jealousofthisgraciousfamiliarity，wishedhertocallhimbysome
petname，andsotheBacchante，whobelievedthatthroughthe
KingsheheldallFranceinherhand，calledhim“LaFrance，“making
himawifetohisGrayMusketeers。
Oh，thathappytime！
DuBarryandLouisXVhidtheirlife——like
thesage——intheirlittleapartments。
Shehoneyedhischocolate，
andhehimselfmadehercoffee。
Royaltyconsecratedanewverb
forthedictionaryoftheAcademy，andMadameduBarrysaidto
theKing:“Athome，Icanloveyoutomadness。“
TheKinggave
thecastleofLuciennetohismistressinordertobeabletosing
thesamesong。
TrulytheRomeoandJuliet。
DuBarrythrewoutherfish-wifelyepithetswithineffabletenderness。
Sheonlyopenedhereyeshalfway，evenwhenshetookhimbythe
throat。
TheKingwasenchantedbythesehumors。
Itwasanew
world。
Butsomeonesaidtohim:“Ah，Sire，itiseasytoseethat
yourMajestyhasneverbeenatthehouseofGourdan。“
YetDuBarrywasadoredbypoetsandartists。
Sheextendedboth
handstothem。
Jeanne’sbeautyhadapenetrating，singularcharm。
Atonceshewasblondeandbrunette——blackeyebrowsandlashes
withblueeyes，rebelliouslighthairwithdarkershadows，cheeks
ofidealcontour，whosepalerosetintswereoftenheightenedby
twoorthreetouches——alie“formedbythehandofLove，“as
anthologyputsit——anosewithexpressivenostrils，anairof
childlikecandour，andalookseductivetointoxication。
Abold
yetshrinkingVenus，aHebeyetaBacchante。
Withmuchgrace
Voltairesays:
“Madame:
“M。delaBordetellsmethatyouhaveorderedhim
tokissmeonbothcheeksforyou:
“What！
Twokissesatlife’send
Whatapassporttosendme！
Twoisonetoomuch，AdorableNymph；
Ishoulddieofpleasureatthefirst。
“Heshowedmeyourportrait，andbenotoffended，
Madame，whenItellyouthatIhavetakentheliberty
ofgivingthatthetwokisses。“
PerhapsVoltairewouldnothavewrittenthisletter，hadhenot
readtheonewrittenbytheKingtotheDucdeChoiseul，who
refusedtopaycourttotheleft-handqueen:
“MyCousin，
“Thediscontentwhichyouractscausemeforcesmeto
exileyoutoChanteloup，whereyouwilltakeyourself
withintwenty-fourhours。
Iwouldhavesentyoufarther
awaywereitnotfortheparticularesteeminwhichI
holdMadamedeChoiseul。
Withthis，IprayGod，my
cousin，totakeyouintoHissafeandholyprotection。
“Louis。“
Thisexilewastheonlycrimeofthecourtesan。
Onnoneofher
enemiesdidsheclosethegatesoftheBastille。
Andmorethan
oncedidsheplaceapeninthehandsofLouisXVwithwhichto
signapardon。
Sometimes，indeed，shewasironicinhercompassion。
“Madame，“saidM。deSartinestoheroneday，“Ihavediscovered
aroguewhoisscatteringsongsaboutyou；whatistobedonewithhim？“
“Sentencehimtosingthemforalivelihood。“
ButsheafterwardsmadethemistakeofpensioningChevalierde
Morandetobuysilence。
ThepleasuresoftheKingandhisfavoriteweretroubledonlyby
thefortune-tellers。
NeithertheKingnorthecountessbelievedin
thepredictionsofthephilosophers，buttheydidbelievein
divination。
Oneday，returningfromChoisy，LouisXVfound
underacushionofhiscoachaslipofpaperonwhichwastranscribed
thispredictionofthemonkAimonius，thesavantwhocouldread
allthingsfromthevastbookofthestars:
“AssoonasChilderichadreturnedfrom
Thuringia，hewascrownedKingofFrance
AndnosoonerwasheKingthanheespoused
Basine，wifeoftheKingofThuringia。
ShecameherselftofindChilderic。
The
firstnightofthemarriage，andbeforetheKing
hadretired，thequeenbeggedChilderictolook
fromoneofthepalacewindowswhichopenedona
park，andtellwhathesawthere。
Childeric
lookedoutand，muchterrified，reportedtothe
princessthathehadseentigersandlions。
Basinesenthimasecondtimetolookout。
Thistimetheprinceonlysawbearsandwolves，
andthethirdtimeheperceivedonlycatsanddogs，
fightingandcombatingeachother。
ThenBasine
saidtohim:Iwillgiveyouanexplanationofwhat
youhaveseen:Thefirstfigureshowsyouyour
successors，whowillexcelyouincourageandpower；
thesecondrepresentsanotherracewhichwillbe
illustriousfortheirconquests，andwhichwillaugment
yourkingdomformanycenturies；butthethirddenotes
theendofyourkingdom，whichwillbegivenovertopleasures
andwilllosetoyouthefriendshipofyoursubjects；
andthisbecausethelittleanimalssignifyapeoplewho，
emancipatedfromfearofprinces，willmassacrethemand
makewaruponeachother。“
LouisreadthepredictionandpassedthepapertotheCountess:
“Afterustheendoftheworld，“saidshegaily。
TheKinglaughed，
buttheabbedeBeauvaiscelebratedhighmassatVersaillesafter
thecarnivalof1774，anddaredtosay，inrighteousanger:“This
carnivalisthelast；yetfortydaysandNinevehshallperish。“
Louisturnedpale。
“IsitGodwhospeaksthus？“
murmuredhe，
raisinghiseyestothealtar。
Thenextdayhewenttothehunt
ingrandstyle，butfromthateveninghewasafraidofsolitude
andsilence:“Itislikethetomb；Idonotwishtoputmyselfin
suchaplace，“saidhetoMadameduBarry。
TheducdeRichelieu
triedtodiverthim。
“No，“saidhesuddenly，asiftheTrappist’s
denunciationhadagainrecurredtohim，“Ishallbeateaseonly
whenthesefortydayshavepassed。“
Hediedonthefortiethday。
DuBarrybelievedneitherinGodnorinthedevil，butshebelieved
inthealmanacofLiege。
Shescarcelyreadanybookbutthis——
faithfultoherearliesthabits。
AndthealmanacofLiege，inits
predictionforApril，1774，said:“Awoman，thegreatestof
favorites，willplayherlastrole。“
SoMadametheCountessdu
Barrysaidwithoutceasing:“Ishallnotbetranquiluntilthese
fortydayshavepassed。“
Thethirty-seventhdaytheKingwentto
thehuntattendedwithalltherespectduetohisrank。
Jeanne
weptinsilenceandprayedtoGodasonewhohaslongneglected
herprayers。
LouisXVhadnotneglectedhisprayers，andgavetwohundred
thousandlivrestothepoor，besidesorderingmassesatSt。
Genevieve。
Parliamentopenedtheshrine，andkneltgravely
beforethatmiraculousrelic。
Theleastseriousofallthesegood
worshipperswas，strangetosay，thecurateofSt。Genevieve:
“Ah，well！“
saidhegaily，whenLouiswasdead，“letuscontinue
totalkofthemiraclesofSt。Genevieve。
Ofwhatcanyou
complain？
IsnottheKingdead？“
AtthelastmomentitwasnotGodwhoheldtheheartofLouis——it
washismistress。
“AsktheCountesstocomehereagain，“hesaid。
“Sire，youknowthatshehasgoneaway，“theyanswered。
“Ah！
hasshegone？
ThenImustgo！“
Sohedeparted。
Hisenddrewforthsomemaledictions。
Therewereinsultseven
athisfuneralservices。
“Nevertheless，“saidoneoldsoldier，“he
wasatthebattleofFontenoy。“
Thatwasthemosteloquent
funeralorationofLouisXV。
“TheKingisdead，longlivetheKing！“
Butbeforethedeathof
LouisXVItheycried:
“Thekingisdead，longlivetheRepublic！“
Rose-coloredmourningwasworninthegoodcityofParis。
The
funeralorationoftheKingandalamentforhismistresswere
pronouncedbySophieArnould，ofwhichmasterpieceofsacred
eloquencethelastwordsonlyarepreserved:“Beholdusorphaned
bothoffatherandmother。“
IfMadameduBarrywasoneofthesevenplaguesofroyalty，she
diedfaithfultoroyalty。
AfterherexiletoPontauxDamesshe
returnedtoLucienne，wheretheducdeCosseBrissacconsoled
herforthedeathofLouisXV。
ButwhatshelovedinLouiswas
thathewasaking；hertruecountrywasVersailles；hertrue
lightwasthesunofcourtlife。
LikeMontespan，alsoacourtesan
ofhighorder，sheoftenwentinthesedarkdaystocastaloving
lookuponthesolitaryparkinthemazeoftheTrianon。
Yetshe
wasparticularlyhappyatLucienne。
IhavecomparedhertoManonLescaut，andIbelievehertohave
beenalsoasistertoGanesin。
Allthreeweredestroyedbypassion。
OnedayshefoundherselfstillyoungatLucienne，althoughher
sunwassetting。
ShelovedtheducdeBrissac，andhowmany
pagesofherpastromancewouldshethatdayhavelikedto
eraseandforget！
“Whydoyouweep，Countess？“