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Taine, Hippolyte, 1828-1893

"The French Revolution - Volume 1"

Meanwhile the crowd has increased
before R?veillon's dwelling; the thirty men on guard are unable to
resist; the house is invaded and sacked from top to bottom; the
furniture, provisions, clothing, registers, wagons, even the poultry
in the back-yard, all is cast into blazing bonfires lighted in three
different places; five hundred louis d'or, the ready money, and the
silver plate are stolen. Several roam through the cellars, drink
liquor or varnish at haphazard until they fall down dead drunk or
expire in convulsions. Against this howling horde, a corps of the
watch, mounted and on foot, is seen approaching;[17] also a hundred
cavalry of the "Royal Croats," the French Guards, and later on the
Swiss Guards. "Tiles and chimneys are rained down on the soldiers,"
who fire back four files at a time. The rioters, drunk with brandy
and rage, defend themselves desperately for several hours; more than
two hundred are killed, and nearly three hundred are wounded; they
are only put down by cannon, while the mob keeps active until far
into the night.


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