(42) Correspondance: To the Citizen Thore, May 28, 1848.

“If, instead of following Lamartine’s stupid, insipid policy,” she then wrote, “we had challenged all absolute monarchies, we should have had war outside, but union at home, and strength, in consequence of this, it home and abroad."(43) Like the great ancestors, she declared that the revolutionary idea is neither that of a sect nor of a party.  “It is a religion,” she says, “that we want to proclaim.”  All this zeal, this passion and this persistency in a woman is not surprising, but one does not feel much confidence in a certain kind of inspiration for politics after all this.

     (43) Correspondance: To Mazzini, October 10, 1849.

My reason for dwelling on the subject is that George Sand did not content herself with merely looking on at the events that were taking place, or even with talking about them with her friends.  She took part in the events, by means of her pen.  She scattered abroad all kinds of revolutionary writings.  On the 7th of March, she published her first Letter to the People, at the price of a penny, the profits of which were to be distributed among working-men without employment.  After congratulating these great and good people on their noble victory, she tells them they are all going to seek together for the truth of things.  That was exactly the state of the case.  They did not yet know what they wanted, but, in the mean time, while they were considering, they had at any rate begun with a revolution.  There was a second Letter to the People, and then these ceased.  Publications in those days were very short-lived.  They came to life again, though, sometimes from their ashes.  In April a newspaper was started, entitled The Cause of the People.  This was edited almost entirely by George Sand.  She wrote the leading article:  Sovereignty is Equality.  She reproduced her first Letter to the People, gave an article on the aspect of the streets of Paris, and another on theatrical events.  She left to her collaborator, Victor Borie, the task of explaining that the increase of taxes was an eminently republican measure, and an agreeable surprise for the person who had to pay them.  The third number of this paper contained a one-act play by George Sand, entitled Le Roi attend.  This had just been given at the Comedie-Francaise, or at the Theatre de la Republique, as it was then called.  It had been a gratis performance, given on the 9th of April, 1848, as a first national representation.  The actors at that time were Samson, Geffroy, Regnier, Anais, Augustine Brohan and Rachel.  There were not many of them, but they had some fine things to interpret.