No Surrender! | Page 9

ere long. The greater portion of the people here are with the
Assembly, and approve of all these decrees against the priests, and the
persecution of the better classes. You know what has taken place in
Paris, and I fear that it will be repeated here.
"We are split up. My father, dear good man, thinks that he has only to
attend to his business, and to express no opinion whatever about public
affairs, and that the storm will pass quietly over his head. My brother
has thrown himself heart and soul--that is to say, as far as he has a heart
to throw--into what he calls the cause of the people; and which I
consider to be the cause of revolution, of confiscation, of irreligion, and

abomination generally.
"I am told that my name has freely been mentioned, in his club, as that
of a dangerous man, with opinions contrary to the public good. I hear,
too, that that brother of mine was there, at the time; and that he got up
and said that in a case like this his voice must be silent, that true
patriots place their country before all things; and then affected to speak
mildly in my favour, but at the same time doing me as much harm as he
could. I believe the fellow is capable of denouncing his own father.
"From the Bocage I hear that the whole country is in confusion. The
people, of course, side with their priests. The nobles and land owners
are naturally royalists, and are furious that the king should be held in
what is practically subjection; by men of low degree, and who,
although they may have some virtuous men among them, have also
sanguinary scoundrels who gradually gain in power, and will soon be
supreme.
"They, however, can do nothing at present. The peasants know nothing
about the king, to them he is a mere name; but this persecution of their
priests angers them greatly; and if, as is said, orders have been given to
raise an army, and to drag men away from their homes whether they
like to go or not, you may be sure that, ere long, there will be trouble
there.
"Now you see, dear, I am a sort of double character. At sea I am
Captain Jean Martin, a peaceful trader with, as you know, but little
regard for the revenue laws of your country. On the other hand, in La
Vendee I am Monsieur Jean Martin, a landed proprietor, and on
friendly terms with all the nobles and gentry in my neighbourhood. It is
evident that I cannot continue to play this double part. Already great
numbers of arrests have been made here, and the prisons are half full. I
hear that a commissioner from the Assembly is expected here shortly,
to try these suspects, as they are called; and from what we know
already, we may be sure that there will be little mercy shown.
"They are almost all people of substance; and the people, as they call
themselves, are on principle opposed to men of substance. Now, if I

remain here, I have no doubt that I shall be denounced in a very short
time; and to be denounced is to be thrown into prison, and to be thrown
into prison is equivalent to being murdered. I have no doubt, Patsey,
that you would share my fate. The fact that you are an Englishwoman
was among the accusations brought against me, in the club; and
although, so far as I can see, the majority of these scoundrels have no
religion whatever, they venture to make it a matter of complaint that
you are a Protestant.
"I have seen this coming on for some time, and must now make my
choice; either I must take you and the child over to England, and leave
you there with your father until these troubles are over, while I must
myself go down and look after my tenantry, and bear my share in
whatever comes; or you must go down there with me."
"Certainly I will go down with you, Jean. It is your home, and whatever
dangers may come I will share them with you. It would be agony to be
in England, and to know nothing of what is passing here, and what
danger might be threatening you. We took each other for better or
worse, Jean, and the greater danger you may be in, the more it will be
my duty to be by your side.
"I should be very happy down at the chateau. More happy than I have
been here with you, for some time past; for one cannot but be very
anxious, when one sees one's friends thrown into prison, and knows
that you are opposed to