“(1ᵒ) 78,000 livres... principale moyennant laquelle il a acquis l’office le 29 Mars 1787.
“(2ᵒ) 240 livres pour le remboursement du droit de mutation.
“(3ᵒ) 416 livres 4 sols pour celui du Marc d’or.
“(4ᵒ) 125 livres pour celui des frais de Sceau.
“Deduction faite de 9750 pour le huitième du prix retenu.... Au moyen du paisement effectif qui sera fait audit Sieur Danton de ... 69,031 livres 4 sols ... quitte et décharge l’état, M. Dufresne de Saint-Léon et tous autres de ladite somme de 69,031 livres 4 sols ... &c.” (The remainder of the document is the mention of the original deed of sale having been shown to the liquidator, and the correction of certain clerical errors in a former document.)
VII
EXTRACTS FROM DOCUMENTS
Showing the Situation of Danton’s Apartment in the Cour de Commerce, its Furniture and Value, &c.
The extracts given below are of a purely personal interest, and do not add anything material to our knowledge of the Revolution. On the other hand, they are of value to those who are chiefly concerned with Danton’s personality, and with the details of his daily life. They show what kind of establishment he kept, with its simple furniture, its two servants, its reserve of money, &c., and enable us to make an accurate picture of the flat in which he lived, and of its position. It is from them that I have drawn the material for my description of the rooms in Appendix II. on p. 329. Incidentally, they tell us the profession of M. Charpentier’s brother (a notary), give us a view of the religious burial practised in the spring of 1793, show us, as do many of his phrases elsewhere, the entire absence of anti-clericalism in Danton’s family as in his own mind, the number of the house, the name of its proprietor, Danton’s wardrobe, his wine, the horse and carriage which he bought for his hurried return from Belgium, and many other petty details which are of such interest in the study of an historical character.
Like most of the documents quoted in this Appendix, they are due to the industry and research of Danton’s biographer, Dr. Robinet, and will be found in his Memoir on Danton’s private life. They are three in number:—
(a) The various declarations of Thuiller, the justice of the peace for the Section du Théâtre Français. He put seals upon the doors and furniture (as is the French custom) upon the death of Danton’s first wife. This death occurred on February 11, 1793, while Danton was away on mission in Belgium, and the visit of the justice of the peace is made on the following day, the 12th. Danton returns at once, and the seals are removed on various occasions, from the 24th of March to the 5th of April, in the presence of Danton himself, or of his father-in-law, Charpentier.