With the expulsion of the imperial faction, and the advent of the municipal Guelphs,that proudest, boldest, most successful, and most unreasonable bourgeoisie which ever assumed organized life,the nobles were curtailed of all their privileges.

Everybody in Douai, from the aristocracy to the bourgeoisie to the people, knew all about old Claes, "the alchemist."

They are to the garden what mahogany is to the front parlour,the bourgeoisie of the vegetable kingdom.

At Toulouse, for instance (where the consuls were by exception called capitouls, that is to say, heads of the chapters or councils of the city), the lord of the country seemed less a feudal prince in his capital, than an honorary magistrate of the bourgeoisie.

Opulence of the Bourgeoisie."Le

As we have already seen, the great movement for the creation of communes and bourgeoisies only dates from the unsettled period ranging from the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries, and simultaneously we see the bourgeois appear, already rich and luxurious, parading on all occasions their personal opulence.

" Down to the thirteenth century, however rich their fathers or husbands might be, the women of the bourgeoisie were not permitted, without incurring a fine, to use the ornaments and stuffs exclusively reserved for the nobility.

During the reigns of Philip Augustus and Louis IX., although these arbitrary laws were not positively abolished, a heavy blow was inflicted on them by the marks of confidence, esteem, and honour which these monarchs found pleasure in bestowing on the bourgeoisie.

His grandson made a point of following his grandsire's example, and Louis IX. showed the same appreciation for the new element which the Parisian bourgeoisie was about to establish in political life by making the bourgeois Etienne Boileau one of his principal ministers of police, and the bourgeois Jean Sarrazin his chamberlain.

Under these circumstances, the whole bourgeoisie gloried in the marks of distinction conferred upon their representatives, and during the following reign, the ladies of this class, proud of their immense fortunes, but above all proud of the municipal powers held by their families, bedecked themselves, regardless of expense, with costly furs and rich stuffs, notwithstanding that they were forbidden by law to do so.

Then came an outcry on the part of the nobles; and we read as follows, in an edict of Philippe le Bel, who inclined less to the bourgeoisie than to the nobles, and who did not spare the former in matters of taxation:"No bourgeois shall have a chariot nor wear gold, precious stones, or crowns of gold or silver.

In spite of the laws, the Parisian bourgeoisie soon rivalled the Flemish in the brilliancy of their dress.

" It must not, however, be assumed that the sole aim of the bourgeoisie was that of making a haughty and pompous display.

" It was thus that a bourgeois of the fifteenth century expressed himself; and as it is clear that he could only have been inspired to dictate his theoretical teachings by the practical experience which he must have gained for the most part among the middle class to which he belonged, we must conclude that in those days the bourgeoisie possessed considerable knowledge of moral dignity and social propriety.

It must be added that by the side of the merchant and working bourgeoisiewho, above all, owed their greatness to the high functions of the municipalitythe parliamentary bourgeoisie had raised itself to power, and that from the fourteenth century it played a considerable part in the State, holding at several royal courts at different periods, and at last, almost hereditarily, the highest magisterial positions.

In each church in Paris, and there were upwards of a hundred, the principal chapels were founded by celebrated families of the ancient bourgeoisie, who had left money for one or more masses to be said daily for the repose of the soûls of their deceased members.

In the burial-grounds, and principally in that of the Innocents, the monuments of these families of Parisian bourgeoisie were of the most expensive character, and were inscribed with epitaphs in which the living vainly tried to immortalise the deeds of the deceased.

" In fact, the religious institutions of Paris afford much curious and interesting information relative to the history of the bourgeoisie.

We thus see that the bourgeoisie, especially of Paris, gradually took a more prominent position in history, and became so grasping after power that it ventured, at a period which does not concern us here, to aspire to every sort of distinction, and to secure an important social standing.

The ordinary market bread of Paris comprised the rousset bread, made of meslin, and employed for soup; the bourgeoisie bread; and the chaland or customer's bread, which last was a general name given to all descriptions which were sent daily from the neighbouring villages to the capital.

This bird was considered a great delicacy by the working classes and bourgeoisie.

Reveuse bourgeoisie.

Reveuse bourgeoisie.

Land ownership tended to center in the political-military leaders, the temples and, as each civilization matured, in the hands of its bourgeoisie.

You may not be aware that there has opened this week the greatest war the world has ever seenthe war of the proletariats against the bourgeoisies and capitalists of the world."