rs, that the nation had awakened to a sense of its
folly, was one, a fac-simile of which is preserved in the _Memoires de la
Regence_. It was thus described by its author: "The 'Goddess of Shares,'
in her triumphal car, driven by the Goddess of Folly. Those who are
drawing the car are impersonations of the Mississippi, with his wooden
leg, the South Sea, the Bank of England, the Company of the West of
Senegal, and of various assurances. Lest the car should not roll fast
enough, the agents of these companies, known by their long fox-tails and
their cunning looks, turn round the spokes of the wheels, upon which are
marked the names of the several stocks and their value, sometimes high and
sometimes low, according to the turns of the wheel. Upon the ground are
the merchandise, day-books and ledgers of legitimate commerce, crushed
under the chariot of Folly. Behind is an immense crowd of persons, of all
ages, sexes, and conditions, clamoring after Fortune, and fighting with
each other to get a portion of the shares which she distributes so
bountifully among them. In the clouds sits a demon, blowing bubbles of
soap, which are also the objects of the admiration and cupidity of the
crowd, who jump upon one another's backs to reach them ere they burst.
Right in the pathway of the car, and blocking up the passage, stands a
large building, with three doors, through one of which it must pass, if it
proceeds farther, and all the crowd along with it. Over the first door are
the words, '_Hopital des Foux_,' over the second, '_Hopital des Malades_,'
and over the third, '_Hopital des Gueux_.'" Another caricature represented
Law sitting in a large cauldron, boiling over the flames of popular
madness, surrounded by an impetuous multitude, who were pouring all their
gold and silver into it, and receiving gladly in exchange the bits of
paper which he distributed among them by handfuls.

While this excitement lasted, Law took good care not to expose himself
unguarded in the streets. Shut up in the apartments of the regent, he was
secure from all attack; and whenever he ventured abroad, it was either
_incognito_, or in one of the royal carriages, with a powerful escort. An
amusing anecdote is recorded of the detestation in which he was held by
the people, and the ill-treatment he would have met had he fallen into
their hands. A gentleman of the name of Boursel was passing in his
carriage down the Rue St. Antoine, when his farther progress was