FRANCE 
785 
Ills conduct; and it was openly afferted that an opportu¬ 
nity was thus acquired of ruining, by villainous fabrica¬ 
tions, the chara&ers of the mod virtuous patriots. The 
obvious facility of purloining or forging papers, which 
might affect the king’s trial, excited, however, no drug¬ 
gies in .behalf of infulted majedy; and the documents 
were referred to a committee of twelve. 
In confequence of this determination to fubjeCt the 
king to a form cf trial, recourfe was had to the iron clofet 
for documents ; and from thefe a feleCtion was made of 
fome papers, refpedting which it was hoped to extract 
fome plaufible grounds of accufation. When the com¬ 
mittee of twelve had made their report on thefe papers, 
a committee of twenty-one was appointed to draw up the 
charges, which were to be difcuffed in the convention on 
the roth, and Louis to appear the next day to anfwer to 
interrogatories ; he was to have a copy of his accufation, 
and a fight of the' documents, and in two days to be finally 
heard. Each member was to give his vote from the 
tribune. 
The day fixed for the king’s appearance in the conven¬ 
tion, was the nth of December, 1792. He was informed 
that the new mayor of Paris, Chambon, a phyfician, would 
pay him a vifit. At length the mayor appeared, attended 
by Chaumette and Collumbeau, procureur and fecretary 
of the commune, feveral municipal officers, and Santerre 
with his aid-de-camps. The mayor abruptly informed 
the king that they were come to convey him to the con¬ 
vention, in purfuance of a decree which was read by the 
fecretary, dating that Louis Capet fhould be brought to 
the bar. The king proteffed againft the form and effeCt 
of this proceeding. “ Capet, (he faid,) is not my name, 
but that of one of my anceftors. I am however ready to 
follow you, not in obedience to the convention, but be- 
caufe my enemies have the power in their hands.” In 
eroding the court, nothing but ftrange objects prefented 
themfelves to the eyes of Louis. The uniform of the 
troops was new in its fafhion; and no countenance dif- 
played the (lighted: mark of refpeCt or commiferation. 
He rode in Chambon’s coach, under a numerous guard, 
which began with three field-pieces, attended by two am¬ 
munition waggons, and efcorted by a corps of fufileers ; 
forty-eight horfemen formed the avant-guard ; fix hun¬ 
dred infantry, provided vyith fixteen rounds of cartridges, 
formed a line of three deep on each fide of the coach ; 
the cavalry from the Ecole Militaire formed the rear-guard, 
and the cavalcade was clofed by three field-pieces, at¬ 
tended by one ammunition waggon, and efcorted, like 
thofe in the van, by a corps of fufileers. Nor were thefe 
the only precautions taken: the executive council, and 
the council-general of the commune, were in a (late of 
permanent activity. Troops were polled in various parts 
of the city; patroles paraded the ftreets, and all the na¬ 
tional guards in the department were put in a ftate of re- 
quifition. During their progrefs, the whole procellion 
maintained a profound and awful filence. 
Meanwhile the convention were engaged in fettling the 
interrogatories, and deciding the line of conduit they 
were to obferve on the king’s appearance. Barrere, the 
prefident, recommended filence, and Legendre enforced 
the obfervation by faying, “ Guilt mujl be appalled by the 
filence of the tombs.” At length Santerre announced the 
king’s arrival; and the monarch entered, not only with¬ 
out perturbation, but without betraying the ('mailed: fem- 
blance of fear, or fallen majefiy. His features, though 
clouded by misfortune, had lolt none of their dignity ; 
while his appearance and exterior were inexprellibly ve¬ 
nerable. He feated himfelf in an arm-chair provided for 
the purpofe. 
Barrere opened the tragic feene, by informing the king 
of the accufation againft him. Mailhe read the act of 
accufation ; and, without a moment allowed for prepara¬ 
tion or reflection, the king was interrogated on the va¬ 
rious charges, article by article. Thefe interrogatories 
Vol. VII. No. 468. 
had been previoufly framed and contrived to end with 
a leading clue to the fatal fentehce which the king was 
deftined to fuffer; and for the information of our readers, 
the principal of them r.re corredtly tranflated, as follows : 
Prefident. Louis, the French nation accofes you of hav¬ 
ing committed a multitude of crimes to eftablifh your ty¬ 
ranny, and to deftroy her freedom. You, on the 20th 
of June, 1789, attempted the fovereignty of the people, 
by fufpending the affemblies of their reprefentatives, and 
expelling them with violence from the places of their 
fitting. This is proved in the procefs verbal entered at 
the Tennis-court of Verfailles by the members of the 
conftituent affemblies. On the 23d of June, you aimed, 
to dictate laws to the nation; you furrounded their repre¬ 
fentatives with troops ; you prefented to them two royal 
declarations, fubverfive of all liberty, and ordered them 
to feparate. Your own declarations, and the minutes of 
the afl'embly, prove thefe attempts.—What have you to 
anfwer ? 
Louis. No laws were then exifting to prevent me from it.’ 
Pref. You ordered an army to march againft the citi ¬ 
zens of Paris. Your fatellites have (lied the innocent 
blood of many of them ; and you would not remove this 
army, till the taking of the Baftile and a general infur- 
reCtion announced to you that the people were victorious. 
The fpeeches you made on the 9th, 12th, and 14th, of 
July, to the deputations of the condiment alfembly, ihew 
what were your intentions; and the maffacres of the 
Thuilleries rife in evidence againft you.—What have you. 
to anfwer ? 
Louis. I had a right at that time to order the troops to 
march ; but I never had an intention of fhedding blood.. 
Pref. After’thefe events, and in fpite of the promifes 
which you made on the 15th in the condiment affembly, 
and on the 17th in the town-houfe of Paris, you have 
perfifted in your projects againft national liberty. You 
long eluded the execution pf the decrees of the 1 rth 
of Auguft refpeCting the abolition of perfonal fervi- 
tude, the feudal government, and tythes: you long re¬ 
futed acknowledging the rights of man: you doubled 
the number of the life-guards, and called the regiment of 
Flanders to Verfailles : you permitted, in orgies held 
before your eyes, the national cockade to be trampled 
under foot, the white cockade to be hoifted, and the 
nation to be llandered. At laft, you rendered neceffary a 
frefh infurredfion, occafioned the death of feveral citi¬ 
zens, and did not change your language till after your 
guards had been defeated, when you renewed your per¬ 
fidious promifes. The proofs of thefe faffs are in your 
oblervations of the 18th of September, in the decrees of 
the nth of Auguft, in the minutes of the condiment 
affembly, in the events of Verfailles of the 5th and 6th 
of OCfober, and in the converfation you had on the fame 
day with a deputation of the condiment affembly, when 
you told them you would enlighten yourfejf with their 
counfels, and never recede from them.—What have you 
to anfwer ? 
Louis. I made the obfervations which I thought juft: 
on the two firft heads. As to the cockade, it is falfe; it 
did not happen in my prefence. 
Pref. You took an oath at the federation on the 14th 
of July, which you did not keep. You tried to corrupt 
the public opinion, with the afliftaneeof Talon whoaCted 
in Paris, and Mirabeau who was to have excited counter¬ 
revolutionary movements in the provinces.—What have 
you to anfwer > 
Louis. I do not know what happened at that time ; but 
the whole is anterior to my acceptance of the conftitution. 
Pref. You laviffied millions of money among, the la¬ 
bourers in the fauxbourg of St. Antoine, and in other 
places, to effect this corruption; and you would even ufe 
popularity as a means of enflaving the people. Thefe 
faffs are the refult of a memorial of Talon, on which you 
have made your marginal comments in your own hand- 
9 O writing. 
