第215章

"This estate，" says the act of valuation， "is in royal tenure on account of the king's chateau and fortress of Ainay， under the designation of the town of Blet." The town was formerly fortified and its castle still remains. Its population was once large， "but the civil wars of the sixteenth century， and especially the emigration of the Protestants caused it to be deserted to such an extent that out of its former population of 3，000 scarcely 300 remain，[2] which is the fate of nearly all the towns in this country." The estate of Blet， for many centuries in the possession of the Sully family， passed， on the marriage of the heiress in 1363， to the house of Saint-Quentin， and was then transmitted in direct line down to 1748， the date of the death of Alexander II. of Saint-Quentins， Count of Diet， governor of Berg-op-Zoom， and father of three daughters from whom the actual heirs descend. These heirs are the Count de Simiane， the Chevalier de Simiane， and the minors of Bercy， each party owning one-third， represented by 97，667 livres in the Blet estate， and 20，408 livres in the Brosses estate. The eldest， Comte de Simiane， enjoys， besides， a préciput (according to custom in the Bourbonnais)， worth 15，000livres， comprising the castle with the adjoining farm and the seigniorial rights， honorary as well as profitable.

The entire domain， comprising both estates， is valued at 369，227livres. The estate of Blet， comprises 1，437 arpents， worked by seven farmers and furnished， by the proprietor， with cattle valued at 13，781livres. They pay together to the proprietor 12，060 livres rent (besides claims for poultry and corvées). One， only， has a large farm， paying 7，800 livres per annum， the others paying rents of 1，300， 740， 640， and 240 livres per annum. The Brosses estate comprises 515arpents， worked by two farmers to whom the proprietor furnishes cattle estimated at 3，750 livres， and these together return to the proprietor 2，240 livres.[3] These métairies are all poor； only one of them has two rooms with fire-places； two or three， one room with a fire-place； the others consist of a kitchen with an oven outside， and stables and barns. Repairs on the tenements are essential on all the farms except three， "having been neglected for thirty years." "The mill-flume requires to be cleaned out， and the stream， whose inundations injure the large meadow； also repairs are necessary on the banks of the two ponds； on the church， which is the seignior's duty， the roof being in a sad state， the rain penetrating through the arch；" and the roads require mending， these being in a deplorable condition during the winter. "The restoration and repairs of these roads seem never to have been thought of." The soil of the Blet estate is excellent， but it requires draining and ditching to carry off the water， otherwise the low lands will continue to produce nothing but weeds. Signs of neglect and desertion are everywhere visible. The chateau of Blet has remained unoccupied since 1748； the furniture， accordingly， is almost all decayed and useless； in 1748 this was worth 7，612 livres， and now it is estimated at 1，000 livres. "The water-power costs nearly as much to maintain as the income derived from it. The use of plaster as manure is unknown，" and yet "in the land of plaster it costs almost nothing."The ground， moist and very good， would grow excellent live hedges； and yet the fields are enclosed with bare fences against the cattle， "which expense， say the farmers， is equal to a third of the net income." This domain， as just described， is valued as follows：

1. The estate of Blet， according to the custom of the country for noble estates， is valued at rate twenty-five， namely， 373，000 livres， from which must be deducted a capital of 65，056 livres， representing the annual charges (the fixed salary of the curate， repairs， etc.)， not including personal charges like the vingtièmes. Its net revenue per annum is 12，300 livres， and is worth， net， 308，003 livres.

2. The estate of Brosses is estimated at rate twenty-two， ceasing to be noble through the transfer of judicial and fief rights to that of Blet. Thus rated it is worth 73，583 livres， from which must be deducted a capital of 12，359 livres for actual charges， the estate bringing in 3，140 livres per annum and worth， net， 61，224 livres.

These revenues are derived from the following sources：

1. Rights of the high， low and middle courts of justice over the entire territory of Blet and other villages， Brosses and Jalay.

The upper courts， according to an act passed at the Chatelet， April 29， 1702， "take cognizance of all actions， real and personal， civil and criminal， even actions between nobles and ecclesiastics， relating to seals and inventories of movable effects， tutelages， curacies， the administration of the property of minors， of domains， and of the customary dues and revenues of the seigniory， etc."2. Rights of the forests， edict of 1707. The seignior's warden decides in all cases concerning waters， and woods， and customs， and crimes relating to fishing and hunting.

3. Right of voirie or the police of the highways， streets， and buildings (excepting the great main roads). The seignior appoints a bailly， warden and road overseer， one M. Theurault (at Sagonne)， a fiscal attorney， Baujard (at Blet)； he may remove them "in case they make no returns." "The rights of the greffe were formerly secured to the seignior， but as it is now very difficult to find intelligent persons in the country able to fulfill its functions， the seignior abandons his rights to those whom it may concern." (The seignior pays forty-eight livres per annum to the bailly to hold his court once a month， and twenty-four livres per annum to the fiscal attorney to attend them).

He receives the fines and confiscation of cattle awarded by his officers. The profit therefrom， an average year， is eight livres.