Hehadlargeandsingularlyexpressiveeyes;too
muchso,perhaps,fortheirbrilliancywasnotofgoodaugury;
andIwasnotsurprisedathearingsubsequentlythathisreason
hadabandonedhim,altho’hepossessedandexertedhiswitmost
perfectlyduringourconversation,inwhichhedisplayedthe
greatestgallantry。
Icouldnotreproachhimwithonesingle
expressionthatwasobjectionable,altho’thesubjectofconversation
wasdelicate。
Hediscoursedofthefeelingsofthekingtowards
me,andyetsaidnotawordthatwasunsuitedoroutofplace,
nothingbutwhatwasinthebesttaste,andexpressedwiththe
utmostdelicacy。
IaskedhimiftheladiesofDenmarkwere
handsome。
“Ithought,madame,“washisreply,“untilnow,that
theladiesofmykingdomwerethemostlovelyinEurope。“
Wedidnottalkofmyselfonly:ChristianVIIspokeofPariswith
enthusiasm。
“Itisthecapitaloftheworld,“heremarked,“and
ourstatesarebuttheprovinces。“
Hesoughtoutourmostcelebrated
and,andwasparticularlydelightedwith
d’Alembert,Diderot,laHarpe,andM。thecomtedeBuffon。
He
greatlyregrettedthatVoltairewasnotinParis,andexpressed
hisgreatdesiretoseeatFerneythegreatgeniusashetermed
himwhoinstructedandamusedtheworld。
Heappearedwearyof
thefeteswhichweregiven,andespeciallywiththedeadly-lively
companyofthetwoDuras。
Itwasenoughtokillyoutohaveonly
oneofthem,andyoumayimaginethetortureofbeingboredwith
both。
ThedukehadpromisedLouisXVtobeasamusingaspossible
too!
Afteraconversationofthreehours,whichhismajestyof
coursesaidhadappearedbutofamoment,heleftmedelighted
withhisperson,wit,andmanners。
WhenLouisXVsawme,heinquiredmyopinionofhisDanishmajesty。
“Heis,“Ireplied,“awell-educatedking,andthattheysayisararity。“
“True,“saidLouisXV,“therearesomanypersonswhoare
interestedinourignorance,thatitisamiracleifweescapeout
oftheirhandsasreasonablebeings。“
Iwentontotellthekingourconversation。
“Ah,“criedhe,“hereisonewhowillincreasethevanityofthe
literarytribe:theywantit,certainly。
Allthesewitsareour
naturalbornenemies;andthinkthemselvesaboveus;andthe
morewehonorthem,thegreaterrightdotheyassumetocensure
anddespiseus。“
Thiswastheusualburdenofhissong:hehatedmenoflearning。
Voltaireespeciallywashisdetestation,onaccountofthenumerous
epigramswhichthisgreatmanhadwrittenagainsthim;andVoltaire
hadjustgivenfreshsubjectofoffencebypublishing“