No Surrender! | Page 8

of anger. It is not the fault of
the present king, who is a quiet fellow, and does not care for show or
pageants; but it is rather the fault of the kings who preceded him,
especially of Louis the Fourteenth--who was a great monarch, no doubt,
but a very expensive one to his subjects, and whose wars cost an
enormous sum.
"You see it is not, in France, as it is with you. The nobles here have
great power. Their tenants and serfs--for they are still nothing but
serfs--are at the mercy of their lords, who may flog them and throw
them into prison, almost at their pleasure; and will grind the last sou out
of them, that they may cut a good figure at court.

"In this part of France things are more as they are in England. The
nobles and seigneurs are like your country gentlemen. They live in their
chateaux, they mix with their people and take an interest in them, they
go to their fetes, and the ladies visit the sick, and in all respects they
live as do your country squires; paying a visit for a few weeks each
year to Paris, and spending the rest of their time on their estates. But it
is not from the country that the members of the Assembly who are the
most urgent for reforms and violent in their speech come, but from the
towns. There were two writers, Voltaire and Rousseau, who have done
enormous mischief. Both of them perceived that the state of things was
wrong; but they went to extremes, made fun of the church, and attacked
institutions of all sorts. Their writings are read by everyone, and have
shaken people's faith in God, and in all things as they are.
"I do not say that much improvement could not be made, but it will
never be made by sudden and great changes, nor by men such as those
who are gradually gaining the upper hand in the Assembly. The people
ought to have a much stronger voice than they have in their own
taxation. They see that, in England, the ministers and parliament
manage everything; and that the king--although his influence goes for a
good deal, and he can change his ministers as often as he likes--must
yet bow to the voice of parliament. I think that that is reasonable; but
when it comes to a parliament composed largely of mere agitators and
spouters, I, for my part, would rather be ruled by a king."
"But what is it that these people want, Jean?"
"I do not think they know in the least, themselves, beyond the fact that
they want all the power; that they want to destroy the nobility,
overthrow the church, and lay hands on the property of all who are
more wealthy than themselves. Naturally the lowest classes of the
towns, who are altogether ignorant, believe that by supporting these
men, and by pulling down all above them, it would no longer be
necessary to work. They want to divide the estates of the nobles, take a
share of the wealth of the traders, and of the better class of all sorts; in
fact they would turn everything topsy-turvy, render the poor all
powerful, and tread all that is good and noble under their feet. The

consequence is that the king is virtually a prisoner in the hands of the
mob of Paris, the nobles and better classes are leaving the country,
thousands of these have already been massacred, and no one can say
how matters will end.
"Here in Nantes there is, as you see, a feeling of excitement and unrest;
and though as yet there has been no violence, no one could venture to
predict what may take place, if the moderate men in the Assembly are
outvoted by the extremists, and all power falls into the hands of the
latter. But I still hope that common sense will prevail, in the long run. I
regard the present as a temporary madness, and trust that France will
come to her senses, and that we shall have the satisfaction of seeing the
scoundrels, who are now the leaders of the mob of Paris, receive the
punishment they deserve.
"However, as far as we are concerned I have no uneasiness for, if
troubles break out at Nantes, we can retire to my chateau, in the
thickest and most wooded part of La Vendee, where there is no fear
that the peasants will ever rise against their masters."
Chapter 2
: The Beginning Of Troubles.
"Things are getting more and more serious, Patsey," said Jean one
evening. "I don't know what will come of it. The excitement is
spreading here, and there can be no doubt that there will be very serious
troubles,