The Life Of Thomas Paine, Vol. 2. (of 2): With A History of His Literary, Political and Religious Career in America France, and EnglandConway, Moncure Daniel
History
The Life Of Thomas Paine, Vol. 2. (of 2): With A History of His Literary, Political and Religious Career in America France, and England
Conway, Moncure Daniel
Paine, Thomas, 1737-1809
"My Dear Friend,--Mr. Mozard, who is appointed Consul, will present you
this letter. He is spoken of here as a good sort of man, and I can have
no doubt that you will find him the same at Boston. When I came from
America it was my intention to return the next year, and I have intended
the same every year since. The case I believe is, that as I am embarked
in the revolution, I do not like to leave it till it is finished,
notwithstanding the dangers I have run. I am now almost the only
survivor of those who began this revolution, and I know not how it is
that I have escaped. I know however that I owe nothing to the government
of America. The executive department has never directed either the
former or the present Minister to enquire whether I was dead or alive,
in prison or in liberty, what the cause of the imprisonment was, and
whether there was any service or assistance it could render. Mr. Monroe
acted voluntarily in the case, and reclaimed me as an American citizen;
for the pretence for my imprisonment was that I was a foreigner, born in
England.
"The internal scene here from the 31 of May 1793 to the fall of
Robespierre has been terrible. I was shut up in the prison of the
Luxembourg eleven months, and I find by the papers of Robespierre
that have been published by the Convention since his death, that I
was designed for a worse fate. The following memorandum is in his own
handwriting; 'Démander que Thomas Paine soit décrété d'accusation pour
les intérêts de l'Amérique autant que de la France.'
"You will see by the public papers that the successes of the French arms
have been and continue to be astonishing, more especially since the fall
of Robespierre, and the suppression of the system of Terror. They
have fairly beaten all the armies of Austria, Prussia, England, Spain,
Sardignia, and Holland. Holland is entirely conquered, and there is now
a revolution in that country.
"I know not how matters are going on your side the water, but I think
everything is not as it ought to be. The appointment of G. Morris to
be Minister here was the most unfortunate and the most injudicious
appointment that could be made. I wrote this opinion to Mr. Jefferson at
the time, and I said the same to Morris. Had he not been removed at
the time he was I think the two countries would have been involved in a
quarrel, for it is a fact, that he would either have been ordered away
or put in arrestation; for he gave every reason to suspect that he was
secretly a British Emissary.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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