friend.
All whom he feared, he hesitated not to trample under foot; and his
favorite maxim, which he has a hundred times repeated to me, was, that
"we should never hesitate to set our foot upon the necks of all those
who might in any way interfere with our projects--dead men [he would
further add] tell no tales!" There was one person, nevertheless, whom he
detested and flattered at the same time, and this was Voltaire, who well
repaid him in like coin. He called the duc de Richelieu, the tyrant of
the tennis-court* (_tripot_), and the duke returned the compliment
by invariably designating him "Scoundrel" and "Poetaster"; the only
difference was that the duc de Richelieu only treated the poet thus in
_sotto voce_, whilst M. de Voltaire sought not to conceal, either in his
writings or conversation, his candid opinion of the illustrious duke
and peer; and he might justly accuse the duke of ingratitude, for he,
no doubt, owed a considerable portion of the reputation he enjoyed as
a general, to the brilliant verses in which Voltaire had celebrated his
exploits.

*La Comedie Francaise--tr.

The marquis de Chauvelin was equally skilful as a warrior and
diplomatist. Gentle, graceful, and witty, he joined to the most extreme
versatility of talent the utmost simplicity of character. Once known,
he could not fail of being valued and esteemed, and the king entertained
the most lively regard for him. The noble minded marquis was far from
taking advantage of his sovereign's favor, far from it; he neither
boasted of it, nor presumed upon it. This truly wonderful man died,
unhappily, too soon for me, for the king on whom he bestowed the sagest
counsels, and for foreign courts who knew and appreciated his worth.
I shall have occasion to speak of him hereafter; he had a brother, a
wicked little hump-backed creature, brave as Caesar, and a bitter enemy
to the Jesuits, whom he did not a little contribute to overturn in the
parliament of Paris, to which he belonged. The king detested this man
as much as he loved and cherished the brother, and that is saying not a
little.

The fourth guest was the duc de la Vauguyon, the really _perpetual_
tutor to the princes of France, for he had educated four successively.
He had displayed in the army both bravery and talent, but he was a
confirmed Jesuit, and conducted himself towards me upon the strictest
principles of his order. He will appear again on the scene hereafter,
but for the present