第59章

concealedbehindthecurtain，andapparentlynotonthebestterms

withme，mybrother-in-lawneverthelessdirectedmyactions，and

gavememostexcellentadvice。

Itwasnotlongeretheduc

d’Aiguillonarrived；hehadseenM。deMaupeouduringthenight，

andlearnedfromhimtheexileofthelateminister，butbeyond

thatfactheknewnothing。

Heinquiredofme，withmuchuneasiness，

whetheranythinghadbeendecidedinhisbehalf。

Ireplied，that

thekingwasasyetundecidedinhischoiceofministers，but

that，iftheducd’Aiguilloncameintooffice，hewould，inall

probability，benominatedtotheadministrationofforeignaffairs:

thedirectionofthewar-officehadbeenmynoblefriend’s

ardentdesire。

Whilstwewerethusconversingtogetheronthe24thofDecember，

1770，eleveno’clockstruck；andwecould，fromthewindows，

perceiveM。delaVrillieretakinghiswaytowardsthatpartof

thebuildingoccupiedbyM。deChoiseulwhenatthecastle。

This

latterwasinconversationwithM。Conzie，bishopofArras，when

thearrivaloftheducdelaVrilliere，bearingtheking’scommands，

wassignifiedtohim。

Theprelate，notdoubtingbutthemission

relatedtoaffairsofimportance，tookhisleave；delaVrilliere

thenpresentedthe，accompanyingitwithsome

remarksofhisownuponthetalentsoftheminister，andhisregret

atbeingselectedforsounpleasantanoffice。

“Atrucetoyour

feignedregrets，mylordduke，“repliedthedisgracedminister，

sarcastically，“Iamwellassuredmydismissalcouldnothavebeen

broughtmebyhandsmorereadytodischargethetrustthanyours。“

Sayingthis，M。deChoiseulplacedhiscredentialsinthehands

oftheduke，andslightlybowing，turnedhisbackuponhim，as

thoughhehadforgottenhispresence。

M。deChoiseulthenretired

tosummonhissister，tocommunicatetoherandhiswifethe

misfortunewhichhadbefallenhim:hethensetoutforParis，to

makethenecessarypreparationsforremovingtoChanteloup。

Thereanofficerfromtheking，chargedtoaccompanyhimtohis

placeofexile，gavehimhismajesty’sordersthatheshouldsee

noperson，andreceivenovisits。

Thisorderdidnotproceedfromme，butwastheworkoftheduc

delaVrilliere，whosought，bythispaltryaction，toavengehimself

uponM。deChoiseulforthereceptionhehadgivenhim。

Itwas

whollyuseless，however，forintheexileofthedukewasseena

thingunheardof，perhaps，before，and，inallprobability，unlikely

evertooccuragain——thesightofawholecourtespousingthepart

ofanexiledminister，andopenlycensuringthemonarchwhocould

thusrewardhisservices。

You，nodoubt，rememberequallywell

asmyselfthelongfileofcarriagesthatfortwodaysblockedup

theroadtoChanteloup。

InvaindidLouisXVexpresshisdissatisfaction；

hiscourtflockedincrowdstovisitM。deChoiseul。

Ontheotherhand，thecastlewasnotinamoretranquilstate。

AtthenewsofthedismissalandbanishmentofM。deChoiseul，a

generalhueandcrywasraisedagainstmeandmyfriends:one

mighthavesupposed，bytheclamoursitoccasioned，thatthe

ex-ministerhadbeentheatlasofthemonarchy；andthat，deprived

ofhissuccour，thestatemustfallintoruins。

Theprincesses

wereloudintheiranger，andaccusedmepubliclyofhaving

conspiredagainstvirtueitself！