“Ah，sir，“saidItohim，“Ihavehadtimetolearnit
fromPharamondtothereigningking。“
Thisallusionwasbitter，anddidnotescapetheduke，whoturned
paleinspiteofhispresenceofmind，onfindingthatIwasaware
ofthemaliciousreparteewhichhehadmadetothekingwhen
talkingofme，andwhichIhavealreadymentionedtoyou。
The
chancellorsaidtome，
“Youhaveproducedagreateffect，butespeciallyhaveyou
triumphedoverthecabalbythenobilityofyourmannersandthe
dignityofyourmien；andthusyouhavedepriveditofoneofits
greatestenginesofmischief，thatofcalumniatingyourperson。“
“Theyimaginedthen，“saidItohim，“thatIcouldneitherspeak
norbesilent，neitherwalknorsitstill。“
“Astheywishedtofindyouignorantandawkwardtheyhaveset
youdownassuch。
Thisishumannature:whenwehateanyone，we
saytheyarecapableofanything；then，thattheyhavebecome
guiltyofeverything；and，towindupall，theyadoptfortruth
to-daywhattheyinventedlastnight。“
“Wereyounotfearful？“
inquiredtheking。
“Forgiveme，sire，“Ianswered，“whenIsaythatIfearedlestI
shouldnotpleaseyourmajesty；andIwasexcessivelydesirousof
convincingmesdamesofmyrespectfulattachment。“
Thisreplywaspronouncedtobefittingandelegant，altho’Ihad
notinanywaypreparedit。
Thefactis，thatIwasingreat
apprehensionlestIshoulddispleasetheking’sdaughters；andI
dreadedlesttheyshouldmanifesttooopenlythelittlefriendship
whichtheyhadtowardsme。
Fortunatelyallpassedofftoamiracle，
andmygoodstardidnotburndimlyinthisdecisivecircumstance。
AmongstthosewhorejoicedatmytriumphIcannotforgettheduc
d’Aiguillon。
Duringthewholeofthedayhewasinthegreatest
agitation。
Hisfuturedestinywas，inameasure，attachedtomy
fortune；heknewthathiswholeexistencedependedonmine；and
heexpectedfrommepowerfulsupporttodefendhimagainstthe
packofhisenemies，whowereyelpingopen-mouthedagainsthim。
Hestoodinneedofallhisstrengthofmindandequanimityto
concealthedisquietudeandperplexitybywhichhewasinternallyagitated。
ThecomteJeanalsoparticipatedinthisgreatjoy。
Hissituation
atcourtwasnotlessdoubtful；hehadnolongerreasontoblush
forhisalliancewithme，andcouldnowform，withoutexcessof
presumption，themostbrillianthopesofthesplendorofhis
house。
Hisson，thevicomteAdolphe，wasdestinedtohighfortune；
andIassureyouthatIdeeplyregrettedwhenaviolentand
prematuredeathtookhimawayfromhisfamily。
Mypresentation
permittedhisfathertorealizethechimerawhichhehadpursued
withsomuchperseverance。
Heflatteredhimselfintakingpart
withme。
Ididnotforgethiminthedistributionofmyrewards；
andtheking’spursewastohimasourceintowhichhefrequently
dippedwithbothhands。
ThenextdayIhadavisitfromthechancellor。
“Now，“saidhe，“youareattheheightofyourwishes，andwe
mustarrangematters，thatthekingshallfindperpetualandvaried
amusements，withyou。
Hedoesnotlikelargeparties；asmall
circleisenoughforhim；thenheisathisease，andlikestosee
thesamefacesabouthim。
Ifyoufollowmyadviceyouwillhave
butfewfemalesaboutyou，andselectthatfewwithdiscernment。“
“HowcanIchoosethematallwhenIseesoveryfew？“
wasmy
reply。
“Ihavenopositiveintimacywithanycourtlady；and
amongstthenumberIshouldbeatalosstoselectanyonewhom
Iwouldwishtoassociatewithinpreferencetoanother。“
“Oh，donotletthatdisturbyou，“hereplied:“theyleaveyou
alonenow，becauseeachisintentonobservingwhatothersmay
do；butassoonasanyoneshallpayyouavisit，theotherswill
runasfastafteryouasdidthesheepofPanurge。
Iamgreatly
deceivediftheyarenotverydesirousthatoneofthemshall
devoteherself，andmakethefirstdash，thattheymayprofit
byherpretendedfault。
Iknowwhowillnotbethelasttocome
andstationherselfamongstthefurnitureofyourapartment。
The
marechaledeMirepoixwastoolongthecomplaisantfriendof
madamedePompadournottobecome，andthatverysoon，thefriend
ofthecomtesseduBarry。“
“Goodheaven，“Iexclaimed，“howdelightedIshouldbetohave
thefriendshipofthislady，whosewitandamiablemannersareso
greatlytalkedof。“
“Yes，“saiddeMaupeou，laughing，“sheisatypeofcourtladies，
amixtureofdignityandsuppleness，majestyandcondescension，
whichisworthitsweightingold。
Shewasdestinedfromall
eternitytobethecompanionoftheking’sfemalefriends。“
Webothlaughed；andthechancellorwentontosay:“Thereare
otherswhomIwillpointouttoyoubyandby；asforthisone，I
undertaketofindoutwhethershewillcomefirstoftheparty。
Shehassenttoaskanaudienceofmeconcerningasuitshehas
inhand。
Iwillprofitbythecircumstancestocometoanexplanation
withher，aboutyou。
SheisnotoverfondoftheChoiseulparty；
andIaugurthis，becauseIseethatsheputsonamoreagreeable
airtowardsthem。“
TheComtedelaMarche，aprinceoftheblood——MadamedeBeauvoir，
hismistress——MadameduBarrycomplainstotheprincedeSoubise
oftheprincessdeGuemenee——Thekingconsolesthecountessfor
this——TheducdeChoiseul——Thekingspeakstohimofmadamedu
Barry——Voltairewritestoher——TheopinionsofRichelieuandthe
kingconcerningVoltaire
Amongstthosepersonageswhocametocomplimentmeontheevening
ofmypresentationwasM。thecomtedelaMarche，sonoftheprince
duConti，andconsequentlyprinceoftheblood。
Hehadlongbeen
devotedtothewillofLouisXV。
Assoonashismostserene
highnesshadwindofmyfavorhehastenedtoaddtothenumberof
mycourt；andIleaveyoutoimaginehowgreatlyIwasflattered
atseeingitaugmentedbysoaugustapersonage。
Thisconquestwasmostvaluableinmyeyes，forIthusprovedto
theworld，thatbyattractingthekingtomeIdidnotisolatehim
fromthewholeofhisfamily。
Itisverytruethatforsometime
thecomtedelaMarchehadbeenoutoffavorwiththepublic，by
reasonofhisovercomplaisancetowardstheministersoftheking’s
pleasure；buthewasnotthelessaprinceoftheblood，andat
Versaillesthisrankcompensatedforalmosteveryfault。
Hewas
alivelyman，moreover，hissocietywasagreeable，andthetitle
heborereflectedhisdistinctionamongstacrowdofcourtiers。
Ifelt，therefore，thatIoughttoconsidermyselfasveryfortunate
thathedeignedtovisitme，andaccordinglyreceivedhimwith
allthecivilityIcoulddisplay；andthewelcomereceptionwhich
healwaysexperienceddrewhimfrequentlytomyabode。
Thefriendshipwithwhichhehonoredmewasnotagreeabletomy
enemies；andtheytriedbyeverypossiblemeanstoseducehim
fromme。
Theygothisnearrelationstotalktohimaboutit；his
intimatefriendstoreasonwithhim；thefemaleswhomhemost
admiredtodissuadehimfromit。
Therewasnotoneofthese
latterwhodidnotessaytoinjuremeinhisestimation，bysaying
thathedishonoredhimselfbyanacquaintancewithme。
Therewas
amongstothersamarquisedeBeauvoir，theissueofapetty
nobility，whomhepaidwithsumsofgold，altho’shewasnothis
mistressbytitle。
GainedoverbytheChoiseuls，shemadeproposals
concerningmetotheprinceofsoridiculousanature，thathesaid
toherimpatiently:“I’faith，mydear，asintheeyesoftheworld
everywomanwholiveswithamanwhoisnotherhusbandisa——，
soIthinkamaniswisetochoosetheloveliesthecanfind；and
inthiswaythekingisatthismomentmuchbetteroffthanany
ofhissubjects。“
OnlyimaginewhataragethisputthemarquisedeBeauvoirin:she
stormed，wept，hadanervousattack。
ThecomtedelaMarche
contemplatedherwithadesperatetranquillity；butthisscene
continuingbeyondthelimitsoftolerablepatience，hewassotired
ofitthathelefther。
Thiswasnotwhatthemarquisewished；and
shehastenedtowriteasubmissivelettertohim，inwhich，tojustify
herself，sheconfessedtotheprince，thatinactingagainstmeshe
hadonlyyieldedtotheinstigationsofthecabal，andparticularly
alludedtomesdamesdeGrammontanddeGuemenee。
ThecomtedelaMarcheshowedmethisletter，whichIretained
inspiteofhisresistanceandalltheeffortshemadetoobtain
possessionofitagain。
Myintentionwastoshowittotheking；
andIdidnotfailtogiveittohimatthenextvisithepaidme:
hereadit，andshrugginguphisshoulders，aswashisusualcustom，
hesaidtome，
“Theyaredevilsincarnate，andtheworstofthekind。
Theytry
toinjureyouineveryway，buttheyshallnotsucceed。
Ireceive
alsoanonymouslettersagainstyou，theyaretossedintothe
post-boxinlargepacketswithfeignednames，inthehopethat
theywillreachme。
Suchslandersoughtnottoannoyyou:inthe
daysofmadamedePompadour，thesamethingwasdone。
Thesame
schemesweretriedtoruinmadamedeChateauroux。
WheneverI