第21章

send in a petition to retain "the worthy abbés and monks of the Abbey of St. Andrew， their common fathers and benefactors， who fed them during the tempest." The inhabitants of St. Savin， in the Pyrénées， "portray with tears of grief their consternation" at the prospect of suppressing their abbey of Benedictines， the sole charitable organization in this poor country. At Sierk， Thionville， "the Chartreuse，" say the leading citizens， "is， for us， in every respect， the Ark of the Lord； it is the main support of from more than twelve to fifteen hundred persons who come it every day in the week. This year the monks have distributed amongst them their own store of grain at sixteen livres less than the current price." The regular canons of Domiévre， in Lorrraine， feed sixty poor persons twice a week； it is essential to retain them， says the petition， "out of pity and compassion for poor beings whose misery cannot be imagined； where there no regular convents and canons in their dependency， the poor cry with misery."[10] At Moutiers-Saint-John， near Sémur in Burgundy， the Benedictines of Saint-Maur support the entire village and supply it this year with food during the famine. Near Morley in Barrois， the abbey of Auvey， of the Cistercian order， "was always， for every village in the neighborhood， a bureau of charity." At Airvault， in Poitou， the municipal officers， the colonel of the national guard， and numbers of "peasants and inhabitants" demand the conservation of the regular canons of St. Augustin. "Their existence，" says the petition， "is absolutely essential， as well for our town as for the country， and we should suffer an irreparable loss in their suppression." The municipality and permanent council of Soissons writes that the establishment of Saint-Jean des Vignes "has always earnestly claimed its share of the public charges. This is the institution which， in times of calamity， welcomes homeless citizens and provides them with subsistence. It alone bears the expenses of the assembly of the bailiwick at the time of the election of deputies to the National Assembly. A company of the regiment of Armagnac is actually lodged under its roof. This institution is always found wherever sacrifices are to be made." In scores of places declarations are made that the monks are "the fathers of the poor." In the diocese of Auxerre， during the summer of 1789， the Bernardines of Rigny "stripped themselves of all they possessed in favor of the inhabitants of neighboring villages： bread， grain， money and other supplies， have all been lavished on about twelve hundred persons who， for more than six weeks， never failed to present themselves at their door daily. . . Loans， advances made on farms， credit with the purveyors of the house， all has contributed to facilitating their means for relieving the people."I omit many other traits equally forcible； we see that the ecclesiastical and lay seigniors are not simple egoists when they live at home. Man is compassionate of ills of which he is a witness；absence is necessary to deaden their vivid impression； they move the heart when the eye contemplates them. Familiarity， moreover， engenders sympathy； one cannot remain insensible to the trials of a poor man to whom， for over twenty years， one says good-morning every day on passing him， with whose life one is acquainted， who is not an abstract unit in the imagination， a statistical cipher， but a sorrowing soul and a suffering body. - And so much the more because， since the writings of Rousseau and the economists， a spirit of humanity， daily growing stronger， more penetrating and more universal， has arisen to soften the heart. Henceforth the poor are thought of， and it is esteemed an honor to think of them. We have only to read the registers of the States-General[11] to see that spirit of philanthropy spreads from Paris even to the chateaux and abbeys of the provinces. I am satisfied that， except for a few country squires， either huntsmen or drinkers， carried away by the need of physical exercise， and confined through their rusticity to an animal life， most of the resident seigniors resembled， in fact or in intention， the gentry whom Marmontel， in his moral tales， then brought on the stage. Fashion took this direction， and people in France always follow the fashion. There is nothing feudal in their characters； they are "sensible" people， mild， very courteous， tolerably cultivated， fond of generalities， and easily and quickly roused， and very much in earnest. For instance like that amiable logician the Marquis de Ferrières， an old light-horseman， deputy from Saumur in the National Assembly， author of an article on Theism， a moral romance and genial memoirs of no great importance；nothing could be more remote from the ancient harsh and despotic temperament. They would be glad to relieve the people， and they try to favor them as much as they can.[12] They are found detrimental， but they are not wicked； the evil is in their situation and not in their character. It is their situation， in fact， which， allowing them rights without exacting services， debars them from the public offices， the beneficial influence， the effective patronage by which they might justify their advantages and attach the peasantry to them.

But on this ground the central government has taken their place.