licited was so
comparatively insignificant, at once signified his compliance; and as
the subject had been cleverly mooted by the two interested parties at
Fontainebleau, while the minister of finance was absent in the capital,
Madame de Verneuil, by dint of importunity, succeeded in inducing the
monarch to sign an order for the immediate imposition of the duty in
favour of M. de Soissons; but before he was prevailed upon to do this,
he declared to the Prince that he should withdraw his consent to the
arrangement, if it were proved that the produce of the tax exceeded the
yearly sum of fifty thousand francs, or that it pressed too heavily upon
the people and the commercial interests of the kingdom. This reservation
was by no means palatable to M. de Soissons, who had, when questioned as
to the amount likely to be derived from the transaction, answered rather
from impulse than calculation; but as the said reservation was merely
verbal, while the edict authorizing the levy of the impost was tangible
and valid, the Prince, after warmly expressing his acknowledgments to
the monarch, carried off the document without one misgiving of success.

Henry, however, when he began to reflect upon the nature of the
concession which he had been prevailed upon to make, could not suppress
a suspicion that it was more important than it had at first appeared;
and, conscious that he had falsified his promise to the minister, he
resolved to ascertain the extent of his imprudence. He accordingly, the
same evening, despatched a letter to Sully, in which, without divulging
what had taken place, he directed him to ascertain the probable proceeds
of such a tax, and the effect which it was likely to produce upon those
on whom it would be levied.

So unexpected an inquiry startled the finance minister, who instantly
apprehended that a fresh attack had been made upon the indulgence of the
monarch; and he forthwith anxiously commenced a calculation, based upon
solid and well-authenticated documents, which resulted in the discovery
that the annual amount of such an impost could not be less than three
hundred thousand crowns; while it must necessarily so seriously affect
the trade in flax and hemp, that it was likely to ruin the provinces of
Brittany and Normandy, as well as a great part of Picardy.

Under these circumstances it was decided between Henry and his minister,
that the latter should withhold his signature to the order which had
been extort