Autichamp， which corps is to march on to Paris to carry off the King， and break up the National Assembly. The National Guards along the whole route are to be forced into the lines. At a certain distance each man is to receive 1，200 francs， and， at the end of the expedition， is to be enrolled in the Artois Guard， or sent home with a recompense of 12，000 francs. - ？Meanwhile， the Prince de Condé；with forty thousand men， will come by the way of Pont Saint-Esprit in Languedoc， rally the disaffected of Carpentras and of the Jalès camp to his standard， and occupy Cette and the other seaports； and finally， the Comte d'Artois， on his side， will enter by Pont-Beauvoisin with thirty thousand men. - A horrible discovery！ The municipal authorities of Valence immediately inform those of Lyons， Besan？on， Chalons， Ma？on， and others beside. On the strength of this the municipal body of Ma？on， "considering that the enemies of the Revolution are ever making the most strenuous efforts to annihilate the Constitution which secures the happiness of this empire，" and "that it is highly important to frustrate their designs，" sends two hundred men of its National Guard to the chateau of Villiers，" empowered to employ armed force in case of resistance." For greater security， this troop is joined by the National Guards of the three neighboring parishes. M. de Bussy， on being told that they were climbing over the wall into his garden， seizes a gun and takes aim， but does not fire， and then， the requisition being legal， throws all open to them. There are found in the house six green coats， seven dozens of large buttons， and fifteen dozens of small ones. The proof is manifest. He explains what his project was and states his motive - it is a mere pretext.
He makes a sign， as an order， to his valet - there is a positive complicity. M. de Bussy， his six guests， and the valet， are arrested and transported to Ma？on. A trial takes place， with depositions and interrogatories， in which the truth is elicited in spite of the most adverse testimony； it is clear that M. de Bussy never intended to do more than defend himself. - But prejudice is a blindfold to hostile eyes. It cannot be admitted that， under a constitution which is perfect， an innocent man could incur danger；the objection is made to him that "it is not natural for an armed company to be formed to resist a massacre by which it is not menaced ；" they are convinced beforehand that he is guilty. On a decree of the National Assembly the minister had ordered all accused persons to be brought to Paris by the constabulary and hussars； the National Guard of Ma？on， "in the greatest state of agitation，" declares that， "as it had arrested M. de Bussy， it would not consent to his transport by any other body. . . Undoubtedly， the object is to allow him to escape on the way，" but it will know how to keep its captive secure. The guard， in fine， of its own authority， escorts M. de Bussy to Paris， into the Abbaye prison， where he is kept confined for several months - so long， indeed， that， after a new trial and investigation， the absurdity of the accusation being too palpable， they are obliged to set him at liberty. - Such is the situation of most of the gentry on their own estates， and M. de Bussy， even acquitted and vindicated， will act wisely in not returning home.
III.
Domiciliary visits. - The fifth jacquerie. - Burgundy and Lyonnais in 1791. - M. de Chaponay and M. Guillin-DumoutetHe would be nothing but a hostage there. Alone against thousands， sole survivor and representative of an abolished régime which all detest， it is the noble against whom everybody turns whenever a political shock seems to shake the new régime. He is at least disarmed， as he might be dangerous， and， in these popular executions， brutal instincts and appetites break loose like a bull that dashes through a door and rages through a dwelling-house. In the same department， some months later， on the news arriving of the arrest of the King at Varennes， "all nonjuring[13] priests and ci-devant nobles are exposed to the horrors of persecution." Bands forcibly enter houses to seize arms： Commarin， Grosbois， Montculot， Chaudenay， Créancé， Toisy， Chatellenot， and other houses are thus visited， and several are sacked. During the night of June 26-27， 1791， at the chateau of Créancé "there is pillaging throughout； the mirrors are broken， the pictures are torn up， and the doors are broken down." The master of the house， "M. de Comeau-Créncé， Knight of St. Louis， horribly maltreated， is dragged to the foot of the stairs， where he lies as if dead：" previous to this， "he was forced to give a considerable contribution， and to refund all penalties collected by him before the Revolution as the local lord of the manor. " - Two other proprietors in the neighborhood， both Knights of St. Louis， are treated in the same way. "That is the way in which three old and brave soldiers are rewarded for their services！" A fourth， a peaceable man， escapes beforehand， leaving his keys in the locks and his gardener in the house.
Notwithstanding this， the doors and the clothes-presses were broken open， the pillaging lasting five hours and a half； with threats of setting the house on fire if the seigneur did not make his appearance. Questions were asked "as to whether he attended the mass of the new curé whether he had formerly exacted fines， and finally， whether any of the inhabitants had any complaint to make against him." No complaint is made； on the contrary， he is rather beloved. - But， in tumults of this sort， a hundred madmen and fifty rogues prescribe the law to the timid and the indifferent.