It is said that when that able ruler passed away so reluctantly from his pictures and his government, the ministers asked of the young King,—­thus far only known for his pleasures,—­to whom they should now bring their portfolios, “To me,” he replied; and from that moment he became the State, and his will the law of the land.

I have already alluded to the talents and capacities of Louis for governing, and the great aid he derived from the labors of Richelieu and the moral sentiments of his age respecting royalty and religion; so I will not dwell on personal defects or virtues, but proceed to show the way in which he executed the task devolved upon him,—­in other words, present a brief history of his government, for which he was so well fitted by native talents, fortunate circumstances, and established ideas.  I will only say, that never did a monarch enter upon his career with such ample and magnificent opportunities for being a benefactor of his people and of civilization.  In his hands were placed all the powers of good and evil; and so far as government can make a nation great, Louis had the means and opportunities beyond those of any monarch in modern times.  He had armies and generals and accumulated treasures; and all implicitly served him.  His ministers and his generals were equally able and supple, and he was at peace with all the world.  Parliaments, nobles, and Huguenots were alike submissive and reverential.  He had inherited the experience of Sully, of Richelieu, and of Mazarin.  His kingdom was protected by great natural boundaries,—­the North Sea, the ocean, the Mediterranean, the Pyrenees, the Alps, and the mountains which overlook the Rhine.  By nothing was he fettered but by the decrees of everlasting righteousness.  To his praise be it said, he inaugurated his government by selecting Colbert as one of his prime ministers,—­the ablest man of his kingdom.  It was this honest and astute servant of royalty who ferreted out the peculations of Fouquet, whom Louis did not hesitate to disgrace and punish.  The great powers of Fouquet were gradually bestowed on the merchant’s son of Rheims.

Colbert was a plebeian and a Protestant,—­cold, severe, reserved, awkward, abrupt, and ostentatiously humble, but of inflexible integrity and unrivalled sagacity and forethought; more able as a financier and political economist than any man of his century.  It was something for a young, proud, and pleasure-seeking monarch to see and reward the talents of such a man; and Colbert had the tact and wisdom to make his young master believe that all the measures which he pursued originated in the royal brain.  His great merit as a minister consisted in developing the industrial resources of France and providing the King with money.