. Robespierre and the French revolution. an were other men of that epoch. Strippedof the innumerable legends that attach to hiscareer, he appears no worse than any of his col-leagues and really better than most of them. Maillard had been a respectable usher at acourt before the Revolution and gave no signof possessing the brutal character he afterwardsdeveloped. Billaud-Varennes, one of the mostmerciless men in the Reign of Terror, hadbeen a teacher at the institute of the Oratorians,where he was so beloved by the pupils that hewas affectionately called good father dHerbois had
. Robespierre and the French revolution. an were other men of that epoch. Strippedof the innumerable legends that attach to hiscareer, he appears no worse than any of his col-leagues and really better than most of them. Maillard had been a respectable usher at acourt before the Revolution and gave no signof possessing the brutal character he afterwardsdeveloped. Billaud-Varennes, one of the mostmerciless men in the Reign of Terror, hadbeen a teacher at the institute of the Oratorians,where he was so beloved by the pupils that hewas affectionately called good father dHerbois had been an actor and wouldhave continued, no doubt, to tear many a passionto tatters, without resorting to anything moreviolent, had he not been cast to play a leadingpart in the drama of the Revolution. The bois-terous Santerre, leader of the rabble in the fau-bourg Saint Antoine, had been a benevolent well-to-do brewer. The Marquis St. Huruge wasnaturally kindly in disposition; his heart wasnot cruel, but his brain was disturbed. Even384. COLLOT U HERBOIS From an engraving in the collection of William T. I-atta, a painting by Raffet THE FRENCH REVOLUTION Legendre, the butcher, is said to have been goodin his lucid intervals. Marat, a retired physician,had been devoted to scientific study and Tinville, the ruthless public prosecutor,had been a reputable lawyer. Even Carrier, who might have summoned hell to match hiscruelty without a demon venturing to answer hischallenge, had been a respectable though an ob-scure attorney; and so we might extend the listindefinitely. The strong wine of the Revolution intoxicatedthem; it inflamed their minds; it poisoned theirblood. Their natures seemed to undergo a com-plete transformation. The duration of the Revolution, from the meet-ing of the States-General to the death of Robes-pierre, covered a period of only five years; butin that short space of time changes were wroughtthat centuries could not have effected und
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