might lose all that he had been contending for. He wished to be the first minister of a limited monarchy, and his views of ambition extended no further. His expression on his death-bed, that the monarchy had died with him, was a strong proof that he had engaged himself in its support; and it is, perhaps, not hazarding too much to say, that, had he lived, he might have saved from destruction both the monarch and the throne; for his eloquence and personal influence were able to effect any thing. He was himself a tower of strength to whatever party he espoused, and had he lived, he might have been a bulwark to the court, to break the violence of contending parties.-—— Had he lived, the Robespierres, Talliens, and Legendres, would have remained in insignificance, and many of the horrors of the revolution might have been prevented; but it happened otherwise, and he perished by an untimely death, in the vigor of his talents and the height of his power. He was a patriot in theory, but in action he thought only of himself. The rights and liberties of the people, and the sacred principles of morality, were in his head, but not in his heart. He could write, and he could speak, of all that was virtuous, amiable, and honorable, but in action he lost

sight of his principles, and afforded a miserable example how feeble is the control of reason, over strong and predominant passions. No eloquence in modern times (if eloquence is to be estimated by its effects), is to be compared to his, for he never spoke without gaining his object. His private life was a shocking series of profligacy and immorality; tho' he felt all the delicacy of the tenderest love, yet he indulged at times in the coarsest intemperance. His letters to his mistress, who was the wife of another man, express all the feelings of the most refined and delicate passion, united to the grossest sensuality. In the art of seduction he was unrivalled; for tho' nature had denied him every personal attraction, yet such were the illuring spells of his conversation and manners, that no woman whom he chose to attack could resist his advances. His person was large and coarse, his face was disfigured by the smallpox, and his features were strong and repulsive, yet for all this, he could talk himself agreeable, for he had a tongue to charm even the guarded ear of suspicion and prudence, and accomplish what few men would dare to attempt. By every action of his life he forwarded the proof the revolution, and it was brought to its present termination only by his death. The

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fatal resolution of the monarch to fly the kingdom, was the first consequence of that event, and all his future measures tended only to hasten his destruction. Had Mirabeau lived, he would probably have saved the throne; and tho' we should acquit him of all guilt for the share he had in overturning despotism, the Brissotines were not equally innocent in the overthrow of the monarchy.

The character of the celebrated Brissot has been variously represented; by his friends he has been exalted to the rank of Aristides, and by his enemies, he has been degraded to the level of a pick-pocket. The truth probably lies between the two extremes, and, after a strict examination, we shall find him neither wholly profligate, nor completely virtuous. That he was an enthusiast, there can be no doubt; for he had formed romantic notions of social happiness, which no state of society has ever yet realized, and probably none ever will. To make way for this pure reign of equality, it is certain that he conspired to overthow the monarchy, without possessing sufficient energy or talents to substitute another government in its room. Tho' he should be acquitted of personal ambition, yet, having destroyed or endangered the happiness of thousands merely to

indulge in a favorite speculation, we must not pronounce him thoroughly honest; for no man can deserve that name, who does a positive evil for the sake of uncertain good. Ambition assumes various shapes, and that of Brissot seems to have arisen from the vanity of leading a party, which was to regenerate the world; it was not the savage ambition of Bonaparte or Robespierre, the mere lust of power, or passion for dominion. Tho' qualified for the leader of a philosophical sect, he was by no means fit for the head of a political party. By a long and frequent custom of reflection on the most important subjects, he had acquired a considerable degree of accuracy and precision in his thoughts, and a strong, vigorous method of expression. He was a good writer, but when called upon to act, his judgment seemed to forsake him, as if it was something to which he was not accustomed, and therefore unequal. He had the art of persuasion in private, for his manners were gentle, and his conversation attractive. He had the power of attaching his friends to him strongly, but not the means of confounding his enemies. Robespierre, with talents for speculation far inferior, rose above all the parties that successively opposed him, by the mere force of intrigue, and a practical

knowledge of mankind. The history of Brissot's imprisonment and death, is comformable to the character he maintained through life. During those trying periods, he was calm, dignified, and resigned, and never from the first indulged a hope of pardon or mercy. That he was desirous of improving mankind, the general tendency of his writings leaves little room to doubt; for no man can feel the sentiments he expresses, without desiring to put them in practice; but it is also evident, that not having been educated, nor lived according to the strictest principles of moral integrity, he was too little scrupulous about the means which he employed, and had therefore adopted that most dangerous political maxim of doing evil for the sake of good. Whoever attempts to overturn a government, before its iniquity is intolerable, and before he is certain of substituting another quickly in its room, is answerable for all the consequences that may ensue, and impeachable at the bar of humanity for high crimes and misdemeanors. That this was not the case with Brissot and his party, the event fully proved, and tho' some, or even all of them, may have intended much good to mankind, and been animated by the purest republican virtue, yet this is not sufficient to