432 Account of Thomas Major’s Confinement in the Bastille. [June ft, 
They otherwise would be continually 
scrutinizing, and meddling with state 
affairs. In politics, as well as religion, 
they are implicitly to take for granted 
whatever is dictated to them, nor are 
they sufiered to make use of their reason ; 
which is the grossest affront upon human 
nature, trampling unrestrained upon the 
laws and rights of the people, human and 
divine, and rendering mankind but httle 
Superior to the brute creation. Some- 
times an elevated genius appears, and 
Broaches new maxims, for which he is 
certain, sooner or later, to meet the re- 
ward of his rashness.. One exainple, 
however, there has lately been, of a su- 
perior and exaited genius in my honoured 
friend, Monsieur Elie de Beaumont, who 
exerted himself in a most noble cause, 
that of injured and defamed innocence. 
He searched to the bottom of the trial of 
the unfortunate protestant Calas, not- 
withstanding all the powerful efforts of 
injustice and bigotry, in opposition to his 
honest endeavours, to bring the truth of 
that iniquitous affair to light, By his 
unwearied application and integrity, he 
discovered the fraud, and obtained. an 
order for reversing the cruel and unjust 
sentence which had been executed on 
this unhappy ruined family. Though 
life could not be restored to this poor old 
man, yet the honour of the family was 
reinstated and justified through his 
means:—an action that will be an ever- 
Tasting monument to the praise of Mon- 
sieur de Beaumont, and which time it- 
self cannot efface. Calas and his family 
were protestants. His son, who lived in 
the house with his father, and had been 
for some time insane, hanged himself. 
The clergy and bigots fixed this deed on 
. poor Calas, suborned witnesses, insti- 
auted a process against him, and he was 
executed. The relations of a malefactor 
in France are obliged to change their 
names, and retire to some remote part 
of the kingdom, where they are unknown; 
as itis deemed a dishonour to be seen in 
their company.* When I came down 
to the street, it was half past eleven 
o’elock, as generaily the hour of darkness 
and secresy is chosen in these violent 
proceedings. 
-.*® This odium on families was abolished by 
the National Assembly, in 1790; and on the 
15th of November, 1793, the Convention 
passed an order to erect acolumn at Thou- 
louse, to revive the memory of Calas, de- 
dicated to paternal affection and to. nature, 
and ordered their effects to be restgred to 
the family. 
““ Conscious of guilt, and fearful of the light, 
They lurk enshrouded in the veil of night.” 
? Churchill. 
I was put into a hackney-coach, the 
gentleraan followed ith the commissary, 
and his attendant. To my great snr- 
prize, I observed three soldiers on one 
side of the coach, and three on the other 
side, three behind and three before, to 
guard such a little felow as I was. How- ~ 
ever, all this parade was not only for me: 
these black agents of night stopt at 
several places, as I imagine, in search for 
other persons; whether they had any 
item given them, or that they happened 
not to be at home, I know not,—I was 
the only victim carried that night. 
In the course of their conversation, 
the commissary told the exempt, that he 
did not think it wn cas pendable; that is, 
a hanging matter. The other replied, 
he could not tell, but possibly it was, if 
it were only to shew the power and will 
of the king, , What a blessed tenet is 
this! to destroy innocent people to prove. 
the king’s authority: a maxim not un- 
cominon in despotic countries. — 
“ Itis the curse of kings to be attended 
by slaves, that take their humours for a 
warrant to break into the bloody house 
of life, and on the winking of authority to 
understand a law.” Shakespeare, K.J. 
The coach windows were drawn up; I 
knew not where I was going, and they 
trailed me thus about Paris, like a cri- 
minal, till very near two o’olock in the 
morning, before we arrived at. my des- 
tined habitation; when lo! a draw-bridge 
was let down, a great pair of yates opened, 
and we came into a court-yard, called 
the first court, where we alighted, and 
they all left me except the exempt: he 
conducted me into a guard-room on the 
left hand, at one of the angles, which. 
was full of arms, and had one centinel in 
it. Te took his leave, saying he would. 
Wait on me presently. .I found after- 
wards that he went to acquaint the go- 
vernor Of the arrival of a prisoner. Find- 
ing myself with this soldier only, I said, 
Pray, friend, what place do you call this? 
The fellow, surprized at the question, and 
amazed at my being brought a prisoner 
to a place I did not know, and which the 
whole French nation dread and abhor as 
a political inquisition, cried out with 
astonishment, My God, Sir, this is the 
Bastille. This gave me a sudden shock, 
and caused a revulsion in my blood. 
I began to ruminate with myself; what E 
could have said or done, to have brought, 
me into this tribulation, and to be ne 
, he 
