grandeur, I quitted the apartment with little ceremony. Lebel
conducted me to an adjoining chamber, furnished with the utmost
magnificence. When we were seated, he turned to the comte Jean,
who had followed us, and said, "It rests with yourself whether you
will return to Paris, or remain at Versailles. But as for ,
who seems much fatigued, she will, we trust, honor us by accepting
a bed at the castle."

My self-created brother-in-law understood as well as I did the
significance of these words, and clearly read in their import how
far I had attracted the favor of the king. In order to have
rendered the impression more lasting, we could have wished that
matters had been less precipitated, but we were under a roof
where everything yielded to the caprices of its master, and
resignation to his will became a matter of course. And here I
trust I may be pardoned if I pass over certain details which
could not, at this lapse of time, interest or amuse any one;
besides, altho' I have found no difficulty in reciting former
events of my life, I find my pen more prudish and coy than were
my ears or mouth. All I shall say is, that the following day, as
soon as I was left alone in my chamber, Lebel entered, and
prostrating himself at the side of my bed,--

"Madame la comtesse," said he, "is queen and mistress here. Not
only has your noble lover failed to communicate to me the usual
signal of disgust or dislike, but he has spoken of you to me in the
most favorable light, declaring, that, for the first time in his life,
he felt the influence of a true and sincere affection; for this
reason he desired I would not convey to you the contents of
this casket, as originally intended."