第738章

Consequently， swarms of Jacobin locusts spread from Paris out over the provinces， and from the local country-towns over the surrounding country. - In this cloud of destructive insects， there are various figures of different sizes： in the front rank， are the representatives on mission， who are to take command in the departments； in the second rank， "the political agents，" who， assigned the duty of watching the neighboring frontier， take upon themselves the additional duty of leading the popular club of the town they reside in， or of urging on its administrative body.[69] Besides that， there issue from the Paris headquarters in the rue St. Honoré， select sans-culottes who， authorized or delegated by the Committee of Public Safety， proceed to Lyons， Marseilles， Bordeaux， Tonnerre， Rochefort and elsewhere， to act as missionaries among the too inert population， or form the committees of action and the tribunals of extermination that are recruited with difficulty on the spot.[70] - Sometimes also， when a town has a bad record， the popular club of a sounder-minded city sends its delegates there， to bring it into line； thus， four deputies of the Metz club arrive without notice in Belfort， catechize their brethren， associate with them on the local Revolutionary Committee， and， suddenly， without consulting the municipality， or any other legal authority， draw up a list of "moderates， fanatics and egoists，" on whom they impose an extraordinary tax of one hundred and thirty-six thousand six hundred and seventeen livres；[71] in like manner， sixty delegates from the club of C？te-d'Or， Haute-Marne， Vosges， Moselle， Saone-et-Loire and Mont-Terrible， all "tempered by the white heat of Pére Duchesne，"proceed to Strasbourg at the summons of the representatives， where， under the title of "propagandists，" they are to regenerate the town.

- At the same time， in each department， the Jacobins of the principal town are found scattered along the high ways， that they may inspect their domain and govern their subjects. Sometimes， it is the representative on mission， who， personally， along with twenty "hairy devils，" makes his round and shows off his traveling dictatorship；again， it is his secretary or delegate who， in his place and in his name， comes to a second-class town and draws up his documents.[72] At another time， it is "a committee of investigation and propaganda"which， "chosen by the club and provided with full powers，" comes， in the name of the representatives， to work up for a month all the communes of the district.[73] Again， finally， it is the revolutionary committee of the principal town， which，" declared central for the whole department，"[74] delegates one or the other of its members to go outside the walls， and purge and recompose suspected municipalities.

- Thus does Jacobinism descend and spread itself， story after story， from the Parisian center to the smallest and remotest commune：

throughout provincial France， whether colorless or of uncertain color， the imposed or imported administration imposes its red stigma.

But the stamp is only superficial； for the sans-culottes， naturally， are not disposed to confer offices on any but men of their sort， while in the provinces， especially in the rural districts， such men are rare. As one of the representatives says： there is a "dearth of subjects." - At Macon， Javogues tries in vain；[75] he finds in the club only "disguised federalists；" the people， he says， "will not open their eyes it seems to me that this blindness is due to the physique of the country， which is very rich." Naturally， he storms and dismisses； but， even in the revolutionary committee， none but dubious candidates are presented to him for selection； he does not know how to manage in order to renew the local authorities. "They play into each others' hands，" and he ends by threatening to transfer the public institutions of the town elsewhere， if they persist in proposing to him none but bad patriots. - At Strasbourg，[76] Couturier， and Dentzel， on mission， report that： "owing to an unexampled coalition among all the capable citizens， obstinately refusing to take the office of mayor， in order， by this course， to clog the wheels， and subject the representatives to repeated and indecent refusals，" he is compelled to appoint a young man， not of legal age， and a stranger in the department. - At Marseilles， write the agents，[77] "in spite of every effort and our ardent desire to republicanize the Marseilles people， our pains and fatigues are nearly all fruitless. . . .

Public spirit among owners of property， mechanics and journey-men is everywhere detestable. . . . The number of discontented seems to increase from day to day. All the communes in Var， and most of those in this department are against us. . . . they constitute a race to be destroyed， a country to be colonized anew. . . .