[125] Even when fasting, and in an ordinary condition, he
is scarcely more cooled down. When the administrators of the
department come to consult with him,[126] they gather around the door
to see if he looks enraged, and is in a condition to hear them. He
not only insults petitioners, but likewise the functionaries under him
who make reports to him, or take his orders; his foul nature rises to
his lips and overflows in the vilest terms:
"Go to hell and be damned. I have no time."[127]
They consider themselves lucky if they get off with a volley of
obscene oaths, for he generally draws his saber:
"The first bastard that mentions supplies, I will cut his head
off."[128]
And to the president of the military commission, who demands that
verdicts be rendered before ordering executions:
"You, you old rascal, you old bastard, you want verdicts, do you! Go
ahead! If the whole pen is not emptied in a couple of hours I will
have you and your colleagues shot!"
His gestures, his look have such a powerful effect upon the mind that
the other, who is also a "bruiser," dies of the shock a few days
after.[129] Not only does he draw his saber, but he uses it; among
the petitioners, a boatman, whom he is about to strike, runs off as
fast as he can; he draws General Moulins into the recess of a window
and gives him a cut.
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