I laughed at their puerile maneuver, and said they would,
had they known the real state of things, have thought of some other
means of inspiring me with fear: but the rumor at length became such
that I perceived the matter was serious. M. and Madam de Luxembourg
had this year come to Montmorency in the month of June, which, for
their second journey, was more early than common. I heard but little
there of my new books, notwithstanding the noise they made at Paris;
neither the marechal nor his lady said a single word to me on the
subject. However, one morning, when M. de Luxembourg and I were
together, he asked me if, in the Contrat Social, I had spoken ill of
M. de Choiseul. "I?" said I, retreating a few steps with surprise;
"no, I swear to you I have not; but, on the contrary, I have made on
him, and with a pen not given to praise, the finest eulogium a
minister ever received." I then showed him the passage. "And in
Emile?" replied he. "Not a word," said I; "there is not in it a single
word which relates to him." "Ah!" said he, with more vivacity than was
common to him, "you should have taken the same care in the other book,
or have expressed yourself more clearly!" "I thought," replied I,
"what I wrote could not be misconstrued; my esteem for him was such as
to make me extremely cautious not to be equivocal."
He was again going to speak; I perceived him ready to open his mind:
he stopped short and held his tongue. Wretched policy of a courtier,
which, in the best of hearts, subjugates friendship itself!
This conversation, although short, explained to me my situation,
at least in certain respects, and gave me to understand that it was
against myself the anger of administration was raised.
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