(February 25， the distribution of bread is reduced to one and one-half pounds per person； March 17， to one and onehalf pounds for workmen and one pound for others. Final reduction to one-quarter of a pound， March 31.) - Ibid.， 251， for ulterior rates. - Dufort de Cheverney， (MS. Mémoires， August， 1795.) M. de Cheverney takes up his quarters at the old Louvre with his friend Sedaine. "I had assisted them with food all I could： they owned to me that， without this， they would have died of starvation notwithstanding their means."[139] Schmidt， "Tableaux de Paris." (Reports of Germinal 15 and 27， and Messidor 28， year III.， Brumaire 14 and Frimaire 23， year IV.) -Ibid. (Germinal 15， year III.) Butter is at eight francs the pound， eggs seven francs for four ounces. - Ibid.， (Messidor 19) bread is at sixteen francs the pound， (Messidor 28) butter at fourteen francs the pound， (Brumaire 29) flour at 14，000 francs the bag of 325 pounds.
[140] Ibid. (Report of Germinal 12， year III.) "The eating houses and pastry-cooks are better supplied than ever." ？"Memoires (manuscript)of M. de Cheverney." "My sister-in-law， with more than forty thousand livres income， registered in the 'Grand Ledger，' was reduced to cultivating her garden， assisted by her two chambermaids. M. de Richebourg， formerly intendant-general of the Post-Office， had to sell at one time a clock and at another time a wardrobe to live on. 'My friends，' he said to us one day， 'I have been obliged to put my clock in the pot.' " - Schmidt. (Report of Frimaire 17， year IV.) "Afrequenter of the Stock-Exchange sells a louis at five thousand francs. He dines for one thousand francs and loudly exclaims： 'I have dined at four francs ten sous. They are really superb， these assignats！ I couldn't have dined so well formerly at twelve francs.'"[141] Schmidt. (Reports of Frimaire 9， year IV.) "The reports describe the sad condition of those who， with small incomes and having sold their clothes， are selling their furniture， being， so to say， at their last piece； and， soon without anything， are reduced to the last extremity by committing suicide." - Ibid.， Frimaire 2， "The rentier is ruined， not being able to buy food. Employees are all in the same situation." - Naturally， the condition of employees and rentiters grows worse with the depreciation of assignats. Here are house-keeping accounts at the end of 1795. (Letter of Beaumarchais' sister Julie to his wife， December， 1794. "Beaumarchais et son temps，" by De Lomenie， p.486.) "When you gave me those four thousand francs (assignats)， my dear friend， my heart went pit-a-pat. I thought that I should go crazy with such a fortune. I put them in my pocket at once and talked about other things so as to get the idea out of my mind. On returning to the house， get some wood and provisions as quick as possible before prices go higher！ Dupont (the old domestic)started off and did his best. But the scales fell from my eyes on seeing， not counting food for a month， the result of those 4，275francs：
1 load of wood 1460 francs 9 pounds of candles， from 8 to 100 francs per pound 9004 pounds of sugar， at 100 francs per pound4003 measures of grain， at 40 francs 1207 pounds oil， at 100 francs 70012 wicks， at 5 francs 601 1/2 bushels potatoes， at 200 francs per bushel 3001 month's washing 2151 pound ground powder 702 ounces pomatum (formerly 3 sous， now 25 francs) 50Sub-total4，275 francsThere remains the month's supply of butter and eggs， as you know， 200 francs， meat 25 or 30 francs， and other articles in proportion 507There was no bread for two days. . . I have bought only four pounds the last two days， at 45 francs180Total5，022 francs.
"When I think of this royal outlay， as you call it， which makes me spend from18，000 to 20，000 francs for nothing， I wish the devil had the system... . 10，000 francs which I have scattered about the past fortnight， alarm and trouble me so much that I do not know how to calculate my income in this way. In three days the difference (in the value of assignats) has sent wood up from 4，200 to 6，500 francs， and extras in proportion so that， as I wrote you， a load piled up and put away costs me 7，100 francs. Every week now， the pot-au-feu and other meats for ragouts， without any butter， eggs and other details， cost from seven to eight hundred francs. Washing also goes up so fast that eight thousand francs do not suffice. All this puts me out of humor， while in all this expenditure I declare on my honor (je jure par la saine vérité de mon c？ur) that for two years I have indulged no fancy of my own or spent anything except on household expenses.
Nevertheless， I have urgent need of some things for which I should require piles of assignats." - We see by Beaumarchais' correspondence that one of his friends travels around in the environs of Paris to find bread. "It is said here (he writes from Soizy， June 5， 1795)that flour may be had at Briare. If this were so I would bargain with a reliable man there to carry it to you by water-carriage between Briare and Paris. . . In the mean time I do not despair of finding a loaf." - Letter of a friend of Beaumarchais： "This letter costs you at least one hundred francs， including paper， pen， ink， and lamp-oil.
For economy's sake I write it in your house."[142] Cf. Schmidt， "Tableaux de Paris，" vols. II. and III.
(Reports of the Police， at the dates designated.)[143] Dauban， "Paris en 1794，" pp.562， 568， 572.
[144] Mallet-Dupan， "Correspondance avec la cour de Vienne，" I.， 254.
(July 18， 1795.)