worthy or unworthy, such as the Demoiselles de Fernig, who served as
aides-de-camp in Dumouriez' camp, Théroigne de Méricourt, known by all
and loved by many, who, armed with a naked sabre, led the wild women
in October to Versailles, Sophie Momoro, who headed the orgies on the
Feast of Reason, and Rose Lacombe, the queen of the vile women who
haunted the clubs and streets and galleries, disgraced the National
Assembly, and knitted round the guillotine. It is strange, but it would
seem to be indisputable, that, in many of the worst excesses of the
Revolution, women of the worst character were specially conspicuous,
and that when politics degenerated into savagery women without
womanliness excelled the most.
The nine months which followed the meeting of the Convention were
occupied by the struggle between the Jacobins and the Gironde. Even
before the 10th August that struggle had begun. After the fall of
Louis, it had become acute; and as soon as the Convention met, the
animosities of the rival parties blazed out afresh. The difference
in principle between Girondists and Jacobins is not altogether easy
to define. Many tenets they professed to share in common, and until
the 10th August their aims had been in some respects the same. One
noticeable difference, however, between them, lies in the character
of the men. The Jacobins, as a whole, though the rule is subject to
exceptions, were men of a rougher stamp, occasionally ill-educated,
coarse and unscrupulous, in some cases cruel, in many cases corrupt,
but practical, alert and intrepid politicians, prepared to run great
risks, merciless to their enemies if they conquered, sometimes ready
with gay desperation to suffer if they lost the game. The Girondists,
as a whole, were men of higher intellectual calibre, of more education
and refinement, of a better cast. They were honest and decent. Their
intentions were pure. They were embarrassed by scruples in a struggle
with opponents who had none. They were distinguished by a fine
enthusiasm for their vague and delusive ideals, which, if it seems
theatrical now, was genuine then, and to which, while lamenting its
waste and its errors, one may pay the tribute of respect.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account