Here， in the house of "the philanthropic but fanatical old maid， they break open everything， destroy the furniture， taking away eighty-two bushels of wheat and sixteen hogsheads of wine."Elsewhere， at Roqueferrière， feudal title-deeds are burnt， and a chateau is pillaged. Farther on， at Lasserre， thirty thousand francs are exacted and the ready money is all carried off. Almost everywhere the municipal officers， willingly or unwillingly， authorize pillaging. Moreover， "they cut down provisions to a price in assignats very much less than their current rate in silver，" and they double the price of a day's work. In the meantime， other bands devastate the national forests， and the gendarmes， in order not to be called aristocrats， have no idea but of paying court to the pillagers.
After all this， it is manifest that property no longer exists for anybody except for paupers and robbers. - In effect， in Dordogne，[69] under the pretext of driving away nonjuring priests， frequently mobs gather to pillage and rob whatever comes in their way. . . . All the grain that is found in houses with weathercocks is sequestrated." The rustics exploit， as communal property， all the forests， all the possessions of the emigrants； and this operation is radical； for example， a band， on finding a new barn of which the materials strike them as good， demolish it so as to share with each other the tiles and timber. - In Corrèze， fifteen thousand armed peasants， who have come to Tulle to disarm and drive off the supporters of the non-jurors， break everything in suspected houses， and a good deal of difficulty is found in sending them off empty-handed. As soon as they get back home， they sack the chateaux of Saint-Gal， Seilhac， Gourdon， Saint-Basile， and La Rochette， besides a number of country-houses， even of absent plebeians. They have found a quarry， and never was the removal of property more complete. They carefully carry off， says an official statement， all that can be carried - furniture， curtains， mirrors， clothes-presses， pictures， wines， provisions， even floors and wooden panels， "down to the smallest fragments of iron and wood-work，"smashing the rest， so that nothing "remains of the house but its four walls， the roof and the staircase." In Lot， where for two years the insurrection is permanent， the damage is much greater. During the night between the 30th and 31st of January， "all the best houses in Souillac" are broken open， "sacked and pillaged from top to bottom，"[70] their owners being obliged to fly， and so many outbreaks occur in the department， that the directory has no time to render an account of them to the minister. Entire districts are in revolt； as， "in each commune all the inhabitants are accomplices， witnesses cannot be had to support a criminal prosecution， and crime remains unpunished." In the canton of Cabrerets， the restitution of rents formerly collected is exacted， and the reimbursement of charges paid during twenty years past. The small town of Lauzerte is invaded by surrounding bodies of militia， and its disarmed inhabitants are at the mercy of the Jacobin suburbs. For three months， in the district of Figeac， "all the mansions of former nobles are sacked and burnt；" next the pigeon-cots are attacked， "and all country-houses which have a good appearance." Barefooted gangs "enter the houses of well-to-do people， physicians， lawyers， merchants， burst open the doors of cellars， drink the wine，" and riot like drunken victors. In several communes these expeditions have become a custom； "a large number of individuals are found in them who live on rapine alone，" and the club sets them the example.
For six months， in the principal town， a coterie of the National Guard， called the Black Band， expel all persons who are displeasing to them， "pillaging houses at will， beating to death， wounding or mutilating by saber-strokes， all who have been proscribed in their assemblies，" and no official or advocate dares lodge a complaint.
Brigandage， borrowing the mask of patriotism， and patriotism borrowing the methods of brigandage， have combined against property at the same time as against the ancient régime， and， to free themselves from all that inspires them with fear， they seize all which can provide them with booty.
