On Tuesday, the 15th of June, he went early to D’Antin’s Paris house.  Working this day with M. le Duc d’Orleans, I finished in half an hour; he was surprised, and wished to detain me.  I said, I could always have the honour of finding him, but not the Czar, who was going away; that I had not yet seen him, and was going to D’Antin’s to stare at my ease.  Nobody entered except those invited, and some ladies with Madame la Duchesse and the Princesses, her daughters, who wished to stare also.  I entered the garden, where the Czar was walking.  The Marechal de Tesse, seeing me at a distance, came up, wishing to present me to the Czar.  I begged him to do nothing of the kind, not even to perceive me, but to let me gape at my ease, which I could not do if made known.  I begged him also to tell this to D’Antin, and with these precautions I was enabled to satisfy my curiosity without interruption.  I found that the Czar conversed tolerably freely, but always as the master everywhere.  He retired into a cabinet, where D’Antin showed him various plans and several curiosities, upon which he asked several questions.  It was there I saw the convulsion which I have noticed.  I asked Tesse if it often happened; he replied, “several times a day, especially when he is not on his guard to prevent it.”  Returning afterwards into the garden, D’Antin made the Czar pass through the lower apartments, and informed him that Madame la Duchesse was there with some ladies, who had a great desire to see him.  He made no reply, but allowed himself to be conducted.  He walked more gently, turned his head towards the apartment where all the ladies were under arms to receive him; looked well at them all, made a slight inclination of the head to the whole company at once, and passed on haughtily.  I think, by the manner in which he received other ladies, that he would have shown more politeness to these if Madame la Duchesse had not been there, making her visit too pretentious.  He affected even not to inquire which she was, or to ask the name of any of the others.  I was nearly an hour without quitting him, and unceasingly regarding him.  At last I saw he remarked it.  This rendered me more discreet, lest he should ask who I was.  As he was returning, I walked away to the room where the table was laid.  D’Antin, always the same, had found means to have a very good portrait of the Czarina placed upon the chimney-piece of this room, with verses in her praise, which much pleased and surprised the Czar.  He and his suite thought the portrait very like.

The King gave the Czar two magnificent pieces of Gobelins tapestry.  He wished to give him also a beautiful sword, ornamented with diamonds, but he excused himself from accepting it.  The Czar, on his side, distributed 60,000 livres to the King’s domestics, who had waited upon him; gave to D’Antin, Marechal d’Estrees, and Marechal Tesse, his portrait, adorned with diamonds, and five gold and eleven silver medals, representing the principal actions of his life.  He made a friendly present to Verton, whom he begged the Regent to send to him as charge d’affaires of the King, which the Regent promised.