it drop, with theer qu'il struments, and to pay for them and

part

furt

bet

The

which had taken its place, and got
averdict;
that Beaumarchais
found himself engaged to clear his
reputation in a conflict

Française, who received the first wits of the day Chamfort, Rulhières, Marmontel, and others at her

most venal magistrature house, together with some of the

hich ever sat in his country, and his quarrel became of public importance, since the appointment of this false parliament had upset the only remaining protection against arbitrary power in France, and was detested throughout the kingdom.

29

La Blache, indeed, began by a brilliant stroke of Machiavellianism. He contrived to discredit ismat Beaumarchais with the royal Princesses, whose favour had done so much for the advancement of his adversary; he persuaded them that Beaumarchais had made an improper use of their names in the affair, and so got the Princesses to publish a declaration that they took no interest in his trial.

.མས་

But Beaumarchais himself, with that extraordinary facility which accompanied d him through life of getting into additional scrapes when already np to the ears in trouble, fell ell into new difficulty at the very outset, which had a most prejudicial effect on the the commencing stages of his trial.

grand seigneurs of the Court, and whom the Duke wwwas violently anxious to protect. Mademoiselle Menard, on her side, felt nothing but a wish to keep the Duke at a distance, though obliged to be careful, since, indeed, her theatrical prospects had suffered severely since she had refused to be protected by the Duc de Richelieu, who, notwithstanding his eighty years, a red nose, and a wrinkled parchment face, still thought he had claims to be a protector, and, as first gentleman-in-waiting on the King, was all-powerful in theatrical matters. Mademoiselle Menard, however, silly creature, fell violently in love with Beaumarchais, who, having this La Blache trial before him, with all necessity for keeping his head clear and his hands free, and no wish to come into collision with such grand seigneurs as the Duc de Richelieu and the Duc de Chaulnes, had, on becoming aware of the inclinations of the actress, avoided her house, and determined not to put himself in the way of The Duc de Chaulnes was a de- temptation. Six months passed scendant of the famous Duc de away, during which Beaumarchais Luynes, the favourite of Louis XIII. had kept out of the way of L Of immense muscular frame, with Menard, when one morning Beau& nature so savage, violent, and un- marchais's faithful friend and cashgovernable that all his family stood ier Gudin called on the actress, and in terror of him, this grand seigneur she burst into tears, and reproached had already been banished from Beaumarchais with having deserted France for outrageous conduct, her. The Duc de Chaulnes enters, when fate brought him into colli- hears Beaumarchais's name mension with Beaumarchais, During tioned, bursts into a blaze of wrath, his banishment he had been in the and flies off with threats of venEast, lived amonga the e Bedouins, geance. Gudin rushes away to and brought back an ape, whom he warn his friend, and was mounting shamefully ill-used, though it was the steps of the Pont Neuf when the only living creature he could he was seized violently by the get to stay with him. This furious skirts from behind, and fell back nature was nursed a state of into th ed into arms of the Duke, who ungovernable fury against Beau- bore him off under his arm like a marchais, by jealousy of the good bird of prey. Gudin faintly hopes graces in which the latter stood "M. le Duc will not murder him." with a certain Mademoiselle Men- The Duke replies, with an oath, he ac ard, an actress of the Comédie will murder nobody but Beaumar

the

La

and lodged him in the prison of For Evêque, there to reflect on the respect due to all ducs et pairs.

and turmoil prevented him from
showing.

Atlast Beaumarchais yielded This imprisonment of Beaumar- to the entreaties of his friends; chais, together with the scandal he wrote a suppliant and submiswhich the quarrel with the Duc de sive letter to the Duc de la VrilChaulnes raised about his name lière, and was allowed to emerge just at that time, was an incalcul- from his prison daily in the comable injury. He was on his trial pany of an agent de police, to go for forgery, and his adversary, the about the business of his trial, and Comte de la Blache, was going pay visits to his judges. But the about the world canvassing the shadow of discredit had fallen upon judges, and leaving no stone unturned to effect his ruin; while he himself was immured in a dungeon, addressing mémoire after mémoire to the Minister to get released and prove he was right. Foolish Beaumarchais if he had proved himself wrong, he would have been far more likely to get out of imprisonment; did not his own Barber of Seville say, if such wretches as he were allowed to be right, all authority was at an end for ever?

While Beaumarchais was pacing up and down his cell, and looking through the bars in grim despera tion at the state of his affairs, he received the following little note:

him, so that Judge Goezman, who
had been named his own rap-
porteur on the trial the judge
who was bound to make a special
examination of the merits of his
case, could not be so much as seen,
except for one moment by chance,
peeping through the blinds as his
suitor knocked at the gate, and then
drawing back. However, Beau-
marchais was surreptitiously in-
formed that, by sending a hundred
louis through a certain publisher
Le Jay, who would hand the same
over to Madame Goezman, one
audience at least might be ob-
tained. Beaumarchais hesitated
to begin to administer bribes to
his judges; but his sister Julie,
who always watched over his wel-
fare, paid fifty louis privately for
him; yet even then no audience
was to be had. She then paid
fifty more, and the audience was in-
stantly granted. It was, however,
a very unsatisfactory one. Judge
Goezman smirked satirically all the
time, and made every kind of trivial
objection. Beaumarchais, now des-
perate, bargained for another au-
dience through Le Jay. A gold
repeater watch, set with diamonds,
was sent to Madame Goezman; an-
other audience was then promised if

vous. J'ai l'honneur d'être, monsieur, votre bumble et très obéissant serviteur, CONSTANT.'

This note was written in the little hand of Constant Normand d'Etiolles, then ten years of age, who might even now be alive a very old man. He

Beaumarchais's little was of fifteen louis more were sent for the

who had lost a little boy of his own not long before, on which fact he touched lightly and feelingly in a charming note addressed to little Constant's mother in a note en closing a reply to her child for Beaumarchais had a tender-hearted love for children, which no trouble

secretary. These fifteen louis were
paid, but the audience was never
given. The trial before the Maupeou
Parliament came on: Goezman sum-
med up against Beaumarchais; and
judgment was pronounced reversing
the former decision of the veritable
Parliament. By this verdict Beau-
marchais was convicted of forgery,