de Launay, murdered at Paris -
that of M. de Belzunce, murdered at Caen - that of M. de
Beausset, murdered at Marseilles - that of M. de Voisins,
murdered at Valence - that of M. de Rully, murdered at Bastia, or
that of M. de Rochetailler, murdered at Port-au-Prince.[35] All
this is endured by the officers among the nobles. Not one of the
municipalities, even Jacobin, can find any pretext which will
warrant the charge of disobeying orders. Through tact and deference
they avoid all conflict with the National Guards. Never do they
give provocation, and, even when insulted, rarely defend themselves.
Their gravest faults consist of imprudent conversations, vivacious
expressions and witticisms. Like good watch-dogs amongst a
frightened herd which trample them under foot, or pierce them with
their horns, they allow themselves to be pierced and trampled on
without biting, and would remain at their post to the end were they
not driven away from it.
All to no purpose: doubly suspicious as members of a proscribed
class, and as heads of the army, it is against them that public
distrust excites the most frequent explosions, and so much the more
as the instrument they handle is singularly explosive.
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