On the strength of this a faction
arises which ends in becoming an organized band ; under its clamor,
its menaces and its pikes, at Paris and in the provinces, at the polls
and in the parliament, the majorities are all silenced, while the
minorities vote, decree and govern; the Legislative Assembly is
purged, the King is dethroned, and the Convention is mutilated. Of
all the garrisons of the central citadel, whether royalists,
Constitutionalists, or Girondins, not one has been able to defend
itself, to re-fashion the executive instrument, to draw the sword and
use it in the streets: on the first attack, often at the first
summons, all have surrendered, and now the citadel, with every other
public fortress, is in the hands of the Jacobins.
This time, its occupants are of a different stamp. Aside from the
great mass of well-disposed people fond of a quiet life, the
Revolution has sifted out and separated from the rest all who are
fanatical, brutal or perverse enough to have lost respect for others;
these form the new garrison -- sectarians blinded by their creed, the
roughs (assommeurs) who are hardened by their calling, and those who
make all they can out of their offices.
Pages:
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27