Louis XIV and La Grande Mademoiselle Part 16

[Footnote 132: _Journal d'Olivier Lefevre d'Ormesson._]

[Footnote 133: _Memoires de Bussy-Rabutin._]

[Footnote 134: _a nos Seigneurs de Parlement._--Archives of the Chateau of Eu. Mgr. le Duc d'Orleans has thrown open to me the Archives of Eu with a liberality for which I here heartily express my grat.i.tude.]

[Footnote 135: _Declaration par le Menu du Comte d'Eu_ (May 8, 1660), and _Inventoire general du Comte d'Eu_ (July 1, 1663).]

[Footnote 136: The Norman acre contains 81 acres and 71 _centiares._]

[Footnote 137: Her request to the King was dated February 9, 1661 (Archives of Eu).]

[Footnote 138: The debts amounted exactly to 2,700,718 frs. 18 sols.

(_Liste des Creanciers_ in Archives of the Chateau of Eu). It will be remembered that Mademoiselle paid for Eu 2,550,000 frs.]

[Footnote 139: The account of the entry of Mademoiselle is in the Archives of the Chateau of Eu.]

[Footnote 140: Motteville.]

[Footnote 141: _Histoire de France_, by Leopold Ranke.]

[Footnote 142: _Numero_ of September 14, 1663.]

[Footnote 143: The marriage took place on January 28th.]

[Footnote 144: Philippe IV. died September 17, 1665.]

[Footnote 145: Cf. _La Relation des Divertiss.e.m.e.nts que le Roi a donnes aux Reines_, etc., by Marigny (June, 1664).]

[Footnote 146: Number of July, 21, 1663, and _pa.s.sim_.]

[Footnote 147: Louis XIV. had bought Dunkerque from the King of England.

The city was delivered November 27, 1662. For account of the entrance of the King, see the _Gazette_.]

[Footnote 148: Louis XIV. was installed at Versailles, as a residence, May 6, 1682.]

[Footnote 149: Letter to the Queen of Poland, Marie de Gonzague (Archives of Chantilly). The Duc d'Enghien had married, December 11, 1663, Anne de Bariere, daughter of the Princess Palatine and niece of Marie de Gonzague.]

[Footnote 150: _Journal d'Olivier d'Ormesson._]

[Footnote 151: Letter of October 31st to the Queen of Poland (Archives of Chantilly).]

[Footnote 152: Cf. _De La Valliere a Montespan_, by Jean Lemoine and Andre Lichtenberger.]

[Footnote 153: Letter dated December 28, 1663, to the Queen of Poland (Archives of Chantilly).]

[Footnote 154: See the _Moliere_ of the _Grands ecrivains_, v., iv.]

[Footnote 155: See the contemporary engravings. Some reproductions will be found in the beautiful work of M. de Nolhac, _La Creation de Versailles_.]

[Footnote 156: See the _Youth of La Grande Mademoiselle_.]

[Footnote 157: From the 7th to the 11th of May, the first two days and the last two not counted.]

[Footnote 158: Number of February 3, 1663, apropos of a ball given at the Louvre by the King on January 31st.]

[Footnote 159: For this portion, see the _Gazette_ of May 17th, the letters from Loret of the 10th and 17th, various _Relations du temps_, the _Moliere_ of the _Grands ecrivains_, etc.]

[Footnote 160: _Louise de La Valliere_, by J. Lair.]

[Footnote 161: See _La Cabale des Devots_, by M. Raoul Allier.]

[Footnote 162: A doubtful phrase.]

CHAPTER IV.

Increasing Importance of the Affairs of Love--The Corrupters of Morals--Birth of Dramatic Music and its Influence--Love in Racine--Louis XIV. and the n.o.bility--The King is Polygamous.

It was neither through compa.s.sion nor through friendship that Louis XIV.

had recalled from exile a second time his cousin Mlle. de Montpensier.

He had renounced the idea of marrying her to Alphonse VI. since she persisted in her refusal, but he pursued the plan of giving her in marriage "where it would be useful to his service."

And there was reason for entertaining another project. While she was in penitence at Eu, one of the little sisters, Mlle. de Valois, had married the Duc de Savoie, Charles Emmanuel II., and had died (January 14, 1664), at the end of some months of wedded life. The widowhood of princes is rarely a matter of long duration. The King had immediately arranged to offer the millions of the Grande Mademoiselle to the Duc de Savoie, it being of first importance to bring back this territory to France, and to recompense the King of Portugal by giving him one of the princesses of Nemours.[163]

The new combination was well known in the political world. One reads in the journal of Olivier d'Ormesson on the date of June 4, 1664: "M. Le Pelletier[164] tells me of the return of Mlle. d'Orleans, and that the King had written to her with his own hand, permitting her to come back, without saying anything to the Queen Mother; but this was with the Savoie marriage in sight." Louis XIV. had not resigned himself without effort to the idea of procuring so fine an establishment for an ancient Frondeuse. It may be seen through a letter from the grand Conde to the Queen of Poland that the royal rancour had yielded for reasons of State:

Fontainebleau, June 3, 1664.

Mademoiselle having written to the King about the pregnancy of the Queen, his Majesty has himself responded, which is a mark of softened feelings, and every one believes that she will return and that his Majesty will consent to her marriage with M. de Savoie, which up to this time he has not desired, because he preferred that of Mlle. d'Alencon[165]: but as she is very ugly, and as an additional distinction is badly marked with small-pox, he has reason to believe that M. de Savoie will not be willing to espouse her; and he fears that there may be a question of a union with the Austrian House, and thus I believe, in spite of his own dislikes, he will wish to hasten the marriage of Mademoiselle which, however, is not so certain as it appears.[166]

There was no danger of pouts in regard to this prospective husband; this the King well understood. Mademoiselle arrived at Fontainebleau during the first fortnight of June, 1664. The entire Court had met her upon the highway.

Mademoiselle was the first to whom the King had yielded since a.s.suming the reins of government. This was a glory; she, indeed, felt it and held her head high. Louis XIV. had the good taste to ignore this att.i.tude. He greeted her graciously and limited his vengeance to teasing her during the few days she pa.s.sed with him. "Confess," said he to her, "that you are very bored." She cried, "I a.s.sure you not at all, and I often think that the Court is very much deceived if it believes me disenchanted, for I have not experienced a moment's dulness."

The King, however, believed only what pleased him. One evening, after the play, he led her upon a little terrace and spoke in these terms: "The past must be forgotten. Be persuaded that you will receive all good treatment from me in the future, and that I am contemplating your establishment. Naturally, M. de Savoie is a better match than formerly; his mother is dead. He will recognise the difference between your sister and yourself. Thus you will be very happy and I shall work seriously to accomplish this." The King's discourse was followed by an exchange of effusions. "We embraced each other, my cousin and I," said the King in reappearing before his Court, and the signal word was at once comprehended.

The Grande Mademoiselle pa.s.sed an almost triumphal week at Fontainebleau.

The repose of provincial life was hard to bear in comparison. The King, the ministers, and the amba.s.sadors all worked for the marriage. There was nothing to do but to leave them to act. Mademoiselle wished to aid.

To commence she undertook to reduce to silence the old Madame, who was outraged by her eagerness to replace her younger sister.

Dissatisfactions grew into quarrels and Louis XIV. was forced to intervene, and to silence all these women. He wrote to Mademoiselle:

TO MY COUSIN

MY COUSIN: