164 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1794. 



to abridge the powers of govern- 

 ment in geiieial, of which he did 

 not appear a strenuous advocate, 

 ijo fervently did he strive to express 

 '*6l the warmest feelings for the public, 

 that he deceived many into a per- 

 suasion of his sincerity^ who were 

 Hot apt to be misled by specious 

 protestations. He had brought 

 himself, at the same time, into the 

 good graces of every patriotic cir- 

 cle, by die studied modesty of his 

 deportment. He disclaimed all 

 personal importance, and listened 

 with marked deference to the dis- 

 course and opinions of others, but 

 contrived in the ^ame moment, with 

 exquisite art, to bring foT^ard un- 

 observed every subjectof discussion, 

 and to treasure up in his memory 

 whatever could be serviceable to 

 him at a proper occasion, and which 

 he never failed to deliver as his 

 own. At the dissolution of the 

 Constituent Assembly, Robespierre 

 stood in high credit with that party 

 which condemned the King's resto- 

 ration after his flight fruni Paris. 

 Many of them wished at that time 

 to have abolished monarchy, and 

 established republicanism. It has 

 been asserted, that Robespierre en- 

 tettained some ideas, in conjunction 

 with the Duke of Orleans's party, 

 of placing that prince on ihe throne 

 in the hope of holding higher posts 

 under him than he could have ex- 

 pected from the reigning monarch; 

 a;id that even when he sent him to 

 the scaffold, he hesitated whether 

 to consign him to the guillotine or 

 xaise him to the throne. The noted 

 ctleminacy of the Duke, it is said, 

 determined Robespierre not to run 

 any hazards to place the crown on 

 .the head of such a man, against 

 the sense of tliat formidable party 

 which bad decidedly resolved on 



the abolition of monarchy; but trt 

 consult his owninterestby adhering 

 to the republican system, whichwas 

 triumphant in the Jacobin club ; 

 the great arbiter of public opinion. 

 But we have not been able, after 

 not a little inquiry, to find any sa- 

 tisfactory proof that there ever 

 subsisted any degree of intimacy or 

 cerrespondence between the Duke 

 of Orleans and Robespierre. Had 

 Robespierre aimed at nothing 

 higher than some post of emi- 

 nence under govcrnmeut, he might 

 have obtained this from the court, 

 which, it is well enough known, en- 

 deavoured by all means to gain hint 

 over to its interests. But he ap- 

 pears to have been as indifferent to 

 the common objects of ambition as 

 he was to money. His constant 

 aim was, to raise himself individu. 

 ally above all controul, while he 

 tyrannized not only over the bodies, 

 but as far as possible over the verj 

 minds of others. In this respect,he 

 bore a near resemblance to our royal 

 tyrant King Henry VIII. As there 

 were striking variations in the re- 

 ligious creeds of the King, which, 

 whatever they were, he imposed on 

 his subjects, so we have found va- 

 riations in the religious and irreli- 

 gious professions of the dictator, 

 which he also imposed on the na- 

 tion, not less evident. How far he 

 participated in the events of the 

 10th of August, 1792, has not 

 been clearly ascertained ; but his 

 nomination to a seat ot^ authority 

 by those who etiected them, and his 

 exultation at their success, suffici- 

 ently shew that, however indirectly, 

 lic was certainly of that party. 1'he 

 dark veil that still covers many of 

 the transactions of those sanguinary 

 times, renders it difficult to fix the 

 degree of liis guilt in th« massacres 



of 



