trange scene which was thus witnessed in
these sepulchral caverns. The silence, as of the grave, reigned there,
while the clear and musical tones of Madame Roland, as of an angel of
consolation, vibrated through the rusty bars, and along the dark, damp
cloisters. One who was at that time an inmate of the prison, and
survived those dreadful scenes, has described, in glowing terms, the
almost miraculous effects of her soul-moving eloquence. She was
already past the prime of life, but she was still fascinating.
Combined with the most wonderful power of expression, she possessed a
voice so exquisitely musical, that, long after her lips were silenced
in death, its tones vibrated in lingering strains in the souls of
those by whom they had ever been heard. The prisoners listened with
the most profound attention to her glowing words, and regarded her
almost as a celestial spirit, who had come to animate them to heroic
deeds. She often spoke of the Girondists who had already perished upon
the guillotine. With perfect fearlessness she avowed her friendship
for them, and ever spoke of them as _our friends_. She, however, was
careful never to utter a word which would bring tears into the eye.
She wished to avoid herself all the weakness of tender emotions, and
to lure the thoughts of her companions away from every contemplation
which could enervate their energies.

Occasionally, in the solitude of her cell, as the image of her husband
and of her child rose before her, and her imagination dwelt upon her
desolated home and her blighted hopes--her husband denounced and
pursued by lawless violence, and her child soon to be an
orphan--woman's tenderness would triumph over the heroine's stoicism.
Burying, for a moment, her face in her hands, she would burst into a
flood of tears. Immediately struggling to regain composure, she would
brush her tears away, and dress her countenance in its accustomed
smiles. She remained in the Conciergerie but one week, and during that
time so endeared herself to all as to become the prominent object of
attention and love. Her case is one of the most extraordinary the
history of the world has presented, in which the very highest degree
of heroism is combined with the most resistless charms of feminine
loveliness. An unfeminine woman can never be _loved_ by men. She may
be respected for her talents, she may be honored for her philanthropy,
but she can not win the warmer emotions of the heart. But Madame
Ro