NOTWITHSTANDING the various offices which Sully fulfilled, and the various duties that were consequently cast upon him, he still persisted in devoting his time and labour, in spite of all obstruction, to the improvement of the finances. The weakness, the vices, and the profligacy of the sovereigns who had recently filled the throne-of Henry II., of Charles IX. and of Henry III. had heaped evil upon evil, and abuse upon abuse, and such a host of public officers and men in power had contrived to quarter themselves upon the industry of the people, that there was wherewithal to deter any one from approaching the iniquitous mass, and nothing but the rare qualities which this great minister combined could have wrought him up to the encounter.

He had one auxiliary, however, that was invaluable, the king laboured earnestly by his side for the good of the people. Whatever might be Henry's weaknesses in private life, he never failed to bestir himself when the necessities of the nation called for it. He was not only reluctant to impose any fresh burden on his subjects, but he earnestly profited by every opportunity to ease that which they already bore. Thus supported, Sully found all the difficulties which at first surrounded him gradually give way. The king left to him the choice of the measures to be pursued, and he adopted the most prudent and the most effective. He recommended the most fit and faithful persons to his majesty to fill the different appointments as they became vacant, and gradually thus getting intelligent men and men of application about him, he was not only able to proceed with more confidence but to get his plans more promptly executed. The benefits of his administration were not only visible in Paris but extended over the whole kingdom. The highways were repaired in almost every part of France-footpaths were made, and bridges erected in places hitherto impassable-new wharfs were built-industry was reanimated, and the whole face of the country assumed a

lively and cheerful hue. Elm and other trees were planted along the sides of the road-the level landscape which tired the eye of the traveller was embellished and diversified-and all these improvements were effected without imposing a single additional burden on the community. They were brought about solely by a judicious retrenchment of expenditure, and an honest reformation of abuses. "I cannot abstain," says Sully, "from making a remark-in itself commonplace enough-that order and economy must necessarily have infinite resources, when I reflect that notwithstanding the ordinary expenses of the state, and the extraordinary cost which his majesty was put to in different parts of his empire-although nearly a million sterling was annually sent abroad to discharge the claims of other countriesadded to all this, the exhausted state in which the king found his exchequer, and the resources of his kingdom, and surrounded as he was with perplexities apparently insurmountable, when he came to the throne, yet the government had already exhibited an appearance of opulence, which almost obliterated the remembrance of its former poverty. "Could any one," he adds, " have imagined ten years before, that in this year 1605, the king would have found himself as rich as he now was, when they called to mind that the demands upon him when he became peaceable possessor of the crown, surrounded by financial difficulties, and the claim of interest and arrears did not amount to less than between sixteen and seventeen millions sterling! Who, I say, could have imagined, that so great a proportion could be discharged of this enormous sum? All his private and personal debts were paid off, and such arrangements made for the liquidation of the remainder, as would not only not exhaust the royal treasury, but not even inconvenience it. Yet all this was actually effected!"*

This favourable change in the face of affairs, had not only made the minister by whose perseverance it had been

brought about, extremely popular, but had gradually exalted the king very highly in the affection of his subjects. His military fame, the generosity of his temper, his prepossessing and amiable demeanour in public, and the mild and temperate manner in which he exercised the royal authority, combined with the real anxiety which he manifested for the welfare of his people, obtained for him --and deservedly-the title of HENRY LE GRAND.

An enlightened minister like Sully, however well he might stand with the public at large, must necessarily be exposed to the hatred and ill-will of all those and there were many among them of great note and distinction whose peculations he had suppressed, and whose emoluments he had swept away. To serve the public is, at best, but a thankless office. Henry, besides, kept the keys of preferment always in his own hands; he was not the channel through which ministers dispensed their patronage, nor was he under the dominion of an insatiate and imperious nobility. The royal bounty flowed from the royal will. The king was truly-what he was declared to be the fountain of honour. Such, some will say, is the evil of an absolute monarchy. Perhaps it may be so; but, after all, thus much at least is true, that the plenitude of power is quite as usefully retained by an absolute sovereign, as exercised by an arrogant, rapacious, and irresponsible aristocracy. It was in this year 1606, that Sully was raised to the peerage, and being requested by the king to name from which of his estates he would prefer the title, he chose his estate of Sully, and his patent of creation was made out forthwith. He had before been offered a dukedom when appointed ambassador to England, but had declined it on the ground of his private fortune being then inadequate to the maintenance of its dignity. On the present occasion. all the lords of the court and the chief of the nobility accompanied Sully to the parliament, on going through the ceremonial of his reception. All the princes of the blood were likewise present. At the conclusion of the ceremony, sixty personages of the first rank went home with him to the arsenal, where a splendid entertainment was provided. His majesty without having given the

slightest hint of his intention to be present, to the great surprise of Sully, had stole in privately among the guests."Grand master," said the king, "I am come uninvited to the feast, shall I get a bad dinner?"-" I fear that may well be, sire," replied Sully, "since I did not expect so great an honour.”—“ I don't think I shall," returned Henry, good-humouredly interrupting his acknowledgments," for while waiting your return I made the tour of the kitchens, where I saw some of the finest fish that ever were beheld, and some high-flavoured ragouts just to my taste, and because you staid longer than suited my appetite I regaled myself with some of your small hunting oysters, and drank some of your wine of Arbois, the best I ever tasted."The king, throwing aside the stateliness of royalty, entered fully into the joy of the occasion, and his gaiety gave a zest to the entertainment, which greatlyheightened the gratification of all present.

This little incident serves to show the very friendly terms-alike honourable to both-in which Henry lived with the Duke of Sully. It is by slight circumstances like these that the natural goodness of his heart develops itself; they endear the character of majesty infinitely more than all the statuary stiffness of rank.

But notwithstanding the devoted attachment of Henry to this deserving minister, it ought not to surprise us if we find the harmony that subsisted between them sometimes disturbed. The king was not at all times willing to put that restraint on his inclinations which his elevated station and the influence of his example as the head of the state, so urgently called for. There were offended courtiers enough always on the watch to depreciate the minister in the eyes of his royal master. The probity and independence of his character, and his frank and fearless mode of speaking when the urgency of the occasion called for it, gave them sometimes an opportunity to sow the seeds of dissension, but they never took root. Sully gives a memorable instance of this in the earlier part of his memoirs, which it is impossible to peruse without lamenting that it is unique. History affords no second example of it.

"The king," says Sully, 66 was dis

coursing with me one day, when the subject turned upon an affair of gallantry, the particulars have escaped my recollection, all I remember is, that I expressed myself with some warmth against the Duchess d'ANGOULEME and another person who played the principal part in the scene, and that I was bold enough to represent to Henry with much firmness, that intrigues that accorded so ill with his age and dignity, did but tarnish his glory, and might possibly have some still worse termination. My freedom of expostulation, sometimes graciously received, drew down upon me this time expressions of extreme anger and reproof. He was indeed so irritated when he left my chamber, that he said, loud enough to be heard—' It is really impossible to bear with this man any longer, he does nothing but oppose me, and finds fault with whatever I do; but, by heaven! I will make him obey me, he shall not appear in my presence for this fortnight to come."-My disgrace appeared to all present as a thing certain: my domestics were much grieved, but many others, I believe, secretly rejoiced at it.

"By seven o'clock the next morning the king alighted at the arsenal, with five or six persons whom he brought with him in his carriage. He would not permit my servants to announce his arrival, but came himself, and tapped at the door of my cabinet. I was not a little surprised when, on asking Who is there?' the reply was 'It is the king!' I knew by the sound of his voice that it was Henry himself. Well, and what are you doing here,' says he, entering with the Duke de Roquelaure, De Vic, Zamet, La Varenne, and Erard the engineer, for he had occasion to speak with me respecting the fortifications of Calais. I replied that I was writing letters, and preparing work for my secretaries' indeed, my table was actually covered with letters, and statements of different matters that I was that day to lay before the council. And how long have you been thus occupied?' continued his majesty. Ever since three o'clock,' I replied. Henry made no answer, but commanding every one to retire, he began to confer with me upon some subjects upon which it was impossible I could subscribe to his opinion, which he plainly perceived, when

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I told him coldly, that I had no advice to offer; that his majesty having, no doubt, made up his mind upon mature deliberation, nothing remained for me but to obey him, since he was displeased when any one entertained an opinion contrary to his own.' 'Oh, oh!' said Henry, smiling, and giving me a gentle tap on the cheek, you are upon the reserve, and have some remains of yesterday's ill-humour hanging about you; as for me, I have none; come, come, embrace, and live with me upon your usual terms of freedom, for I know your heart, and if you spoke otherwise it would be a sign that you no longer took any real concern in my affairs. Although I am sometimes angry,' he added, with that candour that was natural to him, I wish you to put up with it, for I don't regard you the less; on the contrary, from the moment you ceased to oppose me on points which I knew you to disapprove, I should believe you had no longer any affection for me.'

"Here is one of those traits," adds this model of a minister, "which are important as illustrating the true character of Henry; and which, indeed, displays it in a most amiable light. It is not uncommon to see the ministers and favourites of princes fall into disgrace; neither is it extraordinary that by their unworthy proceedings they should deserve this treatment. But do princes on such occasions punish the actual misconduct? Scarcely ever. They are instigated by caprice, by levity, by pride, and by ill-humour, where they ought only to be influenced by motives of strict justice. It seems to be the fate of Reason never to be listened to, neither when she combats the passions nor when she coincides with them."

Henry took care, when taking his leave on the present occasion, effectually to remove from the minds of those about him, any impression they might have conceived that his minister had lost a portion of his favour. "The king," says he, "afterwards conferred with me upon topics to which it is not permitted me to advert; then embracing me, he bade me farewell. On passing from my closet he said to De Vic, ́Ï have provided for the fortifications of Calais;' and, raising his voice, added, There are many persons weak enough

to believe, that when I am in a passion with the Duke of Sully, it is serious and will be lasting; but no such thing: for when I come to reflect that he neither remonstrates with nor contradicts me, but with a view to my own honour and dignity, or the advantage of my affairs, and never from any motives of personal interest, I love him the better for it, and am impatient to tell him so.'"

It is painful to consider that the advancement of knowledge and the progress of political science has done so little to improve the character of our rulers. The principles of reason and religion, however they may elevate the character and promote the comfort of private men, seem to exert their influence in vain within the circle of courts. The annals of France furnish no specimen of such a king, before or after him, as their fourth Henry. Our own annals have not even one such monarch on record. The political and religious history of all the leading governments of Europe, what do they present but scenes of oppression, selfishness, strife, intolerance, and bloodshed? As far back as that history reaches we have the same monotonous detail. The struggling of rival candidates for power and place: the intrigues of the unprincipled

aspirants that surround a throne; priests rising into their supremacy by imposture; military heroes carving their way upwards with the sword; all in authority trampling, as by common consent, on the rights of the people; and government every where encompassing itself by an array of guards-not to ensure the public against disorder-but to protect itself and its instruments against the discontent excited in the multitude by the excess of oppression and misrule. To all this the reign of Henry the Fourth exhibits a refreshing and delightful contrast. Two centuries have passed without affording a second example to France of a sovereign loving his minister for those very qualities which made him hated by the courthis financial economy, his intellectual courage, and his inflexible uprightness. The mould, it should seem, has been broken up in which this king and his minister were cast. Theirs is not the legitimate succession, in support of which nations have exhausted their resources. It is not to perpetuate the remembrance of such men that crowned heads enter into a holy alliance. Their labours have a very different vocation.

S.

Will it?

Will they?