ât war with the king of England, whose arms were yet red with the blood shed for those thrones which they were now to bombard, and for the deliverance of that Europe with which his ministers are now at war. I was also allowed to correspond with my wife by unsealed letters, sent to the secretary of state's office, to be read. Certainly this was more agreeable than to have my letters basely intercepted, in order that to my own sufferings, the tortured feelings of an innocent wife and mother might be added. But let me ask in what part of my agreement with lord Cornwallis will it be found, that I was to be thus cut off from a country to which I have been so true, that I have no other enemies than its enemies? Upon what ground was it that a man who had committed no crime, should be treated like an outcast, and that the pains of felony should light upon a virtuous wife for holding correspondence with him? Let me not pursue this further; justice may one day return; until then complaint is idle. Suffice it for the present to say, that Mrs. Sampson was so charmed with this mitigation of her torment and the atrocities practised against me, that she returned an answer overflowing with gratitude, and I myself was well pleased that there was somewhere to be found a term to the extent of persecution. But the worst was yet to follow. It was natural now, that since I could not go to my family, for that had been positively forbidden, they should at least be permitted to come to me. That religion, for which the earth has been so amply drenched in human gore, has it for a precept, "Whom God has put together, let no man put asunder." There wanted but this sacrilege to fill the measure of my wrongs. And on the 27th of July, Mrs. Sampson wrote to the duke of Portland in these words: My Lord, HAVING been indulged by your grace in a manner that has excited a very lively sense of gratitude, with the permission of corresponding with Mr. Sampson, I am emboldened to make a second application, which I hope your grace will pardon, in consideration that I have been separated two years and an half from my husband, except a few weeks that I was permitted to be with him in prison. What I have now to trouble your grace for, is leave to pass with my children, and a female servant, to Bordeaux. And if this indulgence be attainable, I hope your grace will furnish me with passports, which will enable me to sail in a neutral vessel: or if that should not occur, and I could make it convenient to go to Dover, should I be permitted a passage in a cartel ship to Calais. I shall not trespass longer on your grace's time, than to entreat, that if there be any thing improper in this application, you will have the goodness to excuse it on account of my miserable situation, and allow me to remain Your grace's Much obliged, And very humble servant, GRACE SAMPSON. To the above, the following answer was received: Madam, I am directed by the duke of Portland, to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 27th, re questing permission to pass with your family over to Bordeaux. I am to express to you his grace's regret, that the regulations it has been found necessary to adopt in the present moment, will not admit of his grace's compliance with your wishes in this case. I am, Madam, Your most obedient C. W. FLINT. I leave it now to you, my friend, to imagine, if you can, any thing more refined in persecution than this: and I shall not insult you by making any further comment upon it. In the summer of 1806, the rumors of peace gained ground, and I, with the advice of my friends, formed the project of coming to Paris, where I might be on the spot if any occasion should offer of claiming redress. This hope proved vain, and I passed the winter in unprofitable expectation, and part of it in sickness. During the summer of the last year, whilst great armaments were fitting out, and lord Nelson was bombarding the port of Boulogne, I was on a visit at the country-seat of a friend, and from thence went to the waters of Plombiere; from whence I had the intention of proceeding to Switzerland. Captain Cotes had had the goodness to charge himself with the care of forwarding my wife's letters to me wherever I should desire to have them addressed. But a change took place in England, which deprived me of that advantage; and I returned in the month of August to Paris. The duke of Portland had in the meantime been suc ceeded by lord Pelham, and Mr. Cotes by Mr. Merry. As soon as I heard of Mr. Merry's arrival; I wrote to request that he would do me the same kindness that Mr. Cotes had promised. But between the date of my letter, and that of his answer; there was the distance of a month: and it was not until after my return to Paris, that I received his answer. As it is but short, I shall transcribe it. a Monsieur Monsieur William Sampson, a Plombiere. Sir, Paris, August 15, 1800. I have to acknowledge the receipt of your. letter of the 16th ult. in answer to which I beg leave to observe, that captain Cotes did not mention any thing to me relative to your correspondence: and I am sorry to add; that it is not in my power to comply with your wishes on that subject, without I receive an order for that purpose from the British government. I next waited upon Mr. Merry, who excused himself from forwarding my letters, but offered to take charge of any application I should wish to address to lord Pelham, to whom I wrote a long letter, stating all that had been perpetrated against me; and protesting anew against the injustice of being sent into an enemy's country, where I assured him with truth, I had not at this day nor never had any other relation than the loyalty which every honest man owes to any government whatsoever whilst under its protection, and whilst it tenders him an asylum rather than a prison: and I enclosed a letter to my wife filled with little details which I intended to follow up by a journal of my projected tour through Switzerland. But my letter was suppressed, and no answer returned to me, which determined me to make no other appeal through that channel. In the above mentioned letter to my wife, I had, in hopes of amusing her, mentioned amongst other little details, my having made the acquaintance of Madame Bonaparte, and her daughter Mademoiselle Hortence.‡ You will, I am sure, upon reading these names, expect that I should say something of their persons. You will be curious to know what are the charms that can captivate that spirit which no other power can restrain; and it is right you should as far as in my power be satisfied. As to Josephine, the freedom which reigns at such watering places gave me daily opportunity of observing her: and I was often of those rural excursions in which she joined, and invited to the entertainments given in her honor. Were I then to pronounce, I should ascribe her ascendancy to the gentleness and flexibility of her disposition; to a graceful person, an elegant deportment, with an habitual or constitutional desire of pleasing, polished by the usage of the best society. These are indeed truly feminine attributes, more winning, undoubtedly, than masculine endowments of the understanding, which sometimes excite to contention and encroach upon the natural graces of the sex. Mademoiselle Hortence is also of an affable character, adding the agreeable manners of her mother to the gaiety natural to her years; insomuch that I have had + Now Empress Josephine. # Now Queen of Holland, |