After November， 1790，[20] "every street in every town and hamlet，"says a Journal of large circulation， "must have a club of its own. Let some honest craftsman invite his neighbors to his house， where， with using a shared candle， he may read aloud the decrees of the National Assembly， on which he and his neighbors may comment. Before the meeting closes， in order to enliven the company， which may feel a little disturbed on account of Marat's articles， let him read the patriotic oaths in 'Pêre Duchesne.'"[21] -- The advice is followed. At the meetings in the club are read aloud pamphlets， newspapers， and catechisms dispatched from Paris， the "Gazette Villageoise，" the "Journal du Soir，" the "Journal de la Montagne，" "Pêre Duchesne，" the "Révolutions de Paris，" and "Laclos' Gazette." Revolutionary songs are sung， and， if a good speaker happens to be present， a former monk (oratorien)， lawyer， or school-master， he pours out his stock of phrases， speaking of the Greeks and Romans， proclaiming the regeneration of the human species. One of them， appealing to the women， wants to see"the declaration of the Rights of Man suspended on the walls of their bedrooms as their principal ornament， and， should war break out， these virtuous supporters， marching at the head of our armies like new bacchantes with flowing hair， the wand of Bacchus in their hand."Shouts of applause greet this sentiment. The minds of the listeners， swept away by this gale of declamation， become overheated and ignite through mutual contact； like half-consumed embers that would die out if let alone， they kindle into a blaze when gathered together in a heap. - - Their convictions， at the same time， gain strength. There is nothing like a coterie to make these take root. In politics， as in religion， faith generating the church， the latter， in its turn， nourishes faith. In the club， as in the private religious meeting， each derives authority from the common unanimity， every word and action of the whole tending to prove each in the right. And all the more because a dogma which remains uncontested， ends in seeming incontestable； as the Jacobin lives in a narrow circle， carefully guarded， no contrary opinions find their way to him. The public， in his eyes， seems two hundred persons； their opinion weighs on him without any counterpoise， and， outside of their belief， which is his also， every other belief is absurd and even culpable. Moreover， he discovers through this constant system of preaching， which is nothing but flattery， that he is patriotic， intelligent， virtuous， of which he can have no doubt， because， before being admitted into the club， his civic virtues have been verified and he carries a printed certificate of them in his pocket. - - Accordingly， he is one of an élite corps， a corps which， enjoying a monopoly of patriotism， holds itself aloof， talks loud， and is distinguished from ordinary citizens by its tone and way of conducting things. The club of Pontarlier，[22] from the first， prohibits its members from using the common forms of politeness.
"Members are to abstain from saluting their fellow-citizens by removing the hat， and are to avoid the phrase， 'I have the honor to be，' and others of like import， in addressing persons."A proper idea of one's importance is indispensable.
"Does not the famous tribune of the Jacobins in Paris inspire traitors and impostors with fear？ And do not anti-Revolutionaries return to dust on beholding it？"All this is true， in the provinces as well as at the capital， for， scarcely is a club organized before it sets to work on the population.
In may of the large cities， in Paris， Lyons， Aix and Bordeaux， there are two clubs in partnership，[23] one， more or less respectable and parliamentary， "composed partly of the members of the different branches of the administration and specially devoted to purposes of general utility，" and the other， practical and active， made up of bar-room politicians and club-haranguers， who indoctrinate workmen， market-gardeners and the rest of the lower bourgeois class. The latter is a branch of the former， and， in urgent cases， supplies it with rioters.
"We are placed amongst the people，" says one of these subaltern clubs， "we read to them the decrees， and， through lectures and counsel， we warn them against the publications and intrigues of the aristocrats. We ferret out and track plotters and their machinations.
We welcome and advise all complainants； we enforce their demands， when just； finally， we， in some way， attend to all details."Thanks to these vulgar auxiliaries， but whose lungs and arms are strong， the party soon becomes dominant； it has force and uses it， and， denying that its adversaries have any rights， it re-establishes all the privileges for its own advantage.[24]
III.
How they view the liberty of the press. - Their political doings.
Let us consider its mode of procedure in one instance and upon a limited field， the freedom of the press.[25] In December， 1790， M.
Etienne， an engineer， whom Marat and Fréron had denounced as a spy in their periodicals， brought a suit against them in the police court.
The numbers containing the libel were seized， the printers summoned to appear， and M. Etienne claimed a public retraction or 25，000 francs damages with costs. At this the two journalists， considering themselves infallible as well as exempt from arrest， are indignant.
" It is of the utmost importance，" writes Marat， "that the informer should not be liable to prosecution as he is accountable only to the public for what he says and does for the public good."M. Etienne (surnamed Languedoc)， therefore， is a traitor： "Monsieur Languedoc， I advise you to keep your mouth shut； if I can have you hung I will." M. Etienne， nevertheless， persists and obtains a first decision in his favor. Fire and flame are at once belched forth by Marat and Fréon：