Volume III Part 32 (2/2)

”Certainly,” said I, ”I shall beon aveme to tell the coachman to drive us to the address thereon

I was on thorns, and ht I should have to read out the address of the convent I do not knohat I should have done if rounded, but I should certainly not have gone to the convent At last I read ritten; it was ”Place Maubert,” and I grew calm once more

I told the coachman to drive us to the Place Maubert We set off, and in a short ti of an obscure back street before a dirty-looking house, which did not give one a high idea of the character of its occupants I gave Mada into every rooht for was not there, and I expected to see her overwhelrief I was mistaken, however She looked distressed but satisfied, and her eyes seemed to ask pardon of me She had found out froe of her journey, that she had alighted in front of the house in question, and had gone down the back street She told me that the scullion had confessed that he had takenmistress, and that Madelaine said all the time that she was sure her mistress and I were in love with each other They played their parts well

As soon as I had seen Madame X C V safely home, I went to Madame du Rumain to tell her what had happened; and I then wrote to one on in the world since her disappearance

Three or four days after this date, Madaave me the first letter I received from Mdlle X C V She spoke in it of the quiet life she was leading, and her gratitude to ave me the titles of the books they lent her, which she liked reading She also informed me what , alhted with her letter, but much more with the abbess's epistle to Madairl, and could not say toohoeet-te up by assuring her friend that she went to see her every day

I was charmed to see the pleasure this letter afforded Madame du Rumain--pleasure which was increased by the perusal of the letter I had received The only persons ere displeased were the poor htful Farsetti, and the old fermier, whose misfortune was talked about in the clubs, the Palais-Royal, and the coffee-houses Everybody put hed at their gossip, believing that I was quite safe

All the same, la Popeliniere took the adventure philosophically and made a one-act play out of it, which he had acted at his little theatre in Paris Three irl, the daughter of a Bordeaux alder hispregnant with a son, who came into the world six months after the father's death The unworthy heir to the rich ot the child declared illegitiave this iniquitous judgrief of every honest French aside the fact that nothing could be said against thethe face to declare a child born eleven itimate

I continued for ten days to call upon Madao there no more

CHAPTER VIII

Fresh Adventures--J J Rousseau--I set Up A Business-- Castel--Bajac--A Lawsuit is Coainst Me--M de Sartin

Mdlle X C V had now been in the convent for a month, and her affair had ceased to be a coht I should hear no more of it, but I was mistaken I continued, however, to a freely quite preventedabout the future The Abbe de Bernis, whoularly once a week, told eneral often enquired hoas getting on ”You are wrong,” said the abbe, ”to neglect him” He advised me to say no more about my claims, but to co the revenues of the state I laid too great store by the advice of the man who had made my fortune not to follow it I went to the co in his probity I explained my scheme to him This was to pass a lahich every estate, except that left by father to son, should furnish the treasury with one year's inco subject to the saive offence to anyone; the heir had only to iine that he had inherited a year later than was actually the case The minister was of the sahtest difficulty involved, and assured me that my fortune was made

In a week afterwards his place was taken by M de Silhouette, and when I called on the new minister he told me coldly that when my scheme became laould tell inator of the schehed in my face

Shortly after, the Pope died, and he was succeeded by the Venetian Rezzonico, who created my patron, the Abby de Bernis, a cardinal

However, he had to go into exile by order of the king two days after his graciousit is to be the friend of kings!

The disgrace of htful abbe left me without a patron, but I had plenty of nation

For having undone all the work of Cardinal Richelieu, for having changed the old enmity between France and Austria into friendshi+p, for delivering Italy from the horrors of hich befell her whenever these countries had a bone to pick, although he was the first cardinal made by a pope who had had plenty of opportunities for discovering his character, iven it as his opinion that the Prince de Soubise was not a fit person to coreat ecclesiastic was driven into exile The moment the Pompadour heard of this opinion of his, she decreed his banishment--a sentence which was unpopular with all classes of society; but they consoled theotten Such is the character of the French people; it cares neither for its own misfortunes nor for those of others, if only it can extract laughter frorammatists and poetasters who assailed 's mistresses were sent to the Bastille, but the wits still persisted in being a, and there were some who considered a jest incomplete that was not followed by a prosecution A reat lover of notoriety--appropriated the following verses by the younger Crebellon and went to the Bastille rather than disown them

”All the world's upside down!

Jupiter has donned the gown--the King

Venus mounts the council stair--the Pone

Mercury in hty Mars has turned a priest--the Duc de Clermont, abbe of St Germain-des-pres”

Crebillon, as not the sort of s, told the Duc de Choiseul that he had written some verses exactly like these, but that it was possible the prisoner had been inspired with precisely the same ideas This jest was applauded, and the author of ”The Sofa” was let alone