"
"Heavens!" cried I, " what do I hear?"
"That which I well know to be true," answered the female, with
a firm voice; "I repeat that your life and that of the king is
in danger."
These words, pronounced in a low, solemn voice, froze me with
terror; my limbs tottered under me, and I almost sank to the
ground. The stranger assisted me to a bench, offered me her arm,
and when she saw me a little recovered, she continued,
"Yes, madam, a conspiracy is afoot against yourself and Louis XV.
You are to be made away with out of revenge, and Louis XV is to
suffer, in the hopes of his death effecting a change in the
present face of affairs."
"And who," inquired I, "are the conspirators?"
'The Jesuits and parliamentarians; these ancient rivals, equally
persecuted by the royal government, have determined to make
common cause against their mutual foe. The Jesuits flatter
themselves that the dauphin inherits the kind feelings entertained
by his father for their order, and the parliamentarians justly
reckon upon the friendly disposition of the young prince towards
the old magistracy. Both parties equally flatter themselves that
a fresh reign would bring about their re-establishment, and they
are impatient to accelerate so desirable an event: the conspiracy
is directed by four Jesuits and the same number of the ex-members
of the parliament of Paris.
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