y act
together harmoniously, or each operate in his own district; but
with a number of men of the same rank, or nearly of the same rank,
each would have his own ideas as to what should be done, and there
would be jealousy and discord."

"That is true," the other replied. "Of course, if this were an open
country it would be necessary, to give us a chance of success, that
some sort of discipline should be established; and none could
persuade the peasants to submit to discipline, except their own
lords. But in a country like this, discipline is of comparatively
little importance; and it is well that it is so, for though I
believe that the peasants would fight to the death, rather than
submit to be dragged away by force from their homes, they will
never keep together for any time."

"I am afraid that that will be the case. We must hope that it will
not come to fighting but, if it does, it will take a large force to
conquer La Vendee."

"What has brought you down here, Monsieur Martin?"

"It was not safe for me to stay longer in Nantes. If I think a
thing I say it, and as I don't think well of what is being done in
Paris, I have not been in the habit of saying flattering things
about the men there. In fact I have been denounced and, as there is
still room for a few more in the prisons, I should have had a cell
placed at my disposal, if I had remained there many more hours; so
I thought that I should be safer, down here, till there was some
change in the state of affairs."

"And you brought madame down with you?"

"Assuredly. I had only the choice open to me of sending her across
to England, and of making my home there, or of coming here. If
there had been no prospect of trouble here, I might have joined the
army of our countrymen who are in exile; but as, from all I heard,
La Vendee was ready to take up arms, I determined to come here;
partly because, had I left the country, my estates here would have
been confiscated; partly because I should like to strike a blow,
myself, at these tyrants of Paris, who seem bent on destroying the
whole of the aristocracy of France, of wiping out the middle
classes, and dividing the land and all else among the scum of the
towns."

Three or four months passed quietly. There were occasional
skirmishes between the peasants, and parties of troops in search of
priests who refused to obey the orders of the Assembly. At Nantes,
the work of carrying out mock trials, and executing those of