The National Register. — London, England, 1816-01-14 00:00:00

JAN. 14. THE NA' • Who saw and spoke to him, really remained in the perimasion that be was the son of Louis XVI. as to myself,. who saw him without prepossession, I declare that I was much embarrassed what opi nion to form of him. The whole exterior of the young man cor responded with what he said. The resemblance of his face was perfect ; and a person who had formerly been attached to the French Court having observed, that he ought to have a scar in the skin on account of a fall which lie had in the 'great stairs at Ver sailles, we really found a slight scar on the place in question ; he had besides the gait common to all the Bourbons, a majestic air, his skin exceedingly fair, and upon the whole possessing rare personal qualities. ‘.‘ Gen. Melas had dispatched a courier to Vienna, to the Em peror, in order to know what conduct he ought to pursue. He received orders to have the young man exanthied by a Court-mar trial. They told him at first, that if he confeed the truth he would be forgiven, hut if they proved he had told a falsehood he would be shot. He persisted in saying he was the Dauphin of France, son ot'LouiS XVl.and asked nothing else but to be con ducted where his sister resided. From that time the Public no longer had liberty to visit him, and a few days after a rumour was circulated that he had confessed that he was the son of a watch maker at Versailles. However, he told a friend of mine, who took the opportunity to speak to him while they were conducting him to prison, that it was false : and that he had confessed nothing contradictory to what he had at first said. Nevertheless he was sentenced by the Court Martial, composod of Austrian Officers, to run the gauntlet three times on St. Charles's-square. " The ladies of the town, who bad interested themselves in his happiness, went and asked General Melas for his pardon, who consented he should only pass once : he was accordingly conducted to St. Charles's-square to suffer his punishment ; .and a person wor thy of faith, who approached very near him at that moment, told me that when the Corporal took off his shirt, he exclaimed—What au indignity for a Bourbon !—From that time the young man disap peared, and nobody knew what had become of bim." FRENCH PROTESTANTS. The follow;tig letter from the Duke of Wellington to the secretaries of the " Protestant Society for the Phtectio4 of Religious Liberty,"mustaffind our Readers great satisfaction (Copy) " Paris, Nov. 28, 181.5. " GENTLEMEN—I have had the honour of receiving your letter of the q.ith inst. and 1 take the earliest opportunity of re plying to it. I have every reason to believe that the Public, and the Society of which you are the Secretaries, have been misinformed regarding. what is passing in the South of France. " It is natural that there should be violent contests in a coun try in which the people are divided, not only by a difference of religion, but likewise by a difference of political opinion, and that the religion of every individual is in general the sign of the political party to which be belongs ; and at a moment of pecu liar political interest, and of weakness in the Government, on account of the mutiny of the army, that the weaker party should suffer, and that much injustice and violence should be committed by individuals of the more numerous preponder ating party. But as far as I have any knowledge acquired shiring my residence at this Court last year, and since the entry of the Allies into Paris, the Government have done every thing in their power to put an end to the disturbances which have prevailed in the South of France, and to protect all his Majes ty's subjects in conformity with his Majesty's promise in his Royal Charter, in the exercise of their religious duties, accord. ing to their several persuasions, and in the enjoyment of their several privileges, whatever may be their religious persuasions. " In a recent instance, an Officer Gen. La Garde, was sent down to Nisnies, specially by Government, to enquire into the state of affairs in that country ; and upon his first report he had orde.is to open the Protestant Churches, which, in the course of the contest between the parties, had been closed. He was severely wounded when in the execution of these orders ; and I have been informed by good authority, that his Royal Highness the Duc d'Angouleme has since marc!ied at the head of a body of troops against those who had ppo,ed themselves to the exe cution, by Gen. La Garde, of the 0 tiers of the Government " I inclose the copy of the King's ordinance, issued in conse quence of this event, which suiliciently chews the views and intentions of the Government. :oNAL REGISTER: fl 7 -1 " 1 have further to inform you, that it is not true that the salaries of the Protestant Ministers have been discontinued bl the Fing of France. • " I trust that what 1 have above stated will convince the So clay, of which you are the Secretaries, that the K ng of France's Government at least are not to blame on account of the unfor tunate circumstances which have occurred in the South of France.—l have the honour to be, &c. (Signed) " WELLINGTON." " Mr. T. Wilks and Mr. T. Pellatt, Secretaries to the Protestant Society for protection of Religious Liberty." • A charge is brought by the Times and Courier newspapers, against the Protestant Dissenter's Society, of political party motives and uncandid conduct in not publishing the above let ter of the Duke of Wellington, because it falsified the statements of those to whom it was addressed, namely, the Society. The Secretaries of the Society defend themselves from this aspersion ; !and say they had no authority to publish the letter. It is ad ' mitted, that the letter of the Duke of Wellington was in the hands of the above-mentioned Secretaries, while the Corpora tion of London was preparing an address to the Prince Regent on the treatment of the Protestants in France. The Times further declares, that the Protestants in France have again, and again deprecated the interference of the Protestant Society in England, expressing - astonishment at the imper tinence of it ; at the,insolent language in which their resolutions are couched ; and finally declaring, that they want none of their assistance, and wil! have nothing to do with them.—Without becoming partizans in the dispute, we can only expres our satisfaction with the termination of the violences that gavo rise to it. TILE CITY OF MOSCOW. A Letter from Petersburg, of the 9th, gives the following par ticulars respecting this interesting city : "The city of Moscow, rising from its ashes, will be more beau tiful than ever, though less grand. The change thar has taken place in so short a time is incredible. The present Governor, Torma.scow (General and Admiral) is incessantly and actively em ployed in rebuilding the city. This immense plain exhibits an astonishing spectacle, new in modern times ; where the . eye dis. tinguishes a various and confused assemblage of ruins; of palaces both of wood and stone; largo and small houses; churches; the . scites of burned houses ; and uncultivated fields ; the whole sur rounded with brick and lime 'kilns, and in the midst of all this, swarms of labourers of all descriptions. The whole puts one in mind of the tower of Babel. though the rusult will be very different. All the streets communicating with each other are filled with long rows of vaults loaded with materials. The Kremlin, formerly the greatest ornament of the city ; has been a part rebuilt upon a morn regular plan. Such of the old walls as remained standing have lyeen strengthened and whitened. The cannon taken from the enemy are arrangedin rows to a considerable height, in the great place opposite the hotel of the Senate, while posts with inscriptions m mark the respective nations to who, they belonged, such as French. Austrian, Prussian, Italian, English, German, Spanish, Sweden, and Polish ; those are destined to 'form a moument, ty plan of which has been already marked out.-IMention i n s made of h Blanding in apublic place, betwixt the Kremlin and the new Bazaar, a imielb finer structure than the old, a Church, around which these cannons, are to he placed in regular order." . . • I^ • BO N A I Alt 1 E. Extract of a Letter lately receired from an Gyfieer, a native of Shrems bury, now at Si. Helena with Bonaparte. " Saint Helena, Nov. 5,1815. 44 We, who are sent into banishment with Ilonaparte, to the most wretched and desolate spot in the hanitablr: world, have good reason to curse his name. Here we are litera tf lv star r ving ; or living upon the hard Irish-beef, which we geor a ation, in the proportion of I lb. per day. and which is so hal d as to be susceptible of as high a• polish as raahogany. The privations we all endure are very great, and were it not that we.someritoes catch fish (for buying them is out of- the question) I do not know what would become of us ; five or six regularly fish every day for dinner and • breakfast, and have continued. to get a • s*ackarcl or two vi4ch for time Duals; Out you must not sup, gSr". f7"a