第38章

outcryagainstmewaslouderthanever，itseemedastho’the

wholenobilityofFrancewasimmolatedat“onefellswoop。“

Tohaveheardtheuniversalclamor，itwouldhavebeenthought

thattheprincesshadbeensenttothemostobscureprisoninthe

kingdom。

Thisproofoftheking’sregardformedidmuchmischief，

nodoubt，asitfurnishedmyenemieswithapretexttoaccuseme

ofavindictivespirit。

CouldIdootherwise？

OughtItohave

allowedmyselftobeoverwhelmedwithimpunity，andwasit

consistentwiththedignityofmyaugustprotector，thatIshould

beinsultedthusopenlybyhissubjects，hiscourtiers，hisguests，

evenintheprivateapartmentsofhispalace？

However，thiswrathofthenobilitydidnotpreventtheChoiseul

familyfromexperiencingafeelingoffright。

Theyhadjust

receivedasignalfavor。

ThegovernmentofStrasbourg，considered

asthekeyofFranceandAlsace，hadbeengiveninreversionto

thecomtedeStainville，brotheroftheducdeChoiseul。

Certainly

thischoicewasaverygreatproofoftheindulgenceoftheking，

andthemomentwasbadlychosentopaywithingratitudeabenefit

soimportant。

ThisdidnothindertheduchessedeGrammont，and

allthewomenofherhouse，orwhowereherallies，fromcontinuing

tointrigueagainstme。

Itwasnaturaltobelievethattheking

wouldnotpermitsuchdoingforalongtime，andthatshouldhe

becomeenragedatthem，thatIshouldattempttosoothehisanger。

Matterswereinthisstate，whenonemorning，afterhisaccustomed

routine，theducdeChoiseulrequestedaprivateaudienceofthe

king。

“Igrantitthismoment，“saidtheprince，“whathaveyou

tosaytome？“

“Iwishtoexplaintoyourmajestyhowexcessivelypainfulisthe

situationinwhichIamplacedwithregardtosomeofthemembers

ofmyfamily。

Allthefemales，andmysisterattheirhead，attack

meaboutaquarrelwhichisstrangetome，andwithwhichIhave

declaredIwouldnotmeddle。“

“Youdowell，monsieurleduc，“saidtheking，withcoolgravity，

“Iammuchvexedatallthatisgoingon，andhaveresolvednot

tosufferitanylonger。“

ThedecisionofthisdiscoursemadeadeepimpressionM。de

Choiseul:hesoughttoconcealitwhilsthereplied:

“Itisdifficult，sire，tomakewomenlistentoreason。“

“Allarenotunreasonable，“rejoinedtheking:“yourwife，for

instance，isamodelofreasonandwisdom:shehasperfectcontrol

ofherself。

Sheisthewisewomanofscripture。“

Thisflatteryandjustlymeritedeulogium，whichthekingmadeof

theduchesswheneverhefoundanopportunity，wasthemorepainful

toM。deChoiseul，ashisconductwasnotirreproachabletowards

awomanwhosevirtueshealonedidnotjustlyappreciate。

Itwas

adirectsatireagainsthissister’sconduct，whoseascendancyover

him，herbrother，thekingwellknew。

Herepliedthatthegood

behaviorofhiswifewasthesafeguardofhisfamily，andhe

greatlyregrettedthattheduchessedeGrammonthadnotarightto

thesameeulogium。

“Ibegyou，“saidtheprince，“toengagehertochangeherlanguage，

andtoconductherselfwithlessboldness，ifshewouldnothave

meforcehertorepent。“

“That，sire，isamissionpainfultofulfil，andwordsveryhard

toconveytoh