太子爷小说网 > 英语电子书 > the origins of contemporary france-2 >

第103节

the origins of contemporary france-2-第103节

小说: the origins of contemporary france-2 字数: 每页4000字

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页,按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页,按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部!
————未阅读完?加入书签已便下次继续阅读!




remains unpunished。〃 In the canton of Cabrerets; the restitution of

rents formerly collected is exacted; and the reimbursement of

charges paid during twenty years past。  The small town of Lauzerte

is invaded by surrounding bodies of militia; and its disarmed

inhabitants are at the mercy of the Jacobin suburbs。  For three

months; in the district of Figeac; 〃all the mansions of former

nobles are sacked and burnt;〃 next the pigeon…cots are attacked;

〃and all country…houses which have a good appearance。〃 Barefooted

gangs 〃enter the houses of well…to…do people; physicians; lawyers;

merchants; burst open the doors of cellars; drink the wine;〃 and

riot like drunken victors。  In several communes these expeditions

have become a custom; 〃a large number of individuals are found in

them who live on rapine alone;〃 and the club sets them the example。

For six months; in the principal town; a coterie of the National

Guard; called the Black Band; expel all persons who are displeasing

to them; 〃pillaging houses at will; beating to death; wounding or

mutilating by saber…strokes; all who have been proscribed in their

assemblies;〃 and no official or advocate dares lodge a complaint。

Brigandage; borrowing the mask of patriotism; and patriotism

borrowing the methods of brigandage; have combined against property

at the same time as against the ancient régime; and; to free

themselves from all that inspires them with fear; they seize all

which can provide them with booty。



And yet this is merely the outskirts of the storm; the center is

elsewhere; around N?mes; Avignon; Arles; and Marseilles; in a

country where; for a long time; the conflict between cities and the

conflict between religions have kindled and accumulated malignant

passions。'71'  Looking at the three departments of Gard; Bouches…de…

Rh?ne and Vaucluse; one would imagine one's self in the midst of a

war with savages。  In fact; it is a Jacobin and plebeian invasion;

and; consequently; conquest; dispossession; and extermination;  …

in Gard; a swarm of National Guards copy the jacquerie: the dregs of

the Comtat come to the surface and cover Vaucluse with its scum; an

army of six thousand from Marseilles sweeps down on Arles。  …  In

the districts of N?mes; Sommières; Uzès; Alais; Jalais; and Saint…

Hippolyte; title…deeds are burnt; proprietors put to ransom; and

municipal officers threatened with death if they try to interpose;

twenty chateaux and forty country…houses are sacked; burnt; and

demolished。  …  The same month; Arles and Avignon;'72' given up to

the bands of Marseilles and of the Comtat; see confiscation and

massacres approaching。  …  Around the commandant; who has received

the order to evacuate Aries;'73' 〃the inhabitants of all parties〃

gather as suppliants; 〃clasping his hands; entreating him with tears

in their eyes not to abandon them; women and children cling to his

boots;〃 so that he does not know how to free himself without hurting

them; on his departure twelve hundred families emigrate。  After the

entrance of the Marseilles band we see eighteen hundred electors

proscribed; their country…houses on the two banks of the Rhone

pillaged; 〃as in the times of Saracen pirates;〃 a tax of 1;400;000

livres levied on all people in good circumstances; absent or

present; women and girls promenaded about half…naked on donkeys and

publicly whipped。〃 〃A saber committee〃 disposes of lives; proscribes

and executes: it is the reign of sailors; porters; and the dregs of

the populace。  …  At Avignon;'74' it is that of simple brigands;

incendiaries and assassins; who; six months previously; converted

the Glacière'75' into a charnel…house。  They return in triumph and

state that 〃this time the Glacière will be full。〃 Five hundred

families had already sought asylum in France before the first

massacre; now; the entire remainder of the honest bourgeoisie;

twelve hundred persons; take to flight; and the terror is so great

that the small neighboring towns dare not receive emigrants。  In

fact; from this time forth; both departments throughout Vaucluse and

Bouches…de…Rh?ne are a prey: Bands of two thousand armed men; with

women; children; and other volunteer followers; travel from commune

to commune to live as they please at the expense of 〃fanatics。〃 The

well…bred people are not the only ones they despoil。  Plain

cultivators; taxed at 10;000 livres; have sixty men billeted on

them; their cattle are slain and eaten before their eyes; and

everything in their houses is broken up; they are driven out of

their lodgings and wander as fugitives in the reed…swamps of the

Rhone; awaiting a moment of respite to cross the river and take

refuge in the neighboring department。'76'  Thus; from the spring of

1792; if any citizen is suspected of unfriendliness or even of

indifference towards the ruling faction; if; through but one opinion

conscientiously held; he risks the vague possibility of mistrust or

of suspicion; he undergoes popular hostility; pillage; exile; and

worse besides; no matter how loyal his conduct may be; nor how loyal

he may be at heart; no matter that he is disarmed and inoffensive;

it is all the same whether it be a noble; bourgeois; peasant; aged

priest; or woman; and this while public peril is yet neither great;

present; nor visible; since France is at peace with Europe; and the

government still subsists in its entirety。





IX。



General state of opinion。  …  The three convoys of non…juring

priests on the Seine。  …  Psychological aspects of the Revolution。



What will it be; then; now when the peril; already become palpable

and serious; is daily increasing; now when war has begun; when

Lafayette's army is falling back in confusion; when the Assembly

declares the country in danger; when the King is overthrown; when

Lafayette defects and goes abroad; when the soil of France is

invaded; when the frontier fortresses surrender without resistance;

when the Prussians are entering Champagne; when the insurrection in

La Vendée adds the lacerations of civil war to the threats of a

foreign war; and when the cry of treachery arises on all sides?  …

Already; on the 14th of May; at Metz;'77' M。 de Fiquelmont; a former

canon; seen chatting with a hussar on the Place Saint…Jacques; was

charged with tampering with people on behalf of the princes; carried

off in spite of a triple line of guards; and beaten; pierced; and

slashed with sticks; bayonets; and sabers; while the mad crowd

around the murderers uttered cries of rage: and from month to month;

in proportion as popular fears increase; popular imagination becomes

more heated and its delirium grows。  …  You can see this yourself by

one example。  On the 31st of August; 1792;'78' eight thousand non…

juring priests; driven out of their parishes; are at Rouen; a town

less intolerant than the others; and; in conformity with the decree

which banishes them; are preparing to leave France。  Two vessels

have just carried away about a hundred of them; one hundred and

twenty others are embarking for Ostend in a larger vessel。  They

take nothing with them except a little money; some clothes; and one

or at most two portions of their breviary; because they intend to

return soon。  Each has a regular passport; and; just at the moment

of leaving; the National Guard have made a thorough inspection so as

not to let a suspected person escape。  It makes no difference。  On

reaching Quilleboeuf the first two convoys are stopped。  A report

has spread; indeed; that the priests are going to join the enemy and

enlist; and the people living round about jump into their boats and

surround the vessels。  The priests are obliged to disembark amidst a

tempests of 〃yells; blasphemies; insults; and abuse:〃 one of them; a

white…headed old man; having fallen into the mud; the cries and

shouts redouble; if he is drowned so much the better; there will be

one less! On landing all are put in prison; on bare stones; without

straw or bread; and word is sent to Paris to know what must be done

with so many cassocks。  In the meantime the third vessel; short of

provisions; has sent two priests to Quilleboeuf and to Pont…Audemer

to have twelve hundred pounds of bread baked: pointed out by the

village militia; they are chased out like wild beasts; pass the

night in a wood; and find their way back with difficulty empty…

handed。  The vessel itself being signaled; is besieged。  〃In all the

municipalities on the banks of the river drums beat incessantly to

warn the population to be on their guard。  The appearance of an

Algerian or Tripolitan corsair on the shores of the Adriatic would

cause less excitement。  One of the seamen of the vessel published a

statement that the trunks of the priests transported were full of

every kind of arms。〃 and the country people constantly imagine that

they are going to fall upon them sword and pistol in hand。  For

several long days the famished convoy remains moored in the stream

返回目录 上一页 下一页 回到顶部 0 0

你可能喜欢的