My
moderation was such, that the sphere in which I proposed to shine
was rather circumscribed, but then it was to possess the very
quintessence of enjoyment, and myself the principal object. A single
castle, for instance, might have bounded my ambition; could I have
been the favorite of the lord and lady, the daughter's lover, the
son's friend, and protector of the neighbors, I might have been
tolerably content, and sought no further.
In expectation of this modest fortune, I passed a few days in the
environs of the city, with some country people of my acquaintance, who
received me with more kindness than I should have met with in town;
they welcomed, lodged, and fed me cheerfully; I could not be said to
live on charity, these favors were not conferred with a sufficient
appearance of superiority to furnish out the idea.
I rambled about in this manner till I got to Confignon, in Savoy, at
about two leagues distance from Geneva. The vicar was called M. de
Pontverre: this name, so famous in the history of the Republic, caught
my attention; I was curious to see what appearance the descendants
of the gentlemen of the spoon exhibited: I went, therefore, to visit
this M. de Pontverre, and was received with great civility.
He spoke of the heresy of Geneva, declaimed on the authority of holy
mother church, and then invited me to dinner. I had little to object
to arguments which had so desirable a conclusion, and was inclined
to believe that priests, who gave such excellent dinners, might be
as good as our ministers.
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