“from。
presumingtocastmyeyesoverwhatismeantonlyforhis
majesty’sgraciousperusal；itwouldbeanactoftreasonIamnot
capableofcommitting。“
“Then，sir，“returnedI，“Imayreasonablyconcludethatitiswith
yoursanctionandconcurrenceyourwifeintrigueswiththeking？“
“Ah，madam，“answeredthewilydeRumas，inasoftandexpostulating
tone，“troublenot，Iprayyou，thereposeofmyfamily。
Iknow
toowellthevirtueofmadamedeRumas，herdelicacy，andthe
severityofherprinciples；Iknowtoowelllikewisethesentiments
inwhichherexcellentparentseducatedher，andIdefytheblackest
malicetoinjureherinmyestimation。“
“Wonderfully，sir！“
criedI；“soyoudeterminetobelieveyour
wife’svirtueincorruptible，allthewhileyouareprofitingby
herintrigues。
However，IamtoocertainofwhatIassertto
lookonwiththeculpableindifferenceyouarepleasedtoassume，
whilstyourwifeisseekingtosupplantmeatthe
chateau；youshallhearofmebeforelong。
Adieu，sir。“
Sosaying，Iquittedtheroominsearchofthemarechale，to
whomIrelatedwhathadpassed。
“Andnow，whatthinkyouofsobaseahypocrite？“
askedI，when
Ihadfinishedmyaccount。
“Hewelldeserveshavingthemasktornfromhisface，“replied
she；“butgiveyourselfnofurtherconcern；returnhome，and
dependuponit，that，onewayorother，Iwillforcehiminto
thepathofhonor。“
IaccordinglyorderedmycarriageandreturnedtoVersailles，
where，onthesameevening，Ireceivedthefollowingletter
fromthemarechale:——
“MYDEARCOUNTESS，——Myeffortshavebeen
attendedwithnobettersuccessthanyours。
Well
maytheproverbsay，’Thereisnonesodeafashe
whowillnothear，’andM。deRumasperseveresin
treatingallIadvancedrespectinghiswifeas
calumniousfalsehoods。
Accordingtohisversion
ofthetale，madamedeRumashasnoother
motiveinseeingLouisXVsofrequently，butto
implorehisaidinfavorofthepoorinher
neighborhood。
Ireallylostallpatiencewhen
Iheardhimattemptingtoveilhisinfamousconduct
underthemaskofcharity；Ithereforeproceededat
oncetomenaces，tellinghimthatyoubadsomany
advantagesoverhiswife，thatyouscornedto
considerheryourrival:butthat，nevertheless，
youdidnotchoosethatanyupstartpretender
shoulddareasktosharehismajesty’sheart。
Toallthishemadenoreply；andasthesightof
himonlyincreasedmyindignation，Iatlength
desiredhimtoquitme。
Itrustyouwillpardon
meforhavingspokeninasqueenlikeamanner
asyoucouldhavedoneyourself。
“Adieu，mysweetfriend。“
Thisletterwasfarfromsatisfyingme，andIdeterminedupon
strikingadecisiveblow。
IsentforChamilly，andtreatinghim
withallthecontempthedeserved，Itoldhim，thatiftheking
didnotimmediatelygiveupthiswomanhemightprepareforhis
ownimmediatedismissal。
AtfirstChamillysoughttoappeasemy
angerbyeagerprotestationsofinnocence，butwhenhefoundI
alreadyknewthewholeaffair，andwasfirmlyfixedinmy
determination，hebecamealarmed，threwhimselfatmyknees，and
promisedtodoallIwouldhavehim。
Wethenagreedtotell
LouisXVsometaleofmadamedeRumasthatshouldeffectually
deterhimfromthinkingfurtherofher。
Inpursuancewiththisresolution，Chamillyinformedtheking，
thathehadjustbeeninformedthatmadamedeRumashadalover，
whoboastedofbeingabletoturnhismajestywhichwayhepleased，
throughtheinterventionofhismistress。
LouisXVwroteoff
instantlytoM。deSartines，tohaveawatchfuleyeoverthe
proceedingsoftheRumasfamily。
Thelieutenantofpolice，who
hadsomeregardforme，andastillgreaterportionoffear，was
faithfultomyinterests，andrenderedtoLouisXVthemost
horribleparticularsoftheprofligatemodeoflifepursuedby
madamedeRumas；assuringhim，thatfromeveryconsiderationof
personalsafety，hismajestyshouldshuntheacquaintance。
The
king，incensedatthetrickputuponhimbytheseseemingly
virtuouspeople，wasatfirstforconfiningbothhusbandandwife
inprison，butthismeasureIopposedwithallmypower；for，
satisfiedwiththevictoryIhadgained，Icaredfornofurther
hurttomyadversaries。
Icontrived，toinsinuatetotheworthy
pairtheproprietyoftheiravoidingtheimpendingstormbya
timelyretreatintothecountry，ahinttheywerewiseenoughto
followup，sothatIwasentirelyfreedfromallfurtherdread
oftheirmachinations。
AllthosewhohadservedmeinthisaffairIliberallyrewarded；
Marinreceivedforhisshare500louis。
Itistruehelostthe
confidenceofChamilly，buthegainedmineinstead，sothatit
willeasilybebelievedhewasnosuffererbytheexchange。
I
causedthemarechaletoreceivefromthekingasuperbTurkey
carpet，towhichIaddedacompleteserviceofSevresporcelain，
withabeautifulbreakfastset，onwhichwerelandscapesmost
delicatelyandskilfullydrawninblueandgold:Igaveheralso
twolargeblueporcelaincots，asfinelyexecutedasthoseyou
havesofrequentlyadmiredinmysmallsaloon。
Thesetrifles
costmenolessasumthan2800livres。
Ididnotforgetmy
goodfriendM。deSartines，whoreceivedacane，headedwithgold，
aroundwhichwasasmallbandofdiamonds。
AsforChamilly，I
grantedhimhispardon；andIthinkyouwilladmitthatwasbeing
sufficientlygenerous。
Afterhavingthusrecompensedthezealofmyfriends，Ihad
leisuretothinkoftakingvengeanceupontheducdeRichelieu
fortheparthehadacted。
Hecameofhisownaccordtothrow
himselfintotheveryheatofmyanger。
Hehadbeencallingon
themarechaledeMirepoix，wherehehadseenwithenviouseyes
themagnificentcarpetIhadpresentedherwith；thecupidityof
thedukeinducedhim，aftercontinuallyrecurringtothesubject，
tosay，thatwheremyfriendswereconcerned，noonecouldaccuse
meofwantofliberality。
“No，sir，“answeredI，“Iconsiderthat
nopricecansufficientlyrepaythekindandfaithfulservicesof
atruefriend，norcanbasenessandtreacherybetoogenerally
exposedandpunished。“
FromthetoneinwhichIspoketheold
marechaleasilyperceivedtowhatIwasalluding。
Hewaswise
enoughtobesilent，whilstIfollowedupthisfirstburstofmy
indignation，byadding，
“Forinstance，monsieurleduc，howcanIsufficientlyrepayyour
friendlyzealtosupplythekingwithanewmistress？“
“I，madam？“
“Yes，sir，you；Iamawareofallyourkindoffices，andonly
lamentmyinabilitytorewardtheminasuitablemanner。“
“InthatcaseIshallnotattempttodenymyshareinthebusiness。“
“Youhavethensufficienthonortoavowyourenmitytowardsme？“
“Bynomeansenmity，madam。
Imerelyadmitmydesiretocontribute
totheamusementoftheking，andsurely，whenIseeallaround
anxioustopromotethegratificationoftheirsovereign，Ineed
notbewithheldfromfollowingsoloyalanexample。
Theducde
Duraswaswillingtopresenthisownrelationforhismajesty’s
acceptance，theabbeTerrayoffershisowndaughter，ComteJean
hissister-in-law，whilstIsimplythrewahumbleandmodest
femaleinhismajesty’spath。
Icannotseeinwhatmyfault
exceedsthatofthegentlemenIhavejustmentioned。“
“Youreallyarethemostaudaciousofmen，“repliedI，laughing；
“Ishallbeobligedtosolicitatoholdyou
aprisonerinGuienne。
Uponmyword，yournephewandmyself
haveavaluableandtrustworthyfriendinyou。“
“Harkye，madam，“rejoinedthemarechal。
“Iknownot，inthe
firstplace，whetherhismajestywouldveryeasilygrantyou
this，whichmostcertainlyIdonotdeserve。
Youhaveservedmynephewandneglectedme；Iwishedtotrythe
strengthofmypoorwings，andIfind，likemanyothers，thatI
mustnothopetosoartoanyheight。“
WhilewewerethustalkingthemarechaledeMirepoixwasannounced。
Iwasstillmuchagitated，andsheimmediatelyturnedtowardsthe
duke，asiftoinquireofhimthecauseofmydistress:upon
which，
M。deRichelieurelatedallthathadpassedwithacool
exactitude
thatenragedmestillfurther。
Whenhehadfinished，Isaid，
“Well，madamelamarechale，andwhatisyouropinionofallthis？“
“Uponmyword，mydearcountess，“answeredmadamedeMirepoix，
“youhaveamplecauseforcomplaint，butstillthispoordukeis
notsoculpableasyouimaginehimtobe。
Hehaslargeexpenses
toprovidefor:andtoobtainthemoneyrequisiteforthemheis
compelledtolooktohismajesty，whosefavorhedesirestowin
byadministeringtohispleasures。“
“Alas！“
repliedtheduke，“canyoubelievethatbutforthe
pressureofunavoidablecircumstancesIwouldhaveseparated
myselffrommynephewandmyfairfriendthere？“
“Come，come，“criedthemarechale，“Imustrestorepeaceand