1797-] 
and told the people, as he afcended the 
platform of the guillotine, that they 
would. foon. diftinguifh their enemies 
from their friends. It was prerty gene- 
rally believed that a refeue would have 
been attempted, as fome hundreds of the 
fociety of the Cordeliers, women as well 
as men, had entered into an engage- 
ment to that effect. Robefpierre, -how- 
ever, by means of his mouchards, was 
apprized of the defign, and fruftrated 
it, by ordering the. execution fooner 
than it was expected to happen. 
DUFRICHE DB VALAZE’ 
Was born at Alengon, the chief town in 
the department of l’Orne. His parents 
were honeft burgeffes, who lived in cir- 
cumftances which allowed them to give 
him a liberal education. As the pater- 
nal eftate was divided among three bro- 
thers, his fhare was fcarcely futicient for 
his fubfiftence; he, therefore, entered 
himfelf at the bar, and for fome time 
exercifed the funétions of a counfellor, 
with honour and reputation. Although 
he was confidered as one of the beft 
counfellors in the baillage, and pleaded 
caufes with a grace and eloquence feldom 
witneffed in a provincial. town, he had 
not many cliesits. Either his diftinguiih- 
ed manners gave him am air of fuperi- 
ority, which was conftrued ‘into affeéta- 
tion, and even folly, or by his well- 
known contempt for priefts, and aver- 
fion to the eftablifhed religion, he had 
drawn upon himfelf the distavour of the 
“inhabitants of a country where every 
man who did not go to mafs, and rehearfe 
his chapelet, was confidered as an atheift. 
His elder brother, who was alfo a 
counfetlor, and reckoned as great an 
orator as Inmfelf, was well followed, 
and had many clients. He was, however, 
notwithfianding, a zealous partizan of 
the revolution, and, by that means, pro- 
cured himfelf a feat in the Conftituent 
Affembly. On this occafion he fenarated 
his interefis from thofe of VaLaze’, 
and thereby prevented the latter from 
being nominated deputy to the firft af- 
fembly, where he would quickly have 
diftinguifhed himfelf as a firft-rate 
orator. ; 
In the firft Eleétoral Affemblies, the 
public mind was fo prepoffefied againtt 
VALAZE’, that, although he outfhone, as 
a public {fpeaker, all the electors of the 
department, he was hiffed an! hooted 
whenever he opened his mouth. This 
treatment, however, did not difconcert 
him; and very frequently, after having 
allowed ample {cope to the derifion or 
Montrury Mac. No. XVIII, 
Original Anecdotes.—Valazé. 
« 
453 
farcafms of the ele€tors, he arofe, and, 
with admirable fang fro'd and precifion, 
repeated, verbatim, all he had fpoken 
before, and refuted every objeCtion made 
againtthim. His cloquence, like that of 
Alcibiades, bore along wh it the fuf- 
frages of his enemies themfelves, who, 
in {pite of their inveterate prejudices, 
never failed 
tions. 
VaLaZze’was mare of a little town, 
called Effay, diftant two leagues from 
Sees, and four from Alengon: in this 
capacity, he took care that all the decrees 
of the National Affembly thould be 
rigoroufly éxecuted; he explained the 
fame to the peafants, directed the 
parifhes of the canton in their operations, 
and managed all interefts with fuch ad- 
drefg, that he prevailed on the curate of 
the town to take the oath pretcribed to 
the priefts, and on an abbefs, with all the 
religieufes of her community, to acknow- 
ledge the conftitutional bifhop, and 
thereby feparate themfelves from the 
refractory clergy. Of all the religious 
communities known in France, under the 
name of Royal Abbeys, this was, per- 
haps, the only one which facrificed 
bigotry to reafon, and the neceffity. of 
circumftafices : it was, daoubtlefs, to the 
management of VALAZE”that.we mutt 
afcribe this fpecies of anti-fuperftiticus 
phenomenon. 
After having difcharged fuccefflively 
the offices of elector, mayor, and admi- 
niftrator of the diftriét, he was, at length, 
nominated deputy to the National Con- 
vention. [tis well known that he early 
attached himfelf to the Girondift party, 
then the only party which was truly re- 
publican. He boldly avowed his prindi- 
ples, and never varied from them. ‘The 
celebrated Madame Roland affures us, 
that the Girondi& deputies fometimes 
met at the houfe of VALAZE’, to concer 
meafures to prevent the ftorm which the 
till increafing afcendant of the deputies 
of the mountain in the Convention, por- 
tended. 
He had been appointed to draw up a 
report of all the papers found at Ver- 
failles, which were to, ferve as articles of 
accufation againft Louis KVI. 
acquitted himfelf of this delicate and dif- 
‘ficult commitflion, is well remembered. 
On the famous 31ft of May, when the 
decree of arreftation was carried againft 
the twenty-two Girondine deputies, 
VALAZE’ might have efcaped, and found 
an afylum in the revolted departments, 
which might Have lengthened out his 
3 N life, 
to* adopt his propofi-. 
How he) 
