It feels lonely, in an unknown country, exposed to dangers of which it is ignorant, and against which it is unable to guard itself.

Now that the shepherds are slain or disarmed, suppose the wolves should unexpectedly appear!--And there are wolves--I mean vagabonds and criminals--who have but just issued out of the darkness.

They have robbed and burned, and are to be found at every insurrection.

Now that the police force no longer puts them down, they show themselves instead of keeping themselves concealed.
They have only to lie in wait and come forth in a band, and both life and property will be at their mercy .-- Deep anxiety, a vague feeling of dread, spreads through both town and country: towards the end of July the panic, like a blinding, suffocating whirl of dusts, suddenly sweeps over hundreds of leagues of territory.

The brigands are coming! They are burning the crops! They are only six leagues off, and then only two--the refugees who have run away from the disorder prove it.
On the 28th of July, at Angouleme,[1311] the alarm bell is heard about three o'clock in the afternoon; the drums beat to arms, and cannon are mounted on the ramparts.