After the Court of Justice broke up, the King return'd to Vincennes, where he resided after the Death of the late King, till the Palace of the Thuilleries was made fit for his Reception. The Regent and the Princes accompanied the King, and they afterwards went back to Paris, each Man to his own House. They say that the Duke of Maine was no sooner return'd home, but the Duchess his Wife, impatient to know what had pass'd in the Bed of Justice, came that very instant to ask him what News he brought; and when he told her, that the Regent was the sole Master of the King and Kingdom, she reproach'd him bitterly.
As soon as the Louvre was in a readiness the King set out thither from Vincennes, where Lodgings were laid out for the Princes and Princesses of the Blood. The Palace of Luxemburg was given to the Duchess of Berry, who made great Alterations in the Apartments. This Princess had a mighty Ascendant over her Father the Duke of Orleans, and she made such a use of it that there was not a day but she obtain'd new Favors. As she was the first Princess in the Kingdom, there being at that time no Queen, she desir'd to have a Captain of the Guards to attend her; a Privilege which none had ever enjoy'd before but the Queens. The Duke of Orleans could not deny her, and the Person invested with this Character was the Marquis de la Rochefoucault. Madame no sooner
heard of this Augmentation of Officers in the Houshold of the Duchess her Daughter, but she presently appointed M. de Harling to be Captain of her Guards, who was a German Gentleman that had been her Page. The Duchess of Berry wanted also to be stil'd Madame as well as the Princess her Mother; yet to prevent Confusion she signify'd, that when they made mention of her they should not call her Madame la Duchesse de Berry, but Madame, Duchesse de Berry. Moreover, she pretended to the Right of having Kettle-Drums and Trumpets sounded before her when she went abroad in Ceremony, tho' this was never observ'd to any body but the Queen. In short, this Princess enter'd once into Paris with all this Attendance, as she return'd from la Muette. When she pass'd before the Palace of the Thuilleries, the Officers of the Guards were very much astonish'd to hear the Trumpets, and represented that no body but the King and Queen ought to march with such Pomp; upon which Madame de Berry wav'd her Privilege for the future, tho' with regard only to Paris.
Some will imagine, perhaps, that this Princess, who was so fond of Grandeur, must naturally be difficult of Access and of very stiff Behavior to Persons that had the Honor of approaching her. Yet she was quite the Reverse. I was acquainted with several Ladies that had the Honor of some Familiarity with her; and they all assur'd me, that she was the best-natur'd Princess in the World. She never stood upon Formalities in point of Ceremonial with the Generality of the Ladies, but freely permitted them to come and visit her in a Scarf. 'Tis true indeed that she did not affect Dress herself,
and consequently it would not have been good Manners for the Princesses and Court-Ladies to appear in a formal Dress, which she was scarce ever seen in her self. Madame, as I have already had the Honor to tell you, was much more precise. She was always in the Court-Dress, and never suffer'd any but Ladies that were advanc'd in years, or such as were not in Health, to appear before her in any other.
The Duke Regent, according to the Promise he had made to the Parliament, when he held the Bed of Justice, establish'd several Councils. There was one which was call'd The Council of the Regency, others for War, the Finances, the Marine, and for Affairs Foreign. All the Ministers of the late King were dismiss'd, except the Chancellor Voisin, who kept his Post. M. Desmaretz and M. de Pontchartrain, one the Minister of the Finances, the other of Affairs Marine, were both destitute of Employment. M. Desmaretz was put to some trouble in a Chamber which the Regent establish'd at the Grand Augustins, for calling to account those who had had the Management of the public Money. 'Twas called the Chamber of Justice; and the President Portail, who is now the first President, was at the Head of it. Great Advantages were expected from this Establishment, which would, they said, not only pay off the King's Debts, but also bring considerable Sums into his Coffers; nevertheless it all came to nothing. There was a Fine laid indeed, and 'twas a general one; but as most of the Financiers had married their Daughters to the Great Men of the Kingdom, they came off for a Trifle; the Unfortunate paid for all: Some were condemn'd to the Galleys, and others to perpetual Imprisonment, after having been
set in the Pillory, where the People had the Pleasure of insulting them; and that was all they got by it. As for the King, he was not a Penny the richer for it; and no body got more by it than the Ladies who sollicited for the lowering of the Fines, and ran away with almost all the Profit. The Public, in general, was very much perplex'd by it: Most People, afraid of being fin'd, hid their Silver, which Metal so necessary, became so scarce in but six Months time, that it look'd as if Lewis XIV. had carried it all out of the Kingdom with him to the other World. They began to lament the Loss of that Prince, and the Love of the Public for the Regent vanish'd very fast, 'Twas not long before, that every one thought they had reason to curse the late King; and the Frenchman, who is naturally fickle, imagin'd without knowing why or wherefore, that the Death of Lewis XIV. would be the beginning of a more happy Century. The Prince who was at the Head of the Administration was loaded with Blessings, tho' he had not yet done any thing to win their Hearts; and in a very short time this same Prince, who was so much ador'd, found himself the Subject of the most stinging Satire. He soon took care to be inform'd how the Public stood affected to him. I happen'd to be one day at Madame's, when this Prince declared aloud, Six Months ago, said he, I was perfectly ador'd in Paris, tho' I had done nothing to deserve it; and I am now as much hated, but for what reason I should be glad to know. He knew perhaps, or at least he ought to have known it. The Scarcity of Silver was the only Cause of it; and it appeared by the Regent's Conduct, that the King's Coffers were so far from being full, that
Payments were made, not in Silver, but in Paper; a Money always fluctuating, and with which the French began to be tir'd. They had so often seen Bills, with various Denominations; and the Fare of the last sort call'd Mint-Bills, in particular, was so fresh in their Memory, that it was almost impossible they should entertain a better Opinion of those that were created at the beginning of the Regency, by the Name of Government-Bills: Yet these were admitted notwithstanding the great Clamor against them; and by and by we shall find that the French, who are always doom'd to be bubbled, gave into a new Paper-Scheme, more specious perhaps to view, but more ruinous in the Event, than those which had appear'd before it.
Another thing which put the People out of conceit with the Government, was the Fluctuation of Measures at the Royal Palace, where nothing was fix'd; and what was done one day, was cancell'd the next. The Regent, who was really a good-natur'd and very affable Prince, seem'd to put himself into the hands of too many People: No body that had a Favor to ask was turn'd away; it often happen'd that the same Thing was promis'd to two Persons, and a third obtain'd it. Pensions, Gratuities and Employments were promis'd, but the Promise seldom kept: So far from it, that several Pensions were suppress'd, and mine, which cost me so much Pains in the Sollicitation, was of that number. I made some Bustle to be put upon the List again; yet all that I could obtain was a Promise that my Pension should be renew'd very soon: But the Performance is still to come.
All this striking off of Pensions, together with a considerable Reduction of the Army, reduc'd