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