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her ancient monarchy, in the July following. To this plan, the King's confent alone was wanting: and that confent was unequivocally withheld. Forced by the factious into a war which he ever lamented, he confented to these proposals :

"The fears which his Majefty expreffed in his letters to me, were the occafion of my propofing to him to fend a person of confidence to the Emperor and the King of Pruffia, to endeavour to prevail on them not to allow their armies to act offenfively against France, until they should be under the last neceffity of fo doing; and, even in that cafe, to make the entrance of their armies into France be preceded by a manifefto, in which they fhould declare-" That, forced to take arms by an unjust attack, they did not impute that aggreffion either to the King or to the French nation, but to a criminal faction which oppreffed both; confequently, far from departing from the fentiments of amity which united them to France, that their intentions, on the contrary, was to deliver that nation from tyranny, and restore it to legal order and tranquillity; that they had no view of interfering with the form of government, but merely to fecure to the nation the right of adopting that which fuited it the beft; that all idea of conqueft was foreign to their thoughts; that private property fhould be by them equally refpected as national property; that their Majesties took all peaceable and faithful fubjects under their protection; that they confidered as their enemies thofe only who were the enemies of France, the faction of Jacobins, and all its adherents," &c.

"Every article of the manifefto was difcuffed with Mallet du Pan, and the first intention was to adopt it; but, at the opening of the campaign, the Duke of Brunswick made confiderable alterations in the manifefto; the effect of which did not anfwer his intentions. His menaces were laughed at, except by the few who had the fimplicity to imagine that his triumphant army would be at the gates of Paris in eight days. But, in general, fo far from infpiring terror and repreffing fedition, this ill-judged manifefto excited the moft lively indignation; and the King was fuppofed to have fuggefted thofe articles which regarded the fafety of his own perfon and family.

"If Mallet du Pan had been prefent when the alterations in the manifefto were propofed, he would have certainly represented all the ill effects they were likely to produce; but

he

he was then in Switzerland, having confidered his miffion as entirely concluded when his plan of a manifesto had been approved of, and apparently adopted."

Characteristics of Louis the Sixteenth.

"The next day, which was the 1st of October, M. de Leffart came to me from the king, and conducted me into his apartment.

"As it was the first time that I had ever had the honour of fpeaking to his majesty, on finding myself têtê-a-têtê with him, I was so overwhelmed with timidity, that if it had been my part to speak first, I should not have been able to pronounce a fentence. But I acquired courage, on obferving that the king was more embarraffed than myself. He ftammered out a few words, without connection, but at last recovered himself, on feeing me more at my ease, and our conver fation foon became interesting.

"After fome general obfervations upon the prefent difficult and perplexed state of public affairs, the king said to me, "Well, have you any farther objections?"

"No, fire," answered I. "The defire of obeying and pleafing your majefty, is the only fentiment I feel. But that I may know whether it will be in my power to serve you with utility, I hope your majefty will have the condefcenfion to inform me of your fentiments refpecting the new conftitution, and the conduct you expect from your minifters regarding it."

"That is but juft," faid the king. "This, then, is what I think. I am far from regarding this conftitution as a chef d'oeuvre. I believe there are great faults in it; and that if I had been allowed to ftate my obfervations upon it, some advantageous alterations might have been adopted. But of this there is no queftion at prefent; I have fworn to maintain it, such as it is, and I am determined, as I ought to be ftrictly faithful to my oath; for it is my opinion, that an exact execution of the conftitution, is the best means of making it thoroughly known to the nation, who will then perceive the changes proper to be made. I have not, and I cannot, have another plan than this. I certainly fhall not recede from it; and I wish my minsters to conform to the fame."

"To this I answered, "Your plan appears to me extremely

wife, fire. I feel myself capable of fulfilling it, and I take the engagement to do fo. I have not fufficiently examined the conftitution, either in general, or in its particular branches, to have a decided and fixed opinion respecting its practicability; nor fhall I form one, until experience has more enlightened the nation and myself. My prefent refolution is, never to deviate from what it prescribes. But may I be permitted to afk, if the queen's way of thinking on this subject, is conformable to that of your majesty?" added I.

“Yes, perfectly. She will tell you so herself.”

"A moment after, I went to the queen's apartment, who, after affuring me with great goodness, that he was as fenfible as the king of the obligations I had laid them under, by accepting of a part in the administration in circumstances fo difficult, the added these words: "The king has informed you of his intentions relative to the conftitution. Don't you think, that the only plan he has to follow, is to adhere to his oath?"

"Yes, certainly, madam," answered I.

"Well, be affured," rejoined fhe," that nothing shall make us alter our refolution. Allons; be of good courage, M. Bertrand. With a little patience, firmnefs, and confiftency of conduct, I hope you will find that all is not yet loft.”

"I was named minifter the 1st of October, and next day took my oath to the king. According to custom, I announced my nomination by a letter to the affembly. Many remarks were made, but without any apparent displeasure, on my not having imitated my predeceffors, by flattering the affembly and praising the conftitution. I fimply expreffed in my letter, "that having fworn to the king to be faithful to the conftirution, I engaged myself to the affembly to adhere literally to my oath, and promote the execution of the conftitution by every means within my fphere."

"It was (fays Bertrand) a remarkable feature in the king's character, which particularly fhowed the turn of his mind; that his natural timidity, and the difficulty he found in expreffing his ideas, never appeared when religion, the relief of the people, or the happiness of France, were in queftion. Upon thefe occafions he always delivered himself with an energy and facility which never failed to astonish the new ministers, who were prepoffeffed with the prevailing opinion of the king's narrow capacity. I do not pretend to affert that Lewis the Sixteenth

Sixteenth was a great genius; but of this I am certain, that his natural capacity was very far above mediocrity; and that had it been cultivated by an education well calculated for his future rank in life, he would have been claffed among the best and ableft of our kings: we had daily opportunities of feeing him give what has been generally confidered as proofs of an active and comprehenfive mind. While he was reading letters, or memorials, or newspapers, he could, at the fame time, attend to the difcuffions of the council with fuch diftinctness and difcrimination as enabled him to understand the whole; as afterwards appeared by the account he gave of what he read and had heard. A ftriking inftance of this occurred one day, on which he read feveral memorials, and letters, and journals, while the minifters were making reports on the affairs of their departments, and particularly while M. Cahier de Gerville made one, on a question of some delicacy, after which the decifion was poftponed for eight days: but when that minifter, in making his fecond report, happened to omit an effential circumstance which had been in the first, the king directly put him in mind of it, to the astonishment of us all, who had believed that he had been too much occupied with the memorials and letters, because he had, at the time, made pertinent obfervations on them. What is certain is, that none of us could contend with the king in point of memory; and his judgment was no lefs excellent.

"This I can affirm with truth, that during all the time that I was in administration, every paper of importanec, of whatever kind, that was fubmitted to the king's examination, after it had been difcuffed in the council, was improved by the alterations his majesty suggested."

"During the negociation with Algiers, a fecret message was fent to the king from Tippoo Saëb, who demanded of the king 6000 French troops, offering to pay their transportation, cloathing, and maintenance. He was convinced, that with this affiftance, he could deftroy the English army and fettlements in India, and enfure the poffeffion to France. That nothing might tranfpire of this affair, Tippoo had not mentioned it in his council, and had fecretly negociated the bufinefs with M. de Frefne, governor of Pondicherry, through the means of M Leger, adminifirateur civil of France in India, who understood the Perfian language, and who wrote the dispatches VOL. I. dictated

3 A

dictated by Tippoo relative to this embaffy. M. Leger himfelf came from India to France with this meffage; and in order to conceal the real object of his voyage, fome time before he fet out, he had declared that his private affairs would oblige him to return immediately to France.

As M. Leger was directed to the Minister of Marine, I informed the king of Tippoo Saëb's proposal: but notwithftanding its advantages, and although the infurrection of the Negroes of St. Domingo, rendered it neceffary to fend a confiderable force there, under the pretence of which it would have been easy to have fent to the East Indies the 6000 men demanded by Tippoo, without raifing the fufpicion of the English government; the natural probity of the king's mind would not permit him to adopt this measure. "This refem

bles," faid he, "the affair of America, which I never think of without regret. My youth was taken advantage of at that time, and we fuffer for it now. The leffon is too fevere to be forgotten *."

"The meffage of Tippoo Saëb was accompanied with prefents for the king and queen. Thofe deftined for the king confifted of an affortment of gold gauze, crimson filk ftuffs flowered with gold, painted linen for three Perfian dresses, twelve pieces of white linen of the finest quality, an aigrette of bad diamonds, flat and yellow and ill fet, with a clafp ornamented in the fame tafte. The prefents for the queen were ftill lefs valuable, confifting merely of three bottles half full of Indian effences, of a very inferior quality, and a box of perfumed powder balis and scented matches. When I prefented the ftuffs and diamonds to the king, he said to me, laughing, "What can I do with all this trumpery? It feems only proper to drefs up dolls. But you have little girls; they may be pleased with them. Give the whole to them."

"But the diamonds, fire," said I.

"O, they are mighty fine, to be fure," added he, fmiling. "Perhaps you would have them placed among the jewels of Pray take them alfo, and wear them in your hat,

the crown.

if you pleafe."

* "Ceci reffembleroit beaucoup (dit il) à l'affaire d' Amerique, à la quelle je ne pense jamais fans regret. On a un peu abufé de ma jeuneffe dans ce temps la; nous en portons la peine aujourdhui. La leçon eft trop forte pour l'oublier."

"The

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