She also met an acquaintance, M. Denon, who introduced her to the Comtesse Marini, of whom he was then the cavalire servente; and who at once invited her to go that evening to a caf.
The next time they met he was secretary to Alexandre de Lameth. Trzia was standing on the steps of their h?tel with Mme. Charles de Lameth when he came with his hands full of letters.
FORE:A fashionable promenade was the boulevard du Temple, where every day, especially Thursdays, hundreds of carriages were to be seen driving up and down or standing under the shade of trees now replaced by houses, shops, and cafs. Young men rode in and out amongst them, notorious members of the demi-monde tried to surpass every one in the splendour of their dress and carriages. A certain Mlle. Renard had her carriage drawn by four horses, their harness studded with imitation jewels. It was not an age of imitation. In those days as a rule lace was real lace, jewels were real jewels, and if tawdry imitations and finery were worn it was by women of this class. Respectable people would never have dreamed of bedizening themselves with the sort of cheap rubbish with which the modern women of the lower classes delight to disfigure their houses and their dress.
They frequented the society of the Queen, went to balls, theatricals, and to suppers given by the esprits forts, such as the Marchale de Luxembourg, the old Duchesse de la Vallire, a great friend of M. de Beaune, who was a Noailles, and a contemporary of Louis XIV. [75]; also of the Marchale de Mirepoix, a leading member of society.Mme. Le Brun allowed her to have her own way [143] in all things; made herself a slave to her caprices, as she had always done; and when her friends remonstrated with her upon her folly, paid no attention to them, or replied that everybody loved or admired her child. Being engaged all day and unable to go out much with Jeanne, she allowed her to go on sledging parties with the Countess Czernicheff, and often to spend the evenings at her house, where she met and fell in love with the Counts secretary, M. Nigris, a good-looking man of thirty with neither fortune, talent, character, connections, or any recommendation whatever.Mme. Le Brun painted a remarkable portrait of Mlle. Fries, the great bankers daughter, as Sappho, she being an excellent musician. Also of the Baron and Baroness Strogonoff with whom she became very intimate.As Mme. Le Brun remarked in her own case: It is no longer a question of fortune or success, it is only a question of saving ones life, but many people were rash enough to think and act otherwise, and frequently paid dearly for their folly. Mme. de Fleury returned to Paris while, or just before, the Terror was raging, and availed herself of the revolutionary law, by which a husband or wife who had emigrated might be divorced. But soon after she had dissolved her marriage and resumed the name of Coigny she was arrested and sent to St. Lazare, one of the most terrible of the prisons of the Revolution, then crowded with people of all ages, ranks, and opinions.I recognised you directly in spite of your dress, your beard, your dyed hair, and false scar.CHAPTER IV
