"That is what you should have told Marshal Tesse.

It is he who has chosen to make it massacre.
Why, man, he has shot and hung hundreds in cold blood in and around Saragossa, has burned numerous villages in the neighborhood, and put man, woman, and child to the sword." "Then, if this be so, father, I should say, by all means hang Marshal Tesse when you catch him, but do not punish the innocent for the guilty.
You must remember that these men have been taken away from their homes in France, and forced to fight in quarrels in which they have no concern.

Like yourself, they are Catholics.

Above all, remember how many scores of villages are at present at the mercy of the French.

If the news comes to the marshal that you have refused quarter to his soldiers, he will have a fair excuse for taking vengeance on such of your countrymen as may be in his power." "There is something in that," the priest said.