第257章

But here the situation is more tragic， for it is war in the midst of peace， a war of the brutal and barbaric multitude against the highly cultivated， well-disposed and confiding， who had not anticipated anything of the kind， who had not even dreamt of defending themselves， and who had no protection. The Comte de Courtivron， with his family， was staying at the watering-place of Luxeuil with his uncle， the Abbé of Clermont-Tonnerre， an old man of seventy years. On the 19th of July， fifty peasants from Fougerolle break into and demolish everything in the houses of an usher and a collector of the excise. Thereupon the mayor of the place intimates to the nobles and magistrates who are taking the waters， that they had better leave the house in twenty-four hours， as "he had been advised of an intention to burn the houses in which they were staying，" and he did not wish to have Luxeuil exposed to this danger on account of their presence there. The following day， the guard， as obliging as the mayor， allows the band to enter the town and to force the abbey： the usual events follow， renunciations are extorted， records and cellars are ransacked， plate and other effects are stolen. M. de Courtivron escaping with his uncle during the night， the alarm bell is sounded and they are pursued， and with difficulty obtain refuge in Plombières. The bourgeoisie of Plombières， however， for fear of compromising themselves， oblige them to depart. On the road two hundred insurgents threaten to kill their horses and to smash their carriage， and they only find safety at last at Porentruy， outside of France. On his return， M. de Courtivron is shot at by the band which has just pillaged the abbey of Lure， and they shout out at him as he passes， "Let's massacre the nobles！" Meanwhile， the chateau of Vauvilliers， to which his sick wife had been carried， is devastated from top to bottom； the mob search for her everywhere， and she only escapes by hiding herself in a hay-loft. Both are anxious to fly into Burgundy， but word is sent them that at Dijon "the nobles are blockaded by the people，" and that， in the country， they threaten to set their houses on fire. --There is no asylum to be had， either in their own homes nor in the homes of others， nor in places along the roads， fugitives being stopped in all the small villages and market-towns. In Dauphiny[42]

"the Abbess of St. Pierre de Lyon， one of the nuns， M. de Perrotin， M. de Bellegarde， the Marquis de la Tour-du-Pin， and the Chevalier de Moidieu， are arrested at Champier by the armed population， led to the C？te Saint-André， confined in the town-hall， whence they send to Grenoble for assistance，" and， to have them released， the Grenoble Committee is obliged to send commissioners. Their only refuge is in the large cities， where some semblance of a precarious order exists， and in the ranks of the City Guards， which march from Lyons， Dijon， and Grenoble， to keep the inundation down. Throughout the country scattered chateaux are swallowed up by the popular tide， and， as the feudal rights are often in plebeian hands， it insensibly rises beyond its first overflow. -- There is no limit to an insurrection against property. This one extends from abbeys and chateaux to the "houses of the bourgeoisie."[43] The grudge at first was confined to the holders of charters； now it is extended to all who possess anything. Well-to-do farmers and priests abandon their parishes and fly to the towns. Travelers are put to ransom. Thieves， robbers， and returned convicts， at the head of armed bands， seize whatever they can lay their hands on. Cupidity becomes inflamed by such examples； on domains which are deserted and in a state of confusion， where there is nothing to indicate a master's presence， all seems to lapse to the first comer. A small farmer of the neighborhood has carried away wine and returns the following day in search of hay.

All the furniture of a chateau in Dauphin is removed， even to the hinges of the doors， by a large reinforcement of carts. -- " It is the war of the poor against the rich，" says a deputy， "and， on the 3rd of August， the Committee on Reports declares to the National Assembly "that no kind of property has been spared." In Franche-Comté， "nearly forty chateaux and seignorial mansions have been pillaged or burnt."[44] From Lancers to Gray about three out of five chateaux are sacked. In Dauphin twenty-seven are burned or destroyed； five in the small district of Viennese， and， besides these， all the monasteries -- nine at least in Auvergne， seventy-two， it is said， in Maconnais and Beaujolais， without counting those of Alsace. On the 31st of July， Lally-Tollendal， on entering the tribune， has his hands full of letters of distress， with a list of thirty-six chateaux burnt， demolished， or pillaged， in one province， and the details of still worse violence against persons：[45]