France under the regency : with a review of the administration of Louis XIV

Front matter

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Preface

Tus book covers the regency of the Duke of Orleans, with a review of the more important phases of the long reign of Louis XIV. I expect hereafter to discuss some other periods of French history during the eighteenth century. The present volume, however, is entirely distinct; the history of the century naturally divides itself into epochs, any one of which ean be studied by those who so desire, without any necessary reference to the others.

Historical students now feel bound to consult the most trustworthy authorities. To discover the truth of history, as well as the facts in a court of law, hearsay and secondary evidence can only be received when no better can be found. For almost everything that concerns the government itself, in its administrative and diplomatic relations, official documents and diplomatic correspondence are the most satisfactory sources of information. Many of these, for this period of French history, have been published. Most of the valuable manuscript authorities are found at the National Library at Paris, and especially in the Archives

1V PREFACE.

des Affaires Etrangéres. ‘The courtesy of the French government allows students of French history to have access to whatever they care to examine.

The literature of the time and contemporary memoirs furnish the best idea of the social and intellectual condition of the period. The newspapers of this era are of little importance; as we understand the institution of the press, it cannot be said to have existed. It is impossible for any one to read all the documents and printed matter which may contain information. ‘There is, however, little difficulty in deciding what is of the most importance, and on what authorities one can safely rely. The views which may be taken of the events and characters of the regency, and of the administration of Louis XIV., will differ ; the lessons to be drawn from these periods will be differently interpreted by different writers. So far as the occurrences themselves are concerned, I do not think that any important sources of information will be discovered which will throw new light upon them.

It is manifestly impracticable to give all the authorities which are examined. A statement as to the purposes of a king or a minister may be based upon the impression produced by reading fifty letters ; a statement as to the economical condition of a district may be founded upon as many reports of superintendents and other officials. To refer to them all, still more to cite liberally from them, would make the notes far more voluminous than the text. I have endeavored ee ine re gh CE. a v 1 ; cares to examine critically any passage

“This j is sufficient to Serve aa a guide to

2 Oe a B ei With a t ‘ arene

Chapter I. France In The Eighteenth Century

PAGE Effect of the Revolution . : : “i j : Had a Reign of Louis XIV. 2 SER cil aakoegly dies 2 Commercial Development of eae : : : ; Heal at) Influence of Literature 4 : : - 3 ; 6 Decline of Monarchical Feeling . 2 : | : Pilar y | Religious Condition of France . : : : ; A 10 Contest with Parliament . : . - : Pred bs Loss of Foreign Possessions of Beaton : : : : 14 Influence of French Literature in Europe . ° : eg hs; Influence of England ; : 5 ° ‘ 17 Influence of the American Harelaion ‘ ; ‘ ity be Condition of the Aristocracy . ‘ : - : i 20 Results of the Revolution . ; , ; : é got

Chapter II

THE Earty YEARS OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF Lous XIV. 1661-1670.

Condition of France in 1661 : ‘ , : A es Ministers of Louis XIV. : ; ‘ ) : M 25 Character of Louis XIV. . : : ; : . 26 He assumes Control of the Imac) val : : , “ 29 Corruption of Fouquet : ‘ : NW fe eee ate iy al a ok Misery of the People ‘ : : : ‘ ° BES: Fouquet’s Overthrow decided upon. ° ° ; . 3d

Festivities at Vaux 3 ; é ; : : y 36

Vili TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Dispute with Spanish Ambassador at Dantes ; Quarrels with the Pope . : ° ; ‘ Purchase of Dunkirk . : : : : ; Suppression of Internal Disorders . ° :

Splendor of the Court . . shares a

Chapter III. Wars With Spain And Holland

1667-1679.

Claims upon the Possessions of Spain . ° : Renunciation of Maria Theresa

Birth of Charles II. : ; Claims made by Louis on Brabatt 3 hike by Death of Philip IV. . : . . ‘ War between England and Holland. ‘ :

Invasion of the Spanish Low Countries ‘ ; Alarm excited in Holland é ‘ ‘ The Triple Alliance. . : . : : Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle

Treaty between France and Austria. , : Acquisitions by France :

Condition of Lorraine and Alsace p . Louis’s Indignation against Holland ‘ : Alliance with England ‘ : ° ‘ :

Alliance with German Powers .

Improvements of Louvois .

Invasion of Holland ; : Y : Offers made by the Dutch .

The Dikes are cut ° - Cruelties practiced in Hollands . ° : Alliance in Behalf of Holland

Death of Turenne

Louis’s Military Tastes . : ; ° Terms offered to Holland 2 : i Peace made with Holland ; ; ; !

Peace of Nimeguen . ; . ° ; :

SeERERSS

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Chapter IV. Colbert. 1661-1683

Birth and Appearance of Colbert : ° Employed by Mazarin ; Appointed Superintendent by wae Financial Condition of France .

Measures to reduce the Debt

Measures against the Farmers General Improvement in the Condition of France Protective Tariffs in France

Manufacturing Industries . i ‘ ° Principles advocated by Colbert

His Encouragement of Manufacturers Protective Tariffs of Colbert

Their Effect on the Country

Condition of the Country in 1698

Opinion of the Merchants in 1700

Increase in Wealth in the Eighteenth Century The Edicts regulating Manufacturers Edicts forbidding Exportation of Grain . Result of Colbert’s Policy . . ~. . His Colonial Policy .

His Death and Wealth

CHAPTER V. LovIs THE GREAT

Louis’s Position in Europe .

His Influence upon the Nobility

Life at Versailles ;

Character of the Nobility ee aside XIV. Embassies from Foreign Countries Completion of the Louvre Improvements in Paris / Construction of Palace of Varasilles Literature under Louis XIV.

Pensions paid Authors

Louis’s Relations with Women x TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Madame de Maintenon . : i ; m : . ees Her Political Influence Z , 3 i - 156 Veneration felt for Louis XIV. : : ‘ 3 - “268

His Character . ; : : ‘ .. \ van CHAPTER VI.

THE REVOCATION OF. THE Epict OF NANTES. 1685.

Religious Policy of Louis XIV. : . hi) i Growth of the Huguenot ageichs in FP rance ‘ , >: tah OB Edict of Nantes . ; ‘ A ° . 166 Treatment of Huguenots by Histol . : . - 167 Their Treatment by Mazarin. 7 ‘ ‘ , . 168 © Restrictive Measures of Louis XIV. : ‘ ‘ ,| 168 Conduct of the Gallican Church . : : ‘ . Pa) 3 4 Endeavors to convert Huguenots. asad ° ot pair Persecution of Huguenots . ‘ . : ‘ ° . 175 Dragonnades . ax: ; : Seah Ke f The Huguenots rites Catholteirhs : . hae . 182 Revocation of Edict of Nantes : ; ‘ ‘ . 184 Praise received by Louis. . . ‘ ‘ . 185

Treatment of the New Converts . ‘ . i Se ee Flight of Protestants from France. ° ‘ - . 189

Institution of the Galleys : . : . : > Lee Relaxation in Severities ‘ : : - 3 , - 195 Petty Persecution . . . e - ~ 1% Results of the Revocuioe of the Edict ‘ : é - 199 Louis’s Quarrels with Innocent XI. _ . ° - 204 Action of the Gallican Church . ; > - 205

Quarrels over the Privileges of ‘Ambasaciien ‘ . - 207

Chapter VII. Coalitions Against France. 1680-1697

Results of Early Reign of Louis XIV. - : : . 209 Proceedings of the Courts of Reunion . : : - 211 Annexation of Strasburg. ; ° ° ; ‘ . 212 Bombardment of Genoa . ° . ; °) | 4 iene

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Treatment of the Duke of Savoy

Persecutions of the Vaudois_. : ° ; Feeling against Louis in Europe . :

League of Augsburg : ;

Quarrel over Electorate of Calognal! WE WS Beginning of the War. oe ne rie

Expedition of William of Grahre eis Devastation of the Palatinate . ° e . Capture of Namur

Louis leaves the Army

Death of Louvois ‘ ‘ .

Barbarities practiced in the Pe Se uk Condition of France . ; - : ° Terms with the Duke of Savoy . . .

Treaty of Ryswick . . . .

Chapter VIII. The Spanish Succession. 1698-1713

Question of the Spanish Succession . Claimants on the Succession . : . ; Negotiations for a Partition alate ° First Partition Treaty . A ‘ : :

Second Partition Treaty . ° ‘ ; Feelings of the Spanish . AW ROK S Negotiations at Madrid . . . .

uemematn or Louis XIV. . 2. « .

Condition of Charles II. of Spain. °

Intrigues of PortoCarrero . . . .

Willof Charles II. . Pe AA alts ay ae De It is accepted by Louis XIV. : SPW ien dirs

Duke of Anjou declared King of Spain. Apprehension excited in Europe . . .

Conduct of Louis XIV. ; . , ‘ War declared . : se ie Recognition of the Brecandes by Tats

War of the Spanish Succession OE a Roe

Defeats of the French

Discontent in France : : - :

xli TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Louis endeavors to make Peace . ; , e . - 277 Conduct of the Allies . 7 : . olin ta hte Conduct of Philip V. of Spain, ; ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ . 280 Madame des Ursins : : ; . ° : . 281 Financial Condition of France. ° : : . » 283 . Victories in Spain. ‘ ° : . : ° «| 285 Peace of Utrecht ; 4 ‘ ° ‘ . 285 Conduct of the English Ministora . ; oft ey hae Overthrow of Madame des Ursins_. - : ; . 289 CHAPTER IX.

THE CLosE oF THE REIGN oF Louis XIV. 1712-1715.

Death of the Dauphin : . : . 293 Death and Character of the Duke of Burgundy . . 294 Grief of Louis XIV. . ; i : : . 296 Destruction of Port Royal . : ‘ ° . . 297 Death of Louis XIV. Ot NS AS Growth of Royal Power in France . : ‘ : . 300 Condition of the Aristocracy . ; : ‘ ; . 302

Privileged Classes . : - : : 0 TLS Ra oT GS Local Institutions of France : \ q : d . 304

Provincial States . . ; : ; : : - 3806 ‘Municipal Bodies , , ° ; ; . 308 They lose the Right to lath Officers : ° a 2 EO The French Parliaments . : ° . of time . 312

Condition of the Peasantry . ; oS oo tas Effect of Louis’s Government . ; ° ; . . 314 Changes in Industry : : 2 oh nek (heel) at aa

Legal Reforms . ; ; : e . ° . 317 Monarchical Government in tee ; ‘ 4 ot BLO Decline in Religious Belief . ; A . ° : » 320 Social Grievances . : : é J = on SG2 CHAPTER X.

THE REGENCY. 1715.

Lack of Respect for Louis XIV. ° oil hel aid The Office of Regent. “ ; 0) ha

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Philip V. intrigues tobe Regent. . . . Mee Dake of Orleans... . . . .

Will of Louis XIV. . , ‘ ; ; ‘ Session of the Parliament ‘ : ; ‘ . Will of Louis XIV. set aside . .

Appointment of Councils “iS ad SNL Inefficiency of the Aristocracy . .

Quarrels over Precedence : : :

Right of Bastards to inherit the Throne ‘ ; Degradation of Duke of Maine

Release of Prisoners . ’ : : ‘ Religious Policy of Regent. ; : . ° His Political Views : :

Financial Condition of France C ‘ ; 4 Efforts at Reformation : : E ‘ -

Depreciation of the Currency . . . .«. .

CHAPTER XI.

DuBoIs AND THE ENGLISH ALLIANCE. 1715-1717.

Character of Cardinal Dubois. , r : Preceptor of the Duke of Orleans . ~. .~ . Letter of Orleans’s Mother ‘ 4 - q Religious Character of Dubois MUNK chee Bid ved Treatment of the Pretender ‘ : i ; Louis XIV. refuses to assist him . . : English friendly to Duke of Orleans . . .

Offers of an Alliance : ; ; : ‘ Conduct of Orleans. : ; 2 : : Defeat of the Jacobites . p ‘ J , Negotiations for an Alliance SS irk a Dubois’s Visit at the eek

He goes to Hanover . ; ° ‘

Charges that he was Reread A . : 7 ‘

Character of Stanhope ; oth ite : ; Formation of Triple Alliance oi 3 ehyheden . Results ofthis Measure . . . . e Sete oLthe Treaty =. op te inte se

XIV TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XII.

THE QUADRUPLE ALLIANCE AND WAR WITH SPAIN. 1718-1720.

Character of Philip V. : He is governed by his Wives Character of his Second Wife Life of Philip V.. ‘ His Superstition .

‘Claims as to his Beknnspiticn ;

His Animosity to Orleans Alberoni . - Schemes of Aberin: ; ° Hostility to France . : The Spanish invade Sardinia Dubois Ambassador at London The Quadruple Alliance The Spanish invade Sicily War against Spain Conspiracy of Cellamare .

Arrest of the Conspirators .

The French invade Spain Overthrow of Alberoni ,

CHAPTER

LAW AND HIS

Karly Life of John Law

His Theories on Finance .

His Proposals to the Scotch Career as a Gambler

Visits Paris :

His Offers to the Rapait Views in Reference to a Bank The Regent favorable to Law Law’s Bank organized

Its Beneficial Effect

Its Change to a State Bank e

XII.

SYSTEM,

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XIV.

THe Muississrppr1 COMPANY.

1717-1720.

Law’s Plans for Foreign Commerce ‘ Organization of the Company of the West.

Territory ceded to it . ; ‘ Capital of the Company . - : - Other Franchises obtained by As oa) be

The Company of the Indies . . . .

Obtains Farm of the Taxes oN ouip Ms Funding of the National Debt PAL ; Increased Issues of Currency . ; Attempts to colonize Louisiana

Reports as to its Wealth

Beginning of Speculation in Shares ete Issues of Stock

Advance in Prices . ; : ‘ , .

Subscriptions for Shares

Speculation in the Rue eee ‘ : Fluctuations in Prices . . . ‘ Fortunes realized . ; ; : ‘ Apparent Prosperity

Reforms effected by Law He is made Controller General : : Dividends promised on the Stock . é ‘

CHAPTER XV.

THE FAILURE OF THE SYSTEM.

1720-1721.

Speculators begin to realize

High Price of Provisions

Edicts against Luxury -

Measures against Use of Gold and Rilver Their Use is prohibited ; Purchase of Shares by the Santen Violence in Efforts at Colonization Murder committed by Count Horn .

XV

XvV1 TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Speculation forbidden . : : : ; ; 4 . 498 Reduction in Value of Shares . : ‘ ; : . 600 Law’s Measures repealed. ‘ ; ‘ : . 503 Disturbances in Payment of Bank Notes o 1) tA Re ae ene Fall in Price of Shares : : ; : ‘ : . 507 The System abandoned . : ; ; , ; . 6508 Law leaves France ‘ 4 : . ; ; . 510 His Character and Goniudee ‘ , ; . 612

Liquidation of the Bank and the Compare : : . 514

Future History of the Company of the Indies . : 2) al

Results of Law’s System . : ; : ‘ . . 517 CHAPTER XVI.

THE MINISTRY OF DUBOIS.

1717-1721.

Influence of Dubois . y : ; > 3 . . 520 Contests with the Parliament . : : 4 P + 42 Visit of Peter the Great : : . : 3 - 527

Embassy from the Sultan otf Taskey ; : . . 630 Treatment of the Jansenists : ; 4 : 5 . 534

Quarrels over the Bull Unigenitus . : ; . 636 Intrigues for Dubois’s Promotion as a Cardinia : . 538 Death of Clement XI... : : : . ; . 544

Dubois made a Cardinal ; * ; é - . 546

CHAPTER XVII.

THE CLOSE OF THE REGENCY.

1721-1723.

Dubois made Prime Minister : : : : ‘ . 54T Alliance with Spain ; 4 ; ; : ° - 548 Majority of Louis XV. ; : : : : . 549 His Coronation ; 4 ; : “ é . . > SEBO

Miracles at Paris : ° ; . , : d . 552 DV PLEAD 05 Ae! - ; 2 - 552 Influence of the Reeaney on iataeataees : ° : . 554 Scientific Progress in France . ° : ° : . 556

The Worship of the Sacred Heart . ° ‘ ‘ . 557 Growth of Paris . 5 : : ° . ° . 509

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Influence of Paris : - 4 : : ° Career of Cartouche : , A “ é Death of Dubois . : y : , .

Death of Orleans ef « : ‘ Influence of the Regency . ees OF fe

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE MoRALS OF THE REGENCY.

Moral Condition under the Regency Moral Condition under Louis XIV.

Life led by the Duke of Orleans Suppers of the Palais Royal

Opera Balls Bettys :

Fétes at St. Cloud

Mistresses of the Regent Dissipation at Versailles

The Duke of Richelieu

The Duchess of Berry . : : Children of the Duke of aseane 7 ° Laxity of Moral Judgment. : . : Relaxation of Religious Belief . eel acine's Character of Louis XV. ; ‘

Last Words of the Duke of Pleas’ ; 3 -

INDEX ., 3 “ ; z 4 ; y eV § By 2 (Ft k's

FRANCE UNDER THE REGENCY.

Chapter I. France In The Eighteenth Century

Tue history of France in the eighteenth century justly claims the attention of the student of politics, of society, and of literature. The last hundred years have witnessed political and social modifications more important than those of any era since the institution of Christianity and of the Roman Empire. In the intellectual movement of the years preceding, we must seek the origin, the vivifying cause, of the changes which have so rapidly transformed modern civilization, and during those years it is certain that France exercised the greatest influence of any European state.

Few now deny that the French Revolution affected profoundly and permanently forms of government and conditions of society. Even those who are most eloquent in denunciation of its crimes admit that its results have changed the face of Europe. The causes of a movement of such importance can be traced far back, but in a general way it may be said that the conditions which determined its nature and controlled its consequences are to be sought between the death of Louis XIV. and the meeting of the States General. It was impossible that a monarchy like that of the Bourbons, or institutions such as those of the old régime, should continue indefinitely in France, but it was uncertain how long that form of government could exist, and what would be the beliefs and the influence of the French people when old traditions had passed away. ‘The three quarters of a century which precede 1789, though less dramatic and less lurid than the era of the Revolution, can be studied with equal profit by those who seek to know the record of the past, in order to derive from it lessons for the present, and admoni- ' tions for the future.

The reign of Louis XIV. extended over seventy years, and in so long a period it largely modified the institutions and the power of France. Her European position was far more commanding at the close of the seventeenth century than at its beginning. Alike in political power, in the, influence exercised by her society, in the attention attracted by her literature, France was confessedly the leading state of Europe. Additions of new territory had increased her strength and her prestige ; they had gratified the pride of a people which has always been eager to extend the boundaries and the influence of the fatherland. The aggrandizement of France during the seventeenth century is not to be condemned as the result of a series of piratical excursions. The growth of nations by the absorption of smaller communities, adapted by situation and by race to assimilate with the larger body, has been the law of European progress. Thus France has been built up. Thus Italy has been consolidated in our own days. The greatest subdivision of Europe coincided with the worst condition of the poor, and the lowest phases of general intelligence. The unification of great nations, in the past as in the present, has attended the development of civilization.

‘The early successes of Louis XLV. were followed by reverses, and his reign ended in disaster. It was shown that the omnipotence of the master was not accompanied by omniscience; a severe rule became irksome when its results were defeat abroad and distress at home. But the feeling of relief that welcomed the death of the old king was far from being a desire for , any radical change in the system of government. The child who succeeded to the throne was an object of affection and veneration to the entire nation. When he was dangerously ill, every one was in consternation; his recovery was greeted by demonstrations of delight which were universal and unfeigned. Bourgeoisie united with nobility in a common glee; the fisherwomen of the mar} et were as exuberant in their joy as the courtiers of the Louvre.!

The regency of the Duke of Orleans lasted only eight years, but it was not without a considerable effect upon the destinies of the country. It was a break in the political and the religious traditions of the reign of Louis XIV. The new activity imparted to business during this period was an event of equal importance. Nothing is more erroneous than to suppose that constantly increasing misery at last excited revolt against the government and the institutions of the old régime. The Revolution in France at the close of the eighteenth century was possible, not because the condition of the people had grown worse, but because it had become better. The material development of that country, during the fifty years that preceded the con-

1 Accounts of the demonstrations at the recovery of the young king in 1721 are given in the journals of Barbier and Buvat. The fishwives presented an enormous sturgeon. — Journal de Marais, ii, 183.

vocation of the States General, had no parallel in its past history. Neither the weight of taxation, nor the extravagance of the court, nor the bankruptcy of the government, checked an increase in wealth that made France in 1789 seem like a different land from France in 1715. The lot of large classes was still miserable, the burden of taxation upon a large part of the population was still grievous, there were sections where Arthur Young could truly say that he found only poverty and. privileges, but the country as a whole was more prosperous than Germany or Spain; it was far more prosperous than it had been under Louis XIV. An enthusiastic observer declared that one seemed to breathe in that fair land the perfume of .public felicity.

Such an improvement in material conditions necessitated both social and political changes. In the most disastrous periods of French history, an alteration in the form of government, effected by the community at large, would have been impossible. Hunger and despair might excite a Jacquerie, bands of starving sayages might burn the castle of a gentleman and murder his family, but such excesses had no permanent result: The villeins of a feudal lord, ignorant, miserable, mentally inert, were as incapable of attempting important political changes as were the beasts they tended. The bourgeoisie, though more prosperous and more intelligent, bore little resemblance to the same class in the eighteenth century. A revolution like that of 1789 was impossible until the condition of the people, both materially and mentally, was far removed from what it had been in the Hundred Years’ War, or even during the era of the Fronde. |

1 Mémoires du Comte Beugnot.

‘Dense ignorance was still widespread in France in the latter part of the eighteenth century, but the intellectual condition of the middle classes had been largely, and that of the lower classes somewhat modified. The proportion of the peasantry capable of mental action more varied than providing for physieal needs was larger under Louis XVI. than under Louis XIV. In the cities, and among the middle and: upper classes, increased activity and freedom of thought were among the most striking features of the age. ‘The wealthy merchant no longer viewed society as did the bourgeois who kept a little shop on the Pont Neuf under the Valois kings. ‘The merchants have discarded their former dress,” said Voltaire, “‘ politeness has gained the shop.” Even this change in manners was symbolical. But while social conditions had altered, political institutions remained unchanged. New wine had been poured in, but the old bottles were still used. Tailles and corvées were no more severe in the eighteenth than in the fifteenth century, but they were more odious. A feudal privilege, which had then been accepted as a part of the law of nature, was now regarded as contrary to nature. The preeminence of birth, which had been freely accorded by the merchant and the member of Parliament of the seventeenth century, was galling to their descendants. The member of the third estate, who felt that in wealth and intelligence he was the equal of a social superior, chafed at distinctions which were the more strenuously insisted upon as they began to be questioned. Thus a demand for social equality, for the abolition of privileges and immunities by which any class profited at the expense of others, was fostered by economical changes. It received an additional impetus from the writings of theorists, philosophers, and political reformers.

The influence of literature in France during the eighteenth century was important, yet it is possible to overestimate it. The seed of political and social change was sown by the writers of the period, but the soil was already prepared to receive it. The books of Voltaire and Rousseau and the Encyclopedists would have been impossible a century earlier, and if they had then appeared they would have failed of effect. We can more truly say that a subversive literature was the result of the unsettled condition of men’s minds, than that public opinion was first unsettled by a subversive literature.

It was only in the latter part of the century that a great influence was exercised by the writers who attacked established institutions. In St. Simon’s memoirs, written about 1745, he refers to the imprisonment of Voltaire in the Bastille when he was a young man, and adds, by way of excuse for speaking of so paltry an event, that Voltaire had since become somewhat of a personage in society of a certain kind. This remark expressed the contemptuous feeling of a duke and a peer for any one who was not distinguished by birth, but it would not have been made later. When St. Simon wrote, Voltaire was known as a poet and a wit; it was not until years afterward that he became a power in Europe whom sovereigns feared and the populace worshiped. Had the duke written in 1775, he would probably have denounced Voltaire as an’ atheist, a criminal, and an object of loathing, but he would not have dismissed him with mild contempt as one who was denied access to the inner mysteries of aristocratic society.

‘The course of events, the conduct of their rulers, prepared the minds of the French people for political change, and accounted for the influence which literature acquired. The doctrines of philosophers found easy access to the hearts of a people with whom reverence for royalty and a tranquil acceptance of an established government had been succeeded by contempt for the king and hatred for the régime under | which they lived.

We can trace this change of sentiment during the reivn of Louis XV. The popular affection which encircled his cradle accompanied him when he had grown to be aman. During the long administration of Fleury, the young king was submissive to the wishes of his minister, but after the cardinal’s death the people looked forward with expectation to the exercise of the personal authority of their sovereign. His early breaches of morality excited little criticism among his subjects. Henry IV., the most popvular, and Louis XIV., the most powerful, of French monarehs, had indulged in the gallantry which was deemed a prerogative of sovereignty, and it had not interfered with the performance of their duties as rulers. “ The king’s relations with women will develop his genius and his sensibility,” wrote one chronicler, and he declared the criticisms upon Mme. de Pompa- .