102 
Rue St. Bertin, at St. Omer’s; and, by 
night, the great wooden café containing 
the Sruart papers, &c. was leeretly con- 
veyed tomy houle. Shortly after, how- 
ever, the coads gathered over my head 
too, and I received notice from fome 
friends among the Jacobins, that it had 
been dete: mined to convey me and family 
the next day to prifon, and to confifcate 
all our effects, which, accordingly, took 
place. In the fhort interval of liberty I 
enjoyed, from the time I was warned cf 
my doom, and from which I had no 
hopes of ever efcaping, you will readily 
imagine I had but little time, occup ed as 
I mut naturally be with the thoughts of 
feif-prefervation and that of my wife and 
children, at that moment -in {uch immi- 
nent danger, to take meafures of pre- 
caution about other affairs; yet I have 
ever fince regretted, that I did net mytelf 
bury the valuable cepofit with which I 
was entrufted in the ground, after pro- 
perly fecuring it. 
To make fhort, after confulting with 
Mr. Stapleton and Mr. Cornthwaite, it 
was refolved to confide the papers, &c. to 
the care of fome trufty Frenchman, who 
was more likely to furvive the Revolution 
than we were; and our choice fell upon 
Citizen Carpentier, a determined. revolu- 
tionift. ard jacobin, hut a man of in- 
tegrity ; at leat h- paffed for fuch, and 
who was thea prefident of the diftrict, 
and a leading man in the town. This per 
fon had already rende:ed many fervices to 
the gentlemen cf the Englith college, and 
profefcd privately a great regard ter our 
countrymen. We accordingly propofed the 
care of the Stuart Collection to him and 
his wife, who, after much’hefitation, and 
ftarting many difficulties, at lait, con- 
fented to undertake the truff, provided we 
would deftroy the fine covers of morocco 
or red velvet, in which almoft every vo- 
lume was bound, with the arms of Eng- 
land, crown, &c. rich'y embroidered or 
ftamped upon them, circumiftances which 
retidered them the more obnoxious to the 
republicans, and the more dangerous to 
the perfons in whoie hands they might be 
found. ; 
In compliance with this condition, Mr. 
Cleshorn, now living, and the Rev. Mr. 
Tuite, now a fecond time oprifoner in 
France, took off 2nd burned the covers 
and bindings, and tied up the contents in 
parcels, which Monfieur and Madame 
Carpentier carried off themfelves, little 
by little, to their country houfé, fituated 
at a village, called St. Momelin, about 
fix-miles from St. Onier’s, and there,‘ as 
Memoranda refpecting the Stuart Papers. 
[ March 1, 
they affured us, buried them in a tin-box, 
along with fome family papers of their 
own. 
Such was the ftate of things when I 
left France. As fcon as peace was re- 
ftored, and a corre{pondence could be car- 
ricd on, Mr. Stapleton, on his part, and 
I on mine, wrote to our correfpondent, 
Citizen Dourlen, to defire he would call 
on Monf. and Mad. Carpentier, and er- 
quire what was become of the Memoirs | 
entruted totheir care. Their anfwer was, 
«© That, findirg themfelves in danger of 
being apprehended, and their papers 
fearched, felf-prefervatton had obliged 
them to make away with them, and - 
that they had burnt them.” This_ 
they repeated again and again to Mr. 
Stapleton and to Mr. Tuite, the Int- 
ter of whom fince then went over to St. 
Omer’s, and applied perfonaily to them, 
but without fuccefs. The Rev. Mr. 
M‘Pherfon and the Rev. Mr. Gordon, 
alfo made enquiiivs after thefe important 
papers, in the name of the Scotch Col- 
lege, and received the fame an!wer. 
Whether they are really burrt, or whe. 
ther Citizen Carpentier may have madea 
merit of delivering them up to the Direc- 
tery, who then governed France, or may 
perhaps have fold them, it is impofhibie 
for me to decide. Time wili fhew. The. 
public prints have repeatedly asmourced 
that they were found lait year by the Hon. 
Charles Fox, in the great National Li- 
brary; the fame which was fermerly 
known under the name of the Bibliotheque 
du Roi. I heartily withit may be fe. I 
believe Mr. Fox peficiles ail the neceffiry 
abilities; and {pirit to make a proper uleof. 
them. For my part, could I have been 
the happy infrument of prelerving them 
for the public, no feleétion fhould have 
been made from them, nor any partial 
accounts given. The whole fhould have . 
been faithfully copied, methodically ar- 
ranged, and then prefented to the world, 
ju as they were, without the lealt reflec-__ 
tion or comment. This, I am fure, would . 
have been moft fatisfaGiory, and moft re-_ 
fpe&tful to the public. As the cafe now 
fiands, I can only give you the above 
plain ftatement, which explains all I know 
refpe€ting them. At this moment, Iam 
as much in the dark, whether they have 
furvived the Revolution or not, as any one — 
ean be. 
I had almof forget to fay, that two | 
books of the above. mentioned colleétion, 
which at the time ftruck my fancy mof, . 
:and which, by their fize, feemed eafizit to 4 
conceal, I referved for myfelf, and kept 
with 
