the origins of contemporary france-2-第15章
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once to Bezenval's!'〃 Their brains are so frightened; and their
minds so distrustful; that at every step in the streets 〃one's name
has to be given; one's profession declared; one's residence; and
one's intentions 。 。 。。 One can neither enter nor leave Paris
without being suspected of treason。〃 The Prince de Montbarrey;
advocate of the new ideas; and his wife; are stopped in their
carriage at the barrier; and are on the point of being cut to
pieces。 A deputy of the nobles; on his way to the National
Assembly; is seized in his cab and conducted to the Place de Grève;
the corpse of M。 de Launay is shown to him; and he is told that he
is to be treated in the same fashion。 … Every life hangs by a
thread; and; on the following days; when the King had sent away his
troops; dismissed his Ministers; recalled Necker; and granted
everything; the danger remains just as great。 The multitude;
abandoned to the revolutionaries and to itself; continues the same
bloody antics; while the municipal chiefs'50' whom it has elected;
Bailly; Mayor of Paris; and Lafayette; commandant of the National
Guard; are obliged to use cunning; to implore; to throw themselves
between the multitude and the unfortunates whom they wish to
destroy。
On the 15th of July; in the night; a woman disguised as a man is
arrested in the court of the H?tel…de…Ville; and so maltreated that
she faints away; Bailly; in order to save her; is obliged to feign
anger against her and have her sent immediately to prison。 From the
14th to the 22nd of July; Lafayette; at the risk of his life; saves
with his own hand seventeen persons in different quarters。'51' On
the 22nd of July; upon the denunciations which multiply around Paris
like trains of gunpowder; two administrators of high rank; M。
Foulon; Councillor of State; and M。 Berthier; his son…in…law; are
arrested; one near Fontainebleau; and the other near Compiègne。 M。
Foulon; a strict master;'52' but intelligent and useful; expended
sixty thousand francs the previous winter on his estate in giving
employment to the poor。 M。 Berthier; an industrious and capable
man; had officially surveyed and valued Ile…de…France; to equalize
the taxes; and had reduced the overcharged quotas first one…eighth
and then a quarter。 But both of these gentlemen have arranged the
details of the camp against which Paris has risen; both are publicly
proscribed for eight days previously by the Palais…Royal; and; with
a people frightened by disorder; exasperated by hunger; and
stupefied by suspicion; an accused person is a guilty one。 With
regard to Foulon; as with Réveillon; a story is made up; coined in
the same mint; a sort of currency for popular circulation; and which
the people itself manufactures by casting into one tragic expression
the sum of its sufferings and rankling memories:'53' 〃He said that
we were worth no more than his horses; and that if we had no bread
we had only to eat grass。〃 The old man of seventy…four is brought
to Paris; with a truss of hay on his head; a collar of thistles
around his neck; and his mouth stuffed with hay。 In vain does the
electoral bureau order his imprisonment that he may be saved; the
crowd yells out: 〃Sentenced and hung!〃 and; authoritatively;
appoints the judges。 In vain does Lafayette insist and entreat
three times that the judgment be regularly rendered; and that the
accused be sent to the Abbaye。 A new wave of people comes up; and
one man; 〃well dressed;〃 cries out: 〃What is the need of a sentence
for a man who has been condemned for thirty years?〃 Foulon is
carried off; dragged across the square; and hung to the lamp post。
The cord breaks twice; and twice he falls upon the pavement。 Re…
hung with a fresh cord and then cut down; his head is severed from
his body and placed on the end of a pike。'54' Meanwhile; Berthier;
sent away from Compiègne by the municipality; afraid to keep him in
his prison where he was constantly menaced; arrives in a cabriolet
under escort。 The people carry placards around him filled with
opprobrious epithets; in changing horses they threw hard black bread
into the carriage; exclaiming; 〃There; wretch; see the bread you
made us eat!〃 On reaching the church of Saint…Merry; a fearful storm
of insults burst forth against him。 He is called a monopolist;
〃although he had never bought or sold a grain of wheat。〃 In the eyes
of the multitude; who has to explain the evil as caused by some
evil…doer; he is the author of the famine。 Conducted to the Abbaye;
his escort is dispersed and he is pushed over to the lamp post。
Then; seeing that all is lost; he snatches a gun from one of his
murderers and bravely defends himself。 A soldier of the 〃Royal
Croats〃 gives him a cut with his saber across the stomach; and
another tears out his heart。 As the cook; who had cut off the head
of M。 de Launay; happens to be on the spot; they hand him the heart
to carry while the soldiers take the head; and both go to the H?tel…
de…Ville to show their trophies to M。 de Lafayette。 On their return
to the Palais…Royal; and while they are seated at table in a tavern;
the people demand these two remains。 They throw them out of the
window and finish their supper; whilst the heart is marched about
below in a bouquet of white carnations。 Such are the spectacles
which this garden presents where; a year before; 〃good society in
full dress〃 came on leaving the Opera to chat; often until two
o'clock in the morning; under the mild light of the moon; listening
now to the violin of Saint…Georges; and now to the charming voice of
Garat。
VIII。
Paris in the hands of the people。
Henceforth it is clear that no one is safe: neither the new militia
nor the new authorities suffice to enforce respect for the law。
〃They did not dare;〃 says Bailly;'55' 〃oppose the people who; eight
days before this; had taken the Bastille。〃 In vain; after the
last two murders; do Bailly and Lafayette indignantly threaten to
withdraw; they are forced to remain; their protection; such as it
is; is all that is left; and; if the National Guard is unable to
prevent every murder; it prevents some of them。 People live as they
can under the constant expectation of fresh popular violence。 〃To
every impartial man;〃 says Malouet; 〃the Terror dates from the 14th
of July〃。 … On the 17th; before setting out for Paris; the King
attends communion and makes his will in anticipation of
assassination。 From the 16th to the 18th; twenty personages of high
rank; among others most of those on whose heads a price is set by
the Palais…Royal; leave France: The Count d'Artois; Marshal de
Broglie; the Princes de Condé; de Conti; de Lambesc; de Vaudemont;
the Countess de Polignac; and the Duchesses de Polignac and de
Guiche。 The day following the two murders; M。 de Crosne; M。
Doumer; M。 Sureau; the most zealous and most valuable members of the
committee on subsistence; all those appointed to make purchases and
to take care of the storehouses; conceal themselves or fly。 On the
eve of the two murders; the notaries of Paris; being menaced with a
riot; had to advance 45;000 francs which were promised to the
workmen of the Faubourg Saint…Antoine; while the public treasury;
almost empty; is drained of 30;000 livres per day to diminish the
cost of bread。 Persons and possessions; great and small; private
individuals and public functionaries; the Government itself; all is
in the hands of the mob。 〃From this moment;〃 says a deputy;'56'
〃liberty did not exist even in the National Assembly 。 。 。 France
stood dumb before thirty factious persons。 The Assembly became in
their hands a passive instrument; which they forced to serve them in
the execution of their projects。〃 They themselves do not lead;
although they seem to lead。 The great brute; which has taken the
bit in its mouth; holds on to it; and it's plunging becomes more
violent。 Not only do both spurs which maddened i