At the head of the former class is Duport， once a counselor in the parliament， who， after 1788， knew how to turn riots to account. The first revolutionary consultations were held in his house. He wants to plough deep， and his devices for burying the ploughshare are such that Sieyès， a radical， if there ever was one， dubbed it a "cavernous policy."[33] Duport， on the 28th of July， 1789， is the organizer of the Committee on Searches， by which all favorably disposed informers or spies form in his hands a supervisory police， which fast becomes a police of provocation. He finds recruits in the lower hall of the Jacobin club， where workmen come to be catechized every morning， while his two lieutenants， the brothers Laurette， have only to draw on the same source for a zealous staff in a choice selection of their instruments. "Ten reliable men receive orders there daily；[34] each of these in turn gives his orders to ten more， belonging to different battalions in Paris. In this way each battalion and section receives the same insurrectionary orders， the same denunciations of the constituted authorities， of the mayor of Paris， of the president of the department， and of the commander of the National Guard，"everything taking place secretly. These are dark deeds： the leaders themselves call it 'the Sabbath' and， along with fanatics they enlist ruffians. "They spread the rumor that， on a certain day， there will be a great commotion with assassinations and pillage， preceded by the payment of money distributed from hand to hand by subaltern officers among those that can be relied on， and that these bands are to assemble， as advertised， within a radius of thirty or forty leagues."[35]-- -- One day， to provoke a riot， "half a dozen men， who have arranged the thing， form a small group， in which one of them holds forth vehemently； at once a crowd of about sixty others gathers around them. Then the six men move on from place to place，" to form fresh groups making their apparent excitement pass for popular irritation. -- Another day， "about forty fanatics， with powerful lungs， and four or five hundred paid men，" scatter themselves around the Tuileries， "yelling furiously，" and， gathering under the windows of the Assembly， "move resolutions to assassinate." -- "Our ushers，"says a deputy to the Assembly， "whom you ordered to suppress this tumult， heard reiterated threats of bringing you the heads of those the crowd wished to proscribe. That very evening， in the Palais-Royal， "I heard a subordinate leader of this factious band boast of having charged your ushers to take this answer back， adding that there was time enough yet for all good citizens to follow his advice." --The watchword of these agitators is， are you true and the response is， a true man. Their pay is twelve francs a day， and when in action they make engagements on the spot at that rate. "From several depositions taken by officers of the National Guard and at the mayoralty，" it is ascertained that twelve francs a day were tendered to "honest people to join in with those you may have heard shouting， and some of them actually had the twelve francs put into their hands." -- The money comes from the coffers of the Duke of Orleans， and they are freely drawn upon； at his death， with a property amounting to 114，000，000francs， his debts amount to 74，000，000.[36] Being one of the faction， he contributes to its expenses， and， being the richest man in the kingdom， he contributes proportionately to his wealth. Not because he is a party leader， for he is too effeminate， too nervous； but "his petty council，"[37] and especially one of his private secretaries， Laclos， cherishes great designs for him， their object being to make him lieutenant-general of the kingdom， afterwards regent， and even king，[38] so that they may rule in his name and "share the profits." -- In the mean time they turn his whims to the best account， particularly Laclos， who is a kind of subordinate Macchiavelli， capable of anything， profound， depraved， and long indulging his fondness for monstrous combinations； nobody ever so coolly delighted in indescribable compounds of human wickedness and debauchery. In politics， as in romance， his department is "Les Liaisons Dangereuses."Formerly he maneuvered as an amateur with prostitutes and ruffians in the fashionable world； now he maneuvers in earnest with the prostitutes and ruffians of the sidewalks. On the 5th of October 1789， he is seen， "dressed in a brown coat，"[39] foremost among the women starting for Versailles， while his hand[40] is visible "in the Réveillon affair， also in the burning of barriers and Chateaux，" and in the widespread panic which aroused all France against imaginary bandits. His operations， says Malouet， "were all paid for by the Duke of Orleans"； he entered into them "for his own account， and the Jacobins for theirs." -- At this time their alliance is plain to everybody. On the 21st of November， 1790， Laclos becomes secretary of the club， chief of the department of correspondence， titular editor of its journal， and the invisible， active， and permanent director of all its enterprises. Whether actual demagogues or prompted by ambition， whether paid agents or earnest revolutionaries， each group works on its own account， both in concert， both in the same direction， and both devoted to the same undertaking， which is the conquest of power by every possible means.
V.
Small number of Jacobins. - Sources of their power. - They form a league. - They have faith. - Their unscrupulousness. - The power of the party vested in the group which best fulfills these conditions.
