r, by whose counsels he had been influenced. La Chaise excused himself, by laying the blame upon the marquis de Louvois; but the king told him with some indignation, “that
, a Jesuit of uncommon abilities, and confessor to Lewis XIV. was born in the chateau
of Aix, in 1624, of an ancient but reduced family. He
gave early indications of talents when at school, and performed his philosophical exercises under father de Vaux,
who was afterwards advanced to the highest employments in
his order. When he was arrived at a proper age, he was
ordained priest; and became afterwards professor of divinity in the province of Lyons, and rector and provincial of
a college there. He spent at several seasons a good deal
of time in Paris, where his great address, his wit, and love
of letters, made him almost universally known: and in
1663, the bishop of Bayeux introduced him to cardinal
Mazarine, who shewed him many marks of favour, and
offered him his patronage. In 1665, he presented la
Chaise to the king, as a person of whose great abilities
and merit he was well convinced, and afterwards got him
admitted into the council of conscience, which indeed was
no less than to make him coadjutor to the confessor, and
when the cardinal died, he was made, in 1675, confessor
to the king; and about ten years after, was the principal
adviser and director of his marriage with madame de Maintenon. The king was then arrived at an age when confessors have more than an ordinary influence: and la Chaise
found himself a minister of state, without expecting, and
almost before he perceived it. He did business regularly
with the king, and immediately saw all the lords and all
the prelates at his feet. He had made himself a master in
the affairs of the church; which, by the disputes that often
arose between the courts of France and Rome, were become affairs of state.
Yet, in spite of all his address and the influence which
he had gained over the king, he was sometimes out of
favour with his master, and in danger of being disgraced.
Provoked at the ill success of the affair concerning the
electorate of Cologn in 1689, the king shewed his displeasure to the confessor, by whose counsels he had been influenced. La Chaise excused himself, by laying the blame
upon the marquis de Louvois; but the king told him with
some indignation, “that an enterprise suggested by Jesuits
had never succeeded; and that it would be better if they
would confine themselves to teaching their scholars, and
never presume to meddle in affairs of state.
” La Chaise
was very solicitous to establish an interest with madam e de
Maintenon; but does not appear to have done it effectually, till that favourite found herself unable, by all her
intrigues and contrivances, to remove him from the place
of confessor. The Jesuit, it has been said, had not religion enough for this devout lady. He loved pleasures,
had a taste for magnificence, and was thought too lukewarm in the care of his master’s conscience. The jealousy
and dislike with which she regarded him were expressed in
her letters; but her unfavourable representations of his
temper and character were counteracted by those of the
duke of St. Simon, who describes him as mild and moderate, humane and modest, possessed of honour and probity, and though much attached to his family, perfectly
disinterested. La Chaise died Jan. 1709, and possessed
to the very last so great a share of favour and esteem with
the king, that his majesty consulted him upon his death-bed about the choice of his successor.
the son of François Michel le Tellier de Courtanvaux, captaincolonel of the Cent-Suisses, son of the marquis de Louvois and Marie Anne Catherine d‘Estrees, daughter of John
, marshal of France,
and minister of state, was born at Paris, July 1, 1695, the
son of François Michel le Tellier de Courtanvaux, captaincolonel of the Cent-Suisses, son of the marquis de Louvois
and Marie Anne Catherine d‘Estrees, daughter of John
count d’Estrees, vice-admiral and marshal of France. He
first bore arms in the short war which the duke of Orleans,
regent, declared against Spain, and served under the command of the marechal de Berwick. Having attained by his
services the rank of field-marshal and inspector- general of
cavalry, he signalized himself in the war of 1741. The
blockade of Egra, the passage of the Meine at Selingstadt, the battle of Fontenoi, the siege of Mons, that of
Charleroi, &c. were among the exploits in which he was
concerned. He had the greatest share in the victory of
Laufeldt; and marshal Saxe, an excellent judge of military merit, trusted him on various occasions with the most
critical manoeuvres. On the breaking out of the war in
1756, Louis XV. who had promoted him to the rank of
marshal of France, Feb. 24, 1757, appointed him to the
command of the army in Germany, consisting of upwards
of 100,000 men. He set out in the beginning of spring,
after having shewn the monarch the plan of operations.
“At the beginning of July,
” said he, “I shall have pushed
the enemy beyond the Weser, and shall be ready to penetrate into the electorate of Hanover;
” and, not content
with effecting this, he gave battle to the duke of Cumberland at Hastembeck, the 26th of July; after this, he was
replaced by marshal Richelieu, who profited by the advantages that had been gained, to obtain the capitulation
of Closterseven, by which the Hanoverians engaged to remain neuter during the rest of the war. Marshal d‘Estrees,
recalled by intrigues at court, and sent to Giessen, after
the battle of Minden, took no share in the command, but
contented himself with giving useful advice to M. de Contades. He obtained the brevet of duke in 1763, and he
died the 2d of January, 1771, at the age of seventy-six.
Marshal d’Estrees left no children.
e was asked whether he had not made a league with the devil, to marry His son to the daughter of the marquis de Louvois. His answer was replete with the high spirit of French
, a very
celebrated general and mareschal of
France, was a posthumous son of the famous Bouteville,
who was beheaded under Louis XIII. for fighting a duel.
He was born in 1628, and in 1643 was present at the battle
of Rocroi, under the great Conde, whose pupil he was,
and whom he followed in all his fortunes. He also resembled that great man in many of his eminent qualities,
in acuteness of perception, thirst for knowledge, promptness in action, and ardour of genius. These qualities he
displayed in the conquest of Franche-Comte in 1668, where
he served as lieutenant-general. He served also in the
Dutch campaign of 1672, took many towns, and gained
some trophies in the field. He closed this expedition by a
retreat more famous than his victories, which he accomplished with an awny of 20,000 men, against the opposition,
of 70,000. After distinguishing himself in another expedition in Franche-Comte, he was advanced in 1675, to
the dignity of mareschal of France. He fought, during
the remainder of that war, with various success. In the
second war of Louis XIV. against the allied powers in
1690, he gained the battle of Fleurus, and it was generally allowed that he prevailed in it chiefly by the superiority of his genius to that of his antagonist the prince of
Waldeck. In the ensuing year, 1691,“he gained the
battles of Leufen and Steinkirk; and, continuing to be opposed to king William of England, he was again successful, in the bloody battle of Nerwinde, where there fell on
the two sides near 20,000 men. It was said in France
that on this occasion they should not sing Te Deum, but
De profundis, the mass for the dead. The duke of Luxembourg is said to have had an ordinary countenance and a
deformed figure, in consequence of which William III.
whose constant antagonist he was, is reported to have said
once with some impatience,
” What! shall I never beat
this hump-backed fellow?“This speech being repeated to
the duke,
” How should he know,“said he,
” the shape
of my back? I am sure he never saw me turn it to him.“The last great action of the duke’s life was a second famous
retreat, in the presence of superior forces, through a considerable extent of country, to Tournay. This was in
1694, and he died the following year, Jan. 4, at the age
of sixty-seven. Notwithstanding the disadvantages of his
person, Luxembourg is said to have been much involved
in intrigues of gallantry. He had some powerful enemies,
particularly the minister Louvois, who once had him confined very unjustly in the Bastille. Among other frivolous
calumnies on which he was then interrogated, he was asked
whether he had not made a league with the devil, to marry
His son to the daughter of the marquis de Louvois. His
answer was replete with the high spirit of French nobility.
” When Matthew of Montmorenci,“said he,
” married a
queen of France, he addressed himself, not to the devil,
but to the states-general; and the declaration of the states
was, that in order to gain the support of the house of
Montmorenci for the young king in his minority, it would
be right to conclude that marriage." Idle as the accusations against him were, they cost him a confinement of
fourteen months, and he had no subsequent redress.
assy to Venice, de Piles attended him as secretary; and, during his residence there, was sent by the marquis de Louvois into Germany, to purchase pictures for the king,
, an ingenious Frenchman, was born
at Clameci, of a good family, in 1635 and was educated
at Nevers, Auxerre, and Paris, and lastly studied divinity
in the Sorbonne. In the mean lime, he cultivated the
art of painting, which he was supposed to understand in
theory as well as practice. The former accomplishment
led him to an acquaintance with du Fresnoy, whose Latin
poem upon painting he translated into French. Menage
also became acquainted with his great merit, and procured
him, in 1652, to be appointed tutor to the son of Mons
Amelot: in which he gave such satisfaction, that, when his
pupil was old enough to travel, he attended him to Italy.
There he had an opportunity of gratifying his taste for
painting; and upon his return to Paris, he devoted himself to the study of that art, and soon acquired a name
among connoisseurs. In 1682, Amelot, his quondam pupil, being sent on an embassy to Venice, de Piles attended
him as secretary; and, during his residence there, was sent
by the marquis de Louvois into Germany, to purchase pictures for the king, and also to execute a commission relating to state affairs. In 1685, he attended M. Amelot to
Lisbon; and in 1689 to Switzerland, in the same capacity.
In 1692, he was sent to Holland, apparently as a picturecollector, but in reality to act secretly with the friends of
France. On this occasion, however, he was discovered,
and thrown into prison, where he continued till the peace
of Ryswick, and amused himself with writing “The Lives
of Painters.
” In
, marquis de Louvois, by which title he is generally known, was born at
, marquis de Louvois, by which title he is generally known, was born at Paris, January 18, 1641. He was the son of Mit-hel le Teilier, secretary of state, and afterwards chancellor of France, and keeper of the seals. The great credit and power of the father gave an early introduction to the son into the offices of slate, and he was onlv twenty- three when the reversion of the place of war-minister was assigned to him. His vigilance, activity, and application, immediately marked him as a man of superior talents for business; and two years afterwards, in 1666, he succeeded his father as secretary of state. In 1668 he was appointed post-mastergeneral, chancellor of the royal orders, and grand vicar of the orders of St. Lazarus and Mount Carmel; in all which places he fully justified the first conception of his talents. By his advice, and under his care, was built the royal hospital of invalids; and several academies were founded for the education of young men of good families in the military line. After the death of Colbert, in 1683, Louvois was appointed superintendant of buildings, arts, and manufactures. Amidst this variety of occupations, to which his genius proved itself fully equal, he shone most particularly in the direction of military affairs. He established magazines, and introduced a discipline which was felt with advantage in every department of the army. He several times acted in person as grand master of the ordnance, and in that branch of duty signalized his judgment and energy no less than in every other. The force of his genius, and the success of his most arduous undertakings, gained him an extreme ascendant over the mind of Louis XIV. but he abused his power, and treated his sovereign with a haughtiness which created disgust and hatred in all who saw it. One day, on returning from a council, where he had been very ill received by the king, he expired in his own apartment, the victim of ambition, grief, and vexation. This happened when he was no more than fifty-one, on the 16th of July, 1691.
A book entitled “Testament politique du marquis de Louvois,” was published in his name, 1695, in 12mo, but the
A book entitled “Testament politique du marquis de
Louvois,
” was published in his name,