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the origins of contemporary france-3-第81章

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hard…core of local jacqueries; at the present time they form the staff

of the universal jacquerie。 At N?mes;'30' the head of the Executive

Power is a 〃dancing…master。〃 The two leading demagogues of Toulouse

are a shoemaker; and an actor who plays valets。'31' At Toulon;'32' the

club; more absolute than any Asiatic despot; is recruited from among

the destitute; sailors; harbor…hands; soldiers; 〃stray peddlers;〃

while its president; Sylvestre; sent down from Paris; is a criminal of

the lowest degree。 At Rheims;'33' the principal leader is an unfrocked

priest; married to a nun; aided by a baker; who; an old soldier; came

near being hung。  Elsewhere;'34' it is some deserter tried for

robbery; here; a cook or innkeeper; and there; a former lackey The

oracle of Lyons is an ex…commercial traveler; an emulator of Marat;

named Chalier; whose murderous delirium is complicated with morbid

mysticism。  The acolytes of Chalier are a barber; a hair…dresser; an

old…clothes dealer; a mustard and vinegar manufacturer; a cloth…

dresser; a silk…worker; a gauze…maker; while the time is near when

authority is to fall into still meaner hands; those of 〃the dregs of

the female population;〃 who; aided by 〃a few bullies;〃 elect 〃 female

commissaries;〃 tax food; and for three days pillage the

warehouses。'35' Avignon has for its masters the Glacière bandits。

Arles is under the yoke of its porters and bargemen。  Marseilles

belongs to 〃a band of wretches spawned out of houses of debauchery;

who recognize neither laws nor magistrates; and ruling the city

through terror。〃'36'  It is not surprising that such men; invested

with such power; use it in conformity with their nature; and that the

interregnum; which is their reign; spreads over France a circle of

devastations; robberies; and murders。



V。



The companies of traveling volunteers。  Quality of the recruits。

Election of officers。 …Robberies and murders。



Usually; the stationary band of club members has an auxiliary band of

the same species which roves about。  I mean the volunteers; who

inspire more fear and do more harm; because they march in a body and

are armed。'37' Like their brethren in the ordinary walks of life; many

of them are town and country vagabonds; most of them; living from hand

to mouth; have been attracted by the pay of fifteen sous a day; they

have become soldiers for lack of work and bread。'38'  Each commune;

moreover; having been called upon for its army contingent; 〃they have

picked up whatever could be found in the towns; all the scamps hanging

around street…corners; men with no pursuit; and; in the country;

wretches and vagabonds of every description; nearly all have been

forced to march by money or drawing lots;〃 and it is probable that the

various administrations thought that 〃in this way they would purge

France。〃'39' To the wretched 〃bought by the communes;〃 add others of

the same stamp; procured by the rich as substitutes for their

sons。'40'  Thus do they pick over the social dunghill and obtain at a

discount the natural and predestined inmates of houses of correction;

poor…houses and hospitals; with an utter disregard of quality; even

physical; 〃the halt; the maimed and the blind;〃 the deformed and the

defective; 〃some too old; and others too young and too feeble to

support the fatigues of war; others so small as to stand a foot lower

than their guns;〃 a large number of boys of sixteen; fourteen; and

thirteen; in short; the reprobate of great cities as we now see him;

stunted; puny; and naturally insolent and insurgent。'41' 〃One…third of

them are found unfit for service〃 on reaching the frontier。'42' 

But; before reaching the frontier; they act like 〃pirates〃 on the

road。  The others; with sounder bodies and better hearts; become;

under the discipline of constant danger; good soldiers at the end of a

year。  In the mean time; however; they make no less havoc; for; if

they are less disposed to robbery; they are more fanatical。  Nothing

is more delicate than the military organization; owing to the fact

that it represents force; and man is always tempted to abuse force;

for any free company of soldiers to remain inoffensive in a civil

community; it must be restrained by the strongest curbs; which curbs;

either within or without; were wholly wanting with the volunteers of

1792。'43'



Artisans; peasants; the petty bourgeois class; youthful enthusiasts

stimulated by the prevailing doctrine; they are still much more

Jacobin than patriotic; the dogma of popular sovereignty; like a heady

wine; has turned their inexperienced brains; they are fully persuaded

that; 〃destined to contend with the enemies of the republic; is an

honor which permits them to exact and to dare all things。〃'44' The

least among them believes himself superior to the law; 〃as formerly a

Condé;'45'〃 and he becomes king on a small scale; self…constituted; an

autocratic justiciary and avenger of wrongs; a supporter of patriots

and the scourge of aristocrats; the disposer of lives and property;

and; without delay or formality; taking it upon himself to complete

the Revolution on the spot in every town he passes through。  He is

not to be hindered in all this by his officers。  〃Having created his

chiefs; they are of no more account to him than any of a man's

creations usually are〃; far from being obeyed; the officers are not

even respected; 〃and that comes from resorting to analogies without

considering military talent or moral superiority。〃'46' Through the

natural effects of the system of election; all grades of rank have

fallen upon demagogues and blusterers。



 〃The intriguers; loud…talkers; and especially the great boozers; have

prevailed against the capable。〃'47'



Besides; to retain his popularity; the new officer will go to a bar

and drink with his men;'48' and he must show himself more Jacobin than

they are; from which it follows that; not content with tolerating

their excesses; he provokes them。  Hence; after March; 1792; and

even before;'49' we see the volunteers behaving in France as in a

conquered country。  Sometimes they make domiciliary visits; and break

everything to pieces in the house they visit。  Sometimes; they force

the re…baptism of infants by the conventionalist curé; and shoot at

the traditional father。  Here; of their own accord; they make arrests;

there; they join in with mutineers and stop grain…boats; elsewhere;

they force a municipality to tax bread; farther on; they burn or sack

chateaux; and; if a mayor happens to inform them that the chateau now

belongs to the nation and not to an émigré; they reply with 〃thrusts;〃

and threaten to cut his throat。'50' As the 10th of August draws near;

the phantom of authority; which still occasionally imposed on them;

completely vanishes; and 〃they risk nothing in killing〃 whoever

displeases them。'51'  Exasperated by the perils they are about to

encounter on the frontier; they begin war in the interior。

Provisionally; and as a precaution; they slaughter probable

aristocrats on the way; and treat the officers; nobles and priests

they meet on the road worse than their club allies。 For; on the one

hand; being merely on the march; they are much safer from punishment

than local murderers; in a week; lost in the army; they will not be

sought for in camp; and they may slay with perfect security。 On the

other hand; as they are strangers and newcomers; they are not able;

like local persons; to identify a person。 So on account of  a name; a

dress; qualifications; a coffee…house rumor; or an appearance; however

venerable and harmless a man may be; they kill him; not because they

know him; but because they do not know him。



VI。



A tour of France in the cabinet of the Minister of the Interior。 

From Carcassonne to Bordeaux。  Bordeaux to Caen。  The north and

the east。  Chalons…sur…Marne to Lyons。   The Comtat and Provence。

 The tone and the responses of the Jacobin administration。  The

programme of the party。



Let us enter the cabinet of Roland; Minister of the Interior; a

fortnight after the opening of the Convention; and suppose him

contemplating; some evening; in miniature; a picture of the state of

the country administered by him。  His clerks have placed the

correspondence of the past few weeks on his table; arranged in proper

order; his replies are noted in brief on the margin; he has a map of

France before him; and; placing his finger on the southern section; he

moves it along the great highway across the country。 At every stage he

recurs to the paper file of letters; and passing innumerable reports

of violence; he merely gives his attention to the great revolutionary

exploits。'52' Madame Roland; I imagine; works with her husband; and

the couple; sitting together alone under the lamp; ponder over the

doings of the ferocious brute which they have set free in the

provinces the same as in Paris。



Their eyes go first to the southern extremity of France。
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