第28章

Doing nothing for the soil， how could they do anything for men？ Now and then， undoubtedly， especially with farms that pay no rent， the steward writes a letter， alleging the misery of the farmer. There is no doubt， also， that， especially for thirty years back， they desire to be humane； they descant among themselves about the rights of man； the sight of the pale face of a hungry peasant would give them pain. But they never see him； does it ever occur to them to fancy what it is like under the awkward and complimentary phrases of their agent？

Moreover， do they know what hunger is？ Who amongst them has had any rural experiences？ And how could they picture to themselves the misery of this forlorn being？ They are too remote from him to that， too ignorant of his mode of life. The portrait they conceive of him is imaginary； never was there a falser representation of the peasant；accordingly the awakening is to be terrible. They view him as the amiable swain， gentle， humble and grateful， simple-hearted and right-minded， easily led， being conceived according to Rousseau and the idylls performed at this very epoch in all private drawing rooms.[41]

Lacking a knowledge him they overlook him； they read the steward's letter and immediately the whirl of high life again seizes them and， after a sigh bestowed on the distress of the poor， they make up their minds that their income for the year will be short. A disposition of this kind is not favorable to charity. Accordingly， complaints arise， not against the residents but against the absentees.[42] "The possessions of the Church， says a letter， serve only to nourish the passions of their holders." "According to the canons， says another memorandum， every beneficiary must give a quarter of his income to the poor； nevertheless in our parish there is a revenue of more than twelve thousand livres， and none of it is given to the poor unless it is some small matter at the hands of the curate." "The abbé de Conches gets one-half of the tithes and contributes nothing to the relief of the parish." Elsewhere， "the chapter of Ecouis， which owns the benefice of the tithes is of no advantage to the poor， and only seeks to augment its income." Nearby， the abbé of Croix-Leufroy， "a heavy tithe-owner， and the abbé de Bernay， who gets fifty-seven thousand livres from his benefice， and who is a non-resident， keep all and scarcely give enough to their officiating curates to keep them alive.""I have in my parish， says a curate of Berry，[43] six simple benefices of which the titularies are always absent. They enjoy together an income of nine thousand livres； I sent them in writing the most urgent entreaties during the calamity of the past year； I received from one them two louis only， and most of them did not even answer me."Stronger is the reason for a conviction that in ordinary times they will make no remission of their dues. Moreover， these dues， the censives， the lods et ventes， tithes， and the like， are in the hands of a steward， and he is a good steward who returns a large amount of money. He has no right to be generous at his master's expense， and he is tempted to turn the subjects of his master to his own profit. In vain might the soft seignorial hand be disposed to be easy or paternal； the hard hand of the proxy bears down on the peasants with all its weight， and the caution of a chief gives place to the exactions of a clerk.- How is it then when， instead of a clerk on the domain， a fermier is found， an adjudicator who， for an annual sum， purchases of seignior the management and product of his dues？ In election of Mayenne，[44] and certainly also in many others， the principal domains are rented in this way. Moreover there are a number of dues， like the tolls， the market-place tax， that on the flock apart， the monopoly of the oven and of the mill which can scarcely be managed otherwise； the seignior must necessarily employ an adjudicator who spares him the disputes and trouble of collecting.[45] This happens often and the demands and the greed of the contractor， who is determined to gain or， at least， not to lose， falls on the peasantry：

"He is a ravenous wolf，" says Renauldon， "let loose on the estate.

He draws upon it to the last sou， he crushes the subjects， reduces them to beggary， forces the cultivators to desert. The owner， thus rendered odious， finds himself obliged to tolerate his exactions to able to profit by them."Imagine， if you can， the evil which a country usurer exercises， armed against them with such burdensome rights； it is the feudal seigniory in the hands of Harpagon， or rather of old Grandet. When， indeed， a tax becomes insupportable we see， by the local complaints， that it is nearly always a fermier who enforces it.[46] It is one of these， acting for a body of canons， who claims Jeanne Mermet's paternal inheritance on the pretense that she had passed her wedding night at her husband's house. One can barely find similar exactions in the Ireland of 1830， on those estates where， the farmer-general renting to sub-farmers and the latter to others still below them. The poor tenant at the foot of the ladder himself bore the full weight of it， so much the more crushed because his creditor， crushed himself measured the requirements he exacted by those he had to submit to.