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A FAMOUS NECKLACE. 247
years
of age, seems to have been perfectly infatuated with the countess who,
though not beautiful, was witty and very taking in her manners.
At
length Madame de la Motte began to throw out hints about her
acquaintance with the Queen and to suggest that she might be the means
of restoring the cardinal to the royal favor. The cardinal believed
implicitly in her intimacy with Marie Antoinette and built high hopes
upon it, and not only the cardinal but many others likewise believed in
it, and besought the adventuress's favor at the hands of Her Majesty.
This may appear strange, seeing that the Queen and countess never
exchanged a word in their lives; but at court where nothing is ever
known exactly, but all things are possible, it is not easy to learn the
precise facts about anything. An adventuress in the days of Madame de
Mainte-non is said to have made her fortune by walking through that
lady's open door into the empty drawing-room and appearing for a few
moments
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