“My Lord,“You ask me for a state of the finances in this province; that is soon done: there are none. I don’t believe that the whole province could produce a hundred thousand livres in specie: the poverty is so general, that all distinction of ranks is at an end. The louis d’ors are like to become scarce pieces, so as soon to be seen only in the cabinets of the curious.”
“My Lord,
“You ask me for a state of the finances in this province; that is soon done: there are none. I don’t believe that the whole province could produce a hundred thousand livres in specie: the poverty is so general, that all distinction of ranks is at an end. The louis d’ors are like to become scarce pieces, so as soon to be seen only in the cabinets of the curious.”
The other is from the intendant of a province naturally very fertile, but which could not be cultivated for want of money. His report to the minister was as follows:
“My Lord,“There is no representing to your Excellency the present distress of thisprovince; the land yields little or nothing; most of the farmers, unable to live by the produce of their farms, have quitted them; some are gone a begging, others have lifted in the army, and not a few have escaped into foreign countries; the gentry and nobility are little better off, being put to the utmost difficulty to answer the taxes and impositions on them.“Of fifteen hundred thousand acres of arable land, which used to support this people, at present six hundred lie fallow; what a diminution this must be to the general subsistence, your Excellency readily sees. A village which, before the war, supported fifteen hundred inhabitants, can now scarce support six hundred; and a particular family, which was able to feed six children, and as many labourers, can now provide food only for five. The cattle are diminished no less than the men,so as not to be sufficient for tillage; and in most of the villages men do the work of oxen.“I have traced this calamity to its source, and I find the evil proceeds from the general want of cash: to prevent the consequences of this diminution, I could wish that the court would be pleased to advance to this province, by way of loan, the sum of fifteen hundred thousand livres, to be geometrically distributed among the industrious poor. This, in my opinion, is the only remedy left to avert greater evils.”
“My Lord,
“There is no representing to your Excellency the present distress of thisprovince; the land yields little or nothing; most of the farmers, unable to live by the produce of their farms, have quitted them; some are gone a begging, others have lifted in the army, and not a few have escaped into foreign countries; the gentry and nobility are little better off, being put to the utmost difficulty to answer the taxes and impositions on them.
“Of fifteen hundred thousand acres of arable land, which used to support this people, at present six hundred lie fallow; what a diminution this must be to the general subsistence, your Excellency readily sees. A village which, before the war, supported fifteen hundred inhabitants, can now scarce support six hundred; and a particular family, which was able to feed six children, and as many labourers, can now provide food only for five. The cattle are diminished no less than the men,so as not to be sufficient for tillage; and in most of the villages men do the work of oxen.
“I have traced this calamity to its source, and I find the evil proceeds from the general want of cash: to prevent the consequences of this diminution, I could wish that the court would be pleased to advance to this province, by way of loan, the sum of fifteen hundred thousand livres, to be geometrically distributed among the industrious poor. This, in my opinion, is the only remedy left to avert greater evils.”
The third of these memoirs was from another intendant, who paints the depopulation in these sad colours.
“My Lord,“The king’s subjects are daily decreasing in this province; it will soon be without inhabitants. Having directed the parish-priests to bring in lists of the christenings andburials, I find that the number of the dead exceeds that of the living; so that, should this depopulation go on twenty years longer, and God continues my life during that time, by my calculation, I shall be the only living creature, of the human species, in this province. Fifteen years before the last revolution of the finances, this district contained fifteen hundred thousand souls, and now if there are nine hundred thousand, it is the most. Yet how, my Lord, can it be otherwise? Of fifty of the king’s subjects, scarce two have any thing of a subsistence; the others must necessarily perish. A marriage is seldom heard of; so that all the new-born children are the fruits of debauchery.“I cannot point out any remedy to these distresses. In the present crisis of the monarchy, it is God alone who can rescue it out of the abyss intowhich the misfortunes of the times have cast it.”
“My Lord,
“The king’s subjects are daily decreasing in this province; it will soon be without inhabitants. Having directed the parish-priests to bring in lists of the christenings andburials, I find that the number of the dead exceeds that of the living; so that, should this depopulation go on twenty years longer, and God continues my life during that time, by my calculation, I shall be the only living creature, of the human species, in this province. Fifteen years before the last revolution of the finances, this district contained fifteen hundred thousand souls, and now if there are nine hundred thousand, it is the most. Yet how, my Lord, can it be otherwise? Of fifty of the king’s subjects, scarce two have any thing of a subsistence; the others must necessarily perish. A marriage is seldom heard of; so that all the new-born children are the fruits of debauchery.
“I cannot point out any remedy to these distresses. In the present crisis of the monarchy, it is God alone who can rescue it out of the abyss intowhich the misfortunes of the times have cast it.”
The fourth was from a sea-port, whose deputy thus delivered himself before the ministry.
“Trade, which had been declining for several years, is now fallen into a total stagnation. Our ships lie in the harbours, useless both to the state and their owners. We have little or nothing for exportation; the produce of the country scarce affords a very scanty subsistence; and our manufactures are at the lowest ebb. All our trade is in the hands of the English and Dutch.
“Most of our monied men, who fitted out privateers, have been ruined by the war; others so reduced, that instead of ten ships, which they used to have at sea, they find it difficult to have one: both seas are covered with foreign fleets, so that the white flag begins to be forgotten.
“All other nations are carriers to France, whereas France carries for none. This general stagnation animates others, and throws our marine into a fatal lethargy, &c. &c. &c.”
The navy has been utterly ruined, all the ships being taken by the English, except a few unserviceable ones in the harbours; and the funds appointed for fitting out a fleet are exhausted; but had there been no want of money, seamen were wanting; most of them had died in English prisons, and they who escaped the enemy perished by distress. It was impossible for France, being thinned of men, to furnish seamen.
M. Belleisle, who interfered in every branch of government, said one day to the King, in my hearing,Sire, should all the powers of Europe declare war against you, I engage to raise in your dominions a hundred and fifty thousand soldiers, who should keep them all at bay; but were I tofight an English fleet of a hundred ships of the line, where I should get twenty thousand seamen, I know not.
Another misfortune, beyond any remedy, was the necessary reduction of the troops. A hundred and fifty thousand subjects, who had fought for the crown, at the peace came to want bread: most of them, though they had been husbandmen before the war, were now no longer so. I have several times heard the Marshal de Noailles say, that a countryman, leaving the plough for the musket, is very seldom known to take to it when discharged; and he used to add, that on a hundred thousand husbandmen quitting their labour, a hundred thousand others must labour to provide them bread, otherwise a famine, and the ruin of the state, must be the consequence.
Some regulations were made to prevent the disorders to be apprehended from these reduced troops; but the remedywas more dangerous than the disease.
Of all the incumbrances, that of the military rewards were the greatest; money was required to pay the bravery of the officers in ready cash, for the military gentlemen are most impatient creditors. Formerly a St. Lewis’s cross sufficed, but it has since appeared to the officers, that a yearly sum gives a greater lustre to gallant actions.
Above ten thousand different pensions were settled on the Exchequer. A churchman who, at my desire, used sometimes to read to me the memorials on this head delivered to me for the king, would often say, that the glory accompanying fine actions must be of very little value in France, as the gentlemen of the army would not take it for a reward. The archbishop of Paris likewise used to say, that victories cost the state more than defeats.
The claimants would set forth their services with an arrogant modesty, which gave great offence to the court; especially they who had lost a limb were quite insupportable. One of these gentlemen (it was indeed after several journies to court to obtain a pension) said to me before several foreign ministers,Madam, since the King cannot give me an arm, which I have lost in his service, he should at least give me money.
Once an officer being come express with the news of the loss of a battle in Germany, the king said,Thank God, this time I shan’t be teazed about rewards. He was mistaken; for fifteen hundred officers, who had escaped the slaughter, came to Versailles, clamouring to be paid only for the great service of their being present at that action.
A lieutenant of grenadiers, to whom the secretary at war had procured a Saint Lewis’s cross without a pension, said tohim,Sir, your Excellency has tied to my button-hole the sign of my courage, but you have forgot the reality of my bravery, meaning that he wanted a pension.
Some military men in France enjoy considerable incomes only for having been in five or six battles, whilst the subjects of the state have ruined themselves in defraying the expences of the war. Thus do abuses creep into the best foundations.
After settling the pensions, the next thing taken in hand was to retrieve the finances from the terrible disorder into which they were fallen. They who understood the history of France affirmed, that for twenty reigns past the kingdom had never been so distressed; and the national debt being immense, a plan for the discharge of them became absolutely necessary. A sinking fund was projected, but when funds were to be appointed for the sinking-fund, those of the crown werefound to be all mortgaged. I myself was a witness to his majesty’s great uneasiness, when the ministers and counsellors of state laid open to him the condition of things.Gentlemen, said he to them,you had better have advised me against the war, than to make it on such burthensome conditions. Some taxes were taken off; but several imposts, created for the charges of the war, were continued after the peace, &c. &c.
Such was the situation of France after the definitive treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. The domestic affairs of the crown were in no better condition. The ministers had, during the war, assumed an unlimited authority, made themselves despotic in their offices, and behaved towards the subjects with that austerity which is the result of uncontrouled power.
Whilst all Europe was congratulating itself on the general peace, advice cameto Versailles that the English were very angry with George the Second, for having agreed to the French proposals. The parliament addressed him for a copy of the overtures for a general pacification, to be laid before the house.
Marshal Saxe being present when this was related to the king, said,Sir, those Englishmen must be very quarrelsome; they have made a peace with us, and having now no enemy, they are for quarrelling with their King. I have heard very knowing politicians say, that the divisions in Great Britain between the subjects and the Prince, are the basis of the general tranquillity of Europe.
However, on the peace, the face of Versailles was quite changed; that solicitous look which throws a shade even on diversions was quite vanished; the hurry of business had ceased, and the king was now come to himself. This tranquility of the court caused a great agitation in thecity; several women began to form designs on the King’s heart.
Among these was one Madame la Poupeliniere, married to a financier, who had raised her from the dirt, from whence he himself likewise sprung. They had a most delightful and splendid seat at Passy, which was always crowded with the worst company.
I have been often told, that this woman would faint away whenever my name happened to be mentioned. She used to say, that I had thrust myself into her rank at court, that I held her place about the king, and that all the honours paid to me at Versailles, of right belonged to her. She would, at any rate, be Lewis the Fifteenth’s mistress.
This was a scheme put into her head by the Duke de Richelieu; mean time he practised on her heart, to give it a turn for tenderness. This intrigue was carried on with an air of mystery. TheDuke used, at nights, to convey himself into the lady’s chamber through an opening contrived in the chimney; and this opening Richelieu assured her should, in no long time, conduct her to the little apartments of Versailles. In the interim, this creature, to make herself more worthy of the Sovereign, prostituted herself to one of his subjects; but a chambermaid, in a fit of resentment, discovered the whole mystery. The financier, who had for some time wanted to get rid of his wife, gladly embraced this opportunity; he made the public witness to his infamy, so that all Paris flocked to see the ungrateful perfidy of this ambitious woman.
The gallant perhaps, now no less satiated than the husband, made very light of the discovery; and came to Versailles, not imagining that the court as yet knew any thing of the matter; but I had intelligence of his adventure an hour beforeit was made public. The King was alone in my apartment when he came in;Sir, (said I to him)there is not in all Europe a more close agent in amorous intrigues than his Grace of Richelieu there before you; for to be the more secret with the ladies whom he would bring acquainted with your Majesty, he visits them through the chimney. The King asked me what I meant; I immediately unfolded the riddle to him, which set us a laughing, and Richelieu himself laughed as much as any.
Other women likewise laid out for the little apartments at Versailles, and got into them without going under ground. Lewis XV. was very fond of these flighty amours, of which possession is both the beginning and end. But his humours did not in the least abate the affection with which he honoured me, always returning to me more constant than ever.
Since the peace, the Count de Maurepas took a pleasure in censuring everything that was done at court, and giving it a ridiculous turn. This minister had his private suppers like the King himself; and here it was where, every night, the crown was turned into drollery.
Several disputes had passed between us since my living at Versailles, and in which he had used me with much pride and haughtiness; his passion made him forget his rank, and use words quite unbecoming such a man as he. I slightly intimated it to the King, being unwilling to hurt a man who was of use to the state.
It has been given out, that my very first design on my coming to Versailles was to supplant this minister. Now that such a thought should have come into my mind, is not possible. The King, in giving me a character of his chief ministers, spoke with great approbation of the Count de Maurepas, which alone was sufficient to make me take a likingto him. But a close assiduity in dry and difficult affairs, for above thirty years successively, had extremely soured his temper, so that at times no body durst go near him. M. le Guai, his first clerk, told me, that in those moments he was bristled like a porcupine; his harshness infected his correspondence, scolding those who were a thousand leagues from him, and treating them without any regard to their rank and character. He wrote to the French consul, at one of the Levant ports, in the following manner:
“I order you, Sir, to write to me no more, but repair to France in the first ship; and come to Paris, where you are to wait my orders, without appearing at court.I am, &c.”
“I order you, Sir, to write to me no more, but repair to France in the first ship; and come to Paris, where you are to wait my orders, without appearing at court.
I am, &c.”
His caustic temper mingled itself even with his feasts, and would break out even in the midst of pleasure and sociality. It was in these parties that he was mostfluent and licentious in satire. I was one day informed, that he had spoken against me in very indecent terms, and had even brought in the King. I at first determined flatly to complain to his Majesty, but on reflection I chose to write to himself.
“Sir, I am informed of your scandalous speeches concerning me, and even the King your master. As for what you say of me, it gives me no manner of concern; but I cannot overlook any scurrility on the King. I value his reputation; and be assured, that if you do not alter your behaviour toward him, I shall lay it before him, and you must expect the punishment which such an offence deserves.I am, &c.”
“Sir, I am informed of your scandalous speeches concerning me, and even the King your master. As for what you say of me, it gives me no manner of concern; but I cannot overlook any scurrility on the King. I value his reputation; and be assured, that if you do not alter your behaviour toward him, I shall lay it before him, and you must expect the punishment which such an offence deserves.
I am, &c.”
All the effect of this letter was, that it increased his malignity towards me, saying to those who were at supper with him;Now, Gentlemen, my disgrace is surely at hand, Pompadour threatens me: then, reassuming his gravity, he added, by way of reflection,See what Versailles is come to;the very women of pleasure pretend to domineer there. These words were precisely reported to me; however, I took no notice of them; but some time after, this minister, amidst his cups, sang some scandalous couplets against the King himself, and before a great deal of company. Of this insolence I informed his Majesty, and he was ordered to quit the court.
His exile making a great noise in the world, and a construction being put on it which affected his probity and character, I begged of the King to declare in public, that he was satisfied with his conduct. His Majesty did so; and let this serve as a specimen of his temper; a prince, after being insolently ridiculed by a subject who owed him great obligations, still vouchsafed to shew tenderness for him.
The government was at a loss for a person fit to succeed M. Maurepas at the head of the marine, as now it was become a state mystery. It had been underMaurepas’s sole management during thirty years. M. Rouillé was pitched on, though no great genius; but he had formed specious plans, and assured the King that within three years he should have a navy of fourscore ships of the line.I wish, said the King,he may make his words good, but I much fear he will fall very short.
Italy was perfectly at ease; the infant Don Philip had made his entrance into Parma: we heard at Versailles that he lived very gaily there amid concerts, plays, and balls.I am afraid, said the King,that young Prince is too fond of balls, and my daughter will be perpetually dancing.
M. de Noailles used to say, thatevery country dance of Don Philip, in Italy, cost Spain a hundred thousand livres; and his mother had paid the fiddlers before-hand.
The Duke of Modena was restored to his dominions, and had all Don Philip’spassion for splendour and entertainments; but the war had ruined him: the Duchess used to say openly, in the palace,his Highness has not wherewith to make one single minuet step. She came to court without shoes, to shew the King the indigence to which the war had reduced their duchy.Madam, said his Majesty to her,I am not in a much better condition myself; but I have a shoe-maker, who, if you please, shall wait on you.
Genoa was free, subject only to its own government, now re-established on its ancient footing. The ambassador from the court of Vienna, meeting that senate’s envoy in the great gallery of Versailles, said to him;Sir, the house of Austria forgives your republic its revolution, only intends to be up with it.
Rome was at rest, the foreign armies which, during the war, had been such a burden and terror to it, being withdrawn.
Naples, now no longer under a necessity of exhausting itself of men and money, was beginning to recover: all it stood in need of, was only quiet enjoyment of its fertile soil and climate. Concerning this small state, I remember a foreign minister once said to me, thatif ever he had been so ambitious as to aim at a sovereignty, it would not be that of Germany, France, or Spain, but to be King of Naples. His reason was, thatthere the power was derived directly from heaven; and is the immediate gift of God the Father himself.
The nobility still complained at court of having greatly hurt their fortunes in the war, and were continually solliciting compensations and rewards.
The Prince of Conti, lately created Grand Prior of France, said openly, that his horses had no hay.I wonder, said Marshal Belleisle,they are not yet dead, for so long ago as when we were at Coni, hisHighness used to complain of the scarcity of forage.
Lewis XV. did all he could to repair the fortunes of the great by posts, pensions, or governments; but he had a greater concern on his hands, which was to repair that of the nation.
I remember once he mildly said to some, who were unbecomingly urgent, that he would take care of them;Have a little patience, I will provide for all as far as possible; but before I attend to private houses, the great family of the state must be provided for. Another time he said, before the whole court, to a groupe of officers who talked much of their campaigns, and asked rewards:Gentlemen, you have indeed done me great services in the war, but it is my desire you will do me still a greater in peace, which is to allow me first to ease those who have borne the whole weight of the war. You only lent a hand,but they have exhausted their whole substance in it, &c. &c.
Marshal Belleisle was not overlooked; besides pensions, ranks, and honours heaped on him, all the bodies of the state, as it were, strove which should pay him the greatest marks of respect. The French Academy itself, on his leaving Paris to go to his government, composed a formal harangue, proving him the deliverer of France. A man of wit has called the members of the French academythe most elegant liars in Europe.
The new naval minister was busily searching for timber, seamen, and money, all over the provinces; but he looked for what was not to be found. On his return to Versailles, appeared the following memorial, by an unknown hand.
MEMORIAL on theMarine.
“Franceshould not think of forming a navy gradually; such a plan is impracticable;for the English, who have an eye to the building of every ship we put on the stocks, and build additional ships in proportion, thereby always secure a superiority.
“Thus Great Britain having, at present, a hundred ships of the line more than France, will consequently always exceed us by that number, were we to build three hundred ships of war within ten years.
“We have often set about forming a navy, but our endeavours have always been defeated by the Britons. They have taken our ships in times of profound peace, and declared themselves our enemies by sea, before any war had commenced; their vigilance in preventing any thing which might affect the superiority of their navy, pays no regard to justice or good faith. A King of England would be immediately dethroned by his subjects, should he befor adhering to the treaties made with France. It is a tacit maxim with that nation, that a treaty is to subsist only whilst France builds no ships.
“Time, which to all other disorders of government brings a remedy, here renders the disease incurable: building therefore is too slow a way; they know at London the very day when any ship of war is finished, and when to be launched.
“This part of political strength must be formed at once, and unknown to the admiralty of England. We should without delay apply to Holland, Denmark, the republic of Genoa, and Venice; and there, at once, purchase a proper number of ships; and if those states cannot fully supply us, there is Malta, Algiers, Tripoli, Constantinople, &c. No matter from what nation we have ships, or how they arebuilt, if they will but hold men and guns.
“Herein the strictest secrecy must be observed, and the purchases all punctually made at one and the same appointed time; for should the English get any intelligence of our design, they would either by open force, or negotiation, prevent any such purchase.
“The want of seamen still remains; but here again we may supply ourselves by the same method. In time of peace, the Maritime powers have a great many more seamen than they want; it is only making good offers to those men; for the sailor, like the soldier, is for the best bidder; his natural Prince is money, &c. &c.”
M. Rouillé, on reading this memorial, said,The author has forgot the main thing, money. He would have us purchase a navy all at once, but does not provide wherewith to pay for it at once.
A statesman has often observed, that most of the projects offered at the court of France are deficient in the very foundation. The schemer writes on in prosecution of his notions, till meeting a rock, when all his specious reasonings are wrecked.
M. de Belleisle told me that, in his closet, he had hundreds of memoirs for increasing the revenue and the national wealth, inscribed to him by the finest genius’s of the kingdom; and that he might perhaps publish them with this title,A collection of very fine, and very useless projects. “Idle people, said he, often have thoughts which the business of placemen does not allow them to have:” and added, “that though memorial writers do not always make good their points, yet their strictures often put others on effectual improvements.”
After the peace, the King had sent the Duke de Mirepoix to London: on whichMarshal Saxe said, that this nobleman was perfectly fit for the embassy, having a very handsome leg, and dancing prettily, which might be of good consequence in a court which delighted in balls. The reasons which induced the King to this choice, have always been unknown to me. He never so much as mentioned it to me till it was done. A very intelligent man, whom the king had often employed in state affairs, said to me, at that time, “that M. de Mirepoix was neither supple nor complaisant enough for the English; neither was he sufficiently acquainted with the respective interests of the two nations: besides, continued he, he has a great defect for an ambassador, he is too honest, so that the English will impose on him.” He might perhaps have added, with equal truth, that he had not a capacity equal to that employment. M. de Mirepoix had spent his youth in diversions, and the latter part of his life inwar; now the science of negotiation is not learnt either at the play-house or in the camp.
This minister’s constant note was, that the court of St. James’s was perfectly pleased with the peace, and all its thoughts turned on the enjoyment of it. He indeed wrote no more than he believed; for George the Second made him believe whatever he pleased.
The English minister at Paris was my Lord Albemarle, like ours, no great negociator. He had been taught his lesson by heart before he left London, and when at Versailles only repeated it. On any representation of the court of France being informed that the British court was making military preparations, he answered, that it was a mistake. This M. de Puisieux was continually saying to him, and his answer was ever the same. English policy is much more easy than the French, having but one path; so that whenonce a British minister has got into it, he need but go straight on.
I saw this minister sometimes; he spoke our language better than common, and expressed himself even with energy. He loved expence, and lived nobleman-like, but he appeared to me to have one fault, though indeed it is common to all the English; his very prodigalities had somthing of parsimony in them. George the Second, who had a great kindness for him, supplied his expences; for though he lived so high, he was very poor: an Englishman, who had known him at London, speaking of his arrival at Paris, said, “My Lord will get a mistress there, run in debt, and die by some accident.” The prophecy was fully accomplished: He lived with a girl, borrowed large sums, and died suddenly.
Lewis XV. was more constantly with me than ever; I had brought him to a custom of seeing me every day, and neverspending less than five or six hours in my apartment: I accompanied him in all the journies, and had my apartments in all the royal seats. The more I became acquainted with his Majesty, the more I perceived the exceeding goodness of his heart.
My husband loudly complained of my living at Versailles, and wrote to me a very passionate letter, full of reproaches against me, and still more against the King; amidst other indiscreet terms, calling him tyrant. As I was reading this letter, the King came into my apartment; I immediately thrust it into my pocket; the emotion with which I received his Majesty, shewed me to be under some disorder; I was for concealing the cause, but on his repeated instances, I put my husband’s letter into his hands. He read it through without the least sign of resentment: I assured him that I had no share in his temerity; and the better toconvince him of it, desired that he would punish the writer severely.No, Madam, said he to me, with that air of goodness which is so natural to him,your husband is unhappy, and should rather be pitied. History does not afford a like passage of moderation in an injured King. My spouse, on being informed of it, left the kingdom to travel.
Though the peace had diffused quiet through Europe, it caused violent agitations in the political bodies of France. The parliament of Paris, amidst its many remonstrances to Lewis XV. exhorted him in a very fine speech, to take off thetwentieth denier. The deputies of that body expressed themselves in this manner:
So many millions of men now in indigence, stand in need of immediate ease and relief; whereas, should they be still obliged to pay the twentieth denier, they will be quite unable to lift up their heads again, and repair their shatteredfortune, and hence a general despondency.
Whole families will be reduced to the most dreadful distress, and thus be afraid of leaving behind them a numerous issue, which would be a burden to them whilst living, and to whom they can transmit no other inheritance than their wretchedness.
The number of children, who are the hope and support of the state, will be continually decreasing, the villages will be thinned, trade languish, and the culture of land in a great measure at a stand. The ruin of the farmers will necessarily be followed by that of the nobility, as their estates will suffer a very considerable diminution; and thus these people, and that brave nobility, whose valour is their soul and chief resource, will be involved in one common ruin.
Count Saxe used to call the deputies of the parliament the great-chamber pedants.They are for teaching the administration, says he,what it knows better than themselves.They are always harping on the distempers of the state, without any word of a remedy.Once, as the first president was delivering a pathetic harangue before the King, proving the necessity of lessening the weight of the taxes, his Majesty cut him short with these words:Mr. President, let but the parliament enable me to pay off the state debts, and defray the present expences of the Monarchy, and very readily will I abolish every, tax, duty, and impost.
A man of wit, and who knows the French temper, used to say, that these useless representations were become necessary, as keeping up the people’s spirits, who, without a declared Protector, would think themselves for ever undone.
In Cardinal de Fleury’s indolent ministry, and the subsequent wars, the government had not been able to take into consideration an abuse which manifestly tended to dispeople the monarchy. Religion,in all wise governments, a source of population, was thinning the human species. All France was mouldering away in convents: every town and village had numerous communities of girls, who made vows against having children. The following letter, which I received from a nun at Lyons, and communicated to the King, occasioned deliberations for reforming this abuse.
“Madam,“I was at first for writing to the Pope, but, on farther reflection, I thought it would be full as well to apply to you. The point is this: when I was but seven years of age, my parents shut me up in the convent where I now am; and on my entering into my fifteenth year, two nuns signified to me an order to take the veil. I deferred complying for some time; for though quite a stranger to every thing but the house I was in, yet I suspectedthere must be another kind of world than the convent, and another state than that of a nun; but the sister ofJesus’s heart, our mother, in order to fix my call, said to me, that all women who married were damned, because they lie with a man, and bore children: this set me a-crying most bitterly for my poor mother, as burning eternally in hell for having brought me into the world.“I took the veil; but now that I am twenty years of age, and my constitution formed, I daily feel that I am not made for this state, and think I want something; and that something, or I am much mistaken, is a husband.“My talking continually of matrimony sets the community a-madding; the sister of theHoly Ghosttells me, that I am Jesus Christ’s spouse; but, for my part, I feel myself much inclinedto a second marriage with a man.“On a young girl’s coming into a convent, half a dozen wheedlers get about her, and never leave her till they have persuaded her to take the veil. Children are buried every day in monasteries, whilst their early age does not admit of any solid reflections on the vows they are drawn to make.“Let me intreat you, Madam, to persuade the King to reform this abuse; it is a reformation which both religion and the prosperity of the state call for. The sacrificing so many victims to the avarice of parents, is a great loss of people to the state, and the kingdom of heaven is not the fuller. God requires voluntary sacrifices, and these are the fruit of reflection. It is surprising, that the laws, in settling the age for our sex’s passing a civil contract, should forget the age formaking vows: is reason less necessary for contracting with God, than with men? This I submit to yours and his Majesty’s reflections: in the mean time, give me leave to be,Madam,Your most humble servant,SisterJoseph.”
“Madam,
“I was at first for writing to the Pope, but, on farther reflection, I thought it would be full as well to apply to you. The point is this: when I was but seven years of age, my parents shut me up in the convent where I now am; and on my entering into my fifteenth year, two nuns signified to me an order to take the veil. I deferred complying for some time; for though quite a stranger to every thing but the house I was in, yet I suspectedthere must be another kind of world than the convent, and another state than that of a nun; but the sister ofJesus’s heart, our mother, in order to fix my call, said to me, that all women who married were damned, because they lie with a man, and bore children: this set me a-crying most bitterly for my poor mother, as burning eternally in hell for having brought me into the world.
“I took the veil; but now that I am twenty years of age, and my constitution formed, I daily feel that I am not made for this state, and think I want something; and that something, or I am much mistaken, is a husband.
“My talking continually of matrimony sets the community a-madding; the sister of theHoly Ghosttells me, that I am Jesus Christ’s spouse; but, for my part, I feel myself much inclinedto a second marriage with a man.
“On a young girl’s coming into a convent, half a dozen wheedlers get about her, and never leave her till they have persuaded her to take the veil. Children are buried every day in monasteries, whilst their early age does not admit of any solid reflections on the vows they are drawn to make.
“Let me intreat you, Madam, to persuade the King to reform this abuse; it is a reformation which both religion and the prosperity of the state call for. The sacrificing so many victims to the avarice of parents, is a great loss of people to the state, and the kingdom of heaven is not the fuller. God requires voluntary sacrifices, and these are the fruit of reflection. It is surprising, that the laws, in settling the age for our sex’s passing a civil contract, should forget the age formaking vows: is reason less necessary for contracting with God, than with men? This I submit to yours and his Majesty’s reflections: in the mean time, give me leave to be,
Madam,Your most humble servant,SisterJoseph.”
The King thought that sisterJesus’s heart, and sisterHoly Ghost, had done wrong in drawing sister Joseph into the state of celibacy, as with such happy dispositions for marriage, she bid fair to have been a fruitful mother, and thus have benefited the state.
To suppress the aforesaid abuse, his Majesty issued an arret, forbidding all religious communities to admit a novice under twenty-four years of age and a day.
Other bodies, besides the parliament, continued setting forth to the court theimpossibility the people were under of paying thetwentieth denier. The states of Languedoc, with a peremptory kind of humility, represented that it was a load the province could by no means bear: the bishops, who usually employ their pens only in mandates, now wrote memorials on the public distress. The King ordered them not to meddle with money matters, and dissolved the assembly. The Duke de Richelieu, who was then at Montpellier, seconded the court’s injunctions, and restrained the bishops pens as much as he could.
On being thus debarred from writing or meeting, they appointed an extraordinary deputation to lay before the King the condition of the kingdom. They were admitted to audience; they made their speech, returned home, and thetwentieth denierwas levied.
A minister of state used frequently to say, that these representations only increasedthe public charges. Were the provinces to pay at first, they would save themselves the no small expences of journies, correspondencies, and deputations, not to mention monopolies, which, on these occasions, are unavoidable.
The states of Bretagne likewise offered their difficulties; but all the effect of the representations of both was, that the court appointed two intendants of the finances to go and settle the levying of that tax on those refractory provinces.
These dictatorial proceedings of the states led the council to take their meetings into consideration; and, for some days, it was deliberated, whether they should not be totally laid aside. A counsellor of state, who was for the dissolution, drew up a memorial, which the King was pleased to communicate to me. This piece having never been printed, consequently not known to the public, I shall give it a place here.
“The provincial states are of no use to France; such assemblies might have been necessary in those times, when each province formed a separate kingdom; but France being now united under one single government, can regulate its concerns sufficiently for itself, without any need of assemblies.
“These provincial states only keep a division between the Prince and the subject, and are an obstacle to the expeditious levying and collecting of the imposts.
“On his Majesty’s ordering a tax, however necessary it be, to defray the extraordinary expences, these states are sure to oppose it; and immediately the court is deluged with remonstrances, and Versailles crowded with deputies: the general affairs must be delayed to issue fresh orders, and answer those sent by the states, for their writings are rather orders than memorials.
“This suspension of ordinances has other very bad effects; the subjects, become accustomed not to obey, look on the wants of the state with the coldest indifference, and the public affairs go on heavily.
“The members of these assemblies are like so many petty sovereigns; their ascendency over the minds of the people being without bounds. An Archbishop of Narbonne, on his coming to Montpellier to open the states, is received with greater pomp than if Lewis XV. was to make his public entry.
“In a monarchical state, where the whole authority should proceed only from one centre, it is dangerous to divide it by subordinate bodies.
“These provincial states likewise affect morality and religion; those of Languedoc consist of twenty-four bishops, or archbishops, who thus are absentfrom their dioceses three months out of the twelve; leaving in their stead their vicars, who have neither the like regard or zeal for their flock; and in this interval, a relaxation in discipline and manners spreads every where.
“The luxury of these assemblies is equally scandalous, every bishop there having his court and courtiers, and keeping open table. Today the bishop of Alaix has thirty covers on his table; and to-morrow my Lord of Nismes gives an entertainment, to which fifty persons of distinction are invited; and so on.
“The dissolution of the states will be attended with no diminution in the finances. The free gift, which is the principal business of these assemblies, may be regulated like a common tax levied from year to year.”
The door of the provincial states being thus shut up, that of the assembly of theclergy immediately burst open: it was still the same object, but here discussed in great.
The business, as in the other assemblies, was thetwentieth denier, and the free gift: though this body, whenever called on by the King, pleads indigence, yet it knows that it is so far accounted rich, that all its studied speeches, on those occasions, cannot bring the public to think it poor.
It endeavours therefore to compound with the King, and this time offered seven millions and a half to be exempted from the impost. I have heard a person, very well skilled in such affairs, say, that the clergy should not be allowed to compound for taxes; but that if any composition were to be admitted, it ought to be with the commonalty; which, as being most burthened, should be preferred before all the other bodies put together.
The affairs of the closet did not interrupt the court entertainments: the King hunted as usual, came to the plays, and every day supped with me in the little apartments. A tender and affectionate friendship now closely united us; desire was superseded by a calm inclination; the friend had succeeded the mistress; our hearts glowed with all the complacency arising from passions, without any of the disagreeable circumstances accompanying them. Several women had inspired Lewis XV. with love, but not one had he met with of a turn to make him feel the delights of friendship, which a generous soul will always prefer. The former is a commerce of pleasures, the gratification of which is almost ever followed by disgust: the second is a mild settled delight, resident in the mind, and if it does not minister any relish to the senses, is more lasting, lively, and refined. The King himself, at this time, assuredme, that had he at first felt the delights of friendship, he should never have given himself up to those of love. All passion was now subsided in him; for this name is not to be given to those desultory gallantries, when the constitution only prompts to pleasure, without any concurrence of the heart.
This excellent Prince often said to me, that he was happy in having a real friend, to whom he could communicate his satisfactions and his troubles, for kings have theirs like other men; one of his greatest was the distresses of the people, and the impossibility of relieving them so speedily as he could have wished. He laid open to me the whole state of his mind, without any reserved secrets; all his heart was as well known to me as my own: it was an uneasiness for us to part, and we always met again with redoubled pleasure.
The King, as I said in the beginning of these Memoirs, had, soon after my firstappearance at court, made me Marchioness de Pompadour; and, that I might remain there with the greater decency, created mea Lady of the palace. This new place should have convinced all Europe, that there was no other commerce between his Majesty and me than what arose from esteem and friendship. But ill-nature pursues its point, regardless of all probabilities; and the state-malcontents picked out this passage of my life to mangle my reputation, &c.
To return to politics: business went on at Versailles with great dispatch, that the King might the sooner have the satisfaction he so passionately desired, of diminishing the imposts, and making his people enjoy the benefits of peace.
The marine was the principal point in view: M. Rouillé had hastily got together a little fleet, which, putting to sea, gave no small umbrage to the English. TheBritish nation, with all its natural composure, is all in flames at the bare mention of a French navy: concerning this, I remember a jest at that time,that the Britons could not close their eyes since France had an eye to its maritime concerns; and that were we to build a hundred ships of the line, not a soul in England would have any sleep.
This navy, however, was but a-beginning, and far short of what was intended. Yet could England ask France, “what was the destination of these ships?” M. de Puisieux gave my Lord Albemarle for answer, “that the King of France was not accountable to any power in Europe; that France was at peace with Great Britain; and that, consequently, the latter had nothing to apprehend from those ships.”
The court of St. James’s seemed satisfied; yet more closely watched our measures.
The government’s attention was for some time taken up with books; the French, than whom perhaps no people in Europe are more restrained in their speeches, sillily affect to be the first in their thoughts. They print their notions on what comes uppermost, and the government is ever the first thing to fall under their pen. It is said that this licentiousness is owing to the above restraint; and I have heard that were not so many authors sent to the Bastile, Paris would not swarm with them as it does.
Very few of these seditious writings will bear reading, some of them are not so much as worth alettre de cachet. To make the authors of mere trash the King’s pensioners, is doing them too much honour.
Though the assembly of the clergy granted every thing required, it did not give every thing. On which the courtsent a remonstrance to that body, which it answered with another remonstrance; but herein it so little observed the bounds of moderation, that the King dissolved the assembly, and confined the bishops to their dioceses. The next day a courtier said in the King’s anti-chamber, “that they ought to be sent out of the kingdom, and priests put in their places:” this act of prerogative so humbled the prelates, that they offered to comply with all his Majesty’s pleasure.
A nobleman said to the King,Sir, if your Majesty will be no more troubled with the clergy’s remonstrances, a sure way will be, to forbid the bishops coming to Paris; they will assent to the free gifts, or to any terms, only allow them to live there.
However, this affair of the bishops disturbed the King; and one day he said to me, with some emotion,They are perpetuallyvexing me. No sooner have I raised a poor ecclesiastic to a dignity of a hundred thousand livres a year, than he sets up for a leading man among the clergy, and votes against the free gift. Sir, said I to him,methinks there is a way of satisfying all. The crown should, on the death of the present possessor, appropriate to itself half of the revenue of the larger benefices. This would be no tax on any one. There is not a subject in France, designed for the church, who would not think himself under the highest obligations to your Majesty, in conferring on him an abbey, or a bishopric, with a revenue less, by half, than what the present possessor makes of it. I take upon me to bring about the composition; I make no doubt but that I shall find, in the kingdom, two hundred ecclesiastics, who will gladly set their hands to such an agreement.
This diminution cannot be accounted unjust, your Majesty having the nomination toall the large benefices in the kingdom; and the giver is always master of his gifts. No complaint lies against a Prince, who, instead of a hundred and twenty thousand livres a year, which he can bestow on one of his subjects, gives him sixty thousand, &c. &c.
These few words, spoken only cursorily, were, a few days after, followed by an express memorial addressed to the Count de St. Florentine, and which he presented to the King.
M E M O R I A LOn the inequality of the taxes raised onthe Clergy.
“It is a received maxim in economics, that a geometrical equality in the levying of taxes lessens the weight of them. A burden borne by all the members of a body is always light.
“The uneasiness of the clergy concerning the free-gift, and other impositions, towards answering thenecessities of the state, proceeds not so much from the impositions, as from the assessments. The dignitaries, who should pay the most, always pay the least, considering their incomes. The whole load falls on the poor parish priests, and other country incumbents, who have scarce a subsistence, and are more burthened as clergymen than as subjects.
“That the assembly of the bishops tax themselves, and the whole ecclesiastical body, is not a privilege belonging to the clergy, but a mere indulgence of the Kings of France, granted then with a proviso, that the assessments should be equitable, and that the inferior priests, who are the King’s subjects no less than the greater ecclesiastics, should not be overcharged.
“The tax is rated by the income, which is an iniquitous assessment: apriest with only a hundred crowns a year, paying a crown, in effect, is rated much higher than a bishop, who, with a hundred thousand livres a year, pays a thousand: a yearly income of ninety-nine thousand livres being ever more or less superfluous; whereas he who has only a hundred crowns, by being deprived of one, must feel it in the very necessaries of life.
“The inferior clergy are the King’s subjects equally with the higher. To allow the bishops to tax priests, because they are subordinate to them, is a manifest error in government, the spiritual power having no claims in temporals. The imposition and assessments of taxes appertains to the crown, the mitre has nothing to do in it.
“The whole body of the clergy should be taxed once for all, like the body of the laity: what tax the clergy can paymay be easily known; it is only taking an account of the several sums which the clergy has paid for these last twenty years; the twentieth part of the amount will be a fair yearly tax, as in twenty years an exact calculation may be made of the periodical wants of the state. In this interval, all the revolutions may be reduced to a general sum.
“It may be left to the clergy’s choice to pay the tax, without holding an assembly: this might be done by a tarif on the large and small dignities and benefices, or the tax might be levied by the King’s officers, as on the other subjects of the state.
“The latter most comports with the dignity of the crown, and will likewise be more advantageous. As the church is daily making acquisitions, and its general opulence is continually increasing by donations, the clergy’s paymentsshould be raised in proportion to their aggrandizement.
“This rise of the clergy’s tax would be no more than what takes place in the common imposts. Artificers and tradespeople pay more in proportion to their thriving, though this be by their own labour and industry.”
The American affairs, of which not a word had been heard since the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, now began to employ the court’s attention. The English complained, by their ambassador, my Lord Albemarle, that the French countenanced the Indians in their practices, and, underhand instigated them to molest their settlement in Nova Scotia. M. de Puisieux told the British minister, that the people at London were mistaken; “The court of France, said he, knows nothing of this supposed instigation; and, very probably, it exists only in the suspicious minds of the English.”
However, the first sparks of that fire, which was to kindle the war a fresh, already began to appear. Advice came from Canada, that the Indians were in motion; and though the cabinet of Versailles did not give direct orders to the French to oppose any such motion, neither did it tell them not to do so. This silence left the commanders to guess how they were to act; accordingly, they did not declare openly, but let second causes take their course.
A minister of a foreign court, formerly allied with France, and who, at that time, was frequently with M. de Puisieux, put into his hands a memorial on this head, which the King never saw, and it was not till long after that I read it.
“France, said that piece, is not yet in a condition to go to war again: things should be left to remain as they are, till she is able to cope with England; otherwise every thing will beruined. The war by sea will give the turn to that by land: Great Britain will chuse this juncture for inducing the King of Prussia to declare against France, which thus will have two weighty wars on its hands, and only for a continent of no great importance, and which, at last, it will certainly lose, for the events of this war may be easily foreseen.
“The English navy is much superior to that of France; and the King of Prussia has two hundred thousand well disciplined men, ready, at the first order, to march, and make a powerful diversion in Germany; and, with the addition of those in England, will unquestionably turn the scale in the north. France is very well as it is, and should aim at nothing beyond keeping itself so, till a favourable opportunity shall enable it to do better.
“Nothing in America calls for haste; you will always have time enough to make good your claims there: the Savages are your friends; they cannot endure the English. At present interfere no farther than fomenting this variance without promoting it; the time will come when you may make your own use of it: precipitancy spoils the most promising affairs; whereas time and patience bring every thing to bear.
“Don’t imagine that your intrigues with the Americans blind Europe; the most clandestine practices of courts are always detected. Already, you are made accountable for the proceedings of the Canadians, though you appear not to concern yourselves about them. It is known to all Europe, that the North American savages act without any continued design, when not spirited up and directed. Every body knowsthose automata have no will of their own, saying and doing only just as they are bid to do.
“Your navy is but in its infancy, scarce begun to be formed, so that a war only of two years would totally destroy it. Before engaging in a war, there is a sure way of knowing whether it should be undertaken, which is to weigh the advantages of the conquests with the disadvantages of the defeats.
“Should you beat the English at sea, which is a circumstance out of all probability, you will retain North America, which you already have; if beaten, and here the likelihood lies, you will lose America, and perhaps all your other colonies, for one conquest ever leads to another.
“The English, though beginning the war only on account of Canada, will avail themselves of their first victory to enlarge their views: and the courtof St. James’s may afterwards strike out such a scheme of destruction to France, as perhaps, at present, it does not think of.
“A great disadvantage to France, is its having no ally who can help it to recover its losses against the English: the Spanish navy is in no better condition than that of France; and the Dutch rejoice in a war between the maritime powers, were it only for the vast advantages accruing to them from their neutrality. A continental power may retrieve the loss of a battle by a subsequent victory; a more experienced general, better disciplined troops, or more favourable circumstances, will give a turn to a land-war; but the maritime concerns of France are so situated, that a colony taken from it is lost for ever; its ships, the only means of bringing it again into the path of victory, being destroyed.”
This memorial, however approved by some politicians to whom I have since shewed it, had not the effect which might have been expected; another, afterwards presented to the same Minister, set the same object in a very different light.
It is said that the members of the English parliament being generally of contrary opinions, long debates are very frequent in that assembly; and that these debates produce lights, from which the hearers receive great improvement, and become better qualified to serve their country. It is otherwise in France: here the contrariety of opinions only bewilders the understanding, and increases the confusion.
“The Canada affair, said the last writer, too nearly concerns the French monarchy, to be left as it is. Every minute we lose diminishes our power, and augments that of our enemies. The war ought to have been continued,had not second causes forced the government into a peace; but those causes no longer subsisting, we should take up arms again.
“The English will never keep within the limits assigned by the commissaries. They will, by skirmishes and secret practices, be ever endeavouring to come beyond those barriers: they must be prevented in time, their schemes must be destroyed at their very first appearance, otherwise it will be too late.
“The loss of Canada would be an inconceivable detriment to France. It is that to which England owes its being mistress of the sea, opening to it numberless branches of commerce, which it would never have known without being possessed of this continent.
“Though we have no great navy, yet have we shipping enough; a sea quarrelis not the point, but a land war. It is enough for us to send over some troops to Canada; the American affairs have no connection with those of our country. Should any disturbances happen in Germany, they will spring from a quite different cause; and if the King of Prussia declares against France, it will be for some particular views of his own, quite foreign to our colonies; he would declare himself, if we had no dispute with the Britons about Canada.
“It is not the first time of our having several wars on our hands, or, rather, it is impossible that we should have but one at a time.
“Our concerns are so closely linked with the other powers of Europe, that on our arming, five or six princes cannot avoid declaring.
“The situation of affairs in Canada lays us under a necessity of renewingthe war: we cannot continue in the state we now are in; the capital effort of our politics should be to recover the advantage which we lost by means of the English.
“Amidst all the magnified superiority of the British navy, its successes are not so certain as supposed. Advantages in war depend on a great number of unforeseen events. It is often observed, that the certain expectation of a victory has suddenly turned into the disappointment of a defeat.
“England has not had time, since the peace, to increase its marine; its naval force is, at this day, just as it was at the end of the war. Before the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, we could defend ourselves at sea, and still can: but if we defer any longer, the time will be over; for the British navy now is encreasing every day. Our’s will be somuch inferior, as not to dare to shew its face before them; and then we shall be obliged to relinquish North America.
“Let us, without delay, begin the war again, and then we shall drive the English out of Canada; whereas, by continuing the peace, they will dispossess us. This is no time for parlying; we must either give up that part of America to England, or prepare to dispute it.
“The savage nations are our allies, they mortally hate the English; and shall we delay availing ourselves of such a favourable disposition? A people without any fixed laws, is naturally given to change. The Canadians love war, and despise such nations as live in peace: twenty years inactivity would give them an ill opinion of the French; whereas, seeing us at war with a nationwhom they hate, they will esteem us, and come into a closer alliance with us than before, &c.”
These memorials made no alteration in the general system; both sides continued to dissemble, and express a desire of cultivating the peace. England applied itself to increase its navy, and France sent orders to Brest and Rochfort, for building ships with the utmost dispatch.
Amidst the most earnest concern to redress the calamities of the state, no expedients could be found for so great and good an end. The people could not be relieved but by abolishing the taxes; and the expences of the state could not be answered but by new imposts: every branch of the government was embarrassed; so that the King often said to me, with a painful sense of such a situation,I know not where to begin.
The advantages of the encouragement of tillage, the improvement of arts,the increase of trade, the discharge of the national debt, were only in perspective; whereas the people stood in need of present relief. Observing that the public affairs greatly affected the King’s temper and constitution, I contrasted them with diversions. I may say, the most gay and striking conceits of imagination, for pleasing the senses, were now exhibited at Versailles. In all the entertainments which I gave to the Monarch, there was little of my own; I had people of taste at Paris who furnished me with original materials, to which I only gave a few retouches.
Amidst all my inventions to draw the court from that mournful state which the perplexity of affairs shed on it, I perceived that the King was not so chearful as I could have desired. He had a cloudiness in his looks, which were naturally sprightly; he was, likewise, more thoughtful than usual. Alarmedat this lugubrious scene, I took the liberty to ask his Majesty the cause of so unhappy an alteration. He vaguely answered, “that he was not sensible of any alteration, and that my company still was his chief delight:” the revolution, however, was but too certain.
My enemies having miscarried in their design of inducing the King to remove me from court, by political motives, set religion to work; and no less a person than his Majesty’s confessor was put at the head of this cabal. He was a Jesuit with only morality for his instrument; but as that, with a Prince, seldom gets the better of pleasure, he contrived a way which struck my Monarch.
This reverend father employed one of the best hands in Paris, in a picture representing the torments of hell. Several crowned heads seemed chained down in dreadful sufferings; there was no beholding their contortions without shuddering.This infernal master-piece he made a present of to Lewis XV. The King having viewed it for some time with a frown, asked the meaning of the picture, the very thing the son of Loyola wanted.
“Sire, said he, the Prince you see there suffering eternal torments, was an ambitious Monarch, who sacrificed his people to his vain delight in glory and power. He next to him, whom the devils are insulting, was an avaricious monarch, who laid up in his coffers immense treasures, squeezed from his oppressed subjects. This third wretch was an indolent sovereign, who minded nothing, and instead of governing by himself, left every thing to his ministers, whose incapacity produced infinite mischiefs. This fourth, whose sufferings exceed those of the others, his crime being greater, was a voluptuous King, openly keeping a concubineat his court; and by this scandalous example had filled his kingdom with debauchery, &c.”
The allegory was coarse, and becoming a monk, who, in the want of the means to attain his ends in this world, has recourse to things of the other life. Lewis XV. who saw into the drift of the picture, ordered the moralist to withdraw, but the impression remained.
This was not the first time that the churchmen had presumed on their office, and abused the King’s goodness. A prelate had made him perform an ignominious act of penitence when sick at Metz.
I used fresh endeavours to relieve the King from this return of languor, and had in a great measure succeeded, when a family concern brought on a severe relapse.
The Dauphin was now in his twenty-second year, which, by the custom ofFrance, intitled him to be intrusted with the affairs of the crown. This Prince had always shewn the most submissive deference to the King his father, but of late had put himself at the head of a party, most of whom were my enemies: they exposed me with all the venom of scurrility, and even brought in the King. Lewis XV. knew it, and this was what occasioned that inward conflict which gave him so much trouble. After communicating his situation to me, he said,And what would you do, Madam, in such a case?“Sire, answered I, I would admit his Royal Highness the Dauphin into every council, and allow him all the honours due to his rank and birth.”Well, said the King,I will follow your advice; and soon after the Dauphin saw himself sent for on every important deliberation.
M. de Machault, then at the head of the finances, left no stone unturned toput them in a good condition: he was urged on every side. M. Rouillé asked very large sums to form a navy; the payers of annuities were perpetually at his elbow, and his apartment was never clear of those who had advanced money in the late war. He one day said to the King, in my hearing,Sire, I know not how in the world, I shall answer your engagements; every body is making demands on me, and no body will give me any credit.
Marshal Belleisle, to whom that laborious minister often used to pour forth his lamentations, told him, “Sir, I see but one way for you, which is to make the state a bankrupt. When a machine is out of order, the only remedy is to stop its motion, and to set it to rights again.”
This advice, however, was not followed; and instead of stopping the machine of the finances, in order to setit to rights again, it remained in all its former disorder. I have somewhere, among my papers, a scheme for discharging the national debt, in which the author, who was accounted a very skilful economist, advanced, that, for the settlement of an invariable order in the finances, the state, every twenty-five years, should declare itself insolvent; and the creditors compound with the King, as with a private insolvent.
“France, said this paper, will not hear of making itself a bankrupt, but the way it takes to avoid it, is still more burthensome; for when the King’s debts grow troublesome, does he not lay very onerous imposts on the people for the payment of them? Now this is a remedy worse than the disease, because the collecting of a tax, it is known, falls little short of doubling it. He extorts from one to pay another;a bankruptcy would ruin only a part of his subjects, whereas the means of payment impoverishes every body.”
I am not sufficiently acquainted with finances, to determine whether a wise King, in order to make his people easy, should begin by forfeiting the confidence of the wealthy part of his subjects. There are always some exceptionable things in these kinds of memorials. A person of a great genius has often told me, “that should all the fine projects, for making France the most opulent state in Europe, be carried into execution, it would perhaps make it the very poorest in the universe.”
The particular favour with which Lewis XV. continued to honour me, drew great numbers to my apartment, so that I had every morning a full court: some persons of eminence appeared there purely to please the King; but the business of the multitude was interest. Ihad brought the latter to give me memorials, as otherwise, I could never have recollected so many different objects. It is impossible for those who live at a distance from court, to conceive the various classes of askers, and what a number of favours the throne has the pleasure of bestowing.
I have read, in an original paper, that Lewis XIV. allowed all his subjects, who had any demand to make at court, to apply directly to himself. Had such an indulgence been continued under the present reign, Lewis XV’s whole life would have been taken up only in giving audiences. These memorials I had read to me, and afterwards talked them over to the King.
Besides those who asked favours, I was likewise teazed with complainers, and indeed these were usually more in number than the others.
In so large a kingdom as France, it is scarce possible to prevent all abuses; some necessarily arise from the very constitution, and the maintenance of political order. But one complaint so particularly struck me, that I thought it deserved to be laid before the King. This was the disregard of the children of officers dying in the service of their country.
A general officer, if no gentleman by birth, though, by his courage, he had secured the privileges both of the throne and nobility, leaving issue, they were excluded from nobility; and soon coming to intermix with the commonalty, no trace remained of the families which had performed the greatest services to the state: a hero’s atchievements died with him, his posterity were never the better for his exploits. This I mentioned to the King with a sensible concern, and some time after his Majesty, ever inclined to what was good and proper, issued anedict, ennobling military officers and their posterity. The different degrees of this nobility were specified in the edict, according to the different ranks of the officers.
No body in the kingdom apprehended that I had any share in this resolution; so that, unless my papers should be looked over, posterity will never know that this establishment, which gave so much satisfaction, was owing to me.