He was eminently suited for the office now conferred on
him; and those who knew him best were the least surprised to find
the nomination had fallen on him.
I also procured a post in the establishment of the young couple
for my sister-in-law, the comtesse d'Hargicourt. Her maiden
name was Fumel, an ancient family in Guienne, and M. de Fumel,
her father, was governor of the chateau Trompette at Bordeaux.
This marriage had at first encountered many difficulties from the
deadly hatred which existed in the chateau against us. Comte
Jean, perceiving that things were going against us, applied to
the king himself for assistance in the affair. Louis XV could
not endure him, but his dislike was manifested only by an uneasy
timidity in his presence, and he freely granted any request that
would the soonest free him from his presence. The king acted
upon the same principle in the present conjuncture; he bestowed
a million of livres upon the comte d'Hargicourt, that is to say,
500,000 livres to be employed in paying the debts of the comte de
Fumel, and in freeing his estates from a dowry of 60,000 livres to
be paid to his daughter on her marriage, with various other
clearances and payments; besides this my brother-in-law, comte
d'Hargicourt, was appointed captain in the prince's Swiss guards,
one of the most honorable commissions that could have been
conferred on him.
The comte de Crussel and the prince d'Henin were named captains
of the guard to M.
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