friend's delight by anticipation. At the expiration of four
months, he received this long-expected letter. It would be utterly
impossible to describe his surprise on reading the following words,
'Heaven, my dear Marquis, never granted me the happiness of becoming a
father, and, in the midst of abundant wealth and honours, the grief of
having no heirs, and seeing an illustrious race end in my person, has
shed the greatest bitterness over my whole existence. I see, with
extreme regret, that you have been imposed upon by a young adventurer,
who has taken advantage of the knowledge he had, by some means, obtained,
of our old friendship. But your Excellency must not be the sufferer. The
Count of Moncade is, most assuredly, the person whom you wished to serve;
he is bound to repay what your generous friendship hastened to advance,
in order to procure him a happiness which he would have felt most deeply.
I hope, therefore, Marquis, that your Excellency will have no hesitation
in accepting the remittance contained in this letter, of three thousand
Louis of France, of the disbursal of which you sent me an account.'"

The manner in which the Comte de St. Germain spoke, in the characters of
the young adventurer, his mistress, and the Ambassador, made his audience
weep and laugh by turns. The story is true in every particular, and the
adventurer surpasses Gusman d'Alfarache in address, according to the
report of some persons present. Madame de Pompadour thought of having a
play written, founded on this story; and the Count sent it to her in
writing, from which I transcribed it.

M. Duclos came to the Doctor's, and harangued with his usual warmth. I
heard him saying to two or three persons, "People are unjust to great
men, Ministers and Princes; nothing, for instance, is more common than to
undervalue their intellect. I astonished one of these little gentlemen
of the corps of the infallibles, by telling him that I could prove that
there had been more men of ability in the house of Bourbon, for the last
hundred years, than in any other family."--"You prove that?" said
somebody, sneeringly. "Yes," said Duclos; "and I will tell you how. The
great Conde, you will allow, was no fool; and the Duchesse de Longueville
is cited as one of the wittiest women that ever lived. The Regent was a
man who had few equals, in every kind of talent and acquirement. The
Prince de Conti, who was elected King of Poland, was celebrated for his
intelligence