The origin of the secret diplomacy, the object and the organisation of which underwent frequent modifications, appears to have been the project cherished by the King, and more especially by the interested party, of securing for the Prince de Conti the throne of Poland. As for the idea itself, it may possibly have been suggested to Louis XV. by the correspondence he kept up at the beginning of his reign with the Marshal de Noailles. His illness at Metz and the love his people had shown him on that occasion had, it would seem, illuminated for him his kingly duty, and so for a time he displayed an ardent desire to conduct himself well, and a certain determination to devote himself to the government of his country. The secret correspondence gives evidence of such inclinations, but reveals at the same time that lack of decision, that prodigious selfishness, that spirit of mistrust and dissimulation which spoiled all the King’s good qualities, and rendered useless the perspicacity and good sense with which he was so plentifully endowed. The Duc de Luynes says of him that he spoke and thought _historically_ of public affairs: this word expresses wonderfully well, not only Louis XV.’s judgment and penetration, but also the egoistic indifference and dilettanteism with which he followed what his grandfather had called the “trade of king.” History has repeatedly shown the consequences of such a disposition both in a statesman and in a sovereign. In 1745 several Polish noblemen, disquieted by the state of anarchy and impotence into which their country had fallen, repaired to Paris with the object of attaining a more assured future by offering the crown to a French prince. They thought of the Prince de Conti, grandson of the man who had been called to the throne of Poland in the reign of Louis XIV. The King authorised the Prince de Conti to accept their offers, and resolved to attend to the matter himself, without mentioning it to his ministers. Thenceforth he made the Prince come to his study to work with him; but the very precautions taken to ensure the secrecy of their conferences excited the curiosity and elicited the comments of the whole court. One Sunday they noticed that scarcely had the King left his chapel when he shut himself up with the Prince, and that several secretaries had been sent for, who spent the whole day busily employed in staining paper. Another day they saw the Prince go to his Majesty’s apartments, carrying, with an air of great mystery, some large portfolios. The Marquis d’Argenson, who relates the incident, set himself to find out the secret which had thus become common talk. He succeeded in discovering that the matter in question was to secure the throne of Poland for the Prince; and in his Memoirs, under date of March 31, 1753, he expresses himself as follows:—