During the month of October， 1789， at Paris， after the assassination of the baker Fran？ois， the leading murderer， who is a porter at the grain depot， declares "that he wanted to avenge the nation." It is quite probable that this declaration is sincere. In his mind， assassination is one of the forms of patriotism， and it does not take long for his way of thinking to become prevalent. In ordinary times， social and political ideas slumber in uncultured minds in the shape of vague antipathies， restrained aspirations， and fleeting desires. Behold them aroused - energetic， imperious， stubborn， and unbridled. Objection or opposition is not to be tolerated； dissent， with them， is a sure sign of treachery. - Apropos of the nonjuring priests，[40] five hundred and twenty-seven of the National Guards of Arras write， "that no one could doubt their iniquity without being suspected of being their accomplices. . . . Should the whole town combine and express a contrary opinion， it would simply show that it is filled with enemies of the Constitution；" and forthwith， in spite of the law and the remonstrances of the authorities， they insist on the closing of the churches. At Boulogne-sur-Mer， an English vessel having shipped a quantity of poultry， game， and eggs， "the National Guards， of their own authority，" go on board and remove the cargo. On the strength of this， the accommodating municipal body approves of the act， declares the cargo confiscated， orders it to be sold， and awards one-half of the proceeds to the National Guards and the other half to charitable purposes. The concession is a vain one， for the National Guards consider that one-half is too little， "insult and threaten the municipal officers，"and immediately proceed to divide the booty in kind， each one going home with a share of stolen hams and chickens.[41] The magistrates must necessarily keep quiet with the guns of those they govern pointed at them. - Sometimes， and it is generally the case， they are timid， and do not try to resist. At Douai，[42] the municipal officers， on being summoned three times to proclaim martial law， refuse， and end by avowing that they dare not unfold the red flag：
"Were we to take this course we should all be sacrificed on the spot." Neither the troops nor the National Guards， in fact， are to be relied on. In this universal state of apathy the field is open to savages， and a dealer in wheat is hung. - Sometimes the administrative corps tries to resist， but in the end it has to succumb to violence. "For more than six hours，" writes one of the members of the district of Etampes，[43] "we were closed in by bayonets leveled at us and with pistols at our breasts ； and they were obliged to sign a dismissal of the troops which had arrived to protect the market. At present "we are all away from Etampes； there is no longer a district or a municipality；" almost all have handed in their resignations， or are to return for that purpose. -Sometimes， and this is the rarest case，[44] the officials do their duty to the end， and perish. In this same town， six months later， Simoneau， the mayor， having refused to cut down the price of wheat， is beaten with iron-pointed sticks， and his corpse is riddled with balls by the murderers. - Municipal bodies must take heed how they undertake to stem the torrent； the， slightest opposition will soon be at the expense of their lives. In Touraine，[45] "as the publication of the tax-rolls takes place， riots break out against the municipal authorities； they are forced to surrender the rolls they have drawn up， and their papers are torn up." And still more， "they kill， they assassinate the municipal authorities." In that large commune men and women "beat and kick them with their fists and sabots. . . . The mayor is laid up after it， and the procureur of the commune died between nine and ten o'clock in the morning.
Véteau， a municipal officer， received the last sacrament this morning ；" the rest have fled， being constantly threatened with death and incendiarism. They do not， consequently， return， and "no one now will take the office of either mayor or administrator." -The outrages which the municipalities thus commit against their superiors are committed against themselves. The National Guards， the mob， the controlling faction， arrogating to themselves in the commune the same violent sovereignty which the commune pretends to exercise against the State.