Twenty-five candidates came forward to obtain the _indigénat_; twenty-four of them were set aside, the Prince alone was retained; but it required a unanimous vote, and three opponents came forward. “They were nearly cut down, and the violence of one of the nuncios,[30] who laid his hand on his sword, uttering very threatening words, nearly broke up the Diet, and my too zealous partisan had a narrow escape of losing his head. “I sought my opponents; I succeeded in overcoming their prejudices, and that so thoroughly that they said, with a grace and eloquence worthy of their country, that, in favour of an acquisition they considered so honourable, they would, each in turn, solicit the vote of one of their friends. Against all custom, I rushed into the nuncios’ hall, and embraced the mustachios of these three orators. It electrified me, for I began an oration myself--in Latin too! then I took them by the hand, and my advances resulted in a general _sgoda_,[31] which rang three times through the hall, nearly bringing it down, so great were the universal acclamations.” After having obtained the good graces of the Empress Catherine, laid out the Bishop of Wilna’s gardens, gained the _indigénat_, and become almost as popular at Warsaw as in Brussels, the Prince de Ligne, faithful to his word, arrived at Versailles to the very day, six months after having left it. FOOTNOTES: [24] The _indigénat_, though differing from naturalisation, conferred on those who obtained it all the privileges belonging to those indigenous to the soil. [25] An estate belonging to the Princesse Charles. [26] The Duchess had given birth to the Comte Armand-Jules de Polignac on 14th May 1780. [27] The Abbé Delille, born at Aigueperse on 22d June 1728, died in Paris on 1st May 1813. He was a member of the French Academy, and as a poet enjoyed European celebrity. Though spelt differently the name was pronounced in the same way. [28] _Grenadiers_ in French signifying both the soldier and the pomegranate tree. [29] It is said that Catherine’s _friendship_ for the Prince de Ligne became a warmer sentiment, and we are disposed to believe it when we read the sour letters that Grimm wrote to the Empress about the Prince, of whom he was jealous. It will be seen later on that he excited Potemkin’s jealousy as well. Be this as it may, the Prince was very discreet on the subject, as also on that of the political conversations he had with the Empress, for he relates nothing about them, not even in reference to Poland. We can hardly believe, however, that he did not touch upon the subject; the Princesse Charles was Polish, and Catherine might well suppose that her father-in-law and husband took some interest in that unhappy country. [30] The Polish deputies were called nuncios. [31] The _sgoda_ was the cry which announced the unanimity of the vote. VII