Head-engineer De Launay, one may guess, would be consulted by Helvetius
in choice of the subaltern Officials, the stokers and steerers in this
new Steam-Machinery, which had all to be manned from France. There were
Four heads of departments immediately under De Launay, or scarcely under
him, junior brothers rather:--who chose these I did not hear; but these
latter, it is evident, were not a superior quality of people. Of these
Four,--all at very high salaries, from De Launay downwards; "higher than
a Prussian Minister of State!" murmured the public,--two, within the
first year, got into quarrel; fought a duel, fatal to one of them; so
that there were now only Three left. "Three, with De Launay, will do,"
opined Friedrich; and divided the vacant salary among the survivors: in
which form they had at least no more duelling.

As to the subaltern working-parties, the VISITATEURS, CONTROLLEURS,
JAUGEURS (Gaugers), PLOMBEURS (Lead-stampers), or the strangest kind of
all, called "Cellar-Rats (COMMIS RATS-DE-CAVE), "they were so detested
and exclaimed against, by a Public impatient of the work itself, there
is no knowing what their degree of scoundrelism was, nor even, within
amazingly wide limits, what the arithmetical number of them was. About
500 in the whole of Prussia, says a quiet Prussian, who has made some
inquiry; ["Beguelin, ACCISE-UND ZOLL-VERFASSUNG, s. 138" (Preuss, iii,
18).] 1,500 says Mirabeau; 3,000 say other exaggerative persons, or even
5,000; De Launay's account is, Not at any time above 200. But we can
all imagine how vexatious they and their business were. Nobody now is
privileged with exemption: from one and all of you, Nobles, Clergy,
People, strict account is required, about your beers and liquors; your
coffee, salt; your consumptions and your purchases of all excisable
articles:--nay, I think in coffee and salt, in salt for certain, what
you will require, according to your station and domestic numbers, is
computed for you, to save trouble; such and such quantities you will
please to buy in our presence, or to pay duty for, whether you buy them
or not. Into all houses, at any hour of the day or of the night, these
cellar-rats had liberty,--(on warrant from some higher rat of their own
type, I know not how much higher; and no sure appeal for you, except
to the King; tolerably sure there, if you be INNOCENT, but evidently
perilous if you be only NOT-CONVICTED!)--had liberty, I say, to search
for contrab