- HISTORY OF EUROPE. 
ficer of distinguished merit, publish- 
eda declaration to the armies, in- 
qa br 3 
viting every officer and! soldier to 
_ confide in him, astheir ancient com- 
* panion in the perils and hardships 
attached to their profession, and to 
4y their complaints and grievances 
before him with candour and free- 
dom, promising, on the part of go- 
vernment, a faithful and equitable 
attention to all their just demands: 
exhorting them to continue true to 
he present constitution, and re- 
ee < 
“minding. them of the solemn oath 
they had taken to maintain it, 
x The minister of , police, Lenvir 
aroche, issued an address to the 
7 citizens of Paris, wherein he warned 
“them to beware of the calamities 
that must attend a new revolution, 
" and strenuously toact in defence of 
~ the established constitution, He 
' spoke to people who had deeply 
experienced the miseries that had 
merally well affected to the repub- 
lican system. . 
Such, however, was. the dread 
their adherents, of the intrigues and 
‘Tesolution of the royalists, that, not- 
withstanding the support they de- 
rived from their official situations, 
and theattachment of the geuerality 
of people, they came to a determina- 
tion to call in the farther assistance 
Mfthe military. This they did with 
more readiness, that unless they 
dk preventive measuresthey were 
scious that the numbers of roy- 
lists, daily repairing to Paris, would 
come so considerable, that, added 
those who abetted theopposition, 
hey would altogether form so pow- 
fal body, as 1iot to be overcome 
thout much difficulty.  Intend- 
ig, if it were possible, to avoid 
dshed, they were cenvinced, 
y~ 
F 
' 
ficted France, and that were ge-: 
entertained by the directory, and 
[6s 
that the most effectual’ method of 
preventing it, would be to take op- 
position by surprise, and, beforethey 
had made sufficient preparations, to 
repel force with force; not doybt- 
ing, that, by previously ‘striking a 
successful blow, they would com- 
pel opposition to submit, and, at 
once, defeat all their plans. 
In this determination, however, 
only three of the directory concur- 
red. These were, Barras, Reubel, 
and Lareveillere. _ They had always 
professed republican principles, and 
’ had been long censidered as the 
heads of that party ; their colleagues 
Carnot and Bartlielemi, the latter 
especially, were reputed less firm in 
their adherence to it, and more in- 
clined to conciliation with the op- 
position. What the precise. views 
of this party were, were rather con- 
jectured than ascertained: but the 
general opinion was, that their in- 
tentions were too friendly to the 
royalists, to permit those who har- 
boured them to enjoy any share of 
authority in the republic; and that 
the sooner they were expelled from 
their seats in the councils, the great- 
er would be the security of the 
commonwelth. } 
This party was headed “by men 
of tried abilities, who perceiving 
the necessity of acting with deter- 
mination and. promptitude in the 
present conjuncture, resolved immes 
diately to aim a blow at that mem- 
ber of the directory, whom they’ 
considered as the most dangerous of 
their enemies... Reubel and La-’ 
reveillere, though resolute and stea- 
dy republicans, were much less per-! 
sonally formidable than Barras, who 
had been bred a soldier, atid had- 
gone through many of the perils 
attending a military life with ‘singu- 
lar success and intrepidity, Toehim 
; in 
: 
