which has elapfed fince the English were detained as prifoners. How Dr. Maclean obtained exemption from the general lot, and permiffion to leave the hoftile territories, will beft be feen in his own words. It was on the 5th of July, 1803, that he addreffed his Letter to the Grand Judge for permiflion to depart; the correfpondence, and the fubfequent events, fhall all be included in our extract. "To his Excellency the Grand Judge, Minifter of Justice. "Citizen Grand Judge, "The misfortunes and animofities of war have often been forgotten by governments, when opportunities have occurred of protecting fcientific researches; and it is with pleafure I read in the public papers, that motives of this kind have lately occafioned the release of the French fhip la Naturalifte, in England. Although an Englishman*, I bear neither civil nor military commiffion; and I have not inhabited England for ten years. My profeffion is medical. Refearches on the nature of difeates 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 experiments more, to complete a work which is already far advanced, on epidemic and peftilential difeafes. "The Minifter 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 manner in which that minifter received a memorial I had the honour of prefenting to him, on this fubject, last year, deferves my praise. At this moment, it is with regret that I am prevented, by the general measure which has just been adopted against the English, from continuing refearches, of which I flatter my felf the refults might prove useful to all nations. But 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 paffport, by virtue of which I may freely pursue my researches. With this view I take the liberty of confidently addreffing your Excellency. "Greeting and respect." "To which I received the following anfwer: "The Chief of the fixth Divifion of the War Department, to Mr. Charles Maclean, English Phyfician, Prifoner at Paris. "The Grand Judge, Sir, has tranfmitted to the Minister at War the letter, in which you request to be freed from your parolet, and "Abroad, English, Irish, and Scotch are indifcriminately called Englishmen. "I had never been on parole, nor was ever vifited from the police, till I made myself known to them, by applying to the Grand Judge." liberty liberty to purfue freely throughout the republic the refearches neceffary to complete your work on epidemic difeafes. "That minifter charges me to acquaint you, that he cannot determine refpecting 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 requests you to tranfmit them as foon as poffible. "Paris, 13 Thermidor, an xi. (Signed) "GOUTHOZ." "I had now rather a difficult task; for, although it was undoubtedly true, that during the last ten years I had been only a few weeks in England, yet it was not an eafy matter to produce proofs of the fact. Precifely at this period, I had the good fortune to meet with a French furgeon in the Palais Royal, whom I had formerly known in India. He was very glad to fee me: "Ah! Mon cher docteur, c'est vous," and hugged me vehemently in the old French ftyle of falutation: "Mon cher confrere", faid I, defending myfelf 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? Comme vous voyes; but if you will walk home with me, I will tell you the particulars, and will introduce you to my wife." With all my heart; and we walked to the Rue Jean Jaques Rouffeau. I could not all this while recollect the name of my new found friend; but did not choose 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 surgeon of a privateer, captured in the Straights of Sunda, by a fquadron commanded by Commodore Sir Charles Mitchell, in 1793, in which fquadron I had the honour to act. Having rendered himfelf and his fhipmates fome 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 prifoners at Batavia. This worthy fon of Æfculapius immediately accompanied me to the Grand Judge, with a phyfician of his acquaintance, whom I afterwards found had been phyfician to Robespierre, and is now phyfician to fome of the principal members of the confular government. It happened the levy of the Grand Judge was on 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 memorial with a modest inclination of the head; the phyfician made an eloquent harangue in my favour, af This is another miftake; for I had never asked for liberty to purfue my researches through the republic only it was, however, probably a wilful miftake; for I believe the members of the government in general were fo much afhamed of the decree against the Englifh, that they only wifhed for a decent pretext to allow individuals an opportunity of departing without giving them exprefs permiflion." ter ter the manner of the ancients; and the honeft furgeon and man mid wife, taking the Grand Judge by one of the buttons of his robe, made my eulogium in rather more laconic terms: "Menfiour", faid he, in a tone of uncommon animation, "il a fauré la vie à trois cent Fran4pis." At this declaration, fo unexpected to myff, the eyes of all the people in the room were turned upon me, and I could not help bluthing. The Grand Judge, bowing to me with a look of compla cency, faid, "C'est très bien, Monfieur; and turning to his clerk, defired him to make a report of my cafe in four-and-twenty hours. But "This I contefs to have been a grateful moment in my life. our bufinefs was not now with the Grand Judge. Being confidered a prifoner of war, my memorials were all referred to the war depart ment. With the teftimony of Citizen B*********, that of a German friend, who was then in Paris, of my refidence in Germany, and fome other chronological documents, I fucceeded in proving, to the fatisfaction of the Minifter at War, that I had not refided for ten years in England. He accordingly ordered General Junot to erafe my name from the lift of prifoners (where by the bye it had never been enrolled): with which d.cifion I was made acquainted in the following letter: "The minister charges me to inform you, Sir, that he has authorifed the general of the first divifion to erafe you from the list of prifoners of war, that you might be enabled to purfue freely, throughout the republic, the refearches for which you have occafion, in order to complete your work on epidemic and peftilential difeafes. "15th Fructidor, year xi. "I greet you. GOUTHOZ." "With this I went to General Junot, and got my certificate of radiation. While I was with him, he figned a passport for a Mr. Benfield, whom I understood to be of the house of Boyd, Benfield, and Co. to go by Calais to Hamburg. This ftruck me as a destination altogether fingular; and I concluded it was in effect a palport 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, 1 went again to the Grand Judge, who immediately gave orders to write to the Prefect of Police to grant me a paffport. Confidering that I was now no longer a prifoner, I thought I had a right to get a paffport to go where I pleafed; but as I did not judge it entirely confiflent with found policy to alk leave to go straight to England, I demanded one for the United States of America, which was forthwith granted, on condition, however, that I should embark at Bourdeaux only. My paffport was dated the fourth complimentary day, or the 20th of September, and allowed me fix decades, or two months, to quit the territory of the republic." P. 143. As far as Dr. Maclean relates what fell under his own obfervation, the reader may rely implicitly upon his report; but we are informed, by perfons who have the best means of knowing the truth, that in fome matters, where he had relied on on others, he has been misled. The account of the interview of Bonaparte with the Swifs Deputies is, we are affured, erroneous in many material points. Whatever his reafon might be, he treated them throughout with refpect, and difcuffed many important points without heat and without infult. The number of Deputies prefent, and the mode of fitting, are alfo, we understand, erroneous. Let us turn then, for another fpecimen, to a part where the author relates what happened to himfelf. "It was more than three we ks after I had obtained my passport before I was enabled to leave Paris. Being at length prepared for the journey, I took a place in the diligence, which feis off from the Rue de Boulay, for Bourdeaux. The price of the place was 72 livres, or 31. fterling; apparently a very moderate fum for 164 leagues, or about 410 Englith miles. This is certainly one of the cheapest roads in France. But if we compare it with the rate of travelling 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 confiderable than in an English one. It feven days be required to travel from Paris to Bourdeaux, a distance of 410 miles, while 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 refpect to distance, but that it is farther attended with an immenfe faving of time, even to two-thirds. "On the 11th of October, at noon, I repaired to the diligence office, Rue de Bonly, where I found my fellow-travellers aflembled, and ready to take poffeffion of their places. The noise and confufion, iffuing from the groupe of males, females, children, dogs, and horfes, collected 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 recollected to have often feen, I took the liberty of accofting: Your face, Sir, is very familiar to me, but I cannot recollect where I have had the pleasure of feeing you. "I am a very public man, Sir; I am the apothecary who lives oppofite 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 Bourdeaux. He is going as far as Bayonne, and will perhaps vifit England before he returns." In that cafe, Sir, your fon and I may be better acquainted. "He has already been in your country, and speaks your language tolerably well.” By this time the vehicle being ready, our names were called over, and every one took his place according to feniority; i. e. the perfon whofe name was firit infcribed in the books of the office was entitled to the firit place, and fo in rotation. But there being women and children, politenefs, as well as humanity, required an infringement of this regulation. Those who were entitled to the best places, made a voluntary voluntary furrender of their rights. It fomewhat furprised me that no paffports were asked for on this occafion. Paffing through Paris to the barriere de l'obfervatoire, at a flow and folemn pace, each of us feemed abforbed in his own reflections, and no one appeared defirous of interrupting the filence. At the profpect of quitting this gay capital, every one wore an expreffion 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 general feelings of the moment. In this itate 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 preponderate over all fenfations of regret or forrow, and a general converfation enfued. "Befide the pallengers in the cabriolet, and on the top, we were feven perfons infide, three of whom were women. One of thefe females was dreffed in mens' cloaths: fhe was going to join her husband at Bourdeaux. The two others had children on their knees, and were far gone with child. "The diligence, like mot French vehicles of that kind, also carried goods. It was over loaded and top-heavy. Our pace was about a league an hour. The first 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 fingular as well as fortunate, that no perfon, not even the women or children, were hurt. The accident, however, had fome very unpleasant effects. We were detained ten hours in repairing the damages fuftained; and this detention deranged the ufual regularity of arrivals and departures at every future ftage; fo that we had nothing good to eat, and scarcely 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 Artenay, about a league from the place of our overthrow, where, after having got a coffee breakfast, some went to bed, and others to write to their friends at Paris. "After being refreshed 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 Bourdeaux. The carriage was repaired by the time we had finished our repaft, and we fet off afresh upon our journey. But it was past four o'clock, and we must pass through Orleans in the dark, a circumstance which we all very much regretted. 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 Loire. "A league an hour was dull travelling for a man who wished for nothing more ardently 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 unaccommodating to the travellers. Our breakfafts, dinners, and fuppers were bad, becaufe, owing to the accident we had met |