[117] "Through such
schemes," writes a rigid Jacobin,[118] "many of those who had been
declared outlaws returned to Bordeaux by paying; of the number who
thus redeemed their lives, some did not deserve to lose it, but,
nevertheless, they were threatened with execution if they did not
consent to everything. But material proofs of this are hard to
obtain. These men now keep silent, for fear, through open
denunciation, of sharing in the penalty of the traffickers in justice,
and being unwilling to expose (anew) the life they have preserved." In
short, the plucked pigeon is mute, so as not to attract attention, as
well as to avoid the knife; and all the more, because those who pluck
him hold on to the knife and might, should he cry out, dispatch him
with the more celerity. Even if he makes no noise, they sometimes
dispatch him so as to stifle in advance any possible outcry, which
happened to the Duc du Chatelet and others. There is but one mode of
self-preservation[119] and that is, "to settle with such masters by
installments, to pay them monthly, like wet nurses, on a scale
proportionate to the activity of the guillotine." - In any event, the
pirates are not disturbed, for the trade in lives and liberties leaves
no trace behind it, and is carried on with impunity for two years,
from one end of France to the other, according to a tacit
understanding between sellers and buyers.
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