Identifier: greatestnations05elli (find matches)
Title: The story of the greatest nations, from the dawn of history to the twentieth century : a comprehensive history, founded upon the leading authorities, including a complete chronology of the world, and a pronouncing vocabulary of each nation
Year: 1900 (1900s)
Authors: Ellis, Edward Sylvester, 1840-1916 Horne, Charles F. (Charles Francis), 1870-1942
Subjects: World history
Publisher: New York : F.R. Niglutsch
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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rtain amount of their time to repairing the publicroads. Well administered, this law might have proved no serious inconvenience;but it was grossly abused. The peasant was compelled to abandon his ownwork for the Kings whenever called, though his crops might be rotting on theground. Moreover, the officials were by no means careful to keep him toilingsolely on the roads; they were apt to set him at any other government work,or even at some private business of their own. It was the oppressive mannerin which this corvee was exacted that more than anything else embittered thehumble people against their masters. These down-trodden peasants, however, were scarce the men to launch a rev-olution, unless, indeed, it were another Jacquerie, a frenzied outburst of despairand destruction. For the deliberate planning of a new government they hadneither the wit, nor energy, nor strength. All they could do was to submit inhelpless ignorance, until cleverer men showed them a way to break their chains.
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France—The Salons 903 Then, indeed, they followed blindly, with the reckless fury and desperation ofravenous beasts. For the beginning of the French Revolution, therefore, we must look to yeta fourth class, one lacking official recognition among the Estates. This wasthe body of better-grade tradespeople, the city dwellers, who had no land toseize upon, and who by their shrewdness managed to escape taxation almost aswell as the upper Estates. They formed what may be called an intermediategrade, from which the ranks of the nobles and government officials were con-stantly replenished. From them came most of the intelligence of France,—thelawyers, the scholars, and the business men. • Their influence had greatly increased since the time of Louis XIV. In hisday there had been only the one court, the centre of all life and wealth inFrance, dominated by his thoughts, his will. But in the idle regency of theDuke of Orleans, this court had split into dozens of little circles, or salons,

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