第845章

If wielded as before it might slip from its grasp. The furious in its own camp are ready to wrest it away and turn the blade against it. It must defend itself against the reviving clubs， against Babeuf and his accomplices， against the desperadoes who， through a nocturnal attempt， try to stir up the Grenelle camp： in Paris， there are four or five thousand now ready to undertake a "civic St. Bartholomew，" with the old Conventionists who could not get themselves elected， at their head， - Drouet， Amar， Vadier， Ricord， Laignelot， Chaudieu， Huguet， Cusset， Javogues. Alongside of them， the friends of Chalier， Robespierre's and Marat's followers， and the disciples of Saint-Just， Bertrand de Lyon， Buonarotti， Antonelle， Rossignol and Babeuf. Behind them， the bandits of the street， those "who gutted houses during the Revolution，" peculators or Septembriseurs out of employment， in short， the relics of the terrorist gang or of the revolutionary army. Their plan， true to their precedents， character and principles， consists not only in despatching "the rascals who keep coaches， the moneyed men and monopolisers，" all the deputies and functionaries who do not resign at the first summons， but also， and especially， in killing "the General of the Interior， his staff， the seven ministers and the five 'cocked-hats' (panachés) of the Luxembourg，" that is to say， the five Directors themselves. Such allies are troublesome. Undoubtedly， the government， which considers them as its forlorn hope， and that it may have need of them in a crisis， spares them as much as possible.[45]

It allows Drouet to escape， and lets the trial of the Babouvists drag along， only two of them being guillotined， Babeuf and Darthé； most of the others are acquitted or escape. Nevertheless， for its own salvation， it is led to separate from the fiercest Jacobins and draw near to peaceable citizens.--Through this internal discord of the ruling faction， honest people hold on the offices they occupy on the elections of the year IV.. No decree comes to deprive them of their legal arms， while， in the Legislative Corps， as in the administrations and the tribunals， they count on carrying new positions in the elections of the year V.

V. Actual aim of Jacobin Activities： Power and Wealth.

Elections of year V. - Character and sentiments of the elected. -The new majority in the Corps Legislatif. - Its principles and program. - Danger and anxiety of the Jacobin minority. - Indecision， division， scruples and weakness of the moderate party. - Decision， want of scruples， force and modes of procedure of the Jacobin faction.

- The 18th of Fructidor. -

"It was a long time，" writes a small trader of Evreux， "since so many people were seen at the elections.[46]. . . . The eight electors for the town obtained at the first ballot the absolute majority of suffrages. . . . Everybody went to the polls so as to prevent the nomination of any elector among the terrorists， who had declared that their reign was going to return." - In the environs of Blois， a rural proprietor， the most circumspect and most peaceable of men， notes in his journal[47]that " now is the time to take a personal interest. .

. . Every sound-thinking man has promised not to refuse any office tendered to him so as to keep out the Jacobins. . . . . It is reasonably hoped that the largest number of the electors will not be terrorists and that the majority of the Legislative Corps being all right， the minority of the furious， who have only one more year of office， will give way (in 1798) to men of probity not steeped in crime. . . . In the country， the Jacobins have tried in vain：

people of means who employed a portion of the voters， obtained their suffrages， every proprietor wishing to have order. . . . The Moderates have agreed to vote for no matter what candidate， provided he is not a Jacobin. . . . Out of two hundred and thirty electors for the department， one hundred and fifty are honest and upright people. . . . . They adhered to the last Constitution as to their sole palladium， only a very few of them dreaming of re-establishing the ancient régime." Their object is plain enough； they are for the Constitution against the Revolution， for limited power against discretionary power， for property against robbery， for upright men against thieves. - "Would you prevent， say the administrative authorities of Aube，[48] a return to the disastrous laws of the maximum， of monopolies， to the resurrection of paper-money？ . . .

Would you， as the price of a blameless life， be once more humiliated， robbed， imprisoned， tortured by the vilest， most repulsive and most shameless of tyrants？ You have only one recourse： do not fail to go to your primary assemblies and remain there." The electors， warned by their late personal and bloody souvenirs， rush to the polls in crowds and vote according to their consciences， although the government through the oaths it imposes， its official candidatures， its special commissioners， its intimidation and its money， bears down with all its weight on the resolutions they have taken. Although the Jacobins at Nevers， Macon and elsewhere， have forcibly expelled officers legally elected from their bureaux， and stained the hall with their blood，[49]

"out of 84 departments 66 elected a plurality of electors from among the anti-republicans， eight being neither good nor bad， while only ten remained loyal to the Jacobins."[50] - Appointed by such electors， we can divine what the new Third will be. "Of the 250 Conventionalists excluded by the draw scarcely five or six have been re-elected； there are but eight departments in which the Jacobins have had any success.