第29章

Suppose that， seeing this abuse of his name， the seignior is desirous of withdrawing the administration of his domains from these mercenary hands. In most cases he is unable to do it： he too deeply in debt， having appropriated to his creditors a certain portion of his land， a certain branch of his income. For centuries， the nobles are involved through their luxury， their prodigality， their carelessness， and through that false sense of honor， which consists in looking upon attention to accounts as the occupation of an accountant. They take pride in their negligence， regarding it， as they say， living nobly.[47] "Monsieur the archbishop，" said Louis XVI. to M. de Dillon， ." they say that you are in debt， and even largely." "Sire，" replied the prelate， with the irony of a grand seignior， "I will ask my intendant and inform Your Majesty." Marshal de Soubise has five hundred thousand livres income， which is not sufficient for him. We know the debts of the Cardinal de Rohan and of the Comte Artois；[48]

their millions of income were vainly thrown into this gulf. The Prince de Guémenée happens to become bankrupt on thirty-five millions. The Duke of Orleans， the richest proprietor in the kingdom， owed at his death seventy-four millions. When became necessary to pay the creditors of the emigrants out of the proceeds of their possessions， it was proved that most of the large fortunes were eaten up with mortgages.[49] Readers of the various memoirs know that， for two hundred years， the deficiencies bad to be supplied by marriages for money and by the favors of the king. - This explains why， following the king's example， the nobles converted everything into money， and especially the places at their disposition， and， in relaxing authority for profit， why they alienated the last fragment of government remaining in their hands. Everywhere they thus laid aside the venerated character of a chief to put on the odious character of a trafficker. "Not only，" says a contemporary，[50] "do they give no pay to their officers of justice， or take them at a discount， but， what is worse， the greater portion of them make a sale of these offices." In spite of the edict of 1693， the judges thus appointed take no steps to be admitted into the royal courts and they take no oaths. "What is the result？ Justice， too often administered by knaves， degenerates into brigandage or into a frightful impunity." - Ordinarily the seignior who sells the office on a financial basis， deducts， in addition， the hundredth， the fiftieth， the tenth of the price， when it passes into other hands； and at other times he disposes of the survivorship. He creates these offices and survivorships purposely to sell them. "All the seigniorial courts， say the registers， are infested with a crowd of officials of every description， seigniorial sergeants， mounted and unmounted officers， keepers of the provostship of the funds， guards of the constabulary. It is by no means rare to find as many as ten in an arrondissement which could hardly maintain two if they confined themselves within the limits of their duties." Also "they are at the same time judges， attorneys， fiscal-attorneys， registrars， notaries，"each in a different place， each practicing in several seigniories under various titles， all perambulating， all in league like thieves at a fair， and assembling together in the taverns to plan， prosecute and decide. Sometimes the seignior， to economize， confers the title on one of his own dependents： "At Hautemont， in Hainaut， the fiscal-attorney is a domestic." More frequently he nominates some starveling advocate of a petty village in the neighborhood on wages which would not suffice to keep him alive a week." He indemnifies himself out of the peasants. Processes of chicanery， delays and willful complications in the proceedings， sittings at three livres the hour for the advocate and three livres the hour for the bailiff. The black brood of judicial leeches suck so much the more eagerly， because the more numerous， a still more scrawny prey， having paid for the privilege of sucking it.[51] The arbitrariness， the corruption， the laxity of such a régime can be divined. "Impunity，" says Renauldon， "is nowhere greater than in the seigniorial tribunals . . . . The foulest crimes obtain no consideration there，" for the seignior dreads supplying the means for a criminal trial， while his judges or prosecuting attorneys fear that they will not be paid for their proceedings. Moreover， his jail is often a cellar under the chateau； "there is not one tribunal out of a hundred in conformity with the law in respect of prisons；" their keepers shut their eyes or stretch out their hands. Hence it is that "his estates become the refuge of all the scoundrels in the canton."The effect of his indifference is terrible and it is to react against him： to-morrow， at the club， the attorneys whom he has multiplied will demand his head， and the bandits whom he has tolerated will place it on the end of a pike.