is clear enough, although even upon its first appearance the Duke de Praslin thought fit to apply the sketch to himself, and showed his resentment towards the author of it in a very tangible manner. ‘Sincerity and cheerfulness are the chief characteristics of this minister, who in every office and embassage enjoyed by him has always appeared, like Anacreon, crowned with roses and singing of joys in the midst of the most arduous labours. He is by nature inclined to idleness; nevertheless, he toils as if unable to live at rest, and abandons himself to this easy and idle life so soon as he feels he is free. His natural capacities and his happy state of cheerfulness, his sagacity and his activity in affairs of importance, never give him cause for uneasiness, nor do they produce _wrinkles on his forehead_; and although it is necessary to have lived a long time with a minister to be able to describe his character, to say what degree of courage or weakness he possesses, how far he is prudent or cunning, I am able to say, from the present moment, that —— is shrewd and discerning without being deceitful or crafty. He is but little susceptible to hatred and to friendship, although on several occasions he has appeared to be completely under the influence of the one or the other; for, on the one hand, he is separated from his wife, he hates her and does her no harm; on the other, he has a mistress, he cherishes her and does her no great good. Upon the whole, he is certainly one of the merriest and most agreeable ministers in Europe.’[78] Repudiating the charge of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, D’Eon says:— ‘Unable to apply to himself all the good in this portrait, the Duke de Praslin has applied to himself all the evil as suiting him best; such, for instance, as the wrinkles or horns on his forehead, weakness and knavery, the little loved wife, the much loved mistress, neither of which is the better nor the worse in consequence. M. D’Eon will learn by this how circumspect one should be. He will take it as a rule that every time the portrait of a ridiculous man at a foreign court is depicted, there will always be somebody at Versailles to resemble him.’[79] D’Eon has not left us without a rough outline of the Duke de Nivernois, to whom he was devotedly attached. ‘... His only fault is the coquetry to please everybody; coquetry which often secures to us more enemies than true friends, but which, notwithstanding, has never chilled the sentiments of admiration and gratitude that I have vowed to him.... Is any greater proof needed of the coquetry and desire to please everybody than this _exemplum_?