H I S T O R Y O F EUROPE.' lis 



hne ot'the most powerful stimulants 

 in nature, and often inspires the 

 commonest men with the most ex- 

 traordinary energy. 



The answer to the British rriinl- 

 «try's declai;«tion was penned un- 

 der the direction of that celebrated 

 triumvirate which assumed the 

 powers of government shortly af- 

 ter the King's death, and the over- 

 throw of that party kriown by the 

 nartie of Gironde. Robespierre, 

 Danton, and Barrere, who formed 

 this triumvirate, were men pecu- 

 liarly calculated for this period of 

 ditficuky, and endowed with those 

 qualities that would most effectu- 

 ally remove the terror that had 

 Beized a great part of the French 

 •tiation, when it considered the 

 itrength of those mi(;iay powers 

 that formed the coalition against 

 them, and in the spring of 1793 

 iobtained such brilliant and decisive 

 advantages over the armies ot 

 France. They certainly were in- 

 dividuals of the greatest political 

 abilities, and perfectly acquainted 

 with the character of their country- 

 men and with the resources of 

 their country. These thay br.uight 

 forward in a manner that equally 

 astonishedandappallcd its enemies; 

 who, though well apprized of the 

 •trength of France, had never ima- 

 ^ned it could have been called 

 forth on so unprecedented and for- 

 fnidabl'.- a plan- 



The junction and concord be- 

 tween these three famous leaders 

 Continued about the space of a 

 twelvemontii : but as it arose from 

 ambition, and the fear of being 

 Mippkinti'd by the heads ot those 

 various p.irt=es th.it were striving 

 flgainn each otiier f()rpr<?-emine!ice 

 and power, it lasted no longer than 

 they were influenced by those ap- 

 freijensiuns. After tlic entire des- 



VoL. XXXVI. 



truction of the Girondists, the chiefs 

 of whom, all men of eminent ta- 

 lents, perished by the guillotine, 

 the connexion between Robe- 

 spierre and Danton began to lessen. 

 The envy borne by the former 

 to all men of whose capacity he 

 stood in awe, and whom he. sus- 

 pected of a disinclination to be sub- 

 servient to his measures, led him to 

 consider Danton as the most dan- 

 gerous rival, and to harbour a de- 

 termination to rid himself of so 

 formidable a competitor. 



But, previously to the executioa 

 of this design, he thought it neces- 

 sary for the accomplishment of the 

 ma:iv arribitious purposes he se- 

 cretly entertained, to defeat the 

 schemes that were in agitation 

 jimong the leading members of a 

 society of men, who had risen to 

 almost equal celebrity with the fa- 

 mous Jacobin Club, of which in 

 fact they were a branch, and from 

 whence they had originally sprung. 

 The chief sondutlor of its opera- 

 tions at this time was Hebert ; a 

 character well noted for his enmity 

 to the Christian system, and his 

 zealoi\s endeavours for its abolition 

 in France. He was a man o( an 

 intemperate warmth in whatever he 

 undertook, and remarkable for his 

 propensities to uncommon under- 

 takings. He had occasionally 

 proved highly serviceable to Ro- 

 bespierre ; and was a principal 

 actor in procuring the downfal of 

 Brissot and his partVj when the}' 

 were'arrested through the machi- 

 nations of that more popular and 

 active i^erty, styled the iSIouutain, 

 on thfe famous 31st of May, in 

 the preceding year. Hebert was 

 at that time the promoter of the 

 insurrection at P^aria;. which en*- 

 abled hiui tc carry theiii" violent 

 measures into execi.uio:i. 



/ The 



