532 
pan, and, just as he was, raw to the place 
where the entertainment was given, to 
scold his wife and servants. THe was 
oblized to descend by a terrace, and 
eross the’ garden, which was tolerably 
large, in order to reach the gardener’s 
house. The Marquis effected bis pur- 
pose inthe dark with great celerity : he 
suddenly epened the door of the ball- 
room, and the Marquis, to their utter as- 
tonisliment, appeared in his night-gown, 
barefooted (for he had lost his siippers), 
and’ two orthree night-caps on his head, 
his shirt blowimg about at the pleasure 
of tlie wind, bolding in-his haad the stew- 
pan with tle fragments of the ragout, and 
ervine out, “Tam peisoned! Tam poison- 
ed!” We then broke out it’ reproaches 
against his wife, and threatened’ his ser- 
wants to'discliarge them all, for having 
used copper stew-pans, contrary to his 
orders. They had much difficulty iv ap- 
peasing him; but refecting suddenly on 
thesituation inwhich lie was, and the dan- 
ger he ran in being exposed almost naked 
to the cold night air, he again relapsed 
into’ passion; however, they wrapped 
him up warm, and at last succeedea in 
ring him’to his apartments. 
These: incidents afforded Frederic a 
great subject for amusement, but without 
lessening’any of thé esteem he had for 
the Marquis; they merely weakened the 
consideration with which he had at first 
inspired him. The scrupulous and habi- 
tual superstition which he remarked in 
him, still added to the discredit of the 
hijosopher, in the opmion of the King. 
M.-Thiebault kas preserved some traits 
of this: last kind of weakness in the Mar- 
quis; they deserve to be related here, 
since they confirm what we have already 
said; and will be an example of the 
strange, if not ridiculous contradictions 
of men of learning of that day, ems 
ployed during the whole of their lives in 
combating superstition, or what they 
were pleased to call so; descanting upon 
matters which no person regarded, they 
Have been: frequently seen, towerds the 
conclusion of tlicir lives, to possess the 
weakness of old women, and to die with 
aij the’signs of a tardy conversion. 
The second cause of the discredit into 
which the Marquis fell, (says M. Thie- 
Bault,) was his own weakness and ‘folly, 
aud particularly on the sybyect of super- 
stition. He hadsuch a dread of death, 
that the verv idex of being threatened! 
with it could‘make tint be guilty of the 
most ridiculous extravagance. Owing to- 
to’ this disposition it- was; that, having. 
Memoir of the late Marquis I) Argens. 
heard, that the water of those whfo ap~ 
proacited the couclusion of their exist~ 
ence turned black in four-and-twenty 
hours, he was'a long time in the habit of 
keeping hisown in glasses, which he-ex- 
amined frequently in the day, till some 
people, who were let into the secret of 
this weakness, discovered his depdt, and 
privately mixed ink with it. This so 
dreadfully alarmed him, that they were 
obliged to confess the trick they had 
played upon him, in order to save him 
from a serious illness. 
The Marquis had’ made aw agreement 
_with the King, that, as soon as he should . 
have completed’ his sixtieth year, he 
should have: his fuil) dismissal, and be 
permitted to retireto France. This hour 
was waited for with great impatience, 
because the King was not in a humour to 
let hiin'go a third time; and'it was only 
by using a considerable degree of ad- 
dress, and promising to return at the 
end of six mnths, that he permitted 
the Marquis to depart, as will be seeu 
hereafter. 
He was the more impatient to return te 
his own country, as since the journey he 
undertook in 1763, his brother had ceded 
to hun some land he wished for, at Eguilles, 
of which he was the lord, to build a house 
and make a garden. The plan of both 
one and the other was settled between 
the brothers, and they immediately be- 
gan their labours. In 1766 all was 
finished ; the house quite ready, the gar- 
dens planted and in good order, entirely 
owing to the care of Monsieur d& 
Eguilles, his brother, President of the 
Parliament’ of Aix. ~ 
The clock at last struck—the Marquis 
had: attained his sixtieth year. For a 
long time no mention had been made of 
the agreement: whatever address the 
Courtier employed to recal the idea of 
it to his recoliection, the Monarch al- 
ways expressed a disinclinatiom to enter 
on the subject. He could not recur to 
it without exposing himself to cruel re- 
proaches, or to mortifications more 
cruel still> 
In 1768, he renewed his’ entreaties, 
and imagining that the King might’ not, 
perhaps, like himy to: take away the orie 
ginal letters which that Prince had writ- 
ten to him, he-sent'them to him, ranged’ 
in chronological order; and accompamed 
them by the following letter:— 
- €Sire! Dhave kept till this moment’ a® 
precious’ pledge of the confidence with® 
which your Majesty honoured >me. 
give them into~ your’ hands, ee 
