Quimper, 30th April, 1795.
At length the clouds of misfortune begin to separate, and a gleam of
hope (though remote) breaks athwart the gloom, and points to England;
whence I have lately received letters from those who are dearest to me,
in which class I need not say you are included. You were right to be so
brief and guarded in your expressions; although, as it happened, your
letter reached me unopened, through a private channel. I observe what
you say to me of the steps you are taking to bring about my exchange.
Several Englishmen whom I know have lately effected theirs; and to my
great joy (though I shall deeply feel the loss of his society and
protecting influence) the Admiral every day expects an order to arrive
from the maritime agent at Brest, for his liberation. A Captain Courand,
who, on the 1st of June, commanded _Le Sans Pareil_, of 84 guns, is to
be exchanged for him, and is now in France, pressing the committee of
public safety to ratify the agreement, and forward the necessary
passport. You must observe, that Admiral Bligh is exchanged for a
_Captain_, because at the time of our sailing from England, in September
last, he bore only that rank, in which capacity he commanded the
Alexander, and consequently as such only could be exchanged. Innumerable
are the obstacles which I foresee to prevent my accompanying him, when
his passport shall arrive; but, as I am on very good terms with the
commissary, I shall at least endeavour to obtain leave to go to Brest,
in order to solicit permission from the representatives there to pass
over into England, for the purpose of procuring a French officer of my
rank to be returned in exchange for me. If success attend my petition
(of which I am not in utter despair, as it will be backed by the
interest of the Admiral) I shall be the bearer of my own letter; and if
I miscarry, he will convey to you this sequel of the adventures and
observations of your friend.
Deprived as you are in England of all communication with this country,
except through the circuitous route of Switzerland and Germany, I often
hear you ask me, What are the present politics and sentiments of the
French? A man at the distance of five hundred miles from the metropolis
can poorly answer such a question; but if you will be contented with a
description of what the politics and sentiments of the people of Quimper
and its neighbourhood are, according to the best information which I can
procure; and accept of a string of opinions, derived from conversing
with strangers, and from reading news-papers and fresh publications, as
a solution of your enquiry, behold me ready to contribute to the extent
of my ability to your gratification.
Here the friends of royalty, federalism, and an undivided commonwealth,
struggle against each other with reciprocal vibrations. Federalism is,
however, on the decline, and its supporters, attached as they are to the
local prejudices which they contend for a continuation of, perceive the
impossibility of carrying their point, and are fast melting into the two
other great masses. Royalism, though bent to the earth, is not crushed.
Its partizans are still numerous, and its hopes sanguine, too sanguine,
I fear, for accomplishment. My political principles are, you see,
unchanged since we parted; and I still think a limited monarchy the best
of governments. Had I been born a Frenchman, I should have struggled as
hard for the revolution of 1789, as I should have resisted with all my
might that of 1792. Much as I hate despotism, I am scarcely less a foe
to democracy; a sentiment which accords pretty well with those of my
royal friends here. Since I have resided among the French, I have met
with only one person, a lady (whose husband had once a place in the
household, and has emigrated) who has expressed to me a wish to see the
old system restored. She, poor woman, cannot separate the splendour of a
court, and the unlimited power of a king, from the prosperity and
happiness of the people, always describing the latter as a direct and
necessary consequence of the former. I am surprized to find that the
royalists prefer Count d’Artois to his brother, Monsieur. They call the
Count a bold and decided character, although they do not spare his
former profligate dissipation. To the little Louis, “_le monarque au
berceau_” as they call him, they look rather with regret than
expectancy, not unmingled with apprehension, lest violence or treachery
should be used against him; but this fear I think groundless, because
his preservation will best serve the interest of those whom he is among.
I am assured that his morals are corrupted, and his health
destroyed.----Unhappy infant! what a lesson on the instability of human
grandeur does he furnish!
“_Un faible rejetton-------- entre les ruines_
_“De cet arbre fécond, coupé dans ses racines._”
Henriade, 7th Canto.
The royalist party is strongest in the country, and the republican in
the town. The most numerous class of inhabitants in the latter, the
little housekeepers, find their importance increased, and their vanity
flattered, by becoming members of clubs and political societies, and
being admitted into municipal posts and honours. Doubtless, even in this
part of France, which has long been regarded with a jealous eye by the
government, the royalists are not equal in number to their formidable
antagonists: they will, however, I am confident, fly to arms, if ever a
favourable opportunity of attacking their oppressors be presented to
them. Whenever I find myself (which sometimes happens) in a little knot
of these good people, almost all of whom have either fathers, brothers,
sons, husbands, or other near relations emigrated; and when I listen to
the downfall of the convention, and hear them, by the restoration of a
king, restore themselves to their forfeited honours and estates; it
brings to my remembrance what passed, seventeen years ago, among the
loyalists of Maryland, where I was then, as now, a prisoner of war. I
hear similar fallacious calculations made, unsupported expectancies
indulged, and ardent resolutions adopted, to end, I fear, in similar
disappointment. The paper-money, divisions and mistrusts of parties, my
own situation at both periods, and other circumstances, render the
parallel very striking to me. To dash, with rude hand, the cup of
consolation from the lips of these unfortunate people, were the extreme
of cruelty; but when they appeal to me, by asking whether armies of
Englishmen and emigrants may not be expected to execute their airy
speculations, I cannot become a partner of the deceit, by administering
to the delirium. Whatever might once be the opening presented to us for
the attacking of France in her vitals, by a co-operation with the armies
of La Vendée, that season is passed, never to return. To commence, at
this declining period of the contest, such a system, were almost to
proclaim, that while we believed it possible to subjugate France by a
coalition of exterior force, we disdained to profit by the arms of
Frenchmen, in a cause which we called their own. Besides, if a
publication, which is stuck up in all parts of the town, dated the 1st
of _Floreal_, at Rennes, and signed by ten representatives, and
twenty-two _Chouan_ chiefs, with Caumartin at their head, may be
believed, the Vendeans have made their peace, and submitted to the
republic, after having for more than two years caused the most powerful
diversion in favour of her external enemies. But this my friends here
intreat me to despise; and, when I point out to them its marks of
authenticity, assure me, that Charette will never lay down his arms, but
on the condition of royalty being re-instated; that he is only
temporizing, and will soon break out stronger than ever. I listen in
silence, and know not which way to turn my faith.----What shall I say of
this extraordinary character, Charette! who, whatever be his future
intentions, has hitherto, certainly, displayed extraordinary powers of
mind, and Antæus-like arisen fresh from every fall. I am acquainted with
two people who personally know him, and describe his talents, courage,
and perseverance, in terms of enthusiastic admiration. The French do not
scruple to affirm (but here I suspect their love of exaggeration, not
unmixed with national vanity, to preponderate) that the war of La Vendée
has cost to the republic more men than all her foreign conflicts united.
If, instead of men, perplexity and vexation were substituted, the
account would be more credible.
The proclamation which announces a conclusion of the war of La Vendée is
not the only one, which strikes at this moment the public eye, in
Quimper. His Prussian Majesty, Frederic William, our good and faithful
ally, has, we are told, also made his peace with the republic. When I
recollect his threatening bombastic language, and the mighty irruption
made into Champagne, not quite three years ago, by this pigmy in the
shoes of a giant, I can compare him to nothing but the month (April) I
write in, which is said to come in like a lion and go out like a lamb.
The French themselves cannot help adverting to his former menaces, and
sneering at them, when compared with his present meekness and tender
concern for the effusion of human blood. The preamble of the
proclamation states, that, “in Pilnitz, a part of his Prussian Majesty’s
dominions, the first partitioning treaty of the territory of France was
executed. That now the republic has demonstrated to kings and ministers,
that she is not only victorious but invincible, she will prove to them
that she is generous, and willing to grant peace, upon terms consisting
with her dignity, to all her enemies. And, that henceforth the stability
of her government, not only to conclude, but to guarantee, treaties and
alliances, ought not to be doubted, &c. &c.”----A peace with Spain,
likewise, is reported to be in great forwardness; so that it is
probable, before the end of this year, England alone will have the
contest to maintain; and well, I trust, it will be maintained by our
victorious fleet?
If then the coalition be on the point of its dissolution, and Charette
has laid down his arms, either we must abandon the subjugation of
France, or seek for other means to accomplish it, which, if they exist
at all, are internal. Nothing can be more dazzling and imposing than the
great success of the French against their foreign enemies, and the
seeming ease with which the vast machine of the republican government
moves; but this smooth exterior conceals a hollow and ulcerated inside.
The numberless abuses subsisting in the multiplied public offices, which
defy control or abolition; (what think you of its being asserted in the
convention, that in the post-office department more than _thirty-nine
thousand_ persons receive salaries?) the depreciation of _assignats_,
which proceeds in a ratio continually increasing, a piece of money,
which eight weeks since sold for 140 livres, now fetching 400; and,
above all, the enormous public expenditure, which almost defies
computation; are causes of the most serious alarm to the supporters of
the revolution. The last of them, if not checked, must produce a
national bankruptcy, and overturn this government, as it did the
monarchy; but whether to give birth to a new form of democracy, or to
the restoration of a king, who shall say!