yourcousin；requesthimtoquitthe
chateau，forshouldhe
remainthetruthwillbediscovered，andthen，myfriend，youare
lostpastmyendeavorstosaveyou。’
“LessgenerousthanmadameBoncault，Iconsentedtofollowher
advice。
However，Ihaveneverforgottenhergenerousdevotion；
andnowthattheopportunityhaspresenteditselfofprovingmy
gratitude，Ibeseechofyou，mydearcountess，toaidmeinthe
dischargeofmydebtofgratitude。“
AsmadamedeForcalquierfinishedspeaking，Ithrewmyselfinto
herarms。
“Fromthismoment，“criedI，“madameBoncaultismy
dearandesteemed；andifIhaveanyinfluenceover
themindoftheking，sheshallbeappointedladyinwaitingto
ouryoungprincess。
Suchawomanisatreasure，andIheartily
thankyouforhavingmentionedhertome。“
MarriageofmadameBoncault——ThecomtedeBourbonBusset——Marriage
ofcomted’Hargicourt——DisgraceofthecomtedeBroglie——Heis
replacedbyM。Lemoine——Thekingcomplainsofennui——Conversations
onthesubject——EntryintoParis
SpiteofthemeritofmadameBoncault，andthemanyeulogiumsI
bestowedonherwhilstrelatingherhistorytotheking，Icould
notimmediatelyobtainthepostmadamedeForcalquierhadrequested
forthisparagonoffriends。
Hismajestyrepliedtomebysaying，
thatnodoubtsomanyvirtuesmeritedahighreward，butthat
eremadameBoncaultcouldbeappointedladyinwaitingtohis
granddaughter，shemustbepresentedatcourtundersomeother
namethantheoneshenowbore。
“Oh，ifthatbeall，sire，“’repliedI，“itwillsoonbeeffected。
Ladieswhohavethegoodfortunetopossessarichdowryand
powerfulfriendsneedneverlookfarforachoiceofhusbands。
OnlyletmadameBoncaulthavereasontoreckonuponyourpatronage，
andshewillhavenolackofadmirers。“
Theking，alwaysreadytoobligeme，causedittobeunderstood
throughoutthechateauthathewasdesirousofseeingmadame
Boncaultwellestablished，ashehaditincontemplationtoconfide
toheraplaceofgreattrust。
Immediatelyascoreofsuitors
presentedthemselves；thepreferencewasgiventothecomtede
BourbonBussetasthepersonmostcalculatedineveryrespectto
answerourpurpose；hepossessedelegantmanners，anunblemished
reputation，andadescentsoillustriousastobetracedevento
thereigningfamily。
Nosoonerwerethecelebrationsofthis
marriageover，thanIprocuredtheformalappointmentofmadame
deBourbonBussettothepostofladyinwaitingtothenew
princess。
Thisnominationtendedgreatlytoincreasethehigh
opinionentertainedofthejudgmentanddiscriminationofthe
comtessedeForcalquier，andyoumayeasilybelieve，fromthef
friendshipIborethislady，thatIfullyenteredintohertriumph
ontheoccasion。
WhenthecomtessedeBourbonBussetcametoreturnmeher
acknowledgmentsforwhatIhaddone，sheaccompanieditwitha
requestforafreshinterferenceonmypart:thiswastoobtain
forherhusbandthetitleofdukeandpeer。
AccordinglyI
mentionedherwishestotheking，observingatthesametimehow
verysurprisingitwasthatonesonearlyrelatedtothehouseof
Bourbonshouldnothavereachedthehonorsoftheducalpeerage:
towhichLouisXVreplied，thathehadnodesiretoincreasethe
numberofprincesoftheblood，ofwhomtherewerequitesufficient
oflegitimatebirthwithoutplacingtheillegitimateuponthesame
footing；thatLouisXIVhadbeenasufficientwarningofthefolly
ofactingtooindulgentlytowardstheselatter，whowereonlyso
manyadditionalenemiestotheroyalauthority。
ToallthisI
answered，thatitwasnotfittingtotreatthefamilyofBourbon
Busset，howeverillegitimatemightbeitsorigin，asthoughit
merelybelongedtothe，etc。；butmyarguments
wereinvain，and，astheproverbsays，“Italkedtothewind。“
Myfriendsrecommendedmenottopressthesubject，andthematter
endedthere。
However，inordertosmooththerefusalasmuchas
possible，IprocuredM。deBourbonBussettheappointmentoffirst
gentlemanushertotheyoungprince。
Theestablishmentofthecomtessed’Artoiswasnowformed。
M。
deCheglus，bishopofCahors，hadthepostoffirstalmoner；and
strangetosay，althoughaprelate，wasamanofirreproachable
virtue；hehadlittlewitbutstrongsense，andwasbetterknown
byhismanycharitabledeedsthanbythebrilliancyofhis
sayings。
Hewaseminentlysuitedfortheofficenowconferredon
him；andthosewhoknewhimbestweretheleastsurprisedtofind
thenominationhadfallenonhim。
Ialsoprocuredapostintheestablishmentoftheyoungcouple
formysister-in-law，thecomtessed’Hargicourt。
Hermaiden
namewasFumel，anancientfamilyinGuienne，andM。deFumel，
herfather，wasgovernorofthechateauTrompetteatBordeaux。
Thismarriagehadatfirstencounteredmanydifficultiesfromthe
deadlyhatredwhichexistedinthechateauagainstus。
Comte
Jean，perceivingthatthingsweregoingagainstus，appliedto
thekinghimselfforassistanceintheaffair。
LouisXVcould
notendurehim，buthisdislikewasmanifestedonlybyanuneasy
timidityinhispresence，andhefreelygrantedanyrequestthat
wouldthesoonestfreehimfromhispresence。
Thekingacted
uponthesameprincipleinthepresentconjuncture；hebestowed
amillionoflivresuponthecomted’Hargicourt，thatistosay，
500，000livrestobeemployedinpayingthedebtsofthecomtede
Fumel，andinfreeinghisestatesfromadowryof60，000livresto
bepaidtohisdaughteronhermarriage，withvariousother
clearancesandpayments；besidesthismybrother-in-law，comte
d’Hargicourt，wasappointedcaptainintheprince’sSwissguards，
oneofthemosthonorablecommissionsthatcouldhavebeen
conferredonhim。
ThecomtedeCrusselandtheprinced’Heninwerenamedcaptains
oftheguardtoM。d’Artois。
Thisprinced’Heninwasofsuch
diminutivestaturethathewassometimesstyled，bywayofjest，
the“princeofdwarfs，““thedwarfofprinces。“
Hewasthe
belovednephewofthemarechaledeMirepoix，whosefondness
couldnotsupplyhimwiththesensehesogreatlyneeded；hewas
besidesveryprofligate，andcontinuallyrunningintosome
difficultyorotherbyhiseagerpursuitafterpleasure。
Itis
relatedofhim，thattheducdeLauragnais，weariedwithseeing
theprinced’Heninforeverflutteringabouthismistress，
mademoiselleArnoult，drewupaconsultation，toinquirewhether
itwerepossibletodieofennui:thishesubmittedtoseveral
physiciansandcelebratedlawyers，whohavingunitedinreplying
affirmatively，hecausedtheconsultationwithitsanswertobe
forwardedtotheprinced’Henin，warninghimhenceforwardto
ceasehisvisitstomademoiselleArnoult；or，intheeventofher
death，hewouldcertainlybetakenupasapartyconcernedin
effectingit。
Theoppositepartywasnowmoreirritatedthaneverbythemany
placesandemploymentsIcausedtobegiveneithertomyown
friends，ortothoseforwhomtheysolicitedmyinterest。
The
duchessedeGrammont，flatteringherselfthatshemightnowtake
thefieldagainstmewithadvantage，arrivedinParisonefine
morningfromChanteloup。
Thoseaboutmewerefullofwrath，I
knownotforwhy，atherarrival，butIexplainedtothem，that
theyweremistakeninsupposingmadamedeGrammontanexile；she
hadvoluntarilyaccompaniedherbrotherintohisretreat，andwhen
thatwasnolongeragreeabletohershereturnedtoParis。
However，
herjourneydidneithergoodnorharm；shehadmanyinvitations
tofetesgiveninhonorofherself，wasfrequentlyaskedtodinners，
balls，etc。，butthatwasall；nopersonsettheirwitstoworkto
reinstateherinthegoodgracesoftheking。
Isooncomprehended
theforlornhopesofmypoorenemy，andmyformeranimositysoon
gavewaytotheplaywithwhichsheinspiredme。
Abouttheperiodofthemarriageofthecomtessed’Artois，an
individualofsomeeminencefellintodisgrace；thiswasthe
comtedeBroglie。
Thisgentleman，asyouknow，wasprivate
ministertoLouisXV，intrustedforsometimepastwithhis
correspondence，andaffectedtheairsofafavorite。
Hesolicited
uponthepresentoccasionthehonorofgoingtomeettheprincess
atthebridgeofBeauvoisin，arequestwhichwasgranted。
This
wasnotsufficientforhim；hebeggedforamonth’sleaveof
absence，withpermissiontoproceedtoTurin:thisdependedon
theducd’Aiguillon，whowasbynomeanspartialtothecomtede
Broglie。
Hesaidtomewhenspeakingofhim，
“Ifeelnoinclinationtoobligethisminister；onthecontrary，
hemaywaitlongenoughforwhathedesiresasfarasIamconcerned。
“Ifearhewillbegreatlyoffendedwithyou，“answeredI。
“Oh，nevermindthat，“repliedtheduke；“ifhegrowssullen
aboutit，whywell；ifheisloudandvehement，betterstill；
andshouldhisangerleadhimtothecommissionofanyactof
folly，dependuponitwewilltakeadvantageofit。“
AsIforesaw，thecomtedeBrogliewasdeeplyoffended，andwrote
totheducd’Aiguillonaletterfullofimprudentexpressions。
This