Memoirs of the Comtesse Du Barry: With Minute Details of Her Entire Career as Favorite of Louis XVLamothe-Langon, Etienne-Léon, baron de
History
Memoirs of the Comtesse Du Barry: With Minute Details of Her Entire Career as Favorite of Louis XV
Lamothe-Langon, Etienne-Léon, baron de
Du Barry, Jeanne Bécu, comtesse, 1743-1793
The delirium of poor Anne continued for some time to find utterance,
either by convulsive gesticulation, half-uttered expressions, and,
occasionally, loud and vehement imprecations. At length, quite exhausted
with her violence, which required all the efforts of her brother to
subdue by positive force, she sunk into a state of insensibility. The
priest, on his knees, implored in a loud voice the mercy of Providence
for the king and all his subjects. Had any person conceived the design
of working on my fears so far as to induce me to abandon a life at
court, they could not have succeeded more entirely than by exhibiting
to me the scene I have been describing. Had not many contending ideas
enabled me to bear up under all I saw and heard, my senses must have
forsaken me; under common circumstances, the aspect of the brother alone
would have terrified me exceedingly; and even now, I cannot recollect
without a shudder, the looks of dark and sinister meaning he alternately
directed at me and at comte Jean. At this moment, the doctor who had the
charge of the unhappy girl arrived. The warmth and eagerness of manner
with which he addressed me directly he perceived my presence, might
have proved to all around that I was not the hateful creature I had been
described. This well-timed interruption restored me to the use of my
faculties, and repulsing the well-meant attentions of my medical friend,
I exclaimed, “Do not heed me, I conjure you, I am only temporarily
indisposed. But hasten to that poor girl whose dangererous state
requires all your care.”
My brother-in-law, recovering himself by a strong effort, profited by
the present opportunity to remove me into another apartment, the pure
air of which contributed to cool my fevered brain; but my trembling
limbs refused to support me, and it was necessary to apply strong
restoratives ere I was sufficiently recovered to quit the fatal spot. At
Trianon, as well as at Versailles, I was considered absolute mistress;
those of the royal household, who were aware of my being at the former,
earnestly solicited me to retire to the chamber I had occupied on the
preceding night, but to this arrangement the comte and myself were
equally opposed. A sedan chair was therefore procured, in which I was
rapidly transported back to Versailles.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account