Page:Englishmen in the French Revolution.djvu/313

This page has been validated.
APPENDIX.
293

person from St. Malo's with a petition in my favour, and signed also by the Municipality of St. Servan. The person who brought it got a reputable woman to present it to the Deputy. She had no sooner done it than he began abusing her in a most indecent manner, and threatened to send her to prison. She defended herself by saying she was not acquainted with the contents of the letter, and that it was left at her house by a person who did not leave his name. "I wish," says he, "I could find him out; I would commit him directly; and as for the Municipality, I will break them," says he, "as soon as I return thither, for he is a conspirator, and I have the proof in my hands," holding up a paper. When I found how the land lay, I desired to be heard, but that was refused me, and in a few days after I had a visit from a Commissary of War, together with a national one, who signified to me that I must prepare to set off for Paris, they having received orders to conduct me thither. At eleven o'clock at night there came a guard and conducted me to the Diligence, where I was chained like an assassin to two other unfortunate people, and after travelling night and day during four days and a half, we arrived at Paris, where the Commissary of War got out of the coach, thinking it beneath his dignity to be seen upon such an errand; and sure enough it was very unusual to send such a conductor upon such an occasion. But Carrier had swelled up my importance by calling me a milord, and ci-devant this and ci-devant t'other; and in order to keep up the ball he occasioned me to be accompanied in an extraordinary manner, that he might gain the more credit to himself.[1] Our two other conductors

  1. "Lord Codrington is in the prison of Rennes. Papers which I think very interesting have been seized upon him. I shall soon send him to the Revolutionary Tribunal." (Carrier's letter to the Convention, September 25, 1793.)