Page:The Rebellion in the Cevennes (Volume 1).djvu/55

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little softened, "he is the only one among the rebels, who understands how to conduct the affair; fearless as a lion, generous, ever self-possessed, knowing how to occupy the best positions, and humane to his prisoners, he is born to be a hero and a leader, and still more to be admired, for from a swineherd he rose to greatness. It is through him that I have lost my vicarage and that I am now making a tour here in Camargue, Nismes, and Montpellier in order to obtain another appointment."

"How is that sir?" enquired the Counsellor, "mind your own business! as the saying is, but we do not always follow this wise maxim," replied the former, "for hot blood and passion, but too often master our reason. You know that some time since a sort of crusade was preached against the Camisards in the Cevennes; the young men in Nismes and in the surrounding country have enlisted as volunteers and lie in wait for the rebels wherever they can;