396 ROBESPIERRE ; 
directed against all whom he suspected of differing from him in opi- 
nion ; in short, he withdrew all confidence, even from his coadju- 
tors, his fanaticism being now converted almost into madness. The 
members of the government, beholding with dismay the grievous 
evils which they had been instrumental in inflicting on the wretched 
nation, perceived, with fearful forebodings, that they also must 
sooner or later taste of the bitter cup which had been so deeply par- 
taken of by their fellow-countrymen, if Robespiérre was permitted 
longer to pursue his demoniac course. 
Three-fourths of the nation, observes Bailleul, were already 
placed upon the proscription list when, happily for the country, Ro- 
bespiérre fell without even being arraigned at the bar of justice. 
It is melancholy to reflect that the horrors of Robespiérre’s system 
experienced no check so long as victims for assassination were se- 
lected from the humble classes of the people, and that their author 
was doomed only to atone for his crimes, when the rich, covetous, 
and ambitious ranks of society, were included in his death warrants. 
The whole of Robespiérre’s career—the Utopian Republic he in- 
tended to create, the calamities with which he oppressed the nation, 
and the manner in which he finally expiated his offences—are so ex- 
planatory of his most peculiar views, and of the motives by which 
he was actuated, that we need not have recourse to mere supposi- 
tions, which in no way elucidate doubts, or to inferences which in 
themselves may be contradictory. 
The chief imputation cast on Robespiérre, by his enemies, at the 
time of his downfall, was, that he aimed at the dictatorship—an ac- 
cusation assuming “ guilt against the equality and sovereignty of 
the people ;” by which they not only turned the edge of his own 
weapons against himself, but were enabled more satisfactorily to 
account. for their former acquiescence in his views, as well as to 
make known their present disapproval of his projects. It is perfect- 
ly clear that Robespiérre did not aim at the dictatorship, inasmuch 
as he already exercised it, though in a manner widely differing from 
the generality of despots. He resembled the founder of a sect more 
than of a faction, considering himself to be the reformer of abuses, 
the inculcator of virtue, and the revealer of a new system of policy ! 
A report was at one period prevalent, in Paris, that Robes- 
piérre contemplated marrying the daughter of Louis XVI. The 
overweening vanity of that man must indeed have been excessive, 
and his self-esteem of a truly exalted character, to render such an 
event even probable, in the estimation of his contemporaries, though 
we confess we encounter no great difficulty in reconciling to our 
