Arouet, son of a notary, who was employed by my father and me until his death, was exiled and sent to Tulle at this time (the early part of 1716), for some verses very satirical and very impudent.

I should not amuse myself by writing down such a trifle, if this same Arouet, having become a great poet and academician under the name of Voltaire, had not also become—­after many tragical adventures—­a manner of personage in the republic of letters, and even achieved a sort of importance among certain people.

CHAPTER LXXXIII

I have elsewhere alluded to Alberoni, and shown what filthy baseness he stooped to in order to curry favour with the infamous Duc de Vendome.  I have also shown that he accompanied the new Queen of Spain from Parma to Madrid, after she had been married, by procuration, to Philip V. He arrived at the Court of Spain at a most opportune moment for his fortune.  Madame des Ursins had just been disgraced; there was no one to take her place.  Alberoni saw his opportunity and was not slow to avail himself of it.  During the journey with the new Queen, he had contrived to ingratiate himself so completely into her favour, that she was, in a measure, prepared to see only with his eyes.  The King had grown so accustomed to be shut out from all the world, and to be ruled by others, that he easily adapted himself to his new chains.  The Queen and Alberoni, then, in a short time had him as completely under their thumb, as he had before been under that of Madame des Ursins.

Alberoni, unscrupulous and ambitious, stopped at nothing in order to consolidate his power and pave the way for his future greatness.  Having become prime minister, he kept the King as completely inaccessible to the courtiers as to the world; would allow no one to approach him whose influence he had in any way feared.  He had Philip completely in his own hands by means of the Queen, and was always on his guard to keep him there.

Ever since the Regent’s accession to power an intimacy had gradually been growing up between the two governments of France and England.  This was mainly owing to the intrigues of the Abbe Dubois, who had sold himself to the English Court, from which he secretly received an enormous pension.  He was, therefore, devoted heart and soul—­if such a despicable personage can be said to have the one or the other—­to the interests of King George, and tried to serve them in every way.  He had but little difficulty—­comparatively speaking—­in inducing M. le Duc d’Orleans to fall into his nets, and to declare himself in favour of an English alliance.  Negotiations with this end in view were, in fact, set on foot, had been for some time; and about the month of September of this year (1716), assumed a more smiling face than they had yet displayed.