第6章

thiseffect。“

“Certainly；ifshemustsin，shehadbetterdosowithsomereason。“

Whilethesegentlemenwerethusdisposingofme，whatwasI

doing？

Alone，inmyroom，Iwaitedtheresultoftheirconference

withmortalimpatience。

ThecharacterIhadtoplaywasasuperb

one，andatthemomentwasabouttoenteronthestage，Ifeltall

thedifficultiesofmypart。

IfearedIshouldnotsucceed，butfail

amidtheinsultinghissesoftheVersaillesparty。

Myfearsatoncedisappeared，andthenIpicturedmyselfsitting

onathrone，magnificentlyattired；myimaginationwanderedin

alltheenchantmentsofgreatness；——then，asiffromremorse，I

recalledmypastlife。

TheformerloverofNicholasblushed

beforethefuturemistressofLouisXV。

Athousanddifferent

reflectionscrowdeduponme，andmingledinmybrain。

Iftolive

istothink，Ilivedawholeageinonequarterofanhour。

At

lengthIheardsomedoorsopen，acarriagerolledaway，andcomte

Jeanenteredmychamber。

“Victory！“

criedhe，embracingmewithtransport。

“Victory！my

dearJeanne，to-morrowyousupwiththeking。“

OnthisinformationIturnedpale，mystrengthforsookme，andI

wascompelledtositdown，orrathertofallintoachair；for，

accordingtoJeanJacquesRousseau，mylegsshookunderme

()。

This，however，wastheonlymovementofweakness

whichIbetrayed。

WhenIrecoveredalittle，thecomteJeantold

metheconversationhehadhadwithLebel。

Ijokedaboutthetitle

ofbarondeGonesse，andIpromisedtotreatthekingasif

ignorantofhisincognito。

Onethingonlymademeuneasy，and

thatwassuppingwiththeducdeRichelieu，whohadseenme

beforeatmadamedeLagarde’s；buttheideathathewouldnot

remembermegavemerenewedcourage。

Onsoimportantanoccasion，comteJeandidnotforgettorepeat

hisinstructionsoveragain。

Thesearenearlyhiswords，forI

thinkIlearntthembyheart。

“Rememberthatitisonyourfirstinterviewthatyoursafety

depends。

Lethimlearn，throughyou，thoseuttertendernesses

whichhavebeensoughtforhiminvainheretofore。

Heislike

themonarchofold，whowaswillingtopaythehalfofhiscrown

foranunknownpleasure。

Lebelisweariedinseekingeveryweek

fornewfruit。

Heisquitedisposedtoserveyou，andwillsecond

youinthebestmanner。

Youareabouttobecomethecentreof

attractiontoallcourtiers，andnoble。

Youmust

expectthattheywillendeavortocryyoudown，becauseyouwill

havecarriedofffromthemagemtowhicheveryfamilyhasits

pretensions。

Youmustatfirststandfirmlybeforethestorm，but

afterwardyouwillfindallenlistthemselvesunderyourbanner，

whohavenowife，sister，nordaughter；thatis，allwhohaveno

mistresstooffertotheking。

Youmustattachthesetoyouby

placeandfavor:theymustbefirstthoughtof，andthenyoumust

thinkofyourselfandme，mydeargirl。“

“Allthisiswellenough，“Ireplied，“butasyetIamnothing。“

“！

to-morrowyouwillbeeverything，“criedcomte

Jean，withhisdeterminedenergy。

“Butwemustthinkabout

thismorrow。

Makehaste，noblecomtesse；gotoallthemilliners，

seekwhatiselegantratherthanwhatisrich。

Beaslovely，

pleasing，andgayaspossible；thisisthemainpoint，andGod

willdoalltherest。“

Hepronouncedthisblasphemyinalaughingtone，andIconfessI

couldnothelpjoininginthelaugh，andthenhastenedtocomply

withhisdirections。

Aslightpreface——ArrivalatVersailles——<“Latoilette“>——Portrait

oftheking——TheducdeRichelieu——ThemarquisdeChauvelin——The

ducdelaVauguyon-Supperwiththeking——Thefirstnight——The

followingday——ThecuriosityofcomteJean——Presentsfromthe

king——Howdisposedof

Thechancesagainstoursucceedinginourenterprisewereatleast

athousandtoone。

Theseauponwhich，trustingtothefavorable

influenceofmyleadingstar，wewereabouttoventure，wasfilled

withrocksandshoalswhichthreatenedthepoormarinerwhoshould

directhisbarknearthem。

Inthefirstplace，Ihadtodreadmy

obscurebirth，aswellasthemannerinwhichmylifehadbeen

passed；andstillmorehadItofeartheindifferentreputationof

comteJean。

Therewasmorethansufficientinallthistodisturb

aheadfarstrongerthanIcouldboast。

However，thankstomy

thoughtfulness，notroublesomethoughtsinterferedtobreakmy

restonthenightprecedingadaysoimportanttome，andIsleptas

tranquillyasthoughuponwakingIhadnootheroccupationformy

timethanawalkontheboulevards，oradrivetotheBoisdeBoulogne。

ComteJean，however，hadpassedaverydifferentnight；foronce，

thewhisperingsofambitionhadovercomeevenhisnatural

indifferenceandcarelessness，andtiredoftossingupona

sleeplesspillow，hearoseatthefirstbreakofday，reproached

meforslumberingsolong，andallowedmeneitherpeacenor

resttillIjoinedhimdressedforourjourney。

Atlength，we

setoutaccordingtoouragreementwithLebel；Iwasclosely

muffledupinmylarge——thecarriagerolledalongtill

wereachedVersailles，wherewehadforthelastmonthengageda

lodging，whichmightbeusefultousinallevents；wealighted，

andaftervainlyseekingafewmoments’repose，proceededon

foottoLebel，inwhoseapartmentsweweretoattireourselvesin

asuitablemanner。

“Youarewelcome，“saidthecomte，“prayconsideryourselfas

athome。“

“Iacceptyouraugury，“repliedI，“itwouldbeamusingenough

tofindthatmyyoungprophethadpredictedrightly。“

“Wellthen，“saidmyconductor，laughing，“Irecommendyouto

manageasliponthestaircase，itwouldbetakingpossession

afterthemanneroftheancients。“

“No，no，Ithankyou，“answeredI；“nofallsifyouplease，they

arenotpropitiousinFrance。“

Whilstwewerethusspeaking，wewerecrossingalongsuiteof

chambers，andreachedtheoneatwhichwewereexpected。

We

knockedcautiouslyatadoor，whichwasopenedtouswithequal

caution。

Scarcelyhadweentered，thanLebelcameeagerlyforward

toreceiveus。

“Ah，madame！“

criedhe，“Ibegantofearyoumightnotcome，

youhavebeenlookedforwithanimpatience——“

“Whichcanhardlyequalmine，“interruptedI；“foryouwere

preparedforyourvisitor，whilstIhaveyettolearnwhoisthe

friendthatsokindlydesirestoseeme。“

“Itisbetteritshouldbeso，“addedLebel；“donotseekeither

toguessordiscovermore，thanthatyouwillheremeetwith

somecheerfulsociety，friendsofmine，whowillsupatmyhouse，

butwithwhomcircumstancespreventmysittingdownattable。“

“How！“saidI，withaffectedsurprise，“notsupwithus？“

“Evenso，“repliedLebel；andthenaddedwithalaugh，“and

Isitdowntosuppertogether！

Whatanidea！

No！

youwillfind

thatjustastheguestsareabouttositdownattable，Ishall

suddenlybecalledoutoftheroom，andshallonlyreturnat

thecloseoftherepast。“

Allthiswasbutofsmallimporttome。

Nevertheless，Iaffected

toregrettheunavoidableabsenceofLebel。

Infact，Ibelieve

thatthefirstbreathinspiredatcourtisfraughtwithfalsehood

anddeceit，entirelydestructivetoeveryfeelingofnaturalcandor。

Lebel，withthemostceremoniousgallantry，conductedmetoa

privatedressing-room，whereIfoundseveralfemaleswaitingto

assistmeatmytoilet；Iabandonedmyselftotheircares，which

were，indeed，mostskilfullyexercisedinmybehalf。

Theywrought

wondersinmyappearance，bathingmeaftertheEasternfashion，

adorningmyhairandperson，tillIissuedfromtheirhandsblooming

andbeauteousasanhouri。

WhenIreturnedtotheroominwhichLebelwasexpectingme，his

surprisewasalmostoverpowering。

“Youare，indeed，“exclaimedhe，“thenewsunwhichistorise

uponVersailles。“

“Excellent！“

criedI，laughingextravagantly，“butliketheplanet

youarepleasedtocomparemewith，Imustreservemysplendid

risingtillIhaveobtainedfreshpowersfromtheaidofnight。“*

*，

isthewittyreplyintheoriginal，butwhichitis

impossibletorenderfullyandpiquantlythroughthe

dilutionofatranslation——tr。

Thecomteentered，andjoinedhiscongratulationsuponthebeauty

ofmyappearance；allatoncethehasty，soundofabell，violently

pulled，washeard。