"Chateaubriand," exclaimed the King, "I did not see you yesterday!"
"Sire, I was told too late that Your Majesty had done me the honour to name me for your dinner-party: also, it was Whit Sunday, a day on which I am not allowed to see Your Majesty."
"How is that?" asked the King.
"Sire, it was on Whit Sunday, nine years ago, that, when I came to pay my Court to you, they forbade me your door."
Charles X. seemed touched:
"They won't drive you away from the Castle of Prague."
"No, Sire, for I do not see those good servants here who showed me out on the day of prosperity."
The whist-playing began and the day came to an end. After the rubber, I returned the Duc de Blacas' visit:
"The King," he said, "has told me that we were to have a talk."