grandchildren of France, and the Princes of the blood.” The Duke of Bourbon, son of Louis XIV. and Madame de Montespan, repaired his broken fortunes, liquidated his enormous debts, and in the course of several successful strokes of speculation, acquired a fortune of twenty million livres. He purchased large estates in Picardy, and acquired all the most valuable land between the Oise and the Somme. The castle at Chantilly was rebuilt on a scale of regal magnificence, and an extensive zoological collection was brought together as a feature of attraction to his territorial possessions. Anxious to improve the breed of horses in France, he also imported 150 race-horses from England, and thus established one of the finest stables on the continent of Europe. And then, “to pay his court to the Regent, who was passionately fond of his daughter, the Duchess of Berry, he gave that Princess, who was eager after pleasure, a superb festival, which lasted four or five days, and cost an immense sum of money.” Among other nobles whose dilapidated fortunes were restored at this time, were the Dukes D’Antin, de Guiche, de la Force, the Marshal D’Estrées, Madame de Vérue and the Princes de Rohan and de Poix. But many foreigners were no less successful, and of one, Joseph Gage, brother of Viscount Gage, who had acquired an exceedingly large fortune, we are told that, having aspirations to kingly rank, he offered the King of Poland three millions if the latter would resign his crown in his favour, and meeting with an unfavourable reply, endeavoured to negotiate a similar transaction with reference to Sardinia, but with no greater success.