had been very licentious in her youth. The poor nurse was told of this,
and begged that he might be made to explain himself. The Bishop replied,
that she had been at several balls in the town in which she lived, and
that she had gone with her neck uncovered. The poor man actually thought
this the height of licentiousness. The King, who had been at first
uneasy, when he came to this, called out, "What a fool!" After having
long been a source of anxiety to the Court, the Duke died. Nothing
produces a stronger impression upon Princes, than the spectacle of their
equals dying. Everybody is occupied about them while ill--but as soon as
they are dead, nobody mentions them. The King frequently talked about
death--and about funerals, and places of burial. Nobody could be of a
more melancholy temperament. Madame de Pompadour once told me that he
experienced a painful sensation whenever he was forced to laugh, and that
he had often begged her to break off a droll story. He smiled, and that
was all. In general, he had the most gloomy ideas concerning almost all
events. When there was a new Minister, he used to say, "He displays his
wares like all the rest, and promises the finest things in the world, not
one of which will be fulfilled. He does not know this country--he will
see." When new projects for reinforcing the navy were laid before him,
he said, "This is the twentieth time I have heard this talked of--France
never will have a navy, I think." This I heard from M. de Marigny.

I never saw Madame de Pompadour so rejoiced as at the taking of Mahon.
The King was very glad, too, but he had no belief in the merit of his
courtiers--he looked upon their success as the effect of chance. Marechal
Saxe was, as I have been told, the only man who inspired him with great
esteem. But he had scarcely ever seen him in his closet, or playing the
courtier.

M. d'Argenson picked a quarrel with M. de Richelieu, after his victory,