all this, and after supper, he went up to the little lady,
and said, 'You are an excellent friend.' 'I did my duty,' said
she, and immediately put her finger on her lips to enjoin him to
be silent. He, however, informed me of this act of friendship of
the little heroine, who had not told me of it herself." I admired
the Countess's virtue, and Madame de Pompadour said, "She is giddy
and headlong; but she has more sense and more feeling than a
thousand prudes and devotees. D'Esparbes would not do as much--most
likely she would meet him more than half-way. The King appeared
disconcerted, but he still pays her great attentions." "You will,
doubtless, Madame," said I, "show your sense of such admirable
conduct." "You need not doubt it," said she, "but I don't wish
her to think that I am informed of it." The King, prompted either
by the remains of his liking, or from the suggestions of Madame
de Pompadour, one morning went to call on Madame d'Amblimont,
at Choisy, and threw round her neck a collar of diamonds and
emeralds, worth between fifty thousand and seventy-five thousand
francs. This happened a long time after the circumstance I have
just related.

There was a large sofa in a little room adjoining Madame de
Pompadour's, upon which I often reposed.

One evening, towards midnight, a bat flew into the apartment
where the Court was; the King immediately cried out, "Where is
General Crillon?" (He had just left the room.) "He is the General
to command against the bats." This set everybody calling out,
"_Ou etais-tu, Crillon?_" M. de Crillon soon after came in, and
was told where the enemy was. He immediately threw off his coat,
drew his sword, and commenced an attack upon the bat, which flew
into the closet where I was fast asleep. I started out of sleep
at the noise, and saw the King and all the company around me. This
furnished amusement for the rest of the evening. M. de Crillon
was a very excellent and agreeable man, but he had the fault of
indulging in buffooneries of this kind, which, however, were
the result of his natural gaiety, and not of any subserviency of
character. Such, however, was not the case with another exalted
nobleman, a Knight of the Golden Fleece, whom Madame saw one day
shaking hands with her _valet de chambre_. As he was one of the
vainest men at Court, Madame could not refrain from telling the
circumstance to the King; and, as he had no employment at Court,
the King scarcely ever after named hi