All the same, la Popeliniere took the adventure philosophically and made a one-act play out of it, which he had acted at his little theatre in Paris.  Three months afterwards he got married to a very pretty girl, the daughter of a Bordeaux alderman.  He died in the course of two years, leaving his widow pregnant with a son, who came into the world six months after the father’s death.  The unworthy heir to the rich man had the face to accuse the widow of adultery, and got the child declared illegitimate to the eternal shame of the court which gave this iniquitous judgment and to the grief of every honest Frenchman.  The iniquitous nature of the judgment was afterwards more clearly demonstrated—­putting aside the fact that nothing could be said against the mother’s character—­by the same court having the, face to declare a child born eleven months after the father’s death legitimate.

I continued for ten days to call upon Madame X. C. V., but finding myself coldly welcomed, decided to go there no more.

CHAPTER VIII

Fresh Adventures—­J.  J. Rousseau—­I set Up A Business—­Castel—­Bajac—­A Lawsuit is Commenced Against Me—­M. de Sartine

Mdlle.  X. C. V. had now been in the convent for a month, and her affair had ceased to be a common topic of conversation.  I thought I should hear no more of it, but I was mistaken.  I continued, however, to amuse myself, and my pleasure in spending freely quite prevented me from thinking about the future.  The Abbe de Bernis, whom I went to see regularly once a week, told me one day that the comptroller-general often enquired how I was getting on.  “You are wrong,” said the abbe, “to neglect him.”  He advised me to say no more about my claims, but to communicate to him the means I had spoken of for increasing the revenues of the state.  I laid too great store by the advice of the man who had made my fortune not to follow it.  I went to the comptroller, and trusting in his probity I explained my scheme to him.  This was to pass a law by which every estate, except that left by father to son, should furnish the treasury with one year’s income; every deed of gift formally drawn up being subject to the same provision.  It seemed to me that the law could not give offence to anyone; the heir had only to imagine that he had inherited a year later than was actually the case.  The minister was of the same opinion as myself, told me that there would not be the slightest difficulty involved, and assured me that my fortune was made.  In a week afterwards his place was taken by M. de Silhouette, and when I called on the new minister he told me coldly that when my scheme became law he would tell me.  It became law two years afterwards, and when, as the originator of the scheme, I attempted to get my just reward, they laughed in my face.

Shortly after, the Pope died, and he was succeeded by the Venetian Rezzonico, who created my patron, the Abby de Bernis, a cardinal.  However, he had to go into exile by order of the king two days after his gracious majesty had presented him with the red cap:  so good a thing it is to be the friend of kings!