At this time also, a rumour was current in Auvergne
that young Comte de M had tried to poison his
father in a dish of eggs and tripe. Whether there
was any foundation for this terrible charge, I cannot
say, but it is a fact that all the fathers in Auvergne
took the matter seriously. Terror reigned under the
domestic roof, and there was not a son who was
not suspected of parricidal intentions, and all the
heads of families talked of living without eating at
all, for fear of this fatal dish of eggs and tripe. Though only sixteen years old, I also came under this terrible imputation, and when, at the request or order of my father, the family council met, it was with no friendly feeling towards me. Without being heard in my own defence,—for the verdict was intended to be an agreeable surprise to me, I sup- pose, — I was accused, tried, and condemned by all my relatives, with one exception, — that of my cousin german, the Marquis de M , an officer in the First Regiment of Cavalry. And it cannot be said either that this family meeting was like that of la fausse Agnes.[1] There was my uncle, the mattre des comptes, my uncle the President de Salaberry, the Marquis de R , brigadier-general in the King's army, and my wise and respectable cousin M. Th , captain in the guards. I do not remember what other notabilities were present, except my belle tante, wheezing up and down the corridor, and my
- ↑ An allusion to a once well-known comedy by Destouches, acted at the Com^die Fran^aise in 1759.
