Magistrates and officers， the most cultivated and polished people， are generally members； in short， the élite of the place. Formerly， meetings took place for conversation and debate， and， being long-established， the club naturally passes over from literature to politics. -- The watch-word against all these provincial clubs is given from the Rue St. Honoré.[20] "They are centers of conspiracy， and must be looked after" forthwith， and be at once trodden out. --At one time， as at Cahors，[21] a squad of the National Guard， on its return from an expedition against the neighboring gentry， and to finish its task breaks in on the club， "throws its furniture out of the windows and demolishes the house." -- At another time， as at Perpignan， the excited mob surrounds the club， dancing a fandango， and yell out， to the lantern！ The club-house is sacked， while eighty of its members， covered with bruises， are shut up in the citadel for their safety.[22] -- At another time， as at Aix， the Jacobin club insults its adversaries on their own premises and provokes a scuffle， whereupon the municipality causes the doors of the assailed club to be walled up and issues warrants of arrest against its members. --Always punishment awaits them for whatever violence they have to submit to. Their mere existence seems an offense. At Grenoble， they scarcely assemble before they are dispersed. The fact is， they are suspected of "incivism；" their intentions may not be right； in any event， they cause a division of the place into two camps， and that is enough. In the department of Gard， their clubs are all broken up， by order of the department， because "they are centers of malevolence." At Bordeaux， the municipality， considering that "alarming reports are current of priests and privileged persons returning to town，"prohibits all reunions， except that of the Jacobin club. -- Thus， "under a system of liberty of the most exalted kind， in the presence of the famous Declaration of the Rights of Man which legitimates whatever is not unlawful，" and which postulates equality as the principle of the French constitution， whoever is not a Jacobin is excluded from common rights. An intolerant club sets itself up as a holy church， and proscribes others which have not received from it "orthodox baptism， civic inspiration， and the aptitude of languages."To her alone belongs the right of assemblage， and the right of ****** proselytes. Conservative， thoughtful men in all towns throughout the kingdom are forbidden to form electoral committees， to possess a tribune， a fund， subscribers and adherents， to cast the weight of their names and common strength into the scale of public opinion， to gather around their permanent nucleus the scattered multitude of sensible people， who would like to escape from the Revolution without falling back into the ancient régime. Let them whisper amongst themselves in corners， and they may still be tolerated， but woe to them if they would leave their lonely retreat to act in concert， to canvass voters， and support a candidate. Up to the day of voting they must remain in the presence of their combined， active， and obstreperous adversaries， scattered， inert， and mute.
IV.
Turmoil of the elections of 1790. -- Elections in 1791. -- Effect of the King's flight.-- Domiciliary visits. -- Montagne during the electoral period.
Will they at least be able to vote freely on that day？ They are not sure of it， and， judging by occurrences during the past year， it is doubtful. -- In April， 1790， at Bois d'Aisy， in Burgundy， M. de Bois d'Aisy， a deputy， who had returned from Paris to deposit his vote，[23]
was publicly menaced. He was informed that nobles and priests must take no part m the elections， while many were heard to say， in his hearing， that in order to prevent this it would be better to hang him.
Not far off； at Ste. Colombe， M. de Viteaux was driven out of the electoral assembly， and then put to death after three hours of torture. The same thing occurred at Semur； two gentlemen were knocked down with clubs and stones， another saved himself with difficulty， and a curé died after being stabbed six times. -- A warning for priests and for gentlemen： they had better not vote， and the same good advice may be given to dealers in grain， to land-owners， and every other suspected person. For this is the day on which the people recover their sovereignty； the violent believe that they have the right to do exactly what suits them， nothing being more natural than to exclude candidates in advance who are distrusted， or electors who do not vote as they ought to. -- At Villeneuve-St.-Georges， near Paris，[24] a barrister， a man of austere and energetic character， is about to be elected judge by the district electors； the proletariat， however， mistrust a judge likely to condemn marauders， and forty or fifty vagabonds collect together under the windows and cry out： "We don't want him elected." The curé of Crosne， president of the electoral assembly， informs them in vain that the assembled electors represent 90 communes， nearly 100，000 inhabitants， and that "40 persons should not prevail against 100，000. Shouts redouble and the electors renounce their candidate.- At Pau， patriots among the militia[25]