Page:Voices of Revolt - Volume 1.djvu/80

 76 … For whom does the heart of these gentlemen beat so gently? Does it beat for the two hundred thousand heroes who have already perished by the sword: of our enemies? Alas, these slain were only plebeians, patriots! To be worthy of our sympathy, of our compassion, the object of these feelings must be at least the widow of some general who has betrayed his country no less than twenty times. To be worthy of the compassion of these gentlemen one must be able to show that one has murdered at least ten thousand Frenchmen. They preserve their indifference when faced with the reports of the terrible blood-baths to which our heroes are subjected, or of the crimes perpetrated against their mothers and children, and yet, the punishment of a new traitor is called a savage massacre. The wretchedness of our citizens in the cities, their painful wounds, is borne with equanimity, but the wives of the conspirators move them to eloquence. These persons may defeat the ends of justice and law; they are permitted to defend the cause of their accomplices; they may even organize as a privileged body. …

We should commit an unpardonable act of levity if we should regard a few victories as the end of all our dangers. Just cast your eyes on our actual situation, and you will feel that caution and energy were never more necessary than now. A disguised ill-will sabotages the measures of the government at every step. For such is the fatal influence of the