第519章

Installed in the H？tel-de-ville by a nightly surprise attack， about one hundred strangers， delegated by a party which thinks or asserts itself to be the peoples' delegates， have overthrown one of the two great powers of the State， mangled and enslaved the other， and now rule in a capital of 700，000 souls， by the grace of eight or ten thousand fanatics and cut-throats. Never did a radical change promote men from so low a point and raise so high！ The basest of newspaper scribblers， penny-a-liners out of the gutters， bar-room oracles， unfrocked monks and priests， the refuse of the literary guild， of the bar， and of the clergy， carpenters， turners， grocers， locksmiths， shoemakers， common laborers， many with no profession at all， strolling politicians and [22]public brawlers， who， like the sellers of counterfeit wares， have speculated for the past three years on popular credulity. There were among them a number of men in bad repute， of doubtful honesty or of proven dishonesty， who， in their youth led shiftless lives. They are still besmirched with old slime， they were put outside the pale of useful labor by their vices， driven out of inferior stations even into prohibited occupations， bruised by the perilous leap， with consciences distorted like the muscles of a tight-rope dancer. Were it not for the Revolution， they would still grovel in their native filth， awaiting prison or forced labor to which they were destined. Can one imagine their growing intoxication as they drink deep draughts from the bottomless cup of absolute power？ -- For it is absolute power which they demand and which they exercise.[23]

Raised by a special delegation above the regular authorities， they put up with these only as subordinates， and tolerate none among them who may become their rivals. Consequently， they reduce the Legislative body simply to the function of editor and herald of their decrees；they have forced the new department electors to "abjure their title，"to confine themselves to tax assessments， while they lay their ignorant hands daily on every other service， on the finances， the army， supplies， the administration， justice， at the risk of breaking the administrative wheels or of interrupting their action.

One day they summon the Minister of War before them， or， for lack of one， his chief clerk； another day they keep the whole body of officials in his department in arrest for two hours， under the pretext of finding a suspected printer.[24] At one time they affix seals on the funds devoted to extraordinary expenses； at another time they do away with the commission on supplies； at another they meddle with the course of justice， either to aggravate proceedings or to impede the execution of sentences rendered.[25] There is no principle， no law， no regulation， no verdict， no public man or establishment that is not subject to the risk of their arbitrariness. -- And， as they have laid hands on power， they do the same with money. Not only do they extort from the Assembly 850，000 francs a months， with arrears from the 1st of January， 1792， more than six millions in all， to defray the expenses of their military police， which means to pay their bands，[26]

but again， "invested with the municipal scarf，" they seize， "in the public establishment belonging to the nation， all furniture， and whatever is of most value." "In one building alone， they carry off the value of 100，000 crowns."[27] Elsewhere， in the hands of the treasurer of the civil list， they appropriate to themselves， a box of jewels， other precious objects， and 340， 000 francs.[28] Their commissioners bring in from Chantilly three wagons each drawn by three horses "loaded with the spoils of M. de Condé，" and they undertake "removing the contents of the houses of the émigrés."[29] They confiscate in the churches of Paris "the crucifixes， music-stands， bells， railings， and every object in bronze or of iron， chandeliers， cups， vases， reliquaries， statues， every article of plate，" as well "on the altars as in the sacristies，"[30] and we can imagine the enormous booty obtained； to cart away the silver plate belonging to the single church of Madeleine-de-la-ville required a vehicle drawn by four horses. --Now they use all this money， so freely seized， as freely as they do power itself. One fills his pockets in the Tuileries without the slightest concern； another， in the Garde-Meuble， rummages secretaries， and carries off a wardrobe with its contents.[31] We have already seen that in the depositories of the Commune "most of the seals are broken，" that enormous sums in plate， in jewels， in gold and silver coin have disappeared. Future inquests and accounts will charge on the Committee of Supervision， "abstractions， dilapidations， and embezzlements，" in short， "a mass of violations and breaches of trust."-- When one is king， one easily mistakes the money-drawer of the State for the drawer in which one keeps one's own money.