第61章
Shut up in Paris， held by the crowds， his heart is always with the hounds. Twenty times in 1790 we read in his journal of a stag-hunt occurring in this or that place； he regrets not being on hand. No privation is more intolerable to him； we encounter traces of his chagrin even in the formal protest he draws up before leaving for Varennes； transported to Paris， shut up in the Tuileries， "where， far from finding conveniences to which he is accustomed， he has not even enjoyed the advantages common to persons in easy circumstances，" his crown to him having apparently lost its brightest jewel.
VI. UPPER CLASS DISTRACTIONS.
Other similar lives. - Princes and princesses. - Seigniors of the court. - Financiers and parvenus. - Ambassadors， ministers， governors， general officers.
As is the general so is his staff； the grandees imitate their monarch. Like some costly colossal effigy in marble， erected in the center of France， and of which reduced copies are scattered by thousands throughout the provinces， thus does royal life repeat itself， in minor proportions， even among the remotest gentry. The object is to make a parade and to receive； to make a figure and to pass away time in good society. - I find， first， around the court， about a dozen princely courts. Each prince or princess of the blood royal， like the king， has his house fitted up， paid for， in whole or in part， out of the treasury， its service divided into special departments， with gentlemen， pages， and ladies in waiting， in brief， fifty， one hundred， two hundred， and even five hundred appointments.
There is a household of this kind for the queen， one for Madame Victoire， one for Madame Elisabeth， one for Monsieur， one for Madame， one for the Comte d'Artois， and one for the Comtesse d'Artois. There will be one for Madame Royale， one for the little Dauphin， one for the Duc de Normandie， all three children of the king， one for the Duc d'Angoulême， one for the Duc de Berry， both sons of the Comte d'Artois： children six or seven years of age receive and make a parade of themselves. On referring to a particular date， in 1771，[55] I find still another for the Duc d'Orléans， one for the Duc de Bourbon， one for the Duchesse， one for the Prince de Condé， one for the Comte de Clermont， one for the Princess dowager de Conti， one for the Prince de Conti， one for the Comte de la Marche， one for the Duc de Penthièvre.
- Each personage， besides his or her apartment under the king's roof has his or her chateau and palace with his or her own circle， the queen at Trianon and at Saint-Cloud， Mesdames at Bellevue， Monsieur at the Luxembourg and at Brunoy， the Comte d'Artois at Meudon and at Bagatelle， the Duc d'Orléans at the Palais Royal， at Monceaux， at Rancy and at Villers-Cotterets， the Prince de Conti at the Temple and at Ile-Adam， the Condés at the Palais-Bourbon and at Chantilly， the Duc de Penthièvre at Sceaux， Anet and Chateauvilain. I omit one-half of these residences. At the Palais-Royal those who are presented may come to the supper on opera days. At Chateauvilain all those who come to pay court are invited to dinner， the nobles at the duke's table and the rest at the table of his first gentleman. At the Temple one hundred and fifty guests attend the Monday suppers. Forty or fifty persons， said the Duchesse de Maine， constitute "a prince's private company."[56] The princes' train is so inseparable from their persons that it follows them even into camp. "The Prince de Condé，" says M. de Luynes， "sets out for the army to-morrow with a large suite： he has two hundred and twenty-five horses， and the Comte de la Marche one hundred. M. le duc d'Orléans leaves on Monday； he has three hundred and fifty horses for himself and suite."[57] Below the rank of the king's relatives all the grandees who figure at the court figure as well in their own residences， at their hotels at Paris or at Versailles， also in their chateaux a few leagues away from Paris. On all sides， in the memoirs， we obtain a foreshortened view of some one of these seignorial existences. Such is that of the Duc de Gèvres， first gentleman of the bedchamber， governor of Paris， and of the Ile-de-France， possessing besides this the special governorships of Laon， Soissons， Noyon， Crespy and Valois， the captainry of Mousseaux， also a pension of 20，000 livres， a veritable man of the court， a sort of sample in high relief of the people of his class， and who， through his appointments， his airs， his luxury， his debts， the consideration he enjoys， his tastes， his occupations and his turn of mind presents to us an abridgment of the fashionable world.[58] His memory for relationships and genealogies is surprising； he is an adept in the precious science of etiquette， and on these two grounds he is an oracle and much consulted. "He greatly increased the beauty of his house and gardens at Saint-Ouen. At the moment of his death，" says the Duc de Luynes， "he had just added twenty-five arpents to it which he had begun to enclose with a covered terrace. . . . He had quite a large household of gentlemen， pages， and domestic of various kinds， and his expenditure was enormous. . . . He gave a grand dinner every day. . . . He gave special audiences almost daily. There was no one at the court， nor in the city， who did not pay his respects to him. The ministers， the royal princes themselves did so. He received company whilst still in bed. He wrote and dictated amidst a large assemblage.