In the first place 60,000
livres paid down, and secondly, a yearly payment of 200,000 more."
This demand did not appear to me unreasonable, and I undertook
to arrange the matter to the prince's satisfaction, well pleased
on my own side to secure so illustrious an ally at so cheap a
rate, I procured the assent of the king and the comptroller-general;
the 60,000 livres were bestowed on the comte de la Marche in two
separate payments, the pension settled on him, and, still further,
an annuity of 30,000 livres was secured to madame de Monaco; and
I must do the count the justice to say, that he remained faithful
to our cause amidst every danger and difficulty; braving alike
insults, opprobrium, and the torrent of pamphlets and epigrams
of which he was the object; in fact, we had good reason for
congratulating ourselves upon securing such devotion and zeal at
so poor a price.
The prince de Conde, surrounded by a greater degree of worldly
state and consideration, was equally important to us, although
in another way. He had in some degree compromised popularity
by attaching himself to me from the commencement of my court
favour, and the reception he bestowed on me at Chantilly had
completed his disgrace in the eyes of nobility. He visited at my
house upon the most friendly footing; and whenever he found me,
he would turn the conversation upon politics, the state of affairs,
and the great desire he felt to undertake the direction of them
in concert with me; he would add, "You might play the part of
madame de Pompadour, and yet you content yourself with merely
attempting to do so; you are satisfied with possessing influence
when you might exercise power and command.
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