New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-01-13
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.
SOME CURIOUS ERRORS OF HISTORY.

! GLrMPsEs OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.
| Myths. Ideas and Realities BY JoAn L. Aver
| THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. Tested by Mira
beau's Career. Twelve Lectures on me HiS'ory
Of the French Reyolution' delivered at the LS sS,
Chicago: Callaghan Co
| To a considerable extent these books are both
studies In the abnormal mental phenomena Of the
| French Revolution. Mr.. Alger begins win the
/ myths which were developed by the Imagination
or the partisan spirit of the times. The strange
thing about these parodies Of history Is that they
are so numerous and have lasted so long. This
in itself is an abnormal fact. Il shows not only
/ that the minds OF the generation among whom
the revolution occurred were easily attracted by
fancifu narratives but that people Of later times
! cherished tales endued with romantic or stnsa-
tional interest miraculous story has been pre-
ferred occasionally TO the prosaic truth where the
latter should have been well known.
This was the case with reference to Thomas
Paine's escape from the guillotine according To
Mr. Alger. the most remark able thing about the
affair being that Paine. after telling the truth
was himself convinced by the romance. The hc-
ton is attributed by Mr.. Alrer to Samson Perry.
newspaper man who left London 70 escape pun
shmeft for libel and claimed TO have been incar-
cerated In the same cell with Paine in the LuXeHi-
bourg up to the time Of Robespierre's death In
this story people treated TO a circumstantidl
account Of the way in which the cell doors OF the
| condemned persons were marked with red chalk
how the door OF the cell in which Paine ana
Perry were confined turned on swivel 50 mat
when the turnkey came TO look the req marx
escaned his attention because II was now on the
inside instead OF the outside OF the door; ana no"
the keeper was shot by a mob before he could
hing.
no more explicit. But Nj Ager points out that
| few persons were even sent to trial from the
Luxembourg and that none sent from there
| TO the guotine. Even Danton he says In whose
case the haste was exceptional. though at first
! taken to the Luxembourg. was interrogated the
next day and then sent to the Conc!ergerle. lie
ridicues the red chalk marks hgment OF r
weak IMAGINATION Possibly Perry had been
reading the story o. Ali Bahia and the Forty
| Thieves or some other equally stimulating le-
gend and had thought of a variation on the
trick nv which houses are rendered indist!n-
guishable In Oriental romances But chalk MARKS
were unnecessary in the Paris prisons even uui-
ing the days Of the Terror. The justice that was
melted out 10 people by the wholesale was hei'h"r
that OF Jedborough nor that OF Kentucky. nor
ON the Other hand had Il any SAVIOR Of equity
In romance country nothing can be done
without certain formalities but II the foFmah-
ties have been attended to- then anything can DC
done With some rare exceptions. when prove
the rule. nobody was guillotined even In the worst
hours OF the Terror without the pretence OF a
trial The trial was necessarily preceded oy Il
notice and was actually cmphasizeh ny reinoNai
TO the Concergcre. The Conciergerie may not
have been legal necessity. but 1t became a
necessary fact In the customs OF the time NOW
Paine never had any notice Of trial ana never
I WAS taken to the Conciergerie. lie was aston
I ished at his escape when 1t was iFesh IN MS
! mind and attributed 1t to an Illness ior ne ha1
| already been made aware that Ro0espicrre meant
10 bring him to trial-a proceeding when was
| equivalent to a sentence Of death All tnis WAS
In ,7e; and Paine seemed to take the affair as
a matter OF course. He evidently knew ho'n'hs
=, Perry for he said that his chambe. comrades
were Joseph Vanheule. OF Brnges; Charles bos-
tint and Michael Robyns. OF Louvain. fahle
fattered himself Captain Lavergne, arrested
,or the capitulation Of Longevy. was at deaths
door. but that did not prevent MS prosecutors
from Fastening his exit out OF the world When
his wife EXPRESSED a desire to accompany hn
tho cour. took hurried measures TO fulfil her
u,sh In the light Of such an incident Pane's
reference 10 his own illness seems puerile. 1t Is
release. and we're rebuffed with the statement
,h., Paine was an English subject. still had
prestige enough to affect the mind of Robes
pierre.
But seven years later Paine forgot all about
| his illness. and improved on Pcrrys hction
! Perry managed II so that Paine just escaped
death by the destruction Of Robespierre. But
| Prime decided after the reflection OF many years
that the destroying angel had given him a
! wider margin than the day preceding the death
| OF the green-eyed despot. He now remembered
! the mark on the cells Of the condemned. and told
how 1t was put on the inside of the door instead
OF the outside. Supposing there was such A
marking Of cells. 1t would hardy have saved
! Paine more than one day. But as a matter OF
| fact Robesperre had still three weeks 10 live
and doubtless looked at his memorandum for the
trial Of Paine every day Of those weeks. The
date is fixed by the removal OF the prisoners from
the Luxembourg duly 6, and the fall Of Robes
pierre July 2O; the interval being punctuated
by the guillotining of the Luxembourg prisoners
II really took several days to accomplish the
bloody task. But Paine had it all done on the
day after his alleged miraculous escape. Thus
says Mr. Alger. "Painc's version Is even more
absurd than Perry's for Perry dates the escape
on the eve OF Robesp.erre's fail when twenty
four hours delay meant deliverance. whereas
Paine by connecting ii with the Luxembourg
batch, dates Il on the 9Th. when days delay
would have been unavail.ng One asks I'm vain
why Paine. after publishing at the time true
account OF his imprisonment, gave. In attei
years. this utterly untrue account, Was M