第32章

havebeensuspectedofanytendernesstowardsaparticularfemale，

everyspeciesofintriguehasbeeninstantlyputinrequisition。

Moreover，“hecontinued，“madamedeGrammontattacksyouwithtoo

muchobstinacynottomakemebelievebutthatshewouldemployall

possiblemeanstoattainherend。“

“Ah，“Iexclaimed，“becauseshehasparticipatedinyourfriendship

youarereadytosupporther。“

“Donotsaysoinaloudtone，“herepliedlaughingly；“herjoy

wouldknownoboundsifshecouldbelieveitwasinherpower

toinspireyouwithjealousy。“

“But，“Isaid，“thatinsolentGuemenee；hasshealsotoplume

herselfonyourfavorsasanexcuseforoverpoweringmewithher

hatred，andfortearingmetopiecesinthewayshedoes？“

“No，“wastheking’sanswer；“sheiswrong，andIwilldesireher

father-in-lawtosayso。“

“AndIwillcometoanexplanationwiththeprincedeSoubiseon

thispoint；andwewillseewhetherornotIwillallowmyselfto

havemythroatcutlikeanunresistingsheep。“

Ididnotfailtokeepmyword。

TheprincedeSoubisecamethe

nextmorning；chanceonthatdayinducedhimtobeextraordinarily

gallanttowardsme；neverhadhepraisedmesoopenly，orwithso

muchexaggeration。

Iallowedhimtogoon；butwhenatlengthhe

hadfinishedhispanegyric，“Monsieurlemarechal，“saidItohim，

“youareoverflowingwithkindnesstowardsme，andIwishthatall

themembersofyourfamilywouldtreatmewiththesameindulgence。“

Likearealcourtierhepretendednottounderstandme，andmade

noreply，hoping，nodoubt，thatthewarmthofconversationwould

leadmetosomeothersubject；butthisoneoccupiedmetoofully

toallowmetodivertmyattentionfromit；and，seeingthathe

continuedsilent，Icontinued:“Farfromtreatingmeaswellasyou

do，madameyourdaughter-in-lawbehavestowardsmelikeadeclared

enemy；sheassailsmebyallsortsofprovocation，andatlastwill

soact，thatIshallfindmyselfcompelledtostruggleagainsther

withopenforce。“

Youmustbeacourtier，youmusthavebeeninthepresenceofa

kingwhoisflatteredfrommorningtonightinallhiscaprices，to

appreciatethefrightfulstateinwhichmydirectattackplacedthe

princedeSoubise。

Neitherhispoliticalinstinct，northetoneof

pleasantrywhichheessayedtoassume，northemoredangerous

resourceofoffendeddignity，couldextricatehimfromthe

embarrassmentinwhichhewasthrownbymywords。

Hecoulddo

nothingbutstammeroutafewunintelligiblephrases；andhis

confusionwassogreatandsovisible，thatthemarquisdeChauvelin，

hisnotoversincerefriend，cametohisassistance。

Theking，equally

surprisedatwhatIhadjustsaid，hastilyturnedandspoketoChon，

whotoldmeafterwards，thattheastonishmentofLouisXVhad

beenequaltothatoftheprincedeSoubise，andthathehadevinced

itbytheabsenceofmindwhichhehadmanifestedinhisdiscourse

andmanners。

M。deChauvelinthenturningtowardsme，said，“Well，madame，on

whatevilherbhaveyouwalkedto-day？

Canitbepossiblethat

youwouldmaketheprince，whoisyourfriend，responsibleforthe

hatredwhichoughttobeflatteringratherthanpainfultoyou，since

itisahomageexactedtowardsyourbrilliantloveliness？“

“Inthefirstplace，“Ireplied，“Ihavenointentio