ey did abroad; they can no longer give lessons in French, in
dancing, or in fencing.--There is no doubt but that the senatus-consulte
which amnesties them restores to them a part of their unsold
possessions;[3126] but most of these are sold and, on the other hand,
the First Consul, who is not disposed to re-establish large fortunes for
royalists,[3127] retains and maintains the largest portion of what they
have been despoiled of in the national domain: all woods and forests of
300 arpents[3128] and over, their stock and property rights in the
great canals, and their personal property already devoted to the public
service. The effective restitution is therefore only moderate; the
emigres who return recover but little more than one-twentieth of their
patrimony, one hundred millions[3129] out of more than two milliards.
Observe, besides, that by virtue even of the law and as admitted by the
First Consul,[3130] this alms is badly distributed; the most needy and
the greatest number remain empty-handed, consisting of the lesser and
medium class of rural proprietors, especially of country gentlemen
whose domain, worth less than 50,000 francs, brings in only 2000 or 3000
francs income;[3131] a domain of this size came within reach of a great
many purses, and hence found purchasers more readily and with greater
facility than a large holding; the State was almost always the seller,
and thenceforth the old proprietor could make no further claim or
pretension.--Thus, for many of the emigres, "the senatus-consulte of the
year X is simply a permit to starve to death in France "and,[3132] four
years later,[3133] Napoleon himself estimates that "40,000 are without
the means of subsistence." They manage to keep life and soul together
and nothing more;[3134] many, taken in and cared for by their friends
or relations, are supported as guests or parasites, somewhat through
compassion and again on humanitarian grounds. One recovers his silver
plate, buried in a cellar; another finds notes payable to bearer,
forgotten in an old chest. Sometimes, the purchaser of a piece of
property, an honest man, gives it back at the price he paid for it,
or even gratis, if, during the time he had held it, he had derived
sufficient profit from it. Occasionally, when the adjudication happens
to have been fraudulent, or the sale too irregular, and subject to legal
proceedings, the dishonest purchaser does not refuse a compromise.
But these cases are rare, and t