6G4 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1804* 



gold, counted by Mr. Drake and 

 deposited at my office by citizen 

 Rose}'. This letter serves as a proof 

 of the accuracy of the reports of 

 the French agent, and ought to be 

 published, because the odious par- 

 ticulars which it contains, give ad- 

 ditional colouring to the pieTture of 

 infamy which Mr. Drake has him- 

 self delineated of his incendiary di- 

 plomacy, in the iirst part of his 

 correspondence. Mr. Drake re- 

 plied to the pretended general. He 

 acknowledges the receipt of his 

 envoy with his credentials. He con- 

 gratulates him on the harmony sub- 

 sisting between him and the com- 

 mittee of disorganization, over which 

 the general presides. 'Your views,' 

 says he, complacently, ' are quite 

 Conformable to mine, and I need 

 liot enlarge further on this point' — 

 But he requires, (and here he fol- 

 lows the first vagaries of his prede- 

 cessor Wickham) that provisionally 

 they should secure two strong places ; 

 Huningen by all means, and Stras- 

 burgh if possible. By this means 

 only could they depend upon a sure 

 communication. Then would Mr. 

 Drake take his residence near the 

 Rhine, and it will suffice to inform 

 him immediately of the moment 

 fixed for commencing the opera- 

 tions, and of the precise periods 

 when farther assistance will be ne- 

 cessary, as well as of the amount 

 of the succours required, that he 

 may have time to take measures to 

 provide for the saire, and that the 

 operations may not fail for want of 

 support. However, the most im- 

 portant point is not the taking of 

 places, and securing stages for the 

 safe arrival of subsidies. First of 

 all, we must disorganize the army. 

 Mr. Drake complains of being left 

 uninformed of the progress which the 



agents of the committee may have 

 made to gain over some among them ; 

 but he trusts to their zeal. He sup- 

 poses, with confidence, that the 

 attempts tried with this view have 

 completely succeeded, and that they 

 are certain ©f a powerful diversion 

 from that quarter ; without this 

 aid, he solemnly declares your oper- 

 ations will be confined to cause 

 three or four departments to rise, 

 which can never succeed upon the 

 long run, on the supposition that 

 the first consul retains a power over 

 his troops sufficient to make them 

 march against you. The disquie- 

 tude, it will be easily believed, is 

 the prevailing idea of Mr. Drake; 

 it seizes him, it occupies him con- 

 tinually ; however, he has found 

 an admirable expedient to recover 

 his courage. ' You should,' says 

 he, ' oiler the soldiers a small in- 

 crease of pay beyond wha>t they re- 

 ceive of the present government.' 

 — Worthy discovery of a corrupt 

 minister, of a government which 

 weighs with gold every action, 

 and every human affection ! No- 

 thing, according to them, can re- 

 sist this gold, which is above every 

 thing ; and the French army, mak- 

 ing honour its idol, attached to it 

 by the glory of a thousand battles, 

 and of ten years victories; this* 

 army, which spurns seduction, be- 

 cause the seducers and seduced are 

 the greatest cowards : this army, I 

 say, yielding to the attra6tion of a 

 wretched increase of pay, shall sa- 

 crifice whatever is most dear to it, 

 all its most honourable recolle6tions ; 

 in short, its government, its liberty, 

 to the irreconcileable enemy of 

 their country ! What horror! what 



madness ! 1 shall not be more 



prolix on these disgusting details ; 

 besides, to insist long on the indig- 

 nation 



