East Saginaw courier., 1862-10-28

Dy JOHN 8. c. ABBOTT.

.
there are few who stand more promin
ent than Robespierre. His first ap
pearance was in the assembly of th'
States General. The mobiles and bishops
refused to meet with the commons
They resolved to meet in seperate halls
that each of the three orders, having ,
separate vote, the lords and IN. bishop
having two votes, and the commone
but one, the commons thus might b'
outvoted, though in the immense ma
jor;ty Were they to meet in one as
sembly, the commons could, of course
carry their measures. The poor were
in a state of terrible distress. The
mobiles sent the Archbishop Of AK with
very pathetic appeal, urging the com
mons, in behalf of the miseries of the
people, to proceed to business, by con
scnting to the separation Of the three
chambers. llf
Robespierrc, one of the deputies ol
the commons, then an unknown young
man, pale and slender, rose and said
"Go tell your colleagues that we are
waiting for them here to aid us in as
suaging the sorrows of the people,
Tell them no longer to retard onr work.
Tell them that our resolution is not to
he shaken by such a stratagem as this.
If they have sympathy for the poor, let
them in imitation of their master, re.
nounce that luxury which consumes the
funds of indigence, dismiss those insol
ent lackeys who attend them, sell their
gorgeous equipagcs, and with :hesc su-
pertluites relieve the perishing. We
wait for them here ~
We next hear of him earnestly advo.
eating the abolition Of the death penal.
ty DR.. Guillotain had introduced a
new machine, called from the inventor,
the euiotine, for the inffiction Of capt.
al punishment, without inflictng pain.
A general burst of laughter was excited
in the assembly as the doctor said !:
"With my machine can clip off your
head in the twinkling of an eye without
your feeling it. 1t may be remarked in
passing, that many who theE smiled,
were soon beheaded by the keen axe.
A party arose in France called the
Girondlsts-so called because their
leaders were from the department of
the Gironde. They at first were in fa
vor of constitutional monarchy like
that of England. But finding from the
per6dy of the king and the court, this
to be impossible, they then advocated
republic. There was another party ad.
vocating the extreme democratic license,
called the Jacobins. Robespierre was
one of the leaders Of the latter party.
He brought an exceedingly onvcnomed
bill of accusation against the Girondists,
overwhelmed them in their trial, and
they were all sent TO the guiloniine.
Robespierre, Danton and Marat, the
heads Of tho Jacobin party, were now
the idols of France. Charlotte Corday
soon plunged her dagger into the bosom
of Marat. Herbert, at the head of the
atheists of Paris, organized formidable
party. Robespierre, at the peril of his
Tito, threw himself into the breach to
oppose them. "There are men," he
said, "who, under the prctext of de.
stroying superstition. would make re-
ligion of atheism. The legislator who
would adopt tho system of atheism, is
insane. The national convention abhors
such system. Atheism is ari stocratic.
Tho idea of great being who watches
over oppressed innocence, and who
Furnishes triumphant guilt, is quite pop.
uar. The people. the unfortunate ap.
plaud me. If God did not exist, it
would bchoove men to invent one"
The conflict was short and desperate.
Each party knew that the guillotine
was the doom of the vanquishsd. Her,
bert and his coadjutors, nineteen in
number, were on the l7th Of March,
1894, in five carts, conducted to the
scaffold.
Danton and Robespierre now quar-.
relied, Robespierre again conquered in
the death struggle, and Danton was
doomed to die. Before the daw ming of
the morning, gems a. arms entered his
chamber and tore him from the arms of
his wife. -.
AS he entered his prison, in the
vaults of the Luxemburg, he said sadly:
cat length l preceive that 10 rcvolu.
IoHS thc SupteuIc I'VWe' uitiibatcly IeStS
with the most abandoned. We are
sacrificed to the ambition Of n few das.
tardly brigands. But they will not long
enjoy the fruit of their villainy. drag
Robespierre after me. Robes pierre
follows me to the grave"
AS Danton, with Camilla Dcsmonlius
and others who were to be executed
with him, alghted from the cart ut the
scaffold, Herault de Sechclles, who was
to suffer first, endeavored to take leave
of Danton in parting embraces. Tho
brutal cxecutioner interposod. ~
Wretch" said Danton, s'you will
not at least prevent our heads from kiss.
ing in the basket" As he was bound
to the fatal plank, he said, 80, my wife,
my dear wife, shall l never sec you
again ?" Then, as il ashamed of this
emotion, he added, "Danton no weak.
ness" Then, rs tho plank fell to its
place beneath the slide, he proudly re.
marked to tho executioner, "You will
show my head to the people. II will
be well worth the display"
Robcspiprre was now tle nn.lispufed