rve me to her good graces. Although I had no knowledge of M. de
Silhoutte, and was not much disposed to like him, I had a great opinion
of his administration. When he began to let his hand fall rather heavily
upon financiers, I perceived he did not begin his operation in a
favorable moment, but he had my warmest wishes for his success; and as
soon as I heard he was displaced I wrote to him, in my intrepid, heedless
manner, the following letter, which I certainly do not undertake to
justify.

MONTMORENCY, 2d December, 1759.

"Vouchsafe, sir, to receive the homage of a solitary man, who is not
known to you, but who esteems you for your talents, respects you for your
administration, and who did you the honor to believe you would not long
remain in it. Unable to save the State, except at the expense of the
capital by which it has been ruined, you have braved the clamors of the
gainers of money. When I saw you crush these wretches, I envied you your
place; and at seeing you quit it without departing from your system,
I admire you. Be satisfied with yourself, sir; the step you have taken
will leave you an honor you will long enjoy without a competitor. The
malediction of knaves is the glory of an honest man."

Madam de Luxembourg, who knew I had written this letter, spoke to me of
it when she came into the country at Easter. I showed it to her and she
was desirous of a copy; this I gave her, but when I did it I did not know
she was interested in under-farms, and the displacing of M. de Silhoutte.
By my numerous follies any person would have imagined I wilfully
endeavored to bring on myself the hatred of an amiable woman who had
power, and to whom, in truth, I daily became more attached, and was far
from wishing to occasion her displeasure, although by my awkward manner
of proceeding, I did everything proper for that purpose. I think it
superfluous to remark here, that it is to her the history of the opiate
of M. Tronchin, of which I have spoken in the first part of my memoirs,
relates; the other lady was Madam de Mirepoix. They have never mentioned
to me the circumstance, nor has either of them, in the least, seemed to
have preserved a remembrance of it; but to presume that Madam de
Luxembourg can possibly have forgotten it appears to me very difficult,
and would still remain so, even were the subsequent events entirely
unknown. For my part, I fell into a deceitful security relative to