en." He asked, therefore, to have his
regency declared such as it ought to be, "full and independent, with free
formation of the council of regency." The Duke of Maine wished to say a
word. "You shall speak in your turn, Sir," said the Duke of Orleans in a
dry tone. The court immediately decided in his favor by acclamation, and
even without proceeding in the regular way to vote. There remained the
codicils, which annulled in fact the Regent's authority. A discussion
began between the Duke of Orleans and the Duke of Maine; it was causing
Philip of Orleans to lose the advantage he had just won; his friends
succeeded in making him perceive this, and he put off the session until
after dinner. When they returned to the Palace of Justice the codicils
were puffed away like the will by the breath of popular favor. The Duke
of Maine, despoiled of the command of the king's household, declared
that, under such conditions, it was impossible for him to be answerable
for the king's person, and that he "demanded to be relieved of that
duty." "Most willingly, Sir," replied the Regent; "your services are no
longer required;" and he forthwith explained to the Parliament his
intention of governing affairs according to the plan which had been found
among the papers of the Duke of Burgundy. "Those gentry know little or
nothing of the French, and of the way to govern them," had been the
remark of Louis XIV. on reading the schemes of Fenelon, the Duke of
Beauvilliers, and St. Simon. The Parliament applauded the formation of
the six councils of foreign affairs, of finance, of war, of the marine,
of home or the interior, of conscience or ecclesiastical affairs; the
Regent was intrusted with the free disposal of graces. "I want to be
free for good," said he, adroitly repeating a phrase from Telemaque, "I
consent to have my hands tied for evil."

The victory was complete. Not a shred remained of Louis XIV.'s will.
The Duke of Maine, confounded and humiliated, retired to his Castle of
Sceaux, there to endure the reproaches of his wife. The king's affection
and Madame de Maintenon's clever tactics had not sufficed to found his
power; the remaining vestiges of his greatness were themselves about to
vanish before long in their turn.

[Illustration: The Bed of Justice----57]

On the 12th of September, the little king held a bed of justice; his
governess, Madame de Ventadour, sat alone at the feet of the poor orphan,
abandoned on the pi