concealedbehindthecurtain，andapparentlynotonthebestterms
withme，mybrother-in-lawneverthelessdirectedmyactions，and
gavememostexcellentadvice。
Itwasnotlongeretheduc
d’Aiguillonarrived；hehadseenM。deMaupeouduringthenight，
andlearnedfromhimtheexileofthelateminister，butbeyond
thatfactheknewnothing。
Heinquiredofme，withmuchuneasiness，
whetheranythinghadbeendecidedinhisbehalf。
Ireplied，that
thekingwasasyetundecidedinhischoiceofministers，but
that，iftheducd’Aiguilloncameintooffice，hewould，inall
probability，benominatedtotheadministrationofforeignaffairs:
thedirectionofthewar-officehadbeenmynoblefriend’s
ardentdesire。
Whilstwewerethusconversingtogetheronthe24thofDecember，
1770，eleveno’clockstruck；andwecould，fromthewindows，
perceiveM。delaVrillieretakinghiswaytowardsthatpartof
thebuildingoccupiedbyM。deChoiseulwhenatthecastle。
This
latterwasinconversationwithM。Conzie，bishopofArras，when
thearrivaloftheducdelaVrilliere，bearingtheking’scommands，
wassignifiedtohim。
Theprelate，notdoubtingbutthemission
relatedtoaffairsofimportance，tookhisleave；delaVrilliere
thenpresentedthe，accompanyingitwithsome
remarksofhisownuponthetalentsoftheminister，andhisregret
atbeingselectedforsounpleasantanoffice。
“Atrucetoyour
feignedregrets，mylordduke，“repliedthedisgracedminister，
sarcastically，“Iamwellassuredmydismissalcouldnothavebeen
broughtmebyhandsmorereadytodischargethetrustthanyours。“
Sayingthis，M。deChoiseulplacedhiscredentialsinthehands
oftheduke，andslightlybowing，turnedhisbackuponhim，as
thoughhehadforgottenhispresence。
M。deChoiseulthenretired
tosummonhissister，tocommunicatetoherandhiswifethe
misfortunewhichhadbefallenhim:hethensetoutforParis，to
makethenecessarypreparationsforremovingtoChanteloup。
Thereanofficerfromtheking，chargedtoaccompanyhimtohis
placeofexile，gavehimhismajesty’sordersthatheshouldsee
noperson，andreceivenovisits。
Thisorderdidnotproceedfromme，butwastheworkoftheduc
delaVrilliere，whosought，bythispaltryaction，toavengehimself
uponM。deChoiseulforthereceptionhehadgivenhim。
Itwas
whollyuseless，however，forintheexileofthedukewasseena
thingunheardof，perhaps，before，and，inallprobability，unlikely
evertooccuragain——thesightofawholecourtespousingthepart
ofanexiledminister，andopenlycensuringthemonarchwhocould
thusrewardhisservices。
You，nodoubt，rememberequallywell
asmyselfthelongfileofcarriagesthatfortwodaysblockedup
theroadtoChanteloup。
InvaindidLouisXVexpresshisdissatisfaction；
hiscourtflockedincrowdstovisitM。deChoiseul。
Ontheotherhand，thecastlewasnotinamoretranquilstate。
AtthenewsofthedismissalandbanishmentofM。deChoiseul，a
generalhueandcrywasraisedagainstmeandmyfriends:one
mighthavesupposed，bytheclamoursitoccasioned，thatthe
ex-ministerhadbeentheatlasofthemonarchy；andthat，deprived
ofhissuccour，thestatemustfallintoruins。
Theprincesses
wereloudintheiranger，andaccusedmepubliclyofhaving
conspiredagainstvirtueitself！
Thevirtueofsuchasisterand
brother！
Iaskyou，myfriend，isnottheideatrulyludicrous？
Thedauphinessbewailedhisfallwithmanytears；atleast，soI
wasinformedbyaladyofhersuite，madamedeCampan。
This
ladywasamostloquaciousperson；shefrequentlyvisitedmy
sister-in-law；and，thankstoherloveoftalking，wewerealways
well-informedofallthatwaspassinginthehouseholdofMarie
Antoinette。
However，thedauphinwasfarfromsharingthegrief
Ofhisillustriousspouse。
Wheninformedofthedismissalofthe
duke，hecriedout，“Well，madameduBarryhassavedmeaninfinity
oftrouble——thatofgettingridofsodangerousaman，intheevent
ofmyeverascendingthethrone。“
Theprincedidnotusually
speakofmeinthemostflatteringterms，butIforgavehimon
thepresentoccasion，somuchwasIcharmedwithhisexpression
relativetothelateminister；itaffordedmethecertaintythat
IshouldnothavetodreadthepossibilityofhisrecallingdeChoiseul。
WhilstmanywerebewailingthedownfallofthedesChoiseuls，
others，whohadaneyemoretoself-interest，presentedthemselves
toshareinthespoilsofhisfortune。
Thereweretheprinces
deSoubiseanddeConde，theducdelaVauguyon，thecomtesde
Broglie，deMaillebois，anddeCastries，themarquisdeMonteynard
andmanyothers，equallyanxiousforatemptingsliceofthe
ministry，andwhowouldhavemadebutonemouthfulofthefinest
andbest。
Themarquisede1’Hopitalcametosolicitmyinterestforthe
princedeSoubise，herlover。
Ireplied，thathismajestywould
ratherhavethemarechalforhisfriendthanhisminister；that，
infact，thedifferentappointmentshadtakenplace；andthat，if
thenamesofthepartieswerenotimmediatelydivulged，itwas
tosparethefeelingsofcertainaspirantstotheministry:madame
de1’Hopitalwithdrew，evidentlymuchdisconcertedatmyreply。
CertainlyM。deSoubisemusthavelosthisreason，whenhesupposed
thatthesuccessorofM。deChoiseulwouldbehimself，themost
insignificantprinceofFrance；heonlycouldsupposethathewas
equaltosuchanelevation。
Howeverthismaybe，hetookupon
himselftobehaveverymuchlikeanoffendedpersonforsomedays；
but，findingsuchalineofconductproducednogood，hecame
roundagain，andpresentedhimselfasusualatmyparties，whilst
Ireceivedhimasthoughnothinghadoccurred。
Ihadmoredifficultyinfreeingmyselffromtheimportunities
ofMessieursdeBroglieanddeMaillebois。
Ihadgiventoeach
ofthemasortofpromise；Ihadallowedthemtohope，andyet，
whenthetimecametorealizethesehopes，Itoldthem，thatI
possessedmuchlessinfluencethanwasgenerallyimagined；to
whichtheyreplied，thattheyknewmypowertoservethemwas
muchgreaterthanIappearedtobelieve。
Afterawhile，I
succeededindeadeningtheexpectationsofM。deBroglie，but
M。deMailleboiswaslongerehewouldabandonhispursuit。
When
everychanceofsuccesshadlefthim，hegavewaytosomuch
violenceandbitternessagainstM。d’Aiguillon，thatthedukewas
compelledtopunishhimforhisimpudentrage。
Iwillmention
theothercandidatesfortheministryatanotheropportunity。
ThecomtedelaMarcheandthecomtesseduBarry——Thecountessand
theprincedeConde——TheducdelaVauguyonandthecountess——
Provisionalminister——Refusalofthesecretaryshipofwar——Displeasure
oftheking——ThemarechaledeMirepoix——Unpublishedletterfrom
VoltairetoMadameduBarry——Herreply
ThecomtedelaMarchehadalwaysevincedthewarmestregardfor
me，andhesought，onthepresentoccasion，toberepaidforhis
attachment。
BothheandtheprincedeCondehadtheirambitious
speculationsinthepresentchangeofministers；andbothfancied，
thatbecausetheirrelation，theduke，hadgovernedduringthe
king’sminority，therighttotheseveralappointmentsnowvacant，
belongedasamatterofcoursetotheirfamily。
Thecounthad
alreadysenttosolicitmyinterest，throughthemediationof
madamedeMonaco，mistresstotheprincedeConde；and，asI
shrewdlysuspect，theoccasionalofhimself。
Finding
thismeasuredidnotproduceallthegoodheexpected，hecame，
withoutfurtherpreface，tospeaktomehimselfaboutit。
Unwilling
tocometoanopenrupturewithhim，Iendeavouredtomakehim
comprehend，thatthepolicyofthesovereignwouldneverpermit
hisplacinganyoftheadministrativepowerinthehandsofthe
princesofhisfamily；thathehadconsented，mostreluctantly，to
investingthemwithmilitarycommand，andthatitwouldbefruitless
tourgemore。
ThecomtedelaMarcheappearedstruckbythejustnessofmy
arguments；hereplied，
“Well，madam，sinceIcannotbeaminister，Imuste’engiveup
mywishes；but，fortheloveofheavenintreatofthekingto
bestowhisfavoursintheshapeofalittlepecuniaryaid。
Things
lookillatpresent；theymaytakeaworseturn，buthemay
confidentlyrelyonmyloyaltyanddevotion:thesupremecourts，
driventothelastextremity，willmakeastand，andprincesand
peerswillrangethemselvesunderthebanners。
Wewellknow
howmuchthisresistancewilldispleasehismajesty；Ipledge
myselfnevertoforsakeyourcause，buttodefenditwithmylife；
thatis，ifmypresentpressingnecessityformoneybesatisfied。
Howsayyou，madam；canyouprocureitforme？“
“VeryprobablyImaybeenabledtoassistyou，“repliedI；“but
youmustfirstinformmehowmuchwillsatisfyyou。“
“Oh，“answeredhe，carelessly，“somethinglessthantheminesof
Peruwillsuffice；Iamnotextravagant，and
merelyaskforso
muchasisabsolutelynecessary。
Inthefirstplace60，000
livrespaiddown，andsecondly，ayearlypaymentof200，000more。“
Thisdemanddidnotappeartomeunreasonable，andIundertook
toarrangethemattertotheprince’ssatisfaction，wellpleased
onmyownsidetosecuresoillustriousanallyatsocheapa
rate，Iprocuredtheassentofthekingandthecomptroller-general；
the60，000livreswerebestowedonthecomtedelaMarcheintwo
separatepayments，thepensionsettledonhim，and，stillfurther，
anannuityof30，000livreswassecuredtomadamedeMonaco；and
Imustdothecountthejusticetosay，thatheremainedfaithful
toourcauseamidsteverydangeranddifficulty；bravingalike
insults，opprobrium，andthetorrentofpamphletsandepigrams
ofwhichhewastheobject；infact，wehadgoodreasonfor
congratulatingourselvesuponsecuringsuchdevotionandzealat
sopooraprice。
TheprincedeConde，surroundedbyagreaterdegreeofworldly
stateandconsideration，wasequallyimportanttous，although
inanotherway。