hadrecentlygivenordersthatthethreeunclesandtwobrothers
ofJulieshouldberaisedbyrapidpromotiontothehighest
militaryrank；atthesametimethegrandalmonerinformedme
hehadreceivedhismajesty’sexpresscommandtoappointacousin
oftheyoungladytothefirstvacantbishopric。
Thesevariousreportsthrewmeintoatrainofpainfulanduneasy
reflections。
LouisXV。
hadneverbeforebestowedsuchmarksof
favouruponanyofthe。“
“Whatdoesyourmajestysay？“
inquiredI。
“Nay，letthecomteexplain，“criedLouisXV。
“Thekingobserved，mydearsister，“answeredcomteJean，“that
ladies——but，infact，Icanneitherexplaintheobservation，nor
wasitintendedforyou——soletitrest。“
HecontinuedforsometimetojestwithcomteJeanuponhis
supposedpassionforthefairdaughterofthecabinet-maker；and
theking，whilstaffectingtheutmostindifference，tookevery
painstoobtainthefullestparticularsastowherethispeerless
beautymightbefound。
Whenmybrother-in-lawandmyselfwerealone，hesaidtome，
“Iplayedmypartfamously，didInot？
Howeagerlythebait
wasswallowed！“
“Explainyourself，“saidI。
“Mygoodsister，whatIhavesaidrespectingthisperfectionof
lovelinessisnofiction，neitherhaveIatallexaggeratedeither
herperfectionsorherbeauty，andItrustbyheraidweshall
obliteratefromtheking’smindeveryrecollectionofthesyren
ofthe。“
“Heavengrantit，“exclaimedI。
“Mydearsister，“repliedcomteJean，“heavenhasnothingtodo
withsuchthings。“
Alas！
hewasmistaken，andProvidenceonlyemployedthepresent
occasionasameansofcausingustobeprecipitatedintothevery
abyssofruinwehaddugforothers。
Onthefollowingmorning，
Chamillycametometoinquirewhetheritwasmypleasurethat
thepresentschemeshouldbecarriedintoexecution。
“Yes，yes，’answeredIeagerly，“byallmeans，themorewedirect
theinclinationsofthekingforthepresent，thebetterforhim
andforuslikewise。“
Armedwithmyconsent，Chamillydispatchedtotheunhappygirl
that，whoseskillinsuchdelicatecommissionshadnever
beenknowntofail。
Notthatinthepresentinstanceanygreat
bribeswererequisite，butitwasnecessarytoemploysomeagent
whosespeciousreasoningandoilytongueshouldhavepowerto
vanquishthevirtuousreluctanceofthevictimherself，aswell
astoobtainapromiseofstrictsilencefromherfamily。
They
weresooninducedtolistentotheirartfultemptress；andthe
daughter，dazzledbytheglitteringprospectheldouttoher，was
inducedtoaccompanybacktoTrianon，wheretheking
wastosup，incompanywiththeducsd’AiguillonanddeRichelieu，
theprincedeSoubise，theducsdeCosse，deDuras，andde
Noailles，mesdamesdeMirepoix，deForcalquier，deFlaracourt，and
myself；mybrother-in-lawandChonwerealsooftheparty，although
notamongthenumberofthosewhosatdowntosupper。
Their
presencewasmerelytokeepupmyspirits，andwithaviewto
divertmefromdwellingonthepresumedinfidelityoftheking。
Wehadpromisedourselvesamostdelightfulevening，andhadall
comewiththeexpectationoffindingconsiderableamusementin
watchingthecountenancesandconductofthosewhowerenotaware
oftherealstateofthegame，whilstsuchaswereadmittedinto
myentireconfidence，weresanguineintheirhopesandexpectations
ofemployingthesimplebeautyofthemaidenofVersaillesto
crushtheaspiringviewsofmyhaughtyrivalofthe。
Thiswas，indeed，thepointatwhichIaimed，andmy
furtherintentionwastorequestthekingtoportionoff
mademoiselleJulie，sothatshemightbeeverremovedfromagain
crossingmypath。
Meanwhile，bywayofpassingthetedioushours，Iwenttosatisfy
mycuriosityrespectingthosecharmsofwhichcomteJeanhad
spokensohighly。
Ifoundtheobjectofsomanyconjectures
possessedofanuncommonshareofbeauty，setoff，onthepresent
occasion，byeveryaidthatasplendidandelaboratetoilette
couldimpart；herfeatureswereperfect，herformtalland
symmetrical，herhairwasinthericheststyleofluxuriance；but
bywayofdrawbacktosomanyadvantages，bothherhandsand
feetwerelargeandcoarse。
Ihadexpectedtohavefoundher
timid，yetexulting，butsheseemedlanguidanddejectedevento
indisposition。
Iattributedthelassitudeandheavinesswhich
hungoverhertosomenaturalregretsforsacrificingsome
youthfulpassionattheshrineofambition；butIwasfarfrom
guessingthetruth。
HadIbutsuspectedtherealcause！
butI
contentedmyselfwithasilentscrutiny，anddidnotasI
shouldhavedonequestionheronthesubject，butpassedonto
thesaloon，wheretheguestswerealreadyassembled。
Theevening
passedawaymostdelightfully；themarechaledeMirepoixexcelled
herselfinkeepingupacontinualflowoflivelyconversation。
NeverhadmessieursdeCosseanddeRichelieuappearedtoequal
advantage。
Thekinglaughedheartilyatthemanyhumoroustales
told，andhisgaietywasthemoreexcited，fromhisbelieving
thatIwasinutterignoranceofhisinfidelity。
Thechampagne
waspassedfreelyroundthetable，tillallwasoneburstof
hilariousmirth。
Athousanddifferenttopicswerestarted，and
dismissedonlytogivewaytofreshsubjectsmorepiquantthan
thepreceding。
Theking，inafitofgoodhumour，begantorelatehisadventures
withmadamedeGrammont；buthereyoumustpardonme，myfriend，
forsoentirelydidhismajestygivethereinstohisinclination
foraplainstyleoflanguage，that，althoughexcessofprudery
formednopartofthecharacterofanyoftheladiesassembled，
wewerecompelledtositwithoureyesfixeduponourplateor
glass，notdaringtomeettheglanceofthosenearus。
Ihave
littledoubtbutthatLouisXVindulgedhimselftothisextent
byakindofmentalvowtosettletheaffairwithhisconfessor
attheearliestopportunity。
Wewerestillattablewhentheclockstrucktwohourspastmidnight。
“Blessme！
solate？“
inquiredtheking。
“Indeed，sire，“repliedthemarechaledeMirepoix，“youragreeable
societydrivesallrecollectionoftimeaway。“
“Then’tisbutfitIshouldfurnishyouallwithmemoryenough
torecollectwhatisnecessaryforyourownhealth。
Come，my
friends，morningwillsooncallustoourdifferentcares，so
awaytoyourpillows。“