第528章

What man now， little or big， does not feel himself threatened？ -- And all the more because the band has grown larger. Fournier， Lazowski， and Bécard， the chiefs of robbers and assassins， return from Orleans with fifteen hundred cut-throats.[126] One the way they kill M. de Brissac， M. de Lessart， and 42 others accused of lése-nation， whom they wrested from their judges' hands， and then， by the way of surplus， "following the example of Paris，" twenty-one prisoners taken from the Versailles prisons. At Paris the Minister of Justice thanks them， the Commune congratulates them， and the sections feast them and embrace them.[127] -- Can anybody doubt that they were ready to begin again？ Can a step be taken in or out of Paris without being subject to their oppression or encountering their despotism？ Should one leave the city， sentinels of their species are posted at the barriers and on the section committees in continuous session. Malouet， led before that of Roule，[128] sees before him a pandemonium of fanatics， at least a hundred individuals in the same room， the suspected， those denouncing them， collaborators， attendants， a long， green table in the center， covered with swords and daggers， with the committee around it， "twenty patriots with their shirt sleeves rolled up， some holding pistols and others pens，" signing warrants of arrest， "quarreling with and threatening each other， all talking at once， and shouting： Traitor！ --Conspirator！ -- Off to prison with him！ -- Guillotine him！ -- and behind these， a crowd of spectators， pell-mell ， yelling， and gesticulating" like wild beasts pressed against each other in the same cage， showing their teeth and trying to spring at each other. "One of the most excited， brandishing his saber in order to strike an antagonist， stopped on seeing me， and exclaimed， 'There's Malouet！' --The other， however， less occupied with me than with his enemy， took advantage of the opportunity， and with a blow of his club， knocked him down." Malouet had a close shave， in Paris escapes take place by such accidents. -- If one remains in the city， one is beset with lugubrious fears by，1. the hurrying step of squads of men in each street， leading the suspected to prison or before the committee；2. around each prison the crowds that have come "to see the disasters"；3. in the court of the Abaye the cry of the auctioneer selling the clothes of the dead；4. the rumbling of carts on the pavement bearing away 1，300 corpses；5. the songs of the women mounted aloft on the carts， beating time on the naked bodies.[129]

Is there a man who， after one of these encounters， does not see himself in imagination before the green table of the section committee， after this， in prison with sabers over his head， and then in the cart in the midst of the bloody pile？

Courage falters before a vision like this. All the journals approve， palliate， or keep silent； nobody dares offer resistance.[130] Property as well as lives belong to whoever wants to take them. At the barriers， at the markets， on the boulevard of the Temple， thieves， decked with the tricolor ribbon， stop people as they pass along， seize whatever they carry， and， under the pretext that jewels should be deposited on the altars of Patriotism， take purses， watches， rings， and other articles， so rudely that women who are not quick enough， have the lobes of their ears torn in unhooking their earrings[131].

Others， installed in the cellars of the Tuileries， sell the nation's wine and oil for their own profit. Others， again， given their liberty eight days before by the people， scent out a bigger job by finding their way into the Garde-meuble and stealing diamonds to the value of thirty millions.[132]