They kill and they drink， and drink and kill again. Weariness comes and stupor begins. One of them， a wheelwright's apprentice， has dispatched sixteen for his share； another "has labored so hard at this merchandise as to leave the blade of his saber sticking in it"； "I was more tired，" says a Federate， "with two hours pulling limbs to pieces， right and left， than any mason who for two days has been plastering a wall."[113] The first excitement is gone， and now they strike automatically.[114] Some of them fall asleep stretched out on benches.
Others， huddled together， sleep off the fumes of their wine， removed on one side. The exhalation from the carnage is so strong that the president of the civil committee faints in his chair，[115] the fumes of the tavern blending with those from the charnel-house. A heavy， dull state of torpor gradually overcomes their clouded brains， the last glimmerings of reason dying out one by one， like the smoky lights on the already cold breasts of the corpses lying around them. Through the stupor spreading over the faces of butchers and cannibals， we see appearing that of the idiot. It is the revolutionary idiot， in which all conceptions， save two， have vanished， two fixed， rudimentary， and mechanical ideas， one destruction and the other that of public safety.
With no others in his empty head， these blend together through an irresistible attraction， and the effect proceeding from their contact may be imagined. "Is there anything else to do？ "asks one of these butchers in the deserted court. -- "If there is no more to do，" reply a couple of women at the gate， "you will have to think of something，"[116] and， naturally， this is done.
As the prisons are to be cleaned out， it is as well to clean them all out， and do it at once. After the Swiss， priests， the aristocrats， and the "white-skinned gentlemen，" there remain convicts and those confined through the ordinary channels of justice， robbers， assassins， and those sentenced to the galleys in the Conciergerie， in the Chatelet， and in the Tour St. Bernard， with branded women， vagabonds， old beggars， and boys confined in Bicêtre and the Salpétrière. They are good for nothing， cost something to feed，[117] and， probably， cherish evil designs. At the Salpétrière， for example， the wife of Desrues， the poisoner， is， assuredly， like himself， "cunning， wicked， and capable of anything"； she must be furious at being in prison； if she could， she would set fire to Paris； she must have said so； she did say it[118] -- one more sweep of the broom.-- This time， as the job is more foul， the broom is wielded by fouler hands； among those who seize the handle are the frequenters of jails. The butchers at the Abbaye prison， especially towards the close， had already committed thefts；[119] here， at the Chatelet and the Conciergerie prisons， they carry away "everything which seems to them suitable，" even to the clothes of the dead， prison sheets and coverlids， even the small savings of the jailers， and， besides this， they enlist their cronies.
"Out of 36 prisoners set free， many were assassins and robbers， the killers attached them to their group. There were also 75 women， confined in part for larceny， who promised to faithfully serve their liberators." Later on， indeed， these are to become， at the Jacobin and Cordeliers clubs， the tricoteuses (knitters) who fill their tribunes.[120] -- At the Salpétrière prison， "all the pimps of Paris， former spies， . . . libertines， the rascals of France and all Europe， prepare beforehand for the operation，" and rape alternates with massacre.[121] -- Thus far， at least， slaughter has been seasoned with robbery， and the grossness of eating and drinking； at Bicétre， however， it is crude butchery， the carnivorous instinct alone satisfying itself. Among other prisoners are 43 youths of the lowest class， from 17 to 19 years of age， placed there for correction by their parents， or by those to whom they are bound；[122] one need only look at them to see that they are genuine Parisian scamps， the apprentices of vice and misery， the future recruits for the reigning band， and these the band falls on， beating them to death with clubs.
At this age life is tenacious， and， no life being harder to take， it requires extra efforts to dispatch them. "In that corner，" said a jailer， "they made a mountain of their bodies. The next day， when they were to be buried， the sight was enough to break one's heart. One of them looked as if he were sleeping like one of God's angels， but the rest were horribly mutilated."[123] -- Here， man has sunk below himself， down into the lowest strata of the animal kingdom， lower that the wolf； for wolves do not strangle their young.
VI. Jacobin Massacre.
Effect of the massacre on the public. -- General dejection and the dissolution of society. -- The ascendancy of the Jacobins assured in Paris. -- The men of September upheld in the Commune and elected to the Convention.
There are six days and five nights of uninterrupted butchery，[124] 171murders at the Abbaye， 169 at La Force， 223 at the Chatelet， 328 at the Consciergerie， 73 at the Tour-Saint-Bernard， 120 at the Carmelites， 79 at Saint Firmin， 170 at Bicêtre， 35 at the Salpétrière；among the dead，[125] 250 priests， 3 bishops or archbishops， general officers， magistrates， one former minister， one royal princess， belonging to the best names in France， and， on the other side， one Negro， several working class women， kids， convicts， and poor old men：