The municipal officers feign to have heard nothing， neither the general alarm nor the guns fired under their windows. The other witnesses say not a word； but they declare， sotto voce， the reason for their silence. If they should testify， "they would be sure of being killed as soon as the troops should have gone away." The foreman of the jury is himself menaced； after remaining three-quarters of an hour， he finds it prudent to leave the city. -- After this the clubs of Beausset and of the neighborhood， gaining hardihood from the impotence of the law， break out into incendiary propositions： "It is announced that after the troops retreat， nineteen houses more will be sacked； it is proposed to behead all aristocrats， that is to say， all the land-owners in the country." Many have fled， but their flight does not satisfy the clubs. Vidal orders those of Beausset who took refuge in Toulon to return at once； otherwise their houses will be demolished， and that very day， in fact， by way of warning， several houses in Beausset， among them that of a notary， are either pulled down or pillaged from top to bottom； all the riff-raff of the town are at work， "half-drunken men and women，" and， as their object is to rob and drink， they would like to begin again in the principal town of the canton. -- The club， accordingly， has declared that "Toulon would soon see a new St. Bartholomew"； it has allies there， and arrangements are made； each club in the small towns of the vicinity will furnish men， while all will march under the leadership of the Toulon club. At Toulon， as at Beausset， the municipality will let things take their course， while the proceedings complained of by the public prosecutor and the district and department administrators will be applied to them. They may send reports to Paris， and denounce patriots to the National Assembly and the King， if they choose； the club will reply to their scribbling with acts. Their turn is coming. Lanterns and sabers are also found at Toulon， and the faction murders them because they have lodged complaints against the murderers.
III.
Each Jacobin band a dictator in its own neighborhood. -Saint-Afrique during the interregnum.
By what it dared to do when the government still stood on its feet we may we may imagine what it will do during the interregnum. Facts， then， as always， furnish the best picture， and， to obtain a knowledge of the new sovereign， we must first observe him on a limited stage.
On the reception of the news of the 10th of August， the Jacobins of Saint-Afrique， a small town of the Aveyron，[12] likewise undertook to save the country， and， to this end， like their fellows in other boroughs of the district， they organized themselves into an "Executive Power." This institution is of an old date， especially in the South；it had flourished for eighteen months from Lyons to Montpellier， from Agen to N？mes； but after the interregnum， its condition is still more flourishing； it consists of a secret society， the object of which is to carry out practically the motions and instructions of the club.[13]
Ordinarily， they work at night， wearing masks or slouched hats， with long hair falling over the face. A list of their names， each with a number opposite to it， is kept at the meeting-place of the society. Atriangular club， decked with a red ribbon， serves them both as weapon and badge； with this club， each member "may go anywhere，" and do what seems good to him. At Saint-Afrique they number about eighty， among whom must be counted the rascals forming the seventh company of Tarn， staying in the town； their enrollment in the band is effected by constantly "preaching pillage to them，" and by assuring them that the contents of the chateaux in the vicinity belong to them.[14] -- Not that the chateaux excite any fear； most of them are empty； neither in Saint-Afrique nor in the environs do the men of the ancient régime form a party； for many months orthodox priests and the nobles have had to fly， and now the well-to-do people are escaping. The population， however， is Catholic； many of the shop-keepers， artisans， and farmers are discontented， and the object now is to make these laggards keep step. -- In the first place， they order women of every condition， work-girls and servants， to attend mass performed by the sworn curé， for， if they do not， they will be made acquainted with the cudgel. --In the second place， all the suspected are disarmed； they enter their houses during the night in force， unexpectedly， and， besides their gun， carry off their provisions and money. A certain grocer who persists in his lukewarmness is visited a second time； seven or eight men， one evening， break open his door with a stick of timber； he takes refuge on his roof， dares not descend until the following day at dawn， and finds that everything in his store has been either stolen or broken to pieces.[15] In the third place， there is "punishment of the ill-disposed." At nine o'clock in the evening a squad knocks at the door of a distrusted shoemaker； it is opened by his apprentice； six of the ruffians enter， and one of them， showing a paper， says to the poor fellow：
"I come on the part of the Executive Power， by which you are condemned to a beating.""What for？""If you have not done anything wrong， you are thinking about it."[16]