night 200 of the garrison of Rochefort marched out, and took possession of Soubise, whence they displayed the tri-coloured flag, and dispatched emissaries to different parts of the kingdom.

In February, a plot was discovered and suppressed at Nantes: but of all the rebellious attempts to disturb the public tranquillity, that of general Berton to surprise Saumur and raise the standard of revolt in the south western districts, attracted the most notice, as being in itself the most daring, and as being carried farther towards execution than any of the others. This conspiracy broke out on the 24th of February, in the departments of Deux-Sevres, and of Maine-et-Loire; the head quarters of it were the towns of Saumur, Thouars, and Parthenay. The leader of the enterprise was the ex-general Berton, who, it was said, acted in concert with the members of a secret society, called the Society of the "Chevaliers de la Liberté, or Carbonari," formed for the purpose of overthrowing the government of the king.

The plot had been long in existence. Meetings were held at Saumur, in the house of one of the accused, named Caffe, formerly a surgeon-major, and in the house of Gauchais, formerly a chief of battalion, and also, at Parthenay, in the house of one Moreau, a half-pay officer. The conspiracy extended to the departments of Ille et Vilaine, and Loire Inferieure; at least four of the conspirators belonged to those depart

ments.

When the plot was considered sufficiently ripe, general Berton arrived at Saumur. He had left Paris in the beginning of January, pretending that his only object

was to pay a visit to his son, a sub-lieutenant of dragoons in garrison at Pontivy; and proceeded directly to Brest, whither a colonel Alix had previously repaired, in order, it was believed, to seduce the officers from the army, and to prepare them to assist general Berton in his enterprise. Alix left Brest on the 8th, was at Rennes on the 9th, and re-appeared suddenly at Brest on the 11th; and on the same day had a meeting with Berton, who left Brest on the 15th for Rennes. General Berton afterwards acknowledged that he learned in Rennes that the Chevaliers de la Liberté wished to make a movement in favour of the charter, that he yielded to the solicitations of several persons to place himself at their head, and that the object of the insurrection was, to take possession of the town of Saumur. The conspirators of Saumur sent to general Berton to come to them, and he arrived in that town on the 18th or 19th of February. General Berton proceeded thence to Thouars, where he had conferences with several of the accused conspirators.

Moreau, who had been at Thouars to meet general Berton on his return to Parthenay, had conferences with Fradin, a physician and adjutant to the mayor; Ledem, a physician; and Ricque, a surgeon. He informed them of what had passed, made them acquainted with the intention to march on Saumur, and communicated to them the proclamations intended to be published by the general. These three joined the plot. Several other persons had been induced to take part in the conspiracy, the act of accusation.

At four in the morning, general Berton appeared in full uni

form at the house of a person, named Pombas, in Thouars. A number of persons, assembled there, were told, that the government of the king was overturned, that a provisional government was established, and that it was necessary to render themselves masters of the gendarmerie. Immediately cartouches were distributed, the tricoloured cockade was mounted, and they marched off. An individual of the name of Delon, who had been already condemned to death, and who had arrived at Thouars at the same period as Berton, put himself at the head of the insurgents. One of the gendarmerie heard the bell ring at the door of the barracks. On his opening it, armed men rushed upon him and commanded silence; others went to the rooms of the different gensdarmes and compelled them to go down stairs. All the brigade, being thus made prisoners, were conducted to the house inhabited by Pombas.

The tocsin was soon rung; the generale was beat; the curate was arrested in his bed by men who called themselves soldiers of liberty; a judge of the tribunal of Bressure was arrested in the street, and a member of the municipal council, at the house of the mayoralty, whither the insurgents went to substitute the tri-coloured standard for the white flag, and to insult the bust of the king. Horses and carriages were seized. The insurgents then proceeded to the house of an armourer, named Gaspy, and took possession of the arms they found there. Sentinels were placed at the gates of the town. Cries of "Vive la liberte!" "Vivent les peuples" were heard. A provisional government was stated to have been established at

Paris, of which general Foy, Keratry, Voyer d'Argenson, the marquis de Lafayette, and Benjamin Constant were said to be members. This was believed. The authorities, struck with stupor, assembled at the town house, whither general Berton immediately repaired, accompanied by several armed men, and declared to them, that the movement at Thouars extended through the whole of France, and that its object was to recover public liberty. He repeated to the mayor, that a provisional government was established, and that he authorized him to continue his functions. Berton then proceeded to one of the public squares, where a person, named Heureux, who described himself as the deputy of the town of Nantes, read two proclamations. One was addressed to "The People." It announced the overthrow of the king's government, by which the purchases of national property would be secured, and the indirect contributions suppressed. The other was. addressed to the army; it assured them that all France had risen, and promised them victory, honour, and promotion. The friends of honour, it stated, "are all ranged under the sacred standard of the country. Our veteran warriors are arriving from all parts, and uniting with your fathers, your brothers, and your friends; the present is the moment of reward and the fulfilment of glory! You will answer the summons. You are Frenchmen." It was signed by the "General commanding the national army of the West." These proclamations were received with mingled cries of "The Charter for ever-Napoleon II. for ever-The Republic for ever," The provisional govern

ment was then proclaimed, and the marquis de Lafayette was declared generalissimo of the armies. Berton and Heureux stated, that the most distinguished members of the left side, and particularly baron Demarcay, were well informed of what was going on. Berton then made several new appointments, and re-organized the authorities. After these arrangements were completed, a column consisting of about 15 men on horseback, and 120 on foot, marched off with drums beating, and the standard of revolt flying, towards Saumur.

The conspirators of Saumur made preparations for receiving the column. The enemy had arrived at Montreuil, only three leagues distant, and yet the authorities of Saumur were ignorant of their approach. At three o'clock Berton and his band passed through Montreuil, with cries of "Vivent les peuples! Vive la liberte! Vive Napoleon II." Several emissaries came from Saumur to meet him, but in the meantime, the brigadier of the gendarmes of Montreuil had sent forward one of his men to Saumur, to give notice of the approach of the insurgents, and measures were taken to prevent his entering the town. A party of the cavalry of the school of Saumur hastened to oppose him. Berton informed the officer who commanded this party, that all resistance was useless, that his corps was only the advanced guard of 20,000 men, who were marching on Saumur. "You see,” he added, "that the national guard and the gendarmerie are marching with me. Parthenay, Loudun, Niort, Thouars, Chinon, Bauge, are all in a state of insurrection. The cuirassiers of Orleans (in garrison at Niort) make common cause

with us. The legion which is at Angers is for us also. At Rennes, Nantes, Bordeaux-in all the great towns of France-the same movement has begun. Be advised, avoid the effusion of blood." The commandant replied, that he did not know Berton; that he had no command in the department, and that, having received orders to resist his march, he should oppose him by force. However, he made his detachment take a half-circuit, and fixed his position behind the bridge Fouchard. Berton and his band followed him; they reached the bridge and passed it. A new detachment of cavalry now joined the former one. Delon arranged the troops; but the officer, who commanded the first detachment which had marched to meet the insurgents, declared that he should not enter; on which Delon replied, that he might answer for the blood that was shed. The mayor of Saumur advanced about 7 o'clock in the evening, accompanied by a single national guard, and sought general Berton, who, addressing him, observed that he had seen him in Paris, and that he had come in the name of liberty. The mayor replied, that he was a rebel and a blockhead, and that he must retire. Berton, disconcerted, ordered Moreau to withdraw their bands beyond the bridge. The bridge was evacuated, and the national guard began to form themselves in order of battle. The insurgents, on their part, blocked up the road with carriages, and established posts, in order that they might not be surprised by the troops of the town. Things remained in this state for several hours. The mayor and Berton had another conference: and the authorities of Saumur held a council of war, in which it was

decided to charge the enemy at day-break. Berton kept his position till midnight; when being informed of the determination of the council, he ordered a retreat.

His

He accomplished it in good order, displaying a calmness which can only be explained by the confidence he felt in consequence of the inactivity of forces a hundred fold greater than his own. intention was to fall back on Thouars, which is defended by a wall and a river, and where he would have been protected from a surprise; but measures had already been taken for preventing his return. It was now necessary for the insurgents to disperse. Several of the chiefs fled. Berton wandered about in the department of the Deux Sevres and la CharenteInferieure; and was arrested about the middle of June, at the moment when he was preparing to embark in new attempts.

Of the persons accused of being engaged in this conspiracy, 18 escaped; and 37, besides Berton, were taken into custody. They were brought to trial before the court of assize at Poictiers, on the 26th of August. The trial lasted till the middle of September; the result of it was, that Berton, Caffe, Sauge, H. Fradin, Senechault, and Jaglin, were sentenced to death. Allix was found guilty of the capital offence by seven of the jury to five; but the majority of the judges (as is usual in the case of so close a division) joined with the minority of the jury and declared his acquittal. Ällix and all the others were found guilty of not revealing the plot, and sentenced to various terms of confinement, from five years to one year, and to fines of from 2,000 to 30 francs.

Berton and Caffe, being members of the Legion of Honour,

were solemnly degraded. They and Fradin and Sencchault were ordered to be executed in the public square of Poictiers; Sauge and Jaglin in the village of Thouars. Berton suffered on the 6th of October, displaying to the last the utmost coolness;* but Caffe escaped that very morning from the sentence of the law, by inflicting on himself a deep wound in the femoral artery, of which he almost immediately expired. Fradin and Senechault had their sentence commuted into imprison

*The following are a few biographical particulars respecting this state criminal. His name was Auguste Berton; and he was born in 1774, at the village of Francheval, about ment of Ardennes. His family was a league from Sedan, in the departreputable and wealthy. At the col lege of Sedan, young Berton acquired the elements of literature and the

sciences, at an early age manifesting a strong love of study, which he steadily pursued until he reached the age of 17, when his father sent him to the school of Brienne, shortly after Buonaparte left it. Berton quitted Brienne at the of Artillery of Chalons, with the inperiod of the formation of the school tention of attaching himself to that branch of the army; but in passing an examination, was disconcerted by some unexpected questions which were proposed to him by a professor, whose manner was not remarkably conciliatory, and retired in disgust to his father's, at Francheval. The war of the revolution commenced soon after, and early in 1793 Berton entered as sub-lieutenant in the legion of Ardennes. He served in the campaigns of the army of the Sambre and Meuse, and was rewarded with the rank of captain. On returning to France, he was appointed quartermaster of the same regiment, and as one of its youngest officers he retired to his home, after the peace of Luneville. Marshal Bernadotte, who had known Berton when he served in the army of the Sambre and Meuse, made him his staff major, and Berton served in this office in Hanover, at Austerlitz, and finally in Prussia in the cam

ment, for 20 and 15 years respectively.

Two remarkable circumstances

paigns of 1806-7. In consequence of the valour which he displayed in the attack upon Lubeck, which Blucher occupied after the battle of Jena, Berton was rewarded with the rank of chef d'escadron, and in 1808 was promoted to the rank of colonel. He was afterwards appointed chief of the staffmajor of general Valence, who was soon compelled by the state of his health to quit his command; upon which Berton was attached to the staff-major of the 4th corps d'armée under the command of general Sebastiani. He distinguished himself at the battle of Talavera and several other engagements in the Peninsula. At Ocana he led the Polish lancers to the attack, and displayed much skill, calinness, and intrepidity. After the capture of Malaga, he was appointed governor of the place, and in that character he opposed the Guerrillas with great success. Marshals Soult and Sebastiani had long demanded for Berton the rank of general officer, which Napoleon at length conferred upon him by a decree of the 30th of May, 1813. Berton had ardently desired to quit the service of the staffmajor, and therefore received his new appointment with great joy.

The

brigade, which was placed under his command, was composed of the 2nd Hussars and the 13th and 21st Chasseurs; and marshal Soult manifested the confidence, which he reposed in the new general, by constantly nominating him to the honour of protecting the retreat, or forming the advanced guard. At the memorable battle of Toulouse, the conduct of Berton increased his former reputation. The only reward he obtained for his services, was to be placed on half pay immediately after the restoration. He remained inactive, until the 20th of March of the following year. In 1815, Berton commanded a brigade of the corps of Excelmans, composed of the 14th and 17th Dragoons, and behaved with his accustomed bravery during the short campaign of Waterloo. On his return to Paris, he was arrested and detained five months in the Abbaye, whence he was liberated without being brought to trial, and

occurred on this trial. It is the custom in France to include in the indictment, not merely the sub

without even being informed of the motives of his arrest. Berton wrote the "Precis historique, critique, et militaire, des Battailes de Fleurus et de Waterloo;" he also published a commentary on the work of lieut.-general Taraire, intituled "De la Force dans les Gouvernemens ;" and a letter to baron Mounier, on the subject of the pretended will of Napoleon. The second of these pamphlets caused him to be deprived of his disposable pay, and placed on the retired list long before the age prescribed by the ordinances. Berton, in a Memoire addressed to M. de Latour Maubourg, bitterly complained of this proceeding, which he called illegal and tyrannical: he also declared that he considered as a violation of property, the order which deprived him of his allowances, to which, he said, he had as good a title as to an estate purchased with his own money. Berton, however, was not left destitute. He had an estate near Villers Coterets that yielded him 7,000 or 8,000 francs a year, which, added to the pension attached to his cross, enabled him to live in ease, and to maintain his sons in a suitable manner. Berton had great aptitude and an ardent relish for study: his restless imagination would never suffer him to remain unoccupied; and his passion for acquiring knowledge in some measure obstructed his advancement; for it often made him neglect his external appearance, and even some of those minute duties, to which generals wish officers to be confined; but as soon as his talent had an opportunity of showing itself, nobody thought any more of reproaching him with the negligence of his exterior-they were contented with calling him in joke, "the Independent." He was frank and generous, a sincere and approved friend, and excellent comrade, and the best of fathers. His hair was gray, and he wore thick and black mustachios. He had a sparkling eye, and a florid complexion; his features were rather ugly, but flexible and expressive; his figure was tall, his step quick, his voice powerful, and his whole appearance bespoke courage and intrepidity.