Memoirs of the Sansons Book

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: 29 CHAPTER XXVIII. THE LA ROUERIE CONSPIRACY. THE tribunal instituted on August 10, shortly after the King's death, was replaced by the ' Revolutionary Tribunal,' and the guillotine, which for some days had remained bloodless, was again in daily demand. The executions which took place then are not of sufficient importance to be recorded in these memoirs ; and no name worth mentioning occurs in my notes up to the famous conspiracy of La Rouerie, which aimed at nothing less than the overthrow of the Republic. The larger portion of the nobility had emigrated; but a goodly number of seigneurs still remained in France. These noblemen lived far from each other in their castles and country-seats, and watched with fear the progress of the Revolution. They abhorred the new state of things, and longed to take their revenge ; but fear kept them apart, and their separation prevented them from conspiring against the Revolutionists. Curiously enough, it was an obscure individual who undertook to bring together all these elements which were hostile to the new regime, and therewith to form in the west of France a league sufficiently powerful todestroy the young Republic. This man's name was Tuffin de la Rouerie. He was one of those bold and active individuals who love adventure. The beginning of his career was very romantic. He entered the army, and, after distinguishing himself as an officer, he became a Trappist. But such a man could not be content with wearing the cassock ; he left La Trappe, and took part in the American War of Independence. On his return to France, he showed some favour for the new ideas that were then spreading like wildfire; the danger of the King, however, excited his imagination, and rekindled his lukewarm loyalty. He went to Coblentz, and proposed to ...Read More