ployed to avenge the infulted na

tion.

"Pardon to the Frenchmen who have been misled: the traitors deferve death."

In confequence of the near approach of general Brune, with the fword in the one hand, and the olive-branch in the other, fome others of the chiefs, befides thofe already mentioned, and even whole bodies of men, laid down their arms; but others, who had not yet come to the fame refolution, were encouraged to ftand out ftill against all the offers and the threats of the republicans, by hopes of affiftance from England and from Ruffia. An aclive force, confifting of three battalions of the firft, fecond, and third regiments of British guards, befides cavalry, under the command of fir Balph Abercromby, was expected, befides the Ruffian troops quartered in the islands of Guernsey and Jerfey, and other Ruffian troops which were to join them. Towards the end of January, feveral columns of loyalifts having formed a junction with the troops under general Domfront, attacked the republicans, but were vigorously repulled, with the lofs of five hundred men killed, and fifty prifoners. The different parties of the loyalifts that still retained their arms and kept together, were every where attacked with vigour, put to fight, or difperfed. In thele encounters, fome of the chiefs were killed, and others, among whom was George, were wounded. Early in February no lefs a number than fifteen thousand royalifts, or, as they were called by the French, Chouans, laid down their arms, and were united to the republicans.

It feems remarkable, that it was not always the leaders of the roy

alifts, but the common men, that were the moft obftinately deter mined to perfevere in refiftance and oppofition to the republic. The chiefs that were moft convinced of the inefficacy of longer refiftance, experienced great obftacles to pacification, on the part of the men whom they commanded. When general George gave orders to his people to difband and difperfe, they plundered his houfe. Chatillon, in difbanding his followers, experienced like difficulties: fo alfo did feve ral of the other chiefs. A band, of about three hundred Chouans, deftroyed the telegraph of Bourbriac, in the Cotes-du-Nord. The fame band put to death one of their confcripts, a young man who had been forced into their ranks, and had thrice deferted. Predatory parties. continued allo ftill to levy contributions in different parts of the country; but the spirit of refiftance, though not, we may prefame altogether of loyalty, was now broken. The great mafs of the people fighed for peace, and began to confider the fcattered, parties that fcoured the country only as enemies to returning tranquillity. On the fif teenth of February, a general pacification with the royalifts was concluded. All the individuals, known by the name of chiefs of Chonans, with the exception of one, pretently to be noticed, laid down their arms at Rolperdin, and returned, unattended by any of their men, to Quimper. A general difarming of all the loyalifts took place in all the departments, and an immenfe quantity of arms, ftores, and provifions, fell into the hands of the prevailing party.

The leader of the loyalifts that yet remained unfubdued in mind, [M 3]

and

and the unconquerable will, though forced to retreat and conceal himfelf from a hoftile and irrefiftible force, was count Lewis de Frotté, the hero moft diftinguifhed by valour, magnanimity, and firmnefs, among all the loyalifts, fince the ceJebrated Chareite, of La Vendée. The count had written a letter to the republican general Guidat, propofing a general pacification of all the Chouans, to which letter he had received an infignificant and evasive answer. This negociation was protracted beyond the laft of the days fixed for the armistice, and the acceptation of the terms of peace offered to the royalifis; and count Lewis de Frotté, retiring with his staff and fome other officers, lay coneealed in an ancient caftle in the department of Orne. A letter of one of his pides-de-camp, intercepted by a republican, difcovered his retreat. He was taken, together with fix of his ftaff-officers, the faithful companions of his concealment. Thefe were Meffieurs de Caumarque, Hugon, and De Verdun, commandants of legions; Monfieur de Caffineux, aide-de-camp to general Frotté; and Meffieurs Seguirat and St. Florent, his aides-ipajors. The count, with his fix companions, was fent, by general Chamberthac, to Vermeuil, where they were all of them judged by a military tribunal, and condemned to be hot, within twenty-four hours, by the orders of general Lefevre, once a ferjeant in the French guards. The ground on which M. de Frotté was condemned was, one of his letters which was found in the poffeffion of one of his unfortunate companions; in which letter he devoted himfelt to the caule of royalty with the moft heroic enthufiafm. The count, and

all his unfortunate companions, met death with the most undanted courage. They would not permit bendages to be put on their eyes Monfieur de Cafineux, his aidde-camp, being only wounded by the firft fire, and still able to stand, faid calmly, to the foldiers on duty, fire again; which they did, and difpatched him.

The unhappy aid-de-camp, whofe note was the occafion of this mournful catastrophe, driven to the extremity of grief and despair, by his involuntary indiferetion, blew out his own brains with a pistol.

When news of the final termination of the rebellion, by the capture and death of count Lewis de Frotté, was received by Buonaparte, he communicated it, without de lay, to the legislative affembly; in which Roederer role up, and faid, "You will learn, with pleasure, that that part of the French territory, which was put out of the law, is reftored to the republic, by the deftruction of the rebels that held pof fethion of it. The first conful has given it in charge to me to acquaint you that Frotté, with his staff-officers, has been taken in a cafile, in the department of Orne. were found upon him a crofs of St. Lewis, a feal, with the arms of France, and fome poinards, of the manufacture of England."-All the members of the legislative body, on this, rofe up, and cried, “ Vive la republique."

There

Thus, by a wife union of moderation with firmness, and of a spirit of conciliation with a mighty armed force, the royalift party, in France, was totally annihilated; and thus, alfo, there was an end of the royal and illuftrious family of the French Bourbons; the pillars of whofe power

were

were overthrown with the arms of the loyalifts.

When the unfortunate and fugitive prince of that family, his royal highness the count d'Artois, or Monfeur, as the poor royalifts, after the ideal acceffion of Lewis XVIII. affected to call him, was made acquainted with the death of M. de Frotté, he immediately paid a vifit to the unhappy father of that young hero in London, and mingled his tears of condolence with thofe of the old count, with the most affecting fenfibility. It was a younger brother of general de Frotte, that aided the efcape of fir Sidney Smith from the tower of the Temple, and afterwards ferved un

1

peace or war with France, we have already feen in the courfe of the debates in parliament. They had no objection to treat with any form of government in France, that fhould appear, from experience or the evidence of facts, to be able and will ing to negociate, on the principles eftablished among European nations, and to preferve and fupport the ufual relations of peace and amity; but a peace, concluded with an unstable government, muft itself be unftable. The peace, that did not promile to be permanent, was good for nothing. It was, farther, preg-, nant with difadvantage and danger. But no fecure and lafting peace could co-exift, with a fyftem of aggrelfion, aggrandizement, and univerfal deftruction: a fyftem that had been adopted and purfued in France from the commencement of the revolution; and from which it did not by any means appear, that the new chief, the first conful, Buonaparte, had at all departed. In

and lafting peace, was, to profecute the war with vigour.-Such alfo were the fentiments of the great ally of Britain, the emperor of Germany.

Of the political fituation of Auftria, and the Germanic empire, in relation to France, we may form a tolerably juft idea from the circular letter of the archduke Charles, dated at Donaueschingen, the fourth of December, 1799, to the anterior circles of the empire, of which a tranflation here follows: " It is from the impulfe of the most invincible neceffity, that I am induced to speak to you of an object, and of difpofitions, from whence there may arife the greatest detriments to the common caufe of Germany. I perceive, with regret, that the late events in France, through which the fupreme power has paffed into new hands, have revived the hope, already fo often deceived, of an approaching pacification; and that, on the ftrength of this premature fuppofition, an idea prevails that it

is not, for the prefent, neceffary to call on the princes and states of the empire for their contingents, and the difcharge of the other duties they owe to the conftitution. A true German and patriotic heart, and an understanding enlightened by fo much fad experience, can never be led into fo great an error: an error, which would deprive us of the only means of concluding a speedy peace, on fair and proper terms, and fuch as might be folid and lafting. It would be wrong, for a moment, to lofe fight of the maxim, that the moft vigorous preparation for war is the fureft way to obtain peace. This we fall acquire both the fooner, and on the better terms, if the enemy fhall fee that we are in a state for continuing the war, in cafe of his perfifting in an imperious tone, and pretending yet once more to prefcribe a peace, accompanied with difgrace and flavery, or that fhould put it into his power to involve us in difgrace and flavery hereafter. We have been too often deceived by a precipitate hope of peace, on the part of France, to be lulled, by the late events, into a fleep of fallacious fecurity. It has been invariably found, that every new faction in France has talked a great deal about peace. The word peace has been always in their mouths, never in their hearts. By the plaufible affurances of peace they only aimed at drawing over public opinion to their fide, and acquiring popularity. They have uniformly commenced new wars. They have never shewn a difpofition to make peace on equal terms. By peace, they mean nothing more than the extermination of their enemies.

"The revolution of the ninth of

November, when closely contemplated, cannot, all at once, inspire full concedence in the new government. A part of the perfons, into whofe hands the fupreme power has fallen, are the members of former councils, who, both by their profeffed principles, and the whole of their public conduct, have sworn eternal enmity and mortal hatred to all states not conftituted like their own; several of which they have overthrown, and others of which, in the midft of perfect peace, they have perfidioully brought under their fubjection. Nor is the fpirit that reigns in the publications of France of the moft pacific nature. In thefe. it is often faid, that the late revolution has no other end in view, than to raise the republic to the rank which the ought to hold in the fcale of European nations. The old directory, in thofe writings, is cenfured, not for having made war on their neighbours, but for having made war unfuccefsfully; for not having made new conquefts, and for having loft provinces that had been before conquered. The French proclamations fet out always with a difcourfe about victory, and fpeak of peace only in the laft place: which fhews that they do not yet confider circumftances as fufficiently favourable for pacification; and that they have a mind, before the conclufion of peace, to try the chances of war.

The minifter of war announces openly, that he is bufily employed in recruiting the army, and providing all things neceffary for its equipment and fupport. He adds, that he will join it himself, and fhare its dangers, as foon as the feafon will admit the opening of the campaign; and that he is preparing new [pretended] triumphs.