chief, was a writer of some note who had already shown his devotion to the abstract principle of personal and national liberty by embracing the cause of the negroes of San Domingo, and proclaiming himself their friend and champion in an eloquent brochure, as well as in the Convention. He was a man of great industry, a persevering unflagging worker; absolutely devoted to his cause and never inclined to shirk its responsibilities. In Le Patriote Français he uttered the sentiments and explained the plans of his party with honesty and clearness, and his fame would have been assured even if he had been known only as the editor of this paper.

Vergniaud, the orator of the party, was a genius and a stoic, and even among the brilliant men who were his colleagues shone easily as the brightest light of the Gironde. His magic speech seemed to have caught the power of Orpheus' music, and drew forth the applause even of his enemies, while to his friends it was a perpetual inspiration and spur to renewed effort. But with all his genius-or perhaps because of it-Vergniaud was the most insouciant and unmanageable of them all. Dreamy and uncertain, he loved his party, and could die for it, but he would not work for it. Only now and then would he shake off the

bonds of his natural indolence and pour forth the torrents of poetic eloquence which never failed to electrify his audience, compelling the admiration of all, and raising those who thought with him to the highest pitch of excitement.

Petion, the popular and beloved ex-mayor of Paris, was less polished than his fellow-deputies; he was stern and severe, but honestly patriotic and true to his political opinions, and capable of equal heroism in the day of adversity.

Roland, the "truly good man," the quiet-mannered deliberate philosopher, was an incorruptible statesman whose brief public career was upright and free from self-seeking. His wife, the "Great Citoyenne," the "Egeria of the Gironde," was a noble woman cast in a mould of heroic grandeur. It was in her salon that the party grew into existence, and her intrepid patriotism and personal charm made her a sort of queen among the men who gathered encouragement and inspiration from her lips. Gifted with an almost masculine intellect, and a more than masculine indifference to danger; clear-sighted, honourable and energetic, this woman stands foremost among the heroines of the world, and her love for Buzotthat one touch of womanly weakness in a nature

otherwise so strong-but makes her character more perfect.

And this Buzot was a handsome and generous young soul, well worthy of affection; his patriotism was as genuine as his devotion to Madame Roland, a devotion fraught with trouble for them both, but so great that it could sweeten even imprisonment and death.

Barbaroux also belonged to this party of brains and honourable endeavour. He was a young man whose cheerful and resolute courage endeared him to his associates, and whose magnificent presence and beautiful classic face earned for him the soubriquet of the "Antinous of France."

Isnard, a buoyant and excitable Provençal, with the easy eloquence and enthusiasm that belong to the children of the south.

. Louvet, whose strong dogmatic nature and rigid adherence to his opinions made him a foe to be feared and respected, was gifted with an iron endurance and dauntless spirit, but was often obstinate and a victim of blind prejudice.

Fonfrède, the Benjamin of the party, loyal to his friends at the cost of his young life; Ducos, a merry companion flinging his jests into the face of Death

itself; brave Duperret, honest and uncompromising; Grangeneuve, Salles, Gaudet, Meilhan, Gensonné

these were the men of the Gironde; the very apostles of liberty, who had first preached the Republic pure and bloodless, and who had worked with all their splendid young energies to overthrow the Throne.

All under forty years of age, they were on fire with zeal and patriotism; eager to sacrifice love and life, if need be, in the cause of true liberty; strong to endure the perils and hardships of outlawry, and at the last accepting their doom with a dignity and fortitude worthy of their high pretensions. An heroic group of which France may well be proud!

The first breach between the Girondists and the Jacobins occurred when the question of war with the European Powers was broached; Brissot advocated war, and the Jacobins, gradually falling into line under Robespierre, opposed it. The discussions raged for three weeks with ever-increasing heat, and from that time forward the bitterness and rancour between the two parties waxed fiercer at every session.

Nor did the temporary triumph of the Girondists, and the final declaration of war, tend to soothe the irritated feelings of the Jacobins, who at once began to plan the overthrow of the Gironde.

Robespierre, Danton, Desmoulins, Marat, Fabre d'Églantine, Hébert, and their associates, gradually obtained control of the mind of Paris, and they had from the beginning the great advantage of being in the midst of their supporters in the insurgent populace, while the adherents of the Girondists were principally in the provinces.

Every day increased the insubordination which was rampant everywhere; in the army, in the cities, in the National Guard itself. The fatal methods of corruption by which the Republicans had sought to render the army useless to the Royalists had been only too successful; mutiny was in the ranks, and impatience of authority and discipline among the officers.

In Paris riot followed riot, until the popular fury broke all bounds and branded across the page of history the lurid date of August 10th. Close upon the massacre of the Swiss Guard and the sacking of the Tuileries, followed the other atrocities of that awful time; the closed barriers on the 28th, the domiciliary visits, the general apprehension and anxiety, and the final celebration of the triumph of the Municipality by the prison butcheries of September. The Assembly was aghast; the power