y, headed by Chabot, Bazin, and Merlin,
which was supported by the clubs of the _Jacobins_ and the
_Cordeliers_. The great oracles of the Jacobins were Robespierre,
Varennes, and Collot d'Herbois; while the leaders of the Cordeliers
were Danton and Desmoulins. Robespierre was excluded, as were others
of the last assembly, from the new one, by a sort of self-denying
ordinance which he himself had proposed. His influence, at that time,
was immense, from the extravagance of his opinions, the vehemence of
his language, and the reputation he had acquired for integrity.

Between these three parties there were violent contentions, and the
struggle for ascendency soon commenced, to end in the complete triumph
of the Jacobinical revolutionists.

In the mean time, the restrictions imposed on the king, who still
enjoyed the shadow of authority, the extent of popular excesses, and
the diffusion of revolutionary principles, induced the leading
monarchs of Europe to confederate together, in order to suppress
disturbances in France. In July, the Emperor Leopold appealed to the
sovereigns of Europe to unite for the deliverance of Louis XVI.
Austria collected her troops, the emigrants at Coblentz made warlike
demonstrations, and preparations were made for a contest, which,
before it was finished, proved the most bloody and extensive which has
desolated the world since the fall of the Roman empire.

The Constituent Assembly rejected with disdain the dictation of the
various European powers; and the new ministry, of which Dumourier and
Roland were the most prominent members, prepared for war. All classes
in France were anxious for it, and war was soon declared. On the 25th
of July, the Duke of Brunswick, with an army of one hundred and
forty-eight thousand Prussians, Austrians, and Hessians, entered the
French territory. The spirit of resistance animated all classes, and
the ardor of the multitude was without a parallel. The manifesto of
the allied powers indicated the dispositions of the court and
emigrants. Revolt against the throne now seemed necessary, in order to
secure the liberty of the people, who now had no choice between
victory and death. On the 25th of July, the Marseillais arrived in
Paris, and augmented the strength and confidence of the insurgents.
Popular commotions increased, and the clubs became unmanageable. On
the 10th of August, the tocsin sounded, the _generale_ beat in every
quarter of Paris, and that famous insu