THE ROCKS, Wednesday, October 5, 1689.
It had never entered my brain to accuse certain iron wires in the
head-dress of being the cause of long faces; this hint would be very
useful to certain persons of our acquaintance. I had heard they were
very friendly; but no, quite the contrary. These two little wires
press against the temples, prevent the circulation of blood, and cause
abscesses. Some die in consequence. They may consider themselves
fortunate whose faces are only lengthened an ell, and who become as
pale as death; but young people, who are more hardy, may recover in
time. I am very much inclined to place this story in the class with
some others, formerly related to me by the good Princess de Tarente;
however, it is not amiss to know every thing.
I do not in the least doubt that M. de la Garde, who never refused
a remedy, will avail himself of that of the lady you mention. You
will see him with his head upon the ground, and his heels in the air,
_turning an affair_[254] like her; I really believe that if we were to
pursue this regimen for any length of time, we should no longer have
sore eyes. I have nothing to give you in return for your account of
this visit.
We have had a very worthy, sensible, agreeable, unaffected, learned,
and every way desirable, visitor with us; a man of great endowments,
and capable of entering upon every subject of conversation; he has been
here for a week. One of his brothers-in-law is arrived, the Abbé de
Marbeuf, who spoils nothing; and a brother-in-law of the Count de Lis,
who would spoil every thing if he opened his lips; this is a secret
misanthropist, for he keeps his chagrin to himself; he is very well
made, and sings so much like Beaumaviel, that he might be mistaken for
him. When our worthy friend departed, every thing was comparatively
flat and insipid; we renewed the just observations we made in this
country with you, on pleasant and disagreeable company; and fixed that
the disagreeable was the most desirable; their absence is a relief;
whereas pleasant society leaves us dull and dejected; we can not easily
pursue the old track; in short, it is a great misfortune to associate
with sensible people, but it is a misfortune that does not often happen
to us.
[254] It has already been observed that this was a favorite
expression of M. de la Garde.