[56] Montieur， XXII.， 742. (Report by Cambon， Frimaire 6， year II.)？？Ibid.， 22. - Report by Lindet， September 20， 1794)： " The land and navy forces， war and other services， deprive agricultural pursuits and other professions of more than one million five hundred thousand citizens. It would cost the Republic less to support six million men in all the communes." - "Le Departement des Affaires étrangères，" by Fr. Masson， 382. (According to "Paris à la fin du dix-huitieme siecle，" by Pujoulx， year IX.)： "At Paris alone there are more than thirty thousand (government) clerks； six thousand at the most do the necessary writing； the rest cut away quills， consume ink and blacken paper. In old times， there were too many clerks in the bureaux relatively to the work； now， there are three times as many， and there are some who think that there are not enough."[57] "Souvenirs de M. Hua，" a parliamentary advocate， p.96. (A very accurate picture of the small town Coucy-le-Chateau， in Aisne， from 1792 to 1794.) - "Archives des Affaires étrangères，" vol.334. (Letter of the agents， Thionville， Vent？se 24， year II.) The district of Thionville is very patriotic， submits to the maximum and requisitions， but not to the laws prohibiting outside worship and religious assemblies. "The apostles of Reason preached in vain to the people， telling them that， up to this time， they had been deceived and that now was the time to throw off the yoke of prejudice： 'we are willing to believe that， thus far， we have been deceived， but who will guarantee us that you will not deceive us in your turn？'"[58] Lagros： " La Révolution telle qu'elle est." (Unpublished correspondence of the committee of Public Safety， I.， 366. Letter of Prieur de la Marne.) " In general， the towns are patriotic； but the rural districts are a hundred leagues removed from the Revolution. .
. . Great efforts will be necessary to bring them up to the level of the Revolution."[59] According to the statistics of 1866 (published in 1869) a district of one thousand square kilometres contains on an average， thirty-three communes above five hundred souls， twenty-three from five hundred to one thousand， seventeen bourgs and small towns from one thousand to five thousand， and one average town， or very large one， about five thousand. Taking into account the changes that have taken place in seventy years， one may judge from these figures of the distribution of the population in 1793. This distribution explains why， instead of forty-five thousand revolutionary committees， there were only twenty-one thousand five hundred.
[60] "Souvenirs des M. Hua，" 179. "This country (Coucy-le-Chateau)protected by its bad roads and still more by its nullity， belonged to that small number in which the revolutionary turmoil was least felt."[61] Among other documents of use in composing this picture I must cite， as first in importance， the five files containing all the documents referring to the mission of the representative Albert， in Aisne and Marne. (Vent？se and Germinal， year III.) Nowhere do we find more precise details of the sentiments of the peasant， of the common laborer and of the lower bourgeois from 1792 to 1795. (Archives Nationales， D. §§ 2 to 5.)[62] Daubari， "La Demagogie en 1793，" XII. (The expression of an old peasant， near Saint-émilion， to M. Vatel engaged in collecting information on the last days of Petion， Guadet and Buzot.)[63] Archives Nationales， D. § I.， 5. (Petition of Claude Defert， miller， and national agent of Turgy.) Numbers of mayors， municipal officers， national agents， administrators and notables of districts and departments solicit successors， and Albert compels many of them to remain in office. - (Joint letter of the entire municipality of Landreville； letter of Charles， stone-cutter， mayor of Trannes； Claude Defert， miller， national agent of Turgy； of Elegny， meat-dealer； of a wine-grower； municipal official at Merrex， etc.) The latter writes：
"The Republic is great and generous； it does not desire that its children should ruin themselves in attending to its affairs； on the contrary， its object is to give salaried (emolumentaires) places to those who have nothing to live on. - Another， Mageure， appointed mayor of Bar-sur-Seine writes， Pluvi？se 29， year III.： "I learned yesterday that some persons of this community would like to procure for me the insidious gift of the mayoralty，" and he begs Albert to turn aside this cup.
