第24章

The spectacle becomes still gloomier， on passing from the estates on which the seigniors reside to those on which they are non-residents. Noble or ennobled， lay and ecclesiastic， the latter are privileged among the privileged， and form an aristocracy inside of an aristocracy. Almost all the powerful and accredited families belong to it whatever may be their origin and their date.[23] Through their habitual or frequent residence near the court， through their alliances or mutual visits， through their habits and their luxuries， through the influence which they exercise and the enmities which they provoke， they form a group apart， and are those who possess the most extensive estates， the leading suzerainties， and the most complete and comprehensive jurisdictions. Of the court nobility and of the higher clergy， they number perhaps， a thousand in each order， while their small number only brings out in higher relief the enormity of their advantages. We have seen that the appanages of the princes of the blood comprise a seventh of the territory； Necker estimates the revenue of the estates enjoyed by the king's two brothers at two millions.[24] The domains of the Ducs de Bouillon， d'Aiguillon， and some others cover entire leagues， and， in immensity and continuity， remind one of those， which the Duke of Sutherland and the Duke of Bedford now possess in England. With nothing else than his forests and his canal， the Duke of Orleans， before marrying his wife， as rich as himself， obtains an income of a million. A certain seigniory， le Clermontois， belonging to the Prince de Condé， contains forty thousand inhabitants， which is the extent of a German principality； "moreover all the taxes or subsidies occurring in le Clermontois are imposed for the benefit of His Serene Highness， the king receiving absolutely nothing."[25] Naturally authority and wealth go together， and， the more an estate yields， the more its owner resembles a sovereign. The archbishop of Cambray， Duc de Cambray， Comte de Cambrésis， possesses the suzerainty over all the fiefs of a region which numbers over seventy-five thousand inhabitants. He appoints one-half of the aldermen of Cambray and the whole of the administrators of Cateau. He nominates the abbots to two great abbeys， and presides over the provincial assemblies and the permanent bureau， which succeeds them.

In short， under the intendant， or at his side， he maintains a pre-eminence and better still， an influence somewhat like that to day maintained over his domain by grand duke incorporated into the new German empire. Near him， in Hainaut， the abbé of Saint-Armand possesses seven-eighths of the territory of the provostship while levying on the other eighth the seigniorial taxes of the corvées and the dime. He nominates the provost of the aldermen， so that， in the words of the grievances， "he composes the entire State， or rather he is himself the State."[26] I should never end if I were to specify all these big prizes. Let us select only those of the prelacy， and but one particular side， that of money. In the "Almanach Royal，" and in "La France Ecclésiastique" for 1788， we may read their admitted revenues.

The veritable revenue， however， is one-half more for the bishoprics， an double and triple for the abbeys； and we must again double the veritable revenue in order to estimate its value in the money of to day.[27]. The one hundred and thirty-one bishops and arch-bishops possess in the aggregate 5， 600， 000 livres of episcopal income and 1，200，000 livres in abbeys， averaging 50，000 livres per head as in the printed record， and in reality 100，000. A bishop thus， in the eyes of his contemporaries， according to the statement of spectators cognizant of the actual truth， was "a grand seignior， with an income of 100，000livres."[28] Some of the most important sees are magnificently endowed. That of Sens brings in 70，000 livres； Verdun， 74，000； Tours， 82，000； Beauvais， Toulouse and Bayeux， 90，000； Rouen， 100，000； Auch， Metz and Albi， 120，000； Narbonne， 160，000； Paris and Cambray， 200，000according to official reports， and probably half as much more in sums actually collected. Other sees， less lucrative， are， proportionately， still better provided. Imagine a small provincial town， oftentimes not even a petty sub-prefecture of our times， - Conserans， Mirepoix， Lavaur， Rieux， Lombez， Saint-Papoul， Comminges， Lu？on， Sarlat， Mende， Fréjus， Lescar， Belley， Saint-Malo， Tréguier， Embrun， Saint-Claude， -and， in the neighborhood， less than two hundred， one hundred， and sometimes even less than fifty parishes， and， as recompense for this slight ecclesiastical surveillance， a prelate receiving from 25，000 to 70，000 livres， according to official statements； from 37，000 to 105，000 livres in actual receipts； and from 74，000 to 210，000 livres in the money of to day. As to the abbeys， I count thirty-three of them producing to the abbé from 25，000 to 120，000 livres， and twenty-seven which bring from 20，000 to 100，000 livres to the abbess. Weigh these sums taken from the Almanach， and bear in mind that they must be doubled， and more， to obtain the real revenue， and be quadrupled， and more， to obtain the actual value. It is evident， that， with such revenues， coupled with the feudal rights， police， justiciary and administrative， which accompany them， an ecclesiastic or lay grand seignior is， in fact， a sort of prince in his district. He bears too close a resemblance to the ancient sovereign to be entitled to live as an ordinary individual. His private advantages impose on him a public character. His rank， and his enormous profits， makes it incumbent on him to perform proportionate services， and that， even under the sway of the intendant， he owes to his vassals， to his tenants， to his feudatories the support of his mediation， of his patronage and of his gains.