"Meanwhile, were not the prophecy rather, that as no external force, royal or other, now remains which could control this movement, the movement will follow a course of its own--probably a very original one. Further, that whatsoever man or men can best interpret the inward tendencies it has, and give them voice and activity, will obtain the lead of it. For the rest, that, as a thing _without_ order--a thing proceeding from beyond and beneath the region of order--it must work and wither, not as a regularity, but as a chaos--destructive and self-destructive always; till something that _has_ order arise, strong enough to bind it into subjection again; which something, we may further conjecture, will not be a formula, with philosophical propositions and forensic eloquence, but a reality, probably with a sword in its hand!" But, true as all this may be, Mr Carlyle would be the last man to commend the Girondists had they allowed themselves to be borne along _passively_ by this violent movement: is it fair dealing, then, that their efforts--the only efforts they _could_ make--efforts which cost them life, should be treated as little better than idle pedantries? But what criticism has to say in _praise_ of this extraordinary work, let it not be said with stint or timidity. The bold glance _at_ the Revolution, taken from his Diogenes' station, and the vivid descriptions of its chief scenes, are unrivalled. That many a page sorely tries the reader's patience is acknowledged, and we might easily fill column after column with extracts, to show that the style of Mr Carlyle, especially when it is necessary for him to descend to the common track of history, can degenerate into a mannerism scarce tolerable, for which no term of literary censure, would be too severe. We have, however, no disposition to make any such extracts; and our readers, we are sure, would have little delight in perusing them. On the other hand, when he does succeed, great is the glory thereof; and we cannot forego the pleasure of making one quotation, however well known the remarkable passages of this work may be, to illustrate the triumphant power which he not unfrequently displays. Here is a portion of his account of the _Taking of the Bastile_. It will be borne in mind, that there is throughout a mixture of the ironical and mock-heroic: