The firmness of the regent was worthy of applause. It was, nevertheless, looked upon as an inexpiable insult by the aristocracy in general, and especially by the kinsfolk of the malefactor. The regent having directed that the confiscated property of the count should be restored to the prince, his brother, the haughty noble rejected the proffered boon, and gave vent to his high displeasure in the following insolent letter. “I do not complain, Sir, of the death of my brother; he had committed so horrible a crime, that there was no punishment he did not deserve. But I complain, that, in his person, you have violated the rights of the kingdom, of the nobility, and of nations. For the offer of his confiscated property, which you have been pleased to make, I thank you; but I should think myself as infamous as he was, if I were to accept of the slightest favour from your Royal Highness. I hope that God and the king will, some day, mete out to you the same rigid justice that you have dispensed to my unfortunate brother.” By the death of the Duke of Orleans, in 1723, all the power of the state fell into the worthless hands of the Duke of Bourbon. The vices of Orleans had been at least palliated by great talents, some virtues, and a heart which, though corrupted, was not dead to kind and noble feelings; but Bourbon, harsh in disposition, rude in manners, repulsive in personal appearance, and governed by an artful and profligate mistress, had no one good quality to throw even a faint lustre over his numerous defects. The sway of Bourbon lasted little more than two years, and, in that brief space of time, he committed so many enormous political errors, springing from ignorance, presumption, and intolerance, that the kingdom was thrown into discontent and confusion. The minister of the war department, Claude le Blanc, was one of those who suffered by the change which took place on the death of the Duke of Orleans. Le Blanc was born in 1669, and had filled several important offices before he became one of the ministers. The machinations of his enemies, one of the most inveterate of whom was the Marshal de Villeroi, procured his temporary banishment from court in 1723, on suspicion of his having participated in peculation committed by the treasurer. He was confined in the Bastile by the Duke of Bourbon, and the parliament was directed to bring him to trial. To secure his conviction, his adversaries calumniously asserted, that he had employed an assassin to murder one of his principal accusers. The parliament, however, fully acquitted him of all the charges which were brought against him. He was, nevertheless, exiled by the duke. In 1726, Cardinal de Fleury placed him once more at the head of the war department, where he continued till his decease, in 1728. It is in favour of his character that he died poor, and that he was beloved by the people.