Part 9

I learnt this news with pleasure. Benedict XIV. then filled the papal chair. Many persons who had been at Rome, gave me a very favourable opinion of this pontiff. He despised his predecessors, refined policy of turning every thing to their own advantage; the first steps he took upon his obtaining the pontificate, made me conceive a real esteem for him. He had abolished at Rome those wretched equivocations, which in serving as food for superstition, dishonour the Christian religion. He knew that God sometimes wrought miracles, but that he does not daily alter the course of nature. This prince of the church preferred the title of an honest man to that of a holy one, and this quality raised him above all the Popes that ever existed upon earth. Benedict XIV. had so much understanding and so little prejudice, that his decision could not fail to restore tranquility to the Gallican church.

The administration of the sacraments was not the only disquisition which engaged the clergy; the grand affair for which they were convened, and in which the whole body were unanimous, was to deny the authority of the parliaments, or any other body of laymen whatever. Lewis XV. who could not begin the war without oppressing his people, was willing to set them an example of œconomy, by diminishing his household expences. He reduced his hunting equipages, and the number of his hunting horses in both stables. The expences of his little journies were regulated and diminished: it was resolved that there should be no diversions this year at court, and the works of the Louvre were suspended, _&c._

The Count D’Argenson said, “that these savings are so small an object, that they will scarce enrich a commissary of stores during the war.”

I was myself often inclined to have an eye to œconomy; but M. de Belleisle had told me that it was scarce possible to benefit the state by such frugality; he added, “if it were an evil, it was impossible to remedy it; but that all those who served the King would enrich themselves; that a reform would produce no advantage; that it was better to continue employing the old officers who were already opulent, than to replace them with new ones, who would endeavour to become so.”

Neither the council of state nor the warlike preparations deprived me of the King’s company, who visited me regularly, and communicated to me his designs and intentions. The resolution he had taken of being revenged of his enemies, gave him an air of satisfaction, which he had not before he had taken it; his only uneasiness was for his people: he was afraid that the continuance of the war would exhaust them too much.

It was thought necessary to review the troops, and there were three encampments. The prince of Soubise wanted the command of the camp of Hainault: I spoke to the King, and it was granted him. M. de Chevert, and the Marquis de Voyer, in whose favour I also interested myself, obtained the two others.

Though hostilities were begun in America, Lewis XV. would not continue them in Europe. A frigate of the Brest squadron having taken an English frigate, the King immediately ordered it to be released, as he said, _he would not make war in time of peace, and be the first to infringe the treaty of Aix la Chapelle in Europe_.

A general officer, who was in my apartment when the King told me he had just dispatched this order, could not refrain telling him, in my presence, “Permit me, Sire, to represent to your Majesty, that this moderation will noways alter the system of the court of London. The English have resolved to fall upon us, and to seize all such ships as they think they have the superiority over: reprisals are necessary, and we should seize all such vessels as are inferior in strength to our’s that meet with them.”

The Count de Argenson said, there was but one method of carrying on the war, “which was to drub the enemy well, and take a good deal from them.”

The sea-officers paid their court regularly to me; for the navy was to have the honour of this war. There was a promotion of officers, and I interested myself in behalf of some, in consequence of the characters that were given me of their capacity and courage.

I know that complaints have often been made in France of my choice of certain persons, as well in the army as in the administration: but those who condemned me were unacquainted with Versailles. Every courtier has a party who cry up their talents and genius. It is impossible to descry real merit through these extravagant elogiums. All those who are interested in a courtier’s advancement, either in the army or in the government, hide his faults, and display his good qualities; for every man has a favourable side.

The death of Madame, daughter to the Dauphin, created fresh affliction for the King. I have often heard the happiness of Kings extolled, when they are in reality more to be pitied than other men. A citizen has scarce any thing but domestic troubles to afflict him: a Monarch unites family misfortunes with those of the state.

Scarce had Lewis wiped away his tears, before he had news of a battle that was fought in America, near the Ohio, between his troops and those of England, in which General Braddock fell, and where the French gained a compleat victory. The blood that was spilt in this affair, a detail of which may be found in the annals of Europe, closed all avenues to an accommodation. The only measure to be taken in Europe was to be upon the defensive, and this was not taken. The English seized as many merchant-ships in Europe as they met with in both seas. The commanders of these ships had received orders to surrender without making any resistance. I desired the King to explain to me the motive of this policy, and he replied to me as before, _that he would not break treaties, and make war in time of peace_.

The English availed themselves of this moderation; they became absolute masters of the sea, and filled their island with French prisoners.

At the very time that the court of Versailles piqued themselves upon fulfilling their engagements, the court of London reproached us with breaking them. The restoration of the works at Dunkirk was construed into an infraction of these same treaties, for which France sacrificed what power she had remaining at sea. In this manner each government endeavoured to justify their designs; and thus was ambition disguised under every form to obtain its ends.

Marshal Noailles, who was not of opinion that France should let the remainder of her navigation and trade be crushed, to convince all Europe that the English made war like pirates, said, that this external moderation deceived none, that the court of Versailles alone was deceived.

Those who agreed in opinion with the King, pretended that all these captures made without a declaration of war would be restored; but real politicians thought otherwise, and experience has demonstrated, by the event, that these were not deceived.

Repeated orders were dispatched to all the sea-ports, and preparations were making for a land-war; but there was not a sufficient fund in the royal treasury to support the extraordinary expences. The Comptroller-general said to the King, “Sire, the farmers-general offer your Majesty money, it should be taken. They will lend the crown sixty-six millions at 4 per cent. the state in its present exigence cannot purchase money at a cheaper rate.”

It may, perhaps, be thought that the financiers, affected at the state of France, made this voluntary proposal from a spirit of patriotism; but posterity will know that the same sordid interest which constantly actuates them, incited them to display this generosity. One of the first conditions was, that the lease of the farms should be renewed. They afterwards insisted that there should be no under-farmers; that is to say, that the profits arising from the farms should be no longer divided, and that they should be sole masters of the finances. They also wanted to have the disposal of all the employments in the farms.

It was publicly said in Paris, that I had framed the scheme of this loan. It is true that four farmers-general applied to me, to make the proposal from their body, and that I mentioned it to the King. Lewis XV. had it examined in his council, who approved of it; this is all the share I had in the transaction. Those who imagine that a King of France can raise money by the act of his own private will, are unacquainted with the government. This sum was far from being sufficient to put in motion all the machines of war that were foreseen to be necessary. The King borrowed thirty millions upon the posts at 3 per cent. but even this additional sum was not enough. The King’s secretaries, as well of the upper as the inferior college, were taxed, and this impost, the least burthensome perhaps of any, because it fell upon such as purchased their employments through ostentation, produced a supply of forty-five millions.

With this fund, it was incumbent upon us to oppose the designs of the English at sea, and of such powers as were enemies to France by land.

I saw the King as usual. He supped almost every night with me, and communicated to me all his plans and designs. Difficulties did not astonish him. Lewis XV. is slow at resolving, but when he is determined, his resolution is firm. He appeared more gay than usual: perhaps the internal tranquility of the state greatly contributed towards it; for the broils with the court of England had produced so good an effect at home, that schisms were no longer the subject of conversation. The curates administered to the sick, and thus the clergy and parliament were reconciled.

We learnt at Versailles that George II. who had made a voyage to his Electoral dominions, was returned to London. His presence was there necessary to expedite the military operations. We were at the same time informed, that several councils had been held at Kensington, in which it was resolved to make war. It had already been pursued for some time; and these councils were held only to deliberate upon the means. The English had by this time taken from the French 250 merchantmen, and made upwards of 4000 sailors prisoners of war.

The two nations mutually upbraided each other with the injustice of their proceedings. The English reproached the French with having infringed upon the treaty of peace, and the French openly declared, that the English made war like pirates; and added, that the parliament of England might be compared to the Divan of Constantinople, and George II. to the Dey of Algiers.

The Duke of Belleisle said, that these reproaches were carried too far; that there were sufficient grounds for the two nations fighting for five hundred years without declaring war.

Count de Argenson asked a foreign minister, in my presence, _Which of the two parties was the most equitable?_ “They are both unjust, said the foreigner. France is in the wrong for having made incursions upon the British dominions in America, and for having fortified Dunkirk; and England has done amiss by seizing the ships of this nation, and for having made prisoners of war in time of peace.”

I related this discourse to the King, who said, that most of the foreign ministers were unacquainted with the origin of the dispute, and that they judged of things only by appearances, or according to the ideas they entertained of their own country.

These private discourses no way altered the general operations. The armaments by sea and land continued going on, and we prepared ourselves for war. The Pope offered his mediation; this was Benedict XIV. The matter might have been referred to him, had it been possible for him to have negotiated the affair in person; but it must have been entrusted to nuncios, who are usually men as ambitious as they are ignorant, and who are acquainted with no other politics than those of the Vatican.

The King of Portugal also offered his service: but as he was incapable of throwing any weight in the scale, he occasioned no alteration in the designs that were formed for pursuing the war.

The duke of Noailles said, he was surprised that petty princes without power, should think of being the arbiters of the power of the first states in Europe.

I shall not conceal to posterity that pacific proposals were made between the two courts; but they were so distant from their respective views, that it may be presumed they were offered only to make the torch of war blaze the more, though the pretext was to extinguish it.

France’s demands were great, and the English required too much. This was the method of succeeding in the design that was formed of not agreeing.

In order to increase the troops, and render the armies more numerous, recourse was had to an expedient which was of very little consequence. The invalids, who, by their services and their wounds, had obtained admission into the hospital, were ordered to bear arms and fight the enemies of the state.

A wit said upon this occasion, that “this was having recourse to the dead to wage war against the living.”

In proportion as the quarrel between France and England increased, Lewis XV. gave me more power. It was imagined in the world, that I was the arbitress of this new revolution: it is true, the King asked my opinion upon many things; but I took care not to be answerable for such events as might give a new biass to affairs in general: I referred them to the council of state, leaving them to share all the blame, if any was incurred.

The ministers saw me more regularly, and the general officers who were desirous of commanding the armies, paid their court to me with remarkable assiduity.

Whilst agreeable news was received from the new world, the court was very uneasy about two squadrons which had set sail for America; but advice came of their being returned to Brest. The King came himself to acquaint me with the news, at which he testified much joy. It was natural to think that the ships which composed these squadrons would fall into the hands of the English, who had sent very considerable fleets to America.

The first advantage the French gained in Canada, produced a second. The Iroquois nation offered to enter into alliance with the French.

The count D’Argenson shewed me the discourse which the deputies of this savage people addressed to M. Vaudreuil, who commanded the King’s troops.

“May the Great Spirit preserve the captain of the French and his valiant warriors! May the extent of their courage be measured by the number of their wounds! We, whose nations are as ancient as the stars, and the most courageous upon earth, come to offer thee the right arm of our warriors. The black gowns who are amongst us, have taken care to make us acquainted with thy nation, which is the most valiant of any after our own, because they have seen that these warriors might learn from ours what they did not know before. Our nation, who reckon more than ten thousand moons, come then to unite their forces to assist thee, in order to regale our wives and children with the dead bodies of the enemies of the captain of the French. Receive the calumet of peace, and as a mark of joy, give three shouts to the sun, which is risen to enlighten our nations.”

This letter being made public at Versailles, a courtier, who had read it, said to the King: “Sire, we must make an alliance with the Iroquois, for they will eat as many Englishmen as they can find. Those people are so famished with glory, that they devour their conquests.”

A few days after the return of the Brest fleets, the King said to me: “The English parliament desire peace, the people of England want war. I shall take no steps to procure the last; but if it is proposed to me upon honourable terms, I will accept of it.”

M. de Belleisle told me, that no terms would be proposed, and that all the reports that were spread in England, were only designed to amuse France, and surprise the government.

“Marshal, said I to him, we may possibly be surprised, for it is above a year since we were told that we ought to be so.”

Whilst warlike preparations were making on every side, the ministers often received memorials from individuals, pointing out the object of our first attack.

The French have for some time been greatly addicted to politics. It is pretended that we caught the infection from the English, and that it was communicated to France by the way of Calais. A man of great wit said to me one day upon this head, that since this contagion had spread, an infinite number of people, whose labour and industry might have been very beneficial to the state, became idle spectators. In England this rage is not so dangerous; the citizens engage themselves as well with their own private affairs, as with the administration in general. But in France, when a man gives himself up to politics, he passes his life systematically.

The Count D’Argenson shewed me a memorial, which he had received from an unknown hand, bearing this title, _Important advice to the government_.

“We should not wage war, said the anonymous author, either in Germany or in America; the English navy is superior to ours: the English will in the end have the advantage over us. In opposing ourselves to their forces, we shall only compleatly ruin our own.

“We should take the field with a bold stroke. It should seem for some time past, as if our ministers were paid by the English government, to go into all the snares that were laid for them. It is only necessary that the court of London chalk out a plan, for that of Versailles to follow them. This bold stroke is to enter into alliance with Spain, and invade Portugal provisionally. The Portuguese are allies of the English, and this is a sufficient plea to conquer them: I say this is sufficient, for princes have long since thought they had no occasion for a pretext to make war: it was only necessary that an invasion favoured their designs.

“That kingdom is easy to invade; Portugal has neither armies nor officers, for we should not consider as soldiers, a few natives badly disciplined, who never saw fire, and commanders that never served. Some months must elapse before the English can send them troops and generals. Lisbon will be taken before the English fleet can set sail to defend it.

“Portugal being once in the hands of the French, the English will attempt nothing; or else at the peace, they will give up every thing.

“To form a judgment of the importance of this invasion, the advantages which Great Britain derives from Portugal should be considered.

“All Europe knows that this kingdom has no manufactures, and that the English furnish the Portuguese not only with every thing which promotes their luxury, but even their physical wants. Forty thousand artizans, in every kind of trade, are constantly at work for them. Portugal maintains forty thousand of King George’s subjects. These contribute to the support of an equal number of other citizens; and as this primitive industry is the source of infinite subordinate species of it, the interruption given to these manufactures would occasion a diminution in the general circulation.

“Eight thousand merchantmen sail every year from the river Thames to enter the Tagus; twenty thousand English sailors are therefore supported by this single branch of commerce.

“The mines of Brazil produce annually fresh riches for England, which are the more advantageous, as they furnish that nation with the means of purchasing alliances, and paying subsidies. It is partly with the gold of Portugal that Great Britain maintains her fleets, and raises armies.

“It is true that the riches of Portugal are in America, and that the English fleets might possess themselves of the mines; but the English would not derive great advantage from this conquest.

“The extraction of gold is a manufacture that must be rendered profitable, to draw advantages from it: and this capacity is not the lot of every one. The Portuguese, naturally sober, and who have but few wants, can alone derive these advantages from it; the English, with whom labour is much dearer, would be losers by it. Great Britain, instead of being enriched, would be impoverished by the mines.

“It is a general rule, that mines always ruin their proprietors, as Spain and Portugal evince, which are continually impoverished in proportion as their mines become fruitful. The only nations that are thereby enriched, are those who barter their industry for the produce.

“The invasion of Portugal would make a change in all the systems of Europe. It would cause a general revolution in cabinets. The face of affairs in Germany would be entirely altered. The King of Prussia would change his plans. The Belligerant powers, who are preparing for a certain war, would be obliged to carry on another, which would greatly distress many powers.

“France by this first cast would save great armies, and still greater sums. Portugal would be no sooner taken, than the English would set about re-taking it: this war, which would at once entirely occupy them, would divert them from any other.

“The English ministry are prepared for every thing, except the invasion of Portugal. They have planned all their operations for the German war, and that in America; but no steps are taken for the defence of Portugal.

“But this expedition should be equally secret as speedy: these form the soul of success. The greatest part of our operations miscarry, because they are tardy and public. The enemy is almost constantly acquainted with our designs the very instant that they are projected: this is the certain means of rendering them abortive. The English, it is true, are not prepared to oppose this invasion; but if they gain timely notice of it, they will set aside some other plans to prevent this. Expedition and penetration are, we know, the two characteristic qualities of that government.

“The court of Madrid should be made acquainted with this scheme by an extraordinary courier, and their assistance requested; or, we should rather propose giving up Portugal to them, after the invasion.

“If the court of Madrid has hitherto refused entering into alliance with France, it was because an expensive war was proposed to them, which offered nothing but charges without conquest: but when we propose giving them, as the fruit of their alliance, a kingdom at hand, and to which they pretend having ancient claims, they will not hesitate a moment.

“The troops that are in Rousillon, Languedoc, and Provence, should be forwarded by degrees nearer and nearer; the marching of those that are more distant would discover the project.”

END of the SECOND VOLUME.

FOOTNOTES:

[A] The Thesis of the Abbé Prade.

[B] We did not know that the magistrate first brought the Sorbonne back to their duty, and awakened the zeal of the pastors, who slept in tranquility by the side of the wolf.

[C] The features of this portrait were certainly drawn for the late Duke of Orleans, to whom, we are assured, the archbishop refused the sacraments. If this be true, who dare think himself worthy of aspiring to this favour?