第47章

ExtraordinaryanecdoteofLouisXIVandmadamedeMaintenon——

ThecomtesseduBarryatChantilly——Opinionofkingandcomtede

laMarcherespectingthe“IronMask“——MadameduBarryvisits

madamedeLagarde

MyacquaintancewiththesingularbeingIwasspeakingofinthe

lastchapterdidnotendhere，asyouwillfindinthesequel。

I

willnowgiveyouanaccountofanequallystrangeaffair，in

nearlythesamewordsasLouisXVhimselfrelatedittome。

Altho’stronglyrecommendedbymysister-in-lawandM。deSartines

toconcealthewholestoryofmymysteriousfriendfromthe

king，yet，unaccustomedtotheprudentialobservationofcourt

reserve，I，onefineevening，inordertofillupalongblankin

theconversation，relatedthestoryfrombeginningtoend。

His

majestylistenedwithattentionuntilIhadconcluded。

“Thisisindeed，“saidhe，“amostsingularhistory；andIthink

youhaveactedverywiselyinputtinganendtoallsuchinterference

onthepartofthepolice；forinsuchcasesyoufrequentlyrun

greatriskstoprocureatriflinggratification。

Wehaveseen

somethingofthesamesortinourfamily。“

Thisdiscourseexcitedmycuriosity；andIentreatedofhimto

explainhimselfmorefully。

“Ioughtnottodoso，“repliedhe；

“suchtransactionsshouldbekeptforeverconcealed；butasmore

thanhalfacenturyhaselapsedsincetheeventIalludetotook

place，IthinkImayventuretobreakthesilenceIhavereligiously

observeduntilnow。

YouaretheonlypersonIhaveevermentioned

itto，andImustbindyoutothestrictestsecrecy。“

ThisIfaithfullypromised；andsolongasLouisXVlivedIkept

myword。

“Attheconclusionofthelastcentury，duringthemonthof

September，“resumedtheking，“ithappenedthatLouisXIV，and

madamedeMaintenonformedthewishofconsultingtogethersome

learnedastrologer，inordertoascertainwhetherthecomingage

wouldbeproductiveofgoodorilltothem。

Asneitherofthem

knewtowhomtoapply，inordertoattaintheirobject，madamede

Maintenonwascompelledtoconfideherwishestoherfriend，

madamedeMontchevreuil，whoreadilyengagedtofindforherthe

personsherequired；for，spiteoftheseveritywithwhichthelaw

visitedsuchpractices，therewasnoscarcityofdealersinaugury，

whopromisedgoodorbadfortuneaccordinglyastheywerepaidforit。

“Whilstthisladywasmakingdiligentsearchafteroneperfectly

competenttosatisfymadamedeMaintenon，thislatter，in

conjunctionwiththeking，despitethesuperiorityoftheirminds，

wasgreatlydisturbedattheprobableconsequencesofthestep

theymeditated。

Theirdesiretopenetrateintofuturityappeared

tothemasridiculousasitwascriminal，buttheirweakerfeelings

triumphed；andtheresultoftheirdeliberationswasthatfar

fromrelinquishingtheirintentionofsearchingthebookoffate，

theyshouldloseneitherpainsnortroubletoattaintheirobject；

andtoencourageeachother，theyreckonedupontheirfingers

thenamesofeverypersonoftheiracquaintance，orevenbelonging

tothecourt，whohadderivedprofitandadvantagefromthe

predictionsoffortune-tellers。

“Themindsofallatthisperiodwerestillimbuedwiththose

superstitiousfeelings，ofwhichmanyofthemostillustrious

perso