priest." She was hardly gracious to Pétion or Robespierre; whose slowness and caution did not agree very well with her impatience. Young, ardent, strong and severe, she asked from them accounts of everything, not being willing to listen to delays or obstacles; she called upon them to be men and to act as such.

At the sad spectacle of a liberty foreseen to be unfortunate, and, according to her, already lost, she wanted to return to Lyons; "she wept tears of blood. There must, she said, be another insurrection (5th May), or misery are lost to us; but

our happiness and I doubt if there is Even the civil war,

enough vigor in the people. horrible as it is, will hasten the regeneration of our characters and manners. We must be ready for anything, even to die without regret."

The generation, of which Madame Roland so easily despaired, had the valuable gifts of faith in progress, sincere desire for the happiness of mankind, and ardent love for public good; they astonished the world by the greatness of their sacrifices. However, it must be confessed, that at this time when position did not yet command with an imperious force, those characters, formed

under the old régime, had not yet announced themselves under a masculine and severe aspect. Courage of mind was wanting. The example of genius was not yet found in any person; I do not even except Mirabeau, in spite of his gigantic talent.

It must also be observed, that the men of that time, had already written, spoken and discussed, to an enormous extent. What piled-up heaps of works, discussions and events! What rapid reforms! What a remodelling of the world! The life of the principal men of the Assembly and press, was so laborious, that it seems to us a problem; two sittings of the Assembly, with no other intermission than the sittings of the Jacobins and other clubs, until eleven or twelve o'clock at night; then discourses to prepare for the next day; the articles, business, intrigues and sittings of different committees; and the cabals of different politicians. The immense outburst of the first moment, and unbounded hope, enabled them at the beginning to support all this. The exertions and work continued, without end or limit; and they were forced to give in a little. This generation was no longer full of mind

and strength; however sincere were its convictions, it had not the youth, or freshness of mind, the first outburst of faith.

In the midst of the universal hesitation in politics, of June 22d, Madame Roland did not hold back. She wrote, and made the provinces write, against the weak and feeble address of the Jacobins, that primary assemblies should demand a general convocation: "In order to deliberate by yes or no if it was better to keep the ancient form of monarchical government." On the 24th, she proved very well, "that all regency was impossible, and that Louis XVI. must be superseded,"

etc.

All or nearly all drew back, and hesitated, still wavering. They balanced the considerations of interest and fitness, they were waiting and calculating on each other. Camille Desmoulins said, "that there were not more than twelve republicans of us in '89." They had greatly increased in '91, thanks to the journey of Varennes, and an immense number were republicans without knowing it; they wanted some one to tell them. Madame Roland marched at the head of the advance guard; and she threw into the undecided balance the sword of gold, her courage and idea of right.

CHAPTER XVI.

MADAME ROLAND (CONTINUED).

IF we judge from the letters of Madame Roland, written at this time, she was much more violent than she appeared to be later. She says, in her peculiar manner: "The fall of the throne is interwoven with the destiny of empires. The king must be tried. It is a cruel thought, that we can only be regenerated by blood."

The massacre of the Champ de Mars (July, '91), where those who demanded the republic were shot on the altar, appeared to her as the death of liberty. She showed the most touching interest in Robespierre, when it was thought that he was in danger. She went, at eleven o'clock at night, to the street Saintonge au Marais where he lived, to offer him an asylum. But he was staying with the cabinet-maker Duplay, in the street Saint Honoré. From there, M. and Ma

dame Roland went to Buzot to entreat him to defend Robespierre at the Assembly. Buzot refused; but Grégoire who was present, undertook it.

They had come to Paris about some affairs of the town of Lyons. Having obtained what they wanted, they returned to their solitude. Immediately afterwards (September 27, '91), Madame Roland wrote a very beautiful letter to Robespierre, Spartan and sentimental, honest, yet at the same time flattering. This letter, a little wire-drawn, breathes perhaps slight calculating and politic intentions. It was plain that she was astonished at the wonderful elasticity with which the Jacobin engine, far from being broken, was spreading itself over all France, and at the great political role of the man who found himself the centre of the society. I extract the following passages:

"Even when I followed in the papers the course of the legislative body, I distinguished the small courageous number of men, who were faithful to their principles, and amongst those men were those whose energy had not ceased, etc. I wanted to confess an attachment and