Housekeeping， the management of property， domestic economy， are in their eyes vulgar， insipid in the highest degree， and only suited to an intendant or a butler. Of what use are such persons if we must have such cares？ Life is no longer a festival if one has to provide the ways and means. Comforts， luxuries， the agreeable must flow naturally and greet our lips of their own accord. As a matter of course and without his intervention， a man belonging to this world should find gold always in his pocket， a handsome coat on his toilet table， powdered valets in his antechamber， a gilded coach at his door， a fine dinner on his table， so that he may reserve all his attention to be expended in favors on the guests in his drawing-room. Such a mode of living is not to be maintained without waste， and the domestics， left to themselves， make the most of it. What matter is it， so long as they perform their duties？ Moreover， everybody must live， and it is pleasant to have contented and obsequious faces around one. - Hence the first houses in the kingdom are given up to pillage. Louis XV， on a hunting expedition one day， accompanied by the Duc de Choiseul，[11]
inquired of him how much he thought the carriage in which they were seated had cost. M. de Choiseul replied that he should consider himself fortunate to get one like it for 5，000 or 6，000 francs； but， "His Majesty paying for it as a king， and not always paying cash， might have paid 8，000 francs for it." - "You are wide of the mark，"rejoined the king， "for this vehicle， as you see it， cost me 30，000francs. . . . The robberies in my household are enormous， but it is impossible to put a stop to them." - So the great help themselves as well as the little， either in money， or in kind， or in services. There are in the king's household fifty-four horses for the grand equerry， thirty-eight of them being for Mme. de Brionne， the administratrix of the office of the stables during her son's minority； there are two hundred and fifteen grooms on duty， and about as many horses kept at the king's expense for various other persons， entire strangers to the department.[12] What a nest of parasites on this one branch of the royal tree！ Elsewhere I find Madame Elisabeth， so moderate， consuming fish amounting to 30，000 francs per annum； meat and game to 70，000francs； candles to 60，000 francs； Mesdames burn white and yellow candles to the amount of 215，068 francs； the light for the queen comes to 157，109 francs. The street at Versailles is still shown， formerly lined with stalls， to which the king's valets resorted to nourish Versailles by the sale of his dessert. There is no article from which the domestic insects do not manage to scrape and glean something. The king is supposed to drink orgeat and lemonade to the value of 2，190francs. "The grand broth， day and night，" which Mme. Royale， aged six years， sometimes drinks， costs 5，201 francs per annum. Towards the end of the preceding reign[13] the femmes-de-chambre enumerate in the Dauphine's outlay "four pairs of shoes per week； three ells of ribbon per diem， to tie her dressing-gown； two ells of taffeta per diem， to cover the basket in which she keeps her gloves and fan." A few years earlier the king paid 200，000 francs for coffee， lemonade， chocolate， barley-water， and water-ices； several persons were inscribed on the list for ten or twelve cups a day， while it was estimated that the coffee， milk and bread each morning for each lady of the bed-chamber cost 2，000 francs per annum.[14] We can readily understand how， in households thus managed， the purveyors are willing to wait. They wait so well that often under Louis XV they refuse to provide and "hide themselves." Even the delay is so regular that， at last； they are obliged to pay them five per cent. interest on their advances； at this rate， in 1778， after all Turgot's economic reforms， the king still owes nearly 800，000 livres to his wine merchant， and nearly three millions and a half to his purveyor.[15] The same disorder exists in the houses which surround the throne. "Mme. de Guéménée owes 60，000livres to her shoe-maker， 16，000 livres to her paper-hanger， and the rest in proportion." Another lady， whom the Marquis de Mirabeau sees with hired horses， replies at his look of astonishment， "It is not because there are not seventy horses in our stables， but none of them are able to walk to day."[16] Mme. de Montmorin， on ascertaining that her husband's debts are greater than his property， thinks she can save her dowry of 200，000 livres， but is informed that she had given security for a tailor's bill， which， "incredible and ridiculous to say， amounts to the sum of 180，000 livres."[17] "One of the decided manias of these days，" says Mme. d'Oberkirk， "is to be ruined in everything and by everything." "The two brothers Villemer build country cottages at from 500，000 to 600，000 livres； one of them keeps forty horses to ride occasionally in the Bois de Boulogne on horseback."[18] In one night M. de Chenonceaux， son of M. et Mme.
Dupin， loses at play 700，000 livres. "M. de Chenonceaux and M. de Francueil ran through seven or eight millions at this epoch. "[19]
