and sombre silence which prevailed during these ferocious executions. The only perceptible sounds were the agonized shrieks of the massacred victims, and the clash of the sabres, as they struck their heads. They were no sooner extended lifeless on the ground, than the cries of "Vive la Nation!" arose. In the short intervals between the executions, we heard beneath our windows, "Not a single individual must escape; they must all die, particularly those in the chapel, who are all conspirators." Every species of distraction conspired to rouse us from reflection on our melancholy state; if silence prevailed in the streets, a tumultuous noise arose in the prison.

Five o'clock. Several voices pronounced the name aloud of M. Cazotte. A moment afterwards the stairs were descended by a crowd of people talking loudly. The clattering of arms was mingled with the cries of women and men. They were leading the venerable old man to death. He was followed by his daughter. When he passed to the exterior of the wicket to receive his doom, that courageous girl threw her self round the neck of her father. The emotion of the people at this touching sight, obtained the old man's pardon.

About seven o'clock. Two men entered, their hands bloody, and armed with sabres; a turnkey holding a torch conducted them, and pointed out the bed of the unfortunate Reding, who was a captain of the Swiss guard on the 10th of August, on which day his arm had been broken by a shot. He had also four sabre wounds on his head. At this horrible moment, I was pressing his hand and endeavouring to cheer him. One of the men began to remove him, but the wretched creature stopped him, saying, in a dying voice, "Ah! sir, I have suffered enough already. I am not afraid of death; but, in mercy, let me meet it here." He was rendered motionless by this appeal; but his comrade saying, "Allons donc," decided him; he was carried out on their shoulders, and conveyed into the street, where he was instantly dispatched-My eyes are so full of tears, that I cannot see what I write.

We looked at one another without

uttering a word. We wrung our hands in agony; we embraced in des. pair. We were motionless-there was a dead silence-and our eyes were fixed on the pavement of the prison, on which the moonlight fell through the triple columns of our windows. But soon our agitation was revived by the shrieks of fresh victims. We then thought on the words of the unfortunate M. Chanterami, who said, on plunging a knife into his heart, " We are all destined to be massacred."

Midnight. Ten men, sword-inhand, preceded by two turnkeys bearing torches, entered our room, and ordered each of us to appear at the foot of his respective bed. When they had counted us, they said, we were responsible for one another, and swore, that if one single individual escaped, we should all be massacred without a hearing from the President. These last words conveyed a gleam of hope; for we were not confident of any thing like trial previously to our destruction.

Monday, 3d September, Two in the morning. One of the doors of the prison was broken open by reiterated blows. We thought, at first, it was the wicket, and that the populace were rushing to destroy us in our chamber. Our apprehensions were partly tranquillized, on hearing some one say on the stairs, that it was a dungeon door which had been barricaded by some prisoners. We shortly learned, that every human being in it was dispatched.

Ten o'clock. The Abbé L'Enfant, confessor to the king, and the Abbé Chapt-Rastignac, appeared in the tribune of the chapel where we were confined. They announced to us the approach of our last moments -and begged us to assemble to receive their benediction. By an electric impulse, we were on our knees, and our hands joined and raised to receive it. This moment, though consoling, was one of the most!

-! we had yet experienced. On the eve ofappearing before the Supreme Beng, kneeling before two of his ministers, we presented an indescribable spectacle. The posture of these two venerable priests leaning over us-death hovering over our heads, and surrounding us on all sides-every circumstance imparted

an awful solemnity to our condition. The moment seemed to approximate us to the Deity. It gave us courage— reason and reflection were suspended, and the awful ceremony was equally impressive on the cold and incredulous, on the ardent and confiding. In half an hour, we heard the cries of these two massacred ecclesiastics!

The thought which now occupied our chief attention, was the posture by which, on the reception of our fate, we should be exposed to the least torture, on our entering the place of massacre. Some of our comrades went, from time to time, to the window of the turret; that, by witnessing the sufferings of the various victims, they might form an inference of the least agonizing means of meeting their destruction. They reported that those who extended their hands were the most considera ble sufferers, as such a posture intercepted the sabre strokes, which fell, in consequence, with a diminished power upon the head; that some lost their hands and arms; but that they who placed them behind their backs were most readily and least painfully dispatched. We resolved on this ready method of escaping from the ferocity of our executioners.

Towards mid-day. Overwhelmed, almost annihilated, by supernatural agitation, and absorbed in thoughts too horrible to be expressed, I threw myself on a bed, and slept profoundly. To this sleep I believe myself indebted for the preservation of my life. I dreamed that I was before the terrible tribunal appointed for my trial; that, in spite of the hideous clamour of the tocsin and surrounding cries, I was heard attentively. My case was concluded, and I was set at liberty. This dream produced a beneficent impression on my mind, dissipated my agitation; and I awoke with a presentiment of my salvation. I related it to the partners in my misfortune, who were surprised at the confidence with which it inspired me, from the moment until my appearance before my judges.

Two o'clock. A proclamation was made, which the populace received with disapprobation; a moment afterwards, some people, who were either curious to see us, or perhaps disposed to point out to us the means

of safety, placed a ladder against the window of our room; but all ascent was prevented by the cry of " A bas, a bas, c'est pour leur porter des armes."

In addition to our mental agonies, we endured the torture of a burning thirst. At length our turnkey, Bertrand, made his appearance alone, and we prevailed on him to grant us a jug of water. We had passed sixand-twenty hours without one solitary drop. When we represented this negligence to a federe, who came with other persons to inspect the prison, he was so indignant at the cir cumstance, that he demanded the name of the turnkey, that he might be exterminated on the instant; but our united and strenuous supplications averted the fate that, but for them, inevitably awaited him.

We were soon afterwards disturbed by plaintive cries, which we found proceeded from a young officer who had wounded himself in several places. As the blade of his knife was rounded at the end, he had not succeeded in giving himself a mortal stroke; but the attempt accelerated his execution!

At Eight o'clock-The agitation of the mob subsided, and several voices cried, "Grace, grace, pour ceux qui restent." These words were feebly applauded. They, however, gave us a gleam of hope; and some among us were so convinced of their immediate deliverance, that they already had placed their bundles under their arms; the hope was delusive. The shrieks of death replunged us into the depth of our fears and agonies.

At eleven o'clock-Ten men, armed with sabres and pistols, ordered us to form a rank, and conducted us to a ward next the apartment in which was sitting the tribunal appointed for our trial. I cautiously approached one of the senti nels placed over us, and succeeded in entering into conversation with him. He told me in a patois, from which I discovered that he was either of Provence or Languedoc, that he had served eight years in the regiment of Lyonnais. I spoke patois to him; this appeared to please him, and my interested situation at the moment inspired me with such Gascon and persuasive eloquence, that I succeeded in drawing from him

these words, the effect of which, at such crisis, I should in vain attempt to state: "Ne te cougneichi pas, mé pértant né péinsi qué siusque un tréste; au contrairi, te crési un boun goyat;" implying, "I do not know you; however, I believe you are not a traitor; on the contrary, I take you to be a good fellow."

I endeavoured, by all imaginable means, to confirm him in this favourable opinion, and so far succeeded, as to prevail on him to let me enter the awful presence in which the trial of a prisoner was proceeding. I witnessed the process against a purveyor to the king, who, being accused of the conspiracy of the 10th, was condemned and executed; another, who was sobbing and uttering words inarticulate from his anguish, was already undressed, and on the point of being delivered to his fate, when a workman of Paris recognised him, and protested that he was mistaken for another person. He was accordingly remanded; and on a subsequent hearing, proclaimed innocent and set at liberty.

From what I had just seen, I distinctly saw the turn it was advisable to give to my defence. I returned into the adjoining ward, where I saw some prisoners who had been just brought in. I begged my Provençal friend to procure me a glass of wine. As he was going to get it, he was desired to reconduct me to the chapel, which I accordingly re-entered, quite at a loss to discover for what purpose we had been taken down; I found that ten new prisoners had replaced five who had been tried. I lost no time in making the needful alterations in my defence, and was busily employed on it, convinced that firmness and frankness alone could save me, when my Provençal acquaintance entered, and said to the turnkey, "Bacle la porte, à la tournante seulément, et attens mé en défore."-" Shut the door, with the key only, and wait for me outside." He drew near me and said, seizing my hand, "Béni pér tu-Baqui lou bin qué mas demandat:-beu."-" I come for you-There's the wine you asked me for-drink." I had drank more than half of it, when he put his hand on the bottle and said, "Sacrisdi, moun amic, coumé ybas; n'en

boli pér you; à ta santat."--"Sacre, my friend, how you drink-I want some myself-here's to your health"-and he drank the remainder. He then continued-" Né poudi pas damoura dans tu loun tén; mé rapélé-té de cé qué té disi. Si ses un caloutin ou bé ún conspirateur d' au castél de monser Bétot, sias flambat; mé si né sias pas un tréste, nage pas po; te réspoundi dé ta biste."

"Eh! moun amic, suis bien surt dé n'esta pas accusat dé tout aco; mé passi per esta un tantinel aristoucrate

"Coy re caco; los juges sabent bé qui a d'hounestés gens pér tout. Lou president es un hounéste houmme, qué n'est pas un sot."

"Fasei mé lou plasei de préga los juges de m'escouta; né damandi caco

"Lou siras, t'en respoundi. Arça, adissias, amic; d' au couragé; m'en bau à mon poste ;-taquerci de fa béné toun tour lou plu leu que sira poussible. Embrasse mé; seui à tu dé boun co-" which dialogue interpreted is this :-"I cannot remain with you long, but remember what I tell you: If you are a priest or a conspirator of the château of M. Veto, you are undone; but if you are no traitor, entertain no fear; I answer for your life."

I replied "Ah! my good friend, I don't fear being accused of all that, though I am supposed to be somewhat of an aristocrat."

He said "That is nothing; the judges know that there are honest men of all parties. The president is an upright man, and no fool."

I requested him-" Do me the favour to beg the judges to hear me; I ask but that."-"You shall be heard, this I promise you. So now, my friend, adieu. Courage!-I am off to my post.-I will endeavour to bring your turn on as soon as possible. Embrace me; I am yours, with all my heart."

We embraced, and he departed, No one but a prisoner in the Abbaye on the 3d of September 1792, can appreciate the consoling influence of the brief conversation I have recorded.

Towards midnight, the frightful and unnatural tumult which had raged for thirty-six hours, began to abate:

and we imagined that the judges, and their executive authority,* being overwhelmed with fatigue, would require repose before they entered on our trial. We were making our beds, when we heard a proclamation, which was loudly hooted. In a moment, a man asked the populace what it wanted; and we heard him distinctly answer, "The priests and conspirators who remain, and who are in the prison, (ont graissé la patte des juges,) have greased the judges' hands-and that is the reason of their not being tried." It appeared to us, that he had no sooner spoken, than he was dispatched. The noise and agitation of the mob rose into fearful exasperation. The tumult increased momentarily, and when the disturbance was at its height the officers of the committee came for M. Defon-one of the old garde de corps-whose cries, in the agony of death, shortly succeeded. In a few moments, two of our comrades were carried off-and then, I began to think that my fatal hour approached.

At length, on Tuesday, at one in the morning, after enduring, for thirtyseven hours, an agony more terrible than death itself—after having drunk a thousand and a thousand times the cup of bitterness-the door of my prison was thrown open-my name was pronounced-I followed. Three men seized me, and placed me before my terrible judges.

The last Crisis of my Agony.

By the flaring light of two torches, I beheld the tribunal which was to give me life or death. The President, dressed in a grey coat, and wearing a sabre, was leaning on a table, covered with papers, an escrutoire, pipes, and bottles. The table was surrounded by ten persons, some standing, some seated, two of whom were in waistcoats only, and wore aprons; others were extended on the benches, fast asleep. The door was kept by two men, sword in hand, in shirtsstained with blood; an elderly

turnkey kept his hand incessantly on the bolts. Three persons, in front of the President, held a prisoner about sixty years of age. I was seated in a corner; my guards placed their sabres across my breast, and warned me, that if I made the slightest attempt to stir, they would poniard me immediately. I looked on all sides for my Provençal. I saw two national guards present a reclamation from the section of the Croix Rouge, in favour of the accused before the President. He replied— "these solicitations are useless in behalf of traitors."-The prisoner cried,

He

"it is horrible-your judgment is a mere assassination." The President said, "My hands are washed of it,-lead out M. Maillé-” was pushed into the street, where I saw him massacred, while the door was yet open.

The President sat down, apparently to register the name of the unfortunate man just dispatched. I heard the order given: "à un au

tre!"

The President, (addressing me.) Your name and profession?

One of the Judges.-The slightest lie will be fatal to you.

Ans.-My name is Jourgniac St Méard; I have served 25 years as an officer; and I appear before you with the assurance naturally belonging to a man, who has nothing with which to reproach himself, and who consequently will not resort to falsehood.

The President.-That we shall see. A moment (he then inspected the commitment and accusation, which he passed round to the other judges.) Do you know the cause of your arrest?

Ans. Yes, Monsieur le President,t and I can readily believe, after the glaring falsity of the accusations made against me, that the Committee of Surveillance would not have sanctioned my imprisonment, were it not for the precautions imposed

on it by the safety of the people (le salut du people). I am accused of being the editor of an anti-feuillant journal, called the Journal de la Cour et de la Ville. I tell the naked truth, when I assert that imputation to be false. The editor of that publication is a man named Gautier, whose description is so strikingly at variance with mine, that nothing but iniquitous malignity could have made a mistake in our persons-and if I am able to search my pockets

I here endeavoured in vain to extract my pocketbook from my coat; one of the judges perceiving my predicament, desired the men who held me to let go their hold. I then laid on the table the attestations of several clerks, factors, merchants, and proprietors of houses in which he had lodged, proving Gautier to be the editor and sole proprietor of the Journal in question.

One of the Judges.-Nevertheless, there is no smoke without fire: how comes this accusation to fall on you? tell us that.

Ans. That, sir, is what I was about to do. You are aware, gentlemen, that the journal of which we are speaking was the receptacle of all. the Calembourgs, the quolibets, the epigrams and pleasantries, whether good or bad, which emanated from Paris, or the eighty-three departments. I might aver that I never was the author of one of these trifles, seeing that no manuscript of mine is produced in proof of it; but candour, which has hitherto befriended me, must serve me now; and I will confess, that the gaiety of my disposition often inspired me with harmless sallies, which I did send to the Sieur Gautier. There, gentlemen, is the whole and sole foundation of my impeachment, which equals in absurdity the monstrous accusation I have next to deal with. I have been denounced for having recruited on the frontiers, of having conducted such levies to the emigrants-(a general murmur arose, which, however, I did not permit to disconcert me; I continued, having raised my voice)-Gentlemen, gentlemen, I am speaking; and I implore you, Monsieur le President, to maintain the attention of my judges-never was it more essential to me than at the present moment,

Nearly all the Judges said, laughing, "Right! right!-silence!"

I proceeded-My accuser is a monster-this I shall prove to you, Judges, whom the people would not have chosen, had they not known them to possess the power of discriminating between guilt and innocence. There, gentlemen, are certificates proving that I have not been out of Paris for three-and-twenty months; and there are the declarations of the three landlords, with whom I have lodged during that period, which corroborate the other attestations.

They were examining these papers, when we were interrupted by the arrival of a prisoner, who was instantly placed before the President. The men who held him said he was another priest, whom they had just taken from his nest (deniché) in the chapel. After a brief interrogation, he was sent to his fate. (A la Force.) He cast his breviary on the tablewas dragged out at the wicket, and slaughtered. This done, I resumed my place before the tribunal.

One of the Judges.-I do not say that these certificates are false; but who can prove the truth of them?

Ans. Your observation, sir, is just; and, to afford the utmost knowledge on that subject, confine me in a dungeon, if you please, until commissaries, named by Monsieur le President, have verified them. If they prove false, I deserve to die.

One of the Judges-(Who, during my interrogation, appeared interested in my behalf, said, in a low voice,) A guilty person would not speak with this decided confidence.

Another Judge.-Of what section are you?

Ans. Of the Halle aublé.

A National Guard-(Not of the number of the Judges).-Ah! ah! I belong to that section. At whose house do you reside ?

Ans.--At the house of M. Teyssier, rue Croix des Petits Champs.

The National Guard.-I know him, for we have had transactions together; and I can tell if this be his certificate; (he looked at it and said,) Gentlemen, I can state that this is decidedly the signature of the citizen Teyssier!

I exclaimed, in a manner which attracted general attention, Ah! gentlemen, after the testimony of