havejustgiventhemtheliedirect，byperformingmyEaster
devotionspublicly；thusprovingtoallmylively
desiretoterminatemylongcareerinthereligioninwhichIwas
born；andIhavefulfilledthisimportantactafteradozen
consecutiveattacksoffever，whichmademefearIshoulddie
beforeIcouldassureyouofmyrespectandmydevotion。“
Thisapologygavemerealpleasure。
Ipretendedtobelievethe
sincerityofhimwhoaddressedme，altho’hehadnotconvinced
meofhisinnocence；andIwrotethefollowingreplytoM。de
Voltaire，whichasillypridedictatestometocommunicateto
you，inconjunctionwiththeletterofthephilosopher:
“MONSIEUR:——Evenwereyouculpablefromtoomuchfriendship
towardsthoseyoucherish，Iwouldpardonyouasarecompensefor
theletteryouaddresstome。
Thisoughtthemoretocharmme，as
itgivesmethecertaintythatyouhadbeenunworthilycalumniated。
Couldyouhavesaid，undertheveilofsecrecy，thingsdisagreeable
toagreatking，forwhom，incommonwithallFrance，youprofess
sincerelove？
Itisimpossible。
Couldyou，withgaietyofheart，
woundafemalewhoneverdidyouharm，andwhoadmiresyour
splendidgenius？
Infact，couldthoseyoucallyourfriendshave
stoopedsolowasnottohavefearedtocompromiseyou，bymaking
youplayapartunworthyofyourelevatedreputation？
Allthese
suppositionswereunreasonable:Icouldnotforamomentadmitthem，
andyourtwolettershaveentirelyjustifiedyou。
Icannowgive
myselfupwithoutregrettomyenthusiasmforyouandyourworks。
Itwouldhavebeentoocruelformetohavelearntwithcertainty
thathewhomIregardedasthefirstwriteroftheagehadbecome
mydetractorwithoutmotive，withoutprovocation。
Thatitisnotso
IgivethankstoProvidence。
“M。theducd’Aiguillondidnotdeceiveyouwhenhetoldyou
thatIfedonyoursublimepoetry。
Iaminliteratureaperfect
novice，andyetamsensibleofthetruebeautieswhichabound
inyourworks。
Iamtobeincludedamongstthestoneswhich
wereanimatedbyAmphion:thisisoneofyourtriumphs；butto
thisyoumustbeaccustomed。
“Believealsothatallyourfriendsarenotintheenemy’scamp。
Therearethoseaboutmewholoveyousincerely，M。deChauvelin，
forinstance，MM。deRichelieuandd’Aiguillon:thislattereulogizes
youincessantly；andifalltheworldthoughtashedoes，youwould
behereinyourplace。
Butthereareterribleprejudiceswhichmy
candorwillnotallowmetodissemble，whichyouhavetoovercome。
Thereiswhocomplainsofyou，andthisonemustbewonover
toyourinterests。
Hewishesyoutotestifymorevenerationfor
whathevenerateshimself；thatyourattacksshouldnotbeso
vehementnorsoconstant。
Isitthenimpossibleforyoutocomply
hiswishesinthisparticular？
Besurethatyouonly，insettingno
boundsinyourattacksonreligion，doyourselfavastmischiefwith
thepersoninquestion。
“ItwillappearstrangethatIshouldholdsuchlanguagetoyou:
Ionlydoittoserveyou:donottakemystatementsunkindly。
havenowafavortoaskofyou；whichis，toincludemeinthelist
ofthosetowhomyousendthefirstfruitsofthebrilliant
productionsofyourpen。
Thereisnonewhoismoredevotedto
you，andwhohasamoreardentdesiretoconvinceyouofthis。
“Iam，，withreal
attachment，etc。“
IshowedthislettertoM。deRichelieu。
“Why，“heinquired，’haveyounotassuredhimastoyourindiscretion，
whichhefears？“
“Becausehisfearseemedtomeunjust，andIleaveyoutorepresent
metohimasIam；andnow，“Iadded，“itdoesnotappeartome
necessaryforthekingtoknowanythingofthis。“
“Youthinkwisely，madame；whatmostdispleasedhimwastosee
madamedePompadourinregularcorrespondencewithM。deVoltaire。“
Ihaverelatedtoyouthisepisodeofmyhistory，thatitmay
recompenseyouforthetiresomedetailsofmypresentation。
resumemyrecital。
ItoldyouthatM。deMaupeouhadtoldme
thathewouldendeavortobringmadamelamarechaledeMirepoix，
andintroducehertome，trustingtothefriendshipshehadevinced
formadamedePompadourduring，thewholetimeofthefavorand
lifeofherwhoprecededmeintheaffectionsofLouisXV。
I
found，tomysurprise，thathesaidnothingtomeconcerningit
forseveraldays，whensuddenlymadamelamarechaledeMirepoix
wasannounced。
AtthisnameandthistitleIrosequiteinafluster，without
clearlyknowingwhatcouldbetheobjectofthisvisit，forwhich
Iwasunprepared。
Themarechale，whofollowedcloselyonthe
valet’sheels，didnotgivemetimeformuchreflection。
Shetook
mereally，andIhadnottimetogoandmeether。
“Madamelamarechale，“saidI，accostingher，“whatluckychance
bringsyoutoaplacewherethedesiretohaveyoursocietyissogreat？“
“Itisthefeelingofrealsympathy，“shereplied，withagracious
smile；“forIalsohavelongedforaconsiderabletimetovisit
you，andhaveyieldedtomywishesassoonasIwascertainthat
myadvanceswouldnotberepulsed。“
“Ah，madame。，“saidI，“hadyouseriouslyanysuchfear？
That
tellsmemuchlessofthemistrustyouhadofyourselfthanofthe
badopinionyouhadconceivedofme。
Thehonorofyourvisits——“
“Thehonorofmyvisits！
That’sadmirable！
Iwishtoobtaina
portionofyourfriendship，andtotestifytothekingthatIam
sincerelyattachedtohim。“
“Youoverwhelmme，madame，“criedI，muchdelighted，“andIbeg
youtogivemeyourconfidence。“
“Well，now，allisarrangedbetweenus:Isuityouandyouplease
me。
ItislongsinceIwasdesirousofcomingtoyou，butweare
allundertheyokeofthemustabsurdtyranny:soonweshallhave
nopermissiontogo，tocome，tospeak，toholdourtongues，without
firstobtainingtheconsentofacertainfamily。
Thisyokehas
weariedme；andonthefirstwordofthechancellorofFranceI
hastenedtoyou。“
“Ihadbeggedhim，madame，toexpresstoyouhowmuchIshouldbe
charmedtohaveyouwhenthekinggracedmewithhispresence。
He
likesyou，heisaccustomedtothedelightsofyoursociety；andI
shouldhavebeendeeplychagrinedhadIcomehereonlytodeprive
himofthatpleasure。“
“Heisagoodmaster，“saidthemarechale，“heisworthyofall
ourlove。
Ihavehadopportunitiesofknowinghimthoroughly，
forIwasmostintimatewithmadamedePompadour；andIbelieve
thatmyadvicewillnotbeuselesstoyou。“
“Iaskitofyou，madamelamarechale，foritwillbeprecioustome。“
“Sincewearefriends，madame，“saidshe，seatingherselfina
chair，“donotthinkillofmeifIestablishmyselfatmyease，
andtakemystationasinthedaysofyore。
Thekinglovesyou:
somuchthebetter。
Youwillhaveadoubleempireoverhim。
He
didnotlovethemarquise，andallowedhimselftobegovernedby
her；forwithhim——Iaskpardonofyourexcessivebeauty——custom
doesall。
Itisnecessary，mydearcountess，tousethedoublelever
youhave，ofyourowncharmsandhisconstantcustomtodo
to-morrowwhathedoesto-daybecausehedidityesterday，and
forthisyoulackneithergracenorwit。“
IhadheardagreatdealconcerningmadamedeMirepoix；butI
owntoyou，thatbeforeIheardherspeakIhadnoideawhatsort
ofapersonshewouldprove。
Shehadanairofsomuchfrankness
andtruth，thatitwasimpossiblenottobecharmedbyit。
Thegreater
partofthetimeIdidnotknowhowtodefendmyselffromher——at
oncesonaturalandsoperfidious；andoccasionallyIallowedmyself
toloveherwithallmyheart，somuchdidsheseemtocherishme
withallenthusiasm。
Shehaddepthofwit，apiquancyofexpression，
andknewhowtodisguisethoseinterestedadulationswithturns
sonobleandbeautifulthatIhavenevermet，neitherbeforenor
since，anywomanworthyofbeingcomparedwithher。
Shewas，
inhersingleself，awholesociety；andcertainlytherewasno
possibilityofbeingweariedwhenshewasthere。
Hertemperwas
mostequable，aqualificationrarelyobtainedwithoutalossof
warmthoffeeling。
Shealwayspleasedbecauseherbusinesswas
topleaseandnottolove；anditalwayssufficedhertorenderothers
enthusiasticandardent。
Exceptthistendencytoegotism，shewas
thecharmofsociety，thelifeofthepartywhomsheenlivenedby
herpresence。
Sheknewpreciselywhentomournwiththeafflicted，
andjokewiththemerry-hearted。
Thekinghadmuchpleasurein
hercompany:heknewthatsheonlythoughthowtoamusehim；and，
moreover，ashehadseenherfrommorningtilleveningwiththe
marquisedePompadour，herabsencefrommypartieswasinsupportable
tohim，andalmostcontrarytotherulesofetiquetteatthechateau。
Icannottellyouhowgreatwashissatisfaction，when，atthe
firstsupperwhichfollowedourintimacy，hesawherenter。