He thought he could love her for one evening. "Not
enough," said she, "you must love me until broad daylight." So
he loved her for a whole day. What should one eat in order to be
loved by royalty? Was it necessary to have a coat of arms? She
had them in number, because she had been loved by all the great
names in the book of heraldry. And so she begged the Viscount
Jean du Barry to give her the title of viscountess. "Better still,"
exclaimed Jean, "I will give you the title of countess. My brother
will marry you; he is a male scamp, and you are the female. What
a beautiful marriage!"
So they were united. The newly made countess was solemnly
presented at court by a countess of an ancient date, namely, the
Countess de Bearn. King Voltaire protested, in a satire entitled
"
" (topsy-turvy), afterwards denying
it. The duc de Choiseul protested, France protested, but all
Versailles threw itself passionately at the feet of the new countess.
Even the daughters of the King paid her court, and allowed her to
call them by their pet names: Loque, Chiffe, and Graille. The King,
jealous of this gracious familiarity, wished her to call him by some
pet name, and so the Bacchante, who believed that through the
King she held all France in her hand, called him "La France," making
him a wife to his Gray Musketeers.
Oh, that happy time! Du Barry and Louis XV hid their life--like
the sage--in their little apartments.
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