At the H？tel-de-ville on the 3rd of June， in the Salle de la Reine， Pétion and Guadet， under arrest， see with their own eyes this Central Committee which has just started the insurrection， and which through its singular delegation sits enthroned over all other established authorities.
"They were snoring，[174] some stretched out on the benches and others leaning on the tables with their elbows， some were barefoot others were wearing their shoes slipshod like slippers； almost all were dirty and poorly clad； their clothes were unbuttoned， their hair uncombed， and their faces frightful； they wore pistols in their belts， and sabers， with scarves turned into shoulder-straps. Bottles， bits of bread， fragments of meat and bones lay strewn around on the floor， and smell was rotten."It looks like a tapestry of a middle age battle field. The chief of the band here is not Chaumette， who has legal qualms，[175] nor Pache， who cunningly tacks under his mask of Swiss phlegm， but Hébert， another Marat， yet more brutal and depraved， and who profits by the opportunity to "put more coal into the furnace of his Père Duchesne，"striking off 600，000 copies of it， pocketing 135，000 francs for the numbers sent to the armies， and gaining seventy-five per cent on the contract.[176] -- In the street the active body of supporters consists of two bands， one military and other civil， the former composed of roughs who are soon to furnish the revolutionary army.
"This army，[177] considered to be a recent institution， has actually existed since 1789. The agents of the Duke of Orleans formed its first nucleus. It grew， became organized， had officers appointed to it， mustering points， orders of the day， and a peculiar slang. . . . All the revolutions were carried out by its aid； it gave impetus to popular violence wherever it did not appear en masse. On the 12th of July， 1789， it had Necker's bust carried in public and the theaters closed； on the 5th of October it started the populace off to Versailles； on the 20th of April， 1791， it caused the king's arrest in the court of the Tuileries. . . Led by Westermann and Fournier， it formed the central battalion in the attack of August 10， 1792； it carried out the September massacres； it protected the Maratists on the 31st of May， 1793， . . . its composition is in keeping with its exploits and its functions. It contains the most determined scoundrels， the brigands of Avignon， the scum of Marseilles， Brabant， Liège， Switzerland and the shores of Genoa." Through a careful sifting，[178] it is to be inspected， strengthened， aggravated， and converted into a legal body of Janissaries on triple pay； once "enlarged with idle hairdressers， unemployed lackeys， designers of mad schemes， and other scoundrels unable to earn their keep in an honest manner，" it will supply the detachments needed for garrison at Bordeaux， Lyons， Dijon and Nantes， still leaving "ten thousand of these Mamelukes to keep down the capital."The civilian body of supporters comprises， first， those who haunt the sections， and are about to receive 40 sous for attending each meeting；next； the troop of figure-heads who， in other public places， are to represent the people， about 1，000 bawlers and claqueurs， "two-thirds of which are women." "While I was free，" says Beaulieu，[179] "Iclosely observed their movements. It was a magic-lantern constantly in operation. They traveled to and from the Convention to the Revolutionary Tribunal， and from this to the Jacobin Club， or to the Commune， which held its meetings in the evening. . . . They scarcely took time for their natural requirements； they were often seen dining and supping at their posts when some action or an important murder was in the offing. Henriot， the commander-in-chief of both hordes， was at one time a swindler， then a police-informer， then imprisoned at Bicêtre for robbery， and then one of the September murderers. His military bearing and popularity are due to parading the streets in the uniform of a general， and appearing in humbug performances； he is the type of a swaggerer， always drunk or soaked with brandy. A blockhead， with a beery voice， blinking eyes， and a face distorted by nervous twitching， he possesses all the external characteristics of his employment. In talking， he vociferates like men with the scurvy； his voice is sepulchral， and when he stops talking his features come to rest only after repeated agitations； he blinks three times， after which his face recovers its equilibrium."[180]
Marat， Hébert， and Henriot， the maniac， the thief and the brute. Were it not for the dagger of Charlotte Corday，[181] it is probable that this trio， master of the press and of the armed force， aided by Jacques Roux， Leclerc， Vincent， Ronsin， and other madmen of the slums， would have put aside Danton， suppressed Robespierre， and governed France. Such are the counselors， the favorites， and the leaders of the ruling revolutionary class； did one not know what was to occur during the next fourteen months， one might form an idea of its government from the quality of these men.
And yet， such as this government is， France accepts or submits to it.
In fact， Lyons， Marseilles， Toulon， N？mes， Bordeaux， Caen， and other cities， feeling the knife at their throats，[182] turn aside the stroke with a movement of horror. They rise against their local Jacobins； but it is nothing more than an instinctive movement. They do not think of forming States within the State， as the "Mountain" pretends that they do， nor of usurping the central authority， as the "Mountain" actually does. Lyons cries， "Long live the Republic， one and indivisible，"receives with honor the commissioners of the Convention， permits convoys of arms and horses destined for the army of the Alps to pass.
