WRITTEN BY HERSELF.
Wherein are Displayed
The Motives of the Wars, Treaties of Peace, Embassies, and Negotiations, in the several Courts of Europe:
The Cabals and Intrigues of Courtiers; the Characters of Generals, and Ministers of State, with the Causes of their Rise and Fall; and, in general, the most remarkable Occurrences at the Court of France, during the last twenty Years of the Reign of Lewis XV.
Translated from the French.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
L O N D O N:
Printed for P. V a i l l a n t, in the Strand; and
W. J o h n s t o n, in Ludgate-Street.
MDCCLXVI.
M E M O I R S
O F T H E
Marchioness of Pompadour.
LEWIS XV. as I have said in another place, visited me habitually. He could not dispense with my company, which was become absolutely necessary to him: but this inclination had not entirely removed a taste for transitory amours. He yielded to them by constitution; but never reflected on them without repentance. After an adventure of gallantry, he was more constant than ever. Remorse brought him back to himself and to me. I may venture to say, that I enjoyed his infidelity; and had he been entirely divested of it, he would have given way to some other passion, that would have separated him from me. I was under apprehensions for some time that his mind would take a warlike turn: I desired Maurice count Saxe, who regularly paid his court to him, after the campaigns in Flanders, not to dwell so much upon battles and sieges: but Lewis assured me, as I have already mentioned, that he had sacrificed this inclination to the welfare of France.
The king had for some time devoted himself to politics; but this study no way interfered with his amusements. He applied himself to it through that beneficent disposition, which naturally prompts him to solace his people. He was desirous of being possessed of the present state of Europe: M. De Belleisle furnished him with it. The king shewed it to me: it was a system of political-topography. The Marshal entered into a minute detail upon the power of each government. He took a review of all Europe, and stipulated the state of the forces of the different people.
M. de Noailles, who saw this state of Europe, said, “That there was too much geometry in it; that the republic of Christendom was subject to so many revolutions, which derived their origin from so many secondary causes, wherewith politics had no kind of connexion, that cabinets frequently obtained honour from what was the mere effect of fortune. France, said he to me, exerted her influence to acquire Lorrain: Cardinal Richelieu could not succeed in the business, and Mazarin miscarried; accident threw it into the hands of France under the administration of cardinal de Fleuri.
“Europe was engaged for near two hundred years in negociation and war, to prevent the crown of Spain devolving to any branch of the house of Bourbon. The will of a weak and languishing prince bequeathed it entirely to France, at a time that Lewis XIV. did not even think of being included in the treaty of partition.
“The English never could have imagined making a conquest of Gibraltar, which gave them an ascendency in the ocean, and made them masters of the Mediterranean; when the same accident that gave Spain to the house of Bourbon, produced them the acquisition of that important fortress, which they have ever since retained, though the reasons that induced them to gain possession of it no longer subsist, &c.
“If we were to recur to the origin of great revolutions, we should find that fortune governed the world, and that policy, which would reduce all events to rule, prevails too much in the cabinet of princes. He added, that these enumerations of the power of the states of Europe are useless, as it is not strength that regulates the fate of governments, but a certain combination of accidents, in opposition to which neither negociations nor armies can prevail.”
I do not at present recollect the precise terms in which this memorial of M. de Belleisle was conceived; I only remember that he concluded with these words: “France cannot be hurt by all the great states of Europe: Prussia only is to be feared, and England dreaded.”
Though the king had for some time been fond of talking of state affairs, he was so polite as to dwell but little upon them in my company. Notwithstanding what I have said of his gravity, there is no man in France so agreeable at a tÊte-a-tÊte, as Lewis XV. He is some days so happy and vivacious, as even to inspire mirth and joy.
I have frequently mentioned his goodness; I shall now give a little anecdote, which will corroborate what I have said upon that head. One night, after having been pretty late with me in my apartments, he told me he should not dine with me the next day (as he frequently used to do) having resolved to go to Marli, where he should remain till towards the evening. My brother Marigni paid me a morning visit that day, and as I was quite alone, I desired him to stay and dine with me. We conversed together for some time, after which he went to take a turn in Versailles gardens, till it was the hour to go to dinner.
The king altered his mind and did not go a riding. Instead of going to Marli, he came to dine with me. He observed the table laid with two covers, and as he had the day before acquainted me with his intended journey, he testified his surprise, asking me for whom I had intended the second cover. “Sire, I replied, my brother came to see me this morning, and as I was alone, I invited him to dine with me; but as your majesty does me that honour yourself, I shall send to acquaint him that he cannot be a guest.” No, replied the king, your brother is one of the family; instead of removing the cover that was laid for him, only lay another, and we will all three dine together. My brother returned, and the king behaved to him with all possible politeness. This is not an important anecdote, but it displays this prince’s regard, even in the most minute affairs.
M. RouillÉ furnished the king every day with fresh estimates, by which it appeared that the marine was re-established. This minister publickly said in 1751, that he had seventy ships of the line, and thirty frigates; but he said that he had more than there really were. Ministers, in general, increase their plan; they almost constantly confound the establishments already made, with those that still remain to be made, and these latter frequently never take place.
A man of understanding said to me at that time, that if France had a fleet of seventy men of war or frigates, ready to put to sea, the great object of the French marine would be accomplished. This same person averred, that we wanted no more to face the English, who have not a greater number of ships fit for engagement; for, added he, we must not confound the coasting cruizers, and those which are destined for convoys; they are not comprised among the number of ships of the line.
The English embassador was ordered to keep a watchful eye upon M. RouillÉ and all his operations, in order to acquaint his court therewith. He no longer asked the administration, as was customary with him, what we intended to do with so many ships, because he had frequently had for answer, that the court of France was not obliged to give Great-Britain an account of what she did.
The king made a promotion of sea officers; commodores were appointed, captains and old lieutenants were promoted, and there was so much bustle made about the state of the marine, that the court of London began to take umbrage at it.
A foreign embassador told me one day upon this occasion, that he discerned a great error in the French government, that is to say, “that we make a shew of ourselves to all Europe and our enemies. He added, there are no secrets of state at Versailles; all Christendom is informed of the designs of France, long before she is in a condition to execute them, whereby they are frustrated.”
An affair that no way related to France, excited the attention of the king for a short time. The Genoese (an unsteady people, and who have never been in a state of tranquility since the foundation of their republic) had carried on a war for a long time against the Corsicans, whom they stiled rebels, whilst the Corsicans gave them the appellation of tyrants. There had been several engagements between them, which served only to protract the war, as peace must ever be the result of a reconciliation of sentiments. Hatred and antipathy had barred all the avenues to a mediation. Their aversion to each other surpassed their reciprocal dread. If religion itself had fomented a division, it could not have been more animated.
Marshal Belleisle, speaking to me of this war, often told me that the Genoese would never be rulers over the Corsicans; for which he assigned this reason; “When the principal state combats with its subjects, the first battle must decide the quarrel, otherwise it will remain for a long time undetermined. Rebels, who by sieges and battles, poise the sovereign authority, no longer bear the name of subjects, but adopt that of enemies; for the force of arms, which destroys all privilege, restores the level.”
Such people as are in subjection to kings, would no longer be so, if they were capable of throwing off their submission; for subordination was not agreed upon by convention, but compelled by violence or open force. So that a people who throw off the yoke, are not rebels any farther than their ill conduct in the revolution, and their ignorance to procure the means of success, give them this title.
The Genoese, after fruitless endeavours to reduce the Corsicans, took a wrong step in addressing themselves to foreign powers; France, of whom they had asked succours, furnished them with some troops and a commander. The Venetian embassador, who was then at Paris, said upon this occasion; “That the Genoese, who were reckoned to be people of great memory, had lost their recollection with regard to France, as they forgot that she bombarded Genoa in the time of Lewis XIV. and that the republic narrowly escaped from destruction through her, in the reign of Lewis XV.”
The Genoese officers, whom the senate had appointed and sent to that island for the defence of their rights, were greater foes to the republic than they were to the Corsicans, seeking disputes with the French mediators, under pretence that they excited those islanders to hold them in contempt. If the allegation had been just, they should have connived at it, and pursued, without interruption, the restoration of peace. But envy, that vice so natural to Italians, and particularly the Genoese, occasioned this dissention. They saw with jealous eyes, foreigners interfering in a peace, all the honour of which they were desirous of keeping to themselves. The republic, equally jealous of their own officers, as these were of the French, took another ill-judged measure, by making application to the court of Versailles, to know how they should act against themselves, and what satisfaction the king required. Any other nation would rather have given up their interest with respect to Corsica, which even France could not bring back to its duty, than to have thus humbled themselves: but the republic of Genoa have been long accustomed to meanness and submission.
“The Genoese, said the King, deserve to be punished, by my interfering no longer with their affairs: but they have paved the way for my son Don Philip into Italy, and I owe them some acknowledgment—this predominates in my heart over the resentment which their conduct deserves.”
Lewis XV. who had appointed M. de Chauvelin plenipotentiary in the island of Corsica, to terminate matters in an amicable manner, gave him fresh instructions to hasten his negociation, and new orders were dispatched to the marquis of Cursai, who commanded the French troops.
These two mediators settled the place for holding a congress, and peace was in appearance concluded. All formalities were observed: Harangues were made at the opening of the assemblies, and flowers of rhetoric were scattered amongst an ignorant and barbarous people. The Corsicans stretched their large ears to these studied orations, but did not understand a syllable. They replied with acclamations, and the orators imagined they had seduced them by their eloquence.
After these speeches, the treaty, or regulation between the Republic and the Corsicans, was brought upon the carpet. Each party thereby retained prerogatives which made them independent of each other; that is to say, the subjects of this republic were treating for their liberty. The Corsicans terminated by negociation, what they could not accomplish by arms.
When the articles of the treaty were sent to Versailles, Marshal Belleisle publickly said, “That the Republic had submitted too much: that they should have granted an amnesty to the rebels, and not have treated with them: that subjects who have thrown off the yoke, in returning to their duty, should obtain nothing but pardon. He added, that the Corsicans should either be punished as guilty of treason, or else abandoned as rebels; for subjects who are sufficiently powerful to oblige their sovereign to treat with them, are not faithful enough to submit long to obedience.”
These reflexions appeared to be the more justly founded, as all these negotiations soon became useless, and a war was presently after rekindled.
Be this as it may, the Genoese were for the present left here, the attention of every one being taken up with news from Asia, which greatly flattered the king’s expectations. We were informed from India, that the Nabob had confidence enough in France, to place his political interest in the hands of a Frenchman, named Dupleix; and that the nation of the Marats, who were subject to the Nabob, had appointed him their commander in chief.
It is said that Lewis XIV. who was animated with every kind of glory, was sensibly struck with the information given him by an embassador from the king of Siam, who was delegated to acquaint him that his name was held in great veneration in those states. He testified more public joy, and was more flattered with this honour, than if he had obtained an important conquest.
The peace concluded with the Nabob, and the confidence which this prince reposed in France, were objects of far greater consequence. They increased the riches of the state, whereas the embassy from Siam had no other effect than flattering the monarch’s vanity.
Dupleix became at once plenipotentiary and generalissimo; he stipulated the terms of the treaty of peace, and received the command. These two posts were preceded by an important negociation, without which he could never have obtained them; he fixed the unsteady disposition of the Marats. This nation had been hitherto divided into various factions, who, in weakening themselves, prevented France deriving any advantage from them. This foreigner upbraided them with their impolitic conduct, and taught them to pursue connected views, and an uniform system.
This Dupleix was not, however, any great genius: but there are people who perform great things with very little capacity. We have since seen him at Paris fallen from the pinnacle of his fame, and at length give up his breath with the reputation of a man, who, so far from having been capable of governing India, had not talents sufficient to regulate his own houshold affairs.
He had a great law-suit with the India company. This quarrel is equally remarkable by the nature of the demand, as by that of the refusal. The Nabob’s general declared, that the directors were indebted to him several millions, and the directors set forth that they owed him nothing. There is, in general, ingratitude on the one side, and but little acknowledgment on the other. The memorials that were published upon this occasion, produced at least this advantage, they opened the eyes of the government with respect to many things relative to India, which they would never have been acquainted with, had not these publications taken place.
I made business, pleasure, and amusements, by turns succeed at Versailles, which still prevented the king’s serious reflexions. Lewis XV. existed, I may say, by a constitution which I communicated to him, and this factitious temperament hindered his own prevailing. I believe he would have been at length overcome without that art which I employed to repress nature. Notwithstanding this precaution, there were moments in which he gave himself up to melancholy. It was then necessary to invent new pleasures, in order to excite fresh sensations. As soon as I perceived these produced no effect, I redoubled my attention to substitute others that might be more prevalent.
Religion was the greatest obstacle I had to surmount, for the King was very devout. He prayed regularly, and went every day to mass, but did not perform his Easter-devotions. This estrangement from the sacraments arose rather from an excess of delicacy, than a contempt for the communion. His transitory amours separated him from the sacrament, which he feared to prophane. The jesuit who enjoyed the title of his confessor, had made various attempts to conquer his delicacy upon this head. His power would then have been more extensive, as his penitent would have been more at his devotion; but Lewis XV. never submitted.
I was judged a proper instrument to hint something to the monarch upon this subject; but it was necessary that I should begin by convincing myself, in order to persuade the King. This was thought an easy matter; people of the first rank, and of considerable dignity in the church, but who shall not be named here, fearing that the Roman catholic religion might appear to lose ground to the enemies of the state, undertook this great work.
I was not much versed in this kind of matters; for the women of Paris have no more religion than what is just necessary to prevent their having none at all.
These able theologists settled it as a principle, “That scandal in a king was the greatest evil he could be guilty of: that he is the mirrour, where every one looks to see himself: that his example carries with it that of the state: that from the time the King did not commune, there were upwards of a million of subjects in France, who no longer partook of the sacraments: that the desertion from the holy table was become general,” &c. &c.
Then speaking of constitutions, they added, “That God had given power to his ministers to absolve past sins; that repentance effaced in heaven crimes committed upon earth: that the Divinity, in forming man, had been obliged to give way to his weaknesses: that we should always fulfil our christian obligations, notwithstanding the continual temptations with which the heart of man is surrounded,” &c. &c.
In a word, I saw through these maxims of the fathers of the church, that the King, in order to be a good catholic, should be regularly guilty of profanation of the sacrament once a year.
I refused taking upon myself this moral commission. I had a glimpse of those consequences which might have affected myself. This prince’s approaching the communion table, must necessarily have caused a revolution in him. I was under less apprehension for the King’s religion, than the intrigues of churchmen. The confessor was particularly to be dreaded. He is always powerful, when the monarch is frequently at his feet.
Neither did I advise the King to absent himself from the holy table. I left things just as they were.
Peace, which had restored political tranquility, of itself produced fresh divisions in the state. Churchmen, the clergy, and the parliament, who in time of war, unite themselves to the administration, to participate of public misfortunes, in their turn create them, when battles and sieges are passed: so that by a fatality, which is, perhaps, derived from the constitution itself, France must always be armed to avoid domestic quarrels; or continually wage war with herself, to prevent that of the enemy. I have heard very able politicians say, that this arises from the government’s not being sufficiently powerful to suppress divisions abroad, nor sufficiently absolute to destroy dissentions at home: a mixed state that will one day make it a prey to its enemies, or a victim to its subjects.
A trifling affair gave rise to a great misunderstanding between the court and the parliament, which was the distribution of the alms collected for the mendicants. The directors of the hospital of Paris had never yet been blamed by either the court or the city, because the war had engaged the attention of the government; but peace being restored, which gave them leisure to inspect into the minutest affairs, they at length took this into consideration.
The archbishop of Paris claimed this jurisdiction by right; the King was of the same opinion; but the parliament judged differently, and henceforward representations and deputations took place. A Prince of the blood royal said upon this occasion, The parliament of Paris must have very little to do, when they quarrel with the King about beggars.
Lewis XV. issued an arret in favour of the archbishop; it was to be registered, and now dissention broke out. The parliament went to Versailles and came back—they met, they adjourned; but the King shewed himself absolute. He wrote in these terms to the chambers assembled. “If I have thought proper to allow you to make remonstrances to me upon the edicts and declarations which I send you to be registered, I never gave you the power to annul or alter them, under pretence of modification.—It is my will that my declaration concerning the hospital be registered purely and simply. I shall see that my parliament obey my orders.”
This was speaking like a master: the King was animated at certain moments support all his rights; but the goodness of his heart, his love of peace, and the tranquility of the state, and perhaps more than all, an undetermined character, discouraged by difficulties and opposition, made him yield.
I often complained to him of this disposition, which induced him to grant what he had at first refused. “What would you have me do, madam?” he said to me with that complaisance and sweetness which are so natural to him. “I know I should harden myself against certain bodies, who want to raise their authority upon a level with my throne. But I sacrifice my resentment to the general tranquility. I tremble to think of the misfortunes that the people suffered under the reign of my great grandfather, by the quarrels which arose between the court and the parliament. These quarrels renewed civil wars, which immersed France in the deepest desolation. I would rather be complaisant than ostentatious, as the consequences of the latter might be fatal to my subjects.”
The majority of the members of the council were not of this way of thinking; one of the most penetrating said, that under a firm and absolute government, the laws were restored to their vigour, and abuses reformed; whereas indulgence and relaxation were the effects of a weak and irresolute administration. I acknowledge that I differ much in opinion from this last, and I could have wished that the King had possessed a little more resolution. The affair relating to the hospital terminated, like most of those of the parliament, that is to say, by modifications.
The King of his own accord, and without being sollicited, appointed the count de St. Florentin and M. RouillÉ ministers of state: They were each of them secretaries of state. A courtier at that time said, that the King had done a great deal in appointing them his secretaries, and that he had done too much in creating them ministers. It is certain that these two men had done nothing to entitle them to that rank. M. RouillÉ, in particular, was far from being bright, having no other recommendation than his assiduity and application, which most constantly destroy every thing, when they are not accompanied with genius.
It was said at Paris that I induced the King to make this nomination. The truth is, that I no way interfered in it: Nay, it was added, that M. de St. Florentin had sold himself to me, and that I paid him for the letters de cachet which I had occasion for to drive such persons from Paris as displeased me. Those who spoke in this manner were ignorant that the great letters de cachet were not issued but in the name and by the consent of the King. The sovereign commands and the minister obeys.
I had very little acquaintance with this secretary of state; he paid his court to me like the other ministers; but he seldom spoke to me about private affairs. I found him at court, the King employed him, and this sufficed me.
M. RouillÉ had been recommended to me. I mentioned him to the King. I recommended him to this Prince, not as a great minister, but as an honest man.
M. de Puisieux, secretary of state for the department of foreign affairs, begged leave to retire. This office was difficult to manage; several persons had refused it. Those who had before filled this employment, had sown disorder in this department, and the last troubles of Europe had compleated its confusion. France was not in a situation to hope that the last treaty of peace could long subsist, and in time of war there was more business in this department than in all the others. One minister is scarce sufficient when every thing is in order, but when every thing is in confusion, before sieges and battles take place, it is impossible for him to go on.
I very seldom saw M. de Puisieux. Those who were personally acquainted with this minister, have told me that he had knowledge and understanding; but that he was deficient in that superiority of genius which characterizes a statesman. He had gone through the negociations for which he was appointed with such middling talents, as never confer any future reputation. He may be ranked with those common ministers, who after having compleated their career in this world, never enter upon any in history.
After the retreat of M. de Puisieux, the King said to me: “Well, madam, to whom shall we give the department of foreign affairs?” And without giving me time to reply, he added, This office requires an able minister, a man of assiduity and integrity. Do you know of such a one in my kingdom?
“Sire, I replied, what you require is pretty difficult to be found; but some of your subjects may possess all these qualities; and amongst this number, I may venture to presume, that the marquis de Sr. Contest, your embassador at the Hague, deserves a distinguished rank.” I am of your opinion, the King immediately said; M. Contest has already done me such services, as have entitled him to this place: I will give it to him; and the embassador immediately left the Hague, to come and take upon him this office.
I shall in this place mention an establishment which I planned, and to which the King gave his assistance, in order to put it in execution: This will appear but a trifling affair to those who estimate establishments in proportion as they are striking. I prevailed upon Lewis XV. to change the object of the expence made for public rejoicings, by applying it to the increase of the human species, which luxury and debauchery constantly diminish in France. His Majesty gave orders in consequence, that 600,000 livres, which were to be expended for fireworks, on account of the birth of the duke of Burgundy, should be divided into portions amongst a certain number of young women, to be married in the capital. It was then intended that the same orders should be sent into the provinces. The population of Paris is but the sixteenth part of that of the whole monarchy; so that, if all the other parts of France had followed the same example set them by the metropolis, population would have been considerably increased in France.
M. de Belleisle, who made all the calculations, averred that these marriages would furnish near 20,000 citizens annually to the monarchy: thus do small things promote great ones, and one single additional turn in the finances contribute to aggrandize a state. No one suspected that I had framed this establishment, any more than several others which I created for the advantage of France, and from which many persons who had no hand in them, derived honour to themselves; whilst I was reproached with others that were detrimental to the government, and of which I was entirely ignorant.
The sweets of peace began to be relished, when the first sparks of the torch of war were perceived from a distance. The duke of Mirepoix complained to the court of London of some grievances with which the French reproached the English, and the English embassador at Paris remonstrated against the conduct of the French with respect to the English. They wanted to make infractions upon the treaty of peace, but they did not know where to begin. The time for fighting was not yet come; battles by sea and land, that were to create great revolutions, were anticipated by preparations on both sides.
The birth of the duke of Burgundy came in time to divert the occupations of the court. The disorder in the administration, the difficulty of finding able ministers, the confusion in the state of the finances, the misery of the people, the obstinacy of the clergy, the perverseness of the parliament, and the behaviour of the English, who threatened war in time of peace; these all united to interrupt the King’s tranquility. He, however, yielded for some time to the pleasure of seeing his crown secured to his house. Kings are more sensible of this kind of joy than is imagined. They fancy, that in their descendants they see their reign perpetuated; it seems to them as if they did not die, if when they go to the grave, they have an heir in whose hands they can place the scepter. The rejoicings of the people, which the King was made acquainted with, increased his felicity. The Parisians, who make a point of loving their sovereign, surpassed themselves, in their demonstrations of joy.
There were great festivals at court. All the foreign ministers strove to be first in complimenting Lewis XV. who congratulated himself upon this birth. I never saw him so happy. This was the only period of his life, whilst I remained at Versailles, that I found him completely joyful: I also felt at this instant a sensible pleasure, to see the King so happy. His usual gaiety was much increased, and of longer duration. Our interviews were more tender, and our conversation more lively and animated.
This epocha made me reflect upon the few resources which the human heart has within itself to be happy. Favourable combinations of nature or fortune are necessary to draw it from that state of languor, in which it is almost constantly immersed: and this fatal law must surely be general, when even kings are not exempt from it. But there is a still greater misfortune attendant on humanity, which is, that pleasure is almost constantly counterbalanced by pain. One might say, that in the human heart there are two equal measures of joy and misery, and in proportion as the one is emptied the other is filled.
State affairs, and advices from foreign courts, soon overcast the court with serious looks, and the King lost his gaiety, and became more melancholy than ever.
Every time there was any important post to fill, or any considerable employment to be given away, the courtiers greatly increased their complaisance towards me. I had a constant train of solicitors. The Marquis de St. Contest having entered upon the post of secretary of state for foreign affairs, the embassy in Holland was vacant. M. de Bonac was mentioned to me in a favourable manner. I had but very little knowledge of him; I acquainted myself with his talents for negociation, and in consequence of the picture that was drawn to me of him, I interested myself in his favour. I spoke of him to the King, who appointed him his embassador to the States General. As many courtiers interceded for the place, I made myself as many enemies as were refused it. The King’s service and that of the state determined me in favour of M. de Bonac, who, it was said, had the necessary qualifications to do honour to his country.
The Prince of Soubise said, that of all the embassies in Europe, that of the Seven Provinces was the most difficult, as, in all the other courts, negociations are carried on with princes of a generous turn of mind, who often lose sight of their own advantages; whereas in Holland, the minister treats with merchants, who have their interest constantly in view. He added, that Holland is so situated, that in the wars between France and England, it may derive advantages from the one, and contribute to the other. Wherefore those who treat with the Dutch should have a great share of address, to make them declare when their succours are necessary; and they should have great abilities to keep them in an exact neutrality, when their arms may be prejudicial, &c.
I do not know whether M. de Bonac possessed all these qualities; for every thing is disguised at court, and people are not known till such time as they have been tried, and it is then too late to form a judgment that can be advantageous. M. de Bonac was an officer; this circumstance alone made me for some time hesitate upon the choice I proposed making. I never had any great faith in negociations carried on by military men. They are a kind of people that seldom have a turn of mind, and that pliant disposition necessary to succeed at foreign courts: but this is the age of warlike ministers. Lewis XV. has employed no others during his whole reign: and this, perhaps, is one of the reasons, why our affairs at foreign courts have not succeeded so well as we might have expected.
Those churchmen who make vows of poverty, but who are more covetous of riches than laymen, were also very assiduous in paying their court to me. The number of these that attended me, increased in proportion as abbeys and bishopricks became vacant.
There were many candidates for the abbey of Auchin, but the King disposed of it in favour of Cardinal York, brother to the Pretender, who by enjoying this benefice, with the possession of several others, was richer than the real possessor of the duchy of York. This opulence, which in England the King’s sons and brothers do not enjoy, made a courtier say upon this occasion, that it was very lucky for Cardinal York, that the house of Stuart had been dispossessed of the throne of Great-Britain; for without this accident, he would have been only a poor English citizen, instead of a rich Roman prince.
People, however, complained of the King’s not having given this benefice to a Frenchman, who would have expended the revenue of it in the kingdom, instead of its being carried into Italy, which was now the case by this nomination. But those who reason in this manner did not know that kings who waged war against reigning families, gave alms to those families whose reign was expired. Moreover France had obligations to this unfortunate house. In the wars which France carried on, the Pretender was brought upon the carpet, and sent off, in the same manner as an actor is upon the stage.
In politics, those who perform a part must be paid; and I believe I have said in another place, that France never seriously thought of placing the Pretender on the throne of England.
M. de Machault, keeper of the seals and comptroller general, who laboured to re-establish the finances, succeeded therein but slowly. The King, who had an estimate of the national debts laid before him every month, found them always in the same situation. The financiers engrossed all the money of the state, which made M. de Machault say to the King, Sire, I see but one method of bringing the money back into the treasury, which is to tax hÔtel des fermes, or office of the farms.
This proposal of the minister agreed perfectly well with an anonymous memorial, which was dedicated to me at Versailles, and which I had read to the King: it was conceived in these terms.
“The actual riches of the state consist of about eleven hundred millions of specie. This sum, in order to animate the whole body politic, should every where circulate geometrically. But this proportion is far from being settled in France, where it may be demonstratively proved, that two hundred individuals possess half the coin of the kingdom. These individuals are the financiers: their cash is that of the state: it contains the fortunes of all the citizens. Riches are daily buried in their coffers, as in a gulf. The crown, by yielding to a company the duties upon the entry of goods, never intended to subscribe to the ruin of the state. It granted the power of collecting those imposts to clerks, who by their activity and industry ought to enrich the state, and not impoverish it. This was the institution of farms; and inasmuch as they have swerved from this plan, they are become a monopoly of the company. The King has a right to reform abuses; and every contract that includes a grievance is of itself void.
“It is not proposed to correct past errors, but to remove present evils. If an attempt is never made, success cannot be expected. In dangerous disorders violent remedies are necessary. There is but one method of restoring the course of general circulation, which the monopoly of the company has interrupted. This is the establishment of an ardent chamber, wherein the financiers should give an account of their management of the farms, and which should enquire into the title whereby they are in possession of such immense riches, in order to transfer them for the benefit of the crown, as soon as the grievance and the monopoly shall be ascertained.
“To prevent the outcries of avarice, and the sordid love of pelf, against this regulation, two incontestible principles must previously be laid down.
“1. That the great profits of royal companies, when excessive, no longer bear that name, but come under the denomination of monopolies, being contrary to the intentions of the prince, who neither could nor would divest himself of great advantages upon any consideration whatever.
“2. That a King is always a minor, in regard to any grievance in the general finances: and that he is authorized by all the fundamental laws to annul a contract that is pernicious to the state and his people.
“That to proceed legally against the financiers, the ardent chamber should nominate commissaries to examine the books of the farmers-general. After having made an abstract thereof, they should report the monopolies used to accumulate these great riches, of which the company is possessed.
“From thence they should have recourse to the annual sub-divisions, in order to pursue the necessary clue, and ascertain the real state of their accounts.
“This operation being compleated, all the farmers-general should be summoned, one after another, before the tribunal of the ardent chamber, to give an account of the sum which they must have appropriated to themselves, according to the intelligence obtained.
“They should be directed to restore it all, except six per cent. which should be granted them as interest for their advanced money.
“In case of disobedience, they should be confined and kept in prison, until they had made entire restitution of the whole sum, without deducting any interest.
“The chief clerks, such as directors, registers, comptrollers, &c. should be subpoened before the ardent chamber, and obliged to make restitution, in the same manner as the farmers-general.
“None should be exempted, but such only as received nothing but wages of the company, &c. &c.
“According to a calculation made hereupon, 300,000,000, will return into the royal treasury, without imposing any tax upon the people.
“The establishing of an ardent chamber to compel the farmers to produce their accounts, is not (according to this memorial) an infraction of the rights of the people, nor a breach of civil liberty. Fouquet, intendant-general of the finances, in the former reign, was by a private commission adjudged to be divested of those immense sums, which he had accumulated by monopolies,” &c. &c.
This memorial was not put in execution, any more than the greater part of those plans which have since appeared for the re-establishment of the finances. Much has been said in France of demolishing the farmers general; but when this scheme is to be executed no one dare assist, because those people have a great deal of money, and every body stands in need of them. I one day asked Marshal Saxe, who was very intimate with La Poupeliniere, what engaging qualities this farmer-general possessed, that could so much attract the Marshal. Madam, said he, he has one that to me is excellent; for when I have occasion for a hundred thousand livres, I find them in his coffer; whereas when I apply to the comptroller-general, he constantly tells me he has no money.
A prince of the blood said, that these people were beneficial, for the very reason that they appeared pernicious: for that since they were appointed, it is known where the riches of the state lie, whereas before no one knew where they were deposited.
The farmers-general got information of the memorial drawn up against the company, and another was penned to refute it. But this consisted of nothing but mere words. It chiefly displayed the utility of the company, who could instantaneously furnish considerable sums to the government in pressing exigencies: but the memorial took no notice that this money belonged to the state, and that the farmers are nothing more than agents to advance it, the money being raised upon the people.
M. de Belleisle, who read this answer, said to me, “These people, among whom there are many persons of sense, are so prejudiced in favour of their interest, that they are always extravagant when they are upon the subject of the finances. There is a capital error in the contract of the farms, which is, that it puts too much money into the pockets of a few individuals.”
I have often at Versailles met with advocates who pleaded the cause of the farmers-general: but I never met with any judges that were favourable to them.
In the midst of domestic affairs, which occupied the administration and afflicted the King, a thousand different people eagerly endeavoured to present memorials to me for promoting arts, and increasing manufactures. I was unacquainted with the particulars upon which they turned; I desired the minister, who was sometimes busy with the King, to acquaint me with the advantages which the state derived from the prodigious number of manufactures established in France.
“This, madam, (said this statesman) is a matter that would take great time to impart to you: it would be necessary to recur to the age of Lewis XIV. in which he made many alterations in France, and who was called Great, because he struck home great strokes.
“This Prince, who possessed every kind of ambition, was not devoid of that of multiplying manufactures. Colbert his minister completely backed his designs; he passed his life in establishing trades as well as increasing arts; and as he had occasion for a great number of workmen to accomplish his design, he sent for five hundred thousand husbandmen from the country to promote the industry of cities. From that time such lands as were in want of hands remained uncultivated. This minister did not consider, that to increase the form he should multiply the matter. This the King over-looked also. Lewis XIV. was entirely taken up with the thirst of dominion, and this passion favoured those of all his ministers, who were desirous of sharing this ambition with him.
“The kingdom was filled with handicraftsmen; great luxury, the necessary consequence, took place, and from that time France, whose happy climate should make it superior, in point of riches, to all the other states of Europe, was impoverished.
“Nevertheless, the minister, who has since followed the plan of M. Colbert, has continued multiplying the arts, at the expence of the produce of agriculture.
“This policy is supported by a reason, which is, that this industry lays all the states of Europe under contribution; but France does not see that she begins by taxing herself, in diminishing the produce of her first substance: a disadvantage that immediately affects the power of the state, as it stops the progress of population.”
M. de Belleisle was not of this opinion: he imagined that industry could supply every thing, even the deficiencies of production; for according to him the riches of a state depend upon its circulation; and he said that arts made money circulate better than agriculture: but he was mistaken. Eminent oeconomists have since demonstrated to me that the productions of the earth create real riches, whereas those formed by industry are only fictitious. Be this as it may, I determined to protect arts, and in order to encourage manufactures, I furnished the necessary funds to bring some into esteem.
Though the King’s habitual disposition to visit me, made all France consider this inclination as his determined taste; the women constantly preserved a secret desire of supplanting me in the heart of this Prince. Lewis XV. always met with some in ambuscade. He could not go up or down stairs in his way to his own apartment, without meeting a beauty. The women of Paris, who are seldom in love with any thing but the opera or the play house, became enamoured with Versailles. They visited this place pretty regularly.
The custom which Lewis XIV. established of being applied to in person, when any favour was to be asked at court, and which was almost abolished since the death of this Prince, now revived. Many fair suiteresses addressed themselves to Lewis XV. Their eyes petitioned more than their memorials. Lewis yielded to their solicitations, and often gave them what they asked. He acquainted me with all these accidental intrigues, and this confidence enabled me to support them. I should have considered my influence as in its wane, if he had concealed them from me. I have said in another place, that unable to fix the constitution of this Prince, I was compelled to give him up to his inclination. His infidelity did not diminish the ascendency I had over him. I reigned at Versailles, in the midst of those very causes which ought to have subdued my empire. By a contradiction inherent in the human heart, his inconstancy made him constant to me. Remorse drove him fresh to my arms, which he only quitted to yield again to love and repentance.
What secured him to me, was, that of all the women, whom I knew he saw, there was not one, who was possessed of such qualities as were necessary to wrest him from me. Most of them had beauty; but they were wanting in those mental engagements, without which the charms of the face are of no effect. They all wanted to rule at court, to dispose of the first employments in the state, to acquire the Prince’s favour; and the only means they used to obtain those ends, was to prostitute themselves to him; which was an infallible method of not succeeding.
A new object drew the attention of the court. This was to secure the tranquility of Italy—a boisterous country, where the first clouds of war always gather. All the treaties which have been concluded between sovereigns since Charlemain, could never give it stability, because it is the most happy continent upon earth, and the most feeble country in Europe.
Marshal Saxe said before he died, that if France could give a permanent peace to Italy, her population would become more flourishing. This general had demonstrated, that for two centuries more Frenchmen had perished in Italy, than all the other wars had carried off in the rest of Europe.
I have since been told by another general, that the soldiers do not fall there by cannon. They perish there by heat and voluptuousness; enemies by far more dangerous than the indefatigable labours of the North.
Lewis XV. found an advantage in this plan of pacification. He thereby secured the Dukes of Savoy, ever ready to introduce German troops into Italy, and to make incursions themselves into Dauphiny, upon the first misunderstanding that takes place in Europe. Naples, Parma, and Placentia, under the government of princes of the house of Bourbon, would have enjoyed a lasting tranquility, but this negotiation produced no effect.
Marshal Belleisle said to the King upon opening the conferences: “Sire, we may enter upon the plan of giving a lasting peace to Italy; but I apprise your Majesty, that the negociation will not terminate but at the end of the world.”
The Prince of Conti said upon this occasion, “That if a king of France were willing to prevent a war in Italy, the Italians would oppose him. This country, which with regard to money, is of itself poor, stands in need of foreign armies, whose military chests may supply their want of cash.” The same thing has been said of Germany.
The King received a state of his naval force, according to which it consisted of fifty ships of the line and twenty frigates. I remember that a sensible man then said, that we had a navy, and wanted nothing but sailors—that is to say, we had half the necessary ingredients for forming a fleet. It was to procure this other half, which proved so useless some time after to France, that M. RouillÉ was so assiduous.
The Count of Maurepas said, in his distant exile, “I know my successor—he will do so much, that he will at last destroy the French marine.”
Those who decide at court the fate of the administrations of important departments, imagine that the province of the marine does not depend upon the minister who is at the head of it; that there are primary causes which counteract its progress. They are of opinion that France is formed to direct affairs by land; and England those that relate to the sea.
A statesman told me, nevertheless, one day at Versailles, that it was not impossible for France to have a marine; but to do this the system of the state must be changed, and the monarchy entirely subverted.
The minister assured Lewis XV. that besides this fleet, there was another upon the stocks, ready to be launched and put to sea.
The people, who ought always to be imposed upon by preparations, were satisfied with what was doing in the marine; but politicians and those who calculated the resources of England were dissatisfied.
At the time that we were endeavouring at the means of navigation, a projector presented a scheme to the King, for rendering France navigable. The object was the junction of two seas, by the means of two rivers. This man at first applied to me, and I sent him to M. Belleisle, who thought this project of great utility to the state. But several politicians were of a different opinion. They said that this junction would lessen the navigation, which should on the contrary be encreased. The English were quoted, who might easily shorten the course of their sea voyages, and who endeavoured to prolong them. But what may be judicious in this respect for Great Britain, might be very impolitic for France.
I mention these particular transactions, because they fell immediately under my notice, and the King did me the honour to consult me upon them. I shall pass over in silence such schemes as were offered to the administration during my residence at court, and which did not take place.
When the King acquainted me with the death of the duke of Orleans, who died the fourth of July 1752, he seemed greatly affected at it. Sudden deaths made a great impression upon Lewis XV. Philip of Orleans finished his career at that age when most men begin theirs. This prince was a striking example of the contrast there often is in the characters of a father and a son.
This Prince had nothing of the Regent’s disposition. He had passed his time in praying and bestowing alms. Each day of his life was distinguished by some christian act. Brought up in the center of pleasures, he shunned them at an age when the passions strongly plead for gratification, and when it is very difficult to resist their intreaties.
The curate of St. Sulpice said, that if he had been Pope, he would have canonized the Duke of Orleans, had he possessed no other virtue than having resisted the example of the royal palace. We well knew that the Regent’s house was not the model for christian virtues. The Cardinal du Bois, who ridiculed men, politics and religion, made it the residence of vice and debauchery.
But the Duke of Orleans, who is the subject of our present consideration, possessed none but those virtues which do honour in heaven, and not those which characterize great princes upon earth. His house, which he had divested of all regal magnificence, resembled a convent, of which he was the superior. He supported by charity an infinite number of people, who having no other care than that of receiving it, lived in idleness and effeminacy. His bigotry had made him retire from public affairs, and induced him to let the state take care of itself, at a time that it stood in the most need of assistance.
It is well known that the Princes of the blood who have a watchful eye over the government, keep the ministers in awe, and prevent their being guilty of malversation. Such is the fate of the French monarchy, that the great in France either give themselves up to debauchery, or turn hermits.
The death of Madame Henriette, which succeeded that of the Duke of Orleans, filled the court with mourning, and the King’s heart with sorrow. This Princess was endued with those qualities which endear the great: naturally gentle and affable, she was beloved by all that approached her. A good heart, and a compassionate sympathetic soul, formed her general character; the Parisians did not sufficiently lament her loss: they have no affection but for their Kings; they have none remaining for the royal family.
A foreigner, who was acquainted with the genius of our nation, said to me; “If France were deprived of the Dauphin, before he mounted the throne, no one would regret his loss; but that if he died six months after having wore the crown, all the world would weep for him. He added, that it was not the loss of the person, but the name of King that was regretted in France.”
By the death of Madame Henriette, I discovered in Lewis XV. the qualities of a good father. Tears streamed from his eyes, and his melancholy surpassed his usual hypocondriac disposition. I exerted all my abilities to asswage his grief: but he paid all the rights that nature could extort, before they took effect.
Literature once more disturbed the King and the court. The council was informed that a large work was printing at Paris, under the title of the Encyclopedia. This was a rhapsody compiled from all the dictionaries extant, to which was added, by the compilers, reflexions of a suspicious tendency on religion and politics. This heap of reasoning conveyed no instruction how to think, but only taught how to doubt. A man of letters said to me at that time, the Encyclopedia could only increase the number of ignoramus’s, and warp the minds of men of learning.
Such writings as tended to support materialism, made an impression at court, and this production was ranked in this predicament. The King commanded the two first volumes of this production to be suppressed. The same arret which prohibited them, condemned the publishers of them to pay a considerable fine.
This suppression gave birth to an anonymous memorial upon this subject, which appeared to me very sensible, and which was conceived in these terms.
“The government has established a tribunal to examine the productions of the mind. It consists of a minister and twenty-four royal censors, whose sole employment is to revise manuscripts destined for the press.
“A book that is submitted to the examination of this tribunal, is under the protection of the government. The author has done all that the laws required of him. He is not answerable for the effects that the publication of his book may produce. This literary minister should be its voucher, and liable to such penalties as the author would incur, if he had printed it in a clandestine manner. It nevertheless, daily happens, that a book meets with the approbation of this tribunal, and is often censured by the government. The writer is prosecuted—he is punished in such a manner, as if it had been concealed from this jurisdiction. The parliament takes cognizance of it, the book is burnt, and the author sent to the Bastile. What could be done more, if he had acted in defiance of the ordonnances made upon this subject?
“There is an error in literary jurisdiction, which will always occasion grievances and divisions in the republic of letters. The minister who presides at this tribunal, has neither the capacity nor leisure to peruse all the MSS. that are presented for the press: they are put into the hands of censors, who have neither more time nor more genius than himself.
“They are frequently upon abstracted subjects, and above the capacity of both—then the censors read them without comprehending them, and sign them without understanding them. Their approbation being thus obtained, the work is accordingly printed, the book appears, and the prosecution begins just where it should end.
“The inconvenience that resulted from it would be of no great importance, if the sentence pronounced against the author put an end to the dispute; but it almost constantly happens, that the public interest themselves in the contest. The erroneous maxims it contains are credited; the more they are condemned, the more the book comes into vogue. Its suppression is of no effect, the editions increase in proportion as they are prohibited: for it is only necessary to censure a book in order to raise its reputation. Many works that would have been despised had they passed unnoticed, have acquired importance from the government’s condemning them.
“Hence those various divisions that have immersed the state into greater misfortunes than have been produced by civil wars.
“Instead of chastising the author that has written a dangerous book, the minister who allowed it to be printed, should be punished. The first submitted his performance to the established police for preventing the publication of dangerous works, and the other published it. The first only injured himself, the other injured the state,” &c. &c.
The King had this memorial examined, the reasoning it contained was thought to be just; but it only met with approbation, like an infinite number of others upon the different branches of the administration, the utility of which is acknowledged, but they are, notwithstanding, never executed.
I have observed during my residence at Versailles, that the schemes which succeed are not those that are the most advantageous, but those which are the best recommended.
I have since learned from a man of great discernment, that “so much rigour on the part of the government with respect to literary productions, would be attended with many inconveniences; that printing in France is become a very extensive manufacture, which promotes an infinite number of others dependent on it, and which excite industry; that it comprehends a very important branch of trade, the suppression whereof would greatly cramp circulation; that by diminishing this profession, many others must be abolished, that tend to form the library: that France would be thereby a great sufferer, and neighbouring states reap advantages from it; that Holland, in particular, covetous of all industrious vocations, would seize upon this.
“He added, that Cardinal Fleury having suppressed the printing of romances in France, the United Provinces availed themselves of this prohibition, to encrease their workmen. The number of their presses was greatly augmented, and the kingdom overflowed with these very prohibited romances; so that by this suppression, the state lost its industry without abolishing romances.”
Though the King constantly visited me, he conversed with other women. But his visits to them were, as has been already said, merely casual. These women, who had neither taste nor delicacy, were gratified with those moments that he could bestow upon them, and thought themselves happy to pass a few hours by stealth with this Prince. They had no regular plan, except two or three, who formed the design of supplanting me, and seizing upon the King’s favour. The pleasure of having the King for a lover sufficed them. This idea, which occupied all the powers of their soul, left no room for ambition; so that they were not very dangerous rivals. I knew the King’s temper; enjoyment always disgusted him. The act of gratification was followed by contempt: this is what every woman must expect, who has no other attractions for men than mere personal possession.
The disputes of the clergy, which were renewed, notwithstanding the assiduity of the court to suppress them, kept the state in a constant ferment. All the prelates who disturbed the court, owed their fortune to the King; and this the more afflicted him. Lewis XV. has often said to me, that of all vices ingratitude the most shocked him.
It happened in this dispute, as it does in most others, that it was not confined to the first object. The original point in debate was, a sum demanded of the clergy, to supply the exigencies of the state: the minister carried his views farther; he reflected upon the disorders occasioned by this body to the finances of the state; a calculation was made that a very considerable sum went out of the kingdom every age for purchasing of bulls, and that this treasure of the political government, which was sent into Italy, never returned back to France: that Rome, to whom we paid large sums, granted nothing in return but indulgences. The means of withdrawing from this spiritual dominion, which ruined the temporal state, came next under consideration. But after every thing was thoroughly examined, supputed, and calculated, things were left just in the same situation as they were found.
The Chevalier de Belleisle formerly told me, “that the process between the court of Rome and that of Versailles had continued for several ages, and that it would not be terminated till such time as a King of France arose equally enterprising with Henry VIII. of England. He added, that the ministry had hit upon the wrong object of power to destroy; that we had wrested the sword of excommunication from Rome, but that we had left her in full power to fleece the state; and that we had better let ourselves be excommunicated than reduced to poverty.”
The general body of the clergy incessantly engaged the attention of the court: one of their members disturbed a-new the King’s repose, and troubled the state. The archbishop of Paris forbad the administration of the sacraments to a certain abbÉ, who was ill and desired it. The sick abbÉ was required to name his confessor, and as he was known to be a Jansenist, he was asked to accept of the constitution. I have already mentioned this constitution, and the disputes it occasioned in the government. The abbÉ obstinately refused accepting of it, and the archbishop resolved that the sacraments should not be administered to him.
Lewis XV. was informed of this debate, the example whereof might be productive of a schism in the kingdom. I was witness to his grief; his uneasiness arose from his affection. He loved his subjects, and he was chagrined to see that the disputes of schools should deprive them of the only remaining consolation upon their death-beds. The Princes of the house of Bourbon have always acted more reasonably in religious than in political matters.
The bull Unigenitus put Lewis XIV. to death; some old courtiers have, at least, assured me, that father Le Tellier shortened his days by dint of talking to him of the constitution. The refusal of the sacraments was cognizable by the general police; so that this schism in the spiritual government was attended with a double inconvenience, as it might produce one in the political state.
The parliament of Paris, who seize upon every occasion to reform abuses, and let none escape that may extend their prerogatives; summoned the curate, who had been guilty of no other crime than that of obeying his bishop. A penalty was inflicted on him which the prelate should have been mulcted, and he was forbid relapsing on pain of losing his temporalities. The chief point was to know whether the curate should obey the parliament or his bishop. The case would not have been difficult to determine, if the clergy had been appointed judges, or if the government had been to decide: but the question was who was the competent judge in this case? If the church were permitted to decide the affair, this would be infringing upon temporal rights; and by allowing the parliament this prerogative, spiritual privileges would thereby be usurped. There was a third inconvenience still greater, which was, that the King himself, according to the opinion of the clergy, was incapable of appointing judges.
In this sort of disputes, a national council should be convened; this council is never held, and the disorder always continues. The King commanded the parliament not to interfere in the matter, and the parliament determined that they ought to interfere therein. Louis XV. had displayed sufficient resolution in the last misunderstanding about the administration of the hospital; but this body always forget that they yielded, that they may remember to be stedfast. The King undertook to have the sacraments administered to the sick man; but this method had its inconveniences, for it was necessary to command priests, and they obeyed none but their bishops.
The parliament would have thought that they had given up their rights, if, upon this occasion, they had not opposed the will of their sovereign. They commanded by arret the curates, whom Louis XV. only wanted to engage to fulfil their duty. Without this decree the affair would have been immediately stifled, whereas many other priests were hereby disposed to refuse the administration of the sacraments.
I have often heard it said at Versailles, “that the body of the parliament, by reason of their desire to reform abuses, are the source of a great number of abuses.” A prince of the blood was of opinion, that the parliament should be abolished, if it were only to prevent that spirit of contention and obstinacy which they disperse in the kingdom. But those who are esteemed sagacious judges of things, pretend that this same spirit of opposition to the will of the court, is the bulwark of the state.
A councilor of the great chamber said one day in my hearing, to a courtier who was highly complaining of the reiterated remonstrances made to the King, Perhaps, Sir, we may be mistaken in the form; but we cannot err with respect to the object, as we constantly plead for the prerogatives of the nation, and the happiness of the people.
The president de Maupeou said to me one day, upon returning from an audience he had with the King, when he met with a very disagreeable reception, “You must allow, Madam, that there is a particular fatality annexed to our situation; we are always scolded without obtaining justice. Nevertheless, if things were thoroughly examined with care, it would appear that we have no interest in view by making continual representations to our Prince, and being compelled to say disagreeable things to him. If we did not interest ourselves so much as we do for the good of the people, we must substitute flattery for truth, and should be benefited by the smiles of the court; whereas we now meet with nothing but refusals from it.” In another of these visits, when this same president did not meet with a more favourable reception, he added, in speaking of the counsellors of state, “It is surprising, that men of understanding do not see through the uprightness of our intentions; and that prejudice, which we thought only actuated the populace, falls to the lot of those who surround the throne.”
