Chapter 25 Chapter Ten-2

At the beginning of winter, I received another gesture of kindness from M. Maleserbes, which, though I did not think it acceptable, was very moved.At that time there was a vacancy in Le Scholar, and M. Marchancy wrote to me, as his own initiative, to propose the position to me.But from the wording of his letter (Packet C, No. 33), I can easily understand that he was instructed and ordered to do so; and he himself wrote to me later (Packet C, No. 4) No. 7), he was entrusted with this advice to me.This is a free job. I only need to write two abstracts a month, and someone will send the original book to me. There is no need to go to Paris, or even to thank the official in charge.In this way, I can be among the first-rate scholars of letters, such as Meuran, Clerault, M. de Guinness, and Father Barthelemy.I have known the first two people for a long time, and it is of course great that I can get to know the latter two.Besides, I could have an additional salary of eight hundred francs for doing such an easy and undifficult job.I considered it for hours before deciding, and I can swear that I only considered it out of fear of offending Margenty and M. de Maleserbes.However, in the end, I felt that I would not be able to work according to my time, and I could not stand the constraint of delivering manuscripts on time. More importantly, I was convinced that I could not do the tasks I had to undertake. These two reasons That overcame everything and made me decide to decline a position for which I was unfit.I know that all my brilliance springs from the love of the subject I have to deal with, and that only the love of greatness, of truth, of beauty can inspire my genius.What do the issues discussed in most of the books for which I am asked to write summaries, or even the books themselves, matter to me?Since I have no interest in what I have to write, my writing is naturally cold, and my mind is naturally dull.People think that I, like all other men of letters, write for a living, but in reality I have always only known to write with passion. This is certainly not what the Scholars needs.I therefore wrote to Marchancy a letter of thanks, in the most tactful terms, in which I gave my reasons in such detail that neither he nor M. Maleserbes could possibly misunderstand my refusal. There will be no element of sullenness or pride in it.So they both agreed to my refusal without giving me the slightest roll of the eye for it.And the secret of this matter has been kept very tightly, and the society has never heard of it.

This suggestion also came at an inopportune time, for for some time I had been making plans to abandon literature altogether, and especially the profession of a writer.Everything I've been through lately has made me hate those men of letters, and at the same time I've realized that it's impossible to do the same thing without having relations with them.I hate society as much, and in general I hate the mixed life I've been leading lately, half my own and half of those social circles that don't suit my life.I felt especially then, and from consistent experience, that any intercourse of unequal status is always at the disadvantage of the weaker side.I live with rich people who are different from the status I have chosen. Although my family does not need their ostentation, I have to learn from them in many things; all kinds of tips are nothing to them. For me, it is neither saving nor burdensome.When others go to live in a friend's villa, they have their own servants to accompany them no matter at the dining table or in the bedroom, and they send the servants to find what they need.Since he doesn't have any direct relationship with the master's servants, and he can't even see them, he only rewards them according to his own pleasure, rewarding them as he likes, and rewarding them whenever he likes.As for me, I am single and have no servants, so I have to rely on the servants of the master's family for everything, so I have to buy their favor so as not to suffer more.Being regarded as equal to their masters, I must treat them as servants, even more favorably than others, because in fact I need their service more than others.If the house didn't have many servants, it would be all right; but in the houses I went to, there were many servants, all arrogant, all cunning, and all alert--I mean because Their interests and vigilance, those bad guys know that way, make me constantly need to use every one of them.Parisian women are very clever, but they have no right conception of this; they try so hard to save me money that they ruin me.If I went to dinner in the city, a little farther from home, the mistress would not let me send for a carriage, but insisted that someone drive me back in my own carriage.She was very glad to save me twenty-four sous on the fare, but she could not have imagined the one crown I gave to the valet and coachman.If a woman writes to me from Paris and sends it to the Hermitage or Montmorency, in order to spare the postage of the four sous I should pay, a servant is sent to send it, and this servant comes on foot and runs full distance. He was sweating profusely, and I had to give him food, and I would also reward him with a crown. Of course, he was not at all guilty of getting this crown.If she suggested that I go to live in the country with her for a few days, she would always think in her heart: "For this poor boy, this is always a way of saving. During this period, he will not spend a penny on food." At this time, I can no longer work; my family, my rent, my underwear, and my clothes are still paid for, and I have to pay an extra for shaving. In short, living in her house Much more money spent than in your own home.Although the tips I gave were limited to the few families I used to live in, such rewards were inevitably a heavy burden to me.I can assure you that I spent twenty-five crowns at Madame Obernaudtot's house, when in fact I stayed there only four or five times.And at Epinay and Chevret, during the five or six years I was there frequently, I spent more than a hundred pistoles.For a person with a temper like mine who doesn't know how to take care of anything by himself, who doesn't know how to take tricks in everything, and doesn't like a servant who mutters and looks unhappy when he serves you, these tips must be spent.Even in Madame Dupin's house, I was at last a member of her family, and I did not know how much I was doing to the servants, but I was never served by them for a lot of money.At last I was obliged to give up these petty bounties altogether, for my circumstances no longer allowed me to do so; and it was then that I was more severely made to feel what it was to be in company with people of a higher rank than myself. Not suitable.

If this kind of life suits my taste, spending a lot of money to buy happiness can be comforted, but it is too embarrassing to go bankrupt to buy bitter food.I felt the heavy pressure of this way of life, so I took advantage of the gap in my free life at that time and made up my mind to continue this kind of free life forever. I completely gave up the upper class society, gave up writing books, and gave up all literary activities. My body is hidden in the small and peaceful world that I consciously live in. The proceeds of the "Letters to D'Alembert" and "The New Héloise" have made some improvement in my financial situation, which had been almost exhausted when I lived in the Hermitage.About a thousand crowns were still at hand."Emile", which I officially began to write after I finished "Heloise", is almost finished, and its income should at least double the above figure.I plan to save this sum, as a small life annuity, which, together with my copying income, will support me from writing.I still have two works on hand.One is "A Theory of Political Institutions". I checked the writing status of this book and found that it still needs several years of work.I didn't have the courage to write any more, or to wait until I had finished writing it before carrying out my decision.I therefore gave up the work, determined to extract what could stand alone, and to burn the rest; and I pursued this work with zeal, while continuing to write Émile without interruption. In two years, I'll have it sorted out.

The rest is "Dictionary of Music".This is a mobile job that can be done at any time, and the purpose is only to sell a few dollars.I reserve liberty to complete it or give it up at will, as my other incomes add up to make this income necessary or superfluous to me.As for the Ethics of Sensibility, it remained at the outline stage; I simply abandoned it. I have one final plan, that if I can live without copying at all, I will live far away from Paris, where the constant stream of unexpected guests makes my daily expenses too large without allowing I have time to make money.As I have such a final plan, and as it is generally said that writers sink into depression when they lose their pens, to prevent this depression in my solitary life, I have retained a work which I can use to fill the void, but definitely not wanting to go to press while alive.I don't know how Ray got it, he's been urging me to write my memoir for a long time.Though no facts had so far made such a work very interesting, I felt that it might be interesting with the kind of frankness I asked myself to put in; The authenticity of this memoir makes this a unique work that allows, at least once, to see into a person's inner world.I always laugh at the fake innocence of Montaigne, who pretends to admit his own shortcomings, but is careful to assign only a few lovely shortcomings to himself.For my part, I have always thought, and still think, that I am, on the whole, the best of men, and that no man, however pure his heart, can be without harboring a little vulgar vice.I know that people in society paint me too much less than who I am and sometimes distort me too much, so while I don't want to hide anything about my bad sides, I show my true colors Still only gain, nothing to lose.Moreover, if this kind of thing is to be done, it will be necessary to reveal the true colors of some other people, so this work can only be published after I and many other people are dead, which makes me stronger. Dare to write mine, I will never blush in front of anyone for this one.I resolved, therefore, to devote my spare time to this work well, and began to collect letters and materials which would lead or awaken my memory, deeply regretting what I had torn up, burned, and lost before.

This plan of absolute seclusion is one of the most reasonable plans I have made in my life. It is deeply imprinted in my mind. I have been preparing for the execution of this plan, but God has arranged for me again Another fate cast me into a new vortex. Montmorency, the ancient and graceful estate of the distinguished family which bore the name of the place, had been confiscated, and ceased to belong to the family.It was passed on to the Condé family by the sister of Duke Henry, who changed the name of Montmorency to Enghien.Now there is no mansion in this duke's land, only an old blockhouse is left, in which archives are hidden to accept the worship of the vassals.But at Montmorency or Enghien, there is a private house, that of Croizeze, called "The Poor," whose splendor rivals the richest mansions, and so is worthy of the name, And in fact, it is also called the mansion.The awe-inspiring aspect of the mansion, the terrace beneath it, its view perhaps unique in the whole world, its masterly painted halls, its famous The gardens that Nottle has cultivated—all these constitute a whole that, amidst awe-inspiring majesty, also has an indescribable simplicity that is admirable.The Duke Marshal of Luxembourg lived in this house at that time, and he came twice a year to the field where his ancestors had been masters, and spent five or six weeks in total. It does not diminish the old luxury of his home.On his first trip since my stay at Montmorency, M. and Ms. Marshal sent a waiter to greet me on their behalf, and to invite me to dine with them anytime.Later, every time they came, they never forgot to repeat the same greeting and the same invitation.This reminds me of the story in which Madame Bozinval asked me to dine in the servant's room.Times have changed, but I am still the same.I don't want to be asked to eat in the servant's room, nor do I have any intention of having dinner with my lord.I hope they will let me be what I am, and not praise me or humiliate me.I responded politely and respectfully to the kind greetings of Mr. and Mrs. Luxembourg, but did not accept their invitation.I was ill, crippled, shy, and inarticulate, and trembled at the thought of dealing with the dignitaries of the court, so I refused to even go to the palace to say goodbye, although I understood that my Visiting the mansion to pay their respects is exactly what they are after, and their repeated requests are more like curiosity than genuine favor.

The gestures of friendliness, however, kept coming and growing by the day.The Countess de Bouffry, who was very close to the Madame Marshal, sent to Montmorency to inquire about me, and to ask if she might come and see me.I answered politely, but didn't let go.Chevalier Lorenzi is a member of Prince Conti's palace and a guest of Madame de Luxembourg. When he traveled here on Easter the following year (that is, 1759), he visited me several times. We know each other. They urged me to go to the mansion, but I still refused.Finally, one afternoon, when I never expected it, I saw the Marshal of Luxembourg arrive, followed by five or six people.So there was no longer any way for me to evade; unless I was an arrogant and uneducated person, I could not fail to pay him homage and pay my respects to the Marshal's wife, because he had greeted me on behalf of the Marshal's wife, and was extremely respectful. Sincerely.In this way, under the ominous omen, our communication began. This kind of communication is really something I can no longer shirk, but before I accept it, I have always had an extremely well-founded premonition, Make me avoid it lest I have to hurry.

I am terribly afraid of Madame de Luxembourg.I know she is very kind, and ten or twelve years ago, when she was the Duchess of Bouffry, at the age of her first buds and her beauty, I was at the theater and at Madame Dupin. We have seen her several times.But she is said to be wicked, a reputation that shudders me in so high a lady's place.But as soon as I saw her face, I fell for her.I think she has a charming charm, and it is such a charm that can stand the test of time and is most capable of touching my heart.I expected to find her a biting and ironic discourse.It's actually not, and it's much, much better.Madame de Luxembourg's conversation was not witty, nor perpetually witty, nor even strictly speaking subtle, but had a delicious delicacy that was never startling and always delightful.The more unadorned her compliments, the more intoxicating they were, one could almost say they came off the lips, without thinking, but from her heart, simply because she was so effusive.From the first visit, I could see that despite my clumsy appearance and slow speech, I was not annoying to her.All ladies of court, when they will, know how to make you feel this confidence, whether it is true or not; but not all ladies of court know how to sweeten your confidence so much as Madame de Luxembourg. Cheers, it doesn't even occur to you to have any doubts about it.If it hadn't been for her daughter-in-law, the Duchess of Montmorency--a mad young woman, rather mischievous, I think, a little provocative--thought of trying to win me over, and step in when her mother-in-law was flattering me. Say something false and make me suspect that they are mocking me, and I have had complete confidence in Madame de Luxembourg from the first day.

It may be difficult to dispel my suspicions in the presence of these two ladies, but the extreme kindness of the Marshal confirmed to me that the kindness of their mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is also true.With such a shy character like me, the speed at which Mr. Luxembourg immediately believed that he was willing to treat me equally was amazing; If you are really willing to live an independent and unruly life, the speed may be even more astonishing.Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Luxembourg seemed for a moment to inquire into my purse or property; though I knew beyond doubt that they both They all cared about me sincerely, but they never offered to find an official position for me or expressed their willingness to support me.Only once did Madame de Luxembourg seem to want me to be a member of the French Academy.I declined on the grounds of different religions; she said it was not an obstacle, and if it was, she was responsible for removing it for me.I replied that although it was an honor for me to be a member of such a prestigious academic institution, since I had rejected M. Theresand, I could also say that I had rejected the King of Poland and refused to enter the Academy of Nancy for the sake of Fellow, I can no longer go into any bachelor's college and still be worthy of people.Madame de Luxembourg did not insist, and the matter was dropped.Monsieur de Luxembourg is and is indeed the king's personal friend, and with such a noble person who can do everything for me, how can he be so simple, recalling the friends who pretended to be protectors I have just left behind, always What a stark contrast to this simplicity was their incessant care, at once obliging and terribly obnoxious, of trying to belittle me instead of trying to help me.

When Monsieur the Marshal came to visit me at Mont-Louis, I was rather embarrassed to receive him and his retinue in my only bedroom, not because I had to sit him among my dirty dishes and broken pots. , but because my tattered floor sagged, for fear that his entourage would be so large that it would completely collapse under the pressure.I was not apprehensive of my own danger, but that this good gentleman should be in danger by his modesty, so I hastened him out, and led him, though it was still cold, to my airy, well-ventilated house. I went to a watchtower without a fireplace. As soon as he arrived at the watchtower, I explained to him why I had to take him there.He told the reason again to the marshal's wife, and they both urged me to move to the mansion, or, if I preferred, to live in an isolated house while the floor of the room was being repaired. , this house is in the middle of the garden, called "Little Mansion".This charming abode is worth our while.

The gardens of Montmorency are not built on flat ground like Chevrette's, but are undulating, interspersed with hills and depressions, which the ingenious artist uses to make the woods, waters, decorations, and scenes varied. It can be said that a piece of space that is quite limited in itself has been expanded how many times with the power of art and genius.The high part of this garden is the platform and mansion, the bottom forms a pass, stretches and expands towards a valley, and there is a large pool at the corner.The big pool is surrounded by hillsides, beautifully dotted with groves and tall trees, and an orange orchard is at the wide part of the pass.Between the orange grove and the big pool was the little mansion.The building and the surrounding grounds had formerly belonged to the famous Le Brun, the great painter who built and decorated the house with the exquisite beauty of his cultivated architecture and decoration.The mansion was rebuilt later, but it was still in accordance with the original owner's pattern.The house is small, simple, but elegant.Because it is at the bottom of the valley, between the small pond in the Orange Garden and the big pool, it is prone to damp, so a bright porch was inserted in the middle of the house, and columns were arranged on two floors to allow air to circulate throughout the house. The location is low in humidity and can still be kept dry.When you look at this house from the high ground that is the distant view of the house, the house seems to be surrounded by water. You almost think you have seen a charming island, or you have seen the three lakes in Lake Mayor. Isola Bella is the most beautiful of all the Boromy Islands.They told me to choose a room in this quiet building--there were four rooms in all, and a ballroom, billiards room, and kitchen on the ground floor.I took the smallest and simplest set on the top of the kitchen, and even occupied the kitchen below.The room was immaculately clean with white and blue furniture.It was in this deep and quiet environment, facing the surrounding forests, listening to the singing of various birds and smelling the fragrance of orange blossoms, I wrote the fifth volume of "Emile" in a leisurely fascination.Much of the freshness of the volume is due to the strong impression I had of the environment in which it was written.

How anxious I was every morning, when the sun was setting, to go out on that porch and breathe the sweet-smelling air!What a coffee with milk I had there, face to face with my Thérèse!My cat and dog were with us.This kind of company is enough to satisfy me for a lifetime, and I will never feel bored for a moment.I lived there as if I were living in paradise on earth; I lived as purely as in heaven, and tasted the same happiness as heaven. M. and Mme. de Luxembourg were so kind and kind to me during my stay in July that I, living in their house and being entertained by them, was obliged to see them often.In return for kindness.I stayed with them almost immediately: in the morning I went to see the Marshal's wife, and I lunched there; in the afternoon I went for a walk with the Marshal;Up until that point, everything was fine, and it wouldn't hurt if I knew enough was enough.But I never knew how to be in the middle of friendship, to limit myself to my social duties.All my life I have been either wholehearted or indifferent to people; and soon I became wholehearted.I saw myself entertained and pampered by such noble people, and I transcended the bounds, and developed with them a friendship which only is permitted to equals.I showed in my actions all the intimacy of this friendship, while they never relaxed in their actions the politeness to which they had accustomed me.However, I was not always at ease with the Marshal's wife, and though I was not quite at ease with her character, I was not so much afraid of her character as I was of her wit.In this respect especially, she holds me in awe.I know she's very critical of people in conversation, and I know she's entitled to it.I know that ladies, especially ladies, want to be pleased, and that you would rather offend them than bore them; How would you feel if you are slow in language.I thought of a supplement to save me from the embarrassment I felt talking to her.The way is to read to her.She had heard of the book "Julie" and knew it was in print, so she was eager to see it.As a courtesy, I offered to read it to her, which she accepted.I went to her room every morning around ten o'clock, and Mr. Luxemburg also came and closed the door, and I sat by her bed and read.My recitation is carefully arranged, even if they have no interruptions this time, it will be enough for the entire period of their stay.The success of this last resort exceeded my expectations.Madame de Luxembourg was infatuated with "Julie" and its author; she talked and thought only of me, and said nice things to me all day long, and hugged me ten times a day.She insisted that I sit beside her at the table; and when some distinguished guests wanted to take this place, she told them that it was mine, and invited them to other places.I am captivated by the slightest gesture of kindness, and imagine what effect these charming attitudes must have had on me.I was really attached to her, and she was equally attached to me.Seeing her fascinated like this, I feel that I am too little funny to keep her fascinated forever, so I fear that her fascination will turn into disgust, but unfortunately, this fear is too well-founded. There must have been a natural opposition between her temperament and mine, for besides the mass of stupidity which I frequently spilled out in conversation and even in letters, even when I was at my best with her, There were other things that displeased her.What is the reason, I can not think out.I will only give one example, but in fact I can give twenty examples.She knew that I was copying a copy of "Héloise" for Madame d'Houdetot, at a price per page; and she wanted a copy on the same terms.I agreed.I therefore counted her among my clients, and so I wrote her a very grateful and polite letter on the matter--at least it was my subjective wish.The following is her reply letter (Packet C, No. 43), which made me feel as if I fell from a cloud. Tuesday at Versailles I am delighted, I am satisfied; your letter has given me so much pleasure that I hasten to write to tell you, and thank you. The original wording of your letter is this: "Although you are an excellent customer, I find it difficult to accept your money. Ordinarily, I should pay for the pleasure of working for you!" About this In a word, I don't need to say more to you.I'm sorry that you don't always talk to me about your health. I don't care more about your health than yours.I like you with all my heart, and I assure you that I am so sorry to write to you, and how happy I should be if I could tell you to my face.Monsieur Luxembourg loves you and greets you heartily. As soon as I received this letter, without thinking about it, I hastened to write a reply stating that no unpleasant interpretations could be given to my words.Afterwards, I pondered for several days in a predictably uneasy mood, but I was still baffled.Finally, I wrote the following letter as a final reply: Montmorency, December 8, 1759 After the letter was sent out, I thought about that passage thousands of times.I understand it according to its original and natural meaning.Take all the meanings that others may give it, but, I tell you frankly, Madam Marshal, now I don't know whether I should apologize to you or you should apologize to me. These letters were written ten years ago, and I have often thought of them since then.The more I think about it today, the more confused I am: I never see that there is anything in that passage that offends her, or even merely offends her. As regards the manuscript of Héloise, which Madame de Luxembourg wanted, I should here say what I have conceived which gives it a distinct advantage over the other manuscripts.I have written another The Adventures of Sir Edward, and I have considered for a long time whether it should be inserted in this work, all or briefly, but I always feel that it is inappropriate to put it here.In the end I resolved to delete it entirely, as it was in a different tone from the whole book, and would detract from the charming simplicity of the book.Since I have known Madame de Luxembourg, I have a more powerful reason, that is, in this adventure, there is a Marquise from Rome with a very odious character, although some manifestations of this character cannot be applied to Madame de Luxembourg. , but in the eyes of people who only know her name, it is likely to be said to be an allusion to her.So I'm very grateful that I took this decision to delete, and I acted on it.But what a fool I was to decide to add something to her copy which was absent from any other, when I thought of those ill-fated adventures and decided to add it as a summary!The absurdity of my idea can only be explained by the blind fate which drags me down to ruin! Quosvultperaere Jupiter, dementat. I was so stupid that I spent a lot of effort and effort to compile this summary, and gave this article to her as a rare treasure.However, I declared to her in advance that I had already burned the manuscript, and that this abstract was only for her to read, unless she wanted to show it to others, and others would not be able to see it.But this kind of words not only failed to prove my prudence and meticulousness as I thought, but on the contrary, it showed her that I had a feeling that there were insinuations in some places, which would make her feel insulted.I'm so stupid that I'm absolutely sure she'll be pleased with me doing it.She did not, however, compliment me on the matter as much as I had expected, and to my great surprise she made no mention of the brief I sent her.As for me, I always felt that I had done a good job, and I was very happy, and it was only much later that I became aware of its consequences by other signs. For the sake of this copy, I have another idea, which is more reasonable, but because of some longer-term consequences, it is also harmful to me.It occurred to me to adorn this codex with the originals of the woodcuts from "Julie," since those are exactly the same size as this codex.I asked Cuander for the originals, which by any name should be my property, especially since I had already given him the proceeds of the engravings which were widely sold.Cuander is too cunning, and I am not too cunning.I pressed for the drawing a few times, and he knew what I was going to use it for.On the pretext that he wanted to add some decorations to these drawings, he left them with him for a while, and finally sent them himself. Egoversiculosfeci, tulitalterhonores. This brought him into the Luxembourg House, where he assumed a certain status.He had been coming to see me often since I had lived in the little mansion, always early in the morning, especially when M. de Luxembourg and Mme. de Luxembourg were at Montmorency.This made me spend the whole day with him instead of going to the Grand Palace.People blamed me for not going, so I told the reason.They urged me to take Mr. Cuander with me, which I did.This is exactly what the slicker has been pursuing.In this way, a small employee of M. Teruson, whom the master occasionally let him eat at the same table when there were no other guests, was invited to sit with the Marshal of France because he was so kind to me. , sat down with many princes, duchesses, and all the most distinguished persons of the court.I will never forget that one day, when he was going back to Paris early, the Marshal said to all the people present after dinner: "Let's go for a walk on the Saint-Denis road, and see off M. Couender." The poor boy was so flattered that he was almost bewildered.As for me, I was so moved that I couldn't even say a word.I followed, crying like a child, longing to kiss the footprints of the merciful marshal.The story of this manuscript predates many of my future events.Let us proceed in chronological order, as far as my memory permits. As soon as the little house at Mont-Louis was finished, I made it clean and simple, and went back to live in it.When I left the Hermitage I made it a rule that I should always have a place of my own.I can't give up this rule, but I can't bear to let go of my room in the small mansion.I just left the key of the room, and because I liked the special breakfast under the colonnade very much, I often went there to spend the night, sometimes staying for two or three days in a row, just like staying in a villa.I was perhaps the best-lived and most comfortable commoner in Europe at the time.My landlord, Monsieur Madas, the best man in the world, entrusted me with all the repairs of the Mont-Louis house, leaving me free to direct his workmen without his own interference.So I was able to convert a large room upstairs into a complete suite of smaller rooms, including a bedroom, an ensuite and a wardrobe.Downstairs was the kitchen and Theresa's bedroom.The watchtower became my study, with a nice set of glass panels and a fireplace.我住进去之后，又拿装饰平台作为消遣；平台上已经有两行菩提树庇萌，我又添上两行，构成一个绿荫环绕的书斋，我在平台上又放了一张石桌、几个石凳，环绕平台我又种了些丁香、山梅、忍冬，我还做了一个很美的花坛，跟两排树平行。这个平台比大府第的平台高，景色至少也并不稍逊，我在那里还养了无数鸟雀，它就成了我的大客厅，好接待卢森堡先生和夫人、维尔罗瓦公爵先生、唐格利亲王先生、阿尔曼蒂尔侯爵先生、蒙莫朗西公爵夫人、布弗莱公爵夫人、瓦兰蒂诺瓦伯爵夫人、布弗莱伯爵夫人，以及跟他们同样显赫的其他人物，他们都不惜走一段很累人的上坡路，从大府第来朝拜路易山。所有这些大人物来拜访我；都是由于卢森堡先生和夫人对我的厚爱：我是感到这一点的，心里对他们非常感荷。正是在这种感激心情的激奋之中，我有一次拥抱着卢森堡先生对他说：“啊！元帅先生，在认识你之前我通常是恨大人物的，自从你使我这么亲切地感觉到他们是那么容易得到人们的爱戴后，我就更恨他们了。” 此外，凡是在这个时期了解我的人，我都要问他们一下，他们可曾发现这种显赫的光焰曾有一时一刻眩惑过我的眼睛，这种香火的烟云曾有一时一刻熏昏过我的头脑？他们曾否看到过我在举止上就不那么始终如一了、在态度上就不那么质朴单纯了，对人民群众就不那么和蔼可亲了，对左邻右舍就不那么亲切随便了？我在能为人帮忙的时候，可曾有一次因为我讨厌人家不断添给我的那些无数的、并且常常是不合理的麻烦，就不那么爽快地为大家服务了呢？我的心固然由于我对蒙莫朗西府两位主人的衷心依恋而常把我吸引到那儿去，但是它也同样把我拉回到我的左邻右舍，使我尝到我认为除此而外就别无幸福可言的那种平淡而简单的生活的甜美滋味。戴莱丝交上了一个瓦匠的女儿——瓦匠是我的邻居，名叫皮约，我也就交上了那个父亲。为了讨好元帅夫人，我在上午不无拘束地在府第里午餐，午餐之后，我是多么急于跑回来跟那个老好人皮约一家，有时在他家，有时在我家。一起用晚餐啊！ 除了这两个住所以外，我不久又有了第三个住所，就在卢森堡公馆；公馆主人要我有时也到那里去看看他们，把我逼得太紧了，所以我尽管痛恶巴黎，还是不得不予以同意——自从我隐居到退隐庐以后，我到巴黎本来只有我在前面已经说过的那两次。不过现在我到巴黎，只是按约定的日期前去，完全为的是在那里用晚餐，第二天早晨就回来。我进出都是走面对环城马路的那座大花园，所以我可以极正确地说，我没有踏上巴黎街道。