s arrested. The success of this day rendered him absolute ruler of
the Convention, and founded that tyrannical empire which only terminated
with his life.

[Illustration: Robespierre's arrest.]

Among the factions which had lent him their assistance, the Hebertistes
were the first that separated from his cause. This faction aspired to
sole dominion, but the good fortune or the address of Robespierre was
able at once to oppose to it the Jacobins and the Cordeliers, and it
sunk in March, 1794, under their united efforts. Danton, who had been
particularly serviceable on this occasion, whose energy had been of such
utility, who had aided him in sweeping away the other factions; Danton,
in short, whom he ought to have considered as the instrument of his
power, became a formidable enemy, after being for a length of time a
most devoted friend and faithful ally. The two parties were at issue;
one or the other must necessarily be overcome. The cunning of
Robespierre triumphed over the inconsiderate ardor of his rival, whom he
took pains to render unpopular by sending him to enrich himself in
Belgium. A few days afterward he was accused, arrested, and conveyed to
the scaffold with Desmoulins, La Croix, Fabre, and others. In the course
of the same month (April, 1794) he delivered over to the Revolutionary
Tribunal the remainder of the party of the Hebertistes, and that of the
Cordeliers, whom he degraded by the name of Atheists, and from that
moment to the period of his downfall he met no opposition. It was then
that his language assumed a different tone. "I must be," "it is
necessary," "I will," were his general expressions; and the Convention,
as he himself called it, was only his _machine a decrets_. What is
worthy of remark is, that France, groaning under the struggles of
different parties, should applaud the conduct of Robespierre, from an
idea that she would be less miserable under a single tyrant. His new
plan of religion, ridiculous as it was, gained him some adherents; but
it must be evident to every reflecting mind that Robespierre must have
conceived himself at the head of the government, since he, whose sole
object had hitherto been to destroy, attempted to rebuild. It is
impossible to conjecture how long his power might have continued, had
he spared his colleagues, and if he had not incited to resistance men
who, until then, had blindly executed his orders, and who desired
nothing more than to continue to serve and o