The grand-vicars and canons live in the large towns； only priors and curates dwell in the rural districts. Ordinarily the entire ecclesiastic or lay staff is absent； residents are furnished only by the secondary or inferior grades. What are their relations with the peasant？ One point is certain， and that is that they are not usually hard， nor even indifferent， to him. Separated by rank they are not so by distance； neighborhood is of itself a bond among men. I have read in vain， but I have not found them the rural tyrants， which the declaimers of the Revolution portray them. Haughty with the bourgeois they are generally kind to the villager. "Let any one travel through the provinces，" says a contemporary advocate， "over the estates occupied by the seigniors. Out of one hundred one may be found tyrannizing his dependents； all the others， patiently share the misery of those subject to their jurisdiction . . . They give their debtors time， remit sums due， and afford them every facility for settlement.
They mollify and temper the sometimes over-rigorous proceedings of the fermiers， stewards and other men of business."[8] An Englishwoman， who observes them in Provence just after the Revolution， says that， detested at Aix， they are much beloved on their estates. "Whilst they pass the first citizens with their heads erect and an air of disdain， they salute peasants with extreme courtesy and affability." One of them distributes among the women， children and the aged on his domain wool and flax to spin during the bad season， and， at the end of the year， he offers a prize of one hundred livres for the two best pieces of cloth. In numerous instances the peasant-purchasers of their land voluntarily restore it for the purchase money. Around Paris， near Romainville， after the terrible storm of 1788 there is prodigal alms-giving； "a very wealthy man immediately distributes forty thousand francs among the surrounding unfortunates." During the winter， in Alsace and in Paris， everybody is giving； "in front of each hotel belonging to a well-known family a big log is burning to which， night and day， the poor can come and warm themselves." In the way of charity， the monks who remain on their premises and witness the public misery continue faithful to the spirit of their institution. On the birth of the Dauphin the Augustins of Montmorillon in Poitou pay out of their own resources the tailles and corvées of nineteen poor families. In 1781， in Provence， the Dominicans of Saint Maximin support the population of their district in which the tempest had destroyed the vines and the olive trees. "The Carthusians of Paris furnish the poor with eighteen hundred pounds of bread per week.
During the winter of 1784 there is an increase of alms-giving in all the religious establishments； their farmers distribute aid among the poor people of the country， and， to provide for these extra necessities， many of the communities increase the rigor of their abstinences." When at the end of 1789， their suppression is in question， I find a number of protests in their favor， written by municipal officers， by prominent individuals， by a crowd of inhabitants， workmen and peasants， and these columns of rustic signatures are eloquent. Seven hundred families of Cateau-Cambrésis[9]