Hehadlargeandsingularlyexpressiveeyes；too
muchso，perhaps，fortheirbrilliancywasnotofgoodaugury；
andIwasnotsurprisedathearingsubsequentlythathisreason
hadabandonedhim，altho’hepossessedandexertedhiswitmost
perfectlyduringourconversation，inwhichhedisplayedthe
greatestgallantry。
Icouldnotreproachhimwithonesingle
expressionthatwasobjectionable，altho’thesubjectofconversation
wasdelicate。
Hediscoursedofthefeelingsofthekingtowards
me，andyetsaidnotawordthatwasunsuitedoroutofplace，
nothingbutwhatwasinthebesttaste，andexpressedwiththe
utmostdelicacy。
IaskedhimiftheladiesofDenmarkwere
handsome。
“Ithought，madame，“washisreply，“untilnow，that
theladiesofmykingdomwerethemostlovelyinEurope。“
Wedidnottalkofmyselfonly:ChristianVIIspokeofPariswith
enthusiasm。
“Itisthecapitaloftheworld，“heremarked，“and
ourstatesarebuttheprovinces。“
Hesoughtoutourmostcelebrated
and，andwasparticularlydelightedwith
d’Alembert，Diderot，laHarpe，andM。thecomtedeBuffon。
He
greatlyregrettedthatVoltairewasnotinParis，andexpressed
hisgreatdesiretoseeatFerneythegreatgeniusashetermed
himwhoinstructedandamusedtheworld。
Heappearedwearyof
thefeteswhichweregiven，andespeciallywiththedeadly-lively
companyofthetwoDuras。
Itwasenoughtokillyoutohaveonly
oneofthem，andyoumayimaginethetortureofbeingboredwith
both。
ThedukehadpromisedLouisXVtobeasamusingaspossible
too！
Afteraconversationofthreehours，whichhismajestyof
coursesaidhadappearedbutofamoment，heleftmedelighted
withhisperson，wit，andmanners。
WhenLouisXVsawme，heinquiredmyopinionofhisDanishmajesty。
“Heis，“Ireplied，“awell-educatedking，andthattheysayisararity。“
“True，“saidLouisXV，“therearesomanypersonswhoare
interestedinourignorance，thatitisamiracleifweescapeout
oftheirhandsasreasonablebeings。“
Iwentontotellthekingourconversation。
“Ah，“criedhe，“hereisonewhowillincreasethevanityofthe
literarytribe:theywantit，certainly。
Allthesewitsareour
naturalbornenemies；andthinkthemselvesaboveus；andthe
morewehonorthem，thegreaterrightdotheyassumetocensure
anddespiseus。“
Thiswastheusualburdenofhissong:hehatedmenoflearning。
Voltaireespeciallywashisdetestation，onaccountofthenumerous
epigramswhichthisgreatmanhadwrittenagainsthim；andVoltaire
hadjustgivenfreshsubjectofoffencebypublishing“