utensils to exchange for the produce of their fields. The narrator then became enthusiastic in the anticipation of that event, which is expected to realize the Indian's hopes of a paradise on earth. Much that he said was incomprehens "This grand habitation was destroyed, the nations were dispersed, and Mat-e-vil took his Desiring to learn something of their notions departure, going eastward over the great waters. regarding the Deity, death, and a future exist- He promised, however, to return to his people ence, Lieutenant Whipple led an intelligent and dwell with them forever; and the time of Mojave to speak upon these subjects. He his coming they believe to be near at hand." stooped and drew in the sand a circle, which he said was to represent the former casa, or dwelling-place of Mat-e-vil, Creator of Earth (which was a woman) and Heaven. After speaking for some time with impressive, and yet al-ible. The principal idea suggested was the most unintelligible, earnestness regarding the traditions of that bright era of their race which all Indians delight in calling to remembrance, he referred again to the circle, and suiting the action to the word, added: identity of their Deliverer, coming from the east, with the Montezuma of the Pueblo Indians, or perhaps the Messiah of Israel; and yet the name of Montezuma seemed utterly unknown to this Indian guide. His ideas of a future existence appeared somewhat vague and | Pacific, whence all the officers, with the excepundefined. The Mojaves, he said, were accus- tion of Messrs. White and Sherburne, immeditomed to burn the bodies of the dead; but they ately proceeded by steamer to San Francisco, believe that an undying soul arises from the en route for Washington. ashes of the deceased, and takes its flight, over the mountains and waters, eastward to the happy spirit-land. Leroux says, that he has been told by a priest of California that the Colorado Indians were Aztecs, driven from Mexico at the time of the conquest of Cortez. He thinks the circle represents their ancient city, and the water spoken of refers to the surrounding lakes. This idea derives some plausibility from the fact, mentioned by Alarçon, that, in his memorable expedition up the Colorado River in 1540, he met with tribes that spoke the same language as his Indian interpreters, who accompanied him from the City of Mexico, or Culiacan. It is to be regretted that the explorers had not a better medium of communication with this people, as, on this subject, much that is interesting might be learned from them. They have not yet received from white men any impressions to conflict with or to change the traditions handed down from their ancestors. They seem to be isolated even from the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico. Although a blanket made by Moquis, and a sash of Zuñi manufacture, were found among them, they stated that these had been brought to them by Pai-Utes and Yampais Indians. THE DEATH OF LOUIS XVI. AS soon as the King had withdrawn from the * Assembly, that body was thrown into great tumult in consequence of the application of Louis for the assistance of counsel. It was, however, after an animated debate, which continued until the next day, voted that the request of the King should be granted, and a deputation was immediately sent to inform the King of the vote, and to ask what counsel he would choose. He selected two of the most eminent lawyers of Paris-M. Tronchet and M. Target. Tronchet heroically accepted the perilous commission. Target, with pusillanimity which has consigned his name to disgrace, wrote a letter to the Convention, stating that his principles would not allow him to undertake the defense of the King. The venerable Malesherbes, then seventy years of age, immediately wrote a letter to the President, imploring permission to assume the defense of the monarch. This distinguished statesman, a friend of monarchy and a personal friend of the monarch, had been living in the retirement of his country seat, and had taken no part in the Revolution. By permission of the Commune, he was conducted, after he had been Between the Mormon Road and the Pacific carefully searched, to the temple. With a falOcean our attention is called to but one tribe tering step he entered the prison of the King. In the blooming valley that leads to Louis XVI. was seated reading Tacitus. The Los Angeles, and near the rancho of Cocomon- King immediately arose, threw his arms around ga, a village of the wretched Cahuillas was Malesherbes in a cordial embrace, and said, found. With them was an old Indian, attired "Ah, is it you, my friend! In what a situin an entirely new suit, in the fashion of a Cal-ation do you find me! See to what my passion ifornian ranchero, who professed to have come from José Antonio, the general-in-chief of the tribe. His object was to learn from the explorers, officially, whether the Californians had told them the truth, in saying that Santa Anna was on his way thither to drive the Americans from the land. The old fellow declared that he was not a Cahuilla, but a Christian, because, when a boy, a priest of San Luis Rey converted him. When questioned regarding the traditions and religious notions of his tribe he became very reserved, as though he suspected some sinister design beneath the inquiry. His people were a filthy and miserable set, presenting a painful contrast to the Indians on the Colorado. more. The wilder bands of these Cahuillas range from the Mormon Road to the Sierra Nevada, and frequently commit depredations upon the frontier ranchos of California. They are not numerous-perhaps do not exceed five hundred in number. Formerly, they all belonged to the California missions; but since the decadence of those institutions they have been peons on the ranchos, where many yet remain. On the 24th of March we find Lieutenant Whipple and his party at San Pedro, on the for the amelioration of the state of the people, whom we have both loved so much, has reduced me! Why do you come hither? Your devotion only endangers your life and can not save mine." Malesherbes, with eyes full of tears, endeavored to cheer the King with words of hope. "No!" replied the monarch, sadly. "They will condemn me, for they possess both the power and the will. No matter; let us occupy ourselves with the cause as if we were to gain it. I shall gain it in fact, since I shall leave no stain upon my memory." The two defenders of the King were permitted to associate with them a third, M. Deséze, an advocate who had attained much renown in his profession. For a fortnight they were employed almost night and day in preparing for the defense. Malesherbes came every morning * One of Napoleon's first acts upon becoming First Consul was to show his appreciation of the heroism of Tronchet, by placing him at the head of the Court of Cassation. "Tronchet," he said, "was the soul of the civil code, as I was its demonstrator. He was gifted with a singularly profound and correct understanding, but he could not defend what he proposed."-Napoleon at St. could not descend to developments. He spoke badly, and Helma, p. 192. 468 LOUIS XVI. AND MALESHEREES. with the daily papers, and prepared for the labors of the evening. At five o'clock Tronchet and Deséze came, and they all worked together until nine. In the mean time the King wrote his will; a very affecting document, breathing in every line the spirit of a Christian. He also succeeded in so far eluding the vigilance of his keepers as to open a slight correspondence with his family. The Queen pricked a message with a pin upon a scrap of paper, and then concealed the paper in a ball of thread, which was dropped into a drawer in the kitchen, where Clery took it and An answer was reconveyed it to his master. It was but an unsatturned in a similar way. isfactory correspondence which could thus be carried on; but even this was an unspeakable solace to the captives. At length the plan of defense was completed. Malesherbes and the King had furnished the facts, Tronchet and Deséze had woven them all into an exceedingly eloquent and affecting appeal. He read it aloud to the King and his associates. The pathetic picture he drew of the vicissitudes of the royal family was so touching that even Malesherbes and Tronchet could not refrain from weeping, and tears fell from the eyes of the King. At the close of the reading the King turned to Deséze, and, in the spirit of true majesty of soul, said, "I have to request of you to make a painful sacrifice. Strike out of your pleading the peroration. It is enough for me to appear before such judges and show my entire innocence. will not move their feelings."* I Deséze was very reluctant to accede to this request, but was constrained to yield. Lacretelle. After | Tronchet and Deséze had retired that night, the King, left alone with Malesherbes, seemed to be troubled with some engrossing thought. At last he said, "I have now a new source of regret. Deséze and Tronchet owe me nothing. They devote to me their time, exertions, and perhaps their life. How can I requite them? I possess nothing; and were I to leave them a legacy it would not be paid; besides, what fortune could repay such a debt?" "Sire," replied Malesherbes, "their consciences and posterity will reward them. But it is in your power to grant them a favor they will esteem more than all those you had it in your power to bestow upon them formerly." "What is it?" added the King. "Sire, embrace them," Malesherbes replied. The next day, when they entered his chamber, the King approached them and pressed each to his heart in silence. This touching testimonial of the King's gratitude, and of his impoverishment, was to the noble hearts of these noble men an ample remuneration for all their toil and peril. The 26th of December had now arrived, the day appointed for the final trial. At an early hour all Paris was in commotion, and the whole military force of the metropolis was again mar shaled. The sublimity of the occasion seemed to have elevated the character of the King to unusual dignity. He was neatly dressed, his beard shaved, and his features were serene and almost majestic, in their expression of imperturbable resignation. As he rode in the carriage with Chambon, the mayor, and Santerre, the commander of the National Guard, he conversed cheerfully upon a variety of topics. Santerre, regardless of the etiquette which did | onment or exile. On the 7th of January all not allow a subject to wear his hat in the pres- seemed weary of these endless speeches, and ence of his monarch, sat with his hat on. The the endless repetition of the same arguments. King turned to him, and said, with a smile, Still, there were many clamorous to be heard; "The last time, Sir, you conveyed me to the and, after a violent contest, it was voted that Temple, in your hurry you forgot your hat; and the decisive measure should be postponed for a now, I perceive, you are determined to make week longer, and that on the 14th of January up for the omission." the question should be taken. On entering the Convention the King took his seat by the side of his counsel, and listened with intense interest to the reading of his defense, watching the countenances of his judges to see the effect it was producing upon their minds. Occasionally he whispered, and even with a smile, to Malesherbes and Tronchet. The Convention received the defense in profound silence. The defense consisted of three leading divisions. First, it was argued that by the Constitution the King was inviolable, and not responsible for the acts of the Crown-that the Ministers alone were responsible. He secondly argued, that the Convention had no right to try the King, for the Convention were his accusers, and, consequently, could not act as his judges. Thirdly, while protesting, as above, the inviolability of the King, and the invalidity of the Convention to judge him, he then proceeded to the discussion of the individual charges. Some of the charges were triumphantly repelled, particularly that of shedding French blood on the 10th of August. It was clearly proved that the people, not Louis XVI., were the aggressors. As soon as Deséze had finished his defense, the King himself rose and said, in a few words which he had written and committed to memory, "You have heard the grounds of my defense. I shall not repeat them. In addressing you, perhaps for the last time, I declare that my conscience reproaches me with nothing, and that my defenders have told you the truth. I have never feared to have my public conduct scrutinized. But I am grieved to find that I am accused of wishing to shed the blood of my people, and that the misfortunes of the 10th of August are laid to my charge. I confess that the numerous proofs I have always given of my love for the people ought to have placed me above this reproach." He resumed his seat. The President then asked if he had any thing more to say. He declared he had not, and retired with his counsel from the hall. As he was conducted back to the Temple, he conversed with the same serenity he had manifested throughout the whole day. It was five o'clock, and the gloom of night was descending upon the city as he reentered his prison. The fatal day arrived. It was decreed that the subject should be presented to the Convention in the three following questions. First, Is Louis guilty? Second, Shall the decision of the Convention be submitted to the ratification of the people? The whole of the 15th was occupied in taking these two votes. Louis was unanimously declared to be guilty, with the exception of ten who refused to vote, declaring themselves incapable of acting both as accusers and judges. On the question of an appeal to the people, 281 voices were for it, 423 against it. And now came the third great and solemn question, What shall be the sentence? Each member was required to write his vote, sign it, and then, before depositing it, to ascend the tribune and give it audibly, with any remarks which he might wish to add. The voting commenced at seven o'clock in the evening of the 16th, and continued all night, and without any interruption, for twenty-four hours. All Paris was during the time in the highest state of excitement, the galleries of the Convention being crowded to suffocation. Some voted for death, others for imprisonment until peace with allied Europe, and then banishment. Others voted for death, with the restriction that the execution should be delayed. They wished to save the King, and yet feared the accusation of being Royalists if they did not vote for his death. The Jacobins all voted for death. They had accused their opponents, the Girondists, of being secretly in favor of royalty, and as such had held them up to the execration of the mob. The Girondists wished to save the King. was in their power to save him. But it required more courage, both moral and physical, than ordinary men possess, to brave the vengeance of the assassins of September who were hovering around the hall. It It was pretty well understood in the Convention that the fate of the King depended upon the Girondist vote, and it was not doubted that the party would vote as did their leader. It was a moment of fearful solemnity when Vergniaud ascended the tribune. Breathless silence pervaded the Assembly. Every eye was fixed upon him. His countenance was pallid as that of a corpse. For a moment he paused, with downcast eyes, as if hesitating to pronounce the dreadful word. Then, in a gloomy tone which thrilled the hearts of all present, he said, Death. Lamartine, Hist. Gir., ii. 342. No sooner had the King left the hall than a violent tumult of debate commenced, which was continued, day after day, with a constant succession of eager, agitated speakers hurrying to the tribune for twelve days. Some were in favor of an immediate judgment, some were for all votes that were not for death, and they frequently addressed threatening gestures to the Assembly itself. referring the question to the people; some de- The deputies replied to them from the interior of the manded the death of the King, others impris-hall, and hence resulted a tumultuous exchange of men "The crowd in the galleries received with murmurs 470 Nearly all the Girondists voted for death, with will enjoin you to keep the most perfect silence. When justice has spoken humanity ought to be listened to in its turn." There He then read the results of the vote. were seven hundred and twenty-one voters in the Convention; three hundred and thirty-four voted for imprisonment or exile, three hundred and eighty-seven for death, including those who voted that the execution should be delayed. Thus the majority for death was fifty-three; but as of these forty-six demanded a suspenHaving sion of the execution, there remained but a majority of seven for immediate death. read this result, Vergniaud, in a sorrowful tone, said: "I declare, in the name of the Convention, that the punishment pronounced against When the Duke of Orleans was called, deep silence ensued. He was cousin of the King, and first prince of the blood. By birth and opulence he stood on the highest pinnacle of aristocratic supremacy. Conscious of peril, he had for a long time done every thing in his power to conciliate the mob by adopting the most radical of Jacobin opinions. The Duke, bloated with the debaucheries which had disgraced his life, ascended the steps slowly, un-Louis Capet is death." folded a paper, and read in heartless tones these words: "Solely occupied with my duty, convinced that all who have attempted, or shall attempt hereafter, the sovereignty of the people merit death, I vote for Death." The atrocity of this act excited the abhorrence of the Assembly, and loud murmurs of disapprobation followed the prince to his seat. Even Robespierre despised his pusillanimity, and said, tion. The counsel of Louis XIV., who, during the progress of the vote, had urged permission to speak, but were refused, were now introduced. In the name of the King, Deséze appealed to the people from the judgment of the ConvenHe urged the appeal from the very small majority which had decided the penalty. Tronchet urged that the penal code required a vote of two-thirds to consign one to punishment, and that the King ought not to be deprived of a privilege which every subject enjoyed. Malesherbes endeavored to speak, but was so overcome with emotion that, violently sobbing, he was unable to continue his speech, and was com "The miserable man was only required to listen to his own heart, and make himself an exception. But he would not or dare not do The nation would have been more mag-pelled to sit down. His gray hairs and his nanimous than he."* So. At length the long scrutiny was over, and Vergniaud, who had presided, rose to announce the result. He was pale as death, and it was observed that not only his voice faltered but that his whole frame trembled. tears so moved the Assembly that Vergniaud 66 It was now late at night, and the Convention "Citizens," said he, "you are about to ex-adjourned. The whole of the 18th and the 19th On the 20th, at three ercise a great act of justice. I hope humanity were occupied in discussing the question of the appeal to the people. o'clock in the morning, the final vote was taken. Three hundred and ten voted to sustain the appeal; three hundred and eighty for immediate death. All the efforts to save the King were now exhausted, and his fate was sealed. A deputation was immediately appointed, headed by Garat, Minister of Justice, to acquaint Louis XVI. with the decree of the Convention. aces and abusive epithets. This fearfully ominous scene had shaken all minds and changed many resolutions. Vergniaud, who had appeared deeply affected by the fate of Louis XVI., and who had declared to his friends that he never could condemn that unfortunate prince, Vergniaud, on beholding this tumultuous scene, imagined that he saw civil war kindled in France, and pronounced sentence of death, with the addition, however, of Mailhe's amendment (which required that the execution should be delayed). On being questioned respecting his change of opinion, he replied that he thought he saw civil war on the point of breaking out, and that he durst not balance the life of an individual against the welfare of France.' -THIERS'S History of the French Revolution, vol. ii. p. 68. "Robespierre was by no means the worst character who figured in the Revolution. He opposed trying the Queen. He was not an atheist; on the contrary, he had publicly maintained the existence of a Supreme Being, in opposition to many of his colleagues. Neither was he of opinion that it was necessary to exterminate all priests and nobles, like many others. Robespierre wanted to proclaim the King an outlaw, and not to go through the ridiculous mockery of trying him. Robespierre was a fanatic, a monster; but he was incorruptible, and incapable of robbing or of causing the deaths of others, either from personal enmity or a desire of enriching himself. He was an enthusiast, but one who really believed that In some he was acting right, and died not worth a son. At two o'clock in the afternoon of the 20th Louis heard the noise of a numerous party asAs they encending the steps of the tower. tered his apartment he rose and stepped forward with perfect calmness and dignity to meet them. The decree of the Convention was read to the King, declaring him to be guilty of treason, that he was condemned to death, that the appeal to the people was refused, and that he was to be executed within twenty-four hours. The King listened to the reading unmoved, took the paper from the hands of the secretary, folded it carefully, and placed it in his portfolio. Then turning to Garat, he handed him a paper, saying, |