第49章

“Youareaverydangerouswoman，“criedtheking，interrupting

mebyloudfitsoflaughter，“andyouarecunningenougheven

tosurprisethesecretsofthestate。“

“’Tisyou，rather，whocouldnotresisttheinclinationtoletme

seethatyouknewwhatthemarechalhaddeclaredyouignorantof。

Whichofustwoisthemoretoblame，Iwonder？“

“Myself，Ithink，“answeredtheking；“forafterall，youdidbut

actwiththecandorandcuriosityofyoursex:itwasformeto

haveemployedmoreoftheprudenceofakinginmyrepliesto

yourinterrogatories。“

“Well，but，“saidI，“sinceyoureallydoknowallaboutthisman

withtheironmask，youwilltellittome，willyounot？“

“IshouldbeverycarefulhowIgratifiedyourcuriosity，“said

he；“thisisapointofhistorywhichmustneverbeclearedup；

statereasonsrequirethatitshouldforeverremainamatterofdoubt。“

“Andmusthaveyoutellme，“returnedI；“dopraytell，andI

willloveyouwithallmyheart。“

“Itcannotbe。“

“Andwhynot？

Thisunfortunatepersonhasbeenlongdeadwithout

leavinganyposterity。“

“Areyouquitesureofthat？“

inquiredtheking，inaserioustone。

“Butwhatsignifies，“saidI，“whetherhebedeadoralive？

I

entreatofyoutobestowuponmethisproofofyourconfidence。

Whoofallthosewhohavespokenofhimhavetoldthetruth？“

“Nobody；butVoltairehasapproacheditmorenearlythanany

oneelse。“

Afterthispartialconfessionthekingimploredofmetochange

theconversation，whichIcouldeasilyperceivewasextremely

disagreeabletohim。

Nevertheless，itseemedtomequiteclear，

thatthiscelebratedpersonbelongedtotheroyalfamily，butby

whattitleIcouldnotdevise。

ItwasinvainthatIafterwards

revivedthesubject；notevenduringthemosttenderconfidences

couldIobtaintheinformationIdesired。

PossiblyhadIlived

withhimsomeyearsmoreImighthavesucceededindrawingfrom

himallheknewrespectingtheobjectofmycuriosity。

Oldmen，

likechildren，canconcealnothingfromthosetheylove，andwho

haveobtainedoverthemaninfluencetheywillinglysubmitto。

BeforeIproceedtomoreimportantevents，Iwouldfainspeakof

personswithwhomIlivedbeforemyelevation。

Mygodfather，

M。BillardduMonceau，wasstillliving，aswellasmadameLagarde，

withwhomIhadresidedascompanion。

Myinterviewwiththe

formeriswellknown；andtheauthorsof“AnecdotesofMyLife，“

publishedthirteenyearssince，havestrictlyadheredtothetruth，

withtheexceptionofsomevulgarismstheyhaveputintothe

mouthofthatexcellentmanwhichheneveruttered。

AstomadameLagarde，shewasstrangelysurprisedtoseemearrive

atherhouse；andtheevidentembarrassmentmypresenceoccasioned

herwasasufficientrevengeonmypartforthemanyunkindthings

shehadsaidanddonerespectingme。

Iwouldnotprolongher

uncomfortablesituation，butstudiedtoconductmyselfwiththe

sameunaffectedsimplicityofformerdays。

Italkedoverthe

past，inquiredafterherfamily，andofferedmybestservicesand

protectionwithoutmaliceforwhatwasgoneby，andwithperfect

sincerityforthefuture。

Butspiteofallmyendeavorstospare

herfeelings，itwasevidentthatrageandhumiliationatthe

advantagemyalteredfortunesgavemeoverhe