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178 mass of men the wintry face of Robespierre, Marat, the Angel of Death St. Just, leonine Danton, Condorcet, Brissot, the waspish Guadet, and, above all the others, brave, manly-hearted Buzot, who thrilled at the sight of her, as she entered with that proud, erect bearing of hers, such mingled dignity and sweetness in her expression that the Convention broke into thunders of applause. When the tumult subsided, she explained that Viard, of whom she knew nothing, had obtained an interview with her, under the pretext of giving her an account of what he had seen in London; that, after having let him say his say, she had expressed astonishment at his not communicating such important matters to the Minister instead of herself, who was only on the outskirts of affairs. "Without having too practised an eye," she proceeded, "I concluded that the gentleman was a person who came more to probe our thoughts than for anything else." Her whole speech, necessarily unpremeditated, was so lucid and full of tact that it was followed by prolonged applause, and the honours of the sitting were voted to the Citoyenne Roland. As she passed through the House, her exit was accompanied by continued plaudits; only Marat, inaccessible to admiration, growling dissent.

In the meanwhile, debates concerning the trial of Louis almost exclusively occupied the deputies. Gironde and Mountain were agreed in recognising the King's guilt. His appeal to the foreigner was a crime against the nation, if ever there was one, but as to the judgment to be awarded, opinions were profoundly divided. The Girondins had, from the commencement of their political career, been more decidedly anti-Royalist than the Montagnards. They were the first to