6i6 RdrofpeSf of French Liierature.-^Novels and Romances. 



d'Elbeuf, a friend of his own. The 

 beauy of the young princcf* mkes a 

 lively inprefllon on his heart, but (he had 

 unliifkilv protluced the fame lenfation in 

 that <itheCard,nah 



The two rivals were not long in divln- 

 "ing the fecret inclinations ot each o'her, 

 and their former hatrc ' now became great- 

 ly augmented. At Ivngth, however, after 

 an apparent reconciliation, brought about 

 by mutual friends, the Count is emhold- 

 «ntd tofolidt the office ofgiand-chamber- 

 lain of the hoiifehold, wh ch, hlce every 

 other place of any confequence in the 

 ftate, was at the entire diCpofai of the 

 prime-miniiter. " Vour name alone {re. 

 phes the Csrdinal) gives you prctenfions 

 to this ilignity, but your inerit gives you 

 pretenfions to Hill hightr diltinttions. I 

 liave made up my mind on this Uibjefl, 

 and I have entrulled M. de Scnneterre, 

 who ponTefl^s your confidence, with fome 

 propoiitions, which will prove Ijow greatly 

 I honour, and how much 1 am attached, 

 to you " 



On his leturn home the Count de Soil- 

 fons imme'ia'f'ly fent for M. de Senne- 

 teire, his firft-jcnt'eman, and demant^ed 

 an account of the piopofitions with which 

 the Cardinal had entrulled him. . . . 



" What I have to communicate to yon, 

 Monfeigneur (replied he), is no lefs than 

 a plan by means of which you my be en. 

 abled to gain your law fuit with the 

 Prince de Conde ! 



*' Did the Cardinal promife to declare 

 openly againft him!" 



•' He will do fo, my Lord, be atTured ; 

 and in order to obtain his ("upport, not 

 only on this occifion, but during the re- 

 mainder of his life, )ou have nothing more 

 to do than to marry a very fine woman, 

 vvho, independent of her great btauty, 

 iKuft be coniitiered as one of the greateft 

 matches in Europe," 



On hearing this, the Count imagined 

 that it had been an alliance with I'omc fo. 

 r-ign princefs which was now aimed at, 

 who e family the Caniinal jvi/htd by that 

 mcde to attach to France ; and he accord- 

 ingly expreft'eH his dilapprobation at being 

 made a I'aciifice to liaie-ne-, illi v ; but 

 the chief.officer o! his houlehoid (oon re- 

 lieved liim from this cmbarrairmenr, to 

 tl'.iow him into a (tiil greaer. 



" Ti e Cardinal (continues he) makes 

 an offer to yoti of his nisce, Madame de 

 Comhelet." 



—*^ To me r" 



«• Confider, my Lord, the advantages 

 reiolting iicm luch an alliance : if the 

 Cardinal utters but i lingle word, tiie Par- 



liament will puhlifti an arret declaring 

 the Prince of Ccnde a baftard, and you 

 will be declared the heir of the family. 

 All the forces of the kingdom are at the 

 difpofal of the prime-miniller j . . . you 

 may command thern ; . . . the King has 

 not any chilcirtn, and his conftitution is fo 

 Vi;ry feeble, that there is but little hope 

 of a long life. . . . The Duke of Or- 

 leans is neither beloved nor rcfpetSed ; . . . 

 the nephew of the Cardinal may feize the 

 'town, and . . . ." 



The Count w< uld hear no more; but 

 with a voice deeply affcfled by the excefs 

 of hispafTion, he exclaims, " What, fliall 

 I lidly my hoi our, and that of my family, 

 by ludh a monftrous alliance ! Am I to 

 efpoufe Madame de Ci mbalet, the milfrefs 

 of her own uncle, of aji inceftucus and fa- 

 crilegioiis prieft ; ... in one fliort (tn- 

 tence, the opprobrium of the kingdom, 

 and t!ie horror of the human race ! The 

 Cardinal is the mod audacious man alive, 

 to make me fuch an offer. . • ." 



" My atiachtnent aioi e is to be blamed 

 upon this occalion (replies Scnnetei re, with 

 fome confu(ion), as the marriage appeared 

 to me to be the toad to the throne. . . ." 



On this the Count would hear no more, 

 but feizing him by the neck, and fhaking 

 him with violence, expreflVd himfelf as fol- 

 lows • 



" Who has ever told you, unworthy as 

 you are of the fituation you occupy . . ,- 

 who has ever told you that I would con- 

 fent to luch a horrid revolution in my na- 

 tive country ? What a6f ion in my whole 

 lift has ever fuggefted to you that I could 

 be envi us of a crown acquired by trea- 

 fon, infamy, and the lois of a reputation 

 which has always been ib dear to me V 



The pride and honour of the Count 

 foot! produced a fatal cataftrophe ; and 

 the romance concludes with an account of 

 hisdea'h, having fallen a viflim to the 

 arts and intiigues of the offended Cardi- 

 nal. 



" Irons nous a. Paris? Ou la Famille 

 de Jura. P.oman plein des Verites.'"— 

 Shall we go to Paris ? Or the Family of 

 Jura, a Romance replete with Truth, 

 i vol. I imo. 



Hie mignos potius triumphos, 

 Illc anies dici pater a. que pririceps. 



Horace, Ode 2. 



This novel commences with a defcrip- 

 tion of all the charafters intended to figure 

 in it. One of the family of Lombert, 

 inhabiting a little town in the department 

 of Jura, receives a letter from Pari*, 

 coiuaining a dclcription ot the great al- 

 teiation> 



