Page:The Elusive Pimpernel.djvu/10

10 rejoice and dance around that funeral pile, and above it all let the new goddess tower smiling and triumphant. The Goddess of Reason! the only deity our new and regenerate France shall acknowledge throughout the centuries which are to come!"

Loud applause greeted the impassioned speech.

"A new goddess, by all means!" shouted the grave gentlemen of the National Assembly, "the Goddess of Reason!"

They were all eager that the People should have this toy ; something to play with and to tease, round which to dance the mad carmagnole and sing the ever-recurring "Ça ira."

Something to distract the minds of the populace from the consequences of its own deeds, and the helplessness of its legislators.

Procureur Chaumette enlarged upon its original idea, like a true artist who sees the broad effect of a picture at a glance and then fills in the minute details ; he was already busy elaborating his scheme.

"The goddess must be beautiful … not too young … Reason can only go hand in hand with the riper age of second youth … she must be decked out in classical draperies, severe yet suggestive … she must be rouged and painted … for she is a mere idol … easily to be appeased with incense, music and laughter."

He was getting deeply interested in his subject, seeking minutiæ of detail, with which to render his theme more and more attractive.

But patience was never the characteristic of the revolutionary government of France. The National Assembly soon tired of Chaumette's dithyrambic utterances. Up aloft on the Mountain, Danton was yawning like a gigantic leopard.

Soon Henriot was on his feet. He had a far finer scheme than that of the Procureur to place before his colleagues. A grand national fête, semi-religious in