appointed by the Committee of Public Safety "Commissioner on External Relations，" that is to say， Minister of Foreign Affairs， and kept in this important position for nearly six months. He is a school-master from the Jura，[43] recently disembarked from his small town and whose "ignorance， low habits and stupidity surpass anything that can be imagined . . . The chief clerks have nothing to do with him； he neither sees nor asks for them. He is never found in his office， and when it is indispensable to ask for his signature on any legislative matter， the sole act to which he has reduced his functions， they are compelled to go and force it from him in the Café Hardy， where he usually passes his days." It must be borne in mind that he is envious and spiteful， avenging himself for his incapacity on those whose competency makes him sensible of his incompetence； he denounces them as Moderates， and， at last， succeeds in having a warrant of arrest issued against his four chief clerks； on the morning of Thermidor 9， with a wicked leer， he himself carries the news to one of them， M.
Miot. Unfortunately for him， after Thermidor， he is turned out and M.
Miot is put in his place. With diplomatic politeness， the latter calls on his predecessor and "expresses to him the usual compliments."Buchot， insensible to compliments， immediately thinks of the substantial， and the first thing he asks for is to keep provisionally his apartment in the ministry. On this being granted， he expresses his thanks and tells M. Miot that it was very well to appoint him， but "for myself， it is very disagreeable. I have been obliged to come to Paris and quit my post in the provinces， and now they leave me in the street." Thereupon， with astounding impudence， he asks the man whom he wished to guillotine to give him a place as ministerial clerk.
M. Miot tries to make him understand that for a former minister to descend so low would be improper. Buchot regards such delicacy as strange， and， seeing M. Miot's embarrassment， he ends by saying： "If you don't find me fit for a clerk， I shall be content with the place of a servant." This estimate of himself shows his proper value.
The other， whom we have also met before， and who is already known by his acts，[44] general in Paris of the entire armed force， commander-in-chief of one hundred and ten thousand men， is that former servant or under-clerk of the procureur Formey， who， dismissed by his employer for robbery， shut up in Bicêtre， by turns a runner and announcer for a traveling show， barrier-clerk and September assassin， has purged the Convention on the 2nd of June - in short， the famous Henriot， and now simply a brute and a sot. In this latter capacity， spared on the trial of the Hébertists， he is kept as a tool， for the reason， doubtless， that he is narrow， coarse and manageable， more compromised than anybody else， good for any job， without the slightest chance of becoming independent， unemployed in the army，45 having no prestige with true soldiers， a general for street parade and an interloper and lower than the lowest of the mob； his mansion， his box at the Opera-Comique， his horses， his importance at festivals and reviews， and， above all， his orgies make him perfectly content. - Every evening， in full uniform， escorted by his aides-de-camp， he gallops to Choisy-sur-Seine， where， in the domicile of a flatterer named Fauvel， along with some of Robespierre's confederates or the local demagogues， he revels.
They toss off the wines of the Duc de Coigny， smash the glasses， plates and bottles， betake themselves to neighboring dance-rooms and kick up a row， bursting in doors， and breaking benches and chairs to pieces - in short， they have a good time. - The next morning， having slept himself sober， he dictates his orders for the day， veritable masterpieces in which the silliness， imbecility and credulity of a numskull， the sentimentality of the drunkard， the clap-trap of a mountebank and the tirades of a cheap philosopher form an unique compound， at once sickening and irritating， like the fiery， pungent mixtures of cheap bars， which suit his audience better because they contain the biting， mawkish ingredients that compose the adulterated brandy of the Revolution. - He is posted on foreign maneuvers， and enlarges upon the true reasons for the famine： "A lot of bread has been lately found in the privies： the Pitts and Cobourgs and other rascals who want to enslave justice and reason， and assassinate philosophy， must be called to account for this. Headquarters， etc."[46] He has theories on religions and preaches civic modesty to all dissenters： "The ministers and sectaries of every form of worship are requested not to practice any further religious ceremonies outside their temples. Every good sectarian will see the propriety of observing this order. The interior of a temple is large enough for paying one's homage to the Eternal， who requires no rites that are repulsive to every thinking man. The wise agree that a pure heart is the sublimest homage that Divinity can desire. Headquarters， etc." -He sighs for the universal idyllic state， and invokes the suppression of the armed force：
"I beg my fellow-citizens， who are led to the criminal courts out of curiosity， to act as their own police； this is a task which every good citizen should fulfill wherever he happens to be. In a free country， justice should not be secured by pikes and bayonets， but through reason and philosophy. These must maintain a watchful eye over society； these must purify it and proscribe thieves and evil-doers.
Each individual must bring his small philosophic portion with him and， with these small portions， compose a rational totality that will turn out to be of benefit and to the welfare of all. Oh， for the time when functionaries shall be rare， when the wicked shall be overthrown， when the law shall become the sole functionary in society！ Headquarters， etc. " -- Every morning， he preaches in the same pontifical strain.
