unsettled condition of europe—machinations of russia and austria against turkey—disasters of the austrians—capture of oczakoff—further designs of catherine—intervention of pitt—gustavus of sweden invades russia—his temporary check—he remodels the diet and pursues the war—joseph renews the war—disaffection in hungary—revolution in the austrian netherlands—abolition of the joyeuse entrée—the emperor declared to have forfeited the crown—the austrian troops retired to luxembourg—death of joseph—outbreak of the french revolution—efforts of turgot and his successors to introduce reforms—loménie de brienne—recall of necker—assembly of the states general—the third estate becomes the national assembly—the meeting in the tennis court—contemplated coup d'état—project of a city guard—dismissal of necker—insurrection in paris—the city guard—capture of the bastille—the noblesse renounce their privileges—bankruptcy and famine—"o richard, o mon roi!"—the women and the national guard march on versailles—the king brought to paris—effect of the revolution in england—different views of burke and fox—rejection of flood's reform bill—the nootka sound affair—satisfaction obtained from spain—motions of reform in the irish parliament—convention of reichenbach—continuance of the war between sweden and russia—renewal of the war with tippoo sahib—debates in parliament—discussions on the eastern question—the canada bill—it is made the occasion of speeches on the french revolution—breach between fox and burke—abuse of burke by the whigs—wilberforce's notice for immediate emancipation—colonisation of sierra leone—bill for the relief of roman catholics—fox's libel bill—burke's "reflections on the french revolution"—replies of mackintosh and paine—dr. price—dr. priestley—the anniversary of the taking of the bastille—the birmingham riots—destruction of priestley's library—suppression of the riots—mildness of the sentences.

whilst the war of parties had been raging in england, matters abroad had been rapidly assuming a shape which threatened the tranquillity of all europe. in france the elements of revolution had been fermenting, and had already burst into open fury with a character which, to observant eyes, appeared to bode inevitably their spread into every surrounding country. at the same time, the sovereigns of these countries, instead of discerning the signs of the times, and taking measures to guard their people from the contagious influence, were some of them acting so as certainly to invite the specious anarchy. in others, they were wasting their strength on schemes of conquest which only too much enfeebled them for opposition to the dangers thus preparing. some of these warlike movements seem, at first sight, to have little connection with the history of england, but, more or less, they all are necessary to our comprehension of our own position in the time of those marvellous subversions which were at hand.

least of all did the ambitious designs of the czarina catherine against turkey seem menacing to us; yet these designs speedily drew into their current the whole power of austria, endangered our relations with the countries on the baltic, and attracted the revolutionary torrent over the fertile plains of the netherlands, opposite to our own shores, menacing the stability of our allies, the dutch. catherine had found the turks not so easily to be overcome as she imagined, feeble and tottering as she considered their empire. the absorption of the ottoman kingdom and the establishment of the muscovite throne at constantinople had been her confident dream. but the turks, though in a condition of decline and disorganisation which promised an easy subjugation[350] of them, had still their spirit of fanatic fatalism, which could rouse them to deeds of impetuous valour. the whole organisation and regulations of their army were in the worst condition. the janissaries, which had been amongst the finest infantry in the world, were now thoroughly demoralised and in insolent insubordination towards their own government. their cavalry was numerous, but wretchedly disciplined. the commissariat was in the worst state conceivable, and their artillery, though it had received the energetic attentions of the french baron de toff, was contemptible. it might have appeared that nothing was necessary but to enter turkey and drive the army, as a disorganised rabble, before the foe. but catherine had not found it so. her favourite, potemkin, had been repeatedly defeated in his attempts to advance into turkey from the crimea, and catherine had been glad to engage joseph ii. of austria in the enterprise by a promise of an ample share of the spoil. in fact, the pair contemplated something like a partition of europe. in their meeting at cherson in 1787, joseph had engaged to send one hundred thousand men to the campaign against turkey. he had no quarrel with the sultan, and though a zealous advocate for national reforms, he paid very little regard to national or international justice. in all his reforms, joseph, with true austrian spirit, showed the despot still. he did not attempt to carry such reforms as his subjects desired, but such as he thought proper for them; and he was always ready to force what he deemed liberalism and improvement upon them at the point of the bayonet. in attacking turkey, he did not wait to proclaim war, much less to have a pretence for it, but he suddenly made a rush upon the neighbouring city and frontier fortress of belgrade. the turks, though taken by surprise, defended the place victoriously; and joseph's subsequent assault on the fortress of gradiska was equally unsuccessful and equally disgraceful.

in prosecution, however, of his unrighteous engagement to catherine, he mustered the large army he had engaged to bring against turkey, and in february, 1788, he made a formal proclamation of war, having no cause of hostility to assign of his own, but merely that his alliance with russia demanded that he should support that power in its equally lawless invasion of turkey. the prince of saxe-coburg, who commanded one division of joseph's army, entered moldavia, and spent the whole campaign nearly in the siege and reduction of the fortress of choczim. the emperor himself accompanied another division, the destination of which was the renewal of the siege of belgrade. he had been led by catherine to hope, as his reward for the co-operation, the recovery of bosnia and servia, the acquisition of moldavia and wallachia, and the extension of his boundaries to the dnieper. but, having waited some time for the junction of the russians, joseph's army assembled on the banks of the danube in february, and occupied itself in securing the banks of that river and of the save. joseph himself joined it in april, accompanied by his favourite marshal and counsellor, lacy, and having also with him, but paying little attention to him or his advice, the brave and able laudohn, who had so successfully coped with frederick of prussia in silesia. on the 24th he took the little fortress of szabatch, whilst another part of his army suffered a defeat from the turks at dobitza. he then sat down before belgrade, but carried on the siege with such slackness as to disgust his own troops and astonish all europe. he was at length roused by the advance of the vizier, yussuff, who was coming rapidly down upon him. at his approach, joseph precipitately retreated behind the save, while yussuff threw bridges over the danube at cladova, broke the austrian cordon by the defeat of a portion of the forces of general wartesleben on the heights of meadiha, and swept through the banat of temeswar, joseph's own territory, which he held, and threatened to invade hungary. joseph hastened with forty thousand men to support wartesleben, leaving general laudohn to conduct the war in croatia. the army was delighted to have laudohn at their head instead of the emperor. he led it on the very day of his arrival against the fortress of dobitza, which he took; he then passed the save, drove the turks before him, defeated seven thousand of the enemy before novi, and took that place, where his operations were suspended by the winter. joseph gained little credit by his junction with wartesleben. the turks attacked him, and, though they were for the moment repulsed, the emperor retreated in a dark night, and turks and austrians resumed their former positions. after taking verplanka, the campaign ended with a three months' truce. but the austrians had suffered more severely from the miasma of the marshes of the danube and save than from the turks.

meanwhile, the russians had been occupied with the siege of oczakoff, near the mouth of the dnieper. there the turks had endeavoured to burn their flotillas and flat-bottomed boats, in the[351] shallows, at the mouth of the river; but besides potemkin, they had the able suvaroff to contend with. this sagacious general drew the russian flotilla under the forts of kinburn, nearly opposite to oczakoff, of which they were in possession. thus safe himself, he swept the broad liman with his guns, destroyed many of the boats of the turks, as they got entangled in the sands of the shallows, and compelled the admiral, who commanded, to withdraw his fleet. after several vain attempts, oczakoff was stormed on st. nicholas' day, the 17th of november. but this success was only obtained at the last moment, in the very desperation of despair, and when the campaign had cost russia twenty thousand men, of whom five thousand perished in the final assault.

but the czarina, though mistress of oczakoff, was far from the end of her designs. she contemplated nothing but the subjugation of the turkish empire. for this purpose she determined to excite insurrection in all the tributary states of that empire. her agents had excited the montenegrins to an outbreak; they had prepared the greeks for the same experiment, and the mameluke beys in egypt. she determined to send a powerful fleet into the mediterranean to co-operate with these insurgents, to seize on the island of crete, to ravage the coasts of thrace and asia minor, and to force the passage of the dardanelles, or, if that were not practicable, to blockade them. thus opening the communication between her forces in the mediterranean and in the black sea, she considered that turkey would lie helpless at her feet. to give the necessary ascendency to her fleet, she had long been encouraging english naval officers to take commands in it. at the famous battle of chesmé, it was the british admirals elphinstone, greig, and others who had made potemkin victorious. greig was now at the head of the fleet that was being prepared at cronstadt for this mediterranean enterprise. she had also managed to engage eighteen british ships to serve as transports of troops, artillery, and stores.

if pitt had possessed the far-seeing genius of his father chatham, it was at this moment in his power, as the ally of turkey, to have stepped in and given a blow to the ambitious designs of russia which would have saved a far more arduous and costly effort for that very purpose afterwards. russia had spared no pains to insult britain, especially since the unfortunate contest on account of america. it was certain that if she once obtained turkey she would become a most troublesome power in the mediterranean; and it now required only the dispatch of a tolerable fleet to the baltic, and of another to the black sea, to annihilate in a few days every vestige of her maritime force. such a check would have caused her to recoil from her eastern aggressions for the purpose of defending her very existence at home. holland was bound to us by the re-establishment of the prince of orange, our fast friend, whom pitt, with the assistance of prussia, had restored to the throne, whence he had been driven by his democratic subjects, in spite of the assistance given to the rebels by france; we were at peace with prussia; france was engrossed inextricably with her own affairs; denmark was in terror of us; and sweden longed for nothing so much as to take vengeance for russian insults and invasions. catherine's fleets destroyed, sweden would have full opportunity to ravage her coasts, and to seek the recovery of her finnish dominions. but pitt contented himself with diplomacy. instead of destroying the russian fleet in the baltic, or of attacking it in the mediterranean the moment it commenced its operations on the turkish dependencies, and then clearing the black sea of their ships, he contented himself with issuing a proclamation in the london gazette, forbidding english seamen to enter any foreign service, and commanding the owners of the vessels engaged by russia to renounce their contracts. thus the fleet before oczakoff was left to operate against the turks, and the fleet in the baltic was detained there.

to insure a powerful diversion, the sultan had engaged the military co-operation of sweden. sweden had been forcibly deprived of finland by peter the great, and she longed to recover it. she had a brave army, but no money. the grand turk, to enable her to commence the enterprise, had sent her a present of about four hundred thousand pounds sterling. sweden put her fleet in preparation in all haste, and had pitt merely allowed the russian fleet to quit the baltic, there was nothing to prevent the execution of the swedish design on finland, nor, indeed, of marching directly on st. petersburg in the absence of the army.

but the english measures detained the russian fleet in the baltic with greig at its head, and russia was saved from her due chastisement. the king of sweden, indeed, landed an army of thirty-five thousand men in finland; and his brother, the duke of sudermania, appeared in the[352] baltic at the head of a strong fleet. nothing could have prevented gustavus from marching directly on the russian capital, and st. petersburg was consequently thrown into the wildest alarm. but gustavus was only bent on recovering the provinces which russia had reft from sweden. he advanced successfully for some time, the russians everywhere flying before him; but russian gold and russian intrigue soon altered all this. catherine ordered her fleet, which was in the gulf of finland, with greig at its head, to bear down on the swedish fleet, and, at the same time, emissaries were despatched amongst the officers of gustavus's army with plenty of gold, and letters were sent to the states of sweden, calling on them to disavow the proceedings of the king. before gustavus had left sweden with his army, her minister, passing over the king himself, had made similar communications to gustavus's proud and disaffected nobles, and gustavus had ordered him out of the country. the russian and swedish fleets now came to an engagement in the straits of kalkbaden. the battle was desperate; the swedes fought with their wonted valour; and the russians, under the management of greig and the british officers, showed that they were apt scholars. the two fleets separated, after doing each other great mischief, each claiming the victory. catherine immediately rewarded greig with a letter of thanks, written by her own hand, and with the more substantial present of a large sum of money, and a good estate in livonia. moreover, the partial success of russia by sea had the effect of encouraging the corrupted officers of gustavus to refuse to proceed farther in finland.

gustavus despatched the chief mutineers under arrest to stockholm; but he found those who remained equally infected. in fact, the whole of the swedish aristocracy had long aimed at usurping the entire powers of the state, and of dictating to the king. whilst thus suddenly disabled, the men themselves in a great measure assuming the language of their officers, gustavus found that sweden itself was menaced with an invasion of the danes from the side of norway, at the instigation of russia. it was necessary to hurry home, leaving the portion of the army in finland, which remained subordinate, under the command of his brother. on arriving, gustavus issued an earnest proclamation to his people to follow him to the defence of their country. but to lose no time he hastened on to dalecarlia, the brave inhabitants of which had first placed his great ancestor, gustavus vasa, on the throne. they speedily mustered to his aid, and he led them directly against the danes, who, under the prince of hesse, were already in possession of str?mstad and uddevalla, and in full march on gothenburg, the chief commercial town of sweden.

his arrival gave great joy and confidence to the people of gothenburg; and at this moment, seeing the consequence of their too easy conduct, the british government sent a peremptory demand to copenhagen through mr. elliot, their ambassador there, that denmark should desist from this invasion of sweden, the ally of britain, or, in default of this, that a powerful british fleet should be dispatched to the baltic. the danes evacuated sweden, again retiring into norway, but gustavus was left to continue his contest with russia. his broken army, under his brother in finland, took up their winter quarters at the strong seaport of sveaborg; and he himself prepared to make some decisive movement against his haughty and refractory nobles. besides the order of nobility, three other orders sat in the general assembly of the states; and gustavus, confident of their affection to him, determined to throw himself upon them for protection against the nobles. he therefore, in the first place, sent for the chief magistrates, clergy, and citizens, and laid before them forcibly his position. he showed them how the recovery of the ancient swedish provinces on the other side of the baltic had been prevented by the defection of the aristocracy, and how the country had been invaded by the danes through this encouragement. made certain of their support, he then summoned a diet, which met on the 26th of january, 1789.

the nobles rose in a body and quitted the assembly; but gustavus continued his speech to the three remaining orders. he declared it necessary, for the salvation of the country, for him to assume almost despotic powers, and he called on the three estates to support him in punishing the traitorous nobles, promising to secure the liberties of the country as soon as this was accomplished. not only the three orders, but the public at large zealously supported him. stockholm was in a state of high excitement. gustavus surrounded the houses of the chief nobility with his brave dalecarlians; secured twenty-five of the principal nobles, including the counts brahé, fersen, horne, and others, who were consigned to the castle. he had already arrested nine of the leaders of the insurrection in the army in finland, and these officers were[353] now also confined in the castle; others had escaped and fled to their patroness in st. petersburg. to intimidate the king, nearly all the officers of the army, the fleet, and the civil department threw up their commissions and appointments, believing that they should thus completely paralyse his proceedings. but gustavus remained undaunted. he filled up the vacancies, as well as he could, from the other orders of the state; he brought the nobles and officers to trial, and numbers of them were condemned to capital punishment, for treason and abandonment of their sworn duties. some few examples were made; the rest, after a short confinement, were liberated, and they hastened to their estates in the country. but it was found there, as everywhere else, that rank confers no monopoly of talent. the three other orders warmly supported gustavus, and he remodelled the diet, excluding from it almost all the most powerful nobles, and giving greater preponderance to the other three orders. in return for this, these orders sanctioned an act called the act of safety, which conferred on the king the same power which is attached to the british crown, namely, that of making peace or war. they granted him liberal supplies, and he quickly raised an army of fifty thousand men. as he considered the reduction of the restless and lawless power of russia was equally essential to britain, holland, and prussia, as to sweden, gustavus called on them to second his efforts. but pitt would do nothing more than guarantee the neutrality of denmark; and even this guarantee he permitted to become nugatory, by allowing the danish fleet to give protection to the russian fleet in the baltic. a second russian squadron, commanded by dessein, a french admiral, descended from archangel, entered the baltic, menaced gothenburg, and by the aid of the danish ships was enabled to join the other russian fleet at cronstadt.

expulsion of the professors from the university of antwerp. (see p. 355.)

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the swedes cursed the less than half assistance of their british allies, and gustavus endeavoured to fight his way without them. he continued to win victory after victory on land; but catherine soon brought down on his squadron of galleys, which attended his march along the coast to keep up his supplies, an overwhelming fleet of galleys[354] of her own. a desperate battle ensued, but the swedish galley-fleet was at length overcome. gustavus was thus greatly embarrassed, and compelled to stand merely on the defensive, till it was time to go into winter quarters. he continued for twelve months to do battle with russia, and, though with insufficient forces, threatened the very capital of that country. a little support from britain, prussia, and holland, would have enabled sweden to regain its territories on the eastern shores of the baltic, to curb the power of russia, and to assume that station in the north which is essential to the peace of europe. these countries, however, had not the statesmanship to appreciate this point, or the friendly feeling to effect it, and gustavus was left to struggle on alone.

the emperor joseph of austria had returned from the campaign of 1788 against turkey greatly chagrined, and with fast-failing health. had he been wise, he would have accepted the overtures for peace made to him by the sultan, and have spent the few remaining days of his existence in tranquillity. but his ambitious and persuasive ally, catherine, prevailed upon him to make another effort. he mustered fresh troops. a hundred and fifty thousand men were marched against the turkish frontier, early in the year of 1789, in different divisions. it was a circumstance very much in their favour that the able sultan, abdul hamid, died suddenly in april, and was succeeded by his nephew, selim, a young, rash, and unprincipled man. the acts of selim, in murdering and dismissing his father's best ministers and commanders, and the unruly condition of the janissaries, rendered turkey especially open to the attacks of its enemies. marshal laudohn, supporting his earlier fame, took the fortress of gradiska, and stormed belgrade. but this was not accomplished till the 8th of october, and an attempt was then made to reduce orsova, but this failed. coburg and suvaroff having joined, won a great victory over the new vizier, martinitzi, in wallachia, on the 22nd of september, and the remains of the turkish army retired to the pass of shumla, on the balkan mountains. potemkin, on his part, had greatly increased his forces after the reduction of oczakoff, and after a desperate resistance took bender, famous as the abode of charles xii. of sweden, after the battle of pultawa. before winter, the russians had made decided progress in their inroads into the turkish dominions on the black sea. they had gained possession of akerman, at the mouth of the dniester; of keglia nova, on the northern banks of the danube, and of other places on the black sea. they had also extended their frontier to the left bank of the danube, and they had actually reduced every important place between the bug and dniester and that river. had catherine had a sufficient fleet in the black sea, constantinople might have trembled for its safety.

but catherine's ally, joseph, was fast sinking, and his mortal sun was going down amid storm clouds, all collected by his reckless disregard of the rights of his subjects, great reformer as he desired to be. he had wantonly invaded the ancient constitution of hungary; and on this the high-spirited and martial hungarians had expressed their determination not to submit to it. they insisted that he should restore the regalia of their ancient kingdom, which he had carried off from buda, the old capital, and where the austrian emperors, as kings of hungary, were always expected to be crowned, and to take the oath to observe the constitution. the turks, already in possession of the banat of temeswar, invited their alliance, offering to assist them in driving out the austrians, and establishing their independence. joseph, alarmed at this prospect, made haste to avert the danger by conceding the restoration of the hungarian constitution and of the regalia, and the generous hungarians were at once appeased.

but far different was the issue of the troubles with his flemish subjects, which, with an unaccountable folly and absence of good faith, he had excited. he sent into the netherlands count trautmansdorff as governor, and general dalton, a brutal irishman, as commander. the latter ordered the professors of theology at louvain to give way to the emperor's reforms, and, as they refused, dalton turned them out by force, shut up the colleges, and joseph sent back again the german professors, who had been before recalled, to appease the popular indignation. but the colleges remained empty; not a student would attend the classes of the germans. as the volunteer corps had disbanded themselves, in reliance on the emperor's wish, trautmansdorff calculated on an easy compulsion of the people, and he called on the grand council at brussels to enforce the decrees of the emperor. the council paid no regard to the order.

the people having collected in great crowds in the neighbourhood of the council house, dalton ordered out a company of soldiers, under a young[355] ensign, to patrol the streets, and overawe any attempts at demonstrations in support of the council. the young ensign, having a stone flung at him, without further ceremony ordered his men to fire into the crowd, and six persons were killed, and numbers of others wounded. no sooner did joseph hear of this rash and cruel act, than he wrote highly approving of it, and promoting the ensign. the people, greatly enraged, rose in the different towns, and were attacked by the imperial troops, and blood was shed in various places. with his usual disregard of consequences, joseph was at this moment endeavouring to raise a loan in the netherlands, to enable him to carry on the war against turkey. but this conduct completely quashed all hope of it; not a man of money would advance a stiver. trautmansdorff continued to threaten the people, and dalton was ready to execute his most harsh orders. it was determined to break up the university of antwerp, and on the 4th of august, 1789, troops were drawn up, and cannon planted in the public square, to keep down the populace, whilst the professors were turned into the streets, and the college doors locked. here there occurred an attack on the unarmed people, as wanton as that which took place at brussels, and no less than thirty or forty persons were killed on the spot, and great numbers wounded. this massacre of antwerp, as it was called, roused the indignation of the whole netherlands, and was heard with horror by all europe. the monks and professors who had been turned out became objects of sympathy, even to those who regarded with wonder and contempt their bigotry and superstition. but joseph, engaged in his miserable and disgraceful war against the turks, sent to dalton his warmest approval of what he called these vigorous measures.

joseph, in the face of these things, passed an edict sequestrating all the abbeys in brabant. the states of brabant therefore refused the voting of any subsidies, and joseph, irritated to deeper blindness, determined to abolish the great charter entitled the joyeuse entrée, so called because granted on the entry of philip the good into brussels, and on which nearly all their privileges rested. to compel them to vote a permanent subsidy, the military surrounded the states of hainault, forcibly dissolved their sitting, and then calling an extraordinary meeting of the states of brabant, trautmansdorff ordered them to pass an act sanctioning such a subsidy. but the deputies remained firm, and thereupon the joyeuse entrée was annulled by proclamation, and the house of assembly dissolved. joseph vowed that he would extinguish the rebellion in blood, and reduce the netherlands to the same despotism which ruled all his other states, except hungary and the tyrol.

trautmansdorff declared that, if necessary, forty thousand troops should be marched into the country; but this was an empty boast, for joseph had so completely engaged his army against turkey, that he could only send a thousand men into the netherlands. on the contrary, the french revolutionists offered the oppressed netherlands speedy aid, and the duke d'aremberg, the archbishop of malines, and other nobles and dignitaries of the church, met at breda on the 14th of september, and proclaimed themselves the legitimate assembly of the states of brabant. they sent the plainest remonstrances to the emperor, declaring that unless he immediately repealed his arbitrary edicts, and restored their great charter, they would assert their rights by the sword. in proof that these were no empty vaunts, the militia and volunteers again flew to arms. scarcely a month had passed after the repeal of the joyeuse entrée before a number of collisions had taken place between these citizen soldiers and the imperial troops. in tirlemont, louvain, antwerp, and mons blood was shed. at diest, the patriots, led on by the monks, drove out the troops and the magistrates. dalton and trautmansdorff, instead of fulfilling their menace, appeared paralysed.

numbers of persons fled from the different towns to the frontiers of holland, trade became stagnant, manufactories stood empty; the whole country began to assume a melancholy and ruinous aspect. many of the refugees, formed into revolutionary clubs by french emissaries, were prepared not merely to oppose joseph's despotism, but all monarchical government whatever. a powerful body of these placed themselves under the leadership of van der noot, a lawyer, who assumed the title of plenipotentiary agent of the people of brabant; and of van der mersch, an officer who had served in the seven years' war, who was made their commander-in-chief. these two men were in league with the new assembly of breda, and issued their proclamations. these trautmansdorff caused to be burnt by the executioner. the patriots in brussels who sympathised with those in arms were, many of them, arrested; the citizens were disarmed, the fortifications strengthened by palisades, and every means of defence was resorted to.

[356]

but in october the patriots of breda surprised the forts of lillo and liefkenshoek, on the scheldt. dalton dispatched general schr?der with a strong force, who retook the forts; but on schr?der's venturing to enter turnhout after the insurgents, a body of three thousand of them, under van der mersch, armed with pitchforks, bludgeons, and staves, attacked and drove him out. general bender, who had been dispatched against the insurgents at tirlemont, was driven out in the same manner. general arberg was compelled to retreat behind the scheldt, and the people were victorious in louvain, ghent, bruges, ostend, and most towns of the district. both joseph and his governor and commander in the netherlands now fell into the utmost alarm. the news which marie antoinette sent from paris to her imperial brother only rendered this consternation the greater. joseph, with that sudden revulsion which he had manifested on other occasions, after equally astonishing rashness, now issued a conciliatory proclamation, offering to redress all grievances on the condition of the netherlanders laying down their arms. but they were not likely, after former experience, to trust any such promises of joseph. on the 20th of november the states of flanders assumed the title of the high and mighty states; they declared the emperor to have forfeited the crown by tyranny and injustice; they proclaimed their entire independence, and ordered a levy of twenty thousand men.

trautmansdorff now hastened to conciliate in earnest. he issued two-and-twenty separate proclamations, made all kinds of fair promises, restored the arms of the citizens, and liberated the imprisoned patriots. but it was too late. the insurgents, under van der mersch, were fast advancing towards brussels, and dalton marched out to meet them; but he was confounded by the appearance of their numbers, and entered into an armistice of ten days. but this did not stop the progress of insurrection in brussels. there the people rose, and resolved to open the gates to their compatriots. women and children tore up the palisades, and levelled the entrenchments. the population assumed the national cockade, and the streets resounded with cries of "long live the patriots!" "long live van der noot!" dalton retreated into brussels, but found no security there. the soldiers began to desert. the people attacked those who stood to their colours, and dalton was glad to secure his retreat by a capitulation. in a few days the insurgents from breda entered, trautmansdorff having withdrawn at their approach, and the new federal union of the netherlands was completely established. the state of luxembourg was the only one remaining to joseph, and thither dalton retired with his forces, five thousand in number.

but joseph did not live to see the full extent of the alienation of the netherlands. he had despatched count cobentzel to brussels on the failure of trautmansdorff's efforts. cobentzel was an able diplomatist, but all his offers were treated with indifference. on the last day of 1789 the states of brabant, in presence of the citizens of brussels, swore to stand by their new freedom—an act which was received by the acclamations of the assembled crowds. they soon afterwards ratified their league with the other states, and entered into active negotiation with the revolutionists of france for mutual defence. on the 20th of february, 1790, joseph expired, leaving a prospect full of trouble to his brother leopold, the new emperor.

at the period at which we have now arrived france was in a state of the wildest and most awful convulsion. a revolution had broken out, more terrible and furious than had ever yet appeared in the history of nations. the french people, so long trodden down by their princes, their aristocracy, and their clergy, and reduced to a condition of wretchedness and of ignorant brutality, almost unparalleled, seizing the opportunity of the distresses of the impoverished government, and encouraged by a new race of philosophers who preached up the equality of the human race, had broken through their ancient subserviency, and were pulling down all the old constituted powers, ranks, and distinctions, with a rapidity which electrified the whole world.

the people might have dragged on a considerable time still in their misery; but the government was in its death-throes for want of revenue, and louis xvi., who ascended the throne in 1774, had but little political sagacity. the administration groaned beneath a mountain of debts; the mass of the people were exhausted in their resources; trade was ruined by these causes; and the nobility and clergy clung convulsively to their prescriptive exemptions from taxation. long before the american war the state was in reality bankrupt. the prime minister of louis xvi., the count de maurepas, was never of a genius to extricate the nation from such enormous difficulties; but now he was upwards of eighty years[357] of age; and, besides that, steeped in aristocratic prejudices. still, he had the sense to catch at the wise propositions of turgot, who was made comptroller-general, and had he been permitted to have his way, might have effected much. turgot insisted that there must be a rigid and inflexible economy introduced into all departments of the state, in order gradually to discharge the debts. the excellent malesherbes being also appointed minister of justice, these two able and good men recommended a series of reforms which must have struck the old and incorrigible courtiers and nobility with consternation. they prevailed in having the parliament restored, and they recommended that the king should himself initiate the business of reform, thus preventing it from falling into less scrupulous hands, and so attaching the body of the people to him by the most encouraging expectations. turgot presented his calculations and his enlightened economic plans, and malesherbes drew up his two memoirs "on the calamities of france, and the means of repairing them;" but they had not a monarch with the mind and the nerve to carry out the only reforms which could save the monarchy. turgot, who was of the modern school of philosophy himself, and well knew the heads of the school, recommended that they should be employed by government. had this been done, the voices that were raised so fatally against the king and crown might have been raised for them, and the grand catastrophe averted. but louis could not be brought to listen to any measures so politic; indeed, he was listening, instead, to the cries of fierce indignation which the privileged classes were raising against all reform. turgot succeeded in abolishing the corvées, the interior custom-houses between one province and another, and some other abuses, but there the great plan was stopped. both louis and his minister, maurepas, shrank from the wrath of the noblesse and the clergy, and desisted from all further reform.

notre dame, paris.

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[358]

by a still greater fatality, louis was persuaded to comply with the solicitations of the american colonists, to assist them in throwing off their allegiance to britain. to rend these colonies from britain, which had deprived france of canada and nova scotia, was too flattering to french vanity and french desire of revenge. turgot in vain protested that the first cannon that was fired would insure revolution; louis consented to the american alliance, and thus set the seal to his own destruction. bitterly did he rue this afterwards, still more bitterly was it rued by his queen when they both saw the fatal infection of republicanism brought back from america by the army. when turgot saw that this fatal war was determined upon, he retired before the wild rage of the noblesse and clergy, and from the ruinous weakness of the king. minister after minister rapidly succeeded each other in the vain endeavour to keep up the old partial laws and privileges, the old extravagance and encumbrances, at the command of the king, and yet avert revolution. in turn clugny, necker, and calonne withdrew discomfited.

the next person to attempt the impossible in the vain endeavour to keep the vessel of the old french monarchy afloat with all its leaks and rottenness, was the archbishop of toulouse, loménie de brienne. he had vigorously opposed calonne; but there was no way of raising the necessary revenue but to adopt some of the very proposals of calonne, and tax the privileged classes, or to attempt to draw something still from the exhausted people. as the less difficult experiment of the two, he was compelled to cast his eyes towards the property of the nobles and the church; but he found the nobles and the clergy as ready to sacrifice him as they had been to sacrifice calonne. when one or two of the more pliant or more enlightened members of those classes ventured to remark on the vast amount of untaxed property, and particularly of tithes, there was an actual tempest of fury raised. tithes were declared to be the voluntary offerings of the piety of the faithful, and therefore not to be touched. as further loans were out of the question, some one ventured to assert that the only means of solving the difficulty was to assemble the states general. "you would convoke the states general?" said the minister in consternation. "yes," replied lafayette, who was bent on revolutionising france, as he had helped to revolutionise america—"yes, and something more than that!" these words were taken down as most exceptionable and dangerous. all that the assembly of notables could be brought to do was to confirm the abolition of the corvée, and to pass a stamp act. they would not move a step further, and they were dismissed by the king on the 25th of may, 1787. the parliament, or chief court of justice, adopted a similar course, and it also was dismissed. the king then promulgated a new constitution, but it fell hopelessly to the ground.

events now rushed on with accumulating force and accelerated pace. there had been a long drought, withering up the prospects of the harvest, and now, in july, came a terrible hailstorm, which extended one hundred and fifty miles round paris, destroying the nearly ripe corn, the fruit on the trees, and leaving all that extent of country a desert, and the inhabitants the prey of famine. in such circumstances the people could not, those in other quarters would not, pay taxes; the treasury was empty, and the king was compelled to promise to convoke the states general in the following may; brienne endeavoured to amuse the active reformers by calling on men of intelligence to send in plans for the proper conduct of the states general, as none had been held for one hundred and seventy-two years. the public was impatient for a much earlier summons, but probably they would not have been much listened to, had loménie de brienne known how to keep things going. his empty exchequer, however, and the pressing demands upon him, drove him to solicit the king to recall necker and appoint him once more comptroller of the finances. he imagined that the popularity of necker would at least extend the public patience. the queen energetically opposed the reinstatement of necker; the position of affairs was, however, too desperate, and necker was recalled. his triumphant return was speedily followed by the meeting of the states.

on the 4th of may, 1789, versailles was crowded by immense masses of people from paris and the country round, to see the grand procession of the deputies of the three orders advancing from the church of notre dame to that of st. louis. the whole of the costumes, the order of march, and the spectacle had been carefully studied by the court, so as to impress deeply the distinctions of the three orders, and to humiliate the tiers état. the evening before, the deputies had waited on the king, and even then he had greatly incensed those of the tiers état who came most favourably disposed to him. even whilst he[359] hoped to obtain essential advantages from the people against the presumption of the privileged orders, louis or his advisers could not refrain from humiliating the third estate. instead of receiving the deputies in one body, they had been carefully separated; the clergy were received first, the nobles next, and then, not till after a considerable pause, the tiers état. now, on the great morning, all paris and the vicinity—thousands from distant towns—was astir. the streets of versailles were lined with french and swiss guards and made gay with garlands of flowers, and from the windows hung rich tapestries. the balconies and windows were crowded with spectators of all ages and both sexes—the handsomest ladies gorgeously attired. the deputies, instead of one thousand, amounted to one thousand two hundred. first marched the members of the tiers état, six hundred in number, all clad in plain black mantles, white cravats, and slouched hats. next went the nobles in black coats, but the other garments of cloth of gold, silk cloak, lace cravat, plumed hat turned up à la henry iv.; then the clergy, in surplice, with mantle, and square cap; the bishops in their purple robes, with their rochets. last came the court, all ablaze with jewels and splendid robes; the king in good spirits, the queen anxious, and dimly conscious even then of the miseries that were to follow. her eldest son, the dauphin, was lying at the point of death in the palace, and her reputation was being daily murdered by atrocious calumnies. yet still marie antoinette, the daughter of the great maria theresa, the once light-hearted, always kind and amiable woman, was the perfect queen in her stately beauty. two things were remarked—the absence of siéyès, and the presence of mirabeau, two men who had already become popular leaders. siéyès had not yet arrived; mirabeau drew all eyes. his immense head of hair; his lion-like appearance, marked by an ugliness quite startling, almost terrifying; the spectators seemed fascinated by his look. he marched on visibly a man; the rest, compared with him, were mere shadows.

it was not long before the third estate was discovered to be in hopeless antagonism with the court and privileged orders, and they resolved to act separately. they must act for themselves and for the people at large, or, by further delays, lose all the advantages of the moment. they resolved to assume the character of the representatives of the entire nation. siéyès declared that the commons had waited on the other orders long enough. they had given in to all the conciliations proposed; their condescensions had been unavailing; they could delay no longer, without abandoning their duty to the country. a great debate arose regarding the name that the body of deputies which resolved to become the real legislative power should choose. mirabeau proposed, the "representatives of the people;" mounier, "the deliberative majority in the absence of the minority;" and legrand, "the national assembly." the proposal of mounier was soon disposed of; but there was a strong inclination in favour of "the national assembly," and mirabeau vehemently opposed it. the name of "national assembly" had, it is said, been recommended to lafayette by jefferson, the american minister, and as lafayette had not yet ventured to move before his order, and join the tiers état, legrand, an obscure member, and lately a provincial advocate, was employed to propose it. but siéyès had, in his famous brochure on the "rights of man," long before thrown out these words:—"the tiers état alone, it will be said, cannot form a states general. so much the better; it will constitute a national assembly!" on the 15th of june, siéyès proposed that the title should be "the national assembly of representatives, known and verified by the french nation." mirabeau indignantly repelled the title in any shape. he declared that such a title, by denying the rights and existence of the other two orders, would plunge the nation into civil war. legrand proposed to modify the name by making it "the general assembly." siéyès then came back to his original title of simply "the national assembly," as devoid of all ambiguity, and mirabeau still more violently opposed it. but it was soon seen that this name carried the opinion of the mob with it; the deputies cried out loudly for it; the galleries joined as loudly in the cries. mirabeau in a fierce rage read his speech, said to have been written by his friend dumont, before the president bailly, and withdrew, using violent language against the people who had hooted him down, declaring that they would soon be compelled to seek his aid. he had protested in his speech that the veto, which some of the deputies wished to refuse to the king, must be given to him; that without the royal veto he would rather live in constantinople than in france; that he could conceive nothing more dreadful than the sovereignty of six hundred persons; that they would very soon declare themselves hereditary, and would[360] finish, like all other aristocracies that the world had ever seen, by usurping everything. these words, only too prophetic, had brought down upon him a tempest of execration; and writhing under it he had hastened to the court and had an interview with necker, warning him of the danger of the crisis, and offering to use his influence in favour of the king's authority. necker received him coldly, and thus mirabeau was thrown back on the people. siéyès's motion was carried by a majority of four hundred and ninety-one against ninety; and the national assembly was proclaimed amid loud acclamations, mingled with cries of "vive le roi!"

the french revolution: costume of lady of the period.

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this alarming event produced an instant and zealous union of the court and the nobles. the heads of the aristocracy and of the dignified clergy threw themselves at the feet of the king, declaring the monarchy lost if he did not at once dismiss the states. the utmost confusion reigned in the palace. the unhappy louis, never able to form a resolution of his own, was made to sway to and fro like a pendulum between opposite recommendations. the assembly had adjourned on the 19th to the next day, and bailly, on reaching the door of the hall, attended by many other deputies found it not only closed, but surrounded by soldiers of the french guard, who had orders to refuse admittance to every one. some of the fiercer young spirits amongst the deputies proposed to force their way in; but the officer in command ordered his men to stand to their arms, and showed that he would make use of them. bailly induced the young men to be patient, and obtained leave from the officer to enter a court and write a protest. a brisk conference was then held, while standing in the avenue de paris, in the midst of pouring rain, as to whither they should betake themselves. the deputy guillotin recommended that they should go to old versailles, to the jeu de paume, or tennis court, and this plan was adopted.

the french revolution: costume of 1790.

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before leaving, the courteous officer permitted bailly and about half-a-dozen deputies to enter and bring out their papers. the carpenters were already at work making preparations for the royal séance, which was intended for a counter-manifestation, and as the body of the deputies, now nearly completing their six hundred, marched through the streets, they heard the heralds[361] proclaiming it for monday, the 22nd. bailly felt that there was more indignity intended than even that of turning them so unceremoniously out of their house, for a message had been sent to him from the king, announcing the séance, but it had not been delivered to him, as etiquette required, at the hall, but at his private house, and not by a written dispatch, but verbally by de brézé, the master of ceremonies. when the deputies, with their president at their head, reached the tennis court, they found it a very spacious apartment, but naked, unfurnished, and desolate. there were no seats for the deputies, and a chair being offered to bailly he declined it, saying he would not sit whilst the other members were standing. a wooden bench was brought, and served for a desk, two deputies were stationed as doorkeepers, and the keeper of the court appeared and offered them his services. great numbers of the populace crowded in, and the deliberations commenced. there were loud complaints of the interruption of their sitting, and many proposals to prevent such accidents in future. it was proposed to adjourn to paris, where they would have the support of the people, and this project was received with enthusiasm; but bailly feared that they might be attacked on the way, and, moreover, that such a measure would give an advantage to their enemies, looking like a desertion of their ground. mounier then proposed that the deputies should bind themselves by an oath never to separate till they had completed the constitution. this was hailed with enthusiasm. the oath was drawn up, and bailly, standing on the bench, read it aloud:—"you solemnly swear never to separate, and to re-assemble whenever circumstances shall require it, until the constitution of the kingdom is founded and established on a solid basis." as he read this all the deputies held up their right hands, and repeated after him the words, "we swear!" the formula was read so loud that not only the spectators within but numbers without heard it, and all joined in the cry, "we swear!" then followed loud acclaims of "vive l'assemblée!" "vive le roi!"

the french revolution: costume "à la robespierre."

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tricoteuse, or knitting woman, of the national convention.

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after this the royal sitting was useless, as the king's authority was disregarded by the third estate. the court had to learn that the tiers état had remained in their seats after the king and the nobles had retired. the assembly then, on the motion of mirabeau, declared its members[362] inviolable, and that whoever should lay a hand on any one of them was a traitor, infamous, and worthy of death.

"thus," says thiers, "was effected the first revolution. the tiers état had recovered the legislature, and its adversaries had lost it by attempting to keep it entirely to themselves. in a few days this legislative revolution was completely consummated." but it was not consummated without a violent fermentation of the populace.

the court and the nobles were greatly alarmed, and secretly preparing for war. the nobles had joined the assembly with the utmost repugnance, and many only on the assurance that the union would not continue. the members of that order continued to protest against the proceedings of the assembly, rather than join in its deliberations. the king himself had consented to the union, in the hope that the nobles would be able to put a check on the tiers état. king and nobles saw now that all such hopes were vain. and whilst necker was retained to satisfy the people for the present, and whilst mounier, lally tollendal, and clermont tonnerre were consulting with him on establishing a constitution resembling that of britain, the court was preparing to put down the insurrection and the assembly by force. marshal broglie was placed at the head of the troops which surrounded both paris and versailles. he judged of both soldiers and citizens by the recollections of the seven years' war, and assured the king that a little grape-shot would soon disperse the rioters. fifteen regiments, chiefly foreign, had been gradually drawn round the capital. the headquarters of broglie were at versailles, where he had a brilliant staff and a formidable train of artillery, some of which commanded the very hall in which the assembly sat. there was a battery at the bridge of sèvres, commanding the road to paris, and in paris itself there were strong batteries on montmartre, which overlooked the city, and which, moreover, were carefully entrenched. besides these preparations, there were french regiments quartered at st. germain, charenton, st. cloud, and other places. altogether, fifty thousand troops were calculated to be collected. the old noblesse were impatient for the king to give the order to disperse the people both in paris and versailles; to surround the assembly, seize the chief members, put them in prison, and send the rest adrift; to treat the ringleaders of the electors in the same manner; to dissolve formally the states general, and restore the old order of things. had the reins of government been in the hands of a bonaparte, the whole plan would have been executed, and would for the time, without doubt, have succeeded. but louis xvi. was not the man for a coup-d'état of that rigorous nature. he shuddered at the idea of shedding his subjects' blood; and instead of doing that for which the troops had been assembled, he now listened to necker, who reminded him that when the people were put down or shot down, and the states general dispersed, the old debts and difficulties would remain, and without states general or parliament there would be no authority to impose or collect taxes. to necker's arguments, the more timid and liberal nobles added that the excitement would soon wear itself out; that nothing serious could be done in the presence of such forces, and that the constitution, once completed, all would right itself, and that he would have to congratulate himself on his bloodless patience in a new and happier reign. this was humane but fatal advice in the circumstances. the soldiers, allowed to remain inactive in the very midst of the hotbed of sedition, were sure to become infected with the spirit of revolution. the debates in the national assembly were actively distributed in print, and the soldiers read them eagerly.

whilst the court had been conspiring, the people had conspired too. the electors at the h?tel de ville listened with avidity to a suggestion of mirabeau, thrown out in the national assembly, which passed at the time without much notice. this was for organising the citizens into a city guard. the plan had originated with dumont and his countryman, duroverai, both genevese. mirabeau had adopted and promulgated it. fallen unnoticed in the assembly, on the 10th of july carra revived it at the h?tel de ville. he declared that the right of the commune to take means for the defence of the city was older than the monarchy itself. the parisian people seconded, in an immense multitude, this daring proposition, and desired nothing more than a direct order to arm themselves and to maintain their own safety. thus encouraged, mirabeau renewed his motion in the national assembly. he demanded that the troops should be withdrawn from the neighbourhood of versailles and paris, and a burgher guard substituted. he also moved that the "discussion on the constitution should be suspended till the security of the capital and the assembly were effected." he moved for an address to the king, praying him to dismiss the[363] troops, and rely on the affections of his people. the motion was carried, and a committee appointed to draw up the address. the address was presented by a deputation of twenty-four members. the king replied that the troops had been assembled to preserve public tranquillity and to protect the national assembly; but that if the assembly felt any apprehension, he would send away the troops to noyon or soissons and would go himself to compiègne. this answer was anything but satisfactory, for this would be to withdraw the assembly much farther from paris, and the movement would thus weaken the influence of the assembly, and at the same time place the king between two powerful armies—the one under broglie, at soissons, and another which lay on the river oise, under the marquis de bouillé, a most determined royalist. the assembly was greatly disconcerted when this reply was reported.

at this very moment necker was receiving his dismissal. his situation at court had been most painful. the people surrounded the palace, crying, "vive necker!" "vive le ministre du peuple!" he was more popular than ever, because he had had no part in the insult to the tiers état on the 23rd of june. at the same time, when the queen appeared on the balcony with a child in her arms, the fiercest execrations were uttered amid curses on the aristocrats. this made necker all the more unpopular within the palace. he was accused of having produced all the mischiefs by advising the king to summon the states general. he retorted that the nobles and bishops were the cause, by preventing the king from following the plans he had laid down. necker, therefore, begged to resign; but he had been always desired to remain, for the court apprehended an outbreak if he were dismissed. but now, matters being deemed sufficiently safe—the army being in grand force—the king, on the 11th of july, took him at his word. necker was just sitting down to dinner when he received the king's note, which begged him to keep his retirement secret, and to get across the frontier as expeditiously as possible.

on the morning of the next day, sunday, the 12th of july, the news was all over paris that necker was dismissed. the alarm was intense. paris was in an uproar. the palais royal was choked with people in a frenzy of excitement. all at once a young man leaped upon a table and shouted, "to arms! to arms! whilst we are talking, foreign troops are gathering round us to massacre us!" this orator, whose loud voice and dramatic action stopped in a moment the buzz of tongues and the voices of lesser orators, mounted on chairs and tables, was benoit camille desmoulins, already a favourite orator of the people on this spot. this fanatic revolutionist now held up a brace of pistols; and, snatching a green twig from a tree, stuck it into his hat as a cockade. there was an instantaneous imitation of the act by the whole mass of people. the trees were all stripped, and a woman brought out a great roll of green ribbon, and cut off cockades for the patriots as far as it would go. the mob, armed with pistols, clubs, swords, and axes, continued their procession along the rue richelieu; then turning on the boulevard, along the rues st. martin, st. denis, st. honoré, to the place vend?me. there a german squadron was drawn up before the hotel of the farmers of the taxes, and attacked the crowd, destroyed the busts, and killed a soldier of the french guard who stood his ground. the commandant, besenval, remained inactive in the école militaire; he was without orders from broglie; and, besides, dared not trust the french guard, but kept them close in their barracks. but he had three foreign regiments at his disposal, one of swiss and two of german cavalry. towards afternoon, seeing the disorder increase, he sent the swiss into the champs elysées with four pieces of cannon, and the german cavalry into the place louis quinze, adjoining. as prince lambesc, with the germans, was marching along the chaussée d'antin, he was met by a body of the french guard, who had escaped from their barracks to avenge their slain comrade. they fired on him and killed three of the german cavalry, and wounded numbers more. they then advanced with fixed bayonets to the place louis quinze, where the swiss guard were posted. there they and the swiss remained facing each other under arms all night, the people feasting and encouraging the french guard; who, however, did not come to blows with the swiss. lambesc had continued his route to st. cloud, leaving the city all night in the hands of the mob, who burnt the barriers at the different entrances, so as to allow free access to the people from the country; and broke open the gunsmiths' shops, and carried off the arms. during the whole of the next day the city was in the hands of the mob.

whilst these scenes were going on all around, and the city was menaced every moment by troops, by the raving multitude, and by whole squadrons of thieves and assassins, the electors were busily employed in organising a city guard. but, previous to entering on this task, it was necessary to[364] establish some sort of municipal authority more definite and valid than that of the electors at large. a requisition was then presented to the provost of trades (prév?t des marchands) to take the head. a number of electors were appointed his assistants. thus was formed a municipality of sufficient powers. it was then determined that this militia, or guard, should consist of forty-eight thousand men furnished by the districts. they were to wear not the green, but the parisian cockade, of red and blue. every man found in arms, and wearing this cockade, without having been enrolled in this body by his district, was to be apprehended, disarmed, and punished. and thus arose the national guard of paris.

during these proceedings, the national assembly was sitting at versailles in the utmost agitation. on the morning of the 13th, mounier had risen and censured the dismissal of the ministers, and had been seconded by lally tollendal, who had pronounced a splendid panegyric on necker, and recommended an address to the king for his recall. m. de virieu, a deputy of the noblesse, proposed to confirm by oath the proceedings of the 17th of june; but clermont tonnerre declared that unnecessary, as the assembly had sworn to establish a constitution, and he exclaimed, "the constitution we will have, or we will perish!" in the midst of this discussion came the news of the rising of the people of paris, on the morning of the 13th, and an address was immediately voted to the king, beseeching him to withdraw the foreign troops, and authorise the organisation of the civic guards. the duke de la rochefoucauld said, the foreign troops in the hands of despotism were most perilous to the people, who were not in any one's hands. the address was sent, and the king returned a curt answer, that paris was not in a condition to take care of itself. the assembly then assumed a higher tone, asserted that the present counsellors of the king would be responsible for all the calamities which might take place, and declared itself in permanent session, that is, that it would sit day and night till the crisis was over. it appointed m. de lafayette vice-president, in the place of the aged bishop of vienne, who was not capable of much exertion.

but the court had hesitated too long. the people had taken the start of them, and now came sounds which paralysed the court party with consternation. scarcely was midnight passed on this eventful 14th of july, when the throngs increased rapidly around the bastille, and the cries grew fiercer, "down with it!" "let us storm it!" de launay, the governor, had made all necessary preparations, charged a dozen long guns on the towers with balls of a pound and a half each, and disposed his little force to the best advantage. while the democratic leaders were negotiating with the garrison, the crowd grew first impatient, then furious. they advanced impetuously against the first drawbridge. two men mounted the roof of the guard-house, and, with axes, cut the chains of the bridge, which fell down. the mass of assailants rushed forward towards the second bridge, but were met by a discharge of musketry, which did deadly execution amongst them and brought them to a stand. the firing proceeded at once from the towers and from the loop-holes below. a number of the assailants fell, whilst only two of the muskets fired by the people during the whole day took effect. de launay now gave orders to fire on the assailants with grape. this drove them back to some distance, but they soon came on more furious than ever. de launay looked in vain for the promised succour from besenval or broglie, and seeing the ever-increasing and ever more raging thousands around, he lost his head, was seized with despair, and resolved to blow up the prison and a great part of the old town near it. six hundred and thirty-five barrels of gunpowder were deposited in the magazine. seizing a match, he ran to cast it into an open barrel, and thus send into the air the horrible old fortress, himself, and garrison. with it must inevitably have been destroyed all the quarter of the bastille, all the marais, and a great part of the faubourg st. antoine. two uncommissioned officers stopped him by crossing their bayonets. he then attempted to kill himself, but was secured. his head was wholly gone—he was no longer capable of issuing an order.

the bastille surrendered almost immediately after the governor had been seized with despair. the french guard began to cannonade the fortress; the captain of the swiss, who might undoubtedly have held out much longer, saw that no rescue came, and that prolonged resistance would only lead in the end to sanguinary vengeance, he therefore hoisted a white flag. the captain of the swiss demanded to be allowed to capitulate, and to march out with the honours of war; but the furious mob cried out, "no capitulation! no quarter! the rascals have fired upon the people!" the swiss captain then said that they would lay down their arms, on condition that their lives should be spared. then the gates of the old prison were thrown open, and the furious and triumphant mob burst in. the news of the fall of the bastille came as a thunder-clap. the king, who had not been so confident, was gone to bed. the duke de liancourt, grand master of the wardrobe, by virtue of his office went to his bedside, awoke him, and told him the amazing fact. "what!" exclaimed louis, "is it, then, really a revolt?" "say, rather, sire," replied the duke, "a revolution!"

the conquerors of the bastille. (after the picture by fran?ois flameng.)

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[366]

the king agreed to visit the assembly in the morning; and he went, attended by his two brothers. he addressed them in a kind and conciliatory tone. he said, "you have been afraid of me; but, for my part, i put my trust in you." this avowal was received with applause, in one of those bursts of sentiment, so sudden and so soon over, which mark french history one moment with tearful emotions and the next with savage bloodshed. the deputies surrounded the monarch, and escorted him back to the palace with tears in their eyes. the queen, from a balcony, saw this enthusiastic procession. she stood with the little dauphin in her arms, and her daughter holding by her dress; and herself, greatly moved, was hailed for the moment also by the senators. for the time all seemed to be forgotten. the king consented to the recall of necker. the duke de liancourt was appointed president of the assembly, in the place of bailly; and the nobles, who had hitherto absented themselves from the sittings, now attended and voted. thus was the assembly apparently amalgamated, and the revolution completed. a sudden fit of generosity seemed to seize the nobles in the assembly—which, in fact, was a fit of terror—for they had come to the conclusion that no protection was to be expected from the assembly against the fury and cupidity of the people. they saw that the assembly was the slave of the people; that the army had fraternised with the people; and that they were at the mercy of the merciless populace. the viscount de noailles and the duke d'aiguillon declared that it would be wicked and absurd to employ force to quiet the people. they must destroy the cause of their sufferings, and all would be accomplished. the nobles hastened to renounce their privileges. they crowded round the table to enumerate what they surrendered. the commons, having nothing of their own to give up, surrendered the privileges and charters of towns and provinces. some offered up their pensions; and one deputy, having nothing else, surrendered his personal convenience, pledging himself to devote his energies to the public welfare. the whole assembly was in a ferment and fever-heat paroxysm of renunciation, such as could only be witnessed in france. lally tollendal, unable to approach the tribunal, sent up a note to the president—"everything is to be apprehended, from the enthusiasm of the assembly. break up the sitting!" lally moved that the king should be proclaimed the restorer of french liberty, which was carried by acclamation; that a te deum should be performed for this joyful event; and the assembly broke up about midnight in a bewilderment of rapture and wonder at its own deed.

the assembly had, on this memorable night of the 4th of august, decreed nothing less than—the abolition of all serfdom; the right of compounding for the seignorial dues, and the abolition of seignorial jurisdictions; the suppression of exclusive rights of hunting, shooting, keeping warrens, dovecotes, etc.; the abolition of tithes; the equality of taxes; the admission of all citizens to civil and military employments; the abolition of the sale of offices; the suppression of all the privileges of towns and provinces; the reformation of wardenships; and the suppression of pensions obtained without just claims. the assembly then continued the work of the constitution.

in the midst of this constitution-making, famine was stalking through the country, and bankruptcy was menacing the exchequer. the first loan of thirty millions had proved a total failure; a second of eighty, according to a fresh plan of necker's, was equally a blank. with the necessities of the government, the necessities of the people kept pace. the whole country was revolutionising instead of working; destroying estates instead of cultivating them. farmers were afraid of sowing what they might never reap; trade and manufactures were at an end, for there was little money and no confidence. the country was not become unfruitful, but its people had gone mad, and the inevitable consequence was an ever-increasing famine. this, instead of being attributed to the true causes, was ascribed by the mob orators to all kinds of devilish practices of the court and the aristocracy.

the court was soon alarmed by the report that the national guard intended to march from paris to versailles, and, after removing the bodyguard, to do duty at the palace themselves, in order to prevent the royal family from escaping abroad. lafayette, now head of the national guard, on the 17th of september wrote to st. priest, one[367] of the ministers, to assure him that there was no truth in the report, and therefore no danger. d'estaing, the commander of the bodyguard, however, to whom lafayette's letter was communicated by st. priest, did not feel satisfied, and proposed to bring the regiment of flanders to versailles, and the assembly being applied to for its sanction, declared it was no business of theirs; and thus, neither encouraging nor discouraging the measure, the regiment was sent for. it arrived on the 23rd of september; and, at the sight of the long train of waggons that followed, alarm seized both the people of versailles and the assembly. mirabeau, who, by a word, could have prevented the coming of the regiment, now denounced it as dangerous. news flew to paris that a counter-revolution was preparing, and that the foreigners would be marched on the city. all this terror of one single regiment showed a disposition to feign alarm, rather than the real existence of it; but the court committed the great folly of creating fresh reasons for jealousy. the officers of the life guard showed a most lively desire to fraternise with those of the flanders regiment, and the courtiers were equally attentive to them. the officers of the flanders regiment were not only presented at the king's levee, but invited to the queen's drawing-room, and treated in the most flattering manner. the gardes du corps gave a grand dinner to welcome them; and, what was extraordinary, they were allowed to give it in the theatre of the palace. this took place on the 2nd of october. the boxes were filled by people belonging to the court. the officers of the national guard were amongst the guests. after the wine had circulated some time amongst the three hundred guests, the soldiers, both of the flanders regiment and of the other corps, the company, with drawn swords, and heated by champagne, drank the health of the royal family; the toast of the nation was rejected or omitted. the grenadiers in the pit demanded to be allowed to drink the royal healths, and goblets of wine were handed to them, and they drank the health of the king, the queen, the dauphin, and the rest of the royal family amid mutual shaking of hands and loud shouts of "vive le roi! vive la reine!" the band of the flanders regiment then struck up the very expressive and celebrated song of blondel when seeking his captive king, c?ur de lion—

"o richard! o mon roi!

l'univers t'abandonne—"

the whole company caught the royal infection. they vowed to die for the king, as if he were in imminent danger. cockades, white or black, but all of one colour, were distributed; and it is said the tricolour was trodden under foot. in a word, the whole company was gone mad with champagne and french sentiment, and hugged and kissed each other in a wild frenzy. at this moment a door opened, and the king and queen, leading the dauphin by the hand, entered, and at the sight the tumult became boundless. numbers flung themselves at the feet of the royal pair, and escorted them back to their apartments.

all this was little less than madness on the part of the royal family. they knew that the army at large was disaffected to royalty, and of what avail were two regiments? if they really sought to escape, it could only have been done by the utmost quiet and caution. the flanders regiment could have guarded them. but now the certain consequence must be to rouse all the fury of paris, and bring it down upon them. this was the instant result. paris, in alarm, cried, "to versailles!" on the night of the 4th of october the streets were thronged with excited people; the national guard were under arms everywhere, and maintained some degree of order. on the morning of the 5th the women took up the matter. they found no bread at the bakers', and they collected in crowds, and determined to march to the h?tel de ville, and demand it of the mayor. the women had refused to allow the men to join them, declaring that they were not fit for the work they were going to do; but numbers had followed them, better armed than themselves, and they now assisted them to break open doors, where they obtained seven or eight hundred muskets, three bags of money and two small cannon. as they were proceeding to make a bonfire of the papers, which would probably have burnt the whole place down, the commander of the national guard gave up the matter in despair; but one stanislas maillard, a riding-messenger of the municipality, with more address, called out to them to desist; that there was a much better thing to do—to march at once to versailles, and compel the court to furnish bread, and that he would be their leader. he seized a drum and beat it; the women cried lustily, "to versailles!" some ran to the tower of the h?tel and sounded the tocsin. the bells soon began to ring out from every steeple in paris; the whole population was afloat; the men and women, armed with all sorts of weapons, followed their new leader, who had been one of the heroes of the[368] bastille, and he marched them to the champs elysées. there he arranged his motley and ever-increasing army: the women in a compact body in the middle, the men in front and rear. horses, waggons, carriages of all kinds, were seized on wherever they were seen; some of these were harnessed to the cannon, and then maillard, drumming at their head, put his army in motion, and on they went towards versailles, stopping every carriage that they met, and compelling even ladies to turn again and accompany them.

meanwhile, lafayette and bailly, summoned by this strange news, had hurried to the h?tel de ville, where they found the national guard and the french guard drawn up, and demanding to be led to versailles. the french guard declared that the nation had been insulted by the flanders regiment—the national cockade trampled on; and that they would go and bring the king to paris, and then all should be well. bailly and lafayette attempted to reason with them; but they, and thousands upon thousands of armed rabble again collected there, only cried, "bread! bread! lead us to versailles!" there was nothing for it but to comply; and at length lafayette declared that he would conduct them there. he mounted his white horse, and this second army, about three o'clock in the afternoon, marched in the track of the amazons who had already reached versailles.

"it was on foot," says mounier, "in the mud, and under a violent storm of rain. the paris women intermixed with a certain number of men, ragged and ferocious, and uttering frightful howlings. as we approached the palace, we were taken for a desperate mob. some of the gardes du corps pricked their horses amongst us and dispersed us. it was with difficulty that i made myself known, and equally difficult it was to make our way into the palace. instead of six women, i was compelled to admit twelve. the king received them graciously, but separated from their own raging and rioting class, the women were overcome by the presence of the king, and louison chabry, a handsome young girl of seventeen, could say nothing but the word 'bread!' she would have fallen on the floor, but the king caught her in his arms, embraced and encouraged her; and this settled completely the rest of the women, who knelt and kissed his hand. louis assured them that he was very sorry for them, and would do all in his power to have paris well supplied with bread. they then went out blessing him and all his family, and declared to those outside that never was there so good a king. at this the furious mob exclaimed that they had been tampered with by the aristocrats, and were for tearing them to pieces; and, seizing louison, they were proceeding to hang her on a lamp-post, when some of the gardes du corps, commanded by the count de guiche, "interfered and rescued her." one brunout, an artisan of paris, and a hero of the bastille, having advanced so as to be separated from the women, some of the guard struck him with the flat of their swords. there was an instant cry that the guard were massacring the people; and the national guard of versailles being called on to protect them, one of them discharged a musket, and broke the arm of m. de savonières, one of the life guard. the firing on the life guard by the national guard then continued, and the life guard filed off, firing as they went. the mob, now triumphant, attempted to fire two pieces of cannon, which they turned upon the palace; but the powder was wet and would not explode. the king, having meanwhile heard the firing, sent the duke of luxembourg to order that the guard should not fire, but retire to the back of the palace. the mob then retired into versailles in search of bread, which lecointre, a draper of the town, and commander of its national guard, promised to procure them from the municipality. but the municipality had no bread to give, or took no pains to furnish it, and the crowds, drenched with rain, sought shelter wherever they could for the night. the women rushed again into the hall of the assembly, and took possession of it without any ceremony. soon after midnight the roll of drums announced the arrival of lafayette and his army. an aide-de-camp soon after formally communicated his arrival to the assembly; that they had been delayed by the state of the roads; and that lafayette had also stopped them to administer to them an oath of fidelity to the nation, the law, and the king; that all was orderly, and that they had nothing to fear. lafayette soon after confirmed this by leading a column of the national guard to the doors of the assembly, and sending in this message. the assembly being satisfied, adjourned till eleven o'clock the next day. lafayette then proceeded to the palace, where he assured the king and the royal family of the loyalty of the guard, and that every precaution should be taken for tranquillity during the night. on this the king appeared to be at ease and retired to rest. the mob attacked the palace in the night, but lafayette prevented an assault on the royal family, though two of the[369] guard were butchered. the king during the night repeatedly sent to inform the deputies of his intention to go to paris.

the bastille.

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the assembly had not paid him the respect to wait on him; but, at the last moment, they passed a resolution that the assembly was inseparable from the person of the king, and appointed one hundred deputies to attend him. amongst them was mirabeau. it was about one o'clock when the king quitted versailles amid a general discharge of musketry, falsely, on this occasion, termed a feu-de-joie. the king and queen, the dauphin, and the little daughter, monsieur, the king's brother, and madame elizabeth, the king's sister, went all in one great state coach. others of the royal household, with the ladies of honour, and the one hundred deputies, followed in about a hundred vehicles of one kind or other. the mayor, bailly, received them at the barrier of paris, and conducted them to the h?tel de ville. so soon as they had passed the barrier, the numerous procession were joined by the whole leviathan mob of paris, calculated at two hundred thousand men! it was night, and the crushing and shouting throngs prevented the royal carriage from more than merely moving all the way from the barrier to the place de grève. at the h?tel de ville, moreau de st. mery addressed the king in a long speech, congratulating him on his happy arrival amongst his people—his "loving children of the capital." the poor tired and dispirited king replied that he always came with confidence amongst his people. bailly repeated the words in a loud tone to the people, but omitted the words "with confidence," whereupon the queen said, with much spirit, "sir, add 'with confidence';" so bailly replied, "gentlemen, in hearing it from the lips of the queen you are happier than if i had not made that mistake." the king was then exhibited on the balcony to the mob, with a huge tricolour cockade in his hat, at which sight, in french fashion, the people hugged and kissed each other and danced for joy. it was eleven o'clock at night before the miserable royal captives were conducted by lafayette to their appointed prison—for such it was, in fact—the great palace of their ancestors, the tuileries, which had been uninhabited for a century, and had not been prepared[370] for their reception. the assembly followed, and proceeded to work under the eyes of the paris commune and the people. power was fast slipping from their hands.

in such circumstances closed the year 1789. the intense excitement which the rapid course of these french events had produced in england had nearly superseded all other topics of interest. at first there was an almost universal jubilation over this wonderful revolution. the dreadful state of misery and oppression to which france had been reduced; the fearful exactions; the system of popular ignorance maintained by priestcraft; the abominable feudal insolence; the abuse of lettres de cachet; and the internal obstructions of customs and barriers between one province and another, made every friend of freedom desirous of seeing all these swept away. the early progress of their destruction was hailed with enthusiasm in england. even the retired and timid poet, cowper sang a triumphal note on the fall of the bastille; but soon the bloody fury of the populace, and the domineering character of the assembly, which did not deign to stop at the proper constitutional limits, began to create distrust and alarm. amongst the first to perceive and to denounce this work of anarchy rather than of reform, was burke. in common with fox and pitt, and many other statesmen, he had rejoiced in the fall of the corrupt government of france; but he soon began to perceive that the people were displaying the same ferocious character as in all their former outbreaks. "if," he wrote to m. menonville, a moderate member of the assembly, "any of these horrid deeds were the acts of the rulers, what are we to think of the armed people under such rulers? but if there be no rulers in reality, and the chiefs are driven before the people rather than lead them; and if the armed corps are composed of men who have no fixed principle of obedience, and are moved only by the prevalence of some general inclination, who can repute himself safe amongst a people so furious and so senseless?" as he continued to gaze, he was compelled to confess that he saw no great and wise principles of legislation displayed by the assembly; but that it went on destroying, without knowing how to rebuild in a manner likely to last or to work any one any good. the whole of the constitution-making, which annihilated the royal power, which erected no second chamber, but absorbed all authority into the assembly, a mixed and heterogeneous body, he declared to be a bungling and monstrous performance. on the other hand, dr. price, dr. priestley, and numbers of equally enthusiastic men, saw nothing but what was animating in the progress of the french revolution. "the revolution society," including many of the highest names of the whig aristocracy, which was accustomed to meet on the 5th of november, to celebrate the anniversary of the landing of william iii., and the english revolution of 1688, this year presented a glowing address of congratulation to the french national assembly, which was carried over by lord stanhope and dr. price. of course, they and the address were received with great acclamation by the assembly. the admiration of the french revolution spread over britain. clubs were established, both in london and in the country, in sympathy with it, and the press became very gallican and republican in its tone, and there was much corresponding with admirers of the revolution in france, especially with thomas paine, who had now transferred himself from america, with a political fanatic destined to acquire considerable attention, calling himself anacharsis clootz, the "orator of mankind," and with many others.

we must open the year 1790 by reverting to the affairs of britain, and of other countries having an influence on british interests. the parliament met on the 21st of january; and, in the course of the debate on the address in the commons, fox took the opportunity to laud the french revolution, and especially the soldiers for destroying the government which had raised them, and which they had sworn to obey. burke, in reply, whilst paying the highest compliments to the genius of fox, and expressing the value which he placed on his friendship, endeavoured to guard the house and country against the pernicious consequences of such an admiration as had been expressed by fox. he declared the conduct of the troops disgraceful; for instead of betraying the government, they ought to have defended it so far as to allow of its yielding the necessary reforms. but the so-called reforms in france, he said, were a disgrace to the nation. they had, instead of limiting each branch of the government for the general good and for rational liberty, destroyed all the balances and counterpoises which gave the state steadiness and security. they had pulled down all things into an incongruous and ill-digested mass; they had concocted a digest of anarchy called the rights of man, which would disgrace a schoolboy; and had laid the axe to the root of all property by confiscating[371] that of the church. to compare that revolution with our glorious one of 1688, he said, was next to blasphemy. they were diametrically opposed. ours preserved the constitution and got rid of an arbitrary monarch; theirs destroyed the constitution and kept a monarch who was willing to concede reforms, but who was left helpless. fox replied that he had been mistaken by his most venerated and estimable friend; that he was no friend to anarchy and lamented the cruelties that had been practised in france, but he considered them the natural result of the long and terrible despotism which had produced the convulsion, and that he had the firmest hopes that the french would yet complete their constitution with wisdom and moderation. here the matter might have ended, but sheridan rose and uttered a grand but ill-considered eulogium on the french revolution, and charged burke with being an advocate of despotism. burke highly resented this; he made a severe reply to sheridan; and instead of the benefits which he prognosticated, burke, with a deeper sagacity, declared that the issue of that revolution would be not only civil war but many other wars.

the whig party were in consternation at this sudden disruption of the union of the heads of their party. a meeting was held on the night of the 11th of february at burlington house, which did not separate till three in the morning. the result did not appear to have been very satisfactory, and the fears of the whigs were greatly augmented by finding pitt, who had hitherto praised the revolution, now express the great obligations of the country to mr. burke, for the able warning which he had given against revolutionary principles. the king made no secret of his abhorrence of these principles. he considered the french revolution as the direct result of the american one; and having come to the conclusion that he had himself erred by too much concession, he now censured the concessions of louis xvi. as fraught with certain calamity. all this boded a decided resistance to the spirit of reform at home. there was a new schism amongst the organs of the press. many of the newspapers still fostered in their columns the wildest hopes of universal advantage to the cause of liberty from the french revolution; but others adopted the opinions and views of burke—and no few of the whig and foxite papers were of this class. the effect of the alarm at the wild conduct of the french was speedily seen in the refusal to consider the repeal of the test and corporation act, which was brought forward by fox, on behalf of the dissenters, and a motion for parliamentary reform, introduced by mr. flood. both were strongly opposed, on the ground that this was not the time to make any changes whilst so riotous a spirit of change was near us, and was so warmly admired by many of our own people. both motions were rejected by large majorities.

on the 31st of march dundas introduced the indian budget, and soon afterwards pitt congratulated the country on the fact that, so far from the american war having injured the trade or the power of britain, the fact was that our shipping had increased considerably more than one-third since 1773, and we had been continually gaining strength even during the american war, and had relieved ourselves of a load of expense always incurred by the government of the states. this was an admirable argument for declaring all our colonies independent, if it meant anything; but pitt went on seconding, and even surpassing dundas in the prognostications of a long peace. what such ministerial speeches were worth was shown on the 5th of may, only a month and five days since the prophecy of dundas, and not three weeks since his own prophecy, by pitt announcing that the peace was already disturbed with spain. it appeared that the high prices obtained by the crews of captain cook's ships, the discovery and resolution, at canton, on his exploring voyages in the south seas, for the ill-selected, half-worn furs brought from the north-west coast of america, had attracted the attention of adventurers under the direct protection of the east india company. mr. mears, who had been a lieutenant in the royal navy, and a mr. tippin, were sent out in command each of a vessel. tippin was wrecked on the coast of kamtschatka; but mears reached prince william's sound and wintered there, opening a good trade with the natives. in the spring of 1788 he discovered nootka sound, a fine bay on the west side of a small island on the west coast of vancouver's island. there he formed a settlement, making a bargain with the chief for it. he went to canton with furs and was opening a fine trade, when the spaniards came down on the settlement, seized four british vessels, but permitted two united states' vessels to remain unmolested. part of the english crew were shipped in one of the american vessels to china, and the rest suffered to depart in one of their own ships after it had been plundered. the spanish commander then settled himself in the new colony, and spain set up a[372] general claim to all coasts and islands, and the whole pacific as far as china.

pitt, on the day mentioned, announced these facts, and declared that his majesty had demanded satisfaction from the court of spain for the insult to our flag and for the usurpation of our settlement; but that considerable armaments were making in the ports of spain. he called upon the house to address his majesty, imploring him to take all necessary measures for the vindication of our honour and our rights. fox naturally expressed his surprise at this announcement, after the high assurances of such profound prospects of peace little more than a fortnight before. he moreover asserted that not only were the ministers fully aware of all these circumstances at the very moment when the premier made these statements, but that he had himself been aware of them a considerable time before that. pitt endeavoured to explain that all the circumstances were not known when he professed such confidence in peace; but these assertions were clearly as little true as the former, for the british government had received information from the spanish government itself, as early as the 10th of the previous february. notwithstanding, the house supported the government warmly in its determination to resist the enormous claims of spain and to compel her to make satisfaction. lord howe was desired to have a fleet in readiness, and the spanish court having taken a high tone to mr. merry, our minister at madrid, mr. fitzherbert was dispatched thither as our plenipotentiary. he arrived at madrid in the beginning of june. at first the spanish court were very high, and applied to france for co-operation, according to treaty; but france, in the throes of the revolution, had no money to spend in such armaments and, on second thoughts, spain dreaded introducing french revolutionary sailors amongst their own. they soon, therefore, lowered their tone, agreed to surrender nootka sound, make full compensation for all damages, and consented that british subjects should continue their fisheries in the south seas, and make settlements on any coasts not already occupied. captain vancouver, who had been with cook as a midshipman in his last two voyages, being present at his tragical death, was sent out in the following year to see that the settlement of nootka sound was duly surrendered to england. he saw this done, the spanish commander, quadra, behaving in a very friendly manner; and he proceeded then, during the years 1792 and 1793, to make many accurate surveys of the western coasts of north and south america, in which the spaniards gave him every assistance. the british took formal possession not only of nootka sound, but of the fine island called after vancouver. pitt was highly complimented for his firmness and ability in the management of this business.

wilberforce, on the 27th of january, had obtained a committee of inquiry into the slave trade. he, clarkson, and the anti-slavery committees, both in london and the provinces, were labouring with indefatigable industry in collecting and diffusing information on this subject. the committee of the commons found strong opposition even in the house, and, on the 23rd of april, lord penrhyn moved that no further evidence should be heard by the committee; but this was overruled, and the hearing of evidence continued through the session, though no further debate took place on the question.

in ireland, the influence of the free notions of france was already become broadly manifest, and though it resulted in no unconstitutional act, it wonderfully invigorated the resentment of the irish against corruptions of government. these truly demanded reprehension and reform; but the government of pitt was strong, and set both ireland and reform at defiance. the marquis of buckingham, the lord-lieutenant, was recalled, because he had not been able to repress the movement in the irish parliament on the regency question. the earl of westmoreland was sent in his place; but the parliament still showed its resentment as strongly as ever, and proceeded to delve vigorously into the sink of government corruption, and demand numerous corrections of abuses. direct motions on the subject were made in both houses; in the peers by lord portarlington, in the commons by grattan, and, in truth, the ministerial abuses of the irish government were disgraceful. grattan, on the 1st of february, pointed out the increased number of commissioners of revenue, and moved that his majesty be addressed to inquire by whose advice this had been done. next the increase of the pension list came under discussion; then the granting of no less than fourteen government offices to members of the irish commons. lastly was noticed the paltry withdrawal of lord strangford's pension of four hundred pounds, which had been granted him at the request of the irish house of lords, in consequence of his small income, because he had voted against ministers on the regency bill, at the same time that numbers of men who were[373] not irishmen, and had never done anything for ireland or any other country, were saddled on the irish revenue in a variety of sinecure posts and pensions. all these motions, however, were rejected by large ministerial majorities.

captain cook.

(after the portrait by dance, in greenwich hospital.)

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before returning to the progress of the french revolution, we must pass a hasty glance over the affairs of the netherlands and the north of europe. on the accession of leopold, the brother of joseph, a sweeping change was made in austrian policy. leopold had ruled his dominions, as grand duke of tuscany, with remarkable wisdom and benevolence. he had introduced many admirable reforms, and had abolished the punishment of death—a grand example to the other nations of europe, and proved to be as sound as it was striking by its results. he now made haste to assure the netherlanders that all their grievances should be redressed, and their old charters and constitution restored. there had always been a considerable party in favour of the imperial government, and this party was now greatly increased by these wise assurances, which were relied on from the known magnanimous character of the emperor. a congress met at reichenbach to endeavour to make a peace between austria and the sultan, and this was accomplished by the mediation of britain, prussia, and holland, backed up by the threat of an immediate invasion by prussia, which was instigated by pitt. the ministers of the three powers that had brought about this peace of reichenbach, next guaranteed to leopold all the possessions of austria in the netherlands, on condition that he should restore all the ancient privileges and constitution. on the other hand, the democratic party had a congress of the united belgic states, and this congress, infected by the french republican principles,[374] declared still for independence, in which they were at first encouraged by the democrats in france. lafayette reverted to the idea of a republic in the netherlands, which should form a barrier between austria and france, in case that austria should attempt to invade france and crush the revolution, as appeared probable. dumouriez was sent to brussels to inquire into the real state of the netherlands, as the belgians had sent deputies to paris to make certain overtures. the result of dumouriez's inquiries was so extremely unfavourable that the french government gave up all idea of meddling in netherland affairs. to dumouriez, van der noot, the leader of the revolutionary party, appeared a regular adventurer and impostor, the people to be ignorant and bigoted; and the army, though full of courage, yet destitute of good officers, money, clothing, and discipline. dumouriez, therefore, shrewdly concluded that france had better make no present engagements with the belgian reformers, but leave the destinies of the country to be decided by the congress at reichenbach, where the british, dutch, and prussian ministers had guaranteed the restoration of the government to leopold, on the renewal of the ancient institutions. here again pitt's foreign policy was completely successful. leopold easily crushed the rebellion, and, having crushed it, proceeded to carry out the conditions of the convention of reichenbach.

the pitt ministry figured with less success as regarded the encroachments of russia on the turkish empire. the undisguised policy of catherine was to press on her operations against turkey till she had planted herself in constantinople. pitt continued as inactive as if there were no danger at all, and the same policy actuated holland and prussia. the least support given by these powers to gustavus of sweden would have effectually checked the russian designs in the east, and have raised sweden into a position capable of acting as a dead weight on russian aggression. by very little aid gustavus would have been able to recover all the territories on the eastern side of the baltic which had been wrested from sweden by russia, and would thus have kept a formidable power always, as it were, at the very gates of st. petersburg. but gustavus was left, with his brave heart but limited forces, to contend with russia alone. he kept down his disaffected nobles by cultivating the interests of the people at large, and maintained a determined struggle with russia. he sent over the prince of anhalt with a small army of about three thousand men at so early a season that the ground was covered with ice and snow. the prince pushed on boldly towards st. petersburg, and made himself master of the strong forts and defences at karnomkoski, on the lake saima, within two days' march of that capital. in april they were encountered by ten thousand russians under the command of general ingelstrom, whom they defeated after a desperate battle, leaving two thousand russians dead on the field. but the prince of anhalt was killed, and the swedes were not able, with a handful of men, to advance on st. petersburg, which was in fearful panic. gustavus was more successful at sea. he and his brother, the duke of sudermania, fought the russians with a very inferior force of ships off revel, and afterwards off svenskasund. a considerable number of english officers were serving in the swedish fleet, amongst them one destined to rise to high distinction, sidney, afterwards sir sidney, smith. after two days' sanguinary fight at the latter place, gustavus beat the russian admiral chitschakoff so completely that he took four thousand prisoners, destroyed several of the largest russian ships, and took or sank forty-five galleys. catherine was now glad to make peace, which was concluded at warela, near the river kymen, but with very different results to what would have been obtained had gustavus found that support which it was the obvious interest of the whole civilised world to afford him. he agreed that each power should retain what it possessed before the war, thus conferring on russia the provinces torn from sweden. gustavus complained bitterly of his treatment, and with ample cause.

during this campaign catherine had made great progress in her road to constantinople. suvaroff had reduced ismail, a remarkably strong place, which was the key of the lower danube and the only obstruction of any importance to the russian advance to the balkan mountains and to constantinople. this city had been taken by storm, after a most desperate defence, on the 25th of december, and when, with a little more resistance, the russians would have been compelled to quit the field by the severity of the season. the carnage on this occasion was of the most frightful kind. the russians themselves lost nearly ten thousand men, and the turks thirty thousand people—men, women, and children, who were indiscriminately butchered by the orders of suvaroff, who said to his soldiers, "brothers, no quarter to-day, for bread is scarce." every horror possible[375] in war, especially between barbarians, was perpetrated by the russian hordes in ismail, who were guilty of the most diabolical atrocities, such as burning whole streets, mosques, and serais. suvaroff sat down and wrote in russian rhyme the words quoted by lord byron in "don juan," "glory to god and the empress, ismail is ours." when sir charles whitworth, the british ambassador, next saw catherine, she said, in allusion to some strong remonstrances from britain and prussia, which took care not to go beyond remonstrances, which were cheap—"since the king, your master, wishes to drive me out of petersburg i hope he will permit me to retire to constantinople." the czarina catherine still continued her war on the ottoman empire. the turks gained several advantages over the russians on the shores of the black sea, and near the danube, but they were severely repulsed in an attempt to drive the russians from their conquests between the black and caspian seas, and suffered a terrible slaughter on the banks of the river kuban. then britain, prussia, holland, and austria, from the congress of reichenbach, announced to catherine that they were resolved not to permit further encroachments on turkey, but catherine paid not the slightest attention to their remonstrances.

a fresh war had broken out with us in india. tippoo sahib had resumed hostilities. he conceived the idea of obtaining the aid of an army from france, and of thus driving us, according to his vow, entirely out of india. he opened communications with m. du fresne, the governor of pondicherry, which britain had very imprudently restored to france at the peace after the american war. m. leger, civil administrator in england, brought tippoo's proposals to paris. louis replied to the proposal that the matter too keenly reminded him of the endeavour to destroy the power of britain in america, in which advantage had been taken of his youth, and which he should never cease to regret. he had learned too deeply the severe retribution which the propagation of republicanism had brought upon him. but, without waiting the arrival of the hoped-for french troops, tippoo had broken into the territories of the british ally, the rajah of travancore, and by the end of 1789 had nearly overrun them. lieutenant-colonel floyd, suddenly attacked by tippoo with an overwhelming force, had been compelled to retire before him, with severe losses amongst his sepoys. but general medows advanced from trichinopoly with fifteen thousand men, and following nearly the route so splendidly opened up by colonel fullarton, took several fortresses. tippoo retreated to his capital, seringapatam; but there he again threatened madras; and general medows was compelled to make a hasty countermarch to prevent that catastrophe. in the meantime, general abercrombie landed at tellicherry with seven thousand five hundred men from the presidency of bombay; took from the mysoreans all the places which they had gained on the malabar coast; restored the hindoo rajahs, who, in turn, helped him to expel the forces of tippoo from the territories of the rajah of travancore, who was completely re-established. this was the result of the war up to the end of the year 1790; but tippoo still menaced fresh aggressions.

the new british parliament met on november 26, and ministers were seen to have a powerful majority. the king announced, in his speech from the throne, that hostilities had broken out in india with tippoo, and that a peace had been effected between russia and sweden, and he mentioned the endeavours that were in progress for restoring amity between the emperor of austria and his subjects in the netherlands. in the debate on the address in the commons, fox appeared inclined still to laud france, and to condemn our interference in the netherlands. his eyes were not yet opened to the real danger from france, whose example was indeed exciting popular disturbances in the netherlands and in poland. already the doctrines of liberty and equality had reached the ears of the negroes in st. domingo, who had risen to claim the rights of man so amiably proclaimed by france, and the troops of france were on their way thither to endeavour to put them down, in direct contradiction of their own boasted political philosophy. in the lords, earl grey—the father of the whig statesman—on the 13th of december, called for the production of papers relating to nootka sound. the motion was negatived by two hundred and fifty-eight against one hundred and thirty-four votes. but the marquis of lansdowne contended that spain had a right to the whole of the north american coast on which nootka sound is situated, and had had it since the reign of queen elizabeth. he asserted that we had insulted the weakness of spain; and that mr. mears and the other projectors of the trading settlement of nootka sound were a set of young men of letters, seeking for novelties. he completely overlooked the provocations which[376] spain had lately given us, and her endeavours to enter into a conjunction with france against us. he condemned ministers for having alienated france, spain, russia, denmark, and sweden, overlooking the fact that they had made alliances with prussia, austria, holland, and the netherlands. pitt's cousin, lord grenville, replied to this one-sided view of things, and proudly contrasted the position of britain at this moment to what it was at the conclusion of the american war, when lord lansdowne himself, as lord shelburne, had been in the ministry. pitt, on the 15th of december, stated that the expenses of the late armament, and the sums necessary to keep up the increased number of soldiers and sailors for another year, before which they could not be well disbanded, owing to certain aspects of things abroad, would amount to something more than three millions, which he proposed to raise by increasing the taxes on sugar, on british and foreign spirits, malt, and game licences, as well as raising the assessed taxes, except the commutation and land taxes. he stated that there was a standing balance of six hundred thousand pounds to the credit of the government in the bank of england, which he proposed to appropriate to the discharge of part of the amount. he, moreover, introduced a variety of regulations to check the frauds practised in the taxes upon receipts and bills of exchange, which he calculated at three hundred thousand pounds per annum. with this, parliament adjourned for the christmas recess, and thus closed the eventful year of 1790.

the parliamentary session of 1791 was opened, after the christmas recess, by sir philip francis denouncing the war against tippoo sahib in india, and eulogising that prince. he moved thirteen resolutions condemnatory of the war; but they were all rejected, and dundas, as head of the board of control, moved three counter-resolutions declaring that tippoo had voluntarily broken the treaty made with him in 1784, and that faith must be kept with the rajah of travancore, whom he had attacked, as well as with the nizam and the mahrattas, and these resolutions were carried without a division.

the british ministry was at length becoming aware of the mischief of allowing the empress of russia to make continual inroads on the turkish empire. the british ambassador, mr. fawkener, had been instructed to inform catherine that britain could not quietly acquiesce in these usurpations, which were seriously disturbing the balance of power in europe. catherine replied, haughtily, that she did not recognise the right of britain to interfere, and that she should keep possession of oczakoff, and all her conquests between the bug and the dniester. on the 28th of march pitt communicated this answer to the house, in a message from his majesty, and that he had deemed it necessary to come to an understanding with his allies, prussia and austria, on the subject, and to maintain the fleet in its augmented condition. he moved, the next day, an address to his majesty, thanking him for his care in these respects. the whigs, almost to a man, condemned this policy. coke of norfolk, lord wycombe, mr. lambton, afterwards earl of durham, and others, stoutly opposed it. fox treated the idea of russia having become a power formidable to the peace of europe as ludicrous. both he and burke contended that there was nothing in the aggressions of russia to occasion any alarm; that turkey was a decaying nation, which it was useless to attempt to support; and that to bolster it up was only to maintain a barbarous people in domination over christian populations. fox upbraided the government with their folly and inconsistency, if such were their fears of russia, in having till recently encouraged her in her plan of aggressions in that direction. he reminded them that, twenty years ago, great britain, on war breaking out between russia and the porte, had aided catherine in sending a fleet to the mediterranean, and had thus enabled her to acquire a maritime force in the black sea. the truth, however, was that it was not the present ministry that had committed this folly, but a whig ministry, of which fox was one. he confessed to this, and also to the fact that in 1782, when catherine seized more completely on the crimea and kuban tartary, france and spain had urged us to unite with them in preventing this, but that we had declined, and these countries had become permanently united to russia. now all this was, in truth, a simple confession of the incapacity of the whigs, and of fox himself included, to see the dangerous tendency of the russian policy, and the only circumstance on which he could justly condemn the ministry of pitt was for not strenuously supporting turkey and sweden, the ally of turkey against russia, when they did see this tendency. by mean and parsimonious conduct they had allowed sweden to be driven out of her territories on the eastern shore of the baltic by russia, when, had they given her but moderate support, that power would have become a permanent check on the aggressive spirit of russia. the motion of pitt was carried by a large majority. a few days afterwards mr. grey renewed the subject in a series of resolutions, condemning all interference on behalf of turkey, and contending that russia was only weakening instead of strengthening herself by extending her dominions. but pitt, in reply, showed the very obvious facts that the retention of oczakoff opened the way to constantinople, and that the possession of constantinople prepared the way for the seizure of egypt, and the supremacy of the mediterranean, with the most formidable consequences to our commerce. the resolutions of grey were negatived; but twice again during the session the whigs returned to the charge—on the 15th of april and on the 25th of may,—but with no better success. the armament was maintained, but the isolated threats of england had little effect on catherine. pitt was accordingly compelled to change his policy, and acquiesce in a peace by which she retained the territory between the bug and the dniester, and the fortress of oczakoff.

scene in the house of commons: breach between burke and fox. (see p. 379.)

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[378]

on the opening of the session, the king called the attention of parliament to the state of canada. that colony had flourished since it had come into the possession of britain, especially since the passing of the bill of 1774, which had given freedom to the roman catholic church there, the church of the french inhabitants. but one part of the colony was still inhabited by the descendants of the french, and another by those of the english and americans. it was, therefore, found desirable to put an end to the competition which still existed, from differences of faith and of national sentiments and customs, between the two races, by dividing the colony into two provinces, the one inhabited by the french to be called lower canada, and the other, inhabited by the british, to be called upper canada. on the 25th of february the king sent a message to parliament, proposing to carry out this division; and on the 4th of march pitt moved to bring in a bill for that purpose, and stated the intended plan of arrangement. besides an elective assembly, each province was to have a council, the members of which were to be appointed for life, with hereditary succession to the descendants of such as should be honoured with hereditary titles, which titles were to confer on an inhabitant of either province the dignity of a member of the council. landed property was to be held according to english law, in soccage tenure; the habeas corpus was to be established in both provinces. an allotment of lands was to be made for the protestant clergy; but, as the majority of the inhabitants in the lower province would be catholic, the council and assembly were empowered to allot lands also to their clergy, which allotment, on sanction of the crown, was to be valid without intervention of parliament. no taxes were to be imposed by the british government except such as were necessary for the regulation of commerce, and these were to be levied by the provincial legislature to prevent any heartburnings like those which had occurred in the american states.

this bill made it obvious that a great light had broken on the british government from the american revolution; it was discovered that the best way to govern and retain our colonies was to allow them to govern themselves. this knowledge was worth all the loss and annoyance of the american revolution. fox expressed his approbation of the principle, and all appeared favourable to the passing of the measure. it was allowed to proceed without opposition through its first and second reading, and through the committee; but when it was reported, then came a scene of violent contention, arising not so much from the bill itself as from the state of parties, and the making a peg of this question on which to hang the conflicting opinions of different members on a very different question—that of the french revolution. not only had fox and burke and sheridan broken up their old friendship on this question, sheridan being as enthusiastic about the revolution as fox, but it had split up the whole whig party. burke had published his eloquent "reflections on the french revolution," and subsequently, in february of this year, a "letter to a member of the national assembly," in which he had repeated and extended his opinions upon it. the duke of portland and mr. windham took burke's view of the nature of the french principles. however, it was not merely in parliament, but also throughout the country that opinions were divided on the subject. societies were formed to recommend the introduction of french revolutionary principles into great britain, and many eminent men, especially among the dissenters, took the lead in them, as we shall presently see. the tendency to despotic government in britain, and a spreading conviction that parliament was not truly elected by the people, rendered large numbers favourable to these views. in parliament, however, the great shock of battle took place between the so long united friends and fellow-labourers in reform, fox and burke, and because the canada bill affected a french people,[379] it was thought a proper occasion by these statesmen to indulge in a lengthy and violent discussion of their clashing views, in which the proper question before parliament, the quebec bill, was soon lost sight of.

on the motion for taking this bill into further consideration, on the 8th of april, mr. hussey presented various petitions from merchants regarding the measure, and moved that the bill required recommittal. he was seconded by fox, who now, though approving of the main principles of the bill, took occasion to contend for the development of the advanced doctrines of political liberty inculcated by the french revolutionists, and to urge the insertion of clauses in the bill, in accordance with them. when the day for the debate on the bill arrived, fox called on burke, though he had not done so for some time, and, in the presence of a common friend, entered into explanations which appeared satisfactory. fox then proposed that the answer of burke should not take place on the discussion of the quebec bill, though this was the bill on which this topic had been introduced. burke refused to comply; but the two old friends walked to the house together, displaying the last show of friendship which was to take place between them. accordingly, on the 6th of may, when the chairman of the committee put the question, that the quebec bill be read paragraph by paragraph, burke rose, and determined to have a fair hearing on the question of the french revolution, and proceeded to inveigh strongly against it. then there were loud cries of "order!" and "question!" and mr. baker declared that the argument of mr. burke was calculated to involve the house in unnecessary altercation, and perhaps with the government of another nation. fox said his right honourable friend could scarcely be said to be out of order, for it seemed to be a day of privilege, when any gentleman might stand up and take any topic, and abuse any government, whether it had reference to the point in question or not; that not a word had been said of the french revolution, yet he had risen and abused it. he might just as well have abused that of china or hindostan. this taunt came with ill grace from fox, who had himself introduced this extraneous topic into the debates on this very bill, and seized that occasion to attack burke's opinions in his absence.

burke proceeded amidst constant interruption to review the many scenes and debates in which fox and himself had acted, as well as those on which they had differed, especially their difference of opinion on the royal marriage act; but no difference of opinion had ever before affected their friendship. he alluded to his own long services and his grey hairs, and said that it was certainly an indiscretion, at his time of life, to provoke enemies, or induce his friends to desert him; but that, if his firm and steady adherence to the british constitution placed him in that dilemma, he would risk all, and, as public duty required, with his last breath exclaim, "fly from the french constitution!" here fox whispered that there was no loss of friends; that there could be no loss of friendship between them; but burke said—"yes, there was a loss of friends: he knew the penalty of his conduct; he had done his duty at the price of his friends—there was an end of their friendship." it was some time before fox could answer; he was completely overcome by his emotion; and it was only after a free flow of tears that he could proceed. he then said: "painful as it was to listen to such sentiments as those just delivered by one to whom he owed so many obligations, he could never forget that, when little more than a boy, he had been in the habit of receiving instructions and favours from his right honourable friend. their friendship had grown with their life; it had continued for upwards of five-and-twenty years; and he hoped, notwithstanding what had happened that day, that his right honourable friend would think on past times, and would give him credit for not intending anything unkind. it was quite true that they had before now differed on many subjects, without lessening their friendship, and why should they not now differ on the french revolution without a severance of friendship? he could not help feeling that the conduct of his right honourable friend tended to fix upon him the charge of republican principles, whereas he was far from entertaining such principles. his friend had heaped very ignominious terms upon him that day." here burke said aloud, he did not recollect having used such terms; and fox promptly observed that "if his friend did not recollect those epithets—if they are out of his mind, then they were for ever out of his mind, too; they were obliterated and forgotten." he then denied that there was any marshalling of a party on this subject; that not one gentleman who had risen to call his right honourable friend to order had done it by his desire; on the contrary, he had entreated his friends not to interrupt him. after again dwelling for some time on the merits of the french revolution, he once more lamented the breach in the unanimity of his friend and[380] himself, and said he would keep out of the way of his right honourable friend till he had time to reflect and think differently, and that their common friends might bring them together again; that he would endeavour to discuss the question on some future day, with all calmness, if his friend wished, but for the present he had said all that he desired to say.

with this debate terminated the friendship of fox and burke. fox disclaimed any premeditated attack on burke, but the severe things which he himself had said of his old friend, the contempt which he expressed for burke's "reflections on the french revolution," and the private conversations which he invariably dragged into these public debates, give us less confidence in this assertion; whilst the co-operation of his party with him bore all the marks of a systematic assault. on the one side stood fox, expressing much feeling and regret, but uttering the most cutting things, taunting burke with his age and his enthusiastic temperament, and backed by a violent and insulting crew; on the other side stood burke, deserted by those, and they were numerous, who thought entirely with him. not a few expressed to burke, in private, their agreement of opinion and admiration of his conduct; but to make this expression of any value it should have been open and bold. as it was, the great master who had taught the whole generation of politicians their principles, was left to stand alone in the conflict. he sustained his part nobly, and time was not long in justifying his accuracy of calculation and his prescience. all the results, however, which he declared inevitable, were already rushing into open day, and the enamoured lovers of the french revolution were forced to hang their heads. in the meantime, the newspapers had poured on the head of burke their vials of abuse. on the very day on which the quebec debates terminated, the morning chronicle, the organ of the whigs, published this paragraph:—"the great and firm body of the whigs of england, true to their principles, have decided on the dispute between mr. fox and mr. burke; and the former is declared to have maintained the pure doctrines by which they are bound together, and upon which they have invariably acted. the consequence is that mr. burke retires from parliament." they were not contented with this premature announcement; they charged him with corruption and apostacy, and described his life, one of honour and generosity, as a long series of basenesses.

whilst these violent dissensions had sprung up from the french revolution, wilberforce and his coadjutors had been active in their exertions to abolish the slave trade. thomas clarkson, now devoted heart and soul to this object, was, with dr. dickson, sent out by the parent anti-slavery society through the country, to call into life provincial societies and committees, and found themselves zealously supported and warmly welcomed by philanthropists, and especially by the society of friends. they circulated the evidence taken before the house of commons' committee, and made a great impression. on the other hand, the french revolution proved as antagonistic to the cause of the abolitionists as it had to the friendship of burke and fox. the dreadful insurrection in st. domingo was attributed to the formation of the society in paris of les amis des noirs, and many otherwise enlightened men took the alarm, lest similar scenes in our west indian colonies should be the result of the doctrines of the abolitionists. few persons could be found willing to entertain the idea of immediate abolition of the trade in slaves; and even dr. parr, though a great whig and adherent of fox, declared that these utopian schemes of liberty to blacks were alarming to serious men. wilberforce was earnestly entreated to reconsider his plan; he was assured that immediate abolition would not pass the commons, nor even gradual abolition the lords. wilberforce, however, could not be deterred from bringing on the question. on the 18th of april he moved for leave to bring in a bill to prevent the introduction of any more slaves into our colonies. besides showing the cruelties practised in the collection and transmission of negroes, he brought forward evidence to prove that, so far from this trade being, as had been represented before the committee of the commons, the nursery of british seamen, it was their grave. he showed that of twelve thousand two hundred and sixty-three men employed in it, two thousand six hundred and forty-five had been lost in twelve months. this was calculated to produce far less effect than the surrender of hundreds of thousands of negroes, inasmuch as profit and loss was a more telling argument with the slave traders than mere humanity; and they exerted all their influence in defence of their traffic. wilberforce added that even had this trade really been a beneficial one as regarded mere political economy, there was a smell of blood about it that all the perfumes of arabia could not disguise. he was ably supported by fox and pitt; but, on this occasion, the prime minister could not command[381] his large majority; the motion was lost by one hundred and sixty-three against eighty-eight.

william wilberforce. (after the portrait by g. richmond.)

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during the session, however, a bill was passed sanctioning the establishment of a company which had been formed several years before, for trading to the new settlement of sierra leone, on the coast of africa. in 1787 this settlement was begun by philanthropists, to show that colonial productions could be obtained without the labour of slaves, and to introduce civilisation into that continent through the means of commerce carried on by educated blacks. in that year four hundred and seventy negroes, then living in a state of destitution in london, were removed to it. in 1790 their number was increased by one thousand one hundred and ninety-eight other negroes from nova scotia, who could not flourish in so severe a climate. ten years after the introduction of the blacks from nova scotia, five hundred and fifty maroons were brought from jamaica, and in 1819 a black regiment, disbanded in the west indies, was added. the capability of this settlement for the production of cotton, coffee, sugar, etc., was fully demonstrated; but no spot could have been selected more fatal to the health of europeans. it is a region of deep-sunk rivers and morasses, which, in that sultry climate, are pregnant with death to the white man.

during this session, also, an important bill was passed for the relief of roman catholics. the bill was introduced by mr. mitford and seconded by mr. windham. mr. mitford showed that the enactments still in force against them occupied, by mere recital of their penalties, seventy pages[382] of "burn's ecclesiastical law." priests were still guilty of high treason and liable to death for endeavouring to convert people to the tenets they deemed essential to salvation; and the laity were liable to heavy penalties for not going to church, and for hearing mass at their own chapels. the bill was supported by pitt and fox, by lord rawdon, by the archbishop of canterbury (dr. moore), and by dr. horsley, bishop of st. david's. it passed. by this act all the severe restrictions and penalties were removed from those roman catholics who would comply with its requisitions, to appear at one of the courts of westminster, or at quarter sessions, and make and subscribe a declaration that they professed the roman catholic religion, and also an oath exactly similar to that required by the statute of 1778. on this declaration and oath being duly made, they were enabled to profess and perform the offices of their religion, to keep schools, to exercise parochial or other offices in person or by deputy, and the ministers of that religion were exempt from serving on juries and from parochial offices. their congregations were protected from disturbance; but their priests were restrained from officiating in places consecrated to the burial of protestants, and from wearing their habits anywhere but in their own places of worship. they were also restrained from establishing religious orders; and the endowment of schools and colleges was still to be deemed unlawful. no person could in future be summoned to take the oath of supremacy and the declaration against transubstantiation; nor were roman catholics who had qualified removable from london and westminster, or punishable for coming into the presence or palace of the king or queen. they were no longer obliged to register their names and estates, or enrol their deeds and wills; and every roman catholic who had duly qualified might act as barrister, attorney, or notary.

on the 20th of may fox moved for a grand committee on courts of justice, to inquire into some late decisions of the courts in cases of libel. thomas erskine, the eloquent advocate, had lately, in the case of the dean of st. asaph, delivered a most brilliant and effective speech on the right of juries to decide both on fact and on law in such cases, the duty of the judge being only to explain the law. fox adopted this doctrine of erskine, and framed his speech in the most glowing terms. he complained, however, that such was not the practice of the courts, and he particularly animadverted on the custom and the doctrine of lord mansfield on this subject. he observed that in murder, in felony, in high treason, and in every other criminal indictment, it was the admitted province of the jury to decide both on law and fact. the practice in the case of libel was an anomaly, and clearly ought not to be so. he said that the doctrine which he recommended was no innovation; it had been asserted by john lilburne, who, when prosecuted for a libel under the commonwealth, declared that the jury were the real judges, and the judges themselves mere cyphers, so far as the verdict was concerned; and lilburne had been acquitted, in spite of the judge and of the influence of cromwell. he reviewed the doctrines of the stuarts regarding libel, and observed that these could not be wrong then and right now. he contended that the late practice had been a serious inroad on the liberty of the press, and noted the case of the printer of the morning herald, who had been tried for merely commenting strongly on the sending of an armament to nootka sound, and on the conduct of parliament in granting supplies for this purpose. he had been condemned to a year's imprisonment and to stand in the pillory. pitt observed that he had always, since he had had a place in the ministry, condemned the use of the pillory, and that there could be no difficulty in remitting that part of the sentence in this particular case. he supported fox's view of the law, and recommended him to bring in two short bills, instead of going into committee on the subject. fox followed this advice, and brought in two bills—one to remove doubts respecting the rights and functions of juries in criminal cases; and the other to amend the act of the 9th of queen anne for rendering the proceedings upon writs of mandamus and informations in the nature of a quo warranto more speedy and effectual. the first bill passed the commons on the 2nd of june, but was thrown out in the lords, through the influence of chancellor thurlow, who had never forgiven pitt his contempt of his conduct on the regency question during the king's malady. this defeated the object of fox during this session, but it was carried in the next, and lord thurlow's opposition lost him his position. the great seal was put into commission.

meanwhile, the publication of burke's "reflections on the french revolution" had caused an immense sensation. it went through edition after edition, and elicited a warm and wide response in hearts already convinced of, or beginning to see, the real tendency of the french outbreak. on[383] the other hand, it greatly exasperated the ultra-admirers of french republicanism, and produced a number of vindications of it by men who, for the most part, were exceedingly bitter against burke, and denounced him as an apostate, a renegade, and a traitor to liberty. amongst the most conspicuous of those who took the field against burke in books were sir james mackintosh, thomas paine, dr. price, and dr. priestley, the two latter of whom also made free use of the pulpit for the propagation of their political ideas. ladies also distinguished themselves in this contest, such as mary wollstonecraft, and mrs. macaulay, the historian.

mackintosh, who was a young lawyer of excellent education, but yet entirely unknown, this year published his "vindici? gallic?," in reply to burke; but he did it with the behaviour of a gentleman, and evident admiration of the genius and political services of the great man whom he opposed. his book was immensely admired, and at once lifted him into notice. but it was not long before he began to see the correctness of burke's views and prophecies as to the french revolution, and he did not shrink from avowing the change of his sentiments in the monthly review and in conversation. his talents and this alteration of his views recommended him to the ministers, and he was appointed by pitt and loughborough a professor of lincoln's inn, where, in a course of lectures on the constitution of england, he exhibited himself as an uncompromising censor of the doctrines he had approved in his "vindici? gallic?." for this he was classed, by the vehement worshippers of french ideas, with burke, as a venal turncoat. mackintosh did not content himself with recanting his opinions on this topic from the platform and the press; he wrote directly to burke, who was now fast sinking under his labours and his disappointments, and expressed his undisguised admiration of his sagacity as a politician, and of his general principles and political philosophy. burke invited him down to beaconsfield, where a closer view of the philosopher and orator greatly increased his esteem and admiration of the man.

paine, in his "rights of man," was far from restricting himself to the courtesies of life in attacking burke. he had been most hospitably received by burke on many occasions at his house, and had corresponded with him, and must therefore have seen sufficient of him to know that, though he might become extremely enthusiastic in his championship of certain views, he could never become mean or dishonest. yet paine did not hesitate to attribute to him the basest and most sordid motives. he branded him as the vilest and most venal of apostates. paine had, in fact, become a monomaniac in republicanism. he had been engaged to the last in the american revolution, and was now living in paris, and constantly attending the jacobin club. he was hand-in-hand with the most rabid of the republicans, and was fast imbibing their anti-christian tenets. paine fully believed that the french were inaugurating something much finer than any millennium; that they were going to establish the most delightful liberty, equality, and fraternity, not simply throughout france but throughout the world. before the doctrines of the french clubbists and journalists, all superstition, all despotism, all unkindness were to vanish from amongst mankind, and a paradisiacal age of love and felicity was to commence. to those who pointed to the blood and fury already too prominently conspicuous in this business, he replied that these were but the dregs of corrupt humanity, which were working off in the great fermentation, and all would become clear and harmonious.

amongst those who hailed enthusiastically the french revolution, and gave credit to its promises of benefit to humanity, were a considerable number of the dissenting body, and especially of the unitarian class. amongst these, drs. price, priestley, kippis, and towers were most prominent. dr. price—who furnished pitt with the theory of the sinking fund, and with other propositions of reform,—on the breaking out of the french revolution was one of the first to respond to it with acclamation. he was a member of the revolution society, and in 1789 he preached before it a sermon on "the love of our country," and in this drew so beautiful a picture of the coming happiness of man from the french revolution, that he declared that he was ready to exclaim with simeon, "lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation." at the dinner on the same occasion he moved that a congratulatory address be sent to the national assembly on that glorious event, which was seconded by lord stanhope the chairman, and which was sent, and received with great acclamation by the national assembly. burke, in his "reflections on the french revolution," was very severe on price, as well as on his coadjutors; and as price died this year it was said that the "reflections" had killed him, which, were it true, could not be said[384] to have done it very prematurely, for the doctor was in his seventieth year.

but far more remarkable were the effects of the championship of french principles in the celebrated dr. joseph priestley. priestley was now nearly sixty years of age—a time of life when men rarely become great enthusiasts in any cause. he was a unitarian minister, and was now the pastor of a congregation at birmingham. he was well known for various theological writings, in which he had announced his doubts of the immateriality of the sentient principle in man, especially in his "disquisition on matter and spirit." he had been tutor to lord shelburne, first lord lansdowne; but had quitted that post, as supposed, in consequence of the objection of lord shelburne to these principles, retaining, however, an annuity of one hundred and fifty pounds a-year. but priestley was far more known and esteemed for his researches and discoveries in natural philosophy, especially in electricity, chemistry, and pneumatics. orthodoxy and toryism were extremely rampant in birmingham, and priestley was regarded as the very patriarch and champion of socinianism and republicanism. there wanted only a spark to fire trains of fierce intolerance against priestley and his party, and, unfortunately, this was furnished by themselves. they resolved to celebrate, by a dinner, the anniversary of the taking of the bastille, on the 14th of july. before the dinner took place, such were the rumours of impending riots that the party proposed to defer the celebration to a future day; but the landlord had prepared the dinner, and declared his opinion that there would be no danger if the party dispersed early, without stopping to drink many toasts. darbley, the innkeeper, curiously enough, was a churchman, and in good odour with the tory party. satisfied by his representations, about eighty persons determined to hold the dinner on the appointed day, though a considerable number stayed away, and amongst those priestley himself. the company were hooted as they entered the inn, but chiefly by a crowd of dirty lads, who cried "church and king!" on the table were ranged three figures: a medallion of the king encircled with a glory, an emblematical figure of british liberty, and another of french slavery bursting its chains. in the evening a fierce riot broke out, instigated—according to priestley's account—by some prominent magistrates, though the statement was never proved. the mob rushed to darbley's hotel after the dinner was over and most of the people were gone. there they raised the cry of "church and king!" and began to throw stones. some one cried out, "don't break darbley's windows; he is a churchman!" but the church-and-king people and their set, now flushed with wine and loyalty, waved their handkerchiefs from the windows of the opposite inn, and hurrahed the mob on. with this encouragement, which seemed to the crowd to legalise their proceedings, the mob rushed into the house, declaring that they wanted to knock the powder out of dr. priestley's wig. they did not find the doctor, so they smashed most of the furniture in the house, and dashed in the windows, notwithstanding the host's orthodoxy. some one then cried, "you have done mischief enough here; go to the meetings!" and the mob rolled away, first to the new meeting-house, where priestley preached, which they soon demolished and set fire to. they then proceeded to the old meeting-house, and destroyed that too, being hounded on by people of decent station in the place, and made furious by the beer which was distributed among them.

this destruction accomplished, the mob marched away to the house of priestley, which was at fair hill, where they utterly burned and destroyed all the invaluable library, philosophical instruments, and manuscripts, containing notes of the doctor's further chemical experiments and discoveries. fire-engines were called out to prevent the flames of the meeting-houses from spreading to the adjoining houses, but they were not suffered to play on the meeting-houses themselves, nor does any effort appear to have been made to save priestley's house. the doctor and his family had made a timely retreat. he himself passed the first two nights in a post-chaise, and the two succeeding on horseback, but less owing to his own apprehensions of danger than to those of others. an eye-witness said that the high road for fully half a mile from his house was strewed with books, and that, on entering the library, there were not a dozen volumes on the shelves; while the floor was covered several inches deep with torn manuscripts. this was the work of the night of the 14th of july, and the riots continued from thursday to sunday; among the buildings destroyed being the paper warehouse of william hutton, the historian of the place, and the author of several antiquarian treatises. hutton was a man who had raised himself from the deepest poverty, for his father was a poor stocking-weaver of derby. he had found birmingham without a paper warehouse; had opened one, and, by that[385] shrewdness and carefulness in business, which are so conspicuous in his "autobiography," and afford a valuable study for young men, had acquired a competence. he was not only an honour to the town by his upright character, and reputation as a self-taught author, but he had been an active benefactor to it. he had been the first to establish a circulating library in the town; was always an advocate and co-operator in works and institutions of improvement, and was the most active and able commissioner of the court of requests. his only crime was that of being a nonconformist, and an advocate of advanced principles.

the priestley riots at birmingham (see p. 384)

[see larger version]

during these disgraceful days the church-and-king party took no measures to prevent the destruction of the property of dissenters. noblemen, gentlemen, and magistrates rode in from the country on pretence of doing their duty, but they did little but sit and drink their wine, and enjoy the mischief. they could have called out the militia at once, and the mob would have been scattered like leaves before the wind; but they preferred to report the outbreak to the secretary-at-war, and, after the time thus lost, three troops of the 15th light dragoons, lying at nottingham, were ordered to march thither. but the arrival of the light dragoons showed what might have been done at first if the magistrates had been so minded. the mob did not stay even to look at the soldiers; at their very name they vanished, and birmingham, on monday morning, was as quiet as a tomb. government itself took a most indifferent leisure in the matter. it did not issue a proclamation from the secretary of state's office till the 29th, when it offered one hundred pounds for the discovery and apprehension of one of the chief ringleaders.

at the ensuing assizes in august, those rioters who had been apprehended were tried; some at worcester for participating in the outrages, but there only one prisoner was committed. of those tried at warwick, on the 25th of the month, four received sentence of death. of these five rioters condemned, only three actually suffered, while two received his majesty's gracious pardon. the victims of this riot thought the penalty much too trivial! such, indeed, was the perverted state of public feeling in and around birmingham, that[386] the sufferers were regarded as men seeking the lives of innocent men who had only shown their loyalty to church and king. they were declared to be no better than selfish murderers. whilst they attended at the assizes, their lives scarcely seemed safe. they were publicly abused in the streets, or menaced and cursed wherever they appeared. in the very assize-hall there were persons who, on seeing priestley, cried, "damn him! there is the cause of all the mischief!" he was followed in the streets, especially by an attorney, who cursed him furiously, and wished he had been burned with his house and books. the favourite toast of the church-and-king party was, "may every revolutionary dinner be followed by a hot supper!" the damages awarded to the sufferers were, in most cases, ludicrously inadequate. hutton was a heavy loser; priestley received three thousand and ninety-eight pounds, but he complained that this was two thousand pounds short of the extent of his loss. but this deficiency was made up by sympathising friends.