Shefeelsforyouasmuchesteem
asattachment，andisanxioustoproveitatany
opportunity。
Ibeseechyounottotreather
rigorously。
Thinkthatweonlyworktogetherfor
thegoodoftheking，andthatitwouldbeunjust
ofyoutohateusbecausewehaveendeavoredto
pleasethisexcellentprince。
Ihopethat，contented
withthisjustification，youwillnotrefusetogrant
methedoubleamnestywhichIaskofyourgoodness。“
Irepliedthus:——
“Yourletter，monsieurleduc，seducesmeno
morethanyourwords。
Iknowyouwell，and
appreciateyoufully。
Iwasignorantuptothis
time，thatamongstthedutiesofyouroffice，
certainsuchfunctionswereimposeduponyou。
Itappearsthatyouattendtothemaswellasto
others，andIsincerelycomplimentyouthereupon；
Ibegofyoutoannounceitinthe’CourtKalendar。’
Itwilladd，Iamconvinced，totheuniversalesteem
inwhichyouareheld。
“AstomadamedeLaugeac，sheisevenmore
insignificantthanyou，andthatisnotsayingmuch。
Ithankherforheresteemandattachment，but
candispensewithanymarksofthem；nogoodcan
comefromsuchanoneasshe。
Thus，M。leduc，
keepquietbothofyou，anddonotagainattempt
measureswhichmaycompromiseme。
Doyour
businessandleavemetomine。
“Iam，withalldueconsideration，
“Yourservant，
“COMTESSEDUBARRY“
Imentionedthistotheking，whoinsistedonreconcilingmewith
，whocameandknelttome。
I
grantedthepardon
sought，outofregardforLouisXV；butfromthatmomentthe
contemptIfeltforthedukeincreasedanhundredfold。
Conversationwiththeking——Marriageofthecomted’Artois——
Intrigues——Theplaceofladyofhonor——ThemarechaledeMirepoix——
ThecomtessedeForcalquierandmadameduBarry——Thecomtessede
ForcalquierandmadameBoncault
ThekingwasmuchannoyedattheindifferenceIevincedforall
statesecrets，andfrequentlyobservedtome，“Youarenotatall
likemadamedePompadour:shewasneversatisfiedunlessshe
knewallthatwasgoingon，andwaspermittedtotakeanactive
partineverytransaction；shewouldfrequentlyscoldmefornot
tellingherthingsofwhichIwasmyselfignorant。
Shewasat
thebottomofthemostsecretintrigues，andwatchedeveryturn
ofmycountenance，asthoughshesoughttoreadinmyeyesthe
inmostthoughtsofmymind。
Never，“continuedtheking，“did
womanmoreearnestlydesiresupremecommand；andsocompletely
hadshelearnedtoplaymypart，thatIhavefrequentlysurprised
hergivingprivateinstructionstomyambassadors，differing
altogetherfromwhatImyselfhaddictatedtothem。
Uponthesame
principleshemaintainedatvariouscourtsenvoysandministers，
whoactedbyherorders，andinhername；sheevensucceededin
obtainingthefriendshipofthegraveandaustereMarieTherese，
whoultimatelycarriedhercondescensionsofar，asonlytoaddress
themarchionessbythetitleof’cousin’and’dearfriend。’
Imust
confess，however，thattheseproceedingsonthepartofmadame
dePompadourwerebynomeansagreeabletome，andIevenprefer
yourignoranceofpoliticstoherincessantinterferencewiththem。“
ThiswassaidbyLouisXVupontheoccasionoftheapproaching
marriageofthecomted’Artois，theobjectofuniversalcabaland
courtintriguetoallbutmyself，whopreservedperfecttranquillity
amidstthegeneralexcitementthatprevailed。
Variousreasonsmadethemarriageofthisprinceamatterof
imperativenecessity。
Inthefirstplace，theopengallantryof
theyoungcounthadattractedacrowdofdisreputablepersonages
ofbothsexestoVersailles，andmanyscandalousadventures
occurredwithinthechateauitself；secondly，amotivestillmore
importantintheeyesofLouisXV，originatedinthecircumstance
ofneitherthemarriageofthedauphinnorthatofthecomtede
Provencehavingbeenblestwithanyoffspring。
Thekingbegan
todespairofseeinganydescendantsinadirectline，unless
indeedheavenshouldsmileupontheweddedlifeofthecomte
d’Artois。
LouisXVdislikedtheprincesoftheblood，andthe
bareideathattheducd’Orleansmightonedaywieldhissceptre
wouldhavebeenworsethandeath。
Manyallianceswereproposedfortheprince。
MarieJosephe，
infantaofSpain，wastheninhertwentiethyear，andconsequently
tooold。
TheprincessMarie-Francoise-Benedictine-Anne-Elizabeth-
Josephe-Antonine-Laurence-Ignace-Therese-Gertrude-Marguerite-
Rose，etc。，etc。，ofPortugal，althoughyoungerthanthefirst-
mentionedlady，wasyetconsideredaspasttheagethat
would
haverenderedherasuitablematchforsoyoungabridegroom。
ThedaughterofanyoftheelectoralhousesofGermanywasnot
consideredaneligiblematch，andtheprideofthehouseofBourbon
couldnotstooptosoignobleanalliance。
Therewasno
alternativelefttherefore，buttoreturntothehouseofSavoy，
andtakeasisterofthecomtessedeProvence。
Thisproposal
waswellreceivedbytheroyalfamily，withtheexceptionof
thedauphiness，whodreadedtheunitedpowerandinfluenceof
thetwosisters，ifcircumstancesshouldeverdirectitagainst
herselforherwishes；andIheardfromgoodauthority，that
boththeimperialMarieThereseandherdaughtermademany
remonstrancestothekinguponthesubject。
“Theempress，“said
LouisXV，oneday，“believesthatthingsarestillmanagedhere
asinthedaysofthemarquisedePompadourandtheducde
Choiseul。
Thankheaven，Iamnolongerunderthedominionofmy
friendandherpensionaries。
Ishallfollowmyowninclinations，
andconsult，inthemarriageofmygrandson，theinterestsof
FranceratherthanthoseofAustria。“
ThelittleattentionpaidbyLouisXVtotherepresentationsof
MarieTheresefurnishedmyenemieswithafreshpretextfor
ventingtheirspleen。
Theyaccusedmeofhavingbeenbribedby
thecourtofTurin，whichardentlydesiredasecondalliancewith
France。
Iwasmostunjustlyaccused，forIcanwithtruthaffirm，
thatthecomtedelaMarmora，ambassadorfromPiedmonttoParis，
neitherbywordnordeedmadeanyattempttointerestmeinhis
success。
Thekingwasthefirstpersonwhoinformedmeofthe
contemplatedmarriage，andmyonlyfaultifitcouldbecalled
onewashavingapprovedofthematch。
Morethanoneintriguewassetonfootwithinthechateauto
separatetheprinces。
Manyweretheattemptstosowtheseeds
ofdissensionbetweenthedauphinandthecomted’Artois，as
wellastoembroilthedauphinwith。
Thefirst
attemptprovedabortive，butthefactionagainst
succeededsofarastoexcitealastingjealousyandmistrust
inthemindofMarieAntoinette。
Thisprincesswasfarfrom
contemplatingthemarriageofthecomted’Artoiswithanyfeelings
ofpleasure，andwhenhernewsister-in-lawbecameamother，she
bewailedherownmisfortuneinbeingwithoutchildrenwithall
thefeelingsofayoungandaffectionateheart。
Heavendidnot，
however，alwaysdenyhertheboonshesoardentlydesired。
Youwill，readilybelievethatthesameanxietyprevailedupon
theoccasionofthisapproachingmarriageashadexistedatthe
unionsofthedauphinandthecomtedeProvence，toobtainthe
variouspostsandplacestheambitionofdifferentpersonsled
themtodesireintheestablishmentofthenewlymarriedpair。
WishingonmyownparttoofferthemarechaledeMirepoixaproof
ofmyhighestimationofherfriendshiptowardsme，Iinquired
ofherwhetherasuperioremploymentaboutthepersonofthe
comtessed’Artoiswouldbeagreeabletoher？
“Alas！
mydearcreature，“repliedthegood-naturedmarechale，“I
amtoooldnowtobearthetoilandconfinementofanyservice。
Thepostofladyofhonorwouldsuitmeexcellentlywellasfar
asregardstheincomeattachedtoit，butbynomeansagreewith
myinclinationsasfarasdischargingitsfunctionsgoes。
Yousee
Iamperfectlycandidwithyou。
Listentome；ifyoureallywish
toobligeme，youcandothis——givethetitletoanother，and
bestowthepecuniarypartoftheengagementonme。
Inthat
manneryouwillbeabletogratifytwopersonsatthesametime。“
“Iwillendeavor，“saidI，“tomeetyourwishesasfarasI
possiblycan，andyoumaybeassuredthatyoushallderivesome
advantagefromthismarriage。“
AndIkeptmywordbyshortlyafterobtainingforthemarechale
asumof50，000livres；amostneedfulsupply，forthepoor
marechalehadtore-furnishherhouse，herpresentfittings-up
beingnolongerendurablebytheeyeofmodishtaste:shelikewise
receivedanaugmentationof20，000livrestoherpension。
This
proceedingwashighlyacceptabletoher，andthekingafforded
hisassistancewiththebestpossiblegrace。
Hecouldbegenerous，
anddothingswithagoodgracewhenhepleased。
Therefusalofthemarechale，whichitwasagreedweshouldkeep
secret，obligedmetocastmyeyesuponaworthysubstitute，and
IatlengthdecideduponselectingthecomtessedeForcalquier，
aladywhopossessedeverycharmwhichcancharmandattract，
joinedtoafaultlessreputation；and，settingasideherstrict
intimacywithmyself，thecourtenviousasitiscouldfindno
faultwithher。