M. D----n and madame de Blessac--Anecdote--The rendezvous and the
Ball--The wife of Gaubert--They wish to give her to the king--
Intrigues--Their results--Letter from the duc de la Vrillière to the
countess--Reply--Reconciliation
Amongst the pages of the chapel was one whom the king distinguished
so greatly, that he raised him to the rank of a gentleman of the
bedchamber, and confided to his charge the cabinet of medals, for which
he had imbibed a taste since his liaison with madame de Pompadour. This
esteemed page was named M. D-----n, who united to the most amiable wit a
varied and deep knowledge of men and things. He had had adventures at an
age when they are usually just understood, and talked of them with the
utmost indiscretion. But this so far from doing him any injury in the
eyes of the world only served to make him the more admired; for women
in general have an inclination for those who do not respect their
reputation.
At the period I allude to a madame de Blessac, a very well-looking
woman, took upon herself to be very kindly disposed towards the
gentleman-in-waiting. She told him so, and thereupon M. de D------n
ranged himself under her banner, and swore eternal constancy. However,
the lady, by some accident, became greatly smitten with the prince de la
Trimouille, and without quitting the little keeper of medals, gave him
a lord for a substitute. M. D------n soon learnt this fact, that he was
not the sole possessor of a heart which formed all his joy and glory. He
found he was deceived, and he swore to be revenged.
Now the prince de la Trimouille had for his mistress mademoiselle
Lubert, an opera-dancer, very pretty and extraordinarily silly. M.
D------n went to her; "Mademoiselle," said he, "I come to offer my
services to you in the same way that M. de la Trimouille has offered his
to madame de Blessac, with whom I was on exceedingly intimate terms."
The services of young D------n were accepted, and he was happy. He then
wrote to his former mistress, saying, that anxious to give her a proof
of his sincere attachment he had visited mademoiselle Lubert, that he
might leave her at leisure to receive the visits of the prince de la
Trimouille.
Madame de Blessac, stung to the quick, quarrelled with the prince, who
was excessively enraged with his rival; and there certainly would have
been an affair between these two gentlemen, had not the king preserved
the peace by sending his gentleman to St. Petersburg as _attaché_ to the
embassy. M. D------n went to Russia, therefore, and on his return came
to see me, and is now one of the most welcome and agreeable of the men
of my private circle.
As to madame de Blessac, she continued to carry on the war in grand
style. Her husband dying she married again a foolish count, three parts
ruined, and who speedily dissipated the other quarter of his own fortune
and the whole of his wife's. Madame Ramosky then attacked the rich men
of the day one after another. One alone stood out against her; it was
M. de la Garde, who had been one of my admirers. Madame Ramoski wrote
to him; he did not answer. At length she determined on visiting him, and
wrote him a note, to say that she should call upon him about six o'clock
in the evening. What did M. de la Garde? Why he gave a ball on that
very evening; and, when madame Ramoski reached his hotel, she found
it illuminated. As she had come quite unprepared she was compelled to
return as she came, very discontentedly.
But to leave madame de Blessac and M. D------n, and to talk of my own
matters. We had at this period a very great alarm at the château, caused
by the crime of a man, who preferred rather to assassinate his wife than
to allow her to dishonor him. It is worthy of narration.
A pretty shopkeeper of Paris, named Gaubert, who lived in the rue de
la Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, had recently married a woman much younger
than himself. From the Petit Pont to the rue Mouffetard, madame Gaubert
was talked of for her lovely face and beautiful figure; she was the
Venus of the quarter. Everybody paid court to her, but she listened to
none of her own rank, for her vanity suggested that she deserved suitors
of a loftier rank.
Her husband was very jealous. Unfortunately M. Gaubert had for cousin
one of the valets of the king: this man, who knew the taste of his
master, thought how he could best turn his pretty cousin to account.
He spoke to her of the generosity of Louis XV, of the grandeur of
Versailles, and of the part which her beauty entitled her to play there.
In fact, he so managed to turn the head of this young woman, that she
begged him to obtain for her a place in the king's favor. Consequently
Girard (that was his name) went to madame de Laugeac, and told her the
affair as it was. She pleased with an opportunity of injuring me, went
to Paris, and betook herself _incog._ to the shop of madame Gaubert.
She found her charming, and spoke of her to the duc de la Vrillière, and
both agreed to show her portrait to his majesty. But how to procure this
portrait? Her husband was her very shadow, and never left her. _Le petit
saint_, who was never at a loss, issued a _lettre de cachet_ against
him, and the unfortunate man was shut up in Fort l'Evéque. It was not
until the portrait was finished that he was set at liberty.
He returned to his home without guessing at the motives of his
detention, but he learned that his wife had had her portrait painted
during his absence, and his jealousy was set to work. Soon a letter from
Girard, a fatal letter, which fell into his hands, convinced him of the
injury done him. He took his wife apart, and, feigning a resignation
which he did not feel, "My love," he said, "I loved thee, I love thee
still: I thought, too, that thou wert content with our competence, and
wouldst not have quitted thine husband for any other in the world: I
have been convinced otherwise. A letter from Girard informs me, that
with thine own consent the king, whom thy portrait has pleased, desires
to see thee this very day. It is a misfortune, but we must submit. Only
before thou art established at Versailles, I should wish thee to dine
with me once more. You can invite cousin Girard, too, for I owe him
something for what he has done for thee."
The young wife promised to return and see her husband. That evening at
the performance at the court she was seated in the same box with the
marquise de Laugeac; the king's glass was directed towards her the whole
time, and at the termination of the spectacle it was announced to her,
that she was to sleep at the château the next evening. The project was
never realized.
The next day, according to promise, the young wife went to Paris with
the valet. She informed her husband of the success which had befallen
her, and he appeared delighted. Dinner being ready, they seated
themselves at table, ate and drank. Girard began to laugh at his cousin
for his complaisance, when suddenly all desire to jest left him. He
experienced most horrible pains, and his cousin suffered as well as
himself. "Wretches!" said Gaubert to them, "did you think I would
brook dishonor? No, no! I have deceived you both the better to wreak my
vengeance. I am now happy. Neither king nor valet shall ever possess my
wife. I have poisoned you, and you must die." The two victims implored
his pity. "Yes," said he to his wife, "thy sufferings pain me, and I
will free you from them." He then plunged a knife to her heart; and,
turning to Girard, said, "As for thee, I hate thee too much to kill
thee; die." And he left him.
The next day M. de Sartines came and told me the whole story. He had
learnt them from the valet, who had survived his poisoning for some
hours. Gaubert could not be found, and it was feared that he would
attempt some desperate deed. No one dared mention it to the king, but
the captain of the guards and the first gentleman in waiting took every
possible precaution; and when Louis XV asked for the young female who
was to be brought to him, they told him that she had died of a violent
distemper. It was not until some days afterwards that the terror which
pervaded the château ceased. They had found the body of the unfortunate
Gaubert on the banks of the Seine.
In spite of what had passed, the duc de la Vrillière had the impudence
to present himself to me. I treated him with disdain, reproaching him
and Laugeac for their conduct. He left me in despair, and wrote me the
following letter:--
"MADAME LA COMTESSE,-Your anger kills me. I am guilty, but not so much
so as you may imagine. The duty of my office compels me to do many
things which are disagreeable to me. In the affair for which you have
so slightingly treated me there was no intent to injure you, but only
to procure for the king an amusement which should make him the more
estimate your charms and your society. Forgive a fault in which my heart
bore no share; I am sufficiently miserable, and shall not know repose
until I be reinstated in your good graces.
"As for the poor marchioness she is no more to blame than myself. She
feels for you as much esteem as attachment, and is anxious to prove it
at any opportunity. I beseech you not to treat her rigorously. Think
that we only work together for the good of the king, and that it would
be unjust of you to hate us because we have endeavored to please this
excellent prince. I hope that, contented with this justification, you
will not refuse to grant me the double amnesty which I ask of your
goodness."
I replied thus:--
"Your letter, monsieur le duc, seduces me no more than your words. I
know you well, and appreciate you fully. I was ignorant up to this time,
that amongst the duties of your office, certain such functions were
imposed upon you. It appears that you attend to them as well as to
others, and I sincerely compliment you thereupon; I beg of you to
announce it in the 'Court Kalendar.' It will add, I am convinced, to the
universal esteem in which you are held.
"As to madame de Laugeac, she is even more insignificant than you, and
that is not saying much. I thank her for her esteem and attachment, but
can dispense with any marks of them; no good can come from such an
one as she. Thus, M. le duc, keep quiet both of you, and do not again
attempt measures which may compromise me. Do your business and leave me
to mine.
"I am, with all due consideration,
"Your servant,
"COMTESSE DU BARRY"
I mentioned this to the king, who insisted on reconciling me with _le
petit saint_, who came and knelt to me. I granted the pardon sought, out
of regard for Louis XV; but from that moment the contempt I felt for the
duke increased an hundredfold.