And so they beat him in the presence of his family. Many others like him are seized and unmercifully beaten on their own premises. -- As to the expenses of the operation， these must be defrayed by the malevolent. These， therefore， are taxed according to their occupations； this or that tanner or dealer in cattle has to pay 36francs； another， a hatter， 72 francs； otherwise "they will be attended to that very night at nine o'clock." Nobody is exempt， if he is not one of the band. Poor old men who have nothing but a five-franc assignat are compelled to give that； they take from the wife of an unskilled laborer， whose savings consist of seven sous and a half， the whole of this， exclaiming， "that is good for three mugs of wine."[17]
When money is not to be had， they take goods in kind； they make short work of cellars， bee-hives， clothes-presses， and poultry-yards. They eat， drink， and break， giving themselves up to it heartily， not only in the town， but in the neighboring villages. One detachment goes to Brusque， and proceeds so vigorously that the mayor and syndic-attorney scamper off across the fields， and dare not return for a couple of days.[18] At Versol， the dwelling of the sworn curé， and at Lapeyre， that of the sworn vicar， are both sacked； the money is stolen and the casks are emptied. In the house of the curé of Douyre， "furniture， clothes， cabinets， and window-sashes are destroyed"； they feast on his wine and the contents of his cupboard， throw away what they could not consume， then go in search of the curé and his brother， a former Carthusian， shouting that "their heads must be cut off； and sausage-meat made of the rest of their bodies！" Some of them， a little shrewder than the others， light on a prize； for example， a certain Bourguière， a trooper of the line， seized a vineyard belonging to an old lady， the widow of a physician and former mayor；[19] he gathered in its crop， "publicly in broad daylight，" for his own benefit， and warns the proprietress that he will kill her if she makes a complaint against him， and， as she probably does complain of him， he obliges her， in the name of the Executive Power， to pay him fifty crowns damages. -- As to the common Jacobin gangsters， their reward， besides food and drink， is perfect licentiousness. In all houses invaded at eleven o'clock in the evening. Whilst the father flies， or the husband screams under the cudgel， one of the villains stations himself at the entrance with a drawn saber in his hands， and the wife or daughter remains at the mercy of the others； they seize her by the neck and maintain their hold.[20] In vain does she scream for help. "Nobody in Saint-Afrique dares go outdoors at night"； nobody comes， and， the following day， the juge-de-paix dares not receive the complaint， because "he is afraid himself." -- Accordingly， on the 23rd of September， the municipal officers and the town-clerk， who made their rounds， were nearly beaten to death with clubs and stones； on the 10th of October another municipal officer was left for dead； a fortnight before this， a lieutenant of volunteers， M. Mazières， "trying to do his duty， was assassinated in his bed by his own men." Naturally， nobody dares whisper a word， and， after two months of this order of things， it may be presumed that at the municipal elections of the 21st of October， the electors will be docile. In any event， as a precaution， their notification eight days before， according to law， is dispensed with； as extra precaution， they are informed that if they do not vote for the Executive Power， they will have to do with the triangular cudgel.[21] Consequently， most of them abstain； in a town of over 600 active citizens， 40 votes give a majority； Bourgougnon and Sarrus， the two chiefs of the Executive Power， are elected， one mayor， and the other syndic-attorney， and henceforth the authority they seized by force is conferred on them by the law.
IV.
Ordinary practices of the Jacobin dictatorship. - The stationary companies of the clubs. - Their personnel. - Their leaders.
This is roughly the type of government which spring up in every commune of France after the 10th of August； the club reigns， but the form and processes of its dictatorship are different， according to circumstances. -- Sometimes it operates directly through an executive gang or by lancing an excited mob； sometimes it operates indirectly through the electoral assembly it has had elected， or through the municipality， which is its accomplice. If the administrations are Jacobin， it governs through them. If they are passive， it governs alongside of them. If they are refractory， it purges them，[22] or breaks them up，[23] and， to put them down， it resorts not only to blows， but even to murder[24] and massacre.[25] Between massacre and threats， all intermediaries meet， the revolutionary seal being everywhere impressed with inequalities of relief.