"Yes."
"Well, how did they behave in prison?"
"Like cowards!"
"And what sort of a figure did they cut on the scaffold?"
"Intrepid."
Whereupon Dussaulx exclaimed,—
"It's easier to die than to live."
Barère had begun to read a report on the subject of the Vendée. Nine hundred men from Morbihan had started with cannon to relieve Nantes. Redon was threatened by the peasants, and Paimboeuf had been attacked. A fleet was cruising in the vicinity of Maindrin to prevent invasions. From Ingrande to Maure the entire left bank of the Loire bristled with Royalist batteries. Three thousand peasants had taken possession of Pornic. They cried: "Vive les Anglais!" Barère read a letter from Santerre to the Convention ending with the following words:
"Seven thousand peasants attacked Vannes. We repulsed them, and they retreated, leaving four cannon in our hands."
"And how many prisoners?" interrupted a voice. Barère went on,—