monsieurleduc，itisnotatamomentthatwecangivea
positivereplytosuchgravematters。
Icontentmyselfinassuring
you，thatIhaveforyouasmuchconfidenceasrespect，andshould
beveryhappytoobtainyourprotection。“
“Myprotection！
Oh，heaven，madame，youarejesting。
ItisIwho
shouldbehonoredbyyourfriendship。“
“Itisyours；butasyetIamnothingatcourt，andcandonothing
thereuntilIhavebeenpresented。
Itisformyspeedypresentation
thatmyfriendsshouldlabornow。“
“Wewillnotfail，madame；andifyouwillallowmetocomefrom
timetotimetoconversewithyou，wecantakeourmeasures。“
“Yourvisitswillalwaysbeagreeable。“
SuchwastheconversationwhichIhadwiththeducdelaVauguyon。
Ihavegivenitsomewhatatlength，becauseitwastheprefacetoa
deepintriguewhichmadeavastnoise。
IthinkIextricatedmyself
verywellfromthenetinwhichthedukesoughttocatchme。
Iknew
thathissituationatVersaillescompelledmetoactwithcaution
towardshim。
Hewasingoododorwith，hadtheearof
theyoungdauphinandtheprinceshisbrothers。
Hedeceivedme
likeatrueJesuitashewas，intellingmethatthe
werewelldisposedtowardsme；andonmysideIcheatedhimwith
apromiseofconfidenceand，friendshipwhichIneverbestowed。
Ah！myfriend，againandagainmustIexclaim，whatavillainous
placeisacourt！
WhilsttheducdelaVauguyonwasseekingtoenlistmeunder
thebannersofheavenortheJesuits，themarquisofChauvelin
alsoessayedtomakemehispupil；butasfrankashewasamiable，
thisnoblemandidnotgotoworkinaroundaboutmanner。
He
cametomeloyally，requestingmetoconsiderhisinterestsandmine。
“Thekinglikesme，“saidhe，“andIamattachedtohimbodyand
soul。
Hetenderlylovesyou，andIshouldhavenodifficultyin
doingthesamething；butasIamnolongerofanagetoinspire
youwiththepassionwhichIshouldfeeltowardsyou，Icontent
myselfwithyourfriendship。
Ihavenoenemyhere，andnowish
tohurtanyperson。
ThusyouneednotfearthatIshallurgeyou
toanymeasuresthatmightcompromiseyou。
Itisthehatredof
thekingdomthatyouwillhavetofear。
Franceisabouttomarch
inabettertrack，andthebestplanistofollowitslead。
It
painsme，madame，touselanguagewhichmayappearseveretoyou；
weoughtonlytotalktoyouofyourbeautyandthelovewhichit
inspires。
Butinyoursituation，eventhatbeautymayservethe
interestsofFrance，anditisforthatmotivethatIcometo
solicityou。“
IrepliedtoM。deChauvelinwithequalfrankness。
Itoldhim
thatmysoleintentionsweretoconfinemyselftothecircleof
myduties；thatIhadnonebuttopleasetheking，andnointention
ofmixingmyselfupwithstateaffairs。
ThiswasmyplanIcan
assureyou。
IflatteredmyselfthatIcouldfollowit，not
dreamingofthosepoliticalnuisancesintowhichIwasprecipitated
inspiteofmyself。
Iadded，nevertheless，thatinmysituation，
whichwasdelicate，Iwouldnotrefusethecounselsofafaithful
servantoftheking，andthatunderthistitleM。deChauvelin
shouldbeconsultedonimportantoccasions。
ThemarquisdeChauvelinhadtoomuchgoodsense，toomuch
knowledgeoftheworld，nottoperceivearefusalconcealedunder
thispoliteness。
Thesecretinclinationofmyhearthadalready
ledmetoselecttheducd’Aiguillonformydirector，andIcould
notreconcilemyselftoanyother。
Hecontentedhimselfwith
askingmeagainformyfriendship，whichIwillinglyaccorded
him，andIhavealwaysfoundmyselffortunateinhis。
ThusdidI
accepttheoffersofservicefromtheprincedeSoubise，theduc
delaVauguyon，andthemarquisdeChauvelin。
Afourthsoughttoswelltheranks；thecomte，afterwardsprince，
deMontbarrey。
Thisgentlemanmadeupinpretensionsforwhathe
lackedintalent。
Hewasweak，self-important，selfish，fondof
women，andendeavoredtopreservealltheairsofamanofgood
breedinginthemidstofthegrossestdebauchery。
Hewasfullof
respectforhimselfandhishouse，ofwhichintimeofneedhe
couldcitethewholegenealogy。
Hisnominationwasarealscandal；
noonedreamtofhiseverbeingministerofwar。
Itwasoneofthe
thousandfolliesofoldMaurepas，whomthelatekingknewwell，and
calledtheballad-makerofthecouncil。
ThecomtedeMontbarrey，whomIhadknownatParis，cametome
onefineday，fullypowdered，perfumed，andapparelled。
Hehada
smileonhislip，aloudtone，andaninsolentlook。
Hecamenot
toaskmyfriendship，butmyobedience。
Hetoldmethatheloved
metodistraction，andofcoursemyheadmustbeequallytowards
him。
Heamusedme。
Ilethimrunoutthefulllengthofhisline；
andwhenhehadspunitallout，Isaidtohim，“Monsieur，beso
goodastocallmetotherecollectionofmadamedeMerfort。“
Shewasoneofthegamblingladies，andatherhouseIhad
formerlymetthechevalierdeMontbarrey。
Myreplyconfounded
him:hesawthathehadgonethewrongwaytoworkwithme；
and，raisingthesiege，heleftmeexcessivelyembarrassed。
Figuretoyourself，myfriend，whatconfidenceaman，lostinthe
crowdoflowercourtiers，couldinspiremewith；fortojudgeof
theproceedingsofthecomtedeMontbarrey，itwouldhavebeen
necessarytohaveseenhimashethenwas，andnotwhathebecame
sincetheimbecilityofM。deMaurepas。
WhenItoldcomteJean
ofhisvisit，hewouldnotbelievesuchinsolence。
Youmustknow
thatmybrother-in-lawalsowishedtodirectme，butIdidnot
considerhimsufficientlyclever。
Hismarvellousgeniuswas
eclipsedinpolitics。
Hesworeatmyingratitude，andIcould
onlyappeasehimbyanofferingofplentyofmoney。
Inthemidstofthiscross-fireofintrigues，onewasdevised
againstmewhichmighthaveterminatedinmyruin；but，thanks
totheindefatigableactivityofcomteJean，onlyservedtofix
memorefirmlyinmysituation。
Lebel，ofwhomIhavesaid
nothingforthisage，cametomeoneday:hisfacewassad，and
hislookserious。
ByhismannerIauguredthatmyreignhad
passed，andthatImustquitmypost。
Iawaitedwhatheshould
saywithmortalimpatience。
Atlengthhebeganthus:
“Madame，youhavemanybitterenemies，whoarelaboringto
effectyourruinwithablood-thirstinesswhichnothingcanassuage。
Theyhavenowspreadareportthatyouarenotmarried。
This
infamouscalumny——“
“Ah，isthatall？’saidIwithjoy；“no，mydearLebel，thistime
theydonotcalumniateme。
Theworthycreaturesforonceareright。“
“What，“saidLebel，inatoneofalarmalmostcomic，“what，are
youreallynotmarried？“
“No。“
“AreyounotthewifeofthecomteGuillaumeduBarry？“
“No。“
“Thenyouhavedeceivedtheking，andplayedwithme。“
“Lebel，myfriend，takeanothertone。
Noonehasanyrightto
complain。
Youhavegivenmetothekingasapersontoplease
him；Idoso。
Therestcanbenomatterofyours。“
“Pardonme，madame；itisamatterofthegreatestconsequenceto
me。
Iamterriblycompromisedinthisaffair，andyouwithme。“
LebeltoldmethattheduchessedeGrammonthadbeggedhimtocall
uponher，andhadbitterlyreproachedhimaboutthemistresshehad
procuredfortheking；theduchesseaffirmedthatIwasanameless
andunmarriedcreature；andadded，thatitwashisdutytomake
thekingacquaintedwiththeseparticulars，unlessI，thepretended
wifeofduBarry，wouldconsenttogotoEnglandwhenalarge
pensionshouldbeassuredtome。
“No，mydearLebel，IwillnotgotoEngland；Iwillremainin
France，atVersailles，atthechateau。
IfIamnotmarriedIwill
be；thethingiseasilymanaged。“
Lebel。
somewhatassured，beggedmetosendforcomteJean，and
whenhecameheLebelrecommencedhistaleofgrief。
“Youaredrowningyourselfinaglassofwater，“saidmyfuture
brother-in-lawtohim，beginningtotreathimwithlessceremony；
“gobacktotheduchessedeGrammont，andtellherthatmadame
wasmarriedatToulouse。
Shewillhaveaninquirysetonfoot；in
themeanwhilemybrotherwillarrive，andthemarriagewilltake
place。