France -- History -- Louis XVI, 1774-1793; France -- History -- Revolution, 1789-1799
The Left side is also called the d’Orléans side; and sometimes
derisively, the Palais Royal. And yet, so confused,
real-imaginary seems everything, “it is doubtful,” as Mirabeau
said, “whether d’Orléans himself belong to that same d’Orléans
Party.” What can be known and seen is, that his moon-visage does
beam forth from that point of space. There likewise sits seagreen
Robespierre; throwing in his light weight, with decision, not yet
with effect. A thin lean Puritan and Precisian; he would make
away with formulas; yet lives, moves, and has his being, wholly
in formulas, of another sort. “_Peuple_,” such according to
Robespierre ought to be the Royal method of promulgating laws,
“_Peuple_, this is the Law I have framed for thee; dost thou
accept it?”—answered from Right Side, from Centre and Left, by
inextinguishable laughter.[203] Yet men of insight discern that
the Seagreen may by chance go far: ‘this man,’ observes Mirabeau,
‘will do somewhat; he believes every word he says.’
Abbé Sieyes is busy with mere Constitutional work: wherein,
unluckily, fellow-workmen are less pliable than, with one who has
completed the Science of Polity, they ought to be. Courage,
Sieyes nevertheless! Some twenty months of heroic travail, of
contradiction from the stupid, and the Constitution shall be
built; the top-stone of it brought out with shouting,—say rather,
the top-paper, for it is all Paper; and _thou_ hast done in it
what the Earth or the Heaven could require, thy utmost. Note
likewise this Trio; memorable for several things; memorable were
it only that their history is written in an epigram: “whatsoever
these Three have in hand,” it is said, “Duport thinks it, Barnave
speaks it, Lameth does it.”[204]
But royal Mirabeau? Conspicuous among all parties, raised above
and beyond them all, this man rises more and more. As we often
say, he has an _eye_, he is a reality; while others are formulas
and _eye_-glasses. In the Transient he will detect the Perennial,
find some firm footing even among Paper-vortexes. His fame is
gone forth to all lands; it gladdened the heart of the crabbed
old Friend of Men himself before he died. The very Postilions of
inns have heard of Mirabeau: when an impatient Traveller
complains that the team is insufficient, his Postilion answers,
‘Yes, Monsieur, the wheelers are weak; but my _mirabeau_ (main
horse), you see, is a right one, _mais mon mirabeau est
excellent_.’[205]
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