I had been employed for eighteen months at the Army of the Rhine, commanded by the modest and immortal Moreau* and specially entrusted with the command of the fort of Kehl, besieged by Prince Charles, when, I received from the Directory, an order to repair to Paris, to take the command of the guard of the Legislative Body; to which I had been appointed by the choice of the two Councils. That body of Grenadiers, at first composed of a battalion of eight hundred

*General Moreau is, and always will be, in my opinion, great man. I have been taught by experience, what degree of confidence is to be placed in party-men. Moreau is a republican, and so am I. If he impeached Pichegru (as is asserted), he must have had his reasons for so doing: if he has been de ceived, I pity him. Besides, Moreau is not, as has been said, the creature of Pichegru; the latter was himself only a Chief of Battalion of National Guards of the Department of Doubs; and towards the end of 1793, was promoted to the rank of general by St. Just and Lebas, who were upon a mission to the Army of the Rhine, whereas Moreau was then already general to the Army of the North. I owe nothing to either of them, but my share of that gratitude which both have so justly deserved from the whole nation. Even Barrere Bailleul, who maintains that one cannot PROVE that there is such a thing as Light, shall, in vain endeavour to prove the contrary of what I advance. I censured, as did also General Moreau, the conduct of the Council of Five Hundred previous to the 18th Fructidor; which was by no means calculated to remove the fears of the friends of Liberty.

men, had just been encreased to two battalions of six hundred men each. They were originally formed out of the Grenadiers of the Convention. It is sufficient to recollect the period at which they were raised, to form some judgment of the spirit that reigned among them, and of the absolute necessity of a reformation. I laboured at it incessantly. The new modelling of them and the addition to their numbers of some of the best soldiers that could be picked out of all the armies,

I did not scruple saying, that such and such deputies were unfit for the situation they held in the Legislative Body. I have many times acquainted several of the representatives, especially the Director Carnot, with my promise to the officers of the corps which I commanded, that if ever the Legislative Body should openly dare to violate the Constitution, I would be the first to march against them at the head of my Grenadiers. How was it possible not to be uneasy? The Representative Dumas, my friend, a member of the Council of the Elders, having presented a petition to the Legislative Body, that the ex-minister at war, Duportail, should be struck out of the list of emigrants, they never condescended to take any notice of it. Monsieur Duportail had left France in 1793, to seek in America a safe retreat from the scaffold. He had doubtless given abundant proofs of his patriotism, for he had bled in support of the independency of North America: the services which he has rendered his country, and his being wholly devoted to the cause of Liberty, are sufficiently authenticated. The Council had but to speak, and they were silent!

gave me an excellent opportunity of effecting my purpose. I was so well seconded by the zeal of the two Committees, and by the Ministers, that in spite of the intrigues of the Jacobins, I completely re-established discipline in the service, and excellent order in the management of the corps.

The frequent attacks that have been made upon me, have given me more than one opportunity of convincing both the friends and the foes of government, of my fidelity to the constitution : the consequence was what I might have foreseen; I became equally obnoxious to both these violent

At this very juncture I seized the opportunity to speak to the Committee of the Inspectors of the Council of Five Hundred, where several of general La Fayette's deputies and fellowsufferers were collected. Although I lay under no particular obligation to that too unfortunate General, I repeatedly expressed my indignation at the ingratitude of the City of Paris. I took the liberty of saying, "that it was high time "to take the case of that ill-fated man into consideration; "that he was a prisoner against the rights of man, proscribed by the fanatic advocates of Liberty; a man who was al

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ways distinguished by the partizans of the old administration by the epithet of NOTORIOUSLY GUILTY-—————”

I observed," that his imprisonment was, in every respect, "a disgrace to the French Nation, and an insult to Liberty; "that General La Fayette, so obnoxious to Louis the XVIII,

parties. As long as the power was in the hands of men of sense, I had only to contend with mean obscure wretches, who tried every method to corrupt the Grenadiers, and endeavoured, in vain to render me suspicious; but, after the last renovation of the Legislative Body, in proportion as the discussions grew warmer, and particularly when the Directory added fuel to the flame by presenting addresses from the Army of Italy, I was harrassed on every quarter, and found to my

"to his courtiers, and, at the same time, to the citizens of "1793, and 1794, ought, at last, to find friends among those "of the Constitution of the 3d year." It will hardly be believed that two, only, of the Conventionists (these two Legislators, whom I feel a great inclination to name, are known well enough by the revolutionary excesses of which they had been guilty), differed in their opinion with me. They were proscribed by an inconceivable fatality,- -I say no more.

The Triumvirate of the proscribing Representatives will perhaps tell me, that I myself acknowledge that the Liberty of France was in danger at the time of the 18th Fructidor: I am very far from denying it; but the Constitution was a sufficient safe-guard: they should have summoned the guilty before the high National Tribunal, and not have arbitrarily banished them they should above all, not have huddled together men who had never seen each other before, and whose opinions were so diametrically opposite.

"Discete justitiam moniti, non temnere divos."

What had I to do with Messrs. Brothier, and Lavilheurnois ?

cost that the factious knew but too well how to avail themselves of the general ferment so favourable to their plans. They no longer attempted to conceal their design; I caught their emissaries in the barracks, in the ranks; all the means of corruption were resorted to. To this hour, whenever I reflect on my conduct, in those trying circumstances, I do not regret the having acted as I did, since it rendered me obnoxious to the scum of mankind, and curbed the impetuosity of the rash. Some of them were very desirous of removing me; and a very little while before the 18th. Fructidor the Directory made me an offer of another post, and higher rank, provided I would resign my commission. For the very

It is reported at London that it was I who impeached them; and yet at that very time am I accused of conspiring with them. It is an actual fact, that the first time I ever saw those gentlemen was, when we met in the vehicle which received us on our way to Cayenne.

↑ I call upon the Representatives of the people, Petiet and Lacuée to testify the truth of what I advance, for it is in their power. The minister at war, Petiet, a short time previous to the 18th Fructidor, came to signify to the committee of the inspectors of the two councils that the government wished me to resign the command of the grenadiers, in lieu of which they