aving been
apprized of the invitation till too late to cause its rejection, she
vowed to make the triumphant countess pay dearly for her triumph; for
my own part I troubled myself very little with the success of madame
de Valentinois, which, in fact, I perceived would rather assist than
interfere with my projects. Hitherto I had not made my appearance at any
of the houses of the nobility when the princesses were invited thither;
this clearly proved to the public, in general, how great was the
opposition I experienced from the court party. I was now delighted
to prove to the Parisians that I was not always to lead the life of
a recluse, but that I could freely present myself at those parties to
which other ladies were invited. However, as my friends apprehended that
the comtesse de Provence might prevail upon her lady of honour not to
invite me, by the advice of the chancellor and the minister for foreign
affairs, it was arranged that I should for a week previous to the fete
feign a severe indisposition. It would be impossible to describe the joy
with which these false tidings were received by my enemies. We are
all apt to picture things as we would have them, and already the eager
imaginations of the opposing party had converted the account of my
illness into an incurable and mortal disease.

Every hour my friends brought me in fresh anecdotes of the avidity with
which the rumour of my dangerous state had been received, whilst I lay
upon what the credulous hopes of my enemies had determined to be my
death-bed, laughing heartily at their folly, and preparing fresh schemes
to confound and disappoint their anticipated triumph.

One very important object of consideration was my dress for the coming
occasion. The king presented me with a new set of jewels, and himself
selected the materials for my robe and train, which were to be composed
of a rich green satin embroidered with gold, trimmed with wreaths of
roses, and looped up with pearls; the lower part of this magnificent
dress was trimmed with a profusion of the finest Flemish lace. I wore on
my head a garland of full blown roses, composed of the finest green and
gold work; round my forehead was a string of beautiful pearls, from the
centre of which depended a diamond star; add to this a pair of splendid
ear-rings, valued at 100,000 crowns, with a variety of jewels equally
costly, and you may form some idea of my appearance on that eventful
evening. The king, who preside