Book_ / it / DEDICATED TO THE INHABITANTS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM IN ARMS, TO DEFEND THEIR OWN, AND THE INDEPENDENCE OF EUROPE, AGAINST THE MAD DESIGNS OF THE UNPRINCIPLED USURPER, AND THE AMBITIOUS TYRANT OF FRANCE. EXCURSION FRANC E y AND OTHER PARTS OF THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE; THE CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES IN lSoi y TO THE I3TH OF DECEMBER 1803, INCLUDING A NARRATIVE OF THE UNPRECEDENTED DETENTION OFTHEENGLJSH TRAVELLERS IN THAT COUNTRY, AS PRISONERS OF WAR. """7 • By CHARLES MACLEAN, M.D. L OND ON: PRINTED FOR T. N. LONGMAN AND 0. REES, PATER FOSTER- ROW. l804. Printed by A. Strahai^ Printers- Street. PRE FA C E. In the following pages, the reader will not find a regular defcription of the cities, towns, or countries, through which I have palled, or of the manners and cufioms of their inhabitants; neither will he find a critique on paintings and buildings, nor a hifiory of the prefent ftate of the am and fciences. Thefe, particularly as they refpe£t France, have been fo repeatedly laid before the public, fo repeatedly panegyrifed or cenfured, that fcarcely any thing new or interefting remains now to be added on the fubjed. The purpofe of this narrative, for which I do not pretend to claim the rank of tra- A 3 vels* ( H ) vels, is to communicate unconnected trails of public character and proceedings, which have come, in fome cafes exclufively, under my own obfervation ; fo as to increafe the means by which thofe of my countrymen, who have not vifited France, may be ena- bled to form a judgment of the difference between the Englifh and French people, and between the Englifti and French go- vernments. It includes an account of the detention, as prifoners, in direct violation of the laws of nations and of the rights of hofpitality, of all the Englifh travellers, who were in France, or its dependencies, at the breaking out of the war ; together with a detail of the manner in which, as one of the perfons fo circumftanced, I obtained permiflion to quit France, and fome parti- culars of my journey from Paris to England, through Bordeaux. The preface to a book, although ufually the firft part that is read, is generally the laft ( Si ) laft part tliat is written. In reviewing the manner in which the following narrative is compofed, I confefs I am not by any means fatisfied with the execution. From the danger that would have attended my keep- ing notes fince the commencement of the war, it may naturally be expe&ed that the details mould be, in fome cafes, inaccurate ; and, from the celerity with which a work of fuch temporary intereft muft be prepared for publication/that the arrangement mould be, in many refpe&s, imperfect : yet, it is evident that, from the peculiarity of the circumftances under which I was placed, an account of them mud neceflarily compre- hend fomething that is at leaft new. But if I were not alfo perfuaded that, notwith- ftanding the difad vantages juft mentioned, the narrative would be found, in other re- fpecls, not unworthy the attention of the reader, it mould not have been fubrnitted to his perufal. At ( iv ) At firft it appeared, for two reafons, d'tf- bious whether fuch a narrative ought to be published. Having been liberated by the French government, after having been, like others, unjuftly detained a prifoner of war, could my appearing as their enemy be fairly conftrued into ingratitude ? or could the publication operate againft the Englifh, who are flill in France ? The firft queftion I did not hefitate to refolve in the negative, becaufe it is evident that no gratitude can be due for merely ceafing to do an injuftice ; and the fecond, becaufe, after the mod mature deliberation, I was unable to perceive how the publica- tion of this narrative could affect, in an unfavourable manner, any of the Engliih, who are Hill in France. The French go- vernment, it is clear, may, if they are fo inclined, fuhjecl: them to clofer confinement, without waiting for any new pretexts. But they will, for their own fakes, take care how ( v ) how far they proceed in feverity, fenfible as they muft be that it is in our power to make a ten-fold retaliation. Even in the utmoft bitternefs of political hoftility, the ancient government of France would never have condefcended to have had recourfe to a meafure fo openly unprincipled as that of which I have juft fpoken. Not* withftanding the numerous abufes of that government, it appears probable that a re- volution might have been prevented, had the king poffeffed more money and lefs feeling ; it is certain that it might have been prevented had he been as little fcrupulous as the prefent ufurper of his throne, or any of thofe who have been elevated to dig- nities in that country fince his death. Had the rich and powerful part of the nation come forward in time with offers of an ef- fective fupport, they might have laved him, the people, and themfelves. Had a body pf volunteers, compofed of loyal, patriotic, and ( vi ) and affluent members, fuch as at this mo* ment grace our impregnable ifland, ftepped forth in France to ftem the torrent of popular phrenzy, and the irruptions of foreign troops, the fcenes of defolation, con- vulfion, and death t which have fince agi- tated Europe, might have been averted. It is a fad effedt of iliort- fighted felfifhneTs by which men will run the rifk of lofing every thing that is dear to them as members of civilifed fociety, rather than infure their ul- timate fafety, by making a timeous offering of their perfons and their fortunes to the neceffities of the flate. The only ufe which can now be made of this fad retrofpefl is as a warning to the other nations of the world* It fliould operate as an example to deter all the honeft part of the people from counte- nancing or encouraging revolutions, and to excite the rich to make every poffible li- crifice of their purfe and their perfons, rather than by fupinenefs to incur the rifk of fo imminent a danger. In this country, the threatening ( vn ) threatening attitude of France will for the moment produce in the fulleft manner this defirable effedt. But fome grand and de- cifive meafures are neceflary, in order to infure to this nation permanent beneficial confequences, and to the independence of Europe final triumph. ERRATA. Page 33, line 5, for en Trance read a une Francaije \ and In the note, for in France, read to a Frtncb woman. Page 105, line 11, for prtfon read prifons. Fa^e 132, 2d line from the bottom, for which they pretend, read to which they pretend. Page 160 and i6r. From a confufion in the manuscript the whole of the article refpec~ting the expence or travelling between London and Edin-r burgh, and between Paris and Eordeaux, has been erroneoufly printed. The dilance is nearly the fame, about 400 miles. The price of a feat, however, is as 10 to 3. If we fuppofe money to be double the value in France that it is in England, the proportion, other things being equal, ought to be only as fix to three, But allowing for difference of time, which is not av';ie cne to three, and the difference of exper.ce which thar n.uft occafi n on the road, travelling is upon the whole cheaper, independent of fuperior comforts, between London and Edinburgh than h js between Paris and Bordeaux j which is the cheapeft road in France* AN EXCURSION, Preliminary Matter. IT had long been my favourite wifli to have an opportunity of proving by ex- periment, what I had previoufly learnt from an indu&ion of reafoning, that maladies, ufually called epidemic and peftilential, are not, in their nature, contagious, and that, under a due application of fcientific princi- ples, they eafily admit of a cure. To un- dertake, as a fimple individual, an invefti- gation of this magnitude, I knew to be a very arduous tafk. But my zeal over- came my judgment ; and I determined, in September 1800, to accompany Mr. Wind- ham, thenBritifh Envoy at the court of Tuf- B cany, ( 3 ) cany, to Florence ; with a view to em- brace the firft opportunity of paffing from thence to the Levant, in order to put my do&rines to the teft of experiment in the plague ; a projecl in which that gentle- man promifed to aid me as much as fhould lay in his power. But on our arrival at Vienna, we learnt that the French troops had entered Tufcany, which of courfe, for . that time, fruftrated my plan of going to Italy. Proposition to the Spanish Ambas- sador at Vienna. At this period a terrible epidemic reigned at Cadiz. Wiihing to procure permiffion to proceed to that city, I prefented, with the knowledge and confent of Lord Minto, then Britifh Ambaffador at Vienna, a fhort memorial to Don Alanza (I think) the Spa- nilli Ambaffador at that court, to the fol- lowing purport: " Dr. Charles Maclean has the honour to ftate to his Excellency the Spanifh Ambaffador, that, as his Excellency will ( 3 ) will fee by a publication already handed to him, having confidered the fubjed: of epi- demic and peftilential difeafes in a point of view entirely new, both in regard to their caufe and to their cure*, he confidently trufts that, without arrogating to himfelf any degree of fuperiority over other gentle- men of the medical profeffion, he will be able, upon his plan, to treat thefe difeafes with more than ordinary fuccefs. And, confidering that a ftate of political hoflility f ought not to interfere with matters of fcience, or the relations of humanity, he takes the liberty of propofing to his Excellency the Spanifh Ambaffador to permit him to pro- ceed to Cadiz, there to expofe himfelf to every rifk of what is called contagion, in endeavouring to cure perfons ill of the epi- demic at prefent raging in that city ; for which purpofe he requefis his Excellency * I did not then know that Dr. Stole of Vienna had entertained a fimilar opinion refpec"ling the non- contagious nature of trie plague. f We v/ere then at war with Spain. B 2 would ( 4 ) would have the goodnefs to furnifli him with the neceflary paflports." His Excellency received me politely; but faid he could not grant me a paflport to go to Cadiz, without firft writing for permif- fion to his court. Upon this I obferved that, as before he could receive an anfwer from Madrid, and I could repair to Cadiz in confequence of that anfwer, fhould it prove favourable, the epidemic, not being contagious ) but arifing from caufes connected with the ftate of the atmofphere, would ceafe. This, I predicted, would happen in January, which was accordingly the cafe, Memorial on the same Subject to his Grace the Duke of Portland. Difappointed in thefe ohje&s, I returned from Vienna to Hamburg, at that time one of the mod flourifhing commercial cities in the world. From thence, having always the fame objecl; in view, I wrote the follow- ing ( 5 ) ing memorial to his Grace the Duke of Portland, as one of his Majefty's minifters, and inclofed it to Lord William Bentinck, with whom I had the pleafure of being ac- quainted, and who was then in London, to be prefented by him to his father. My Lord, a I have long made the fubje£t of epide- mic and peftilential difeafes my particular ftudy, and, as is fully explained in my pub- lication, a copy of which is herewith tranf- mitted, drawn conclusions, refpe&ing both the caufe and the cure of thefe difeafes, widely different from thofe hitherto com- monly received. I have endeavoured to prove that plague itfelf is not contagiou s > and that it probably admits of an eafy cure. " To expatiate on the terrible fatality of the epidemic difeafes which, particularly of late years, have ravaged the Weft India Iflands, depopulated the cities of America, laid Cadiz wafte, and almoft annually afflidt B 3 many ( 6 ) many parts of the Turkifli dominions, would here be fuperfluous. I may, how- ever, be allowed to obferve that this fatality, if the theory above alluded to be at all true, muft have principally arifen from an igno- rance of their caufe and of their cure. e convinced of his moft feri- oufly entertaining projects of univerfal em- pire, it is only neceffary to trace his con- ftant, regular and gradual progreffion to the attainment of that defpotic fway which he actually poffefles. Or can any one, who is of a different opinion, fay where he will flop? Univerfal empire, indeed, in the prefent ftate of the world, mufl appear to any ra- tional man, utterly impofiibleto be attained : but a man, intoxicated with power and adulation, is not rational. The object, however, becomes impoffible to be attained, only becaufe it is impoffible the powers of Europe fhould remain infenfible to their danger, and not adopt efficacious meafures to flop the progrefs of ufurpation. With- out ( 47 ) out^ England, all the powers of Europe would be unable to fruftrate the ambitious projeds of Bonaparte. England may, therefore, be confidered as the bulwark of the independence of Europe. Accordingly it is againft Great Britain, as the fole ob- ftacle to the completion of his views, that the Firft Conful of France harbours the moft profound and inveterate animofity; — an animofity which, notwithstanding his power of diffimulation, he could, even before the war, on no occafion conceal. The defire of glory (meaning always power) excepted, Bonaparte is perfectly mafter of all his paffions ; or, to fpeak per- haps more correftly, all paffion in him is centered in this alone. Hence he is pro- bably the moft complete mafter of diffimu- lation that has ever appeared on the great theatre of the world. It is, therefore, evident that no confidence can or ought to be placed in any arrangements, which he might infi- dioufly choofe to propofe, that would leave him ( 48 ) h5m the power of returning proje&s, which he may for a moment relinquifh, but will never abandon. I will venture to affirm, and I believe it is not difficult to be proved, that there can be no fecurity for the independence of Eu- rope, until the French government are ob- liged to withdraw their forces, without the fmalleft qualification, within the territories of France, properly fo called. Let us con- fider, for a moment, what would be the confequence of a partial or incomplete ar- rangement. In lefs than ten years, Bona- parte would have the greateft part of the continent of Europe organized, after his manner, into a vaft politico- military ma- chine, unprecedented in the annals of the world. His vaffals and his fubjecls would become accuftomed to obedience, whereas at prefent they are afhamed and difgufted with the yoke. Having the ports of France, Spain, (for her independence is only delu- five,-) Italy, and Holland at his devotion, in lefs ( 49 ) lefs than ten years he might form a navy- equal, or fuperior, to that of Great Britain.— And then — I will leave the reader to draw the confequences. In general I believe when a free nation is attacked by a defpot, determined to re- duce them to flavery, they have no alter-* native but that of fubmitting at once, or of determining to make no compromife, and never to fheath the fword until the defpot is reduced to a condition in which he is ren- dered incapable of ever again renewing his attack. This policy, oil the prefent occafion, feems to be the more neceffary to Great Bri- tain from that part of Bonaparte's character, of which I am now going to fpeak. It is well known, from a multitude of facts upori record *, that he is as completely deftitute of principle as it is poffible for man to be ; * I refer the reader to thofe dated by all writers on this fubje£l ; and indeed to the general chain of Occurrences in the hiftory of Bonaparte's life. E and ( 5° ) and that, in his conduct, he regards no- thing but the means by which he may ac- eomplifh his ends. The facility with which he can change his religion ; the eafe with which he can promote a Jacobin, a Royalift, or a Republican, to office, according as it fuits his immediate views; the fong froid with which he could order the fick of his army to be poifoned, and unarmed Turks to be {hot *, are, or ought to be, fufficient proof, that, if he does not yet proceed to guillotine his enemies, like Robefpierre, it is only becaufe guillotining is now out of fafhion, and would be injurious to his pur- pofes. Thofe who know him moft inti- mately, having made a ftudy of his charac- ter, do not fcruple to predict that, if he fhould .ever find htmlelf in a fituation of ex- traordinary difficulty or danger, he would * Thefe fa£h I believe to be true, becaufe I know the character of the man to be fuch that there is no- thing which lie would fcruple to ac\ in order to ob- tain his ends. rival ( 5r ) rival in cruelty any tyrant of ancient Or modern times. There is not a fhape, form, figure, or colour, which this Proteus-like conful is not ready to affume, in order to preferve and to increafe his power. His dexterity in neu- tralifing parties has been admirable. When the Jacobins get too ftrong, he infufes a certain portion of Royalifts into the mafs, and vice verfa -, as to republicans, he has himfelf, on fome occafion, affirmed that there are butyJi;^ in all the Republic, and that he is one of therm Finding that he gave too much umbrage even in France by the reftraint he had im- pofed on the liberty of the prefs, he now affe&s to become its prote&or. This convenient verfatility, or total ab- fence of principle, fhould teach us to expedt that, when his plan of invafion fails, he will not fcruple to fhift his ground, and E 2 again ( fr ) again make profeffions of friendfhip. He will endeavour to form fome new amicable arrangement, even more deftructive to Great Britain than a ftate of war. He is dangerous as an enemy ; but ftill more dangerous as a friend. I have thus endeavoured to give an out* line of the character and views of Bona- parte, which appear to be of more eflential confequence to the public than the parti- culars of his birth, parentage, and educa- tion, &c. Thefe have already been exhi- bited in fuch various fhapes that I deem it fuperfluous to repeat them here. But I will quote two extracts from fome of his former fpeeches, which the reader may con- trail with his prefent conduct, as manifefted by the different anecdotes related in this work, and thus form an eftimate, from fads before his eyes, of the credit due to the profeffions of fuch a man, ExtraB ( 53 ) Extracl of a Speech to the Council of An- cients, on the 18 th of Brum aire. " Let us avoid lofing the two things for which we have made fo many facrifices, liberty and equality" Another Extracl from the fame Speech. " But I reje&ed their overtures (thofe of Barras and Moulin), liberty being more dear to me than life^ and having no wi/h but that of ferving the French people* Order rejpe&ing Pancoucke and Moutardier. u Ulmprimeur au Biceire^ et Tauteur a Guienne" Although no one dare to offend the Firft Conful in print, there are thoufands of epi- grams conftantly in circulation againft him in manufcript. The French make ufe of epigrams as the Englifh of caricatures. One of the few which I remember at this mo- ment is as follows : E 3 Tot/jours ( 54 ) toujour s de la meme fagon JLe mondefe laijfoit conduire ; Notre Conful put le Neron y Et la France le bas Empire. Some Particulars respecting Bo- naparte's Family. The original name of the family was Buonaparte, But there was another family in Corfica, who were lefs obfcure, and wrote their name Bonaparte. The fuperior dig- nity of this latter was faid to have been the Firft ConfuFs motive for omitting the u in the name. The family of Buonaparte have long been eftablifhed in the ifland of Corfica. His paternal anceftcrs are faid to have been ori- ginally of Sarzana in Italy, His father was a lawyer of no confiderable eminence in the town of Ajaccio, and became afterwards, through the intereft of Marefhall de Mar- bceuf, Attorney General. He died and was buried at IVlontpelier ? in the fouth of France, where ( 55 ) where a Monument has lately been erecled to his memory, in compliment to the fon. Madame Buonaparte, the Mother. The maiden name of Madame Buona- parte, the mother, is Faefch. Her family is of the town of Bale, in Switzerland. When the Marefhall de Marbceuf was com- mander in chief of Corfica, Madame Bo- naparte is faid to have been his principal favourite, and to have even prefided at his table : Napoleon, Firft Conful of France, is generally thought to be the fruit of their intimacy, Madame Buonaparte, the mother, is ftill living, and refides at Paris. She is efteern- ed a woman of fenfe, and is much refpe&ed. The Firft Conful is faid to have formerly profited by the moderation of her counfels : but he has not latterly liftened fo much to her advice. Her brother, now Cardinal Faefch and i\rchbimop of Lyons, was, be- E 4 fore ( 56 ) fore the French revolution, a prebendary or canon in one of the towns of Italy. The other branches of this family are : Joseph Bonaparte, The elder brother of the Firft Conful of France. Before the revolution he was wholly unknown. The military reputa-^ tion of the General firft brought him to the notice of the public. In the year 5 we find him admitted a deputy to the council of five hundred. In the year 6, he was employed as ambaflador to the court of Rome, where the Executive Dire&ory of the French re- public thought it neceflary, for political purpofes, to organize a plot. This plot fucceeded to their fatisfa&ion, and Jofeph was formally thanked for his conduct. It is however afierted that the death of Gene- ral Duphot, who was killed by the mob on this occafion, was owing to the tardinefs pr timidity of the ambaflador in putting a flop. ( S7 ) flop to the infurredion, which he had raifed. Since the acceffion of his brother to the firft magiftracy, Jofeph has been fucceffively appointed counfellor of ftate, minifter pie-? nipotentiary for negoeiating the treaties of Luneville and of Amiens, and one of the great officers of the legion of honour, by which he is alfo entitled to a feat in the fe- n^te. Jofeph is not thought to poffefs great talents ; but his private character is refpedable. He has lately, to the prejudice of others, who had certainly better claims, been eleded a member of the National In- flitution. Upon this occafion, a member of feme independence ventured to addrefs the prefi- dent, humbly enquiring what Jofeph Bona- parte had done for the promotion of fcience or of literature, that he fhould be elected to fit among them ? The perfon who pro- pofed ( 5§ ) pofed him (Cambaceres I believe) replied that be bad made the peace of Amiens. Lucien Bonaparte, The third brother (the general being the fecond) was, at the commencement of the revolution, an obfcure clerk in one of the military offices in the fouth of France, at a falary of 12 or 2800 livres a year. He was afterwards put on half-pay. Finding this pittance much too fmall for his wants, he applied to the government for an augmentation of his allowance ; and his petition to the Directory on this fubjecl is ilill extant. Under thefe circumftances, Lucien found it convenient to marry the daughter of a rich innkeeper, who con- fented to the match only becaufe it had been rendered neceffary to the reputation of his daughter. It is even added that Napoleon, before his campaigns in Italy, wifhed to have married one of Lucien's fitters* ( 59 ) fifters-in-law ; but that his alliance was not acceptable either to the girl or to the pa- rents. On the ftrength of his brother's increaf- ing fame, Lucien, who was always bold in fpeaking, got a feat in the Council of Five Hundred, where he acted a diftinguifhed part. In the year 6, he moved for the liberty of keeping the (hops open on Sun- days, citing the example of Rome in fup- port of his opinion. In the year 7, he invited his colleagues to fwear to die for the conftitution of the year 3 ; and was gene- rally deemed a Jacobin and a freethinker. He has fince, however, taken a no lefs active part in deftroying the conftitution of the year 3, and in re-eftablifhing the ancient forms of the Roman catholic wor- ship. Since the eftablifhment of the confular government, Lucien has been fucceffively appointed minifter of the interior, arabaffa- dor ( 6° ) dor to the court of Madrid, member of the tribunate and of the legion of honour, &c &c. He is deemed a man of confiderable talent ; but rapacious and prodigal. He and Jofeph were of great fervice to the ge- neral in the profecution of his views of aggrandifement. Louis Bonaparte, The fourth brother, after having gone through the regular fteps of promotion in the army, enjoys at prefent the rank of general. He has not been diftinguifhed in any particular manner during the revolu- tion ; but is regarded as an inoffenfive cha^ rafter, and is generally liked in the army. He married Mademoifelle Beauharnois, the daughter of Madame Bonaparte by her former hufband. Jerome Bonaparte, The ycungeft of the family, is a mid-? fhipman or Lieutenant in the navy : he is accufed ( 6i ) accufed of giving himfelf in fociety the airs of an ill-bred young prince, Bonaparte's Sisters Are four in number. The eldeft is mar- ried to Citizen Bachocki, a fubaltern officer under the ancient government. He has no employment under the confular govern- ment, and is fcarcely ever fpoken of in Paris. The only talent for which he is remarkable is that of playing on the violin. He has an uncle of the lame name, who had the rank of colonel under the ancient government. Colonel Bachocki emigrated at the commencement of the revolution, and returned to Toulon with the Engliih, in the hope of re-entering, by their affift- ance, triumphantly into France, What is rather fingular, having fince returned to France, he has been appointed to a com- mand at Toulon; and, fuch was bis difguft at the condud: of the combined powers, when they took that place, he will pro- bably ( 62 ) bably be one of the mod zealous to defend his poft, mould his old friends attempt a fi- milar expedition, Bonaparte's fecond fitter was married to General Le Clerc, late Captain-General of St. Domingo ; and is now married to Prince Borghefi, an Italian. The third is Madame Murat, wife of the commander in chief of the military force in the Italian Republic. And there is faid to be a fourth, although of this I am not fure, a girl of fourteen years of age, ftill unmarried. Madame Bonaparte. The maiden name of Madame Bonaparte* wife of the Firft Conful, is De la Pagerie* Her father was a chevalier de St. Louis f and a proprietor of plantations in the Weft Indies. Her uncle, Monf. de la Pagerie, was port captain ; and her family was ge- nerally efleemed in the three iflands of St. Domingo, Martinico, and Guadaloupe. She was ( 63 ) was married when very young, againft her inclination, to Alexander Count de Beau- harnois, before the revolution major enfe* conde of infantry, Beauharnois was, in 1789, appointed a deputy to the States General. In the early ftages of the revolu- tion, he was promoted to the rank of ge- neral in the army, and had feveral import- ant commands, in all of which he acquit- ted himfelf with credit. In 1 794, he gave in his difmiffion, on the ground of his being of a profcribed order; and was fhortly after- wards guillotined. In the fame year, Ma- dame Bonaparte married her prefent huf- band, in confequence of which he obtained the command of the army of Italy. She is ten years older than the Firft Conful. Madame Bonaparte had two children by her firft hufband, a fon and a daughter. The former is now a General in the French army ; and the latter is married to Louis Bonaparte, brother of the Firft Confuk Many ( 64 ) Many fcandalous anecdotes are in cireip lation, refpe&ing the private morals of the family. But, as I am only their enemy upon public grounds, I will leave thefe matters to be recorded by other pens. London and Paris. In cuftoms, manners, amufements, drefs, buildings, and modes of life, every capital and every town differ from every other, according to the almoft infinite variety of circumftances which conftitute the eaufe of thofe differences. But there are none, perhaps, which occafion fo great and effen- tial a diverfity, as difference of topographi- cal fituation. Had London been built in an inland part of the kingdom, which no fhips or veffels could approach, it would not now have been diftinguifhed, above all cities in the world, for commerce, manu- factures, induftry of every kind, affluence, independence, and power. Had Paris been, built in a fituation acceffible to (hipping, it 4 would ( *s ) would have been a commercial, manufac- turing, induftrious, affluent, independent,and powerful city. The inland pofition of Paris, then, is in a great meafure the remote caufe of the little freedom, which has ever exifted in France, of the complete defpotifm which has reigned at all the periods of the revolu- tion, and of the abfolute tyranny that pre- vails at this moment. The French reproach the Engli(h with being a nation of (hop- keepers : but to fpeak juftly, London may be called a city of Warehoufes, and Paris a city of Shops. The inhabitants of Paris, who are in bufmefs, are almoft all fubjecl:, lefs or more, to the will of the reigning party of the day : thofe of London are not fubjecl: to the caprice of any man, or of any party. It is not my intention to enter into a minute detail of the circum fiances, arifing from topographical pofition, which have retarded, and muft long retard, the progrefs of that nation, of which Paris is the capital, toward freedom and independence. But I F am ( 66 ) am perfuaded that they are fo numerous and fo powerful in their operation, that Ruflia, from the pofition of its capital, will in no long time precede France in the pre- eminent diftin&ions of freedom and happi- nefs. I know not whether I might not even mention the Ottoman Empire, were not the epidemic to which its capital is fubjedt fo great an obftacle to the progreft of population and improvement. Pruflia and Auftria I regard, and for the fame reafon, equally incapable with France of making any rapid progrefs toward amelio- rating the condition of their inhabitants. If Dantzig, or fome other fea-port town, were made the capital of Pruffia, and Triefte that of Auftria, I am certain that, with the ex- ception of the towns of Berlin and Vienna, a confiderable improvement would take place in confequence throughout their re- fpe&ive dominions. Thefe ideas, however f 1 mention only in iiluftration of my argu- ment, without either recommending Or ex- pecting that they ihould ever be acted upon by ( 6; ) by the two great powers of Germany. In no inftance does Peter the Great appear to me to deferve that epithet better than for having transferred the capital of his domi- nions to a fea-port town. See note {a,) I do not fay that without this circumftance, freedom cannot exift : for Switzerland was once free. But that part of commerce, which depends upon navigation, cannot be too highly prized ; as without it, whatever progrefs a nation may make in internal im- provement, their independence can never be fecure againft the attacks of a more powerful neighbour. But with a navy, if irretrievably vanquished, a free people - may even take refuge in the fea. The hiftory of the Venetians affords a ftriking example of what I mean. The Conciergerie. I had, by accident, an opportunity of vi- fitingthe interior of the prifons, and of be- F 2 coming ( 68 ) coming intimately acquainted with the de- tails and fhades of defpotifm in France. A Mr. T r, whom I had formerly attended in a medical capacity in Germany, was, in the month of May or June 1802, arretted by the police, at an hotel in the Rue de la Loi 9 and carried to the Coneiergerie. He wrote me, a week or ten days after his arreft, that, being indifpofed, he wifh- ed I would come to fee him, and apply to the proper authorities for admiffion to the jail. Upon the receipt of his letter, I repaired to the Palais de Jujlice^ under which is the prifon of the Coneiergerie^ and was directed to the office of the Commiffary of the Govern- ment, whofe bufinefs it was to grant permif- fion to fee the prifoners. On making the re- queft, one of the clerks, to whom I addrefled myfelf for this purpofe, faid : " Comment , Mon r fieur, vous voulez voir ce feeler at ? How, Sir, you wifti to fee that rafcal ? Sir, I am perfuad- ed he is no more a rafcal than you ; other- wife ( 69 ) wife I would not wifh to fee him. " But, Sir, he is accufed of coining.'' In my country Sir, we always confider an accufed man as innocent, until he is found guilty by the verdidl of a jury ; and even then we confider him as entitled to all the duties of humanity. " Sir, he has already had fo many people admitted to him that we can give no more permiflions." (This was not true ; for they only permitted his fervant to fee him, and that even feldom.j Tired of the impertinence of this clerk, I told him I muft fee the Commiflary of the Govern- ment himfelf. He fhewed me with reluc- tance into the Commiflary's cabinet, where I was received with fomewhat more polite- nefs. " This gentleman, Sir," laid he to the Commiflary, in a tone of voice which indicated clearly his own opinion of the matter, " requefts to fee that man T r." " Have you got your papers en regie" faid the Commiflary ? I have not got my paflport with me, I replied : but here is a paper, pulling a letter of the Minifter of the Inte- F 3 rior ( 7° ) rior from my pocket, which will explain who I am. He perufed it, turned to the clerk, and defired that I might be imme-p diately admitted to fee Mr. T — — r. That gentleman informed me that he had been arretted for having lodged three hun- dred huis cFors, which were faid not to have been coined in France, with a banker in the Rue de Li/k, who denounced him to the police. He was detained three months in prifon, although he repeatedly folicited to be brought to trial. Proof was ready to be produced that the huis d'ors had been bought from a refpedable money-changer at Hamburg. They were full weight, and in every refpecl: as good as French huis ifors ; but they were not coined in France. At a time that thefe pieces were in great de- mand on the continent, fome merchants of Hamburg bought gold bars, and had them made into huis d'ors 9 which they fold at a confiderable profit. Had ( 7* ) Had the law been equally applied to all, Mr. T — r would, in this cafe, have had no cattfe to complain. But a German, whofe name I now forget, having been de- nounced in a fimilar manner, his money was feized, without his being arretted. Cardinal Caprara, the Pope's legate, had alfo iffued fome money of the fame coinage^ without fuffering the leaft moleftation in his holy perfon. Mr. T — r after an imprifonment of more than three months, was releafed, and at the end of fome months more had his money returned, without, however, receiving any compenfation for the detention and lofs. At prefent the cafe is the fame with re- fpect to all the laws of the republic. They are executed with feverity, or not execut- ed at all, as the accufed is either deemed worthy the perfecution or protection of the government. Nor let the public of other countries allow themfelves to be deceived * F 4 by ( 7* ) by the pompous declamations of the French Newfpapers. The more loudly they boaft of national virtue, juftice, honor, liberality, and good faith, the more it behoves us to expect the conftant violation of them all. The Queen of France's Cell. During my vifits to Mr. T — r I had oc- cafion to fee the miferable room, or rather cell, in which the Queen of France was con- fined before her death. It was converted to a more appropriate ufe, a guard-room. In viewing this vile apartment, fituated in the back part of the under -ground floor of the building, narrow, dark, difmal, and moift, it was impoflible not to contrail; the fate of the unfortunate Marie Antoinette f with that of the woman, who now occupies and pollutes her throne. It was impoflible not to reflect with regret on the abfurd and dangerous inconfiftency of the French peo- 4 F'K ( 73 ) pie, who had fcnt the former to the fcaf- fold, and were daily preferring addreffes to the latter in praife of her virtue : the virtue of Madame Bonaparte ! The Temple. Mr. de P., a Frenchman, advifed me ftrongly not to go to the conciergerie to fee Mr. T , obferving that I might become fufpe&ed, and get into a fcrape with the Go- vernment. It was not many weeks after- wards when Mr. de P. was put in the Temple, and detained for five or fix months, His only crime, as he informed me, was the having uttered fome incautious words at a private table, when heated with wine. Dining with a female relation .of Madame Bonaparte, fhe took occafion to obferve that a great deal of the abufe publiihed in the Englifli Newfpapers, came from returned Emigrants in Paris, and looking ftedfaftly at Mr. de P. repeated the obkrvation. To which ( 74 ) which he thought proper to make this reply : Madam, 1 hope you do not think that any of it comes from me. I am not a Garret confpirator. If I had thirty thou- fand troops indeed- — Here he recolle&ed himfelf ; but it was too late. Next day he was arretted, and carried to the Temple, Declaration of Hostilities be- tween the English and French Journals. In the months of June, July, and Auguft 1 802, a fpecies of warfare commenced be- tween the Journals of the two countries, which, to me, was a proof of the rifing fpirit of hoftility between the government of France and the Britifh nation. I fay the government of France, becaufe, in that un- happy country at prefent, the tone of the Journals indicates only the difpofition of the government, while that of the Britifh Newfpapers indicates the difpofition of the people ( 75 ) people at large. The following obferva- tions on this fubje£t, fuppofed to be written by citizen Roederer, are curious, and per- haps deferve to be quoted ; " Why are the Englifh papers fo abufive againft the French? It is becaufe many Frenchmen, who cannot take that liberty in France without danger, may deliver their fentiments through the channel of the Englifh papers ; and becaufe it is an old cuftom in England to abufe all the world, The Newfpapers of that country abufe the greateft perfonages in the king- dom, and the crowned heads of Europe. What did they not fay againft Louis XVI., and particularly againft the queen, when in the zenith of their power ? c * The Englifh like to read abufe, as they like to fee caricatures. They muft have abufe, where we fhould have only an epi- gram, and a print where our delicacy would fcarcely permit an allufion. The Englifh do not, like the French, diflike abufe, for the fame reafori that they do not, like the Ita- lians, ( 76 ) Hans, love mufic. Montefquieu, in his Efprit des Lois, fays : * I have feen the Eng- lish aud Italian operas The pieces and a&ors are the fame. But the fame mufic produces fo different an effect on the two nations, the one is fo calm, and the other fo tranfported, that it appears inconceivable.' The Englifh have no tafte; and that is the reafon why they are fo abufive. " Will any one pretend that a people, who drink beer, eat beef, warm themfelves with fca-coal, breath a heavy, moift, and cold atmofphere, pafs the half of their lives at fea, and fee women only in their parlors, can have fo delicate and lively a fentiment of decency as a people, who drink wine, eat bread, warm themfelves at a bright and gentle fire, breath a fharp and clear air, and daily receive leffons of tafte and decorum from a familiar and refpe&ful intercourfe with witty, decent, and frank women ? " But ( 77 ) " But what fignifies the abufe of the Englifh papers ? They are fo dear, fo tire- fome, and fo ill-writtm, that they are efteemed only in England, and very little even there." On thefe profound remarks I fhall only make one obfervation. I hope we may ever continue to live in the fame coarfe manner, provided we thereby preferve a tafte, which the author of this article feems to have never known, or totally to have for- gotten, namely the tafte for freedom and independence. Popular Elections. About the fame period the election of Middlefex called forth a great deal of abufe from the French Journals ; not that they cared a ftraw which of the candidates fhould fucceed ; but they were very angry that no riots, no diforders, no maifacres were com- mitted, fo as to give the people of England a refem- ( 78 ) a refemblaticc to the revolutionifts of France. When the French have reproached the Eng- lifh with felling their votes, I ufed to make this reply : The difference between the Eng- lifh and the French in that refpe which he might have thought univerfally applicable.) The book was finiflied ; but the author, being unable to procure permiffion from the police to bring it to market, or money to pay for the print- ing, Montardier thought proper, as he had heard of feveral tranfportations for as trivial offences as thofe committed by Meiitor^ to lock the work up for the prefent in his ware-houfe. In the mean time, Boffange, Maffon and BefTon, alfo bookfellers, who G 2 had ( 8 4 ) had a procefs depending againft Mouiar- dier y refpe&ing the dictionary of the French academy, and had perhaps other reafons for wifhing to ruin him 5 contrived to entice one of his workmen into their fervice, and to get, through his means, a copy of Mentor at the price of twenty- five louts d\rs. It was one of thofe copies, which in all printing- offices, I believe, are the cuftomary perqui- fite of the printers upon fimfhing a work, B. M. and B. fent this copy to the police with a denunciation againft Moutardier* He was arretted, and the affair laid before the Firft Conful, who gave this very fum- mary decifion : " Uimprimeur au Bicetre % et r auteur a Guianne" Let the printer be fent to the Bicetre, and the author to Cay- enne. The body of bookfellers, by their in- fluence, got Moutardier releafed ; but the foreman was fent to the Bicetre in his Head. What has been the fate of the author I have not been able to learn. Arc ham- ( 8 5 ) Archambaud PeXUGORD, One of Talleyrand's brothers, has felt the weight of confular authority. He has been banifhed to the fouth of France, or to Italy, avowedly for having gone to Eng- land to receive arrears of pay due to him while in the Britifli fervice, and having too intimate a connection with the Britiih go- vernment 5 but in reality becatife he refufed his daughter in marriage to Lucien Bona- parte. His refufal was at fir ft made under the pretence of her being too young, and upon a fecond application, under the plea of her not choofing to marry a widower. The fame offer is faid to have been repeated to Archambaud, in exile, and to have been refufed. It is alfo generally reported that the hand of Mademoifelh de La Fayette has been refufed to Lucien. It is to be obferved that, as in France, marriages in general are only arrangements of convenience, in which G 3 the ( 86 ) the heart has no (hare, the young ladies themfelves are very feldom applied to for their confent. That of the parents being once obtained, the match is concluded, whatever pangs it may coft the unfortunate victim, who is unwillingly dragged to the altar. If they refuk,Jhe muft refufe of courfe. In the great nation^ parental authority itfelf is of a defpotic hue, Lucien, although difappointed in his views of being connected with the ancient patrician families of France, has however made in other refpe&s an eligible match. He has, as I am informed from Paris, mar- ried a widow, who, in jewels and richnefs of apparel, vies with the fpoufe of the Firft Conful. I have not been able to learn her &ame. Sena- ( 8 7 ) Senatoreries, Emperor of the Gauls, and Princes of the Em- pire. Towards the end of 1802, people con- verfant in the private hiftory of the politics of the Thuilleries, affirm that it was ferioufly in agitation that Bonaparte fhould aflame the title of Imperial or Confular Majejiy ; that there fhould be created fifteen Princes of the Empire, and fifty Senator eries. Of the princes of the empire eight were to have been chofen from among the members of the fenate, and eight from the family of the Firft Conful ; viz. his four brothers, Jofeph, Lucien, Louis and » Jerome ; his three brothers-in-law, Bachocki, Murat and Leclerc (then living), and his ftep-fon Beauharnois. But thefe proje&s, excepting the latter, were found by the fenate to be either premature or ridiculous, and were G 4- therefore. ( 88 ) therefore abandoned. The Senatoreries however, a term rather harfh to be fure for the French language, but adopted in imita- tion of the ancient Commanderles^ have been illy eftablifhed, to the number of about fifty, yielding at leaft a revenue^ of fifty thcufand livres each. What a neat furn of patronage at one blow I The Moniteuiu In the Hamburgh Correfpondenten y a paper long e [teemed in Europe for its im- partiality and correclnefs, it was once plea- fantly obferved : " that they had received recent American newfpapers, containing in- telligence from St. Domingo, of a nature by no means favourable to the French ; but that they thought it unneceffary to publiih the particulars, as they had been long ago refuted by the Moniteur." It is a curious paper, ( 8 9 ) paper, this fame Monkeur, and will be to pofterity a precious repofitory of informa- tion. It ought not to Jurprife us that a paper, which has the faculty of anticipating refutations of falfe intelligence, fhould claim the privilege of regulating, by proclama- tion, the deftinies of the prefent and of all future generations of mankind. It will not readily be forgotten how aufpicioufly it commenced the new year *, with deliver- ing leflbns of wifdom to the Britiih parlia- ment : " It would be a patriotic and fage law, which fhould enacl: that minifters going out of place, ihould not be allowed to fit in the Engli/h Parliament for fevcn years. Another law, not lei's wife, would be that every member, who fhould infult a people or a power in friend fhip, fhould be con- demned to two years filence ; when the tongue fins it fhould be punifhed." * See the Moniteur of the ift January 1803. la ( 9° ) In the arrogant infult contained in the above paragraphs, coming dire&ly from the government, it is impoffible not to re- cognife fufficient caufe of hoftilities on the part of Great Britain. MoLITERNO AND BelPUCCEI. It was in the fame fpirit of arrogance and madnefs that two fubjecrs of foreign ftates were arretted at Calais, fent to the temple, and threatened to be brought to trial for tranfa&ions which did not pafs in the French territory. This doctrine, I prefnme, is only to be found in Citizen Racderer's new code of the Laws of Na- tions*. * The Journal de Paris, which is under the direc- tion of this worthy member of the French government, was at th?it time frequently filled with very ridiculous commentaries on the laws of nations. Legion ( 9* ) Legion of Honour. It is a curious circumftance that no lift of the members of this body has ever been publifhed. The reafon affigned for that omifiion is, that the government were de- frrbus of concealing from the knowledge of the public that Moreau was not of the num- ber, that celebrated general having declined the proffered honour. It now feems that this inftitution is not to be exclufively de- voted to the reception of military worthies. All men, whom Bonaparte thinks honour^ able, may be raifed to that diftin&ion. The military members enrolled in it are all more than heroes ; for they have each performed impojfibilities % It is not then furprifing that a man of Moreau's modefty mould not have thought himfelf entitled to fo elevated a dignity. * See their feveral pretenfions or exploits recorded in the Moniteur, upon their refpeclive promotions. 4 Inter- ( 92 ) Interview of Bonaparte with the Swiss Deputies in January 1803, The Firft Confui had a conference with ten of the Swifs deputies, five of the ari- fiocratic, and five of the democratic party, which lafted for fevcn hours, and of whkh the particulars are curious. The four fena- tors charged with the affairs of that country were prefent ; a large table was placed, at the top of which fat Bonaparte 5 the four fenators were placed at the bottom, the five ariftocratic deputies w T ere ranged on one fide, and the five democratic ones on the other. This reprefentation was what, from its length pei -haps, as well as its cftentation, the French call an opera. The Gonful dif- cuffed the Cantonal ccnliuution with the Swifs deputies, with more than his ufual temper and complaifance. He did not even mamfeft muc'h impatience at being inter- rupted or contradicted by them, The- French ( 93 ) French fenators he treated as ufual like valets, with the exception perhaps of Fouche', to whom he {hewed fome kind of compiaifance. When coffee or other re- freihrnents were required, he bid Barthelmy ring the bell, and as to Raderer he was in the true fpirit of a flave watching the looks of his mafter, in order to anticipate his wi(hes; Defmeiinier was the clerk of the meeting. None of the other confuls were prefent ; and it is a remarkable coincidence that about the fame period the language of the confuiar decrees was changed in the official paper. Inftead of the confuls cf the republic decree, &c." it is now " the go- vernment decrees, &c." On this occafion the Conful unfolded ideas of government which, although not inconfiftent with his or<^ dinary doctrines, are certainly very curious, cc What is the end of government?" faid he to the Swifs deputies. " It is, you know^ fplendor, power, glory (not a word of the happlnefs of the people) : a confederacy which can fupport a large force may obtain this ( 94 ) this end ; but the confederacy of a fmall ftate like yours can not. Your fafety will confift: in your weaknefs ; in exciting the intereft (the pity he might have faid) of neighbouring Mates. Of thefe France alone has come to your affiftance. (It was an affiflance which they would readily have excufed.) How have the other ftates treated you ? Auftria took no intereil in your fate * England fupported your infurgents to pro- mote her own views, and afterwards left them to their fate. [It is remarkable, that in fpeaking of England on fuch occafions, Bonaparte always ufed, even at that time, the term enemy. 1 Had the government of that country prefented one note more, I declare that I mould have united you to France," [From this, although it is but an unmeaning boaft, it would appear that notes or memorials were prefented by the Britiih minifler on the fubjecT: of Switzer- land.] Bonaparte ( 95 ) Bonaparte then addreffed himfelf to the fo-called democratic and ariftocratic depu- ties feparately, the former he reproached with cowardice in not having defended Berne to the laft extremity againft the in- surgents. [It was Citizen Verninac, the French ambaflador, who counfelled and decided the capitulation. But it is eafy to appear confiftent when there is no oppofi- tion made.] To the ariftocratic fide, as the French term them, he addrefled himfelf ftill more rudely. " Your great war-horfe" fays he, " is the bombardment of Zurich. But don't you think that if any of my de- partments were to rife in infurre&ion againft me, I would march an armed force to reprefs them ? And did you not your- felves bombard Fribourg ?" Such was the fuhftance of the extraordinary difcourfe held at this extraordinary meeting. Chenier. ( 96 ) Chenier. The poet Chenier has lately been re-in- troduced upon the public ftage. Refpedting the particulars of his appointment, feveral ftatenvettts have been in circulation. The following feems to be of the mod authen- tic : Regnaud (de St. yean a" Angely ), fre- quently employed as orator of the govern- ment upci public cccafions, had the honour of a i Ece on this. He was deputed to found the inclinations of Chenier. Find- ing that they were of a nature not to reject cultivation, he mace his report accordingly; upon which Lucien and Jofeph Bonaparte paid the poet a vifit, and the whole of the private* arrangement was completed. The appointment in public was thus conducted. Cambaceres presented to the Firft Conful a lift of ten candidates for the vacant office in the ( 97 ) the department of public inftruclion. He looked it over and faid : " What ! I do not fee the name of any man of genius in this lift: you have omitted the very name which fhould be at the head ; you have omitted Chenier." How, Citizen Firft Conful, Chenier is one of your enemies. " Foh ! I do not wifti to hear any one fpeak of my enemies. Put down the name of Chenier for the place, and put your ten blockheads in your pocket." Portallis, who was alfo prefent, made fome remonftrance, quoting a paffage from Chenier' s works, which he thought would be difpleafing to the Firft Conful. " In that paffage," faid he, " there is a great deal of genius. I am but the more confirmed in my determina- tion." And Chenier was appointed. The Firft Conful is gifted with an ex- cellent memory. When any of his counfellors of ftate, or other dependants, read him a paffage bearing a different or oppofite interpretation from fome paffage H of ( 9« ) of theirs, which he recolle&s to have upon any former occafion heard, he (lops him, faying, " that is very different from what you faid on fuch an occafion ; you are a man of bad faith 5" and he turns his back upon him. Bonaparte has that happy verfatility 3 which enables him with equal Jang froid to turn his back or his face to any one, ac- cording as is moft ufeful to obtain his im- mediate obje&s. We have proofs of this in his prefent, and his former conduct to the Abbe / Sieyes ; but what feems moft fur- prifing is, that men of celebrity, like Sieyes 3 mould not have fufficient dignity of foul to refufe appearing fo palpably as tools of the ufurper. Special Tribunals. — Juries and Faux. The adminiftration of juftice in France is fo conducted that the innocent can be condemned, ( 99 ) condemned, and the guilty acquitted, ac- cording to the pleafure of the government. Among the crimes which at prefent attract moft of their attention, is that which is termed faux; and which alone, confidering all the cafes it comprehends, as well as the mode of trial adopted, puts a great propor- tion of the French nation at the entire dif- pofal of the government. The offenders are called fauffaires ; every fpecies of fab- rication, from coining of money to a fimple error in account, comes under the denomi- nation of faux, A commiflary general of the army, in whofe accounts an error of four fous is difcovered, may be tried for this offence. The accufed are tried, without a jury, by the judges of the fpecial tribunal ; and if they happen to be obnoxious to the government, we may guefs what, in the prefent ftate of things, is likely to be their fate. The evils occafioned by the extenfive fignification given to this term in France, are almoft incredible. A poor woman lately tried for the murder of a man who died a H 2 natural ( ICO ) natural death on his bed, and acquitted, had been obliged, in order to maintain herfelf during a fix months' confinement in prifon, to put her watch in pledge. Afhamed to appear under her own name, fhe employed one of her neighbours to execute this cora- rniffion under a feigned one. This cir- cumftance appearing upon her trial, the neighbour, who had put the watch in pawn under an affumed name, was committed to prifon in order to be tried for a faux y and the poor woman who had been already fix months in prifon, and acquitted on the original charge, was recommitted as an accomplice. When a commiffary, having demands to a large amount againfl: the government, . prefents his accounts, the flighteft error, or any falfe document, of which he may have been innocent or ignorant, being found, he is brought to trial before the judges of the fpecial tribunal. His being found guilty, liquidates all his demands upon govern- ment i ( ioi ) ment ; and, in that cafe, any property of which he may be poflefled is confifcated to pay the charges of the profecution ; which charges are at the difcretion of the judges ; and thefe judges receive a ftipend of only 4000 livres a-year each (lefs than 200/. Sterling), with pens, ink and paper, from the government ; for which reafon the people fay that the committee revolution aire was inftituted by the government of Ro- befpierre pour lattre de la monnoie (to coin money), but that the tribunal fpecial has been inftituted by the government of Bona- parte pear pay erfes dettes (to pay their debts). As an inftance of the extraordinary charges of this tribunal, we may cite the caufe of Mr. L. He was convi&ed .of a faux, which was only an error of 40oHvres in an- account of feveral millions. Befide being condemned to be publicly expofed, and to work eight years in the galleys, the expence of his procefs amounted to the H 3 very ( 102 ) very moderate fum of twenty-five thoufand livres. A gentleman, Mr. B. has a law-fuit with one of the judges of this tribunal for a pro- perty valued at 250,000 livres. An alledged faux is trumped up againft him ; he is thrown into prifon, and there detained until a decifion is pafled againft him. During the whole term of the procefs, Mr. B. was not allowed to have communication with any perfon. But what are the members of this tribunal, who acT: at once in the three characters, of grand jury, petty jury, and judges ? Citizen Hemer, the prefident, was, prior to the revolution, an attorney, and fince a decided jacobin. Thuriot, fecond in command, prefided a jacobin club, when the death of the king was voted; he was alfo the voluntary defender of the Septembrifers. It will fcarcely be necef- fary to fay more in order to eftablifh, the reputation of the members of this tribunal. Thefe ( 193 ) Thefe are fads, which it would be unge- nerous to bring to the recollection of the public, did not the fame perfon- ages perfift in the fame unprincipled line of conduct under every fucceeding government, The fyftern of terror, al- though of a different kind, is now as com- plete as it was in the time of Robefpierre. The barrifters, or defenfeurs officielles % are afraid to fpeak ftrenuoufly in defence of their clients before the judges of this awful tribunal, or indeed to fpeak at all without offering an apology for the liberty which they prefume to take. The following may ferve as a fpecimen of their manner. Mr. C.j defenfeur officielle^ when lately pleading in behalf of Mr. Q^ coufm-german of the celebrated Mirabeau, thus addreffed the tri- bunal : " Citizens, I have not the honour of knowing my client, nor do I poffefs his confidence. I undertake his defence from pure humanity for his family." (Note well that this gentleman's humanity had been H 4 jnvi- ( 104 ) invigorated by five-and-twenty louis dors of his client's money in the morning.) The matters which are allowed to be tried before juries are now very few; they had the impudence to acquit all perions whofe guilt was not clearly proved. This noble inftitudon which, among all people of common fenfe, is fo highly prized, it is ex- pected will fhortly be abolifhed throughout the republic. Indeed, from the manner in which trials are carried on, even in cafes in which juries are ftill permitted, it does not much fignify whether they do or do not continue to exift. Mr. R. for inftance, having been confined in prifon for feveral- months, at laft by importunity obtained a trial ; three of the witneffes had already been examined, when one of the judges de- manded the proces verbal^ alias a copy of the examinations which had been drawn up by the magifurate who committed him. This piece, which had been in the poffef- fion ( io5 ) iion of the judges themfelves, and for which they alone were accountable, was miffing ; upon which all proceedings were laid afide, and Mr. R. remanded to prifon, until it fhould pleafe the judges to recommence his trial. The fact is, that there was nothing againfl: this gentleman for which he could be condemned ; but he had the misfortune to be obnoxious to the government, which now-a-days never fails to enfure one a per- manent lodging in the prifon of France. We know not what may have been the number of prifoners ufually detained in the jails of Paris during the tyranny of Robe- fpierre; but their a&ual number is faid to ex- ceed fifteen thoufand. Of thefea confiderable portion is compofed of females, many of them young women under twenty years of age, condemned for petty offences, to a confinement of feveral years. The cruelty with which condemned per- forms are treated, when we confider that France ( io6 ) France is a country reputed civilized, is aftoniihing, and almoft incredible. Such is the dread which prifoners have of this ordeal, that numbers of them attempt to deftroy themfelves, after fentence of con- demnation is paffed. A poor woman, lately condemned to eight years hard labour for a faux, ftabbed herfelf feveral times in the breafl the day on which fhe was ordered to be expofed in the pillory, a preliminary part of the punifhment. Notwithstanding the exhaufted ftate in which her wounds had left her, fhe was put into a cart (for fhe was not able to walk, as the prifoners are always obliged to do), and conveyed to the place of expofition. Before the fpecial tribunal, it is not neceffary to bring proofs of a prifoner's guilt: HE rauft bring proofs of his innocence. The prefent policy of the French go- vernment is to reftore the feverity of punifhments, which had been laid afide during the revolution. When it was de- bated ( io 7 ) bated in council whether the puniihrnent of marking the moulder, as in the reign of Louis XVI., fhould be reftored, Bonaparte is faid to have propofed that the mark fhould be upon the cheek. We mould then fee every man's enmity to the confular go- vernment imprinted in his face. It was likewife propofed, by the fame authority, to fubftitute the halter for the guillotine, the latter being thought too eafy a death. But finding thefe fuggeftions generally difap- proved, he did not urge them. Before the revolution, the galley flaves were chained together by the ankle. It remained for confular prowefs to chain them by the neck. JV". B, The fads above ftated under the head of" Special Tribunals," &c. were com- municated to me by a gentleman at Paris, who had an opportunity of colle&ing them from the different perfons concerned, or from their friends. As it might be impro- per ( m ) per to mention his name in this place, the reader will pleafe to take them anonymoufiy, and to give them what degree of credit he thinks they deferve. Slights shewn to the British Ambassador, Every one knows the arrogant manner in which Bonaparte behaved to Lord Whit- worth previous to his quitting France, and the great propriety of that nobleman's con- duel on the occafion, The courtiers, and feveral members of the diplomatic corps, it would feem, thought it neceffary to imitate the conduct of their fuperior. The follow- ing anecdotes I give as I heard them, with- out, however, vouching for their accuracy. Some time in the month of February 1803, a large company being invited to Camba- ceres's, among whom were the foreign ambaffadors, fome members of the diplo- matic body, who had arrived before Lord Whit- ( i°9 ) Whitworth, after paying their compliments to the Second Conful, walked into the ad- joining rooms or difappeared. Lord W. upon his arrival, paid his compliments to Cambaceres alfo ; but looking round, and feeing nobody, he enquired if he was the only one arrived ? The other gentlemen, replied Cambaceres, have paiTed into the next room. Lord W. walked into the ad- joining apartments ; but finding nobody, went away. Shortly afterwards the fame farce, it is faid, was again played at a private ball. Thefe anecdotes are, at firft view, trivial in themfeJves. But, if corred, they mark the degree of obfequioufnefs by which the reprefentatives of foreign nations have of late condefcended to degrade themfelves at the court of the ufurper of France. Madame no Madame Bonaparte's Aunt. Upon the death of an aunt, it was very gravely deliberated by Madame Bonaparte and her council whether fhe fhould go into mourning. The Conful fpeedily decided the queftion : " No ?" faid he, " if you go into mourning, 1 muft go into mourning ; and if / go into mourning, all the world muft go into mourning. " Departure of Lord Whitworth from Paris. Decree constitut- ing the English Travellers in France Prisoners of War. In May 1803, the negotiations between the two countries were brought to a clofe, and the Britifh ambaffador, Lord Whit- worth, left Paris. All Britifh fubje&s ought, perhaps, in prudence to have departed at the ( 1" ) the lame time. But fome were detained by bufinefs, and fome by pleafure; and none of them probably dreamt of meeting after- wards with any impediment to their de- parture. For weeks before Lord Whitworth left Paris, all the journals were daily exclaim- ing : " Why do the Englifh quit France ? What are they afraid of? Can they not truft themfelves to the loyalty of the French government, although their ambaffador is going away ?" This doctrine was preached with fuch zeal by the journals, all ooto- rloufiy at the difpofition of the government, that it ought of itfelf to have created an alarm ; but I am forry and aihamed to confefs that, notwithstanding my thorough conviction of the habitual treachery of the parties, I allowed myfelf, like many others, to be molt completely deceived. Fortu- nately, however, a great many of the Eng- Hih had gone away : and the Firft Conful found himfelf fo difappointed in the num- bers ( u* ) bers that remained, that I queftion much whether, if he had known it, he would have incurred the odium of their detention. Be that as it may, on the 2 2d of May, ten days after the departure of Lord Whit- worth from Paris, appeared the following decree : " All the Englifh enrolled in the militia between the age of eighteen and fixty, or who hold commiffions from his Britannic Majefty, now in France, fliall be imme- diately conftituted prifoners of war, to an- fwer for the citizens of the republic, who may have been detained, or made prifoners, by the veffels or fubjeds of his Britannic Maiefty before the declaration of war." Paris, id Praireal, year xi, 22a 1 May 1803. This decree nominally only compre- hended perfons holding commiffions in the 3 army ( "3 ) array and navy, or capable of being enroll led in the Militia ; i. e. males from, eighteen to fixty years of age ; for this was the co- louring which the French government wifhed might be given to it in other coun- tries *i But in reality it was extended to perfons of all defcriptions, old and young, male and female. It Was at firft pretended that women and children were exempted from the meafure. Againft this I can only ftate the evidence of fads. Lady Elgin, upon applying for a pafTport, was refufed, and afterwards many other ladies. I have myfelf feen boys of ten and twelve years of age fent from one * In (peaking of the decrees and other contents of the French journals, let trie here give a general caution to the reader. I can affure him that he will be much nearer the truth, if he confiders them as the expreffion of what the French government wifli mould be under- flood in other countries to be their orders or intentions, than if he understands them literally as conveying matters of fa&. public ( "4 ) public office to another, and refufed pafT- ports, becaufe they had not written certi- ficates of their ages* It was the firft inftance I ever faw of ocular demonftration being thought infufficient to prove that an infant is not a boy, or that a boy is not a man. Had the exemption even been general and effe&ive, it could have been of little or no life ; for wives would not have chofen to leave their hufbands, nor parents to part with their children. The prifoners in general were fent to Fontaine Bleau, Valenciennes, Melun, Nif- mes, Verdun, Challons, and other places. They were allowed a certain range to walk in, upon giving their parole not to go away* In this fituation, thofe who had the means of fubfiftence were not ill off. But, by being removed from Paris, and the other places of their ufual refidence, to the general depots, thofe, who had to derive their means of fubfiftence from labour, were reduced to the utmoft diftrefs, and left to ftarve, ( »J ) ft&rve, forae of them with numerous fa- milies of children. Did the French government afford any fuccour to fuch of thefe men as had actually eftabiiflied their refidence in France? Not a fous. But what cares Bonaparte, who affecls to do every thing en grande, for the ftarvation of a few thoufand individuals ? I am happy to learn, fince my arrival in this country, that the Englim government, in confequence of the reprefentations of Mr. Rohfon^ have humanely fent two thou- fand pounds for the relief of thefe unfor- tunate people : and this fum will, no doubt, be farther increafed, as otherwife it cannot afford them efFe&ual afliftance. But a pri- vate fubfcription, if properly conduced, would perhaps be the bed manner of pro- curing funds adequate to their wants. Their cafe, as men in whofe perfons the laws of na- tions and the rights of hofpitality have been grofsly and bafely violated, ought power- fully to intereft the feelings not only of the 1 2 Englifh ( "6 ) Eriglifli public, but of the people and govern** ments of other countries, in their favour. It is a cafe, which comes home to them all. The Auftrians, Ruffians and Pruffians, refi~ dent in France, may to-morrow, if it fuits the whim of the tyrant, be placed in the fame fituation. If a committee of refpect- able gentlemen were to undertake this tafk, their efforts, I am perfuaded, would be at- tended with the moft complete fuccefs, and in the fatisfacYion, which would refult from utility, they would find an abundant re- ward- The execution of this execrable decree was conducted in the moft loofe and incon- fiderate manner. Thofe were fent to one depot, who ought to have been fent to ano- ther> as having friends or acquaintances in the latter; thofe were fent away from their places of refidence, who, had there been any rational fyftem, would have been allowed to remain, and thofe were allowed to remain who would have been fent away. Every ( "7 ) Every thing depended upon chance, whim, and caprice. There was a total abfence of that polite confideration, which ufed to dif- tinguifh the French people, even while they were committing ads of injuftice. Lord Elgin was treated with marked incivility ; and a degree of harfhnefs, unprecedented excepting in the reign of terror, pervaded the whole proceedings. In remote parts, where the conftituted authorities think they cannot ad too vigoroufiy in the fpirit of their fuperiors, there was flill more fe verity and lefs confideration. I cannot help ob- ferving, that while General Junot was amu- fing himfelf, keeping Englimmen of difxinc- tion dancing attendance upon him, from day to day, and from week to week, I have feen him receive common foldiers with affability, and haften, not fimply to comply with, but even to anticipate, their wiihes. This may be policy, but it certainly is not manners. I 3 I never ( »« ) I never met with even a Frenchman, who attempted to juftify this decree of Bo- naparte upon any other grounds than that of retaliation. It is in violence and inde- cency, in my opinion, fecond to none, ex- cepting that of Robefpierre for giving no quarter to the Englifli. With forrow and abhorrence I read, on the continent, that fome perfons on this fide the water had gravely debated the quefiion : u Whether quarter {hould not be refufed to the French in the event of their invading this country? 3 ' There are fome queftions that do not, in my opinion, admit of a debate ; and this is cer- tainly one of them. What I Is there a man exifting, of a truly Englifli mind, who can think that, in order to repel all the power of France, or even all the power of Europe, it can be any wife neceflary for us to reforfc to fuch unufual, barbarous and difgraceful means of warfare ? All fuch proportions, in my opinion, indicate a poornefs of fpirit, and a. want of jufl confidence in our ftrength. But, ( "9 ) But, to return from this digreffion, the French themfelves only attempt to palliate the enormity of this decree, by alledging that it is a retaliation for the detention of the fliips and crews belonging to France, which were flopped in England before the decla- ration of hoftilities. Without entering into the merits or de- merits of this practice generally, it is very evident that the two meafures, as applied to the prefent circumftances, have no kind of fimilarity. In England no falfe expecta- tions of protection were held out, either by the government or the public, to the cap- tains or crews of the fhips in the Englifh harbours. They knew, or ought to have known, that it is the cuftom in England (right or wrong is not here the queftion), as foon as the government have determined on war, to lay an embargo on all veflels be- longing to the enemy, in their ports. They ought to have gone away in time. Farther, the detention of fhips and crews is 1 4 attended ( {»? ) attended with fome advantage, in as far as U is a transfer of property, and of the means of warfare. The detention of the Englifh travellers in France, as prisoners of war, is, on the con- trary, not only the groffeft violation of the laws of nations, and the rights of hofpitality, that has ever been committed in any country pretending to civilization ; but it had the farther peculiarity of having been accom- panied or preceded by circumftances of the vileft treachery and deceit. The Parifian journals, which dared not to have done it without the pofttive orders of the govern- ment, took the greateft pains to perfuade the Englilh, not to go away, giving them every poflible encouragement to expect a continuance of hofpitality and protection. If they had attained their object of inducing the bulk of the Englifh to {lay, they would no doubt have afterwards exulted in a trait, of which almofi any other nation would have been afhamed, of treachery fo confum- 4 mate* ( m ) mate. In fhort this unique decree had no one circumftance of advantage to the per petrators to recommend it; and, as is now very generally fuppofed, could have had no motive or object, but the gratification of private or perfonal refentments. By a late order, all the perfons fo confti- tuted priibners, who remain in France, have been transferred to Verdun and Challons, fome fay into the citadels of thefe places. They were obliged to maintain, and to pay half a crown a day to each of the dragoons who accompanied them on the journey. Even clerks in counting hpufes have not been fpared. The number of Englifh travellers de- tained in France, there is reafon to believe, never exceeded a thoufand, although the French journals exulted in having entrap- ped fix or eight thoufand of them. The following lift contains fuch names as have cpme to my knowledge. They amount to nearly ( 122 ) nearly two hundred ; and I do not believe that as many more could be collected, un- lefs we were to include all the tradefmen who were already eftablifhed in France. Names of English Travellers, who have been detuned in france^ as Prisoners of War. The Marquis and Marchionefs of Tweedale, The Earl of Elgin and Lady Elgin, The Earl of Yarmouth, Lord and Lady Mountcafhel and family* Sir J. Morihed, Sir J.imes Craufurd, Sir James De Bath, Sir Thomas Clavtring, Sir Thomas Wallace, Hon, M. and Mrs. Annefley> Hon. Lieut. Col. Annefley, Hon. G. Hamilton, Ton of Lord Boyne* Hon J. Blaquiere, foil of Lord de Bla- quiere, Hon* ( **3 ) Hon, Mr. Eardley, Hon. Henry Tufton, 1 brothers to Lord Hon. Edward Tufton, 3 Thanet. Colonel Abercromby a Colonel Moore, Colonel Macleod, Colonel Stack, Lieut. Col. Tindale, Life-Guards, Lieut. Col. Bradford, Lieut. Col. and Mrs. Cope, Major Burke, Major and Mifs Ramfay, Captain Levefon Gower, Lieutenants Lam-> bert and Douglas, and other officers of his Majefty's fhip Shannon *, Captain Brenton, Hon, Mr. Walpole, Mr. Cutler and Mr. Dacre, of his Majefty's fhip Minerva *, Captains Gary and Bannatyne, * Thefe (hips were not taken in any engagement by the enemy ; they fell a prey to them by having had the misfortune of being firft vanquifhed by the ele- ments. Captains ( "4 ) Captains Gerard and Combe, of the ma- rines, Captain Congreve, Captain Owens, Captain Power, Lieut. Prefcott, R. N. and Mrs. Prefcott, Lieutenants Brown and Nanney, R. N. Lieut. George, Rev. Robert Wolfe and Mrs. Wolfe, Rev. Mr. White of Lancafter, Rev. Dr. Smith, Dr. May, Dr. David, Dr. Lloyd, Dr. and Mrs. Hewetfon, Dr, Macnabb, Dr. Ryan, Mr. and Mrs. Olive, Mr. and Mrs. Campbell of Jamaica, Mr. Mrs. and Mifs Forbes, Mr. Mrs. and Mifs Sibbald, Mr. Mrs. and Mifs Tuthill, Mr. and Mrs* Cockburn, Mr. Nichols and family^ Mr. ( **$ ) Mr. and Mrs. Giffard, Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher, Mr. Mrs. and Mifs Fiott, Mr. and Mrs. Aufrere, Mr. and Mrs. Leigh, Mr. and Mrs. Stevenfon, Mr. and Mrs. Ritfo, Mr. and Mrs. Dare, Mr. and Mrs. Power, Mr. and Mrs. Greathead, Mr. and Mrs. Kennet, Mrs. Douglas, Mrs. Palmer, Mr. and Mrs. Davies, Mr. and Mrs. Boyd and family, Mr. Sturt, M. P. Mr. Knox, Mr. Eft wick, Mr. Duff, Mr. Concannon, Mr. Blackmore, Mr. Green, Mr, Light, Mr. Goodman, Mr. C 126 ) Mr. Warwick, Mr. Ainfley, Mr. Le Mefurier, Mr. Gould, Mr. Halpin, Mr. Pigott, Mr. Rowley, Mr. Otto, Mr. Wilbraham, Mr. Dale, Mr. Sharpe, Mr. Gary, Mr. Trevor, Mr. Holland, fen. and juru Mr. Balgrove, fen. and jun. Mr. Lawrence, fen. and jun* Mr. Cupans, Mr. Pinckerton, Mr. Manning, Mr. May, Mr. Later, Mr. Fagen, Mr. MTaggart, Mr. Garlias, Mr. { "7 ) Mr. Le Souef, Mr. Hautenville, Mr. Colombine, Mr. De Jerfey, Mr. Wilmot, Mr. Prieftiey, Mr. Wigney, Mr. Tilt, Mr. Taylor, Mr. Chetham, Mr. Garland, Mr. Fulk, Mr. Devenifli, Mr. Wetherdown, Mr. Roche, Mr. Brown, fen. and jun* Mr. Ryan, Mr. Benfield, Mr. Ridman, Mr. Efte, Mr. R. Campbell, Mr. Mountney, Mr. Smith, Mr. Hurry, Mr, < "8 ) Mr. Benfon^ Mr. Pringle. Mr. Whalley, The following Perfons obtained permit fion to return to England : Dowager Marchionnefs of Donegal, Lady Ancram, Two Mifs Godfreys R. B. Robfon Efq. James Green Efq. Mr. Alexander Gerard, arid Mr, William Jackfon. Th$ Argus, or London reviewed in Paris. This Journal^ printed in the Englifli Ian* guage at Paris 3 is fuppofed by moft French- men, particularly when they read quota- tions from it in the French Journals, to be really printed in England ; and hence they give more confequence to the lies it con- tains. ( I2 9 ) tains. It is under the fpecial fuperintend- ance, and indeed is the property of the French Government. The principal con- ductor, after Talleyrand Perigord, is Citi- zen Hauterive, who claims the merit of having, by the force of his logic, occafion- ed the armed neutrality of the North. The fubordinate labourers are Engliih or Irifli emigrants, who, fince the commencement of the paper, a very few months ago, have been frequently changed, or refigned their offices. Talleyrand, Hauterive, and Co., it would feem, can find no coadjutors of the United Kingdom to remain long in their fervice. The attempt to pafs quotations from the Argus on the French people, as quotations from an Engliih paper, is, in the true fpirit oijinejfe^ fo well known to the French Go- vernment. That it ihould be attended with even a partial fuccefs, is a proof of the ig- norant and deluded ftate to which the un- fortunate inhabitants of that country have K been ( 130 ) been reduced by their rulers, in refpe£t to every article of public information. Curious Reason for Imprisonment in a Dungeon. A man, well known on the turf in £ng«° land, whofe name I cannot at this moment recollect, was imprifoned either in the Bi- cetre or St. Pelagie in Paris, and kept for a long time enfecret. He was not allowed to have any communication with his banker, who did not know what had become of him, and could not therefore fupply him with money, although he had funds for that purpofe in his hands. After fome months, however, this reftri&ion was taken off, and he was allowed to emerge from his cell and bed of ftraw. He then related to fome Englifh gentlemen, with whom he had an opportunity of converfing, that his impri- fonment arofe from the following circum- ftance : A French- ( n* ) A Frenchman of fome fortune, who had been in England, took a fancy to a horfe belonging to this perfon. He faid, if he would deliver the horfe in Paris, he would agree to pay the price of five hundred pounds for him. The bargain was ftruck. The horfe arrived in Paris. The French- man receded from his bargain. The Eng- lifhman got angry ; and fruitlefs altercations enfued. Meeting with this Frenchman one day, coming from the Second Conful's, af- ter dinner, the Englifhman again addrefTed him with remonftrances ; but, finding thefe could produce no efFe<3:, was proceeding to ufe arguments of a more powerful nature, when the other took to his heels, and fought refuge in Cambaceres's houfe. The Second Conful was violently of- fended. The Englifhman was next day arretted, conveyed to prifon, immured in a folitary cell, and accommodated with a naked bed of ftraw. This fad I had in- formation of through an undoubted channel. K 2 Barras, ( *3* ) Barras, Rewbel, and LaReveilliere Lepaux. Thefe three ex-directors, whom the pub- lic of France now almoft begin to regret, are living in retirement, if not obfcurity. Barras refides at BrufTels, and is fuppofed to have fquandered a great part of the wealth which he had acquired while in power. He has, however, ftill enough remaining to retain fome creatures and de- pendants : and it is not improbable that, in cafe of any meditated change, he may, from his reputation for intrepidity, be called again into action as the chief of a party. It is faid that, previous to Bonaparte's vifit to BrufTels, it was intimated to Barras that it would be agreeable to the Conful if he withdrew from the town during his reli- ance in it. Rewbcl ( !33 ) Rewbel lives in Paris, and has alfo got a country houfe in its neighbourhood. He has purchafed feveral eftates in the depart- ments on the left bank of the Rhine, and is wallowing in wealth ; but thinks it politic to obferve a plainnefs in his drefs, equipage, and mode of living. I have frequently feen him and his ci-devant queen, a. lady, not of the moft delicate texture, driving in an old fhabby looking chariot, with a pair of (lout, clumfy, pye-bald horfes. A few months ago a letter, not of the moft refpe&ful kind, which had, on fome occafion, been written by Rewbel to Madame Bonaparte, found its way into circulation in Paris. It was im- mediately feized by fuperior authority. Rewbel was attacked in the journals. He confefled his having been the author of the letter, but denied having any knowledge of its publication. La Revellliere Lepaux, although a fana- tic, is not, like moft of his former colleagues, either a plunderer, or endowed with a cruel K 3 difpo- ( r 34 ) difpofition. He lives at prefenr, as he did during his dire&orfhip, in a modeft retire- ment, enjoying the fociety and efteem of his family and friends. He always de- clined, or affected to decline, patronage and influence: and as we have no reafon to doubt his integrity, we have only to regret that he had not fufKcient wifdom to decline the honour of being enrolled among col- leagues with whom humanity was held in derifion, and integrity efteemed a crime. This ex-dire&or, more weak than criminal, was over-perfuaded by his colleagues to con- fent to the invafion of Switzerland. After- wards, when he difcovered that the Swifs were, in their religion, manners, and poli- tical inftitutions, the virtuous children of nature, he was forry for having participated in the crime of communicating to them fo large a portion of the evils of the French revolution. The ridicule defervedly thrown upon his theo-philanthropic fyftem of reli- gion, ought not to prevent the hiftorian from ( *35 ) from doing juftice to the good intentions of La Reveilliere Lepaux. Remnant of the Brissotine Party This unfortunate party, once in poffef- fion of fovereign fway in France, were ori- ginally 32 in number, when they met in a club in the palais royal. There are now only two of them remaining, Sieyes and Rsederer; certainly not the moft refpecT:- able members of the party. The Abbe / has retired into obfcurity fince the 18th of Brumaire, after having gained an eftate from Bonaparte, and loft his reputation with the public. His intentions with re- gard to liberty are generally believed to be good ; but appreheniions for his perfonal fafety are fuppofed to abforb every other confideration. With refpedl to Rsederer, he has been an avowed and active tool of Bonaparte. In K 4 every ( 136 ) every fucceffion of parties, indeed, he has been confidered by the public what the French call an intrigant: and perhaps this reputation, together with his merit in act- ing, have been the means of his falvation. In the ftruggles of parties, the oppofite fac- tions do not look to the converfion of the honeft part of their antagonifts, but of the unfound and intriguing: in revolutions like that of France, and indeed in revolu- tions in general, it is therefore the moft honeft men of the falling parties who are fucceffively cut off. If, of the Girondifts or Briffotines, but two, out of thirty-two members, have furvived, we may calculate nearly in the fame proportion refpe&ing other parties; fo that perhaps of all, who took a confpicuous and active part in the French revolution, not above one in fifteen or fixteeri is now alive ; and thefe in all probability the moft defpicable of the whole. It might be worth the trouble of any man, who has leifure and opportunity to make a minute ftatement and calculation on this ( J 37 ) fubjed, to undertake the tafk. If well ex- ecuted, it could not fail to prove inftrudive to the world. It might naturally be expeded that the memory of men, who had diftinguiflied themfelves in the revolution, although they had fallen vidims to party ftruggles, fhould be refpeded by revolutionists ; and that this refped (hould be transferred in fome mea- fure to their families. But that is not the cafe in France, There, more than in any other* country, fuccefs alone is virtue, and failure alone is vice. While the family of Raederer is rolling in wealth and influence, that of Briffot is configned to poverty and negled. I have feen the widow of this ce- lebrated deputy attending, like an excellent mother, to the duties of educating a fine family of children ; and endeavouring to forget, in the name of Warville, every trace of the power and influence which fhe once enjoyed in Paris, as Madame Briflbt. Ma- dame ( *3* ) dame de Warville is happier, and deferves to be fo, than Madame Bonaparte. Bernardin de St. Pierre. One of the moft interefting perfons I have feen in France, is the venerable octogena- rian, Bernardin de St. Pierre, fo well known as the friend of Rouffeau, and the author of the agreeable novel of Paul and Virginia. When I firft went to Paris, I faw him in the Louvre, where he had apartments. But of this indulgence, as well as of every other, he has been deprived by the confular government, and he now refides in private lodgings in the Fauxbourg St, Germain, He is too honeft a man to be ufeful to thofe at prefent in power in Frances but men who affecl: to honour fcience and letters fhould, for the fake of the confiftency which they pretend, have continued to pa- tronize this venerable man in the decline of a life ( 139 ) a life fo ufefully and refpe&ably em- ployed. He has got two beautiful children, by a former marriage, whom he calls Paul and Virginia. They are both educated in the utmoft fimplicity of nature, and are remark- able for virtuous propenfities, and a total abfence of guile or deceit. I could not help contemplating thofe fweet children, with mixed fenfations of pleafure and companion, foreboding the calamities which, from a miftaken and too virtuous education, they will probably have to fuffer in their pro- grefs through life. Bernardin de St. Pierre is again married to a young woman of four or five and twenty, the daughter of a ci-devant noble* man ; and is likely to have a farther in- creafe of his family. He continues a mem- ber of the national inftitution, a dignity of which the government cannot decently deprive him» Helen ( H° ) Helen Maria Williams, Who has refided in Paris during the greatefl: part of the revolution, publifhed, in Auguft or September laft, a work faid to be a cor- refpondence of Lewis XVI. Some perfons, ignorant of the manner in which thefe letters got into Mifs Williams's pofTeflion, affected to doubt their authenticity, as for- merly happened in this country with refpecT: to the celebrated poems of Offian. But the public in general feem to receive them as genuine productions of the late king of France. The publication of them, it would ap^« pear, had given umbrage to members of the French government; for even after having received the ufual fan&ion of autho- rity, their circulation was prohibited, and they were feized by the police. After fome lapfe of time, however, and probably the alteration ( Hi ) alteration of the obnoxious pages or para- graphs, the work was reftored, and allowed to be put again into circulation. I have not had an opportunity of comparing a copy of the French edition with that which has been publifhed in England, in order to afcertain what degree of truth there may be in this conjecture. It may be worthy the atten- tion of the curious, as leading to the know- ledge of fome interefting fads or conclufions refpecting the politics of the day. The Manner in which I obtained my Passport. For feveral weeks after the promulgation of the decree againft the Englifh, I remained without appearing, in conformity with the terms of it, before the conftituted authori- ties. This I did for two reafons, — ift, be- caufe I wifhed to avoid being fent to Fon- tainbleau; and, 2dly, becaufe in France every meafure being at prefent the refult of the ( 14* ) the whim of the moment, I was not with- out hopes of fome change in the confular refolves refpe&ing us, or at leaft fome dimi- nution of the rigour with which they were, in the beginning, carried into execution. But when accounts were received that the Britifh government had refufed to ac- knowledge us as prifoners of war, I began to think that we might be detained in France, until the re- eftablifhment cf peace, if we could not individually contrive fome means of effecting our efcape. This I did not choofe to attempt clandeftinely, as, having before the war been rather a£tive in expreffing my enmity to the meafures of the tyrant, I would not now afford him a pretext for ordering me into clofe confine- ment. It required much reflection to decide upon the moft probable means of procuring, in a regular manner, my liberation. This, at firft view, did not appear a very eafy tafk for a man, who had little money, few friends, and from his freedom of fpeech had ( "43 ) had made a confiderable number of enemies in Paris. I, however, after confultation with a mod ingenious friend, formed my plan ; and, on the fifth of July, founding my pretenfions on the memorial I. had pre- fented to the minifter of the interior laft year, and the patronage which the French government are defirous of appearing to confer on fcience, addreffed the grand judge as follows : — To his Excellency the Grand Judge, Minister of Justice. " Citizen Grand Judge, <{ The misfortunes and animofities of war have often been forgotten by governments, when opportunities have occurred of pro- tecting fcientific refearches ; and it is with pleafure I read in the public papers, that motives of this kind have lately occafioned the releafe of the French fhip la Naturallfte^ in England. " Although ( 144 ) " Although an Fnglifliman *, I bear nei- ther civil nor military commiffion ; and I have not inhabited England for ten years. My profeffion is medical. Refearches on the nature of difeafes called contagious, have for a long time formed the principal object of my purfuits* I have been occupied for ten years, in making experiments on feveral forts of malignant fevers in both the Indies ; and in effect, I only require a few experi- ments more to complete a work, which is already far advanced, on epidemic and pef- tilential difeafes. " The Mittifter of the Interior's letter, which I have the honour to tranfmit to your Excellency, will prove the truth of what I advance. The favourable man- ner in which that minifter received a memorial 1 had the honour of prefenting to him, on this fubjecl:, laft year, deferves * Abroad, Englifli, Irifh, and Scotch, are indifcri- minately called Englishmen. 8 my ( H5 ) my praife. At this moment it is with re- gret that I am prevented by the general meafure, which has juft been adopted againft the Englifh, from continuing refearches, of which, 1 flatter myfelf, the refults might prove ufeful to all nations. Bat I cannot doubt that the French government, as foon as they are informed of it, will view with a favourable eye, my zeal for the progrefs of fcience, and the good of humanity ; and that they will grant me a pafTport, by virtue of which I may freely purfue my refearches. With this view I take the liberty of confi- dently addrefling your Excellency. " Greeting and refpecV To which I received the following an- fwer: The ( «£ ) The Chief of the sixth Division of the War Department, to Mr. Charles Maclean, English Physician, Prisoner at Paris. ? The Grand Judge, Sir, has tranfmitted to the Minifter at War the letter, in which you requeft to be freed from your parole *, and liberty to purfue freely throughout the republic f the refearches neceffary to com- plete your work on epidemic difeafes. * I had never been on parole, nor was ever vifited from the police, till I made myfelf known to them, by applying to the Grand Judge. f This is another miftake ; for I had never afked for liberty to purfue my refearches throughout the re* public only : it was, however, probably a wilful mif- take ; for I believe the members of the government in general were fo much afliamed of the decree againft the Englim, that they only wifhed for a decent pretext to allow individuals an opportunity of departing with- out giving them exprefs permiflfion. « That ( *47 ) ^ That minifter charges me to acquaint you, that hie cannot determine refpe&ing your demand, without having documents laid before him proving that it is ten years fince you have refided in England, and the precife period of your arrival in France. ** He requefts you to tranfmit them as foori as as poffible. u I have the honour to falute you. (Signed) Gouthoz." Paris 9 13 Tber- midor, an xi. t had now rather a difficult tafk : for although it was undoubtedly true that, during the laft ten years, I had been only a few we^ks in England, yet it was not an eafy matter to produce proofs of the fad. Precifely at this period, I had the good for- tune to meet with a French furgeon in the Palais Royals whom I had formerly known in India. He was very glad to fee me : L 2 Abl ( 148 ) " Ah ! Mon cher docteur^ cejl votis ;" and hugged me vehemently in the old French ftyle of falutation : " Mon cher confrere" faid I, defending myfeif however as well as I could from his embraces, " I am rejoiced to meet with you once more on this fide of the Styx. How doth it fare with you ? ComwSe vqus voye% ; but if you will walk home with me, I will tell you the particu- lars, and will introduce you to my wife.' With all my heart ; and we walked to the Rue Jean Jaques Roujfeatt. I could not all this while recollect the name of my new- found friend ; but did not choofe to hurt his feelings by feeming to have forgotten it. On our arrival, however, at the door, I read in large characters, on a board : B'**'****'***Chirurgien et Accoucheur. ..Citizen B********* had been furgeon of a privateer, captured in the Straights of Sunda, by a fquadron commanded by Com- modore Sir Charles Mitchell, in J 793, in 5 which ( »49 ) which fquadron I had the honour to aft- Having rendered himfelf and his imp- mates feme fervices, fuch as the ordinary duties of humanity required, he was now very defirous of repaying the obligation, " What can I do to ferve you ?" Come with me to the grand judge, and tell him how I behaved to your countrymen, who were our priibners at Batavia. This worthy fon of JEfculapius immediately ac- companied me to the grand judge, with a phyfician of his acquaintance, whom I af- terwards found had been phyfician to Ro^ befpierre, and is now phyfician to fome of the principal members of the confular go- vernment. It- happened the levy of the grand judge was en that day very full : there were upwards of a hundred people in the antichamber. When it came to our turn to be noticed., I prefented my memo- rial with a modeft inclination of the head) the phyfician made an eloquent harangue. in my favour after the manner of the an- cients, and the fedneft furgeon and man- L 3 mid wile, ( ISO ) midwife, taking the grand judge by one of the buttons of his robe, made my eulogium in rather more laconic terms : " Monfieur" faid he, in a tone of uncommon animation, " // a fauve la vie a trots cent Franfois" At this declaration, fo unexpected to myfelf, the eyes of all the people in the room were turned upon me, and I could not help blufhing. The grand judge, bowing to me with a look of complacency, faid, Cejl trh hien, Monficur ; and turning to his clerk, defired him to make a report on my cafe in four-and-twenty hours. This I confefs to have beeri a grateful moment in my life. But our bufinefs was not now with the grand judge. Being con- fidered a prifoner of war, my memorials were all referred to the war department. With the teftimony of citizen B********, that of a German friend, who was then in Paris, of my refidence iq Germany, and fome other chronological documents, I fuc- ceeded in proving to the fatisfa&ion of the minifter ( Ijl ) minifter at war, that I had not refided for ten years in England. He accordingly or- dered General Junot to erafe my name from the lift of prifoners (where by the bye it had never been enrolled) j with which de- cifion I was made acquainted in the follow- ing letter : " The minifter charges me, to inform you, Sir, that he has authorifed the ge- neral of the firft divifion to erafe you from the lift of prifoners of war, that you might be enabled to purfue freely, through- out the republic, the refearches for which you have occafion, in order to complete your work on epidemic and peftilential difeafes. " I greet you, (Signed) Gouthoz." I $th FriiBldor^ year xu With this I went to General Junot, and got my certificate of radiation. While I was with him, he figned a pafTport for a L 4 Mr, ( '5* ) Mr. Benfield, whom I underftood to be of the houfe of Boyd, Benfield, and Co., to go by Calais to Hamburg. This ftruck me as a defiination altogether Angular 5 and I concluded it was in effect a paffport to go to London. But nothing ought to furprife in Paris. With the certificate of* General Junot, that I was erafed from the lift of prifoners, I went again to the grand judge, who im- mediately gave orders to write to the pre- fect of police to grant me a paffport. Con- sidering that I was now no longer a pri- foner, I thought I had a right to, get a paff- port to go where I pleafed : but as I did not judge it entirely confident with found policy, to afk leave to go ftraight to Eng- land,- I demanded one for the united Rates of America, which was forthwith granted, on condition, however, that I mould em- bark at Bourdeaux only. My paffport was dated the fourth complimentary day, or the 20th of September, and allowed me fix de- cades. ( 153 ) cades, or two months to quit the territory of the republic. First Day of the republican Year. On the 23d of September, or the firft day of the republican year, I went. to fee the annual fete and illuminations at the Tuilleries : but what I was moil anxious to pbferve, before my departure from France, was the degree of popularity enjoyed by the Firft Conful : and of this I had very fa- fcisfa&ory proof. As the band of mufic be- gan to play,- Bonaparte came forward, for the firft time he had ventured on fuch a meafure, into the balcony where the kings of France ufed to fit upon fimilar occafions. The feeond and third conful, with forne of the minifters, were ftanding like lacqueys, behind him. Not a word of applaufe was heard in any quarter. At the end of every piece of mufic there was a clapping of Jiands. The whole time the mufic was ( W ) playing, the Firft Conful feemed to fit upon thorns. He moved his chair backwards and forwards, firft to one fide and then to the other, bit his nails, and ufed various geftures indicating a confiderable degree of agitation. At laft, the mufic being ended, he got tip, advanced to the front of the balcony, made three of the raoft ungra- cious bows I ever faw, and withdrew. One folitary voice behind me cried out, Vive Bo- naparte ! which fo much excited the mer- riment of the crowd, that the individual, who had thus diftinguifhed himfelf, was obliged to retire in fhame and confufiort from the place. The confuls having with- drawn, three lacqueys came into the bal- cony to take away the chairs, upon which a very general clappirjg of hands, (homing, and laughing were heard among the crowd, as if in open derifion. The fcene, upon the whole, was fuch as muft have proved highly mortifying to the feelings of his conful ar majefty. Real ( '55 ) Real Cause of the War; and the Consequences to the World of the Success of England ok FRANCEo Whatever may be the pretext alledged for the renewal of the war, it cannot be jdoubted that, on the fide of England, the real motive was the inordinate ambition difplayed, fince the treaty of Amiens, by the confular government of France. The pretext oftentatioufly held forth by Bona- parte is the non-fulfilment of treaties ; but his real motive is to deftroy the power, the independence, and the liberties of Eng- land, and confequently to deftroy the power, the independence, and the liberties of all the nations of the world ; or in other words, to eftablifh an univerfal defpotifm. Bonaparte has, ever fince the ceffation of hoftilities between the two countries, been endea,- ( 156 ) endeavouring to make the caufe of England appear, on the continent, as diftind from that of the other nations of Europe. He has laboured with confiderable addrefs, and in fome degree not without fuccefs, to per- fuade the continental powers that England, being geographically excluded, mould be alfo politically excluded, from every con- nection with the reft of Europe. While he was pillaging with his troops, or regu- lating by his influence the interior of almor]: every nation on the continent, he gravely told them that he was only conferring fa- vours, and that all they had to fear was from the Englifh ufurping the dominion of the fea, and overrunning Afia. To England he has faid, in e fifed", " You have no right whatever to interfere in the regulation of political affairs on the conti- nent ; that is my province exclufively. In whatever manner I may choofe to regulate the affairs of Helvetia, Holland, Italy, Ger- many, Spainj and Portugal, that is no con- cern ( *57 ) cern of yours. If I mould even appoint cuftom-houfe and revenue officers in all thefe countries, and exclude your manu- factures from their markets, it is your duty fubmiflively to acquiefce, and to confider them ftill as neutral powers. You have no right whatever to meddle with any thing which I have not exprefsly permitted in the treaty of Amiens. The treaty of Amiens, all the treaty of Amiens, and nothing but the treaty of Amiens !" He has not even faid, obferving the liberality of a common robber : " I will command wherever I can fend foldiers : do you command wherever you can fend {hips." No! The fum of his reafoning is this : " I will command wherever I can fend foldiers ; but you muft divide the do- minion of the feas with the loweft of my vaffals." j With refpect to relinquishing any of his ufurpations on the continent, that was not to be fpoken of, unlefs Eng- land ( ij8 1 land would confent previoufly to relinqttifii all her acquifitions in the Eaft Indies. Could any thing be more infufferably 1 infulting to all the powers of Europe than this conduct ? While it contained, with refpecT: to England, more than fufficient caufe of war, (it is not neceflfary to advert to his fubfequent attempts upon the free- dom of parliamentary debate and the liberty of the prefs, conftituting of themfelves fuf- ficient grounds of hoftility,) it no doubt mud have occafioned. ferious reflections among all the fovereigns of Europe : and thefe reflections muft have taught them that the dominion of the fea, as eftabliflied by England, is little more than a bugbear, While ufurpation by land, fuch as that of Bonaparte over the nations of the continent, is neceflarily accompanied by the moft fe- rious mifery and oppreflion* They will alfo perceive that, while the ufurpations of this ambitious defpot, are incompatible with ( «59 ) with the independence of any continental nation of Europe ; the conquefts of the Englifh in the Eaft Indies, of which he has fo bitterly complained, are of real benefit to the natives of that country, without being an injury to any other people. Neither can they fail to draw the obvious conclufion, that the fuccefs of England, in this great ftruggle, far from having any unfavourable effe& on the independence of the conti- nental nations of Europe, would be the means of reftoring that large portion of it which they have already loft, while the fucsefs of France would infallibly carry with it the lofs of the remainder. And this conclufion will forcibly enjoin the policy of facrificing all fubordinate confiderations, in •rder to unite heart and hand againft the common enemy of the independence of nations. Journei ( i6o ) Journey from Paris to Bourdeaux. It was more than three weeks after I had obtained my paffport before I was enabled to leave Paris. Being at length prepared for the journey, I took a place in the diligence, which fets off from the Rue de Bouloy^ for Bourdeaux. The price of the place was 72 livres, or 3/. Sterling ; appa- rently a very moderate fum for 1 64 leagues, or about 4 1 o Englifh miles. This is cer- tainly one of the cheapeft roads in France. But if we compare it with the rate of tra- velling in England, making allowance for difference of celerity and comfort, it will appear extravagantly dear. In a French journey, the expences on the road are, from the length of time, neceffarily more confi- derable than in an Englifh one. If feven days be required to travel from Paris to Bourdeaux, a diftance of 410 miles, while the ( i6t ) the journey from London to Edinburgh, being nearly 500 miles, is performed in about 60 hours, and if the price be as 3 to 5, we fhall find that the rate of travelling in England is not only abfolutely cheaper than in France in refpeft to diftance, but that it is farther attended with an immenfe faving of time, even to two-thirds. On the nth of October, at noon, I re- paired to the diligence office, Rue de Bouloy % where I found my fellow-travellers aflem- bled, and ready to take pofleffion of their places. The noife and confufion, iffuing from the groupe of males, females, children, dogs, and horfes, colle&ed in the yard, formed a concert which was not of the moft melodious kind. After having feen my baggage difpofed of, I began to reconnoitre the furrounding faces. One of them, whom I recolle&ed to have often feen, I took the liberty of accofting : Your face, fir, is very familiar to me, but I cannot recoiled where M I have ( *& ) I have had the pleafure of feeing you. u I am a very public man, Sir ; I am the apo- thecary, who lives oppofite to the church of Saint Roche." Are we to be favoured with your company in the diligence ? " No, Sir ; but that young man, my fon, has taken a place in it for Bordeaux. He is going as far as Bayonne, and will perhaps vifit Eng- land before he returns." In that cafe, Sir, your fon and I may be better acquainted. " He has already been in your country, and fpeaks your language tolerably well." By this time the vehicle being ready, our names w r ere called over, and every one took his place according to feniority ; u e. the perfon whofe name was firft infcribed in the books of the office was entitled to the firft place, and fo in rotation. But there being women and children, politenefs, as well as humanity, required an infringement of this regulation. Thofe who were en- titled to the belt places made a voluntary furrender ( i6 3 ) fur render of their rights. It fomewhat fur- prifed me that no paflports were afked for on this occafion. Palling through Paris to the barriere de V obfervatoire, at a flow and folemn pace, each of us feemed abforbed in his own re- flections, and no one appeared defirous of interrupting the filence. At the profpecT: of quitting this gay capital, every one wore an expreflion of regret on his countenance; and for my own part, although there was nothing I more ardently defired than to leave the territories of the French republic, I could not help participating in thefe ge- neral feelings of the moment. In this ftate of mind, we proceeded for at leaft a couple of hours; but after having advanced fome leagues into the country, the natural gaiety of the French character began to prepon- derate over all fenfations of regret or forrow, and a general converfation enfued. M 2 Befide ( i«4 ) Befide the paffengers in the cabriolet, and on top, we were feven perfons infide, three of whom were women. One of thefe fe- males was dreffed in men's cloaths : fhe was going to join her hufband at Bordeaux. The two others had children on their knees, and were far gone with child. The diligence, like moft French vehicles of that kind, alfo carried goods. It was over-loaded and top-heavy. Our pace was about a league an hour. The firft day paffed without any particular accident. But on the fecond, in the morning, one of the wheels giving way, we were overturned, within five leagues of Orleans. It was lingular as well as fortunate, that no perfon, not even the women or children, were hurt. The accident, however, had fome very unpleafant efFe&s. We were detained ten hours in repairing the damages fuftained ; and this detention deranged the ufual ( i6 S ) ufual regularity of arrivals and departures at every future ftage, fo that we had nothing good to eat, and fcarcely any time to fleep, during the remainder of the journey. It was early in the morning when our wheel broke, and we were obliged to fend to Orleans to get a new one. In the mean time we proceeded to a village called Arte- nay, about a league from the place of our overthrow, where, after having got a coffee breakfaft, fome went to bed, and others to write to their friends at Paris. After being refrefhed by a few hours fleep, we had a very good dinner ferved up which was the more remarkable as it was the only good one we had from Paris to Bordeaux. The carriage was repaired by the time we had finifhed our repaft, and we fet orTa-frefh upon our journey. But it was pad four o'clock, and we mud pafs through Orleans in the dark, a circumftance which we all very much regretted. M3 All ( i66 ) All therefore I can fay of this city is, that it is about thirty leagues from Paris, contains 36,000 inhabitants, and is the chief town of the department of La Loiret. A league an hour was dull travelling for a man, who wifhed for nothing more ar- dently than to quit the territories of the French republic. The conductor, although apparently very faithful to his employers, did not ftudy their interefts in effect ; for he was fullen, impudent, and unaccommo- dating to the travellers. Our breakfafts, dinners, and fuppers were bad, becaufe, owing to the accident we had met with, we never arrived at the ufual hours at thofe inns, where meals were kept in readinefs for the paflengers ; and, when we did hap- pen to get any thing comfortable, the con- ductor, anxious to make up for loft time, interrupted us much too foon with a fum- mons to depart. The manoeuvres of the children in the coach, rendered it frequently neceffary to open the windows y and the cold ( 167 ) cold rendered it as often rieceflary to fhut them. Thefe circumftances occafioned many difputes which, however, always termi- nated in a laugh or a bon-mot. Inconve- niences, which in England would be deemed ferious grievances, the French, like good practical philofophers, endeavour to turn into fubje&s of merriment. They would do ftill better, however, if they would alfo endeavour to abolifh them. For the benefit of our fucceflbrs on the road to Bordeaux, I was happy to learn, from fome of my companions, that it was in contemplation to make the carnage of goods and the carriage of travellers henceforth two diftincl: branches of commerce through- out the republic, and that, for the latter of thefe branches, eighty diligences, upon a new conftruction, were actually building at Paris. The moft confpicuous of our company was a Gafcon, about 45 years of age, who had been a purveyor of hofpitals in Saint M 4 Domingo, ( '68 ) Domingo, and was now going in the fame capacity to the army of Bayonne. He wrangled with the condu&or, kept the children in order, took care of one of the women, and on various occafions rendered his knowledge of purveying ufeful to our community. His pronunciation was fo very ftrongly provincial as to excite the rifibility of a foreigner, and his furprife, if he had only been accuftomed to the Parifian dialed:. They differ more remarkably from each other than the broadeft Scotch or Irifh does from the Englifh fpoken in London, The Galcon was endowed with a quicknefs of imagination and a volubility of tongue, which did not permit him to give any quar- ter to the auditory organs of his com- panions. He literally gafconaded the whole way ; but he lied with fuch rapidity and grace as to prove feldom tirefome. The apothecary's fon was a very promifing young man, who had received an excellent education, and had none of the frivolity which ( i69 ) which ufually characlerifes a Farifian. He had been for fome years in England, and for a confiderable time in Berlin ; fo that in his habits he was a happy compound of the Englifh, German, and Fr nch. I was forry to fee a young man fo gifted, going to join the French armies as an apo- thecary of the third clafs, (Un pbarmacien de la troifieme clajfe.) It happened that one of our female fellow* travellers, who was a native of the Mauri- tius, was related to a French family with whom I had been intimately acquainted. This circumftance afforded us a great fund for converfation. The women entertained us, from time to time, with fongs principally in derifion of the Firft Conful. The chorus of one of them ended with the words: le plus grand confidds la republlque ; it contained puns upon Ma- dame Bonaparte, which were not entirely of the mod modeft kind. It ( 170 } It was remarkable that neither in the diligence, nor on the road, could it be per- ceived that the confular family had a fingle friend in the country, We were, in one refpecT:, Angularly un- fortunate : for of all the confiderable towns between Paris and Bordeaux, we pafled through none but Angouleme in the day time. It happened that our arrival at and departure from Blois % Tours and Poitiers^ were either after fun-fet, or before it was light in the morning. Blois is the chief place of the department of Loire et Cher, and contains 13,000 inha- bitants. Tours is the chief place of the department of Indre et Loire^ and contains 22,000 inhabitants. They are both inte- refting from their fituation. Of Poitiers I fliall afterwards have occafion to fpeak. The ( i7i ) The country between Orleans and Tours, along the beautiful banks of the Loire, is full of enchanting landfcapes. A young gentleman of Poitiers, who had ferved in the royal army in Germany, and was one of our fellow-travellers, gave me a fhort hiftory of fome of the charming villas and chateaux in that quarter as we paffed them. Among others he fhewed me an elegant building, embofomed in wood, fituated oa the fummit of a hill, on the left bank of the Loire. It appeared to be diftant about two leagues from the road, which is on the right bank. " That chateau" laid he, " before the revolution, belonged to the family of . They emigrated to avoid the common fate of the moft worthy members of the commu- nity, who did not enter into all the fafliion- able exceflls of the revolution. Their eftate became what was called national property. The prefent heir to the inheritance, a lady, naturally defirous of returning to her coun- try, had applied to the constituted authorities pf the republic for permiffion. She even re- ceived ( 17* ) ceived the affurance that fhe might have her houfe and eftate back, upon paying a certain fum to the nation. " Unfortunately for her, Citizen Chaptal, minifter of the interior, had, in the mean time, feen and taken a fancy to the chateau. It is fo charmingly fituated, and commands fo extenfive a profped along the beautifully winding banks of the Loire, that Citizen Chaptal (or perhaps his wife) determined to make the acquifition for the family. He purchafed it upon eafy terms from the re- public ; and the lady, to whom it of right belonged, upon hearing the intelligence, has thought proper to relinquifh her plan of returning for the prefent to France." The young man, who gave me this ac- count, was evidently of good family and education. He fpoke very freely in the diligence againft the prefent order of things ; and did not fcruple to treat the Gafcon, as a man who, he was convinced, had been a violent ( *73 ) violent jacobin, and would be any thing that was fafhionable for the moment. He and I frequently walked before in prefer- ence to remaining in the carriage, in order to enjoy the frefli air, and to be at liberty to converfe the more freely. It was not difficult for us to keep pace with the dili- gence, if it fhould be fo named. He informed me that at Poitiers^ the ca- pital of the ci-devant Poitu, where he re- fided, the people were generally difarFe&e>I to the prefent government, and that the fame fpirit pervaded all that part of the country. I fliould not have been fo for- ward to credit all he mentioned on this fubjedl, knowing the bias of the human mind to believe what it wifhes, had I not perceived that fimilar fentiments were ge- nerally prevalent on the road, and that no one, who was in a civil capacity, attempted to advocate the prefent order of things. Many of the ci devant nobility, he faid 8 had retired to the town of Poitiers, on ac- 8 count ( m ) count of the cheapnefs of living in that part of the country, Poitiers is at prefent the chief place of the department of La Vienne, and contains ahout eighteen thoufand inhabitants. The fociety, as might naturally be fuppofed from the circumftances above mentioned, is of a fuperior kind. My companion, before we parted, told me his name, and invited me to fupper with his family. But this polite invitation, having more need of repofe than of fupper, I declined ; and we feparated with mutual good wifhes. This young man has a mind uncommonly ardent and elevated ; and, together with much general informa- tion, feems to poflefs a eonfiderable know- ledge of military tactics. His adivity and noble fentiments are to me a fure pledge that he will not be an idle fpe&ator of the prefent conteft ; and I cannot, for my foul, help entertaining a prefentiment that we fhall meet again, but not on the banks of the Loire. Before ( i7S ) Before I left Paris, I had received offers of introductory letters, from a very worthy prelate of the ancient regime, to his friends at Poitiers, which, at any other time, I would have gladly accepted. But my ob- ject being to get as quietly and as fpeedily out of France as poflible, I did not wifh to form any new acquaintances, or to expofe myfelf to any unneceflary delay. We had fome fupperimmediately upon our arrival at the inn, about eight o'clock in the evening, and did not delay a mo- ment going to bed. This was the firft re- gular fleep we had enjoyed fmce leaving Paris, being a period of four days. Be- tween four and five o'clock in the morning we were awoke, and in half an hour after- wards departed, without being enabled to fee the town. Here we left the gentleman I have juft mentioned, and two of the women with their children. The Gafcon, the apothe- cary's ( i 7 6 } eary's fon, the lady in roan's apparel, and myfelf, remained in poffeflion of the whole diligence to Angouleme, where we had to flop for a reinforcement of paflfengers. When we arrived it was very early in the morning, very cold, and nothing good was to be had for breakfaft. We were detained at this place for feveral hours, the paf- fengers, who were to arrive from town (we were in the fuburbs), not being quite ready. Tired of waiting, I fallied forth in queft of obje&s of curiofity ; but there was nothing, at that time of the morning, to be feen but an ill-built town and an extenfive, but not a very rich, view of the furrounding country. This town is the chief place of the department of La Charente^ and is fup- pofed to contain above fourteen thoufand inhabitants. It is built on the declivity of a hill, and the houfes have all the aukward- nefs of antient architecture. After ( 177 ) After waiting at leaft three hours, our travellers arrived. One of them, as ap- peared from the detention of the diligence on her account, was a lady of fome in- fluence in the place ; fhe refided ufually at Bordeaux, but frequently travelled back- wards and forwards. On this occafion, as the landlady informed us, fhe was carrying fome hundred guinea fowls for fale to town, which were all to be packed up in the bafket and on the top of the coach *. There were befide an elderly lady, upon whom the motion of the carriage had the fame effecT: with the agitation of a veffel at fea ; and a young manufacturer of the city, going to fee the fair at Bordeaux, previous to his marriage with a lady of Angouleme. It was early in the morning of the fixth day from Paris that we left Angouleme. * I forgot how much (he told me the carriage of thefe birds would amount to \ but it was fomething confiderable *, and I was no longer furprifed that we were detained three hours on account of their owner. N The ( *78 ) The country through which we travelled had by no means the fertile and well cul- tivated appearance of that which is watered by the Loire ; but living is cheap. The people, however, as we approached the fea, began to complain of the effects which the war had already produced. This day, we met with a great number of waggons loaded with cotton and wool, which, upon enquiry, we found were def- tined for the low countries. Since navi- gation has been impeded by the war, the manufacturers of Brabant have been obliged to get their cotton and wool by land from Bordeaux. The additional expence of carriage, thus occafioned, if there were no other unfavourable circumftance, would be fufficient to preclude the manufactures of France from any kind of competition with thofe of Great Britain. It feems even pro- bable that fo great an augmentation in the price of raw materials, as muft arife from a diftant land-carriage, together with the di- minifhed ( "79 ) miniflied fale for manufactured goods, owing to the circumftances of the war, and the want of capital and confidence generally prevalent in France, will occafion, in no long time, the total ruin of the cotton and woollen manufactures of that country. This is a lamentable confideration : but the people have the ambition of their govern- ment and their own blindnefs entirely to blame. It was remarkable that the names of moft of the towns or villages through which we pafTed between Angouleme and Bordeaux, terminate in ac y — Petignac, Reignac, Cher- fac, Cavignac, Cubfac. This termination, for which I fhall leave ancient hiftorians to account, is not peculiar to the department of la Gironde. It prevails in the depart- ment of La Charente^ as in Blanzac, Hier- zac, Rouillac, Broffac, Segonzac, and the well known town of Cognac, which, al- though it does not contain quite three thoufand inhabitants, has the credit of fup- N 2 piy m g ( i8o ) plying the world with an immenfe quan- tity of excellent brandy. In that of La Charente Infcrieure, as in Gemozac, Jon- fac, Archiac. In that of La Correze, as in Meyniac, Sornac, Seilhac, Freignac, Donzenac, Juillac, Luberfac, MeyfTac. A few are alfo to be found in the departments De Cotes du Nord, La Dordagne, Du Lot, Lot et Garonne , and Lozere. From Carvignac to Cubfac, fome of us, having fet off on foot before the diligence, walked the whole ftage, and had breakfafted before the reft arrived. In our walk we met with a party of faiiors, going from Bayonne to Breft. Taking us alfo for fai- iors in the dark (it was between five" and fix o'clock in the morning), they hailed us, and faid we fhould be too late, for that the privateer, being full manned, had already failed. This was the Bellona privateer, which had become celebrated from her re- cent capture of the Lord Nelfon Eaft India- man ( i8t ) man. We thanked them for their infor- mation, obferving that mayhap we might get another fhip, and wifhed them a good journey. After fun-rife, as we approached the banks of the Dordogne, the eye was regaled with one of the raoft charming profpe&s I ever beheld. The vineyards and country- houfes, fituated on eminences and decli- vities, along the banks of that fine river, form fome of the moft pi&urefque and beautiful landfcapes the human imagination can conceive. The vintage had this year been uncommonly abundant : in confe- quence of which, and of the war, both wine and brandy were plentiful and cheap. This country, the department Be la Gi- ronde^ forms part of what was formerly called Gafcony. The Gafcon Patois is a very curious and rather a harfli language, differing as much from the French as the Gaelic or Erfe from the Scotch or Englifh. N 3 From ( 182 ) From Cubfac we had to crofs the Dordogne The ferry-boat was full of paffengers of va- rious defcriptions, cafks, fheep, horfes, and men. From the jargon which was here fpoken I could fcarcely convince myfelf that I was not fuddenly tranfported to fome cither country. French, although generally underftood, was not fpoken in common converfation by the paffengers ; and was almoft exclufively confined to thofe of our own party, who were in the boat. The Gafcon was quite; at home. They pro- nounce the r with a burr, as in Northum- berland. But what moft attracted my notice was that the common people pronounce b, v y and v y b ; Libourney fpr inftance, a town near Bordeaux, they pronounce Livoume v and Llvourne y Leghorne in Italy, Libourne P A refident of Bordeaux, who croffed the ferry with us, when I firft made this re- mark, denied the juftice of it, fo much had habit rendered him familiar with the prac- tice. But after trying the experiment re- peatedly with the boatmen and others, we always ( i8 3 ) always found the fame refult: what was written b they uniformly pronounced v, and the contrary. About one o'clock on the feventh day of our departure from Paris, we arrived on the banks of the Garonne oppofite to the fine city of Bordeaux. The Garonne unites with the Dordogne, the river we had be- fore paffed, a few leagues below Bordeaux; the river compofed by their junction takes the name of La Gironde, whence the name of the department. Having nothing farther to do with the diligence, we were now to part. The lady in the male habit was met by her hufband, who received her with open arms, and thanked the Gafcon for his attentions. Se- veral ferry-boats were croffing, into which, bidding each other adieu, we ftepped, fuc- ceflively as we were ready. For my own part, as I do not like trouble, I allowed the condu&orto confign me, like a bale of goods, N4 to ( i«4 ) to his own hotel. It was the Hotel de Sept Freres, Rue de la Petite lntendance % whe- ther I was accompanied by the fon of the apothecary. » Distance from Paris to Bordeaux. Leagues. Miles. Paris to Orleans 2 9 72f Orleans to Blois H 35 Blois to Tours »5 37* Tours to Poitiers 3° 75 Poitiers to Angouleme 37 92f Angouleme to Bordeaux 39 97! 164 410 N. B. In the above table I have taken the French league at 2f Englifh miles ; ancj the number of leagues at the ordinary com- putation. Bordeaux ( iB 5 ) Bordeaux Is, in population, the fecond, and in com- mercial importance, the firft, city of France. It contains upwards of 1 1 2,000 inhabitants; and is, for an ancient city, built with confi- derable regularity and tafte. It refembles Ghfgow in Scotland more than any other city of Great Britain. There are in fome few places flagftones, which are not com- monly to be met with in the towns of France. The ftreets are, however, in general very narrow. Bordeaux, on the fide next the river, refembles a crefcent. It is divided into two parts, the old town or eaftern end, and the new town or Chartrons. They are divided as it were by an ancient fort called Chaleau-trompette. This fort is fo ufelefs for any purpofe of defence againft an enemy, ( i86 ) enemy, that it has long been in agitation to pull it down, in order to beautify the town. This might be the more eafily effe&ed that the price of the materials would more than pay the expence of demolition. From the delay, therefore, I conclude that fome rea- fons of ftate are operating with the confular government in favour of this worthlefs building, which is a great nuifance to the centre of the city. Bordeaux is celebrated throughout the world for its famous wines: it is celebrated as the chief place of a department, which, during the revolution, fent many diftin- guifhed deputies to the convention ; and as the country of the illuftrious Montefquieu. It has infinitely more of the fpirit of free- dom and independence than Paris, which may be attributed in a confiderable degree . to the benignant genius of commerce, here fo powerful in its operation. In ( i8 7 ) In this city, befide the native inhabitants, are a great many foreign merchants, of all nations; but principally Englifh, Germans, and Americans. They refide for the moft part at the Chartrons^ which is the quarter moft commodious for bufmefs, as well as the moft pleafant to inhabit from better air, fuperior views, and more modern architec- ture. Here almoft all the confuls of foreign nations refide. In front of the Chartrons lay the (hip- ping, at lead all the veffels that are loading or unloading, at Bordeaux. Here the flags of almoft all nations were to be feen flying, excepting thofe of England and France. I fay France, becaufe the veffels belonging to that nation were for the moft part difman- tled; and if a three-coloured flag was here and there hoifted, it was fcarcely diftin- guifhable in the crowd. The trade of Bor- deaux with foreign countries is at prefent carried on principally by means of Hanfe- atic. (. i88 ) atk, Danifh, Swedifh, Pruflian, and Ame- rican veflels. But the flag of this latter nation predominates. In December there were, I am perfuaded, not lefs than from thirty to forty American veflels in the river. Their fpeculations in coffee, fugar, and other colonial articles, were at firft attended with confiderable profits; but this attracted fo many adventurers, that the markets were at length glutted, and the veflels laft ar- riving, it was expe&ed, would incur heavy lofles. Commerce, as it is carried on by the Americans, appears to me in many re- fpe&s more like a lottery than as it is carried on in England. With us it is a regular bufmefs, in which men divide their rifks upon given principles, fo that they have a certainty of making a profit upon the whole. An American will more readily ftake every thing on one venture ; and it would not feem to be of fo much confe- quence to him, whether in the iflue he becomes a man of fortune or is ruined. The ( i8 9 ) The Chartrons is about three quarters of a mile in length, prefenting a regular front of well-built houfes. The end next the Chateaii-trompette^ proceeding in a ftraight line, is diftant about a quarter of a mile from the exchange. This ftreet poffefles the advantage, uncommon in the cities of France, of an excellent trottoir^ or flag- ftone pavement at one fide. On the other fide are the wharfs. The filling of ( cafks with wine, brandy, olives, &c. rolling them to and from the wharfs, heading them ; the nailing of boxes full of prunes, raifins and other fruits, together with the conftant noife of people labouring in various voca- tions, fill the mind with pleafant ideas of active induftry and ufeful commerce. In many an irkfome walk which I took along the Chartrons ^ during my detention at Bor- deaux, the languages which were fpoken on all fides, made me fometimes doubtful whe- ther I was not in Hamburg or in London, rather than in a town of France. The ( '9° ) The Exchange Is a new building, fituated clofe to the river, at the bottom of the Chateau- rouge > which is the moft elegant ftreet in Bordeaux. It confifts of an oblong fquare, the fides of which are fupported by arches. The plan of it is in general much admired ; but its greater!; peculiarity is an elegant arched roof of glafs, by which thofe who are within have the benefit of light, without the in- convenience of expofure to rain or fnow. Over the arches, in the infide, are written the names of the different countries of the world with which France is fuppofed to be in relations of commerce. Even in this trivial circumftance, a trait of the national vanity appeared fo prominent that it could not efcape remark. Among the names of the countries which were written over the arches, confpicuous places were allotted to thofe ( *9* ) thofe of China, Perfia and Japan. Curious to fee fome of the merchants of thefe coun- tries, I frequently took my ftand under the arches which belonged to them ; but with- out having in any one inftance met with fuccefs. I confoled myfelf for the difap- pointment by reflecting that in a century hence, fome other traveller may be more fortunate. Or perhaps the travellers of that sera, in reading thofe infcriptions, may draw the inference that, at fome former unknown period, the exchange of Bordeaux was fre- quented by merchants from China, Perfia, and Japan. The new exchange is in a centrical fitua- tion, within twenty minutes walk of the centre of the Chartrons^ and is in every refpeft a great acquifition to the town. The only fault which is found with the archi- tecture, is that the arches are fomewhat too fmall in proportion to the fize of the build- ing. It has not, I underftand, been finifhed at the expence of the government, but of 8 the ( *9* ) the merchants. There is at one end an in- fcription, recording the aera of the building to have been in the confulfhip of Bonaparte, in the fame terms of fervile flattery by which that unfortunate man's mind has been for fo many years deluged, and at length overthrown. Well might he exclaim, with the Roman emperor : "lam tired with the adulation of the fenate." Allees de Tourni. Above the Cbateau-trompette y and clofe to the grand theatre, is a pleafant walk, in- terfered by rows of trees, where, when the weather permits, all the idlers of Bordeaux are conftantly walking. This promenade fomewhat refembles the Young fernfleig at Hamburg, or the Unter- den-Linden at Ber- lin ; but is much inferior to both. On each fide and at both ends are coffee- houfes, where people breakfaft, and take coffee ( 193 ) coffee and liqueurs after dinner. In thefe coffee-houfes are pofted the mouchards (fpies) of the police, to watch thofe who pafs up and down the walk, particularly ftrangers. The French, from their more idle habits, neceffarily acquire a greater fhare of curio- fity than the Englifh. The neceffity of employing the mind, if they have no affairs of their own, lead them to feek gratification in obtaining a knowledge of the affairs of others. When to this acquired difpofition is added the zeal arifing from intereft, a Frenchman becomes a raoft diligent in- quirer; and were his difcretion and judg- ment equal to his zeal and fineffe, he would be indeed a very formidable fpy. Jardin Pubuque. At a fmall diftance from the Allies de Tourni, toward the Chartrons^ but receding O from ( *94 ) from the river, is a very pleafant garden, or rather a park, for the ufe of the public. It is not indeed equal in variety to the Tuil- leries or the Luxembourg ; but it poffeffes the advantage of a purer air. This garden is very much neglecled ; and you feldom, even in fine weather, meet a dozen of people in the walks. The inhabitants of Bordeaux in general, but more efpecially the ladies, do not feem to be fond of walking. And if the Allies de Tourni be fo much frequented by the public, it is becaufe, in going from one end of the town to the other, to pafs through them is the fhorteft road. Half-yearly Fair at Bordeaux. At this period the half-yearly fair was held at Bordeaux, and a great number of ftrangers reformed tp town in confequence. It was { *9S ) was held principally in a gallery furrounding the exchange, which it overlooks. Almoft every article of merchandife was dearer here than it could be bought at any other time, of in any other place ; but there was a great (hew of goods* and a great affem- blage of people. The French are fond of all kinds of fhews ; and a fair is of that nature. The confular government has of late taken great pains to multiply thefe {hews throughout the republic. Gaming-houses. During the continuance of the fair, which is twenty or twenty-five days, licenfed gambling-booths are conftantly open along the river fide, to which failors, watermen, and others of the lower orders of the people refort to lofe their money. I went into thefe booths, in order to obferve what was going on ; but all the fenfes were too much O 2 fhocked ( »96 ) fhocked to be able to remain for any time in them ; befide a man of decent drefs and appearance is flared at as a ftrange animal ; and if, in addition to this, he has the mif- fortune of being recognifed as an Englifh- man, it would be imprudent in him, at a moment like the prefent, to delay making a retreat. There are gaming-houfes of a higher order, to which the more genteel people refort. The vice of gaming is extremely common in France. Even women frequent thefe houfes ; and for that purpofe often drefs in men's cloaths. In that drefs they alfo frequently go to the theatres. A man accuftomed to frequent the play-houfes, upon his entrance generally looks round to fee whether his neighbours be male or female. To afcertain this, he does not think of looking at the drefs ; but at the hair, breads, fingers (to fee whether there be rings), and the general fhape and air; if there ( 797 ) there be any doubt he attends alfo to the voice and manner. In the coffee-houfes at Bordeaux, the whole converfation at breakfaft (and the people talk a great deal) is refpe&ing who has loft and who has won the night before at the gaming tables ; who has made a good, and who a bad, ftroke ; who has been broke himfelf, or who has broke the bank. The hero, in one of the coffee-houfes which I ufed to frequent, Le Cqffe Ameri~ cain Francois, was a lock-fmith, (unferru- rier,) who had abandoned his profeffion and become gamefter. He loft and won hundreds of a night, and repeatedly broke the bank*. In thefe banks they never place more than a certain fum at a time, (from 15 to 20,000 livres perhapSj or from 700/. to * Fairefauter la banque is the technical expreffion. O 3 1000/.,) ( *93 ) xooo/.,} fo that they may be frequently broke without being finally ruined. It appears that, other things being equal, people are inclined to gaming in proportion as they are idle. In England and Holland there is not much of this vice. In Germany there is a good deal; but billiards and whift, which do not depend upon chance, are the favourite games. In France, playing, par- ticularly in reipeft to games of chance, is pradtifed with a higher degree of ardour than I have feen in any other country, ex- cepting perhaps among the Malays in the Eaft Indies. When a Malay has loft all his property, he will fell his wife and children; a Frenchman will fell his clothes ; if, after that, their affairs bejcome irretrievable, the one will run a mucky the other will drown, himfelf. A Frenchman is furprifed to find a man who does not play at any game ; but he is utterly ( 199 ) utterly aftonifhed to find any one who holds gaming in abhorrence. The miferable efTeels of this vice, which the French government converts into a fource of revenue, have been fo often in- filled upon, that fcarcely any thing new can now be added on the fubjecl. I have, however, heard inftances related at Bor- deaux, which, as I do not recoiled: to have feen fimilar ones any where ftated, it may be ufeful to lay before the public. The fupercargo of an American fhip was enticed to a gaming table, without having any knowledge of, or at firftrnuch inclination to, play. At the commencement he adven- tured moderately, and loft of courfe. His defire to regain what he had loft prompted him to hazard more and more, until at length, having made a great encroachment on the cargo entrufted to his charge^ he be- came defperate, and determined to retrieve his lories, or to rifk the whole. To make O 4 a long ( 200 ) a long ftory fhort, he loft the cargo ; an<^ in order to have a chance of recovering it, rifqued the fhip. In this he had no better luck than before. Both fhip and cargo being gone, how was he to face the owners ? It was impoffible for him to return to Ame- rica, It was no lefs impoffible to live in France without the means of fubfiftence. Suicide, the laft refuge of the unfortunate, was his only alternative : and thus he ex- piated a crime, occafioned by no radical propenfity to vice in his nature, but by a gradual progreffion in imprudence, under the baneful influence of treachery and bad example. I have alfo heard feveral inftances related of young men, travelling on the continent for mercantile houfes in England, who were enfnared into this pra&ice, in confequence of aflbciating with bad company, male or female ; and were the caufes of much lofs, and in fome cafes of even utter ruin, to their employers. From the whole, I conclude that ( 201 ) tliat there is not, in human fociety, a vice jnore dangerous, or perhaps more attractive,, than that of gaming. Hotels, Table-d'Hotes, and Re- staurateurs. The taverns were quite full owing to the fa'r. In that in which I lived, I was obliged to fleep in a double-bedded room, where I had a conftant fucceffion of companions ; and fometimes two flept in the fecond bed. This, although I bore it for fome time out of complaifance to the people of the houfe, and from reluctance to change, was ex- tremely difagreeable to me ; but the con- ducl: of two friends, who flept in the next bed, and were in other refpe&s genteel and pleafanc men, having excited fufpicions of a horrid nature in my mind, I declared, without however mentioning my reafons, that, if they did notgive me a fingle-bedded room, I would not fleep another night in the ( 202 ) the houfe. The landlady, unwilling to lofe an Englifh cuftomer, contrived to effect an exchange, by which means I was left in folitude to enjoy my own reflections. It was truly an enjoyment : for, independent of the difagreeable ideas occafioned by the circumilance I have ftated, every one of my companions found means, however unintentionally, of difturbing me, fome by unfeafonable converfation, fome by whittling or humming tunes, and all of them by coming home at a very late hour of the night from mafked balls, or other kinds of amufement. On this, as on other occafions, I have remarked that Frenchmen, with all the exterior marks of politenefs, are, in effecT:, as felfifh a people as any on the globe, if it be felfifhnefs to confult their own convenience almoft exclufively. The expence of living for a ftranger in Bordeaux, calculating at a moderate rate, may be from eight to ttn Ilvres a day, or from 6 for fuppor*:. " They repent ( 2I 9 ) repent and pray, when they can no longer fin." I muft, however, do them the juftice to fay, that they are not fo catholic as the ipatrons of fome other countries, in paying their devotions to the effence of Coniac. Whatever degree of truth there may be in this reafoning, the fad: is, that in the Jarge towns of France, old women and children only are obferved to frequent the churches : nor has the formality of reftoring religion, by treaty, effeded any fenfible change in this refpe£t. Every one knows the powerful effect of fympathy. When religion was perfecuted, more perfons were perhaps defireous of going to church, than fincc it has been tolerated ; and more, when it was only tolerated, than fince it has been oftentatioufly patronifed. It was not, how- ever, the increafe of religion, or the filling of churches, that Bonaparte had in view ; it was the increafe of patronage, and the favour of the church, Robefpierre would have concluded probably in the fame man- ner. ( 220 ) tier* After the grand meaftire of achiow- hdging the Supreme Being, he would in due time have proceeded to reinftate the pope, and afterwards by degrees to the ap- pointment of bifhops, and all the ftlbor- dinate members of the clergy. The ftate of religion and the church of France would fupply matter capable of it- felf of filling a moderate volume. Without entering fo deeply into the fubjecl, I will make a few obfervations, which, although in themfelves fufficiently obvious, may be not of an uninterefting nature to thofe who have not vifited. France, The great power of the church in that country, before the revolution, arofe from its immenfe property. Bonaparte, as he cannot reftare this, can never reftore the influence of the clergy over the people: they muft be indebted to himfelf for all their income. Thus the poverty and fubferviency of the church will render it, as a profeffion, an objecT: not worthy the attention of any one who has profpe&a ( 221 ) profpe&s beyond thofe of a day-labourer* Accordingly, no refpe&able families in France, as far as I have been able to learn, have, fince the restoration of religion, as it is called, fent their fons to be educated for the church. But there are not, at this moment, more priefts in orders than are fufficient to oc- cupy the places created for them by the con* cordat Very few of thefe are lefs than forty years of age, and moll of them are very old men, who cannot be expe&ed to live long, according to the ufua! courfe of nature. From whence, then, are the vacan- cies, which will arife, to be filled up ? It is evident that, unlefs Bonaparte can con- trive fome means of converting conferipts into priefts, the members who die will be replaced unworthily, or not replaced at all. Ships ( 222 ) Skips coming from New York per- form Quarantine. I have known American mips, arriving from New York, obliged to perform quar- antine, or to do penance, in the river of Bor- deaux. They are diftinguimed by a yel- low flag at the fore- top-gallant maft head. This difcipline, which, from my opinions refpeding contagion, appears , to me a per- fect farce, may to others appear a very ne- ceffary formality. On thefe occafions an officier de fante goes on board, and examines at a diftance the countenances of the crew, to afcertain whether any of them are af- feded with a contagious diforder. If this officer of health finds that one or two are afFeded with any malady having the fmall- eft refemblance to yellow-fever, all the reft of the crew are obliged to remain on board during the period for which quarantine is ufually ( **S ) ufually performed. If none of them have any marked fymptoms of fever, they are allowed, after three or four days, to have communication with the fliore. This is a kind of duty to which the of- ficers of health at Bordeaux have not been much accuftomed. The commerce of that town with America has increafed to fo great a degree only during the laft years ; and the yellow-fever has not conftandy exifted in that country ; fo that thefe pre- cautions, even according to the commonly received notions of contagion, have feldom beenneceffary. The firft time the farce was to be per- formed this feafon, the officer of health, who was to repair on board, fet off with his imagination full of contagious matter, expe&ing to meet with nothing but human fpeclres tinged with a deep yellow, walking the decks. But what was his furprife to find, when the crew were muftered, that 5 every ( %H ) every one of them looked healthier than himfelf. " Mon Dieu, captain," faid he, " your people look better than ours do a- fhore. You do not appear to have any mere contagion than they have." " No, by G-d, do&or, nor half fo much," replied the captain. " But if you come on board a fort- night hence, mayhap you'll find more." Military Conscription. The law, which enacts that two thirds of the population of France, from twenty to five-and-twenty years of age, fhall be ballotted for to ferve in the armies of the republic, was palTed in the time of the di- rectory, in the year fix or [even. But as two thirds of this defcription of perfons are ballotted for every year, it is evident that a complete third of thofe who have attained their twentieth year only are exempted* Thofe of that age exempted the fir ft year being included in the lift of the fecond year, ( 22 5 ) year, and fo on to the age of twenty-five, very few of them can efcape ferving. This remarkable law, whether we con- fider it in its effe&s on the people of France, or of Europe, is equally replete with mif- chief. When all the nations of Europe were armed againft French principles, the neceffity of felf-defence might have juftified the adoption of fuch a meafure : but now that France is in arms againft the indepen- dence of all the nations of Europe, the means originally adopted for felf-defence are, in the hands of a tyrant, converted into means of univerfal deftruction. Thus almoft the whole population of France and Italy, from twenty to twenty- five years of age, are placed at the difpofal of the government. From 800,000 to a million of foldiers are raifed, and at this very moment, preparing to attempt the overthrow of the liberties and the inde- pendence of Europe. The confequence Q^ will ( 226 ) will be that Europe, in order to defend thofe liberties and that independence, will find it neceflary to have recourfe to a military con- fcription alfo. The terrible effect of this ftate of things, mull be to withdraw an immenfe propor- tion of the population of Europe from ufe- ful induftry, in order to train them to the art of war. But young men, after being occupied in a military capacity for a number of years, will not be fit to return to thofe nfeful occupations, which they had been obliged to relinquish ; a circumftance which cannot fail to occafion an innumerable train of evils : and there does not feem to be the fmalleft chance of putting a flop to thefe calamities, while the prefent ruler of France remains in power, unlefs he fhould think fit, a thing siot to be expected according to the ufual order of nature, all at once to mode- rate his ambition, and to reftrain his views of aggrandifement. This ( 227 ) This law has, particularly of late, frotn the manner of its execution, become ex- tremely odious. It was at one time refifted with open force ; but feveral hundred young men having fallen a facrifice to this re*- fiftance, the reft were obliged to fubmit. They were forced to acquiefce in the mod fhameful partiality and injuftice in the mode of drawing lots. At prefent it is regarded as a two-edged weapon, in the hands of the government, by which they can raife both foldiers and money. The fon of a rich man may be exempted, if the father confents to pay 1500 or 2000 livres, and is a friend of the government befide. But it is in vain that a poor man folicits exemption, under any circumftance, even if he has a wife and a large family of chil- dren. I recollect an inftance, which came within my own obfervation, of fatal effe&s from the lot falling upon a young married man. While vifiting a patient, laft fummer, in the Rue de Lille , I was informed that a woman in the neighbourhood, had, that Qj2 morning, ( 228 ) morning, fainted away, upon hearing that the lot had fallen upon her fon ; and that fhe never recovered. He was her only child ; was married to a beautiful young woman, and had already a family of three children. Upon making particular enquiry, I found that the circumftances, as they were related to me, were ftri&ly true. If thefe occurrences had happened in England, they would have been faithfully recorded in all the newfpapers, and known to the whole country; but if any Parifian journalift had ventured to ftate even the outlines of them, he would have been fent immediately to Cayenne. I doubt whether any perfon in Paris, who did not happen to be in the Rue de Lille that morning, ever heard of this fad. The authorifed murders committed laft year, by the military on the confcripts in the fedions of Paris, were fo {lightly men- tioned in the newfpapers as to conceal from the public an exact knowledge of the num- ber ( 22 9 ) ber of lives that were loft upon the occafion. A circumftance -hat happened at Angers on the 1 6th of November, an account of which I have copied from one of the departmental journals, fhews that the oppo- fition of the confcripts had by no means ceafed in confequence of the feverity with which thofe of Paris had been treated :-»— " Some young men of the department des Deux Sevres, in the arrondiffement of Cha- tillon, led by perfidious faggejlions, have dared to enter, armed, into the commune of Ifernay, in the arrondiffement of Beau- preau, and to make an appeal to the con- fcripts of the years n and 12 5 but the inhabitants of Ifernay fhut their houses, and were deaf to the voice of revolt. The lieutenant of Gendarmerie, Rofier, com- mandant at Beaupreau, being informed of this rebellion, repaired to Ifernay with fuch brigades as he could colledt. At his ap- proach, the young men returned to their department ; fixteen were, arretted, and the reft difperfed. Lieutenant Rofier and his Qj troop ( *3© ) troop difplayed the greateft zeal and acti- vity. Upon the firft intelligence, the pre- fect himfelf, accompanied by the fub-pre- feds of Beaupreau and of Segre, went to Chemille and afterwards to Cholet, in order to take, on the fpot, the meafures that might be rendered neceffary by circumftances, and to fecond the movements of the Gendar- merie" (This was the official account.) Every man acquainted with the adual Hate of France, will conclude, from the terms of the above ftatement, that the mod eflential fads, fuch as the number of lives that were loft, and the number of perfons wounded, are very carefully fupprefled. From fome fmall knowledge of their policy in. this refped, I can aflure thofe who are not ac- quainted with it, that, in the prefent in- fiance, the lofs muft have been very confi- derable before the tumult was appeafed. Many young men, particularly from the new departments* have left their country, rather ( *3* I rather than be fubje&ed to the confcription laws. Others endeavour to conceal them- felves, and to evade compliance. But their utmoft pains are ineffectual ; for they are fure to be fooner or latter difcovered. The number that has deferted is almoft incre- dible. I faw lifts of them, before the war, with defcriptions of their perfons, amount- ing, at that time, to many thoufands ; and, from thefe lifts, I conclude that the number of confcript deferters, from the whole re- public and its dependencies, cannot, at this moment, amount to lefs than from forty to fixty thoufand men. Such of them as had the misfortune to be difcovered, were con- figned to certain depots, from whence they were to be fent, as a punifhment, to the colonies. But fince France has no longer accefs to her colonies, the mode of punifh- ment mull be changed. For feveral months previous to my quit- ting Paris, it was impoffible to walk the ftreets without meeting dozens of confcripts, QA in ( *S* ) in their labouring jackets, as they had been forced from their occupations, hand-cu£ed and dragged to prifon, each between two foldiers. They all had the appearance of men, who confidered themfelves as going to certain flaughter, excepting fuch as, in order to drown their forrow, had fwallowed liquor enough to produce intoxication. The number of deferters had become fo great by the beginning of December, that the government found it neceffary to iffue a decree, which was in facl; a general am- nefty. Of that decree the following are the principal difpofitions : " Commiffaries at war, prefe&s andfub- prefe&s, are authorfed to deliver feuilles de route for the regiment of infantry, neareft to the place of their refidence, to every in- dividual in a ftate of defertion, who fhall appear before them by the loth of Nivofe (ift of January) next, and fhall declare that he is willing to refume his fervice. As foon as ( 233 ) as he fhall be incorporated in the regiment he fhall have joined, the profecutions com- menced againft him, in that which he has quitted, fhall ceafe. " Every foldier who fhall not, before the 15th of Nivofe (5th of January) next, have joined fome corps of infantry of the army, fhall, at that epoch, be tried and punifhed according to the arrete of the 19th of Ven- demiaire (nth of Oftober). No fpecial council of war fhall be formed before the 15th of Nivofe (the 5th of January)." Thefe fads indicate with fufficient clear- nefs the extent of mifery produced by the military confcription, as it is at prefent ex- ecuted in France. Thofe who are fond of confidering laws abftracledly, or without reference to the particular circumftances under which they are applied, may think the French confcrip- tion as juflifiable as the preffing of feamen in ( 234 ) in England. But men who reafon in this manner, do not feem to me to reflect that, without the right of prefling feamen enjoyed by our government, they would not have the power of defending fo completely our independence againft external enemies; and that it is infinitely better to acquiefce in a partial violation of our internal freedom, than to run the fmalleft rifk of lofing our external independence, which would carry with it the lofs of all our liberties. Our re- lative pofition in Europe, then, demands unequivocally this partial violation, in order to enfure, with lefs inconvenience and ex- pence, our fafety from the attacks of ex- ternal foes : and I fhould applaud his fpirit rather than his wifdom, who fhould advife the diminution in any fliape of our moft popular means of defence. This point is, or ought to be, at this day, well and ge- nerally underftood \ at leaft no man in England probably would venture, under the prefent circumftanees of Europe, to repro- bate the right of preffing, or the propriety i of ( ns ) of ufing it. What has been faid, on this fubjecT:, by Junius and Mr. Juftice For Iter, is worth a thoufand abftra£t ipeculations ; and is well worthy the attentive perufal of thofe, who may have ftill doubts remaining with refpeft either to the legality of the meafure generally, or the neceflity of it in the actual pofition of Great Britain with refpe£t to the other nations of Europe, Bateaux Plats, Chaloupes Can-, nonieres, and peniches. At Bordeaux a hundred and eighty vef- fels of different kinds, intended for the ex- pedition againft England, were upon the ftocks. As one was finiflied and launched it was replaced by another. They were difpatched to Havre in dozens, as they were ready, in order to proceed from thence to the general rendezvous at Boulogne. At one time building was fufpended, both at Bordeaux ( m ) Bordeaux and Bayonne, becaufe there was no money in the treafury to pay the work- men. It was, however, afterwards re- fumed. The original plan, there is reafon to be- lieve, was to collect two thoufand gun- boats, flat-bottomed boats, and pinnaces, of different fizes, capable of tranfporting 200,000 men, in the port of Boulogne. Thefe have been conftru&ing in various parts of the republic ; but, from want of hands, want of money, and the difficulty of eluding the vigilance of our cruizers, not above feven or eight hundred have yet arrived at the general rendezvous. Their paffage, it is thought, would be rendered ftill more difficult, if thefe eruizers confifled almoft folely of flat-bottomed gun-boats, capable of approaching the more, but hav- ing the fupport of larger veffels at hand. This indeed is partly the principle of the plan which has been adopted for that fer- vice ; ( *37 ) vice ; but, in the execution, it does not feem to have been carried to a fufficieat ex- tent. Strangers to the facility with which the French people deceive themfelves, will readily expecl: that the dock-yards of the river Seine are fomething grand and im- pofing beyond example. When I left Paris, there were about fifty flat-bottomed, boats, as they called them, on the flocks* In their conftru&ion, there did not feem, to the eye of the landfman, any remarkable peculiarity. Their bottoms indeed were fomewhat more flat than ordinary ; but not fo much fo as to merit the appellation they had obtained. The largeft of them were from eighty to a hundred tons burthen ; but if the accounts, refpecting the fize of the gun-boats lately taken by two of our frigates, be true, much larger vefTels muft have been built in other parts of the re- public. See Note (c). The ( 2 3 8 ) The dock-yards of Paris reminded me much of thofe of the fifhing village of Blankanefe, in the dutchy of Holftein. But I have feen crowds of old Frenchmen on the banks of the Seine, who had probably never feen even a fifhing village, Hand in a kind of exftacy admiring this wonderful portion of the national flotilla. Cc Moti Dieu /" exclaimed one of them, " comment cjl il pofible que V Angleterre peut rejijler a une telle force ! §>i£en elites vous, Monfieur VAnglois * ?" Not thinking that an argu- ment would alter the relative force of the two nations, I replied, q/furement, cejl im- pojpble f ; and he walked aw r ay completely fatisfied and full of convidion of the na- tional ftrength % , * Good God ! how is it poflible that England can refill all this force ! What do you think of it, Mr. Eng- lifnman ? f Certainly, 'tis impofiible. X This is one of the favourite phrafes of the con- fular government, in their public declarations. There ( *39 ) There are forne peculiarities in their con- ftruftion. Part of the gun-boats, for in- ftance, have two keels, fo that upon being run a-fhore they will fit upright. The pe- niches, or pinnaces, are to be impelled not only by oars but by fmall wheels, the com- bined force of which is, according to the French accounts, to give them a wonderful degree of velocity. Thefe, together with many other furprifing combinations, which are excellent upon paper, would, I fufpe<3:, be fadly difcompofed by contact with a Britifh fquadron. Permission obtained to embark on board a vessel for embden. From the manner in which my paflport was worded * f although I was confident the intentions of thofe who granted it could be no other than to permit me to go where I * " Going to the United States of America, to em- bark at Bordeaux only," pleafed, ( 2 4 ) pleafed, it did not appear certain that the agents of the government at Bordeaux would permit me to embark in any but an American veflel \ and I did not wifh to go to America. There was then at Bordeaux a veflel be- longing to Hamburg, nominally bound to Embden, but in reality loading for the port of London. This was a fecret known to all the town. Having agreed with the Ger- man captain for a paflage, I waited upon Mr. David, the commiffary of marine, whofe bufmefs it is to grant permiflions to embark. I opened my paflport and laid it before him without fpeaking a word. He only enquired the name of the veflel and captain with whom I wifhed to embark, and wrote the permiffion immediately at the bottom of the paflport. Thus an affair, which, had I followed any of the numerous advices and opinions I received on the oc- cafion, might, by raifing doubts in the breaft of the commiflary, have become a fubjedt of ( H l ) of tedious negotiation, terminated happily merely by guarding filence, and allowing things to take their own courfe. For fix weeks after obtaining permiflion to embark, was I obliged to wait in the moft painful anxiety for the failing of this Hamburg veflel, the captain daily afluring me that he would be ready for fea next week. What I moft apprehended was that, in the interval, an embargo might be laid upon all the {hipping in the harbour, and that I fhould not be able for a long time to get away. English Prisoners and American Captains. During this interval, I was invited to dine with a party of Americans .at the Cbartrons. A few minutes before we went to table, a fcene of a very painful nature took place in the houfe* Two Englifh cap- It tains ( 242 ) tains of fhips, who had fallen into the hands of the enemy, had concealed themfelves in the garret for fix weeks, and were in hopes of being able to make their efcape in failors' habits on board of fome neutral vefiel. Some mouchard (fpy) had now informed againfl: them, and their hopes were in a moment deftroyed. They were arretted by officers of the police, and conveyed with circumftances of ignominy to prifon. The landlady was feverely reprimanded^ and with difficulty efcaped the fame fate* She would certainly have been fined or baniihed, had fhe not been an American, and had not the agents of the French go- vernment, whofe policy it is to appear to ^fhew civility to that of America, thought proper to pardon her, in compliment to the conful of that nation, who had the humanity to intercede in her behalf. What a charm- ingly compendious fyftem of government it is, under which individuals are' con- demned or pardoned,, according to the will and pleafure of their fuperiors ! The ( H3 ) The unfortunate captains, whofe names are Conduit and Joms^ were dragged to prifon without a farthing of money in their pockets. Upon learning this, Captain Mar- nerand other Americans very humanely fet on foot a fubfcription, and immediately col- lected from fifteen to twenty guineas, which were conveyed to them in the prifon. The gentleman I have juft mentioned (an Irifli- man by birth) incurred the difpleafure of the police for daring to fhew companion to unfortunate Englifhmen. But armed with an American paffport, he laughed at their refentment. Captain Stevenson. I mufl: not forget to mention another in* fiance of generofity, on the part of an American, which was exercifed toward my- felf. Captain Stevenfon* of New York, by accident faw my name upon a card where he vifited. He enquired who I was ; and R 2 finding ( 244 } finding that Mr. Hugh Maclean, of New York, with whom he was on intimate terms, is my brother, he immediately called upon me. Conceiving that I was in the fituation of a prifoner who wifhed to efcape from France, without having a regular paff- port, he very handfomely offered to take the rifk of giving me a paffage in his own veflel ; and, fuppofing that I was not very plentifully fupplied with money, he deli- cately but earneftly preffed me to fhare his purfe, begging that I would not flint my- felf, but take whatever fum I might have occafion for. This offer, as captain Stevenfon would have run a confiderable rifk of lofing his veffel, had I been difcovered on board of hex' in attempting clandeftinely to efcape, is one of the moil liberal and noble traits of the human charader which I have met with through life. Others which have occurred to me upon difficult occafions I recollect, and could with pleafure record, were ( H5 ) were this the proper place for fuch a hif- tory. Captain Stevenfon is yet a young man. Payment refused of Bills drawn upon the French Government? by their Agents in Saint Do- mingo. At Bordeaux I met with a Mr. K — , who had come from Charleftown, South Carolina, onpurpofeto recover payment of bills drawn by General Leclerc, or his deputies, for provifions and (lores furniihed to the French army of Saint Domingo. He met with no better fuccefs than Mr. Lindo, of Jamaica, who has fuffered fo feverely on a fimilar occafion, from want of honor in the French government *; Mr. * The fum for which Mr. Lindo was in advance is faid to have exceeded 100,000/. fterling. The refufai R3 to ( 2 4 6 ) Mr. K- , iipoa learning at Bordeaux how the French government were in fuch cafes wont to ad, relinquifhed every idea of proceeding to Paris, to throw away, as he faid, good money after bad ; and deter- mined to return immediately to America. He afked me, as I knew Paris, how I thought he fhould proceed. To which I anfwered by Rating a fad: I had heard re- fpeding an Imperial veffei of confiderable value, that had been detained illegally by the French, about the coricliifion of the war. The owners, after having, in vain, tried every ordinary means of procuring redrefs, promifed to relinquifli a great proportion (one third or a half) of her value, if Lucien Bonaparte would ufe his influence for the releafe of the remainder : " If the amount of your debt be confiderable enough. I would to liquidate it occafioned his Hopping payment. It is now faid that the French government having been per- fuaded to fee the bad effects of their unprincipled con- duel, have confented to pay the bills drawn on them from St. Domingo in favour of Mr. Lindo. But for this I do not vouch, advife ( *47 ) advife you to adopt the fame principle, as the only one by which you have at prefent a chance of obtaining juftice in France : if not, your beft plan is, perhaps, to relin- quifh entirely the purfuit." See Note (). Page 80. Madame Perigord, formerly Madame Le Grand, is faid, by fome, to be an Englifh woman, and to have been married to a Mr. Grant in the Eaft Indies. This I mention merely as a furmife, the truth of which it would fcarcely be worth while to take much trouble to afcertain. Note (c). Page 237. It feems highly probable that the French go- vernment, while they were endeavouring to de- ceive us by an oftentatious difplay of building a vaft number of boats upon a fmall fcale, in ail their dock- yards which were expofed to the in- fpe&ion of flrangers, were preparing others of much larger dimenflons, in more obfcure and retired building places ; and that their national flotilla ( 30 2 ) flotilla will, therefore, be generally compofed of vefTels of a more formidable fize than we have been led to expect. Such a ftratagem, which would be impracticable in England, is, from the exifting difpofition of France, perfectly eafy of execution in that country. Note (d\ Page 247, This, together with many facts upon record, prove the unexampled bad faith of the prefent government of France. The Executive Directory, bad as they were, dared not to have been fo openly unprincipled. It is a notorious fact, that arrears due to officers for the years four, five and fix of the republic, are fr.il! unpaid, and will ever remain fo, becaufe, fay the agents of the go- vernment, there are no funds in the treafury to anfwer the demands of thofe years ; while the ar- rears for the period during which the confular government has exifted (a fubfequent one) have been oftentatioufly liquidated. Were not the officers of the years four, five and fix fervants of the public, as well as thofe of eight, nine and ten ? But this diflinction is a fpecies of mockery upon the underftanding, to which the French people have, for fome time, been accuftomed. Note (