HAS TORY ORE! ELVROPIE: [7 
ment of-a million of people, who, 
having thrown off all eftablifhed 
authority and fubordination, fancied 
themfelves free, and who, it might 
without ,.much hyperbole be faid, 
had gone mad in their purfuit of 
liberty, became placed in the hands 
of a few hundreds of the moft 
worthlefs among themfelves; men 
equally deftitute of character, pro- 
perty, principle, and the moft com- 
mon portion of moral, political, or 
general knowledge. Thefe, how- 
ever, naturally became the initru- 
ments of men of much greater 
knowledge and capacity, but as 
little troubled with {cruples or prin- 
ciple as themfelyes. ‘he new re- 
publican clubs, of which the Jaco- 
bins became the moft noted, and 
who had their dependent {ocieties, 
ready to execute their orders upon 
the fhorteft notice, in every town 
of France, were compofed of the 
moft turbulent, daring, and hot- 
headed men in the kingdom, or 
i that exifted in any country. 
any of thefe were adepts in the 
new philofophy, and all of them 
fufficiently learned in the new vi- 
fionary theories of government, as 
to be capable of fpreading confu- 
fion and anarchy through all man- 
kind, fo far as their influence or 
communication could poflibly be ex- 
tended, All the republican party, 
the moft vifionary theorifts, and the 
boldeft innovators in the national 
aflembly, became members of this 
club; and it foon became the fa- 
fhion that all laws, all meafures, and 
all bufinefs brought forward in that 
body, were firft difcuffed, prepared, 
and digefted by the Jacobins, whofe 
fanction was the fure paflport to 
fuccefs. Being thus doubly forti- 
fied, ruling the tumultuous rabble 
an the fixty departments of Paris 
through the inftrumentality of the 
demagogues, who excited them to 
whatever pitch of outrage and vio- 
lence they were directed, on the 
one hand; and governing the na- 
tional affembly itfelf by a decided 
majority, as well as by the terror 
with which they ftruck the mode- 
rate party, on the other, their power 
feemed to be unbounded; the more 
efpecially, as it was extended 
through every part of the nation by 
their deputies and emiflaries. Thofe 
of the club, whether members of the 
affembly or not, who were the moft 
violent in their republican princi- 
ples, and the moft diftinguifhed for 
their invincible animofity to mo- 
narchy in all its forms and relations, 
which they detefted fo much as not 
to endure even the name of king, 
but fubftituted the terms defpot and 
tyrant in its ftead, held the firft place 
among the Jacobins, and gave the 
tone to all the reft, 
It may be eafily judged how 
{mall and precarious a fhare of au- 
thority the new temporary muni- 
cipality could hold in fuch a ftate 
of things, and with fuch a people. 
Nor have any of the changes which 
have fince taken place in that ca- 
pital, in any degree bettered its 
condition, either with refpect to ge- 
neral government, to private hap- 
pinefs, or to perfonal fecurity. On 
the contrary, the ancient order of 
things has not been more com- 
pletely fubverted with refpect to 
public affairs, than to domeftic con- 
cerns, to the government and order 
of families, and to the feveral du- 
ties and relations by which their 
members were connected. Men and © 
women feemed to have changed 
their nature; and both fexes, with 
[4] 4 all 
