第43章

Themarchionessgavetheseanecdoteswithagrace

andtalentpeculiarlyherown；andIsometimesimaginedthat

someofthemanyshefavoreduswithhadperhapstakenplacein

amorerecentperiodthanthatsheassignedtothem；andthat，

inordertodivertoursuspicionsastowhoweretherealactors，

shefrequentlysubstitutedtheforwhatshouldhavebeen

withmorecorrectnessthetime。

Withmannersso

calculatedtowin，shecouldnotfailbeingadelightfulcompanion，

altho’inmyheartIcouldnothelpgivingthepreferencetothe

societyofthemarechaledeMirepoix。

Besides，thepreferenceevincedbythisladyinsogenerously

separatingherselffromallherfamily，inordertoattachherself

tome，wasnotwithoutitsfullvalueinmyeyes。

Iknewmyself

tobegenerallydislikedbyherbrotherandsister-in-law，the

princeandprincessedeBeauvau，thelatterofwhomwassecretly

themistressoftheducdeChoiseul，overwhomsheexercisedan

equalempirewiththeduchessedeGrammont，andIwaseveryday

theobjectofsomefreshattackontheirpart。

Iusedsometimes

tocomplainofthistothemarechale。

“Mydearfriend，“shewould

reply，“Iamsorry，butcannothelpit；inthemidstoftimessuch

aswelivein，andinsuchacourttoo，theprincedeBeauvau

aspirestobeanobleRoman，andwouldfainbetheCatoofhis

countryatleast。

WhenIrecommendtohimagreaterdegreeof

prudence，hetalkstomeofvirtue，astho’atVersaillesduty

didnotconsistinimplicitobediencetothewishesofourroyal

master；eitherobedienceorabsencefromcourtisthegoldenrule

laiddown，fromwhichnonedaredeviate。

Astomysister-in-law

sheaimsattheheroiclikewise，althohermodelsareformedfrom

anotherschool；infact，shehasporedovertheromancesofCyrus。

Cassander，andClelia，tillsheishalfbewildered，andholdsforth

uponthevirtuesofthesefamousheroines，tillIamfrequently

uponthepointofexclaiming，“Ah，mydear，itisallveryfine；

butCleliaandMandanewouldnothavesharedtheirbedwith

theducdeChoiseul。“

Bytheselivelysalliesthemarechalesucceededindivertingmy

angerfromherrelations，andIgenerallyforgotmyresentment

inaheartyfitoflaughter，broughtonbyhersprightly

conversation。

Ifoundmyselfbecomingdailymoreattachedto

her，andherpresencehelpedtoconsolemeforthemanyvexations

Icontinuallyencountered。

ThegreatestdisagreeablenessIencounteredwasoccasionedbythe

capriciousbehavioroftheprincesses，whosometimesreceivedme

withpleasureandatothersevincedadispositiontoannoymein

everypossibleway，accordingasitsuitedthewhimsandwishes

ofthoseaboutthem。

Thefollowingmayserveasaninstanceof

theirversatility。

TheprincedeCondehavingannouncedhisintentionofgivinga

grandfeteatChantilly，theprincessesdeclaredtheywouldnot

bepresentifIwerethere。

TheprincedeConde，spiteofhis

claimstothecharacterofagreatman，wasneverthelessoneof

themostsubtlecourtiers；andassoonashewasinformedofthe

princesses’intention，hecame，withoutceremony，toexplainthe

mattertome。

Thiswasthefirstvisithehadhonoredmewith。

“Madame，“saidhe，“Ihadflatteredmyselfyouwouldhaveembellished

Ch