upon a barge in the middle of the river: the barge with a hole in her
bottom! not too large! only sufficient to cause her to sink slowly,
very slowly, in sight of the crowd of delighted spectators.

The cries of the women and children, and even of the men, as they
felt the waters rising and gradually enveloping them, as they felt
themselves powerless even for a fruitless struggle, had proved most
exhilarating, so Citizen Collot declared, to the hearts of the true
patriots of Lyons.

Thus the discussion continued.

This was the era when every man had but one desire, that of outdoing
others in ferocity and brutality, and but one care, that of saving his
own head by threatening that of his neighbour.

The great duel between the Titanic leaders of these turbulent parties,
the conflict between hot-headed Danton on the one side and cold-
blooded Robespierre on the other, had only just begun; the great, all-
devouring monsters had dug their claws into one another, but the
issue of the combat was still at stake.

Neither of these two giants had taken part in these deliberations anent
the new religion and the new goddess. Danton gave signs now and
then of the greatest impatience, and muttered something about a new
form of tyranny, a new kind of oppression.

On the left, Robespierre in immaculate sea-green coat and carefully
gauffered linen was quietly polishing the nails of his right hand
against the palm of his left.