An enormous poplar had been planted by the towns-people in the centre
of the marketplace, which they called the tree of liberty. This was now
a doomed tree. On the evening of the day in which they took the town,
the royalist peasants went in procession, and with many cheers hewed it
to the ground; it was then treated with every possible contumely--it was
chopped, and hacked, and barked; it was kicked, and cuffed, and spat
upon; the branches were cut off, and on the bare top was placed a large
tattered cap of liberty; the Vendean marksmen then turned out, and fired
at the cap till it was cut to pieces; after that, all the papers and
books, which had belonged to the municipality, every document which
could be found in the Town-hall, were brought into the square, and piled
around the roots of the tree; and then the whole was set on fire--and
tree, papers, and cap of liberty, were consumed together.
On the next morning, considerable difficulty was experienced in
disposing of the prisoners there were about two thousand in the town,
and the Vendeans knew that they had no means of keeping them, nor did
they wish to be at the great expense of feeding them; it was contrary
to their inclination, their practice, and their consciences, to kill
them in cold blood: and they knew from experience, that if they gave
them their liberty, the same men would return within a fortnight,
newly-armed, to carry on the war against their liberators, in spite of
any oaths they might take to the contrary.
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