Page:Voices of Revolt - Volume 1.djvu/88

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84
SPEECHES OF

the French aristocracy. And they all made their mistakes, because they felt nothing but contempt for the masses of the French people. Being too immoral to believe in the virtues of the Revolution, too backward to venture a step into the future, the English King's minister was far behind his century. All the facts of the situation have hitherto jeopardized his plans. He has learned that all the forces thus far sent against us by him and his allies have been annihilated. He has seen the destruction of Necker, of the Orléans, of Lafayette, of Lameth, of Dumouriez, of Custine, of Brissot, and of all the other little pygmies of the Gironde, one after the other. The French people has thus far been able to dispose of all these intrigues.

Every crisis of our Revolution, contrary to the calculation of our enemies, has enabled the Revolution to advance beyond the initial point of this crisis. Toward the end of 1792 our enemies believed that the downfall of the Capetian King might be neutralized by the act of proclaiming his son to be king of the French. But then came August 10 and the Republic was proclaimed..…

On May 31 the people destroyed all the intrigues, the demon of civil war, the hydra of Federalism, and the monster of aristocracy. The Convention is now at the height of the situation. A new social compact is proclaimed and consolidated by the will of the Frenchmen.