here as an associate and a
brother, he does no more than his duty; he only raises himself to the
level of our opinions. There is but one answer to be made,--let him act
as he has spoken." Dumouriez raised his hand, and gesticulated to Collot
d'Herbois.

Robespierre rose, smiled sternly on Dumouriez, and said, "I am not one
of those who believe it is utterly impossible for a minister to be a
patriot, and I accept with pleasure the promises that M. Dumouriez has
just given us. When he shall have verified these promises, when he has
dissipated the foes armed against us by his predecessors, and by the
conspirators who even now hold the reins of government, spite of the
expulsion of several ministers, then, and then only, I shall be inclined
to bestow on him the praises he will have merited, and I shall even in
that case deem that every good citizen in this assembly is his equal.
The people only is great, is worthy in my eyes; the toys of ministerial
power fade into insignificance before it. It is out of respect for
people, for the minister himself, that I demand that his presence here
be not marked by any of those homages that mark the decay of public
feeling. He asks us to counsel the ministers; I promise him, on my
part, to give him advice which will be useful to them and to the country
at large. So long as M. Dumouriez shall prove by acts of pure
patriotism, and by real services to his country, that he is the brother
of all good citizens, and the defender of the people, he shall find none
but supporters here. I do not dread the presence of any minister in this
society, but I declare that the instant a minister possesses more
ascendency here than a citizen, I will demand his ostracism. But this
will never happen."

Robespierre left the tribune, and Dumouriez cast himself into his arms;
the Assembly rose, and sealed by its applause their fraternal embrace,
in which all saw the augury of the union of power and the people. The
president Doppet read (the _bonnet rouge_ on his head) a letter from
Petion to the society, on the subject of this new head-dress adopted by
the patriots, and on which Petion spoke against this superfluous mark of
_civisme_.

"This sign," said he, "instead of increasing your popularity, alarms the
public mind, and affords a pretext for calumnies against you. The moment
is serious, the demonstrations of patriotism should be serious as the
times. It is the enemies of the Revolution who urge it to the