version of the "Reign of Terror."

_Q._ Was the "Reign of Terror" very terrible?

_A._ Not very. At the Opéra Comique it had its comic side.

_Q._ How was that?

_A._ For instance, _les tricoteuses_ were represented by comely,
albeit plump maidens, who seemed more inclined to dance round a
Maypole than haunt a scaffold.

_Q._ Were ROBESPIERRE, ST. JUST, and the rest, cruel and vindictive?

_A._ I should say not; and I found my conclusion on the fact that they
engaged an actor given to practical joking as an officer of the Public
Security.

_Q._ From this, do you take it that ROBESPIERRE must have had a subtle
sense of humour?

_A._ I do; and the impression is strengthened by his order for a
general slaughter of Ursuline Nuns.

_Q._ Why should he order such a massacre?

_A._ To catch the heroine of _Thermidor_, a lady who had taken the
vows under the impression that her lover had been killed by the enemy.

_Q._ Had her lover been killed?