entertained for the magistracy, of which he had once been a member, although a treacherous and perfidious one. His fears of these two powers induced him to unite his forces to those of the duc d'Aiguillon and M. de Maupeou, although, in his heart, he felt no regard for either one or the other.

The duc de la Vrillière had the same deeply-rooted aversion to the duc de Choiseul; and, like the abbé Terray, joined our party principally with the view of gratifying his revengeful schemes. The Choiseuls held the abbé in the most sovereign contempt, and continually played off some trick at his expense, to the great amusement of the whole court. At the precise period of which I am speaking, they had circulated against himself and his dearly beloved madame de Langeac a smart epigram, which had been most successful in its reception in it they asserted, that the old libertine had asked in marriage the hand of the young and lovely mademoiselle de Polignac, and that his old mistress was furious at such flagrant infidelity. As this little production may not have reached you, I trust you will pardon me for inserting it in my narrative.

"Des cafés de Paris l'engeance fablière,
Qui raisonne de tout, ab hoc et ab hác.
Sur ces prédictions redigeant l'almanach.
Donne pour femme à la Vrillière,
La fille du beau Polignac.

Ah! si l'ingrat avait jamais cette pensée,
S'écria Subretin se frappant l'estomac,

J'étranglerais comme une autre Médée,

Tous ces Philippotins soi disant de Langeac."

The author of these lines was the same Delisle who had already exercised his poetical talents at my expense; and, it must be confessed, that the lines I have just quoted were the best he ever produced.

After us came the duc de Richelieu and the duc de la Vauguyon. The former detested the duc de Choiseul as much as he had loved his former mistress. M. de

Choiseul had deeply offended the maréchal by instituting a comparison between him and the famous duc d'Epernay; besides, it was highly disagreeable to him to receive the petty honours of a favourite without any of the power; and, spite of his advanced age, which precluded his admission into the ministry, and every other obstacle which barred his way, he still trusted to be summoned to the management of public affairs.

The same ideas actuated the duc de la Vauguyon. The religious party indeed supported the minister, but they had little influence with the king; vainly had they sought to strengthen their interest through the intervention of madame Louise. This princess, since her profession of a holy life, had not been able to exercise a greater degree of authority over the mind of her father than before her seclusion. Louis XV., speaking of her to me, said one day, "My poor child has been the dupe of these hypocritical Jesuits, and they were only desirous of wheedling her into a cloister that she might assist them to ascend my throne; however, they will miss their purpose, for I will neither submit to be led by her or by them."

I am perfectly assured that the king was at last brought to fear and abhor the Jesuits.

CHAPTER V.

The comte de Maillebois-Comte de Broglie, minister of the secret police-The comtesse du Barri procures the recall of the duchesse de Grammont-The comtesse and the duc de Choiseul-The king and madame du Barri-The parliaments-Louis XV. in council-Louis XV. and the duc de Choiseul-The countess and the king.

To the confederates of whom I spoke in my last letter may be added the comtes de Maillebois and de Broglie. The former, son to the maréchal of the same name, had high pretensions. Proud of the courage which he had

displayed in 1748, at the taking of Port Mahon, and subsequently during the campaigns in Germany, he looked at the direction of the war department as a property unjustly detained from him. Had M. de Choiseul thought proper to have bestowed upon him the office of M. de Praslin, all would have been well, but as the duke had the unpoliteness never to offer it him, he was compelled to throw himself into our party; in other respects, M. de Maillebois was a man of common stamp, vain, presumptuous, and arrogant. You are aware that his love of idle gossip drove him into exile; nor should I feel much astonished to hear, that his passion for babbling had cost him his life.

The comte de Broglie was a man of very opposite character and abilities; he was first employed as an ambassador from the court of France to the elector of Saxony, king of Poland: in this high office he was principally remarkable for the obstinacy of his character, or, to speak more properly, his determined will. Never was there a more accurate judge of mankind than M. de Broglie; his penetrating glance discovered in an instant their qualities or defects, their ignorance or their talents. No less distinguished as a soldier than a diplomatist, he had served under his brother, the maréchal, and shared his rich harvest of glory: the manner in which he defended Cassel in 1761 completed his reputation; and Louis XV., justly appreciating his deep acquaintance with the legislature of his country, confided to him the direction of the secret police. In this office M. de Broglie showed himself the decided adversary and pitiless censor of M. de Choiseul, whose superior interest enabled him to rid himself of so troublesome a foe, by procuring his banishment from court. Then, by a species of unexampled caprice, but which was fully indicative of the weakness of Louis XV., might be seen, at the same time, a man upon whom the heavy displeasure of the monarch had fallen, admitted nevertheless into a fixed and regular correspondence with the king himself. The exile of M. de Broglie

was, in fact, less a fall than a triumph, which was rendered complete when the king, unable to do without him, recalled him, and confided to him anew his former functions.

M. de Broglie returned to the ministry, breathing vengeance against his rival, and determined to leave no measure untried to wrest the post then occupied by M. de Choiseul into his own hands. I must own that his pretensions were well-founded, and the chances in his favour; and if he were not fortunate enough to reach the head of foreign affairs, it was to me only that his failure was attributable, and my influence over the mind of Louis alone prevented that monarch from raising him to it.

The comte de Broglie had too much sense and tact not to cultivate my favour with all possible assiduity; he even rendered me some important services. His active and energetic mind soon discovered and laid before me a crowd of intrigues I should never have heard a word of from M. de Sartines, however wellinformed he might himself be on such subjects. The chancellor both feared and disliked him, nevertheless he wore the fairest face towards him, loaded him with proffers of kindness, and extolled his every word and action from morning till night. He carried the same duplicity into his advice to me, telling me the most horrible tales of M. de Broglie, at the same time recommending me to affect all possible confidence in him, in order to draw him more securely into our interests, and I now bitterly repent the treacherous part I was induced to act in the business. I was born with a frank and ingenuous character, but the air of a court spoils the best natures. When once we breathe its infected atmosphere, adieu to candour, uprightness, and truth. The poor comte de Broglie thought himself sure of a firm ally in me, and reckoned not less upon my exertions in his favour than upon his personal interest with Louis XV.; and yet (I confess it with shame) I deceived him in the most unworthy manner. What can I tell you

further of this nobleman? his conversation was sparkling and brilliant, yet filled with sarcastic observations. The hatred he bore to the Choiseul family was really amusing, from the ingenuity with which he would assign them their different errors, ridiculous manias, and even crimes-the arrogant Choiseul-the insignificant Praslin-poor Stainville-the unprincipled Grammont; in a word, he had bestowed upon every member of the family an appropriate epithet.

The chancellor Maupeou, the ducs d'Aiguillon, de Richelieu, de la Vrillière, and de la Vauguyon, the abbé Terray, the comtes de Maillebois and de Broglie, were the allies, with whose assistance I was about to bring down the already tottering power of the de Choiseuls.

The first, and, perhaps, most mortal blow was dealt by me, when I requested of the king to recall madame de Grammont.

"In the name of heaven," exclaimed the king," what can occasion the singular interest you seem to take in this woman?"

"I have no further reason for it, sire," replied I," than that I prefer her being at Versailles than in the provinces she is traversing the kingdom solely with a view of making fresh enemies for me; and she has done me much more harm during her exile than whilst she was dwelling at Versailles or Paris."

Still," resumed Louis XV., "it may be easy to send her to some spot where her accursed tongue may no longer exercise itself at your expense; surely we can find out some secluded village, where, at least, she will find a difficulty in finding many auditors."

"No, sire," exclaimed I, "I conjure of you to recall her; she will be a continual annoyance to me so long as she is at a distance; and, much as I dislike her ugly countenance, I would rather face my enemy than allow her to go on, spreading her mischief far and near."

"Well," rejoined the king, "all I can say, is, that madame de Pompadour, in your place, would have adopted a very different line of conduct."