■WKnlmflW It II MWlmHHtlW* ! ;;*! ' ' ' '-'j wwnvimivfmtuui Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 with funding from Getty Research Institute https://archive.org/details/madamedemontespaOOwill r MADAME DE MONTESPAN FRANCOISE ATHENA IS DE ROCHECHOUART (Marquise df. Montespan) From the Engraving by Etienne Picart \ ryi /: v ! ;oBD3H T JOM HCI ^iA/IHH'VA ( / A'i^.S' r /.oM ■: ■ ‘ 3* 1 >Jy ; 1 n ’ •j y.,- yiH x/.vnv* .•! vi : w^wtv 'v-»\ '•' MADAME DE MONTESPAN BY H. NOEL WILLIAMS AUTHOR OF "MADAME RECAMIER AND HER FRIENDS" "MADAME DE POMPADODR,” ETC. “La jalousie est le plus grand de tous les maux et celui qui fait le de pitie aux personnes qui le causent .” — La Rochefoucauld. WITH SIXTEEN PHOTOGRAVURES NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS raoins 1 9°3 THE J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM LIBRARY - PREFACE Voltaire in his Siecle de Louis XIV. justifies the space which he devotes to the intrigues of the Court on the ground that the period of which he is treating possesses such extraordinary fascination for the student of history that even the most trivial details can hardly fail to interest his readers. Voltaire’s apology might, I venture to think, be in itself a sufficient one for the present volume, were any needed. But this is far from being the case. For Madame de Montespan was something more than the mistress of le Grand Monarque, the mother of legitimated princes and princesses, the woman whose blood flows to-day in the veins of half the Royal Houses in Europe ; she was the symbol of her age, the spirit of seventeenth-century France incarnate. In her we find almost all the best and the worst characteristics of the great epoch in French history — an epoch which attained the furthest extremes in both good and evil — its dignity and splendour, its genuine admiration for literature and art, its exquisite courtesy, its light-hearted gaiety, its brilliant wit, side by side with its arrogance and egotism, its senseless prodigality, its flagrant disregard of the moral law, its gross superstition. In studying her life we are studying not her alone, but the whole society of which she was the representative. PREFACE Radiant, and joyous, and “ beautiful as the day,” for twelve long years — years which, by a singular coincidence, are among the most splendid in her country’s annals — this woman dominated the whole Court of France, denied political influence by her royal lover, it is true, but denied nothing else, glorying in her dishonour, contemptuously defying the devots and the envious men and women who surrounded her to wrest the sceptre from her grasp. Once indeed, when, for a brief moment, the eloquent pleading of Bossuet prevailed, she received orders to leave Versailles, only to return, a few weeks later, more haughty and more powerful than ever. But power resting on so frail a foundation as a monarch’s guilty passions is seldom permanent, and already her empire, undermined by her own arrogance and capricious- ness and the subtle influence of Madame de Maintenon, was tottering to its fall, when, in the autumn of 1680, the revelation of her dealings with the poisoner La Voisin and her fiendish associates came to shatter it to pieces. Respect for his kingly dignity and consideration for his children combined to force Louis XIV. to preserve the terrible secret, known only to himself and a few trusted advisers, and, to avoid the smallest possibility of its disclosure, Madame de Montespan remained at Court, treated in public by the prince against whose life she had conspired as if she had done nothing whatever to forfeit his esteem, but enduring agonies of mortification, as she saw the power which had once been hers passing slowly but surely into the hands of another. Then, when the Queen was dead and Madame de Maintenon had reached the summit of her ambition, and it became evident that, VI PREFACE not content with supplanting her former patroness in the King’s affections, the pious lady was determined to inflict upon her those cruel humiliations which Madame de Montespan, in her time, had compelled the gentle La Valliere to endure, the fallen favourite, abandoning the unequal struggle, quitted the Court, to spend the remainder of her days, first, in vain regrets for what she had lost, afterwards, in a sincere and whole-hearted endeavour to atone for her shameful past by a life of penance and good works. Interesting as is the career of Madame de Montespan, it is rendered all the more so from the opportunity which it affords us of studying those of the two celebrated women whose lives were so closely connected with hers — two women differing as widely from each other as from Madame de Montespan herself ; the one, perhaps next to Jeanne d’Arc the most poetic figure in French history ; the other, in spite of all that has been written about her, almost as much an enigma to us to-day as she was to her contemporaries. Under these circumstances, it is surely a matter for surprise that Madame de Montespan should have been practically ignored by English and American writers and that the fullest account of her to be found in our language should be that given by Miss Pardoe in her “ Louis XIV. and the Court of France in the Seventeenth Century,” written many years before M. Ravaisson published the result of his researches, and largely based on the mar- chioness’s so-called Memoires, then believed to be genuine, but now quite discredited. In my endeavour to supply this deficiency and to give vii PREFACE an account at once adequate and strictly impartial of the life of the most famous of Louis XIV.’s mistresses I have traversed a wide field and been at pains to consult not only all the chief contemporary sources of information — the Memoires of Madame de Caylus, Mademoiselle de Montpensier, Saint-Simon, Dangeau, La Fare, Choisy, and Sourches ; and the Letters of the Princess Palatine, Madame de Sevigne, Madame de Maintenon, and Bussy- Rabutin, in every case making due allowance for the prejudices of the writer — but a very large number of modern works, particularly those bearing in any way on the Poison Trials. Where so many have been laid under contribution it is somewhat difficult to fairly apportion one’s gratitude, and I must therefore confine myself to acknowledging my indebtedness to M. Pierre Clement’s Madame de Montespan et Louis XIV. (an admirable work, the value of which is, unfortunately, largely discounted by the fact that the author had only a partial acquaintance with the documents which M. Ravaisson has so ably edited) ; to M. Jules Lair’s Louise de La Valliere et la jeunesse de Louis XIV. ; to the notes of M. Lavallee in his Correspondance generale de Madame de Maintenon ; to M. Ravaisson’s Archives de la Bastille ; to M. Funck- Brentano’s Le Drame des Poisons ; to M. Floquet’s Bossuet , precepteur du Dauphin et eveque a la Cour ; to M. Loiseleur’s Trois Enigmes historiques ; and to Dr. Lucien Nass’s Les Empoisonnements de Louis XIV. viii London: July 1903. H. NOEL WILLIAMS. CONTENTS CHAPTER I • Page i ii yy iS yy in yy 37 IV yy 5 2 5 ? V yy 66 yy VI yy 73 VII yy »3 5 ? VIII yy 104 IX yy 1 1 5 X yy 124 J? XI yy H 5 ?? XII yy 166 yy XIII yy 180 yy XIV yy 203 yy XV yy 219 yy XVI yy 2 35 yy XVII yy 265 yy XVIII yy 283 yy XIX yy 295 yy XX yy 3°9 yy XXI • • • • yy 3 2 7 yy XXII . • • . . . • yy 35 ' IX ■ \ LIST OF PORTRAITS Framboise Athcnai's de Rochechouart, Marquise de Monte- span ,from the engraving by Etienne Picart Frontispiece Louis XIV., from an engraving after the drawing by Wallerant Vaillant To face page Maria Theresa, Oueen of France, from an engraving after the painting by Charles Beaubrun „ Louise Fran^oise de La Baume Le Blanc, Duchesse de La Vallier t,from the engraving by Nicolas de L’Armessin pere. „ Jean Baptiste Colbert, Marquis de Seignelay, from an engraving after the painting by Philippe de Champaigne „ Framboise d’Aubigne, Marquise de Maintenon, from the engraving by Giffart ,, Franchise Athcnai's de Rochechouart, Marquise de Monte- span, from an engraving after a painting by an unknown artist ,, Anne Marie Louise d’Orleans, Duchesse de Montpensier, called la Grande Mademoiselle, from the engraving by Nicolas de L’Armessin pere „ Francois Michel Le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois,_/rtftf7 an engraving after the painting by Claude Fefebvre „ LIST OF PORTRAITS Jacques Benigne Bossuet ,from an engravingafter the painting by Rigaud To face page I 56 Louis Auguste de Bourbon, Due du Maine, from an engraving after the painting by Francois de Troy „ 190 Marie Angelique d’Escorailles de Roussille, Duchesse de Fontanges, from an engraving after the painting by Mignard ,, 226 Fran^oise Athenai's de Rochechouart, Marquise de Monte- span, /row the engraving by Pierre Schenk „ 268 Louis XW., from an engraving after the painting by Fiter Fran$oise d’Aubigne, Marquise de Maintenon, from an engraving after the painting by Mignard Fran^ise Marie de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Blois, from an engraving by Nicolas de L’Armessin pere ,, 284 „ 3 10 „ 328 jpi CHAPTER I Character of Louis XIV. ’s relations with women — His mis- tresses have no direct political influence — But indirectly and unconsciously exercise a great deal — Early love affairs — Olympe Mancini — Mademoiselle de La Motte d’Argencourt — Madame de Beauvais— Marie Mancini comes to Court — The King at first indifferent to her — But soon begins to pay her great attention— Mazarin’s negotiations for a marriage between Louis XIV. and the Infanta Maria Theresa — He makes over- tures for the hand of Marguerite of Savoy to force Spain to come toadecision — Meetingbetween the Courts ofFrance and Savoy at Lyons — Spain accepts Mazarin’s proposals — Louis XIV. ’s infatuation for Marie Mancini — Alarm of the Queen-Mother and the Cardinal — Mazarin determines to send his niece away from Court — Interview between the King and the Cardinal — And between Louis and Anne of Austria— “ Sire, you weep, you love me, and yet you allow me to go ! ” — The King refuses to abandon his idea of marrying Marie Mancini — Anxiety of Mazarin — His letters of remonstrance to Louis XIV. — Interview between the lovers at Saint-Jean d’Angely — Marie Mancini withdraws from the field— Her marriage with the Constable Colonna and subsequent adven- tures. When Louis XIV. lay dying, he sorrowfully acknow- ledged that he had been too fond of war. He might also have acknowledged that he had been too fond of women. Nevertheless, culpable as they undoubtedly were, and deep as is the stain which they have inflicted on his reputation, the amours of le Grand Monarque at all times present a i A MADAME DE MONTESPAN certain romantic quality, which is wholly wanting in those of his contemptible successor. Louis XIV. would have scorned to have used his position as king to force his attentions upon any woman whom he had reason to believe was indifferent to him as a man ; he desired to be loved for himself, not for what the accident of birth had made him, and thus even his most evanescent attachments are redeemed by a touch of sentiment . 1 Again — and here the difference between himself and Louis XV. is even more strongly marked — one must, in justice to him, remember that he never permitted his mistresses, whatever influence they may have acquired over his heart, to have any over his government. “ In abandoning our hearts,” he says in the Memoires he wrote for the instruction of the Dauphin, “ we must remain absolute masters of our minds ; we must make a distinc- tion between the tenderness of a lover and the resolutions of a sovereign, so that the beauty who conduces to our pleasures shall not be at liberty to speak to us concerning our affairs. You know the warning I have given you on different occasions about the influence of favourites ; that of a mistress is far more dangerous .” 2 On the whole, Louis XIV. may be said to have strictly adhered, in appearance at any rate, to the principle here laid down . 3 Neither Mademoiselle de La Valliere, nor 1 “ The late King (Louis XIV.),” wrote his sister-in-law, the Princess Palatine, “ was undoubtedly very gallant ; but his gallantry often degenerated into debauchery. At the age of twenty, all sorts and conditions of women found favour in his eyes — peasant girls, gardeners’ daughters, maid-servants, waiting-women, ladies of quality — provided that they were able to make him believe that they loved him” 2 Memoires de Louis XIV. pour servir a l' instruction du Dauphin (edit. I 860), ii. 3 1 5. 3 Charles Perrault relates that, one day, in the presence of Le Tellier, MADAME DE MONTESPAN Madame de Montespan, nor Mademoiselle de Fontanges, nor any of the numerous ladies who for brief periods held sway over the royal affections, have left the slightest mark upon public affairs; while in regard to Madame de Main- tenon — her admirers will pardon our including her in the same category for the sake of argument — it is now gene- rally believed that her influence in affairs of State was very small, and that the story that she was largely responsible for the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes is a myth. But, at the same time, it must be admitted that, if they had no direct political influence, if they were power- less to remove a Minister who had had the misfortune to displease them, or to plunge the nation into a ruinous war in order to gratify their caprices, indirectly and uncon- sciously they exercised a good deal, and that of a most pernicious kind. The naive adoration of Louise de La Valliere, no less than the calculated flattery of Madame de Montespan and her various rivals, went far to confirm Louis XIV. in that fine conceit of his kingly dignity, and to intensify that ingrained selfishness of character which, so long as the splendour of his Court was undiminished and victory attended his arms, rendered him blind to the miseries which his perpetual wars and grinding taxation were bringing upon his realm. When, at length, the regime Lionne, Villeroi, Colbert, and other favourite Ministers and courtiers, the King remarked : “ You are all of you here my friends, those of my realm for whom I have the most regard and in whom I place the most confidence. I am young, and women have generally considerable influence over those of my age. I enjoin you all, therefore, that should you remark that a woman, whoever she may be, has acquired ascendency over me and is influencing me in the smallest degree, to immediately apprise me of the fact. I shall only require forty-eight hours to rid myself of her and to set your minds at rest on that score.” — Memoires de Charles Perrault , p. 38. 3 MADAME DE MONTESPAN of mistresses came to an end, all the monarch’s worst instincts had been developed and his character irrevocably moulded. His so-called conversion was merely a change from one kind of egotism to another ; for what is bigotry but egotism in its most subtle and dangerous form ? The first lady to stir the young monarch’s pulses was Cardinal Mazarin’s niece, Olympe Mancini, the second of the five famous sisters of that name, 1 who made her first appearance at Court in 1657. Mademoiselle Olympe was no beauty — none of Louis XIV.’s early enchantresses were — but Madame de Motteville remarks that “ she certainly appeared charming in the eyes of the King, and sufficiently pretty to indifferent people.” Anne of Austria seems to have regarded this youthful attachment with complaisance, though the aforementioned chronicler assures us that she could not endure to hear any one speak of the affair as one that might perchance become legitimate. “ The greatness of her soul had a perfect horror of such abase- ment.” Another queen — the eccentric Christina of Sweden — who passed through France at this time, was of a different opinion, and declared that “ it would be very wrong not to let two young people so admirably suited to one another marry as soon as possible.” Nothing, however, came of this affair, for Louis showed no inclina- tion to “ abase ” himself, and Olympe, who did not want for shrewdness, finding that she had no chance of wearing a crown, “ instead of surrendering herself to love,” gave her hand to the Comte de Soissons, by whom she had, among other children, a boy named Eugene, destined to become one of the most famous generals of his age and a veritable thorn in the side of his mother’s former admirer. 1 The names of the five were Laure, Olympe, Marie, Hortense, and Marie Anne. 4 MADAME DE MONTESPAN After the marriage of Olympe Mancini, the King cast a favourable eye upon a certain Mademoiselle de La Motte d’Argencourt, “ who had neither dazzling beauty nor extraordinary intelligence, but whose whole person was agreeable.” His predilection for her society became so very marked that both the Queen-Mother and Mazarin became uneasy ; and the former, one evening, when Louis had conversed with the young lady rather longer than she considered prudent, rebuked him sharply and openly. The monarch received the maternal reprimand “ with respect and gentleness,” but it would not appear to have had much effect, for shortly afterwards we hear of him speaking to Mademoiselle de La Motte “ as a man in love, who had thrown virtue to the winds,” and assuring her that if she would only return his affection, he would defy both the Queen and the Cardinal. The lady, however, from motives either of virtue or policy, declined to entertain his proposals, and Anne of Austria, having pointed out to her son that “ he was wandering from the path of innocence,” the King was moved to tears, confessed him- self in her oratory, and then departed for Vincennes, in the hope that a change of scene might aid him to subjugate his passion. He returned, after a few days’ absence, fully determined never to speak to Mademoiselle de La Motte again ; but, “ not being yet wholly strengthened,” so far departed from his resolution as to dance with her at a ball, with the result that he was on the point of succumbing once more, when the Queen and the Cardinal put an end to the affair by packing the damsel off to a convent at Chaillot, where Madame de Motteville assures us that “ she led a life that was very tranquil and very happy .” 1 The next lady to be honoured by the monarch’s 1 Me moires de Madame de Motteville (edit. 1855), iv. 83 et scq. 5 MADAME DE MONTESPAN attention was Madame de Beauvais, first femme-de-chambre to Anne of Austria. Anquetil describes her as “ a woman of experience,” and says that she laid her snares for the King in such a way as to render escape impossible . 1 The Queen-Mother, in anger, dismissed her from her service, but soon afterwards reinstated her, as she found it impos- sible to get on without her. Then we hear of galanteries with the beautiful Duchesse de Chatillon, and “ a gardener’s daughter,” and his rejection at the hands of a Mademoiselle de Tarneau, “ who had the wisdom to refuse him so much as an interview,” which brings us to what may be called Louis XIV. ’s first grande passion , an affair which was within an ace of having very serious consequences indeed. Having duly provided Olympe Mancini with a husband, Mazarin introduced to Court the third of the Mancini sisters, Marie by name, whom he withdrew from the Couvent des Filles-de-Saint-Marie at Chaillot, in defiance of the dying request of his sister, Madame Mancini, who had begged him earnestly to make her a nun, “ because she had always seemed to her to have a bad disposition, and her late husband, who was a great astrologer, had warned her that this daughter would be the cause of much evil.” 2 1 Louis XIV., sa Cour et le Regent, i. 9. Saint-Simon says that gossip credited Madame de Beauvais with being the first lady to prevail over the virtue of Louis XIV. He adds : “ I remember her when she was old, blind of one eye and scarce able to see with the other, at the toilette of the Bavarian Dauphiness, where all the Court treated her with extraordinary consideration, because from time to time she went to Versailles, and when there was invariably granted a private audience by the King, who still cherished a great regard for her.” In the estimates for 1677, Madame de Beauvais’s name appears for a pension of 4000 livres, and in those for 1684 for one of 8000 livres, while in the following year she received a gratification extraordinaire of 30,000 livres. 2 Memoires dc Madame de Motteville, iv. 78. 6 MADAME DE MONTESPAN At first the King took very little notice of this damsel, which is hardly surprising, as she is described as painfully thin and extremely ugly, with a sallow complexion and “ a wide, flat mouth.” 1 She improved rapidly in this respect, however, so much so that we find Saint-Evremond — no mean judge, by the way — speaking of her as “ a superbly formed creature.” In the spring of 1658 it began to be remarked that Louis XIV. was paying Mademoiselle Mancini an unusual amount of attention, and the young lady herself informs us in her Apologie 2 that during a visit of the Court to Fontainebleau “ she became assured that she was not hated by the King, who, though very young, had penetration enough to understand that eloquence which, without speaking a syllable, persuades more than all the fine speeches in the world.” She adds, with becoming modesty, that at first she was inclined to believe that she was mistaken, until her impressions were confirmed by the extraordinary deference paid her by the courtiers. An 1 Memoires de Madame de Motteville , iv. 83. M. Chantelauze, in his Louis XIV. et Marie Mancini, says that it is to Marie Mancini’s mouth that allusion is intended in the well-known cantiquc, wrongly attributed to Bussy-Rabutin, which was published in several surreptitious editions of his Histoire amoureuse des Gau/es : “ Quem Deodatus est heureux De baiser ce bee amoureux Qui d’une oreille a l’autre va ! Alleluia ! ” According to Voltaire, this song was the true cause of Bussy being sent to the Bastille in 1665, and afterwards banished to his estates. 2 Apologie, ou les veritables memoires de Madame M. Mancini, Connestable de Colonne , ecrits par elle-mtme (Cologne, 1679). The authenticity of this work was at one time disputed, but is now generally acknow- ledged. 7 MADAME DE MONTESPAN event of the highest importance, however, came at this juncture to interrupt what the writer calls “ her ravishing prosperity.” For more than fifteen years and through many strange vicissitudes, Mazarin had steadily pursued his project of marrying Louis to the Infanta of Spain. His object in desiring this union was a twofold one. In the first place, a closer connection between France and Spain would leave the Emperor isolated in Europe and render him practically impotent. In the second, it was more than possible that it might, sooner or later, be the means of giving the crown of Spain to the House of Bourbon, for, as his letters to the French plenipotentiaries at the Congress of Westphalia indicate, the astute Cardinal had made up his mind so to frame the marriage contract that there would be little difficulty in successfully contesting the validity of any renunciation of her rights on the part of the Infanta. Since 1645, when the Peace of Westphalia was con- cluded with the Emperor, more than one attempt had been made to make peace on the basis of another Franco- Spanish marriage ; but as Philip IV. had no male issue, and the Infanta would have carried with her to France the right of succession to the crown of Spain, the Court of Madrid had hitherto received the Cardinal’s proposition with marked coldness. Of late, however, the situation had been greatly modified. In 1657, the Queen of Spain had given birth to a son, an event which placed two lives between the Infanta and the throne, and very sensibly diminished that young lady’s matrimonial value ; while France had gained great advantages in the field, and it was becoming increasingly difficult for the Spaniards, with troops disheartened by defeat and an impoverished Treasury, to carry on the struggle. 8 MADAME DE MONTESPAN Indirect negotiations were accordingly opened ; but as the Court of Madrid showed its customary vacillation, Mazarin resolved to force it to come to a definite decision, and, with this idea, made overtures to the Duchess of Savoy 1 for the hand of her daughter, Margaret. These overtures were carried so far that a meeting between the two Courts took place at Lyons in November 1658 ; but nothing came of the negotiations, for almost at the same moment as the Savoyards entered the city by one gate, Don Antonio Pimentel, a special envoy from the King of Spain, entered it by another, bringing an offer both of peace and the Infanta. So the poor Duchess of Savoy had to take her daughter home again, carrying with her a written promise that if a treaty for Louis XIV.’s marriage with the Infanta were not concluded by the following May, the young King would wed the Princess Margaret, and a superb diamond necklace given her by the Cardinal, by way of consolation for her disappointment. Marie Mancini, who had already made up her mind that the crown matrimonial would become her right well, was, of course, overjoyed at the discomfiture of the Italian princess, and while her uncle and Pimentel were busily engaged clearing the way for a treaty between the two belligerent nations, she was no less actively employed in endeavouring to thwart their plans and wean the King from the idea of espousing the Infanta. In this she was all but successful. After the return of the Court to Paris, Louis’s infatua- tion for the young lady increased in a truly alarming manner, and they were scarcely ever apart. “ The King 1 Christine of France, second daughter of Henri IV. and Marie de Mcdicis. She married Victor Amadeus I. in 1619, and was left a widow in 1637. 9 MADAME DE MONTESPAN never came into the Queen-Mother’s presence without Mademoiselle Mancini,” writes Madame de Motteville. “ She followed him everywhere, and whispered in his ear in the presence of even the Queen herself, undeterred by the respect and decorum which she owed her.” 1 Although, as we have mentioned, the enterprising Marie had few pretensions to beauty, her ready wit and the charm of her conversation more than atoned for her lack of physical attractions. She would appear to have been extraordinarily well-read for a girl of her years, possessing a most intimate knowledge of Italian literature, especially of poetry, and being in the habit of discussing history, politics, and philosophy with Lionne, La Rochefoucauld and Saint-Evremond. “ There is nothing that she does not know ; there is no book worth reading that she has not read,” cried one of her enthusiastic admirers. The young monarch, though very deeply in love, did not at first evince any desire to gratify Mademoiselle Mancini’s ambition ; but when he found that his ina- morata was “ either too proud or too shrewd ” to accept a less exalted post, he determined that she should share his throne. In the meanwhile the progress of this affair was causing the utmost disquietude to the Queen-Mother and Mazarin, all the more so as the preliminaries of peace had been concluded at the beginning of June 1659, and the Cardinal was on the point of setting out for Saint-Jean de Luz to meet the Spanish Prime Minister, Don Luis de Haro, and settle the terms of the definitive treaty. The position was, indeed, a most critical one, for if Louis were to carry his infatuation so far as to decline to marry the Infanta, all the schemes which Mazarin had so carefully built up 1 Memoires de Madame de Motteville , iv. 143. 10 - ' LOUIS XIV. From an Engraving after the Drawing by Wallerant Vaillant MADAME DE MONTESPAN would collapse like a house of cards. After vainly remon- strating with his niece, the Cardinal decided to exercise his avuncular authority, and, a few days before he started for the South, took the precaution of sending her with her sisters, Hortense and Marie Anne, to the citadel of Brouage, near La Rochelle, in charge of their gouvernante , Madame de Venel. The King, however, was not minded to renounce his lady-love without an effort. He sent for the Cardinal and boldly demanded his niece in marriage. Mazarin replied that he could not take advantage of the honour which his Majesty wished to do him in a moment of violent passion ; that he had been chosen by the late King, and since by the Queen, to assist him with his counsel, and that having up to that time served him with inviolable fidelity, he would not now abuse their confidence ; that he was master of his niece, and “ would stab her to the heart rather than elevate her by so base an act of treachery.” Louis, it is said, went down on his knees in a last endeavour to melt the Minister’s heart, but Mazarin remained inflexible. Finding that there was nothing to be hoped for in this quarter, the King appealed to Anne of Austria, and, the evening before the day fixed for Mademoiselle Marie’s departure, had a touching interview with his mother, which lasted an hour, and from which his Majesty emerged with eyes red with weeping. The Queen had proved as obdurate as the Cardinal, and had at length succeeded in inducing her son to sacrifice his inclinations on the altar of duty. The separation between the lovers, which took place the following morning, must have been exceedingly affecting. The King, with tears in his eyes, insisted on accompanying MADAME DE MONTESPAN the young lady to her coach, and it was then that Marie addressed to him those words of tender reproach : “ Sire, you weep, you love me, and yet you allow me to go !” 1 Three days later, Mazarin set out on his journey to the frontier, in a state of mind far from enviable, for Louis, ignoring the promise he had given the Queen-Mother, had refused to abandon his idea of marrying the Cardinal’s niece, and had declared that nothing would induce him to wed the Infanta. The Minister, therefore, had a double task before him — on the one hand, to induce the Spanish plenipotentiaries to agree to the conditions he desired to impose, and, on the other, to bring his headstrong young master to reason. He was, moreover, in hourly dread lest the story of Louis’s infatuation should reach Madrid, in which case it was quite probable that the negotiations would be promptly broken oft. In the hope of inducing the King to conquer his passion, the Cardinal kept up an active and voluminous corre- spondence with him. Cardinal Mazarin to Louis XIV. “Cadillac, July 16, 1659. “ Letters from Paris, Flanders, and elsewhere advise me that you cannot be known to be the same person since my departure, and that not because of me, but on account of some one that belongs to me ; that you have entered into engagements which will hinder you from giving peace 1 The above is the version of the speech which the lady herself gives in her Apologie ; but there are several other renderings — e.g. “You weep and you are master ! ” (Me moires de Madame de Motteville). “You love me, Sire, you weep, you are in despair, you are King, and yet I go ! ” (Bussy-Rabutin’s Histoire amoureuse des Gau/es). MADAME DE MONTESPAN to Christendom and rendering your State and subjects happy by your marriage ; and that if, to avoid so great a calamity, you pass on to make it, the person you espouse will be most miserable, and that through no fault of her own. “ . . . It is said that you are always shut up to write to the person you love, and that you spend in this occupa- tion more time than you did in conversing with her while she was at Court. It is further said that I approve of this and connive at it, in order to satisfy my ambition and hinder the peace. “ It is said that you are at variance with the Queen, and even those who write in the mildest terms say that you avoid her as much as possible. I find, moreover, that the consent I gave, at your urgent request, to an occasional interchange of news between yourself and this person (Marie Mancini) has led to a continual commerce of long letters ; that, in fact, you write to her every day and receive a reply, so that the courier is charged with as many letters as there are days, which cannot be without scandal, nor even without injury to this person’s reputation and mine. . . . “ God has established Kings (after matters which concern religion, for the maintenance of which they ought to use every possible endeavour) to watch over the welfare, repose, and security of their subjects, and not to sacrifice them to their private passions, and when such unhappy princes have appeared, they have commonly been forsaken by the divine Providence, and histories are full of the revolutions and miseries they have drawn down on their persons and States. And, therefore, I solemnly warn you not to hesitate any longer, for though, in a certain sense, you are the master to do as you please, yet must you give 13 MADAME DE MONTESPAN an account of your actions to God for the saving of your soul, and to the world for the saving of your credit and reputation. “ I conclude all this discourse by declaring to you that if I find not by the answer which I conjure you to send me with all speed that there is reason to hope that you will choose the path that is necessary for your own welfare, for your honour, and for the preservation of your Kingdom, 1 have no other course open to me but to remit into your hands all the benefits which it has pleased the late King, yourself, and the Queen to heap upon me, and to embark with all my family to go and pass the remainder of my days in some corner of Italy, and pray to God that this last remedy may produce the cure which I desire above all else, being able to say, without exaggeration and without using the term of submission and respect I owe, that there is no tenderness comparable to that which I have for you, and that it will be impossible for me to prevent myself dying of grief should I see you do anything which may blacken your reputation and expose your person and State. . . . “ I believe you know me well enough to credit that what I write comes from the depths of my heart, and that nothing can alter the resolution of which I have spoken save an assurance from you that you will henceforth begin a new course and master the passions to which you are at present enslaved.” 1 The Cardinal’s appeal to the young King’s sense of 1 Lettres du Cardinal Mazarin on I'on voit Le Secret de la Negotiation de la Paix des Pirenees, &c. (A Amsterdam : Chez Andre Pierrot : 1690), p. 16 ct seq. Copies of the original letters are preserved in the Bibliotheque Mazarine : Lettres manuscrites de Mazarin , vol. iii. H MADAME DE MONTESPAN duty was, however, only partially successful. Louis pro- fessed his willingness to marry the Infanta, but obstin- ately refused to break off his connection with Marie Mancini, and when in August the Court set out for Bordeaux — the wedding ceremony was to take place at Saint-Jean de Luz — announced his intention of going to Brouage to pay the young lady a visit. In great alarm, Mazarin wrote to the Queen-Mother, imploring her “ in the name of God to do everything possible to prevent this meeting ” ; but, finding that Louis had set his heart on seeing his lady-love, eventually consented that Madame de Venel, his niece’s gouvernante, should bring her charge as far as Saint-Jean d’Angely. The interview, according to Madame de Motteville, was full of feeling, and tears were shed on both sides. Nevertheless, the King con- tinued his journey, and Marie returned to her place of exile. The romance continued for some little time longer, Louis inditing “not letters, but volumes” to his enchantress, while the Cardinal wrote equally voluminous epistles of remonstrance, in one of which he assured his Majesty that “ this person had a thousand faults and not a single good quality to render her worthy of the honour of his kindness.” To which the King sent so curt an answer that Mazarin felt compelled to implore his forgiveness, and wrote a most piteous letter to the Queen-Mother, begging her to make intercession for him with her son. At length, to the inexpressible relief of the poor Cardinal, the affair was broken off, not by Louis, but by the lady herself, who, having come to the conclusion that the negotiations for the Spanish marriage had gone too far for her lover to draw back, wrote to her uncle to inform him that she had decided to follow his counsel and iS MADAME DE MONTESPAN cease all communication with the King. Louis at first appears to have been deeply mortified by the damsel’s conduct, but, in his calmer moments, had the good sense to own that Mazarin in thwarting his passion had acted with courage and discretion. As for Marie Mancini, she was persuaded by her uncle, who was naturally of opinion that, after what had occurred, it would be dangerous to allow her to remain in France, to accept the hand of a wealthy Italian noble, the Constable Colonna, Prince of Palliano. This union proved anything but a happy one. Colonna became jealous of his wife, and the wife wearied of Colonna. One day, Marie and her sister, Hortense, who had fled from her husband, the Due de Mazarin , 1 and taken refuge at Naples, disguised themselves as men and made their way to Civita Vecchia, where they embarked in a felucca bound for France ; and, after an adventurous voyage, in which they narrowly escaped being captured, first, by a galley which the enraged Constable had sent in pursuit of them and, afterwards, by a Turkish corsair, landed at Marseilles. The younger sister, hearing that some emissaries of the Due de Mazarin 1 Armand Charles, Marquis de Meilleraye, who, on his marriage, was created Due de Mazarin. “ He was affected with a species of religious insanity, which showed itself, among other ways, in a modesty of unusual rigour. The great collection of statuary and paintings of which he had become the owner (on the death of the Cardinal) shocked his views, and, armed with a hammer, he went through the galleries, demolishing the statues that offended him by an improper nudity, while Titians and Correggios were smeared over, wherever the dress, or the Magdalens, which the masters had painted, were not such as would be appropriate at a prayer-meeting. Colbert succeeded in checking this destruction, but the collection suffered severely from the piety of its owner. ... A taste for lawsuits was another of his peculiarities. He was said to have had three hundred and to have lost almost all.” — Perkins’s “ France under Mazarin,” ii. 354. MADAME DE MONTESPAN were on their way to intercept her, went to Savoy, whence she proceeded to England and became the mistress of Charles II., who, in the days of his exile, had vainly sought her hand in marriage. Marie set out for Fontainebleau ; but the King was with the army in Flanders, and the Queen, who acted as regent in his absence, hearing of the approach of her former rival, sent an officer to meet her with a lettre de cachet , in virtue of which she was carried off to the Abbey of Lys, and later to one at Avency. When Louis was informed of what had been done, he remarked, “Very good.” After a short detention, the princess was released and allowed to proceed to Turin. Here she remained awhile and then made an attempt to re-enter France, only to be stopped at the frontier and sent back to Savoy. She subsequently fell into the hands of her husband and spent the next ten years as a prisoner in various convents in Flanders and Spain, for though she on several occasions contrived to make her escape, she was invariably recaptured. At length, the Constable died, and in 1684 Marie was granted permission to return to the French Court, where, to her intense mortification, she found herself completely forgotten. She appears to have lived for some time in retirement at Passy; but little is known of her later years, and even the date and place of her death are uncertain. ‘7 B CHAjPTER II Marriage of Louis XIV. and the Infanta — A question of etiquette — State entry of the bridal pair into Paris — Personal appearance and character of the Queen— Marriage of Monsieur and Henriettaof England — Charms of thisprincess — Attentions paid her by the King — Jealousy of the Queen and Monsieur — The King, at Madame' s suggestion, simulates a devotion for Louise de La Valliere — And falls in love with her — Amiable c haracter of Mademoiselle de La Valliere — Her disinterestedness — She becomes the mistress of the King — Vain remonstrances of the Queen-Mother — Remorse of La Valliere — Her flight to the convent at Chaillot — The King goes to the convent and brings her back — The Comtesse de Soissons, the Marquis de Vardes, and the Comte de Guiche intrigue against La Valliere — The Spanish letter — The Comtesse de Soissons persuades Mademoiselle de La Motte-Houdancourt to enter the lists against the favourite — The King succumbs to her fascinations— And exiles his rival the Chevalier de Gramont — Mademoiselle de La Motte demands the dismissal of La Valliere as the price of her surrender — The King is un- deceived by the Queen-Mother — Mademoiselle de La Motte dismissed from Court — Punishment of the Comtesse de Soissons and her confederates — La Valliere maitresse declaree — Louis XIV. creates her a duchess and legitimates her daughter. His ambitious niece having at length had the good taste to retire from the field, Mazarin pushed on the negotia- tions for the marriage with all possible expedition. Owing, however, to the feeble health of the King of Spain, 18 MADAME DE MONTESPAN which rendered a journey to the frontier so late in the year out of the question, it was found necessary to postpone the nuptials till the following April ; and, as a matter of fact, it was not until June 3 that Philip IV., who deemed it indispensable to his own and his daughter’s dignity to travel with a retinue which extended for six leagues and required nearly four thousand sumpter-horses and mules to transport their baggage, arrived at Font- arabia, where the Infanta, having formally renounced all rights of succession to the Spanish throne, was married by procuration, Don Luis de Haro acting as proxy for Louis XIV. Three days later, the two Kings met at the lie des Faisans, 1 and, kneeling side by side, with a copy of the Gospels between them, solemnly swore to observe the Treaty of the Pyrenees, after which Maria Theresa was formally handed over to her husband, and on June 9 the second marriage took place at Saint-Jean de Luz with great pomp. Between the house occupied by the Queen-Mother and the church of Saint-Jean a gallery had been erected, a little higher than the street, and along this the royal party made their way, preceded by Mazarin, in full canonicals, the Prince de Conti, and a number of gentlemen bearing blue wands covered with fleurs-de-lis. The King was quietly dressed in black and wore no jewels, but the Queen, who was conducted to the altar by Monsieur , 2 Louis XIV. ’s 1 The lie des Faisans is an islet formed by the Bidassoa, about a league from Fontarabia. It was here that the conferences between Mazarin and Don Luis de Haro had been held. 2 The eldest brother of the King of France was officially styled Monsieur ; his wife, Madame , and their eldest daughter, Mademoiselle. According to Saint-Simon, Gaston d’Orleans, brother of Louis XIII., was the first to regularly bear this title. •9 MADAME DE MONTESPAN brother, was resplendent in the royal robes, and wore the royal crown, entirely composed of diamonds. At the conclusion of the ceremony, which was performed by the Bishop of Bayonne, medals of gold and silver, bearing the portraits of the King and Queen, were distributed among the people. It is sad to have to relate that the harmony of the day was somewhat marred by a violent dispute between the princesses of the blood and the Princess Palatine, 1 whose pretensions were supported by the Queen-Mother and Monsieur , as to whether the latter was entitled to appear at the ceremony with a train to her dress. Since neither party would yield, it was eventually decided to refer the momentous question to the King, who, after a long con- sultation with the grand master of the ceremonies, gravely announced that no precedent could be found for according so great a privilege to a foreign princess, and that, there- fore, the Princess Palatine must remove her train, which, confident of victory, she had already donned. When the Queen-Mother proceeded to acquaint her friend with the royal decision, the lady “ gave way to the most passionate grief,” and declined to attend the wedding at all. A few days after the marriage, the Court set out for Fontainebleau, and on August 2 6 , the ceremony having been postponed until that date to allow of fitting prepara- tions being made for their receptions, their Majesties made their famous state entry into Paris by way of the Porte Saint-Antoine. 1 Anne de Gonzague, second daughter of Charles de Gonzague, Due de Nevers, and wife of Prince Edward of Bavaria, “ Count Palatine,” fourth son of Frederick V., Elector Palatine. She must not be con- fused with her niece, Charlotte Elizabeth, Princess Palatine, the second wife of Monsieur. 20 MADAME DE MONTESPAN Nearly all the chief contemporary chroniclers have left detailed and glowing accounts of this magnificent pageant, but perhaps the most interesting, having regard to the personality of the writer, is that given by Madame Scarron, the future wife of le Grand Monarque , in a letter to her friend, Madame de Villarceaux. Madame Scarron to Madame de Villarceaux. “ August 27 , 1660 . “ I shall not attempt to give you an account of the King’s entry. I shall merely say that neither I nor any one else could give you an idea of its magnificence. I do not think that it would be possible to see anything finer, and the Queen must have gone to bed last night sufficiently pleased with the husband of her choice. If any accounts are printed, I will send them to you to-day ; but I myself can relate nothing in order, as I find it very difficult to unravel all that I saw yesterday, during ten or twelve hours. “The Household of Cardinal Mazarin was not the least gorgeous part of the procession. It was headed by seventy-two baggage-mules ; the first twenty-four with trappings simple enough ; the next twenty-four with trappings finer, richer, and more splendid than the hand- somest tapestries that you ever saw, and silver bits and bells ; in short, a magnificent sight which evoked general admiration. Afterwards twenty-four pages went by, followed by all the gentlemen and officers of his Plouse- hold, a very large number. Next came twelve carriages, each drawn by six horses, and then his guards. His Household took an hour to pass by. Afterwards came that of Monsieur. I forgot, in speaking of the Cardinal’s, MADAME DE MONTESPAN to mention twenty-four horses splendidly caparisoned and themselves so beautiful that I could not take my eyes off them. Monsieur's Household appeared after this very mean. Then came the King’s, truly royal, for nothing in the world could have been more splendid. You know better than myself of what it is composed, but you cannot imagine the beauty of the horses on which the pages of the royal stables rode ; they came prancing along, and were handled most dexterously. Then came the Musketeers, distinguished by their different plumes ; the first brigade wore white ; the second, yellow, black, and white; the third, blue and white ; and the fourth, green and white. After this came pages-in-waiting, with flame-coloured surtouts covered all over with gold. Then M. de Navailles, at the head of the light cavalry — all this magnificent ; next Vardes , 1 at the head of the Hundred Swiss ; he wore a uniform of green and gold and looked very well. “ Then . . . No, I think that the gentlemen of quality followed the light cavalry ; there were a great many of them ; all so magnificent that it would be difficult to select any one in particular. I looked out for my friends. Beuvron passed, one of the first, with M. de Saint-Luc. I looked for M. de Villarceaux , 2 but he rode such a restive horse that he was twenty paces past me before I re- cognised him. I thought him admirable ; he was one of the least richly dressed, but one of the most handsome, while he was mounted on a superb horse which he managed 1 Francois Rene du Bec-Crespin, Marquis de Vardes, son of Henri IV. ’s mistress, the Comtesse de Moret, who married en secondes noces the Marquis de Vardes. He was a consummate courtier, and like- wise a consummate scoundrel. See p. 30 et seq. 2 Louis de Mornay, Marquis de Villarceaux. Madame de Main- tenon’s references to him are interesting, as he was believed by not a few to be her lover. See p. 86 and note. ZZ MADAME DE MONTESPAN perfectly. His brown locks looked beautiful, also, and people cried out in admiration as he rode by. The Comte de Guiche 1 rode all alone, covered with embroidery and precious stones, which sparkled delightfully in the sun. He was surrounded by servants in rich liveries and followed by some officers of the Guards. “The Marechals de France preceded the King, before whom they bore a brocaded canopy . 2 . . . Next came the Chancellor, wearing a robe and a mantle of gold brocade, surrounded by lackeys and pages in violet satin, bedizened 1 Armand de Gramont, younger son of Antoine II., Due de Gramont, and brother of Philibert de Gramont, the hero of Count Hamilton’s M'emoires. See p. 30 et seq. 2 Four pages of manuscript are missing here, the greater portion of which is presumably devoted to a description of the magnificence of the King and Oueen. We will endeavour to supply the omission from the Gazette de France of September 3, 1660. “The King was attired in a suit of silver brocade covered with pearls and adorned with a marvellous number of carnation-coloured and silver ribbons, with a superb plume of carnation-coloured and white feathers clasped by a cluster of diamonds ; his belt and sword were of the richest workmanship. He was mounted on a splendid Spanish horse, a dark bay, with its trappings of silver brocade and its harness sown with precious stones. “The Queen’s pages-in-waiting, in superb liveries, followed. Then came the caliche of her Majesty, which might be more fittingly described as a triumphal car. It was covered, inside and out, with gold-wire embroidery, an entirely new invention, on a silver ground, the outside, both front and back, adorned with festoons in relief, all embroidered with gold and silver wire. The canopy, likewise, was embroidered, both inside and out, with the same kind of embroidery, and was supported by two columns encircled with jasmine and olive blossoms, symbolical of Love and Peace. All that part of the caliche which is usually made of iron was of silver-gilt, and even the wheels were gilded. “This marvellous car was drawn by six pearl-coloured Danish horses, whose manes and tails reached to the ground, caparisoned and covered with trappings of the same embroidery, and all of them of such rare 2 3 MADAME DE MONTESPAN with silver and covered with feathers. In fact, Madame, it would be impossible to witness a more imposing spectacle.” 1 The Queen, who, according to the Gazette de France , required no Crown jewels to lend eclat to her charms, and whose beauty Madame de Motteville assures us was such that it triumphed over her unsightly Spanish gowns — “ an infallible mark of its greatness ” — was really a very ordinary-looking young woman indeed, with fine blue eyes and an abundance of fair hair, but with a diminutive figure, heavy features, a dull white complexion, and bad teeth. Moreover, though of a virtuous and kindly dispo- sition and devotedly attached to her husband, she entirely lacked the faculty of pleasing, and was ignorant and bigoted to the last degree. Reared in the most cramping conditions of Spanish etiquette, her every word and action were governed by the most punctilious regard for cere- monial, while her timidity was so great that she was ill at ease in the company of any but her immediate attendants and the Queen-Mother, and positively trembled in the presence of the King. Under these circumstances, it is scarcely a matter for surprise that Louis, unable to derive any pleasure from her society, should have sought amuse- ment and distraction elsewhere. Nor had he long to seek in vain. At the end of March 1 6 6 1 , Monsieur (the Due d’Orleans) beauty that no painter could possibly hope to do them justice, and all that one can say is that they were chefs-d' oeuvre of Nature, made expressly to take part in this pageant. “ The princess [the Queen] was attired in a robe on which gold, pearls, and precious stones made up a brilliant and imposing combination, while her coiffure was resplendent with the Crown jewels, which, how- ever, lent far less eclat to her appearance than her own charms.” 1 Correspondence genera/e de Madame de Maintenon, i. 71. H hxL'A'A ,iHT A i >f i M ; 1’XA l\ >1 4 so ! - !H J / A'l ■ ' \h*h 'J 'f ^ _ ■ • '■ ‘V ' MARIA THERESA (Oueen of France) From an Engraving after the Painting by Charles Beaubrun MADAME DE MONTESPAN the King’s brother, had married Henrietta, daughter of Charles I., who had been brought to France when a child by the faithful Lady Dalkeith and, with the exception of a short visit to England at the time of the Restoration, had resided there ever since, with her widowed mother, Queen Henrietta-Maria. This beautiful and ill-fated princess, whose life and death have been immortalised by Bossuet in his famous oration, was now in her eighteenth year, and one of the most charming of the many charming women who adorned the Grand Monarque s Court. “ There was about her whole person,” says Madame de La Fayette, “ a grace and sweetness that won for her a kind of homage which must have been the more pleasant in that it was ren- dered rather to her personality than to her rank.” 1 The appearance of the bride at Fontainebleau the summer after her marriage lent a new zest to the gaieties of the Court. Every one, we are told, thought of Madame and tried to please her, and among her cavaliers no one was more assiduous in his attentions than the King himself. The young girl’s unflagging high spirits, lively wit, and contempt for the conventionalities, proved a striking and refreshing contrast to the dull decorum which poor Maria Theresa insisted on observing in season and out of season, and after enduring twelve months of the latter, Louis was in a position to fully appreciate the change. Henrietta, on her part, was far from insensible to the homage paid her by her royal brother-in-law, and can hardly be blamed if she preferred his society to that of the contemptible dandy, her husband, who, according to Saint-Simon, “ had all the faults of a woman and none of her virtues.” 2 1 Madame de La Fayette’s Histoire de Madame Henriette d' Angleterre. 2 Saint-Simon is, perhaps, too hard on Monsieur , who, in spite of his 2 5 MADAME DE MONTESPAN The intimacy between the monarch and Henrietta soon became so very marked that Maria Theresa, who had the misfortune to be of an exceedingly jealous nature, took umbrage and overwhelmed her husband with tears and reproaches, thereby still further alienating his affection. Finding her remonstrances without avail, she appealed to the Queen-Mother, before whom Monsieur , whose vanity was deeply wounded by his wife’s preference for Louis, also laid a complaint. Anne of Austria enjoyed nothing so much as an opportunity for exercising over her family the influence which was no longer permitted her in affairs of State. She, therefore, turned a willing ear to the griev- ances of the neglected wife and husband, and endeavoured to mediate between the two young couples. But her representations only served to make matters worse, and tongues began to wag right merrily. The King and the young Madame , unwilling to relin- quish a friendship which both had found so pleasant, but, at the same time, alive to the necessity of putting an end to the dissensions in the Royal Family and to the malicious gossip which they were occasioning, decided that the only thing to be done was for Louis to counterfeit a passion for one of the princess’s maids of honour, which, while effectually silencing the voice of scandal in regard to his sister-in-law, would furnish him with a pretext for visiting her apartments as frequently as heretofore. Accordingly, after some little hesitation, a certain Mademoiselle de La Valliere , 1 a very timid and blushing maiden of sixteen, vanity and effeminacy, had some good qualities, and showed much courage in the field. 1 She was the daughter of Laurent de La Baume Le Blanc de La Valliere, a brave soldier, who had distinguished himself at the battles of Avein and Rocroi and on the Royalist side during the Fronde. On his 26 MADAME DE MONTESPAN was selected as the object of his Majesty’s simulated devotion. We hasten to acquit Madame , who, though an out- rageous flirt, was a virtuous woman at heart, of all responsibility for what followed ; indeed, her choice of this innocent child, in place of a finished coquette, is in itself a proof that no harm was intended, and her vexation, if not her remorse, at the denouement of her little plot appears to have been very keen. For the poor maid of honour fell desperately in love with the handsome young monarch who had stooped to honour her with his atten- tions, nor was it long before Louis, flattered by the flame that he had kindled, returned her passion with all the warmth of an extremely ardent temperament. In the judgment of Sainte-Beuve, the portraits of Louise de La Valliere can convey but a very inadequate idea of the kind of charm which was peculiarly her own, and it is, therefore, to the writings of her contemporaries that we must turn if we desire to form a just estimate of one of the most poetic figures in French history. Here we shall find a singular unanimity of opinion. “ Mademoiselle de La Valliere,” says the Abbe de Choisy, who had known her from her childhood, “ was not one of those perfect beauties who frequently arouse admiration with- out kindling love. She was lovable, and that verse of La Fontaine’s — “ Et la grace, plus belle encor quo la beaute,” seems to have been written for her. She had a beautiful skin, fair hair, a winning smile, and a look at once so death, which occurred in 1654, his widow married Jacques de Courtavel, Marquis de Saint-Remi, first maitre d'hotel to Louis XIV. ’s intriguing uncle, Gaston d’Orleans ; and it was at Gaston’s little Court at Blois that Louise lived until she was appointed maid of honour to Madame. 27 MADAME DE MONTESPAN tender and so modest that it gained one’s heart and one’s respect at the same moment.” 1 Madame de Motteville also praises the sweetness of her face and the amiability of her character ; while that most scathing critic of the ladies of her brother-in-law’s Court, Charlotte Elizabeth, Duchesse d’Orleans (Princess Palatine), declares that there was “ an inexpressible charm in her countenance,” that “ her whole bearing was unassuming,” and that she was “ an amiable, gentle, kind, and tender woman.” What, however, has rendered her personality so irre- sistibly attractive is that there never has been the least question as to the disinterestedness of her affection. With her Louis XIV. tasted, probably for the first and last time in his life, the happiness so rarely vouchsafed to a monarch of being loved for himself alone. It was the King, not royalty, that Mademoiselle de La Valliere adored, the man rather than the King, and the only favours which she was ever known to ask were not for herself or her friends, but on behalf of people who had been unfortunate enough to incur their sovereign’s displeasure. The watchful Queen-Mother, whose suspicions had been aroused by the fact that her son had ceased to perform his religious duties with his customary regularity, was the first to discover the state of affairs ; but her fears with regard to Louis’s connection with Madame blinded her to the real danger, and before she had time to interfere, the mischief was done. For the resistance had been short ; the victory fatally easy. Mademoiselle de La Valliere had arrived at Fontainebleau in May ; ere July had run its course, she had become the mistress of the King. Although unable to save the girl, Anne of Austria did 1 Memolres de V Abbe de Choisy (edit. 1888), i. 120. 1 1 : ' . . : M AH A ( i S3 IJ 5 A V H(I 1^03 'A AM -f or!i .(• U 30 a^ao.AiCI'' • m*aj ../.M iS MADAME DE MONTESPAN divinest stuff ever invented by the wit of man.” 1 And on another occasion she writes : “ Madame de Montespan was dressed entirely in point de France ; her hair arranged in a thousand curls, the two from her temples hanging very low upon her cheeks ; black ribbons on her head, with the pearls of the Marechale de l’Hopital , 2 and, in addition, diamond clasps and pendants of the greatest beauty ; three or four jewelled pins ; no coif ; in a word, a triumph of beauty that threw all the Ambassadors into admiring wonder.” When she travelled, a number of the royal guards were invariably told off to escort her. She passed through the provinces in a six-horse coach, followed by another coach, also drawn by six horses, in which sat her waiting-women, while a train of baggage-waggons, sumpter-mules, and men-servants on horseback brought up the rear. When she entered a town, the municipal authorities waited upon her to pay their respects, and governors and intendants offered her their homage. If she had been Queen of France, she could not have been treated with greater consideration. The Queen, indeed, was relegated to quite a secondary position. Louis XIV. spent nearly the whole of his time in Madame de Montespan’s society, and even transacted business with his Ministers in her apartments. She and her children generally dined with him in his cabinet, on 1 It was the gift of an accomplished courtier, Langlee by name, a great authority on matters of dress, jewellery, and furniture, and one of the most successful gamesters of his day, and was sent to Madame de Montespan anonymously. 2 “Larger than those of the Queen,” says Mademoiselle de Montpensier. Marechale de l’Hopital appears to have sold them to the King. She had offered them in 1659, in exchange for the post of dame d'honneur to the future Queen. Her offer was not accepted, however, and the Duchesse de Navailles was appointed. 1 16 f-.-l-l: I", •'iif/' 1 • .i.l FRANCOISE ATHENA1S DE ROCHECHOUART (Marouise de Montespan) From an Engraving after a Painting by An Unknown Artist MADAME DE MONTESPAN which occasions no one but the Dauphin and Monsieur were allowed to enter, and he drove about with his mistress seated by his side, while his unfortunate consort followed in another carriage. When Versailles was finished, the Queen was allotted eleven rooms on the second floor ; Madame de Montespan twenty on the first. The Queen’s train was borne by a simple page ; Madame de Montes- pan’s by a pair de France , the Due de Noailles . 1 Poor Maria Theresa, however, had long since recog- nised the utter futility of remonstrance and had found consolation for the loss of her husband’s affection in devotional exercises and works of charity. So resigned did she eventually become that when one of her ladies happened to report that the King was casting tender glances at some new beauty, she would shrug her shoulders and remark, “ That is Madame de Montespan’s affair.” It was fortunate for her that she had succeeded in schooling herself to complaisance, for it had already 1 Anne Jules de Noailles (1650-1708), at this time aide-de-camp to the King. According to Mellot ( Memoires politiques et militaires), he saved Louis’s life at the siege of Valenciennes in 1674. The King was standing in a place much exposed to the fire from the town, and Noailles besought him to move out of danger. Louis reluctantly consented, and scarcely had he done so, when a cannon-shot struck the very spot on which he had stood. In May 1689 Noailles was appointed Governor of Languedoc, with orders to extirpate Protestantism, and earned unenviable notoriety by his persecution of the unfortunate Calvinists. He was made marechal dc France in 1693, and served with considerable distinction in Spain. Saint-Simon represents the duke in an odious light ; while that arch-calumniator the Princess Palatine accuses him of being the father of Madame de Montespan’s youngest daughter, Mademoiselle de Blois. His wife (nee Marie Fran^oise de Bournonville), by whom he had no less than twenty-one children, was a very clever and charming woman, and one of Madame de Montespan’s most intimate friends. ”7 MADAME DE MONTESPAN become apparent that the favourite had it in her power to make things exceedingly unpleasant for the first lady in the land. On her marriage, Maria Theresa had been given twelve maids of honour, and this arrangement continued until 1673, when Madame de Montespan came to the conclusion that to allow so many charming young ladies about the Queen was to throw temptation in the King’s way, and, accordingly, induced his Majesty to make the misconduct of one of the damsels an excuse for dismiss- ing them en bloc and supplying their places with twelve dames du palais , whom the marchioness, we may presume, took care should be as elderly and unprepossessing as possible. On another occasion, a Spanish lady in the Queen’s service had the misfortune to offend the haughty sultana, and the latter having complained to the King, Louis gave orders for the delinquent to be sent away. Maria Theresa, however, addressed herself to her rival and implored her, as a personal favour, to intercede with his Majesty and obtain permission for the lady to remain, a request to which the marchioness was graciously pleased to accede. “ The Queen is overjoyed,” writes Madame de S6vign6, “ and declares that she will never forget the obligation under which Madame de Montespan has placed her.” A letter from Louis XIV. to Colbert, who served as the medium for the King’s correspondence with his mistress during his absence with the army, will convey some idea of the lengths to which the monarch’s infatuation carried him. Shortly before setting out for the campaign of 1674, Louis had offered to make Madame de Montespan a present of some magnificent jewellery which had come into the market ; but the lady had replied that she could not think of accepting so costly a gift. His Majesty, 1 18 MADAME DE MONTESPAN charmed by her self-denial, determined that she should not be the loser thereby, and wrote to Colbert as follows : — Louis XIV. to Colbert. “ Camp near Dole, “June 9. “ Madame de Montespan absolutely refuses to accept the jewellery ; but, in order that she may not lose by that, it is my wish that you have a little casket made, to contain the articles which I am about to specify, so that I may have something to lend her at any time that she may require. This may appear extraordinary, but she is not inclined to listen to reason at the present moment. “ The casket must contain a pearl necklace, and I wish it to be of fine quality; two pairs of ear-rings, one of diamonds, which must be fine ones, and one of other stones; a case with diamond fastenings ; a case with fastenings of different kinds of stones, which must be removable two at a time. I require stones of different colours, so as to allow of them being changed. I shall also want a pair of pearl ear-rings. “You must also procure four dozen studs, in which the central stones must be removable, while the outer circle must consist of small diamonds. You must have the stones prepared accordingly. “ I tell you this in good time, in order that you may have ample leisure to have it made, and that every care may be taken to have everything as beautiful and perfect as possible. 1 shall be able occasionally to make use of this jewellery myself for another purpose, if it is properly made, for this casket will always be at hand for me to take from it anything that I may judge suitable. “ It will be necessary to go to some expense over this ; ”9 MADAME DE MONTESPAN but I am quite prepared for it, and it is my wish that the work should not be done hurriedly. Send me word what steps you are taking in the matter and when you are likely to have everything ready.” 1 Madame de Montespan’s reluctance, or pretended re- luctance, to accept the present we have just spoken of was no doubt prompted by the fact that his Majesty was about to make her one of a different kind, beside which the most costly specimens of the jeweller’s art would have appeared hardly worthy of notice. In the autumn of 1665, with the idea of enlarging the park surrounding his father’s little hunting-lodge, which was soon to be transformed into the magnificent Chateau of Versailles, Louis XIV. had purchased from the governors of the Hospice des Incurables at Paris the estate of Clagny. Here he built for Madame de Montespan a little pleasure- house ; but, when she was taken to see it, the lady was dissatisfied, and contemptuously remarked that it was only fit for an opera-girl. Thereupon, his Majesty immediately gave orders for it to be pulled down, and commissioned the famous architect Mansart to design a splendid palace in its place. “Your son has transmitted to me the plan for the house at Clagny,” writes Louis to Colbert, at the end of May 1774. “ I have no answer to send you at present, as I wish to ascertain what Madame de Montespan thinks about it.” A few days later, the divinity having in the meanwhile condescended to approve of Mansart’s efforts, the King writes again: “I have told your son to send you the plan for the house at Clagny, and to inform you that, after having examined it with Madame de Montespan, we both approve of it, and 1 Quoted in Clement’s Madame de Montespan et Louis XIV., p. 221. 1 20 MADAME DE MONTESPAN that it must be begun at once ; I believe that they have already commenced building. Madame de Montespan is most anxious that the garden should be planted this autumn. Do everything that will be necessary to oblige her in this matter, and let me know what steps you have taken to do so.” Anything more beautiful than this chateau it would be difficult to conceive. In shape it was somewhat similar to that of Versailles, having two wings at right angles to the main buildings, and, like Versailles, faced east and west. On the ground-floor was a gallery, 210 feet long and 25 feet broad, adorned with pictures representing various scenes in the iEneid, and groups in relief, and terminating, on one side of the house, in a magnificent orangery paved with marble, and, on the other, in a chapel, in the decoration of which the most famous artists of the day had been employed. The centre of the rez-de-chauss&e was occupied by a spacious salon surmounted by a dome, and the grand staircase had been constructed on an entirely novel plan. 1 What, however, seems to have aroused the most admir- ation were the gardens, which Madame de Montespan had been so anxious to have planted, and the laying-out of which had been entrusted to Le Notre. 2 When Le Notre received the commission, he represented to the King that 1 Cimber and Danjou’s Archives curie uses de Fhistoire de France ; Fie de J. B. Colbert, vol. ix. p. 28. Livre de tous les plans, profits, et eleva- tions du Chasteau de Clagny, par Jules Hardouin Mansart (Paris, 1680, fob). The British Museum possesses a copy of the latter work, a very rare and valuable one. 2 Andre Le Notre (1613-1670). He designed the majority of the most beautiful gardens of his time, including those of Vaux-le-Vicomte (the ill-fated Fouquet’s chateau), Chantilly, Fontainebleau, Sceaux, Saint-Cloud, Versailles, and the Tuileries. In 1775, Louis XIV. 121 MADAME DE MONTESPAN the grounds of the chateau were not extensive enough to enable him to accomplish anything out of the common, so Louis acquired, at great expense, the adjoining estate of Glatigny, and this, when united to Clagny, gave the celebrated gardener full scope for his genius. Madame de S£vign6, who visited the chateau in August 1675, thus describes the result : — “ The gardens are finished. You are well acquainted with Le Notre’s style. He has left a little shady wood remaining, which has an admirable effect, and has planted a grove of orange-trees, tall enough to afford some protec- tion from the sun, in large tubs. It is divided into walks and alleys, bounded on both sides by palisades, all ablaze with tuberoses, roses, jessamine, and pinks. This flowery fence serves to conceal the tubs in which the orange-trees are planted, and thus gives one the impression that they are growing out of the ground ; and the appearance of a natural orange-grove in our climate is assuredly the most beautiful, the most surprising, the most enchanting novelty that can be imagined.” 1 All this magnificence was, of course, not obtained without vast expense. The accounts, which have fortu- nately been preserved, show that the estates of Clagny and Glatigny cost 405,502 livres, and the construction of the chateau and its dependencies, including the gardens, 2,456,218 livres, 7 sous, 8 deniers, which gives a total of having ennobled him and given him the Cross of Saint-Michel, wished to give him a coat-of-arms as well. Le Notre replied that he had one already, and that it consisted of three snails surmounted by a cabbage- head. “ Sire,” added he, “ can I forget my spade ? How dear ought it not to be to me, since it is to it that I am indebted for the favours with which your Majesty honours me ! ” 1 Madame de S6vign£ to Madame de Grignan, August 7, 1675. 122 MADAME DE MONTESPAN 2,861,728 livres, 7 sous, 8 deniers, or over half a million sterling in money of to-day. 1 On Madame de Montespan’s death, in May 1707, Clagny reverted to the Due du Maine. From him it passed to his eldest son, the Prince de Dombes, and thence to the latter’s brother, the Comte d’Eu, who sold it in 1 766 to the Dauphiness Marie Josephe. When, in the following year, the Dauphiness died, Louis XV. gave orders for it to be pulled down. 1 Le Roi’s Histoire de Versailles , i. 8. 123 CHAPTER X Louis XIV. heaps favours upon Madame de Montespan’s relatives and children — La Grande Mademoiselle and her suitors — The Comte de Lauzun — Anecdotes about him — He incurs the enmity of Madame de Montespan — Mademoiselle conceives a violent passion for him — And determines to marry him — An amusing courtship — Diplomacy of Lauzun — “ C'est vous ! ” — Lauzun accepts Mademoiselle' s offer of her hand — And induces her to make a donation in his favour of the bulk of her property — Mademoiselle writes to the King — The King’s reply — Interview between Mademoiselle and Louis XIV. — The King gives his consent to the marriage — Mademoiselle and Lauzun announce their approaching union — Astonishment of the Court — Indignation of the Royal Family — Opposition of Louvois and other Ministers — Madame de Montespan uses her influence to stop the mar- riage — The King withdraws his sanction — A painful scene — Despair of Mademoiselle — Lauzun is arrested and sent to Pignerol — Probable reason for the King’s harsh treatment of him — His rigorous imprisonment — Mademoiselle endeavours to procure his release — Pretended sympathy of Madame de Montespan — Mademoiselle offers to settle some of her wealth on the Due du Maine in return for Lauzun’s pardon — Inter- view with the King — Extravagant demands of Madame de Montespan — Mademoiselle compelled to acquiesce — Lauzun’s consent required — Madame de Montespan and Lauzun meet at Bourbon — Lauzun obdurate — He is imprisoned at Chalon- sur-Saone — Second meeting between him and Madame de Montespan — He consents to her conditions and is liberated — But refused permission to return to Court. As might be expected, the King’s bounty was far from being confined to Madame de Montespan herself; honours 124 MADAME DE MONTESPAN and riches were showered upon her relatives and her children. Her father, the Due de Mortemart, was made governor of Paris; her brother, the Due de Vivonne, general of the galleys, governor of Champagne, and marechal de France ; 1 one of her sisters, the Marquise de Thianges, was granted a pension of 9000 livres and a gratification of 6000 livres ; another, Gabrielle de Roche- chouart, a nun of Poissy, who had only pronounced her vows four years before, was made abbess of Fontevrault, to the disgust of the nuns and “ the astonishment and affliction of the Pope.” 2 As for the children, the Comte de Vexin was hardly out of the nursery before his royal father made him abbot of both Saint-Denis and Saint- 1 He was one of the batch of marshals appointed in July 1675 after the death of Turenne — “the small change for Turenne,” the witty Madame Cornuel called them. His appointment, if we are to believe the following story, which the Abbe de Choisy relates in his Memoires , was entirely due to the intervention of his sister : “ The King had drawn up with Louvois the list of those whom he intended to honour with the baton of marechal de France; and, after doing so, went to visit Madame de Montespan, who, while rummaging in his pockets, came upon this list, and, not finding the name of M. de Vivonne, her brother, flew into a rage worthy of her. The King, who could not, and dared not, oppose her to her face, stammered, and said that M. de Louvois must have forgotten to put it down. ‘Send for him this moment ! ’ cried she, in an imperious tone, and reprimanded him as he deserved. Louvois was sent for, and the King having suggested to him very kindly that doubtless he had overlooked Vivonne, the Minister accepted the responsibility and acknowledged the error that he had not committed. This time Vivonne was placed on the list ; the lady was appeased, and contented herself with reproaching Louvois for his negli- gence in a matter which touched her so closely.” — Memoires de l' Abbe de Choisy (edit. 1888), ii. 33. 3 Three dispensations were required : the first, because she was not yet twenty-five; the second, because she had not worn the veil for five years ; and the third, because she had changed her Order. 125 MADAME DE MONTESPAN Germain-des-Pres, in spite of vigorous remonstrances from the Vatican, and even talked of giving him the Abbey of Cluny as well, though this establishment was the chief of its Order and its superior had always been an ecclesiastic; but the little count’s early death prevented this scandal. His elder brother, the Due du Maine, as an earnest of what he might expect when he arrived at man’s estate, was appointed captain of the Hundred Swiss, colonel of a regiment which henceforth bore his name, and governor of Languedoc. Nor did his good fortune, even as a boy, by any means end there. We have mentioned, in speaking of the birth of the little duke, a certain Comte de Lauzun, who took charge of the child immediately he was born and carried him off in a coach to Paris. By a singular coincidence, it was to the misfortunes of this same nobleman that the Due du Maine was indebted for the fact that before he was twelve years old he found himself the possessor of immense wealth. Mademoiselle de Montpensier, la Grande Mademoiselle , was at this time the richest heiress in Europe; indeed, as her mother, Marie de Bourbon, heiress of the House of Montpensier, had died in giving her birth, she may be said to have had the role of demoiselle a marier from infancy. Seldom has any lady had so many suitors of exalted rank. The Emperor Ferdinand III., Philip IV. King of Spain, Alfonso VI. of Portugal, Charles II. of England (then, however, a king without a kingdom), 1 Monsieur, Louis XIV. ’s brother, the Dukes of Savoy, Lorraine, and 1 Charles II. was very anxious indeed to get possession ofMademoiselle’s wealth, in order to aid him in recovering his crown, and even promised “ to sacrifice his conscience and his salvation for her ” ; in other words, embrace the Roman Catholic faith. The princess, however, had no mind to risk her fortune in what she considered a hopeless struggle, 126 IHO'CI ■>Vs \Y . > \ ■ n / > , ANNE MARIE LOUISE D’ OR LEANS (Duchesse dr Mon'j pensile, called La Grande Mademoiselle) Front the Engraving by Nicolas de L’Armessin par MADAME DE MONTESPAN Neuburg , 1 and the Comte de Soissons, prince of the blood, were all, at one time or another, pretenders to her hand ; while it is quite possible that, but for the prominent part taken by her father and herself in the wars of the Fronde, she might have had the chance of becoming Queen of France . 2 Mademoiselle , however, seems to have been impervious to them all, with the exception of the Emperor, whose proposals she was not allowed to entertain, as they did not happen to accord with the views of the wily and, in spite of the exhortations of the devout Duchesse d’Aiguillon, “who pressed her terribly to marry Charles if he would become a Catholic, saying that she would be responsible to God for the salvation of his soul,” sent him about his business. 1 In 1653 the Duke of Neuburg sent his Jesuit confessor to Mademoiselle with proposals of marriage. The Jesuit showed the princess a portrait of the duke, saying, “ He is the best man in the world ; you will be extremely happy with him. His first wife, who was a sister of the King of Portugal, died of joy on his return from a voyage.” However, the duke’s offer was declined. 2 In the spring of 1652 her father sent her to relieve Orl6ans. She entered the town clad in complete armour, like a second Jeanne d’Arc, and compelled the Royalists to raise the siege. She afterwards took an active share in the defence of Paris ; and while the Battle of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine was in progress, threw herself into the Bastille and turned the cannon of the fortress on the King’s troops, thereby forcing them to retire, and saving the beaten army of Conde from annihilation. When Mazarin, who with the Queen-Mother and the young King was watching the fighting from a place of safety, saw the first gun discharged, he exclaimed : “ Voila un coup de canon qui a tue un mari!" meaning that by that act Mademoiselle had effectually destroyed all chance she might have possessed of marrying Louis XIV. Two days later, the Princess exhibited great courage and humanity in saving Lefevre, the provost of the merchants, and other Royalists from the fury of the mob, which, exasperated by Conde’s defeat, would otherwise have massacred them in cold blood. In fact, throughout the war Mademoiselle played a very heroic, if at times a slightly burlesque, part. 127 MADAME DE MONTESPAN Mazarin ; and she was approaching her fortieth year, still unwed, and, to all appearance, likely to remain so, when she fell violently in love with the Comte de Lauzun, a man many years younger than herself. A cadet of a noble, but impoverished, Gascon family, Lauzun, who, as his father was still alive, was then known as the Marquis de Puyguilhem, had come to Court about 1658, where he quickly succeeded in insinuating himself into the good graces of Louis XIV., who gave him a regiment of cavalry, and soon afterwards raised him to the rank of general and created for him the post of colonel- general of dragoons. La Fare says of Lauzun that he was “ the most impudent little man that had been seen for a century,” 1 and certainly the stories related about him go far to bear out this dictum. Fake the following, for example : — 1 Memoires du Marquis de la Fare (edit. 1 884), p. 94. Saint-Simon has left us an interesting portrait of Lauzun, which certainly does not depict him in a very favourable light : “ A small, fairish man, well made in figure, haughty in countenance, which was full of intelligence and imposing, though the face was not agreeable in youth, as I have been told by his contemporaries ; full of ambition, caprices, and oddities ; jealous of every one ; always anxious to get beyond the goal ; content with nothing ; unlettered, without any adornment or charm of mind ; naturally quick to take offence, solitary, morose ; a perfect noble in all his habits ; malicious and malignant by nature even more than from jealousy or ambition ; an excellent friend, when he was a friend, which was rare, and a good relation ; a ready enemy, even to those who did not interfere with him ; cruel to defects and in discovering cause for and applying ridicule ; extremely brave and at the same time dangerously rash ; a courtier equally insolent, sarcastic, and base to servility ; a master of all the resources of industry, intrigue, and villainy to attain his ends ; and, in addition to all this, dangerous to the Ministers, feared by every one, and full of cruel shafts of wit, which spared no one.” — Memoires du Due de Saint-Simon (edit. 1881), xx. 39. 128 MADAME DE MONTESPAN Lauzun was enamoured of the Princesse de Monaco , 1 whose heart he fondly imagined was his, and his alone, when one fine day it came to his knowledge that the lady was carrying on an intrigue with Louis XIV., and that, that very evening, Bontemps, the King’s confidential valet-de-chambre , was to conduct her muffled in a cloak, so as to avoid recognition, by way of a private staircase, to a door which communicated with his Majesty’s apart- ments. Lauzun, who was of a very jealous nature, was highly indignant at his mistress’s perfidy, and forthwith determined to see whether he could not devise some plan to thwart her intentions. Accordingly, he made a recon- naissance, which resulted in the discovery that almost immediately opposite the door by which the princess was to be admitted there was a large cupboard, used by the servants to keep their brushes, brooms, and so forth, through the keyhole of which it was possible to command a view of all who came in or went out. Here, some little time before the hour appointed for the rendezvous, he concealed himself, and, with his eye glued to the keyhole, 1 Catherine Charlotte de Gramont, sister of the celebrated Philibert de Gramont, and wife of Louis I., Prince de Monaco. Leaving her consort to the enjoyment of his miniature sovereignty, she lived a gay life at the French Court, where she was renowned for the rapid succession of her lovers, every one of whom was regularly hung in effigy by the prince in the avenue leading to his palace at Monaco, with a label round his neck for the information of passers-by. The number became so great that strangers flocked from far and near to admire the spectacle, and at length Louis XIV. felt constrained to interfere. He ordered the prince to remove the effigies ; but the latter turned a deaf ear to his suzerain’s commands and continued to add to his collection, until Louis, finding that his threats were vain and the scandal on the increase, had recourse to conciliatory methods, and promised that a strict guard should be kept over the princess, upon which understanding his Highness consented to do as he was required. 1 29 MADAME DE MONTESPAN awaited developments. After he had been on the watch for a few minutes, his patience was rewarded by seeing the King come out, put a key in the door, and go back again. No sooner had he disappeared, than Lauzun emerged from his hiding-place, double-locked the door, put the key in his pocket, and retreated to the shelter of his friendly cupboard. In due course, Bontemps and the lady arrived, and the former was much puzzled on finding that the key was not in the door according to arrange- ment. He began to look about, to see if by any chance it had been placed elsewhere, but, failing to discover it, knocked, at first very gently, then louder, and presently the King came to the door. Bontemps asked him to let them in, as the key was not in the lock. Louis replied that he had himself put it there only a few minutes before, and essayed to open the door, which, however, resisted his efforts. His Majesty was furious and was for breaking it open, but desisted on reflecting that the noise would inevitably bring other people to the spot and thus com- promise the princess. Eventually, he and Madame de Monaco “ had to say good-night to one another from opposite sides of the door,” to their intense mortification and the huge delight of Lauzun, who had, of course, been an unseen witness of the whole of the little comedy . 1 Another of Lauzun’s exploits, of which Madame de Montespan herself was the victim, was characterised by even greater audacity, but was, unfortunately for him, destined to be followed by very serious consequences. Not long after the marchioness became Louis XIV. ’s mistress, Lauzun had begged her to use her influence with the King to obtain for him the post of Grand Master of the Artillery — an appointment which the monarch had 1 Mimoires de Saint-Simon (edit. 1 8 8 1 ), xix. 175. 130 MADAME DE MONTESPAN already promised him, but which he had not yet confirmed, as Lauzun had foolishly broken the pledge of secrecy under which it had been given — and this the lady had promised to do. Being somewhat doubtful of her sincerity, however, he persuaded one of her femmes-de- chambre , who was in love with him, to conceal him in the favourite’s apartments, in a place where he could overhear every word that passed between Madame de Montespan and the King. “ A cough, the slightest movement,” says Saint-Simon, “ would have been sufficient to betray this rash person, and then what would have happened ? ” But his lucky star was in the ascendant, and he was enabled to learn all he wanted to know, and subsequently to effect his escape undetected, having had a very practical demon- stration of the truth of the old proverb which warns us that listeners never hear any good of themselves. Enraged beyond measure at the duplicity of the woman whom he had imagined to be his friend, Lauzun took the first opportunity of inquiring of her, “ with an engaging smile and a profound reverence,” if he might flatter him- self that she had condescended to remember her promise to plead his cause with the King. The favourite assured him that she had kept her word, and actually had the effrontery to tell him the arguments she had advanced to insure success. Thereupon, Lauzun entirely lost his temper and, seizing her by the wrist, repeated to her word for word the conversation she had had with the monarch, and wound up by overwhelming her with taunts and reproaches. Madame de Montespan was so overcome with astonish- ment and dismay that she was unable to utter a single word in reply, and had no sooner reached the Queen’s apartments, whither she was bound when met by Lauzun, MADAME DE MONTESPAN and where Louis XIV. was awaiting her, than she fainted away, to the great consternation of his Majesty. When she came to herself, she related to her royal lover all that had passed, and expressed her firm conviction that Lauzun must be in league with the Evil One, since in no other way could he possibly have obtained such an accurate account of the conversation they had had about him. The haughty favourite never forgave Lauzun for his insulting conduct towards her on this occasion , 1 and the events which we are about to relate provided her with an oppor- tunity of gratifying her malice to the full. Mademoiselle appears to have cast a favourable eye 1 Lauzun’s imprisonment in the Bastille, to which he was sent a few days later, was as a punishment for his insolence to the King, and not to Madame de Montespan, as some writers state. Saint-Simon says : “ When Puyguilhem (the title which he then bore) found that he was not to have the Artillery, the relations between him and the King became very strained. This could only last a few days. Puyguilhem, having the grande entrie (the right of entering the King’s private apartments at the same hours as the First Gentlemen of the Bedchamber and the high Court officials), watched for a tete-a-tete with the King, and summoned him audaciously to keep his promise. The King replied that he no longer felt called upon to do so, since he had only given him the promise under the pledge of secrecy, and that pledge he had failed to keep. Thereupon Puyguilhem walked away a few steps, turned his back on the King, drew his sword, broke the blade with his foot, and shouted furiously that he would never again serve a prince who had so shamefully broken his word. The King, in a transport of rage, did perhaps at this moment the finest action of his life. He turned instantly, opened the window, and flung out his cane, remarking that he should be sorry to strike a man of quality, and left the room. The next day Puyguilhem, who had not dared to show himself in the meantime, was arrested and taken to the Bastille .” — Memolres du Due de Saint-Simon (edit. 1 8 8 1 ), xix. 173. Lauzun’s imprisonment was a very brief one, and, through the inter- cession of his friend, the Marquis de Guitry, he was not only restored to favour, but made captain of the King’s bodyguard, 132 MADAME DE MONTESPAN upon Lauzun as early as the year 1660, when, in referring to Madame de Monaco’s (then Mademoiselle de Gramont) tendresse for the Count, she writes that “ other people had the same taste — perhaps too many for the welfare of the personage in question ” ; but it was not until some years later that she became “ convinced that he was the only man capable of sustaining the dignity of the position which her rank and fortune could confer — the only person, in short, worthy of her choice.” The details of the courtship, as related by Mademoiselle in her entertaining Memoir es , are intensely amusing. Lauzun, though of course overjoyed at his extraordinary good fortune, was far too shrewd to allow the princess to suspect his real feelings. At first, he affected to believe that her interest in him was such as a sovereign might take in a subject, and invariably treated her “ with a respect so submissive that he would never even approach her unless she had taken the precaution to make the first advances.” This was very gratifying to Mademoiselle' s vanity, for, though a virtuous and kind-hearted woman, she had an overweaning idea of her own importance, and her predilection for the count’s society began to excite remark. Then, when it was no longer possible for him to pretend to misunderstand her, Lauzun assumed the airs of the pensive, melancholy bachelor, who was as yet a com- plete stranger to the tender passion, and played the part so adroitly that the lady became more infatuated than ever. She tells us how, on one occasion, she rose at daybreak, in order to watch her gallant ride past her windows at the head of his regiment ; how, on another, at a review, when Lauzun, hat in hand, was addressing the King, she implored his Majesty to request the count to cover him- self, as, the weather being damp, she was fearful lest he i33 MADAME DE MONTESPAN should take cold ; and how, on a third, she held him in conversation for the space of five hours. At length, she confided in him that she was desirous of bestowing her hand upon one whom she fondly loved, and whom she had every reason to believe reciprocated her passion, but whose “ elevation of soul ” was his only qualification for so great an honour. Would he advise her to brave the disapproval of the world and follow the dictates of her heart, or wed where she could not give her affection ? Modesty, she added, forbade her to tell him the name of her beloved, but she would write it upon a sheet of paper, leaving a blank space at the bottom for his reply, and enclose it in an envelope, which she would hand him in the course of the evening. When Lauzun opened the letter, the words “ C'est vous ” met his eye. Of course the cunning adventurer protested that he was overwhelmed by the honour which the princess pro- posed to do him, painted in glowing terms his own un- worthiness, hinted at the possible displeasure of the King, whose regard, he assured her, no consideration on earth could induce him to forfeit, the opposition of the Royal Family, and so forth ; all of which objections, as he fore- saw, only served to confirm Mademoiselle in her resolu- tion, for she was one of the most obstinate women who ever breathed, and eventually he consented to become her husband. If he had behaved with becoming diffidence during the courtship, he showed himself wonderfully wide- awake to his own interests as soon as the matter was settled, and not only persuaded the infatuated princess to promise to obtain for him the title of Due de Montpensier, but to make a donation in his favour of the bulk of her immense estates, including the principality of Dombes and the county of Eu. 1 34 MADAME DE MONTESPAN But before the marriage could take place, the King’s sanction was required. Mademoiselle had not the hardi- hood to seek a personal interview with her cousin, but wrote him instead a long letter, requesting permission to wed her Lauzun. His Majesty returned a very gracious, if somewhat evasive, answer, assuring her of his affection and of his unwillingness to stand in the way of her happi- ness, but begging her to think well over the matter, and to do nothing in haste. A few days later, Mademoiselle , encouraged apparently by the “ gracious air ” with which the King had regarded her and her lover when he hap- pened to observe them conversing at the Tuileries, laid wait for Louis as he was retiring to rest, and urged her demand with so much warmth and eloquence that the King gave his consent, advising her at the same time “ to keep her project a secret till the moment of its execution.” Now if Mademoiselle and Lauzun had been sensible enough to follow this advice, all would have been well ; for had the marriage once taken place, nothing short of a Papal decree could have set it aside. But alas ! “ the princess being intoxicated with love, and the count with vanity ,” 1 they not only decided to proclaim their approach- ing union to the world, but to defer its consummation until arrangements could be made to celebrate it with becoming pomp and magnificence. This publicity and delay ruined everything. The announcement that '■'■Mademoiselle — la Grande Mademoi- selle — Mademoiselle , daughter of the late Monsieur — Mademoiselle , grand-daughter of Henri IV. — Mademoi- selle d’Eu — Mademoiselle de Dombes — Mademoiselle de Montpensier — Mademoiselle , cousin-german to the King — Mademoiselle , the only match thought worthy of ' Memoires du Marquis de La Fare , p. 96. •35 MADAME DE MONTESPAN Monsieur ,” 1 was about to bestow her hand upon a simple gentleman, caused the most unbounded astonishment at Court, where, as Sismondi observes, the conquest of a province or the downfall of a monarchy would have caused less sensation. The Royal Family were furiously indignant at the idea of such a misalliance. Monsieur , whose hand Mademoiselle had recently rejected, remon- strated with the King in the strongest terms, and declared that to allow such a marriage to take place in the Louvre, a privilege which the lovers had requested, would be to dishonour the memory of Henri IV. The Prince de Cond6 announced his intention of attending the ceremony — in order to blow out the bridegroom’s brains as he left the church. Even the Queen, who seldom interfered in matters which did not immediately concern herself, added her voice to the general clamour of disapproval, and, according to Mademoiselle , spent the whole of one night dissolved in tears. Louvois, too, Lauzun’s most bitter enemy, was active in the same direction, and, in company with several Ministers and noblemen, waited upon the King, and represented to him that the proposed marriage could not fail to be most injurious to his reputation, not only in France but in foreign countries as well, since every one would believe that he did not hesitate to sacri- fice his nearest relatives to make the fortunes of his favourites. Finally, Madame de Montespan, eager to avenge the affront of which mention has already been made, and persuaded, it is said, by Madame de Maintenon, whose interests at this time marched with her employer’s, that, sup- ported by the immense wealth of Mademoiselle , Lauzun’s influence might clash with her own, threw her weight into the opposition scale, and thus disposed of any lingering 1 Madame de Sevigne to Madame de Grignan, Dec. 15, 1670. 136 MADAME DE MONTESPAN scruples that Louis might have entertained about retracting the promise he had given to his cousin. The result was that on December 18, 1670, two days before the date fixed for the ceremony, a messenger was despatched to the Luxembourg — where he found the bride- elect superintending the preparation of her future hus- band’s apartments — with a request that she would repair at once to the Tuileries. When she arrived, the King informed her that he was inconsolable at what he felt compelled to announce to her, but that public opinion was accusing him of sacrificing his cousin to the interests of his favourite ; that such a report would injure his reputa- tion at Foreign Courts, and that, therefore, he could not allow the affair to proceed. Poor Mademoiselle , bathed in tears, threw herself at the King’s feet, declared that, if he persisted in depriving her of her Lauzun, she asked nothing better than to be allowed to die there upon the spot, and used every argument she could think of to induce him to relent. But, though his Majesty was so touched by her grief that he, too, went down upon his knees, and remained in that position for three-quarters of an hour, mingling his tears with hers, he was obdurate. When the unhappy lady at length realised that nothing would shake the King’s resolution, and that her lover was indeed lost to her, her agony of mind was pitiable to behold, and found vent in “tears, cries, lamentations, and the most violent expressions of grief.” 1 Her distress, 1 Letter of Madame de Sevigne to Madame de Grignan, December 20, 1670. The Abbe de Choisy relates that he was at the Luxembourg when Mademoiselle returned from her interview with the King, and that she came in “looking like a Fury, with dishevelled hair, and menacing heaven and earth with her fists.” On the way thither, she had, in her rage, broken the windows of her coach. 137 MADAME DE MONTESPAN however, if we are to believe the testimony of that rather malicious chronicler, Madame de Caylus, would appear not to have been without its humorous side. “ She took to her bed,” says the writer in question, “ and received visitors like a disconsolate widow, and I have heard Madame de Maintenon relate that she kept crying out in her despair, ‘ He should be there ! He should be there ! ’ that is to say, ‘ he should be in my bed,’ for she pointed to the vacant place.” 1 But, alas for Mademoiselle , a worse trial was in store for her ! In the following November, Lauzun was sud- denly arrested and conveyed to the Bastille, and thence to Pignerol, where he was kept a close prisoner for ten years, without any reason whatever being assigned for his detention. This affair caused all the more astonishment at Court as, since the rupture of his marriage, Louis XIV., as if anxious to compensate the count for his disappointment, had loaded him with favours. Voltaire ascribes the arrest to the fact that the King had discovered that a secret marriage had taken place between him and Mademoiselle ; but this cannot have been the cause, for even if there was such a marriage, of which no satisfactory proof exists, it could not have been celebrated until after Lauzun’s release, as when that event took place, Mademoiselle was urging the King to withdraw his prohibition. The reason given by Saint-Simon and La Fare appears far more probable. Both of these writers attribute it to a rapprochement between Louvois and Madame de Montespan, the former of whom had long been bitterly jealous of Lauzun on account of his favour with his sovereign and his popularity 1 Souvenirs et Correspondance de Madame de Caylus (edit. 1889), p. 79. .38 ■UJJ-iT ;IJ J3H01M aiO'3XA>l'W , 'X. ■ MJ<