Frenchmen, to explain, that we are not here in the light of fugitives;
that we have not given up the cause of our country; and that we are on
English ground in express obedience to the commands of our sovereign. I
am at this moment, in this spot, on the king's duty, waiting, like my
gallant friends here, merely the order to join the first expedition
which can be formed for the release of our monarch, and the rescue of
France from the horde of villains who have filled it with rebellion."
All fully accorded with the sentiment. "The captivity of the king," said
he, "is the result of errors which none could have anticipated ten days
since. The plan decided on by the council of officers, of which I was
one, was the formation of a camp on the frontier, to which his majesty
and the princes should repair, summon the chief authorities of the
kingdom, and there provide for the general safety with a deliberation
which was impossible in Paris. I was sent off at midnight to take the
command of the District of the Loire. I found myself there at the head
of ten regiments, in the highest order, and, as I thought, of the
highest loyalty. I addressed them and was received with shouts of _Vive
le Roi_! I gave an addition of pay to the troops, and a banquet to the
officers. A note was handed to me, as I took my seats at the head of the
table. It simply contained the words, 'You are betrayed.' I read it
aloud in contempt, and was again answered by shouts of _Vive le Roi_!
While we were in the midst of our conviviality, a volley was fired in at
the windows, and the streets of Nantz were in uproar--the whole garrison
had mutinied. The officers were still loyal: but what was to be done? We
rushed out with drawn swords. On our first appearance in the porch of
the hotel, a platoon posted in front, evidently for our massacre,
levelled by word of command, and fired deliberately into the midst of
us. Several were killed on the spot, and many wounded. Some rushed
forward, and some retreated into the house. I was among those who forced
their way through the crowd, and before I had struggled to the end of