la Popeliniere took the adventure philosophically and made
a one-act play out of it, which he had acted at his little theatre in
Paris. Three months afterwards he got married to a very pretty girl, the
daughter of a Bordeaux alderman. He died in the course of two years,
leaving his widow pregnant with a son, who came into the world six months
after the father's death. The unworthy heir to the rich man had the face
to accuse the widow of adultery, and got the child declared illegitimate
to the eternal shame of the court which gave this iniquitous judgment and
to the grief of every honest Frenchman. The iniquitous nature of the
judgment was afterwards more clearly demonstrated--putting aside the fact
that nothing could be said against the mother's character--by the same
court having the face to declare a child born eleven months after the
father's death legitimate.

I continued for ten days to call upon Madame X. C. V., but finding myself
coldly welcomed, decided to go there no more.

CHAPTER VIII

Fresh Adventures--J. J. Rousseau--I set Up A Business--Castel--Bajac--A
Lawsuit is Commenced Against Me--M. de Sartine

Mdlle. X. C. V. had now been in the convent for a month, and her affair
had ceased to be a common topic of conversation. I thought I should hear
no more of it, but I was mistaken. I continued, however, to amuse myself,
and my pleasure in spending freely quite prevented me from thinking about
the future. The Abbe de Bernis, whom I went to see regularly once a week,
told me one day that the comptroller-general often enquired how I was
getting on. "You are wrong," said the abbe, "to neglect him." He advised
me to say no more about my claims, but to communicate to him the means I
had spoken of for increasing the revenues of the state. I laid too great
store by the advice of the man who had made my fortune not to follow it.
I went to the comptroller, and trusting in his probity I explained my
scheme to him. This was to pass a law by which every estate, except that
left by father to son, should furnish the treasury with one year's
income; every deed of gift formally drawn up being subject to the same
provision. It seemed to me that the law could not give offence to anyone;
the heir had only to imagine that he had inherited a year later than was
actually the case. The minister was of the same opinion as myself, told
me that there would not be the slightest difficulty involved, and assured
me that my fortune