cast the eyes of mercy on my wife, my children, and my sister, who have for a long time suffered with me; and in case of their losing me, that he may be their support and consolation, as long as they shall remain in this perishable world. "I recommend my children to my wife. I never doubted her maternal tenderness; and I recommend, above all, that she will carefully endeavour to make them good Christians; to teach them to consider worldly grandeur as dangerous and perishable, and to fix their minds on eternity, where alone solid and lasting glory is to be found. I entreat my sister to continue her tenderness to my children, and that she will be to them as a parent, if they should have the misfortune to lose their mother. I beseech my wife to forgive me all those hardships she has undergone on my account, and all the uneasiness I may have given her in the course of our union; and if she should think that she has any cause to reproach herself on account of any part of her conduct towards me, she may rest assured that I retain nothing on my mind unfavourable to her. "I recommend, with the greatest earnestness, to my children, after what they owe to God, which must ever be considered as their first duty, to remain always united to each other, submissive and obedient to their mother, and grateful for the pain and care she takes of them; and I conjure them, for my sake, that they will respect their aunt as a second mother. "If my son should ever have the misfortune to be established on the throne, I anxiously recommend that he should devote himself to the happiness of his countrymen; that he ought to divest himself of all resentments and animosities, particularly those which have a reference to my misfortunes and miseries. He can ensure the happiness of the people only by reigning according to the laws; although, at the same time, a king cannot make himself respected, and do all the good which is in his heart, without a necessary degree of authority; without which he must be confined in his operations; and when he cannot inspire respect, he necessarily becomes more hurtful than useful. "I recommend to my son to take care of all those persons who have been attached to me, as far as the circumstances, in which he may find himself, shall afford him opportunity. He ought ever to regard this as a sacred debt which I have contracted towards the children or parents of those who perished for my sake, or have been rendered miserable on my account, I know there are several persons amongst those who were attached to me, who have not behaved towards me as they ought to have done, and who have even shewn ingratitude : but I forgive them (for in times of trouble and effervescence, men are not always masters of their conduct); and I beseech my son, should he find an opportunity of serving them, to reflect only on their misfortunes. "I wish it were in my power openly to express my gratitude to all who have shewn me a truly disinterested attachment: but if I have been painfully affected by the ingratitude and disloyalty of those to whom I have always acted with kindness, I have likewise had the consolation of receiving services and strong marks of attachment from several of my subjects, on whom I never had bestowed any favour. I beg that all those persons will accept my grateful acknowledgments. In the present situation of things, I fear that I should injure them by being more explicit on this subject: but I particularly exhort my son to seek opportunities of making them a suitable return. I think, however, that it would be calumniating the nation to express any fear of openly recommending to my son M. de Chamilly and M. Hue, whose sincere attachment to me has induced them to shut themselves up along with me in this melancholy abode, and who have been frequently in danger of becoming victims to their generosity. I also recommend to him Clery, with whose attention I have every reason to be satisfied since he has been with me; and as he has remained with me to the last, I beg of the commune to give to him my clothes, my books, my watch, my money, and all the other effects belonging to me which have been deposited into the hands of the council of the com mune. "I most willingly pardon those who guarded me for the harshness of their conduct, and the constraint which they thought necessary to impose upon me. I have found in the Temple some persons of feeling and humanity may they long enjoy that serenity of mind which such dispositions naturally produce! "I beseech Messrs. de Malesherbes, Tronchet, and Deseze, to receive my most grateful thanks and cordial acknowledgments for the pain and labour they have taken for me. "I conclude, by declaring, before God, being ready to appear in his presence, that I do not reproach myself with any of those crimes which have been charged against me. "LEWIS." At the cruel and infamous execution of Louis XVI. the Abbé Edgeworth bravely and faithfully afforded his persécuted master religious consolation in his last moments. This venerable man fell on his knees as the bloody deed was perpetrated, and remained in a stupor of horror, till he was roused to reflection by the shocking ferocity of a young man, who seized the bleeding head of the murdered monarch, and danced with it round the scaffold. The venerable ecclesiastic rose with precipitation, descended from the scaffold, pierced without disficulty through the national guards that surrounded it, who opened, at the simple movement of his hand, to let him pass. He mixed with the multitude, and went directly to M. de Malesherbes, the able advocate of the King on his mock trial. The King had charged him with several commissions to that gentleman, particularly that he should be informed into whose hands the duplicate of the testament had been placed, in case that which his Majesty had delivered to the commissaries of the commune should not be published. At sight of this courageous attendant on the King, the faithful witness of his sufferings, in whose breast the last thoughts of the royal martyr had been deposited; the venerable old man burst into tears, and having embraced him, exclaimed, 66 All, then, is over, my dear Abbé ?-Receive my thanks, and those of all worthy Frenchmen, for the unshaken fidelity and zeal you have manifested for our good master." The Abbé communicated to him all that the King had given him in charge, and then made a recital of what had passed at the Temple, and at the Place de Louis XV. He had scarce finished, when M. de Malesherbes, transported with grief and indignation, poured forth a torrent of invective against the Revolution, and the authors of the King's death, with astonishing vehemence, and in a sublime strain of eloquence. "The villains have actually put him to death, then!" cried he. "And it was in the name of the nation that they perpetrated this parricide! In the name of the French; who, had they been worthy of so good a King, would have acknowledged him as the best they ever had. Yes, the very best; for he was as pious as Lewis IX., as just as Lewis XII., as humane as Henry IV., and exempt from their failings. His only fault was that of loving us too well; conducting himself too much as our father, and not enough as our king: and continually endeavouring to procure us more happiness than we were capable of enjoying. But his faults proceeded, in some degree, from his virtues; whereas ours flow entirely from our vices. It is this false philosophy (of which I must confess that I myself have been the dupe) which has hurried us into an abyss of destruction. It is that which has, by an inconceivable magic, fascinated the eyes of the nation, and made us sacrifice the substance for a phantom. For the mere words liberté politique, France has sacrificed social liberty, which she possessed, in all respects, in a greater degree than any other nation, because she had multiplied and embellished the sources of enjoyment beyond any other nation. The people, conscious of their being completely invested with the liberty of doing every thing which the law permits, conceived that political liberty must imply the right of doing what the law forbids, and France was filled with crimes. Intoxicated with the idea of sovereignty, they imagined that the overthrow of monarchy would place themselves on the throne; that confiscations would put the property of the rich in their hands. Wretches who were the most ardent in spreading such absurd notions, unfortunately were elected as deputies to the National Assembly; and their first exertions were directed against our unhappy King. Monsters! with what unheard-of barbarity have they treated him! But what calm and dignified courage did he not display! How great does he seem in his last moments! All their efforts to debase him have been vain. His steady virtue has triumphed over their wickedness. It is then true, that Religion alone can give sufficient force to enable the mind of man to support the most dreadful trials with so much dignity. Depart from this town, my dear Abbé. I conjure you not to remain in Paris; you are not safe here; and I advise you to leave the kingdom as soon as you possibly can. Fly from this accursed land. In it you will find no asylum from those tigers who thirst for your blood. As for my own part, I own I have nothing to fear. They know that the people love me. The murderers dare not touch a hair of my grey head. Nevertheless I shall go to the country to-morrow, that I may not be obliged any longer to breathe an air infected by those regicides.. Adieu, then, my dear Abbé; wherever you go, be assured that I shall always take a very warm interest in whatever regards you." THE TWO WEAVERS. As at their work two weavers sat, "What with my brats and sickly wife," "How glorious is the rich man's state! In spite of what the Scripture teaches, "Where'er I look, howe'er I range, Quoth John, "Our ignorance is the cause "See'st thou that carpet, not half done, So rude the mass, it makes one stare! "A stranger, ignorant of the trade, Would say no meaning's there conveyed; For where's the middle? where's the border? Quoth Dick," My work is yet in bits, But still in every part it fits; Besides, you reason like a lout; Why, man, that carpet's inside out." Says John, "Thou say'st the thing I mean, This world, which clouds thy soul with doubt, "As when we view these shreds and ends, "No plan, no pattern, can we trace, "But when we reach the world of light, "What now seem random strokes, will there Then shall we praise what here we spurned, For then the carpet shall be turned.” "Thou'rt right," quoth Dick; "no more I'll grumble, That this world is so strange a jumble ; My impious doubts are put to flight, VOL. I. |