Volume II Part 27 (2/2)
The duchess de Chartres had written so affair; but out of her own coterie no one knew it except the king, as fond of the princess, although she was in the habit of scoffing at him One day, for instance, she asked hi of Prussia was expected in Paris Louis XV having answered that it was an idle ru to see a king”
My brother had co one to M de Marigny, we repaired oneto the apartment of that nobleman, who lived in the Louvre, where all the artists were in the habit of paying their court to hi his private apartny My brother's picture was exposed there; it was a battle piece in the style of Bourguignon
The first person who passed through the room stopped before the picture, exa that it was a poor painting; a moment afterwards two more persons came in, looked at the picture, sinner”
I glanced at my brother, as seated near me; he was in a fever
In less than a quarter of an hour the room was full of people, and the unfortunate picture was the butt of everybody's laughter My poor brother felt al, and thanked his stars that no one knew him personally
The state of his mind was such that I heartily pitied hi to sony would soon coe him for the insults of the crowd Fortunately, this was not my brother's opinion; we left the room hurriedly, took a coach, went ho As soon as it had been brought back my brother made a battle of it in real earnest, for he cut it up with a sword into twenty pieces He made up his o somewhere else to study an art which he loved to idolatry; we resolved on going to Dresden together
Two or three days before leaving the delightful city of Paris I dined alone at the house of the gate-keeper of the Tuileries; his name was Conde After dinner his wife, a rather pretty woman, presented me the bill, on which every item was reckoned at double its value I pointed it out to her, but she answered very curtly that she could not abate one sou I paid, and as the bill was receipted with the words 'femme Conde', I took the pen and to the word 'Conde' I added 'labre', and I went away leaving the bill on the table
I was taking a walk in the Tuileries, not thinking any more of my female extortioner, when a small e nosegay in his button-hole, and sporting a long sword, swaggered up to me and informed me, without any further explanation, that he had a fancy to cut my throat
”But, my small specimen of humanity,” I said, ”you would require to jump on a chair to reach my throat I will cut your ears”
”Sacre bleu, ar passion, my dear sir; follow me; you shall soon be satisfied”
I walked rapidly towards the Porte de l'Etoile, where, seeing that the place was deserted, I abruptly asked the fellohat he wanted, and why he had attacked me
”I am the Chevalier de Talvis,” he answered ”You have insulted an honest woman who is under my protection; unsheath!”
With these words he drew his long sword; I unsheathed ed rapidly, and wounded hi that I had wounded him treacherously
”You lie, you rascally h your miserable body”
”You will not do it, for I ae, and ill leave the decision of this to cohter, if you are not satisfied, I will cut off your ears!”
I left hi to the laws of the duello, for he had drawn his sword before h to cover hiood time, it was not, of course, ust I left Paris with my brother I had made a stay of two years in that city, the best in the world I had enjoyed reatly, and had met with no unpleasantness except that I had been now and then short of h Metz, Mayence, and Frankfort, and arrived in Dresden at the end of the same month My hted to see us again My brother reed in the study of his art, and copying all the fine paintings of battles by the great masters in the celebrated Electoral Gallery
He went back to Paris only when he felt certain that he could set criticism at defiance; I shall say hereafter hoas that we both reached that city about the same tiood and adverse fortune did for or against me
My life in Dresden until the end of the carnival in 1753 does not offer any extraordinary adventure To please the actors, and especially ht out two harlequins It was a parody of the 'Freres Ennehly amused at the comic fancies which filled rand and generous, and these qualities found a ready echo in the breast of the fa adieu to my mother, to my brother Francois, and to uste, chief player of the harpsichord at the Court, who died two years ago, leaving hisand family in comfortable circumstances
My stay in Dresden was ot rid, as in previous similar circumstances, by a diet of six weeks I have often re toto recover s; and now that I enjoy excellent health in that line, I aain; but age, that cruel and unavoidable disease, coood health in spite of myself The illness I allude to, which the Italians call 'ht claim the honour of its first importation, does not shorten life, but it leaves indelible marks on the face Those scars, less honourable perhaps than those which are won in the service of Mars, being obtained through pleasure, ought not to leave any regret behind
In Dresden I had frequent opportunities of seeing the king, as very fond of the Count de Bruhl, his minister, because that favourite possessed the double secret of shewing hi all his whireater enehed heartily when he was plundered and he spent a great deal in order to have occasion to laugh often As he had not sufficient wit to as and with the absurdities of humankind, he kept four buffoons, who are called fools in Gerenerally more witty than their masters The province of those jesters is to h by all sorts of jokes which are usually nothing but disgusting tricks, or low, impertinent jests
Yet these professional buffoons sometimes captivate the mind of their master to such an extent that they obtain from him very important favours in behalf of the persons they protect, and the consequence is that they are often courted by the highest families Where is the amemnon say, in Houilty ofbefore our time! It evidently proves that men are at all times moved by the sa to say that the Count de Bruhl was the ruin of Saxony, for he was only the faithful minister of his royal master's inclinations
His children are poor, and justify their father's conduct