307 ranging themselves before their barracks, and the inhabitants had either entered their houses or quitted the town; my effective troops, however, were now reduced to fifteen hundred men, who were divided into different detachments.

Being in la place royale, with about four hundred French grenadiers, at the distance of two hundred paces from the barracks of the king's regiment, from whence there was no firing, the grenadiers preffed me earneftly to attack that regiment, though three times as numerous as themfelves. Night approaching I was undetermined what plan to adopt, when one of my aides-de-camp, M. de Rhodes, came to tell me, that he had penetrated as far as the barracks, and had held fome converfation with the foldiers, whom he found much alarmed and difpofed to fubmit; they already, he said, began to liften to their officers, and if I appeared, he had no doubt of their fubmiffion.

I haftened thither that moment alone. At the fight of me they appeared confounded, and attempted to lay down their arms, but I prevented them, only defiring that they would quit the town within a quarter of an hour, to which they confented. I immediately fent them orders to go to a garrifon at the distance of twenty leagues: they obeyed. The officers refumed their authority and command, and in half an hour after, this regiment had entirely evacuated Nanci, and was in full march towards the place of its deftination. What was very extraordinary, the foldiers demanded of me an escort, though each of them had thirty rounds of cartridge which I had not thought it advisable to take from them, left it should occafion fome delay in their departure, at that time the object of greatest importance.

I gave them thirty huffars, who conducted them to their garrifon. I now announced to the Swifs regiment the departure of that of the king, fending them, at the fame time, orders to leave 'Nanci likewife, and proceed to a diftant town which I had pointed out to them. This order they obeyed, and their example was followed by the cavalry: by nine o'clock at night, the whole garrifon had left the town, and were on their march: the people of Nanci were difperfed, or had retired to their houses; the strangers had departed, and every thing was quiet.

The following day, I reinftated in their functions and authority the department and the municipality, and order was perfeâly re-established.

• In all this affair it was very fingular, and, at the same time, very fortunate, that not one houfe was either pillaged or burnt, nor was one of the inhabitants either killed or wounded, except. those who had taken arms, the number of whom was very confiderable, though I never received any exact account of them.' P. 208.

This plain narrative will be deemed fully exculpatory,

when we add to it, that the marquis received a letter from the king, another from M. de la Fayette, and a third from the prefident of the national affembly, all filled with approbation of his conduct. The king's letter begins in this manner:-"Į hope, fir, you are fufficiently acquainted with my fentiments, to be affured that your conduct at Nanci has given me the moft fignal fatisfaction. On the 31st of Auguft you faved France. La Fayette fays, You are the faviour of the commonwealth, my dear coufin, and your fuccefs affords me a double fatisfaction, both as a citizen and as your friend;' and the prefident informs the marquis, that the national affembly had paffed the highest encomiums on the courage and patriotifm he difplayed in compelling to return to their duty the garrifon of Nanci, and thofe who had joined in their revolt.' A decree, in which these fentiments are repeated, was fent at the fame time, to be communicated to his foldiers. Thefe documents may be pronounced fatisfactory. If M. de Bouillé acted in compliance with the will of the nation, the law, and the king, against whom could he commit a crime?

We have reverfed our ufual order in giving a preference to this affair, as it is one of the leading topics of the work, and the chief purpofe for which it was published. The contents of the volume, however, are in other refpects, valuable. The author endeavours to account for the French revolution, by tracing it to the mifconduct of the minifters of Louis XIV. and XV. and he blames the proceedings of the archbishop of Sens and M. Necker in the later years of the monarchy: but he is not altogether fo fevere to the latter as M. de Moleville is. He confiders him as unacquainted with men, and as measuring them all with a philofophical compafs. In his opinion, the grand error of this minifter was his exclufion of the king from the ftates-general, inftead of rendering him their arbiter. In a converfation with him on this fubject, M. de Bouillé reprofented the danger of affembling the ftates in the manner intended by him. He told him that he was arming the people against the first orders of the state, and that thefe, when thus delivered up unarmed, would foon feel the effects of public vengeance, urged by the two moft active paffions of the human heart, intereft and felf-love. M. Necker coldly answered him, raifing his eyes to heaven, that it was neceffary to rely on the moral virtues of mankind, M. Bouillé replied, that this was a fine romance, but that he would fee a horrible tragedy, of which he advised him to avoid the catastrophe. At thefe words the minifter fmiled; and madame Necker obferved, that fuch apprehenfions were extravagant.

But M. de la Fayette is the hero of the revolution, with whom the marquis feems moft at variance, and to, whom he imputes the groffeft mifconduct, occafioned by vifionary pro

jects and a romantic defire of being the Washington of France. In determining the character of that gentleman, the correfpondence fcattered over this volume will be found ufeful. We must add, in justice to our author, that, where he has documents and proofs, he produces them, and, where he fpeculates or gives opinions, he is as fair, open, and rigid, with his own character, as with that of any person whom he introduces. In various parts of the work, he acknowledges his errors most frankly; and, although he may feem to have depreciated the character of La Fayette, he deferves credit for the manner in which he fums up his errors.

Though on many occafions I have had reafon to blame the proceedings of La Fayette, not only towards myfelf, but likewife towards the king, whom he treated, particularly after his arrest at Varennes, with an infolence and harfhnefs unexampled, but which perhaps he thought neceffary to secure himself from the fury of the Jacobins; though at the fame time his political conduct was very reprehenfible; yet I must acknowledge, that his behaviour with respect to me was certainly generous, and it was the more meritorious as, had the king not been arrested at Varennes, there is every reafon to believe La Fayette would have been maffacred by the people, who held him refponfible for the king's escape. In the letter which I fent from Luxembourg to the affembly, I likewife warmly attacked him. His conduct then, on the prefent occafion, is a fufficient proof of his moderation. He never was, I repeat it, a man of a bad heart; but that enthufiaftic love of liberty which he acquired in America, joined to an immoderate thirst for glory, and fentiments of philanthropy, inflamed his bosom, raised in him exalted notions, and diverted his qualities towards a dangerous point, making one of the chiefs of the revolution, a young man who, when experience fhould have calmed the deceitful ardour of youth, might perhaps have become one of the best fervants to his fovereign, and a ftrenuous fupport to the monarchy. Here then I muft exprefs my fincere wishes for his restoration to liberty and tranquillity, hoping at the fame time, that the events he has witneffed, and the misfortunes he has gone through, may have cured him of his revolutionary frenzy.' P. 440.

In a preceding part, he openly and ingenuously reviews his own conduct.

But whilft I am reproaching La Fayette with his political conduct, I must regret the errors I myself have committed. Having once confented to conform to the new conflitution, and to act under it, which I did with a view of ferving my fovereign, I should have endeavoured to take the lead in the new ftate of affairs, by forming to myself a ftrong party, which I was able to have done, even among the conftitutionalifts themselves; I fhould have fup

ported La Fayette against the Jacobins, and have defended the king against all parties, referving for him refources in cafe of an emergency. I ought then, on the 4th of May, to have accepted the command of the confederate national guards of les Evéchés and Lorraine; I fhould foon have found myself at the head of those of the other frontier provinces, which were actually not long after fubmitted to my orders, and ferved in fome manner as a check upon the regular troops under my command. Being thus in poffeffion of a confiderable force, I should have gone to Paris to found the intentions of La Fayette, and endeavour at least to infpire him with confidence. With thofe of the minifters who were men of talents and integrity, and there were many whom I esteemed fuch, as M. de la Tour du Pin, I should have concerted a plan of conduct, procured his majesty's fanction to it, and an affurance, on his part, that he would strictly conform to it. This plan fhould have been adapted, not only to the exifting circumftances, but to the character of Louis the Sixteenth, who, with all the beneficence of Henry the Fourth, poffeffed none of his warlike virtues. The king then should have fuffered the constitutional party to proceed in their career, taking care, however, to have fome partisans among them; he was to make judicious reflections upon the different decrees which fhould be prefented to him, without rejecting any, only expreffing a conftant defire that the new laws fhould be calculated to promote the happiness of his people; as the defects in the conftitution were already perceived by a great majority of the affembly, it would perhaps have fallen of itself, or, which is more probable, would have experienced fuch alterations as would have left in the king's hands the whole executive power, and the difpofal of the national forces. His majefty's conduct no longer infpiring diftruft, the fear entertained of the ariftocrats would have fubfided, and the constitutional party would not have united with the Jacobins. The king might have weakened the party of La Fayette, and I was in poffeffion of a formidable, popular, and military force, which he might have employed usefully, had he properly chofen the opportunity. The enlightened part of my readers will, undoubtedly, reproach me with the errors which I have mentioned they are the subjects of my regret; but the horror in which I held this revolution difconcerted the measures which prudence prompted me to follow. I did too much perhaps for my principles, but certainly too little to infure fuccefs.' P. 156.

Thefe Memoirs, though they embrace only a few of the prominent features of the revolution, muft be confidered as a valuable contribution to that mafs of knowledge, which in more peaceable days may be applied to the purpofes of general inftruction. Numerous are the writings that have lately appeared, profeffing to develope characters, and explain the views of parties; and, when the history

of the French revolution fhall become completely understood by these means, it only remains that it fhould be wifely applied to the melioration of the ftate of man.

Zoonomia; or, the Laws of Organic Life. By Erafmus Darwin, M.D. (Continued from p. 77.)

WE now proceed to the second order of the first class of diseases. It contains an extenfive lift, a part of which we fhall present to the reader.