第61章

“Sire，“repliedI，“thatonlyproveshowmuchdangeryouincurred

bykeepingsuchamaninyouremployment。“

“Why，yes，“answeredLouisXV；“itreallyseemasthough，hadhe

chosensomefinemorningtoproposemyabdicatingthethronein

favourofthedauphin，hewouldonlyhaveneededtoutterthe

suggestiontohaveitcarriedintoexecution。

Fortunatelyforme，

mygrandsonisbynomeanspartialtohim，andwillmostcertainly

neverrecallhimaftermydeath。

Thedauphinpossessesallthe

obstinacyofpersonsofconfinedunderstanding:hehasbutslender

judgment，andwillseewithnoeyebuthisown。“

LouisXVauguredillofhissuccessor’sreign，andimaginedthat

thecabinetofViennawoulddirectthatofVersaillesatpleasure。

Hislatemajestywasmistaken；LouisXVIisendowedwithmany

rarevirtues，buttheyareunfortunatelycloudedoverbyhis

timidityandwantofself-confidence。

Theopenandundisguisedcensurepassedbythewholecourtupon

theconductofLouisXVwasnottheonlythingwhichannoyedhis

majesty，whoperpetuallytormentedhimselfwithconjecturesof

whattherestofEuropewouldsayandthinkofhislatedeterminations。

“Iwillengage，“saidhe，“thatIamfinelypulledtopiecesat

Potsdam。

MydearbrotherFrederickisaboutassweet-temperedas

abear，andImustnotdismissaministerwhoisdispleasingto

mewithouthispassingahundredcommentsandsarcasticremarks。

Still，asheisabsoluteastheMedesandPersians，surelyhecan

Havenoobjectiontouspoormonarchsimitatinghim；andallowme

thesameprivilegeinmine。

Afterall，whyshouldIneedhisor

anyotherperson’sopinion；letthewholeworldapplaudorcondemn，

Ishallstillactaccordingtomyownbestjudgment。“

OnmysideIwasfarfromfeelingquitesatisfiedwiththe

accountsIcontinuedtoreceivefromChanteloup；aboveallI

felt

irritatedattheparadeofattachmentmadebytheprince

deBeauvau

fortheexiles，andIcomplainedbitterlyofitto

themarechaledeMirepoix。

“WhatcanIdotohelpit，“saidshe；“mysister-in-lawisa

simpleton；who，afterhavingruinedherbrother，willcertainly

causethedownfallofherhusband。

Ibeseechyou，mydear，out

ofregardforme，toputupwiththeunthinkingconductofthe

princedeBeauvauforalittlewhile；hewillsoonseehiserror

andamendit。“

Hedidindeedreturntoourparty，buthis

obediencewaspurchasedataheavyprice。

SomedaysafterthedisgraceoftheducdeChoiseul，Ireceived

aletterfromM。deVoltaire。

Thiswriter，whocarpedatand

attackedallsubjects，whethersacredorprofane，andfromwhose

satiresneithergreatnorsmallwereexempt，hadcontinualneed

ofsomepowerfulfriendatcourt。

Whenhisprotector，M。de

Choiseul，wasdismissed，hesawclearlyenoughthattheonly

persononwhomhecouldhenceforwarddependtoaidandsupport

him，wasshewhohadbeenchieflyinstrumentalinremovinghis

firstpatron。

Withtheseideasheaddressedtomethefollowing

letterofcondolenceor，tospeakmorecorrectly，ofcongratulation。

Itwasas