Maximilien Marie Isidore de Robespierre was born, of Irish
origin, at Arras, May 6, 1758. He was admitted avocat in 1781,
and was elected to the Estates General in 1789 by Artois. He
attached himself to the extreme left wing, and soon commanded
attention. His influence grew daily, and the mob frantically
admired his earnest cant and his boasted incorruptibility. In
1791 he carried the motion that no member of the present
Assembly should be eligible for the next, and was appointed
public accuser. Next followed his flight to Varennes (June 21).
This was Lafayette's last effort to control the right of
insurrection on the Champ-de-Mars (July 17), the abject terror
of Robespierre, his hysterical appeal to the Club, the
theatrical oath taken by every member to defend his life, and
his conduct home in triumph by the mob at the close of the
Constituent Assembly (September 30). The Girondist leaders in
the new Legislative Assembly were eager for war. Robespierre
offered a strenuous opposition in the Jacobin Club. In A