Villiers in the provostship of Paris, Master Jehan Dauvet replaced
Messire Helye de Thorrettes in the first presidency of the Court of
Parliament, Jehan Jouvenel des Ursins supplanted Pierre de Morvilliers
in the office of chancellor of France, Regnault des Dormans ousted
Pierre Puy from the charge of master of requests in ordinary of the
king's household. Now, upon how many heads had the presidency, the
chancellorship, the mastership passed since Robert d'Estouteville
had held the provostship of Paris. It had been "granted to him for
safekeeping," as the letters patent said; and certainly he kept it
well. He had clung to it, he had incorporated himself with it, he had
so identified himself with it that he had escaped that fury for change
which possessed Louis XI., a tormenting and industrious king, whose
policy it was to maintain the elasticity of his power by frequent
appointments and revocations. More than this; the brave chevalier had
obtained the reversion of the office for his son, and for two years
already, the name of the noble man Jacques d'Estouteville, equerry, had
figured beside his at the head of the register of the salary list of the
provostship of Paris. A rare and notable favor indeed! It is true that
Robert d'Estouteville was a good soldier, that he had loyally raised his
pennon against "the league of public good," and that he had presented
to the queen a very marvellous stag in confectionery on the day of her
entrance to Paris in 14... Moreover, he possessed the good friendship
of Messire Tristan l'Hermite, provost of the marshals of the king's
household. Hence a very sweet and pleasant existence was that of Messire
Robert. In the first place, very good wages, to which were attached, and
from which hung, like extra bunches of grapes on his vine, the revenues
of the civil and criminal registries of the provostship, plus the civil
and criminal revenues of the tribunals of Embas of the Chatelet, without
reckoning some little toll from the bridges of Mantes and of Corbeil,
and the profits on the craft of Shagreen-makers of Paris, on the corders
of firewood and the measurers of salt. Add to this the pleasure of
displaying himself in rides about the city, and of making his fine
military costume, which you may still admire sculptured on his tomb
in the abbey of Valmont in Normandy, and his morion, all embossed at
Montlhery, stand out a contrast against the parti-colored red and tawny
robes of the aldermen and p