第520章

Unfortunately， this full possession of public power and the public funds holds only by a slender thread. Let the evicted and outraged majority dare， as subsequently at Lyons， Marseilles， and Toulon， to Return to the section assemblies and revoke the false mandate which they have arrogated to themselves through fraud and force， and， on the instance， they again become， through the sovereign will of the people， and by virtue of their own deed， what they really are， usurpers， extortioners， and robbers， there is no middle course for them between a dictatorship and the galleys. -- The mind， before such an alternative， unless extraordinarily well-balanced， loses its equilibrium； they have no difficulty in deluding themselves with the idea that the State is menaced in their persons， and， in postulating the rule， that all is allowable for them， even massacre. Has not Bazire stated in the tribune that， against the enemies of the nation， "all means are fair justifiable？ Has not another deputy， Jean Debry， proposed the formation of a body of 1，200 volunteers， who "will sacrifice themselves，" as formerly the assassins of the Old Man of the Mountain， in "attacking tyrants， hand to hand， individually，" as well as generals？[32] Have we not seen Merlin de Thionville insisting that "the wives and children of the émigrés should be kept as hostages，"and declared responsible， or， in other words， ready for slaughter if their relatives continue their attacks？[33]

That is all that is left to do， since all the other measures have proved insufficient. -- In vain has the Commune decreed the arrest of journalists belonging to the opposite party， and distributed their printing machinery amongst patriotic printers.[34] In vain has it declared the members of the Sainte-Chapelle club， the National Guards who have sworn allegiance to Lafayette， the signers of the petition of 8，000， and of that of 20，000， disqualified for any service whatever.[35] In vain has it multiplied domiciliary visits， even to the residence and carriages of the Venetian ambassador. In vain， through insulting and repeated examinations， does it keep at its bar， under the hootings and death-cries of its tribunes， the most honorable and most illustrious men， Lavoisier， Dupont de Nemours， the eminent surgeon Desault， the most harmless and most refined ladies， Madame de Tourzel， Mademoiselle de Tourzel， and the Princesse de Lamballe.[36]

In vain， after a profusion of arrests during twenty days， it envelopes all Paris inside one cast of its net for a nocturnal search[37]during which，1. the barriers are closed and doubly guarded，2. sentinels are on the quays and boats stationed on the Seine to prevent escape by water，3. the city is divided beforehand into circumscriptions， and for each section， a list of suspected persons，4. the circulation of vehicles is stopped，5. every citizen is ordered to stay at home，6. the silence of death reigns after six o'clock in the evening， and then，7. in each street， a patrol of sixty pikemen， seven hundred squads of sans-culottes， all working at the same time， and with their usual brutality，8. doors are burst in with pile drivers，9. wardrobes are picked by locksmiths，10. walls are sounded by masons，11. cellars are searched even to digging in the ground，12. papers are seized，13. arms are confiscated，14. three thousand persons are arrested and led off；[38] priests， old men， the infirm， the sick.

The action lasts from ten in the evening to five o'clock in the morning， the same as in a city taken by assault， the screams of women rudely treated， the cries of prisoners compelled to march， the oaths of the guards， cursing and drinking at each grog-shop； never was there such an universal， methodical execution， so well calculated to suppress all inclination for resistance in the silence of general stupefaction.

And yet， at this very moment， there are those who act in good faith in the sections and in the Assembly， and who rebel at being under such masters. A deputation from the Lombards section， and another from the Corn-market， come to the Assembly and protest against the Commune's usurpations.[39] Choudieu， the Montagnard， denounces its blatant corrupt practices. Cambon， a stern financier， will no longer consent to have his accounts tampered with by thieving tricksters.[40] The Assembly at last seems to have recovered itself. It extends its protection to Géray， the journalist， against whom the new pashas had issued a warrant； it summons to its own bar the signers of the warrant， and orders them to confine themselves in future to the exact limits of the law which they transgress. Better still， it dissolves the interloping Council， and substitutes for it ninety-six delegates， to be elected by the sections in twenty-four hours. And， even still better， it orders an account to be rendered within two days of the objects it has seized， and the return of all gold or silver articles to the Treasury. Quashed， and summoned to disgorge their booty， the autocrats of the H？tel-de-ville come in vain to the Assembly in force on the following day[41] to extort from it a repeal of its decrees；the Assembly， in spite of their threats and those of their satellites， stands its ground. -- So much the worse for the stubborn； if they are not disposed to regard the flash of the saber， they will feel its sharp edge and point. The Commune， on the motion of Manuel， decides that， so long as public danger continues， they will stay where they are； it adopts an address by Robespierre to "restore sovereign power to the people，" which means to fill the streets with armed bands；[42]