She would
have been thought simple, unsophisticated, and yet was full
of plot and cunning.
I was soon much pleased with her, and the king became equally
so. He was always very much amused at hearing her talk
(provincially), or recite the verses of one Gondouli, a poet of
Languedoc. He used to make her jump upon his knees; and altho'
she had passed the first bloom of youth, he played with her like
a child. But what most particularly diverted the king, was calling
my sister-in-law by her nickname; ","
he was always saying, "do this, go there, come here." Louis XV
did the same with his own daughters: he had amongst them a ,
a , a , and they were the ladies Victoire,
Adelaide, and Sophie, whom he thus elegantly designated. I so
soon saw the taste of the king for nicknames that I gave him
one, it was Lafrance. So far from being angry with me, he laughed
to tears every time that I called him so. I must confess, passant>, that the anecdote about the coffee is true.* I will only
justify myself by saying, that if I expressed myself coarsely it
was not in consequence of my vulgar education, but because the
king liked such modes of expression.
*Louis XV had a habit of making his own coffee after
dinner. One day the coffee boiled over the sides of the
pot, and madame du Barry cried out, " Eh, Lafrance,
ton cafe f --- le camp.
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