It must be owned, that if he gained the victory at
court, he decidedly lost it in the city, and I was publicly
insulted on this account in the most brutal manner. However,
the friendship which his first interview inspired me with, I have
always preserved unaltered.
The week glided away, and each day my fortune seemed more fully
assured. The love of the king increased, he heaped presents on
me perpetually, and seemed to think he never could do enough for
me. The bounties of Louis XV were known, and instantly aroused
against me the two enemies with whom I had been threatened--the
duc de Choiseul and the duchesse de Grammont, his sister. I must
say, however, that, at first, the brother contented himself with
despising me, but the duchesse was furious; I had offended her
feminine self-love, and she could not forgive me. I have told you
that she obtained possession of the king by stratagem. This is
fact. She was in a place of concealment during a regal debauch,
and when Louis left the table, with his head heated by wine, she
awaited him in his bed to commit a sort of violence on him. What
curious ambition! As soon as this noble lady learned my position,
she was desirous of knowing who I was, and I have been told
since all the measures she took to learn this. She did not
confine her search to the circle of Versailles, but hastened to
prosecute her inquiries in Paris with M.
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