190 BAILLT. 



the country, could find time to write the very long letters 

 against the old official adversaries of his bad experiments, 

 his absurd theories, his lucubrations devoid both of erudi- 

 tion and of talent ; letters in which the Monges, the La- 

 places, the Lavoisiers are treated with such an entire 

 neglect of justice and of truth, and with such a cynical 

 spirit, that my respect for this assembly prevents my 

 quoting a single expression. 



It was not then only the Mayor of Paris whom the 

 pretended friend of the people persecuted ; it was also 

 the Academician Bailly. But the illustrious philosopher, 

 the virtuous magistrate, gave no hold for positive and 

 decided criminations. The hideous pamphleteer under- 

 stood this well ; and therefore he adopted vague insinua- 

 tions, that allowed of no possible refutation, a method 

 which, we may remark by the way, has not been without 

 imitators. Marat exclaimed every day : " Let Bailly 

 send in his accounts ! " and the most powerful figure of 

 rhetoric, as Napoleon said, repetition, finally inspires 

 doubts in a stupid portion of the public, in some feeble, 

 ignorant, and credulous minds in the Council of the 

 Commune ; and the scrupulous magistrate wished, in 

 fact, to send in his accounts. Here they are in two 

 lines : Bailly never had the handling of any public funds. 

 He left the Hotel de Ville, after having spent there two 

 thirds of his patrimony. If his functions had been long 

 protracted, he would have retired completely ruined. 

 Before the Commune assigned him any salary, the ex- 

 penses of our colleague in charities already exceeded 

 30,000 livres. 



That was, Gentlemen, the final result. The details 

 would be more striking, and the name of Bailly would 

 ennoble them. I could show our colleague entering only 



