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From the Edinburgh Review 30 (1818): 351-72.
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THIS volume has never, we understand, been published; and it is accompanied by no preface or notice which might lead the reader to a knowledge, either of the author, or of the grounds for believing in the authenticity of its contents. But having accidentally obtained a copy, and been informed at the same time of its history, we feel justified in giving our readers an account of it, which there is no reason for believing will prove offensive in any quarter.
The editor and compiler is Mr Quintin Crawford, a very respectable gentleman, of a Scotch family, but who has long been settled at Paris, where he is alike known for his hospitality and for the elegance of his literary leisure. Having become possessed of the original papers, which form the groundwork of this volume, he appears to have justly thought that the press furnished the best means of preserving them; and we trust that he will be further prevailed upon to allow the public at large access to them. Some of them are indeed curious and interesting, in a high degree, to the lovers of Literary History. Those tracts which are not expressly stated to be the productions of others, we presume are written by Mr Crawford himself.
The first piece relates to Abelard and Eloisa, and the Paraclete. It consists of two modern letters upon the story of those unfortunate persons, written by a person whom Mr Crawford praises highly us a sound and sagacious critic, but does not name; and of two antient epistles from Petrus Venerabilis, Abbot of Cluni, to Eloisa, together with a catalogue and short account of all the Abbesses of the Paraclete, to the number of twenty-nine, justly regarded by the editor as only interesting to the families from which those holy persons sprung, and a few Papal Bulls respecting the same establishment. The author of the two critical letters, rather triumphs a little too much over his unfortunate predecessors—upon his superior felicity and discernment in the rectification of certain points of much antiquarian importance, chiefly connected with the grand matter of dates: But this is by immemorial usage the undoubted right of all criticks and antiquaries; and we must allow him the praise of adding considerably to the knowledge hitherto possessed on the subject. The common story, indeed, of Abelard being employed as a tutor to Eloisa, and his being punished as soon as her uncle knew of her dishonour, is exceedingly remote from the truth. It is well known that Abelard was a person of the very highest eminence in philosophy and all the literature of his age;—that he became enamoured of Eloisa, and tempted the avarice of the old Canon, Hubert, with whom she lived, by offering him a large board on condition of his taking him into the house;—that the Canon added to the bargain, the further obligation of instructing his niece;—and that upon her proving with child, they both made their escape, she lying-in at his sitter's, and he soon after returning—apparently without any loss of respect to prosecute his studies, and continue his school of philosophy.
Our author fixes the date of her delivery in the year 1118, when she was eighteen, and he
thirty-eight years old. He soon found meant to appease Hubert, by promising marriage; but
Eloisa,Etsi uxoris nomen sanctius et
validius videtur, dulcius mihi semper extitit Amicæ vocabulum, aut si non indigneris,
Concubinæ vel Scorti. Deum testem invoco, si me Augustus, universo præsidens mundo,
matrimonii honore dignaretur, totumque mihi orbem confirmaret in perpetuo
præsidendum, charius mihi et dignius mihi videtur tua dici Meretrix quam illius
Imperatrix
. Many of the amplifications of Pope upon the various parts of the
original are to be found in the Count Bussy Rabutin's publication of the Letters, and in
the
Abelard, resolving now to retire from the world, made his unfortunate mistress do the same;
though she seems not to have finally made up her mind for two years. She took the veil in
1122, at Argenteuil, after the usual noviciate of a year; and he soon after professed at St
Denis. Being of a turbulent, austere, and even quarrelsome disposition, he could not remain
long in this fraternity, but retired to a wild forest, near Nagent-sur-Seine, where he
founded the Paraclete, sometime between 1128 and 1130. Although, at first, he had only a
log-house for a chapel, and a few miserable huts for habitations, his great fame attracted
The remains of Abelard were transported to the Paraclete by Eloisa's desire, and she was herself buried in the same coffin. The bodies were afterwards separated, but in 1779 they were again united; and, in opening the coffins, it was then observed that Abelard's bones were reduced to dust, except the skull, which was of an extraordinary thickness; that Eloisa's were much better preserved; that her skull was also peculiarly thick, and the teeth of a beautiful whiteness. These remains were, during the Revolution, carried to Paris, and were, till lately, in the Museum of Ancient Monuments; but the piety of the restored government has consigned them to a more consecrated place in the cemetery of Pere Lachaise. The following account of the Paraclete, when visited by our author, may interest the curious reader; but we give it as an example of better regulations than are usually to be found in such establishments; and we may add, that the narrative confirms an opinion entertained by many, that such cloysters might, under proper management, be productive of excellent effects, even in our times, provided voluntary residence could be reconciled with the infirmities of the human temper. The reader will perceive, that some particulars are quite at variance with the account of a similar excursion given in the Annual Register for 1768,- for instance, the statement in the latter, that none of the inhabitants seemed to know any thing about the founders, or their adventures.
'En entrant dans le parloir ou salle de compagnie de l'abbesse, les yeux sont
frappés par plusieurs portraits gravés d'Abeillard et
Le monaster est chef d'ordre, soumis à la regle de St Benoit, qui ne prescrit
aucune austérité, et qui fût d'ailleurs adoucie par les modifications qu'y apportât
Abeillard. Les religieuses sont proprement et commodement logées, les murs bien blanchis,
les parquets et les meubles d'un travail assez grossier, mais cirés avec le même soin que
la plus belle marqueterie. Les lits m'ont paru bons; on les garnit l'été des rideaux de
toile de coton blanche; et l'hiver, de serge bleue. Les religieuses sont bien nourries,
portent des chemises de toile quand elles les preferent à celles de laine, se couchent à
huit ou neuf heures, se levent à quatre heures du matin en été, et à six heures en hiver,
et ont en tout cinque ou six heures d'offices, à differentes époques de la journée. Le
vêtement des religieuses, semblable dit-on à celui que portoit Heloise, est assez
agreable; et quoiqu'elles aient la tête rasée, leur genre de coiffure ne deplait
pas.
'Lorsqu'une fille se presente pour être reçue au Paraclet, elle commence selon
l'usage par un noviciat; après lequel on l'exhorte à bien consulter sa vocation; et afin
de lui donner une idée infiniment juste du monde qu'elle veut quitter, on lui en fait,
autant qu'on le peut dans ce lieu, éprouver tous les agremens. D'abord on la laisse
promener, autant qu'il lui plait, dans une garenne voisine du convent. L'abbesse la mene
diner chez le curé d'Avant, village à une lieue du Paraclet, et qui leur fait la meilleure
chere qu'il peut. C'est de ce curé lui-même que je tiens ces details qu'il me les raconta
en riant. Quand la novice a ainsi passé le terme de son noviciat, si sa vocation se
soutient, on l'admet à faire profession, et à prononcer les vœux. Ces victimes volontaires
ne m'ont paru ni tristes ni farouches.'
Our author adds, that the tradition of the place is not very favourable to the amenity of Eloisa's temper and manners in her retreat, however exalted a notion it may give of the charms of her conversation—charms to which all accounts bear witness; and, indeed, the remains of her correspondence themselves impress us with an extraordinary sense of her merits. The best judges, as is here remarked, have given to her style the preference over that of her friend and master, for purity and natural grace. Her temper, like his, was in all likelihood affected by their calamities.
The letters of Peter of Cluni are curious specimens of monkish correspondence. They are
translated from the Latin, and begin, "Peter, humble Abbot of Cluni, wishes the
eternal life which God has promised those who love him, to the venerable Abbess Eloisa,
his very dear sister in Jesus Christ."
. He ex"Cum per faciem non esset infima, per abundantiam litterarum erat
suprema,"
says Abelard himself.
La Providence qui dispose de tout avec sagesse, eu nous refusant cette faveur (viz.
qu'Heloise fût de l'ordre de Cluni), nous en a accordé une semblable, en nous envoyant un
autre vous-même; c'est assez designer le Maître,
He then describes his having been removed when he fell ill, for a change of air, to the
neighbourhood of Chalons. His malady increased; but he continued the same holy life; and, at
last, yielded up his breath in the midst of pious men, and in the performance of devout
offices. Avec quelle pieté
(adds the good Abbot), avec quels
sentimens de religion il fit d'abord sa confession de foi, puis celle de ses péchés! Avec
quelle sainte avidité il reçut le saint viatique! Avec quelle foi il a recommandé a notre
Seigneur son ame et son corps! Il y a eu autant de temoins de ces pieux sentimens, qu'il y
a de religieux dans le monastère de Saint Marcel. Ainsi
(he concludes) termina sa carriere
ce fameux Docteur, qui du haut de sa chaire a fait retentir sa voix jusqu'aux extremités
de la terre
. We trust it may not be deemed a crime in the courts of romance, if
we add, that this distinguished sage and gallant, in point of fact, died of the itch or
mange. Plus solito scabie et quibusdam corporis infirmitatibus gravabatur
,
says the account in his works. It is remarkable, that no notice is taken of Astrolabe by
Bayle;—Moreri makes mention of him.
The next of these pieces is a dissertation apparently by the editor himself, upon that
quæstio vexata the Man in the Iron Mask: All the evidence upon this subject is collected,
and the different opinions are stilted and discussed. Among these, one is truly astonished
to find, that one so absurd as the conjecture of its being the Duke of Monmouth could have
found a single supporter among men of any pretensions to historical knowledge; for none but
the class of literary men, of course, ever took part in this controversy. The prisoner was
detained in custody from 1661 till the time of his death in 1703; while Monmouth was going
about in the English court and army till 1685, when he was publickly executed in London;
and, supposing the difficulty of the date to be got over, what possible reason could the
French Court have for confining him in order to secure the tranquillity of England and
strengthen the title of King William and Queen Anne, with both of whom France was at
war,—with the latter, indeed, at the moment of the prisoner's death?—Common sense rejects
some of the other explanations as plainly as the most ordinary historical knowledge does the
supposition of Monmouth. Thus, who can listen to the notion of a certain Due de Beaufort
second son of the Due de Vendome, a bastard of Henry IV. by the celebrated Gabrielle? Still
more ridiculous is the fancy broached by Mr Dutens in his Correspondance Interceptée, that
it was a minister of the Duke of Mantua, who had shown great skill in negotiations against
the French interests, and whom, on that account, the French ambassador carried off,
This dissertation upon the Iron Mask is followed by a number of short pieces, containing
anecdotes and reflections upon various political and historical subjects. There is none of
these tracts that require particular attention, unless it be one upon the fortunes amassed
by Ministers of State in France. An exact calculation makes the sums got and spent by
Cardinal Mazarin during his administration, including his buildings, foundations,
We now come to the last, the longest, and by far the most curious of these miscellaneous
pieces. It is a kind of irregular Journal kept by a certain Madame du Hausset,
femme-de-chambre of the celebrated Madame Pompadour, and occupies about 170 pages of this
volume. The Editor properly introduces it by stating the manner of obtaining it. M. Marigni,
it seems, brother of the royal favourite, was one morning burning some old papers, when a
friend of his, M. de Senac de Meilhan, calledHere is a journal of my sister's waiting-maid, who was a very worthy person
,—M. de Senac saved it from the flames, and asked him for it, to which he
assented. Mr Crawford purchased it from this gentleman; and found it ill written and badly
spelt, without any arrangement, and, as might be supposed, full of defects in style; for,
though a gentlewoman, Mad. du Hausset was but ill educated. In the present publication
nothing has been changed except the orthography, and some of the proper names, which were
confounded. She begins by mentioning, that she kept the Journal at the request of a friend,
who was a woman of talents, and who wished her to write a book after the manner of Mad. de
Caylus's Souvenirs. Her intention was to give her friend the Journal, that it might be made
more like its model. But we cannot help rejoicing that things took another course: for the
work appears now in all the simplicity of its original composition; and one advantage, among
many, which it derives from thence, is the air of naivete and honesty that pervades it all,
and gives the reader an entire confidence in its truth.
Of course we do not mean to give any general account of the King's private habits—of his decorous visits in secret to Mad. de Pompadour—of his seraglio at the Pare aux Cerf's, where he generally carried on intrigues of an inferior description—of his mistress's alarms lest other persons of rank might supplant her, while she had hardly ever any jealousy of those low amours—or of the kind of life generally which was led by the principal persons who are mentioned in this piece. We shall only select some of the most interesting particulars which are to be found in it; preferring those which throw light either upon remarkable men, or upon the administration of the French government in former times, to those passages which only gratify an idle curiosity.
One of the fortunate circumstances attending this journal is, that Mad. du Hausset happened
to be mistress of the celebrated Quesnay, the founder of the sect of the Economists. He was,
as is well known, a distinguished physician, and began to practise physic at Nantes, from
whence he accompanied the Due de Villeroi to Paris, as his medical attendant. There, as Mr
Crawford informs us in a valuable note, he happened to be in the Duke's carriage when Mad.
d'Estrades, M. de Pompadour's favourite, and d'Argenson's mistress, was taken ill with an
epileptic attack; and being called in, he concealed the nature of the malady with such
discretion from all the family, that she recommended him to her powerful friend, who made
him her physician, and obtained for him a place at Court, as well aschef-d'œuvre d'absurdité et de ridicule
. He
adds the following particulars respecting this celebrated personage.
Quesnay avoit beaucoup de gaieté et de bon hommie; il se plaisoit dans la
conversation à faire des especes d'apologues qui avoient en generale pour principe quelque
objet de la campagne. Il dissertoit avec beaucoup de chaleur sans envie de briller. Logé
dans un petit appartement qui tenoit de tres pres à celui de Mad. de Pompadour, il y
recevoit quelques gens de lettres et quelques personnes de la cour. On y parloit
tres-librement, mais plus des choses que des personnes. Le roi l'appeloit son penseur: il
lui accorda des lettres de noblesse; et voulant lui-même composer ses armes, il fit mettre
sur l'ecusson la fleur appelée pensée.
It is singular how complete an account of a man, pleasing and even delightful in society,
these few particulars contain; and that this character was possessed by the founder of the
Economists we were certainly little prepared to expect. Every thing relating to him in the
Journal, however, confirms the remarks of the Editor, and only makes us regret that more is
not known of Quesnay,—perhaps, too, that he did not apply himself more to lighter studies.
Mad. du Hausset introduces him to our notice at the very beginning of her narrative, with
her usual simplicity. J'étois devenue en peu de temps l'amie du docteur Quesnay, qui
venoit souvent passer deux ou trois heures avec moi. Il recevoit chez lui des personnes de
tous les partis, mais en petit nombre, et qui toutes avoient une très grande confiance en
lui. On y parloit très-hardiment de tout; et ce qui fait leur eloge et le sien, jamais on
n'a rien repeté.—Quelquefois, mais rarement, j'ai voyagé dans sa voiture avec le
docteur, à qui Madame (de Pompadour) ne disoit pas quatre paroles, quoique ce fût un homme
d'un grand esprit.
Mr Crawford mentions the Doctor's way of amusing himself in
society, by conveying his
Le Roi sortit pour aller à la figuerie avec Madame, et bientôt
après entra Quesnay, ensuite M. de Marigni. Je parlai avec mepris
de quelqu'un qui aimoit beaucoup l'argent; et le docteur s'etant
mis à rire, dit: "J'ai fait un drôle de rêve cette nuit. J'étois dans
le pays des anciens Germains; ma maison étoit vaste, et j'avois
des tas de blé, des bestiaux en grand nombre, et de grands tonnéaux
pleins de cervoise; mais je souffrois du rheumatisuie, et ne
savois comment faire pour aller a cinquante lieues de là à une fontaine
dont l'eau me queriroit. Il falloit pas chez un peuple etranger.
Un enchanteur parut et me dit: "Je suis touché de ton embarras;
tiens, voilà un petit paquet de poudre de Prelinpinpin; tous ceux à
qui vous en donneras, te logeront, te nourriront et te feront toutes
sortes de politesses. Je pris la poudre et le remerciai bien." Ah!
comme j'aimerois la poudre de prelinpinpin, lui dis-je; j'en voudrais
avoir plein mon armoire. "Eh bien, dit le docteur, cette poudre,
c'est l'argent que vous meprisez. Dites moi de tous ceux qui viennent
ici quel est celui qui produit le plus d'effet?" Je n'en sais rien,
lui dis-je. "Eh bien! c'est M. de Montmartel
The sect of Quesnay, as is well known, were very far from being enthusiasts on certain
subjects which fill ordinary men with anxiety and delight; they were no lovers of liberty;
on the contrary, a regular despotism, despotisme legal
, was the government
of which they rather approved. So ignorant has been the clamour raised against them by
senseless partisans in this country, and even in France, where they have been ridiculously
confounded with the promoters of the Revolution. But, erroneous as their views were upon
some of those great questions which most nearly concern the happiness of mankind, they could
ill brook, in the government, any base or sordid artifices, inconsistent with, and inimical
to publick morals. Quesnay is represented as always ready boldly to bear testimony to the
truth on such matters, even within the precincts of the court. Thus the Journal, giving a
pretty minute detail of the method pursued systematically by the government to obtain the
contents of letters sent by post, and which had grown into a regular department, with a
superintendant and six or seven clerks, Mad. du Hausset adds—Le docteur Quesnay,
plusieurs fois devant moi, s'est mis en fureur contre cet infame ministere, comme il
l'appeloit; et à tel point que l'ecume lui venoit à la bouche. Je ne dinerois plus
volontiers avec l'intendant des postes qu'avec le bourreau, disoit le docteur. Il faut
avouer
(she adds naturally enough), que dans l'appartement de la maîtresse
du roi il est étonnant d'entendre de pareils propos; et cela a duré vingt ans sans qu'on
en ait parle. C'etoit la probité qui parloit avec vivacité, disoit M. de Marigni, et non
l'humeur ou la malveillance qui s'exhaloit
.
Upon another occasion, she relates some information which she had from this upright and
able man, respecting what had recently passed between the King and several of his most
powerful ministers. At the time, no doubt, the anecdote bore the highVoilà
(says the Journalist), ce que le roi avoit dit, à ce que
me confia mon ami Quesnay, qui étoit, par paranthese, un grand
genie suivant l'opinion de tons ceux qui l'avoit connu, et de plus
un homme fort gai. Il aimoit causer avec moi de la campagne;
j'y avois été elevée, et il me faisoit parler des herbages de Normandie
et du Poitou, de la richesse des fermiers, et de la maniere
de cultiver. C'étoit le meilleur homme du monde, et qui étoit
eloigné de la plus petite intrigue. Il étoit bien plus occupé à
la cour de la meilleure maniere de cultiver la terre que de tout
ce qui s'y passoit
. She adds,
that M. de la Riviere was the man whom he esteemed the most, and whose capacity he thought
the highest; deeming him the only fit person for the administration of the finances. The
reader is aware, that this able minister, who had been Intendant at Martinique, was the most
early, and among the most distinguished followers of Quesnay.
Quesnay appears, like the rest of his sect, to have been impressed with a peculiar dislike
and dread of the bigotted party in France. When they had failed in their attempt to make the
King dismiss Madame de Pompadour, after the affair of Damiens, they meanly paid the utmost
court to her, though in private: They came in great numbers to wait upon her; and female
devotees were peculiarly anxious to show their respect. The doctor made himself very
merry, says our authoress, with this change of operations; and, when I urged in defence of
those good ladies, that they might, after all, be sincere, Aye, said he, but then they
must take care how they ask for any thing
;—a sagacious remark, which we recommend
to the attention of our statesmen in , the present day, to those especially who may turn
their minds towards the political history of the rat species. About this time, Mad. du
Hausset relates a curious conversation respecting the Dauphin, afterwards Louis XVI.,
occasioned by the fears of the philosopher, that persecution would revive. Un jour
j'étois chez le docteur Quesnay pendant que Madame étoit a la comedie. Le Marquis de
Mirabeau y vint; et la conversation fût quelque tems fort ennuyeuse pour moi, n'y etant
question que du produit net; enfin on parla d'autres choses.
As the alarms which
occupied them have been more than falsified by the event, we need not give the conversation;
but Quesnay's opinion of the Dauphin is worth recording. He thought him virtuous and full of
good intentions, and a man of parts, but likely to be ruled by the bigots; and he expected
that the Molinists and Jansenists'
Ces philosophes en feront taut qu'ils me forceront à aller à vêpres et à la grande
messe
. They all agreed, too, in regarding the continuance of Louis XV.'s reign as
of extreme importance to the cause of toleration and liberality; but a little incident
occurred, which one should have thought calculated to give them some doubts of that
monarch's gentleness, where he was himself concerned, and even to create a suspicion, that
their favourite form of government, absolute monarchy, was not always safe for philosophers,
any more than for the bulk of mankind. One day Quesnay came in all in despair. Mirabeau had
been suddenly carried off by the agents of the best of possible systems and shut up in the
cattle of Vincennes, for some expressions in his work on Taxation. The constitutional means
of redress adopted on this melancholy occasion, according to the true principles of the most
perfect government, are worthy of notice; the more so, because, as extremes often meet, it
happens, that, in our times, some of the lowest and most ignorant understandings in the
world are recommending France to renew the very same order of things, which they agree with
the truly enlightened Economists in holding to be the purest kind of constitution. First,
Mad. de Mirabeau was to throw herself at Mad. de Pompadour's feet
;—these
are Quesnay's own expressions. Then he himself, through the femme-de-chambre, interceded
with the same illustrious lady for his noble and philosophical friend; and the conversation
is given at full length. At first, the worthy concubine was pleased to speak favourably of
the Marquis, and to observe, that his work L'Ami des Homines had done him credit. At this
moment opportunely entered the Lieutenant of the Police, of whom she asked whether he had
read the new book on Taxation. Yes, said the Lieutenant,—but justly deeming himself
officially an object of suspicion, he added, that it was not he who had denounced the
author. Being further asked his opinion of it, he cited the passage which seems to have
caused the arrest. It is simply a remark, that the King, with 20 millions of subjects, could
not obtain their services for want of money. At this the dear lady takes the
alarm—Quoi! il y a cela, docteur?
she exclaims. He tries
It seems that Quesnay never was easy in the King's presence,—not from bashfulness, but
from a kind of fear, which is thus described: Un jour le roi lui parlant chez moi,
et le docteur ayant l'air tout troublé, après que le roi fût sorti, je lui dis—Vous avez
l'air embarassé devant le roi, et cependant il est si bon!—Madame, m'a-t-il repondu,
je suis sorti à quarante ans de mon village, et j'ai bien peu d'experience du monde,
auquel je m'habitue difficilement. Lorsque je suis dans une chambre avec le roi, je me dis,
voilà un homme qui pent me faire couper la tête, et cette idée me trouble
. She
urges consolatory topics, taking his expressions literally—Mais la justice et la
bonté du roi ne devroient-elles pas vous rassurer
? He answers, that the affair is
one of feeling, and not of reason:—and the Editor, in a note, seems to take it much in the
sense of the femme-de-chambre, only that his remedy is of a more constitutional description:
he argues that, by law, no King of France can cut off any man's head without a trial. It is
singular enough, that neither Mad. du Hausset nor Mr Crawford should have reflected on the
preceding story of Mirabeau's arrest for putting the King in a passion by a remark upon the
principles of taxation; they might there have perceived the ground of Quesnay's alarms,
which he described with a little jocose exaggeration.
We trust our readers will easily pardon us for having dwelt so long upon the subject of
this excellent person. The services which he has rendered to science and to mankind are
worthy of a greater name than he enjoys. Without adopting the opinions of the sect which he
founded, opinions in many respects erroneous, but chiefly from being pushed too far, we
cannot hesitate in ascribing to his theory the high merit of having first given to political
economy the form of a regular science; of having begun the destruction of the mercantile
system, which Dr Smith completed; of having turned the attention of statesmen, as well as
theorists, to the paramount importance of agriculture; and, above all, of having first put
rulers out of conceit with too much governing. The ridicule cast upon Quesnay's school by
persons ignorant of its great merits, chiefly by mere men of the world, would be hardly
worth our notice, but that it shows itself a little in some of Mr Crawford's comments. The
sight of a real sect of philosophers, acknowledging a master, bound together by a community
of principles, as well as by private friendship, and devoted to the proSecla fuit servare modum, finemque tueri,
Naturamque sequi, vitamque impendere vero,
Nec sibi sed toto gentium se credere mundo.
In the course of this article we have seen several notable illustrations of the manner in
which the most important affairs were managed under the tranquil, regular and legitimate
government of the Bourbons as long as they owed their crown nobly to divine right, and had
no occasion to think of their subjects. The sycophants of those days, as well as of the
present, called it paternal: but it should seem that the interests of the dear children were
somewhat less attended to than the whims of the mistress, a sort of stepmother whose power
was so great and whose interference so continual, that we marvel no one ever started against
the phrase gouvernement paternel, that of gouvernement de marátre. The following passage
deserves to be extracted as carrying with it decisive evidence of the gross mismanagement of
publick affairs, wherever the people have no voice. It is a specimen of the manner in which
the wheels of government are moved when left to the Prince's sole direction. It is in fact
the history (but, of course, the secret history, for in such states there can be no other)
of a great change of ministry; the dismissal of a Keeper of the Seals, and a chief Minister
of State. We therefore humbly recommend it to the diligent perursal of the Lords Eldon and
Castlereagh, who are supposed to feel our rustic mode of governing by parliaments, trials by
jury and a free press, as somewhat cumbrous and burthensome. By way of preface, we should
mention that the time when the following drama begins, is immediately after Damien's attempt
on the King's life, when the efforts made by the parti devot to procure the favourite's
dismissal had nearly succeeded. The place
(Enter, first, Mad. La Marechale de Mirepoix, confidante of Pompadour;
and on coming in she immediately begins)—
Mad. de M. What's the matter, Ma'am? What are all those
packages? Your servants say you are going.
Mad. de Pompadour. Alas! My dear friend, the Master
We may add to this, that her protegé M. de Soubise was kept in the command of the army by her influence, while he ruined the campaign. The battle of Rosbach, accordingly, threatened to shake her ascendancy, and attempts were made to dismiss her; but some trifling success soon after was gained by the Marshal, and she was confirmed in favour; although our journalist mentions a cruel mortification that happened, from some one to whom Mad. de Pompadour was talking of the 'great victory' of her friend, never having heard of it.
There is no reason whatever to doubt the accuracy of all Mad. du Hausset's details; for,
beside the strong internal evidence of the style, and the testimony borne to her character
by M. de Marigni, the coincidences of her story, with the narratives of other writers, who
were in all probability unknown to her, wherever they touch on the same subject, afford
irrefragable proof of her correctness. This remark applies also to the Memoires Secretes of
Duclos, which were not published till after Mad. du Hausset's death. The dismissals, for
instance, of which we have just seen the secret springs, are mentioned by him
A trifling anecdote in the Journal shows the trifling causes which were supposed to
influence so important a matter as the patronage of the ministers. Mad. du Hausset obtained
a military post for a relation, from a person of high rank, on the condition that she made
her mistress give the latter a part to play at their private theatricals, which had only a
few lines to recite. It must be admitted, however, that these pages are full of proof
showing how generally and cordially the favourite was hated by the publick. The fear of this
breaking out in some act of violence, seems now and then to have restrained her; it was
indeed the only obstacle to her absolute sway; and it certainly had this effect upon her
worthy and philosophical brother, M. de Marigni, who, greatly to her chagrin, constantly
resisted all offers of promotion, whether by place, rank or marriage, saving, that for
himself he loved a quiet life, and for her, it would be far worse if he acceded to her
earnest wishes—as the Royal mistresses are always sufficiently hated on their own
account, without sharing in the odium belonging to ministers
.
At the period to which the Journal refers, Turgot was a young man entering into publick life; but there is one passage relating to him which we shall transcribe, although of no very remarkable interest.
Un jour que j'étois à Paris j'allois diner chez le docteur. Il avoit assez de
monde contre son ordinaire, et entre autres un jeune maître des requêtes d'une belle
figure, qui portoit un nora de terre dont je
Perhaps, without intending to throw the slightest imputation of an artifice or an intrigue upon M. Turgot, we may be permitted to suspect, that this conversation was designed to reach the royal ear, through the faithful Mad. du Hausset. These, are necessarily the means of influencing courts and their policy in an arbitrary government. In England, M. Turgot would have attacked the ministry openly in Parliament, or through the press. In France, he was obliged to speak at the waiting-woman of the King's mistress.
There are many traces in this Journal, of the alarms which thinking men felt, even at that
time, at the state of publick affairs, and their conviction that some dreadful catastrophe
would one day be rendered inevitable by the blind obstinacy of the Court, and its
pertinacious refusal of all propositions for a reform of abuses. After some short and
inefficient administrations had succeeded to that of d'Argenson and Machant, the Duc de
Choiseul, as is well known, was appointed, and carried on the war for the last four years,
to the ruin and discomfiture of the French arms.petit-maître sans talens et sans instruction, qui a
mi peu de phosphore dans l'esprit
. But our Journalist,- seeing him with her
lady's eyes, explains at once the cause of the favour he enjoyed, and of his remaining so
long in the three highest offices oi the state, in spite of his constant failures.
Ses maniers avec elle étoient les plus aimables du monde, respectueuses et
galantes; il nétoit pas un jour sans la voir.
Her brother and her physician
thought very differently of him; they agreed with the grave writer.
Ce n'est qu'un petit-maître, dit le docteur, et s'il etoit plus joli, fait pour
être un favori d'Henri III. Le Marquis de Mirabeau entra avec M. de la Riviere. Ce
royaume, dit Mirabeau, est bien mal; il n'y a ni sentimens energiques, ni argent pour les
suppléer. Il ne peut-être regenèré, dit la Riviere, que par une conquête comme à la
Chine, ou par quelque grand bouleversement intérieur. Mais malheur à ceux qui s'y
trouveront; le peuple François n'y va pas demain morte. Ces paroles me firent trembler,
et je m'empressai de sortir. M. de Marigni en fit de même, sans avoir l'air d'être affecté
de ce qu'on disoit. Vous avez entendu, me dit-il; mais n'ayez pas peur; rien n'est repeté
de cequi se dit chez le docteur; se sont d'honnêtes gens quoiqu'un peu chimeriques; ils
ne savent pas-s'arreter; Cependant ils sont je crois dans la bonne voie; le malheur est
qu'ils passent le but. J'écris cela en rentrant.
But the King, and the former favourites of either sex, received a very solemn warning to the same effect in a remarkable anonymous letter sent to them mysteriously, as well as to the Police. Our Journalist has kept a copy of this piece, which is written with a force and clearness worthy of Junius, but perhaps in a more chaste style, and with less of mannerism. We conclude our extracts with the introduction of the letter, which is addressed to the King.
'Sire—This address proceeds from one who is zealous in your service. Truth is always
unpalateable, especially to-princes. Habituated to flattery, they only see objects in
those colours which are pleasing to their eyes. But I have meditated and read much; and I
here offer to your Majesty the result of my reflexions. You have long been living,
invisible in the hands of persons who had an interest in preventing you from being seen,
and. making, you afraid to speak. All direct communication is thus cut off between the
sovereign and his people. Shut up in the recesses of your palace, you become daily more
like the eastern emperors; but think, Sir, I beseech you, of their usual fate. You will
probably rely on your troops; and so did they-But he who trusts to this resource, and
makes himself only the king of the soldiers, is doomed, ere long, to see those soldiers
feel their power, and abuse it. Your finances are in the utmost disorder, and
We here must close our account of this curious Journal, and of the volume to which it
belongs. If, in the course of our remarks upon French intrigue in former times, we may seem
to have dwelt much upon the vices of the old Government, it is; only because we feel the
importance to France and to England of correct notions being entertained upon the subject.
There is a senseless and a profligate party in both countries, whose efforts are, without
intermission, directed to the praise of the old, and the disparagement of the new order of
things, established among our neighbours. Nothing but the grossest ignorance, can obtain a
hearing for such miserable folly on either side of the Channel. But it is the duty of every
friend of his country, and of human improvement, to contribute his efforts towards
withstanding and exposing the attempts thus made to effect a counter-revolution, which could
only, if it succeeded, lead, through confusion and slaughter, to a renewal of systematic
misgovernment and oppression. Happily, indeed, its success now seems wholly out of the
question; but the attempt would ensure vast temporary misery to France herself, and would
endanger the peace of all her neighbours. How far the present government of that country
is the best of which the nature of things will admit, is another question, into which we
forbear entering on this occasion. We are disposed, however, to regard it with a very
favourable eye, and to give all credit to those who have of late so steadily administered
it. Certainly its prodigious superiority over the former constitution is too manifest to.
admit of a doubt; and those who are impatient to see it still