Sovereign of his quarter up to Thermidor 10， his denunciations are death-warrants. Some of the streets， especially that of Grand Chantier， he "depopulates." And this Marais exterminator is a "cobbler，" a colleague in leather， as well as in the Commune， of Simon the shoemaker， the preceptor and murderer of the young Dauphin.
Still lower down than this admirable municipal body， let us try to imagine， from at least one complete example， the forty-eight revolutionary committees who supply it with hands. - There is one of them of which we know all the members， where the governing class， under full headway， can be studied on the spot and in action.[51] This consists of the underworld， nomadic class which is revolutionary only through its appetites； no theory and no convictions animate it； during the first three years of the Revolution it pays no attention to， or cares for， public matters； if， since the 10th of August， and especially since the 2nd of June， it takes any account of these， it is to get a living and gorge itself with plunder. - Out of eighteen members， simultaneously or in succession， of the "Bonnet Rouge，"fourteen， before the 10th of August and especially since the 2nd of June， are unknown in this quarter， and had taken no part in the Revolution. The most prominent among these are three painters， heraldic， carriage and miniature， evidently ruined and idle on account of the Revolution， a candle-dealer， a vinegar-dealer， a manufacturer of saltpeter， and a locksmith； while of these seven personages， four have additionally enhanced the dignity of their calling by vending tickets for small lotteries， acting as pawnbrokers or as keepers of a biribi[52] saloon. Seated along with these are two upper-class domestics， a hack-driver， an ex-gendarme dismissed from the corps， a cobbler on the street corner， a runner on errands who was once a carter's boy， and another who， two months before this， was a scavenger's apprentice， the latter penniless and in tatters before he became one of the Committee， and since that， well clad， lodged and furnished. Finally， a former dealer in lottery-tickets， himself a counterfeiter by his own admission， and a jail-bird. Four others have been dismissed from their places for dishonesty or swindling， three are known drunkards， two are not even Frenchmen， while the ring-leader， the man of brains of this select company is， as usual， a seedy， used-up lawyer， the ex-notary Pigeot， and expelled from his professional body on account of bankruptcy. He is probably the author of the following speculation： After the month of September， 1793， the Committee， freely arresting whomsoever it pleased in the quarter， and even outside of it， makes a haul of "three hundred heads of families"in four months， with whom it fills the old barracks it occupies in the rue de Sèvres. In this confined and unhealthy tenement， more than one hundred and twenty prisoners are huddled together， sometimes ten in one room， two in the same bed， and， for their keeping， they pay three hundred francs a day. As sixty-two francs of this charge are verified， there is of this sum， (not counting other extortions or concessions which are not official)， two hundred and thirty-eight francs profit daily for these 'honest' contractors. Accordingly， they live freely and have "the most magnificent dinners " in their assembly chamber； the contribution of ten or twelve francs apiece is " nothing " for them. - But， in this opulent St. Germain quarter， so many rich and noble men and women form a herd which must be conveniently stalled， so as to be the more easily milked. Consequently， toward the end of March， 1794， the Committee， to increase its business and fill up the pen， hires a large house on the corner of the boulevard possessing a court and a garden， where the high society of the quarter is assigned lodgings of two rooms each， at twelve francs a day， which gives one hundred and fifty thousand livres per annum， and， as the rent is twenty-four hundred francs， the Committee gain one hundred and forty-seven thousand six hundred livres by the operation； we must add to this twenty sorts of profit in money and other matters - taxes on the articles consumed and on supplies of every description， charges on the dispatch and receipt of correspondence and other gratuities， such as ransoms and fees. A penned-up herd refuses nothing to its keepers，[53] and this one less than any other； for if this herd is plundered it is preserved， its keepers finding it too lucrative to send it to the slaughter-house. During the last six months of Terror， but two out of the one hundred and sixty boarders of the "Bonnet Rouge" Committee are withdrawn from the establishment and handed over to the guillotine. It is only on the 7th and 8th of Thermidor that the Committee of Public Safety， having undertaken to empty the prisons， breaks in upon the precious herd and disturbs the well-laid scheme， so admirably managed. - It was only too well managed， for it excited jealousy； three months after Thermidor， the " Bonnet Rouge"committee is denounced and condemned； ten are sentenced to twenty years in irons， with the pillory in addition， and， among others， the clever notary，[54] amidst the jeering and insults of the crowd. - And yet these are not the worst； their cupidity had mollified their ferocity. Others， less adroit in robbing， show greater cruelty in murdering. In any event， in the provinces as well as in Paris， in the revolutionary committees paid three francs a day for each member， the quality of one or the other of the officials is about the same.
According to the pay-lists which Barère keeps， there are twenty-one thousand five hundred of these committees in France.[55]
IV. Provincial Administration.