The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-05-06


hat the mauf Ifrrpfuehsbis f-sori, Nshi
aad H0teft fkadef. iir nttsf ~ aiHsH
v 10 att, r~furel with fhe lsslantnf ~.
elanaflss sm hers ~ pfsvtis tfhens
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late ~ hiaht ~ Nseuh " IsHfnn Naa
iHiHFmml that = Nsffsaf ~ hts fffnsi saa
gH. and Nv fHe easiy msgHlue N Nffuh "
NJ Nas sfFealest ~ ~ eHRs ~ ~ 'ss'
HalHsst aay Nstpsrtefte dsfendati ~ iia''f
Fspuyt IN q sgeerh ~ -lfnpa@iHHef titat NJ
aHe IN IN ~ceHventiaH dtFcf mttlulae w
1pfUas n, and n saa. sctsrilr6 ~ addpsad
n lawell sHeen fltst lhr islsl thss tueR plnor
~ AeFfi A. iIat Nas y fsfas FeHptief
flHvilia M puNile pfoarout0f fiief rad
he ~ IN cutgt 'he ~teHveH'i1H'e druste
dftsFina fangnH ~ ~ tfl~t a%anounce'i
that he hHa . nuHteg ~ Witness tT the
~pf0eenliun bnt hat IN etfnpltGres sith
Inc erlnfH ~ ne f~oUvention tshirh hal
eivas M @srh aftlsssI ~ Wotti sisiain
hsom eating sH N them de IN me- eali
aHelt that the aeuaerd. therefore must net
Nspput ~ cae theirs, hnH m,trt ~ hHiaed
asseiy ~ wflgten svli~nrs Thespugia the
pFeanHntog ~procrslei w. fead aa scco,int ~
an lNaalnagy ~cunaglsary IN the tatSefu.
butfe, IN whtch The arc,iasi pefnYna were
allsael IN be Implicated. After this fraudt
IeHe ducuweat hal haen feid Danton
ciaiwsei ths right ~ 80 Oh with his defenee.
but Tn pfealdeGt ~ The tribunal put " 10
he lnry Whistler they had hot BEARD
aaouah. The Jury replied In the afirna-
tlVs, aad the president DECLARED me plead
mas ended. sEndei'- cried Dantcn they
are not yet hegun You have not read our
evldsacs nor heard our witnesses Point
lng ~ some hostile ~onlookera who were
gloatinR ~ they GaSed, Danton sald TO his
friends Look az thoae bass as-asains;
they will hunt us 10 death
On the same day the sentence was exe-
outed. Guarded by m armed force, Ian
ton and his comrades we're quickly con-
veyed In q tumbrel 10 the Place de Ia Reso-
luton, where they were 10 be Guillotined.
Herauit do SAchelles was the first beheaded.
He tried a. he passed to kiss Danton, but
the executiopsr's men would not let him.
Danton said 70 them: Fools. you cannot
hinder our heads meeting In the basket
presently Az one by one his friends we're
summoned, he said TO each some words Of
consolation. He himself was the last to
die. Thinking Of his wife, he said: MY
beloved, shall I no more behold thee?'
Then: Come, Danton. no weakness
And then TO Samson, the executioner:
SHOW my head to the people! II IA worth
while. They do not see the like every
day An eyewitness Of the execution
recorded that this Danton plays his part
well. At the foot OF the horrible statue
silhouetted in colossal outline against the
sky, I saw the Tribune standing upright.
like one Of Dante's shadows, half illumined
by the dying sun, and. like n rising from
the tomb, rather than about to enter II.
Nothing holder than the countenance OF
this athlete Of the Revolution could be
imagined, nothing more formidable than
the pose Of the profile defying the axe.
than the poise of the head, still, while on
the point Of falling, seeming to dictate laws.
Appalling spectacle! Time can never efface
it from my memory. I saw there incarnate
the feeling which inspired Danton's last
words-terrible words which could not
hear, but which were reported to me with q
shudder Of horror and admiration MIR.
Beesly comedies that to men Of our day and
Of a temperament less emotional than that
of Frenchmen Danton's last words may
seem self conscious. So may be Mira
beau's: Support that head; would oould
beoueath IL theei" Our author submits.
however, that. to be judged fairly, both
men should be judged relatively to their
race and time. There was plenty of theatri-
cal ~eloquence then, and much attitudiniz-
ing, In the British House Of Commons as
web as in the French Convention. "Danton
was a born orator, and perhaps there has
never been a great orator who has not had
in him something of the actor, But he was
fundamentally neither an egotist, nor arti-
hoial, nor a cynic." The egotism in his
speeches Is too frank to be offensive. Had
he been really vain. his speeches would have
smelled more OF the lamp. AS a matter OF
fact, he was the only French statesman OF
the period who always improvised and
spoke extempore. From this point OF view
his speeches stand out sharply distinct
from those OF Mirabeau and Robespierre.
verRniaud and Barere. They are not
models Of style; they are difruse and badly
arranged; but they seem to come red hot
from the heart.
Nv.
OF course, the figure Of R~obespierre can
no more be eXCluueu from IL LUG VI Idutoh
than can that Of idgo from the play OF
"Othello." The former Turks in the back
ground or stalks in the foreground of the
book. Many readers, however, will he glad
to see the twenty closely printed pages in
which, In the third edition Of his book, Mr..
Beesly has undertaken to paint n full
length portrait of R~obespierre. He has no
patience with tho recent revival OF the
cult Of Danton's assassin. He does not,
indeed, dispute that the plea made by
Hamel in his biography of Robespierre, the
first volume Of which appeared in 1855,
Is powerful and plausible, but he points out
that the most damning evidence against
Robespierre was that spoken by his own
lips and written by his own hand, and that,
II he must be adjudged a coward, hypocrite
and murderer, It is because he stands self
condemned. Mr.. Beesly, Of course. would
not pretend that Robespierre's nature had
always been wholly bad or cruel. He holds,
rather, that 1t had slowly degenerated under
the corrosive influence Of %adulation, OF
familiarity with bloodshed and Of self
righteous posturings. BY 1874, however,
whenever Robespierre encountered opposi-
ton to himself, he meant murder. At what