--After this their band increases to the dimensions of an army， which， with license for its countersign and pillage for its pay， is the same as that of Tilly and Wallenstein， "a veritable roving Sodom， at which the ancient city would have stood aghast." Out of 3，000 men， only 200belong in Avignon； the rest are composed of French deserters， smugglers， fugitives from justice， vagrant foreigners， marauders and criminals， who， scenting a prey， come from afar， and even from Paris；[40] along with them march the women belonging to them， still more base and bloodthirsty. In order to make it perfectly plain that with them murder and robbery are the order of the day， they massacred their first general， Patrix， guilty of having released a prisoner， and elected in his place an old highway tramp named Jourdan， condemned to death by the court at Valence， but who had escaped on the eve of his execution， and who bore the nickname of Coupe-tête， because he is said to have cut off the heads at Versailles of two of the King's guards.[41] -- Under such a commander the troop increases until it forms a body of five or six thousand men， which stops people in the streets and forcibly enrolls them； they are called Mandrins， which is severe for Mandrin，[42] because their war is not merely on public persons and property， as his was， but on the possessions， the proprieties， and the lives of private individuals. One detachment alone， at one time， extorts in Cavaillon 25，000 francs， in Baume 12，000， in Aubignon 15，000， in Pioline 4，800， while Caumont is taxed 2，000 francs a week. At Sarrians， where the mayor gives them the keys， they pillage houses from top to bottom， carry off their plunder in carts， set fire， violate and slay with all the refinements of torture of so many Hurons. An old lady of eighty， and a paralytic， is shot at arms length， and left weltering in her blood in the midst of the flames. A child five years of age is cut in two， its mother decapitated， and its sister mutilated； they cut off the ears of the curé， set them on his brow like a cockade， and then cut his throat， along with that of a pig， and tear out the two hearts and dance around them.[43] After this， for fifty days around Carpentras， to which they lay siege in vain， the unprovoked， cruel instincts of the chauffeurs manifested at a later date， the ancient cannibalistic desires which sometimes reappear in convicts， and the perverted and over-strained sensuality found in maniacs， have full play.
On beholding the monster it has nourished， Avignon， in alarm， utters cries of distress.[44] But the brute， which feels its strength， turns against its former abettors， shows its teeth， and exacts its daily food. Ruined or not， Avignon must furnish its quota. "In the electoral assembly， Mainvielle the younger， elected elector， although he is only twenty-two， draws two pistols from his belt and struts around with a threatening air."[45] Duprat， the president， the better to master his colleagues， proposes to them to leave Avignon and go to Sorgues， which they refuse to do； upon this he orders cannon to be brought， promises to pay those who will accompany him， drags along the timid， and denounces the rest before an upper national court， of which he himself has designated the members. Twenty of the electors thus denounced are condemned and proscribed； Duprat threatens to enter by force and have them executed on the spot， and， under his leadership， the army of Mandrins advances against Avignon. -- Its progress is arrested， and， for two months， restrained by the two mediating commissioners for France； they reduce its numbers， and it is on the point of being disbanded， when the brute again boldly seizes its prey， about to make its escape. On the 21st of August， Jourdan， with his herd of miscreants， obtains possession of the palace. The municipal body is driven out， the mayor escapes in disguise， Tissot， the secretary， is cut down， four municipal officers and forty other persons are thrown into prison， while a number of houses belonging to the fugitives and to priests are pillaged， and thus supply the bandits with their first financial returns.[46] -- Then begins the great fiscal operation which is going to fill their pockets. Five front men， chosen by Duprat and his associates， compose， with Lécuyer as secretary， a provisional municipal body， which， taxing the town 300，000 francs and suppressing the convents， offers the spoils of the churches for sale. The bells are taken down， and the hammers of the workmen engaged in breaking them to pieces are heard all day long. Astrong-box full of plate， diamonds， and gold crosses， left with the director of the Mont-de-Piété， on deposit， is taken and carried off to the commune； a report is spread that the valuables pawned by the poor had been stolen by the municipality， and that those "robbers had already sent away eighteen trunks full of them." Upon this the women， exasperated at the bare walls of the churches， together with the laborers in want of work or bread， all the common class， become furious， assemble of their own accord in the church of the Cordeliers， summon Lécuyer to appear before them， drag him from the pulpit and massacre him.[47]
This time there seems to be an end of the brigand party， for the entire town， the populace and the better class， are against them， while the peasants in the country shoot them down wherever they come across them. -- Terror， however， supplies the place of numbers， and， with the 350 hired killers bravos still left to them， the extreme Jacobins undertake to overcome a city of 30，000 souls. Mainvielle the elder， dragging along two cannon， arrives with a patrol， fires at random into the already semi-abandoned church， and kills two men.