Should he even be ignorant of them, let him but inquire, with the list in his hand, in any of our fashionable or political circles; he will meet with but few persons who are not able or willing to remove his doubts, or to gratify his curiosity.  There are not many of them whom it is possible to elevate, but those are still more numerous whom it is impossible to degrade.  Their past lives, vices, errors, or crimes, have settled their characters and reputation; and they must live and die in ‘statu quo’, either as fools or as knaves, and perhaps as both.

I do not mean to say that they are all criminals or all equally criminal, if insurrection against lawful authority and obedience to usurped tyranny are not to be considered as crimes; but there are few indeed who can lay their hands on their bosoms and say, ‘vitam expendere vero’.  Some of them, as a Lagrange, Berthollet, Chaptal, Laplace, Francois de Neuf-Chateau, Tronchet, Monge, Lacepede, and Bougainville, are certainly men of talents; but others, as a Porcher, Resnier, Vimar, Auber, Perk, Sera, Vernier, Vien, Villetard, Tascher, Rigal, Baciocchi, Beviere, Beauharnais, De Luynea (a ci-devant duke, known under the name of Le Gros Cochon), nature never destined but to figure among those half-idiots and half-imbeciles who are, as it were, intermedial between the brute and human creation.

Sieges, Cabanis, Garron Coulon, Lecouteul, Canteleu, Lenoin Laroche, Volney, Gregoire, Emmery, Joucourt, Boissy d’Anglas, Fouche, and Roederer form another class,—­some of them regicides, others assassins and plunderers, but all intriguers whose machinations date from the beginning of the Revolution.  They are all men of parts, of more or less knowledge, and of great presumption.  As to their morality, it is on a level with their religion and loyalty.  They betrayed their King, and had denied their God already in 1789.

After these come some others, who again have neither talents to boast of nor crimes of which they have to be ashamed.  They have but little pretension to genius, none to consistency, and their honesty equals their capacity.  They joined our political revolution as they might have done a religious procession.  It was at that time a fashion; and they applauded our revolutionary innovations as they would have done the introduction of a new opera, of a new tragedy, of a new comedy, or of a new farce.  To this fraternity appertain a ci-devant Comte de Stult-Tracy, Dubois—­Dubay, Kellerman, Lambrechts, Lemercier, Pleville—­Le Pelley, Clement de Ris, Peregeaux, Berthelemy, Vaubois, Nrignon, D’Agier, Abrial, De Belloy, Delannoy, Aboville, and St. Martin La Motte.