irs] ANNUAL REGISTER, i796. 
malecontents were faid to be dif- 
perfed through every court in Bu- 
rope, and were faid to be feconded 
in almoft all, by the French ambaf- 
fadors at thofe refpective courts; 
their joint endeavours being to dif< 
feminate every where their own in- 
vincible hatred againft their native 
country. That in thofe courts they 
Jaid the foundations of a general 
confederacy of all the powers of 
Chriftendom againft France. That 
their object was, to perfuade the fe- 
veral crowned heads, that this caufe 
was the caufe of all kings, and, that 
it behoved them all equally to unite 
their common ftrength, in order to 
reftore the arbitrary authority of 
Lewis) XVI. Imprudent men! 
(Rabaut exclaims) whenever per- 
ceived, that they were, at the fame 
time, teaching Europe that this was 
aAlfo the. caufe of nations, That, 
two princes, who had taken refuge 
at Turin, affembled there fome of 
the gentry, and threatened France 
with an invafion by the way of Nice, 
and by the way of Savoy; and had 
dent emiflaries into Provence, to 
Wifes, and: to Isyons, while the 
king of Sardinia put his army in 
motion on the frontiers, It cannot 
eicape the memory of moft of our 
readers, how totally unprovided for 
war, or even for any degree of de- 
fence; that king was long after, when 
his dominions were fo violently in- 
vaded and over-run by the Freneh ; 
and when his moft ancient dukedom 
of Savoy was, fo far as a decree 
could give permanence to the wrong, 
for ever annexed to the majelty of 
_ the people in the new republic. 
The laft charge was extremely welb 
defigned, and could not but produce 
its intended effeét. It was to this 
purpofe, that, it was then publicly 
declared; that Paris was no longer 
worthy of the prefence of her king: 
and that Lyons deferved the honour 
of being the capital of the em 
pire: 
In the mean time, the animofities 
between the democratieal’ leaders; 
and the remainder of the nobles who 
{till continued in the afilembly, were 
grown fo violent and, inveterate; 
that duels became frequent between 
the enraged parties; and as the 
lat appeal is made to the fword in’ 
the great political debates of na- 
tions; fo here, the fmaller politi- 
cal differences between parties and 
individuals, were referred to the 
fame arbitrary decifion. And as it 
has been long and often obferved; 
that a change of coridition frequent- 
ly produces a great change in the 
manners; and even, apparently, in 
the nature of men, fo it feemed now; 
that as. the democrates had already 
ftripped the nobility of all power; 
fo that, intending to be their fuccef= 
fors in every thing, they would now 
deprive them of the. only exclufive 
claim of diftinétion which was ftilk 
left untouched, and which they had 
poffefled unrivalled for fo many 
ages; that of a decided fuperiority 
in all the hardy deeds of arms and 
chivalry, ry 
To counterbalance all thofe dan- 
gers, real or fuppofed, with which 
France was faid to be environed, we 
are informed that the nation at large 
was. unanimous in fupporting the — 
aflembly : that its table was covered 
with addrefles from every town and 
city; expreflive of their affection, of 
their admiration, and of their grati-_ 
tude ; promifing it three millions of 
foldiers for the defence of the con 
ftitution, and encouraging it to per= 
fevere in its patriotifm. It might 
well be imagined that with fo pro- 
digious a mafs of ftrengths ie 
as 
