HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



161 



read the declaration of outlawry ; 

 on which the national guards re- 

 fused all further obedience and ad- 

 herence to the party they had been 

 brought together to defend. No- 

 thing was left to do, but to seize 

 the heads of that party. Bourdon 

 deL'Oise.acconipanied withasuffi- 

 cient force, rushed into the town- 

 house, where the dismay tliey were 

 under, made their discomfiture a 

 taskof no difficulty. Mostofthem 

 Xvere seized, and most of those who 

 escaped for the present were spee- 

 dily taken, 



Robespierre was found alone in 

 one of the rooms ot" the town- 

 house. He had discharged a pistol 

 in his mouth, which had broke his 

 under-jaw. He held a knife in his 

 hand, apparently with the intention 

 of dispatching himself; but a sol- 

 dier who discovered him, thinking 

 he meant to employ it in his de- 

 fence, fired a pistol, which wounded 

 him in the side. His brother three 

 himself out of a window, and broke 

 his leg and an armj Couthon stab- 

 bed himself, but not mortally; only 

 Lebas shot himself dead on the 

 spot. Henriot, in the mean time, 

 was endeavouring, from one of the 

 windows of the town-house, to 

 prevail by his entiTaties on the sol- 

 diers who had been under his com- 

 mand, not to. desert the cau.se tliev 

 had promised faithfully to defend ; 

 but lie was seized while he was 

 speaking, and hurled headlong 

 upcn the stones, where he was 

 bruised to death. 



The circumstances attending the 

 latter hours of Robespierre were 

 hon ible. He was first conveyed to 

 the house of the committee of ge- 

 neral security, where he was held 

 •n a table, welterinti in the bluod 

 that flowed from hi.s wounds. A 



Vol. XXXVI. 



message being sent to the Conveq,^ 

 tion to know whether he should be 

 brought before them, the answer 

 was, " that such a monster should 

 no more disgrace them by his pre- 

 sence." The agony ef his mind 

 corresponded with that of his body. 

 The one seemed torn with the most 

 violent remor.se and agitation, and 

 the other convulsed with the most 

 excruciating pain and anguish. In 

 this condition he was carried to the 

 Hotel Dieu, a hospital for the re- 

 ception of the 5ick and hurt of the 

 lowest and most wretched classes. 

 Here his wounds were drest, merely 

 to enable him to go through the 

 forms of justice. He was then re- 

 moved to that prison, the Concier- 

 gerie, whither he had sent so many 

 others> and brought from thence 

 before the revolutionary tribunal, 

 witli his accomplices ; where Fou- 

 quier Tinville, the public accuser 

 his intimate and his creature, was 

 officially compelled to demand sen- 

 tence of death against him and 

 them. He was conducted in their 

 company to the place of execution, 

 where he had caused such numbers 

 to die, loaded all the way with the 

 execrations of a multitude that ex- 

 ceeded any numbers ever assembled 

 before on such an occasion : — sp 

 desirous wereall people toglutthe^r 

 eyes with a sight of a being so ce- 

 lebrated for his iniquities, and; so 

 deservedly punished for them. 



The principal of those who suf- 

 fered with him, were his brother, 

 Couthon, St. Just, Henriot, Duraas, 

 Fleuriot, mayor of P.uis, Vivres, 

 president of the .Tacobin club, and 

 fourteen othersof inferior notice. In 

 the- mornin'.r of this memorable. dny 

 the 2Sth of July, they were deeply 

 busied in the most daring and dan- 

 gerous conspiracy that ever threat- 



M cued 



