The Columbian informer, or, Cheshire journal — Keene, N.H., 1794-09-16 00:00:00, page 1

To occupy the Mountain, elevated in
the field of La Re Union, each Section fe
le&d ie old men; lomatrons; io young
girls, their age between 15 and 20 years;
10 youths, their age between i§ and 18
years; and,io male infants, their age be
low eight years. The ten matrons, fclec
ted by each Section, were clad in white,
and carried a scars of tri-coloured ribbon,
extending to the left fide from the right
ihoulder. The ten young girls were
also in white and with similar fcarfs :
Their hair was interwoven with flow
ers. The ten youths were armed with
fabres.
By each fedion a Commissioner was
appointed to lead to the spot fixed on for
that purpose the 50 persons feleßed by the
Seaion to be Rationed on the Mountain ;
and to each of them as well as to the
Commiflioner was delivered a card, which
was worn in a confoicuous way.
All the inhabitants of P^ris were pro
' vided with branches of oak, bouquets,
garlands and baskets of flowers, and werel
ornamented with the colours of Liberty. ,
Precisely at eight in the morning, a]
difeharge of artillery from the Pont Neuf
announced the arrival of the moment for
repairing to the National Garden. The
inhabitants of each Se&ion now repaired
thither in two columns, fix in front :
Men and youths to the right, the women,
girls and children beneath eight years to
theleft between these columns in the centre
of the square, the battalion of youths was
placed. The Commandant of the armed
Force of Paris commanded in chief during
the procession, and under him, each Com-,
mandant of a Seaion Rationed with his
Section refpeaively.
When the procession reached the Na
tional Garden, a deputation announced to
the Convention,that every preparation was
made to celebrate the feftival of the Di
vipity.l
[No. 2,. of Vol. 11.]
u^ft%fav^n^n w^nv^ri
[ln eur last London papers we found
the following account of the celebration of
of a " Fejlival to the Supreme Being” in
France. As the firft Religious Rite under
the new System of Morality eilabnffied in
that Republic, we presume its publication
will gratify the curiosity of our readers.]
Precisely at five in the morn
ing, a general summons was made through
out Paris.
By this summons all male and female
citizens were invited instantly to decorate
their houses with the cheriihed colours of
Libi rty, either by displaying new flags, or
embellifbing their old ones with garlands
of flowers and greens. They then repair
ed to the principal rendezvous of their
refped ve Sections there to wait the signal
for felting out.
The men were all withoutarms, if we
except the youths of from 12 to 14 years
of age, who were provided eitner with
swords and fufils, or with pikes.
In ,each Section these youths formed
a square battalion, m aching 12 in front ;
and in the midit of them were placed the
streamers and flag of the armed force of
the Seaior, carried bv tho&'te whom
they were usually intruded.
fyach adult citizen and eace youth held,
in his hand an oak branch, while the mat
rons and young girls, arrayed in the col
ours of Liberty, held in their's the former
bouquets of roses, and the latter baskets
of flowers.
The following it an account of the Fft^al
dedicated to the Supreme Being, which
was celebrated at Parti on the Bth in
ftant.
FESTIVAL to the SUPREME BEING.
J/feZ/^y.
Or, C HESHIRE JOURNAL.
PRINTED and PUBLISHED BY HENRY BLAKE, ^CO. ^KEENE, New-Hampshire.
THE<^E^^ ^2^%^
Columbian Informer;
F"R A N C E.
NATIONAL CONVENTION, MAY 2§.
Speech of Roberfpierre, on the
attempt to aflajinate him.
" IT will be a sublime fubjeft of con
templation for posterity. It is even now
a fpe&acle worthy of heaven and earth
to behold the Reprefertatives of the
French people, Rationed on the almost in
exhaustible volcano of conspiracies, pla
cing with one hand at the feet of the Great
Eternal.the homage'of almighty people,and
with the other, launching the thunder-bolt
against the tvrants combined against them
—laving the foundation of the firft Repub-
Ilie in the world, and recalling from exile,
, liberty, justice and virtue.
i "Is it neceiTary for me to recall to your
attention the torrent of crimes which has
flowed from the powers in league against
us? Is it necessary to go over again the
calamitous catalogue of plots which they
have foftered and fomented ? Is it neces
sary again to disgust the ears of this assem
bly with the dark detail of their filthy in
trigues and foul manoeuvres ? No, such a
narrative can neither be grateful nor ne
cessary. The National Convention of
France, the people of France : yea, thir
ty millions of men. whom God has cre
ated after his own image ; thirty millions
;of men declare the Combined Powers, to
Ibe guilty of all the miseries whiah France
has endured for five years. They declare
solemnly, that those powers have directed
the tempests which have wafted this land ;
[that they have created all those cenvul-
The Convention, preceded b% large
bands of mafic, then repaired to th&Pnvil
ion of Unity, and placed themfe^ej on a
superb Amphitheatre, where the rrefidcal
afeended the Tribunal and displayed tb
the people the motives of this solemn fefli
val, inviting them to honor the great Au
thor of Nature. During the performance
of a symphony, the President, armed with
the Torch of Truth, defended from the
Amphitheatre, and approached a monu
ment, ereded in a circular bafon of done,
representing the monster of Atheism.
From this monument, set fire to by the
President, Wisdom sprang up.
The President then addressed the peo
ple ; and at this moment a second beat of
drums announced the departure for tire
field of La Re Union.
Order of the march thither,
A detachment of cavalry, preceded by
trumpets ; corps of sappers and pumpers ;
gunners; an hundred drdms, and the pu
pils of the military academy ; 24 Sections ;
the group of old men, &c. before describ
ed ; bands of music ; the National Con
vention encircled by a tri-coloured ribbon,
carried by infancy adorned with violets,
by youths adorned with myrtle, by virili
ty adorned with the leaves of the vine and
the olive. Each Representative carried in
his hand a bouquet of ears of corn, flow
ers, and fruits ; and in the centre was car
ried a trophy, representing the arts,
trades, arid productions of the French ter
ritory, and drawn by eight heifers orna
merited with feftoons and garlands. Next
came an hundred drums; 24 Sections,
in the fame order -with the preceding
o^es, with a car filled with blind children,
vho furg during the way to the Divinity ;
and, lastly, to a body of cavalry.
When arrived at the field of La Re Un
ion, the musicians performed a hymn to
the Supreme Being, and afterwards a
grand Symphony. Several airs, compos
ed for the occasion were sung, and a gen
eral difeharge of artillery made amidst the
flouts of'' Vive le Republic."
, This concluded the ceremony; and
the Procession returned to Paris.
TUESDAY, September 16, 1794.
%v&\w&ft vfhu&nugh ugfr». ughugh vfr
fio'swhich have agitated the bosom of the
Republic; that they have twitted and
torn asunder all the sinews of society and
retationfhip ; that they have spirited up
the parent against his child, the brother
against brother, and the wife against her
'hi;(bind.
• But let us rejoice, let us return thanks
to God, that we have served our country
so wcll as to be deemed worthy of the
poniard of tyranny. The glory of in
curing dangers belongs allo to us. ,Our
aboue in the capital, fubjeds us .0 the
fame perils as aftation on the field of battle.
We have now no cause to envy our brave
brethren in arms. We pay more than one
way the debt we owe to the country.
" What men on earth ever defended
without difficulty and danger the rights of
humanity ? Some months are now elapsed
finer I made use of the following words, to
my colleagues of the Committee of Public
Safety.
" If the arms of the --Republic be victo
rious—if we tear the veil from the fa
ces of traitors—if we overwhelm faction,
the Combined Powers will procure our
affoffination."—l was not therefore surpris
ed to fee my prophecy realized.
" Surrounded by their assassins, I have
already imagined myfdf to be in that new
order of things to which they would fend
me.—l am attached to life only kecaufe
bfe enables me to do good to my country,
and to support the cause of justice: An
increased and increasing energy swells my
veins at this moment; I feel a redoubled
deme to attack the traitors who conspire
against my country —against human na
^r•ml igainft God himfelf. The great
er'vueir endeavors to terminate my earth
lv career, the greater fliall be my activity
in the performance of actions ufeful to my
equals: 1 will at least leave them a Will,
the perusal of which shall make tyrants
and their satellites tremble: I shall, per
haps, reveal fcveral momentous secrets,
which a kind ofpufillanimous prudence has
hitherto introduced me to conceal: I shall
disclose the objeft to which the fafety of
my country and the triumph of liberty
tend. Ifthe perfidious hands that direct
the rage of the assassins, be not viable to
all men, I shall leave to time the talk of
withdrawing the veil: and I shall confine
myfelf to those truths which can alone
save the Republic.
" The fate of the Republic is not en
tirely fixed, and the vigilance of the Na
tional Representatives is more than ever
receffary.
" What constitutes a Republic ? Not
victory, not riches, not power, not tem
porary enthusiasm. It is the wisdom of
the laws, and above all, it js public vir
tue: It is the purity and the flability of
the maxims of government. Laws are to
a, maxims of government to dired,
morals to regenerate. If one of these ne
cessary parts fail, there can only be er
ror, pride, passions, factions, ambition,
avarice.
" The Republic, in that case, so far
from repreffirg vice, would give it a wid
er range and higher flight, and thus the
reign of tyranny would again commence ;
for vice and tyranny are inseparable com
panions. Whoever is not matter ofhim
felf, is made to be the Have of others.
Do you wish to know who are ambitious
men? Look at those who are the patrons
of villains ; the protesters of counter-rev
olurionifts, the projedors of intrigues and
conspiracies, the scorners of virtue, the
corrupters of the public morals.
" Attempts were made to involve the
Republic in confufion and ehaos. It was
therefore necessary to render these at
tempts ineffectual, and to create in the
world a moral and political harmony.
The people of France, have two guaran
tees of the possibility of executing this he
roic enterprise. The principles of real re
prefenution and their own virtues. It is
[Whole No. 77 ]
,u^h &^%lan Mfr 7l ^*' 1 M^ r>d
easy to consolidate liberty—it is easy to
dejtroy it. If France were for a few
months only to be governed by a corrupt
Legislature, liberty would,be annihilated#
Your Unanimity and your energy have
aftorifned and convinced all Europe ;
and if you were as confident on this lute
jed as your enemies are, your triumph
would be easy and complete.
" I have ipoken of the virtues of the
people, but these virtues, rcfplendent tkro'
the whole course of the Revolution, will
not be fufficient of thercfelves to defend us
from factions. Why ? Becaefe there are
two parties in France : The one is the
mighty mass of pure and virtuous citizens,
supporters ofjuftice and friends to liberty ;
the other, the horde of factious and in
triguing men ; a prating babbling race,
juggling and imposing, who are seen eve
ry where, who abuse every thing, who
occupy the tribunes, and often are public
functionaries; a people of cheats for
eigners, hypocritical counter revolutions
ills; who take their flation between the
French people and their Reprefeutatives,
for the purpose of deluding the former,
and of calumniating the latter, and foe
the purpose of checking all operations
" As long as this impure race exifls,
the situation of the Republic will be difafr
terous and precarious. It is therefore, for
you, Members of the National Conven
tion, to deliver it by an important ener
gy and by an unalterable unanimity.—
Those who seek to divide us, who check
the career of Government, who endeav
or to form a dangerous coalition, those
are your enemies, and the enemies of
the country. They are the agents of the
foreign powers, the successors of the Bril
fots, the Herberts and the Dantons.
" Perhaps in disclosing these truths, I
sharpen the poniard of the assassin : It is
for that purpose that Ido disclose them.
Persevere in your principles, and go on in
your triumphant career. You will then
overwhelm vice, and serve your country :
I have lived long enough.
" I have lived long enough, for I have
seen the people of France rife from the
depth of degradation, and from the bos
om of slavery to the pinnacle of glory
and Republican virtue. I have lived long
enough for I have seen a more aftonilhing
prodigy than this, a prodigy of Monar
chical corruption and experience es the in
fancy of our Revolution, scarcely permit
ted us to confider as possible, I have
seen an assembly invested with the power
of the French Nation marching with rapid
and firm Reps to the goal of public happi
ness, devoted to the cause of the people,
and to the triumph of equality ; worthy to
give to the whole world the signal of lib
erty and to afford an example of all vir
tues.
" Complete citizens, complete your
sublime purpose : You have placed us as
the advanced guard to sustain the last at
tack of the enemies of human nature—We
will render ourselves worthy of this honor
—We will mark with our blood the road
that Ihall lead you to .immortality: May
you always employ that unalterable ener
gy which is so necessary, to strangle the
mongers of the Universe cbnfpired against
you ; and may you at last enjoy peace
the blessings of your countrymen, and the
well earned rewards of your virtues !"
G E RMA N Y.
VIENNA, A NUMBER of troops that
JUNE ZfrA were intended to reinforce
he army of Italy, have4ir.ee received or
ders to march to the Netherlands.
altenA, j^ly ~
Letters from Holland, of the 28th June,
fay, that Clai fi„, on the 24th was de
feated, n<x far from Bruges. Bruges was
'tfore^TL Jr^&l/tfy&nce.