第959章

Now， in 1800， assistance is lacking for this crowd of civil and military invalids， the charitable establishments being no longer in a condition to furnish it. Under the Constituent Assembly， through the suppression of ecclesiastical property and the abolition of octrois， a large portion of their revenue had been cut off， that assigned to them out of octrois and the tithes. Under the Legislative Assembly and the Convention， through the dispersion and persecution of nuns and monks， they were deprived of a body of able male and female volunteer servants who， instituted for centuries， gave their labor without stint. Under the Convention， all their possessions， the real-estate and the debts due them， had been confiscated；[52] and， in the restitution to them of the remainder at the end of three years， a portion of their real-estate is found to have been sold， while their claims， settled by assignats or converted into state securities， had died out or dwindled to such an extent that， in 1800， after the final bankruptcy of the assignats and of the state debt， the ancient patrimony of the poor is two-thirds or one-half reduced.[53] It is for this reason that the eight hundred charitable institutions which， in 1789， had one hundred thousand or one hundred and ten thousand occupants， could not support more than one-third or one-half of them；on the other hand， it may be estimated that the number of applicants tripled； from which it follows that， in 1800， there is less than one bed in the hospitals and asylums for six children， either sick or infirm.

V. Old and New.

Complaints of the Poor， of Parents， and of Believers. - Contrast between old and new educational facilities. - Clandestine instruction.

- Jacobin teachers.

Under this wail of the wretched who vainly appeal for help， for nursing and for beds， another moan is heard， not so loud， but more extensive， that of parents unable to educate their children， boys or girls， and give them any species of instruction either primary or secondary.

Previous to the Revolution "small schools" were innumerable： in Normandy， Picardy， Artois， French Flanders， Lorraine and Alsace， in the Ile-de-France， in Burgundy and Franche-Comté， in the Dombes， Dauphiny and Lyonnais， in the Comtat， in the Cévennes and in Béarn，[54] almost as many schools could be counted as there were parishes， in all probably twenty or twenty-five thousand for the thirty-seven thousand parishes in France， and all frequented and serviceable； for， in 1789， forty-seven men out of a hundred， and twenty-six girls or women out of a hundred， could read and write or， at least， sign their names.[55] - And these schools cost the treasury nothing， next to nothing to the tax-payer， and very little to parents.

In many places， the congregations， supported by their own property， furnished male or female teachers， - Frères de la Doctrine Chrétienne， Frères de Saint-Antoine， Ursulines， Visitandines， Filles de la Charité， S？urs de Saint-Charles， S？urs de la Providence， S？urs de la Sagesse， S？urs de Notre-Dame de la Croix， Vatelottes， Miramiones， Manettes du Tiers Ordre， and many others. Elsewhere， the curate of the parish was obliged through a parish regulation to teach himself， or to see that his vicar taught. A very large number of factories or of communes had received legacies for maintaining a school； the instructor often enjoyed， through an endowment， a métayer farm or a piece of ground； he was generally provided with a lodging； if he was a layman he was exempt， besides， from the most onerous taxes； as sexton， beadle， chorister or bell-ringer， he had small perquisites； finally， he was paid for each child four or five sous[56] a month； sometimes， especially in poor districts， he taught only from All Saints' day down to the spring， and followed another occupation during the summer. In short， his salary and his comfort were about those of a rural vicar or of a suitably paid curate.