A five or six-year-old child was playing beside the carriage, waiting for Robespierre to get off and enter the National Assembly. As soon as he did, the child quickly ran across the street to a gentleman.
"Sir, I heard it, inside they were arguing fiercely, even the carriage was shaking," the child said.
The gentleman took out some copper coins and stuffed them into the child's hands, but did not let go immediately, instead he asked, "Did you hear what they were arguing about?"
"No. They spoke too quickly, I couldn't understand," the child replied.
French is indeed a very precise language, but it's really hard to understand when spoken quickly.
The gentleman let go, and the child, happy with the copper coins, ran off. Copper coins, unlike paper money printed by the National Assembly, are hard currency anywhere and can be exchanged for anything a child might desire.
