-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 4,275 francs:

1 load of wood 1460 francs
9 pounds of candles, from 8 to 100 francs per pound 900
4 pounds of sugar, at 100 francs per pound 400
3 measures of grain, at 40 francs 120
7 pounds oil, at 100 francs 700
12 wicks, at 5 francs 60
1 1/2 bushels potatoes, at 200 francs per bushel 300
1 month's washing 215
1 pound ground powder 70
2 ounces pomatum (formerly 3 sous, now 25 francs) 50
Sub-total 4,275 francs

There remains the month's supply of butter and eggs,
as you know, 200 francs, meat 25 or 30 francs, and
other articles in proportion 507

There was no bread for two days... I have bought only
four pounds the last two days, at 45 francs 180

Total 5,022 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