第43章

and there are 500 inhabitants， three quarters of whom receive alms."As the repairs on a parsonage or on a church are usually at the expense of a seignior or of a beneficiary often far off， and in debt or indifferent， it sometimes happens that the priest does not know where to lodge， or to say mass. "I arrived，" says a curate of the Touraine， "in the month of June， 1788. . . . The parsonage would resemble a hideous cave were it not open to all the winds and the frosts. Below there are two rooms with stone floors， without doors or windows， and five feet high； a third room six feet high， paved with stone， serves as parlor， hall， kitchen， wash-house， bakery， and sink for the water of the court and garden. Above are three similar rooms， the whole cracking and tumbling in ruins， absolutely threatening to fail， without either doors and windows that hold." And， in 1790， the repairs are not yet made. See， by way of contrast， the luxury of the prelates possessing half a million income， the pomp of their palaces， the hunting equipment of M. de Dillon， bishop of Evreux， the confessionals lined with satin of M. de Barral， bishop of Troyes， and the innumerable culinary utensils in massive silver of M. de Rohan， bishop of Strasbourg. - Such is the lot of curates at the established rates， and there are "a great many" who do not get the established rates， withheld from them through the ill-will of the higher clergy； who， with their perquisites， get only from 400 to 500livres， and who vainly ask for the meager pittance to which they are entitled by the late edict. "Should not such a request，" says a curate， "be willingly granted by Messieurs of the upper clergy who suffer monks to enjoy from 5 to 6，000 livres income each person， whilst they see curates， who are at least as necessary， reduced to the lighter portion， as little for themselves as for their parish？ " -And they yet gnaw on this slight pittance to pay the free gift. In this， as in the rest， the poor are charged to discharge the rich. In the diocese of Clermont， "the curates， even with the simple fixed rates， are subject to a tax of 60， 80， 100， 120 livres and even more；the vicars， who live only by the sweat of their brows， are taxed 22livres." The prelates， on the contrary， pay but little， and "it is still a custom to present bishops on New-Year's day with a receipt for their taxes."[30] - There is no escape for the curates. Save two or three small bishoprics of "lackeys，" all the dignities of the church are reserved to the nobles； "to be a bishop nowadays，" says one of them， "a man must be a gentleman." I regard them as sergeants who， like their fellows in the army， have lost all hope of becoming officers. - Hence there are some whose anger bursts its bounds： "We， unfortunate curates at fixed rates； we， commonly assigned to the largest parishes， like my own which， for two leagues in the woods， includes hamlets that would form another； we， whose lot makes even the stones and beams of our miserable dwellings cry aloud，" we have to endure prelates "who would still， through their forest-keepers， prosecute a poor curate for cutting a stick in their forests， his sole support on his long journeys over the road." On their passing， the poor man "is obliged to jump close against a slope to protect himself from the feet and the spattering of the horses， as likewise from the wheels and， perhaps， the whip of an insolent coachman，" and then， "begrimed with dirt， with his stick in one hand and his hat， such as it is， in the other， he must salute， humbly and quickly， through the door of the close， gilded carriage， the counterfeit hierophant who is snoring on the wool of the flock the poor curate is feeding， and of which he merely leaves him the dung and the grease." The whole letter is one long cry of rage； it is rancor of this stamp which is to fashion Joseph Lebons and Fouchés. - In this situation and with these sentiments it is evident that the lower clergy will treat its chiefs as the provincial nobility treated theirs.[31] They will not select "for representatives those who swim in opulence and who have always regarded their sufferings with tranquility." The curates， on all sides "will confederate together" to send only curates to the States-General， and to exclude "not only canons， abbés， priors and other beneficiaries， but again the principal superiors， the heads of the hierarchy，" that is to say， the bishops. In fact， in the States-General， out of three hundred clerical deputies we count two hundred and eight curates， and， like the provincial nobles， these bring along with them the distrust and the ill-will which they have so long entertained against their chiefs. Events are soon to prove this. If the first two orders are constrained to combine against the communes it is at the critical moment when the curates withdraw. If the institution of an upper chamber is rejected it is owing to the commonalty of the gentry (la plèbe des gentilshommes) being unwilling to allow the great families a prerogative which they have abused.

V. The King's Incompetence and Generosity.

The most privileged of all - Having monopolized all powers， he takes upon himself their functional activity - The burden of this task - He evades it or is incompetent - His conscience at ease - France is his property - How he abuses it - Royalty the center of abuses.