withasubtleandpenetratingspirit——thattalentwhichprocures
advancementatcourt，shesaw，withpain，thatIsoughttoattract
otherfemalesaboutme:shewouldfainhaveremainedmyonly
friend，thatshemight，unopposed，influencemeinallIdid。
She
saw，therefore，theappearanceofmadamedeMirepoixinmy
drawing-roomwithuneasiness:herbadhumorwassufficiently
apparenttoattractthenoticeofthemarechale，wholaughedatit:
hersocialpositionasatitledwoman，andtheking’sfriendship，
givingherconfidencethathercreditwouldalwaysexceedthatof
mygodmother。
MadamedeBearnwascompelledtosubmittotheascendancyofthe
marechale，butyetdidnotthelessrelaxinhereffortstokeep
frommeallotherfemalesociety，shehopedthatatlasttheking
woulddistinguishher，andcallherintohisintimacyasmyfriend；
shewasnotmorefondofthecomtessed’Aloigny，altho’thenullity
ofthisladyneednothavealarmedhermuch。
Forme，Ibeganto
resenttheirksomenessofhavingincessantlyatmysideaperson
whomanifestedtooopenlyherdesiretocompelmetosubmitto
herwishes，andIwaited，tosecuremyfreedom，onlyuntilthe
circleoffemalesIcouldadmittomysocietyshouldbeextended。
SuchwereourreciprocalfeelingsduringourstayatMarly。
The
madamedeBearnwatchedmewithmorecarethanatVersailles，
fearing，nodoubt，thatthefreedomofthecountrymightfacilitate
connectionsprejudicialtoherinterests。
Littledidsheanticipate
onthisdaythestrokewhichwasinpreparationforher。
Iasked
herspitefullytotakeaturnwithmeintothepark，andItook
carenottoannouncethemeetingwhichwehadarranged。
Beholdusthenwalkingthiswayandthat，quitebychance，without
howevergoinganydistancefromthepavilion。
MadamedeBearn，
notlikingthevicinityofthechateau，wasdesiroustogointothe
wood。
Ideclinedthisundervainexcuses，whensuddenlymadame
deMirepoixandmadamedeFlaracourtappearedattheendof
averyshortwalk。
“Letusturnthisway，“saidthecountesstome，“herecomesone
ofourenemies，whomitwouldbeaswelltoavoid。“
“Whyturnaway？“
Ireplied；“sheisalone，wearetwo，andthen
themarechaledeMirepoixisnotopposedtous。“
Sayingthis，Iadvancedtowardsthem。
MadamedeFlaracourtappeared
verygracious:Irepliedtoheradvanceswithduepoliteness，and
insteadofseparating，wecontinuedtowalkabouttogether。
Madame
deBearnsawclearlythatchancewasnotthesolecauseofthis
meeting:shedissembledaswellasshecould。
Iafterwardslearnt
thatsheowedmeaspite，particularlyforthemysterywhichIhad
madeofthisoccurrence。
Themarkedsilence，andthesullenair
sheassumedduringthisinterview，andwhichhersenseand
knowledgeoftheworldshouldhavepreventedherfrommanifesting，
provedtome，onthisoccasion，asonmanyotherothers，that
tempercannotalwaysbeconquered，andthatattimesitwillburst
forthinspiteoftheexperienceandcautionofthecourtier。
Ididnotgivemyselfmuchtroubleonthissubject:Ihadwell
recompensedthegoodofficesofthecountess:Ihadampleproof
thatinservingmeshehadactedontheimpulseofself-interest:
wewerequits，Ithought，andIsawnoreasonwhyIshould
remainisolatedjusttoserveherpleasure。
WhenwereturnedtomyapartmentsIsawplainly，byhermutterings，
hersighs，andtheshruggingofhershoulders，thatshewasdeeply
irritatedatwhathadjusttakenplace。
Shewasdesirousof
provokinganexplanation，butasthatcouldonlytendtoher
disadvantage，shecontentedherselfwithleavingmeearlierthan
herusualwant，withoutsayinganythingdisagreeable。
Hercustom
wasnottoleavemealone，andherabruptdepartureconfirmedme
intheideaIhadimbibed，thatthissortofcomedyhadmuch
thwartedher。
InthecourseofthesamedayIreceivedavisitfromthecomtesse
deFlaracourt。
Thislady，whosesparklingeyesshonewithanair
ofmischief，presentedherselftomewithanappearanceof
opennessandconfidencewhichcompletelycloakedthemalignity
andtreacheryofhercharacter。
Shethrewherarmsroundmyneck
withasmuchgraceastenderness，andtakingmyhand，asifto
arrestmyattention，said:
“Iought，madame，toexplaintoyouthedelaythatIhavemade
beforeIintroducemyselftoyou，aswellasthepromptitudeof
thismyfirstvisit。
Iwasprejudicedagainstyou，andhadformed
afalseestimateofyou。
Mywithmesdamesd’Egmont，
deBrionne，anddeGrammontnaturallyplacedmeintherank
opposedtoyou:somuchforwhathaspassed。
ButIhaveseen
you:Ihavestudiedyouatadistance，aswellasclose，andI
haverecognised，withoutdifficulty，theinjusticeofyourenemies。
Ihavebeenenragedwithmyselfforhavingbeendeceivedregarding
you:Iwishtorepairmywrongs。
Enlightenedbytheopinionof
themarechaledeMirepoix，Ihavenothesitatedtoapproachyou
underherauspices，andourfirstmeetinghassohappilyfurnished
mewithanopportunityofappreciatingyou，thatIwouldnotdelay
anylongerthepleasureofmakingyouapersonalavowalofmy
pastsentiments，andofthosewithwhichyounowinspireme。“
ThetoneinwhichmadamedeFlaracourtutteredthesewordswasso
graciousandsopersuasive，thatIcouldnotresistthepleasureof
embracingher。
Shereturnedmykisswiththesameeagerness，
andwouldnotlistentomythanks。
“Allisexplainedbetweenus，“shecontinued，“letusforgetthe
past，andletusdoasifmeetingforthefirsttimeto-day；we
henceforwarddatethisasthefirstofouracquaintance。“
“Theaffabilitywithwhichyouhavepresentedyourselftome，“I
replied，“doesnotpermitmetobelievethatIhaveonlyknown
youfromthismorning；Iaminanillusionwhichwillonlyallow
metolookonourrecentallianceasanancientfriendship。“
Afterhavingexchangedsomeconversationofthesametenor，we
talkedofmysituationasregardedtheotherfemalesofthecourt。
“Theyhateyoufortworeasons，“saidthecountess:“inthefirst
place，becauseyouhavemadeaconquestwhichalltheworldenvies
you；secondlybecauseyouarenotoneofus。
Thereisnotone
familywhocanleanonyouinvirtueoftherightsofblood，or
allianceswhichstandinsteadofit。
Youhavesupersededawoman
whomorethananyothercouldhaveaclaimtoyourgoodfortune:
sheissistertotheprimeminister，whohasinhertrain，like
Lucifer，morethanathirdpartofheaven，forallthecourtiers
hangonherbrother。
“Ontheotherhand，wearenotaccustomedtoremainsolongin
oppositiontothewilloftheking。
Sucharesistanceisnotnatural
tous；itweighsuponus，itharmsus，thefavorofourmaster
beingourchiefgood。
Weareonlysomethingthro’him，andwhen
combattingagainsthimwehaveneitherthecouragenorthe
perseverance。
Thusyoumaybeverycertainthatthemajority
ofwomenwhoopposeyoudoitagainstthegrain:andifyouadd
tothisthattheyareincessantlyexposedtothemurmursand
complaintsoftheirhusbands，sons，brothers，andlovers，you
willeasilybeconvincedthattheyonlyaspiretofindingameans
ofreconcilingtheregardtheyowetotheChoiseulsandtheterror
whichtheyinspire，withthedesiretheyhavetoseekyour
protectionandthefriendshipoftheking。
Thecabalonlyflies
ononewing，andIcannotdivineitssituationatthecommencement
ofthenextwinter。
Donotdisquietyourselfanymorewithwhat
itcando:keepyourselfquiet；continuetopleasethe’master，’
andyouwilltriumphoverthemultitudeaseasilyasyouhave
conqueredtheresistanceofmesdames。“
SuchwasthelanguageofthecomtessedeFlaracourt:itagreed，
asyouwillperceive，withthatofmadamedeMirepoix，andI
oughtthemoretobelieveit，asitwasthefruitoftheir
experienceandprofoundknowledgeofcourtmanners。
Their
exampleprovedtome，aswellastheirwords，thatallthosewho
approachedthekingcouldnotbearforalongtimethepositionin
whichheplacedthosewhomhedidnotlookuponwithpleasure。
However，LouisXVevincedmoreplainlyfromdaytodaythe
ascendancyIhadoverhismind。
Heassistedpubliclyatmytoilet*，
hewalkedoutwithme，leftmeaslittleaspossible，andsought
byeveryattentiontoconsolemefortheimpertinenceswithwhich
myenemiesbespatteredme。
Thefollowinganecdotewillproveto
youhowlittleconsiderationhehadforthosepersonswhodaredto
insultmeopenly。
OnedayatMarly，Ienteredthedrawing-room；therewasavacant
seatneartheprincessedeGuemenee，Iwenttoit，andscarcely
wasseatedwhenmyneighborgotup，saying，“Whathorror！“
and
betookherselftothefurtherendoftheroom。
Iwasmuchconfused:
theoffencewastoopublicformetorestrainmyresentment，and
evenwhenIwishedtodosothethingwasscarcelypossible。
The
comteJean，whohadwitnessedit，andmysisters-in-law，who
learntitfromhim，wereenraged。
Iwascompelledtocomplainto
theking，whoinstantlysenttheprincessedeGuemeneeanorder
toquitMarlyforthwith，andbetakeherselftotheprincessede
Marsan，ofthechildrenoftheroyalfamilyofFrance，
ofwhosepostshehadthereversion。
Neverdidajustchastisementproduceagreatereffect。