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the origins of contemporary france-1-第23章

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invade the small gardens of the inhabitants to consume vegetables and

to break down young trees。  It is found impossible in a territory

subjected to a captaincy to retain vegetables safe in gardens;

enclosed by high walls。  At Farcy; of five hundred peach trees planted

in a vineyard and browsed on by stags; only twenty remain at the end

of three years。  Over the whole territory of Fontainebleau; the

communities; to save their vines; are obliged to maintain; with the

assent always of the captaincy; a gang of watchmen who; with licensed

dogs; keep watch and make a hubbub all night from the first of May to

the middle of October。  At Chartrettes the deer cross the Seine;

approach the doors of the Comtesse de Larochefoucauld and destroy

entire plantations of poplars。  A domain rented for two thousand livres

brings in only four hundred after the establishment of the captaincy

of Versailles。  In short; eleven regiments of an enemy's cavalry;

quartered on the eleven captaincies near the capital; and starting out

daily to forage; could not do more mischief。  … We need not be

surprised if; in the neighborhood of these lairs; the people become

weary of cultivating。'54' Near Fontainebleau and Melun; at Bois…le…

Roi; three…quarters of the ground remains waste。  Almost all the houses

in Brolle are in ruins; only half…crumbling gables being visible; at

Coutilles and at Chapelle…Rablay; five farms are abandoned; at

Arbonne; numerous fields are neglected。  At Villiers; and at Dame…

Marie; where there were four farming companies and a number of special

cultures; eight hundred arpents remain untilled。  … Strange to say; as

the century becomes more easygoing the enforcement of the chase

becomes increasingly harsh。  The officers of the captaincy are zealous

because they labor under the eye and for the 〃pleasures〃 of their

master。  In 1789; eight hundred preserves had just been planted in one

single canton of the captaincy of Fontainebleau; and in spite of the

proprietors of the soil。  According to the regulations of 1762 every

private individual domiciled on the reservation of a captaincy is

forbidden from enclosing his homestead or any ground whatever with

hedges or ditches; or walls without a special permit。'55' In case of a

permit being given he must leave a wide; open and continuous space in

order to let the huntsmen easily pass through。  He is not allowed to

keep any ferret; any fire…arm; any instrument adapted to the chase;

nor to be followed by any dog even if not adapted to it; except the

dog be held by a leash or clog fastened around its neck。  And better

still。  He is forbidden to reap his meadow or his Lucerne before St。

John's day; to enter his own field between the first of May and the

twenty…fourth of June; to visit any island in the Seine; to cut grass

on it or osiers; even if the grass and osiers belong to him。  The

reason is; that now the partridge is hatching and the legislator

protects it; he would take less pains for a woman in confinement; the

old chroniclers would say of him; as with William Rufus; that his

bowels are paternal only for animals。  Now; in France; four hundred

square leagues of territory are subject to the control of the

captaincies;'56' and; over all France; game; large or small; is the

tyrant of the peasant。  We may conclude; or rather listen to the

people's conclusion。  〃Every time;〃 says M。 Montlosier; in 1789;'57'

〃that I chanced to encounter herds of deer or does on my road my

guides immediately shouted: 'Make room for the gentry!' in this way

alluding to the ravages committed by them on their land。〃 Accordingly;

in the eyes of their subjects; they are wild animals。  …  This shows to

what privileges can lead when divorced from duties。  In this manner an

obligation to protect degenerates into a right of devastation。  Thus do

humane and rational beings act; unconsciously; like irrational and

inhuman beings。  Divorced from the people they misuse them; nominal

chiefs; they have unlearned the function of an effective chief; having

lost all public character they abate nothing of their private

advantages。  So much the worse for the canton; and so much worse for

themselves。  The thirty or forty poachers whom they prosecute to day on

their estates will march to…morrow to attack their chateaux at the

head of an insurrection。  The absence of the masters; the apathy of the

provinces; the bad state of cultivation; the exactions of agents; the

corruption of the tribunals; the vexations of the captaincies;

indolence; the indebtedness and exigencies of the seignior; desertion;

misery; the brutality and hostility of vassals; all proceeds from the

same cause and terminates in the same effect。



When sovereignty becomes transformed into a sinecure it becomes

burdensome without being useful; and on becoming burdensome without

being useful it is overthrown。



______________________________________________________________________

Notes:

'1'。  Beugnot; 〃Mémoires;〃 V。  I。  p。292。  … De Tocqueville; 〃L'Ancien

Régime et la Révolution。〃



'2'。  Arthur Young; 〃Travels in France;〃 II。  456。  In France; he

says; it is from the eleventh to the thirty…second。  〃But nothing is

known like the enormities committed in England where the tenth is

really taken。〃



'3'。  Saint…Simon; 〃Mémoires;〃 ed。  Chéruel; vol。  I。  … Lucas de

Montigny; 〃Mémoires de Mirabeau;〃 I。  53…182。  … Marshal Marmont;

〃Mémoires;〃 I。  9; 11。  … Chateaubriand; 〃Mémoires;〃 I。  17。  De

Montlosier; 〃Mémoires;〃 2 vol。  passim。  … Mme。  de Larochejacquelein;

〃Souvenirs;〃 passim。  Many details concerning the types of the old

nobility will be found in these passages。  They are truly and forcibly

depicted in two novels by Balzac in 〃Beatrix;〃 (the Baron de Guénic)

and in the 〃Cabinet des Antiques;〃 (the Marquis d' Esgrignon)。



'4'。  A letter of the bailiff of Mirabeau; 1760; published by M。 de

Loménie in the 〃Correspondant;〃 V。  49; p。132。



'5'。  Mme。  de Larochejacquelein; ibid。  I。  84。  〃As M。 de Marigny had

some knowledge of the veterinary art the peasants of the canton came

after him when they had sick animals。〃



'6'。  Marquis de Mirabeau; 〃Traité de la Population;〃 p。  57。



'7'。  De Tocqueville; ibid。  p。180。  This is proved by the registers

of the capitation…tax which was paid at the actual domicile。



'8'。  Renauldon; ibid。。; Preface p。  5。  … Anne Plumptre; 〃A narrative

of three years residence in France from 1802 to 1805。〃 II。  357。  

Baroness Oberkirk; 〃Mémoires;〃 II。  389。  … 〃De l'état religieux;〃 by

the abbés Bonnefoi and Bernard; 1784; p。  295。  … Mme。Vigée…Lébrun;

〃Souvenirs;〃 p。171。



'9'。  Archives nationales; D; XIX。  portfolios 14; 15; 25。  Five

bundles of papers are filled with these petitions。



'10'。  Ibid。  D; XIX。  portfolio 11。  An admirable letter by Joseph of

Saintignon; abbé of Domiévre; general of the regular canons of Saint…

Sauveur and a resident。  He has 23;000 livres income; of which 6;066

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