annihilation, of all kind of religious belief. The scattered catholics, who remain true to the church, like the first christians after perfecution, crept out of their holes and hiding places, and miftaking the momentary difperfin of the clouds for eternal funthine, began to hail the restoration of their accustomed worhip. While they continued to reft fatisfied with the celebration of their rites in their respective congrega. tions, the government left them to the full enjoyment of their religious liberty; but when they began to form fynods, and talk of reconciliation with the holy father, there was no 'poffibility of permitting correfpondence with a foreign power, and that one of their moft ghoftly enemies. Accordingly the fynod has been poftponed, and the catholic worfhip in independent congregations is authorized as before.

The executive directory, foon af ter its inftalment, publifhed a proclamation by which it declared that being convinced that the happinefs of the French people was infeparable from the perfection of arts and sciences, and the increase of human knowledge, and defiring to manifeft in a folemn manner to all France, and to all civilized nations, its firm refolution to concur, as far as its power extended, to the progrefs and encouragement of fcience, it had founded a national inftitution, compofed of one hundred and forty-four members, whom it had appointed, and ordered their inftallation to take place in the hall of the former academy of fciences, in the palace of the national mufeum, formerly the Louvre. Among the members are found the names of La Place, La Lande, Bertholet, Fourcroy, Volney, Raynal, Marmontel, Bitauby, Paftoret, &c.This proclamation of the directory,

which the legislative body had fanctioned by a decree, directed further that the national academy fhould hold four public meetings in a year.

The plan of public inftruction announced in our abftract of the conftitution is also established. It confifts of what are called primary fchools, central fchools, and fpecial schools. A primary school is erected in each canton, where a master is appointed for the boys, and a miftrefs for the girls, and where they are to remain till twelve years of age. At thofe fchools are taught reading, writing, and the first elements of arithmetic.

One central school is established in each department, with nine profeffors, who will teach drawing, ancient languages, hiftory and belles lettres, natural hiftory, mathematics, experimental philofophy, general grainmar, and legiflation. The profeffors are chofen by a jury appointed by the department, and have the fame revenue as the ad. miniftrators of the department, upon which they may retire after twentyfive years of fervice. Each central fchool has a library and librarian, a cabinet of natural history, an apparatus of experimental philofophy, and a botanical garden.-Five or perhaps ten fpecial fchools will be established in France for the higher fciences, fuch as aftronomy, &c. and for thofe arts which require a particular education for the public fervice, fuch as medicine and furgery. There will alfo be a special school for the oriental languages. Education in all the above-mentioned establishments will be at the public expence, and every individual has a right to fend his child, who, how ever, will only receive his education gratuitoufly, and must be maintained by his parents.

The

him who is wife in his own conceit, between the man of folid abilities, and the fplendid, but fhallow enthufiaft.he one thinks; the other dreams. The one confults his judgment, the other his imagination. The one calculates accurately his means, he lays his plans on the folid ground of fact; the other purfues fome gaudy phantom which his fancy prefents to his view. The one acquaints himself with every circumftance, examines every particular in detail; he knows on what victory depends, and where to expect defeat; the other trufts to fome lucky chance, to fome fplendid turn of fortune, of which he fatters himself he is the undoubted heir.

These observations were never more strongly verified than in the events which we have now to relate.

However fincere the reconciliation with the royalifts in La Vendée might appear to fome, there were others who regarded it as extremely i fecure, as a perfidious truce, acceded to through neceffity by the Chouan leaders, and complied with only till they could find a fair opportunity for recruiting their wafted ftrength, and for recovering their loft authority. Thofe who were upon the fpot, the commanders of the French armies in La Vendée, in particular, were, it is affirmed, constantly dubious of the intentions of thefe pretended republicans, and watchful of their motions. It is, however, in our opinion, ftill a queftion, whether the fubmiffion of the royalifts was not fincere in the firft inftance; and it is fufpected, by intelligent perfons, that they entertained no intentions of revolt, till they were ftimulated by the intrigues of the emigrants, aided by the money and promifes of one of the allied powers. The

expectation of a powerful defcent on the French coaft, to be made by a vaft army, under experienced generals, and covered by an invinci ble fleet, fatally deluded, it is faid, thefe devoted victims of foreign ambition, and induced them once more to refume their arms in favour of a caufe which they had before prudently abandoned as loft. It is not eafy to conjecture what were the advantages with which a ftatefman could flatter himself from fuch a project. The fcene of action was limited; the Chouans had hitherto maintained their ground, merely by their peculiar habits and modes of fighting; and if the whole concentrated force of the allics could make no impreffion on France, it was fcarcely confiftent with found judgment, to, expect that it could effe&t much in a divided ftate. If to create a diverfion only, and to draw off a part of the French forces from the German frontier, was the object, this was certainly effected more completely, and with lefs lofs, by the defultory mode of warfare which the Chouans purfued, than by incorporating them with a regular force, with whom they muft inevitably fall, without the fmalleft chance of rallying again.

The fubmiffion of the Chouans was not completed at the latter end of March, when a ftrong body of royalifts took poffeffion of the town of Tremont, notwithstanding the refiftance of the inhabitants. From this ftation they were expelled by general Beauregard, but not without the lofs of eight republicans killed and wounded. It was afferted that thefe men were not connected with the leaders who had figned the treaty: but the truth is, that, as they immediately efcaped into the woods of Jumaux, it is impoffible to determine to whom they belonged, or

what

what were their views. In the fucceeding month, however, affairs again wore a pacific appearance in the rebellious departments, and feveral chiefs, who had not before laid down their arms, fubmitted; and the union feemed fo completely cemented, that, according to the report of Ruelle to the convention, on the 13th of May, the chiefs of the Chouans had delivered up to the republicans near a million of forged affignats, which, they faid, had proceeded from a British fquadron which hovered over the coaft of Britany.

In the mean time the Chouan chiefs, and other royalifts in La Vendée, were engaged in a fecret, but close correfpondence with certain emigrants in England, and, through them, with the British miniftry. The vigilance of the deputies on miffion in that department, in the month of May, detected this correfpondence; and Cormartin and fix other chiefs were arrested on the evidence of certain intercepted letters. About the latAbout the latter end of the fame month, the Chouans began to embody in confiderable force, and Grand Champ was blockaded on the 27th by one thousand two hundred of the infurgents. On the following day, at four in the morning, however, the deputy Buc, with a large body of republicans, came up with the rebel army, which, confifted of about fix thoufand, encamped in the old castle of Refte, and before Grand Champ. The chiefs were furprifed in their beds, and the Chouans were completely defeated and dispersed.

While the royalifts were forming arrangements in the interior of France for the reception of their foreign allies, preparations were made in England, for an invasion 1795

on the coaft of Britany; but the impatient enthusiasm of the minifters entirely destroyed every profpect of fuccefs. We do not mean to infinuate that the expedition, even if well conducted, could have utimately produced any ferious advantage to the allies; it might have changed, for a while, the theatre of war, but could not have effected the conqueft of France. If, however, a defcent had been made by a powerful force, fupported by a marine which had the command of the fea,—if this descent had been made in a favourable pofition, it might for a feafon, have embarrassed the republic; and in the event of the enemy's forces becoming too numerous to afford any favourable profpect from a continuance of the conteft, the defeated army might have been reimbarked without an incalculable lofs of ftores, and, what is infinitely more fhocking, the immenfe profufion of blood which flowed in this ill-planned expedition. As it was, perhaps the records of hiftory do not contain a parallel inftance of folly,-we had almoft faid, infanity.-Perhaps there is not an inftance on record, of an advanced guard of only four thoufand men being fent into an enemy's country, in the face of a force at least ten times that amount, while it is well known the covering army could not follow them for two months at leaft. We have heard the apologifts for the minifter allege that his defign, in this inftance, was entirely mistaken,-that he confidered the wretched emigrants as an intolerable burthen upon this country, and fent them, not in the hope of fuccefs, but on purpose that they might be facrificed, Waving, for the prefent, the humanity of the cafe, fuch an apology would be no great compliment to the financial talents

of the minifter, fince thefe unfortunate men might have been well maintained and provided for, at one quarter the expence of this ab. furd undertaking. This apology then is not well-founded; and the motive of the expedition is to be fought for in a caufe which we have already intimated, -the unbounded confidence of these mock statesmen, in the chapter of acci

dents.

The fecondary arrangements entirely correfponded with the profound wisdom of the defign. A principal, and (as it afterwards appeared) the principal in the command was a M. Puifaye, a man who had been a revolutionift, who had actually been employed in the military fervice by the Gironde party, and whofe courage, as well as integrity, ftands impeached by Louvet. With this man, was united in the command, the count D'Hervilly, a royalift, of an unimpeached character, and of fome military reputation. But the nature of the reIpective powers of these two commanders is altogether unprecedented in military history, and can only remind us of fome of the Maygames of children, where, at certain periods, the parties are to change characters. By the exprefs appointment of the British miniftry, M. D'Hervilly was to command till they reached the French coaft, and even to determine the point where the defcent was to be made; but as foon as the troops were difem barked, he was then to be fubject to the orders of M. Puifaye, who, as foon as his feet touched the French foil, was, by a kind of magical operation, to ftart up commander in chief. The fubject is indeed too ferious to be treated with levity but the arrangements were fo truly abfurd, that they have

inevitably become the theme of ridicule with every military man in Europe.

M. D'Hervilly did not, it appears, folicit to be employed in this fervice, but was fent for exprefsly by the British minifters, as well as a young man of uncommon merit, the count de Sombreuil, who was fent afterwards with a small reinforcement to Quiberon. This unfortunate young man was, at that crifis, on the point of marriage with an amiable woman, to whom he had been long attached, but was perfuaded to facrifice his inclinations and his conviction (as it does not appear that he ever approved of the expedition) to a point of honour, and the folicitations of the British minifters.

Though the expence of the expedition was enormous, yet fuch was the confufed manner in which it was conducted, that four thoufand men were embarked without tents, without any implements whatever for forming an encampment. The tranfports which conveyed the emigrants were convoyed by two fhips of the line, of feventy-four guns, and fix frigates, under the command of fir John Borlafe Warren, and failed about the beginning of June. M. D'Hervilly, who had little previous knowledge of M. Puifaye, during the voyage endeavoured to acquaint himself with his fentiments and projects; but was overwhelmed with furprize to find that this chosen and confidential commander of the expedition had no certain information concerning the difpofitions of the people of Britany, nor any fixed idea, even concerning the part in which an impreffion might be made. He therefore determined in his own mind upon two points in the Bay of Quiberon,

those