The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume II / Being the Observations He Made in His Late Travels from Prussia Thro' Germany, Italy, France, Flanders, Holland, England, &c. in Letters to His Friend. Discovering Not Only the Present State of the Chief Cities and Towns; but the Characters of the Principal Persons at the Several Courts.

by Freiherr von Karl Ludwig Pöllnitz

might have a Neighbour powerful enough not only to oppose, but to reduce him to Reason. But if this be true, it must be own’d to be a sad Sort of Revenge for a Prince to strip himself of a Sovereignty, purely to injure his Neighbour. I fansy there are few Princes wou’d be of the Humour to take such a Revenge. The same Humbert requir’d, that the eldest Son of France shou’d be styl’d the Dauphin, which was granted him, and has been observ’d ever since. The Duke of Orleans, the first Prince of the Blood of France, is Governor of Dauphiny. This Province has a Parliament, which is held at Grenoble. The antient Dauphins resided at Vienne, which is an Archbishoprick. ’Twas to the Neighbourhood of this City, that Herod and Pilate, our Saviour’s Judges, were banish’d.

Lyons is so considerable a City, that the French commonly say, Next to Paris, Lyons[37]. The Sâon runs thro’ this City, and the Rhone washes its Walls;

’tis a large opulent City, for the Inhabitants are industrious, laborious, and given to Trading. There’s not a Town in France, if in the whole World, where they make such fine Stuffs. They endeavour to imitate them at Turin, in Holland, and elsewhere, but they can’t come up to them. The City of Lyons is the See of an Archbishop, who is at present M. de Rochebonne, and therein succeeded the late M. de Villeroi, Son to the late Marshal of that Name, who was Lewis the XVth’s Governor. The Villeroi Family has been for a long time in Possession of the Government of Lyons, and the chief Dignities of its Province. The late Marshal obtain’d the Government of Lyons and the Lyonnois from King Lewis XIV. who also granted him the Reversion of the said Government for his eldest Son, the Archbishoprick for his second Son, and the Abbey of St. Peter in Lyons for his Daughter. The Duke of Orleans, when Regent of the Kingdom, conferred on him moreover the Reversion of the Government of Lyons for his Grandsons the Duke de Retz, and the Marquis d’Alincourt, and nominated the latter Lieutenant-General of the Province. Tho’ Authority generally renders those hated who are vested with it, yet the Gentlemen of the Name of Villeroi have ever escap’d that Fate; ’tis true they have always acted with very great Moderation, and are beneficent, well-bred, civil and generous, so that they are mightily belov’d in Lyons, where the late Marshal was as much respected as the King himself; for he procur’d great Advantages for the Province, and for the City in particular.

They tell a very good Story concerning the Admission of the first Villeroi to the Archiepiscopal Dignity of this City. The Chapter of Lyons is one of the most haughty in all Christendom, and ’tis not without Reason; for it is founded upon the Blood

of above 20,000 Martyrs, and has always been reputed the Seminary of Popes, Cardinals and Bishops, who have been taken from thence to govern the Church. Nobility is inseparable therein from the Priesthood, and ’tis an Observation made by several Authors, that in the third Century the Chapter consisted of seventy-four Canons, of whom one was the Son of an Emperor, nine the Sons of Kings, fourteen the Sons of Dukes, thirty the Sons of Counts, and twenty were Barons. ’Tis no wonder therefore, that the Counts of Lyons, for they are not called Canons, made a Scruple to admit for their Archbishop Camillus de la Neuville, who was not of their Body, and whom King Lewis XIV. had nominated to this Archbishoprick. Neuville is known to be the Name of the Family of Villeroi. The Grandfather of this Prelate was the first of the Family that was of any Eminence; he had been Treasurer of the War-Office, and Prevôt des Marchands of the City of Paris; his Grandfather Nicolas de la Neuville had been Secretary of State, and his Father Charles de la Neuville was the first of the Family who had a Title of Honour, which was that of Marquis d’Alincourt, Sieur de Villeroi, an Estate which Peter le Gendre Treasurer of France, had given to his Grandfather. The Marquis d’Alincourt was Governor of Lyons and the Lyonnois, and dying in the Service of the King, as Ambassador at Rome, his Majesty gave his Son the Archbishoprick of Lyons, when it became vacant. The Chapter refus’d to admit him, because he was not of a suitable Rank, nor a Member of their Body; but the King found a way to make himself obey’d, and when the Archbishop harangu’d the Chapter, he took these Words of the Psalmist for his Text, The Stone which the Builders had rejected, is become the head Stone of the Corner. The Discourse he made was, they say, as insulting to the Chapter as one

would expect from the Choice of the Text. The Dean, whose ready Wit was applauded, made no other Answer to the Archbishop, than by taking the next Verse to that which the Prelate had chose, viz. This is the Lord’s (the King’s) Doing, it is marvellous in our Eyes. Notwithstanding this, the new Archbishop found means to become both the Spiritual and Temporal Governor of this City; for he was made Lieutenant-General in the Government of the Lyonnois till the Year 1693, when he was succeeded by the Son of the Marshal Villeroi his Nephew, and the latter was succeeded by M. de Rochebonne.

The Person who commands in the Absence of the Duke de Villeroi, Governor of the City, is the Prevôt des Marchands, which is so much the worse for any Foreigner that comes Post; for he is carried to his House, and as strictly examin’d as if he was a Prisoner at the Bar. I was also oblig’d to conform to this Custom; having made me wait a long time in an Anti-chamber, where was a Mixture of People of all Sorts, he appear’d at last with an Air of Importance, which was not natural to him. The Questions he put to me, and the Answers I gave, were very Laconic, and I imagine that there is no Love lost betwixt us.

The Prevôt des Marchands ought to be chang’d every three Years; but when he is acceptable to the Court, he is commonly continued. One wou’d think, that the transitory Grandeur of these Gentlemen shou’d not make them so vain; for when they are turn’d out of their Employment, they make just the same Figure as a Stage-Player, after he has put off the Roman Habit, in which he has represented Mithridates or Pyrrbus.

I have reason to be as much pleas’d with M. Poultier the Intendant, as I have to dislike M. Perichon, the Prevôt des Marchands. I have been to

make him a Visit, which he has return’d; and for these four Days that I have been here I go every Night to his House, where I see the best People of this City, in which there’s good Company, tho’ few Nobility. The Merchants of the first Rank live like petty Sovereigns, and have fine Houses, both in the Town and the Country. If a Foreigner has ever so little Acquaintance here, he cannot fail of being diverted; for the Lyonnois are civil and obliging, and not so much absorb’d in Commerce as to neglect good Manners. They are extraordinary civil to me, and make me very welcome. They delight in Gaming, and are not insensible to Love and the Bottle.