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Article SANTERRE. * ← Page 3 of 15 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Santerre. *
These people , I am compelled to acknowledge , had a different character to that of all the other inhabitants of Picardy ; far from possessing their vivacity , frankness , and courage , they were sly , malicious , and reserved . They bore an injury without appearing to notice it , although it produced unmitigated bitterness at heart ; but this was only an effect
of the power which they possess of self-restraint . The injury was sure to be , sooner or later , revenged , and often in the most cruel manner , even if they waited for years until an opportunity presented itself . They were like the Italians in this respect , though it is rarely that their vindictive spirit does not at once betray itself . The return of harvest was
generally the period at which they preferred to take their revenge on those wiio had had the misfortune to give them offence ; often the burning of a farm , sometimes even of a whole village , was adopted as an expiation for the displacement of a boundary , or an assassination served to wipe out an insult offered at an ale-house .
What else could be expected but the perpetration of such crimes against society from savages like these ? Thus no year passed without cases , more or less numerous , beingsent to the assizes at Amiens . Such an event happened in the year of our Lord 1818 , at which period the circumstance took place that I am about to relate , and happened in the
village where I resided . We were much alarmed at this time by a band of brigands , who carried terror and desolation into this part of the country , to a distance of at least thirty miles round . Prudence made me take the precaution of never leaving home without being w ell armed ; for even in mid-day , most suspicious-looking persons
were to be met with ; and I also frequently remarked in my country walks that large patches had been trodden clown in the corn-fields—a sure indication that some persons or other had hidden themselves — for what purpose no one could tell . One of the localities to which I most frequently directed my steps , was the village of Deniecourt , situated at a short
distance from that of Bernis , where my own house was located , and which formerly belonged to the gallant marquis of St . Simon . The homestead , which was separated from the house by an immense yard , had been inhabited , so it was said , partly by the visitors of that noble lord , and partly by the servants of the establishment . The offices and kitchens appear to have also occupied a large space . It would have been difficult to have found room for such visitors in that
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Santerre. *
These people , I am compelled to acknowledge , had a different character to that of all the other inhabitants of Picardy ; far from possessing their vivacity , frankness , and courage , they were sly , malicious , and reserved . They bore an injury without appearing to notice it , although it produced unmitigated bitterness at heart ; but this was only an effect
of the power which they possess of self-restraint . The injury was sure to be , sooner or later , revenged , and often in the most cruel manner , even if they waited for years until an opportunity presented itself . They were like the Italians in this respect , though it is rarely that their vindictive spirit does not at once betray itself . The return of harvest was
generally the period at which they preferred to take their revenge on those wiio had had the misfortune to give them offence ; often the burning of a farm , sometimes even of a whole village , was adopted as an expiation for the displacement of a boundary , or an assassination served to wipe out an insult offered at an ale-house .
What else could be expected but the perpetration of such crimes against society from savages like these ? Thus no year passed without cases , more or less numerous , beingsent to the assizes at Amiens . Such an event happened in the year of our Lord 1818 , at which period the circumstance took place that I am about to relate , and happened in the
village where I resided . We were much alarmed at this time by a band of brigands , who carried terror and desolation into this part of the country , to a distance of at least thirty miles round . Prudence made me take the precaution of never leaving home without being w ell armed ; for even in mid-day , most suspicious-looking persons
were to be met with ; and I also frequently remarked in my country walks that large patches had been trodden clown in the corn-fields—a sure indication that some persons or other had hidden themselves — for what purpose no one could tell . One of the localities to which I most frequently directed my steps , was the village of Deniecourt , situated at a short
distance from that of Bernis , where my own house was located , and which formerly belonged to the gallant marquis of St . Simon . The homestead , which was separated from the house by an immense yard , had been inhabited , so it was said , partly by the visitors of that noble lord , and partly by the servants of the establishment . The offices and kitchens appear to have also occupied a large space . It would have been difficult to have found room for such visitors in that