"More or less," replied the Infanta; "a little light, a little absent; but, on the whole, a good enough young man."
"Why have you recommended him to the King of Poland, instead of recommending him to me directly?"
"To the King of Poland!—I? I have not written to him since I congratulated him on his succession."
"Then, madame, you have been deceived in this matter, since I have your last letter in my hands. Here it is; I return it to you."
The princess read the letter with attention; her astonishment was immense.
"My signature has been used without authority," she said. "Brisacier alone can be guilty, being the only one interested."
This new kind of ambitious man was summoned; he was easily confounded. The King ordered him to prison, wishing to frighten him for a punishment, and at the end of some days he was commanded to quit France and go and be made duke somewhere else.
This event threw such ridicule upon pretenders to the ducal state, that I no longer dared speak further to the King of the hopes which he had held out to me; moreover, the things which supervened left me quite convinced of the small success which would attend my efforts.
CHAPTER IX.
Compliment from Monsieur to the New Prince de Dombes.—Roman
History.—The Emperors Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, and Verus.—The Danger of
Erudition.