第75章

Iwasconvincedshewouldnotbelongin

acquiringanascendencyoverthemindoftheprincessandIwas

equallywellassuredshewouldneverturnthisinfluenceagainst

myself；thiswasapointofnosmallimportancetome。

MadamedeForcalquiermostardentlydesiredtheplaceofladyof

honor，withoutflatteringherselfwithanyhopesofobtainingit；

and，notlikingtoaskmeopenlyforit，sheappliedtotheduc

deCosse。

Ifeltsomeregretthatshehadgonetoworkinso

circuitousamanner，andinconsequencewroteherthe

followingnote:——

“MADAM，——Iamawarethatyouaredesirousof

obtainingthepostofladyofhonor。

Youshould

nothaveforgottenthatIamsufficientlyyour

friendtohaveforwardedyourwishesbyevery

possibleexertion。

Whydidyouapplytoathird

personinpreferencetoseekingmyaid？

Ireally

ammorethanhalfangrywithyouforsodoing。

Believeme，myfriendsneednottheintervention

ofanymediatortosecuremybestservices。

You，

too，willregretnothavingmadeyourfirst

applicationtome，whenItellyouthatIwas

reservingforyoutheveryplaceyouwereseeking

bysocircuitousaroute。

Yes，beforeyouhadasked

it，thepostofladyofhonorwasyours。

Imight

havesoughtinvainforapersonmoreeminently

qualifiedfortheofficethanyourself，oronein

whomIcouldplacemoreunlimitedconfidence。

Come，myfriend，Iprayofyou，nottothankme，

whohavefoundsufficientrewardinthepleasure

ofobligingyou，buttoacknowledgetheextreme

kindnessandalacritywithwhichhismajestyhas

forwardedyourwishes。

“Believeme，dearmadam，

“Yours，verysincerely，

“THECOMTESSEDuBarry。“

MadamedeForcalquierwasnotlonginobeyingthesummonscontained

inmynote；sheembracedmewiththewarmestgratitudeand

friendship，delightedatfindingherselfsoeligiblyestablished

atcourt，foratthatperiodeverypersonregardedthecomte

d’Artoisastheonlyhopeofthemonarchy；andblindedbythe

universalpreferencebestowedonhim，theyoungprinceflattered

himselfthatthecrownwouldinfalliblyornamenthisbrows。

I

havebeentold，thatwhenfirstthequeen’spregnancywas

perceived，agenerallamentationwasheardthroughoutthecastle，

andallranksunitedindeploringaneventwhichremovedthe

comted’Artoisfromtheimmediatesuccessiontothethrone。

UptothepresentmomentIknewMadamedeForcalquieronlyas

onewhosemanycharms，bothofmindandperson，joinedtogreat

conversationalpowersandtheliveliestwit，hadrenderedherthe

idolofsociety，andobtainedforhertheappellationof

。

Iknewnotthatthiswoman，solightandtrifling

inappearance，wascapableofoneofthoselivelyandsincere

attachments，whichneithertimenorchangeoffortunecould

destroyordiminish。

Shehadaparticularfriend，amadame

Boncault，thewidowofastockbroker，andshewasanxiousto

contributetoherwell-doing。

Withthisviewshesolicitedofme

theplaceofladyinwaitingforthismuch-esteemedindividual。

AstonishedattherequestIputa