ms, the wagons of wheat passing along the
road to Saint-Quentin, and, besides this, seven farms in Picardy.
"The seat of this revolt is in some villages bordering on Picardy and
Cambresis, familiar with smuggling operations and to the license of
that pursuit." The peasants allow themselves to be enticed away by the
bandits. Man slips rapidly down the incline of dishonesty; one who
is half-honest, and takes part in a riot inadvertently or in spite of
himself; repeats the act, allured on by impunity or by gain. In fact,
"it is not dire necessity which impels them;" they make a speculation of
cupidity, a new sort of illicit trade. An old soldier, saber in hand, a
forest-keeper, and "about eight persons sufficiently lax, put themselves
at the head of four or five hundred men, go off each day to three or
four villages. Here they force everybody who has any wheat to give it
to them at 24 livres," and even at 18 livres, the sack. Those among the
band, who say that they have no money, carry away their portion without
payment. Others, after having paid what they please, re-sell at a
profit, which amounts to even 45 livres the sack. This is a good
business, and one in which greed takes poverty for its accomplice. At
the next harvest the temptation will be similar: "they have threatened
to come and do our harvesting for us, and also to take our cattle and
sell the meat in the villages at the rate of two sous the pound."--In
every important insurrection there are similar evil-does and vagabonds,
enemies to the law, savage, prowling desperadoes, who, like wolves, roam
about wherever they scent a prey. It is they who serve as the directors
and executioners of public or private malice. Near Uzes twenty-five
masked men, with guns and clubs, enter the house of a notary, fire a
pistol at him, beat him, wreck the premises, and burn his registers
along with the title-deeds and papers which he has in keeping for the
Count de Rouvres. Seven of them are arrested, but the people are on
their side, and fall on the constabulary and free them.[1124]--They
are known by their acts, by their love of destruction for the sake of
destruction, by their foreign accent, by their savage faces and their
rags. Some of them come from Paris to Rouen, and, for four days, the
town is at their mercy.[1125] The stores are forced open, train wagons
are discharged, wheat is wasted, and convents and seminaries are put to
ransom. They invade the dwelling of the attorney