Despite his merit he lived long unknown:
the reason was obvious--he knew nothing of intrigue; and his wife,
though pretty, was discreet; and these are not the means to advance
a man at court.
Louis XV, who knew something of men when he chose to study them.,
was not slow in detecting the talent of Lemoine, and in consequence
gave him that station in which de Broglie had been installed. No
sooner had Lemoine glanced over the affairs submitted to his
control, than he became master of them, as much as though they
had occupied the whole of his life, and in a short time he gave
to his situation an importance which it had never before reached.
Unwilling, however, to incur hatred, he enveloped himself in
profound mystery, so much so that nobody, with the exception of
Messrs. d'Aiguillon and de Sartines, knew anything of his labors.
This pleased the king, who was averse to publicity.
The duc d'Aiguillon could not conceal his joy at being freed
from de Broglie, his most troublesome colleague. It was a grand
point gained for him, as he could now make sure of the post of
secretary-at-war, the main object of his ambition. He wished to
be placed in the duc de Choiseul's position, and to effect this
he redoubled his attentions towards the king, who, though not
really regarding him, at length treated him as the dearest of his
subjects. There are inexplicable mysteries in weak characters;
obstinacy alarms them, and they yield because they hate resistance.
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