第27章

Isentto

requestthekingtocometome；andwhenheenteredIthrew

myselfathisfeet，entreatinghimtoappeasehisdaughteronany

terms，andtoletmegoaway，sinceIbroughtsuchtroubleinto

hisfamily。

Theking，irritatedatmadameAdelaide’sconduct，wenttoher，

andtoldher，inaprivateinterview，thathewouldmakecertain

matterspublicifshedidnotholdhertongue；andshe，alarmed，

ceasedherclamor，orrather，contentedherselfincomplaining

inalowerkey。

Ofthepresentation——ThekingandtheducdeRichelieuatcomtesse

duBarry’s——M。delaVauguyon——Conversation——Letteroftheduketo

thecomtesseduBarry——Reply——Thecountessunitesherselfwiththe

Jesuitparty——MadameLouise——MadameSophie——M。Bertin——Madame

deBercheny

ThisfitofangerofmadameAdelaidehadgivenadditionalcourage

tothecabal。

Itbegantoexclaim

andplotagainstmewith

redoubledforce；hopingthustointimidatetheking，and

effectuallybarmypresentation；butitonlytendedtohastenit。

Oneevening，whenthekingandthemarechaldeRichelieuwere

withme，hesaidtome，

“Astopmustbeputtotheseclamors。

Iseethatuntilyouare

presented，therewillbedoubtsperpetuallyarisingandtormenting

usonthesubject；anduntilittakesplaceIshallhavenoease。

！

Letustakethebestmeansinourpowerofreducing

thesemalcontentstosilence。“

“Sire，“repliedthemarechal，“makeyourwillpalpable，andyou

willseeallthecourtsubmit。“

“Yes，butmydaughters？“

“Mesdamesknowbetterthananypersonsthedeferencedueto

yourorders。“

“Iassureyou，“repliedtheking，“thatitwillbeanunpleasant

quarterofanhourformetopass。“

“Well，sire，thenchargeoneofuswiththemission:thebishop

ofSenlis，forinstance，orM。delaVauguyon。

Ifeelassured

thateitherofthemwillacquithimselfadmirablyinthebusiness，

withthepreviousunderstandingthatyourmajestywillsupport

himwithyourauthority。“

“Iwilldosomostassuredly；butitwillbebestnottouseit

butatthelastextremity。

Ihavenowishtobemadeabugbear

tomyfamily。“

“Astotheselectionofanambassador，“Iinterrupted，“Ibegit

maynotfallonM。deRoquelaure；hehasbeenworkingagainst

meforsometime。“

“WhynotsendM。deJarente？“

inquiredtheking。

“Ah，sire，“repliedtheduke，“becausewecannottrusthim；he

isagay*fellow。

MadameSophiemighttellhim，thatheonly

tookthepartofmadameduBarry，becausehepasseshislife

amongstpetticoats。“

Flippant，light-minded，unreliable。

Atthetimethisbook

waswritten“gay“didno