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 Uniform with the present volume : 
 
 " Memoirs of the Empress Josephine." 2 vols. 
 
 " Secret Memoirs of the Court of Louis XIV." 
 1 vol. 
 
 " Secret Memoirs of the Royal Family of 
 France." 2 vols.
 
 THE PRIVATE MEMOIRS 
 
 OF 
 
 LOUIS XV
 
 ISAAC FOOT 
 ' LIBRARY 
 
 ?3 
 
 Edition strictly limited to 500 copies. 
 
 Five extra copies have been printed on Japanese vellum, but 
 are not offered for sale. 

 
 THE PRIVATE MEMOIRS 
 
 OK 
 
 LOUIS XV 
 
 TAKEN FROM THE MEMOIRS OF 
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 
 
 LADY'S MAID TO MADAME DK POMPADOUR 
 
 LONDON 
 
 H. S. NICHOLS & CO. 
 
 3 SOHO SQUARE and 62A PICCADILLY W 
 
 MDCCCXCV
 
 Printed and Published by 
 
 H. S. NICHOLS AND CO., 
 AT 3, SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W.

 
 PUBLISHERS' NOTE 
 
 The present most interesting work is the 
 fourth in our Collection of Court Memoirs, and we 
 do not think it necessary to give any reason for 
 including it. for this volume of the Memoirs of 
 Louis XV., taken from the Private Memoirs of 
 Madame du Hausset, was bound to have a place 
 found for it in the series. 
 
 We may remind our subscribers that the 
 original and only editions of these works, from 
 which we are reprinting, are forgotten, almost un- 
 known, and unprocurable, and we experience the 
 utmost difficulty in searching out and unearthing 
 them ; but the remarkable success of the volumes 
 already published has been so exceptional that we 
 have decided to continue issuing further volumes 
 of equal, and even surpassing interest, with the 
 intention of eventually making this collection the 
 best which can ever be formed.
 
 Vlll 
 
 PUBLISHERS NOTE 
 
 The fifth work, which will be issued during 
 next month, is of the utmost importance and 
 interest, being" the Secret History of the Court of 
 Berlin, or The Character of the present Ki)ig of 
 Prussia (Frederick William II.), his Ministers, 
 Mistresses, Generals, Courtiers, Favourites, and the 
 Royal Family of Prussia, with numerous anecdotes 
 of the Potentates of Europe, especially of the late 
 Frederic II., by Count Mirabeau. 
 
 London, 
 
 5th March, 1895.
 
 ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 [FROM THE LONDON MAGAZINE, NO. III. NEW SERIES, P. 439.] 
 
 We were obliged by circumstances, at one 
 time, to read all the published memoirs relative to 
 the reign of Louis XV., and had the opportunity 
 of reading many others which may not see the 
 light for a long time yet to come, as their publica- 
 tion at present would materially militate against 
 the interest of the descendants of the writers ; and 
 we have no hesitation in saying that the Memoirs 
 of Madame du Hausset are the only perfectly 
 sincere ones, amongst all those we know. Some- 
 times, Madame du Hausset mistakes, through igno- 
 rance, but never does she wilfully mislead, like 
 Madame Campan, nor keep back a secret, like 
 Madame Roland, and MM. Bezenval and Ferreires ; 
 nor is she ever betrayed by her vanity to invent, 
 like the Duke de Lauzun, MM. Talleyrand, 
 Bertrand de Moleville, Marmontel, Madame 
 d'Epinay, &c. When Madame du Hausset is 
 found in contradiction with other memoirs of the 
 same period, we should never hesitate to give her 
 account the preference. Whoever is desirous of 
 accurately knowing the reign of Louis XV. should 
 run over the very wretched history of Lacretelle, 
 merely for the dates, and afterwards read the two 
 
 b
 
 X ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 hundred pages of the naive du Hausset, who, in 
 every half page, overturns half a dozen mis-state- 
 ments of this hollow rhetorician. Madame du 
 Hausset was often separated from the little and 
 obscure chamber in the Palace of Versailles, where 
 resided the supreme power, only by a slight door 
 or curtain, which permitted her to hear all that was 
 said there. She had for a cher ami the greatest 
 practical philosopher of that period, Dr. Quesnay, 
 the founder of political economy. He was 
 physician to Madame de Pompadour, and one of 
 the sincerest and most single-hearted of men 
 probably in Paris at the time. He explained to 
 Madame du Hausset many things that, but for 
 his assistance, she would have witnessed without 
 understanding.
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 A friend of M. de Marigny (the brother of 
 Madame de Pompadour) called on him one day 
 and found him burning papers. Taking up a large 
 packet, which he was going to throw into the fire— 
 " This," said he, '"is the journal of a waiting-woman 
 of my sister's. She was a very estimable person, 
 but it is all gossip ; to the fire with it ! * He 
 stopped, and added, " Don't you think I am a 
 little like the curate and the barber burning Don 
 Ouixote's romances." — " I beg for mercy on this,'* 
 said his friend. " I am fond of anecdotes, and I 
 shall be sure to find some here which will interest 
 me." — " Take it, then," said M. de Marigny, and 
 gave it him. 
 
 The hand-writing and the spelling of this journal 
 are very bad. It abounds in tautology and repeti- 
 tions ; facts are sometimes inverted in the order of 
 time ; but to remedy all these defects it would have 
 been necessary to recast the whole, which would 
 have completely changed the character of the work. 
 The spelling and punctuation were, however, cor- 
 rected in the original, and some explanatory notes 
 added.
 
 Xll INTRODUCTION' 
 
 Madame de Pompadour had two waiting-women 
 of good family. The one, Madame du Hausset, who 
 did not change her name; and another, who assumed 
 a name, and did not publicly announce her quality. 
 This journal is evidently the production of the 
 former. 
 
 The amours of Louis XV. were, for a long 
 time, covered with the veil of mystery. The public 
 talked of the Parc-aux-Cerfs, but were acquainted 
 with none of its details. Louis XIV. who, in the 
 early part of his reign, had endeavoured to conceal 
 his attachments, towards the close of it gave them 
 a publicity which in one way increased the scandal ; 
 but his mistresses were all women of quality, entitled 
 by their birth to be received at Court. Nothing can 
 better describe the spirit of the time, and the cha- 
 racter of the Monarch, than these words of Madame 
 de Montespan : " He does not love me," said she, 
 " but he thinks he owes it to his subjects, and 
 to his own greatness, to have the most beautiful 
 woman in his kingdom as his mistress."
 
 
 PRIVATE MEMOIRS 
 
 OF 
 
 LOUIS XV 
 
 AND MEMOIRS OF MADAME DU HAUSSET 
 
 An early friend of mine, who married well at 
 Paris, and who has the reputation of being a very 
 clever woman, has often asked me to write down 
 what daily passed under my notice : to please 
 her, I made little notes, of three or four lines 
 each, to recall to my memory the most singular 
 or interesting facts ; as, for instance — attempt to 
 assassinate the King ; he orders Madame de Pompa- 
 dour to leave the Court ; M. de Machaidfs ingrati- 
 tude, &c. I always promised my friend that I 
 
 i
 
 2 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 would, some time or other, reduce all these ma- 
 terials into the form of a regular narrative. She 
 mentioned the " Recollections of Madame de 
 Caylus," which were, however, not then printed : 
 
 and pressed me so much to produce a similar 
 work, that I have taken advantage of a few 
 leisure moments to write this, which I intend 
 to give her, in order that she may arrange it 
 and correct the style. I was for a long time 
 about the person of Madame de Pompadour, 
 and my birth procured for me respectful treat- 
 ment from herself, and from some distinguished 
 persons who conceived a regard for me. I soon 
 became the intimate friend of Doctor Quesnay, 
 who frequently came to pass two or three hours 
 with me. 
 
 His house was frequented by people of all 
 parties, but the number was small, and restricted
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 3 
 
 to those who were on terms of the greatest inti- 
 macy with him. All subjects were handled with 
 the utmost freedom, and it is infinitely to his 
 honour and theirs that nothing was ever re- 
 peated. 
 
 The Countess D- also visited me. 
 
 She was a frank and lively woman, and much 
 liked by Madame de Pompadour. The Baschi 
 family paid me great attention. M. de Marigny 
 had received some little services from me, in the 
 course of the frequent quarrels between him and 
 his sister, and he had a great friendship for me. 
 The King was in the constant habit of seeing me ; 
 and an accident, which I shall have occasion to 
 relate, rendered him very familiar with me. He 
 talked without any constraint when I was in the 
 room. During Madame de Pompadour's illness 
 
 I scarcely ever left her chamber, and passed the 
 
 1 — 2
 
 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 night there. Sometimes, though rarely, I accom- 
 panied her in her carriage with Doctor Quesnay, 
 
 to whom she scarcely spoke a word, though he 
 
 // 
 
 was a man of great talents.^ When I was alone 
 
 with her, she talked of many affairs which nearly 
 concerned her, and she once said to me, ' The 
 King and I have such implicit confidence in you, 
 that we look upon you as a cat, or a dog, and go 
 on talking as if you were not there." There was 
 a little nook, adjoining her chamber, which has 
 since been altered, where she knew I usually sat 
 when I was alone, and where I heard everything 
 that was said in the room, unless it was spoken 
 
 // 
 
 in a low voice. But when the King wanted to 
 speak to her in private, or in the presence of any 
 of his ministers, he went with her into a closet, 
 by the side of the chamber, whither she also 
 retired when she had secret business with the
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 5 
 
 ministers, or with other important persons; as, 
 for instance, the Lieutenant of Police, the Post- 
 master-General, &c. All these circumstances brought 
 to my knowledge a great many things which pro- 
 bity will neither allow me to tell or to record. I 
 generally wrote without order of time, so that a 
 fact may be related before others which preceded 
 it. Madame de Pompadour had a great friendship 
 for three ministers : the first was M. de Machault, 
 to whom she was indebted for the regulation of 
 her income, and the payment of her debts. She 
 gave him the seals, and he retained the first place 
 in her regard till the attempt to assassinate the 
 King. Many people said that his conduct on 
 that occasion was not attributable to bad inten- 
 tions ; that he thought it his duty to obey the 
 King without making himself in any way a party 
 to the affair, and that his cold manners gave him
 
 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 the appearance of an indifference which he did 
 not feel. Madame de Pompadour regarded him in 
 the light of a faithless friend ; and, perhaps, there 
 was some justice on both sides. But for the Abbe 
 de Bernis, M. de Machault might, probably, have 
 retained his place. 
 
 The second minister, whom Madame de Pom- 
 padour liked, was the Abbe de Bernis. She was 
 soon disgusted with him when she saw the ab- 
 surdity of his conduct. He gave a singular speci- 
 men of this on the very day of his dismissal. 
 He had invited a great many people of distinc- 
 tion to a splendid entertainment, which was to 
 have taken place on the very day when he re- 
 ceived his order of banishment, and had written 
 in the notes of invitation — M. Lc Comic de Lusace 
 will be there. This Count was the brother of the 
 Dauphiness, and this mention of him was de-
 
 MADAME DV HAUSSET 7 
 
 servedly thought impertinent. The King said, 
 wittily enough, "Lambert and Mulicre will be there."' 
 She scarcely ever spoke of Cardinal de Bernis 
 after his dismissal from the Court. 
 
 He was extremely ridiculous, but he was a 
 good sort of man. Madame, the Infanta, died a 
 little time before, and, by the way, of such a 
 complication of putrid and malignant diseases, 
 that the capuchins who bore the body, and the 
 men who committed it to the grave, were over- 
 powered by the effluvia. Her papers appeared 
 no less impure in the eyes of the King. He 
 discovered that the Abbe de Bernis had been 
 intriguing with her, that they had deceived him, 
 and had obtained the Cardinal's hat bv making 
 use of his name. The King was so indignant 
 that he was very near refusing him the burette. 
 He did grant it — but just as he would have thrown
 
 8 
 
 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 a bone to a dog. The Abbe had always the air of 
 a protege when he was in the company of Madame 
 de Pompadour. She had known him in positive 
 distress. The Duke de Choiseul was very diffe- 
 rently situated ; his birth, his air, his manners, 
 gave him claims to consideration, and he far 
 exceeded every other man in the art of ingrati- 
 ating himself with Madame de Pompadour. She 
 looked upon him as one of the most illustrious 
 nobles of the Court, as the most able minister, 
 and the most agreeable man. M. de Choiseul 
 had a sister and a wife, whom he had intro- 
 duced to her, and who sedulously cultivated her 
 favourable sentiments towards him. From the 
 time he was minister, she saw only with his 
 eyes ; he had the talent of amusing her, and 
 his manners to women, generally, were extremely 
 agreeable.
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 9 
 
 Two persons — the Lieutenant of Police 
 and the Postmaster - General — were very much 
 in Madame de Pompadour's confidence ; the 
 latter, however, became less necessary to her 
 from the time that the King communicated to 
 M. de Choiseul the secret of the post-office, that 
 is to say, the system of opening letters and ex- 
 tracting matter from them : this had never been 
 imparted to M. d'Argenson, in spite of the high 
 favour he enjoyed. I have heard that M. de 
 Choiseul abused the confidence reposed in him, 
 and related to his friends the ludicrous stories, 
 and the love affairs, contained in the letters which 
 were broken open. The plan they pursued, as 
 I have heard, was very simple. Six or seven 
 clerks of the post-office picked out the letters 
 they were ordered to break open, and took the 
 impression of the seals with a ball of quicksilver.
 
 IO 
 
 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 They then put each letter, with the seal down- 
 wards, over a glass of hot water, which melted 
 the wax without injuring the paper. It was then 
 opened, the desired matter extracted, and it was 
 sealed again, by means of the impression. This is 
 the account of the matter I have heard. The 
 Postmaster-General carried the extracts to the 
 King on Sundays. He was seen coming and 
 going on this noble errand as openly as the 
 ministers. ^ Doctor Quesnay often, in my presence, 
 flew in such a rage about that infamous minister, 
 as he called him, that he foamed at the mouth. 
 " I would as soon dine with the hangman as with 
 the Postmaster-General," said the Doctor. It 
 must be acknowledged that this was astonishing 
 language to be uttered in the apartments of the 
 King's mistress ; yet it went on for twenty 
 years without being talked of. " It was probity
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET TI 
 
 speaking with earnestness," said M. de Marigny, 
 " and not a mere burst of spite or malignity." 
 
 The Duke de Gontaut was the brother-in-law 
 and friend of M. de Choiseul, and was assiduous 
 in his attendance on Madame de Pompadour. 
 The sister of M. de Choiseul, Madame de Gram- 
 mont, and his wife were equally constant in their 
 attentions. This will sufficiently account for the 
 ascendancy of M. de Choiseul, whom nobody would 
 have ventured to attack. Chance, however, dis- 
 covered to me a secret correspondence of the 
 King, with a man in a very obscure station. This 
 man, who had a place in the fermes generates, of 
 from two to three hundred a-year, was related to 
 one of the young ladies of the pare aux cerfs, by 
 whom he was recommended to the King. He 
 was also connected in some way with M. de 
 Broglie, in whom the King placed great con-
 
 12 MKMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 tidence. Wearied with rinding that his corres- 
 pondence procured him no advancement, he took 
 the resolution of writing to me, and requesting an 
 interview, which I granted, after acquainting Ma- 
 dame de Pompadour with the circumstance. After 
 a great deal of preamble and of flatter)-, he said 
 to me, " Can you give me your word of honour, 
 and that of Madame de Pompadour, that no men- 
 tion whatever of what I am going to tell you will 
 be made to the King?" — "I think I can assure 
 you, that, if you require such a promise from 
 Madame de Pompadour, and if it can produce no 
 ill consequences to the King's service, she will 
 give it vou." He gave me his word that what he 
 requested would have no bad effect ; upon which 
 I listened to what he had to say. He shewed me 
 several memorials, containing accusations of M. de 
 Choiseul, and revealed some curious circumstances
 
 MADAME HI' HAUSSET 1 3 
 
 relative to the secret functions of the Count de 
 Broglie. These, however, led rather to conjectures 
 than to certainty, as to the nature of the services 
 he rendered to the King. Lastly, he shewed me 
 several letters in the King's handwriting. " I re- 
 quest,'" said he. "that the Marchioness de Pompadour 
 will procure for me the place of Receiver-General 
 of Finances : T will give her information of 
 whatever I send the King : I will write according 
 to her instructions, and I will send her his 
 answers." As I did not choose to take liberties 
 with the King's papers, I only undertook to deliver 
 the memorials. Madame de Pompadour having 
 given me her word according to the conditions on 
 which I had received the communication, I re- 
 vealed to her everything I had heard. She sent 
 the memorials to M. de Choiseul, who thought 
 them very maliciously and very cleverly written.
 
 14 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 Madame de Pompadour and he had a long confer- 
 ence as to the reply that was to be given to the 
 person by whom those disclosures were made. 
 
 What I was commissioned to say was this: that 
 the place of Receiver-General was at present too 
 
 important, and would occasion too much surprise 
 and speculation ; that it would not do to go beyond 
 a place worth seven or eight hundred a-year ; that 
 they had no desire to pry into the King's secrets ; 
 and that his correspondence ought not to be com- 
 municated to any one ; that this did not apply to 
 papers like those of which I was the bearer, which 
 might fall into his hands ; that he would confer 
 an obligation by communicating them, in order 
 that blows aimed in the dark, and directed by 
 malignity and imposture, might be parried. The 
 answer was respectful and proper, in what related 
 to the King: it was, however, calculated to counter-
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 15 
 
 act the schemes of the Count de Broglie, by 
 making M. de Choiseul acquainted with his attacks, 
 and with the nature of the weapons he employed. 
 It was from the Count that he received state- 
 ments relating to the war and to the navy; but 
 he had no communication with him concerning 
 foreign affairs, which the Count, as it was said, 
 transacted immediately with the King. The Duke 
 de Choiseul got the man who spoke to me recom- 
 mended . to the Controllor-General, without his 
 appearing in the business : he had the place 
 which was agreed upon, and the hope of 
 a still better, and he entrusted to me the 
 King's correspondence, which I told him I 
 should not mention to Madame de Pompadour, 
 according to her injunctions. He sent several 
 memorials to M. de Choiseul, containing accusa- 
 tions of him, addressed to the King. This
 
 l6 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 timely information enabled him to refute them 
 triumphantly. 
 
 The King was very fond of having little private 
 correspondences, very often unknown to Madame 
 de Pompadour : she knew, however, of the exist- 
 ence of some, for he passed part of his mornings 
 in writing to his family, to the King of Spain, to 
 Cardinal Tencin, to the Abbe de Broglie, and also 
 to some obscure persons. " It is, doubtless, from 
 such people as these," said she to me, one day, 
 " that the King learns expressions which perfectly 
 surprise me. For instance, he said to me yester- 
 day, when he saw a man pass with an old coat 
 on, ' il y a la im habit bien examine.' He once said 
 to me, when he meant to express that a thing was 
 probable, ' il y a gros ' ; I am told this is a saying 
 of the common people, meaning, il y a gros a 
 parier." I took the liberty to say, " But is it not
 
 / 
 
 MADAME DU HAL'SSET 1 7 
 
 more likel)' from his young ladies at the Pare, 
 that he learns these elegant expressions ? ' She 
 laughed, and said, " You are right ; il y a gros." 
 The King, however, used these expressions de- 
 signedly, and with a laugh. 
 
 The King knew a great many anecdotes, and 
 there were people enough who furnished him with 
 such as were likely to mortify the self-love of 
 others. One day, at Choisy, he went into a room 
 where some people were employed about em- 
 broidered furniture, to see how they were going 
 on ; and looking out of the window, he saw at 
 the end of a long avenue two men in the Choisy 
 uniform. " Who are those two noblemen ? ' said 
 he. Madame de Pompadour took up her glass, 
 and said, " They are the Duke d'Aumont, and 
 ." " Ah ! " said the King : " the Duke 
 
 d"Aumont's grandfather would be greatly asto- 
 
 2
 
 l8 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 nished if he could see his grandson arm in arm 
 with the grandson of his valet de chambre, 
 
 L , in a dress which may be called a patent 
 
 of nobility ! ' ' He went on to tell Madame de 
 Pompadour a long history, to prove the truth of 
 what he said. The King went out to accompany 
 her into the garden ; and, soon after, Quesnay and 
 M. de Marigny came in. I spoke with contempt 
 of someone who was very fond of money. At this 
 the Doctor laughed, and said, " I had a curious 
 dream last night : I was in the country of the 
 ancient Germans ; I had a large house, stacks of 
 corn, herds of cattle, a great number of horses, 
 and huge barrels of ale ; but I suffered dreadfully 
 from rheumatism, and knew not how to manage 
 to go to a fountain, at fifty leagues' distance, the 
 waters of which would cure me. I was to go 
 among a strange people. An enchanter appeared
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 19 
 
 before me, and said to me, ' I pity your distress : 
 here, I will give you a little packet of the powder 
 of prclinpinpin ; whoever receives a little of this 
 from you, will lodge you, feed you, and pay you 
 all sorts of civilities.' I took the powder, and 
 thanked him."—" Ah ! " said I, " how I should 
 like to have some powder of prclinpinpin ! I wish I 
 had a chest full." "Well," said the Doctor, "that 
 powder is money, for which you have so great a 
 contempt. Tell me who, of all the men who 
 come hither, receives the greatest attentions ? ' 
 " I do not know," said I. " Why," said he, " it 
 is M. de Monmartel, who comes four or five 
 times a year." " Why does he enjoy so much 
 consideration ? " " Because his coffers are full 
 of the powder of prclinpinpin. Everything in ex- 
 istence," said he, taking a handful of louis from 
 
 his pocket, " is contained in these little pieces of 
 
 2 — 2
 
 20 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 metal, which will convey you commodiously from 
 one end of the world to the other. All men obey 
 those who possess this powder, and eagerly tender 
 them their services. To despise money, is to de- 
 spise happiness, liberty, in short, enjoyments of 
 every kind." A cordon bleu passed under the 
 window. " That nobleman," said I, " is much 
 more delighted with his cordon bleu than he would 
 be with ten thousand of your pieces of metal." 
 " When I ask the King for a pension," replied 
 Quesnay, " I say to him, ' Give me the means of 
 having a better dinner, a warmer coat, a carriage 
 to shelter me from the weather, and to transport 
 me from place to place without fatigue.' But the 
 man who asks him for that fine blue ribbon, would 
 say, if he had the courage and the honesty to 
 speak as he feels, ' I am vain, and it will give me 
 great satisfaction to see the people look at me,
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 21 
 
 as I pass, with an eye of stupid admiration, and 
 make way for me : I wish, when I enter a room, 
 to produce an effect, and to excite the attention of 
 those who may, perhaps, laugh at me when I am 
 gone : I wish to be called Monseigneuv by the 
 multitude.' Is not all this mere empty air? In 
 scarcely any country will his ribbon be of the 
 slightest use to him : it will give him no power. 
 My pieces of metal will give me the power of 
 assisting the unfortunate everywhere. Long live 
 the omnipotent powder of prelinpinpin ! " At these 
 last words, we heard a burst of laughter from the 
 adjoining room, which was onlv separated by a 
 door from the one we were in. The door opened, 
 and in came the King, Madame de Pompadour, 
 and M. de Gontaut. " Long live the powder of 
 prelinpinpin!" said the King. "Doctor, can you 
 get me any of it ? " It happened, that when the
 
 22 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 King returned from his walk, he was struck with 
 a fancy to listen to our conversation. Madame 
 de Pompadour was extremely kind to the Doctor, 
 and the King went out laughing, and talking with 
 great admiration of the powder. I went away, 
 and so did the Doctor. I immediately sat down 
 to commit this conversation to writing. I was 
 afterwards told that M. Quesnay was very learned 
 in certain matters relating to finance, and that he 
 was a great economiste. But I do not know very 
 well what that means. What I do know for cer- 
 tain is, that he was very clever, very gay and 
 witty, and a very able physician. 
 
 The illness of the little Duke of Burgundy, 
 whose intelligence was much talked of, for a long 
 time occupied the attention of the Court. Great 
 endeavours were made to find out the cause of 
 his malady, and ill -nature went so far as to
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 23 
 
 assert that his nurse, who had an excellent situa- 
 tion at Versailles, had communicated to him a 
 nasty disease. The King shewed Madame de 
 Pompadour the information he had procured from 
 the province she came from, as to her conduct. 
 A silly bishop thought proper to say she had 
 been very licentious in her youth. The poor 
 nurse was told of this, and begged that he might 
 be made to explain himself. The bishop replied, 
 that she had been at several balls in the town 
 
 in which she lived, and that she had gone with 
 her neck uncovered. The poor man actually 
 thought this the height of licentiousness. The 
 King, who had been at first uneasy, when he 
 came to this, called out, " What a fool!' After 
 having long been a source of anxiety to the Court, 
 the Duke died. Nothing produces a stronger im- 
 pression upon princes, than the spectacle of their
 
 24 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 equals dying. Everybody is occupied about them 
 while ill — but as soon as they are dead, nobodv 
 mentions them. The King frequently talked 
 about death— and about funerals, and places of 
 burial. Nobody could be of a more melancholy 
 temperament. Madame de Pompadour once told 
 me that he experienced a painful sensation when- 
 ever he was forced to laugh, and that he had often 
 begged her to break off a droll story. He smiled, 
 and that was all. In general, he had the most 
 gloomy ideas concerning almost all events. When 
 there was a new minister, he used to say, " He 
 displays his wares like all the rest, and promises the 
 finest things in the world, not one of which will be 
 pulfilled He does not know this country — he will 
 see." When new projects for reinforcing the 
 navy were laid before him, he said, " This is 
 the twentieth time I have heard this talked of —
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 25 
 
 France never will have a navy, I think." This 
 I heard from M. de Marignv. 
 
 I never saw Madame de Pompadour so re- 
 joiced as at the taking of Mahon. The King was 
 very glad, too, but he had no belief in the merit 
 of his courtiers — he looked upon their success as 
 the effect of chance. Marshal Saxe was, as I have 
 been told, the only man who inspired him with 
 great esteem. But he had scarcely ever seen him 
 in his closet, nor playing the courtier. 
 
 M. d'Argenson picked a quarrel with M. de 
 Richelieu, after his victory, about his return to 
 Paris. This was intended to prevent his coining 
 to enjoy his triumph. He tried to throw the 
 thing upon Madame de Pompadour, who was 
 enthusiastic about him, and called him bv no 
 other name than the " Minorcan." The Chevalier 
 de Montaign was the favourite of the Dauphin,
 
 26 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 and much beloved by him for his great devotion. 
 He fell ill, and underwent an operation called 
 /' empieme, which is performed by making an 
 incision between the ribs, in order to let out 
 the pus ; it had, to all appearance, a favourable 
 result, but the patient grew worse, and could 
 not breathe. His medical attendants could not 
 conceive what occasioned this accident and re- 
 tarded his cure. He died almost in the arms 
 of the Dauphin, who went every day to see 
 him. The singularity of his disease determined 
 the surgeons to open the body, and they found, 
 in his chest, part of the leaden syringe with 
 which decoctions had, as was usual, been in- 
 jected into the part in a state of suppuration. 
 The surgeon, who committed this act of negli- 
 gence, took care not to boast of his feat, and 
 his patient was the victim. This incident was
 
 MADAME UV HAUSSET 2J 
 
 much talked of by the King, who related it, I 
 believe, not less than thirty times, according to 
 his custom ; but what occasioned still more con- 
 versation about the Chevalier de Montaign, was 
 a box, found by his bed's side, containing hair- 
 cloths, and shirts, and whips, stained with blood. 
 This circumstance was spoken of one evening at 
 supper, at Madame de Pompadour's, and not one 
 of the guests seemed at all tempted to imitate 
 the Chevalier. Eight or ten days afterwards, the 
 following tale was sent to the King, to Madame 
 de Pompadour, to the Baschi, and to the Duke 
 d'Ayen. At first, nobody could understand to 
 what it referred : at last, the Duke d'Ayen ex- 
 claimed, "How stupid we are: this is a joke on 
 the austerities of the Chevalier de Montaign ! ' 
 This appeared clear enough — so much the more 
 so, as copies were sent to the Dauphin, the
 
 28 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 Dauphiness, the Abbe de St. Cyr, and to the 
 Duke de V- — — . The latter had the character 
 of a pretender to devotion, and, in his copy, 
 there was this addition, " You would not be such 
 a fool, my dear Duke, as to be a faquir — confess 
 that you would be very glad to be one of those good 
 monks who lead such a jolly life.'" The Duke de 
 Richelieu was suspected of having employed one 
 of his wits to write the story. The King was 
 scandalised at it, and ordered the Lieutenant of 
 Police to endeavour to find out the author, but 
 either he could not succeed or he would not 
 betrav him. 
 
 J 
 
 Japanese Tale. 
 At a distance of three leagues from the capi- 
 tal of Japan, there is a temple celebrated for the 
 concourse of persons, of both sexes, and of all 
 ranks, who crowd thither to worship an idol be-
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 29 
 
 lieved to work miracles. Three hundred men con- 
 secrated to the service of religion, and who can 
 give proofs of ancient and illustrious descent, 
 serve this temple, and present to the idol the 
 offerings which are brought from all the pro- 
 vinces of the empire. They inhabit a vast and 
 magnificent edifice, belonging to the temple, and 
 surrounded with gardens where art has combined 
 with nature to produce enchantment. I obtained 
 permission to see the temple, and to walk in 
 the gardens. A monk advanced in years, but 
 still full of vigour and vivacity, accompanied me. 
 I saw several others, of different ages, who were 
 walking there. But what surprised me was to 
 see a great many of them amusing themselves by 
 various agreeable and sportive games with young 
 girls elegantly dressed, listening to their songs, 
 and joining in their dances. The monk, who
 
 30 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 accompanied me, listened with great civility and 
 kindness to the questions I put to him concern- 
 ing his order. The following is the sum of his 
 answers to my numerous interrogations. The God 
 Faraki, whom we worship, is so called from a 
 word which signifies the fabricator. He made all 
 that we behold — the earth, the stars, the sun, &c. 
 He has endowed men with senses, which are so 
 many sources of pleasure, and we think that the 
 only way of shewing our gratitude is to use them. 
 This opinion will, doubtless, appear to you much 
 more rational than that of the faquirs of India, 
 who pass their lives in thwarting nature, and 
 who inflict upon themselves the most melancholy 
 privations and the most severe sufferings. 
 
 As soon as the sun rises, we repair to 
 the mountain you see before us, at the foot of 
 which, flows a stream of the most limpid water,
 
 MADAME DV HAUSSET 3 1 
 
 which meanders in graceful windings through that 
 meadow — enamelled with the loveliest flowers. We 
 gather the most fragrant of them, which we carry 
 and lay upon the altar, together with various fruits, 
 which we receive from the bounty of Faraki. We 
 then sing his praises, and execute dances expres- 
 sive of our thankfulness, and of all the enjoy- 
 ments we owe to this beneficent deity. The 
 highest of these is that which love produces, and 
 we testify our ardent gratitude by the manner in 
 which we avail ourselves of this inestimable gift 
 of Faraki. Having left the temple, we go into 
 several shady thickets, where we take a light 
 repast ; after which, each of us employs himself 
 in some unoppressive labour. Some embroider, 
 others apply themselves to painting, others cul- 
 tivate flowers or fruits, others turn little imple- 
 ments for our use. Many of these little works
 
 32 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 are sold to the people, who purchase them with 
 eagerness. The money arising from this sale, 
 forms a considerable part of our revenue. Our 
 morning is thus devoted to the worship of God 
 and to the exercise of the sense of sight, which 
 begins with the first rays of the sun. The sense 
 of Taste is gratified by our dinner, and we add 
 to it the pleasure of Smell. The most delicious 
 viands are spread for us in apartments strewed 
 with flowers. The table is adorned with them, 
 and the most exquisite wines are handed to us in 
 crystal goblets. When we have glorified God, 
 by the agreeable use of the palate, and the olfac- 
 tory nerve, we enjoy a delightful sleep of two 
 hours, in bowers of orange trees, roses, and myr- 
 tles. Having acquired a fresh store of strength 
 and spirits, we return to our occupations, that we 
 may thus mingle labour with pleasure, which
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 33 
 
 would lose its zest by long continuance. After 
 our work, we return to the temple, to thank God, 
 and to offer him incense. From thence we go to 
 the most delightful part of the garden, where we 
 find three hundred young girls, some of whom 
 form lively dances with the younger of our 
 monks ; the others execute serious dances, which 
 require neither strength nor agility, and which only 
 keep time to the sound of musical instruments. 
 
 We talk and laugh with our companions, who 
 are dressed in a light gauze, and whose tresses 
 are adorned with flowers ; we press them to par- 
 take of exquisite sherbets, differently prepared. 
 The hour of supper being arrived, we repair to 
 rooms illuminated with the lustre of a thousand 
 tapers fragrant with amber. The supper-room 
 is surrounded by three vast galleries, in which are 
 
 placed musicians, whose various instruments fill 
 
 3
 
 34 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 the mind with the most pleasurable and the softest 
 emotions. The young girls are seated at table 
 with us, and, towards the conclusion of the repast, 
 they sing songs, which are hymns in honour of 
 the God who has endowed us with senses which 
 shed such a charm over existence, and which 
 promise us new pleasure from every fresh exercise 
 of them. After the repast is ended, we return to 
 the dance, and, when the hour of repose arrives, 
 we draw from a kind of lottery, in which every 
 one is sure of a prize ; that is, a young girl as his 
 companion for the night. They are allotted thus 
 by chance, in order to avoid jealousy, and to pre- 
 vent exclusive attachments. Thus ends the day, 
 and gives place to a night of delights, which 
 we sanctify by enjoying with due relish that 
 sweetest of all pleasures, which Faraki has so 
 wisely attached to the reproduction of our species.
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 35 
 
 We reverently admire the wisdom and the good- 
 ness of Faraki, who, desiring to secure to the 
 world a continued population, has implanted in 
 the sexes an invincible mutual attraction, which 
 constantly draws them towards each other. 
 Fecundity is the end he proposes, and he 
 rewards with intoxicating delights those who 
 contribute to the fulfilment of his designs. 
 What should we say to the favourite of a King 
 from whom he had received a beautiful house, 
 and fine estates, and who chose to spoil the 
 house, to let it fall in ruins, to abandon the 
 cultivation of the land, and to let it become 
 sterile, and covered with thorns ? Such is the 
 conduct of the Faquirs of India, who condemn 
 themselves to the most melancholy privations, 
 and to the most severe sufferings. Is not this 
 
 insulting Faraki ? Is it not saying to him, I 
 
 3—2
 
 36 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 despise your gifts ? Is it not misrepresenting 
 him and saying, You are malevolent and cruel, 
 and I know that I can no otherwise please 
 you than by offering you the spectacle of my 
 miseries ? "I am told," added he, " that you 
 have, in your country, Faquirs not less insane, 
 not less cruel to themselves." I thought, with 
 some reason, that he meant the fathers of La 
 Trappe. The recital of the matter afforded me 
 much matter for reflection, and I admired how- 
 strange are the systems to which perverted 
 reason gives birth. 
 
 The Duke de V was a nobleman of 
 
 high rank and great wealth. He said to the 
 King one evening at supper, " Your Majesty does 
 me the favour to treat me with great kindness : 
 I should be inconsolable if I had the misfortune 
 to fall under your displeasure. If such a
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 37 
 
 calamity were to befall me, I should endeavour 
 to divert my grief by improving some beautiful 
 estates of mine in such and such a province ; ' 
 and he thereupon gave a description of three or 
 four fine seats. About a month after, talking of 
 the disgrace of a minister, he said, " I hope 
 your Majesty will not withdraw your favour 
 from me ; but if I had the misfortune to lose 
 it, I should be more to be pitied than anybody, 
 for I have no asylum in which to hide my 
 head." All those present, who had heard the 
 description of the beautiful country houses, 
 looked at each other and laughed. The King 
 said to Madame de Pompadour, who sat next 
 him at table, " People are very right in saying that 
 a liar ought to have a good memory.'''' 
 
 An event, which made me tremble, as well 
 as Madame, procured me the familiarity of the
 
 3$ MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 King. In the middle of the night, Madame 
 came into my chamber, en chemise, and in a 
 state of distraction : " Here ! Here ! " said she, 
 "the King is dying." My alarm may be easily 
 imagined. I put on a petticoat, and found the 
 King in her bed, panting. What was to be 
 done? — it was an indigestion. We threw water 
 upon him, and he came to himself. I made 
 him swallow some Hoffman's drops, and he said 
 to me, " Do not make any noise, but go to 
 Quesnay ; say that your mistress is ill ; and tell 
 the doctor's servants to say nothing about it." 
 Quesnay, who lodged close by, came immediately, 
 and was much astonished to see the King in 
 that state. He felt his pulse, and said, " The 
 crisis is over ; but, if the King were sixty years 
 old, this might have been serious." He went 
 to seek some drug, and, on his return, set
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 39 
 
 about inundating the King with perfumed water. 
 I forget the name of the medicine he made 
 him take, but the effect was wonderful. I 
 believe it was the drops of General Lamotte. I 
 called up one of the girls of the wardrobe to 
 make tea, as if for myself. The King took 
 three cups, put on his robe de chambre and 
 his stockings, and went to his own room, 
 leaning upon the doctor. What a sight it was 
 to see us all three half naked ! Madame put 
 on a robe as soon as possible, and I did the 
 same, and the King changed his clothes behind 
 the curtains, which were very decently closed. 
 He afterwards spoke of this short attack, and 
 expressed his sense of th^ attentions shown 
 him. An hour after, I felt the greatest possible 
 terror in thinking that the King might have 
 died in our hands. Happily, he quickly recovered
 
 4-0 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 himself, and none of the domestics perceived 
 what had taken place. I merely told the girl 
 of the wardrobe to put everything to rights, 
 and she thought it was Madame who had been 
 indisposed. The King, the next morning, gave 
 secretly to Quesnay a little note for Madame, 
 in which he said, Ma chore amie must have had 
 a great fright, but let her re-assure herself — / am 
 now well, which the Doctor will certify to you. 
 From that moment the King became accustomed 
 to me, and, touched by the interest I had 
 shown for him, he often gave me one of his 
 peculiarly gracious glances, and made me little 
 presents, and, on every New Year's Day, sent 
 me porcelain to the amount of twenty louis 
 d'or. He told Madame that he looked upon 
 me in the apartment as a picture or statue, 
 and never put any constraint upon himself
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 4 1 
 
 on account of my presence. Doctor yuesnay 
 received a pension of a thousand crowns for 
 his attention and silence, and the promise of a 
 place for his son. The King gave me an order 
 upon the Treasury for four thousand francs, and 
 Madame had presented to her a very handsome 
 chiming-clock and the King's portrait in a snuff- 
 box. 
 
 The King was habitually melancholy, and liked 
 everything which recalled the idea of death, in 
 spite of the strongest fears of it. Of this, the fol- 
 lowing is an instance. Madame de Pompadour 
 
 was on her way to Crecy, when one of the King's 
 grooms made a sign to her coachman to stop, and 
 told him that the King's carriage had broken 
 down, and that, knowing her to be at no great 
 distance, his Majesty had sent him forward to 
 beg her to wait for him s He soon overtook us,
 
 42 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 and seated himself in Madame de Pompadour's 
 carriage, in which were, I think, Madame de 
 Chateau-Renaud, and Madame de Mirepoix. The 
 lords in attendance placed themselves in some 
 other carriages. I was behind, in a chaise, with 
 Gourbillon, Madame de Pompadour's valet de 
 chambre. We were surprised in a short time by 
 the King stopping his carriage. Those which 
 followed, of course stopped also. The King called 
 a groom, and said to him, " You see that little 
 eminence ; there are crosses ; it must certainly be 
 a burying ground ; go and see whether there are 
 any graves newly dug." The groom galloped up 
 to it, returned, and said to the King, " There are 
 three quite freshly made." Madame de Pom- 
 padour, as she told me, turned away her head 
 with horror; and the little Marechale 1 gaily said, 
 
 i The Marechale de Mirepoix died at Brussels, in i7<ji ; 

 
 MADAME DU HAUSSKT 43 
 
 " This is indeed enough to make one's month water." 
 Madame de Pompadour spoke of it when I was 
 undressing her in the evening. " What a strange 
 pleasure ! ' said she, " to endeavour to rill one's 
 mind with images which one ought to endeavour 
 to banish, especially when one is surrounded by 
 so many sources of happiness ! But that is the 
 King's way ; he loves to talk about death. He 
 said, some days ago, to M. de Fontanieu, who was 
 seized with a bleeding at the nose, at the levee, 
 ' Take care of yourself ; at your age it is a fore- 
 
 at a very advanced age, but preserving her wit and gaiety 
 to the last. The day of her death, after she had received 
 the Sacrament, the Physician told her that he thought her 
 a good deal better. She replied, " You tell me bad news : 
 having packed up, I had rather go.'* She was sister of 
 the Prince de Beauveau. The Prince de Ligne says, in 
 one of his printed letters, " She had that enchanting talent 
 which supplies the means of pleasing everybody. You 
 would have sworn that she had thought of nothing but you 
 all her life.' — Ed.
 
 44 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 runner of apoplexy.' The poor man went home 
 frightened, and absolutely ill." 
 
 I never saw the King so agitated as during the 
 illness of the Dauphin. The physicians came inces- 
 santly to the apartments of Madame de Pompadour, 
 where the King interrogated them. There was one 
 from Paris, a very odd man, called Pousse, who 
 once said to him, " You are a good papa ; I like 
 you for that. But you know we are all your 
 children, and share your distress. Take courage, 
 however ; your son will recover." Everybody's 
 eyes were upon the Duke of Orleans, who knew 
 not how to look. He would have become heir 
 to the crown, the Queen being past the age to 
 
 have children. Madame de said to me, 
 
 one day, when I was expressing my surprise at 
 the King's grief, " It would annoy him beyond 
 measure to have a prince of the blood, heir ap-
 
 MADAME DU H.U'SSI. I 45 
 
 parent. He does not like them, and looks upon 
 their relationship to him as so remote, that he 
 would feel humiliated by it." And, in fact, when 
 his son recovered, he said, " The King of Spain 
 would have had a fine chance."' It was thought 
 that he was right in this, and that it would 
 have been agreeable to justice ; but that, if the 
 Duke of Orleans had been supported by a party, 
 he might have supported his pretensions to the 
 crown. It was, doubtless, to remove this im- 
 pression that he gave a magnificent fete at 
 St. Cloud on the occasion of the Dauphin's re- 
 covery. Madame de Pompadour said to Madame 
 de Brancas, speaking of this fete, " He wishes 
 to make us forget the chateaux en Espagne 
 he has been dreaming of : in Spain, however, 
 they build them of solider materials.'* The 
 people did not shew so much joy at the Dau-
 
 46 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 phin's recovery. They looked upon him as a 
 devotee, who did nothing but sing psalms. They 
 loved the Duke of Orleans, who lived in the 
 capital, and had acquired the name of the King 
 of Paris. These sentiments were not just ; the 
 Dauphin only sang psalms when imitating the 
 tones of one of the choristers of the chapel. 
 The people afterwards acknowledged their error, 
 and did justice to his virtues. The Duke of 
 Orleans paid the most assiduous court to Madame 
 de Pompadour : the Duchess, on the contrary, 
 detested her. It is possible that words were 
 put in the Duchess's mouth, which she never 
 uttered ; but she, certainly, often said most cut- 
 ting things. The King would have sent her into 
 exile, had he listened only to his resentment ; 
 but he feared the eclat of such a proceeding, 
 and he knew that she would only be the more
 
 MADAME VV HAUSSET 47 
 
 malicious. The Duke of Orleans was, just then, 
 
 extremely jealous of the Count de Melfort ; and 
 
 the Lieutenant of Police told the King, he had 
 
 strong reasons for believing that the Duke would 
 
 stick at nothing to rid himself of this gallant, 
 
 and that he thought it his duty to give the 
 
 Count notice, that he ought to be upon his 
 
 guard. The King said, " He would not dare 
 
 to attempt any such violence as you seem to 
 
 apprehend ; but there is a better way : let him 
 
 try to surprise them, and he will find me very 
 
 well inclined to have his cursed wife shut 
 
 up : but if he got rid of this lover, she would 
 
 have another to-morrow. Nay, she has others at 
 
 this moment ; for instance, the Chevalier de 
 
 Colbert, and the Count de l'Aigle." Madame de 
 
 Pompadour, however, told me these two last 
 
 affairs were not certain.
 
 48 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 An adventure happened about the same time, 
 which the Lieutenant of Police reported to the 
 King. The Duchess of Orleans had amused her- 
 self one evening, about eight o'clock, with ogling 
 a handsome young Dutchman, whom she took 
 
 a fancy to, from a window of the Palais Royal. 
 The young man, taking her for a woman of the 
 town, wanted to make short work, at which she 
 was very much shocked. She called a Swiss, 
 and made herself known. The stranger was 
 arrested ; but he defended himself by affirming 
 that she had talked very loosely to him. He 
 was dismissed, and the Duke of Orleans gave his 
 wife a severe reprimand. 
 
 The King (who hated her so much that he 
 spoke of her without the slightest restraint) one 
 day said to Madame de Pompadour, in my pre- 
 sence, " Her mother knew what she was, for,
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 49 
 
 before her marriage, she never suffered her to 
 
 say more than yes and no. Do you know her 
 
 joke on the nomination of Moras ? She sent to 
 
 congratulate him upon it : two minutes after, she 
 
 called back the messenger she had sent, and 
 
 said, before everybody present, ' Before you speak 
 
 to him, ask the Swiss if he still has the place.' ' 
 
 Madame de Pompadour was not vindictive, and, 
 
 in spite of the malicious speeches of the Duchess 
 
 of Orleans, she tried to excuse her conduct : 
 
 " Almost all women," said she, " have lovers ; 
 
 she has not all that are imputed to her : but 
 
 her free manners, and her conversation, which is 
 
 beyond all bounds, have brought her into general 
 
 disrepute.'' 
 
 My companion came into my room the 
 
 other day, quite delighted. She had been with 
 
 M. de Chenevieres, first Clerk in the War-office, 
 
 4
 
 50 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 and a constant correspondent of Voltaire, whom 
 she looks upon as a god. She was, by the bye, 
 put into a great rage one day, lately, by a print- 
 seller in the street, who was crying, " Here is 
 Voltaire, the famous Prussian ; here you see him, 
 with a great bear - skin cap, to keep him from 
 the cold ! Here is the famous Prussian, for 
 three-pence ! ' " What a profanation ! " said she. 
 To return to my story : M. de Chenevieres had 
 shewn her some letters from Voltaire, and M. 
 Marmontel had read an Epistle to his Library. 
 
 M. Quesnay came in for a moment ; she told 
 him all this : and, as he did not appear to take 
 any great interest in it, she asked him if he did 
 not admire great poets. " Oh, yes ; just as I 
 admire great bilboquet players," said he, in that 
 tone of his, which rendered everything he said 
 diverting. " I have written some verses, how- 

 
 MADAME Dl! HAUSSET 5 1 
 
 ever," said he, " and I will repeat them to you ; 
 they are upon a certain M. Rodot, an Intendant 
 of the Marine, who was very fond of abusing 
 medicine and medical men. I made these verses 
 to revenge /Esculapius and Hippocrates. 
 
 Antoine se medicina 
 
 En decriant la medicine, 
 Et de ses propres mains mina 
 
 Les fondemens de sa machine : 
 Tres rarement il opina 
 
 Sans humeur bizarre ou chagrine, 
 Et, l'esprit qui le domina 
 
 Etait affiche sur sa mine. 
 
 What do you say to them ? ' said the Doctor. 
 
 My companion thought them very pretty, and 
 
 the Doctor gave me them in his handwriting, 
 
 begging me, at the same time, not to give any 
 
 copies. 
 
 Madame de Pompadour joked my companion 
 
 about her bel-esprit, but sometimes she reposed 
 
 4—2
 
 52 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 confidence in her. Knowing that she was often 
 writing, she said to her, " You are writing a novel, 
 which will appear some day or other ; or, perhaps, 
 the age of Louis XV. : I beg you to treat me 
 well." I have no reason to complain of her. It 
 signifies very little to me that she can talk more 
 learnedly than I can about prose and verse. 
 
 She never told me her real name ; but one 
 day I was malicious enough to say to her, " Some- 
 one was maintaining, yesterday, that the family of 
 
 Madame de Mar was of more importance than 
 
 many of good extraction. They say it is the first 
 in Cadiz. She had very honourable alliances, and 
 yet she has thought it no degradation to be gover- 
 ness to Madame de Pompadour's daughter. One 
 day, you will see her sons or her nephews farmers 
 general, and her grand - daughters married to 
 Dukes." I had remarked that Madame de Pom- 
 
 
 I
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET j$ 
 
 padour for some days had taken chocolate, a triple 
 vanille ct ambre, at her breakfast ; and that she ate 
 truffles and celery soup : finding her in a very 
 heated state, I one day remonstrated with her 
 about her diet, to which she paid no attention. 
 I then thought it right to speak to her friend, the 
 Duchess de Brancas. " I had remarked the same 
 thing," said she, " and I will speak to her about it 
 before you." After she was dressed, Madame de 
 Brancas, accordingly, told her she was uneasy 
 about her health. "I have just been talking to her 
 about it," said the Duchess, pointing to me, " and 
 she is of my opinion." Madame de Pompadour 
 seemed a little displeased ; at last, she burst into 
 tears. I immediately went out, shut the door, 
 and returned to my place to listen. " My dear 
 friend," said she to Madame de Brancas, " I am 
 agitated by the fear of losing the King's heart
 
 54 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 by ceasing to be attractive to him. Men, you 
 know, set great value on certain things, and I 
 have the misfortune to be of a very cold tem- 
 perament. I, therefore, determined to adopt a 
 heating diet, in order to remedy this defect, and 
 for two days this elixir has been of great service 
 to me, or, at least, I have thought I felt its 
 good effects." The Duchess de Brancas took 
 the phial which was upon the toilet, and after 
 having smelt at it, " Fie ! " said she, and threw 
 it into the hre. Madame de Pompadour scolded 
 her, and said, " I don't like to be treated like a 
 child." She wept again, and said, " You don't 
 know what happened to me a week ago. The 
 
 King, under pretext of the heat of the weather, 
 lay down upon my sofa, and passed half the 
 night there. He will take a disgust to me and 
 have another mistress." — " You will not avoid
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 55 
 
 that," replied the Duchess, " by following your 
 new diet, and that diet will kill you ; render 
 your company more and more precious to the 
 King by your gentleness : do not repulse him in 
 his fond moments, and let time do the rest ; the 
 chains of habit will bind him to you for ever." 
 They then embraced ; Madame de Pompadour 
 recommended secresy to Madame de Brancas, 
 and the diet was abandoned. 
 
 A little while after, she said to me, " Our 
 master is better pleased with me. This is since 
 I spoke to Quesnay, without, however, telling 
 him all. He told me, that to accomplish my 
 end, I must try to be in good health, to digest 
 well, and, for that purpose, take exercise. I 
 think the Doctor is right. I feel quite a different 
 creature. I adore that man (the King), I wish 
 so earnestly to be agreeable to him ! But, alas !
 
 56 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 sometimes he savs I am a macreuse ( a cold- 
 blooded aquatic bird). I would give my life to 
 please him." 
 
 One day, the King came in very much heated. 
 I withdrew to my post, where I listened. " What 
 is the matter ? '' said Madame de Pompadour. 
 " The long robes and the clergy," replied he, " are 
 always at drawn daggers, they distract me by 
 their quarrels. But I detest the long robes the 
 most. My clergy, on the whole, is attached and 
 faithful to me ; the others want to keep me in a 
 state of tutelage." — " Firmness," said Madame de 
 Pompadour, " is the only thing that can subdue 
 them." — " Robert Saint Vincent is an incendiary, 
 whom I wish I could banish, but that would make 
 a terrible tumult. On the other hand, the Arch- 
 bishop is an iron - hearted fellow, who tries to 
 pick quarrels. Happily, there are some in the
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 57 
 
 parliament upon whom I can rely, and who affect 
 to be very violent, but can be softened upon occa- 
 sion. It costs me a few abbeys, and a few secret 
 pensions, to accomplish this. There is a certain 
 ^ who serves me very well, while he ap- 
 pears to be furious on the other side." — "I can 
 tell you some news of him, Sire," said Madame 
 de Pompadour. " He wrote to me yesterday, pre- 
 tending that he is related to me, and begging 
 for an interview." — "Well," said the King, "let 
 him come. See him ; and if he behaves well, we 
 shall have a pretext for giving him something." 
 M. de Gontaut came in, and seeing that they 
 were talking seriously, said nothing. The King 
 walked about in an agitated manner, and suddenly 
 exclaimed, " The Regent was very wrong in re- 
 storing to them the right of remonstrating : they 
 will end in ruining the State." — " Ah, sire." said
 
 58 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 M. de Gontaut, "it is too strong to be shaken by 
 a set of petty justices." — " You don't know what 
 they do, nor what they think. They are an as- 
 sembly of republicans ; however, here is enough 
 of the subject. Things will last as they are as 
 long as I shall. Talk about this on Sunday, 
 Madame, with M. Berrier." Madame d'Ambli- 
 mont and Madame d'Esparbes came in. " Ah ! 
 here come my kittens," said Madame de Pompa- 
 dour ; "all that we are about is Greek to them; 
 but their gaiety restores my tranquility, and en- 
 ables me to attend again to serious affairs. You, 
 Sire, have the chase to divert you — they answer 
 the same purpose to me." — The King then began 
 to talk about his morning's sport, and Lansmatte. 1 
 
 1 See the " Memoirs of Madame Campan," vol. iii. 
 p. 24. Many traits of original and amusing bluntness are 
 related of Lansmatte, one of the King's grooms.
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 59 
 
 It was necessary to let the King go on upon these 
 subjects, and even, sometimes, to hear the same 
 story three or four times over, if new persons 
 came into the room. Madame de Pompadour 
 never betrayed the least ennui. She even some- 
 times persuaded him to begin his story anew. 
 
 I one day said to her, "It appears to me, 
 Madame, that you are fonder than ever of the 
 Countess d'Amblimont.'' — "I have reason to be 
 so," said she. " She is unique, I think, for her 
 fidelity to her friends, and for her honour. Listen, 
 but tell nobody — four days ago, the King, pass- 
 ing her to go to supper, approached her, under 
 the pretence of tickling her, and tried to slip a 
 note into her hand. D'Amblimont, in her mad- 
 cap way, put her hands behind her back, and the 
 King was obliged to pick up the note, which had 
 fallen on the ground. Gontaut was the only per-
 
 60 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 son who saw all this, and, after supper, he went 
 up to the little lady, and said, " You are an 
 excellent friend." — " I did my duty," said she, 
 and immediately put her finger on her lips to 
 enjoin him to be silent. He, however, informed 
 me of this act of friendship of the little heroine, 
 who had not told me of it herself. I admired 
 the Countess's virtue, and Madame de Pompadour 
 said, " She is giddy and headlong ; but she has 
 more sense and more feeling than a thousand 
 prudes and devotees. D'Esparbes would not do 
 as much — most likelv she would meet him more 
 than half-way. The King appeared disconcerted, 
 but he still pays her great attentions." — " You 
 will, doubtless, Madame," said I, " shew your 
 sense of such admirable conduct." — " You need 
 not doubt it," said she, " but I don't wish her 
 to think that I am informed of it." The King,
 
 MADAME DL' HAUSSET 6l 
 
 prompted either by the remains of his liking, or 
 from the suggestions of Madame de Pompadour, 
 one morning went to call on Madame d'Ambli- 
 mont, at Choisy, and threw round her neck a 
 collar of diamonds and emeralds, worth between 
 two and three thousand pounds. This happened 
 a long time after the circumstance I have just 
 related. 
 
 There was a large sofa in a little room 
 adjoining Madame de Pompadour's, upon which 
 I often reposed. 
 
 One evening, towards midnight, a bat flew 
 into the apartment where the Court was ; the 
 King immediately cried out, " Where is General 
 Crillon ? * (He had just left the room.) He is 
 the General to command against the bats." 
 This set everybody calling out, " ou Hats tu, 
 Crillon ? " M. Crillon soon after came in. and
 
 62 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 was told where the enemy was. He immediately 
 threw off his coat, drew his sword, and com- 
 menced an attack upon the bat, which flew into 
 the closet where I was fast asleep. I started out 
 of sleep at the noise, and saw the King and all 
 the company around me. This furnished amuse- 
 ment for the rest of the evening. M. de Crillon 
 was a very excellent and agreeable man, but 
 he had the fault of indulging in buffooneries of 
 this kind, which, however, were the result of his 
 natural gaiety, and not of any subserviency of 
 character. Such, however, was not the case with 
 another exalted nobleman, a Knight of the 
 Golden Fleece, whom Madame saw one day 
 shaking hands with her valet de chambre. As 
 he was one of the vainest men at Court, 
 Madame could not refrain from telling the 
 circumstance to the King ; and, as he had no
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 63 
 
 employment at Court, the King scarcely ever 
 after named him on the Supper List. 
 
 I had a cousin at Saint Cyr, who was 
 married. She was greatly distressed at having a 
 relation waiting woman to Madame de Pompa- 
 dour, and often treated me in the most 
 mortifying manner. Madame knew this from 
 Colin, 1 her steward, and spoke of it to the King. 
 " I am not surprised at it," said he — " this is a 
 specimen of the silly women of Saint Cyr. 
 Madame de Maintenon had excellent intentions, 
 but she made a great mistake. These girls are 
 brought up in such a manner, that, unless they 
 are all made ladies of the palace, thev are un- 
 happy and impertinent.' 7 
 
 1 Colin was a procureur of the Chatelet, who was en- 
 trusted with the favourite's affairs, and decorated, by her 
 desire, with the Cross of St. Louis, by means of an office 
 in the order.
 
 64 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 Some time after, this relation of mine was at 
 my house. Colin, who knew her, though she did 
 not know him, came in. He said to me, " Do 
 you know that the Prince de Chimay has made 
 a violent attack upon the Chevalier d'Henin for 
 being equerry to the Marchioness." At these 
 words, my cousin looked very much astonished, 
 and said, " Was he not right ? " — " I don't mean 
 to enter into that question, " said Colin — " but 
 only to repeat his words, which were these : ' If 
 you were only a man of moderately good family 
 and poor, I should not blame you, knowing, as 
 I do, that there are hundreds such, who would 
 quarrel for your place, as young ladies of family 
 would, to be about your mistress. But, recollect, 
 that your relations are princes of the empire, and 
 that you bear their name.' " — " What, sir," said 
 my relation, " the Marchioness's equerry of a
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 65 
 
 princely house ? " — " Of the house of Chimay," 
 said he; "they take the name of Alsace" — wit- 
 ness the cardinal of that name. Colin went out 
 delighted at what he had said. 
 
 " I cannot get over my surprise at what I 
 have heard," said my relation. " It is. neverthe- 
 less, very true," replied I ; " you may see the 
 Chevalier d'Henin (that is the family name of 
 the Princes de Chimay), with the cloak of 
 Madame upon his arm, and walking alongside 
 her sedan-chair, in order that he may be ready, 
 on her getting in, to cover her shoulders with 
 her cloak, and then remain in the anti-chamber, 
 if there is no other room, till her return." 
 
 From that time, my cousin let me alone ; 
 nay, she even applied to me to get a company of 
 horse for her husband, who was very loth to come 
 
 and thank me. His wife wished him to thank 
 
 5
 
 66 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 Madame de Pompadour ; but, the fear he had lest 
 she should tell him, that it was in consideration 
 of his relationship to her waiting-woman that he 
 commanded fifty horse, prevented him. It was, 
 however, a most surprising thing, that a man 
 belonging to the house of Chimay should be in 
 the service of any lady whatever ; and the com- 
 mander of Alsace returned from Malta on purpose 
 to get him out of Madame de Pompadour's house- 
 hold. He got him a pension of a hundred louis 
 from his family, and the Marchioness gave him a 
 company of horse. The Chevalier d'Henin had 
 been page to the Marshal de Luxembourg, and 
 one can hardly imagine how he could have put 
 his relation in such a situation ; for, generally 
 speaking, all great houses keep up the consequence 
 of their members. M. de Machault, the Keeper 
 of the Seals, had, at the same time, as equerry,
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 67 
 
 a Knight of St. Louis, and a man of family — the 
 Chevalier de Peribuse — who carried his portfolio, 
 and walked by the side of the chair. 
 
 Whether it was from ambition, or from tender- 
 ness, Madame de Pompadour had a regard for 
 her daughter, 1 which seemed to proceed from the 
 bottom of her heart. She was brought up like a 
 princess, and, like persons of that rank, was called 
 by her Christian name alone. The first persons at 
 Court had an eye to this alliance, but her mother 
 had, perhaps, a better project. The King had a 
 son by Madame de Vintimille, who resembled him 
 in face, gesture, and manners. He was called the 
 
 Count du ■ — — ■. Madame de Pompadour had 
 
 him brought to Bellevue. — Colin, her steward, was 
 employed to find means to persuade his tutor to 
 
 1 The daughter of Madame de Pompadour and her 
 husband, M. d'Etioles. She was called Alexandrine. 
 
 5—2
 
 68 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 bring him thither. They took some refreshment 
 at the house of the Swiss, and the Marchioness, 
 in the course of her walk, appeared to meet them 
 by accident. She asked the name of the child, 
 and admired his beauty. Her daughter came up 
 at the same moment, and Madame de Pom- 
 padour led them into a part of the garden where 
 she knew the King would come. He did come, 
 and asked the child's name. He was told, and 
 looked embarrassed when Madame, pointing to 
 them, said they would be a beautiful couple. The 
 King played with the girl, without appearing to 
 take any notice of the boy, who, while he was 
 eating some figs and cakes which were brought, 
 his attitudes and gestures were so like those of 
 the King, that Madame de Pompadour was in the 
 utmost astonishment. "Ah!" said she, "Sire, 
 look at ." " At what?" said he. "Nothing," 

 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 69 
 
 replied Madame, " except that one would think one 
 saw his father.'* 
 
 " I did not know," said the King, smiling, 
 "that you were so intimately acquainted with 
 the Count du L ." " You ought to em- 
 brace him," said she, " he is very handsome." 
 " I will begin, then, with the young lady," said 
 the King, and embraced them in a cold, con- 
 strained manner. I was present, having joined 
 Mademoiselle's governess. I remarked to Madame, 
 in the evening, that the King had not appeared 
 very cordial in his caresses. " That is his way," 
 said she ; " but do not those children appear 
 made for each other ? If it was Louis XIV., 
 he would make a Duke du Maine of the little 
 boy ; I do not ask so much ; but a place and a 
 dukedom for his son is very little ; and it is 
 because he is his son that I prefer him to all
 
 70 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 the little dukes of the Court. My grandchildren 
 would blend the resemblance of their grandfather 
 and grandmother ; and this combination, which 
 I hope to live to see, would, one day, be my 
 greatest delight." The tears came into her eyes 
 as she spoke. Alas ! alas ! only six months 
 elapsed, when her darling daughter, the hope of 
 her advanced years, the object of her fondest 
 wishes, died suddenly. Madame de Pompadour 
 was inconsolable, and I must do M. de Marigny 
 the justice to say that he was deeply afflicted. 
 His niece was beautiful as an angel, and destined 
 to the highest fortunes, and I always thought 
 that he had formed the design of marrying her. 
 A dukedom would have given him rank ; and 
 that, joined to his place, and to the wealth which 
 she would have had from her mother, would 
 have made him a man of great importance. The
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 7 I 
 
 difference of age was not sufficient to be a great 
 obstacle. People, as usual, said the young lady 
 was poisoned : for the unexpected death of per- 
 sons who command a large portion of public 
 attention always gives birth to these rumours. 
 The King shewed great regret, but more for the 
 grief of Madame than on account of the loss 
 itself, though he had often caressed the child, 
 and loaded her with presents. I owe it, also, 
 to justice, to say that M. de Marigny, the heir 
 of all Madame de Pompadour's fortune, after the 
 death of her daughter, evinced the sincerest and 
 deepest regret every time she was seriously ill. 
 She. soon after, began to lay plans for his estab- 
 lishment. Several young ladies of the highest 
 birth were thought of; and, perhaps, he would 
 have been made a duke, but his turn of mind 
 indisposed him for schemes either of marriage or
 
 72 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 ambition. Ten times he might have been made 
 Prime Minister, yet he never aspired to it. " That 
 is a man," said Quesnay to me, one day, " who 
 is very little known ; nobody talks of his talents 
 or acquirements, nor of his zealous and efficient 
 patronage of the arts : no man, since Colbert, 
 has done so much in his situation : he is, more- 
 over, an extremely honourable man, but people will 
 not see in him anything but the brother of the 
 favourite ; and, because he is fat, he is thought 
 dull and heavy." This was all perfectly true. 
 M. de Marigny had travelled in Italy with very 
 able artists, and had acquired taste, and much 
 more information than any of his predecessors 
 had possessed. As for the heaviness of his air, it 
 only came upon him when he grew fat ; before 
 that, he had a delightful face. He was then as 
 handsome as his sister. He paid court to nobody,
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 73 
 
 had no vanity, and confined himself to the society 
 of persons with whom he was at his ease. He 
 went rather more into company at Court after the 
 King had taken him to ride with him in his 
 carriage, thinking it then his duty to shew himself 
 among the courtiers. 
 
 Madame called me, one day, into her closet, 
 where the King was walking up and down in a 
 very serious mood. " You must," said she, " pass 
 some days in a house in the avenue of St. Cloud, 
 whither I shall send you. You will there find a 
 young lady about to lie in." The King said no- 
 thing, and I was mute from astonishment. " You 
 will be mistress of the house, and preside, like one 
 of the fabulous goddesses, at the accouchement. 
 Your presence is necessary, in order that every- 
 thing may pass secretly, and according to the 
 King's wish. You will be present at the baptism,
 
 74 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 and name the father and mother." The King 
 began to laugh, and said, " The father is a very 
 honest man ; ' Madame added, " beloved by every- 
 one, and adored by those who know him." 
 Madame then took from a little cupboard a small 
 box, and drew from it an aigrette of diamonds, at 
 the same time saying to the King, " I have my 
 reasons for it not being handsomer." " It is but 
 too much so," said the King ; " how kind you 
 are ; " and he then embraced Madame, who wept 
 with emotion, and, putting her hand upon the 
 King's heart, said, " This is what I wish to 
 secure." The King's eyes then filled with tears, 
 and I also began weeping, without knowing why. 
 Afterwards, the King said, " Guimard will call 
 upon you every day, to assist you with his advice, 
 and at the critical moment you will send for him. 
 You will say that you expect the sponsors, and a 

 
 MADAME DU HAUSSHT 75 
 
 moment after you will pretend to have received a 
 letter, stating that they cannot come. You will, 
 
 of course, affect to be very much embarrassed ; 
 and Guimard will then say, that there is nothing 
 for it but to take the first comers. You will then 
 appoint as godfather and godmother some beggar, 
 or chairman, and the servant girl of the house, 
 and to whom you will give but twelve francs, in 
 order not to attract attention." " A louis," added 
 Madame, " to obviate anything singular, on the 
 other hand." "It is you who make me econo- 
 mical, under certain circumstances," said the 
 King. " Do you remember the hackney-coach- 
 man ? I wanted to give him a louis, and the 
 Duke d'Ayen said, You will be known ; so that 
 I gave him a crown." He was going to tell 
 the whole story. Madame made a sign to him 
 to be silent, which he obeyed, not without con-
 
 7 6 
 
 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 siderable reluctance. She afterwards told me 
 that, at the time of the fetes given on occasion 
 of the Dauphin's marriage, the King came to 
 see her at her mother's house in a hackney- 
 coach. The coachman would not go on, and 
 the King would have given him a louis. "The 
 police will hear of it, if you do," said the Duke 
 d'Ayen, " and its spies will make inquiries, 
 which will, perhaps, lead to a discovery." 
 
 " Guimard," continued the King, " will tell 
 you the names of the father and mother ; he 
 will be present at the ceremony, and make the 
 usual presents. It is but fair that you also 
 should receive yours ; " and, as he said this, he 
 gave me fifty louis, with that gracious air that 
 he could so well assume upon certain occasions, 
 and which no person in the kingdom had but 
 himself. I kissed his hand and wept. "You
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 77 
 
 will take care of the acconchee, will you not ? 
 She is a good creature, who has not invented 
 gunpowder, and I confide her entirely to your 
 direction ; my Chancellor will tell you the rest," 
 he said, turning to Madame, and then quitted 
 the room. " Well, what think you of the part 
 I am playing ? ' asked Madame. "It is that 
 of a superior woman, and an excellent friend," 
 I replied. " It is his heart I wish to secure," 
 said she ; " and all those young girls who have 
 no education will not run away with it from 
 me. I should not be equally confident were I 
 to see some fine woman belonging to the Court, 
 or the city, attempt his conquest." 
 
 I asked Madame, if the young lad}- knew 
 that the King was the father of her child ? "I 
 do not think she does," replied she ; " but, as 
 he appeared fond of her, there is some reason
 
 78 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 to fear that those about her might be too ready 
 to tell her; otherwise," said she, shrugging her 
 shoulders, " she, and all the others, are told, 
 that he is a Polish nobleman, a relation of the 
 Queen, who has apartments in the castle." This 
 story was contrived on account of the cordon 
 bleu, which the King has not always time to 
 lay aside, because, to do that, he must change 
 his coat, and in order to account for his having 
 a lodging in the castle so near the King. There 
 were two little rooms by the side of the chapel, 
 whither the King retired from his apartment, 
 without being seen by anybody but a sentinel, 
 who had his orders, and who did not know 
 who passed through those rooms. The King 
 sometimes went to the Parc-aux-cerfs, or re- 
 ceived those young ladies in the apartments I 
 have mentioned.
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 79 
 
 I must here interrupt my narrative, to relate 
 a singular adventure, which is only known to six 
 or seven persons, masters or valets. At the time 
 of the attempt to assassinate the King, a young 
 girl, whom he had seen several times, and for 
 whom he had manifested more tenderness than 
 for most, was distracted at this horrible event. 
 The mother -abbess of the Pare - aux - cerfs per- 
 ceived her extraordinary grief, and managed so 
 as to make her confess that she knew the Polish 
 Count was the King of France. She confessed 
 that she had taken from his pocket two letters, 
 one of which was from the King of Spain, the 
 other from the Abbe de Broglie. This was dis- 
 covered afterwards, for neither she nor the mother- 
 abbess knew the names of the writers. The girl 
 was scolded, and M. Lebel, first valet-de-chambre, 
 who had the management of all these affairs, was
 
 8o 
 
 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 called ; he took the letters, and carried them to 
 the King, who was very much embarrassed in 
 what manner to meet a person so well informed 
 of his condition. The girl in question, having 
 perceived that the King came secretly to see her 
 companion, while she was neglected, watched his 
 arrival, and, at the moment he entered with the 
 abbess, who was about to withdraw, she rushed 
 distractedly into the room where her rival was. 
 She immediately threw herself at the King's feet. 
 "Yes," said she, "you are King of all France; 
 but that would be nothing to me if you were 
 not also monarch of my heart : do not forsake 
 me, my beloved sovereign ; I was nearly mad 
 when your life was attempted ! " The mother- 
 abbess cried out, " You are mad now." The 
 King embraced her, which appeared to restore 
 her to tranquility. They succeeded in getting
 
 MADAME Dl' HAUSSET 8l 
 
 her out of the room, and a few days afterwards 
 the unhappy girl was taken to a madhouse, where 
 she was treated as if she had been insane, for 
 some days. But she knew well enough that she 
 was not so, and that the King had really been 
 her lover. This lamentable affair was related to me 
 by the mother-abbess, when I had some acquaint- 
 ance with her at the time of the accouchement I 
 have spoken of, which I never had before, nor since. 
 
 To return to my history ; Madame de Pompa- 
 dour said to me, " Be constantly with the accouchee, 
 to prevent any stranger, or even the people of 
 the house, from speaking to her. You will always 
 say that he is a very rich Polish nobleman, 
 who is obliged to conceal himself on account of 
 his relationship to the Queen, who is very devout. 
 You will rind a wet-nurse in the house, to whom 
 
 you will deliver the child. Guimard will manage 
 
 6
 
 82 
 
 MEMOIRS OH LOUIS XV 
 
 all the rest. You will go to church as a witness ; 
 everything must be conducted as if for a substan- 
 tial citizen. The young lady expects to lie in in 
 five or six days ; you will dine with her, and will 
 not leave her till she is in a state of health to 
 return to the Parc-aux-cerfs, which she may do in 
 a fortnight, as I imagine, without running any 
 risk." I went, that same evening, to the Avenue 
 de Saint Cloud, where I found the Abbess and 
 Guimard, an attendant belonging to the castle, 
 but without his blue coat. There were, besides, 
 a nurse, a wet-nurse, two old men-servants, and a 
 girl, who was something between a servant and a 
 waiting- woman. The young lady was extremely 
 pretty, and dressed very elegantly, though not too 
 
 remarkably. I supped with her and the mother- 
 abbess, who was called Madame Bertrand. I had 
 presented the aigrette Madame de Pompadour gave
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET S3 
 
 me before supper, which had greatly delighted the 
 young lady, and she was in high spirits. Madame 
 Bertrand had been housekeeper to M. Lebel, first 
 valet -de-chambre to the King. He called her 
 Dominique, and she was entirely in his confidence. 
 The young iady chatted with us after supper ; she 
 appeared to me very naive. The next day, I 
 talked to her in private. She said to me, " How 
 is the Count ? ' (It was the King whom she 
 called by this title.) " He will be very sorry not 
 to be with me now : but he was obliged to set off 
 on a long journey." I assented to what she said. 
 " He is very handsome,"' said she, " and loves me 
 with all his heart. He promised me an allow- 
 ance ; but I love him disinterestedly ; and, if he 
 would let me, I would follow him to Poland." 
 She afterwards talked to me about her parents, 
 
 and about M. Lebel, who she knew bv the name 
 
 6—2
 
 84 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 of Durand. " My mother," said she, " kept a 
 large grocer's shop, and my father was a man of 
 some consequence ; he belonged to the Six Corps, 
 and that, as everybody knows, is an excellent 
 thing. He was twice very near being head-bailiff.'" 
 Her mother had become bankrupt at her father's 
 death, but the Count had come to her assistance, 
 and settled upon her sixty pounds a-year, besides 
 giving her two hundred and forty pounds down. 
 On the sixth day, she was brought to bed, and, 
 according to my instructions, she was told the 
 child was a girl, though in reality it was a boy ; 
 she was soon to be told that it was dead, in 
 order that no trace of its existence might remain 
 for a certain time. It was eventually to be re- 
 stored to its mother. The King gave each of his 
 children four or five hundred a-year. They inheri- 
 ted after each other as they died off, and seven
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 85 
 
 or eight were already dead. I returned to Madame 
 de Pompadour, to whom I had written every day 
 by Guimard. The next day, the King sent for 
 me into the room ; he did not say a word as 
 to the business I had been employed upon ; but 
 he gave me a large gold snuff-box, containing two 
 rouleaux of twenty-five louis each. I curtsied to 
 him, and retired. Madame asked me a great 
 many questions of the young lady, and laughed 
 heartily at her simplicity, and at all she had said 
 about the Polish nobleman. " He is disgusted 
 with the Princess, and, I think, will return to 
 Poland for ever, in two months. " " And the 
 young lady ? " said I. " She will be married in 
 the country," said she, " with a portion of fortv 
 thousand crowns (7,000/. or 8,000/.) at the most, 
 and a few diamonds."' This little adventure, 
 which initiated me into the King's secrets, far
 
 86 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 from procuring for me increased marks of kindness 
 from him, seemed to produce a coldness towards 
 me ; probably because he was ashamed of my 
 knowing his obscure amours. He was also em- 
 barrassed by the services Madame de Pompadour 
 had rendered him on this occasion. 
 
 Besides the little mistresses of the Parc-aux- 
 cerfs, the King had sometimes intrigues with 
 ladies of the Court, or from Paris, who wrote 
 
 to him. There was a Madame de L- -, who, 
 
 though married to a young and amiable man, 
 with two hundred thousand francs a year, wished 
 absolutely to become his mistress. She contrived 
 to have a meeting with him : and the King, 
 who knew who she was, was persuaded that she 
 was really madly in love with him. . There is no 
 knowing what might have happened, had she not 
 died. Madame was very much alarmed, and was
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET Hj 
 
 only relieved by her death from inquietude. A 
 circumstance took place at this time which 
 doubled Madame's friendship for me. A rich 
 man, who had a situation in the Revenue 
 Department, called on me one day very secretly, 
 and told me that he had something of importance 
 to communicate to Madame la Marquise, but that 
 he should rind himself very much embarrassed 
 in communicating it to her personally, and that 
 he should prefer acquainting me with it. He 
 then told me, what I already knew, that he 
 had a very beautiful wife, of whom he was 
 passionately fond ; that having on one occasion 
 perceived her kissing a little portc-feuillc, he en- 
 deavoured to get possession of it, supposing there 
 was some mystery attached to it. One da)' that 
 she suddenly left the room to go upstairs to see 
 her sister, who had been brought to bed, he
 
 88 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 took the opportunity of opening the parte -feuille, 
 and was very much surprised to find in it a 
 portrait of the King, and a very tender letter 
 written by His Majesty. Of the latter he took 
 a copy, as also of an unfinished letter of his 
 wife, in which she vehemently entreated the 
 King to allow her to have the pleasure of an 
 interview — the means she pointed out. She was 
 to go masked to the public ball at Versailles, 
 where His Majesty could meet her under favour 
 
 of a mask. I assured M. de that I should 
 
 acquaint Madame with the affair, who would, no 
 doubt, feel very grateful for the communication. 
 He then added, " Tell Madame la Marquise that 
 my wife is very clever and very intriguing. I 
 adore her, and should run distracted were she 
 to be taken from me." I lost not a moment 
 in acquainting Madame with the affair, and gave
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 8y 
 
 her the letter. She became serious and pensive, 
 and I since learned that she consulted M. Berrier, 
 Lieutenant of Police, who, by a very simple but 
 ingeniously conceived plan, put an end to the 
 designs of this lady. He demanded an audience 
 of the King, and told him that there was a lady 
 in Paris who was making free with His Majesty's 
 name ; that he had been given the copy of a 
 letter, supposed to have been written by His 
 Majesty to the lady in question. The copy he 
 put into the King's hands, who read it in great 
 confusion, and then tore it furiously to pieces. 
 M. Berrier added, that it was rumoured that 
 this lady was to meet His Majesty at the public 
 ball, and, at this very moment, it so happened 
 that a letter was put into the King's hand, 
 which proved to be from the lady, appointing 
 the meeting; at least, M. Berrier judged so,
 
 90 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 as the King appeared very much surprised on 
 reading it, and said, " It must be allowed, M. le 
 Lieutenant of Police, that you are well informed." 
 M. Berrier added, " I think it my duty to tell 
 Your Majesty that this lady passes for a very 
 intriguing person.*' " I believe," replied the King, 
 ' that it is not without deserving it that she has 
 got that character." 
 
 Madame de Pompadour had many vexations 
 in the midst of all her grandeur. She often 
 received anonymous letters, threatening her with 
 poison or assassination : her greatest fear, how- 
 ever, was that of being supplanted by a rival. I 
 never saw her in a greater agitation than, one 
 evening, on her return from the drawing-room at 
 Marly. She threw down her cloak and muff, the 
 instant she came in, with an air of ill -humour, 
 and undressed herself in a hurried manner. 

 
 MADAME DU HAUSSE I (J 1 
 
 Having dismissed her other women, she said to 
 me, " I think I never saw anybody so insolent 
 as Madame de Coaslin. I was seated at the 
 same table with her this evening, at a game of 
 brelau, and you cannot imagine what I suffered. 
 The men and women seemed to come in relays 
 to watch us. Madame de Coaslin said two or 
 three times, looking at me, Va tout, in the most 
 insulting manner. I thought I should have 
 fainted, when she said, in a triumphant tone, 
 I have the brelau of kings. I wish you had seen 
 her courtesy to me on parting." — " Did the King," 
 said I, "show her particular attention?' "You 
 (lon*t know him," said she; "if he were going to 
 lodge her this very night in my apartment, he 
 would behave coldly to her before people, and 
 would treat me with the utmost kindness. This 
 is the effect of his education, for he is, bv nature,
 
 IIS XV 
 
 92 MEMOIRS OH LOUI 
 
 kind-hearted and frank. 'U Madame de Pompadour's 
 
 alarms lasted for some months, when she, one 
 
 day, said to me, " That haughty Marchioness has 
 
 missed her aim ; she frightened the King by her 
 
 grand airs, and was incessantly teasing him for 
 
 money. Now you, perhaps, may not know that 
 
 the King would sign an order for forty thousand 
 
 pounds without a thought, and would give a 
 
 hundred out of his little private treasury with the 
 
 greatest reluctance. Lebel, who likes me better 
 
 than he would a new mistress in my place, either 
 
 by chance or design had brought a charming 
 
 little sultana to the Parc-aux-cerfs, who has cooled 
 
 the King a little towards the haughty Vashti, by 
 
 giving him occupation, has received four 
 
 thousand pounds, some jewels, and an estate. 
 Jannette 1 has rendered me great service, by show- 
 
 i The Intendant of Police.
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 93 
 
 ing the King extracts from the letters broken open 
 at the post-office, concerning the report that 
 Madame de Coaslin was coming into favour.— 
 The King was much impressed by a letter from 
 an old counsellor of the Parliament, who wrote 
 to one of his friends as follows : " It is quite as 
 reasonable that the King should have a female 
 friend and confidante — as that we, in our several 
 degrees, should so indulge ourselves : but it is 
 desirable that he should keep the one he has ; 
 she is gentle, injures nobody, and her fortune is 
 made. The one who is now talked of will be as 
 haughty as high birth can make her. She must 
 have an allowance of forty thousand a-vear, since 
 she is said to be excessively extravagant ; her 
 relations must be made dukes, governors of pro- 
 vinces, and marshals, and. in the end, will surround 
 the King, and overawe the ministers."
 
 94 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 Madame de Pompadour had this passage, 
 which had been sent to her by M. Jannette, the 
 Intendant of the Post, who enjoyed the King's 
 entire confidence. He had carefully watched the 
 King's look, while he read the letter, and he saw 
 that the arguments of this counsellor, who was not 
 a disaffected person, made a great impression upon 
 him. — Some time afterwards, Madame de Pompa- 
 dour said to me, " The haughty Marchioness 
 behaved like Mademoiselle Deschamps, 1 and she is 
 turned off." This was not Madame's only subject 
 of alarm. A relation of Madame d'Estrades,' 2 wife 
 
 i A courtesan, distinguished for her charms,' and still 
 more so for an extraordinary proof of patriotism. At a 
 time when the public treasury was exhausted, Mademoiselle 
 Deschamps sent all her plate to the Mint. Louis XIV. 
 boasted of this act of generous devotion to her country. 
 The Duke d'Ayen made it the subject of a pleasantry, 
 which detracted nothing from the merit of the sacrifice — 
 but which is rather too gai for us to venture upon. 
 
 2 The Countess d'Estrades, a relative of M. Normand, 
 and a flatterer of Madame de Pompadour, who brought her
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 95 
 
 to the Marquis de C , had made the most 
 
 pointed advances to the King, much more than 
 were necessary for a man who justly thought him- 
 self the handsomest man in France, and who was, 
 moreover, a King. He was perfectly persuaded 
 that every woman would yield to the slightest 
 desire he might deign to manifest. He, there- 
 fore, thought it a mere matter of course that 
 women fell in love with him. M. de Stainville 1 
 had a hand in marring the success of that in- 
 trigue ; and, soon afterwards, the Marchioness de 
 
 C , who was confined to her apartments at 
 
 Marly, by her relations, escaped through a closet 
 to a rendezvous, and was caught with a young 
 
 to Court, was secretly in the pay of the Count d'Argenson. 
 That minister, who did not disdain la Fillon, from whom he 
 extracted useful information, knew all that passed at the 
 Court of the favourite, by means of Madame d'Estrades, 
 whose ingratitude and perfidiousness he liberally paid. 
 
 i Afterwards Duke de Choiseul.
 
 qf) MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 man in a corridor. The Spanish Ambassador, 
 coming out of his apartments with flambeaux, was 
 the person who witnessed this scene. Madame 
 d'Estrades affected to know nothing of her cousin's 
 intrigues, and kept up an appearance of the tender- 
 est attachment to Madame de Pompadour, whom 
 she was habitually betraying. She acted as spy 
 for M. d'Argenson, in the cabinets, and in Madame 
 de Pompadour's apartments ; and, when she could 
 discover nothing, she had recourse to her inven- 
 tion, in order that she might not lose her import- 
 ance with her lover. This' Madame d'Estrades 
 owed her whole existence to the bounties of Ma- 
 dame, and yet, ugly as she was, she had tried to 
 get the King away from her. One day, when he 
 had got rather drunk at Choisy (I think, the 
 only time that ever happened to him), he went on 
 board a beautiful barge, whither Madame, being
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 97 
 
 ill of an indigestion, could not accompany him. 
 Madame d'Estrades seized this opportunity. She 
 got into the barge, and, on their return, as it was 
 dark, she followed the King into a private closet, 
 where he was believed to be sleeping on a couch, 
 and there went somewhat beyond any ordinary 
 advances to him. Her account of the matter to 
 Madame was, that she had gone into the closet 
 upon her own affairs, and that the King had 
 followed her, and had tried to ravish her. She 
 was at full liberty to make what story she 
 pleased, for the King knew neither what he 
 had said, nor what he had done. I shall finish 
 this subject by a short history concerning a 
 young lady. I had been, one da}*, to the 
 theatre at Compeigne. When I returned, Ma- 
 dame asked me several questions about the play; 
 
 whether there was much company, and whether 
 
 7
 
 g8 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 I did not see a very beautiful girl. I replied, 
 " That there was, indeed, a girl in a box near 
 mine, who was surrounded by all the young 
 men about the Court." She smiled, and said, 
 " That is Mademoiselle Dorothee ; she went, 
 this evening, to see the King sup in public, 
 and to-morrow, she is to be taken to the hunt. 
 You are surprised to find me so well informed, 
 but I know a great deal more about her. She 
 was brought here by a Gascon, named Dubarre 
 or Dubarri, who is the greatest scoundrel in 
 France. He founds all his hopes of advance- 
 ment on Mademoiselle Dorothea's charms, which 
 he thinks the King cannot resist. She is, really, 
 very beautiful. She was pointed out to me in 
 my little garden, whither she was taken to walk 
 on purpose. She is the daughter of a water- 
 carrier, at Strasbourg, and her charming lover
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 99 
 
 demands to be sent minister to Cologne, as a 
 beginning." — " Is it possible, Madame, that you 
 can have been rendered uneasy by such a crea- 
 ture as that ? " " Nothing is impossible," replied 
 she ; " though I think the King would scarcely 
 dare to give such a scandal. Besides, happily, 
 Lebel, to quiet his conscience, told the King 
 that the beautiful Dorothee's lover is infected 
 with a horrid disease ; '' and, added he, " Your 
 Majesty would not get rid of that as you have 
 done of scrofula." This was quite enough to 
 keep the young lady at a distance. 
 
 "I pity you sincerely, Madame," said I, 
 "while everybody else envies you." — "Ah!'' re- 
 plied she, " my life is that of the Christian, a 
 perpetual warfare. This was not the case with 
 the woman who enjoyed the favour of Louis 
 
 XIV. Madame de la Valiere suffered herself 
 
 7— 2
 
 IOO MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 to be deceived by Madame de Montespan, but 
 it was her own fault, or, rather, the effect of 
 her extreme good nature. She was entirely 
 devoid of suspicion at first, because she could 
 not believe her friend perfidious. Madame de 
 Montespan's empire was shaken by Madame de 
 Fontanges, and overthrown by Madame de Main- 
 tenon; but her haughtiness, her caprices, had 
 already alienated the King. He had not, how- 
 ever, such rivals as mine ; it is true, their base- 
 ness is my security. I have, in general, little 
 to fear but casual infidelities, and the chance 
 that they may not all be sufficiently transitory 
 for my safety. The King likes variety, but he is 
 also bound by habit ; he fears eclats, and detests 
 manoeuvring women. The little Marechale (de 
 Mirepoix) one day said to me, ' It is your stair- 
 case that the King loves; he is accustomed to go
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET IOl 
 
 up and down it. But, if he found another woman 
 to whom he could talk of hunting and business 
 as he does to you, it would be just the same to 
 him in three days.' " 
 
 I write without plan, order, or date, just as 
 things come into my mind ; and I shall now go 
 to the Abbe de Bernis, whom I liked very much, 
 because he was good-natured, and treated me 
 kindly. One day, just as Madame de Pompadour 
 had finished dressing, M. de Noailles asked to 
 speak to her in private. I, accordingly, retired. 
 The Count looked full of important business. I 
 heard their conversation, as there was only the 
 door between us. 
 
 " A circumstance has taken place,*' said he, 
 " which I think it mv dutv to communicate to the 
 
 King; but I would not do so without first inform- 
 ing you of it, since it concerns one of your friends
 
 102 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 for whom I have the utmost regard and respect. 
 The Abbe de Bernis had a mind to shoot, this 
 morning, and went, with two or three of his 
 people, armed with guns, into the little park, 
 where the Dauphin would not venture to shoot 
 without asking the King's permission. The guards, 
 surprised at hearing the report of guns, ran to 
 the spot, and were greatly astonished at the sight 
 of M. de Bernis. They verv respectfully asked to 
 see his permission, when they found, to their 
 astonishment, that he had none. They begged of 
 him to desist, telling him, that, if they did their 
 duty, they should arrest him : but they must, at 
 all events, instantly acquaint me with the circum- 
 stance, as Ranger of the Park of Versailles. They 
 added, that the King must have heard the firing, 
 and that they begged of him to retire. The Abbe 
 apologized, on the score of ignorance, and assured
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 103 
 
 them that he had my permission. ' The Count de 
 Noailles,' said they, ' could only grant permission 
 to shoot in the more remote parts, and in the 
 great park.' ' The Count made a great merit of 
 his eagerness to give the earliest information to 
 Madame. She told him to leave the task of 
 communicating it to the King to her, and 
 begged of him to say nothing about the mat- 
 ter. M. de Marigny, who did not like the 
 Abbe, came to see me in the evening ; and 
 I affected to know nothing of the story, and 
 to hear it for the first time from him. " He 
 must have been out of his senses," said he, 
 " to shoot under the King's windows," — and en- 
 larged much on the airs he gave himself. Madame 
 de Pompadour gave this affair the best colouring 
 she could : the King was, nevertheless, greatly dis- 
 gusted at it, and twenty times, since the Abbe's
 
 104 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 disgrace, when he passed over that part of the 
 park, he said, " This is where the Abbe took his 
 pleasure." The King never liked him ; and Ma- 
 dame de Pompadour told me one night, after his 
 disgrace, when I was sitting up with her in her 
 illness, that she saw, before he had been minister 
 a week, that he was not fit for his office. " If 
 that hypocritical Bishop," said she, speaking of the 
 Bishop of Mirepoix, " had not prevented the King 
 from granting him a pension of four hundred a- 
 year, which he had promised me, he would never 
 have been appointed ambassador. I should, after- 
 wards, have been able to give him an income of 
 eight hundred a-year, perhaps the place of master 
 of the chapel. Thus he would have been happier, 
 and I should have had nothing to regret." I took 
 the liberty of saying that I did not agree with 
 her. That he had yet remaining advantages, of
 
 MADAME DL' HAUSSET IOj 
 
 which he could not be deprived ; that his exile 
 would terminate ; and that he would then be a 
 Cardinal, with an income of eight thousand a-year. 
 " That is true," she replied ; " but I think of the 
 mortifications he has undergone, and of the ambi- 
 tion which devours him ; and, lastly, I think of 
 myself. I should have still enjoyed his society, 
 and should have had, in my declining years, an 
 old and amiable friend, if he had not been min- 
 ister." — The King sent him away in anger, and 
 was strongly inclined to refuse him the hat. M. 
 Ouesnav told me, some months afterwards, that 
 
 the Abbe wanted to be Prime Minister ; that he 
 had drawn up a memorial, setting forth that in 
 difficult crises the public good required that there 
 should be a central point (that was his expression), 
 towards which every thing should be directed. 
 Madame de Pompadour would not present the
 
 Io6 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 memorial ; he insisted, though she said to him, 
 " You will ruin yourself." The King cast his eyes 
 over it, and said '"'central point,' — that is to 
 say himself, he wants to be Prime Minister." 
 Madame tried to apologize for him, and said, 
 " That expression might refer to the Marshal de 
 Belle-Isle." — " Is he not just about to be made 
 Cardinal ? '' said the King. " This is a fine 
 manoeuvre : he knows well enough that, by means 
 of that dignity, he would compel the ministers 
 to assemble at his house, and then M. l'Abbe 
 would be the central point. Wherever there is 
 a Cardinal in the council, he is sure, in the 
 end, to take the lead. Louis XIV., for this 
 reason, did not choose to admit the Cardinal de 
 Janson into the council, in spite of his great 
 esteem for him. The Cardinal de Fleury told 
 me the same thing. He had some desire that
 
 MADAME IT HAUSSET 107 
 
 the Cardinal de Tencin should succeed him ; 
 but his sister was such an intrigante that Car- 
 dinal de Fleury advised me to have nothing to 
 do with the matter, and I behaved so as to 
 destroy all his hopes, and to undeceive others. 
 M. d'Argenson has strongly impressed me with 
 the same opinion, and has succeeded in destroy- 
 ing all my respect for him." This is what the 
 King said, according to my friend Quesnay, who, 
 by the bye, was a great genius, as everybody 
 said, and a very lively, agreeable man. He 
 liked to chat with me about the country. I 
 had been bred up there, and he used to set me 
 a talking about the meadows of Normandy and 
 Poitou, the wealth of the farmers, and the modes 
 of culture. He was the best-natured man in the 
 world, and the farthest removed from petty in- 
 trigue. While he lived at Court, he was much
 
 Io8 MKMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 more occupied with the best manner of culti- 
 vating land than with anything that passed 
 around him. The man whom he esteemed the 
 most was M. de la Riviere, a Counsellor of 
 Parliament, who was also Intendant of Martini- 
 que ; he looked upon him as a man of the 
 greatest genius, and thought him the only person 
 tit for the financial department of administration. 
 The Countess d'Estrades, who owed every- 
 thing to Madame de Pompadour, was incessantly 
 intriguing against her. She was clever enough 
 to destroy all proofs of her manoeuvres, but she 
 could not so easily prevent suspicion. Her inti- 
 mate connection with M. d'Argenson gave offence 
 to Madame, and, for some time, she was more 
 reserved with her. She, afterwards, did a thing 
 which justly irritated the King and Madame. 
 The King, who wrote a great deal, had written to
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET lug 
 
 Madame de Pompadour a long letter concerning 
 an assembly of the Chambers of Parliament, and 
 had enclosed a letter of M. Berrier. Madame 
 was ill, and laid these letters on a little table bv 
 her bedside. M. de Gontaut came in, and gos- 
 sipped about trifles, as usual. Madame d'Ambli- 
 mont also came, and stayed but very little time. 
 Just as I was going to resume a book which 
 I had been reading to Madame, the Countess 
 d'Estrades entered, placed herself near Madame's 
 bed, and talked to her for some time. As soon 
 as she was gone, Madame called me, asked what 
 was o'clock, and said, " Order my door to be 
 shut, the King will soon be here." I gave the 
 order, and returned ; and Madame told me to 
 give her the King's letter, which was on the 
 table with some other papers. I gave her the 
 papers, and told her there was nothing else. She
 
 HO MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 was very uneasy at not finding the letter, and, 
 after enumerating the persons who had been in 
 the room, she said, " It cannot be the little 
 Countess, nor Gontaut, who has taken this letter. 
 It can only be the Countess d'Estrades ; — and 
 that is too bad." The King came, and was ex- 
 tremely angry, as Madame told me. Two days 
 afterwards, he sent Madame d'Estrades into exile. 
 There was no doubt that she took the letter ; the 
 King's handwriting had probably awakened her 
 curiosity. This occurrence gave great pain to 
 M. d'Argenson, who was bound to her, as 
 Madame de Pompadour said, by his love of 
 intrigue. This redoubled his hatred of Madame, 
 and she accused him of favouring the publication 
 of a libel, in which she was represented as a 
 worn-out mistress, reduced to the vile occupation 
 of providing new objects to please her lover's 

 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET III 
 
 appetite. She was characterised as superintendant 
 of the Parc-aux-cerfs, which was said to cost 
 hundreds of thousands of pounds a-year. Madame 
 de Pompadour did, indeed, try to conceal some 
 of the King's weaknesses, but she never knew 
 one of the sultanas of that seraglio. There were, 
 however, scarcely ever more than two at once, 
 and often only one. When they married, they 
 received some jewels, and four thousand pounds. 
 The Parc-aux-cerfs was sometimes vacant for five 
 or six months. I was surprised, some time after, 
 at seeing the Duchess de Luynes, Lady of 
 Honour to the Queen, come privately to see 
 Madame de Pompadour. She afterwards came 
 openly. One evening, after Madame was in bed, 
 she called me, and said, " My dear, you will be 
 delighted ; the Queen has given me the place of 
 Lady of the Palace ; to-morrow I am to be
 
 112 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 presented to her : you must make me look well." 
 I knew that the King was not so well pleased 
 at this as she was ; he was afraid that it would 
 give rise to scandal, and that it might be 
 thought he had forced this nomination upon the 
 Queen. He had, however, done no such thing. 
 It had been represented to the Queen, that it 
 was an act of heroism on her part to forget 
 the past ; that all scandal would be obliterated 
 when Madame de Pompadour was seen to belong 
 to the Court in an honourable manner ; and that 
 it would be the best proof that nothing more 
 than friendship now subsisted between the King 
 and the favourite. The Queen received her very 
 graciously. The devotees flattered themselves they 
 should be protected by Madame, and, for some 
 time, were full of her praises. Several of the 
 Dauphin's friends came in private to see her,
 
 MADAME DV HAUSSET II3 
 
 and some obtained promotion. The Chevalier du 
 Muy, however, refused to come. The King had 
 the greatest possible contempt for them, and 
 granted them nothing with a good grace. He, 
 one day, said of a man of great family, who 
 wished to be made Captain of the Guards, " He 
 is a double spy, who wants to be paid on both 
 sides." This was the moment at which Madame 
 de Pompadour seemed to me to enjoy the most 
 complete satisfaction. The devotees came to visit 
 her without scruple, and did not forget to make 
 use of every opportunity of serving themselves. 
 
 Madame de Lu had set them the example. 
 
 The Doctor laughed at this change in affairs, and 
 was very merry at the expense of the saints. " You 
 must allow, however, that they are consistent," 
 said I, "and may be sincere." — "Yes," said he; 
 
 " but then they should not ask for anvthing." 
 
 8
 
 114 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 One day, I was at Doctor Quesnay's, whilst 
 Madame de Pompadour was at the theatre. The 
 Marquis de Mirabeau 1 came in, and the conver- 
 sation was, for some time, extremely tedious to 
 me, running entirely on net produce ; at length, 
 they talked of other things. 
 
 Mirabeau said, " I think the King looks ill, 
 
 he grows old.' : — " So much the worse, a thou- 
 
 i The author of " L'Ami des Homines," one of the 
 leaders of the sect of Economistes, and father of the cele- 
 brated Mirabeau. After the death of Quesnay, the Grand 
 Master of the Order, the Marquis de Mirabeau, was unani- 
 mously elected his successor. Mirabeau was not deficient 
 in a certain enlargement of mind, or in acquirements, nor 
 even in patriotism ; but his writings are enthusiastical, and 
 show that he had little more than glimpses of the truth. 
 The Friend of Man was the enemy of all his family. He 
 beat his servants, and did not pay them. The reports of 
 the law-suit with his wife, in 1775, prove that this philo- 
 sopher possessed, in the highest possible degree, all the 
 anti-conjugal qualities. It is said that his eldest son 
 wrote two contradictory depositions, and was paid by both 
 sides.
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 115 
 
 sand times so much the worse," said Quesnay ; 
 " it would be the greatest possible loss to France 
 if he died ; " and he raised his hands, and sighed 
 deeply. " I do not doubt that you are attached 
 to the King, and with reason," said Mirabeau : 
 " I am attached to him too ; but I never saw 
 you so much moved." — " Ah ! ' said Quesnay, 
 " I think of what would follow." " Well, the 
 Dauphin is virtuous." — "Yes; and full of good 
 intentions ; nor is he deficient in understanding ; 
 but canting hypocrites would possess an absolute 
 empire over a Prince who regards them as 
 oracles. The Jesuits would govern the kingdom, 
 as they did at the end of Louis XIV. 's reign : 
 and you would see the fanatical Bishop of 
 Verdun Prime Minister, and La Vauguyon all- 
 powerful under some other title. The Parliaments 
 
 must then mind how they behave ; they will 
 
 8—2
 
 Il6 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 not be better treated than mv friends the 
 philosophers." — "But they go too far," said 
 Mirabeau ; " why openly attack religion ? " — 
 
 " I allow that," replied the Doctor ; " but 
 how is it possible not to be rendered indig- 
 nant by the fanaticism of others, and by re- 
 collecting all the blood that has flowed during 
 the last two hundred years ? You must not 
 then again irritate them, and revive in France 
 the time of Mary in England. But what is 
 done is done, and I often exhort them to be 
 moderate ; I wish they would follow the example 
 of our friend Duclos." — " You are right," replied 
 Mirabeau ; "he said to me a few days ago, 
 ' These philosophers are going on at such a rate 
 that they will force me to go to vespers and high 
 mass ; ' but, in fine, the Dauphin is virtuous, well- 
 informed, and intellectual." — " It is the commence-
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET II7 
 
 ment of his reign, I fear," said yuesnay, " when 
 the imprudent proceedings of our friends will be 
 represented to him in the most unfavourable point 
 of view ; when the Jansenists and Molinists will 
 make common cause, and be strongly supported 
 by the Dauphiness. I thought that M. de Muy 
 was moderate, and that he would temper the 
 headlong fury of the others ; but I heard him 
 say that Voltaire merited condign punishment. 
 Be assured, Sir, that the times of John Huss and 
 Jerome of Prague will return; but I hope not to 
 live to see it. I approve of Voltaire having hun- 
 ted down the Pompignans : were it not for the 
 ridicule with which he covered them, that bourgeois 
 Marquis would have been preceptor to the young 
 Princes, and, aided by his brother, would have 
 succeeded in again lighting the faggots of perse- 
 cution." " What ought to give you confidence in
 
 Il8 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 the Dauphin," said Mirabeau, " is, that, notwith- 
 standing the devotion of Pompignan, he turns 
 him into ridicule. A short time back, seeing 
 him strutting about with an air of inflated pride, 
 he said to a person, who told it to me, ' Our 
 friend Pompignan thinks that he is something.' ' 
 On returning home, I wrote down this conver- 
 sation. 
 
 I, one day, found Quesnay in great distress. 
 " Mirabeau," said he, " is sent to Vincennes, for 
 his work on taxation. The Farmers General 
 have denounced him, and procured his arrest ; 
 his wife is going to throw herself at the feet 
 of Madame de Pompadour to-day." A few min- 
 utes afterwards, I went into Madame's apart- 
 ment, to assist at her toilet, and the Doctor 
 came in. Madame said to him, " You must be 
 much concerned at the disgrace of your friend
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET [ig 
 
 Mirabeau. I am sorry for it too, for I like 
 his brother." Quesnay replied, " I am very far 
 from believing him to be actuated by bad in- 
 tentions, Madame ; he loves the King and the 
 people.'" — "' Yes," said she ; " his Ami des 
 Hommes did him great honour." At this mo- 
 ment the Lieutenant of Police entered, and Ma- 
 dame said to him, " Have you seen M. de 
 Mirabeau's book ? " — " Yes, Madame ; but it was 
 not I who denounced it?" — "What do you think 
 of it?" — "I think he might have said almost 
 all it contains with impunity, if he had been 
 more circumspect as to the manner ; there are, 
 among other objectionable passages, this, which 
 occurs at the beginning : Your Majesty has about 
 twenty millions of subjects; it is^mly by means of 
 money that you can obtain their services, and there 
 is no money." " What, is there really that,
 
 120 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 Doctor ? ' said Madame. " It is true, they are 
 the first lines in the book, and I confess that 
 they are imprudent ; but, in reading the work, it 
 is clear that he laments that patriotism is extinct 
 in the hearts of his fellow-citizens, and that he 
 desires to rekindle it." The King entered : we 
 went out, and I wrote down on Quesnay's table 
 what I had just heard. I then returned to finish 
 dressing Madame de Pompadour : she said to me, 
 " The King is extremely angry with Mirabeau ; 
 but I tried to soften him, and 'so did the Lieu- 
 tenant of Police. This will increase yuesnay's 
 fears. Do you know what he said to me to 
 day ? The King had been talking to him in 
 my room, and the Doctor appeared timid and 
 agitated. After the King was gone, I said to 
 him, ' You always seem so embarrassed in the 
 King's presence, and yet he is so good-natured.'
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 121 
 
 ' Madame,' said he, ' I left my native village at 
 the age of forty, and I have very little experi- 
 ence of the world, nor can I accustom myself 
 to its usages without great difficulty. When I 
 am in a room with the King, I say to myself, 
 This is a man who can order my head to be 
 cut off; and that idea embarrasses me.' 'But 
 do not the King's justice and kindness set you 
 at ease ? — ' That is very true in reasoning,' 
 said he ; ' but the sentiment is more prompt, 
 and inspires me . with fear before I have time 
 to say to myself all that is calculated to allay 
 it.'" 
 
 I got her to repeat this conversation, and 
 wrote it down immediately, that I might not 
 forget it. 
 
 An anonymous letter was addressed to the 
 King and Madame de Pompadour ; and, as the
 
 122 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 author was very anxious that it should not mis- 
 carry, he sent copies to the Lieutenant of Police, 
 sealed and directed to the King, to Madame de 
 Pompadour, and to M. de Marigny. This letter 
 produced a strong impression on Madame, and 
 on the King, and still more, I believe, on the 
 Duke de Choiseul, who had received a similar 
 one. I went on my knees to M. de Marigny, 
 to prevail on him to allow me to copy it, that 
 I might show it to the Doctor. It is as follows : 
 " Sire — It is a zealous servant who writes to 
 Your Majesty. Truth is always better, particu- 
 larly to kings ; habituated to flattery, they see 
 objects only under those colours most likely to 
 please them. I have reflected, and read much ; 
 and here is what my meditations have suggested 
 to me to lay before Your Majesty. They have 
 accustomed you to be invisible, and inspired you
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 123 
 
 with a timidity which prevents you from speak- 
 ing ; thus all direct communication is cut off 
 between the master and his subjects. Shut up in 
 the interior of your palace, you are becoming 
 every day like the emperors of the East ; but see, 
 Sire, their fate! ' I have troops,' Your Majesty 
 will say ; such, also, is their support : but, when 
 the only security of a king rests upon his troops ; 
 when he is only, as one may say, a king of the 
 soldiers, these latter feel their own strength, and 
 abuse it. Your finances are in the greatest dis- 
 order, and the great majority of states have 
 perished through this cause. A patriotic spirit sus- 
 tained the ancient states, and united all classes for 
 the safety of their country. In the present times, 
 money has taken the place of this spirit ; it has 
 become the universal lever, and you are in want 
 of it. A spirit of finance affects every department
 
 124 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 of the state ; it reigns triumphant at Court ; all 
 have become venal ; and all distinction of rank is 
 broken up. Your ministers are without genius and 
 capacity since the dismissal of MM. d'Argenson 
 and de Machault. You alone cannot judge of 
 their incapacity, because they lay before you what 
 has been prepared by skilful clerks, but which they 
 pass as their own. They provide only for the 
 necessity of the day, but there is no spirit of 
 government in their acts. The military changes 
 that have taken place disgust the troops, and 
 cause the most deserving officers to resign ; a sedi- 
 tious flame has sprung up in the very bosom of 
 the Parliaments ; you seek to corrupt them, and 
 the remedy is worse than the disease. It is in- 
 troducing vice into the sanctuary of justice, and 
 gangrene into the vital parts of the common- 
 wealth. Would a corrupted Parliament have
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 125 
 
 braved the fury of the League, in order to preserve 
 the crown for the legitimate sovereign? Forgetting 
 the maxims of Louis XIV., who well understood 
 the danger of confiding the administration to no- 
 blemen, you have chosen M. de Choiseul, and 
 even given him three departments ; which is a 
 much heavier burden than that which he would 
 have to support as Prime Minister, because the 
 latter has only to oversee the details executed by 
 the Secretaries of State. The public fullv appre- 
 ciate this dazzling minister. He is nothing more 
 than a petit-maitre, without talents or information, 
 who has a little phosphorus in his mind. There 
 is a thing well worthy of remark, Sire ; that is, 
 the open war carried on against religion. Hence- 
 forward there can spring up no new sects, because 
 the general belief has been shaken, that no one 
 feels inclined to occupy himself with difference of
 
 126 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 sentiment upon some of the articles. The Ency- 
 clopedists, under pretence of enlightening man- 
 kind, are sapping the foundations of religion. All 
 the different kinds of liberty are connected ; the 
 Philosophers and the Protestants tend towards re- 
 publicanism, as well as the Jansenists. The Philo- 
 sophers strike at the root, the others lop the 
 branches ; and their efforts, without being con- 
 certed, will one day lay the tree low. Add to 
 these the Economists, whose object is political 
 liberty, as that of the others is liberty of worship, 
 and the Government may find itself, in twenty or 
 thirty years, undermined in every direction, and 
 will then fall with a crash. If Your Majesty, 
 struck by this picture, b'.L too true, should ask 
 me for a remedy, I should say, that it is neces- 
 sary to bring back the Government to its princi- 
 ples, and, above all, to lose no time in restoring
 
 MADAME DU HAUSS1 I \2~ 
 
 order to the state of the finances, because the em- 
 barrassments incident to a country in a state of 
 debt, necessitate fresh taxes, which, after grinding 
 the people, induce them towards revolt. It is my 
 opinion, that Your Majesty would do well to ap- 
 pear more among your people : to shew your 
 approbation of useful services, and your displea- 
 sure of errors and prevarications, and neglect of 
 duty: in a word, to let it be seen that rewards 
 and punishments, appointments and dismissals, 
 proceed from yourself. You will then inspire gra- 
 titude, bv your favours, and fear, by your re- 
 proaches ; you will then be the object of imme- 
 diate and personal attachment, instead of which, 
 every thing is now referred to your ministers. 
 The confidence in the King, which is habitual to 
 your people, is shewn by the exclamation, so com- 
 mon among them, ' Ah ! if the King knew it.*
 
 128 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 They love to believe that the King would remedy 
 all their evils, if he knew of them. But, on the 
 other hand, what sort of ideas must they form of 
 kings, whose duty it is to be informed of every- 
 thing, and to superintend everything, that con- 
 cerns the public, but who are, nevertheless, igno- 
 rant of every thing which the discharge of their 
 functions requires them to know. Rex, rot, regere, 
 regir, conduire — to rule, to conduct — these words 
 sufficiently denote their duties. What would be 
 said of a father who got rid of the charge of his 
 children as of a burthen ? 
 
 "A time will come, Sire, when the people 
 shall be enlightened — and that time is probably 
 approaching. Resume the reins of government, 
 hold them with a firm hand, and act, so that it 
 cannot be said of you, Fczminas et scorta volvit 
 animo et hcec principatus prcemia putat : — Sire, if I
 
 MADAME DU IIAUSSET I2Q 
 
 see that my sincere advice should have produced 
 anv change, I shall continue it, and enter into 
 more details ; if not, I shall remain silent." 
 
 Now that I am upon the subject of anony- 
 mous letters to the King, I must just mention 
 that it is impossible to conceive how frequent 
 they were. People were extremely assiduous in 
 telling either unpleasant truths, or alarming lies, 
 with a view to injure others. As an instance, 
 I shall transcribe one concerning Voltaire, who 
 paid great court to Madame de Pompadour when 
 "lie was in France. This letter was written long 
 after the former. 
 
 " Madame — M. de Voltaire has just dedicated 
 
 his tragedy of Tancred to you ; this ought to be 
 
 an offering of respect and gratitude : but it is, 
 
 in fact, an insult, and you will form the same 
 
 opinion of it as the public has done if you read 
 
 9 
 
 /
 
 I30 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 it with attention. You will see that this dis- 
 tinguished writer appears to betray a consciousness 
 that the subject of his encomiums is not worthy 
 of them, and to endeavour to excuse himself for 
 them to the public. These are his words : ' I 
 have seen your graces and talents unfold them- 
 selves from your infancy. At all periods of your 
 life I have received proofs of your uniform and 
 unchanging kindness. If any critic be found to 
 censure the homage I pay you, he must have a 
 heart formed for ingratitude. I am under great 
 obligations to you, Madame, and these obligations 
 it is my duty to proclaim.' 
 
 " What do these words really signify, unless 
 that Voltaire feels it may be thought extraordinary 
 that he should dedicate his work to a woman who 
 possesses but a small share of the public esteem, 
 and that the sentiment of gratitude must plead
 
 MADAMK DU HAUSSET 1 3 1 
 
 his excuse ? Why should he suppose that the 
 homage he pays you will be censured, whilst we 
 daily see dedications addressed to silly gossips 
 who have neither rank nor celebrity, or to 
 women of exceptionable conduct, without any 
 censure being attracted by it ? " 
 
 M. de Marigny, and Colin. Madame de 
 Pompadour's steward, were of the same opinion 
 as Quesnay, that the author of this letter was 
 extremely malicious ; that he insulted Madame, 
 and tried to injure Voltaire : but that he was, 
 in fact, right. Voltaire, from that moment, was 
 entirely out of favour with Madame, and with 
 the King, and he certainly never discovered the 
 
 cause. 1 
 
 1 The pretty lines, in which Voltaire says to Madame 
 de Pompadour, speaking of Louis XV'.. 
 
 " Soyez tous deux sans ennemis, 
 Et tous deux gardez vos conquetes." 
 
 Could Voltaire be ignorant that these lines were thought 
 
 9—2
 
 I32 MKMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 The King, who admired everything of the age 
 
 of Louis XIV., and recollected that the Boileaus 
 
 and Racines had been protected by that monarch, 
 
 who was indebted to them, in part, for the lustre 
 
 of his reign, was flattered at having such a man 
 
 improper, and that the daughters of Louis XV. persuaded 
 
 their father to resent them ? Was Madame du Hausset 
 
 ignorant, that, if Madame de Pompadour did not plead for 
 
 the exile, it was because she herself was angry with him, 
 
 for the following act of unguarded rashness ? Voltaire was 
 
 surrounded by men jealous of the friendship manifested for 
 
 him by the favourite. Far from attempting to conciliate, 
 
 he amused himself with irritating them. Of course, every 
 
 bold or indiscreet expression was reported. The great 
 
 poet was one day at dinner with the Marchioness. She 
 
 was eating a quail, which she said was plump — " grass- 
 
 ouillette." Voltaire approached her, and said, loud enough 
 
 to be heard : 
 
 " Grassouillette, entre nous, me senible un pen caillette, 
 Je vous le dis tout bas, belle Pompadourette." 
 
 This was represented by her courtiers as a piece of ex- 
 treme impertinence, and Voltaire perceived, from that day, 
 a marked coldness in her manner. Laujon was present. 
 The author of this note heard the circumstance from 
 himself.
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET I 33 
 
 as Voltaire among his subjects. But still he 
 feared him, and had but little esteem for him. 
 He could not help saying, " Moreover, I have 
 treated him as well as Louis XIV. treated Racine 
 and Boileau. I have given him, as Louis XIV. 
 gave to Racine, some pensions, and a place of 
 gentleman in ordinary. It is not my fault if he 
 has committed absurdities, and has had the pre- 
 tension to become a chamberlain, to wear an 
 order, and sup with a King. It is not the fashion 
 in France ; and, as there are here a few more 
 men of wit and noblemen than in Prussia, it 
 would require that I should have a very large 
 table to assemble them all at it."" And then he 
 reckoned upon his fingers, Maupertuis, Fontenelle, 
 La Mothe, Voltaire, Piron, Destouches, Montes- 
 quieu, the Cardinal Polignac. — " Your Majesty 
 forgets," said someone, "d'Alembert and Clairaut."
 
 134 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 — "And Crebillon," said he. "And la Chaussee, 
 and the younger Crebillon," said someone. " He 
 ought to be more agreeable than his father.*' — 
 " And there are also the Abbes Prevot and 
 d'Olivet." — " Pretty well," said the King ; " and 
 for the last twenty years all that (tout ccla) would 
 have dined and supped at my table." 
 
 Madame de Pompadour repeated to me this 
 conversation, which I wrote down the same even- 
 ing. M. de Marigny, also, talked to me about 
 it. — " Voltaire," said he, " has always had a fancy 
 for being ambassador, and he did all he could to 
 make the people believe that he was charged with 
 some political mission, the first time he visited 
 Prussia." 
 
 The people heard of the attempt on the 
 King's life with transports of fury, and with 
 the greatest distress. Their cries were heard
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 135 
 
 under the windows of Madame de Pompadour's 
 apartment. Mobs were collected, and Madame 
 feared the fate of Madame de Chateauroux. Her 
 friends came in, every minute to give her in- 
 telligence. Her room was. at all times, like a 
 church ; everybody seemed to claim a light to 
 go in and out when he chose. Some came, 
 under pretence of sympathising, to observe her 
 countenance and manner. She did nothing but 
 weep and faint away. Doctor Quesnay never 
 left her. nor did I. M. de St. Florentin came 
 to see her several times, so did the Comptroller- 
 General, and M. Rouille ; but M. de Machault 
 did not come. The Duchess of Brancas came 
 very frequently. The Abbe de Bernis never left 
 us, except to go to enquire for the King. The 
 tears came in his eyes whenever he looked at 
 Madame. Doctor Quesnay saw the King hve or
 
 I36 MEMOIRS Or LOUIS XV 
 
 six times a-day. " There is nothing to fear," 
 said he to Madame. " If it were anybody else, 
 he might go to a ball." My son went the next 
 day, as he had done the day the event occurred, 
 to see what was going on at the Castle. He 
 told us, on his return, that the Keeper of the 
 Seals was with the King. I sent him back, to 
 see what course he took on leaving the King. 
 He came running back in half an hour, to tell 
 me that the Keeper of the Seals had gone to 
 his own house, followed by a crowd of people. 
 When I told this to Madame, she burst into 
 tears, and said, "Is that a friend'-" The Abbe 
 de Bernis said, " You must not judge him has- 
 tily, in such a moment as this." I returned 
 into the drawing-room, about an hour after, 
 when the Keeper of the Seals entered. He- 
 passed me, with his usual cold and severe look.
 
 MADAME DU 1 1 A l SSI. I 137 
 
 "How is Madame de Pompadour?" said he. 
 "Alas!" replied I, "as you may imagine!' 
 He passed on to her closet. Everybody retired, 
 and he remained for half an hour. The Abbe 
 returned, and Madame rang. I went into her 
 room, the Abbe following me. She was in tears. 
 " I must go, my dear Abbe,'" said she. I made 
 her take some orange-flower water, in a silver 
 goblet, for her teeth chattered. She then told me 
 to call her equerry. He came in, and she calmly 
 gave him her orders, to have everything prepared 
 at her hotel, in Paris : to tell all her people to 
 get ready to go ; and to desire her coachman 
 not to be out of the way. She then shut herself 
 up, to confer with the Abbe de Bernis, who 
 left her, to go to the Council. Her door was 
 then shut, except to the ladies with whom she 
 was particularly intimate, M. de Soubise, M. de
 
 138 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 Gontaut, the ministers, and some others. .Several 
 ladies, in the greatest distress, came to talk to 
 me in my room : they compared the conduct of 
 M. de Machault with that of M. de Richelieu, 
 at Metz. Madame had related to them the 
 circumstances extremely to the honour of the 
 Duke, and, by contrast, the severest satire on 
 the Keeper of the Seals. " He thinks, or pre- 
 tends to think," said she, " that the priests will 
 be clamorous for my dismissal ; but Ouesnay 
 and all the physicians declare that there is not 
 the slightest danger." Madame having sent for 
 me, I saw the Marechale de Mirepoix coming 
 in. While she was at the door, she cried out, 
 " What are all those trunks, Madame ? Your 
 people tell me you are going."" — " Alas ! my dear 
 friend, such is our Master's desire, as M. de 
 Mauchault tells me." — " And what does he ad-
 
 MADANri'. DU HAl'SM.I [39 
 
 vise?" said the Marechale. ''That I should go 
 without delay." During this conversation, I was 
 undressing Madame, who wished to be at her ease 
 on her chaise-longue. " Your Keeper of the Seals 
 wants to get the power into his own hands, and 
 betrays you ; he who quits the field loses it." 
 I went out. M. de Soubise entered, then the 
 Abbe and M. de Marigny. The latter, who was 
 very kind to me, came into my room an hour 
 afterwards. I was alone. " She will remain," 
 said he ; b< but, hush ! — she will make an appear- 
 ance of going, in order not to set her enemies 
 at work. It is the little Marechale who prevailed 
 upon her to stay : her keeper (so she called 
 M. de Machault) will pay for it." Quesnay came 
 in, and, having heard what was said, with his 
 monkey airs, began to relate a fable of a fox, who 
 being at dinner with other beasts, persuaded one
 
 I40 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 of them that his enemies were seeking him, in 
 order that he might get possession of his share 
 in his absence. I did not see Madame again 
 till very late, at her going to bed. She was 
 more calm. Things improved, from day to day, 
 and de Machault, the faithless friend, was dis- 
 missed. The King returned to Madame de 
 Pompadour, as usual. I learnt, by M. de 
 Marigny, that the Abbe had been, one day, 
 with M. d'Argenson, to endeavour to persuade 
 him to live on friendly terms with Madame, and 
 that he had been very coldly received. " He is 
 the more arrogant," said he, " on account of 
 Machault's dismissal, which leaves the field clear 
 for him, who has more experience, and more 
 talent : and I fear that he will, therefore, be 
 disposed to declare war till death." The next 
 day, Madame having ordered her chaise, I was
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 141 
 
 curious to know where she was going, for she 
 went out but little, except to church, and to 
 the houses of the ministers. I was told that she 
 was gone to visit M. d'Argenson. She returned in 
 an hour, at farthest, and seemed very much out 
 of spirits. She leaned on the chimney-piece, with 
 her eyes fixed on the border of it. M. de Bernis 
 entered. I waited for her to take off her cloak 
 and gloves. She had her hands in her muff. 
 The Abbe stood looking at her for some minutes ; 
 at last he said, " You look like a sheep in a re- 
 fleeting mood." She awoke from her reverie, and. 
 throwing her muff on the easy chair, replied, - " It 
 is a wolf who makes the sheep reflect." I went 
 out : the King entered shortly after, and I heard 
 Madame de Pompadour sobbing. The Abbe came 
 into my room, and told me to bring some Hoff- 
 man's drops : the King himself mixed the draught
 
 1+2 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 with sugar, and presented it to her in the kindest 
 manner possible. She smiled, and kissed the 
 King's hands. I left the room. Two days after, 
 very early in the morning, I heard of M. d'Argen- 
 son's exile. It was her doing, and was, indeed, 
 the strongest proof of her influence that could 
 be given. The King was much attached to 
 M. d'Argenson, and the war, then carrying on, 
 both by sea and land, rendered the dismissal of 
 two such ministers extremely imprudent. This 
 was the universal opinion at the time. 
 
 Many people talk of the letter of the Count 
 d'Argenson to Madame d'Esparbes. I give it, 
 according to the most correct version. — "The 
 doubtful is, at length, decided. The Keeper of 
 the Seals is dismissed. You will be recalled, my 
 dear Countess, and we shall be masters of the 
 field."
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSE1 1 43 
 
 It is much less generally known, that Arboulin, 
 
 whom Madame calls Bou-bou, was supposed to be 
 the person who, on the very day of the dismissal 
 of the- Keeper of the Seals, bribed the Count's 
 confidential courier, who gave him this letter. Is 
 this report founded on truth ? I cannot swear that 
 it is : but it is asserted that the letter is written 
 in the Count's style. Besides, who could so imme- 
 diately have invented it ? It, however, appeared 
 certain, from the extreme displeasure of the King, 
 that he had some other subject of complaint 
 against M. d'Argenson, besides his refusing to be 
 reconciled with Madame. Nobody dares to show 
 the slightest attachment to the disgraced minister. 
 I asked the ladies who were most intimate with 
 Madame de Pompadour, as well as my own 
 friends, what the'}' knew of the matter ; but they 
 knew nothing. I can understand whv Madame
 
 144 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 did not let them into her confidence at that 
 moment. She will be less reserved in time. 
 I care very little about it, since I see that she is 
 well, and appears happy. 
 
 The King said a thing, which did him 
 honour, to a person whose name Madame with- 
 held from me. A nobleman, who had been a 
 most assiduous courtier of the Count, said, rubbing 
 his hands with an air of great joy, " I have just 
 seen the Count d'Argenson's baggage set out." 
 When the King heard him, he went up to 
 Madame, shrugged his shoulders, and said, " And 
 immediately the cock crew." 
 
 I believe this is taken from Scripture, where 
 Peter denies Our Lord. I confess, this circum- 
 stance gave me great pleasure. It showed that 
 the King is not the dupe of those around him, 
 and that he hates treachery and ingratitude."
 
 MADAME DL' HAL'S SET 1 45 
 
 Madame sent for me yesterday evening, at 
 
 seven o'clock, to read something to her : the 
 
 ladies who were intimate with her were at Paris, 
 
 and M. de Gontaut ill. " The King," said she, 
 
 "will stay late at the Council this evening: they 
 
 are occupied with the affairs of the Parliament 
 
 again." She bade me leave off reading, and I 
 
 was going to quit the room, but she called out, 
 
 "Stop." She rose; a letter was brought in for 
 
 her, and she took it with an air of impatience 
 
 and ill -humour. After a considerable time she 
 
 began to talk openly, which only happened when 
 
 she was extremely vexed ; and, as none of her 
 
 confidential friends were at hand, she said to 
 
 me, " This is from my brother. It is what he 
 
 would not have dared to say to me, so he writes. 
 
 I had arranged a marriage for him with the 
 
 daughter of a man of title : he appeared to be 
 
 10
 
 14.6 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 well inclined to it, and I, therefore, pledged my 
 word. He now tells me that he has made 
 inquiries ; that the parents are people of insup- 
 portable hauteur ; that the daughter is very badly 
 educated ; and that he knows, from authority 
 not to be doubted, that when she heard this 
 marriage discussed, she spoke of the connection 
 with the most supreme contempt ; that he is 
 certain of this fact ; and that I was still more 
 contemptuously spoken of than himself. In a 
 word, he begs me to break off the treaty. But 
 he has let me go too far ; and now he will make 
 these people my irreconcilable enemies. This has 
 been put. in his head by some of his flatterers ; 
 they do not wish him to change his way of 
 living ; and very few of them would be received 
 by his wife." I tried to soften Madame, and, 
 though I did not venture to tell her so, I thought
 
 MADAME DC HAUSSET I47 
 
 her brother right. She persisted in saying these 
 were lies, and, on the following Sunday, treated 
 her brother very coldly. He said nothing to 
 me at that time ; if he had, he would have 
 embarrassed me greatly. Madame atoned for 
 everything by procuring favours, which were the 
 means of facilitating the young lady's marriage 
 with a gentleman of the Court. Her conduct, two 
 months after marriage, compelled Madame to con- 
 fess that her brother had been perfectly right. 
 
 I saw my friend, Madame du Chiron. " Why," 
 said she, "is the Marchioness so violent an enemy 
 to the Jesuits ? I assure you she is wrong. All- 
 powerful as she is, she may find herself the worse 
 for their enmity." I replied that 1 knew nothing 
 about the matter. " It is, however, unquestion- 
 ably a fact ; and she does not feel that a word 
 
 more or less might decide her fate." — " How do 
 
 10 — 2
 
 I4S MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 you mean?" said I. "Well, I will explain my- 
 self fully," said she. " You know what took place 
 at the time the King was stabbed : an attempt 
 was made to get her out of the Castle instantly. 
 The Jesuits have no other object than the salva- 
 tion of their penitents ; but they are men, and 
 hatred may, without their being aware of it, influ- 
 ence their minds, and inspire them with a greater 
 degree of severity than circumstances absolutely 
 demand. Favour and partiality may, on the 
 other hand, induce the confessor to make great 
 concessions ; and the shortest interval may suffice 
 to save a favourite, especially if any decent pre- 
 text can be found for prolonging her stay at 
 Court." I agreed with her in all she said, but I 
 told her that I dared not touch that string. On 
 reflecting on this conversation afterwards, I was 
 forcibly struck with this fresh proof of the in-
 
 M VDAME DU H MJSS1 i [49 
 
 trigues of the Jesuits, which, indeed, I knew well 
 already. I thought that, in spite of what I had 
 replied to Madame du Chiron, I ought to com- 
 municate this to Madame de Pompadour, for the 
 ease of my conscience ; but that I would abstain 
 from making any reflection upon it. "Your friend, 
 Madame du Chiron," said she, " is, I perceive, 
 affiliated to the Jesuits, and what she says does 
 not originate with herself. She is commissioned 
 by some reverend father, and I will know by 
 whom." Spies were, accordingly, set to watch her 
 movements, and they discovered that one father 
 de Saci, and, still more particularly, one father 
 Frey, guided this lady's conduct. " What a pity," 
 said Madame to me, " that the Abbe Chauvelin 
 cannot know this." He was the most formidable 
 enemy of the reverend fathers. Madame du 
 Chiron always looked upon me as a Jansenist,
 
 15° MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 because I would not espouse the interests of the 
 good fathers with as much warmth as she did. 
 
 Madame is completely absorbed in the Abbe 
 de Bernis, whom she thinks capable of anything ; 
 she talks of him incessantly. Apropos, of this 
 Abbe, I must relate an anecdote, which almost 
 makes one believe in conjurors. A year, or fifteen 
 months, before her disgrace, Madame de Pompa- 
 dour, being at Fontainbleau, sat down to write at a 
 desk, over which hung a portrait of the King. While 
 she was shutting the desk, after she had finished 
 writing, the picture fell, and struck her violently 
 on the head. The persons who saw the accident 
 were alarmed, and sent for Dr. Quesnay. He 
 asked the circumstances of the case, and ordered 
 bleeding and anodynes. Just as she had been 
 bled, Madame de Brancas entered, and saw us all 
 in confusion and agitation, and Madame lying on
 
 MADAME l»l HAUSSET 15 1 
 
 her chaise-longue. She asked what was the matter, 
 and was told. After having expressed her regret, 
 and having consoled her, she said, " I ask it as a 
 favour of Madame, and of the King (who had just 
 come in), that the}- will instantly send a courier to 
 the Abbe de Bernis, and that the Marchioness will 
 have the goodness to write a letter, merely re- 
 questing him to inform her what his fortune- 
 tellers told him, and to withhold nothing from 
 the fear of making her uneasy." The thing was 
 done as she desired, and she then told us that 
 La Bontemps had predicted, from the dregs in 
 the coffee-cup, in which she read everything, 
 that the head of her best friend was in danger, 
 but that no fatal consequences would ensue. 
 
 The next day, the Abbe wrote word, that 
 Madame Bontemps also said to him, " You came 
 into the world almost black," and that this was
 
 I5 2 MEMOIRS Ol LOUIS XV 
 
 the fact. This colour, which lasted for some 
 time, was attributed to a picture which hung at 
 the foot of his mother's bed, and which she often 
 looked at. It represented a Moor bringing to 
 Cleopatra a basket of flowers, containing the asp 
 by whose bite she destroyed herself. He said 
 that she also told him, " You have a great deal 
 of money about you, but it does not belong to 
 you ; " and that he had actually in his pocket two 
 hundred louis for the Duke de la Valliere. Lastly, 
 he informed us that she said, looking in the cup, 
 " I see one of your friends — the best — a distin- 
 guished lady, threatened with an accident : ' that 
 he confessed that, in spite of all his philosophy, 
 he turned pale ; that she remarked this, looked 
 again into the cup, and continued, " Her head will 
 be slightly in danger, but of this no appearance will 
 remain half an hour afterwards. It was impossible
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 153 
 
 to doubt the facts." They appeared so surprising 
 to the King, that he desired some inquiry to be 
 made concerning the fortune - teller. Madame, 
 however, protected her from the pursuit of the 
 Police. 
 
 A man, who was quite as astonishing as 
 this fortune-teller, often visited Madame de Pom- 
 padour. This was the Count de St. Germain, 
 who wished to have it believed that he had 
 lived several centuries. 1 One day, at her toilet, 
 
 1 St. Germain was an adept — a worthy predecessor of 
 Cagliostro, who expected to live five hundred years. The 
 Count de St. Germain pretended to have already lived 
 two thousand, and, according to him, the account was still 
 running. He went so far as to claim the power of trans- 
 mitting the gift of long life. One day, calling upon his 
 servant to bear witness to a fact that went pretty far back, 
 the man replied, " I have no recollection of it, sir ; you 
 forget that I have only had the honour of serving you for 
 five hundred years." 
 
 St. Germain, like all other charlatans of this sort,
 
 154 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 Madame said to him, in my presence, " What 
 was the personal appearance of Francis I. ? He 
 was a King I should have liked." — "He was, 
 indeed, very captivating," said St. Germain ; and 
 he proceeded to describe his face and person as 
 one does that of a man one has accurately ob- 
 served. " It is a pity he was too ardent. I 
 could have given him some good advice, which 
 
 assumed a theatrical magnificence, and an air of science 
 calculated to deceive the vulgar. His best instrument of 
 deception was the phantasmagoria ; and as, by means of 
 this abuse of the science of optics, he called up shades 
 which were asked for. and almost always recognised, his 
 correspondence with the other world was a thing proved 
 by the concurrent testimony of numerous witnesses. 
 
 He played the same game in London, Venice, and 
 Holland, but he constantly regretted Paris, where his 
 miracles were never questioned. 
 
 St. Germain passed his latter days at the Court of 
 the Prince of Hesse Cassel, and died at Plewig, in 1784, 
 in the midst of his enthusiastic disciples, and to their 
 infinite astonishment at his sharing the common destiny.
 
 MADAME HI' HAISSET I 
 
 DO 
 
 would have saved him from all his misfortunes ; 
 but lie would not have followed it : for it seems 
 as if a fatality attended princes, forcing them to 
 shut their ears, those of the mind, at least, to 
 the best advice, and especially in the most criti- 
 cal moments." -" And the Constable," said Ma- 
 dame, " what do you say of him ? " — " I cannot 
 say much good or much harm of him," replied 
 he. " Was the Court of Francis I. very bril- 
 liant ? " — " Very brilliant ; but those of his grand- 
 sons infinitely surpassed it. In the time of Mary 
 Stuart and Margaret of Valois it was a land of 
 enchantment — a temple, sacred to pleasures of 
 every kind ; those of the mind were not neglected. 
 The two Cjueens were learned, wrote verses, and 
 spoke with captivating grace and eloquence." Ma- 
 dame said, laughing, '* You seem to have seen all 
 this." --" I have an excellent memory," said he,
 
 I56 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 and have read the history of France with great 
 care. I sometimes amuse myself, not by making, 
 but by letting it be believed that I lived in old 
 times." — " You do not tell me your age. however, 
 and you give yourself out for very old. The Coun- 
 tess de Gergy, who was ambassadress to Venice, 
 I think, fifty years ago, says she knew you there 
 exactly what you are now." — " It is true, Madame, 
 that I have known Madame de Gergy a long time." 
 — "But, according to what she says, you would be 
 more than a hundred."—" That is not impossible," 
 said he, laughing ; " but it is, I allow, still more 
 possible, that Madame de Gergy, for whom I have 
 the greatest respect, may be in her dotage." — 
 " You have given her an elixir, the effect of which 
 is surprising. She declares that for a long time 
 she has felt as if she was only four-and-twenty 
 years of age ; why don't you give some to the 

 
 MADAME I>U HAUSSET 1 57 
 
 King ? '* — " Ah ! Madame,'" said he, with a sort 
 of terror, " I must be mad to think of giving the 
 King an unknown drug." I went into my room 
 to write down this conversation. 
 
 Some days afterwards, the King, Madame de 
 Pompadour, some Lords of the Court, and the 
 Count de St. Germain, were talking about his 
 secret for causing the spots in diamonds to dis- 
 appear. The King ordered a diamond of middling 
 size, which had a spot, to be brought. It was 
 weighed ; and the King said to the Count, " It 
 is valued at two hundred and forty pounds ; but 
 it would be worth four hundred if it had no spot. 
 Will you try to put a hundred and sixty pounds 
 into my pocket ? " He examined it carefully, and 
 said, " It may be done ; and I will bring it you 
 again in a month." At the time appointed, the 
 Count brought back the diamond without a spot.
 
 I58 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 and gave it to the King. It was wrapped in a 
 cloth of amianthus, which he took off. The King 
 had it weighed, and found it but very little 
 diminished. The King sent it to his jeweller by 
 M. de Gontaut, without telling him anything of 
 what had passed. The jeweller gave three hun- 
 dred and eighty pounds for it. The King, however, 
 sent for it back again, and kept it as a curiosity. 
 He could not overcome his surprise, and said 
 that M. de St. Germain must be worth millions, 
 especially if he had also the secret of making large 
 diamonds out of a number of small ones. He 
 neither said that he had, nor that he had not ; 
 but he positively asserted that he could make 
 pearls grow, and give them the finest water. The 
 King paid him great attention, and so did Madame 
 de Pompadour. It was from her I learnt what I 
 have just related. M. Quesnay said, talking of the
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSE1 I 59 
 
 pearls, " They are produced by a disease in the 
 oyster. It is possible to know the cause of it : 
 but, be that as it may, he is not the less a quack, 
 since he pretends to have the elixir vita, and to 
 have lived several centuries. Our master is. how- 
 ever, infatuated by him, and sometimes talks of 
 him as if his descent were illustrious." 
 
 I have seen him frequently : he appeared to 
 be about fifty : he was neither fat nor thin : he 
 had an acute, intelligent look, dressed very simply, 
 but in good taste : he wore very fine diamonds in 
 his rings, watch, and snuff-box. He came, one 
 day, to visit Madame de Pompadour, at a time 
 when the Court was in full splendour, with knee 
 and shoe-buckles of diamonds so fine and brilliant 
 that Madame said she did not believe the King 
 had any equal to them. He went into the ante- 
 chamber to take them off, and brought them to
 
 l6o MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 be examined ; they were compared with others in 
 the room, and the Duke de Gontaut, who was 
 present, said, they were worth at least eight thou- 
 sand pounds. He wore, at the same time, a snuff- 
 box of inestimable value, and ruby sleeve-buttons, 
 which were perfectly dazzling. Nobody could find 
 out by what means this man became so rich and 
 so remarkable ; but the King would not suffer 
 him to be spoken of with ridicule or contempt. 
 He was said to be a bastard son of the King of 
 Portugal. 
 
 I learnt, from M. de Marigny, that the rela- 
 tions of the good little Marcchale (de Mirepoix) 
 had been extremely severe upon her, for what they 
 called the baseness of her conduct, with regard 
 to Madame de Pompadour. They said she held 
 the stones of the cherries which Madame ate in 
 her carriage, in her beautiful little hands, and 

 
 MADAME Dl HAUSSET l6l 
 
 that she sate in the front of the carriage, while 
 Madame occupied the whole seat in the inside. 
 The truth was, that, in going to Crecv, on an 
 insupportably hot day, they both wished to sit 
 alone, that they might be cooler : and as to the 
 matter of the cherries, the villagers having brought 
 them some, they ate them to refresh themselves, 
 while the horses were changed ; and the Marechale 
 emptied her pocket-handkerchief, into which they 
 had both thrown the cherry-stones, out of the 
 carriage window. The people who were changing 
 the horses had given their own version of the 
 affair. 
 
 I had, as you know, a very pretty room at 
 Madame's hotel, whither I generally went pri- 
 vately. I had, one day, had visits from two or 
 three Paris representatives, who told me news ; 
 
 and Madame, having sent for me, I went to her, 
 
 ii
 
 l62 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 and found her with M. de Gontaut. I could not 
 help instantly saying to her, " You must be much 
 pleased, Madame, at the noble action of the Mar- 
 quis de ." Madame replied, drily, "Hold 
 
 your tongue, and listen to what I have to say to 
 you." I returned to my little room, where I found 
 the Countess d'Amblimont, to whom I men- 
 tioned Madame's reception of me. " I know what 
 is the matter," said she ; " it has no relation to 
 you. I will explain it to you. The Marquis de 
 
 has told all Paris, that, some days ago, 
 
 going home at night, alone, and on foot, he heard 
 cries in a street called Ferou, which is dark, and, 
 in great part, arched over. That he drew his 
 sword, and went down the street, in which he 
 saw, by the light of a lamp, a very handsome 
 woman, to whom some ruffians were offering vio- 
 lence ; that he approached, and that the woman
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 163 
 
 cried out, ' Save me ! save me ! ' That he rushed 
 upon the wretches, two of whom fought him, 
 sword in hand, whilst a third held the woman, 
 and tried to stop her mouth ; that he wounded 
 one in the arm ; and that the ruffians, hearing 
 people pass at the end of the street, and fearing 
 the)- might come to his assistance, fled ; that he 
 then went up to the lady, who told him that they 
 were not robbers, but villains, one of whom was 
 desperately in love with her : and that the lady 
 knew not how to express her gratitude ; that she 
 had begged him not to follow her, after he had 
 conducted her to a fiacre ; that she would not tell 
 him her name ; but that she insisted on his ac- 
 cepting a little ring, as a token of remembrance ; 
 and that she promised to see him again, and to 
 tell him her whole history, if he gave her his 
 
 address : that he complied with this request of the 
 
 11 — 2
 
 164 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 lady, whom he represented as a charming person, 
 and who, in the overflowing of her gratitude, em- 
 braced him several times. This is all very fine, so 
 far,'" said Madame d'Amblimont, " but hear the 
 
 rest. The Marquis de exhibited himself 
 
 everywhere the next day, with a black ribbon 
 bound round his arm, near the wrist, in which 
 part he said he had received a wound. He re- 
 lated his story to everybody, and everybody com- 
 mented upon it after his own fashion. He went 
 to dine with the Dauphin, who spoke to him of 
 his bravery, and of his fair unknown, and told 
 him that he had already complimented the Duke 
 
 de C on the affair. I forgot to tell you," 
 
 continued Madame d'Amblimont, " that, on the 
 very night of the adventure, he called on 
 Madame d'Estillac, an old gambler, whose house 
 is open till four in the morning ; that every-
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 165 
 
 body there was surprised at the disordered state 
 in which he appeared: that his bag-wig had fallen 
 off, one skirt of his coat was cut, and his right 
 hand bleeding. That they instantly bound it up, 
 and gave him some Rota wine. Four days ago, 
 
 the Duke de C supped with the King, and 
 
 sat near M. de St. Florentin. He talked to 
 him of his relation's adventure, and asked him 
 if he had made any inquiries concerning the 
 lady. M. de St. Florentin coldly answered, 'No:' 
 
 and M. de C remarked, on asking him some 
 
 further questions, that he kept his eyes fixed 
 on his plate, looking embarrassed, and answered 
 in monosyllables. He asked him the reason of 
 this, upon which M. de Florentin told him that 
 it was extremely distressing to him to see him 
 under such a mistake. ' How can you know that, 
 supposing it to be the fact,' said M. de .
 
 I 
 
 l66 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 ' Nothing is more easy to prove,' replied M. de 
 St. Florentin. ' You may imagine that, as soon 
 
 as I was informed of the Marquis de 's 
 
 adventure, I set on foot inquiries, the result of 
 which was, that, on the night when this affair 
 was said to have taken place, a party of the 
 watch was set in ambuscade in this very street, 
 for the purpose of catching a thief who was 
 coming out of a gaming house ; that this party 
 was there four hours, and heard not the slightest 
 
 noise.' M. de C was greatly incensed at 
 
 this recital, which M. de St. Florentin ought, 
 indeed, to have communicated to the King. He 
 has ordered, or will order, his relation to retire 
 to his province. 
 
 " After this, you will judge, my dear, whether 
 you were very likely to be graciously received when 
 you went open-mouthed with your compliment to
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 167 
 
 the Marchioness. This adventure," continued she, 
 " reminded the King of one which occurred about 
 
 fifteen years ago. The Count d'E , who was 
 
 what is called enfant d'honneur to the Dauphin, 
 and about fourteen years of age, came into the 
 Dauphin's apartments, one evening, with his bag- 
 wig snatched off, and his ruffles torn, and said, 
 that, having walked rather late near the piece of 
 water dcs Suisses, he had been attacked by two 
 robbers ; that he had refused to give them any- 
 thing, drawn his sword, and put himself in an 
 attitude of defence ; that one of the robbers was 
 armed with a sword, the other with a large stick, 
 from which he had received several blows, but 
 that he had wounded one in the arm, and that, 
 hearing a noise at that moment, they had fled. 
 But, unluckily for the little Count, it was known 
 that people were on the spot at the precise time
 
 1 68 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 he mentioned, and had heard nothing. The 
 Count was pardoned, on account of his youth. 
 The Dauphin made him confess the truth, and it 
 was looked upon as a childish freak, to set people 
 talking about him." 
 
 The King disliked the King of Prussia, because 
 he knew that the latter was in the habit of jesting 
 upon his mistress, and the kind of life he led. It 
 was Frederick's fault, as I have heard it said, that 
 the King was not his most steadfast ally and 
 friend, as much as sovereigns can be towards each 
 other ; but the jestings of Frederick had stung 
 him, and made him conclude the treat}- of Ver- 
 sailles. One day, he entered Madame's apartment 
 with a paper in his hand, and said, " The King of 
 Prussia is certainly a great man ; he loves men of 
 talent, and, like Louis XIV., he wishes to make 
 Europe ring with his favours towards foreign
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET l6g 
 
 savans. There is a letter from him, addressed to 
 my Lord Mareschal, 1 ordering him to acquaint a 
 supcvieur man of my kingdom (d'Alembert) that he 
 has granted him a pension ; " and, looking at the 
 letter, he read the following words : " You must 
 
 i George Keith, better known under the name of 
 Milord Marshal, was the eldest son of William Keith. 
 Earl Marshal of Scotland. He was an avowed partisan 
 of the Stuarts, and did not lay down the arms he had 
 taken up in their cause until it became utterly desperate, 
 and drew upon its defenders useless dangers. When they 
 were driven from their country, he renounced it, and took 
 up his residence successively in France, Prussia, Spain, 
 and Italy. The delicious country and climate of Valencia 
 he preferred above any other. 
 
 Milord Marshal died in the month of May, 1778. It 
 was he who said to Madame Geoffrin, speaking of his 
 brother, who was field-marshal in the Prussian service, and 
 died on the field of honour, " My brother leaves me the 
 most glorious inheritance " (he had just laid the whole of 
 Bohemia under contribution) ; " his property does not 
 amount to seventy ducats.'" An eulogium on Milord 
 Marshal, by d'Alembert, is extant. It is the most cruellv 
 mangled of all his works, by Linguet — (Vid. Annates 
 Politiques, 1778).
 
 170 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 know that there is in Paris a man of the greatest 
 merit, whose fortune is not proportionate to his 
 talents and character. I may serve as eyes to the 
 blind goddess, and repair in some measure the in- 
 justice, and I beg you to offer on that account. 
 I flatter myself that he will accept this pension 
 because of the pleasure I shall feel in obliging a 
 man who joins beauty of character to the most 
 sublime intellectual talents." The King here 
 stopped, on seeing MM. de Ayen and de Gontaut 
 enter, and then recommenced reading the letter to 
 them, and added, " It was given me by the Minis- 
 ter for Foreign Affairs, to whom it was confided 
 by Milord Mareschal, for the purpose of obtaining 
 my permission for this sublime genius to accept 
 the favour. But," said the King. " what do you 
 think is the amount ? " Some said six, eight, 
 ten thousand livres. "You have not guessed,"
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET \~\ 
 
 said the King, " It is twelve hundred livres." — 
 " For sublime talents," said the Duke d'Ayen, 
 " it is not much. But the philosophers will make 
 Europe resound with this letter, and the King 
 of Prussia will have the pleasure of making a 
 great noise at little expense." 
 
 The Chevalier de Courten, 1 who had been in 
 Prussia, came in, and, hearing this story told, 
 said, " I have seen what is much better than 
 that : passing through a village in Prussia, I got 
 out at the post-house, while I was waiting for 
 horses ; and the Postmaster, who was a captain 
 in the Prussian service, showed me several letters 
 in Frederick's handwriting, addressed to his uncle, 
 who was a man of rank, promising him to provide 
 for his nephews ; the provision he made for this, 
 
 i The Chevalier de Courten was a Swiss, and a man 
 of talent.
 
 172 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 the eldest of these nephews, who was dreadfully 
 wounded, was the postmastership which he then 
 held." M. de Marigny related this story at 
 Quesnay's, and added, that the man of genius 
 above-mentioned was d'Alembert, and that the 
 King had permitted him to accept the pension. 
 He added, that his sister had suggested to the 
 King that he had better give d'Alembert a pen- 
 sion of twice the value, and forbid him to take 
 the King of Prussia's. This advice he would not 
 take, because he looked upon d'Alembert as an 
 infidel. M. de Marigny took a copy of the letter, 
 which he lent me. 
 
 A certain nobleman, at one time, affected to 
 cast tender glances on Madame Adelaide. She 
 was wholly unconscious of it ; but, as there are 
 Arguses at Court, the King was, of course, told 
 of it, and, indeed, he thought he had perceived
 
 MADAME Dl' HAUSSET I73 
 
 it himself. I know that he came into Madame de 
 Pompadour's room one day, in a great passion, 
 and said, " Would you believe that there is a man 
 in my Court insolent enough to dare to raise his 
 eyes to one of my (laughters ? " Madame had 
 never seen him so exasperated, and this illustrious 
 nobleman was advised to feign a necessity for visit- 
 ing his estates. He remained there two months. 
 Madame told me, long after, that she thought that 
 there were no tortures to which the King would not 
 have condemned an}- man who had seduced one 
 of his daughters. Madame Adelaide, at the time in 
 question, was a charming person, and united infinite 
 
 grace, and much talent, to a most agreeable face. 
 
 A courier brought Madame de Pompadour a 
 letter, on reading which she burst into tears. 
 It contained the intelligence of the battle of Ros- 
 bach, which M. de Soubise sent her, with all the
 
 174 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 details. I heard her say to the Marshal de Belle- 
 Isle, wiping her eyes, " M. de Soubise is incon- 
 solable ; he does not try to excuse his conduct, 
 he sees nothing but the disastrous fortune which 
 pursues him." ■— " M. de Soubise must, however, 
 have many things to urge in his own behalf," 
 said M. de Belle-Isle, "and so I told the King." 
 — " It is very noble in you, Marshal, not to suffer 
 an unfortunate man to be overwhelmed ; the pub- 
 lic are furious against him, and what has he done 
 to deserve it?" — "There is not a more honourable 
 nor a kinder man in the world. I only fulfil my 
 duty in doing justice to the truth, and to a man 
 for whom I have the most profound esteem. The 
 King will explain to you, Madame, how that M. 
 de Soubise was forced to give battle by the Prince 
 of Saxe-Hildbourgshausen, 1 whose troops fled first, 
 i Field-marshal of the Imperial army, November, 1757.
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 1 75 
 
 and carried along the French troops." Madame 
 would have embraced the old Marshal if she had 
 dared, she was so delighted with him. 
 
 M. de Soubise, having gained a battle, 1 was 
 made Marshal of France : Madame was enchanted 
 with her friend's success. But, either it was un- 
 important, or the public were offended at his 
 promotion ; nobody talked of it but Madame's 
 friends. This unpopularity was concealed from 
 her, and she said to Colin, her steward, at her 
 toilet, "Are you not delighted at the victory M. 
 de Soubise has gained ? What does the public 
 say of it ? He has taken his revenge well." Colin 
 was embarrassed, and knew not what to answer. 
 As she pressed him further, he replied that he 
 had been ill, and had seen nobody for a week. 
 
 M. de Marigny came to see me one day, 
 i That of Lutzelberg, in October. 1758.
 
 Ij6 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 very much out of humour. I asked him the 
 cause. "I have," said he, "just been intreating 
 my sister not to make M. le Normand-de-Mezi 
 Minister of the Marine. I told her that she was 
 heaping coals of rire upon her own head. A 
 favourite ought not to multiply the points of at- 
 tack upon herself." The Doctor entered. " You," 
 said the Doctor, "are worth your weight in gold, 
 for the good sense and capacity you have shewn 
 in your office, and for your moderation, but you 
 will never be appreciated as you deserve ; your 
 advice is excellent ; there will never be a ship 
 taken but Madame will be held responsible for it 
 to the public, and you are very wise not to think 
 of being in the ministry yourself." 
 
 One day, when I was at Paris, I went to 
 dine with the Doctor, who happened to be there 
 at the same time ; there were, contrary to his
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSE1 177 
 
 usual custom, a good many people, and, among 
 others, a handsome young Master of the Requests, 
 who took a title from some place, the name of 
 which I have forgotten, but who was a son of 
 M. Turgot, the prcvut des marchands. They talked 
 a 'great deal about administration, which was not 
 very amusing to me ; they then fell upon the 
 subject of the love Frenchmen bear to their kings. 
 M. Turgot here joined in the conversation, and 
 said, " This is not a blind attachment ; it is a 
 deeply rooted sentiment, arising from an indis- 
 tinct recollection of great benefits. The French 
 nation — I may go farther — Europe, and all man- 
 kind, owe to a King of France," (I have forgotten 
 his name 1 ) "whatever liberty they enjoy. He 
 established communes, and conferred on an im- 
 mense number of men a civil existence. I am 
 
 1 Philip the Long. 
 
 12
 
 178 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 aware that it may be said, with justice, that 
 he served his own interests by granting these 
 franchises ; that the cities paid him taxes, and 
 that his design was to use them as instruments 
 of weakening the power of the great nobles ; but 
 what does that prove, but that this measure was 
 at once useful, politic, and humane ? '' From 
 kings in general the conversation turned upon 
 Louis XV., and M. Turgot remarked that his 
 reign would be always celebrated for the advance- 
 ment of the sciences, the progress of knowledge, 
 and of philosophy. He added that Louis XV. 
 was deficient in the quality which Louis XI V. 
 possessed to excess ; that is to say, in a good 
 opinion of himself; that he was well-informed; 
 that nobody was more perfectly master of the 
 topography of France ; that his opinion in the 
 council was always the most judicious ; and that
 
 MADAME DU IIAUSSET 179 
 
 it was much to be lamented that he had not 
 more confidence in himself, or that he did not 
 rely upon some minister who enjoyed the con- 
 fidence of the nation. Everybody agreed with 
 him. I begged M. Quesnay to write down what 
 young Turgot had said, and showed it to Madame. 
 She praised this Master of the Requests greatly, 
 and spoke of him to the King. " It is a good 
 breed," said he. 
 
 One day, I went out to walk, and saw, 
 on my return, a great many people going and 
 coming, and speaking to each other privately : it 
 was evident that something extraordinary had 
 happened. I asked a person of my acquaintance 
 what was the matter. " Alas ! " said he, with 
 tears in his eyes, " some assassins, who had 
 formed the project of murdering the King, have 
 
 inflicted several wounds on a garde-du-corps, who 
 
 12 — 2
 
 i So 
 
 MKMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 overheard them in a dark corridor : he is carried 
 to the hospital : and as he has described the 
 colour of these men's coats, the Police are in 
 quest of them in all directions, and some people, 
 dressed in clothes of that colour, are already 
 arrested." I saw Madame with M. de Gontaut, 
 and I hastened home. She found her door be- 
 sieged by a multitude of people, and was alarmed : 
 when she got in. she found the Count de 
 Noailles. " What is all this, Count ? " said she. 
 He said he was come expressly to speak to her, 
 and they retired to her closet together. The 
 conference was not long. I had remained in 
 the drawing-room, with Madame's equerry, the 
 Chevalier de Sosent, Gourbillon, her valet -de - 
 chambre, and some strangers. A great many 
 details were related ; but, the wounds being little 
 more than scratches, and the garde -du- corps
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET [8] 
 
 having let fall some contradictions, it was thought 
 that he was an impostor, who had invented all 
 this story to bring himself into favour. Before 
 the night was over, this was proved to be the 
 fact, and, I believe, from his own confession. 
 The King came, that evening, to see Madame de 
 Pompadour ; he spoke of this occurrence with 
 great sang froid, and said, " The gentleman who 
 wanted to kill me was a wicked madman ; this 
 is a low scoundrel. " 
 
 When he spoke of Damiens, which was only 
 while his trial lasted, he never called him any- 
 thing but that gentleman. 
 
 I have heard it said that 
 
 he proposed having 
 him shut up in a dungeon for life ; but that the 
 horrible nature of the crime made the judges 
 insist upon his suffering all the tortures inflicted 
 upon like occasions. Great numbers, many of
 
 182 
 
 MEMOIRS OP LOUIS XV 
 
 them women, had the barbarous curiosity to 
 witness the execution ; amongst others, Madame 
 
 <Je P , a very beautiful woman, and the wife 
 
 of a farmer-general. She hired two places at a 
 window for twelve louis, and played a game of 
 cards in the room whilst waiting for the execution 
 to begin. On this being told to the King, he 
 covered his eyes with his hands, and exclaimed, 
 " Fi, l<* Vilainc!' I have been told that she, 
 and others, thought to pay their court in this 
 way, and signalise their attachment to the King's 
 person. 
 
 Two things were related to me by M. Duclos 
 at the time of the attempt on the King's life. 
 
 The first, relative to the Count de Sponheim, 
 who was Duke de Deux-Ponts, and next in 
 succession to the Palatinate and Electorate of 
 Bavaria. He was thought to be a great friend
 
 MADAMIC DU HAUSSET 1 83 
 
 to the King, and had made several long sojourns 
 in France. He came frequently to see Madame. 
 M. Duclos told us that the Duke dc Deux-Ponts, 
 having learned, at Deux-Ponts, the attempt on 
 the King's life, immediately set out in a carriage 
 for Versailles : " But remark," said he, " the 
 spirit of courtisanerie of a prince, who ma} - be 
 Elector of Bavaria and the Palatinate to-morrow. 
 This was not enough. When he arrived within 
 ten leagues of Paris, he put on an enormous 
 pair of jack -boots, mounted a post-horse, and 
 arrived in the court of the palace cracking his 
 whip. If this had been real impatience, and not 
 charlatanism, he would have taken horse twenty 
 leagues from Paris.'" — " I don't agree with you," 
 said a gentleman whom I did not know : " im- 
 patience sometimes seizes one towards the end 
 of an undertaking, and one employs the readiest
 
 i8 4 
 
 MF.MOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 means then in one's power. Besides, the Duke 
 de Deux-Ponts might wish, by showing himself 
 thus on horseback, to serve the King, to whom 
 he is attached, by proving to Frenchmen how 
 greatly he is beloved and honoured in other 
 countries." Duclos resumed ; " Well," said he, 
 
 "do you know the story of M. de C ? The 
 
 first day the King saw company, after the 
 
 attempt of Damiens, M. de C pushed so 
 
 vigorously through the crowd that he was one 
 of the first to come into the King's presence ; 
 but he had on so shabby a black coat that 
 it caught the King's attention, who burst out 
 
 laughing, and said, ' Look at C •, he has 
 
 had the skirt of his coat torn off.' M. de 
 
 C- 
 
 looked as if he was onlv then first 
 
 conscious of his loss, and said, ' Sire, there 
 is such a multitude hurrying to see your Majesty,
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET [85 
 
 that I was obliged to fight my way through 
 them, and, in the effort, my coat has been 
 torn.' — 'Fortunately it was not worth much,' 
 said the Marquis de Souvre, 'and you could 
 not have chosen a worse one to sacrifice on the 
 occasion.' 
 
 Madame de Pompadour had been very judi- 
 ciously advised to get her husband, M. le Nor- 
 mand, sent to Constantinople, as ambassador. 
 This would have a little diminished the scandal 
 caused by seeing Madame de Pompadour, with 
 the title of Marchioness, at Court, and her hus- 
 band Farmer-General at Paris. But he was so 
 attached to a Paris life, and to his opera habits, 
 that he could not be prevailed upon to go. 
 Madame employed a certain M. d'Arboulin, with 
 whom she had been acquainted before she was 
 at Court, to negotiate this affair. He applied t<>
 
 l86 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 a Mademoiselle Rem, 1 who had been an opera- 
 dancer, and who was M. le Normand's mistress. 
 She made him very fine promises ; but she was 
 like him, and preferred a Paris life. She would 
 do nothing in it. 
 
 At the time that plays were acted in the little 
 apartments, I obtained a lieutenancy for one of 
 my relations, by a singular means, which proves 
 the value the greatest people set upon the slightest 
 access to the Court. Madame did not like to ask 
 anything of M. d'Argenson, and, being pressed by 
 my family, who could not imagine that, situated 
 as I was, it could be difficult for me to obtain 
 a command for a good soldier, I determined to 
 
 i M. le Normand married this Mademoiselle Rem, 
 
 according to the following epigram, which was much in 
 
 vogue : 
 
 Pour reparer miser iam 
 Que Pompadour fit a la France, 
 Le Normand, plein de conscience, 
 Vient d'epouser vempublicam.
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 187 
 
 go and ask the Count d'Argenson. I made my 
 request, and presented my memorial. He received 
 me coldly, and gave me vague answers. I went 
 
 out, and the Marquis de V , who was in 
 
 his closet, followed me. " You wish to obtain 
 a command," said he : " there is one vacant, 
 which is promised me for one of my proteges ; 
 but if you will do me a favour in return, or 
 obtain one for me. I will give it to you. I 
 want to be a police officer, and you have it in your 
 power to get me a place.'" I told him I did 
 not understand the purport of his jest. " I will 
 tell you,"' said he ; " Tartujfe is going to be acted 
 in the cabinets, and there is the part of a police 
 officer, which only consists of a few lines. Pre- 
 vail upon Madame de Pompadour to assign me 
 that part, and the command is yours. ,T I 
 promised nothing, but I related the historv to
 
 1 88 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 Madame, who said she would arrange it for me. 
 The thing was done, and I obtained the com- 
 mand, and the Marquis de V thanked Madame 
 
 as if she had made him a Duke. 
 
 The King was often annoyed by the Par- 
 liaments, and said a very remarkable thing con- 
 cerning them, which M. de Gontaut repeated to 
 Doctor Ouesnay in my presence. " Yesterday," 
 said he, "the King walked up and down the 
 room with an anxious air. Madame de Pompa- 
 dour asked him if he was uneasy about his health, 
 as he had been, for some time, rather unwell. 
 " No," replied he ; " but I am greatly annoyed 
 by all these remonstrances." — " What can come 
 of them," said she, ''that need seriously disquiet 
 Your Majesty ? Are you not master of the Par- 
 liaments, as well as of all the rest of the 
 kingdom ? " — " That is true," said the King ;
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 189 
 
 " but, if it had not been for these counsellors 
 and presidents, I should never have been stabbed 
 by that gentleman " (he always called Damiens 
 so). "Ah! Sire," cried Madame de Pompadour. 
 " Read the trial," said he ; " It was the language 
 of those gentlemen he names which turned his 
 head." - " But," said Madame, " I have often 
 thought, that if the Archbishop 1 could be sent to 
 Rome " Find anybody who will accom- 
 
 plish that business, and I will give him whatever 
 he pleases." Quesnay said the King was right 
 in all he had uttered. The Archbishop was 
 exiled shortly after, and the King was seriously 
 afflicted at being driven to take such a step. 
 "What a pity," he often said, "that so excellent 
 a man should be so obstinate." — "And so shal- 
 low," said somebody, one day. " Hold your 
 
 1 M. de Beaumont.
 
 I90 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 tongue," replied the King, somewhat sternly. The 
 
 Archbishop was very charitable, and liberal to 
 
 excess, but he often granted pensions without 
 
 discernment. 1 He granted one of an hundred 
 
 louis to a pretty woman, who was very poor, 
 
 and who assumed an illustrious name, to which 
 
 1 The following is a specimen of the advantages taken 
 of his natural kindness. Madame la Caille, who acted the 
 Duennas at the Opera Comique, was recommended to him 
 as the mother of a family, who deserved his protection. 
 The worthy prelate asked what he could do for her. 
 " Monseigneur," said the actress, "two words from your 
 hand to the Duke de Richelieu would induce him to grant 
 me a demi-part. 1 ' M. de Beaumont, who was very little 
 acquainted with the language of the theatre, thought that 
 a demi-part meant a more liberal portion of the Marshal's 
 alms, and the note was written in the most pressing 
 manner. The Marshal answered, " that he thanked the 
 Archbishop for the interest he took in the Theatre Italien, 
 and in Madame la Caille, who was a very useful person 
 at that theatre ; that, nevertheless, she had a bad voice ; 
 but that the recommendation of the Archbishop was to be 
 preferred to the greatest talents, and that the demi-part was 
 granted." 

 
 MADAME I)U HAUSSET 191 
 
 she had no right. The fear lest she should be 
 plunged into vice led him to bestow such ex- 
 cessive bounty upon her ; and the woman was 
 an admirable dissembler. She went to the Arch- 
 bishop's, covered with a great hood, and, when 
 she left him, she amused herself with a variety 
 of lovers. 
 
 Great people have the bad habit of talking 
 very indiscreetly before their servants. M. de 
 Gontaut once said these words, covertly, as he 
 thought, to the Duke de — , " That measures 
 had been taken which would, probably, have the 
 effect of determining the Archbishop to go to 
 Rome, with a Cardinal's hat ; and that, if he 
 desired it, he was to have a coadjutor.'' 
 
 A very plausible pretext had been found for 
 making this proposition, and for rendering it 
 flattering to the Archbishop, and agreeable to his
 
 192 
 
 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 sentiments. The affair had been very adroitly 
 begun, and success appeared certain. The King 
 had the air, towards the Archbishop, of entire 
 unconsciousness of what was going on. The 
 negotiator acted as if he were only following the 
 suggestions of his own mind, for the general good. 
 He was a friend of the Archbishop, and was very 
 sure of a liberal reward. A valet of the Duke 
 de Gontaut, a very handsome young fellow, had 
 perfectly caught the sense of what was spoken in 
 a mysterious manner. He was one of the lovers 
 of the lady of the hundred louis a year, and had 
 heard her talk of the Archbishop, whose relation 
 she pretended to be. He thought he should 
 secure her «good graces by informing her that 
 great efforts were being made to induce her patron 
 to reside at Rome, with a view to get him away 
 from Paris. The lady instantly told the "Arch-
 
 MADAME Uli HAUSSET 193 
 
 bishop, as she was afraid of losing her pension 
 if he went. The information squared so well 
 with the negotiation then on foot, that the 
 Archbishop had no doubt of its truth. He 
 cooled, by degrees, in his conversations with the 
 negotiator, whom he regarded as a traitor, and 
 ended by breaking with him. These details were 
 not known till long afterwards. The lover of 
 the lad) - having been sent to the Bicetre, some 
 letters were found among his papers, which gave 
 a scent of the affair, and he was made to confess 
 the rest. 
 
 In order not to compromise the Duke de 
 Gontaut, the King was told that the valet had 
 come to a knowledge of the business from a letter 
 which he had found in his master's clothes. The 
 King took his revenge by humiliating the Arch- 
 bishop, which he was enabled to do by means 
 
 J 3
 
 194 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 of the information he had obtained concerning 
 the conduct of the lady, his protegee. She was 
 found guilty of swindling, in concert with her 
 beloved valet ; but, before her punishment was 
 inflicted, the Lieutenant of Police was ordered 
 to lay before Monseigneur a full account of the 
 conduct of his relation and pensioner. The 
 Archbishop had nothing to object to in the proofs 
 which were submitted to him ; he said, with 
 perfect calmness, that she was not his relation ; 
 and, raising his hands to heaven, " She is an 
 unhappy wretch," said he, " who has robbed me 
 of the money which was destined for the poor. 
 But God knows that, in giving her so large a 
 pension, I did not act lightly. I had, at that 
 time, before my eyes the example of a young 
 woman who once asked me to grant her seventy 
 pounds a year, promising me that she would
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 195 
 
 always live very virtuously, as she had hitherto 
 
 done. I refused her, and she said, on leaving 
 
 me, ' I must turn to the left, Monseigneur, since 
 
 the way on the right is closed against me.' The 
 
 unhappv creature has kept her word but too well. 
 
 She found means of establishing a pharo-table at 
 
 her house, which is tolerated ; and she joins, to 
 
 the most profligate conduct in her own person, 
 
 the infamous trade of a corrupter of youth ; her 
 
 house is the abode of every vice. Think, Sir, 
 
 after that, whether it was not an act of prudence, 
 
 on my part, to grant the woman in question a 
 
 pension, suitable to the rank in which I thought 
 
 her born, to prevent her abusing the gifts of 
 
 vouth, beauty, and talents, which she possessed, 
 
 to her own perdition, and the destruction of 
 
 others." The Lieutenant of Police told the King 
 
 that he was touched with the candour and the 
 
 13—2
 
 196 
 
 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 noble simplicity of the prelate. " I never doubted 
 his virtues," replied the King, " but I wish he 
 would be quiet." This same Archbishop gave a 
 pension of fifty pounds a year to the greatest 
 scoundrel in Paris. He is a poet, 1 who writes 
 abominable verses ; this pension is granted on 
 condition that his poems are never printed. I 
 learned this fact from M. de Marigny, to whom 
 he recited some of his horrible verses one evening, 
 when he supped with him, in company with some 
 
 people of quality. He chinked the money in his 
 
 1 Robbe de Beauveset, celebrated, or, at least, known, 
 for his impious and licentious verses. His filthy life cor- 
 responded with his cynical writings. He reformed, in some 
 degree, towards the middle of his life, in consequence of 
 the persuasions of the Count d'Autre, who was, at that 
 time, very pious, but ceased to be so after he had con- 
 verted Robbe. " I shall work out my salvation as I serve 
 in the militia," said he, " by substitute." 
 
 Robbe died at St. Germaine, in 1794; his verses are 
 to be found in several collections, but have never been 
 published together.
 
 MADAME DC HAUSSET 197 
 
 pocket : " This is my good Archbishop's, - ' said he, 
 laughing; "I keep my word with him: my poem 
 will not be printed during my life, but I read it. 
 What would the good prelate say if he knew 
 that I shared my last quarter's allowance with a 
 charming little opera-dancer ? ' It is the Arch- 
 bishop, then, who keeps me,' said he to me ; 
 'Oh la ! how droll that is ! '" The King heard 
 this, and was much scandalised at it. " How 
 difficult it is to do good ! " said he. 
 
 The King came into Madame de Pompadour's 
 room, one day, as she was finishing dressing. 
 " I have just had a strange adventure," said he : 
 " would you believe, that, in going out of my 
 wardroom into my bedroom, I met a gentleman 
 face to face?'' — "My God! Sire," cried Madame, 
 terrified. " It was nothing." replied he ; " but 
 I confess I was greatly surprised : the man
 
 ig8 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 appeared speechless with consternation. ' What do 
 you do here?' said I, civilly. He threw himself 
 on his knees, saying, ' Pardon me, Sire ; and, 
 above all, have me searched.' He instantly 
 emptied his pockets himself; he pulled off his coat 
 in the greatest agitation and terror : at last, he 
 
 told me, that he was cook to , and a friend 
 
 of Beccari, whom he came to visit ; that he had 
 mistaken the staircase, and, finding all the doors 
 open, he had wandered into the room in which 
 I found him, and which he would have instantly 
 left : I rang ; Guimard came, and was astonished 
 enough at finding me tete-a-tete with a man in 
 his shirt. He begged Guimard to go with him 
 into another room, and to search his whole 
 person. After this, the poor devil returned, and 
 put on his coat. Guimard said to me, ' He is 
 certainly an honest man, and tells the truth ;
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET IQ9 
 
 this may, besides, be easily ascertained.' Another 
 of the servants of the palace came in, and hap- 
 pened to know him. ' I will answer for this 
 good man/ said he, ' who, moreover, makes the 
 best bceuf a Vicariate in the world.' As I saw 
 the man was so agitated that he could not 
 stand steady, I took fifty- louis out of my bureau, 
 and said, ' Here, Sir, are fifty louis, to quiet your 
 alarms.' He went out, after throwing himself at 
 my feet." Madame exclaimed on the impropriety 
 of having the King's bedroom thus accessible to 
 everybody. He talked with great calmness of 
 this strange apparition, but it was evident that he 
 controlled himself, and that he had, in fact, been 
 much frightened, as, indeed, he had reason to be. 
 Madame highly approved of the gift : and she 
 was the more right in applauding it, as it was 
 bv no means in the King's usual manner.
 
 
 200 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 M . de Marigny said, when I told him of this adven- 
 ture, that he would have wagered a thousand 
 louis against the King's making a present of fifty, 
 if anybody but I had told him of the circum- 
 stance. " It is a singular fact," continued he, 
 "that all of the race of Valois have been liberal 
 to excess ; this is not precisely the case with the 
 Bourbons, who are rather reproached with avarice. 
 Henry IV. was said to be avaricious. He gave 
 to his mistresses, because he could refuse them 
 nothing ; but he played with the eagerness of a 
 man whose whole fortune depends on the game. 
 Louis XIV. gave through ostentation^ It is most 
 astonishing," added he, " to reflect on what might 
 have happened. The King might actually have 
 been assassinated in his chamber, without any- 
 body knowing anything of the matter and without 
 a possibility of discovering the murderer." For
 
 MADAME DU HAfSSET 201 
 
 more than a fortnight Madame could not get 
 over this incident. 
 
 About that time she had a quarrel with her 
 brother, and both were in the right. Proposals 
 were made to him to marry the daughter of one 
 of the greatest noblemen of the Court, and the 
 King consented to create him a duke, and even 
 to make the title hereditary. Madame was right 
 in wishing to aggrandise her brother, but he de- 
 clared that he valued his liberty above all things, 
 and that he would not sacrifice it except for a 
 person he really loved. He was a true Epicurean 
 philosopher, and a man of great capacity, accord- 
 ing to the report of those who knew him well, 
 and judged him impartially. It was entirely at 
 his option to have had the reversion of M. de St. 
 Florentin's place, and the place of Minister of 
 Marine, when M. de Machault retired: he said to
 
 202 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 his sister, at the time, " I spare you many vexa- 
 tions, by depriving you of a slight satisfaction. 
 The people would be unjust to me, however well 
 I might fulfil the duties of my office. As to M. 
 de St. Florentin's place, he may live five-and- 
 twenty years, so that I should not be the better 
 for it. Kings' mistresses are hated enough on 
 their own account ; they need not also draw upon 
 themselves the hatred which is directed against 
 ministers." M. Quesnay repeated this conversa- 
 tion to me. 
 
 The King had another mistress, who gave 
 Madame de Pompadour some uneasiness. She 
 was a woman of quality, and the wife of one of 
 the most assiduous courtiers. 
 
 A man in immediate attendance on the King's 
 person, and who had the care of his clothes, 
 came to me one day, and told me that, as he was
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 203 
 
 very much attached to Madame, because she was 
 good and useful to the King, he wished to inform 
 me, that a letter having fallen out of the pocket 
 of a coat which His Majesty had taken off, he 
 had had the curiosity to read it, and found it to 
 
 be from the Countess de , who had already 
 
 yielded to the King's desires. In this letter, she 
 required the King to give her fifty thousand 
 crowns in money, a regiment for one of her rela- 
 tions, and a bishopric for another, and to dismiss 
 Madame in the space of fifteen days, &c. I 
 acquainted Madame with what this man told me, 
 and she acted with singular greatness of mind. 
 She said to me, " I ought to inform the King of 
 this breach of trust of his servant, who may, by 
 the same means, come to the knowledge of, and 
 make a bad use of, important secrets ; but I feel 
 a repugnance to ruin the man : however, I cannot
 
 204 
 
 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 permit him to remain near the King's person, and 
 here is what I shall do — Tell him that there is a 
 place of ten thousand francs a-year vacant in one 
 of the provinces ; let him solicit the Minister of 
 Finance for it, and it shall be granted to him ; 
 but, if he should ever disclose through what in- 
 terest he has obtained it, the King shall be made 
 acquainted with his conduct. By this means, I 
 think I shall have done all that my attachment 
 and duty prescribe. I rid the King of a faithless 
 domestic, without ruining the individual." I did 
 as Madame ordered me : her delicacy and address 
 inspired me with admiration. She was not alarmed 
 on account of the lady, seeing what her preten- 
 sions were. " She drives too quick," remarked 
 Madame, "and will certainly be overturned on 
 the road." The lady died. 
 
 " See what the Court is ; all is corruption
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 2oj 
 
 there, from the highest to the lowest,*' said I to 
 Madame, one day, when she was speaking to me 
 of some facts that had come to my knowledge. 
 " I could tell you many others,'* replied Madame ; 
 ' but the little chamber, where you often remain, 
 must furnish you with a sufficient number."" This 
 was a little nook, from whence I could hear a 
 great part of what passed in Madame"s apartment. 
 The Lieutenant of Police sometimes came secretly 
 to this apartment, and waited there. Three or 
 four persons, of high consideration, also found 
 their way in, in a mysterious manner, and several 
 devotees, who were, in their hearts, enemies of 
 Madame de Pompadour. But these men had not 
 petty objects in view : one required the government 
 of a province ; another, a seat in the council ; a 
 third, a Captaincy of the Guards; and this man 
 would have obtained it if the Marechale de
 
 206 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 Mirepoix had not requested it for her brother, the 
 Prince of Beauvau. The Chevalier du Muy was 
 not among these apostates ; not even the promise 
 of being High Constable would have tempted him 
 to make up to Madame, still less to betray his 
 master, the Dauphin. This prince was, to the last 
 degree, weary of the station he held. Sometimes, 
 when teased to death by ambitious people, who 
 pretended to be Catos, or wonderfully devout, he 
 took part against a minister against whom he was 
 prepossessed ; then relapsed into his accustomed 
 state of inactivity and ennui. 
 
 The King used to say, " My son is lazy ; his 
 temper is Polonese — hasty and changeable ; he 
 has no tastes ; he cares nothing for hunting, for 
 women, or for good living ; perhaps he imagines 
 that if he were in my place he would be happy ; 
 at first, he would make great changes, create
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 20J 
 
 everything anew, as it were. In a short time he 
 would be as tired of the rank of King as he now 
 is of his own ; he is only fit to live en philosophc, 
 with clever people about him." The King added, 
 
 ' He loves what is right : he is truly virtuous, 
 and does not want understanding." 
 
 M. de St. Germain said, one day, to the King, 
 
 : To think well of mankind, one must be neither 
 a Confessor, nor a Minister, nor a Lieutenant of 
 Police." — "Nor a King," said His Majesty. "Ah ! 
 Sire,'' replied he, " you remember the fog we had 
 a few days ago, when we could not see four steps 
 before us. Kings are commonly surrounded bv 
 still thicker fogs, collected around them by men 
 of intriguing character, and faithless ministers :- 
 all, of every class, unite in endeavouring to make 
 things appear to Kings in any light but the true 
 one." I heard this from the mouth of the famous
 
 2(_)8 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 Count de St. Germain, as I was attending upon 
 Madame, who was ill in bed. The King was 
 there ; and the Count, who was a welcome visitor, 
 had been admitted. There were also present, 
 M. de Gontaut, Madame de Brancas, and the 
 Abbe de Bernis. I remember, that the very same 
 day, after the Count was gone out, the King 
 talked in a style which gave Madame great pain. 
 Speaking of the King of Prussia, he said, " That 
 is a madman, who will risk all to gain all, and 
 may, perhaps, win the game, though he has 
 neither religion, morals, nor principles. He wants 
 to make a noise in the world, and he will succeed. 
 Julian, the Apostate, did the same." — " I never 
 saw the King so animated before," observed 
 Madame, when he was gone out ; " and really the 
 comparison with Julian, the Apostate, is not amiss, 
 considering the irreligion of the King of Prussia. 

 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 20Cj 
 
 If he gets out of his perplexities, surrounded as 
 he is by his enemies, he will be one of the greatest 
 men in history." 
 
 M. de Bernis remarked, " Madame is correct 
 in her judgment, for she has no reason to pro- 
 nounce his praises ; nor have I, though I agree 
 with what she says." Madame de Pompadour 
 never enjoyed so much influence as at the time 
 when M. de Choiseul became one of the ministry. 
 From the time of the Abbe de Bernis she had 
 afforded him her constant support, and he had 
 been employed in foreign affairs, of which he was 
 said to know but little. Madame made the 
 Treaty of Vienna, though the first idea of it was 
 certainly furnished her by the Abbe. I have been 
 informed by several persons that the King often 
 talked to Madame upon this subject ; for my own 
 part, I never heard any conversation relative to
 
 2IO 
 
 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 it, except the high praises bestowed by her on the 
 Empress and the Prince de Kaunitz, whom she 
 had known a good deal of. She said that he had 
 a clear head, the head of a statesman. One day, 
 when she was talking in this strain, someone tried 
 to cast ridicule upon the Prince on account of the 
 style in which he wore his hair, and the four valets 
 de chambre, who made the hair-powder fly in all 
 directions, while Kaunitz ran about that he might 
 only catch the superfine part of it. " Aye," said 
 Madame, ''just as Alcibiades cut off his dog's tail 
 in order to give the Athenians something to talk 
 about, and to turn their attention from those 
 things he wished to conceal." 
 
 Never was the public mind so inflamed 
 against Madame de Pompadour as when news 
 arrived of the battle of Rosbach. Every day 
 she received anonymous letters, full of the grossest
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 211 
 
 abuse ; atrocious verses, threats of poison and 
 assassination. She continued long a prey to the 
 most acute sorrow, and could get no sleep but 
 
 from opiates. All this discontent was excited by 
 her protecting the Prince of Soubise ; and the 
 Lieutenant of Police had great difficulty in allay- 
 ing the ferment of the people. The King affirmed 
 that it was not his fault. M. du Verney 1 was 
 the confidant of Madame in everything relating 
 to war ; a subject which he well understood, 
 though not a military man by profession. The 
 old Marshal de Noailles called him, in derision, 
 the General of the Hour, but Marshal Saxe, one 
 day, told Madame that du Verney knew more of 
 military matters than the old Marshal. Du Verne)' 
 once paid a visit to Madame de Pompadour, and 
 
 i Brother of M. de Montmartel, and a man of great 
 talent. 
 
 14 — 2
 
 212 
 
 M1CMOIRS Or LOUIS XV 
 
 found her in company with the King, the Minister 
 of War, and two Marshals ; he submitted to them 
 the plan of a campaign, which was generally 
 applauded. It was through his influence that 
 M. de Richelieu was appointed to the command 
 of the army, instead of the Marshal d'Estrees. 
 He came to Quesnay two days after, when I was 
 with him. The Doctor began talking about the art 
 of war, and I remember he said, " Military men make 
 a great mystery of their art : but what is the reason 
 that young Princes have always the most brilliant 
 success ? Why, because they are active and daring. 
 When Sovereigns command their troops in person 
 what exploits they perform ! Clearly, because they 
 are at liberty to run all risks." These observations 
 made a lasting impression on my mind. 
 
 The first physician came, one day, to see 
 Madame : he was talking of madmen and madness.
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 213 
 
 The King was present, and everything relating 
 
 to disease of any kind interested him. The 
 first physician said that he could distinguish 
 the symptoms of approaching madness six months 
 beforehand. " Are there any persons about the 
 Court likely to become mad ? " said the King. 
 " I know one who will be imbecile in less than 
 three months," replied he. The King pressed 
 him to tell the name. He excused himself for 
 some time. At last he said, "It is M. de Sechelles, 
 the Controller-General.'' — "You have a spite 
 against him," said Madame, " because he would 
 not grant you what you asked." — " That is true," 
 said he, " but though that might possibly incline 
 me to tell a disagreeable truth, it would not make 
 me invent one. He is losing his intellects from 
 debility. He affects gallantry at his age, and I 
 perceive the connection in his ideas is becoming
 
 214 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 feeble and irregular." The King laughed ; but 
 three months afterwards he came to Madame, 
 saying, " Sechelles gives evident proofs of dotage 
 in the Council. We must appoint a successor to 
 him." Madame de Pompadour told me of this on 
 the way to Choisy. Some time afterwards, the 
 first physician came to see Madame, and spoke to 
 her in private. " You are attached to M. Berryer, 
 Madame," said he, " and I am sorry to have to 
 warn you that he will be attacked by madness, 
 or by catalepsy, before long. I saw him this 
 morning at chapel, sitting on one of those very 
 low little chairs, which are only meant to kneel 
 upon. His knees touched his chin. I went to 
 his house after mass ; his eyes were wild, and 
 when his secretary spoke to him, he said, ' Hold 
 your tongue, pen. A pen's business is to write, and 
 not to speak.' ' Madame, who liked the Keeper
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 215 
 
 of the Seals, was very much concerned, and 
 begged the first physician not to mention what 
 he had perceived. Four days after this, M. Berryer 
 was seized with catalepsy, after having talked 
 incoherently. This is a disease which I did not 
 know even by name, and got it written down for 
 me. The patient remains in precisely the same 
 position in which the fit seizes him : one leg or 
 arm elevated, the eyes wide open, or just as it 
 may happen. This latter affair was known to all 
 the Court at the death of the Keeper of the Seals. 
 When the Marshal de Belle-Isle's son was 
 killed in battle, Madame persuaded the King to 
 pay his father a visit. He was rather reluctant, 
 and Madame said to him, with an air half angry, 
 half playful : 
 
 " Barbare ! dont l'orgueil 
 
 Croit le sang d'un sujet trop paye d'un coup d'oeil."
 
 2l6 
 
 MHMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 // 
 
 The King laughed, and said, " Whose fine 
 verses are those ? " — " Voltaire's," said Madame 
 
 . " As barbarous as I am, I gave him the 
 
 place of gentleman in ordinary, and a pension," 
 said the King. 
 
 The King went in state to call on the 
 Marshal, followed by all the Court ; and it cer- 
 tainly appeared that this solemn visit consoled 
 the Marshal for the loss of his son, the sole heir 1 
 to his name. 
 
 When the Marshal died, he was carried to his 
 house on a common hand-barrow, covered with a 
 
 shabby cloth. I met the body. The bearers were 
 laughing and singing. I thought it was some 
 servant, and asked who it was. How great was 
 my surprise at learning that these were the 
 
 i The Marshal bequeathed a part of his fortune to 
 the King.
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 21 7 
 
 remains of a man abounding in honours and in 
 riches. Such is the Court ; the dead are always 
 in fault, and cannot be put out of sight too soon. 
 
 The King said, " M. Fouquet is dead, I hear." 
 "He was no longer Fouquet," replied the Duke 
 d'Ayen ; " Your Majesty had permitted him to 
 change that name, under which, however, he 
 acquired all his reputation." The King shrugged 
 his shoulders. His Majesty had, in fact, granted 
 him letters patent, permitting him not to sign 
 Fouquet during his ministry. I heard this on 
 the occasion in question. M. de Choiseul had 
 the war department at his death. He was every 
 day more and more in favour. Madame treated 
 him with greater distinction than an}- previous 
 minister, and his manners towards her were the 
 most agreeable it is possible to conceive, at once 
 respectful and gallant. He never passed a day
 
 2l8 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 without seeing her. M. de Mafigny could not 
 endure M. de Choiseul, but he never spoke of 
 him, except to his intimate friends. Calling, one 
 day, at Quesnay's, I found him there. They were 
 talking of M. de Choiseul. " He is a mere petit 
 toaitre," said the Doctor, " and, if he were hand- 
 somer, just fit to be one of Henry the Third's 
 favourites." The Marquis de Mirabeau and M. 
 de la Riviere came in. "This kingdom," said 
 Mirabeau, " is in a deplorable state. There is 
 neither national energy, nor the only substitute 
 for it — money." " It can only be regenerated," 
 said la Riviere, "by a conquest, like that of 
 China, or by some great internal convulsion ; but 
 woe to those who live to see that ! The French 
 people do not do things by halves." These words 
 made me tremble, and I hastened out of the 
 room. M. de Marigny did the same, though
 
 MADAME DU HAtfSSET 219 
 
 without appearing at all affected by what had 
 been said. — ■" You heard de la Riviere,*' said he, 
 — " but don't be alarmed, the conversations that 
 pass at the Doctor's are never repeated ; these 
 are honourable men, though rather chimerical. 
 The)- know not where to stop. I think, how- 
 ever, they are in the right way ; only, unfortu- 
 nately, the}- go too far." I wrote this down 
 immediately. 
 
 The Count de St. Germain came to see 
 Madame de Pompadour, who was ill, and lay 
 on the sofa. He shewed her a little box, con- 
 taining topazes, rubies, and emeralds. He ap- 
 peared to have enough to furnish a treasury. 
 Madame sent for me to see all these beautiful 
 things. I looked at them with an air of the utmost 
 astonishment, but I made signs to Madame that 
 I thought them all false. The Count felt for
 
 220 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 something in a pocket-book, about twice as large 
 as a spectacle-case, and, at length, drew out two 
 or three little paper packets, which he unfolded, 
 and exhibited a superb ruby. He threw on the 
 table, with a contemptuous air, a little cross 
 of green and white stones. I looked at it and 
 said, "That is not to be despised." I put it 
 on, and admired it greatly. The Count begged 
 me to accept it, I refused — he urged me to take 
 it. Madame then refused it for me. At length, 
 he pressed it upon me so warmly that Madame, 
 seeing that it could not be worth above forty 
 pounds, made me a sign to accept it. I took 
 the cross, much pleased at the Count's politeness ; 
 and, some days after, Madame presented him 
 with an enamelled box, upon which was the 
 portrait of some Grecian sage, (whose name I 
 don't recollect), to whom she compared him. I
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 221 
 
 shewed the cross to a jeweller, who valued it at 
 sixty-five pounds. The Count offered to bring 
 Madame some enamel portraits, by Petitot, to 
 look at, and she told him to bring them after 
 dinner, while the King was hunting. He shewed 
 his portraits, after which Madame said to him, 
 " I have heard a great deal of a charming story 
 you told two days ago, at supper, at M. le 
 Premier's, of an occurrence you witnessed fiftv or 
 sixty years ago." He smiled and said, " It is 
 
 rather long." " So much the better," said she, with 
 an air of delight. Madame de Gontaut and the 
 
 ladies came in, and the door was shut : Madame 
 made a sign to me to sit down behind the screen. 
 The Count made many apologies for the ennui 
 which his story would, perhaps, occasion. He 
 said, " Sometimes, one can tell a story pretty 
 well ; at other times it is quite a different thing."
 
 222 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 " At the beginning of this century, the 
 Marquis de St. Gilles was Ambassador from 
 Spain to the Hague. In his youth he had been 
 particularly intimate with the Count de Moncade, 
 a grandee of Spain, and one of the richest nobles 
 of that country. Some months after the Marquis's 
 arrival at the Hague, he received a letter from 
 the Count, entreating him, in the name of their 
 former friendship, to render him the greatest 
 possible service. ' You know,' said he, ' my dear 
 Marquis, the mortification I felt that the name 
 of Moncade was likely to expire with me. At 
 length, it pleased heaven to hear my prayers, 
 and to grant me a son : he gave early promise 
 of dispositions worthy of his birth, but he, some 
 time since, formed an unfortunate and disgraceful 
 attachment to the most celebrated actress of the 
 company of Toledo. I shut my eyes to this
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 223 
 
 imprudence on the part of a young man whose 
 conduct had, till then, caused me unmingled 
 satisfaction. But, having learnt that he was so 
 blinded by passion as to intend to marry this 
 girl, and that he had even bound himself by a 
 written promise to that effect, I solicited the 
 King to have her placed in confinement. My 
 son, having got information of the steps I had 
 taken, defeated my intentions by escaping with 
 the object of his passion. For more than six 
 months I have vainly endeavoured to discover 
 where he has concealed himself, but I have now 
 some reason to think he is at the Hague.' The 
 Count earnestly conjured the Marquis to make 
 the most rigid search, in order to discover his 
 son's retreat, and to endeavour to prevail upon 
 him to return to his home. 'It is an act of 
 justice,' continued he, ' to provide for the girl,
 
 224 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 if she consents to give up the written promise of 
 marriage which she has received, and I leave it 
 to your discretion to do what is right for her, as 
 well as to determine the sum necessary to bring 
 my son to Madrid in a manner suitable to his 
 condition. I know not/ concluded he, ' whether 
 you are a father ; if you are, you will be able to 
 sympathise in my anxieties.' The Count sub- 
 joined to his letter an exact description of his 
 son, and the young woman by whom he was 
 accompanied. On the receipt of this letter, the 
 Marquis lost not a moment in sending to all the 
 inns in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and the Hague, 
 but in vain — he could find no trace of them. He 
 began to despair of success, when the idea struck 
 him that a young French page of his, remarkable 
 for his quickness and intelligence, might be em- 
 ployed with advantage. He promised to reward
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 225 
 
 him handsomely if he succeeded in finding the 
 young woman, who was the cause of so much 
 anxiety, and gave him the description of her 
 person. The page visited all the public places 
 for many days, without success ; at length, one 
 evening, at the play, he saw a young man and 
 woman, in a box, who attracted his attention. 
 When he saw that they perceived he was looking 
 at them, and withdrew to the back of the box to 
 avoid his observation, he felt confident that they 
 were the objects of his search. He did not take 
 his eyes from the box, and watched every move- 
 ment in it. The instant the performance ended, 
 he was in the passage leading from the boxes to 
 the door, and he remarked that the young man, 
 who, doubtless, observed the dress he wore, tried 
 to conceal himself, as he passed him, by putting 
 
 his handkerchief before his face. He followed 
 
 J 5
 
 226 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 him, at a distance, to the inn called the Vicomte 
 de Turenne, which he saw him and the woman 
 enter ; and, being now certain of success, he ran 
 to inform the Ambassador. The Marquis de St. 
 Gilles immediately repaired to the inn, wrapped 
 in a cloak, and followed by his page and two 
 servants. He desired the landlord to show him 
 to the room of a young man and woman, who 
 had lodged for some time in his house. The 
 landlord, for some time, refused to do so, unless 
 the Marquis would give their name. The page 
 told him to take notice that he was speaking to 
 the Spanish Ambassador, who had strong reasons 
 for wishing to see the persons in question. The 
 innkeeper said, they wished not to be known, 
 and that they had absolutely forbidden him to 
 admit anybody into their apartment who did not 
 ask for them by name ; but that, since the
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 227 
 
 Ambassador desired it, he would show him their 
 room. He then conducted them up to a dirty, 
 miserable garret. He knocked at the door, and 
 waited for some time ; he then knocked again 
 pretty loudly, upon which the door was half- 
 opened. At the sight of the Ambassador and 
 his suite, the person who opened it immediately 
 closed it again, exclaiming that they had made a 
 mistake. The Ambassador pushed hard against 
 him, forced his way in, made a sign to his people 
 to wait outside, and remained in the room. 
 He saw before him a very handsome young 
 man, whose appearance perfectly corresponded 
 with the description, and a young woman, of 
 great beauty, and remarkably line person, whose 
 countenance, form, colour of the hair, &c, were 
 also precisely those described by the Count de 
 
 Moncade. The young man spoke first. He com- 
 
 15—2
 
 228 
 
 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 plained of the violence used in breaking into the 
 apartment of a stranger, living in a free country, 
 and under the protection of its laws. The 
 Ambassador stepped forward to embrace him, 
 and said, ' It is useless to feign, my dear Count ; 
 I know you, and I do not come here to give pain 
 to you or to this lady, whose appearance interests 
 me extremely.' The young man replied, that he 
 was totally mistaken ; that he was not a Count, 
 but the son of a merchant of Cadiz ; that the 
 lady was his wife ; and, that they were travelling 
 for pleasure. The Ambassador, casting his eyes 
 round the miserably-furnished room, which con- 
 tained but one bed, and some packages of the 
 shabbiest kind, lying in disorder about the room, 
 ' Is this, my dear child (allow me to address you 
 by a title which is warranted by my tender regard 
 for your father), is this a fit residence for the son
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 22g 
 
 of the Count de Moncade ? ' The young man still 
 protested against the use of any such language, 
 as addressed to him. At length, overcome by 
 the entreaties of the Ambassador, he confessed, 
 weeping, that he was the son of the Count de 
 Moncade, but declared, that nothing should induce 
 him to return to his father, if he must abandon 
 a woman he adored. The young woman burst 
 into tears, and threw herself at the feet of the 
 Ambassador, telling him, that she would not be 
 the cause of the ruin of the young Count ; and 
 that generosity, or rather, love, would enable her 
 to disregard her own happiness, and, for his sake, 
 to separate herself from him. The Ambassador 
 admired her noble disinterestedness. The young 
 man, on the contrary, received her declaration 
 with the most desperate grief. He reproached 
 his mistress, and declared, that he would never
 
 230 
 
 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 abandon so estimable a creature, nor suffer the 
 sublime generosity of her heart to be turned 
 against herself. The Ambassador told him, that 
 the Count de Moncade was far from wishing to 
 render her miserable, and that he was commis- 
 sioned to provide her with a sum sufficient to 
 enable her to return into Spain, or to live where 
 she liked. Her noble sentiments, and genuine 
 tenderness, he said, inspired him with the greatest 
 interest for her, and would induce him to go to 
 the utmost limits of his powers, in the sum he 
 was to give her ; that he, therefore, promised her 
 ten thousand florins, that is to say, about twelve 
 hundred pounds, which would be given her the 
 moment she surrendered the promise of marriage 
 she had received, and the Count de Moncade 
 took up his abode in the Ambassador's house, 
 and promised to return to Spain. The young
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 23 I 
 
 woman seemed perfectly indifferent to the sum 
 proposed, and wholly absorbed in her lover, and 
 in the grief of leaving him. She seemed insensible 
 to everything but the cruel sacrifice which her 
 reason, and her love itself, demanded. At length, 
 drawing from a little portfolio the promise of 
 marriage, signed by the Count, ' I know his heart 
 too well,' said she, ' to need it.' Then she kissed 
 it again and again, with a sort of transport, 
 and delivered it to the Ambassador, who stood 
 by, astonished at the grandeur of soul he wit- 
 nessed. He promised her, that he would never 
 cease to take the liveliest interest in her fate, 
 and assured the Count of his father's forgiveness. 
 ' He will receive with open arms,' said he, ' the 
 prodigal son, returning to the bosom of his 
 distressed family ; the heart of a father is an 
 exhaustless mine of tenderness. How great will
 
 232 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 be the felicity of my friend on the receipt of 
 these tidings, after his long anxiety and affliction ; 
 how happy do I esteem myself, at being the in- 
 strument of that felicity.' Such was, in part, the 
 language of the Ambassador, which appeared to 
 produce a strong impression on the young man. 
 But, fearing lest, during the night, love should 
 regain all his power, and should triumph over the 
 generous resolution of the lady, the Marquis 
 pressed the young Count to accompany him to 
 his hotel. The tears, the cries of anguish, which 
 marked this cruel separation, cannot be described ; 
 they deeply touched the heart of the Ambassador, 
 who promised to watch over the young lady. The 
 Count's little baggage was not difficult to remove, 
 and, that very evening, he was installed in the 
 finest apartment of the Ambassador's house. The 
 Marquis was overjoyed at having restored to the
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 233 
 
 illustrious house of Moncade the heir of its great- 
 ness, and of its magnificent domains. On the 
 following morning, as soon as the young Count 
 was up, he found tailors, dealers in cloth, lace, 
 stuffs, &c, out of which he had only to choose. 
 Two valets de chambre, and three laquais, chosen 
 by the Ambassador for their intelligence and good 
 conduct, were in waiting in his ante-chamber, and 
 presented themselves, to receive his orders. The 
 Ambassador shewed the young Count the letter 
 he had just written to his father, in which he con- 
 gratulated him on possessing a son whose noble 
 sentiments and striking qualities were worthy of his 
 illustrious blood, and announced his speedy return. 
 The young lady was not forgotten ; he confessed, 
 that to her generosity he was partly indebted for 
 the submission of her lover, and expressed his 
 conviction that the Count would not disapprove
 
 234 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 the gift he had made her, of ten thousand florins. 
 That sum was remitted, on the same day, to this 
 noble and interesting girl, who left the Hague 
 without delay. The preparations for the Count's 
 journey were made ; a splendid wardrobe, and an 
 excellent carriage were embarked at Rotterdam, 
 in a ship bound for France, on board which a 
 passage was secured for the Count, who was to 
 proceed from that country to Spain. A con- 
 siderable sum of money, and letters of credit on 
 Paris, were given him at his departure ; and the 
 parting between the Ambassador and the young 
 Count was most touching. The Marquis de 
 St. Gilles awaited with impatience the Count's 
 answer, and enjoyed his friend's delight by 
 anticipation. At the expiration of four months, 
 he received this long expected letter. It would 
 be utterly impossible to describe his surprise on
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 235 
 
 reading the following words, ' Heaven, my dear 
 Marquis, never granted me the happiness of 
 becoming a father, and, in the midst of abundant 
 wealth and honours, the grief of having no heirs, 
 and seeing an illustrious race end in my person, 
 has shed the greatest bitterness over my whole 
 existence. I see, with extreme regret, that you 
 have been imposed upon by a young adventurer, 
 who has taken advantage of the knowledge he 
 had, by some means, obtained, of our old friend- 
 ship. But your Excellency must not be the suf- 
 ferer. The Count de Moncade is, most assuredly, 
 the person whom you wished to serve ; he is 
 bound to repay what your generous friendship 
 hastened to advance, in order to procure him a 
 happiness which he would have felt most deeply. 
 I hope, therefore, Marquis, that your Excellency 
 will have no hesitation in accepting the remittance
 
 236 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 contained in this letter, of three thousand louis 
 of France, of the disbursal of which you sent 
 me an account.' " 
 
 The manner in which the Count de St. 
 Germain spoke, in the characters of the young 
 adventurer, his mistress, and the Ambassador, 
 made his audience weep and laugh by turns. 
 The story is true in every particular, and the 
 adventurer surpasses Gusman d'Alfarache in ad- 
 dress, according to the report of some persons 
 present. Madame de Pompadour thought of 
 having a play written, founded on this story ; 
 and the Count sent it to her in writing, from 
 which I transcribed it. 
 
 M. Duclos came to the Doctor's, and haran- 
 gued with his usual warmth. I heard him saying 
 to two or three persons, " People are unjust to 
 great men, Ministers and Princes ; nothing, for
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 237 
 
 instance, is more common than to undervalue 
 their intellect. I astonished one of these little 
 gentlemen of the corps of the infallibles, by telling 
 him that I could prove that there had been 
 more men of ability in the house of Bourbon, 
 for the last hundred years, than in any other 
 family." — " You prove that ? ' said somebody, 
 sneeringly. "Yes," said Duclos ; "and I will 
 tell you how. The great Conde, you will allow, 
 was no fool ; and the Duchess de Longueville 
 is cited as one of the wittiest women that ever 
 lived. The Regent was a man who had few 
 equals, in ever)- kind of talent and acquirement. 
 The Prince de Conti, who was elected King of 
 Poland, was celebrated for his intelligence, and, 
 in poetry, was the successful rival of La Fare 
 and St. Aulaire. The Duke of Burgundy was 
 learned and enlightened. His Duchess, the
 
 238 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 daughter of Louis XIV., was remarkably clever, 
 and wrote epigrams and couplets. The Duke 
 du Maine is generally spoken of only for his 
 weakness, but nobody had a more agreeable wit. 
 His wife was mad, but she had an extensive 
 acquaintance with letters, good taste in poetry, 
 and a brilliant and inexhaustible imagination. 
 Here are instances enough, I think," said he ; 
 " and, as I am no flatterer, and hate to appear 
 one, I will not speak of the living." His hearers 
 were astonished at this enumeration, and all of 
 them agreed in the truth of what he had said. 
 He added, " Don't we daily hear of silly d'Argen- 
 
 son, 1 because he has a good-natured air, and a 
 
 1 Rene Louis d'Argenson, who was Minister for 
 Foreign Affairs. He was the author of Considerations sur 
 le Gouvevnement, and of several other works, from which 
 succeeding political writers have drawn, and still draw 
 ideas, which they give to the world as new. This man, 
 remarkable not only for profound and original thinking,
 
 MADAME DU IIAUSSET 239 
 
 bourgeois tone ? and yet, I believe, there have 
 not been many ministers comparable to him in 
 knowledge and in enlightened views." I took 
 a pen, which lay on the Doctor's table, and 
 begged M. Duclos to repeat to me all the names 
 he had mentioned, and the eulogium he had 
 bestowed on each. " If," said he, " you show 
 that to the Marchioness, tell her how the con- 
 versation arose, and that I did not say it in 
 order that it might come to her ears, and even- 
 tually, perhaps, to those of another person. I 
 am an historiographer, and I will render justice, 
 
 but for clear and forcible expression, was, nevertheless, 
 d'Argenson la bete. It is said, however, that he affected 
 the simplicity, and, even silliness of manner, which pro- 
 cured him that appellation. If, as we hope, the unedited 
 memoirs left by Rene d'Argenson will be given to the 
 world, they will be found fully to justify the opinion of 
 Duclos, with regard to this Minister, and the inappro- 
 priateness of his nickname.
 
 240 
 
 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 but I shall, also, often inflict it." — " I will answer 
 for that," said the Doctor, " and our master 
 will be represented as he really is. Louis XIV. 
 liked verses, and patronised poets ; that was very 
 well, perhaps, in his time, because one must 
 begin with something ; but this age will be 
 very superior to the last. It must be acknow- 
 ledged that Louis XV., in sending astronomers 
 to Mexico and Peru, to measure the earth, has a 
 higher claim to our respect than if he directed 
 an opera. He has thrown down the barriers 
 which opposed the progress of philosophy, in 
 spite of the clamour of the devotees : the Ency- 
 clopaedia will do honour to his reign." Duclos, 
 during this speech, shook his head. I went away, 
 and tried to write down all I had heard, while it 
 was fresh. I had the part which related to the 
 Princes of the Bourbon race copied by a valet,
 
 MADAMK DU HAUSSKT 2|I 
 
 who wrote a beautiful hand, and I gave it to 
 Madame de Pompadour. But she said to me, 
 " What ! is Duclos an acquaintance of yours ? Do 
 you want to play the bel esprit, my dear good 
 woman ? That will not sit well upon you.'" The 
 truth is, that nothing can be further from my in- 
 clination. I told her, that I met him accidentally 
 at the Doctor's, where he generally spent an hour 
 when he came to Versailles. " The King knows 
 him to be a worthy man," said she. 
 
 Madame de Pompadour was ill, and the King 
 came to see her several times a day. I generally 
 left the room when he entered, but, having stayed 
 a few minutes, on one occasion, to give her a 
 glass of chicory water, I heard the King mention 
 Madame d'Egmont. Madame raised her eyes to 
 heaven, and said, " That name always recalls to 
 
 me a most melancholy and barbarous affair ; but 
 
 1 6
 
 242 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 it was not my fault." These words dwelt in my 
 mind, and, particularly, the tone in which they 
 were uttered. As I stayed with Madame till three 
 o'clock in the morning, reading to her a part of 
 the time, it was easy for me to try to satisfy my 
 curiosity. I seized a moment, when the reading 
 was interrupted, to say, " You looked dreadfully 
 shocked, Madame, when the King pronounced the 
 name of d'Egmont." At these words, she again 
 raised her eyes, and said, " You would feel as I 
 do, if you knew the affair/' — " It must, then, be 
 deeply affecting, for I do not think that it per- 
 sonally concerns you, Madame." — " No," said she, 
 "it does not; as, however, I am not the only 
 person acquainted with this history, and as I know 
 you to be discreet, I will tell it you. The last 
 Count d'Egmont married a reputed daughter of the 
 Duke de Villars ; but the Duchess had never lived
 
 MADAME Dl" HAUSSET 243 
 
 with her husband, and the Countess d'Egmont is, 
 in fact, a daughter of the Chevalier d'Orleans. 1 
 At the death of her husband, young, beautiful, 
 agreeable, and heiress to an immense fortune, she 
 attracted the suit and homage of all the most dis- 
 tinguished men at Court. Her mother's director, 
 one day, came into her room, and requested a 
 private interview ; he then revealed to her that 
 she was the offspring of an adulterous intercourse, 
 for which her mother had been doing penance for 
 five-and-twenty years. ' She could not,' said he, 
 ' oppose your former marriage, although it caused 
 her extreme distress. Heaven did not grant you 
 children ; but, if you marry again, you run the 
 risk, Madame, of transmitting to another family 
 the immense wealth, which does not, in fact, 
 belong to you, and which is the price of crime.' 
 
 1 Legitimate son of the Regent, Grand Prior of France. 
 
 16 — 2
 
 244 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 " The Countess d'Egmont heard this recital 
 with horror. At the same instant, her mother 
 entered, and, on her knees, besought her daughter 
 to avert her eternal damnation. Madame d'Egmont 
 tried to calm her own and her mother's mind. 
 ' What can I do ? ' said she, to her. ' Consecrate 
 yourself wholly to God,' replied the director, ' and 
 thus expiate your mother's crime.' The Countess, 
 in her terror, promised whatever they asked, and 
 proposed to enter the Carmelites. I was informed 
 of it, and spoke to the King about the barbarous 
 tyranny the Duchess de Villars and the director 
 were about to exercise over this unhappy young 
 woman ; but we knew not how to prevent it. 
 The King, with the utmost kindness, prevailed on 
 the Queen to offer her the situation of Lady of 
 the Palace, and desired the Duchess's friends to 
 persuade her to endeavour to deter her daughter
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 245 
 
 from becoming a Carmelite. It was all in vain ; 
 the wretched victim was sacrificed." 
 
 Madame took it into her head to consult a 
 fortune-teller, called Madame Bontemps, who had 
 told M. de Bernis' fortune, as I have already 
 related, and had surprised him by her predictions. 
 M. de Choiseul, to whom she mentioned the 
 matter, said that the woman had also foretold 
 line things that were to happen to him. " I know 
 it,'" said she, " and, in return, you promised her a 
 carriage, but the poor woman goes on foot still." 
 Madame told me this, and asked me how she 
 could disguise herself, so as to see the woman 
 without being known. I dared not propose any 
 scheme then, for fear it should not succeed ; but, 
 two days after, I talked to her surgeon about the 
 iirt, which some beggars practise, of counterfeiting 
 sores, and altering their features. He said that
 
 246 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 was easy enough. I let the thing drop, and, after 
 an interval of some minutes, I said, " If one 
 could change one's features, one might have great 
 diversion at the opera, or at balls. What altera- 
 tions would it be necessary to make in me, now, 
 to render it impossible to recognise me?" "In 
 the first place," said he, " you must alter the 
 colour of your hair, then you must have a false 
 nose, and put a spot on some part of your face, 
 or a wart, or a few hairs." I laughed, and said, 
 " Help me to contrive this for the next ball ; I 
 have not been to one for twenty years : but I 
 am dying to puzzle somebody, and to tell him 
 things which no one but I can tell him. I shall 
 come home, and go to bed, in a quarter of an 
 hour." — " I must take the measure of your nose," 
 said he ; " or do you take it with wax, and I 
 will have a nose made : you can get a flaxen or
 
 MADAMK DU HAUSSET 247 
 
 brown wig." I repeated to Madame what the 
 surgeon had told me : she was delighted at it. 
 I took the measure of her nose, and of my own, 
 and carried them to the surgeon, who, in two 
 days, gave me the two noses, and a wart, which 
 Madame stuck under her left eye, and some 
 paint for the eyebrows. The noses were most 
 delicately made, of a bladder, I think, and these, 
 with the other disguises, rendered it impossible 
 to recognise the face, and yet did not produce 
 any shocking appearance. All this being accom- 
 plished, nothing remained but to give notice to 
 the fortune-teller ; we waited for a little excursion 
 to Paris, which Madame was to take, to look at 
 her house. I then got a person, with whom I 
 had no connection, to speak to a waiting-woman 
 of the Duchess of Ruffec, to obtain an interview 
 with the woman. She made some difficulty, on
 
 248 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 account of the police ; but we promised secrecy, 
 and appointed the place of meeting. Nothing 
 could be more contrary to Madame de Pom- 
 padour's character, which was one of extreme 
 timidity, than to engage in such an adventure. 
 But her curiosity was raised to the highest pitch, 
 and, moreover, everything was so well arranged 
 that there was not the slightest risk. Madame 
 had let M. de Gontaut, and her valet de chambre, 
 into the secret. The latter had hired two rooms 
 for his niece, who was then ill, at Versailles, 
 near Madame's hotel. We went out in the 
 evening, followed by the valet de chambre, who 
 was a safe man, and by the Duke, all on foot. 
 We had not, at farthest, above two hundred 
 steps to go. We were shown into two small 
 rooms, in which were fires. The two men 
 remained in one, and we in the other. Madame
 
 MADAME Dl' HAUSSET 2J.I) 
 
 had thrown herself on a sofa. She had on a 
 night-cap, which concealed half her face, in an 
 unstudied manner. I was near the fire, leaning 
 on a table, on which were two candles. There 
 were lying on the chairs, near us, some clothes, 
 of small value. The fortune-teller rang — a 
 little servant girl let her in, and then went to 
 wait in the room where the gentlemen were. 
 Coffee-cups, and a coffee-pot, were set; and I 
 had taken care to place, upon a little buffet, 
 some cakes, and a bottle of Malaga wine, 
 having heard that Madame Bontemps assisted her 
 inspiration with that liquor. Her face, indeed, 
 sufficiently proclaimed it. " Is that lady ill ? 
 said she, seeing Madame de Pompadour stretched 
 languidly on the sofa. I told her that she would 
 soon be better, but that she had kept her room 
 for a week. She heated the coffee, and prepared
 
 2 5 
 
 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 the two cups, which she carefully wiped, observ- 
 ing that nothing impure must enter into this 
 operation. I affected to be very anxious for a 
 glass of wine, in order to give our oracle a pre- 
 text for assuaging her thirst, which she did, with- 
 out much entreaty. When she had drunk two or 
 three small glasses (for I had taken care not to 
 have large ones), she poured the coffee into one 
 of the two large cups. "This is yours," said 
 she; "and this is your friend's; let them stand 
 a little." She then observed our hands and our 
 faces ; after which she drew a looking-glass from 
 her pocket, into which she told us to look, while 
 she looked at the reflections of our faces. She 
 next took a glass of wine, and immediately threw 
 herself into a fit of enthusiasm, while she in- 
 spected my cup, and considered all the lines 
 formed by the dregs of the coffee she had poured
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 251 
 
 out. She began by saying, "Thai is well — pi- 
 pcrity — but there is a black mark — distresses. A 
 man becomes a comforter. Here, in this corner, arc 
 friends, who support you. Ah! who is he that per- 
 secutes them? But justice triumphs- — after rain, 
 sunshine— a long journey successful. There, do you 
 see these little bags ."- That is money which has been 
 paid— to you. of course. I mean. That is well. Do 
 you sec that arm?"- — "Yes:" "That is an arm 
 supporting something : a woman veiled: I sec her; it 
 is you. All this is clear to me. I hear, as it were. 
 a voice speaking to me. You are no longer attacked. 
 I sec it, because the clouds in that direction are 
 passed off (pointing to a clearer spot). But, stay — ■ 
 / see small lines which branch out from the main spot. 
 These are sons, daughters, nephews — that is pretty 
 well." She appeared overpowered with the effort 
 she was making". At length, she added, " That is
 
 252 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 all. You have had good luck first — misfortune after- 
 ward. You have had a friend, 'who has exerted him- 
 self with success to extricate you from it. You have 
 had law-suits — at length fortune has been reconciled 
 to you, and will change no more." She drank 
 another glass of wine. " Your health, Madame," 
 said she to the Marchioness, and went through 
 the same ceremonies with the cup. At length, 
 she broke out, " Neither fair nor foul. I see 
 there, in the distance, a serene sky ; and then all 
 these things that appear to ascend — all these things 
 are applauses. Here is a grave man, who stretches 
 out his arms. Do you see? — look attentively." — ■ 
 " That is true," said Madame de Pompadour, with 
 surprise (there was, indeed, some appearance of 
 the kind). "He points to something square — that is 
 an open coffer. Fine weather. — But, look ! there are 
 clouds of azure and gold, which surround you. Do
 
 MADAM K DU HAUSSKT 253 
 
 you sec that ship on the high sea ? How favourable 
 the wind is! You are on board; you land in a 
 beautiful country, of which you become the Queen. 
 Ah'- what do I sec? Look there — look at that 
 hideous, crooked, lame man, who is pursuing you— but 
 he is going on a fool's errand. I see a very great 
 man, who supports you in his arms. Here, look .' he 
 is a kind of giant. There is a great deal of gold and 
 silver — a few clouds here and there. But you have 
 nothing to fear. The vessel will be sometimes tossed 
 about, but it will not be lost. — Dixi." Madame said, 
 "When shall I die, and of what disease?" -"I 
 never speak of that," said she ; " see here, rather— 
 but fate will not permit it. — / will shew you how 
 fate confounds everything" — shewing her several 
 confused lumps of the coffee-dregs. " Well, never 
 mind as to the time, then, only tell me the kind 
 of death." The fortune-teller looked in the cup,
 
 
 254 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 and said, " You will have time to prepare yourself." 
 I gave her only two louis, to avoid doing anything 
 remarkable. She left us, after begging us to keep 
 her secret, and we rejoined the Duke de Gontaut, 
 to whom we related everything that had passed. 
 He laughed heartily, and said, " Her coffee-dregs 
 are like the clouds — you ma)- see what you please 
 in them.*' 
 
 There was one thing in my horoscope which 
 struck me, that was the comforter ; because one 
 of my uncles had taken great care of me, and had 
 rendered me the most essential services. It is 
 also true that I afterwards had an important law- 
 suit ; and, lastly, there was the money which had 
 come into my hands through Madame de Pom- 
 padour's patronage and bounty. As for Madame, 
 her husband was represented accurately enough 
 by the man with the coffer ; then the country of
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 255 
 
 which she became Queen seemed to relate to her 
 present situation at Court ; but the most remark- 
 able thing was the crooked and lame man, in 
 whom Madame thought she recognised the Duke 
 
 de V , who was very much deformed. Madame 
 
 was delighted with her adventure and with her 
 horoscope, which she thought corresponded very 
 remarkably with the truth. Two days after, she 
 sent for M. de St. Florentin, and begged him not 
 to molest the fortune-teller. He laughed, and 
 replied that he knew why she interceded for this 
 woman. Madame asked him why he laughed. 
 He related every circumstance of her expedition 
 with astonishing exactness 1 ; but he knew nothing 
 of what had been said, or, at least, so he pre- 
 tended. He promised Madame that, provided 
 
 1 M. de St. Florentin was Minister for Paris, to whom 
 the Lieutenant of Police was accountable.
 
 256 MEMOIRS OF T.OU1S XV 
 
 Bontemps did nothing which called for notice, 
 she should not be obstructed in the exercise of 
 her profession, especially if she followed it in 
 secret. " I know her," added he, " and I, like 
 other people, have had the curiosity to consult 
 her. She is the wife of a soldier in the guards. 
 She is a clever woman in her way, but she 
 drinks. Four or five years ago, she got such 
 hold on the mind of Madame de Ruffec, that 
 she made her believe she could procure her an 
 elixir of beauty, which would restore her to what 
 she was at twenty-five. The Duchess pays high 
 for the drugs of which this elixir is compounded ; 
 and sometimes they are bad : sometimes, the sun, 
 to which they were exposed, was not powerful 
 enough ; sometimes, the influence of a certain 
 constellation was wanting. Sometimes, she has 
 the courage to assure the Duchess that she really
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 257 
 
 is grown handsomer, and actually succeeds in 
 making her believe it." But the history of this 
 woman's daughter is still more curious. She was 
 exquisitely beautiful, and the Duchess brought 
 her up in her own house. Bontemps predicted 
 to the girl, in the Duchess's presence, that she 
 would marry a man of two thousand a-year. 
 This was not very likely to happen to the 
 daughter of a soldier in the guards. It did hap- 
 pen, nevertheless. The little Bontemps married 
 the President Beaudouin, who was mad. But, 
 the tragical part of the story is, that her mother 
 had also foretold that she would die in child- 
 birth of her first child, and that she did actually 
 die in child-birth, at the age of eighteen, doubt- 
 less under a strong impression of her mother's 
 prophecy, to which the improbable event of her 
 
 marriage had given such extraordinary weight. 
 
 17
 
 2 5 8 
 
 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 Madame told the King of the adventure her 
 curiosity had led her into, at which he laughed, 
 and said he wished the police had arrested 
 her. He added a very sensible remark. " In 
 order to judge," said he, " of the truth or false- 
 hood of such predictions, one ought to collect 
 fifty of them. It would be found that they are 
 almost always made up of the same phrases, 
 which are sometimes inapplicable, and sometimes 
 hit the mark. But the first are rarely men- 
 tioned, while the others are always insisted on." 
 I have heard, and, indeed, it is certainly true, 
 that M. de Bridge lived on terms of intimacy with 
 Madame, when she was Madame d'Etioles. He 
 used to ride on horseback with her, and, as he 
 is so handsome a man that he has retained the 
 name of the handsome man, it was natural enough 
 that he should be thought the lover of a very
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 259 
 
 handsome woman. I have heard something more 
 than this. I was told that the King said to 
 M. de Bridge, "Confess, now, that you were her 
 lover. She has acknowledged it to me, and I exact 
 from you this proof of sincerity." M. de Bridge 
 replied, that Madame de Pompadour was at liberty 
 to say what she pleased for her own amusement, 
 or for any other reason ; but that he, for his part, 
 could not assert a falsehood ; that he had been 
 her friend ; that she was a charming companion, 
 and had great talents ; that he delighted in her 
 society; but that his intercourse with her had 
 never gone beyond the bounds of friendship. He 
 added, that her husband was present in all their 
 parties, that he watched her with a jealous eye, 
 and that he would not have suffered him to be 
 so much with her if he had conceived the least 
 suspicion of the kind. The King persisted, and 
 
 17—2
 
 26o MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 told him he was wrong to endeavour to conceal a 
 fact which was unquestionable. It was rumoured, 
 also, that the Abbe de Bernis had been a favoured 
 lover of hers. The said Abbe was rather a cox- 
 comb ; he had a handsome face, and wrote poetry. 
 Madame de Pompadour was the theme of his 
 gallant verses. He sometimes received the com- 
 pliments of his friends upon his success with 
 a smile which left some room for conjecture, 
 although he denied the thing in words. It was, 
 for some time, reported at Court that she was in 
 love with the Prince de Beauvau : he is a man 
 distinguished for his gallantries, his air of rank 
 and fashion, and his high play ; he is brother to 
 the little Marechale : for all these reasons, Madame 
 is very civil to him, but there is nothing marked 
 in her behaviour. She knows, besides, that he is 
 in love with a very agreeable woman. 

 
 MADAME DU HAL'SSET 26 1 
 
 Now that I am on the subject of lovers, I 
 cannot avoid speaking of M. de Choiseul. Madame 
 likes him better than any of those I have just 
 mentioned, but he is not her lover. A lady, whom 
 I know perfectly well, but whom I do not choose 
 to denounce to Madame, invented a story about 
 them, which was utterly false. She said, as I 
 have good reason to believe, that one day, hearing 
 the King coming, I ran to Madame's closet door ; 
 
 that I coughed in a particular manner ; and, that 
 the King having, happily, stopped a moment to 
 talk to some ladies, there was time to adjust 
 matters, so that Madame came out of the closet 
 with me and M. de Choiseul, as if we had been 
 all three sitting together. It is very true that I 
 went in to carry something to Madame, without 
 knowing that the King was come, and that she 
 came out of the closet with M. de Choiseul, who
 
 262 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 had a paper in his hand, and that I followed 
 her a few minutes after. The King asked M. de 
 Choiseul what that paper was which he had in 
 his hand ; he replied that it contained the remon- 
 strance from the Parliament. 
 
 Three or four ladies witnessed what I now 
 relate, and as, with the exception of one, they 
 were all excellent women, and greatly attached to 
 Madame, my suspicions could fall on none but 
 the one in question, whom I will not name, 
 because her brother has always treated me with 
 great kindness. Madame de Pompadour had a 
 lively imagination and great sensibility, but nothing 
 could exceed the coldness of her temperament. 
 It would, besides, have been extremely difficult 
 for her, surrounded as she was, to keep up an 
 intercourse of that kind with any man. It is true 
 that this difficulty would have been diminished
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 263 
 
 in the case of an all-powerful minister, who had 
 constant pretexts for seeing her in private. But 
 there was a much more decisive fact — M. de 
 Choiseul had a charming mistress — the Princess 
 
 de R , and Madame knew it, and often spoke 
 
 of her. He had, besides, some remains of liking 
 for the Princess de Kinski, who followed him from 
 Vienna. It is true that he soon after discovered 
 how ridiculous she was. All these circumstances 
 combined were, surely, sufficient to deter Madame 
 from engaging in a love affair with the Duke ; 
 but his talents and agreeable qualities captivated 
 her. He was not handsome, but he had manners 
 peculiar to himself, an agreeable vivacity, a delight- 
 ful gaiety ; this was the general opinion of his 
 character. He was much attached to Madame, 
 and though this might, at first, be inspired by a 
 consciousness of the importance of her friendship
 
 264 
 
 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 to his interest, yet, after he had acquired sufficient 
 political strength to stand alone, he was not the 
 less devoted to her, nor less assiduous in his 
 attentions. He knew her friendship for me, and 
 he one day said to me, with great feeling, " I am 
 afraid, my dear Madame du Hausset, that she 
 will sink into a state of complete dejection, and 
 die of melancholy — Try to divert her." What a 
 fate for the favourite of the greatest monarch in 
 
 existence ! thought I. 
 
 One day, Madame de Pompadour had retired 
 to her closet with M. Berryer. Madame d'Ambli- 
 mont stayed with Madame de Gontaut, who called 
 me to talk about my son. A moment after, M. de 
 Gontaut came in and said, " d'Amblimont, who 
 shall have the Swiss guards ? " — " Stop a moment," 
 
 said she ; "let me call my council , M. de 
 
 Choiseul." — "That is not so very bad a thought,"
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 265 
 
 said M. de Gontaut, "but I assure you, you are 
 the first person who has suggested it." He im- 
 mediately left us, and Madame d'Amblimont said, 
 " I'll lay a wager he is going to communicate 
 my idea to M. de Choiseul." He returned 
 very shortly, and, M. Berryer having left the 
 room, he said to Madame de Pompadour, " A 
 singular thought has entered d'Amblimont's head.' 1 
 — "What absurdity now?" said Madame. — "Not 
 so great an absurdity neither," said he. "She 
 says the Swiss guards ought to be given to 
 M. de Choiseul, and, really, if the King has 
 not positively promised M. de Soubise, I don't 
 see what he can do better." — "The King has 
 promised nothing," said Madame, " and the hopes 
 I gave him were of the vaguest kind. I only 
 told him it was possible. But though I have a 
 great regard for M. de Soubise, I do not think
 
 266 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 his merits comparable to those of M. de 
 Choiseul." When the King came in, Madame, 
 doubtless, told him of this suggestion. A quarter 
 of an hour afterwards, I went into the room to 
 speak to her, and I heard the King say, " You 
 will see that, because the Duke du Maine, and his 
 children, had that place, he will think he ought to 
 have it, on account of his rank as Prince (Soubise) ; 
 but Marshal de Bassompierre was not a Prince ; 
 and, by the bye, the Duke de Choiseul is his grand- 
 nephew ; do you know that ? "— " Your Majesty is 
 better acquainted with the history of France than 
 anybody," replied Madame. Two days after this, 
 
 Madame de said to me, " I have two great 
 
 delights : M. de Soubise will not have the Swiss 
 guards, and Madame de Marsan will be ready to 
 burst with rage at it ; this is the first : and M. de 
 Choiseul will have them ; this is the greatest."
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 267 
 
 1 There was an universal talk of a young lady 
 with whom the King was as much in love as it 
 was possible for him to be. Her name was 
 Romans. She was said to be a charming girl. 
 Madame de Pompadour knew of the King's visits, 
 and her confidantes brought her most alarming 
 reports of the affair. The Marechale de Mirepoix, 
 who had the best head in Madame's council, was 
 the only one who encouraged her. "I do not 
 tell you," said she, " that he loves you better 
 than her ; and if she could be transported hither 
 by the stroke of a fairv's wand : if she could 
 entertain him this evening at supper ; if she were 
 familiar with all his tastes, there would, perhaps, 
 be sufficient reason for you to tremble for your 
 power. But princes are, above all, pre-eminently 
 the slaves of habit. The King's attachment to you 
 1 The whole of this passage is in a different hand-writing.
 
 268 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 is like that he bears to your apartment, your fur- 
 niture. You have formed yourself to his manners 
 and habits ; you know how to listen and reply 
 to his stories ; he is under no constraint with 
 you ; he has no fear of boring you. How do you 
 think he could have resolution to uproot all this 
 in a day, to form a new establishment, and to 
 make a public exhibition of himself by so striking 
 a change in his arrangements ? " — The young lady 
 became pregnant ; the reports current among the 
 people, and even those at Court, alarmed Madame 
 dreadfully. It was said that the King meant to 
 legitimate the child, and to give the mother a 
 title. " All that," said Madame de Mirepoix, 
 " is in the style of Louis XIV. — such dignified 
 proceedings are very unlike those of our master." 
 Mademoiselle Romans lost all her influence over 
 the King by her indiscreet boasting. She was
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 269 
 
 even treated with harshness and violence, which 
 were in no degree instigated by Madame. Her 
 house was searched, and her papers seized ; but 
 the most important, those which substantiated 
 the fact of the King's paternity, had been with- 
 drawn. At length she gave birth to a son, who 
 was christened under the name of Bourbon, son 
 of Charles de Bourbon, Captain of Horse. The 
 mother thought the eyes of all France were fixed 
 upon her, and beheld in her son a future Duke 
 du Maine. She suckled him herself, and she 
 used to carry him in a sort of basket to the 
 Bois de Boulogne. Both mother and child were 
 covered with the finest laces. She sat clown upon 
 the grass in a solitary spot, which, however, was 
 soon well known, and there gave suck to her 
 royal babe. Madame had great curiosity to see 
 her, and took me, one day, to the manufactory at
 
 270 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 Sevres, without telling me what she projected. 
 After she had bought some cups, she said, " I 
 want to go and walk in the Bois de Boulogne," 
 and gave orders to the coachman to stop at a 
 certain spot where she wished to alight. She 
 had got the most accurate directions, and when 
 she drew near the young lady's haunt she gave 
 me her arm, drew her bonnet over her eyes, and 
 held her pocket handkerchief before the lower 
 part of her face. We walked, for some minutes, 
 in a path, from whence we could see the lady 
 suckling her child. Her jet black hair was turned 
 up, and confined by a diamond comb. She looked 
 earnestly at us. Madame bowed to her, and 
 whispered to me, pushing me by the elbow, 
 " Speak to her." I stepped forward, and exclaimed, 
 ''What a lovely child!" — "Yes, Madame," re- 
 plied she, " I must confess that he is, though I
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 271 
 
 am his mother." Madame, who had hold of my 
 arm, trembled, and I was not very firm. Made- 
 moiselle Romans said to me, " Do you live in this 
 neighbourhood ? " — " Yes, Madame," replied I, " I 
 live at Auteuil with this lady, who is just now 
 suffering from a most dreadful tooth-ache." — "I 
 pity her sincerely, for I know that tormenting pain 
 well." I looked all around, for fear anyone should 
 come up who might recognise us. I took courage 
 to ask her whether the child's father was a hand- 
 some man. " Very handsome, and, if I told you 
 his name, you would agree with me." — " I have 
 the honour of knowing him, then, Madame ? " — 
 " Most probably you do." Madame, fearing, as 
 I did, some rencontre, said a few words in a low 
 tone, apologizing for having intruded upon her, 
 and we took our leave. We looked behind us, 
 repeatedly, to see if we were followed, and got
 
 272 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 into the carriage without being perceived. " It 
 must be confessed that both mother and child 
 are beautiful creatures," said Madame, — " not to 
 mention the father ; the infant has his eyes. If 
 the King had come up while we were there, do 
 you think he would have recognised us ? " — " I 
 don't doubt that he would, Madame, and then 
 what an agitation I should have been in, and what 
 a scene would it have been for the bystanders ! 
 and, above all, what a surprise to her ! ' In the 
 evening, Madame made the King a present of the 
 cups she had bought, but she did not mention 
 her walk, for fear Mademoiselle Romans should 
 tell him that two ladies, who knew him, had met 
 her there such a day. Madame de Mirepoix said 
 to Madame, " Be assured, the King cares very 
 little about children ; he has enough of them, and 
 he will not be troubled with the mother or the
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 273 
 
 son. See what sort of notice he takes of the 
 
 Count de L , who is strikingly like him. 
 
 He never speaks of him, and I am convinced 
 that he will never do anything for him. Again 
 and again I tell you, we do not live under Louis 
 XIV." Madame de Mirepoix had been Ambassa- 
 dress to London, and had often heard the English 
 make this remark. 
 
 Some alterations had been made in Madame 
 de Pompadour's rooms, and I had no longer, as 
 heretofore, the niche in which I had been per- 
 mitted to sit, to hear Caffarelli, and, in later 
 times, Mademoiselles Fel and Jeliotte. I, there- 
 fore, went more frequently to my lodgings in 
 town, where I usually received my friends : more 
 particularly when Madame visited her little her- 
 mitage, whither M. de Gontaut commonly accom- 
 panied her. Madame du Chiron, the wife of the 
 
 is
 
 2J4 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 Head Clerk in the War-office, came to see me. 
 " I feel,'' said she, " greatly embarrassed, in 
 speaking to you about an affair, which will, per- 
 haps, embarrass you also. This is the state of 
 the case. A very poor woman, to whom I have 
 sometimes given a little assistance, pretends to 
 be a relation of the Marchioness de Pompadour. 
 Here is her petition." I read it, and said that the 
 woman had better write directly to Madame, and 
 that I was sure, if what she asserted was true, 
 her application would be successful. Madame 
 du Chiron followed my advice. The woman 
 wrote she was in the lowest depth of poverty, 
 and I learnt that Madame sent her six pounds 
 until she could gain more accurate information 
 as to the truth of her story. Colin, who was 
 commissioned to take the money, made inquiries 
 of M. de Malvoisin, a relation of Madame, and
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 275 
 
 a very respectable officer. The fact was found to 
 be as she had stated it. Madame then sent her 
 a hundred pounds, and promised her a pension 
 of sixty pounds a year. All this was done with 
 great expedition, and Madame had a visit of 
 thanks from her poor relation, as soon as she 
 had procured decent clothes to come in. That 
 day the King happened to come in at an unusual 
 hour, and saw this person going out. He asked 
 who it was. "It is a very poor relation of mine," 
 replied Madame. " She came, then, to beg for 
 some assistance ? " — " No," said she. — " What did 
 she come for then ? " — " To thank me for a little 
 service I have rendered her," said she, blushing 
 from the fear of seeming to boast of her liberality. 
 "Well," said the King; "since she is your re- 
 lation, allow me to have the pleasure of serving 
 her too. I will give her fifty pounds a year out
 
 
 276 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 of my private purse, and, you know, she may 
 send for the first year's allowance to-morrow." 
 Madame burst into tears, and kissed the King's 
 hand several times. She told me this three days 
 afterwards, when I was nursing her in a slight 
 attack of fever. I could not refrain from weeping 
 myself at this instance of the King's kindness. 
 The next day, I called on Madame du Chiron to 
 tell her of the good fortune of her protegee ; 
 I forgot to say that, after Madame had related the 
 affair to me, I told her what part I had taken in it. 
 She approved my conduct, and allowed me to inform 
 my friend of the King's goodness. This action, 
 which showed no less delicate politeness towards her 
 than sensibility to the sufferings of the poor woman, 
 made a deeper impression on Madame's heart than 
 a pension of two thousand a year given to herself. 
 Madame had terrible palpitations of the heart.
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 277 
 
 Her heart actually seemed to leap. She consulted 
 several physicians. I recollect that one of them 
 made her walk up and down the room, lift a 
 weight, and move quickly. On her expressing 
 some surprise, he said, " I do this to ascertain 
 whether the organ is diseased ; in that case motion 
 quickens the pulsation ; if that effect is not pro- 
 duced, the complaint proceeds from the nerves." 
 I repeated this to my oracle, Quesnay. He knew 
 very little of this physician, but he said his 
 treatment was that of a clever man. His name 
 was Renard ; he was scarcely known beyond the 
 Marais. Madame often appeared suffocated, and 
 sighed continually. One day, under pretence of 
 presenting a petition to M. de Choiseul, as he 
 was going out, I said, in a low voice, that I 
 wished to see him a few minutes on an affair 
 of importance to my mistress. He told me to
 
 278 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 come as soon as I pleased, and that I should be 
 admitted. I told him that Madame was ex- 
 tremely depressed ; that she gave way to distress- 
 ing thoughts, which she would not communicate ; 
 that she, one day, said to me, "The fortune teller 
 told me I should have time to prepare myself; I 
 believe it, for I shall be worn to death by 
 melancholy." M. de Choiseul appeared much 
 affected ; he praised my zeal, and said that he 
 had already perceived some indications of what 
 I told him ; that he would not mention my name, 
 but would try to draw from her an explanation. 
 I don't know what he said to her : but, from that 
 time, she was much more calm. One day, but 
 long afterwards, Madame said to M. de Gontaut, 
 " I am generally thought to have great influence, 
 but if it were not for M. de Choiseul, I should 
 not be able to obtain a Cross of St. Louis."
 
 MADAME DU HAUSSET 2jg 
 
 The King and Madame de Pompadour had 
 
 a very high opinion of Madame de Choiseul. 
 
 Madame said, " She always says the right thing 
 
 in the right place." Madame de Grammont was 
 
 not so agreeable to them ; and I think that this 
 
 was to be attributed, in part, to the sound of 
 
 her voice, and to her blunt manner of speaking : 
 
 for she was said to be a woman of great sense, 
 
 and devotedly attached to the King and Madame 
 
 de Pompadour. Some people pretended that she 
 
 tried to captivate the King, and to supplant 
 
 Madame : nothing could be more false, or more 
 
 ridiculously improbable. Madame saw a great 
 
 deal of these two ladies, who were extremely 
 
 attentive to her. She one day remarked to the 
 
 Duke d'Ayen, 1 that M. de Choiseul was very fond 
 
 of his sisters. " I know it, Madame," said he. 
 i Afterwards Marshal de Noailles.
 
 280 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 " and many sisters are the better for that." — 
 "What do you mean?" said she. — "Why," said 
 he, " as the Duke de Choiseul loves his sister, it 
 is thought fashionable to do the same ; and I know 
 silly girls, whose brothers formerly cared nothing 
 about them, who are now most tenderly beloved. 
 No sooner does their little finger ache, than their 
 brothers are running about to fetch physicians 
 from all corners of Paris. They flatter them- 
 selves that somebody will say, in M. de Choiseul's 
 
 drawing-room, " How passionately M. de 
 
 loves his sister ; he would certainly die if he had 
 the misfortune to lose her." Madame related this 
 to her brother, in my presence, adding, that she 
 could not give it in the Duke's comic manner. 
 M. de Marigny said, " I have had the start of 
 them all, without making so much noise ; and my 
 dear little sister knows that I loved her tenderly
 
 MADAME Dl) HAUSSET 2*1 
 
 before Madame de Grammont left her convent. 
 
 The Duke d'Ayen, however, is not very wrong : 
 he has made the most of it in his lively manner, 
 but it is partly true.*' — "I forgot," replied 
 Madame, "that the Duke said, 'I want extremely 
 to be in the fashion, but which sister shall I 
 take up? Madame de Caumont is a devil incar- 
 nate, Madame de Villars drinks, Madame d'Ar- 
 magnac is a bore, Madame de la Marck is half 
 mad."' — "These are fine family portraits, Duke." 
 said Madame. The Duke de Gontaut laughed, 
 during the whole of this conversation, im- 
 moderately. Madame repeated it. one day. when 
 
 she kept her bed. M. de G also began to 
 
 talk of his sister, Madame du Roure. I think, at 
 least, that is the name he mentioned. He was 
 very gay, and had the art of creating gaiety. 
 
 Somebody said, he is an excellent piece of iurni- 
 
 19
 
 282 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV 
 
 ture for a favourite. He makes her laugh, and 
 asks for nothing either for himself or for others ; 
 he cannot excite jealousy, and he meddles in 
 nothing. He was called the White Eunuch. 
 Madame's illness increased so rapidly that we 
 were alarmed about her : but bleeding in the foot 
 cured her as if by a miracle. The King watched 
 her with the greatest solicitude ; and I don't know 
 whether his attentions did not contribute as much 
 to the cure as the bleeding. M. de Choiseul re- 
 marked, some days after, that she appeared in 
 better spirits. I told him that I thought this 
 improvement might be attributed to the same 
 cause. 
 
 THE END 
 
 H. S. NICHOLS AND CO., PRINTERS, j, SOHO SyL'ARE, LONDON, W.
 
 
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