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THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE
PARISH OF ST. JOHN THE
BAPTIST, SAVANNAH,
GEORGIA
BY VERY REV. JOS. D. MITCHELL, V. G.
XI.
(The Story of Picot de Cloriviere.)
Even a casual glance through the pages of the
old Catholic records of Savannah would attract the
reader’s attention to a signature which appears sev
eral times during the years 1804, 1805 and 1806.
The writing is evidently that of a practiced penman
—the letters clear and legible and delicately formed.
Though written rather small, the name seems to
stand out on every page, and the signature is in
each case exactly the same,—“Picot de Cloriviere.”
Behind that signature' is a story that has figured
in both the history and the romance of France,—
and the signature itself has helped to un-earth a
hitherto unsolved mystery. The full details of the
story have already formed the subject matter of a
novel (“Volupte” by Saint-Beuve), so we can give
only the bare outline here. When the Parish story
is published in book form the entire story can be
given in all its interesting and fascinating dress.
Joseph Pierre Picot de Limoelan de la Cloriviere
was born at Nantes in Brittany, Nov. 4th, 1768. He
belonged to the ancient noble family of Picot, of
Saint-Malo, and was educated at Dinan under the
direction of his uncle. One of his school-fellows was
the famous Chateaubriand, who mentions the young
Limoelan in his “Memoires d’Outre Tombe.” His
uncle and god-father was the equally famous Pierre-
Joseph Picot de Cloriviere, one of the old Jesuits of
France, who did perhaps more than any other to
keep the Christian faith alive during the French
Revolution. He received an urgent invitation from
Bishop Carroll to come to America and help him in
the building up of the Church in the United States;
but he declined on the ground that he felt there was
a still greater work for him to do in France. He
afterwards revived the Order of the Jesuits and be
came their “President” in France, and died vener
ated as a saint by them in 1820.
The young Limoelan de la Cloriviere at an early
age enlisted in the Royal Army and served as an
officer in Paris until the out-break of the Revolu
tion. An ardent supporter of the Royalist cause,
he emigrated to the island of Jersey, then, as now,
a British possession, but did not remain there long,
for he soon returned to Brittany where he raised an
independent company of Royalist volunteers which
later became incorporated in the Vendean army of
General Georges Cadoudal. Limoelan took a promi
nent part in the various campaigns and rose to the
rank of Adjutant-General—sometimes even com
manding an entire division of the Royalist forces.
Being one of the leading figures in the famous con
spiracy of Nancy to release the King and Queen and
restore them to the throne, it was only by an almost
miraculous intervention that he managed to escape;
but his immediate followers and relatives were cap
tured and imprisoned and finally condemned to the
guillotine. He again took a prominent part in the
operations about Fougeres, but the end of the Rev-
olution and the accession of Napoleon brought his
military career to an end. This was in 1799.
When Bonaparte became First Consul, his first ef
forts were directed to putting down what remained
of the Royalist Army; in order to effect this quick
ly, he offered pardon to all Royalist soldiers and offi
cers who would transfer their allegiance to the new
regime. Generals Cadoudal and Limoelan de la
Cloriviere were the chief among those who remained
steadfast in their attachment to the cause of the
Bourbons.
While expressing a personal admiration for the
wonderful genius of Napoleon, Limoelan considered
him a child of the Revolution and the enemy (which
indeed he was) to the cause to which he had given
his life and service. Yet we have no evidence that
when he went to Paris in the latter part of 1800,
he had any other purpose than that which he ex
pressed to his friends—namely, that he intended to
submit to Bonaparte’s rule in the Consulate; and
he promised the young lady to whom he was en
gaged (Mile. Jeanne d’Albert) that their marriage
would take place as soon as his name was taken off
the list of “emigres.”
The Reign of Terror.
In Paris at the time was a community of nuns
which had remained in the city during all the Reign
of Terror; wearing secular dress, its members con
tinued their religious exercises, and the uncle of
Limoelan, Father Cloriviere, was their spiritual Di
rector. He had already made plans for the re-or-
ganization of the Society of St. Ignatius, and had
established a confraternity composed of unmarried
men and women based on the Rules of the Society.
Among these Catholic Royalists Limoelan found
himself in Paris—peaceable surroundings indeed—
but early in the month of December we find him en
gaged in quite a different project,—which if success
ful would have changed not only the subsequent his
tory of France but of every country in Europe. This
is what is known in French history as the “infernal
machine,”—one of the most daring and desperate
undertakings of modern times. It was a conspiracy
formed by Limoelan and one or two others to “rid
France of the tyrant from Corsica,” and restore
Louis XVIII to the throne.
It is not absolutely certain just what part Limoe
lan himself played in this affair. In St. Beuve’s
novel, “Volupte,” he is given the principal role; but
the sister of Limoelan vigorously protested against
what she called the “distorting of her brother’s
character,” and claimed that Limoelan undertook
the plot by order of General Georges Cadoudal and
though present with the other conspirators, he only
agreed to proclaim Louis XVIII as King of France
as soon as Napoleon’s death was made certain. Be
that as it may, from all that was brought out at
the trial afterwards, the following seem to be the
facts in the case:
Limoelan had an old family servant called Carbon
and a former comrade in arms named St. Regant,
who, with him planned the conspiracy. At first it
was determined to shoot down Bonaparte at sight;
but when it was learned that the First Consul al
ways traveled in a closed ancT armored carriage
with a military body-guard, this plan was abandon
ed. and they decided instead to blow up the entire
retinue at the first favorable opportunity.
The date selected was the night of Christmas Eve
(3rd Nivose) 1800, when Bonaparte was to attend
the opera for the first night of Haydn’s “Saul.” On
the 17th of December Carbon purchased an old horse
and a two-wheeled wagon from a merchant named
Lambel. This was taken to an abandoned shed,.
(Continued on Page 14)