“78 
F R A 
Germany, Spain, Italy, and Savoy, hoftile appearances 
\>cgan to break forth ; and troops advanced in alraoft 
every direction towards the French frontier. The em¬ 
peror Leopold was, however, too cautious to announce 
his intentions ; and the king foon communicated a letter _ 
from him,containingprotefiations of an amicabletendency, 
but adding, that “ the innovations'occafioned by the de¬ 
crees of the 4th of Auguft ought to be done away.” The 
king treated this merely as an official meafiire on the part 
of the emperor, that he might not appear to renounce the 
claims of certain German princes connected with Lorraine 
and Alface. But the alfembly expreifed coniiderable 
alarm, and voted an augmentation of the national force. 
On the 20th of February the public attention was roufed 
by a circumftance that in any other Bate of affairs would 
have been accounted unimportant. The king announced 
to the alfembly,that his aunts, the daughters of Louis XV. 
had that morning left Paris ; but, as he did notapprehend 
that the exifting laws laid them under any reftraint in this 
refpeCt, he had not oppofed their departure. After fome 
debate, the affembly agreed that the king had judged 
well; and thefe princefles were left to purfue their jour¬ 
ney to Rome. Thus the kingdom was gradually delerted 
by every branch of the royal family, excepting the king 
and his eldeft brother, monfieur. The affembly, however, 
continued its labours with confiderable quietnefs. In the 
end of March died the celebrated count de Mirabeau, at 
the age of forty-two years; a man whofe integrity has for 
many good reafons been much ful'peCted, but whole poli¬ 
tical addrefs and intrepidity,and whofe (plendid powers of 
eloquence,have been feldom equalled. He was the firft who 
was interred in the new magnificent Pantheon, confecrated 
to the remains of illuftrious men. But his affies were af¬ 
terwards removed, in confequence of a charge that he had 
not been incorruptible by money. 
About this time M. de Bouille, to whom the protection 
of the frontiers was entrufted, was fecretly employing 
every means in his power to render the country defencelefs. 
The garrifons were left unprovided ; difunion was fpread 
among the regular troops ; they were removed from the 
frontiers, and their place was occupied by foreigners, 
wherever it could be done. The emigrants abroad, and 
their friends at home, were lying in wait for afi opportu¬ 
nity of revolt ; when fuddenly, on the 21ft of June, it was 
announced from the Thuilleries, that the king, the queen, 
the dauphin, with monfieur and madame, had quitted the 
palace and the capital, without leaving any information 
of their intention or their route. The emotion excited 
by this news among the multitude was a mixture of con- 
fternation and rage. The national affembly, however, 
conducted itfelf with much coolnefs. They took upon 
themfelves the oftenfible government, and decreed their 
fittings permanent. They lent melfengers at the fame time 
in all directions, to attempt all lay hold of the fugitives. 
Monfieurand madame arrived fafely at Bruffels on the 23d. 
The king, queen, and their children, when they came to 
a confiderable diftance from the capital, were furnifhed 
by Bouille with a guard of dragoons, tinder pretence of 
protecting treafure for the pay of the troops. At the 
diftance of 156 miles, and when only a few leagues within 
the frontiers, they were arretted at St. Menehottld by the 
pofhuafter, M. Drouet, formerly a dragoon in the regi¬ 
ment of Conde. At half paft /even in the evening the 
carriages ftopt to change horfes at his houfe ; lie thought 
he recolleCted the queen, and imagined that the king’s 
face refembled the impreffions (tamped upon allignats. 
The efcort of dragoons increafed the fufpicion. He fuf- 
fered them to depart at eleven o’clock, without no¬ 
tice; bur, taking, a companion with him, he went a 
fhorter road to Varennes. With the afliftance of the poft- 
mafter there, he gave the alarm, and overturned a loaded 
waggon on the bridge, which detained tlie royal travellers 
till the national guaid of the place had alfembled, and the 
arreft was effected without bloodfhed. They were con¬ 
ducted back to Paris by a deputation from the alfembly. 
N C E. 
On his departure, the king imprudently left behind him k 
memorial, in which he declared, that he never had thought 
any facrifice too great for the reftoration of order ; but 
that the deftruCtion of the kingdom, and the triumph of 
anarchy, being the only reward of all his efforts, be¬ 
thought it neceffaiy to depart from it. He then takes a 
review of the inconfiftencies of the new conffitution, the 
grievances he had fuffered ; and protejls againjl every thing 
that he had been compelled to acquiefce in during his captivity. 
Different parties were very differently agitated by this 
ill-conduCted and unfortunate flight of the king. A (mail 
republican party had already begun to appear ; and, dur¬ 
ing the king’s abfence, attempts were made to induce the 
public at large to confider the royal authority as no neccf- 
fary part of a free conffitution. But the minds of men 
were by no means prepared for the reception of this new 
doCtrine. The idea, however, having been thus publicly 
propofed, left fome impreffions, which in time contributed 
to give rife to important events. By far the greater num¬ 
ber of leading men were convinced, that it was impoflible 
to conduCt a great empire like France, well and profper- 
oufly, without the afliitance of an hereditary chief. They 
therefore determined to pafs over the affair with as much 
filence as poflible, and to Iiaften the period when their 
new conffitution Ihould be complete. But there isreafon 
to believe, that this fudden flight was productive of fatal 
efteCts to the perfonal fafety of the monarch. Many of 
the ariftocratic party fent in refignations of their feats in 
the national affembly. Troops were levied on the fron¬ 
tiers in the king’s name ; who took care, however, to dif- 
avow any connection with fuch a procedure. Bouille 
emigrated, and afterwards fent to the aflembly a furious 
threatening letter: “ You fhall anfwer (fays he) for the 
lives of the king and of the queen to all the monarchs of 
the univerfe. Touch but a Angle hair of their heads, and 
not one (tone fhall be left upon another in Paris. I know 
the roads ; I will conduCt the foreign armies. This letter 
is but the forerunner of the manifefto of the fovereigns of 
Europe.” 
In the mean time the national affembly Was haftening 
to the completion of the new conffitution. It was finiffi- 
ed on the third of September 1791, and prefented to the 
king the fame day. On the thirteenth the king announced, 
by a letter to the prefident of the affembly, his acceptance 
of the conffitution. This event was ordered to be noti¬ 
fied to all the foreign courts, and the affembly decreed a 
general amneffy with refpeCt to the events of the revolu¬ 
tion. On the following day the king repaired in perfon 
to the national affembly; and, being conducted to a chair 
of (fate prepared for him at the fide of the prefident, he 
figned the conffitutional aCt, and took an oath of fidelity 
to it. He then withdrew, and was attended back to the 
Thuilleries by the whole aflembly, witli the prefident at 
their head. On the 30th of September, this national af¬ 
fembly, which has lince been known by the name of the 
Conjlituent AJ'embly, diffolved itfelf, and gave place to the 
fucceeding legiflative national affembly, which had been 
eleCted according to the rules preferibed by the new 
conffitution. 
The new affembly was opened by the king on the 7th 
of October, with much apparent union on all Tides. His 
fpeech, recommending unanimity and confidence between 
the legiflative and executive powers, was received with 
unbounded applaufe ; yet the character of the men who 
competed the new national affembly was inaufpicious to 
the court. At the commencement of the revolution, the 
great body of the people at a diftance from the capital 
were little intereffed in thofe projects which occupied the 
more turbulent inhabitants of Paris. They had gra¬ 
dually, however, been roufed from their lethargy. The 
variety of powers conferred by the new conftitution upon 
the people at large, and the multiplicity of offices of 
which it gave them the patronage, had kindled in the 
minds of men a love of dominion, and a wifh to interfere 
in public affairs. This attached them to the new order 
