[144] - If the expiring man does not go fast enough some one
will help him. The old monster, borne down with crimes and rotten
with vices, rattles in his throat on his purple cushions; his eyes are
closed, his pulse is feeble, and he gasps for breath. Here and there,
around is bed, stand groups of those who minister to his debauches at
Capri and his murders at Rome, his minions and executioners who
publicly take part in the new reign; the old one is finished; one need
no longer be circumspect and mute before corpse. Suddenly the dying
man opens his eyes, speaks and asks for food. The military tribune, "
the executive arm," boldly clears the apartment; he throws a pile of
bedclothes over the old man's head and quickens the last sigh. Such
is the final blow; an hour later and breathing stops.
X. Contrast between Civil and Military France.
Anti-social character of the sect and the faction. - Contrast between
civil and military France. - Elements of reorganization in
institutions, habits, and in military sentiments. - Character of the
r?gime instituted on the 18th of Brumaire, year VIII.
If the Jacobin Republic dies, it is not merely on account of decay,
nor because of its murders, but, and above all, because it is not born
viable: at the outset it harbored within itself a principle of
dissolution an innate mortal poison, not alone for others but for
itself.
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