promising them that not only will their crimes go unpunished， but that they will even be rewarded." M. Despretz-Montpezat， correspondent of the deputies of the nobles， is seized， and dragged with his son to the dwelling of the procurator-fiscal， to force him to give his signature； the inhabitants are forbidden to render him assistance "on pain of death and fire." "Sign，" they exclaim， "or we will tear out your heart， and set fire to this house ！" At this moment the neighboring notary， who is doubtless an accomplice， appears with a stamped paper， and says to him， "Monsieur， I have just come from Niort， where the Third-Estate has done the same thing to all the gentlemen of the town； one， who refused， was cut to pieces before our eyes." -- "We are compelled to sign renunciations of our privileges， and give our assent to one and the same taxation， as if the nobles had not already done so." The band gives notice that it will proceed in the same fashion with all the chateaux in the vicinity， and terror precedes or follows them. "Nobody dares write，" M. Despretz sends word； " I attempt it at the risk of my life." -- Nobles and prelates become objects of suspicion everywhere； village committees open their letters， and they have to suffer their houses to be searched.[33] They are forced to adopt the new cockade： to be a gentleman， and not wear it， is to deserve hanging. At Mamers， in Maine， M. de Beauvoir refuses to wear it， and is at the point of being put into the pillory and felled. Near La F1èche， M. de Brissac is arrested， and a message is sent to Paris to know if he shall be taken there， "or be beheaded in the meantime." Two deputies of the nobles， MM. de Montesson and de Vasséwho had come to ask the consent of their constituents to their joining the Third-Estate， are recognized near Mans； their honorable scruples and their pledges to the constituents are considered of no importance， nor even the step that they are now taking to fulfill them； it suffices that they voted against the Third-Estate at Versailles； the populace pursues them and breaks up their carriages， and pillages their trunks. -- Woe to the nobles， especially if they have taken any part in local rule， and if they are opposed to popular panics！ M. Cureau， deputy-mayor of Mans，[34] had issued orders during the famine， and， having retired to his chateau of Nouay， had told the peasants that the announcement of the coming of brigands was a false alarm； he thought that it was not necessary to sound the alarm bell， and all that was necessary was that they should remain quiet. Accordingly he is set down as being in league with the brigands， and besides this he is a monopolist， and a buyer of standing crops. The peasants lead him off； along with his son-in-law， M. de Montesson， to the neighboring village， where there are judges. On the way "they dragged their victims on the ground， pummeled them， trampled on them， spit in their faces， and besmeared them with filth." M. de Montesson is shot， while M. Cureau is killed by degrees； a carpenter cuts off the two heads with a double-edged ax， and children bear them along to the sound of drums and violins.
Meanwhile， the judges of the place， brought by force， draw up an official report stating the finding of thirty louis and several bills of the Banque d'Escompte in the pockets of M. de Cureau， on the discovery of which a shout of triumph is set up： this evidence proves that they were going to buy up the standing wheat ！ -- Such is the course of popular justice. Now that the Third-Estate has become the nation， every mob thinks that it has the right to pronounce sentences， which it carries out， on lives and on possessions.
These explosions are isolated in the western， central and southern provinces； the conflagration， however， is universal in the east. On a strip of ground from thirty to fifty leagues broad， extending from the extreme north down to Provence. Alsace， Franche-Comté， Burgundy， Maconnais， Beaujolais， Auvergne， Viennois， Dauphiny， the whole of this territory resembles a continuous mine which explodes at the same time. The first column of flame which shoots up is on the frontiers of Alsace and Franche-Comté， in the vicinity of Belfort and Vésoul， a feudal district， in which the peasant， over-burdened with taxes， bears the heavier yoke with greater impatience.