r to appear in the affair at all. He could
not withstand her; he did not know the extent of his error, but he knew
that to bring her within the precincts of the palace was a sore
indiscretion. She overbore him; they burst together into the room, as I
have described. And, being there, she would not go, and was seen by two
doctors, by Baptiste, and by the shooting-master, who came to carry me
to my apartments. Then at last Varvilliers prevailed on her to allow
herself to be smuggled out through the back gate of the gardens, and
himself took her to her house in a condition of great distress and
collapse. She, at least, was not deceived by the pretence of an
accident.

Were other people? I feel myself on doubtful ground. What was said at
the moment I know only by hearsay, for I was incapable of attending to
anything for three months. There was an enormous amount of gossip and of
talk; there were, I think, many hints and smiles; there were hundreds of
people who knew the truth, but were careful not to submit their versions
to the test of publicity. But what could be done? Varvilliers and
Vohrenlorf, men of unblemished honour, were firm in their assertions and
unshaken in their evidence; Wetter's obvious consternation at the event
was invoked as confirmatory evidence. As soon as I was able to give my
account, my voice and authority were cast decisively into the same
scale. Men might suspect and women might gossip. Nothing could be done;
and as soon as the first stir was over, Wetter left for a tour abroad
without any opposition, and carrying with him a good deal of sympathy.
The King's own carelessness was of course responsible, but it was very
terrible for Wetter, so they said.

But a point remains; how did we account for Coralie and the presence of
Coralie? In fact we never did account very satisfactorily for Coralie.
We sacrificed--or rather Varvilliers and Vohrenlorf sacrificed--William
Adolphus without hesitation, saying truly enough that he had brought
her. Victoria was extremely angry and my brother-in-law much aggrieved.
But I must admit that the story met with very hesitating acceptance.
Some denied it altogether, the more clear-sighted perceived that, even
were its truth allowed, it presupposed more than it told. There was
something in the background; that was what everybody thought. What? That
was what nobody knew. However I am afraid that there were quite enough
suspicion and enough talk to justify my English fri