THE ORIGINS OF CONTEMPORARY FRANCE, VOLUME 3

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, VOLUME 2

by Hippolyte A. Taine

 Transcriber's Note: The numbering of Volumes, Books, Chapters and Sections are as in the French not the American edition. Annotations by the transcriber are initialled SR. 

 Svend Rom, April 2000. 

THE REVOLUTION. Volume II. THE JACOBIN CONQUEST. 

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION VOLUME II. 

 BOOK FIRST. THE JACOBINS. CHAPTER I. The Establishment of the new political organ. 6 I. The Revolutionary Party. II. The Jacobins. III. Jacobin Mentality. IV. What the Theory Promises. 

 CHAPTER II. The Party. I. Formation of the Party II. Jacobin and other Associations III. The Press. IV. The Clubs. V. Jacobin Power. 

 BOOK SECOND. THE FIRST STAGE OF THE CONQUEST. CHAPTER I. The Jacobins in Power. I. Manipulating the Vote. II. Danger of holding Public Office. III. Pursuit of the Opponents. IV. Turmoil. V. Tactics of Intimidation. 

 CHAPTER II. The Legislative Assembly. I. New Incompetent Assembly. II. Jacobin Intelligence and Culture. III. Their Sessions. IV. The political Parties. V. Means and Ways. VI. Political Tactics. CHAPTER III. Policy of the Assembly. I. Lawlessness. II. Revolutionary Laws. III. War. IV. Dictatorship of the Proletariat. V. Citoyens! Aux Armes!! CHAPTER IV. The Departments. I. Provence in 1792. II. The expedition to Aix. III. Marseilles against Arles. IV. The Jacobins of Avignon. V. The Class Struggle. CHAPTER V. PARIS. I. Weakening of the King. II. The Armed Revolutionaries. III. Jacobin Rabble-rousers. IV. The King in front of the people. CHAPTER VI. The Birth of the Terrible Paris Commune. I. The Plan of the Girondists. II. Girondists Foiled. III. Preparations for the Coup. IV. The Commune in Action. V. Purging the Assembly. VI. Take-over. VII. The King's Submission. VIII. Paris and its Jacobin leaders. 

 BOOK THIRD. THE SECOND STAGE OF THE CONQUEST. CHAPTER I. Mob rule in times of anarchy. I. Brigands. II. Homicidal Part of Revolutionary Creed. III. Terror is their Salvation. IV. Carnage. V. Abasement and Stupor. VI. Jacobin Massacre. CHAPTER II. THE DEPARTMENTS. I. The Sovereignty of the People. . II. Robbers and Victims. III. Local Dictature. IV. Jacobin Violence, Rape and Pillage. V. The Roving Gangs. VI. The Programme of the Party. CHAPTER III. The New Sovereigns. . I. Sharing the Spoils. II. Doctoring the Elections III Electoral Control. . IV: The New Republican Assembly. V. The Jacobins forming alone the Sovereign People. VI. Composition of the Jacobin Party. VII. The Jacobin Chieftains. CHAPTER IV. TAKEN HOSTAGE. I. Jacobin tactics and power. II. Jacobin characters and minds. III. Physical fear and moral cowardice. IV. Jacobin victory over Girondist majority. V. Jacobin violence against the people. VI. Jacobin tactics. VII. The central Jacobin committee in power. VIII. Right or Wrong, my Country. 

PREFACE:

In this volume, as in those preceding it and in those to come, therewill be found only the history of Public Authorities. Others will writethat of diplomacy, of war, of the finances, of the Church; my subjectis a limited one. To my great regret, however, this new part fills anentire volume; and the last part, on the revolutionary government, willbe as long. 

I have again to regret the dissatisfaction I foresee this work willcause to many of my countrymen. My excuse is, that almost all of them, more fortunate than myself, have political principles which serve themin forming their judgments of the past. I had none; if indeed, I hadany motive in undertaking this work, it was to seek for politicalprinciples. Thus far I have attained to scarcely more than one; and thisis so simple that will seem puerile, and that I hardly dare express it. Nevertheless I have adhered to it, and in what the reader is about toperuse my judgments are all derived from that; its truth is the measureof theirs. It consists wholly in this observation: that

HUMAN SOCIETY, ESPECIALLY A MODERN SOCIETY, IS A VAST AND COMPLICATEDTHING. 

Hence the difficulty in knowing and comprehending it. For the samereason it is not easy to handle the subject well. It follows that acultivated mind is much better able to do this than an uncultivatedmind, and a man specially qualified than one who is not. From these twolast truths flow many other consequences, which, if the reader deigns toreflect on them, he will have no trouble in defining. 

H. A. Taine, Paris 1881. 

*****

BOOK FIRST. THE JACOBINS. 

CHAPTER I. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NEW POLITICAL ORGAN. 

In this disorganized society, in which the passions of the people arethe sole real force, authority belongs to the party that understandshow to flatter and take advantage of these. As the legal government canneither repress nor gratify them, an illegal government arises whichsanctions, excites, and directs these passions. While the formertotters and falls to pieces, the latter grows stronger and improves itsorganization, until, becoming legal in its turn, it takes the other'splace. 

I. --Principle of the revolutionary party. 

 Its applications. 

As a justification of these popular outbreaks and assaults, we discoverat the outset a theory, which is neither improvised, added to, norsuperficial, but now firmly fixed in the public mind. It has for along time been nourished by philosophical discussions. It is a sort ofenduring, long-lived root out of which the new constitutional tree hasarisen. It is the dogma of popular sovereignty. --Literally interpreted, it means that the government is merely an inferior clerk orservant. [1101] We, the people, have established the government; and eversince, as well as before its organization, we are its masters. Betweenit and us no infinite or long lasting "contract". "None which cannot bedone away with by mutual consent or through the unfaithfulness of oneof the two parties. " Whatever it may be, or provide for, we are nowisebound by it; it depends wholly on us. We remain free to "modify, restrict, and resume as we please the power of which we have made itthe depository. " Through a primordial and inalienable title deed thecommonwealth belongs to us and to us only. If we put this into the handsof the government it is as when kings delegate authority for the timebeing to a minister He is always tempted to abuse; it is our businessto watch him, warn him, check him, curb him, and, if necessary, displacehim. We must especially guard ourselves against the craft and maneuversby which, under the pretext of preserving law and order, he would tieour hands. A law, superior to any he can make, forbids him to interferewith our sovereignty; and he does interfere with it when he undertakesto forestall, obstruct, or impede its exercise. The Assembly, even theConstituent, usurps when it treats the people like a lazybones (roifainéant), when it subjects them to laws, which they have notratified, and when it deprives them of action except through theirrepresentatives. [1102] The people themselves must act directly, mustassemble together and deliberate on public affairs. They must controland censure the acts of those they elect; they must influence these withtheir resolutions, correct their mistakes with their good sense, atonefor their weakness by their energy, stand at the helm alongside of them, and even employ force and throw them overboard, so that the ship maybe saved, which, in their hands, is drifting on a rock. [1103] Such, infact, is the doctrine of the popular party. This doctrine is carriedinto effect July 14 and October 5 and 6, 1789. Loustalot, CamilleDesmoulins, Fréron, Danton, Marat, Pétion, Robespierre proclaim ituntiringly in the political clubs, in the newspapers, and in theassembly. The government, according to them, whether local or central, trespasses everywhere. Why, after having overthrown one despotism, should we install another? We are freed from the yoke of a privilegedaristocracy, but we still suffer from "the aristocracy of ourrepresentatives. "[1104] Already at Paris, "the population isnothing, while the municipality is everything". It encroaches on ourimprescriptible rights in refusing to let a district revoke at will thefive members elected to represent it at the Hôtel-de-Ville, in passingordinances without obtaining the approval of voters, in preventingcitizens from assembling where they please, in interrupting the out-doormeetings of the clubs in the Palais Royal where "Patriots are drivenaway be the patrol. " Mayor Bailly, "who keeps liveried servants, whogives himself a salary of 110, 000 livres, " who distributes captains'commissions, who forces peddlers to wear metallic badges, and whocompels newspapers to have signatures to their articles is not only atyrant, but a crook, thief and "guilty of lése-nation. "--Worse are theabuses of the National Assembly. To swear fidelity to the constitution, as this body has just done, to impose its work on us, forcing us to takea similar oath, disregarding our superior rights to veto or ratifytheir decisions, [1105] is to "slight and scorn our sovereignty". Bysubstituting the will of 1200 individuals for that of the people, "ourrepresentatives have failed to treat us with respect. " This is not thefirst time, and it is not to be the last. Often do they exceed theirmandate, they disarm, mutilate, and gag their legitimate sovereign andthey pass decrees against the people in the people's name. Such istheir martial law, specially devised for "suppressing the uprisingof citizens", that is to say, the only means left to us againstconspirators, monopolists, and traitors. Such a decree againstpublishing any kind of joint placard or petition, is a decree "nulland void, " and "constitutes a most flagrant attack on the nation'srights. "[1106] Especially is the electoral law one of these, a lawwhich, requiring a small qualification tax for electors and a larger onefor those who are eligible, "consecrates the aristocracy of wealth. "The poor, who are excluded by the decree, must regard it as invalid;register themselves as they please and vote without scruple, becausenatural law has precedence over written law. It would simply be "fairreprisal" if, at the end of the session, the millions of citizens latelydeprived of their vote unjustly, should seize the usurping majority bythe threat and tell them:

"You cut us off from society in your chamber, because you are thestrongest there; we, in our turn, cut you off from the living society, because we are strongest in the street. You have killed us civilly--wekill you physically. "

Accordingly, from this point of view, all riots are legitimate. Robespierre from the rostrum[1107] excuses jacqueries, refuses to callcastle-burners brigands, and justifies the insurgents of Soissons, Nancy, Avignon, and the colonies. Desmoulins, alluding to two men hungat Douai, states that it was done by the people and soldiers combined, and declares that: "Henceforth, --I have no hesitation in saying it--theyhave legitimated the insurrection;" they were guilty, and it was wellto hang them. [1108] Not only do the party leaders excuse assassinations, but they provoke them. Desmoulins, "attorney-general of the Lantern, insists on each of the 83 departments being threatened with at least onelamppost hanging. " (This sobriquet is bestowed on Desmoulins on accountof his advocacy of street executions, the victims of revolutionarypassions being often hung at the nearest lanterne, or street lamp, at that time in Paris suspended across the street by ropes orchains. --(Tr. )) Meanwhile Marat, in the name of principle, constantlysounds the alarm in his journal:

"When public safety is in peril, the people must take power out of thehands of those whom it is entrusted. . . Put that Austrian woman and herbrother-in-law in prison. . . Seize the ministers and their clerks and putthem in irons. . . Make sure of the mayor and his lieutenants; keep thegeneral in sight, and arrests his staff. . . The heir to the throne has norights to a dinner while you want bread. Organize bodies of armed men. March to the National Assembly and demand food at once, supplied toyou out of the national stocks. . . Demand that the nation's poor havea future secured to them out of the national contribution. If you arerefused join the army, take the land, as well as gold which the rascalswho want to force you to come to terms by hunger have buried andshare it amongst you. Off with the heads of the ministers and theirunderlings, for now is the time; that of Lafayette and of every rascalon his staff, and of every unpatriotic battalion officer, includingBailly and those municipal reactionaries--all the traitors in theNational Assembly!"

Marat, indeed, still passes for a furious ranter among people of someintelligence. But for all that, this is the sum and substance of histheory: It installs in the political establishment, over the headsof delegated, regular, and legal powers an anonymous, imbecile, and terrific power whose decisions are absolute, whose projects areconstantly adopted, and whose intervention is sanguinary. This power isthat of the crowd, of a ferocious, suspicious sultan, who, appointinghis viziers, keeps his hands free to direct them and his scimitar readysharpened to cut of their heads. 

II. --The Jacobins. 

 Formation of the Jacobins. --The common human elements of his character. --Conceit and dogmatism are sensitive and rebellious in every community. --How kept down in all well-founded societies. --Their development in the new order of things. --Effect of milieu on imagination and ambitions. --The stimulants of Utopianism, abuses of speech, and derangement of ideas. --Changes in office; interests playing upon and perverted feeling. 

That a speculator in his closet should have concocted such a theory iscomprehensible; paper will take all that is put upon it, while abstractbeings, the hollow simulacra and philosophic puppets he concocts, areadapted to every sort of combination. --That a lunatic in his cell shouldadopt and preach this theory is also comprehensible; he is beset withphantoms and lives outside the actual world, and, moreover in thisever-agitated democracy he is the eternal informer and instigator ofevery riot and murder that takes place; he it is who under the name of"the people's friend" becomes the arbiter of lives and the veritablesovereign. --That a people borne down with taxes, wretched and starving, indoctrinated by public speakers and sophists, should have welcomed thistheory and acted under it is again comprehensible; necessity knows nolaw, and where the is oppression, that doctrine is true which serves tothrow oppression off. 

But that public men, legislators and statesmen, with, at last, ministersand heads of the government, should have made this theory their own;

* that they should have more fondly clung to it as it became moredestructive;

* that, daily for three years they should have seen social ordercrumbling away piecemeal under its blows and not have recognized it asthe instrument of such vast ruin;

* that, in the light of the most disastrous experience, instead ofregarding it as a curse they should have glorified it as a boon;

* that many of them--an entire party; almost all of the Assembly--shouldhave venerated it as a religious dogma and carried it to extremes withenthusiasm and rigor of faith;

* that, driven by it into a narrow strait, ever getting narrower andnarrower, they should have continued to crush each other at every step;

* that, finally, on reaching the visionary temple of their so-calledliberty, they should have found themselves in a slaughter-house, and, within its precincts, should have become in turn butcher and brute;

* that, through their maxims of a universal and perfect liberty theyshould have inaugurated a despotism worthy of Dahomey, a tribunallike that of the Inquisition, and raised human hecatombs like those ofancient Mexico;

* that amidst their prisons and scaffolds they should persist inbelieving in the righteousness of their cause, in their own humanity, intheir virtue, and, on their fall, have regarded themselves as martyrs--

is certainly strange. Such intellectual aberration, such excessiveconceit are rarely encountered, and a concurrence of circumstances, thelike of which has never been seen in the world but once, was necessaryto produce it. [1108]

Extravagant conceit and dogmatism, however, are not rare in thehuman species. These two roots of the Jacobin intellect exist in allcountries, underground and indestructible. Everywhere they are keptfrom sprouting by the established order of things; everywhere are theystriving to overturn old historic foundations, which press them down. Now, as in the past, students live in garrets, bohemians in lodgings, physicians without patients and lawyers without clients in lonelyoffices, so many Brissots, Dantons, Marats, Robespierres, and St. Justs in embryo; only, for lack of air and sunshine, they never cometo maturity. At twenty, on entering society, a young man's judgmentand pride are extremely sensitive. --Firstly, let his society be what itwill, it is for him a scandal to pure reason: for it was not organizedby a legislative philosopher in accordance with a sound principle, butis the work of one generation after another, according to manifold andchanging necessities. It is not a product of logic, but of history, andthe new-fledged thinker shrugs his shoulders as he looks up and seeswhat the ancient tenement is, the foundations of which are arbitrary, its architecture confused, and its many repairs plainly visible. --Inthe second place, whatever degree of perfection preceding institutions, laws, and customs have reached, these have not received his approval;others, his predecessors, have chosen for him, he is being subjectedbeforehand to moral, political, and social forms which pleased them. Whether they please him or not is of no consequence. Like a horsetrotting along between the poles of a wagon in the harness that happensto have been put on his back, he has to make best of it. --Besides, whatever its organization, as it is essentially a hierarchy, he isnearly always subaltern in it, and must ever remain so, either soldier, corporal or sergeant. Even under the most liberal system, that in whichthe highest grades are accessible to all, for every five or six men whotake the lead or command others, one hundred thousand must follow or becommanded. This makes it vain to tell every conscript that he carriersa marshal's baton in his sack, when, nine hundred and ninety-nine timesout of a thousand, he discovers too late, on rummaging his sack, thatthe baton is not there. --It is not surprising that he is tempted to kickagainst social barriers within which, willing or not, he is enrolled, and which predestine him to subordination. It is not surprising that onemerging from traditional influences he should accept a theory, whichsubjects these arrangements to his judgment and gives him authority overhis superiors. And all the more because there is no doctrine moresimple and better adapted to his inexperience, it is the only one he cancomprehend and manage off-hand. Hence it is that young men on leavingcollege, especially those who have their way to make in the world, aremore or less Jacobin, --it is a disorder of growing up. [1109]--In wellorganized communities this ailment is beneficial, and soon cured. The public establishment being substantial and carefully guarded, malcontents soon discover that they have not enough strength to pull itdown, and that on contending with its guardians they gain nothing butblows. After some grumbling, they too enter at one or the other of itsdoors, find a place for themselves, and enjoy its advantages or becomereconciled to their lot. Finally, either through imitation, or habit, or calculation, they willingly form part of that garrison which, inprotecting public interests, protects their own private interestsas well. Generally, after ten years have gone by, the young man hasobtained his rank in the file, where he advances step by step in his owncompartment, which he no longer thinks of tearing to pieces, and underthe eye of a policeman who he no longer thinks of condemning. He evensometimes thinks that policeman and compartment are useful to him. Should he consider the millions of individuals who are trying to mountthe social ladder, each striving to get ahead of the other, it may dawnupon him that the worst of calamities would be a lack of barriers and ofguardians. 

Here the worm-eaten barriers have cracked all at once, their easy-going, timid, incapable guardians having allowed things to take their course. Society, accordingly, disintegrated and a pell-mell, is turned intoa turbulent, shouting crowd, each pushing and being pushed, all alikeover-excited and congratulating each other on having finally obtainedelbow-room, and all demanding the new barriers shall be as fragile andthe new guardians as feeble, as defenseless, and as inert as possible. This is what has been done. As a natural consequence, those who wereforemost in the rank have been relegated to the last; many have beenstruck down in the fray, while in this permanent state of disorder, which goes under the name of lasting order, elegant footwear continueto be stamped upon by hobnailed boots and wooden shoes. --The fanatic andthe intemperate egoists can now let themselves go. They are no longersubject to any ancient institutions, nor any armed might which canrestrain them. On the contrary, the new constitution, through itstheoretical declarations and the practical application of these, invitesthem to let themselves go. --For, on the one hand, legally, it declaresto be based upon pure reason, beginning with a long string of abstractdogmas from which its positive prescriptions are assumed to berigorously deduced. As a consequence all laws are submitted to theshallow comments of reasoners and quibblers who will both interpret andbreak them according to the principles. [1110]--On the other hand, as amatter of fact, it hands over all government powers to the elections andconfers on the clubs the control of the authorities: which is to offera premium to the presumption of the ambitious who put themselves forwardbecause they think themselves capable, and who defame their rulerspurposely to displace them. --Every government department, organizationor administrative system is like a hothouse which serves to favor somespecies of the human plant and wither others. This one is the best onefor the propagation and rapid increase of the coffee-house politician, club haranguer, the stump-speaker, the street-rioter, the committeedictator--in short, the revolutionary and the tyrant. In this politicalhothouse wild dreams and conceit will assume monstrous proportions, and, in a few months, brains that are now only ardent become hotheads. 

Let us trace the effect of this excessive, unhealthy temperature onimaginations and ambitions. The old tenement is down; the foundations ofthe new one are not yet laid; society has to be made over again from topto bottom. All willing men are asked to come and help, and, as oneplain principle suffices in drawing a plan, the first comer may succeed. Henceforth political fancies swarm in the district meetings, inthe clubs, in the newspapers, in pamphlets, and in every head-long, venturesome brain. 

"There is not a merchant's clerk educated by reading the 'NouvelleHéloise, '[1111] not a school teacher that has translated ten pages ofLivy, not an artist that has leafed through Rollin, not an aestheteconverted into journalists by committing to memory the riddles of the'Contrat Social, ' who does not draft a constitution. . . As nothing iseasier than to perfect a daydream, all perturbed minds gather, andbecome excited, in this ideal realm. They start out with curiosity andend up with enthusiasm. The man in the street rushes to the enterprisein the same manner as a miser to a conjurer promising treasures, and, thus childishly attracted, each hopes to find at once, what has neverbeen seen under even the most liberal governments: perpetual perfection, universal brotherhood, the power of acquiring what one lacks, and a lifecomposed wholly of enjoyment. "

One of these pleasures, and a keen one, is to daydream. One soars inspace. By means of eight or ten ready-made sentences, found in thesix-penny catechisms circulated by thousands in the country and in thesuburbs of the towns and cities, [1112] a village attorney, a customsclerk, a theater attendant, a sergeant of a soldier's mess, becomesa legislator and philosopher. He criticizes Malouet, Mirabeau, theMinistry, the King, the Assembly, the Church, foreign Cabinets, France, and all Europe. Consequently, on these important subjects, which alwaysseemed forever forbidden to him, he offers resolutions, reads addresses, makes harangues, obtains applause, and congratulates himself on havingargued so well and with such big words. To hold fort on questions thatare not understood is now an occupation, a matter of pride and profit. 

"More is uttered in one day, " says an eye-witness, [1113] "in one sectionof Paris than in one year in all the Swiss political assemblies puttogether. An Englishman would give six weeks of study to what we disposeof in a quarter of an hour. "

Everywhere, in the town halls, in popular meetings, in the sectionalassemblies, in the wine shops, on the public promenades, on streetcorners vanity erects a tribune of verbosity. 

"Contemplate the incalculable activity of such a machine in a loquaciousnation where the passion for being something dominates all otheraffections, where vanity has more phases than there are starts in thefirmament, where reputations already cost no more than the trouble ofinsisting on their being deserved, where society is divided betweenmediocrities and their trumpeters who laud them as divinities; whereso few people are content with their lot, where the corner grocer isprouder of his epaulette than the Grand Condé of his Marshal's baton, where agitation without object or resources is perpetual, where, from the floor-scrubber to the dramatist, from the academician to thesimpleton who gets muddled over the evening newspaper, from the wittycourtier down to his philosophic lackey, each one revises Montesquieuwith the self-sufficiency of a child which, because it is learning toread, deems itself wise; where self-esteem, in disputation, caviling andsophistication, destroys all sensible conversation; where no one uttersa word, but to teach, never imagining that to learn one must keep quiet;where the triumphs of a few lunatics entice every crackbrain from hisden; where, with two nonsensical ideas put together out of a book thatis not understood, a man assumes to have principles; where swindlerstalk about morality, women of easy virtue about civism, and themost infamous of beings about the dignity of the species; where thedischarged valet of a grand seignior calls himself Brutus!" --Inreality, he is Brutus in his own eyes. Let the time come and he will beso in earnest, especially against his late master; all he has to do isto give him a thrust with his pike. Until he acts out the part he spoutsit, and grows excited over his own tirades; his common sense gives wayto the bombastic jargon of the revolution and to declamation, whichcompletes the Utopian performance and eases his brain of its lastmodicum of ballast. 

It is not merely ideas which the new regime has disturbed, but it hasalso disordered sentiments. "Authority is transferred from the Châteauof Versailles and the courtier's antechamber, with no intermediary orcounterpoise, to the proletariat and its flatterers. "[1114] The whole ofthe staff of the old government is brusquely set aside, while a generalelection has brusquely installed another in is place, offices not beinggiven to capacity, seniority, and experience, but to self-sufficiency, intrigue, and exaggeration. Not only are legal rights reduced to acommon level, but natural grades are transposed; the social ladder, overthrown, is set up again bottom upwards; the first effect of thepromised regeneration is "to substitute in the administration of publicaffairs pettifoggers for magistrates, ordinary citizens for cabinetministers, ex-commoners for ex-nobles, rustics for soldiers, soldiersfor captains, captains for generals, curés for bishops, vicars forcurés, monks for vicars, brokers for financiers, empiricists foradministrators, journalists for political economists, stump-orators forlegislators, and the poor for the rich. "--Every species of covetousnessis stimulated by this spectacle. The profusion of offices and theanticipation of vacancies "has excited the thirst for command, stimulated self-esteem, and inflamed the hopes of the most inept. A rudeand grim presumption renders the fool and the ignoramus unconscious oftheir insignificance. They have deemed themselves capable of anything, because the law granted public functions merely to capacity. There hasappeared in front of one and all an ambitious perspective; the soldierthinks only of displacing his captain, the captain of becoming general, the clerk of supplanting the chief of his department, the new-fledgedattorney of being admitted to the high court, the curé of being ordaineda bishop, the shallow scribbler of seating himself on the legislativebench. Offices and professions vacated by the appointment of so manyupstarts afford in their turn a vast field for the ambition of thelower classes. "--Thus, step by step, owing to the reversal of socialpositions, is brought about a general intellectual fever. 

"France is transformed into a gaming-table, where, alongside of thediscontented citizen offering his stakes, sits, bold, blustering, and with fermenting brain, the pretentious subaltern rattling hisdice-box. . . At the sight of a public official rising from nowhere, eventhe soul of a bootblack will bound with emulation. "--He has merely topush himself ahead and elbow his way to secure a ticket "in this immenselottery of popular luck, of preferment without merit, of successwithout talent, of apotheoses without virtues, of an infinity of placesdistributed by the people wholesale, and enjoyed by the people indetail. "--Political charlatans flock thither from every quarters, thosetaking the lead who, being most in earnest, believe in the virtue oftheir nostrum, and need power to impose its recipe on the community; allbeing saviors, all places belong to them, and especially the highest. They lay siege to these conscientiously and philanthropically; ifnecessary, they will take them by assault, hold them through force, and, forcibly or otherwise, administer their cure-all to the human species. 

III. --Psychology of the Jacobin. 

 His intellectual method. --Tyranny of formulae and suppression of facts. --Mental balance disturbed. --Signs of this in the revolutionary language. --Scope and expression of the Jacobin intellect. --In what respect his method is mischievous. --How it is successful. --Illusions produced by it. 

Such are our Jacobins, born out of social decomposition like mushroomsout of compost. Let us consider their inner organization, for they haveone as formerly the Puritans; we have only to follow their dogma down toits depths, as with a sounding-line, to reach the psychological stratumin which the normal balance of faculty and sentiment is overthrown. 

When a statesman, who is not wholly unworthy of that great name, findsan abstract principle in his way, as, for instance, that of popularsovereignty, he accepts it, if he accepts it at all, according tohis conception of its practical bearings. He begins, accordingly, byimagining it applied and in operation. From personal recollections andsuch information as he can obtain, he forms an idea of some village ortown, some community of moderate size in the north, in the south, orin the center of the country, for which he has to make laws. He thenimagines its inhabitants acting according to his principle, that is tosay, voting, mounting guard, levying taxes, and administering theirown affairs. Familiar with ten or a dozen groups of this sort, which heregards as examples, he concludes by analogy as to others and the reston the territory. Evidently it is a difficult and uncertain process; tobe exact, or nearly so, requires rare powers of observation and, at eachstep, a great deal of tact, for a nice calculation has to be made ongiven quantities imperfectly ascertained and imperfectly noted![1115]Any political leader who does this successfully, does it through theripest experience associated with genius. And even then he keeps hishand on the check-rein in pushing his innovation or reform; he isalmost always tentative; he applies his law only in part, gradually andprovisionally; he wishes to ascertain its effect; he is always ready tostay its operation, amend it, or modify it, according to the good or illresults of experiment; the state of the human material he has to dealwith is never clear to his mind, even when superior, until after manyand repeated gropings. --Now the Jacobin pursues just the oppositecourse. His principle is an axiom of political geometry, which alwayscarries its own proof along with it; for, like the axioms of commongeometry, it is formed out of the combination of a few simple ideas, andits evidence imposes itself at once on all minds capable of embracingin one conception the two terms of which it is the aggregate expression. Man in general, the rights of Man, the social contract, liberty, equality, reason, nature, the people, tyrants, are examples of thesebasic concepts: whether precise or not, they fill the brain of the newsectarian. Often these terms are merely vague and grandiose words, butthat makes no difference; as soon as they meet in his brain an axiomsprings out of them that can be instantly and absolutely applied onevery occasion and to excess. Mankind as it is does not concern him. Hedoes not observe them; he does not require to observe them; with closedeyes he imposes a pattern of his own on the human substance manipulatedby him; the idea never enters his head of forming any previousconception of this complex, multiform, swaying material--contemporarypeasants, artisans, townspeople, curés and nobles, behind their plows, in their homes, in their shops, in their parsonages, in their mansions, with their inveterate beliefs, persistent inclinations, and powerfulwills. Nothing of this enters into or lodges in his mind; all itsavenues are stopped by the abstract principle which flourishes thereand fills it completely. Should actual experience through the eye orear plant some unwelcome truth forcibly in his mind, it cannot subsistthere; however noisy and relentless it may be, the abstract principledrives it out;[1116] if need be it will distort and strangle it, considering it a slanderer since it refutes a principle which is trueand undeniable in itself. Obviously, a mind of this kind is not sound;of the two faculties which should pull together harmoniously, one isdegenerated and the other overgrown; facts cannot turn the scale againstthe theory. Charged on one side and empty on the other, the Jacobin mindturns violently over on that side to which it leans, and such is itsincurable infirmity. 

Consider, indeed, the authentic monuments of Jacobin thought, the"Journal des Amis de la Constitution, " the gazettes of Loustalot, Desmoulins, Brissot, Condorcet, Fréron and Marat, Robespierre's, and St. Just's pamphlets and speeches, the debates in the Legislative Assemblyand in the Convention, the harangues, addresses and reports of theGirondins and Montagnards, in brief, the forty volumes of extractscompiled by Buchez and Roux. Never has so much been said to so littlepurpose; all the truth that is uttered is drowned in the monotony andinflation of empty verbiage and vociferous bombast. One experience inthis direction is sufficient. [1117] The historian who resorts this massof rubbish for accurate information finds none of any account; in vainwill he read kilometers of it: hardly will he there meet one fact, oneinstructive detail, one document which brings before his eyes a distinctpersonality, which shows him the real sentiments of a villager or of agentleman, which vividly portrays the interior of a hôtel-de-ville, ofa soldier's barracks, of a municipal chamber, or the character of aninsurrection. To define fifteen or twenty types and situations which sumup the history of the period, we have been and shall be obliged toseek them elsewhere--in the correspondence of local administrators, in affidavits on criminal records, in confidential reports of thepolice, [1118] and in the narratives of foreigners, [1119] who, preparedfor it by a different education, look behind words for things, and seeFrance beyond the "Contrat Social. " This teeming France, this grandtragedy which twenty-six millions of players are performing on a stageof 26 000 square leagues, is lost to the Jacobin. His literature, aswell as his brain, contain only insubstantial generalizations like thoseabove cited, rolling out in a mere play of ideas, sometimes in conciseterms when the writer happens to be a professional reasoner likeCondorcet, but most frequently in a tangled, knotty style full of looseand disconnected meshes when the spokesman happens to be an improvisedpolitician or a philosophic tyro like the ordinary deputies of theAssembly and the speakers of the clubs. It is a pedantic scholasticismset forth with fanatical rant. Its entire vocabulary consists of abouta hundred words, while all ideas are reduced to one, that of man inhimself: human units, all alike equal and independent, contractingtogether for the first time. This is their concept of society. Nonecould be briefer, for, to arrive at it, man had to be reduced to aminimum. Never were political brains so willfully dried up. For itis the attempt to systematize and to simplify which causes theirimpoverishment. In that respect they go by the methods of their timeand in the track of Jean-Jacques Rousseau: their outlook on life is theclassic view, which, already narrow in the late philosophers, has nowbecome even more narrow and hardened. The best representatives of thetype are Condorcet, [1120] among the Girondins, and Robespierre, amongthe Montagnards, both mere dogmatists and pure logicians, the latter themost remarkable and with a perfection of intellectual sterility neversurpassed. --Unquestionably, as far as the formulation of durable lawsis concerned, i. E. Adapting the social machinery to personalities, conditions, and circumstances; their mentality is certainly themost impotent and harmful. It is organically short-sighted, and byinterposing their principles between it and reality, they shut off thehorizon. Beyond their crowd and the club it distinguishes nothing, whilein the vagueness and confusion of the distance it erects the hollowidols of its own Utopia. --But when power is to be seized by assault, anda dictatorship arbitrarily exercised, the mechanical inflexibility ofsuch a mind is useful rather than detrimental. It is not embarrassedor slowed down, like that of a statesman, by the obligation to makeinquiries, to respect precedents, of looking into statistics, ofcalculating and tracing beforehand in different directions the near andremote consequences of its work as this affects the interests, habits, and passions of diverse classes. All this is now obsoleteand superfluous: the Jacobin knows on the spot the correct form ofgovernment and the good laws. For both construction as well as fordestruction, his rectilinear method is the quickest and most vigorous. For, if calm reflection is required to get at what suits twenty-sixmillions of living Frenchmen, a mere glance suffices to understand thedesires of the abstract men of their theory. Indeed, according to thetheory, men are all shaped to one pattern, nothing being left to thembut an elementary will; thus defined, the philosophic robot demandsliberty, equality and popular sovereignty, the maintenance of the rightsof man and adhesion to the "Contrat Social. " That is enough: from nowon the will of the people is known, and known beforehand; a consultationamong citizens previous to action is not essential; there is noobligation to await their votes. In any events, a ratification by thepeople is sure; and should this not be forthcoming it is owing to theirignorance, disdain or malice, in which case their response deservesto be considered as null. The best thing to do, consequently, throughprecaution and to protect the people from what is bad for them, isto dictate to them what is good for them. --Here, the Jacobin mightbe sincere; for the men in whose behalf he claims rights are notflesh-and-blood Frenchmen, as we see them in the streets and in thefields, but men in general, as they ought to be on leaving the hands ofNature, or after the teachings of Reason. As to the former, there is noneed of being scrupulous because they are infatuated with prejudicesand their opinions are mere drivel; as for the latter, it is just theopposite: full of respect for the vainglorious images of his own theory, of ghosts produced by his own intellectual device, the Jacobin willalways bow down to responses that he himself has provided, for, thebeings that he has created are more real in his eyes than living onesand it is their suffrage on which he counts. Accordingly, viewingthings in the worst lights, he has nothing against him but the momentaryantipathy of a purblind generation. To offset this, he enjoys theapproval of humanity, self-obtained; that of a posterity which his actshave regenerated; that of men who, thanks to him, who are again becomewhat they should never have ceased to be. Hence, far from looking uponhimself as an usurper or a tyrant, he considers himself the naturalmandatory of a veritable people, the authorized executor of the commonwill. Marching along in the procession formed for him by this imaginarycrowd, sustained by millions of metaphysical wills created by himselfin his own image, he has their unanimous assent, and, like a chorus oftriumphant shouts, he will fill the outward world with the inward echoof his own voice. 

IV. --What the theory promises. 

 How it flatters wounded self-esteem. --The ruling passion of the Jacobin. --Apparent both in style and conduct. --He alone is virtuous in his own estimation, while his adversaries are vile. --They must accordingly be put out of the way. -- Perfection of this character. --Common sense and moral sense both perverted. 

When an ideology attracts people, it is less due to its sophisticationthan to the promises it holds out. It appeals more to their desires thanto their intelligence; for, if the heart sometimes may be the dupe ofthe head, the latter is much more frequently the dupe of the former. Wedo not accept a system because we deem it a true one, but because thetruth we find in it suits us. Political or religious fanaticism, anytheological or philosophical channel in which truth flows, alwayshas its source in some ardent longing, some secret passion, someaccumulation of intense, painful desire to which a theory affordsand outlet. In the Jacobin, as well as in the Puritan, there is afountain-head of this description. What feeds this source with thePuritan is the anxieties of a disturbed conscience which, forming foritself some idea of perfect justice, becomes rigid and multiplies thecommandments it believes that God has promulgated; on being constrainedto disobey these it rebels, and, to impose them on others, it becomestyrannical even to despotism. The first effort of the Puritan, however, wholly internal, is self-control; before becoming political he becomesmoral. With the Jacobin, on the contrary, the first precept is notmoral, political; it is not his duties which he exaggerates but hisrights, while his doctrine, instead of being a prick to his conscience, flatters his pride. [1121] However vast and insatiate human pride maybe, now it is satisfied, for never before has it had so much to feedupon. --In the program of the sect, do not look for the restrictedprerogatives growing out of self-respect which the proud-spirited manclaims for himself, such as civil rights accompanied by those libertiesthat serve as sentinels and guardians of these rights--security forlife and property, the stability of the law, the integrity of courts, equality of citizens before the law and under taxation, the abolitionof privileges and arbitrary proceedings, the election of representativesand the administration of public funds. Summing it up, the preciousguarantees which render each citizen an inviolable sovereign on hislimited domain, which protect his person and property against allspecies of public or private oppression and exaction, which maintain himcalm and erect before competitors as well as adversaries, upright andrespectful in the presence of magistrates and in the presence of thegovernment. 

A Malouet, a Mounier, a Mallet du Pan, partisans of the EnglishConstitution and Parliament, may be content with such trifling gifts, but the Jacobin theory holds them all cheap, and, if need be, willtrample them in the dust. Independence and security for the privatecitizen is not what it promises, not the right to vote every two years, not a moderate exercise of influence, not an indirect, limited andintermittent control of the commonwealth, but political dominion in thefull and complete possession of France and the French people. There isno doubt on this point. In Rousseau's own words, the "Contrat Social"prescribes "the complete alienation to the community of each associateand all his rights, " every individual surrendering himself wholly, "just as he may actually be, he himself and all his powers of whichhis possessions form a part, " so that the state not only the recognizedowner of property, but of minds and bodies as well, may forcibly andlegitimately impose on every member of it such education, formof worship, religious faith, opinions and sympathies as it deemsbest. [1122] Now each man, solely because he is a man, is by right amember of this despotic sovereignty. Whatever, accordingly, my conditionmay be, my incompetence, my ignorance, my insignificance in the careerin which I have plodded along, I have full control over the fortunes, lives, and consciences of twenty-six million French people, beingaccordingly Czar and Pope, according to my share of authority. ----Butif I adhere strictly to this doctrine, I am yet more so than my quotawarrants. This royal prerogative with which I am endowed is onlyconferred on those who, like myself, sign the Social Contract infull; others, merely because they reject some clause of it, incur aforfeiture; no one must enjoy the advantages of a pact of which some ofthe conditions are repudiated. --Even better, as this pact is based onnatural right and is obligatory, he who rejects it or withdraws from it, becomes by that act a miscreant, a public wrong-doer and an enemy ofthe people. There were once crimes of royal lèse-majesty; now there arecrimes of popular lèse-majesty. Such crimes are committed when by deed, word, or thought, any portion whatever of the more than royal authoritybelonging to the people is denied or contested. The dogma through whichpopular sovereignty is proclaimed thus actually ends in a dictatorshipof the few, and a proscription of the many. Outside of the sect you areoutside of the laws. We, the five or six thousand Jacobins of Paris, are the legitimate monarch, the infallible Pontiff, and woe betide therefractory and the lukewarm, all government agents, all private persons, the clergy, the nobles, the rich, merchants, traders, the indifferentamong all classes, who, steadily opposing or yielding uncertainadhesion, dare to throw doubt on our unquestionable right. 

One by one these consequences are to come into light, and it is evidentthat, let the logical machinery by which they unfold themselves be whatit may, no ordinary person, unless of consummate vanity, will fullyadopt them. He must have an exalted opinion of himself to considerhimself sovereign otherwise than by his vote, to conduct public businesswith no more misgivings than his private business, to directly andforcibly interfere with this, to set himself up, he and his clique, asguides, censors and rulers of his government, to persuade himself that, with his mediocre education and average intellect, with his fewscraps of Latin and such information as is obtained in reading-rooms, coffee-houses, and newspapers, with no other experience than that of aclub, or a municipal council, he could discourse wisely and well on thevast, complex questions which superior men, specially devoted to them, hesitate to take up. At first this presumption existed in him onlyin germ, and, in ordinary times, it would have remained, for lack ofnourishment, as dry-rot or creeping mold, But the heart knows notwhat strange seeds it contains! Any of these, feeble and seeminglyinoffensive, needs only air and sunshine to become a noxious excrescenceand a colossal plant. Whether third or fourth rate attorney, counselor, surgeon, journalist, curé, artist, or author, the Jacobin is like theshepherd that has just found, in one corner of his hut, a lot of oldparchments which entitle him to the throne. What a contrasts between themeanness of his calling and the importance with which the theory investshim! With what rapture he accepts a dogma that raises him so high inhis own estimation! Diligently conning the Declaration of Rights, the Constitution, all the official documents that confer on himsuch glorious prerogatives, charging his imagination with them, heimmediately assumes a tone befitting his new position. [1123]--Nothingsurpasses the haughtiness and arrogance of this tone. It declares itselfat the outset in the harangues of the clubs and in the petitions to theConstituent Assembly. Loustalot, Fréron, Danton, Marat, Robespierre, St. Just, always employ dictatorial language, that of the sect, andwhich finally becomes the jargon of their meanest valets. Courtesy ortoleration, anything that denotes regard or respect for others, find noplace in their utterances nor in their acts; a swaggering, tyrannicalconceit creates for itself a language in its own image, and we see notonly the foremost actors, but their minor associates, enthroned on theirgrandiloquent platform. Each in his own eyes is Roman, savior, hero, andgreat man. 

"I stood in the tribune of the palace, " writes Anarcharsis Clootz, [1124]"at the head of the foreigners, acting as ambassador of the humanspecies, while the ministers of the tyrants regarded me with a jealousand disconcerted air. "

A schoolmaster at Troyes, on the opening of the club in that town, advises the women "to teach their children, as soon as they can uttera word, that they are free and have equal rights with the mightiestpotentates of the universe. "[1125] Pétion's account of the journey inthe king's carriage, on the return from Varennes, must be read to seehow far self-importance of a pedant and the self-conceit of a lout canbe carried. [1126] In their memoirs and even down to their epitaphs, Barbaroux, Buzot, Pétion, Roland, and Madame Roland[1127] givethemselves certificates of virtue and, if we could take their word forit, they would pass for Plutarch's model characters. --This infatuation, from the Girondins to the Montagnards, continues to grow. St. Just, at the age of twenty-four, and merely a private individual, is alreadyconsumed with suppressed ambition. Marat says:

"I believe that I have exhausted every combination of the humanintellect in relation to morality, philosophy and political science. "

Robespierre, from the beginning to the end of the Revolution, isalways, in his own eyes, Robespierre the unique, the one pure man, theinfallible and the impeccable; no man ever burnt to himself the incenseof his own praise so constantly and so directly. --At this level, conceitmay drink the theory to the bottom, however revolting the dregs andhowever fatal its poison even to those defy its nausea for the sake ofswallowing it. And, since it is virtue, no one may refuse it withoutcommitting a crime. Thus construed, the theory divides Frenchmen intotwo groups: one consisting of aristocrats, fanatics, egoists, thecorrupt, bad citizens in short, and the other patriots, philosophers, and the virtuous, that is to say, those belonging to the sect. [1128]Thanks to this reduction, the vast moral and social world with whichthey deal finds its definition, expression, and representation in aready-made antithesis. The aim of the government is now clear: thewicked must submit to the good, or, which is briefer, the wicked must besuppressed. To this end let us employ confiscation, imprisonment, exile, drowning and the guillotine and a large scale. All means are justifiableand meritorious against these traitors; now that the Jacobin hascanonized his slaughter, he slays through philanthropy. --Thus is theforming of his personality completed like that of a theologian whobecomes inquisitor. Extraordinary contrasts are gathered to constructit:--a lunatic that is logical, and a monster that pretends to havea conscience. Under the pressure of his faith and egotism, he hasdeveloped two deformities, one of the head and the other of the heart;his common sense is gone, and his moral sense is utterly perverted. Infixing his mind on abstract formulas, he is no longer able to see menas they are. His self-admiration makes him consider his adversaries, andeven his rivals, as miscreants deserving of death. On this downhill roadnothing stops him, for, in qualifying things inversely to their truemeaning, he has violated within himself the precious concepts whichbrings us back to truth and justice. No light reaches eyes which regardblindness as clear-sightedness; no remorse affects a soul which erectsbarbarism into patriotism, and which sanctions murder with duty. 

*****

[Footnote 1101: Cf. "The Ancient Régime, " p. 242. Citations from the"Contrat Social. "--Buchez et Roux, "Histoire Parlementaire, " XXVI. 96. Declaration of rights read by Robespierre in the Jacobin club, April 21, 1793, and adopted by the club as its own. "The people is sovereign, thegovernment is its work and its property, and public functionaries areits clerks. The people can displace its mandatories and change itsgovernment when it pleases. "]

[Footnote 1102: Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, and other dictators thatlike that also organized elections and saw themselves as being thepeople, speaking and acting on their behalf and therefore entitled to doanything they pleased. (SR). ]

[Footnote 1103: Rightly so, might Lenin have thought when he first readthis text. Later, under his and Stalin's leadership the Party, guidedby the first secretary of its central committee, aided by the secretpolice, should penetrate all affairs slowly extending their poweror influence to the entire world through their secret party members, mutually ensuring their promotion into the highest posts, the party willeventually come to govern the world. (SR). ]

[Footnote 1104: Buchez and Roux, III, 324. . (An article by Loustalot, Sept. 8, 1789). Ibid. 331 Motion of the District of Cordéliers, presided over by Danton. --Ibid 239. . Denunciation of the municipality byMarat. --V. , 128, Vi. 24-41 (March, 1790). The majority of the districtsdemand the permanent authority of the districts, that is to say, of thesovereign political assemblies]

[Footnote 1105: Buchez et Roux. IV. 458. Meeting of Feb. 24, 1790, anarticle by Loustalot. --III 202. Speech by Robespierre, meeting of Oct. 21, 1789. Ibid. 219. Resolution of the district of St. Martindeclaring that martial law shall not be enforced. Ibid. 222. Article byLoustalot. ]

[Footnote 1106: Buchez et Roux, X. 124, an article by Marat. --X. 1-22, speech by Robespierre at the meeting of May 9, 1791. -III. An articleby Loustalot. III. 217, speech by Robespierre, meeting of Oct. 22, 1789. Ibid. 431, article by Loustalot and Desmoulins, Nov. , 1789. --VI. 336, articles by Loustalot and Marat, July, 1790. ]

[Footnote 1107: Ernest Hamel, "Histoire de Robespierre", passim, (I. 436). Robespierre proposed to confer political rights on theblacks. --Buchez et Roux, IX. 264 (March, 1791). ]

[Footnote 1108: Buchez et Roux, V. 146 (March, 1790); VI. 436 (July 26, 1790); VIII. 247 (Dec 1790); X. 224 (June, 1791). ]

[Footnote 1109: Gustave Flaubert. "Tout notaire a rêvé dessultanes. " (All barristers have dreams of being sultans!) (MadameBovary"). --"Frédéric trouvait que le bonheur mérité par l'excellence deson âme tardait à venir. " (Frédéric found that the happiness hedeserved due to his brilliancy was a long time coming. ) ("L'Educationsentimentale. )]

[Footnote 1110: Such has also been the effect of similar declarationsset forth in the Constitutions of the United Nations, the EuropeanCommunity, as well as many individual nations. All that was requiredfor the international Communist movement was then to await the slowpromotion of the secret party members directed to seek a career insidethe various legal administrations for, one day, to see all superiorcourts staffed by their men. (SR). ]

[Footnote 1111: Mallet du Pan, "Correspondance politique. " 1796. ]

[Footnote 1112: "Entretiens du Père Gérard, " by Collot d'Herbois. --"LesEtrennes au Peuple, " by Barrère. -"La Constitution française pour leshabitants des campagnes, " etc. --Later "L'Alphabet des Sans-Culottes, leNouveau Catéchisme républicain, les Commandements de la Patrie et de laRépublique (in verse), etc. "]

[Footnote 1113: Mercure de France, an article by Mallet du Pan, April 7, 1792. (Summing up of the year 1791. )]

[Footnote 1114: Mercure de France, see the numbers of Dec. 30, 1791, andApril 7, 1792. (Note the phrase, it is close to Marx statement in 1850'that the class struggle necessarily leads to the dictatorship of theproletariat. ' SR. )]

[Footnote 1115: Fox, before deciding on any measure, consulted a Mr. H. --, one of the most uninfluential, and even narrow-minded membersof the House of Commons. Some astonishment being expressed at this, hereplied that he regarded Mr. H. ---as a perfect type of the facultiesand prejudices of a country gentleman, and he used him as a thermometer. Napoleon likewise stated that before framing an important law, heimagined to himself the impression it would make on the mind of a burlypeasant. ]

[Footnote 1116: Just like the strong influence which the currentfashionable principles and buzz-words introduced by the media have overtoday's audiences. (SR). ]

[Footnote 1117: Alas! This phenomenon should be repeated with theinterminable speeches held by Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Castro, Mao and allthe other inheritors of the Jacobin creed. (SR). ]

[Footnote 1118: "Tableaux de la Révolution Française, " by Schmidt(especially the reports by Dutard), 3 vols. ]

[Footnote 1119: "Correspondence of Gouverneur Morris, "--"Memoirs ofMallet du Pan, " John Moore']

[Footnote 1120: See, in "Progrès de l'esprit humaine, " the superiorityawarded to the republican constitution of 1793. (Book IX. ) "Theprinciples from which the constitution and laws of France have beencombined are purer, more exact, and deeper than those which governed theAmericans: they have more completely escaped the influence of every sortof prejudice, etc. "]

[Footnote 1121: Camille Desmoulins, the enfant terrible of theRevolution, confesses this, as well as other truths. After citing theRevolutions of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, "which derivedtheir virtue from and had their roots in conscience, which weresustained by fanaticism and the hopes of another world, " he thusconcludes: "Our Revolution, purely political, is wholly rooted inegotism, in everybody's amour propre, in the combinations of which isfound the common interest. " ("Brissot dévoilé, " by Camille Desmoulins, January, 1792)--Bouchez et Roux, XIII, 207. )]

[Footnote 1122: Rousseau's idea of the omnipotence of the State is alsothat of Louis XIV and Napoleon. . . It is curious to see the developmentof the same idea in the mind of a contemporary bourgeois, like Rétif dela Bretonne, half literary and half one of the people ("Nuits de Paris, "XVe nuit, 377, on the September Massacres) "No, I do not pity thosefanatical priests; they have done the country too much mischief. Whatever a society, or a majority of it, desires, that is right. Hewho opposes this, who calls down war and vengeance on the Nation, isa monster. Order is always found in the agreement of the majority. Theminority is always guilty, I repeat it, even if it is morally right. Nothing but common sense is needed to see that truth. "--Ibid. (On theexecution of Louis XVI. ), p. 447. "Had the nation the right to condemnand execute him? No thinking person can ask such a question. The nationis everything in itself; its power is that which the whole human kindwould have if but one nation, one single government governed theglobe. Who would dare then dispute the power of humanity? It is thisindisputable power that a nation has, to hang even an innocent man, felt by the ancient Greeks, which led them to exile Aristoteles and putPhocion to death. 'Oh truth, unrecognized by our contemporaries, whatevil has arisen through forgetting it!'"]

[Footnote 1123: Moniteur, XI. 46. Speech by Isnard in the Assembly, Jan. 5, 1792. "The people are now conscious of their dignity. They know, according to the constitution, that every Frenchman's motto is: 'Livefree, the equal of all, and one of the common sovereignty. '"--Guillonde Montléon, I. 445. Speech by Chalier, in the Lyons Central Club, March21, 1793. "Know that you are kings, and more than kings. Do you not feelsovereignty circulating in your veins?"]

[Footnote 1124: Moniteur, V. 136. (Celebration of the Federation, July14, 1790. )]

[Footnote 1125: Albert Babeau, "Histoire de Troyes pendant laRévolution, " I. 436 (April 10, 1790). ]

[Footnote 1126: Mortimer-Ternaux, "Histoire de la Terreur, " I. 353. (Pétion's own narrative of this journey. ) This pert blockhead cannoteven spell: he writes aselle for aisselle, etc. He is convinced thatMadame Elizabeth, the king's sister, wants to seduce him, and that shemakes advances to him: "If we had been alone, I believe that she wouldhave fallen into my arms, and let the impulses of nature have theirway. " He makes a display of virtue however, and becomes only the moresupercilious as he talks with the king, the young dauphin, and theladies he is fetching back. ]

[Footnote 1127: The "Mémoires de Madame Roland" is a masterpiece of thatconceit supposed to be so careflilly concealed as not to be visibleand never off its stilts. "I am beautiful, I am affectionate, I amsensitive, I inspire love, I reciprocate, I remain virtuous, my mind issuperior, and my courage indomitable. I am philosopher, statesman, andwriter, worthy of the highest success, " is constantly in her mind, andalways perceptible in her phraseology. Real modesty never shows itself. On the contrary, many indecorous things are said and done by her frombravado, and to set herself above her sex. Cf. The "Memoirs of Mirs. Hutchinson, " which present a great contrast. Madame Roland wrote: "Isee no part in society which suits me but that of Providence. "--The samepresumption shines out in others, with less refined pretensions. Thedeputy Rouyer addresses the following letter, found among the papers ofthe iron wardrobe, to the king, "I have compared, examined, and foreseeneverything. All I ask to carry out my noble purposes, is that directionof forces, which the law confers on you. I am aware of and brave thedanger; weakness defers to this, while genius overcomes it I have turnedmy attention to all the courts of Europe, and am sure that I can forcepeace on them. "--Robert, an obscure pamphleteer, asks Dumouriez to makehim ambassador to Constantinople, while Louvet, the author of "Faublas, "declares in his memoirs that liberty perished in 1792, because he wasnot appointed Minister of Justice. ]

[Footnote 1128: Moniteur, p. 189. Speech by Collot d'Herbois, on themitraillades at Lyons. "We too, possess sensibility! The Jacobinshave every virtue; they are compassionate, humane, and generous. Thesevirtues, however, are reserved for patriots, who are their brethren, butnever for aristocrats. "--Meillan, "Mémoires, " p. 4. "Robespierre wasone day eulogizing a man named Desfieux, well known for his lack ofintegrity, and whom he finally sacrificed. 'But, I said to him, your manDesfieux is known to be a rascal. '--'No matter, ' he replied, 'he isa good patriot. '--'But he is a fraudulent bankrupt. '-'He is a goodpatriot. '--'But he is a thief. '--'He is a good patriot. ' I could not getmore than these three words out of him. "]

CHAPTER II. 

I. --Formation of the party. 

 Its recruits--These are rare in the upper class and amongst the masses. --They are numerous in the low bourgeois class and in the upper stratum of the people. --The position and education which enroll a man in the party. 

Personalities like these are found in all classes of society; nosituation or position in life protects one from wild Utopia or franticambition. We find among the Jacobins a Barras and a Châteauneuf-Randon, two nobles of the oldest families; Condorcet, a marquis, mathematician, philosopher and member of two renowned academies; Gobel, bishop of Lyddaand suffragan to the bishop of Bâle; Hérault de Séchellles, a protégé ofthe Queen's and attorney-general to the Paris parliament; Lepelletier deSt. Fargeau, chief-justice and one of the richest land-owners in France;Charles de Hesse, major-general, born in the royal family; and, last ofall, a prince of the blood and fourth personage in the realm, the Dukeof Orleans. --But, with the exception of these rare deserters, neitherthe hereditary aristocracy nor the upper magistracy, nor the highest ofthe middle class, none of the land-owners who live on their estates, orthe leaders of industrial and commercial enterprises, no one belongingto the administration, none of those, in general, who are or deserve tobe considered social authorities, furnish the party with recruits. Allhave too much at stake in the political establishment, shattered as itis, to wish its entire demolition. Their political experience, brief asit is, enables them to see at once that a habitable house is not builtby merely tracing a plan of it on paper according the theorems of schoolgeometry. --On the other hand, among the ordinary rural population theideology finds, unless it can be changed into a legend, no listeners. Share croppers, small holders and farmers looking after their own plotsof ground, peasants and craftsmen who work too hard to think and whoseminds never range beyond a village horizon, busy only with that whichbrings in their daily bread, find abstract doctrines unintelligible;should the dogmas of the new catechism arrest their attention the samething happens as with the old one, they do not understand them; thatmental faculty by which an abstraction is reached is not yet formed inthem. On being taken to a political club they fall asleep; theyopen their eyes only when some one announces that tithes and feudalprivileges are to be restored; they can be depended on for nothing morethan a brawl and a jacquerie; later on, when their grain comes to betaxed or is taken, they prove as unruly under the republic as under themonarchy. 

The believers in this theory come from other quarters, from the twoextremes of the lower stratum of the middle class and the upper stratumof the low class. Again, in these two contiguous groups, which mergeinto each other, those must be left out who, absorbed in their dailyoccupations or professions, have no time or thought to give to publicmatters, who have reached a fair position in the social hierarchy andare not disposed to run risks, almost all of them well-established, steady-going, mature, married folks who have sown their wild oats andwhom experience in life has rendered distrustful of themselves and oftheories. Overweening conceit is, most of the time, only average in theaverage human being, so speculative ideas will with most people onlyobtain a loose, transient and feeble hold. Moreover, in this societywhich, for many centuries consists of people accustomed to being ruled, the hereditary spirit is bourgeois that is to say, used to discipline, fond of order, peaceable and even timid. --There remains a minority, avery small one, [1201] innovating and restless. This consisted, onthe one hand, of people who were discontented with their callingor profession, because they were of secondary or subaltern rank init. [1202] Some were debutantes not fully employed and others aspirantsfor careers not yet entered upon. Then, on the other hand, there werethe men of unstable character and all those who were uprooted by theimmense upheaval of things: in the Church, through the suppression ofconvents and through schism; in the judiciary, in the administration, in the financial departments, in the army, and in various private andpublic careers, through the reorganization of institutions, through thenovelty of fresh resources and occupations, and through the disturbancecaused by the changed relationships of patrons and clients. Many who, inordinary times, would otherwise remain quiet, become in this way nomadicand extravagant in politics. Among the foremost of these are found thosewho, through a classical education, can take in an abstract propositionand deduce its consequences, but who, for lack of special preparationfor it, and confined to the narrow circle of local affairs, areincapable of forming accurate conceptions of a vast, complex socialorganization, and of the conditions which enable it to subsist. Their talent lies in making a speech, in dashing off an editorial, incomposing a pamphlet, and in drawing up reports in more or less pompousand dogmatic style; the genre admitted, a few of them who are giftedbecome eloquent, but that is all. Among those are the lawyers, notaries, bailiffs and former petty provincial judges and attorneys who furnishthe leading actors and two-thirds of the members of the LegislativeAssembly and of the Convention: There are surgeons and doctors in smalltowns, like Bo, Levasseur, and Baudot, second and third-rate literarycharacters, like Barrère, Louvet, Garat, Manuel, and Ronsin, collegeprofessors like Louchet and Romme, schoolmasters like Leonard Bourdon, journalists like Brissot, Desmoulins and Freron, actors like Collotd'Herbois, artists like Sergent, Oratoriens[1203] like Fouché, capuchinslike Chabot, more or less secularized priests like Lebon, Chasles, Lakanal, and Grégoire, students scarcely out of school like St. Just, Monet of Strasbourg, Rousseline of St. Albin, and Julien of theDrôme--in short, the poorly sown and badly cultivated minds, and onwhich the theory had only to fall to smother the good grain and thrivelike a nettle. Add to these charlatans and others who live by theirwits, the visionary and morbid of all sorts, from Fanchet and Klootzto Châlier or Marat, the whole of that needy, chattering, irresponsiblecrowd, ever swarming about large cities ventilating its shallow conceitsand abortive pretensions. Farther in the background appear those whosescanty education qualifies them to half understand an abstract principleand imperfectly deduce its consequences, but whose roughly-polishedinstinct atones for the feebleness of a coarse argumentation. Throughcupidity, envy and rancor, they divine a rich pasture-ground behindthe theory, and Jacobin dogmas become dearer to them, because theimagination sees untold treasures beyond the mists in which they areshrouded. They can listen to a club harangue without falling asleep, applaud its tirades in the rights place, offer a resolution in a publicgarden, shout in the tribunes, pen affidavits for arrests, composeorders-of-the-day for the national guard, and lend their lungs, arms, and sabers to whoever bids for them. But here their capacity ends. In this group merchants' and notaries' clerks abound, like Hébert andHenriot, Vincent and Chaumette, butchers like Legendre, postmasters likeDrouet, boss-joiners like Duplay, school-teachers like that Buchot whobecomes a minister, and many others of the same sort, accustomed tojotting down ideas, with vague notions of orthography and who are aptin speech-making, [1204] foremen, sub-officers, former begging friars, peddlers, tavern-keepers, retailers, market-porters, and city-journeymenfrom Gouchon, the orator of the faubourg St. Antoine, down to Simon, thecobbler of the Temple, from Trinchard, the juryman of the RevolutionaryTribunal, down to grocers, tailors, shoemakers, tapster, waiters, barbers, and other shopkeepers or artisans who do their work at home, and who are yet to do the work of the September massacres. Add to thesethe foul remnants of every popular insurrection and dictatorship, beastsof prey like Jourdain of Avignon, and Fournier the American, women likeThéroigne, Rose Lacombe, and the tricoteuses of the Convention who haveunsexed themselves, the amnestied bandits and other gallows birds who, for lack of a police, have a wide range, street-rollers and vagabonds, rebels against labor and discipline, the whole of that class in thecenter of civilization which preserves the instincts of savages, andasserts the sovereignty of the people to glut a natural appetite forlicense, laziness, and ferocity. --Thus is the party recruited through anenlisting process that gleans its subjects from every station in life, but which reaps them down in great swaths, and gathers them togetherin the two groups to which dogmatism and presumption naturally belong. Here, education has brought man to the threshold, even to the heart ofgeneral ideas; consequently, he feels hampered within the narrow boundsof his profession or occupation, and aspires to something beyond. Butas his education has remained superficial or rudimentary, consequently, outside of his narrow circle he feels out of his place. He has aperception or obtains a glimpse of political ideas and, therefore, assumes that he has capacity. But his perception is confided to aformula, and he sees them dimly through a cloud; hence his incapacity, and the reason why his mental lacunae as well as his attainments bothcontribute to make him a Jacobin. 

II. --Spontaneous associations after July 14, 1789. 

 How these dissolve. --Withdrawal of people of sense and occupation. --Number of those absent at elections. --Birth and multiplication of Jacobin societies. --Their influence over their adherents--Their maneuvers and despotism. 

Men thus disposed cannot fail to draw near each other, to understandeach other, and combine together; for, in the principle of popularsovereignty, they have a common dogma, and, in the conquest of politicalsupremacy, a common aim. Through a common aim they form a faction, andthrough a common dogma they constitute a sect, the league between thembeing more easily effected because they are a faction and sect at thesame time. 

At first their association is not distinguishable in the multitude ofother associations. Political societies spring up on all sides after thetaking of the Bastille. Some kind of organization had to be substitutedfor the deposed or tottering government, in order to provide for urgentpublic needs, to secure protection against ruffians, to obtain suppliesof provisions, and to guard against the probably machinations ofthe court. Committees installed themselves in the town halls, whilevolunteers formed bodies of militia: hundreds of local governments, almost independent, arose in the place of the central government, almostdestroyed. [1205] For six months everybody attended to matters of commoninterest, each individual getting to be a public personage and bearinghis quota of the government load: a heavy load at all times, but heavierin times of anarchy; this, at least, is the opinion of the majority butnot of all of them. Consequently, a division arises amongst those whohad assumed this load, and two groups are formed, one huge, inert anddisintegrating, and the other small, compact and energetic, eachtaking one of two ways which diverge from each other, and which keep ondiverging more and more. 

On one hand are the ordinary, sensible people, those who are busy, andwho are, to some extent, not over-conscientious, and not over-conceited. The power is in their hands because they find it prostrate, lyingabandoned in the street; they hold it provisionally only, for they knewbeforehand, or soon discover, that they are not qualified for thepost, it being one of those which, to be properly filled, needs somepreparation and fitness for it. A man does not become legislator oradministrator in one day, any more than he suddenly becomes a physicianor surgeon. If an accident obliges me to act in the latter capacity, Iyield, but against my will, and I do no more than is necessary to savemy patients from hurting themselves, My fear of their dying under theoperation is very great, and, as soon as some other person can be foundto take my place, I go home. [1206]--I should be glad, like everybodyelse, to have my vote in the selection of this person, and, among thecandidates. I should designate, to the best of my ability, one whoseemed to me the ablest and most conscientious. Once selected, however, and installed, I should not attempt to dictate to him; his cabinet isprivate, and I have no right to run there constantly and cross-questionhim, as if he were a child or under suspicion. It does not become me totell him what to do; he probably knows more about the case than I do;in any event, to keep a steady hand, he must not be threatened, and, tokeep a clear head, he must not be disturbed. Nor must I be disturbed;my office and books, my shop, my customers must be attended to as well. Everybody has to mind his own business, and whoever would attend to hisown and another's too, spoils both. --This way of thinking prevails withmost healthy minds towards the beginning of the year 1790, all whoseheads are not turned by insane ambition and the mania for theorizing, especially after six months of practical experience and knowing thedangers, miscalculation, and vexations to which one is exposed in tryingto lead an eager, over-excited population. --Just at this time, December1789, municipal law becomes established throughout the country; all themayors and municipal officers are elected almost immediately, and in thefollowing months, all administrators of districts and departments. Theinterregnum has a length come to an end. Legal authorities now exist, with legitimate and clearly-determined functions. Reasonable, honestpeople gladly turn power over to those to whom it belongs, and certainlydo not dream of resuming it. All associations for temporary purposes areat once disbanded for lack of an object, and if others are formed, itis for the purpose of defending established institutions. This is theobject of the Federation, and, for six months, people embrace each otherand exchange oaths of fidelity. --After this, July 14, 1790, theyretire into private life, and I have no doubt that, from this date, the political ambition of a large plurality of the French people issatisfied, for, although Rousseau's denunciation of the social hierarchyare still cited by them, they, at bottom, desire but little more thanthe suppression of administrative brutality and state favoritism. [1207]All this is obtained, and plenty of other things besides; the augusttitle of sovereign, the respect of the public authorities, honors to allwho wield a pen or make a speech, and, better still, actual sovereigntyin the appointment to office of all local land national administrators;not only do the people elect their deputies, but every species offunctionary of every degree, those of commune, district, and department, officers in the national guard, civil and criminal magistrates, bishopsand priests. Again, to ensure the responsibility of the elected to theirelectors, the term of office fixed by law is a short one, [1208]the electoral machine which summons the sovereign to exercise hissovereignty being set agoing about every four months. --This was a gooddeal, and too much, as the sovereign himself soon discovers. Voting sofrequently becomes unendurable; so many prerogatives end in getting tobe drudgery. Early in 1790, and after this date, the majority foregothe privilege of voting and the number of absentees becomes enormous. At Chartres, in May, 1790, [1209] 1, 447 out of 1, 551 voters do not attendpreliminary meetings. At Besançon, in January, 1790, on the election ofmayor and municipal officers, 2, 141 out of 3, 200 registered electors arerecorded as absent from the polls, and 2, 900 in the following month ofNovember. [1210] At Grenoble, in August and November of this year, out of2, 500 registered voters, more than 2, 000 are noted as absent. [1211] AtLimoges, out of about the same number, there are only 150 voters. AtParis, out of 81, 400 electors, in August, 1790, 67, 200 do not vote, and, three months later, the number of absentees is 71, 408. [1212]

Thus for every elector that votes, there are four, six, eight, ten, andeven sixteen that abstain from voting. --In the election of deputies, the case is the same. At the primary meetings of 1791, in Paris, out of81, 200 registered names more than 74, 000 fail to respond. In the Doubs, three out of four voters stay away. In one of the cantons of the Côted'Or, at the close of the polls, only one-eighth of the electors remainat the counting of the votes, while in the secondary meetings thedesertion is not less. At Paris, out of 946 electors chosen only 200 arefound to give their suffrage; at Rouen, out of 700 there are but160, and on the last day of the ballot, only 60. In short, "in alldepartments, " says an orator in the tribune, "scarcely one out of fiveelectors of the second degree discharges his duty. "

In this manner the majority hands in its resignation. Through inertia, want of forethought, lassitude, aversion to the electoral hubbub, lackof political preferences, or dislike of all the political candidates, itshirks the task which the constitution imposes on it. Most certainly ishas no taste for the painstaking burden of being involved in a league(of human rights). Men who cannot find time once in three months todrop a ballot in the box, will not come three times a week to attendthe meetings of a club. Far from meddling with the government, theyabdicate, and as they refuse to elect it, they cannot undertake tocontrol it. 

It is, on the other hand, just the opposite with the upstarts anddogmatists who regard their royal privileges seriously. They not onlyvote at the elections, but they mean to keep the authority they delegatein their own hands. In their eyes every official is one of theircreatures, and remains accountable to them, for, in point of law, thepeople may not part with their sovereignty, while, in fact, power hasproved so sweet that they are not disposed to part with it. [1213] Duringsix months preceding the regular elections, they have come to know, comprehend, and test each other; they have held secret meetings;a mutual understanding is arrived at, and henceforth, as otherassociations disappear like fleeting bloom, theirs[1214] rise vigorouslyon the abandoned soil. A club is established at Marseilles before theend of 1789; each large town has one within the first six months of1790, Aix in February, Montpellier in March, Nîmes in April, Lyons inMay, and Bordeaux in June. [1215] But their greatest increase takes placeafter the Federation festival. Just when local gatherings merge intothat of the whole country, the sectarian Jacobins keep aloof, and formleagues of their own. At Rouen, July 14, 1790, two surgeons, a printer, a chaplain at the prison, a widowed Jewess, and four women or childrenliving in the house, --eight persons in all, pure and not to beconfounded with the mass, [1216] bind themselves together, and form adistinct association. Their patriotism is of superior quality, and theytake a special view of the social compact;[1217] in swearing fealty tothe constitution they reserve to themselves the Rights of Man, and theymean to maintain not only the reforms already effected, but to completethe Revolution just begun. --During the Federation they have welcomedand indoctrinated their fellows who, on quitting the capital or largecities, become bearers of instructions to the small towns and hamlets;they are told what the object of a club is, and how to form one, and, everywhere, popular associations arise on the same plan, for the samepurpose, and bearing the same name. A month later, sixty of theseassociations are in operation; three months later, one hundred; inMarch, 1791, two hundred and twenty-nine, and in August, 1791, nearlyfour hundred. [1218] After this date a sudden increase takes place, owingto two simultaneous impulses, which scatter their seeds over the entireterritory. --On the one hand, at then end of July, 1791, all moderatemen, the friends of law and order, who still hold the clubs in check, all constitutionalists, or Feuillants, withdraw from them and leave themto exaggeration or the triviality of proposing motions; the politicaltone immediately falls to that of the tavern and guard-house, so thatwherever one or the other is found, there is a political club. On theother hand, a convocation of the electoral body is held at the samedate for the election of a new National Assembly, and for the renewalof local governments; the prey being in sight, hunting-parties areeverywhere formed to capture it. In two months, [1219] six hundred newclubs spring up; by the end of September they amount to one thousand, and in June, 1792, to twelve hundred--as many as there are towns andwalled boroughs. On the fall of the throne, and at the panic caused bythe Prussian invasion, during a period of anarchy which equaled that ofJuly, 1789, there were, according to Roederer, almost as many clubs asthere were communes, 26, 000, one for every village containing five orsix hot-headed, boisterous fellows, or roughs, (tape-durs), with a clerkable to pen a petition. 

After November, 1790, [1220] "every street in every town and hamlet, "says a Journal of large circulation, "must have a club of its own. Letsome honest craftsman invite his neighbors to his house, where, withusing a shared candle, he may read aloud the decrees of the NationalAssembly, on which he and his neighbors may comment. Before the meetingcloses, in order to enliven the company, which may feel a littledisturbed on account of Marat's articles, let him read the patrioticoaths in 'Pêre Duchesne. '"[1221]--The advice is followed. At themeetings in the club are read aloud pamphlets, newspapers, andcatechisms dispatched from Paris, the "Gazette Villageoise, " the"Journal du Soir, " the "Journal de la Montagne, " "Pêre Duchesne, " the"Révolutions de Paris, " and "Laclos' Gazette. " Revolutionary songsare sung, and, if a good speaker happens to be present, a formermonk (oratorien), lawyer, or school-master, he pours out his stock ofphrases, speaking of the Greeks and Romans, proclaiming the regenerationof the human species. One of them, appealing to the women, wants to see

"the declaration of the Rights of Man suspended on the walls of theirbedrooms as their principal ornament, and, should war break out, these virtuous supporters, marching at the head of our armies like newbacchantes with flowing hair, the wand of Bacchus in their hand. "

Shouts of applause greet this sentiment. The minds of the listeners, swept away by this gale of declamation, become overheated and ignitethrough mutual contact; like half-consumed embers that would die outif let alone, they kindle into a blaze when gathered together in aheap. --Their convictions, at the same time, gain strength. There isnothing like a coterie to make these take root. In politics, asin religion, faith generating the church, the latter, in its turn, nourishes faith. In the club, as in the private religious meeting, eachderives authority from the common unanimity, every word and action ofthe whole tending to prove each in the right. And all the more becausea dogma which remains uncontested, ends in seeming incontestable; asthe Jacobin lives in a narrow circle, carefully guarded, no contraryopinions find their way to him. The public, in his eyes, seems twohundred persons; their opinion weighs on him without any counterpoise, and, outside of their belief, which is his also, every other belief isabsurd and even culpable. Moreover, he discovers through this constantsystem of preaching, which is nothing but flattery, that he ispatriotic, intelligent, virtuous, of which he can have no doubt, because, before being admitted into the club, his civic virtues havebeen verified and he carries a printed certificate of them in hispocket. --Accordingly, he is one of an élite corps, a corps which, enjoying a monopoly of patriotism, holds itself aloof, talks loud, and is distinguished from ordinary citizens by its tone and way ofconducting things. The club of Pontarlier, [1222] from the first, prohibits its members from using the common forms of politeness. 

"Members are to abstain from saluting their fellow-citizens by removingthe hat, and are to avoid the phrase, 'I have the honor to be, ' andothers of like import, in addressing persons. "

A proper idea of one's importance is indispensable. 

"Does not the famous tribune of the Jacobins in Paris inspire traitorsand impostors with fear? And do not anti-Revolutionaries return to duston beholding it?"

All this is true, in the provinces as well as at the capital, for, scarcely is a club organized before it sets to work on the population. In may of the large cities, in Paris, Lyons, Aix and Bordeaux, thereare two clubs in partnership, [1223] one, more or less respectable andparliamentary, "composed partly of the members of the different branchesof the administration and specially devoted to purposes of generalutility, " and the other, practical and active, made up of bar-roompoliticians and club-haranguers, who indoctrinate workmen, market-gardeners and the rest of the lower bourgeois class. The latteris a branch of the former, and, in urgent cases, supplies it withrioters. 

"We are placed amongst the people, " says one of these subaltern clubs, "we read to them the decrees, and, through lectures and counsel, wewarn them against the publications and intrigues of the aristocrats. We ferret out and track plotters and their machinations. We welcome andadvise all complainants; we enforce their demands, when just; finally, we, in some way, attend to all details. "

Thanks to these vulgar auxiliaries, but whose lungs and arms are strong, the party soon becomes dominant; it has force and uses it, and, denying that its adversaries have any rights, it re-establishes all theprivileges for its own advantage. [1224]

III. --How they view the liberty of the press. 

 Their political doings. 

Let us consider its mode of procedure in one instance and upon a limitedfield, the freedom of the press. [1225] In December, 1790, M. Etienne, an engineer, whom Marat and Fréron had denounced as a spy in theirperiodicals, brought a suit against them in the police court. Thenumbers containing the libel were seized, the printers summoned toappear, and M. Etienne claimed a public retraction or 25, 000 francsdamages with costs. At this the two journalists, considering themselvesinfallible as well as exempt from arrest, are indignant. 

"It is of the utmost importance, " writes Marat, "that the informershould not be liable to prosecution as he is accountable only to thepublic for what he says and does for the public good. "

M. Etienne (surnamed Languedoc), therefore, is a traitor: "MonsieurLanguedoc, I advise you to keep your mouth shut; if I can have you hungI will. " M. Etienne, nevertheless, persists and obtains a first decisionin his favor. Fire and flame are at once belched forth by Marat andFréon:

"Master Thorillon, " exclaims Fréron to the commissary of police, "youshall be punished and held up to the people as an example; this infamousdecision must be canceled. "--"Citizens, " writes Marat, "go in a bodyto the Hôtel-de-Ville and do not allow one of the guards to enter thecourt-room. "--On the day of the trial, and in the most condescendingspirit, but two grenadiers are let in. Even these, however, are too manyand shouts from the Jacobin crowd arise "Turn 'em out! We rule here, "upon which the two grenadiers withdraw. On the other hand, says Frérontriumphantly, that there were in the court-room "sixty of the victors atthe Bastille led by the brave Santerre, who intended to interfere inthe trial. "--They intervene, indeed, and first against the plaintiff. M. Etienne is attacked at the entrance of the court-room and nearly knockeddown He is so maltreated that he is obliged to seek shelter in theguard-room. He is spit upon, and they "move to cut off his ears. " Hisfriends receive "hundreds of kicks, " while he runs away, and the case ispostponed. --It is called up again several times, so no the judgeshave to be restrained. A certain Mandart in the audience, author of apamphlet on "Popular Sovereignty, " springs to his feet and, addressingBailly, mayor of Paris, and president of the tribunal, challenges thecourt. As usual Bailly yields, attempting to cover up his weakness withan honorable pretext: "Although a judge can be challenged only by theparties to a suit, the appeal of one citizen is sufficient for me andI leave the bench. " The other judges, who are likewise insulted andmenaced, yield also, and, through a sophism which admirably illustratesthe times, they discover in the oppression to which the plaintiff issubject a legal device by which they can give a fair color to theirdenial of justice. M. Etienne having signified to them that neitherhe nor his counsel could attend in court, because their lives were indanger, the court decides that M. Etienne, "failing to appear in person, or by counsel, is non-suited. "--Victorious shouts at once proceed fromthe two journalists, while their articles on the case disseminatedthroughout France set a precedence contained in the ruling. Any Jacobinmay after this with impunity denounce, insult, and calumniate whomsoeverhe pleases, sheltered as he is from the action of courts, and heldsuperior to the law. 

Let us see, on the other hand, what liberty they allow theiradversaries. A fortnight before this, Mallet du Pan, a writer of greatability, who, in the best periodical of the day, discusses questionsweek after week free of all personalities, the most independent, straight-forward, and honorable of men, the most eloquent and judiciousadvocate of public order and true liberty, is waited upon by adeputation from the Palais-Royal, [1226] consisting of about a dozenwell-dressed individuals, civil enough and not too ill-disposed, butquite satisfied that they have a right to interfere. The conversationwhich ensues shows to what extent the current political creed had turnedpeoples' heads. 

"One of the party, addressing me, informed me that he and his associateswere deputies of the Palais-Royal clubs, and that they had calledto notify me that I would do well to change my principles and stopattacking the constitution, otherwise extreme violence would be broughtto bear on me. I replied that I recognized no authority but the law andthat of the courts; the law is your master and mine, and no respect isshown to the constitution by assailing the freedom of the press. "

"The constitution is the common will, resumed the spokesman. The law, isthe authority of the strongest. You are subject to the strongest and youought to submit. We notify you of the will of the nation and that is thelaw. '"

Mallet du Pan stated to them that he was not in favor of the ancientrégime, but that he did approve of royal authority. 

"Oh!" exclaimed all together, "we should be sorry not to have a king. We respect the King and maintain his authority. But you are forbiddento oppose the dominant opinion and the liberty which is decreed by theNational Assembly. "

Mallet du Pan, apparently, knows more about this than they do, for he isa Swiss by birth, and has lived under a republic for twenty years. But this does not concern them. They persist all the same, five or sixtalking at once, misconstruing the sense the words they use, and eachcontradicting the other in point of detail, but all agreeing to imposesilence on him:

"You should not run counter to the popular will, for in doing thisyou preach civil war, bring the assembly's decrees into contempt, andirritate the nation. "

Evidently, for them, they constitute the nation, or, more or less, they represent it. Through this self-investiture they are at oncemagistrates, censors, and police, while the scolded journalist is onlytoo glad, in his case, to have them stop at injunctions. --Three daysbefore this he is advised that a body of rioters in his neighborhood"threatened to treat his house like that of M. De Castries, " in whicheverything had been smashed and thrown out the windows. At another time, apropos of the suspensive or absolute veto; "four savage fellows cameto his domicile to warn him, showing him their pistols, that if he daredwrite in behalf of M. Mounier he should answer for it with his life. "Thus, from the outset, "just as the nation begins to enjoy the inestimable right of freethought and free speech, factional tyrants lose no time in deprivingcitizens of these, proclaiming to all that would maintain the integrityof their consciences: Tremble, die, or believe as we do!"

After this, to impose silence on those who express what is offensive, the crowd, the club, the section, decree and execute, each on itsown authority, [1227] searches, arrests, assaults, and, at length, assassinations. During the month of June, 1792, "three decrees ofarrest and fifteen denunciations, two acts of affixing seals, four civicinvasions of his premises, and the confiscation of whatever belonged tohim in France" is the experience of Mallet du Pan. He passes four years"without knowing with any certainty on going to bed whether he shouldget out of it in the morning alive and free. " Later on, if he escapesthe guillotine and the lantern, it is owing to exile. On the 10thof August, Suleau, a conservative journalist, is massacred in thestreet. --This shows how the party regards the freedom of the press. Other liberties may be judged of by its encroachments on this domain. Law, in its eyes, is null when it proves an obstacle, and when itaffords protection to adversaries; consequently there is no excess whichit does not sanction for itself; and no right which it does not refuseto others. 

There is no escape from the tyranny of the clubs. "That of Marseilleshas forced the city officials to resign;[1228] it has summoned themunicipal body to appear before it; it has ignored the authority of thedepartment, and has insulted the administrators of the law. Members ofthe Orleans club have kept the national Supreme Court under supervision, and taken part in its proceedings. Those of the Caen club have insultedthe magistrates, and seized and burnt the records of the proceedingscommenced against the destroyers of the statue of Louis XIV. At Albythey have forcibly abstracted from the record-office the papers relatingto an assassin's trial, and burnt them. " The club at Coutance gives thedeputies of its district to understand that "no reflections must becast on the laws of the people. " That of Lyons stops an artillerytrain, under the pretext that the ministry in office does not enjoy thenation's confidence. --Thus does the club everywhere govern, or prepareto govern. On the one hand, at the elections, it sets aside or supportscandidates; it alone votes, or, at least, controls the voting. In short, the club is the elective power, and practically, if not legally, enjoysthe privileges of a political aristocracy. On the other hand, it assumesto be a spontaneous police-board; it prepares and circulates the listswhich designate the ill-disposed, suspected, and lukewarm; it lodgesinformation against nobles whose sons have emigrated; against unswornpriests who still reside in their former parishes, and against nuns, "whose conduct is unconstitutional". It prompts, directs, and rebukeslocal authorities; it is itself a supplemental, superior, and usurpingauthority. --All at once, sensible men realize its character, and protestagainst it. 

"A body thus organized, " says a petition, [1229] "exists solely forarming one citizen against another. . . . Discussions take place there, anddenunciations are made under the seal of inviolable secrecy. . . . . Honestcitizens, surrendered to the most atrocious calumny, are destroyedwithout an opportunity of defending themselves. It is a veritableInquisition. It is the center of seditious publications, a school ofcabals and intrigue. If the citizens have to blush at the selection ofunworthy candidates, they are all due to this class of associations. . . Composed of the excited and the incendiary, of those who aim to rule theState, " the club everywhere tends

"to a mastery of the popular opinion, to thwarting the municipalities, to an intrusion of itself between these and the people, " to anusurpation of legal forms and to become a "colossus of despotism. "

Vain complaints! The National Assembly, ever in alarm on its ownaccount, shields the popular club and accords it its favor orindulgence. A journal of the party had recommended "the people toform themselves into small platoons. " These platoons, one by one, are growing. Each borough now has a local oligarchy, an enlisted andgoverning band. To create an army out of these scattered bands, simplyrequires a staff and a central rallying-point. The central point andthe staff have both for a long time been ready in Paris, it is theassociation of the "Friends of the Constitution. "

IV. --Their rallying-points. 

 Origin and composition of the Paris Jacobin club. --It affiliates with provincial clubs. --Its leaders. --The fanatics. --The Intriguers. --Their object. --Their means. 

No association in France, indeed, dates farther back, and has an equalprestige. It was born before the Revolution, April 30, 1789. [1230]At the assembly of the States-General in Brittany, the deputies fromQuimper, Hennebon, and Pontivy saw how important it was to vote inconcert, and they had scarcely reached Versailles when, in common withothers, they hired a hall, and, along with Mounier, secretary of theStates-General of Dauphiny, and other deputies from the provinces, atonce organized a union which was destined to last. Up to the 6th ofOctober, none but deputies were comprised in it; after that date, onremoving to Paris, in the library of the Jacobins, a convent in theRue St. Honoré, many well-known eminent men were admitted, such asCondorcet, and then Laharpe, Chénier, Champfort, David, and Talma, amongthe most prominent, with other authors and artists, the whole amountingto about a thousand notable personages. --No assemblage could be moreimposing--two or three hundred deputies are on its benches, while itsrules and by-laws seem specially designed to gather a superior bodyof men. Candidates for admission were proposed by ten members andafterwards voted on by ballot. To be present at one of its meetingsrequired a card of admission. On one occasion, a member of the committeeof two, appointed to verify these cards, happens to be the young Dukeof Chartres. There is a committee on administration and a president. Discussions took place with parliamentary formalities, and, accordingto its status, the questions considered there were those under debatein the National Assembly. [1231] In the lower hall, at certain hours, workmen received instruction and the constitution was explained to them. Seen from afar, no society seems worthier of directing public opinion;near by, the case is different. In the departments, however, wheredistance lends enchantment, and where old customs prevail implanted bycentralization, it is accepted as a guide because its seat is at thecapital. Its statutes, its regulations, its spirit, are all imitated;it becomes the alma mater of other associations and they its adopteddaughters. It publishes, accordingly, a list of all clubs conspicuouslyin its journal, together with their denunciations; it insists on theirdemands; henceforth, every Jacobin in the remotest borough feels thesupport and endorsement, not only of his local, club, but again of thegreat club whose numerous offshoots reached the entire territory andwhich extends its all-powerful protection to the least of its adherents. In return for this protection, each associated club obeys the wordof command given at Paris, and to and from, from the center to theextremities, a constant correspondence maintains the establishedharmony. A vast political machine is thus set agoing, a machine withthousands of arms, all working at once under one impulsion, and thelever which the motions is in the hands of a few master spirits in theRue St. Honoré. 

No machine could be more effective; never was one seen so well contrivedfor manufacturing artificial, violent public opinion, for making thisappear to be national, spontaneous sentiment, for conferring therights of the silent majority on a vociferous minority, for forcing thesurrender of the government. 

"Our tactics were very simple, " says Grégoire[1232]. "It was understoodthat one of us should take advantage of the first favorable opportunityto propose some measure in the National Assembly that was sure to beapplauded by a small minority and cried down by the majority. But thatmade no difference. The proposer demanded, which was granted, that themeasure should be referred to a committee in which its opponents hopedto see it buried. Then the Paris Jacobins took hold of it. A circularwas issued, after which an article on the measure was printed in theirjournal and discussed in three or four hundred clubs that were leaguedtogether. Three weeks after this the Assembly was flooded with petitionsfrom every quarter, demanding a decree of which the first proposal hadbeen rejected, and which is now passed by a great majority because adiscussion of it had ripened public opinion. "

In other words, the Assembly must go ahead or it will be driven along, in which process the worst expedients are the best. Those who conductthe club, whether fanatics or intriguers, are fully agreed on thispoint. 

At the head of the former class is Duport, once a counselor in theparliament, who, after 1788, knew how to turn riots to account. Thefirst revolutionary consultations were held in his house. He wants toplough deep, and his devices for burying the ploughshare are suchthat Sieyès, a radical, if there ever was one, dubbed it a "cavernouspolicy. "[1233] Duport, on the 28th of July, 1789, is the organizer ofthe Committee on Searches, by which all favorably disposed informersor spies form in his hands a supervisory police, which fast becomesa police of provocation. He finds recruits in the lower hall of theJacobin club, where workmen come to be catechized every morning, whilehis two lieutenants, the brothers Laurette, have only to draw onthe same source for a zealous staff in a choice selection of theirinstruments. "Ten reliable men receive orders there daily;[1234] eachof these in turn gives his orders to ten more, belonging to differentbattalions in Paris. In this way each battalion and section receives thesame insurrectionary orders, the same denunciations of the constitutedauthorities, of the mayor of Paris, of the president of the department, and of the commander of the National Guard, " everything taking placesecretly. These are dark deeds: the leaders themselves call it 'theSabbath' and, along with fanatics they enlist ruffians. "They spreadthe rumor that, on a certain day, there will be a great commotion withassassinations and pillage, preceded by the payment of money distributedfrom hand to hand by subaltern officers among those that can be reliedon, and that these bands are to assemble, as advertised, within a radiusof thirty or forty leagues. "[1235]--One day, to provoke a riot, "half adozen men, who have arranged the thing, form a small group, in which oneof them holds forth vehemently; at once a crowd of about sixty othersgathers around them. Then the six men move on from place to place, to form fresh groups making their apparent excitement pass for popularirritation. --Another day, "about forty fanatics, with powerful lungs, and four or five hundred paid men, " scatter themselves around theTuileries, "yelling furiously, " and, gathering under the windows ofthe Assembly, "move resolutions to assassinate. "--"Our ushers, " says adeputy to the Assembly, "whom you ordered to suppress this tumult, heardreiterated threats of bringing you the heads of those the crowd wishedto proscribe. That very evening, in the Palais-Royal, "I heard asubordinate leader of this factious band boast of having charged yourushers to take this answer back, adding that there was time enough yetfor all good citizens to follow his advice. "--The watchword of theseagitators is, are you true and the response is, a true man. Their payis twelve francs a day, and when in action they make engagements on thespot at that rate. "From several depositions taken by officers of theNational Guard and at the mayoralty, " it is ascertained that twelvefrancs a day were tendered to "honest people to join in with those youmay have heard shouting, and some of them actually had the twelve francsput into their hands. "--The money comes from the coffers of the Duke ofOrleans, and they are freely drawn upon; at his death, with a propertyamounting to 114, 000, 000 francs, his debts amount to 74, 000, 000. [1236]Being one of the faction, he contributes to its expenses, and, beingthe richest man in the kingdom, he contributes proportionately to hiswealth. Not because he is a party leader, for he is too effeminate, too nervous; but "his petty council, "[1237] and especially one of hisprivate secretaries, Laclos, cherishes great designs for him, theirobject being to make him lieutenant-general of the kingdom, afterwardsregent, and even king, [1238] so that they may rule in his name and"share the profits. "----In the mean time they turn his whims to the bestaccount, particularly Laclos, who is a kind of subordinate Macchiavelli, capable of anything, profound, depraved, and long indulging hisfondness for monstrous combinations; nobody ever so coolly delighted inindescribable compounds of human wickedness and debauchery. In politics, as in romance, his department is "Les Liaisons Dangereuses. " Formerlyhe maneuvered as an amateur with prostitutes and ruffians in thefashionable world; now he maneuvers in earnest with the prostitutesand ruffians of the sidewalks. On the 5th of October 1789, he is seen, "dressed in a brown coat, "[1239] foremost among the women starting forVersailles, while his hand[1240] is visible "in the Réveillon affair, also in the burning of barriers and Châteaux, " and in the widespreadpanic which aroused all France against imaginary bandits. Hisoperations, says Malouet, "were all paid for by the Duke of Orleans";he entered into them "for his own account, and the Jacobins fortheirs. "--At this time their alliance is plain to everybody. On the 21stof November, 1790, Laclos becomes secretary of the club, chief of thedepartment of correspondence, titular editor of its journal, and theinvisible, active, and permanent director of all its enterprises. Whether actual demagogues or prompted by ambition, whether paid agentsor earnest revolutionaries, each group works on its own account, bothin concert, both in the same direction, and both devoted to the sameundertaking, which is the conquest of power by every possible means. 

V. --Small number of Jacobins. 

 Sources of their power. --They form a league. --They have faith. --Their unscrupulousness. --The power of the party vested in the group which best fulfills these conditions. 

At first sight their success seems doubtful, for they are in aminority, and a very small one. At Besançon, in November, 1791, therevolutionaries of every shade of opinion and degree, whether Girondistsor Montagnards, consist of about 500 or 600 out of 3, 000 electors, and, in November, 1792, of not more than the same number out of 6, 000 and7, 000. [1241] At Paris, in November, 1791, there are 6, 700 out of morethan 81, 000 on the rolls; in October, 1792, there are less than 14, 000out of 160, 000. [1242] At Troyes, in 1792, there are found only 400 or500 out of 7, 000 electors, and at Strasbourg the same number out of8, 000 electors. [1243] Accordingly only about one-tenth of the electoralpopulation are revolutionaries, and if we leave out the Girondists andthe semi-conservatives, the number is reduced by one-half. Towards theend of 1792, at Besançon, scarcely more than 300 pure Jacobins are foundin a population of from 25, 000 to 30, 000, while at Paris, out of 700, 000inhabitants only 5, 000 are Jacobins. It is certain that in the capital, where the most excitement prevails, and where more of them are foundthan elsewhere, never, even in a crisis and when vagabonds are paid andbandits recruited, are there more than 10, 000. [1244] In a large townlike Toulouse a representative of the people on missionary service winsover only about 400 persons. [1245] Counting fifty or so in each smalltown, twenty in each large borough, and five or six in each village, wefind, on an average, but one Jacobin to fifteen electors and NationalGuards, while, taking the whole of France, all the Jacobins puttogether do not amount to 300, 000. [1246]--This is a small number for theenslavement of six millions of able-bodied men, and for installing ina country of twenty-six millions inhabitants a more absolute despotismthan that of an Asiatic sovereign. Force, however, is not measuredby numbers; they form a band in the midst of a crowd and, in thisdisorganized, inert crowd, a band that is determined to push its waylike an iron wedge splitting a log. 

And against sedition from within as well as conquest from without anation may only defend itself through the activities of its government, which provides the indispensable instruments of common action. Letit fail or falter and the great majority, undecided about what to do, lukewarm and busy elsewhere, ceases to be a corps and disintegrates intodust. Of the two governments around which the nation might have rallied, the first one, after July 14, 1789, lies prostrate on the ground whereit slowly crumbles away. Now its ghost, which returns, is stillmore odious because it brings with it the same senseless abuses andintolerable burdens, and, in addition to these, a yelping pack ofclaimants and recriminators. After 1790 it appears on the frontier morearbitrary than ever at the head of a coming invasion of angry émigrésand grasping foreigners. --The other government, that just constructedby the Constituent Assembly, is so badly put together that the majoritycannot use it. It is not adapted to its hand; no political instrument atonce so ponderous and so helpless was ever seen. An enormous effort isneeded to set it in motion; every citizen is obliged to give it abouttwo days labor per week. [1247] Thus laboriously started but halfin motion, it poorly meets the various tasks imposed upon it--thecollection of taxes, public order in the streets, the circulation ofsupplies, and security for consciences, lives and property. Toppled overby its own action, another rises out of it, illegal and serviceable, which takes its place and stands. --In a great centralized state whoeverpossesses the head possesses the body. By virtue of being led, theFrench have contracted the habit of letting themselves be led. [1248]People in the provinces involuntarily turn their eyes to the capital, and, on a crisis occurring, run out to stop the mailman to know whatgovernment happens to have fallen, the majority accepts or submits toit. --Because, in the first place, most of the isolated groups whichwould like to overthrow it dare not engage in the struggle: it seems toostrong; through inveterate routine they imagine behind it that great, distant France which, under its impulsion, will crush them with itsmass. [1249] In the second place, should a few isolated groups undertaketo overthrow it, they are not in a condition to keep up the struggle: itis too strong. They are, indeed, not yet organized while it is fullyso, owing to the docile set of officials inherited from the governmentoverthrown. Under monarchy or republic the government clerk comes tohis office regularly every morning to dispatch the orders transmittedto him. [1250] Under monarchy or republic the policeman daily makeshis round to arrest those against who he has a warrant. So long asinstructions come from above in the hierarchical order of things, theyare obeyed. From one end of the territory to the other, therefore, themachine, with its hundred thousand arms, works efficiently in the handsof those who have seized the lever at the central point. Resolution, audacity, rude energy, are all that are needed to make the lever act, and none of these are wanting in the Jacobin. [1251]

First, he has faith, and faith at all times "moves mountains. [1252]"Take any ordinary party recruit, an attorney, a second-rate lawyer, a shopkeeper, an artisan, and conceive, if you can, the extraordinaryeffect of this doctrine on a mind so poorly prepared for it, so narrow, so out of proportion with the gigantic conception which has mastered it. Formed for the routine and the limited views of one in his position, heis suddenly carried away by a complete system of philosophy, a theoryof nature and of man, a theory of society and of religion, a theory ofuniversal history, [1253] conclusions about the past, the present, andthe future of humanity, axioms of absolute right, a system of perfectand final truth, the whole concentrated in a few rigid formulae as, forexample:

"Religion is superstition, monarchy is usurpation, priests areimpostors, aristocrats are vampires, and kings are so many tyrants andmonsters. "

These ideas flood a mind of his stamp like a vast torrent precipitatingitself into a narrow gorge; they upset it, and, no longer underself-direction, they sweep it away. The man is beside himself. A plainbourgeois, a common laborer is not transformed with impunity into anapostle or liberator of the human species. --For, it is not his countrythat he would save, but the entire race. Roland, just before the 10th ofAugust, exclaims "with tears in his eyes, should liberty die in France, she is lost the rest of the world forever! The hopes of philosopherswill perish! The whole earth will succumb to the cruelesttyranny!"[1254]--Grégoire, on the meeting of the Convention, obtained adecree abolishing royalty, and seemed overcome with the thought of theimmense benefit he had conferred on the human race. 

"I must confess, " said he, "that for days I could neither eat nor sleepfor excess of joy!"

One day a Jacobin in the tribune declared: "We shall be a nation ofgods!"--Fancies like these bring on lunacy, or, at all events, theycreate disease. "Some men are in a fever all day long, " said a companionof St. Just; "I had it for twelve years. . . "[1255] Later on, "whenadvanced in life and trying to analyze their experiences, they cannotcomprehend it. "[1256] Another tells that, in his case, on a "crisisoccurring, there was only a hair's breadth between reason andmadness. "--"When St. Just and myself, " says Baudot, "discharged thebatteries at Wissenbourg, we were most liberally thanked for it. Well, there was no merit in that; we knew perfectly well that the shot couldnot do us any harm. "--Man, in this exalted state, is unconscious ofobstacles, and, according to circumstances, rise above or falls belowhimself, freely spilling his own blood as well as the blood of others, heroic as a soldier and atrocious as a civilian; he is not to beresisted in either direction for his strength increases a hundredfoldthrough his fury, and, on his tearing wildly through the streets, peopleget out of his way as on the approach of a mad bull. 

If they do not jump aside of their own accord, he will run at them, for he is unscrupulous as well as furious. --In every political strugglecertain kinds of actions are prohibited; at all events, if the majorityis sensible and wishes to act fairly, it repudiates them for itself. It will not violate any particular law, for, if one law is broken, this tends to the breaking of others. It is opposed to overthrowingan established government because every interregnum is a return tobarbarism. It is opposed to the element of popular insurrection because, in such a resort, public power is surrendered to the irrationality ofbrutal passion. It is opposed to a conversion of the government intoa machine for confiscation and murder because it deems the naturalfunction of government to be the protection of life and property. --Themajority, accordingly, in confronting the Jacobin, who allowshimself all this, [1257] is like a unarmed man facing one who is fullyarmed. [1258] The Jacobin, on principle, holds the law in contempt, for the only law, which he accepts is arbitrary mob rule. He has nohesitation in proceeding against the government because, in his eyes, the government is a clerk which the people always has the right toremove. He welcomes insurrection because, through it, the people recovertheir sovereignty with no limitations. --Moreover, as with casuists, "theend justifies the means. "[1259] "Let the colonies perish, " exclaimsa Jacobin in the Constituent Assembly, "rather than sacrifice aprinciple. " "Should the day come, " says St. Just, "when I becomeconvinced that it is impossible to endow the French with mild, vigorous, and rational ways, inflexible against tyranny and injustice, that dayI will stab myself. " Meanwhile he guillotines the others. "We will makeFrance a graveyard, " exclaimed Carrier, "rather than not regeneratingit our own way!"[1260] They are ready to risk the ship in order to seizethe helm. From the first, they organize street riots and jacqueries inthe rural districts, they let loose on society prostitutes and ruffians, vile and savage beasts. Throughout the struggle they take advantage ofthe coarsest and most destructive passions, of the blindness, credulity, and rage of an infatuated crowd, of dearth, of fear of bandits, ofrumors of conspiracy, and of threats of invasion. At last, having seizedpower through a general upheaval, they hold on to it through terror andexecutions. --Straining will to the utmost, with no curb to check it, steadfastly believing in its own right and with utter contempt forthe rights of others, with fanatical energy and the expedients ofscoundrels, a minority may, in employing such forces, easily master andsubdue a majority. So true is that, with faction itself, that victory isalways on the side of the group with the strongest faith and the leastscruples. Four times between 1789 and 1794, political gamblers taketheir seats at a table where the stake is supreme power, and four timesin succession the "Impartiaux, " the "Feuillants, " the "Girondins, " andthe "Dantonists, " form the majority and lose the game. Four times insuccession the majority has no desire to break customary rules, or, atthe very least, to infringe on any rule universally accepted, to whollydisregard the teachings of experience, the letter of the law, theprecepts of humanity, or the suggestions of pity. --The minority, on thecontrary, is determined beforehand to win at any price; its views andopinion are correct, and if rules are opposed to that, so much theworse for the rules. At the decisive moment, it claps a pistol to itsadversary's head, overturns the table, and collects the stakes. 

*****

[Footnote 1201: See the figures further on. ]

[Footnote 1202: Mallet du Pan, II. 491. Danton, in 1793, said one day toone of his former brethren an advocate to the Council. : "The old régimemade a great mistake. It brought me up on a scholarship in PlessisCollege. I was brought up with nobles, who were my comrades, and withwhom I lived on familiar terms. On completing my studies, I had nothing;I was poor and tried to get a place. The Paris bar was very expensive, and it required extensive efforts to be accepted. I could not get intothe army, having neither rank nor patronage. There was no opening for mein the Church. I could purchase no employment, for I hadn't a cent. Myold companions turned their backs on me. I remained without a situation, and only after many long years did I succeed in buying the post ofadvocate in the Royal Council. The Revolution came, when I, and all likeme, threw themselves into it. The ancient régime forced us to do so, byproviding a good education for us, without providing an opening forour talents. " This applies to Robespierre, C. Desmoulins, Brissot, Vergniaud, and others. ]

[Footnote 1203: Religious order founded in Rome in 1654 by saintPhilippe Neri and who dedicated their efforts to preaching and theeducation of children. (SR)]

[Footnote 1204: Dauban, "La Demagogie à Paris en 1793, " and "Paris in1794. " Read General Henriot's orders of the day in these two works. Comparton, "Histoire du Tribunal Révolutionaire de Paris, " a letter byTrinchard, I. 306 (which is here given in the original, on account ofthe ortography): "Si tu nest pas toute seulle et que le compagnion soita travailler tu peus ma chaire amie ventir voir juger 24 mesieurs toussi devent président ou conselier au parlement de Paris et de Toulouse. Je t'ainvite a prendre quelque chose aven de venir parchequenous naurons pas fini de 3 hurres. Je t'embrase ma chaire amie etépouge. "-Ibid. II. 350, examination of André Chenier. --Wallon, "Hist. DuTrib. Rév. ", I, 316. Letter by Simon. "Je te coitte le bonjour mois estmon est pousse. "]

[Footnote 1205: Cf. "The Revolution, " page 60. ]

[Footnote 1206: Cf. On this point the admissions of the honest Bailly("Mémoires, " passim)]

[Footnote 1207: Rétif de la Bretonne: "Nuits de Paris, " 11éme nuit, p. 36. "I lived in Paris twenty-five years as free as air. All could enjoyas much freedom as myself in two ways--by living uprightly, and bynot writing pamphlets against the ministry. All else was permitted, myfreedom never being interfered with. It is only since the Revolutionthat a scoundrel could succeed in having me arrested twice. "]

[Footnote 1208: Cf. "The Revolution, " vol. I. P. 264. ]

[Footnote 1209: Moniteur, IV. 495. (Letter from Chartres, May 27, 1790. )]

[Footnote 1210: Sauzay, I. 147, 195 218, 711. ]

[Footnote 1211: Mercure de France, numbers of August 7, 14, 26, and Dec. 18, 1790. ]

[Footnote 1212: Ibid. Number of November 26, 1790. Pétion is electedmayor of Paris by 6, 728 out of 10, 632 voters. "Only 7, 000 votersare found at the election of the electors who elect deputies to thelegislature. Primary and municipal meetings are deserted in the sameproportion. "---Moniteur, X. 529 (Number of Dec. 4, 1791). Manuel iselected Attorney of the Commune by 3, 770 out of 5, 311 voters. --Ibid. XI. 378. At the election of municipal officers for Paris, Feb. 10 and 11, 1792, only 3, 787 voters present themselves; Dussault, who obtains themost votes, has 2, 588; Sergent receives 1, 648. --Buchez et Roux, XI. 238(session of Aug. 12, 1791). Speech by Chapelier; "Archives Nationales, "F. 6 (carton), 21. Primary meeting of June 13, 1791, canton of Bèze (Coted'Or). Out of 460 active citizens, 157 are present, and, on the finalballot, 58. --Ibid. , F7, 3235, (January, 1792). Lozerre: "1, 000 citizens, at most, out of 25, 000, voted in the primary meetings. At. Saint-Chèly, capital of the district, a few armed ruffians succeed in forming theprimary meeting and in substituting their own election for that of eightparishes, whose frightened citizens who withdrew from it. . . At Langogne, chief town of the canton and district, out of more than 400 activecitizens, 22 or 23 at most--just what one would suppose them to be whentheir presence drove away the rest--alone formed the meeting. "]

[Footnote 1213: This power, with its gratifications, is thus shown, Beugnot, I. 140, 147. "On the publication of the decrees of August4, the committee of surveillance of Montigny, reinforced by all thepatriots of the country, came down like a torrent on the barony ofChoiseul, and exterminated all the hares and partridges. . . They fishedout the ponds. At Mandres we find, in the best room of the inn, a dozenpeasants gathered around a table decked with tumblers and bottles, amongst which we noticed an inkstand, pens, and something resembling aregister. --'I don't know what they are about, ' said the landlady, 'but there they are, from morning till night, drinking, swearing, andstorming away at everybody, and they say that they are a committee. '"]

[Footnote 1214: Albert Babeau, I. 206, 242. --The first meeting of therevolutionary committee of Troyes in the cemetery of St. Jules, August, 1789. This committee becomes the only authority in the town, after theassassination of the mayor, M. Huez (Sept 10, 1790). ]

[Footnote 1215: "The French Revolution, " Vol. I. Pp. 235, 242, 251. --Buchez et Roux, VI, 179. --Guillon de Montléon, "Histoire de laVille de Lyon pendant la Revolution, " I. 87. --Guadet, "Les Girondins. "]

[Footnote 1216: Michelet, "Histoire de la Révolution, " II. 47. ]

[Footnote 1217: The rules of the Paris club state that members must"labor to establish and strengthen the Constitution, according to thespirit of the club. "]

[Footnote 1218: Mercure de France, Aug. 11, 1790. --"Journal de la Sociétédes Amis la Constitution, " Nov. 21, 1790. --Ibid. , March, 1791. --Ibid. , March, 1791. --Ibid. , Aug. 14, 1791 (speech by Roederer)--Buchez et Roux, XI. 481. ]

[Footnote 1219: Michelet, II. 407. --Moniteur, XII 347 (May 11, 1792), article by Marie-Joseph Chénier, according to whom 800 Jacobin clubsexist at this date. --Ibid. , XII. 753 (speech by M. Delfaux session ofJune 25, 1792). --Roederer, preface to his translation of Hobbes. ]

[Footnote 1220: "Les Révolutions de Paris, " by Prudhomme, number 173. ]

[Footnote 1221: Constant, "Histoire d'un Club Jacobin en province, "passim (Fontainbleau Club, founded May 5, 1791). --Albert Babeau, I. 434and following pages (foundation of the Troyes Club, Oct 1790). --Sauzay, I 206 and following pages (foundation of the Besançon Club Aug. 28, 1790). --Ibid. , 214 (foundation of the Pontarlier Club, March, 1791)]

[Footnote 1222: Sauzay, I. 214 (April 2, 1791)]

[Footnote 1223: "Journal des Amis de la Constitution, " I. 534 (Letterof the "Café National" Club of Bordeaux, Jan. 29, 1791). Guillon deMonthléon, I. 88. -"The French Revolution, " vol. I. 128, 242. ]

[Footnote 1224: Here we have a complete system of propaganda andorganizational tactics identical to those used by the NAZIS, the Marxist-Leninists and other 'children' of the originalcommunist-Jacobins. (SR. )]

[Footnote 1225: Eugène Hatin, "Histoire politique et littéraire de lapresse, " IV. 210 (with Marat's text in "L'Ami L'Ami du peuple, " andFréron's in "l'Orateur du peuple"). ]

[Footnote 1226: Mercure de France, Nov. 27, 1790. ]

[Footnote 1227: Mercure de France, Sept. 3, 1791 (article by Mallet duPan). "On the strength of a denunciation, the authors of which I knew, the Luxembourg section on the 21st of June, the day of the king'sdeparture, sent commissaries and a military detachment to my domicile. There was no judicial verdict, no legal order, either of police-court, or justice of the peace, no examination whatever preceding thismission. . . The employees of the section overhauled my papers, books andletters, transcribing some of the latter, and carried away copies andthe originals, putting seals on the rest, which were left in charge oftwo fusiliers. "]

[Footnote 1228: Mercure de France, Aug. 27, 1791 (report byDuport-Dutertre, Minister of Justice). --Ibid. , Cf. Numbers of Sept. 8, 1790, and March 12, 1791. ]

[Footnote 1229: Sauzay, I. 208. (Petition of the officers of the NationalGuard of Besançon, and observations of the municipal body, Sept. 15, 1790. --Petition of 500 national guards, Dec. 15, 1790). --Observationsof the district directory, which directory, having authorized the club, avows that "three-quarters" of the national guard and a portion ofother citizens "are quite hostile to it. "--Similar petitions at Dax, Chalons-sur-Saône, etc. , against the local club. ]

[Footnote 1230: "Lettres" (manuscript) of M. Roullé, deputy fromPontivy, to his constituents (May 1, 1789). ]

[Footnote 1231: A rule of the association says: "The object of theassociation is to discuss questions beforehand which are to be decidedby the National Assembly, . . . And to correspond with associations of thesame character which may be formed in the kingdom. "]

[Footnote 1232: Grégoires, "Mémoires, " I. 387. ]

[Footnote 1233: Malouet, II. 248. "I saw counselor Duport, who was afanatic, and not a bad man, with two or three others like him, exclaim:'Terror! Terror! What a pity that it has become necessary!'"]

[Footnote 1234: Lafayette, "Mémoires" (in relation to Messieurs deLameth and their friends). --According to a squib of the day: "WhatDuport thinks, Barnave says and Lameth does"--This trio was namedthe Triumvirate. Mirabeau, a government man, and a man to whom brutaldisorder was repugnant, called it the Triumgueusat. (A trinity of shabbyfellows)]

[Footnote 1235: Moniteur, V. 212, 583. (Report and speech of Dupont deNemours, sessions of July 31 and September 7, 1790. )--Vagabonds andruffians begin to play their parts in Paris on the 27th of April, 1789(the Réveillon affair). --Already on the 30th of July, 1789, Rivarolwrote: "Woe to whoever stirs up the dregs of a nation! The centuryEnlightenment has not touched the populace!"--In the preface of hisfuture dictionary, he refers to his articles of this period: "There maybe seen the precautions I took to prevent Europe from attributing to theFrench nation the horrors committed by the crowd of ruffians whichthe Revolution and the gold of a great personage had attracted tothe capital. "--"Letter of a deputy to his constituents, " published byDuprez, Paris, in the beginning of 1790 (cited by M. De Ségur, in theRevue de France, September 1, 1880). It relates to the maneuvers forforcing a vote in favor of confiscating clerical property. "ThroughoutAll-Saints' day (November 1, 1789), drums were beaten to call togetherthe band known here as the Coadjutors of the Revolution. On the morningof November 2, when the deputies went to the Assembly, they found thecathedral square and all the avenues to the archbishop's palace, wherethe sessions were held, filled with an innumerable crowd of people. Thisarmy was composed of from 20, 000 to 25, 000 men, of which the greaternumber had no shoes or stockings; woollen caps and rags formed theiruniform and they had clubs instead of guns. They overwhelmed theecclesiastical deputies with insults, as they passed on their way, andshouted that they would massacre without mercy all who would not votefor stripping the clergy. . . Near 300 deputies who were opposed to themotion did not dare attend the Assembly. . . The rush of ruffians in thevicinity of the hall, their comments and threats, excited fears of thisatrocious project being carried out. All who did not feel courageousenough to sacrifice themselves, avoided going to the Assembly. " (Thedecree was adopted by 378 votes against 346. )]

[Footnote 1236: Cf. "The Ancient Régime, " p. 51. ]

[Footnote 1237: Malouet, 1. 247, 248. --"Correspondence (manuscript) of M. De Staël, " Swedish Ambassador, with his court, copied from the archivesat Stockholm by M. Léouzon-le-Duc. Letter from M. Staël of April 21, 1791: "M. Laclos, secret agent of this wretched prince, (is a) cleverand subtle intriguer. " April 24: "His agents are more to be fearedthan himself. Through his bad conduct, he is more of a nuisance than abenefit to his party. "]

[Footnote 1238: Especially after the king's flight to Varennes, andat the time of the affair in the Champ de Mars. The petition of theJacobins was drawn up by Laclos and Brissot. ]

[Footnote 1239: Investigations at the Chatelet, testimony of Countd'Absac de Ternay. ]

[Footnote 1240: Malouet I. 247, 248. This evidence is conclusive. "Apartfrom what I saw myself, " says Malouet, "M. De Montmorin and M. Delessartcommunicated to me all the police reports of 1789 and 1790. "]

[Footnote 1241: Sauzay, II. 79 (municipal election, Nov. 15, 1791). --III. 221 (mayoralty election, November, 1792). The half-way moderates had 237votes, and the sans-culottes, 310. ]

[Footnote 1242: Mercure de France, Nov. 26, 1791 (Pétion was electedmayor, Nov. 17, by 6, 728 votes out of 10, 682 voters). --Mortimer-Ternaux, V. 95. (Oct 4, 1792, Pétion was elected mayor by 13, 746 votes outof 14, 137 voters. He declines. --Oct. 21, d'Ormessan, a moderate, whodeclines to stand, has nevertheless, 4, 910 votes. His competitor, Lhuillier, a pure Jacobin, obtains only 4, 896. )]

[Footnote 1243: Albert Babeau, II. 15. (The 32, 000 inhabitants of Troyesindicate about 7, 000 electors. In December, 1792, Jacquet is electedmayor by 400 votes out of 555 voters. A striking coincidence is foundin there being 400 members of the Troyes club at this time. )--Carnot, Mémoires, " I. 181. "Dr. Bollmann, who passed through Strasbourg in 1792, relates that out of 8, 000 qualified citizens, only 400 voters presentedthemselves. ]

[Footnote 1244: Mortimer-Ternaux, VI. 21. In February, 1793, Pache iselected mayor of Paris by 11, 881 votes. --Journal de Paris, number185. Henriot, July 2, 1793, is elected commander-in-chief of the Parisnational guard, by 9, 084, against 6, 095 votes given for his competitor, Raffet. The national guard comprises at this time 110, 000 registeredmembers, besides 10, 000 gendarmes and federates. Many of Henriot'spartisans, again, voted twice. (Cf. On the elections and the number ofJacobins at Paris, chapters XI. And XII. Of this volume. )]

[Footnote 1245: Michelet, VI. 95. "Almost all (the missionaryrepresentatives) were supported by only, the smallest minority. Baudot, for instance, at Toulouse, in 1793, had but 400 men for him. "]

[Footnote 1246: For example, "Archives Nationales, " Fl 6, carton 3. Petition of the inhabitants of Arnay-le-Duc to the king (April, 1792), very insulting, employing the most familiar language; about fiftysignatures. --Sauzay, III. Ch. XXXV. And XXXIV. (details oflocal elections). --Ibid. , VII. 687 (letter of Grégoire, Dec. 24, 1796). --Malouet, II. 531 (letter by Malouet, July 22, 1779). Malouet andGrégoire agree on the number 300, 000. Marie-Joseph Chénier (Moniteur, XII, 695, 20 avril 1792) carries it up to 400, 000. ]

[Footnote 1247: Cf. "The French Revolution, " Vol. I. Book II. Ch. III. ]

[Footnote 1248: Cf. "The Ancient Régime, " p. 352. ]

[Footnote 1249: "Memoires de Madame de Sapinaud, " p. 18. Reply of M. DeSapinaud to the peasants of La Vendée, who wished him to act as theirgeneral: "My friends, it is the earthen pot against the iron pot. Whatcould we do? One department against eighty-two--we should be smashed!"]

[Footnote 1250: Malouet, II. 241. "I knew a clerk in one of the bureaus, who, during these sad days, September, 1792), never missed going. Asusual, to copy and add up his registers. Ministerial correspondencewith the armies and the provinces followed its regular course in regularforms. The Paris police looked after supplies and kept its eye onsharpers, while blood ran in the streets. "--Cf. On this mechanical needand inveterate habit of receiving orders from the central authority, Mallet du Pan, "Mémoires, " 490: "Dumouriez' soldiers said to him: 'F--, papa general, get the Convention to order us to march on Paris andyou'll see how we will make mince-meat of those b--in the Assembly!'"]

[Footnote 1251: With want great interest did any aspiring radicalpoliticians read these lines, whether the German socialist from Hitlerlearned so much or Lenin during his long stay in Paris around 1906. Taine maybe thought that he was arming decent men to better understandand defend the republic against a new Jacobin onslaught while, in fact, he provided them with an accurate recipe for repeating the revolution. (SR). ]

[Footnote 1252: At. Matthew, 17:20. (SR. )]

[Footnote 1253: Buchez et Roux, XXVIII 55. Letter by Brun-Lafond, agrenadier in the national guard, July 14, 1793, to a friend in theprovinces, in justification of the 31st of May. The whole of this letterrequires to be read. In it are found the ordinary ideas of a Jacobin inrelation to history: "Can we ignore, that it is ever the people of Pariswhich, through its murmurings and righteous insurrections against theoppressive system of many of our kings, has forced them to entertainmilder sentiments regarding the relief of the French people, andprincipally of the tiller of the soil?. . Without the energy of Paris, Paris and France would now be inhabited solely by slaves, while thisbeautiful soil would present an aspect as wild and deserted as thatof the Turkish empire or that of Germany, " which has led us "to conferstill greater lustre on this Revolution, by re-establishing on earththe ancient Athenian and other Grecian republics in all their purity. Distinctions among the early people of the earth did not exist; earlyfamily ties bound people together who had no ancient founders or origin;they had no other laws in their republics but those which, so to say, inspired them with those sentiments of fraternity experienced by them inthe cradle of primitive populations. "]

[Footnote 1254: Barbaroux, "Mémoires" (Ed. Dauban), 336. --Grégoire, "Mémoires, " I. 410. ]

[Footnote 1255: "La Révolution Française, " by Quinet (extracts from theunpublished "Mémoires" of Baudot), II. 209, 211, 421, 620. --Guillon deMontléon I. 445 (speech by Chalier, in the Lyons Central Club, March 23, 1793). "They say that the sans-culottes will go on spilling their blood. This is only the talk of aristocrats. Can a sans-culotte be reached inthat quarter? Is he not invulnerable, like the gods whom he replaces onthis earth?"--Speech by David, in the Convention, on Barra andViala: "Under so fine a government woman will bring forth withoutpain. "--Mercier "Le Nouveau Paris, " I. 13. "I heard (an orator) exclaimin one of the sections, to which I bear witness: 'Yes, I would take myown head by the hair, cut it off, and, presenting it to the despot, Iwould say to him: Tyrant, behold the act of a free man!'"]

[Footnote 1256: Now, one hundred years later, I consider the tens ofthousands of western intellectuals, who, in their old age, seem unableto understand their longtime fascination with Lenin, Stalin and Mao, I cannot help to think that history might be holding similar futuresurprises in store for us. (SR). ]

[Footnote 1257: And my lifetime, our Jacobins the communists, haveincluding in their register the distortion, the lie and slander as aregular tool of their trade. (SR). ]

[Footnote 1258: Lafayette, "Mémoires, " I. 467 (on the Jacobins ofAugust 10, 1792). "This sect, the destruction of which was desired bynineteen-twentieths of France. "--Durand-Maillan, 49. The aversion tothe Jacobins after June 20, 1792, was general. "The communes of France, everywhere wearied and dissatisfied with popular clubs, would gladlyhave got rid of them, that they might no longer be under theircontrol. "]

[Footnote 1259: The words of Leclerc, a deputy of the Lyons committee inthe Jacobin Club at Paris May 12, 1793. "Popular machiavelianism must beestablished. . . Everything impure must disappear off the French soil. . . I shall doubtless be regarded as a brigand, but there is one way to getahead of calumny, and that is to exterminate the calumniators. "]

[Footnote 1260: Buchez et Roux, XXXIV. 204 (testimony of FrançoisLameyrie). "Collection of authentic documents for the History of theRevolution at Strasbourg, " II. 210 (speech by Baudot, Frimaire 19, yearII. , in the Jacobin club at Strasbourg). "Egoists, the heedless, theenemies of liberty, the enemies of all nature should not be regardedas her children. Are not all who oppose the public good, or who do notshare it, in the same case? Let us, then, utterly destroy them. . . Werethey a million, would not one sacrifice the twenty-fourth part ofone's self to get rid of a gangrene which might infect the rest of thebody?. . . "For these reasons, the orator thinks that every man who is notwholly devoted to the Republic must be put to death. He states that theRepublic should at one blow cause the instant disappearance ofevery friend to kings and feudalism. --Beaulieu, "Essai, " V. 200. M. D'Antonelle thought, "like most of the revolutionary clubs, that, toconstitute a republic, an approximate equality of property shouldbe established; and to do this, a third of the population should besuppressed. "--"This was the general idea among the fanatics of theRevolution. "--Larevellière-Lépaux, "Mémoires, " I. 150 "Jean Bon St. André. . . Suggested that for the solid foundation of the Republic inFrance, the population should be reduced one-half. " He is violentlyinterrupted by Larevellière-Lépeaux, but continues and insists onthis. --Guffroy, deputy of the Pas-de-Calais, proposed in his journal astill larger amputation; he wanted to reduce France to five millions ofinhabitants. ]

BOOK SECOND. THE FIRST STAGE OF THE CONQUEST. 

CHAPTER I. THE JACOBINS COME INTO IN POWER. 

 The Elections Of 1791. --Proportion Of Places Gained By Them. 

In June, 1791, and during the five following months, the class of activecitizens[2101] are convoked to elect their representatives, which, as weknow, according to the law, are of every kind and degree. In the firstplace, there are 40, 000 members of electoral colleges of the seconddegree and 745 deputies. Next, there are one-half of the administratorsof 83 departments, one-half of the administrators of 544 districts, one-half of the administrators of 41, 000 communes, and finally, in eachmunicipality, the mayor and syndic-attorney. Then in each departmentthey have to elect the president of the criminal court and theprosecuting-attorney, and, throughout France, officers of the NationalGuard; in short, almost the entire body of the agents and depositoriesof legal authority. The garrison of the public citadel is to be renewed, which is the second and even the third time since 1789. --At each timethe Jacobins have crept into the place, in small bands, but this timethey enter in large bodies. Pétion becomes mayor of Paris, Manual, syndic-attorney, and Danton the deputy of Manuel. Robespierre is electedprosecuting-attorney in criminal cases. The very first week, [2102] 136new deputies enter their names on the club's register. In the Assemblythe party numbers about 250 members. On passing all the posts of thefortress in review, we may estimate the besiegers as occupying one-thirdof them, and perhaps more. Their siege for two years has been carried onwith unerring instinct, the extraordinary spectacle presenting itself ofan entire nation legally overcome by a troop of insurgents. [2103]

I. --Their siege operations. 

 Means used by them to discourage the majority of electors and conservative candidates. --Frequency of elections. -- Obligation to take the oath. 

First of all, they clear the ground, and through the decrees forced outof the Constituent Assembly, they keep most of the majority away fromthe polls. --On the one hand, under the pretext of better ensuringpopular sovereignty, the elections are so multiplied, and held so neartogether, as to demand of each active citizen one-sixth of his time;such an exaction is very great for hard-working people who have a tradeor any occupation, [2104] which is the case with the great mass; at allevents, with the useful and sane portion of the population. Accordingly, as we have seen, it stays away from the polls, leaving the field opento idlers or fanatics. [2105]--On the other hand, by virtue of theconstitution, the civic oath, which includes the ecclesiastical oath, isimposed on all electors, for, if any one takes the former and reservesthe latter, his vote is thrown out: in November, in the Doubs, themunicipal elections of thirty-three communes are invalidated solelyon this pretext. [2106] Not only forty thousand ecclesiastics are thusrendered unsworn (insermentés), but again, all scrupulous Catholics losethe right of suffrage, these being by far the most numerous in Artois, Doubs and the Jura, in the Lower and Upper Rhine district, [2107] in thetwo Sévres and la Vendée, in the Lower Loire, Morbihan, Finisterre andCôtes du Nord, in Lozère and Ardèche, without mentioning the southerndepartments. [2108] Thus, aided by the law which they have renderedimpracticable, the Jacobins, on the one hand, are rid of all sensiblevoters in advance, counting by millions; and, on the other, aided by alaw which they have rendered intolerant, they are rid of the Catholicvote which counts by hundreds of thousands. On entering the electorallists, consequently, thanks to this double exclusion, they findthemselves confronted by only the smallest number of electors. 

II. --Annoyances and dangers of public elections. 

 The constituents excluded from the Legislative body. 

Operations must now be commenced against these, and a first expedientconsists in depriving them of their candidates. The obligation oftaking the oath has already partly provided for this, in Lozère all theofficials send in their resignations rather than take the oath;[2109]here are men who will not be candidates at the coming elections, fornobody covets a place which he was forced to abandon; in general, thesuppression of all party candidatures is effected in no other way thanby making the post of a magistrate distasteful. --The Jacobins havesuccessfully adhered to this principle by promoting and taking the leadin innumerable riots against the King, the officials and the clerks, against nobles, ecclesiastics, corn-dealers and land-owners, againstevery species of public authority whatever its origin. Everywhere theauthorities are constrained to tolerate or excuse murders, pillage andarson, or, at the very least, insurrections and disobedience. For twoyears a mayor runs the risk of being hung on proclaiming martial law;a captain is not sure of his men on marching to protect a tax levy;a judge on the bench is threatened if he condemns the marauders whodevastate the national forests. The magistrate, whose duty it is to seethat the law is respected, is constantly obliged to strain the law, or allow it to be strained; if refractory, a summary blow dealt by thelocal Jacobins forces his legal authority to yield to their illegaldictate, so that he has to resign himself to being either theiraccomplice or their puppet. Such a rôle is intolerable to a man offeeling or conscience. Hence, in 1790 and 1791, nearly all the prominentand reputable men who, in 1789, had seats in the Hôtels-de-villes, orheld command in the National Guard, all country-gentlemen, chevaliersof St. Louis, old parliamentarians, the upper bourgeoisie and largelanded-proprietors, retire into private life and renounce publicfunctions which are no longer tenable. Instead of offering themselves topublic suffrage they avoid it, and the party of order, far from electingthe magistracy, no longer even finds candidates for it. 

Through an excess of precaution, its natural leaders have been legallydisqualified, the principal offices, especially those of deputy andminister, being interdicted beforehand to the influential men in whom wefind the little common sense gained by the French people during the pasttwo years. -In the month of June, 1779, even after the irreconcilableshad parted company with the "Right, " there still remained in theAssembly about 700 members who, adhering to the constitution butdetermined to repress disorder, would have formed a sensible legislaturehad they been re-elected. All of these, except a very small group ofrevolutionaries, had learned something by experience, and, in the lastdays of their session, two serious events, the king's flight and theriot in the Champ de Mars, had made them acquainted with the defects oftheir machinery. With this executive instrument in their hands for threemonths, they see that it is racked, that things are tottering, andthat they themselves are being run over by fanatics and the crowd. They accordingly attempt to put on a drag, and several even think ofretracing their steps. [2110] They cut loose from the Jacobins; ofthe three or four hundred deputies on the club list in the Rue St. Honoré[2111] but seven remain; the rest form at the Feuillants adistinct opposition club, and at their head are the first founders, Duport, the two Lameths, Barnave, the authors of the constitution, all the fathers of the new régime. [2112] In the last decree of theConstituent Assembly they loudly condemn the usurpations of popularassociations, and not only interdict to these all meddling inadministrative or political matters, but likewise any collectivepetition or deputation. [2113]--Here may the friends of order findcandidates whose chances are good, for, during two years and more, eachin his own district is the most conspicuous, the best accredited, andthe most influential man there; he stands well with his electors onaccount of the popularity of the constitution he has made, and it isvery probable that his name would rally to it a majority of votes. -TheJacobins, however, have foreseen this danger: Four months earlier, [2114]with the aid of the Court, which never missed an opportunity to ruinitself and everything else, [2115] they made the most of the grudgesof the conservatives and the weariness of the Assembly. Tired anddisgusted, in a fit of mistaken selflessness, the Assembly, throughenthusiasm and taken by surprise, passes an act declaring all itsmembers ineligible for election to the next Assembly dismissing inadvance the leaders of the gentlemen's party. 

III. --The friends of order deprived of the right of free assemblage. 

 Violent treatment of their clubs in Paris and the provinces. --Legal prevention of conservative associations. 

If the latter (the honest men of the Right), in spite of so manydrawbacks, attempt a struggle, they are arrested at the very first step. For, to enter upon an electoral campaign, requires preliminary meetingsfor conference and to understand each other, while the faculty offorming an association, which the law grants them as a right, isactually withheld from them by their adversaries. As a beginning, theJacobins hooted at and "stone" the members of the "Right"[2116] holdingtheir meetings in the Salon français of the Rue Royale, and, accordingto the prevailing rule, the police tribunal, "considering that thisassemblage is a cause of disturbance, that it produces gatherings in thestreet, that only violent means can be employed to protect it, " ordersits dissolution. [2117]--Towards the month of August, 1790, a second clubis organized, and, this time, composed of the wisest and most liberalmen. Malouet and Count Clermont-Tonnerre are at the head of it. It takesthe name of "Friends of a Monarchical Constitution, " and is desirousof restoring public order by maintaining the reforms which have beenreached. All formalities on its part have been complied with. Thereare already about 800 members in Paris. Subscriptions flow into itstreasury. The provinces send in numerous adhesions, and, what is worsethan all, bread is distributed by them at a reduced price, by which thepeople, probably, will be conciliated. Here is a center of opinion andinfluence, analogous to that of the Jacobin club, which the Jacobinscannot tolerate. [2118] M. De Clermont-Tonnerre having leased the summerVauxhall, a captain in the National Guard notifies the proprietor of itthat if he rents it, the patriots of the Palais-Royal will march to itin a body, and close it; fearing that the building will be damaged, he cancels the lease, while the municipality, which fears skirmishes, orders a suspension of the meetings. The club makes a complaint andfollows it up, while the letter of the law is so plain that an officialauthorization of the club is finally granted. Thereupon the Jacobinnewspapers and stump--speakers let loose their fury against a futurerival that threatens to dispute their empire. On the 23rd of January, 1791, Barnave, in the National Assembly, employing metaphorical languageapt to be used as a death-shout, accuses the members of the new club "ofgiving the people bread that carries poison with it. " Four days afterthis, M. Clermont-Tonnerre's dwelling is assailed by an armed throng. Malouet, on leaving it, is almost dragged from his carriage, and thecrowd around him cry out, "There goes the bastard who denounced thepeople!"--At length, its founders, who, out of consideration for themunicipality, have waited two months, hire another hall in the Rue desPetites-Ecuries, and on the 28th of March begin their sessions. "Onreaching it, " writes one of them, "we found a mob composed of drunkards, screaming boys, ragged women, soldiers exciting them on, and especiallythose frightful hounds, armed with stout, knotty cudgels, two feetlong, which are excellent skull-crackers. "[2119] The thing was made upbeforehand. At first there were only three or four hundred of them, and, ten minutes after, five or six hundred; in a quarter of an hour, thereare perhaps four thousand flocking in from all sides; in short, theusual make-up of an insurrection. "The people of the quarter certifiedthat they did not recognize one of the faces. " Jokes, insults, cuffs, clubbings, and saber-cuts, --the members of the club "who agreed to comeunarmed" being dispersed, while several are knocked down, dragged by thehair, and a dozen or fifteen more are wounded. To justify the attack, white cockades are shown, which, it is pretended, were found in theirpockets. Mayor Bailly arrives only when it is all over, and, as ameasure of "public order, " the municipal authorities have the club ofConstitutional Monarchists closed for good. 

Owing to these outrages by the faction, with the connivance of theauthorities, other similar clubs are suppressed in the same way. Thereare a good many of them, and in the principal towns--"Friends ofPeace, " "Friends of the Country, " "Friends of the King, of Peace, and ofReligion, " "Defenders of Religion, Persons, and Property". Magistratesand officers, the most cultivated and polished people, are generallymembers; in short, the élite of the place. Formerly, meetings tookplace for conversation and debate, and, being long-established, theclub naturally passes over from literature to politics. --Thewatch-word against all these provincial clubs is given from the Rue St. Honoré. [2120] "They are centers of conspiracy, and must be looked after"forthwith, and be at once trodden out. --At one time, as at Cahors, [2121]a squad of the National Guard, on its return from an expedition againstthe neighboring gentry, and to finish its task breaks in on the club, "throws its furniture out of the windows and demolishes the house. "--Atanother time, as at Perpignan, the excited mob surrounds the club, dancing a fandango, and yell out, to the lantern! The club-house issacked, while eighty of its members, covered with bruises, are shut upin the citadel for their safety. [2122]--At another time, as at Aix, theJacobin club insults its adversaries on their own premises and provokesa scuffle, whereupon the municipality causes the doors of the assailedclub to be walled up and issues warrants of arrest against itsmembers. --Always punishment awaits them for whatever violence they haveto submit to. Their mere existence seems an offense. At Grenoble, theyscarcely assemble before they are dispersed. The fact is, they aresuspected of "incivism;" their intentions may not be right; in anyevent, they cause a division of the place into two camps, and that isenough. In the department of Gard, their clubs are all broken up, byorder of the department, because "they are centers of malevolence. "At Bordeaux, the municipality, considering that "alarming reports arecurrent of priests and privileged persons returning to town, " prohibitsall reunions, except that of the Jacobin club. --Thus, "under a systemof liberty of the most exalted kind, in the presence of the famousDeclaration of the Rights of Man which legitimates whatever is notunlawful, " and which postulates equality as the principle of the Frenchconstitution, whoever is not a Jacobin is excluded from common rights. An intolerant club sets itself up as a holy church, and proscribesothers which have not received from it "orthodox baptism, civicinspiration, and the aptitude of languages. " To her alone belongs theright of assemblage, and the right of making proselytes. Conservative, thoughtful men in all towns throughout the kingdom are forbidden toform electoral committees, to possess a tribune, a fund, subscribers andadherents, to cast the weight of their names and common strength intothe scale of public opinion, to gather around their permanent nucleusthe scattered multitude of sensible people, who would like to escapefrom the Revolution without falling back into the ancient régime. Let them whisper amongst themselves in corners, and they may still betolerated, but woe to them if they would leave their lonely retreat toact in concert, to canvass voters, and support a candidate. Up tothe day of voting they must remain in the presence of their combined, active, and obstreperous adversaries, scattered, inert, and mute. 

IV. Turmoil of the elections of 1790. --Elections in 1791. --Effect ofthe King's flight. --Domiciliary visits. --Montagne during the electoralperiod. 

Will they at least be able to vote freely on that day? They are notsure of it, and, judging by occurrences during the past year, it isdoubtful. --In April, 1790, at Bois d'Aisy, in Burgundy, M. De Boisd'Aisy, a deputy, who had returned from Paris to deposit his vote, [2123]was publicly menaced. He was informed that nobles and priests must takeno part m the elections, while many were heard to say, in his hearing, that in order to prevent this it would be better to hang him. Not faroff; at Ste. Colombe, M. De Viteaux was driven out of the electoralassembly, and then put to death after three hours of torture. The samething occurred at Semur; two gentlemen were knocked down with clubs andstones, another saved himself with difficulty, and a curé died afterbeing stabbed six times. --A warning for priests and for gentlemen: theyhad better not vote, and the same good advice may be given to dealers ingrain, to land-owners, and every other suspected person. For this is theday on which the people recover their sovereignty; the violent believethat they have the right to do exactly what suits them, nothing beingmore natural than to exclude candidates in advance who aredistrusted, or electors who do not vote as they ought to. --AtVilleneuve-St. -Georges, near Paris, [2124] a barrister, a man of austereand energetic character, is about to be elected judge by the districtelectors; the proletariat, however, mistrust a judge likely to condemnmarauders, and forty or fifty vagabonds collect together under thewindows and cry out: "We don't want him elected. " The curé of Crosne, president of the electoral assembly, informs them in vain that theassembled electors represent 90 communes, nearly 100, 000 inhabitants, and that "40 persons should not prevail against 100, 000. Shouts redoubleand the electors renounce their candidate. --At Pau, patriots amongthe militia[2125] forcibly release one of their imprisoned leaders, circulate a list for proscriptions, attack a poll-teller with theirfists and afterwards with sabers, until the proscribed hide themselvesaway; on the following day "nobody is disposed to attend the electoralassembly. "----Things are much worse in 1791. In the month of June, justat the time of the opening of the primary meetings, the king has fled toVarennes, the Revolution seems compromised, civil war and a foreignwar loom up on the horizon like two ghosts; the National Guard hadeverywhere taken up arms, and the Jacobins were making the most of theuniversal panic for their own advantage. To dispute their votes isno longer the question; it is not well to be visible: among so manyturbulent gatherings a popular execution is soon over. The best thingnow for royalists, constitutionalists, conservatives and moderates ofevery kind, for the friends of law and of order, is to stay at home--toohappy if they may be allowed to remain there, to which the armed rabbleagrees; on the condition of frequently paying them visits. 

Consider their situation during the whole of the electoral period, in acalm district, and judge of the rest of France by this corner of it. AtMortagne, [2126] a small town of 6, 000 souls, the laudable spirit of 1789still existed up to the journey to Varennes. Among the forty or fiftynoble families were a good many liberals. Here, as elsewhere among thegentry, the clergy and the middle class, the philosophic educationof the eighteenth century had revived the old provincial spirit ofinitiative, and the entire upper class had zealously and gratuitouslyundertaken the public duties which it alone could perform well. Districtpresidents, mayors, and municipal officers, were all chosen from amongecclesiastics and the nobles; the three principal officers of theNational Guard were chevaliers of St. Louis, while other grades werefilled by the leading people of the community. Thus had the freeelections placed authority in the hands of the socially superior, thenew order of things resting on the legitimate hierarchy of conditions, educations, and capacities. --But for six months the club, formed out of"a dozen hot-headed, turbulent fellows, under the presidency and in thehands of a certain Rattier, formerly a cook, " worked upon the populationand the rural districts. Immediately on the receipt of the news ofthe King's flight, the Jacobins "give out that nobles and priestshad supplied him with money for his departure, to bring about acounter-revolution. " One family had given such an amount, and anotherso much; there was no doubt about it; the precise figures are given, andgiven for each family according to its known resources. --Forthwith, "theprincipal clubbists, associated with the dubious part of the NationalGuard, " spread through the streets in squads: the houses of the noblesand of other suspected persons are invaded. All the arms, "guns, pistols, swords, hunting-knives, and sword-canes, " are carried off. Every hole and corner is ransacked; they make the inmates open, or theyforce open, secretaries and clothes-presses in search of ammunition, the search extending "even to the ladies' toilette-tables". By wayof precaution "they break sticks of pomatum in two, presuming thatmusket-balls are concealed in them, and they take away hair-powderunder the pretext that it is either colored or masked gunpowder. " Then, without disbanding, the troop betakes itself to the environs and intothe country, where it operates with the same promptness in the chateaux, so that "in one day all honest citizens, those with the most propertyand furniture to protect, are left without arms at the mercy of thefirst robber that comes along. " All reputed aristocrats are disarmed. Assuch are considered those who "disapprove of the enthusiasm of the day, or who do not attend the club, or who harbor any unsworn ecclesiastic, "and, first of all, "the officers of the National Guard who are nobles, beginning with the commander and his entire staff. "--The latter allowtheir swords to be taken without resistance, and with a forbearance andpatriotic spirit of which their brethren everywhere furnish an example"they are obliging enough to remain at their posts so as not todisorganize the army, hoping that this frenzy will soon come to anend, " contenting themselves with making their complaint to thedepartment. --But in vain the department orders their arms to be restoredto them. The clubbists refuse to give them up so long as the kingrefuses to accept the Constitution; meanwhile they do not hesitateto say that "at the very first gun on the frontier, they will cut thethroats of all the nobles and unsworn priests. "--After the royal oathto the Constitution is taken, the department again insists, but noattention is paid to it. On the contrary, the National Guard, draggingcannons along with them, purposely station themselves before themansions of the unarmed gentry; the ladies of their families arefollowed in the streets by urchins who sing ÇA IRA[2127] in their faces, and, in the final refrain, they mention them by name and promise themthe lantern; "not one of them could invite a dozen of his friends tosupper without incurring the risk of an uproar. "--On the strength ofthis, the old chiefs of the National Guard resign, and the Jacobins turnthe opportunity to account. In contempt of the law the whole body ofofficers is renewed, and, as peaceable folks dare not deposit theirvotes, the new staff "is composed of maniacs, taken for the most part, from the lowest class. " With this purged militia the club expels nuns, drives off unsworn priests, organizes expeditions in the neighborhood, and goes so far as to purify suspected municipalities. [2128]--So manyacts of violence committed in town and country, render town and countryuninhabitable, and for the élite of the propriety owners, or forwell-bred persons, there is no longer any asylum but Paris. After thefirst disarmament seven or eight families take refuge there, and a dozenor fifteen more join them after a threat of having their throats cut;after the religious persecution, unsworn ecclesiastics, the rest ofthe nobles, and countless other townspeople, "even with little means, "betake themselves there in a mass. There, at least, one is lost in thecrowd; one is protected by an incognito against the outrages of thecommonalty; one can live there as a private individual. In the provinceseven civil rights do not exist; how could any one there exercisepolitical rights? "All honest citizens are kept away from the primarymeetings by threats or maltreatment. . . The electoral battlefield isleft for those who pay forty-five sous of taxes, more than one-half ofthem being registered on the poor list. "--Thus the elections aredecided beforehand! The former cook is the one who authorizes or createscandidatures, and on the election of the department deputies atthe county town, the electors elected are, like himself, trueJacobins. [2129]

V. --Intimidation and withdrawal of the Conservatives. 

 Popular outbreaks in Burgundy, Lyonnais, Provence, and the large cities. --Electoral proceedings of the Jacobins; examples at Aix, Dax, and Montpellier. --Agitators go unpunished--Denunciations by name. --Manoeuvres with the peasantry. --General tactics of the Jacobins. 

Such is the pressure under which voting takes place in France duringthe summer and fall of 1791. Domiciliary visits[2130] and disarmamenteverywhere force nobles and ecclesiastics, landed proprietors and peopleof culture, to abandon their homes, to seek refuge in the large townsand to emigrate, [2131] or, at least, confine themselves strictly toprivate life, to abstain from all propaganda, from every candidature, and from all voting. It would be madness to be seen in so many cantonswhere searches end in a riot; in Burgundy and the Lyonnais, wherecastles are sacked, where aged gentlemen are mauled and left for dead, where M. De Guillin has just been assassinated and cut to pieces; atMarseilles, where conservative party leaders are imprisoned, where aregiment of Swiss guards under arms scarcely suffices to enforcethe verdict of the court which sets them at liberty, where, if anyindiscreet person opposes Jacobin resolutions his mouth is closedby being notified that he will be buried alive; at Toulon, where theJacobins shoot down all conservatives and the regular troops, whereM. De Beaucaire, captain in the navy, is killed by a shot in the back, where the club, supported by the needy, by sailors, by navvies, and"vagabond peddlers, " maintains a dictatorship by right of conquest;at Brest, at Tulle, at Cahors, where at this very moment gentlemen andofficers are massacred in the street. It is not surprising thathonest people turn away from the ballot-box as from a center ofcut-throats. --Nevertheless, let them come if they like; it will be easyto get rid of them. At Aix, the assessor whose duty it is to read theelectors' names is informed that "the names should be called out byan unsullied mouth, that, being an aristocrat and fanatical, he couldneither speak nor vote, " and, without further ceremony, they put himout of the room. [2132] The process is an admirable one for convertinga minority into a majority and yet here is another, still moreeffective. --At Dax, the Feuillants, taking the title of "Friends ofthe French Constitution, " have split up with the Jacobins, [2133] and, moreover, they insist on excluding from the National Guard "foreignerswithout property or position, " the passive citizens who are admittedinto it in spite of the law, who usurp the right of voting and who"daily affront tranquil inhabitants. " Consequently, on election day, in the church where the primary meeting is held, two of the Feuillants, Laurède, formerly collector of the vingtièmes, , and Brunache, a glazier, propose to exclude an intruder, a servant on wages. The Jacobins atonce rush forward. Laurède is pressed back on the holy-water basinand wounded on the head; on trying to escape he is seized by the hair, thrown down, pierced in the arm with a bayonet, put in prison, andBrunache along with him. Eight days afterwards, at the second meetingnone are present but Jacobins; naturally, "they are all elected". Theyform the new municipality, which, notwithstanding the orders of thedepartment, not only refuses to liberate the two prisoners, but throwsthem into a dungeon. --At Montpellier, the delay in the operation isgreater, but it is only the more complete. The votes are deposited, the ballot-boxes closed and sealed up and the conservatives obtaina majority. Thereupon the Jacobin club, with the Society of the"iron-clubs, " calling itself the Executive power, betake themselves inforce to the sectional meetings, burn one of the ballots, use firearmsand kill two men. To restore order the municipality stations eachcompany of the National Guard at its captain's door, The moderates amongthem naturally obey orders, but the violent party do not. They overrunthe town, numbering about 2, 000 inhabitants, enter the houses, kill three men in the street or in their domiciles, and force theadministrative body to suspend its electoral assemblies. In additionto this they require the disarmament "of the aristocrats, " and thisnot being done soon enough, they kill an artisan who is walking in thestreet with his mother, cut off his head, bear it aloft in triumph, andsuspend it in front of his dwelling. The authorities are now convincedand accordingly decree a disarmament, and the victors parade the streetsin a body. In exuberance or as a precaution, they fire, as theypass along, at the windows of suspected houses and happen to kill anadditional man and woman. During the three following days six hundredfamilies emigrate, while the authorities report that everything is goingon well, and that order is restored. "The elections, " they say, "are nowproceeding in the quietest manner since the ill-intentioned voluntarilykeeping away from them, a large number having left the town. "[2134] Avoid is created around the ballot-box and this is called the unanimityof voters. --The effect of such assassinations is great and only a feware required; especially when they go unpunished, which is always thecase. Henceforth all that the Jacobins have to do is to threaten; peopleno longer resist them for they know that it costs too much to face themdown. They do not care to attend electoral meetings where they meetinsult and danger; they acknowledge defeat at the start. Have not theJacobins irresistible arguments, without taking blows into account? AtParis, [2135] Marat in three successive numbers of his paper has justdenounced by name "the rascals and thieves" who canvass for electoralnominations, not the nobles and priests but ordinary citizens, lawyers, architects, physicians, jewellers, stationers, printers, upholsterersand other artisans, each name being given in full with the professions, addresses and one of the following qualifications, "hypocrite (tartufe), immoral, dishonest, bankrupt, informer, usurer, cheat, " not to mentionothers that I cannot write down. It must be noted that this slanderouslist may become a proscriptive list, and that in every town and villagein France similar lists are constantly drawn up and circulated by thelocal dub, which enables us to judge whether the struggle between itand its adversaries is a fair one. -As to rural electors, it has suitablemeans for persuading them, especially in the innumerable cantons ravagedor threatened by the jacqueries, (country-riots) or, for example, inCorrèze, where "the whole department is smattered with insurrectionsand devastation's, and where nobody talks of anything but of hanging theofficers who serve papers. "[2136] Through-out the electoral operationsthe sittings of the dub are permanent; "its electors are incessantlysummoned to its meetings;" at each of these "the main question is thedestruction of fish-ponds and rentals, their principal speakers summingit all up by saying that none ought to be paid. " The majority ofelectors, composed of rustics, are found to be sensitive to speecheslike this; all its candidates are obliged to express themselves againstfishponds and rentals; its deputies and the public prosecuting attorneyare nominated on this profession of faith; in other words, to beelected, the Jacobins promise to greedy tenants the incomes and propertyof their owners. --We already see in the proceedings by which they secureone-third of the offices in 1791 the germ of the methods by which theywill secure the whole of them in 1792; in this first electoral campaigntheir acts indicate not merely their maxims and policy but, again, thecondition, education, spirit and character of the men whom they place inpower locally as well as at the capital. 

*****

[Footnote 2101: Law of May 28, 29, 1791 (according to officialstatements, the total of active citizens amounted to 4, 288, 360). --Lawsof July 23, Sept. 12, Sept. 29, 1791. --Buchez et Roux, XII. 310. ]

[Footnote 2102: Bucher Ct Roux, XII. 33. --Mortimer-Ternaux, "Histoire dela Terreur, " II. 205, 348. --Sauzay, II. Ch. XVIII--Albert Babeau, I. Ch. XX. ]

[Footnote 2103: Lenin repeated this performance in 1917 and Stalinattempted to do the same in the rest of the World. (SR). . ]

[Footnote 2104: The following letter, by Camille Desmoulins (April 3, 1792), shows at once the time consumed by public affairs, the sort ofattraction they had, and the kind of men which they diverted from theirbusiness. "I have gone back to my old profession of the law, to which Igive nearly all the time which my municipal or electoral functions, andthe Jacobins (club), allow me--that is to say, very little. It is verydisagreeable to me to come down to pleading bourgeois cases after havingmanaged interests of such importance, and the affairs of the government, in the face of all Europe. "]

[Footnote 2105: I cannot help but think of the willful proliferation ofidle functionaries, pensioners and other receivers of public funds whichtoday vote for the party which represents their interests. (SR. )]

[Footnote 2106: Sauzay, II. 83-89 and 123. A resolution of theinhabitants of Chalèze, who, headed by their municipal officers, declarethemselves unanimously "non-conformists, " and demand "the right of usinga temple for the exercise of their religious opinions, belonging tothem and built with their contributions" On the strength of this, the municipal officers of Chalèze are soundly rated by the districtadministration, which thus states what principles are: "Liberty, indefinite for the private individual, must be restricted for thepublic man whose opinions must conform to the law: otherwise, . . He mustrenounce all public functions. "]

[Footnote 2107: Archives Nationales, " F7, 3, 253 (letter of thedepartment directory, April 7, 1792). "On the 25th of January, in ourreport to the National Assembly, we stated the almost general oppositionwhich the execution of the laws relating to the clergy has found inthis department. . . Nine-tenths, at least, of the Catholics refusing torecognize the sworn priests. The teachers, influenced by their oldcurés or vicars, are willing to take the civic oath, but they refuse torecognize their legitimate pastors and attend their services. We are, therefore, obliged to remove them, and to look out for others to replacethem. The citizens of a large number of the communes, persisting intrusting these, will lend no assistance whatever to the election of thenew ones; the result is, that we are obliged, in selecting these people, to refer the matter to persons whom we scarcely know, and who arescarcely better known to the directories of the district. As theyare elected against the will of the citizens, they do not gain theirconfidence, and draw their salaries from the commune treasury, withoutany advantage to public instruction, "]

[Footnote 2108: Mercure de France, Sep. 3, 1791. "The right of attendingprimary meetings is that of every citizen who pays a tax of threelivres; owing to the violence to which opinions are subject, more thanone-half of the French are compelled to stay away from these reunions, which are abandoned to persons who have the least interest inmaintaining public order and in securing stable laws, with the leastproperty, and who pay the fewest taxes. "]

[Footnote 2109: "The French Revolution, " Vol. I. P. 182 and followingpages. ]

[Footnote 2110: "Correspondence of M. De Staël" (manuscript), Swedishambassador, with his court, Sept 4, 1791. "The change in the way ofthinking of the democrats is extraordinary; they now seem convincedthat it is impossible to make the Constitution work. Barnave, to my ownknowledge, has declared that the influence of assemblies in the futureshould be limited to a council of notables, and that all power should bein the government"]

[Footnote 2111: Ibid. Letter of July 17, 1791. "All the members of theAssembly, with the exception of three or four, have passed a resolutionto separate from the Jacobins; they number about 300. "--The sevendeputies who remain at the Jacobin Club, are Robespierre, Pétion, Grégoire, Buzot, Coroller, and Abbé Royer. ]

[Footnote 2112: "Les Feuillants" Was a political club consistingof constitutional monarchists who held their meetings in the formerFeuillants monastery in Paris from 1791 to 1792. (SR). ]

[Footnote 2113: Decree of Sept 29, 30, 1791, with report andinstructions of the Committee on the Constitution. ]

[Footnote 2114: Decree of May 17, 1791. --Malouet, XII. 161. "There wasnothing left to us but to make one great mistake, which we did not failto do. "]

[Footnote 2115: A few months after this, on the election of a mayor forParis, the court voted against Lafayette, and for Pétion]

[Footnote 2116: M. De Montlosier, "Mémoires, " II. 309. "As far asconcerns myself, truth compels me to say, that I was stuck on the headby three carrots and two cabbages only. "--Archives of the prefecture ofpolice (decisions of the police court, May 15, 1790). Moniteur, V. 427. "The prompt attendance of the members at the hour of meeting, in spiteof the hooting and murmurings of the crowd, seemed to convince thepeople that this was yet another conspiracy against liberty. "]

[Footnote 2117: This is what is, today in 1998, taking place wheneverany political faction, disliked by the Socialists, try to arrange ameeting. (SR). ]

[Footnote 2118: Malout, II. 50. --Mercure de France, Jan. 7, Feb. 5, andApril 9, 1791 (letter of a member of the Monarchical Club)]

[Footnote 2119: Ferrières, II. 222. "The Jacobin Club sent five or sixhundred trusty men, armed with clubs, " besides "about a hundred nationalguards, and some of the Palais-Royal prostitutes. "]

[Footnote 2120: "Journal des Amis de la Constitution. " Letter of the CaféNational! Club at Bordeaux, Jan. 20, 1791. --Letters of the "Friends ofthe Constitution, " at Brives and Cambray, Jan. 19, 1791. ]

[Footnote 2121: "The French Revolution, " I. Pp. 243, 324. ]

[Footnote 2122: Mercure de France, Dec. 18, 1790, Jan. 17, June 8, andJuly 14, 1791. --Moniteur, VI. 697. --"Archives Nationales, " F7, 3, 193. Letter from the Directory of the department of Aveyron, April 20, 1792. Narrative of events after the end of 1790. --May 22, 1791, the club of"The Friends of Order and Peace" is burned by the Jacobins, the firelasting all night and a part of the next day. (Official report of theDirectory of Milhau, May 22, 1791). ]

[Footnote 2123: "The French Revolution, " I. 256, 307. ]

[Footnote 2124: Mercure de France, Dec. 14, 1790 (letter fromVilleneuve-St. -Georges, Nov. 29). ]

[Footnote 2125: "Archives Nationales, " II. 1, 453. Correspondence of M. Bercheny. Letter from Pau, Feb. 7, 1790. "No one has any idea of theactual state of things, in this once delightful town. People are cuttingeach other's throats. Four duels have taken place within 48 hours, andten or a dozen good citizens have been obliged to hide themselves forthree days past"]

[Footnote 2126: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3, 249. Memorial on the actualcondition of the town and district of Mortagne, department of Orne(November, 1791). ]

[Footnote 2127: Revolutionary song with the refrain: "Les aristocrates, à la lanterne, tous les aristocrates on les pendra" (all the aristocratswill hang). (SR)]

[Footnote 2128: On the 15th of August, 1791, the mother-superior of theHôtel-Dieu hospital is forcibly carried off and placed in a tavern, halfa league from the town, while the rest of the nuns are driven out andreplaced by eight young girls from the town. Among other motives thatrequire notice is the hostility of two pharmacists belonging to theclub; in the Hotel-Dieu the nuns, keeping a pharmacy from which theysold drugs at cost and thereby brought themselves into competition withthe two pharmacists. ]

[Footnote 2129: Cf. "Archives Nationales, " DXXIX. 13. Letter of themunicipal officers and notables of Champoeuil to the administrators ofSeine-et-Oise, concerning elections, June 17, 1791. --Similar letters, from various other parishes, among them that of Charcon, June 16: "Theyhave the honor to inform you that, at the time of the preceding primarymeetings, they were exposed to the greatest danger; that the curé ofCharcon, their pastor, was repeatedly stabbed with a bayonet, themarks of which he will carry to his grave. The mayor, and several otherinhabitants of Charcon, escaped the same peril with difficulty. "--Ibid. , letters from the administrators of Hautes-Alpes to the National Assembly(September, 1791), on the disturbances in the electoral assembly of Gap, August 29, 1791. ]

[Footnote 2130: Police searches of private homes. (SR). ]

[Footnote 2131: "The French Revolution, " pp. 159, 160, 310, 323, 324. --Lauvergne, "Histoire du département du Var, " (August 23). ]

[Footnote 2132: '"Archives Nationales, " F7, 3, 198, deposition ofVérand-Icard, an elector at Arles, Sep. 8, 1791. --Ibid. , F7, 3, 195. Letter of the administrators of the Tarascon district, Dec. 8, 1791. Twoparties confront each other at the municipal elections of Barbantane, one headed by the Abbé Chabaud, brother of one of the Avignon brigands, composed of three or four townsmen, and of "the most impoverished inthe country, " and the other, three times as numerous, comprising allthe land-owners, the substantial métayers and artisans, and all "who aremost interested in a good administration" The question is, whether theAbbé Chabaud is to be mayor. The elections took place Dec. 5th, 1791. Here is the official report of the acting mayor: mayor: "We, PierreFontaine, mayor, addressed the rioters, to induce them to keep thepeace. At this very moment, the said Claude Gontier, alias Baoque, struck us with his fist on the left eye, which bruised us considerably, and on account of which we are almost blind, and, conjointly withothers, jumped upon us, threw us down, and dragged us by the hair, continuing to strike us, from in front of the church door, till we camein front of the door, the town hall. "]

[Footnote 2133: Ibid. , F7, 3, 229. Letters of M. De Laurède, June 18, 1791; from the directory of the department, June 8, July 31, and Sept. 22, 1791; from the municipality, July 15, 1791. The municipality "leavesthe release of the prisoners in suspense, " for six months, because, it says, the people is disposed to "insurrectionise against theirdischarge. "--Letter of many of the national guard, stating that thefactions form only a part of it. ]

[Footnote 2134: Mercure de France, Dec. 10, 1791, letter fromMontpellier, dated Nov. 17, 1791. --" Archives Nationales, " F7, 3, 223. Extracts from letters, on the incidents of Oct. 9 and 12, 1791. Petitionby Messrs. Théri and Devon, Nov. 17, 1791. Letter addressed them tothe Minister, Oct. 25. Letters of M. Dupin, syndical attorney of thedepartment, to the Minister, Nov. 14 and 15, and Dec. 26, 1791 (withofficial reports). --Among those assassinated on the 14th and 15th ofNovember, we find a jeweler, an attorney, a carpenter, and a dyer. "Thispainful Scene, " writes the syndic attorney, "has restored quiet to thetown. "]

[Footnote 2135: Buchez et Roux, X. 223 (l'Ami du Peuple, June 17, 19, 21, 1791)]

[Footnote 2136: "'Archives Nationales, ' F7, 3204. Letter by M. Melon deTradou, royal commissary at Tulle, Sept. 8, 1791]

CHAPTER II. 

I. --Composition of the Legislative Assembly. 

 Social rank of the Deputies. Their inexperience, incompetence, and prejudices. 

If it be true that a nation should be represented by its superiormen, France was strangely represented during the Revolution. From oneAssembly to another we see the level steadily declining; especially isthe fall very great from the Constituent to the Legislative Assembly. The actors entitled to perform withdraw just as they begin to understandtheir parts; and yet more, they have excluded themselves from thetheatre, while the stage is surrendered to their substitutes. 

"The preceding Assembly, " writes an ambassador, [2201] "contained men ofgreat talent, large fortune, and honorable name, a combination which hadan imposing effect on the people, although violently opposed to personaldistinctions. The actual Assembly is but little more than a council oflawyers, got together from every town and village in France. "

In actual fact, out of 745 deputies, indeed, "400 lawyers belong, forthe most part, to the dregs of the profession"; there are about twentyconstitutional priests, "as many poets and literary men of but littlereputation, almost all without any fortune, " the greater number beingless than thirty years old, sixty being less than twenty-six, [2202]nearly all of them trained in the clubs and the popular assemblies". There is not one noble or prelate belonging to the ancient régime, no great landed proprietor, [2203] no head of a service, no eminentspecialist in diplomacy, in finance, in the administrative or militaryarts. But three general officers are found there, and these are of thelower rank, [2204] one of them having held his appointment but threemonths, and the other two being wholly unknown. --At the head of thediplomatic committee stands Brissot, itinerant journalist, latelytraveling about in England and the United States. He is supposed to becompetent in the affairs of both worlds; in reality he is one of thosepresuming, threadbare, talkative fellows, who, living in a garret, lecture foreign cabinets and reconstruct all Europe. Things, to them, seem to be as easily worked out as words and sentences: one day, [2205]to entice the English into an alliance with France, Brissot proposes toplace two towns, Dunkirk and Calais, in their hands as security; anotherday, he proposes "to make a descent on Spain, and, at the same time, tosend a fleet to conquer Mexico. "--The leading member on the committee onfinances is Cambon, a merchant from Montpellier, a good accountant, who, at a later period, is to simplify accounting and regulate the GrandLivre of the public debt, which means public bankruptcy. Mean-while, he hastens this on with all his might by encouraging the Assembly toundertake the ruinous and terrible war that is to last for twenty-threeyears; according to him, "there is more money than is needed forit. "[2206] In actual fact, the guarantee of assignats is used up and thetaxes do not come in. They live only on the paper money they issue. Theassignats lose forty per centum, and the ascertained deficit for 1792is four hundred millions. [2207] But this revolutionary financier reliesupon the confiscations which he instigates in France, and which areto be set agoing in Belgium; here lies all his invention, a systematicrobbery on a grand scale within and without the kingdom. 

As to the legislators and manufacturers of constitutions, we haveCondorcet, a cold-blooded fanatic and systematic leveler, satisfied thata mathematical method suits the social sciences fed on abstractions, blinded by formuloe, and the most chimerical of perverted intellects. Never was a man versed in books more ignorant of mankind; never did alover of scientific precision better succeed in changing the characterof facts. It was he who, two days before the 20th of June, amidst themost brutal public excitement, admired "the calmness" and rationality ofthe multitude; "considering the way people interpret events, it mightbe supposed that they had given some hours of each day to the study ofanalysis. " It is he who, two days after the 20th of June, extolled thered cap in which the head of Louis XVI. Had been muffled. "That crownis as good as any other. Marcus Aurelius would not have despisedit. "[2208]--Such is the discernment and practical judgment of theleaders; from these one can form an opinion of the flock. It consistsof novices arriving from the provinces and bringing with them theprinciples and prejudices of the newspaper. So remote from the center, having no knowledge of general affairs or of their unity, they aretwo years behind their brethren of the Constituent Assembly. They aredescribed in the following manner by Malouet, [2209]

"Most of them, without having decided against a monarchy, had decidedagainst the court, the aristocracy, and the clergy, ever imaginingconspiracies and believing that defense consisted solely in attack. There were still many men of talent among them, but with no experience;they even lacked that which we had obtained. Our patriot deputies, ingreat part, were aware of their errors; the novices were not, they wereready to begin all over again. "

Moreover, they have their own political bent, for nearly all of themare upstarts of the new régime. We find in their ranks 264 departmentadministrators, 109 district administrators, 125 justices andprosecuting-attorneys, 68 mayors and town officers, besides about twentyofficers of the National Guard, constitutional bishops and curés. Thewhole amounting to 566 of the elected functionaries, who, for the pasttwenty months, have carried on the government under the directionof their electors. We have seen how this was done and under whatconditions, with what compliances and with what complicity, with whatdeference to clamorous opinion, with what docility in the presence ofrioters, with what submission to the orders of the mob, with what adeluge of sentimental phrases and commonplace abstractions. Sent toParis as deputies, through the choice or toleration of the clubs, theybear along with them their politics and their rhetoric. The result isan assemblage of narrow, perverted, hasty, inflated and feeble minds; ateach daily session, twenty word-mills turn to no purpose, the greatestof public powers at once becoming a manufactory of nonsense, a school ofextravagancies, and a theatre for declamation. 

II. --Degree and quality of their intelligence and Culture. 

Is it possible that serious men could have listened to such weirdnonsense until the bitter end?

"I am a tiller of the soil, "[2210] says one deputy, "I now dare speakof the antique nobility of my plow. A yoke of oxen once constitutedthe pure, incorruptible legal worthies before whom my good ancestorsexecuted their contracts, the authenticity of which, far better recordedon the soil than on flimsy parchment, is protected from any species ofrevolution whatever. "

Is it conceivable that the reporter of a law, that is about to exile orimprison forty thousand priests, should employ in an argument such sillybombast as the following?[2211]

"I have seen in the rural districts the hymeneal torch diffusing onlypale and somber rays, or, transformed into the flambeaux of furies, the hideous skeleton of superstition seated even on the nuptial couch, placed between nature and the wedded, and arresting, etc. . . . Oh Rome, art thou satisfied? Art thou then like Saturn, to whom fresh holocaustswere daily imperative?. . . Depart, ye creators of discord! The soil ofliberty is weary of bearing you. Would ye breathe the atmosphere of theAventine mount? The national ship is already prepared for you. I hear onthe shore the impatient cries of the crew; I see the breezes of libertyswelling its sails. Like Telemachus, ye will go forth on the waters toseek your father; but never will you have to dread the Sicilian rocks, nor the seductions of a Eucharis. "

Courtesies of pedants, rhetorical personifications, and the invective ofmaniacs is the prevailing tone. The same defect characterizes the bestspeeches, namely, an overexcited brain, a passion for high-soundingterms, the constant use of stilts and an incapacity for seeing thingsas they are and of so describing them. Men of talent, Isnard, Guadet, Vergniaud himself, are carried away by hollow sonorous phrases like aship with too much canvas for its ballast. Their minds are stimulated bysouvenirs of their school lessons, the modern world revealing itselfto them only through their Latin reminiscences. --François de Nantes isexasperated at the pope "who holds in servitude the posterity of Catoand of Scoevola. "--Isnard proposes to follow the example of the Romansenate which, to allay discord at home, got up an outside war:between old Rome and France of 1792, indeed, there is a strikingresemblance. --Roux insists that the Emperor (of Austria) should givesatisfaction before the 1st of March; "in a case like this the Romanpeople would have fixed the term of delay; why shouldn't the Frenchpeople fix one?. . . " "The circle of Popilius" should be drawn aroundthose petty, hesitating German princes. When money is needed toestablish camps around Paris and the large towns, Lasource proposes todispose of the national forests and is amazed at any objection to themeasure. "Coesar's soldiers, " he exclaims, "believing that an ancientforest in Gaul was sacred, dared not lay the axe to it; are we to sharetheir superstitious respect?"[2212]--Add to this collegiate lore thephilosophic dregs deposited in all minds by the great sophist then invogue. Larivière reads in the tribune[2213] that page of the "ContratSocial, " where Rousseau declares that the sovereign may banish members"of an unsocial religion, " and punish with death "one who, havingpublicly recognized the dogmas of civil religion, acts as if he didnot believe in them. " On which, another hissing parrot, M. Filassier, exclaims, "I put J. J. Rousseau's proposition into the form of a motionand demand a vote on it. "--In like manner it is proposed to grant veryyoung girls the right of marrying in spite of their parents by stating, according to the "Nouvelle Héloise"

"that a girl thirteen or fourteen years old begins to sigh for the unionwhich nature dictates. She struggles between passion and duty, so that, if she triumphs, she becomes a martyr, something that is rare in nature. It may happen that a young person prefers the serene shame of defeat toa wearisome eight year long struggle. "

Divorce is inaugurated to "preserve in matrimony that happy peace ofmind which renders the sentiments livelier. "[2214] Henceforth this willno longer be a chain but "the acquittance of an agreeable debt whichevery citizen owes to his country. . . Divorce is the protecting spirit ofmarriage. "[2215]

On a background of classic pedantry, with only vague and narrow notionsof ordinary instruction, lacking exact and substantial information, flowobscenities and enlarged commonplaces enveloped in a mythological gauze, spouting in long tirades as maxims from the revolutionary manual. Suchis the superficial culture and verbal argumentation from which vulgarand dangerous ingredients the intelligence of the new legislators isformed. [2216]

III. --Aspects of their sessions. 

 Scenes and display at the club. --Co-operation of spectators. 

From this we can imagine what their sessions were. "More in-coherent andespecially more passionate than those of the Constituent Assembly"[2217]they present the same but intensified characteristics. The argument isweaker, the invective more violent, and the dogmatism more intemperate. Inflexibility degenerates into insolence, prejudice into fanaticism, andnear-sightedness into blindness. Disorder becomes a tumult and constantdin an uproar. Suppose, says an eye-witness, "a classroom with hundreds of pupils quarreling and every instant on thepoint of seizing each other by the hair. Their dress neglected, theirattitudes angry, with sudden transitions from shouting to hooting. . Is asight hard to imagine and to which nothing can be compared. "

It lacks nothing for making it a club of the lowest species. Here, in advance, we contemplate the ways of the future revolutionaryinquisition. They welcome burlesque denunciations; enter into pettypolice investigations; weigh the tittle-tattle of porters and thegossip of servant-girls; devote an all-night session to the secrets ofa drunkard. [2218] They enter on their official report and without anydisapproval, the petition of M. Huré, "living at Pont-sur-Yonne, who, over his own signature, offers one hundred francs and his arm to becomea killer of tyrants. " Repeated and multiplied hurrahs and applause withthe felicitations of the president is the sanction of scandalous orridiculous private misconduct seeking to display itself under thecover of public authority. Anacharsis Clootz, "a Mascarille officiallystamped, " who proposes a general war and who hawks about maps of Europecut up in advance into departments beginning with Savoy, Belgium andHolland "and thus onward to the Polar Sea, " is thanked and given a seaton the benches of the Assembly. [2219] Compliments are made to the Vicarof Sainte-Marguerite and his wife is given a seat in the Assemblyand who, introducing "his new family, " thunders against clericalcelibacy. [2220] Crowds of men and women are permitted to traverse thehall letting out political cries. Every sort of indecent, childish andseditious parade is admitted to the bar of the house. [2221] To-day itconsists of "citoyennes of Paris, " desirous of being drilled in militaryexercises and of having for their commandants "former French guardsmen;"to-morrow children come and express their patriotism with "touchingsimplicity, " regretting that "their trembling feet do not permit them tomarch, no, fly against the tyrants;" next to these come convicts ofthe Château--Vieux escorted by a noisy crowd; at another time theartillerymen of Paris, a thousand in number, with drums beating;delegates from the provinces, the faubourgs and the clubs comeconstantly, with their furious harangues, and imperious remonstrances, their exactions, their threats and their summonses. --In the intervalsbetween the louder racket a continuous hubbub is heard in the clatter ofthe tribunes. [2222] At each session "the representatives are chaffed bythe spectators; the nation in the gallery is judge of the nation on thefloor;" it interferes in the debates, silences the speakers, insultsthe president and orders the reporter of a bill to quit the tribune. Oneinterruption, or a simple murmur, is not all; there are twenty, thirty, fifty in an hour, clamoring, stamping, yells and personal abuse. Aftercountless useless entreaties, after repeated calls to order, "receivedwith hooting, " after a dozen "regulations that are made, revised, countermanded and posted up" as if better to prove the impotence of thelaw, of the authorities and of the Assembly itself, the usurpations ofthese intruders keep on increasing. They have shouted for ten months"Down with the civil list! Down with the ministerials! Down with thosecurs! Silence, slaves!' On the 26th of July, Brissot himself is toappear lukewarm and be struck on the face with two plums. "Three orfour hundred individuals without either property, title, or means ofsubsistence. . . Have become the auxiliaries, petitioners and umpires ofthe legislature, " their paid violence completely destroying whatever isstill left of the Assembly's reason. [2223]

IV. --The Parties. 

 The "Right. "--"Center. "--The "Left. "--Opinions and sentiments of the Girondins. --Their Allies of the extreme "left. "

In an assembly thus composed and surrounded, it is easy to foresee onwhich side the balance will turn. --Through the meshes of the electoralnet which the Jacobins have spread over the whole country, about onehundred well-meaning individuals of the common run, tolerably sensibleand sufficiently resolute, Mathieu Dumas, Dumolard, Becquet, Gorguereau, Vaublanc, Beugnot, Girardin, Ramond, Jaucourt, were able to pass andform the party of the "Right. "[2224] They resist to as great an extentas possible, and seem to have obtained a majority. --For, of the fourhundred deputies who have their seats in the center, one hundred andsixty-four are inscribed on the rolls with them at the Feuillants club, while the rest, under the title of "Independents, " pretend to be ofno party. [2225] Besides, the whole of these four hundred, throughmonarchical traditions, respect the King; timid and sensible, violenceis repugnant to them. They distrust the Jacobins, dread what isunknown, desire to be loyal to the Constitution and to live in peace. Nevertheless, the pompous dogmas of the revolutionary catechismstill have their prestige with them; they cannot comprehend how theConstitution which they like produces the anarchy which they detest;they are "foolish enough to bemoan the effects while swearing tomaintain their causes; totally deficient in spirit, in union and inboldness, " they float backwards and forwards between contradictorydesires, while their predisposition to order merely awaits the steadyimpulsion of a vigorous will to turn it in the opposite direction. --Onsuch docile material the "Left" can work effectively. It comprises, indeed, but one hundred and thirty-six registered Jacobins and abouta hundred others who, in almost all cases, vote with the party;[2226]rigidity of opinion, however, more than compensates for lack of numbers. In the front row are Guadet, Brissot, Gensonné, Veygniaud, Ducos, andCondorcet, the future chiefs of the Girondists, all of them lawyers orwriters captivated by deductive politics, absolute in their convictionsand proud of their faith. According to them principles are true and mustbe applied without reservation;[2227] whoever would stop half-way iswanting in courage or intelligence. As for themselves their mindsare made up to push through. With the self-confidence of youth and oftheorists they draw their own conclusions and hug themselves with theirstrong belief in them. "These gentlemen, " says a keen observer, [2228]

"professed great disdain for their predecessors, the Constituents, treating them as short-sighted and prejudiced people incapable ofprofiting by circumstances. "

"To the observations of wisdom, and disinterested wisdom, [2229] theyreplied with a scornful smile, indicative of the aridity proceeding fromself-conceit. One exhausted himself in reminding them of events and indeducing causes from these; one passed in turn from theory to experienceand from experience to theory to show them their identity and, when theycondescended to reply it was to deny the best authenticated facts andcontest the plainest observations by opposing to these a few tritemaxims although eloquently expressed. Each regarded the other as if theyalone were worthy of being heard, each encouraging the other withthe idea that all resistance to their way of looking at things waspusillanimity. "

In their own eyes they alone are capable and they alone are patriotic. Because they have read Rousseau and Mably, because their tongue isuntied and their pen flowing, because they know how to handle theformuloe of books and reason out an abstract proposition, they fancy thatthey are statesmen. [2230] Because they have read Plutarch and "Le JeuneAnacharsis, " because they aim to construct a perfect society out ofmetaphysical conceptions, because they are in a ferment about the comingmillennium, they imagine themselves so many exalted spirits. They haveno doubt whatever on these two points even after everything has fallenin through their blunders, even after their obliging hands are sulliedby the foul grasp of robbers whom they were the first to instigate, andby that of executioners of which they are partners in complicity. [2231]To this extent is self-conceit the worst of sophists. Convinced of theirsuperior enlightenment and of the purity of their sentiments, theyput forth the theory that the government should be in their hands. Consequently they lay hold of it in the Legislative body in ways thatare going to turn against them in the Convention. They accept for alliesthe worst demagogues of the extreme "Left, " Chabot, Couthon, Merlin, Bazière, Thuriot, Lecointre, and outside of it, Danton, Robespierre, Marat himself, all the levelers and destroyers whom they think of use tothem, but of whom they themselves are the instruments. The motions theymake must pass at any cost and, to ensure this, they let loose againsttheir adversaries the low, yelping mob which others, still morefactious, will to-morrow let loose on them. 

V. --Their means of action. 

 Dispersion of the Feuillants' club. --Pressure of the tribunes on the Assembly. --Street mobs. 

Thus, for the second time, the pretended freedom fighters seek power byboldly employing force. --They begin by suppressing the meetings of theFeuillants club. [2232] The customary riot is instigated against these, whereupon ensue tumult, violent outcries and scuffles; mayor Pétioncomplains of his position "between opinion and law, " and lets thingstake their course; finally, the Feuillants are obliged to evacuatetheir place of meeting. --Inside the Assembly they are abandoned to theinsolence of the galleries. In vain do they get exasperated and protest. Ducastel, referring to the decree of the Constituent Assembly, whichforbids any manifestation of approbation or disapprobation, is greetedwith murmurs. He insists on the decree being read at the opening of eachsession, and "the murmurs begin again. "[2233] "Is it not scandalous, "says Vaublanc, "that the nation's representatives speaking from thetribune are subject to hootings like those bestowed upon an actor onthe stage!" whereupon the galleries give him three rounds more. "Willposterity believe, " says Quatremère, "that acts concerning the honor, the lives, and the fortunes of citizens should be subject, like games inthe arena, to the applause and hisses of the spectators!" "Come to thepoint!" shout the galleries. "If ever, " resumes Quatremère, "the mostimportant of judicial acts (an act of capital indictment) can be exposedto this scandalous prostitution of applause and menaces. . . " "The murmursbreak out afresh. "--Every time that a sanguinary or incendiary measureis to be carried, the most furious and prolonged clamor stops theutterance of its opponents: "Down with the speaker! Send the reporterof that bill to prison! Down! Down! Sometimes only about twenty of thedeputies will applaud or hoot with the galleries, and sometimes itis the entire Assembly which is insulted. Fists are thrust in thepresident's face. All that now remains is "to call down the galleries onthe floor to pass decrees, " which proposition is ironically made by oneof the "Right. "[2234]

Great, however, as this usurpation may be, the minority, in order tosuppress the majority, accommodate themselves to it, the Jacobins inthe chamber making common cause with the Jacobins in the galleries. The disturbers should not be put out; "it would be excluding from ourdeliberations, " says Grangeneuve, "that which belongs essentially to thepeople. " On one of the deputies demanding measures to enforce silence, "Torné demands that the proposition be referred to the Portugalinquisition. " Choudieu "declares that it can only emanate from deputieswho forget that respect which is due to the people, their sovereignjudge. "[2235] "The action of the galleries, " says Lecointe-Puyraiveaux, "is an outburst of patriotism. " Finally, this same Choudieu, twistingand turning all rights about with incomparable audacity, wishes toconfer legislative privileges on the audience, and demands a decreeagainst the deputies who, guilty of popular lèse-majesté, presumeto complain of those who insult them. --Another piece of oppressivemachinery, still more energetic, operates outside on the approaches tothe Assembly. Like their predecessors of the Constituent Assembly, themembers of the "Right" "cannot leave the building without encounteringthe threats and imprecations of enraged crowds. Cries of 'to thelantern!' greet the ears of Dumolard, Vaublanc, Raucourd, and Lacretelleas often as those of the Abbé Maury and Montlosier. "[2236] After havinghurled abuse at the president, Mathieu Dumas, they insult his wifewho has been recognized in a reserved gallery. [2237] In the Tuileries, crowds are always standing there listening to the brawlers who denouncesuspected deputies by name, and woe to any among them who takes thatpath on his way to the chamber! A broadside of insults greets him as hepasses along. If the deputy happens to be a farmer, they exclaim: "Lookat that queer old aristocrat--an old peasant dog that used to watchcows!" One day Hua, on going up the steps of the Tuileries terrace, isseized by the hair by an old vixen who bids him "Bow your head to yoursovereigns, the people, you bastard of a deputy!" On the 20th of Juneone of the patriots, who is crossing the Assembly room, whispers in hisear, "You scamp of a deputy, you'll never die but by my hand!" Anothertime, having defended the juge-de-paix Larivière, there awaits him atthe door, in the middle of the night, "a set of blackguards, who crowdaround him and thrust their fists and cudgels in his face;" happily, his friends Dumas and Daverhoult, two military officers, foreseeingthe danger, present their pistols and set him free "although withsome difficulty. "--As the 10th of August draws near there is more openaggression. Vaublanc, for having defended Lafayette, just misses beingcut to pieces three times on leaving the Assembly; sixty of the deputiesare treated in the same fashion, being struck, covered with mud, andthreatened with death if they dare go back. [2238]--With such allies aminority is very strong. Thanks to its two agencies of constraint itwill detach the votes it needs from the majority and, either throughterror or craft, secure the passage of all the decrees it needs. 

VI. --Parliamentary maneuvers. 

 Abuses of urgency. --Vote on the principle. --Call by name. --Intimidation of the "Center. "--Opponents inactive. --The majority finally disposed of. 

Sometimes it succeeds surreptitiously by rushing them through. As "thereis no order of the day circulated beforehand, and, in any event, nonewhich anybody is obliged to adhere to, "[2239] the Assembly is capturedby surprise. "The first knave amongst the 'Left, ' (which expression, says Hua, I do not strike out, because there were many among thosegentlemen), brought up a ready-made resolution, prepared the eveningbefore by a clique. We were not prepared for it and demanded that itshould be referred to a committee. Instead of doing this, however, theresolution was declared urgent, and, whether we would or not, discussionhad to take place forthwith. "[2240]--"There were other tactics equallyperfidious, which Thuriot, especially, made use of. This great rascalgot up and proposed, not the draft of a law, but what he called aprinciple; for instance, a decree should be passed confiscating theproperty of the émigrés, . . Or that unsworn priests should be subject tospecial surveillance. [2241]. . . In reply, he was told that his principlewas the core of a law, the very law itself; so let it be debated byreferring it to a committee to make a report on it. --Not at all--thematter is urgent; a committee might fix the articles as it pleases;they are worthless if the principle is not common sense. " Through thisexpeditious method discussion is stifled. The Jacobins purposely preventthe Assembly from giving the matter any consideration. They count on itsbewilderment. In the name of reason, they discard reason as far asthey can, and hasten a vote because their decrees do not stand up toanalysis. --At other times, and especially on grand occasions, theycompel a vote. In general, votes are given by the members either sittingdown or standing up, and, for the four hundred deputies of the "Center, "subject to the scolding of the exasperated galleries, it is atolerably hard trial. "Part of them do not arise, or they rise withthe 'Left'. "[2242] If the "Right" happens to have a majority, "this iscontested in bad faith and a call of the house is demanded. " Now, "thecalls of the house, through an intolerable abuse, are always published;the Jacobins declaring that it is well for the people to know theirfriends from their enemies. " The meaning of this is that this list ofthe opposition will soon serve as a list of the outlaws, on whichthe timid are not disposed to inscribe themselves. The result is animmediate defection in the heavy battalions of the "Centre"; "this isa positive fact, " says Hua, "of which we were all witnesses; we alwayslost a hundred votes on the call of the house. "--Towards the end theygive up, and protest no more, except by staying away: on the 14th ofJune, when the abolishment of the whole system of feudal credit wasbeing dealt with, only the extreme left was attending; the rest of the"Assembly hall was nearly empty"; out of 497 deputies in attendance, 200had left the session. [2243] Encouraged for a moment by the appearance ofsome possible protection, they twice exonerate General Lafayette, behindwhom they see an army, [2244] and brave the despots of the Assembly, theclubs, and the streets. But, for lack of a military chief and base, thevisible majority is twice obliged to yield, to keep silent, and flyor retreat under the dictatorship of the victorious faction, whichhas strained and forced the legislative machine until it has becomedisjointed and broken down. [2245]

*****

[Footnote 2201:"Correspondence (manuscript) of Baron de Staël, " with hisCourt in Sweden. Oct. 6, 1791. ]

[Footnote 2202: "Souvenirs", by PASQUIER (Etienne-Dennis, duc), chancelier de France, in VI volumes, Librarie Plon, Paris1893. --Dumouriez, "Mémoires, " III. Ch. V: "The Jacobin party, havingbranches all over the country, used its provincial clubs to controlthe elections. Every crackbrain, every seditious scribbler, all theagitators were elected . . . Very few enlightened or prudent men, andstill fewer of the nobles, were chosen. "--Moniteur, XII. 199 (meeting ofApril 23, 1792). Speech M. Lecointe-Puyravaux. "We need not dissimulate;indeed, we are proud to say, that this legislature is composed ofpersons who are not rich. "]

[Footnote 2203: Mathieu Dumas, "Mémoires, " I. 521. "The excitement inthe electoral assemblages was very great; the aristocrats and largeland-owners abstained from coming there. "--Correspondance de Mirabeauet du Comte de la Mark, III. 246, Oct. 10, 1791. "Nineteen twentieths ofthis legislature have no other transportation (turn-out) than galoshesand umbrellas. It has been estimated, that all these deputies puttogether do not possess 300, 000 livres solid income. The majority of themembers of this Assembly have received no education whatever. "]

[Footnote 2204: They rank as Maréchaux de camp, a grade corresponding tothat of brigadier-general. They are Dupuy-Montbrun (deceased in March, 1792), Descrots-d'Estrée, a weak and worn old man whom his childrenforced into the Legislative Assembly, and, lastly, Mathieu Dumas, aconservative, and the only prominent one. ]

[Footnote 2205: "Correspondance du Baron de Staël, " Jan. 19, 1792. --Gouverneur Morris (II. 162, Feb. 4, 1792) writes to Washingtonthat M. De Warville, on the diplomatic committee, proposed to cedeDunkirk and Calais to England, as a pledge of fidelity by France, in anyengagement which she might enter into. You can judge, by this, of thewisdom and virtue of the faction to which he belongs--Buchez et Roux, XXX 89 (defense of Brissot, Jan. 5, 1793) "Brissot, like all noisy, reckless, ambitious men, started in full blast with the strangestparadoxes. In 1780. In his 'Recherches philosophiques sur le droitde propriété, ' he wrote as follows: 'If 40 crowns suffice to maintainexistence, the possession of 200, 000 crowns is plainly unjust and arobbery. . . Exclusive ownership is a veritable crime against nature. . . The punishment of robbery in our institutions is an act of virtue whichnature herself commands. '"]

[Footnote 2206: Moniteur, speech by Cambon, sittings of Feb. 2 and April20, 1792. ]

[Footnote 2207: Ibid. , (sitting of April 3). Speech by M. Cailliasson. The property belonging to the nation, sold and to be sold, is valuedat 2, 195 millions, while the assignats already issued amount to 2, 100millions. --Cf. Mercure de France, Dec. 17, 1791, p. 201; Jan. 28, 1792, p. 215; May 19, 1792, p. 205. --Dumouriez, "Mémoires, " III. 296, and 339, 340, 344, 346. --"Cambon, a raving lunatic, without education, humaneprinciple, or integrity (public) a meddler, an ignoramus, and verygiddy. He tells me that one resource remained to him, which is, to seizeall the coin in Belgium, all the plate belonging to the churches, andall the cash deposits. . . That, on ruining the Belgians, on reducing themto the same state of suffering as the French, they would necessarilyshare their fate with them; that they would then be admitted members ofthe Republic, with the prospect of always making headway, through thesame line of policy; that the decree of Dec. 15, 1792, admirably favoredthis and, because it tended to a complete disorganization, and that theluckiest thing that could happen to France was to disorganize allits neighbors and reduce them to the same state of anarchy. " (Thisconversation between Cambon and Dumouriez occurs in the middle ofJanuary, 1793. )--Moniteur, XIV. 758 (sitting of Dec. 15, 1792). Reportby Cambon. ]

[Footnote 2208: Chronique de Paris, Sept. 4, 1792. "It is a sadand terrible situation which forces a people, naturally amiable andgenerous, to take such vengeance!"--Cf. The very acute article, bySt. Beuve, on Condorcet, in "Causeries du Lundi, "--Hua (a colleague ofCondorcet, in the Legislative Assembly), "Mémoires, " 89. "Condorcet, in his journal, regularly falsified things, with an audacity whichis unparelleled. The opinions of the 'Right' were so mutilated andtravestied the next day in his journal, that we, who had uttered them, could scarcely recognise them. On complaining of this to him and oncharging him with perfidy, the philosopher only smiled. "]

[Footnote 2209: Malouet, II. 215. --Dumouriez, III. Ch. V. "They wereelected to represent the nation to defend, they say, its interestsagainst a perfidious court. "]

[Footnote 2210: Moniteur, X. 223 (session of Oct. 26, 1791). Speech byM. François Duval. --Grandiloquence is the order of the day at the veryfirst meeting. On the 1st of October, 1791, twelve old men, marching inprocession, go out to fetch the constitutional act. "M. Camus, keeper ofthe records, with a composed air and downcast eyes, enters with measuredsteps, " bearing in both hands the sacred document which he holds againsthis breast, while the deputies stand up and bare their heads. "People ofFrance, " says an orator, "citizens of Paris, all generous Frenchmen, and you, our fellow citizens--virtuous, intelligent women, bringing yourgentle influence into the sanctuary of the law--behold the guarantee ofpeace which the legislature presents to you!"--We seem to be witnessingthe last act of an opera. ]

[Footnote 2211: Ibid. , XII. 230 (sessions of April 26 and May 5). Reportand speech by François de Nantes. The whole speech, a comic treasurefrom the beginning to the end, ought to have been quoted: "Tell me, pontiff of Rome, what your sentiments will be when you welcome yourworthy and faithful co-operators?. . I behold your sacred hands, ready tolaunch those pontifical thunderbolts, which, etc. . . Let the brazierof Scoevola be brought in, and, with our outstretched palms above theburning coals, we will show that there is no species of torture, notorment which can excite a frown on the brow of him whom the love ofcountry exalts above humanity!"--Suppose that, just at this moment, alighted candle had been placed under his hand!]

[Footnote 2212: Moniteur, XI. 179 (session of Jan. 20, 1792). --Ibid. , 216 (session of Jan. 24). --XII. 426 (May 9). ]

[Footnote 2213: Ibid. , XII. 479 (session of May 24). --XIII. 71 (sessionof July 7, speech by Lasource). --Cf. XIV. 301 (session of July 31) aquotation from Voltaire brought in for the suppression of the convents. ]

[Footnote 2214: Moniteur. Speech by Aubert Dubayer, session of Aug. 30. ]

[Footnote 2215: Speech by Chaumette, procureur of the commune, to thenewly married. (Mortimer-Ternaux, IV. 408). ]

[Footnote 2216: The class to which they belonged has been portrayed, tothe life, by M. Roye-Collard (Sainte-Beuve, "Nouveaux Lundis, " IV. 263):"A young lawyer at Paris, at first received in a few houses on the IleSt. Louis, he soon withdrew from this inferior world of attorneysand pettyfoggers, whose tone oppressed him. The very thought of theimpression this gallant and intensely vulgar mediocrity made upon him, still inspired disgust. He much preferred to talk with longshoremen, ifneed be, than with these scented limbs of the law. "]

[Footnote 2217: Etienne Dumont, "Mémoires, " 40. --Mercure de France, Nov. 19, 1791; Feb. 11 and March 3, 1792. (articles by Mallet du Pan). ]

[Footnote 2218: Moniteur, Dec. 17 (examination at the bar of the houseof Rauch, a pretended labor contractor, whom they are obliged to sendoff acquitted). Rauch tells them: "I have no money, and cannot finda place where I can sleep at less than 6 sous, because I pee in thebed. "--Moniteur, XII. 574. (session of June 4), report by Chabot: "Apeddler from Mortagne, says that a domestic coming from Coblentz toldhim that there was a troop about to carry off the king and poison him, so as to throw the odium of it on the National Assembly. " Bernassais dePoitiers writes: "A brave citizen told me last evening: 'I have been tosee a servant-girl, living with a noble. She assured me that her masterwas going to-night to Paris, to join the 30, 000, who, in about a month, meant to cut the throats of the National Assembly and set fire to everycorner of Paris!'"--"M. Gerard, a saddler at Amiens, writes to usthat Louis XVI is to be aided in his flight by 5, 000 relays, and thatafterwards they are going to fire red-hot bullets on the NationalAssembly. "]

[Footnote 2219: Mercure de France, Nov. 5, 1791 (session of Oct. 25). --Ibid. , Dec. 23. -Moniteur, XII. 192 (session of April 21, 1792). --XII. 447 (address to the French, by Clootz): "God brought orderout of primitive chaos; the French will bring order out of feudal chaos. God is mighty, and manifested his will; we are mighty, and we willmanifest our will. . . The more extensive the seat of war the sooner, and more fortunately, will the suit of plebeians against the nobles bedecided. . . We require enemies, . . Savoy, Tuscany, and quickly, quickly!"]

[Footnote 2220: Cf. Moniteur, XI. 192 (sitting of Jan. 22, 1792). "M. Burnet, chaplain of the national guard, presents himself at the bar ofthe house with an English woman, named Lydia Kirkham, and three smallchildren, one of which is in her arms. M. Burnet announces that she ishis wife and that the child in her arms is the fruit of their affection. After referring to the force of natural sentiments which he could notresist, the petitioner thus continues: 'One day, I met one of thosesacred questioners. Unfortunate man, said he, of what are you guilty? Ofthis child, sir; and I have married this woman, who is a Protestant, andher religion has nothing to do with mine. . . Death or my wife! Suchis the cry that nature now and always will, inspire me with. "--Thepetitioner receives the honors of the Assembly. --(Ibid. , XII 369). ]

[Footnote 2221: The grotesque is often that of a farce. "M. Piorry, inthe name of poor; but virtuous citizens, tenders two pairs of buckles, with this motto: 'They have served to hold the shoe-straps on my feet;they will serve to reduce under them, with the imprint and characterof truth, all tyrants leagued against the constitution' (Moniteur, XII. 457, session of May 21)"--Ibid. , XIII. 249 (session of July 25). "Ayoung citoyenne offers to combat, in person, against the enemies of hercountry;" and the president, with a gallant air, replies: "Made ratherto soothe, than to combat tyrants, your offer, etc. "]

[Footnote 2222: Moniteur, XL 576 (session of March 6); XII. 237, 314, 368 (sessions of April 27, May 5 and 14). ]

[Footnote 2223: Mercure de France. Sept. 19, 1791, Feb. 11, and March 3, 1792. --Buchez et Roux, XVI 185 (session of July 26, 1792). ]

[Footnote 2224: "Mémoires de Mallet du Pan, " 1433 (tableau of the threeparties, with special information). ]

[Footnote 2225: Buchez et Roux, XII. 348 (letter by the deputy Chéron, president of the Feuillants Club). The deputies of the LegislativeAssembly, registered at the Feuillants Club, number 264 besides a largenumber of deputies in the Constituent Assembly. --According to Mallet duPan the so-called Independents number 250. ]

[Footnote 2226: These figures are verified by decisive ballottings(Mortimer-Ternauz, II. 205, 348. )]

[Footnote 2227: Moniteur, XII. 393 (session of May 15, speech byIsnard): "The Constituent Assembly only half dared do what it had thepower to do. It has left in the field of liberty, even around the veryroots of the young constitutional tree, the old roots of despotism andof the aristocracy. . . It has bound us to the trunk of the constitutionaltree, like powerless victims given up to the rage of theirenemies. "----Etienne Dumont saw truly the educational defects peculiarto the party. He says, apropos of Madame Roland: "I found in her toomuch of that distrustful despotism which belongs to ignorance ofthe world. . . What her intellectual development lacked was a greaterknowledge of the world and intercourse with men of superior judgment toher own. Roland himself had little intellectual breadth, while allthose who frequented her house never rose above the prejudices of thevulgar. "]

[Footnote 2228: "Souvenirs", by PASQUIER (Etienne-Dennis, duc), chancelier de France. In VI volumes, Librarie Plon, Paris 1893. ]

[Footnote 2229: Madame de Stael, "Considerations sur la RévolutionFrançaise, " IIIrd part, ch. III. -Madame de Staël conversed with themand judges them according to the shrewd perceptions of a woman of theworld. ]

[Footnote 2230: Louvet, "Mémoires" 32. "I belonged to the boldphilosophers who, before the end of 1791, lamented the fate of a greatnation, compelled to stop half-way in the career of freedom, " and, onpage 38--"A minister of justice was needed. The four ministers (Roland, Servane, etc. ) cast their eyes on me. . . Duranthon was preferred to me. This was the first mistake of the republican party. It paid dear for it. That mistake cost my country a good deal of blood and many tears. "Later on, he thinks that he has the qualifications for ambassador toConstantinople. ]

[Footnote 2231: Buzot, "Mémoires" (Ed. Dauban), pp. 31, 39. "Born with aproud and independent spirit which never bowed at any one's command, howcould I accept the idea of a man being held sacred? With my heart andhead possessed by the great beings of the ancient republics, who are thegreatest honor to the human species, I practiced their maxims from myearliest years, and nourished myself on a study of their virtues. . . Thepretended necessity of a monarchy. . . Could not amalgamate, in my mind, with the grand and noble conceptions formed by me, of the dignity ofthe human species. Hope deceived me, it is true, but my error was tooglorious to allow me to repent of it. "--Self-admiration is likewise themental substratum of Madame Roland, Roland, Pétion, Barbaroux, Louvet, etc. , (see their writings). Mallet du Pan well says: "On reading thememoirs of Madame Roland, one detects the actress, rehearsing for thestage. "--Roland is an administrative puppet and would-be orator, whosewife pulls the strings. There is an odd, dull streak in him, peculiarlyhis own. For example, in 1787 (Guillon de Montléon, "Histoire de laville de Lyon, pendant la Révolution, " 1. 58), he proposes to utilizethe dead, by converting them into oil and phosphoric acid. In 1788, heproposes to the Villefranche Academy to inquire "whether it would not beto the public advantage to institute tribunals for trying the dead?" inimitation of the Egyptians. In his report of Jan. 5, 1792, he gives aplan for establishing public festivals, "in imitation of the Spartans, "and takes for a motto, Non omnis moriar (Baron de Girardot, "Roland andMadame Roland". I. 83, 185)]

[Footnote 2232: Political club uniting moderate and constitutionalmonarchists. They got their nickname because they held their meetings inthe old convent formerly used by the feullants, a branch of Cistercianswho, led by LaBarrière, broke away in 1577. The Feuillant Club wasdissolved in 1791. (SR). ]

[Footnote 2233: Moniteur, XI. 61 (session of Jan 7, 1792). --Ibid. , 204(Jan. 25); 281 (Feb. 1); 310 (Feb. 4); 318 (Feb. 6); 343 (Feb. 9); 487(Feb. 26). --XII. 22 (April 2). Reports of all the sessions must be readto appreciate the force of the pressure. See, especially, the sessionsof April 9 and 16, May 15 and 29, June 8, 9, 15, and 25, July 1, 2, 5, 9, 11, 17, 18, and 21, and, after this date, all thesessions. --Lacretelle, "Dix Ans d'Epreuves, " p. 78-81. "The LegislativeAssembly served under the Jacobin Club while keeping up a counterfeitair of independence. The progress which fear had made in the Frenchcharacter was very great, at a time when everything was pitched in thehaughtiest key. . . The majority, as far as intentions go, was for theconservatives; the actual majority was for the republicans. "]

[Footnote 2234: Moniteur, XIII. 212, session of July 22. ]

[Footnote 2235: Moniteur, XII. 22, session of April2. --Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 95. --Moniteur, XIII. 222, session of July 22. ]

[Footnote 2236: Lacretelle, "Dix Ans d'Epreuves, " 80. ]

[Footnote 2237: Mathieu Dumas, "Mémoires, " II. 88 (Feb. 23). --Hua, "Mémoires d'un Avocat au Parliament de Paris, " 106, 121, 134, 154. Moniteur, XIII. 212 (session of July 21), speech by M. ---"The avenuesto this building are daily beset with a horde of people who insult therepresentatives of the nation. "]

[Footnote 2238: De Vaublanc, "Mémoires, " 344. --Moniteur, XIII. 368(letters and speeches of deputies, session of Aug. 9). ]

[Footnote 2239: Hua, 115. --Ibid. , 90. 3 out of 4 deputies ofSeine-et-Oise were Jacobins. "We met once a week to talk over theaffairs of the department. We were obliged to drive out the vagabondswho, even at the table, talked of nothing but killing. "]

[Footnote 2240: Moniteur, XII. 702. For example, on the 19th ofJune, 1792, on a motion unexpectedly proposed by Condorcet, that thedepartments be authorized to burn all titles (to nobility) in thevarious depots. --Adopted at once, and unanimously. ]

[Footnote 2241: Later Stalin and his successors should invest the UnitedNations and other international organizations to indirectly propose andensure the acceptance of a new convention of human rights, children'srights, the rights of refugees etc. In many cases these became thebase of national legislation which is now giving trouble to many of theWestern democracies. (SR). ]

[Footnote 2242: Hua, 114. ]

[Footnote 2243: Moniteur, XII. 664. --Mercure de France, June 23, 1792. ]

[Footnote 2244: Hua, 141. --Mathieu Dumas, II. 399: "It is remarkablethat Lafond de Ladébat, one of our trustiest friends, was electedpresident on the 23rd of July, 1792. This shows that the majority of theAssembly was still sound; but it was only brought about by a secret votein the choice of candidates. The same men who obeyed their consciences, through a sentiment of justice and of propriety, could not face thedanger which surrounded them in the threats of the factions when theywere called upon to vote by rising or sitting. "]

[Footnote 2245: This description and others of the same period haveundoubtedly been studied carefully by thousands of socialists andpolitical hopefuls who, in any case, made use of similar tactics to takeover thousands of governing committees, institutions and organizations. (SR). ]

CHAPTER III. 

I. --Policy of the Assembly. --State of France at the end of 1791. 

 Powerlessness of the Law. 

If the deputies who, on the 1st of October, 1791, so solemnly andenthusiastically swore to the Constitution, had been willing to opentheir eyes, they would have seen this Constitution constantly violated, both in its letter and spirit, over the entire territory. As usual, andthrough the vanity of authorship, M. Thouret, the last president ofthe Constituent Assembly, had, in his final report, hidden disagreeabletruth underneath pompous and delusive phrases; but it was only necessaryto look over the monthly record to see whether, as guaranteed by him, "the decrees were faithfully executed in all parts of the empire. "--"Where is this faithful execution to be found?" inquires Mallet duPan. [2301] "Is it at Toulon, in the midst of the dead and wounded, shotin the very face of the amazed municipality and Directory? Is it atMarseilles, where two private individuals are knocked down and massacredas aristocrats, " under the pretext "that they sold to children poisonedsugar-plums with which to begin a counter-revolution?" Is it at Arles, "against which 4, 000 men from Marseilles, dispatched by the club, are atthis moment marching?" Is it at Bayeux, "where the sieur Fauchetagainst whom a warrant for arrest is out, besides being under the banof political disability, has just been elected deputy to the LegislativeAssembly?" Is it at Blois, "where the commandant, doomed to death forhaving tried to execute these decrees, is forced to send away a loyalregiment and submit to licentious troops?" Is it at Nîmes, "where theDauphiny regiment, on leaving the town by the Minister's orders, is ordered by the people" and the club "to disobey the Minister andremain?" Is it in those regiments whose officers, with pistols at theirbreasts, are obliged to leave and give place to amateurs? Is it atToulouse, "where, at the end of August, the administrative authoritiesorder all unsworn priests to leave the town in three days, and withdrawto a distance of four leagues?" Is it in the outskirts of Toulouse, "where, on the 28th of August, a municipal officer is hung at astreet-lamp after an affray with guns?" Is it at Paris, where, onthe 25th of September, the Irish college, vainly protected by aninternational treaty, has just been assailed by the mob; whereCatholics, listening to the orthodox mass, are driven out and draggedto the authorized mass in the vicinity; where one woman is torn from theconfessional, and another flogged with all their might?[2302]

These troubles, it is said, are transient; on the Constitution beingproclaimed, order will return of itself. Very well, the Constitutionis voted, accepted by the King, proclaimed, and entrusted to theLegislative Assembly. Let the Legislative Assembly consider what is donein the first few weeks. In the eight departments that surroundParis, there are riots on every market-day; farms are invaded and thecultivators of the soil are ransomed by bands of vagabonds; the mayorof Melun is riddled with balls and dragged out from the hands of themob streaming with blood. [2303] At Belfort, a riot for the purpose ofretaining a convoy of coin, and the commissioner of the Upper-Rhine indanger of death; at Bouxvillers, owners of property attacked by poorNational Guards, and by the soldiers of Salm-Salm, houses broken intoand cellars pillaged; at Mirecourt, a flock of women beating drums, and, for three days, holding the Hôtel-de-Ville in a state of siege. ----Oneday Rochefort is in a state of insurrection, and the workmen of theharbor compel the municipality to unfurl the red flag. [2304] On thefollowing day, it is Lille, the people of which, "unwilling to exchangeits money and assignats for paper-rags, called billets de confiance, gather into mobs and threaten, while a whole garrison is necessary toprevent an explosion. " On the 16th of October, it is Avignon in thepower of bandits, with the abominable butchery of the Glacière. On the5th of November, at Caen, there are eighty-two gentlemen, townsmen andartisans, knocked down and dragged to prison, for having offered theirservices to the municipality as special constables. On the 14th ofNovember, at Montpellier, the roughs triumph; eight men and women arekilled in the streets or in their houses, and all conservatives aredisarmed or put to flight. By the end of October, it is a giganticcolumn of smoke and flame shooting upward suddenly from week to week andspreading everywhere, growing, on the other side of the Atlantic, intocivil war in St. Domingo, where wild beasts are let loose against theirkeepers; 50, 000 blacks take the field, and, at the outset, 1, 000 whitesare assassinated, 15, 000 Negroes slain, 200 sugar-mills destroyed anddamage done to the amount of 600, 000, 000; "a colony of itself aloneworth ten provinces, is almost annihilated. "[2305] At Paris, Condorcetis busy writing in his journal that "this news is not reliable, therebeing no object in it but to create a French empire beyond the seas forthe King, where there will be masters and slaves. " A corporal of theParis National Guard, on his own authority, orders the King to remainindoors, fearing that he may escape, and forbids a sentinel to lethim go out after nine o'clock in the evening;[2306] at the Tuileries, stump-speakers in the open air denounce aristocrats and priests; atthe Palais-Royal, there is a pandemonium of public lust and incendiaryspeeches. [2307] There are centers of riot in all quarters, "as manyrobberies as there are quarter-hours, and no robbers punished; nopolice; overcrowded courts; more delinquents than there are prisonsto hold them; nearly all the private mansions closed; the annualconsumption in the faubourg St. Germain alone diminished by 250millions; 20, 000 thieves, with branded backs, idling away time in housesof bad repute, at the theaters, in the Palais-Royal, at the NationalAssembly, and in the coffee-houses; thousands of beggars infestingthe streets, crossways, and public squares. Everywhere an image of thedeepest poverty which is not calling for one's pity as it is accompaniedwith insolence. Swarms of tattered vendors are offering all sorts ofpaper-money, issued by anybody that chose to put it in circulation, cut up into bits, sold, given, and coming back in rags, fouler than themiserable creatures who deal in it. "[2308] Out of 700, 000 inhabitantsthere are 100, 000 of the poor, of which 60, 000 have flocked in fromthe departments;[2309] among them are 30, 000 needy artisans from thenational workshops, discharged and sent home in the preceding month ofJune, but who, returning three months later, are again swallowed up inthe great sink of vagabondage, hurling their floating mass againstthe crazy edifice of public authority and furnishing the forcesof sedition. --At Paris, and in the provinces, disobedience existsthroughout the hierarchy. Directories countermand ministerial orders. Here, municipalities brave the commands of their Directory; there, communities order around their mayor with a drawn sword. Elsewhere, soldiers and sailors put their officers under arrest. The accused insultthe judge on the bench and force him to cancel his verdict; mobs tax orplunder wheat in the market; National Guards prevent its distribution, or seize it in the storehouses. There is no security for property, lives, or consciences. The majority of Frenchmen are deprived of theirright to worship in their own faith, and of voting at the elections. There is no safety, day or night, for the élite of the nation, forecclesiastics and the gentry, for army and navy officers, for richmerchants and large landed proprietors; no protection in the courts, noincome from public funds; denunciations abound, expulsions, banishmentsto the interior, attacks on private houses; there is no right offree assemblage, even to enforce the law under the orders of legalauthorities. [2310] Opposed to this, and in contrast with it, is theprivilege and immunity of a sect formed into a political corporation, "which extends its filiations over the whole kingdom, and even abroad;which has its own treasury, its committees, and its by-laws; which rulesthe government, which judges justice, "[2311] and which, from the capitalto the hamlet, usurps or directs the administration. Liberty, equality, and the majesty of the law exist nowhere, except in words. Of the threethousand decrees given birth to by the Constituent Assembly, the mostlauded, those the best set off by a philosophic baptism, form a mass ofstillborn abortions of which France is the burying-ground. That whichreally subsists underneath the false appearances of right, proclaimedand sworn to over and over again, is, on the one hand, an oppression ofthe upper and cultivated classes, from which all the rights of man arewithdrawn, and, on the other hand, the tyranny of the fanatical andbrutal rabble which assumes to itself all the rights of sovereignty. 

II. --The Assembly hostile to the oppressed and favoring oppressors. 

 Decrees against the nobles and clergy. --Amnesty for deserters, convicts, and bandits. --Anarchical and leveling maxims. 

In vain do the honest men of the Assembly protest against this scandaland this overthrow. The Assembly, guided and forced by the Jacobins, will only amend the law to damn the oppressed and to authorize theiroppressors. --Without making any distinction between armed assemblages atCoblentz, which it had a right to punish, and refugees, three timesas numerous, old men, women and children, so many indifferent andinoffensive people, not merely nobles but plebeians, [2312] who left thesoil only to escape popular outrages, it confiscates the property of allemigrants and orders this to be sold. [2313] Through the new restrictionof the passport, those who remain are tied to their domiciles, theirfreedom of movement, even in the interior, being subject to the decisionof each Jacobin municipality. [2314] It completes their ruin by deprivingthem without indemnity of all income from their real estate, of allthe seignorial rights which the Constituent Assembly had declared tobe legitimate. [2315] It abolishes, as far as it can, their historyand their past, by burning in the public depots their genealogicaltitles. [2316]--To all unsworn ecclesiastics, two-thirds of the Frenchclergy, it withholds bread, the small pension allowed them for food, which is the ransom of their confiscated possessions;[2317] it declaresthem "suspected of revolt against the law and of bad intentions againstthe country;" it subjects them to special surveillance; it authorizestheir expulsion without trial by local rulers in case of disturbances;it decrees that in such cases they shall be banished. [2318] Itsuppresses "all secular congregations of men and women ecclesiastic orlaic, even those wholly devoted to hospital service will take away from600, 000 children the means of learning to read and write. "[2319] It laysinjunctions on their dress; it places episcopal palaces in the marketfor sale, also the buildings still occupied by monks and nuns. [2320]It welcomes with rounds of applause a married priest who introduces hiswife to the Assembly. --Not only is the Assembly destructive but itis insulting; the authors of each decree passed by it add to itsthunderbolt the rattling hail of their own abuse and slander. 

"Children, " says a deputy, "have the poison of aristocracy andfanaticism injected into them by the congregations. "[2321]

"Purge the rural districts of the vermin which is devouringthem!"--"Everybody knows, " says Isnard, "that the priest is as cowardlyas he is vindictive. . . Let these pestiferous fellows be sent back toRoman and Italian lazarettos. . What religion is that which, in itsnature, is unsocial and rebellious in principle?"

Whether unsworn, whether immigrants actually or in feeling, "largeproprietors, rich merchants, false conservatives, "[2322] are alloutspoken conspirators or concealed enemies. All public disasters areimputed to them. "The cause of the troubles, " says Brissot, [2323] "whichlay waste the colonies, is the infernal vanity of the whites who havethree times violated an engagement which they have three times sworn tomaintain. " Scarcity of work and short crops are accounted for throughtheir cunning malevolence. 

"A large number of rich men, "says François de Nantes, [2324] "allowtheir property to run down and their fields to lie fallow, so as toenjoy seeing the suffering of the people. "

France is divided into two parties, on the one hand, the aristocracy towhich is attributed every vice, and, on the other hand, the people onwhom is conferred every virtue. [2325]

"The defense of liberty, " says Lamarque, [2326] "is basely abandonedevery day by the rich and by the former nobility, who put on the mask ofpatriotism only to cheat us. It is not in this class, but only in thatof citizens who are disdainfully called the people, that we find purebeings, those ardent souls really worthy of liberty. "--One step moreand everything will be permitted to the virtuous against the wicked;if misfortune befalls the aristocrats so much the worse for them. Thoseofficers who are stoned, M. De la Jaille and others, "wouldn't they dobetter not to deserve being sacrificed to popular fury?"[2327] Isnardexclaims in the tribune, "it is the long-continued immunity enjoyedby criminals which has rendered the people executioners. Yes, an angrypeople, like an angry God, is only too often the terrible supplementof silent laws. "[2328]--In other words crimes are justified andassassinations still provoked against those who have been assassinatedfor the past two years. 

By a forced conclusion, if the victims are criminals, their executionersare honest, and the Assembly, which rigorously proceeds against theformer, reserves all its indulgence for the latter. It reinstates thenumerous deserters who abandoned their flags previous to the 1st ofJanuary, 1789;[2329] it allows them three sous per league mileage, andbrings them back to their homes or to their regiments to become, alongwith their brethren whose desertion is more recent, either leadersor recruits for the mob. It releases from the galleys the forty Swissguards of Chateauroux whom their own cantons desired to have kept there;it permits these "martyrs to Liberty" to promenade the streets of Parisin a triumphal car;[2330] it admits them to the bar of the house, and, taking a formal vote on it, extends to them the honors of thesession. [2331] Finally, as if it were their special business to letloose on the public the most ferocious and foulest of the rabble, itamnesties Jourdan, Mainvielle, Duprat, and Raphel, fugitive convicts, jail-birds, the condottieri of all lands assuming the title of "thebrave brigands of Avignon, " and who, for eighteen months, have pillagedand plundered the Comtat[2332]; it stops the trial, almost over, of theGlacière butchers; it tolerates the return of these as victors, [2333]and their installation by their own act in the places of the fugitivemagistrates, allowing Avignon to be treated as a conquered city, and, henceforth, to become their prey and their booty. This is a willfulrestoration of the vermin to the social body, and, in this feverishbody, nothing is overlooked that will increase the fever. The mostanarchical and deleterious maxims emanate, like miasma, from theAssembly benches. The reduction of things to an absolute level isadopted as a principle; "equality of rights, " says Lamarque, [2334] "isto be maintained only by tending steadily to an equality of fortunes;"this theory is practically applied on all sides since the proletariatis pillaging all who own property. --"Let the communal possessionsbe partitioned among the citizens of the surrounding villages, " saysFrançois de Nantes, "in an inverse ratio to their fortunes, and lethim who has the least inheritance take the largest share in thedivisions. "[2335] Conceive the effect of this motion read at evening topeasants who are at this very moment claiming their lord's forest fortheir commune. M. Corneille prohibits any tax to be levied for thepublic treasury on the wages of manual labor, because nature, and notsociety, gives us the "right to live. "[2336] On the other hand, heconfers on the public treasury the right of taking the whole of anincome, because it is society, and not nature, which institutes publicfunds; hence, according to him, the poor majority must be relieved ofall taxation, and all taxes must fall on the rich minority. The systemis well-timed and the argument apt for convincing indigent or straitenedtax-payers, namely, the refractory majority, that its taxes are just, and that it should not refuse to be taxed. --

"Under the reign of liberty, " says President Daverhoult, [2337] "thepeople have the right to insist not merely on subsistence, but again onplenty and happiness. "[2338]

Accordingly, being in a state of poverty they have beenbetrayed. --"Elevated to the height achieved by the French people, "says another president, "it looks down upon the tempests under itsfeet. "[2339] The tempest is at hand and bursts over its head. War, likea black cloud, rises above the horizon, overspreads the sky, thundersand wraps France filled with explosive materials in a circle oflightening, and it is the Assembly which, through the greatest of itsmistakes, draws down the bolt on the nation's head. 

III. --War. 

 Disposition of foreign powers. --The King's dislikes. -- Provocation of the Girondins. --Dates and causes of the rupture

It might have been turned aside with a little prudence. Two principalgrievances were alleged, one by France and the other by the Empire. --Onthe one hand, and very justly, France complained of the gathering ofémigré's, which the Emperor and Electors tolerated against it on thefrontier. In the first place, however, a few thousand gentlemen, withouttroops or stores, and nearly without money, [2340] were hardly to befeared, and, besides this, long before the decisive hour came thesetroops were dispersed, at once by the Emperor in his own dominions, and, fifteen days afterwards, by the Elector of Trèves in hiselectorate. [2341]--On the other hand, according to treaties, the Germanprinces, who owned estates in Alsace, made claims for the feudal rightsabolished on their French possessions and the Diet forbade them toaccept the offered indemnity. But, as far as the Diet is concerned, nothing was easier nor more customary than to let negotiations dragalong, there being no risk or inconvenience attending the suit as, during the delay, the claimants remained empty-handed. --If, now, behindthe ostensible motives, the real intentions are sought for, it iscertain that, up to January, 1792, the intentions of Austria werepacific. The grants made to the Comte d'Artois, in the Declaration ofPilnitz, were merely a court-sprinkling of holy-water, the semblance ofan illusory promise and subject to a European concert of action, thatis to say, annulled beforehand by an indefinite postponement, while thispretended league of sovereigns is at once "placed by the politiciansin the class of august comedies. [2342]" Far from taking up arms against"New France" in the name of old France, the emperor Leopold and hisprime minister Kaunitz, were delighted to see the constitutioncompleted and accepted by the King; it "got them out of an embarrassingposition, "[2343] and Prussia as well. In the running of governments, political advantage is the great incentive and both powers needed alltheir forces in another direction, in Poland. One for retarding, and theother for accelerating the division of this country, and both, when thepartition took place, to get enough for themselves and preventRussia from getting too much. --The sovereigns of Prussia and Austria, accordingly, did not have any idea of saving Louis XVI, nor ofconducting the émigrés back, nor of conquering French provinces. Ifanything was to be expected from them on account of personal ill-will, there was no fear of their armed intervention. --In France it is not theKing who urges a rupture; he knows too well that the hazards of warwill place him and his dependents in mortal danger. Secretly as well aspublicly, in writing to the émigrés, his wishes are to bring themback or to restrain them. In his private correspondence he asks of theEuropean powers not physical but moral aid, the external support of acongress which will permit moderate men, the partisans of order, allowners of property, to raise their heads and rally around the throneand the laws against anarchy. In his ministerial correspondence everyprecaution is taken not to touch off or let someone touch off anexplosion. At the critical moment of the discussion[2344] he entreatsthe deputies, through M. Delessart, his Minister of Foreign Affairs, toweigh their words and especially not to send a demand containing a "deadline. " He resists, as far as his passive nature allows him, to the verylast. On being forced to declare war he requires beforehand the signedadvice of all his ministers. He does not utter the fatal words, untilhe, "with tears in his eyes" and in the most dire straits, is draggedon by an Assembly qualifying all caution as treason and which has justdispatched M. Delessart to appear, under a capital charge, before thesupreme court at Orléans. 

It is the Assembly then which launches the disabled ship on the roaringabysses of an unknown sea, without a rudder and leaking at every seam. It alone slips the cable which held it in port and which the foreignpowers neither dared nor desired to sever. Here, again, the Girondistsare the leaders and hold the axe; since the last of October they havegrasped it and struck repeated blows. [2345]--As an exception, theextreme Jacobins, Couthon, Collot d'Herbois, Danton, Robespierre, donot side with them. Robespierre, who at first proposed to confine theEmperor "within the circle of Popilius, "[2346] fears the placing of toogreat a power in the King's hands, and, growing mistrustful, preachesdistrust. --But the great mass of the party, led by clamorous publicopinion, impels on the timid marching in front. Of the many things ofwhich knowledge is necessary to conduct successfully such a complex anddelicate affair, they know nothing. They are ignorant about cabinets, courts, populations, treaties, precedents, timely forms and requisitestyle. Their guide and counselor in foreign relations is Brissotwhose pre-eminence is based on their ignorance and who, exalted intoa statesman, becomes for a few months the most conspicuous figure inEurope. [2347] To whatever extent a European calamity may be attributedto any one man, this one is to be attributed to him. It is this wretch, born in a pastry-cook's shop, brought up in an attorney's office, formerly a police agent at 150 francs per month, once in league withscandal-mongers and black-mailers, [2348] a penny-a-liner, busybody, andmeddler, who, with the half-information of a nomad, scraps of newspaperideas and reading-room lore, [2349] added to his scribblings as a writerand his club declamation, directs the destinies of France and starts awar in Europe which is to destroy six millions of lives. In the atticwhere his wife is washing his shirts, he enjoys rebuking rulers and, onthe 20th of October, in the tribune, [2350] he begins by insulting thirtyforeign sovereigns. Such keen, intense enjoyment is the stuff on whichthe new fanaticism daily feeds itself. Madame Roland herself delights, with evident complacency, in it, something which can be seen in the twofamous letters in which, with a supercilious tone, she first instructsthe King and next the Pope. [2351] Brissot, at bottom, regards himself asa Louis XIV, and expressly invites the Jacobins to imitate the haughtyways of the Great Monarch. [2352]--To the tactlessness of the intruder, and the touchiness of the parvenu, we can add the rigidity of thesectarian. The Jacobins, in the name of abstract rights, deny historicrights; they impose from above, and by force, that truth of which theyare the apostles, and allow themselves every provocation which theyprohibit to others. 

"Let us tell Europe, " cries Isnard, [2353] "that ten millions ofFrenchmen, armed with the sword, with the pen, with reason, witheloquence, might, if provoked, change the face of the world and maketyrants tremble on their thrones of clay. "

"Wherever a throne exists, " says Hérault de Séchelles, "there is anenemy. "[2354]

"An honest peace between tyranny and liberty, " says Brissot, "isimpossible. Our Constitution is an eternal anathema to absolutemonarchs. . . It places them on trial, it pronounces judgment on them; itseems to say to each: to-morrow thou have ceased to be or shalt be kingonly through the people. . . War is now a national benefit, and not tohave war is the only calamity to be dreaded. " [2355]

"Tell the king, " says Gensonné, "that the war is a must, that publicopinion demands it, that the safety of the empire makes it a law. "[2356]

"The state we are in, " concludes Vergniaud, "is a veritable state ofdestruction that may lead us to disgrace and death. So then to arms! toarms! Citizens, freemen, defend your liberty, confirm the hopes of thatof the human race. . . Lose not the advantage of your position. Attacknow that there is every sign of complete success. . . The spirits of pastgenerations seem to me crowding into this temple to conjure you, in thename of the evils which slavery had compelled them to endure, to protectthe future generations whose destinies are in your hands! Let thisprayer be granted! Be for the future a new Providence! Ally yourselveswith eternal justice!"[2357]

Among the Marseilles speakers there is no longer any room for seriousdiscussion. Brissot, in reply to the claim made by the Emperor on behalfof the princes' property in Alsatia, replies that "the sovereignty ofthe people is not bound by the treaties of tyrants. "[2358] As to thegatherings of the émigrés, the Emperor having yielded on this point, he will yield on the others. [2359] Let him formally renounce allcombinations against France. 

"I want war on the 10th of February, " says Brissot, "unless we havereceived his renunciation. "

No explanations; it is satisfaction we want; "to require satisfaction isto put the Emperor at our mercy. "[2360] The Assembly, so eager to startthe quarrel, usurps the King's right to take the first step and formallydeclares war, fixing the date. [2361]--The die is now cast. 

"They want war, " says the Emperor, "and they shall have it. "

Austria immediately forms an alliance with Prussia, threatened, likeherself, with revolutionary propaganda. [2362] By sounding the alarmbelles the Jacobins, masters of the Assembly, have succeeded in bringingabout that "monstrous alliance, " and, from day to day, this alarm soundsthe louder. One year more, thanks to this policy, and France will haveall Europe for an enemy and as its only friend, the Regency of Algiers, whose internal system of government is about the same as her own. 

IV. --Secret motives of the leaders. 

 Their control compromised by peace. --Discontent of the rich and cultivated class. --Formation and increase of the party of order. --The King and this party reconciled. 

Behind their carmagnoles[2363] we can detect a design which they willavow later on. 

"We were always obstructed by the Constitution, " Brissot is to say, "andnothing but war could destroy the Constitution. "[2364]

Diplomatic wrongs, consequently, of which they make parade, are simplypretexts; if they urge war it is for the purpose of overthrowing thelegal order of things which annoys them; their real object is theconquests of power, a second internal revolution, the application oftheir system and a final state of equality. --Concealed behind them isthe most politic and absolute of theorists, a man "whose great art isthe attainment of his ends without showing himself, the preparation ofothers for far-sighted views of which they have no suspicion, and thatof speaking but little in public and acting in secret. "[2365] Thisman is Sieyès, "the leader of everything without seeming to leadanything. "[2366] As infatuated as Rousseau with his own speculations, but as unscrupulous and as clear-sighted as Macchiavelli in theselection of practical means, he was, is, and will be, in decisivemoments, the consulting counsel of radical democracy. 

"His pride tolerates no superiority. He causes nobility to be abolishedbecause he is not a noble; because he does not possess all he willdestroy all. His fundamental doctrine for the consolidation of theRevolution is, that it is indispensable to change religion and to changethe dynasty. "

Now, had peace been maintained all this was impossible; moreover theascendance of the party was compromised. Entire classes that had adheredto the party when it launched insurrection against the privileged, brokeloose from it now that insurrection was directed against them; amongthoughtful men and among those with property, most were disgustedwith anarchy, and likewise disgusted with the abettors of it. Manyadministrators, magistrates and functionaries recently elected, loudly complained of their authority being subject to the mob. Many cultivators, manufacturers and merchants have become silentlyexasperated at the fruits of their labor and economy being surrenderedat discretion to robbers and the indigent. It was hard for theflour-dealers of Etampes not to dare send away their wheat, to beobliged to supply customers at night, to tremble in their own houses, and to know that if they went out-doors they risked their lives. [2367]It was hard for wholesale grocers in Paris to see their warehousesinvaded, their windows smashed, their bags of coffee and boxes of sugarvalued at a low price, parceled out and carried away by old hags ortaken gratis by scamps who ran off and sold them at the other end ofthe street. [2368] It was hard in all places for the families of the oldbourgeoisie, for the formerly prominent men in each town and village, for the eminent in each art, profession or trade, for reputable andwell-to-do people, in short, for the majority of men who had a good roofover their heads and a good coat on their backs, to undergo the illegaldomination of a crowd led by a few hundred or dozens of stump-speakersand firebrands. --Already, in the beginning of 1792, this dissatisfactionwas so great as to be denounced in the tribune and in the press. Isnard[2369] railed against "that multitude of large property-holders, those opulent merchants, those haughty, wealthy personages who, advantageously placed in the social amphitheater, are unwilling tohave their seats changed. " The bourgeoisie, " wrote Pétion, [2370] "thatnumerous class free of any anxiety, is separating itself from thepeople; it considers itself above them, . . . They are the sole objectof its distrust. It is everywhere haunted by the one idea that therevolution is a war between those who have and those who have not. "--Itabstains, indeed, from the elections, it keeps away from patrioticclubs, it demands the restoration of order and the reign of law; itrallies to itself "the multitude of conservative, timid people, for whomtranquility is the prime necessity, " and especially, which is still moreserious, it charges the disturbances upon their veritable authors. Withsuppressed indignation and a mass of undisputed evidence, André Chénier, a man of feeling, starts up in the midst of the silent crowd and openlytears off the mask from the Jacobins. [2371] He brings into full lightthe daily sophism by which a mob, "some hundreds of idlers gathered ina garden or at a theater, are impudently called the people. " He portraysthose "three or four thousand usurpers of national sovereignty whomtheir orators and writers daily intoxicate with grosser incense than anyadulation offered to the worst of despots;" those assemblies where "aninfinitely small number of French appears large, because they are unitedand yell;" that Paris club from which honest, industrious, intelligentpeople had withdrawn one by one to give place to intriguers in debt, topersons of tarnished reputations, to the hypocrites of patriotism, tothe lovers of uproar, to abortive talents, to corrupted intellects, to outcasts of every kind and degree who, unable to manage their ownbusiness, indemnify themselves by managing that of the public. He showshow, around the central factory and its twelve hundred branches ofinsurrection, the twelve hundred affiliated clubs, which, "holding eachother's hands, form a sort of electric chain around all France" andgiving it a shock at every touch from the center; their confederation, installed and enthroned, is not only as a State within the State, but rather as a sovereign State in a vassal State; summoning theiradministrative bodies to their bar, judicial verdicts set aside throughtheir intervention, private individuals searched, assessed and condemnedthrough their verdicts. All this constitutes a steady, systematicdefense of insubordination and revolt; as, "under the name of hoardingand monopoly, commerce and industry are described as misdemeanors;"property is unsettled and every rich man rendered suspicious, "talentand integrity silenced. " In short, a public conspiracy made againstsociety in the very name of society, "while the sacred symbol of libertyis made use of as a seal" to exempt a few tyrants from punishment. Sucha protest said aloud what most Frenchmen muttered to themselves, andfrom month to month, graver excesses exited greater censure. 

"Anarchy exists[2372] to a degree scarcely to be paralleled, wrote theambassador of the United States. The horror and apprehension, which thelicentious associations have universally inspired, are such that thereis reason to believe that the great mass of the French population wouldconsider even despotism a blessing, if accompanied with that securityto persons and property, experienced even under the worst governments inEurope. "

Another observer, not less competent, [2373] says:

"it is plain to my eyes that when Louis XVI. Finally succumbed, he hadmore partisans in France than the year previous, at the time of hisflight to Varennes. "

The truth of this, indeed, was frequently verified at the end of 1791and beginning of 1792, by various investigations. [2374] "Eighteenthousand officers of every grade, elected by the constitutionalists, seventy-one department administrations out of eighty-two, most of thetribunals, [2375] all traders and manufacturers, every chief and a largeportion of the National Guard of Paris, " in short, the élite of thenation, and among citizens generally, the great majority who lived fromday to day were for him, and for the "Right" of the Assembly againstthe "Left". If internal trouble had not been complicated by externaldifficulties, there would have been a change in opinion, and thisthe King expected. In accepting the Constitution, he thought that itsdefects would be revealed in practical operation and that they wouldlead to a reform. In the mean time he scrupulously observed theConstitution, and, through interest as well as conscience, kept his oathto the letter. "The most faithful execution of the Constitution, " hesaid to one of his ministers, "is the surest way to make the nationsee the changes that ought to be made in it. "[2376]--In other words, hecounted on experience, and it is very probable that if there had beennothing to interfere with experience, his calculations would havefinally chosen between the defenders of order and the instigators ofdisorder. It would have decided for the magistrates against the clubs, for the police against rioters, for the king against the mob. In one ortwo years more it would have learned that a restoration of the executivepower was indispensable for securing the execution of the laws; that thechief of police, with his hands tied, could not do his duty; that it wasundoubtedly wise to give him his orders, but that if he was to be of anyuse against knaves and fools, his hands should first be set free. 

V. --Effects of the war on the common people. 

 Its alarms and fury. --The second revolutionary outburst and its characteristics. --Alliance of the Girondists with the mob. --The red cap and pikes. --Universal substitution of government by force for government by law. 

Just the contrary with war; the aspect of things changes, and thealternative is the other way. It is no longer a choice between order anddisorder, but between the new and the old regime, for, behind foreignopponents on the frontier, there stand the émigrés. The commotion isterrible, especially amongst the lower classes which mainly bore thewhole weight of the old establishment; among the millions who live bythe sweat of their brow, artisans, small farmers, métayers, day-laborersand soldiers, also the smugglers of salt and other articles, poachers, vagabonds, beggars and half-beggars, who, taxed, plundered, and harshlytreated for centuries, have to endure, from father to son, poverty, oppression and disdain. They know through their own experience thedifference between their late and their present condition. They haveonly to fall back on personal knowledge to revive in their imaginationsthe enormous royal, ecclesiastical, and seignorial taxes, the direct taxof eighty-one per cent. , the bailiffs in charge, the seizures and thehusbandry service, the inquisition of excise men, of inspectors of thesalt tax, wine tax (rats de cave) and game-keepers, the ravages of wildbirds and of pigeons, the extortions of the collector and his clerk, thedelay and partiality in obtaining justice, the rashness and brutality ofthe police, the kicks and cuffs of the constabulary, the poor wretchesgathered like heaps of dirt and filth, the promiscuousness, theover-crowding, the filth and the starvation of the prisons. [2377] Theyhave simply to open their eyes to see their immense deliverance; alldirect or indirect taxes for the past two years legally abolished orpractically suppressed, beer at two pennies a pot, wine at six, pigeonsin their meat-safes, game on their turn-spits, the wood of the nationalforests in their lofts, the gendarmerie timid, the police absent, inmany places the crops all theirs, the owner not daring to claim hisshare, the judge avoiding condemning them, the constable refusing toserve papers on them, privileges restored in their favor, the publicauthorities cringing to the crowds and yielding to their exactions, remaining quiet or unarmed in the face of their misdeeds, their outragesexcused or tolerated, their superior good sense and deep feeling laudedin thousands of speeches, the jacket and the blouse considered assymbols of patriotism, and supremacy in the State claimed for thesans-culottes[2378] in the name their merits and their virtues. --And nowthe overthrow of all this is announced to them, a league against them offoreign kings, the emigrants in arms, an invasion imminent, the Croatsand Pandours in the field, hordes of mercenaries and barbarians crowdingdown on them again to put them in chains. --From the workshop to thecottage there rolls along a formidable outburst of anger, accompaniedwith national songs, denouncing the plots of tyrants and summoning thepeople to arms. [2379] This is the second wave of the Revolution, fastswelling and roaring, less general than the first, since it bears alongwith it but little more than the lower class, but higher and much moredestructive. 

Not only, indeed, is the mass now launched forth coarse and crude, buta new sentiment animates it, the force of which is incalculable, that ofplebeian pride, that of the poor man, the subject, who, suddenlyerect after ages of debasement, relishes, far beyond his hopes andunstintedly, the delights of equality, independence, and dominion. "Fifteen millions white Negroes, " says Mallet du Pan, [2380] worse fed, more miserable than those of St. Domingo, like them rebelled and freedfrom all authority by their revolt, accustomed like them, through thirtymonths of license, to ruling over all that is left of their formermasters, proud like them of the restoration of their caste and exultingin their horny hands. One may imagine their transports of rage onhearing the trumpet-blast which awakens them, showing them on thehorizon the returning planters, bringing with them new whips and heaviermanacles?--Nothing is more distrustful than such a sentiment insuch breasts--quickly alarmed, ready to strike, ready for any act ofviolence, blindly credulous, headlong and easily impelled, not merelyagainst real enemies on the outside, but at first against imaginaryenemies on the inside, [2381] but also against the King, the ministers, the gentry, priests, parliamentarians, orthodox Catholics; against alladministrators and magistrates imprudent enough to have appealed to thelaw; all manufacturers, merchants, and owners of property who condemndisorder;the wealthy whose egotism keeps them at home; all those who arewell-off, well-bred and well-dressed. 

They are all under suspicion because they have lost by the new regime, or because they have not adopted its ways. --Such is the colossal brutewhich the Girondins introduce into the political arena. [2382] For sixmonths they shake red flags before its eyes, goad it on, work it up intoa rage and drive it forward by decrees and proclamations, * against their adversaries and against its keepers, * against the nobles and the clergy, * against aristocrats inside France in complicity with those ofCoblentz, * against "the Austrian committee" the accomplice of Austria, * against the King, whose caution they transform into treachery, * against the whole government to which they impute the anarchy theyexcite, and the war of which they themselves are the instigators. [2383]

Thus over-excited and topsy-turvy, the proletariat require only armsand a rallying-point. The Girondins furnish both. Through a strikingcoincidence, one which shows that the plan was concerted, [2384] theystart three political engines at the same time. Just at the moment when, through their deliberate saber-rattling, they made war inevitable, theyinvented popular insignia and armed the poor. At the end of January, 1792, almost during one week, they announced their ultimatum to Austriausing a fixed deadline, they adopted the red woolen cap and began themanufacture of pikes. --It is evident that pikes are of no use in theopen field against cannon and a regular army; accordingly the areintended for use in the interior and in towns. Let the national-guardwho can pay for his uniform, and the active citizen whose three francsof direct tax gives him a privilege, own their guns; the stevedore, themarket-porter, the lodger, the passive citizen, whose poverty excludesthem from voting must have their pikes, and, in these insurrectionarytimes, a ballot is not worth a good pike wielded by brawny arms. --Themagistrate in his robes may issue any summons he pleases, but it willbe rammed down his throat, and, lest he should be in doubt of this he ismade to know it beforehand. "The Revolution began with pikes and pikeswill finish it. "[2385] "Ah, " say the regulars of the Tuileries gardens, "if the good patriots of the Champs de Mars only had had pikes likethese the blue-coats (Lafayette's guards) would not have had such a goodhand!"--"They are to be used everywhere, wherever there are enemiesof the people, to the Château, if any can be found there!" They willoverride the veto and make sure that the National Assembly will approvethe good laws. To this purpose, the Faubourg St. Antoine volunteers itspikes, and, to mark the use made of them, it complains that "effortsare made to substitute an aristocracy of wealth for the omnipotenceof inherited rank. " It demands "severe measures against the rascallyhypocrites who, with the Constitution in their hands, slaughter thepeople. " It declares that "kings, ministers and a civil list will passaway, but that the rights of man, national sovereignty and pikes willnot pass away, " and, by order of the president, the National Assemblythanks the petitioners, "for the advice their zeal prompts them to give. 

The leaders of the Assembly and the people armed with pikes uniteagainst the rich, against Constitutionalists, against the government, and henceforth, the Jacobin extremists march side by side with theGirondins, both reconciled for the attack but reserved their right todisagree until after the victory. 

"The object of the Girondists[2386] is not a republic in name, but anactual republic through a reduction of the civil lists to five millions, through the curtailment of most of the royal prerogatives, through achange of dynasty of which the new head would be a sort of honorarypresident of the republic to which they would assign an executivecouncil appointed by the Assembly, that is to say, by themselves. " Asto the Jacobin extremists we find no principle with them but "that ofa rigorous, absolute application of the Rights of Man. With the aid ofsuch a charter they aim at changing the laws and public officers everysix months, at extending their leveling process to every constitutedauthority, to all legal pre-eminence and to property. The only regimethey long for is the democracy of a contentious rabble. . . The vilestinstruments, professional agitators, brigands, fanatics, every sort ofwretch, the hardened and armed poverty-stricken, who, in wild disorder"march to the attack of property and to "universal pillage" in short, barbarians of town and country "who form their ordinary army and neverleave it inactive one single day. "--Under their universal, concerted andgrowing usurpation the substance of power melts wholly away in the handof the legal authorities; little by little, these are reduced to vaincounterfeits, while from one end of France, to the other, long beforethe final collapse, the party, in the provinces as well as at Paris, substitutes, under the cry of public danger, a government of might forthe government of law. 

*****

[Footnote 2301: Mercure de France, September 24, 1791. --Cf. Report of M. Alquier (session of Sept. 23). ]

[Footnote 2302: Mercure de France, Oct. 15, 1792 (the treaty withEngland was dated Sep. 26, 1786). --Ibid. , Letter of M. Walsh, superiorof the Irish college, to the municipality of Paris. Those who use thewhips, come out of a neighboring grog-shop. The commissary of police, who arrives with the National Guard, "addresses the people, and promisesthem satisfaction, " requiring M. Walsh to dismiss all who are in thechapel, without waiting for the end of the mass. --M. Walsh refers to thelaw and to treaties. --The commissary replies that he knows nothing abouttreaties, while the commandant of the national guard says to those wholaving the chapel, "In the name of human justice, I order you tofollow me to the church of Saint-Etienne, or I shall abandon you to thepeople. "]

[Footnote 2303: "The French Revolution, " Vol. I. Pp. 261, 263. --"ArchivesNationales, " F7, 3185 and 3186 (numerous documents on the ruraldisturbances in Aisne). --Mercure de France, Nov. 5 and 26, Dec. 10, 1791. --Moniteur, X. 426 (Nov. 22, 1791). ]

[Footnote 2304: Moniteur, X. 449, Nov. 23, 1791. (Official report ofthe crew of the Ambuscade, dated Sep. 30). The captain, M. D'Orléans, stationed at the Windward Islands, is obliged to return to Rochefort andis detained there on board his ship: "Considering the uncertainty ofhis mission, and the fear of being ordered to use the same hostilitiesagainst brethren for which he is already denounced in every club in thekingdom, the crew has forced the captain to return to France. "]

[Footnote 2305: Mercure de France, Dec. 17, address of the colonists tothe king. ]

[Footnote 2306: Moniteur, XIII. 200. Report of Sautereau, July 20, onthe affair of Corporal Lebreton. (Nov. 11, 1791). ]

[Footnote 2307: Saint Huruge is first tenor. Justine (Sado-machosisticbook by de Sade) makes her appearance in the Palais-Royal about themiddle of 1791. They exhibit two pretended savages there, who, beforea paying audience, revive the customs of Tahiti. ("Souvenirs ofchancelier Pasquier. " Ed. Plon, 1893)]

[Footnote 2308: Mercure de France, Nov. 5, 1791. --Buchez et Roux, XII. 338. Report by Pétion, mayor, Dec. 9, 1791. "Every branch of the policeis in a state of complete neglect. The streets are dirty, and fullof rubbish; robbery, and crimes of every kind, are increasing to afrightful degree. " "Correspondance de M. De Staël" (manuscript), Jan. 22, 1792. "As the police is almost worthless, freedom from punishment, added to poverty, brings on disorder. "]

[Footnote 2309: Moniteur, XI. 517 (session of Feb. 29, 1792). Speechesby de Lacépède and de Mulot. ]

[Footnote 2310: Lacretelle, "Dix ans d'Epreuves. " "I know no more dismaland discouraging aspect than the interval between the departure of theNational Assembly, on the 10th August consummated by that of September2. "]

[Footnote 2311: Mercure de France, Sept. 3, 1791, article by Mallet duPan. ]

[Footnote 2312: Moniteur, XI. 317 (session of Feb. 6, 1792). Speechby M. Cahier, a minister. "Many of the emigrants belong to the classformerly called the Third-Estate. No reason for emigrating, on theirpart, can be supposed but that of religious anxieties. "]

[Footnote 2313: Decree of Nov. 9, 1791. The first decree seems to beaimed only at the armed gatherings on the frontier. We see, however, bythe debates, that it affects all emigrants. The decrees of Feb. 9 andMarch 30, 1792, bear upon all, without exception. --"Correspondance deMirabeau et du Comte de la Marck, " III. 264 (letter by M. Pellenc, Nov. 12, 1791) "The decree (against the emigrants) was prepared in committee;it was expected that the emigrants would return, but there was fear ofthem. It was feared that the nobles, associated with the unsworn priestsin the rural districts, might add strength to a troublesome resistance. The decree, as it was passed, seemed to be the most suitable for keepingthe emigrants beyond the frontiers. "]

[Footnote 2314: Decree of Feb. 1, 1792. --Moniteur, XI. 412 (sessionof Feb. 17). Speech by Goupilleau. "Since the decree of the NationalAssembly on passports, emigrations have redoubled. " People evidentlyescaped from France as from a prison. ]

[Footnote 2315: Decrees of June 18 and August 25. ]

[Footnote 2316: Decree of June 19. --Moniteur, XIII. 331. "In executionof the law. . . There will be burnt, on Tuesday, August 7, on the PlaceVendôme, at 2 o'clock: 1st, 600, more or less, of files of papers, forming the last of genealogical collections, titles and proofs ofnobility; 2nd, about 200 files, forming part of a work composed of 263volumes, on the Order of the Holy Ghost. "]

[Footnote 2317: Decree of Nov. 29, 1791. (This decree is not inDuvergier's collection~)--Moniteur, XII. 59, 247 (sessions of April 5and 28, 1792). ]

[Footnote 2318: At the Jacobin Club, Legendre proposes a much a moreexpeditious measure for getting rid of the priests. "At Brest, he says, boats are found which are called Marie-Salopes, so constructed that, on being loaded with dirt, they go out of the harbor themselves. Let ushave a similar arrangement for priests; but, instead of sending them outof the harbor, let us send them out to sea, and, if necessary, let themgo down. " ("Journal de Amis de la Constitution, " number 194, May 15, 1792. )]

[Footnote 2319: Moniteur, XII. 560 (decree of June 3). ]

[Footnote 2320: Decrees of July 19 and Aug. 4, completed by those ofAug. 16 and 19. ]

[Footnote 2321: Moniteur, XII. 59, 61 (session of April 3); X. 374(session of Nov. 13; XII 230), (session of April 26). --The last sentencequoted was uttered by François de Nantes. ]

[Footnote 2322: Moniteur, XI. 43. (session of Jan. 5, speech byIsnard). ]

[Footnote 2323: Moniteur, XI. 356 (session of Feb. 10). ]

[Footnote 2324: Moniteur, XI. 230 (session of April 26). ]

[Footnote 2325: When I was a child the socialists etc. Had substitutedaristocracy with capitalists and today, in France, when the capitalistshave largely disappeared, a great many evils are caused by the'patronat'. (SR). ]

[Footnote 2326: Moniteur (session of June 22). ]

[Footnote 2327: The words of Brissot (Patriote Français), number887. --Letter addressed Jan. 5 to the club of Brest, by Messrs. Cavalierand Malassis, deputies to the National Assembly: "As to the matter ofthe sieur Lajaille, even though we would have taken an interest in him, that decorated aristocrat only deserved what he got. . . We shall notremain idle until all these traitors, these perjurers, whom we havespared so long, shall be exterminated" (Mercure de France, Feb. 4). --This Jaille affair is one of the most instructive, and the bestsupported by documents (Mercure de France, Dec. 10 and 17). --"ArchivesNationales, " F7, 3215, official report of the district administrators, and of the municipal officers of Brest, Nov. 27, 1791. --Letter by M. DeMarigny, commissary in the navy, at Brest, Nov. 28. --Letters by M. Dela Jaille, etc. --M. De la Jaille, sent to Brest to take command of theDugay-Trouin, arrives there Nov. 27. While at dinner, twenty personsenter the room, and announce to him, "in the name of many others, " thathis presence in Brest is causing trouble, that he must leave, and that"he will not be allowed to take command of a vessel. " He replies, thathe will leave the town, as soon as he has finished his dinner. Anotherdeputation follows, more numerous than the first one, and insists on hisleaving at once; and they act as his escort. He submits, is conducted tothe city gates, and there the escort leaves him. A mob attacks him, and "his body is covered with contusions. He is rescued, with greatdifficulty, by six brave fellows, of whom one is a pork-dealer, sent tobleed him on the spot. "This insurrection is due to an extra meetingof 'The Friends of the constitution, ' held the evening before in thetheater, to which the public were invited. " M. De la Jaille, it must bestated, is not a proud aristocrat, but a sensible man, in the style ofFlorian's and Berquin's heroes. But just pounded to a jelly, he writesto the president of the "Friends of the Constitution, " that, "could hehave flown into the bosom of the club, he would have gladly done so, toconvey to it his grateful feelings. He had accepted his command only atthe solicitation of the Americans in Paris, and of the six commissionersrecently arrived from St. Domingo. "--Mercure de France, April 14, article by Mallet du Pan "I have asked in vain for the vengeance of thelaw against the assassins of M. De la Jaille. The names of the authorsof this assault in full daylight, to which thousands can bear witness, are known to everybody in Brest. Proceedings have been ordered andbegun, but the execution of the orders is suspended. More potent thanthe law, the motionnaires, protectors of assassins, frighten or paralyzeits ministrants. "]

[Footnote 2328: Mercure de France, Nov. 12 (session of Oct. 31st, 1792). ]

[Footnote 2329: Decree of Feb. 8, and others like it, on the details, as, for instance, that of Feb. 7. ]

[Footnote 2330: April 9, at the Jacobin Club, Vergniaud, the president, welcomes and compliments the convicts of Chateau-vieux. ]

[Footnote 2331: Mortimer-Ternaux, book I, vol. I. (especially thesession of April 15). ]

[Footnote 2332: Comtat (or comtat Venaisssin) ancient region in Franceunder papal authority from 1274 to 1791. (SR)]

[Footnote 2333: Moniteur, XII. 335. --Decree of March 20 (the triumphalentry of Jourdan and his associates belongs to the next month). ]

[Footnote 2334: Moniteur, XII. 730 (session of June 23). ]

[Footnote 2335: Moniteur, XII. 230 (session of April 12). ]

[Footnote 2336: Moniteur. XI. 6, (session of March 6). ]

[Footnote 2337: Moniteur, XI. 123, (session of Jan. 14)]

[Footnote 2338: 150 years later these rights were written into theInternational Declaration of Human Rights in Paris in 1948. (SR). ]

[Footnote 2339: Mercure de France, Dec. 23 (session of Dec. 23), p. 98. ]

[Footnote 2340: Moniteur, X. 178 (session of Oct. 20, 1791). Informationsupplied by the deputies of the Upper and Lower Rhine departments. --M. Koch says: "An army of émigrés never existed, unless it be apetty gathering, which took place at Ettenheim, a few leagues fromStrasbourg. . . (This troop) encamped in tents, but only because it lackedbarracks and houses. "--M. --, deputy of the lower Rhine, says: "Thisarmy at Ettenheim is composed of about five or six hundred poorly-clad, half-paid men, deserters of all nations, sleeping in tents, for lack ofother shelter, and armed with clubs, for lack of fire-arms and desertingevery day, because money is getting scarce. The second army, at Worms, under the command of a Condé, is composed of three hundred gentlemen, and as many valets and grooms. I have to add, that the letters whichreach me from Strasbourg, containing extracts of inside information fromFrankfort, Munich, Regensburg, and Vienna, announce the most pacificintentions on the part of the different courts, since receiving thenotification of the king's submission. " The number of armed emigrantsincreases, but always remain very small (Moniteur, X. 678, letter ofM. Delatouche, an eyewitness, Dec. 10). "I suppose that the numberof emigrants scattered around on the territories of the grand-duke ofBaden, the bishop of Spires, the electorates, etc. , amounts to scarcely4, 000 men. "]

[Footnote 2341: Moniteur, X. 418 (session of Nov. 15, 1791). Report bythe minister Delessart. In August, the emperor issued orders againstenlistments, and to send out of the country all Frenchmen undersuspicion; also, in October, to send away the French who formed toonumerous a body at Ath and at Tournay (Now in Belgium). --Buchez et Roux, XII. 395, demands of the king, Dec. 14, --Ibid. , XIII. 15, 16, 19, 52, complete satisfaction given by the Elector of Trèves, Jan. 1, 1792, communicated to the Assembly Jan. 6; publication of the elector's ordersin the electorate, Jan. 3. The French envoy reports that they arefully executed, which news with the documents, are communicated to theAssembly, on the 8th, 16, and 19th of January. --" Correspondance deMirabeau et M. De la Marck, " III. 287. Letter of M. De Mercy-Argenteau, Jan. 9, 1792. "The emperor has promised aid to the elector, under theexpress stipulation that he should begin by yielding to the demands ofthe French, as otherwise no assistance would be given to him in case ofattack. "]

[Footnote 2342: Mallet du Pan, "Mémoires, " I. 254 (February, 1792). --"Correspondance de Mirabeau et du M. De la Marck, " III. 232 (note of M. De Bacourt). On the very day and at the moment of signing the treaty atPilnitz, at eleven o'clock in the evening, the Emperor Leopold wroteto his prime minister, M. De Kaunitz, "that the convention which he hadjust signed does not really bind him to anything; that it only containsinsignificant declarations, extorted by the Count d'Artois. " He endsby assuring him that "neither himself nor his government is in any waybound by this instrument. "]

[Footnote 2343: Words of M. De Kaunitz, Sept. 4, 1791 ("Recueil, " byVivenot, I. 242). ]

[Footnote 2344: Moniteur, XI. 142 (session of Jan. 17). --Speech by M. Delessart. --Decree of accusation against him March 10. --Declarationof war, April 20. --On the real intentions of the King, cf. Malouet, "Malouet, Mémoires" II. 199-209; Lafayette, "Mémoires, " I. 441 (note3); Bertrand de Molleville, "Mémoires, " VI. 22; Governor Morris, II. 242, letter of Oct. 23, 1792. ]

[Footnote 2345: Moniteur, X. 172 (session of Oct. 20, 1791). Speech byBrissot. ----Lafayette, I. 441. "It is the Girondists who, at this time, wanted a war at any price"--Malouet, II. 209. "As Brissot has sinceboasted, it was the republican party which wanted war, and whichprovoked it by insulting all the powers. "]

[Footnote 2346: Buchez et Roux, XII. 402 (session of the Jacobin Club, Nov. 28, 1791). ]

[Footnote 2347: Gustave III. , King of Sweden, assassinated byAnkerstrom, says: "I should like to know what Brissot will say. "]

[Footnote 2348: On Brissot's antecedents, cf. Edmond Biré, "La Légendedes Girondins. " Personally, Brissot was honest, and remained poor. Buthe had passed through a good deal of filth, and bore the marks of it. Hehad lent himself to the diffusion of an obscene book, "Le Diable dans unbénitier, " and, in 1783, having received 13, 355 francs to found a Lyceumin London, not only did not found it, but was unable to return themoney. ]

[Footnote 2349: Moniteur, XI. 147. Speech by Brissot, Jan. 17. Examplesfrom whom he borrows authority, Charles XII. , Louis XIV. , Admiral Blake, Frederic II. , etc. ]

[Footnote 2350: Moniteur. X. 174. "This Venetian government, which isnothing but a farce. . . Those petty German princes, whose insolencein the last century despotism crushed out. . . Geneva, that atom of arepublic. . . That bishop of Liège, whose yoke bows down a people thatought to be free. . . I disdain to speak of other princes. . . That Kingof Sweden, who has only twenty-five millions income, and who spendstwo-thirds of it in poor pay for an army of generals and a small numberof discontented soldiers. . . As to that princess (Catherine II. ), whosedislike of the French constitution is well known, and who is aboutas good looking as Elizabeth, she cannot expect greater success thanElizabeth in the Dutch revolution. " (Brissot, in this last passage, tries to appear at once witty and well read. )]

[Footnote 2351: Letter of Roland to the king, June 10, 1792, and letterof the executive council to the pope, Nov. 25, 1792. Letter of MadameRoland to Brissot, Jan. 7, 1791. "Briefly, adieu. Cato's wife need notgratify herself by complimenting Brutus. "]

[Footnote 2352: Buchez et Roux, XII. 410 (meeting of the Jacobin club, Dec. 10, 1791). "A Louis XIV. Declares war against Spain, because hisambassador had been insulted by the Spanish ambassador. And we, who arefree, might hesitate for an instant!"]

[Footnote 2353: Moniteur, X, 503 (session of Nov. 29). The Assemblyorders this speech to be printed and distributed in the departments. ]

[Footnote 2354: Moniteur, X. 762 (session of Dec. 28). ]

[Footnote 2355: Moniteur, XI. 147, 149 (session of Jan. 17); X. 759(session of Dec. 28). --Already, on the 10th of December, he had declaredat the Jacobin club: "A people that has conquered its freedom, afterten centuries of slavery, needs war. War is essential to it for itsconsolidation. " (Buchez et Roux, XII. 410). --On the 17th of January, inthe tribune, he again repeats: "I have only one fear, and that is, thatwe may not have war. "]

[Footnote 2356: Moniteur, XI. 119 (session of Jan. 13). Speech byGensonné, in the name of the diplomatic committee, of which he is thereporter. ]

[Footnote 2357: Moniteur, XI. 158 (session of Jan. 18). The Assemblyorders the printing of this speech. ]

[Footnote 2358: Moniteur, XI. 760 (session of Dec. 28). ]

[Footnote 2359: Moniteur, XI. 149 (session of Jan. 17). Speech byBrissot. ]

[Footnote 2360: Moniteur, XI. 178 (session of Jan. 20). Fauchet proposesthe following decree: "All partial treaties actually existent aredeclared void. The National Assembly substitutes in their placealliances with the English, the Anglo-American, the Swiss, Polish, andDutch nations, as long as they will be free. . When other nations wantour alliance, they have only to conquer their freedom to have it. Meanwhile, this will not prevent us from having relations with them, aswith good natured savages. . . Let us occupy the towns in the neighborhoodwhich bring our adversaries too near us. . . Mayence, Coblentz, and Wormsare sufficient"--Ibid. , , p. 215 (session of Jan. 25). One of the members, supporting himself with the authority of Gélon, King of Syracuse, proposes an additional article: "We declare that we will not lay downour arms until we shall have established the freedom of all peoples. "These stupidities show the mental condition of the Jacobin party. ]

[Footnote 2361: The decree is passed Jan. 25. The alliance betweenPrussia and Austria takes place Feb. 7 (De Bourgoing, "Histoirediplomatique de l'Europe pendant la Révolution Française, " I. 457). ]

[Footnote 2362: Albert Sorel, "La Mission du Comte de Ségur à Berlin"(published in the Temps, Oct. 15, 1878). Dispatch of M. De Ségur to M. Delessart, Feb. 24, 1792. "Count Schulemburg repeated to me that they hadno desire whatever to meddle with our constitution. But, said he withsingular animation, we must guard against gangrene. Prussia is, perhaps, the country which should fear it least; nevertheless, however remote agangrened member may be, it is better to it off than risk one's life. How can you expect to secure tranquility, when thousands of writersevery day. . . Mayors, office-holders, insult kings, and publish that theChristian religion has always supported despotism, and that we shall befree only by destroying it, and that all princes must be exterminatedbecause they are all tyrants?"]

[Footnote 2363: A popular jig of these revolutionary times, danced inthe streets and on the public squares. --TR. ]

[Footnote 2364: Buchez et Roux, XXV. 203 (session of April 3, 1793). Speech by Brissot. --Ibid. , XX. 127. "A tous les Républicains de France, par Brissot, " Oct. 24, 1792. "In declaring war, I had in view theabolition of royalty. " He refers, in this connection, to his speech ofDec. 30, 1791, where he says, "I fear only one thing, and that is, thatwe shall not be betrayed. We need treachery, for strong doses of poisonstill exist in the heart of France, and heavy explosions are necessaryto clear it out. "]

[Footnote 2365: Mallet du Pan, "Mémoires, " I. 260 (April, 1792), and I. 439 (July, 1792). ]

[Footnote 2366: Any revolutionary leader, from Lenin, through Stalin toAndropov may confirm the advantage of acting in secret. (SR). ]

[Footnote 2367: "The French Revolution, " I. 262 and following pages. ]

[Footnote 2368: Buchez et Roux, XIII. 92-99 (January, 1792);(February). --Coral, "Lettres inédites, " 33. (One of these days, out ofcuriosity, he walked along as far as the Rue des Lombards. ) "Witness ofsuch crying injustice, and indignant at not being able to seize any ofthe thieves that were running along the street, loaded with sugar andcoffee to sell again, I suddenly felt a feverish chill over all mybody. " (The letter is not dated. The editors conjectures that the yearwas 1791. I rather think that it was 1792. )]

[Footnote 2369: Moniteur, XI. 45 and 46 (session of Jan. 5). The wholeof Isnard's speech should be read. ]

[Footnote 2370: Buchez et Roux, XIII. 177. Letter by Pétion, Feb. 10. ]

[Footnote 2371: Buchez et Roux, XIII. 252. Letter of André Chénier, in the Journal de Paris, Feb. 26. --Schmidt, "Tableaux de la RévolutionFranaise, " I. 76. Reply of the Directory of the Department of the Seineto a circular by Roland, June 12, 1792. The contrast between thetwo classes is here clearly defined. "We have not resorted to thoseassemblages of men, most of them foreigners, for the opinion of thepeople, among the enemies of labor and repose standing by themselvesand having no part in common interests, already inclined to vicethrough idleness, and who prefer the risks of disorder to the honorableresources of indigence. This class of men, always large in large cities, is that whose noisy harangues fill the streets, Squares, and publicgardens of the capital, that which excites seditious gatherings, thatwhich constantly fosters anarchy and contempt for the laws--that, infine, whose clamor, far from reflecting public Opinion, indicates theextreme effort made to prevent the expression of public opinion. . . Wehave studied the opinion of the people of Paris among those usefuland laborious men warmly attached to the State at all points of theirexistence through every object of their affection, among owners ofproperty, tillers of the soil, tradesmen and workers. . . An inviolableattachment. . . To the constitution, and mainly to national Sovereignty, to political equality and constitutional monarchy, which are its mostimportant characteristics and their almost unanimous sentiment. "]

[Footnote 2372: Governor Morris, letter of June 20, 1792. ]

[Footnote 2373: "Souvenirs", by Pasquier (Etienne-Dennis, duc), chancelier de France. In VI volumes, Librarie Plon, Paris 1893. Vol. I. Page 84. ]

[Footnote 2374: Malouet, II. 203. "Every report that came in from theprovinces announced (to the King and Queen) a perceptible ameliorationof public opinion, which was becoming more and more perverted. Thatwhich reached them was uninfluenced, whilst the opinions of clubs, taverns, and street-corners gained enormous power, the time being athand when there was to be no other power. " The figures given above areby Mallet du Pan, "Mémoires, " II. 120. ]

[Footnote 2375: Moniteur, XII. 776 (session of June 28). Speech by M. Lamarque, in a district court: "The incivism of the district courts ingeneral is well known. "]

[Footnote 2376: Bertand de Molleville, "Mémoires, " VI. 22. --After havingreceived the above instructions from the King, Bertrand calls on theQueen, who makes the same remark: "Do you not think that fidelity toone's oath is the only plan to pursue?" "Yes, Madame, certainly. " "Verywell; rest assured that we shall not waver. Come, M. Bertrand, takecourage; I hope that with firmness, patience, and what comes of that, all is not yet lost. "]

[Footnote 2377: M. De Lavalette, "Mémoires, " I. 100. --Lavalette, in thebeginning of September, 1792, enlists as a volunteer and sets out, alongwith two friends, carrying his knapsack on his back, dressed in a shortand wearing a forage cap. The following shows the sentiments of thepeasantry: In a village of makers of wooden shoes, near Vermanton (inthe vicinity of Autun), "two days before our arrival a bishop and twovicars, who were escaping in a carriage, were stopped by them. Theyrummaged the vehicle and found some hundreds of francs, and, to avoidreturning these, they thought it best to massacre their unfortunateowners. This sort of occupation seeming more lucrative to these goodpeople than the other one, they were on the look-out for all wayfarers. "The three volunteers are stopped by a little hump-backed official andconducted to the municipality, a sort of market, where their passportsare read and their knapsacks are about to be examined. "We were lost, when d'Aubonnes, who was very tall jumped on the table. . . And beganwith a volley of imprecations and market slang which took his hearersby surprise. Soon raising his style, he launched out in patriotic terms, liberty, sovereignty of the people, with such vehemence and in so louda voice, as to suddenly effect a great change and bring down thunders ofapplause. But the crazy fellow did not stop there. Ordering Leclerc dela Ronde imperiously to mount on the table, he addressed the assemblage:"You shall see whether we are not Paris republicans. Now, sir, say yourrepublican catechism--'What is God? what are the People? and what isa King?' His friend, with an air of contrition and in a nasal tone ofvoice, twisting himself about like a harlequin, replies: 'God is matter, the People are the poor, and the King is a lion, a tiger, an elephantwho tears to pieces, devours, and crushes the people down. '"--"Theycould no longer restrain themselves. The shouts, cries, and enthusiasmwere unbounded. They embraced the actors, hugged them, and bore themaway. Each strove to carry us home with him, and we had to drink allround. "]

[Footnote 2378: The reader will meet the French expression sans-culottesagain and again in Taine's or any other book about the Frenchrevolution. The nobles wore a kind of breeches terminating under theknee while tight long stockings, fastened to the trousers, exposed theircalves. The male leg was as important an adornment for the nobles asit was to be for the women in the 20th Century. The poor, on the otherhand, wore crude long trousers, mostly without a crease, often withoutsocks or shoes, barefoot in the summer and wooden shoed in the winter. (SR). ]

[Footnote 2379: The song of "Veillons au salut de l'empire" belongs tothe end of 1791. The "Marseillaise" was composed in April, 1792. ]

[Footnote 2380: Mercure de France, Nov. 23, 1791. ]

[Footnote 2381: Philippe de Ségur, "Mémoires, " I. (at Fresnes, a villagesituated about seven leagues from Paris, a few days after Sep. 2, 1792). "A band of these demagogues pursued a large farmer of this place, suspected of royalism and denounced as a monopoliser because he wasrich. These madmen had seized him, and, without any other form of trial, were about to put an end to him, when my father ran up to them. Headdressed them, and so successfully as to change their rage into ano less exaggerated enthusiasm for humanity. Animated by their newtransports, they obliged the poor farmer, still pale and trembling, andwhom they were just going to hang on its branches, to drink and dancealong with them around the tree of liberty. "]

[Footnote 2382: Lacretelle, "Dix ans d'Epreuves, " 78. "The Girondistswanted to fashion a Roman people out of the dregs of Romulus, and, whatis worse, out of the brigands of the 5th of October. "]

[Footnote 2383: These pages must have made a strong impression uponLenin when he read them in the National Library in Paris around 1907. (SR). ]

[Footnote 2384: Lafayette, I. 442. "The Girondists sought in the war anopportunity for attacking with advantage, the constitutionalists of1791 and their institutions. "--Brissot (Address to my constituents). "Wesought in the war an opportunity to set traps for the king, toexpose his bad faith and his relationship with the emigrantprinces. "--Moniteur, (session of April 3, 1793). Speech by Brissot: "'Ihad told the Jacobins what my opinion was, and had proved to them thatwar was the sole means of unveiling the perfidy of Louis XVI. The eventhas justified my opinion. "--Buchez et Roux, VIII. 60, 216, 217. Thedecree of the Legislative Assembly is dated Jan. 25, the first moneyvoted by a club for the making of pikes is on Jan. 31, and the firstarticle by Brissot, on the red cap, is on Feb. 6. ]

[Footnote 2385: Buchez et Roux, XIII. 217 (proposal of a woman, memberof the club of l'Evêché, Jan. 31, 1792). --Articles in the GazetteUniverselle, Feb. 11, and in the Patriote Français, Feb. 13. --Moniteur, XI. 576 (session of March 6). --Buchez et Roux, XV. (session of June 10). Petition of 8, 000 national guards in Paris: "This faction which stirsup popular vengeance. . . Which seeks to put the caps of labor in conflictwith the military casques, the pike with the gun, the rustic's dresswith the uniform. "]

[Footnote 2386: Mallet du Pan, "Mémoires, " II 429 (note of July, 1792). --Mercure de France, March 10, 1792, article by Mallet du Pan. ]

CHAPTER IV. THE DEPARTMENTS. 

I. --Provence in 1792. --Early supremacy of the Jacobins in Marseilles. 

 Composition of the party. --The club and the municipality. --Expulsion of the "Earnest" regiment. 

Should you like to see the revolutionary tree when, for the first time, it came fully into leaf, it is in the department of the Bouches-du-Rhôneyou have to look. Nowhere else had it been so precocious, nowhere werelocal circumstances and native temperament so well adapted to enhanceits growth. --"A blistering sky, an excessive climate, an arid soil, rocks, . . . Savage rivers, torrential or dry or overburdened, " blindingdust, nerves upset by steady northern blasts or by the intermittentgusts of the sirocco. A sensual race choleric and impetuous, with nointellectual or moral ballast, in which the mixture of Celt and Latinhas destroyed the humane suavity of the Celt and the serious earnestnessof the Roman; "complete, tough, powerful, and restless men, "[2401] andyet gay, spontaneous, eloquent, dupes of their own bombast, suddenlycarried away by a flow of words and superficial enthusiasm. Theirprincipal city numbering 120, 000 souls, in which commercial and maritimerisks foster innovating and adventurous spirits; in which the sight ofsuddenly-acquired fortunes expended on sensual enjoyments constantlyundermines all stability of Character; in which politics, likespeculation, is a lottery offering its prizes to audacity; besides allthis, a free port and a rendezvous for lawless nomads, disreputablepeople, without steady trade, [2402] scoundrels, and blackguards, who, like uprooted, decaying seaweed, drift from coast to coast around theentire circle of the Mediterranean sea; a veritable sink filled with thedregs of twenty corrupt and semi-barbarous civilizations, where the scumof crime cast forth from the prisons of Genoa, Piedmont, Sicily, indeed, of all Italy, of Spain, of the Archipelago, and of Barbary, 3 accumulatesand ferments. 2 No wonder that, in such a time the reign of the mobshould be established there sooner than elsewhere. [2403]--After many anexplosion, this reign is inaugurated August 17, 1790, by the removal ofM. Lieutaud, a sort of bourgeois, moderate Lafayette, who commands theNational Guard. Around him rally a majority of the population, all men"honest or not, who have anything to lose. "[2404] After he is drivenout, then proscribed, then imprisoned, they resign themselves, andMarseilles belongs to the low class, to 40, 000 destitute and rogues ledby the club. 

The better to ensure their empire, the municipality, one month after theexpulsion of M. Lieutaud, declared every citizen "active" who had anytrade or profession[2405]; the consequence is that vagabonds attendthe meetings of the sections in contempt of constitutional law. Theconsequence, was that property-owners and commercial men withdrew, whichwas wise on their part, for the usual demagogic machinery is set inmotion without delay. "Each section-assembly is composed of a dozenfactious spirits, members of the club, who drive out honest peopleby displaying cudgels and bayonets. The deliberations are preparedbeforehand at the club, in concert with the municipality, and woe to himwho refuses to adopt them at the meeting! They go so far as to threatencitizens who wish to make any remarks with instant burial in the cellarsunder the churches. "[2406] The argument proved irresistible: "themajority of honest people are so frightened and so timid" that not oneof them dare attend these meetings, unless protected by public force. "More than 80, 000 inhabitants do not sleep peacefully, " while allthe political rights are vested in "five or six hundred individuals, "legally disqualified. Behind them marches the armed rabble, "the hordeof brigands without a country, "[2407] always ready for plundering, murder, and hanging. In front of them march the local authorities, who, elected through their influence, carry on the administration under theirguidance. Patrons and clients, members of the club and its satellites, they form a league which plays the part of a sovereign State, scarcely recognizing, even in words, the authority of the centralgovernment. [2408] The decree by which the National Assembly givesfull power to the Commissioners to re-establish order is denounced asplébécide; these conscientious and cautious moderators are qualifiedas "dictators"; they are denounced in circular letters to all themunicipalities of the department, and to all Jacobin clubs throughoutthe kingdom;[2409] the club is somewhat disposed to go to Aix to cut offtheir heads and send them in a trunk to the president of the NationalAssembly, with a threat that the same penalty awaits himself and all thedeputies if they do not revoke their recent decrees. A few days afterthis, four sections draw up an act before a notary, stating the measuresthey had taken towards sending an army of 6, 000 men from Marseilles toAix, to get rid of the three intruders. The commissioners dare not enterMarseilles, where "gibbets are ready for them, and a price set on theirheads. " It is as much as they can do to rescue from the faction M. Lieutaud and his friends, who, accused of lése-nation, confined withouta shadow of proof, treated like mad dogs, put in chains, [2410] shut upin privies and holes, and obliged to drink their own urine for lack ofwater, impelled by despair to the brink of suicide, barely escape murdera dozen times in the courtroom and in prison. [2411] Against the decreeof the National Assembly ordering their release, the municipality makesreclamations, contrives delays, resists, and finally stirs up its usualinstruments. Just as the prisoners are about to be released a crowd of"armed persons without uniform or officer, " constantly increased "byvagabonds and foreigners, " gathers on the heights overlooking the Palaisde Justice, and makes ready to fire on M. Lieutaud. Summoned to proclaimmartial law, the municipality refuses, declaring that "the generaldetestation of the accused is too manifest"; it demands the return ofthe Swiss regiment to its barracks, and that the prisoners remain wherethey are; the only thing which it grants them is a secret permissionto escape, as if they were guilty; they, accordingly, steal awayclandestinely and in disguise. [2412]--The Swiss regiment, however, which prevents the magistrates from violating the law, must pay for itsinsolence, and, as it is incorruptible, they decide to drive it out ofthe town. For four months the municipality multiplies against it everykind of annoyance, [2413] and, on the 16th of October, 1791, the Jacobinsprovoke a row in the theater against its officers. The same night, outside the theater, four of these are attacked by armed bands; thepost to which they retreat is nearly taken by assault; they are led toa prison for safety, and there they still remain five days afterwards, "although their innocence is admitted. " Meanwhile, to ensure "publictranquility, " the municipality has required the commander of the postto immediately replace the Swiss Guard with National Guards on all themilitary posts; the latter yields to force, while the useless regiment, insulted and threatened, has nothing to do but to pack off. [2414]This being done, the new municipality, still more Jacobin than the oldone, [2415] separates Marseilles from France, erects the city intoa marauding republican government, gets up expeditions, leviescontributions, forms alliances, and undertakes an armed conquest of thedepartment. 

II. --The expedition to Aix. 

 The town of Marseilles send an expedition to Aix. --The regiment is disarmed. --The Directory driven out. --Pressure on the new Directory. 

The first thing is to lay its hand on the district capital, Aix, wherethe Swiss regiment is stationed in garrison and where the superiorauthorities are installed. This operation is the more necessary inasmuchas the Directory of the department loudly commends the loyalty of theSwiss Guard and takes occasion to remind the Marseilles municipalityof the respect due to the law. Such remonstrance is an insult, and themunicipality, in a haughty tone, calls upon the Directory to avow ordisavow its letter; "if you did not write it, it is a foul report whichit is our duty to examine into, and if you did, it is a declarationof war made by you against Marseilles. "[2416] The Directory, in politeterms and with great circumspection, affirms both its right and itsutterance, and remarks that "the prorata list of taxes of Marseilles for1791 is not yet reported;" that the municipality is much more concernedwith saving the State than with paying its contribution and, in short, it maintains its censure. --If it will not bend it must break, and on the4th of February, 1792, the municipality sends Barbaroux, its secretary, to Paris, that he may mitigate the outrages they are preparing. Duringthe night of the 25-26, the drums beat the general alarm, and three orfour thousand men gather and march to Aix with six pieces of cannon. Asa precaution they pretend to have no leaders, no captains or lieutenantsor even corporals; to quote them, all are equal, all volunteers, eachbeing summoned by the other; in this fashion, as all are responsible, noone is. [2417] They reach Aix at eleven o'clock in the forenoon, find agate open through the connivance of those in league with them among thepopulace of the town and its suburbs, and summon the municipalityto surrender the sentinels. In the mean time their emissaries haveannounced in the neighboring villages that the town was menaced by theSwiss regiment; consequently four hundred men from Aubagne arrive inhaste, while from hour to hour the National Guards from the surroundingvillages likewise rush in. The streets are full of armed men; shoutsarise and the tumult increases; the municipal body, in the universalpanic, loses its wits. This body is afraid of a nocturnal fight "betweentroops of the line, citizens, National Guards and armed strangers, noone being able to recognize one another or know who is an enemy. " Itsends back a detachment of three hundred and fifty Swiss Guards, whichthe Directory had ordered to its support, and consigns the regiment toits quarters. --At this the Directory takes to flight. Military sentinelsof all kinds are disarmed while the Marseilles throng, turning itsadvantages to account, announces to the municipality at two o'clock inthe morning that, "allow it or not" it is going to attack the barracksimmediately; in fact, cannon are planted, a few shots are fired, asentinel killed, and the hemmed-in regiment is compelled to evacuate thetown, the men without their guns and the officers without their swords. Their arms are stolen, the people seize the suspected, the street-lampis hauled down and the noose is made ready. Cayol, the flower-girl, is hung. The municipality, with great difficulty, saves one man who isalready lifted by the rope two feet from the ground, and obtains forthree others "a temporary refuge" in prison. 

Henceforth there is no authority at the department headquarters, or rather it has changed hands. Another Directory, more pliable, isinstalled in the place of the fugitive Directory. Of the thirty-sixadministrators who form the Council only twelve are present at theelection. Of the nine elected only six consent to sit, while oftenonly three are found at its sessions, which three, to recruit theircolleagues, are obliged to pay them. [2418] Hence, notwithstanding theirposition is the best in the department, they are worse treated and moreunfortunate than their servants outside. The delegates of the club, withthe municipal officers of Marseilles seated alongside of them, obligethem either to keep silent, or to utter what they dictate to them. [2419]"Our arms are tied, " writes one of them, "we are wholly under the yoke"of these intruders. "We have twice in succession seen more than threehundred men, many of them with guns and pistols, enter the hall andthreaten us with death if we refused them what they asked. We have seeninfuriate motionnaires, nearly all belonging to Avignon, mount the desksof the Directory, harangue their comrades and excite them to rioting andcrime. "You must decide between life or death, " they exclaimed to us, "you have only a quarter of an hour to choose. " "National guards haveoffered their sabers through the windows, left open on account of theextreme heat, to those around us and made signs to them to cut ourthroats. "--Thus fashioned, reduced and drilled, the Directory is simplyan instrument in the hands of the Marseilles demagogues. Camoïn, Bertinand Rebecqui, the worst agitators and usurpers, rule there withoutcontrol. Rebecqui and Bertin, appointed delegates in connection withmatters in Arles, have themselves empowered to call for defensivetroops; they immediately demand them for attack, to which the Directoryvainly remonstrates; they declare to it that "not being under itsinspection, it has no authority over them; being independent of it, theyhave no orders to receive from it nor to render to it any account oftheir conduct. " So much the worse for the Directory on attempting torevoke their powers. Bertin informs its vice-president that, if itdares do this he will cut off his head. They reply to the Minister'sobservations with the utmost insolence. [2420] They glory in the boldnessof the stroke and prepare another, their march on Aix being only thefirst halt in the long-meditated campaign which involves the possessionof Arles. 

III. --The Constitutionalists of Arles. 

 The Marseilles expedition against Arles. --Excesses committed by them in the town and its vicinity. --Invasion of "Apt, " the club and its volunteers. 

No city, indeed, is more odious to them. --For two years, led or pushedon by its mayor, M. D'Antonelle, it has marched along with them orbeen dragged along in their wake. D'Antonelle, an ultra-revolutionary, repeatedly visited and personally encouraged the bandits of Avignon. Tosupply them with cannon and ammunition he stripped the Tour St. Louis ofits artillery, at the risk of abandoning the mouths of the Rhone to theBarbary pirates. [2421] In concert with his allies of the Comtat, theMarseilles club, and his henchmen from the neighboring boroughs, herules in Arles "by terror. " Three hundred men recruited in the vicinityof the Mint, artisans or sailors with strong arms and rough hands, servehim as satellites. On the 6th of June 1791, they drive away, ontheir own authority, the unsworn priests, who had taken refuge in thetown. [2422]--At this, however, the "property-owners and decent people, "much more numerous and for a long time highly indignant, raise theirheads; twelve hundred of them assemble in the church of Saint-Honorat, swore to maintain the constitution and public order, "[2423] and thenmoved to the (Jacobin) club, where, in their quality of national guardsand active citizens and in conformity with its by-laws, they wereadmitted en masse. At the same time, acting in concert with themunicipality, they reorganize the National Guard and form new companies, the effect of which is to put an end to the Mint gang, thus deprivingthe faction of all its strength. Thenceforth, without violence orillegal acts, the majority of the club, as well as of the NationalGuard, consists of constitutional monarchists, the elections ofNovember, 1791, giving to the partisans of order nearly all theadministrative offices of the commune and of the district. M. Loys, a physician and a man of energy, is elected mayor in the place of M. D'Antonelle; he is known as able to suppress a riot, "holding martiallaw in one hand, and his saber in the other. "--This is too much; soMarseilles feel compelled to bring Arles under control "to atone forthe disgrace of having founded it. "[2424] In this land of ancient citiespolitical hostility is embittered with old municipal grudges, similarto those of Thebes against Platoee, of Rome against Veii, of Florenceagainst Pisa. The Guelphs of Marseilles brooded over the one idea ofcrushing the Ghibellins of Arles. --Already, in the electoral assembly ofNovember, 1791, M. D'Antonelle, the president, had invited the communesof the department to take up arms against this anti-jacobin city. [2425]Six hundred Marseilles volunteers set out on the instant, installthemselves at Salon, seize the syndic-attorney of the hostile district, and refuse to give him up, this being an advance-guard of 4, 000 menpromised by the forty or fifty clubs of the party. [2426] To arrest theiroperations requires the orders of the three commissioners, resolutionspassed by the Directory still intact, royal proclamations, a decree ofthe Constituent Assembly, the firmness of the still loyal troops and thefirmer stand taken by the Arlesians who, putting down an insurrection ofthe Mint band, had repaired their ramparts, cut away their bridgesand mounted guard with their guns loaded. [2427] But it is only apostponement. Now that the commissioners have gone, and the king'sauthority a phantom, now that the last loyal regiment is disarmed, the terrified Directory recast and obeying like a servant, withthe Legislative Assembly allowing everywhere the oppression of theConstitutionalists by the Jacobins, a fresh Jacobin expedition may bestarted against the Constitutionalists with impunity. Accordingly, onthe 23rd of March, 1792, the Marseilles army of 4, 500 men sets out onits march with nineteen pieces of cannon. 

In vain the commissioners of the neighboring departments, sent by theMinister, represent to them that Arles submits, that she has laiddown her arms, and that the town is now garrisoned with troops of theline;--the Marseilles army requires the withdrawal of this garrison. --Invain the garrison departs. Rebecqui and his acolytes reply that "nothingwill divert them from their enterprise; they cannot defer to anybody'sdecision but their own in relation to any precaution tending to ensurethe safety of the southern departments. "--In vain the Minister renewshis injunctions and counter-orders. The Directory replies with aflagrant falsehood, stating that it is ignorant of the affairand refuses to give the government any assistance. --In vain M. DeWittgenstein, commander-in-chief in the south, offers his services tothe Directory to repel the invaders. The Directory forbids him to takehis troops into the territory of the department. [2428]--Meanwhile, onthe 29th of March, the Marseilles army effects a breach with its cannonin the walls of defenseless Arles; its fortifications are demolishedand a tax of 1, 400, 000 francs is levied on the owners of property. In contempt of the National Assembly's decree the Mint bandits, thelongshoremen, the whole of the lowest class again take up their arms andlord it over the disarmed population. Although "the King's commissionerand most of the judges have fled, jury examinations are institutedagainst absentees, " the juries consisting of the members of the Mintband. [2429] The conquerors imprison, smite and slaughter as they please. Countless peaceable individuals are struck down and mauled, dragged toprison and many of them are mortally wounded. An old soldier, eightyyears of age, retired to his country home three months earlier, diesafter twenty days' confinement in a dungeon, from a blow received in thestomach by a rifle butt; women are flogged. "All citizens that withan interest in law and order, " nearly five thousand families, haveemigrated; their houses in town and in the country are pillaged, whilein the surrounding boroughs, along the road leading from Arles toMarseilles, the villains forming the hard core of the Marseilles army, rove about and gorge themselves as in a vanquished country. [2430]

They eat and drink voraciously, force the closets, carry off linen andfood, steal horses and valuables, smash the furniture, tear up books, and burn papers. [2431] All this is only the appropriate punishment ofthe aristocrats. Moreover, it is no more than right that patriots shouldbe indemnified for their toil, and a few blows too many are not outof place in securing the rule of the right party. --For example, on thefalse report of order being disturbed at Château-Renard, Bertin andRebecqui send off a detachment of men, while the municipal body inuniform, followed by the National Guard, with music and flags, comesforth to meet and salute it. Without uttering a word of warning, theMarseilles troop falls upon the cortège, strikes down the flags, disarmsthe National Guard, tears the epaulettes off the officers' shoulders, drags the mayor to the ground by his scarf, pursues the counselors, sword in hand, puts the mayor and syndic-attorney in arrest, and, duringthe night, sacks four dwellings, the whole under the direction ofthree Jacobins of the place under indictment for recent crimes ormisdemeanors. Henceforth at Château-Renard they will look twice beforesubjecting patriots to indictment. [2432]--At Vélaux "the country houseof the late seignior is sacked, and everything is carried away, evento the tiles and window-glass. " A troop of two hundred men "overrun thevillage, levy contributions, and put all citizens who are well-off underbonds for considerable sums. " Camoïn, the Marseille chief, one of thenew department administrators, who is in the neighborhood, lays hishand on everything that is fit to be taken, and, a few days after this, 30, 000 francs are found in his carpet-bag. -Taught by the example othersfollow and the commotion spreads. In every borough or petty town theclub profits by these acts to satiate its ambition its greed, and itshatred. That of Apt appeals to its neighbors, whereupon 1, 500 NationalGuards of Gordes, St. Saturnin, Gouls and Lacoste, with a thousand womenand children armed with clubs and scythes, arrive one morning beforethe town. On being asked by whose orders they come in this fashion, they reply, "by the orders which their patriotism has given them. "--"Thefanatics, " or partisans of the sworn priests, "are the cause of theirjourney": they therefore "want lodgings at the expense of the fanaticsonly. " The three day's occupation results for the latter and for thetown in a cost of 20, 000 livres. [2433] They begin by breaking everythingin the church of the Récollets, and wall up its doors. They then expelunsworn ecclesiastics from the town, and disarm their partisans. Theclub of Apt, which is the sole authority, remains in session three days:"the municipal bodies in the vicinity appear before it, apologize forthemselves, protest their civism, and ask as a favor that no detachmentbe sent to their places. Individuals are sent for to be interrogated";several are proscribed, among whom are administrators, members of thecourt, and the syndic-attorney. A number of citizens have fled;--thetown is purged, while the same purging is pursued in numbers of placesin and out of the district. [2434] It is, indeed, attractive business. It empties the purses of the ill-disposed, and fills the stomachs ofpatriots; it is agreeable to be well entertained, and especially at theexpense of one's adversaries; the Jacobin is quite content to save thecountry through a round of feastings. Moreover, he has the satisfactionof playing king among his neighbors, and not only do they feed him fordoing them this service, but, again, they pay him for it. [2435]--Allthis is enlivening, and the expedition, which is a "sabbath, " ends ina carnival. Of the two Marseilles divisions, one, led back to Aix, setsdown to "a grand patriotic feast, " and then dances fandangoes, of which"the principal one is led off by the mayor and commandant";[2436] theother makes its entry into Avignon the same day, with still greater pompand jollity. 

IV. --The Jacobins of Avignon. 

 How they obtain recruits. --Their robberies in the Comtat. --The Avignon municipality in flight or in prison. --Murder of Lécuyer and the Glacière massacre. --Entry of the murderers, supported by their Marseilles allies. --Jacobin dictatorship in Vaucluse and the Buches-du-Rhône. 

Nowhere else in France was there another nest of brigands like it: notthat a great misery might have produced a more savage uprising; on thecontrary, the Comtat, before the Revolution, was a land of plenty. There was no taxation by the Pope; the taxes were very light, and wereexpended on the spot. "For one or two pennies, one here could have meat, bread, and wine. "[2437] But, under the mild and corrupt administrationof the Italian legates, the country had become "the safe asylum of allthe rogues in France, Italy, and Genoa, who by means of a trifling sumpaid to the Pope's agents, obtained protection and immunity. " Smugglersand receivers of stolen goods abounded here in order to break throughthe lines of the French customs. "Bands of robbers and assassins wereformed, which the vigorous measures of the parliaments of Aix andGrenoble could not wholly extirpate. Idlers, libertines, professionalgamblers, "[2438] kept-cicisbeos, schemers, parasites, and adventurers, mingle with men with branded shoulders, the veterans "of vice and crime, "the scapegraces of the Toulon and Marseilles galleys. " Ferocity here ishidden in debauchery, like a serpent hidden in its own slime, hereall that is required is some chance event and this bad place will betransformed into a death trap. 

The Jacobin leaders, Tournal, Rovère, the two Duprats, the twoMainvielles, and Lécuyer, readily obtain recruits in this sink. --Theybegin, aided by the rabble of the town and of its suburbs, peasantsenemies of the octroi, vagabonds opposed to order of any kind, portersand watermen armed with scythes, turnspits and clubs, by exciting sevenor eight riots. Then they drive off the legate, force the Councils toresign, hang the chiefs of the National Guard and of the conservativeparty, [2439] and take possession of the municipal offices. --After thistheir band increases to the dimensions of an army, which, with licensefor its countersign and pillage for its pay, is the same as that ofTilly and Wallenstein, "a veritable roving Sodom, at which the ancientcity would have stood aghast. " Out of 3, 000 men, only 200 belong inAvignon; the rest are composed of French deserters, smugglers, fugitivesfrom justice, vagrant foreigners, marauders and criminals, who, scentinga prey, come from afar, and even from Paris;[2440] along with them marchthe women belonging to them, still more base and bloodthirsty. In orderto make it perfectly plain that with them murder and robbery are theorder of the day, they massacred their first general, Patrix, guiltyof having released a prisoner, and elected in his place an old highwaytramp named Jourdan, condemned to death by the court at Valence, but whohad escaped on the eve of his execution, and who bore the nickname ofCoupe-tête, because he is said to have cut off the heads at Versaillesof two of the King's guards. [2441]--Under such a commander the troopincreases until it forms a body of five or six thousand men, whichstops people in the streets and forcibly enrolls them; they are calledMandrins, which is severe for Mandrin, [2442] because their war isnot merely on public persons and property, as his was, but on thepossessions, the proprieties, and the lives of private individuals. Onedetachment alone, at one time, extorts in Cavaillon 25, 000 francs, inBaume 12, 000, in Aubignon 15, 000, in Pioline 4, 800, while Caumont istaxed 2, 000 francs a week. At Sarrians, where the mayor gives them thekeys, they pillage houses from top to bottom, carry off their plunder incarts, set fire, violate and slay with all the refinements of torture ofso many Hurons. An old lady of eighty, and a paralytic, is shot at armslength, and left weltering in her blood in the midst of the flames. Achild five years of age is cut in two, its mother decapitated, and itssister mutilated; they cut off the ears of the curé, set them on hisbrow like a cockade, and then cut his throat, along with that of a pig, and tear out the two hearts and dance around them. [2443] After this, for fifty days around Carpentras, to which they lay siege in vain, theunprovoked, cruel instincts of the chauffeurs manifested at a laterdate, the ancient cannibalistic desires which sometimes reappear inconvicts, and the perverted and over-strained sensuality found inmaniacs, have full play. 

On beholding the monster it has nourished, Avignon, in alarm, utterscries of distress. [2444] But the brute, which feels its strength, turnsagainst its former abettors, shows its teeth, and exacts its dailyfood. Ruined or not, Avignon must furnish its quota. "In the electoralassembly, Mainvielle the younger, elected elector, although he is onlytwenty-two, draws two pistols from his belt and struts around with athreatening air. "[2445] Duprat, the president, the better to master hiscolleagues, proposes to them to leave Avignon and go to Sorgues, whichthey refuse to do; upon this he orders cannon to be brought, promises topay those who will accompany him, drags along the timid, and denouncesthe rest before an upper national court, of which he himself hasdesignated the members. Twenty of the electors thus denounced arecondemned and proscribed; Duprat threatens to enter by force and havethem executed on the spot, and, under his leadership, the army ofMandrins advances against Avignon. --Its progress is arrested, and, fortwo months, restrained by the two mediating commissioners for France;they reduce its numbers, and it is on the point of being disbanded, whenthe brute again boldly seizes its prey, about to make its escape. On the21st of August, Jourdan, with his herd of miscreants, obtains possessionof the palace. The municipal body is driven out, the mayor escapes indisguise, Tissot, the secretary, is cut down, four municipal officersand forty other persons are thrown into prison, while a number of housesbelonging to the fugitives and to priests are pillaged, and thus supplythe bandits with their first financial returns. [2446]--Then begins thegreat fiscal operation which is going to fill their pockets. Five frontmen, chosen by Duprat and his associates, compose, with Lécuyer assecretary, a provisional municipal body, which, taxing the town 300, 000francs and suppressing the convents, offers the spoils of the churchesfor sale. The bells are taken down, and the hammers of the workmenengaged in breaking them to pieces are heard all day long. A strong-boxfull of plate, diamonds, and gold crosses, left with the director of theMont-de-Piété, on deposit, is taken and carried off to the commune; areport is spread that the valuables pawned by the poor had been stolenby the municipality, and that those "robbers had already sent awayeighteen trunks full of them. " Upon this the women, exasperated at thebare walls of the churches, together with the laborers in want of workor bread, all the common class, become furious, assemble of their ownaccord in the church of the Cordeliers, summon Lécuyer to appear beforethem, drag him from the pulpit and massacre him. [2447]

This time there seems to be an end of the brigand party, for the entiretown, the populace and the better class, are against them, while thepeasants in the country shoot them down wherever they come acrossthem. --Terror, however, supplies the place of numbers, and, with the 350hired killers bravos still left to them, the extreme Jacobins undertaketo overcome a city of 30, 000 souls. Mainvielle the elder, dragging alongtwo cannon, arrives with a patrol, fires at random into the alreadysemi-abandoned church, and kills two men. Duprat assembles about thirtyof the towns-people, imprisoned by him on the 31st of August, and, in addition to these, about forty artisans belonging to the Catholicbrotherhoods, porters, bakers, coopers, and day-laborers, two peasants, a beggar, a few women seized haphazard and on vague denunciations, oneof them, "because she spoke ill of Madame Mainvielle. " Jourdan suppliesthe executioners; the apothecary Mende, brother-in-law of Duprat, pliesthem with liquor, while a clerk of Tournal, the newsman, bids them"kill all, so that there shall be no witnesses left. " Whereupon, at thereiterated orders of Mainvielle, Tournal, Duprat, and Jourdan, with acomplications of hilarious lewdness, [2448] the massacre develops itselfon the 16th of October and following days, during sixty-six hours, thevictims being a couple of priests, three children, an old man of eighty, thirteen women, two of whom are pregnant, in all, sixty-one persons, with their throats slit or knocked out and then cast one on top of eachother into the Glacière hole, a mother on the body of her infant, a sonon the body of his father, all finished off with rocks, the hole beingfilled up with stones and covered over with quicklime on account ofthe smell. [2449] In the meantime about a hundred more, killed in thestreets, are pitched into the Sorgues canal; five hundred families maketheir escape. The ousted bandits return in a body, while the assassinswho are at the head of them, enthroned by murder, organize for thebenefit of their new band a legal system of brigandage, against whichnobody defends himself. [2450]

These are the friends of the Jacobins of Arles and Marseilles, therespectable men whom M. D'Antonelle has come to address in the cathedralat Avignon. [2451] These are the pure patriots, who, with their hands inthe till and their feet in gore, caught in the act by a French army, themask torn off through a scrupulous investigation, universally condemnedby the emancipated electors, also by the deliberate verdict of the newmediating commissioners, [2452] are included in the amnesty proclaimedby the Legislative Assembly a month before their last crime. --But thesovereigns of the Bouches-du-Rhône do not regard the release oftheir friends and allies as a pardon: something more than pardon andforgetfulness must be awarded to the murderers of the Glacière. On the29th of April, 1792, Rebecqui and Bertin, the vanquishers of Arles, enter Avignon[2453] along with a cortége, at the head of which are fromthirty to forty of the principal murderers whom the Legislative Assemblyitself had ordered to be recommitted to prison, Duprat, Mainvielle, Toumal, Mende, then Jourdan in the uniform of a commanding generalcrowned with laurel and seated on a white horse, and, lastly, the damesDuprat, Mainvielle and Tournal, in dashing style, standing on a sort oftriumphal chariot; during the procession the cry is heard, "The Glacièrewill be full this time!"--On their approach the public functionariesfly; twelve hundred persons abandon the town. Forthwith each terrorist, under the protection of the Marseilles bayonets, resumes his office, like a man at the head of his household. Raphel, the former judge, alongwith his clerk, both with warrants of arrest against them, publiclyofficiate, while the relatives of the poor victims slain on the 16th ofOctober, and the witnesses that appeared on the trial, are threatened inthe streets; one of them is killed, and Jourdan, king of the departmentfor an entire year, begins over again on a grand scale, at the headof the National Guard, and afterwards of the police body, the sameperformance which, on a small scale, he pursued under the ancientrégime, when, with a dozen "armed and mounted" brigands, he traversedthe highways, forced open lonely houses at night, and, in one châteaualone, stole 24, 000 francs. 

V. --The other departments. 

 Uniform process of the Jacobin conquest. --Preconceived formation of a Jacobin State. 

The Jacobin conquest takes place like this: already in during April, 1792, through acts of violence almost equal to those we have justdescribed, it spreads over more than twenty departments and, to asmaller degree, over the other sixty. [2454] The composition of theparties is the same everywhere. On one side are the irresponsible of allconditions, "squanderers who, having consumed their own inheritance, cannot toleratethat of another, men without property to whom disorder is a door open towealth and public office, the envious, the ungrateful whose obligationsto their benefactors the revolution cancels, the hot-headed, all thoseenthusiastic innovators who preach reason with a dagger in their hand, the poor, the brutal and the wretched of the lower class who, possessedby one leading anarchical idea, one example of immunity, with the lawdumb and the sword in the scabbard, are stimulated to dare all things

On the other side are the steady-going, peaceable class, minding theirown business, upper and lower middle class in mind and spirit, "weakened by being used to security and wealth, surprised at anyunforeseen disturbance and trying to find their way, isolated fromeach other by diversity of interests, opposing only tact and caution topersevering audacity in defiance of legitimate means, unable either tomake up their mind or to remain inactive, perplexed over sacrifices justat the time when the enemy is going to render it impossible to make anyin the future, in a word, bringing weakness and egoism to bear againstthe liberated passions, great poverty and hardened immorality. "[2455]

The issue of the conflict is everywhere the same. In each town or cantonan aggressive squad of unscrupulous fanatics and resolute adventurersimposes its rule over a sheep-like majority which, accustomed to theregularity of an old civilization, dares neither disturb order for thesake of putting and end to disorder, or get together a mob to put downanother mob. Everywhere the Jacobin principle is the same. 

"Your system, " says one of the department Directories to them, [2456]"is to act imperturbably on all occasions, even after a constitution isestablished, and the limitations to power are fixed, as if the empirewould always be in a state of insurrection, as if you were granted adictatorship essential for the city's salvation, as if you were givensuch full power in the name of public safety. "

Everywhere are Jacobin tactics the same. At the outset they assume tohave a monopoly of patriotism and, through the brutal destruction ofother associations, they are the only visible organ of public opinion. Their voice, accordingly, seems to be the voice of the people; theircontrol is established on that of the legal authorities; they have takenthe lead through persistent and irresistible misdeeds; their crimes areconsecrated by exemption from punishment. 

"Among officials and agents, good or bad, constituted or notconstituted, that alone governs which is inviolable. Now the club, for along time, has been too much accustomed to domineering, to annoying, to persecuting, to wreaking vengeance, for any local administration toregard it in any other light than as inviolable. "[2457]

They accordingly govern and their indirect influence is promptlytransformed into direct authority. --Voting alone, or almost alone, in the primary meetings, which are deserted or under constraint, theJacobins easily choose the municipal body and the officers of theNational Guard. [2458] After this, through the mayor, who is their toolor their accomplice, they have the legal right to launch or arrest theentire armed force and they avail themselves of it. --Two obstacles stillstand in their way. One the one hand, however conciliatory or timidthe Directory of the district or department may be, elected as it is byelectors of the second degree, it usually contains a fair proportionof well-informed men, comfortably off, interested in keeping order, andless inclined than the municipality to put up with gross violations ofthe law. Consequently the Jacobins denounce it to the NationalAssembly as an unpatriotic and anti-revolutionary center of "bourgeoisaristocracy. " Sometimes, as at Brest, [2459] they shamefully disobeyorders which are perfectly legal and proper, often repeated and strictlyformal; afterward, still more shamefully, they demand of the Ministerif, "placed in the cruel alternative of giving offense to the hierarchyof powers, or of leaving the commonwealth in danger, they ought tohesitate. " Sometimes, as at Arras, they impose themselves illegally onthe Directory in session and browbeat it so insolently as to make ita point of honor with the latter to solicit its own suspension. [2460]Sometimes, as a Figeac, they summon an administrator to their bar, keephim standing three-quarters of an hour, seize his papers and oblige him, for fear of something worse, to leave the town. [2461] Sometimes, as atAuch, they invade the Directory's chambers, seize the administrators bythe throat, pound them with their fists and clubs, drag the presidentby the hair, and, after a good deal of trouble, grant him hislife. [2462]--On the other hand, the gendarmerie and the troops broughtfor the suppression of riots, are always in the way of those who stirup the rioters. Consequently, they expel, corrupt and, especially purifythe gendarmerie together with the troops. At Cahors they drive out asergeant of the gendarmerie, "alleging that he keeps company withnone but aristocrats. "[2463] At Toulouse, without mentioning thelieutenant-colonel, whose life they threaten by anonymous letters andoblige to leave the town, they transfer the whole corps to anotherdistrict under the pretense that "its principles are adverse to theConstitution. "[2464] At Auch, and at Rennes, through the insubordinationwhich they provoke among the men, they exhort resignations from theirofficers. At Perpignan, by means of a riot which they foment, theyseize, beat and drag to prison, the commandant and staff whomthey accuse "of wanting to bombard the town with five pounds ofpowder. "[2465]--Meanwhile, through the jacquerie, which they let loosefrom the Dordogne to Aveyron, from Cantal to the Pyrenees and theVar, under the pretence of punishing the relatives of émigrés and theabettors of unsworn priests, they create an army of their own made upof robbers and the destitute who, in anticipation of the exploits of thecoming revolutionary army, freely kill, burn, pillage, hold to ransomand prey at large on the defenseless flock of proprietors of every classand degree. [2466]

In this operation each club has its neighbors for allies, offeringto them or receiving from them offers of men and money. That of Caentenders its assistance to the Bayeux association for expelling unswornpriests, and to help the patriots of the place "to rid themselves of thetyranny of their administrators. "[2467] That of Besançon declares thethree administrative bodies of Strasbourg "unworthy of the confidencewith which they have been honored, " and openly enters into a leaguewith all the clubs of the Upper and Lower Rhine, to set free a Jacobinarrested as a fomenter of insurrections. [2468] Those of the Puy-de-Dômeand neighboring departments depute to and establish at Clermonta central club of direction and propaganda. [2469] Those of theBouches-du-Rhône treat with the commissioners of the departments ofDrôme, Gard, and Hérault, to watch the Spanish frontier, and senddelegates of their own to see the state of the fortifications ofFiguières. [2470]--There is no recourse to the criminal tribunals. Inforty departments, these are not yet installed, in the forty-threeothers, they are cowed, silent, or lack money and men to enforce theirdecisions. [2471]

Such is the foundation of the Jacobin State, a confederation of twelvehundred oligarchies, which maneuver their proletariat clients inobedience to the word of command dispatched from Paris. It is acomplete, organized, active State, with its central government, itsactive force, its official journal, its regular correspondence, itsdeclared policy, its established authority, and its representativeand local agents; the latter are actual administrators alongside ofadministrations which are abolished, or athwart administrations whichare brought under subjection. --In vain do the latest ministers, goodclerks and honest men, try to fulfill their duties; their injunctionsand remonstrances are only so much waste paper. [2472] They resign indespair, declaring that, "in this overthrow of all order, . . . In the present weakness of thepublic forces, and in the degradation of the constituted authorities, . . . It is impossible for them to maintain the life and energy of the vastbody, the members of which are paralyzed. "--

When the roots of a tree are laid bare, it is easy to cut it down; nowthat the Jacobins have severed them, a push on the trunk suffices tobring the tree to the ground. 

*****

[Footnote 2401: De Loménie, "Les Mirabeaus, " I. 11. (Letter of theMarquis de Mirabeau). ]

[Footnote 2402: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 7171, No. 7915. Report on thesituation in Marseilles, by Miollis, commissioner of the Directory inthe department, year V. Nivôse 15. "A good many strangers from Franceand Italy are attracted there by the lust of gain, a love of pleasure, the want of work, a desire to escape from the effects of ill conduct. . . Individuals of both sexes and of every age, with no ties of country orkindred, with no profession, no opinions, pressed by daily necessitiesthat are multiplied by debauched habit, seeking to indulge these withouttoo much effort, the means for this being formerly found in the manymanual operations of commerce, gone astray during the Revolution and, subsequently, scared of the dominant party, accustomed unfortunately atthat time to receiving pay for taking part in political strife, and nowreduced to living on almost gratuitous distributions of food, todealing in small wares, to the menial occupations which chance rarelypresents--in short, to swindling. Such is what the observer finds inthat portion of the population of Marseilles most in sight; eagerto profit by whatever occurs, easily won over, active through itsnecessities, flocking everywhere, and appearing very numerous. . . Thepatriot Escalon had twenty rations a day; Féri, the journalist, had six;etc. . . Civil officers and district commissioners still belong, for themost part, to that class of men which the Revolution had accustomedto live without work, to making those who shared their principlesthe beneficiaries of the nation's favors, and finally, to receivingcontributions from gambling halls and brothels. These commissioners givenotice to their protégés, even the crooks, when warrants against themare to be enforced. "]

[Footnote 2403: Blanc-Gilly, "Réveil d'alarme d'un député de Marseilles"(cited in the Memoirs" of Barbaroux, 40, 41). Blanc-Gilly must have beenacquainted with these characters, inasmuch as he made use of them in theAugust riot, 1789, and for which he was indicted. --Cf. Fabre "Histoirede Marseilles, " II. 422. ]

[Footnote 2404: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3197. Correspondence ofMessrs. Debourge, Gay, and Lafitte, commissioners sent to Provence torestore order in accordance with an act of the National Assembly. Letterof May 10, 1791. Letter of May 10. 1791, and passim. ]

[Footnote 2405: Mayor Martin, says Juste, was a sort of Pétion, weak andvain. --Barbaroux, clerk of the municipality, is the principal opponentof M. Lieutaud. --The municipal decree referred to is dated Sept. 10, 1790. ]

[Footnote 2406: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3197. Letters of threecommissioners, April 13, 17, 18, and May 10, 1791. ]

[Footnote 2407: Blanc-Gilly, "Réveil d'Alarme. " Ibid. , "Every time thatthe national guard marched outside the city walls, the horde of homelessbrigands never failed to close up in their rear and carry devastationwherever they went. "]

[Footnote 2408: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3197. Correspondence ofthe three commissioners, letter of May 10, 1791. "The municipality ofMarseilles obeys only the decrees it pleases, and for eighteen monthshas not paid a cent into the city treasury. -Proclamation of April13. --Letters of April 13 and 18. ]

[Footnote 2409: "Archives Nationales, " letter of the municipal officersof Marseilles to the minister, June 11, 1791. --They demand the recallof the three commissioners, one of their arguments being as follows:"In China, every mandarin against whom public opinion is excited isdismissed from his place; he is regarded as an ignorant instructor, whois incapable of gaining the love of children for their parent. "]

[Footnote 2410: "Archives Nationales, " letter of the commissioners, May 25, 1791. "It is evident, on recording the proceedings at Aixand Marseilles, that only the accusers and the judges wereguilty. "--Petition of the prisoners, Feb. 1. "The municipality, indespair of our innocence and not knowing how to justify its conduct, is trying to buy up witnesses. They say openly that it is better tosacrifice one innocent man than disgrace a whole body. Such ale thespeeches of the sieur Rebecqui, leading man, and of Madame Elliou, wifeof a municipal officer, in the house of the sieur Rousset. "]

[Footnote 2411: Letter of M. Lieutaud to the commissioners, May 11 and18, 1791. "If I have not fallen under the assassin's dagger I owe mypreservation to your strict orders and to the good behavior of thenational guard and the regular troops. . . At the hearing of the casetoday, the prosecutor on the part of the commune ventured to threatenthe court with popular opinion and its avenging fury. . . The people, stirred up against us, and brought there, shouted, 'Let us seizeLieutaud and take him there by force and if he will not go up the steps, we will cut his head off!' The hall leading to the courtroom and thestairways were filled with barefooted vagabonds. "--Letter of Cabrol, commander of the national guard, and of the municipal officers to thecommissioners, May 21. That picket-guard of fifty men on the greatsquare, is it not rather the cause of a riot than the means ofpreventing one? A requisition to send four national guards inside theprison, to remain there day and night, is it not insulting citizensoldiers, whose function it is to see that the laws are maintained, andnot to do jail duty?"]

[Footnote 2412: Letter of M. D'Olivier, lieutenant-colonel of the Ernestregiment, May 28. --Extracts from the papers of the secretary tothe municipality, May 28 (Barbaroux is the clerk). --Letter of thecommissions, May 29]

[Footnote 2413: Letter of the commissioners, June 29. ]

[Footnote 2414: Letter of M. Laroque-Dourdan, naval commander atMarseilles, Oct. 18, 1791. (in relation to the departure of the Swissregiment). ]

[Footnote 2415: The elections are held on the 13th of November, 1791. Martin, the former mayor, showed timidity, and Mouraille was elected inhis place. ]

[Footnote 2416: "Archives Nationales. " F 7 3197. Letter (printed) ofthe Directory to the Minister of War, Jan. 4, 1792. --Letter of themunicipality of Marseilles to the Directory, Jan. 4, and the Directory'sreply. --Barbaroux, "Mémoires, " 19. --Here we see the part played byBarbaroux at Marseilles. Guadet played a similar part at Bordeaux. This early political period is essential for a comprehension of theGirondists. ]

[Footnote 2417: "Archives Nationales. " F7, 3195. Official report of themunicipality of Aix (on the events of Feb. 26). March 1st. --Letter ofM. Villardy, president of the directory, dated Avignon, March 10. (Hebarely escaped assassination at Aix. )--Ibid. , F7, 3196. Report of thedistrict administrators of Arles, Feb. 28 (according to private lettersfrom Aix and Marseilles). --Barbaroux, "Mémoires" (collection of Bervilleand Barrière), 106. (Narrative of M. Watteville, major in the Ernestregiment. Ibid. , 108) (Report from M. De Barbentane, commanding general). These two documents show the liberalism, want of vigor, and theusual indecision of the superior authorities, especially the militaryauthorities--Mercure de France, March 24, 1792 (letters from Aix). ]

[Footnote 2418: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3196. Dispatches of thenew Directory to the Minister, March 24 and April 4, 1792. "Since thedeparture of the Directory, our administrative assembly is composed ofonly six members, notwithstanding our repeated summons to every memberof the Council. . . Only three members of the Council consent to actwith us; the reason is a lack of pecuniary means. " The new Directory, consequently, passes a resolution to indemnify members of the Council. This, indeed, is contrary to a royal proclamation of Jan. 15; but "thisproclamation was wrested from the King, on account of his firm faith. You must be aware that, in a free nation, the influence of a citizen onhis government must not be estimated by his fortune; such a principleis false, and destructive of equality of rights. We trust that the Kingwill consent to revoke his proclamation. "]

[Footnote 2419: Ib. , Letters of Borelly, vice-president of theDirectory, to the Minister, April 10, 17, and 30, 1792. --Letter fromanother administrator, March 10. "They absolutely want us to marchagainst Arles, and to force us to give the order. "--Ibid. , F7, 3195. Letters from Aix, March 12 and 16, addressed to M. Verdet. ]

[Footnote 2420: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3195. Letter of theadministrators of the department Council to the Minister, March 10, "The Council of the administration is surprised, sir, at the fa1seimpressions given you of the city of Marseilles; it should be regardedas the patriotic buckler of the department. . . If the people of Paris didnot wait for orders to destroy the Bastille and begin the Revolution, can you wonder that in this fiery climate the impatience of goodcitizens should make them anticipate legal orders, and that they cannotcomply with the slow forms of justice when their personal safety and thesafety of the country is in peril?"]

[Footnote 2421: "Archives Nationales. " F7, 3197. Dispatches of the threecommissioners, passim, and especially those of May 11, June 10 and19, 1791 (on affairs in Arles). "The property-owners were a long timesubject to oppression. A few of the factions maintained a reign ofterror over honest folks, who trembled in secret. "]

[Footnote 2422: Ibid. , Dispatch of the commissioners, June 19: "One ofthe Mint gang causes notes to be publicly distributed (addressed to theunsworn) in these words: 'If you don't "piss-off" you will have to dealwith the gang from the Mint. '"]

[Footnote 2423: "Archives Nationales. " F7, 3198. Narration (printed)of what occurred at Arles, June 9 and 10, 1791. --Dispatch of M. Ripert, royal commissioner, Aug. 5, 1791. --F 7, 3197. Dispatch of the threecommissioners, June 19. "Since then, many of the farm laborers havetaken the same oath. It is this class of citizens which most eagerlydesires a return to order. "--Other dispatches to the same effect, Oct. 24 and 29, and Dec. 14, 1791. --Cf. "The French Revolution, " I. 301, 302. ]

[Footnote 2424: "Archives Nationales. " F7, 3196. Dispatch of the membersof the Directory of Arles and the municipal officers to the Minister, March 3, 1792 (with a printed diatribe of the Marseilles municipality)]

[Footnote 2425: Ibid. , F7, 3198. Dispatches of the procureur--syndic ofthe department to the Minister, Aix, Sept. 14, 15, 20, and 23, 1791. The electoral assembly declared itself permanent, the constitutionalauthorities being fettered and unrecognized. --Dispatch of the membersof the military bureau and correspondence with the Minister, Arles, Sept. 17, 1791. ]

[Footnote 2426: Ibid. , Dispatch of the commandant of the Marseillesdetachment to the Directory of the department, Sept. 22, 1791: "I feelthat our proceedings are not exactly legal, but I thought it prudent toacquiesce in the general desire of the battalion. "]

[Footnote 2427: "Archives Nationales. " Official report of the municipalofficers of Arles on the insurrection of the Mint band, Sept. 2, 1791. --Dispatch of Ripert, royal commissioner, Oct. 2 and 8. --Letter ofM. D'Antonelle, to the Friends of the Constitution, Sept. 22. "I cannotbelieve in the counter-orders with which we are threatened. Such adecision in the present crisis would be too inhuman and dangerous. Ourco-workers, who have had the courage to devote themselves to thenew law, would be deprived of their bread and shelter. . . The king'sproclamation has all the appearance of having been hastily prepared, andevery sign of having been secured unawares. "]

[Footnote 2428: De Dampmartin (an eye-witness), II. 60-70. --" ArchivesNationales, " F7, 3196. --Dispatch of the two delegated commissioners tothe Minister, Nimes, March 25, 1792. --Letter of M. Wittgenstein to theDirectory of the Bouche-du--Rhône, April 4, 1792. --Reply and actpassed by the Directory, April 5. --Report of Bertin and Rebecqui to theadministrators of the department, April 3. --Moniteur, XII. 379. Reportof the Minister of the Interior to the National Assembly, April 4. ]

[Footnote 2429: Moniteur, XII. 408 (session of May 16). Petition of M. Fossin, deputy from Arles. --"Archives Nationales, " F7, 3196. Petitionof the Arlesians to the Minister, June 28. --Despatches of M. Lombard, provisional royal commissioner, Arles, July 6 and 10. "Neither personsnor property have been respected for three months by those who wear themask of patriotism. "]

[Footnote 2430: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3196. Letter of M. Borelly, vice-president of the Directory, to the Minister, Aix, April 30, 1792. "The course pursued by the sieur: Bertin and Rébecqui is the cause ofall the disorders committed in these unhappy districts. . . Their soleobject is to levy contributions, as they did at Aries, to enrichthemselves and render the Comtat-Venaisson desolate. "]

[Footnote 2431: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3196. Deposition of one ofthe keepers of the sieur Coye, a proprietor at Mouriez-les-Baux, April4. --Petition of Peyre, notary at Maussane, April 7. --Statement byManson, a resident of Mouriez-les-Baux, March 27. --Petition of Andrieu, March 30. --Letter of the municipality of Maussane, April 4: "They watchfor a favorable opportunity to devastate property and especially countryvillas. "]

[Footnote 2432: "Archives Nationales, " Claim of the national guardpresented to the district administrators of Tarascon by the nationalguard of Château-Renard, April 6. --Petition of Juliat d'Eyguières, district administrator of Tarascon, April 2 (in relation toa requisition of 30, 000 francs by Camoïn on the commune ofEyguières). --Letter of M. Borelly, April 30. "Bertin and Rébecquihave openly protected the infamous Camoïn, and have set him free. "--Moniteur, XII. 408. Petition of M. Fossin, deputy from Arles. ]

[Footnote 2433: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3195. Dispatch of M. Mérard, royal commissioner at the district court of Apt, Apt, March 15, 1792(with official report of the Apt municipality and debates of thedistrict, March 13). --Letter of M. Guillebert, syndic-attorney ofthe district March 5. . (He has fled. )--Dispatches of the districtDirectory, March 23 and 28. "It must not be supposed for a moment thateither the court or the juge-de-paix will take the least notice of thiscircumstance. One step in this direction would, in a week, bring 10, 000men on our hands. "]

[Footnote 2434: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3195. Letter of the districtDirectory of Apt, March 28. "On the 26th of March 600 armed men, belonging to the communes of Apt, Viens, Rustrel, etc. Betook themselvesto St. -Martin-de-Castillon and, under the pretense of restoringorder, taxed the inhabitants, lodging and feeding themselves at theircharge"--The expeditions extend even to the neighboring departments, oneof them March 23, going to Sault, near Forcalquier, in the Upper-Alps. ]

[Footnote 2435: Ib. , F7, 3195. On the demand of a number of petitioningsoldiers who went to Aries on the 22d of March, 1792, the departmentadministration passes an act (September, 1793) granting them eachforty-five francs indemnity. There are 1, 916 of them, which makes86, 200 francs "assessed on the goods and property of individuals for theauthors, abettors, and those guilty of the disturbances occasioned bythe party of Chiffonists in the commune of Arles. " The municipality ofAries designates fifty-one individuals, who pay the 86, 200 livres, plus 2, 785 francs exchange, and 300 francs for the cost of sojourn anddelays. --Petition of the ransomed, Nov. 21, 1792. ]

[Footnote 2436: Ib. , F7, 3165. Official report of the Directory on theevents which occurred in Aix, April 27, 28, and 29, 1792. ]

[Footnote 2437: Michelet, "Histoire de la Révolution Française, " III. 56(according to the narratives of aged peasants). --Mercure de France, April 30, 1791 (letter from an inhabitant of the Comtat). --All publicdues put together (octrois and interest on the debt) did not go beyond800, 000 francs for 126, 684 inhabitants. On the contrary, unitedwith France, it would pay 3, 793, 000 francs. --André, "Histoire de laRévolution Avignonaise, " I. 61. --The Comtat possessed representativeinstitutions, an armed general assembly, composed of three bishops, the elected representative of the nobility, and thirteen consuls ofthe leading towns. --Mercure de France, Oct. 15, 1791 (letter from aninhabitant of the Comtat). --There were no bodies of militia in theComtat; the privileges of nobles were of little account. Nobody had theexclusive right to hunt or fish, while people without property could ownguns and hunt anywhere. ]

[Footnote 2438: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3272. Letter of M. Pelet dela Lozère, prefect of Vaucluse; to the Minister, year VIII. Germinal30. --Ibid. , DXXIV. 3. Letter of M. Mulot, one of the mediatingcommissioners, to the Minister, Oct. 10, 1791. "What a country you havesent me to! It is the land of duplicity. Italianism has struck its rootsdeep here, and I fear that they are very hardy. "]

[Footnote 2439: The details of these occurrences may be found in Andréand in Soulier, "Histoire de la Révolution Avignonaise. " The murder oftheir seven principal opponents, gentlemen, priests and artisans, took place June 11, 1790. --"Archives Nationales, " DXXIV. 3. Thestarting-point of the riots is the hostility of the Jansenist Camus, deputy to the Constituent Assembly. Several letters, the first fromApril, 1790, may be found in this file, addressed to him from theleading Jacobins of Avignon, Mainvielle, Raphel, Richard, and the rest, and among others the following (3 July, 1790): "Do not abandon your work, we entreat you. You, sir, were the first to inspire us with a desire tobe free and to demand our right to unite with a generous nation, fromwhich we have been severed by fraud. "--As to the political means andenticements, these are always the same. Cf. , for instance, this letterof a protégé, in Avignon, of Camus, addressed to him July 13, 1791: "Ihave just obtained from the commune the use of a room inside the Palace, where I can carry on my tavern business. . My fortune is based on yourkindness. . . What a distance between you and myself!"]

[Footnote 2440: "Archives Nationales, " DXXIV. 3. Report on the events ofOct. 10, 1791. --Ibid. , F7, 3197. Letter of the three commissioners to themunicipality of Avignon, April 21, and to the Minister, May 14, 1791. "The deputies of Orange certify that there were at least 500 Frenchdeserters in the Avignon army. "--In the same reports, May 21 and June8: "It is not to be admitted that enrolled brigands should establish ina small territory, surrounded by France on all sides, the most dangerousschool of brigandage that ever disgraced or preyed upon this humanspecies. "--Letter of M. Villardy, president of the Directory ofthe Bouches-du-Rhône May 21. "More than two millions of the nationalproperty is exposed to pillage and total destruction by the new Mandrinswho devastate this unfortunate country. "--Letter of Méglé, recruitingsergeant of the La Mark regiment, arrested along with two of hiscomrades. "The corps of Mandrins which arrested us set us at liberty. . . We were arrested because we refused to join them, and on our refusal wewere daily threatened with the gallows. "]

[Footnote 2441: Mortimer-Ternaux, I. 379 (note on Jourdan, by Faure, deputy). --Barbaroux, "Mémoires"(Ed. Dauban), 392. "After the death ofPatrix a general had to be elected. Nobody wanted the place in an armythat had just shown so great a lack of discipline. Jourdan arose anddeclared that as far as he was concerned, he was ready to acceptthe position. No reply was made. He nominated himself, and asked thesoldiers if they wanted him for general. A drunkard is likely to pleaseother drunkards; they applauded him, and he was thus proclaimed. "]

[Footnote 2442: After a famous brigand in Dauphiny, named Mandrin. --TR. Mandrin, (Louis) (Saint Étienne-de--Saint-Geoirs, Isère, 1724--Valence, 1755). French smuggler who, after 1750, was active overan enormous territory with the support of the population; hunted downby the army, caught, condemned to death to be broken alive on the wheel. See also Taine's explanation in Ancient Régime page 356 app. (SR). ]

[Footnote 2443: Cf. André, passim, and Soulier, passim. --Mercure deFrance, June 4, 1791. --"Archives Nationales, " F7, 3197. Letter of Madamede Gabrielli, March 14, 1791. (Her house is pillaged Jan. 10, and sheand her maid escape by the roof. )--Report of the municipal officers ofTarascon, May 22. "The troop which has entered the district pillageseverything it can lay its hands on. "--Letter of the syndic-attorney ofOrange, May 22. "Last Wednesday, a little girl ten years of age, on herway from Châteauneuf to Courtheson, was violated by one on of them, andthe poor child is almost dead. "--Dispatch of the three commissioners tothe Minister, May 21. "It is now fully proved by men who are perfectlyreliable that the pretended patriots, said to have acted so gloriouslyat Sarrians, are cannibals equally execrated both at Avignon andCarpentras. "]

[Footnote 2444: "Archives Nationales, " letter of the Directory ofthe Bouches-du-Rhône, May 21, 1791. --Deliberations of the Avignonmunicipality, associated with the notables and the military committee, May 15: "The enormous expense attending the pay and food for thedetachments. . . Forced contributions. . . What is most revolting is thatthose who are charged with the duty arbitrarily tax the inhabitants, according as they arc deemed bad or good patriots. . . The municipality, the military committee, and the club of the Friends of the Constitutiondared to make a protest; the proscription against them is their rewardfor their attachment to the French constitution. ]

[Footnote 2445: Letter of M. Boulet, formerly physician in the Frenchmilitary hospitals and member of the electoral assembly, May 21. ]

[Footnote 2446: "Archives Nationales, " DXXIv. 16-23, No. 3. Narrative ofwhat took place yesterday, August 21, in the town of Avignon. --Lettersby the mayor, Richard, and two others, Aug. 21. --Letter to the presidentof the National Assembly, Aug. 22 (with five signatures, in the name of200 families that had taken refuge in the Ile de la Bartelasse). ]

[Footnote 2447: "Archives Nationales, " DXXIV. 3. --Letter of M. Laverne, for M. Canonge, keeper of the Mont-de-Piété. (The electoral assembly ofVaucluse and the juge-de-paix had forbidden him to give this box intoany other hands. )--Letters of M. Mulot, mediating commissioner, Gentillyles Sorgues, Oct. 14, 15, 16, 1791. --Letter of M. Laverne, mayor, andthe municipal officers, Avignon, Jan. 6, 1792. --Statement of eventsoccurring at Avignon, Oct. 16, 17, and 18 (without a signature, butwritten at once on the spot). --Official rapport of the provisionaladministrators of Avignon, Oct. 16. --Certified copy of the noticefound posted in Avignon in different places this day, Oct. 16 (probablywritten by one of the women of the lower class and showing what thepopular feeling was). --A letter written to M. Mulot, Oct. 13' alreadycontains this phrase: "Finally, even if they delay stopping theirrobberies and pillage, misery and the miserable will still remain"--Testimony of Joseph Sauton, a chasseur in the paid guard of Avignon, Oct. 17 (an eye-witness of what passed at the Cordeliers). ]

[Footnote 2448: André. II. 62. Deposition of la Ratapiole. --Death of thegirl Ayme and of Mesdames Niel et Crouzet. --De Dampmartin, II. 2. ]

[Footnote 2449: "Archives Nationales, " DXXIV, 3. Report on the eventsof Oct. 16: "Two sworn priests were killed, which proves that acounter-revolution had nothing to do with it, . . Six of the municipalofficers were assassinated. They had been elected according to the termsof the decree; they were the fruit of the popular will at the outbreakof the Revolution; they were accordingly patriots. "--Buchez et Roux, XII. 420. --Official report of the Commune of Avignon, on the events ofOct. 16. ]

[Footnote 2450: "Archives Nationales, " DXXIV. 3. Dispatch of the civilCommissioners deputized by France (Messrs. Beauregard, Lecesne, andChampion) to the Minister Jan. 8, 1792. (A long and admirable letter, inwhich the difference between the two parties is exhibited, supported byfacts, in refutation of the calumnies of Duprat. The oppressed party iscomposed not of royalists, but of Constitutionalists. )]

[Footnote 2451: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3177. Dispatches of the threecommissioners, April 27, May 4, 18, and 21. ]

[Footnote 2452: Three hundred and thirty-five witnesses testified duringthe trial. --De Dampmartin, I. 266. Entry of the French army into Avignon, Nov. 16, 1791: "All who were rich, except a very small number, hadtaken flight or perished. The best houses were all empty orclosed. "----Elections for a new municipality were held Nov. 26, 1791. Outof 2, 287 active citizens Mayor Levieux de Laverne obtains 2, 227votes, while the municipal officer lowest on the list 1, 800. All areConstitutionalists and conservatives. ]

[Footnote 2453: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3196. Official report ofAugier and Fabre, administrators of the Bouches-du-Rhône, Avignon, May11, 1792. --Moniteur, XII. 313. Report of the Minister of Justice, May5. --XII. 324. Petition of forty inhabitants of Avignon, May 7. --XII334. Official report of Pinet, commissioner of the Drôme, sent toAvignon. --XII. 354 Report of M. Chassaignac and other papers, May10. --XI. 741 Letter of the civil commissioners, also of the Avignonmunicipality, March 23. ]

[Footnote 2454: "The French Revolution, " vol. I. Pp. 344-352, on thesixth jacquerie, everywhere managed by the Jacobins. Two or three traitsshow its spirit and course of action. ("Archives Nationales, " F7, 3202. Letter of the Directory of the district of Aurillac, March 27, 1792, with official reports. ) "On the 20th of March, about forty brigands, calling themselves patriots and friends of the constitution, forcehonest and worthy but very poor citizens in nine or ten of the houses ofCapelle-Viscamp to give them money, generally five francs each person, and sometimes ten, twenty, and forty francs. " Others tear down orpillage the châteaux of Rouesque, Rode, Marcolès, and Vitrac and dragthe municipal officers along with them. "We, the mayor and municipalofficers of the parish of Vitrac, held a meeting yesterday, March 22, following the example of our neighboring parishes on the occasion of thedemolition of the châteaux. We marched at the head of our national guardand that of Salvetat to the said châteaux. We began by hoisting thenational flag and to demolish. . . The national guard of Boisset, eatingand drinking without stint, entered the château and behaved in the mostbrutal manner; for whatever they found in their way, whether clocks, mirrors, doors, closets, and finally documents, all were made waywith. They even sent off forty of the men to a patriotic village in thevicinity. They forced the inmates of every house to give them money, andthose who refused were threatened with death. " Besides this the nationalguard of Boisset carried off the furniture of the château. --There issomething burlesque in the conflicts of the municipalities with theJacobin expeditions (letter of the municipal officers of Cottines to theDirectory of St. Louis, March 26). "We are very glad to inform you thatthere is a crowd in our parish, amongst which are many belonging toneighboring parishes; and that they have visited the house of sieurTossy and a sum of money of which we do not know the amount is demanded, and that they will not leave without that sum so that they cam havesomething to live on, these people being assembled solely to maintainthe constitution and give greater éclat to the law. "]

[Footnote 2455: Mercure de France, numbers for Jan. 1 and 14, 1792(articles by Mallet du Pan). --" Archives Nationales, " F7, 3185, 3186. Letter of the president of the district of Laon (Aisne) to the Minister, Feb. 8, 1792: "With respect to the nobles and priests, any mention ofthem as trying to sow discord among us indicates a desire to spreadfear. All they ask is tranquility and the regular payment of theirpensions. "--De Dampmartin, II. 63 (on the evacuation of Arles, April, 1792). On the illegal approach of the Marseilles army, M. De Dampmartin, military commander, orders the Arlesians to rise in a body. Nobody comesforward. Wives hide away their husbands' guns in the night. Only onehundred volunteers are found to act with the regular troops. ]

[Footnote 2456: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3224. Speech of M. Saint-Amans, vice-president of the Directory of Lot-et-Garonne, to the mayor of Tonneins, April 20 and the letter of thesyndic-attorney-general to M. Roland, minister, April 22: "Accordingto the principles of the mayor of Tonneins, all resistance to himis aristocratic, his doctrine being that all property-owners arearistocrats. You can readily perceive, sir, that he is not oneof them. "--Dubois, formerly a Benedictine and now a Protestantminister. --Act of the Directory against the municipality of Tonneins, April 13. The latter appeals to the Legislative Assembly. The mayor andone of the municipal counselors appear in its name (May 19) at the barof the Assembly. ]

[Footnote 2457: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3198. Letter of M. Debourges, one of the three commissioners sent by the National Assembly and theking, Nov. 2, 1791 (apropos of the Marseilles club). "This club hasquite recently obtained from the Directory of the department, on themost contemptible allegation, an order requiring of M. De Coincy, lieutenant-general at Toulon, to send the admirable Ernest regiment outof Marseilles, and M. De Coincy has yielded. "]

[Footnote 2458: For instance (Guillon de Montléon, "Mémoires pour servirà l'histoire de Lyon, " I. 109), the general in command of the nationalguard of this large town in 1792 is Juillard, a poor silk-weaver of thefaubourg of the Grande Côte, a former soldier. ]

[Footnote 2459: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3215, affair of Plabennec(very curious, showing the tyrannical spirit of the Jacobins and thegood disposition at bottom of the Catholic peasantry)--The commune ofBrest dispatches against that of Plabennec 400 men, with two cannon andcommissioners chosen by the club. --Many documents, among them: Petitionof 150 active citizens of Brest, May 16, 1791. Deliberations of thecouncil-general and commune of Brest, May 17. Letter of the Directory ofthe district, May 17 (very eloquent). Deliberations of the municipalityof Plabennec, May 20. Letter of the municipality of Brest to theminister, May 21. Deliberations of the department Directory, June 13. ]

[Footnote 2460: Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 376 (session of the Directoryof the Pas-du-Calais, July 4, 1792). The petition, signed by 127inhabitants of Arras, is presented to the Directory by Robespierrethe younger and Geoffroy. The administrators are treated as impostors, conspirators, etc. , while the president, listening to these refinements, says to his colleagues: "Gentlemen, let us sit down; we can attend toinsults sitting as well as standing. "]

[Footnote 2461: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3223. Letter of M. Valéry, syndic-attorney of the department, April 4, 1792. ]

[Footnote 2462: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3220. Extract from thedeliberations of the department Directory and letter to the king, Jan. 28, 1792. --Letter of M. Lafiteau, president of the Directory, Jan. 30. (The mob is composed of from five to six hundred persons. Thepresident is wounded on the forehead by a sword-cut and obliged to leavethe town. ) Feb. 20, following this, a deputy of the department denouncesthe Directory as unpatriotic. ]

[Footnote 2463: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3223. Letter of M. De Riolle, colonel of the gendarmerie, Jan. 19, 1792. --"One hundred members of theclub Friends of Liberty" come and request the brigadier's discharge. On the following day, after a meeting of the same club, "four hundredpersons move to the barracks to send off or exterminate the brigadier. "]

[Footnote 2464: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3219. Letter of M. Sainfal, Toulouse, March 4, 1792. --Letter of the department Directory, March 14. ]

[Footnote 2465: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3229. Letter of M. DeNarbonne, minister, to his colleague M. Cahier, Feb. 3, 1792. --"Themunicipality of Auch has persuaded the under-officers and soldiersof the 1st battalion that their chiefs were making preparation towithdraw. "--The same with the municipality and club of the Navarreins. "All the officers except three have been obliged to leave and send intheir resignations. "--F7, 3225. The same to the same, March 8. --Themunicipality of Rennes orders the arrest of Col. De Savignac, and fourother officers. Mercure de France, Feb. 18, 1792. De Dampmartin, I. 230;II. 70 (affairs of Landau, Lauterbourg, and Avignon). ]

[Footnote 2466: "'The French Revolution, " I. 344 and followingpages. Many other facts could be added to those cited in thisvolume. --"Archives Nationales, " F7, 3219. Letter of M. Neil, administrator of Haute-Garonne, Feb. 27, 1792. "The constitutionalpriests and the club of the canton of Montestruc suggested to theinhabitants that all the abettors of unsworn priests and of aristocratsshould be put to ransom and laid under contribution. "--Cf. 7, 3193, (Aveyron), F7, 3271 (Tarn), etc. ]

[Footnote 2467: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3200. Letter of thesyndic-attorney of Bayeux, May 14, 1792, and letter of the BayeuxDirectory, May 21. "The dubs should be schools of patriotism; they havebecome the terror of it. If this scandalous struggle against the law andlegitimate authority does not soon cease liberty, a constitution, andsafeguards for the French people will no longer exist"]

[Footnote 2468: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3253. Letter, of theDirectory of the Bas-Rhin, April 26, 1792, and of Dietrich, Mayorof Strasbourg, May 8. (The Strasbourg club had publicly invitedthe citizens to take up arms, "to vigorously pursue priests andadministrators. " )--Letter of the Besançon club to M. Dietrich, May 3. "If the constitution depended on the patriotism or the perfidy of a fewmagistrates in one department, like that of the Bas-Rhin, for instance, we might pay you some attention, and all the freemen of the empire wouldthen stoop to crush you. "--Therefore the Jacobin clubs of the Upper andLower Rhine send three deputies to the Paris club. ]

[Footnote 2469: Moniteur, XII. 558, May 19, 1792. "Letter addressedthrough patriotic journalists to all clubs of the Friends ofthe Constitution by the patriotic central society, formed atClermont-Ferrand. " (there is the same centralization between Lyons andBordeaux. )]

[Footnote 2470: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3198. Report of CommissionersBertin and Rebecqui, April 3, 1792. --Cf. Dumouriez, book II. Ch. V. Theclub at Nantes wants to send commissioners to inspect the foundries ofthe Ile d'Indrette. ]

[Footnote 2471: Moniteur, X. 420. Report of M. Cahier, Minister of theInterior, Feb. 18, 1792. "In all the departments freedom of worship hasbeen more or less violated. . . Those who hold power are cited beforethe tribunals of the people as their enemies. "--On the radical andincreasing powerlessness of the King and his ministers, Cf. Moniteur, XI. 11 (Dec. 31, 1791). --Letter of the Minister of Finances. --XII. 200(April 23, 1792), report of the Minister of the Interior. --XIII. 53(July 4, 1792), letter of the Minister of Justice. ]

[Footnote 2472: Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 369. Letter of the Directory ofthe Basses-Pyrénées, June 25, 1792. --"Archives Nationales, " F7, 3200. Letter of the Directory of Calvados to the Minister of the Interior, Aug. 3. "We are not agents of the king or his ministers. "--Moniteur, XIII. 103. Declaration of M. De Joly, minister, in the name of hiscolleagues (session of July 10, 1792). ]

CHAPTER V. PARIS. 

I. --Pressure of the Assembly on the King. 

 His veto rendered void or eluded. --His ministers insulted and driven away. --The usurpations of his Girondist ministry. --He removes them. --Riots being prepared. 

Previous to this the tree was so shaken as to be already tottering atits base. --Reduced as the King's prerogative is, the Jacobins stillcontinue to contest it, depriving him of even its shadow. At the openingsession they refuse to him the titles of Sire and Majesty; to them heis not, in the sense of the constitution, a hereditary representativeof the French people, but "a high functionary, " that is to say, a mereemployee, fortunate enough to sit in an equally good chair alongsideof the president of the Assembly, whom they style "president of thenation. "[2501] The Assembly, in their eyes, is sole sovereign, "whilethe other powers, " says Condorcet, "can act legitimately only whenspecially authorized by a positive law;[2502] the Assembly may doanything that is not formally prohibited to it by the law, " 'in otherwords, interpret the constitution, then change it, take it to pieces, and do away with it. Consequently, in defiance of the constitution, ittakes upon itself the initiation of war, and, on rare occasions, onthe King using his veto, it sets this aside, or allows it to be setaside. [2503] In vain he rejects, as he has a legal right to do, thedecrees which sanction the persecution of unsworn ecclesiastics, whichconfiscate the property of the émigrés, and which establish a camparound Paris. At the suggestion of the Jacobin deputies, [2504] theunsworn ecclesiastics are interned, expelled, or imprisoned by themunicipalities and Directories; the estates and mansions of theémigrés and of their relatives are abandoned without resistance to thejacqueries; the camp around Paris is replaced by the summoning ofthe Federates to Paris. In short, the monarch's sanction is eluded ordispensed with. --As to his ministers, "they are merely clerks of theLegislative Body decked with a royal leash. "[2505] In full session theyare maltreated, reviled, grossly insulted, not merely as lackeys of badcharacter, but as known criminals. They are interrogated at the bar ofthe house, forbidden to leave Paris before their accounts are examined;their papers are overhauled; their most guarded expressions and mostmeritorious acts are held to be criminal; denunciations against them areprovoked; their subordinates are incited to rebel against them;[2506]committees to watch them and calumniate them are appointed; theperspective of a scaffold is placed before them in every relation, actsor threats of accusation being passed against them, as well as againsttheir agents, on the shallowest pretexts, accompanied with suchmiserable quibbling, [2507] and such an evident falsification of factsand texts that the Assembly, forced by the evidence, twice reverses itshasty decision, and declares those innocent whom it had condemned theevening before. [2508] Nothing is of any avail, neither their strictfulfillment of the law, their submission to the committees of theAssembly, nor their humble attitude before the Assembly itself; "theyare careful now to treat it politely and avoid the galleys. "[2509]--Butthis does not suffice. They must become Jacobins; otherwise the highcourt of Orleans will be for them as for M. Delessart, the ante-roomto the prison and the guillotine. "Terror and dismay, " says Vergniaud, pointing with his finger to the Tuileries, "have often issued in thename of despotism in ancient times from that famous palace; let themto-day go back to it in the name of law. "[2510]

Even with a Jacobin Minister, terror and dismay are permanent. Roland, Clavières, and Servan not only do not shield the King, but they givehim up, and, under their patronage and with their connivance, he is morevictimized, more harassed, and more vilified than ever before. Theirpartisans in the Assembly take turns in slandering him, while Isnardproposes against him a most insolent address. [2511] Shouts of deathare uttered in front of his palace. An abbé or soldier is unmercifullybeaten and dragged into the Tuileries basin. One of the gunners of theGuard reviles the queen like a fish woman, and exclaims to her, "Howglad I should be to clap your head on the end of my bayonet!"[2512] Theysupposed that the King is brought to heel under this double pressureof the Legislative Body and the street; they rely on his accustomeddocility, or at least, on his proven lethargy; they think that theyhave converted him into what Condorcet once demanded, a signaturemachine. [2513] Consequently, without notifying him, just as if thethrone were vacant, Servan, on his own authority, proposes to theAssembly the camp outside Paris. [2514] Roland, for his part, readsto him at a full meeting of the council an arrogant, pedagogicalremonstrance, scrutinizing his sentiments, informing him of his duties, calling upon him to accept the new "religion, " to sanction the decreeagainst unsworn ecclesiastics, that is to say, to condemn to beggary, imprisonment, and transportation[2515] 70, 000 priests and nuns guilty oforthodoxy, and authorize the camp around Paris, which means, to put histhrone, his person, and his family at the mercy of 20, 000 madmen, chosenby the clubs and other assemblages expressly to do him harm;[2516] inshort, to discard at once his conscience and his common sense. --Strangeenough, the royal will this time remains staunch; not only does the Kingrefuse, but he dismisses his ministers. So much the worse for him, forsign he must, cost what it will; if he insists on remaining athwarttheir path, they will march over him. --Not because he is dangerous, andthinks of abandoning his legal immobility. Up to the 10th of August, through a dread of action, and not to kindle a civil war, he rejectsall plans leading to an open rupture. Up to the very last day he resignshimself even when his personal safety and that of his family is atstake, to constitutional law and public common sense. Before dismissingRoland and Servan, he desires to furnish some striking proof of hispacific intentions by sanctioning the dissolution of his guard anddisarming himself not only for attack but for defense; henceforth hesits at home and awaits the insurrection with which he is daily menaced;he resigns himself to everything, except drawing his sword; his attitudeis that of a Christian in the amphitheatre. [2517]--The proposition ofa camp outside Paris, however, draws out a protest from 8, 000 ParisNational Guards. Lafayette denounces to the Assembly the usurpationsof the Jacobins; the faction sees that its reign is threatened by thisreawakening and union of the friends of order. A blow must be struck. This has been in preparation for a month past, and to renew the days ofOctober 5th and 6th, the materials are not lacking. 

II. --The floating and poor population of Paris. 

 Disposition of the workers. --Effect of poverty and want of work. --Effect of Jacobin preaching. --The revolutionary army. --Quality of its recruits--Its first review. --Its actual effective force. 

Paris always has its interloping, floating population. A hundredthousand of the needy, one-third of these from the departments, "beggarsby race, " those whom Rétif de la Bretonne had already seen pass hisdoor, Rue de Bièvre, on the 13th of July, 1789, on their way to jointheir fellows on the suburb of St. Antoine, [2518] along with them "thosefrightful raftsmen, " pilots and dock-hands, born and brought up in theforests of the Nièvre and the Yonne, veritable savages accustomedto wielding the pick and the ax, behaving like cannibals when theopportunity offers, [2519] and who will be found foremost in the rankswhen the September days come. Alongside these stride their femalecompanions "barge-women who, embittered by toil, live for the momentonly, " and who, three months earlier, pillaged the grocer-shops. [2520]All this "is a frightful crowd which, every time it stirs, seems todeclare that the last day of the rich and well-to-do has come; tomorrowit is our turn, to-morrow we shall sleep on eiderdown. "--Still morealarming is the attitude of the steady workmen, especially in thesuburbs. And first of all, if bread is not as expensive as on the 5th ofOctober, the misery is worse. The production of articles of luxury hasbeen at a standstill for three years, and the unemployed artisan hasconsumed his small savings. Since the ruin of St. Domingo and thepillaging of grocers' shops colonial products are dear; the carpenter, the mason, the locksmith, the market-porter, no longer has his earlycup of coffee, [2521] while they grumble every morning at the thought oftheir patriotism being rewarded by an increase of deprivation. 

But more than all this they are now Jacobins, and after nearly threeyears of preaching, the dogma of popular sovereignty has taken deep rootin their empty brains. "In these groups, " writes a police commissioner, "the Constitution is held to be useless and the people alone are thelaw. The citizens of Paris on the public square think themselves thepeople, populus, what we call the universality of citizens. "[2522]--Itis of no use to tell them that, alongside of Paris, there is a France. Danton has shown them that the capital "is composed of citizensbelonging one way or another to the eighty-three departments; thatis has a better chance than any other place to appreciate ministerialconduct; that it is the first sentinel of the nation, " which makes themconfident of being right. [2523]--It is of no use to tell them that thereare better-informed and more competent authorities than themselves. Robespierre assures them that "in the matter of genius andpublic-spiritedness the people are infallible, whilst every one elseis subject to mistakes, "[2524] and here they are sure of theircapacity. --In their own eyes they are the legitimate, competentauthorities for all France, and, during three years, the sole themetheir courtiers of the press, tribune, and club, vie with each otherin repeating to them, is the expression of the Duc de Villeroy to LouisXIV. When a child: "Look my master, behold this great kingdom! It isall for you, it belongs to you, you are its master!"--Undoubtedly, to swallow and digest such gross irony people must be half-fools orhalf-brutes; but it is exactly their capacity for self-deception whichmakes them different from the sensible or passive crowd and casts theminto a band whose ascendancy is irresistible. Convinced that a streetmob is entitled to absolute rule and that the nation expresses itssovereignty through its gatherings, they alone assemble the street mobs, they alone, by virtue of their conceit and lack of judgment, believethemselves kings. 

Such is the new power which, in the early months of the year 1792, starts up alongside of the legal powers. It is not foreseen by theConstitution; nevertheless it exists and declares itself; it is visibleand its recruits can be counted. [2525] On the 29th of April, with theAssembly consenting, and contrary to the law, three battalions from thesuburb of St. Antoine, about 1500 men, [2526] march in three columns intothe hall, one of which is composed of fusiliers and the other two ofpikemen, "their pikes being from eight to ten feet long, " of formidableaspect and of all sorts, "pikes with laurel leaves, pikes with cloverleaves, pikes à carlet, pikes with turn-spits, pikes with hearts, pikeswith serpents tongues, pikes with forks, pikes with daggers, pikeswith three prongs, pikes with battle-axes, pikes with claws, pikes withsickles, lance-pikes covered with iron prongs. " On the other side of theSeine three battalions from the suburb of St. Marcel are composed andarmed in the same fashion. This constitutes a kernel of 3, 000 more inother quarters of Paris. Add to these in each of the sixty battalionsof the National guard the gunners, almost all of them blacksmiths, locksmiths and horse-shoers, also the majority of the gendarmes, oldsoldiers discharged for insubordination and naturally inclined torioting, in all an army of about 9, 000 men, not counting the usualaccompaniment of vagabonds and mere bandits; ignorant and eager, but menwho do their work, well armed, formed into companies, ready to marchand ready to strike. Alongside of the talking authorities we have theveritable force that acts, for it is the only one which does act. Asformerly the praetorian guard of the Caesars in Rome, or the Turkishguards of the Caliphs of Baghdad, it is henceforth master of thecapital, and through the capital, of the Nation. 

III. --Its leaders. --Their committee. --Methods for arousing the crowd. 

As the troops are so are their leaders. Bulls must have drovers toconduct them, one degree superior to the brute but only one degree, dressed, talking and acting in accordance with his occupation, withoutdislikes or scruples, naturally or willfully hardened, fertile injockeying and in the expedients of the slaughterhouse, themselvesbelonging to the people or pretending to belong to them. Santerre isa brewer of the Faubourg St. Antoine, commander of the battalion of"Enfants Trouvés, " tall, stout and ostentatious, with stentorian lungs, shaking the hand of everybody he meets in the street, and when at hometreating everybody to a drink paid for by the Duke of Orleans. Legendreis a choleric butcher, who even in the Convention maintains hisbutchering traits. There are three or four foreign adventurers, experienced in all kinds of deadly operations, using the saber or thebayonet without warning people to get out of the way. Rotonde, the firstone, is an Italian, a teacher of English and professional rioter, who, convicted of murder and robbery, is to end his days in Piedmont on thegallows. The second, Lazowski, is a Pole, a former dandy, aconceited fop, who, with Slave facility, becomes the barest of nakedsans-culottes; former enjoying a sinecure, then suddenly turned out inthe street, and shouting in the clubs against his protectors who hesees put down; he is elected captain of the gunners of the battalion St. Marcel, and is to be one of the September slaughterers. His drawing-roomtemperament, however, is not rigorous enough for the part he plays inthe streets, and at the end of a year he is to die, consumed by a feverand by brandy. The third is another chief slaughterer at the Septembermassacres. Fournier, known as the American, a former planter, who hasbrought with him from St. Domingo a contempt for human life; "withhis livid and sinister countenance, his mustache, his triple belt ofpistols, his coarse language, his oaths, he looks like a pirate. "By their side we encounter a little hump-backed lawyer namedCuirette-Verrières, an unceasing speaker, who, on the 6th of October, 1789, paraded the city on a large white horse and afterwards pleaded forMarat, which two qualifications with his Punch figure, fully establishhim in the popular imagination; the rugged guys, moreover, who holdnocturnal meetings at Santerre's needed a writer and he probably mettheir requirements. --This secret society can count on other faithfuls. "Brière, wine-dealer, Nicolas, a sapper in the 'Enfants Trouvés'battalion, Gonor, claiming to be one of the victors of theBastille, "[2527] Rossignol, an old soldier and afterwards ajourneyman-jeweler, who, after presiding at the massacres of LaForce, is to become an improvised general and display his incapacity, debauchery, and thievery throughout La Vendée. "There are yet more ofthem, " Huguenin undoubtedly, a ruined ex-lawyer, afterwards carabineer, then a deserter, next a barrier-clerk, now serving as spokesman forthe Faubourg St. Honoré and finally president of the September commune;there was also, doubtless, St. Huruge alias Père Adam, the great barkerof the Palais-Royal, a marquis fallen into the gutter, drinking with anddressing like a common porter, always flourishing an enormous club andfollowed by the riffraff. [2528]--These are all the leaders. The Jacobinsof the municipality and of the Assembly confine their support ofthe enterprise to conniving at it and to giving it theirencouragement. [2529] It is better for the insurrection to seemspontaneous. Through caution or shyness the Girondins, Pétion, Manualand Danton himself, keep in the background----there is not reason fortheir coming forward. --The rest, affiliated with the people and lost inthe crowd, are better qualified to fabricate the story which their flockwill like. This tale, adapted to the crowd's intellectual limits, formand activity, is both simple and somber, such as children like, orrather a melodrama taken from an alien stage in which the good appearon one side, and the wicked on the other with an ogre or tyrant in thecenter, some infamous traitor who is sure to be unmasked at the end ofthe piece and punished according to his deserts, the whole grandiloquentterms and, as a finale, winding up with a grand chorus. In the raw brainof an over-excited workman politics find their way only in the shapeof rough-hewn, highly-colored imagery, such as is furnished by theMarseillaise, the Carmagnole, and the Ça ira. The requisite motto isadapted to his use; through this misshapen magnifying glass the mostgracious figure appears under a diabolical aspect. Louis XVI. Isrepresented here "as a monster using his power and treasure to opposethe regeneration of the French. A new Charles IX. , he desires to bringon France death and desolation. Be gone, cruel man, your crimes mustend! Damiens was less guilty than thou art! He was punished with themost horrible torture for having tried to rid France of a monster, while you, attempting twenty-five million times more, are allowed fullimmunity![2530] Let us trample under our feet this simulacra of royalty!Tremble tyrants, Scoevolas are still amongst you!"

All this is pronounced, declaimed or rather shouted, publicly, in fulldaylight, under the King's windows, by stump-speakers mounted on chairs, while similar provocations daily flow from the committee installed inSanterre's establishment, now in the shape of displays posted inthe faubourgs, now in that of petitions circulated in the clubs andsections, now through motions which are gotten up "among the groups inthe Tuileries, in the Palais-Royal, in the Place de Grève and especiallyon the Place de la Bastille. " After the 2nd of June the leaders foundeda new club in the church of the "Enfants Trouvés" that they might havetheir special laboratory and thus do their work on the spot. [2531] LikePlato's demagogues, they understand their business. They have discoveredthe cries which make the popular animal take note, what offense offendshim, what charm attracts him, and on what road he should be made tofollow. Once drawn in and under way, he will march blindly on, bornealong by his own involuntary inspiration and crushing with his mass allthat he encounters on his path. 

IV. --The 20th of June. 

 The programme. --The muster. --The procession before the Assembly. --Irruption into the Château. --The King in the presence of the people. 

The bait has been carefully chosen and is well presented. It takesthe form of a celebration of the anniversary of the oath of theTennis-court. A tree of Liberty will be planted on the terrace of theFeuillants and "petitions relating to circumstances" will be presentedin the Assembly and then to the King. As a precaution, and to impose onthe ill-disposed, the petitioners provide themselves with arms and linethe approaches. [2532]--A popular procession is an attractive thing, andthere are so many workers who do not know what to do with their emptyday! And, again, it is so pleasant to appear in a patriotic opera whilemany, and especially women and children, want very much to seeMonsieur and Madame Veto. The people from the surrounding suburbs areinvited, [2533] the homeless prowlers and beggars will certainly join theparty, while the numerous body of Parisian loafers, the loungers thatjoin every spectacle can be relied on, and the curious who, even inour time, gather by hundreds along the quays, following a dog that haschanced to tumble into the river. All this forms a body which, withoutthinking, will follow its head. 

At five o'clock in the morning on the 20th of June groups are alreadyformed in the faubourgs St. Antoine and St. Marcel, consisting ofNational Guards, pikemen, gunners with their cannon, persons armed withsabers or clubs, and women and children. --A notice, indeed, just postedon the walls, prohibits any assemblage, and the municipal officersappear in their scarves and command or entreat the crowd not to breakthe law. [2534] But, in a working-class brain, ideas are as tenaciousas they are short-lived. People count on a civic procession and get upearly in the morning to attend to it; the cannon have been hitched up, the maypole tree is put on wheels and all is ready for the ceremony, everybody takes a holiday and none are disposed to return home. Besides, they have only good intentions. They know the law as well as the cityofficials; they are "armed solely to have it observed and respected. "Finally, other armed petitioners have already filed along before theNational Assembly, and, as one is as good as another, "the law beingequal for all, " others must be admitted as well. In any event they, too, will ask permission of the National Assembly and they go expressly. This is the last and the best argument of all, and to prove to the cityofficials that they have no desire to engage in a riot, they requestthem to join the procession and march along with them. 

Meanwhile, time passes. In a crowd irritated by delay, the mostimpatient, the rudest, those most inclined to commit violence, alwayslead the rest. --At the head-quarters of the Val-de-Grâce[2535] thepikemen seize the cannon and drag them along; the National Guardslet things take their course; Saint-Prix and Leclerc, the officers incommand, threatened with death, have nothing to do but to yield with aprotest. --There is the same state of things in the Montreuil section;the resistance of four out of six of the battalion officers merelyserved to give full power to the instigator of the insurrection, andhenceforth Santerre becomes the sole leader of the assembled crowd. About half-past eleven he leaves his brewery, and, followed by cannon, the flag, and the truck which bears the poplar tree, he places himselfat the head of the procession "consisting of about fifteen hundredpersons including the bystanders. "[2536] Like a snowball, however, the troop grows as it marches along until, on reaching the NationalAssembly, Santerre has behind him from seven to eight thousandpersons. [2537] Guadet and Vergniaud move that the petitioners beintroduced; their spokesman, Huguenin, in a bombastic and threateningaddress, denounces the ministry, the King, the accused at Orleans, thedeputies of the "Right, " demands "blood, " and informs the Assembly thatthe people "resolute" is ready to take the law in their own hands. [2538]Then, with drums beating and bands playing, the crowd defiles formore than an hour through the chamber under the eyes of Santerre andSaint-Huruge: here and there a few files of the National Guard passmingled with the throng and lost in "the moving forest of pikes"; allthe rest is pure rabble, "hideous faces, "[2539] says a deputy, onwhich poverty and loose living have left their marks, ragamuffins, men"without coats, " in their shirt-sleeves, armed in all sorts of ways, with chisels and shoe-knives fastened on sticks, one with a saw ona pole ten feet long, women and children, some of them brandishing asaber. [2540] In the middle of this procession, an old pair of breeches[culottes] borne on a pike with this motto: Vivent les Sans-Culottes!and, on a pitch-fork, the heart of a calf with this inscription:Coeur d'aristocrate, both significant emblems of the grim humor theimaginations of rag-dealers or butchers might come up with for apolitical carnival. --This, indeed, it is, they have been drinking andmany are drunk. [2541] A parade is not enough, they want also to amusethemselves: traversing the hall they sing ça ira and dance in theintervals. They at the same time show their civism by shouting Vive lespatriotes! A bas le Veto! They fraternise, as they pass along, with thegood deputies of the "Left"; they jeer those of the "Right" and shaketheir fists at them; one of these, known by his tall stature, is toldthat his business will be settled for him the first opportunity. [2542]Thus do they flaunt their collaborators to the Assembly, everyoneprepared and willing to act, even against the Assembly itself. --Andyet, with the exception of an iron-railing pushed in by the crowd and anirruption on to the terrace of the "Feuillants, " no act of violencewas committed. The Paris population, except when in a rage, is rathervoluble and curious than ferocious; besides, thus far, no one hadoffered any resistance. The crowd is now sated with shouting andparading; many of them yawn with boredom and weariness;[2543] at fouro'clock they have stood on their legs for ten or twelve hours. The humanstream issuing from the Assembly and emptying itself into theCarrousel remains stagnant there and seems ready to return to its usualchannels. --This is not what the leaders had intended. Santerre, onarriving with Saint-Huruge, cries out to his men, "Why didn't you enterthe château? You must go in--that is what we came here for. "[2544] Alieutenant of the Val-de-Grâce gunners shouts: "We have forced open theCarrousel, we must force open the château too! This is the first timethe Val-de-Grâce gunners march--they are not j. . . . F. . . . Come, followme, my men, on to the enemy![2545]--"Meanwhile, outside the gate, some of the municipal officers selected by Pétion amongst the mostrevolutionary members of the council, overcome resistance by theirspeeches and commands. 'After all, " says one of them, named Mouchet, "the right of petition is sacred. "--" Open the gate!" shout Sergent andBoucher-René, "nobody has a right to shut it. Every citizen has a rightto go through it!"[2546] A gunner raises the latch, the gate opens andthe court fills in the winkling of an eye;[2547] the crowd rushes underthe archway and up the grand stairway with such impetuosity that acannon borne along by hand reaches the third room on the first storybefore it stops. The doors crack under the blows of axes and, in thelarge hall of the Oeil de Boeuf, the multitude find themselves face toface with the King. 

In such circumstances the representatives of public authority, thedirectories, the municipalities, the military chiefs, and, on the 6th ofOctober, the King himself, have all thus far yielded; they have eitheryielded or perished. Santerre, certain of the issue, preferred to takeno part in this affair; he prudently holds back, he shies away, and letsthe crowd push him into the council chamber, where the Queen, the youngDauphin, and the ladies have taken refuge. [2548] There, with his tall, corpulent figure, he formed a sort of shield to forestall useless andcompromising injuries. In the mean time, in the Oeil de Boeuf, he letsthings take their course; everything will be done in his absence thatought to be done, and in this he seems to have calculated justly. --Onone side, in a window recess, sits the King on a bench, almost alone, while in front of him, as a guard, are four or five of the NationalGuards; on the other side, in the apartments, is an immense crowd, hourly increasing according as the rumor of the irruption spreads in thevicinity, fifteen or twenty thousand persons, a prodigious accumulation, a pell-mell traversed by eddies, a howling sea of bodies crushing eachother, and of which the simple flux and reflux would flatten against thewalls obstacles ten times as strong, an uproar sufficient to shatter thewindow panes, "frightful yells, " curses and imprecations, "Down with M. Veto!" "Let Veto go to the devil!" "Take back the patriot ministers!""He shall sign; we won't go away till he does!"[2549]--Foremost amongthem all, Legendre, more resolute than Santerre, declares himself thespokesman and trustee of the powers of the sovereign people: "Sir, " sayshe to the King, who, he sees, makes a gesture of surprise, "yes, Sir, listen to us; you are made to listen to what we say! You are a traitor!You have always deceived us; you deceive us now! But look out, themeasure is full; the people are tired of being played upon!"--" Sire, Sire, " exclaims another fanatic, "I ask you in the name of the hundredthousand beings around us to recall the patriot ministers. . . I demandthe sanction of the decree against the priests and the twenty thousandmen. Either the sanction or you shall die!"--But little is wanting forthe threat to be carried out. The first comers are on hand, "presentingpikes, " among them "a brigand, " with a rusty sword blade on the end ofa pole, "very sharp, " and who points this at the King. Afterwards theattempt at assassination is many times renewed, obstinately, by three orfour madmen determined to kill, and who make signs of so doing, one, a shabby, ragged fellow, who keeps up his excitement with "the foulestpropositions, " the second one, "a so-called conqueror of the Bastille, "formerly porte-tête for Foulon and Berthier, and since driven out ofthe battalion, the third, a market-porter, who, "for more than an hour, "armed with a saber, makes a terrible effort to make his way to theking. [2550]--Nothing is done. The king remains impassible under everythreat. He takes the hand of a grenadier who wishes to encourage him, and, placing it on his breast, bids him, "See if that is the beating ofa heart agitated by fear. "[2551] To Legendre and the zealots who callupon him to sanction, he replies without the least excitement:

"I have never departed from the Constitution. . . . I will do what theConstitution requires me to do. . . . It is you who break the law. "--And, for nearly three hours, remaining standing, blockaded on hisbench, [2552] he persists in this without showing a sign of weaknessor of anger. This cool deportment at last produces an effect, theimpression it makes on the spectators not being at all that which theyanticipated. It is very clear that the personage before them is not themonster which has been depicted to them, a somber, imperious tyrant, thesavage, cunning Charles IX. They had hissed on the stage. They see a mansomewhat stout, with placid, benevolent features, whom they would take, without his blue sash, for an ordinary, peaceable bourgeois. [2553] Hisministers, near by, three or four men in black coats, gentlemen andrespectable employees, are just what they seem to be. In another windowrecess stands his sister, Madame Elizabeth, with her sweet and innocentface. This pretended tyrant is a man like other men; he speaks gently, he says that the law is on his side, and nobody says the contrary;perhaps he is less wrong than he is thought to be. If he would onlybecome a patriot!--A woman in the room brandishes a sword with a cockadeon its point; the King makes a sign and the sword is handed to him, which he raises and, hurrahing with the crowd, cries out: Vive laNation! That is already one good sign. A red cap is shaken in the air atthe end of a pole. Some one offers it to him and he puts it on his head;applause bursts forth, and shouts of Vive la Nation! Vive la Liberte!and even vive le Roi!

From this time forth the greatest danger is over. But it is not that thebesiegers abandon the siege. "He did damned well, " they exclaim, "to putthe cap on, and if he hadn't we would have seen what would come of it. And damn it, if he does not sanction the decree against the priests, anddo it right off; we will come back every day. In this way we shall tirehim out and make him afraid of us. --But the day wears on. The heat isover-powering, the fatigue extreme, the King less deserted and betterprotected. Five or six of the deputies, three of the municipal officers, a few officers of the National Guard, have succeeded in making their wayto him. Pétion himself, mounted on a sofa, harangues the people withhis accustomed flattery. [2554] At the same time Santerre, aware of theopportunity being lost, assumes the attitude of a liberator, and shoutsin his rough voice: "I answer for the royal family. Let me see to it. "A line of National Guards forms in front of the King, when, slowly andwith difficulty, urged by the mayor, the crowd melts away, and, by eighto'clock in the evening, it is gone. 

*****

[Footnote 2501: Moniteur, X. 39 and following pages (sessions of Oct. 5 and 6, 1791). Speeches by Chabot, Couthon, Lequinio, andVergniaud. --Mercure de France, Oct. 15. Speech by Robespierre, May 17, 1790. "The king is not the nation's representative, but its clerk. "--Cf. Ernest Hamel, "Vie de Robespierre. "]

[Footnote 2502: Moniteur, XIII. 97 (session of July 6, 1792)]

[Footnote 2503: Buchez et Roux, XIII. 61, Jan. 28, 1792. The King in hisusually mild way calls the attention of the Assembly to the usurpationit is committing. "The form adopted by you is open to importantobservations. I shall not extend these to-day; the gravity of thesituation demands that I concern myself much more with maintainingharmonious sentiments than with continually discussing my rights. "]

[Footnote 2504: Sauzay, II. 99. Letter of the deputy Vernerey to theDirectory of Doubs: "The Directory of the department may always act withthe greatest severity against the seditious, and, apart from the articlerelating to their pension, follow the track marked out in the decree. Ifthe executive desires to impede the operations of the Directory. . . The latter has its recourse in the National Assembly, which inall probability will afford it a shelter against ministerialattacks. "--Moniteur, XII. 202 (session of April 23). Report of Roland, Minister of the Interior. Already at this date forty-two departments hadexpelled or interned the unsworn ecclesiastics. ]

[Footnote 2505: Mercure-de-France, Feb. 25. ]

[Footnote 2506: Moniteur, X. 440 (session of Nov. 22, 1791). A letter toM. Southon, Director of the Mint at Paris, is read, "complaining of anarbitrary order, that of the Minister of the Interior, to report himselfat Pau on the 25th of this month, under penalty of dismissal. " Isnardsupports the charge: "M. Southon, " he says, "is here at work on a verycircumstantial denunciation of the Minister of the Interior (Applausefrom the galleries. ) If citizens who are zealous enough to make waron abuses are sent back to their departments we shall never havedenunciations" (The applause is renewed. ):--Ibid. , X, 504 (session ofNov. 29). Speech by Isnard: "Our ministers must know that we are notfully satisfied with the conduct of each of them repeated applause:;that henceforth they must simply choose between public gratitude and thevengeance of the law, and that our understanding of the wordresponsibility is death. " (The applause is renewed. )--The Assemblyorders this speech to be printed and sent into the departments. --Cf. XII, 73, 138, etc. ]

[Footnote 2507: Moniteur, XI. 603. (Session of March 10. Speech byBrissot, to secure a decree of accusation against M. Delessart, Ministerof Foreign Affairs. ) M. Delessart is a "perfidious man, " for havingstated in a dispatch that "the Constitution, with the great majorityof the nation, has become a sort of religion which is embraced withthe greatest enthusiasm. " Brissot denounces these two expressions asinadequate and anti-patriotic. -Ibid. , XII. 438 (session of May 20). Speech by Guadet: "Larivière, the juge-de-paix, has convicted himselfof the basest and most atrocious of passions, in having desired to usurpthe power which the Constitution has placed in the hands of the NationalAssembly. "--I do not believe that Laubardemont himself could havecomposed anything equal to these two speeches. --Cf. XII. 462 (sessionof May 23). Speech by Brissot and one by Gonsonné on the Austriancommittee. The feebleness and absurdity of their argument isincredible. ]

[Footnote 2508: Affairs of the Minister Duport-Dutertre and of theAmbassador to Vienna, M. De Noailles. ]

[Footnote 2509: Mercure de France, March 10, 1792. ]

[Footnote 2510: Moniteur, XI. 607 (session of March 10). ]

[Footnote 2511: Moniteur, XII. 396 (session of May 15). Isnard's addressis the ground-plan of Roland's famous letter. --Cf. Passim, the sessionsof the Assembly during the Girondist ministry, especially those of May19 and 20, June 5, etc. ]

[Footnote 2512: Dumouriez, "Mémoires, " book III. Ch. VI. ]

[Footnote 2513: "Letter of a young mechanician, " proposing to make aconstitutional king, which, "by means of a spring, would receivefrom the hands of the president of the Assembly a list of ministersdesignated by the majority" (1791). ]

[Footnote 2514: Servan, who was Girondist minister of war, proposed tolet 20 000 fédérés or provincial National guards establish themselvesoutside Paris. (SR). ]

[Footnote 2515: You will meet this sinister expression later on whenthe Government ceased killing in France but simply sent undesirables andimaginary or real opponents overseas to death-camps. Transportation wasused by Stalin and Hitler only their extermination took place in theirown countries not overseas. (SR). ]

[Footnote 2516: Moniteur, XI. 426 (session of May 19). Speech byLasource: "Could not things be so arranged as to have a considerableforce near enough to the capital to terrify and keep inactive thefactions, the intriguers, the traitors who are plotting perfidious plansin its bosom, simultaneously with the maneuvers of outside enemies?"]

[Footnote 2517: 'Mallet du Pan, "Mémoires. " I. 303. Letter of Malouet, June 29: "The king is calm and perfectly resigned. On the 19th he wroteto his confessor: "Come, sir; never have I had so much need of yourconsolations. I am done with men; I must now turn my eyes to heaven. Sadevents are announced for to-morrow. I shall have courage. ' "--"Lettresde Coray au Protopsalte de Smyrne" (translated by M. De Queux deSaint-Hilaire, ) 145, May 1st: "The court is in peril every moment. Donot be surprised if I write you some day that his unhappy king and hiswife are assassinated. ". "]

[Footnote 2518: Rétif de la Bretonne, "Nuits de Paris, " Vol. XVI. (analyzed by Lacroix in "Bibliothèque de Rétif de la Bretonne" ). --Rétifis the man in Paris who lived the most in the streets and had the mostintercourse with the low class. ]

[Footnote 2519: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3276. Letter from theDirectory of Clamecy, March 27, and official report of the civilcommissioners, March 31, 1792, on the riot of the raftsmen. Tracu, theircaptain, armed with a cudgel ten feet long, compelled peaceful peopleto march along with him, threatening to knock them down; he tried to getthe head of Peynier, the clerk of the Paris dealers in wood. "I shallhave a good supper to-night, " he exclaimed "(or the head of that bastardPeynier is a fat one, and I'll stick it in my Pot!")]

[Footnote 2520: Letters of Coray, 126. "This pillaging has lasted threedays, Jan. 22, 23 and 24, and we expect from hour to hour similar riotsstill more terrible. "]

[Footnote 2521: Mercier (" Tableau de Paris") had already noticed beforethe Revolution this habit of the Parisian workman, especially among thelowest class of workmen. ]

[Footnote 2522: Mortimer-Ternaux, 1. 346 (letter of June 21, 1792). ]

[Footnote 2523: Buchez et Roux, VIII. 25 (session of the NationalAssembly, Nov. 10, 1790). Petition presented by Danton in the name of theforty-eight sections of Paris. ]

[Footnote 2524: Buchez et Roux, XIV. 268 (May. 1792). Article byRobespierre against the fête decreed in honor of Simonneau, Mayor ofEtampes, assassinated in a riot: "Simonneau was guilty before he becamea victim. "]

[Footnote 2525: How can one forget that great seducer of the massesHitler? In his book "Hitler Speaks" page 208 Rauschning reports Hitleras saying: "It is true that the masses are uncritical, but not in theway these idiots of Marxists and reactionaries imagine. The masses havetheir critical faculties, too, but they function differently from thoseof the private individual. The masses are like an animal they obeysinstincts. They do not reach conclusions by reasoning. My success ininitiating the greatest people's movement of all time is due to my neverhaving done anything in violation of the vital laws and feelings of themass. These feelings may be primitive, but they have the resistance andindestructibility of natural qualities. A once intensely felt experiencein the life of the masses, like ration cards and inflation, will neveragain be driven out of their blood. The masses have a simple systemof thinking and feeling, and anything that cannot be fitted intoit disturbs them. It is only because I take their vital laws intoconsideration that I can rule them. "]

[Footnote 2526: Moniteur, XII. 254. --According to the royal almanac of1792 the Paris national guard comprises 32, 000 men, divided intosixty battalions, to which must be added the battalions of pikemen, spontaneously organized and composed, especially of the non-activecitizens. --Cf. In "Les Révolutions de Paris, " Prudhomme's Journal, theengravings which represent this sort of procession. ]

[Footnote 2527: Buchez et Roux, XV. 122. Declaration of Lareynie, avolunteer soldier in the Ile Saint-Louis battalion. --To those which henames I add Huguenin, because on the 20th of June it was his duty toread the petition of the rioters; also Saint-Huruge, because he led themob with Santerre. --About Rossignol, Cf. Dauban, "La Demagogie à Paris, "369 (according to the manuscript memoirs of Mercier du Rocher). Hereaches Fontenay Aug. 21, 1793, with the representative Bourbotte, Momoro, commissary-general, three adjutants, Moulins, Hasard, theex-priest, Grammont, an ex-actor and several prostitutes. "The prettiestshared her bed with Bourbotte and Rossignol. " They lodge in a mansion towhich seals are affixed. "The seals were broken, and jewelry, dresses, and female apparel were confiscated for the benefit of the general andhis followers. There was nothing, even down to the crockery, which didnot become the booty of these self-styled republicans"]

[Footnote 2528: Mathon de la Varenne, "Histoire particulière desévénements qui ont eu lieu en juin, juillet, août, et septembre, 1792, "p. 23. (He knew Saint-Huruge personally. ) Saint-Huruge had married anactress at Lyons in 1778. On returning to Paris he learned through thepolice that his wife was a trollop, and he treated her accordingly. Enraged, she looked up Saint-Huruge's past career, and found two chargesagainst him, one for the robbery and assassination of an alien merchant, and the other for infanticide; she obtained his incarceration by alettre-de-cachet. He was shut in Charenton from Jan. 14, 1781, toDecember, 1784, when he was transferred to another prison and afterwardsexiled to his estates, from which he fled to England. He returned toFrance on the outbreak of the Revolution. ]

[Footnote 2529: With respect to connivance, Cf. Mortimer-Ternaux, I. 132and the following pages. --Mallet du Pan, "Mémoires, " I. 300. Letter ofthe Abbé de Pradt, June 21, 1795. "The insurrection had been announcedfor several days. . . The evening before, 150 deputies so many Jacobins, had dined at their great table in the Champs-Elysées, and distributedpresents of wine and food. "]

[Footnote 2530: Moniteur, XII. 642 (session of June 12, 1792, narrativeof M. Delfaux, deputy). --The execution of Damiens was witnessed byParisians still living, while "Charles IX. , " by Marie Chénier, wasat this time the most popular tragedy. --"The French people, " says M. Ferières (I. 35), "went away from its representation eager for vengeanceand tormented with a thirst for blood. At the end of the fourth act alugubrious bell announces the moment of the massacre, and the audience, drawing in its breath sighing and groaning, furiously exclaims silence!silence! as if fearing that the sound of this death-knell had notstirred the heart to its very depths. "--"Révolutions de Paris, " numberfor June 23, 1792. "The speakers, under full sail, distributed theirparts amongst themselves, " one against the staffs, another againstpriests, another against judges, department, and the ministers, andespecially the king. "Some there are, and we agree in this with thesieur Delfaux, who pass the measure and advise murder through gestures, eyes, and speech. "]

[Footnote 2531: Mortimer-Ternaux, I. 133. --There is the same calculationand the same work-shop in the faubourg Saints-Marcel (report ofSaint-Prix, commandant of the Val-de-Grâce battalion). "Minds remainedtranquil until a club was opened at the Porte Saint-Marcel; now theyare all excited and divided. This dub, which is in contact with that ofSanterre, urges citizens to go armed to-morrow (June 20) to the NationalAssembly and to the king's Palace, notwithstanding the acts of theconstituted authorities. "]

[Footnote 2532: Mortimer-Ternaux, I. 136. This program is firstpresented to the council-general of the commune by Lazowski and nineothers (June 16). The council-general rejects it and refers to the law. "The petitioners, on learning this decision, loudly declare that itshall not prevent them from assembling in arms" (Buchez et Roux, XV. 120, official report by M. Borie). --The bibliography of documentsrelating to the 20th of June is given by Mortimer-Ternaux, I. 397 andfollowing pages. The principal documents are found in Mortimer-Ternaux, in "L'Histoire Parlementaire" of Buchez et Roux, and in the RevueRétrospective. ]

[Footnote 2533: "Correspondance de Mirabeau et M. De la Marck, " III. 319. Letter of the Count de Montmorin, June 21, 1792. "The Paris banditsnot being sufficient, they have invited in these of the neighboringvillages. "]

[Footnote 2534: Reports of the municipal officers Perron (7 o'clockin the morning), Sergent (8 o'clock), Mouchet, Gujard, and Thomas (9o'clock). ]

[Footnote 2535: Report of Saint Prix, commandant of the Val-de-Grâcebattalion (10 o'clock In the morning). --Report of Alexandre, commandingthe Saint-Marcel battalion. "The whole battalion was by no means readyto march. "--Official report of the Montreuil section. Bonneau, thecommander concludes to march only under protest and to avoid spillingblood. ]

[Footnote 2536: Deposition of Lareyrnie, a volunteer soldier of the IleSaint-Louis battalion. ]

[Footnote 2537: Deposition of M. Witinghof, lieutenant-general. --"Correspondence of Mirabeau and M. De la Marck. "Letter of M. De Montmorin, June 21. "At two o'clock the gatheringamounted to 8, 000 or 10, 000 persons. "]

[Footnote 2538: Moniteur, XII. 717. "What a misfortune for the freemenwho have transferred their powers to you, to find themselves reducedto the cruel necessity of dipping their hands in the blood ofconspirators!" etc. --The character of the leaders is apparent in theirstyle. The incompetent copyist who drew up the address did not even knowthe meaning of words. "The people so wills it, and its head is of moreaccount than that of crowned despots. That head is the genealogical treeof the nation, and before that robust head the feeble reed must bend!"He has already recited the fable of "The Oak and the Bulrush, " and heknows the names of Demosthenes, Cicero, and Catiline. It seems to be thecomposition of a school master turned public letter writer, at a penny apage. ]

[Footnote 2539: Hua, "Mémoires, " 134. ]

[Footnote 2540: Moniteur, XII. 718. ]

[Footnote 2541: "Chronique des cinquante jours, " by Roederer, syndic-attorney of the department. ]

[Footnote 2542: Hua, 134. --Bourrienne, "Mémoires, " I. 49. (He was withBonaparte in a restaurant, rue Saint-Honoré, near the Palais-Royal. ) "Ongoing out we saw a troop coming from the direction of the market, whichBonaparte estimated at from 5, 000 to 6, 000 men, all in rags and armed inthe oddest manner, yelling and shouting the grossest provocations, andturning towards the Tuileries. It was certainly the vilest and mostabject lot that could be found in the faubourgs. 'Let us follow thatrabble, ' said Bonaparte to me. " They ascend the terrace on the riverbank. "I could not easily describe the surprise and indignation whichthese scenes excited in him. He did not like so much weakness andforbearance. 'Che coglione! he exclaimed in a loud tone. 'How could theylet those rascals in? Four or five hundred of them ought to have beenswept off with cannon, and the rest would still be running!'"]

[Footnote 2543: "Chronique des cinquante jours, " by Roederer. --Depositionof Lareynie. ]

[Footnote 2544: Deposition of Lareynie. ]

[Footnote 2545: Report of Saint-Prix. ]

[Footnote 2546: Report by Mouchet. --Deposition of Lareynie. (Theinterference of Sergent and Boucher-Réne is contested, but Raedererthinks it very probable. )]

[Footnote 2547: M. Pinon, in command of the 5th legion, and M. Vannot, commanding a battalion, tried to shut the iron gate of the archway, butare driven back and told: "You want thousands to perish, do you, tosave one man?" This significant expression is heard over and overagain during the Revolution, and it explains the success of theinsurrections. --Alexandre, in command of the Saint-Marcel battalion, says in his report: "Why make a resistance which can be of no usefulnessto the public, one which may even compromise it a great deal more?. . . "]

[Footnote 2548: Deposition of Lareynie. The attitude of Santerre is hereclearly defined. At the foot of the staircase in the court he is stoppedby a group of citizens, who threaten "to make him responsible forany harm done, " and tell him: "You alone are the author of thisunconstitutional assemblage; it is you alone who have led away theseworthy people. You are a rascal!"--"The tone of these honest citizens inaddressing the sieur Santerre made him turn pale. But, encouraged bya glance from the sieur Legendre, he resorted to a hypocriticalsubterfuge, and addressing the troop, he said: 'Gentlemen, draw upa report, officially stating that I refuse to enter the king'sapartments. ' The only answer the crowd made, accustomed to divining whatSanterre meant, was to hustle the group of honest citizens out of theway. "]

[Footnote 2549: Depositions of four of the national guard, Lecrosnier, Gossé, Bidault, and Guiboult. --Reports of Acloque and de Lachesnaye, commanding officers of the legion. --"Chronique des cinquante jours, " byRoederer. --Ibid. P. 65: "I have to state that, during the Convention, thebutcher Legendre declared to Boissy d'Anglas, from whom I had it, thatthe plan was to kill the king. "--Prudhomme, "Crimes de la Révolution, "III. 43. "The king was to be assassinated. We heard citizens all in ragssay that it was a pity; he looks like a good sort of a bastard. "]

[Footnote 2550: Madame Campan, "Mémoires, " II. 212. "M. Vannot, commander of the battalion, had turned aside a weapon aimed at the king. One of the grenadiers of the Filles-Saint-Thomas warded off a blow witha sword, aimed in the same direction with the same intention. "]

[Footnote 2551: Declaration of Lachesnaye, in command of thelegion. --Moniteur, XII. 719 (evening session of June 20). Speech of M. Alos, an eye-witness. (The king does this twice, using about the samewords, the first time immediately on the irruption of the crowd, andthe second time probably after Vergniaud's harangue. ) Declaration ofLachesnaye, in command of the legion. --Moniteur, XII. 719 (eveningsession of June 20). Speech of M. Alos, an eye-witness. (The king doesthis twice, using about the same words, the first time immediatelyon the irruption of the crowd, and the second time probably afterVergniaud's harangue. )]

[Footnote 2552: The engraving in the "Révolutions de Paris" representshim seated, and separated from the crowd by an empty space; that is afalsehood of the party. . ]

[Footnote 2553: The queen produces the same impression. Prudhomme, inhis journal, calls her "the Austrian panther, " which word well expressesthe idea of her in the faubourgs. A prostitute stops before her andbestows on her a volley of curses. The reply of the queen is: "Have Iever done you any wrong?" "No; but it is you who do so much harm to thenation. " "You have been deceived, " replies the queen. "I married theKing of France. I am the mother of the dauphin. I am a French woman. Ishall never again see my own country. I shall never be either happy ormiserable anywhere but in France. When you loved me I was happy then. "The prostitute burst into tears. "Ah. Madame, forgive me! I did not knowyou. I see that you have been very good. " Santerre, however, wishingto put an end to this emotion, cries out: "The girl is drunk "--(MadameCampan, II. 214. --Report by Mandat, an officer of the legion. )]

[Footnote 2554: Mortimer-Ternaux, I. 213. "Citizens, you have justlegally made known your will to the hereditary representative of thenation; you have done this with the dignity, with the majesty of a freepeople! There is no doubt that your demands will be reiterated by theeighty-three departments, while the king cannot refrain from acquiescingin the manifest will of the people. "]

CHAPTER VI. THE BIRTH OF THE TERRIBLE PARIS COMMUNE. 

I. --Indignation of the Constitutionalists. 

 Cause of their weakness. --The Girondins renew the attack. --Their double plan. 

As the blow has missed the target, it must be repeated. This is themore urgent, inasmuch as the faction has thrown off the mask and "honestpeople"[2601] on all sides become indignant at seeing the Constitutionsubject to the arbitrariness of the lowest class. Nearly all the higheradministrative bodies, seventy-five of the department directories, [2602]give in their adhesion to Lafayette's letter, or respond by supportingthe proclamation, so noble and so moderate, in which the King, recounting the violence done to him, maintains his legal rights withmournful, inflexible gentleness. Many of the towns, large and small, thank him for his firmness, the addresses being signed by "the notablesof the place, "[2603] chevaliers of St. Louis, former officials, judgesand district-administrators, physicians, notaries, lawyers, recorders, post-masters, manufacturers, merchants, people who are settled down, inshort the most prominent and the most respected men. At Paris, a similarpetition, drawn up by two former Constituents, contains 247 pages ofsignatures attested by 99 notaries. [2604] Even in the council-generalof the commune a majority is in favor of publicly censuring the mayorPétion, the syndic-attorney Manuel, and the police administrators Panis, Sergent, Viguer, and Perron. [2605] On the evening of June 20th, thedepartment council orders an investigation; it follows this up; iturges it on; it proves by authentic documents the willful inaction, thehypocritical connivance, the double-dealing of the syndic-attorney andthe mayor;[2606] it suspends both from their functions, and cites thembefore the courts as well as Santerre and his accomplices. Lafayette, finally, adding to the weight of his opinion the influence of hispresence, appears at the bar of the National Assembly and demands"effectual" measures against the usurpations of the Jacobin sect, insisting that the instigators of the riot of the 20th of Junebe punished "as guilty of lése-nation. " As a last and still moresignificant symptom, his proceedings are approved of in the Assembly bya majority of more than one hundred votes. [2607]

All this must and will be crushed out. For on the side of theConstitutionalists, whatever they may be, whether King, deputies, ministers, generals, administrators, notables or national-guards, thewill to act evaporates in words; and the reason is, they are civilizedbeings, long accustomed to the ways of a regular community, interestedfrom father to son in keeping the law, disconcerted at the thought ofconsequences, upset by multifaceted ideas, unable to comprehend that, inthe state of nature to which France has reverted, but one idea is ofany account, that of the man who, in accepting a declared war, meets theoffensive with the offensive, loads his gun, descends into the streetand contends with the savage destroyers of human society. ----Nobodycomes to the support of Lafayette, who alone has the courage to take thelead; about one hundred men muster at the rendezvous named by him in theChamps-Élysées. They agree to march to the Jacobin club the followingday and close it, provided the number is increased to three hundred; butthe next day only thirty turn up. Lafayette can do no more than leaveParis and write a letter containing another protest. --Protestations, appeals to the Constitution, to the law, to public interest, to commonsense, well-reasoned arguments; this side will never resort to anythingelse than speeches and paperwork; and, in the coming conflict words willbe of no use. --Imagine a quarrel between two men, one ably presentinghis case and the other indulging in little more than invective; thelatter, having encountered an enormous mastiff on his road, has caressedhim, enticed him, and led him along with him as an auxiliary. To themastiff, clever argumentation is only so much unmeaning sound; with hiseager eyes fixed on his temporary master he awaits only his signal tospring on the adversaries he points out. On the 20th of June he hasalmost strangled one of them, and covered him with his slaver. On the21st, [2608] he is ready to spring again. He continues to growl for fiftydays, at first sullenly and then with terrific energy. On the 25th ofJune, July 14 and 27, August 3 and 5, he again makes a spring and iskept back only with great difficulty. [2609] Already on one occasion, July 29th, his fangs are wet with human gore. [2610]--At each turn of theparliamentary debate the defenseless Constitutionalists beholds thoseopen jaws before him; it is not surprising that he throws to thisdog, or allows to be thrown to him, all the decrees demanded by theGirondists as a bone for him to gnaw on. --Sure of their strength theGirondists renew the attack, and the plan of their campaign seems to beskillfully prepared. They are quite willing to retain the King on histhrone, but on the condition that he shall be a mere puppet; that heshall recall the patriot ministers, allow them to appoint the Dauphin'stutor, and that Lafayette shall be removed;[2611] otherwise the Assemblywill pass the act of de-thronement and seize the executive power. Suchis the defile with two issues in which they have placed the Assembly andthe King. If the King balks at leaving by the first door, the Assembly, equally nonplused, will leave through the second; in either case, as theall-powerful ministers of the submissive King or as executive delegatesof the submissive Assembly, the Girondists will become the masters ofFrance. 

II. --Pressure on the King. 

 Pétion and Manual brought to the Hôtel-de-ville. --The Ministry obliged to resign. --Jacobin agitation against the King. --Pressure on the Assembly. --Petition of the Paris Commune. --Threats of the petitioners and of the galleries. --Session of August 8th. --Girondist strategy foiled in two ways. 

With this in mind they begin by attacking the King, and try to makehim yield through fear. --They remove the suspension pronounced againstPétion and Manuel, and restore them both to their places in theHôtel-de-ville. They will from now on rule Paris without restriction orsupervision; for the Directory of the department has resigned, and nosuperior authority exists to prevent them from calling upon or givingorders as they please to the armed forces; they are exempt from allsubordination, as well as from all control. Behold the King of Francein good hands, in those of the men who, on the 20th of June, refused tonuzzle the popular brute, declaring that it had done well, that it hadright on its side, and that it may begin again. According to them, thepalace of the monarch belongs to the public; people may enter it as theywould a coffee-house; in any event, as the municipality is occupiedwith other matters, it cannot be expected to keep people out. "Isthere nothing else to guard in Paris but the Tuileries and theKing?"[2612]--Another maneuver consists in rendering the King'sinstruments powerless. Honorable and inoffensive as the new ministersmay be, they never appear in the Assembly without being hooted at inthe tribunes. Isnard, pointing with his finger to the principal one, exclaims: "That is a traitor!"[2613] Every popular outburst is imputedto them as a crime, while Guadet declares that, "as royal counselors, they are answerable for any disturbances" that the double veto mightproduce. [2614] Not only does the faction declare them guilty of theviolence provoked by itself, but, again, it demands their lives forthe murders which it commits. "France must know, " says Vergniaud, "thathereafter ministers are to answer with their heads for any disordersof which religion is the pretext. "--"The blood just spilt at Bordeaux, "says Ducos, "may be laid at the door of the executive power. "[2615] LaSource proposes to "punish with death, " not alone the minister who isnot prompt in ordering the execution of a decree, but, again, the clerkswho do not fulfill the minister's instructions. Always death on everyoccasion, and for every one who is not of the sect. Under this constantterror, the ministers resign in a body, and the King is required at onceto appoint others; meanwhile, to increase the danger of their position, the Assembly decrees that hereafter they shall "be answerable foreach other. " It is evident that they are aiming at the King over hisminister's shoulders, while the Girondists leave nothing unturned torender government to him impossible. The King, again, signs this newdecree; he declines to protest; to the persecution he is forced toundergo he opposes nothing but silence, sometimes a simple, frank, good-hearted expression, [2616] some kindly, touching complaining, whichseems like a suppressed moan. [2617] But dogmatic obstinacy and impatientambition are willfully deaf to the most sorrowful strains! His sinceritypasses for a new false-hood. Vergniaud, Brissot, Torné, Condorcet, inthe tribune, charge him with treachery, demand from the Assembly theright of suspending him, [2618] and give the signal to their Jacobinauxiliaries. --At the invitation of the parent club, the provincialbranches bestir themselves, while all other instruments ofagitation belonging to the revolutionary machine are likewise put inmotion, --gatherings on the public squares, homicidal announcementson the walls, incendiary resolutions in the clubs, shouting in thetribunes, insulting addresses and seditious deputations at the bar ofthe National Assembly. [2619] After the working of this system for amonth, the Girondists regard the King as subdued, and, on the 26th ofJuly, Guadet, and then Brissot, in the tribune, make their last advancesto him, and issue the final summons. [2620] A profound delusion! Herefuses, the same as on the 20th of June: "Girondist ministers, Never!"

Since he bars one of the two doors, they will pass out at the other, and, if the Girondists cannot rule through him, they will rule withouthim. Pétion, in the name of the Commune, appears personally and proposesa new plan, demanding the dethronement. "This important measure oncepassed, "[2621] he says, "the confidence of the nation in the actualdynasty being very doubtful, we demand that a body of ministers, jointly responsible, appointed by the National Assembly, but, as theconstitutional law provides, outside of itself, elected by the openvote of freemen, be provisionally entrusted with the executive power. "Through this open vote the suffrage will be easily controlled. This isbut one more decree extorted, like so many others, the majority for along time having been subject to the same pressure as the King. "If yourefuse to respond to our wishes, " as a placard of the 23rd of June hadalready informed them, "our hands are lifted, and we shallstrike all traitors wherever they can be found, even amongstyourselves. "[2622]--"Court favorites, " says a petition of August6, "have seats in your midst. Let their inviolability perish if thenational will must always tamely submit to that lethal power!"--In theAssembly the yells from the galleries are frightful; the voices ofthose who speak against dethronement are overpowered; so great are thehooting, the speakers are driven out of the tribune. [2623] Sometimes the"Right" abandons the discussion and leaves the chamber. The insolenceof the galleries goes so far that frequently almost the entire Assemblymurmurs while they applaud; the majority, in short, loudly expressesanger at its bondage. [2624]--Let it be careful! In the tribunes and atthe approaches to the edifice, stand the Federates, men who have a tightgrip. They will force it to vote the decisive measure, the accusation ofLafayette, the decree under which the armed champion of the King and theConstitution must fall. The Girondists, to make sure of it, exact acall of the house; in this way the names are announced and printed, thusdesignating to the populace the opponents of the measure, so that noneof them are sure of getting to their homes safe and sound. --Lafayette, however, a liberal, a democrat, and a royalist, as devoted to theRevolution as to the Law, is just the man, who, through his limitedmental grasp, his disconnected political conceptions, and the noblenessof his contradictory sentiments, best represents the present opinion ofthe Assembly, as well as that of France. [2625] Moreover, his popularity, his courage, and his army are the last refuge. The majority feels thatin giving him up they themselves are given up, and, by a vote of 400to 224, it acquits him. --On this side, again, the strategy of theGirondists is found erroneous. Power slips away from them the secondtime. Neither the King nor the Assembly have consented to restore it tothem, while they can no longer leave it suspended in the air, or deferit until a better opportunity, and keep their Jacobin acolytes waiting. The feeble leash restraining the revolutionary dog breaks in theirhands; the dog is free and in the street

III. --The Girondins have worked for the benefit of the Jacobins. 

 The armed force sent away or disorganized. --The Federates summoned. --Brest and Marseilles send men. --Public sessions of administrative bodies. --Permanence of administrative bodies and of the sections. ----Effect of these two measures. --The central bureau of the Hôtel-de-ville. --Origin and formation of the revolutionary Commune. 

Never was better work done for another. Every measure relied on by themfor getting power back, serves only to place it in the hands ofthe mob. --On the one hand, through a series of legislative acts andmunicipal ordinances, they have set aside or disbanded the army, alonecapable of repressing or intimidating it. On the 29th of May theydismissed the king's guard. On the 15th of July they ordered away fromParis all regular troops. On the 16th of July, [2626] they select"for the formation of a body of infantry-gendarmerie, the formerFrench-guardsmen who served in the Revolution about the epoch of the 1stday of June, 1789, the officers, under-officers, gunners, and soldierswho gathered around the flag of liberty after the 12th of July of thatyear, " that is to say, a body of recognized insurgents and deserters. Onthe 6th of July, in all towns of 50, 000 souls and over, they strikedown the National Guard by discharging its staff, "an aristocraticcorporation, " says a petition, [2627] "a sort of modern feudalitycomposed of traitors, who seem to have formed a plan for directingpublic opinion as they please. " Early in August, [2628] they strikeinto the heart of the National Guard by suppressing special companies, grenadiers, and chasseurs, recruited amongst well-to-do-people, thegenuine elite, stripped of its uniform, reduced to equality, lost inthe mass, and now, moreover, finding its 'ranks degraded by a mixture ofinterlopers, federates, and men armed with pikes. Finally, to completethe pell-mell, they order that the palace guard be hereafter composeddaily of citizens taken from the sixty battalions, [2629] so that thechiefs may no longer know their men nor the men their chiefs; so thatno one may place confidence in his chief, in his subordinate, in hisneighbor, or in himself; so that all the stones of the human dike may beloosened beforehand, and the barrier crumble at the first onslaught. --Onthe other hand, they have taken care to provide the insurrection witha fighting army and an advanced guard. By another series of legislativeacts and municipal ordinances, they authorize the assemblage of theFederates at Paris; they allow them pay and military lodgings;[2630]they allow them to organize under a central committee sitting at theJacobin club, and to take their instructions from that club. Of thesenew-comers, two-thirds, genuine soldiers and true patriots, set out forthe camp at Soissons and for the frontier; one-third of them, however, remain at Paris, [2631] perhaps 2, 000, the rioters and politicians, who, feasted, entertained, indoctrinated, and each lodged with a Jacobin, become more Jacobin than their hosts, and incorporate themselves withthe revolutionary battalions, so as to serve the good cause with theirguns. [2632]--Two squads, late comers, remain separate, and are only themore formidable; both are dispatched by the towns on the sea-cost inwhich, four months before this, "twenty-one capital acts of insurrectionhad occurred, all unpunished, and several under sentence of the maritimejury. "[2633] The first, numbering 300 men, comes from Brest, * where the municipality, as infatuated as those of Marseilles andAvignon, engages in armed expeditions against its neighbors; wherepopular murder is tolerated;

* where M. De la Jaille is nearly killed;

* where the head of M. De la Patry is borne on a pike;

* where veteran rioters compose the crews of the fleet, * where "workers paid by the State, clerks, masters, non-commissionofficers, converted into agitators, political stump-speakers, movers, and critics of the administration, " ask only to be given roles toperform on a more conspicuous stage. 

The second troop, summoned from Marseilles by the Girondins, Rebecqui, and Barbaroux, [2634] comprises 516 men, intrepid, ferocious adventurers, from everywhere, either Marseilles or abroad, Savoyards, Italians, Spaniards, driven out of their country, almost all of the vilestclass, or gaining a livelihood by infamous pursuits, "hit-men andtheir henchmen of evil haunts, " used to blood, quick to strike, goodcut-throats, picked men out of the bands that had marched on Aix, Arles, and Avignon, the froth of that froth which, for three years, in theComtat and in the Bouches-du-Rhône, boiled over the useless barriersof the law. --The very day they reach Paris they show what they cando. [2635] Welcomed with great pomp by the Jacobins and by Santerre, theyare conducted, for a purpose, to the Champs-Elysées, into a tavern, near the restaurant in which the grenadiers of the Filles St. Thomas, bankers, brokers, leading men, well-known for their attachment to amonarchical constitution, were dining in a body, as announced severaldays in advance. The mob which had formed a convoy for the Marseillesbattalion, gathers before the restaurant, shouts, throws mud, and thenlets fly a volley of stones; the grenadiers draw their sabers. Forthwitha shout is heard just in front of them, à nous les Marseillais! uponwhich the gang jump out of the windows with true southern agility, clamber across the ditches, fall upon the grenadiers with their swords, kill one and wound fifteen. --No début could be more brilliant. The partyat last possesses men of action;[2636] and they must be kept withinreach! Men who do such good work, and so expeditiously, must be wellposted near the Tuileries. The mayor, consequently, on the night of the8th of August, without informing the commanding general, solely on hisown authority, orders them to leave their barracks in the Rue Blancheand take up their quarters, with their arms and cannon, in the barracksbelonging to the Cordeliers. [2637]

Such is the military force in the hands of the Jacobin masses; nothingremains but to place the civil power in their hands also, and, as thefirst gift of this kind was made to them by the Girondins, they will notfail to make them the second one. --On the 1st of July, they decree thatthe sessions of administrative bodies should thenceforth be public; thisis submitting municipalities, district, and department councils, aswell as the National Assembly itself, to the clamor, the outrages, themenaces, the rule of their audiences, which in these bodies as in theNational Assembly, will always be Jacobin. [2638] On the 11th of July, on declaring the country in danger, [2639] they render the sessionspermanent, first of the administrative bodies, and next ofthe forty-eight sections of Paris, which is a surrender of theadministrative bodies and the forty-eight sections of Paris to theJacobin minority, which minority, through its zeal and being everpresent, knows how to convert itself into a majority. --Let us trace theconsequences of this, and see the selection which is thus effected bythe double decree. Those who attend these meetings, day and night, arenot the steady, busy people. In the first place, they are too busy intheir own counting-rooms, shops and factories to lose so much time. Inthe next place, they are too sensible, to docile, and too honest togo and lord it over their magistrates in the Hôtel-de-ville, or regardthemselves in their various sections as the sovereign people. Moreover, they are disgusted with all this bawling. Lastly, the streets of Paris, especially at night, are not safe; owing to so much outdoor politics, there is a great increase of caning and of knocking down. Accordingly, for a long time, they do not attend at the clubs, nor are they seen inthe galleries of the National Assembly; nor will they be seen againat the sessions of the municipality, nor at the meetings of thesections. --Nothing, on the other hand, is more attractive to the idletipplers of the cafés, to bar-room oracles, loungers, and talkers, living in furnished rooms, [2640] to the parasites and refractory of thesocial army, to all who have left the social structures and unable toget back again, who want to tear things to pieces, and, for lack ofa private career, establish one for themselves in public. Permanentsessions, even at night, are not too long either for them, or for lazyFederates, for disordered intellects, and for the small troop of genuinefanatics. Here they are either performers or claqueurs, an uproar notbeing offensive to them, because they create it. They relieve eachother, so as to be always on hand in sufficient number, or compensatefor a deficiency by usurpations and brutality. The section of theThéâtre-Français, for instance, in contempt of the law, removes thedistinction between active and passive citizens, by granting to allresidents in its circumscription the right to be present at its meetingsand the right to vote. Other sections[2641] admit to their sittingsall well-disposed spectators, all women, children, and the nomads, allagitators, and the agitated, who, as at the National Assembly, applaudor hoot at the word of command. In the sections not disposed to be atthe mercy of an anonymous public, the same herd of frantic charactersmake a racket at the doors, and insult the electors who pass throughthem. --Thanks to this itinerant throng of co-operating intruders, theJacobin extremists rule the sections the same as the Assembly; in thesections as in the Assembly, they drive away or silence the moderates, and when the hall becomes half empty or dumb, their motion is passed. Hawked about in the vicinity, the motion is even carried off; in afew days it makes the tour of Paris, and returns to the Assembly as anauthentic and unanimous expression of popular will. [2642]

At present, to ensure the execution of this counterfeit will, itrequires a central committee, and through a masterpiece of delusion, Pétion, the Girondist mayor, is the one who undertakes to lodge, sanction, and organize the committee. On the 17th day of July, [2643] heestablishes in the offices belonging to the Commune, "a centralbureau of correspondence between the sections. " To this a duly electedcommissioner is to bring the acts passed by his section each day, andcarry away the corresponding acts of the remaining forty-seven sections. Naturally, these elected commissioners will hold meetings of their own, appointing a president and secretary, and making official reports oftheir proceedings in the same form as a veritable municipal council. Asthey are elected to-day, and with a special mandate, it is natural thatthey should consider themselves more legitimate than a municipal councilelected four or five months before them, and with a very uncertainmandate. Installed in the town hall of Paris (Hôtel-de-ville), only twosteps from the municipal council, it is natural for them to attempt totake its place; to substitute themselves for it, they have only to crossover to the other side of a corridor. 

IV. --Vain attempts of the Girondins to put it down. 

 Jacobin alarm, their enthusiasm, and their program. 

Thus, hatched by the Girondins, does the terrible Commune of Paris comeinto being, that of August 10th, September 2nd 1792 and May 31st. 1793. The viper has hardly left its nest before it begins to hiss. A fortnightbefore the 10th of August[2644] it begins to uncoil, and the wisestatesmen who have so diligently sheltered and fed it, stand aghast atits hideous, flattened head. Accordingly, they back away from it up tothe last hour, and strive to prevent it from biting them. Pétion himselfvisits Robespierre on the 7th of August, in order to represent to himthe perils of an insurrection, and to allow the Assembly time enough todiscuss the question of dethronement. The same day Verginaud andGuadet propose to the King, through the medium of Thierry, hisvalet-de-chambre, that, until peace is assured, the government becarried on under a regency. Pétion, on the night of August 9-10, issues a pressing circular to the sections, urging them to remaintranquil. [2645]

But it is too late. Fifty days of excitement and alarm have worked upthe aberrations of morbid imaginations into a delirium. --On the secondof August, a crowd of men and women rush to the bar of theAssembly, exclaiming, "Vengeance! Vengeance! our brethren are beingpoisoned!"[2646] The fact as ascertained is this: at Soissons, where thebread of the soldiery was prepared in a church, some fragments of brokenglass were found in the oven, on the strength of which a rumor wasstarted that 170 volunteers had died, and that 700 were lying in thehospital. A ferocious instinct makes men see their adversaries intheir own image and thus justify them to take those measures whichthey imagine their enemies would have taken in their place. [2647]--Thecommittee of Jacobin leaders states positively that the Court is aboutto attack, and, accordingly, has devised "not merely signs of this, but of the most unmistakable proof. "[2648]--"It is the Trojan horse, "exclaimed Panis; "We are lost if we do not succeed in disembowelingit. . . . The bomb explodes on the night of August 9-10. . . Fifteenthousand aristocrats stand ready to slaughter all patriots. "Patriots, consequently, attribute to themselves the right to slaughteraristocrats. --Late in June, in the Minimes section, "a French guardsmanhad already determined to kill the King, " if the King persisted in hisveto. When the president of the section wanted to expulse the regicide, it was the latter who was retained and the president was expelled. [2649]On the 14th of July, the day of the Federation festival, anotherpredecessor of Louvel and Fieschi, provided with a cutlass, hadintroduced himself into the battalion on duty at the palace, for thesame purpose; during the ceremony the crowd warmed up, and, for amoment, the King owed his life to the firmness of his escort. On the27th of July, in the garden of the Tuileries, d'Espréménil, the oldConstituent[2650], beaten, slashed, and his clothes torn, pursued like astag across the Palais Royal, falls bleedings on a mattress at the gatesof the Treasury. [2651] On the 29th of July, whilst one of Lafayette'saides, M. Bureau de Pusy, is at the bar of the house, "they try to havea motion passed in the Palais Royal to parade his head on the end of apike. "[2652]--At this level of rage and fear, the brutal and the excitedcan wait no longer. On the 4th of August, [2653] the Mauconseil sectiondeclares "to the Assembly, to the municipality, and to all the citizensof Paris, that it no longer recognizes Louis XVI. As King of theFrench". Its president, the foreman of a tailor's shop, and itssecretary, employed in the leather market, support their manifesto withthree lines of a tragedy floating vaguely in their minds, [2654] andname the Boulevard Madeleine St. Honoré as a rendezvous on the followingSunday for all well-disposed persons. On the 6th of August, Varlet, a post-office clerk, makes known to the Assembly, in the name of thepetitioners of the Champ de Mars, the program of the faction:

1. The dethronement of the King, 2. The indictment, arrest, and speedy condemnation of Lafayette, 3. The immediate convoking of the primary assemblies, 4. Universal suffrage, 5. The discharge of all staff officers, 6. The renewal of the departmental directories, 7. The recall of all ambassadors, 8. The suppression of diplomacy, 9. And a return to the state of nature. 

The Girondins may now delay, negotiate, beat about and argue as much asthey please; their hesitation has no other effect that to consign theminto the background, as being lukewarm and timid. Thanks to them, the(Jacobin) faction now has its deliberative assemblies, its executivepowers, its central seat of government, its enlarged, tried, and readyarmy, and, forcibly or otherwise, its program will be carried out. 

V. --Evening of August 8. 

 Session of August 9. --Morning of August 10. --Assembly purged. 

The Assembly must first of all be made to depose the King. Several timesalready, [2655] on the 26th of July and August 4, clandestine meetingshad been held where strangers decided the fate of France, and gavethe signal for insurrection. --Restrained with great difficulty, theyconsented "to have patience until August 9, at 11 o'clock in theevening. "[2656] On that day the discussion of the dethronement is totake place in the Assembly, and calculations are made on a favorablevote under such a positive threat; its reluctance must yield to thecertainty of a military occupation--On the 8th of August, however, the Assembly refuses, by a majority of two-thirds, to indict the greatenemy, Lafayette. The double amputation essential for State security, must therefore begin with the destruction of this majority. 

The moment Lafayette's acquittal is announced, the galleries, usuallyso vociferous, maintain "gloomy silence. "[2657] The word of command forthem is to keep themselves in reserve for the streets. One by one thedeputies who voted for Lafayette are pointed out to the mob at thedoors, and a shout is raised, "the rascals, the knaves, the traitorsliving on the civil list! Hang them! Kill them! Put an end to them!Mud, mortar, plaster, stones are thrown at them, and they are severelypummeled. M. Mézières, in the Rue du Dauphin, is seized by the throat, and a woman strikes at him, which he parries. In the Rue St. Honoré, anumber of men in red caps surround M. Regnault-Beauceron, and decide to"string him up at the lantern"; a man in his jacket had alreadygrabbed him from behind and raised him up, when the grenadiers ofSainte-Opportune arrive in time to set him free. In the Rue St. Louis, M. Deuzy, repeatedly struck on the back with stones, has a saber twiceraised over his head. In the Passage des Feuillants, M. Desbois ispummeled, and a "snuff-box, his pocket-book, and cane" are stolen fromhim. In the lobbies of the Assembly, M. Girardin is on the point ofbeing assassinated. [2658] Eight deputies besides these are pursued, andtake refuge in the guard-room of the Palais Royal. A Federate entersalong with them, and "there, his eyes sparkling with rage and thumpingon the table like a madman, " he exclaims to M. Dumolard, who is thebest known:" "If you are unlucky enough to put your feet in the Assemblyagain, I'll cut off your head with my sword!" As to the principaldefender of Lafayette, M. Vaublanc, he is assailed three times, buthe is wary enough not to return home; a number of infuriates, however, invest his house, yelling out that "eighty citizens are to perish bytheir hands, and he is one of the first"; a dozen of the gang ascendto his apartments, rummage them in every corner, make another effort tofind him in the adjoining houses, and, not being able to secure him, tryto find his family; he is notified that, if he returns to his house, he will be massacred. --In the evening, on the Feuillants terrace, otherdeputies are subjected to the same outrages; the gendarmerie tries invain to protect them, while the 'commandant of the National Guard, onleaving his post, is attacked and cut down. "[2659]--Meanwhile, someof the Jacobins in the lobbies "doom the majority of the Assembly todestruction"; one orator declares that "the people have a right to formlists of proscription, " and the club accordingly decides on printing andpublishing the names of all the deputies who acquitted Lafayette. --Neverwas physical constraint displayed and applied with such openshamelessness. [2660]

On the following day, August 9, armed men gather around the approachesto the Assembly, and sabers are seen even in the corridors. [2661] Thegalleries, more imperious than ever, cheer, and break out in ironicshouts of triumph and approval every time the attacks of the previousevening are denounced in the tribune. The president calls the offendersto order more than twenty times, but his voice and his bell are drownedin the uproar. It is impossible to express an opinion. Most of therepresentatives who were maltreated the evening before, write that theywill not return, while others, who are present, declare that they willnot vote again "if they cannot be secure of freedom of conscience intheir deliberations. " At this utterance, which expresses the secretsentiment of "nearly the whole of the Assembly, "[2662] "all the membersof the 'Right', and many of the 'Left' arise simultaneously and exclaim:'Yes, yes; we will debate no longer unless we are free!"--As usual, however, the majority gives away the moment effective measures are to beadopted; its heart sinks, as it always has done, on being called uponto act in self-defense, while these official declarations, one on top ofthe other, in hiding from it the gravity of the danger, sink it deeperin its own timidity. At this same session the syndic-attorney of thedepartment reports that the mob is ready, that 900 armed men had justentered Paris, that the tocsin would be rung at midnight, and that themunicipality tolerates or favors the insurrection. At this same session, the Minister of Justice gives notice that "the laws are powerless, "and that the government is no longer responsible. At this same session, Pétion, the mayor, almost avowing his complicity, appears at the bar ofthe house, and declares positively that he will have nothing to do withthe public forces, because "it would be arming one body of citizensagainst another. "[2663]--Every support is evidently knocked away. Feeling that it is abandoned, the National Assembly gives up, and, asa last expedient, and with a degree of weakness or simplicity whichadmirably depicts the legislators of the epoch, it adopts a philosophicaddress to the people, "instructing it what to do in the exercise of itssovereignty. "

How this is done, it may see the next morning. At 7 o'clock, a Jacobindeputy stops in a cab before the door of the Feuillants club; a crowdgathers around him, and he gives his name, Delmas. The crowd understoodit as Dumas, a well-known Constitutionalist, and, in a rage, drag himout of the vehicle and knock him down; had not other deputies run up andgiven assurances that he was the patriot Delmas, of Toulouse, insteadof "the traitor, Mathieu Dumas, " he was a lost man. [2664] Dumas makesno effort to enter. He finds on the Place Vendôme a second and not lessinstructive warning. Some wretches, followed by the usual rabble, carryabout a number of heads on pikes, those probably of the journalistSuleau, and three others, massacred a quarter of an hour before; "boysquite young, mere children, play with these heads by tossing them in theair, and catching them on the ends of their sticks. "--There is no doubtbut that the deputies of the "Right" and even the "Center, " would dowell to go home and stay there. In fact, they are no longer seen in theAssembly. [2665] In the afternoon, out of the 630 members still presentthe evening before, 346 do not answer the call, while aboutthirty others, had either withdrawn before this or sent in theirresignations. [2666] The purging is complete, like that to whichCromwell, in 1648, subjected the Long Parliament. Henceforth theLegislative body, reduced to 224 Jacobins or Girondins, with 60frightened or tractable neutrals, will obey the orders of the streetwithout any difficulty. A change has come over the spirit of the bodyas well as over its composition; it is nothing more now than a servileinstrument in the hands of the seditious, who have mutilated it, andwho, masters of it through a first misdeed, are going to use it tolegalize other crimes. 

VI. --Nights of August 9 and 10. 

 The sections. --Commissioners of the sections at the Hôtel- de-ville. --The revolutionary Commune is substituted for the legal Commune. 

During the night of the 9th and 10th of August their government formsitself for action, it has been set up as it will behave, with violenceand fraud. --In vain have they annoyed and worked on the sectionsfor the past fortnight; they are not yet submissive, only six out offorty-eight at the present hour, eleven o'clock at night, being foundsufficiently excited or purged to send their commissioners forthwith, with full power, to the Hôtel-de-ville. The others will follow, but themajority rests inert or recalcitrant. [2667]--It is necessary, therefore, to deceive or force this majority, and, to this end, darkness, the latehour, disorder, dread of the coming day, and the uncertainty of whatto do, are precious auxiliaries. In many of the sections, [2668] themeetings are already adjourned or deserted; only a few members of thepermanent bureau in the room, with a few men, perhaps asleep, on thenearly empty benches. An emissary arrives from the insurgent sections, along with a company of trusty fellows belonging to the quarter, andcries out, Save the country! The sleepers open their eyes, stretchthemselves, raise their hands, and elect whoever is designated, sometimes strangers and other unknown individuals, who will be disownedthe coming day at a full meeting of the section. There is no officialreport drawn up, no balloting, the course pursued being the most prompt. At the Arsenal section, six electors present choose three among theirown number to represent 1, 400 active citizens. Elsewhere, a throng ofshrews, night-brawlers and dishonorable persons, invade the premises, chase out the believers in law and order, and win all the desiredappointments. [2669] Other sections consent to elect, but withoutconsenting to give power of attorney. Several make express reservations, stipulating that their delegates shall act in concert with the legalmunicipality, distrusting the future committee, and declaring in advancethat they will not obey it. A few elect their commissioners only toobtain information, and, at the same time, to show that they intendearnestly to stop all rioting. [2670] Finally, at least twentysections abstain from or disapprove of the proceedings and send nodelegates. --Never mind, they can be dispensed with. At three o'clockin the morning, 19 sections, and, at seven o'clock, 24 or 25, [2671] arerepresented one way or another at the Town-hall (Hôtel-de-ville), andthis representation forms a central committee. Anyhow, there is nothingto prevent seventy or eighty subordinate intriguers and desperadoes, whohave slipped in or pushed through, from calling themselves authorizeddelegates and ministers plenipotentiary of the entire Parispopulation, [2672] and to operate accordingly. --Scarcely are theyinstalled under the presidency of Huguenin, with Tallien as secretary, when they issue a summons for "twenty-five armed men from each section, "five hundred strapping lads, to act as guards and serve as an executiveforce. --Against a band of this description the municipal council, insession in the opposite chamber, is feeble enough. Moreover, the mostmoderate and firmest of its members, sent away on purpose, are onmissions to the Assembly, at the palace, and in different quarters ofParis, while its galleries are crammed with villainous looking men, posted there to create an uproar, its deliberations being carriedon under menaces of death. --That's why, as the night passes, theequilibrium between the two assemblages, one legal the other illegal, facing each other like the two sides of a scale, disappears. Lassitude, fear, discouragement, desertion, increase on one side, while numbers, audacity, force and usurpation increase on the other. At length, the latter wrests from the former all the acts it needs to start theinsurrection and render defense impossible. About six o'clock in themorning the intruding committee, in the name of the people, ends thematter by suspending the legitimate council, which it then expels, andtakes possession of its chairs. 

The first act of the new sovereign rulers indicates at once what theymean to do. M. De Mandat, in command of the National guard, summoned tothe Hôtel-de-ville, had come to explain to the council what dispositionhe had made of his troops, and what orders he had issued. They seizehim, interrogate him in their turn, [2673] depose him, appoint Santerrein his place, and, to derive all the benefit they can from his capture, they order him to withdraw one-half of his men stationed around thepalace. Fully aware of what he was exposed to in this den of thieves, henobly refuses; forthwith they consign him to prison, and send him tothe Abbaye "for his greater safety. " At these significant words fromDanton, [2674] he is murdered at the door as he leaves by Rossignol, oneof Danton's acolytes, with a pistol-shot at arm's length. --After tragedycomes comedy. At the repeated entreaties of Pétion, who does not want tobe requisitioned against the rioters, [2675] they send him a guard of 400men, thus confining him in his own house, and, apparently in spite ofhimself. 

On one side, sheltered by treachery and, on the other side, byassassination, the insurrection may now go on in full security infront of the terrible hypocrite who solemnly complains of his voluntarycaptivity, and before the corpse, with shattered brow, lying on thesteps of the Hôtel-de-ville. On the right bank of the river, thebattalions of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, and, on the left, those of theFaubourg Saint-Marcel, the Bretons, and the Marseilles band, march forthas freely as if going to parade. Measures of defense are frustratedby the murder of the commanding general, and by the mayor's duplicity;there is not resistance on guarded spots, at the arcade Saint-Jean, the passages of the bridges, along the quays, and in the court of theLouvre. An advance guard of the mob, women, children, and men, armedwith cutters, cudgels, and pikes, spread over the abandoned Carrousel, and, towards eight o'clock, the advance column, led by Westerman, appears in front of the palace. 

VII. --August 10. 

 The King's forces. --Resistance abandoned. --The King in the National Assembly. --Conflict at the palace and discharge of the Swiss Guard. --The palace evacuated by the King's order. --The massacres. --The enslaved Assembly and its decrees. 

If the King had wanted to fight, he might still have defended himself, saved himself, and even been victorious. [2676]--In the Tuileries, 950 ofthe Swiss Guard and 200 gentlemen stood ready to die for him to the lastman. Around the Tuileries, two or three thousand National Guard, the élite of the Parisian population, had just cheered him as hepassed. [2677] "Hurrah for the King! Hurrah for Louis XVI. ! He is ourKing and we want no other; we want him only! Down with the rioters! Downwith the Jacobins! We will defend him unto death! Let him put himselfat our head! Hurrah for the Nation, the Law, the Constitution, andthe King, which are all one! If the gunners were silent, and seemedill-disposed, [2678] it was simply necessary to disarm them suddenly, and hand over their pieces to loyal men. Four thousand rifles and elevenpieces of artillery, protected by the walls of the courts and by thethick masonry of the palace, were certainly sufficient against the nineor ten thousand Jacobins in Paris, most of them pikemen, badly led byimprovised or rebellious battalion officers, [2679] and, still worse, commanded by their new general, Santerre, who, always cautious, kepthimself aloof in the Hôtel-de-ville, out of harm's way. The onlystaunch men in the Carrousel were the eight hundred men from Brest andMarseilles; the rest consisted of a rabble like that of July 14, October5, and June 20;[2680] the palace, says Napoleon Bonaparte, was attackedby the vilest canaille, professional rioters, Maillard's band, and thebands of Lazowski, Fournier, and Théroigne, by all the assassins, indeedof the previous night and day, and of the following day, which speciesof combatants, as was proved by the event, would have scattered atthe first discharge of a cannon. --But, with the governing as with thegoverned, all notion of the State was lost, the former through humanitybecome a duty, and the latter through insubordination erected into aright. At the close of the eighteenth century, in the upper as well asin the middle class, there was a horror of blood;[2681] refined socialways, coupled with an idyllic imagination, had softened the militantdisposition. Everywhere the magistrates had forgotten that themaintenance of society and of civilization is a benefit of infinitelygreater importance than the lives of a parcel of maniacs andmalefactors; that the prime object of government, as well as of apolice, is the preservation of order by force; that a gendarme is nota philanthropist; that, if attacked on his post, he must use his sword, and that, in sheathing it for fear of wounding his aggressors, he failsto do his duty. 

This time again, in the court of the Carrousel, the magistrates on thespot, finding that "their responsibility is insupportable, " concernthemselves only with how to "avoid the effusion of blood;" it is withregret, and this they state to the troops, "in faltering tones, " thatthey proclaim martial law. [2682] They "forbid them to attack, " merely"authorizing them to repel force with force;" in other words, they orderthem to stand up to the first fire; "you are not to fire until you arefired upon. "--Still better, they go from company to company, "openlydeclaring that opposition to such a large and well-armed assemblagewould be folly, and that it would be a very great misfortune to attemptit. "--"I repeat to you, " said Leroux, "that a defense seems to memadness. "--Such is the way in which, for more than an hour, theyencourage the National Guard. "All I ask, " says Leroux again, "is thatyou wait a little longer. I hope that we shall induce the King to yieldto the National Assembly. "--Always the same tactics: hand the fortressand the general over rather than fire on the mob. To this end theyreturn to the King, with Roederer at their head, and renew their efforts:"Sire, " says Roederer, "time presses, and we ask you to consent toaccompany us. "--For a few moments, the last and most solemn of themonarchy, the King hesitates. [2683] His good sense, probably, enabled him to see that a retreat was abdication; but his phlegmaticunderstanding is at first unable to clearly define its consequences;moreover, his optimism had never explored the vastness of the stupidityof the people, nor sounded the depths of human malice and spite; hecannot imagine that slander may transform his determination not to shedblood into a desire to shed blood. [2684] Besides, he is bound by hispast, by his habit of always yielding; by his determination, declaredand maintained for the past three years, never to cause civil war; byhis obstinate humanitarianism, and especially by his religious goodwill. He has systematically extinguished in himself the animal instinct ofresistance, the flash of anger in all of us which starts up under unjustand brutal aggressions; the Christian has supplanted the King; he is nolonger aware that duty obliges him to be a man of the sword that, in hissurrender, he surrenders the State, and that to yield like a lamb is tolead all honest people, along with himself, to the slaughterhouse. "Letus go, " said he, raising his right hand; "we will give, since it isnecessary, one more proof of our self-sacrifice. "[2685] Accompaniedby his family and Ministers, he sets out between two lines of NationalGuards and the Swiss Guard, [2686] and reaches the Assembly, which sendsa deputation to meet him; entering the chamber he says: "I come here toprevent a great crime. "--No pretext, indeed, for a conflict now exists. An assault on the insurgent side is useless, since the monarch, with allbelonging to him and his government, have left the palace. On the otherside, the garrison will not begin the fight; diminished by 150 Swiss andnearly all the grenadiers of the Filles-Saint-Thomas, who served as theKing's escort to the Assembly, it is reduced to a few gentlemen, 750Swiss, and about a hundred National Guards; the others, on learningthat the King is going, consider their services at an end anddisperse. [2687]--All seems to be over in the sacrifice of royalty. LouisXVI. Imagines that the Assembly, at the worst, will suspend him fromhis functions, and that he will return to the Tuileries as a privateindividual. On leaving the palace, indeed, he orders his valet tokeep up the service until he himself returns from the NationalAssembly. [2688]

He did not count on the exigencies, blindness and disorders of the riot. Threatened by the Jacobin gunners remaining with their artillery in theinside courts, the gatekeepers open the gates. The insurgents rushin, fraternise with the gunners, reach the vestibule, ascend the grandstaircase, and summon the Swiss to surrender. [2689]--These show nohostile spirit; many of them, as a mark of good humor, throw packets ofcartridges out of the windows; some even go so far as to let themselvesbe embraced and led away. The regiment, however, faithful to its orders, will not yield to force. [2690] "We are Swiss, " replies the sergeant, Blaser; "the Swiss do not part with their arms but with their lives. Wethink that we do not merit such an insult. If the regiment is no longerwanted, let it be legally discharged. But we will not leave our post, nor will we let our arms be taken from us. " The two bodies of troopsremain facing each other on the staircase for three-quarters of an hour, almost intermingled, one silent and the other excited, turbulent, andactive, with all the ardor and lack of discipline peculiar to a populargathering, each insurgent striving apart, and in his own way, tocorrupt, intimidate, or constrain the Swiss Guards. Granier, ofMarseilles, at the head of the staircase, holds two of them at arms'length, trying in a friendly manner to draw them down. [2691] At the footof the staircase the crowd is shouting and threatening; lighter men, armed with boat-hooks, harpoon the sentinels by their shoulder-straps, and pull down four or five, like so many fishes, amid shouts oflaughter. --Just at this moment a pistol goes off; nobody being able totell which party fired it. [2692] The Swiss, firing from above, clean outthe vestibule and the courts, rush down into the square and seizethe cannon; the insurgents scatter and fly out of range. The bravest, nevertheless, rally behind the entrances of the houses on the Carrousel, throw cartridges into the courts of the small buildings and set themon fire. During another half-hour, under the dense smoke of the firstdischarge and of the burning buildings, both sides fire haphazard, whilethe Swiss, far from giving way, have scarcely lost a few men, when amessenger from the King arrives, M. D'Hervilly, who orders in his namethe firing to cease, and the men to return to their barracks. 

Slowly and regularly they form in line and retire along the broad alleyof the garden. At the sight of these foreigners, however, in red coats, who had just fired on Frenchmen, the guns of the battalion stationed onthe terraces go off of their own accord, and the Swiss column divides intwo. One body of 250 men turns to the right, reaches the Assembly, laysdown its arms at the King's order, and allows itself to be shut upin the Feuillants church. The others are annihilated on crossing thegarden, or cut down on the Place Louis XV. By the mounted gendarmerie. No quarter is given. The warfare is that of a mob, not civilized war, but primitive war, that of barbarians. In the abandoned palace intowhich the insurgents entered five minutes after the departure of thegarrison, [2693] they kill the wounded, the two Swiss surgeons attendingto them, [2694] the Swiss who had not fired a gun, and who, in thebalcony on the side of the garden, "cast off their cartridge-boxes, sabers, coats, and hats, and shout: 'Friends, we are with you, we areFrenchmen, we belong to the nation!'"[2695] They kill the Swiss, armedor unarmed, who remain at their posts in the apartments. They kill theSwiss gate-keepers in their boxes. They kill everybody in the kitchens, from the head cook down to the pot boys. [2696] The women barely escape. Madame Campan, on her knees, seized by the back, sees an uplifted saberabout to fall on her, when a voice from the foot of the staircase callsout: "What are you doing there? The women are not to be killed!" "Getup, you hussy, the nation forgives you!"--To make up for this the nationhelps itself and indulges itself to its heart's content in the palacewhich now belongs to it. Some honest persons do, indeed, carry money andvaluables to the National Assembly, but others pillage and destroy allthat they can. [2697] They shatter mirrors, break furniture to pieces, and throw clocks out of the window; they shout the Marseilles hymn, which one of the National Guards accompanies on a harpsichord, [2698] anddescend to the cellars, where they gorge themselves. "For more thana fortnight, " says an eye witness, [2699] "one walked on fragments ofbottles. " In the garden, especially, "it might be said that they hadtried to pave the walks with broken glass. "--Porters are seen seated onthe throne in the coronation robes; a trollop occupies the Queen's bed;it is a carnival in which unbridled base and cruel instincts find plentyof good forage and abundant litter. Runaways come back after the victoryand stab the dead with their pikes. Nicely dressed prostitutes foolingaround with naked corpses. [26100] And, as the destroyers enjoy theirwork, they are not disposed to be disturbed in it. In the courts of theCarrousel, where 1800 feet of building are burning, the firemen try fourtimes to extinguish the fire; "they are shot at, and threatened withbeing pitched into the flames, "[26101] while petitioners appear atthe bar of the Assembly, and announce in a threatening tone that theTuileries are blazing, and shall blaze until the dethronement becomes alaw. 

The poor Assembly, become Girondist through its late mutilation, strivesin vain to arrest the downhill course of things, and maintain, as it hasjust sworn to do, "the constituted authorities";[26102] it strives, atleast, to put Louis XVI. In the Luxembourg palace, to appoint a tutorfor the Dauphin, to keep the ministers temporarily in office, and tosave all prisoners, and those who walk the streets. Equally captive, andnearly as prostrate as the King himself; the Assembly merely serves asa recording office for the popular will, that very morning furnishingevidence of the value which the armed commonalty attaches to itsdecrees. That morning murders were committed at its door, in contempt ofits safe conduct; at eight o'clock Suleau and three others, wrested fromtheir guards, are cut down under its windows. In the afternoon, fromsixty to eighty of the unarmed Swiss still remaining in the churchof the Feuillants are taken out to be sent to the Hôtel-de-ville, and massacred on the way at the Place de Grève. Another detachment, conducted to the section of the Roule, is likewise disposed of in thesame way. [26103] Carle, at the head of the gendarmerie, is called outof the Assembly and assassinated on the Place Vendôme, and his head iscarried about on a pike. The founder of the old monarchical club, M. DeClermont-Tonnerre, withdrawn from public life for two years past, andquietly passing along the streets, is recognized, dragged through thegutter and cut to pieces. --After such warnings (murder and pillage) theAssembly can only obey, and, as usual, conceal its submission beneathsonorous words. If the dictatorial committee, self-imposed at theHôtel-de-ville, still condescends to keep it alive, it is owing to a newinvestiture, [26104] and by declaring to it that it must not meddle withits doings now or in the future. Let it confine itself to its function, that of rendering decrees made by the faction. Accordingly, like fruitfalling from a tree vigorously shaken, these decrees rattle down, oneafter another, into the hands that await them, [26105]

1. The suspension of the King, 2. The convoking of a national convention, 3. Electors and the eligible exempted from all property qualifications, 4. An indemnity for displaced electors, 5. The term of Assemblies left to the decision of the electors, [26106]

6. The removal and arrest of the late ministers, 7. The re-appointment of Servan, Clavières and Roland, 8. Danton as Minister of Justice, 9. The recognition of the usurping Commune, 10. Santerre confirmed in his new rank, 11. The municipalities empowered to look after general safety, 12. The arrest of suspicious persons confided to all well-disposedcitizens, [26107]

13. Domiciliary visits prescribed for the discovery of arms andammunition, [26108]

14. All the justices of Paris to be re-elected by those within theirjurisdiction, 15. All officers of the gendarmerie subject to re-election by theirsoldiers, [26109]

16. Thirty sous per diem for the Marseilles troops from the day of theirarrival, 17. A court-martial against the Swiss, 18. A tribunal for the dispatch of justice against the vanquished ofAugust 10, and a quantity of other decrees of a still more importantbearing:

19. The suspension of the commissioners appointed to enforce theexecution of the law in civil and criminal courts, [26110]

20. The release of all persons accused or condemned for militaryinsubordination, for press offenses and pillaging of grain, [26111]

21. The partition of communal possessions, [26112]

22. The confiscation and sale of property belonging to émigrés, [26113]

23. The relegation of their fathers, mothers, wives and children intothe interior, 24. The banishment or transportation of unsworn ecclesiastics, [26114]

25. The establishment of easy divorce at two months' notice and ondemand of one of the parties, [26115] in short, every measure istaken which tend to disturb property, break up the family, persecuteconscience, suspend the law, pervert justice, and rehabilitate crime. Laws are promulgated to deliver:

* the judicial system, * the full control of the nation, * the selection of the members of the future omnipotent Assembly, * in short, the entire government, to an autocratic, violent minority, which, having risked all to grab thedictatorship, dares all to keep it. [26116]

VIII. --State of Paris in the Interregnum. 

 The mass of the population. --Subaltern Jacobins. --The Jacobin leaders. 

Let us stop a moment to contemplate this great city and its newrulers. --From afar, Paris seems a club of 700, 000 fanatics, vociferatingand deliberating on the public squares; near by, it is nothing of thesort. The slime, on rising from the bottom, has become the surface, and given its color to the stream; but the human stream flows in itsordinary channel, and, under this turbid exterior, remains about thesame as it was before. It is a city of people like ourselves, governed, busy, and fond of amusement. To the great majority, even inrevolutionary times, private life, too complex and absorbing, leaves butan insignificant corner for public affairs. Through routine and throughnecessity, manufacturing, display of wares, selling, purchasing, keepingaccounts, trades, and professions, continue as usual. The clerk goesto his office, the workman to his shop, the artisan to his loft, themerchant to his warehouse, the professional to his cabinet, and theofficial to his duty;[26117] they are devoted, first of all, to theirpursuits, to their daily bread, to the discharge of their obligations, to their own advancement, to their families, and to their pleasures; toprovide for these things the day is not too long. Politics only brieflydistract them, and then rather out of curiosity, like a play oneapplauds or hisses in his seat without stepping upon the stage. --"Thedeclaration that the country is in danger, " says many eyewitnesses, [26118] "has made no change in the physiognomy of Paris. Thereare the same amusements, the same gossip. . . . The theaters are full asusual. The wine-shops and places of diversion overflow with the people, National Guards, and soldiers. . . . The fashionable world enjoys itspleasure-parties, "--"The day after the decree, the effect of theceremony, so skillfully managed, is very slight. "The National Guardin the procession, writes a patriotic journalist, [26119] "first showsindifference and even boredom"; it is exasperated with night watchesand patrol duty; they probably tell each others that in parading for thenation, one finds no time to work for one's self. --A few days after thisthe manifesto of the Duke of Brunswick "produces no sensation whatever. People laugh at it. Only the newspapers and their readers are familiarwith it. . . . The mass know nothing about it. Nobody fears the coalitionnor foreign troops. "[26120]--On the 10th of August, outside the theaterof the combat, all is quiet in Paris. People walk about and chat inthe streets as usual. "[26121]--On the 19th of August, Moore, theEnglishman, [26122] sees, with astonishment, the heedless crowd fillingthe Champs Elysées, the various diversions, the air of a fête, thecountless small shops in which refreshments are sold accompanied withsongs and music, and the quantities of pantomimes and marionettes. "Arethese people as happy as they seem to be?" he asks of a Frenchman alongwith him. --"They are as jolly as gods!"--"Do you think the Duke ofBrunswick is ever in their heads?"--"Monsieur, you may be sure of this, that the Duke of Brunswick is the last man they think of. "

Such is the unconcern or light-heartedness of the gross, egoistic mass, otherwise busy, and always passive under any government whatever it maybe, a veritable flock of sheep, allowing government to do as itpleases, provided it does not hinder it from browsing and capering as itchooses. --As to the men of sensibility who love their country, they arestill less troublesome, for they are gone or going (to the army), oftenat the rate of a thousand and even two thousand a day, ten thousand inthe last week of July, [26123] fifteen thousand in the first two weeksof September, [26124] in all perhaps 40, 000 volunteers furnished bythe capital alone and who, with their fellows proportionate in numbersupplied by the departments, are to be the salvation of France. --Throughthis departure of the worthy, and this passivity of the flock, Paris belongs to the fanatics among the population. "These are thesans-culottes, " wrote the patriotic Palloy, "the scum and riffraff ofParis, and I glory in belonging to that class which has put down theso-called honest folks. "[26125]--"Three thousand workmen, " says theGirondist Soulavie, later, "made the Revolution of the 10th of August, against the kingdom of the Feuillants, the majority of the capital andagainst the Legislative Assembly. "[26126] Workmen, day laborers, andpetty shop-keepers, not counting women, common vagabonds and regularbandits, form, indeed, one-twentieth of the adult male population of thecity, about 9, 000 spread over all sections of Paris, the only ones tovote and act in the midst of universal stupor and indifference. --We findin the Rue de Seine, for example, seven of them, Lacaille, keeper of aroasting-shop; Philippe, "a cattle-breeder, who leads around she-assesfor consumptives, " now president of the section, and soon to become oneof the Abbaye butchers; Guérard, "a Rouen river-man who has abandonedthe navigation of the Seine on a large scale and keeps a skiff, in whichhe ferries people over the river from the Pont du Louvre to the QuaiMazarin, " and four characters of the same stamp. Their energy, however, replaces their lack of education and numerical inferiority. One day, Guérard, on passing M. Hua, the deputy, tells him in the way of awarning, "You big rascal, you were lucky to have other people withyou. If you had been alone, I would have capsized my boat, and had thepleasure of drowning a blasted aristocrat!" These are the "matadorsof the quarter". [26127]--Their ignorance does not trouble them; onthe contrary, they take pride in coarseness and vulgarity. One of theordinary speechmakers of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, Gouchon, a designerfor calicos, comes to the bar of the Assembly, "in the name of the menof July 14 and Augusts 10, " to glorify the political reign of brutalincapacity; according to him, it is more enlightened than that of thecultivated:[26128] "those great geniuses graced with the fine title ofConstitutionalists are forced to do justice to men who never studied theart of governing elsewhere than in the book of experience. . . . Consultingcustoms and not principles, these clever people have for a long periodbeen busy with the political balance of things; we have found it withoutlooking for it in the heart of man: Form a government which will placethe poor above their feeble resources and the rich below their means, and the balance will be perfect. " [26129]

This is more than clear, their declared purpose is a complete leveling, not alone of political rights, but, again, and especially, of conditionsand fortunes; they promise themselves "absolute equality, realequality, " and, still better, "the magistracy and all governmentpowers. "[26130] France belongs to them, if they are bold enough to seizehold of it. --And, on the other hand, should they miss their prey, theyfeel themselves lost, for the Brunswick manifesto, [26131] which had madeno impression on the public, remains deeply impressed in their minds. They apply its threats to themselves, while their imagination, as usual, translates it into a specific legend:[26132] all the inhabitantsof Paris are to be led out on the plain of Saint-Denis, and theredecimated; previous to this, the most notorious patriots will be singledout together with forty or fifty market-women and broken on the wheel. Already, on the 11th of August, a rumor is current that 800 men of thelate royal guards are ready to make a descent on Paris;[26133] that veryday the dwelling of Beaumarchais is ransacked for seven hours;[26134]the walls are pierced, the privies sounded, and the garden dug down tothe rock. The same search is repeated in the adjoining house. The womenare especially "enraged at not finding anything, " and wish to renew theattempt, swearing that they will discover where things are hidden inten minutes. The nightmare is evidently too much for these unballastedminds. They break down under the weight of their accidental kingship, their inflamed pride, extravagant desires, and intense and silent fearswhich form in them that morbid and evil concoction which, in democracyas well as in a monarchy, fashions a Nero. [26135]

Their leaders, who are even more upset, conceited, and despotic, have noscruples holding them back, for the most noteworthy are corrupt, actingalone or as leaders. Of the three chiefs of the old municipality, Pétion, the mayor, actually in semi-retirement, but verbally respected, is set aside and considered as an old decoration. The other two remainactive and in office, Manuel, [26136] the syndic-attorney, son ofa porter, a loud-talking, untalented bohemian, stole the privatecorrespondence of Mirabeau from a public depository, falsified it, andsold it for his own benefit. Danton, [26137] Manuel's deputy, faithlessin two ways, receives the King's money to prevent the riot, and makesuse of it to urge it on. --Varlet, "that extraordinary speech-maker, ledsuch a foul and prodigal life as to bring his mother in sorrow tothe grave; afterwards he spent what was left, and soon hadnothing. "[26138]--Others not only lacked honor but even common honesty. Carra, with a seat in the secret Directory of the Federates, and whodrew up the plan of the insurrection, had been condemned by the Mâcontribunals to two years' imprisonment for theft and burglary. [26139]Westermann, who led the attacking column, had stolen a silver dish, witha coat of arms on it, from Jean Creux, keeper of a restaurant, rue desPoules, and was twice sent away from Paris for swindling. [26140] Panis, chief of the Committee of Supervision, [26141] was turned out of theTreasury Department, where his uncle was a sub cashier, in 1774, forrobbery. His colleague, Sergent, appropriates to himself "threegold watches, an agate ring, and other jewels, " left with him ondeposit. [26142] "Breaking seals, false charges, breaches of trust, "embezzlements, are familiar transactions. In their hands piles of silverplate and 1, 100, 000 francs in gold are to disappear. [26143] Among themembers of the new Commune, Huguenin, the president, a clerk atthe barriers, is a brazen embezzler. [26144] Rossignol, a journeymanjeweller, implicated in an assassination, is at this moment subjectto judicial prosecution. [26145] Hébert, a journalistic garbage bag, formerly check-taker in a theatre, is turned away from the Variétés forlarceny. [26146] Among men of action, Fournier, the American, Lazowski, and Maillard are not only murderers, but likewise robbers, [26147] while, by their side, arises the future general of the Paris National Guard, Henriot, at first a domestic in the family of an attorney who turnedhim out for theft, then a tax-clerk, again turned adrift for theft, and, finally, a police spy, and still incarcerated in the Bicêtre prisonfor another theft, and, at last, a battalion officer, and one of theSeptember executioners. [26148]--Simultaneously with the bandits andrascals, monstrous maniacs come out of their holes. De Sades, [26149] wholived the life of "Justine" before he wrote it, and whom the Revolutiondelivered from the Bastille, is secretary of the section of the PlaceVendôme. Marat, the homicidal monomaniac, constitutes himself, afterthe 23rd of August, official journalist at the Hôtel-de-ville, politicaladvisor and consciousness of the new Commune, and the obsessive plan, which he preaches for three years, is merely an instant and directwholesale butchery. 

"Give me, " said he to Barbaroux, [26150] "two hundred Neapolitans armedwith daggers, and with only a hand-kerchief on their left arms for abuckler, and I will overrun France and build the Revolution. "

According to him it is necessary to do away with 260, 000 men "on humanegrounds, " for, unless this is done, there is no safety for the rest. 

"The National Assembly may still save France; let it decree that allaristocrats shall wear a blue ribbon, and the moment that three of themare seen in company, let them be hung. "

Another way would be

"to lay in wait in dark streets and at corners for the royalists andFeuillants, and cut their throats. Should ten patriots happen to bekilled among a hundred men, what does it matter? It is only ninety forten, which prevents mistakes. Fall upon those who own carriages, employvalets, wear silk coats, or go to the theatres. You may be sure thatthey are aristocrats. "

The Jacobin proletariat has obviously found the leadership that suitsthem. They will get on with each other without difficulty. In orderthat this spontaneous massacre may become an administrative measure, theNeros of the gutter have but to await the word of command from the Nerosof the Hôtel-de-ville. 

*****

[Footnote 2601: An expression of Lafayette's in his address to theAssembly. ]

[Footnote 2602:Lafayette, "Mémoires, " I. 452. --Malouet (II. 213) statesthat there were seventy. ]

[Footnote 2603:Cf. , for example, "Archives Nationales, " A. F. II. 116. Petition of 228 notables of Montargis. ]

[Footnote 2604: Petition of the 20, 000, so-called, presented byMessrs. Guillaume and Dupont de Nemours. --Cf. . Mortimer-Ternaux, I. 278. --According to Buchez et Roux, the petition containing only 7, 411names. ]

[Footnote 2605: Mortimer-Ternaux, I. 277. ]

[Footnote 2606: Moniteur, XIII. 89. The act (July 7) is drawn up withadmirable precision and force. On comparing it with the vague, turgidexaggerations of their adversaries, it seems to measure the intellectualdistance between the two parties. ]

[Footnote 2607: 339 against 224--Roederer ("Chronique des cinquantejours, " p. 79). "A strong current of opinion by a majority of theinhabitants of Paris sets in favor of the King. "--C. Desmoulins; "Thatclass of petty traders and shopkeepers, who are more afraid of therevolutionaries than of so many Uhlans. . . "]

[Footnote 2608: Mortimer-Ternaux, I. 236. Letter of Roederer to thepresident of the National Assembly, June 25. "Mr. President, I have thehonor to inform the Assembly that an armed mob is marching towards theChâteau. "]

[Footnote 2609: Mortimer-Ternaux, I. 245, 246. --II. 81, 131, 148, 170. ]

[Footnote 2610: The murder of M. Duhamel, sub-lieutenant of the nationalguard. ]

[Footnote 2611: Letter of Vergniaud and Guadet to the painter Boze (inthe "Mémoires de Dumouriez"). --Roederer, "Chronique des cinquante jours, "295. --Bertrand de Molleville, "Mémoires, " III. 29. ]

[Footnote 2612: Moniteur, XIII. 155 (session of July16). --Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 69. "Favored by you, " says Manuel, "allcitizens are entitled to visit the first functionary of the nation. . . The prince's dwelling should be open, like a church. Fear of the peopleis an insult to the people. If Louis XVI. Possessed the soul of a MarcusAurelius, he would have descended into his gardens and tried toconsole a hundred thousand beings, on account of the slowness of theRevolution. . . Never had there been fewer thieves in the Tuileries thanon that day; for the courtiers had fled. . . The red cap was an honor toLouis XVI's head, and ought to be his crown. " At this solemn moment thefraternization of the king with the people took place, and "the next daythe same king betrayed, calumniated, and disgraced the people!" Manuel'srigmarole surpasses all that can be imagined. "After this there arisesin the panelings of the Louvre, at the confluence of the civil list, another channel, which leads through the shades below to Pétion'sdungeon. . . The department, in dealing a blow at the municipality, explains how, at the banquet of the Law, it represents the Law in theform of a crocodile, etc. "]

[Footnote 2613: Moniteur, XIII. 93 (session of July 9);--27 (session ofJuly 2). ]

[Footnote 2614: Moniteur, XII. 751 (session of June 24); XIII. 33(session of July 3). ]

[Footnote 2615: Moniteur, XIII. 224 (session of July 23). Two unswornpriests had just been massacred at Bordeaux and their heads carriedthrough the streets on pikes. Ducos adds: "Since the executive power hasput its veto on laws repressing fanaticism, popular executions begin tobe repeated. If the courts do not render justice, etc. "--Ibid. , XIII. 301 (session of July 31). ]

[Footnote 2616: Moniteur, XIII. 72 (session of July 7). The king'sspeech to the Assembly after the Lamourette kiss. "I confess to you, M. President, that I was very anxious for the deputation to arrive, that Imight hasten to the Assembly. "]

[Footnote 2617: Moniteur, XIII. 313 (session of Aug. 3). The declarationread in the king's name must be weighed sentence by sentence; it sumsup his conduct with perfect exactness and thus ends: "What are personaldangers to a king, from whom they would take the love of his people?This is what affects me most. The day will come, perhaps, when thepeople will know how much I prize its welfare, how much this has alwaysbeen my concern and my first need. What sorrows would disappear at theslightest sign of its return!"]

[Footnote 2618: Moniteur, XIII. 33, 56 bis 85, 97 (sessions of July 3, 5, 6 and 9). ]

[Footnote 2619: Moniteur, XIII. 26, 170, 273 (sessions of July 12, 17, 28). --Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 122 (session of July 23): Addresses ofthe municipal council of Marseilles, of the federates, of the Angerspetitioners, of the Charente volunteers, etc. "A hereditary monarchy isopposed to the Rights of Man. Pass the act of dethronement and Franceis saved. . . Be brave, let the sword of the law fall on a perjuredfunctionary and conspirator! Lafayette is the most contemptible, theguiltiest, . . . The most infamous of the assassins of the people, " etc. ]

[Footnote 2620: Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 126. --Bertrand de Molleville, III. 294. ]

[Footnote 2621: Moniteur, XIII. 325 (session of Aug. 3). ]

[Footnote 2622: Moniteur, XII. 738; XII. 340. ]

[Footnote 2623: Moniteur, XIII. 170, 171, 187, 208, 335 (sessions ofJuly 17, 18, and 23, and Aug. 5). ]

[Footnote 2624: Moniteur, XIII. 187 (session of July 18). "The galleriesapplaud. The Assembly murmurs. "--208 (July 21). "Murmuring, shouts, andcries of Down with the speaker! from the galleries. The president callsthe house to order five times, but always fruitlessly. "--224 (July23). "The galleries applaud; long continued murmurs are heard in theAssembly. "]

[Footnote 2625: Buzot, "Mémoires" (Ed. Dauban, 83 and 84). "The majorityof the French people yearned for royalty and the constitution of 1790. . . It was at Paris particularly that this desire governed the general plan, the discussion of it being the least feared in special conversationsand in private society. There were only a few noble-minded, superiormen that were worthy of being republicans. . . The rest desired theconstitution of 1791, and spoke of the republicans only as one speaks ofvery honest maniacs. "]

[Footnote 2626: Duvergier, "Collection des lois et décrets, " May 29, 1792; July 15, 16, and 18; July 6-20. ]

[Footnote 2627: Moniteur, XIII. 25 (session of July 1). Petition of 150active citizens of the Bonne-Nouvelle section. ]

[Footnote 2628: Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 194. Buchez et Roux, XVI. 253. Thedecree of dismissal was not passed until the 12th of August, but afterthe 31St of July the municipality demanded it and during the followingdays several Jacobin grenadiers go to the National Assembly, trample ontheir bearskin hats and put on the red cap of liberty. ]

[Footnote 2629: Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 192 (municipal action of Aug. 5). ]

[Footnote 2630: Decree of July 2. ]

[Footnote 2631: Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 129. --Buchez et Roux, XV. 458. According to the report of the Minister of War, read the 30th of July, at the evening session, 5, 314 department federates left Paris betweenJuly 14 and 30. Pétion wrote that the levy of federates then in Parisamounted to 2, 960, "of which 2, 032 were getting ready to go to the campat Soissons. "--A comparison of these figures leads to the approximatenumber that I have adopted]

[Footnote 2632: Buchez et Roux, XVI. 120, 133 (session of the Jacobins, Aug. 6). The federates "resolved to watch the Château, each takinga place in the battalions respectively of the sections in which theylodge, and many incorporated themselves with the battalions of thefaubourg St Antoine. "]

[Footnote 2633: Mercure de France, April 14, 1793. --" The Revolution, "I. P. 332. ]

[Footnote 2634: Barbaroux, "Mémoires, " 37-40. --Lauront-Lautard, "Marseilles depuis 1789 jusqu'à 1815, " I. 134. "The mayor, Mourdeille, "who had recruited them, "was perhaps very glad to get rid of them. "--Onthe composition of this group and on the previous rôle of Rebecqui, seechapter VI. ]

[Footnote 2635: Buchez et Roux, XVI. 197 and followingpages. --Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 148 (the grenadiers numbered only166). --Moniteur, XIII. 310 (session of Aug. 1). Address of thegrenadiers: "They swore on their honor that they did not draw theirswords until after being threatened for a quarter of an hour, theninsulted and humiliated, until forced to defend their lives againsta troop of brigands armed with pistols, and some of them withcarbines. "--" The reading of this memorandum is often interruptedby hooting from the galleries, in spite of the president'sorders. "--Hooting again, when they file out of the chamber. ]

[Footnote 2636: The lack of men of action greatly embarrassed theJacobin party. ("Correspondance de Mirabeau et du Comte de la Marck, "II. 326. ) Letter of M. De Montmorin, July 13, 1792. On the dispositionof the people of Paris, wearied and worn out "to excess. " "They willtake no side, either for or against the king. . . They no longer stir forany purpose; riots are wholly factitious. This is so right that they areobliged to bring men from the South to get them up. Nearly all of thosewho forced the gates of the Tuileries, or rather, who got inside of themon the 20th of June, were outsiders or onlookers, got together at thesight of such a lot of pikes and red caps, etc. The cowards ran at theslightest indication of presenting arms, which was done by a portionof the national guard on the arrival of a deputation from the NationalAssembly, their leaders being obliged to encourage them by telling themthat they were not to be fired at. "]

[Footnote 2637: Buchez et Roux, XVI. 447. "Chronique des cinquantejours, " by Roederer. ]

[Footnote 2638: Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 378. -127 Jacobins of Arras, led byGeoffroy and young Robespierre, declare to the Directory that they meanto come to its meetings and follow its deliberations. "It is time thatthe master should keep his eye on his agents. " The Directory, therefore, resigns (July 4, 1792). --Ibid. , 462 (report of Leroux, municipalofficer). The Paris municipal council, on the night of August 9-10deliberates under threats of death and the furious shouts of thegalleries. ]

[Footnote 2639: Duvergier's "Collection of Laws and Decrees, " July 4, 5-8, 11-12, 25-28. --Buchez et Roux, XVI. 250. The section of theTheatre Français (of which Danton is president and Chaumette and Momorosecretaries) thus interpret the declaration of the country being indanger. "After a declaration of the country being in danger by therepresentatives of the people, it is natural that the people itselfshould take back its sovereign supervision. "]

[Footnote 2640: Schmidt, "Tableaux de la Révolution, " I. 99-100. Reportto Roland, Oct. 29, 1792. ]

[Footnote 2641: Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 199. --Buchez et Roux, XVI. 320. --Moniteur, XIII. 336 (session of Aug. 5). Speech by Collotd'Herbois. ]

[Footnote 2642: Moniteur, XI. 20, session of Feb. 4. At this meetingGorguereau, reporter of the committee on legislation, had already statedthat "The authors of these multiplied addresses seem to command ratherthan demand. . . It is ever the same sections or the same individuals whodeceive you in bringing to you their own false testimony for that of thecapital. "--"Down with the reporter! From the galleries. "--Ibid. , XIII. 93, session of July 11. M. Gastelier: "Addresses in the name of thepeople are constantly read to you, which are not even the voice of onesection. We have seen the same individual coming three times a week todemand something in the name of sovereignty. " (Shouts of down! down! inthe galleries. ) Ibid. , 208, session of July 21. M. Dumolard: "Youmust distinguish between the people of Paris and these subalternintriguers. . . These habitual oracles of the cafés and public squares, whose equivocal existence has for a long time occupied the attention andclaimed the supervision of the police. " (Down with the speaker! murmursand hooting in the galleries). -Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 398. Protests ofthe arsenal section, read by Lavoisier (the chemist): "The caprice of aknot of citizens (thus) becomes the desire of an immense population. "]

[Footnote 2643: Buchez et Roux, XVI. 251. --Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 239and 243. The central bureau is first opened in "the building of theSaint-Esprit, in the second story, near the passage communicating withthe common dwelling. " Afterwards the commissioners of the section occupyanother room in the Hôtel-de-ville, nearly joining the throne-room, where the municipal council is holding its sessions. During the nightof August 9-10 both councils sit four hours simultaneously within a fewsteps of each other. ]

[Footnote 2644: Robespierre, "Seventh letter to his constituents, " says:"The sections. . . Have been busy for more than a fortnight getting readyfor the last Revolution. "]

[Footnote 2645: Robespierre, "Seventh letter to hisconstituents"--Malouet, II. 233, 234. --Roederer, "Chronique des cinquantejours. "]

[Footnote 2646: Moniteur, XIII. 318, 319. The petition is drawn upapparently by people who are beside themselves. "If we did not relyon you, I would not answer for the excesses to which our despair wouldcarry us! We would bring on ourselves all the horrors of civil war, provided we could, on dying, drag along with us some of our cowardlyassassins!"----The representatives, it must be noted, talk in the samevein. La Source exclaims: "The members here, like yourselves, call forvengeance!"--Thuriot: "The crime is atrocious!"]

[Footnote 2647: Taine is describing a basic trait of human nature, something we see again and again whether our ancestors attacked small, harmless neighboring nations, witches, renegades, Jews, or religiouspeople of another faith. (SR). ]

[Footnote 2648: Buchez et Roux, XIX 93, session of Sept. 23, 1792. Speech by Panis: "Many worthy citizens would like to have judicialproof; but political proofs satisfy us"--Towards the end of July theMinister of the Interior had invited Pétion to send two municipalofficers to examine the Tuileries; but this the council refused to do, so as to keep up the excitement. ]

[Footnote 2649: Mallet du Pan, "Mémoires, " 303. Letter of Malouet, June29. --Bertrand de Molleville, "Mémoires, " II. 301. --Hua, 148. --Weber, II. 208. --Madame Campan, "Mémoires, " II. 188. Already, at the end of 1791, the king was told that he was liable to be poisoned by the pastry-cookof the palace, a Jacobin. For three or four months the bread and pastryhe ate were secretly purchased in other places. On the 14th of July, 1792, his attendants, on account of the threats against his life, put abreastplate on him under his coat. ]

[Footnote 2650: member of the 1789 Constituent Assembly. (SR). ]

[Footnote 2651: Moniteur, VIII. 271, 278. A deputy, excusing hisassailants, pretends that d'Ésprémesnil urged the people to enter theTuileries garden. It is scarcely necessary to state that during theConstituent Assembly d'Espréménil was one of the most conspicuousmembers of the extreme "Right. "--Duc de Gaëte, "Mémoires, " I. 18. ]

[Footnote 2652: Lafayette, "Mémoires, " I. 465. ]

[Footnote 2653: Moniteur, XIII. 327, --Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 176. ]

[Footnote 2654: Moniteur, XIII. 340. --The style of these petitionsis highly instructive. We see in them the state of mind and degreeof education of the petitioners: sometimes a half-educated writerattempting to reason in the vein of the Contrat Social; sometimes, aschoolboy spouting the tirades of Raynal; and sometimes, the cornerletter-writer putting together the expressions forming his stock intrade. ]

[Footnote 2655: Carra, "Précis historique sur l'origine et lesvéritables auteurs de l'insurrection du 10 Août. "--Barbaroux, "Mémoires, 49. The executive directory, appointed by the central committee of theconfederates, held its first meeting in a wine-shop, the Soleil d'or, on the square of the Bastille; the second at the Cadran bleu, on theboulevard; the third in Antoine's room, who then lodged in the samehouse with Robespierre. Camille Desmoulins was present at this lattermeeting. Santerre, Westermann, Fournier the American, and Lazowski werethe principal members of this Directory. Another insurrectionaryplan was drawn up on the 30th of July in a wine-shop at Charentonby Barbaroux, Rebecqui, Pierre Bayle, Heron, and Fournier theAmerican. --Cf. J. Claretie, "Camille Desmoulins, " p. 192. Desmoulinswrote, a little before the 10th of August: "If the National Assemblythinks that it cannot save the country, let it declare then, that, according to the Constitution, and like the Romans, it hands this overto each citizen. Let the tocsin be rung forthwith, the whole nationassembled, and every man, as at Rome, be invested with the power ofputting to death all well-known conspirators!"]

[Footnote 2656: Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 182. Decision of the Quinze-VingtSection, Aug. 4. --Buchez et Roux, XVI. 402-410. History of Quinze-VingtSection. ]

[Footnote 2657: Moniteur. XIII. 367, session of Aug. 8. --Ibid. , 369 andfollowing pages. Session of Aug. 9. Letters and speeches of maltreateddeputies. ]

[Footnote 2658: Moniteur, 371. Speech of M. Girardin: "I am convincedthat most of those who insulted me were foreigners. "--Ibid. , 370. Letterof M. Frouvières: "Many of the citizens, coming out of their shops, exclaimed: How can they insult the deputies in this way? Run away! runoff!"--M. Jolivet, that evening attending a meeting of the Jacobin Club, states "that the Jacobin tribunes were far from sharing in this frenzy. "He heard "one individual in these tribunes exclaim, on the proposalto put the dwellings of the deputies on the list, that it wasoutrageous. "--Countless other details show the small number andcharacter of the factions. --Ibid. , 374. Speech of Aubert-Dubacet: "Isaw men dressed in the coats of the national guard, with countenancesbetraying everything that is most vile in wickedness. " There are "agreat many evil-disposed persons among the federates. "]

[Footnote 2659: Moniteur, XIII. 170 (letter of M. De Joly, Minister ofJustice). --Ibid. , 371, declaration of M. Jolivet. --Buchez et Roux, XVI. 370 (session of the Jacobin Club, Aug. 8, at evening). Speech byGoupilleau. ]

[Footnote 2660: One may imagine with what satisfaction Lenin, musthave read this description agreeing: "Yes, open voting by a named andidentified count, that is how a leader best can control any assembly. "(SR). ]

[Footnote 2661: Moniteur, XIII. 370. --Cf. Ibid. , the letter of M. Chapron. --Ibid. , 372. Speech by M. A. Vaublanc. --Moore, "Journal duringa Residence in France, " I. 25 (Aug. 10). The impudence of the people inthe galleries was intolerable. There was "a loud and universal peal oflaughter from all the galleries" on the reading of a letter, in which adeputy wrote that he was threatened with decapitation. --" Fifty memberswere shouting at the same time; the most boisterous night I ever waswitness to in the House of Commons was calmness itself alongside ofthis. "]

[Footnote 2662: Moniteur, Ibid. , p. 371. --Lafayette, I. 467. "On the 9thof August, as can be seen in the unmutilated editions of the Logographe, the Assembly, almost to a man, arose and declared that it was not free. "Ibid. , 478. "On the 9th of August the Assembly had passed a decreedeclaring that it was not free. This decree was torn up on the 10th. Butit is no that it was passed. "]

[Footnote 2663: Moniteur, XIII. 370, 374, 375. Speech by Roederer, letterof M. De Joly, and speech by Pétion. ]

[Footnote 2664: Mathieu Dumas, "Mémoires, " II. 461. ]

[Footnote 2665: "Chronique des cinquante jours, " byRoederer. --Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 260. --Buchez et Roux, XVI. 458. --Towardshalf-past seven in the morning there were only from sixty to eightymembers present. (Testimony of two of the Ministers who leave theAssembly. )]

[Footnote 2666: Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 205. At the ballot of July 12, not counting members on leave of absence or delegated elsewhere, andthe dead not replaced, there were already twenty-seven not answering thecall, while after that date three others resigned. --Buchez et Roux, XVII. 340 (session of Sept. 2, 1792). Hérault de Séchelles is electedpresident by 248 out of 257 voters. --Hua, 164 (after Aug. 10). "Weattended the meetings of the House simply to show that we had not giventhem up. We took no part in the discussions, and on the vote beingtaken, standing or sitting, we remained in our seats. This was the onlyprotest we could make. "]

[Footnote 2667: Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 229, 233, 417 and following pages. M. Mortimer-Ternaux is the first to expose, with documents to supporthim and critical discussion, the formation of the revolutionarycommune. --The six sections referred to are the Lombards, Gravilliers, Mauconseil, Gobelins, Théatre-Français, and Faubourg Poissonnière. ]

[Footnote 2668: For instance, the Enfants Rouges, Louvre, Observatoire, Fontaine-Grenelle, Faubourg Saint-Denis, and Thermes de Julien. . ]

[Footnote 2669: For example, at the sections of Montreuil, Popincourt, and Roi de Sicile. . ]

[Footnote 2670: For example, Ponceau, Invalides, Sainte-Geneviève. ]

[Footnote 2671: Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 240. ]

[Footnote 2672: Mortimer-Ternaux, 446 (list of the commissioners whotook their seats before 9 o'clock in the morning). "Le Tableau généraldes Commisaires des 48 sections qui ont composé le conseil général de laCommune de Paris, le 10 Août, 1792, " it must be noted, was not publisheduntil three or four months later, with all the essential falsifications. It may be found in Buchez et Roux, XVI. 450. --"Relation de l'abbéSicard. " "At that time a lot of scoundrels, after the general meeting ofthe sections was over, passed acts in the name of the whole assemblageand had them executed, utterly unknown to those who had done this, or bythose who were the unfortunate victims of these proceedings. " (supportedby documents). ]

[Footnote 2673: Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 270, 273. (The official reportof Mandat's examination contains five false statements, either throughomission or substitution. )]

[Footnote 2674: Claretie, "Camille Desmoulins, " p. 467 (notes ofTopino-Lebrun on Danton's trial). Danton, in the pleadings, says: "Ileft at 1 o'clock in the morning. I was at the revolutionary commune andpronounced sentence of death on Mandet, who had orders to fire op thepeople. " Danton in the same place says: "I had planned the 10th ofAugust. " It is very certain that from 1 to 7 o'clock in themorning (when Mandat was killed) he was the principal leader of theinsurrectional commune. Nobody was so potent, so overbearing, so wellendowed physically for the control of such a conventicle as Danton. Besides, among the new-comers he was the best known and with the mostinfluence through his position as deputy of the syndic-attorney. Hencehis prestige after the victory and appointment as Minister of Justice. His hierarchical superior, the syndic-attorney Manuel, who was therealso and signed his name, showed himself undoubtedly the pitiful fellowhe was, an affected, crazy, ridiculous loud-talker. For this reason hewas allowed to remain syndic-attorney as a tool and servant. --Beaulieu, "Essais sur la Révolution Française, " III. 454. "Rossignal boasted ofhaving committed this assassination himself. "]

[Footnote 2675: "Pièces intéressantes pour l'histoire, " by Pétion, 1793. "I desired the insurrection, but I trembled for fear that it mightnot succeed. My position was a critical one. I had to do my duty as acitizen without sacrificing that of a magistrate; externals had to bepreserved without derogating from forms. The plan was to confine me inmy own house; but they forgot or delayed to carry this out. Who do youthink repeatedly sent to urge the execution of this measure? Myself;yes, myself!"]

[Footnote 2676: In "Histoire de la Révolution Française" by Ferrand& Lamarque, Cavaillés, Paris 1851, vol. II. Page 225 we may read thefollowing footnote: "This very evening, a young artillery lieutenantobserved, from a window of a house in the rue de l'Echelle, thepreparations which were being undertaken in the château des Tuileries:that was Napoleon Bonaparte. --Well, right, asked the deputy Pozzedi Borgo, his compatriot, what do you think of what is going on? Thisevening they will attack the château. Do you think the people willsucceed?--I don't know, answered the future emperor, but what I canassure you is that if they gave me the command of two Swiss battalionsand one hundred good horsemen, I should repel the insurgents in a mannerwhich would for ever rid them of any desire to return. " (SR)]

[Footnote 2677: Napoleon, at this moment, was at the Carrousel, in thehouse of Bourrienne's brother. "I could see conveniently, " he says, "allthat took place during the day. . . The king had at least as many troopsin his defense as the Convention since had on the 13th Vendémaire, while the enemies of the latter were much more formidable and betterdisciplined. The greater part of the national guard showed that theyfavored the king; this justice must be done to it. " (It might behelpful to some readers to know that when Napoleon refers to the 13thVendémaire, (5th Oct. 1795) that was when he, as a young officer wasgiven the task to defend the Convention against a royalist uprising. He was quick-witted and got hold of some guns in time, loaded them withgrape-shot, placed them in front of the Parisian church of Saint-Rochand completely eliminated the superior royalist force. SR. )]

[Footnote 2678: Official report of Leroux. On the side of the garden, along the terrace by the river, and then on the return were "afew shouts of Vive le roi! many for Vive la nation! Vivent lessans-culottes! Down with the king! Down with the veto! Down with theold porker! etc. --But I can certify that these insults were all utteredbetween the Pont-Turnant and the parterre, and by about a dozen men, among which were five or six gunners following the king, the same asflies follow an animal they are bent on tormenting. "]

[Footnote 2679: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 223, 273--Letter of Bonnaud, chief of the Sainte-Marguerite battalion: "I cannot avoid marching attheir head under any pretext. . . Never will I violate the Constitutionunless I am forced to. "--The Gravilliers section and that of theFaubourg Poissonnière cashiered their officers and elected others. ]

[Footnote 2680: Mortimer-Ternaux, IV. 342. Speech of Fabre d'Eglantineat the Jacobin Club, Nov. 5, 1792. "Let it be loudly proclaimed thatthese are the same men who captured the Tuileries, broke into theprisons of the Abbaye, of Orleans and of Versailles. "]

[Footnote 2681: In this respect the riot of the Champ-de-Mars (July 17, 1791), the only one that was suppressed, is very instructive: "As themilitia would not as usual ground their arms on receiving the word ofcommand from the mob, this last began, according to custom, to pelt themwith stones. To be deprived of their Sunday recreational activities, to be marching through the streets under a scorching sun, and then beremain standing like fools on a public holiday, to be knocked outwith bricks, was a little more than they had patience to bear so that, without waiting for an order, they fired and killed a dozen or two ofthe raggamuffins. The rest of the brave chaps bolted. If the militia hadwaited for orders they might, I fancy, have been all knocked downbefore they received any. . . Lafayette was very near being killed in themorning; but the pistol failed to go off at his breast. The assassin wasimmediately secured, but he arranged to be let free" (Gouverneur Morris, letter of July 20, 1791). Likewise, on the 29th of August, 1792, atRouen, the national guard, defending the Hôtel-de-ville, is pelted withstones more than an hour while many are wounded. The magistrates makeevery concession and try every expedient, the mayor reading the riot actfive or six times. Finally the national guard, forced into it, exclaim:"If you do not allow us to repel force with force we shall leave. " Theyfire and four persons are killed and two wounded, and the crowd breaksup. ("Archives Nationales, " F7, 2265, official report of the Rouenmunicipality, Aug. 29; addresses of the municipality, Aug. 28; letter ofthe lieutenant-colonel of the gendarmerie, Aug. 30, etc. ). ]

[Footnote 2682: Official report of Leroux. --"Chronique des cinquantejours, " by Roederer. --"Détails particuliers sur la journée du 10 Aout, "by a bourgeois of Paris, an eye-witness (1822). ]

[Footnote 2683: Barbaroux, "Mémoires, " 69. "Everything betokened victoryfor the court if the king had never left his post. . . If he had shownhimself, if he had mounted on horseback the battalions of Paris wouldhave declared for him. "]

[Footnote 2684: "Révolution de Paris, " number for Aug. 11, 1792. "The10th of August, 1792, is still more horrible than the 24th of August, 1572, and Louis XVI. A greater monster than Charles IX. "--"Thousandsof torches were found in cellars, apparently placed there to burn downParis at a signal from this modern Nero. " In the number for Aug. 18: "Theplace for Louis Nero and for Medicis Antoinette is not in the towers ofthe Temple; their heads should have fallen from the guillotine on thenight of the 10th of August. " (Special details of a plan of the kingto massacre all patriot deputies, and intimidate Paris with a grandpillaging and by keeping the guillotine constantly at work. ) "Thatcrowned ogre and his Austrian panther. "]

[Footnote 2685: Narrative of the Minister Joly (written four days afterthe event). The king departs about half-past eight. --Cf. Madame Campan, "Mémoires, " and Moniteur, XIII. 378. ]

[Footnote 2686: "Révolution de Paris, " number for Aug. 18. On his waya sans-culotte steps out in front of the rows and tries to prevent theking from proceeding. The officer of the guard argues with him, uponwhich he extends his hand to the king, exclaiming: "Touch that hand, bastard, and you have shaken the hand of an honest man! But I have nointention that your bitch of a wife goes with you to the Assembly; wedon't want that whore. "--"Louis XVI, " says Prudhomme, "kept on his waywithout being upset by the with this noble impulse. "--I regard this as amasterpiece of Jacobin interpretation. ]

[Footnote 2687: Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 311, 325. The king, at the footof the staircase, had asked Roederer: "what will become of the personsremaining above?" "Sire, " he replies, "they seem to be in plain dress. Those who have swords have merely to take them off, follow you and leaveby the garden. " A certain number of gentlemen, indeed, do so, and thusdepart while others escape by the opposite side through the gallery ofthe Louvre. ]

[Footnote 2688: Mathon de la Varenne, "Histoire particulière, " etc. , 108. (Testimony of the valet-de-chambre Lorimier de Chamilly, with whomMathon was imprisoned in the prison of La Force. ]

[Footnote 2689: De Lavalette, "Mémoires, " I. 81. "We there found thegrand staircase barred by a sort of beam placed across it, and defendedby several Swiss officers, who were civilly disputing its passage withabout fifty mad fellows, whose odd dress very much resembled that of thebrigands in our melodramas. They were intoxicated, while their coarselanguage and queer imprecations indicated the town of Marseilles, whichhad belched them forth. "]

[Footnote 2690: Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 314, 317 (questioning of M. DeDiesbach). "Their orders were not to fire until the word was given, andnot before the national guard had set the example. "]

[Footnote 2691: Buchez et Roux, XVI, 443. Narration by Pétion. --Peltier, "Histoire du 10 août. "]

[Footnote 2692: M. De Nicolay wrote the following day, the 11th ofAugust: "The federates fired first, which was followed by a sharp volleyfrom the château windows. " (Le Comte de Fersen et la cour de France. II. 347. )]

[Footnote 2693: Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 491. The abandonment of theTuileries is proved by the small loss of the assailants. (List of thewounded belonging to the Marseilles corps and of the killed and woundedof the Brest corps, drawn up Oct. 16, 1792. --Statement of the aidgranted to wounded Parisians, to widows, to orphans, and to the aged, October, 1792, and then 1794. )--The total amounts to 74 dead and 54severely wounded The two corps in the hottest of the fight were theMarseilles band, which lost 22 dead and 14 wounded, and the Bretons, wholost 2 dead and 5 wounded. The sections that suffered the most were theQuinze-Vingts (4 dead and 4 wounded), the Faubourg-Montmartre (3 dead), the Lombards (4 wounded), and the Gravilliers (3 wounded). --Out oftwenty-one sections reported, seven declare that they did not losea man. --The Swiss regiment, on the contrary, lost 760 men and 26officers. ]

[Footnote 2694: Napoleon's narrative. ]

[Footnote 2695: Pétion's account. ]

[Footnote 2696: Prudhomme's "Révolution de Paris, " XIII. 236 and237. --Barbaroux, 73. --Madame Campan, II. 250. ]

[Footnote 2697: Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 258. --Moore, I. 59. Some ofthe robbers are killed. Moore saw one of them thrown down the grandstaircase. ]

[Footnote 2698: Michelet, III. 289. ]

[Footnote 2699: Mercier, "Le Nouveau Paris, " II. 108. --"The Comte deFersen et la Cour de France, " II. 348. (Letter of Sainte-Foix, Aug. 11). "The cellars were broken open and more than 10, 000 bottles of wine ofwhich I saw the fragments in the court, so intoxicated the people thatI made haste to put an end to an investigation imprudently begun amidst2, 000 sots with naked swords, handled by them very carelessly. "]

[Footnote 26100: Napoleon's narrative. --Memoirs of Barbaroux. ]

[Footnote 26101: Moniteur, XIII. 387. --Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 340. ]

[Footnote 26102: Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 303. Words of the presidentVergniaud on receiving Louis XVI. --Ibid. 340, 342, 350. ]

[Footnote 26103: Mortimer-Ternaux, 356, 357. ]

[Footnote 26104: Mortimer-Ternaux, 337. Speech of Huguenin, president ofthe Commune, at the bar of the National Assembly: "The people by whomwe are sent to you have instructed us to declare to you that they investyou anew with its confidence; but they at the same time instruct us todeclare to you that, as judge of the extraordinary measures to whichthey have been driven by necessity and resistance to oppression, they know no other authority than the French people, your sovereign and ours, assembled in its primary meetings. "]

[Footnote 26105: Duvergier, "Collection des lois et décrets, " (betweenAug. 10 and Sept. 20). ]

[Footnote 26106: Duvergier, "Collection des lois et décrets, " Aug. 11-12. "The National Assembly considering that it has not the rightto subject sovereignty in the formation of a national Convention toimperative regulations, . . . Invites citizens to conform to the followingrules. "]

[Footnote 26107: August 11 (article 8)]

[Footnote 26108: Aug. 10-12 and Aug. 28. ]

[Footnote 26109: Ibid. , Aug. 10, Aug. 13. --Cf. Moniteur, XIII. 399(session of Aug. 12). ]

[Footnote 26110: Ibid. , Aug. 18. ]

[Footnote 26111: Aug. 23 and Sep. 3. After the 11th of August theAssembly passes a decree releasing Saint-Huruge and annulling thewarrant against Antoine. ]

[Footnote 26112: Ibid. , Aug. 14. ]

[Footnote 26113: Ibid. , Aug. 14. Decree for dividing the property ofthe émigrés into lots of from two to four arpents, in order to "multiplysmall proprietors. "--Ibid. , Sept. 2. Other decrees against the émigrésand their relations, Aug. 14, 23, 30, and Sept. 5 and 9. ]

[Footnote 26114: Ibid. , Aug. 26. Other decrees against the ecclesiasticsor the property of the church, Aug. 17, 18, 19, and Sept. 9 and 19. ]

[Footnote 26115: Ibid. , Sept. 20. ]

[Footnote 26116: Imagine the impression these last lines may have uponany ardent, ambitious and arrogant young man who, like Lenin in 1907, would have read this between 1893 and 1962, date of the last Englishreprinting of Taine's once widely know work. They summed up bothwhat had to be done and who would be the primary beneficiaries of therevolution. Lenin, Hitler, Mussolini and countless other young hopefulpolitical men. Read it once more and ask yourself if much of thisprogram has not been more or less surreptitiously carried out in mostwestern countries after the second world war? (SR). ]

[Footnote 26117: Malouet, II. 241. ]

[Footnote 26118: Mercure de France, July 21, 1792. ]

[Footnote 26119: "Révolutions de Paris, " XIII. 137. ]

[Footnote 26120: Mallet du Pan. "Mémoires, " I. 322. Letters to Mallet duPan. Aug. 4 and following days. ]

[Footnote 26121: Buchez et Roux, XVI. 446. Pétion's narrative. --Arnault, "Souvenirs d'un sexagénaire, " I. 342. (An eye-witness on the 10th ofAugust. ) "The massacre extended but little beyond the Carrousel, and didnot cross the Seine. Everywhere else I found a population as quiet as ifnothing had happened. Inside the city the people scarcely manifested anysurprise; dancing went on in the public gardens. In the Marais, where Ilived then, there was only a suspicion of the occurrence, the same as atSaint-Germain; it was said that something was going on in Paris, and theevening newspaper was impatiently looked for to know what it was. "]

[Footnote 26122: Moore, I. 122. --The same thing is observable at othercrises in the Revolution. On the 6th of October, 1789 (Sainte-Beuve, "Causeries du Lundi, " XII. 461), Sénac de Meilhan at an eveningreception hears the following conversations: "'Did you see the kingpass?' asks one. 'No, I was at the theater. ' 'Did Molé play?'--'As formyself; I was obliged to stay in the Tuileries; there was no way ofgetting out before 9 o'clock. ' 'You saw the king pass then?' 'I couldnot see very well; it was dark. '--Another says: 'It must have takensix hours for him to come from Versailles. '--Others coolly add a fewdetails. --To continue: 'Will you take a hand at whist?' 'I will playafter supper, which is just ready. ' Cannon are heard, and then a fewwhisperings, and a transient moment of depression, . 'The king is leavingthe Hôtel-de-ville. They must be very tired. ' Supper is taken and thereare snatches of conversation. They play trente et quarante and whilewalking about watching the game and their cards they do some talking:'What a horrid affair!' while some speak together briefly and in alow tone of voice. The clock strikes two and they all leave or go tobed. --These people seem to you insensible. Very well; there is not oneof them who would not accept death at the king's feet. "--On the 23d ofJune, 1791, at the news of the king's arrest at Varennes, "the Bois deBoulogne and the Champs Elysées were filled with people talking in afrivolous way about the most serious matters, while young men areseen, pronouncing sentences of death in their frolics with courtesans. "(Mercure de France, July 9, 1791. It begins with a little piece entitledDépit d'un Amant. )--See ch. XI. For the sentiment of the population inMay and June, 1793. ]

[Footnote 26123: Moniteur, XIII. 290 (July 29) and 278 (July 30). ]

[Footnote 26124: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 145. Letter of Santerre tothe Minister of the Interior, Sept. 16, 1792, with the daily list of allthe men that have left Paris between the3rd and 15th of September, thetotal amounting to 18, 635, of which 15, 504 are volunteers. Other lettersfrom the same, indicating subsequent departures: Sept. 17, 1, 071 men;none the following days until Sept. 21, 243; 22nd 150; up to the 26th, 813; on Oct. 1st, 113; 2nd and 3rd, 1, 088; 4th, 1620; 16th, 196, etc. --Ibelieve that amongst those who leave, some are passing through Pariscoming from the provinces; this prevents an exact calculation of thenumber of Parisian volunteers. M. De Lavalette, himself a volunteer, says 60, 000; but he furnishes not proofs of this. ]

[Footnote 26125: Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 362. ]

[Footnote 26126: Soulavie, "Vie privée du Maréchal duc de Richelieu, "IX. 384. ----"One can scarcely comprehend, " says Lafayette, ("Mémoires, "I. 454), "how the Jacobin minority and a gang of pretended Marseillesmen could render themselves masters of Paris, while almost the wholeof the 40, 000 citizens forming the national guard desired theConstitution. "]

[Footnote 26127: Hua, 169. ]

[Footnote 26128: Moniteur, XIII. 437. (session of Aug. 16, the applausereiterated and the speech ordered to be printed). ]

[Footnote 26129: These words should cause society to change resultingin a leveling of incomes through proportional taxation and aids of allkinds throughout the industrialized world. Nobody could ever imagine theimmense wealth which was to be produced by the efficient industry of the20th century. (SR). ]

[Footnote 26130: Roederer, "oeuvres Complètes. " VIII 477. "The cluborators displayed France to the proletariat as a sure prey if they wouldseize hold of it. "]

[Footnote 26131: This manifesto, was drafted for the Duke ofBrunswick-Lunebourg, the general commanding the combined Prussian andAustrian forces, by the French émigré Marquis de Limon. It threatenedthe French and especially the Paris population with unspecified "rigorsof war" should it have the temerity to resist or to harm the King andhis family. It was signed in Koblenz, Germany on 25 August 1792 andpublished in royalist newspapers 3 days later in Paris. (SR). ]

[Footnote 26132: "Moore's Journal, " I. 303-309. ]

[Footnote 26133: "Archives Nationales, " 474, 426. Section ofGravilliers, letter of Charles Chemin, commissary, to Santerre, anddeposition of Ilingray, cavalryman of the national gendarmerie, Aug. 11. ]

[Footnote 26134: Beaumarchais, "oeuvres complètes, " letter of Aug. 12, 1792. --This very interesting letter shows how mobs are composed at thisepoch. A small gang of regular brigands and thieves plot together someenterprise, to which is added a frightened, infatuated crowd, which maybecome ferocious, but which remains honest. ]

[Footnote 26135: The words of Hobbes applied by Roederer to the democracyof 1792: "In democratia tot possent esse Nerones quot sunt oratores quipopulo adulantur; simul et plures sunt in democratia, et quotidie novisuboriuntur. "]

[Footnote 26136: Lucas de Montigny, "Mémoires de Mirabeau, " II. 231and following pages. --The preface affixed by Manuel to his edition(of Mirabeau's letters) is a masterpiece of nonsense andimpertinence. --Peltier, "Histoire du 10 Aout, " II. 205. --Manuel "cameout of a little shop at Montargis and hawked about obscene tracts in theupper stories of Paris. He got hold of Mirabeau's letters in the drawersof the public department and sold them for 2, 000 crowns. " (testimony ofBoquillon, juge-de la paix). ]

[Footnote 26137: Lafayette, "Mémoires, " I. 467, 471. "The queen had50, 000 crowns put into Danton's hands a short time before these terribledays. "--" The court had Danton under pay for two years, employing him asa spy on the Jacobins. "--" Correspondance de Mirabeau et du Comte de laMarck, " III. 82. Letter from Mirabeau, March 10, 1791: "Danton receivedyesterday 30, 000 livres". --Other testimony, Bertrand de Molleville, I. 354, II. 288. --Brissot, IV. 193--. Miot de Melito, "Mémoires, " I. 40, 42. Miot was present at the conversations which took place betweenDanton, Legendre, etc. , at the table of Desforges, Minister of ForeignAffairs. "Danton made no concealment of his love of pleasure and money, and laughed at all conscientious and delicate scruples. "--" Legendrecould not say enough in praise of Danton in speaking of his talents as apublic man; but he loudly censured his habits and cxpensive tastes, and never joined him in any of his odious speculations. "--The oppositethesis has been maintained by Robinet and Bougeart in their articleson Danton. The discussion would require too much space. The importantpoints are as follows: Danton, a barrister in the royal council in March, 1787, loses about10, 000 francs on the refund of his charge. In his marriage-contractdated June, 1787, he admits 12, 000 francs patrimony in lands and houses, while his wife brings him only 20, 000 francs dowry. From 1787 to 1791 hecould not earn much, being in constant attendance at the Cordeliers cluband devoted to politics; Lacretelle saw him in the riots of 1788. Heleft at his death about 85, 000 francs in national property bought in1791. Besides, he probably held property and valuables underthird parties, who kept them after his death. (De Martel, "TypesRévolutionnaires, " 2d part, p. 139. Investigations of Blache atChoisy-sur-Seine, where a certain Fauvel seems to have been Danton'sassumed name. )--See on this question, "Avocats aux conseils du Roi, " byEmil Bos, pp. 513-520. According to accounts proved by M. Bos, it followsthat Danton, at the end of 1791, was in debt to the amount of 53, 000francs; this is the hole stopped by the court. On the other side, Dantonbefore the Revolution signs himself Danton even in authentic writing, which is an usurpation of nobility and at that time subject to thepenalty of the galleys. --The double-faced infidelity in question musthave been frequent, for their leaders were anything else but sensitive. On the 7th of August Madame Elizabeth tells M. De Montmorin thatthe insurrection would not take place; that Pétion and Santerre wereconcerned in it, and that they had received 750, 000 francs to preventit and bring over the Marseilles troop to the king's side (Malouet, II. 223). --There is no doubt that Santerre, in using the king's moneyagainst the king, thought he was acting patriotically. Money is at thebottom of every riot, to pay for drink and to stimulate subordinateagents. ]

[Footnote 26138: Buchez et Roux, XXVIII. 92. Letter of Gadolle toRoland, October, 1792, according to a narrative by one of the teachersin the college d'Harcourt, in which Varlet was placed. ]

[Footnote 26139: Buchez et Roux, XIII. 254. ]

[Footnote 26140: "C. Desmoulins, " by Claretie, 238 (in 1786 andin 1775). "The inquest still exists, unfortunately it isconvincing. "--Westermann was accused of these acts in December, 1792, by the section of the Lombards, "proofs in hand. "--Gouverneur Morris, sowell informed, writes to Washington, Jan. 10, 1793: The retreat of theKing of Prussia "was worth to Westermann about 10, 000 pounds. . . Thecouncil . . . Exerted against him a prosecution for old affairs of nohigher rank than petty larceny. "]

[Footnote 26141: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 4434 (papers of thecommittee of general safety). Note on Panis, with full details andreferences to the occurrence. ]

[Footnote 26142: "Révolutions de Paris, " No. 177 (session of thecouncil-general at the Hotel-de-ville, Nov. 8, 1792, report of thecommittee of surveillance). "Sergent admits, except as to one of thewatches, that he intended to pay for the said object the price theywould have brought. It was noticed, as he said this, that he had on hisfinger the agate ring that was claimed. "]

[Footnote 26143: Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 638; III. 500 and followingpages; IV. 132. --Cf. II. 451. ]

[Footnote 26144: Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 456. ]

[Footnote 26145: Buchez et Roux, XVI. 138, 140 (testimony of Mathon dela Varenne, who was engaged in the case). ]

[Footnote 26146: "Dictionnaire biographique, " by Eymery (Leipsic, 1807), article HÉBERT. ]

[Footnote 26147: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 484, 601. Cf. Letter of therepresentative Cavaignac, Ibid. , 399. ]

[Footnote 26148: "Dictionnaire biographique, " article HENRIOT. -Thelives of many of these subordinate leaders are well done. Cf. "StanislasMaillard, " by AL Sorel; "Le Patriote Palloy, " by V Fournel. ]

[Footnote 26149: Granier de Cassagnac, "Histoire des Girondins, "409. --"Archives Nationales, " F7 3196. Letters of de Sades on the sackingof his house near Apt, with supporting document and proofs of hiscivism; among others a petition drawn up by him in the name of the Piquesection and read at the Convention year II. Brumaire 25. "Legislators, the reign of philosophy has at last annihilated that of imposture. . . The worship of a Jewish slave of the Romans is not adapted to thedescendants of Scoevola. The general prosperity which is certain toproceed from individual happiness will spread to the farthest regionsof the universe and everywhere the dreaded hydra of ultramontanesuperstition, chased by the combined lights of reason and virtue, nolonger finding a refuge in the hateful haunts of a dying aristocracy, will perish at her side in despair at finally beholding on this earththe triumph of philosophy!"]

[Footnote 26150: Barbaroux, "Mémoires, " 57, 59. The latter months of thelegislative assembly. ]

BOOK THIRD. THE SECOND STAGE OF THE CONQUEST. 

CHAPTER I. 

I. --Government by gangs in times of anarchy. 

 Case where anarchy is recent and suddenly brought on. --The band that succeeds the fallen government and its administrative tools. 

The worst feature of anarchy is not so much the absence of theoverthrown government as the rise of new governments of an inferiorgrade. In every state which breaks up, new groups will form to conquerand become sovereign: it was so in Gaul on the fall of the Roman empire, also under the latest of Charlemagne's successors; the same stateof things exists now (1875) in Rumania and in Mexico. Adventurers, gangsters, corrupted or downgraded men, social outcasts, men overwhelmedwith debts and lost to honor, vagabonds, deserters, dissolute troopers, born enemies of work, of subordination, and of the law, unite to breakthe worm-eaten barriers which still surround the sheep-like masses;and as they are unscrupulous, they slaughter on all occasions. On thisfoundation their authority rests; each in turn reigns in its own area, and their government, in keeping with its brutal masters, consists inrobbery and murder; nothing else can be looked for from barbarians andbrigands. 

But never are they so dangerous as when, in a great State recentlyfallen, a sudden revolution places the central power in their hands;for they then regard themselves as the legitimate inheritors of theshattered government, and, under this title, they undertake to managethe commonwealth. Now in times of anarchy the ruling power does notproceed from above, but from below; and the chiefs, therefore, whowould remain such, are obliged to follow the blind impulsion of theirflock. [3101] Hence the important and dominant personage, the one whoseideas prevail, the veritable successor of Richelieu and of Louis XIV. Is here the subordinate Jacobin, the pillar of the club, the maker ofmotions, the street rioter, Panis Sergent, Hébert, Varlet, Henriot, Maillard, Fournier, Lazowski, or, still lower in the scale, theMarseilles "rough, " the Faubourg gunner, the drinking market-porterwho elaborates his political conceptions in the interval between hishiccups. [3102]--For information he has the rumors circulating inthe streets which tell of a traitor to each house, and for confirmedknowledge the club slogans inciting him to rule over the vast machine. A machinery so vast and complicated, a whole assembly of entangledservices ramifying in innumerable offices, with so much apparatusof special import, so delicate as to require constant adaptationto changing circumstances, diplomacy, finances, justice, armyadministration--all this surpasses his limited comprehension; a bottlecannot be made to contain the bulk of a hogshead. [3103] In his narrowbrain, perverted and turned topsy-turvy by the disproportionate notionsput into it, only one idea suited to his gross instincts and aptitudesfinds a place there, and that is the desire to kill his enemies; andthese are also the State's enemies, however open or concealed, presentor future, probable or even possible. He carries this savagery andbewilderment into politics, and hence the evil arising from hisgovernment. Simply a brigand, he would have murdered only to rob, andhis murders would have been restricted. As representing the State, he undertakes wholesale massacres, of which he has the means readyat hand. --For he has not yet had time enough to take apart the oldadministrative implements; at all events the minor wheels, gendarmes, jailers, employees, book-keepers, and accountants, are always in theirplaces and under control. There can be no resistance on the partof those arrested; accustomed to the protection of the laws and topeaceable ways and times, they have never relied on defending themselvesnor ever could imagine that any one could be so summarily slain. Asto the mass, rendered incapable of any effort of its own by ancientcentralization, it remains inert and passive and lets things go theirown way. --Hence, during many long, successive days, without beinghurried or impeded, with official papers quite correct and accounts inperfect order, a massacre can be carried out with the same impunity andas methodically as cleaning the streets or clubbing stray dogs. [3104]

II. --The development of the ideas of killings in the mass of the party. 

 The morning after August 10. --The tribunal of August 17. --The funereal fête of August 27. --The prison plot. 

Let us trace the progress of the homicidal idea in the mass of theparty. It lies at the very bottom of the revolutionary creed. Collotd'Herbois, two months after this, aptly says in the Jacobin tribune:"The second of September is the great article in the credo of ourfreedom. "[3105] It is peculiar to the Jacobin to consider himself as alegitimate sovereign, and to treat his adversaries not as belligerents, but as criminals. They are guilty of lèse-nation; they are outlaws, fitto be killed at all times and places, and deserve extinction, even whenno longer able or in a condition do any harm. --Consequently, on the 10thof August the Swiss Guards, who do not fire a gun and who surrender, thewounded lying on the ground, their surgeons, the palace domestics, arekilled; and worse still, persons like M. De Clermont-Tonnerre who passquietly along the street. All this is now called in official phraseologythe justice of the people. --On the 11th the Swiss Guards, collectedin the Feuillants building, come near being massacred; the mob on theoutside of it demand their heads;[3106] "it conceives the projectof visiting all the prisons in Paris to take out the prisoners andadminister prompt justice on them. "--On the 12th in the markets "diversegroups of the low class call Pétion a scoundrel, " because "he saved theSwiss in the Palais Bourbon"; accordingly, "he and the Swiss must behung to-day. "-In these minds turned topsy-turvy the actual, palpabletruth gives way to its opposite; "the attack was not begun by them; theorder to sound the tocsin came from the palace; it is the palace whichwas besieging the nation, and not the nation which was besieging thepalace. "[3107] The vanquished "are the assassins of the people, "caught in the act; and on the 14th of August the Federates demand acourt-martial "to avenge the death of their comrades. "[3108] And evena court-martial will not answer. "It is not sufficient to mete outpunishment for crimes committed on the 10th of August, but the vengeanceof the people must be extended to all conspirators;" to that "Lafayette, who probably was not in Paris, but who may have been there;" to all theministers, generals, judges, and other officials guilty of maintaininglegal order wherever it had been maintained, and of not havingrecognized the Jacobin government before it came into being. Let thembe brought before, not the ordinary courts, which are not to be trustedbecause they belong to the defunct régime, but before a speciallyorganized tribunal, a sort of "chambre ardente, "[3109] elected by thesections, that is to say, by a Jacobin minority. These improvised judgesmust give judgment on conviction, without appeal; there must be nopreliminary examinations, no interval of time between arrest andexecution, no dilatory and protective formalities. And above all, theAssembly must be expeditious in passing the decree; "otherwise, " it isinformed by a delegate from the Commune, [3110] "the tocsin will be rungat midnight and the general alarm sounded; for the people are tiredof waiting to be avenged. Look out lest they do themselves justice!--Amoment later, new threats and with an advanced deadline. "If the juriesare not ready to act in two or three hours great misfortunes willovertake Paris. "

Even if the new tribunal, set up on the spot, is quick, guillotiningthree innocent persons in five days; it does not move fast enough. On the 23rd of August one of the sections declares to the Commune infurious language that the people themselves, "wearied and indignant"with so many delays, mean to force open the prisons and massacre theinmates. [3111]--Not only do the sections harass the judges, but theyforce the accused into their presence: a deputation from the Commune andthe Federates summons the Assembly "to transfer the criminals at Orleansto Paris to undergo the penalty of their heinous crimes". "Otherwise, "says the speaker, "we will not answer for the vengeance of thepeople. "[3112] And in a still more imperative manner:

"You have heard and you know that insurrection is a sacred duty, " asacred duty towards and against all: towards the Assembly if it refuses, and towards the tribunal if it acquits. They dash at their prey contraryto all legislative and judicial formalities, like a kite across the webof a spider, while nothing detach them from their fixed ideas. On theacquittal of M. Luce de Montmorin[3113] the gross audience, mistakinghim for his cousin the former minister of Louis XVI. , break out inmurmurs. The president tries to enforce silence, which increasesthe uproar, and M. De Montmorin is in danger. On this the president, discovering a side issue, announces that one of the jurors is related tothe accused, and that in such a case a new jury must be impaneled anda new trial take place; that the matter will be inquired into, andmeanwhile the prisoner will be returned to the Conciergerie prison. Thereupon he takes M. De Montmorin by the arm and leads him out of thecourt-room, amidst the yells of the audience and not without risks tohimself; in the outside court a soldier of the National Guard strikesat him with a saber, and the following day the court is obliged toauthorize eight delegates from the audience to go and see with their owneyes that M. De Montmorin is really in prison. 

At the moment of his acquittal a tragic remark is heard:

"You discharge him to-day and in two weeks he will cut our throats!"

Fear is evidently an adjunct of hatred. The Jacobin rabble is vaguelyconscious of their inferior numbers, of their usurpation, of theirdanger, which increases in proportion as Brunswick draws near. They feelthat they live above a mine, and if the mine should explode!--Since theythink that their adversaries are scoundrels they feel they are capableof a dirty trick, of a plot, of a massacre. As they themselves havenever behaved in any other way, they cannot conceive anything else. Through an inevitable inversion of thought, they impute to others themurderous intentions obscurely wrought out in the dark recesses oftheir own disturbed brains. --On the 27th of August, after the funeralprocession gotten up by Sergent expressly to excite popular resentment, their suspicions, at once specific and guided, begin to take the form ofcertainty. Ten "commemorative" banners, [3114] each borne by a volunteeron horseback, have paraded before all eyes the long list of massacres"by the court and its agents":

1. The massacre at Nancy, 2. The massacre at Nîmes, 3. The massacre at Montauban, 4. The massacre at Avignon, 5. The massacre at La Chapelle, 6. The massacre at Carpentras, 7. The massacre of the Champ de Mars, etc. 

Faced with such displays, doubts and misgivings are out of the question. To the women in the galleries, to the frequenters of the clubs, and topikemen in the suburbs it is from now beyond any doubt proved that thearistocrats are habitual killers. 

And on the other side there is another sign equally alarming "Thislugubrious ceremony, which ought to inspire by turns both reflectionand indignation, . . . Did not generally produce that effect. " The NationalGuard in uniform, who came "apparently to make up for not appearing onthe day of action, " did not behave themselves with civic propriety, but, on the contrary, put on "an air of inattention and even of noisygaiety"; they come out of curiosity, like so many Parisian onlookers, and are much more numerous than the sans-culottes with theirpikes. [3115] The latter could count themselves and plainly see that theyare just a minority, and a very small one, and that their rage findsno echo. The organizers and their stooges are the only ones to call forspeedy sentencing and for death-penalties. A foreigner, a good observer, who questions the shop-keepers of whom he makes purchases, the tradesmenhe knows, and the company he finds in the coffee-houses, writes that henever had "seen any symptom of a sanguinary disposition except in thegalleries of the National Assembly and at the Jacobin Club, " but thenthe galleries are full of paid "applauders, ' especially "females, whoare more noisy and to be had cheaper than males. " At the Jacobin Clubare "the leaders, who dread a turnaround or who have resentments togratify[3116]": thus the only enragés are the leaders and the populaceof the suburbs. --Lost in the crowd of this vast city, in the face of aNational Guard still armed and three times their own number, confrontingan indifferent or discontented bourgeoisie, the patriots are alarmed. In this state of anxiety a feverish imagination, exasperated by thewaiting, involuntarily gives birth to imaginings passionately acceptedas truths. All that is now required is an incident in order to put thefinal touch to complete the legend, the germ of which has unwittinglygrown in their minds. 

On the 1st of September a poor wagoner, Jean Julien, [3117] condemned totwelve years in irons, has been exposed in the pillory. After two hourshe becomes furious, probably on account of the jeers of the bystanders. With the coarseness of people of his kind he has vented his impotentrage by abuse, he has unbuttoned and exposed himself to the public, andhas naturally chosen expressions which would appear most offensive tothe people looking at him:

"Hurrah for the King! Hurrah for the Queen! Hurra for Lafayette! To hellwith the nation!"

It is also natural that he missed being torn to pieces. He was at onceled away to the Conciergerie prison, and sentenced on the spot to beguillotined as soon as possible, for being a promoter of sedition inconnection with the conspiracy of August the 10th. --The conspiracy, accordingly, is still in existence. It is so declared by the tribunal, which makes no declaration without evidence. Jean Julien has certainlyconfessed; now what has he revealed?--On the following day, like a cropof poisonous mushrooms, the growth of a single night, the story obtainsgeneral credence. "Jean Julien has declared that all the prisons inParis thought as he did, that there would soon be fine times, that theprisoners were armed, and that as soon as the volunteers cleared outthey would be let loose on all Paris. "[3118] The streets are full ofanxious faces. "One says that Verdun had been betrayed like Longwy. Others shook their heads and said it was the traitors within Paris andnot the declared enemies on the frontier that were to be feared. "[3119]On the following day the story grows: "There are royalist officers andsoldiers hidden away in Paris and in the outskirts. They are going toopen the prisons, arm the prisoners, set the King and his family free, put the patriots in Paris to death, also the wives and children of thosein the army. . . Isn't it natural for men to look after the safety oftheir wives and children, and to use the only efficient means to arrestthe assassin's dagger. "[3120]--The working-class inferno has beenstirred up, now it's up to the contractors of public revolt to fan anddirect the flames. 

III. Terror is their Salvation. 

 Rise of the homicidal idea among the leaders. --Their situation. --The powers they seize. --Their pillage. --The risks they run--Terror is their rescue. 

They have been fanning the flames for a long time. Already, on the 11thof August, the new Commune had announced, in a proclamation, [3121]that "the guilty should perish on the scaffold, " while its threateningdeputations force the national Assembly into the immediate institutionof a bloody tribunal. Carried into power by brutal force, it mustperish if it does not maintain itself, and this can be done only throughterror. --Let us pause and consider this unusual situation. Installedin the Hôtel-de-ville by a nightly surprise attack, about one hundredstrangers, delegated by a party which thinks or asserts itself to be thepeoples' delegates, have overthrown one of the two great powers of theState, mangled and enslaved the other, and now rule in a capital of700, 000 souls, by the grace of eight or ten thousand fanatics andcut-throats. Never did a radical change promote men from so low a pointand raise so high! The basest of newspaper scribblers, penny-a-linersout of the gutters, bar-room oracles, unfrocked monks and priests, therefuse of the literary guild, of the bar, and of the clergy, carpenters, turners, grocers, locksmiths, shoemakers, common laborers, many with noprofession at all, strolling politicians and [3122]public brawlers, who, like the sellers of counterfeit wares, have speculated for the pastthree years on popular credulity. There were among them a number ofmen in bad repute, of doubtful honesty or of proven dishonesty, who, in their youth led shiftless lives. They are still besmirched with oldslime, they were put outside the pale of useful labor by their vices, driven out of inferior stations even into prohibited occupations, bruised by the perilous leap, with consciences distorted like themuscles of a tight-rope dancer. Were it not for the Revolution, theywould still grovel in their native filth, awaiting prison or forcedlabor to which they were destined. Can one imagine their growingintoxication as they drink deep draughts from the bottomless cup ofabsolute power?--For it is absolute power which they demand and whichthey exercise. [3123] Raised by a special delegation above the regularauthorities, they put up with these only as subordinates, and toleratenone among them who may become their rivals. Consequently, they reducethe Legislative body simply to the function of editor and herald oftheir decrees; they have forced the new department electors to "abjuretheir title, " to confine themselves to tax assessments, while they laytheir ignorant hands daily on every other service, on the finances, thearmy, supplies, the administration, justice, at the risk of breaking theadministrative wheels or of interrupting their action. 

One day they summon the Minister of War before them, or, for lack ofone, his chief clerk; another day they keep the whole body of officialsin his department in arrest for two hours, under the pretext of findinga suspected printer. [3124] At one time they affix seals on the fundsdevoted to extraordinary expenses; at another time they do away withthe commission on supplies; at another they meddle with the course ofjustice, either to aggravate proceedings or to impede the execution ofsentences rendered. [3125] There is no principle, no law, no regulation, no verdict, no public man or establishment that is not subject to therisk of their arbitrariness. --And, as they have laid hands on power, they do the same with money. Not only do they extort from the Assembly850, 000 francs a months, with arrears from the 1st of January, 1792, more than six millions in all, to defray the expenses of their militarypolice, which means to pay their bands, [3126] but again, "invested withthe municipal scarf, " they seize, "in the public establishment belongingto the nation, all furniture, and whatever is of most value. " "In onebuilding alone, they carry off the value of 100, 000 crowns. "[3127]Elsewhere, in the hands of the treasurer of the civil list, theyappropriate to themselves, a box of jewels, other precious objects, and340, 000 francs. [3128] Their commissioners bring in from Chantillythree wagons each drawn by three horses "loaded with the spoils of M. DeCondé, " and they undertake "removing the contents of the houses ofthe émigrés. "[3129] They confiscate in the churches of Paris "thecrucifixes, music-stands, bells, railings, and every object in bronze orof iron, chandeliers, cups, vases, reliquaries, statues, every articleof plate, " as well "on the altars as in the sacristies, "[3130] and wecan imagine the enormous booty obtained; to cart away the silver platebelonging to the single church of Madeleine-de-la-ville required avehicle drawn by four horses. --Now they use all this money, so freelyseized, as freely as they do power itself. One fills his pockets in theTuileries without the slightest concern; another, in the Garde-Meuble, rummages secretaries, and carries off a wardrobe with itscontents. [3131] We have already seen that in the depositories of theCommune "most of the seals are broken, " that enormous sums in plate, injewels, in gold and silver coin have disappeared. Future inquests andaccounts will charge on the Committee of Supervision, "abstractions, dilapidations, and embezzlements, " in short, "a mass of violationsand breaches of trust. "--When one is king, one easily mistakes themoney-drawer of the State for the drawer in which one keeps one's ownmoney. 

Unfortunately, this full possession of public power and the public fundsholds only by a slender thread. Let the evicted and outraged majoritydare, as subsequently at Lyons, Marseilles, and Toulon, to Return tothe section assemblies and revoke the false mandate which they havearrogated to themselves through fraud and force, and, on the instance, they again become, through the sovereign will of the people, and byvirtue of their own deed, what they really are, usurpers, extortioners, and robbers, there is no middle course for them between a dictatorshipand the galleys. --The mind, before such an alternative, unlessextraordinarily well-balanced, loses its equilibrium; they have nodifficulty in deluding themselves with the idea that the State ismenaced in their persons, and, in postulating the rule, that all isallowable for them, even massacre. Has not Bazire stated in thetribune that, against the enemies of the nation, "all means are fairjustifiable? Has not another deputy, Jean Debry, proposed the formationof a body of 1, 200 volunteers, who "will sacrifice themselves, " asformerly the assassins of the Old Man of the Mountain, in "attackingtyrants, hand to hand, individually, " as well as generals?[3132] Have wenot seen Merlin de Thionville insisting that "the wives and children ofthe émigrés should be kept as hostages, " and declared responsible, or, in other words, ready for slaughter if their relatives continue theirattacks?[3133]

That is all that is left to do, since all the other measures have provedinsufficient. --In vain has the Commune decreed the arrest of journalistsbelonging to the opposite party, and distributed their printingmachinery amongst patriotic printers. [3134] In vain has it declared themembers of the Sainte-Chapelle club, the National Guards who have swornallegiance to Lafayette, the signers of the petition of 8, 000, and ofthat of 20, 000, disqualified for any service whatever. [3135] In vain hasit multiplied domiciliary visits, even to the residence and carriagesof the Venetian ambassador. In vain, through insulting and repeatedexaminations, does it keep at its bar, under the hootings anddeath-cries of its tribunes, the most honorable and most illustriousmen, Lavoisier, Dupont de Nemours, the eminent surgeon Desault, the mostharmless and most refined ladies, Madame de Tourzel, Mademoiselle deTourzel, and the Princesse de Lamballe. [3136] In vain, after a profusionof arrests during twenty days, it envelopes all Paris inside one cast ofits net for a nocturnal search[3137]during which, 1. The barriers are closed and doubly guarded, 2. Sentinels are on the quays and boats stationed on the Seine toprevent escape by water, 3. The city is divided beforehand into circumscriptions, and for eachsection, a list of suspected persons, 4. The circulation of vehicles is stopped, 5. Every citizen is ordered to stay at home, 6. The silence of death reigns after six o'clock in the evening, andthen, 7. In each street, a patrol of sixty pikemen, seven hundred squadsof sans-culottes, all working at the same time, and with their usualbrutality, 8. Doors are burst in with pile drivers, 9. Wardrobes are picked by locksmiths, 10. Walls are sounded by masons, 11. Cellars are searched even to digging in the ground, 12. Papers are seized, 13. Arms are confiscated, 14. Three thousand persons are arrested and led off;[3138] priests, oldmen, the infirm, the sick. 

The action lasts from ten in the evening to five o'clock in the morning, the same as in a city taken by assault, the screams of women rudelytreated, the cries of prisoners compelled to march, the oaths of theguards, cursing and drinking at each grog-shop; never was there suchan universal, methodical execution, so well calculated to suppress allinclination for resistance in the silence of general stupefaction. 

And yet, at this very moment, there are those who act in good faithin the sections and in the Assembly, and who rebel at being under suchmasters. A deputation from the Lombards section, and another from theCorn-market, come to the Assembly and protest against the Commune'susurpations. [3139] Choudieu, the Montagnard, denounces its blatantcorrupt practices. Cambon, a stern financier, will no longer consentto have his accounts tampered with by thieving tricksters. [3140]The Assembly at last seems to have recovered itself. It extends itsprotection to Géray, the journalist, against whom the new pashas hadissued a warrant; it summons to its own bar the signers of the warrant, and orders them to confine themselves in future to the exact limitsof the law which they transgress. Better still, it dissolves theinterloping Council, and substitutes for it ninety-six delegates, to beelected by the sections in twenty-four hours. And, even still better, itorders an account to be rendered within two days of the objects it hasseized, and the return of all gold or silver articles to the Treasury. Quashed, and summoned to disgorge their booty, the autocrats of theHôtel-de-ville come in vain to the Assembly in force on the followingday[3141] to extort from it a repeal of its decrees; the Assembly, in spite of their threats and those of their satellites, stands itsground. --So much the worse for the stubborn; if they are not disposed toregard the flash of the saber, they will feel its sharp edge and point. The Commune, on the motion of Manuel, decides that, so long as publicdanger continues, they will stay where they are; it adopts an address byRobespierre to "restore sovereign power to the people, " which meansto fill the streets with armed bands;[3142] it collects together itsbrigands by giving them the ownership of all that they stole on the10th of August. [3143] The session, prolonged into the night, does notterminate until one o'clock in the morning. Sunday has come and thereis no time to lose, for, in a few hours, the sections, by virtue of thedecree of the National Assembly, and following the example of the Templesection the evening before, may revoke the pretended representatives atthe Hôtel-de-ville. To remain at the Hôtel-de-ville, and to be electedto the convention, demands on the part of the leaders some strikingaction, and this they require that very day. --That day is the second ofSeptember. 

IV. --Date of the determination of this. --The actors and their parts. 

 Marat. --Danton. --The Commune. --Its co-operators. --Harmony of dispositions and readiness of operation. 

Since the 23rd of August their resolution is taken. [3144] They havearranged in their minds a plan of the massacre, and each one, little bylittle, spontaneously, according to his aptitudes, takes the part thatsuits him or is assigned to him. 

Marat, foremost among them all, is the proposer and preacher of theoperation, which, for him, is a perfectly natural one. It is the epitomeof his political system: a dictator or tribune, with full power toslay, and with no other power but that; a good master executioner, responsible, and "tied hand and foot"; this is his program for agovernment since July the 14th, 1789, and he does not blush at it:"so much the worse for those who are not on a level with it!"[3145] Heappreciated the character of the Revolution from the first, not throughgenius, but sympathetically, he himself being equally as one-sided andmonstrous; crazy with suspicion and beset with a homicidal mania forthe past three years, reduced to one idea through mental impoverishment, that of murder, having lost the faculty for even the lowest order ofreasoning, the poorest of journalists, save for pikemen and Billingsgatemarket-women, so monotonous in his constant paroxysms that the regularreading of his journal is like listening to hoarse cries from the cellsof a madhouse. [3146] From the 19th of August he excites people to attackthe prisons. "The wisest and best course to pursue, " he says, "is togo armed to the Abbaye, drag out the traitors, especially the Swissofficers and their accomplices, and put them to the sword. What follyit is to give them a trial! That is already done. You have massacred thesoldiers, why should you spare the officers, ten times guiltier?"--Also, two days later, his brain teeming with an executioner's fancies, insisting that "the soldiers deserved a thousand deaths. As to theofficers, they should be drawn and quartered, like Louis Capet and histools of the Manège. "[3147]--On the strength of this the Commune adoptshim as its official editor, assigns him a tribune in its assembly room, entrusts him to report its acts, and soon puts him on its supervisory orexecutive committee. 

A fanatic of this stamp, however, is good for nothing but as amouthpiece or instigator; he may, at best, figure in the end among thesubordinate managers. --The chief of the enterprise, [3148] Danton, isof another species, and of another stature, a veritable leader ofmen: Through his past career and actual position, through his popularcynicism, ways and language, through his capacity for taking theinitiative and for command, through his excessive corporeal andintellectual vigor, through his physical ascendancy due to his ardent, absorbing will, he is well calculated for his terrible office. --Healone of the Commune has become Minister, and there is no one but him toshelter the violations of the Commune under the protection or under thepassivity of the central authority. --He alone of the Commune and ofthe ministry is able to push things through and harmonize action inthe pell-mell of the revolutionary chaos; both in the councils of theministry which he governs, as he formerly governed at the Hôtel-deville. In the constant uproar of incoherent discussions, [3149] athwart"propositions ex abrupto, among shouts, swearing, and the going andcoming of questioning petitioners, " he is seen mastering his newcolleagues with his "stentorian voice, his gestures of an athlete, hisfearful threats, " taking upon himself their duties, dictating to themwhat and whom he chooses, "fetching in commissions already drawnup, " taking charge of everything, "making propositions, arrests, andproclamations, issuing brevets, " and drawing millions out of the publictreasury, casting a sop to his dogs in the Cordeliers and the Commune, "to one 20, 000 francs, and to another 10, 000, " "for the Revolution, and on account of their patriotism, "--such is a summary report ofhis doings. Thus gorged, the pack of hungry "brawlers" and graspingintriguers, the whole serviceable force of the sections and of theclubs, is in his hands. One is strong in times of anarchy at the head ofsuch a herd. Indeed, during the months of August and September, Dantonwas king, and, later on, he may well say of the 2d of September, as hedid of the 10th of August, "I did it!"[3150]

Not that he is naturally vindictive or sanguinary: on the contrary, with a butcher's temperament, he has a man's heart, and, at the riskof compromising himself, against the wills of Marat and Robespierre, hewill, by-and-by, save his political adversaries, Duport, Brissot, andthe Girondists, the old party of the "Right. "[3151] Not that he isblinded by fear, enmities, or the theory; furious as a clubbist, hehas the clear-sightedness of the politician; he is not the dupe ofthe sonorous phrases he utters, he knows the value of the rogues heemploys;[3152] he has no illusions about men or things, about otherpeople or about himself; if he slays, it is with a full consciousnessof what he is doing, of his party, of the situation, of the revolution, while the crude expressions which, in the tones of his bull's voice, heflings out as he passes along, are but a vivid statement of the precisetruth "We are the rabble! We spring from the gutters!" With the normalprinciples of mankind, "we should soon get back into them. We can onlyrule through fear!"[3153] "The Parisians are so many j. . . F. . . ; a riverof blood must flow between them and the émigrés. "[3154] The tocsin aboutto be rung is not a signal of alarm, but a charge on the enemies ofthe country. . . What is necessary to overcome them? Boldness, boldness, always boldness![3155] I have brought my mother here, seventy years ofage; I have sent for my children, and they came last night. Beforethe Prussians enter Paris, I want my family to die with me. Lettwenty thousand torches be applied, and Paris instantly reduced toashes!"[3156] "We must maintain ourselves in Paris at all hazards. Republicans are in an extreme minority, and, for fighting, we can relyonly on them. The rest of France is devoted to royalty. The royalistsmust be terrified!"[3157]--It is he who, on the 28th of August, obtainsfrom the Assembly the great domiciliary visit, by which the Communefills the prisons. It is he who, on the 2d of September, to paralyze theresistance of honest people, causes the penalty of death to bedecreed against whoever, "directly or indirectly shall, in any mannerwhatsoever, refuse to execute, or who shall interfere with the ordersissued, or with the measures of the executive power. " It is he who, onthat day, informs the journalist Prudhomme of the pretended prison plot, and who, the second day after, sends his secretary, Camille Desmoulins, to falsify the report of the massacres, [3158] It is he who, on the3rd of September, at the office of the Minister of Justice, beforethe battalion officers and the heads of the service, before Lacroix, president of the Assembly, and Pétion, mayor of Paris, before Clavières, Servan, Monge, Lebrun, and the entire Executive Council, except Roland, reduces at one stroke the head men of the government to the position ofpassive accomplices, replying to a man of feeling, who rises to stay theslaughter, "Sit down--it was necessary!"[3159] It is he who, thesame day, dispatches the circular, countersigned by him, by which theCommittee of Supervision announces the massacre, and invites "theirbrethren of the departments" to follow the example of Paris. [3160] Itis he who, on the 10th of September, "not as Minister of Justice, but asMinister of the People, " is to congratulate and thank theslaughterers of Versailles. [3161]--After the 10th of August, throughBillaud-Varennes, his former secretary, through Fabre d'Eglantine, hisKeeper of the Seals, through Tallien, secretary of the Commune andhis most trusty henchman, he is present at all deliberations inthe Hôtel-de-ville, and, at the last hour, is careful to put onthe Committee of Supervision one of his own men, the head clerk, Desforges. [3162]--Not only was the reaping-machine constructed under hisown eye, and with his assent, but, again, when it is put in motion, heholds the handle, so as to guide the scythe. 

He is right; if he did not sometimes put on the brake, it would goto pieces through its own action. Introduced into the Committee asprofessor of political blood-letting, Marat, stubbornly following out afixed idea, cuts down deep, much below the designated line; warrants ofarrest were already out against thirty deputies, Brissot's papers wererummaged, Roland's house was surrounded, while Duport, seized in aneighboring department, is deposed in the slaughterhouse. The latter issaved with the utmost difficulty; many a blow is necessary before hecan be wrested from the maniac who had seized him. With a surgeon likeMarat, and medics like the four or five hundred leaders of the Communeand of the sections, it is not essential to guide the knife; it is aforegone conclusion that the amputation will be extensive. Their namesspeak for themselves: in the Commune, Manuel, the syndic-attorney; andhis two deputies Hébert and Billaud-Varennes, Huguenin, Lhuillier, M. -J. Chénier, Audoin, Léonard Bourdon, Boula and Truchon, presidentsin succession. In the Commune and the sections, Panis, Sergent, Tallien, Rossignol, Chaumette, Fabre d'Eglantine, Pache, Hassenfratz, thecobbler Simon, and the printer Momoro. From the National Guard, thecommanding-general, Santerre, and the battalion commander Henriot, and, lower down, the common herd of district demagogues, Danton's, Hébert's, or Robespierre's side kicks, guillotined later on withtheir file-leaders, in brief, the flower of the futureterrorists. [3163]--Today they are taking their first steps in blood, each with their own attitude and motives:

* Chénier denounced as a member of the Sainte-Chapelle club, in dangerbecause he is among the suspected;[3164]

* Manuel, poor, excitable, bewildered, carried away, and afterwardsshuddering at the sight of his own work;

* Santerre, a fine circumspect figure-head, who, on the 2nd ofSeptember, under pretense of watching the baggage, climbs on the seat ofa landau standing on the street, where he remains a couple of hours, toavoid doing his duty as commanding-general;[3165]

* Panis, president of the Committee of Supervision, a good subordinate, his born disciple and bootlicker, an admirer of Robespierre's whom heproposes for the dictatorship, as well as of Marat, whom he extols as aprophet;[3166]

* Henriot, Hébert, and Rossignol, simple evil-doers in uniform or intheir scarves;

* Collot d'Herbois, a stage poetaster, whose theatrical imaginationdelights in a combination of melodramatic horrors;[3167]

* Billaud-Varennes, a former oratorian monk, irascible and gloomy, ascool before a murder as an inquisitor at an auto-da-fé;

finally, the wily Robespierre, pushing others without committinghimself, never signing his name, giving no orders, haranguing a greatdeal, always advising, showing himself everywhere, getting ready toreign, and suddenly, at the last moment, pouncing like a cat on hisprey, and trying to slaughter his rivals, the Girondists. [3168]

Up to this time, in slaughtering or having it done, it was always asinsurrectionists in the street; now, it is in places of imprisonment, asmagistrates and functionaries, according to the registers of a lock-up, after proofs of identity and on snap judgments, by paid executioners, in the name of public security, methodically, and in cool blood, almostwith the same regularity as subsequently under "the revolutionarygovernment. " September, indeed, is the beginning of it, a summary anda model; they will not do it differently or better than during the bestdays of the guillotine. Only, as they are as yet poorly supplied withtools, they are obliged to use pikes instead of the guillotine, and, as decency has not entirely disappeared, the chiefs conceal themselvesbehind maneuvers. Nevertheless, we can track them, take them in the act, and we have their signatures; they planned commanded, and conducted theoperation. On the 30th of August, the Commune decided that the sectionsshould try accused persons, and, on the 2nd of September, fivetrusted sections reply to it by resolving that the accused shall bemurdered. [3169] The same day, September 2, Marat takes his place on theCommittee of Supervision. The same day, September 2, Panis and Sergentsign the commissions of "their comrades, " Maillard and associates, for the Abbaye, and "order them to judge, " that is to say, kill theprisoners. [3170] The same and the following days, at La Force, threemembers of the Commune, Hébert, Monneuse, and Rossignol, preside inturn over the assassin court. [3171] The same day, a commissar ofthe Committee of Supervision comes and demands a dozen men ofthe Sans-Culottes section to help massacre the priests of SaintFirmin. [3172] The same day, a commissar of the Commune visits thedifferent prisons during the slaughter, and finds that "things are goingon well in all of them. "[3173] The same day, at five o'clock in theafternoon, Billaud-Varennes, deputy-attorney for the Commune, "in hiswell-known puce-colored coat and black perruque, " walking over thecorpses, says to the Abbaye butchers: "Fellow-citizens, you areimmolating your enemies, you are performing your duty. " He returnsduring the night, highly commends them, and confirms the promise ofthe "agreed wages. " On the following any at noon, he again returns, congratulates them more warmly, allows each one twenty francs, and urgesthem to keep on. [3174]--In the mean time, Santerre, summoned to thegeneral staff headquarters by Roland, hypocritically deplores hisvoluntary inability, and persists in not giving the orders, withoutwhich the National Guard cannot move. [3175] At the sections, thepresidents, Chénier, Ceyrat, Boula, Momoro, Collot d'Herbois, dispatch or take their victims back under pikes. At the Commune, thecouncil-general votes 12, 000 francs, to be taken from the dead, to defray the expenses of the operation. [3176] In the Committee ofSupervision, Marat sends off dispatches to spread murder through thedepartments. --It is evident that the leaders and their subordinates areunanimous, each at his post and in the service he performs; throughthe spontaneous co-operation of the whole party, the command from abovemeets the impulse from below;[3177] both unite in a common murderousdisposition, the work being done with the more precision in proportionto its being easily done. --Jailers have received orders to open theprison doors, and give themselves no concern. Through an excess ofprecaution, the knives and forks of the prisoners have been taken awayfrom them. [3178] One by one, on their names being called, they willmarch out like oxen in a slaughter-house, while about twenty butchers toeach prison, from to two to three hundred in all, [3179] will suffice todo the work. 

V. Abasement and Stupor. 

 Common workers. --Their numbers. --Their condition. --Their sentiments. --Effect of murder on the murderers. --Their degradation. --Their insensibility. 

Two kinds of men make up the recruits, and it is especially on theircrude brains that we have to admire the effect of the revolutionarydogma. 

First, there are the Federates of the South, lusty fellows, formersoldiers or old bandits, deserters, bohemians, and scoundrels ofall lands and from every source, who, after finishing their work atMarseilles and Avignon, have come to Paris to begin over again. "Triplenom de Dieu!" exclaims one of them, "I didn't come a hundred and eightyleagues to restrain myself from sticking a hundred and eighty headson the end of my pike!"[3180] Accordingly, they form in themselves aspecial, permanent, resident body, allowing no one to divert them fromtheir adopted occupation. "They turn a deaf ear to the excitements ofspurious patriotism";[3181] they are not going to be sent off to thefrontier. Their post is at the capital; they have sworn "to defendliberty"; neither before nor after September make them deviate from thisend. When, after having drawn money on every treasury and underevery pretext, they at last consent to leave Paris, it is only on thecondition that they return to Marseilles. Their operations are limitedto the interior of France, and only against political adversaries. Buttheir zeal in this field is only the greater; it is their band which, first of all, takes the twenty-four priests from the town hall, and, onthe way, begins the massacre with their own hands. [3182]

Then there are the "enragés" of the Paris proletariat, a few ofthem clerks or shopkeepers, most of them artisans of all the trades;locksmiths, masons, butchers, wheelwrights, tailors, shoemakers, waggoners, especially dockers working in the harbor, market-porters, and, above all, journeymen and apprentices of all kinds, in short, manual workers on the bottom of the social ladder. [3183] Among thesewe find beasts of prey, murderers by instinct, or simple robbers. [3184]Others who, like one of the disciples of Abbé Sicard, whom he lovesand venerates, confess that they never stirred except underconstraint. [3185] Others are simple machines, who let themselves bedriven: for instance the local forwarding agent, a good sort of man, butwho, dragged along, plied with liquor, and then made crazy, kills twentypriests for his share, and dies at the end of the month, stilldrinking, unable to sleep, frothing at the mouth and trembling in everylimb. [3186] And finally the few, who, with good intentions, are carriedaway by the bloody whirlwind, and, struck by the grace of Revolution, become converted to the religion of murder. One of them a certainGrapin, deputized by his section to save two prisoners, seats himselfalongside of Maillard, sits in judgment at his side during sixty-threehours, and demands a certificate from him. [3187] The majority, however, entertain the same opinions as the cook, who, after taking the Bastille, finding himself on the spot and having cut off M. De Launay's head, regards it as a "patriotic" action, and deems himself worthy of a "medalfor having destroyed a monster. " These people are not common criminals, but well-disposed persons living in the vicinity, who, seeing a publicservice established in their neighborhood, [3188] issue from their homesto give a hand; their degree of probity is about the same as we findnowadays among people of the same condition in life. 

At the outset, especially, no one considers filling his pockets. At theAbbaye prison, they come honorably and place on the table in the roomof the civil committee the purses and jewels of the dead. [3189] If theyappropriate anything to themselves, it is shoes to cover their nakedfeet, and then only after asking permission. As to pay, all rough workdeserves it, and, moreover, between them and their recruiters, theanswer is obvious. With nothing but their own hands to rely on, theycannot work for nothing, [3190] and, as the work is hard, they ought tobe paid double time. They require six francs a day, besides their mealsand as much wine as they want. One caterer alone furnished the men atthe Abbaye with 346 pints:[3191] when working incessantly day and nightwith a task like that of sewer-cleaners and miners, nothing else willkeep their courage up. --Food and wages must be paid for by the nation;the work is done for the nation, and, naturally, on interposingformalities, they get out of temper and betake themselves to Roland, to the City treasurer, to the section committees, to the Committee ofSupervision, [3192] murmuring, threatening, and showing their bloodypikes. That is the evidence of having done their work well. Theyboast of it to Pétion, impress upon him how "just and attentive" theywere, [3193] their discernment, the time given to the work, so many daysand so many hours; they ask only for what is "due to them"; when thetreasurer, on paying them, demands their names, they give them withoutthe slightest hesitation. Those who escort a dismissed prisoner; masons, hairdressers, federates, require no recompense but "something to drink";"we do not carry on this business for money, " they say; "here is yourfriend; he promised us a glass of brandy, which we will take and thengo back to our work. "[3194]--Outside of their business they possess theexpansive cordiality and ready sensitivity of the Parisian workman. Atthe Abbaye, a federate, [3195] on learning that the prisoners had beenkept without water for twenty-six hours, wanted to "exterminate" theturnkey for his negligence, and would have done it if "the prisonersthemselves had not pleaded for him. " On the acquittal of a prisoner, theguards and the butchers, everybody, embraces him with enthusiasm; Weberis greeted again and again for more than a hundred yards; they cheerto excess. Each wants to escort the prisoner; the cab of Mathon de laVarenne is invaded; "they perch themselves on the driver's seat, at thedoors, on top, and behind. "[3196]--A few even display strange fitsof tact. Two of the butchers, still covered with blood, who lead thechevalier de Bertrand home, insist on going up stairs with him towitness the joy of his family; after their terrible task they need therelaxation of tender emotion. On entering, they wait discreetly in thedrawing-room until the ladies have been prepared; the happiness of whichthey are witnesses melts them; they remain some time, refuse money, expressing their gratitude and depart. [3197]--Still more extraordinaryare the vestiges of innate politeness. A market-porter desirous ofembracing a discharged prisoner, first asks his permission. Old "hags, "who had just clapped their hands at the slaughtering, stop the guards"violently" as they hurry Weber along, in white silk stockings, acrosspools of blood: "Hey, guard, look out, you are making Monsieur walk inthe gutter!"[3198] In short, they display the permanent qualitiesof their race and class; they seem to be neither above nor below theaverage of their brethren, Most of them, probably, would never have doneanything very monstrous had a rigid police, like that which maintainsorder in ordinary times, kept them in their shops or at home in theirlodgings or in their tap-rooms. 

But, in their own eyes, they are so many kings; "sovereignty iscommitted to their hands, "[3199] their powers are unlimited; whoeverdoubts this is a traitor, and is properly punished; he must be put outof the way; while, for royal councillors, they take maniacs and rascals, who, through monomania or calculation, have preach all that to them:just like a Negro king surrounded by white slave-dealers, who urge himinto raids, and by black sorcerers, who prompt him to massacre. Howcould such a man with such guides, and in such an office, be retarded bythe formalities of justice, or by the distinctions of equity? Equity andjustice are the elaborate products of civilization, while he is merely apolitical savage. In vain are the innocent recommended to his mercy!

"Look here, citizen, [31100] do you, too, want to put us to sleep?Suppose that those cursed Prussian and Austrian beggars were in Paris, would they pick out the guilty? Wouldn't they strike right and left, the same as the Swiss did on the 10th of August? Very well, I can't makespeeches, but I don't put anybody to sleep. I say, I am the father ofa family--I have a wife and five children that I mean to leave here forthe section to look after, while I go and fight the enemy. But I have nointention that while I am gone these villains here in prison, and othervillains who would come and let them out, should cut the throats of mywife and children. I have three boys who I hope will some day be moreuseful to their country than those rascals you want to save. Anyhow, allthat can be done is to let 'em out and give them arms, and we willfight 'em on an equal footing. Whether I die here or on the frontiers, scoundrels would kill me all the same, and I will sell my life dearly. But, whether it is done by me or by someone else, the prison shall becleaned out of those cursed beggars, there, now!" At this a general cryis heard: "He's right! No mercy! Let us go in!"

All that the crowd assent to is an improvised tribunal, the reading ofthe jailer's register, and prompt judgment; condemnation and slaughtermust follow, according to the famous Commune, which simplifiesthings--There is another simplification still more formidable, which isthe condemnation and slaughter by categories. Any title suffices, Swiss, priest, officer, or servant of the King, "the 'worms' on the civillist"; wherever a lot of priests or Swiss are found, it is not worthwhile to have a trial, the throats of the lot can be slit. --Reduced tothis, the operation is adapted to the operators; the arms of the newsovereign are as strong as his mind is weak, and, through an inevitableadaptation, he degrades his work to the level of his faculties. 

His work, in its turn, degrades and perverts him. No man, and especiallya man of the people, rendered pacific by an old civilization, can, withimpunity, become at one stroke both sovereign and executioner. In vaindoes he work himself up against the condemned and heap insults on themto augment his fury;[31101] I he is dimly conscious of committing agreat crime, and his soul, like that of Macbeth, "is full of scorpions. "Through a terrible tightening up, he hardens himself against theinborn, hereditary impulses of humanity; these resist while he becomesexasperated, and, to stifle them, there is no other way but to "gorgehimself on horrors, "[31102] by adding murder to murder. For murder, especially as he practices it, that is to say, with a naked sword ondefense-less people, introduces into his animal and moral machine twoextraordinary and disproportionate emotions which unsettle it, on theone hand, a sensation of omnipotence exercised uncontrolled, unimpeded, without danger, on human life, on throbbing flesh[31103] and, on theother hand, an interest in bloody and diversified death, accompaniedwith an ever new series of contortions and exclamations;[31104]formerly, in the Roman circus, one could not tear one's self away fromit; the spectacle once seen, the spectator always returned to see itagain. Just at this time each prison court is a circus, and what makesit worse is that the spectators are likewise actors. --Thus, for them, two fiery liquids mingle together in one draught. To moral intoxicationis added physical intoxication, wine in profusion, bumpers at everypause, revelry over corpses; and we see rising out of this unnaturalcreature the demon of Dante, at once brutal and refined, not merelya destroyer, but, again, an executioner, instigator and calculator ofsuffering, and radiant and joyous over the evil it accomplishes. 

They are merry; they dance around each new corpse, and sing thecarmagnole;[31105] they arouse the people of the quarter "to amusethem, " and that they may have their share of "the fine fête. "[31106]Benches are arranged for "gentlemen" and others for "ladies": thelatter, with greater curiosity, are additionally anxious to contemplateat their ease "the aristocrats" already slain; consequently, lights arerequired, and one is placed on the breast of each corpse. --Meanwhile, the slaughter continues, and is carried to perfection. A butcher at theAbbaye[31107] complains that "the aristocrats die too quick, and thatthose only who strike first have the pleasure of it"; henceforth theyare to be struck with the backs of the swords only, and made to runbetween two rows of their butchers, like soldiers formerly running agauntlet. If there happens to be well-known person, it is agreed to takemore care in prolonging the torment. At La Force, the Federates who comefor M. De Rulhières swear "with frightful imprecations that they willcut the head of anyone daring to end his sufferings with a thrust ofhis pike"; the first thing is to strip him naked, and then, for halfan hour, with the flat of their sabers, they cut and slash him until hedrips with blood and is "skinned to his entrails. "--All the monstrousinstincts who grovels chained up in the dregs of the human heart, notonly cruelty with its bared fangs, [31108] but also the slimier desires, unite in fury against women whose noble or infamous repute makes themconspicuous; against Madame de Lamballe, the Queen's friend; againstMadame Desrues, widow of the famous poisoner; against the flower-girlof the Palais-Royal, who, two years before, had mutilated her lover, aFrench guardsman, in a fit of jealousy. Ferocity here is associated withlewdness to add debasement to torture, while life is violated throughoutrages on modesty. In Madame de Lamballe, killed too quickly, the libidinous butchers could outrage only a corpse, but for thewidow, [31109] and especially the flower-girl, they revive, like so manyNeros, the fire-circle of the Iroquois. [31110]--From the Iroquois tothe cannibal, the gulf is small, and some of them jump across it. At theAbbaye, an old soldier named Damiens, buries his saber in the side ofthe adjutant-general la Leu, thrusts his hand into the opening, tearsout the heart "and puts it to his mouth as if to eat it"; "the blood, "says an eye-witness, "trickled from his mouth and formed a sort ofmustache for him. "[31111] At La Force, Madame de Lamballe is carved up. What Charlot, the wig-maker, who carried her head did, I to it, shouldnot be described. I merely state that another wretch, in the RueSaint-Antoine, bore off her heart and "ate it. "[31112]

They kill and they drink, and drink and kill again. Weariness comes andstupor begins. One of them, a wheelwright's apprentice, has dispatchedsixteen for his share; another "has labored so hard at this merchandiseas to leave the blade of his saber sticking in it"; "I was more tired, "says a Federate, "with two hours pulling limbs to pieces, rightand left, than any mason who for two days has been plastering awall. "[31113] The first excitement is gone, and now they strikeautomatically. [31114] Some of them fall asleep stretched out on benches. Others, huddled together, sleep off the fumes of their wine, removedon one side. The exhalation from the carnage is so strong that thepresident of the civil committee faints in his chair, [31115] the fumesof the tavern blending with those from the charnel-house. A heavy, dull state of torpor gradually overcomes their clouded brains, the lastglimmerings of reason dying out one by one, like the smoky lights onthe already cold breasts of the corpses lying around them. Throughthe stupor spreading over the faces of butchers and cannibals, we seeappearing that of the idiot. It is the revolutionary idiot, in whichall conceptions, save two, have vanished, two fixed, rudimentary, andmechanical ideas, one destruction and the other that of public safety. With no others in his empty head, these blend together through anirresistible attraction, and the effect proceeding from their contactmay be imagined. "Is there anything else to do?" asks one of thesebutchers in the deserted court. --"If there is no more to do, " replya couple of women at the gate, "you will have to think ofsomething, "[31116] and, naturally, this is done. 

As the prisons are to be cleaned out, it is as well to clean them allout, and do it at once. After the Swiss, priests, the aristocrats, andthe "white-skinned gentlemen, " there remain convicts and those confinedthrough the ordinary channels of justice, robbers, assassins, and thosesentenced to the galleys in the Conciergerie, in the Châtelet, and inthe Tour St. Bernard, with branded women, vagabonds, old beggars, andboys confined in Bicêtre and the Salpétrière. They are good for nothing, cost something to feed, [31117] and, probably, cherish evil designs. Atthe Salpétrière, for example, the wife of Desrues, the poisoner, is, assuredly, like himself, "cunning, wicked, and capable of anything"; shemust be furious at being in prison; if she could, she would set fire toParis; she must have said so; she did say it[31118]--one more sweep ofthe broom. --This time, as the job is more foul, the broom is wielded byfouler hands; among those who seize the handle are the frequenters ofjails. The butchers at the Abbaye prison, especially towards the close, had already committed thefts;[31119] here, at the Châtelet and theConciergerie prisons, they carry away "everything which seems to themsuitable, " even to the clothes of the dead, prison sheets and coverlids, even the small savings of the jailers, and, besides this, they enlisttheir cronies. "Out of 36 prisoners set free, many were assassins androbbers, the killers attached them to their group. There were also 75women, confined in part for larceny, who promised to faithfully servetheir liberators. " Later on, indeed, these are to become, at theJacobin and Cordeliers clubs, the tricoteuses (knitters) who fill theirtribunes. [31120]--At the Salpétrière prison, "all the pimps of Paris, former spies, . . . Libertines, the rascals of France and all Europe, prepare beforehand for the operation, " and rape alternates withmassacre. [31121]--Thus far, at least, slaughter has been seasoned withrobbery, and the grossness of eating and drinking; at Bicétre, however, it is crude butchery, the carnivorous instinct alone satisfying itself. Among other prisoners are 43 youths of the lowest class, from 17 to 19years of age, placed there for correction by their parents, or by thoseto whom they are bound;[31122] one need only look at them to see thatthey are genuine Parisian scamps, the apprentices of vice and misery, the future recruits for the reigning band, and these the band falls on, beating them to death with clubs. At this age life is tenacious, and, nolife being harder to take, it requires extra efforts to dispatch them. "In that corner, " said a jailer, "they made a mountain of their bodies. The next day, when they were to be buried, the sight was enough to breakone's heart. One of them looked as if he were sleeping like one of God'sangels, but the rest were horribly mutilated. "[31123]--Here, man hassunk below himself, down into the lowest strata of the animal kingdom, lower that the wolf; for wolves do not strangle their young. 

VI. Jacobin Massacre. 

 Effect of the massacre on the public. --General dejection and the dissolution of society. --The ascendancy of the Jacobins assured in Paris. --The men of September upheld in the Commune and elected to the Convention. 

There are six days and five nights of uninterrupted butchery, [31124] 171murders at the Abbaye, 169 at La Force, 223 at the Châtelet, 328 at theConsciergerie, 73 at the Tour-Saint-Bernard, 120 at the Carmelites, 79 at Saint Firmin, 170 at Bicêtre, 35 at the Salpétrière; among thedead, [31125] 250 priests, 3 bishops or archbishops, general officers, magistrates, one former minister, one royal princess, belonging to thebest names in France, and, on the other side, one Negro, several workingclass women, kids, convicts, and poor old men: What man now, little orbig, does not feel himself threatened?--And all the more because theband has grown larger. Fournier, Lazowski, and Bécard, the chiefsof robbers and assassins, return from Orleans with fifteen hundredcut-throats. [31126] One the way they kill M. De Brissac, M. De Lessart, and 42 others accused of lése-nation, whom they wrested from theirjudges' hands, and then, by the way of surplus, "following the exampleof Paris, " twenty-one prisoners taken from the Versailles prisons. AtParis the Minister of Justice thanks them, the Commune congratulatesthem, and the sections feast them and embrace them. [31127]--Can anybodydoubt that they were ready to begin again? Can a step be taken in or outof Paris without being subject to their oppression or encountering theirdespotism? Should one leave the city, sentinels of their species areposted at the barriers and on the section committees in continuoussession. Malouet, led before that of Roule, [31128] sees before him apandemonium of fanatics, at least a hundred individuals in the sameroom, the suspected, those denouncing them, collaborators, attendants, a long, green table in the center, covered with swords and daggers, with the committee around it, "twenty patriots with their shirt sleevesrolled up, some holding pistols and others pens, " signing warrants ofarrest, "quarreling with and threatening each other, all talkingat once, and shouting: Traitor!--Conspirator!--Off to prison withhim!--Guillotine him!--and behind these, a crowd of spectators, pell-mell, yelling, and gesticulating" like wild beasts pressed againsteach other in the same cage, showing their teeth and trying to spring ateach other. "One of the most excited, brandishing his saber in orderto strike an antagonist, stopped on seeing me, and exclaimed, 'There'sMalouet!'--The other, however, less occupied with me than with hisenemy, took advantage of the opportunity, and with a blow of his club, knocked him down. " Malouet had a close shave, in Paris escapes takeplace by such accidents. --If one remains in the city, one is beset withlugubrious fears by, 1. The hurrying step of squads of men in each street, leading thesuspected to prison or before the committee;

2. Around each prison the crowds that have come "to see the disasters";

3. In the court of the Abaye the cry of the auctioneer selling theclothes of the dead;

4. The rumbling of carts on the pavement bearing away 1, 300 corpses;

5. The songs of the women mounted aloft on the carts, beating time onthe naked bodies. [31129]

Is there a man who, after one of these encounters, does not see himselfin imagination before the green table of the section committee, afterthis, in prison with sabers over his head, and then in the cart in themidst of the bloody pile?

Courage falters before a vision like this. All the journals approve, palliate, or keep silent; nobody dares offer resistance. [31130] Propertyas well as lives belong to whoever wants to take them. At the barriers, at the markets, on the boulevard of the Temple, thieves, decked withthe tricolor ribbon, stop people as they pass along, seize whatever theycarry, and, under the pretext that jewels should be deposited on thealtars of Patriotism, take purses, watches, rings, and other articles, so rudely that women who are not quick enough, have the lobes of theirears torn in unhooking their earrings[31131]. Others, installed in thecellars of the Tuileries, sell the nation's wine and oil for their ownprofit. Others, again, given their liberty eight days before bythe people, scent out a bigger job by finding their way intothe Garde-meuble and stealing diamonds to the value of thirtymillions. [31132]

Like a man struck on the head with a mallet, Paris, felled to theground, lets things go; the authors of the massacre have fully attainedtheir ends. The faction has fast hold of power, and will maintain itshold. Neither in the Legislative Assembly nor in the Convention will theaims of the Girondins be successful against its tenacious usurpation. It has proved by a striking example that it is capable of anything, and boasts of it; it is still armed, it stands there ever prepared andanonymous on its murderous basis, with its speedy modes of operation, its own group of fanatical agents and bravos, with Maillard andFournier, with its cannon and its pikes. All that does not live withinit lives only through its favor from day to day, through its good will. Everybody knows that. The Assembly no longer thinks of dislodging peoplewho meet decrees of expulsion with massacre; it is no longer a questionof auditing their accounts, or of keeping them within the confinesof the law. Their dictatorship is not to be disputed, and theirpurification continue. From four to five hundred new prisoners, arrestedwithin eleven days, by order of the municipality, by the sections, and by this or that individual Jacobin, are crowded into cells stilldripping with blood, and the report is spread that, on the 20th ofSeptember, the prisons will be emptied by a second massacre. [31133]--Letthe Convention, if it pleases, pompously install itself as sovereign, and grind out decrees--it makes no difference; regular or irregular, the government still marches on in the hands of those who hold thesword. [31134] The Jacobins, through sudden terror, have maintained theirillegal authority; through a prolongation of terror they are going toestablish their legal authority. A forced suffrage is going to putthem in office at the Hôtel-de-ville, in the tribunals, in the NationalGuard, in the sections, and in the various administrations, whilethey have already elected to the Convention, Marat, Danton, Fabred'Eglantine, Camille Desmoulins, Manuel, Billaud-Varennes, Panis, Sergent, Collot d'Herbois, Robespierre, Legendre, Osselin, Fréron, David, Robert, Lavicourterie, in short, the instigators, leaders andaccomplices of the massacre. [31135] Nothing that could force or falsifyvoting is omitted. [31136] In the first place the presence of thepeople is imposed on the electoral assembly, and, to this end, it istransferred to the large hall of the Jacobin club, under the pressureof the Jacobin galleries. As a second precaution, every opponent isexcluded from voting, every Constitutionalist, every former member ofthe monarchical club, of the Feuillants, and of the Sainte-Chapelleclub, of the Feuillants, and of the Sainte-Chapelle club, every signerof the petition of the 20, 000, or of that of the 8, 000, and, on thesections protesting against this, their protest is thrown out onthe ground of its being the fruit of "an intrigue. " Finally, at eachballoting, each elector's vote is called out, which ensures theright vote beforehand, the warnings he has received being veryexplicit. [31137] On the 2nd of September, during the first meeting ofthe electoral body, held at the bishop's palace, the Marseillestroop, 500 yards away, came and took the twenty-four priests from thetown-hall, and, on the way, hacked them to pieces on the Pont-Neuf. Throughout the evening and all night the agents of the municipalitycarried on their work at the Abbaye, at the Carmelites, and at La Force, and, on the 3rd of September, on the electoral assembly transferringitself to the Jacobin club, it passed over the Pont-au-Change betweentwo rows of corpses, which the slaughterers had brought there from theChâtelet and the Conciergerie prisons. 

*****

[Footnote 3101: Thierry, son of Clovis, unwilling to take part in anexpedition of his brothers into Burgundy, was told by his men: "If thouart unwilling to march into Burgundy with thy brothers, we will leavethee and follow them in thy place. "--Clotaire, another of his sons, disposed to make peace with the Saxons, "the angry Francs rush upon him, revile him, and threaten to kill him if he declines to accompany them. Upon which he puts himself at their head. "]

[Footnote 3102: Social condition and degree of culture are oftenindicated orthographically. --Granier de Cassagnac, II. . 480. Bécard, commanding the expedition which brought back the prisoners from Orleans, signs himself: "Bécard, commandant congointement aveque M. Fourniergeneralle. "--"Archives Nationales, " F7, 4426. Letter of Chemin, commissioner of the Gravilliers section, to Santerre, Aug. 11, 1792. "Mois Charles Chemin commissaire. . . Fait part à Monsieur Santairegénérale de la troupe parisiene que le nommé Hingray cavaliers de lagendarmeris nationalle. . Me délarés qu'ille sestes trouvés aux jourduis11 aoux avec une home attachés à la cours aux Equris; quille lui avesdis quiere 800 home a peupres des sidevant garde du roy étes tous près afondre sure Paris pour donaire du sécour a naux rébelle et a signer avecmoi la presante. "]

[Footnote 3103: On the 19th of March, 1871, I met in the Rue de Varennesa man with two guns on his shoulder who had taken part in the pillage ofthe Ecole d'Etat-major and was on his way home. I said to him: "But thisis civil war, and you will let the Prussians in Paris. "--"I'd ratherhave the Prussians than Thiers. Thiers is Prussian on the inside!"]

[Footnote 3104: Today, 115 years after these words were written, we haveseen others, Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, Mao Tse Tung, etcfollowing in the Jacobin's footsteps. Nobles, Bourgeois, Jews and otherundesirables have been methodically put away. The sheeplike majoritydid not read Taine or did not profit from his warnings while most of thegreat tyrants learned from him or from the events he described (SR. )]

[Footnote 3105: Moniteur, Nov. 14, 1792. ]

[Footnote 3106: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 4426. Letter of the policeadministrators, Aug. 11. Declaration of Delaunay, Aug. 12. ]

[Footnote 3107: Buchez et Roux, XVII. 59 (session of Aug. 12) Speech byLeprieur at the bar of the house. ]

[Footnote 3108: Buchez et Roux, XVII. 47. --Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 31. Speech by Robespierre at the bar of the Assembly in the name of thecommune, Aug. 15. ]

[Footnote 3109: Brissot, in his report on Robespierre's petition. --Thenames of the principal judges elected show its character:Fouquier-Tinville, Osselin, Coffinhal. ]

[Footnote 3110: Buchez et Roux, XVII. 91 (Aug. 17). ]

[Footnote 3111: Stated by Pétion in his speech (Moniteur, Nov. 10, 1792). ]

[Footnote 3112: Buchez et Roux, XVII. 116 (session of Aug. 23). ]

[Footnote 3113: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 461. --Moore, I. 273 (Aug. 31). ]

[Footnote 3114: Buchez et Roux, XVII. 267 (article by Prudhomme in the"Révolutions de Paris"). ]

[Footnote 3115: "Les Révolutions de Paris, " Ibid. , "A number ofsans-culottes were there with their pikes; but these werelargely outnumbered by the multitude of uniforms of the variousbattalions. "--Moore, Aug, 31: "At present the inhabitants of thefaubourgs Saint-Antoine and Saint-Marceau are all that is felt of thesovereign people in Paris. "]

[Footnote 3116: More, Aug. 26. ]

[Footnote 3117: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 471. Indictment againstJean-Julien. --In referring to M. Mortimer-Ternaux we do so because, likea true critic, he cites authentic and frequently unedited documents. ]

[Footnote 3118: Rétif de la Bretonne, "les Nuits de Paris, " 11th night, p. 372. ]

[Footnote 3119: Moore, Sept. 2. ]

[Footnote 3120: Moore, Sept. 3. --Buchez et Roux, XVI. 159 (narrativeby Tallien). --Official report of the Paris commune, Sept. 4 (in thecollection of Barrière and Berville, the volume entitled "Mémoires surles journées de Septembre"). The commune adopts and expands the fable, probably invented by it. Prudhomme well says that the story of theprison plot, so scandalously circulated during the Reign of Terror, appears for the first time on the 2d of September. The same report wasspread through the rural districts. At Gennevilliers, a peasant whilelamenting the massacres, said to Malouet: "It is, too, a terrible thingfor the aristocrats to want to kill all the people by blowing up thecity" (Malouet, II. 244). ]

[Footnote 3121: Official reports of the commune, Aug. 11. ]

[Footnote 3122: Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 446. List of the sectioncommissioners sitting at the Hôtel-de-ville, Aug. 10, before 9 o'clockin the morning. ]

[Footnote 3123: Official reports of the commune, Aug. 21. "Consideringthat, to ensure public safety and liberty, the council-general of thecommune required all the power delegated to it by the people, at thetime it was compelled to resume the exercise of its rights, " sends adeputation to the National Assembly to insist that "the newdepartment be converted, pure and simple, into a tax-commissioners'office. "--Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 25. Speech of Robespierre in thename of the commune: "After the people have saved the country, afterdecreeing a National Convention to replace you, what remains for you todo but to gratify their wishes?. . . The people, forced to see to itsown salvation, has provided for this through its delegates. . . It isessential that those chosen by itself for its magistrates should enjoythe plenary powers befitting the sovereign. "]

[Footnote 3124: Official reports of the commune, Aug. 10. --Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 155. Letter of the Minister Servan, Aug. 30. -Ibid. , 149. --Ibid. , 148. The commission on supplies having beenbroken up by the commune, Roland, the Minister of the Interior, begs theAssembly to act promptly, for "he will no longer be responsible for thesupplies of Paris. "]

[Footnote 3125: Official reports of the commune, Aug. 21. A resolutionrequiring that, on trials for lésé-nation, those who appear for thedefendants should be provided with a certificate of their integrity, issued by their assembled section, and that the interviews between themand the accused be public. --Ibid. , Aug. 17, a resolution to suspend theexecution of the two assassins of mayor Simonneau, condemned to death bythe tribunal of Seine-et-Oise. ]

[Footnote 3126: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 11. Decree of Aug. 11. ]

[Footnote 3127: Prudhomme, "Révolutions de Paris" (number for Sep. 22). . Report by Roland to the National Assembly (Sept. 16, at 9 o'clock in themorning). ]

[Footnote 3128: Madame Roland, "Mémoires, " II. 414 (Ed. Barrière etBerville). Report by Roland Oct. 29. The seizure in question tool placeAug. 27. ]

[Footnote 3129: "Mémoirs sur les journées de Septembre" (Ed. Barrièreet Berville, pp. 307-322). List of sums paid by the treasurer of thecommune. --See, on the prolongation of this plundering, Roland's report, Oct. 29, of money, plate, and assignats taken from the Senlis Hospital(Sept. 13), the Hotel de Coigny emptied, and sale of furniture in theHotel d'Egmont, etc. ]

[Footnote 3130: Official reports of the commune, Aug. 17 and 20. --Listof sums paid by the treasurer of the commune, p. 321. --On the 28th ofAugust a "Saint-Roch in silver is brought to the bar of the NationalAssembly. "]

[Footnote 3131: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 150, 161, 511. --Report by Roland, Oct. 29. P. 414. ]

[Footnote 3132: Moniteur. 514, 542 (sessions of Aug. 23 and 26). ]

[Footnote 3133: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 99 (sessions of Aug. 15 and 23). "Procès-verbaux de la Commune, " Aug. 18, a resolution to obtain a lawauthorizing the commune "to collect together with wives and childrenof the émigrés in places of security, and to make use of the formerconvents for this purpose. "]

[Footnote 3134: "Procès-verbaux de la Commune, " Aug. 12. --Ibid. , Aug. 18. Not being able to find M. Geoffrey, the journalist, the commune "passesa resolution that seals be affixed to Madame Geoffroy's domicile andthat she be placed in arrest until her husband appears to release her. "]

[Footnote 3135: "Procès-verbaux de la Commune. " Aug. 17 and 18. Anotherresolution, again demanding of the National Assembly a list of thesigners for publication. ]

[Footnote 3136: "Procès-verbaux de la Commune, " Aug. 18, 19, 20. --On the20th of August the commune summons before it and examines the VenetianAmbassador. "A citizen claims to be heard against the ambassador, andstates that several carriages went out of Paris in his name. The nameof this citizen is Chevalier, a horse-shoer's assistant. . . The Councildecrees that honorable mention be made of the affidavits broughtforward in the accusation. " On the tone of these examinations read Weber("Mémoires, " II. 245), who narrates his own. ]

[Footnote 3137: Buchez et Roux, XVII. 215. Narration by Peltier. --Inspite of the orders of the National Assembly the affair is repeated onthe following day, and it lasts from the 19th to the 31st of August, in the evening. --Moore, Aug. 31. The stupid, sheep-like vanity of thebourgeois enlisted as a gendarme for the sans-culottes is here welldepicted. The keeper of the Hôtel Meurice, where Moore and LordLauderdale put up, was on guard and on the chase the night before: "Hetalked a good deal of the fatigue he had undergone, and hinted a littleof the dangers to which he had been exposed in the course of thissevere duty. Being asked if he had been successful in his search aftersuspected persons--'Yes my lord, infinitely; our battalion arrested fourpriests. ' He could not have looked more lofty if he had taken the Dukeof Brunswick, "]

[Footnote 3138: According to Roederer, the number arrested amounted tofrom 5, 000 to 6, 000 persons. ]

[Footnote 3139: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 147, 148, Aug. 28 and29. --Ibid. , 176. Other sections complain of the Commune with somebitterness. --Buchez et Roux, XVII. 358. --"Procès-verbaux de la Commune, "Sept. 1. "The section of the Temple sends a deputation which declaresthat by virtue of a decree of the National Assembly it withdrawsits powers entrusted to the commissioners elected by it to thecouncil-general. "]

[Footnote 3140: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 154 (session of Aug. 30). ]

[Footnote 3141: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 171 (session of Aug. 31). --Ibid. , 208. ----On the following day, Sept. 1, at the instigation of Danton, Thuriot obtains from the National Assembly an ambiguous decree whichseems to allow the members of the commune to keep their places, provisionally at least, at the Hotel-de-ville. ]

[Footnote 3142: "Procès-verbaux de la Commune, " Sept. 1. ]

[Footnote 3143: "Procès-verbaux de la Commune, " Sept. 1. "It is resolvedthat whatever effects fell into the hands of the citizens who foughtfor liberty and equality on the 10th of August shall remain in theirpossession; M. Tallien, secretary-general, is therefore authorized toreturn a gold watch to M. Lecomte, a gendarme. "]

[Footnote 3144: Four circumstances, simultaneous and in full agreementwith each other, indicate this date: 1. On the 23d of August thecouncil-general resolves "that a tribune shall be arranged in thechamber for a journalist (M. Marat), whose duty it shall be to conducta journal giving the acts passed and what goes on in the commune"("Procès-verbaux de la Commune, " Aug. 23) 2. On the same day, "on themotion of a member with a view to separate the prisoners of lése-nationfrom those of the nurse's hospital and others of the same stamp in thedifferent prisons, the council has adopted this measure" (Granier deCassagnac, II. 100). 3. The same day the commune applauds the deputiesof a section, which "in warm terms" denounce before it the tardiness ofjustice and declare to it that the people will "immolate" the prisonersin their prisons (Moniteur, Nov. 10, 1793, Narrative of Pétion). Thesame day it sends a deputation to the Assembly to order a transfer ofthe Orleans prisoners to Paris (Buchez et Roux, XVII. 116). The nextday, in spite of the prohibitions of the Assembly, It sends Fournierand his band to Orleans (Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 364), and each knowsbeforehand that Fournier is commissioned to kill them on the way. (Balleydier, "Histoire politique et militaire du people de Lyon, " I. 79. Letter of Laussel, dated at Paris, Aug. 28): "Our volunteers are atOrleans for the past two or three days to bring the anti-revolutionaryprisoners here, who are treated too well there. " On the day ofFournier's departure (Aug. 24) Moore observes in the Palais Royal andat the Tuileries "a greater number than usual of stump-speakers of thepopulace, hired for the purpose of inspiring the people with a horror ofmonarchy. "]

[Footnote 3145: Moniteur, Sept. 25, 1792, speech by Marat in theConvention. ]

[Footnote 3146: See his two journals, "L'Ami du people" and the "Journalde la Républic Française, " especially for July and October 1792. --Thenumber for August 16 is headed: "Development of the vile plot of thecourt to destroy all patriots with fire and sword. "--That of August 19:"The infamous conscript Fathers of the Circus, betraying the peopleand trying to delay the conviction of traitors until Mottié arrives, ismarching with his army on Paris to destroy all patriots!"--That of Aug. 21: "The rotters of the Assembly, the perfidious accomplices of Mottiéarranging for flight. . . The conscript Fathers, the assassins of patriotsat Nancy, the Champ de Mars and in the Tuileries, etc. "--All thiswas yelled out daily every morning by those who hawked these journalsthrough the streets. ]

[Footnote 3147: Ami du Peuple, Aug. 19 and 21. ]

[Footnote 3148: "Lettres autographs de Madame Roland, " published byMadame Bancal des Issarts, Sept. 9. "Danton leads all; Robespierre ishis puppet; Marat holds his torch and dagger. "]

[Footnote 3149: Madame Roland "Mémoires, " II. 19 (note byRoland). --Ibid. , 21, 23, 24. Monge says: "Danton wants to have it so; ifI refuse he will denounce me to the Commune and at the Cordeliers, andhave me hung. " Fournier's commission to Orleans was all in order, Rolandprobably having signed it unawares, like those of the commissioners sentinto the departments by the executive council (Cf. Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 368. )]

[Footnote 3150: The person who gives me the following had it from theking, Louis Philippe, then an officer in Kellerman's corps: On theevening of the battle of Valmy the young officer is sent to Paris tocarry the news. On his arrival (Sept. 22 or 23. 1792) he learns that heis removed from his post and appointed governor of Strasbourg. He goesto Servan's house, Minister of War, and at first they refuse to let himin. Servan is unwell and in bed, with the ministers in his room. Theyoung man states that he comes from the army and is the bearer ofdispatches. He is admitted, and finds, indeed, Servan in bed withvarious personages around him, and he announces the victory. --Theyquestion him and he gives the details. --He then complains of havingbeen displaced, and, stating that he is too young to command with anyauthority at Strasbourg, requests to be reinstated with the army in thefield. "Impossible, " replies Servan; "your place is given to another. "Thereupon one of the personages present, with a peculiar visage and arough voice, takes him aside and says to him: "Servan is a fool! Comeand see me to-morrow and I will arrange the matter. " "Who are you?" "Iam Danton, the Minister of Justice. "--The next day he calls on Danton, who tells him: "It is all right; you shall have your post back--notunder Kellerman, however, but under Dumouriez; are you content?" Theyoung man, delighted, thanks him. Danton resumes: "Let me give you onepiece of advice before you go: You have talent and will succeed. But getrid of one fault. You talk too much. You have been in Paris twenty-fourhours, and already you have repeatedly criticized the affair ofSeptember. I know this; I have been informed of it" "But that was amassacre; how can one help calling it horrible?" "I did it, " repliesDanton, "The Parisians are all so many j--f--. A river of blood hadto flow between them and the émigrés. You are too young to understandthese matters. Return to the army; it is the only place nowadays for ayoung man like you and of your rank. You have a future before you; butmind this--keep your mouth shut!"]

[Footnote 3151: Hua, 167. . Narrative by his guest, the physician Lambry, an intimate friend of Danton ultra-fanatical and member of a committeein which the question came up whether the members of the "Right" shouldlikewise be put out of the way. "Danton had energetically repelled thissanguinary proposal. 'Everybody knows, ' he said, 'that I do not shrinkfrom a criminal act when necessary; but I disdain to commit a uselessone. "']

[Footnote 3152: Mortimer-Ternaux, Iv. 437. Danton exclaims, in relationto the hot-headed commissioners sent by him into the department: "Eh!damn it, do you suppose that we would send you young ladies?"]

[Footnote 3153: Philippe de Ségur, "Mémoires, "I. 12. Danton, in aconversation with his father, a few weeks after the 2nd of September. ]

[Footnote 3154: See above, narrative of the king, louis Philippe. ]

[Footnote 3155: Buchez et Roux, xvii. 347. The words of Danton in theNational Assembly, Sept. 2nd a little before two o'clock, just as thetocsin and cannon gave the signal of alarm agreed upon. Already onthe 31st of August, Tailien, his faithful ally, had told the NationalAssembly: "We have arrested the priests who make so much trouble. Theyare in confinement in a certain domicile, and in a few days the soil ofliberty will be purged of their presence. "]

[Footnote 3156: Meillan, "Mémoires, " 325 (Ed. Barrière et Berville). Speech by Fabre d'Eglantine at the Jacobin Club, sent around among theaffiliated clubs, May 1, 1793. ]

[Footnote 3157: Robinet, "Procès des Dantonistes, " 39, 45 (words ofDanton in the committee on general defense). --Madame Roland, "Mémoires, "II. 30. On the 2nd of September Grandpré ordered to report to theMinister of the Interior on the state of the prisons, waits for Dantonas he leaves the council and tells him his fears. "Danton, irritated bythe description, exclaims in his bellowing way, suiting his word to theaction. 'I don't give a damn about the prisoners! Let them take care ofthemselves! And he proceeded on in an angry mood. This took place in thesecond ante-room, in the presence of twenty persons. "--Arnault, II. 101. About the time of the September massacres "Danton, in the presenceof one of my friends, replied to someone that urged him to use hisauthority in stopping the spilling of blood: 'Isn't it time for thepeople to take their revenge?' "]

[Footnote 3158: Prudhomme, "Crimes de la Révolution, " iv. 90. On the2nd of September, at the alarm given by the tocsin and cannon, Prudhommecalls on Danton at his house for information. Danton gives him theagreed story and adds: "The people, who are now aroused and know whatto do, want to administer justice themselves on the nasty imprisonedpersons. "--Camille Desmoulins enters: "Look here, " says Danton, "Prudhomme has come to ask what is going to be done?"--"Didn't you tellhim that the innocent would not be confounded with the guilty? All thosethat are demanded by their Sections will be given up. "--On the 4th, Desmoulins calls at the office of the journal and says to the editors:"Well, everything has gone off in the most perfect order. The peopleeven set free a good many aristocrats against whom there was no directproof. I trust that you will state all this exactly, because the Journaldes Révolutions is the compass of public opinion. "]

[Footnote 3159: Prudhomme, "Crimes de la Révolution, " IV. 123. Accordingto the statements of Théophile Mandar, vice-president of a section, witness and actor in the scene; he authorizes Prudhomme to mention hisname. ----Afterwards, in the next room, Mandar proposes to Pétion andRobespierre to attend the Assembly the next day and protest against themassacre; if necessary, the Assembly may appoint a director for one day. "Take care not to do that, " replied Robespierre; "Brissot would bethe dictator. "--Pétion says nothing. "The ministers were in perfectagreement to let the massacres continue. "]

[Footnote 3160: Madame Roland, II. 37. --"Angers et le départment deMaine-et-Loire de 1787 à 1830, " by Blordier Langlois. Appended to thecircular was a printed address bearing the title of Compte rendu aupeuple souverain, "countersigned by the Minister of Justice and with theMinister's seal on the package, " and addressed to the Jacobin Clubs ofthe departments, that they, too, might preach massacre. ]

[Footnote 3161: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 391, 398. --Warned by Alquier, president of the criminal court of Versailles, of the danger to whichthe Orleans prisoners were exposed, Danton replied: "What is that toyou? That affair does not concern you. Mind your own business, and donot meddle with things outside of it!"--"But, Monsieur, the law saysthat prisoners must be protected. "--"What do you care? Some among themare great criminals, and nobody knows yet how the people will regardthem and how far their indignation will carry them. " Alquier wished topursue the matter, but Danton turned his back on him]

[Footnote 3162: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 217]

[Footnote 3163: Madame Roland, "Lettres autographes, etc. , " Sept. 5, 1792. "We are here under the knives of Marat and Robespierre. Thesefellows are striving to excite the people and turn them against theNational Assembly and the council. They have organized a Star Chamberand they have a small army under pay, aided by what they found or stolein the palace and elsewhere, or by supplies purchased by Danton, who isunderhandedly the chieftain of this horde. "--Dusaulx, "Mémoires, " 441. "On the following day (Sept. 3) I went to see one of the most estimatedpersonalities at this epoch. 'You know, ' said I to him, 'what is goingon?'--'Very well; but keep quiet; it will soon be over. A little moreblood is still necessary. '--I saw others who explained themselves muchmore definitely. "--Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 445. ]

[Footnote 3164: Madame Roland, "Lettres autographes, etc. , " Sept. 5, 1792. "We are here under the knives of Marat and Robespierre. Thesefellows are striving to excite the people and turn them against theNational Assembly and the council. They have organized a Star Chamberand they have a small army under pay, aided by what they found or stolein the palace and elsewhere, or by supplies purchased by Danton, who isunderhandedly the chieftain of this horde. "--Dusaulx, "Mémoires, " 441. "On the following day (Sept. 3) I went to see one of the most estimatedpersonalities at this epoch. 'You know, ' said I to him, 'what is goingon?'--'Very well; but keep quiet; it will soon be over. A little moreblood is still necessary. '--I saw others who explained themselves muchmore definitely. "--Mortimer-Ternaux, II. 445. ]

[Footnote 3165: Madame de Staël, "Considérations sur la RévolutionFrançaise, " 3rd part, ch. X. ]

[Footnote 3166: Prudhomme, "Les Révolutions de Paris" (number for Sept. 22). At one of the last sessions of the commune "M. Panis spoke of Maratas of a prophet, another Siméon Stylite. 'Marat, ' said he, 'remained sixweeks sitting on one thigh in a dungeon. ' "--Barbaroux, 64. ]

[Footnote 3167: Weber, II. 348. Collot dwells at length, "incool-blooded gaiety, " on the murder of Madame de Lamballe and on theabominations to which her corpse was subjected. "He added, with a sighof regret, that if he had been consulted he would have had the head ofMadame de Lamballe served in a covered dish for the queen's supper. "]

[Footnote 3168: On the part played by Robespierre and hispresence constantly at the Commune see Granier de Cassagnac, II. 55. --Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 205. Speech by Robespierre at the commune, Sept. 1: "No one dares name the traitors. Well, I give their namesfor the safety of the people: I denounce the libertycide Brissot, theGirondist factionists, the rascally commission of the Twenty-One in theNational Assembly; I denounce them for having sold France to Brunswick, and for having taken in advance the reward for their dastardly act. " Onthe 2nd of September he repeats his denunciation, and consequently onthat day warrants are issued by the committee of supervision againstthirty deputies and against Brissot and Roland (Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 216, 247). ]

[Footnote 3169: "Procès-verbaux de la Commune, " Aug. 30. --Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 217 (resolutions of the sectionsPoissonnière and Luxembourg). --Granier de Cassagnac, II. 104 (adhesionof the sections Mauconseil, Louvre, and Quinze-Vingt). ]

[Footnote 3170: Granier de Cassagnac, II. 156. ]

[Footnote 3171: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 265. --Granier de Cassagnac, XII. 402. (The other five judges were also members of the commune. )]

[Footnote 3172: Granier de Cassagnac, II. 313. Register of the GeneralAssembly of the sans-culottes, section, Sept. 2. --"Mémoires sur lesjournées de Septembre, " 151 (declaration of Jourdan). ]

[Footnote 3173: "Mémoires sur les journées de Septembre, " narrative ofAbbé Sicard, 111. ]

[Footnote 3174: Buchez et Roux, XVIII. 109, 178. ("La vérite toutentière, " by Méhée, Jr. )--Narrative of Abbé Sicard, 132, 134. ]

[Footnote 3175: Granier de Cassagnac, II. 92, 93. --On the presence andcomplicity of Santerre. Ibid, 89-99. ]

[Footnote 3176: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 277 and 299 (Sept. 3). --Granierde Cassagnac, II. 257. A commissary of the section of the Quatre-Nationsstates in his report that "the section authorized them to payexpenses out of the affair. "--Declaration of Jourdan, 151. --Lavalette, "Mémoires, " I. 91. The initiative of the commune is further proved bythe following detail: "Towards five o'clock (Sept. 2) city officials onhorseback, carrying a flag, rode through the streets crying: 'To arms!To arms!' They added: 'The enemy is coming; you are all lost; the citywill be burnt and given up to pillage. Have no fear of the traitors orconspirators behind your backs. They are in the hands of the patriots, and before you leave the thunderbolt of national justice will fall onthem!"--Buchez et Roux, XXVIII. 105. Letter of Chevalier Saint-Dizier, member of the first committee of supervision, Sept. 10. "Marat, Duplain, Fréron, etc. , generally do no more in their supervision of things thanwreak private vengeance. . . Marat states openly that 40, 000 heads muststill be knocked off to ensure the success of the revolution. "]

[Footnote 3177: Buchez et Roux, XVIII. 146. "Ma Résurrection, " by Mathonde la Varenne. "The evening before half-intoxicated women said publiclyon the Feuillants terrace: 'To-morrow is the day when their souls willbe turned inside out in the prisons. "]

[Footnote 3178: "Mémoires sur les journées de Septembre. Mon agonie, "by Journiac de Saint-Méard. --Madame de la Fausse-Landry, 72. The 29th ofAugust she obtained permission to join her uncle in prison: "M. Sergentand others told me that I was acting imprudently; that the prisons werenot safe. "]

[Footnote 3179: Granier de Cassagnac, --II. 27. According to RochMarcandier their number "did not exceed 300. " According to Louvet therewere "200, and perhaps not that number. " According to Brissot, themassacres were committed by about "a hundred unknown brigands. "--Pétion, at La Force (Ibid. , 75), on September 6, finds only about a dozenexecutioners. According to Madame Roland (II. 35), "there were notfifteen at the Abbaye. " Lavalette the first day finds only about fiftykillers at the La Force prison. ]

[Footnote 3180: Mathon de la Varenne, ibid. , 137. ]

[Footnote 3181: Buchez et Roux, XVII. 183 (session of the Jacobin Club, Aug. 27). Speech by a federate from Tarn. --Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 126. ]

[Footnote 3182: Sicard, 80. --Méhée, 187. --Weber, II. 279. --Cf. , inJourniac de Saint-Méard, his conversation with a Provençal. --Rétif dela Bretonne, "Les Nuits de Paris, " 375. "About 2 o'clock in the morning(Sept. 3) I heard a troop of cannibals passing under my window, none ofwhom appeared to have the Parisian accent; they were all strangers. "]

[Footnote 3183: Granier de Cassagnac, II. 164, 502. --Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 530. --Maillard's assessors at the Abbaye were a watchmaker livingin the Rue Childebert, a fruit-dealer in the Rue Mazarine, a keeper ofa public house in the Rue du Four-Saint-Germain, a journeyman hatterin the Rue Sainte-Marguerite, and two others whose occupation is notmentioned. --On the composition of the tribunal at La Force, Cf. Journiacde Saint-Méard, 120, and Weber, II. 261. ]

[Footnote 3184: Granier de Cassagnac, II. 507 (on Damiens), 513 (onL'empereur). --Meillan, 388 (on Laforet and his wife, old-clothes dealerson the Quai du Louvre, who on the 31st of May prepare for a second blow, and calculate this time on having for their share the pillaging of fiftyhouses). ]

[Footnote 3185: Sicard, 98]

[Footnote 3186: De Ferrières (Ed. Berville et Barrière), III. 486. --Rétif de la Bretonne, 381. At the end of the Rue des Ballets aprisoner had just been killed, while the next one slipped through therailing and escaped. "A man not belonging to the butchers, but one ofthose thoughtless machines of which there are so many, interposed hispike and stopped him. . . The poor fellow was arrested by his pursuers andmassacred. The pikeman coolly said to us: 'I couldn't know they wantedto kill him. '"]

[Footnote 3187: Granier de Cassagnac, II. 511. ]

[Footnote 3188: The judges and slaughterers at the Abbaye, discovered inthe trial of the year IV. , almost all lived in the neighborhood, in therues Dauphine, de Nevers, Guégénaud, de Bussy, Childebert, Taranne, de l'Egoût, du Vieux Colombier, de l'Echaudé-Saint-Benoit, duFour-Saint-Germain, etc. ]

[Footnote 3189: Sicard, 86, 87, 101. --Jourdan, 123. "The president ofthe committee of supervision replied to me that these were very honestpersons; that on the previous evening or the evening before that, oneof them, in a shirt and wooden shoes, presented himself beforetheir committee all covered with blood, bringing with him in his hattwenty-five louis in gold, which he had found on the person of a manhe had killed. "--Another instance of probity may be found in the"Procès-verbaux du conseil-général de la Commune de Versailles, " 367, 371. --On the following day, Sept. 3, robberies commence and go onincreasing. ]

[Footnote 3190: Méhée, 179. "'Would you believe that I have earned onlytwenty-four francs?' said a baker's boy armed with a club. 'I killedmore than forty for my share. '"]

[Footnote 3191: Granier de Cassagnac. II. 153. --Cf. Ibid. , 202-209, details on the meals of the workmen and on the more delicate repast ofMaillard and his assistants. ]

[Footnote 3192: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 175-176. --Granier de Cassagnac. II. 84. ----Jourdan, 222. --Méhée, 179. "At midnight they came backswearing, cursing, and foaming with rage, threatening to cut the throatsof the committee in a body if they were not instantly paid. "]

[Footnote 3193: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 320. Speech by Pétion on thecharges preferred against Robespierre. ]

[Footnote 3194: Mathon de la Varenne, 156. --Journiac de Saint-Méard, 129. --Moore, 267. ]

[Footnote 3195: Journiac de Saint-Méard, 115. ]

[Footnote 3196: Weber, II. 265. --Journiac de Saint-Méard, 129. --Mathonde la Varenne, 155. ]

[Footnote 3197: Moore, 267. --Cf. Malouet, II. 240. Malouet, on theevening of Sept. 1, was at his sister-in-law's; there is a domiciliaryvisit at midnight; she faints on hearing the patrol mount the stairs. "Ibegged them not to enter the drawing-room, so as not to disturb the poorsufferer. The sight of a woman in a swoon and pleasing in appearanceaffected them, and they at once withdrew, leaving me alone withher. "--Beaulieu, "Essais, " I. 108. (Regarding the two Abbaye butchershe meets in the house of Journiac-de-Saint-Méard, and who chat with himwhile issuing him with a safe-conduct): "What struck me was to detectgenerous sentiments through their ferocity, those of men determined toprotect any one whose cause they adopted. "]

[Footnote 3198: Weber, II. 265, 348. ]

[Footnote 3199: Sicard, 101. Billaud-Varennes, addressing theslaughterers. --Ibid. 75. "Greater power, " replied a member of thecommittee of supervision, "what are you thinking of? To give you greaterpower would be limiting those you have already. Have you forgotten thatyou are sovereigns? That the sovereignty of the people is confided toyou, and that you are now in full exercise of it?"]

[Footnote 31100: Méhée, 171. ]

[Footnote 31101: Sicard, 81. At the beginning the Marseilles menthemselves were averse to striking the disarmed, and exclaimed to thecrowd: "Here, take our swords and pikes and kill the monsters!"]

[Footnote 31102: Macbeth by Shakespeare: "I have supped full withhorrors. "]

[Footnote 31103: Observe children drowning a dog or killing a snake. Tenacity of life irritates them, as if it were a rebellion against theirdespotism, the effect of which is to render them only the more violentagainst their victim. ]

[Footnote 31104: One may recall to mind the effect of bull-fights, alsothe irresistible fascination which Saint-Augustin experienced on firsthearing the death-cry of a gladiator in the amphitheater. ]

[Footnote 31105: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 131. Trial of the Septemberactors; the judge's summing up. "The third and forty-sixth witnessesstated that they saw Monneuse (member of the commune) go to and comefrom la Force, express his delight at those sad events that had justoccurred, acting very immorally in relation thereto, adding thatthere was violin playing in his presence, and that his colleaguedanced. "--Sicard, 88. ]

[Footnote 31106: Sicard, 87, 91. This expression by a wine-merchant, whowants the custom of the murderers. --Granier de Cassagnac, II. 197-200. The original bills for wine, straw, and lights have been found. ]

[Footnote 31107: Sicard, 91. --Maton de la Varenne, 150. ]

[Footnote 31108: Mathon de la Varenne, 154. A man from the suburbs saidto him (Mathon is an advocate): "All right, Monsieur Fine-skin; I shalltreat myself to a glass of your blood. "]

[Footnote 31109: Rétif de la Bretonne, "Les Nuits de Paris, " 9th night, p. 388. "She screamed horribly, whilst the brigands amused themselveswith their disgraceful acts. Her body even after death was not exempt. These people had heard that she had been beautiful. "]

[Footnote 31110: Prudhomme, "Les Révolutions de Paris, " number for Sept. 8, 1792. "The people subjected the flower-girl of the Palais-Royal tothe law of retaliation. "--Granier de Cassagnac, II. 329. Accordingto the bulletin of the revolutionary tribunal, number for Sept. 3. --Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 291. Deposition of the caretaker's office ofthe Conciergerie prison. --Buchez et Roux, XVII. 198. "Histoire des hommesde proi, " by Roch Marcandier. ]

[Footnote 31111: Mortimer-Ternaux III, 257. Trial of the Septembermurderers; deposition of Roussel. --Ib. , 628. ]

[Footnote 31112: Deposition of the woman Millet, ibid. , 63. --Weber, II. 350. ----Roch Marcandier, 197, 198. --Rétif de la Bretonne, 381. ]

[Footnote 31113: Deposition of the woman Millet, ibid. , 63. --Weber, II. 350. ----Roch Marcandier, 197, 198. --Rétif de la Bretonne, 381. ]

[Footnote 31114: On this mechanical and murderous action Cf: Dusaulx, "Mémoires, " 440. He addresses the bystanders in favor of the prisoners, and, affected by his words, they hold out their hands to him. "Butbefore this the executioners had struck me on the cheeks with the pointsof their pikes, from which hung pieces of flesh. Others wanted to cutoff my head, which would have been done if two gendarmes had not keptthem back. "]

[Footnote 31115: Jourdan, 219. ]

[Footnote 31116: Méhée, 179. ]

[Footnote 31117: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 558. The same idea is foundamong the federates and Parisians composing the company of the Egalité, which brought the Orleans prisoners to Versailles and then murderedthem. They explain their conduct by saying that they "hoped to put anend to the excessive expenditure to which the French empire was subjectthrough the prolonged detention of conspirators. "]

[Footnote 31118: Rétif de la Bretonne, 388. ]

[Footnote 31119: Méhée, 177. ]

[Footnote 31120: Prudhomme, "Les Crimes de la Révolution. " III. 272. ]

[Footnote 31121: Rétif de la Bretonne, 388. There were two sorts ofwomen at the Salpétrière, those who were banded and young girls broughtin the prison. Hence the two alternatives. ]

[Footnote 31122: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 295. See list of names, ages, and occupations. ]

[Footnote 31123: Barthélemy Maurice, "Histoire politique and anecdotiquedes prisons de la Seine, " 329. ]

[Footnote 31124: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 295. See list of names, ages, and occupations. ]

[Footnote 31125: The Encyclopedia "QUID" (ROBERT LAFONT, PARIS 1998)advises us that the number of victims killed with "cold steel and clubs"etc total 1395 persons. The total number of French victims due to theRevolution is considered to be between 600, 000 and 800, 000 dead. (SR)]

[Footnote 31126: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 399, 592, 602-606. --"Procès-verbal des 8, 9, 10 Septembre, extrait des registresde la municipalité de Versailles. " (In the "Mémoires sur les journées deSeptembre"), p. 358 and following pages. --Granier de Cassagnac, II. 483. Bonnet's exploit at Orleans, pointed out to Fournier, Sept. I. Fournierreplies: "In God's name, I am not to be ordered; when the bloody beggarshave had their heads cut off the trial may be held later!"]

[Footnote 31127: Roch Marcandier, 210. Speech by Lazowski to the sectionof Finistère, fauborg Saint-Marceau. Lazowski had, in addition, set freethe assassins of the mayor of Etampes, and laid their manacles on thebureau table. ]

[Footnote 31128: Malouet, II. 243 (Sept. 2). --Moniteur, XIII. 48(session of Sept. 27, 1792). We see in the speech of Panis thatanalogous scenes took place in the committee of supervision. "Imagineour situation. We were surrounded by citizens irritated against thetreachery of the court. We were told: 'Here is an aristocrat who isgoing to fly; you must stop him, or your yourselves are traitors!'Pistols were pointed at us and we found ourselves obliged to signwarrants, not so much for our own safety as for that of the personsdenounced. "]

[Footnote 31129: Granier de Cassagnac, II. 258. --Prudhomme, "Les Crimesde la Révolution, " III. 272. --Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 631. --DeFerrière, III. 391. --(The expression quoted was recorded by Rétif de laBretonne. )]

[Footnote 31130: That is how to do it, must any anarchist or hopefulrevolutionary have thought, upon reading Taine's livid description. -Butalso: "Do not let the bourgeois read this, it might scare them and makeour task more difficult. " (SR). ]

[Footnote 31131: Moniteur, XIII. 698, 698 (numbers for Sept. 15 and 16). Ibid. , Letter of Roland, 701; of Pétion, 711. --Buchez et Roux, XVIII. 33. 34. --Prudhomme's journal contains an engraving of this subject(Sept. 14)--"An Englishman admitted to the bar of the house denounces tothe National Assembly a robbery committed in a house occupied by him atChaillot by two bailiffs and their satellites. The robbery consistedof twelve louis, five guineas, five thousand pounds in assignats, andseveral other objects. " The courts before which he appeared did not daretake up his case (Buchez et Roux, XVII. P. 1, Sept. 18). ]

[Footnote 31132: Buchez et Roux, XVII. 461. --Prudhomme, "Les Révolutionsde Paris, " number for Sept. 22, 1792. ]

[Footnote 31133: Moniteur, XIII. 711 (session of Sept. 16). Letter ofRoland to the National Assembly. --Buchez et Roux, XVIII. 42. --Moniteur, XIII. 731 (session of Sept. 17). Speech by Pétion: "Yesterday therewas some talk of again visiting the prisons, and particularly theConciergerie. "]

[Footnote 31134: Perhaps Mao read this and later coined his famousslogan "that all political power emanates from the barrels of guns. "(SR). ]

[Footnote 31135: "Archives Nationales, " II. 58 to 76. Official reportsof the Paris electoral assembly. --Robespierre is elected the twelfth(Sept. 5), then Danton and Collot d'Herbois (Sept. 6) then Manuel andBillaud-Varennes (Sept. 7), next C. Desmoulins (Sept. 8), Marat (Sept. 9) etc. --Mortimer-Ternaux, IV. 35 (act passed by the commune atthe instigation of Robespierre for the regulation of electoraloperations). --Louvet, "Mémoires. " Louvet, in the electoral assembly asksto be heard on the candidacy of Marat, but is unsuccessful. "On goingout I was surrounded by those men with big clubs and sabers by whomthe future dictator was always attended, Robespierre's body-guard. Theythreatened me and told me in very concise terms: 'Before long youshall have your turn. This is the freedom of that assembly in which onedeclared his vote under a dagger pointed at him. "']

[Footnote 31136: In reading this all socialist and communists and otherpotential manipulators of democracy would have taken and will continueto take note. Once the hidden combination can manage to invest all thedifferent, in theory opponent, parties with their own men, an eternalcontrol by a hidden mafia can now take place. (SR). ]

[Footnote 31137: Such procedures set a precedence for 200 years of'guided democracy' in many trade unions and elsewhere. (SR). ]

CHAPTER II. THE DEPARTMENTS. --THE EPEDEMIC AND CONTAGIOUS CHARACTER OFTHE REVOLUTIONARY DISEASE. 

In the departments, it is by hundreds that we enumerate days like the20th of June, August 10, September 2. The body has its epidemic, itscontagious diseases; the mind has the same; the revolutionary malady isone of them. It appears throughout the country at the same time; eachinfected point infects others. In each city, in each borough, the clubis a Center of inflammation which disorganizes the sound parts; andthe example of each disorganized Center spreads afar like contagiousfumes. [3201] Everywhere the same fever, delirium, and convulsions markthe presence of the same virus. That virus is the Jacobin dogma. Byvirtue of the Jacobin dogma, theft, usurpation, murder, take on theguise of political philosophy, and the gravest crimes against persons, against public or private property, become legitimate; for they arethe acts of the legitimate supreme power, the power that has the publicwelfare in its keeping. 

I. The Sovereignty of the People. 

 Its principle is the Jacobin dogma of the sovereignty of the people. ----The new right is officially proclaimed. --Public statement of the new régime. --Its object, its opponents, its methods. --Its extension from Paris to the provinces. 

That each Jacobin band should be invested with the local dictatorshipin its own canton is, according to the Jacobins, a natural right. Itbecomes the written law from the day that the National Assembly declaresthe country in danger. "From that date, " says their most widely readJournal, [3202] and by the mere fact of that declaration, "the people ofFrance are assembled and insurgent. They have repossessed themselves ofthe sovereign power. " Their magistrates, their deputies, all constitutedauthorities, return to nothingness, their essential state. And you, temporary and revocable representatives, "you are nothing but presidingofficers for the people; you have nothing to do but to collect theirvotes, and to announce the result when these shall have been cast withdue solemnity. "--Nor is this the theory of the Jacobins only; it is alsoofficial theory. The National Assembly approves of the insurrection, recognizes the Commune, keeps in the background, abdicates as far aspossible, and only remains provisionally in office in order that theplace may not be left vacant. It abstains from exercising power, evento provide its own successors; it merely "invites" the French people toorganize a national convention; it confesses that it has "no right toput the exercise of sovereign power under binding rules"; it does nomore than "indicate to citizens" the rules for the elections "to whichit invites them to conform. " Meanwhile it is subject to the will of thesovereign people, then so-called; it dares not resist their crimes; itinterferes with assassins only by entreaties. --Much more; it authorizesthem, either by ministerial signature or counter-signature, to begintheir work elsewhere. Roland has signed Fournier's commission toOrleans; Danton has sent the circular of Marat over all France. Toreconstruct the departments the council of ministers sends the mostinfuriated members of the Commune and the party, Chaumette, Fréron, Westerman, Auduoin, Huguenin, Momoro, Couthon, Billaud-Varennes, [3204]and others still more tainted and brutal, who preach the purest Jacobindoctrine. "They announce openly[3205] that laws no longer exist; thatsince the people are sovereign, every one is master; that each fractionof the nation can take such measures as suit it, in the name of thecountry's safety; that they have the right to tax corn, to seize it inthe laborer's fields, to cut off the heads of the farmers who refuse tobring their grain to market. " At Lisieux, agrarian law is preachedby Fufour and Momoro. At Douai, other preachers from Paris say to thepopular club, "Prepare scaffolds; let the walls of the city bristlewith gallows, and hang upon them every man who does not accept ouropinions. "--Nothing is more logical, more in conformity with theirprinciples. The journals, deducing their consequences, explain tothe people the use they ought to make of their reconqueredsovereignty. [3206] "Under the present circumstances, community ofproperty is the law; everything belongs to everybody. " Besides, "anequalizing of fortunes must be brought about, a leveling, which shallabolish the vicious principle of the domination of the rich over thepoor. " This reform is all the more pressing because "the people, the real sovereign people, have nearly as many enemies as there areproprietors, large merchants, financiers, and wealthy men. In a timeof revolution, we must regard all men who have more than enough as theenemies, secret or avowed, of popular government. " Therefore, "let thepeople of each commune, before they quit their homes" for the army, "putall those who are suspected of not loving liberty in a secure place, andunder the safe-keeping of the law; let them be kept shut up until waris over; let them be guarded with pikes, " and let each one of theirguardians receive thirty sous per day. 

* As for the partisans of the fallen government, the members of theParis directory, "with Roederer and Blondel at their head, "

* as for the general officers, "with Lafayette and d'Affry at theirhead, "

* as for "the critical deputies of the Constituent Assembly, withBarnave and Lameth at their head, "

* as for the Feuillant deputies of the Legislative Assembly, "withRamond and Jaucourt at their head, "[3207]

* as for "all those who consented to soil their hands with the profitsof the civil list, "

* as for "the 40, 000 hired assassins who were gathered at the palace onthe night of August 9-10, they are all (say the Jacobins) furious monsters, who ought to bestrangled to the last one. People! you have risen to your feet; standfirm until not one of these conspirators remains alive. Your humanityrequires you for once to show yourselves inexorable. Strike terror tothe wicked. The proscriptions which we impose on you as a duty, are thesacred wrath of your country. "

There is no mistaking this; it is a tocsin sounding against all thepowers that be, against all social superiority, against priests andnobles, proprietors, capitalists, the leaders of business and industry;it is sounding, in short, against the whole élite of France, whether ofold or recent origin. The Jacobins of Paris, by their journals, theirexamples, their missionaries, give the signal; and in the provincestheir kindred spirits, imbued with the same principles, only wait thesummons to hurl themselves forward. 

II. --In several departments it establishes itself in advance. 

 An instance of this in the Var. 

In many departments[3208] they have forestalled the summons. In the Var, for example, pillages and proscriptions have begun with the month ofMay. According to custom, they first seize upon the castles and themonasteries, although these have become national property, at one timealleging as a reason for this that the administration "is too slowin carrying out sentence against the émigrés, " and again, that "thechâteau, standing on an eminence, weighs upon the inhabitants. "[3209]There is scarcely a village in France that does not contain twoscorewretches who are always ready to line their pockets, which is justthe number of thieves who thoroughly sacked the château of Montaroux, carrying off "furniture, produce, clothing, even the jugs and bottles inthe cellar. " There are the same doings by the same band at the chateauof Tournon; the château of Salerne is burned, that of Flagose is pulleddown; the canal of Cabris is destroyed; then the convent of Montrieux, the châteaux of Grasse, of Canet, of Régusse, of Brovaz, and manyothers, all devastated, and the devastations are made "daily. "--It isimpossible to suppress this country brigandage. The reigning dogma, weakening authority in the magistrates' hands, and the clubs, "whichcover the department, " have spread the fermentation of anarchyeverywhere. "Administrators, judges, municipal officers, all who areinvested with any authority, and who have the courage to use it inforcing respect for law, are one by one denounced by public opinion asenemies of the constitution and of liberty; because, people say, theytalk of nothing but the law, as if they did not know that the will ofthe people makes the law, and that we are the people. "[3210] This is thereal principle; here, as at Paris, it instantly begets its consequences. "In many of these clubs nothing is discussed but the plundering ofestates and cutting off the heads of aristocrats. And who are designatedby this infamous title? In the cities, the great traders and richproprietors; in the country, those whom we call the bourgeois;everywhere, all peaceable citizens, the friends of order, who wish toenjoy, under the shadow of the protecting law, the blessings of theConstitution. Such was the rage of their denunciations that in one ofthese clubs a good and brave peasant was denounced as an aristocrat;the whole of his aristocracy consisting in his having said to those whoplundered the château of their seigneur, already mentioned, that theywould not enjoy in peace the fruits of their crime. "--Here is theJacobin programme of Paris in advance, namely, the division of theFrench into two classes, the spoliation of one, the despotism of theother; the destruction of the well-to-do, orderly and honest under thedictation of those who are not so. 

Here, as in Paris, the programme is carried out step by step. AtBeausset, near Toulon, a man named Vidal, captain of the National Guard, "twice set at liberty by virtue of two consecutive amnesties, "[3211]punishes not resistance merely, but even murmurs, with death. Two oldmen, one of them a notary, the other a turner, having complained of himto the public prosecutor, the general alarm is beaten, a gathering ofarmed men is formed in the street, and the complainants are clubbed, riddled with balls, and their bodies thrown into a pit. Many of theirfriends are wounded, others take to flight; seven houses are sacked, and the municipality, "either overawed or in complicity, " makes nointerference until all is over. There is no way of pursuing the guiltyones; the foreman of the jury, who goes, escorted by a thousand men, tohold an inquest, can get no testimony. The municipal officers feign tohave heard nothing, neither the general alarm nor the guns fired undertheir windows. The other witnesses say not a word; but they declare, sotto voce, the reason for their silence. If they should testify, "theywould be sure of being killed as soon as the troops should have goneaway. " The foreman of the jury is himself menaced; after remainingthree-quarters of an hour, he finds it prudent to leave the city. --Afterthis the clubs of Beausset and of the neighborhood, gaining hardihoodfrom the impotence of the law, break out into incendiary propositions:"It is announced that after the troops retreat, nineteen houses morewill be sacked; it is proposed to behead all aristocrats, that is tosay, all the land-owners in the country. " Many have fled, but theirflight does not satisfy the clubs. Vidal orders those of Beausset whotook refuge in Toulon to return at once; otherwise their houses willbe demolished, and that very day, in fact, by way of warning, severalhouses in Beausset, among them that of a notary, are either pulled downor pillaged from top to bottom; all the riff-raff of the town are atwork, "half-drunken men and women, " and, as their object is to roband drink, they would like to begin again in the principal town of thecanton. --The club, accordingly, has declared that "Toulon would soon seea new St. Bartholomew"; it has allies there, and arrangements are made;each club in the small towns of the vicinity will furnish men, whileall will march under the leadership of the Toulon club. At Toulon, as atBeausset, the municipality will let things take their course, while theproceedings complained of by the public prosecutor and the district anddepartment administrators will be applied to them. They may send reportsto Paris, and denounce patriots to the National Assembly and the King, if they choose; the club will reply to their scribbling with acts. Theirturn is coming. Lanterns and sabers are also found at Toulon, and thefaction murders them because they have lodged complaints against themurderers. 

III. --Each Jacobin band a dictator in its own neighborhood. 

 Saint-Afrique during the interregnum. 

By what it dared to do when the government still stood on its feet wemay we may imagine what it will do during the interregnum. Facts, then, as always, furnish the best picture, and, to obtain a knowledge of thenew sovereign, we must first observe him on a limited stage. 

On the reception of the news of the 10th of August, the Jacobins ofSaint-Afrique, a small town of the Aveyron, [3212] likewise undertook tosave the country, and, to this end, like their fellows in other boroughsof the district, they organized themselves into an "Executive Power. "This institution is of an old date, especially in the South; it hadflourished for eighteen months from Lyons to Montpellier, from Agento Nîmes; but after the interregnum, its condition is still moreflourishing; it consists of a secret society, the object of which is tocarry out practically the motions and instructions of the club. [3213]Ordinarily, they work at night, wearing masks or slouched hats, withlong hair falling over the face. A list of their names, each with anumber opposite to it, is kept at the meeting-place of the society. Atriangular club, decked with a red ribbon, serves them both as weaponand badge; with this club, each member "may go anywhere, " and do whatseems good to him. At Saint-Afrique they number about eighty, among whommust be counted the rascals forming the seventh company of Tarn, stayingin the town; their enrollment in the band is effected by constantly"preaching pillage to them, " and by assuring them that the contentsof the châteaux in the vicinity belong to them. [3214]--Not thatthe châteaux excite any fear; most of them are empty; neither inSaint-Afrique nor in the environs do the men of the ancient régime forma party; for many months orthodox priests and the nobles have hadto fly, and now the well-to-do people are escaping. The population, however, is Catholic; many of the shop-keepers, artisans, and farmersare discontented, and the object now is to make these laggards keepstep. --In the first place, they order women of every condition, work-girls and servants, to attend mass performed by the sworn curé, for, if they do not, they will be made acquainted with the cudgel. --Inthe second place, all the suspected are disarmed; they enter theirhouses during the night in force, unexpectedly, and, besides their gun, carry off their provisions and money. A certain grocer who persistsin his lukewarmness is visited a second time; seven or eight men, oneevening, break open his door with a stick of timber; he takes refuge onhis roof, dares not descend until the following day at dawn, andfinds that everything in his store has been either stolen or brokento pieces. [3215] In the third place, there is "punishment of theill-disposed. " At nine o'clock in the evening a squad knocks at the doorof a distrusted shoemaker; it is opened by his apprentice; six of theruffians enter, and one of them, showing a paper, says to the poorfellow:

"I come on the part of the Executive Power, by which you are condemnedto a beating. "

"What for?"

"If you have not done anything wrong, you are thinking about it. "[3216]

And so they beat him in the presence of his family. Many others likehim are seized and unmercifully beaten on their own premises. --As tothe expenses of the operation, these must be defrayed by the malevolent. These, therefore, are taxed according to their occupations; this or thattanner or dealer in cattle has to pay 36 francs; another, a hatter, 72 francs; otherwise "they will be attended to that very night at nineo'clock. " Nobody is exempt, if he is not one of the band. Poor old menwho have nothing but a five-franc assignat are compelled to give that;they take from the wife of an unskilled laborer, whose savings consistof seven sous and a half, the whole of this, exclaiming, "that is goodfor three mugs of wine. "[3217] When money is not to be had, theytake goods in kind; they make short work of cellars, bee-hives, clothes-presses, and poultry-yards. They eat, drink, and break, giving themselves up to it heartily, not only in the town, but in theneighboring villages. One detachment goes to Brusque, and proceeds sovigorously that the mayor and syndic-attorney scamper off across thefields, and dare not return for a couple of days. [3218] At Versol, thedwelling of the sworn curé, and at Lapeyre, that of the sworn vicar, areboth sacked; the money is stolen and the casks are emptied. In the houseof the curé of Douyre, "furniture, clothes, cabinets, and window-sashesare destroyed"; they feast on his wine and the contents of his cupboard, throw away what they could not consume, then go in search of the curéand his brother, a former Carthusian, shouting that "their heads mustbe cut off; and sausage-meat made of the rest of their bodies!" Some ofthem, a little shrewder than the others, light on a prize; for example, a certain Bourguière, a trooper of the line, seized a vineyard belongingto an old lady, the widow of a physician and former mayor;[3219] hegathered in its crop, "publicly in broad daylight, " for his ownbenefit, and warns the proprietress that he will kill her if she makesa complaint against him, and, as she probably does complain of him, heobliges her, in the name of the Executive Power, to pay him fifty crownsdamages. --As to the common Jacobin gangsters, their reward, besides foodand drink, is perfect licentiousness. In all houses invaded at eleveno'clock in the evening. Whilst the father flies, or the husband screamsunder the cudgel, one of the villains stations himself at the entrancewith a drawn saber in his hands, and the wife or daughter remains atthe mercy of the others; they seize her by the neck and maintain theirhold. [3220] In vain does she scream for help. "Nobody in Saint-Afriquedares go outdoors at night"; nobody comes, and, the following day, thejuge-de-paix dares not receive the complaint, because "he is afraidhimself. "--Accordingly, on the 23rd of September, the municipal officersand the town-clerk, who made their rounds, were nearly beaten to deathwith clubs and stones; on the 10th of October another municipal officerwas left for dead; a fortnight before this, a lieutenant of volunteers, M. Mazières, "trying to do his duty, was assassinated in his bed by hisown men. " Naturally, nobody dares whisper a word, and, after two monthsof this order of things, it may be presumed that at the municipalelections of the 21st of October, the electors will be docile. In anyevent, as a precaution, their notification eight days before, accordingto law, is dispensed with; as extra precaution, they are informed thatif they do not vote for the Executive Power, they will have to do withthe triangular cudgel. [3221] Consequently, most of them abstain; in atown of over 600 active citizens, 40 votes give a majority; Bourgougnonand Sarrus, the two chiefs of the Executive Power, are elected, onemayor, and the other syndic-attorney, and henceforth the authority theyseized by force is conferred on them by the law. 

IV. --Ordinary practices of the Jacobin dictatorship. 

 The stationary companies of the clubs. --Their personnel. --Their leaders. 

This is roughly the type of government which spring up in every communeof France after the 10th of August; the club reigns, but the formand processes of its dictatorship are different, according tocircumstances. --Sometimes it operates directly through an executive gangor by lancing an excited mob; sometimes it operates indirectly throughthe electoral assembly it has had elected, or through the municipality, which is its accomplice. If the administrations are Jacobin, it governsthrough them. If they are passive, it governs alongside of them. If theyare refractory, it purges them, [3222] or breaks them up, [3223] and, toput them down, it resorts not only to blows, but even to murder[3224]and massacre. [3225] Between massacre and threats, all intermediariesmeet, the revolutionary seal being everywhere impressed withinequalities of relief. 

In many places, threats suffice. In regions where the temperament ofthe people is cool, and where there is no resistance, it is pointless toresort to assault and battery. What is the use is killing in a town likeArras, for instance, where, on the day of the civic oath, the presidentof the department, a prudent millionaire, stalks through the streets armin arm with Aunty Duchesne, who sells cookies down in a cellar, where, on election days, the townspeople, through cowardice, elect the clubcandidates under the pretense that "rascals and beggars" must be sentoff to Paris to purge the town of them![3226] It would be labor lost tostrike people who grovel so well. [3227] The faction is content to markthem as mangy curs, to put them in pens, keep them on a leash, and toannoy them. [3228] It posts at the entrance of the guard-room a list ofinhabitants related to an émigré; it makes domiciliary visits; it drawsup a fancied list of the suspected, on which list all that are rich arefound inscribed. It insults and disarms them; it confines them to thetown; it forbids them to go outside of it even on foot; it orders themto present themselves daily before its committee of public safety; itcondemns them to pay their taxes for a year in twenty-four hours; itbreaks the seals of their letters; it confiscates, demolishes, and sellstheir family tombs in the cemeteries. This is all in order, as is thereligious persecution, * with the irruption into private chapels where mass is said, * with blows with gun-stocks and the fist bestowed on the officiatingpriest, * with the obligation of orthodox parents to have their childrenbaptized by the schismatic curé, * with the expulsion of nuns, and

* with the pursuit, imprisonment and transportation of unswornecclesiastics. 

But if the domination of the club is not always a bloody one, thejudgments are always those of an armed man, who, putting his gun tohis shoulder, aims at the wayfarers whom he has stopped on the road. Generally they kneel down, tender their purses, and the shot is notfired. But the gun is cocked, nevertheless, and, to be certain of this, we have only to look at the shriveled hand grasping the trigger. We arereminded of those swarms of banditti which infested the country underthe ancient regime;[3229] the double-girdle of smugglers and receiversembraced within twelve hundred leagues of internal excise-duties, thepoachers abounding on the four hundred leagues of guarded captaincies, the deserters so numerous that in eight years they amounted to sixtythousand, the beggars with which the prisons overflowed, the thousandsof thieves and vagabonds thronging the highways, quarry of the policewhich the Revolution let loose and armed, and which, in its turn, from being prey, became the hunters of game. For three years thesestrong-armed prowlers have served as the hard-core of local jacqueries;at the present time they form the staff of the universal jacquerie. AtNîmes, [3230] the head of the Executive Power is a "dancing-master. " Thetwo leading demagogues of Toulouse are a shoemaker, and an actor whoplays valets. [3231] At Toulon, [3232] the club, more absolute thanany Asiatic despot, is recruited from among the destitute, sailors, harbor-hands, soldiers, "stray peddlers, " while its president, Sylvestre, sent down from Paris, is a criminal of the lowest degree. AtRheims, [3233] the principal leader is an unfrocked priest, married toa nun, aided by a baker, who, an old soldier, came near being hung. Elsewhere, [3234] it is some deserter tried for robbery; here, a cookor innkeeper, and there, a former lackey The oracle of Lyons is anex-commercial traveler, an emulator of Marat, named Châlier, whosemurderous delirium is complicated with morbid mysticism. The acolytes ofChâlier are a barber, a hair-dresser, an old-clothes dealer, a mustardand vinegar manufacturer, a cloth-dresser, a silk-worker, a gauze-maker, while the time is near when authority is to fall into still meanerhands, those of "the dregs of the female population, " who, aided by "afew bullies, " elect "female commissaries, " tax food, and for three dayspillage the warehouses. [3235] Avignon has for its masters the Glacièrebandits. Arles is under the yoke of its porters and bargemen. Marseillesbelongs to "a band of wretches spawned out of houses of debauchery, who recognize neither laws nor magistrates, and ruling the city throughterror. "[3236]--It is not surprising that such men, invested with suchpower, use it in conformity with their nature, and that the interregnum, which is their reign, spreads over France a circle of devastations, robberies, and murders. 

V. --The companies of traveling volunteers. 

 Quality of the recruits. --Election of officers. --Robberies and murders. 

Usually, the stationary band of club members has an auxiliary band ofthe same species which roves about. I mean the volunteers, who inspiremore fear and do more harm, because they march in a body and arearmed. [3237] Like their brethren in the ordinary walks of life, many ofthem are town and country vagabonds; most of them, living from hand tomouth, have been attracted by the pay of fifteen sous a day; theyhave become soldiers for lack of work and bread. [3238] Each commune, moreover, having been called upon for its army contingent, "they havepicked up whatever could be found in the towns, all the scamps hangingaround street-corners, men with no pursuit, and, in the country, wretches and vagabonds of every description; nearly all have been forcedto march by money or drawing lots, " and it is probable that thevarious administrations thought that "in this way they would purgeFrance. "[3239] To the wretched "bought by the communes, " add othersof the same stamp, procured by the rich as substitutes for theirsons. [3240] Thus do they pick over the social dunghill and obtain at adiscount the natural and predestined inmates of houses of correction, poor-houses and hospitals, with an utter disregard of quality, evenphysical, "the halt, the maimed and the blind, " the deformed and thedefective, "some too old, and others too young and too feeble to supportthe fatigues of war, others so small as to stand a foot lower than theirguns, " a large number of boys of sixteen, fourteen, and thirteen; inshort, the reprobate of great cities as we now see him, stunted, puny, and naturally insolent and insurgent. [3241] "One-third of them are foundunfit for service" on reaching the frontier. [3242]--But, before reachingthe frontier, they act like "pirates" on the road. --The others, withsounder bodies and better hearts, become, under the discipline ofconstant danger, good soldiers at the end of a year. In the mean time, however, they make no less havoc, for, if they are less disposed torobbery, they are more fanatical. Nothing is more delicate than themilitary organization, owing to the fact that it represents force, andman is always tempted to abuse force; for any free company of soldiersto remain inoffensive in a civil community, it must be restrained bythe strongest curbs, which curbs, either within or without, were whollywanting with the volunteers of 1792. [3243]

Artisans, peasants, the petty bourgeois class, youthful enthusiastsstimulated by the prevailing doctrine, they are still much more Jacobinthan patriotic; the dogma of popular sovereignty, like a heady wine, has turned their inexperienced brains; they are fully persuaded that, "destined to contend with the enemies of the republic, is an honor whichpermits them to exact and to dare all things. "[3244] The least amongthem believes himself superior to the law, "as formerly a Condé, [3245]"and he becomes king on a small scale, self-constituted, an autocraticjusticiary and avenger of wrongs, a supporter of patriots and thescourge of aristocrats, the disposer of lives and property, and, withoutdelay or formality, taking it upon himself to complete the Revolution onthe spot in every town he passes through. --He is not to be hindered inall this by his officers. "Having created his chiefs, they are of nomore account to him than any of a man's creations usually are"; far frombeing obeyed, the officers are not even respected, "and that comes fromresorting to analogies without considering military talent or moralsuperiority. "[3246] Through the natural effects of the system ofelection, all grades of rank have fallen upon demagogues and blusterers. 

"The intriguers, loud-talkers, and especially the great boozers, haveprevailed against the capable. "[3247]

Besides, to retain his popularity, the new officer will go to a bar anddrink with his men, [3248] and he must show himself more Jacobin thanthey are, from which it follows that, not content with toleratingtheir excesses, he provokes them. --Hence, after March, 1792, and evenbefore, [3249] we see the volunteers behaving in France as in a conqueredcountry. Sometimes they make domiciliary visits, and break everything topieces in the house they visit. Sometimes, they force the re-baptismof infants by the conventionalist curé, and shoot at the traditionalfather. Here, of their own accord, they make arrests; there, theyjoin in with mutineers and stop grain-boats; elsewhere, they force amunicipality to tax bread; farther on, they burn or sack châteaux, and, if a mayor happens to inform them that the château now belongs to thenation and not to an émigré; they reply with "thrusts, " and threaten tocut his throat. [3250] As the 10th of August draws near, the phantomof authority, which still occasionally imposed on them, completelyvanishes, and "they risk nothing in killing" whoever displeasesthem. [3251] Exasperated by the perils they are about to encounter onthe frontier, they begin war in the interior. Provisionally, and as aprecaution, they slaughter probable aristocrats on the way, and treatthe officers, nobles and priests they meet on the road worse than theirclub allies. For, on the one hand, being merely on the march, they aremuch safer from punishment than local murderers; in a week, lost inthe army, they will not be sought for in camp, and they may slaywith perfect security. On the other hand, as they are strangers andnewcomers, they are not able, like local persons, to identify a person. So on account of a name, a dress, qualifications, a coffee-house rumor, or an appearance, however venerable and harmless a man may be, they killhim, not because they know him, but because they do not know him. 

VI. --A tour of France in the cabinet of the Minister of the Interior. 

 From Carcassonne to Bordeaux. --Bordeaux to Caen. --The north and the east. --Châlons-sur-Marne to Lyons. --The Comtat and Provence. --The tone and the responses of the Jacobin administration. --The programme of the party. 

Let us enter the cabinet of Roland, Minister of the Interior, afortnight after the opening of the Convention, and suppose himcontemplating, some evening, in miniature, a picture of the state of thecountry administered by him. His clerks have placed the correspondenceof the past few weeks on his table, arranged in proper order; hisreplies are noted in brief on the margin; he has a map of France beforehim, and, placing his finger on the southern section, he moves it alongthe great highway across the country. At every stage he recurs to thepaper file of letters, and passing innumerable reports of violence, hemerely gives his attention to the great revolutionary exploits. [3252]Madame Roland, I imagine, works with her husband, and the couple, sitting together alone under the lamp, ponder over the doings of theferocious brute which they have set free in the provinces the same as inParis. 

Their eyes go first to the southern extremity of France. There, [3253]on the canal of the Deux-Mers, at Carcassonne, the population has seizedthree boats loaded with grain, demanded provisions, then a lower pricesof bread, then guns and cannon from the magazine, and, lastly, the headsof the administrators; an inspector-general has been wounded by an axe, and the syndic-attorney of the department, M. Verdie; massacred. --TheMinister follows with his eye the road from Carcassonne to Bordeaux, andon the right and on the left he finds traces of blood. At Castres, [3254]a report is spread that a dealer in grain was trying to raise the price, whereupon a mob gathers, and, to save the dealer, he is placed in theguard-house. The volunteers, however, force open the guard-house, andthrow the man out of the first-story window; they then finish him offwith "blows with clubs and weights, " drag his body along the streetand cast it into the river. --The evening before, at Clairac, [3255] M. Lartigue-Langa, an unsworn priest, pursued through the street by a troopof men and women, who wanted to remove his cassock and set him on anass, found refuge, with great difficulty, in his country-house. Theygo there for him, however, fetch him back to the public promenade, and there they kill him. A number of brave fellows who interfered werecharged with incivism, and severely handled. Repression is impossible;the department writes to the Minister that "at this time it would beimpolitic to follow the matter up. " Roland knows that by experience. Theletters in his hands show him that there, as in Paris, murder engendersmurder. M. D'Alespée; a gentleman, has just been assassinated at Nérac;"all reputable citizens formed around him a rampart with their bodies, "but the rabble prevailed, and the murderers, "through their obscurity, "escaped. --The Minister's finger stops at Bordeaux. There the federationfestivities are marked with a triple assassination. [3256] In order tolet this dangerous moment pass by, M. De Langoiran, vicar-general ofthe archbishopric, had retired half a league off; in the village ofCauderan, to the residence of an octogenarian priest, who, like himself;had never meddled with public matters. On the 15th of July the NationalGuards of the village, excited by the speeches of the previous night, have come to the residence to pick them up, and moreover, a third priestbelonging in the neighborhood. There is nothing to lay to their charge;neither the municipal officers, nor the justices before whom they arebrought, can avoid declaring them innocent. As a last recourse, they areconducted to Bordeaux, before the Directory of the department. But it isgetting dark, and the riotous crowd becoming impatient, makes anattack on them. The octogenarian "receives so many blows that he cannotrecover"; the abbé du Puy is knocked down and dragged along by a ropeattached to his feet; M. De Langoirac's head is cut off, carried abouton a pike, taken to his house and presented to the servant, who istold that "her master will not come home to supper. " The torment of thepriests has lasted from five o'clock in the morning to seven o'clock inthe evening, and the municipal authorities were duly advised; butthey cannot put themselves out of the way to give succor; they are tooseriously occupied in erecting a liberty-pole. 

Route from Bordeaux to Caen. --The Minister's finger turns to the north, and stops at Limoges. The day following the federation has been herecelebrated the same as at Bordeaux. [3257] An unsworn priest, the abbéChabrol, assailed by a gang of men and women, is first conducted tothe guard-house and then to the dwelling of the juge-de-paix; for hisprotection a warrant of arrest is gotten out, and he is kept underguard, in sight, by four chasseurs, in one of the rooms. But thepopulace are not satisfied with this. In vain do the municipal officersappeal to it, in vain do the gendarmes interpose themselves between itand the prisoner; it rushes in upon them and disperses them. Meanwhile, volleys of stones smash in the windows, and the entrance door yields tothe blows of axes; about thirty of the villains scale the windows, andpass the priest down like a bale of goods. A few yards off, "struck downwith clubs and other instruments, " he draws his last breath, his head"crushed" by twenty mortal wounds. --Farther up, towards Orleans, Rolandreads the following dispatches, taken from the file for Loiret:[3258]"Anarchy is at its height, " writes one of the districts to the Directoryof the department; "there is no longer recognition of any authority; theadministrators of the district and of the municipalities are insulted, and are powerless to enforce respect. . . . Threats of slaughter, ofdestroying houses and giving them up to pillage prevail; plans are madeto tear down all the châteaux. The municipal authorities of Achères, along with many of the inhabitants, have gone to Oison and Chaussy, where everything is smashed, broken up and carried off On the 16th ofSeptember six armed men went to the house of M. De Vaudeuil and obligedhim to return the sum of 300 francs, for penalties pretended to havebeen paid by them. We have been notified that M. Dedeley will be visitedat Achères for the same purpose to-day. M. De Lory has been similarlythreatened. . . Finally, all those people there say that they want no morelocal administrations or tribunals, that the law is in their own hands, and they will execute it. In this extremity we have decided on the onlysafe course, which is to silently accept all the outrages inflicted uponus. We have not called upon you for protection, for we are well awareof the embarrassment you labor under. "--The best part of the NationalGuard, indeed, having been disarmed at the county-town, there is nolonger an armed force to put riots down. Consequently, at this samedate, [3259] the populace, increased by the afflux of "strangers" andordinary nomads, hang a corn-inspector, plant his head on the end of apike, drag his body through the streets, sack five houses and burn thefurniture of a municipal officer in front of his own door. Thereupon, the obedient municipality sets the arrested rioters free, and lowers theprice of bread one-sixth. Above the Loire, the dispatches of Orne andCalvados complete the picture. "Our district, " writes a lieutenant ofthe gendarmerie, [3260] "is a prey to brigandage. . . About thirty rascalshave just sacked the château of Dampierre. Calls for men are constantlymade upon us, " which we cannot satisfy, "because the call is generalon all sides. " The details are curious, and here, notwithstanding theMinister's familiarity with popular misdeeds, he cannot avoid notingone extortion of a new species. "The inhabitants of the villages[3261]collect together, betake themselves to different chateaux, seize thewives and children of their proprietors, and keep them as bail forpromises of reimbursement which they force the latter to sign, notmerely for feudal taxes, but, again, for expenses to which this taxationmay have given rise, " first under the actual proprietor and then underhis predecessors; in the mean time they install themselves on thepremises, demand payments for their time, devastate the buildings on theplace, and sell the furniture. --All this is accompanied with theusual slaughter. The Directory of the department of Orne advises theMinister[3262] that "a former noble has been killed (homicide) in thecanton of Sepf, an ex-curé in the town of Bellême, an unsworn priest inthe canton of Putanges, an ex-capuchin in the territory of Alençon. " Thesame day, at Caen, the syndic-attorney of Calvados, M. Bayeux, a manof sterling merit, imprisoned by the local Jacobins, has just beenshot down in the street and bayoneted, while the National Assembly waspassing a decree proclaiming his innocence and ordering him to be set atliberty. [3263]

Route of the East. --At Rouen, in front of the Hôtel-de-ville, theNational Guard, stoned for more than an hour, finally fire a volleyand kill four men; throughout the department violence is committedin connection with grain, while wheat is stolen or carried off byforce;[3264] but Roland is obliged to restrict himself; he can note onlypolitical disturbances. Besides, he is obliged to hurry up, for murdersabound everywhere. In addition to the turmoil of the army and thecapital, [3265] each department in the vicinity of Paris or near thefrontier furnishes its quota of murders. They take place at Gisors, inthe Eure, at Chantilly, and at Clermont in the Oise, at Saint-Amand inthe Pas-de-Calais, at Cambray in the Nord, at Retel and Charleville inthe Ardennes, at Rheims and at Chalons in the Marne, at Troyes inthe Aube, at Meaux in Seine-et-Marne, and at Versailles inSeine-et-Oise. [3266]--Roland, I imagine, does not open this file, andfor a good reason; he knows too well how M. De Brissac and M. Delessart, and the other sixty-three persons killed at Versailles; it was he whosigned Fournier's commission, the commander of the murderers. At thisvery moment he is forced to correspond with this villain, to send himcertificates of "zeal and patriotism, " and to assign him, over andabove his robberies, 30, 000 francs to defray the expenses of theoperation. [3267]--But among the dispatches there are some he cannotoverlook, if he desires to know to what his authority is reduced, inwhat contempt all authority is held, how the civil or military rabbleexercises its power, with what promptitude it disposes of the mostillustrious and most useful lives, especially those who have been, orare now, in command, the Minister perhaps saying to himself that histurn will come next. 

Let us look at the case of M. De la Rochefoucauld. A philanthropistsince he was young, a liberal on entering the Constituent Assembly, elected president of the Paris department, one of the most persistent, most generous, and most respected patriots from first to last, --whobetter deserved to be spared than? Arrested at Gisors[3268] by order ofthe Paris Commune, he left the inn, escorted by the Parisian commissary, surrounded by the municipal council, twelve gendarmes and one hundredNational Guards; behind him walked his mother, eighty years of age, hiswife following in a carriage; there could be no fear of an escape. But, for a suspected person, death is more certain than a prison; threehundred volunteers of the Orne and the Sarthe departments, on their waythrough Gisors, collect and cry out: "We must have his head--nothingshall stop us!" A stone hits M. De la Rochefoucauld on the temple; hefalters, his escort is broken up, and they finish him with clubs andsabers, while the municipal council "have barely time to drive off thecarriage containing the ladies. "--Accordingly, national justice, in thehands of the volunteers, has its sudden outbursts, its excesses, itsreactions, the effect of which it is not advisable to wait for. Forexample, at Cambray, [3269] a division of foot-gendarmerie had just leftthe town, and it occurs to them that they had forgotten "to purge theprison". It returns, seizes the keeper, takes him to the Hôtel-de-ville, examines the prison register, sets at liberty those whose crimes seemto it excusable, and provides them with passports. On the other hand, itkills a former royal procureur, on whom addresses are found taintedwith "aristocratic principles, " an unpopular lieutenant-colonel, and asuspected captain. --However slight or ill-founded a suspicion, so muchthe worse for the officer on whom it falls! At Charleville, [3270] twoloads of arms having passed through one gate instead of another, toavoid a bad road, M. Juchereau, inspector of the manufacture of arms andcommander of the place, is declared a traitor by the volunteers and thecrowd, torn from the hands of the municipal officers, clubbed to theground, stamped on, and stabbed. His head, fixed to a pike, is paradedthrough Charleville, then into Mézières, where it is thrown into theriver running between the two towns. The body remains, and this themunicipality orders to be interred; but it is not worthy of burial; themurderers get hold of it, and cast it into the water that it may jointhe head. In the meantime the lives of the municipal officers hang bya single thread. One is seized by the throat; another is knocked out ofhis chair and threatened with hanging, a gun is aimed at him and heis beaten and kicked; subsequently a plot is devised "to cut off theirheads and plunder their houses. "

He who disposes of lives, indeed, also disposes of property. Rolandhas only to flick through two or three reports to see how patriotismfurnishes a cloak for brutal license and greed. At Coucy, in thedepartment of Aisne, [3271] the peasantry of seventeen parishes, assembled for the purpose of furnishing their military quota, rush witha loud clamor to two houses, the property of M. Des Fossés, a formerdeputy to the Constituent Assembly, and the two finest in the town; oneof them had been occupied by Henry IV. Some of the municipal officerswho try to interfere are nearly cut to pieces, and the entire municipalbody takes to flight. M. Des Fossés, with his two daughters, succeed inhiding themselves in an obscure corner in the vicinity, and afterwardsin a small tenement offered to them by a humane gardener, and finally, after great difficulty, they reach Soissons. Of his two houses, "nothingremains but the walls. Windows, casings, doors, and wainscoting, allare shattered"; twenty thousand francs of assignats in a portfolio aredestroyed or carried off; the title-deeds of the property are not to befound, and the damage is estimated at 200, 000 francs. The pillage lastedfrom seven o'clock in the morning to seven o'clock in the evening, and, as is always the case, ended in a fête. The plunderers, entering thecellars, drank "two hogsheads of wine and two casks of brandy; thirtyor forty remained dead drunk, and were taken away with considerabledifficulty. " There is no prosecution, no investigation; the new mayor, who, one month after, makes up his mind to denounce the act, begs theMinister not to give his name, for, he says, "the agitators in thecouncil-general of the Commune threaten, with fearful consequences, whoever is discovered to have written to you. "[3272]--Such is theever-present menace under which the gentry live, even when veteransin the service of freedom; Roland, foremost in his files, findsheartrending letters addressed directly to him, as a last recourse. Early in 1789, M. De Gouy d'Arcy[3273] was the first to put his pento paper in behalf of popular rights. A deputy of the noblesse to theConstituent Assembly, he is the first to rally to the Third-Estate; whenthe liberal minority of the noblesse came and took their seats in thehall of the Communes, he had already been there eight days, and, forthirty months, he "invariably seated himself on the side of the 'Left. '"Senior major-general, and ordered by the Legislative Assembly tosuppress the outbreak of the 6, 000 insurgents at Noyon, "he kept hisrigorous orders in his pocket for ten days"; he endured their insults;he risked his life "to save those of his misguided fellow-citizens, andhe had the good fortune not to spill a drop of blood. " Exhausted by somuch labor and effort, almost dying, ordered into the country by hisphysicians, "he devoted his income to the relief of poverty"; he plantedon his own domain the first liberty tree that was erected; he furnishedthe volunteers with clothes and arms; "instead of a fifth, he yieldedup a third of his revenue under the forced system of taxation. " Hischildren live with him on the property, which has been in the familyfour hundred years, and the peasantry call him "their father. " No onecould lead a more tranquil or, indeed, a more meritorious existence. But, being a noble, he is suspected, and a delegate from the ParisCommune denounces him at Compiègne as having in his house two cannon andfive hundred and fifty muskets. There is at once a domiciliary visit. Eight hundred men, infantry and cavalry, appear before the chateaud'Arcy in battle array. He meets them at the door and tenders them thekeys. After a search of six hours, they find twelve fowling pieces andthirteen rusty pistols, which he has already declared. His disappointedvisitors grumble, break, eat and drink to the extent of 2, 000 crownsdamage. [3274] Nevertheless, urged by their leaders they finally retire. But M. De Gouy has 60, 000 francs in rentals which would be so much gainto the nation if he would emigrate; this must be effected, by expellinghim, and, moreover during his expulsion, they may fill their pockets. For eight days this matter is discussed in the Compiègne club, in thebars, in the barracks, and, on the ninth day, 150 volunteers issue fromthe town, declaring that they are going to kill M. De Gouy and all whobelong to him. Informed of this, he departs with his family, leaving thedoors of his house wide open. There is a general pillage for five hours;the mob drink the costly wines, steal the plate, demand horses tocarry their booty away, and promise to return soon and take the owner'shead. --In effect, on the following morning at four o'clock, there is anew invasion, a new pillage, and, this time, the last one; the servantsescape under a fire of musketry, and M. De Gouy, at the request of thevillagers, whose vineyards are devastated, is obliged to quit that partof the country. [3275]--There is no need to go through the whole file. At Houdainville, at the house of M. De Saint-Maurice, at Nointel, on theestate of the Duc de Bourbon, at Chantilly, on the estate of the Princede Condé, at the house of M. De Fitz-James, and elsewhere, a certainGauthier, "commandant of the Paris detachment of Searchers, and chargedwith the powers of the Committee of Supervision, " makes his patrioticcircuit, and Roland knows beforehand of what that consists, namely, adragonnade[3276] in regular form on the domains of all nobles, absent orpresent. [3277]

Favorite game is still found in the clergy, more vigorously hunted thanthe nobles; Roland, charged with the duty of maintaining public order, asks himself how the lives of inoffensive priests, which the lawrecommends to him, can be protected. --At Troyes, at the house of M. Fardeau, an old non-conformist curé, an altar decked with its sacredvessels is discovered, and M. Fardeau, arrested, refuses to take thecivic oath. Torn from his prison, and ordered to shout "Vive la Nation!"he again refuses. On this, a volunteer, borrowing an ax from a baker, chops off his head, and this head, washed in the river, is borne tothe Hôtel-de-ville. [3278]--At Meaux, a brigade of Parisian gendarmeriemurders seven priests, and, as an extra, six ordinary malefactors inconfinement. [3279] At Rheims, the Parisian volunteers first make waywith the post-master and his clerk, both under suspicion because thesmell of burnt paper had issued from their chimney, and, next, M. DeMontrosier, an old retired officer, which is the opening of the hunt. Afterwards they fall upon two ecclesiastics with pikes and sabers, whomtheir game-beaters have brought in from the country, then on the formercuré of Saint-Jean, and on that of Rilly; their corpses are cut up, paraded through the streets in portions, and burnt in a bonfire; oneof the wounded priests, the abbé Alexandre, is thrown in stillalive. [3280]--Roland recognizes the men of September, who, exposingtheir still bloody pikes, came to his domicile to demand their wages;wherever the band passes it announces, "in the name of the people, " its"plenary power to spread the example of the capital. " Now, as 40, 000unsworn priests are condemned by the decree of August 26 to leave theirdepartments in a week and France in a fortnight, shall they be allowedto depart? Eight thousand of them at Rouen, in obedience to the decree, charter transports, which the riotous population of both sides of theSeine prevent from leaving. Roland sees in his dispatches that in Rouen, as elsewhere, they crowd the municipalities for their passports, [3281]but that these are often refused. Better still, at Troyes; at Meaux, atLyons, at Dôle, and in many other towns, the same thing is done as atParis; they are confined in particular houses or in prisons, at least, provisionally, "for fear that they may congregate under the Germaneagle"; so that, made rebellious and declared traitors in spite ofthemselves, they may still remain in their pens subject to the knife. As the exportation of specie is prohibited, those who have procured thenecessary coin are robbed of it on the frontier, while others, who flyat all hazards, tracked like wild boars, or run down like hares, escapelike the bishop of Barral, athwart bayonets, or like the abbé Guillon, athwart sabers, when they are not struck down, like the abbé Pescheur, by the blows of a gun-stock. [3282]

It is soon dawn. The files are too numerous and too large; Roland findsthat, out of eighty-three, he can examine but fifty; he must hasten on;leaving the East, his eyes again turn to the South. --On this side, too, there are strange sights. On the 2nd of September, atChâlons-sur-Marne[3283], M. Chanlaire, an octogenarian and deaf, isreturning, with his prayer-book under his arm, from the Mall, to whichhe resorted daily to read his prayers. A number of Parisian volunteerswho meet him, seeing that he looks like a devotee, order him to shout, "Vive la Liberté" Unable to understand them, he makes no reply. Theythen seize him by the ears, and, not marching fast enough, they drag himalong; his old ears give way, and, excited by seeing blood, they cut offhis ears and nose, and thus, the poor old man dripping with blood, they reach the Hôtel-de-Ville. At this sight a notary, posted there assentinel, and who is a man of feeling, is horror-stricken and escapes, while the other National Guards hasten to shut the iron gates. TheParisians, still dragging along their captive, go to the district andthen to the department bureau "to denounce aristocrats"; on the waythey continue to strike the tottering old man, who falls down; theythen decapitate him, place pieces of his body on pikes, and parade theseabout. Meanwhile, in this same town, twenty-two gentlemen; at Beaune, forty priests and nobles; at Dijon, eighty-three heads of families, locked up as suspected without evidence or examination, and confined attheir own expense two months under pikes, ask themselves every morningwhether the populace and the volunteers, who shout death cries throughthe streets, mean to release them in the same way as in Paris. [3284]--Atrifle is sufficient to provoke a murder. On the 19th of August, atAuxerre as the National Guard is marching along, three citizens, afterhaving taken the civic oath, "left the ranks, " and, on being calledback, "to make them fall in, " one, either impatient or in ill-humor, "replied with an indecent gesture". The populace, taking it as aninsult, instantly rush at them, and shoving aside the municipal body andthe National Guards, wound one and kill the other two. [3285] A fortnightafter, in the same town, several young ecclesiastics are massacred, and "the corpse of one of them remains three days on a manure heap, the relatives not being allowed to bury it. " About the same date, ina village of sabot makers, five leagues from Autun, four ecclesiasticsprovided with passports, among them a bishop and his twogrand-vicars, are arrested, then examined, robbed, and murdered bythe peasantry. --Below Autun, especially in the district of Roanne, thevillagers burn the rent-rolls of national property; the volunteers putproperty-owners to ransom; both, apart from each other or together, givethemselves up "to every excess and to every sort of iniquity againstthose whom they suspect of incivism under pretense of religiousopinions. "[3286] However preoccupied or upset Roland's mind may beby the philosophic generalities with which it is filled, he has longinspected manufactures in this country; the name of every place isfamiliar to him; objects and forms are this time clearly defined to hisarid imagination, and he begins to see things through and beyond merewords. 

Madame Roland rests her finger on Lyons, so familiar to her two yearsbefore; she becomes excited against "the quadruple aristocracy of thetown, petty nobles, priests, heavy merchants, and limbs of the law; inshort, those formerly known as honest folks, according to the insolenceof the ancient régime. "[3287] She may now find an aristocracy of anotherkind there, that of the gutter. Following the example of Paris, theLyons clubbists, led by Charlier, have arranged for a massacre ona grand scale of the evil-disposed or suspected Another ringleader, Dodieu, has drawn up a list by name of two hundred aristocrats to behung; on the 9th of September, women with pikes, the maniacs of thesuburbs, bands of "the unknown, " collected by the central club, [3288]undertake to clean out the prisons. If the butchery is not equal to thatof Paris, it is because the National Guard, more energetic, interferesjust at the moment when a Parisian emissary, Saint-Charles, reads offa list of names in the prison of Roanne already taken from the prisonregister. But, in other places, it arrives too late. --Eight officersof the Royal-Pologne regiment, in garrison at Auch, some of them havingbeen in the service twenty and thirty years, had been compelled toresign owing to the insubordination of their men; but, at the expressdesire of the Minister of War, they had patriotically remained at theirposts, and, in twenty days of laborious marching, they had led theirregiment from Auch to Lyons. Three days after their arrival, seized atnight in their beds, conducted to Pierre-Encize, pelted with stones onthe way, kept in secret confinement, and with frequent and prolongedexaminations, all this merely put their services and their innocence instronger light. They are taken from the prison by the Jacobin mob; ofthe eight, seven are killed in the street, and four priests along withthem, while the exhibition of their work by the murderers is still morebrazen than at Paris. They parade the heads of the dead all night on theends of their pikes; they carry them to the Place des Terreaux into thecoffee-houses; they set them on the tables and derisively offer thembeer; they then light torches, enter the Célestins theater, and, marching on the stage with their trophies, blending real and mocktragedy. --The epilogue is both grotesque and horrible. Roland, at thebottom of the file, finds a letter from his colleague, Danton, [3289] whobegs him to release the officers, murdered three months ago, "for, "says Danton, "if no charge can be found against them, it would be cryinginjustice to keep them longer in irons. " Roland's clerk makes a minuteon Danton's letter: "This matter disposed of. " At this I imagine thecouple looking at each other in silence. Madame Roland may rememberthat, at the beginning of the Revolution, she herself demanded heads, especially "two illustrious heads, " and hoped "that the NationalAssembly would formally try them, or that some generous Decius"[3290]would devote himself to "striking them down. "[3291] Her prayers aregranted. The trial is about to begin in the regular way, and the Deciusshe has invoked is everywhere found throughout France. 

The south-east corner remains, that Provence, described to him byBarbaroux as the last retreat of philosophy and freedom. Roland followsthe Rhône down with his finger, and on both banks he finds, as he passesalong, the usual characteristic misdeeds. --On the right bank, in Cantaland in the Gard, "the defenders of the country" fill their pockets atthe expense of taxpayers designated by themselves;[3292] this forcedsubscription is called "a voluntary gift. " "Poor laborers at Nismeswere taxed 50 francs, others 200, 300, 900, 1, 000, under penalty ofdevastation and of bad treatment. "--In the country near Tarascon thevolunteers, returning to the old-fashioned ways of bandits, brandish thesaber over the mother's head, threaten to smother the aunt in her bed, hold the child over a deep well, and thus extort from the farmer orproprietor even as much as 4, 000 or 5, 000 francs. Generally thefarmer keeps silent, for, in case of complaint, he is sure to have hisbuildings burnt and his olive trees cut down. [3293]--On the left bank, in the Isère, Lieutenant-colonel Spendeler, seized by the populaceof Tullins, was murdered, and then hung by his feet in a tree on theroadside;[3294]--in the Drôme, the volunteers of Gard forced theprison at Montélimart and hacked an innocent person to death with asaber;[3295] in Vaucluse, the pillaging is general and constant. Withall public offices in their hands, and they alone admitted into theNational Guard, the old brigands of Avignon, with the municipality fortheir accomplice, sweep the town and raid about the country; in town, 450, 000 francs of "voluntary gifts" are handed over to the Glacièremurderers by the friends and relatives of the dead;--in the country, ransoms of 1, 000 and 10, 000 francs are imposed on rich cultivators, to say nothing of the orgies of conquest and the pleasures of despots, money forcibly obtained in honor of innumerable liberty trees, banquetsat a cost of five or six hundred francs, paid for by extortedfunds, reveling of every sort and unrestrained havoc on the invadedfarms;[3296] in short, the abuse drunken force amusing itself withbrutality and proud of its violence. 

Following this long line of murders and robbery, the Ministerreaches Marseilles, and I imagine him stopping at this city some-whatdumbfounded. Not that he is in any way astonished at widespread murders;undoubtedly he has had received information of them from Aix, Aubagne, Apt, Brignolles, and Eyguières, while there are a series of them atMarseilles, one in July, two in August, and two in September;[3297] butthis he must be used to. What disturbs him here is to see the nationalbond dissolving; he sees departments breaking away, new, distinct, independent, complete governments forming on the basis of popularsovereignty;[3298] publicly and officially, they keep funds raised forthe central government for local uses; they institute penalties againsttheir inhabitants seeking refuge in France; they organize tribunals, levy taxes, raise troops, and undertake military expeditions. [3299]Assembled together to elect representatives to the Convention, theelectors of the Bouches-du-Rhône were, additionally, disposed toestablish throughout the department "the reign of liberty and equality, "and to this effect they found, says one of them, "an army of 1, 200heroes to purge the districts in which the bourgeois aristocracy stillraises its bold, imprudent head. " Consequently, at Sonas, Noves, St. Remy, Maillane, Eyrages, Graveson, Eyguières, extended over theterritory consisting of the districts of Tarascon, Arles and Salon, these twelve hundred heroes are authorized to get a living out ofthe inhabitants at pleasure, while the rest of the expenses of theexpedition are to be borne "by suspected citizens. "[32100] Theseexpeditions are prolonged six weeks and more; one of them goes outsideof the department, to Monosque, in the Basses-Alpes, and Monosque, obliged to pay 104, 000 francs to its "saviors and fathers, " asan indemnity for traveling expenses, writes to the Minister that, henceforth, it can no longer meet his impositions. 

What kind of improvised sovereigns are these who have institutedperambulating brigandage? Roland, on this point, has simply to questionhis friend Barbaroux, their president and the executive agent of theirdecrees. "Nine hundred persons, " Barbaroux himself writes, "generally ofslight education, impatiently listening to conservatives, and yieldingall attention to the effervescent, cunning in the diffusion ofcalumnies, petty suspicious minds, a few men of integrity butunenlightened, a few enlightened but cowardly; many of them patriotic, but without judgment, without philosophy"; in short, a Jacobin club, andJacobin to such an extent as to "make the hall ring with applause[32101]on receiving the news of the September massacre"; in the foremost ranks, "a crowd of men eager for office and money, eternal informers, imagining trouble or exaggerating it to obtain for themselves lucrativecommissions;"[32102] in other words, the usual pack of hungry appetitesin full chase. --To really know them, Roland has only to examine the lastfile, that of the neighboring departments, and consider their colleaguesin Var. In this great wreck of reason and of integrity, called theJacobin Revolution, a few stray waifs still float on the surface; manyof the department administrations are composed of liberals, friends oforder, intelligent men, upright and firm defenders of the law. Suchwas the Directory of Var. [32103] To get rid of it the Toulon Jacobinscontrived an ambush worthy of the Borgias and Oliverettos of thesixteenth century. [32104] On the 28th of July, in the forenoon, Sylvestre, president of the club, distributed among his trusty men inthe suburbs and purlieus of the town an enormous sack of red caps, while he posted his squads in convenient places. In the mean time themunicipal body, his accomplices, formally present themselves at thedepartment bureau, and invite the administrators to join them infraternizing with the people. The administrators, suspecting nothing, accompany them, each arm in arm with a municipal officer or delegate ofthe club. They scarcely reach the square when there rushes upon it fromevery avenue a troop of red-caps lying in wait. The syndic-attorney, the vice-president of the department, and two other administrators, areseized, cut down and hung; another, M. Debaux, succeeding in making hisescape, hides away, scales the ramparts during the night, breaks histhigh and lies there on the ground; he is discovered the next morning;a band, led by Jassaud, a harbor-laborer, and by Lemaille, calling himself "the town hangman, " come and raise him up, carry him away in abarrow, and hang him at the first lamppost. Other bands dispatch thepublic prosecutor in the same fashion, a district administrator, and amerchant, and then, spreading over the country, pillage and slayamong the country houses. --In vain has the commandant of the place, M. Dumerbion, entreated the municipality to proclaim martial law. Not onlydoes it refuse, but it enjoins him to order one-half of his troopsback to their barracks. By way of an offset, it sets free a numberof soldiers condemned to the galleys, and all that are confined forinsubordination. --Henceforth every shadow of discipline vanishes, and, in the following month, murders multiply. M. De Possel, a navyadministrator, is taken from his dwelling, and a rope is passed aroundhis neck; he is saved just in time by a bombardier, the secretary ofthe club. M. Senis, caught in his country-house, is hung on the Place duVieux Palais. Desidery, a captain in the navy, the curé of La Valette, and M. De Sacqui des Thourets, are beheaded in the suburbs, and theirbeads are brought into town on the ends of three poles. M. De Flotted'Argenson, vice-admiral, a man of Herculean stature, of such a graveaspect, and so austere that he is nicknamed the "Père Eternel" istreacherously enticed to the entrance of the Arsenal, where he sees thelantern already dropping; he seizes a gun, defends himself; yieldsto numbers, and after having been slashed with sabers, is hung. M. DeRochemaure, a major-general of marines, is likewise sabred and hung inthe same manner; a main artery in the neck, severed by the blow of thesaber, spouts blood from the corpse and forms a pool on the pavement;Barry, one of the executioners, washes his hands in it and sprinklesthe by-standers as if bestowing a blessing on them. --Barry, Lemaille, Jassaud, Sylvestre, and other leading assassins, the new kings ofToulon, sufficiently resemble those of Paris. Add to these a certainFigon, who gives audience in his garret, straightens out socialinequalities, forces the daughters of large farmers to marry poorrepublicans, and rich young men to marry prostitutes, [32105] and, takingthe lists furnished by the club or neighboring municipalities, ransomingall the well-to-do and opulent persons inscribed on them. In order thatthe portraiture of the band may be complete, it must be noted that, on the 23rd of August, it attempted to set free the 1800 convicts; thelatter, not comprehending that they were wanted for political allies, did not dare sally forth, or, at least, the reliable portion of theNational Guard arrived in time to put their chains on again. But hereits efforts cease, and for more than a year public authority remainsin the hands of a Jacobin faction which, as far as public order isconcerned, does not even have the morals of a convict. 

More than once during the course of this long review the Minister musthave flushed with shame; for to the reprimands dispatched by him tothese apathetic administrations, they reply by citing himself as anexample:

"You desire us to denounce the arbitrary arrests to the publicprosecutor; have you denounced those guilty of similar and yet greatercrimes committed at the capital?"[32106]--

From all quarters come the cries of the oppressed appealing to "thepatriot Minister, the sworn enemy of anarchy, " to "the good andincorruptible Minister of the Interior, his only reproach, the commonsense of his wife, " and he could only reply with empty phrases andcondolences:

"To lament the events which so grievously distress the province, alladministrations being truly useful when they forestall evils, it beingvery sad to be obliged to resort to such remedies, and recommend to thema more active supervision. "[32107]

"To lament and find consolation in the observations made in the letter, "which announces four murders, but calls attention to the fact that "thevictims immolated are counter-revolutionaries. "[32108]

Roland has carried on written dialogues with the village municipalities, and given lessons in constitutional law to communities ofpot-breakers. [32109]--But, on this territory, he is defeated by his ownprinciples, while the pure Jacobins read him a lesson in turn; they, likewise, are able to deduce the consequences of their own creed. 

"Brother and Friend, Sir, " write those of Rouen, "not to be always atthe feet of the municipality, we have declared ourselves permanent, deliberative sections of the Commune. "[32110]

Let the so-called constituted authorities, the formalists and pedantsof the Executive Council and the Minister of the Interior, look twicebefore censuring the exercise of popular sovereignty. This sovereignraises his voice and drives his clerks back into their holes; spoliationand murder, all this is just. 

"Can you have forgotten that, after the tempest, as you yourselfdeclared in the height of the storm, it is the nation which savesitself? Well, sir, this is what we have done. [32111]. . What! whenall France was resounding with that long expected proclamation of theabolition of tyranny, you were willing that the traitors, who strove toreestablish it, should escape public prosecution! My God, what centuryis this in which we find such Ministers!"

Arbitrary taxes, penalties, confiscations, revolutionary expeditions, nomadic garrisons, pillage, what fault can be found with all that?

"We do not pretend that these are legal methods; but, drawing nearerto nature, we demand what object the oppressed have in view in invokingjustice. Is it to lag behind and vainly pursue an equitable adjustmentwhich is rendered fleeting by judicial forms? Correct these abuses ordo not complain of the sovereign people suppressing them in advance. . . . You, sir, with so many reasons for it, would do well to recall yourinsults and redeem the wrongs you have inflicted before we happen torender them public. ". . . "Citizen Minister, people flatter you; you aretold too often that you are virtuous; the moment this gives you pleasureyou cease to be so. . . . Discard the astute brigands who surround you, listen to the people, and remember that a citizen Minister is merely theexecutor of the sovereign will of the people. "

However narrow Roland's outlook may be, he must finally comprehend thatthe innumerable robberies and murders which he has just noted overare not a thoughtless eruption, a passing crisis of delirium, but amanifesto of the victorious party, the beginning of an establishedsystem of government. Under this system, write the Marseilles Jacobins, "to-day, in our happy region, the good rule over the bad, and constitutea party which allows no contamination; whatever is vicious has gone intohiding or has been exterminated. " The programme is very precise, andacts form its commentary. This is the programme which the faction, throughout the interregnum, sets openly before the electors. 

*****

[Footnote 3201: Guillon de Montléon, I. 122. Letter of Laussel, datedParis, 28th of August, 1792, to the Jacobins of Lyons: "Tell me how manyheads have been cut off at home. It would be infamous to let our enemiesescape. " (1792). ]

[Footnote 3202: "Les Révolutions de Paris, " by Prudhomme, Vol. XIII. Pp. 59-63 (14th of July, 3 Decrees of the 10th and 11th of August, 1792. )]

[Footnote 3204: Prudhomme, number of the 15th of September, p. 483. --Mortimer-Ternaux, IV. 430. ]

[Footnote 3205: Mortimer-Ternaux. IV. II. Fauchet's report, Nov. 6, 1792. --Ib. , IV. 91, 142. Discourse of M. Fockedey, administrator of thedepartment of the north, and of M. Bailly, deputy de Seine-et-Marne. ]

[Footnote 3206: Prudhomme, number of Sept. 1, 1792, pp. 375, 381, 385:number of Sept. 22, pp. 528-530, --Cf. Guillon de Montléon, I. 144. Hereare some of the principles announced by the Jacobin leaders of Lyons, Châlier, Laussel, Cusset, Rouillot, etc. "The time has come when thisprophecy must be fulfilled: The rich shall be put in the place ofthe poor, and the poor in the place of the rich. "--"If a half of theirproperty be left them the rich will still be happy. "--"If the laboringpeople of Lyons are destitute of work and of bread, they can profit bythese calamities in helping themselves to wealth in the quarter wherethey find it. "--"No one who is near a sack of wheat can die of hunger. Do you wish the word that will buy all that you want? Slay!--orperish!"]

[Footnote 3207: Prudhomme, number for the 28th of August, 1792, pp. 284-287. ]

[Footnote 3208: Cf. . "The French Revolution, " I. 346. In ten of thedepartments the seventh jacquerie continues the sixth without a break. Among other examples, this letter from the administrators of Tarn, June18, 1792, may be read ("Archives Nationales, " F7, 3271). "Numerous bandsoverran both the city (Castres) and the country. They forcibly enteredthe houses of the citizens, broke the furniture to pieces, and pillagedeverything that fell into their hands. Girls and women underwentshameful treatment. Commissioners sent by the district and themunicipality to advocate peace were insulted and menaced. The pillagewas renewed; the home of the citizen was violated. " The administratorsadd: "In many places the progress made by the constitution was indicatedby the speedy and numerous emigrations of its enemies. "]

[Footnote 3209: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3272. Letter of theadministrators of the Var, May 27, 1792. --Letter of the minister, Duranthon, May 28. --Letter of the commission composing the directoryOct. 31. ]

[Footnote 3210: "Archives Nationales, " Letter of the administrators ofVar, May. 27. --The saying is the summary of the revolutionary spirit;it recurs constantly. --Cf. The Duc de Montpensier, "Mémoires, " p. 11. At Aix one of his guards said to the sans-culotte who were breaking intothe room where he had been placed: "Citizens, by what order do youenter here? and why have you forced the guard at the door?" One of them. Answered: "By order of the people. Don't you know that the people issovereign?"]

[Footnote 3211: "Archives Nationales, " letter of the public prosecutor, May 23. --Letters of the administrators of the department, May 22, and 27(on the events of the 13th of May at Beausset). ]

[Footnote 3212: "Archives Nationales, " F7 3193 and 3194. Previousdetails may be found in these files. This department is one of those inwhich the seventh jacquerie is merely a prolongation of the sixth. --Cf. F7, 3193. Letter of the royal Commissioner at Milhau, May 5, 1791. "The situation is getting worse; the administrative bodies continuepowerless and without resources. Most of their members are still unableto enter upon their duties; while the factions, who still rule, multiplytheir excesses in every direction. Another house in the country, nearthe town, has been burnt; another broken into, with a destruction of thefurniture and a part of the dinner-service, and doors and windows brokenopen and smashed; several houses visited, under the pretense of arms orpowder being concealed in them; all that is found with private personsand dealers not of the factious party is carried off; tumultuous shouts, nocturnal assemblages, plots for pillage or burning; disturbances causedby the sale of grain, searches under this pretext in private granaries, forced prices at current reductions; forty louis taken from a ladyretired into the country, found in her trunk, which was broken into, andwhich, they say, should have been in assignats. The police and municipalofficers witnesses of these outrages, are sometimes forced to sanctionthem with their presence; they neither dare suppress them nor punish thewell-known authors of them. Such is a brief statement of the disorderscommitted in less than eight days. "--In relation specially toSaint-Afrique. Cf. F7, 3194, the letter, among others, of the departmentadministrator, march 29, 1792. ]

[Footnote 3213: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3193. Extract from theregisters of the clerk of the juge-de-paix of Saint-Afrique, and reportby the department commissioners, Nov. 10, 1792, with the testimony ofthe witnesses, forming a document of 115 pages. ]

[Footnote 3214: Deposition of Alexis Bro, a volunteer, and threeothers. ]

[Footnote 3215: Deposition of Pons, a merchant. After this devastationhe is obliged to address a petition to the executive power, askingpermission to remain in the town. ]

[Footnote 3216: Deposition of Capdenet, a shoemaker. ]

[Footnote 3217: Depositions of Marguerite Galzeng, wife of Guibal amiller, Pierre Canac and others. ]

[Footnote 3218: Depositions of Martin, syndic-attorney of the communeof Brusque; Aussel, curé of Versol; Martial Aussel, vicar of Lapeyre andothers. ]

[Footnote 3219: Deposition of Anne Tourtoulon. ]

[Footnote 3220: Depositions of Jeanne Tuffon, of Marianne Terral, ofMarguerite Thomas, of Martin syndic-attorney of the commune of Brusque, of Virot, of Brassier, and othes. The details are too specific to allowquotation. ]

[Footnote 3221: Depositions of Moursol, wool-carder; Louis Grand, district-administrator, and others. ]

[Footnote 3222: For example, at Limoges, Aug. 16. --Cf. Louis Guibert, "le Parti Girondin dans la Haute-Vienne, " p. 14. ]

[Footnote 3223: Paris, "Histoire de Joseph Lebon, " I. 60. Restoration ofthe Arras municipality. Joseph Lebon is proclaimed mayor Sept. 16. ]

[Footnote 3224: For example, at Caen and at Carcassonne. ]

[Footnote 3225: For example, at Toulon. ]

[Footnote 3226: "Un séjour en France, " 19, 29. ("Letters of a Wittnessto the French Revolution, " translated by H. Taine. 1872)]

[Footnote 3227: Ibid. , p. 38: 2M. De M--, who had served for thirtyyears gave up his arms to a boy who treated him with the greatestinsolence. "]

[Footnote 3228: Paris, Ibid. , p. 55 and the following pages. --AlbertBabeau, "Histoire de Troyes, " I. 503-515. --Sausay, III. Ch. I. ]

[Footnote 3229: "The Ancient Régime, " 381, 391, 392. ]

[Footnote 3230: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3217. Letter of Castanet, anold gendarme, Aug. 21 1792. ]

[Footnote 3231: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3219. Letter of M. Alquier tothe first consul, Pluviôse 18, year VIII. ]

[Footnote 3232: Lauvergne, "Histoire du Var, " p. 104. ]

[Footnote 3233: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 325, 327. ]

[Footnote 3234: "Archives-Nationales, " F7, 3271. Letter of the Ministerof Justice, with official reports of the municipality of Rabastens. "Thejuge-de-paix of Rabastens was insulted in his place by putting an endto the proceedings commenced against an old deserter at the head of themunicipality, and tried for robbery. They threatened to stab the judgeif he recommenced the trial. Numerous gangs of vagabonds overrun thecountry, pillaging and putting to ransom all owners of property. . . Thepeople has been led off by a municipal officer, a constitutional curé, and a brother of sieur Tournal, one of the authors of the evils whichhave desolated the Comtat. " (March 5, 1792). ]

[Footnote 3235: Guillon de Montléon, I. 84, 109, 139, 155, 158, 464. --Ibid. , p. 441, details concerning Châlier by his companionChassagnon. --"Archives Nationales, " F7, 3255. Letter by Laussel, Sept. 22, 1792. ]

[Footnote 3236: Barbaroux, "Mémoires, " 85. Barbaroux is an eye-witness, for he has just returned to Marseilles and is about to preside over theelectoral assembly of the Bouches-du-Rhône. ]

[Footnote 3237: C. Rousset, "Les Volontaires, " p. 67. --In his reportof June 27, 1792, Albert Dubayet estimates the number of volunteers at84, 000. ]

[Footnote 3238: C. Rousset, "Les Volontaires, " 101. Letter ofKellermann, Aug. 23, 1792. --"Un séjour en France, " I. 347 and followingpages. --"Archives Nationales, " F7, 3214. Letter of an inhabitant ofNogent-le-Rotrou (Eure). "Out of 8, 000 inhabitants one-half requireassistance, and two-thirds of these are in a sad state, having scarcelystraw enough to sleep on. "(Dec. 3, 1792). --In his report of June 27, 1792, Albert Dubayet estimates the number of volunteers at 84, 000. ]

[Footnote 3239: C. Rousset, "Les Volontaires, " 106 (Letter of GeneralBiron, Aug. 23, 1792). --226, Letter of Vezu, major, July 24, 1793. ]

[Footnote 3240: C. Rousset, "Les Volontaires, " 144 (Letter of a districtadministrator of Moulins to General Custines, Jan. 27, 1793). --"Unséjour en France, " p. 27: "I am sorry to see that most the volunteersabout to join the army are old men or very young boys. "--C. Rousset, Ibid. , 74, 108, 226 (Letter of Biron, Nov. 7, 1792); 105 (Letter ofthe commander of Fort Louis, Aug. 7); 127 (Letter of Captain Motmé). One-third of the 2d battalion of Haute-Saône is composed of children 13and 14 years old. ]

[Footnote 3241: Moniteur, XIII. 742 (Sept. 21). Marshal Lückner and hisaids-de-camp just miss being killed by Parisian volunteers. --"ArchivesNationales, " BB, 16703. Letter by Labarrière aide-de-camp of GeneralFlers, Antwerp, March 19, 1793. On the desertion en masse of gendarmesfrom Dumouriez's army, who return to Paris. ]

[Footnote 3242: Cf. "L'armée et la garde nationale, " by Baron Poisson, III. 475. "On hostilities being declared (April, 1792), the contingentof volunteers was fixed at 200, 000 men. This second attempt resulted innothing but confused and disorderly levies. Owing to the spinelessnessof the volunteer troops it was impossible to continue the war inBelgium, which allowed the enemy to cross the frontier. "--GouverneurMorris, so well informed, had already written, under date of Dec. 27, 1791: "The national guards, who have turned out as volunteers, are inmany instances that corrupted scum of overgrown population of whichlarge cities purge themselves, and which, without constitutions tosupport the fatigues. . . Of war, have every vice and every disease whichcan render them the scourge of their friends and the laughing stock oftheir foes. "--Buchez et Roux, XXVI. 177. Plan of the administrators ofHérault, presented to the Convention April 27, 1793. "The compositionof the enlistment should not be concealed. Most of those of which itis made up are not volunteers; they are not citizens all classes ofsociety, who, submitting to draft on the ballot, have willingly madeup their minds to go and defend the Republic. The larger part of therecruits are substitutes who, through the attraction of a large sum, have concluded to leave their homes. "]

[Footnote 3243: C. Rousset, 47. Letter of the directory of Somme, Feb. 26, 1792. ]

[Footnote 3244: "Archives Nationales, " F 7, 3270. Deliberations of thecouncil-general of the commune of Roye, Oct. 8, 1792 (in relation to theviolence committed by two divisions of Parisian gendarmerie during theirpassage, Oct. 7 and 8). ]

[Footnote 3245: Moore, I. 338 (Sept. 8, 1792). --(The Condés were proudprinces from a branch of the royal house of Bourbon. (SR). ]

[Footnote 3246: C Rousset, 189 (Letter of the Minister of War, dated atDunkirk, April 29, 1793). --Archives Nationales, " BB, 16, 703. (Parisiannational guard staff major-general, order of the day, letter of citizenFérat, commanding at Ostend, to the Minister of War, March 19, 1793):"Since we have had the gendarmes with us at Ostend there is nothing butdisturbance every day. They attack the officers and volunteers, take theliberty of pulling off epaulettes and talk only of cutting and slashing, and declare that they recognize no superior being equals with everybody, and that they will do as they please. Those who are ordered to arrestthem are chased and attacked with saber cuts and pistols]

[Footnote 3247: C. Rousset, 20 (Letter of General Wimpfen, Dec. 30, 1791). --"Souvenirs" of General Pelleport, pp. 7 and 8. ]

[Footnote 3248: C. Rousset, 45 (Report of General Wimpfen, Jan. 20, 1792). --Letter of General Biron, Aug. 23, 1792. ]

[Footnote 3249: C. Rousset, 47, 48. --"Archives Nationales, " F7, 3249. Official report of the municipality of Saint-Maxence, Jan. 21, 1792. --F7, 3275. Official report of the municipality of Châtellerault, Dec. 27, 1791. --F7, 3285 and 3286--F7, 3213. Letter of Servan, Minister of War, to Roland, June 12, 1792: "I frequently receive, as well as yourselfand the Minister of Justice, complaints against the national volunteers. They commit the most reprehensible offenses daily in places wherethey are quartered, and through which they pass on their way to theirdestination. "--Ibid. , Letter of Duranthon, Minister of Justice, May5: "These occurrences are repeated, under more or less aggravatingcircumstances, in all the departments. "]

[Footnote 3250: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3193. Official report of thecommissaries of the department of Aveyron, April 4, 1792. "Among thepillagers and incendiaries of the chateaux of Privesac, Vaureilles, Péchins, and other threatened mansions, were a number of recruitswho had already taken the road to Rhodez to join their respectiveregiments. " Nothing remains of the château of Privesac but a heapof ruins. The houses in the village "are filled to over flowing withpillaged articles, and the inhabitants have divided the owners' animalsamongst themselves. "--Comte de Seilhac, "Scènes et portraits de laRévolution dans le bas Limousin, " P. 305. Pillage of the châteaux ofSaint-Jéal and Seilhac, April 12, 1792, by the 3rd battalion of laCorrèze, commanded by Bellegarde, a former domestic in the château. ]

[Footnote 3251: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3270. Deliberation of thecouncil-general of the commune of Roye, Oct. 8, 1792 (passage oftwo divisions of Parisian gendarmes). "The inhabitants and municipalofficers were by turns the sport of their insolence and brutality, constantly threatened in case of refusal with having their heads cutoff, and seeing the said gendarmes, especially the gunners, with nakedsabers in their hands, always threatening. The citizen mayor especiallywas treated most outrageously by the said gunners. . . Forcing him todance on the Place d'armes, to which they resorted with violins andwhere they remained until midnight, rudely pushing and hauling himabout, treating him as an aristocrat, clapping the red cap on his head, with constant threats of cutting it off and that of every aristocrat inthe town, a threat they swore to carry out the next day, openly stating, especially two or three amongst them, that they had massacred the Parisprisoners on the 2nd of September, and that it cost them nothing tomassacre. "]

[Footnote 3252: Summaries, in the order of their date or locality, andsimilar to those about to be placed before the reader, sometimes occurin these files. I pursue the same course as the clerk, in conformitywith Roland's methodical habits. ]

[Footnote 3253: Aug. 17, 1792 (Moniteur, XIII, 383, report of M. Emmery). ]

[Footnote 3254: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3271. Letter of theadministrators of Tarn, July 21. ]

[Footnote 3255: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3234. Report of themunicipal officers of Clairac, July 20. -Letter of the syndic-attorney ofLot-et-Garonne, Sept. 16. ]

[Footnote 3256: Mercure de France, number for July 28, (letters fromBordeaux). ]

[Footnote 3257: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3275. Letter of theadministrators of Haute-Vienne, July 28 (with official reports). ]

[Footnote 3258: '"Archives Nationales, " F7, 3223. Letter of thedirectory of the district of Neuville to the department-administrators, Sept 18. ]

[Footnote 3259: "Archives Nationales, " report of the administrators ofthe department and council-general of the commune of Orleans, Sept 16and 17. (The disarmament had been effected through the decrees of Aug. 26and Sept. 2. )]

[Footnote 3260: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3249. Letter of thelieutenant of the gendarmerie of Dampierre, Sept 23 (with officialreport dated Sept 19). ]

[Footnote 3261: "Archives Nationales, " draft of a letter by Roland, Oct4, and others of the same kind. --Letter of the municipal officers ofRay, Sept 24. --Letter of M. Desdouits, proprietor, Sept 30. --Letter ofthe permanent council of Aigle, Oct 1, etc. ]

[Footnote 3262: "Archives Nationales, " Letter of the administrators ofthe Orne department, Sept 7. ]

[Footnote 3263: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 337 (Sept. 6). ]

[Footnote 3264: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3265. Letter of thelieutenant-general of the gendarmerie, Aug. 30. --Official report ofthe Rouen municipality on the riot of Aug. 29. --Letters of thedepartment-administrators, Sept 18 and Oct. 11. --Letter of the same, Oct13, etc. --Letter of David, cultivator and department administrator Oct11. ]

[Footnote 3265: Albert Babean, "Letters of a deputy of the municipalityof Troyes to the army of Dumuriez, " p. 8. --(Sainte-Menehould, Sept. 7, 1792): "Our troops burn with a desire to meet the enemy. The massacrereported to have taken place in Paris does not discourage them; on thecontrary, they are glad to know that suspected persons in the interiorare got rid of. "]

[Footnote 3266: Moore, I. 338 (Sept. 4). At Clermont, the murder of afish-dealer, killed for insulting the Breton volunteers. --401 (Sept. 7), the son of the post-master at Saint-Amand is killed on suspicion ofcommunicating with the enemy. --"Archives Nationales, " F7; 3249. Letter of the district-administrators of Senlis, Oct. 31 (Aug. 15). AtChantilly, M. Pigean is assassinated in the midst of 1, 200 persons. --C. Rousset, p. 84 (Sept. 21), lieutenant-colonel Imonnier is assassinated atChâlons-sur-Marne. --Mortimer-Ternaux, IV. 172. Four Prussian desertersare murdered at Rethel, Oct. 5, by the Parisian volunteers]

[Footnote 3267: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 378, 594 and following pages. ]

[Footnote 3268: Lacretelle, "Dix années d'épreuves, " p. 58. Descriptionof Liancourt. --"Archives Nationales, " F7, 3249. Letter of thedepartment-administrators of the Eure, Sept. 11 (with official report ofthe Gisors municipality, Sept 4). --Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 550. ]

[Footnote 3269: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 4394. Letter of Roland to theconvention, Oct. 31 (with a copy of the documents sent by the departmentof the Nord on the events of Oct. 10 and 11). ]

[Footnote 3270: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3191. Official report of themunicipality of Charleville; Sept. 4, and letter, Sept. 6. --Moniteur, XIII. 742, number for Sept. 21, 1792 (letter of Sept. 17, On the Parisianvolunteers of Marshal Lückner's army). "The Parisian volunteers againthreatened to have several heads last evening, among others those ofthe marshal and his aids. He had threatened to return some deserters totheir regiments. At this the men exclaimed that the ancient régime nolonger existed, that brothers should not be treated in that way, andthat he general should be arrested. Several of them had already seizedthe horse's bridle. "]

[Footnote 3271: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3185. Documents relating tothe case of M. De Fossés. (The pillage takes place Sept. 4. )]

[Footnote 3272: Letter of Goulard, mayor of Coucy, Oct. 4. --Letter ofOsselin, notary, Nov. 7. "Threats of setting fire to M. De Fossés' tworemaining farm-houses are made. "--Letter of M. De Fossés, Jan. 28, 1793. He states that he has entered no complaint, and if anybody has done sofor him he is much displeased. "A suit might place me in the greatestdanger, from my knowledge of the state of the public mind in Coucy, and of what the guilty have done and will do to affect the minds of thepeople in the seventeen communes concerned in the devastation. "]

[Footnote 3273: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3249 letter of M. De Gouy toRoland, Sept. 21. (An admirable letter, which, if copied entire, would show the character of the gentleman of 1789. Lots of heart, manyillusions and much verbosity. ) The first attack was made Sept. 4 and thesecond on the 13th. ]

[Footnote 3274: Most of the domiciliary visits end in similardamages. For example, ("Archives Nationales, " F7, 3265, letter ofthe administrators of Seine-Inferieure, Sept. 18, 1792). Visit tothe château de Catteville, Sept. 7, by the national guard of theneighborhood. "The national guard get drunk, break the furniture topieces, and fire repeated volleys at the windows and mirrors; thechâteau is a complete ruin. " The municipal officers on attempting tointerfere are nearly killed. ]

[Footnote 3275: The letter ends with the following: "No, never will Iabandon the French soil!" He is guillotined at Paris, Thermidor 5, yearII. , as an accomplice in the pretended prison-plot. ]

[Footnote 3276: Raid on Protestants under Louis XIV. (SR). ]

[Footnote 3277: '"Archives Nationales, " Letter of the Oiseadministrators, Sept. 12 and 15. --Letter of the syndic-attorney ofthe department, Sept. 23. --Letter of the administrators, Sept. 20 (onChantilly). "The vast treasures of this domain are being plundered. "In the forest of Hez and in the park belonging to M. De Fitz-James, nownational property, "the finest trees are sold on the spot, cut down, andcarried off. "--F7, 3268, Letter of the overseer of the national domainsat Rambouillet, Oct. 31. Woods devastated "at a loss of more than100, 000 crowns since August 10. "--"The agitators who preach libertyto citizens in the rural districts are the very ones who excite thedisorders with which the country is menaced. They provoke the demand fora partition of property, with all the accompanying threats. "]

[Footnote 3278: Albert Babeau, I. 504 (Aug. 20). ]

[Footnote 3279: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 322 (Sept 4). ]

[Footnote 3280: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 325. --"Archives Nationales, " F7, 3239. Official report of the municipality of Rheims, Sept 6. ]

[Footnote 3281: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 4394. Correspondence of theministers in 1792 and 1793. Lists presented by Roland to the convention, on the part of various districts and departments, containing the namesof priests demanding passports to go abroad, those who have gone withoutpassports, and of sick or aged priests in the department asylums. ]

[Footnote 3282: Albert Babeau, I. 515-517. Guillon de Montléon, I. 120. At Lyons after the 10th of August the unsworn conceal themselves;the municipality offers them passports; many who come for them areincarcerated; others receive a passport with a mark on it which servesfor their recognition on the road, and which excites against them thefury of the volunteers. "A majority of the soldiers filled the air withtheir cries of 'Death to kings and priests!' "--Sauzay, III. Ch. IX. , and especially p. 193: "M. Pescheu; while running along the road fromBelfort to Porentruy, is seen by a captain of the volunteers, ridingalong the same road with other officers; demanding his gun, he aimed atM. Pescheur and shot him. "]

[Footnote 3283: "Histoire de Chalons-sur-Marne et de ses monuments, " byL. Barbat, pp. 420, 425]

[Footnote 3284: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3207. Letter of thedirectory of the Côte d'Or, Aug. 28 and Sept. 26. Address of the Beaunemunicipality, Sept. 2. Letter of M. Jean Sallier, Oct. 9: "Allow meto appeal to you for justice and to interest yourself in behalf of mybrother, myself, and five servants, who on the 14th of September last, at the order of the municipality of La Roche-en-Bressy, where we havelived for three years, were arrested by the national guard of Saulieu, and, first imprisoned here in this town, were on the 18th transferredto Semur, no reason for our detention being given, and where we have invain demanded a trial from the directory of the district, which body, making no examination or inquiry into our case, sent us on the 25th, atgreat expense, to Dijon, where the department has imprisoned us againwithout, as before, giving any reason therefore. "--The directory of thedepartment writes "the communes of the towns and of the country arrestpersons suspected by them, and instead of caring for these themselves, send them to the district"--Such arbitrary imprisonment multiply towardsthe end of 1792 and early in 1793. The commissaries of the conventionarrest at Sedan 55 persons in one day: at Nancy, 104 in three weeks; atArras, more than 1, 000 in two months; in the Jura, 4, 000 in two months. At Lons-le-Saulnier all the nobles with their domestics, at Aix allthe inhabitants of one quarter without exception are put in prison. (DeSybel, II. 305. )]

[Footnote 3285:"Archives Nationales, " F7, 3276. Letters of theadministrators of the Yonne, Aug. 20 and 21. -Ibid. , F7, 3255. Letterof the commissary, Bonnemant, Sept. 22. --Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 338. --Lavalette, "Mémoires, " I. 100. ]

[Footnote 3286: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3, 255. Letter of the districtadministrator of Roanne, Aug. 18. Fourteen volunteers of the cantonof Néronde betake themselves to Chenevoux, a mansion belonging to M. Dulieu, a supposed émigré. They exact 200 francs from the keeper of' thefunds of the house under penalty of death, which he gives them. --Letterof the same. Sept. 1. "Every day repressive means are non-existent. Juges-de-paix before whom complaints are made dare not report them, nortry citizens who cause themselves to be feared. Witnesses dare notgive testimony for fear of being maltreated or pillaged by thecriminals. "--Letter of the same, Aug. 22. --Official report of themunicipality of Charlieu, Sept. 9, on the destruction of the landregistry books. "We replied that not having the force with whichto oppose them, since they themselves were the force, we wouldabstain. "--Letter of an officer of the gendarmerie, Sept. 9, etc. ]

[Footnote 3287: "Lettres autographes de Madame Roland, " published byMadame Bancal des Issarts, p. 5 (June 2, 1790)]

[Footnote 3288: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3245. --Letter of the mayorand municipal officers of Lyons, Aug. 2. --Letter of the deputy procureurof the commune, Aug. 29. --Copy of a letter by Dodieu, Aug. 27. (Roland replies with consternation and says that there must be aprosecution. )--Official report of the 9th of September, and letterof the municipality, Sept. 11. --Memorandum of the officers of theRoyal-Pologne regiment, Sept. 7. --Letter of M. Perigny, father-in-lawof one of the officers slain, Sept. 19. --Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 342. --Guillon de Montléon, I. 124. --Balleyder, "Histoire du peuple deLyon, " 91. ]

[Footnote 3289: "Archives Nationales, " Letter of Danton, Oct. 3. ]

[Footnote 3290: Decius, Roman emperor from 248 to 251 famous for havingpersecuted the Christians. He was unable to tolerate their refusal tojoin in communal corporate pagan observances. He insisted that they doso and once they had done it, a Certificate of Sacrifice (libellus), wasissued. (SR). ]

[Footnote 3291: "Etude sur Madame Roland, " by Dauban, 82. Letter ofMadame Roland to Bosc, July 26, 1798. "You busy yourselves with amunicipality and allow heads to escape which will devise new horrors. You are mere children; your enthusiasm is merely a straw bonfire! If theNational Assembly does not try two illustrious heads in regular form orsome generous Décius strike them down, you are all lost. --" Ibid. , , May17, 1790: "Our rural districts are much dissatisfied with the decree onfeudal privileges. . . A reform is necessary, in which more châteaux mustbe burnt. It would not be a serious evil were there not some danger ofthe enemies of the Revolution profiting by these discontents to lessenthe confidence of the people in the National Assembly. "--Sept. 27, 1790. "The worst party is successful; it is forgotten that insurrection isthe most sacred of duties when the country is in danger. "--Jan. 24, 1791. "The wise man shuts his eyes to the grievances or weaknesses of theprivate individual; but the citizen should show no mercy, even to hisfather, when the public welfare is at stake. "]

[Footnote 3292: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3202. Report of thecommissary, member of the Cantal directory, Oct. 24. On the 16th ofOctober at Chaudesaigues the volunteers break open a door and then killone of their comrades who opposes them, whom the commissary tries tosave. The mayor of the place, in uniform, leads them to the dwellings ofaristocrats, urging them on to pillage; they enter a number of houses byforce and exact wine. The next day at Saint-Urcize they break intothe house of the former curé, devastate or pillage it, and "sell hisfurniture to different persons in the neighborhood. " The same treatmentis awarded to sieur Vaissier, mayor, and to lady Lavalette; theircellars are forced open, barrels of wine are taken to the public square, and drinking takes place from the tap. After this "the volunteers go insquads into the neighboring parishes and compel the inhabitants to givethem money or effects. " The commissary and municipal officers of St. Urcize who tried to mediate were nearly killed and were saved onlythrough the efforts of a detachment of regular cavalry. As to theJacobin mayor of Chaudesaigues, it was natural that he should preachpillage; on the sale of the effects of the nuns "he kept all biddersaway, and had things knocked down to him for almost nothing. "]

[Footnote 3293: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3217. Letter or Castanet, anold gendarme, Nîmes, Aug. 21. --Letter of M. Griolet, syndic-attorney ofthe Gard, Sept. 8: "I beg, sir, that this letter may be considered asconfidential; I pray you do not compromise me. "--Letter of M. Gilles, juge-de-paix at Rocquemaure, Oct. 31 (with official reports). ]

[Footnote 3294: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3227. Letter of the municipalofficers of Tullins, Sept. 8. ]

[Footnote 3295: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3190. Letter of Danton, Oct. 9. --Memorandum of M. Casimir Audiffret (with documents in supportof it). His son had been locked up by mistake, instead of anotherAudiffret, belonging to the Comtat; he was slashed with a saber inprison Aug. 25. Report of the surgeon, Oct. 17: "The wounded man hastwo gashes more on the head, one on the left cheek and the right leg isparalyzed; he has been so roughly treated in carrying him from prisonto prison as to bring on an abscess on the wrist; if he is kept there hewill soon die. "]

[Footnote 3296: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3195. Letter of M. Amiel, president of the bureau of conciliation, Oct. 28. --Letter ofan inhabitant of Avignon, Oct. 7. --Other letters withoutsignatures. --Letter of M. Gilles, juge-de-paix, Jan. 23, 1793. ]

[Footnote 3297: Fabre, "Histoire de Marseilles, " II. 478 and followingpages. --"Archives Nationales, " F7, 3195. Letter of the Minister ofJustice, M. De Joly (with supporting documents), Aug. 6. --Officialreports of the Marseilles municipality, July 21, 22, 23. --Officialreport of the municipality of Aix, Aug. 24. --Letter of thesyndic-attorney of the department (with a letter of the municipality ofAubagne), Sept. 22, etc. , in which M. Jourdan, a ministerial officer, isaccused of "aristocracy. " A guard is assigned to him. About midnight theguard is overcome, he is carried off, and then killed in spite of theentreaties of his wife and son. The letter of the municipality ends withthe following: "Their lamentations pierced our hearts. But, alas, whocan resist the French people when aroused? We remain, gentlemen, verycordially yours, the municipal officers of Aubagne. "]

[Footnote 3298: This stage of revolution seems to be sought after by thesecret communist revolutionaries arranging for the break-up of formerlypowerful independent states such as Germany, Yougoslavia, India etc. (SR). ]

[Footnote 3299: Moniteur, XIII. 560. Act passed by the administratorsof the Bouches-du-Rhône, Aug. 3, "forbidding special collectors fromhenceforth paying taxes with the national treasury. "--Ibid. , 744. Areport by Roland. The department of Var, having called a meeting ofcommissaries at Avignon to provide for the defense of these regions, theMinister says: "This step, subversive of all government, nullifies thegeneral regulations of the executive power. "--"Archives Nationales, "F7, 3195. Deliberation of the three administrative bodies assembled atMarseilles, Nov. 5, 1792. --Petition of Anselme, a citizen of Avignon, residing in Paris, Dec. 14. --Report of the Saint-Rémy affair, etc. ]

[Footnote 32100: "Archives Nationales, " CII. I. 32. Official Reportof the Electoral Assembly of Bouches-du-Rhône, Sept. 4. "To defray theexpenses of this expenditure the syndic-attorney of the district ofTarascon is authorized to draw upon the funds of public registry andvendor of revenue stamps, and in addition thereto on the collector ofdirect taxation. The expenses of this expedition will be borne bythe anti-revolutionary agitators who have made it necessary. A list, therefore, is to be drawn up and sent to the National Assembly. Thecommissioners will be empowered to suspend the district administrations, municipal officers, and generally all public functionaries who, throughincivism or improper conduct, shall have endangered the public weal. They may even arrest them as well as suspected citizens. They willsee that the law regarding the disarming of suspected citizens and thebanishment of priests be faithfully executed. "--Ibid. , F7, 3195. Letterof Truchement, commissary of the department, Nov. 15. --Memorandum ofthe community of Eyguières and letter of the municipality of Eyguières, Sept. 13. --Letter of M. Jaubert, secretary of the Salon popular club, Oct. 22: "The department of Bouches-du-Rhône has for a month past beenravaged by commissions. . . The despotism of one is abolished, and wenow stagger under the much more burdensome yoke of a crowd ofdespots. "--Situation of the department in September and October, 1792(with supporting documents). ]

[Footnote 32101: Barbaroux, "Mémoires, " 89. ]

[Footnote 32102: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3196. --Letters and petitionof citizen de Sades, Nov. , 1792, Feb. 17, 1793, and Ventose 8, year III. :"Towards the middle of Sept. , 1792 (old style), some Marseilles brigandsbroke into a house of mine near Apt. Not content with carrying away sixloads of furniture. . They broke the mirrors and wood-work. " The damageis estimated at 80, 000 francs. Report of the executive council accordingto the official statement of the municipality of Coste. On the 27thof September Montbrion, commissioner of the administration of theBouche-du-Rhône, sends two messengers to fetch the furniture to Apt. On reaching Apt Montbrion and his colleague Bergier have the vehiclesunloaded, putting the most valuable effects on one cart, which theyappropriate to themselves, and drive away with it to some distance outof sight, paying the driver out of their own pockets: "No doubt whateverexists as to the knavery of Montbrion and Bergier; administrators andcommissioners of the administration of the department. "--De Sades, the author of "Justine, " pleads his well-known civism and theultra-revolutionary petitions drawn up by him in the name of the sectionof the Pikes. ]

[Footnote 32103: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3272. Read in this file theentire correspondence of the directory and the public prosecutor. ]

[Footnote 32104: Deliberation of the commune of Toulon. July 28and following days. --That of the three administrative bodies, Sep. 10--Lauvergne, "Histoire du department du Var, " 104-137. ]

[Footnote 32105: "Mémoires" of Chancelier Pasquier. Vol. I. P. 106. Librarie Plon, Paris 1893--Pasquier and his wife stopped in Picardy, brought to Paris by a member of the commune, a small, bandy-leggedfellow formerly a chair-letter in his parish church, imbued withthe doctrines of the day and a determined leveler. At the village ofSaralles they passed the house of M. De Livry, a rich man enjoying anincome of 50, 000 francs, and the lover of Saunier, an opera-dancer. "Heis a good fellow, " exclaims Pasquier's bandy-legged guardian: "we havejust made hint marry. Look here, we said to him, it is time that toput a stop to that behavior! Down with prejudice! Marquises and dancersought to marry each other. He made her his wife, and it is well he did;otherwise he would have been done for a long time ago, or cagedbehind the Luxembourg walls. "--Elsewhere, on passing a chateau beingdemolished, the former chair-letter quotes Rousseau: "For every chateauthat falls, twenty cottages rise in its place. " His mind was stored withsimilar phrases and tirades, uttered by him as the occasion warranted. This man may be considered as an excellent specimen of the averageJacobin. ]

[Footnote 32106: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3, 207. Letter of theadministrators of the Côte d'Or to the Minister, Oct. 6, 1792. ]

[Footnote 32107: "Archives Nationales" F7, 3195. Letter of theadministrators of the Bouche-du-Rhône, Oct 29, and the Minister's answeron the margin. ]

[Footnote 32108: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3249. Letter of theadministrators of the Orne, Sept. 7, and the Minister's reply noted onthe margin. ]

[Footnote 32109: "Archives Nationales, " F', 3, 249. Correspondence withthe municipality of Saint-Firmin (Oise). Letter of Roland, Dec. 3: "Ihave read the letter addressed to me on the 25th of the past month, andI cannot conceal from you the pain it gives me to find in it principlesso destructive of all the ties of subordination existing betweenconstituted authorities, principles so erroneous that should thecommunes adopt them every form of government would be impossible andall society broken up. Can the commune of Saint-Firmin, indeed, havepersuaded itself that it is sovereign, as the letter states? and havethe citizens composing it forgotten that the sovereign is the entirenation, and not the forty-four thousandth part of it? that Saint-Firminis simply a fraction of it, contributing its share to endowing thedeputies of the National Convention, the administrators of departmentsand districts with the power of acting for the greatest advantage ofthe commune, but which, the moment it elects its own administrators andagents, can no longer revoke the powers it has bestowed, without a totalsubversion of order? etc. "--All the documents belonging to this affairought to be quoted; there is nothing more instructive or ludicrous, andespecially the style of the secretary-clerk of Saint-Firmin: "We conjureyou to remember that the administrators of the district of Senlis striveto play the part of the sirens who sought to enchant Ulysses. "]

[Footnote 32110: Letter of the central bureau of the Rouen sections, Aug. 30. ]

[Footnote 32111: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3195. Letter of the threeadministrative bodies and commissaries of the sections of Marseilles, Nov. 15, 1792. Letter of the electors of Bouches-du-Rhône, Nov. 28. --(Forms of politeness are omitted at the end of these letters, andno doubt purposely. ) Roland replies (Dec. 31): "While fully admiring thecivism of the brave Marseilles people, . . . Do not fully agree with you onthe exercise of popular Sovereignty. " He ends by stating that alltheir letters with replies have been transmitted to the deputies of theBouches-du-Rhône, and that the latter are in accord with him and willarrange matters. ]

CHAPTER III. 

I. --The second stage of the Jacobin conquest. 

 The importance and multitude of vacant offices. 

The second stage of the Jacobin conquest will, [3301] after August 10thand during the next three months, extend and multiply all vacancies fromthe top to the bottom of the hierarchy, for the purpose of fillingthem with their own men. --In the first place, the faction (the party)installs representatives on the summits of public authority whichrepresent itself alone, seven hundred and forty-nine omnipotentdeputies, in a Convention which, curbed neither by collateral powers norby a previously established constitution, disposes at pleasure of theproperty, the lives and the consciences of all French people. --Then, through this barely installed convention, it decrees the completerenewal[3302] of all administrative and judicial bodies, councils anddirectories of departments, councils and communal municipalities, civil, criminal and commercial tribunals, justices and their assistants in thelower courts, deputies of the justices, national commissaries of thecivil courts, with secretaries and bailiffs belonging to the varioustribunals and administrations. [3303] The obligation of having practicedas a lawyer is abolished by the same stroke, so that the first comer, ifhe belongs to the club (party) may become a judge without knowing how towrite, and even without being able to read. [3304]--Just before this thestaff of the National Guard, in all towns above fifty thousand souls, and afterwards in all the towns on the frontier, has again passedthrough the electoral sieve. [3305] In like manner, the officers of thegendarmerie at Paris and throughout France once more undergo an electionby their men. Finally, all post-masters and post-office comptrollershave to submit to election. --Even better, below or alongside theelected officials, this administrative purge concerns all non-electivefunctionaries and employees, no matter how insignificant their service, however feeble and indirect their office may be connected with politicalmatters. This is because tax receivers and assessors, directors andother agents of rivers and forests, engineers, notaries, attorneys, clerks and scribes belonging to the administrative branch, are allsubject to dismissal if they do not obtain a certificate of civism fromtheir municipality. At Troyes, out of fifteen notaries, it is refusedto four, [3306] which leaves four places to be filled by their Jacobinclerks. At Paris, [3307] "all honest folks, all clerks who are educated, "are driven out of the navy offices; the war department is getting to be"a den where everybody on duty wears a red cap, where all thee-and-thoueach other, even the Minister, where four hundred employees, amongwhich are a number of women, show off in the dirtiest dress, affectthe coolest cynicism, do nothing, and steal on all sides. "--Under thedenunciation of the clubs, the broom is applied even at the bottom ofthe hierarchical scale, even to secretaries of village councils, tomessengers and call-boys in the towns, to jail-keepers and door-keepers, to beadles and sextons, to foresters, field-custodians, and others ofthis class. [3308] All these persons must be, or appear to be, Jacobin;otherwise, their place slips away from them, for there is always someone to covet it, apply for it and take it. --Outside of employees thesweeping operation reaches the suppliers and contractors; even herethere are the faithful to be provided for, and nowhere is the bait soimportant. The State, even in ordinary times, is always the largest ofconsumers, and, at this moment, it is expending monthly, merely onthe war, two hundred millions extra. What fish may be caught in suchdisturbed waters![3309]--All these lucrative orders as well as all theseremunerated positions are at the disposition of the Jacobins, and theyseize the opportunity; they are the lawful owner, who comes home after along absence and gives or withdraws his custom as the pleases, whilehe makes a clean sweep in his own household. --The administrative andjudicial services alone number 1, 300, 000 places, all those in thetreasury department, in that of public works, in that of publiceducation, and in the Church; all posts in the National Guard and in thearmy, from that of commander-in-chief down to a drummer; the whole ofthe central or local power, with the vast patronage flowing from this. Never had such rich spoils been made available to the general public inone go. Lots will be drawn, apparently, by vote; but it is evident thatthe Jacobins have no intention of surrendering their prey to the hazardsof a free ballot; they mean to keep it the way they got it; by force, and will leave no stone unturned to control the elections. 

II. --The elections. 

 The young and the poor invited to the ballot-box. --Danger of the Conservatives if candidates. --Their chiefs absent themselves. --Proportion of absentees at the primary assemblies. 

They begin by paving their way. [3310] A new decree has at oncesuppressed the feeble and last legal requirement for impartiality, integrity and competence of the elector and the eligible candidate. Nomore discrimination between active and passive citizens; no longer anydifference between poll tax of an elector of the first degree and thatof the second degree: no electoral poll tax qualification whatever. AllFrenchmen, except domestics, of whom they are distrustful, supposingthem under their employer's influence, may vote at the primaryassemblies, and not longer at the age of twenty-five, but at twenty-one, which brings to the polls the two most revolutionary groups, on the onehand the young, and on the other the poor, the latter in great numbersin these times of unemployment, dearth and poverty, amounting in allto two millions and a half, and, perhaps, three millions of newelectors. --At Besançon the number of the registered voters isdoubled. [3311]--Thus are the usual clients of the Jacobins admittedwithin the electoral boundaries, from which they had hitherto beenexcluded, [3312] and, to ensure their coming, their leaders decide thatevery elector obliged to travel "shall receive twenty sous mileage, "besides "three francs per diem during his stay. "[3313]

While attracting their supporters they drove their adversaries away. Thepolitical banditry, through which they dominate and terrify France, has already taken care of that. Many arbitrary arrests and unpunishedmurders are a warning to all candidates who do not belong to theirparty; and I do not speak about to the nobles or friends of the ancientregime that have fled or are in prison, but the Constitutionalists andthe Feuillants. Any electoral enterprise on their part would bemadness, almost a suicide. Accordingly, none of them call attention tothemselves. If any outrageous moderate, like Durand de Maillane, appearson a list, it is because the revolutionaries have adopted him withoutknowing him, and because he swears that he hates royalty. [3314] Theothers, more honest, do not want to don the popular livery and resort toclub patronage, so they carefully stay away; they know too well thatto do otherwise would mark their heads for pikes and their homes forpillage. At the very moment of depositing the vote the domains ofseveral deputies are sacked simply because, "on the comparative listsof seven calls by name, " sent to the departments from Paris by theJacobins, their names are found on the right. [3315]--Through an excessof precaution the Constitutionalists of the Legislative body are kept atthe capital, their passports being refused to them to prevent them fromreturning into the provinces and obtaining votes by publicly statingthe truth in relation to the recent revolution. --In the same way, allconservative journals are suppressed, reduced to silence, or compelledto become turncoats. --Now, when one has neither the possibility to speakup nor a candidate which might become one's representative, of what useis it to vote? And especially, since the primary assemblies are placesof disorder and violence, [3316] patriots alone, in many places, beingadmitted, [3317] a conservative being "insulted and overwhelmed withnumbers, " and, if he utters an opinion, exposed to danger, also, if heremains silent, incurring the risk of denunciations, threats, and blows. To keep in the background, remain on the sidelines, avoid being seen, and to strive to be forgotten, is the rule under a pasha, and especiallywhen this pasha is a mob. Hence the absenteeism of the majority; aroundthe ballot-box there is an enormous void. At Paris, in the election ofmayor and municipal officers, the balloting of October, November andDecember collect together only 14, 000 out of 160, 000 registered voters, later 10, 000, and, later again, only 7, 000. [3318] At Besançon, 7, 000. Registered voters result in less than 600; there is the same proportionin other towns, as for example, in Troyes. In like manner, in the ruralcantons, east of Doubs and west of Loire-Inférieure, but one-tenth ofthe electors dare exercise their right to vote. [3319] The electoralsource is so exhausted, so often disturbed, and so stopped up as to bealmost dry: in these primary assemblies which, directly or indirectly, delegate all public powers, and which, in the expression of the commonwill, should be full, there are lacking six millions three hundredthousands electors out of seven millions. [3320]

III. --Composition and tone of the secondary assemblies. 

 Exclusion of "Feuillant" electors. --Pressure on other electors. --Persons elected by the conservatives obliged to resign. --Elections by the Catholics canceled. --Secession of the Jacobin minorities. --The election of their men made valid. --Public opinion not in accord with official selections. 

Through this anticipated purge the assemblies of the first degree findthemselves, for the most part, Jacobin; consequently the electors ofthe second degree, appointed by them, are for the most part, Jacobin; inmany departments, their assembly becomes the most anarchical, the mostturbulent, and the most usurping of all the clubs. Here there is onlyshouting, denunciations, oath-taking, incendiary motions, cheeringwhich carry all questions, furious speeches by Parisian commissaries, by delegates from the local club, by passing Federates, and by femalewretches demanding arms. [3321] The Pas-de-Calais assemblage sets freeand applauds a woman imprisoned for having beaten a drum in a mob. TheParis assembly fraternizes with the Versailles slaughterers and theassassins of the mayor of Etampes. The assembly of the Bouches-du-Rhônegives a certificate o virtue to Jourdan, the Glacière murderer. Theassembly of Seine-et-Marne applauds the proposal to cast a cannon whichmight contain the head of Louis XVI. For a cannon-ball to be firedat the enemy. --It is not surprising that an electoral body withoutself-respect should respect nothing, and practice self-mutilation underthe pretext of purification. [3322] The object of the despotic majoritywas to reign at once, without any contest, on its own authority, and toexpel all offensive electors. At Paris, in the Aisne, in Haute-Loire, inIlle-et-Vilaine, in Maine-et-Loire, it excludes as unworthy themembers of old Feuillants and monarchical clubs, and the signers ofConstitutionalist protests. In Hérault it cancels the elections inthe canton of Servian, because the elected men, it says, are "madaristocrats. " In Orne it drives away an old Constituent, Goupil dePréfeln, because he voted for the revision, also, his son-in-law, because he is his son-in-law. In the Bouches-du-Rhône, where the cantonof Seignon, by mistake or through routine, swore "to maintain theconstitution of the kingdom, " it sets aside these retrograde electedrepresentatives, commences proceedings against the "crime committed, "and sends troops against Noves because the Noves elector, a justice whois denounced and in peril, has escaped from the electoral den. --Afterthe purification of persons it proceeds to the purification ofsentiments. At Paris, and in at least nine departments, [3323] and incontempt of the law, is suppresses the secret ballot, the last refuge oftimid conservatives, and imposes on each elector a verbal public vote, loud and clear, on his name being called; that is to say, if he doesnot vote as he ought to, he risks the gallows. [3324] Nothing could moresurely convert hesitation and indecision into good sense, while, inmany a place, still more powerful machinery is violently opposed tothe elections. At Paris the elections are carried on in the midst ofatrocities, under the pikes of the butchers, and con ducted by theirinstigators. At Meaux and at Rheims the electors in session were withinhearing of the screeches of the murdered priests. At Rheims the butchersthemselves ordered the electoral assembly to elect their candidates, Drouet, the famous post-master, and Armonville, a tipsy wool-carder, upon which one-half of the assembly withdrew, while the two candidatesof the assassins are elected. At Lyons, two days after the massacre, theJacobin commander writes to the Minister: "Yesterday's catastrophe putsthe aristocrats to flight, and ensures us the majority in Lyons. "[3325]From universal suffrage thus subjected to so much sifting, submitted tosuch heavy pressure, heated and refined in the revolutionary alembic, those who control it obtain all they want, a concentrated extract, thequintessence of the Jacobin spirit. 

And yet, should this extract not seem to them sufficiently strong, wherever they are sovereign, they throw it away and begin over again. AtParis, [3326] by means of a purifying and surplus ballot, the new Councilof the Commune undertakes the expulsion of its lukewarm members, whiled'Ormesson, the mayor elect of the moderates, is assailed with somany threats that, on the verge of his installation, he resigns. AtLyons, [3327] another moderate, Nivière-Chol, twice elected, and, by9, 000 out of 11, 000 votes, is twice compelled to abandon his place;after him, Gilibert, the physician, who, supported by the same voters, is about to obtain the majority, is seized suddenly and cast intoprison; even in prison, he is elected; the clubbists confine himthere more rigidly, and do not let him out even after extortinghis resignation. --Elsewhere in the rural cantons, for example, inFranche-Comté, [3328] a number of elections are canceled when the personelected happens to be a Catholic. The Jacobin minority frequentlysecede, meet in a tavern, elect their mayor or justice of the peace, andthe validity of his election is secured because he is a patriot; so muchthe worse for that of the majority, whose more numerous votes are nullbecause given by "fanatics. "--The response of universal suffragethus appealed to cannot be other than that which is framed forit. Indisputable facts are to show to what extent this response iscompulsive or perverted, what a distance there is between an officialchoice and public opinion, how the elections give a contrary meaning topopular sentiment. The departments of Deux-Sèvres, Maine-et-Loire, la Vendée, Loire-Infèrieure, Morbihan, and Finistère, send onlyanti-Catholic republicans to the Convention, while these samedepartments are to become the inexhaustible nursery of the greatcatholic and royalist insurrection. Three regicides out of four deputiesrepresent Lozère, where, six months later, thirty thousand peasantsare to march under the Royal white banner. Six regicides out of ninedeputies represent la Vendée, which is going to rise from one end of itto the other in the name of the King. [3329]

IV. --Composition of the National Convention. 

 Number of Montagnards at the start. --Opinions and sentiments of the deputies of the Plain. --The Gironde. --Ascendancy of the Girondins in the Convention. --Their intellectual character. --Their principles. --The plan of their Constitution. --Their fanaticism. --Their sincerity, culture and tastes. --How they differ from pure Jacobins. --How they comprehend popular sovereignty. --Their stipulations with regard to the initiative of individuals and of groups. -- Weakness of philosophic thought and of parliamentary authority in times of anarchy. 

However vigorous the electoral pressure may have been, the votingmachine has not provided the expected results. At the opening of thesession, out of 749 deputies, only about fifty[3330] are found toapprove of the Commune, nearly all of the elected in places where, asat Rheims and Paris, terror has the elector by the throat, "under theclubs, axes, daggers, and bludgeons of the butchers. "[3331] But wherethe physical impressions of murder have not been so tangible andimpressive, some sense of decency has prevented too glaring elections. The inclination to vote for well-known names could not wholly bearrested; seventy-seven former members of the Constituent Assembly, andone hundred and eighty-six of the previous Legislative Assembly enterthe Convention, and the practical knowledge which many of these haveof government business has given them some insights. In short, the consciences of six hundred and fifty deputies are only in partperverted. 

They are all, unquestionably, decided republicans, enemies of tradition, apostles of reason, and trained in deductive politics; only on theseconditions could they be elected. Every candidate is supposed to possessthe Jacobin faith, or, at least, to recite the revolutionary creed. TheConvention, consequently, at its opening session votes unanimously, withcheers and enthusiasm, the abolition of royalty, and three months laterit pronounces, by a large majority, Louis XVI. , "guilty of conspiring against the liberty of the nation, and of assaultson the general welfare of the State. "[3332]

Nevertheless, social habitudes still subsist under political prejudices. A man who is born in and lives for a long time in an old community, is, through this alone, marked with its imprint; the customs to which heconforms have crystallized in him in the shape of sentiments: if it iswell-regulated and civilized, he has involuntarily arrived at respectfor property and for human life, and, in most characters, this respecthas taken very deep root. A theory, even if adopted, does not whollysucceed in destroying this respect; only in rare instances is itsuccessful, when it encounters coarse and defective natures; totake full hold, it is necessary that it should fall on the scatteredinheritors of former destructive appetites, on those hopelesslydegenerate souls in which the passions of an anterior date areslumbering; then only does its malevolence fully appear, for it rousesthe ferocious or plundering instincts of the barbarian, the raider, theinquisitor, and the pasha. On the contrary, with the greatest number, do what it will, integrity and humanity always remain powerful motives. Nearly all these legislators, who originate in the middle class, are atbottom, irrespective of a momentary delusion, what they always have beenup to now, advocates, attorneys, merchants, priests, or physiciansof the ancient regime, and what they will become later on, docileadministrators or zealous functionaries of Napoleon's empire, [3333] thatis to say, ordinary civilized persons belonging to the eighteenth andnineteenth centuries, sufficiently honest in private life to have adesire to be equally so in public life. --Hence their horror of anarchy, of Marat, [3334] and of the September butchers and robbers. Three daysafter their assembling together they vote, "almost unanimously, "the preparation of a law "against the instigators of murder andassassination. " "Almost unanimously, " they desire to raise a guard, recruited in the 83 departments, against the armed bands of Paris andthe Commune. Pétition is elected as their first president by "almost thetotality of suffrages. " Roland who has just read his report to them, isgreeted with the "loudest" applause from nearly the "entire" Assembly. In short they are for the ideal republic against actual brigands. Thisaccounts for their ranging themselves around those upright and sinceredeputies, who, in the two preceding Assemblies or alongside of them, were the ablest defenders of both principles and humanity, aroundBuzot, Lanjuinais, Pétition, and Rabaut-Saint-Etienne; around Brissot, Vergniaud, Guadet, Gensonné, Isnard, and Condorcet; around Roland, Louvet, Barbaroux, and the five hundred deputies of the "Plain, "[3335]marching in one body under the leadership of the 180 Girondists who nowform the "Right. "[3336]

These latter, among the republicans, are the most sincere and have themost faith; for they have long been such, after much thought, study andas a matter of principle. Nearly all of them are well-read educated men, reasoners, philosophers, disciples of Diderot or of Rousseau, satisfiedthat absolute truth had been revealed by their masters, thoroughlyimbued with the Encyclopédie[3337] or the Contrat Social, the same asthe Puritans formerly were with the Bible. [3338] At the age whenthe mind is maturing, and fondly clings to general ideas, [3339] theyembraced the theory and aimed at a reconstruction of society accordingto abstract principles. They have accordingly set to work as purelogicians, rigorously applying the superficial and false system ofanalysis then in vogue. [3340] They have formed for themselves an idea ofman in general, the same in all times and ages, an extract or minimum ofman; they have pondered over several thousands of or millions of theseabstract mortals, erected their imaginary wills into primordial rights, and drawn up in anticipation the chimerical contract which is toregulate their impossible union. There are to be no more privileges, nomore heredity, no qualifications of any kind; all are to be electors, all eligible and all of equal members of the sovereignty; all powers areto be of short date, and conferred through election; there must bebut one assembly, elected and entirely renewed annually, one executivecouncil elected and one-half renewed annually, a national treasury-boardelected and one-third renewed annually; all local administrations andtribunals must be elected; a referendum to the people, the electoralbody endowed with the initiative, a constant appeal to the sovereignty, which, always consulted and always active, will manifest its will notalone by the choice of its mandatories but, again, through "the censure"which it will apply to the laws--such is the Constitution they forge forthemselves. [3341] "The English Constitution, " says Condorcet, "ismade for the rich, that of America for citizens well-off; the FrenchConstitution should be made for all men. "--It is, for this reason, theonly legitimate one; every institution that deviates from it is opposedto natural rights and, therefore, fit only to be put down. -This is whatthe Girondists have done during the Legislative sessions; we knowhow they, armed with the illusions[3342] of their new philosophy andtriumphing through a rigid, rash and hasty reason, have

* persecuted Catholic consciences, * violated feudal property, * encroached on the legal authority of the King, * persecuted the remains of the ancient regime, * tolerated crimes committed by the crowds, * even plunged France into an European war, * armed even the paupers, * caused the overthrow of all government. --

As far as his Utopia is concerned, the Girondist is a sectarian, and heknows no scruples. 

* Little does he care that nine out of ten electors do not vote: heregards himself as the authorized representative of all ten. 

* Little does he care whether the great majority of Frenchmen favor theConstitution of 1791; it is his business to impose on them his own. 

* Little does he care whether his former opponents, King, émigrés, unsworn ecclesiastics, are honorable men or at least excusable; he willlaunch against them every rigorous legal proceeding, transportation, confiscation, civil death and physical death. [3343]

In his own eyes he is the justiciary, and his investiture is bestowedupon him by eternal right. There is no human infatuation so perniciousto man as that of absolute right; nothing is better calculated forthe destruction in him of the hereditary accumulation of moralconceptions. --Within the narrow bounds of their creed, however, the Girondins are sincere and consistent. They are masters of theirformulae; they know how to deduce consequences from them; they believein them the same as a surveyor in his theorems, and a theologian inthe articles of his faith; they are anxious to apply them, to devisea constitution, to establish a regular government, to emerge from abarbarous state, to put an end to fighting in the street, to pillaging, to murders, to the sway of brutal force and of naked arms. 

The disorder, mover, so repugnant to them as logicians is still morerepugnant to them as cultivated, polished men. They have a sense of whatis proper, [3344] of becoming ways, and their tastes are even refined. They are not familiar with, nor do they desire to imitate, therude manners of Danton, his coarse language, his oaths, and his lowassociations with the people. They have not, like Robespierre, gone tolodge with a master joiner, to live him and eat with his family. UnlikePache, Minister of War, no one among them "feels honored" by "going downto dine with his porter, " and by sending his daughters to the club togive a fraternal kiss to drunken Jacobins. [3345] At Madame Roland'shouse there is a salon, although it is stiff and pedantic; Barbarouxsend verses to a marchioness, who, after the 2nd of June, elopes withhim to Caen. [3346] Condorcet has lived in high society, while his wife, a former canoness, possess the charms, the repose, the instruction, andthe elegance of an accomplished woman. Men of this stamp cannot endureclose alongside of them the inept and gross dictatorship of an armedrabble. In providing for the public treasury they require regular taxesand not tyrannical confiscations. [3347] To repress the malevolent theypropose "punishment and not banishment. "[3348] In all State trialsthey oppose irregular courts, and strive to maintain for those underindictment some of the usual safeguards. [3349] On declaring the Kingguilty they hesitate in pronouncing the sentence of death, and try tolighten their responsibility by appealing to the people. The line "lawsand not blood, " was a line which, causing a stir in a play of the day, presented in a nutshell their political ideas. And, naturally, the law, especially Republican law, is the law of all; once enacted, nobody, no citizen, no city, no party, can refuse to obey it without beingcriminal. It is monstrous that one city should arrogate to itself theprivilege of ruling the nation; Paris, like other departments, should bereduced to its on-eighty-third proportion of influence. It is monstrousthat, in a capital of 700, 000 souls, five or six thousand radicalJacobins should oppress the sections and alone elect their candidates;in the sections and at the polls, all citizens, at least allrepublicans, should enjoy an equal and free vote. It is monstrous thatthe principle of popular sovereignty should be used to cover up attacksagainst popular sovereignty, that, under the pretense of saving theState, the first that comes along may kill whom he pleases, that, onthe pretext that they are resisting oppression, each mob should have the"Right" to put the government down. --Hence, this militant "Right" mustbe pacified, enclosed within legal boundaries, and subjected to a fixedprocess. [3350] Should any individual desire a law, a reform or a publicmeasure, let him state his on paper over his own signature and that offifty other citizens of the same primary assembly; then the propositionmust be submitted to his own primary assembly; then in case it obtains amajority, to the primary assemblies of his arrondissement; then, in caseof a majority, to the primary assemblies of his department; then, incase of a majority, to all the primary assemblies of the nation, sothat after a second verdict of the same assemblies twice consulted, theLegislative body, yielding to the majority of primary suffrages, maydissolve and a new Legislative body, in which all old members shall bedeclared ineligible, take its place. --This is the final expression andthe master idea, of the theory. Condorcet, its able constructor, hasoutdone himself. Impossible to design on paper a more ingenious orcomplicated mechanism. The Girondists, in the closing article of thisfaultless constitution, believe that they have discovered a way tomuzzle the beast and allow the sovereign people to fully assert theirrights. 

As if, with some kind of constitution and especially with this one, one could muzzle the beast! As if it was in the mood to crane theneck allowing them to put the muzzle on! Robespierre, on behalf of theJacobins, counters with a clause radically opposed to the one drafted byCondorcet[3351]:

"To submit 'the right to resist oppression' to legal formalities isthe ultimate refinement of tyranny. . . When a government violates thepeople's rights, a general insurrection of the people, as well asportions of the people, is the most sacred of duties. "

Political orthodoxy, close reasoning, and oratorical talent are, however, no weapon against this ever-muttering insurrection. 

"Our philosophers, " says a good observer, [3352] "want to attain theirends by persuasion; which is equivalent to saying that battles may bewon by eloquence, fine speeches, and plans of constitution. Very soon, according to them, . . If will suffice to carry complete copies ofMacchiavelli, Rousseau and Montesquieu into battle instead of cannon, it never occurring to them that these authors, like their works, neverwere, and never will be, anything but fools when put up against acut-throat provided with a good sword. "

The parliamentary landscape has fallen away; things have returned toa state of nature, that is, to a state of war, and one is no longerconcerned with debate but with brute force. To be in the right, toconvince the convention, to obtain majorities, to pass decrees, would beappropriate in ordinary times, under a government provided with an armedforce and a regular administration, by which, from the summits ofpublic authority, the decrees of a majority descend through submissivefunctionaries to a sympathetic and obedient population. But, in times ofanarchy, and above all, in the den of the Commune, in Paris, such asthe 10th of August and the 2nd of September made it, all this is of noaccount. 

V. --The Jacobins forming alone the Sovereign People. 

 Opinion in Paris. --The majority of the population constitutional. --The new régime unpopular. --Scarcity and high cost of food. --Catholic customs obstructed. --Universal and increasing discontent. --Aversion or indifference to the Girondins. --Political resignation of the majority. --Modern customs incompatible with pure democracy. --Men of property and income, manufacturers and tradesmen, keep aloof. --Dissension, timidity, and feebleness of the Conservatives. --The Jacobins alone form the sovereign people. 

And it is of no account because, first of all, in this great cityof Paris the Girondists are isolated, and have no group of zealouspartisans to depend upon. For, if the large majority is opposed to theiradversaries, that is not in their favor, it having secretly, at heart, remained "Constitutionalists. "[3353] "I would make myself master ofParis, " says a professional observer, "in ten days without striking ablow if I had but six thousand men, and one of Lafayette's stable-boysto command them. " Lafayette, indeed, since the departure or concealmentof the royalists, represents the old, fixed, and innermost opinionof the capital. Paris submits to the Girondists as well as to theMontagnards as usurpers; the mass of the public regards them withill-will, and not only the bourgeoisie, but likewise the majority of thepeople loathe the established government. 

Work is scarce and food is dear; brandy has tripled in price; only fourhundred oxen are brought in at the Poissy market instead of seven oreight thousand; the butchers declare that there will be no meat in Parisnext week except for the sick. [3354] To obtain a small ration of breadit is necessary to wait five or six hours in a line at the baker'sshops, and, [3355] as is customary, workmen and housekeepers impute allthis to the government. This government, which so poorly provides forits needs, offends them yet more in their deepest feelings, in thehabits most dear to them, in their faith and worship. The common people, even at Paris, is still at this time very religious, much more so thanat the present day. When the priest bearing the Host passes along thestreet, the crowd "gathers from all sides, men, women, and children, young and old, and fall on their knees in worship. "[3356] The day onwhich the relics of saint Leu are borne in procession through the RueSt. Martin, "everybody kneels; I did not see a man, " says a carefulobserver, "that did not take off his hat. At the guard-house of theMauconseil section, the entire company presented arms. " At the same timethe "citoyennes around the markets talked with each other to know ifthere was any way of decking houses with tapestry. "[3357] The followingweek they compel the revolutionary committee of Saint-Eustache[3358]to authorize another procession, and again each one kneels: "everybodyapproved of the ceremony, no one, that I heard of; making any objection. This is a striking picture. . . . I saw repentance, I saw the parallel eachis forced to draw between the actual state of things and the formerone. I saw what a privation the people had to endure in the loss of thatwhich, formerly, was the most imposing of all church ceremonies. Peopleof all ranks and ages were deeply affected and humble, and many hadtears in their eyes. " Now, in this respect, the Girondists, by virtue ofbeing philosophers, are more iconoclastic, more intolerant than anyone, and there is no reason for preferring them to their adversaries. Atbottom, the government installed by the recent electoral comedy, forthe major portion of the Parisians, has no authority but the fact ofits existence; people put up with it because there is no other, fullyrecognizing its worthlessness;[3359] it is a government of strangers, ofinterlopers, of bunglers, of cantankerous, weak and violent persons. TheConvention has no hold either on the people or on the bourgeois class, and in proportion as it glides more rapidly down the revolutionary hill, it breaks one by one the ties with which it is still connected to theundecided. 

In a reign of eight months the Convention has alienated publicopinion entirely. "Almost all who have property of any kind areconservative, "[3360] and all the conservatives are against it. "Thegendarmes here openly speak up against the Revolution, even up to therevolutionary tribunal, whose judgments they loudly condemn. All the oldsoldiers detest the actual order of things. "[3361]--The volunteers "whocome back from the army appear angry at putting the King to death, andon that account they would flay all the Jacobins. "[3362]--No party inthe Convention escapes this universal disaffection and growing aversion. "If the question of guillotining the members of the Convention could beput to an open vote, it would be carried against them by a majority ofnineteen-twentieths, "[3363] which, in fact, is about the proportion ofelectors who, through fright or disgust, keep away from the polls. Letthe "Right" or the "Left" of the Convention be victors or vanquished, that is a matter which concerns them; the public at large does not enterinto the discussions of its conquerors, and no longer cares for eitherGironde or "Mountain. " Its old grievances always revive "against theVergniauds, Guadets" and company;[3364] it does not like them, and hasno confidence in them, and will let them be crushed without helpingthem. The infuriates may expel the Thirty-Two, if they choose, and putthem under lock and key. "There is nothing the aristocracy (meaningby this, owners of property, merchants, bankers, the rich, and thewell-to-do), desire so much as to see them guillotined. "[3365] 'Even theinferior aristocracy (meaning petty tradesmen and head-workmen) takeno more interest in their fate than if they were so many escaped wildbeasts. . . Again caught and put in their cages. "[3366] "Guadet, Pétion, Brissot, would not find thirty persons in Paris who would take theirpart, or even take the first step to save them. "[3367]

Apart from all this, it makes little difference whether the majority hasany preferences; its sympathies, if it has any, will never be otherthan platonic. It no longer counts for anything in either camp, it haswithdrawn from the battle-field, it is now simply the stakes of theconflict, the prey and the booty of the winner. For, unable or unwillingto comply with the political system imposed on it, it is self-condemnedto utter powerlessness. This system is the direct government of thepeople by the people, with all that ensues, permanence of the sectionassemblies, club debates in public, uproar in the galleries, motions inthe open air, mobs and manifestations in the streets; nothing is lessattractive and more impracticable to civilized and busy people. In ourmodern communities, work, the family, and social intercourse absorbnearly all our time; hence, such a system suits only the idle andrough outcasts who feel at home there; the others refuse to enter anenvironment expressly set up for singles, orphans, unskilled persons, living in lodgings, foul-mouthed, lacking the sense of smell, with agift of the gab, robust arms, tough hide, solid haunches, expert inhustling, and with whom blows replace arguments. [3368]--After theSeptember massacres, and on the opening of the barriers, a number ofproprietors and persons living on their incomes, not alone the suspectedbut those who thought they might become so, escaped from Paris, and, during the following months, the emigration increases along with thedanger. Towards December rumor has it that lists have been made up offormer Feuillants; "we are assured that during the past eight days morethan fourteen thousand persons have left the capital. "[3369] Accordingto the report of the Minister himself;[3370] "many who are independentin fortune and position abandon a city where the renewal of proscriptionis talked of daily. "--" Grass grows in the finest streets, " writesa deputy, "while the silence of the grave reigns in the Thébaïdes(isolated villas) of the faubourg Saint-Germain. "--As to theconservatives who remain, they confine themselves to private life, fromwhich it follows that, in the political balance, those present are of nomore account than the absentees. At the municipal elections in October, November, and December, out of 160, 000 registered voters, there are atfirst 144, 000, then 150, 000, and finally 153, 000 who stay away fromthe polls; these, certainly, and for a much better reason, do not showthemselves at the assemblies of their sections. Commonly, out of threeor four thousand citizens, only fifty or sixty attend; one of these, called a general assembly, which signifies the will of the people to theConvention, is composed of twenty-five voters. [3371] Accordingly, whatwould a sensible man, a friend of order, do in these dens of fanatics?He stays at home, as on stormy days; he lets the shower of words spenditself, not caring to be spattered in the gutter of nonsense whichcarries off the filth of this district. 

If he leaves his house at all he goes out for a walk, the same as inold times, to indulge the tastes he had under the old régime, those ofa talkative, curious on-looker and friendly stroller, of a Parisian safein his well run town. "Yesterday evening, " writes a man who feels thecoming Reign of Terror, "I took my stand in the middle of the rightalley of the Champs-Elysées;[3372] it was thronged with--who do youthink? Would you believe it, with moderates, aristocrats, owners ofproperty, and very pretty women, elegantly dressed, seeking the caressesof the balmy spring breeze! It was a charming sight. All were gay andsmiling. I was the only one that was not so. . . I withdrew hastily, and, on passing through the Tuileries garden, I saw a repetition of what Ihad seen before, forty thousand wealthy people scattered here and there, almost as many as Paris contains. "--These are evidently the sheep readyfor the slaughter-house. They no longer think of defense, they haveabandoned their posts to the sans-culottes, "they refuse all civil andmilitary functions, "[3373] they avoid doing duty in the National Guardand instead pay their substitutes. In short, they withdraw from a gamewhich, in 1789, they desired to play without understanding it, and inwhich, since the end of 1791, they have always burnt their fingers. Thecards may be handed over to others, especially as the cards are dirtyand the players fling them in each others' faces; as for themselves theyare spectators, they have no other ambitions. --"Leave them their oldenjoyments, [3374] leave them the pleasure of going and coming throughoutthe kingdom; but do not force them to take part in the war. Subject themto the heaviest taxation and they will not complain; nobody will evenknow that they exist, while the most serious question that disturbs themin their thoughtful days is, can one amuse one's self as much under arepublican form of government as under the ancient régime?" They hope, perhaps, to escape under cover of inoffensive neutrality. Is it likelythat the victor, whoever he is, will regard people as enemies whoare resigned to his rule before-hand? "A dandy[3375] alongside of meremarked, yesterday morning, 'They will not take my arms away, for Inever had any. ' Alas, ' I replied to him, 'don't make a boast of it, foryou may find forty thousand simpletons in Paris that would say the samething, and, indeed, it is not at all to the credit of Paris. '"--Such isthe blindness or self-complacency of the city dweller who, having alwayslived under a good police, is unwilling to change his habits, and is notaware that the time has come for him to turn fighting man in his turn. 

The manufacturers, the merchants and the man living on his incomeare even less disposed than the independent gentleman, to give up hisprivate affairs for public affairs. His business will not wait for him, he being confined to his office, store or counting-room. For example, "the wine-dealers[3376] are nearly all aristocrats in the sense of thisword at this period, " but "never were their sales so great as duringthe insurrections of the people and in revolutionary days. " Hence theimpossibility of obtaining their services in those days. "They are seenon their premises very active, with three or four of their assistants, "and turn a deaf ear to every appeal. "How can we leave when custom is sogood? People must have their wants supplied. Who will attend to themif I and the waiters should go away?"--There are other causes oftheir weakness. All grades in the National Guard and all places in themunicipality having been given up to the Jacobin extremists, they haveno chiefs: the Girondists are incapable of rallying them, while Garat, the Minister, is unwilling to employ them. Moreover, they are dividedamongst themselves, no one having any confidence in the other, "it beingnecessary to chain them together to have anything accomplished. "[3377]Besides this, the remembrance of September weighs upon their spiritslike a nightmare. --All this converts people into a timid flock, ready toscamper at the slightest alarm. "In the Contrat Social section, " saysan officer of the National Guard, "one-third of those who are able todefend the section are off in the country; another third are hiding awayin their houses, and the other third dare not do anything. "[3378]"If, out of fifty thousand moderates, you can collect together threethousand, I shall be very much astonished. And if; out of these threethousand, five hundred only are found to agree, and have courage enoughto express their opinion, I shall be still more astonished. The latter, for instance, must expect to be Septemberized!"[3379] This they know, and hence they keep silent and bend beneath the yoke. "What, indeed, would the majority of the sections do when it is demonstrated that adozen raving maniacs at the head of a sans-culottes section puts theother forty-seven sections of Paris to flight?"--Through this desertionof the state and themselves, they surrender in advance, and, in thisgreat city, as formerly in ancient Athens and Rome, we see alongside ofan immense population of subjects without any rights, a small despoticoligarchy in itself composing the sovereign people. [3380]

VI. --Composition of the party. 

 Its numbers and quality decline. --The Underlings. --Idle and dissipated workmen. --The suburban rabble. --Bandits and blackguards. --Prostitutes. --The September actors. 

Not that this minority has been on the increase since the 10th ofAugust, quite the reverse. --On the 19th of November, 1792, its candidatefor the office of Mayor of Paris, Lhuillier, obtains only 4, 896votes. [3381] On the 18th of June, 1793, its candidate for the command ofthe National Guard, Henriot, will secure but 4, 573 votes; to ensure hiselection it will be necessary to cancel the election twice, impose theopen vote, and relieve voters from showing their section tickets, which will permit the trusty to vote successively in other quarters andapparently double their number by allowing each to vote two or threetimes. [3382] Putting all together, there are not six thousandJacobins in Paris, all of them sans-culottes and partisans of the"Mountain. "[3383] Ordinarily, in a section assembly, they number "tenor fifteen, " at most "thirty or forty, " "organized into a permanenttyrannical board. ". . . "The rest listen and raise their handsmechanically. ". . . "Three or four hundred Visionaries, whose devotionis as frank as it is stupid, and two or three hundred more to whom theresult of the last revolution did not bring the places and honors theytoo evidently relied on, " form the entire staff of the party; "these arethe clamorers of the sections and of the groups, the only ones whohave clearly declared themselves against order, the apostles of a newsedition, scathed or ruined men who need disturbance to keep alive, "while under these comes the train of Marat, vile women, worthlesswretches, and "paid shouters at three francs a day. "[3384]

To this must be added that the quality of the factious is still morereduced than their number. Plenty of honest men, small tradesmen, winedealers, cook-shop keepers, clerks, who, on the 10th of August, wereagainst the Court, are now against the Commune. [3385] The Septemberaffair, probably, disgusted them, and they were not disposed torecommence the massacres. A workman named Gonchon, for example, theusual spokesman of the faubourg Saint-Antoine, an upright man, sincereand disinterested, supports Roland, and, very soon, at Lyons, seeing howthings are with his own eyes, he is to loyally endorse the revolt ofthe moderates against the Maratists. [3386] "The respectable class of thearts, says observers, "is gradually leaving the faction to join the saneparty. "[3387] "Now that water-carriers, porters and the like storm theloudest in the sections, it is plain to all eyes that the gangreneof disgust has reached the fruit-sellers, tailors, shoe-makers, barowners, " and others of that class. [3388]--Towards the end, "butchers ofboth classes, high and low, are aristocratized. "--In the same way, "thewomen in the markets, except a few who are paid and whose husbands areJacobins, curse and swear, fume, fret and storm. " "This morning, " saysa merchant, "four or five of them were here; they no longer insiston being called citoyennes; they declare that they "spit on therepublic. "[3389]--The only remaining patriot females are from the lowestof the low class, the harpies who pillage shops as much through envyas through necessity, "boat-women, embittered by hard labor, [3390]. . . Jealous of the grocer's wife, better dressed than herself, as the latterwas of the wives of the attorney and counselor, as these were of thoseof the financier and noble. The woman of the people thinks she cannot dotoo much to lower the grocer's wife to her own level. "

Thus reduced to its dregs through the withdrawal of its tolerably honestrecruits, the faction now comprises none but the scum of the populace, first, "subordinate workmen who look upon the downfall of theiremployers with a certain satisfaction, " then, the small retailers, theold-clothes dealers, plasterers, "those who offer second-hand coatsfor sale on the fringes of the market, fourth-rate cooks who, atthe cemetery of the Innocents, sell meat and beans under umbrellatops, "[3391] next, domestics highly pleased with now being masters oftheir masters, kitchen helpers, grooms, lackeys, janitors, every speciesof valet, who, in contempt of the law, voted at the elections[3392] andat the Jacobin club form a group of "silly people" satisfied "that theywere universal geographers because they had ridden post once or twice, "and that they were politicians "because they had read 'The Four Sons ofAymon. '"[3393]--But, in this mud, spouting and spreading around inbroad daylight, it is the ordinary scum of great cities which forms thegrossest flux, the outcasts of every trade and profession, dissipatedworkmen of all kinds, the irregular and marauding troops of the socialarmy, the class which, "discharged from La Pitié, run through a careerof disorder and end in Bicêtre. "[3394] "From La Pitié to Bicêtre" is awell known popular adage. Men of this stamp are without any principlewhatever. If they have fifty francs they live on fifty, and if they haveonly five they live on five; spending everything, they are always out ofpocket and save nothing. This is the class that took the Bastille, [3395]got up the 10th of August, etc. It is the same class which filled thegalleries in the Assembly with all sorts of characters, filling upthe groups, " and, during all this time it never did a stroke of work. Consequently, "a wife who owns a watch, ear-rings, finger-rings, anyjewels, first takes them to the pawnbrokers where they end up beingsold. At this period many of these people owe the butcher, the baker, the wine-dealer, etc. ; nobody trusts them any more. They have ceased tolove their wives, and their children cry for food, while the father isat the Jacobin club or at the Tuileries. Many of them have abandonedtheir position and trade, " while, either through "indolence" orconsciousness "of their incapacity, ". . . "they would with a kind ofsadness see this trade come back to life. " That of a political gossip, of a paid claqueur, is more agreeable, and such is the opinion ofall the idlers, summoned by the bugle to work on the camps aroundParis. ----Here, [3396] eight thousand men are paid forty sous a day "todo nothing"; "the workmen come along at eight, nine and ten o'clock inthe morning. If they remain after roll-call. . . They merely trundle abouta few wheelbarrow loads of dirt. Others play cards all day, and mostof them leave at three or four o'clock, after dinner. On asking theinspectors about this they reply that they are not strong enough toenforce discipline, and are not disposed to have their throats slit. "Whereupon, on the Convention decreeing piece-work, the pretended workersfall back on their equality, remind it that they had risen on the 10thof August, and wish to massacre the commissioners. It is not until the2nd of November that they are finally dismissed with an allowance ofthree sous per league mileage for those of the departments. Enough, however, remain in Paris to increase immeasurably the troop of droneswhich, accustomed to consuming the store of honey, think they have aright to be paid by the public for buzzing around the State. 

As a rear-guard, they have "the rabble of the suburbs of Paris, which flocks in at every tap of the drum because it hopes to makesomething. "[3397] As advance-guard they have "brigands, " while the frontranks contain "all the robbers in Paris, which the faction has enrolledin its party to use when required;" the second ranks are made up of "anumber of former domestics, the bullies of gambling-houses and of housesof ill-fame, all the vilest class. "[3398]--Naturally, lost women form apart of the crowd "Citoyennes, " Henriot says, addressing the prostitutesof the Palais-Royal, whom he has assembled in its garden, "citoyennes, are you good republicans?" "Yes, general, yes!" "Have you, by chance, any refractory priest, any Austrian, any Prussian, concealed in yourapartments?" "Fie, fie! We have nobody but sans-culottes!"[3399]--Alongwith these are the thieves and prostitutes out of the Châtelet andConciergerie, set at liberty and then enlisted by the Septemberslaughterers, under the command of an old hag named Rose Lacombe, [33100]forming the usual audience of the Convention; on important days, sevenor eight hundred of these may be counted, sometimes two thousand, stationed at the entrance and in the galleries, from nine o'clock in themorning. [33101]--Male and female, "this anti-social vermin"[33102] thuscrawls around at the sessions of the Assembly, the Commune, the Jacobinclub, the revolutionary tribunal, the sections and one may imagine thephysiognomies it offers to view. "It would seem, " says a deputy, [33103]"as if every sink in Paris and other great cities had been scoured tofind whatever was foul, the most hideous, and the most infected. . . . Ugly, cadaverous features, black or bronzed, surmounted with tuftsof greasy hair, and with eyes sunken half-way into the head. . . . Theybelched forth with their nauseous breath the grossest insults amidstsharp cries like those of carnivorous animals. " Among them there can bedistinguished "the September murderers, whom" says an observer[33104]in a position to know them, "I can compare to nothing but lazy tigerslicking their paws, growling and trying to find a few more drops ofblood just spilled, awaiting a fresh supply. " Far from hiding away theystrut about and show themselves. One of them, Petit-Mamain, son of aninnkeeper at Bordeaux and a former soldier, "with a pale, wrinkled face, sharp eyes and bold air, wearing a scimitar at his side and pistols athis belt, " promenades the Palais-Royal[33105] "accompanied or followedat a distance by others of the same species, " and "taking part in everyconversation. " "It was me, " he says, "who ripped open La Lamballe andtore her heart out. . . . All I have to regret is that the massacrewas such a short one. But we shall have it over again. Only waita fortnight!" and, thereupon, he calls out his own name indefiance. --Another, who has no need of stating his well-known name, Maillard, president of the Abbaye massacres, has his head-quarters atthe café Chrétien, [33106] Rue Favart, from which, guzzling drams ofbrandy, "he dispatches his mustached men, sixty-eight cutthroats, theterror of the surrounding region;" we see them in coffee-houses andin the foyers of the theaters "drawing their huge sabers, " and tellinginoffensive people: "I am Mr. So and so; if you look at me with contemptI'll cut you down!--A few months more and, under the command of oneof Henriot's aids, a squad of this band will rob and toast (chauffer)peasants in the environment of Corbeil and Meaux. [33107] In themeantime, even in Paris, they toast, rob, and rape on grand occasions. On the 25th and 26th of February, 1793, [33108] they pillage wholesaleand retail groceries, "save those belonging to Jacobins, " in the Rue desLombards, Rue des Cinq-Diamants, Rue Beaurepaire, Rue Montmartre, inthe Ile Saint-Louis, on the Port-au-Blé, before the Hôtel-de-ville, RueSaint-Jacques, in short, twelve hundred of them, not alone articles ofprime necessity, soap and candles, but again, sugar, brandy, cinnamon, vanilla, indigo and tea. "In the Rue de la Bourdonnaie, a number ofpersons came out with loaves of sugar they had not paid for and whichthey re-sold. " The affair was arranged beforehand, the same as on the5th of October, 1789; among the women are seen "several men in disguisewho did not even take the precaution of shaving, " and in many places, thanks to the confusion, they heartily abandon themselves to it. Withhis feet in the fire or a pistol at his head, the master of the houseis compelled to give them "gold, money, assignats and jewels, " only tooglad if his wife and daughters are not raped before his eyes as in atown taken by assault. 

VII. The Jacobin Chieftains. 

 The make up of the rulers. --The nature and scope of their intellect. --The political views of M. Saule. 

Such are the politicians who, after the last months of the year 1792, rule over Paris, and, through Paris, over the whole of France, fivethousand brutes and blackguards with two thousand hussies, just aboutthe number a good police force would expel from the city, were itimportant to give the capital a cleaning out;[33109] they too, wereconvinced of their rights, all the more ardent in their revolutionaryfaith, because the creed converts their vices into virtues, andtransforms their misdeeds into public services. [33110] They are theactual sovereign people, this is why we should try to unravel theirinnermost thoughts. If we truly are to comprehend the past events wemust discern the spontaneous feelings moving them on the trial of theKing, the defeat of Neerwinden, at the defection of Dumouriez, on theinsurrection in La Vendée, at the accusation of Marat, the arrest ofHébert, and each of the dangers which in turn fall on their heads. For, this is not borrowed emotion; it does not descend from above; they arenot a trusty army of disciplined soldiers, but a suspicious accumulationof temporary adherents. To command them requires obedience to them, their leaders always remaining their tool. However popular and firmlyestablished a chief may seem to be, he is there only for a shorttime, at all times subject to their approval as the bullhorn for theirpassions and the purveyor to their appetites. [33111] Such was Pétion inJuly, 1792, and such is Marat since the days of September. "One Maratmore or less (which will soon be seen) would not change the courseof events. "[33112]--"But one only would remain, [33113] Chaumette, forinstance; one would suffice to lead the horde, " because it is the hordeitself which leads. "Its attachment will always be awarded to whoevershows a disposition to follow it the closest in its outrages without inany respect caring for its former leaders. . . Its liking for Marat andRobespierre is not so great as for those who will exclaim, Let us kill, let us plunder!" Let the leader of the day stop following the current ofthe day, and he will be crushed as an obstacle or cast off as a piece ofwreckage. --Judge if they are willing to be entangled in the spider'sweb which the Girondins put in their way. Instead of the metaphysicalconstitution with which the Girondins confront them, they have one intheir own head ready made, simple to the last point, adapted to theircapacity and their instincts. The reader will call to mind one of theirchiefs, whom we have already met, M. Saule, "a stout, stunted littleold man, drunk all his life, formerly an upholsterer, then a peddler ofquackeries in the shape of four-penny boxes of hangman's grease, tocure pains in the loins, [33114] afterwards chief of the claque in thegalleries of the Constituent Assembly and driven out for rascality, restored under the Legislative Assembly, and, under the protection of agroom of the Court, favored with a spot near the Assembly door, toset up a patriotic coffee-shop, then awarded six hundred francs as arecompense, provided with national quarters, appointed inspector of thetribunes, a regulator of public opinion, and now "one of the madcapsof the Corn-market. " Such a man is typical, an average specimen of hisparty, not only in education, character and conduct, but, again, inambition, principles, logic and success. "He swore that he would makehis fortune, and he did it. His constant cry was that nobles and priestsshould be put down, and we no longer have either. He has constantlyshouted against the civil list, and the civil list has been suppressed. At last, lodged in the house belonging to Louis XVI. , he told him to hisface that his head ought to be struck off, and the head of Louis XVI. Has fallen. "--Here, in a nutshell, is the history and the portraitof all the others; it is not surprising that genuine Jacobins see theRevolution in the same way as M. Saule, [33115]

* when, for them, the sole legitimate Constitution is the definitiveestablishment of their omnipotence;

* when they designate as order and justice the boundless despotism theyexercise over property and life;

* when their instinct, as narrow and violent as that of a Turkish bey, comprises only extreme and destructive measures, arrests, deportations, confiscations, executions, all of which is done with head erect, withdelight as if a patriotic duty, by right of a moral priesthood, in thename of the people, either directly and tumultuously with theirown hands, or indirectly and legally by the hands of their docilerepresentatives. 

This is the sum of their political system, from which nothing willdetach them; for they are anchored fast to it with the full weight andwith every hold upon it that characterizes their immorality, ignoranceand folly. Through the hypocritical glitter of compulsory parades, theirone fixed idea imposes itself on the orator that he may utter it intirades, on the legislator that he may put it into decrees, on theadministrator that he may put it in practice, and, from their openingcampaign up to their final victory, they will tolerate but onevariation, and this variation is trifling. In September, 1792, theydeclare by their acts:

"Those whose opinions are opposed to ours will be assassinated, andtheir gold, jewels and pocketbooks will belong to us. "

In November, 1793, they are to declare through the official inaugurationof the revolutionary government:

"those whose opinions differ from ours will be guillotined and we shallbe their heirs. "[33116]

Between this program, which is supported by the Jacobin populationand the program of the Girondins which the majority in the Conventionsupports, between Condorcet's Constitution and the summary articlesof M. Saule, it is easy to see which will prevail. "These Parisianblackguards, " says a Girondist, "take us for their valets![33117] Let avalet contradict his master and he is sure to lose his place. From thefirst day, when the Convention in a body traversed the streets to beginits sessions, certain significant expressions enabled it to see intowhat hands it had fallen:

"Why should so many folks come here to govern France, " says a bystander, "haven't we enough in Paris?"[33118]

*****

[Footnote 3301: Any contempory Western reader take notice!! The proofof any Jacobin or Socialist or Communist take-over, surreptitious oropen-handed, lies in their take-over of the important posts in politics, the judicial system, the media and the administration. They may be yearsin doing this, placing convinced or controlled men and women, first inthe faculties, later in career post, so that they, 30 years later, havetheir people on all leading posts; or they may do it all at once, likethe Jacobins in France, Lenin in Russia or Stalin in the conqueredterritories after the second world war. (SR). ]

[Footnote 3302: Duvergier, "Collection des lois et décrets, " decreesof Sept. 22 and Oct. 19, 1792. The electoral assemblies and clubs hadalready proceeded in many places to renew on their own authority thedecree rendering their appointments valid. ]

[Footnote 3303: The necessity of placing Jacobins everywhere is wellshown in the following letter: "Please designate by a cross, on themargin of the jury-panel for your district, those Jacobins that it willdo to put on the list of 200 for the next quarter. We require patriots. "(Letter from the attorney-general of Doubs, Dec. 23, 1792. Sauzay, III. 220. )]

[Footnote 3304: Pétion, "Mémoires" (Ed. Dauban), p. 118: "The justicewho accompanied me was very talkative, but could not speak a word ofFrench. He told me that he had been a stone-cutter before he became ajustice, having taken this office on patriotic grounds. He wanted todraw up a statement and give me a guard of two gendarmes; he did notknow how, so I dictated to him what to say; but my patience was severelytaxed by his incredibly slow writing. "]

[Footnote 3305: Decrees of July 6, Aug. 15 and 20, Sept. 26, 1792. ]

[Footnote 3306: Decree of Nov. 1, 1792. --Albert Babeau, II. 14, 39, 40. ]

[Footnote 3307: Dumouriez, III. 309, 355. --Miot de Melito, "Mémoires, "I. 31, 33. --Gouverneur Morris, letter of Feb. 14, 1793: "The state ofdisorganization appears to be irremediable. The venality is suchthat, if there be no traitors, it is because the enemy have not commonsense. "]

[Footnote 3308: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3268. Letter of the municipalofficers of Rambouillet, Oct. 3, 1792. They denounce a petition of theJacobins of the town, who strive to deprive forty foresters of theirplaces, nearly all with families, "on account of their once having beenin the pay of a perjured king. "--Arnault ("Souvenirs d'un sexagénaire"), II. 15. He resigns a small place he had in the assignate manufacture, because, he says, "the most insignificant place being sought for, hefound himself exposed to every kind of denunciation. "]

[Footnote 3309: Dumouriez, III. 339. --Meillan, "Mémoires, " 27. "Eightdays after his installation as Minister of War, Beurnonville confessedto me that he had been offered sums to the amount of 500, 000 francsto lend himself to embezzlements. " He tries to sweep out the vermin ofstealing employees, and is forthwith denounced by Marat. --Barbaroux, "Mémoires" (Ed. Dauban). (Letter of Feb. 5, 1793. ) "I found the Ministerof the Interior in tears at the obstinacy of Vieilz, who wanted him toviolate the law of Oct. 12, 1791 (on promotion). " Vieilz had been in theservice only four months, instead of five years, as the law required, and the Minister did not dare to make an enemy of a man of so muchinfluence in the clubs. Buchez et Roux, XXVIII. 19 ("Publication despièces relatives au 31 Mai, " at Caen, by Bergoing, June 28, 1793): "Myfriend learned that the place had been given to another, who had paid50 louis to the deputy. --The places in the bureaus, the armies, theadministrations and commissions are estimated at 9, 000. The deputiesof the Mountain have exclusive disposal of them and set their priceon them, the rates being almost publicly stated. " The number greatlyincreases during the following year (Mallet du Pan, II. 56, March, 1794). "The public employees at the capital alone amount to 35, 000. "]

[Footnote 3310: Decree of Aug. 11, 12, 1792. ]

[Footnote 3311: Sauzay, III. 45. The number increases from 3, 200 to7, 000. ]

[Footnote 3312: Durand-Maillane, "Mémoires, " p. 30: "This proceedingconverted the French proletariat, which had no property or tenacity, into the dominant party at electoral assemblages. . . . The various clubsestablished in France (were) then masters of the elections. " In theBouches-du-Rhône "400 electors in Marseilles, one-sixth of whom hadnot the income of a silver marc, despotically controlled our ElectoralAssembly. Not a voice was allowed to be raised against them. . . Onlythose were elected whom Barbaroux designated. "]

[Footnote 3313: Decree of Aug. 11, 12, "Archives Nationales, " CII. 58to 76. Official report of the Electoral Assembly of the Rhône-et-Loire, held at Saint-Etienne. The electors of Saint-Etienne demand remunerationthe same as the others, considering that they gave their time in thesame way. Granted. ]

[Footnote 3314: "Archives Nationales, " CII. 1 to 32. Official reportof the Electoral Assembly of the Bouches-du-Rhône, speech byDurand-Maillane: "Could I in the National Convention be otherwise than Ihave been in relation to the former Louis XVI. , who, after his flighton the 22d of June, appeared to me unworthy of the throne? Can I dootherwise than abhor royalty, after so many of our regal crimes?"]

[Footnote 3315: Moniteur, XIII. 623, session of Sept. 8, speech byLarivière. --"Archives Nationales, " CII. , 1 to 83. (The official reportsmake frequent mention of the dispatch of this comparative lists, andthe Jacobins who send it request the Electoral Assembly to have it readforthwith. )]

[Footnote 3316: Rétif de la Bretonne, "Les Nuits de Paris, " Night X. P. 301: "As soon as the primary assemblies had been set up, the plottersbegan to work, electors were nominated, and through the vicious systemadopted in the sections, an uproar made it out for a majority ofvoices. "--Cf. Schmidt, "Tableaux de la Révolution Française, " I. 98. Letter of Damour, vice-president of the section of the Théatre-Français, Oct. 29. --" Un Séjour en France, " p. 29: "The primary assemblies havealready begun in this department (Pas-de-Calais). We happened to enter achurch, where we found young Robespierre haranguing an audience as smallin point of number as it was in that of respectability. They applaudedvigorously as if to make up for their other shortcomings. "]

[Footnote 3317: Albert Babeau, I. 518. At Troyes, Aug. 26, therevolutionaries in most of the sections have it decided that therelations of an émigré, designated as hostages and the signers ofroyalist addresses, shall not be entitled to vote: "The sovereign peoplein their primary assembly may admit among its members only pure citizensagainst whom there is not the slightest reproach" (resolution of theMadeleine section). --Sauzay, III. 47, 49 and following pages. At Quinsy, Aug. 26, Lout, working the Chattily furnaces, along with a hundred ofhis men armed with clubs, keeps away from the ballot-box the electorsof the commune of Courcelles, "suspected of incivisme. "--" ArchivesNationales, " F7, 3217. Letters of Gilles, justice an the canton ofRoquemaure (Gard), Oct. 31, 1792, and Jan. 23, 1793, on the electoralproceedings employed in this canton: Dutour, president of the club, lefthis chair to support the motion for "lanterning" the grumpy and all thefalse patriots. . . On the 4th of November "he forced contributionsby threatening to cut off heads and destroy houses. " He was electedjuge-de-paix. --Another, Magère, "approved of the motion for setting upa gallows, provided that it was not placed in front of his windows, andstated openly in the club that if people followed the law they wouldnever accomplish anything to be remembered. " He was elected member ofthe department directory. --A third, Fournier, "wrote that the giftswhich citizens made to save their lives were voluntary gifts. " He ismade a department councilor. "Peaceable citizens are storing theirfurniture in safe places in order to take to flight. . . There is nosecurity in France; the epithet of aristocrat, of Feuillant, of moderateaffixed to the most honest citizen's name is enough to make him anobject of spoliation and to expose him to losing his life. . . I insiston regarding the false idea which is current in relation to popularsovereignty as the principal cause of the existing anarchy. "]

[Footnote 3318: Schmidt, "Pariser Zustande, " I. 50 and followingpages. --Mortimer-Ternaux, V. 95. 109, 117, 129. (Ballot of Oct. 4, 14, 137 voters; Oct. 22, 14, 006; Nov. 19, 10, 223, Dec. 6, 7062. )]

[Footnote 3319: Sauzay, III. 45, 46, 221. --Albert Babeau, I. 517. --Lallié, "Le district de Machecoul, " 225. --Cf. In the above thehistory of the elections 'of Saint-Affrique: out of more than 600registered electors the mayor and syndic-attorney are elected by fortyvotes. --The plebiscite of September, 1795, on the constitution of theyear III. Calls out only 958, 000 voters. Repugnance to voting stillexists. "Ninety times out of a hundred, on asking: 'Citizen, how did theElectoral Assembly of your canton go off?' they would reply (in patois):'Me, citizen? why should I go there? They have a good deal of troublein getting along together. ' Or, 'What would you? Only a few will come;honest people will stay at home!'" (Meissner, "Voyage à Paris, " towardsthe end of 1795. )]

[Footnote 3320: Stalin easily found a remedy. He obliged all to vote andfalsified the count so that 99% now voted for him and his men. (SR). ]

[Footnote 3321: "Archives Nationales, " CII. 1 to 76, passim, especiallythe official reports of the assemblies of the Bouches-du-Rhône, Hérault and Paris. Speech by Barbaroux to the Electoral Assembly of theBouches-du-Rhône: "Brothers and friends, liberty will perish if you donot elect men to the National Convention whose hearts are filled withhatred of royalty. . . Mine is the soul of a freeman; ever since my fourthyear it has been nourished on hatred to kings. I will relieve Francefrom this detestable race, or I will die in the attempt. Before I leaveyou I will sign my own death-warrant, I will designate what I love most, I will show you all my possessions, I will lay a dagger on the tablewhich shall pierce my heart if ever for an instant I prove false to thecause of the people!" (session of Sept. 3). --Guillon de Montléon, I, 135. ]

[Footnote 3322: Durand-Maillane, I. 33. In the Electoral Assembly of theBouches-du-Rhône "there was a desire to kill an elector suspected ofaristocracy. "]

[Footnote 3323: Mortimer-Ternaux, IV. 52. "Archives Nationales, " CII. Ito 32. --Official report of the Electora1 Assembly of Bouches-du-Rhône. Speech by Pierre Bayle, Sept. 3: "That man is not free who tries toconceal his conscience in the shadow of a vote. The Romans openlyelected their tribunes. . . Who amongst us would reject so wise a measure?The galleries of the National Assembly have had as much to dowith fostering the Revolution as the bayonets of patriots. "--InSeine-et-Marne the Assembly at first decided for the secret vote; at therequest of the Paris commissaries, Ronsin and Lacroix, it rescinds itsdecision and adopts voting aloud and by call. ]

[Footnote 3324: Barbaroux, "Mémoires, " 379: "One day, on proceedingto the elections, tumultuous shouts break out: 'That is ananti-revolutionary from Arles, hang him!' An Arlesian had, indeed, been arrested on the square, brought into the Assembly, and they werelowering the lantern to run him up. "]

[Footnote 3325: Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 338. --De Sybel, "Histoire del'Europe pendant la Révolution Française" (Dosquet's translation), I. 525. (Correspondence of the army of the South, letter by Charles deHesse, commanding the regular troops at Lyons. )]

[Footnote 3326: Mortimer-Ternaux, V. 101, 122 and following pages. ]

[Footnote 3327: Guillon de Montléon, I. 172, 196 and following pages. ]

[Footnote 3328: Sauzay, III. 220 and following pages. --Albert Babeau, II. 15. At Troyes, two mayors elected refuse in turn. At the thirdballot in this town of from 32, 000 to 35, 000 souls, the mayor-electobtains 400 out of 555 votes. ]

[Footnote 3329: Moniteur, XV. 184 to 233 (the roll-call of those whovoted for the death of Louis XVI). --Dumouriez, II. 73 (Dumouriez reachesParis Feb. 2, 1793, after visiting the coasts of Dunkirk and Antwerp):"All through Picardy, Artois, and maritime Flanders Dumouriez found thepeople in consternation at the tragic end of Louis XVI. He noticed thatthe very name of Jacobin excited horror as well as fear. "]

[Footnote 3330: This number, so important, is verified by the followingpassages:--Moniteur, session of Dec. 39, 1792. Speech by Birotteau:"Fifty members against 690. . . About twenty former nobles, fifteen ortwenty priests, and a dozen September judges (want to prevail against)700 deputies. "--Ibid. , 851 (Dec. 26, on the motion to defer the trialof the king): "About fifty voices, with energy, No! no!"--Ibid. , 865, (Dec. 27, a violent speech by Lequinio, applauded by the extreme "Left"and the galleries; the president calls them to order): "Theapplause continues of about fifty members of the extreme 'Left. '"--Mortimer-Ternaux, VI. 557. (Address by Tallien to the Parisians, Dec. 23, against the banishment of the Duke of Orleans): "To-morrow, under the vain pretext of another measure of general safety, the 60 or80 members who on account of their courageous and inflexible adherenceto principles are offensive to the Brissotine faction, will be drivenout. "--Moniteur, XV. 74 (Jan. 6). Robespierre, addressing Roland, uttersthis expression: "the factious ministers. " "Cries of Order! A voteof censure! To the Abbaye/ 'Is the honest minister whom all Franceesteems, ' says a member, 'to be treated in this way?'--Shouts oflaughter greet the exclamation from about sixty members. "--Ibid. , XV. 114. (Jan. 11). Denunciation of the party of anarchists by Buzot. Garnier replies to him: "You calumniate Paris; you preach civil war!""Yes! yes! 'exclaim about sixty members. --Buchez et Roux, XXIV. 368(Feb. 26). The question is whether Marat shall be indicted. "Murmursfrom the extreme left, about a dozen members noisily demanding the orderof the day. "]

[Footnote 3331: Mercier, "Le nouveau Paris, " II. 200. ]

[Footnote 3332: Buchez et Roux, XIX. 17. XXVIII. 168. --The king isdeclared guilty by 683 votes; 37 abstain from voting, as judges; ofthese 37, 26, either as individuals or legislators, declare the kingguilty. None of the other 11 declare him innocent. ]

[Footnote 3333: "Dictionnaire biographique, " by Eymery, 1807 (4 vols). The situation of the conventionists who survive the Revolution mayhere be ascertained. Most of them will become civil or criminaljudges, prefects, commissaries of police, heads of bureaus, post-officeemployees, or registry clerks, collectors, review-inspectors, etc. Thefollowing is the proportion of regicides among those thus in office: Outof 23 prefects 21 voted for the king'' death; 42 out of 43 magistratesvoted for it, the 43rd being ill at the time of the sentence. Of 5senators 4 voted for his death, and 14 deputies out of 16. Out of 36other functionaries of various kinds 35 voted for death. Among theremaining regicides we again find 2 councillors of state, 4diplomatic agents and consuls, 2 generals, 2 receiver-generals, 1commissary-general of the police, 1 minister in the cabinet of KingJoseph, the minister of police, and the arch-chancellor of the empire. ]

[Footnote 3334: Buchez et Roux, XIX, 97, session of Sept. 25, 1792. Marat states: "'I have many personal enemies in this assembly. ' 'All!all!' exclaim the entire Assembly, indignantly rising. "--Ibid. , XIX. 9, 49, 63, 338. ]

[Footnote 3335: "Right" and "Left", only refers to the right and leftwings of the hemicycles of the hall in which the Assembly meets. ThePlain and the Mountain refer to the same Assembly but here to those onthe lower or the upper benches. (SR). ]

[Footnote 3336: Meillan, "Mémoires, " 20. --Buchez et Roux, XXVI. Sessionof April 15, 1793. Denunciation of the Twenty-two Girondists bythe sections of Paris: Royer-Fonfrède regrets "that his name is notinscribed on this honorable list. 'And all of us--all! All!' exclaimthree-quarters of the Assembly, rising from their seats. "]

[Footnote 3337: The Philosophe Denis Diderot (1713-84) was largelyresponsible for the 28 volume Encyclopédie (1751-729, which incorporatedthe latest knowledge and progressive ideas, and which helped spreadthe ideas of the Enlightenment in France and in other parts of Europe. (Guinness Encyclopedia). ]

[Footnote 3338: "Archives Nationales, " A. F. 45. Letter of Thomas Paineto Danton, May 6, 1792 (in English). "I do not know better men or betterpatriots. " This letter, compared with the speeches or publicationsof the day, produces a singular impression through its practical goodsense. This Anglo-American, however radical he may be, relies on nothingbut experience and example in his political discussions. ]

[Footnote 3339: Cf. The memoirs of Buzot, Barbaroux, Louvet, MadameRoland, etc. ]

[Footnote 3340: And for some incomprehensible reason still in fashion atthe end of the 20th Century. (SR). ]

[Footnote 3341: Buchez et Roux, XXIV. 102. (Plan drawn up by Condorcet, and reported in the name of the Committee on the Constitution, April 15and 16, 1793. ) Condorcet adds to this a report of his own, of which hepublishes and abstract in the Chronique de Paris. ]

[Footnote 3342: Buchez et Roux, XXIV. 102. Condorcet's abstract containsthe following extraordinary sentence: "In all free countries theinfluence of the populace is feared with reason; but give all men thesame rights and there will be no populace. "]

[Footnote 3343: Cf. Edmond Biré. "La Légende des Girondins, " on the partof the Girondists in all these odious measures. ]

[Footnote 3344: These traits are well defined in the charges ofthe popular party against them made by Fabre d'Eglantine. Maillan, "Mémoires, " 323. (Speech of Fabre d'Eglantine at the Jacobin Club inrelation to the address of the commune, demanding the expulsion of theTwenty-Two. ) "You have often taken the people to task; you have evensometimes tried to flatter them; but there was about this flattery thataristocratic air of coldness and dislike which could deceive nobody. Your ways of a bourgeois patrician are always perceptible in your wordsand acts; you never wanted to mix with the people. Here is your doctrinein few words: after the people have served in revolutions they mustreturn to dust, be of no account, and allow themselves to be led bythose who know more than they and who are willing to take the trouble tolead them. You, Brissot, and especially you, Pétion, you have receivedus formally, haughtily, and with reserve. You extend to us one finger, but you never grasp the whole hand. You have not even refused yourselvesthat keen delight of the ambitious, insolence and disdain. "]

[Footnote 3345: Buzot, "Mémoires, " 78. ]

[Footnote 3346: Edmond Biré, "La légende des Girondins. " (Ineditedfragments of the memoirs of Pétion and Barbaroux, quoted by Vatel in"Charlotte Corday and the Girondists, " III. 472, 478. )]

[Footnote 3347: Buchez et Roux, XXVI. A financial plan offered by thedepartment of Hérault adopted by Cambon and rejected by the Girondists. ]

[Footnote 3348: Buchez et Roux, XXV. Speech by Vergniaud (April 10), pp. 376, 377, 378. "An effort is made to accomplish the Revolution byterror. I would accomplish it through love. "]

[Footnote 3349: Maillan, 22. ]

[Footnote 3350: Buchez et Roux, XXIV. 109. Plan of a constitutionpresented by Condorcet. Declaration of rights, article 32. "In everyfree government the mode of resistance to different acts of oppressionshould be regulated by law. "--Ibid. , 136. Title VIII. Of theConstitution "De la Censure des lois. "]

[Footnote 3351: Buchez et Roux, 93. Session of the Jacobin Club, April21, 1793. ]

[Footnote 3352: Schmidt, "Tableaux de la révolution Française, " II. 4(Report of Dutard, June 6, 1793. )--The mental traits of the Jacobinsform a contrast and are fully visible in the following speeches: "Wedesire despotically a popular constitution. " (Address of the ParisJacobin Club to the clubs in the departments, Jan. 7, 1793. )--Buchezet Roux, XXIII. 288--Ibid. , 274. (Speech by Legros in the Jacobin Club, Jan. 1. ) "Patriots are not counted; they go by weight. . . One patriot ina scale weights more than 100, 000 aristocrats. One Jacobin weightsmore than 10, 000 Feuillants. One republican weights more than 100, 000monarchists. One patriot of the Mountain weights more than 100, 000Brissotins. Hence I conclude that the convention should not be stoppedby the large number of votes against the death-sentence of Louis XVI. , (and that) even (if there should be) but a minority of the nationdesiring Capet's death. "--"Applauded. " (I am obliged to correct the lastsentence, as it would otherwise be obscure. )]

[Footnote 3353: Buzot, "Mémoires, " 33: "The majority of French peopleyearned after royalty and the Constitution of 1790. This was thestrongest feeling, and especially at Paris. . This people is onlyrepublican because it is threatened by the guillotine. . All its desires, all its hopes incline to the constitution of 1791. "--Schmidt, I. 232(Dutard, May 16). Dutard, an old advocate and friend of Garat, is oneof those rare men who see facts behind words; clear-sighted, energetic, active, abounding in practical counsels, and deserving of a better chiefthan Garat. ]

[Footnote 3354: Schmidt, ibid. , I. 173, 179 (May 1, 1793). ]

[Footnote 3355: "La Démagogie à en Paris en 1793, " p. 152. Dauban("Diurnal de Beaulieu, " April 17). --"Archives Nationales, " AF II. 45(report by the police, May 20). "The dearness of supplies is the leadingcause of agitation and complaints. "--(Ib. , May 24). "The calm which nowappear to prevail in Paris will soon be disturbed if the prices of theprime necessities of life do not shortly diminish. "--(Ibid. , May 25). "Complaints against dear food increase daily end this circumstance looksas if it might become one of the motives of forthcoming events. "]

[Footnote 3356: Schmidt, I. 198 (Dutard, May 9). ]

[Footnote 3357: Schmidt, I. 350; II. 6 (Dutard, May 30, June 7 and 8). ]

[Footnote 3358: Durand-Maillane, 100: "The Girondist party was yet moreimpious than Robespierre. "--A deputy having demanded that mentionshould be made of the Supreme Being in the preamble of the constitution, Vergniaud replied: "We have no more to do with Numa's nymph thanwith Mahomet's pigeon; reason is sufficient to give France a goodconstitution. "--Buchez et Roux, XIII. 444. Robespierre having spoken ofthe Emperor Leopold's death as a stroke of Providence, Guadet repliesthat he sees "no sense in that idea, " and blames Robespierre for"endeavoring to return the people to slavery of superstition. "--Ibid. , XXVI. 63 (session of April 19, 1793). Speech by Vergniaud againstarticle IX of the Declaration of Rights, which states that "all men arefree to worship as they please. " This article, says Vergniaud, "is aresult of the despotism and superstition under which we have so longlanguished. "--Salle: "I ask the Convention to draw up an article bywhich each citizen, whatever his form of worship, shall bind himselfto submit to the law "--Lanjuinais, who often ranked along with theGirondists, is a Catholic and confirmed Gallican. ]

[Footnote 3359: Schmidt, I. 347 (Dutard, May 30). "What do I now behold?A discontented people hating the Convention, all its administrators, andthe actual state of things generally. "]

[Footnote 3360: Schmidt, I. 278. (Dutard, May 23). ]

[Footnote 3361: Schmidt, I. 216 (Dutard, May 13). ]

[Footnote 3362: Schmidt, I. 240 (Dutard, May 17). ]

[Footnote 3363: Schmidt, I. 217 (Dutard, May 13). ]

[Footnote 3364: Schmidt, I. 163 (Dutard, April 30). ]

[Footnote 3365: Schmidt, II. 377 (Dutard, June 13). Cf. Ibid. , II. 80. (Dutard, June 21): "If the guillotining of the Thirty-Two weresubject to a roll call, and the vote a secret one I declare to you norespectable man would fail to hasten in from the country to give hisvote and that none of those now in Paris would fail to betake themselvesto their section. "]

[Footnote 3366: Schmidt, II. 35 (Dutard, June 13). On the sense of thesetwo words, inferior aristocracy, Cf. All of Dutard's reports and thoseof other observers in the employ of Garat. ]

[Footnote 3367: Schmidt, II. 37 (Dutard, June 13). ]

[Footnote 3368: Schmidt, I. 328 (Perrière, May 28): "Intelligent menand property-owners abandoned the section assemblies and handed them toothers as these were places where the workman's fist prevailed againstthe speaker's tongue. "--Moniteur. XV. 114 (session of Jan. 11, speech byBuzot). "There is not a man in this town who owns anything, that is notafraid of being insulted and struck in his section if he dares raisehis voice against the ruling power. . . The permanent assemblies of Parisconsist of a small number of men who have succeeded in keeping othercitizens away. "--Schmidt, I. 235 (Dutard, May 28): "Another planwould be to drill young men in the use of the staff. One must be asans-culotte, must live with sans-culottes, to discover the value ofexpedients of this kind. There is nothing the sans-culotte fears asmuch as a truncheon. A number of young men lately carried them in theirtrousers, and everybody trembled as they passed. I wished that thefashion were general. "]

[Footnote 3369: Moniteur, XV. 95 (Letter of Charles Villette, deputy). ]

[Footnote 3370: Moniteur, XV. 179 (Letter of Roland, Jan. 11. 1793). ]

[Footnote 3371: Moniteur, XV. 66, session of Jan. 5, speech of themayor of Paris; (Chambon)--Ib. , XV 114, session of Jan. 14, speech byBuzot;----Ib. , XV. 136, session of Jan. 13. Speech by a deputation ofFederates. --Buchez et Roux, XXVIII. 91 (Letter of Gadolle to Roland, October, 1792). --XXI. 417 (Dec. 20, article by Marat): "Boredom anddisgust have emptied the assemblies. "--Schmidt, II, 69 (Dutard, June18). ]

[Footnote 3372: Schmidt, I. 203. (Dutard, May 10). The engravingspublished during the early period of the Revolution and under thedirectory exhibit this scene perfectly (cabinet des estampes, Paris). ]

[Footnote 3373: Moniteur, XV. 67 (session of Jan. 5, 1793). Speech bythe mayor of Paris. ]

[Footnote 3374: Schmidt, I. 378 (Blanc, June 12). ]

[Footnote 3375: Schmidt, II. 5 (Dutard, June 5). ]

[Footnote 3376: Schmidt, II. (Dutard, June 11)--Ibid. , II. (Dutard, Junei8): "I should like to visit with you, " if it were possible, "the 3, 000or 4, 000 wine-dealers, and the equally numerous places of refreshment inParis; you would find the 15, 000 clerks they employ constantly busy. Ifwe should then go to the offices of the 114 notaries, we should againfind two-thirds of these gentlemen in their caps and red slippers, alsovery much engaged. We might then, again, go to the 200 or 300printing establishments, where we should find 4, 000 or 5, 000 editors, compositors, clerks, and porters all conservatized because they nolonger earn what they did before; and some because they have made afortune. "--The incompatibility between modern life and direct democraticrule strikes one at every step, owing to modern life being carried outunder other conditions than those which characterized life in ancienttimes. For modern life these conditions are, the magnitude of States, the division of labor, the suppression of slavery and the requirementsof personal comforts and prosperity. Neither the Girondists nor theMontagnards, who aimed to revive Athenian and Spartan ways, comprehendedthe precisely opposite conditions on which Athens and Spartaflourished. ]

[Footnote 3377: Schmidt, I. 207 (Dutard, May 10). ]

[Footnote 3378: Schmidt, II. 79 (Dutard, June 19). ]

[Footnote 3379: Schmidt, II. 70 (Dutard, June 10). ]

[Footnote 3380: Lenin must have felt encouraged by reading these lineswhich can only have increase his disdain for the "capitalist" andbourgeoisie. (SR). ]

[Footnote 3381: Mortimer-Ternaux, V. 101. ]

[Footnote 3382: Meillan, 54. --Raffet, Henriot's competitor and denouncedas an aristocrat, had at first the most votes, 4, 953 against 4, 578. Atthe last ballot, out of about 15, 000 he still has 5, 900 against 9, 087for Henriot. --Mortimer-Ternaux, VIII. 31: "The electors had to votethirty at a time. All who dared give their votes to Raffet weremarked with a red cross on the roll-call, followed by the epithet ofanti-revolutionary. "]

[Footnote 3383: Schmidt, II. 37 (Dutard, June 13): "Marat and othershave a party of from 4, 000 to 6, 000 men, who would do anything torescue them. "--Meillan, 155 (depositions taken by the Commission ofthe Twelve): Laforet has stated that there were 6, 000 sans-culottes tomassacre objectionable deputies at the first signal. --Schmidt, II, 87(Dutard, June 24): "I know that there are not in all Paris 3, 000 decidedrevolutionaries. "]

[Footnote 3384: Moniteur, XV. 114, session of Jan. 11, speech byBuzot. --Ibid. , 136, session of Jan. 13, speech of the Federates ofFinisterre. --Buchez et Roux, XXVIII. 80, 81, 87, 91, 93 (Letter ofGadolle to Roland, October 1792). --Schmidt, I. 207 (Dutard, May 10, 1793). ]

[Footnote 3385: Schmidt, II. 37 (Dutard, May 10, 1793). ]

[Footnote 3386: Mortimer-Ternaux, IV. 269 (petition presented byGonchon. )--"Archives Nationales, " AF, II 43. Letters of Gonchon to theMinister Garat, (May 31, June 1, June 3, 1793). These are very odd andnaive. He addresses the Minister Garat: "Citizen Garra. "]

[Footnote 3387: Schmidt, I, 254 (Dutard, May 19). --Moniteur, XIV. 522(Letter addressed to Roland number for Nov. 21, 1792): "The sections(are) composed of, or at least frequented, nineteen-twentieth of them, by the lowest class, both in manners and information. "]

[Footnote 3388: Schmidt, II. 39 (Dutard, June 13). ]

[Footnote 3389: Schmidt, II. 87 (Dutard, June 14). The expression ofthese fish-women is still coarser. ]

[Footnote 3390: Rétif de la Bretonne ("Bibliographie de ses oeuvres, parJacob, " 287). --(On the pillage of shops, Feb. 25 and 26, 1793). ]

[Footnote 3391: Schmidt, II. 61; I. 265 (Dutard, May 21 and June 17). ]

[Footnote 3392: Schmidt, I. 96 (Letter of citizen Lauchou to thepresident of the Convention, Oct. 11, 1792). --II. 37 (Dutard, June 13). Statement of a wigmaker's wife: "They are a vile set, the servants. Some of them come here every day. They chatter away and say all sorts ofhorrible things about their masters. They are all just alike. Nobody iscrazier than they are. I knew that some of them had received benefitsfrom their masters, and others who were:still being kindly treated; butnothing stopped them. "]

[Footnote 3393: Schmidt, I. 246 (Dutard, May 18). --Grégoire, "Mémoires, "I. 387. The mental and moral decline of the party is well shown in thenew composition of the Jacobin Club after September, 1792: "I went backthere, " says Grégoire in September, 1792 (after a year's absence), "andfound it unrecognizable; no opinions could be expressed there other thanthose of the Paris section. . . I did not set foot there again; (it was)a factious disreputable drinking place. "--Buchez et Roux, XXVI. 214(session of April 30, 1793, speech by Buzot). "Behold that once famousclub. But. Thirty of its founders remain there; you find there none butmen steeped in debt and crime. "]

[Footnote 3394: Schmidt, I. 189 (Dutard, May 6). ]

[Footnote 3395: Cf. Rétif de la Bretonne, "Nuits de Paris, " vol. XVI. (July 12, 1789). At this date Rétif is in the Palais-Roya1, where "sincethe 13th of June numerous meetings have been held and motions made. . . Ifound there none but brutal fellows with keen eyes, preparing themselvesfor plunder rather than for liberty. "]

[Footnote 3396: Mortimer-Ternaux, V. 226 and following pages (address ofthe sans-culottes section, Sept. 25). --"Archives Nationales, " F7, 146(address of the Roule section, Sept. 23). In relation to the threateningtone of those at work on the camp, the petitioners add: "Such was thelanguage of the workshops in 1789 and 1790. "]

[Footnote 3397: Schmidt, II. 12 (Dutard, June 7): "During a few dayspast I have seen men from Neuilly, Versailles, and Saint-Germain stayinghere, attracted by the scent. "]

[Footnote 3398: Schmidt, I. 254 (Dutard, May 19). --At this date robbersswarm in Paris; Mayor Chambon, in his report to the Convention, himselfadmits it (Moniteur, XV. 67, session of Jan. 5, 1793). ]

[Footnote 3399: De Concourt, "La Société Française pendant 'aRévolution. " (According to the "Courrier de l'Egalité, " Jul. 1793). ]

[Footnote 33100: Buzot, 72. ]

[Footnote 33101: Moore, Nov. 10, 1792 (according to an article in theChronique de Paris). 'The day Robespierre made his "apology, " "thegalleries contained from seven to eight hundred women, and two hundredmen at most. Robespierre is a priest who has his congregation ofdevotees. "----Mortimer-Ternaux, VII. 562 (letter of the deputy Michel, May 20, 1793): "Two or three thousand women, organized and drilledby the Fraternal Society in session at the Jacobin Club, began theiruproar. Which lasted until 6 o'clock, when the house adjourned. Most ofthese creatures are prostitutes. "]

[Footnote 33102: An expression of Gadol's in his letter to Roland. ]

[Footnote 33103: Buzot, 57. ]

[Footnote 33104: Buchez et Roux, XXVIII. 80 (Letter of Gadolle toRoland). ]

[Footnote 33105: Beaulieu, "Essais, " I. 108 (an eye-witness). --Schmidt, II. 15. Report by Perrières, June 8. ]

[Footnote 33106: Beaulieu, "Essais, " I. 100. "Maillard died, his stomacheaten away by brandy" (April 15, 1794). --Alexandre Sorel, "StanislasMaillard, " pp. 32 to 42. Report of Fabre d'Eglantine on Maillard, Dec. 17, 1793. A decree subjecting him to indictment along with Ronsin andVincent, Maillard publishes his apology, in which we see that he wasalready active in the Rue Favart before the 31st of May. "I am one ofthe members of that meeting of true patriots and I am proud of it, forit is there that the spark of that sacred insurrection of the 31st ofMay was kindled. "]

[Footnote 33107: Alexandre Sorel, ibid. (denunciation of thecircumstance by Lecointre, Dec. 14, 1793 accompanied with officialreports of the justices). --"Archives Nationales, " F7, 3268 (letter ofthe directory of Corbeil to the Minister, with official report, Nov. 28, 1792). On the 26th of November eight or ten armed men, foot-soldiers, and others on horseback, entered the farm-house of a man named Ruelle, in the commune of Lisse. They dealt him two blows with their sabers, then put a bag over his head, kicked him in the face, tormented him, andalmost smothered his wife and two women servants, to make him give uphis money. A carter was shot with a pistol in the shoulder and twicestruck with a saber; the hands about the premises were tied and boundlike so many cattle. Finally the bandits went away, carrying with themsilver plate, a watch, rings, laces, two guns, etc. ]

[Footnote 33108: Moniteur, XV. 565. --Buchez et Roux, XXIV. 335 andfollowing pages. --Rétif de la Bretonne, "Nuits de Paris, " VIII. 460. (aneye witness). The last of these details are given by him. ]

[Footnote 33109: Cf. Ed. Fleury, "Baboeuf;" pp. 139 and 150. Through astriking coincidence the party staff is still of the same order in 1796. Baboeuf estimates his adherents in Paris as "4, 000 revolutionaries, 1, 500 members of the former authorities, and 1, 000 bourgeois gunners, "besides soldiers, prisoners, and a police force. He also recruited agood many prostitutes. The men who come to him are workmen who pretendto have arsouillé in the Revolution and who are ready to repeat thejob, provided it is "for the purpose of killing those rich rascals, themonopolizers, merchants, informers, and panachés at the Luxembourg. "(Letter of the agent of the Bonne-Nouvelle section, April 13, 1796. )]

[Footnote 33110: The proportion, composition and spirit of the partyare everywhere the same, especially at Lyons (Guillon de Montléon, "Mémoires, " and Balleydier, "Histoire du peuple de Lyon, ". Passim);at Toulon (Lauvergne, "Histoire du department du Var"); at Marseilles, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Besançon, etc. --At Bordeaux (Riouffe, "Mémoires, " 23) "it consisted wholly of vagabonds, Savoyards, Biscayans, even Germans, . . Brokers, and water-carriers, who had become so powerfulthat they arrested the rich, and so well-off that they traveled by post"Riouffe adds: "When I read this passage in the Conciergerie men fromevery corner of the republic exclaimed in one voice: 'It is the same inall the communes!'"--Cf. Durand-Maillane, "Mémoires, " 67: "This people, thus qualified, since the suppression of the silver marc has been themost vicious and most depraved in the community. "--Dumouriez, II. 51. "The Jacobins, taken for the most part, from the most abject and mostbrutal of the nation, unable to furnish men of sufficient dignity foroffices, have degraded offices to their own level. . . They are drunken, barbarous Helots that have taken the places of the Spartans. "--The signof their advent is the expulsion of the liberals and of the refined of1789. ("Archives Nationales, " F7, 4434, No. 6. Letter of Richard tothe committee on Public Safety, Ventôse 3, year II. ). During theproconsulate of Baudot at Toulouse "almost all the patriots of 1789 wereexcluded from the popular club they had founded; an immense number wereadmitted whose patriotism reached only as far back as the 10th ofAugust 1792, if it even went so far as the 31st of last May. It is anestablished fact that out of more than 1, 000 persons who now compose theclub there are not fifty whose patriotism as far back as the beginningof the Revolution. "]

[Footnote 33111: Any tribune taking command of a mob of brutes is welladvised to understand Taine's analysis. One might think Hitler had readTaine pr somebody who had learned from his wisdom, somewhat like theDevil who had read the Bible. See page 208, The Secret of Ruling theMasses, in Rauschning's book, "Hitler Speaks". (SR). ]

[Footnote 33112: Roederer, "Chronique des cinquante jours. "]

[Footnote 33113: Schmidt, I. 246 (Dutard, May 18). ]

[Footnote 33114: Schmidt, I. 215 (Dutard, May 25). ]

[Footnote 33115: Buchez et Roux, XXV. 156 (extract from the PatrioteFrançais, March 30, 1793). Speech by Chasles at the Jacobin Club, March27: "We have announced to our fellow-citizens in the country that bymeans of the war-tax the poor could be fed by the rich, and that theywould find in the purses of those egoists the wherewithal to liveon. " Ibid. , 269. Speech by Rose Lacombe: "Let us make sure of thearistocrats; let us force them to meet the enemies which Dumouriez isbringing against Paris. Let us give them to understand that if theyprove treacherous their wives and children shall have their throats cut, and that we will burn their houses. . I do not want patriots to leave thecity; I want them to guard Paris. And if we are beaten, the first manwho hesitates to apply the torch, let him be stabbed at once. I wantall the owners of property who have grabbed everything and excitedthe people's anger, to kill the tyrants themselves or else be killed. "Applause--April 3. :--Ibid. , 302 (in the Convention, April8): "Marat demands that 100, 000 relatives and friends of the émigrés beseized as hostages for the safety of the commissioners in the hands ofthe enemy. "--Cf. Balleydier, 117, 122. At Lyons, Jan. 26, 1793, Challieraddresses the central club: "Sans-culottes, rejoice! the blood of theroyal tiger has flowed in sight of his den! But full justice is notyet done to the people There are still 500 among you deserving of thetyrant's fate!"--He proposes on the 5th of February a revolutionarytribunal for trying arrested persons in a revolutionary manner. "Itis the only way to force it (the Revolution) on royal and aristocraticfactionists, the only rational way to avenge the sovereignty of thebrave sans-culottes, who belong only to us. "----Hydens, a nationalcommissioner adds: "Let 25, 000, 000 of Frenchmen perish a hundred timesover rather than one single indivisible Republic!"]

[Footnote 33116: Mallet du Pan, the last expression. ]

[Footnote 33117: Buzot, 64. ]

[Footnote 33118: Michelet, IV. 6 (according to an oral statement byDaunou). --Buchez et Roux, 101 (Letter of Louvet to Roland): "At themoment of the presentation of their petition against armed force(departmental) by the so-called commissioners of the 48 sections ofParis, I heard Santerre say in a loud tone to those around him, somewhat in these words: 'You see, now, these deputies are not up to theRevolution. . . That all comes from fifty, a hundred two hundred leaguesoff; they don't understand one word you say!'"]

CHAPTER IV. PRECARIOUS SITUATION OF A CENTRAL GOVERNMENT LOCKED UPWITHIN A LOCAL JURISDICTION. 

"Citizen Danton, " wrote the deputy Thomas Paine, [3401] "the danger, every day increasing, is of a rupture between Paris and departments. The departments did not send their deputies to Paris to be insulted, andevery insult shown to them is an insult to the department that electedthem. I see but one effective plan to prevent this rupture taking place, and that is to fix the residence of the Convention and of the futureassemblies at a distance from Paris. . . . I saw, during the AmericanRevolution, the exceeding inconvenience that arose from having thegovernment of Congress within the limits of any municipal jurisdiction. Congress first resided in Philadelphia, and, after a residence of fouryears, it found it necessary to leave it. It then adjourned to the Stateof Jersey. It afterwards removed to New York. It again removed fromNew York to Philadelphia, and, after experiencing in every one of theseplaces the great inconvenience of a government within a government, it formed the project of building a town not within the limits of anymunicipal jurisdiction for the future residence of Congress. In everyone of the places where Congress resided, the municipal authorityprivately or publicly opposed itself to the authority of Congress, andthe people of each of those places expected more attention from Congressthan their equal share with the other States amounted to. The same thingnow takes place in France, but in a greater excess. "

Danton knew all this, and he is sufficiently clear-headed to comprehendthe danger; but the furrow is laid out, traced, and by himself. Since the 10th of August Paris holds France down while a handful ofrevolutionaries tyrannize Paris. [3402]

I. --Jacobin advantages. 

 Their sway in the section assemblies. --Maintenance, re-election and completion of the Commune. --Its new chiefs, Chaumette, Hébert and Pache. --The National Guard recast. --Jacobins elected officers and sub-officers. --The paid band of roughs. --Public and secret funds of the party. 

Owing to the composition and the holding of the section assemblies, the original source of power has remained Jacobin, and has become of adarker and darker hue; accordingly, the electoral processes which, underthe legislative body, had fashioned the usurping Commune of the 10th ofAugust, are perpetuated and aggravated under the Convention. [3403] "Innearly all the sections[3404] it is the sans-culottes who occupy thechair, arrange things inside the chamber, place the sentinels andprovide the censors and auditors. Five or six spies, familiar with thesection, and paid forty sous a day, remain during the session, and readyto undertake any enterprise. These same individuals will take ordersfrom one Committee of Surveillance to another, . . So that if thesans-culottes of one section are not strong enough they may call inthose of a neighboring section. "--In such assemblies the elections aredecided beforehand, and we see how the faction keeps forcibly in itshands, or obtains by force, every elective position. The Council ofthe Commune, in spite of the hostile inclinations of the LegislativeAssembly and the Convention, succeeds at first in maintaining itselffour months; then, in December, [3405] when it is at last compelledto break up, it reappears through the authorization of the suffrage, reinforced and completed by its own class, with three chiefs, asyndic-attorney, a deputy and a mayor, all three authors or abettors ofthe September massacre; with Chaumette, Anaxagoras, so-called, once acabin-boy, then a clerk, always in debt, a windbag, and given to drink;Hébert, called "Père Duchesne, " which states about all that is necessaryfor him; Pache, a subaltern busy-body, a bland, smooth-faced intriguer, who, with his simple air and seeming worth, pushes himself up tothe head of the War Department, where he used all its resources forpillaging, and who, born in a door-keeper's lodgings, returns there, either through craft or inclination, to take his dinner. --The Jacobins, with the civil power in their hands, also grab the military power. Immediately after the 10th of August, [3406] the National Guard isreorganized and distributed in as many battalions as there are sections, each battalion thus becoming "a section in arms"; by this we may judgeits composition, and the kind of rabble-rousers they select as officersand non-commissioned officers. "The title of National Guard, " writes adeputy, "can no longer be given to the lot of pikemen and substitutes, mixed with a few bourgeois, who, since the 10th of August, maintain themilitary service in Paris. " There are, indeed, 110, 000 names on paper;when called out on important occasions, all who are registered mayrespond, if not disarmed, but, in general, almost all stay at home andpay a sans-culotte to mount guard in their place. In fact, there isfor the daily service only a hired reserve in each section, about onehundred men, always the same individuals. This makes in Paris a band offour or five thousand roughs, in which the squads may be distinguishedwhich have already been seen in September: Maillard and his 68 men atthe Abbaye, Gauthier and his 40 men at Chantilly, Audouin, the Sapperof the Carmelites, " and his 350 men in the suburbs of Paris, Fournier, Lazowski and their 1, 500 men at Orleans and Versailles. [3407] As to thepay of these and that of their civil auxiliaries, the faction is nottroubled about that; for, along with power, it has seized money. Tosay nothing of its rapine in September, [3408] and without includingthe lucrative offices at its disposition, four hundred of these beingdistributed by Pache alone, and four hundred more by Chaumette, [3409]the Commune has 850, 000 francs per month for its military police. Otherbleedings at the Treasury cause more public money to flow into thepockets of its clients. One million per month supports the idle workmenwhich fife and drum have collected together to form the camp aroundParis. Five millions of francs protect the petty tradesmen of thecapital against the depreciation in value of certificates of credit. Twelve thousand francs a day keep down the price of bread for the Parispoor. [3410] To these regularly allowed subsidies add the funds whichare diverted or extorted. On one side, in the War Department, Pache, itsaccomplice before becoming its mayor, organizes a steady stream of wasteand theft; in three months he succeeds in bringing about a deficiencyof 130, 000, 000, "without vouchers. "[3411] On another side, the Duke ofOrleans, become Philippe-Egalité, dragged along by the men once in hispay, with a rope around his neck and almost strangled, has to pay outmore than ever, even down to the very depths of his purse; to save hisown life he consents to vote for the King's death, besides resigninghimself to other sacrifices;[3412] it is probable that a large portionof his 74, 000, 000 of indebtedness at his death is due to all this. --Thusin possession of civil and military offices, of arms and money, thefaction, masters of Paris, has nothing to do but master the isolatedConvention, and this it invests on all sides. [3413]

II. --Its parliamentary recruits. 

 Their characters and minds. --Saint-Just. --Violence of the minority in the Convention. --Pressure of the galleries. --Menaces of the streets. 

Through the elections, the Jacobin advance-guard of fifty deputiesis already posted there; while, owing to the fascination it hasto excitable and despotic natures, to brutal temperaments, narrow, disjointed minds, weak imaginations, doubtful honesty, and old religiousor social rancor, it succeeds in doubling this number at the end of sixmonths. [3414] On the benches of the extreme "Left, " around Robespierre, Danton and Marat, the original nucleus of the September faction, sitmen of their stamp, first, the corrupt, like Chabot, Tallien and Barras, wretches like Fouché, Guffroy and Javogues, crazy enthusiasts likeDavid, savage maniacs like Carrier, paltry simpletons like Joseph Lebon, common fanatics like Levasseur, Baubot, Jeanbon-Saint-André, Romme andLebas. Add also, and especially, the future iron-handed representatives, uncouth, authoritarian, and narrow-minded, excellent troopers for apolitical militia, Bourbotte, Duquesnoy, Rewbell, and Bentabole, "a lotof ignorant bastards, " said Danton, [3415] "without any common sense, andpatriotic only when drunk. Marat is nothing but a bawler. Legendre isfit for nothing but to cut up his meat. The rest are good for littleelse than voting by either sitting down or standing up, but they arecold blooded and have broad shoulders. " From amongst these energeticnonentities we see ascending a young monster, with calm, handsomefeatures, Saint-Just. He is a kind of precocious Sylla, 25 years oldand a new-comer, who springs at once from the ranks and, by dint ofatrocities, obtains a prominent position. [3416] Six years before this hebegan life by a domestic robbery; on a visit to his mother, he leftthe house during the night, carrying off the plate and jewels, which hesquandered while living in a lodging house in the Rue Fromenteau, in thecenter of Parisian prostitution;[3417] on the strength of this, and atthe demand of his friends, he is shut up in a house of correctionfor six months. On returning to his lodgings he occupied himself withwriting an obscene poem in the style of La Pucelle and then, through afit of rage resembling a spasm, he plunged headlong into the Revolution. He possessed a "blood calcified by study, " a colossal pride, an unhingedconscience, a pompous, gloomy imagination haunted with the bloodyrecollections of Rome and Sparta, an intelligence so warped andtwisted as to be comfortable only among excessive paradoxes, shamelesssophistry, and devastating lies. [3418] All these dangerous ingredientswhich, mingled in the crucible of suppressed, concentrated ambition, long and silently boiling within him, have led to a constant defiance, a determined callousness, an automatic rigidity, and to the summarypolitics of the Utopian dictator and exterminator. --It is plain thatsuch a minority will not obey parliamentary rules, and, rather thanyield to the majority that it will introduce into the debate boos andhisses, insults, threats, and scuffles with daggers, pistols, sabers andeven the "blunder busses" of a veritable combat. 

"Vile intriguers, calumniators, scoundrels, monsters, assassins, blackguards, fools and hogs, " such are the usual terms in which theyaddress each other, and these form the least of their outrages. [3419]The president, at certain sessions, is obliged three times to put on hishat and, at last, breaks his bell. They insult him, force him to leavehis seat and demand that "he be removed. ' Bazire tries to snatch adeclaration presented by him "out of his hands. " Bourdon, from thedepartment of Oise, cries out to him that if he "dares to read ithe will assassinate him. "[3420] The chamber "has become an arena ofgladiators. "[3421] Sometimes the entire "Mountain" darts from itsbenches on the left, while a similar human wave rolls down from those onthe right; both clash in the center of the room amidst furious screamsand shouts; in one of these hubbubs one of the "Mountain" having drawn apistol the Girondist Duperret draws his sword. [3422] After the middleof December prominent members of the "Right, " constantly persecuted, threatened and outraged, " reduced to "being out every night, arecompelled to carry arms in self-defense, "[3423] and, after the King'sexecution, "almost all" bring them to the sessions of the Convention. Any day, indeed, they may look for the final attack, and they are notdisposed to die unavenged: during the night of March 9, finding thatthey are only forty-three, they agree to launch themselves in a body "atthe first hostile movement, against their adversaries and kill as manyas possible" before perishing. [3424]

It is a desperate resource, but the only one. For, besides the madmenbelonging to the Convention, they have against them the madmen inthe galleries, and these likewise are September murderers. The vilestJacobin rabble purposely takes its stand near them, at first in the oldRiding-school, and then in the new hall in the Tuileries. They see aboveand in a circle around them drilled adversaries, eight or nine hundredheads packed "in the great gallery at the bottom, under a deep andsilent vault, " and, besides these, on the sides, a thousand or fifteenhundred more, two immense tribunes completely filled. [3425] Thegalleries of the Constituent and Legislative Assemblies, compared withthese, were calm. Nothing is more disgraceful to the Convention, writesa foreign spectator, [3426] than the insolence of the audience. One ofthe regulations prohibits, indeed, any mark of approval or disapproval, "but it is violated every day, and nobody is ever punished for thisdelinquency. " The majority in vain expresses its indignation at this"gang of hired ruffians, " who beset and oppress it, while at the verytime that it utters its complaints, it endures and tolerates it. "The struggle is frightful, " says a deputy, [3427] "screams, murmurs, stampings, shouts. . . The foulest insults were launched from thegalleries. " "For a long time, " says another, "no one can speak herewithout obtaining their permission. "[3428] The day that Buzot obtainsthe floor to speak against Marat, "they break out furiously, yelling, stamping, and threatening";[3429] every time that Buzot tries to beginhis voice is drowned in the clamor, while he remains half an hour inthe tribune without completing a sentence. On the calls of the House, especially, their cries resemble those of the excited crowd at a Spanishbull-fight, with their eager eyes and heaving breasts, watching thecontest between the bull and the picadores; every time that a deputyvotes against the death of the King or for an appeal to the people, there are the "vociferations of cannibals, " and "interminable yells"every time that one votes for the indictment of Marat. "I declare, " saydeputies in the tribune, "that I am not free here; I declare that I amforced to debate under the knife. "[3430] Charles Villette is told atthe entrance that "if he does not vote for the King's death he willbe massacred. "--And these are not empty threats. On the 10th of March, awaiting the promised riot, "the tribunes, duly advised, . . . Had alreadyloaded their pistols. "[3431] In the month of May, the tattered womenhired for the purpose, under the title of "Ladies of the Fraternity, "formed a club, came daily early in the morning to mount guard, with armsin their hands, in the corridors of the Convention; they tear up alltickets given to men or women not of their band; they take possessionof all the seats, show pistols and daggers, and declare that "eighteenhundred heads must be knocked off to make things go on right. "

Behind these two first rows of assailants is a third, much more compact, the more fearful because it is undefined and obscure, namely, the vaguemultitude forming the anarchical set, scattered throughout Paris, andalways ready to renew the 10th of August and 2nd of September againstthe obstinate majority. Incendiary motions and demands for riots comeincessantly from the Commune, and Jacobin, Cordeliers, and l'Evêchéclubs; from the assemblies of the sections and groups stationed at theTuileries and in the streets. "Yesterday, " writes the president of theTuileries section, [3433] "at the same moment, at various points aboutParis, the Rue du Bac, at the Marais, in the Church of St. Eustache, atthe Palace of the Revolution, on the Feuillants terrace, scoundrels werepreaching pillage and assassination. "--On the following day, again onthe Feuillants terrace, that is to say, right under the windows of theConvention, "they urge the assassination of Louvel for having denouncedRobespierre. "--Minister Roland writes: "I hear of nothing butconspiracy and plans to murder. "--Three weeks later, for several days, "an up-rising is announced in Paris";[3434] the Minister is warned that"alarm guns would be fired, " while the heads are designated beforehandon which this ever muttering insurrection will burst. In the followingmonth, in spite of the recent precise law, "the electoral assemblyprints and circulates gratis the list of members of the Feuillants andSainte-Chapelle clubs; it likewise orders the printing and circulationof the list of the eight thousand, and of the twenty thousand, as wellas of the clubs of 1789 and of Montaigu. "[3435] In January, "hawkers crythrough the streets a list of the aristocrats and royalists who votedfor an appeal to the people. "[3436] Some of the appelants are singledout by name through placards; Thibaut, bishop of Cantal, while readingthe poster on the wall relating to him, hears some one along side of himsay: "I should like to know that bishop of Cantal; I would make breadtasteless to him. " Roughs point out certain deputies leaving theAssembly, and exclaim: "Those are the beggars to cut up!"--From weekto week signs of insurrection increase and multiply, like flashes oflightning in a coming tempest. On the 1st of January, "it is rumoredthat the barriers are to be closed at night, and that domiciliary visitsare going to begin again. "[3437] On the 7th of January, on the motion ofthe Gravilliers section, the Commune demands of the Minister of War 132cannon stored at Saint Denis, to divide among the sections. On the15th of January the same section proposes to the other forty-seven toappoint, as on the 10th of August, special commissaries to meet atthe Evêché and watch over public safety. That same day, to prevent theConvention from misunderstanding the object of these proceedings, it isopenly stated in the tribunes that the cannon brought to Paris "are foranother 10th of August against that body. " The same day, military forcehas to be employed to prevent bandits from going to the prisons "torenew the massacres. " On the 28th of January the Palais-Royal, theresort of the pleasure-seeking, is surrounded by Santerre, at eighto'clock in the evening, and "about six thousand men, found without acertificate of civism, " are arrested, subject to the decision one by oneof their section. --Not only does the lightning flash, but already thebolt descends in isolated places. [3438] On the 31st of December a mannamed Louvain, formerly denounced by Marat as Lafayette's agent, isslain in the faubourg St. Antoine, and his corpse dragged through thestreets to the Morgue. On the 25th of February, the grocer shops arepillaged at the instigation of Marat, with the connivance or sanction ofthe Commune. On the 9th of March the printing establishment of Gorsasis sacked by two hundred men armed with sabers and pistols. The sameevening and on the next morning the riot extends to the Conventionitself; "the committee of the Jacobin club summons every section inParis to arms to "get rid" of the appelant deputies and the ministers;the Cordeliers club requests the Parisian authorities "to takesovereignty into their own hands and place the treacherous deputiesunder arrest"; Fournier, Varlet, and Champion ask the Commune "todeclare itself in insurrection and close the barriers"; all theapproaches to the Convention are occupied by the "dictators ofmassacre, " Pétion[3439] and Beurnonville being recognized on theirpassing, pursued and in danger of death, while furious mobs gather onthe Feuillants terrace "to award popular judgment, " "to cut off heads"and "send them into the departments. "--Luckily, it rains, which alwayscools down popular effervescence. Kervélegan, a deputy from Finistère, who escapes, finds means of sending to the other end of the faubourg St. Marceau for a battalion of volunteers from Brest that had arrived a fewdays before, and who were still loyal; these come in time and save theConvention. --Thus does the majority live under the triple pressure ofthe "Mountain, " the galleries and the outside populace, and from monthto month, especially after March 10, the pressure gets to be worse andworse. 

III. Physical fear and moral cowardice. 

 Defection among the majority. --Effect of physical fear. --Effect of moral cowardice. --Effect of political necessity. --Internal weakness of the Girondins. --Accomplices in principle of the Montagnards. 

Month by month the majority relents under this pressure. --Some aresimply overcome by physical fear. On the King's trial, at the third callof the House, as the deputies on the upper benches voted one by onefor his death, the deputy alongside Daunou "showed in a most energeticmanner his disapproval of this. " On his turn coming, "the galleries, which had undoubtedly noticed his attitude, " burst out in such violentthreats that for some minutes his voice could not be heard; "silencewas at length restored, and he voted--death. "[3440]--Others, likeDurand-Maillane, "warned by Robespierre that the strongest party is thesafest, " say to themselves "that it is prudent, and necessary not toannoy the people in their furor, " make up their minds "to keep aloofshielded by their silence and insignificance. "[3441] Among the fivehundred deputies of the Plain, many are of this stamp. They begin to becalled "the Marsh Frogs. " In six months they settle down of themselvesinto so many silent onlookers, or, rather, homicidal puppets, "whosehearts, shrunk through fear, rise in their throats"[3442] every timethat Robespierre looks at them. Long before the fall of the Girondists, "downcast at the present state of things, and no longer finding anyinspiration in their heart, " their faces already disclosing "the pallorof fear or the resignation of despair. [3443] Cambacérès hedges to findshelter in his Committee on Legislation. [3444] Barrère, born a valet, and a valet ready for anything, places his southern mode of doing thingsat the service of the probable majority, up to the time of devoting hiscruel rhetoric to the service of the dominant minority. Sièyes, aftercasting his vote for death, maintains an obstinate silence, as muchthrough disgust as through prudence:

"What does my glass of wine matter in this torrent of booze?"[3445]

Many, even among the Girondists, use sophistry to color theirconcessions in their own eyes. Some among these "think that they enjoysome degree of popularity, and fear that this will be compromised. [3446]Again, they put forth the pretext of the necessity of maintaining one'sinfluence for important occasions. Occasionally, they affect to say, orsay it in good faith, Let them (the extravagant) keep on, they will findeach other out and use themselves up. "--Frequently, the motives allegedare scandalous or grotesque. According to Barbaroux, immediate executionmust be voted, because that is the best way to exculpate the Girondeand shut the mouths of their Jacobin calumniators. [3447] According toBerlier, it is essential to vote death for, why vote for exile? LouisXVI. Would be torn to pieces before reaching the frontier. [3448]--On theeve of the verdict, Vergniaud says to M. De Ségur: "I vote Death? Itis an insult to suppose me capable of such a disgraceful act!" And, "hesets forth the frightful iniquity of such a course, its uselessness, andeven its danger. " "I would rather stand alone in my opinion than voteDeath!"[3449] The next day, having voted Death, he excuses himself bysaying "that he did not think he ought to put the life of one man inthe scale against the public welfare. "[3450] Fifteen or twenty deputies, influenced by his example, voted as he did, which was enough to turn themajority. [3451] The same weakness is found at other decisive moments. Charged with the denunciation of the conspiracy of the 10th of March, Vergniaud attributes it to the aristocrats, and admits to Louvet that"he did not wish to name the real conspirators for fear of embitteringviolent men already pushing things to excess. "[3452] The truth is, theGirondists, as formerly the Constitutionalists, are too civilized fortheir adversaries, and submit to force for lack of resolution to employit themselves. 

"To put down the faction, " says one of them, [3453] "can be done only bycutting its throat, which, perhaps, would not be difficult to do. AllParis is as weary as we are of its yoke, and if we had any liking foror knowledge how to deal with insurrections, we could soon throw it off. But how can we make men adopt such necessary atrocious measures whenthey are criticizing their adversaries for taking these? And yet theywould have saved the country. " Consequently, incapable of action, ableonly to talk, reduced to protests, to barring the way to revolutionarydecrees, to making appeals to the department against Paris, they standas an obstacle to all the practical people who are heartily engaged inthe brunt of the action. --"There is no doubt that Carnot is as honestas they are, as honest as a fanatic spectator can be. "[3454] Cambon, undoubtedly with as much integrity as Roland, spoke as loudly up as heagainst the 2nd of September, the Commune, and anarchy. [3455]--But, to Carnot and Cambon, who pass their nights, one in establishing hisbudgets, and the other in studying his military maps, they require, first of all, a government which will provide them with money and withsoldiers, and, therefore, an unscrupulous and unanimous Convention;that is to say, there being no other expedient, a Convention undercompulsion, i. E. A Convention purged of troublesome some, dissentientspeakers;[3456] in other words, the dictatorship of the Parisianproletariat. After the 15th of December, 1792, Cambon completely acceptsthis, and even erects the dictatorship of the proletariat intoan European system. From that time[3457] he preaches universalsans-culotterie, a form of government in which the poor will rule andthe rich will pay, in short, the restoration of privileges in an inversesense. The later expression of Siéyès which has already come true: theproblem is no longer how to apply the principles of the Revolution, but the salvation of its men. Faced with this more and more distressingimperative, many of undecided deputies go with the tide, lettingthe Montagnards have their own way and separate themselves from theGirondists. 

And, what is graver still, the Girondists, apart from all thesedefections, are untrue to themselves. Not only are they ignorant of howto draw a line, of how to form themselves into a compact body: not only"is the very idea of a collective proceeding repulsive, each memberdesiring to keep himself independent. And act as he thinks best, "[3458]make motions without consulting others, and vote as the occasion callsfor against his party, but, through its abstract principle, they are inaccord with their adversaries, and, on the fatal declivity whereon theirhonorable and humane instincts still retain them, this common dogma, like a concealed weight, causes them to sink lower and lower down, eveninto the bottomless pit, where the State, according to the formula ofJean Jacques, omnipotent, philosophic, anti-Catholic, anti-Christian, despotic, leveling, intolerant, and propagandist, seizes education, levels fortunes, persecutes the Church, oppresses consciences, crushesout the individual, and, by military foice, imposes its structuresabroad. [3459] Basically, apart from the Jacobin excess of brutality andof precipitation, the Girondists, setting out from the same principlesas the Jacobin "Mountain, " march forward to the same end along withthem. Hence the effect of ideological prejudice on them in weakeningtheir moral attitudes. Secretly, in their hearts, revolutionary desiresconspire with those of their enemies, and, on many occasions, make thembetray themselves. --Through these devices and multiplied weaknesses, on the one hand, the majority diminishes so as to present but 279 votesagainst 228. [3460] And, on the other hand, through frequent failures, it surrenders to the besiegers one by one every commanding post of thepublic citadel. Now, at the first attack, nothing remains but to fly, orto beg for mercy. 

IV. Jacobin victory over Girondin majority. 

 Principal decrees of the Girondist majority. --Arms and means of attack surrendered by it to its adversaries. 

The Convention had voted, on principle, for the establishment ofa military departmental guard, but, owing to the opposition of theMontagnards, it fails to put the principle into operation. --For sixmonths it is protected, and, on the 10th of March, saved, through thespontaneous aid of provincial federates, but, far from organizing thesepassing auxiliaries into a permanent body of faithful defenders, itallows them to be dispersed or corrupted by Pache and the Jacobins. --Itpasses decrees frequently for the punishment of the abettors of theSeptember crime, but, on their menacing petition, the trials areindefinitely postponed. [3461]--It has summoned to its bar Fournier, Lazowski, Deffieux, and other leaders, who, on the 10th of March, weredisposed to throw it out of the windows, but, on making their impudentapology, it sends them away acquitted, free, and ready to begin overagain. [3462] At the War Department it raises up in turn two cunningJacobins, Pache and Bouchotte, who are to work against it unceasingly. At the Department of the Interior it allows the fall of its firmestsupport, Roland, and appoints Garat in his place, an ideologist, whosemind, composed of glittering generalities, with a character made upof contradictory inclinations, fritters itself away in reticences, in falsehoods and in half-way treachery, under the burden of his tooonerous duties. --It votes the murder of the King, which places aninsurmountable barrier of blood between it and all honest persons. --Itplunges the nation into a war in behalf of principles, [3463] and excitesan European league against France, which league, in transferring theperils arising from the September crime to the frontier, permanentlyestablishes the September régime in the interior. --It forges in advancethe vilest instruments of the forthcoming Reign of Terror, * through the decree which establishes the revolutionary tribune, withFouquier-Tinville as public prosecutor, and the obligation for eachjuryman to utter his verdict aloud;[3464]

* through the decree condemning every émigré to civil death, and theconfiscation of his property "of either sex, " even a simple fugitive, even returned within six months;[3465]

* through the decree which "outlaws aristocrats and enemies of theRevolution";[3466]

* through the decree which, in each commune, establishes a tax onthe wealth of the commune in order to adapt the price of bread towages;[3467]

* through the decree which subjects every bag of grain to declarationand to the maximum (price control);[3468]

* through the decree which awards six years in irons for any traffic inthe currency;[3469]

* through the decree which orders a forced loan of a billion, extortedfrom the rich;[3470]

* through the decree which raises in each town a paid army ofsans-culottes "to hold aristocrats under their pikes "[3471] and atlast, * through the decree which, instituting the Committee of PublicSafety, [3472] fashions a central motor to set these sharp scythes agoingand mow down fortunes and lives with the utmost rapidity. --

To these engines of general destruction it adds one more, which isspecial and operates against itself. Not only does it furnish its rivalsof the Commune with the millions they need to pay their bands; not onlydoes it advance to the different sections, [3473] in the form of a loan, the hundreds of thousands of francs which are needed to satisfy thethirst of their yelpers; but again, at the end of March, just at themoment when it happens to escape the first Jacobin invasion, itprovides for the election by each section of a Committee of Supervision, authorized to make domiciliary visits and to disarm the suspected;[3474]it allows this committee to make arrests and inflict special taxes; tofacilitate its operations it orders a list of the inmates of each house, legibly "stating names, surnames, ages and professions, " to be affixedto the entrance, [3475] a copy of which must be left with the committee, and which is subject to its control. 

To end the matter, it submits itself; and, "regardless of theinviolability of a representative of the French nation, "[3476] itdecides that, in case of political denunciation, its own members may bebrought to trial. 

V. Jacobin violence against the people. 

 Committees of Supervision after March 28, 1793. --The régime of August and September, 1792, revived. --Disarmament. --Certificates of civism. --Forced enlistment. --Forced loans. --Use made of the sums raised. --Vain resistance of the population. --Manifestations by young men repressed. --Violence and victory of the Jacobins in the assemblies of the sections. 

"I seem to hear you, " writes a sarcastic observer, [3477] "addressing the(Jacobin) faction in these terms:

'Now, look here, we have the means, but we are not disposed to make useof them against you; it would be unfair to attack you unarmed. Publicpower emanates from two sources, legal authority and armed force. Nowwe will at once create committees of supervision, of which you shallappoint the heads, for the reason that, with a whip of this kind, youcan lash every honest man in Paris, and thus regulate public opinion. We will do more than this, because our sacrifice is not yet complete; weare disposed to make you a present of our armed force, with authority todisarm anybody that you may suspect. As far as we are concerned, weare ready to surrender even our pocketknives, [3478] and remain apart, content with our virtues and talents. --But mind what you are about. Should you be so ungrateful as to attack our sacred persons, we shallfind avengers in the departments. '

'What good will the departments do you, let loose against each other, after you are out of the way?' (was the imaginary Jacobin reply!)

No summary could be more exact nor any prediction more accurately based. Henceforth, and by virtue of the Convention's own decrees, not only havethe Jacobins the whole of the executive power in their hands, as thisis found in civilized countries, but likewise the discretionary powerof the antique tyrant or modern pasha, that arbitrary, strong arm which, singling out the individual, falls upon him and takes from him his arms, his freedom, and his money. After the 28th of March, we see in Paris aresumption of the system which, instituted by the 10th of August, wascompleted by the 2nd of September. In the morning, drums beat to arms;at noon, the barriers are shut, the bridges and passages guarded, andsentinels stand on the corners of the streets; no one is allowed "topass outside the limits of his section, " or circulate within themwithout showing his certificate of civism; houses are invested, numbersof persons are arrested, [3479] and, during the succeeding months, thisoperation is carried on under the sway of the Committee of Supervision. Now, this Committee, in almost all the sections, "is made up ofsans-culottes, " not fathers of families, men of judgment and experience, people living a long time in the quarter, but "strangers, or youngmen trying to be something, "[3480] ambitious underlings, ignorantdaredevils, despotic intruders, fierce, touchy and inexperiencedinquisitors". 

The first thing is the disarmament of the suspected. "It is enough thatany citizen shall be denounced, and that the case is made known to theCommittee";[3481] or that his certificate of civism is less than onemonth old, [3482] to make a delegate, accompanied by ten armed men, search his house. In the section of the Réunion alone, on the firstday, 57 denounced persons are thus disarmed for "acts of incivism orexpressions adverse to the Republic, " not merely lawyers, notaries, architects, and other prominent men, but petty tradesmen andshop-keepers, hatters, dyers, locksmiths, mechanics, gilders, andbar-keepers. One section; in defiance of the law, adds to these in blockthe signers of the petition of the eight thousand and that of the twentythousand. "Through such schemes, " says an observer, [3483] "all the gunsin Paris, numbering more than a hundred thousand, pass into the hands ofthe faction. None remain for its adversaries, even in the gunshops; for, through an ordinance of the Commune, no one may purchase a gun withouta certificate issued by the Committee of Supervision of thesection. [3484]--On the other hand, owing to the power of granting orrefusing certificates of civism, each Committee, on its own authority, interposes barriers as it pleases in all directions, public or private, to every inhabitant within its bounds. It is impossible for any personwho has not obtained his certificate[3485] to have a passport fortraveling, although a tradesman; no public employee, no clerk of theadministration, advocate or notary can keep his place without it; no onecan go out of Paris or return late at night. If one goes out to takea walk, there is danger of being arrested and brought back between twosoldiers to the committee of the section; if one stays at home, it iswith the chance of being inspected as a harbourer of priests or nobles. Any Parisian opening his windows in the morning may find his housesurrounded by a company of carmagnoles, if he has not the indispensablecertificate in his pocket. [3486] In the eyes of a Jacobin committee, there is no civism but in Jacobinism, and we can imagine whetherthis patent would be willingly conferred on opponents, or even on thelukewarm; what examinations they would have to undergo; what questionsthey would be obliged to answer; how many goings and comings, solicitations, appearances and waitings would be imposed on them; withwhat persistency it would excite delay, and with what satisfaction itwould be refused. Buzot presented himself four times at the Committee ofQuatre-Nations to obtain a certificate for his domestic, and failedto get it. [3487] There is another still more effective expedient forkeeping the ill-disposed in check The committee of each section, aidedby a member of the Commune, [3488] designates the twelve thousand mendrafted for the expedition into La Vendée, and picks them by name, oneby one, as it may select them; the effect of this is to purge Paris oftwelve thousand anti-Jacobins, and tranquilize the section assemblies, where opposition is often objectionable. To this end the committeeselects first, and gives the preference to, the clerks of lawyers andnotaries, those of banking-houses, the administration, and of merchants, the unmarried in all offices and counting-rooms, in short, allthe Parisian middle class bachelors, of which there are more thantwenty-five thousand. [3489] The ordinance stipulates that one out of twoshould be taken, undoubtedly those with the poorest reputation with theCommittee, this proceeding will silence the others and prevent them fromspeaking up in their sections. [3490]

While one hand clutches the collar, the other rummages the pocket. TheCommittee of Supervision of each section, always aided by a memberof the Commune, [3491] designates all persons in easy circumstances, estimates their incomes as it pleases, or according to common report, and sends them an order to pay a particular sum in proportion to theirsurplus, and according to a progressive tax. The allowance which isexempt for the head of a family is 1, 500 francs per annum, besides 1, 000francs for his wife and 1, 000 francs for each child; if the excess isover 15, 000 or 20, 000 francs, they assess it 5, 000 francs; if morethan 40, 000 or 50, 000 francs, they assess it 20, 000; in no case may thesurplus retained exceed 30, 000 francs; all above this amount goes to theState. The first third of this sudden contribution to the public fundsis required in forty-eight hours, the second in a fortnight, and theremaining third in a month, under serious penalties. If the tax happensto be exaggerated, if an income is uncertain or imaginary, if receiptsare yet to come in, if there is no ready money, if; like Francoeur, theopera manager, a man "has nothing but debts, " so much the worse. "Incase of refusal, " writes the section of Bon-Conseil, "his personal andreal property shall be sold by the revolutionary committee, and hisperson declared suspected. "[3492]--Even this is simply an installment onaccount:

"There is no desire on the part of the Committee at the present momentto demand more than a portion of your surplus, " that which rest will betaken later. Desfieux, the bankrupt, [3493] has already, in the tribuneof the Jacobin club, estimated the fortunes of one hundred of thewealthiest notaries and financiers in Paris at 640, 000, 000 francs;the municipality sent a list of their names to the sections to have itcompleted; if only one-tenth was taken from them, it would amount to64, 000, 000, which "big sponges, " thoroughly squeezed, would disgorge amuch larger amount. 

"The richest of Frenchmen, " says Robespierre, "should not have more than3, 000 francs a year. "[3494]

The contributions of "these gentlemen" suffice to arm the sans-culottes, "remunerate artisans for their attendance in the section meetings, andsupport laborers without work. "[3495] Already through the sovereignvirtue of summary requisitions, everything is spoil; carriage-horses areseized in their stables, while vehicles belonging to aged ladies, mostly widows, and the last of the berlins and elegant carriages stillremaining in Paris, are taken out of the livery-stables. [3496]

With such powers used in this way, the section makes the most of the olddeep-seated enmity of the poor against the rich;[3497] it secures thefirm loyalty of the needy and of vagabonds; thanks to the vigorous armsof its active clients, it completely overcomes the feeble, transient, poorly-contrived resistance which the National Convention and theParisian population still oppose to its rule. 

On the 13th of April Marat, accused three months before and dailybecoming bolder in his fractiousness, is finally indicted through adecree of the incensed majority;[3498] on the 24th he appears before therevolutionary tribunal. But the revolutionary tribunal, like other newlyorganized institutions, is composed of pure Jacobins, and, moreover, theparty has taken its precautions. Marat, for his escort to the court-roomhas "the municipal commissaries, envoys from the various sections, delegates from all the patriotic clubs"; besides these, "a multitude ofgood patriots" fill the hall beforehand; "early in the morning theother chambers of the Palais de Justice, the corridors, the courtsand adjacent streets" overflow with "sans-culottes ready to avengeany outrage that may be perpetrated on their favorite defender. "[3499]Naturally, excessively conceited, he speaks not like an accused, but"as an apostle and martyr. " He is overwhelmed with applause, unanimouslyacquitted, crowned with laurel, borne in triumph to the Convention, where he thunders a song of victory, while the Girondist majorityis obliged to suffer his presence awaiting to be subjected to theirbanishments. --Equally as impotent as the moderates of the LegislativeAssembly are the moderates in the street who recover themselves onlyagain to be felled to the ground. On the 4th and 5th of May, five or sixhundred young fellows, well-dressed and without arms, have assembledin the Champs-Elysées and at the Luxembourg to protest against theordinance of the Commune, which drafts them for the expedition to LaVendée;[34100] they shout, "Vive la Republique! Vive la Loi! Down withanarchists! Send Marat, Danton and Robespierre to the Devil!" Naturally, Santerre's paid guard disperses these young sparks; about a thousand arearrested, and henceforth the rest will be careful not to make any opendemonstration on the public thoroughfares. --Again, for lack ofsomething better to do, we see them frequently returning to the sectionassemblies, especially early in May; they find themselves in a majority, and enter on discussions against Jacobin tyranny; at the Bon-Conseilsection, and at those of Marseilles and l'Unité, Lhuillier is hooted at, Marat threatened, and Chaumette denounced. [34101]--But these areonly flashes in the pan; to be firmly in charge in these permanentassemblies, the moderates, like the sans-culottes, would have to be inconstant attendance, and use their fists every night. Unfortunately, theyoung men of 1793 have not yet arrived at that painful experience, thatimplacable hate, that athletic ruggedness which is to sustain them in1795. "After one evening, in which the seats everywhere were broken"[34102] on the backs of the contestants, they falter, and never recoverthemselves, the professional roughs, at the end of a fortnight, beingvictorious all along the line. --The better to put resistance down, theroughs form a special league amongst themselves, and go around fromsection to section to give each other help. [34103] Under the title ofa deputation, under the pretext of preventing disturbance, a troop ofsturdy fellows, dispatched by the neighboring section, arrives atthe meeting, and suddenly transforms the minority into a majority, orcontrols the vote by force of clamor. Sometimes, at a late hour, whenthe hall is nearly empty, they declare themselves a general meeting, andabout twenty or thirty will cancel the discussions of the day. At othertimes, being, through the municipality, in possession of the police, they summon an armed force to their aid, and oblige the refractory todecamp. And, as examples are necessary to secure perfect silence, thefifteen or twenty who have formed themselves into a full meeting, withthe five or six who form the Committee of Supervision, issue warrants ofarrest against the most prominent of their opponents. The vice-presidentof the Bon-Conseil section, and the juge-de-paix of the Unité section, learn in prison that it is dangerous to present to the Conventionan address against anarchists or sign a debate againstChaumette. [34104]--Towards the end of May, in the section assemblies, nobody dares open his mouth against a Jacobin motion; often, even, thereare none present but Jacobins; for example, at the Gravilliers, they have driven out all not of their band, and henceforth no"intriguer"[34105] is imprudent enough to present himself there. --Havingbecome the sovereign People assembled in Council, with full power to

* disarm, * put on the index, * displace, * tax, * send off to the army, and

* imprison whoever gives them umbrage, they are able now, with the municipality at their back and as guides, toturn the armament which they have obtained from the Convention againstit, attack the Girondists in their last refuge, and possess themselvesof the only fort not yet surrendered. 

VI. Jacobin tactics. 

 Jacobin tactics to constrain the Convention. --Petition of April 15 against the Girondins. --Means employed to obtain signatures. --The Convention declares the petition calumnious. --The commission of Twelve and the arrest of Hébert. --Plans for massacres. --Intervention of the Mountain leaders. 

To conquer the last bastion of the Girondists all they have to do issimultaneously in all sections to do what they used to do separately ineach section: substituting themselves, by fraud and by force, for theVeritable people, they are able to conjure up before the Conventionthe phantom of popular disapproval. --From the municipality, holding itssessions at the Hôtel-de-ville, and from the conventicle establishedat the Evêché, emissaries are sent forth who present the sameformal communication in writing at the same time in every section inParis. [34106] "Here is a petition for signatures. "--"Read it. "--"Butthat is unnecessary--it is already adopted by a majority of thesections. "--This lie is accepted by some and several sign in good faithwithout reading it. In others they read it and refuse to sign it; inothers, again, it is read and they pass to the order of the day. What happens? The plotters and ringleaders remain behind until allconscientious citizens have withdrawn; then, masters of the debate, they decide that the petition must be signed, and they accordinglyaffix their signatures. The next day, on the arrival of citizens at thesection, the petition is handed to them for their names, and the debateof the previous evening is advanced against them. If they offer anyremarks, they are met with these terrifying words:

Sign, or no certificate of civism!

And, as if approving this threat, several of the sections which aremastered by those who draw up the lists of proscriptions, decide thatthe certificates of civism must be renewed, new ones being refused tothose refusing to sign the petition. They do not rest content withthese moves; men armed with pikes are posted in the streets to forcethe signatures of those who pass. "[34107]--The whole weight of municipalauthority has been publicly cast into the scale. "Commissaries of theCommune, accompanied by municipal secretaries, with tables, inkstands, paper and registers, promenade about Paris preceded by drums and a bodyof militia. " From time to time, they make "a solemn halt, " and declaimagainst Brissot, Vergniaud, Guadet, and then "demand and obtainsignatures. "[34108]--Thus extorted and borne to the Convention by themayor, in the name of the council-general of the Commune and of thethirty-five sections, the imperious petition denounces twenty-twoGirondists as traitors, and insolently demands their expulsion. --Anotherday it is found that a similar summons and similarly presented, in thename of the forty-eight sections, is authorized only by thirteenor fourteen. [34109]--Sometimes the political parade is still moreincautious. Pretended deputies of the Faubourg St. Antoine appear beforethe Convention and assert the revolutionary program. "If you donot adopt it, " they say, "we will declare ourselves in a state ofinsurrection; there are 40, 000 men at the door. "[34110] The truth is, "about fifty bandits, scarcely known in the Faubourg, " and led by aformer upholsterer, now a commissary of police, "have gathered togetheron their route" all they could find in the workshops "and in thestores, " the multitude packed into the Place Vendôme not knowing whatwas demanded in their name. [34111]--These dummy tumults are, however, useful; they show the Convention its master, and prepare the way for amore efficient invasion. The day Marat was acquitted, the whole of hissewer, male and female, came along with him; under pretext of paradingbefore the Convention, they invaded the hall, scattered themselves overthe benches and steps, and, supported by the galleries, installed anewin the tribune, amidst a tempest of applause and of tumult, the usualpromoter of insurrection, pillage and assassination. [34112]--And yet, however energetic and however persistent the pressure, the Convention, which has yielded on so many points, will not consent to mutilateitself. It pronounces the petition presented against the Twenty-twocalumnious; it institutes a special commission of twelve members tosearch the papers of the Commune and the sections for legal proofs ofthe plot openly and steadily maintained by the Jacobins against thenational representation; Mayor Pache is summoned to the bar of thehouse; warrants of arrest are issued against Hébert, Dobsen andVarlet. --Since popular manifestations have not answered the purpose, andthe Convention, instead of obeying, is rebellious, nothing is left butto employ force. 

"Since the 10th of March, " says Vergniaud, in the tribune, [34113]"murder is openly and unceasingly fomented against you. "--"It is aterrible time, " says an observer, "strongly resembling that precedingthe 2nd of September. "[34114]--That same evening, at the Jacobin club, a member proposes to "exterminate the scoundrels before leaving. "Ihave studied the Convention, " he says[34115] "it is composed in part ofscoundrels who ought to be punished. All the supporters of Dumouriez andthe other conspirators should be put out of the way; fire the alarm gunand close the barriers!" The following forenoon, "all the walls in Parisare covered with posters, " calling on the Parisians to "hurry up andslit the throats of the statesmen. "[34116]--" We must do something toput an end to this!" is the slogan of the sans-culottes. --The followingweek, at the Jacobin club, as elsewhere, "immediate insurrection is theorder of the day. . . . What we formerly called the sacred enthusiasm offreedom and patriotism, is now metamorphosed into the fury of an excitedpopulace, which can no longer be regulated or disciplined except byforce. There is not one of these scoundrels who would not accept acounter-revolution, provided they could be allowed to crush and stamp onthe most noted conservatives. [34117]. . . The conclusion is that the day, the hour, the minute that the faction believes that it can usefully andwithout risk bring into play all the brigands in Paris, [34118] thenthe insurrection will undoubtedly take place. " Already the plan of themassacre is under consideration by the lowest class of fanatics at themayoralty, the Evêché, and the Jacobin club. [34119]

Some isolated house is to be selected, with a suite of three roomson the ground floor, and a small court in the rear; the twenty-twoGirondists are to be caught in the night and brought to thisslaughter-house arranged beforehand; each in turn is to be passed alongto the last room, where he is to be killed and his body tumbled intoa hole dug in the middle of the court, and then the whole covered overwith quick-lime; it will be supposed that they have emigrated, and, to establish the fact, false correspondence will be printed. [34120] Amember of the Committee on the Municipal Police declares that the planis feasible:

"We will Septemberize(kill) them--not we ourselves, but men who areready, and who will be well paid for it. "

The Montagnards present Léonard Bourdon and Legendre, make no objection. The latter simply remarks that the Girondists should not be seized inthe Convention; outside the Convention "they are scoundrels whose deathwould save the Republic, " and the act is lawful; he would like tosee "with them every rascal on the 'black' side perish withoutinterfering. "--Several, instead of 22 deputies, demand 30 or 32, andsome 300; the suspected of each district may be added, while ten or adozen proscription lists are already made out. Through a clean sweep, executed the same night, at the same hour, they may be conducted tothe Carmelites, near the Luxembourg, and, "if there is not room enoughthere, " to Bicêtre; here, "they will disappear from the surface of theglobe. "[34121] Certain leaders desired to entrust the purification ofParis to the sagacity of popular instinct. "In loose and disconnectedphrases" they address the people: "Rouse yourselves, and act accordingto your inclinations, as my indications might only startle those youshould strike down and thereby allow them to escape!" Varlet proposes, on the contrary, a plan of public safety, very full and explicit, infifteen articles:

"Sweep away the deputies of the 'Plain, ' and other deputies ofthe Constituent and Legislative Assemblies, all nobles, priests, pettifoggers, etc. ; exterminate the whole of that race, and theBourbons, too, with entire suppression of the Ministers. "

Hébert, for his part, alluding to the Girondists, writes in his gazettethat "the last hour of their death is going to strike, " and that, "whentheir foul blood shall have been spilled, aristocratic brawlers willreturn to their holes, the same as on the 10th of August. "Naturally, the professional slaughterers are notified. A certain Laforet, anold-clothes dealer on the Quai-du-Louvre, who, with his wife, hadalready distinguished themselves on the 2nd of September, reckons that"there are in Paris 6, 000 sans-culottes ready to massacre at thefirst sign all dangerous deputies, and eight thousand petitioners, "undoubtedly those who, in the several sections, signed the addressesto the Convention against the Commune. --Another "Septemberizer, "[34122]commanding the battalion of the Jardin des Plantes, Henriot, on meetinga gang of men working on the wharves, exclaims in his rough voice:

"Good morning, my good fellows, we shall need you soon, and at betterwork. You won't have wood to carry in your carts--you'll have to carrydead bodies. "

"All right, " replies one of the hands, half tipsy, "we'll do it as wedid the 2nd of September. We'll turn a penny by it. "--

Cheynard, a locksmith and machinist at the mint, is manufacturingdaggers, and the women of the tribunes are already supplied with twohundred of them. "--

Finally, on the 29th of May, Hébert proposes, in the Jacobinclub, [34123] "to pounce down on the Commission of Twelve, " and anotherJacobin declares that "those who have usurped dictatorial power, "meaning by that the Girondists, "are outlawed. "

All this is extreme, clumsily done, useless and dangerous, or, at least, premature, and the chiefs of the "Mountain, " Danton, Robespierre, andMarat himself; better informed and less shortsighted, are well awarethat brutal murder would be revolting to the already half-arouseddepartments. [34124] The legislative machinery is not to be shattered, but made use of; it must be employed against itself to effect therequired injury; in this way the operation at a distance will appearlegal, and, garnished with the usual high-flown speeches, impose onthe provincial mind. [34125] From the 3rd of April, Robespierre, inthe Jacobin club, always circumspect and considerate, had limited anddefined in advance the coming insurrection. "Let all good citizens, "he says, "meet in their sections, and come and force us to place thedisloyal deputies under arrest. " Nothing can be more moderate, and, ifthey refer to principles, nothing can be more correct. The people alwaysreserves the right to cooperate with its mandatories, which right itpractices daily in the galleries. Through extreme precaution, which welldescribes the man, [34126] Robespierre refuses to go any further in hisinterference. "I am incapable of advising the people what steps totake for its salvation. That is not given to one man alone. I, whoam exhausted by four years of revolution, and by the heart-rendingspectacle of the triumph of tyranny, am not thus favored. . . . I, who amwasted by a slow fever, and, above all by the fever of patriotism. As Ihave said, there remains for me no other duty to fulfill at the presentmoment. " What's more, he enjoins the municipality "to unite with thepeople, and form a close alliance with it. "--In other words, the blowmust be struck by the Commune, the "Mountain" must appear to havenothing to do with it. But, "it is privy to the secret";[34127] itschiefs pull the wires which set the brutal dancing-jacks in motion onthe public trestles of the Hôtel-de-ville. Danton and Lacroix wrote inthe bureau of the Committee of "Public Safety, " the insolent summonswhich the procureur of the Commune is to read to the Convention on the31st of May, and, during seven days of crisis, Danton, Robespierre andMarat are the counselors, directors and moderators of all proceedings, and lead, push on or restrain their stooges of the insurrection withinthe limits of this program. 

VII. The central Jacobin committee in power. 

 The 27th day of May. --The central revolutionary committee. --The municipal body displaced and then restored. --Henriot, commanding general. 

It is a tragicomic drama in three acts, each winding up with a coupde théâtre, always the same and always foreseen. Legendre, one of theprincipal stage hands, has taken care to announce beforehand that, "If this lasts any longer, " said he, at the Cordeliers club, [34128] "ifthe 'Mountain' remains quiet any longer, I shall call in the people, and tell the galleries to come down and take part with us in thedeliberations. "

At first, on the 27th of May, in relation to the arrest of Hébert andhis companions, the "Mountain, " supported by the galleries, becomesfurious. [34129] In vain does the majority again and again demonstrateits numerical superiority. "We shall resist, " says Danton, "so long asthere are a hundred true citizens to help us. "--"President, " exclaimsMarat to Isnard, you are a tyrant! a despicable tyrant!"--"I demand, "says Couthon, "that the President be impeached!"--"Off with thePresident to the Abbaye!"--The "Mountain" has decided that he shall notpreside; it springs from the benches and rushes at him, shouts "deathto him, " becomes hoarse with its vociferations, and compels him to leavethe chair through weariness and exhaustion. It drives out his successor, Fonfrède, in the same manner, and ends by putting Hérault-Séchelles, oneof its own accomplices, in the chair. --Meanwhile, at the entrance of theConvention, "the regulations have been violated"; a crowd of armed men"have spread through the passages and obstructed the approaches";the deputies, Meillan, Chiappe and Lydon, on attempting to leave, are arrested, Lydon being stopped "by the point of a saber at hisbreast, "[34130] while the leaders on the inside encourage, protect andjustify their trusty aids outdoors. --Marat, with his usual audacity, onlearning that Raffet, the commandant, was clearing the passages, comesto him "with a pistol in his hand and puts him under arrest, "[34131]on the ground that the people and its sacred rights of petition and thepetitioners must be respected. There are "five or six hundred, almostall of them armed, "[34132] stationed for three hours at the doors ofthe hall; at the last moment, two other troops, dispatched by theGravilliers and Croix-Rouge sections, arrive and bring them their finalafflux. Thus strengthened, they spring over the benches assigned tothem, spread through the hall, and mingle with the deputies whostill remain in their seats. It is after midnight; many of therepresentatives, worn out with fatigue and disgust, have left; Pétion, Lasource, and a few others, who wish to get in, "cannot penetrate thethreatening crowd. " To compensate themselves, and in the places of theabsent, the petitioners, constituting themselves representatives ofFrance, vote with the "Mountain, " while the Jacobin president, farfrom turning them out, himself invites them "to set aside all obstaclesprejudicial to the welfare of the people. . " In this gesticulating crowd, in the half-light of smoky lamps, amidst the uproar of the galleries, itis difficult to hear well what motion is put to vote; it is not easy tosee who rises or sits down, and two decrees pass, or seem to pass, one releasing Hébert and his accomplices, and the other revoking thecommission of the Twelve. [34133] Forthwith the messengers who await theissue run out and carry the good news to the Hôtel-de-ville, the Communecelebrating its triumph with an explosion of applause. 

The next morning, however, notwithstanding the terrors of a call ofthe House and the fury of the "Mountain, " the majority, as a defensivestroke, revokes the decree by which it is disarmed, while a new decreemaintains the commission of the Twelve; the operation, accordingly, is to be done over again, but not the whole of it; for Hébert and theothers imprisoned remain at liberty, while the majority, which, througha sense of propriety or the instinct of self-preservation, had againplaced its sentinels on the outposts, consents, either through weaknessor hopes of conciliation, to let the prisoners remain free. The resultis they have had the worst of the fight. Their adversaries, accordingly, are encouraged, and at once renew the attack, their tactics, verysimple, being those which have already proved so successful on the 10thof August. 

The matter now in hand is to invoke against the derived and provisionalrights of the government, the superior and inalienable right of thepeople; also, to substitute for legal authority, which, in its nature, is limited, revolutionary power, which, in its essence, is absolute. Tothis end the section of the City, under the vice-presidency of Maillard, the "Septemberizer, " invites the other forty-seven sections eachto elect two commissaries, with "unlimited powers. " In thirty-threesections, purged, terrified, or deserted, the Jacobins, alone, or almostalone, [34134] elect the most determined of their band, particularlystrangers and rascals, in all sixty-six commissaries, who, on theevening of the 29th, meet at the Evêché, and select nine fromtheir midst to form, under the presidency of Dobsen, a central andrevolutionary executive committee. These nine persons are entirelyunknown;[34135] all are obscure subordinates, [34136] mere puppets andmanikins; eight days later, on finishing their performance, when theyare no longer needed, they will be withdrawn behind the scenes. In themean time they pass for the mandatories of the popular sovereign, withfull power in all directions, because he has delegated his omnipotenceto them, and the sole power, because their investiture is themost recent; under this sanction, they stalk around somewhat likesupernumeraries at the Opera, dressed in purple and gold, representinga conclave of cardinals or the Diet of the Holy Empire. Never has thepolitical drama degenerated into such an impudent farce!--On the31st, at half-past six in the morning, Dobsen and his bullies presentthemselves at the council-general of the Commune, tender theircredentials, and make known to it its deposition. The Council, withedifying complacency, accepts the fiat and leaves the department. Withno less grateful readiness Dobsen summons it back, and reinstates itin all its functions, in the name of the people, and declares thatit merits the esteem of the country. [34137] At the same time anotherdemagogue, Varlet, performs the same ceremony with the Council of thedepartment, and both bodies, consecrated by a new baptism, join thesixty-six commissaries to share the dictatorship. --What could be morelegitimate? The Convention would err in making any opposition:

"It was elected merely to condemn the tyrant and to frame aconstitution; the sovereign people has invested it with no otherpower;[34138] accordingly, the other acts, its warrants of arrest, aresimply usurpations and despotism. Paris, moreover, represents Francebetter than it does, for Paris is "the extract of all the departments, the mirror of opinion, "[34139] the advance-guard of patriotism. "Remember the 10th of August;[34140] previous to that time, the opinionsin the Republic were divided; but, scarcely had you struck the decisiveblow when all subsided into silence. Have no fear of the departments;with a little terror and a few instructions, we shall turn all minds inour favor. " Grumblers persist in demanding the convocation of primaryassemblies. "Was not the 10th of August necessary? Did not thedepartments then endorse what Paris did? They will do so this time. Itis Paris which saved them. "[34141]

Consequently, the new government places Henriot, a reliable man, and oneof the September slaughterers, in full command of the armed force; then, through a violation by law declared as a capital offense, it orders thealarm gun to be fired; then, on the other hand, it beats a general callto arms, sounds the tocsin and closes the barriers; the post officemanagers are put in arrest, and letters are intercepted and opened;the order is given to disarm the suspected and hand their arms over topatriots; "forty sous a day are allowed to citizens with small meanswhile under arms. "[34142] Notice is given without fail the precedingevening to the trusty men of the quarter; accordingly, early in themorning, the Committee of Supervision has already selected from theJacobin sections "the most needy companies in order to arm thosethe most worthy of combating for liberty, " while all its guns aredistributed "to the good republican workmen. " [34143]--From hour to houras the day advances, we see in the refractory sections all authoritypassing over to the side of force; at the Finistère, Butte-des-Moulins, Lombards, Fraternité, and Marais[34144] sections, the encouragedsans-culottes obtain the ascendancy, nullify the deliberations of themoderates, and, in the afternoon, their delegates go and take the oathat the Hôtel-de-ville. 

Meanwhile the Commune, dragging behind it the semblance of popularunanimity, besieges the Convention with multiplied and threateningpetitions. As on the 27th of May, the petitioners invade the hall, and"mix in fraternally with the members of the 'Left. "' Forthwith, on themotion of Levasseur, the "Mountain, " "confident of its place being wellguarded, " leaves it and passes over to the "Right. "[34145] Invaded inits turn, the "Right" refuses to join in the deliberations; Vergniauddemands that "the Assembly join the armed force on the square, and putitself under its protection"; he and his friends leave the hall, and thedecapitated majority falls back upon its usual hesitating course. All ishubbub and uproar around it. In the hall the clamors of the "Mountain, "the petitioners, and the galleries, seem like the constant roar of atempest. Outside, twenty or thirty thousand men will probably clash inthe streets;[34146] the battalion of Butte-des-Moulins, with detachmentssent by neighboring sections, is entrenched in the Palais-Royal, andHenriot, spreading the report that the rich sections of the center havedisplayed the white cockade, send against it the sans-culottes of thefaubourgs Saint-Antoine and Saint-Marceau; cannon are pointed on bothsides. --These loaded cannon must not be discharged; the signal ofcivil war must not be given; it is simply necessary "to forestallthe consequences of a movement which could be only disastrous toliberty, "[34147] and it is important to ensure public order. Themajority, accordingly, think that it is acting courageously in refusingto the Commune the arrest of the Twenty-two, and of the Ministers, Lebrun and Clavière; in exchange for this it consents to suppress itscommission of Twelve; it confirms the act of the Commune which allowsforty sous a day to the workmen under arms; it declares freedom of entryinto its tribunes, and, thanking all the sections, those who defendedas well as those who attacked it, it maintains the National Guard onpermanent call, announces a general federation for the 10th of Augustfollowing, and goes off to fraternize with the battalions in thePalaisRoyal, in battle array against each other through the calumniesof the Commune, and which, set right at the last moment, now embraceinstead of cutting each other's throats. 

This time, again, the advantage is on the side of the Commune. Not onlyhave many of its requirements been converted into decrees, but again, its revolutionary baptism remains in full force; its executive committeeis tacitly recognized, the new government performs its functions, itsusurpations are endorsed, its general, Henriot, keeps command of theentire armed force, and all its dictatorial measures are carried outwithout let or hindrance. --There is another reason why they shouldbe maintained and aggravated. "Your victory is only half-won, " writesHébert in his Père Duchesne, "all those bastards of intriguers stilllive!"--On the evening of the 31st of May the Commune issues warrants ofarrest against the ministers Clavière and Lebrun, and against Roland andhis wife. That same evening and throughout the following day andnight, and again the day after, the Committees of Supervision ofthe forty-eight sections, according to instructions from theHôtel-de-ville[34148] study the lists of their quarters, [34149] addnew names to these, and send commissaries to disarm and arrest thesuspected. Whoever has spoken against revolutionary committees, ordisapproved of the assaults of the 31st of May, or not openly shownhimself on the 10th of August, or voted on the wrong side in the oldLegislative Assembly, might be arrested. It is a general, simultaneousraid; in all the streets we see nothing but people seized andunder escort sent to prison, or put before the section committee. "Anti-patriotic" journalists are arrested first of all, the entireimpression of their journals being additionally confiscated, and thejournal suppressed; the printing-rooms of Gorsas are sacked, sealsplaced on his presses, [34150] and Prudhomme himself is locked up. Allresistance is overcome in the Contrat-Social, Fraternity, Marais andMarseilles sections, leaving the Commune free, as far as the streetis concerned, to recommence its attack on the Convention. "Lists ofsans-culottes workmen" have been drawn up in each section, and sixfrancs a head is allowed them, payable by the Convention, as indemnityfor their temporary suspension from work;[34151] this is a premiumoffered to voters, and as nothing is more potent than cash in hand, Pache provides the funds by diverting 150, 000 francs intended for thecolonists in San Domingo; the whole day on the 2nd of June, trustedmen go about among the ranks distributing five-franc assignats. [34152]Vehicles loaded with supplies accompany each battalion, the better tokeep the men under arms;[34153] the stomach needs filling up, and a pintof wine is excellent for strengthening patriotic sentiment. Henriot hasordered back from Courbevoie the battalions of volunteers which a fewdays before had been enlisted for La Vendée, [34154] crooked adventurersand looters, later known as "the heroes of the 500 francs. " Besidesthese he has under his thumb Rosenthal's hussars, a body of Germanveterans who do not understand French, and will remain deaf to any legalsummons. Finally, he surrounds the Convention with a circle of pickedsans-culottes, especially the artillerists, the best of Jacobins, [34155]who drag along with them the most formidable park of artillery, 163cannons, with grates and charcoal to heat the balls. The Tuileries isthus encircled by bands of roughs and fanatics; the National Guard, fiveor six times as many, [34156] brought out "to give an appearance of apopular movement to the proceedings of five or six thousand bandits, "cannot come to the aid of the Convention, it being stationed out ofreach, beyond the Pont Tournant, which is raised, and behind the woodenfence separating the Carrousel from the palace. Kept in its position byits orders, merely serving as a stationary piece of scenery, employedagainst itself unbeknown to itself, [34157] it can do no more than letthe factionists act who serve as its advanced guard. --Early inthe morning the vestibules, stairs and passages in the hall of theconvention have been invaded by the frequenters of the galleries andthe women under pay. The commandant of the post, with his officers, havebeen confined by "men with moustaches, " armed with sabers and pistols;the legal guard has been replaced with an extraordinary guard, [34158]and the deputies are prisoners. If one of them is obliged to go out fora moment, it is under the supervision of four fusiliers, "who conducthim, wait for him, and bring him back. "[34159] Others, in trying to lookout the windows, are aimed at; the venerable Dussaulx is struck, andBoissy d'Anglas, seized by the throat, returns with his cravat andshirt all in shreds. For six hours by the clock the Convention is underarrest, and when the decree is passed, ordering the removal of the armedforce bearing upon it, Henriot replies to the officer who notifies himof it: "Tell your damned president that he and his Assembly may go tohell. If he don't surrender the Twenty-two in an hour, I'll send himthere!"[34160]

In the hall the majority, abandoned by its recognized guides and itsfavorite spokesmen, grows more and more feeble from hour to hour. Brissot, Pétion, Guadet, Gensonné, Buzot, Salle, Grangeneuve, andothers, two-thirds of the Twenty-two, kept away by their friends, remain at home. [34161] Vergniaud, who had come, remains silent, and thenleaves; the "Mountain, " probably, gaining by his absence, allows him topass out. Four other Girondists who remain in the Assembly to the end, Isnard, Dussaulx, Lauthenas, and Fauchet, consent to resign; when thegenerals give up their swords, the soldiers soon lay down their arms. Lanjuinais, alone, who is not a Girondist, but a Catholic and Breton, speaks like a man against this outrageous attack on the nation'srepresentatives They rush at him and assail him in the tribune; thebutcher, Legendre, simulating "the cleaver's blow, " cries out to him, "Come down or I'll knock you down! A group of Montagnards spring forwardto help Legendre, and one of them claps a pistol to his throat;[34162]he clings fast to the tribune and strives in vain, for his partyaround him are losing courage. --At this moment Barrère, remarkable forexpedients, proposes to the Convention to adjourn, and hold the session"amidst the armed force that will afford it protection. "[34163] Allother things failing, the majority avails itself of this last straw. It rises in a body, in spite of the vociferations in the galleries, descends the great staircase, and proceeds to the entrance of theCarrousel. There the Montagnard president, Hérault-Séchelles, reads thedecree of Henriot, which enjoins him to withdraw, and he officiallyand correctly summons him in the usual way. But a large number of theMontagnards have followed the majority, and are there to encourage theinsurrection; Danton takes Henriot's hand and tells him, in a low voice, "Go ahead, don't be afraid; we want to show that the Assembly isfree, be firm. "[34164] At this the tall bedizened gawky recovers hisassurance, and in his husky voice, he addresses the president: "Hérault, the people have not come here to listen to big words. You are a goodpatriot. . . Do you promise on your head that the Twenty-two shall begiven up in twenty-four hours?"--"No. "--"Then, in that case, I am notresponsible. To arms, cannoneers, make your guns ready!" The cannoneerstake their lighted matches, "the cavalry draw their sabers, and theinfantry aim at the deputies. "[34165] Forced back on this side, theunhappy Convention turns to the left, passes through the archway, follows the broad avenue through the garden, and advances to thePont-Tournant to find an outlet. There is no outlet; the bridge israised, and everywhere the barrier of pikes and bayonets remainsimpenetrable; shouts of "Vive la Montagne! vive Marat! To the guillotinewith Brissot, Vergniaud, Guadet and Gensonné! Away with bad blood!"greet the deputies on all sides, and the Convention, similar to a flockof sheep, in vain turns round and round in its pen. At this moment, toget them back into the fold, Marat, like a barking dog, runs up as fastas his short legs will allow, followed by his troop of tatterdemalions, and exclaims: "Let all loyal deputies return to their posts!" With bowedheads, they mechanically return to the hall; it is immediatelyclosed, and they are once more in confinement. To assist them in theirdeliberations a crowd of the well-disposed entered pell-mell along withthem. To watch them and hurry on the matter, the sans-culottes, withfixed bayonets, gesticulate and threaten them from the galleries. Outside and inside, necessity, with its iron hand, has seized them andholds them fast. There is a dead silence. Couthon, a paralytic, triesto stand up; his friends carry him in their arms to the tribune; anintimate friend of Robespierre's, he is a grave and important personage;he sits down, and in his mild tone of voice, he speaks: "Citizens, allmembers of the Convention must now be satisfied of their freedom. . . . Youare now aware that there is no restraint on your deliberations. "[34166]

The comedy is at an end. Even in Molière there is none like it. Thesentimental cripple in the tribune winds up by demanding that theTwenty-two, the Twelve, and the Ministers, Clavière and Lebrun beplaced in arrest. Nobody opposes the motion, [34167] "because physicalnecessities begin to be felt, and an impression of terror pervades theAssembly. " Several say to themselves, "Well, after all, those who areproscribed will be as well off at home, where they will be safe. . . . Itis better to put up with a lesser evil than encounter a greater one. "Another exclaims: "It is better not to vote than to betray one's trust. "The salvo being found, all consciences are easy. Two-thirds of theAssembly declare that they will no longer take part in the discussions, hold aloof; and remain in their seats at each calling of the vote. Withthe exception of about fifty members of the "Right, " who rise on theside of the Girondists, the "Mountain, " whose forces are increased bythe insurgents and amateurs sitting fraternally in its midst, alonevotes for, and finally passes the decree. --Now that the Convention hasmutilated itself; it is check-mated, and is about to become a governingmachine in the service of a clique; the Jacobin conquest is completed, and in the hands of the victors, the grand operations of the guillotineare going to commence. 

VIII. Right or Wrong, my Country. 

 Character of the new governors. --Why France accepted them. 

Let us observe them at this decisive moment. I doubt if any suchcontrast ever presented itself in any country or in any age. --Througha series of purifications in an inverse sense, the faction has becomereduced to its dregs; nothing remains of the vast surging wave of 1789but its froth and its slime; the rest has been cast off or has withdrawnto one side; at first the highest class, the clergy, the nobles, and theparliamentarians; next the middle class of traders, manufacturers, and the bourgeois; and finally the best of the inferior class, smallproprietors, farmers, [34168] and master-workmen--in short, the prominentin every pursuit, profession, state, or occupation, whoever possessescapital, a revenue, an establishment, respectability, public esteem, education and mental and moral culture. The party in June, 1793, iscomposed of little more than unreliable workmen, town and countryvagabonds, the habitués of hospices[34169], sluts of the gutter, degraded and dangerous persons, [34170] the déclassé, the corrupt, theperverted, the maniacs of all sorts. In Paris, from which they commandthe rest of France, their troop, an insignificant minority, is recruitedfrom that refuse of humanity infesting all capitals, amongst theepileptic and scrofulous rabble which, heirs of vitiated blood and, further degrading this by its misconduct, introduces into civilizationthe degeneracy, imbecility, and infatuations of shattered temperaments, retrograde instincts, and deformed brains. [34171] What it did with thepowers of the State is narrated by three or four contemporary witnesses;we see it face to face, in itself, and in its chiefs, we contemplate thetrue nature of the men of action and of enterprise who have led the lastattack and who represent it the best. 

Since the 2nd of June "nearly one-half of the deputies in the Conventionrefrain from taking any part in its deliberations; more than onehundred and fifty have even fled or disappeared[34172]"; the silent, the fugitives, the incarcerated, and the convicted, all this has beenaccomplished by the party. On the evening of June 2nd its bosom friend, its conscience, the filthy monstrosity, charlatan, monomaniac andmurderer, who regularly every morning, effuses his political poison intoits bosom, Marat, has at last obtained the discretionary powers cravedby him for the last four years, that of Marius and Sylla, that ofOctavius, Antony, and Lepidus; the power of adding or removing namesfrom lists of proscription:

"while the reading was going on he indicated cancellations or additions, the secretary effacing or adding names as he suggested them, without anyconsultation whatever with the Assembly. "[34173]

At the Hôtel-de-ville on the 3rd of June, in the Salle de la Reine, Pétion and Guadet, under arrest, see with their own eyes this CentralCommittee which has just started the insurrection, and which throughits singular delegation sits enthroned over all other establishedauthorities. 

"They were snoring, [34174] some stretched out on the benches and othersleaning on the tables with their elbows, some were barefoot others werewearing their shoes slipshod like slippers; almost all were dirty andpoorly clad; their clothes were unbuttoned, their hair uncombed, andtheir faces frightful; they wore pistols in their belts, and sabers, with scarves turned into shoulder-straps. Bottles, bits of bread, fragments of meat and bones lay strewn around on the floor, and smellwas rotten. "

It looks like a tapestry of a middle age battle field. The chief of theband here is not Chaumette, who has legal qualms, [34175] nor Pache, who cunningly tacks under his mask of Swiss phlegm, but Hébert, anotherMarat, yet more brutal and depraved, and who profits by the opportunityto "put more coal into the furnace of his Père Duchesne, " striking off600, 000 copies of it, pocketing 135, 000 francs for the numbers sentto the armies, and gaining seventy-five per cent on thecontract. [34176]--In the street the active body of supporters consistsof two bands, one military and other civil, the former composedof roughs who are soon to furnish the revolutionary army. "Thisarmy, [34177] considered to be a recent institution, has actually existedsince 1789. The agents of the Duke of Orleans formed its first nucleus. It grew, became organized, had officers appointed to it, musteringpoints, orders of the day, and a peculiar slang. . . . All the revolutionswere carried out by its aid; it gave impetus to popular violencewherever it did not appear en masse. On the 12th of July, 1789, it hadNecker's bust carried in public and the theaters closed; on the 5th ofOctober it started the populace off to Versailles; on the 20th of April, 1791, it caused the king's arrest in the court of the Tuileries. . . Led by Westermann and Fournier, it formed the central battalion in theattack of August 10, 1792; it carried out the September massacres; itprotected the Maratists on the 31st of May, 1793, . . . Its compositionis in keeping with its exploits and its functions. It contains the mostdetermined scoundrels, the brigands of Avignon, the scum of Marseilles, Brabant, Liège, Switzerland and the shores of Genoa. " Through a carefulsifting, [34178] it is to be inspected, strengthened, aggravated, andconverted into a legal body of Janissaries on triple pay; once "enlargedwith idle hairdressers, unemployed lackeys, designers of mad schemes, and other scoundrels unable to earn their keep in an honest manner, "it will supply the detachments needed for garrison at Bordeaux, Lyons, Dijon and Nantes, still leaving "ten thousand of these Mamelukes to keepdown the capital. "

The civilian body of supporters comprises, first, those who haunt thesections, and are about to receive 40 sous for attending each meeting;next; the troop of figure-heads who, in other public places, are torepresent the people, about 1, 000 bawlers and claqueurs, "two-thirds ofwhich are women. " "While I was free, " says Beaulieu, [34179] "Iclosely observed their movements. It was a magic-lantern constantly inoperation. They traveled to and from the Convention to the RevolutionaryTribunal, and from this to the Jacobin Club, or to the Commune, whichheld its meetings in the evening. . . . They scarcely took time for theirnatural requirements; they were often seen dining and supping attheir posts when some action or an important murder was in the offing. Henriot, the commander-in-chief of both hordes, was at one time aswindler, then a police-informer, then imprisoned at Bicêtre forrobbery, and then one of the September murderers. His military bearingand popularity are due to parading the streets in the uniform of ageneral, and appearing in humbug performances; he is the type of aswaggerer, always drunk or soaked with brandy. A blockhead, with a beeryvoice, blinking eyes, and a face distorted by nervous twitching, he possesses all the external characteristics of his employment. In talking, he vociferates like men with the scurvy; his voice issepulchral, and when he stops talking his features come to rest onlyafter repeated agitations; he blinks three times, after which his facerecovers its equilibrium. "[34180]

Marat, Hébert, and Henriot, the maniac, the thief and the brute. Were itnot for the dagger of Charlotte Corday, [34181] it is probable that thistrio, master of the press and of the armed force, aided by Jacques Roux, Leclerc, Vincent, Ronsin, and other madmen of the slums, would have putaside Danton, suppressed Robespierre, and governed France. Such are thecounselors, the favorites, and the leaders of the ruling revolutionaryclass; did one not know what was to occur during the next fourteenmonths, one might form an idea of its government from the quality ofthese men. 

And yet, such as this government is, France accepts or submits to it. In fact, Lyons, Marseilles, Toulon, Nîmes, Bordeaux, Caen, and othercities, feeling the knife at their throats, [34182] turn aside the strokewith a movement of horror. They rise against their local Jacobins; butit is nothing more than an instinctive movement. They do not think offorming States within the State, as the "Mountain" pretends that theydo, nor of usurping the central authority, as the "Mountain" actuallydoes. Lyons cries, "Long live the Republic, one and indivisible, "receives with honor the commissioners of the Convention, permits convoysof arms and horses destined for the army of the Alps to pass. To excitea revolt there, requires the insane demands of Parisian despotism justas it requires the brutal persistence of religious persecution to renderthe province of la Vendée insurgent. Without the prolonged oppressionthat weighs down consciences, and the danger to life always imminent, no city or province would have attempted secession. Even under thisgovernment of inquisitors and butchers no community, save those ofLyons and La Vendée, makes any sustained effort to break up the State, withdraw from it and live by itself. The national sheaf has been toostrongly bound together by secular centralization. One's country exists;and when that country is in danger, when the armed stranger attacksthe frontier, one follows the flag-bearer, whoever he may be, whetherusurper, adventurer, blackguard, or cut-throat, provided only that hemarches in the van and holds the banner with a firm hand. [34183] To tearthat flag from him, to contest his pretended right, to expel him andreplace him by another, would be a complete destruction of the commonweal. Brave men sacrifice their own repugnance for the sake ofthe common good; in order to serve France, they serve her unworthygovernment. In the committee of war, the engineering and staff officerswho give their days to the study of military maps, think of nothingelse than of knowing it thoroughly; one of them, d'Arcon, "managed theraising of the siege of Dunkirk, and of the blockade of Maubeuge;[34184]nobody excels him in penetration, in practical knowledge, in quickperception and in imagination; it is a spirit of flame, a brain compactof resources. I speak of him, says Mallet du Pan, "from an intimateacquaintance of ten years. He is no more a revolutionnaire than I am. "Carnot[34185] does even more than this: he gives up his honor when, with his colleagues on the Committee of Public Safety, Billaud-Varennes, Couthon, Saint-Just, Robespierre, he puts his name to decrees which areassassinations. A similar devotion brings recruits into the armiesby hundreds of thousands, bourgeois[34186] and peasants, from thevolunteers of 1791 to the levies of 1793; and the latter class fight notonly for France, but also, and more than all, for the Revolution. For, now that the sword is drawn, the mutual and growing exasperation leavesonly the extreme parties in the field. Since the 10th of August, andmore especially since the 21st of January, it has no longer been aquestion how to deal with the ancient regime, of cutting away itsdead portions or its troublesome thorns, of accommodating it to modernrequirements, of establishing civil equality, a limited monarchy, aparliamentary government. The question is how to escape conquest byarmed force to avert the military executions of Brunswick, [34187] thevengeance of the proscribed émigrés, the restoration and the aggravationof the old feudal and fiscal order of things. Both through theirtraditions and their experience, the mass of the country people hatethis ancient order, and with all the accumulated hatred which anunceasing and secular spoliation has caused. Irrespective of costs, therural masses will never again suffer the tax-collector among them, northe excise man in the cellar, nor the fiscal agent on the frontier. Forthem the ancient regime is nothing more than these things; and, in fact, they have paid no taxes, or scarcely any, since the beginning ofthe Revolution. On this matter the people's idea is fixed, positive, unalterable; and as soon as they perceive in the distant future thepossible re-establishment of the taille, the tithe, and the seignorialrights, they choose their side; they will fight to the death. --As to theartisans and lesser bourgeois, their spur is the magnificent prospect ofcareers, to which the doors are thrown open, of unbounded advancement, of promotion offered to merit; more than all, their illusions are stillintact. 

Camped out there, facing the enemy, those noble ideals, which in thehands of the Parisian demagogues had turned into sanguinary harlots, remain pure and virginal in the minds of the soldiers and theirofficers. Liberty, equality, the rights of man, the reign of reason--allthese vague and sublime images moved before their eyes when they climbedthe escarpment of Jemmapes under a storm of grapeshot, or when theywintered, with naked feet, among the snows of the Vosges. These ideas, in descending from heaven to earth, were not dishonored and distortedunder their feet, they did not see them transformed in their hands tofrightful caricatures. These men are not pillars of clubs, norbrawlers in the sections, nor the inquisitors of a committee, norhired informers, nor providers for the scaffold. Apart from the sabbathrevolutionaire, brought back to earth by their danger, and havingunderstood the inequality of talents and the need for discipline, theydo the work of men; they suffer, they fast, they face bullets, they areconscious of their generosity and their sacrifices; they are heroes, andthey look upon themselves as liberators. [34188] They are proud of this. According to an astute observer[34189] who knew their survivors, "many of them believed that the French alone were reasonable beings. . . In our eyes the people in the rest of Europe, who were fighting to keeptheir chains, were only pitiable imbeciles or knaves sold to the despotswho were attacking us. Pitt and Cobourg seemed to us the chiefs of theseknaves and the personification of all the treachery and stupidity in theworld. . . In 1794 our inmost, serious sentiment was wholly contained inthis idea: to be useful to our country; all other things, our clothes, our food, advancement, were poor ephemeral details. As society did notexist, there was no such thing for us as social success, that leadingelement in the character of our nation. Our only gatherings werenational festivals, moving ceremonies which nourished in us the love ofour country. In the streets our eyes filled with tears when we saw aninscription in honor of the young drummer, Barra. . . This sentiment wasthe only religion we had. "[34190]

But it was a religion. When the heart of a nation is so high it willdeliver itself, in spite of its rulers, whatever their excesses may be, whatever their crimes; for the nation atones for their follies by itscourage; it hides their crimes beneath its great achievements. 

*****

[Footnote 3401: "Archives Nationales, " AF II, 45, May 6, 1793 (inEnglish). ]

[Footnote 3402: Moore, II. 185 (October 20). "It is evident that all thedepartments of France are in theory allowed to have an equal share inthe government; yet in fact the single department of Paris has the wholepower of the government. " Through the pressure of the mob Paris makesthe law for the Convention and for all France. --Ibid. , II. 534 (duringthe king's trial). "All the departments of France, including that ofParis, are in reality often obliged to submit to the clamorous tyrannyof a set of hired ruffians in the tribunes who usurp the name andfunctions of the sovereign people, and, secretly direct by a fewdemagogues, govern this unhappy nation. " Cf. Ibid. , II. (Nov. 13). ]

[Footnote 3403: Schmidt, I. 96. Letter of Lauchou to the president ofthe Convention, Oct. 11, 1792: "The section of 1792 on its own authoritydecreed on the 5th of this month that all persons in a menial servicecould be allowed to vote in our primary assemblies. . . It would be wellfor the National Convention to convince the inhabitants of Paris thatthey alone do not constitute the entire republic. However absurd thisidea may be, it is gaining ground every day. "--Ibid. , Letter of Damour, vice-president of the Pantheon section, Oct. 29: "The citizen Paris. . . Has said that when the law is in conflict with general opinion noattention must be paid to it. . . These disturbers of the public peacewho desire to monopolize all places, either in the municipality orelsewhere, are themselves the cause of the greatest tumult. "]

[Footnote 3404: Schmidt, I. 223 (report by Dutard, May 14). ]

[Footnote 3405: Mortimer-Ternaux, VI. 117; VII. 59 (balloting of Dec. 2 and 4). In most of these and the following elections the number ofvoters is but one-twentieth of those registered. Chaumette is electedin his section by 53 votes; Hébert by 56; Gency, a master-cooper, by34; Lechenard, a tailor, by 39; Douce, a building-hand, by 24. --Pacheis elected mayor Feb. 15, 1793, by 11, 881 votes, out of 160, 000registered. ]

[Footnote 3406: Buchez et Roux, XVII. 101. (Decree of Aug. 19, 1792). --Mortimer-Ternaux, IV. 223. --Beaulieu, "Essais, " III. 454. "The National Guard ceased to exist after the 10th of August. "--Buzot, 454. --Schmidt, I. 533 (Dutard, May 29). "It is certain that the armedforces of Paris is nonexistent. "]

[Footnote 3407: Beaulieu, Ibid. , IV. 6. --"Archives Nationales, " F7, 3249(Oise). --Letters of the Oise administrators, Aug. 24, Sept. 12 and 20, 1792. Letters of the administrators of the district of Clermont, Sept. 14, etc. ]

[Footnote 3408: Cf. Above, ch. IX. -"Archives Nationales, " F7, 3249. Letter of the administrators of the district of Senlis, Oct. 31, 1792. Two of the administrators of the Senlis hospital were arrested by Pariscommissaries and conducted "before the pretended Committee of PublicSafety in Paris, with all that they possessed in money, jewels, andassignats. " The same commissaries carry off two of the hospital sistersof charity, with all the silver plate in the establishment; the sistersare released, but the plate is not returned. --Buchez et Roux, XXVI. 209(Patriote Français). Session of April 30, 1793, the final report of thecommission appointed to examine the accounts of the old Committee ofSupervision: "Panis and Sergent are convicted of breaking seals. ". . . "67, 580 francs found in Septenil's domicile have disappeared, as well asmany articles of value. "]

[Footnote 3409: Schmidt, I, 270. ]

[Footnote 3410: Mortimer-Ternaux, IV. 221 to 229, 242 to 260; VI. 43 to52. ]

[Footnote 3411: De Sybel, "Histoire de l'Europe pendant la RévolutionFrançaise, " II 76. --Madame Roland, II. 152. "It was not only impossibleto make out the accounts, but to imagine where 130, 000, 000 had gone. . . The day he was dismissed he made sixty appointments, . . . From hisson-in-law, who, a vicar, was made a director at 19, 000 francs salary, to his hair-dresser, a young scapegrace of nineteen, whom he makes acommissary of war". . "It was proved that he paid in full regiments thatwere actually reduced to a few men. --Meillan, 20. "The faction becamethe master of Paris through hired brigands, aided by the millions placedat its disposition by the municipality, under the pretext of ensuringsupplies. "]

[Footnote 3412: See in the "Memoirs of Mme. Elliot, " the particulars ofthis vote. --Beaulieu, I. 445. "I saw a placard signed by Marat posted onthe corners of the streets, stating that he had demanded 15, 000 francsof the Duke of Orleans as compensation for what he had done for him. Gouverneur Morris, I. 260 (Letter of Dec. 21, 1792). The galleriesforce the Convention to revoke its decree against the expulsion of theBourbons. --On the 22nd of December the sections present a petition inthe same sense, while there is a sort of riot in the suburbs in favor ofPhilippe-Egalité. ]

[Footnote 3413: Schmidt, I. 246 (Dutard, May 13). "The Convention cannotcount in all Paris thirty persons ready to side with them. ]

[Footnote 3414: Buchez et Roux, XXV. 463. On the call of the houses, April 13, 1793, ninety-two deputies vote for Marat. ]

[Footnote 3415: Prudhomme, "Crimes de la Révolution, " V. 133. Conversation with Danton, December, 1792. --De Barante, III. 123. The sameconversation, probably after another verbal tradition. --I am obliged tosubstitute less coarse terms for those of the quotation. ]

[Footnote 3416: He is the first speaker on the part of the "Mountain" inthe king's trial, and at once becomes president of the Jacobin Club. Hisspeech against Louis XVI. Is significant. "Louis is another Catiline. "He should be executed, first as traitor taken in the act, and next asking; that is to say, as a natural enemy and wild beast taken in a net. ]

[Footnote 3417: Vatel, "Charlotte Corday and the Girondists, " I. Preface, CXLI. (with all the documents, the letters of Madame deSaint-Just, the examination on the 6th of October, 1786, etc. )The articles stolen consisted of six pieces of plate, a fine ring, gold-mounted pistols, packets of silver lace, etc. --The youth declaresthat he is "about to enter the Comte d'Artois' regiment of guards untilhe is old enough to enter the king's guards. " He also had an idea ofentering the Oratoire. ]

[Footnote 3418: Cf. His speech against the king, his reporton Danton, on the Girondists, etc. If the reader would comprehendSaint-Just's character he has only to read his letter to d'Aubigny, July20, 1792: "Since I came here I am consumed with a republican fury, whichis wasting me away. . . It is unfortunate that I cannot remain in Paris. Ifeel something within me which tells me that I shall float on the wavesof this century. . . You dastards, you have not appreciated me! My renownwill yet blaze forth and cast yours in the shade. Wretches that you are, you call me a thief, a villain, because I can give you no money. Tearmy heart out of my body and eat it, and you will become what you are notnow--great!"]

[Footnote 3419: Buchez et Roux, XXIV. 296, 363; XXV. 323; XXVII. 144, 145. --Moniteur, XIV 80 (terms employed by Danton, David, Legendre, andMarat). ]

[Footnote 3420: Moniteur, XV. 74. --Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 254, 257, sessions of Jan. 6 and May 27. ]

[Footnote 3421: Moniteur, XIV. 851. (Session of Dec. 26, 1792. Speech byJulien. )]

[Footnote 3422: Moniteur, XIV. 768 (session of Dec. 16). The presidentsays: "I have called Calon to order three times, and three times has heresisted. "--Vergnieud declares that "The majority of the Assemblyis under the yoke of a seditious minority. "--Ibid, XIV. 851, 853, 865(session of Dec. 26 and 27). --Buchez et Roux, XXV. 396 (session of April11. )]

[Footnote 3423: Louvet, 72]

[Footnote 3424: Meillan, 24: "We were for some time all armed withsabres, pistols, and blunderbusses. "--Moore, II. 235 (October, 1792). A number of deputies already at this date carried sword canes andpocket-pistols. ]

[Footnote 3425: Dauban, "La Demagogie en 1793, " p. 101. Descriptionof the hall by Prudhomme, with illustrations. --Ibid. , 199. Letter ofBrissot to his constituents: "The brigands and the bacchantes have foundtheir way into the new hall. --According to Prudhomme the galleries hold1, 400 persons in all, and according to Dulaure, 20, 000 or 3, 000. ]

[Footnote 3426: Moore, I. 44 (Oct. 10), and II. 534. ]

[Footnote 3427: Moniteur. XIV. 795. Speech by Lanjuinais, Dec. 19, 1792. ]

[Footnote 3428: Buchez et Roux, XX. 5, 396. Speech by Duperret, sessionof April 11, 1793. ]

[Footnote 3429: Dauban, 143. Letter of Valazé, April 14. --Cf. Moniteur, XIV. 746, session of Dec. 14. --Ibid. , 800, session of Dec. 20. --Ibid. , 853, session of Dec. 26. ]

[Footnote 3430: Speech by Salles. --Lanjuinais also says: "One seems todeliberate here in a free Convention; but it is only under the daggerand cannon of the factions. "--Moniteur. XV. 180, session of Jan. 16. Speech by N--, deputy, its delivery insisted on by Charles Vilette. ]

[Footnote 3431: Meillan, 24-32 "Archives Nationales, " AF, II. 45. Policereports, May 16, 18, 19. "There is fear of a bloody scene the firstday. "--Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 125. Report of Gamon inspector of theConvention hall. ]

[Footnote 3433: Moniteur, XIV. 362 (Nov. 1, 1792). --Ibid. , 387, sessionof Nov. 4. Speech by Royer and Gorsas. -Ibid. , 382. Letter by Roland, Nov. 5. ]

[Footnote 3434: Moniteur, XIV. 699. Letter of Roland, Nov. 28. ]

[Footnote 3435: Moniteur, XIV. 697, number for Dec. 11. ]

[Footnote 3436: Moniteur, XV. 180, session of Jan. 16. Speech byLehardy, Hugues, and Thibaut. --Meillan, 14: "A line of separationbetween the two sides of the Assembly was then traced. Several deputieswhich the faction wished to put out of the way had voted for death (ofthe king). Almost all of these were down on the list of those in favorof the appeal to the people, which was the basis preferred. We were thenknown as appellants. "]

[Footnote 3437: Moniteur, XV. 8. Speech by Rabaut-Saint-Ètienne. --Buchezet Roux, XXIII 24. Mortimer-Ternaux, V. 418. --Moniteur, XV. 180, sessionof Jan. 16. --Buchez et Roux, XXIV. 292. --Moniteur, XV. 182. Letterof the mayor of Paris, Jan. 16. --Ibid. , 179. Letter of Roland, Jan. 16. --Buchez et Roux, XXIV. 448. Report by Santerre. ]

[Footnote 3438: Buchez et Roux, XXV. 23 to 26. --Mortimer-Ternaux, VI. 184 (Manifesto of the central committee, March 9, 2 o'clock in themorning). -Ibid. 193. Narrative of Fournier at the bar of the Convention, March 12. --Report of the mayor of Paris, March 10. --Report of theMinister of Justice, March 13. --Meillan, 24. --Louvet, 72, 74. ]

[Footnote 3439: Pétion, "Mémoires, " 106 (Ed. Dauban): "How many times Iheard, 'You rascal, we'll have your head!' And I have no doubt that theyoften planned my assassination. "]

[Footnote 3440: Taillandier, "Documents biographiques, " on Daunou(Narrative by Daunou), p. 38. --Doulcet de Pontécoulant, "Mémoires, " I. 139: "It was then that the 'Mountain' used all the means of intimidationit knew so well how to bring into play, filling the galleries with itssatellites, who shouted out to each other the name of each deputy ashe stepped up to the president's table to give his vote, and yellingsavagely at every one who did not vote for immediate and unconditionaldeath. --Carnot, "Mémoires, " I. 293. Carnot voted for the death of theking; yet afterward he avowed that "Louis XVI. Would have been saved, ifthe Convention had not held its deliberations under the dagger. "]

[Footnote 3441: Durand-Maillane, 35, 38, 57. ]

[Footnote 3442: An expression by Dussaulx, in his "Fragments pour servirà l'histoire de la Convention. "]

[Footnote 3443: Madame Roland, "Mémoires, " ed. Barrière et Berville, II. 52. --(Note by Roland. )]

[Footnote 3444: Moniteur, XV, 187. Cambacérès votes: "Louis has incurredthe penalties established in the penal code against conspirators. . . Theexecution to be postponed until hostilities cease. In case of invasionof the French territory by the enemies of the republic, the decree to beenforced. "--On Barrère, see Macaulay's crushing article in "BiographicalEssays. "]

[Footnote 3445: Sainte-Beuve, "Causeries du Lundi, " V. 209. ("Sièyes, "according to his unpublished manuscripts. )]

[Footnote 3446: Madame Roland, II. 56. Note by Roland. ]

[Footnote 3447: Mortimer-Ternaux, V. 476. ]

[Footnote 3448: Mortimer-Ternaux, V. 513. ]

[Footnote 3449: Comte de Ségur, "Mémoires. " I. 13. ]

[Footnote 3450: Harmand de la Meuse (member of the Convention), "Anecdotes relative à la Révolution, " 83, 85. ]

[Footnote 3451: Meissner, 148, "Voyage à Paris" (last months of 1795). Testimony of the regicide Audrein. ]

[Footnote 3452: Louvet, 775. ]

[Footnote 3453: Meillan, 16. ]

[Footnote 3454: Remark by M. Guirot ("Mémoires"), II. 73. ]

[Footnote 3455: Moniteur, XIV. 432, session of Nov. 10, 1792. Speechby Cambon: "That is the reason why I shall always detest the 2nd ofSeptember; for never will I approve of assassinations. " In the samespeech he justifies the Girondists against any reproach of federalism. ]

[Footnote 3456: "Le Maréchal Davoust, " by Madame de Bocqueville. Letterof Davoust, battalion officer, June 2, 1793: "We are animated with thespirit of Lepelletier, which is all that need be said with respectto our opinions and what we will do in the coming crisis, in which, perhaps, a faction will try to plunge us anew into a civil war betweenthe departments and Paris. Perfidious eloquence. . . ConservativeTartufes. "]

[Footnote 3457: Moniteur, XIV. 738. Report by Cambon, Dec. 15. "On theway French generals are to act in countries occupied by the armiesof the republic. " This important document is a true manifesto of theRevolution. --Buchez et Roux, XXVII 140, session of May 20, and XXVI. 177, session of April 27, speech by Cambon: "The department of Héraultsays to this or that individual: 'You are rich; your opinions cause usexpenditure. . I mean to fix you to the Revolution in spite of yourself. You shall lend your fortune to the republic, and when liberty isestablished the republic will return your capital to you. --"I shouldlike, then, following the example of the department of Hérault, that theConvention should organize a civic loan of one billion, to be suppliedby egoists and the indifferent. --Decree of May 20, "passed almostunanimously. A forced loan of one billion shall be made on wealthycitizens. "]

[Footnote 3458: Meillan. 100. ]

[Footnote 3459: Speech by Ducos, March 20. "We must choose betweendomestic education and liberty. So long as the poor and the rich arenot brought close together through a common education, in vain willyour laws proclaim sacred equality!"--Rabaut-Saint-Étienne: "In everytownship a national temple will be erected, in which every Sundayits municipal officers will give moral instruction to the assembledcitizens. This instruction will be drawn from books approved of bythe legislative body, and followed by hymns also approved of by thelegislative. A catechism, as simple as it is short, drawn up bythe legislative body, shall be taught and every boy will know itby heart. "--On the sentiments of the Girondists in relation toChristianity, see chapters V. And XI. Of this volume. --On the means forequalizing the fortunes, see articles by Rabaut-Saint-Étienne (Buchez etRoux, XXIII. 467). --Ibid. , XXIV. 475 (March 7-11) decree abolishing thetestamentary right. --Condorcet, in his "Tableau des progrés del'Esprit humain, " assigns the leveling of conditions as the purpose ofsociety. --On propaganda abroad, read the report by Cambon (Dec. 15). This report is nearly unanimously accepted, and Buzot exacerbates it byadding an amendment]

[Footnote 3460: Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 287, session of May 28, vote onthe maintenance of the Commission of Twelve. ]

[Footnote 3461: Moniteur. XV. 395, session of Feb. 8, 1793. ]

[Footnote 3462: Decrees of March 13 and 14. ]

[Footnote 3463: Moore, II. 44 (October 1792). Danton declares in thetribune that "the Convention should be a committee of instruction forkings throughout the universe. " On which Moore remarks that thisis equivalent to declaring war against all Europe exceptSwitzerland. --Mallet du Pan, "Considerations sur la Revolution deFrance, " p. 37: "In a letter which chance has brought to my notice, Brissot wrote to one of his minister-generals towards the close of lastyear: 'The four quarters of Europe must be set on fire; that is oursalvation. '"]

[Footnote 3464: Duvergier, "Collection des lois et décrets. " Decree ofMarch 10-12. Title I. Articles 4, 12, 13; title II. Articles 2, 3. Addto this the decree of March 29-31, establishing the penalty ofdeath against whoever composes or prints documents favoring there-establishment of royalty. ]

[Footnote 3465: Ib. , Decree of March 28--April 5 (article 6). --Cf. Thedecrees of March 18-22, and April 23-24. ]

[Footnote 3466: Decree of March 27-30. ]

[Footnote 3467: Decree of April 5-7. ]

[Footnote 3468: Decree of May 4. (A law fixing the highest price atwhich grain shall be sold. TR. )]

[Footnote 3469: Decree of April 11-16 (bearing on the reduction in valueof the legal currency. --TR). ]

[Footnote 3470: Decree of May 20-25. ]

[Footnote 3471: Decree of April 5-7. Words used by Danton in the courseof the debate. ]

[Footnote 3472: Decree of April 5-11. ]

[Footnote 3473: Decrees of May 13, 16, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 29, June1. ]

[Footnote 3474: Decrees of March 21-23 and March 26-30. ]

[Footnote 3475: Decrees of March 29-31. ]

[Footnote 3476: Decree of April 1-5. ]

[Footnote 3477: Schmidt, I. 232. Report by Dutard, May 10. ]

[Footnote 3478: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 2401 to 2505. Records ofthe section debates in Paris. --Many of these begin March 28, 1793, andcontain the deliberations of revolutionary committees; for example, F7, 2475, the section of the Pikes or of the Place Vendôme. We see bythe official reports dated March 28 and the following days that thesuspected were deprived all weapons, even the smallest, every species ofswordcane, including dress-swords with steel or silver handles. ]

[Footnote 3479: Buchez et Roux, XXV. 157. --"Archives Nationales, " F7, 2494, section of the Réunion, official report, March 28. ]

[Footnote 3480: Schmidt, I. 223 (Dutard, May 14). --Ibid. , 224. "If theConvention allows committees of supervision to exercise its authority, I will not give it eight days. "--Meillan, 111: "Almost all the sectionagitators were strangers"--"Archives Nationales, " F7, 3294 and 3297, records of debate in the committees of supervision belonging to thesections of the Réunion and Droits de l'Homme. Quality of mind andeducation are both indicated by orthography. For instance: "Le dit jouret an que déçus. "--"Orloger. "--"Lecture d'une lettre du comité de surtégénéral de la convention qui invite le comité à se transporter desuites chez le citoyen Louis Féline rue Baubourg, à leffets de faireperquisition chez lui et dans tout ces papiers, et que ceux quiparaîtrons suspect lon y metes les selés. "]

[Footnote 3481: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3294. Section of the Réunion, official report. March 28. ]

[Footnote 3482: Buchez et Roux, XXV. 168. An ordinance of the commune, March 27. ]

[Footnote 3483: Schmidt, I. 223. Report by Dutard, May 14. ]

[Footnote 3484: Buchez et Roux, XXV. 167. Ordinance of May 27. XXXVII. 151. Ordinance of May 20. ]

[Footnote 3485: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3294. See in particular, theofficial reports of the month of April. --Buchez et Roux, XXV. 149, andXXVI. 342. (ordinances of the Commune, March 27 and May 2). ]

[Footnote 3486: Buchez et Roux, XXVI. 402 (article from the PatrioteFrançais, May 8). "Arrests are multiplied lately to a frightful extent. The mayoralty overflows with prisoners. Nobody has any idea of theinsolence and harshness with which citizens are treated. Slaughter anda Saint-Bartholomew are all that are talked of. "--Meillan, 55. "Letanybody in any assemblage or club express any opinion not in unisonwith municipal views, and he is sure to be arrested the following night. "--Gouverneur Morris, March 29, 1793. "Yesterday I was arrested in thestreet and conducted to the section of Butte-des-Moulins. . . Armed mencame to my house yesterday. "--Reply of the minister Lebrun, April 3. "Domiciliary visits were a general measure from which no house in Pariswas exempt. "]

[Footnote 3487: Buchez et Roux, XXVI. 384. Speech by Buzot, session ofMay 8. ]

[Footnote 3488: Buchez et Roux, XXVI. 332. Ordinance of the commune, May1. ]

[Footnote 3489: Schmidt, I. 216. Report by Dutard, May 13. ]

[Footnote 3490: Schmidt, I. 301. "In our sections the best class ofcitizens are still afraid of imprisonment or of being disarmed. Nobodytalks freely. "--The Lyons revolutionaries make the same calculation("Archives Nationales, " AF, II. 43). Letter addressed to therepresentatives of the people by the administrators of the department ofthe Rhône, June 4, 1793. The revolutionary committee "designated for LaVendée those citizens who were most comfortably off or those it hated, whilst conditional enlistment with the privilege of remaining in thedepartment were granted only to those in favor of disorganization. "--Cf. Guillon de Montléon, I. 235. ]

[Footnote 3491: Buchez et Roux, XXVI. 399. Ordinance of the commune, May3, on a forced loan of twelve millions, article 6. "The revolutionarycommittees will regard the apportionment 'lists simply as guides, without regarding them as a basis of action. "--Article 14. "The personaland real property of those who have not conformed to the patriotic draftwill be seized and sold at the suit of the revolutionary committees, andtheir persons declared suspected. "]

[Footnote 3492: Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 17 (Patriote Français, number forMay 14). Francoeur is taxed at 3, 600 francs. --The same process at Lyons(Balleydier, 174, and Guillon de Montléon, I. 238). The authorized taxby the commissaries of the convention amounted to six millions. Therevolutionary committee levied thirty and forty millions, payablein twenty-four hours on warrants without delay (May 13 and 14). Manypersons are taxed from 80, 000 to 100, 000 francs, the text of therequisitions conveying ironically a hostile spirit. ]

[Footnote 3493: Buchez et Roux, XXVI. 463, session of the Jacobin Club, May 11. ]

[Footnote 3494: Meillan, 17. ]

[Footnote 3495: Buchez et Roux, XXVI. 463, session of the Jacobin club, May 11. Speech by Hassenfratz. --Ibid. , 455, session of the Jacobin club, May 10, speech by Robespierre. "The rich are all anti-revolutionaries;only beggars and the people can save the country. "--Ibid. N--:"Revolutionary battalions should be maintained in the department at theexpense of the rich, who are cowards. "--Ibid. , XXVII. 317. Petition ofthe Faubourg Saint-Antoine, May 11. --Schmidt, I. 315 (Report by Dutard, May 13). "There is no recruiting in the faubourgs, because people thereknow that they are more wanted here than in La Vendée. They let the richgo and fight. They watch things here, and trust nobody but themselves toguard Paris. "]

[Footnote 3496: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 2494. Section of the Réunion, official reports of May 15 and 16. --Buchez et Roux, XXV. 167, ordance ofthe commune, March 27. ]

[Footnote 3497: Schmidt, I. 327. Report of Perriére, May 28. "Our groupitself seemed to governed by nothing but hatred of the rich by the poor. One must be a dull observer not to see by a thousand symptoms that thesetwo natural enemies stand in battle array, only awaiting the signal orthe opportunity. "]

[Footnote 3498: Buchez et Roux, XXV. 460. The papers examined by theaccusers are the numbers of Marat's journal of the 5th of January andof the 25th of February. The article which provoked the decree is his"Address to the National Convention, " pp. 446 and 450. ]

[Footnote 3499: Buchez et Roux, XXVI. 149; Narrative by Marat, 114. Bulletin of the revolutionary tribunal, session of the Convention. ]

[Footnote 34100: Buchez et Roux, XXVI. 358, article in the Chronique deParis; 358, article by Marat. --Schmidt, I. 184. Report by Dutard, May5. --Paris, "Histoire de Joseph Lebon, " I. 81. Letter by Robespierre, Jr. , May 7. ]

[Footnote 34101: Buchez et Roux, XXV. 240 and 246. Protest of the Mailsection, of the electoral body of the Arsenal, Marais, Gravelliers, and Arcis sections. (The Convention, session of April 2; the commune, session of April 2. )--XXVI. 358 Protests of the sections of Bon-Conseiland the Unité, (May 5). --XXVII. 71. Defeat of the anarchists in thesection of Butté-des-Moulins. "A great many sections openly show adetermination to put anarchy down. " (Patriote Français, May 15). --Ibid. , 137. Protests of the Panthéon Français, Piques, Mail, and severalother sections (Patriote Français, May 19). --Ibid. , 175. Protest of theFraternité section (session of the Convention, May 23). ]

[Footnote 34102: Schmidt, I. 189. Dutard, May 6. ]

[Footnote 34103: Mortimer-Ternaux, VII. 218. Official report of thereunion of the two sections of the Lombards and Bon-Conseil (April12), "by which the two said sections promise and swear union, aid, fraternity, and mutual help, in case the aristocracy are disposed todestroy liberty. "--"Consequently, " says the Bon-Conseil section, "many of the citizens of the Lombards section, justly alarmed at thedisturbances occasioned by the evil-disposed, came and proffered theirassistance. "--Adhesion of the section of Les Amis de la Patrie. --Buchezet Roux, XXVII. 138. (Article of the Patriote Français, May 19): "Thisbrigandage is called assembly of combined sections. "--Ibid. , 236, May26, session of the commune. "Deputations of the Montreuil, Quinze-Vingtsand Droits de l'Homme sections came to the assistance of the Arsenalpatriots; the aristocrats took to flight, leaving their hats behindthem. "--Schmidt, I. 213, 313 (Dutard, May 13 and 27). Violent treatmentof the moderates in the Bon-Conseil and Arsenal sections; "struck withchairs, several persons wounded, one captain carried off on a bench;the gutter-jumpers and dumpy shopkeepers cleared out, leaving thesans-culottes masters of the field. "--Meillan, 111. --Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 237, session of the Jacobin club, May 26. "In the section ofButte-des-Moulins the patriots, finding they were not in force, seizedthe chairs and drove the aristocrats out. "]

[Footnote 34104: Buchez et Roux, 78, XXVII. On the juge-de-paix Roux, carried off at night and imprisoned. April 16. --Mortimer-Ternaux, III. 220, on the vice-president Sagnier, May 10. --Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 231, May 26, on the five citizens of the Unité section arrested bythe revolutionary committee of the section "for having spoken againstRobespierre and Marat. "]

[Footnote 34105: Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 154. Speech of Léonard Bourdonto the Jacobins, May 20. ]

[Footnote 34106: Buchez et Roux, XXVI. 3. Address drawn up by thecommissaries of the 48 sections approved of by 35 sections, also by thecommune, and presented to the Convention April 15. --Others have precededit, like pilot ballons. --Ibid. , XXV. 319. Petition of the Bon-Conseil, April 8. --XXV. 320. Petition of the section of the Halleau-Blé, April10. ]

[Footnote 34107: Buchez et Roux, XXVI. 83. Speech by Vergniaud to theconvention, session of April 20. "These facts are accepted. Nobody cancontradict them. More than 10, 000 witnesses would confirm them. "--Thereare the same proceedings at Lyons Jan. 13, 1792, against the petition faran appeal to the people (Guillon de Montléon, I. 145, 155). The officialreport of the Jacobins claims that the petition obtained 40, 215signatures. "The petition was first signed by about 200 clubbists, whopretended to be the people. . . They spread the report among the peoplethat all who would not sign the address would be blacklisted orproscribed. That's why they had desks set up in all the public squares, and seized by the arm all who came, and forced them to sign. As thisapproach did not prove fruitful they made children ten years of age, women, and ignorant rustics put down their name. " They were told thatthe object was to put down the price of bread. "I swear to you that thisaddress is the work a hundred persons at most; the great majority of thecitizens of Lyons desire to avail themselves of their own sovereigntyin the judgment of Louis. " (Letter of David of Lyons to the president ofthe convention, Jan. 16. )]

[Footnote 34108: "Fragment, " by Lanjuinais (in the memoirs ofDurand-Maillane, p. 297). ]

[Footnote 34109: Meillan, 113. ]

[Footnote 34110: Buchez et Roux, XXVI. 3!9 (May 12). --Meillan, 113. ]

[Footnote 34111: Buchez et Roux, XVI. 327. On being informed of this thecrowd sent new deputies, the latter stating in relation to the others:"We do not recognise them. "]

[Footnote 34112: Buchez et Roux, XXVI. 143. ]

[Footnote 34113: Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 175, May 23. ]

[Footnote 34114: Schmidt, I. 212. Report of Dutard, May 13. --I. 218. "Aplot is really under way, and many heads are singled out. " (Terrasson, May 13. )]

[Footnote 34115: Buchez et Roux, XXVII 9. Speech of Guadet to theConvention, May 14. ]

[Footnote 34116: Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 2. Patriote Français, May 13. ]

[Footnote 34117: Schmidt, I 242. Report of Dutard, May 18. --Also 245. ]

[Footnote 34118: Schmidt, I 254. Report of Dutard, May 19. ]

[Footnote 34119: Bergoeing, Chatry, Dubosq, "Pièces recueillies parla Commission des Douze et publiées à Caen. " June 28, 1793 (in the"Mémoires" of Meillan, pp. 176-198). Attempts at murder had alreadyoccurred. "Lanjuinais came near being killed. Many of the deputies wereinsulted and threatened. The armed force joins with the malefactors; wehave accordingly no means of repression. " (Mortimer-Ternaux, VII. 562, letter of the deputy Michel to his constituents, May 20. )]

[Footnote 34120: Bergoeing, "Pièces, etc. "--Meillan, pp. 39 and 40. --Thedepositions are all made by eye witnesses. The propositions for themassacre were made in the meetings at the town-hall, May 19, 20 and 21, and at the Cordeliers club May 22 and 23. ]

[Footnote 34121: The Jacobins at Lyons plot the same thing (Guilion deMontléon, 248). Chalier says to the club: "We shall not fail to have 300noted heads. Get hold of the members of the department, the presidentsand secretaries of the sections, and let us make a bundle of them forthe guillotine; we will wash our hands in their blood. " Thereupon, onthe night of May 28 the revolutionary municipality seize the arsenal andplant cannon on the Hôtel-de-ville. The Lyons sections, however, moreenergetic than those of Paris, take, up arms and after a terrible fightthey get possession of the Hôtel-de-ville. The moral differencebetween the two parties is very marked in Gonchon's letters. ("ArchivesNationales, " AF, II. 43. Letters of Gonchon to Garat, May 31, June 1 and3. ) "Keep up the courage of the Convention. It need not be afraid. Thecitizens of Lyons have covered themselves with glory. They displayed thegreatest courage in every fight that took place in various quarters ofthe town, and the greatest magnanimity to their enemies, who behavedmost villainously. " The municipal body had sent a flag of truce, pretending to negotiate, and then treacherously opened fire with itscannon on the columns of the sections, and cast the wounded into theriver. The citizens of Lyons, so often slandered, will be the firstto have set an example of true republican character. Find me a similarinstance, if you can, in the history of revolutions: being victoriousand yet not then to have shed a drop of blood!" They cared for thewounded, and raised a subscription for the widows and orphans of thedead, without distinction of party. Cf. Lauvergue, "Histoire du Var, "175. The same occurs at Toulon (insurrection of the moderates, July 12and 13, 1793). --At Toulon, as at Lyons, there was no murder after thevictory; only regular trials and the execution of two or three assassinswhose crimes were legally proved. ]

[Footnote 34122: Schmidt, I. 335. Report of Perrière, May 29. ]

[Footnote 34123: Bergoeing, "Pièces, etc. ", p. 195. --Buchez et Roux, XXVII 296. ]

[Footnote 34124: The insurrection at Lyons took place on May 29. On the2nd of June it is announced in the Convention that the insurgent armyof Lozère, more than 30, 000 strong, has taken Marvejols, and is aboutto take Mende (Buchez et Roux XXVII. 387). --A threatening address fromBordeaux (May 14) and from thirty-two sections in Marseilles (May 25)against the Jacobins (Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 3. 214). --Cf. Robinet in"Le procès des Dantonistes, 303, 305. ]

[Footnote 34125: Mortimer-Ternaux, VII 38. ]

[Footnote 34126: Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 297, session of the Jacobins, May 29. ]

[Footnote 34127: Barrère, "Mémoires, " II. 91, 94. As untruthful asBarrère is, here his testimony may be accepted. I see no reason why heshould state what is not true; he was well informed, as he belongedto the Committee of Public Safety. His statements, besides, on thecomplicity d the Mountain and on the rôle of Danton are confirmed by thewhole mass of facts. --Buchez et Roux, XXVIII. 200 (speech by Danton inthe Convention, June 13). "Without the canon of the 31st of May, withoutthe insurrection the conspirators would have triumphed; they would havegiven us the law. Let the crime of that insurrection be on our heads!That insurrection--I myself demanded it!. . . I demand a declaration bythe Convention, that without the insurrection of May 31, liberty wouldbe no more!"--Ibid. , 220. Speech by Leclerc at the Cordeliers club, June27: "Was it not Legendre who rendered abortive our wise measures, sooften taken, to exterminate our enemies? He and Danton it was, who, through their culpable resistance, reduced us to the moderation ofthe 31st of May, Legendre and Danton are the men who opposed therevolutionary steps which we had taken on those great days to crush outall the aristocrats in Paris!"]

[Footnote 34128: Schmidt, I. 244. Report by Dutard, May 18. ]

[Footnote 34129: Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 253 and following pages, sessionof May 27. --Mortimer-Ternaux, VII. 294. --Buchez et Roux, XXVIII. 9("Précis rapide" by Gorsas). ]

[Footnote 34130: Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 258. Meillan, 43. ]

[Footnote 34131: Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 259 (words of Raffet). ]

[Footnote 34132: Meillan, 44. --Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 267, 280. ]

[Footnote 34133: Meillan, 44. Placed opposite the president, withinten paces of him, with my eyes constantly fixed on him, because in thehorrible din which disgraced the Assembly we could have no other compassto steer by, I can testify that I neither saw nor heard the decree putto vote. "--Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 278. Speech by Osselin, session ofMay 28: "I presented the decree as drawn up to the secretaries for theirsignatures this morning. One of them, after reading it, observed tome that the last article had not been decreed, but that the precedingarticles had been. "--Mortimer-Ternaux, VII. 562. Letter of the deputyMichel. May 29. "The guards were forced, and the sanctuary of the lawinvested from about four to ten hours, so that nobody could leave thehall even for the most urgent purposes. ]

[Footnote 34134: Mortimer-Ternaux, VII. 308. Extract from the officialreports of the patriotic club of Butte-des-Moulins, May 30. "Consideringthat the majority of the section, known for incivism and itsantirevolutionary spirit, would decline this election or would electcommissaries not enjoying the confidence of patriots, ". . The patrioticclub takes upon itself the duty of electing the two commissariesdemanded. ]

[Footnote 34135: Durand-Maillan, 297. "Fragment, " by Lanjuinais. "Sevenstrangers, seven outside agents, Desfieux, Proly, Pereyra, Dubuisson, Gusman, the two brothers Frey, etc. , were set up by the commune as aninsurrectionary committee. " Most of them are vile fellows, as is thecase with Varlet, Dobsen, Hassenfratz, Rousselin, Desfieux, Gusman, etc. ]

[Footnote 34136: Buchez et Roux, XXVIII. 156. "We, members of therevolutionary commission, citizens Clémence, of the Bon-Conseil section;Dunouy, of the Sans-culottes section; Bonin, of the section of LesMarchés, Auvray of the section of Mont-Blanc; Séguy, of the sectionof Butte-des-Moulins; Moissard, of Grenelle; Berot, canton d'Issy;Rousselin, section of the Unité; Marchand, section of Mont-Blanc;Grespin, section of Gravilliers. " They resign on the 6th of June. --Thecommission, at first composed of nine members, ends in comprising eleven(Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 316, official reports of the commune. May 31. )then 25 (Speech by Pache to the Committee of Public Safety, June 1. )]

[Footnote 34137: Buchez et Roux XXVII. 306. Official reports of thecommune, May 31. --Ibid. , 316. Mortimer-Ternaux, VII. 319. ]

[Footnote 34138: Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 274 Speech by Hassenfratz to theJacobin Club, May 27. ]

[Footnote 34139: Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 346 (speech by Lhuillier in theConvention, May 31). ]

[Footnote 34140: Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 302, session of the Convention, May 30. Words uttered by Hassenfratz, Varlet, and Chabot, and denouncedby Lanjuinais. ]

[Footnote 34141: Madame Roland, "Appel à l'impartiale postérité. "Conversation of Madam Roland on the evening of May 31 on the Place duCarrusel with an artillerist. ]

[Footnote 34142: Buchez et Roux, 307-323. Official reports of thecommune, May 31. ]

[Footnote 34143: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 2494, register of therevolutionary committee of the Réunion section, official report of May31, 6 o'clock in the morning. ]

[Footnote 34144: Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 335, session of the Convention, May 31. Petition presented by the commissaries in the name offorty-eight sections; their credentials show that they are not at firstauthorized by more than twenty-six sections. ]

[Footnote 34145: Buchez et Roux, 347, 348. Mortimer-Ternaux, VII. 350 (third dispatch of the Hôtel-de-ville delegates, present at thesession): "The National Assembly was not able to accept the aboveimportant measures. . . Until the perturbators of the Assembly, knownunder the title of the 'Right, ' did themselves the justice to perceivethat they were not worthy of taking part in them; they evacuated theAssembly, after the great gesticulations and imprecations, to which youknow they are liable. "]

[Footnote 34146: Dauban, "La Demagogie en 1793. " Diary of Beaulieu, May 31. --Declaration of Henriot, Germinal 4, year III. --Buchez et Roux, XXVIII. 351]

[Footnote 34147: Mortimer-Ternaux, VII. 565. Letter of the deputyLoiseau, June 5. ]

[Footnote 34148: Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 352 to 360, 368 to 377. Officialreports of the commune, June 1 and 2. Proclamation of the revolutionarycommittee, June 1. "Your delegates have ordered the arrest of allsuspected persons concealing themselves in the sections of Paris. Thisarrest is in progress in all quarters. "]

[Footnote 34149: "Archives Nationales, " F7, 2494. Section of theRéunion, official report, June 1. --Ibid. , June 2. Citizen Robin isarrested on the 2nd of June, "for having manifested opinions contrary tothe sovereignty of the people in the National Assembly. " The same day aproclamation is made on the territory of the section by a deputationof the commune, accompanied by one member and two drummers, "tending(tendantes) to make known to the people that the country will besaved by awaiting (en atendans) with courage the decree which is to berendered to prevent traitors (les traitre) from longer sitting in thesenate house. "--Ibid. , June 4. The committee decides that it will addnew members to its number, but they will be taken only from all "goodsans-cullote; no notary, no notary's clerk, no lawyers nor their clerks, no banker nor rich landlord" being admissible, unless he gives evidenceof unmistakable civism since 1789. --Cf. F7, 2497 (section of the Droitsde l'Homme), F7, 2484 (section of the Halle-au-blé), the resemblance inorthography and in their acts; the registry of the Piques section (F7, 2475) is one of the most interesting; here may be found the details ofthe appearance of the ministers before it; the committee that examinesthem does not even spell their names correctly, "Clavier" being oftenwritten for Clavière, and "Goyer" for Gohier. ]

[Footnote 34150: Buchez et Roux, XXVIII. 19. ]

[Footnote 34151: Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 357. Official reports of thecommune, June 1. ]

[Footnote 34152: Meillan, 307. --"Fragment, " by Lanuinais. --"Diurnal, " ofBeaulieu, June 2. --Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 399 (speech by Barère). ]

[Footnote 34153: Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 357. Official reports of thecommune, June 1. ]

[Footnote 34154: Meillan, 53, 58, 307. Buchez et Roux, XXVIII. 14(Précis, by Gordas). ]

[Footnote 34155: Buchez et Roux, XXVII 359. Official reports of thecommune, June 1. "One member of the Council stated that on going to theBeaurepaire section he was not well received; that the president ofthis section spoke uncivilly to him and took him for an imaginarymunicipalist; that he was threatened with the lock-up, and that hisliberty was solely due to the brave citizens of the Sans-culottessection and the gunners of the Beaurepaire section who went withhim. "--Preparations for the investment began on the 1st of June. ("Archives Nationales, " F7, 2497, official reports of the Droits del'Homme section, June 1. ) Orders of Henriot to the commandant of thesection to send "400 homme et la compagnie de canonier avec le 2 piècesde canon au Carouzel le long des Thuilerie plasse de la Révolution. "]

[Footnote 34156: "Lanjuinais states 100, 000 men, Meillan 50, 000; thedeputies of the Somme say 60, 000, but without any evidence. Judging byvarious indications I should put the number much lower, on account ofthe disarmament and absentees: say 30, 000 men, the same as May 31. ]

[Footnote 34157: Mortimer-Ternaux, VII. 566. Letter of the deputyLoiseau: "I passed through the whole of one battalion; the men allsaid that they did not know why the movement was made, that only theirofficers knew. " (June 1. )]

[Footnote 34158: Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 400. Session of the Convention, June 2. ----XXVIII. 43 (report by Saladin). ]

[Footnote 34159: Mortimer-Ternaux, VII. 392. Official report of theJacobin Club, June 2 "The deputies were so surrounded as not to be ableto go out even for special purposes. "--Ibid. , 568 Letter of the deputyLoiseau. ]

[Footnote 34160: Buchez et Roux, XXVIII. 44. Report bySaladin. --Meillan, 237. --Mortimer-Ternaux VII. 547. Declaration of thedeputies of the Somme. ]

[Footnote 34161: Meillan, 52. --Pétion, "Mémoires, " 109 (EditionDauban). --Lanjuinais ("Fragment")--"Nearly all those called Girondiststhought it best to stay away. "--Letter of Vergniaud June 3 (in theRepublican Français, June 5, 1793). "I left the Assembly yesterdaybetween 1 and 2 o'clock. "]

[Footnote 34162: Lanjuinais, "Fragment, " 299. ]

[Footnote 34163: Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 400. ]

[Footnote 34164: Robinet, "Le Procès de Danton, " 169. Words of Danton(according to the notes of a juryman, Topino-Lebrun). ]

[Footnote 34165: Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 44. Report by Saladin. --Meillan, 59. --Lanjuinais, 308, 310. ]

[Footnote 34166: Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 401]

[Footnote 34167: Mortimer-Ternaux, VII. 569. Letter of the deputyLoiseau. --Meillan, 62. ]

[Footnote 34168: Buchez et Roux, XXVI. 341. Speech by Chasles in theConvention, May 2: "The farmers. . . Are nearly all aristocrats. "]

[Footnote 34169: Or workhouses, see Taine: "Notes on England" page214: "It is an English principle that the indigent, by giving up theirfreedom, have a right to be supported. Society pays the cost, but shutsthem up and sets them to work. As this condition is repugnant to them, they avoid the workhouse as much as possible. " Similar institutionsexisted in France before the revolution. (SR). ]

[Footnote 34170: Sieyès (quoted by Barante, "Histoire de la Convention, "III. 169) thus describes it: "The fake people, the deadliest enemy whichthe French people ever had, blocked incessantly the approaches to theConvention. . . At the entrance or exit of the Convention the astonishedspectator thought that a new invasion of barbarian hordes had suddenlyoccurred, a new irruption of voracious, sanguinary harpies, flockingthere to seize hold of the revolution as if it were the natural prey oftheir species. "]

[Footnote 34171: Gouverneur Morris, II. 241. Letter of Oct. 23, 1792. "The populace--something, thank God, that is unknown in America"--Heoften insists on this essential characteristic of the FrenchRevolution. --On this ever-present class, see the accurate and completework well supported by facts, of Dr. Lombrose, "L'Uomo delinquente. "]

[Footnote 34172: Mortimer-Ternaux, VII. Letter of the deputy Laplaigne, July 6. ]

[Footnote 34173: Meillan, 51. --Buchez et Roux, XXVII. 356. Officialreport of the commune, session of June 1. In the afternoon Marat comesto the commune, harrangues the council, and gives the insurrection thelast impetus. It is plain that he was chief actor on both these days(June 1 and 2). ]

[Footnote 34174: Pétion, 116. ]

[Footnote 34175: Schmidt, I. 370. --Mortimer-Ternaux, VII. 391. Letterof Marchand, member of the Central Committee. "I saw Chaumette doeverything he could to hinder this glorious revolution, . . . Exclaim, shedtears, and tear his hair. "--Buchez et Roux, XXVIII. 46. According toSaladin, Chaumette went so far as to demand Hébert's arrest. ]

[Footnote 34176: Mortimer-Ternaux, VII. 300. --Cf. "Le vieux Cordelier, "by C. Desmoulins, No. 5. ]

[Footnote 34177: Mallet du Pan, II. 52. (March 8, 1794). --The titulargeneral of the revolutionary army was Ronsin. "Previous to theRevolution he was a seedy author earning his living and reputation byworking for the boulevard stalls. . . One day a person informed him thathis staff 'was behaving very badly, acting tyrannically in the mostoutrageous manner at the theaters and everywhere else, striking womenand tearing their bonnets to pieces. Your men commit rape, pillage, andmassacre. ' To which he replied; 'Well, what shall I do? I know that theyare a lot of ruffians as well as you do; but those are the follows Ineed for my revolutionary army. Find me honest people, if you can, that will do that business. '" (Prudhomme, "Crimes de la Révolution, " V. 130. )]

[Footnote 34178: Buchez et Roux, XXIX. 152. ]

[Footnote 34179: Beaulieu, "Essais sur la Révolution, " V. 200. ]

[Footnote 34180: Schmidt, II. 85. Report of Dutard, June 24 (on thereview of the previous evening) "A sort of low-class artisan who seemedto me to have been a soldier. . . Apparently he had associated only withdisorderly men; I am sure that he would be found fond of gaming, wine, women, and everything that denotes a bad character. "]

[Footnote 34181: Charlotte de Corday d'Armont, 1768 to 1793. YoungFrench girl who knifed Marat in his bath. Adherent of the Revolution, she considered Marat as being responsible for the elimination of theGirondists and the establishment of the terror. She was guillotined. (SR. )]

[Footnote 34182: Lauvergne, "Histoire de la Révolution dans ledépartement du Var, " 176. At Toulon "the spirit of counter-revolutionwas nothing else than the sentiment of self-preservation. " It was thesame thing at Lyons. (Nolhac, "Souvenir de trois année de la Révolutionà Lyon, " p. 14. )]

[Footnote 34183: Gouverneur Morris, II. 395. Letter of Jan. 21, 1794. "Admitting what has been asserted by persons in a situation to know thetruth and deeply interested to prove the contrary, it is an undoubtedtruth that ninety-nine-hundredths are opposed to all ideas of adismemberment, and will fight to prevent it. ]

[Footnote 34184: Mallet du Pan, II. 44. ]

[Footnote 34185: Carnot, Lazare, Nicolas, 1753-1823, military engineerand mathematician, member of the committee of public safety, organizedthe armies of the republic and their offensive tactics. (SR). ]

[Footnote 34186: Among other documents, the following letter will showthe quality of these recruits, especially of the recruits of 1791, whowere much the best men. (Letter from the municipal officers of Dorat, December 28, 1792, "Archives Nationales, " F7, 3275. ) "The communeof Dorat is made up of three classes of citizens: The richest class, composed of persons confirmed in the prejudices of the ancient régime, has been disarmed. The second, composed of well-to-do people, fillsthe administrative positions. It is against them that the fury of theturbulent is aimed; but those of this class who could make resistancehave gone to fight the enemy abroad. The third class, and the mostnumerous, is made up in part of the seditious and in part of laborers, who, not daring to mix in the revolt, content themselves withcoveting the tax on grain. "--Toulongeon, "Histoire de France depuis laRévolution, " IV. 94. "Do not degrade a nation by ascribing base motivesto it and a servile fear. Every one, on the contrary, felt himselfinfused by an exalted instinct for the public welfare. "--GouvionSaint-Cyr, "Mémoires, " I. 56: A young man would have blushed to remainat home when the independence of the nation was threatened. Each onequitted his studies or his profession. ]

[Footnote 34187: Gouvion-Saint-Cyr, 26. "The manifesto of Brunswickassigns to France more than a hundred battalions, which, within threeweeks, were raised, armed, and put in the field. "]

[Footnote 34188: In respect of these sentiments, cf. Gouvion Saint-Cyr, "Mémoires, " and Fervel, "Campagnes de la Révolution Française dans lesPyrénées orientales. "]

[Footnote 34189: Stendhal, Memoires sur Napoléon. ]

[Footnote 34190: Gouvion-Saint-Cyr, "Memoires, " p. 43. "Patriotismmade up for everything; it alone gave us victory; it supplied our mostpressing needs. "]