harmonybetweenyou。
Asforyou，mylordduke，beatrueand
loyalsubject；andyou，mysweetcountess，useyourbestendeavors
toprevailonthekingtobefriendandassisthisfaithfulservant。“
Iallowedmyselftobemanagedlikeachild；andinsteadof
scratchingthefaceofM。deRichelieu，Iobtainedforhima
grantof100，000livres，whichthecourtbankerdulycounted
outtohim。
CHAPTERXXXII
Aprefatoryremark——MadameBrillant——ThemarechaledeLuxembourg’s
cat——Despairofthemarechale——Theambassador，Beaumarchais，and
theducdeChaulnes——thecomted’Aranda——LouisXVandhisrelics——The
abbedeBeauvais——Hissermons——Heisappointedbishop
WhenIrelatedtocomteJeanmyreconciliationwiththeducde
Richelieu，andthesumwhichthistreatyhadcostme，my
brother-in-lawflewintothemostviolentfury；hestyledthe
marechalaplundererofthepublictreasury。
Wellmaythescripture
tellusweseethemoteinourneighbor’seye，butregardnot
thebeamwhichisinourowneye。
Iwascompelledtoimpose
silenceoncomteJean，orintheheightofhisragehewould
haveofferedsomeinsulttotheoldmarechal，whoalreadymost
heartilydislikedhimforthefamiliarityofhistoneandmanner
towardshim。
Ididallinmypowertokeepthesetwoenemies
fromcomingineachother’sway，counselledtothatbythe
marechaledeMirepoix，whoselineofpoliticswasofthemost
pacificnature；besidesIhadnoinclinationforawarcarried
oninmyimmediatevicinity，and，formyownpart，sofarfrom
wishingtoharmanyone，Iquicklyforgaveeveryaffrontoffered
tomyself。
Buthold！
IperceiveIamrunningonquitesmoothlyinmyown
praise。
Indeed，myfriend，itiswellIhavetakenthatoffice
uponmyself，forIfearnooneelsewouldundertakeit。
The
mostatrociouscalumnieshavebeeninventedagainstme；Ihave
beenvilifiedbothinproseandverse；and，amongstthegreat
numberofpersonsonwhomIhaveconferredthegreatestobligations，
nonehasbeenfoundwithsufficientcourageorgratitudetostand
forwardandundertakemydefence。
Idonotevenexceptmadamede
Mirepoix，whoseconducttowardsmeinformerdayswasmarkedby
themoststudiedattention。
Shecametomeoneevening，witha
faceofgrief。
“Mercyuponme，“criedI，“whatailsyou？“
“Alas！“
repliedshe，inapiteoustone，“Ihavejustquitteda
mostafflictedfamily；theirlossisheavyandirreparable。
The
marechaledeLuxembourgiswellnighdistractedwithgrief。“
“Goodheavens！“
exclaimedI，“cantheduchessedeLauzunbedead？“
“Alas！
no。“
“PerhapspoormadamedeBoufflers？“
“No，myfriend。“
“Whothenistheobjectofsomuchregret？
Speak；tellme。“
“MadameBrillant。“
“Afriendoftheoldmarechale’s？“
“Morethanafriend，“repliedmadamedeMirepoix；“herfaithful
companion；heronlycompanion；heronlybelovedobject，since
herloversandadmirersceasedtooffertheirhomage——inaword，
hercat。“
“Blessme！“
criedI，“howyoufrightenedme！
Butwhatsortofa
catcouldthishavebeentocausesomanytears？“
“IsitpossiblethatyoudonotknowmadameBrillant，atleast
byname？“
“Iassureyou，“saidI，“thisistheveryfirsttimeIeverheard
hername。“
“Well，ifitbeso，Iwillbecarefulnottorepeatsuchathing
tomadamedeLuxembourg；shewouldneverpardonyouforit。
Listen，mydearcountess，“continuedmadamedeMirepoix；“under
thepresentcircumstancesitwillbesufficientforyoutowrite
yournameinhervisiting-book。“
Iburstintoafitoflaughter。
“Itisnojoke，Ipromiseyou，“exclaimedthemarechale；“the
deathofmadameBrillantisapositivecalamitytomadamede
Luxembourg。
LettersofcondolencewillarrivefromChanteloup；
madameduDeffantwillbeindeepaffliction，andthevirtuesand
amiablequalitiesofthedeceasedcatwilllongfurnishsubjects
ofconversation。“
“Itwasthenasingularlyengaginganimal，Ipresume？“
“Onthecontrary，oneofthemoststupid，disagreeable，and
dirtycreaturesofitskind；butstillitwasthecatofmadame
deLuxembourg。“
Andafterthisfuneralorationthemarechaleandmyselfburst
intoaviolentfitoflaughter。
Whenthekingjoinedus，Iacquaintedhimwiththisdeath，andmy
conversationwiththemarechale。
LouisXVlistenedtomyrecital
withanairofgravity；whenIhadfinished，hesaid，“Thepresent
opportunityisadmirablyadoptedforsatisfyingtherequestofone
ofmyretinue，oneofthebest-heartedcreatures，andatthesame
timeoneofthesilliest
meninthekingdom。“
“Ibegyourpardon，sire，“criedI，“butwhatishisname？
For
thedescriptionissogeneral，thatIfearlestIshouldbeat
alosstorecollectofwhomyouarespeaking。“
“Youareveryill-natured，“criedLouisXV，“andIhardlyknow
whetheryoudeservetobegratifiedbyhearingthenameofthe
poorgentleman:however，Iwilltellittoyou；heiscalledCorbin
delaChevrollerie。
Afewdayssincethissimpleyoungman，
havingsolicitedanaudience，informedme，thathewasdesirous
ofmarryingarichheiress，butthattheyounglady’sfamilywere
resolved
sheshouldmarrynoonewhowasnotpreviouslyemployed
asanambassador。
Iexpressedmysurpriseatsostrangeacaprice，
butthepoorfellowendeavoredtovindicatehisbride’srelations，
bystatingthatthattheywerewillingtoconsiderhimasmy
ambassadorifIwouldonlycommissionhimtocarrysomemessage
ofcomplimentorcondolence。
AccordinglyIpromisedtoemploy
himupontheoccasionofthefirstdeathormarriagewhichshould
takeplaceinaducalfamily。
Now，IthinkIcannotdobetter
thanmakehimthebearerofmyinquiriesafterthemarechale
deLuxembourg。“
Thisideastruckmeashighlyamusing，andIimmediatelydispatched
aservanttosummonM。delaChevrollerietothepresenceofthe
king。
Thisbeingdone，thatgentlemanpresentedhimselfwithall
thedignityandimportanceofonewhofeltthatamissionofhigh
momentwasabouttobeentrustedtohim。
Hismajestychargedhimtodepartimmediatelytothehouseofmadame
deLuxembourg，andtoconveyhisroyalmaster’ssincerecondolences
fortheheavylossshehadsustainedinmadameBrillant。
M。CorbindelaChevrolleriedepartedwithmuchprideand
self-complacencyuponhisembassy:hereturnedinabouthalfanhour。
“Sire，“criedhe，“Ihavefulfilledyourroyalpleasuretomadame
deLuxembourg。
Shedesiresmetothankyoumosthumblyforyour
graciouscondescension:sheisinviolentdistressforthesevere
lossshehasexperienced，andbeggedmyexcuseforquittingme
suddenly，asshehadtosuperintendthestuffingofthedeceased。“
“Thestuffing！“
exclaimedtheking；“surelyyoumeantheembalming？“
“No，sire，“repliedtheambassador，gravely，“thestuffing。“
“MonsieurdelaChevrollerie，“criedI，burstingintoaviolent
fitoflaughter，“doyouknowinwhatdegreeofrelationshipthe
deceasedmadameBrillantstoodtomadamedeLuxembourg？“
“No，madam，“repliedtheambassador，gravely，“butIbelieveshe
washeraunt，forIheardoneofthefemalesinwaitingsay，that
thispoormadameBrillantwasveryold，andthatshehadlived
withhermistressduringthelastfourteenyears。“
Thusfinishedthislittlejest。
However，LouisXV，whowas
extremelykindtoallabouthim，especiallythoseinhisservice，
shortlyafterrecompensedhissimple-mindedambassador，by
intrustinghimwithacommissionatonceprofitableandhonorable。
Anothereventwhichtookplaceatthisperiod，causednoless
noisethanthedeathofmadameBrillant。
Atthistime，mademoiselle
Mesnardwas，forhermanycharmsofmindandperson，thegeneral
ragethroughoutParis。
Courtiers，lawyers，bankers，andcitizens
crowdedaliketooffertheirhomage。
Frailasfair，mademoiselle
Mesnardreceivedallkindly，andtookwithgracioussmilesthe
richgiftsshowereduponherbyhervariousadorers。
Thefirst
noblemenofthecourt，knightsofthedifferentorders，farmers-
general，allaspiredtothehonorofruiningthemselvesforher。
Shehadalreadysatisfiedtheruinouspropensitiesofatleasta
dozenoflovers，whentheducdeChaulnesenteredthelists，and
wasfortunateenoughtoeclipseallhisrivals。
Hemightlong
haveenjoyedthepreferencethusobtained，butforanactofthe
greatestimprudenceofwhichalovercouldbeguilty。
Hewasso
indiscreetastoinviteseveralofhismostintimatefriendsto
supwithhimselfandMademoiselleMesnard。
Amongstthenumber
wasCarondeBeaumarchais，amanpossessedofthegraceofa
princeandthegenerousprofusionofahighwayman。
Caronde
Beaumarchaisattractedthefancyoftheficklemademoiselle
Mesnard，amutualunderstandingwassoonestablishedbetween
them，andinasnuglittlecottagesurroundedbybeautifulgrounds
intheenvironsofPerelaChaise，theenamoredloversfrequently