第13章

Let us turn to its inferior personages， to a seignior of medium rank， on his square league of ground， amidst the thousand inhabitants who were formerly his villeins or his serfs， within reach of the monastery， or chapter， or bishop whose rights intermingle with his rights. Whatever may have been done to abase him his position is still very high. He is yet， as the intendants say， "the first inhabitant；" a prince whom they have half despoiled of his public functions and consigned to his honorary and available rights， but who nevertheless remains a prince.[24] -- He has his bench in the church， and his right of sepulture in the choir； the tapestry bears his coat of arms； they bestow on him incense， "holy water by distinction." Often， having founded the church， he is its patron， choosing the curate and claiming to control him； in the rural districts we see him advancing or retarding the hour of the parochial mass according to his fancy. If he bears a title he is supreme judge， and there are entire provinces， Maine and Anjou， for example， where there is no fief without the judge. In this case he appoints the bailiff； the registrar， and other legal and judicial officers， attorneys， notaries， seigniorial sergeants， constabulary on foot or mounted， who draw up documents or decide in his name in civil and criminal cases on the first trial. He appoints， moreover， a forest-warden， or decides forest offenses， and enforces the penalties， which this officer inflicts. He has his prison for delinquents of various kinds， and sometimes his forked gibbets. On the other hand， as compensation for his judicial costs， he obtains the property of the man condemned to death and the confiscation of his estate. He succeeds to the bastard born and dying in his seigniory without leaving a testament or legitimate children. He inherits from the possessor， legitimately born， dying in testate in his house without apparent heirs. He appropriates to himself movable objects， animate or inanimate， which are found astray and of which the owner is unknown； he claims one-half or one-third of treasure-trove， and， on the coast， he takes for himself the waif of wrecks. And finally， what is more fruitful， in these times of misery， he becomes the possessor of abandoned lands that have remained untilled for ten years.-Other advantages demonstrate still more clearly that he formerly possessed the government of the canton. Such are， in Auvergne， in Flanders， in Hainaut， in Artois， in Picardy， Alsace， and Lorraine， the dues de poursoin ou de sauvement (care or safety within the walls of a town)， paid to him for providing general protection. The dues of de guet et de garde (watch and guard)， claimed by him for military protection； of afforage， are exacted of those who sell beer， wine and other beverages， whole-sale or retail. The dues of fouage， dues on fires， in money or grain， which， according to many common-law systems， he levies on each fireside， house or family. The dues of pulvérage， quite common in Dauphiny-and Provence， are levied on passing flocks of sheep. Those of the lods et ventes (lord's due)， an almost universal tax， consist of the deduction of a sixth， often of a fifth or even a fourth， of the price of every piece of ground sold， and of every lease exceeding nine years. The dues for redemption or relief are equivalent to one year's income， aid that he receives from collateral heirs， and often from direct heirs. Finally， a rarer due， but the most burdensome of all， is that of acapte ou de plaid-a-merci， which is a double rent， or a year's yield of fruits， payable as well on the death of the seignior as on that of the copyholder. These are veritable taxes， on land， on movables， personal， for licenses， for traffic， for mutations， for successions， established formerly on the condition of performing a public service which he is no longer obliged to perform.

Other dues are also ancient taxes， but he still performs the service for which they are a quittance. The king， in fact， suppresses many of the tolls， twelve hundred in 1724， and the suppression is kept up. A good many still remain to the profit of the seignior， - on bridges， on highways， on fords， on boats ascending or descending， several being very lucrative， one of them producing 90，000 livres[25].

He pays for the expense of keeping up bridge， road， ford and towpath.

In like manner， on condition of maintaining the market-place and of providing scales and weights gratis， he levies a tax on provisions and on merchandise brought to his fair or to his market. - At Angoulême a forty-eighth of the grain sold， at Combourg near Saint-Malo， so much per head of cattle， elsewhere so much on wine， eatables and fish[26]

Having formerly built the oven， the winepress， the mill and the slaughterhouse， he obliges the inhabitants to use these or pay for their support， and he demolishes all constructions， which might enter into competition with him[27]. These， again， are evidently monopolies and octrois going back to the time when he was in possession of public authority.

Not only did he then possess the public authority but also possessed the soil and the men on it. Proprietor of men， he is so still， at least in many respects and in many provinces. "In Champagne proper， in the Sénonais， in la Marche， in the Bourbonnais， in the Nivernais， in Burgundy， in Franche-Comté， there are none， or very few domains， no signs remaining of ancient servitude . . . . A good many personal serfs， or so constituted through their own gratitude， or that of their progenitors， are still found."[28] There， man is a serf， sometimes by virtue of his birth， and again through a territorial condition. Whether in servitude， or as mortmains， or as cotters， one way or another， 1，500，000 individuals， it is said， wore about their necks a remnant of the feudal collar； this is not surprising since， on the other side of the Rhine， almost all the peasantry still wear it.