man, had boldly avowed herself a Deist, and a disbeliever in the “divine right” of priests as well as of kings. Having lived a pure, true life, she died trusting to her own merits rather than to those of any mediator. Her Deism, it appears, did not corrupt her morals, or make her any less lovingly brave; did not make her a less dutiful daughter, less faithful wife, less loving mother, less warm-hearted friend; did not make her even fear death. She was a clear thinker, a wise pilot at the helm of State, a daring patriot, an earnest, courageous soul. She was a true woman, who acted out in freedom, and untrammeled, the highest attributes of the feminine nature.
“A perfect woman, nobly planned
To warn, to comfort, and command.”
Mrs. Barbauld speaks in the following enthusiastic terms of Madame Roland’s “ Appeal to Impartial Posterity”:
“What talents! What energy of character! What powers of description! But
