'Behold, in witness of this mournful truth, A group approach me, whose dejected looks, Sad Heralds of distress! proclaim them Men, Banish'd for ever, and for Conscience' sake, From their distracted Country, whence the name Of Freedom misapplied, and much abus'd By lawless Anarchy, has driven them far To wander; with the prejudice they learn'd From Bigotry (the Tut'ress of the blind), Thro' the wide World unshelter'd; their sole hope, That German spoilers, thro' that pleasant land May carry wide the desolating scourge Of War and Vengeance; yet unhappy Men, Whate'er your errors, I lament your fate: And, as disconsolate and sad ye hang Upon the barrier of the rock, and seem To murmur your despondence, waiting long Some fortunate reverse that never comes; Methinks, in each expressive face, I see Discriminated anguish; there droops one, Who in a moping cloister long consum'd This life inactive, to obtain a better, And thought that meagre abstinence, to wake From his hard pallet with the midnight bell, To live on eleemosynary bread, And to renounce God's works, would please that God. And now the poor pale wretch receives, amaz'd, The pity, strangers give to his distress; Because these strangers are, by his dark creed, Condemn'd as Heretics--and, with sick heart, Regrets his pious prison, and his beads,' etc.[67] FOOTNOTES: [64] Gillray caricatured him (May, 1792) in 'Le Cochon et ses deux Petites,' where, holding a tumbler of wine in his hand, he is toying with two very fleshly ladies. [65] 'The Clubs of London,' etc.; London, 1828, 8vo., vol. ii. p. 27. [66] One mile from St. Leonards Station, and two miles west of Hastings. It is supposed to be the landing-place of Julius Cæsar. [67] 'The Emigrants: a Poem,' by Charlotte Smith; London, 1793, 4to., p. 7. [Illustration: Decorative panel] CHAPTER XIII. The _émigrés_--Duchesse de Noailles--The nuns--Camp at Brighton--The Prince as a soldier--His debts--Interview with the King--Breaks with Mrs. Fitzherbert--Her account--Satirical prints--Newspaper paragraphs. About this time the _émigrés_ poured into Brighton, and happy were those who could thus save their lives. Here is a contemporary account, given in the _Sussex Weekly Advertiser_, September 3, 1792: 'Brighton once favoured the escape of a sovereign from his enraged subjects. The former town is now become the refuge of the persecuted _noblesse_ of a neighbouring state. The former returned to his country and kingdom, untaught by affliction, and ungrateful to loyalty that had bled in his service. And it is to be feared, that if the bayonets of combined despotism restore the latter to their late rank and power, petty tyranny will revive, and human nature, exhausted in the unequal struggle for freedom, again lick the feet of her oppressors, in debility and despair.