ess arrived there at the hour for her
toilet, having slept at La Muette, where Louis XV. had been to receive
her; and where that Prince, blinded by a feeling unworthy of a sovereign
and the father of a family, caused the young Princess, the royal family,
and the ladies of the Court, to sit down to supper with Madame du Barry.

The Dauphiness was hurt at this conduct; she spoke of it openly enough to
those with whom she was intimate, but she knew how to conceal her
dissatisfaction in public, and her behaviour showed no signs of it.

She was received at Versailles in an apartment on the ground floor, under
that of the late Queen, which was not ready for her until six months after
her marriage.

The Dauphiness, then fifteen years of age, beaming with freshness,
appeared to all eyes more than beautiful. Her walk partook at once of the
dignity of the Princesses of her house, and of the grace of the French;
her eyes were mild, her smile amiable. When she went to chapel, as soon
as she had taken the first few steps in the long gallery, she discerned,
all the way to its extremity, those persons whom she ought to salute with
the consideration due to their rank; those on whom she should bestow an
inclination of the head; and lastly, those who were to be satisfied with a
smile, calculated to console them for not being entitled to greater
honours.

Louis XV. was enchanted with the young Dauphiness; all his conversation
was about her graces, her vivacity, and the aptness of her repartees. She
was yet more successful with the royal family when they beheld her shorn
of the splendour of the diamonds with which she had been adorned during
the first days of her marriage. When clothed in a light dress of gauze or
taffety she was compared to the Venus dei Medici, and the Atalanta of the
Marly Gardens. Poets sang her charms; painters attempted to copy her
features. One artist's fancy led him to place the portrait of Marie
Antoinette in the heart of a full-blown rose. His ingenious idea was
rewarded by Louis XV.

The King continued to talk only of the Dauphiness; and Madame du Barry
ill-naturedly endeavoured to damp his enthusiasm. Whenever Marie
Antoinette was the topic, she pointed out the irregularity of her
features, criticised the 'bons mots' quoted as hers, and rallied the King
upon his prepossession in her favour. Madame du Barry was affronted at
not receiving from the Dauphiness those attentions to which she thought
hers