Chamberss Edinburgh Journal, No. 426 | Page 2

of
an enlightened population, the plunge was unhesitatingly made.

At this comparatively distant day, even with all the aids of the
recording press, we can form no adequate idea of the fervour with
which this great social overthrow was set about and accomplished. The
best minds in France were in a state of ecstasy, bordering on delirium.
A vast future of human happiness seemed to dawn. Tyranny, force,
fraud, all the bad passions, were to disappear under the beneficent
approach of Reason. Among the enthusiasts who rushed into this
marvellous frenzy, was Maximilian Robespierre. It is said by his
biographers, that Robespierre was of English or Scotch origin: we have
seen an account which traced him to a family in the north, of not a
dissimilar name. His father, at all events, was an advocate at Arras, in
French Flanders, and here Maximilian was born in 1759. Bred to the
law, he was sent as a representative to the States-General in 1789, and
from this moment he entered on his career, and Paris was his home. At
his outset, he made no impression, and scarcely excited public notice.
His manners were singularly reserved, and his habits austere. The man
lived within himself. Brooding over the works of Rousseau, he
indulged in the dream of renovating the moral world. Like Mohammed
contriving the dogmas of a new religion, Robespierre spent days in
solitude, pondering on his destiny. To many of the revolutionary
leaders, the struggle going on was merely a political drama, with a
Convention for the _dénouement_. To Robespierre, it was a
philosophical problem; all his thoughts aimed at the ideal--at the
apotheosis of human nature.
Let us take a look at his personal appearance. Visionaries are usually
slovens. They despise fashions, and imagine that dirtiness is an
attribute of genius. To do the honourable member for Artois justice, he
was above this affectation. Small and neat in person, he always
appeared in public tastefully dressed, according to the fashion of the
period--hair well combed back, frizzled, and powdered; copious frills at
the breast and wrists; a stainless white waistcoat; light-blue coat, with
metal buttons; the sash of a representative tied round his waist;
light-coloured breeches, white stockings, and shoes with silver buckles.
Such was his ordinary costume; and if we stick a rose in his button-hole,
or place a nosegay in his hand, we shall have a tolerable idea of his
whole equipment. It is said he sometimes appeared in top-boots, which

is not improbable; for this kind of boot had become fashionable among
the republicans, from a notion that as top-boots were worn by
gentlemen in England, they were allied to constitutional government.
Robespierre's features were sharp, and enlivened by bright and
deeply-sunk blue eyes. There was usually a gravity and intense
thoughtfulness in his countenance, which conveyed an idea of his being
thoroughly in earnest. Yet, his address was not unpleasing. Unlike
modern French politicians, his face was always smooth, with no vestige
of beard or whiskers. Altogether, therefore, he may be said to have
been a well-dressed, gentlemanly man, animated with proper
self-respect, and having no wish to court vulgar applause by neglecting
the decencies of polite society.
Before entering on his public career in Paris, Robespierre had probably
formed his plans, in which, at least to outward appearance, there was an
entire negation of self. A stern incorruptibility seemed the basis of his
character; and it is quite true that no offers from the court, no overtures
from associates, had power to tempt him. There was only one way by
which he could sustain a high-souled independence, and that was the
course adopted in like circumstances by Andrew Marvel--simple wants,
rigorous economy, a disregard of fine company, an avoidance of
expensive habits. Now, this is the curious thing in Robespierre's history.
Perhaps there was a tinge of pride in his living a life of indigence; but
in fairness it is entitled to be called an honest pride, when we consider
that the means of profusion were within his reach. On his arrival in
Paris, he procured a humble lodging in the Marais, a populous district
in the north-eastern faubourgs; but it being represented to him some
time afterwards, that, as a public man, it was unsafe to expose himself
in a long walk daily to and from this obscure residence, he removed to
a house in the Rue St Honoré, now marked No. 396, opposite the
Church of the Assumption. Here he found a lodging with M. Duplay, a
respectable but humble cabinet-maker, who had become attached to the
principles of the Revolution; and here he was joined by his brother,
who played an inferior part in public affairs, and is known in history as
'the Younger Robespierre.' The selection of this dwelling seems to have
fallen