of mankind to his own sister. A plan had been projected by M. Montmorin, for combining the various princes whom blood or interest called into such an alliance, in a mnock attack on France, not for the purpose of terrifying the legislature or the people into any particular mode of conduct, but of gaining for the king the command of an army, which might contribute to the restoration of his authority, and render him beloved by his subjects as the restorer of peace. The plan was impolitic and trifling. A sagacious politician would not have expected that so many powers would incur the expense and trouble of marching armies towards a foreign frontier without seeking an indemnity, or raising some topic of dispute among themselves, in which the monarch, for whose benefit they were ostensibly armed, must become a party, and to which a portion of his dominions might fall an unexpected sacrifice. Some of the potentates, however, on whose assistance the projector of the plan chiefly relied, agreed to the proposal, but no view of personal aggrandizement had yet entered their minds, as they desisted from arming after the acceptance of the constitution by Lewis, and would not approach the frontier, though the prospect of success was extremely favorable, and motives of aggression were abundant.

The emperor, however, did not abandon the cause of his august relatives. Count Alphonso Durfort, a confidential person, employed after the 18th of April to make the count d'Artois acquainted with the situation of the king and queen, was entrusted at Florence with a new plan proposed by the emperor, and finally arranged on the 20th of May, between him, the count d'Artois, M. de Calonne, and M. d'Esears, at Mantua. It was in substance that the emperor, the Swiss circles, and the kings of Spain and of Sardinia, should raise a force of 500,000 men, to march in five columns in due proportions towards the contiguous frontiers, where they were to be joined by the loyal regiments, and by the royalists. Prussia was not to interfere, and the neutrality of England was stated as a momentous acquisition. The sovereigns

were to issue, at an appointed period, a joint proclamation, founded on a declaration in which all the members of the house of Bourbon were previously to concur; and. lest the queen should suffer from the fury of the French populace, they were to take the lead; though the emperor was avowedly the soul of the compact. The parliaments of France were to be restored as necessary to the re-establishment of forms; the king and queen were recommended to increase their popularity, in hopes that the people, alarmed by the approach of foreign armies, would fly for safety to the mediation of the monarch, and submit to his authority. It is not necessary to discuss the faults or merits of this project, for terrifying the French nation by a force of one hundred thousand men, scattered over five points of their frontier, since it was rejected both by Lewis and the queen. The king objecte l to assembling the parliaments in any but a judicial capacity; both concurred in the necessity of quitting Paris, and refused to recal the orders given to M. de Bouille. The emperor's plan was therefore relipquished, nor were the particulars divulged till more than two years after the death of the king.

Though the enemies of the court had been unable to obtain intelligence respecting these unexecuted projects, they imputed to the sovereigns of the houses of Bourbon and Austria, and to the emigrants, numerous other designs. They accused the king of authorising the count d'Artois to levy troops in his name, and they rendered their motions against the emigrants more popular, by continually reporting to the assembly the most improbable narratives respecting the formidable force which they described as assembling on the frontiers. Such futile intimations of general danger could not produce much permanent effect; a bolder scheme was therefore tried by publishing as authentic, the substance of a pretended treaty concluded at Pavia, in July 1791. between Austria, Russia, Prussia, and Spain, for dismembering France, and dividing among the contracting powers a large proportion of her territory. Although every circumstance respecting the relative

situations of the parties to this pretended compact, the terms of their agreement, and even the inaccurate manner in which the names of monarchs and ministers are af fixed to the paper, gave internal evidence of its fabrication; and though it was ascertained that at the time of its supposed execution not one of the subscribers was at Pavia, yet the forgery was the subject of general declamation in the political societies of Paris, and served as a theme of declamation to the advocates of the French cause in other countries.

The temporary credit with which this document was received, was augmented by an incident involved in obscurity and only partially avowed. A conference was held A conference was held at the castle of Pilnitz, in Saxony, between the emperor Leopold and the king of Prussia, at which some conspicuous emigrants were present, and the affairs of France were minutely discussed. At the At the request of the brothers of Lewis XVI. the imperial and Prussian sovereigns took into consideration their representations on the state of their native country, and its probable effects on the other states of Europe. The two monarchs speedily arranged the compact which had occasioned the interview, but differed entirely on the measures to be pursued respecting France. Frederic William was eager for hostilities, but Leopold, considering the danger of his sister and her family, and influenced probably by other considerations, was anxious for the adoption of pacific measures. Both, howBoth, however, concurred, in viewing with jealousy, the preparations of the king of Sweden, who was employed in raising a force to succour the French monarch. Amidst such a diversity of views no extensive operation could be agreed on; but the baron de Spielman, the emperor's ambassador, M. de Bischofswerder, for the king of Prussia, and M. de Calonne, on behalf of the French princes, drew up a declaration which was sanctioned after long debates. The princes obtained nothing more from the conference than this paper, and a secret convention that the emperor and the king of Prussia should each provide 12,000 men on the frontiers of the Rhine to support the

army of the emigrants, to demonstrate unequivocally their protection of the French princes, and to urge the commerce of other powers. In this paper signed by themselves and delivered to the count d'Artois, Leopold and Frederick William declared their opinion that the situation of the king of France was an object of common interest to all the sovereigns of Europe. They hoped that this interest would be recognized by other powers, who would not refuse to employ in conjunction with them, the most efficacious means of enabling Lewis to establish the foundations of a monarchical government equally agreeable to the rights of sovereigns and the welfare of the French; then, and in that case, their majesties were determined to act promptly with the forces necessary to the end proposed, and in the mean time their troops were ordered to be in readiness. The conditional terms then and in that case prove that this declaration was dependent for its effect on the concurrence of other powers. It was dated the 27th of August, and had a copy reached Lewis XVI. in time to prevent his pure and unconditional acceptance of the constitution, it might have produced the most beneficial results. the vigilence of La Fayette impeded all access to the king, and the princes, baffled in all their endeavours, published the declaration in the gazettes. This step was in every respect imprudent; the king had already accepted the constitution, and the declaration therefore could not influence his conduct or that of the legislature. His acceptance being pure, unconditional, and apparently free, deprived the foreign powers of a pretence for interference. The paper had no other effect than that of exciting alarm among the sovereigns of the house of Bourbon, flattering the emigrants with hopes which could not be realized, and exasperating the violenc of their persecutors. It gave to the democratic party an opportunity of calumniating the persons cause, and conduct of the continental sovereigns, and representing themselves as the defenders of a country, devoted to plunder and partition, for having dared to legis late for itself. These seutiments were

But

rendered more prevalent by the shameless contrivance of blending the avowed declaration of Pilnitz with the imaginary treaty of Pavia, and by the assertion that the king was perfectly free when he accepted the constitution, and the nation extremely generous when they permitted him on any terms to retain his crown. Under these inauspicious circumstances, Lewis XVI. opened the second, denominated the Legislative Assembly, on the 12th of October, 1791. At their first meeting the constitutional act was introduced with great ceremony, and every deputy in succession ascending the rostrum and placing his hand on the original, swore to maintain the constitution decreed during the years 1789, 1790, 1791. Previously to the appearance of the king, the mode in which he was to be received and addressed underwent a long discussion, and it was determined that the expression of " Sire," should be omitted as partaking of the feudal forms, and that of " majesty," as incompatible with a limited monarchy. The sentiment of decorum and respect was not yet so entirely extinguished, but that the nation expressed its resentment at the endeavours of the new legislature to degrade the chief magistrate without assigning a cause, or proposing a benefit. Their feelings were the more ardent when they considered of whom the assembly was composed. The majority of the legislative assembly were among the lowest classes of society except that of criminals. The refuse of the colleges and the monasteries, the discarded ser vants of printers and booksellers, bankrupt tradesmen and the lowest class of literati, forined the majority of those legislators, who, reinforced by Condorcet, Brissot, and other leaders of the republican party, were encouraged and supported by the most violent of the Jacobin partizans, and by the most inconsiderate and ambitious of an agitated populace. The king, averse to a constitution to which he had reluctantly sworn, intrigued both at home and abroad to produce a counter-revolution. Around the royal standard appeared to be assembled a remnant of the national nobility, and all these devoted by place, place, sentiment,

attachment, or prejudice, to the interests of the crown. The ascendency of the metropolis, now become the joint residence of the assembly and the king, contributed to give a decided preponderance to the patriots, while the powerful influence of the press scarcely admitted of calculation. Every printing-house in the capital teemed with productions, and in addition to innumerable bills, journals, placards, and regular periodical works, it has been estimated that during the first years of the revolution, no fewer than 250 pamphlets issued daily from the shops of the booksellers. Mirabeau had been one of the first agents of the people who had resorted to this obvious mode of promoting the interests of his party. It was afterwards attempted without success by Robespierré; but the writings of Condorcet, Cerutti, Brissot, Merci, and Carra, obtained an irresistible influence over the public mind, and it must be allowed that their compositions were far superior to those of their antagonists.

In addition to various other causes, by means of which the public opinion was continually agitated, one of the most powerful engines einployed during the whole revolutionary warfare, still presented itself to the contemplation of the enemies of the French revolution, under the title of Jacobins.

LANGUINAIS, a deputy to the statesgeneral and a president of the National Assembly, was the founder of that celebrated political sect, which, like the Rota, during the protectorate of Cromwell, discussed a variety of important questions, and investigated the means of ensuring the safety and prosperity of the state. It originated in 1789, under the denomination of the Breton Club, in consequence of having been first established by the representatives of Brittany. The most celebrated orators, patriots, and politicians, considered this society as an admirable engine for the support of the public cause. It became at length the first and most prominent of those assemblies designated by the appellation of the Jacobin Clubs. Yet, although its power has greatly increased, its character was on the decline The

incendiary motions, the outrageous proceedings, and the equivocal characters of many of the ruling members, had cast an indelible stain on a society, which, after counterbalancing the influence of the court, and efficaciously supporting the public cause, was likely, at no distant period, to endanger the fabric of national liberty, by its unqualified violence. The majority of the deputies and some respectable private members had accordingly withdrawn, while the names of many individuals, conspicuons for their virtue, patriotism, and oratorical powers, were erased from the list. The committees were now regulated, and the chair occupied according to the secret suggestions of two or three ambitious and aspiring individuals.

Maximilian Robespierre, a native of Arras, and by profession an advocate, might, even at this period, be esteemed the principal leader. He had sat in the statesgeneral as a representative of the third estate of the province in which he was born; and though unable to acquire celebrity by his eloquence, he found means to render himself conspicuous, by the steadiness of his opposition to every deviation from principle, and every abuse of authority. Such was the extent of his hypocrisy, that when the articles of the criminal code were discussed, this man, doomed hereafter to make the blood of his fellow-citizens flow in torrents, by the hands of the executioner, expressed the most decided antipathy to the infliction of death, and declared for the immediate abolition of so cruel, so useless, and so sanguinary, a punishment. On the revision of the constitution he persisted in his former sentiments with an uniformity the more remarkable, as many of the other deputies had been prevailed upon to relinquish their principles in consequence of the bribes and promises of the court. This circumstance alone tended not a little to his celebrity, and as he was never distinguished by the love of lacre or by rapacity, he be gan to acquire and in some measure to deserve the title of "incorruptible." An altar erected by public gratitude" was inscribed with his name, and on the dissolution of the National Assembly, a triumph

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resembling the antient oration was decreed to him by popular esteem. When he and Petion left the hall, they were placed in an, open carriage crowned with oak, and conducted home amidst the acclamations of an applauding multitude.

He was soon afterwards nominated to the responsible office of "public accuser," but he suddenly resigned that situation and dedicated the whole of his time to the organization of the Jacobin society. When that institution was abandoned by most of the other deputies, Robespierre, one of the six who remained, acted frequently as president, and at length acquired a complete ascendency. Gloomy, vindictive, and ferocious; at once replete with cowardice and malignity, such was his matchless hypocrisy, that he concealed his real character while he had triumphed over his enemies, and such his unabating envy, that he regarded, with malignant hatred, every individual whose talents and virtues entitled them to the public esteem. His reputation had been hitherto unstained by crimes, but even now he secretly contem plated an original and monstrous species of dominion before unknown, in any age or country, and equally alarming for its novelty and its atrocity. The Jacobins where the instruments by which he proposed to execute the suggestions of a gloomy ambition, and crimes which a Nero, or a Caligula, would scarcely have dared to perpetrate, though invested with the imperial purple and surrounded by the satellites of despotism, were at length achieved with facility by a private individual, in the name of liberty.

DANTON, first the associate, afterwards the victim, of Roberspierre, and like him an advocate by profession, was born at Arien-sur-Aube, in 1759. He seemed designed by nature for the turbulent period in which he lived, and the bold and decisive character which he assumed. His figure was tall and athletic; he possessed a stentorian voice, which kept alive the attention of the most numerous assembly, and a bold and specious eloquence admirably calculated to impose upon the multitude. Not contented with acting

a conspicuous part in the Jacobin society, he instituted a club denominated the Cordeliers, and became at once their founder and their chief. Open, daring, generous, and unreserved, his good qualities were obscured by the violence of his temper, and the ardor of unprincipled ambition.

MARAT was born at Geneva in 1745, and was surgeon to the regiment of the count d'Artois. He was the creature of Robespierre and Danton, who not unfrequently protected him from punishment, and directed his personal and literary conduct. A dwarf in stature, with a head disproportionate to his body; nature seemed to have marked him from his birth with the seal of reprobation. As an author he circulated the most immoral and ferocious principles, in language at once obscure, inflated, and intemperate; to use the language of Junius, masks, hatchets, files, and vipers, danced through his pages, in all the mazes of metaphorical confusion. His oratory was of the same character with his literary efforts; and his future notoriety can only be attributed to the influence of his patrons, and the concurrence of unexpected opportunities.

Such were the present leaders of that famous club destined in a short time to decide the fate of the empire, and ultimately of Europe. While they were supported by a multitude of dangerous and daring adventurers, collected from every part of France and Europe, whose names had been lately enrolled in the books of the society, they were hailed as the friends of their country by a crowd of honest but deluded followers; yet they would not have been enabled to acquire a fatal preeminence had it not been for the open hostility of the queen to the new constitution, the wavering and suspicious conduct of Lewis, the impolitic and insulting in terference on the part of foreign powers, and the commencement of a war, equally hostile and repugnant to the pride, freedom, and independence of a great nation.

While the present leaders of the Jacobins scarcely concealed their wishes to dethrone the king, and erect a republic on the ruins VOL. I.

of the monarchy, a rival society existed, of which the members entitling themselves constitutionalists, were desirous of a legislature consisting of two nouses. Many of these individuals were devoted to the court, and had made their peace with it. In consequence of a schism among the Jacobins, Talleyrand, bishop of Autun, Emery, a member of the assembly, the dukes de Rochefoucault, and Liancourt, the two Lameths, la Fayette, and many others, had left that celebrated society and determined to found another. They at first assembled in a magnificent hotel, and when they became more numerous assumed the appellation of the club of 1789, but were afterwards distinguished by the appellation of Feuillans, a name derived from that of the convent to which they removed the scene of their debates.

The Girondists, so called from the department whence they were deputed, possessed considerable influence in the legislative body, and were equally celebrated for their talents and integrity. Of these one of the most conspicuous was Verginaux, a native of Limoges, and one of the representatives for Bourdeaux. He had been bred to the bar, but was better calculated by nature to obtain ascendency in popular assemblies. Devoted to the cause of liberty and of his country, he was resolute and able, but indolent. He disputed the palm of eloquence with the most celebrated orators of the second assembly, and of all his countrymen was inferior to Mirabeau- alone. Gensonne and Guadet were neither destitute of talents nor of virtue.

Brissot, the chairman of the Girondist society, was the son of a pastry-cook, and was educated for the bar, but he applied himself solely to writing, and published several works on criminal jurisprudence, which are rendered more interesting by the abhorrence of injustice, which they uniformly display, than by extent of research or profundity of thought. In the beginning of 1784, he visited London with the intention of establishing an academy, and took a house for that purpose in Newman-street, Oxford-street. In June, 1784,

G.