第 21 节
作者:开了      更新:2021-02-18 23:01      字数:9317
  impulse to break the law becomes irresistible。  Every man who can
  procure a gun begins operations;'29' the crops which are still
  standing are trodden under foot; the lordly residences are invaded
  and the palings are scaled; the King himself at Versailles is
  wakened by shots fired in his park。  Stags; fawns; deer; wild boars;
  hares; and rabbits; are slain by thousands; cooked with stolen wood;
  and eaten up on the spot。  There is a constant discharge of musketry
  throughout France for more than two months; and; as on an American
  prairie; every living animal belongs to him who kills it。  At
  Choiseul; in Champagne; not only are all the hares and partridges of
  the barony exterminated; but the ponds are exhausted of fish; the
  court of the chateau even is entered; to fire on the pigeon…house
  and destroy the pigeons; and then the pigeons and fish; of which
  they have too many; are offered to the proprietor for sale   It is
  〃the patriots〃 of the village with 〃smugglers and bad characters〃
  belonging to the neighborhood who make this expedition; they are
  seen in the front ranks of every act of violence; and it is not
  difficult to foresee that; under their leadership; attacks on public
  persons and public property will be followed by attacks on private
  persons and private property。
  VII。
  Attack upon private individuals and private property。  … Aristocrats
  denounced to the people as their enemies。  … Effect of news from
  Paris。… Influence of the village attorneys。  … Isolated acts of
  violence。  … A general rising of the peasantry in the east。  … War
  against the castles; feudal estates; and property。  … Preparations
  for other Jacqueries。
  Indeed; an outlawed class already exists; they are called 〃
  aristocrats。〃 This deadly term; applied at first to the nobles and
  prelates in the States…General who declined to take part in the
  reunion of the three orders; is extended so as to embrace all whose
  titles; offices; alliances; and manner of living distinguish them
  from the multitude。  That which entitled them to respect is that
  which marks them out as objects of ill…will; while the people; who;
  though suffering from their privileges; did not regard them
  personally with hatred; are now taught to consider them as their
  enemies。  Each; on his own estate; is held accountable for the evil
  designs attributed to his brethren at Versailles; and; on the false
  report of a plot at the center; the peasants classify him as one of
  the conspirators。'30'  Thus does the peasant jacquerie commence; and
  the fanatics who have fanned the flame in Paris are to do the same
  in the provinces。  〃You wish to know the authors of the agitation;〃
  writes a sensible man to the committee of investigation; 〃you will
  find them amongst the deputies of the Third…Estate;〃 and especially
  among the attorneys and advocates。  〃These dispatch incendiary
  letters to their constituents; which letters are received by
  municipal bodies alike composed of attorneys and of advocates。。。。
  they are read aloud in the public squares; while copies of them are
  distributed among all the villages。  In these villages; if any one
  knows how to read besides the priest and the lord of the manor; it
  is the legal practitioner;〃 the born enemy of the lord of the manor;
  whose place he covets; vain of his oratorical powers; embittered by
  his power; and never failing to blacken everything。'31'  It is
  highly probable that he is the one who composes and circulates the
  placards calling on the people; in the King's name; to resort to
  violence。   At Secondigny; in Poitou; on the 23rd of July;'32' the
  laborers in the forest receive a letter 〃which summons them to
  attack all the country gentlemen round about; and to massacre
  without mercy all those who refuse to renounce their privileges。。。。
  promising them that not only will their crimes go unpunished; but
  that they will even be rewarded。〃 M。 Despretz…Montpezat;
  correspondent of the deputies of the nobles; is seized; and dragged
  with his son to the dwelling of the procurator…fiscal; to force him
  to give his signature; the inhabitants are forbidden to render him
  assistance 〃on pain of death and fire。〃 〃Sign;〃 they exclaim; 〃or we
  will tear out your heart; and set fire to this house !〃 At this
  moment the neighboring notary; who is doubtless an accomplice;
  appears with a stamped paper; and says to him; 〃Monsieur; I have
  just come from Niort; where the Third…Estate has done the same thing
  to all the gentlemen of the town; one; who refused; was cut to
  pieces before our eyes。〃  〃We are compelled to sign renunciations
  of our privileges; and give our assent to one and the same taxation;
  as if the nobles had not already done so。〃 The band gives notice
  that it will proceed in the same fashion with all the chateaux in
  the vicinity; and terror precedes or follows them。  〃Nobody dares
  write;〃 M。 Despretz sends word; 〃 I attempt it at the risk of my
  life。〃  Nobles and prelates become objects of suspicion
  everywhere; village committees open their letters; and they have to
  suffer their houses to be searched。'33'  They are forced to adopt
  the new cockade: to be a gentleman; and not wear it; is to deserve
  hanging。  At Mamers; in Maine; M。 de Beauvoir refuses to wear it;
  and is at the point of being put into the pillory and felled。  Near
  La F1èche; M。 de Brissac is arrested; and a message is sent to Paris
  to know if he shall be taken there; 〃or be beheaded in the
  meantime。〃 Two deputies of the nobles; MM。 de Montesson and de Vassé
  who had come to ask the consent of their constituents to their
  joining the Third…Estate; are recognized near Mans; their honorable
  scruples and their pledges to the constituents are considered of no
  importance; nor even the step that they are now taking to fulfill
  them; it suffices that they voted against the Third…Estate at
  Versailles; the populace pursues them and breaks up their carriages;
  and pillages their trunks。   Woe to the nobles; especially if they
  have taken any part in local rule; and if they are opposed to
  popular panics! M。 Cureau; deputy…mayor of Mans;'34' had issued
  orders during the famine; and; having retired to his chateau of
  Nouay; had told the peasants that the announcement of the coming of
  brigands was a false alarm; he thought that it was not necessary to
  sound the alarm bell; and all that was necessary was that they
  should remain quiet。  Accordingly he is set down as being in league
  with the brigands; and besides this he is a monopolist; and a buyer
  of standing crops。  The peasants lead him off; along with his son…
  in…law; M。 de Montesson; to the neighboring village; where there
  are judges。  On the way 〃they dragged their victims on the ground;
  pummeled them; trampled on them; spit in their faces; and besmeared
  them with filth。〃 M。 de Montesson is shot; while M。 Cureau is killed
  by degrees; a carpenter cuts off the two heads with a double…edged
  ax; and children bear them along to the sound of drums and violins。
  Meanwhile; the judges of the place; brought by force; draw up an
  official report stating the finding of thirty louis and several
  bills of the Banque d'Escompte in the pockets of M。 de Cureau; on
  the discovery of which a shout of triumph is set up: this evidence
  proves that they were going to buy up the standing wheat !  Such
  is the course of popular justice。  Now that the Third…Estate has
  become the nation; every mob thinks that it has the right to
  pronounce sentences; which it carries out; on lives and on
  possessions。
  These explosions are isolated in the western; central and southern
  provinces; the conflagration; however; is universal in the east。  On
  a strip of ground from thirty to fifty leagues broad; extending from
  the extreme north down to Provence。  Alsace; Franche…Comté;
  Burgundy; Maconnais; Beaujolais; Auvergne; Viennois; Dauphiny; the
  whole of this territory resembles a continuous mine which explodes
  at the same time。  The first column of flame which shoots up is on
  the frontiers of Alsace and Franche…Comté; in the vicinity of
  Belfort and Vésoul; a feudal district; in which the peasant; over…
  burdened with taxes; bears the heavier yoke with greater impatience。
  An instinctive argument is going on in his mind without his knowing
  it。  〃The good Assembly and the good King want us to be happy;
  suppose we help them! They say that the King has already relieved us
  of the taxes; suppose we relieve ourselves of paying rents! Down
  with the nobles! They are no better than the tax…collectors! 〃  On
  the 16th of July; the chateau of Sancy; belonging to the Princesses
  de Beaufremont; is sacked; and on the 18th those of Lure; Bithaine;
  and Molans。'35'  On the 29th; an accident which occurs with some
  fire…works at a popular festival at the house of M。 de Mesmay; leads
  the lower class to believe that the invitation extended to them was
  a trap; and that there was a desire to get rid of them by
  treachery。'36'  Seized with rage they set fi