Iprocuredtheking’sprotectionforthemiserable
objectoftheprincess’saffection；Iobtainedhissaferemoval
toanothercountry；and，havingdoneallthis，Icommunicatedmy
knowledgeofthetransactiontothecomtessed’Egmont。
Doesthis
bearanycomparisonwithherlineofconducttowardsme？“
“Butyourletter，madame；yourletter——“
“Wouldbearalterationsandamendments，sir，Iamaware:IadmitI
didnotsufficientlyinsistupontheatrocityofsuchanabuse
ofpower。“
“Youarethenresolved，madame，tomakeusyourenemies。“
“Ishouldbeverysorry，monsieurleduc，tobecompelledtosuch
extremities；butifyourfriendshipcanonlybepurchasedatthe
priceofmysubmittingtocontinuallyreceivetheinsultsofyour
family，Ishouldbethefirsttoceasetoaspiretoit。
If
Madamed’Egmontholdsherselfaggrievedbyme，lethercarryher
complaintbeforetheparliament；weshallthenseewhatredress
shewillget。
Shehascompromisedtheking’snamebyanarbitrary
act；andsinceyouthusattackme，youmustnottakeitamissif
Imakethekingacquaintedwiththewholebusiness。“
Themarechal，surprisedatsosevereareply，couldnolonger
restraintheragewhichfilledhim。
“Ishouldhavethought，
madame，“saidhe，“thatmydaughter，inwhoseveinsflowsroyal
blood，mighthavemeritedsomelittleconsiderationfromthe
comtesseduBarry。“
“Itiswell，then，monsieurleduc，“repliedI，“topointoutto
youyourerror。
Iseeinmyenemiestheirworksandactions
alone，withoutanyreferencetotheirbirth，beithighorlow；
andtheconductofmadamed’Egmonthasbeensoviolentand
unceasingtowardsme，thatitleavesmewithoutthesmallest
regretforthatIhavepursuedtowardsher。“
Ihadimaginedthatthisreplywouldstillfurtherirritatethe
angryfeelingsoftheducdeRichelieu，butitdidnot:heeasily
guessedthatnothingbuttheking’ssupportcouldhaveinspired
metoexpressmyselfwithsomuchenergy；and，ifpaternal
vanitystroveinhisheart，personalinterestsspoketherewith
evenaloudervoice。
Hethereforesoughttolayasidehisanger，
and，likeaskilfulcourtier，changinghisangrylookandtone
foroneofcheerfulness:
“Madame，“saidhe，“Iyield；Iseeitwillnotdotoenterthe
listsagainstyou。
IconfessIcamethismorningbuttosound
yourcourage，andalreadyyouhavedrivenmeoffthefield
vanquished。
ThereisonefavorIwouldimploreofyourgenerosity，
andthatis，tobesilentastoallthathastranspired。“
“Ishallnotspeakofit，monsieurleduc，“repliedI，muchmoved，
“unlessyouormadamed’Egmontsetmetheexample。“
“Inthatcasetheaffairwillforeverremainburiedinoblivion；
but，madame，Iwillnotconcealfromyou，thatmydaughterhas
becomeyourmostbitterandirreconcilableenemy。
“
“Themotiveswhichhaveactuatedme，monsieurle
marechal，are
suchastoleavemeverylittleconcernuponthatsubject。
flattermyselfthisaffairwillnotkeepyouawayfromme，who
wouldfainreckonasfirmlyonyourfriendshipasyonmaydoonmine。“
Themarechalkissedmyhandintokenofamity，andfromthat
momentthematterwasnevermentioned。
AsimilarscenehadalreadyoccurredwiththeprincedeSoubise，
relativetotheexileofhisdaughter。
Wasitnotsomewhat
strange，aswellasunjust，thatallthenoblemenofthedaywished
topreservetotheirrelationstherightofoffendingmewith
impunity，withoutpermittingmeeventherightofdefendingmyself。
MadameduBarryseparatesfrommadamedeBearn——Lettersbetween
theseladies——Portraitofmadamedel’Hopital——Theladder——The
bell——ConversationwithmadamedeMirepoix——FirstvisittoChantilly——
Intriguestopreventthecountessfromgoingthither——Theking’s
Displeasuretowardstheprincesses——ThearchbishopdeSenlis
Thespoiledchildoffortune，Ihadnowattainedtheheightofmy
wishes。
Theking’spassionaugmenteddaily，andmyempirebecame
suchastodefytheutmostendeavorsofmyenemiestoundermine
it。
Anotherwomaninmyplacewouldhaveemployedherpowerin
strikingterroramongstallwhowereopposedtoher，
butformy
ownpartIcontentedmyselfwithrepulsingtheirattemptstoinjure
me，andinproceedingtoseverityonlywhenmypersonalinterests
weretoodeeplyconcernedtoadmitofmypassingthematter
overinsilence。
Therewasnoaccusationtooinfamoustobelaidtomycharge；
amongstotherenormitiestheyscruplednottoallegethatIhad
beenthemurderessofLebel，theking’s，who
diedbypoison！
Wasitlikely，wasitprobablethatIshouldseek
thedestructionofhimtowhomIowedmyelevation，themost
devotedoffriends，andforwhommyheartcherishedthemost
livelysenseofgratitude？
WhatinterestcouldIpossiblyderive
fromtheperpetrationofsuchacrime？
Theimputationwastoo
absurdforbelief，butslandercareslittlefortheseeming
improbabilityofsuchanevent。
Thesimplefactremainedthat
Lebelwasdead，ofcoursethecruelandunjustconsequence
becameinthehandsofmyenemies，thatIhadbeentheprincipal
accessorytoit。
Mymosttriflingactionsweremisrepresentedwiththesameblack
malignity。
Theyevenmadeitacrimeinmetohavewrittento
madamedeBearn，thankingherforherpastkindnesses，andthus
settingheratlibertytoretirefromthemercenaryservicesshe
pretendedtohaveaffordedme。
Andwhocouldblamemeforseeking
torendermyselfindependentofhercontrol，orforbecomingweary
ofthetyrannicalguidanceofonewhohadtakenitintoherhead
thatIhadbecomehersoleproperty，andwho，inpursuanceof
thisidea，boredandtormentedmetodeathwithherfolliesand
exactions，andeventookuponherselftobeoutofhumoratthe
leastindicationofmyattachingmyselftoanyotherladyofthe
court。
Accordingtoherviewofthings，gratitudeimposedonme
therigorouslawofforminganintimacywithheralone；inaword，
sheexercisedovermethemostgallingdominion，whichmyfamily
hadlongcounselledmetoshakeoff；intruth，Iwasperfectly
tiredofbearingtheyokehercapriciousandoverbearingtemper
imposeduponme，butIdetermined，ifpossible，todonothing
hastily，andtoendureitwithpatienceaslongasIcould。
But
nowthatthenumberofmyfemalefriendswasaugmentedbythe
additionofthemarquisedeMontmorencyandthecomtessede
l’HopitalIdeterminednolongertobeartheconstantdisplayof
madamedeBearn’sdespoticsway，andfindingnochanceofaccommodating
ourtastesandhumors，Iresolvedtofreemyselffromherthraldom。
Anotherpowerfulreasonforthismeasurewasthedislikewith
whichthekingregardedher；notthatshewasdeficientinbirthor
goodbreeding，butamidstthepolishofhighlifesheoccasionally
introducedthemostvulgarandprovincialmanners，afaultofall
othersmostoffensivetotheking，whosedisgustwasfurther
excitedbytheundisguisedaviditywithwhich，ateveryopportunity，
shesoughttoturnheradmissiontotheking’sprivatesocietyto
account，bypreferringsomerequestorsolicitingsomeparticular
favor。
Insteadofgivingherselfuptothejoyandhilaritythat
reignedaround，sheseemedalwaysonthewatchtoseizeevery
possibleadvantagetoherself。
Immediatelythatthekingwas
apprizedofmyintentionofdismissingherfromanyfurthercares
forme，“Youarequiteright，“saidhe，“togetridofthis
troublesomewoman，whonevervisitsuswithoutcalculatingthe
degreeofinterestshecanderivefromit，andseemstome，
wheneversheapproachesme，astho’sheweredevisingsomefresh
petitiontoobtainfromme。
Andnow，too，thatthefirstladies
ofthecourtfillyourdrawing-rooms，whyshouldyouendureher
importunatepresence？“
Strengthenedbythesesentimentsontheking’spart，Ilostno
timeinwritingtomadamedeBearnaletter，ofwhichmanyfalse
copieswerecirculated；however，Isubjointhefollowingasthe
veritableepistleaddressedbymetothecountess:——
“MADAME，——Itwouldbetheheightofselfishnessonmypartto
taxfurtherthekindnessandattentionyouhavebeenpleasedto
showme。
Iamwellawarehowmanypublicandprivatedutiesclaim
yourcare，andIthereforewithmuchregretbegtorestoretoyou
thatlibertyyouhavesogenerouslysacrificedtomyinterests。
Consciousoftheennuiwhichoppressesyouinthispartofthe
country，Iwritetoentreatthatyouwillallownoconsideration
connectedwithmetodetainyoulongerinaplacesoirksome，but，
sinceourvisittoMarlyisconcluded，flyuponthewingsof
impatiencetothegayscenesofParisandLuxembourg。
Beassured
thatitwillatalltimesaffordmemuchpleasuretoevincethe
gratitudewithwhichIshalleverremain，
“Madame，yourssincerely，