The object of the Emigrants was to bring pressure to bear at the
European Courts, with the view of inducing the Powers to intervene
actively in their behalf. The Comte d'Artois and his Prime Minister,
Calonne, flitted from capital to capital, to plead the cause of the
oppressed aristocracy of France. At Vienna they exposed themselves
to unmistakable rebuffs, but in other quarters they met with kinder
treatment. Prussia assured them of her sympathy, but regretted that
she could take no action without the Emperor's concurrence. Sardinia
and Spain were friendly, and talked frequently of war. Catherine of
Russia, who cordially hated the doctrines of the Revolution, but who
under-rated the importance of a movement which was too far off to touch
her people, exchanged delightful compliments with the descendants
of Henri Quatre, and protested her enthusiasm for their cause. But
the prudent Empress showed no inclination to risk the life of a
single Cossack in propping up the Bourbon throne. Gustavus of Sweden,
appearing at Aix-la-Chapelle, enlisted with ardour in the Emigrants'
service. He proposed to transport a joint army of Swedes and Russians
to the coast of Normandy, and marching up the Seine to Paris, to
assert the rights of kings. But when Gustavus applied to Catherine to
assist him in carrying out his crusade, he discovered, to his bitter
disappointment, that no assistance was to be obtained.
Nevertheless the lofty tone of the French princes did not alter.
After his escape from France, in June, 1790, the Comte de Provence
established his Court at Coblentz, where he was joined by his brother
the Comte d'Artois, and where, on the plea that Louis was a prisoner,
he claimed the title of Regent, and assumed the authority of King. The
Court of the two French princes at Coblentz represented faithfully
the faults and follies of the Emigrant party. But a more satisfactory
spectacle was offered by the camp at Worms, where Condé was bravely
trying to organise an army to fight against the Revolution in France.
To Condé's standard flocked the more patriotic Emigrants, who disliked
the idea of foreign intervention and hoped to recover their position
for themselves. Condé had no difficulty in finding officers, but
privates and troopers were more difficult to raise. Nevertheless he
persevered in his enterprise, and gradually collected a considerable
force[8]. In the winter of 1791-92, a plot for the capture of
Strasbourg was discovered, which greatly alarmed the French Assembly.
But the German Princes in the neighbourhood looked with disfavour on
the Emigrant army. It caused confusion in their dominions, and it
drew down on them the hostility of the French Government. The Emperor
joined them in protesting against it. In February, 1792, Condé's army
was compelled to abandon its camp at Worms, and to retire further into
Germany.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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