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[Illustration: MARIE ANTOINETTE.]
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1789
As Viewed in the Light of Republican Institutions.
by
JOHN S. C. ABBOTT.
With One Hundred Engravings.
New York:
Harper & Brothers, Publishers,
Franklin Square.
1859.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight
hundred and fifty-nine, by
Harper & Brothers,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of
New York.
PREFACE.
For some years the author of this work has been collecting materials
for writing the history of the French Revolution. With this object in
view he has visited Paris, wishing also to become familiar with the
localities rendered immortal by the varied acts of this drama--the
most memorable tragedy, perhaps, which has as yet been enacted upon
the theatre of time. In addition to the aids which he has thus derived
from a brief sojourn in Paris, he has also found the library of Bowdoin
College peculiarly rich in all those works of religious and political
philosophizings which preceded and ushered in these events, and in the
narratives of those contemporary historians who recorded the scenes as
they occurred, or which they themselves witnessed. Governor Bowdoin,
whose library was the nucleus of the present college library, seems to
have taken a special interest in collecting all the writings of the
French philosophers and all the works of contemporary authors bearing
upon the French Revolution, including--the most important of all--full
files of the Moniteur.
The writer would not take up his pen merely to repeat the story
which has so often and so graphically been told before. But it is
expecting too much of human nature to imagine that the struggles of an
oppressed people to emancipate themselves from feudal despotism can
be impartially narrated in the castles of nobles or in the courts of
kings. It is inevitable that the judgment which is pronounced upon the
events which such a struggle involves will be biased by the political
principles of the observer. Precisely the same transaction will by one
be condemned and by another applauded. He who believes in the divine
right of kings to reign and in the divine obligation of the people
unquestioning to obey, must condemn a people who endeavor to break
the shackles of despotic power, and must applaud kings and nobles
who, with all the energies of bomb-shells, sabres, and iron hoofs,
endeavor to crush the spirit of democratic freedom. On the contrary, he
who accepts the doctrine that sovereignty resides in the people must
commend the efforts of an inthralled nation to sever the chains of
servitude, and must condemn the efforts of kings and nobles to rivet
those chains anew. Thus precisely the same facts will be regarded with
a very different judgment according as the historian is influenced by
political principles in favor of equality of rights or of aristocratic
privilege. The author of this work views the scenes of the French
Revolution from a republican stand-point. His sympathies are strongly
with an oppressed people struggling for political and religious
liberty. All writers, all men profess to love liberty.
"Despots," says De Tocqueville, "acknowledge that liberty is an
excellent thing. But they want it all for themselves, and maintain that
the rest of the world is unworthy of it. Thus there is no difference of
opinion in reference to liberty. We differ only in our appreciation of
men."[1]
To commence the history of the French Revolution with the opening of
the States-General in 1789 is as unphilosophical as to commence the
history of the American Revolution with the battle of Lexington. No man
can comprehend this fearful drama who does not contemplate it in the
light of those ages of oppression which ushered it in. It is in the
horrible despotism of the old monarchy of France that one is to see the
efficient cause of the subsequent frantic struggles of the people.
"The Revolution," says De Tocqueville, "will ever remain in darkness to
those who do not look beyond it. Without a clear view of society in the
olden time, of its laws, its faults, its prejudices, its sufferings,
its greatness, it is impossible to understand the conduct of the French
during the sixty years which have followed its fall."[2]
There is often an impression that the Revolution was a sudden outbreak
of blind unthinking passion--a tempest bursting from a serene sky; or
like a battle in the night--masses rushing blindly in all directions,
and friends and foes in confusion and phrensy smiting each other. But,
on the contrary, the Revolution was of slow growth, a storm which had
been for centuries accumulating. The gathering of the clouds, the
gleam of its embosomed fires, and the roar of its approaching thunders
arrested the attention of the observing long before the storm in all
its fury burst upon France. A careful historic narrative evolves order
from the apparent chaos, and exhibits, running through the tumultuous
scene of terror and of blood, the operation of causes almost as
resistless as the operation of physical laws.
The writer has freely expressed his judgment of the transactions which
he has narrated. "The impartiality of history," says Lamartine, "is
not that of a mirror which merely reflects objects; it should be that
of a judge who sees, listens, and decides."[3] The reader will not be
surprised to find that some occurrences which historians caressed in
regal courts and baronial halls have denounced as insolent and vulgar
are here represented as heroic and noble.
Every generous heart will respond to the sentiment uttered, in this
connection, by Thiers. "I have endeavored to stifle," he says, "within
my own bosom every feeling of animosity. I alternately figured to
myself that, born in a cottage, animated with a just ambition, I was
resolved to acquire what the pride of the higher classes had unjustly
refused me; or that, bred in palaces, the heir to ancient privileges,
it was painful to me to renounce a possession which I regarded as
a legitimate property. Thenceforth I could no longer harbor enmity
against either party. I pitied the combatants, and I indemnified myself
by admiring generous deeds wherever I found them."[4]
One simple moral this whole awful tragedy teaches. It is, that the laws
must be so just as to command the assent of every enlightened Christian
mind, and the masses of the people must be trained to such intelligence
and virtue as to be able to appreciate good laws and to have the
disposition to maintain them. Here lies the only hope of our republic.
The illustrations which embellish these pages are from the artistic
pencil of Mr. C.E. Doepler, who went to Paris that he might with more
historical accuracy delineate both costumes and localities. To the
kindness of Messrs. Goupil & Co. we are indebted for the privilege
of copying the exquisite engraving of Marie Antoinette at the
Revolutionary tribunal, which forms the Frontispiece.
John S. C. Abbott.
Brunswick, Maine, Nov., 1858.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: The Old Régime and the Revolution, by Alexis de
Tocqueville, Introduction, p. xi.]
[Footnote 2: Ib., p. 253.]
[Footnote 3: Lamartine, History of the Girondists, i., 10]
[Footnote 4: Thiers, French Revolution, Introduction.]
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
ORIGIN OF THE FRENCH MONARCHY.
Extent of France.--Character of its early Inhabitants.--Conquest of
Gaul.--Barbarian Invasion.--The Franks.--Pharamond.--Clovis.
--Introduction of Christianity.--Clotilda.--Merovingian
Dynasty.--Fields of March.--Anecdote of Clovis.--The Parisii.--Strife
with the Nobles.--Moorish Invasion.--Charles Martel.--Pepin.--Fields
of May.--Charlemagne.--His Policy.--Feudal System.--The Church.--Rolls.
--Louis V.--Hugh Capet.--Parliament established by Philip the Fair
Page 17
CHAPTER II.
THE HOUSES OF VALOIS AND BOURBON.
The House of Valois.--Luxury of the Court and the Nobles.--Insurrection.
--Jaques Bonhomme.--Henry III.--Henry IV., of Navarre.--Cardinal
Richelieu.--French Academy.--Regency of Anne of Austria.--Palaces of
France.--The Noble and the Ennobled.--Persecution of the Protestants.
--Edict of Nantes.--Its Revocation.--Distress of the Protestants.--Death
of Louis XIV. 25
CHAPTER III.
THE REGENCY AND LOUIS XV.
State of France.--The Regency.--Financial Embarrassment.--Crimes of
the Rulers.--Recoining the Currency.--Renewed Persecution of the
Protestants.--Bishop Dubois.--Philosophy of Voltaire.--Anecdote of
Franklin.--The King's Favorites.--Mademoiselle Poisson.--Her Ascendency.
--_Parc aux Cerfs._--Illustrative Anecdote.--Letter to the King.
--Testimony of Chesterfield.--Anecdote of La Fayette.--Death of
Pompadour.--Mademoiselle Lange.--Power of Du Barry.--Death of
Louis XV. 34
CHAPTER IV.
DESPOTISM AND ITS FRUITS.
Assumptions of the Aristocracy.--Molière.--Decay of the Nobility.
--Decline of the Feudal System.--Difference between France and the
United States.--Mortification of Men of Letters.--Voltaire,
Montesquieu, Rousseau.--Corruption of the Church.--Diderot.
--The Encyclopedists.--Testimony of De Tocqueville.--Frederic II. of
Prussia.--Two Classes of Opponents of Christianity.--Enormity of
Taxation.--Misery of the People.--"Good old Times of the Monarchy!" 45
CHAPTER V.
THE BASTILLE.
Absolute Power of the King.--_Lettres de Cachet._--The Bastille.
--Cardinal Balue.--Harancourt.--Charles of Armanac.--Constant de
Renville.--Duke of Nemours.--Dungeons of the Bastille.--_Oubliettes._
--Dessault.--M. Massat.--M. Catalan.--Latude.--The Student.--Apostrophe
of Michelet 53
CHAPTER VI.
THE COURT AND THE PARLIAMENT.
Death of Louis XV.--Education of Louis XVI.--Maurepas, Prime Minister.
--Turgot; his Expulsion from Office.--Necker.--Franklin.--Sympathy with
the Americans.--La Fayette.--Views of the Court.--Treaty with America.
--Popularity of Voltaire.--Embarrassment of Necker.--_Compte Rendu au
Roi._--Necker driven into Exile.--Enslavement of France.--New
Extravagance.--Calonne 57
CHAPTER VII.
THE ASSEMBLY OF THE NOTABLES.
Measures of Brienne.--The Bed of Justice.--Remonstrance of Parliament.
--Parliament Exiled.--Submission of Parliament.--Duke of Orleans.
--Treasonable Plans of the Duke of Orleans.--Anxiety of the Queen.
--The Diamond Necklace.--Monsieur, the King's Brother.--Bagatelle.
--Desperation of Brienne.--Edict for abolishing the Parliaments.
--Energy of the Court.--Arrest of D'Espréménil and Goislard.--Tumults
in Grenoble.--Terrific Hail-storm 67
CHAPTER VIII.
THE APPEAL TO THE PEOPLE.
Recall of Necker.--Reassembling the Notables.--Pamphlet of the Abbé
Sièyes.--Vote of the King's Brother.--His supposed Motive.--The Basis
of Representation.--Arrangements for the Meeting of the States.
--Statement of Grievances.--Mirabeau; his Menace.--Sympathy of the
Curates with the People.--Remonstrance of the Nobles.--First Riot.
--Meeting of the States-General.--New Effort of the privileged Classes 77
CHAPTER IX.
ASSEMBLING OF THE STATES-GENERAL.
Opening of the States-General.--Sermon of the Bishop of Nancy.--Insult
to the Deputies of the People.--Aspect of Mirabeau.--Boldness of the
Third Estate.--Journal of Mirabeau.--Commencement of the Conflict.--First
Appearance of Robespierre.--Decided Stand taken by the Commons.--Views of
the Curates.--Dismay of the Nobles.--Excitement in Paris.--The National
Assembly.--The Oath 85
CHAPTER X.
THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.
First Acts of the Assembly.--Confusion of the Court.--Hall of the
Assembly closed.--Adjournment to the Tennis-court.--Cabinet Councils.
--Despotic Measures.--The Tennis-court closed.--Exultation of the Court.
--Union with the Clergy.--Peril of the Assembly.--The Royal Sitting.
--Speech of the King 92
CHAPTER XI.
REVOLUTIONARY MEASURES.
Speech of Mirabeau.--Approach of the Soldiers and Peril of the Assembly.
--Elation of the Queen.--Triumph of Necker.--Embarrassment of the Bishops
and the Nobles.--Letter of the King.--The Bishops and Nobles join the
Assembly.--Desperate Resolve of the Nobles.--The Troops sympathizing with
the People 99
CHAPTER XII.
THE TUMULT IN PARIS.
Marshal Broglie.--Gatherings at the Palais Royal.--Disaffection of the
Soldiers.--Imprisonment and Rescue.--Fraternization.--Petition to the
Assembly.--Wishes of the Patriots.--Movement of the Troops.--Speech of
Mirabeau.--New Menaces.--Declaration of Rights.--Dismissal of Necker.
--Commotion in Paris.--Camille Desmoulins.--The French Guards join the
People.--Terror in Paris.--Character of the King 103
CHAPTER XIII.
STORMING THE BASTILLE.
The Assembly petitions the King.--Resolves of the Assembly.--Narrative
of M. Dumont.--Scenes in Paris.--The People organize for Self-defense.
--The new Cockade.--The Abbé Lefebvre d'Ormesson.--Treachery of the
Mayor, Flesselles.--Character of De Launey, Governor of the Bastille.
--Sacking the Invalides.--The Bastille Assailed.--Assassination of De
Launey and of Flesselles 112
CHAPTER XIV.
THE KING RECOGNIZES THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.
Rout of the Cavalry of Lambesc.--Tidings of the Capture of the Bastille
reach Versailles.--Consternation of the Court.--Midnight Interview
between the Duke of Liancourt and the King.--New Delegation from the
Assembly.--The King visits the Assembly.--The King escorted back to his
Palace.--Fickleness of the Monarch.--Deputation sent to the Hôtel de
Ville.--Address of La Fayette.--La Fayette appointed Commander of the
National Guard 122
CHAPTER XV.
THE KING VISITS PARIS.
Views of the Patriots.--Pardon of the French Guards.--Religious
Ceremonies.--Recall of Necker.--The King visits Paris.--Action of the
Clergy.--The King at the Hôtel de Ville.--Return of the King to
Versailles.--Count d'Artois, the Polignacs, and others leave France.
--Insolence of the Servants.--Sufferings of the People.--Persecution of
the Corn-dealers.--Berthier of Toulon.--M. Foulon.--Their Assassination.
--Humane Attempts of Necker.--Abolition of Feudal Rights 127
CHAPTER XVI.
FORMING THE CONSTITUTION.
Arming of the Peasants.--Destruction of Feudal Charters.--Sermon of the
Abbé Fauchet.--Three Classes in the Assembly.--Declaration of Rights.
--The Three Assemblies.--The Power of the Press.--Efforts of William Pitt
to sustain the Nobles.--Questions on the Constitution.--Two Chambers in
one?--The Veto.--Famine in the City.--The King's Plate melted.--The
Tax of a Quarter of each one's Income.--Statement of Jefferson 141
CHAPTER XVII.
THE ROYAL FAMILY CARRIED TO PARIS.
Waning Popularity of La Fayette.--The King contemplates Flight.--Letter
of Admiral d'Estaing.--The Flanders Regiment called to Versailles.--Fête
in the Ball-room at Versailles.--Insurrection of the Women; their March
to Versailles.--Horrors of the Night of October 5th.--The Royal Family
conveyed to Paris 155
CHAPTER XVIII.
FRANCE REGENERATED.
Kind Feelings of the People.--Emigration receives a new Impulse.--The
National Assembly transferred to Paris.--The Constituent Assembly.
--Assassination of François.--Anxiety of the Patriots.--Gloomy Winter.
--Contrast between the Bishops and the laboring Clergy.--Church
Funds seized by the Assembly.--The Church responsible for the Degradation
of the People.--New Division of France.--The Right of Suffrage.--The
Guillotine.--Rabaud de St. Etienne 165
CHAPTER XIX.
THE KING ACCEPTS THE CONSTITUTION.
The King visits the Assembly.--His Speech.--The Priests rouse the
Populace.--The King's Salary.--Petition of Talma.--Views of Napoleon.
--Condemnation and Execution of the Marquis of Favrus.--Spirit of
the New Constitution.--National Jubilee.--The Queen sympathizes
with the Popular Movement.--Writings of Edmund Burke 175
CHAPTER XX.
FLIGHT OF THE KING.
Riot at Nancy.--Prosecution of Mirabeau.--Issue of Assignats.--Mirabeau's
Interview with the Queen.--Four political Parties.--Bishops refuse to
take the Oath to the Constitution.--Character of the Emigrants.--The
King's Aunts attempt to leave France.--Debates upon Emigration.
--Embarrassment of the Assembly.--Death of Mirabeau.--His Funeral.
--The King prevented from visiting St. Cloud.--Duplicity of the King.
--Conference of the Allies.--Their Plan of Invasion.--Measures for the
Escape of the King.--The Flight 188
CHAPTER XXI.
ARREST OF THE ROYAL FUGITIVES.
Arrival at Varennes.--The Party arrested.--Personal Appearance of the
King.--The Guards fraternize with the People.--Indignation of the Crowd.
--The Captives compelled to return to Paris.--Dismay of M. de Bouillé.
--Excitement in Paris.--The Mob ransack the Tuileries.--Acts of the
Assembly.--Decisive Action of La Fayette.--Proclamation of the King.
--The Jacobin Club.--Unanimity of France 200
CHAPTER XXII.
RETURN OF THE ROYAL FAMILY FROM VARENNES.
Proclamation of Marat.--Three Commissioners sent to meet the King.
--Address to the Nation from the Assembly.--The slow and painful Return.
--Conversation between Barnave and the Queen.--Brutality of Pétion.
--Sufferings of the Royal Family.--Reception of the King in Paris.
--Conduct of the Queen.--Noble Avowal of La Fayette.--Statement of the
King.--Menace of Bouillé 214
CHAPTER XXIII.
COMMOTION IN PARIS.
The Remains of Voltaire removed to the Pantheon.--Decision of the
Assembly on the Flight of the King.--Thomas Paine.--Views of the
Constitutional Monarchists.--Message from La Fayette to the King of
Austria.--The Jacobins summon the Populace to the Field of Mars.--Mandate
of the Jacobins.--The Crowd on the Field of Mars dispersed by the
Military.--Completion of the Constitution.--Remarkable Conversation of
Napoleon.--The King formally accepts the Constitution.--Great, but
transient, Popularity of the Royal Family 222
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE APPROACH OF WAR.
Sentiments of the King and Queen upon the Constitution.--The Legislative
Assembly.--Its democratic Spirit.--The King's Speech.--Painful Scene.
--The Queen plans Escape.--Riot in the Theatre.--Infatuation of the
Aristocrats.--Insult to the Duke of Orleans.--Embarrassment of the
Allies.--Replies to the King from the European Powers.--The Emigrants at
Coblentz.--The King's Veto.--Letters of the King to his Brothers.--Their
Replies.--Cruel Edicts.--Pétion chosen Mayor.--The King visits the
Assembly.--Rise of the Republican Party 236
CHAPTER XXV.
AGITATION IN PARIS, AND COMMENCEMENT OF HOSTILITIES.
Death of Leopold.--Assassination of Gustavus.--Interview between
Dumouriez and the Queen.--Discussion in the Assembly.--The Duke of
Brunswick.--Interview of Barnave with the Queen.--Interview between
Dumouriez and the King.--Dismissal of M. Roland.--The Palace invaded.
--Fortitude of the King.--Pétion, the Mayor.--Affecting Interview of
the Royal Family.--Remarks of Napoleon 246
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE THRONE ASSAILED.
Angry Interview between the King and the Mayor.--Decisive Action of La
Fayette.--Expectations of the Queen.--Movement of the Prussian Army.
--Efforts of the Priests.--Secret Committee of Royalists.--Terror in
the Palace.--The Queen's View of the King's Character.--Parties
in France.--Energetic Action of the Assembly.--Speech of Vergniaud 262
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE THRONE DEMOLISHED.
The Country proclaimed in Danger.--Plan of La Fayette for the Safety of
the Royal Family.--Measures of the Court.--Celebration of the Demolition
of the Bastille.--Movement of the Allied Army.--Conflicting Plans of the
People.--Letter of the Girondists to the King.--Manifesto of the Duke of
Brunswick.--Unpopularity of La Fayette.--The Attack upon the Tuileries,
Aug. 10th.--The Royal Family take Refuge in the Assembly 271
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE ROYAL FAMILY IMPRISONED.
Tumult and Dismay in the Assembly.--Storming the Tuileries.--Aspect of
the Royal Family.--The Decree of Suspension.--Night in the Cloister.
--The second Day in the Assembly.--The Royal Family Prisoners.--Third
Day in the Assembly.--The Temple.--The Royal Family transferred to the
Temple 286
CHAPTER XXIX.
THE MASSACRE OF THE ROYALISTS.
Supremacy of the Jacobins.--Their energetic Measures.--The Assembly
threatened.--Commissioners sent to the Army.--Spirit of the Court Party
in England.--Speech of Edmund Burke.--Triumphant March of the Allies.
--The Nation summoned _en masse_ to resist the Foe.--Murder of the
Princess Lamballe.--Apology of the Assassins.--Robespierre and St. Just.
--Views of Napoleon 295
CHAPTER XXX.
THE KING LED TO TRIAL.
Assassination of Royalists at Versailles.--Jacobin Ascendancy.--The
National Convention.--Two Parties, the Girondists and the Jacobins.
--Abolition of Royalty.--Madame Roland.--Battle of Jemappes.--Mode of
Life in the Temple.--Insults to the Royal Family.--New Acts of Rigor.
--Trial of the King.--Separation of the Royal Family.--The Indictment.
--The King begs for Bread 308
CHAPTER XXXI.
EXECUTION OF LOUIS XVI.
Close of the Examination.--The King's Counsel.--Heroism of Malesherbes.
--Preparations for Defense.--Gratitude of the King.--The Trial.
--Protracted Vote.--The Result.--The King solicits the Delay of Execution
for three Days.--Last Interview with his Family.--Preparation for Death.
--The Execution 318
CHAPTER XXXII.
THE REIGN OF TERROR.
Charges against the Girondists.--Danton.--The French Embassador ordered
to leave England.--War declared against England.--Navy of England.
--Internal War.--Plot to assassinate the Girondists.--Bold Words of
Vergniaud.--Insurrection in La Vendée.--Conflict between Dumouriez and
the Assembly.--Flight of Dumouriez.--The Mob aroused and the Girondists
arrested.--Charlotte Corday.--France rises _en masse_ to repel the
Allies.--The treasonable Surrender of Toulon 331
CHAPTER XXXIII.
EXECUTION OF MARIE ANTOINETTE AND MADAME ELIZABETH.
Marie Antoinette in the Temple.--Conspiracies for the Rescue of the Royal
Family.--The young Dauphin torn from his Mother.--Phrensy of the Queen.
--She is removed to the Conciergerie.--Indignities and Woes.--The Queen
led to Trial.--Letter to her Sister.--The Execution of the Queen.--Madame
Elizabeth led to Trial and Execution.--Fate of the Princess and the
Dauphin 345
CHAPTER XXXIV.
THE JACOBINS TRIUMPHANT.
Views of the Girondists.--Anecdote of Vergniaud.--The Girondists brought
to Trial.--Suicide of Valazé.--Anguish of Desmoulins.--Fonfrede and
Ducos.--Last Supper of the Girondists.--Their Execution.--The Duke of
Orleans; his Execution.--Activity of the Guillotine.--Humane
Legislation.--Testimony of Desodoards.--Anacharsis Cloots.
--The New Era 353
CHAPTER XXXV.
FALL OF THE HEBERTISTS AND OF THE DANTONISTS.
Continued Persecution of the Girondists.--Robespierre opposes the
Atheists.--Danton, Souberbielle, and Camille Desmoulins.--The _Vieux
Cordelier_.--The Hebertists executed.--Danton assailed.--Interview
between Danton and Robespierre.--Danton warned of his Peril.--Camille
Desmoulins and others arrested.--Lucile, the Wife of Desmoulins.
--Letters.--Execution of the Dantonists.--Arrest and Execution of Lucile.
--Toulon recovered by Bonaparte 361
CHAPTER XXXVI.
FALL OF ROBESPIERRE.
Inexplicable Character of Robespierre.--Cécile Regnault.--Fête in honor
of the Supreme Being.--Increase of Victims.--The Triumvirate.--Suspicions
of Robespierre.--Struggle between Robespierre and the Committee of Public
Safety.--Conspiracy against Robespierre.--Session of the 27th of July.
--Robespierre and his Friends arrested.--Efforts to save Robespierre.
--Peril of the Convention.--Execution of Robespierre and his Confederates
375
CHAPTER XXXVII.
THE THERMIDORIANS AND THE JACOBINS.
The Reign of Committees.--The _Jeunesse Dorée_.--The Reaction.--Motion
against Fouquier Tinville.--Apotheosis of Rousseau.--Battle of Fleurus.
--Brutal Order of the Committee of Public Welfare.--Composition of the
two Parties.--Speech of Billaud Varennes.--Speech of Légendre.--The
Club-house of the Jacobins closed.--Victories of Pichegru.--Alliance
between Holland and France.--Advance of Kleber.--Peace with Prussia.
--Quiberon.--Riot in Lyons 389
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
DISSOLUTION OF THE CONVENTION.
Famine in Paris.--Strife between the Jeunesse Dorée and the Jacobins.
--Riots.--Scene in the Convention.--War with the Allies.--A new
Constitution.--Insurrection of the Sections.--Energy of General
Bonaparte.--Discomfiture of the Sections.--Narrative of the Duchess of
Abrantes.--Clemency of the Convention.--Its final Acts and Dissolution,
and Establishment of the Directory 398
CHAPTER XXXIX.
THE DIRECTORY.
Constitution of the Directory.--Distracted State of Public Affairs.--New
Expedition to La Vendée.--Death of the Dauphin.--Release of the Princess.
--Pacification of La Vendée.--Riots in London.--Execution of Charette.
--Napoleon takes command of the Army of Italy.--Thefirst Proclamation.
--Triumphs in Italy.--Letter of General Hoche.--Peace with Spain.
--Establishment of the Cispadane Republic.--Negotiations with England.
--Contemplated Invasion of Ireland.--Memorials of Wolfe Tone.--Deplorable
State of Public Affairs.--Description of Napoleon.--Composition of the
Directory 411
CHAPTER XL.
THE OVERTHROW OF THE DIRECTORY AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CONSULATE.
Proclamation of Napoleon.--March into Austria.--Letter to the Archduke
Charles.--Preliminaries of Peace.--Union of Parties against the
Directory.--Triumph of the Directory.--Agency of Napoleon.--Severe
Measures of the Directory.--Indignation of Napoleon.--Dictatorship of
the Directory.--Dismay of the Royalists.--Treaty of Campo Formio.
--Napoleon's Address to the Cispadane Republic.--Remarks of Napoleon.
--Plan for the Invasion of India.--Expedition to Egypt.--New Coalition.
--Rastadt 421
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.
CHAPTER I.
ORIGIN OF THE FRENCH MONARCHY.
Extent of France.--Character of its early
Inhabitants.--Conquest of Gaul.--Barbarian Invasion.--The
Franks.--Pharamond.--Clovis.--Introduction of
Christianity.--Clotilda.--Merovingian Dynasty.--Fields of
March.--Anecdote of Clovis.--The Parisii.--Strife with the
Nobles.--Moorish Invasion.--Charles Martel.--Pepin.--Fields
of May.--Charlemagne.--His Policy.--Feudal System.--The
Church.--Rolls.--Louis V.--Hugh Capet.--Parliament established by
Philip the Fair.
Could one have occupied some stand-point in the clouds fifty years
before the birth of our Savior, and have looked down upon that portion
of ancient Gaul which has since been called France, he would have
seen an immense undulating plain about six hundred and fifty miles
square, bounded on the north by the Rhine, on the east by the craggy
cliffs of the Alps, on the south by the almost impassable barriers
of the Pyrenees, and on the west by the ocean. This beautiful realm,
most admirably adapted in its physical features, its climate, and its
soil to be inhabited by man, was then mostly covered with forest. Vast
rivers, with their innumerable branches flowing in every direction,
beautified the landscape and rendered the soil exuberantly fertile.
About twenty millions of people, divided into more than a hundred
independent tribes, inhabited this fair land. Life was with them all a
scene of constant battle. They ever lived with weapons of war in their
hands, seeking to encroach upon the rights of others or to repel those
who were crowding upon them.
In this state of affairs imperial Rome cast a glance over the Alps upon
Gaul, and resolved upon its conquest and annexation to the empire.
Julius Cæsar, at the head of forty thousand men, descended through
the defiles of the mountains and entered Gaul between the Lake of
Geneva and Mount Jura. After a series of campaigns extending through
ten years, and after sweeping with his invincible legions nearly two
millions of men from his path, he succeeded in the entire subjugation
of the country. Roman governors were appointed over the several
provinces, and fortresses were reared and garrisoned by twelve hundred
Roman soldiers, who enforced the laws of the empire. The arts, the
civilization, and the refinements of Rome were gradually extended over
the semi-barbaric Gauls, and for nearly four hundred years the country
enjoyed general peace and prosperity. The southern portion of the
province became distinguished for its schools, its commerce, and its
elegance.
Toward the close of the third century the Roman Empire, enervated by
luxury and vice, was visibly on the decline. Then commenced that mighty
flood of invasion from the north which finally overran the whole of
southern Europe, sweeping before it almost every vestige of the power
and grandeur of the Cæsars. Army after army of skin-clad warriors, in
aspect savage as wolves and equally merciless, crossed the Rhine, and
in fierce and interminable battle fought their way over the plains of
Gaul. For nearly four hundred years barbarian hordes from the shores of
the North Sea, from the steppes of Tartary, even from far-off China,
were pouring down upon southern Europe. Those in the rear crowded
forward those in the advance. These clannish tribes, every where
victorious, were slow to amalgamate. Each retained its distinctive
laws, language, customs, and manners. For more than two centuries this
cruel war continued, and all Gaul presented but a scene of tumult,
terror, and carnage.
Among the marshes of the Lower Rhine there dwelt a fierce tribe
called Franks, or Freemen. Early in the fifth century, Pharamond,
the sovereign chief of this tribe, a man of extraordinary energy and
sagacity, formed a confederacy with several other adjacent tribes,
crossed the Rhine at various points, and after a series of terrific
conflicts, which were protracted through many years, overpowered the
Gauls under their Roman leaders, and took possession of the country
nearly as far as the River Somme. Being the leading chief of the
confederated tribes, he exerted a kind of supremacy over the rest,
which may perhaps be considered as the first dawning of the French
monarchy. The successors of Pharamond retained his conquests, and
gradually extended their dominions until they were in possession of all
the country between the Rhine and the Loire.
In the year 480 Clovis succeeded to the chieftainship of the
confederation. Ambitious, unscrupulous, and energetic, he pushed his
invading armies toward the Pyrenees, and for thirty years nearly all
the south of France was a volcano of smoke and flame. His march, though
attended with many reverses, was triumphant, and at the close of his
career in the year 511 nearly all Gaul was partially subjected to his
sway.
Christianity had previously entered Gaul from Rome. Clovis married
Clotilda, the daughter of a Christian bishop. In the heat of one of
his battles, as the tide of victory was setting against him, Clovis,
raising his hands and eyes to heaven, exclaimed,
"O God of Clotilda! if thou wilt interpose and grant me this victory, I
will renounce idols forever and become a Christian."
He gained the victory, and on the next Christmas-day Clovis was
baptized. But a man more thoroughly wicked never played the hypocrite.
By treachery the most loathsome, he caused all the chiefs to be
assassinated who could be regarded in the least degree as his rivals,
and, placing chiefs subject to his will at the head of all the
different tribes, he attained such a supremacy as has led historians
to speak of Clovis as the first monarch of the conquered realm.
The dynasty thus established has been called the Merovingian, from
Merovius, the grandfather of Clovis. From this successful invasion
of the Franks all Gaul received the name of France. The leaders of
these victorious bands occasionally had general assemblies, held in
the open air, to deliberate respecting important movements. These
meetings were very large, as all the chiefs and sub-chiefs came in
battle array, surrounded by an ostentatious and well-armed retinue.
As these assemblies were usually held in the month of March they
received the name of Fields of March, _Champs de Mars_. The interests
of the confederation rendered it not unfrequently necessary that these
assemblies should be convened. This was the origin of the States
General of France, which, twelve centuries later, opened the drama of
that terrible revolution, which is universally regarded as the most
awful tragedy of time.
An incident which occurred during one of these assemblies held by
Clovis interestingly illustrates the character of that barbaric chief
and the state of the times. A silver vase was included in the plunder
taken from the church of Rheims after the conquest of that city. The
plunder was divided at Soissons. The bishop of the church earnestly
solicited that the vase might be restored to him. Clovis advocated the
wishes of the bishop. One of the Frank warriors, jealous of his chief's
interference, with one blow of his battle-axe crushed the vase, sternly
declaring that Clovis was entitled to his share of the plunder and to
no more. The chieftain, though glowing with rage, ventured not to utter
a word.
At the next review of his troops, Clovis, approaching the soldier, took
his weapon as if to inspect it. Pronouncing it to be unfit for use,
he threw it disdainfully upon the ground. As the soldier stooped to
pick it up, Clovis with one blow of his battle-axe crushed his skull,
exclaiming, "Thus didst thou strike the vase at Soissons."[5]
The monarchy, thus established by usurpation, treachery, and blood, was
very precarious and shadowy in its power. There was no acknowledged
metropolis, no centralization of authority, no common laws. The whole
country was occupied by the various tribes of invaders, each, under
its own local chiefs, claiming independence, governed by its own
customs, and holding the province upon which it chanced to have taken
possession. Thus the supremacy of Clovis was neither precisely defined
nor boldly claimed.
When Cæsar, five hundred years before the rise of Clovis, invaded
Gaul, he found a tribe, called the Parisii, dwelling upon the banks
of the Seine, with their principal village--which consisted of a few
barbarian huts of mud, with straw roofs, and without chimneys--upon
a small island embraced by the river. From the name of the tribe the
village itself was subsequently called Paris. Such was the origin of
that world-renowned metropolis which for ages has been the focal point
of literature, science, art, and bloody revolutions. During the sway of
the Romans the city had increased very considerably in population and
importance, and Clovis selected it as his capital.
For about three hundred years the successors of Clovis maintained their
supremacy. During all this period there was a constant conflict between
the king and the heads of the other tribes, or the nobles as they
gradually began to be called. An energetic monarch would occasionally
arise and grasp extended power. But he would perhaps be succeeded by
a feeble ruler, and the nobles would again rally and make vigorous
encroachments upon the royal assumptions. The only contest, however,
was between the king and the nobles. The mass of the people were in
abject servitude, with no recognized rights.
In the year 732 the Moors, who had crossed the sea from Africa and
had overrun Spain, began to crowd down in battle array through the
defiles of the Pyrenees upon the plains of France. A successful
general, Charles _Martel_ (the hammer), so called from the tremendous
blows he dealt the enemy, met them and drove them back with prodigious
slaughter. By his achievements he acquired immense popularity and
renown. As a very feeble prince then occupied the throne, Charles
Martel collected the reins of power into his own hands, and, though
nominally but an illustrious general, became in reality the ruler of
France. Satisfied with the possession of power he was not ambitious of
the kingly title, or thought it not prudent to grasp at too much at
once.
At the death of Charles Martel, his son Pepin, a man of great energy
and ambition, drove the imbecile king, Childeric III., into a cloister,
and took his seat unresisted upon the throne. The dynasty thus
established is called the Carlovingian, from Charlemagne, the most
illustrious of this line of kings. The nation cordially approved of
the act. As Pepin could not claim the throne by right of hereditary
descent, he founded his title to reign upon the regal power which his
father had in _reality_ exercised, and upon the well-known assent of
the nation. To confirm his authority still more, he appealed to the
Pope. The Church was now in the plenitude of its power; and the Pope,
grateful for the service which Charles Martel had rendered the Church
by driving back the infidels, with alacrity consented to establish
Pepin upon the throne by the august rites of religion.
Pepin, as his leading warriors had now become horsemen, changed the
time of the general assemblies from the month of March to May, as
the latter month was more convenient for forage, and the Assembly
hence received the name of Fields of May, _Champs de Mai_. At these
meetings the king presided, and the body was composed of the higher
clergy and the nobility. Occasionally, a small delegation of the most
distinguished of the people, who were called the Third Estate, _Tiers
Etat_, had been admitted. Pepin called together only the clergy and
the nobility, declining to admit the Third Estate to the Assembly.
Subsequently some kings admitted the Third Estate, and others excluded
them, according to their caprice. Questions relating to war, peace, and
the enactment of general laws were submitted to this body, and decided
by the majority. The chiefs only could speak. The assembled warriors
clamorously and with clashing of arms expressed assent or dissent.
The world-renowned Charlemagne, succeeding his father Pepin, ascended
the throne in the year 768. France at that time presented every where
an aspect of decay and wild disorder. This monarch, illustrious both
as a warrior and a statesman, fused the heterogeneous and warring
tribes into a compact nation. Still, the mass, though consolidated, was
conglomerate, its component parts distinctly defined. All France bowed
submissive to his sway. Like a whirlwind he traversed Spain with his
armies. Italy speedily acknowledged his supremacy. The vast empire of
Charlemagne soon vied with that of ancient Rome, embracing nearly the
whole of Europe.
It was an important point in the policy of Charlemagne to humble the
nobles. He wished to surround his throne with an aristocracy enjoying
privilege and splendor, but deprived of all political power. He wished
himself to appoint the rulers of the provinces, and not to allow those
offices to be hereditary with the counts and the dukes. Therefore he
endeavored to ally the _people_ with himself in resisting the powerful
barons. He also, with the same object in view, sedulously courted the
affections of the Church, conferring many of the most important offices
of the state upon the high ecclesiastics.
Charlemagne ordered the Assembly to meet twice every year. Every
count was commanded to bring to this congress thirteen of the most
influential of the people within his jurisdiction. They usually met in
two bodies, the ecclesiastical leaders in one spot, the military in
another. Sometimes, by order of the king, they both met together. The
king held his court at a little distance, and by messengers received
constant reports from the two bodies. Weighing the result of their
deliberations, he issued his decree, which all recognized as law. Such
was the germ of deliberative assemblies in France.
Charlemagne established several schools. In these he assembled for
severe study many of the young men of the empire, selecting the
low-born as well as the sons of the nobles. As he was very desirous
that his reign should be embellished by the attainments of men of
letters, he frequently examined these schools himself. One of the
historians of those days writes:
"When, after a long absence, Charlemagne returned to Gaul, he ordered
the children to be brought to him, to show him their exercises and
verses. Those belonging to the lower classes exhibited works beyond all
hope, but those of noble descent had only trifles to show. The wise
monarch, imitating the Eternal Judge, placed those who had done well on
his right hand, and thus addressed them:
"'A thousand thanks, my sons, for your diligence in laboring according
to my orders and for your own good. Proceed. Endeavor to perfect
yourselves, and I will reward you with magnificent bishoprics and
abbeys, and you shall be ever honorable in my sight.'
"Then he bent an angry countenance upon those on his left hand, and,
troubling their consciences with a lightning look, with bitter irony,
and thundering rather than speaking, he burst upon them with this
terrible apostrophe:
"'But for you, nobles, you sons of the great--delicate and pretty
minions as you are, proud of your birth and your riches--you have
neglected my orders and your own glory, and the study of letters, and
have given yourselves up to ease, sports, and idleness.'
"After this preamble, raising on high his august head and his
invincible arm, he fulminated his usual oath:
"'By the King of Heaven I care little for your nobility and beauty,
however others may admire you. You may hold it for certain that, if you
do not make amends for your past negligence by vigilant zeal, you will
never obtain any thing from Charles.'"[6]
Wherever Charlemagne led his legions, he baptized the vanquished; and
the conquered tribes and nations called themselves Christians. The
ignorant barbarians eagerly accepted the sacrament for the sake of the
white baptismal robe which was given to each proselyte.
The vast empire of Charlemagne under his effeminate successors rapidly
crumbled to pieces. In ceaseless conflicts and fluctuations the chiefs
of the tribes, or nobles, gradually regained the power which had
been wrested from them by Charlemagne. Upon the ruins of the empire
arose the feudal system, and France became a monarchy but in name.
The throne, shorn of its energies, retained but the shadow of power.
Haughty dukes, surrounded by their warlike retainers, and impregnable
in massive castles which had been the work of ages, exercised over
their own vassals all the prerogatives of royalty, and often eclipsed
the monarch in wealth and splendor. The power of the duke became so
absolute over the serfs who tilled his acres, and who timidly huddled
for protection beneath the ramparts of the castle, that, in the
language of the feudal code, the duke "might take all they had, alive
or dead, and imprison them when he pleased, being accountable to none
but God."
France again became but a conglomeration of independent provinces, with
scarcely any bond of union. The whole landscape was dotted with castles
strongly built upon the river's bluff, or upon the craggy hill. These
baronial fortresses, massive and sombre, were flanked by towers pierced
with loop-holes and fortified with battlements. A ditch often encircled
the walls, and an immense portcullis or suspended gate could at any
moment be let down, to exclude all entrance. The apartments were small
and comfortless, with narrow and grated windows. There was one large
banqueting-hall, the seat of baronial splendor, where the lord met his
retainers and vassals in intercourse in which aristocratic supremacy
and democratic equality were most strangely blended. Every knight swore
fealty to the baron, the baron to the duke, the duke to the king. The
sovereign could claim military service from his vassals, but could
exercise no power over their serfs, either legislative or judicial. It
not unfrequently happened that some duke had a larger retinue and a
richer income than the king himself.
A poor knight implored of the Count of Champagne a marriage-portion for
his daughter. A wealthy citizen who chanced to be present said, "My
lord has already given away so much that he has nothing left." "You
do not speak the truth," said the count, "since I have got yourself;"
and he immediately delivered him up to the knight, who seized him by
the collar, and would not liberate him until he had paid a ransom of
twenty-five hundred dollars. A French knight relates this story as an
instance of the count's generosity.
These lords were often highway robbers. Scouts traversed the country,
and armed men who filled their castles watched for travelers. The rich
merchant who chanced to fall into their hands was not only despoiled of
all his goods, but was often thrown into a dungeon, and even tortured
until he purchased his ransom at a price commensurate with his ability.
Under this feudal sway the eldest son was the sole possessor. "As for
the younger children," exclaims Michelet, with indignant sarcasm,
"theirs is a vast inheritance! They have no less than all the highways,
and over and above, all that is under the vault of heaven. Their bed
is the threshold of their father's house, from which, shivering
and ahungered, they can look upon their elder brother sitting alone
by the hearth where they too have sat in the happy days of their
childhood, and perhaps he will order a few morsels to be flung to them
notwithstanding the dogs do growl. 'Down, dogs, down, they are my
brothers! they must have something as well as you.'"
The Church was the only asylum for the younger sons of these
great families. In her bosom ambitious ecclesiastics, as bishops,
archbishops, and cardinals, often attained a degree of splendor and
of authority which the baron, the count, or the duke in vain strove
to emulate. The unmarried daughters took refuge in the monasteries,
or were shut up, in seclusion which was virtual imprisonment, in the
corners of the old chateaux. Thus the convents, those castles of the
Church, were reared and supported mainly to provide for the privileged
class. The peasant in the furrow looked with equal dread upon the
bishop and the baron, and regarded them equally as his oppressors.
These proud bishops assumed the character and the haughty air of feudal
lords. They scorned to ride upon the lowly mule, but vaulted upon the
back of the charger neighing for the battle. They were ever ready for a
fray, and could strike as sturdy blows as ever came from the battle-axe
of a knight. The vows of celibacy were entirely disregarded. Some took
wives; others openly kept concubines. These younger sons of the nobles,
dressed in the garb of the Church, were found to be such dangerous
characters that there was a general demand that they should be married.
"Laymen are so convinced," says one of the ancient writers, "that
none ought to be unmarried, that in most parishes they will not abide
a priest except he have a concubine." The lords spiritual endeavored
to fashion the Church upon the model of the feudal system. Abbeys and
bishoprics, with all their rich endowments, passed by descent to the
children of the bishops.[7]
An incident which occurred in the year 911 throws much light upon the
rudeness of those barbaric times. Rollo, the chieftain of a band of
Norman pirates, entered the Seine, committing fearful ravages. Charles
IV., appropriately called Charles the Simple, alarmed by his progress
and unable to raise a force sufficient to check him, sent an archbishop
to offer him the possession of Normandy, with the title of hereditary
duke, if he would peaceably take possession of this territory and
swear allegiance to the king. Rollo eagerly accepted the magnificent
offer. In performing the ceremony of swearing fealty, it was necessary,
according to custom, for Rollo to prostrate himself before the king
and kiss his feet. The haughty Norman, when called upon to perform the
ceremony, indignantly drew himself up, exclaiming,
"Never, never will I kiss the foot or bow the knee to mortal man."
After some delay it was decided that the act of homage should be
performed by proxy, and Rollo ordered one of his stalwart soldiers to
press his lip upon the foot of the king. The burly barbarian strode
forward, as if in obedience to the command, and, seizing the foot of
the monarch, raised it high above his head, and threw the monarch
prostrate upon the floor. The Norman soldiers filled the hall with
derisive shouts of laughter, while the king and his courtiers,
intimidated by barbarians so fierce and defiant, prudently concealed
their chagrin.
The Carlovingian dynasty held the throne for two hundred and
thirty-five years. Louis V., the last of this race, died in 987. He was
called, from his indolence and imbecility, the Idler. As he sank into
an inglorious grave, an energetic and powerful noble, Hugh Capet, Duke
of the Isle of France, with vigorous arm thrust the hereditary claimant
into a prison and ascended the throne. Thus was established the third
dynasty, called the Capetian.
For two hundred and fifty years under the Capets, France could hardly
be called a kingdom. Though the name of king remained, the kingly
authority was extinct. The history of France during this period is
but a history of the independent feudal lords, each of whom held his
court in his own castle. None of these kings had power to combine
the heterogeneous and discordant elements. The fragile unity of the
realm was broken by differences of race, of customs, of language, and
of laws. But in this apparent chaos there was one bond of union, the
Church, which exerted an almost miraculous sway over these uncultivated
and warlike men. The ecclesiastics were strongly in favor of the
Capets, and were highly instrumental in placing them upon the throne.
With the Capets commenced a royal line which, in its different
branches, running through the houses of Valois and of Bourbon, retained
the throne for eight hundred years, until the fall of Louis XVI. in
1793.
About the year 1100 we begin to hear the first faint murmurs of the
people. Some bold minds ventured the suggestion that a man ought to
be free to dispose of the produce of his own labor, to marry his
children without the consent of another, to go and come, sell and buy
without restriction. Indeed, in Normandy the peasants broke out in a
revolt. But steel-clad knights, in sweeping squadrons, cut them down
mercilessly and trampled them beneath iron hoofs. The most illustrious
of the complainants were seized and hung to the trees, as a warning
to all murmurers. The people were thus taught that trees made good
gibbets. When their turn came they availed themselves of this knowledge.
In the year 1294 Philip the Fair established a court in Paris called
the Parliament. This was purely an aristocratic body, and was, in
general, entirely subservient to the king's wishes. Similar parliaments
were established by the great feudal princes in their provinces. There
were occasional contentions between the parliaments and the king,
but the king usually succeeded in compelling them to obedience. The
Parliament enjoyed only the privilege of registering the royal edicts.
In the reign of Louis XIV. the Parliament ventured to express a little
objection to one of the tyrannical ordinances of the monarch.
The boy-king, eighteen years of age, was astounded at such impudence.
He left the chase, and, hastening to the hall, entered it whip in
hand. He could send them one and all to the Bastille or the block, and
they knew it, and he knew it. The presence of the king brought them to
terms, and they immediately became as submissive as fawning spaniels.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 5: Greg. Tur., book ii., c. 28.]
[Footnote 6: Monach. Sangall, b. i., c. ii., sqq., as quoted by
Michelet.]
[Footnote 7: See the abundant proof of these statements in Michelet's
History of France, p. 193.]