第392章

Occasionally， likewise， as， since the amnesty of September， 1791， the prisons have been emptied， as one-half of the courts are not yet installed，[63] as there has been no police for thirty months， the common robbers， bandits， and vagrants， who swarm about without repression or surveillance， join the mob and fill their pockets.

Here， in Pas-de-Calais，[64] three hundred villagers， headed by a drummer， burst open the doors of a Carthusian convent， steal everything， eatables， beverages， linen， furniture， and effects， whilst， in the neighboring parish， another band operates in the same fashion in the houses of the mayor and of the old curé， threatening "to kill and burn all，" and promising to return on the following Sunday. - There， in Bas-Rhin， near Fort Louis， twenty houses of the aristocrats are pillaged. - Elsewhere in Ile-et-Vilaine， bodies of rural militia， combined， go from parish to parish， and， increasing in numbers in consequence of their very violence until they form bands of two thousand men. They close churches， drive away nonjuring priests， remove clappers from the bells， eat and drink what they please at the expense of the inhabitants， and often， in the houses of the mayor or tax-registrar， indulge in the pleasure of breaking everything to pieces. Should any public officer remonstrate with them they shout， "At the aristocrat！" One of these unlucky counselors is struck on the back with the but-end of a musket， and two others have guns aimed at them； the chiefs of the expedition are in no better predicament， and， according to their own admission， if they are at the head of the mob it is to make sure they themselves will not be pillaged or hung. The same spectacle presents itself in Mayenne， in Orne， in Moselle， and in the Landes.[65] - These， however， are but isolated irruptions， and very mild； in the south and in the center， the plague is apparent in an immense leprous spot， which extending from Avignon to Perigueux， and from Aurillac to Toulouse， suddenly covers， nearly without with any discontinuity， ten departments， Vaucluse， Ardèche， Gard， Cantal， Corrèze， Lot， Dordogne， Gers， Haute-Garonne， and Hérault. Vast rural masses are set in motion at the same time， on all sides and owing to the same causes： the approach of war and the coming of Easter. - In Cantal， at the assembly of the canton held at Aurillac for the recruitment of the army，[66] the commander of a village National Guard demands vengeance "against those who are not patriots，" and the report is spread that an order has come from Paris to destroy the chateaux. Moreover， the insurgents allege that the priests， through their refusal to take the oath， are bringing the nation into civil war： "we are tired of not having peace on their account； let them become good citizens， so that everybody may go to mass." On the strength of this， the insurgents enter houses， put the inhabitants to ransom， not only priests and former nobles， "but also those who are suspected of being their partisans， those who do not attend the mass of the constitutional priest，" and even poor people， artisans and tillers of the ground， whom they tax five， ten， twenty， and forty francs， and whose cellars and bread-bins they empty. Eighteen chateaux are pillaged， burnt， or demolished， and among others， those of several gentlemen and ladies who have not left the country. One of these， M. d'Humières， is an old officer of eighty years； Madame de Peyronenc saves her son only by disguising him as a peasant； Madame de Beauclerc， who flies across the mountain， sees her sick child die in her arms. At Aurillac， gibbets are set up before the principal houses； M. de Niossel， a former lieutenant of a criminal court， put in prison for his safety， is dragged out， and his severed head is thrown on a dunghill； M.

Collinet， just arrived from Malta， and suspected of being an aristocrat， is ripped open， cut to pieces， and his head is carried about on the end of a pike. Finally， when the municipal officers， judges， and royal commissioner commence proceedings against the assassins， they find themselves in such great danger that they are obliged to resign or to run away. In like manner， in Haute-Garonne，[67] it is also "against non-jurors and their followers"that the insurrection has begun. This is promoted by the fact that in various parishes the constitutional curé belongs to the club， and demands the riddance of his adversaries. One of them at Saint-Jean-Lorne， "mounted on a cart， preaches pillage to a mob of eight hundred persons." Each band， consequently， begins by expelling refractory priests， and by forcing their supporters to attend the mass of the sworn priest. - ？But such success， wholly abstract and barren， is of little advantage， and peasants in a state of revolt are not satisfied so easily. When parishes march forth by the dozen and devote their day to the service of the public， they must have some compensation in wood， wheat， wine， or money，[68] and the expense of the expedition may be defrayed by the aristocrats. Not merely the upholders of non-jurors are aristocrats， as， for example， an old lady here and there， "very fanatical， and who for forty years has devoted all her income to acts of philanthropy，" "but well-to-do persons， peasants or gentlemen；" for， "by keeping their wine and grain unsold in their cellars and barns， and by not undertaking more work than they need， so as to deprive workmen in the country of their means of subsistence，" they design "to starve out" the poor folk. Thus， the greater the pillage， the greater the service to the public. According to the insurgents， it is important "to diminish revenues enjoyed by the enemies of the nation， in order that they may not send their revenues to Coblentz and other places out of the kingdom." Consequently， bands of six or eight hundred or a thousand men overrun the districts of Toulouse and Castelsarrasin. All proprietors， aristocrats， and patriots are put under contribution.