the council received intelligence that a detachment of the army, which was to embark at Breft, had, in their march, paffed through Ferte Alais, eleven leagues diftant from Paris; whereas the Conftitutional Act prohibited all troops from coming within twelve leagues from that city. This threw the council into a flame; and, although the order of march was proved to be written at Aix-la-Chapelle, by general Richepanfe, who declared himself ignorant of his having violated the conftitutional limits of the act, and, moreover, that he did not even know of the existence of any fuch prohibition, they were by no means satisfied, and several angry refolutions were paffed upon this occasion, calculated to throw odium upon the executive government. An addition was made to the military guard of the council, and the precife limits of the conftitutional radius around Paris were ascertained by the erection of pillars.

The political horizon of the metropolis was growing every day more dark and portentous. The news of the contest between the executive and legislative branches of the government had reached the armies, and been echoed back in addreffes to the Directory, promifing them fupport in this conflict against their enemies. On the anniversary of the 14th of July, general Buonaparte iffued a declaration, informing his brave foldiers, " that the country was menaced with new dangers from the enemies of government within. Let us fwear," said he, " by the manes of those who have fallen by our fide in the cause of liberty-let us swear on the colours we have newly gained-implacable war to the enemies of the republic, and of the conftitution!" The armies of Moreau and Hoche fhewed no lefs zeal in the cause of the Directory, which they conceived to be that of the conftitution. These addreffes were juftly the fubject great alarm to the council, and meffages were fent to the Directory, to inquire into this infraction of the conftitution, in permitting the deliberations of an armed body, and in receiving addreffes from them: also a refolution

of

paffed,

passed, declaring every affemblage of foldiers, convened for the purpose of deliberation, criminal, and the promoters fuch affemblies liable to punishment. Things were now come to a crisis; and, though no one could tell how the contest would end, a great political explosion was univerfally expected; and the majority of the Directory not being-conformably to the wife policy of the English conftitution, respecting the executive power-exempted from personal responsibility, were urged, by the beft-founded apprehenfions for their own fafety, to the most defperate and defpotic measures.

The oppofition in the council manifeftly proceeded from a combination of caufes, calculated to produce, upon the whole, a great effect, though, to all appearance, radically deficient in harmony of defign or unity of object.

Ift. The conftitution itself contained, in its original ftructure, the ftamina of perpetual difcord, as furnishing the legislative council with irrefiftible motives to the unconftitutional extenfion of their powers, and, moreover, with the political means of gratifying whatever their boldest ambition could lead them to attempt.

2dly. A confiderable proportion of the council confifted of terrorists, who still fighed for the establishment of the democratic conftitution of 1793, and who watched with eagerness every opportunity of leffening the credit, and finally of fubverting the authority, of the existing govern

ment.

3dly. Another clafs of the members, but inferior in number, confifted of royalifts-very few probably of the old stamp, but real friends of rational liberty, who faw no likelihood of a firm fettlement but in the restoration of the monarchy, on the principles of the conftitution established by the National Affembly in 1789.

4thly. A fourth clafs profeffed and probably entertained a firm attachment to the exifting conftitution; but were thrown into the arms of the oppofition by their own obfer

vation of the incapacity, the corruption, and mismanagement, which pervaded every branch and department of the executive government.

These parties making occafional and mutual conceffions to each other for the fake of maintaining their joint fuperiority, many refolutions, feemingly inconfiftent in themfelves, but equally disagreeable to the Directory, were the neceffary refult-fome of them highly jacobinical, and others no lefs favorable to royalifm. Under all these difcouragements and disadvantages, the Directory poffeffed one formidable prerogative, which, when put in the balance, infinitely outweighed them all-viz. the command of the immense military force, foreign and domestic, of the republic, whofe confidence and regard they had most affiduously cultivated. Emboldened by the late addreffes from the different armies, they now determined effectually to crush all oppofition, by the complete deftruction of their opponents. General Augereau, a bold and active officer, had been sent from Italy by Buonaparte, under the pretext of conveying some stands of colours, taken from the enemy, to the Directory, who entrusted to him the execution of their project. The executive government, which had hitherto held conciliatory language, now threw off the mask, on a day of public audience, and declared, by the mouth of the prefident, "that the eternal enemies of French liberty were redoubling in vain their efforts to overturn it; calling in for this purpose bands of fanatics and royalists" ---alluding to the recent relaxation of the laws against refractory priests and emigrants: "but with these enemies of the republic," the prefident faid, "the Directory would make no compromife; they would fuffer themselves neither to be feduced nor affrighted; nor would they acknowledge any authorities but such as the constitution traced out; and neither the number nor the fpecies of their enemies should caufe in them any dismay."*

This

Anfwer of the prefident to the addreffes of the Cifalpine ambassador apd general Bernadotte on the presentation of standards, &c. from Italy,

This was the fignal of hoftility; and the members of oppofition, who had thrown out such haughty menaces against the Directory, were now, for the first time, awakened to a sense of their own danger. Early on the morning of the 18th of Fructidor, (4th of September, 1797) the alarm-guns were fired by order of the majority of the Directory; for Barthélemi, refufing to concur in these meafures, was put under arrest, while Carnot effected his escape. General Augereau at the fame time received his inftructions to furround the hall of the councils with a military force. This task he performed with confummate courage and address. First repairing to the barracks of the legislative guard, he affured them that he came only to preserve the constitution, and to fave the republic from a confpiracy of royalists. He was answered by the foldiers with shouts of Vive la République! and they declared their readiness, in contempt of the expoftulations and defiance of the threats of Ramel their commander, to obey his orders and follow him. Thus reinforced, Augereau entered the hall, where he found the chiefs of the oppofition fitting in council, and tardily deliberating on the steps proper to be taken by them in this emergency. With his own hand, Augereau feized upon general Pichegru, fo lately the terror of Europe, and the arbiter of the fate of nations,-ordering eighteen others of the members present to be arrested, amongst whom were Boiffy d'Anglas, Bourdon de l'Oife, Dumolard, Rovère, Willot, and other distinguished characters. The confpirators, as they were called, were committed to the Temple, the halls fhut up, and feals affixed to the doors by Augereau.

A proclamation was immediately published, to calm the minds of the people, and announcing « that, by the vigilance of the government, those dark manoeuvres were detected and overthrown which had for a whole year shaken the foundations of the republic, and which were preparing the way for a new and most horrible attack of royalism,

which aimed at no less than the maffacre of the Directory and of the deputies faithful to the people ;-that the Directory was about to lay before the nation the authentic documents which it had collected concerning this deep and dangerous confpiracy." To the council of Five Hundred, now fummoned to meet at the Odeon, formerly a public theatre in the Fauxbourg St. Germaine, the Directory declared that they had been forced to the meafures recently taken." "If," faid they, "the executive power had withheld itself from action one day longer, the republic would have been delivered up to its enemies--the conduct of the Directory was marked out by the instant neceffity of being beforehand with these confpirators, who wished to deprive the French of the fruit of their triumphs, and to make this magnanimous nation bow at the feet of the kings it has fubdued."

On the next day a ftill more-alarming meffage was fent from the Directory to the council. "The moment," say they, "is decifive; if you allow it to pafs by, if you hefitate on the measures to be taken, if you put off your determination for an inftant, all will be loft-both you and the republic. You are at the brink of a volcano-it is about to swallow you up; to-morrow will be too late. You are placed in an unprecedented predicament-ordinary rules cannot apply to fo extraordinary a cafe. What misconceived pity would place the fate of a few individuals in balance with that of the republic?" After this prologue to the tragi-comic drama preparing to be acted, a. committee of fafety, confifting of five persons, being chofen, Boulay de la Meurthe, the reporter, afcended the tribune, and made a long oration, to prove "that the measures pursued by the opposition party in the council could have no other object than the restoration of royalifm. Without doubt," faid he, "an ordinary tribunal would declare the confpiracy real, and punish the authors. But let us declare to France, that not a drop of blood fhall be fhed,---that the fcaffold of terror thall not be erected anew."

Under