he feels, 'I am vain, and it will give me great satisfaction to see
people look at me, as I pass, with an eye of stupid admiration, and make
way, for me; I wish, when I enter a room, to produce an effect, and to
excite the attention of those who may, perhaps, laugh at me when I am
gone; I wish to be called Monseigneur by the multitude.' Is not all this
mere empty air? In scarcely any country will this ribbon be of the
slightest use to him; it will give him no power. My pieces of metal will
give me the power of assisting the unfortunate everywhere. Long live the
omnipotent powder of prelinpinpin!" At these last words, we heard a
burst of laughter from the adjoining room, which was only separated by a
door from the one we were in. The door opened, and in came the King,
Madame de Pompadour, and M. de Gontaut. "Long live the powder of
prelinpinpin!" said the King. "Doctor, can you get me any of it?" It
happened that, when the King returned from his walk, he was struck with a
fancy to listen to our conversation. Madame de Pompadour was extremely
kind to the Doctor, and the King went out laughing, and talking with
great admiration of the powder. I went away, and so did the Doctor. I
immediately sat down to commit this conversation to writing. I was
afterwards told that M. Quesnay was very learned in certain matters
relating to finance, and that he was a great 'economiste'. But I do not
know very well what that means. What I do know for certain is, that he
was very clever, very gay and witty, and a very able physician.

The illness of the little Duke of Burgundy, whose intelligence was much
talked of, for a long time occupied the attention of the Court. Great
endeavours were made to find out the cause of his malady, and ill-nature
went so far as to assert that his nurse, who had an excellent situation
at Versailles, had communicated to him a nasty disease. The King shewed
Madame de Pompadour the information he had procured from the province she
came from, as to her conduct. A silly Bishop thought proper to say she