第437章

At Mortagne，[26] a small town of 6，000 souls， the laudable spirit of 1789 still existed up to the journey to Varennes. Among the forty or fifty noble families were a good many liberals. Here， as elsewhere among the gentry， the clergy and the middle class， the philosophic education of the eighteenth century had revived the old provincial spirit of initiative， and the entire upper class had zealously and gratuitously undertaken the public duties which it alone could perform well. District presidents， mayors， and municipal officers， were all chosen from among ecclesiastics and the nobles； the three principal officers of the National Guard were chevaliers of St. Louis， while other grades were filled by the leading people of the community. Thus had the free elections placed authority in the hands of the socially superior， the new 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 the hands of a certain Rattier， formerly a cook，"worked upon the population and the rural districts. Immediately on the receipt of the news of the King's flight， the Jacobins "give out that nobles and priests had supplied him with money for his departure， to bring about a counter-revolution." One family had given such an amount， and another so much； there was no doubt about it； the precise figures are given， and given for each family according to its known resources.-- Forthwith， "the principal clubbists， associated with the dubious part of the National Guard，" spread through the streets in squads： the houses of the nobles and 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 they force open， secretaries and clothes-presses in search of ammunition， the search extending "even to the ladies' toilette-tables". By way of precaution "they break sticks of pomatum in two， presuming that musket-balls are concealed in them， and they take away hair-powder under the pretext that it is either colored or masked gunpowder." Then， without disbanding， the troop betakes itself to the environs and into the country， where it operates with the same promptness in the chateaux， so that "in one day all honest citizens， those with the most property and furniture to protect， are left without arms at the mercy of the first robber that comes along." All reputed aristocrats are disarmed. As such 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 allow their swords to be taken without resistance， and with a forbearance and patriotic spirit of which their brethren everywhere furnish an example "they are obliging enough to remain at their posts so as not to disorganize the army， hoping that this frenzy will soon come to an end，" contenting themselves with making their complaint to the department. -- But in vain the department orders their arms to be restored to them. The clubbists refuse to give them up so long as the king refuses to accept the Constitution； meanwhile they do not hesitate to say that "at the very first gun on the frontier， they will cut the throats of all the nobles and unsworn priests." -- After the royal oath to the Constitution is taken， the department again insists， but no attention is paid to it. On the contrary， the National Guard， dragging cannons along with them， purposely station themselves before the mansions of the unarmed gentry； the ladies of their families are followed in the streets by urchins who sing ？A IRA[27] in their faces， and， in the final refrain， they mention them by name and promise them the lantern； "not one of them could invite a dozen of his friends to supper without incurring the risk of an uproar." -- On the strength of this， the old chiefs of the National Guard resign， and the Jacobins turn the opportunity to account. In contempt of the law the whole body of officers is renewed， and， as peaceable folks dare not deposit their votes， 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.[28] -- So many acts of violence committed in town and country， render town and country uninhabitable， and for the élite of the propriety owners， or for well-bred persons， there is no longer any asylum but Paris. After the first disarmament seven or eight families take refuge there， and a dozen or fifteen more join them after a threat of having their throats cut； after the religious persecution， unsworn ecclesiastics， the rest of the nobles， and countless other townspeople， "even with little means，" betake themselves there in a mass. There， at least， one is lost in the crowd； one is protected by an incognito against the outrages of the commonalty； one can live there as a private individual. In the provinces even civil rights do not exist； how could any one there exercise political rights？ "All honest citizens are kept away from the primary meetings by threats or maltreatment . .

. The electoral battlefield is left for those who pay forty-five sous of taxes， more than one-half of them being registered on the poor list." - Thus the elections are decided beforehand！ The former cook is the one who authorizes or creates candidatures， and on the election of the department deputies at the county town， the electors elected are， like himself， true Jacobins.[29]

V.