Alexandria gazette & daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1817-1822, 1819-03-18

prentSIons oil Tie HiiHis'i popularity >
but in eight days after he received orders
to quit France, and TO conceal his depar-
ture An instance OF this event illustrates
the king sreliance on the integrity Of Neck
er. The Baron de Breteuil had advised
his arrest. as his dismissal might cause a
tumult. 81 will answer" said Louis, 'that
he will obey strictly my injunction in re-
gard to secrecy" This act offeverisi en-
ergy, not unnatural to filling monarchy.
produced the instruction Of the l4ih of
July. On that day, the Bastie surrender
ed to the infilristed patriots, and 81 far had
the beneyolence of Louis diminished the
evils of .despotism, that. according to Mar
montel and DE- MolevilIe, only seven pri-
soners were found within its walls. The
popular discomfort at the dismission Of
Necker, and the eloquence OF Lally Toll
lendal, soon produced an invitation for his
return. But his moderation and his favor
with The nation were now insufficient 10 re-
tard The headlong progress oil the revolu-
ton. The intrigues of Mrabe3l and his
emmissaries had stimulated the slothfui
vice of Paris, and prepared the mob TO dis
card the remnant Of respect which was
still felt for the unfortunate king. A body
of men, terrible by their numbers and their
fury, departed to Versailles 10 bring thence
Louis and the Assembly to Paris. NJ. de
la Fayette, at the head of the National
Guards, arrived to protect the palace but
the assassins, penetrated through a passage
which had been negleclluily lett open, and
Maria Antoinette saved her life only by fly
ing through a secret entry, TO the kings "a
partment. On the day nsxt this event. the
populace loudly demanded the removal of
the king and the royal family to Paris.
Then, says our authoress, "the queen ap.
pesred in the hall her hair di,hsveied,
her countenance pale, but dgnifed; every
thing in her person was striking Ia the i'm
agination. The people required that she
should appear on the balcony, and, as the
whole court, which is called the marble
court, was full of men with fire arms in their
hands, the queens countenance discovered
her apprehensons; yet she advanced with
out hesitation along with her two children,
who served as her safeguard. The multi
tude seemed affected on seeing the queen
as mother, aud political rage became APP
peased al the sight: those, who that very
night bad perhaps wished to assassinate
her, eytoled her name 10 the skies. The |
popuiace, in state of insurection, are, in
general, in ccessib!e 10 rea.oning, and are
TO he acted on only by sensations rapid as
electricity, and communicated in similar
manner. MODS are. according to circum-
stances, better or 10orsc than the ,nd,viduals
aho compose them; but, whatever be their
temper, they are to be prompted to crime
as to virtue, only by having recourse to
natural mpulsion. 4 The king and
queen were taken to their capital. We
went to Paris by different road, which
spared us that dreadful! sight. 1t was thro'
the Bois de Bouiogne tina, we went, and the
weather was unoommonly fine the breeze
scarcely agi'ated The trees, and the sun was
sufficiently bright 10 leave nothing gloomy
in the prospect; no outward object was in
with our grief. How often
does this contrast, between the beauty OF
nature and the suferings inflicted by man,
renew itself in the course Of life - Vol. /,
p 2O6.
The constituent assembly, after arriving
at Paris, was no longer uncontrolled in its
The Jacobins already be-
gan to manifest that fearful energy, which,
at subsequent period, supplied the want
Of virtue, popularity and talent, and was
now sufficient to procure from the assem-
bly, law declaring ths church lands 10 be
national property. In defending this bold
invasion of undoubted rights, Madame de
Stael appears to less advantage than in any
other part of the book, except, perhaps,
where she censures the degradation Of the
privileged orders. Still, however, as it is
quite impossible that she can everbe weak,
she has founded the argument on pribci-
pies whose abstract truth it will be difficult
TO deny, but which were altogether un.
known to the authors of that measure. The
most weishty OF these are, that large pro-
portion of the properly of the churchmen
was given them by the crown, "not as a