Joseph Balsamo (44 page)

Around the king, who must certainly have been talking of some matter of importance, as the gravity of M. de Malesherbes was well known, were grouped, but at a respectful distance, generals, admirals, great dignitaries of the state, noblemen, and judges. The little court at the fireplace, therefore, was left a good deal to itself, and seemed bent on more lively conversation, if one might judge by the skirmishing with which they began.

The principal bodies of the group, beside the three princesses, were the Duchess de Grammont, the Princess de Gnemenee, the Duchess de Choiseul, the Marchioness de Mirepoix, and the Duchess de Polastron.

At the moment when we approach this group, the Princess Adelaide had just ended an anecdote of a bishop banished from his diocese by the grand penitentiary. It was tolerably scandalous, and it is as well unrelated here.

” Well,” said the Princess Victoire, ” it is only a month since that bishop was sitting here among us ! “

” Oh, we shall have worse than he sitting among us,” said the Duchess de Grammont, ” if his majesty receive those who, not having been yet received, are now determined to be received.”

Every one understood, from the tone in which these words were uttered, who was meant, and at once felt what turn the conversation was taking.

332 JOSEPH BALSAMO.

” Fortunately, wishing to be received, and being received, are two different things, duchess,” said a little, elderly man, joining in the conversation. He was seventy-four years of age, but looked only fifty, so elegant was his shape, his voice so unbroken, his leg so well shaped, his eye so lively, his skin so fair, and his hand so beautiful.

” Ah, here is Monsieur de Richelieu ‘ said the duchess, ” advancing his scaling-ladders, and going to take our conversation by assault, as he did Mahon. Still something of the soldier, my dear marshal ! “

” Still something of the soldier ! Ah, duchess, you are very severe ! “

” Well ! But did I not speak the truth ? “

“The truth! When?”

” Just now when I said that a certain person wished to force the king’s doors ? “

” Oh, you know, countess, I am always of your opinion, even when you speak ill of all my friends.”

Some laughed, although it had already been whispered that the marshal’s wit was on the wane.

” If you say such things,” continued the duchess, ” I shall not go on with my history, and you will lose a great deal, I assure you.”

” Heaven forbid that I should interrupt it ! I am all attention.”

The circle drew closer around the duchess. She cast a glance toward the window to be certain that the king was still there. He was still in the same position ; but, although he continued to converse with M. de Malesherbes, he kept a watchful eye on the group at the fireplace, and just at that moment his eye met that of
Mme.
de Grammont. The duchess felt somewhat intimidated by its expression, but she had made a beginning, and would not be stopped.

” You must know,” she continued, addressing herself particularly to the three princesses, ” that a certain lady her name is of no consequence, is it ? has lately taken it into her head that she will see us, the privileged of the land, sitting in our glory ‘

JOSEPH BALSAMO. 333

” See us where ? ” asked the marshal.

“Oh, at Versailles, at Marly, at Fontainebleau.”

“Very well very well ! “

“The poor creature knows nothing of our meetings, except from having seen, with the rest of the mob, the king at dinner with his guests. How disagreeable, with a barrier between them and the great, and an usher with his rod driving them before him ! “

The marshal took snuff noisily out of his box of Sevres porcelain. ” But ‘ said he, ” in order to join our circle at Versailles, at Marly, at Fontainebleau, one must be presented.”

“Precisely; the lady in question has requested to be presented.”

” Then I’ll wager the king has consented, he is so kind.”

” Unfortunately, something more is necessary than the king’s permission ; there must be a chaperon to present the lady.”

” Yes ; but chaperons are rather scarce,” said the Marchioness de Mirepoix ; ” witness the fair Bourbonnaise, who has sought but has not found one.”

“Pardon me,” replied the duchess; “she has sought so well that she has found what she wants. But what a chaperon ! a frank, sincere, real country dame ! She was brought away from her dovecot, petted, and caressed, and dressed “

“It is perfectly shocking,” interrupted the Princess de Guemenee.

” But just when the dear dame had been sufficiently petted, and caressed, and dressed, she fell down-stairs, from the top to the bottom, and broke her leg.”

“So there can be no presentation?” exclaimed the Princess de Guemenee.

“Not a shadow,” said the duchess.

” See how gracious Providence is ! ” said the marshal, raising his hands and eyes to heaven.

“Gracious !” said the Princess Victoire, “not to the poor country dame ; I really pity her.”

” On the contrary, your royal highness may congratulate

334 JOSEPH BALSAMO.

her,” said the duchess ; ” of two evils she has chosen the lesser.” She stopped short, for again her eyes met the king’s.

” If the ladies who have been presented,” said the Princess de Guemenee, ” Avere courageous and faithful to the sentiments of honor of the ancient nobility of France, they would go in a body to return thanks to the lady from the country who showed so much sublimity of mind as to break her leg.”

” Yes, faith,” said the marshal, “that is a great idea ! But what is the name of the excellent lady who has saved us in this great danger ? We have nothing now to fear ; have we, duchess ? “

” Oh, nothing ; she is in her bed, her leg bound up, and unable to move a step.”

” But if the lady should find another chaperon ?” said the princess ; “she is so indefatigable.”

” Oh, do not be afraid ; it is not so easy to find chaperons.”

At this moment the throng of courtiers separated, and the king approached ; the group became silent. A mo-ment afterward his clear and well-known voice was heard : “Adieu, ladies. Good night, gentlemen.”

Every one rose.

The king advanced toward the door, then turning before leaving the room, he said : ” By the bye, there will be a presentation to-morrow at Versailles.”

These words fell like a thunderbolt on the assembly. The king glanced round the group of ladies, who looked at one another and turned pale ; then he left the apartment without adding another word. Scarcely had he crossed the threshold with the long train of gentlemen who attended him, when there was a general explosion among the princesses and the ladies around them.

” A presentation ! ” stammered the Duchess de G ram-in on t, her lips quite livid. ” What does his majesty mean?”

” Eh ! duchess,” said the marshal, with one of those smiles which even his best friends could not pardon, ” can

JOSEPH BALSAMO. 335

this be the presentation yon have just been speaking of?”

The princesses bit their lips with vexation.

” Oh, it is impossible,” murmured the duchess.

” Ah, duchess,” said the marshal, ” they do set legs so well nowadays.”

The Duke de Choiseul approached his sister, the Duchess de Grammont, and pressed her arm as a warning not to go too far ; but she was too deeply wounded to attend to him.

“It would be an insult to us all,” she exclaimed.

“Yes; an insult indeed!” repeated the Princess de Guemenee.

M. de Choiseul saw he could do nothing more, and walked a short distance off.

“Oh, your royal highnesses, ” cried the duchess, addressing the king’s three daughters, ” there is no resource for us now but in you ! You, the highest ladies in the kingdom, will you endure it ? Must we be exposed, in the only asylum remaining for ladies of rank, to meet a person with whom we should not allow our chambermaids to associate ? “

The princesses, instead of replying, hung down their heads.

“Oh, your royal highnesses, in Heaven’s name!” exclaimed she, “save us.”

” The king is master in this as in everything else,” said the Princess Adelaide, sighing.

“That is true,” said the Duke de Eichelieu.

” But the entire court of France will be compromised in the affair,” cried the duchess. “Gentlemen, have you then no regard for the honor of your families ? “

” Ladies,” said the Duke de Choiseul, trying, to laugh, “as this seems bordering on a conspiracy, you must allow me to retire, and to take with me Monsieur de Sartines. Will you come,, marshal ?”

” I ? faith, I adore conspiracies ! I shall certainly stay,” replied Marshal Richelieu.

The two ministers departed.

336 JOSEPH BALSAMO.

There now remained around the princesses eight or ten of the ladies who had espoused most warmly the league against the presentation. Richelieu was the only gentleman. The ladies looked at him suspiciously, as if he had been a Trojan in the Grecian camp.

” I represent my daughter, the Countess d’Egmont,” said he; ” go on, ladies, go on.”

“Your royal highnesses,” the Duchess de Grammont began, ” there is a means by which we can show our sense of the infamous nature of the proceedings, and for my part I shall make use of the means.”

*’” What is it ?” all exclaimed.

‘”’ We have been told that the king is master ‘ she continued.

” And I reply it is just and right that he should be,” said the marshal.

” He is master in his own palace, but we are mistresses in our own houses. Now, what is to prevent me from giving my coachman 4i rec tions to drive to Chanteloup to-night, instead of to Versailles ? “

“Or what is to prevent others from imitating you ?” said the Princess de Guemenee.

” Why should we not all imitate the duchess ?” asked the Marchioness de Mirepoix.

” Oh, your royal highnesses,” exclaimed the duchess, again addressing the princesses, ” what a noble example it would be for you to give the court ! “

“The king would be very angry with us,” said the Princess Sophie.

“No, your royal highness ; I am certain he would not. On the contrary, it would make him reflect ; and he has such exquisite sense, such perfect tact, that he will afterward acknowledge you to be in the right, and he will be grateful to you.”

” It is true,” said the Princess Victoire, encouraged by the general spirit of rebellion ; ” the king said nothing when we refused to admit the visits of the countess, but on a public occasion like this he might not be disposed to forgive us.”

JOSEPH BALSAMO. 337

” No, certainly ‘ replied the duchess : ” if you were the only ladies who absented yourselves, but when he sees that we have all left the court ! “

” All ! ” exclaimed the party.

” Yes, all,” repeated the old marshal.

” Then you are of the plot ? ” said the Princess Adelaide.

“Certainly, I am, and therefore I wish to speak.”

” Speak, marshal, speak ! ” said
Mme.
de Grammont.

” We must proceed methodically,” said he. ” It is uot enough all to shout in chorus this or that. I have known people say, ‘ This is what I shall do but at the moment of action they have done the very contrary. Now, as I have the honor to make one in this conspiracy, I do not wish to be left by myself, as I always was when I took part in the conspiracies under the late king and under the regency.”

” Upon my word, marshal, you forget yourself . Among the Amazons you take upon you the airs of a leader ‘ said the duchess.

” Madame, I beg you to consider that I may have some right to that position. Yon hate Madame Dubarry there, I have let the name slip out, but nobody heard it you hate her more than I, but I am more compromised than you.”

“How is that?”

” I have not been at Luciennes for eight days, nor at her apartments at Versailles for four. The affair has gone so far that a footman was sent to ask if I was ill so I am already looked upon with suspicion. However, I am not ambitious I yield the leadership to you ; you have set the affair on foot, you have stirred us all, you revolutionize our consciences yours must be the baton of command.”

” No ; I must follow their royal highnesses,” said the duchess, respectfully.

” Oh, pray let us remain passive ” said the Princess Adelaide ; we are going to St. Denis to see our sister Louise ; she will keep us there, and of course there can be nothing said.”

” Nothing, nothing at all, unless by some very ill-disposed person,” said the marshal.

DI-MAS VOL. VI. O

338 JOSEPH BALSAMO.

” As for ine,” said the Duchess de Grammout, ” I have to go to Chanteloup, because it is hay-making season ‘

” Bravo ! ” cried the duke ; “an excellent reason.”

” I must stay at home ; one of my children is ill, and I have to nurse him,” said the Princess de Guemenee.

” I,” said the Duchess de Polastron, ” have felt .a giddi-ness all this evening I am sure I shall be dangerously ill if Tronchin does not bleed me to-morrow.”

” And I,” said the Marchioness de Mirepoix, majestically, ” I shall not go to Versailles because, I shall not that is my reason.”

” Excellent ! excellent ! ” said the marshal ; ” all this is quite logical ; but we must swear.”

” What ! we must swear ? “

” Yes ; conspirators always swear, from the plot of Cati-line down to that of Cellamare, in which I had the honor of participating. “We always swore it is true, the thing did not succeed at all the better for it, still, let us respect old customs. Let us swear, then you shall see how solemn it is.”

lie extended his hand in the midst of the group of ladies, and said, with proper dignity, ” I swear.”

All the ladies repeated the oath, with the exception of the princesses, who slipped away.

” Now that all is over,” said the marshal, ” when once people have sworn in conspiracies, they never do anything more.”

” Oh, what a fury she will be in,” said the Duchess de Grammout, “when she finds herself all alone in the grand saloon ! “

” Hum ! ” said the marshal ; ” the king will most probably banish us for a little time.”