第5章

“Well，sir，whatthinkyouofourcelestialbeauty？“

“Sheisworthyofathrone，“repliedLebel，bendinghishead

beforeme，andtakingmyhand，whichhepressedrespectfullyto

hislips。

Thisreplywas，perhaps，inadvertentlymade，butItook

itasagoodaugury。

“Yes，“addedLebel，“youarethemostlovely

creatureIevermet，thoughnooneismoreinthehabitofseeing

handsomefemalesthanmyself。“

“Andofcausingthemtobeseenbyothers，“repliedcomteJean。

ThiswasanopeningwhichwasnotfollowedupbyLebel。

His

firstenthusiasmhavingpassed，hemeasuredmefromheadtofoot，

asifhewouldtakeanaccuratedescriptionofmyperson。

FormypartIbegantosupportthelooksofLebelwithmoreassurance。

Hewasamanofnoparticular“markorlikelihood，“buthadmade

hisway。

LivingatVersailleshadgivenhimacertainairofeasy

impertinence，butyoucouldnotdiscoveranythingdistinguished

inhismanners，nothingwhichconcealedhishumbleextraction。

The

directionofthegavehimmuchinfluencewiththe

king，whofoundtheconvenienceofsuchaman，whowaswilling

totakeuponhimselfallthedisagreeablepartofhisclandestine

amours。

Hisdutiesplacedhimincontactwiththeministers，the

lieutenantofpolice，andthecomptroller-general。

Thehighest

nobilitysoughthisfriendshipwithavidity。

Theyallhadawife，

asister，adaughter，whomtheywishedtomakethefavorite

sultana；andforthisitwasnecessarytogettheearofLebel。

Thus，underalibertineprince，thedestiniesofFrancewere

atthemercyofa。

Ishouldtellyou，however，thatIneverhadoccasionbutto

speakwellofhim，andthatIhavetheutmostgratitudeforall

hedidforme。

Theattachmenthetestifiedonourfirstmeeting

hasneverbeenaltered。

Hegavemehisprotectionasfarasit

wasnecessaryforme，andwhenthefavorofthekinghadaccorded

tomeastation，whenceallthecourtsoughttohurlme，Lebel

secondedmewithallhispowerinmyeffortstopreserveit。

I

willsay，thatitistohisvigilancethatIowetheoverthrowof

morethanoneconspiracyagainstme。

Hewasawarmandsincere

friend，andnotatallinterestedintheservicesherendered。

He

didagreatdealofgood，aswellasharm，inprivate。

Iknow

poorfamilieswhomhehasassistedwithhisownpurse，whenhe

couldobtainnothingforthemfromtheking，forLouiswasonly

prodigalinhispleasures。

However，wedined，andLebelpraisedmeincessantlytothevery

skies，andthatwithsomuchwarmth，thatIwasfearfulatonetime

hewouldfallinlovewithmehimself，andwouldnotresignmeto

another。

Thankheaven，Lebelwasafaithfulservant。

Afterdinner，whenweleftthetable，Lebelpaidmesome

compliments；thenpullingouthiswatch，hespokeofan

appointmentattheMarais，andleftwithoutsayingawordof

seeingusagain。

Atthisabruptdeparture，comteJeanandIlookedateachother

withastonishment。

AsforMorand，hewasoverjoyed。

“Well，comtesse，“saidhe，“beholdthenumberofyourslaves

increasedbyanillustriousadorer。

Youhavemadeaconquestof

M。Lebel，andIamcertainhehasgoneawaydeeplysmitten。“

“Ihopeweshallseehimagain，“saidcomteJean。

“Doyoudoubtit？“

“Assurehim，“saidI，“ofthepleasureitwillaffordusto

receivehimashemerits。“

Severalpersonsentered，andM。Morand，profitingbythebustle

whichtheirentranceoccasioned，approachedme，andsaid，ina

lowtone，

“Youareinpossessionofhisheart，willyouchargemewith

anymessagetohim？“

“M。Morand，“wasmyreply，“whatareyouthinkingof？

A

womanofmyrankthrowherselfatanyperson’shead？“

“No，certainlynot；butyoucansendhimakindword，orsome

affectionatetoken。“

“Icouldnotthinkofit；M。Lebelappearedtomeamostagreeable

man，andIshallbeatalltimesdelightedtoseehim。“

Morandaskednothingmorethanthis，andthereourconversationended。

Twodayselapsedwithoutbeingmarkedbyanyevent。

ComteJean

hadspentthemwithmuchanxiety。

Hewasabsent，when，onthe

thirdmorning，Henriettecamehastilyintomyroom。

“Madame，“she

said，“theofthekingisinthedrawing-room，

andinquiresifyouwillreceivehim。“

AtthisnewsIwassurprisedandvexed。

M。Lebeltookmeunawares；

mytoilettewasnotbegun。

Igaveahastyglanceatmymirror，“Let

M。Lebelcomein“；andM。Lebel，whowasontheheelsofmymaid，

enteredinstantly。

Afterhavingsalutedme，hesaid，

“Itisonlyyou，Madame，whomonemightthussurprise。

Your

beautyneedsnoornament，yourcharmsaredecorationsufficient。“

Irepliedtothiscomplimentwith(ofcourse)muchmodesty，

accordingtocustom。

Weenteredintoconversation，andIfound

thatLebelreallythoughtmethesister-in-lawofcomteJean；and

Iremarkedtheinvoluntaryrespectthatattendedevenhisfamiliarity。

Ilefthiminhiserror，whichwasmaterialtomyinterests。

He

talkedtomesometimeofmyattractions，ofthepartwhicha

femalelikemyselfmightassumeinFrance。

Butfearingto

compromisemyself，Imadenoreply，butpreservedthereserve

whichmycharacterimposeduponme。

Iamnotclever，myfriend，

Inevercouldconductanintrigue:Ifearedtospeakordowrong；

andwhilstIkeptatranquilappearance，Iwasinternallyagitated

attheabsenceofcomteJean。

Fortunesenthimtome。

Hewaspassingthestreet，whenhesaw

atourdooracarriagewiththeroyallivery。

Lebelalwaysused

itwhenhisaffairsdidnotdemandapositiveincognito。

This

equipagemadehimsuspectavisitfromLebel，andhecamein

opportunelytoextricatemefrommyembarrassment。

“Sir，“saidLebeltohim，whenheentered，“hereisthelady

whoseextrememodestyrefusestolistentowhatIdarenot

thusexplaintoher。“

“IsitanythingImayhearforher？“

saidthecomte，

withasmilingair。

“Yes，Iamtheambassadorofamightypower:youarethe

ministerplenipotentiaryofthelady，andwithyourleave，we

willgointoyourprivateroomtodiscussthearticlesofthe

secrettreatywhichIhavebeenchargedtoproposetoyou。

Whatsaysmadame？“

“Iconsenttoanythingthatmaycomefromsuchan

ambassador。“

ComteJeaninstantlyledhimintoanotherroom，andwhenthey

werealone，Lebelsaidtohim，“Doyouknowthatyoursister-in-

lawisamostfascinatingcreature？

Shehasoccupiedmythoughts

sinceIhaveknownher，andinmyenthusiasmIcouldnothelp

speakingofherinacertainquarter。

SohighlyhaveIeulogized

her，thathismajestydesiresaninterviewwithher，thathemay

judgewithhisowneyesifIamanappreciatorofbeauty。“

AtthesewordscomteJeanfeltamomentaryagitation，butsoon

recoveringhimself，hereplied:

“Iamexceedinglyobligedtoyou，sir，forthefavorabledisposition

youhaveevincedtowardsthecomtesseduBarry。

SheandIhave

asmuchrespectasloveforhismajesty；butmysister-in-lawhas

notbeenpresented，and，consequently，Icanscarcelyseehow

shecanbeallowedtopayherrespectstohismajesty。“

“Donotletthatdisturbyou；itisnotintendedthatsheshallgo

andpartakeofthemagnificenceofVersailles，butbeadmitted

toanintimacymuchmoreflattering。

Wouldyourefusetogrant

himthatpleasure？“

“Itwouldbeacrimeof，“saidthecomteJean，

laughing，“andmyfamilyhavetoomuchrespectfortheirmonarch。

Weshouldnotbecontentwithafugitivefavor。“

“Youmayexpecteverythingfromthecharmsofthecomtesse；Iam

certaintheywillhavetheutmostsuccess；butforme，Icangive

younoguarantee。

Youmustrunthechance。“

“Yourprotection，however，istheonlythingwhichencouragesmy

sister-in-lawinthisaffair。

Buttellmewhenisthismeetingto

takeplace？“

“Instantly。

ThekingisimpatienttoseethecomtesseandIhave

promisedthatshewillsupwithhimto-morroweveninginmy

apartmentatVersailles。“

“Howisshetobeintroducedtotheking？“

“Iamtoentertainfourofmyfriends。“

“Whoarethey？“

“’First，thebarondeGonesse。“

“Whoishe？“

“Thekinghimself。“

“Well，whonext？“

“TheducdeRichelieu。“

“Whoelse？“

“ThemarquisdeChauvelin。“

“Well？“

“TheducdelaVauguyon。“

“What，thedevotee？“

“Thehypocrite。

Butnevermind:themainpointis，thatyoumust

notappeartorecognizetheking。

Instructyoursister-in-lawto