d; the fortifications of
the city; the Hotel Saint-Pol, the gardens of which descended to the
Seine; the chapelle of Vincennes, and several chateaux in the environs
of the city. Nevertheless, and in spite of the encouragement given by
Charles V to letters, the capital and the nation shared in the general
decadence of the century, in morals, in intellect, and even in physical
force. It has been estimated that while the average duration of human
life was thirty years during the Roman Empire, it had now diminished to
seventeen. The readers of Voltaire will remember that in _The Man with
the Forty Ecus_ his "geometer" gives it as twenty-two or twenty-three
years for Paris, and contrives to reduce this brief span to practically
two or three years of active, enjoyable life,--ten years off the
twenty-three for the period of youthful immaturity, ten more for the
decline of old age, sleep, sickness, work, worry, etc.!

Duruy cites two instances of feminine peers of France. In 1378, the
Duchesse d'Orleans writes to excuse herself from coming to take her seat
as a peer in the Parliament of Paris; the Duchesse d'Artois, Mahaut, had
been present at the coronation of Philippe V, and had supported, with
the other peers, the crown on the head of the king.

The need of funds was so pressing at the very outset of the following
reign that the young king, Charles VI, under the tutelage of his uncles,
the dukes of Anjou, Burgundy, and Berry, entered into serious
negotiations with the bourgeoisie of the city of Paris with a view of
persuading them to accept a new tax on commodities. The people were
obstinate in their refusal; a statute forbade the imposition of any new
duties without previous public proclamation, and, in the actual
condition of affairs, this proclamation was likely to lead to a popular
outbreak. On the last day of April, 1382, however, a public crier
presented himself on horseback at the Halles, where these proclamations
were usually made, sounded his trumpet, and when he saw the people
assembled around him, lifted his voice and announced that the king's
silverware had been stolen and that a liberal reward would be paid for
the discovery of the thieves. Then, profiting by the general surprise
and commotion, he proceeded: "I have still another proclamation to make
to you; to-morrow the new tax on produce will begin to be levied." After
which he put spurs to his horse, and disappeared at full speed!

Early the next morning t