed by the King during his refidence at St. Cloud, was dif turbed for a moment by a very ftrange oc currence, extremely calculated to awakeh fufpicion and difguft in the minds of the People, On the 29th of June, at ten o'clock in the morning, two well dreffed young. men arrived at St, Cloud in a carriage. They went up to the Palace together, andfe'ated. themfelves at fome diftance from each other, under the veftibule of the great ftair-cafe which leads to the apartments ; and there they paffed the whole day, in a ftate abfo lutely motionlefs, and without uttering a fingle word. No one thought he hacl a right to afk them what they were doing there ; and, in fadl, they might have anfwered' by quoting the chapter of the Rights of Man, that as they were forbidden by no law from entering that veftibule, they had a right to remain there. The guards of the Palace, June 1790.] I^RENCli RfiVOLUTION. 497 Palace, therefore. Contented themfelves with ' vvatching them narrowly till the evening, when their orders Were tp turn all ftrangers out. They were then told to withdraw. — They removed without any anfvver; but in ftead of quitting the Palace they ftaid in the Court, walking, with meafured fteps, un der the windows of the King's apartments. This perfeverance feemed extraordinary, and the Officer of the Guard fent them another order to depart. They then fpoke for the firft time, and very mildly afked, if they might not be allowed to continue in the . place where they were ? The Guard did not infift, and they were left there till the hour of ffiutting the Palace gates. In a few mi nutes after they had left the Court, they were met by the patrol of St. Cloud, who ftopped them, and afked their names. One fai4 he was called Paul, and the other that his name was Peter.- The Guard obliged them to get into their carriage, efcorted them to the bridge, and faVv them go on. Soon after, this patrol heard a carriage coming, found it to be the fame they had been efcorting, and feeing in it the perfons whom they had obliged to depart, they ar refted and condudted them to the Guard- VoL. IL Kk houfe. 498 ANNALS OF THE [June 1790, houfe. On being queftioned refpedting the motive that had brought them to St. Cloud, they both replied, that they had come thi ther by a fuperior order. - Nothing more could be got from them, and they Were detained in the Guard-houfe, where they were kept in fight. - On the next day the King being informed of what had paffed, fent to affure the Municipality that he had given no order to any one to come to St. Cloud. The young men were again examined, and called upon to tell their real names, and to give an ac count of the fuperior order which they pre tended to have received. The one faid he was the fon of M, d'Hozier, the genealogift; the other, that his name was Petit-Jean, and that he was a fon of the Treafurer of Corfica; and both maintained that it was from God himfelf and the Virgin Mary that they had received an order to come and refcue the King from St. Cloud. In d'Hozier' s pocket a paper was found, con- containing thefe words : " Louis XVL you " have loft your crown, you will recover it " at St. Cloud;" and in Petit- Jmii's was a fmall image of the Virgin, and a letter figned Mary, Mother of God. They inv 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 499 They Were carried to the prifon of the Abbaye in Paris. It was found that they had.been long connedled j that for about fix Weeks they had been obferved ftationing themfelves before the altar of the Virgin, in the church of Notre Dame, and that it was after one of thofe folemnities that they had fet out for St. Cloud. For the ffiort time they w-ere in prifon they preferved that penfive, rranquil, and filent demeanour for which they had been remarked in the veftibule of the great ftair-cafe at St. Cloud. There was no doubt as to the nature of their malady/ and the examination of their papers fully corroborated in that refpedt what their beha viour and replies to the different queftions put to them clearly indicated. Thefe cir cumftances being publiffied in all" the public papers happily diffipated the rumours and fufpicions which this adventure had begun to create, and men the moft difpofed to be alarmed were forced to allow that fuch vifipnaries could not he very dangerous con- fpiratprs*. The • Phyfic ians have obferved, that the Revolution had confiderably multiplied madnefs and idiotifm in France. . They have imputed the former to the fpecies of framic K k B delirium 50O ANNALS OF THfi iSvtllr^^. The nearer the day of the Federation ap proached the more did the Affembly exert themfelves to confirm th-eir power, and they eagerly paffed the moft popular motions. — They decreed on the ift of July, that the criminal prPceedings pending in the Court of Aids againft the brigands who had pil- lageci and burnt the barriers at Paris in July the year preceding, fliould be dropped, and that all perfons detained in prifon by virtue pf Decrees given in thofe proceedings ffiould be fet at liberty. The preamble of this Decree difplays a very remarkable popularity, where it fays, " that the continuation of " thofe proceedings would fpread alarms, delirium which the fanaticifm of Liberty and Equality brought upon a great number of people, and the latter to the violent and fudden impreffion or extreme ftupor produced by the unexpedted fight of maffacres and other fcenes of horror, which fo often ftained this period throughout the K.ingdom, but principally at Paris. The' adventure of d'Hozier and Petit-Jean indicates a third caufe of infanity, Alas ! they are not the only perfons whofe reafon has been fbaken by the feelings excited by ' the misfortunes and dangers of the King- The Revo lutionary writers haife mentioned thofe numerous vic tims of their loyalty, only to turn' them into ridicule ^ fo far they have played their part, but the part of hiftory is to rejeft fuch atrocious farcafms with indignation, and pofterity will make amends by honourable regret. Q " not JtriT 1790-3 FRENCH REVOLUTION. 5OI. not only in the Capital, but alfo in all the Departments where fimflar proceed ings might be carried on ; that, befides, if fome exceffes had accompanied the emotions of the people, who were reco vering their rights, which at any other jundture, would have been feverely pu niffied, they were fo connedled with the concomitant events, that in profecuting the authors of them, there would be great danger of confounding the innocent with the guilty."' — *' Do the prefent Judges," cried the reporter, ' ' wiffi to leave no regret after them ? Do they wiffi before they lay down their office to revenge the fup preffion of the ancient fyftem ? Shall the 14th of July, which is to be a day of feaft- ing and happinefs for French Citizens, be a day of mourning and tears to any ? Under thefe circumftances, a veil ffiould be drawn over the ftatue of the Law." What a tender concern for villains ! — For what crimes did the Affembly'referve their feverity, if robbery and the firing of build ings obtained not only indulgence from t^em, but fomething like praife ? M. de la Touche, a member of the Affembly, and Chancellor tp the Duke of Orleans, could K k 3 not cpa ANNALS OF THE [JutY I79«. npt chppfe a more favourable moment for obtaining the approbation of the Affembly for the Duke's return to France, iri order tp be prefent at the Federation. To enfure a more ready fupport of this application from the Cote-Gcmche, M. de la Touche was very cautiou§^ in making it, not to give the Duke of Orleans any other title than that of Mon fieur y conformably tp the nodlurnal Decree of the 19th of June, the compliance with which, in this inftance at leaft, wounded no body's ears. " I addrefs you," faid M. de la Touche in the Sitting of the 6th of July, " to fubmit fadts concerning Mr. Louis- Jofeph-Philip of France, (here tofore Duke pf Orleans) which are contained in the letter I am going to read, and I rely on the juftice of the National Affembly for their decifion," He then read the following lefter j *• London, July gd, 1790. I requeft you, Sir, to .lay- before- the National Affembly, as foon as poffible, the following narrative of fadts : On the 25th of laft month I did my felf the honour of writing to the King, "to (I tt <( (( July 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION, 503 to inform his Majefty of my intention to repair immediately to Paris : my letter muft have been received by M. de Moiit^ morin on the 29th of the fame month. I had in confequence taken leave of the King of England, and fixed this after noon, the 3d of July, for my^eparture. But this morning, the Ambafi'ador of France came to my houfe, and brought with him a Gentleman, whom he intro duced to me as a M. de Boinville, an Aid-de-Camp of M. de la Fayette's, fent by his General from Paris, on Tiief- day the 29th, with a meffage to me. — This M. de Boinville then told me, in prefence of the Ambaffador, that M. de la Fayette conjured me not to retufn to Paris ; and, among other reafons which I did not think worthy of attention, he mentioned one of a more important na ture, namely, commotions that might be excited by ill-difpofed perfons, who would not fail to make ufe of my name. The particulars of this meffage and con verfation are certified by the Ambaffador of France, in a writing, the original of which I have, and a copy, of which, figned by me, is annexed to this. Doubt-r -K k 4 " lefs, 504 ANNALS OF THE [July 1799, *' lefs, it is my duty not lightly to endan- " ger the public tranquillity, and I have " determined to put off my journey, yet ** only in the hope of being able to explain " myfelf. " At the time of my departure for Eng- •¦ land, it was M. de la Fayette who firft " announced to me, on the part of the King, "the propofal of undertaking acommiffioq •* with which his Majefty wiffied to truft *' me. An account of the converfation *' which he had with me on this occafion is " inferted in a narrative of my condudt, ?' which I did not intend to make public '* till after my return to Paris, but which afr " ter this freffi incident I am refojved tp " publiffi immediately, and to lay the orit •t* ginal on the table of the Affembly. It ** will there be feen, that among the reafons f ' which M. de la Fayette urged for my acr ^* ceptingthat commiffion, one of the prin- " cipal was, that ^s my departure would take *• frpm the ill-difpofed -all pretence for •* ufing my name to excite commotions in " Paris, he, M. de la Fayette, wonld the *' more eafily maintain tranquillity in the *• Capital ; and this was one of the confider-r " ations that determined me. But although ' "I ac- /utr 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 5P5 " r accepted the commiflion, the Capital *' has not been tranquil ; and if, in fadl, *' the promoters of twmults have not been »' able tp make ufe of my name to excite *' them, they have not been afraid to raife '' a fcore of libels upon it, for the pur- '^ pofe of fixing the fufpicions of them ?' upon me. '• It is now time to know who are the ill- <' difpofed individuals, whofe projedts are " known, without any marks-by which their f perfons may be traced in order to be pu- ^' niffied or repreffed ; it is now time to '' know why my name, more than any f other, ffiould ferve as a pretext for popu- *' lar commotions ; it is now time to remove ^' the phantom, or indicate the reality. *,' In the mean time I declare, that fince *' the 25th of laft month my opinion has ?' been, .that my refidence in England is no '• longer of any ufe to the interefts of the ^' Nation, or the King's fervice ; that, in '* confequence, I confider it a duty to *' refume my employments as a mcm- " ber of the National Affembly ; that I arn ?* led thither from my own inclination ; '• that the aera of the 14th of July, fince f^ jthe Decrees of the Affembly, appears to " call I^(^6 ANNALS OF THE [July 1790. " call me ftill more powerfully; and that, " unlefs the Affembly decide againft it, and " inform me of their decifion, I ffiall perfift •' in my original refolution, I alfo declare^ '• that if, contrary to my expedlation, the " National Affembly ffiould be of opinion •' that there is no ground to deliberate on " my demand, I ffiall hold myfelf bound *' to conclude, that they think that all that " has been faid to me by this M. Boin- " ville is to be regarded as if it never had '* paffed; and that there is no obftacle " to my joining the Affembly, of which I " have the honour to be a member. •' I requeft you, -Sir, after ftating the '* fadts to the Affembly, to lay the prefeiit *• account of them, figned by mc, upon " their table, and to folicit their determina^ " tion on this fubjedl. '• I fend a copy of the prefent letter to his " Majefty by M. Montmorin, and alfo tP " M, de la Fayette. " (Signed) L. Ph. Jofeph d'Orleam."^ >> The letter being read, M. de la Fayette fpoke as follows : " After what paffed be- " tween the Duke of Orleans and me in " the month ojf Odlober, and which i *' ffipuld July 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. §0^ *' ffiould not have alluded to had he not f himfelf introduced it before the Affembfy'j ^* I thought I owed it to the Duke of dr- *' leans to inform him that the fame reafons ff which had determined him to accept his ff commiffion might ftill e'xift, and' that i' perhaps an ill ufe might be made of his ," name to give fome of thofe alarms, which ." had indeed no effedl on my mind, but " which, however, every good citizen muft f wiffi avoided on, a day confecrated to ?' general confidence and felicity. ' ' As for M. de^ Boinville, he had been f* in England, fix months, had come over to " pafs fome days here, and on his return to " London undertook to tell the Duke of Or- f ¦. leans what I have now repeated to the " Affembly. " Allow me, Gentlemen, to take this oc- f cafion, as I am appointed by the Affem- ** bly to guard the public tranquillity at *' this grand epocha, to exprefs to you my ^' fentiments on the fubjedt. The' nearer f' the 14th of July approaches, the more ?' am I convinced that it muft infpire as ." much fecurity as fatisfadtion. My opi- " nion is particularly founded on the patri- ;? otic difpofitions of all the citizens, on 1 " the go8 ANNALS OF THE [July 179*. " the zeal of the Parifian National Guard, •' and of our brothers in arms, who are ' ' coming from all parts of the Kingdom ; *' and as fo great a number of the' friends ** of the Conftitution and of public ordejf •' have;, never been before affembled, we ' ' ffiall be ftronger than ever we were." The Duke de Biron fpoke after M. de la Fayette, and extolled the important fervices that the Duke of Orleans had rendered to Liberty. Another member of the Ndbility moved, that the Affembly ffiould pafs to the order of the day, and his motion was adopted without oppofition. This was quite enough to remove all obftacle to the Duke of Or leans's return. He arrived at Paris on Satur day the 10th of July in the evening; re paired the next day to the Affembly,- mount ed the tribune, and uttered fome patriotic phrafes, which he concluded with the civic oath, that had been decreed by the Affembly in his abfence, and to which he had affented at the time in a letter addreffed to the Prefident, The fituation of the Champ de Mars, its extent, and perhaps alfo its claffical and mi» litary appellation, caufed it to be cohfidered as the mofl fuitable fpot for the feftival of the July 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. , ^g the Federation. The prepairations required in fo extenfive an inclofure had for fome days employed upwards of 12,000 work men. It was neverthelefs reported, that thofe preparations would not be finiffied for the day appointed. All the Diftridts imme^ diately fet themfelves in motion, and every day they fent large detachments with fpades and pick-axes. The enthufiafm foon fpread ing, caught the citizens of every condition, age, and fex, and fet them all off for the Champ de Mars. ' The delicate dame in' ffiort coats, and the fturdy fiffi woman; the diffievelled courtefan and the lay-fifter; courtiers and butchers ; the financier and the water-carrier; players and monks; feminaries, fchools, old men and children, .ccwnpofed this immenfe moving fcene of work, every point of which prefented a cu rious or comical group. Here was a Car- thufian digging up the earth, without turn ing his head, while the barrow was filled by girls of the town, a!nd wheeled away by an oyfter- wench; there, an Acajdemician and Capuchin were yoked to the fame dray, which was ffioved behind by a Chevalier de St. Louis. A little farther were feen detachments of wprkmen frpm the neighbpuring villages, with ^lO ANNAL^ OF THE [July 1793, with their Mayor in robes and their Cure af their head, proceeding all to work with the fame ardour. The Champ de Mars was then truly a field of equality. Butts of win^ were drawn in drays into the enclofure, to be diftributed gratis to the labourers, while travelling taverns and portable ffiops were pitched round the outfide, to fupply more delicate refreffiments to the genteel workmen, and the curious who flocked in multitudes to the place. Songs and ffiouts of joy mingled with the work ; and the ufual bur dens of the patribtic airs were Ca ira, LeS Arifiocrates a la lanterne, Crevent les Arifi tocrates, and others of the fame nature. The great number of workmen, and their emulation, fo rapidly advanced the works,' that the fears of their not being completed by the 14th entirely vaniffied. But the edi-; tors of fome patriotic journals attempted to raife fears of a much more ferious nature. They boldly afferted a detedlion of a confpi racy to run mines under the Champ de Mars, and to blow up that and the Military School together. They advifed the greateft precau tions to be taken, and particularly a ftridl fcarch-to be made into the common fewers,, where they affirmed that great quantities of powder JotY 1790,] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 5II pow4er 'and combuftible matter would be found, Thefe were fearched carefully by Commiffioners, who found nothing but what ffiould be found there; and on their report the Municipality invited all the citi zens to throw off thofe grPundlefs and ridi culous fears, to repofe on their vigilance, and fecurely look forward to the feftival of the 14th of July. While the precautions and preparations which this feftival required engaged the whole attention of the Municipality, the order that was to be obferved, and the form of the, oath to be taken at it, were utider eon fideration in the National Affembly, and were i'egulated by the following Decree upon the Report of the Committee of Con ftitution : •' Art. I. The King ffiall be requefted to ** take the command of the National Guards ** and troops fent to the general confedera- " tion of the 14th of July, and to appoiiit •' Officers to command in his name and •' under his orders, " Art. 2. At the ceremony the Prefident ' " of the National Affembly ffiall be placed '^ at the King's right hand, without any* " perfon gt2 anKals of The [,fuLYi79<». perfon between the King and him. The Deputies ffiall be placed next to the right of the Prefident and the left ofthe King. His Majefty ffiall be requefted to give orders that the Royal Family be properly placed. " ^Art. 3. After the oath taken by the Deputies of the National Guards and other troops of the Kingdom, the Pre fident of the National Affembly ffiall repeat the oath taken on the 4th of Fe bruary laft ; after which the Members of the Affembly ffiall, each ftanding and holding up his hand, repeat, I swear IT. •' Art. 4. The oath to be then taken by the King ffiall be in thefe terms : I, King of the French, fwear to the Nation to em ploy all the power delegated to me by the Conftitution of the State, to maintain the Conftitution decreed by the National Af fembly and accepted by me, and to caufe the laws to be executed." ' Before this decree was paffed, a long and animated debate took place, in which the Royal Party gained no farther fuccefs than hy caufing the difpofal of the Royal Family to July 1790.J FRENCH REVOLUTION. 513 to be mentioned in the fecond article; and the title of Firft Citizen, which the Com mittee of Conftitution would have had the King to take, to be omitted in the form of his Majefty's oath. It was obferved, that the word Citizen implying equality, the ex preffion of Firfi Citizen was a fole<;ifm in terms. The Biffiop of Clermont declared in a very formal, manner, that he ffiould except from his okth all that regarded fpiritual matters, and his declaration was not ob- jedted to by any perfon. The burdens of the patriotic hymns in the Champ de Mars againft the Arifiocrats, were only in a manner a parody of the de crees paffed at the time by the Affembly againft the different claffes meant by that fatal word. The property of the Clergy having been declared national, and the fale ofthe whole already ordered, there remained nothing more to plunder them of; but their complete diforganization in fpiritual affairs formed alfo a part of the plan of the Revo lutionary Reformers, and the Report on the divifion of the Kingdom imo new metropo litan circles, as well as on the fixing of the Vol. n. LI fees 514 ANNALS OF THE [Julyi79(>.' fees of the new biffioprics in each Depart ment, took up the Sittings in the beginning of July, At the fame time the Affembly decreed feveral articles of the new judicial plan, which entirely completed the annihi. lation of the ancient magiftracy. About the fame period the- Advocate Camus, in the name of the Committee of Penfions, gave a Report the moft fuited to caufe all who had fliared thofe favours to be confidered as fo many greedy and contemp tible intriguers, who had pradlifed the moft criminal means to plunder the public trea fury. *' The courtiers and intriguers," faid he " got all, while they who were really " entitled, remained deftitute of affiftance. •' That was not the only abufe; a multitude " of titles were heaped on the fame head, " which makes this expence amount not " only to thirty millions, but, if douceurs " and penfions are added, to fifty-eight rail- " lions — from which we have been induced " to propofe the total abolition of penfions, " gifts, and gratifications, exifting on the ift -" of January 1790,' or which may have been "•' granted fince. Be not, however, alarm- " ed; for at the fame time that we demand 2 " their July 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 515 " their fuppreffion, we propofe to you to " create a certain portion to the amount of ** ten millions, and they who have deferved " them need not fear that the claims of " people unw'orthy of that reward ffiall be ' * preferred : yet as to thofe who have no " title, we muft not throw them into de- " fpondency ; a fum of four millions muft " be applied for them, which ffiall be gra- " dually decreafed. It is propofed to fup- " prefs alfo, ift. The governments of the " provinces, and caftles which do not re- " quire refidence: thefe are," continued he, " in the military line what abbeys are in the " ecclefiaftical order, that is to fay, they an- " fwer no purpofe *. 2dly. The fettlement * .This pettifogger, it is clear, did not know, that in the noble profeflion of arms, that in the opinion of the French chivalry, moderate appointments attached to an honourable title, though without employment, rewarded an heroic adlion, an important or glorious fervice, a thoufand times more than a penfion of double the in come could have done. It was the fame with refpedl to the ecclefiaftical order. In this view, therefore, it was true economy to preferve the governments and the ab beys, by invariably referring the diftribution of thofe favours to the objedl of their inftitution. L 1 2 "- of 516 ANNALS OF THE [July 1790, ' ' of penfions on the defcendants pf the per- " fpn to whom they were granted." A few days after, the Affembly, on the continuation of this Report, decreed the rules of economy, or rather of fordid nig- gardlinefs, according to which the penfions and gratifications were to be granted :. which ffiows that I was not wrong when I faid, that the people in the Champ de Marsin finging Crevent les Arifiocrates parodied and chanted what the Affembly de creed. The Minifters alfo formed a clafs of Arif tocrats ; and for fome time they had in turn been the objedt of abufe among the editors of newfpapers, of fufpicions among the Committees of Inquiry, and in general of the moft ferious denunciations, which, though- deftitute of proofs, were admitted with avi dity by the credulity of the multitude, and which the Affembly themfelves but very feebly repreffed. The idolatry which had been beftowed on Mr. Necker was entirely out of faffiion; the golden calf was no longer worffiipped. The Count de la Lu zerne, the Minifter of the Navy, a true and faithful fervant of the King, found himfelf reduced July 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. giy reduced to the neceffity of drawing up and publiffiing" a large volume, to refute the atro cious charges impudently brought againft him in a denunciation laid before the Na tional Affembly by fome worthlefs people of St. Domingo. M. de St. Priefi, whofe ar dent and invariable devotion to the King had drawn upon him feveral attacks equally un juft, was obliged, a few days before the Fe deration, to repel a frefli one of a much more ferious nature. The Solicitor of the Commune, by defire of the Committee of Inquiry for the town, who faid they had confulted with the Committee of Inquiry of the National Affembly, accufed him of trea fon againft the Nation, and of being com bined in a pretended corifpiracy fet on foot by M. de Maillebois and M. de Bonne- Savardin. This charge was founded folely on a kind of journal or memorandum found among the papers of M. de Bonne-Savardin, who had been arrefted, and on the fufpicion that the name of Farcy applied to M. de St. Priefi. As foon as he was informed of the accufation laid againft him by the Soli citor of the Commune, he refuted it with force and dignity in a letter which he wrote LI 3 to 5l8 annals of the [JuLYigo, to the Affembly ; by which he prevented the ill effedl that fuch an imputation could not have failed to produce on that occafion had it remained unanfwered *. Meanwhile the Deputies fent from the Provinces to the Federation were daily ar riving in crowds in the Capital, The Pari fian National ""Guard paid to thofe who had arrived the compliment of affociating them in the guard of the King and of the Affem bly, and the moft perfedt cordiality feemed to reign among them. On Saturday the lOth of July, in the afternoon, the Deputa tion of the Bretons arrived with their arms and baggage, and halted at the Tuilleries under the King's windows. Their Com mander, with whom I was well acquainted * M. de Bonne-Savardin efcape^ from the prifon of the Aiiaye on the 13th of July, at nine o'clock at night, by means of a counterfeit order from the Committee of Inquiry, which was carried to the jailer by two of his friends dreffed in the uniform of the National Guard,' who having a hackney coach with them went with him into it and carried him off'. He was afterwards arrefted on the 28rh of July at Chalons on the Marne with the Abbe de Barmant, a Member of the Affembly, who had given him. a place in his carriage. in July 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION, gT g in Britany*, was not deficient in fpirit, but his imagination was rather too ardent, and he had a familiarity which nothing could reprefs. He did not hefitate a moment tp go into the Palace, where he obtained ad miffion to the King, made him a fpeech ex tremely loyal, and concluded with bending down to his Majefty's knees to embrace them. The King raifed him, and, preffing him in his arms with a truly paternal kind nefs, faid: " Give this embrace from me " to all your comi'ades, and tell them how *' much I feel at the, fentiments you have " expreffed to mc in their name," The lively emotion with which his Majefty pro^ nounced thefe words, could leave no doubt of their fincerity. The fcene greatly affedted all who witneffed it, and at the inftant the Palace every where refounded with the ffiouts of Vive le Roi! On the 11th the King reviewed fome divi fions of the National Guard. The Queen * His name was Putot de Thievant : he was a phyfi cian commiflioned by the King to fuperintend epidemic difeafes in Britany, under- the command of the Inten- dant ; but the perpetual quarrels in which the ej^ccllive ardour of his zeal involved him, very rarely admitted of hisTaeing employed. L I 4 was ^20 ANNALS OF THE [July 1790, was prefent with her children; and their Majefties paid the moft flattering attention to the Federates, who were upon the ground in very great numbers. On the 1,2th the Federates of Tours, ac companied by the Deputies of Touraine to the National Affembly, were prefented to the King, to whom they offered the ring which Henry IV. had given to the Benedidl;ines of Marmoutier near Tours, in memory of the fignal fervices of the faithful Touranefe ; and befought his Majefty to deign to wear that ring on his finger on the 14th of July. The King was highly pleafed at this mark of re fpedt, and, in his reply to the fpeech that accompanied it, faid, that he ffiould with great pleafure wear Henry the Fourth's ring on that day. On the day before the Federation, M. de la Fayette prefented the Chiefs of the De putation of all the National Guards of the Kingdom to the King, and in their name ad dreffed the following fpeech to his Majefty : " Sire, " In the courfe of the remarkable events " which have reftored imprefcriptible rights " to us, while the energy ofthe People and " the July 1790,] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 52I ^* the virtues of their King haye fet fuch '' great examples to nations and their fove- " reigns, we delight to revere in your " Majefty the nobleft of all titles, that of " Head of the French, and King of, a free ¦* People. •' Enjoy, Sire, the reward of your vir- '• tues, and let thefe pure offerings pf re- " fpedt, which defpotifm cannot com- " mand, be the glory and the recompenfe of " a Citizen-King. You wiffied that wc " ffiould have a Conftitution founded on *' liberty and public order; liberty is fe- *' cured to us, and our zeal will fecure pub- *' lic'order. " The National Guards of France fwear " to .your Majefty an obedience that ffiall " have no bounds but the law, no end but *' that of their lives." The affedtionate and warm reply which his Majefty made to this fpeech, was a ftrike- ing contraft to the extreme coldnefs of that conftitutional love offered to him by M. de la Fayette, and made the Federates regret that they had not at their head a more faith ful interpreter of their fentiments. " lam 522 ANNALS OF THE [July lygO; " I am dehghted," faid the King, •' with '* the teftimonies of affed:ion and attach- ' ' ment which you give me in the name of •• the National Guairds affembled from all " parts of France. May the folemn day, " on which you are about to renew in com- *' mon your oath to the Conftitution, dif- *' pel all diffenfions, reftore tranquillity, " and fix the reigh of liberty and law ' ' throughout the Kingdom ! Defenders of " the public order I friends ofthe laws and ' ' of liberty ! refledt that your fwft diity is " to maintain order and to fubmit to the * ' laws ; that the benefit of a free conftitu- " tion 'ffiould be equal to all ; that the greater •' the freedom of man the more heinous are " offences committed againft liberty, the " more heinous all adls of violence and con- " ftraint which are not commanded by the " law, " Tell your fellow-citizens from me, that *• I would gladly have fpoken to them all, " as I fpeak to you now : tell them from •*^ me, that their King is their father, their ' ' brother, their friend ; that he cannot be " happy but as they are happy; great, but *' as they are glorious ; powerful, but as " they July 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 523 " they are free; rich, but as they are prof- " perous; and that if they fuffer, he fuffers " with them. Above all, carry my words, ** or rather the feelings of my heart, into " humble cottages, and to the retreats of the •' unfortunate: tell them, that though it is " not in my power to accompany you per- " fonally to their ffieds, I wiffi to be ever " prefent with them by my affedtion, and " by enforcing the laws, the guardians '• of the people; that I ffiall watch over *' them, live for them, and if neceffary •' die for them. And tell the different Pro- " vinces of my Kingdom, that the fooner " I am permitted by circumftances to ac- " complifli the gratification of the wiffi I " have formed to vifit them, with my fa- " mily, the happier I ffiall be," On the 14th, at fix o'clock in the morn ing, the Federates, who had affembled in the great ftreet of the Fauxbourg St. An toine, repaired to the boulevard of the Temple, where the Deputation of each De partment received its banners*. This im menfe * All thefe banners were ordered by the, Commune ef >Paris at their own ' expence. On one fide was the name of C24 ANNALS OF THE [July 179Q.'. menfe train filed along the boulevard, turned into the rue St. Denis, paffed through the rue dela Ferronerie, the rue St. Honor e, as far as the Place Louis XV, the Queen & Road, and the highway below Chaillot to the bridge of boats that had been formed oppofite to the Military School, tP be the avenue to the Champ de Mars. The proceffion was ppened by a troop of horfe of the National Guard, with a ftand- 1 ard and four; trumpets. The Commander of the cavalry and the Major were at the head of this detachment, , The train Uhen conti nued in the following order : — A company of Grenadiers, precede^ by a band of mufic and drums ; the Eledtors of Paris ; a com pany of Volunteers ; the Reprefentatives of the Communes ; the Military Committee ; a company of Rangers ; the drums of the town; the Prefidents of the Diftridts; the Deputies of the Conimune for the Federal Compaa ; the fixty Magiftrates of the Muni cipality, accompanied by the Town Guards; another band of mtific and' drums; ''the bat talion of Cadets or the Military apprentices ; of the Department, and the word Conjlitution, and on the other. The National Federation at Paris, July 14, 1790. the July 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION, Q2^ the battalion of Veterans ; the Deputations of the forty-two firft Departments, accord ing to alphabetical order, each with their co lours and drums at their head ; the Nationai Affembly, who joined the proceffion by the draw-bridge of the garden of the Tuilleries furrounded by" detachments and colours oi the Parifian National Guards : after then came the Deputations of the troops of th( line and of the naval forces, preceded by th< Royal Oriflamb, carried between tw.o Mar- ffials of France, who were at the head ol this Deputation ; then followed the Gene ral Officers ; thofe on the Staff of the Army . thofe of the Artillery and Engineers; -th Deputies of all the regiments pf Foot, Ca valry, Dragoons, Huffars, and Rangers, ac cording to their rank ; the troops of tht King's Houfehold and of thofe of his Ma jefty's brothers ; the Officers of the Navy with the Count d'Efiaing at their head, anc the Deputations of the remaining forty-ont Departments, The proceffion was clofed b) a company of Volunteer Rangers, and a de tachment of the Parifiari Natiorial Guard having a ftandard and t,wo trumpets. The ffiowy and tafty dreffes of the De putation; 526 ANNALS OF THE [July 1799, putations of the National Guards, the airi- nefs of fheir gait, the jollity of the fpedta tors, their fongs and fliouts, gave this fpec- tacle the joyous and animated appearance of a popular feftival. The Deputations of the regiments compofed of the veterans of the army had lefs fprightlinefs, and were re marked for the ferenity of their countenance ; the looks of all being turned, with a moft lively intereft, on the Gardes-du-Corps, teftified to them the general recolledlion of the proofs they had given of their coura geous fidelity. The heavy rain that fell on thefe battalions during the whole of their march, in which they often halted, did not leffen the vivacity of their raptures. The multitude that lined the whole of their way, the crowded windows, the indifference of the Federates and their' retinue to the weather, the dead filence afterwards reigning within the town, which was abfolutely de ferted, all concurred to increafe the extraor dinary effedt of the view which the Capital and its environs prefented at this mo ment. The arrival of the Federates in the Champ de Mars, as well as that of the King, and of July 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 527 of the National Affembly, were announced by a general difcharge of cannon. The De putations of the Departments proceeded with the greafeft order to the places pointed out to them. To any one who was not prefent it would be difficult to give a juft idea of the magni-i ficent fight prefented by this vaft amphi theatre, rai fed in the Champ de Mars. On the terrace of the Military School, which ftood at the upper end of the field fronting the avenue from the river, there was raifed a crefcent of fteps, the top of which form ed a platform, where the King's tribune, the feats of the National Affembly, and fome common tribunes were placed. Over this platform was ftretchcd an awning of fail- cloth, ornamented with fteurs de lys, and ftreamers of the National colours. The white flag was flying in the middle, above the King's tribune. On each fide of this ele vation a circle of thirty rows of fteps was raifed, with a very gentle afcent, where the fpedtators were commodioufly feated, and behind whom (here ftill remained room enough for feveral more' rows of perfons to ftand. Upwards of three hundred thoufand fouls ^28 ANNALS OP THE [July 1790. fouls occupied this circumference, in vari ous parts of which paffages were amply provided. In the middle of the Champ de Mars was eredled the National Altar, having four fronts, ornamented with figures, and loaded with infcriptions. One was Voltaire's fa mous couplet, which the Affembly had been enlarging upon in the firft chapter of the Conftitution: Les mort els font igaux ; ce n'eji pas la naijfance, C'eji lafeule vert'u qui fait la difference. An excellent religious maxim, but as ab furd in politics, and as completely falfe in almoft all the relations between man and man, as it is juft and confolatory in an evan gelical fenfe," that is to fay, in the relations of Man with the Supreme Being. The following couplet was alfo among the others : it contains a more unequivo cal truth, and really applicable to focial Li berty. La Loi dans tout etat doit etre univerfelle ; Les mortels, quels qu'ils Joient, font egaux devant A third JuLY:t790-] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 529 ' A third infcription was comppfed of thefe wdrds :— La Nation, la Loi, et le Roi. La Nation ceji Fous. La Loi c'eJi encore Vous, cejl votre Volonle. Le Roi c'ejl le Gardien de la Loi. The Nation, the Law, and the King. The Nation, that is yourfelves. The Law, that is your felves — it is your will. The King, that is the Guardian of the Law, At the extrernity of the inclofure, on the fide next the river, there was a grand tri- ' umphal arch, overloaded with trophies, em blems, allegorical figures, and infcriptions in lines to look like verfe, but which were bad profe in bad rhyme. Of thefe I fliall give but one example : Conf acres au travail dela Conftitution Nous le terminerons : Le pauvrefous ce deffenjeur Ne craindra plus que I'oppreffeuf Lui rewiffe fon heritage : Tout nous offre d'heureux'prefages, Toutefiatte nos defirs. Douce Paiz! loin de nous ecarte les erages Et comlle nos plaifirs. It was through this triumphal arch, placed Vol. II. Mm at 53© ' ANNALS OF THE [July 1790 at the foot of the bridge of boats, that the Federates and the Affembly entered the Champ de Mars, amidft the firing of the cannon, at three o'clock in the afternoon. — The King and Royal Family entered by the Military School. The Federates ranged themfelves jn elliptical lines ; and, in the interior of the inclofure, between them and the fteps of the fides, w^ere placed the Pa rifian National. Guard. The circular am phitheatre, as before obferved, W2^s occupied by about three hundred thoufand fpedtators, and the arena by thirty thou.fan^ foldiers. — The crefcent before the Miilitary School w-as occupied by the King pn the Throne, to the right of which, three or fpur inches lower, was placed the chair pf the Prefident of the Affembly. The Queen and the Royal Fa mily were in an alcove behind the King's tri bune. The covered gallery which ran on each fide pf this tribune wag filled wifh the pnembers of the National Affembly; the fub- ftitutes, (^fuppleans) and the Magiftracy. pn the other fide of the river, oppofite '.o the Champ de Mars, were feen the rifing grounds of Chaillot and Paffy, co vered by innunaerable crpwds of fpedla tors. July 1790.] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 53I tors . Such was the whole of this immenfe pidture. The Royal Oriflamb, or ftandard, and the eighty-three banners of the Departments formed a quadruple line, femicircular before the Altar. The Biffiop of Autun, who of ficiated, pronounced the bleffing upon them after the Mafs. M. de la Fayette, who was appointed by the King Major-General of the Federation, then gave the fignal for the taking of the oath, and, afcending the Altar, pronounced it, while the fpedlators held up their hands, and the Federates their drawn fwords, in token of. affent. The Prefident of the Affembly next rofe, and took the fame oath, which was immediately repeat ed by his colleagues, and by all the Fede rates. The King rofe laft, and pronounced his oath according to the form decreed by the National Affembly; after which, the Quedn, raifing the Dauphin in her arms, ffiowed him feveral times tb the people, and to the army, on which they all broke out into the livelieft demonftrations of love for their Monarch and his auguft Family, The oaths were all followed by a general dif charge of the guns of the Invalids and Mi- M m 2 litary 532 ANNALS OF THE [July 1790* litary School. At the conclufion of ,the oaths, the Te Deum was chanted by the Biffiop of Autun, and performed by the band of mufic ftationed near the Ahar. The ceremony was concluded by the waving of thoufands of hats in the air, and by general ffiouts of Vive le Roi! Vive la Nation ! Few accidents happened to difturb the joy of the day. The worft was the finking in of one of the ends of the bridge of boats, in the return from the Champ de Mars. — The perfons who were on that part at the time, fell into the boats that fupported the bridge, and efcaped with fome flight bruifes; but the fudden prefs of the crowd on the part that had not given way, threw fome per fons oyer into the river : none, however, were drowned. After the ceremony, part of the Fede rates went to the Chateau de la Muette, where tables were laid for them ; others re turned to Paris, and fome fet off that very evening for the country. M. de la Fayette appeared at the feaft at la Muette, where, as had been the cafe at the Champ de Mars, the homage, the careffes, the embraces, and 2 all JULYijgo-] FRENCH REVOLUTION. 533 all the demonftrations.of popular idolatry, which Mr. Necker had enjoyed ¦ the !. pre ceding .July, were laviffied on him; The Deputies to the Federation continued feafting and amufing themfelves for feveral days. The people gave themfelves up to rapture: their joy was marked with no dif order, but always mingled with fome voci ferations againft the Arifiocrats. On the Sunday following, [July i ^th) they affem bled again in the Champ de Mars, where they fang and danced, and eat and drank, all the day long. M. de la Fayette reviewed a part of the army there, and alfo fome of the National Guards of the Departments, who had not fet out on their return. A bal loon had been prepared, but it unfortunately burft and wounded feveral perfons. At night there was a fliow upon the Seine, fire-works on the Pont-Royal, and balls on the ruins of the Baftille, in the Corn Market, and at the Champs Elifees, which were magni ficently illuminated, as was likewife every part of the town. Thus was celebrated this famous feftival, the ftriking folemnity of which will for ever perpetuate to the difgrace of France, the 534 ANNALS, ETC. [Jt7LYi79o, the mempry of the falfeft oath ever taken ; for air who took it have been forfworn, the King alone excepted. Alas I he paid dearly for that fatal fidelity ! END OF THE SEQOND VOLUME. PRINTED BY SAMPSON LOW, NO. 7, BERWICK STREfiT, SOHp. YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 9002 08954 0075 ilvj ^^s^- |i!?'-',..,' \'t '^ ^ r ".^ V^^ ^' ¦* ;>> 'fe sal vm. ,*!\' Ifc ^. W-' w^.'^^JSJea*. " t^K '' '! ,/' * <«^Mf **^- •is