450 
perfon foroughly handled by fortune, and 
ne communicated her fentiments to fome 
of her cuftfomers. Among them was a 
gentleman, who made it his bufinefs to 
become acquainted with him, ’and ob- 
ferving his good fenfe, his civility, his 
modefty, his various knowledge, and 
oratorical abilities, defired to know, why 
he had beea fo fevere during his admi- 
niftration? Amar, fearcely able to fup- 
prefs a tear, replied—‘** Becaufe we are 
Frencs. if my naine was hated by the 
enemies of the republic at home and 
abroad, I can pardon them, becaufe I 
have done them the greateft injury. But 
when I find myfelf ill-treated by the 
republicaas, I cannot help looking at the 
examples of Democritus and Heraclitus. 
We are French, and no other nation 
could betray fuch proofs of inconftancy 
and ingracitude. When I was in the 
committee, the revolutionary laws pur- 
ported, that all forms were to be dif- 
penfed with, with regard to counter-re- 
volutiomfts; that all fufpeéted perfons 
were to be arreited ; and that the mem- 
bers of the committeé were refponfible 
for the execution of thefe laws. under 
penalty of death. Toulon was, at that 
time, in the hands of the Englith ; 
Lyons »was in open rebellion ; all the 
fouthern countries of France, from Nice 
to Bourdeaux, from Marfeilles to Orange, 
were embroiled in civil commotions ; 
Valenciennes, Condé, &c. in the power 
of the Emperor; Landau and Straf- 
burg befieged ; the Spaniards potieffed 
Roufillon; and La Vendée menaced the 
very exiftence of the republic, and the 
metropolis itfelf. . Certain it is, the re- 
public could never have furmounted fuch 
a hoft of difficulties, if the committee 
had not adopted rigorous meafures. It 
was the indefatigable zealof the commit- 
tee which faved France from fo many 
combined: and powerful enemies. Bar- 
ras, Rewbell, &c. are become’ rich un- 
der the republic, and are efteemed ; we 
have contributed to fave the republic, 
and are poor, and defpifed.’? During the 
fame winter of 1796, AMAR frequented 
the meetings of the new popular fociety 
of the Pantheoniits, but was too pru- 
dent to take any very active part in it. 
When the confpiracy of Drouet was dif- 
covered, the legiflative body ified a de- 
cree, that all the ex-members of the late 
convention fhould quit Paris in the {pace 
of twenty-four hours, under penalty of 
tran{portation. AMaR, who was of the 
number, remonftrated, that no fufpicion 
could fall on him, who lived in Paris, 
Amar’s Defence of the Committees 
[ June, 
like a monk, in entire folitude, and that 
he did not mean to retire to Grenoble, 
where his recent misfortunes had _ left 
him no friend at all. His remonftrances 
not being liftened to, the Executive Di- 
rectory gave orders for his arreftation. 
AMAR was, confequently, carried be- 
fore the high national court, at Ven- 
dome, where, having been tried, the 
judges pronounced him not guil7y, un- 
lefs of a neceffary difobedience: Ac- 
cordingly, on the 28th of May, he was 
acquitted, and fent back to the ordinary 
criminal court of juftice at Paris. 
AMAR is about 40 years of age.— 
Whatever might have been his errors, 
while an aétive member of adminiftra- 
tion—and whatever may be the efforts 
of his enemies to flander him, no one 
has ventured, hitherto, to arraign him on 
the charge of ambition or rapacity : and | 
he will always be efteemed, by confi- 
derate perfons, as a man of principle, 
charaéter, and integrity, who was led, 
perhaps, into fome extremities not jufti- 
fiable, froma miftaken notion of pro- 
motin g the welfare of his country. 
FABRE D’EGLANTINE 
Was born at Chalons, in Champagne. 
He was early educated, by the care of 
his parents, in polite literature, and na- 
tural philofophy. From his youth, he 
felt an invincible inclination to court the 
mufes, and in the year 1786 he publith- 
ed, in a French periodical work, entitled 
Les Etrennes du Parnaffe, a little poem, 
called Chdlons fur Maine, in which he 
drew a very charming piéture of the 
moral pleafures that were to be found in 
that place, and its neighbourhood. This 
piece, however, was then confidered as a 
juvenile compofition, and fell very thort 
of that high degree of celebrity which 
the author afterwards attained to. In 
the years 1789 and 1790, he publifhed 
two well-known comedies: Le Philizie, 
and. L’Intrigue Epiftolaire. Befides his 
talents for writing comedies, he felt, like 
Moliere, an inclination te perform parts 
‘on the fiage. He accordingly acted his 
own plays in the theatres of Lyons and 
Nimes. In 1792, his acknowledged 
patriotifm caufed him to be chofen deputy 
to the National Convention. In that 
affembly, during the winter and the 
{pring of the year 1793, he aéted a part 
not very commendable ; for at that time, 
the Girondine party was the moft 
powerful. It is very generally reported 
among the beft informed.people at Paris, 
that FABRE contributed, together with 
DANTON and ROBESPIERRE, to the 
famous . 
