第79章

Iproceededtoacquainthimwiththedistressinghistoryofhis

unfortunatemistress。

Heappearedperfectlywelltorecollect

thefemaletowhomIalluded；andwhenIceasedspeaking，he

said，withahalf-suppressedsigh，

“Poorcreature！

shehasindeedbeenunfortunate；seventeenyears

andfivemonthsinprison！

Theducdela

Vrilliereisgreatlyto

blameintheaffair；butwhenoncehehasplacedpersonsbetween

fourwalls，hethinkshehasfulfilledthewholeofhisduty。

He

shouldrecollect，thatagoodmemoryisanecessaryqualification

forsituationheholds；itisindeedanimperativedutyinhimto

thinkofthepoorwretcheshedeprivesoftheirliberty。“

“Andinyoutoo，sire，“interruptedI；“anditappearstomethat

youhavelostsightofit，inthepresentaffair，asculpablyas

yourminister。“

“Iconfessit，indeed，“answeredLouisXV；“buttheunfortunate

suffererherselfwasnotwithoutadueshareofblameinthe

matter。

HerpresumptionhadgreatlyirritatedmadamedePompadour，

whopunishedherasshethoughtfit:ofcourseIcouldnot，

consistentlywiththeregardIprofessedforthemarchioness，

interfereintheexecutionofhervengeance。“

“Idonotagreewithyou，“saidI。

“Why，whatelsecouldIdo？“

askedLouisXV，withthemost

imperturbablecalmness；“shehadsuperiorclaims，wasacknowledged

aschieffavorite，andIcouldnotrefuseherthesacrificeofa

meretemporarycaprice。“

“Verywellsaid，“answeredI，“andfoundeduponexcellent

principles；butsurelyitwasnotnecessarytoshutuptheobject

ofyourcapriceinastateprison，and，aboveall，toleaveher

thereforsuchalengthoftime。

However，themischiefisdone；

andallwehavetothinkofistorepairit。

Youhavenow，sire，

afineopportunityofdisplayingyourroyalmunificence。“

“Youthink，then，“returnedLouisXV，“thatIamboundtomake

thisunhappygirlsomepresent？

Well，Iwill；to-morrowIwill

sendher10，000louis。“

“Athousandlouis！“

exclaimedI，claspingmyhands；“what，asa

recompenseforseventeenyears’imprisonment？

No，no，sire，you

shallnotgetoffsoeasily；youmustsettleonherapension

of12，000livres，andpresentherwithanorderfor100，000more

asanimmediatesupply。“

“Blessme！“

ejaculatedtheking，“whyall，thegirlsinmy

kingdomwouldgotoprisonforsuchadowry:however，sheshall

havethepension；but，intruth，mytreasuryisexhausted。“

“Then，sire，“returnedI，“borrowofyourfriends。“

“Come，come，letusfinishthisbusiness；Iwillgiveyour

4000louis。“

“No，Icannotagree，“answeredI，“tolessthan5000。“

ThekingpromisedmeIshouldhavethem；and，onthefollowing

day，hisvaletTurpignybroughtmetheorderforthepension，and

abag，inwhichIfoundonly4000louis。

Thispieceofmeanness

didnotsurpriseme，butitmademeshrugupmyshoulders，and

sentmetomycabinettotakethesumdeficientfrommyownfunds。

Withthisdowrymypoorsoonfoundasuitablehusband

inthepersonofoneofhercousins，forwh