write you this letter.

1 Written in Luxembourg prison, August 7, 1794. Robespierre
having fallen July 29th, those who had been imprisoned under
his authority were nearly all at once released, but Paine
remained. There were still three conspirators against him on
the Committee of Public Safety, and to that Committee this
appeal was unfortunately confided; consequently it never
reached the Convention. The circumstances are related at
length infra, in the introduction to the Memorial to Monroe
(XXI.). It will also be seen that Paine was mistaken in his
belief that his imprisonment was due to the enmity of
Robespierre, and this he vaguely suspected when his
imprisonment was prolonged three months after Robespierre's
death.--_Editor._.

But before I proceed further, I request the Convention to observe: that
this is the first line that has come from me, either to the Convention
or to any of the Committees, since my imprisonment,--which is
approaching to eight months. --Ah, my friends, eight months' loss of
liberty seems almost a life-time to a man who has been, as I have been,
the unceasing defender of Liberty for twenty years.

I have now to inform the Convention of the reason of my not having
written before. It is a year ago that I had strong reason to believe
that Robespierre was my inveterate enemy, as he was the enemy of every
man of virtue and humanity. The address that was sent to the Convention
some time about last August from Arras, the native town of Robespierre,
I have always been informed was the work of that hypocrite and the
partizans he had in the place. The intention of that address was to
prepare the way for destroying me, by making the people declare (though
without assigning any reason) that I had lost their confidence; the
Address, however, failed of success, as it was immediately opposed by a
counter-address from St. Omer, which declared the direct contrary. But
the strange power that Robespierre, by the most consummate hypocrisy and
the most hardened cruelties, had obtained, rendered any attempt on my
part to obtain justice not only useless but dangerous; for it is the
nature of Tyranny always to strike a deeper blow when any attempt has
been made to repel a former one. This being my situation, I submitted
with patience to the hardness of my fate and waited the event of
brighter days. I hope they are now arrived to the nation and to m