FRA 
of things. The love of power, which is the lead dif- 
gnifed paffion in the human bread, and equally drong in 
the nleaneft and the highed of mankind, was thus, under 
the name of liberty, become a leading paflion throughout 
this wide empire. They who were mod loud in pruife 
of the rights of the people, became fpeedily the favourites 
of the public. The confequence was, that the new na¬ 
tional- all’embly was chiefly compbfed of men whofe prin¬ 
ciples-were highly democratic. The members of the 
date condiment aliembly had been excluded by their own 
decree from holding feats in the new legitlature. The 
members of the latter, therefore, had little regard for 
a conditution which they themfelves had not framed, and 
which was not proteded by the venerable fandtion of 
antiquity. 
When the new adembly fird met, it fltowed a very tri¬ 
fling attention to formalities, and a peevilh jealoufy of 
the miniders of the crown. On the 9th of November, a 
decree was paffed, that the emigrants who, after the fird 
of January next, (ho 11 Id be found alfembled in a bodile 
manner, beyond the frontiers, fbould be conlidered as 
guilty of a confpiracy, and futfer death; that the French 
princes, and public functionaries, who (hould not return 
to France before that period, (hould be/punifhable in the 
fame manner, and their property forfeited daring their 
own lives. On the 18th, a feries of fevere decrees was 
alfo paired againd fitch of the ejected clergy as dill refufed 
to take the civic oath. To both thefe decrees the king 
oppofed his vein, or negative. The moderate party, who 
were attached to the conditution, rejoiced at this oppofi- 
tion, as a proof of the freedom of their fovereign. But, 
on the other fide, it excited a mod violent clamour, and 
became the means of exciting new fufpicions of the de- 
figns of the court. At this time anfwers were received 
from the different foreign courts, to the notification fent 
them of the king’s acceptance of the new conditution. 
Thefe were generally conceived in a dile of catitjon, and 
avoided giving open offence. The emperor even prohi¬ 
bited all affemblages of emigrants within his dates; and 
the king intimated to the adembly that he had declared 
to the elector of Treves, that, unlefs the emigrants (hould 
ceafe before the 15th of January to make bodile prepara¬ 
tions within his territories, he would be conlidered as the 
enemy of France. All this, however, did not preferve 
the royal family from fufpicion ; for, although the dif¬ 
ferent foreign courts had openly declared pacific inten¬ 
tions, yet the French emigrants boldly afferied, that all 
Europe was adually arming in their favour. Accord¬ 
ingly they ceafed not to folicit their equals in rank, who 
dill remained within the country, to leave it to join with 
them in what they called the royal caufe. The unhappy 
Louis, placed between a republican party that was gra¬ 
dually gathering drength, and an aridocratical party that 
was inviting Europe to arm againd a nation of which he 
was the conditutional chief, and a combination of princes 
judly fufpedted of wilhing to feize upon bis dominions, 
ltood in a fituation which would have perplexed the mod 
fkiiful politician ; and it is no proof of incapacity that he 
fell a ficrifice to circttmdances which might have over¬ 
whelmed any known meafure of human ingenuity. Ad- 
drelfes were daily crowding into the adembly, difapprov- 
ing the conduit of the court. M. Montmorin refigned ; 
M. Deleifart fucceeded him; and M. Cahierde Gerville 
became minider of the interior. M. du Portail refigned 
alfo, and M. Narbonne fucceeded him as minider of war. 
in the month of November, M. Bailly’s mayoralty ter¬ 
minated ; and the once popular La Fayette appeared as a 
candidate to fttcceed him. But he was fuCcefsfully op¬ 
pofed by M. Petion, a violent Jacobin, and a declared 
tepublican, who was elected mayor of Paris by a great 
majority. 
At this period the moderate men, who were friends of 
the conditution, attempted to counteract the influence of 
the jacobin club by the edablidlment of a (imilar one. 
h derived its Aame from the vacant convent of the Fettil- 
N C E. 779 
Ians, in which itaflembled. The mod aCtive members of 
the condituent adembly belonged to it, ftich as Melfrs. 
D’Andre, Barnave, the Lameths, Du Port, Rabaud, 
Sieyes, Chapelier, Thouret, Labord, Talleyrand, Mon- 
tefquieu, Beaumetz, &c. The Jacobins contrived to ex¬ 
cite a riot at the place of their meeting, which was in the 
vicinity of the hall of the national adembly. This afforded 
a pretext for applying to the adembly for the removal of 
the new club. The adembly diewed their hodi'le princi¬ 
ples by complying with this reaued. 
At the end of 1791, the kingdom of France was by no 
means profperous. The public revenue had fallen far 
(liort of the expenditure. The emigrant nobility had 
carried out of the kingdom the greater pa^t of the cur¬ 
rent coin ; and a variety of manufacturers, who depended 
upon their.^dentations luxury, were reduced to didrefs. 
1 he difpofitions of foreign courts appeared very doubtful. 
The new year 1 792, however, opened with delufive pro- 
fpeCts of tranquillity. The German princes profelfed 
themfelves fati-fied with the mode of compenfation which 
the French had offered for the lofs of their poffeffions in 
Alface and Lorraine. The prince of Lowedein accepted 
an indemnification. The princes of Hohenlohe and Siilm- 
Salm declared themfelves ready to treat upon the fame 
terms. Prince Maximilian, and the dukes of Wirtem- 
berg and Deux-Ponts, freely- negociated. It is uitne- 
ced'ary to date in detail the fubterfuges employed, ia 
the mean time, by the crafty Leopold, for amufing the 
French with the appearances of peace. M. Deleifart, 
minider for foreign affairs, fell a iacrifice to them, and 
probably to the undecided character of Louis. He was 
accufed by Brifl'ot of not having given timely notice to 
the national affembly of the difpofitions of foreign powers, 
and of not preding proper meafures for fecuring the honour 
and fafety of the nation. A decree of accufation palled 
againd him: he was apprehended, tried by the high na¬ 
tional court at Orleans, and executed in confequence of 
its hady lentence. 
The hidden deatli of the emperor Leopold on the fird 
of March 1792, gave rife to a tranfient hope that peace 
might (till be preserved. A fufpicion of poifon fell upon 
the French, but it was removed by the detail of his difeafe 
that was fpeedily publiffied. On the 16th of the fame 
month, the king of Sweden was wounded by a nobleman of 
the name of Ankerdrom, and died on the 29th. This enter- 
priling prince had overturned the conditution of his own 
country; and he had formed the projett of conducting in 
perfon his troops to the frontiers of France, and of com¬ 
manding or accompanying the combined armies of Europe 
in their attempt to avenge the caufe of infulted royalty. 
It was in a great meafure to counteract this fcherne that 
he was aflaffinated. The fudden fall, however, of tliele 
two princes, rather accelerated than retarded the meditated 
hodilities. The young king of Hungary, who fucceeded 
his father Leopold, made no fecret either of his own in¬ 
tentions, or of the exidence of a confederacy of princes 
againd France. M. Dumouriez was now at the head of 
the war-office, M. Roland was minider of the interior, 
and M. Claviere minider of finance. The Jacobins were 
in the plenitude of their power. The court was com¬ 
pelled to give way to the torrent. The property of the 
emigrants was confifcated, referving only the rights of 
creditors. The imperial minider, prince Kaunitz, now- 
demanded three things of France : id, The reditution of 
their feudal rights to the German princes ; 2dly, To re- 
dore Avignon to the pope ; and ladly, prince Kaunitz de¬ 
manded, that, “ the neighbouring powers fiiould have no 
reafon for apprehenfion, from the internal government of 
France.” On receiving thefe unqualified demands, Louis 
propofed a declaration of war, which was decreed by the 
national adembly on the 20th of April, 1792. 
The French immediately commenced hodilities, by 
attacking in three different columns the Andrian Nether¬ 
lands. M. Dillon advanced from Lille to Tournay, where 
lie found a drong body of Auftrians ready to receive him. 
The 
