"Alas! my dear creature," replied the good-natured marechale, "Iam too old now to bear the toil and confinement of any service.
The post of lady of honor would suit me excellently well as far as regards the income attached to it, but by no means agree with my inclinations as far as discharging its functions goes. You see I am perfectly candid with you. Listen to me; if you really wish to oblige me, you can do this--give the title to another, and bestow the pecuniary part of the engagement on me. In that manner you will be able to gratify two persons at the same time.""I will endeavor," said I, "to meet your wishes as far as Ipossibly can, and you may be assured that you shall derive some advantage from this marriage."And I kept my word by shortly after obtaining for the marechale a sum of 50,000 livres; a most needful supply, for the poor marechale had to re-furnish her house, her present fittings-up being no longer endurable by the eye of modish taste: she likewise received an augmentation of 20,000 livres to her pension. This proceeding was highly acceptable to her, and the king afforded his assistance with the best possible grace. He could be generous, and do things with a good grace when he pleased.
The refusal of the marechale, which it was agreed we should keep secret, obliged me to cast my eyes upon a worthy substitute, and I at length decided upon selecting the comtesse de Forcalquier, a lady who possessed every charm which can charm and attract, joined to a faultless reputation; and, setting aside her strict intimacy with myself, the court (envious as it is) could find no fault with her. I was convinced she would not be long in acquiring an ascendency over the mind of the princess and I was equally well assured she would never turn this influence against myself; this was a point of no small importance to me.
Madame de Forcalquier most ardently desired the place of lady of honor, without flattering herself with any hopes of obtaining it;and, not liking to ask me openly for it, she applied to the duc de Cosse. I felt some regret that she had gone to work in so circuitous a manner, and in consequence wrote her the following note:--"MADAM, --I am aware that you are desirous of obtaining the post of lady of honor. You should not have forgotten that I am sufficiently your friend to have forwarded your wishes by every possible exertion. Why did you apply to a third person in preference to seeking my aid? I really am more than half angry with you for so doing.
Believe me, my friends need not the intervention of any mediator to secure my best services. You, too, will regret not having made your first application to me, when I tell you that I was reserving for you the very place you were seeking by so circuitous a route. Yes, before you had asked it, the post of lady of honor was yours. I might have sought in vain for a person more eminently qualified for the office than yourself, or one in whom I could place more unlimited confidence.
Come, my friend, I pray of you, not to thank me, who have found sufficient reward in the pleasure of obliging you, but to acknowledge the extreme kindness and alacrity with which his majesty has forwarded your wishes.
"Believe me, dear madam,"Yours, very sincerely,"THE COMTESSE Du Barry."Madame de Forcalquier was not long in obeying the summons contained in my note; she embraced me with the warmest gratitude and friendship, delighted at finding herself so eligibly established at court, for at that period every person regarded the comte d'Artois as the only hope of the monarchy; and blinded by the universal preference bestowed on him, the young prince flattered himself that the crown would infallibly ornament his brows. Ihave been told, that when first the queen's pregnancy was perceived, a general lamentation was heard throughout the castle, and all ranks united in deploring an event which removed the comte d'Artois from the immediate succession to the throne.
Up to the present moment I knew Madame de Forcalquier only as one whose many charms, both of mind and person, joined to great conversational powers and the liveliest wit, had rendered her the idol of society, and obtained for her the appellation of <Bellissima>. I knew not that this woman, so light and trifling in appearance, was capable of one of those lively and sincere attachments, which neither time nor change of fortune could destroy or diminish. She had a particular friend, a madame Boncault, the widow of a stockbroker, and she was anxious to contribute to her well-doing. With this view she solicited of me the place of lady in waiting for this much-esteemed individual.
Astonished at the request I put a hasty negative on it.
"If you refuse me this fresh favor," said madame de Forcalquier, "you will prevent me from profiting by your kindness to myself.""And why so?" inquired I.
"I owe to madame Boncault," answered she, "more than my life; Iam indebted to her for tranquillity, honor, and the high estimation in which the world has been pleased to hold me. I have now an opportunity of proving my gratitude, and I beseech of you to assist my endeavors.""But tell me, first," cried I, "what is the nature of this very important service you say madame de Boncault has rendered you;is it a secret, or may I hear it?"
