MEMOIRS OF A PHYSICIAN.
109
lation is equivalent to a failure in the production. A
thousand sacks of corn more in the granary are a
thousand sacks of corn less in the market-place. If you
only multiply these thousand sacks by ten, the corn
will rise considerably."
M de Sartines was seized with an irritating cough.
Balsamo paused, and waited quietly till the cough was
" You see, then," continued he, as soon as the lieu-
tenant of police would permit him, " you seo that the
speculator in these granaries is enriched by the amount
of the rise in value.   Is that clear to you?
"Perfectly clear, Sir," said Monsieur de bartmes;
" but as far as I can understand, it seems that you
have the presumption to denounce to me a conspiracy
or a crime of which his majesty is the author?
" Exactly," said Balsamo, " you understand me per-
e"1^at is a bold step, Sir; and I confess that I am
rather curious to see how his majesty will take your
accusation; I fear much the result will be precisely the
same that I proposed to myself on looking over the
papers in this box before your arrival. Take care, Sir,
your destination in either case will be the Bastile.
"Ah! now you do not understand me at all.
" How so?"                                          . .             .
" Good Heavens! how incorrect an opinion you form,
of me, and how deeply you wrong me. Sir, in taking
me for a fool ! What ! you imagine I intend to attack
theking—I, an ambassador, an inquirer! Why, that
would be the work of a simpleton ! Listen to the end,
pray."
M. de Sartines bowed.
" The persons who have discovered this conspiracy
against the French people—(forgive me for taking up
your valuable time, Sir. but you will see directly that
it is not lost)—they who have discovered this con-
spiracy against the French people are economists-
laborious and minute men, who by their carefnl inves-
tigation of this underhand game, have discovered that
the king does not play alone. They know well that his
majesty keeps an exact register of the rate of corn in
the different markets; they know that his majesty
rubs his hands with glee when the rise has produced
him eight or ten thousand crowns; but they know also
that beside his majesty there stands a man whose posi-
tion facilitates the sales, a man who naturally, thanks
to certain functions (he is a functionary, you must
know), superintends the purchases, the arrivals, the
packing—a man in short who manages for the king.
Now these economists—these microscopic observers,
as I call them—will not attack the king, for of course
they are not mad, but they will attack, my dear Sir,
the man, the functionary, the agent, who thus haggles
for his majesty."                                     ,                  ..
M. de Sartines endeavored in vain to restore the
equilibrium of his wig.
" Now," continued Balsamo, "I am coming to the
S oint.   Just as you, who have a police, knew that I was
ie Count de Fenix, so I know that you are M. de Sar-
" Well what then?" said the embarrassed magis-
trate    "Yes, I amM.de Sartines.   What a discovery 1
"Ah! but cannot you understand that this M. de
Sartines is precisely the man of the price list, of the
Underhand dealings, of the stowing away-he who,
either with or without the king's cognizance, traffics
with the food of twenty-seven millions of French peo-
ple whom his office requires him to feed on the best
possible terms. Now just imagine the effect of such a
discovery- You are not much beloved by the people;
the king is not a very considerate man. As soon as the
cries of the famishing millions demand your head, the
king—to avert all suspicion of connivance with you, if
there is connivance, or if there is no connivance, to do
Justice-will cause you to be.hung upon a gibbet like
Enguerrand de Marigny.   Do you recollect Enguer-
r*" Imperfectly," said M. de gartines, turning very
pale- " and it is a proof of very bad taste, I think, bir,
to talk of gibbets to a man of my rank.'
"Oh! if I alluded to it," replied Balsamo, "it was
because I think I see poor Enguerrand still before me.
I assure you he was a perfect gentleman from Nor-
mandy, of a very ancient family and a noble descent.
He was chamberlain of France, captain of the Louvre,
comptroller of finance and of buildings; he was Count
of Longuevile, which county is more considerable than
Tours of Alby. Well, sir. I saw him hung upon the
iallows of Montfaucon, which he had himself con-
structed ! Thank God, it was not a crime to have said
to hira before the catastrophe, 'Enguerrand, my dear
Enguerrand! take care —you are dipping into the
finfnces to an extent that Charles of Vafpis will never
pardon ' He would not listen to me, Sir, and unfor-
tunately he perished. Alas! if you knew how many
prefect!of police I have seen, from Pontius Pilate down
to M Bertin de Belille, Count de Bourdeilhes, Lord of
Brantôme, your predecessor, who first introduced the
lantern and prohibited the scales.
Mi de Sartines rose, and endeavored in vain to con-
ceal the agitation whiclfpreyed upon him.
" Well '"said he, "you can accuse me if you like. Of
what importance is the testimony pf a man such as
vou who has no influence or connexions?
y "Take care. Sir," said Balsamo; "frequently those
who seem to have no connexions are connected far and
wide; and when I shall write the history of these corn
speculations to my correspondent Frederick who you
know is a philosopher-when Frederick shall hasten to
communicate the affair, with his comments upon it, to
M Arouet de Voltaire-when the latter with his pen,
whose reputation at least I hope you know, shall have
metamoi^hosed it into a little comic tale mthege
ot L'homme aux quarante Eaus-when M. d'Alembert
that excellent geometrician, shall have calculated that
the corn withdrawn from the public consumption by
vou might have fed a hundred millions of men for
twoorftree years-when Helvitius shall have shown
that the price of this corn, converted into crowns ot
six livres and piled up, would touch the moon or into
bank-notes fastened together would reach to Saint
Petersburg—when this calculation shall have inspired
M delà Hlrpe to write a bad drama, Diderot a family
conversation? and M. Jean Jacques Rousseau of Ge-
neva, whohas a tolerably sharp bite when he chooses
a terrible paraphrase of this conversation, with his
Swn cômmeSes-when M Caron de Beaumarcha,8
-may Heaven preserve you from treading on is Itoes,
-shall have written a memoir, M. Grimm a little.let
ter, M. de Holbach a thundering attack, M de Mai
montel an amiable moral taie m which le^ kffi S-ou
bv defending you badly—when you shall .be spoken oi
K Cafe di la Régence the Palais Eoyal, at Audi-
net's, at the king's dancers' (kept up, as you know, by
M. Nicolet)—ah! Count d'Aiby, you will be in a much
worse case than poor Enguerrand de Marigny (whom
you would not hear me mention) when he stood under
the gallows, for he asserted his innocence, and that
with so much earnestness that, on my word of honor,
I believed him when he told me so."
At these words, M. de Sartines, no longer paying any
heed to decorum, took off his wig and wiped his bald
pate, which was bathed in perspiration.
" Well," said he, " so be it. But all that will not pre-
vent me in the least. Euin me if you can; you have
your proofs, I have mine. Keep your secret, I shall
keep the coffer."                                        ,               .
" Oh' Sir," said Balsamo, " that is another error into
which I am surprised that a man of your talents should
fall; this coffer-----"
" Well, what of it?"
"You will not keep."
"Oh!" exclaimed M. de Sartines, with a sarcastic
smile "true; Ihad forgotten that the Count de Fenix
is a gentleman of the highway, who rifles travellers
with the strong hand. I forgot your pistol, because
you have replaced it in your pocket. Excuse me, my
Lord Ambassador."
"But, good heavens! why speak of pistols, M. de
Sartines' You surely do not believe that I mean to
carry off the coffer by main force; that when on the
. *y   -_¦                »   .  _ .._______   i~«n    __:.-.yy    ~..-,s\    *t#-ii-it»   imioûi   _.ï*tt
carry on tne coner uy ui_iu iu.w:, ww ....... v_ ««.
stairs I may hear your bell ring, and your voice cry
' Stop thief I' Oh, no! When I say that you will not
keep this coffer, I mean that you will restore it to me
willingly and without constraint."
"What I!" exclaimed the magistrate, placing his
clenched hand upon the disputed object with so much
weight that he nearly broke it.
"Yes, you."                       ¦
"Oh! very well, Sir, mock away; but as to taking
this coffer, 1 tell you you shall only have it with my
life And have I not risked my life a thousand times?
Do I not owe it, to the last drop, to the service of his
majesty? Kill me—you can do so; but the noise will
summon my avengers, and I shall have voice enough
left to convict you of all your crimes. Ah, give you
back this coffer!" added he, with a bitter smile, "all
hell should not wrest it from me !"         "       ¦
"And therefore I shall not employ the intervention
of the subterranean powers. I shall be satisfied with
that of the person who is just now knocking at the gate
of your court-yard."
And in fact, just at that moment, three blows, struck
with an air of command, were heard outside.           .
" And whose carriage," continued Balsamo, is just
now entering the court."               ____'_'_               _
" It seems, then, that it is some friend of yours who
is coming to honor me with a visit?"
" As you say—a friend of mine."
"And I shail hand this coffer to him."
"Yes, my dear M. de Sartines, you will give it to
The lieutenant of police had not finished his gesture
of lofty disdain when a valet opened the door hastily,
and announced that Madame Dubarry wished for an
M de Sartines started, and looked in stupefied amaze-
ment at Balsamo, who required all his self-çommand
to avoid laughing in the face of the honorable magis-
Close behind the valet appeared a lady, who seemed
to have no need of permission to enter. It was the
beautiful countess, whose flowing and perfumed skirts
gently rustled as they brushed past the doorway of
the cabinet.
"You, Madame, you!" exclaimed M. de Sartines,
who, in the instinct of terror, had seized the open coffer
in both hands, and clasped it to his breast.
"Good-day, Sartines," said the countess, with her
gayest smile: then, turning to Balsamo, "good-day,
dear Count," added she, and she gave her hand to the
latter, who familiarly bent over the white fingers, and
pressed his lips where the royal lips had so  often
In this movement Balsamo managed to whisper a
few words aside to the countess, which Sartmes could
"Ah! precisely," exclaimed the countess; "there is
my coffer."                                »¦'¦     •
"Your cofferl" stammered M. de Sartines.
" Of course, mv coffer—oh! you have opened it, 1 see
—you do not observe much ceremony."
" But, Madame-----"                                   , .
"Oh! it is delightful 1 The idea occurred to me at
once that some one had stolen this coffer, and then I
said to myself—'I must go to Sartines; he will find it
for me.' You did not wait till I asked you; you found
it beforehand—a thousand thanks!"                .
"And as you see," said Balsamo, "monsieur has
even opened it."                              ,       ..      ~ •   _.   .
"Yes, really!—who could have thought of it. It is
odious conduct of you, Sartines!"                _«_._._
" Madame, notwithstanding all the respect I have for
you," said the lieutenant of police, "I fear that you
are imposed upon."                                                _____
"Imposed! Sir," said Balsamo; "do you perchance
mean that word for me?"           ___
" I know what I know," replied M. de Sartines.
" And I know nothing," whispered Madame Dubarry
in a low voice to Balsamo. " Come, tell me what is the
matter, my dear Count! You have claimed the fulfil-
ment of the promise I made you, to grant the first fa-
vor you should ask. I keep my word hke a woman of
honor, and here I am.   Tell me what must I do for
y°"kadame," replied Balsamo, aloud, "you confided
the care of this coffer and everything it contains to
m" Oteours^'Tiîswered Madame Dubarry, replying
bv a look to the count's appealing glance.
"Of course!" exclaimed M. de Sartmes, "you say
of course, Madame?"                                        . __„,_i,
"Yes; madame pronounced the words loud enough
to hear them, I should think."                .
for you to ue
" A box which contains perhaps ten conspn acies
" Ah! M. de Sartines, you are aware that that word
is rather an unfortunate one for you: do not repeat it
Madame asks for her box again; give it her—that is
"¦'"Do you ask me for it, Madame?" saidM.de Sar-
tines, trembling with anger.
" Yes, my dear Magistrate."
" But learn, at least-----"
Balsamo looked at the countess.                .
" You can tell me nothing I do not know, said Ma-
dame Dubarry; " give me the coffer; you may believe
I did not come for nothing?"
" But in the name of Heaven, Madame 1—in the name
of his majesty's safety-----"
Balsamo made an impatient gesture.
" The coffer, sir !" said the countess abruptly; "the
coffer—yes or ro!   Reflect well before you refuse."
As you  please,  Madame!" said  M.  de  Sartiness
And he handed the coffer, into which Balsamo had
already replaced all the papers scattered over the desk,
to the countess.                               «_.__'__        _._
Madame Dubarry turned towards the latter with a
charming smile.                                     ._._.,
" Count," said she, " will you carry this coffer to my ¦
carriage for me, and give me your hand through all :,
these ante-chambers thronged with villanous-looking ¦
faces which I do not like to confront alone. Thanks, ;
Sartines."                                                         «__'¦_        ?
And Balsamo was already advancing towards the door
with his protectress, when he saw M. de Sartines mov-
ing towards the bell.                                 .
"Countess," said Balsamo, stopping his enemy with,
a look, " be good enough to tell M. de Sartines, who is
quite enraged with me for having claimed this box—be
good enough to tell him how. much grieved you would
be if any misfortune were to happen to me through thç-
agency of the lieutenant of police, and how displeased
you would be with him."
The countess smiled on Balsamo.
" You hear what the count says, my dear Sartines?
—well! it is the simple truth. The count is an excel-
lent friend of mine, and I should be dreadfully angry
with you if you displeased him in any way whatsoever.
Adieu, Sartines !" And placing her hand in Balsamo's,
who carried the coffer, Madame Dubarry left the study
of the lieutenant of police.                               ....
M. de Sartines saw them depart without displaying
that fury which Balsamo expected him to manifest.
" Go !" said the conquered magistrate; " go—you have
the box, but I have the woman !"
And to compensate himself for his disappointment,
h » rang loud enough to break all the bells in the house.
Chapter CXXHL—Sartines Begins to Think Balsa-
mo a Sorcerer.
At the violent ringing of M. de Sartines' bell an usher
entered.                                                .               „,,
" Well !" asked the magistrate; " this woman?"
"What woman, my Lord?"
"The woman who fainted here just now, and whom
1 confided you to care."                   ,*_..»
" My Lord, she is quite well." replied the usher.
" Very good; bring her to me."
"Where shall I find her, my Lord?"
" What do you mean?   In that room, of course."
"But she is not there, my Lord."
"Not there.   Then where is she?"
"I do not know."
"She Is gone?"
"Yes."
"Alone?"
"Yes."
" But she could not stand."
" My Lord, it is true that for some moments she re-
mained in a swoon: but five minutes after the Count
de Fenix entered my lord's study, she awoke from this
strange fit, which neither essences nor salts affected in
the least. Then she opened her eyes, rose, and
breathed, seemingly with an air of satisfaction.
"Well, what then?"
" She proceeded towards the door; and, as my Lord
had not ordered that she should not be detained, she
was allowed to depart."                                     _'«.'__»
"Gone!" cried M. de Sartines. "Ahl wretch that
you are ! I shall send you all to rot at Bicetre ! Quick,
quick! send me my head-clerk!"
The usher retired hastily to obey the order he had
received.
"The wretch is a sorcerer!" muttered the unfortu-
nate magistrate. "I am lieutenant of police to th©
king, but he is lieutenant of police to the devil !
The reader has, no doubt, understood what M. de
Sartines could not explain to himself. Immediately
after the incident of the pistol, and whilst the lieuten-
ant of police was endeavoring to regain his equanimity,.
Balsamo, profiting by the momentary respite, had
turned successively to the four cardinal points, cmite
sure of finding Lorenza in one of them, and had or-
dered her to rise, to go out, and to return by the way-
she had come, to the Eue Saint Claude.
The moment this wish had been formed in Balsamo s
mind, a magnetic current was established between
him and the young woman, and the latter, obeying the
order she had received by intuition, rose and retired,
without any one opposing her departure.         ....
M. de Sartines that same evening took to his bed,,
and caused himself to be bled. The revulsion had
been too strong for him to bear with impunity; and
the doctor assured him that a quarter of an hourmore
would have brought on an attack of apoplexy.
Meanwhile, Balsamo had accompanied the countess
to her carriage, and had attempted to take his leave
of her, but she was not a woman to let him go thus,
without knowing, or at least without endeavoring tç>
discover, the solution of the strange event which had
taken place before her. She begged the count to enter
her carriage. The count obeyed, and a groom led
Djerid behind.                          .,    ,                       .
"You see now, Count," said she, "whether I am
true or not, and whether, when I have called a man
my friend, I spoke with the lips merely, or my heart.
I was just setting out for Luciennes, where the king
had said he would pay me a visit to-morrow morning;:
but your letter arrived, and I left everything for you..
Many would have been frightened at the words con-
spiracies and conspirators whieh M. de Sartines threw
in your teeth; but I looked at your countenance be-
fore I acted and did as you wished me."
" Madame," replied Balsamo, "you have amply re-
paid tbe slight service I was able to render you; but
with me nothing is lost—you will find that I can be
grateful. Do not imagine, however, that I am a cnmi- .
Sal—a conspirator, as M. de Sartines said. That worthy .
magistrate had received, from some person who be- ;
trayed me, this coffer, containing some chemical and
hermetical secrets—which I shall share with you, that
you may preserve your immortal, your splendid beauty,
and your dazzling youth. Now, seeing the ciphers of
my receipt, this excellent M. de Sartines called the chan-
cery clerk to assist him, who, in order not to be found
wanting, interpreted them after his own fashion. I
think I have already told you. madam, that the pro-
fession is not yet entirely freed trom the dangers
which were attendant on it in the middle ages. Only
young and intelligent minds like yours favor it. Id
short, Madame, you have saved ine from a great em-