vagances by his enthusiastic belief in the superiority of paper-money; or did it proceed from the reckless vanity and avidity of a gambling adventurer? It certainly must be allowed that, in either case, the people and the court vied with each other in "fooling him to the top of his bent." Neither rank nor wealth, neither age nor sex, was exempt from the prevailing epidemic. Noble lords and courtly dames, wealthy tradesmen and threadbare spendthrifts, grave judges and men of letters, vulgar sharebrokers and ladies of fashion and refinement, crowded into the rue Quincampoix, without distinction of station or sex, and together formed a Babel of strange sights and sounds, that even Capel Court in its most palmy days failed to exhibit. In a few days, sometimes in a few hours, fortunes were made, to have dreamed of which would have before appeared an act of folly, and a very baseless vision. A man who possessed 10,000 livres in billets d'état, not knowing what to do with them, as a last resource invested them in shares. In three months he found himself in a condition to set up a carriage, and live in some degree of style. Accordingly, he goes to a fashionable coach-builder, and orders a berlin. "In what style will you have it appointed?" demanded the tradesman--" will you have it lined with crimson velvet? And the fringe, shall it be of gold, or silver ?" "Yes, yes," exclaimed the bustling patron, "gold, silver, crimson velvet, what you will: you cannot make it too handsome. See, take this on account (handing him 4000 livres in bank notes). Lose no time. My name is so and so. The rue Quincampoix summons me. Adieu." "Stay, stay," cries the poor coach-builder, out of breath with running after him, "what arms am I to paint ?" 66 Ob, toutes des belles, toutes des belles," and plunging into the mob, he is soon lost amidst its moving mass of cupidity and fraud, of sanguine hopes and blind credulity.

Another, who had once been a servant, purchased his master's carriage, and for two or three days amused himself by driving about the town. When the novelty began to

wear

off, he returned to the rue Quincampoix, the source of his good fortune.

Desiring his coachman to wait for him at the corner of a neighbouring street, he elbowed his way through the worshippers of Mammon, and passed a few hours in the fashionable recreation of duping his neighbours and himself. In the meantime, the lackeys had taken refuge from a shower in a wine-shop, so that when he returned to his carriage there was no one to open the door and remind him of his greatness. The force of habit, therefore, made him jump up behind, as he formerly was wont to do. An exclamation of the astonished coachman brought him to the knowledge of his ludicrous situation, but no way abashed, he replied with an air of importance, "Hold your tongue, fellow, I wish to see with my own eyes how many lackeys can stand behind here, for I find that I must engage at least two more."

A third, having acquired the sum of 100,000 crowns through his wife's good management, hastened to his master to obtain his discharge. As he entered the room, a visitor, who at that moment arrived, desired him to look out for a coachman for him; "Ah!" returns the upstart, "I am sorry I can't oblige you, but it so happens that I want one myself, and charity, you know, begins at home."

Many of the great lords speculated in the most extravagant manner, and obtained the epithet of Seigneurs Mississipiens, from the extent of their imaginary possessions on the banks of that river. The Duke of Bourbon, great-grandson of the celebrated Condé, made himself particularly conspicuous by the boldness of his speculations and his boundless extravagance. One day exhibiting his porte-feuille, gorged with actions, to Chenille, he received a severe and just rebuke. "Monseigneur, deux actions de votre aïeul valent mieux que toutes celles-là." The splendour of his fêtes astonished even the pleasureloving Duchess of Berry, who acknowledged herself surpassed in her peculiar and only point of excellence. Louis XV. after his consecration at Rheims, in 1722, two years after the system had evaporated, was entertained at Chantilly (which had been rebuilt during the existence of the mania,) with such magnificence, that the courtiers were fain to remark that

"the Mississippi had evidently flowed past the château."

The Regent himself indulged, without restraint, in the all-absorbing pastime and occupation of the day, and his paper wealth, as might be expected, was truly enormous. His liberality, however, kept pace with his riches, and with his characteristic profusion he lavished his money among his unworthy favorities, several of whom received presents of 100,000 livres in notes or shares. But neither did he forget the charitable institutions of the capital, on the most useful of which he bestowed a million livres each; besides laying out a million and a half in procuring the liberty of prisoners confined for debt. But nothing was done to encourage the arts and sciences. No mighty edifices were constructed, or even designed; no monuments erected; no funds appropriated to useful inventions. Wealth was the only idol of the day. A well-filled pocket-book was more highly esteemed than nobleness of character, or the gifts of the mind; and a man was regarded as worthy of honour and respect in exact proportion to the number of shares he possessed in the Compagnie des Indes. Not even the dignitaries of the church, or ecclesiastical communities, escaped the widely-spread contagion, and theologians unblushingly asserted, that the anathema against usury did not apply to the trade in shares. The Jansenists, however, for the most part, formed an honourable exception, and held themselves aloof from temptation. Now, for the first time, were the tricks of the Stock Exchange introduced into France, and a peculiar jargon was invented to describe the various operations of The Street, as it was called par excellence. The gambling in shares was dignified by the name of commerce, and the influence of the press was prostituted to the interested views of unprincipled stock-jobbers; Latin and French verses were written in honour of the able foreigner, who had discovered a science more precious than the philosopher's stone, and the Academy of Sciences feared not to disgrace itself by enrolling him among its honorary members. Persons of all ranks eagerly sought an introduction to the mighty potentate, who dispensed wealth to all who came

within the wide circle of his influence. A lady, who had long coveted the privilege of speaking to him, was at last so fortunate as to encounter him in the street. “Upset me, you rascal, upset me," she screamed to her coachman, and thus enjoyed the unspeakable happiness of being rescued from her disagreeable situation by the hands of the bank director. Another lady made her carriage stop beneath his windows at an hour when she knew he was entertaining some guests at his magnificently furnished table, and her servants having raised a cry of Fire! fire! Law and his friends came running out to discover the nature of the alarm. Immediately she pounced upon her prey, who, however, eluded her grasp, and fled from her presence with as little gallantry, if not with as little apparel, as Joseph fleeing from the wife of Potiphar. To show his respect for learning, the new member of the Académie des Sciences purchased the library of the Abbé Bignon for 180,000 livres, and gave a similar sum for the Petit Rambouillet. He also purchased a spacious site beyond the Porte St. Honoré, on which he proposed to erect a splendid mansion.

But not to the rich alone was confined the desire of increasing their hoard. High and low equally shared the fever, equally participated in the joys of gain. A single room in the Rue Quincampoix would readily let for ten livres a-day, and a man with a gently-sloping hump actually realized 50,000 livres by letting out his deformity as a writing-desk. When the fatal bell announced the close of business for the day, the eager speculators with heavy hearts tore themselves from the enchanted spot, and a thousand games of hazard were invented to while away the tedious hours, until the wished-for moment arrived for fresh speculations, for fresh hopes, fears, and anxieties. London and Amsterdam caught the contagion; and sometimes in a few hours would be subscribed an enormous capital, destined for some impracticable purpose, but which eventually enriched no one, while it beggared thousands.

Thanks to the indefatigable and unscrupulous manoeuvres of the jobbers, the shares in the Compagnie des Indes before the end of November had at

tained to the enormous value of 20,000 livres, or forty times their nominal amount, and at this quotation they remained steady until the 15th December. The more wary and clear-sighted speculators now determined to realize, and by their address, and the confiding credulity of the majority, were enabled to do so before any marked depreciation took place. But this transaction opened the eyes of the most sanguine, and it became manifest that the system was about to crumble away. The fortune of its author was now also at its zenith. The Regent had resolved to revive in his favour the office of Controller-General of Finance, which had been suppressed after the death of Louis XIV. Law, however, belonged to the Anglican Church. His conversion, therefore, became necessary before he could hold any office under government. To the Abbé Tencin, the most profligate member of his order, was assigned the task of instructing the neophyte, and preparing him for the abjuration of his errors.

This mockery amused the Parisian public, and the Abbé was jocosely styled the Primate of the Mississippi. Many epigrams were also composed on the occasion, only one of which our limits will permit us to

transcribe:

Foin de ton zèle séraphique, Malheureux Abbé de Tencin, Depuis que Law est Catholique, Tout le royaume est Capuciu. However, the Abbé sufficed for the purpose, and, in return for his services, received a munificent offering of billets d'état from his grateful disciple. On Christmas Day Law with his wife and daughter received the sacrament in the church of St. Roch; and shortly after, having bestowed 1,000 crowns to complete the sacred edifice, was chosen honorary churchwarden, as successor to the Duke de Noailles. He also gave the like sum to be divided among the English refugees at St. Germain en Laie, whose pensions had been recently stopped, and he even requested his Majesty to allow him to decline the salary of his office.

His first act as Controller-General was to depreciate still further the currency, to prohibit the payment of specie for sums exceeding ten livres, and to render the circulation of bank notes GENT. MAG. VOL. XXXII.

obligatory throughout the entire kingdom. Scarcely a week now passed without the promulgation of an arrêt. One day it was forbidden to wear diamonds or other precious stones; another interdicted the use of the precious metals, except within the most narrow limits, no manufactured article in gold being allowed to exceed one ounce, unless for the crosses of ecclesiastics and the different orders of chivalry. At another time the price of shares was fixed at 9,000 livres, and no private person or public body was permitted to retain more than 500 livres in specie. This last edict was inforced by the most vexatious and inquisitorial domiciliary visits, which led to the bon mot of Lord Stair, that Law had already shown himself to be a good Catholic, for he had established the Inquisition, after proving the doctrine of Transubstantiation by converting specie into paper. The island of BelleIsle was about this time ceded to the company for the annual payment of 100,000 livres, and several vessels set sail from St. Malo with merchandize for the eastern and western continents. Some ore that had recently arrivedat least so it was reported from the Mississippi was declared to yield 90 marks of silver to the quintal, and thus to surpass in value the far-famed mines of Potosi. The munificence and charity of the new Controller were also conspicuous, and gained him the ephemeral applause of the lower orders; for some cargoes of salt fish which had been expected from Holland at the beginning of Lent having arrived only on Easter Eve, he caused them to be gratuitously divided among the religious mendicants and other poor communities.

But the single thread that had so long held the fatal sword suspended above his head was now about to snap in twain, and the Controller-General of Finance was in a few short months happy to escape with his life, and the miserable sum of 800 livres. But we must now be more brief in our details, and hasten on to the last act of this strange history.

The issue of bank-notes had increased since January 1720, from 1,000,000,000 to 2,696,400,000 livres, and paper-money had almost entirely superseded the use of the precious

3 B

metals. Law's theory was therefore afforded a most fair and ample trial; but on the 21st May, 1720, appeared its death-warrant, in an edict that announced the gradual reduction of the price of shares until the 1st December, when they should be fixed at 5000 livres, and that bank-notes should also be reduced by one-half. The indignation of the public was as furious, as their enthusiasm had been wild. Their late idol was at once cast down from his "pride of place," and had it not been for the presence of mind of his coachman, and the swiftness of his horses, Law would infallibly have been torn to pieces. It was not that people still continued to believe in the marvellous virtues of the system. Everybody knew that, like the fabled fruit of the Dead Sea, it was full of " bitter ashes;" but yet it was cruel to tear so suddenly the pleasant bandage from their eyes. It was hard to be told that they were all dupes, that the muchcoveted paper was a cheat, and that universal ruin must so soon follow universal wealth. Yet it was so. Another arrêt, indeed, for a time strove to check the despondency of the holders of notes and shares, by abrogating the edict of the 21st May; but it was too late. Their eyes were opened, and they had learned to discern good and evil. The Regent, however, still extended his favour and protection to the scheming adventurer, who was even lodged in the Palais Royal, and almost daily new edicts were promulgated. All was to no purpose. Edicts and paper had lost all favour with the " manyheaded monster thing," and eager claimants for specie blocked up every avenue to the bank. Many were trampled under foot, and one day three lives were lost. The nobles, who had been the foremost to enhance the value of the paper money, were also the foremost to depreciate it. The Prince of Conti was seen driving from the establishment, with his carriage literally loaded with sacks of silver. His example was followed by those who had sufficient influence to compel the reimbursement of their notes and shares. And yet many of these men had realised enormous fortunes by forestalling and monopolising many of the necessaries of life. The Duke de la Force had bought up all the suet,

soap, and drippings; another the coffee; a third, the spices; and a fourth, the hay, oats, wheat, &c. &c. Provisions of all kinds had become in consequence excessively dear, and as usual the common herd expiated by their sufferings the selfishness of their chiefs. But when the bubble had at last completely burst, and the truth was displayed in all its hideous reality, and the scales had fallen from their eyes, one wild cry arose of mingled indignation, anguish, and revenge. Thousands of families were at once reduced to destitution. Many persons committed suicide. Others who had lately enjoyed the utmost affluence, were constrained to solicit alms. The jobbers alone prospered-they, who had caused all this misery, laughed in their sleeves at the fate of their wretched dupes, and secretly applauded their own superior intelligence. But against them also edicts were thundered, and many were compelled by the sacrifice of large sums to purchase impunity from imprisonment. And what meanwhile was the fate of Law, that arch-adventurer, whose crude theories had obtained for him the possession of fourteen goodly estates, and the high office of Controller-General of the Finance of France, and the friendship of the Regent? A strict investigation into the affairs of the bank brought to light that he had overdrawn his account to the amount of 18,000,000 livres; that six of the directors had appropriated to themselves 40,000,000 of silver; and that another had sent 7,000,000 abroad. The unprincipled ingenuity of the few, and the blind cupidity of the many, had caused a greater amount of misery and ruin than long years of warfare. Nor does a nation lightly recover from a scourge of this kind; the injury done to its moral character is often irreparable, and lax notions of right and wrong are instilled into the minds of its youthful traders, which sorrows and affliction can alone entirely eradicate.

Of Law himself we have little more to say. In the first instance he fled to Bruxelles, whence he subsequently removed to Venice, where he died in 1729, poor and unbefriended. Montesquieu, who visited him shortly before his death, says that "it was still the same man,—his mind always occupied with projects, and his head full of cal

culations and values, specific or representative. Though his means were scant, he still gambled, and staked high.'

The materials of this notice have been mainly derived and abridged from M. Ch. Lacretelle's Histoire de France pendant le Dix-huitième Siècle, tome 8. Paris,

1821. Mémoires de la Régence de Mgr. le Duc d'Orléans, durant la minorité de Louis XV. (par le Chevalier De Piossens.) La Haye. J. Vanduren, 1736. 3 vols. 12mo. Collection des principaux Economistes, tome 1. Economistes Financiers du XVIIIe siècle. par M. Eug. Daire. Paris. Hennuyer et Turpin, 1843. 1 gros vol. in 8vo.

THIS volume contains ninety-five letters sixty-two written by Queen Elizabeth to James VI. of Scotland, and the remaining thirty-three by James to Elizabeth. The title-page, of which we have given a transcript above, indicates the sources whence they have been derived, and the editor, in his introduction, endeavours to account for the way in which the forty-three of them which are originals found their way into the possession of the reverend Edward Ryder, the rector of Oaksey in North Wilts. Some indorsements containing the days of receipt, and the persons from whom they were received, lead to the conclusion that they passed through the hands of some official persons connected with the King of Scotland; and one of these indorsements, which is in the following words, "Sent to me to be presented to his Majestie at Thirlestane, 19th October, 1593," induces the editor to suppose that they were at one time in the possession of the Maitlands of Thirlestane. The editor sketches the fortunes of that distinguished family from blind Sir Richard, whose love of literature, and especially of ancient poesy, is commemorated by the institution of the Maitland Society, down to the amiable Richard Earl of Lauderdale, whose poverty in exile for the cause of James the Second compelled him, in spite of strong literary tastes, not only to sell his own valuable library but also to dispose of a similar and larger collection of MSS. which he inherited from his unpopular uncle John Duke of Lauderdale, the well known member of the Cabal adminis

tration. The fortunes of the family were entirely ruined by their adherence to James the Second. Everything they possessed which was saleable was converted into money. The MSS. now published were of too recent interest to be made the subject of a sale, but it is thought by the editor that the same storm which scattered the other MSS. of this family drove these also from their resting-place. Whither they wandered the editor has not discovered; but, after the lapse of nearly a century, they reappeared in the possession of Mr. Ryder of the Charter House, a well known solicitor in London. Mr. Ryder lived to the age of ninety-seven, setting great store by his collection of royal letters, and leaving them on his death to be inherited by his son, the present possessor. The editor thinks that his conjecture that these were Maitland papers -"is rendered almost conclusive by the circumstance that the only other papers of the same kind which are in the posession of Mr. Ryder are a considerable collection of original letters addressed to John Duke of Lauderdale, with many copies of letters written by him in his capacity of secretary for Scotland." (Introd. p. v.)

The Thompson MS. mentioned in the title-page is a quarto volume of transcripts made from various sources for Sir Peter Thompson, the Dorsetshire antiquary.

From whatever sources derived the letters are beyond all question genuine; and, with the exception of about a dozen, are private letters; not mere state letters, formal documents penned by official writers and signed by the