LEARNING A SPEECH. 245

at this. Madame de Saint-Simon, to whom he unbosomed him-
self, found means, through a subaltern, to obtain the discourse
of the Chief-President, and gave it to M. le Due de Berry, to
regulate his reply by. This, however, seemed too much for
him; he admitted so to Madame de Saint-Simon, and that he
knew not what to do. She proposed that I should take the
work off his hands ; and he was delighted with the expedient.
I wrote, therefore, a page and a half full of common-sized
paper in an ordinary handwriting. M. le Due de Berr}1" liked
it, but thought it too long to be learnt. I abridged it; he
wished it to be still shorter, so that at last there was not more
than three-quarters of a page. He had learned it by heart, and
repeated it in his cabinet the night before the ceremony to
Madame de Saint-Simon, who encouraged him as much as she
•could.

At about half-past six o'clock we set out—M. le Due d'Orl&ms,
M. le Due de Berry, myself, and M. le Due de Saint Aignan, in
one coach, several other coaches following. M. le Due de Berry
was very silent all the journey, appearing to be much occupied
with the speech he had learned by heart. M. d'Orl^ans on the
•contrary, was full of gaiety, and related some of his youthful
.adventures, and his wild doings by night in the streets of
Paris. We arrived gently at the Porte de la Conference, that
s to say—for it is now pulled down—at the end of the terrace,
.and of the Qnai of the Tuileries.

We found there the trumpeters and drummers of M. le Due
de Berry's guard, who made a great noise all the rest of our
journey, which ended at the Palais de Justice. Thence we went
to the Sainte Chapelle to hear Mass. The Chapelle was filled
with company, among which were many people of quality. The
crowd of people from this building to the grand chamber was
so great that a pin could not have fallen to the ground. On all
.sides, too, folks had climbed up to see what passed.

All the princes of the blood, the bastards, the peers, and the
parliament, were assembled in the palace. When M. le Due de
Berry entered, everything was ready. Silence having with
•difficulty been obtained, the Chief-President paid his compliment