第386章

- Already， on the 4th of June， 1790， the Minister of War announces to the Assembly that "the military body threatens to fall into a perfect state of anarchy." His report shows "the most incredible pretensions put forth in the most plain-spoken way - orders without force， chiefs without authority， the military chest and flags carried away， the orders of the King himself openly defied， the officers condemned， insulted， threatened， driven off； some of them even captive amidst their own troops， leading a precarious life in the midst of disgust and humiliations， and， as the climax of horror， commanders having their throat cut under the eyes and almost in the arms of their own soldiers."It is much worse after the July Federation. Entertained， flattered， and indoctrinated at the clubs， their delegates， inferior officers and privates， return to the regiment Jacobins； and henceforth correspond with the Jacobins of Paris， "receiving their instructions and reporting to them，"[40] - Three weeks later， the Minister of War gives notice to the National Assembly that there is no limit to the license in the army. "Couriers， the bearers of fresh complaints， are arriving constantly." In one place "a statement of the fund is demanded， and it is proposed to divide it." Elsewhere， a garrison， with drums beating， leaves the town， deposes its officers， and comes back sword in hand. Each regiment is governed by a committee of soldiers. "It is in this committee that the detention of the lieutenant-colonel of Poitou has been twice arranged； here it is that 'Royal-Champagne' conceived the insurrection" by which it refused to recognize a sub-lieutenant sent to it. "Every day the minister's cabinet is filled with soldiers who are sent as representatives to him， and who proudly come and intimate to him the will of their constituents." Finally， at Strasbourg， seven regiments， each represented by three delegates， formed a military congress. The same month， the terrible insurrection of Nancy breaks out - three regiments in revolt， the populace with them， the arsenal pillaged， three hours of furious fighting in the streets， the insurgents firing from the windows of the houses and from the cellar openings， five hundred dead among the victors， and three thousand among the vanquished. - The following month， and for six weeks，[41] there is another insurrection， less bloody， but more extensive， better arranged and more obstinate， that of the whole squadron at Brest， a mutiny of twenty thousand men， at first against their admiral and their officers， then against the new penal code and against the National Assembly itself. The latter， after remonstrating in vain， is obliged not only not to take rigorous measures， but again to revise its laws.[42]

>From this time forth， I cannot enumerate the constant outbreaks in the fleet and in the army. - Authorized by the minister， the soldier goes to the club， where he is repeatedly told that his officers， being aristocrats， are traitors. At Dunkirk， he is additionally taught how to get rid of them. Clamors， denunciations， insults， musket-shots - these are the natural means， and they are put in practice： but there is another， recently discovered， by which an energetic officer of whom they are afraid may be driven away.

Some patriotic bully is found who comes and insults him. If the officer fights and is not killed， the municipal authorities have him arraigned， and his chiefs send him off along with his seconds "in order not to disturb the harmony between the soldier and the citizen." If he declines the proposed duel， the contempt of his men obliges him to quit the regiment. In either case he is got out of the way.[43] - They have no scruples in relation to him. Present or absent， a noble officer must certainly be plotting with his emigrant companions； and on this a story is concocted. Formerly， to prove that sacks of flour were being thrown into the river， the soldiers alleged that these sacks were tied with blue cords (cordons bleus). Now， to confirm the belief that an officer is conspiring with Coblentz， it suffices to state that he rides a white horse； a certain captain， at Strasbourg， barely escapes being cut to pieces for this crime； "the devil could not get it out of their heads that he was acting as a spy， and that the little grey-hound" which accompanies him on his rides "is used to make signals. " - One year after， at the time when the National Assembly completes its work， M. de Lameth， M. Fréteau， and M. Alquier state before it that Luckner， Rochambeau， and the most popular generals， "no longer are responsible for anything." The Auvergne regiment has driven away its officers and forms a separate society， which obeys no one. The second battalion of Beaune is on the point of setting fire to Arras.