Volume III Part 33 (1/2)
Cardinal de Bernis passed ten years in exile, 'procul negotiis', but he was not happy, as he told me himself when I knew him in Rome fifteen years afterwards It is said that it is better to be a --an opinion which seems ridiculous when it is analyzed The question is, which is the better, independence or its contrary The axioovern who serves as a mere mask for his master the minister; but in all other cases it is an absurdity
Cardinal de Bernis was never recalled; there is no instance of Louis XV
having ever recalled a raced; but on the death of Rezzonico he had to go to Rome to be present at the conclave, and there he remained as French ambassador
About this time Madame d'Urfe conceived a wish to make the acquaintance of J J Rousseau, and ent to call upon hi him music to copy--an occupation in which he was very skilled He was paid twice the suuaranteed that the work should be faultlessly done At that period of his life copying reat writer's sole means of subsistence
We found him to be a man of a simple and modest deuished either intellectually or physically We did not think hiood-natured ood society Madaar We saw the woman hom he lived, and of e had heard, but she scarcely looked at us On our way ho about Rousseau's eccentric habits
I will here note down the visit of the Prince of Conti (father of the gentleman who is non as the Coood-natured man-went by himself to Montmorenci, on purpose to spend a day in conversation with the philosopher, as even then famous He found him in the park, accosted him, and said that he had come to dine with hihness will fare but badly,” said Rousseau: ”however, I will tell theave his instructions, and came out and rejoined the prince, hom he walked up and down for two or three hours When it was dinner-ti-roo to dine with us?” said the prince ”I thought ere to be alone”
”The third party,” said Rousseau, ”iswho is neither my wife, nor hter, but yet personates all these characters at once”
”I daresay, my dear fellow, I daresay; but as I came to dine with you alone, I will not dine with your--other self, but will leave you with all the rest of you to keep your co the prince bade him farewell and went out Rousseau did not try to keep him
About this time I witnessed the failure of a play called 'Aristides'
Daughter', written by the ingenious Madame de Graffini, who died of vexation five days after her play was damned The Abbe de Voisenon was horrified, as he had advised the lady to produce it, and was thought to have had some hand in its composition, as well as in that of the 'Lettres Peruviennes' and 'Cenie' By a curious coincidence, just about the same date, Rezzonico's mother died of joy because her son had become pope Grief and joy kill many more wo than th
When Madaht that my adopted son was coo with her and pay hied like a prince, well dressed, made much of, and almost looked up to I was astonished, for this was iven him masters of all sorts, and a pretty little pony for hi on He was styled M le Cohter, a fine-looking young woman, was appointed to look after hioverness She assured Madame d'Urfe that she took special care of hiht him his breakfast in bed; that she then dressed him, and did not leave his side the whole day
Madareater care of the count, and proentleain and again, but I suspected a o and see him by myself another time and solve it
On our journey hooodness to the boy, and that I approved of all the arrangements that had been made with the exception of the name Aranda, ”which,” said I, ”may some day prove a thorn in his side” She answered that the lad had said enough to convince her that he had a right to bear that name ”I had,” she said, ”in my desk a seal with the ar to take it up I shewed it him as we shew trinkets to children to amuse them, but as soon as he saw it he burst out,
”'How caot this seal from the Comte d'Aranda; how can you prove that you are a scion of that race?”
”'Do not ask me, madam; my birth is a secret I can reveal to no one'”
The i knave astounded ht him capable of it, and a week after I went to see hiet at the botto count with Viar, who, judging by the awe the child shewed ofin his praises of his pupil, saying that he played the flute capitally, danced and fenced adood hand He shewed me the pens he had cut hied to be examined on heraldry, which, as thenobleon of heraldry to blazon his own pretended arhter, partly because I did not understand a word he said, and partly because he seemed to think the matter as important as would a country squire with his thirty-two quarters However, I was delighted to see his dexterity in penreat, and I expressed my satisfaction to Viar, who soon left us to ourselves We proceeded into the garden
”Will you kindly inform me,” I said, ”how you can be so foolish as to call yourself the Comte d'Aranda?”
He replied, with the utmost calmness, ”I know it is foolish, but leave ains me respect”