Chapter VIII: Letter VII: Quimper, 2d March, 1795

Although placed in a part of France very remote from the capital, and unfrequented by travellers, I find in all I hear and see abundant matter of wonder and reflection; and as I advance in my enquiries, the scene continues to open upon me. To witness the meridian blaze of the revolutionary government, I am arrived six months too late; its disastrous lustre is eclipsed. When I testify emotions of astonishment, I am always cut short by the exclamation of, “Ah! if you had been here in the reign of Robespierre, or even during the first three months after his death!”

I am not upon any parole, either written or verbal, but I am _cautionné_, that is, the lady of the house is bound for my appearance at all times, in the sum of 3000 livres. Upon this consideration I have leave to go into all parts of the town, and have ventured to deviate, in every direction, into the surrounding country, to the distance of two or three miles, without having hitherto met with interruption.

Nothing could happen more fortunately than our coming here at the beginning of the carnival-week, during which parties meet every night at each other’s houses. The evening of our arrival the meeting was held at Mademoiselle Brimaudiere’s, and was attended by all her friends and acquaintances, who, as she is a woman well born and connected, are of the better order, though, as I found in the sequel, of very opposite political opinions. Formerly these assemblies were closed by sumptuous suppers; but in the present poverty of the times, they meet only to play at _passe-dix_. Into this circle I was introduced, and found the greater part of it composed of well-dressed people of both sexes, who surrounded a large table, on which the dice were rolling, and the spirit of betting as keen as it could have been at any former period; handfuls of _assignats_ shifting their owners every moment; and even children, of not more than seven or eight years old, were encouraged to stand by, and receive lessons in this instructive seminary:----“_Ma mere! dix sols pour!----Ma tante! quinze sols contre!_” resounded from infant mouths on every side. Among the women were several whom I thought very agreeable in person, particularly Mademoiselle Kérvélligan, and la Marquise de Ploeuc. The latter is extremely elegant in her manners, but beams “with faded splendor.” I could not bear to hear the boorish and disgusting title of “_Citoyenne_” applied to a fashionable woman; and therefore, whenever I addressed myself to the marchioness, I called her “_Madame la Marquise_,” and the rest of the company _Mademoiselle_, or _Monsieur_. Indeed to this I had acquired a sort of right, by being myself honoured with the appellation of “_Monsieur le Major_,” when I was invited to play, which I at once accepted, and formed one of the circle. These good old-fashioned courtesies also fell occasionally from the rest of the company; but I observed that they were spoken in a low voice, and not without trepidation: they are, however, I am assured, fast returning into vogue.

At a play-table the common centre of union must be the stake, and to that I found here, as elsewhere, all cares anxiously directed; but, during some short cessations of the game, I remarked that the company divided into knots, which seemed jealous of each other. The operation of a more powerful passion being suspended, their political prejudices were now revived. I was among royalists, federalists, and fierce republicans one and indivisible. The fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters of emigrants, for whose desertion they had been punished, collected with _bons citoyens_, and _enragés_. Of these last, from not mixing in their groupe, I can say nothing, except that the dress of some of them was affectedly mean, and their conversation marked by a boisterous and rude familiarity, which I knew before were leading characteristics of their party. If I find myself compelled by necessity to cultivate an acquaintance with any of this faction, while I remain at Quimper, I hope I shall not be constrained to extend to them an observation, which I was forced to pass upon their brethren on ship-board----that I never knew one man, professing to be a fierce, and flaming republican, who possessed either the manners which should distinguish a gentleman (setting aside the forms of courtesy) or that common share of probity, which is required to keep the links of society together.

In the little knot of royalists to which, you may suppose, I attached myself, I was not worse received for being an Englishman. Indeed they spoke quite undisguisedly before me, but it was in whispers. A young lady, on seeing me gaze with attention upon one of the republican phalanx, who (like all his colleagues) had worn his hat during the evening, asked me, which I liked best, the tri-coloured cockade I was surveying, or the “_cocarde blanche_?” “The cockade of honour, to be sure,” I answered.----“Softly, softly, for God’s sake!” said she, “or we shall be overheard and undone.”

One of the company, Monsieur Kérvélligan, is a member of the convention, and appeared to me, both on this occasion and since, to be a manly dignified character. I conversed a little with him on indifferent subjects, as he only played occasionally. He is reputed to possess a penetrating mind; and it is certain that he very early discovered the views of Robespierre, and described them faithfully to his friends here. Monsieur Kérvélligan was proscribed, with many other deputies, on the 31st of May, when the Brissotine party was overthrown, and compelled to flee before that of the Mountain. With some of his colleagues, he effected his escape into Normandy, and thence into the wildest part of this neighbourhood, where he took refuge among the peasants, by whom he was known and beloved. These poor people were well aware, that by betraying him they might make their fortunes; but they were too simple and honest to violate the duty of hospitality. He frequently ventured to come into town in disguise, and has often heard himself proclaimed a traitor, and a reward offered to whoever would bring him in, alive or dead, to the municipality. Soon after the execution of Robespierre, he emerged from his retreat, and by a late decree of the convention, is recalled, with others, to his seat in their body; and intends to set out to Paris very soon, to resume his delegation. Monsieur Kérvélligan voted against the murder of his sovereign; and has told his friends here, that in going, on the day of the question being put to the vote, to the hall of the convention, he and many other members were several times stopped, and surrounded by bodies of the lowest class of the people, who clapped pistols to their heads, threatened them, and swore they would sacrifice them on their return, if they did not vote for the death of their sovereign.

During the carnival-week there was a second party, similar to the first, at our house: and, under the auspices of our good hostess, I went also to two others, the last of which, on _Sunday_ evening, was at Monsieur Kérvélligan’s, where the same entertainment was provided, and pursued with the same avidity. Mademoiselle Kérvélligan I have already mentioned as a handsome young woman; and her mother, Madame Kérvélligan, is also very agreeable.

At one of these routs I saw a specimen of genuine democratic manners, which all who aim to become great men in the state affect to imitate. The commissary of prisoners, a man allied to nobility, liberally educated, and once an Abbé, bolted into the room where the company were assembled, humming the _Carmagnole_, with his hat on, which was adorned with a red, a white, and a blue feather, and his hands stuck in his breeches, _not pockets_. In this attitude he stood all the evening, and thrusting himself among the ladies, had the impudence to enter into familiar conversation with the Marchioness de Ploeuc, and other women of rank and delicacy, with all the airs which conscious superiority of power can instil into a reptile. This brutal manner of mingling in society, and addressing women, has become, since the revolution, the _ton_ of republican coxcombs, and during the reign of Robespierre set decorum and the restraints of civilized life at defiance. It is now on the decline, except with those who still court the applause of the dregs of that faction. A courtier of Versailles at his toilet, surrounded by paints, patches, and perfumery, was, in the eye of reason, a ridiculous and contemptible animal; but the most effeminate essenced _marquis_, that ever consulted a looking-glass, was surely preferable to this indecent blockhead.

In frequenting these little circles, I see many victims of the tyranny of the government, and hear such anecdotes of it related, as make me shudder. The marchioness has been stripped of two estates, and the best house in this town, which is converted into a prison. Two ladies, who reside in our house, are but just liberated from a close confinement, under which, with many more of their sex, they languished for fourteen months. During their imprisonment, in return for the sequestration of their property, they were allowed _twenty sols_ a day, out of which they were compelled to pay two for _house-rent_. Monsieur Brimaudiere, brother of the lady of this house, was _capitaine des gens d’armes_ of this district, a post of trust and power. When the party of Brissot fell, he was seized, sent to Paris, and imprisoned for fifteen months in the _Conciergerie_. During the whole of his confinement he was kept in the same room, and saw, during that period, 167 persons go out of it to the guillotine, every day expecting himself to be added to the number. His fate was close at hand when Robespierre was overturned, and soon after the death of the tyrant he was liberated, and sent back hither, to resume his former situation, which he now fills. He describes almost the whole of this assembly of victims to have been so conscious of their innocence, and so reconciled to their lot, from the daily exits of their friends, that nothing but resignation, indifference, or levity, prevailed throughout the prison, death having ceased, from its familiarity, to terrify. It was customary to warn, on the preceding evening, those prisoners who were to be put on their trial the next day; and by a regulation made among themselves, the party to be tried gave a supper on that night to the whole room; and, if he was spared for the present, and remanded back, he was in return treated with a dinner at their joint expence. “Our dinner entertainments,” said my informer, “were few indeed; but Oh! the suppers without end which we partook of!”

All my days, however, have not been passed in going to routs, and listening to details of misery. I have paid a visit to two more members of the convention, and have been _at church_. On the afternoon of the 19th instant, the representatives Guesno and Guermeur arrived here in great state, in a coach which had once belonged to their king, drawn by eight horses, and escorted by forty hussars. “_Voila l’égalité!_” cried aloud some (I was told) who saw them enter in this pomp. “And,” said my informer, “as if conscious of their power, and the importance of their mission, they neither bowed to the crowd which was assembled to gaze at them, nor spread any lure to engage popular attention, like their brethren who have heretofore been among us.” They are both natives of Bretagne, and of good, though not of noble, families. In conjunction, with several more deputies, furnished with great powers, they have been delegated by the convention to treat with the inhabitants of La Vendee. Among other avowed objects of their coming hither, is an enquiry into the complaints which have been at different times made by the prisoners of war. Accordingly, two days after, Admiral Bligh, attended by Captain Kittoe and myself, went to the tavern (which once was the _town-palace_ of the _bishop_ of the diocese) wherein they lodged. We saw them both, and the Admiral, through Captain Kittoe and me as his interpreters, made some representations to them, which, if not quite satisfactorily answered, were at least candidly listened to by Monsieur Guermeur, who was extremely civil; but his colleague Guesno was less friendly, and more elevated, keeping his seat, with his hat on, while we remained in the room, and frequently interrupting our statements. He is said to avow publickly a hatred of our nation, which in this short conference could not be restrained. On the following day I was deputed by the Admiral to wait upon them again, with a letter from him, entreating them to give orders that the other officers of the Alexander (who are still closely locked up in the _château_ of Brest, suffering misery and imposition) might be liberated, and permitted to join us here. Upon reaching their hotel, I found a crowd of suitors attending at the foot of the stair-case; but the landlady, on seeing me, assured me I should not wait for an audience, as an order had been given by Guermeur to admit at once all English officers who might wish to see him. I profited immediately by this flattering distinction, and marched through two rows of impatient Frenchmen, who were expecting what I had obtained. I found him alone, and was as politely received as on the preceding day. He read my dispatches with deliberation, and in answer desired me to present his compliments to the Admiral, and to assure him, that he would write to his colleagues at Brest, and beg them to comply with the request.

Listen now to a relation, which will in some degree evince to you the infamous height to which imposition, on the ignorance of the people, is practised in this country.----On the 23d of this month an express arrived, in the middle of the night, from the other representatives on mission in this department to those here, which caused great speculation, affording to one part of the inhabitants of the place as much joy and exultation, as to the other it was productive of grief and dismay:----“_Peace concluded with Charette_.”----An event, at once so momentous and desirable, could not pass without celebration. A drummer was sent in the morning into the town, who proclaimed at the corner of every street the important intelligence; and announced, that on the same evening a ball, in honour of it, would be given by the representatives of the people, to which all good republicans were invited to repair. This was a bitter trial to the poor royalists, particularly to those who had been lately liberated from imprisonment. Many of them, rather than go to such a commemoration, chose to submit to the imputation of incivism, and to provoke afresh the arm of power; while others, more compliant, went with aching hearts, to wear the mask of joy on an event, which, if true, quashed their final hope. They all, however, consoled themselves in believing that the information was unfounded. “How,” said they, “can we credit any thing which our enemies tell us? How many victories have not we been commanded to celebrate, which were gained only in the fertile inventions of those who fabricated them, and issued the orders! Did they not assure us, that the English fleet was defeated, and almost utterly destroyed, in the engagement of the first of June? Did not--------, and--------, and--------, who were just arrived from Brest, aver with solemnity and oaths, that they had seen, and actually been on board, _three English ships of the line_, in the port of Brest, which were taken in that action? &c. &c.”

On these specimens of modern Gallic effrontery I leave you to your own reflections; and shall only observe, that in a very few days the intelligence about Charette was contradicted, when the royalists, as far as they dared, returned the laugh upon their opponents.

Be this as it may, the ball was well, or at least fully, attended, by generals, colonels, captains, serjeants, corporals, privates, and drummers, with their wives and children; to whom may be added all the butchers, barbers, bakers, tallow-chandlers, servant-maids, and fishwomen in and about Quimper, “whose dress, manners, and vociferation, joined to the offensive smell which proceeded from their persons, drove me,” said the lady from whom I borrow this account, “out of the room in about half an hour.” The maid of our house (who is not of an ignoble stock, although reduced to service) said, she did not deign to dance, as none but _sans-culotte_ partners offered themselves. Water was the only refreshment which was served up at this civic feast, and all the fiddlers of the town were put in a state of requisition to play at it. My curiosity was strong; but it was impossible for an Englishman to be present on such an occasion.

I shall now describe a scene to you, which filled me with very different emotions from this recital.----On leaving the representative, after presenting to him the Admiral’s letter, as I was going out of the door, I heard the sound of an organ, proceeding from the cathedral, which was very near the house: I went in, and found mass celebrating in the presence of a congregation consisting chiefly of poor people from the country, with a few of the higher ranks, many more of whom, I was assured, would have been there, could they have believed themselves secure from reproach; but the return of religious worship was yet too young for them to incur the risk----they were all kneeling at their devotions, with great appearance of fervency, while a fine grey-headed respectably looking priest, habited in his pontificals, officiated at the altar. I walked the whole length of the church, through rows of people on their knees, which formerly might have been deemed disrespect in a heretic; but I now met with nothing but courtesy and regard, all seeming conscious that the basis of their persuasion and mine was the same, however we might differ in external forms of adoration. Here I had leisure to contemplate the scene of desolation which this venerable temple presented. At least half the windows of fine old painted glass, “richly dight,” were broken; all the monuments torn down; and the bones of the dead exposed to view, and commingled with the ruins of their tombs, the names and armorial devices being utterly defaced, and the coffins taken away and converted into bullets. When the service was finished, I went within the railing which incloses the altar, to look at a large picture, representing the Ascension, the figures of which are pierced through in more than twenty places, by sabres and bayonets. An old man, who was kneeling near the rails, observing my attention fixed on the painting, told me, that in the vacant side-compartments once stood two other pictures taken from holy writ; “But,” said he, “they were so cut and hacked, that _we_ were under a necessity of taking them away.” A gentleman, who had joined me in the church, informed me, that the altar and confessionals which I saw had been brought hither from another church; for that those belonging to this had been either burnt, or broken into a thousand pieces: nay, that the figures, with which the altar had been adorned, were carefully separated from it, and triumphantly guillotined in the middle of the great square of the town.

Cold and republican must have been the eye which could survey such scenes of barbarous devastation unmoved, and the heart which could listen to such descriptions of sacrilegious delirium without a sigh!

“-------- Oh! but man! proud man! Dress’d in a little brief authority; ------------ like an angry ape, Plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven, As makes the angels weep.” Shakespeare.

Upon enquiring, I learned that the church had been open for public worship about three weeks, in consequence of a proclamation issued at l’Orient, on the 13th of January, by the representatives Guesno and Guermeur, in which liberty of worship is granted to all men in their own way, on “proper terms,” but not as a national worship; the republic disavowing a national religion, although tolerating and permitting the free exercise of all, provided the priests who officiate have taken the oaths of allegiance to the state. To this last stipulation the thinness of the weekly congregations is in part attributable, the rigid catholics holding in detestation the priests who have taken the paths.-------- Adieu.