Reflecting that Henry, in this state of uncertainty, was
capable of the wildest acts, and that not less was to be feared
from his imprudence than from the Queen's resentment, I cudgelled
my brains to explain the RENCONTRE of the morning; but as the
courier, whom I questioned, confirmed the report of my agents,
and asseverated most confidently that he had left Madame in
Brussels, I was flung back on the alternative of an accidental
resemblance. This, however, which stood for a time as the most
probable solution, scarcely accounted for the woman's peculiar
conduct, and quite fell to the ground when La Trape, making
cautious inquiries, ascertained that no lady hunting that day had
worn a yellow feather. Again, therefore, I found myself at a
loss; and the dejection of the King and the Queen's ill-temper
giving rise to the wildest surmises, and threatening each hour to
supply the gossips of the Court with a startling scandal, the
issue of which no one could foresee, I went so far as to take
into my confidence MM.
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