Millionaire - Janet Gleeson [97]
Greeting him warmly, Maximilian questioned why, when Law had passed through Munich on his departure from France four years earlier, he had failed to visit. Law alluded vaguely to his dilemma with creditors: “I had then reasons for passing without being known.” But the fact that he was now lingering in international resorts, living the life of a well-to-do tourist, can only have added further fuel to the rumors that he had a hidden cache of funds somewhere. Maximilian, in common with most of Europe, was under the impression that Law was still fabulously wealthy, and he was as keen as everyone else to get him onto the subject of money. Bemoaning the high interest he was being forced to pay on loans, he wondered whether Law might help him out. Law replied frankly, “I took the occasion to tell him that if I was in a position to do so I would lend to His Excellency with pleasure, and at a reasonable rate of interest, but that I had nothing outside France, and that since my affairs were still undecided I had my own difficulties.”
After promising initial discussions, Law left the ailing elector without tackling the question of the English alliance, but the intention on both sides was that the talks should continue soon. The following day the elector’s health seemed improved, but he was not well enough to receive visitors. Law passed the time meticulously reporting the details of his first meeting back to London. He was still frantic for news from France, and the letter begins and ends with entreaties to the Duke of Newcastle and Walpole to intercede on his behalf with the Duc de Bourbon.
A week later the elector’s health deteriorated. The pains spread from his neck to his stomach and were so severe that it was feared his life was endangered. More medical advice was urgently sought, and leading physicians were summoned. A French doctor pronounced the illness not life-threatening and promised to restore him to full health, but despite his confident prognosis, a fortnight later Maximilian was dead.
Uncertain what he should do next, Law remained in Munich. Ostensibly he was still fulfilling his role as undercover agent, dispatching information about the armies of Bavaria and the neighboring state of Hesse Cassel and waiting for further instruction. His presence in Bavaria drew several influential visitors, among them Count von Sinzendorff, an Austrian minister to whom Law gave a copy of a memoir explaining his ideas, which, he said, would prove the scheme “well founded and that it would have lasted if extraordinary events had not intervened.” Despite his sufferings his idealistic approach to money remained unchanged, and when von Sinzendorff asked him about state lotteries, Law, still haunted by visions of the rue Quincampoix tumult, replied disapprovingly that they encouraged debauchery, whereas “wealth should be acquired by industry not by luck or gambling.” Bearing in mind that apart from his salary from the British government, he relied heavily on gambling for his own income, it seems Law was far from gratified or easy with the life he had been forced to lead.
As months passed, his presence in Munich seemed increasingly futile. The new elector Charles Albert had no intention of joining forces with Britain against Austria. No further assignments were proposed. There was no indication that anyone in England paid heed to his reports. When, eventually, Law grew tired of waiting and tendered his resignation to the British government, it was accepted without any apparent dismay. Venice, the city in which he had always felt