XIRARKAU. COMTE DE. 



MIRANDA, SA HI'. 



| 



to (Hting from tbe tooniing tu (be evening, and attend the Assembly 

 wfcfc hi. a** eovmd with linen to staunch the blood. 



\V lire we |rud for the last time [t union t was going to On- va 

 for Ms months], be embraced n wi'h an emotion which I hid never 

 ilf_H eera him evinre. I still die at the stake, my dear friend,' 

 Mid b, 4 ed we bait never perhaps meet again. When I am gone, 

 my Tula* will be appreciated. MUfortunes to which I have put a 

 Met) for tlm prevent were overwhelming France in every direction ; 

 but tbat bat* faction, which I now overawe [the J.. .11 again 



be hi looee n|n 'he country. I have none but direful anticipation*. 

 Ah ' my friend, how right were we when, at the beginning, wo tried 

 to pienut the Common* frttn being declared a National Asembly. 

 That as the origin of the evil. Since they have carried that point 

 they here not ceased to *how that they are unworthy of confidence. 

 They wanted to govern the kin?, instead of being governed by him ; 

 bat eooB neither they nor he will govern ; a vile faction will rule the 

 omuilij, and debase it by the molt atrociona crimes ' Three months 

 after tbia conversation Mirabean as no more." (Dnmont'i ' Recol- 

 lee- ioc. of Mirabeau.') 



Mtrebesra died on the 2nd cf April 1791, of a short but violent 

 <ie Mt, tiie reu)t of hie mode of living and of continual excitement. 

 Daring tin illn* M be suffered much, but endured his puin with nuf- 

 tes>nt calmness and resignation. He repealed to Talleyrand, who 

 attended him. the tame gloomy prognostications on the result of the 

 actual etmggle in Prance which he had before expressid to Dumont, 

 and bis determination, had life been spared to him, of supporting the 

 king'* constitutional authority acnintt the attacks of the anarchists. 

 1 carry with n e to the grave," f aid be once, " the last shreds of tl e 

 monarchy." He bad been for some months in correspondence with 

 the court, and bad proposed a plan for dissolving the Assembly by 

 the force and will nf the nation itself, by getting up addresses from 

 the de| artmentj, without having recourse to foreign armies or destroy- 

 ing the people's hope of fieedom ; for a new assembly wa to be con- 

 voked forthwith, which wiuld have revised the constitution. Mira- 

 beau never intended to restore absolute power : he knew too well 

 that be would have destroyed himtelf by such a measure; but all his 

 Mubhion during the Utter period of bis life was centred in the idea of 

 becoming prime minister of the constitutional monarchy of France, 

 and be thought that, once in that office, he should eclipse every 

 minister who bad preceded him, and that he would attract within the 

 epbere of bin patronage all men of distinguished abilities, and thus 

 mm a halo of talents whose brightness should dazzle Europe. 

 (Dumont; liouille. 'Memoirs.') Cabunis, then a young phyMiun. 

 published an actount of Mirabeau' s illness and a copy of In- will Ho 

 died encumbered with debts. "Much has been wad of the venality 

 of Mirabeau," aays Dumont, "as if bis talents were actually put up 

 to ti.e highest bidder; but this is an exaggeration. It may be 

 admitted tbat be was not over-scrupulous in money matters, but he 

 was too proud to be dishonest: and he would hnvc thrown through 

 the window any one who dared to make him a humiliating proposal 

 At one liroe be received a pension from Monsieur (afterwards 

 Louis XV11I), and subsequently, during the last six months of his 

 life, one from the kin? ; but he considered himself as n agent 

 xl with tlieir affairs, and he accepted those pensions, not to be 

 by, but to govern and direct those who granted them." 

 au was a brilliant orator, and a fluent though not original 

 Tbe great characteristic of his genius consisted in Ms political 

 sagacity, his anticipation of event*, and his knowledge of mankind. 

 No n.an at the time, at least in France, saw so far as he did into 

 futurity, and bis fc.n-lx dings of impending calamities were attributed 

 to dieap|>intd ambition, l.ut while be prognosticated the dowufal 

 of the monarchy, be had the most lively anticipation of the future 

 jtoittllpM of his country. In a letter to Major Mmivillon, of the 

 Hrussuan service, he said tbat he considered Franco as able to resist all 

 Europe; SUM! bis mepondenos contains many singular pa-sag, a 

 whioto stow the wide range of bi* political view*. At home he 

 by bii instinctive penetiation the feelings of the principal 

 I of the National Assembly, and often embarrassed hi-* 

 revealing their seen t mi. tivt-s, snd laying open tbat which 

 sooet anxious to conceal. His death gave courare to all the 

 ,.,n, and others, who dwindled into insig- 

 m, immediately becam great men when no longer 

 ovira.e.1 b his presence. His death was felt aa a public calai 

 *h*J**j* > general ; a public examination was made on his body to 

 Tale's * P** *" 'hsit there was 1,0 ground for th suspi. 

 poism. Hie funeral was conducted with great |imp : all the theatres 

 wwe olossjd; the deputies, the miuiaters, all the public authorities, 

 ai.d a tmiutar o< other persona, torn, ing a proce**tn of more than 

 Ungti., followed bis remains to th.- 1'autheon, where they 

 wet <tevo*il*d among the illustrious dead. 



LrtUe more tban two v*an after, in November 179:!, the body of 

 MvaUaa wee Hi.mt. rred by a decree of the Convention as that of an 

 enui ; and the frr. cious and insane Marat succeed, d to bin 

 short u the period of popnlsrity m i 



MtrabsM left a natural son, whom he adopted before his death, and 

 Who has Dfibttabesl m-movs of his father, in 4 vola. 8vo, London, 



&. Brute tsMMUMroM works and pamphlets of Mirabeau wh,. I, 

 I""*"* * * lifetime, several collections have been published j 



since his death : ' Collection oomplette del Tnvaux de Mirabeau a 

 1* Assembler Nationale,' Paris, 1791 ; ' OEuvres Oratoires et Choisirs do 

 Miralvau,' 6 vola. 8vo, 1'aris, 1820. 



Miial>eau was tall, thick vet, and naturally robust, but very plain in 

 his features; and yet, when ha chose, his manner was extremely 

 fascinating. His large head was shaded by a vast mass of dark hair, 

 which he took great pains to cultivate ; and he used to say, wl>< 

 antagonists were troublesome, that be would shake his locks at them, 

 at the same time assuming a threatening look, which, added to his 

 deep powerful voice, had ti.e effect of completely silenciu; them. 



The National Assembly continued its labours for several months 

 after the death of Mirabeau. Having completed the now constitution 

 which it undertook to make for Franc*, it presented it to the k 

 his sanction in Septemlier 1791. The king accepted the constitution, 

 and the Assembly dissolved itself on the :inth of the same month. The 

 French generally designate the first National Assembly as ' 1'AMcml 1 

 Constituaute,' from it* having framed the constitution for the kingdom. 

 That constitution In- ted about twelve months, after which the republic 

 waa proclaimed. 



MIRANDA, FRANCISCO, the founder of the independence of 

 Spanish America, was hprn about tin- middle of the hat century at the 

 city of Caracas, of which province his grandfather had been governor. 

 He travelled on foot at the age of twenty through various part* o! th 

 New Continent. He afterwards became a colonel in the Spanish army, 

 and was intrusted occasionally with import. nt mutters by the governor 

 of Guatemala. In 17*3 he visited the United State*, aiM 

 travelled on foot through England, Franc , Italy, and .Spain, a country 

 which he detested. Even at that time he ventured to speak of the 

 emancipation of his own country to Pitt and to Catherine II., who 

 treated him with great regard, especially the empress, who entreated 

 him to enter into her service ; but the high expectations of the 1 

 revolution being far more congenial to bia own, drew Miranda from St. 

 Petersburg to Paris in 17S9. He was wnrmly welcomed there by 

 IVthion. to whom he wai recommended by the leaders of the opposition 

 in the English | arlianu-ut; and in consideration of tliisrecoiiitinMniati >n, 

 as well as of bia military talents and enthu>ia-iu for the popular cause, 

 he was appointed major-general to Dumouriez, who wax sent against 

 the Prussians, then intent on putting down the French cans lest it 

 should become a European question. But iinfor.umfely Miranda did 

 not answer the expectations of bis new lYii-ml.-, >-it . r m ni.-ing the 

 siege of Maastricht, on account of Gem ral Valance not coming to his 

 assistance, nor at the battle of Neerninde, where thu left wing of the 

 army was defeated, a reverse which I >umouriez imputed to .Miranda, 

 This charge however he most ably and triumphantly refuted, with the 

 assistance of Troncon Ducondrai, before the revolutionary tribunal, 

 which sat eleven days on this case, and, greatly to tlu-ir credit, acquitted 

 an innocent foreigner whose life was demanded by humiliated ii:i;i"n..i 

 pride, and who was then bereft of all patronage, since the Giromlinta 

 were no more. Being a<:ain seized and condemned by the Directory 

 on the 18th Fructidor, Miranda escaped, and came as a refugic to 

 England. He returmd to Paris in 1603, whence he waa banished, a 

 second time, by Bouapurte. Finally, he devoted himself exclusively 

 to bis country's independence. 



Miranda sailed from New York in 106 with a ship and some 

 voluuteers, and touched at St. Domingo, where he chaitcrr i two 

 schooners, which were captured by Spanish cruisers (' guarda coataa '). 

 He himself escaped with hie ship, and landed at Venezuela in the 

 month of August. He sustained howwcr a complete defrat, which 

 prostrated the American cause till 1810. Tbe supreme junta of 

 Caracas for a moment roust d the Spanish Americans again in favour 

 of Ferdinand, who was then a captive of Napoleon I., and subsequently 

 against Napoleon's away, April 9, 1311. But the cau.-e of independ- 

 ence went on proxperou'ly till the same day of the following year 

 (1812), when a tremendous earthquake destroyed 20,000 persons in 

 Caracas, La Guayra, and Merida, Tlio clt-rgy took advantage of the 

 calamity, and stigmatised the patriots aa enemies to God, wboie anger 

 they bad provokid i>\ tin :r rebellion. This fanatical outcry worked 

 on the terror of th" people, which was already great, and gave the 

 Spani-h army a complete triumph, (icneral Miranda wai forced to 

 Minender, but be surrendered lat of all, a> d not without honour. 

 But a hard fate still awaited him ; for when lie was about to leave the 

 country be was arrested by some of the ottioen of the indepcii'U-nt 

 party, and with a strange disregard of truth and probability, HK w> 11 

 as of right feeling, was accused by Bolivar of being a traitor, and a 

 secret ally of the British cabinet. Bolivnr delivered Miranda 

 Spanish general Mnt<>verde, IVo'ii whom bo obtained for himself a 

 safe conduct to retire to Curacao, Montevorde, instead of protecting 

 a man who wai the victim ot j alouay and envy, violated his agree- 

 ment with Miranda, and rent bun in chains to Spain. II. waa lodged 

 in the pticon of tbo restored Inquisition all ;nii/. nil 1*1(1, when death 

 released from his sufferings this most unfortunate veteran and murtyr 

 of 8011 h Am.-ii.n i ind|iendeiice. 



MIKANDA, HA 1 >K, on., ol the earliest poets of Portugal, and one 

 i,Ki I'iiindiT.i nt I'ottugueso literature, was born at Coimbra 

 about the year 1495. Ho waa of a noble family, and being intended 

 by his father for the legnl profisHiou, WOH educated accordingly, and 

 became professor of law m the university ot his native town. Having 

 however no inclination for tuch studies, upon the death of his father 



