nent, and he was
obliged to conceal himself. Madame Roland, inspired by those
courageous impulses which ever ennobled her, went at midnight,
accompanied by her husband, to his retreat, to invite him to a more
secure asylum in their own house. Madame Roland then hastened to a
very influential friend, M. Busot, allowing no weariness to interrupt
her philanthropy, and entreated him to hasten immediately and endeavor
to exculpate Robespierre, before an act of accusation should be issued
against him. M. Busot hesitated, but, unable to resist the earnest
appeal of Madame Roland, replied, "I will do all in my power to save
this unfortunate young man, although I am far from partaking the
opinion of many respecting him. He thinks too much of himself to love
liberty; but he serves it, and that is enough for me. I will defend
him." Thus was the life of Robespierre saved. He lived to reward his
benefactors by consigning them all to prison and to death. Says
Lamartine sublimely, "Beneath the dungeons of the Conciergerie, Madame
Roland remembered that night with satisfaction. If Robespierre
recalled it in his power, this memory must have fallen colder upon his
heart than the ax of the headsman."

The powerful influence which Madame Roland was thus exerting could not
be concealed. Her husband became more illustrious through that
brilliance she was ever anxious to reflect upon him. She appeared to
have no ambition for personal renown. She sought only to elevate the
position and expand the celebrity of her companion. It was whispered
from ear to ear, and now and then openly asserted in the Assembly,
that the bold and decisive measures of the Girondists received their
impulse from the youthful and lovely wife of M. Roland.

In September, 1791, the Assembly was dissolved, and M. and Madame
Roland returned to the rural quiet of La Platiere. But in pruning the
vines, and feeding the poultry, and cultivating the flowers which so
peacefully bloomed in their garden, they could not forget the exciting
scenes through which they had passed, and the still more exciting
scenes which they foresaw were to come. She kept up a constant
correspondence with Robespierre and Busot, and furnished many very
able articles for a widely-circulated journal, established by the
Girondists for the advocacy of their political views. The question now
arose between herself and her husband whether they should relinquish
the agitations and the perils of a political li