Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/682

 678 DANTON DANTZIC his office and became one of the leaders of that body. The death of the king was in his view a political necessity. " We have no right to be his judges, it is true," he said ; " well, we will kill him." On his motion a levy of 300,000 men was ordered, and the revolutionary tribu- nal established, March 10, 1793. On the or- ganization of the committee of public safety, April 6, he was appointed one of its members. Associating himself with Robespierre against the Girondists, he contributed to their fall, but he would willingly have spared their lives. In his opinion, the moment had come when rigor should yield to forbearance. Kobespierre, how- ever, did not agree with him, and seized the occasion to rid himself of an ally whom he had always secretly hated. Branded as a modere, Danton was seized at his house, March 31, 1794, and imprisoned at the Luxembourg. Some of the members of the convention desired to save him ; but Eobespierre, supported by Saint-Just, obtained from the assem- bly an indirect approval of the arrest; it was de- creed that, " in the name of virtue, terror was ir- revocably the order of the day." Danton was arraigned with Camille Desmoulins, Lacroix, Fabre d'figlantine, and others of his friends, before the revolution- ary tribunal, April 2. Charged with having been the accomplice of all those enemies of the republic whom he had himself destroyed, he was not even allowed to put in a defence. He had himself instituted this tribunal, for doing which he now publicly begged pardon of God and man. " My object," said he, " was to prevent a new September, and not to let loose a scourge upon mankind. These Cains know nothing about government. I leave everything in frightful disorder." The contempt with which he treated his judges hastened his sentence. On hearing it he exclaimed : " We fall victims to contemptible cowards, but they will not long enjoy their victory. Robespierre follows me ; I drag him after me." On the road to the place of execution he preserved the most per- fect composure, looking disdainfully at the mob that followed him with insults, and telling Ca- mille to take no notice of such a vile rabble. Moved by the recollection of his wife, he shed a few tears, but immediately regaining his self- possession, said : " Be thyself, Danton ; no weak- ness!" To the executioner he said: "Show my head to the crowd ; it is worth their see- ing." Robespierre witnessed the execution, and departed gleefully rubbing his hands. DANTZIC (Germ. Danzig; Pol. Gdafislc), a seaport town of Prussia, capital of a district of the same name in the province of West Prussia, in lat. 54 21' 18" N., Ion. 18 41' 12" E., on the left bank of the west or principal arm of the Vistula, about 3 m. from its mouth Berlin; pop. in 1871, 89,121, of whom 76 per cent, were Protestants. It is traversed by the Mottlau and Radaune, two small affluents of the Vistula. The town, which ranks as a fortress of the first class, is nearly circular, and is sur- rounded by walls and bastions, defended by a citadel and outworks, and provided with the means of flooding a considerable part of the country on three sides. Including its nine sub- urbs, it has a circumference of more than 12 m. It is divided into five principal parts, the Old, New, and Low towns, the Speicherinsel (Granary island), and the Langgarten. The lat- ter is the more modern part, and is regularly Dantzic. and well built. On the Speicher island are im- mense granaries capable of holding 4,000,000 bushels. No dwelling houses and no lights or fires are allowed on this island. The principal street of Dantzic is the Langgasse, which inter- sects it from E. to W., and leads into the Lange- markt, or Long Market. It abounds in an- tique buildings of splendid and fantastic archi- tecture, the most remarkable of which is the Rathhaus, erected in the 14th century. In the older parts of the town the streets are nar- row and winding, and the houses poor. The principal buildings are the cathedral or Ma- rienkirche, begun in 1343 and finished in 1503, which contains the celebrated picture of " The Last Judgment," supposed to be the work of Memling, though attributed to Jan van Eyck ; the Catharinenkirche, which is still older; the exchange, built in 1379 ; the town house, ar- senal, navigation school, and school of arts. There are also three monasteries, a nunnery,
 * in the bay of Dantzic, and 250 m. E. N. E. of