799+] 
of his Colonel, to declare verbally to Ba- 
ron d’Alluni, that the French deputies 
were to quit Raitadt; and afterwards 
came with an order to quit that city 
within twenty-four hours. —Already had 
the huffars of Szeltzer taken poffeffion of 
it, and occupied all theavenues. At 
eight o’clock the French minifters entered 
their carriages: when they arrived at the 
gates of Raftadt, they found an order to 
permit no perfon to enter or go out, An 
hour was {pent in parleys.—But at length 
the Auftrian commandant gave an order 
for the departure of the French legation 
only. ‘They demanded an efcort, but it 
was refufed; and the commandant de- 
clared that they fhould be as fafe as in 
their own rooms. In confequence of this 
they proceeded on their journey : but were 
not fifty paces from Raftadt, in company 
with the Ligurian legation, when a de- 
tachment of nearly 60 huffars of Szeltzler, 
in ambuth upon the canal of La Murg, 
fell upon their carriages, and obliged them 
to ftop.—Jean Debry’s was the firft ; fix 
men, armed with drawn fabres, tore him 
out with violence: he was fearched and 
robbed of all that he had. Another, who 
appeared to command this expedition, ar- 
rived on horfeback, and aiked for the mi- 
nifter, Jean Debry, who, fuppofing he 
came to his refcue, anlwered, ‘*I am fean 
Debry.’ Scarcely had he uttered the 
words, when with a fabre he was, cut 
down to the ground. He was immedi- 
ately affailed on all fides by frefh ‘blows. 
Tumbled into a ditch, he appeared to be 
dead: the banditti quitted him te pro- 
ceed to the other carriages, and he avail- 
ed himfelfof this inftant, and efcaped ; 
wounded in different places, and lofing 
blood on all fides. Bonnier was affaulted 
in a fimilar manner, and killed; and Ro- 
herjot was maffacred almoft in the arms of 
his wife, who was feven months advanced 
in her pregnancy. ‘The fame quetftion 
was put to his ill-fated calleagues as to 
him ;—Are you Bonnier ?—Are you Ro- 
berjot? Their carriages were pillaged, 
and every thing became the prey of the 
brigands; the ‘papers of the legation 
(which probably were the main object 
with the affaillants) were carried off, 
conveyed to the Auttrian commandant, 
and claimed invain. The fecretary of 
legation threw himfeif into a ditch, and 
by favour of the night, efcaped the blows 
of the affaffin; Jean Debry, in the mean 
time, crawled to an adjacent wood. His 
private fecretary, Belin, was detained by 
hx men to witnefs thefe {cenes of horror. 
His valet de chambre was thrown ito 
‘ 
State of Pubhe Affairs. 
407 
the river. Every member of the diplo- 
matic corps made the greateft efforts to 
break through the line of the affaffins, and 
to come to the affiftance of thofe to whom 
affiftance might yet be adminiftered. But 
it was not till one in the morning that the 
wife of Roberjot could arrive at M.de 
Jacobi’s, the Pruflian minifter ; and the 
wile and daughters of Jean Debry at the 
houfe of the minifter of Bremen and 
Hanover. Debry wandered about during 
the whole of that dreadful night, fearful 
of the day, whith might expofe him to 
the Auftrian patroles. About fix o’clock, 
however, he took the refolution of return- 
ing to Kaftadt, and faw on the road the 
naked bodies of his two colleagues. 
The Diref&tory, on the 9th of May, 
fent another meffage to the Council of 
Five hundred, on the difparity of the re- 
venue to the public expences. .It con- 
cluded by obferving, that nothing could 
be more urgent than to raile the receipts 
to the current expences of the year, by 
filling up the deficzt, which was a fubject 
of the moft ferious alarm. Annexed to 
this meflage was a further report of the 
minifter of finance, in which he juftified, 
by official ftatements, the financial report 
which he made on the 25th of April. 
The fame council, on the 11th of May, 
proceeded to the appel nominal upon the ten 
candidates for the Direftory. ‘The num- 
ber of votes amounted to 420. The can- 
didates, who appeared to have the great- 
eft number of votes, were Citizens Sieyes, 
Gohier, General Lefebvre, Duval, &c. 
On the next day the prefident declared the 
refult of the ferutiny. Out of the 420 
votes, Lefebvre had 338 fuffrages ; Sieyes 
236; Duval 216; thefe three were there- 
fore returned as candidates. No other per- 
fon having had a majority of votes, a 
fecond {crutiny was entered upon. ' The 
number of votes prefent was 400: Gohier 
ebtained 232 votes; Charles Delacroix 
2033; and no one elle having the majority, - 
a third fcrutiny was ordered for the fol- 
lowing day : when the council proceeded 
accordingly to nominate five other candi- 
dates for the vacant office of ditector. 
According to the accounts from the 
Auftrian army, dated Stokach, the 20th 
of April, it appears, that, as the French 
after having been driven ftom Schaff hau- 
fen and Peterfharfen, ftill occupied an 
advantageous pofition in the {mall town of 
Eglifau, on the right bank of the Rhine, 
the Archduke had direéted Prince Sch- 
wartzenberg to difledge them from that 
poft ; that, in purfuance of thefe direc+ 
tions, he approached the place, and fum- 
moned 

