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. Recruited by volunteer enlistment "amongst a passionate， turbulent， and somewhat debauched people，" the army is composed of "all that are most fiery， most turbulent， and most debauched in the nation."[36] Add to these the sweepings of the alms-houses， and you find a good many blackguards in uniform！ When we consider that the pay is small， the food bad， discipline severe， no promotion， and desertion endemic， we are no longer surprised at the general disorder： license， to such men， is too powerful a temptation. With wine， women， and money they have from the first been made turncoats， and from Paris the contagion has spread to the provinces. In Brittany，[37] the grenadiers and chasseurs of Ile-de-France "sell their coats， their guns， and their shoes， exacting advances in order to consume it in the tavern；" fifty-six soldiers of Penthièvre "wanted to murder their officers，" and it is foreseen that， left to themselves， they will soon， for lack of pay， "betake themselves to the highways， to rob and assassinate." In Euree-et-Loir， the dragoons，[38] with saber and pistols in hand， visit the farmers' houses and take bread and money， while the foot soldiers of the "Royal-Comtois" and the dragoons of the "Colonel-Général" desert in bands in order to go to Paris， where amusement is to be had. The main thing with them is "to have a jolly time." In fact， the extensive military insurrections of the earliest date， those of Paris， Versailles， Besan？on， and Strasbourg， began or ended with a revel. - Out of these depths of gross desires there has sprung up natural or legitimate ambitions. A number of soldiers， for twenty years past， have learned how to read， and think themselves qualified to be officers. One quarter of those enlisted， moreover， are young men born in good circumstances， and whom a caprice has thrown into the army. They choke in this narrow， low， dark， confined passage where the privileged by birth close up the issue， and they will march over their chiefs to secure advancement. These are the discontented， the disputants， the orators of the mess-room， and between these barrack politicians and the politicians of the street an alliance is at once formed. - Starting from the same point they march on to the same end， and the imagination which has labored to blacken the Government in the minds of the people， blackens the officers in the minds of the soldiers.
The Treasury is empty and there are arrears of pay. The towns， burdened with debt， no longer furnish their quotas of supplies； and at Orleans， with the distress of the municipality before them， the Swiss of Chateauvieux were obliged to impose on themselves a stoppage of one sou per day and per man to have wood in winter.[39]
Grain is scarce， the flour is spoilt， and the army bread， which was bad， has become worse. The administration， worm-eaten by old abuses， is deranged through the new disorder， the soldiers suffering as well through its dissolution as through their extravagance. -They think themselves robbed and they complain， at first with moderation； and justice is done to their well-founded claims. Soon they exact accounts， and these are made out for them. At Strasbourg， on these being verified before Kellermann and a commissioner of the National Assembly， it is proved that they have not been wronged out of a sou； nevertheless a gratification of six francs a head is given to them， and they cry out that they are content and have nothing more to ask for. A few months after this fresh complaints arise， and there is a new verification： an ensign， accused of embezzlement and whom they wished to hang， is tried in their presence； his accounting is tidy； none of them can cite against him a proven charge， and， once more， they remain silent. On other occasions， after hearing the reading of registers for several hours， they yawn， cease to listen， and go outside to get something to drink. - But the figures of their demands， as these have been summed up by their mess-room calculators， remain implanted in their brains； they have taken root there， and are constantly springing up without any account or refutation being able to extirpate them. No more writings nor speeches - what they want is money： 11，000 livres for the Beaune regiment， 39，500 livres for that of Forez， 44，000 livres for that of Salm， 200，000 livres for that of Chateauvieux， and similarly for the rest. So much the worse for the officers if the money-chest does not suffice for them； let them assess each other， or borrow on their note of hand from the municipality， or from the rich men of the town. - For greater security， in divers places， the soldiers take possession of the military chest and mount guard around it： it belongs to them， since they form the regiment， and， in any case， it is better that it should be in their hands than in suspected hands.