Comeinstantly；
mygratefulheartexpectsyouwithimpatience。“
Mysister-in-law，towhomIshowedthiscorrespondence，saidto
me，“Thisgentlemandoesnotcometoseeyouforyourbright
eyes；andyethisvisitisnotdisinterested。“
“Whatinterestcanhehavetoserve？“
“Noneofhisown，perhaps；butthosevillainousJesuits。“
“Don’tyoulikethem，sisterofmine？“
“Ihatenobody。“
M。delaVauguyonarrived；andassoonaswewerealone，hesaid
tome，
“Well，madame，Iamnowonthepointofgoingtofightyour
battles。
Ihavetodealwitharedoubtablefoe。“
“Doyoufear？“
“Why，Iamnotoverconfident；mypositionisadelicateone。
Mesdameswillperforceobeytheordersoftheking，butthey
willnotfindmuchpleasureinseeingmetheambassadorsentto
them:alltheChoiseulpartywillvociferateloudly。
Nevertheless，
toprovemydevotiontoyou，Ibraveitall。“
“YoumayrelyonitthatIwillneverforgettheserviceyouare
abouttorenderme。“
“Ihaveonlyonefavortoaskofyou。
Authorizemetosayto
mesdames，thatifthepleasuresoflifedistractyourattention
fromreligiousduties，yoursoulisintruthfullydevotedtoour
holyreligion；andthatfarfromsupportingthephilosophers，you
willaid，byyourinfluencewiththeking，everymeasureadvantageous
tothesocietyofJesuits。“
Thehypocriticaltoneinwhichthiswasuttered，almostcompelled
metoburstoutintoafitoflaughter；buttheseriouspostureof
myaffairsinducedmetopreservemygravity，andIansweredin
aserioustone，
“Notonly，monsieurleduc，doIauthorizeyoutosaysomuch，but
IbegyoutodeclaretomesdamesthatIamalreadyfilledwith
loveandrespectfortheJesuits，andthatitwillnotbemyfault
iftheydonotreturnamongstus。“
“Ah，youareatreasureofwisdom，“repliedtheduke，kissingmy
handwithfervor；“andIamdisgustedatthewayyouarecalumniated。“
“Iknownoreasonforit，forIhaveneverdoneharmtoany
person。
AssuremesdamesthatIamsincerelygrievedthatIam
notagreeabletothem，andwouldgivehalfmylifetoobtain，not
theirfriendship，ofwhichIdonotfeelmyselfworthy，buttheir
indifference。
Deignalsototellthem，thatatalltimesIamat
theirdisposal，andbeseechthemtoconsidermeastheir
humbleservant。“
“Itisimpossibletobehavemorecorrectlythanyoudo；andIam
confidentthatmesdameswillsoondiscardtheirunjustprejudices。
Thus，itiswellunderstoodthatourfriendswillbeyours。“
“Yes，yes，providedtheyarereallymine。“
“Certainly。
IanswerforthemasIanswerforyou。“
Andthus，myfriend，didIfindmyselfalliedtotheJesuiticalparty。
ThedukecommencedtheattackwithmadameLouise，themost
reasonableoftheking’sdaughters。
Thisangelicprincess，already
occupiedwiththepiousresolutionwhichsheafterwardsputinto
executioninthefollowingyear，contentedherselfwithsaying
somewordsonthecommotionoccasionedbymypresenceatVersailles，
andthen，asifherdelicacyhadfearedtotouchonsuchasubject，
sheaskedtheducdelaVauguyon，ifthekingorderedherto
receivethecomtesseduBarry。
“Yes，madame，“repliedtheduke；“itistheexpresswillof
hismajesty。“
“Isubmittohiswish:theladymaycomewhenshewill。“
Theduke，contentedwithhissuccesssofar，wentnexttomadame
Sophie。
Thisprincesswasnotunkind，butsubjecttoattacksof
thenerves，whichfromtimetotimesouredhernaturaldisposition:
shehadhercapricesofhatred，herfitsoflove。
Thedaywhen
theduketalkedtoherofmypresentationshewasverymuch
provokedagainstme；andaftertheopeningspeechoftheambassador，
flunginhisteeththereportoftheapartments，whichIhave
alreadytoldyou。
Thedukeexplainedtoher，andthattoowithout
sayinganythingunfavorableofmadameAdelaide，andconcludedby
begginghertoconcedethefavorIbesought。
Madameeludedthis，
bysaying，thatbeforeshegaveadefinitereplyshewishedto
conferwithhersisters。
MadameVictoirewasnotmoreeasilypersuaded。
Thisprincesshad
amiablequalities，solidvirtueswhichmadeherlovedandrespected
bythewholecourt；butshehadbutlittlewillofherown，and
allowedherselftobeledbytheChoiseuls；who，toflatterher，
toldherthatshealonehadinheritedtheenergyofhergrandfather，
LouisXIV。
Shewasadvisedtodisplayitinthisinstance，and，
shewouldwillinglyhavedoneso。
ThecomtessedeBercheny，one
ofherladiesinwaiting，wasthepersonwhourgedherontothe
greatestresistance。
Thisladydidnotceasetoexclaimagainst
me，andtofantheflameofdispleasurewhich，butforher，
wouldneverhaveappeared。
Iwasinformedofthemodeadoptedby
madamedeBerchenytoinjureme。
IsentforM。Bertin，whowas
devotedtomyservice，andbeggedhimtogoandspeaktothelady；
hewent，andmadeherunderstandthattheking，enragedagainst
her，wouldexpelherfromVersailles，ifshewerenotsilent。
ThecomtessedeBerchenywasalarmed；andunderpretenceoftaking
atour，leftthecourtforamonth。
Youwillseeanontheresult
ofalltheseconferences。
TheprincessesconsenttothepresentationofmadameduBarry——
Ingeniousartificeemployedbythekingtoofferapresenttothe
ducdelaVauguyon——MadameduBarry’sletterrespectingit——The
duke’sreply——Theking’sletter——Thecourtindespair——Couplets
concerningmadameduBarry——Herpresentation——Achangeinpublic
opinion——Aneveningpartyatthehouseofthecountess——Joyofher
partizans——Conversationwiththechancellorrespectingtheladyof
themarechaldeMirepoix
ThedepartureofthecomtessedeBerchenywasannouncedtothe
princessesinthemannerleastlikelytoprovoketheirregrets。
Nevertheless，arumorneversleptatVersailles，awhisperwas
quicklycirculatedthro’-outthecastle，thatthissuddenand
unexpectedjourneyhadoriginatedintheking’swearinessofher
continualphilippicsagainstme；anditwasclearlycomprehended
byall，thatasimilardisgracewouldbetheportionofthosewho
shouldoffendthemonarchwhilstseekingtoprocuremyhumiliation。
Thisshowoffirmnesswassufficienttorepressthedaringflights
ofthoseself-constitutedheroines，whosecouragelastedonly
whilstthekingwassilent，andwhotrembledlikealeafbefore
theslightestmanifestationofhiswill。
Stillthecabalagainst
me，tho’weakened，wasnotdestroyed；itwastoostrongforthe
presentshocktodissolveit；andaltho’nonewassufficiently
hardytodeclareopenwar，plotswereconstantlygoingonto
ensnareme。
MeanwhilemadameVictoire，lefttoherself，couldnotlongsupport
suchexcessiveanimosity；andtheducdelaVauguyonprofitingby
thespeciesoflassitudeintowhichsheappearedtohavefallen，
ledherwithoutdifficultytoactinconformitytotheking’swishes。
ThereremainednowthereforebutmadameAdelaidetoovercome，
andthetaskbecamemoredifficultinproportiontotheelevated
ranksheoccupiedatcourt。
Bypriorityofbirthsheheldthe
firstplacethere；andhithertothissuperiorityhadbeenceded
toherwithoutdispute，moreparticularlysincethehandofdeath
hadremovedboththequeenhermother，andthedauphinessher
sister-in-law。
Shethereforecouldonlyviewwithuneasinessthe
prospectofanotherappearingonthestagewhoseinfluencewould
begreaterthanhers；andwhountiltheyoungdauphinessshould
attaintoyearsofmaturitymightdepriveherofallhonorsbut
thoseduetoherbirth。
MadameAdelaidewasgiftedwithgood
sense，affabilityofmanners，andakindandcompassionating
hearttowardsallwhoneededheraid；herdispositionwasgood，
butsheloveddominion，andtheleastshowofresistancetoher
wisheswaspainfulandoffensivetoher。
Shewasdeterminedto
upholdtheducdeChoiseul；andmydecidedmannertowardsthat
ministerplainlyevincedhowlittleIshouldfeelinclinedto
supportherviewofthings。
Therewerethereforeseveralreasons
formypresenceatcourtbeingunpleasanttomadameAdelaide。
AgainstherthereforedidtheducdelaVauguyondirecthis
batteries。
Shereceivedhisattackwiththemostdetermined
obstinacy；allwasinvain，shewasunconquerable，andthemost
skilfullydevisedplanswereinsufficienttosurmountherresistance；
itwasthereforenecessarytohaverecoursetotheclergy，who
wereatthattimecompletelyledbytheJesuits；eachmemberof
thechurch，uptothearchbishopofParis，wascalleduponto
interfere，ortheirnameswereemployedindefaultoftheir
presence。
ItwaspointedouttomadameAdelaidethatIpossessed
goodintentionswithfeelingsofreligion，which，howeverstifled
bythefreedomoftheage，onlyrequiredcarefulmanagementto
producearichdevelopment。
Thesuccessofthislastmodeof
attackastonishedthedukehimself；andmadam，dazzledbythe
hopesofmyconversion，aswellaswearyofhostilities，yielded
herconsenttomybeingpresented。
Aftertheseprivatenegotiations
thefoursistersmetatthehouseoftheelderone；andtherethey
decidedthatsincethekinghadsoexpresslymanifestedhis
pleasurerelativetomypresentation，theyshouldconformtothe
desireoftheirfather，byreceivingmewitheverypossiblemark
ofcourtesy。