"I do not like," said he to me, "your Du Barry monkey. He is a
treacherous fellow, who has betrayed his party, and I hope some
of these mornings we shall hear that the devil has wrung his neck."
CHAPTER IX
The king of Denmark--The courtesans of Paris--The duc de Choiseul and the bishop of
Orleans--Witty repartees of the king of Denmark--
His visit to madame du Barry--"The court of king Petaud," a satire--
Letter of the duc d'Aiguillon to Voltaire--The duchesse de Grammont
mystified--Unpublished letter of Voltaire's
>From this moment, and in spite of all that comte Jean could say
against it, a new counsellor was admitted to my confidence. He
was the chancellor. The duc d'Aiguillon and he were on very good
terms, and these two, with the abbe Teray, of whom I shall speak
to you presently, formed a triumvirate, which governed France from
the disgrace of M. de Choiseul to the death of the king. But
before I enter upon a detail of those politics, of which you will
find that I understand something, allow me to continue the history
of my presentation, and also to give some account of Christian VII.
You know that his Danish majesty was expected with anything but
pleasure by the king of France, and with curiosity by the rest of
the nation. Men and women were impatient to see a king, under
twenty years of age, who was traversing Europe with a design of
attaining instruction.
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