ThesieurLedoux——The——TheducdelaVrilliere——
MadamedeLangeac——M。deMaupeou——LouisXV——ThecomteJean
Onthatveryevening，thekinghavingcometome，Isaidtohim，
“Sire，IhavemadeacquaintancewithM。deSartines。“
“What！
hashebeentomakefriendswithyou？“
“Somethinglikeit:buthehasappearedtomelessculpablethanI
thought。
Hehadonlyyieldedtothesolicitationofmypersonalenemy。“
“Youcannothaveoneatmycourt，madame；thelieutenantofpolice
wouldhavedonewellnottohavenamedhertoyou。“
“Thankstohim，however，IshallnowknowwhomIoughttomistrust。
Iknowalsowhoistheauthorofthetwoscurrilousparagraphs。“
“Somescamp，nodoubt；somebeggarlyscoundrel。“
“AmonsieurLedoux。“
“Ah，Iknowthefellow。
Hisbadreputationhasreachedme。
It
mustbestoppedatlast。“
Sosaying，LouisXVwenttothechimney，andpulledthebell-rope
withsomuchvehemencethattenpersonsanswereditatonce。
“SendfortheducdelaVrilliere；ifhebenotsuitablyattiredlet
himcomeinhisnight-gown，nomattersothatheappearquickly。“
Onhearinganordergiveninthismannerastrangermighthave
supposedthekingcrazy，andnotintentonimprisoningamiserable
libeller。
Iintercededinhisfavor，butLouisXV，delightedatan
opportunityofplayingthekingatasmallcost，toldmethatit
wasnoperson’sbusiness，andhewouldbedictatedtobynoone。
Iwassilent，reservingmyselfuntilanotheropportunitywhenI
couldundertakethedefenceofthepoordevil。
TheducdelaVrillierearrived，notinadressing-gown，asthe
kinghadauthorized，butinmagnificentcostume。
Hepiquedhimself
onhisexpenditure，andalwaysappearedsuperblyattired，altho’
thesplendorofhisapparelcouldnotconcealthemeannessofhis
look。
Hewastheoldestsecretaryofstate，andcertainlywasthe
leastskilful，leastesteemed，leastconsidered。
Sometimeafter
hisdeathsomeonesaidofhiminthepresenceoftheducd’Ayen，
thathehadbeenanunfortunateman，forhehadbeenallhislife
thebuttofpublichatredanduniversalcontempt。
“Rathersay，“
repliedtheduke，“thathehasbeenafortunateman；forifjustice
hadbeenrenderedtohimaccordingtohisdeserts，hewouldhave
beenhangedatleastadozentimes。“
Theducd’Ayenwasright:M。delaVrillierewasabrazen-faced
rogue；acompletethief，withoutdignity，character，orheart。
His
cupiditywasboundless:theemanatedfromhis
office，andhecarriedonanexecrabletradeinthem。
Ifanyperson
wishedtogetridofafather，brother，orhusband，theyonlyhad
toapplytoM。delaVrilliere。
Hesoldtheking’ssignatureto
allwhopaidreadymoneyforit。
Thismaninspiredmewithan
invinciblehorrorandrepugnance。
Forhispart，asIwasnot
disgusting，hecontentedhimselfwithhatingme；hewasanimated
againstmebyhisoldandavariciousmistress，madamedeLangeac，
aliasSubutin。
Langeaccouldnotendureme。
Shefeltthatitwas
bettertobethemistressofLouisXVthanthatofthe，forsoherloverwascalledatcourt。
Iknewthatshe
wasnofriendofmine，andthatherloversidedwiththeChoiseuls
againstme；andwasconsequentlythemoredelightedtoseethe
littlescoundrelcometoreceivetheorderforavengingme。
He
enteredwithanairofembarrassment；andwhilsthemademea
saluteaslowastotheking，thislatter，inabriefseveretone，
orderedhimtosendthesieurLedouxtoSaintLazareforthwith。
Hedepartedwithoutreply，andhalfanhourafterwardsreturned，
tosaythatitwasdone。
Thekingthensaidtohim，
“Doyouknowthislady？“
“No，sire。“
“Well，Idesireyouhenceforwardtohavethegreatestconsideration
forherasmybestfriend，andwhoeverwishestoprovehiszealfor
me，willhonorandcherishher。“
Thekingtheninvitedhimtosupwithus，andIamsurethatduring
thewholerepastIwasthehardestmorselhehadtodigest。
SomedaysafterwardsImadeacquaintancewithapersonmuchmore
importantthanthelittleduke，anddestinedtoplayagreatpart
inthehistoryofFrance。
ImeanM。deMaupeou，thelatechancellor，
who，inhisdisgrace，wouldnotresignhischarge。
M。deMaupeou
possessedoneofthosefirmandsuperiorminds，which，inspite
ofallobstacles，changethefaceofempires。
Ardent，yetcool；
bold，butreflective；theclamorsofthepopulacedidnotastonish，
nordidanyobstaclesarresthim。
Hewentoninthedirectpath
whichhiswillchalkedout。
Quittingthemagistracy，hebecameits
mostimplacableenemy，andafteradeadlycombathecameoff
conqueror。
Hefeltthatthemomenthadarrivedforfreeingroyalty
fromthechainswhichithadimposedonitself。
Itwasnecessary，
hehassaidtomeahundredtimes，forthekingsofFranceinpast
agestohaveapopularpoweronwhichtheycouldrelyforthe
overturningofthefeudalpower。
Thispowertheyfoundinthe
highmagistracy；butsincethereignofLouisXIIIthemission
oftheparliamentshadfinished，thenobilitywasreduced，and
theybecamenolessformidablethantheenemywhomtheyhad
aidedinsubduing。
“Beforefiftyyears，“pursuedM。deMaupeou，“kingswillbe
nothinginFrance，andparliamentswillbeeverything。“
Talented，agoodspeaker，eveneloquent，M。deMaupeoupossessed
qualitieswhichmadethegreatestenterprisessuccessful。
Hewas
convincedthatallmenhavetheirprice，andthatitisonlyto
findoutthesumatwhichtheyarepurchasable。*Asbravepersonally
asamarechalofFrance，hisenemiesandhehadmanycalledhim
acoarseandquarrelsomeman。
Hatedbyall，hedespisedmenin
abody，andjeeredatthemindividually；butlittlesensibletothe
charmsofoursex，heonlythoughtofusbyfreaks，andasameans
ofrelaxation。
ThisisM。deMaupeou，paintedtothelife。
As
forhisperson，youknowitaswellasIdo。
Ihavenoneedto
tellyou，thathewaslittle，ugly，andhiscomplexionwasyellow，
borderingupongreen。
Itmustbeowned，however，thathisface，
fullofthoughtandintelligence，fullycompensatedforalltherest。
*Thisgentlemanwouldhavebeenanablecoadjutorfor
SirRobertWalpole-
Trans。
Youknowhow，asfirstpresidentoftheparliamentofParis，he
succeededhisfatherasvice-chancellor。
Attheresignationofthe
titularM。deLamoignon*，theelderMaupeoureceivedhisletters
ofnomination，andassoonastheywereregistered，heresigned
infavorofhisson。
TheChoiseulshadallowedthelattertobe
nominated，relyingonfindinghimacreature。
Isoonsawthatthe
Choiseulsweremistaken。
*InSeptember，1768。
au。
ItwasinthemonthofOctober，thatHenriette，alwaysmyfavorite，
cametomewithanairofunusualmystery，tosay，thatablack*
anduglygentlemanwishedtoseeme；thatontheusualreply
thatIwasnotvisible，hehadinsisted，andsent，atthesame
time，acautiouslysealednote。
Itookit，opened，andread
thesewords:——
*i。e。，black-hairedand/ordressedinblackGutenberged。
“ThechancellorofFrancewishestohavethehonor
ofpresentinghisrespectfulhomagetomadamela
comtesseduBarry。“
“Lethimcomein，“IsaidtoHenriette。
“Iwilllayawager，madame，thathecomestoasksomefavor。“
“Ibelieve，“repliedI，“thatheismorefrequentlythesolicited
thanthesolicitor。“
Henriettewentout，andinafewminutesledin，thro’theprivate
corridorswhichcommunicatedwithmyapartment，hishighness
monseigneurReneNicolasCharlesAugustindeMaupeou，chevalier
andchancellorofFrance。
AssoonasheenteredIconceiveda
goodopinionofhim，altho’Ihadonlyseenhimwalk。
Hisstep
wasfirmandassured，likethatofamanconfidentintheresources
ofhisowntalents。
“MadamelacomtesseduBarry，“hesaid，“wouldhavearightto
complainofme，ifIdidnotcomeandlaymypersonatherfeet。
Ihadthemoreimpatiencetoexpresstohermydevotion，asI
fearedshehadbeenprejudicedagainstme。“
“How，monseigneur？“
“ThegatebywhichIenteredtheministry——“
“Isnotagreeabletome，asbeingthatofmyenemies，butIfeel
assuredthatyouwillnotsidewiththemagainstme。“
“Certainlynot，madame；itismywishtogiveyoupleasurein
everything，andIflattermyselfImaymerityourfriendship。“
Aftermanyothercompliments，theChancelloraskedme，withmuch
familiarity，whenmypresentationwastotakeplace，andwhyithad
notyetoccurred。
Ireplied，thatthedelayarosefromtheintrigues
ofChoiseul，andthekingshrunkfromthediscontentofahandful
ofcourtiers。
“Iamsorryforit，“saidM。deMaupeou；“inthefirstplace，
madame，becauseoftheinterestItakeinyou，andalsobecause
forhismajesty，itwouldbeameansofstrikingterrorintothe
opposingparty。
Youknow，madame，howannoyingparliamentsare
toallyourfriends，andwithwhatbitternessthoseofBretagneand
Paris，atthismoment，arepursuingtheducd’Aiguillon。“
“Doyouthink，“Irepliedwithemotion，“thatmattersare
unfavorabletowardshim？“
“Ihopenot，buthemustbewarmlysupported。“
“Ah！
Iwillaidhimwithallmyinfluence。
Heisnodoubt
innocentofthecrimesimputedtohim。“
“Yes，certainly。