登陆注册
5164300000059

第59章

"I had begged him, madame, to express to you how much I should be charmed to have you when the king graced me with his presence. He likes you, he is accustomed to the delights of your society; and Ishould have been deeply chagrined had I come here only to deprive him of that pleasure.""He is a good master," said the marechale, "he is worthy of all our love. I have had opportunities of knowing him thoroughly, for I was most intimate with madame de Pompadour; and I believe that my advice will not be useless to you.""I ask it of you, madame la marechale, for it will be precious to me.""Since we are friends, madame," said she, seating herself in a chair, "do not think ill of me if I establish myself at my ease, and take my station as in the days of yore. The king loves you:

so much the better. You will have a double empire over him. He did not love the marquise, and allowed himself to be governed by her; for with him--I ask pardon of your excessive beauty--custom does all. It is necessary, my dear countess, to use the double lever you have, of your own charms and his constant custom to do to-morrow what he does to-day because he did it yesterday, and for this you lack neither grace nor wit."I had heard a great deal concerning madame de Mirepoix; but Iown to you, that before I heard her speak I had no idea what sort of a person she would prove. She had an air of so much frankness and truth, that it was impossible not to be charmed by it. The greater part of the time I did not know how to defend myself from her--at once so natural and so perfidious; and occasionally I allowed myself to love her with all my heart, so much did she seem to cherish me with all enthusiasm. She had depth of wit, a piquancy of expression, and knew how to disguise those interested adulations with turns so noble and beautiful that I have never met, neither before nor since, any woman worthy of being compared with her. She was, in her single self, a whole society; and certainly there was no possibility of being wearied when she was there. Her temper was most equable, a qualification rarely obtained without a loss of warmth of feeling. She always pleased because her business was to please and not to love; and it always sufficed her to render others enthusiastic and ardent. Except this tendency to egotism, she was the charm of society, the life of the party whom she enlivened by her presence. She knew precisely when to mourn with the afflicted, and joke with the merry-hearted. The king had much pleasure in her company: he knew that she only thought how to amuse him; and, moreover, as he had seen her from morning till evening with the marquise de Pompadour, her absence from my parties was insupportable to him, and almost contrary to the rules of etiquette at the chateau.

I cannot tell you how great was his satisfaction, when, at the first supper which followed our intimacy, he saw her enter. He ran to meet her like a child, and gave a cry of joy, which must have been very pleasing to the marechale.

"You are a dear woman," he said to her, with an air which accorded with his words, "I always find you when I want you; and you can nowhere be more in place than here. I ask your friendship for our dear countess.""She has it already, sire, from the moment I saw her; and Iconsider my intimacy with her as one of the happiest chances of my life."The king showed the utmost good humor in the world during the rest of the evening. He scolded me, however, for the mystery Ihad made in concealing from him the agreeable visit of the marechale. I justified myself easily by the pleasure which this surprise caused him; and, on my side, gave my sincere thanks to the chancellor.

"You owe me none," said he; "the good marechale felt herself somewhat ill at ease not to be on close terms with her who possesses the affections of the king. It is an indispensable necessity that she should play a part in the lesser apartments;and as the principal character no longer suits her, she is contented to perform that of confidante, and ran here on my first intimation.""Never mind the motive that brought her," I said; "she is a companion for me much more desirable than madame de Bearn.""First from her rank," said the chancellor, smiling maliciously, "and then by virtue of her cousinship with the Holy Virgin."I confess that I was ignorant of this incident in the house of Levi; and I laughed heartily at the description of the picture, in which one of the lords of this house is represented on his knees before the mother of God, who says to him, "<Rise, cousin";to which he replies, "" I took care, however, how I joked on this point with the marechale, who listened to nothing that touched on the nobility of the ancestors of her husband or on those of her own family.

同类推荐
  • 医学实在易

    医学实在易

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 龙川别志

    龙川别志

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • T. Tembarom

    T. Tembarom

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 诗义固说

    诗义固说

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • The Lodger

    The Lodger

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 异界修龙

    异界修龙

    墨西被雷劈穿越到异界,修炼独一无二的五色龙魂,在家族的灭亡之际,奋力杀戮一举成名,修炼途中广结美人缘,奇遇无数,不断往实力的巅峰冲击,最终争霸宇内。
  • 宾退录

    宾退录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 国民总裁惹爱萌妻

    国民总裁惹爱萌妻

    他爱了她四年,她消失了三年,三年之后找到她的时候没想到她却像变了一个人似的。本应该就是逃不掉,直到有一天...总裁下了命令...“九挽月,你想跑?没门!这辈子你都逃不出我的手掌心!”“跑不起,我还躲不起嘛?”
  • 画鉴

    画鉴

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 科贝特给年轻人的忠告

    科贝特给年轻人的忠告

    《科贝特给年轻人的忠告:每句话都足以改变你一生》提出了有关教育、科学、贸易、农业、园艺、法律、管理以及宗教方面的忠告。但人们往往直到老了才会感悟到这些浓缩着人生智慧的忠告,可惜为时已晚。在《科贝特给年轻人的忠告:每句话都足以改变你一生》中,科贝特为年轻人奉上了这些宝贵的人生智慧精髓,助其领悟人生真谛!
  • 第三脑:透过皮肤看健康

    第三脑:透过皮肤看健康

    皮肤是人体最大、最重的器官。中医上有“望表辨病”,“表”即包括皮肤。通过对皮肤的各种变化来诊断人体的各种疾病症状,虽然简单,但是却少有人知晓。本书以很强的实用性和可操作性为人们揭示皮肤暗藏的身体和心理健康信息,并给出相应的保健养生意见。
  • 无双女配逆袭记

    无双女配逆袭记

    推荐新书《锦绣田园:皇后娘娘在种田》。当知道穿越成女配的时候,苏清薇还是有些沮丧的。然而回过神来她又是一脸的无所谓。女主要跟她斗,好,你使劲作,保证弄不死你。灵界大能都喊我作家主,好,那就当当家主过把瘾。仙界仙子又怎样,还不是照样打得你成猪头。只是这个不知道何时冒出来的男人又是怎么回事?一脸面瘫地对自己释放着心形泡泡。好吧,摸摸脸,把你收了。本书慢热,一对一实力宠文。女主金手指不算太多,希望大家喜欢~
  • 神级小厨房

    神级小厨房

    这一天:一个继承面馆生意的小年轻,意外获知自家面馆的厨房中存在着一个神秘美食系统。从此不景气的面馆生意开始蒸蒸日上,生意兴隆。这一天:系统傀儡一般的规则,终于让小年轻爆发,开启逆反之路。殊不知,小年轻,竟意外出现在另一个世界。在这个世界,小年轻自力更生,从零开始。这一天:小年轻回到了现实,凭借奇遇,锻造出神一般的厨艺,一路过关斩将,敌人纷纷拜倒。唯独,真正的仇人,又一次消失不见。这一天:小年轻平行世界的轨迹又一次扭曲,闯入异界之中却意外遇到了神秘系统以及幕后真正的老大,这一次小年轻面前的挑战更加艰难。这一天......吃货入群:6-1-4-9-9-6-0-8-5。
  • 比蒙至尊

    比蒙至尊

    一个现代的四有流氓穿越的故事,一个比蒙的故事,一个会《九转玄功》的四有流氓穿越成比蒙小不点的故事,一个连灵魂都在修炼《九转玄功》的比蒙的故事。
  • 一盘玉棋300年

    一盘玉棋300年

    “中国当代故事文学读本”是一本荟萃了中国当代故事文学创作精华的大型书系,不仅囊括了故事界优秀作者的短篇精品力作,还首次整合了《故事会》杂志创刊以来内容厚实、情节曲折的中篇故事资源。这些故事发表时就在社会上不胫而走,而今经历了岁月的考验,仍脍炙人口,令人叹为观止。