samedayItoldthekingofmytrickanditssuccess。
Helaughed
excessively，andthenscoldedmeforatallcompromisinghis
Danishmajesty。
“How，sire？“
wasmyreply。
“Ididnotsignhisname；Ihavenot
forgedhissignature。
Thevanityoftheduchessehasalonecaused
alltheridiculousportionofthisjoke。
Somuchtheworsefor
herifshedidnotsucceed。“
Ididnot，however，limitmyrevengetothis。
Asecondletter，
inthesamehand，wasaddressedtomylucklessenemy。
Thistime
shewasinformedthatshebeenmadeabuttof，andmystified。
I
learnedfromM。deSartines，who，afterourcompact，gaveme
detailsofall，themethodsshehadpursuedtodetecttheauthorof
thesetwoepistles，andputaterminationtoalltheseinquiries，
bydenouncingmyselftoM。deSartines；whothengavesucha
turntothewholematter，thattheduchessecouldneverarrive
atthetruth。
Voltaire，inthemeantime，wasnotslowinreply；andasIimagine
thatyouwillnotbesorrytoreadhisletter，Itranscribeitforyou:——
“MONSIEURLEDUC，——Iamalost，destroyedman。
IfI
hadstrengthenoughtofly，IdonotknowwhereI
shouldfindcouragetotakerefuge。
I！
GoodGod！
I
amsuspectedofhavingattackedthatwhich，incommon
withallFrance，Irespect！
Whenthereonlyremainsto
methesmallestpowerofutterance，butenoughtochant
athatIshouldemployitinhowlingat
themostlovelyandamiableoffemales！
Believeme，
monsieurleduc，thatitisnotatthemomentwhena
manisabouttorenderuphissoul，thatamanofmy
goodfeelingwouldoutragethedivinitywhomheadores。
“No，Iamnottheauthorofthe’’
Theversesofthisrhapsodyarenotworthmuch，itis
true；butindeedtheyarenotmine:theyaretoo
miserable，andoftoobadastyle。
Allthisviletrash
spreadabroadinmyname，allthosepamphletswithout
talent，makemelosemysenses，andnowIhavescarcely
enoughlefttodefendmyselfwith。
Itisonyou，
monsieurleduc，thatIrely；donotrefusetobethe
advocateofanunfortunatemanunjustlyaccused。
Condescendtosaytothisyounglady，thatIhave
beenbeforeembroiledwithmadamedePompadour，
forwhomIprofessedthehighestesteem；tellher，that
atthepresentdayespecially，thefavoriteofCaesaris
sacredforme；thatmyheartandpenare
hers，and
thatIonlyaspiretoliveanddieunderherbanner。
“Astothescrapsyouaskfor，Ihavenotatthismoment
anysuitable。
Onlythebestviandsareservedupatthe
tableofthegoddesses。
IfIhadanyIwouldpresentthem
tothepersonofwhomyouspeaktome。
Assureher，that
onedaythegreatestmeritofmyversewillbetohavethem
recitedbyherlips；andentreather，untilshebestows
immortalityonme，topermitmetoprostratemyselfat
herbeautifulfeet。
“Iwillnotconcludemyletter，monsieurleduc，
withoutthankingyouathousandtimesfortheadvice
youhavegivenme。
Thisproofofyourkindnesswill，
ifpossibleaugmentthesincere
attachmentIbearto
you。
Isaluteyouwithprofoundrespect。“
Asitisboldtoholdthepenafterhavingtranscribedanything
ofM。deVoltaire’s，Ileaveoffhereforto-day。
CHAPTERX
Whenisthepresentationtotakeplace？——Conversationonthis
subjectwiththeking——M。deMaupeouandM。delaVauguyon——
Conversationonthesamesubjectwiththekingandtheducde
Richelieu——M。delaVrilliere——M。Bertin——LouisXVandthe
comtesse——Theking’spromise——Thefire-works，ananecdote——The
marquisedeCastellane——M。deMaupeouattheducdeChoiseul’s——
TheduchessedeGrammont
InspiteoftheloveoftheduchessedeGrammont，thekingof
Denmarkdepartedatlast。
LouisXVhavingresumedhisformer
habits，Ibegantomeditateseriouslyonmypresentation；andmy
friendsemployedthemselvestotheutmostinfurtheringmydesires
andinsuringmytriumph。
Thechancellor，whoeachdaybecamemoreattachedtomyinterests，
openedthecampaign。
Oneday，whenthekingwasinaragewith
theparliaments，thechancellorseizedtheopportunitytotellhim
thatthecabal，whowereopposedtomypresentation，testifiedso
muchresistance，undertheidea，andinthehope，thattheywould
besupportedbytheparliamentsofParis。
“Ifyourmajesty，“addedthechancellor，“hadlesscondescension
towardsthesemalcontents，theywouldfearyourauthoritymore。“
“Youwillsee，“repliedtheking，“thatitwillbetheiraudacity
whichwillurgemeontoastep，whichotherwiseIshouldwish
toavoid。“
WhilstthehatredwhichM。deMaupeouboretowardstheparliaments
servedmeinthisway，theloveofM。delaVauguyonforthe
Jesuitsturnedtoevenmoreadvantage。
Thegooddukeincessantly
talkedtomeofhisdearJesuits；andIasconstantlyreplied，that
myinfluencewouldnotbesalutaryuntilaftermypresentation，M。
delaVauguyonhadsenseenoughtoperceivetheembarrassmentofmy
situation，andsawthatbeforeIcouldthinkofothersImustthink
ofmyself。
Havingtaken“sweetcounsel“withthepowerfulheadsof
hiscompany，hefreelygavemeallhisinfluencewiththeking。
Fortunesentmeanauxiliarynotlessinfluentialthanthesetwo
gentlemen；ImeanthemarechalducdeRichelieu。
Inthemonthof
January，1769，hereturnedfromhisgovernmentofGuiennetoenter
onservice。
Hehadmuchcreditwiththeking，andthiswouldyou
believeit？resultedfromhisreputationasamanofintrigue。
He
toldthekingeverythingthatcameintohishead:hetoldhimone
day，thattheChoiseulsboastedthathe，thekingofFrance，never
daredintroducehismistressintothestateapartmentsatVersailles。
“Yes，“addedtheduke，“theyboastsoloudly，thatnothingelseis
talkedofintheprovince；andatBordeaux，forinstance，thereis
onemerchantwho，onthestrengthoftheenemiesofthecomtesse，
hasmadeabetthatshewillneverbepresented。“
“Andwhydoyounotimprisonthesepersons？“
inquiredthe
king，angrily。
“Because，sire，itappearstomeinjusticetopunishtheechoof
thefooleriesofParis。“
“Iwillconductmyselfasregardsthepresentationofmadamedu
BarryinthemannerwhichIthinkbest。
Butisitnotan
inconceivablecontrariety，thatonepartyshouldwishitwiththe
utmostdesire，andanotherplaceeveryobstacleintheway？
In
truth，Iamveryunfortunate，andacrueltyrannyisexercised
overme。“
TheducdeRichelieu，notwishingtoappearasoneofthetyrants
oftheking，gaveadifferentturntotheconversation。
Mypresentationwas，however，amatteroffirst-rateimportanceto
meandtomypartizans，andtheducdelaVrillierewasgained
overtomyside，bymakinghimbelievethatthekingwouldyield
tomydesires，andthatthenIshouldrememberallthosewho
opposedmyelevation。
Theducd’Aiguillonalsodrewovertomy
partyM。Bertin，whoborenolovetotheChoiseuls，andwhosaw
thatthepreponderanceofinterestwasonmysideofthescale。
WhenIwasassuredofaconsiderablenumberofdefenders，I
thoughtImightventureonthemasterstroke，andthusIwent
towork。
Oneeveningthekingwaswithme，andtheMM。deMaupeouandde
Richelieuweretherealso。
Wewerediscoursingofdifferentthings，
andthekingwasperfectlytranquillized，littleanticipatingthe
scenethatwasinstoreforhim。
Irosesuddenlyfrommyarm-chair，
andgoinguptohismajesty，afteraprofoundcourtesycastmyself
athisfeet。
LouisXVwouldhaveraisedme，butIsaid，
“No，IwillremainwhereIamuntilyouhaveaccordedmethe
favorIask。“
“IfyouremaininthispostureIshallplacemyselfinasimilarone。“
“Well，then，sinceyouwillnothavemeatyourkneesIwillplace
myselfonthem“；andIseatedmyselfinhislapwithoutceremony。
“Listentome，sire，“Isaid，“andrepeatwhatIsaytothekingof
Francewordforword。
Hemustauthorizemypresentation；forelse，
somefineday，inthepresenceofthewholecourt，Iwillgotothe
stateapartments，andtrywhetherIshallberepulsedatthedoor。“
“Willshehavetheboldness？“
inquiredthekingtothechancellor。
“Ihavenodoubtofit，sire。
Afemale，young，beautiful，honored
withyourkindness，mayventuretodoanything。“
“Isitnotdistressingtome，“Iadded，“that，gracedwithyour
majesty’sfavors，Iremainthusconcealed，whilstwomenwhom
youdetestannoyyouwiththeirpresence。“
“Madameisright，“repliedtheducdeRichelieu，“andIseethat
youlookforhereveryeveningwheresheisnot，andwhereshe
oughttobe。“
“What！