LETTER XLI.
SIR,Versailles, May 1, 1732.
In my last Letter I mention’d the Princes and Princesses of the Blood Royal to you; in this I am to give you an Account of those Persons at this Court, who are in the most exalted Stations.
The Cardinal de Fleury, by his Dignity of Cardinal, and much more by his Character, as the Depositary of the Royal Authority, has the first Rank in the State next to the Princes of the Blood. This Prelate, tho’ far advanced in Years, is brisk and lively to Admiration. His Stature is somewhat above the middle Size; he has a happy Physiognomy, to which Fortune has not given the Lye; and he is humble, good-natur’d and civil. You know that he was Bishop of Frejus. He resign’d that See to excuse himself from the Pastoral Charge of Souls, when the late King Lewis XIV. nominated him, by his Last Will, Preceptor to the young Dauphin, now King Lewis XV. This was almost the only Article of Lewis the Grand’s Will, which the Regent put in Execution. M. de Frejus won the Heart of the young Monarch to such a Degree, that the Prince was intirely wrapp’d up in him; and his Affection for him has increas’d so much ever since, that now it may be literally
said, that the Cardinal de Fleury is the Depositary, or Trustee, of the Royal Authority. The Regent, a Prince of Penetration, if ever there was one, quickly perceived what an Ascendant M. de Frejus had over the young Monarch; and being apprehensive of what might be the Consequences of it, he was continually contriving how to remove the Prelate from Court. With this View he offered him the Archbishoprick of Rheims, which was vacant by the Death of the Cardinal de Mailly; but M. de Fleury, who resigned the Bishoprick of Frejus, that he might not have the Charge of Souls, was so far from accepting one of the greatest Archbishopricks in the Kingdom, that he absolutely refused it. The Duke of Orleans, who was intent upon carrying his Point, offered to make him a Cardinal; for he hoped, that the Pope’s ill State of Health would quickly bring on a Conclave; and that then M. de Frejus would be obliged to go to Rome, where he thought he shou’d be able to continue him, on Pretence of managing the King’s Affairs there; and that then the young Monarch’s Fondness to see his Favourite would by that Means insensibly be weaned. But M. de Frejus saw the Hook that was hid under this Bait. The red Hat did not dazzle his Eyes; and he knew moreover, that if he kept close to the King’s Person, he could be sure of a Hat whenever he pleased. However, he thank’d the Duke of Orleans, and told him, he had no such ambitious Views, and that he preferred his Station in the King’s Council, before all the Dignities, to which, in his Goodness, he had Thoughts of promoting him. The Duke of Orleans, however chagrin’d at the Prelate’s Moderation, was forc’d to keep it to himself; he was afraid to make use of his Authority; for it was not long before this, that he banish’d the Marshal de Villeroy to Lyons,
at which the People grumbled; and to put away the Preceptor too, would have rais’d a Clamour against him, throughout the whole Kingdom. M. de Frejus continued at Court as a Member of the Privy Council, and there was not a Courtier who gave more constant Attendance; and in this Station he supported the Ministry of the Cardinal du Bois, the Duke of Orleans, and the Duke of Bourbon; but he confin’d himself all the while within the Bounds of his Office. At the King’s Marriage, he accepted of that of Great Almoner to the Queen, and by that Means his Attachment to the Court became more strict. When the Duke de Bourbon was disgrac’d, the King offered the Place of Prime Minister to M. de Frejus, who, indeed, accepted of that eminent Post; but ’twas on Condition, that he should not be compelled to take the Title, and that he might always lay an Account of every Thing before the King.
The Bishop of Frejus being thus become Master of the Government, it was but reasonable that he should be adorned with the Purple, to give the more Lustre to his Character. Mean time France, had no Hat to demand, for the Number of her Cardinals was completed. The Emperor having a Pretension at that Time to a Hat, the King desired him to yield it to him for his First Minister; and the Emperor, overjoy’d that he could oblige the King, and that he could make the Minister some sort of Amends for his pacific Sentiments, gave him his Nomination accordingly. Pope Benedict XIII. sent the Cap to the Bishop, who then assumed the Title of Cardinal de Fleury; and with this Title he now governs the State, not with the general Applause of the French, because the Thing is impossible; but at least, with the Approbation of his King, of Foreigners, and indeed,
of every Man in the Kingdom, who is thoroughly inform’d of the State of France in particular, and of Europe in general. Yet those who have the least Affection for the Cardinal, must acknowledge his Disinterestedness and Integrity; for the worst Enemy he has, cannot accuse him of amassing Riches, or of coveting to aggrandize his Family; in which respect he is, perhaps, negligent to a Fault, his Kindred having the Character of Persons of Worth.
The Cardinal’s Expences are as much circumscrib’d as his Dignity will admit of. He is very regular in his Way and Manner of Living, and no doubt, ’tis the strict Regimen which he observes, that keeps him in so vigorous a State of Health: For he gives very great Application to Business, And I don’t think he can be upbraided with wasting of Time in his Diversions.
The French (I speak of those who hope to make their Fortune by the Sword) find fault with his Temper as too pacific. We are despis’d, (say they) our Neighbours make Treaties and Alliances without us, and France is no longer what she was in the Time of Lewis XIV.
I am not here proposing to make a Panegyric on the Cardinal, but I cannot help letting you see how weakly those People talk, who censure his Conduct as to Foreign Affairs. I don’t pretend to enter into the Domestic Affairs of the Kingdom, tho’ I am very well persuaded, that the Cardinal’s Integrity, and his Zeal for the King, incline him to act to the best of his Power. I will only leave you to judge if his Inclination to Peace is blameable. When he came into the Ministry, he found the King’s Coffers exhausted, and the Kingdom in a Condition, which requir’d Rest rather than a War, the Event of which is always uncertain. But after all, Who is there to go to
War with? What shall be the Pretence? Who is it that insults France? Or, Who desires any thing more of her than her Friendship? Have not the Treaties of Utrecht, and Baden, and all the Treaties made since, during the Regency of the Duke of Orleans, settled the Interests of Europe? Did not England earnestly court the Alliance of France? Has the Emperor seem’d less desirous of it? Nay, Did not Spain itself, forgetting the sending back of the Infanta, enter into her former Engagements with this Crown, as soon as the Cardinal de Fleury was vested with the Ministry? In what respect then, can the French think themselves despis’d by their Neighbours? I will take upon me to prove, on the contrary, that Lewis XV. during the Cardinal de Fleury’s Ministry, instead of being neglected, has been as much courted by the Foreign Powers, as Lewis XIV. was in all that Glory which procured him the Title of Louis le Grand. When the Clamour was for abolishing the Ostend Company, How did England and Holland bestir themselves to make the King a Party in their Quarrel? What did not the Emperor do to engage him in his Interest? Every thing was uncertain, as long as France remained undetermined. The English and the Dutch prepared to attack the Emperor, and the latter made ready for his Defence. The Cardinal having got the King to declare for the Maritime Powers, the Emperor abolish’d the Ostend Company immediately. What more could have been obtained by a War?
When the Talk was, of introducing the Infante Don Carlos into Italy, what Measures, what Solicitations were not employ’d by the Powers concerned, either to bring over Lewis XV. to their Party, or to oblige him to a Neutrality? Count Sinzendorff’s coming from Vienna to Versailles, on purpose to treat for the Tranquillity of Italy, seems
to me a Proof, that the Emperor does not neglect France to such a Degree as the Uneasy and Disaffected would fain have it believed. In good Truth, if France had not threatened to attack the Emperor, in case he did not consent to the Introduction of the Infante into Tuscany, would his Imperial Majesty have been influenced by the bare Menaces of Spain? That Monarch is too well established in Italy, to fear any thing from that Crown; and if Equity and Justice did not always accompany his Actions, it would have been easy for him to have taken Possession of Tuscany; and the Spaniards, who have never been able to retake Gibraltar, and who, perhaps, would never have reduced Barcelona without the Assistance of the French, would have found it a very difficult Matter to have turned them out of it. The Cardinal de Fleury having persuaded the King to declare in Favour of the Infante, he threatens to join the English and Spaniards; and the Emperor seeing all Europe against him, but especially France, which is capable of striking the hardest Blows, yields to the Times, and grants every thing that is desired of him. Can there be any thing more to the Honour of the Cardinal? And, Why should a War be undertaken, if Menaces alone are sufficient to obtain what is desired?
But, say the Disaffected, we purchase Peace of all the World by our Money. The Cardinal is not chargeable with lavishing the King’s Money. I know not that he gives away any, unless it be the Subsidies granted to the Crowns of Denmark and Sweden. If that be purchasing a Peace, Lewis XIV. and the Regent after him, were much more lavish of the Royal Treasure, and perhaps with less Profit; and it would be easy to demonstrate, that in order to dislodge the Spaniards from Sicily, the Regent sent more Money into Germany and
England, in one Month, than the Cardinal gives away in a Year to the Northern Crowns; tho’ one of ’em has for Time out of Mind been used to draw Subsidies from France. Yet all this while, the Regent was not accused of purchasing a Peace of his Neighbours; because, in order to make it necessary to buy a Peace, some Prince or other must have threatened him with a War. But ’tis certain, that no Power did then, or does now, think of attacking France. Let her continue peaceable, and there we will leave her.
But on the other hand, tho’ it were not justifiable for the Cardinal to entertain pacific Sentiments, and tho’ he were to indulge the Passion of the French, I would fain know of those who are so hot for a War, Whether they are well assured it would have a happy Issue? And, Whether, when a War is once begun, it would be in their Power to put an End to it, whenever they thought it consistent with their Affairs? Nay, I will suppose that every thing should happen as they would wish, and that the War should prove a fortunate one; What Acquisition can France make, which would not be more to her Expence than her Advantage? For the farther she extends her Conquests, the more Enemies she will have of Course, and the more Troops she will be oblig’d to maintain. The Frontiers of the Kingdom are secured. Are a few more Towns, nay, an intire Province, a sufficient Temptation for a King of France? And are they an Equivalent for the Blood and Treasure that must be expended to acquire them? No, surely, the Cardinal is perfectly in the right, and I must beg the Frenchmen’s Pardon, when I tell ’em, they know not what they would be at. How desirous were they of the late Peace? And they have scarce tasted the Fruits of it, but they now want a War. If the Cardinal should enter into a War,
and the Consequences of it should prove fatal, Would they not throw the Blame upon him? They would say for the Purpose, that it was inconsistent with a Priest to make War. For my Part, I think the Cardinal de Fleury has substantial Reasons for doing what he does. The French have been so long accustomed to the turbulent Reign of Lewis XIV. which was interspersed throughout with great Events, that they know not how to reconcile themselves to one that is more placid and calm; but ’tis to be hoped, they will ere long. Whatever they do, the Cardinal seems to be very easy, let them say what they will of him. As he knows that he has nothing to reproach himself with, and that he has always preferred the Good of the Public to his own private Interest, he is afraid of no Revolution in his Fortune. He is sensible that Innocence always holds up its Head, and that real Merit is above the Reach of Envy and Malice.
M. Daguesseau the Chancellor of France, is the Chief Magistrate of the Kingdom, and his Office is attended with such great Prerogatives, that the King cannot take it from him. The Person whom he succeeded in this eminent Dignity, was M. Voisin, who being Secretary of War, was made Chancellor by Lewis XIV. upon M. de Pontchartrain’s resigning that Post, to devote the Residue of his Life to God in Retirement. M. Voisin dying suddenly in the Beginning of the Duke of Orlean’s Regency, M. Daguesseau, then Attorney-General, was, by his Royal Highness, appointed Chancellor in his Room. All France applauded this Choice. Every body was so satisfied of this Magistrate’s Candour and Integrity, that nobody doubted he would assert Justice and Equity; and in short, he perfectly answered the Expectations of the Public. But as true Merit,
is always the most envied, a Cabal was soon formed against his Integrity. M. Daguesseau refused to put the Seal to certain Edicts, which he thought contrary to the Welfare of the Government; at which the Duke of Orleans was so incensed, that he banished the Chancellor to Frene, a fine Seat belonging to that Minister near Meaux; and the Seals were given to M. d’Argenson, Lieutenant of the Police, with the Title of Keeper of the Seals, which was formerly no more than a bare Commission; but the Regent was then for erecting it into an Office. The Parliament of Paris exclaimed very much against this Innovation, but the Regent, after all, was obey’d. Upon the Death of M. d’Argenson, the Chancellor was recall’d, and the Seals restor’d to[55]him; but he held them not long; for the Regent, who was resolved to have no Ministers but such as knew how to obey, disgraced the Chancellor a second time for opposing his Will, and gave the Seals to M. d’Armenonville. The latter dying during the Cardinal de Fleury’s Ministry, the Seals were given to M. de Chauvelin, who, besides the Title of Keeper of the Seals, has also the Office of Minister and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. The Chancellor, who has been recalled for some time, assists at the Council; but his Office has been depriv’d of its greatest Lustre, since the Seals have been separated from it.
M. Chauvelin, Keeper of the Seals, Minister and Secretary of[56]State for Foreign Affairs, owes
his Advancement to the Cardinal de Fleury, who seems to confide in him intirely. This Minister is reckon’d very laborious, good-natur’d and civil. The Foreign Ministers are so taken with him, that they think no more of Messieurs de Torcy and de Morville. The former was of the Colbert Family, Secretary of Foreign Affairs under Lewis XIV. a Man, as one may say, born for the Ministry, and whose great and good Services have been very much cry’d-up, but more rewarded by the Applauses of Europe, than by Favours from the Court. The other was the Son of the late Keeper of the Seals, d’Armenonville, and had acquir’d a great Reputation in his Embassies to Holland, and the Congress of Cambray, when he desired Leave to[57] retire, and was succeeded by M. Chauvelin.
The Count de Maurepas is Grandson to the Chancellor de Pontchartrain, and Son to the Count de Pontchartrain, Secretary for the Maritime Affairs in the Reign of King Lewis XIV. He enter’d very young into the Ministry, and has so behav’d as to gain Friends and Dependants. I have not heard one Man give him an ill Word, while every body speaks well of him; but as for his Secretaries, or chief Clerks, the Seafaring People often exclaim against the Airs of Importance which some of those Scribes put on, who watch all Opportunities to impose on the Honesty of the Minister, in Favour of their Creatures, to the Prejudice of other Subjects, who have more Merit.
The Count de S. Florentin is of the Family of Phelypeaux, as is also the Count de Maurepas, who married his Sister. He is the Son of M. de la Vrilliere, Secretary of State; and had the
Reversion of his Father’s Office granted him by the Regent, when he was scarce twenty Years of Age. M. de la Vrilliere dying not long before the King’s Marriage, M. de S. Florentin entered on his Office. He has that Province which relates to Affairs Ecclesiastical. He married, some Years ago, the Daughter of the late Count de Platen, Great Chamberlain, and Hereditary Post-Master of Hanover; but neither of ’em knew one another before the Match was made. Mademoiselle de Platen was a Lutheran, but is turn’d Catholic. The Lady, her Mother, for Whom I had as profound a Veneration as for any Woman in the World, and whose Memory I still revere, brought her into France. M. de S. Florentin has Reason to be pleas’d with the Choice he has made: For his Lady is not only very charming, but has noble Sentiments, and a Virtue which Calumny itself durst not asperse. When she married M. de S. Florentin, King George I. of Great Britain settled a Pension upon her of forty thousand Livres, for forty-five Years; and King George II. on his Accession to the Crown, was pleased to confirm the said Pension, upon that Lady’s going to London to solicit it, in Company with her Mother-in-law Madame de la Vrilliere, now Duchess of Mazarine.
M. d’Angervilliers, formerly Intendant of Alsace, is Secretary of the War-Office, in which he succeeded M. le Blanc, who was the Secretary a second time, when he died at Versailles. The first time that he was Secretary, he was supplanted by M. de Breteuil, during the Ministry of the Duke de Bourbon; and he, in his Turn, supplanted M. de Breteuil, the Queen’s Chancellor, in the Ministry of the Cardinal de Fleury. You see by this, that the War-Office has been several times chang’d in a few Years; but ’tis like to remain always in the
Hands of M. d’Angervilliers, whose Application, Vigilance and Integrity, are very much cry’d-up by the Officers, and all that have to do with him. I gave you some Account of this Minister, when I wrote to you from Strasbourg, to which I have nothing to add.
As the Secretary of War has been often chang’d of late Years, the Comptroller-General of the Finances has been much more so. From the Year 1711, when I first came to Paris, to this Day, I have known seven Comptrollers General, and not one of ’em died in the Office: So that this Post may well be compared to that of the Grand Vizier, which is alike struggled for, and alike fatal to those who are invested with it.
Of all the Men who have had that ticklish Employment of Comptroller-General in France, there is not one that has made a more shining Fortune, and a Fortune that sooner slipp’d from him, than John Law. This Man, of whom many People have wrote and talk’d without knowing him, and according to their Passions, was a Scotsman, born with a narrow Fortune, but strong Desires to inlarge it. He had travell’d through several Parts of Europe, and Gaming prov’d his chief Subsistence. He won considerable Sums in Italy, especially at Genoa; and there it was that he hatch’d all those Projects which he put in Execution in France. ’Tis true, that he did not come into this Kingdom, till he had offered his Services to Victor Amadeus, the King of Sardinia. This Prince told him, That his Dominions were too small for the Execution of so great a Design; but that France was a Theatre, where he might expect to make his Market, and thither he advised him to go. If I know the Humour of the French, added the King, I am sure they will relish your Schemes. John Law took the Monarch’s Advice, and shewed
his Project to the Regent, who approved it; and the Projector soon found, that he had the Purses of the French absolutely at his Command. As he was a Protestant, he made his Abjuration in the Recollets Church at Melun, in the Diocese of Sens, in the Month of December 1719, in the Hands of the Abbé[58]Tancin. In the Month of January following, he was made Comptroller-General; but he quitted that Post in June; abruptly left Paris on the thirteenth of December 1720; and after rambling about for a while, not knowing where to fix, (for his own Country did not suit him) he died at Munich. The Generality of the French accuse him of having exhausted France, and sent away immense Sums to Foreign Countries. How true this is, I know not, but ’tis certain, that Law, after his Disgrace, liv’d very meanly. His Widow and his Son, (Mr. John Law)[59] who are actually at Utrecht, make no very great Figure there, which very many People ascribe to Policy. But for my own Part, who think more freely, and don’t see what could hinder Mrs. Law and her Son from making a Display of their Riches, in the Country where they live; I can’t help crediting what People, and such as were John Law’s Intimates, have assured me for a certain Truth, viz. That Law being puff’d-up with his Fortune, and not thinking it would be so short-liv’d, had no Thought of securing it in Foreign Countries; and that if he had such a Purpose, he had not Time to send any Sums out of the Kingdom. He was oblig’d
both by Necessity, and out of Policy, to make Purchases in France; and accordingly he made considerable Acquisitions; but they were no more than a pleasant Dream to him, and the Loss of them only made his Disgrace the greater Affliction. I am of their Opinion, who believe that John Law was richer when he came to France, than he was three Months after he left it. This Copy of Verses was made upon him, which, perhaps, you will not be sorry to see[60].
The Title of it is, A Commission of the Office of Comptroller-General of the Finances, for Mr. John Law.
De par le Dieu porte-marotte,
Nous Général de la Calotte,
Attendu que le Régiment
Est obligé sensiblement
Au Sieur Law, de qui la Science
Et conduite dans la Finance
Nous a donné maints Calotins,
En inventant les Bulletins,
Autrement dits Billets de Banque,
Pour servir au jeu de la Blanque,
Jeu non renouvellé des Grecs,
Comme le Fade jeu de l’Oye,
Mais imaginé tout exprès
Pour exciter l’homme à la joye:
Témoin les Plaisans viremens,
Et continuels changemens,
Que l’on a vu dans le Royaume
De Quinquempoix & de Vendôme,
Et Principauté de Soissons,
Où l’Achat & le Dividende
Causoient un Rumeur st grande,
Qu’on ne vit jamais tant de Rats
Obseder gens de tous états:
Mari, Femme, Garçon & Fille!
Laquais, Servantes, la Famille!
En un mot, sans rien excepter,
Venoit jouer & blanqueter,
Et s’y portoit de telle sorte,
Qu’il falloit Gardes à la Porte
Pour renvoyer chacun chez soi,
Après les trois coups de Beffroi.
Là de tous Païs & Provinces,
Marchands, Magistrats, Artisans,
Prélats, Guerriers & Courtisans,
Ducs & Pairs, & même des Princes,
Non du Païs, mais bien forains,
Accouroient comme des Essains,
Malgré vent, grêle, pluye & crotte,
Pour y jouer à la Marotte,
En beaux & bons deniers comptant,
Contre des Voleurs Calotines,
Dont la France & terres voisines
Se pourront souvenir longtems.
A ces Causes, vu l’Abondance
Des Calotins qui sont en France
De tous Rangs & de tous états,
Par le moyen du dit Sieur Las,
Nous lui consions nos Finances;
Voulons que sur ses Ordonnances
Nos fonds soient œconomisés,
Augmentés & réalisés;
Afin que selon son merite
Chacun ait part, grosse ou petite,
Dans nos immenses Revenus,
Tant de gros Fonds que de menus.
Or comme un pareil Ministere
Est sert étendu dans sa Sphere,
Lui donnons pour prémier Commis,
Nompar[61] qui des moins endormis
Connoit la manœuvre diverse
De la Finance & du Commerce.
Lui donnons pour Profits & Droit,
Pensions, Gages & Salaries,
Le quart de tous les Angles droits,
Que couperont les Commissaires
Au papier qui sera visé,
Et duquel en homme avisé
Il a si bien grossi le nombre,
Que la France y seroit à l’ombre,
Si tous le Billets rassemblés,
Et les uns aux autres collés,
On en pouvoit saire une Tente.
Au surplus de ladite Rente,
Lui donnons notre grand Cordon,
Passant de la droite à la gauche,
Ainsi qu’un légere ébauche
De sa droiture, dont le fond
Va si loin que [62]Terrasson même,
Grand calculateur du Système,
Ne pourroit pas le mesurer.
En outre, pour mieux honorer
Le chef de ce grand Personnage,
Qui fit bouquer tout homme sage,
Et soi disant docte & profond,
Lui donnons Calotte de plomb,
De la haute et prémiere classe;
Et pour surcroit de telle grace,
Joignons à ces [63]Coqs dont la voix
Chanta la Justice au François,
Papillons, Rats & Girouettes,
Hannetons Grelots, & Sonnettes.
En mémoirs d’un si beau chant,
Qu’au sortir de France on publie
Qù il va chanter en Italie,
Où sans doute il aura beau champ
Pour exercer son grand Génie,
Et sa connoissance infinie
Dans l’art de décupler les sonds
Par Billets payables à vue,
Desquels aujourd’hui nous voyons
En France une si bonne Issue.
Ordonnons à tous les Païs
De notre vaste Dépendance,
De l’ecouter dans ses avis,
Sur-tout dans l’art de la Finance;
Art qu’il possede eminemment.
Fait au Conseil du Régiment[64].
’Tis certain, that never was any thing more splendid, than the short Reign of his Fortune. The French perfectly idoliz’d, him, and even those who turned their Backs to his Altar, could not help admiring him as an extraordinary Man. The Nobility did not scruple to pay their Homage to him; and I have seen Dukes and Peers of France waiting in his Antichamber, like the meanest Subjects. Towards the Close, there was no coming to the Speech of him without Money. The Swiss must be feed for Entrance at his Gate, the Lacqueys
for Admittance into his Antichamber, and the Valets de Chambre for the Privilege of Access to his Presence-Chamber or Closet. The Audiences too were very short, and People were quickly dismissed with very little Merchandise for a great deal of Money. Mean time he was civil, and his Fortune did not seem to have puff’d him up. He was a fine handsome Man, of a fair Complexion, as the English generally are, and had a very noble Port. Nobody understood Algebra better than he did, and, let his Enemies say what they please, his System was good in itself, and might have been beneficial to France, if it had been punctually follow’d.
The Scheme was calculated for keeping two Thirds more of Species in the Kingdom, than of Bills, in which Case there would always have been Money enough to have paid off those Bills. But this did not satisfy the Avarice of the Under-strappers; and in 1720, when the Bank Bills were put down, there were two Thirds of Bills in the Kingdom, to one Third of Money, viz. five hundred Millions of Money, to a thousand Millions in Bills; and M. d’Argenson, the Protector of the four Brothers of the Name of Paris, prevailed on the Regent to circulate 1760 Millions of extraordinary Bills not registered, with which People bought and sold Shares; and during this Commerce, the Bills were realiz’d by the Brokers into Species; insomuch that, according to a Computation then made by Barême, they say, that at the Time of the total Suppression of the Bills, which was in October 1720, there were more Livres Tournois in the famous Bank of Missisippi, than there had been Minutes since the Creation of the World. All this Variety of Bills had so stupified the Parisians, and they gave them such intire Credit, that before the Arret of the
fifteenth of May 1720, which sunk the Bills from ten per Cent. per Mensem to half their Value, a Parisian did not care to be paid in Specie; for he thought Bills were far better, not only because they were not liable to be lower’d, but because they were more ready to count, and especially to carry. A Man that had Millions in his Pocket did not perceive the Weight of ’em, whereas but one hundred Louis-d’ors are too heavy; and, how was it possible for a Man to carry them in his Pocket without being tir’d? While Peoples Fortunes were in Paper, I could boast of having had a Letter-case once in my Hands, in which there were Notes to the Value of thirty-two Millions. If they had been my own, I question whether I should have let them lie in Bank Bills, with the Hazard of losing half the Value. What follows, is a short, but curious Account of this Scheme[65].
Lewis XIV. a little before he died, was two thousand two hundred Millions in Debt: But by the Reduction of the Principal and Interest of the Revenues of the Town-House, (of Paris) by strikeing off two fifths upon all Contracts, and by reducing Interest to four per Cent. the Debts of the State were reduced to one thousand eight hundred Millions; which was the very Sum that was owing from the Crown, when Lewis XV. came to it. The Debts of the Government were afterwards reduced to one thousand four hundred Millions, by sinking a Quarter, a half and three-fourths upon the State Bills, as well as all other Debts owing by the King, as also on Pensions, and by the Recovery of great Sums thro’ the Chamber of Justice. Mr. Law thought he should be able to extinguish all the Debts, by a Scheme which he form’d
upon the Profits that were made by Missisippi. For this Purpose he erected a Bank, and caused as many Shares to be created, as amounted to one hundred and fifty Millions, at one hundred Livres each, payable in State Bills, which, to the Advantage of the Buyers, rose to no less than one thousand. After this, he created more Actions, to the Value of one hundred and five Millions, payable in Money or Effects, at one thousand per Cent. which, with the former one hundred and fifty Millions, produced one thousand six hundred and fifty Millions; a Sum more than sufficient to cancel all the King’s Debts. Besides this, Mr. Law created Bank Bills for one thousand two hundred Millions, of which he received the Value, either in Money or Effects. He raised the Money higher, upon which there were at least three hundred Millions Profit, that are not brought to the Accompt. He compelled all People to carry their Money to the Bank, by certain Arrets, which injoin’d People at first, to keep no more than one hundred Livres by them, and afterwards but five hundred. So that in eight Months Management, he augmented the old Debts of the State, that were one thousand four hundred Millions, to one thousand six hundred and fifty Millions; which, added to the one thousand two hundred Millions of the Bank, rise to two thousand eight hundred and fifty Millions, due at this Time from the King. If to this we add the Præmium to which the Actions rose, which at one thousand eight hundred among private People, make five thousand four hundred Millions more; to which the one thousand two hundred Millions in Bank Bills must be added; it will appear that the Public is charg’d with six thousand six hundred Millions in Paper; and for the paying off of that Sum, there will be but five hundred Millions in the Kingdom
in Specie, when they are reduced to their intrinsic Value. The King having received one thousand six hundred and five Millions in Effects, of which he owed the greatest Part, and Actions or Shares being taken instead thereof, which Actions, by secret Management, rose to five thousand four hundred Millions among the Subjects, Mr. Law thereby gave the People the Opportunity of putting three thousand seven hundred and five Millions in their Pockets.
An Account of the Bank Bills that subsisted, and of those that were burnt.
| Bills engraved | 669000000 | |||
| Bills printed | 1927400000 | |||
| ————— | ||||
| Viz. | ||||
| Bills of | 10000 | Livres | 1134000000 | |
| 1000 | 1123200000 | |||
| 100 | 299200000 | |||
| 10 | 40000000 | |||
| ————— | ||||
| Total | 2596400000 | |||
| Bills burnt of | 10000 | Livres | 562500000 | |
| 1000 | 138528000 | |||
| 100 | 6026000 | |||
| 10 | 273460 | |||
| ————— | ||||
| Total | 707327460 | |||
| There then remained | ||||
| therefore in Trade | 1989072540 |
The Fortunes made at Paris, during this Missisippi Contagion, are so extraordinary, that unless one had seen it, ’twere impossible to believe it; and, what is still more unaccountable, the greatest
were rais’d by mere Scoundrels; for except a few of the Court Lords and Ladies, it look’d as if Fortune had resolved to put the Gentry into Almshouses, for the Sake of inriching a Parcel of Bankrupts, Lacqueys, Beggars, and other of the Mobility[66]. And ’tis my real Opinion, that if God had not interpos’d, Footmen would at length have been the Masters, and the Masters the Footmen. The Handicraftsmen laid by their Work; there was nothing talked of but Actions, and every Place echoed with Missisippi and Quinquempoix, which is the Street where all that hopeful Trade was carried on.
These lucky Missisippians have nevertheless seen the Turn of Fortune’s Wheel. The Generality of those who had not the Precaution to send their Money out of the Kingdom, were called to Accompt, and obliged to disgorge a Part of their Gains. Whether the King got much by this Scrutiny, I know not; but I believe it had the same Fate as the Chamber of Justice, established in 1716, in the Augustins Convent at Paris, for the Prosecution of People employ’d in the Finances. This Tribunal, at the Head of which was M. de Portail, now the first President, had condemned several Tax Gatherers for an infinite Number of Misdemeanors committed in the King’s Finances. Some were punished as they justly deserved. A great many were tax’d in Proportion to the Declarations they were forced to make of their immense Wealth, which might have produc’d very considerable Sums for the Ease of the Government, at that Time plung’d over Head and Ears in Debt. But these Bloodsuckers of the People compounded
for a Trifle of Expence, by a few Presents to a Lady, or to some Nobleman who had the Favour of the Regent. This was a Golden Shower, of which the least Part fell into the King’s Coffers.
I have made a terrible Digression. Mr. Law carried me to Missisippi, which is a long Voyage, and a Country from whence a Man can’t return whenever he has a Mind to it; but I am now come back to the Court. I have mentioned the Ministers to you, but they are not the only Persons that have a Seat in the Council. One of its Members is the Marshal de Villars, who being of all the French Generals, the Man that made the most shining Figure during the last War, I think myself oblig’d to give you a more particular Account of him.
Francis Hector, Duke de Villars, Marshal of France, and Dean of the Marshals, is a Gentleman of a good Family, his Father having been a Commander of the King’s Orders. His Stature is above the middle Size, and he has the Port and Step of a Nobleman. He has an agreeable winning Countenance, and hazel Eyes, which are lively and sparkling. He is a Man of Penetration, crafty, complaisant, and capable of great Affairs. He talks a great deal; but what he says is to the Purpose. He is laborious, attach’d to, and indefatigable in Business, a courageous good Soldier, and a successful General. Satire charges him with Avarice, as it did the Duke of Marlborough his Rival: He is, withal, accused of being too haughty, and too conceited of his Actions, and his Merits. This, indeed, may be true enough; for I myself was Witness to a Conversation, in which he discovered it sufficiently plain. ’Twas the Winter after the Battle of Denain, when the
Marshall being at Dinner with the late[67]M. d’Armagnac, Great Master of the Horse, where I was likewise a Guest; he talked a great deal about his Exploits, to which I listened so attentively, that he took Notice of it; and being unknown to him, he whispered the Master of the Horse in the Ear, to know who I was; and when the Marshal was told that I was a German, he paid me a good deal of Respect. Then resuming his Discourse, and addressing it to me, he talked of his Victory at Denain, with an Air of mighty Self-Applause. But why, said he, did your People drown themselves? I am merciful, I would have given them Quarter; and they ought surely to have asked it. I declare to you, that my Soul was all in Fire for the Honour of Germany. Those Words, Mercy and Quarter, I took for an Insult upon my Country. I was young and hot-headed, and was just going to return him an Answer that would not have become me; however, I kept my Temper, and ’twas not till the second or third Provocation that I made him Answer, That I did not think he ought to be surprized at what the German Troops did, because they had known his Valour sufficiently before the Battle of Denain, but never had a Trial of his Clemency. I saw that he did not relish my Answer, upon which he shifted the Subject, and did not speak a Word more to me all the Time.
Some time after the Peace, however, I made him Satisfaction: ’Twas at the House of the Duchess de Lude, Lady of Honour to the Duchess of Burgundy. There was a great deal of Company, and among the rest, the Marshal de Villars. The Conversation fell upon the Custom of the Ancients, to give Surnames to their Heroes; and the Moderns were blam’d for not doing so too. What
Name should we find for you, Marshal? said the Duchess de Lude. I replied immediately, This would be no difficult Task. I don’t think that any Title would suit the Marshal de Villars better than that of Germanicus Franciscus. This Trifle hit the Marshal’s Taste so nicely, that he put on a smiling Countenance, and said a great many obliging Things to me.
The Marshal de Villars, in his Youth, was a Page to Lewis XIV. He enter’d into the Service very young, and distinguished himself at his first setting-out, so that he really owes his Advancement more to his Services and Merit, than to Fortune. After the Peace of Ryswic, he had the Care of the King’s Affairs at the Emperor’s Court; but was recalled from thence a little before the War began, upon Account of the Succession to the King of Spain, Charles II. When the War was declared, M. de Villars, at that time Lieutenant-General, was in the Army in Germany, commanded by the Marshal Catinat. The Marquis de Villars, with a Detachment from the Army, attack’d the Imperialists near Fridlinguen in 1702. The French said, that he won the Victory; the Germans say, No. Which Party is in the Right, I can’t tell; but be it as it will, the Staff of a Marshal of France was M. de Villars Reward for the Battle. The same Year the Duke of Savoy entring into an Alliance against the two Crowns, at the very Time that he assured them of his Attachment, the Treaty which that Prince made with the Emperor and his Allies, was kept secret for a while, tho’ not so secret but the Elector of Bavaria knew of it; and his Electoral Highness reproaching the Envoy of Savoy with it, that Minister actually swore he knew nothing of the Matter, and that, moreover, he did not believe it; upon which the Marshal de Villars, who was present,
clapp’d his Hand upon the Envoy’s Shoulder, and repeated this Verse to him out of Racine; Tu ne le crois que trop, malheureux Mithridate, i. e. Ah! poor Mithridates! thou believest it but too much. In 1704, the Marshal de Villars was recalled from the Army in Germany, to command in the Cevennois, where he gained Palms and Olives, as well as Laurels; for by his good Nature and Moderation he pacified a Rebellion, which the too great Severity of his Predecessor, the Marshal de Montrevel, had but the more inflamed.
After this, he had the Command of the Army in Germany, and kept it till 1709, when he went into the Netherlands to relieve the Duke de Vendosme, who was sent into Spain. M. de Villars, when in Flanders, retriev’d the Honour of France, which had been sully’d there by several Defeats. For tho’ the French suffer’d another at the Battle of Malplaquet, yet they made so brave a Stand, that the Allies could not help admiring their Courage. The Marshal de Villars, being wounded in the Knee, was obliged to retire, and to leave the Command to the Marshal de Boufflers, who drew off the Army in good Order. They give out, that when the Marshal de Villars heard the News, he said, Villars was not there; he could not be everywhere. The Allies paid dear for this Victory; for they lost twenty-three thousand Men, besides a considerable Number of Officers of Distinction. They might say as Pyrrhus did, after the Defeat of the Romans, One more such a Victory, and I am undone. The French lost eight thousand one hundred thirty-seven Men; and during the whole Course of the War, there was not a more bloody, nor a more obstinate Battle.
The Campaign of 1712 was the most glorious to the Marshal de Villars, of any that he ever made; for he therein gained the Victory at Denain,
and in two Months time took from the Allies what had cost them several Campaigns.
’Twas about the same time, that, upon the Death of the Duke de Vendôme at Vinaroz in Spain, Lewis XIV. conferr’d his Government of Provence upon the Marshal, who was also made a Duke and Peer. They tell a Story, that when he went to take Possession of his Government, and the Deputies of the Province presented him with a Purse full of Lewis d’Ors, One of ’em said, Here, my Lord, is such another Purse as that we gave to the Duke de Vendôme, when, like you, he came to be our Governor; but that Prince refus’d to take it. Ah! said the Marshal de Villars, squeezing the Purse, M. de Vendôme has not left his Fellow behind him.
The War in the Netherlands being finish’d by the Peace at Utrecht, the Marshal de Villars had again the Command of the Army in Germany. When he took his Leave of the King, he said to him, I most humbly intreat your Majesty to consider, that I leave you in the midst of my Enemies, whilst I am going to fight yours. He actually took Landau and Fribourg, and afterwards return’d to Versailles, to receive the King’s Orders to go and treat of a Peace with Prince Eugene of Savoy. During the Campaign his Enemies told the King, in hopes his Majesty would blame him for it, that he had laid out the Sum of 1800,000 Livres in the Purchase of an Estate. The King asking him one Day at Dinner, if it was true that he had made such a Purchase; Yes, Sir, replied the Marshal, who suspected that those who told the King of it were then at the Table, I have bought an Estate which cost me 1800,000 Livres; and if the War continues, and your Majesty trusts me with the Command of your Army, I hope to purchase a more considerable one next Year at the Expence of your Enemies. But instead of making another Campaign, the Marshal went to Rastadt,
where he and Prince Eugene of Savoy sign’d the Preliminaries of the Peace, which those two Generals concluded afterwards at Baden on the seventh of June 1714. Since that time the Marshal has always resided at Court. The French look upon him as the Restorer of their Reputation in the Netherlands, the Support of the State, and the chief Captain of his Time: He is loaded with Wealth and Dignities: He is a Duke and Peer, a Marshal of France, a Grandee of Spain, a Knight Commander of the King’s Orders, a Knight of the Golden Fleece, and Governor of Provence. He has an only Son, for whom he has obtain’d the Reversion of his Government[68].
Perhaps I have detain’d you too long about the Marshal de Villars; but I thought the little Particularities
I have given you would do you a Pleasure, and that you would not be sorry to know some Circumstances of a Man, who, after all, has been much cry’d-up in Europe. I shall be more brief in my Account of the other Noblemen, and of these I shall name but two or three, of whom you have heard some Talk, and such as are in most Reputation with us.
James Fitz-James Duke of Berwic, a Peer and Marshal of France, a Peer of England, a Grandee of Spain, a Knight of the Garter, and of the Golden Fleece, is the legitimated Son of James II. King of Great Britain[69]. He follow’d his Father to France, where he served with Distinction. In 1706 he had the Marshal’s Staff given him; and in 1707 he commanded the Army of the two Crowns in Spain, where he defeated the Lord Gallway near Almanza. The King of Spain, to reward him for such great Service, made him a Grandee of Spain, and gave him the Duchy of Liria, which M. de Berwic yielded to his eldest Son, who is actually in Possession of it. In 1714 the Marshal-Duke of Berwic reduc’d Barcelona under the Obedience of Philip V. This City had refus’d to acknowledge that Prince, and tho’ abandon’d, and without any Hopes of Relief,
continued the War with an Obstinacy of Men who seem’d to be desperate. The very Women, the Priests, Friers, all were Soldiers in Barcelona; and during the Siege, which held sixty-one Days with open Trenches, after a Blockade of eleven Months, there were five hundred and forty-three Friers and Priests kill’d and wounded in the Sallies and Attacks. The City was taken on the eleventh of September by Storm: The Battle lasted from Four o’Clock in the Morning till Eleven, when the Inhabitants retir’d into the new Town, which is only separated from the other by a single Wall. They surrender’d next Day at Discretion to the Marshal-Duke de Berwic, who gave them a verbal Promise to save their Lives, and to protect the City from Plunder, on their paying down a large Sum of Money. Barcelona being thus reduc’d, the Marshal return’d to France loaded with Wealth and Honours. Upon the Death of King Lewis XIV. he was admitted to the Council of the Regency, and sent soon after to command in Guienne. The Regent gave him the Command of the Army against the King of Spain, which his Royal Highness had before offer’d to the Marshal de Villars; but that Nobleman told him, He would never draw his Sword against a Prince who might one Day become his Sovereign, a Prince for whose Service he had already spilt some Blood, and one for whom the Kingdom had expended such a Treasure. The Marshal-Duke of Berwic, being not so delicate, accepted of the Command, took St. Sebastian, and obey’d the Regent much more than he was bound to do in Duty.
For this he was continued in the Command of Guienne, and particularly of Bourdeaux. For some time past the Marshal-Duke has been very much
at Court, and often at his Ducal Lordship in Picardy[70].
Victor-Maria Duke d’Estrées, whom I ought to have mention’d before the Duke of Berwic, as being
the oldest Marshal of France, is Vice-Admiral of the Kingdom, a Duke and Peer, a Grandee of Spain, a Commandeur of the King’s Orders, and a Knight of the Golden Fleece. He is the last of his Family, which has been render’d illustrious by all the great Dignities of the Kingdom ever since[71] the charming Gabriella d’Estrées, who was Mistress to Henry IV. He lives with as much Splendor and Magnificence as most Noblemen in France: His House is open to all Foreigners of Distinction, and Men of Knowledge and Learning are well receiv’d in it. The Marshal has a fine Library, a most beautiful Cabinet of Medals, and a complete Collection of antique Stones that are grav’d. Besides the Estate of the Family of Estrées, of which he is the only Head, he made great Acquisitions by Missisippi Stock, and there are few Sovereigns that have finer Diamonds. Since the Troubles that arose in Bretagne during the Regency of the Duke of Orleans, the Assembly of the States of that Province is always held by this Nobleman. The Nobility of Bretagne extol him very much, and find a great Difference between their Treatment by this Marshal, and the rigid haughty Air with which the late Marshal de Montesquiou carried it to them during the Regency. Tho’ the Marshal d’Estrées is very much attach’d to the Court, yet he is often at Paris, where he has a very fine House, and is visited by the greatest and the best People in the Kingdom. The Marshal’s Lady, who is Noailles, Sister to the Countess de Tholouse, was formerly a Lady of the Bed-chamber to the Duchess of Burgundy; she has all the Politeness of the ancient Court, and tho’ she is past the Bloom of her Youth, she is still one of the most amiable Women at
Court, and by her Management there is not a more agreeable Family than hers in the Kingdom. I am, &c.
