isall-powerful,butIwillnotemployitunseasonably
orimproperly。
IknowthatIneedthecounselsof
anhonorable,prudent,andwell-informedman。
Iaccept,
therefore,ofyours;Ievenaskthemfromyou,ifyour
friendshipgoalongwiththem。
Adieu,monsieur。
My
regardsareduetoyouruncle,themarechal,the
firsttimeyouwritetohim。“
Thisletterfilledtheducd’Aiguillonwithjoy。
Somedays
afterwards,theprincedeSoubise,whoalsowishedtogiveme
hisadvice,didnotattainthesamesuccess。
Itmustbeowned,
that,foramanoftheworld,hewentaboutitinaveryclumsy
way。
Hecommittedtheextremeerrorofselectingmademoiselle
Guimardasmediatrixbetweenhimselfandme。
Thisladycameto
meonthestrengthofourformeracquaintance;shehadsolittle
senseasnottoperceivetheimmensedistancebetweenuswhicha
fewdayshadcaused,andthattheopera-dancerkeptbytheprince
deSoubisecouldhavenorelationwiththefavoriteoftheking
ofFrance。
Iendeavored,invain,tomakeherperceiveit,without
mortifyinghertoomuch。
Shealwayscalledmeherdearfriend,
andfairlyslaughteredmewithsayingthatprincewould
protectme。
Itwassingularforhertospeakthustome;tome
fromwhomprincesolicitedprotection。
Shedidnotconfine
herselftothis,sheeveninsinuatedtomethatIshouldbea
gainerinsomeway。
Ilaughedoutrightatthis,andsaidtothe
,whowasstationedatthedoor,“Call
mademoiselle’sservants。“
Thisannoyedherexcessively;allthe
musclesofherfacewerecontractedwithrage;butsherestrained
herwrath,salutedmewithanassumedrespect,andwentaway,
afterhavingsoworthilyacquittedherselfofherfoolishembassy。
Shehadquittedmeforanhour,whenIreceivedaletterfrom
himwhohadsenther。
TheprincedeSoubisebeggedmetogrant
himaninterview,inwhichhecouldenterintoanexplanation。
I
repliedthatIwouldreceivehim,andhecamethesameday。
“Iammuchpained,madame,“saidhe,onentering,“that
mademoiselleGuimardhascommunicatedwithsolittleaddress
whatIwishedtosaytoyou。“
“Prince,Ithinkyouwouldhavedonebettertohavebeenthebearer
ofyourownmessage。
Youknowmystationhere,andwouldnot
haveridiculedmeasshehasdone。“
M。deSoubise,muchpuzzledtoknowwhatshehadsaid,askedme
thequestion。
“Why,“Ireplied,“shesaid,thatifIwouldfollowyourcounsels,
youwouldpaymeformycondescension。“
“Ah!
madame,“heexclaimed,“shehascompletelymurderedme。
Ionlychargedhertooffermyservicestoyou,andthrowmyself
atyourfeet,asIdonow。“
“Rise,prince,Idonotaccuseyouofsuchfolly,andpromise
nottomentionit:itisnecessary,however,thatyoushouldknow
Ihavebutoneparttoplayhere,thatofpleasingtheking。
Any
othercharacterwillnotsuitme。
Honormewithyourfriendship,
andacceptmineinreturn。
Icannot,mustnot,haveanyotherunion
withyou。“
Thusterminatedthisinterview;itdidnotsuitmetogivethe
princedeSoubiseanyhopes。
HeandalltheRohanswouldhave
livedonit;theywouldhaveturnedmyconfidencetotheirgain,
andastheywereforthemostpartsharpers,orsomethingakinto
it,mynamewouldsoonhavebeenmixedupwithsomedirtytransaction。
Hisfamilywasahydraofavarice,andwouldalonehaveswallowed
upallthewealthofFrance。
IfthekinghadtakenoneoftheRohan
familyforhismistress,Ibelievethatthefinancedepartment
wouldnothavesufficedforoneyear’sexpenditureofthisprodigal
family。
IhadnoobjectiontotheprincedeSoubisecomingto
supperwithme,butIdidnotfeelmyselfdisposedtogivehim
anycontrolovermymind。
Ishouldhavebeenill-guidedbya
manwhohadnogovernmentofhimself。
IfM,deSoubisedidnotdepartsatisfied,madamedeMarsan,his
relative,towhomherelatedthebadsuccessofhisattempt,was
notmoreso。
Shewasawomantohavegovernedakingdom,hadshe
beenallowedtodoso。
Therewasinherwoman’sheadacapacity
superiortothatofallthemenofherfamily。
Shehadagreatdeal
ofambition,andallheractionsweretheresultsofapremeditated
plan。
Shewouldhaveruledtheking,theprinces,theprincesses,
favorites,mistresses,thecourt,thecity,theparliaments,andthe
army!
Nothingwouldhavebeenimpossibletoher;shewasadequate
toanything。
Circumstancesdidnotgivehertheopportunityof
displayinghergenius。
Withgreattalentsandkeenperception,
shewasreducedtothegovernmentofherownfamilyalone;that
wasbutatriflingmatter!
Inspiteofherdiscontent,madamede
Marsanpreservedasortofneutralitytowardsme。
Sheallowed
allsortsofilltobespokenofmewithouteverrepressingaword。
Shewasthenmuteandmotionless。
Shesawmetorntopieces
withoutanyemotion。
However,whenweweretogethershetriedto
cajolemeinathousandways,allthetimedetestingmeinher
heart;andI,whocouldscarcelyendurethesightofher,paidher
alikenumberoflittleattentions。
Thussurroundedbyhypocrites,I
becameonemyself。
Welearntohowlinthesocietyofwolves。
TheducdelaVauguyonandthecomtesseduBarry——Themarquis
deChauvelinandthecomtesse——M。deMontbarreyandthecomtesse——
Intrigues——Lebel——ArrivaloftheduBarryfamily——Thecomte
d’Hargicourt——ThedemoisellesduBarry——Marriageofthecomtesse——
ThemarquisdeBonrepos——Correspondences——Thebrokenglass
TheprincedeSoubisewasnottheonlypersonwhowishedtoact
inthecapacityofmentortome。
M。theducdelaVauguyon
attemptedalsotobetheguideofmyyouth。
Thisnoblemanwas
toomuchofaJesuitnottohaveanoseofprodigiouslyfinescent。
Heperceivedthatthewindwasinmyfavor,andapproachedmein
consequence。
Ihavementionedtoyouhisfirstvisit,andhemade
measecondafewdaysafterwards。
Heappearedveryaffable,
veryconciliating,andinsistedparticularlyseveraltimes,and
thatwithoutanyapparentmotive,thattheking,notbeingnow
engagedinthetiesofwedlock,heshouldchoosesomeagreeable
companion,andassuredlycouldnotdobetterthanselectme。
The
dayafterthisvisit,earlyinthemorning,thedukesentmea
splendidbouquet,ahomagewhichheafterwardsrepeated,and
thencalledonmeathirdtime。
Duringthisvisitafteraconversationontheembarrassmentsofan
introductionatVersailles,heproposedthatIshouldavoidthem。
“Youcannotconcealfromyourself,“hesaid,“howpowerfulwill
bethecabalagainstyou;and,withoutincludingtheChoiseuls,
youwillhaveespeciallytofearthepiousparty,whowillonly
seeinyourintimacywiththeking,allowmetosay,acrying
scandal,andonenotprofitableforreligion。“
“Ifthepiouspartyunitewiththosewhoarenotsotodestroy
me,“Irejoined,laughing,“IshallhaveallFranceagainstme。“
“No;butperhapsallthechateau。
Butthereisawayofaverting
thestorm。
Attachyourselftothepartyofhonestmenwhohave
beensogreatlycalumniated——theJesuits。
Philosophy,supported
bytheducdeChoiseul,hasrepressedthem;butthehighclergyand
theareattachedstronglytothem,andyouwould
interesttheminyourfortunebyfavoringtheseworthyfathers。“
“What!
monsieurleduc,“criedI,“willtheclergy
ofFrance,andandtheirsuitebefavorableto
me,ifIusemyinfluencewiththekinginespousingthecauseof
thesocietyofJesus?“
“Certainly,madame,andIamauthorizedtopromiseyou。
Igive
youmywordforthis。
Endeavortore-establishtheorder,and
therewillnotbeoneofusbutwillbezealousinsupportingyou。“
“Icertainlyamdesirousofpleasingyourfriends;butIcansee
that,fromthefirstmomentofmyappearanceatcourt,Ishall
beatopenwarwiththeChoiseulsandtheparliaments。“
“Whatmattersit?
Iconfessthatthevictorywillnotbeeasyat
first,butthereisnoneedtoexaggeratethedifficulties。
Itis
truethatthekinghasesteemfortheducdeChoiseul,buthehas
muchaffectionforyou,whichavailsmuchmore。
“Asfortheparliaments,hehatesthem,andformanyyearshas
beendesirousofriddinghimselfofthementirely,andhewill
effectthisbythehelpofGodandyourinterference。“
“ThiswillbehardworkforonesoweakasIam。“
“Oh,youaresufficientlypowerful,Iassureyou。
Onlyconfide
inme,theintermediarybetweenyouandmyfriends,letmeguide
you,andIwillsteertotherightport。
Whatdoyouthinkof
this,madame?“
“Oh!