National Gazette

The schooner President left St. Eustatius on the 12th ult. and Martinique the 10th. The Captain informs, that intelligence had reached those islands of the execution of the unfortunate Louis; but nothing further was known as to the fate of his family. War, it was expected, would soon break out, but no accounts of its being actually declared had been received.

The following particulars relative to the death of Louis XVI. are from a St. Eustatius paper of March 8th.

On Sunday night he visited his family for the last time, and after spending some time with them he returned to his own apartment and supped as usual; he slept tolerably well that night, and arose about 7 o'clock on Monday morning, when after some time spent in private devotion with his confessor, he informed the officer he was ready; the carriage being sent for, he, with his confessor and the officer appointed to attend him, went in, and proceeded to the place of execution, guarded by a party of the National Guards; when they arrived there he ascended the scaffold with great firmness; as soon as he got up the executioner cut off his hair, at which he showed some emotion, but soon recovering himself he advanced to the front of the scaffold where he addressed the populace in the following manner:

FRENCHMEN,

I die innocent; it is from the scaffold in the presence of Almighty God I tell you so. I forgive my enemies and hope

Here a confused cry of GRACE GRACE was heard from the people around the scaffold; on which he was stopped and hurried to the block, where his head was severed from his body at one stroke; the executioner carried it twice round the scaffold, and then, with the body, it was thrown into a basket and conveyed to Magdalen where a grave was prepared with some quick lime in it.

The blood which flowed from Louis XVI. was gathered up, by some in paper, and by others in white handkerchiefs, and this was done by persons who had not the air of attaching a political superstition to it—two young men of good appearance were particularly noticed—one of them who was a foreigner and had the appearance of an Englishman, gave 15 livres to a child and requested it to steep a very handsome white handkerchief in the tracks of blood that remained—the other young man seemed to have much at heart the obtaining the ribband which tied the queue, and some of the hair of Louis, for which he paid a Louis d'Or.

The national convention consists of 740 members, 737 of whom were present at the last debate respecting the king, and upon its being put to the vote whether he should suffer death, six hundred and ninety three gave their voices in the affirmative; and one of this number was Philippe Egalite, the ci-devant Duke of Orleans, and cousin german of the King.

The King made three requests to the National Convention after his condemnation namely, that he should be allowed a sight of his family for the purpose of taking a final adieu; that he should be buried in the Cathedral church of St. Denis, by the side of his fathers: and a respite of his sentence for three days, in order to prepare himself for eternity—The first was granted—the two last were rejected.