Let me speak now of another matter.
A Scotchman, I do not know of what family, a great player and combiner,
who had gained much in various countries he had been in, had come to
Paris during the last days of the deceased King. His name was Law; but
when he became more known, people grew so accustomed to call him Las,
that his name of Law disappeared. He was spoken of to M. le Duc
d'Orleans as a man deep in banking and commercial matters, in the
movements of the precious metals, in monies and finance: the Regent, from
this description, was desirous to see him. He conversed with Law some
time, and was so pleased with him, that he spoke of him to Desmarets as a
man from whom information was to be drawn. I recollect that the Prince
spoke of him to me at the same time. Desmarets sent for Law, and was a
long while with him several times; I know nothing of what passed between
them or its results, except that Desmarets was pleased with Law, and
formed some esteem for him.
M. le Duc d'Orleans, after that, only saw him from time to time; but
after the first rush of affairs, which followed the death of the King,
Law, who had formed some subaltern acquaintances at the Palais Royal, and
an intimacy with the Abbe Dubois, presented himself anew before M. le Duc
d'Orleans, soon after conversed with him in private, and proposed some
finance plans to him. The Regent made him work with the Duc de Noailles,
with Rouille, with Amelot--this last for commercial matters. The first
two were afraid of an intruder, favoured by the Regent, in their
administration; so that Law was a long time tossed about, but was always
backed by the Duc d'Orleans. At last, the bank project pleased that
Prince so much that he wished to carry it out. He spoke in private to
the heads of finance, in whom he found great opposition. He had often
spoken to me of it, and I had contented myself with listening to him upon
a matter I never liked, and which, consequently, I never well understood;
and the carrying out of which appeared to me distant. When he had
entirely formed his resolution, he summoned a financial and commercial
assembly, in which Law explained the whole plan of the bank he wished to
establish (this was on the 24th of October, 1715). He was listened to as
long as he liked to talk. Some, who saw that the Regent was almost
decided, acquiesced; but the majority opposed.
Law was not disheartened. The majority were spoken to privately in very
good French. Nearly the same assembly was called, in which, the Regent
being present, Law again explained his project. This time few opposed
and feebly. The Duc de Noailles was obliged to give in. The bank being
approved of in this manner, it had next to be proposed to the regency
council.
M. le Duc d'Orleans took the trouble to speak in private to each member
of the council, and gently to make them understand that he wished the
bank to meet with no opposition. He spoke his mind to me thoroughly:
therefore a reply was necessary. I said to him that I did not hide my
ignorance or my disgust for all finance matters; that, nevertheless, what
he had just explained to me appeared good in itself, that without any new
tax, without expense, and without wronging or embarrassing anybody, money
should double itself at once by means of the notes of this bank, and
become transferable with the greatest facility. But along with this
advantage I found two inconveniences, the first, how to govern the bank
with sufficient foresight and wisdom, so as not to issue more notes than
could be paid whenever presented: the second, that what is excellent in a
republic, or in a monarchy where the finance is entirely popular, as in
England, is of pernicious use in an absolute monarchy, such as France,
where the necessities of a war badly undertaken and ill sustained, the
avarice of a first minister, favourite, or mistress, the luxury, the wild
expenses, the prodigality of a King, might soon exhaust a bank, and ruin
all the holders of notes, that is to say, overthrow the realm. M. le Duc
d'Orleans agreed to this; but at the same time maintained that a King
would have so much interest in never meddling or allowing minister,
mistress, or favourite to meddle with the bank, that this capital
inconvenience was never to be feared. Upon that we for a long time
disputed without convincing each other, so that when, some few days
afterwards, he proposed the bank to the regency council, I gave my
opinion as I have just explained it, but with more force and at length:
and my conclusion was to reject the bank, as a bait the most fatal, in an
absolute country, while in a free country it would be a very good and
very wise establishment.
Few dared to be of this opinion: the bank passed. Duc d'Orleans cast
upon me some little reproaches, but gentle, for having spoken at such
length. I based my excuses upon my belief that by duty, honour, and
conscience, I ought to speak according to my persuasion, after having
well thought over the matter, and explained myself sufficiently to make
my opinion well understood, and the reason I had for forming it.
Immediately after, the edict was registered without difficulty at the
Parliament. This assembly sometimes knew how to please the Regent with
good grace in order to turn the cold shoulder to him afterwards with more
efficacy.
Some time after, to relate all at once, M. le Duc d'Orleans wished me to
see Law in order that he might explain to me his plans, and asked me to
do so as a favour. I represented to him my unskilfulness in all finance
matters; that Law would in vain speak a language to me of which I
understood nothing, that we should both lose our time very uselessly.
I tried to back out thus, as well as I could. The Regent several times
reverted to the charge, and at last demanded my submission. Law came
then to my house. Though there was much of the foreigner in his bearing,
in his expressions, and in his accent, he expressed himself in very good
terms, with much clearness and precision. He conversed with me a long
while upon his bank, which, indeed, was an excellent thing in itself, but
for another country rather than for France, and with a prince less easy
than the Regent. Law had no other solutions to give me, of my two
objections, than those the Regent himself had given, which did not
satisfy me. But as the affair had passed, and there was nothing now to
do but well direct it, principally upon that did our conversation turn.
I made him feel as much as I could the importance of not showing such
facility, that it might be abused, with a Regent so good, so easy, so
open, so surrounded. I masked as well as I could what I wished to make
him understand thereupon; and I dwelt especially upon the necessity of
being prepared to satisfy instantly all bearers of notes, who should
demand payment: for upon this depended the credit or the overthrow of the
bank. Law, on going out, begged me to permit him to come sometimes and
talk with me; we separated mutually satisfied, at which the Regent was
still more so.
Law came several other times to my house, and showed much desire to grow
intimate with me. I kept to civilities, because finance entered not into
my head, and I regarded as lost time all these conversations. Some time
after, the Regent, who spoke to me tolerably often of Law with great
prepossession, said that he had to ask of me, nay to demand of me, a
favour; it was, to receive a visit from Law regularly every week. I
represented to him the perfect inutility of these conversations, in which
I was incapable of learning anything, and still more so of enlightening
Law upon subjects he possessed, and of which I knew naught. It was in
vain; the Regent wished it; obedience was necessary. Law, informed of
this by the Regent, came then to my house. He admitted to me with good
grace, that it was he who had asked the Regent to ask me, not daring to
do so himself. Many compliments followed on both sides, and we agreed
that he should come to my house every Tuesday morning about ten o'clock,
and that my door should be closed to everybody while he remained. This
first visit was not given to business. On the following Tuesday morning
he came to keep his appointment, and punctually came until his
discomfiture. An hour-and-a-half, very often two hours, was the ordinary
time for our conversations. He always took care to inform me of the
favour his bank was obtaining in France and foreign countries, of its
products, of his views, of his conduct, of the opposition he met with
from the heads of finance and the magistracy, of his reasons, and
especially of his balance sheet, to convince me that he was more than
prepared to face all holders of notes whatever sums they had to ask for.
I soon knew that if Law had desired these regular visits at my house, it
was not because he expected to make me a skilful financier; but because,
like a man of sense--and he had a good deal--he wished to draw near a
servitor of the Regent who had the best post in his confidence, and who
long since had been in a position to speak to him of everything and of
everybody with the greatest freedom and the most complete liberty; to try
by this frequent intercourse to gain my friendship; inform himself by me
of the intrinsic qualities of those of whom he only saw the outside; and
by degrees to come to the Council, through me, to represent the
annoyances he experienced, the people with whom he had to do; and lastly,
to profit by my dislike to the Duc de Noailles, who, whilst embracing him
every day, was dying of jealousy and vexation, and raised in his path,
under-hand, all the obstacles and embarrassments possible, and would have
liked to stifle him. The bank being in action and flourishing,
I believed it my duty to sustain it. I lent myself, therefore, to the
instructions Law proposed, and soon we spoke to each other with a
confidence I never have had reason to repent. I will not enter into the
details of this bank, the other schemes which followed it, or the
operations made in consequence. This subject of finance would fill
several volumes. I will speak of it only as it affects the history of
the time, or what concerns me in particular. It is the history of my
time I have wished to write; I should have been too much turned from it
had I entered into the immense details respecting finance. I might add
here what Law was. I defer it to a time when this curiosity will be more
in place.
Arouet, son of a notary, who was employed by my father and me until his
death, was exiled and sent to Tulle at this time (the early part of
1716), for some verses very satirical and very impudent.
I should not amuse myself by writing down such a trifle, if this same
Arouet, having become a great poet and academician under the name of
Voltaire, had not also become--after many tragical adventures--a manner
of personage in the republic of letters, and even achieved a sort of
importance among certain people.