. Napoleon: his army and his generals; their unexampled military career. ohad nourished, in a feeling betwixt lunacy and heroism, theambition of ridding the world of a tyrant. Danton and Robespierre, reduced to a Duumvirate, might have divided the pow-er betwixt them. But Danton, far the more able and pov/er-ful minded man, could not resist temptations to plunder andto revel; and Robespierre, who took care to preserve proofof his rivals peculations, a crime of peculiarly unpopularcharacter, and from which he seemed to keep his own handspure, possessed thereby the power of ruining him wheneverh
. Napoleon: his army and his generals; their unexampled military career. ohad nourished, in a feeling betwixt lunacy and heroism, theambition of ridding the world of a tyrant. Danton and Robespierre, reduced to a Duumvirate, might have divided the pow-er betwixt them. But Danton, far the more able and pov/er-ful minded man, could not resist temptations to plunder andto revel; and Robespierre, who took care to preserve proofof his rivals peculations, a crime of peculiarly unpopularcharacter, and from which he seemed to keep his own handspure, possessed thereby the power of ruining him wheneverhe should find it convenient. Danton married a beautiful wo-man, became a candidate for domestic happiness, withdrewhimself for some time from state affairs, and quitted the sternand menacing attitude which he had presented to the publicduring the earlier stages of the Revolution. Still his ascend-ancy, especially in the Club of Cordeliers, was formidableenough to command Robespierres constant attention, awake his envy, which was like the worm that diot^ ziot,. Chap, iv.] CAMPAIGN>S OF NAPOLEON. 69 though it did not draw down any indication of his immediateand active vengeance. On the morning of the 31st of March 1794, the Parisiansand the members of the Convention hardly dared whisper toeach other, that Danton, whose name had been as formidcibleas the sound of the tocsin, had been arrested like any poorex-noble, and was in the hands of the fatal lictors. There was no end of exclamation and wonder; for Dantonwas the great apostle, the very Biahomet of Jacobinism.—His gigantic stature, his huge and ferocious physiognomy, hisvoice which struck terror in its notes of distant thunder, andthe energies of talent and vehemence mingled, which suppliedthat voice with language worthy of its deep tones, were suchas became the prophet of that horrible and fearful sect. Ma-rat was a madman, raised into consequence only by cireum«stances,—Robespierre, a cold, creeping, calcul
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