LETTER XL.
SIR,Versailles, April 15, 1732.
I have been now just ten Days at Versailles, where I have had the Honour of greeting the King and Queen, and all the Royal Family. I perceiv’d the King since his Marriage is grown very fat, but he is still one of the finest Princes in Europe. It may be said of Lewis XV. that he is a Prince born without Vice, and free from that Haughtiness, which is commonly attach’d to Royalty: He is familiar with his Courtiers, reserv’d to Persons that are unknown to him, and particularly to Ambassadors, and more secret and circumspect than Persons of his Age. He has the Morals, Behaviour, and Sentiments of a good Man, and from thence France may expect his Reign will be gentle and peaceful. It appears, as if Lewis XV. will be content with the Government of one of the most powerful Monarchies of the World, and that he
will not be inclin’d to disturb Europe, for the sake of conquering a Town or a Province. He has been educated in such Sentiments of Justice, that his Neighbours ought not to be afraid of him, since God has undoubtedly chose him to be one of the Arbitrators of Europe, in order for the Preservation, and not for the Destruction of Equity: Lewis the Pacific and the Debonaire will be his distinguishing Titles: Must not these be dearer to his Subjects, than the bloody Title of Lewis the Conqueror? And may he not be great, and at the same time a Lover of Peace? Hitherto the King seems to follow the Plans of Government chalk’d out by the late Duke of Burgundy, his Father, whose Wisdom is still rever’d by France. God grant that he may always take them for his Models, and that his Reign may be long, and end as glorious as it begun!
I never cast my Eyes upon Lewis XV. without admiring the Providence which has preserv’d him, contrary to the People’s Expectation. I have had the Honour to see him Duke of Anjou, his Brother, the Duke of Bretagne, being then alive. I have seen him the Dauphin of France, and at length I have seen him on the Throne: He had at one time a pale Complexion, which did not promise long Life. What Diseases has he not labour’d under! yet he now enjoys a perfect State of Health, and the Crown, which was so likely to devolve to collateral Branches, is establish’d upon the Head of this young Prince, and like to descend to his own Posterity. In fine, a King of France, Father of five Children living before he is twenty Years of Age, is such a Phænomenon as is hardly to be parallell’d in antient or modern History, and ’tis in my Opinion more extraordinary even than the advanc’d Age, and the long Reign of his Great-Grandfather.
The Queen is a Princess of exemplary Virtue, whose sole Application is to discharge her Duties to
God, the King, and her Children: She is extremely gracious and civil, and has a great Happiness of expressing herself in the French, German, and Polish Languages: She had formerly a great Taste for Music, and is now fond of Reading; but being entirely conformable to her Husband’s Sentiments, she takes no manner of Share in the Government: She loves no Pageantry nor Ceremony, and the Rank of being the first Queen in the World seems to have no other Effect upon her, than to render her Virtues more venerable and conspicuous.
As for the Children of France, they are as yet too young to be characteris’d. Mean time I assure you, ’tis a fine Sight to see them going to the Queen’s Apartment, or running along the Gallery, with at least forty Attendants in their Train, including the Ladies and Chambermaids. The Person intrusted with the Care of the Education of the Children of France is the Duchess de Ventadour; but as she is very far advanced in Years, and not able to be with them every-where, the Duchess of Tallard, her Grand-daughter, is join’d with her in the Commission. This Lady is the Daughter of the Prince de Rohan, Brother to the Cardinal: The Choice which has been made of her to succeed the Duchess of Ventadour, has been applauded by the whole Court; and in short, there are few Ladies that have a more noble Carriage, more Politeness, and sublimer Sentiments: And ’tis very remarkable, that since the Birth of the Dauphin, Lewis XIVth’s only Son, the Mother, the Daughter, and the Grand-daughter have always been trusted with the Education of the Children of France.
Her Royal Highness, the Widow of the Regent, who is Daughter to Lewis XIV. by Madame de Montespan, is the first in Rank at Court, and she is the only Princess that has a Right to sit at Table with their Majesties, when they dine in State; but