hed out into the streets
at once, gathered together a dozen to fifteen patriotic citizens without
weapons, and hurried to the town hall: There he found two officials of
the town, and begged them to go at once to the place de l'Eveche,
escorted by the first company, which was on guard at the town hall. They
agreed, and set off. On the way several shots were fired at them, but no
one was hit. When they arrived at the square, the cebets fired a volley
at them with the same negative result. Up the three principal streets
which led to the palace numerous red-tufts were hurrying; the first
company took possession of the ends of the streets, and being fired at
returned the fire, repulsing the assailants and clearing the square, with
the loss of one of their men, while several of the retreating cebets were
wounded.

While this struggle was going on at the palace, the spirit of murder
broke loose in the town.

At the gate of the Madeleine, M. de Jalabert's house was broken into by
the red-tufts; the unfortunate old man came out to meet them and asked
what they wanted. "Your life and the lives of all the other dogs of
Protestants!" was the reply. Whereupon he was seized and dragged through
the streets, fifteen insurgents hacking at him with their swords.

At last he managed to escape from their hands, but died two days later of
his wounds.

Another old man named Astruc, who was bowed beneath the weight of
seventy-two years and whose white hair covered his shoulders, was met as
he was on his way to the gate of Carmes. Being recognised as a
Protestant, he received five wounds from some of the famous pitchforks
belonging to the company of Froment. He fell, but the assassins picked
him up, and throwing him into the moat, amused themselves by flinging
stones at him, till one of them, with more humanity than his fellows, put
a bullet through his head.

Three electors--M. Massador from near Beaucaire, M. Vialla from the
canton of Lasalle, and M. Puech of the same place-were attacked by
red-tufts on their way home, and all three seriously wounded. The captain
who had been in command of the detachment on guard at the Electoral
Assembly was returning to his quarters, accompanied by a sergeant and
three volunteers of his own company, when they were stopped on the
Petit-Cours by Froment, commonly called Damblay, who, pressing the barrel
of a pistol to the captain's breast, said, "Stand, you rascal, and give
up your arms." At t