The 48 Laws Of Power

190 LAW 24

more

ridiculous;

itwouldbebettertomakeashowof

good

humor.

Still,

he

did

nothide

his

displeasure

well.

Talleyrand

decidedto

try

tosoothethe

general’s

bruised

ego.

Hetold

Napoleon

notto

go

backtoParis

yet-«he

should

againgohunting

inthe

park.

Therewere

many

rabbits

there,

and

hunting

themhadbeena.fa-

vorite

pastime

ofLouisXVI.

Talleyrand

evenoffered

tolet

Napoleon

use

a

setof

guns

that hadonce

belonged

toLouis.Withmuch

flattery

and

cajol—

ery,

heonce

againgotNapoleon

to

agree

toahunt.

The

party

leftforthe

park

inthe lateafternoon.

Along

the

way,

Napoleon

told

Talleyrand,

“PmnotLouis

XVI,

I

surely

won’tkillevenone

rabbit.”Yetthat

afternoon,

strangelyenough,

the

park

was

teeming

with

rabbits.

Napoleon

killedatleast

fifty

of

them,

andhismood

changed

from

anger

tosatisfaction.

Attheend

ofhis

wild

shootingspree,

however,

the

sameaide

approached

himand

whispered

inhis

ear,

“Totellthe

truth,sir,

I

am

beginning

tobelievethesearenotwildrabbits.I

suspect

thatrascalT31»

leyrand

has

played

another

joke

onus.”

(The

aidewas

right:Talleyrand

hadin

fact

senthis

servants

backto

the

market,

where

they

had

purchased

dozensofrabbitsandthenhadreleasedthemintheBoisde

Boulogne.)

Napoleonimmediately

mountedhishorseand

gallopedaway,

this

time

returning

straight

toParis.Helaterthreatened

Talleyrand,

warned

himnottotellasoulwhathad

happened;

ifhe

becamethe

laughingstock

of

Paris,

therewouldbehellto

pay.

Ittookmonthsfor

Napoleon

tobeabletotrust

Talleyrandagain,

and

henever

totallyforgave

himhishumiliation.

Interpretation

Courtiersare like

magicians: Theydeceptivelyplay

with

appearances,

onlyletting

thosearound

them

seewhat

they

wantthemtosee.Withso

much

deception

and

manipulation

afoot,

itisessentialto

keep

people

from

seeingyour

tricksand

glimpsingyoursleight

ofhand.

Talleyrand

was

normally

theGrandVlfizardof

Courtiership,

andbut

for

Napoleoifs

aide,

he

probably

wouldhave

gottenawaycompletely

with

both

pleasing

hismasterand

having

a

joke

atthe

generafsexpense.

But

courtiership

isasubtle

art,

andoverlooked

traps

andinadvertentmistakes

canruin

your

besttricks.Neverrisk

beingcaught

in

your

maneuvers;

neverlet

people

see

your

devices.

If

that

happensyouinstantlypass

in

peo

ple’sperceptions

fromacourtierof

great

manners

toa

loathsome

rogue.

It

isadelicate

gameyouplay;apply

theutmostattentionto

coveringyour

tracks,

andneverlet

your

masterunmask

you.