MarriageofmadameBoncault——ThecomtedeBourbonBusset——
Marriageofcomted’Hargicourt——Disgraceofthecomtede
Broglie——HeisreplacedbyM。Lemoine——Thekingcomplainsof
ennui——Conversationsonthesubject——EntryintoParis
Visitfromastranger——MadamedePompadourandaJacobinical
monk——Continuationofthishistory——Deliveranceofastate
prisoner——Ameetingwiththestranger
Aconspiracy——AschemeforpoisoningmadameduBarry——Thefour
bottles——Lettertotheducd’Aiguillon——Adviceoftheministers——
Opinionofthephysicians——Thechancellorandlieutenantof
police——Resolutionofthecouncil
Conclusionofthisaffair——Aletterfromthe<incognita>——Her
Examination——ArrestofCaberttheSwiss——HediesintheBastille
ofpoison——MadameLorimerisarrestedandpoisoned——The
innocenceoftheJesuitsacknowledged——MadamedeMirepoixand
the100，000francs——Forgetfulnessonthepartofthelieutenantof
police——AvisitfromcomteJean——MadamedeMirepoix
alarms——An<eleve>ofthe<Parcaux-Cerfs>——ComteJean
endeavourstodirecttheking’sideas——AsupperatTrianon——
Tabletalk——Thekingisseizedwithillness——Hisconversation
withme——Thejoiner’sdaughterandthesmall-pox——Mydespair——
ConductofLaMartinierethesurgeon
LaMartinierecausesthekingtoberemovedtoVersailles——The
youngprophetappearsagaintomadameduBarry——Prediction
respectingcardinaldeRichelieu——Thejoiner’sdaughterrequests
toseemadameduBarry——MadamedeMirepoixandthe50，000
francs——A<soiree>inthesalonofmadameduBarry
Interviewwiththejoiner’sdaughter——Consultationofthephysicians
respectingtheking——Thesmall-poxdeclaresitself——thecomtede
Muy——Theprincesses——ExtremesensibilityofmadamedeMirepoix——The
kingiskeptinignoranceofhisrealcondition——Thearchbishopof
ParisvisitsVersailles
Firstproceedingsofthecouncil——Thedauphinreceivestheprelates
withgreatcoolness——SituationofthearchbishopofParis——
Richelieuevadestheprojectforconfessingtheking——Thefriends
ofmadameduBarrycomeforward——TheEnglishphysician——The
abbeTerray——InterviewwiththeprincedeSoubise——Theprince
andthecourtiers——LaMartiniereinformsthekingofFrancethe
truenatureofhiscomplaint——Consequencesofthisdisclosure
Terroroftheking——Acomplication——Filialpietyoftheprincesses——
LastinterviewbetweenmadameduBarryandLouisXV——Conversation
withthemarechaledeMirepoix——ThechancellorMaupeou——The
fragment——ComteJean
Theducd’Aiguillonbringsanorderfortheimmediatedeparture
ofmadameduBarry——Theking’sremarksrecapitulated——Thecountess
holdsaprivycouncil——LettertomadamedeMirepoixandtheducs
deCosseandd’Aiguillon——Nightofdeparture——Ruel——Visitfrom
madamedeForcalquier
Theducd’Aiguillon’sfirstletter——ThemarechaledeMirepoix——
Asecondletterfromtheducd’Aiguillon——Numerousvisitors
Athirdletterfromtheduke——Thekingreceivesextremeunction——
LetterfrommadameVictoiretothedauphin——M。deMachault——A
promenadewiththeducdeCosse——Kindattentionfromtheprince
desDeuxPouts——Afourthletterfromtheducd’Aiguillon——Comte
Jeanbidsmefarewell——M。d’Aiguillon’sfifthletter，containingan
accountofthedeathofLouisXV——TheducdelaVrilliere——The<Lettre
decachet>——Lettertothequeen——Departurefortheabbeyof
<PontauxDames>
SpecialIntroductionbyRobertArnot
UptothetimeoftheDuBarrythecourtofFrancehadbeenthe
stagewherethewholepoliticalandhumandramaofthatcountry
wasenacted。
UnderLouisXVthedramahadbeentransformedinto
parades——paradeswhichwereofasmuchimportancetothepeople
astothosewhotookpartinthem。
Thespectators，hithertosilent，
nowbegantohissandbemoved。
Thesceneofthecomedywas
changed，andtheplaywascontinuedamongthespectators。
Theold
theatrebecameanante-chamberoradressing-room，andwasno
longerimportantexceptinconnectionwiththeCardinaldeBernis
andtheDucdeRichelieu，orMadamedePompadourandMadame
duBarry。
Themonarchyhadstillasteptotaketowardsitsdownfall。
It
hadalreadycreatedthe<ParcauxCerfs>(LouisXV’sseraglio)，
buthadnotyetdescendedtotheParisianhouseofprostitution。
ItmadethisdescentleaningonthearmofMadameduBarry。
MadameduBarrywasamoralsistertoManonLescaut，butinstead
oftakingherselfofftoLouisianatorepent，sheplungedintothe
goldenwhirlpoolatVersaillesasafinishtohercareer。
Could
thecoachesofaKingmeanmorethantheordinarycarriageofan
abandonedgirl？
JeanneVaubernier——knowninthebagniosbythenameofMademoiselle
Lange——wasbornatVaucouleurs，aswasJeanned’Arc。
Betterstill，
thislaterJeannesaidopenlyatVersailles——daredshesayotherwise？——
thatshewasdescendedinastraightlinefromtheillustrious，
thevenerated，theaugust，sacred，nationalmaid，Jeanne。*
“Whydid
DuBarrycometoParis？’“saysLeonGozlaninthataccountofthe
ChateaudeLuciennewhichmakesabrilliantandlearnedchapterin
thehistoryofFrance。
“Doesoneeverknowpreciselywhythingsare
done？
SheobeyedthemagnetwhichattractstoParisallwhoin
themselveshaveatitletoglory，tocelebrity，ortomisfortune。
DuBarryhadapretty，provincialface，brightandcharming，aface
astonishedateverything，hairsoftandash-colored，blueeyes，
veiledandhalfopen，andaskinfairwithrosetints。
Shewasa
childofdestiny。
Whocouldhavesaid，whenshecrossedthegreat
towninherbasketcart，whichrolledlazilyalongonitsmassive，
creakingwheels，thatsomedayshewouldhaveequipagesmore
beautifulthananyofthosewhichcoveredherwithmudinpassing，
andonherarmsmorelacesanddiamondsthananyoftheseladies
attendedbyfootmeninliveries？“
*AclaimwhichblithelyignoredthefactthatJeanne
d’Archadnochildren——Gutenbergeditor
WhenJeannelefttheprovincestocometoParis，shefoundher
nativecountry。
Shewasgrantedthefreedomofthecity，and
expandedinherjoylikeadelicateplanttransplantedintoa
hothouse。
Shefoundherselfathomeforthefirsttime；andfelt
thatshecouldruleasadespotoverallfrequentersofthe
streets。
Shelearnedfashionandloveatoneandthesametime。
Gourdanhadahatmadeforher，and，asareward，initiatedher
intothecustoms。
Butshewascalledtootherdestinies。
Oneday，whenshewaswalkingintheTuileries，alunatic——and
lunaticshavesecondsight——askedherfavorwhensheshould
becomequeen。
DuBarrysaidtoherself:“Thismanismad。“
But
thenshethoughtofthePompadour，blushed——itwastheonlytime——
andturnedhereyestowardsVersailles。
ButVersailleswasanunhoped-forshoretosuchagirlasthis，
agirlknowntoallParis。
WouldtheKingcaretobetheloverof
onewhohadruledallhiscourtesans？
Whocouldsay？
TheKing
oftenweariedofwhathehad。
Hadnotapoetalreadybeenfound
whocomparedhertoVenus:
OJeanne，thybeautyseduces
Andcharmsthewholeworld；
Invaindoestheduchessredden
Andtheprincessgrowl；
TheyknowthatVenusridesproudly
Thefoamofthewave。
Thepoet，whilenotVoltaire，wasnolessamanthanBouffiers。
WhiletheKingwasseekingamistress——anocturnalreverseof
Diogenes，fleeingfromthelanternsof
thewise——hefoundJeanne
Vaubernier。
Hethoughthecouldloveherforoneevening。
“Not
enough，“saidshe，“youmustlovemeuntilbroaddaylight。“
So
helovedherforawholeday。
Whatshouldoneeatinordertobe
lovedbyroyalty？
Wasitnecessarytohaveacoatofarms？
She
hadtheminnumber，becauseshehadbeenlovedbyallthegreat
namesinthebookofheraldry。
AndsoshebeggedtheViscount
JeanduBarrytogiveherthetitleofviscountess。
“Betterstill，“
exclaimedJean，“Iwillgiveyouthetitleofcountess。
Mybrother
willmarryyou；heisamalescamp，andyouarethefemale。
What
abeautifulmarriage！“
Sotheywereunited。
Thenewlymadecountesswassolemnly
presentedatcourtbyacountessofanancientdate，namely，the
CountessdeBearn。
KingVoltaireprotested，inasatireentitled
“<TheCourtofKingPetaud>“(topsy-turvy)，afterwardsdenying
it。
TheducdeChoiseulprotested，Franceprotested，butall
Versaillesthrewitselfpassionatelyatthefeetofthenewcountess。
EventhedaughtersoftheKingpaidhercourt，andallowedherto
callthembytheirpetnames:Loque，Chiffe，andGraille。
TheKing，
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