THE AMOURS OF THE DAUPHIN WITH THE COUNTESS du Rourre.  
LONDON, Printed for R. Baldwin 〈◇〉 the Oxford-Arms-Inn, in Warwick Lane, 1695.   

THE AMOURS OF THE DAUPHIN WITH THE Countess du Rourre.  
MOst Men give a different account of the Dauphin's Amours, and Intrigues with the Ladies; but it is most certain that the Countess de Rourre is the Person who has the ascendant over all the rest; and were Romances as much in Vogue at this time, as they have been, we should have wherewith to satisfy those who love the Amorous and witty Intrigues that Prince has hitherto been engaged in; and prosecuted by the most secret and most concealed means, of which we will nevertheless relate some Fragments: For let Princes of his Rank be never so cautious, it is impossible to keep them from the knowledge of those who are acquainted with those about them.  
The Dauphin has a Noble Air, tho' he is none of the Tallest, he grows very bulky, his Breast is very high, and his Shoulders very broad; he is very Fair; his Eyes are blue, and he has a pretty long Face, a great Roman Nose, and in all likelihood he will grow very Fat.  
It is very well known that he loved the Countess du Rourre before she was Married, when she was Maid of Honour to the late Dauphine, and that his flamme revived after her Husband was killed at the battle of Fleurus.  
The Countess is of a middle size, but very well shaped, her Eyes are blue, large and lively, her Mouth small and read, her complexion is admirable, her Arms and Hands incomparable, but her Nose is somewhat short, and turned up before, which nevertheless becomes her very well.  
She is Daughter to the Duke de la Force, her Mother was Daughter to the marquis de Courtaumer, whose first Husband was the marquis de Langet: But after having been married Five or Six Years to him, being dissatisfied, she desired to be partend, and in order thereunto, she accused him of Impotence.  
A solemn Assembly was summoned for his trial, by the Chancery of the archbishopric of Paris; in which Physicians, chirurgeons, and Matrons did assist; But the marquis de Langet, being injured and abused by his Wife, who scratched his Eyes, and several other parts of his Face, could not know her, whereupon the Judges gave a Decree of separation, annulled the Marriage, and declared the marquis Impotent, allowing her to mary another. In consequence whereof she married the Duke de la Force, Brother to the late Marshal, by whom she had but one Daughter, who is the Beauty we are now describing, who married the Count du Rourre, whose Widow she is at present.  
Monsieur de Langet likewise married again to the Duke de Nouailles Sister, and has had several Children by her; which shows that those sorts of trials often prove useless, neither indeed are they any longer in Vogue.  
At the time of the last Jubilee of this present Year, 1694. which the Pope sent for the Peace, the King ordered the Archbishop of Paris and the Bishop of Meaux to go to the Dauphin, to entreat him to forsake the Countess du Rourre.  
Those Prelates accordingly repaired to the Prince, and remonstrated to him, that being the first Man in the Kingdom, next to the King's Person, he ought to show by his Example that he was above all other Men. That the Love of Women was but a Terrestrial Pleasure, which was not to be compared to the delights of Heaven, which could not be gained without quitting the Creatures, to devote ourselves absolutely to the Creator: That this great Jubilee was a very favourable occasion; and that in forbearing to visit Madam du Rourre, he would do a very acceptable thing towards God and towards the King his Father, who had ordered them to speak to him about it.  
The Dauphin, who is a very witty Prince, and who out of Policy does not say all he thinks, received this compliment with a great deal of Mildness, and after having given them a very patient hearing, thanked them for their good Advice, and addressing himself to the Archbishop of Paris,  told him very gravely, that he was glad the King had pitched upon him to make those Remonstrances to him, because he had ever heard that he was very well skilled in those Matters. That the Respect he had for, and owed the King his Father, would make him do what ever he desired: That he had an absolute Power over him; but yet that he was of Age, and that in matters relating to his Conscience, he thought he might have his liberty: And that tho' he was sensible that none but the King his Father could presume to find fault with it, yet he had much ado to believe that it came directly from him, since he was sensible himself; but that he rather thought it proceeded from Madam de Maintenon's Advice, who might assure her self he would never consent to her promotion to the height she aspired to.  
After this the Prince, raising his Voice a little higher; said, Since the King my Father, Gentlemen, takes so much care of my Conscience, I wonder he has not hitherto taken some to employ me; Do you think I am not weary of Hunting? His Majesty indeed has sent me on the Rhine, where there was nothing considerable to be done; I have seen nothing there but tired Forces, and Misery, which has killed more of our Men than the Sword, or Fire: against the Prince of Baden, his Majesties Godson, who indeed is a great General; but who was so well retrenched, that four Armies of a Hundred Thousand Men a piece would have perished sooner than have forced his Retrenchments, as the Marshal de L'Orge  told me, while I daily heard the Glorious Actions that passed in Flanders; and when I had a mind to force him, all the Officers being of my mind, and very eager to signalise themselves, Marshal de L'Orge broken all the measures of the Voices which were of my side in the Council, saying, that it could not be done without Orders from the Court. Consider whether this is reasonable, when a Dauphin of France is at the Head of an Army, and whether he ought not to have an absolute Power to Fight, or to make the Army retire, according as he thinks fit, without the General's being answerable for it, since he should obey him? But since things have been ordered thus, I can assure you, that I will make no more Campaigns without an absolute Power.  
Moreover, continued he, the King my Father's Natural Children have all been provided for before their being born; the one has been made High-Admiral, the other Colonel of the swissers. The Count de Tolose has been all along between the Kings Legs, and still follows him wherever he goes, which several Officers complain of, by reason that whenever they have any Favours to beg of his Majesty, that young Prince hinders him from answering them, ●●ill starting one thing or another which hinders the King from hearing their Suits; and the rest have had considerable employments; The Duke du main has been almost the sole possessor of all the great Places, notwithstanding the Infirmity of his Body, and his hardly being able to stand. The Daughters have been provided for, and married very advantageously to Princes. The late Prince of Conti married one of them; the Duke de charters, Son to his Royal Highness the Duke of Orleans my Uncle, has married another, and you know the rest. And the Duke of Burgundy my Son, who is very lawfully begotten has nothing yet, no more than the Princes his Brothers; and I, who am Dauphin of France have so much Authority, that the King's Officers resuse to pay Madam du Rourre's Pensions, because 'tis known that I have a respect for her; there is almost Three Years due to her, and when I poke to Pontchartrain about it, she  told me there was no Fund; he who gets upwards of Six Millions a Month profit up on the Sale of the Corn of the Kingdom, which makes so many Wretches starve, and makes the whole Kingdom fall into decay, insomuch that, if it continues, there will not remain two thirds of the People alive.  
You will also shortly see the Duke Du main Duke and Peer of France; the King has already given him a dispensation, so that no body is to examine his Life and Conversation, and express Letters to hold a rank above all the other Dukes and Peers and Foreign Princes, immediately after the Princes of the Blood.  
This actually came to pass as the Dauphin had said it, for on Thursday being the sixth of May, of the present year 1694. The King sent for the Parliament to Versailles, and the only thing he said to them, when they came on the Friday, was, Gentlemen, the Duke Du main will carry you a Letter from me to morrow, the Orders whereof you must Execute. The first President, who was prepared to harangue his Majesty upon the Subject of the Misery of the Times, and about the dearth of Corn, had no sooner opened his mouth to begin his Speech, but the King retired without giving any ear to it. And on Saturday being the eighth of May, the Duke Du main was received in the Parliament, being accompanied with the Count of Tolose his Brother, to whom it is reported, the King will give a considerable duchy, in order to his obtaining the same advantage, and Orders are also given to provide a Magnificent Equipage for him to make his first Campaign.  
The Archbishop of Paris and the Bishop of Meaux having heard all the Dauphin's Complaints, durst press him no farther, but took their leave of him very respectfully, and then went back to the King to give him an account thereof; whereupon his Majesty thought sit to sand for the Dauphin into his Closet, and at the same time sent for two Lords, who are the most beloved by that Prince, to speak to him in their Presence, who were the Duke of Vendome, and the Count De Sainte-Maure his Favourites.  
When the Dauphin came into the Closet, his Majesty was seated in a great Chair, leaning upon a Table, he moved his Hat a little, which he had on contrary to his wonted custom, and without moving from his Seat, he desired Monsieur de Sainte-Maure to lock the Door, and then began thus:  
I am sorry, my Son, at your discontents, and yet I do not find our affairs to be in a posture for us to fall out, you receive Councils which you ought not to follow; you may be sensible that whatever I have done hitherto, has only been for the Repose, and for the Grandeur of the Kingdom, as well as for the good of the Crown, which you may hope for one day, and thus all my toils and Victories are more for you than for myself; you may go to Command where ever you please, in Germany, in Flanders, in Catalonia, and in piedmont, and you shall have an absolute Power when it will be fit: You shall always dispose of such Employments as you please in favour of the Princes your Children, as well as of such Friends as you shall be minded to gratify, to which you will ever find me ready to comply. There is no man in the Kingdom in whom I repose a greater confidence than I do in you; and if hitherto you have not had as much Money as you could desire, I have only done it to show you the scarcity of it, and the reason of my sending you into Germany, was because I was unwilling to expose you against a Prince who is the Usurper of a Crown.  
His Majesty having said many other obliging things to him, rose from his Seat, and embraced him so tenderly, that the Dauphin could not forbear some Tears, which produced the same effect on Messieurs de Vendome, and de saint Maure: After which his Majesty having madeseveral other Remonstrances to him, which it would be needless to repeat, as being perhaps of very little moment, he opened the. Door himself, and ordered the Usher to call in Father La Chaise, Confessor to that Prince, as well as to his Majesty, who had been ordered to wait without, and related to him, in the Dauphin's presence, the Conversation he had had with him: The Father answered, Sir, I do no ways concern myself with affairs of State, in relation to his Royal Highness, I only meddle with what relates to his Conscience, a method I have ever observed with your Majesty. The King smiled, and was very well pleased with his Reply.  
His Majesty, who has the most penetrating Wit of any Man in his Kingdom, and has an Extraordinary Policy, did not think fit to press the Dauphin any farther about the Jubilee, which passed without being gained by that Prince.  
Immediately after Low Sunday, the King being at Table,  told the Dauphin that he was desirous to go to Choisi, and asked him whether he would let him be his Guest for some time, because he liked the place, and desired him to give him an apartment there. The Dauphin expressed a great deal of seeming joy at it, and  told the King he might dispose of all things, and do whatever he thought fit; however he acquainted the Countess du Rourre immediately with it, who used often to go there, and actually was there at that time, who withdrew forthwith.  
Orders were given at the same time to Furnish an Apartment for his Majesty, which was done with all the Magnificence imaginable, with the richest Furnitures that were at Marli. Another Apartment was also furnished a-new for the Dauphin, with certain movables that had been made on purpose for Pleasures, which did remain there.  
The whole Court went to Choisi, and the Dauphin received the King there with great Magnificence, and gave him the Divertisement of Hunting, as well as to the Ladies.  
His Majesty, after two days stay there, resolved to return to Versailles, at a time when all the young Princes and Princesses were engaged in the midst of Pleasures and Delights, and while many others were preparing for the following days; which the Princesses de Conti and du main being unwilling to quit so soon, desired the Dauphin to join with them to Petition the King, that they might tarry two days longer, which were Saturday and Sunday; which his Majesty granted, on condition that the Princesses de Lillebone and d' Epinoy should remain with the Princess of Conti to answer for her Conduct towards the Dauphin; his Majesty not being displeased with th'inclination he has for that Princess, because his Majesty by that means has been acquainted with many particulars relating to him, which he could never have known without the Princess of Conti; but those who are about that Princess, as well as those who are about the Dauphin, observe them so narrowly that it is impossible for them to do any thing that is unlawful together, as some ill Tongues have endeavoured to persuade the World; and it is most certain that all the Love which this Prince and that Princess express towards one another, is nothing but Fraternal Love, and if they are so narrowly watched, 'tis only because that the King having at present laid aside all thoughts of Gallantry with the Ladies, as well as many other things, to apply himself wholly to the Devotion which Madam de Maintenon inspires in him, and to the affairs of his Kingdom; he is very curious to know all that passes among the young People of his Court, as well as in the Houses of the Grandees, to which end he employs several persons, who give him a particular account of all Transactions there, as well as among the Gentlemen of the Gown. And he seems to be inclinable to the humour of Lewis the 11th. who towards the latter end of his days locked himself up in a Castle, which he caused to be barred on all sides, and sent for St. Francis de Paulo out of Calabria in Italy, who was surnamed the Good Man, and was highly reputed for his Godliness, to secure him against all the Visions and Fears he had of Death and the Devil; and in recompense, his Majesty allowed him to Found two Convents of Minims, which to this day are called less Bons hommes. The Fears his Majesty is also liable to from time to time, oblige Madam de Maintenon to be employed for the most time, and particularly in the Night, in throwing holy water up and down, and especially in all the Apartments and Chambers, in which his Majesty most commonly resorts.  
The King being gone for Versailles, all those young Princesses renewed their Divertisements with the young Princes and Lords who tarried behind with them. The Dauphin Treated them with the sport of Hawking and walking. After which, that Troop of demigods repaired to Paris, to see the New Opera which was represented for the second time at the Palace-Royal, the Story of which was that of Cephalus and Procris, the music of which was composed by Mademoiselle de la Guerre.  
During these Transactions, the Countess du Rourre confined her self into a fine House which the Dauphin has given her, built by the late Baptiste lul, near the Gate of St. Honore, where she would receive no Visits, whether it were because she was not as yet publicly acknowledged Mistress to his Royal Highness, or because she found her self indisposed by a great Belly of six or seven Months growth. And whereas an absence of ten or twelve days was too long a Penance for a Lady who had the happiness to find her self engaged to love a Man of the Dauphin's Quality, with more tenderness than ever she had loved any other, it obliged her to writ the following Letter to him.  
LETTER.  
DId I know you to be engaged at the head of your Armies, my dear Prince, or on a Progress with his Majesty, I would comfort myself with the hopes of your return; but knowing that you are at home, surrounded by a Court, in which I have a world of Enemies, and Persons who envy my happiness, I cannot bear so long an absence with patience. The Travels of Joyeux and of Dumont, which you have sent me can no wise divert my Affliction; since nothing but yourself can ease my pains and s●fferings. Therefore do not leave me long in the Dread I am in, that a new Engagement should make you forget my Passion for you. It will be your fault, my Dear Prince, if it does not last for ever: Let that convince you of my Despair, in case I should lose the affection of a Prince whom I will love to the very last moment of my life.  
The Dauphin who had put this Letter into his Pocket, could not forbear pulling of it out from time to time to red it over again, for fear of not having understood the sense of it right at first, or of Madam du Rourre's being worse than she said; which being observed by the Princess of Conti, she followed him softly, and at last snatched it dexterously out of his hands, without his being able to prevent it; after which she run away laughing to the Princesses of Lillebone and d'Epinoy, who surrounded her with other Ladies. The Dauphin endeavoured to retake it from her, but in vain, and whatever instances he could make, the Princess refused to return it to him, saying she was sure it was a Letter from a Lady. Pray, said she, let me see the style of it, and how she describes her Passion; She pronounced these Words with an Air so charming, and so full of Gallantry, that it would have obliged any Man, besides the Dauphin, to yield, tho he had not been a Votary to the fair Sex; besides all the other Ladies who were present did second her with so much Grace, saying, Sir, you cannot, without unkindness, refuse the reading of it to the Princess, since she never concealed any of her Concerns from you, and that we daily hear her say, that nothing in the World will ever make her depart from your interest; that at last he was forced to consent that she should red it, provided none besides her self did see it. The Princess of Lillebone  told him, Sir, I give the Princess leave to red it alone, and we will withdraw as long as you please, on condition that you shall not enter into the Wood, for I will not suffer the King's Charge to be out of my sight.  
The Princess of Conti, stroking her Cheek gently, answered, no my Dear, we will not move out of your sight. After which the Dauphin, taking her by the Arm, lead her to a Seat of Green Turf, where none but the Birds could hear them, and even they, would have been interrupted by the noise of the Ducks of the adjoining Cascades, and by the great number of Fountains, which, spouting their beautiful Crystal into the Air, fall with an agreeable noise into the basins again.  
It was in this Place the Princess  told the Dauphin, after she had opened and red his Letter, Ah! I thought this Letter came from the Countess du Rourre, I did suspect no other, the poor Lady is sick, she dies unless she sees you; nothing but a Dauphin can cure her: her Expressions are very common; certainly she is the most impudent Woman I know at Court. She and Polignac are alike; they debauched each other out of Emulation to have Lovers; while they belonged to the Dauphin, and while that Princess was busy with acquainting the Elector of Bavaria her Brother with all the Transactions of the Court, they stolen away cunningly to divert themselves with certain Courtiers and yourself: I am sensible that you had an Engagement with her at that very time, and I have heard the poor late Count du Rourre say with my own Ears that he cursed the day he was married with that wretch. That poor Gentleman, taking his leave of the King to go to the Army, coming out of his Majesties Chamber,  told a Friend of his who came to embrace him, that he was in hopes never to return, upon the account of the discontents he did receive from his Wife; and I do verily believe it was despair made him expose his Life at Fleurus, as much as his Duty to the King; and I am mistaken, if I have not heard that it was a Friend of the said Lady who killed the poor Count behind, that his Wife might have no body to control her.  
Is it not very honourable to have such a Mistress! sure it is a shane for a Prince of your Rank to think on such Wretches, who have already been prostituted, and to whom the first comer is welcome.  
I will moreover acquaint you with the weakness the Prince of Turenne had for her, for when her Huband died, he resolved to profit by it, and to apply himself to her, which he did, and fell so desperately in Love with her, that it had like to have broken off his Match with Mademoiselle de Ventadour, the richest Heiress of the Kingdom, and even after he was married to her, the Engagement he renewed with Madam du Rourre, made him despise his Wife; and the thing went so far, that he designed to part with her; but the Combat of Steenkerque, in which he was killed, broken all the Measures he had taken for the said Separation, in order to give himself wholly up to her, and he has given sufficient proofs of the reality of his Passion for her, and that he loved none but her self; for finding himself mortally Wounded, and given over by the surgeons, he neglected the care of his Affairs, and made no other use of half an hours life which he had left, but to writ a very moving Letter to that Lady, which he had no sooner ended, but he gave it to a Gentleman, and ordered him to deliver it into her own hands, together with a little Casket, and then expired in the Marshal of Luxemburg's Tent, where that General had ordered him to be brought, in order to his being the more carefully looked after: The said Letter was partly written in these words.  
LETTER.  
I Die, Madam, and nothing but the grief of quitting, and of losing you, raises any trouble in me, the Glory of my Death, and the undauntedness with which I have ever looked on Perils, can comfort me when I think that I shall never see you more. My life was only agreeable to me, in hopes of passing it with you. I return you all the tokens I have received of your Love, together with your Picture, which I have ever cherished to my death. Pray honour my Memory with some moments of your remembrance: And tho I dare not hope that my unhappy Fate will draw any tears from you, the Passion I have preserved for you to my latest breath, flatters me that you will be concerned at the death of a Prince who only desired to live for you.  
This Gentleman, who was the most faithful of all the princes Followers, and who had been page. to his Father, promised to perform his Master's Orders punctually, and to deliver the Letter and Casket into Madam du Rourre's own hands. And this poor Prince causing the said Casket to be opened, put a Bloody Cravat into it, which had served to bind up his first Wound, and then delivered the Key to the said Gentleman, who immediately took Post for Paris, to do his Master this last piece of service, with a positive Command from him to acquaint the said Lady with his Death, before he went to the Hotel d' Auvergne, which he performed punctually; but whereas he could not reach Paris until Three in the Afternoon the following day, he did not meet with Madam du Rourre, but being informed she was gone to divert her self with the Princesses of Soissons, who were retired into the Convent of Mercy, in the Faubourg St. Germain, after the death of the Princess of Carignan their Grand-mother; he repaired thither without pulling off his Boots, all over covered with dust. At his coming in, Madam du Rourre, seeing the Casket which he held in his hands, made a great shriek, and fell in a swoon, in which she remained until the Princesses drew near her, to assist her; and the first word she spoken was, Alas! the poor Prince of Turrenne is dead; the Princesses telling her that she frighted her self without a cause; she replied, Alas! that Casket convinces me but too much of it; for the Prince of Turrenne has but too often sworn to me that I should never see it again until while he was alive. The Gentleman having confirmed this ill news, the Princesses expressed all the concern at it, which good natured Ladies use to do on such occasions, and comforting Madam du Rourre upon her loss, desired her to open the Letter, which she did, shedding some Tears: Alas! said she, I lose a Prince who loved no body but myself in the World.  
This Death being indifferent to the Princesses of Soissons, who fancied that in opening the Casket they would find some of the Favours which Lovers commonly keep for the sake of their Mistresses, as we red in Romances, pressed her earnestly to open it, having a mind to divert themselves at her Cost, which she did not mind; and having opened it, the first thing that offered itself to their sight, was the Bloody Crevat which the Gentleman assured them was his Master's; and that after having applied it to his first Wound, he had still done several Actions which were almost incredible, the bravery of which the Princesses admired; and Madam du Rourre seemed all the while to weep bitterly; the next thing they found was her Picture, the Case of which the Prince had caused to be set with Diamonds; the Princesses having observed the Workmanship of it, which was incomparable, admired the Picture, and the true Resemblance of it, and smiling,  told Madam du Rourre, some other Man will be overjoyed to have this fine Picture; which made her smile also. The Gentleman preceiving the inconstancy of the Lady could no longer endure the sight of her, but went out holding his Handkerchif before his Eyes. They also found some Bracelets, and Lockets, and several of the Countess du Rourre's Letters, which she would not suffer them to red: The Princesses kept her to Supper, and made her lye there, where they passed the Evening at Play. The next Day they all went to divert themselves in the Country, and the Prince de Turenne's Death was soon forgotten by Madam du Rourre.  
This Story has been talked of sufficiently in the World, as well at Court, as among the Citizens of Paris, where the said Lady is known for what she is.  
The Dauphin having heard this long Discourse, and the Story of Madam du Rourre, with the Prince de Turenne, was going to reply to the Princess of Conti, in favour of the aforesaid Lady: But the Princess arose as it were in anger, but yet without saying any thing of it to the Princesses de Lillebonne, and d'Epinoy, the whole Assembly walked into the Hall where the Play was represented, and where the music had already played several times.  
During all the Play, the Dauphin kept close to the Princess's Ear, who hearkened but indifferently to what he said; and the Play being ended, he Conducted her to her Apartment, where he owned the Engagement he had had with Madam du Rourre, acquainting her with the least Circumstances of it, all the Rendezvous he had had with her, and finally the present state of his affairs with her, how she had  told him that she was with Child, and how by her Flatteries, and Amorous behaviour, she had engaged him to aclowledge the Child to be his.  
The Princess who remembered every Syllable of all this, made an exact relation of it to the King, to which she added many other Circumstances. The King sent for Joyeux, Valet de chamber to the said Prince, who confirmed what ever he knew of it, and laying all the Intrigue at Du Mont's Door, who was Master of the Horse to the said Prince, and his chief Favourite, the King sent an Order to the Dauphin to dismiss him, the Dauphin being surprised thereat, and not daring to disobey the King's Orders, answered, that since Du mount was not agreeable to his Majesty, he hoped he would not take it amiss if he disliked those he had placed near him, and so dismissed them also. The King finding that this occasioned Disorders, sent a Signet Letter to the Countess du Rourre to confine her into Normandy, at her Uncles House the marquis de Courtaumer. But the Lady excusing her self upon her Indisposition, and the Dauphin having made a noise about it, that affair has been prosecuted no farther: The Countess has received the Money of the Pensions which were due to her, and the Prince seems at present to be very well reconciled with the King his Father; but the Countess du Rourre goes no longer to Court as she used to do.  
FINIS.