objects of elegance and luxury. Statues, pictures, and tapestries were
imported in great quantities from foreign countries, and found a ready
market. All those pretty trifles in the way of furniture and ornament
which the French excel in manufacturing were no longer the exclusive
playthings of the aristocracy, but were to be found in abundance in the
houses of traders and the middle classes in general. Jewellery of the most
costly description was brought to Paris as the most favourable mart; among
the rest, the famous diamond bought by the regent, and called by his name,
and which long adorned the crown of France. It was purchased for the sum
of two millions of livres, under circumstances which shew that the regent
was not so great a gainer as some of his subjects by the impetus which
trade had received. When the diamond was first offered to him, he refused
to buy it, although he desired above all things to possess it, alleging as
his reason, that his duty to the country he governed would not allow him
to spend so large a sum of the public money for a mere jewel. This valid
and honourable excuse threw all the ladies of the court into alarm, and
nothing was heard for some days but expressions of regret that so rare a
gem should be allowed to go out of France, no private individual being
rich enough to buy it. The regent was continually importuned about it, but
all in vain, until the Duke de St. Simon, who with all his ability was
something of a twaddler, undertook the weighty business. His entreaties
being seconded by Law, the good-natured regent gave his consent, leaving
to Law's ingenuity to find the means to pay for it. The owner took
security for the payment of the sum of two millions of livres within a
stated period, receiving in the mean time the interest of five per cent
upon that amount, and being allowed, besides, all the valuable clippings
of the gem. St. Simon, in his _Memoirs_, relates with no little
complacency his share in this transaction. After describing the diamond to
be as large as a greengage, of a form nearly round, perfectly white, and
without flaw, and weighing more than five hundred grains, he concludes
with a chuckle, by telling the world "that he takes great credit to
himself for having induced the regent to make so illustrious a purchase."
In other words, he was proud that he had induced him to sacrifice his
duty, and buy a bauble for himself at an extravagant price out of the
public money.
Thus the system continued to flourish till the commencement of the year
1720. The warnings of the parliament, that too great a creation of paper
money would, sooner or later, bring the country to bankruptcy, were
disregarded. The regent, who knew nothing whatever of the philosophy of
finance, thought that a system which had produced such good effects could
never be carried to excess. If five hundred millions of paper had been of
such advantage, five hundred millions additional would be of still greater
advantage. This was the grand error of the regent, and which Law did not
attempt to dispel. The extraordinary avidity of the people kept up the
delusion; and the higher the price of Indian and Mississippi stock, the
more _billets de banque_ were issued to keep pace with it. The edifice
thus reared might not unaptly be compared to the gorgeous palace erected
by Potemkin, that princely barbarian of Russia, to surprise and please his
imperial mistress: huge blocks of ice were piled one upon another; ionic
pillars, of chastest workmanship, in ice, formed a noble portico; and a
dome, of the same material, shone in the sun, which had just strength
enough to gild, but not to melt it. It glittered afar, like a palace of
crystals and diamonds; but there came one warm breeze from the south, and
the stately building dissolved away, till none were able even to gather up
the fragments. So with Law and his paper system. No sooner did the breath
of popular mistrust blow steadily upon it, than it fell to ruins, and none
could raise it up again.
The first slight alarm that was occasioned was early in 1720. The Prince
de Conti, offended that Law should have denied him fresh shares in India
stock, at his own price, sent to his bank to demand payment in specie of
so enormous a quantity of notes, that three wagons were required for its
transport. Law complained to the regent, and urged on his attention the
mischief that would be done, if such an example found many imitators. The
regent was but too well aware of it, and, sending for the Prince de Conti,
ordered him, under penalty of his high displeasure, to refund to the bank
two-thirds of the specie which he had withdrawn from it. The prince was
forced to obey the despotic mandate. Happily for Law's credit, De Conti
was an unpopular man: every body condemned his meanness and cupidity, and
agreed that Law had been hardly treated. It is strange, however, that so
narrow an escape should not have made both Law and the regent more anxious
to restrict their issues. Others were soon found who imitated, from
motives of distrust, the example which had been set by De Conti in
revenge. The more acute stockjobbers imagined justly that prices could not
continue to rise for ever. Bourdon and La Richardière, renowned for their
extensive operations in the funds, quietly and in small quantities at a
time, converted their notes into specie, and sent it away to foreign
countries. They also bought as much as they could conveniently carry of
plate and expensive jewellery, and sent it secretly away to England or to
Holland. Vermalet, a jobber, who sniffed the coming storm, procured gold
and silver coin to the amount of nearly a million of livres, which he
packed in a farmer's cart, and covered over with hay and cow-dung. He then
disguised himself in the dirty smock-frock, or _blouse_, of a peasant, and
drove his precious load in safety into Belgium. From thence he soon found
means to transport it to Amsterdam.
Hitherto no difficulty had been experienced by any class in procuring
specie for their wants. But this system could not long be carried on
without causing a scarcity. The voice of complaint was heard on every
side, and inquiries being instituted, the cause was soon discovered. The
council debated long on the remedies to be taken, and Law, being called on
for his advice, was of opinion, that an edict should be published,
depreciating the value of coin five per cent below that of paper. The
edict was published accordingly; but failing of its intended effect, was
followed by another, in which the depreciation was increased to ten per
cent. The payments of the bank were at the same time restricted to one
hundred livres in gold, and ten in silver. All these measures were
nugatory to restore confidence in the paper, though the restriction of
cash payments within limits so extremely narrow kept up the credit of the
bank.
[Illustration: LUCIFER'S NEW ROW-BARGE.[11]]
[11] "Lucifer's New Row-Barge" exhibits Law in a barge, with a
host of emblematic figures representing the Mississippi
follies.--_From a Print in Mr. Hawkins' Collection_.
Notwithstanding every effort to the contrary, the precious metals
continued to be conveyed to England and Holland. The little coin that was
left in the country was carefully treasured, or hidden until the scarcity
became so great, that the operations of trade could no longer be carried
on. In this emergency, Law hazarded the bold experiment of forbidding the
use of specie altogether. In February 1720 an edict was published, which,
instead of restoring the credit of the paper, as was intended, destroyed
it irrecoverably, and drove the country to the very brink of revolution.
By this famous edict it was forbidden to any person whatever to have more
than five hundred livres (20l.) of coin in his possession, under pain of a
heavy fine, and confiscation of the sums found. It was also forbidden to
buy up jewellery, plate, and precious stones, and informers were
encouraged to make search for offenders, by the promise of one-half the
amount they might discover. The whole country sent up a cry of distress at
this unheard-of tyranny. The most odious persecution daily took place. The
privacy of families was violated by the intrusion of informers and their
agents. The most virtuous and honest were denounced for the crime of
having been seen with a _louis d'or_ in their possession. Servants
betrayed their masters, one citizen became a spy upon his neighbour, and
arrests and confiscations so multiplied, that the courts found a
difficulty in getting through the immense increase of business thus
occasioned. It was sufficient for an informer to say that he suspected any
person of concealing money in his house, and immediately a search-warrant
was granted. Lord Stair, the English ambassador, said, that it was now
impossible to doubt of the sincerity of Law's conversion to the Catholic
religion; he had established the _inquisition_, after having given
abundant evidence of his faith in _transubstantiation_, by turning so much
gold into paper.
Every epithet that popular hatred could suggest was showered upon the
regent and the unhappy Law. Coin, to any amount above five hundred livres,
was an illegal tender, and nobody would take paper if he could help it. No
one knew to-day what his notes would be worth to-morrow. "Never," says
Duclos, in his _Secret Memoirs of the Regency_, "was seen a more
capricious government--never was a more frantic tyranny exercised by hands
less firm. It is inconceivable to those who were witnesses of the horrors
of those times, and who look back upon them now as on a dream, that a
sudden revolution did not break out--that Law and the regent did not
perish by a tragical death. They were both held in horror, but the people
confined themselves to complaints; a sombre and timid despair, a stupid
consternation, had seized upon all, and men's minds were too vile even to
be capable of a courageous crime." It would appear that, a one time, a
movement of the people was organised. Seditious writings were posted up
against the walls, and were sent, in hand-bills, to the houses of the most
conspicuous people. One of them, given in the _Mémoires de la Régence_,
was to the following effect:--"Sir and madam,--This is to give you notice
that a St. Bartholomew's Day will be enacted again on Saturday and Sunday,
if affairs do not alter. You are desired not to stir out, nor you, nor
your servants. God preserve you from the flames! Give notice to your
neighbours. Dated, Saturday, May 25th, 1720." The immense number of spies
with which the city was infested rendered the people mistrustful of one
another, and beyond some trifling disturbances made in the evening by an
insignificant group, which was soon dispersed, the peace of the capital
was not compromised.
[Illustration]
The value of shares in the Louisiana, or Mississippi stock, had fallen
very rapidly, and few indeed were found to believe the tales that had once
been told of the immense wealth of that region. A last effort was
therefore tried to restore the public confidence in the Mississippi
project. For this purpose, a general conscription of all the poor wretches
in Paris was made by order of government. Upwards of six thousand of the
very refuse of the population were impressed, as if in time of war, and
were provided with clothes and tools to be embarked for New Orleans, to
work in the gold mines alleged to abound there. They were paraded day
after day through the streets with their pikes and shovels, and then sent
off in small detachments to the out-ports to be shipped for America.
Two-thirds of them never reached their destination, but dispersed
themselves over the country, sold their tools for what they could get, and
returned to their old course of life. In less than three weeks afterwards,
one-half of them were to be found again in Paris. The manoeuvre, however,
caused a trifling advance in Mississippi stock. Many persons of
superabundant gullibility believed that operations had begun in earnest in
the new Golconda, and that gold and silver ingots would again be found in
France.
In a constitutional monarchy some surer means would have been found for
the restoration of public credit. In England, at a subsequent period, when
a similar delusion had brought on similar distress, how different were the
measures taken to repair the evil; but in France, unfortunately, the
remedy was left to the authors of the mischief. The arbitrary will of the
regent, which endeavoured to extricate the country, only plunged it deeper
into the mire. All payments were ordered to be made in paper, and between
the 1st of February and the end of May, notes were fabricated to the
amount of upwards of 1500 millions of livres, or 60,000,000l. sterling.
But the alarm once sounded, no art could make the people feel the
slightest confidence in paper which was not exchangeable into metal. M.
Lambert, the president of the parliament of Paris, told the regent to his
face that he would rather have a hundred thousand livres in gold or silver
than five millions in the notes of his bank. When such was the general
feeling, the superabundant issues of paper but increased the evil, by
rendering still more enormous the disparity between the amount of specie
and notes in circulation. Coin, which it was the object of the regent to
depreciate, rose in value on every fresh attempt to diminish it. In
February, it was judged advisable that the Royal Bank should be
incorporated with the Company of the Indies. An edict to that effect was
published and registered by the parliament. The state remained the
guarantee for the notes of the bank, and no more were to be issued without
an order in council. All the profits of the bank, since the time it had
been taken out of Law's hands and made a national institution, were given
over by the regent to the Company of the Indies. This measure had the
effect of raising for a short time the value of the Louisiana and other
shares of the company, but it failed in placing public credit on any
permanent basis.
A council of state was held in the beginning of May, at which Law,
D'Argenson (his colleague in the administration of the finances), and all
the ministers were present. It was then computed that the total amount of
notes in circulation was 2600 millions of livres, while the coin in the
country was not quite equal to half that amount. It was evident to the
majority of the council that some plan must be adopted to equalise the
currency. Some proposed that the notes should be reduced to the value of
the specie, while others proposed that the nominal value of the specie
should be raised till it was on an equality with the paper. Law is said to
have opposed both these projects, but failing in suggesting any other, it
was agreed that the notes should be depreciated one half. On the 21st of
May, an edict was accordingly issued, by which it was decreed that the
shares of the Company of the Indies, and the notes of the bank, should
gradually diminish in value, till at the end of a year they should only
pass current for one-half of their nominal worth. The parliament refused
to register the edict--the greatest outcry was excited, and the state of
the country became so alarming, that, as the only means of preserving
tranquillity, the council of the regency was obliged to stultify its own
proceedings, by publishing within seven days another edict, restoring the
notes to their original value.
On the same day (the 27th of May) the bank stopped payment in specie. Law
and D'Argenson were both dismissed from the ministry. The weak,
vacillating, and cowardly regent threw the blame of all the mischief upon
Law, who, upon presenting himself at the Palais Royal, was refused
admittance. At nightfall, however, he was sent for, and admitted into the
palace by a secret door,[12] when the regent endeavoured to console him,
and made all manner of excuses for the severity with which in public he
had been compelled to treat him. So capricious was his conduct, that, two
days afterwards, he took him publicly to the opera, where he sat in the
royal box alongside of the regent, who treated him with marked
consideration in face of all the people. But such was the hatred against
Law that the experiment had well nigh proved fatal to him. The mob
assailed his carriage with stones just as he was entering his own door;
and if the coachman had not made a sudden jerk into the court-yard, and
the domestics closed the gate immediately, he would, in all probability,
have been dragged out and torn to pieces. On the following day, his wife
and daughter were also assailed by the mob as they were returning in their
carriage from the races. When the regent was informed of these occurrences
he sent Law a strong detachment of Swiss guards, who were stationed night
and day in the court of his residence. The public indignation at last
increased so much, that Law, finding his own house, even with this guard,
insecure, took refuge in the Palais Royal, in the apartments of the
regent.
[12] Duclos, _Memoires Secrets de la Régence_.
The Chancellor, D'Aguesseau, who had been dismissed in 1718 for his
opposition to the projects of Law, was now recalled to aid in the
restoration of credit. The regent acknowledged too late, that he had
treated with unjustifiable harshness and mistrust one of the ablest, and
perhaps the sole honest public man of that corrupt period. He had retired
ever since his disgrace to his country house at Fresnes, where, in the
midst of severe but delightful philosophic studies, he had forgotten the
intrigues of an unworthy court. Law himself, and the Chevalier de
Conflans, a gentleman of the regent's household, were despatched in a
post-chaise with orders to bring the ex-chancellor to Paris along with
them. D'Aguesseau consented to render what assistance he could, contrary
to the advice of his friends, who did not approve that he should accept
any recal to office of which Law was the bearer. On his arrival in Paris,
five counsellors of the parliament were admitted to confer with the
Commissary of Finance; and on the 1st of June an order was published
abolishing the law which made it criminal to amass coin to the amount of
more than five hundred livres. Every one was permitted to have as much
specie as he pleased. In order that the bank-notes might be withdrawn,
twenty-five millions of new notes were created, on the security of the
revenues of the city of Paris, at two-and-a-half per cent. The bank-notes
withdrawn were publicly burned in front of the Hôtel de Ville. The new
notes were principally of the value of ten livres each; and on the 10th of
June the bank was re-opened, with a sufficiency of silver coin to give in
change for them.
[Illustration: D'AGUESSEAU.]
These measures were productive of considerable advantage. All the
population of Paris hastened to the bank to get coin for their small
notes; and silver becoming scarce, they were paid in copper. Very few
complained that this was too heavy, although poor fellows might be
continually seen toiling and sweating along the streets, laden with more
than they could comfortably carry, in the shape of change for fifty
livres. The crowds around the bank were so great, that hardly a day passed
that some one was not pressed to death. On the 9th of July, the multitude
was so dense and clamorous that the guards stationed at the entrance of
the Mazarin Gardens closed the gate and refused to admit any more. The
crowd became incensed, and flung stones through the railings upon the
soldiers. The latter, incensed in their turn, threatened to fire upon the
people. At that instant one of them was hit by a stone, and, taking up
his piece, he fired into the crowd. One man fell dead immediately, and
another was severely wounded. It was every instant expected that a general
attack would have been commenced upon the bank; but the gates of the
Mazarin Gardens being opened to the crowd, who saw a whole troop of
soldiers, with their bayonets fixed ready to receive them, they contented
themselves by giving vent to their indignation in groans and hisses.
Eight days afterwards the concourse of people was so tremendous that
fifteen persons were squeezed to death at the doors of the bank. The
people were so indignant that they took three of the bodies on stretchers
before them, and proceeded, to the number of seven or eight thousand, to
the gardens of the Palais Royal, that they might shew the regent the
misfortunes that he and Law had brought upon the country. Law's coachman,
who was sitting at the box of his master's carriage, in the court-yard of
the palace, happened to have more zeal than discretion, and, not liking
that the mob should abuse his master, he said, loud enough to be overheard
by several persons, that they were all blackguards, and deserved to be
hanged. The mob immediately set upon him, and thinking that Law was in the
carriage, broke it to pieces. The imprudent coachman narrowly escaped with
his life. No further mischief was done; a body of troops making their
appearance, the crowd quietly dispersed, after an assurance had been given
by the regent that the three bodies they had brought to shew him should be
decently buried at his own expense. The parliament was sitting at the time
of this uproar, and the president took upon himself to go out and see what
was the matter. On his return he informed the councillors that Law's
carriage had been broken by the mob. All the members rose simultaneously,
and expressed their joy by a loud shout, while one man, more zealous in
his hatred than the rest, exclaimed, "_And Law himself, is_ he _torn to
pieces?_"[13]
[13] The Duchess of Orleans gives a different version of this
story; but whichever be the true one, the manifestation of
such feeling in a legislative assembly was not very
creditable. She says that the president was so transported
with joy, that he was seized with a rhyming fit, and,
returning into the hall, exclaimed to the members:
"_Messieurs! Messieurs! bonne nouvelle!
Le carrosse de Lass est reduit en cannelle!_"
Much, undoubtedly, depended on the credit of the Company of the Indies,
which was answerable for so great a sum to the nation. It was therefore
suggested in the council of the ministry, that any privileges which could
be granted to enable it to fulfil its engagements, would be productive of
the best results. With this end in view, it was proposed that the
exclusive privilege of all maritime commerce should be secured to it, and
an edict to that effect was published. But it was unfortunately forgotten
that by such a measure all the merchants of the country would be ruined.
The idea of such an immense privilege was generally scouted by the nation,
and petition on petition was presented to the parliament that they would
refuse to register the decree. They refused accordingly, and the regent,
remarking that they did nothing but fan the flame of sedition, exiled them
to Blois. At the intercession of D'Aguesseau, the place of banishment was
changed to Pontoise, and thither accordingly the councillors repaired,
determined to set the regent at defiance. They made every arrangement for
rendering their temporary exile as agreeable as possible. The president
gave the most elegant suppers, to which he invited all the gayest and
wittiest company of Paris. Every night there was a concert and ball for
the ladies. The usually grave and solemn judges and councillors joined in
cards and other diversions, leading for several weeks a life of the most
extravagant pleasure, for no other purpose than to shew the regent of how
little consequence they deemed their banishment, and that, when they
willed it, they could make Pontoise a pleasanter residence than Paris.
Of all the nations in the world the French are the most renowned for
singing over their grievances. Of that country it has been remarked with
some truth, that its whole history may be traced in its songs. When Law,
by the utter failure of his best-laid plans, rendered himself obnoxious,
satire of course seized hold upon him; and while caricatures of his person
appeared in all the shops, the streets resounded with songs, in which
neither he nor the regent was spared. Many of these songs were far from
decent; and one of them in particular counselled the application of all
his notes to the most ignoble use to which paper can be applied. But the
following, preserved in the letters of the Duchess of Orleans, was the
best and the most popular, and was to be heard for months in all the
_carrefours_ in Paris. The application of the chorus is happy enough:
Aussitôt que Lass arriva
Dans notre bonne ville,
Monsieur le Régent publia
Que Lass serait utile
Pour rétablir la nation.
_La faridondaine! la faridondon!_
Mais il nous a tous enrichi,
_Biribi!_
_A la façon de Barbari,_
_Mon ami!_
Ce parpaillot, pour attirer
Tout l'argent de la France,
Songea d'abord à s'assurer
De notre confiance.
Il fit son abjuration,
_La faridondaine! la faridondon!_
Mais le fourbe s'est converti,
_Biribi!_
_A la façon de Barbari,_
_Mon ami!_
Lass, le fils aîné de Satan
Nous met tous à l'aumône,
Il nous a pris tout notre argent
Et n'en rend à personne.
Mais le Régent, humain et bon,
_La faridondaine! la faridondon!_
Nous rendra ce qu'on nous a pris,
_Biribi!_
_A la façon de Barbari,_
_Mon ami!_
The following epigram is of the same date:
_Lundi_, j'achetai des actions;
_Mardi_, je gagnai des millions;
_Mercredi_, j'arrangeai mon ménage,
_Jeudi_, je pris un équipage,
_Vendredi_, je m'en fus au bal,
_Et Samedi_, à l'hôpital.