第10章

havewrittentomybrotherWilliamtosetoutwithoutdelayfor

Paris。

Yourswainwillbeeasilyinducedtomarryyou。

What

doyouthinkofthat？“

IgavecomteJeantocomprehend，bysigns，thatIleftmydestiny

inhishands，andhekissedmyhandsandwithdrew。

Theking

managedtostealafewminutestoconversewithme。

“Youdidnotintrustme，mysweetfriend，“saidhe，“withthe

circumstanceofyourhavingformerlyknowntheducdeRichelieu；

lessreservedonthesubjectthanyouwere，hetoldmehehadseen

youatthehouseofmadameLagarde，whoconsideredyouoneof

herdearestfriends。“

“Sire，“repliedI，“Iwastoomuchoccupiedwithyourmajesty，

tothinkofanyotherpersonintheworld。“

Myanswerdelightedhim，helookedatmeinthemost

graciousmanner。

“Youwouldalmostpersuademethatyouloveme，“saidhe，smiling。

“Indeed，yourmajesty，“saidI，“Ionlypraythatyoudesirethe

continuanceofmyaffection。“

“Inthatcase，“repliedhe，kissingmyhandwithfervor，“youdo

butpartakeofmytendernessforyou。“

Thesewordsflatteredmyvanity，andhereImustdeclarethatif

Ineverfeltforthekingthatviolentattachmentwhichistermed

love，Ieverentertainedforhimthewarmestesteem。

Hewasso

attentive，sokindtome，thatImusthavebeenamonsterof

ingratitudecouldIhavelookeduponhimwithindifference。

Oursupperonthisnightwasagainlivelyasthefirsthadbeen。

TheducdeRichelieuentertaineduswithseveralamusinganecdotes；

notthattheycontainedanythingverypiquant，buttheduke

relatedthemwell，andwewereallinthehumortobepleased，

andlaughedheartilyatwhathesaid。

ComteJean，whoseeye

constantlyfollowedme，appearedperfectlysatisfiedwithallI

saidordid。

Asfortheking，heseemedenchantedwithme，and

seemedwhollyoccupiedinwatchingmylooks，thathemight

anticipatemywants。

Aftersupper，inthewhich

followed，heexplainedhimselfintermswhichleftmenodoubt

howsecurelymyempireoverhimwasestablished。

Hadhebeen

lessexplicitonthesubject，theflatteringmarksoffavor，and

theadulatorycomplimentsIreceivedfromallonthefollowing

day，wouldwellhaveassuredmeofit。

Iwasnolongeranobscure

andfriendlessindividual，butthebelovedmistressoftheking；

Iwas，tousetheexpressionofLebel，anewsunwhichhadarisen

toilluminehorizonofVersailles。

Icouldnolongerdoubtmy

powerwhenIsawnoblepersonagespresentthemselvestosolicit

themostservileemploymentsaboutmyperson。

Amongstothers，I

mightinstanceacertainladydeSt。Benoit，whocontinuedfirst

ladyofmychamber，duringthewholetimeofmyregency；——my

justly-valuedHenriettebeingcontentedtotakethesecondplace

ofhonor。

Theducd’Aiguillon——TheducdeFronsac——Theduchessede

Grammont——Themeeting——Sharpwordsonbothsides——Theducde

Choiseul——Mesdamesd’Aiguillon——Letterfromtheducd’Aiguillon——

ReplyofmadameduBarry——MademoiselleGuimard——Theprincede

Soubise——Explanation——TheRohans——MadamedeMarsan——Courtfriendships

TheducdeRichelieu，whowasinhastetogotoGuienne，lostno

timeinpresentingtometheducd’Aiguillon。

Hewasnotyoung，

buthandsomeandwellmade，withmuchamiabilityandgreat

courage。

Asincerefriend，noconsiderationcouldweakenhis

regard；anadversarytobedreaded，noobstaclecouldrepresshis

boldness。

Hisenemies——andamongstthemheincludedthewhole

magistracy——hisenemies，Isay，haveusedhimshamefully，buthe

treatedthemtooillforthemtobebelievedinanythingtheysay

ofhim。

Ifhewereambitious，hehadtheexcuseofsuperiormerit，

andifheshowedhimselftoosevereinoneparticular，itproceeded

fromanenergyofmindwhichdidnotallowhimtohavemore

pityforothersthantheyhadforhim。

Donot，myfriend，think

thattheattachmentIhadforhimcantransportmebeyondjust

limits。

Sinceheisinhisgrave，myillusions，ifIhadany，have

dissipated。

Ionlygivetomydeceasedfriendsthetributedue

tothem——truthandtears。

Butreally，withoutthinkingofit，I

amattributingtomyselfthesevirtueswithoutnecessity，forgetting

thatyouarenotoneofthosewhowouldfainrendermeasblack

aspossibleintheeyesofposterity。

Inproportionasthefirstsightoftheunclehadprejudicedme

againsthim，somuchmorediditpropitiatemetowardsthenephew。

Isawinhimagenerousheart，andageniuscapableofloftyactions

whichyouwouldvainlyhavesoughtforinthemarechaldeRichelieu。

Nodoubtatthebeginningofourtheducd’Aiguillon

onlysawinmeawomanwhocouldbeusefultohisprojectsand

plans；butsoonhisheartjoinedthealliance，andadevotionof

calculationwassucceededbyavehementpassion，ofwhichIwas

justlyproud，asitsubduedtomychainsthemostaccomplished

ofcourtiers。

Ourfirstinterviewwaslively。

Themarechalandhesupported

theconversationwithmuchgaiety。

M。deRichelieu，asIhave

alreadytoldyou，hadneitherwitnorinformation，butpossessed

thateaseofthefirstcircles，thosemannersofhighbreeding，

thosecourtlygraces，whichoftensurpasswitandinformation。

“Mynephew，“saidhetotheduke，“madamecandomuchforus，

butwemustfirstdosomethingforher。

Withoutsupport，without

friends，shewillbelostatVersailles；letusbeherpartisans

ifshewillallowit，andletheryouthhavethebenefitof

ourexperience。“

Thetoneinwhichtheducd’Aiguillonreplieddelightedme。

He

saidhewasbuttoohappytoserveme，andbeggedmetorelyon

himasIwouldonmyself。

“But，“hecontinued，“butwehavetostrugglewithapowerful

party。

TheduchessedeGrammontandherbrotherarenotthe

personstogiveupthefieldwithoutstrikingablow。

But，madame，

bytheassistanceofyourhappyandlovelystar，Iwillenterthe

listswithpleasure，andifaglanceofyoureyeswillrecompense

aconqueror，Ishallbehe。“

“Oh，“exclaimedtheduke，“mynephew’sasecondAmadisin

gallantry，andofundauntedcourage。

Youwillbesatisfied

withhim，madame，muchmorethanwithmyson，whoonly

resemblesthefamilyinhisdefects。“

TheducdeFronsacwasjustlyhatedbyhisfather；hewaswhatis

calledadecidedscamp，withoutoneredeemingpointorvirtue。

Dissipatedwithoutagreeableness，acourtierwithoutaddress，a

soldierwithoutcourage，hethoroughlydeservedhisbadreputation。

Hewasnothated，becausehatredimpliesaspeciesofhonor，buthe

wasuniversallydespised。

Hisfatherhatedhim；hehatedhisfather。

Thereciprocitywasedifying。

IhaveoftenseentheducdeFronsac，

andalwayswithdisgust。

Hehadincurredtheextremityof

punishment；whentryingtocarryoffabutcher’sdaughter，he

renderedhimselfguiltyofthetriplecrimesofarson，rape，and

robbery。

Thiswasthemostsplendiddeedofhislife，atleasthis

fathersaidso，theonlyoneinwhichhehadshown——guesswhat

for，myfriend，Iwillnotpenthecynicalwordmadeuseofbyhis

father。