* the plate and furniture of churches in the Netherlands， in Liège， and in the Electoral sections of the Lower Rhine， 25 millions；* the plate and furniture of churches in Lombardy， in the three Legations， in the State of Venice， in Modena， and the States of the Church， 65 millions；* diamonds， plate， gold crosses and other depots of the Monts.de-piétéat Milan， Bologna， Ravenna， Modena， Venice and Rome， 56 millions；* furniture and works of art at Milan and in other towns， 5 millions；* furniture and works of art in the Venetian towns and palaces of Brenta， 6， 500，000；* the spoils of Rome sacked， as formerly by the mercenaries of the Duc de Bourbon， collections of antiques， pictures， bronzes， statues， the treasures of the Vatican and of palaces， jewels， even the pastoral ring of the Pope， which the Directorial commissary himself wrests from the Pope's finger， 43 millions，and all this without counting analogous articles， and especially direct assessments levied on this or that individual as rich or a proprietor，[124] veritable ransoms， similar to those demanded by the bandits of Calabria and Greece， extorted from any traveler they surprise on the highway. -Naturally operations of this kind cannot be carried on without instruments of constraint； the Parisian manipulators must have military automatons， "saber hilts " in sufficient numbers. Now， through constant slashing， a good many hilts break， and the broken ones must be replaced； in October， 1798， 200，000new ones are required， while the young men drafted for the purpose fail to answer the summons and fly， and even resist with arms， especially in Belgium，[125] by maintaining a revolt for many months， with this motto： "Better die here than elsewhere."[126] To compel their return， they are hunted down and brought to the depot with their hands tied. If they hide away， soldiers are stationed in their parents' houses. If the conscript or drafted man has sought refuge in a foreign country， even in an allied country as in Spain， he is officially inscribed on the list of émigrés， and therefore， in case of return， shot within twenty-four hours； meanwhile， his property is sequestrated and likewise that of "his father， mother and grandparents."[127] -- "Formerly，" says a contemporary， "reason and philosophy thundered against the rigors of punishment inflicted on deserters； but， since French reason has perfected Liberty it is no longer the small class of regular soldiers whose evasion is punished with death， but an entire generation. An extreme penalty no longer suffices for these legislative philanthropists： they add confiscation， they despoil parents for the misdemeanors of their children， and render even women responsible for a military and personal offence."Such is the admirable calculation of the Directory - that， if it loses a soldier it gains a patrimony， and if the patrimony fails， it recovers the soldier： in any event， it fills its coffers and its ranks， while the faction， well supplied with men， may continue turning all Europe to account， wasting， in the operation， as many French lives as it pleases； requiring more than one hundred thousand men per annum， which， including those which the Convention has squandered， makes nearly nine hundred thousand in eight years.[128] At this moment the five Directors and their minions are completing the mowing down of the virile， ***** strength of the nation，[129] and we have seen through what motives and for what object. I do not believe that any civilized nation was ever sacrificed in the same way， for such a purpose and by such rulers： the crippled remnant of a faction and sect， some hundreds of preachers no longer believing in their creed， usurpers as despised as they are detested， second-rate parvenus raised their heads not through their capacity or merit， but through the blind upheavals of a revolution， swimming on the surface for lack of weight， and， like foul scum， borne along to the crest of the wave-such are the wretches who strangle France under the pretence of setting her free， who bleed her under the pretence of ****** her strong， who conquer populations under the pretence of emancipating them， who despoil people under the pretence of regenerating them， and who， from Brest to Lucerne， from Amsterdam to Naples， slay and rob wholesale， systematically， to strengthen the incoherent dictatorship of their brutality， folly and corruption.
IX. National Disgust.
National antipathy to the established order of things. - Paralysis of the State. - Internal discords of the Jacobin party. - Coup d'état of Floréal 22， year VI. - Coup d'état of Prairial 30， year VII. -Impossibility of establishing a viable government. - Plans of Barras and Siéyès.
Once again has triumphant Jacobinism shown its anti-social nature， its capacity for destruction， its impotence to re-construct. - The nation， vanquished and discouraged， no longer resists， but， if it submits it is as to a pestilence， while its transportations， its administrative purifications， its decrees placing towns in a state of siege， its daily violence， only exasperate the mute antipathy.
"Everything has been done，" says an honest Jacobin，[130] "to alienate the immense majority of citizens from the Revolution and the Republic， even those who had contributed to the downfall of the monarchy. . .
Instead of seeing the friends of the Revolution increase as we have advanced on the revolutionary path . . . . we see our ranks thinning out and the early defenders of liberty deserting our cause."It is impossible for the Jacobins to rally France and reconcile her to their ways and dogmas， and on this point their own agents leave no illusion.