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THE MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XIV. - HIS COURT AND THE REGENCY - V13
THE MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XIV. - HIS COURT AND THE REGENCY - V13 DUC DE SAINT-SIMON [NOTE: There is a short list of bookmarks or pointers at the end of the
file for those who may wish to sample the author's ideas before making an
entire meal of them. D.W.]
MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XIV AND HIS COURT AND OF THE REGENCY
BY THE DUKE OF SAINT-SIMON
VOLUME 13.
CHAPTER XCVII
Anecdote of Madame de Charlus.--The 'Phillippaques'.--La Grange.--
Pere Tellier.--The Jesuits.--Anecdote----Tellier's Banishment.--Death of
Madame de Maintenon.--Her Life at Saint-Cyr.
CHAPTER XCVIII
Mode of Life of the Duchesse de Berry.--Her Illness.--Her Degrading
Amours.--Her Danger Increases.--The Sacraments Refused.--The Cure Is
Supported by the Cardinal de Noailles.--Curious Scene.--The Duchess
Refuses to Give Way.--She Recovers and Is Delivered.--Ambition of Rion.
--He Marries the Duchess.--She Determines to Go to Meudon.--Rion Sent to
the Army.--Quarrels of Father and Daughter.--Supper on the Terrace of
Meudon.--The Duchess Again Ill.--Moves to La Muette.--Great Danger.--
Receives the Sacrament.--Garus and Chirac.--Rival Doctors.--Increased
Illness.--Death of the Duchess.--Sentiments on the Occasion.--Funeral
Ceremonies.--Madame de Saint-Simon Fails Ill.--Her Recovery.--We Move to
Meudon.--Character of the Duchesse de Berry.
CHAPTER XCIX
The Mississippi Scheme.--Law Offers Me Shares.--Compensation for Blaye.--
The Rue Quincampoix.--Excitement of the Public.--Increased Popularity of
the Scheme.--Conniving of Law.--Plot against His Life--Disagreement with
Argenson.--Their Quarrel.--Avarice of the Prince de Conti.--His
Audacity.--Anger of the Regent.--Comparison with the Period of Louis
XIV.--A Ballet Proposed.--The marechal de Villeroy.--The Young King Is to
Dance.--Young Law Proposed.--Excitement.--The Young King's Disgust.--
Extravagant Presents of the Duc d'Orleans.
CHAPTER C
System of Law in Danger.--Prodigality of the Duc d'Orleans.--Admissions
of Law.--Fall of His Notes.--Violent Measures Taken to Support Them.--
Their Failure.--Increased Extravagance of the Regent.--Reduction of the
Fervour.--Proposed Colonies.--Forced Emigration.--Decree on the Indian
Company.--Scheming of Argenson. Attitude of the Parliament.--Their
Remonstrance.--Dismissal of Law.--His Coolness--Extraordinary Decree of
Council of State.--Prohibition of jewellery.--New Schemes.
CHAPTER CI
The New Edict.--The Commercial Company.--New Edict.--Rush on the Bank.--
People Stifled in the Crowd.--Excitement against Law.--Money of the
Bank.--Exile of the Parliament to Pontoise.--New Operation.--The Place
Vendome.--The Marechal de Villeroy.--Marseilles.--Flight of Law.--
Character of Him and His Wife.--Observations on His Schemes.--Decrees of
the Finance.
CHAPTER CII
Council on the Finances.--Departure of Law--A Strange Dialogue.--M. le
Duc and the Regent.--Crimes Imputed to Law during His Absence.--Schemes
Proposed.--End of the Council.
CHAPTER CIII
Character of Alberoni.--His Grand Projects.--Plots against Him.--The
Queen's Nurse.--The Scheme against the Cardinal.--His Fall.--Theft of a
Will.--Reception in Italy.--His Adventures There.
CHAPTER CIV
Meetings of the Council.--A Kitten.--The Archbishopric of Cambrai.--
Scandalous Conduct of Dubois.--The Consecration.--I Persuade the Regent
Not to Go.--He Promises Not.--Breaks His Word.--Madame de Parabere.--The
Ceremony.--Story of the Comte de Horn.
CHAPTER XCVII
To go back now to the remaining events of the year 1719.
The Marquise de Charlus sister of Mezieres and mother of the Marquis de
Levi who has since become a duke and a peer died rich and old. She was
the exact picture of an "old clothes" woman and was thus subject to many
insults from those who did not know her which she by no means relished.
To relieve a little the seriousness of these memoirs I will here relate
an amusing adventure of which she was heroine.
She was very avaricious and a great gambler. She would have passed the
night up to her knees in water in order to play. Heavy gambling at
lansquenet was carried on at Paris in the evening at Madame la Princesse
de Conti's. Madame de Charlus supped there one Friday between the
games much company being present. She was no better clad than at other
times and wore a head-dress in vogue at that day called commode not
fastened but put on or taken off like a wig or a night-cap. It was
fashionable then to wear these headdresses very high.
Madame de Charlus was near the Archbishop of Rheims Le Tellier. She
took a boiled egg that she cracked and in reaching for some salt set
her head dress on fire at a candle near without perceiving it. The
Archbishop who saw her all in flames seized the head-dress and flung it
upon the ground. Madame de Charlus in her surprise and indignant at
seeing her self thus uncovered without knowing why threw her egg in the
Archbishop's face and made him a fine mess.
Nothing but laughter was heard; and all the company were in convulsions
of mirth at the grey dirty and hoary head of Madame de Charlus and the
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