aprivateaudienceisveryindulgentsolongastherepresentation
lasts，butnosoonerhasthecurtainfallenthantheyindulgein
agreaterseverityofcriticismthanapublicaudiencewoulddo。
Andsoithappenedontheeveninginquestion；onecouplethad
particularlyexcitedthediscontentofthespectators，maleand
female；Iknownotwhatpropheticspiritinspiredthelines。
Theunfortunatecoupletwasproductiveofmuchoffenceagainst
thehusbandandloverofmadameFavart，forthegreaterpartof
thepersonspresentperfectlydetestedmypoorcousin，whowas
“toclipthewingsofchicanery。“
Favartmanagedtoescapejust
intime，andtheabbedeVoisenon，whowasalreadynotinvery
highfavourwithhisjudges，wascompelledtoendurethefull
weightoftheircomplaintsandreproaches；everyvoicewas
againsthim，andevenhisbrethrenoftheFrenchacademy，departing
fromtheiraccustomedindulgenceuponsuchmatters，openly
reprimandedhimforthegrossnessofhisflattery；thepoorabbe
attemptedtojustifyhimselfbyprotestingthatheknewnothing
ofthehatefulcouplet，andthatFavartalonewastheguilty
personuponwhomtheyshouldexpendtheiranger。
“Iamalways，“criedhe，“doomedtosufferfortheoffencesof
others；everykindoffollyismadeapresenttome。“
“Haveacare，monsieurl’abbe，“exclaimedd’Alembert，whowas
amongtheguests，“haveacare！
menseldomlavishtheirgifts
butuponthosewhoarerichenoughtoreturntheoriginalpresent
inatenfolddegree。“
Thissomewhatsarcasticremarkwasmost
favourablyreceivedbyallwhoheardit，itquicklycirculated
throughtheroom，whilethepoor，oppressedabbeprotested，
withvehementaction。
Thefeteitselfwasmostsplendidlyandtastefullyconducted，
andmighthavesentthedifferentvisitorshomepleasedand
gratifiedinaneminentdegree，hadnotspiteandill-nature
suggestedtomadamedelaVauguyon，thatasthechancellorand
myselfwerepresent，itmustnecessarilyhavebeengivenwitha
viewofcomplimentingusratherthanmadamedeProvence。
She
evensoughttoirritatethedauphinessbyinsinuatingthesame
meanandcontemptibleobservations，andsofardidshesucceed，
thatwhenmadamedeValentinoisapproachedtoexpressherhopes
thattheentertainmentwhichshehadhonouredwithherpresence
hadbeentoherroyalhighness’ssatisfaction，thedauphiness
coollyreplied，“Donot，madame，affecttostylethisevening’s
feteonebestowedinhonourofmyself，oranypartofmyfamily；
’tistruewehavebeentheostensiblecauses，andhave，byour
presence，givenitalltheeffectyoudesired，butyouwillpardon
ouromittingtothankyouforanattention，whichwasinreality，
directedtothecomtesseduBarryandM。deMaupeou。“
photographoforiginalhandwrittennoteomitted
TRANSLATION
Heavens！
mydearfriend，howsadarethedays
whenIamdeprivedofthehappinessofpassingthetime
withyou，andwithwhatjoydoIwatchforthemoment
whichwillbringyoutome。
IshallnotgotoParis
to-day，becausethepersonIwasgoingtoseeis
comingThursday。
Asyouwillbegoingaway，Ishall
visitthebarracksinstead，forIbelieveyouapprove
oftheobject。
Adieu。
Iawaityouwithimpatience，
withaheartwhollyyours，which，inspiteofyour
injustice，couldneverbelongtoanyother，even
ifIhadthewish。
Ithinkofyouandthatwordof
yourswhichyouwillsurelyregret；andstillanother
regretisthatIamdeprivedofyou。
Thatisthe
watchwordofeachinstant。
THECOUNTESSDuBarry
AtLouvecienne，Noon。
MadamedeValentinoiscametomewithtearsinhereyestorepeat
thecruelremarkoftheprincess；themarechaledeMirepoix，
whoheardher，soughttoconsoleherbyassurances，thatitwould
innodegreeaffectherinterestatcourt。
“Nevermind，mygood
friend，“saidshe；“theprettybirdmerelywarblesthenotesit
learnsfromitskeeperlaVauguyon，andwillasquicklyforget
as
learnthem。
Nevertheless，thekingowesyourecompenseforthe
vexationithasoccasionedyou。“
ImmediatelythatIfoundmyselfalonewiththemarechale，Iinquired
ofherwhatwasthenatureofthereparationsheconsidered
madamedeValentinoisentitledtoexpectfromthehandsofhis
majesty。
Shereplied，“’Tisonyouraccountalonethatthepoor
countesshasreceivedherlatemortification；thekingistherefore
boundtoatoneforitintheformofapension。
Money，mydear，
moneyisasovereigncureatcourt；calmseverygriefandheals
everywound。“
Ifullyagreedwiththegood-naturedmarechale；and，whenIbade
thesorrowfulmadamedeValentinoisgoodnight，IassuredherI
wouldimplorehismajestytorepairthemischiefmypresencehad
caused。
Accordinglyonthefollowingday，whenthekingquestioned
meastohowfarIhadbeenamusedwiththefetegivenbymadame
deValentinois，Iavailedmyselfoftheopeningtostatemyentire
satisfaction，aswellastorelatethedisgraceintowhichshehad
fallen，andtoprayhismajestytobestowuponherapensionof
15，000livres。
“Uponmyword，“exclaimedLouisXV，hastilytraversingthechamber，
“thisfeteseemslikelytoproveacostlyonetome。“
“Nay，sire，“saidI，“itwasamostdelightfulevening；andyou
willnot，Ihope，refusemesuchatrifleforthosewholavished
somuchformyamusement。“
“Well，“criedhe，“beitso；thecountessshallhavethesumsherequires，butupon
conditionthatshedoesnotapplytomeagain。“
“Reallyyourmajestytalks，“repliedI，“asthoughthistrifling
pensionweretobedrawnfromyourownpurse。“
Thekingbegantosmileatmyremark，likeamanwhoknowshimself
foundout。
Iknewhimwellenoughtobecertainthat，hadhe
intendedthepensionawardedmadamedeValentinoistocomefrom
hisownprivypurse，hewouldscarcelyhaveconsentedtobestowing
onhermorethanashabbypittanceofathousandlivresperannum。
Itisscarcelypossibletoconceiveanideaoftheexcessive
economyofthisprince。
Iremember，thatuponsomegreatoccasion，
whenitwasrequisitetosupportthepublictreasury，whichwas
failing，byatimelycontribution，theducdeChoiseulofferedthe
loanof250，000livres，whilsttheking，totheastonishmentof
allwhoheardhim，confinedhisaidto2，000louis！
Themarechale
deMirepoixusedtoassertthatLouisXVwastheonlyprinceof
hislinewhoeverknewthevalueofacrown。
Shehad，
nevertheless，managedtoreceiveplentyfromhim，although，I
mustown，thatshehadhadnosmalldifficultyinobtainingthem；
nordidthekingpartwithhisbelovedgoldwithoutmanyasigh
ofregret。
AtthehouseofmadamedeValentinoisImetthemarechalede
Luxembourg，whohadrecentlyreturnedfromChanteloup。
There
reallywassomethingofinfatuationinthegeneralmaniawhich
seemedtoprevailoftreatingtheking’ssentimentswith
indifference，andconsideringhisdispleasureasanaffairofno
consequence。
BeforethedisgraceoftheChoiseulstheywere
equallytheobjectsofmadamedeLuxembourg’smostbitterhatred，
norwasmadamedeGrammontbackwardinreturningheranimosity；
yet，strangeasitmayseem，nosoonerwastheChoiseulparty
exiled，thanthemarechaleneverrestedtillshesawhername
engravedonthefamouspillarerectedtoperpetuatetheremembrance
ofallthosewhohadvisitedtheexiles。
Sheemployedtheir
mutualfriendstoeffectareconciliation，whichwasatlength
effectedbyletter，andafriendlyembraceexchangedbyproxy。
Thesepreliminariesover，themarechalecametothekingtomake
therequesttowhichhehadnowbecomeaccustomed，butwhichdid
notthelessamusehim。
OfcourseLouisXVmadenohesitationin
grantinghertherequestshesolicited。
Speakingtomeofthe
subject，hesaid，“ThemeetingofmadamedeGrammont
andthemarechaldeLuxembourgmustindeedbeanoverpowering
sight；Ionlytrustthesetwoladiesmaynotdropthemasktoo
soon，andbiteeachother’searwhiletheyareembracing。“
MadamedeLuxembourg，daughteroftheducdeVilleroi，hadbeen
firstmarriedtotheducdeBoufflers，whosebrowsshehelpedto
adornwithotherornamentsthantheducalcoronet；norwhilsther
youthandbeautylastedwasshelessgeneroustohersecond
husband:shewasgenerallyconsideredamostfascinatingwoman，
fromthelovelinessofherpersonandthevivacityofhermanners；
butbehindaneverreadywit，lurkedthemostimplacablemalice
andhatredagainstallwhocrossedherpathorpurpose。
Asshe
advancedinlifeshebecamemoreguardedandcircumspect，until
atlastshesetherselfupasthearbitressofhighlife，andthe
youthfulpartofthenobilitycrowdedaroundher，tohearthe
lessonsofherpastexperience。
Bythenumberandbythepower