1795] 
M. Drover. 
The fate of empires, often dcp2nds on 
trifling occurrences, and this pofition 
never rece ved a more ample confirma- 
tion, or a more appofite illuftration, than 
in the h:ftory cf the man now before us. 
Had Louis XVI efcaped into the Auf- 
trian dominions, would the fituation of 
France have been precifely the fame as 
at thisday ? Affuredly not! And yet had 
Drouet been drunk or afleep, when the 
king paffed through St. Menchould, 
there is no manner of doubt, but that 
his majefty would have reached the fron- 
tiers in fafety. be 
When Louis, by the advice of his 
courtiers, the connivance of the emperor 
Leopold, and the entreaties of his con- 
fort, was induced, in oppofition to his 
repeated oaths, to fly out of the king- 
dom, the night of the zoth of June, the 
fhorteft in the whole year, was chofen 
for that purpofe. The king, the queen, 
their children, and Madame Flizabeth 
fled towards Montmedy, ina carriage fo 
conftruéted, as to render the alighting 
of the royal paffengers, either for re- 
frefhment or convenience totally unne- 
ceffary. They took the road to Mont- 
medy, and had proceeded as far as St. 
Menchold without fufpicion, when 
Drouet, the poft-mafter, happening to 
peep into the coach, inftantly recognifed 
the Bourbon and Auftrian features, and 
ina finyle moment conceived the im- 
portance of the difcovery. 
Perhaps even then, had it net been for 
a cart loaded with furniture, that hap- 
pened to be placed at the entrance of the 
bridge of Varennes, Louis XVI might 
have efcaped, and the deftiny of France 
been altered. This cart was overturned 
by the exertions of Drcuet, and the 
royal carriage confequently ftopped long 
enough to give him time to alarm the 
municipality. In fhort, cight men of 
the national guard, and two pieces of 
cannon, without either match or powder, 
were fufficient to arreft the royal family, 
although efesrted by dragoons, and after- 
wards reinforced by a body of horfe un- 
der young Bouillé! 
Drouet accompanied the king to Paris, 
where the national aflembly, after pro- 
viding for the fecurity of the ftate, was 
calmly dgliberating on the penal code. 
From this refpectable body he received. 
a word anda commiffion. He was after- 
wads ele€ted to the convention, and 
deputed with Camus and other members, 
to arreft Dumourier. 
MowntTuiy Mas. No. V. 
M. Drouet... Collst d’ Herbois. 
By this general: 
401 
he was delivered over to the enemy, cni 
after experiencing the horrors oi an 
Auftrian dungeon, was at length ex- 
‘changed ‘for the daughter of the king 
and queen of France. _ 
On his return, he was ele€ted into the 
council of five hundred, and has’ been 
lately arrefted and confined, in conie- 
quence of bemg charged with an aitempt 
to overturn the conftitution, and murder 
the legiflators and the dire¢tory. 
CoLLoT p’HERBOIS,: 
A comedian on the ftage, a monfter while 
in power, and a philofopher in his clofet; 
this fame Cod/et, as he 1s familiarly called 
by the Parifans, is afuredly one of the 
moft extraordinary men the prefent age 
has witnefled. After throwing off the 
Jock, and taking his leave of two or three 
miferable theatrical pieces in which he 
himfelf had aéted, he repaired to Paris; 
and being poffeficd of a gocd figure, a 
ftrong volce, great energy, wonder‘ul 
Intrepidity, and uncommon addreis, he 
{peedily became one of the oracles of the 
Jacobin club. 
It was the fafhion at that time to 
idolize Lafayette, and call him (/epére) 
the father of the revolution ; but Collot, 
who knew he had been intriguing with 
the queen out of mere enmity to M. 
d’Egaité, contrived to get him called 
its ficp-father (le beau-pere); and this 
was no trifling achievement in the time 
of civil contention; for at Paris, and 
even in London, much is done by means 
of a fobriquet, or nick-name. 
On the trial of the king, d’Herbois 
perched himfelf on the very jummit of the 
mountain, being placed next to Robe- 
fpierre. On his execution, he was tie 
arft to proclaim the republic. During 
the conteft between the two parties, it 
was. he who denounced and proicribed 
the Girondifts. When the crimes of 
Robefpierre had attained their full 
growth of enormity, it was Collot who 
joined Barrere.in tmpeaching and pu- 
nifaing him ! 
After unfheathing the {word of the 
xterminating angel at Toulon, he expe- 
rienced a kind of modern offracifix5. bat- 
inftead of a puniiament, it wasa triumph, 
for he had not been a week at Cayenae, 
before he actually potfeffed.a greater 
thare of authority in the fettlement, than 
the governor himfcli. He has even been 
lately denounced by one of the colonial 
deputies, as /e ro de Cayenne, but no ate 
tention wiatever was paid to che obter- 
vation. The truth is, that Collot, with 
ca the 
