be derived, and which would do great injury to France
by acting as a proclamation of its embarrassed state
to all the world, at home and abroad. The King
would not listen to his reasonings, but declared himself
willing to receive all the plate that was sent to
him as a free-will offering. He announced this;
and two means were indicated at the same time, which
all good citizens might follow. One was, to
send their plate to the King’s goldsmith; the
other, to send it to the Mint. Those who made
an unconditional gift of their plate, sent it to the
former, who kept a register of the names and of the
number of marks he received. The King regularly
looked over this list; at least at first, and promised
in general terms to restore to everybody the weight
of metal they gave when his affairs permitted—a
promise nobody believed in or hoped to see executed.
Those who wished to be paid for their plate sent
it to the Mint. It was weighed on arrival; the
names were written, the marks and the date; payment
was made according as money could be found.
Many people were not sorry thus to sell, their plate
without shame. But the loss and the damage were
inestimable in admirable ornaments of all kinds, with
which much of the plate of the rich was embellished.
When an account came to be drawn up, it was found
that not a hundred people were upon the list of Launay,
the goldsmith; and the total product of the gift did
not amount to three millions. I confess that
I was very late in sending any plate. When I
found that I was almost the only one of my rank using
silver, I sent plate to the value of a thousand pistoles
to the Mint, and locked up the rest. All the
great people turned to earthenware, exhausted the
shops where it was sold, and set the trade in it on
fire, while common folks continued to use their silver.
Even the King thought of using earthenware, having
sent his gold vessels to the Mint, but afterwards
decided upon plated metal and silver; the Princes
and Princesses of the blood used crockery.
Ere three months were over his head the King felt
all the shame and the weakness of having consented
to this surrendering of plate, and avowed that he
repented of it. The inundations of the Loire,
which happened at the same time, and caused the utmost
disorder, did not restore the Court or the public
to good humour. The losses they caused, and the
damage they did, were very considerable, and ruined
many private people, and desolated home trade.
Summer came. The dearness of all things, and
of bread in particular, continued to cause frequent
commotions all over the realm. Although, as
I have said, the guards of Paris were much increased,
above all in the markets and the suspected places,
they were unable to hinder disturbances from breaking
out. In many of these D’Argenson nearly
lost his life.
Monseigneur arriving and returning from the Opera,
was assailed by the populace and by women in great
numbers crying, “Bread! Bread!” so
that he was afraid, even in the midst of his guards,
who did not dare to disperse the crowd for fear of
worse happening. He got away by throwing money
to the people, and promising wonders; but as the wonders
did not follow, he no longer dared to go to Paris.