Stop, stop, scoundrel, you are
running off!' He draws his saber and seizes me by the collar; I am
dragged and borne along by him and his men. 'I have hold of him, I have
hold of him!' he exclaims, and, indeed, he did hold me with his teeth,
legs, and arms, like a madman. At last, 'scoundrel, monster, bastard,'
says he, 'are you a marquis?' 'No,' I replied, 'I am a sans-culotte.'
'Ah, well people, you hear what he says,' he exclaims, 'he says that he
is a sans-culotte, and that is the way he greets a denunciation on
the maximum! I remove him. Let him be kicked in prison!'"[32123] It
is certain that the King of Arras and Cambray is not far from a raging
fever; with such symptoms an ordinary individual would be sent to an
asylum.

Not so vain, less fond of parading his royalty, but more savage and
placed in Nantes amidst greater dangers, Carrier, under the pressure
of more somber ideas, is much more furious and constant in his madness.
Sometimes his attacks reach hallucination. "I have seen him," says a
witness, "so carried away in the tribune, in the heat of his harangue
when trying to overrule public opinion, as to cut off the tops of
the candles with his saber," as if they were so many aristocrats'
heads.[32124] Another time, at table, after having declared that France
could not feed its too numerous population, and that it was decided to
cut down the excess, all nobles, magistrates, priests, merchants, etc.,
he becomes excited and exclaims, "Kill, kill!" as if he were already
engaged in the work and ordering the operation.[32125] Even when
fasting, and in an ordinary condition, he is scarcely more cooled
down. When the administrators of the department come to consult with
him,[32126] they gather around the door to see if he looks enraged, and
is in a condition to hear them. He not only insults petitioners, but
likewise the functionaries under him who make reports to him, or take
his orders; his foul nature rises to his lips and overflows in the
vilest terms:

"Go to hell and be damned. I have no time."[32127]

They consider themselves lucky if they get off with a volley of obscene
oaths, for he generally draws his saber:

"The first bastard that mentions supplies, I will cut his head
off."[32128]

And to the president of the military commission, who demands that
verdicts be rendered before ordering executions:

"You, you old rascal, you old bastard, you want verdicts, do you! Go
ahead! If the whole pen is not e