sentimentsonthesubject，andyet，trustingtomygreatinfluence
overhismind，Ididnotdespairofsuccess；besidesChon，my
sister-in-law，wasconstantlyremindingmethatpeopleofa
certainrankshouldsupportoneanother，andthatnowwasthe
timeornever。
Ithereforeresolveduponbefriendingthedaughters
ofcomtedeLouernetotheutmostofmypower，andforthat
purposeIplacedthembothinacornerofthedrawing-roomsoas
tocatchtheking’seyeasheentered；heobservedthem，and
inquiredwhothosetwoladieswere。
“Sire，“repliedI，“they
aretheheart-brokendaughtersofthecomteandcomtessede
Louerne，whoimploreclemencyofyourmajestytosavethelives
oftheauthorsoftheirbeing。“
“Ah！“
returnedhe，“madame，youknowIcandonothingagainst
thelawwhichtheyhaveoffended。“
Atthesecruelwordsthetwoyoungladiesthrewthemselvesathis
feet，exclaiming，“Pardon，pardon，sire；inthenameofheavenand
yourillustriousancestors。“
“Rise，ladies，“saidtheking；“Iwouldwillinglyserveyou，
butIhavenotthepower。“
“No，sire，“criedI，“youmustnot，youcannotrefuseourunited
prayers；andIherevowtoremainkneelingatyourfeettillyour
lipsshallpronouncethewordwhichshallrestorelifeandhappiness
tosomanyafflictedhearts。“
“Madame，“saidtheking，altho’inatonelessfirm，“youforce
metodowhatmyprinciplescondemn；butsinceitmustbeso，I
yield；andonlyrejoicethatthefirstpersonalfavoryourequest
ofmeistoperformanactofbeneficence。
Ladies，“addedhe，
turningtowardsthecomtessedeMoyauandhersister-in-law，
“youowethelivesofyourparentstothegenerousmediation
ofthecomtesseduBarry。“
ThejoyoftheLouerneswasonlyequalledbythebasecalumnyof
myenemies，whoaccusedmeofhavingpreparedthisscene，which
wasgotupbythekingandmyselftoproduceeffectandexcite
popularity。
Couldsuchdisgustingfalsehoodshaveenteredthe
mindsofanybutthemostdepraved？
Yetthosewhocontinually
watchedandmisrepresentedmyleastactionappearedanxiousto
deprivemeofeventhetastefor，aswellasthepowerof，doing
good。
ThistookplaceatChoisy，whichweveryshortlyafter
quittedforCompiegne，whereIpassedmytimeveryagreeably。
ThekingwouldnotsuffereithertheduchessedeGrammontorthe
comtessesd’EgmontanddeBriennetoaccompanyusuponthis
excursion。
Ithaslikewisebeenasserted，thatneithertheduchesse
deGrammontnortheprincessedeBeauvauwaspresentduringthe
king’sfirstvisittoChantilly:thatisnotcorrect；itwasat
thesecondthattheywereforbiddenbyLouistojointheparty。
Thosewhofabricatedsuchaccounts，inallprobabilityderived
theirinformationfromeitherthestableorthekitchen，which
wasalltheyknewofthecourtofLouisXV。
DuringmyabodeatCompiegneIdinedseveraltimesatthehouse
ofmybrother-in-law，CleonduBarry，thenacaptaininthe
regimentdeBeauce，whowas，withadetachment，quarteredin
theneighborhoodofthecastle；andhe，withtherestofhisbrother
officers，viedinendeavorstopleaseandamuseme。
Theygave
fetesinmyhonor，wereperpetuallydevisingfreshschemesto
rendertheplaceagreeabletome；andinthattheyperfectly
succeeded，forIquittedCompiegnewithnootherregretthan
thatmystaytherewasatanend。
Thekingappearedeachdaymoreandmoresolicitoustorenderme
happy，andevenanticipatedanywishesImightform。
Amongst
othermarksofhisfavor，hebestoweduponmethesplendidpavilion
deLucienne，soldbytheducdePenthievreafterthedeathofhis
son，theprincedeLamballe。
Youknowthischarmingspot，which
bothnatureandarthavesoliberallycontributedtoadorn:Ihave
converteditintothemostperfectanddelightfulhabitationin
whichamortalcoulddesiretoendherdays。
Nevertheless，this
hopeofpassingmylifetranquillyandhappilywithinitssheltering
bosomwillprovebutfallacious，ifImaycreditaprediction
whichhasbeenverifiedalreadyinpart。
Youdoubtlesslyremember
theyoungmanwhosoobstinatelypursuedmetoannouncethehigh
destinytowhichIshouldattain，ereIhadforonemoment
contemplatedsuchanelevation。
Well！
Youwillscarcelycredit
mewhenIdeclare，thatallrecollectionofhimhadentirely
escapedme；but，intruth，theconstantvortexofacourtlife
leavesnotimefortherecollectionofthepast，andfillsour
mindswithnootherideasbuttoprovideforthepresent，and
occasionallytoglanceatthefuture。
However，Ithoughtnomoreofmyyoungprophet，whenoneSunday，
aftermyreturntoVersaillesfromCompiegne，Iattendedmassat
thecastle；allatonceIcaughtaglimpseofmymysterious
acquaintance，leaninghisbackagainstthewallbehindthealtar。
Hewasexaminingmycountenancewithadeepandfixedattention。
Youmaypicturetoyourselfmyastonishmentandsurpriseat
recognisinginthisplacethepersonwhohadsolongagoforetold
mybrilliantdestiny。
Thecolorrushedtomycheeks，andhecould
distinctlyobservehowmuchIwasagitatedbyhispresence，and
hisbeautifulcountenancewaslitupwithapleasantsmile；after
whichhegracefullywavedhishandroundhisheadastho’he
wouldsay，“AreyounotqueenofFrance？“
Thisgestureexcited
myastonishmentstillfurther；however，Ireturnedhismuteinquiry
byaslightinclinationofthehead，intendedtosay，“Youare
right。“
Inamomentasortofcloudseemedtocovermyeyes。
So
soonasIcouldrecoverfromthesuddendimnesswhichobscured
myvision，Iendeavoredtobendmylooksinanoppositedirection；
forsogreatlywasIthepointofgeneralobservation，thatI
fearedtoawakensuspicionbyanindiscreetattentiontoone
particularpersonorplace:andwhenaftersomelittletimehad
elapsed，andIventuredtoturnmyeyesagaintothespotwhere
theyoungmanhadbeenstanding，hehaddisappeared。
Iwasunabletorecovermyastonishmentatthewholeaffair，and
thesuddennessofhisdepartureinspiredmewithalivelydesireto
knowmoreofhim，whetherheweremanordemon。
Imentionedit
toChonthesameday，who，havinglistenedtomewithextreme
attention，“Uponmyword，“saidshe，“thisisamostmarvellous
eventinyourhistory。
WhydoyounotmentionthefacttoM。
deSartines？
“
“Becauseitappearstomefollytodisturborannoyapersonwho
hasgivenmenooffence；andwereItoputhimintothehandsof
thepolice，Imightpossiblyfindreasontorepenthavingacted
so。
Ontheotherhand，Iwouldgiveanysumofmoneyforone
moreinterviewwiththiswonderfulperson。“
Theretheconversationended；butmysister-in-law，byanunpardonable
curiositysheoughtnottohaveindulgedin，wrote，unknownto
me，tothelieutenantofthepolice，entreatingofhimtousethe
mostactivemeasurestotraceouttheobjectofmycuriosity。
M。
deSartinesdelightedathavinganopportunityofprovingtomeand
minehisskillandzeal，turnedallhisbloodhoundslooseuponthe
trackofthisunfortunatebeing。
DuringtheseproceedingsI
receivedaletter，sealedwithfiveblackseals，bearingthe
impressofadeath’shead。
Ithoughtatfirstthatitwasto
notifythedeceaseofsomefriend，andIlookeduponthestyleas
gloomyasitwasstrange；but，uponopeningit，Ifounditto
containthefollowingwords:——
“MADAMELACOMTESSE，——Iamperfectlyaware
thatthestrictpursuitmadeaftermeinyourname
iswithoutyourknowledgeorsanction:thosesent
insearchofmehavesparednopainsnortrouble
toascertainmynameandabode。
Myabode！
Letallastheyvaluethemselvesavoidmeeting
methere；for，whentheyenterit，itwillbenever
toquititmore。
WhoamI？
Thatcanonlybeknown
whenthislifehasbeenexchangedforanother。
I
chargeyou，madame，tocommandthelieutenant，
M。deSartines。，toceasehisresearchesafterme；
theywouldbefruitless，andmightonlycompromise
yoursafety。
Remember，Ipredictedyourgood
fortune；wasInotcorrectinit？
Ihavealso
foretoldreverses:Iamequallycorrectinthemalso。
Youwillseemetwicemore；andshouldI
unfortunatelycrossyourpathathirdtime，prepare
tobidadieutothelightofheavenandthepleasures
ofthisworld。“
Itisimpossibletoconveyanideaoftheexcessiveterrorwith
whichIwasfilledupontheperusalofthisbillet。
Isummoned
mysister-in-law，andcomplainedoftheharshnessofconduct
thusadoptedagainstmypleasure。
Chonwasequallyalarmed，
andconfessedtomewhatshehaddoneinaskingtheaidofM。
deSartines；atthesametimethatshewasthefirsttodeclarethat
itwasrequisitetoputanendtoallfurthersearch，which，in
oneshapeorother，mightbringonthemostfatalconsequences。
IthereforewrotemyselftoM。deSartines，thankinghimforhis
exertions；butsaying，thatmysister-in-lawandmyselfhad
learnedfromthelipsofthemysteriousstrangerallwewere
desirousofknowing，andthatanyfutureresearchesbeing
unpleasanttohimwouldbeequallydisagreeabletome。
M。de
Sartinesobeyedmyrequest；andfromthatperiodtillthedeath
ofthekingIheardnomoreofthissingularpersonage。