In effect， all， both bodies and goods， are at their disposal， and they consequently begin with the surrounding countryside， entering private houses to get at their stores， also the farmhouses to have the grain threshed， in order to verify the declarations of their owners and see if these are correct： if the grain is not threshed out at once it will be done summarily and confiscated， while the owner will be sentenced to twelve months in irons； if the declaration is not correct， he is condemned as a monopolist and punished with death. Armed with this order，[156] each band takes the field and gathers together not only grain， but supplies of every description. "That of Grenoble， the agent writes，[157] does wonderfully； in one little commune alone， four hundred measures of wheat， twelve hundred eggs， and six hundred pounds of butter had been found. All this was quickly on the way to Grenoble." In the vicinity of Paris， the forerunners of the throng， provided "with pitchforks and bayonets， rush to the farms， take oxen out of their stalls， grab sheep and chickens， burn the barns， and sell their booty to speculators."[158] "Bacon， eggs， butter and chickens -the peasants surrender whatever is demanded of them， and thenceforth have nothing that they can take to market. They curse the Republic which has brought war and famine on them， and nevertheless they do what they are told： on being addressed， 'Citizen peasant， I require of you on peril of your head，' . . . it is not possible to refuse."[159] - Accordingly， they are only too glad to be let off so cheaply. On Brumaire 19， about seven o'clock in the evening， at Tigery， near Corbeil， twenty-five men "with sabers and pistols in their belts， most of them in the uniform of the National Guards and calling themselves the revolutionary army，" enter the house of Gibbon， an old ploughman， seventy-one years of age， while fifty others guard all egress from it， so that the expedition may not be interfered with.
Turlot， captain， and aid-de-camp to General Henriot， wants to know where the master of the house is. - "In his bed，" is the reply. -"Wake him up." - The old man rises. - Give up your arms." - His wife hands over a fowling-piece， the only arm on the premises. The band immediately falls on the poor man， "strikes him down， ties his hands， and puts a sack over his head，" and the same thing is done to his wife and to eight male and two female servants. "Now， give us the keys of your closets；" they want to be sure that there are no fleur-de-lys or other illegal articles. They search the old man's pockets， take his keys， and， to dispatch business， break into the chests and seize or carry off all the plate， "twenty-six table-dishes， three soup-ladles， three goblets， two snuff-boxes， forty counters， two watches， another gold watch and a gold cross." "We will draw up a procès-verbal of all this at our leisure in Meaux. Now， where's your silver？ If you don't say where it is， the guillotine is outside and I will be your executioner." The old man yields and merely requests to be untied.
But it is better to keep him bound， "so as to make him 'sing.' " They carry him into the kitchen and "put his feet into a heated brazier."He shouts with pain， and indicates another chest which they break open and then carry off what they find there， "seventy-two francs in coin and five or six thousand livres in assignats， which Gibbon had just received for the requisitions made on him for corn." Next， they break open the cellar doors， set a cask of vinegar running， carry wine upstairs， eat the family meal， get drunk and， at last， clear out， leaving Gibbon with his feet burnt， and garroted， as well as the other eleven members of his household， quite certain that there will be no pursuit.[160] - In the towns， especially in federalist districts， however， these robberies are complicated with other assaults. At Lyons， whilst the regular troops are lodged in barracks， the revolutionary army is billeted on the householders， two thousand vile， sanguinary blackguards from Paris， and whom their general， Ronsin himself， calls "scoundrels and brigands，" alleging， in excuse for this， that "honest folks cannot be found for such business." How they treat their host， his wife and his daughters may be imagined；contemporaries glide over these occurrences and， through decency or disgust， avoid giving details.[161] Some simply use brutal force；others get rid of a troublesome husband by the guillotine； in the most exceptional cases they bring their wenches along with them， while the housekeeper has to arouse herself at one o'clock at night and light a fire for the officer who comes in with the jolly company. - And yet， there are others still worse， for the worst attract each other. We have seen the revolutionary committee at Nantes， also the representative on mission in the same city； nowhere did the revolutionary Sabbat rage so furiously， and nowhere was there such a traffic in human lives. With such band-leaders as Carrier and his tools on the Committee， one may be sure that the instrumentalists will be worthy.
