I had more difficulty in freeing myself from the importunities of Messieurs de Broglie and de Maillebois. I had given to each of them a sort of promise; I had allowed them to hope, and yet, when the time came to realize these hopes, I told them, that I possessed much less influence than was generally imagined; to which they replied, that they knew my power to serve them was much greater than I appeared to believe. After a while, I succeeded in deadening the expectations of M. de Broglie, but M. de Maillebois was long ere he would abandon his pursuit. When every chance of success had left him, he gave way to so much violence and bitterness against M. d’Aiguillon, that the duke was compelled to punish him for his impudent rage. I will mention the other candidates for the ministry at another opportunity. CHAPTER XXVII The comte de la Marche and the comtesse du Barry--The countess and the prince de Condé--The duc de la Vauguyon and the countess--Provisional minister--Refusal of the secretaryship of war--Displeasure of the king--The maréchale de Mirepoix--Unpublished letter from Voltaire to Madame du Barry--Her reply The comte de la Marche had always evinced the warmest regard for me, and he sought, on the present occasion, to be repaid for his attachment. Both he and the prince de Condé had their ambitious speculations in the present change of ministers; and both fancied, that because their relation, the duke, had governed during the king’s minority, the right to the several appointments now vacant, belonged as a matter of course to their family. The count had already sent to solicit my interest, through the mediation of madame de Monaco, mistress to the prince de Condé; and, as I shrewdly suspect, the occasional _chère amie_ of himself. Finding this measure did not produce all the good he expected, he came, without further preface, to speak to me himself about it. Unwilling to come to an open rupture with him, I endeavoured to make him comprehend, that the policy of the sovereign would never permit his placing any of the administrative power in the hands of the princes of his family; that he had consented, most reluctantly, to investing them with military command, and that it would be fruitless to urge more. The comte de la Marche appeared struck by the justness of my arguments; he replied,