but that, if they persisted in serving, he expected from them zeal and fidelity. In this manner, he contrived to introduce into his army better order than that which prevailed in any of the others."

But, amidst the increasing indications of a foreign war, the reign of anarchy in the government of France, seemed as rapidly approaching. Duplicity governed the councils. of the king, and factions, internal and external, influenced the Assembly. Of this state of things, Lafayette was painfully aware, and yet entertained hopes of a favorable change. Being called to Paris, to attend a conference with the other generals and the ministers, Lafayette wrote to Gen. Washington, March 15, 1792, giving him a statement of affairs. "You see, (he said in conclusion,) that although we have many causes to be as yet unsatisfied, we may hope every thing may become right. Licentiousness, under the mask of patriotism, is our greatest evil, as it threatens property, tranquility, and liberty itself."

War being at length declared against Austria, (April 20,) Lafayette was directed to perform the principal part in a precipitate plan of attack projected by the minister, Dumouriez, against the Netherlands. Lafayette executed his orders with surprising activity, collecting the scattered corps of his army, and traversing a space of more than sixty leagues in six days. He was marching towards Namur, had encountered an enemy's corps, and the firing had actually begun, when news of the defection and retreat of two detachments of Rochambeau's army, which were to co-operate with him, made it necessary for him to retire. This he did, in good order, concentrating his forces in their former position. And in this first effort of the armies of the constitution, "the army of Lafayette alone, (says Dumas,) attached to its general, had retained its discipline." Far different would probably have been the result of this first expedition, and the fate of the constitutional government, had the chief command been intrusted to Lafayette, as the most prudent friends of the nation desired. But through the influence of the court and the Jacobin factions, to each of whom Lafayette was a terror, the request was denied. Nor were the plans and advice of the brave Rochambeau, who had served with so much credit in America, heeded by

the ambitious minister, at that time the joint representative of the court and the Jacobin factions.

The

The days of terror were rapidly approaching. court, the king and the queen, the factions of the Assembly and of the clubs, in their jealousies and dissensions, their endeavors to thwart each other's designs, and to secure power for themselves, were accelerating the crisis. The infamous Marat, like a hungry wolf, prowling for prey, was urging on the populace to deeds of blood. Demouriez, the minister, after having induced the king to dismiss his colleagues, among whom was the celebrated Roland, was himself compelled to resign. But such changes were of almost daily occurrence. The king was deprived of his guards, his constitutional powers disregarded, and his personal safety threatened. And yet, the queen and the court were obstinately bent on their counter-revolutionary projects. Some of the members of the constitutional party opened a correspondence with Lafayette, to induce him to exert his influence to stay the torrent which threatened to overwhelm all that had been gained for liberty. Willing at all times to interpose his reputation and his life for rational freedom and the welfare of his country, Lafayette, on the 16th of June, 1792, addressed from his camp at Maubeuge, a letter to the president of the Legislative Assembly. "This document (says Dumas) must be considered as one of the most valuable we possess, because it characterises better than any other the true situation of France at that period."

After boldly admonishing the Assembly, upon all subjects of vital interest to the country, he said:

"Let the royal power be inviolate, for it is guaranteed by the constitution; let it be independent, for this independence is one of the stays of our liberty; let the king be revered, for he is invested with the majesty of the nation; let him be able to choose a ministry which wears the chains of no faction; and if there are conspirators, let them not perish but under the sword of the law.

"Lastly, let the reign of the clubs, annihilated by you, give way to the reign of the law; their usurpations, to the firm and independent exercise of the constituted authorities; their disorganizing maxims, to the principles of liberty; their insensate fury, to the calm and constant courage of a nation which knows its rights and defends them; lastly,

their sectarian combinations, to the real interests of the country, which, in this moment of danger, ought to unite all those who do not see in its subjugation and its ruin, the objects of attrocious enjoyment and an infamous speculation."

In conclusion, he said:

"Gentlemen! I have obeyed the voice of my conscience and my duty. I owed it to my country, to you, to the king, and above all to myself, whom the chances of war do not allow to delay the observations which I conceive to be useful, and who take pleasure in believing that the National Assembly will consider it as a new testimony of my devotedness to its constitutional authority, and of my personal gratitude and respect." *

This letter was read in the Assembly on the 18th of June. It was listened to with respectful attention. It was warmly applauded by a large portion of the Assembly and received by the others without any marks of disapprobation. A motion to print it was carried; but a motion to distribute it to all the departments, aroused the hostility of the Jacobins, by whom the letter was bitterly denounced. Some members affected to deny the authenticity of the letter. "Even if it were not signed," exclaimed one member, "none but M. de Lafayette could have written it." "The Assembly ought to receive, (said another,) from the lips of Lafayette truths which it had not dared to tell itself." It was finally referred to a committee for the avowed purpose of verifying its authenticity.

It was too late for an appeal so sincere, bold, and patriotic, to have more than a momentary influence. On the 20th of June, an immense armed mob collected in defiance of the prohibitions of the public authorities. The avowed object of the Jacobin leaders, was, to present petitions to the king and the Assembly. The account which is given of this insurrectionary movement, by M. Thiers, is pronounced to be correct by Count Dumas, who was an eye-witness. may convey to the reader a faint idea of those tempestuous and bloody tumults which so frequently occurred during the further progress of the French revolution, until despotism

It

*For the whole of this interesting document, see Dumas' Memoirs of the French Revolution, Vol. I. p. 219, &c.

put an end to anarchy. The Assembly was debating whether to admit the mob, which was already at its doors:

"All at once, (says Thiers,) the petitioners rushed into the hall. The Assembly, indignant at the intrusion, rose; the president put on his hat, and the petitioners quietly withdrew. The Assembly, gratified by this mark of respect, consented to admit them.

"This petition, the tone of which was most audacious, expressed the prevailing idea of all the petitions of that period. The people are ready. They wait but for you. They are disposed to employ great means for carrying into execution Article 2 of the declaration of rights-resistance to oppression. Let the minority among

you, whose sentiments do not agree with ours, cease to pollute the land of liberty, and betake yourselves to Coblentz. Investigate the cause of the evils which threaten us. If it proceeds from the executive, let the executive be annihilated!'

"The president, after a reply in which he promised the petitioners the vigilance of the representatives of the people, and recommended obedience to the laws, granted them in the name of the Assembly, permission to file off before it. The doors were then thrown open, and the mob, amounting at that moment to at least thirty thousand persons, passed through the hall. It is easy to conceive what the im. agination of the populace, abandoned to itself, is capable of produ.. cing. Enormous tables, upon which lay the declaration of rights, headed the procession. Around these tables danced women and children, bearing olive-branches and pikes, that is to say, peace or war at the option of the enemy. They sang in chorus the famous. Ca ira. Then came the porters of the markets, the working men of all classes, with wretched muskets, swords, and sharp pieces of iron fastenad to the end of thick bludgeons. Santerre and the Marquis de St. Hurugues, who had already attracted notice on the 5th and 6th of October, marched with drawn swords at their head. Battallions of the national guard followed in good order, to prevent tumult by their presence. After them came women and more armed men. Waving flags were inscribed with the words, The constitution or death.' Ragged breeches were held up in the air with shouts of Vivent les sans-calottes! Lastly, an attrocious sign was displayed to add fero. city to the whimsicality of the the spectacle. On the point of a pike was borne a calf's heart, with this inscription; Heart of an aris.

tocrat.'

6

"Grief and indignation burst forth at this sight. The horrid em. blem instantly disappeared, but was again exhibited at the gates of the Tuileries. The applause of the tribunes, the shouts of the peo. ple passing through the hall, the civic songs, the confused uproar, and the silence of the anxious Assembly, composed an extraordinary scene, and at the same time an afflicting one to the very deputies who viewed the multitude as an auxiliary.”

CHAPTER XXV.

Lafayette indignant at the outrages in Paris- Remonstrances of the army-Lafayette repairs to Paris-Appears before the AssemblyDenounces the Jacobins-Accused and defended-Received with coldness by the king and queen-Enthusiasm of the populaceLafayette returns to the army-Concilation of factions in the Assembly-New outbreaks of the populace-Lafayette sees the ap. proach of the tempest-His plan for the safety of the king and queen-Rejected by them-Opposing project and views of Gover neur Morris-The dethronement of the king proposed by the Jacobins—Accusation against Lafayette-He is acquitted by the Assembly-Last gleam of justice-Fearful insurrection of the 10th August -Suspension of the royal authority-Final imprisonment of the king and family--Account of these events by Theirs and Dumas -Lafayette refuses to acknowledge the Jacobin authorities-Causes the imprisonment of their commissioners-The Assembly declare Lafayette a traitor--Jacobinism infects the armies-Luckner and Dumouriez submit--Lafayette leaves France-His arrest and im. prisonment in Austria and Prussia.

LAFAYETTE received the account of these outrages with pain and indignation. The great majority of the army participated in his sentiments and feelings, and addresses expressive of their indignation, were presented to him from several of his regiments. To these he put a stop in an order of the day, in which he promised to express in person the feelings of the whole army. With the concurrence of Gen. Luckner, his superior in eommand, after taking precautions that his absence should not be detrimental to the military operations, he hastened to Paris, to confirm before the Legislative Assembly, what he had written on the 16th, and to confront, for the sake of liberty and order, the greatest dangers. He arrived in Paris on the 28th of June, and the same day appeared before the Assembly. An immense concourse had repaired hither, learning his arrival, and anticipating his presence. Lafayette in the first place explained the motives of his coming. It had been asserted that his letter of the 16th was not written by himself: he came to avow it, and to repeat its sentiments, in his own name, and in behalf of his brave army, who were already asking them.