blic revenue.[2125] We have
here the central figure of the monarchical show. However grand and
costly it may be, it is only proportionate to its purpose, since the
court is a public institution, and the aristocracy, with nothing to do,
devotes itself to filling up the king's drawing-room.

III. The King's Associates.

The society of the king.--Officers of the household.
--Invited guests.

Two causes maintain this affluence, one the feudal form still preserved,
and the other the new centralization just introduced; one placing the
royal service in the hands of the nobles, and the other converting the
nobles into place-hunters.--Through the duties of the palace the highest
nobility live with the king, residing under his roof; the grand-almoner
is M. de Montmorency-Laval, bishop of Metz; the first almoner is M. de
Bussuejouls, bishop of Senlis; the grand-master of France is the Prince
de Conde; the first royal butier is the Comte d'Escars; the second
is the Marquis de Montdragon; the master of the pantry is the Duke
de Brissac; the chief cup-bearer is the Marquis de Vemeuil; the chief
carver is the Marquis de la Chesnaye; the first gentlemen of the
bedchamber are the Ducs de Richelieu, de Durfort, de Villequier, and
de Fleury; the grand-master of the wardrobe is the Duc de la
Rochefoucauld-Liancourt; the masters of the wardrobe are the Comte de
Boisgelin and the Marquis de Chauvelin. The captain of the falconry is
the Chevalier du Forget; the captain of the boar-hunt is the Marquis
d'Ecquevilly; the superintendent of edifices is the Comte d'Angevillier;
the grand-equerry is the Prince de Lambesc; the master of the hounds is
the Duc de Penthievre; the grand-master of ceremonies is the Marquis de
Breze; the grand-master of the household is the Marquis de la Suze;
the captains of the guards are the Ducs d'Agen, de Villery, de Brissac,
d'Aguillon, and de Biron, the Princes de Poix, de Luxembourg and
de Soubise. The provost of the hotel is the Marquis de Tourzel; the
governors of the residences and captains of the chase are the Duc de
Noailles, Marquis de Champcenetz, Baron de Champlost, Duc de Coigny,
Comte de Modena, Comte de Montmorin, Duc de Laval, Comte de Brienne,
Duc d'Orleans, and the Duc de Gesvres.[2126] All these seigniors are
the king's necessary intimates, his permanent and generally hereditary
guests, dwelling under his roof; in close and daily intercourse with
him, for they are "his folks" (gens