askedherlover。
“Myfriend，“sheresponded，“IweepbecauseIloveyou，shallI
sayit？
IweepbecauseIamhappy。“
Shewasright；happinessisafestivalthatshouldknowno
to-morrow。
Butonthemorrowofherhappiness，theRevolution
knockedatthecastlegateofLucienne。
“Whogoesthere？“
“Iamjustice；preparefordestiny。“
TheQueen，thetruequeen，hadbeengoodtoherastoeverybody。
MarieAntoinetterememberedthatthefavoritehadnotbeenwicked。
ThedebtsofDuBarrywerepaidandmoneyenoughwasgiventoher
sothatshecouldstillgivewithbothhands。
Luciennebecamean
echoofVersailles。
ForeignkingsandParisianphilosopherscame
tochatinitsportals。
MinervavisitedshamelessVenus。
But
wisdomtooknotrootatLucienne。
FortheRevolution，alas！hadtocutoffthischarminghead，
whichwasatonetimetheidealofbeauty——ofcourtbeauty。
MadameduBarrygavehospitalitytothewoundedatthearrestof
thequeen。
“Thesewoundedyouthshavenootherregretthanthat
theyhavenotdiedforaprincesssoworthyasyourMajesty，“she
said。
“WhatIhavedoneforthesebravemenisonlywhatthey
havemerited。
Iconsoledthem，andIrespecttheirwoundswhen
Ithink，Madame，thatwithouttheirdevotion，yourMajestywould
nolongerbealive。
Lucienneisyours，Madame，forwasitnot
yourbeneficencewhichgaveittome？
AllIpossesshascometo
methroughtheroyalfamily。
Ihavetoomuchloyaltytoforgetit。“
ButnegroZamorbecameacitizenlikeMirabeau。
ItwasZamorwho
tooktoDuBarryherlover’shead。
ItwasZamorwhodenouncedher
atthecluboftheJacobins。
“Thefealtyfaithoftheblackmanis
white，“saidthenegro。
Buthelearnedhowtomakeitred。
Jeanne
wasimprisonedandtriedbeforeDumas。
“Yourage？“
“Forty-twoyears。“
Shewasreallyforty-seven。
Coquetryeven
attheguillotine。
Thepublicaccuser，FouquierTinville，wasnotdisarmedbythe
sweetvoluptuousnessstillpossessedbythispaleandalready
fadingbeauty。
Heaccusedheroftreasonagainstthenation。
CouldthedefenderofDuBarry，whohadalsodefendedMarie
Antoinette，findaneloquentword？
No；FouquierTinvillewas
moreeloquentthanChauveau-Lagarde。
Sothemistressof
Louis
wascondemned。
Itwaseleveno’clockintheevening——thehour
forsupperatVersailleswhenshewasqueen！
Shepassedthenightinprayerandweeping，orratherinafrenzy
offright。
Inthemorningshesaiditwas“tooearlytodie“；she
wishedtohavealittletimeinordertomakesomedisclosures。
TheComitesentsomeonetolistentoher。
Whatdidshesay？
SherevealedallthatwashiddenawayatLucienne；shegave
wordbywordaninventoryofthetreasuresshehadconcealed，
forgettingnothing，fordidnoteachwordgiveherasecondoftime？
“Haveyoufinished？“
saidtheinquisitor。
“No，“saidJeanne。
“I
havenotmentionedasilversyringeconcealedunderthestaircase！“
Meanwhilethehorsesofdestinystampedwithimpatience，and
spectatorswereknockingattheprisongate。
Whentheyputher，
alreadyhalfdead，onthelittlecart，shebentherheadandgrew
pale。
TheDuBarryalone——asinnerwithoutredemption。
ShesawthepeopleinthesquareofLouisXV；shestruckher
breastthreetimesandmurmured:“Itismyfault！“
Butthis
Christianresignationabandonedherwhenshemountedthe
scaffold——therewherethestatueofLouisXVhadbeen——andshe
imploredoftheexecutioner:
“Onemoment，Mr。
Executioner！
Onemomentmore！“
ButtheexecutionerwaspitilessSanson。
Itwasblockandthe
knife——withoutthe“onemoment！“
SuchwasthelastbedoftheDuBarry。
HadthealmanacofLiege
onlypredictedtoherthattheonewhowouldleadhertoherbed
forthelasttimewouldnotbeaKingbutacitizenexecutioner，it
mighthavebeen——butwhymoralize？
RobertArnot
TotheReader
AstheearlypartofMadameduBarry’scareerhad
littletodifferentiateitfromthelifeofanordinary
courtezan，theeditorhasdeemeditbesttoconfinethe
memoirstotheyearsinherlifewhichhelpedtomake
*“Editorheremeanstheauthor，whoisassuming
thepersonaoftheeditoroftheComtesse’smemoirs。
LetterfromLebel——VisitfromLebel——Nothingconclusive——Another
visitfromLebel——Invitationtosupwiththeking——Instructionsof
thecomteJeantothecomtesse
OnemorningcomteJeanenteredmyapartment，hisfacebeaming
withdelight。
’Read，“saidhe，givingmealetter，“read，Jeannette:victoryis
ours。
NewsfromMorand。
LebeliscomingtoParis，andwill
dinewithus。
Arewealone？“
“No，therearetwoofyourcountrymenwhomyouinvitedyesterday。“
“Iwillwriteandputthemoff。
Morandalonemustdinewith
Lebel；heoughttohaveaplaceatthefeastwhichhefurnishes
withsuchgoodmusic。
Come，mydeargirl，wetouchthemoment
ofimportance，itisinyourbeautyandpowerofpleasingthatI
placeallmyhopes。
IthinkImayrelyonyou；but，aboveall，do
notforgetthatyouaremysister-in-law。“
“Brother-in-law，“saidI，laughing，“itisnotunnecessarythat
IshouldknowdecidedlytowhichoffamilyIammarried？
The
custominFranceisnotthatawomanbetheundividedproperty
ofthreebrothers。“
“ThatonlyhappensinVenice，“repliedthecomte；“mybrother
Elieistooyoung，youmustbethewifeofGuillaume，mysecond
brother。“
“Verywell；IamthecomtesseGuillaumeduBarry；thatdoes
famouslywell；weliketoknowwhomwearemarriedto。“
Afterthisconversation，comteJeaninsistedonpresidingatmy
toilette。
Heacquittedhimselfofthetask，withamostlaughable
attention。
Duringtwogoodhours，atleast，hetormentedfirst
Henriette，andthenthefemalehairdresser，forIhadnotyet
followedthemode，whichbegantobeverygeneral，ofhaving
myhairdressedbyaman。
ComteJeanpassedalternatelyfrom
mydressing-roomtothekitchen。
HeknewLebelwasagallant
andagourmand*，andhewasanxioustopleasehiminallsenses
atonce。
*Heseemstomean“gourmet“ratherthan“gourmand。“——
Gutenbergeditor
Atoneo’clockIwasunderarms，andpreparedtoreceivehimon
whommydestinydepended。
AssoonasIreachedthedrawing-room，
comteJeancompelledmetosubmittothetestofarigidexamination。
Hisseriousairamusedmemuchashegazedatmesometimein
solemnsilence。
Atlengthhisforeheadrelaxed，asmileof
satisfactionplayedonhislips，andextendinghisarms
tome，withoutventuringtotouchme，“Youarecharming，divine，“
hesaid；“Lebeloughttogoandhanghimselfifhedoesnotfall
downatyourknees。“
Soonafterwardsthefolding-doorswerehastilyopened，anda
servantannouncedM。Lebel，，withM。
Morand。
Thecomtewenttomeetthearrivals，andasInowsaw
Lebelforthefirsttime，hepresentedhimtomeformally。
“Sister，thisisM。Lebel，，whohasdone
usthehonortocomeanddinewithus。“
“Andheconfersarealpleasureonus，“saidI，lookingsmilingly
onM。Lebel。
Mylookhaditseffect，forLebelremainedmuteand
motionlessfromadmirationatmyperson。
Atlengthhestammered
outafewincoherentwords，whichIimaginedtobecompliments。
ThecomtewatchedLebelanxiously，andMorandbegantorub
hishands，saying: