第350章

At étampes，[17] where they are convoked by the commissioners of the department to take steps to re-establish some kind of order， only twenty assemble； the others excuse themselves by saying that， if the populace knew that they opposed its will， "their houses would be burnt，" and they accordingly stay away. "Thus，" write the commissioners， "the common-weal is given up to artisans and laborers whose views are limited to their own existence." - It is， accordingly， the lower class which rules， and the information upon which it bases its decrees consists of rumors which it accepts or manufactures， to hide by an appearance of right the outrages which are due to its cupidity or to the brutalities of its hunger. At étampes， "they have been made to believe that the grain which had been sold for supplying the departments below the Loire， is shipped at Paimb？uf and taken out of the kingdom from there to be sold abroad." In the suburbs of Rouen they imagine that grain is purposely " engulfed in the swamps， ponds， and clay-pits." At Laon， imbecile and Jacobin committees attribute the dearness of provisions to the avidity of the rich and the malevolence of the aristocrats according to them， "jealous millionaires grow rich at the expense of the people. They know the popular strength，" and， not daring to measure their forces with it， "in an honorable fight，" have recourse "to treachery." To conquer the people easily they have determined to reduce them in advance by extreme suffering and by the length of their fast， and hence they monopolize "wheat， rye， and meal， soap， sugar， and brandy."[18] - Similar reports suffice to excite a suffering crowd to acts of violence， and it must inevitably accept for its leaders and advisers those who urge it forward on the side to which it is inclined. The people always require leaders， and they are chosen wherever they can be found， at one time amongst the elite， and at another amongst the dregs. Now that the nobles are driven out， the bourgeoisie in retirement， the large cultivators under suspicion， while animal necessities exercise their blind and intermittent despotism， the appropriate popular ministers consist of adventurers and of bandits. They need not be very numerous， for in a place full of combustible matter a few firebrands suffice to start the conflagration. "About twenty， at most， can be counted in the towns of étampes and Dourdan， men with nothing to lose and everything to gain by disturbances； they are those who always produce excitement and disorder， while other citizens afford them the means through their indifference." Those whose names are known among the new guides of the crowd are almost all escaped convicts whose previous habits have accustomed them to blows， violence， frequently to murder， and always to contempt for the law. At Brunoy，[19] the leaders of the outbreak are "two deserters of the 18th regiment， sentenced and unpunished， who， in company with the vilest and most desperate of the parish， always go about armed and threatening." At étampes， "the two principal assassins of the mayor are a poacher repeatedly condemned for poaching， and an old carabiniere dismissed from his regiment with a bad record against him."[20] Around these are artisans "without a known residence，"wandering workmen， journeymen and apprentices， vagrants and highway rovers， who flock into the towns on market-days and are always -ready for mischief when an opportunity occurs. Vagabonds， indeed， now roam about the country everywhere， all restrictions against them having ceased.

"For a year past，" write several parishes in the neighborhood of Versailles， "we have seen no gendarmes except those who come with decrees，" and hence the multiplication of "murders and brigandage "between étampes and Versailles， on the highways and in the country.

Bands of thirteen， fifteen， twenty and twenty-two beggars rob the vineyards， enter farm-houses at night， and compel their inmates to lodge and feed them， returning in the same way every fortnight， all farms or isolated dwellings being their prey. An ecclesiastic is killed in his own house in the suburbs of Versailles， on the 26th of September， 1791， and， on the same day， a bourgeois and his wife are garroted and robbed. On the 22nd of September， near Saint-Rémi-Honoré， eight bandits ransack the dwelling of a farmer. On the 25th of September， at Villers-le-Sec， thirteen others strip another farmer， and then add with much politeness， "It is lucky for your masters that they are not here， for we would have roasted them at yonder fire." Six similar outrages are committed by armed ruffians in dwelling-places， within a radius of from three to four leagues， accompanied with the threats of the chauffeurs.[21] "After enterprises of such force and boldness，" write the people of this region， "there is not a well-to-do man in the country who can rely upon an hour's security in his house. Already many of our best cultivators are giving up their business， while others threaten to do the same in case these disorders continue." - What is worse still is the fact that in these outrages most of the bandits were "in the national uniform." The most ignorant， the poorest， and most fanatical of the National Guard thus enlist for the sake of plunder.

It is so natural for men to believe in their right to that of which they feel the need， that the possessors of wheat thus become its monopolists， and the superfluity of the rich the property of the poor！ This is what the peasants say who devastate the forest of Bruyères-le-Chatel： "We have neither wood， bread， nor work -necessity knows no law."The necessaries of life are not to be had cheap under such a system.