FRA 
Champagne. The confequence was, that an epidemical 
diftemper commenced and fpread through the army to 
fuch an extent, that ten thoufand men at one time were 
unfit for duty. The duke of Brtinfwick, however, (till 
commanded a force much more numerous than that of 
Dumonriez j and lie lias been much cenfured for not at¬ 
tacking his camp, and forcing him to engage. It has 
been faid, that the veteran and numerous force which he 
commanded would have marched to certain victory again ft 
the undifciplined troops that oppofed them; that, having 
defeated Duinouriez’s army, there was nothing to oppofe 
their march to Paris. But the duke of Brunfwick had 
entered France upon the fuppofition, that in its prefent 
diftraCted ftate, no effective army could be brought to 
face him in the field, and that the people at large were 
hoftile to the ruling faction. The contrary of all this 
now turned out to be the faCt. He found himfelf in the 
midlt of an hoftile country, and oppofed by fkilful gene¬ 
rals. A defeat in fuch a fituation would have brought 
certain ruin to his army ; and even the lofs fuftained in 
the acquifition of a victory might have proved no lefs 
fatal. The remains of the French army would not fail 
to hang upon his rear; and from the difpofition of the 
people it appeared impoffible to afcertain to what amount 
that army might be fuddenly increafed. After propoling 
a truce, therefore, which lafted eight days, he commenced 
his retreat towards Grandpre, and no advantage was at¬ 
tempted againft him. Verdun was retaken by the French 
on the 12th of October, and Longwy on the 18th ; the 
fiege of Thionville was at the fame time raifed ; that 
fmall but ftrong fortrefs, under the command of general 
Wimpfen, had held in check an army of 15,000 men. 
While the Prufiians were advancing from the nonh¬ 
ead,* the Auftrians under the duke of Saxe Tefchen laid 
fiege to Lifle. The council-general of the commune an- 
fwered the fummons of the befiegers thus: “We have 
renewed our oath to be faithful to the nation, and to 
maintain liberty and equality, or to die at our poll. We 
will not perjure ourfelves.” The Auftrian batteries be¬ 
gan to play upon the town on the 29th ; and, though a 
great part of the city was reduced to a heap of ruins, the 
citizens became daily more obftinate : they received each 
other into the houfes that were dill Handing, and every 
vault and cellar was occupied. Although upwards of 
thirty thoufand red-hot balls and fix thoufand bombs 
were thrown into the city, befides the efforts made by an 
immenfe battering train of artillery, yet the lofs both to 
the garrifon and people did not exceed five hundred per- 
fons, mod of w hom were women and children. After a 
fortnight of fruitlefs labour, the Audrians raifed the fiege. 
War had alfo been declared againlt the king of Sardinia 
on account of the threatening appearances exhibited in 
that quarter. On the 20th of September, general Mon- 
tefquieu entered the territories of Savoy, and was re¬ 
ceived at Chambery and throughout the whole country 
with marks of unbounded approbation. On the 29th, 
general Anfelm, with another body of troops, took pof- 
feffion of Nice and the country arqdnd it. On the 30th, 
general Cutting advanced to Spires, where he found the 
Audrians drawn up in order of battle. He attacked and 
drove them through the city, taking three thoufand pri- 
foners. The capture of Worms fucceeded that of Spires ; 
Mentz furrendered by capitulation ; and Frankfort fell 
into the hands of the French on the 23d : out of this 
lad place, however, they were afterwards driven, on the 
2d of December. 
On the 20th of September the French National Con¬ 
vention had alfembled. It was found to contain men of 
all characters, orders, and ranks. Many difiinguifiied 
members of the condituent affembly were elected into it, 
and alfo feveral that had belonged to the legifiative af¬ 
fembly ; even foreigners were invited to become French 
legiflators. The famous Thomas Paine and Dr. Priedley 
of England, were elected by certain departments; but 
the latter declined accepting the di(honourable office of 
C 
N C E. * 783 
an apodate and traitor. Clouts, a Pruffian, was cliofen, 
though his countrymen were engaged in the forlorn hope 
of re-edablifhing Louis upon the throne : but to render 
every fuch hope abortive, Collot d’Herbois, formerly an 
aftor, afcended the tribune on the 21 d of September, 1792, 
and propelled the'eternal abolition of royalty in France. The 
quedion was carried by acclamation, and the houfe ad¬ 
journed. Meffages were fent to all parts of the country 
to intimate the decree, and by the influence of the Jaco¬ 
bins they were every where received with applaufe. It 
was next day decreed, that all public aCts fliould be dated 
from and by the year of the French republic ; and all 
the citizens were declared eligible to vacant offices and 
employments. Tire rage of republicanifm now went fo 
far, that the ordinary titles of monfieurand madame were 
abolidred, and the appellation of citizen fubflituted as 
more fuitable to the principles of this wild government. 
It was, however, difcovered, that the leading republi¬ 
cans had fplit into two oppofite factions. One of thefe 
was called Girondijls, becaufe Vergniaud, Genfonne, Gau- 
dct, and others of its prominent leaders, were members 
from the department of la Gironde. The celebrated 
Condorcet belonged to this party ; and they were fome, 
times denominated Brijfotines, from M. Briffot de War- 
ville, their principal leader. They fupported the mi- 
niftry then in office, at the head of which was Roland ; 
and the majority of the convention was obvioufly at¬ 
tached to them. In oppofition to thefe was the party of 
the Mountain ■ fo called from its members ufually fitting 
in the convention on the upper feats of the hall. They 
were men pofleffed of lefs perfonal refpeCtability, and 
fewer literary accomplifhments, but of daring and fan- 
guinary characters, whom the violent meafures of the re¬ 
volution had alone brought into notice. At the head of 
this party were Danton and Robefpiere, and their crea¬ 
tures Couthon, Bazire, Thuriot, Merlin de Thionville, 
St. Andre, Camille Defmou.lins, Chabot, Collot d’Her¬ 
bois, Sergent, Legendre, Fabre d’Eglantine, Fanis, and 
Marat. Thefe two parties (hewed the diverfity of their 
characters by the mode in which they treated the maffa- 
cres of the 2d and 3d of September. The Briffotines, 
with the majority of the convention, wifhed to bring the 
murderers to trial; but the queftion was always eluded 
by the other party, w-ith the aid of the Jacobin club and 
the populace. 
On the 9th of October it was decreed, that all emi¬ 
grants, when taken, (hould fuffer death ; and on the 15th 
of November, in confequence of an infurrection in the 
duchy of Deux Punts, and an application on the part of 
the infurgents to the convention for aid, the following de¬ 
cree was palled : “The national convention declare, in 
the name of the French nation, that they will grant fra¬ 
ternity and affi(lance to all thofe people who wifti to pro¬ 
cure liberty * and they charge the executive power to 
fend orders to the generals to give afliflance to fuch peo¬ 
ple as have buffered, or are now fuffering, in the caufe of 
liberty.” 
To return to the military affairs of the new republic.— 
On the 12th of October Dumonriez came to Paris, and 
was inftruCted to commence a winter campaign in the Ne¬ 
therlands. He fuddenly attacked the Auftrians at Bolfu, 
and drove them from their ground. On the 5th of No¬ 
vember he came in fight of the enemy upon the heights 
of Jemappe. Three lines of fortification arofe above 
each other, defended by one hundred pieces of artillery. 
Their right wing was covered by a village and a river, 
and their left by thick woods. The French, by their own 
account, amounted to thirty thoufand ; whilft others, 
with great probability of truth, compute them at double 
that number; and the Auftrians were about twenty thou- 
fand. On the flanks Dumouriez placed all the old fol- 
diers in whom he could belt confide. In the centre he 
drew up the Paris volunteers and the recruits from every 
part of the country. Behind him he ranged his park of 
artillery. Previous to the onfet he let every man drink 
whaS 
