第14章

ThenwewillshowtherebelsarealcomtesseduBarry；

andwhethermysister-in-lawbealadyofsixmonths’standingor

onlyofyesterday，thatisofnoconsequencetothekingofFrance。“

AfterthisconversationLebeldeliveredthemessagetotheduchesse

deGrammont，whotoldhimthatsheshouldwritetoToulousetothe

attorney-general。

ThiswaswhatthecomteJeanwishedandhewas

preparedforher。

But，youwillsaytome，wasitcertainthatyourassertedhusband

wouldmarryyou？

Weretherenodifficultiestofear？

None。

ComteGuillaumewaspoor，talented，andambitious；helikedhigh

living，andwouldhavesoldhimselftothedevilforriches。

He

washappyinmarryingme。

ComteJeanwouldnothaveventured

suchaproposaltohisotherbrother，thecomted’Hargicourt，who

hadmuchgoodsenseandgreatnotionsofpropriety，andwhoat

Versailleswascalledthe；adistinctionnotover

flatteringtohistwobrothers。

Thesameeveningthewholefamilyarrived，andwaspresentedtome

thenextday。

Mytwofuturesisters-in-lawfrightenedmeatfirst

withtheirprovincialmannersandsouthernaccent；but，aftera

fewminutes，IfoundthatthisGasconpronunciationhadmanycharms

withit。

MesdemoisellesduBarrywerenothandsomebutvery

agreeable。

OnewascalledIsabelle，whomtheyhadnicknamed

，theother’snamewasFanchon，andhernamehadbeen

abbreviatedto“。“

Thelatterhadmuchtalent，andeven

broughttoVersailleswithher，aninstinctivespiritofdiplomacy

whichwouldhavedonehonortoapractisedcourtier。

Shewould

havebeenthoughtsimple，unsophisticated，andyetwasfull

ofplotandcunning。

Iwassoonmuchpleasedwithher，andthekingbecameequally

so。

Hewasalwaysverymuchamusedathearinghertalk

(provincially)，orrecitetheversesofoneGondouli，apoetof

Languedoc。

Heusedtomakeherjumpuponhisknees；andaltho’

shehadpassedthefirstbloomofyouth，heplayedwithherlike

achild。

Butwhatmostparticularlydivertedtheking，wascalling

mysister-in-lawbyhernickname；“，“

hewasalwayssaying，“dothis，gothere，comehere。“

LouisXV

didthesamewithhisowndaughters:hehadamongstthema，

a，a，andtheyweretheladiesVictoire，

Adelaide，andSophie，whomhethuselegantlydesignated。

Iso

soonsawthetasteofthekingfornicknamesthatIgavehim

one，itwasLafrance。

Sofarfrombeingangrywithme，helaughed

totearseverytimethatIcalledhimso。

Imustconfess，

passant>，thattheanecdoteaboutthecoffeeistrue。*Iwillonly

justifymyselfbysaying，thatifIexpressedmyselfcoarselyit

wasnotinconsequenceofmyvulgareducation，butbecausethe

kinglikedsuchmodesofexpression。

*LouisXVhadahabitofmakinghisowncoffeeafter

dinner。

Onedaythecoffeeboiledoverthesidesofthe

pot，andmadameduBarrycriedout，“Eh，Lafrance，

toncafef——lecamp。“

(author)

Letmereverttomymarriage，whichwasperformedsecretlyatthe

parishofSaintLaurent。

Ibelievethekingknewofit，altho’he

neveralludedtoitanymorethanmyself。

Thusthemaliceofmy

enemieswascompletelybalkedinthisaffair。

Somedaysafterwards

comteJeanreceivedaletterfromtheattorney-generalofthe

parliamentofToulouse，M。themarquisdeBonrepos-Riquet。

This

gentlemaninformedmybrother-in-lawthathehadbeenappliedto，

toinstituteaninquiryatallthenotaries，andamongstallthe

registersoftheparishesfortheproofofmymarriage；thathe

warnedustobeonourguard，andthatwhateverdiligencehe

mightbedesiredtoemploy，heshoulddonothingwithoutinforming

us。

Wefelttheobligationofthisproceeding，andmybrother-in-law

thankedtheattorney-generalinmynameaswellasinhisown。

He

toldhimthatitwasnotatToulousethatthepartiesinterested

shouldmaketheirresearchesformymarriagecertificate，butat

Paris，eitherattheparishchurchofSaintLaurent，oratthe

notary’s，Lepotd’Auteuil。

M。deBonreposgavepartofthisreply

totheduchessedeGrammont。

Greatwasthebustleamongstthe

Choiseuls！

Ileaveyoutojudgeofthefuryoftheladyorladies，

forthecontessedeGrammontwasnolessirritatedthantheother，

alwaysprepossessedwiththeidea，thattopleasethekingwas

towrongtheirfamily。

ThecomtessedeGrammonthadnothalfthe

talentoftheduchesse，shehadonlyherfaults。

Sheshowedherself

sorudeandimpertinenttowardsme，thatIwasatlengthcompelled，

nottoexileherofmyownaccord，buttoallowthatsheshould

besoserved。

ButIanticipate，forthisdidnotoccuruntilthe

followingyear。

Thekingbyallhiskindnessesendeavoredtorecompensemefor

theseattacks:heappearedcharmedtoseemesurroundedbymy

husband’sfamily。

HeplacedamongstthepagesthevicomteAdolphe

duBarry，sonofcomteJean，ayoungmanofgreatpromise，but

whosedestinywassobriefandsounfortunate。

Myhusband’sfamily

testifiedmuchaffectionforme，asdidtheducd’Aiguillon，towhom

Idailyattachedmyself。

Hecarefullykeptfrommeallthatcould

givemepain，andtookathousandprecautionsthatnounpleasant

reportsshouldreachme。

Ifwepassedashorttimewithoutmeeting

hewrotetome，andIconfessIwasdelightedwithacorrespondence

whichformedmyownstyle。

MademoiselleChon，mysister-in-law，

andIalsowrotetoeachother，andthatfromoneroomtoanother。

Irememberthatoneday，havingbrokenaglassofrockcrystalwhich

shehadgivenme，Iannouncedmymisfortuneinsuchsolemnstyle，

andwithsowellfeignedatoneofchagrin，thattheletteramused

thewholefamily。

Thekingsawit，andwassomuchpleasedthat

hekeptit，andnextdaysentmeagoldengobletenrichedwith

stones，whichIgavetoChon，towhomitrightfullybelonged。

JourneytoChoisy——ThecomtesseduBarryandLouisXV——Theking

ofDenmark——TheczarPeter——FrederickII——TheabbedelaChapelle——

Anexperiment——Newintrigues——Secretagents-Thecomtesseand

LouisXV——Ofthepresentation——Letterofthecomtessetothe

ducd’Aiguillon——Reply——PrincedeSoubise

UptothisperiodIhadresidedconstantlyatVersaillesorParis，

accordingtothepleasureoftheking，buthadneverfollowedhis

majestyinanyofhisjourneys。

Hewishedtopasssomedaysat

hisdelightfulchateauatChoisy，situatedonthebanksofthe

Seine。

ItwasdecidedthatIshouldbeoftheparty，takingthe

nameofthebaronessdePamklek，aGermanlady，asthatwould

savemefromtheembarrassmentinwhichIshouldbeplacedwith

thekinginconsequenceofmynon-presentation。

Theprincede

Soubise，theducsdelaTrimoulle，d’Ayen，d’Aiguillon，andthe

marquisdeChauvelin，werealsotoattendtheking。

Theking

remainednearlythewholetimewithme，andthetomy

apartmentbecameafavornotaccordedtoeverybody。

Asmall

committeemetthere，andtalkedofeverythingexceptwhatis

rational；andIcanassureyouthatwithsuchconversationtime

passesveryquickly。

Onedaythekingenteredmyapartmentholdinginhishandaletter。

“Iamabouttoreceive，“saidhe，“avisitthatwillnotgiveme

muchpleasure。

MybrotherofDenmarkistraversingEurope，and

isabouttocometoFrance。

！

whatinconvenient

personsareyourtravellingkings！

Whydotheyleavetheir

kingdoms？

Ithinktheyareverywellathome。“

“Yes，sire，butthereisanexcuseforthem:theyarewearyof

admiringyourmajestyatadistance，andwishforthehappiness

ofknowingyou。“

Atthiscomplimentthekingrubbedhishandswithasmile，which

healwaysdidwhenhewassatisfied，andthensaid，

“Thereisnotintheheartsofforeignpotentatesthesame

affectiontowardsmypersonasyoufeel。

ItisnotmebutFrance

theywishtosee。

IrememberthatwhenveryyoungIreceiveda

visitfromtheczarPetertheGreat，PetertheFirstImeanto

say。