As many among France’s poor suffered greatly because of the inclement weather, the nobles deprived themselves of whatever disposable resources they could lay their hands on so as to alleviate their hardship. They sent their solid silver plate and dinner services to the Mint causing them to be melted down and turned into coin for the poor. Seeing the Duke of Ayen, Louis XV asked him: “Have you sent your silver plate to the Mint?”
“Not yet, Your Majesty.”
“I have already sent mine.”
Celnart, Choix d’anecdotes (Paris: Roret, 1828), Vol. I, p. 108. (Nobility.org translation.)
Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 65
