书城公版The Origins of Contemporary France
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第792章

[43] "Recueil des Pieces Authentiques," etc., I., 23. By order of the representatives under date of Brumaire 25, year II. "The municipality of Strasbourg stripped the whole commune of shoes in twenty-four hours, sending for them from house to house." - Ibid.. p.32. Orders of Representatives Lemaire and Baudot, Frimaire I, year II., declaring that kitchen-utensils, boilers, sauce-pans, stew-pans, kettles and other copper and lead vessels, as well as copper and lead not worked-up, found at Strasbourg and in the departments, be levied on." -Archives Nationales, AF., I., 92. (Orders of Taillefer, Brumaire 3, year II. Villefranche 1'Avergnon.) Formation of a Committee of ten persons directed to make domiciliary visits, and authorized to take possession of all the iron, lead, steel and copper found in the houses of "suspects," all of which kitchen utensils, are to be turned into cannon. - Mallet-Dupan, "Mémoires," I., 15.

[44] Moniteur, XXV., 188. (Speech by Blutels, July 9, 1795.)[45] "Recueil du Pièces Authentiques," etc., I., 24. - Grégoire, reports on Vandalism, Fructidor 14, year II., and Brumaire 14, year III. (Moniteur, XXII., 86 and 751.) - Ibid., Letter of December 24, 1796: "Not millions, but billions have been destroyed." - Ibid.,, "Mémoires," I., 334: "It is incalculable, the loss of religious, scientific and literary objects. The district administrations of Blanc (Indre) notified me that to ensure the preservation of a library, they had the books put in casks." - Four hundred thousand francs were expended in smashing statues of the Fathers of the church, forming a circle around the dome of the Invalides. - A great many objects became worthless through a cessation of their use: for example, the cathedral of Meaux was put up at auction and found no purchaser at six hundred francs. The materials were valued at forty-five thousand francs, but labor (for taking it down) was too high.

(Narrative by an inhabitant of Meaux.)

[46] Les Origines du Système Financier Actuel," by Eugene Sturm, p.53, 79.

[47] Meissner, "Voyage à Paris," (end of 1795), p. 65. "The class of those who may have really gained by the Revolution.... is composed of brokers, army contractors, and their subordinates, a few government agents and fermiers, enriching themselves by their new acquisitions, and who are cool and shrewd enough to hide their grain, bury their gold and steadily refuse assignats." - Ibid., 68, 70. " On the road, he asks to whom a fine chateau belongs, and they tell him with a significant look, 'to a former scruffy wretch.' - 'Oh, monsieur,' said the landlady at Vesoul, 'for every one that the Revolution has made rich, you may be sure that it has made a thousand poor.'"[48] The following descriptions and appreciations are the fruit of extensive investigation, scarcely one tenth of the facts and texts that have been of service being cited. I must refer the reader, accordingly, to the series of printed and written documents of which Ihave made mention in this and the three preceding volumes.

[49] "The Ancient Regime," book II., ch 2, § IV.

[50] Ibid., book IV., chs. I., II., III.

[51] Lacretelle, "Histoire de France au 18eme Siecle," V., 2. - -"The Ancient Regime," pp. 163, 300.

[52] Morellet, "Mémoires," I., 166. (Letter by R?derer to Beccaria's daughter, May 20, 1797).

[53] Beccaria (Cesare Bonesana, marquis de) (Milan 1738 - id. 1794).

Italian jurist, whose "Traité des délits et des peines (1764)contributed to the reforms and the softening of of European penal law.

(SR)

[54] Mallet-Dupan, "Mémoires," II., 493. "While the Duke of Orleans was undergoing his examination he read a newspaper." - Ibid., 497.

"Nobody died with more firmness, spirit and dignity than the Duke of Orleans. He again became a royal prince. On being asked in the revolutionary tribunal whether he had any defense to make, he replied, 'Rather die to-day than to-morrow: deliberate about it.'" His request was granted. - The Duc de Biron refused to escape, considering that, in such a dilemma, it was not worth while. "He passed his time in bed, drinking Bordeaux wine. . . . Before the tribunal, they asked his name and he replied, 'Cabbage, turnip, Biron, as you like, one is as good as the other.' 'How!' exclaimed the judges, 'you are insolent!' 'And you - you are windbags! I Come to the point;Guillotine, that is all you have to say, while I have nothing to say.'" Meanwhile they proceeded to interrogate him on his pretended treachery in Vendée, etc. "'You do not know what you are talking about! You ignoramuses know nothing about war! Stop your questions. Ireported at the time to the Committee of Public Safety, which approved of my conduct. Now, it has changed and ordered you to take my life.

Obey, and lose no more time.' Biron asked pardon of God and the King.

Never did he appear better than on the (executioner's) cart."[55] Morellet, II., 31.-"Mémoires de la Duchesse de Tourzel," "de Mlle. des écherolles," etc.-Beugnot, "Mémoires, I., 200-203. "The wittiest remarks, the most delicate allusions, the most brilliant repartees were exchanged on each side of the grating. The conversation was general, without any subject being dwelt on. There, misfortune was treated as if it were a bad child to be laughed at, and, in fact, they did openly make sport of Marat's divinity, Robespierre's sacerdoce and the magistracy of Fouquier. They seemed to say to all these bloody menials: 'You may slaughter us when you please, but you cannot hinder us in being aimable'"-Archives Nationales, F.7, 31167. (Report by the watchman, Charmont, Niv?se 29, year II.) "The people attending the executions are very much surprised at the firmness and courage they show (sic) on mounting the scaffold.