ence, and yet he is so good-natured.' 'Madame,' said
he, 'I left my native village at the age of forty, and I have
very little experience of the world, nor can I accustom myself
to its usages without great difficulty. When I am in a room with
the King, I say to myself, 'This is a man who can order my head
to be cut off; and that idea embarrasses me.' 'But do not the
King's justice and kindness set you at ease?' 'That is very true
in reasoning,' said he; 'but the sentiment is more prompt, and
inspires me with fear before I have time to say to myself all
that is calculated to allay it.'"

I got her to repeat this conversation, and wrote it down immediately,
that I might not forget it.

An anonymous letter was addressed to the King and Madame de
Pompadour; and, as the author was very anxious that it should
not miscarry, he sent copies to the Lieutenant of Police, sealed
and directed _to the King, to Madame de Pompadour, and to M. de
Marigny_. This letter produced a strong impression on Madame, and
on the King, and still more, I believe, on the Duc de Choiseul, who
had received a similar one. I went on my knees to M. de Marigny,
to prevail on him to allow me to copy it, that I might show it
to the Doctor. It is as follows:

"Sire--It is a zealous servant who writes to Your Majesty. Truth
is always better, particularly to Kings; habituated to flattery,
they see objects only under those colours most likely to please
them. I have reflected, and read much; and here is what my
meditations have suggested to me to lay before Your Majesty.
They have accustomed you to be invisible, and inspired you with
a timidity which prevents you from speaking; thus all direct
communication is cut off between the master and his subjects.
Shut up in the interior of your palace, you are becoming every
day like the Emperors of the East; but see, Sire, their fate!
'I have troops,' Your Majesty will say; such, also, is their
support: but, when the only security of a King rests upon his
troops; when he is only, as one may say, a King of the soldiers,
these latter feel their own strength, and abuse it. Your finances
are in the greatest disorder, and the great majority of states
have perished through this cause. A patriotic spirit sustained
the ancient states, and united all classes for the safety of
their country. In the present times, money has taken the place
of this spirit; it has become the universal lever, and you are in
want of it. A spirit