Luc le Gall

Monsieur Pierre-Hippolyte-Léopold Paillot does not want to lose his wealthy head. Although Paris and the Revolution are quite far away, it is 1794, and the Reign of Terror is creeping closer step by step. Thus, he sets off with family and relatives to the safe Rhineland and Westphalia. Monsieur Paillot is very curious, observes everything closely, and writes it all down. Some things seem suspicious to him, such as pumpernickel and the accommodations, while other aspects in this nowhere surprise him; indeed, village festivals and juniper schnapps even elicit a small amount of admiration from him. "The individuals referred to here were not actors; they were merely victims. Their confidential communications are probably not of great significance for the understanding of world history in general, but since they are certainly honest, they are valuable. People left their homeland in a hurry back then, like a leaf blown away by a storm, yet few thought to entrust a diary with their intimate impressions." (René Paillot, great-grandson).