Part 6

Nevertheless these same French comedians shut up their theatre, and haughtily declared that they could not act, unless they were allowed to dance. This theatrical vacation, which appeared trifling, was really an affair of state. Dramatic performances prevent an infinite number of vices which idleness creates.

The parliament, who were always in part exiled, no longer officiating, it occasioned great detriment to public affairs. The King ordered them to resume their vocations; they did not obey. The great chamber sent a deputation to Versailles; they made fresh remonstrances, and here things remained.

Happily for France, the Dauphiness was brought to bed, and those disputes, which had spread such a general gloom at court and in the city, were immediately forgot. Public rejoicings inspired such gaiety as dispelled this universal cloud. Frenchmen are seldom long bereft of their chearfulness. A marriage, or recovery, restores to them their natural sprightliness. I do not know whether this continual transition from grief to joy, is not preferable to that pensive disposition of the English, which inspires them with a melancholy, from which no secondary cause can retrieve them. A Spanish Ambassador said to me, _that the French have some moments of existence, but that the English are in a continual state of mortality_.

The new-born Prince was named Duke of Aquitaine. The King forsook business to give an entire loose to pleasure, for which this happy event gave him a relish. It made a sensible change in my disposition, as it inspired our conversation with gaiety, and renewed our satisfaction. Versailles was now the scene of festivity; when all the nobility belonging to court signalized themselves, and the courtiers upon this occasion seemed transported with joy at an event, which in reality must have been a matter of indifference to them.

Such resources as these were necessary to rescue us from that languid state, wherein the sameness of amusement immersed us. I had employed the greatest refinements of art to dissipate the King’s melancholy; but every thing is at length exhausted. Custom destroys even that novelty, which alone can make impression on our senses.

The Duke of Richelieu, who was often of our parties in the little apartments, afforded us great amusement. He related every thing with that insinuating art that so happily pleases; but even his wit betrayed too much of the courtier. One might read in his very looks his desire of success; never did any mortal sacrifice more to fortune; he was for grasping all favour, and disposing of the state as an absolute matter. He publickly said, that he had done all for me, and I had done nothing for him. But if I did not do better for him, he should blame his genius for intrigue, and his ambitious desires, which he had not always the power to moderate. Complaints were frequently made against him, which I appeased. Several courtiers who had resolved to destroy him, had prejudiced Lewis XV. against him, and I restored him to favour. But I was not willing that he should see the King too often; for I knew his scheme was to gain his confidence, and afterwards to estrange from court all those who had too great an ascendant over him.

The bishops of France, who did not know in what to insult the parliament personally, whom they said pretended to regulate the Romish church, took occasion from the birth of the Duke of Aquitaine, to render them odious to the nation, by comparing them to the parliament of England in the reign of Charles I.

The bishop of Montauban, in visiting his diocesans, to thank heaven for having given a grandson to France, thus expressed himself in his mandate. “The spirit of party and faction was predominant in England; there was no stability in the laws, either divine or human; and in the midst of those clouds of darkness which gathered on every side, all things became uncertain or indifferent, except the sacrilegious dogma of attributing spiritual supremacy to secular authority.

“It was at this unfortunate period, that the enemies of episcopacy having prevailed, true religion was entirely abolished, and the regal dignity expired in the opprobrium. We saw for the first time, revolted subjects seizing sword in hand, and leading to a shocking prison, a King, whose only crime was, having too patiently borne their first sedition; the parliament throwing off the yoke of all superior authority, striking with one hand the bishops, and raising the other against the head of their sovereign; accusing him with indecency, and calumniating him without shame; condemning him without justice, leading him to the scaffold like butchers, and executing him with fury; and the people infatuated with this execrable parricide, became deeply intoxicated with fanaticism and independence; pursuing like ideots, a phantom of liberty, whilst like slaves, they paid to a tyrant that obedience which they owed to their lawful King. What a dreadful series of crimes! Here a king assassinated in his bed--there another hurled from his throne--all his family banished--the crown transferred upon the head of a foreigner--ever tottering, notwithstanding the blood spilt to secure it,” &c.

The Prince of Conti said upon this occasion, that the bishops should be forbid introducing the history of England into public prayers. This was a most poignant satire against the parliament, which foretold what the state had to fear from this body: but we had no Cromwell in France; and the commons of England act upon different principles from the parliament of Paris.

The English embassador made great complaints, that any one in France should dare to reproach his nation with having put their King to death. He spoke to the minister about it, and the bishop’s discourse was suppressed. The fate of this kind of writings is always determined by the times. If France had been at war with England, the mandate would not have been suppressed; but the peace which then subsisted between the two nations would not allow it to pass.

The parliament’s arret, nevertheless, left a vacuum in the administration of justice, and business languished. I was applied to by a great number of people to prevail upon the King to create new judges. Lewis XV. for a long time resisted these solicitations; but he at length resolved upon doing it. He established a chamber of _vacations_, who performed the functions of the parliament: but this new chamber was scarce established before the members of the Chatelet declared against it; for divisions now reigned between the bodies of judicature. There was no one in the kingdom that did not declare itself independent of any other; which made a man of wit say, that the Turkish constitution was preferable to ours, as the divan alone regulated the state; whereas every parliament in France created confusion in the kingdom.

Some bailiwicks and presidials in the jurisdiction of the parliament, wanted to share in the general disobedience, as well as disgrace. They refused to acknowledge the chamber of Vacations. Here was fresh subject for exile; which made a courtier say, that “every corporation was concerned, and the body of ushers would soon oppose the orders of the court.” The foreign embassadors who were eye-witnesses of this disorder, gave their sentiments with respect to the system of their governments. The minister from Venice said, that a senate should be called, wherein the supreme power should be lodged, and which no other body could oppose. The English embassador spoke of a house of commons. The Spanish embassador advised the establishment of the inquisition in France.

The parliament, removed to Soissons, obstinately refused resuming their functions; and the chamber of _vacations_ rather increasing the disorder, than restoring public tranquility, it was necessary to form a royal chamber, to pursue the business of the parliament. M. de Belleisle said, “he wished that this chamber might continue till the end of time.”

All France was occupied with the parliament’s exile. Another tribunal was substituted in their place, for which it was necessary to create fresh edicts, containing a new form of judicature. The court and city were entirely taken up with these misunderstandings. Upon which occasion a prince of the blood said, that “the court was very good to trouble themselves with such trifles, whilst foreign affairs of importance should engage the attention of the cabinet.”

The ministry was in fact greatly weakened during these quarrels. Several members of the great chamber were related to those who filled the first employments in the kingdom. The parliament were by alliance connected with the finances; and many brave officers were either relations or friends of the exiles: Courtiers and those who had their fortunes to make at court, were for the King. I say nothing of the populace, for their opinion is of no weight in France, all divisions of this nature taking place in a region that is quite foreign to them.

These different parties animated the disputes with so much heat, that they were often carried to extremities. Many duels have been fought in Paris, in defence of the great chamber.

A lieutenant-general walking in the Elysian fields, seeing an officer fighting with a counsellor’s brother, said to the military man, in parting them, “Sir, keep your courage for the service of the state, we shall soon have occasion for it, for we are assured that the English are going to declare war against France.”

Marshal Belleisle, who wanted to be every where, but who could not enter into the disquisitions, because they had began upon theological disputes, which he did not understand, endeavoured to put an end to them. He said to me one day; “In God’s name, Madam, bid the King abolish the parliament, that they may be no more spoken of at court.” _Marshal_, I replied, _speak to him yourself, I give you the preference_.

The members of the Chatelet, who would not acknowledge the royal chamber, had also their partizans, who excited murmurs in Paris; which made a courtier say, that “the Chatelet should be sent to the Bastile.”

Most of the provincial tribunals refused in turn to submit to this chamber. Lyons set the example, and this was sufficient to create general disobedience. Lewis XV. saw with indignation, that his subjects, under pretence of fidelity and submission, should rebel against his orders. If this Prince had been as absolute as Lewis XIV. a civil war would have desolated France; but the goodness of his soul, and that gentleness which characterizes him, made him prefer the general peace of his kingdom to the gratification of his own particular revenge. Had he but spoke, those who opposed him would have been exterminated.

The kings of France had formerly but very little power; but since they have had three hundred thousand men at their command, who only wait for orders to obey their will, they can do every thing. A mandate from Lewis XV. to two or three regiments, would have been sufficient to have made the parliament return to their duty. But this Prince was an enemy to every thing that carried with it the appearance of violence. He would be obeyed; but then only by gentleness and moderation. Ministers, who are usually as jealous of the royal authority as the King himself, pretended that this very moderation was the source of all the disorders that disturbed the state.

These ministers exhorted me to induce the King to have fortitude. They represented to me the dangerous consequences that would result to the state, by leaving the disobedience of the parliament unpunished. Those who were in the interest of this body remonstrated to me on their part, the danger of keeping in exile the depository tribunal of justice, and who alone could administer it: a tribunal that were meritorious for their very resistance, as it was the strongest conviction of their zeal for the glory of the King, and the happiness of the people, &c.

If I had followed my inclination, I should have insisted upon the royal chamber’s being sustained, to the exclusion of the parliament; but I knew the King’s heart. I knew that his natural goodness would prevail over his resolution.

The Duke of Richelieu was ever intriguing with the King, and had gained an ascendant over him. This courtier always fought for opportunities of conversing with the Prince in private, and of obtaining his good graces. I had frequently opposed his designs, and this had determined him to make one great effort for ingrossing the King’s favour. This conduct displeased me, and as he always renewed the attack, _My Lord_, said I to him one day in the presence of the King, _I have received letters from Languedoc, by which I am informed, that your presence is there required. I advise you to fit out for Montpellier, which is in your department; for his Majesty will not have any bishops or governor of that province at Paris_. The courtier understood my meaning. He set out a few days after for Bourdeaux, and I seldom saw him upon his return.

The Duchess de Talard, governess to the children of France, being lately dead; the King said to me, _Who shall we entrust with the Dauphins young family?_ “Sire, I replied, Madam Talard was possessed of great merit, which makes it difficult to supply her place. I have thought upon all the women of France, and I do not know of any but the Countess de Marsan, who is capable of succeeding her.”

She was appointed, and this lady, who was acquainted with my interposition in her favour, made me her acknowledgments. This preference I had given her, created me many enemies. All the ladies that were excluded, considered me as the cause of their exclusion: thus is a King’s favourite loaded with public hatred. When there is a vacancy, she can ask it only for one person, and most frequently all those who laid claim to it, become the enemies of her that disposed of it.

The birth of the Duke of Aquitaine had diffused universal joy at court; and his death immersed the royal family again in melancholy--tears succeeded joy--but the subject was soon forgot. Had it not been for the funeral pomp, which lasted several days, he probably would have been no more thought of after the first. The spectacle of his death made tears to flow; without these obsequies, his loss would scarce have been mentioned. The court was still engaged in curbing the strides of the parliament and the Chatelet. This affair filled the state with edicts. A politician said, “that if the government had given the same attention to the other branches of the administration, France would have been the best regulated kingdom in Europe.”

This attention did not, however, restore order; no one of the parties would yield to the other.

At length this great affair, by which France had been so much disturbed, and given foreign nations so much scope for satire, was terminated just as it should have been terminated; that is to say, by the obstinacy of the parliament, and the weariness of the King. Lewis XV. (I cannot too often repeat it in these Memoirs) is a good Prince; his tender and sympathising soul is not of the number of those that are irritated by resistance.

The self-love of kings who will be absolute, creates disorders, which usually swallows up both states and politics. The Prince, who was desirous of maintaining the peace of his kingdom, and advancing the happiness of his people, yielded, the very instant he saw that, by opposing his parliament, a general revolution might be dreaded.

The King’s conduct in this respect, was by many greatly censured; he was accused of weakness. Perhaps he was animated only by respect. The shafts of ridicule began to fly; for kings of France, as absolute as they may be, are not exempted from their attacks. A prince of the blood thus expressed himself before several courtiers. “I always said, gentlemen, that the mountain in labour would bring forth nothing but a mouse.”

M. de Maupeou had a private audience of the King at Compiegne, where all the preliminary articles of peace were signed. The monarch declared to him, that he should recal the letters de cachet, and that the parliament might return to Paris, where the general treaty of reconciliation was to be framed.

The triumph was too great not to be accompanied with glory. The president immediately proclaimed his victory. He dispatched a courier to every court in the kingdom, and gave intelligence to his brethren, who arrived at Paris in triumph. Although this peace restored tranquility at Versailles, which influenced the happiness of my life; yet I acknowledge, my indignation was kindled to see the lawyers thus get the better of the King’s first resolutions. I was acquainted with their obstinacy, and this alone set me against them.

Reports were spread that I was the instrument of this reconciliation, and that the King yielded only at my intercession; but this was rumoured like an infinite number of other things, which had no more foundation. I acknowledge, that I ardently wished that these parliamentary disputes were at an end; but if I considered my own tranquility, I did not forget the glory of the King. I several times scolded M. de Maupeou, in the minister’s presence, for the little deference he paid to his master’s orders, and of the formal disobedience of his body. He constantly replied, with that gravity which is common to those who are at the head of an assembly, that he and his brethren were the most submissive subjects of the state; and this answer irritated me still more.

The King desired to see this magistrate once more before an entire reconciliation took place. He received M. de Maupeou with that politeness that is so natural to him, and which gains him the hearts of all those who approach him.

“My intention, Sir, (said the King to him) is, that my parliament should resume their functions in the capital: I hope I shall have no farther occasion to complain of them; and that the goodness with which I treat them, will engage them to fulfil their duty for the future, with that zeal which they owe to my service, and a ready submission to my orders.”

The Queen was desirous of having her share in the event; the president waited upon her. “I conceive the most perfect joy, said this Princess, at the King’s restoring the parliament of Paris to their ancient functions. I have been greatly affected at the interruption that has occurred; and it is with satisfaction I assure you of my esteem for that body.”

Those who determine every thing at court and in the city, thought the King had shewn too much weakness upon this occasion; that he should either not have carried things so far, or else pursued them still farther. But those who determined in this manner, could they themselves have communicated to the government that foresight that is necessary to be acquainted with events before they happen? The first disputes that arose between the court and the parliament were so trifling, that to have judged of them by the usual course of things, they could not have occasioned the least disturbance in the state. The minds of people were insensibly irritated.

Fresh circumstances having changed the state of the question, they insensibly wandered from the first principles, and then each party were carried beyond their goal. The King often told me, at the very time that he was thundering forth edicts against the parliament, that if he had known things would have been carried to such a length, he would have yielded at first.

The recal of the parliament had great influence over us. From that moment the King became gayer than usual; our conversation was lively and joyous. “Sire, I said to the King, if you have any subject of complaint against your parliament, I entreat you not to let them remain long in exile; for I have too much at stake in the misunderstanding, and much to gain by a reconciliation.”

The death of the Marquis de S. Contest, which happened at the time of the recal of the great chamber, occasioned a vacancy in the ministry. I have in another place spoke of the talents and character of this minister; it was said of him that he was fond of peace, because he did not know how to conduct a war. By his death there was a post to be filled in the department of foreign affairs. There were many candidates, but few ministers. The war had disposed every one’s genius for arms. Few but the first clerks in offices applied themselves to business. The King sought about him, and I enquired of all those who surrounded me, without finding what the state wanted. “Sire, I said to the monarch, till such time as some happy discovery can be made, I advise your Majesty to appoint M. Rouillé to supply the place.”

All France was astonished at this choice, and M. Rouillé himself as much as all France.

Many considerations induced me to make this determination in his favour.

He was to be raised or lowered at will. M. de Belleisle said, that he might be created King of France, and afterwards reduced to a clerk of the navy or war office. He had none of those brilliant qualities which attract admiration; but he was endued with probity, and a minister was then wanted who was an honest man.

Many placemen had been guilty of malversation; some upright person was required to remove the disorders of the state. I heard a very honest man say, that the office of foreign affairs required a chief who had more equity than sense, and more probity than knowledge. He said, that the northern nations, with whom this minister was continually engaged, have the character of frankness, which they like to find in those with whom they are concerned. This same person proved that all, or the greater part of the wars between France and Germany, derived their source from the corruption of this minister.

The department of the marine was given to M. de Machault; he was already keeper of the seals, and comptroller-general. Many persons had spoken to me of him; but his qualifications alone determined me in his favour. He had great penetration, and was very proper to fill the post he held: I could have wished that he had possessed not quite so much ambition; for this passion, when it has no bounds, makes the most enlightened geniuses commit many errors. Ingratitude is most constantly its attendant, and I look upon a man who is wanting in sentiments of acknowledgment, as a monster in nature.

The comptrollership of the finances was given to M. Moreau de Seychelles. These changes puzzled the public, and gave a wide field for speculation. Those who aspired to these places, thought that the persons to whom the preference had been given did not deserve them. They were first murmured at, and then courted. M. de Machault in giving up the finances for the marine had degenerated. It was said of this minister, _that he had left a golden post for a wooden one_.

I acknowledge that I would have induced the King to have placed at the head of these two first departments in the kingdom, two men of superior genius to those who were lately invested with them; but where were they to be found? Marshal Saxe said before he died, “that a ministerial school and not a military school should be established; he pretended that all Frenchmen were born soldiers, and that no one came into the world with the qualities of a minister.”

The officers of the navy had for a long time complained that they did not enjoy the same honours as those of the land-forces. They underwent more fatigue, and equally exposed their lives; it was therefore unjust not to allow them the same prerogatives. Lewis XIV. who had done a great deal for the French navy, had not yet done enough. I interested myself in its favour, and only seconded the King’s good intentions: he instituted a great cross of St. Lewis, with three commanders, the orders of which were to be distributed according to the rank and merit of sea-officers.