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!