Bloomington herald. [volume] (Bloomington, I. T. [Iowa]) 1840-1849, 1844-07-26

A NIGHT WITH THE JACOB1N CLJrn
'rh. fsii.~;rs 10 an extract from 1
powerfully written paper in late number
Of Blackwood, entitled Marston or Ad.
ventures Of Statesman The narrator
has just escaped from death by the guillo.
tine, and dashing along through dark lanes
and alleys. suddenly encounters crowd
Of Sans Culloltes, who are on their way
to the meeting of the Jacobins. He is
compelled to join them, and in their com.
pany observes what follows:]
We now plunge into the darkness Of q
vast pile. evidently once convent, and
where the chill Of the massive walls struck
to the marrow. felt as if walking thro'
charnel house. We hurried on; trem-
bling light, towards the end of an immense
and lofty aisle, was our guide: and the
crowd, long familiar with the way. rushed
through the intricacies where so many
feet Of monks had trod before them and
where, perhaps many deed that shun>
ned the day had been perpetaated. AT
length spiral stair brought US TO long
gallery, where our entrance was marked
with shout of congratulation /; and tum-
bling over the benches and each other, we
at length took our seats in the highest
part, which, in both the club and Nation
al Assembly, was called, from its height,
the Mountain, and from the characters
which generally hold it, was mountain
Of fame. In the area below, once the
nave of the flames, sat the Jacobin club.
l now, for the first time, saw that memora.
bic and terrible assemblage. And nothing
could be more suited than its aspect to its
deeds. The hall was Of such extent that
a large portion of it was hardly visible,
and the few lights which hung from the
walls, scarcely displaced even the remain
der. The French love Of decoration had
no place here; neither statutes nor pic
lures, neither guiding nor sculpture, re-
lieved the heaviness Of the building. No
thing of the arts was visible but their ru-
dest specimens; the grim effiges of monks
and martyrs, or the coarse blackening era
wings of barberous age. The hall was
full !; for the club contained nearly two
thousand members, and on this night all
were present. Yet, except the occasional
cries Of approval or anger when any spea.
ker had concluded, and the habi,ual muir.
muir of every huge assembly, they might
have been taken for host of spectres; the
area had SO entirely tho aspoc. Of hugo
vault. the air felt so thick and the gloom
was SO feebly dispersed by the chande
liers. All was sculptural. The chair of
the president even atood on tomb, an
antique structure of black marble. The
elevated stand, from which the speakers
generally addressed the assembly. had the
strongest resemblance of scaffold, and
behind it, covering the wall, were suspen-
ded chains and instruments of torture of
every horrid kind. used in the dungeons
Of old times; and though placed there for
the sake of contrast with the mercies of
more enlightened age, yet enchancing the
general idea of scene of death.
1t requires no addition to reder the hall
of the Jacobins fearful; but the meetings
were always held at piasi,. always stor
6fiffv ,h and often sanguinary, daggers were
drawn, and pistols fired-assasslnatlons IN
the street sometimes followed bitter at
,acks on the wrath and terror Of the fac
tons had risen to such height, that eve>
ry meeting might be only prelude OF ex'
lie or the axe and the deliberation OF this
especial night must settle the question
whether the monarch or the Jacobin club
was to ascend the scafold. 1t was the de-
bate on the execution of the unhappy Lou
is XVI.
The arrival of the crowd, among whom
I had taken an unwilling seat. evidently
gave new spirit TO the regicides the mo-
ment was critical. Even in Jacobinisn
all were not equally black, and the fear o.
the national revulsion at SO desperate
deed startled many, who might have no
have been withheld by feelings OF human
itv. The leaders had held secret con
sultation while The debate was drawing OF
its slow length and Danton's old exped'
ent of terror was resolved on. His EN-
m;sarv had been sent round Paris to sum
mon all his bandilti and the low Gates
the Faubourg tavern, and every haunt 9
violence, and every drunkenness Of crime
had poured forth. The remnant OF ~
Marseilles-a gang of actual galley slave
who had led the late massacre-tle PAL
assassins of the Marais, and the snbreu'
Of the Royal Guard, who. after treason
, the king, had found profitable trade in liz
inc on the robbery and blood of the nj
!. bles and priests, formed this reinforc'
! ment: and their entrance into the gas!e'
; was recognized by clapping OF har'
. from below which they answered oy
e roar accompanied with significant sl{
! Of clasping their knives and sabres. :,
n,...or ;mmediatelv rushed into Il