anism. At present, the causes assigned by writers do not fully account for the effect. It is impossible, however, to be conducted over this field of blood by a writer of any party, without making a comparison between the French and English character, highly in favour of the latter. Far be from us the event of a Revolution!-but, were such a calamity to befal us, and were the convulsion ever so great, we are confident that it would not be so blackened with horrors and with crimes, as the French Revolution has been; nor would it call forth to public execration such a legion of miscreants.

ART. XIII. A Journal of the most remarkable Occurrences that took place in Rome, upon the Subversion of the Ecclesiastical Government m 1798. By Richard Duppa. 8vo. PP. 149. 4s. Boards.

Robinsons. 1799,

A brief Account of the Subversion of the Papal Government, 1798.

Second Edition. By Richard Duppa. 8vo. pp. 197·,78•

Boards, Robinsons. 1799.

WHILE we were preparing an account of the first edition of this work, we were informed that a second impression would soon appear; we therefore delayed our notice of it, and have now to state that the chief alterations in the new volume are to be found in the beginning of the first, third, and fourth sections; with the addition of some notes, a translation of all the original papers, a medallion of the Pope, some other plates illustrative of the subjects of which the author treats, a plan of Rome, a-ha map of the Ecclesiastical State.

To those who wish to be informed of the manner in which the French have conducted themselves towards those nations to whom they promised the blessings of liberty and equality, this narrative must be highly interesting: it is written with great appearance of truth and candour; and the language is easy, unaffected, and perspicuous.

The following quotation will convey a striking example of French humanity and delicacy:

That the head of the church might be made to feel with more poignancy his humiliating situation, the day chosen for planting the tree of liberty on the capitol was the anniversary of his election to the sovereignty. Whilst he was, according to custom, in the Sistine chapel celebrating his accession to the papal chair, and receiving the congratulations of the Cardinals, Citizen Haller, the commissarygeneral, and Ceryoni, who then commanded the French troops within the city, gratified themselves in a peculiar triumph over this unfor tunate potentate. During that ceremony they both entered the chapel, and Haller announced to the sovereign Pontiff on his throne, that his reign was at an end.

• The

• The poor old man seemed shocked at the abruptness of this unexpected notice, but soon recovered himself with becoming fortitude; and when General Cervoni, adding ridicule to oppression, presented him the national cockade, he rejected it with a dignity that shewed he was still superior to his misfortunes. At the same time that his Holiness received this notice of the dissolution of his power, his Swiss guards were dismissed, and Republican soldiers put in their place.'

The character of a nation, like that of an individual, will not perhaps admit of a sudden and total change this remark is exemplified in the French; who, even when they affect to assume the stern manners of Republicans, cannot divest themselves of their frivolous and fantastical turn, and of that fondness for pomp and show by which they were always distinguished. The following account of the re-establishment of the Roman republic, we are of opinion, will confirm the truth of our assertion.

The Federation.

That the re-generated Roman people might be constitutionally confirmed in their newly-acquired rights, a day was set apart solemnly to renounce their old government, and swear fidelity to the new. For the celebration of this solemnity, which took place on the 20th of March, an altar was erected, in the middle of the piazza of St. Peter's, with three statues upon it, representing the French, Cisalpine, and Roman republics. Behind the altar was a large tent, covered and decorated with silk of the Roman colours, surmounted with a red cap, to receive the deputies from the departments who had been summoned to assist. Before the altar was placed an open orchestra, filled with the same band that had before been employed to celebrate the funeral honours of Duphot. At the foot of the bridge of St. Angelo, in the piazza di Ponte, was erected a triumphal arch, upon the general design of that of Constantine, in the Cainpo Vacino, on the top of which was also placed three colossal figures, representing the three republics. As a substitute for bass-reliefs, it was painted in compartments in chiara scura, representing the most distinguished actions of Buonaparte in Italy. Before this arch was

another orchestra.

The ceremony in the piazza began by the marching in of the Roman legion, which was drawn up close to the colonnade, forming a semicircular line; then came French infantry, and then cavalry, one regiment after another alternately, drawn up in separate detachments round the piazza. When all was thus in order, the consuls made their entrance, on foot, from the Vatican palace, where they had robed themselves, preceded by a company of national troops and a band of music; and if the weather had permitted, a procession of citizens, selected, and dressed in gala, for the occasion, from the age of five years to fifty, were to have walked two and two carrying olive branches; but an excessively heavy rain prevented this part of the ceremony.

• Before

• Before the high altar, on which were placed, the statues, there was another smaller one with fire upon it. Over this fire the consuls, stretching out their hands, swore eternal hatred to monarchies and fidelity to the republic; and at the conclusion one of them committed to the flames a scroll of paper he held in his hand, containing a representation of all the insignia of royalty, as a crown, a sceptre, a tiara, &c. after which the French troops fired a round of musketry, and at a signal given, the Roman legion raised their hats in the air upon the points of their bayonets, as a demonstration of attachment to the new government: but there was no shouting-no voluntary signs of approbation; nor do I believe that there ever was a show, in which the people were intended to act so principal a part, where so decided a tacit disapprobation was given as on this occasion.

After the ceremony was concluded, the French officers, with the consuls and deputies from the departments, dined together in the papal palace on Monte Cavallo, and in the evening gave a magnificent ball to the exnobles and others their partizans, which was numerously attended, yet with an exception to the houses Borghese, Santacroce, Altemp, and Cesarini: I believe not one distinguished family was present from desire or inclination: but it was now no longer time to accumulate additional causes for oppression, and he who hoped to save a remnant of his property, avoided giving occasion for personal resentment. At night the dome of St. Peter's was illuminated, with the same splendor as was customary on the anniversary of St. Peter's day. This was the second time of its illumination since the arrival of the French, having been before displayed on the evening of the solemn Fete to honour the manes of Duphot, which, though not quite so opportune, was done to gratify the officers that were to leave Rome on the morrow.

The day after this federation, the French published the Roman constitution in form, which was only a repetition of the one given to the unfortunate Venetians, consisting of three hundred and seventytwo articles, and which I think unnecessary to transcribe, as it would -only be giving what we have already had from time to time in translations made from their own.

The provisionary consuls, who were at first seven, were now reduced to five, to exercise the same functions as had been before prescribed to their office; composing a directory, under the direction of the French General, as Commander-in-chief. "Tutte le nomine, tutte le leggi, e tutti gli atti del governo sono sotoposti alla sanzione de generale in capite dell' armata Francese." Besides this branch of legislative authority, there was a nomination of thirty-two senators, corresponding to the council of the ancients in France; and seventytwo tribunes, called the representatives of the people; who were employed in argument, and the discussion of questions, of equal importance to the welfare of their country with those which occupied the Rump parliament in the commonwealth of Cromwell.'

In the next section, we have a relation of the establishment of the Jacobin Club in the hall of the Duke d'Altemp's palace; en which subject the author expresses himself with so much

good

good sense, that it would be an act of injustice not to lay his sentiments before our readers:

In order that the spirit of equality might be more extensively diffused, a constitutional democratic club was instituted, and held in the hall of the Duke d'Altemp's palace. Here the new-born sons of freedom harangned each other on the blessings of emancipation, talked loudly and boldly against all constituted authority, and even their own Consuls, when hardly invested with their robes, became the subjects of censure and abuse. The English were held as particularly odious, and a constant theme of imprecation; and this farce was so ridiculously carried on, that a twopenny subscription was set on foot to reduce what they were pleased to call the proud Carthage of the North.

If this foolish society had had no other object in view than spouting for each other's amusement, bowing to, and kissing a bust of Brutus which was placed before the rostrum (a ceremony con stantly practised before the evening's debate), it would have been of little consequence to any but the idle, who preferred that mode of spending their time; but it had other objects of a very different tendency, more baneful, and more destructive to the peace and morals of society-that of intoxicating young minds with heterogeneous principles they could not understand, in order to supersede the first laws of nature in all the social duties; for there were not wanting men who knew how to direct the folly and enthusiasm of those who did not know how to direct themselves. Here they were taught that their duty to the Republic ought ever to be paramount to every other obligation; that the illustrious Brutus, whose bust they had before them, and whose patriotic virtue and justice ought never to be lost sight of, furnished them with the strongest, and most heroic example of the subordination of the dearest tics of humanity to the public good; and that, however dear parental affection might be, yet, when put in competition with the general welfare of society, there ought not to be a moment's hesitation which was to be preferred.

This sort of reasoning might, perhaps, have done no harm to the speculative closet metaphysician, who might have had neither father, nor mother, nor brother, nor sister, nor a chance of ever being thrown in the way to reduce his theory to practice; but with a people who knew of no other ties but such as depended on their religion, and their natural feelings, without having been previously educated to discriminate how far the reason might be deluded by sophistry, or upon what causes the permanent good of society depended, it had the most direct tendency to generate the worst passions, and

to annihilate the best.

Young men were thus initiated to lose all respect for their parents and relations, and even encouraged to lodge information against them, with the hopeful prospect of being considered as deserving well, of what they were pleased to denominate, the republic; and by thus weakening or destroying the bonds of affection, the way was made smooth and easy to the destruction of every thing, like what, in a cute of civilization, is called character; doubtless, in order to` prepare

prepare them the better to become the faithful agents of those whom they were thus educated to serve.'

The last section contains a summary view of the conduct of the French in Rome; sufficiently full to convey a clear idea of their duplicity, art, and rapacity, and at the same time so concise as scarcely to admit of an abridgment: we shall therefore make use of the author's words :

It was when the French were at the gates of Rome, that I myself looked with anxious, though clouded, expectation, for the realiz ing those theories of republican virtue, that had sometimes served to amuse the speculations of a leisure hour. The opening of the scene was highly favourable to the most flattering hope, both of liberality and justice. In one and the same day all right of conquest was relinquished, and Rome declared a free and independent government: to exercise whose functions, the honestest, the ablest, and the best men that could be chosen out of that party were selected. This was even consolatory to the enemies of the revolution, but it was of short duration; for the men that were made ostensible to the Roman people as provisionary governors, soon found that their power was hardly even the shadow of authority. They were made use of only to shew where, and in what consisted the little remaining wealth of the state, and politely compelled to give their assent, that this little might be taken from it: they had also the privilege of issuing edicts; which privilege they were compelled to exercise, for oppressing the people be yond all example, of even the greatest despotism of ancient times; and were thus made obnoxious, without even deriving any profit from the plunder that was exacted under their names. Hence, as might be casily expected, those who felt the least regard for their own personal characters soon withdrew themselves, or, by making opposi tion to such measures, were compelled by others to retire.

The vacancies produc.d were then filled up by men of unscruti nized characters, who in this opportunity boldly stepped forward to recommend themselves, through the interest of their money, or other collateral means, and were nominated, as those means seemed to bear a proportion to their pretensions.

This mode of electing men into office had many advantages. The individuals who had the power of disposing of such places became enriched, their orders were not likely to be disobeyed or reluctantly complied with, and as these agents were to have their percentage, so they would be likely to take good care that their masters should have no reason to complain of any deficiency in the military chest.

When this was done, and Generals and Commissaries had glutted themselves with wealth, quarrelled about a just division of the spoil, mutinied, and dispersed; other unpaid, unclothed, unprovisioned armies from the north, with new appointments, succeeded; and when at length, even by these constitutional means, nothing more was to be obtained, and artifice had exhausted every resource, the mask was put under the feet that had been long held in the hand: liberty was declared dangerous to the safety of the Republic, the constituted

authority