would say, if
he had the courage and the honesty to speak as he feels, 'I am
vain, and it will give me great satisfaction to see people look
at me, as I pass, with an eye of stupid admiration, and make
way for me; I wish, when I enter a room, to produce an effect,
and to excite the attention of those who may, perhaps, laugh
at me when I am gone; I wish to be called _Monseigneur_ by the
multitude.' Is not all this mere empty air? In scarcely any country
will this ribbon be of the slightest use to him; it will give him
no power. My pieces of metal will give me the power of assisting
the unfortunate everywhere. Long live the omnipotent powder of
_prelinpinpin!_" At these last words, we heard a burst of laughter
from the adjoining room, which was only separated by a door from
the one we were in. The door opened, and in came the King, Madame
de Pompadour, and M. de Gontaut. "Long live the powder of
_prelinpinpin!_" said the King. "Doctor, can you get me any of
it?" It happened that, when the King returned from his walk, he
was struck with a fancy to listen to our conversation. Madame
de Pompadour was extremely kind to the Doctor, and the King went
out laughing, and talking with great admiration of the powder.
I went away, and so did the Doctor. I immediately sat down to
commit this conversation to writing. I was afterwards told that M.
Quesnay was very learned in certain matters relating to finance,
and that he was a great _economiste_. But I do not know very
well what that means. What I do know for certain is, that he
was very clever, very gay and witty, and a very able physician.

[Illustration: Madame de Pompadour learns of the likelihood of
her success in meeting her admirer, the King. _From the painting
by Casanova y Estorach._]

The illness of the little Duke of Burgundy, whose intelligence
was much talked of, for a long time occupied the attention of the
Court. Great endeavours were made to find out the cause of his
malady, and ill-nature went so far as to assert that his nurse,
who had an excellent situation at Versailles, had communicated to
him a nasty disease. The King shewed Madame de Pompadour the
information he had procured from the province she came from, as
to her conduct. A silly Bishop thought proper to say she had
been very licentious in her youth. The poor nurse was told of
this, and begged that he might be made to explain himself. The
Bishop replied, that she had been at several balls in the town in