initial commit of ebook 3866HEADmain

7 files changed, 5678 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6833f05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+* text=auto
+*.txt text
+*.md text
diff --git a/3866.txt b/3866.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..30a25db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/3866.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2804 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Memoirs of Louis XIV., Volume 7
+by Duc de Saint-Simon
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Memoirs of Louis XIV., Volume 7
+       And His Court and of The Regency
+
+Author: Duc de Saint-Simon
+
+Release Date: December 3, 2004 [EBook #3866]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XIV., ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+          MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XIV AND HIS COURT AND OF THE REGENCY
+
+                        BY THE DUKE OF SAINT-SIMON
+
+
+
+
+VOLUME 7.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVII
+
+The death of D'Avaux, who had formerly been our ambassador in Holland,
+occurred in the early part of this year (1709).  D'Avaux was one of the
+first to hear of the project of William of Orange upon England, when that
+project was still only in embryo, and kept profoundly secret.  He
+apprised the King (Louis XIV.) of it, but was laughed at.  Barillon, then
+our ambassador in England, was listened to in preference.  He, deceived
+by Sunderland and the other perfidious ministers of James II.; assured
+our Court that D'Avaux's reports were mere chimeras.  It was not until it
+was impossible any longer to doubt that credit was given to them.  The
+steps that we then took, instead of disconcerting all the measures of the
+conspirators, as we could have done, did not interfere with the working
+out of any one of their plans.  All liberty was left, in fact, to William
+to carry out his scheme.  The anecdote which explains how this happened
+is so curious, that it deserves to be mentioned here.
+
+Louvois, who was then Minister of War, was also superintendent of the
+buildings.  The King, who liked building, and who had cast off all his
+mistresses, had pulled down the little porcelain Trianon he had made for
+Madame de Montespan, and was rebuilding it in the form it still retains.
+One day he perceived, for his glance was most searching, that one window
+was a trifle narrower than the others.  He showed it to Louvois, in order
+that it might be altered, which, as it was not then finished, was easy to
+do.  Louvois sustained that the window was all right.  The King insisted
+then, and on the morrow also, but Louvois, pigheaded and inflated with
+his authority, would not yield.
+
+The next day the King saw Le Notre in the gallery.  Although his trade
+was gardens rather than houses, the King did not fail to consult him upon
+the latter.  He asked him if he had been to Trianon.  Le Notre replied
+that he had not.  The King ordered him to go.  On the morrow he saw Le
+Notre again; same question, same answer.  The King comprehended the
+reason of this, and a little annoyed, commanded him to be there that
+afternoon at a given time.  Le Notre did not dare to disobey this time.
+The King arrived, and Louvois being present, they returned to the subject
+of the window, which Louvois obstinately said was as broad as the rest.
+The King wished Le Notre to measure it, for he knew that, upright and
+true, he would openly say what he found.  Louvois, piqued, grew angry.
+The King, who was not less so, allowed him to say his say.  Le Notre,
+meanwhile, did not stir.  At last, the King made him go, Louvois still
+grumbling, and maintaining his assertion with audacity and little
+measure.  Le Notre measured the window, and said that the King was right
+by several inches.  Louvois still wished to argue, but the King silenced
+him, and commanded him to see that the window was altered at once,
+contrary to custom abusing him most harshly.
+
+What annoyed Louvois most was, that this scene passed not only before all
+the officers of the buildings, but in presence of all who followed the
+King in his promenades, nobles, courtiers, officers of the guard, and
+others, even all the rolete.  The dressing given to Louvois was smart and
+long, mixed with reflections upon the fault of this window, which, not
+noticed so soon, might have spoiled all the facade, and compelled it to
+be re-built.
+
+Louvois, who was not accustomed to be thus treated, returned home in
+fury, and like a man in despair.  His familiars were frightened, and in
+their disquietude angled to learn what had happened.  At last he told
+them, said he was lost, and that for a few inches the King forgot all his
+services, which had led to so many conquests; he declared that henceforth
+he would leave the trowel to the King, bring about a war, and so arrange
+matters that the King should have good need of him!
+
+He soon kept his word.  He caused a war to grow out of the affair of the
+double election of Cologne, of the Prince of Bavaria, and of the Cardinal
+of Furstenberg; he confirmed it in carrying the flames into the
+Palatinate, and in leaving, as I have said, all liberty to the project
+upon England; he put the finishing touch to his work by forcing the Duke
+of Savoy into the arms of his enemies, and making him become, by the
+position of his country, our enemy, the most difficult and the most
+ruinous.  All that I have here related was clearly brought to light in
+due time.
+
+Boisseuil died shortly after D'Avaux.  He was a tall, big man, warm and
+violent, a great gambler, bad tempered,--who often treated M. le Grand
+and Madame d'Armagnac, great people as they were, so that the company
+were ashamed,--and who swore in the saloon of Marly as if he had been in
+a tap-room.  He was feared; and he said to women whatever came uppermost
+when the fury of a cut-throat seized him.  During a journey the King and
+Court made to Nancy, Boisseuil one evening sat down to play in the house
+of one of the courtiers.  A player happened to be there who played very
+high.  Boisseuil lost a good deal, and was very angry.  He thought he
+perceived that this gentleman, who was only permitted on account of his
+play, was cheating, and made such good use of his eyes that he soon found
+this was the case, and all on a sudden stretched across the table and
+seized the gambler's hand, which he held upon the table, with the cards
+he was going to deal.  The gentleman, very much astonished, wished to
+withdraw his hand, and was angry.  Boisseuil, stronger than he, said that
+he was a rogue, and that the company should see it, and immediately
+shaking his hand with fury put in evidence his deceit.  The player,
+confounded, rose and went away.  The game went on, and lasted long into
+the night.  When finished, Boisseuil went away.  As he was leaving the
+door he found a man stuck against the wall--it was the player--who called
+him to account for the insult he had received.  Boisseuil replied that he
+should give him no satisfaction, and that he was a rogue.
+
+"That may be," said the player, "but I don't like to be told so."
+
+They went away directly and fought.  Boisseuil received two wounds, from
+one of which he was like to die.  The other escaped without injury.
+
+I have said, that after the affair of M. de Cambrai, Madame de Maintenon
+had taken a rooted dislike to M. de Beauvilliers.  She had become
+reconciled to him in appearance during the time that Monseigneur de
+Bourgogne was a victim to the calumnies of M. de Vendome, because she had
+need of him.  Now that Monseigneur de Bourgogne was brought back to
+favour, and M. de Vendome was disgraced, her antipathy for M, de
+Beauvilliers burst out anew, and she set her wits to work to get rid of
+him from the Council of State, of which he was a member.  The witch
+wished to introduce her favourite Harcourt there in his place, and worked
+so well to bring about this result that the King promised he should be
+received.
+
+His word given, or rather snatched from him, the King was embarrassed as
+to how, to keep it, for he did not wish openly to proclaim Harcourt
+minister.  It was agreed, therefore, that at the next Council Harcourt
+should be present, as though by accident, in the King's ante-chamber;
+that, Spanish matters being brought up, the King should propose to
+consult Harcourt, and immediately after should direct search to be made
+far him, to see if, by chance, he was close at hand; that upon finding
+him, he should be conducted to the Council, made to enter and seat
+himself, and ever afterwards be regarded as a Minister of State.
+
+This arrangement was kept extremely secret, according to the express
+commands of the King: I knew it, however, just before it was to be
+executed, and I saw at once that the day of Harcourt's entry into the
+Council would be the day of M. de Beauvilliers' disgrace.  I sent,
+therefore, at once for M. de Beauvilliers, begging him to come to my
+house immediately, and that I would then tell him why I could not come to
+him.  Without great precaution everything becomes known at Court.
+
+In less than half an hour M. de Beauvilliers arrived, tolerably disturbed
+at my message.  I asked him if he knew anything, and I turned him about,
+less to pump him than to make him ashamed of his ignorance, and to
+persuade him the better afterwards to do what I wished.  When I had well
+trotted out his ignorance, I apprised him of what I had just learnt.  He
+was astounded; he so little expected it!  I had not much trouble to
+persuade him that, although his expulsion might not yet be determined on,
+the intrusion of Harcourt must pave the way for it.  He admitted to me
+that for some days he had found, the King cold and embarrassed with him,
+but that he had paid little attention to the circumstance, the reason of
+which was now clear.  There was no time to lose.  In twenty-four hours
+all would be over.  I therefore took the liberty in the first instance of
+scolding him for his profound ignorance of what passed at the Court, and
+was bold enough to say to him that he had only to thank himself for the
+situation he found himself in.  He let me say to the end without growing
+angry, then smiled, and said, "Well!  what do you think I ought to do?"
+
+That was just what I wanted.  I replied that there was only one course
+open to him, and that was to have an interview with the King early the
+next morning; to say to him, that he had been informed Harcourt was about
+to enter the Council; that he thought the affairs of State would suffer
+rather than otherwise if Harcourt did so; and finally, to allude to the
+change that had taken place in the King's manner towards him lately, and
+to say, with all respect, affection, and submission, that he was equally
+ready to continue serving the King or to give up his appointments, as his
+Majesty might desire.
+
+M. de Beauvilliers took pleasure in listening to me.  He embraced me
+closely, and promised to follow the course I had marked out.
+
+The next morning I went straight to him, and learned that he had
+perfectly succeeded.  He had spoken exactly as I had suggested.  The King
+appeared astonished and piqued that the secret of Harcourt's entry into
+the Council was discovered.  He would not hear a word as to resignation
+of office on the part of M. de Beauvilliers, and appeared more satisfied
+with him than ever.  Whether, without this interview, he would have been
+lost, I know not, but by the coldness and embarrassment of the King
+before that interview, and during the first part of it, I am nearly
+persuaded that he would.  M. de Beauvilliers embraced me again very
+tenderly--more than once.
+
+As for Harcourt, sure of his good fortune, and scarcely able to contain
+his joy, he arrived at the meeting place.  Time ran on.  During the
+Council there are only the most subaltern people in the antechambers and
+a few courtiers who pass that way to go from one wing to another.  Each
+of these subalterns eagerly asked M. d'Harcourt what he wanted, if he
+wished for anything, and importuned him strongly.  He was obliged to
+remain there, although he had no pretext.  He went and came, limping with
+his stick, not knowing what to reply to the passers-by, or the attendants
+by whom he was remarked.  At last, after waiting long, he returned as he
+came, much disturbed at not having been called.  He sent word so to
+Madame de Maintenon, who, in her turn, was as much disturbed, the King
+not having said a word to her, and she not having dared to say a word to
+him.  She consoled Harcourt, hoping that at the next Council he would be
+called.  At her wish he waited again, as before, during another Council,
+but with as little success.  He was very much annoyed, comprehending that
+the affair had fallen through.
+
+Madame de Maintenon did not, however, like to be defeated in this way.
+After waiting some time she spoke to the King, reminding him what he had
+promised to do.  The King replied in confusion that he had thought better
+of it; that Harcourt was on bad terms with all the Ministers, and might,
+if admitted to the Council, cause them much embarrassment; he preferred,
+therefore, things to remain as they were.  This was said in a manner that
+admitted of no reply.
+
+Madame de Maintenon felt herself beaten; Harcourt was in despair.  M. de
+Beauvilliers was quite reestablished in the favour of the King.  I
+pretended to have known nothing of this affair, and innocent asked many
+questions about it when all was over.  I was happy to the last degree
+that everything had turned out so well.
+
+M. le Prince, who for more than two years had not appeared at the Court,
+died at Paris a little after midnight on the night between Easter Sunday
+and Monday, the last of March and first of April, and in his seventy-
+sixth year.  No man had ever more ability of all kinds, extending even to
+the arts and mechanics more valour, and, when it pleased him, more
+discernment, grace, politeness, and nobility.  But then no man had ever
+before so many useless talents, so much genius of no avail, or an
+imagination so calculated to be a bugbear to itself and a plague to
+others.  Abjectly and vilely servile even to lackeys, he scrupled not to
+use the lowest and paltriest means to gain his ends.  Unnatural son,
+cruel father, terrible husband, detestable master, pernicious neighbour;
+without friendship, without friends--incapable of having any jealous,
+suspicious, ever restless, full of slyness and artifices to discover and
+to scrutinise all, (in which he was unceasingly occupied, aided by an
+extreme vivacity and a surprising penetration,) choleric and headstrong
+to excess even for trifles, difficult of access, never in accord with
+himself, and keeping all around him in a tremble; to conclude,
+impetuosity and avarice were his masters, which monopolised him always.
+With all this he was a man difficult to be proof against when he put in
+play the pleasing qualities he possessed.
+
+Madame la Princesse, his wife, was his continual victim.  She was
+disgustingly ugly, virtuous, and foolish, a little humpbacked, and stunk
+like a skunk, even from a distance.  All these things did not hinder M.
+le Prince from being jealous of her even to fury up to the very last.
+The piety, the indefatigable attention of Madame la Princesse, her
+sweetness, her novice-like submission, could not guarantee her from
+frequent injuries, or from kicks, and blows with the fist, which were not
+rare.  She was not mistress even of the most trifling things; she did not
+dare to propose or ask anything.  He made her set out from one place to
+another the moment the fancy took him.  Often when seated in their coach
+he made her descend, or return from the end of the street, then
+recommence the journey after dinner, or the next day.  This see-sawing
+lasted once fifteen days running, before a trip to Fontainebleau.  At
+other times he sent for her from church, made her quit high mass, and
+sometimes sent for her the moment she was going to receive the sacrament;
+she was obliged to return at once and put off her communion to another
+occasion.  It was not that he wanted her, but it was merely to gratify
+his whim that he thus troubled her.
+
+He was always of, uncertain habits, and had four dinners ready for him
+every day; one at Paris, one at Ecouen, one at Chantilly, and one where
+the Court was.  But the expense of this arrangement was not great; he
+dined on soup, and the half of a fowl roasted upon a crust of bread; the
+other half serving for the next day.  He rarely invited anybody to
+dinner, but when he did, no man could be more polite or attentive to his
+guests.
+
+Formerly he had been in love with several ladies of the Court; then,
+nothing cost too much.  He was grace, magnificence, gallantry in person--
+a Jupiter transformed into a shower of gold.  Now he disguised himself as
+a lackey, another time as a female broker in articles for the toilette;
+and now in another fashion.  He was the most ingenious man in the world.
+He once gave a grand fete solely for the purpose of retarding the journey
+into Italy of a lady with whom he was enamoured, with whom he was on good
+terms, and whose husband he amused by making verses.  He hired all the
+houses on one side of a street near Saint Sulpice, furnished them, and
+pierced the connecting walls, in order to be able thus to reach the place
+of rendezvous without being suspected.
+
+Jealous and cruel to his mistresses, he had, amongst others, the Marquise
+de Richelieu; whom I name, because she is not worth the trouble of being
+silent upon.  He was hopelessly smitten and spent millions upon her and
+to learn her movements.  He knew that the Comte de Roucy shared her
+favours (it was for her that sagacious Count proposed to put straw before
+the house in order to guarantee her against the sound of the church
+bells, of which she complained).  M. le Prince reproached her for
+favouring the Count.  She defended herself; but he watched her so
+closely, that he brought home the offence to her without her being able
+to deny it.  The fear of losing a lover so rich as was M. le Prince
+furnished her on the spot with an excellent suggestion for putting him at
+ease.  She proposed to make an appointment at her own house with the
+Comte de Roucy, M. le Prince's people to lie in wait, and when the Count
+appeared, to make away with him.  Instead of the success she expected
+from a proposition so humane and ingenious, M. le Prince was so horror-
+struck, that he warned the Comte de Roucy, and never saw the Marquise de
+Richelieu again all his life.
+
+The most surprising thing was, that with so much ability, penetration,
+activity, and valour, as had M. le Prince, with the desire to be as great
+a warrior as the Great Conde, his father, he could never succeed in
+understanding even the first elements of the military art.  Instructed as
+he was by his father, he never acquired the least aptitude in war.  It
+was a profession was not born for, and for which he could not qualify
+himself by study.  During the last fifteen or twenty years of his life,
+he was accused of something more than fierceness and ferocity.
+Wanderings were noticed in his conduct, which were not exhibited in his
+own house alone.  Entering one morning into the apartment of the
+Marechale de Noailles (she herself has related this to me) as her bed was
+being made, and there being only the counterpane to put on, he stopped
+short at the door, crying with transport, "Oh, the nice bed, the nice
+bed!"  took a spring, leaped upon the bed, rolled himself upon it seven
+or eight times, then descended and made his excuses to the Marechale,
+saying that her bed was so clean and so well-made, that he could not
+hinder himself from jumping upon it; and this, although there had never
+been anything between them; and when the Marechale, who all her life had
+been above suspicion, was at an age at which she could not give birth to
+any.  Her servants remained stupefied, and she as much as they.  She got
+out of the difficulty by laughing and treating it as a joke.  It was
+whispered that there were times when M. le Prince believed himself a dog,
+or some other beast, whose manners he imitated; and I have known people
+very worthy of faith who have assured me they have seen him at the going
+to bed of the King suddenly throw his head into the air several times
+running, and open his mouth quite wide, like a dog while barking, yet
+without making a noise.  It is certain, that for a long time nobody saw
+him except a single valet, who had control over him, and who did not
+annoy him.
+
+In the latter part of his life he attended in a ridiculously minute
+manner to his diet and its results, and entered into discussions which
+drove his doctors to despair.  Fever and gout at last attacked him, and
+he augmented them by the course he pursued.  Finot, our physician and
+his, at times knew not what to do with him.  What embarrassed Finot most,
+as he related to us more than once, was that M. le Prince would eat
+nothing, for the simple reason, as he alleged, that he was dead, and that
+dead men did not eat!  It was necessary, however, that he should take
+something, or he would have really died.  Finot, and another doctor who
+attended him, determined to agree with him that he was dead, but to
+maintain that dead men sometimes eat.  They offered to produce dead men
+of this kind; and, in point of fact, led to M. le Prince some persons
+unknown to him, who pretended to be dead, but who ate nevertheless.  This
+trick succeeded, but he would never eat except with these men and Finot.
+On that condition he ate well, and this jealousy lasted a long time, and
+drove Finot to despair by its duration; who, nevertheless, sometimes
+nearly died of laughter in relating to us what passed at these repasts,
+and the conversation from the other world heard there.
+
+M. le Prince's malady augmenting, Madame la Princesse grew bold enough to
+ask him if he did not wish to think of his conscience, and to see a
+confessor.  He amused himself tolerably long in refusing to do so.  Some
+months before he had seen in secret Pere de la Tour.  He had sent to the
+reverend father asking him to, come by night and disguised.  Pere de la
+Tour, surprised to the last degree at so wild a proposition, replied that
+the respect he owed to the cloth would prevent him visiting M. le Prince
+in disguise; but that he would come in his ordinary attire.  M. le Prince
+agreed to this last imposed condition.  He made the Pere de la Tour enter
+at night by a little back door, at which an attendant was in waiting to
+receive him.  He was led by this attendant, who had a lantern in one hand
+and a key in the other, through many long and obscure passages; and
+through many doors, which were opened and closed upon him as he passed.
+Having arrived at last at the sick-chamber, he confessed M. le Prince,
+and was conducted out of the house in the same manner and by the same way
+as before.  These visits were repeated during several months.
+
+The Prince's malady rapidly increased and became extreme.  The doctors
+found him so ill on the night of Easter Sunday that they proposed to him
+the sacrament for the next day.  He disputed with them, and said that if
+he was so very bad it would be better to take the sacraments at once, and
+have done with them.  They in their turn opposed this, saying there was
+no need of so much hurry.  At last, for fear of incensing him, they
+consented, and he received all hurriedly the last sacraments.  A little
+while after he called M. le Duc to him, and spoke of the honours he
+wished at his funeral, mentioning those which had been omitted at the
+funeral of his father, but which he did not wish to be omitted from his.
+He talked of nothing but this and of the sums he had spent at Chantilly,
+until his reason began to wander.
+
+Not a soul regretted him; neither servants, nor friends, neither child
+nor wife.  Indeed the Princess was so ashamed of her tears that she made
+excuses for them.  This was scarcely to be wondered at.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVIII.
+
+It is time now that I should speak of our military operations this year
+and of the progress of the war.  Let me commence by stating the
+disposition of our armies at the beginning of the campaign.
+
+Marechal Boufflers, having become dangerously ill, was unable to take
+command in Flanders.  Marechal de Villars was accordingly appointed in
+his stead under Monseigneur, and with him served the King of England,
+under his incognito of the previous year, and M. le Duc de Berry, as
+volunteers.  The Marechal d'Harcourt was appointed to command upon the
+Rhine under Monseigneur le Duc de Bourgogne.  M. d'Orleans commanded in
+Spain; Marechal Berwick in Dauphiny; and the Duc de Noailles in
+Roussillon, as usual.  The generals went to their destinations, but the
+Princes remained at the Court.
+
+Before I relate what we did in war, let me here state the strange
+opposition of our ministers in their attempts to bring about peace.
+Since Villars had introduced Chamillart to Court, he had heard it said
+that M. de Louvois did everybody's business as much as he could; and took
+it into his head that having succeeded to M. de Louvois he ought to act
+exactly like him. For some time past, accordingly, Chamillart, with the
+knowledge of the King, had sent people to Holland and elsewhere to
+negotiate for peace, although he had no right to do so, Torcy being the
+minister to whose department this business belonged.  Torcy likewise sent
+people to Holland and elsewhere with a similar object, and these
+ambassadors of the two ministers, instead of working in common, did all
+in their power thwart each other.  They succeeded so well that it was
+said they seemed in foreign countries ministers of different powers,
+whose interests were quite opposed.  This manner of conducting business
+gave a most injurious idea of our government, and tended very  much to
+bring it into ridicule.  Those who sincerely wished to treat with us,
+found themselves so embarrassed between the rival factions, that they did
+not know what to do; and others made our disagreements a plausible
+pretext for not listening to our propositions.
+
+At last Torcy was so annoyed with the interference of Chamillart, that he
+called the latter to account for it, and made him sign an agreement by
+which he bound himself to enter into no negotiations for peace and to mix
+himself in no foreign affairs; and so this absurdity came to an end.
+
+In Italy, early this year, we received a check of no small importance.  I
+have mentioned that we were invited to join in an Italian league, having
+for its object to oppose the Emperor.  We joined this league, but not
+before its existence had been noised abroad, and put the allies on their,
+guard as to the danger they ran of losing Italy.  Therefore the
+Imperialists entered the Papal States, laid them under contribution,
+ravaged them, lived there in true Tartar style, and snapped their fingers
+at the Pope, who cried aloud as he could obtain no redress and no
+assistance.  Pushed at last to extremity by the military occupation which
+desolated his States, he yielded to all the rashes of the Emperor, and
+recognised the Archduke as King of Spain.  Philip V. immediately ceased
+all intercourse with Rome, and dismissed the nuncio from Madrid.  The
+Imperialists, even after the Pope had ceded to their wishes, treated him
+with the utmost disdain, and continued to ravage, his territories.  The
+Imperialist minister at Rome actually gave a comedy and a ball in his
+palace there, contrary to the express orders of the Pope, who had
+forbidden all kinds of amusement in this period of calamity.  When
+remonstrated with by the Pope, this minister said that he had promised a
+fete to the ladies, and could not break his word, The strangest thing is,
+that after this public instance of contempt the nephews of the Pope went
+to the fete, and the Pope had the weakness to suffer it.
+
+In Spain, everything went wrong, and people began to think it would be
+best to give up that country to the house of Austria, under the hope that
+by this means the war would be terminated.  It was therefore seriously
+resolved to recall all our troops from Spain, and to give orders to
+Madame des Ursins to quit the country.  Instructions were accordingly
+sent to this effect.  The King and Queen of Spain, in the greatest alarm
+at such a violent determination, cried aloud against it, and begged that
+the execution of it might at least be suspended for a while.
+
+At this, our King paused and called a Council to discuss the subject.
+It was ultimately agreed to leave sixty-six battalions of our troops to
+the King of Spain, but to withdraw all the rest.  This compromise
+satisfied nobody.  Those who wished to support Spain said this assistance
+was not enough.  The other party said it was too much.
+
+This determination being arrived at, it seemed as though the only thing
+to be done was to send M. d'Orleans to Spain to take command there.  But
+now will be seen the effect of that mischievous pleasantry of his upon
+Madame de Maintenon and Madame des Ursins, the "she-captain," and the
+"she-lieutenant"--as he called them, in the gross language to which I
+have before alluded.  Those two ladies had not forgiven him his
+witticism, and had determined to accomplish his disgrace.  His own
+thoughtless conduct assisted them it bringing about this result.
+
+The King one day asked him if he had much desire to return into Spain.
+He replied in a manner evidencing his willingness to serve, marking no
+eagerness.  He did not notice that there might be a secret meaning,
+hidden under this question.  When he related to me what had passed
+between him and the King, I blamed the feebleness of his reply, and
+represented to him the ill effect it would create if at such a time he
+evinced any desire to keep out of the campaign.  He appeared convinced by
+my arguments, and to wish with more eagerness than before to return to
+Spain.
+
+A few days after, the King asked him, on what terms he believed himself
+with the Princesse des Ursins; and when M. d'Orleans replied that he
+believed himself to be on good terms with her, as he had done all in his
+power to be so, the King said that he feared it was not thus, since she
+had asked that he should not be again sent to Spain, saying that he had
+leagued himself with all her enemies there, and that a secretary of his,
+named Renaut, whom he had left behind him, kept up such strict and secret
+intercourse with those enemies, that she was obliged to demand his recall
+lest he might do wrong to the name of his master.
+
+Upon this, M. d'Orleans replied that he was infinitely surprised at these
+complaints of Madame des Ursins, since he had done nothing to deserve
+them.  The King, after reflecting for a moment, said he thought, all
+things considered, that M. d'Orleans had better not return to Spain.
+In a few days it was publicly known that he would not go.  The withdrawal
+of so many of our troops from Spain was the reason alleged.  At the same
+time the King gave orders to M. d'Orleans to send for his equipages from
+Spain, and added in his ear, that he had better send some one of sense
+for them, who might be the bearer of a protest, if Philip V. quitted his
+throne.  At least this is what M. d'Orleans told me, although few people
+believed him in the end.
+
+M. d'Orleans chose for this errand a man named Flotte, very skilful in
+intrigue, in which he had, so to speak, been always brought up.  He went
+straight to Madrid, and one of his first employments when he arrived
+there was to look for Renaut, the secretary just alluded to.  But Renaut
+was nowhere to be found, nor could any news be heard of him.  Flotte
+stayed some time in Madrid, and then went to the army, which was still in
+quarters.  He remained there three weeks, idling from quarter to quarter,
+saluting the Marechal in command, who was much surprised at his long
+stay, and who pressed him to return into France.  At last Flotte took
+leave of the Marechal, asking him for an escort for himself and a
+commissary, with whom he meant to go in company across the Pyrenees.
+Twenty dragoons were given him as escort, and he and the commissary set
+out in a chaise.
+
+They had not proceeded far before Flotte perceived that they were
+followed by other troops besides those guarding them.  Flotte fearing
+that something was meant by this, slipped a pocket-book into the hands of
+the commissary, requesting him to take care of it.  Shortly afterwards
+the chaise was surrounded by troops, and stopped; the two travellers were
+made to alight.  The commissary was ordered to give up the pocket-book,
+an order that he complied with very rapidly, and Flotte was made
+prisoner, and escorted back to the spot he had just left.
+
+The news of this occurrence reached the King on the 12th of July, by the
+ordinary courier from Madrid.
+
+The King informed M. d'Orleans of it, who, having learnt it by a private
+courier six days before, affected nevertheless surprise, and said it was
+strange that one of his people should have been thus arrested, and that
+as his Majesty was concerned, it was for him to demand the reason.  The
+King replied, that in fact the injury regarded him more than M.
+d'Orleans, and that he would give orders to Torcy to write as was
+necessary to Spain.
+
+It is not difficult to believe that such an explosion made a great noise,
+both in France and Spain; but the noise it made at first was nothing to
+that which followed.  A cabal was formed against Monsieur le Duc
+d'Orleans.  It was said that he had plotted to place himself upon the
+Spanish throne, by driving out Philip V., under pretext of his
+incapacity, of the domination of Madame des Ursins, and of the
+abandonment of the country by France; that he had treated with Stanhope,
+commander of the English troops in Spain, and with whom he was known to
+be on friendly terms, in order to be protected by the Archduke.  This was
+the report most widely spread.  Others went further.  In these M.
+d'Orleans was accused of nothing less than of intending to divorce
+himself from Madame la Duchesse d'Orleans, as having been married to her
+by force; of intending to marry the sister of the Empress (widow of
+Charles II.), and of mounting with her upon the Spanish throne; to marry
+Madame d'Argenton, as the Queen Dowager was sure to have no children, and
+finally, to poison Madame d'Orleans.
+
+Meanwhile the reply from Spain came not.  The King and Monseigneur
+treated M. d'Orleans with a coldness which made him sorely ill at ease;
+the majority of the courtiers, following this example, withdrew from him.
+He was left almost alone.
+
+I learnt at last from M. d'Orleans how far he was deserving of public
+censure, and what had given colouring to the reports spread against him.
+He admitted to me, that several of the Spanish grandees had persuaded him
+that it was not possible the King of Spain could stand, and had proposed
+to him to hasten his fall, and take his place; that he had rejected this
+proposition with indignation, but had been induced to promise, that if
+Philip V. fell of himself, without hope of rising, he would not object to
+mounting the vacant throne, believing that by so doing he would be doing
+good to our King, by preserving Spain to his house.
+
+As soon as I heard this, I advised him to make a clean breast of it to
+the King, and to ask his pardon for having acted in this matter without
+his orders and without his knowledge.  He thought my advice good, and
+acted upon it.  But the King was too much under the influence of the
+enemies of M. d'Orleans, to listen favourably to what was said to him.
+The facts of the case, too, were much against M. d'Orleans.  Both Renaut
+and Flotte had been entrusted with his secret.  The former had openly
+leagued himself with the enemies of Madame des Ursins, and acted with the
+utmost imprudence.  He had been privately arrested just before the
+arrival of Flotte.  When this latter was arrested, papers were found upon
+him which brought everything to light.  The views of M. d'Orleans and of
+those who supported him were clearly shown.  The King would not listen to
+anything in favour of his nephew.
+
+The whole Court cried out against M. d'Orleans; never was such an uproar
+heard.  He was accused of plotting to overthrow the King of Spain, he, a
+Prince of the blood, and so closely allied to the two crowns!
+Monseigneur, usually so plunged in apathy, roused himself to fury against
+M. d'Orleans, and insisted upon nothing less than a criminal prosecution.
+He insisted so strongly upon this, that the King at last consented that
+it should take place, and gave orders to the chancellor to examine the
+forms requisite in such a case.  While the chancellor was about this
+work, I went to see him one day, and represented to him so strongly, that
+M. d'Orleans' misdemeanour did not concern us at all, and could only be
+judged before a Spanish tribunal, that the idea of a criminal trial was
+altogether abandoned almost immediately after.  M. d'Orleans was allowed
+to remain in peace.
+
+Madame des Ursins and Madame de Maintenon had so far triumphed, however,
+that M. d'Orleans found himself plunged in the deepest disgrace.  He was
+universally shunned.  Whenever he appeared, people flew away, so that
+they might not be seen in communication with him.  His solitude was so
+great, that for a whole month only one friend entered his house.  In the
+midst of this desertion, he had no resource but debauchery, and the
+society of his mistress, Madame d'Argenton.  The disorder and scandal of
+his life had for a long time offended the King, the Court, and the
+public.  They now unhappily confirmed everybody in the bad opinion they
+had formed of him.  That the long disgrace he suffered continued to
+confirm him in his bad habits, and that it explains to some extent his
+after-conduct, there can be no doubt.  But I must leave him now, and
+return to other matters.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIX
+
+But, meanwhile, a great change had taken place at Court.  Chamillart had
+committed the mistake of allowing the advancement of D'Harcourt to the
+head of an army.  The poor man did not see the danger; and when warned of
+it, thought his cleverness would preserve him.  Reports of his fall had
+already begun to circulate, and D'Antin had been spoken of in his place.
+I warned his daughter Dreux, the only one of the family to whom it was
+possible to speak with profit.  The mother, with little wit and knowledge
+of the Court, full of apparent confidence and sham cunning, received all
+advice ill.  The, brothers were imbecile, the son was a child and a
+simpleton, the two other daughters too light-headed.  I had often warned
+Madame de Dreux of the enmity of the Duchesse de Bourgogne; and she had
+spoken to her on the subject.  The Princess had answered very coldly that
+she was mistaken, that she had no such enmity.  At last I succeeded, in
+this indirect way, in forcing Chamillart to speak to the King on the
+reports that were abroad; but he did so in a half-and-half way, and
+committed the capital mistake of not naming the successor which public
+rumour mentioned.  The King appeared touched, and gave him all sorts of
+assurances of friendship, and made as if he liked him better than ever.
+I do not know if Chamillart was then near his destruction, and whether
+this conversation set him up again; but from the day it took place all
+reports died away, and the Court thought him perfectly re-established.
+
+But his enemies continued to work against him.  Madame de Maintenon and
+the Duchesse de Bourgogne abated not a jot in their enmity.  The Marechal
+d'Harcourt lost no opportunity of pulling him to pieces.  One day, among
+others, he was declaiming violently against him at Madame de Maintenon's,
+whom he knew he should thus please.  She asked him whom he would put in
+his place.  "M. Fagon, Madame," he replied coldly.  She laughed, but said
+this was not a thing to joke about; but he maintained seriously that the
+old doctor would make a much better minister than Chamillart, for he had
+some intelligence, which would make up for his ignorance of many matters;
+but what could be expected of a man who was ignorant and stupid too?  The
+cunning Norman knew well the effect this strange parallel would have; and
+it is indeed inconceivable how damaging his sarcasm proved.  A short time
+afterwards, D'Antin, wishing also to please, but more imprudent, insulted
+the son of Chamillart so grossly, and abused the father so publicly, that
+he was obliged afterwards to excuse himself.
+
+The King held, for the first time in his life, a real council of war.
+He told the Duc de Bourgogne of it, saying rather sharply: "Come, unless
+you prefer going to vespers."  The council lasted nearly three hours; and
+was stormy.  The Marechals were freer in their, language than usual, and
+complained of the ministers.  All fell upon Chamillart, who was accused,
+among other things, of matters that concerned Desmarets, on whom, he
+finished by turning off the King's anger.  Chamillart defended himself
+with so much anger that his voice was heard by people outside.
+
+But he had of late heaped fault on fault.  Besides setting Madame de
+Maintenon and the Duchesse de Bourgogne against him, he rather wantonly
+irritated Monseigneur, at that time more than ever under the government
+of Mademoiselle Choin.  The latter had asked him a favour, and had been
+refused even with contempt.  Various advances at reconciliation she made
+were also repulsed with contumely.  Yet every one, even the Duchesse de
+Bourgogne, crawled before this creature--the favourite of the heir to the
+throne.  Madame de Maintenon actually caused the King to offer her
+apartments at Versailles, which she refused, for fear of losing the
+liberty she enjoyed at Meudon.  D'Antin, who saw all that was going on,
+became the soul of a conspiracy against Chamillart.  It was infinitely
+well managed.  Everything moved in order and harmony--always prudently,
+always knowingly.
+
+The King, quietly attacked on all hands, was shaken; but he had many
+reasons for sticking to Chamillart.  He was his own choice.  No minister
+had stood aside so completely, and allowed the King to receive all the
+praise of whatever was done.  Though the King's reason way, therefore,
+soon influenced, his heart was not so easily.  But Madame de Maintenon
+was not discouraged.  Monseigneur, urged by Mademoiselle Choin, had
+already spoken out to the King.  She laboured to make him speak again;
+for, on the previous occasion, he had been listened to attentively.
+
+So many machines could not be set in motion without some noise being
+heard abroad.  There rose in the Court, I know not what confused murmurs,
+the origin of which could not be pointed out, publishing that either the
+State or Chamillart must perish; that already his ignorance had brought
+the kingdom within an ace of destruction; that it was a miracle this
+destruction had not yet come to pass; and that it would be madness to
+tempt Providence any longer.  Some did not blush to abuse him; others
+praised his intentions, and spoke with moderation of faults that many
+people reproached him bitterly with.  All admitted his rectitude, but
+maintained that a successor of some kind or other was absolutely
+necessary.  Some, believing or trying to persuade others that they
+carried friendship to as far a point as was possible, protested that they
+should ever preserve this friendship, and would never forget the pleasure
+and the services that they had received from Chamillart; but delicately
+confessed that they preferred the interests of the State to their own
+personal advantage and the support they would lose; that, even if
+Chamillart were their brother, they would sorrowfully admit the necessity
+of removing him!  At last, nobody could understand either how such a man
+could ever have been chosen, or how he could have remained so long in his
+place!  All his faults and all his ridicules formed the staple of Court
+conversation.  If anybody referred to the great things he had done, to
+the rapid gathering of armies after our disasters, people turned on their
+heels and walked away.  Such were the presages of the fall of Chamillart.
+
+The Marechal de Boufflers, who had never forgiven the causes that led to
+the loss of Lille, joined in the attack on Chamillart; and assisted in
+exciting the King against him.  Chamillart has since related to me that
+up to the last moment he had always been received equally graciously by
+the King--that is, up to two days before his fall.  Then, indeed, he
+noticed that the King's countenance was embarrassed; and felt inclined to
+ask if he was displeasing to him, and to offer to retire.  Had he done
+so, he might, if we may judge from what transpired subsequently, have
+remained in office.  But now Madame de Maintenon had come personally into
+the field, and, believing herself sure of success, only attacked
+Chamillart.  What passed between her and the King was quite private and
+never related; but there seems reason to believe that she did not succeed
+without difficulty.
+
+On Sunday morning, November 9, the King, on entering the Council of
+State, called the Duc de Beauvilliers to him, and requested him to go in
+the afternoon and tell Chamillart that he was obliged, for motives of
+public interest, to ask him to resign his office; but that, in order to
+give him a mark of his esteem and satisfaction with his services, he
+continued his pension of Minister--that is to say, twenty thousand
+francs--and added as much more, with one to his son of twenty thousand
+francs likewise.  He added that he should have liked to see Chamillart,
+but that at first it would grieve him too much: he was not to come till
+sent for; he might live in Paris, and go where he liked.  The Duc de
+Beauvilliers did all he could to escape from carrying so harsh a message,
+but could only obtain permission to let the Duc de Chevreuse accompany
+him.
+
+They went to Chamillart, and found him alone, working in his cabinet.
+The air of consternation with which they entered, told the unfortunate
+Minister that something disagreeable had happened; and without giving
+them time to speak, he said, with a serene and tranquil countenance,
+"What is the matter, gentlemen?  If what you have to say concerns only
+me, you may speak: I have long been prepared for everything."  This
+gentle firmness touched them still more.  They could scarcely explain
+what they came about.  Chamillart listened without any change of
+countenance, and said, with the same air and tone as at first: "The King
+is the master.  I have endeavoured to serve him to the best of my
+ability.  I hope some one else will please him better, and be more
+lucky."  He then asked if he had been forbidden to write to the King, and
+being told not, he wrote a letter of respect and thanks, and sent it by
+the two Dukes, with a memoir which he had just finished.  He also wrote
+to Madame de Maintenon.  He sent a verbal message to his wife; and,
+without complaint, murmur, or sighs, got into his carriage, and drove to
+L'Etang.  Both then and afterwards he showed the greatest magnanimity.
+Every one went, from a sort of fashion, to visit him.  When I went, the
+house looked as if a death had taken place; and it was frightful to see,
+in the midst of cries and tears, the dead man walking, speaking with a
+quiet, gentle air, and serene brow,--unconstrained, unaffected, attentive
+to every one, not at all or scarcely different from what he was
+accustomed to be.
+
+Chamillart, as I have said, had received permission to live at Paris, if
+he liked; but soon afterwards he innocently gave umbrage to Madame de
+Maintenon, who was annoyed that his disgrace was not followed by general
+abandonment.  She caused him to be threatened secretly, and he prudently
+left Paris, and went far away, under pretence of seeking for an estate to
+buy.
+
+Next day after the fall of Chamillart, it became known that the triumph
+of Madame de Maintenon was completed, and that Voysin, her creature, was
+the succeeding Secretary of State.  This Voysin had the one indispensable
+quality for admission into the counsels of Louis XIV.--not a drop of
+noble blood in his veins.  He had married, in 1683, the daughter of
+Trudaine.  She had a very agreeable countenance, without any affectation.
+She appeared simple and modest, and occupied with her household and good
+works; but in reality, had sense, wit, cleverness, above all, a natural
+insinuation, and the art of bringing things to pass without being
+perceived.  She kept with great tact a magnificent house.  It was she who
+received Madame de Maintenon at Dinan, when the King was besieging Namur;
+and, as she had been instructed by M. de Luxembourg in the way to please
+that lady, succeeded most effectually.  Among her arts was her modesty,
+which led her prudently to avoid pressing herself on Madame de Maintenon,
+or showing herself more than was absolutely necessary.  She was sometimes
+two whole days without seeing her.  A trifle, luckily contrived, finished
+the conquest of Madame de Maintenon.  It happened that the weather passed
+suddenly from excessive heat to a damp cold, which lasted a long time.
+Immediately, an excellent dressing-gown, simple, and well lined, appeared
+in the corner of the chamber.  This present, by so much the more
+agreeable, as Madame de Maintenon had not brought any warm clothing,
+touched her also by its suddenness, and by its simple appearance, as if
+of its own accord.
+
+In this way, the taste of Madame de Maintenon for Madame Voysin was
+formed and increased.  Madame Voysin obtained an appointment for her
+husband, and coming to Paris, at last grew extremely familiar with Madame
+de Maintenon.  Voysin himself had much need of the wife that Providence
+had given him.  He was perfectly ignorant of everything but the duties of
+an Intendant.  He was, moreover, rough and uncivil, as the courtiers soon
+found.  He was never unjust for the sake of being so, nor was he bad
+naturally; but he knew nothing but authority, the King and Madame de
+Maintenon, whose will was unanswerable--his sovereign law and reason.
+The choice was settled between the King and Madame de Maintenon after
+supper, the day of Chamillart's fall.  Voysin was conducted to the King
+by Bloin, after having received the orders and instructions of his
+benefactress.  In the evening of that day, the King found Madame Voysin
+with Madame de Maintenon, and kissed her several times to please his
+lady.
+
+Voysin's first experience of the duties of his office was unpleasant.
+He was foolish enough, feeling his ignorance, to tell the King, that at
+the outset he should be obliged to leave everything to his Majesty, but
+that when he knew better, he would take more on himself.  The King, to
+whom Chamillart used himself to leave everything, was much offended by
+this language; and drawing himself up, in the tone of a master, told
+Voysin to learn, once for all, that his duties were to receive, and
+expedite orders, nothing else.  He then took the projects brought to him,
+examined them, prescribed the measures he thought fit, and very stiffly
+sent away Voysin, who did not know where he was, and had great want of
+his wife to set his head to rights, and of Madame de Maintenon to give
+him completer lessons than she had yet been able to do.  Shortly
+afterwards he was forbidden to send any orders without submitting them to
+the Marechal de Boufflers.  He was supple, and sure of Madame de
+Maintenon, and through her of the Marechal, waited for time to release
+him from this state of tutelage and showed nothing of his annoyance,
+especially to Boufflers himself.
+
+Events soon happened to alter the position of the Marechal de Boufflers.
+
+Flanders, ever since the opening of the campaign, had been the principal
+object of attention.  Prince Eugene and Marlborough, joined together,
+continued their vast designs, and disdained to hide them.  Their
+prodigious preparations spoke of sieges.  Shall I say that we desired
+them, and that we thought of nothing but how to preserve, not use our
+army?
+
+Tournai was the first place towards which the enemies directed their
+arms.  After a short resistance it fell into their hands.  Villars, as I
+have said, was coriander in Flanders.  Boufflers feeling that, in the
+position of affairs, such a post must weigh very heavily upon one man,
+and that in case of his death there was no one to take his place, offered
+to go to assist him.  The King, after some little hesitation, accepted
+this magnanimous offer, and Boufflers set out.  I say magnanimous offer,
+because Boufflers, loaded with honours and glory, might well have hoped
+to pass the rest of his life in repose.  It was hardly possible, do what
+he might, that he could add to his reputation; while, on the other hand,
+it was not unlikely that he might be made answerable for the faults or
+shortcomings of others, and return to Paris stripped of some of the
+laurels that adorned his brow.  But he thought only of the welfare of the
+State, and pressed the King to allow him to depart to Flanders.  The
+King, as I have said, at last consented.
+
+The surprise was great in the army when he arrived there.  The general
+impression was that he was the bearer of news of peace.  Villars received
+him with an air of joy and respect, and at once showed every willingness
+to act in concert with him.  The two generals accordingly worked
+harmoniously together, taking no steps without consulting each other, and
+showing great deference for each other's opinions.  They were like one
+man.
+
+
+[Illustration: Marlborough At Malplaquet--Painted by R. Canton Woodville--596]
+
+
+After the fall of Tournai, our army took up position at Malplaquet, the
+right and the left supported by two woods, with hedges and woods before
+the centre, so that the plain was, as it were, cut in two.  Marlborough
+and Prince Eugene marched in their turn, fearing lest Villars should
+embarrass them as they went towards Mons, which place they had resolved
+to besiege.  They sent on a large detachment of their army, under the
+command of the Prince of Hesse, to watch ours.  He arrived in sight of
+the camp at Malpladuet at the same time that we entered it, and was
+quickly warned of our existence by, three cannon shots that Villars, out
+of braggadocio, fired by way of appeal to Marlborough and Prince Eugene.
+Some little firing took place this day and the next, the 10th of
+September, but without doing much harm on either side.
+
+Marlborough and Prince Eugene, warned of the perilous state in which the
+Prince of Hesse was placed--he would have been lost if attacked hastened
+at once to join him, and arrived in the middle of the morning of the
+10th.  Their first care was to examine the position of our army, and to
+do so, while waiting for their rear-guard, they employed a stratagem
+which succeeded admirably.
+
+They sent several officers, who had the look of subalterns, to our lines,
+and asked to be allowed to speak to our officers.  Their request was
+granted.  Albergotti came down to them, and discoursed with them a long
+time.  They pretended they came to see whether peace could not be
+arranged, but they, in reality, spoke of little but compliments, which
+signified nothing.  They stayed so long, under various pretexts, that at
+last we were obliged to threaten them in order to get rid of them.  All
+this time a few of their best general officers on horseback, and a larger
+number of engineers and designers on foot, profited by these ridiculous
+colloquies to put upon paper drawings of our position, thus being able to
+see the best positions for their cannon, and the best mode, in fact, in
+which all their disposition might be made.  We learnt this artifice
+afterwards from the prisoners.
+
+It was decided that evening to give us battle on the morrow, although the
+deputies of the States-General, content with the advantages that had been
+already gained, and not liking to run the risk of failure, were, opposed
+to an action taking place.  They were, however, persuaded to agree, and
+on the following morning the battle began.
+
+The struggle lasted many hours.  But our position had been badly chosen,
+and, in spite of every effort, we were unable to maintain it.  Villars,
+in the early part of the action, received a wound which incapacitated him
+from duty.  All the burden of command fell upon Boufflers.  He bore it
+well; but after a time finding his army dispersed, his infantry
+overwhelmed, the ground slipping from under his feet, he thought only of
+beating a good and honourable retreat.  He led away his army in such good
+order, that the enemy were unable to interfere with it in the slightest
+degree.  During all the march, which lasted until night, we did not lose
+a hundred stragglers, and carried off all the cannon with the exception
+of a few pieces.  The enemy passed the night upon the battle-field, in
+the midst of twenty-five thousand dead, and marched towards Mons the next
+evening.  They frankly admitted that in men killed and wounded, in
+general officers and privates, in flags and standards, they had lost more
+than we.  The battle cost them, in fact, seven lieutenant-generals, five
+other generals, about eighteen hundred officers killed or wounded, and
+more than fifteen thousand men killed or rendered unfit for service.
+They openly avowed, also, how much they had been surprised by the valour
+of the majority of our troops, above all of the cavalry, and did not
+dissimulate that we should have gained the day, had we been better led.
+
+Why the Marechal Villars waited ten days to be attacked in a position so
+disadvantageous, instead of at once marching upon the enemies and
+overcoming, as he might at first easily have done, it is difficult to
+understand.  He threw all the blame upon his wound, although it was well
+known that the fate of the day was decided long before he was hurt.
+
+Although forced to retire, our men burned with eagerness to engage the
+enemies again.  Mons had been laid siege to.  Boufflers tried to make the
+besiegers give up the undertaking.  But his men were without bread and
+without pay: the subaltern officers were compelled to eat the regulation
+bread, the general-officers were reduced to the most miserable shifts,
+and were like the privates, without pay, oftentimes for seven or eight
+days running.  There was no meat and no bread for the army.  The common
+soldiers were reduced to herbs and roots for all sustenance.  Under
+these circumstances it was found impossible to persevere in trying to
+save Mons.  Nothing but subsistence could be thought of.
+
+The Court had now become so accustomed to defeats that a battle lost as
+was Malplaquet seemed half a victory.  Boufflers sent a courier to the
+King with an account of the event, and spoke so favourably of Villars,
+that all the blame of the defeat fell upon himself.  Villars was
+everywhere pitied and applauded, although he had lost an important
+battle: when it was in his power to beat the enemies in detail, and
+render them unable to undertake the siege of Mons, or any other siege.
+If Boufflers was indignant at this, he was still more indignant at what
+happened afterwards.  In the first dispatch he sent to the King he
+promised to send another as soon as possible giving full details, with
+propositions as to how the vacancies which had occurred in the army might
+be filled up.  On the very evening he sent off his second dispatch, he
+received intelligence that the King had already taken his dispositions
+with respect to these vacancies, without having consulted him upon a
+single point.  This was the first reward Boufflers received for the
+services he had just rendered, and that, too, from a King who had said in
+public that without Boufflers all was lost, and that assuredly it was God
+who had inspired him with the idea of going to the army.  From that time
+Boufflers fell into a disgrace from which he never recovered.  He had the
+courage to appear as usual at the Court; but a worm was gnawing him
+within and destroyed him.  Oftentimes he opened his heart to me without
+rashness, and without passing the strict limits of his virtue; but the
+poniard was in his heart, and neither time nor reflection could dull its
+edge.  He did nothing but languish afterwards, yet without being confined
+to his bed or to his chamber, but did not live more than two years.
+Villars, on the contrary, was in greater favour than ever.  He arrived at
+Court triumphant.  The King made him occupy an apartment at Versailles,
+so that his wound might be well attended to.
+
+What a contrast!  What a difference between the services, the merit, the
+condition, the virtue, the situation of these two men!  What
+inexhaustible funds of reflection.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER L
+
+I have described in its proper place the profound fall of M. le Duc
+d'Orleans and the neglect in which he lived, out of all favour with the
+King, hated by Madame de Maintenon and Monseigneur, and regarded with an
+unfavourable eye by the public, on account of the scandals of his private
+life.  I had long seen that the only way in which he could hope to
+recover his position would be to give up his mistress, Madame d'Argenton,
+with whom he had been on terms of intimacy for many years past, to the
+knowledge and the scandal of all the world.  I knew it would be a bold
+and dangerous game to play, to try to persuade him to separate himself
+from a woman he had known and loved so long; but I determined to engage
+in it, nevertheless, and I looked about for some one to assist me in this
+enterprise.  At once I cast my eyes upon the Marechal de Besons, who for
+many long years had been the bosom friend of M. d'Orleans.  He applauded
+the undertaking, but doubted, he said, its success; nevertheless he
+promised to aid me to the utmost of his power, and, it will be seen, was
+as good as his word.  For some time I had no opportunity of accosting M.
+d'Orleans, and was obliged to keep my project in abeyance, but I did not
+lose sight of it; and when I saw my way clear, I took the matter in hand,
+determined to strain every nerve in order to succeed.
+
+It was just at the commencement of the year 1710, that I first spoke to
+M. d'Orleans.  I began by extracting from him an admission of the neglect
+into which he had fallen--the dislike of the King, the hatred of
+Monseigneur, who accused him of wishing to replace his son in Spain; that
+of Madame de Maintenon, whom he had offended by his bon mot; the
+suspicions of the public, who talked of his chemical experiments--and
+then, throwing off all fear of consequences, I said that before he could
+hope to draw back his friends and the world to him, he must reinstate
+himself in the favour of the King.  He appeared struck with what I had
+said, rose after a profound silence, paced to and fro, and then asked,
+"But how?"  Seeing the opportunity so good, I replied in a firm and
+significant tone, "How?  I know well enough, but I will never tell you;
+and yet it is the only thing to do."--"Ah, I understand you," said he, as
+though struck with a thunderbolt; "I understand you perfectly;" and he
+threw himself upon the chair at the end of the room.  There he remained
+some time, without speaking a word, yet agitated and sighing, and with
+his eyes lowered.  I broke silence at last, by saying that the state
+which he was in had touched me to the quick, and that I had determined in
+conjunction with the Marechal de Besons to speak to him upon the subject,
+and to propose the only means by which he could hope to bring about a
+change in his position.  He considered some time, and then giving me
+encouragement to proceed, I entered at some length upon the proposal I
+had to make to him and left him evidently affected by what I had said,
+when I thought I had for the time gone far enough.
+
+The next day, Thursday, January 2nd, Besons, to whom I had written,
+joined me; and after I had communicated to him what had passed the
+previous evening, we hastened to M. d'Orleans.  He received us well, and
+we at once commenced an attack.  In order to aid my purpose as much as
+possible, I repeated to M. d'Orleans, at this meeting, the odious reports
+that were in circulation against him, viz., that he intended to repudiate
+his wife forced upon him by the King, in order to marry the Queen Dowager
+of Spain, and by means of her gold to open up a path for himself to the
+Spanish throne; that he intended to wait for his new wife's death, and
+then marry Madame D'ARGENSON, to whom the genii had promised a throne;
+and I added, that it was very fortunate that the Duchesse d'Orleans had
+safely passed through the dangers of her confinement, for already some
+wretches had begun to spread the saying, that he was not the son of
+Monsieur for nothing.  (An allusion to the death of Henriette
+d'Angleterre.)
+
+On hearing these words, the Duke was seized with a terror that cannot be
+described, and at the same time with a grief that is above expression.
+I took advantage of the effect my discourse had had upon him to show how
+necessary it was he should make a great effort in order to win back the
+favour of the King and of the public.  I represented to him that the only
+way to do this was to give up Madame d'Argenton, at once and for ever,
+and to announce to the King that he had done so.  At first he would not
+hear of such a step, and I was obliged to employ all my eloquence, and
+all my firmness too, to make him listen to reason.  One great obstacle in
+our way was the repugnance of M. d'Orleans for his wife.  He had been
+married, as I have described in the early part of these memoirs, against
+his will, and with no sort of affection for the woman he was given to.
+It was natural that he should look upon her with dislike ever since she
+had become his wife.  I did what I could to speak in praise of Madame la
+Duchesse d'Orleans, and Besons aided me; but we did little else than
+waste our breath for sometime.  Our praises in fact irritated
+M. d'Orleans, and to such a point, that no longer screening things or
+names, he told us what we should have wished not to hear, but what it was
+very lucky we did hear.  He had suspicions, in fact, of his wife's
+honour; but fortunately I was able to prove clearly and decisively that
+those suspicions were unfounded, and I did so.  The joy of M. d'Orleans
+upon finding he had been deceived was great indeed; and when we separated
+from him after mid-day, in order to go to dinner, I saw that a point was
+gained.
+
+A little before three o'clock I returned to M. d'Orleans, whom I found
+alone in his cabinet with Besons.  He received me with pleasure, and made
+me seat myself between him and the Marechal, whom he complimented upon
+his diligence.  Our conversation recommenced.  I returned to the attack
+with all the arguments I could muster, and the Marechal supported me; but
+I saw with affright that M. d'Orleans was less reduced than when we had
+quitted him in the morning, and that he had sadly taken breath during our
+short absence.  I saw that, if we were to succeed, we must make the best
+use we could of our time, and accordingly I brought all my powers into
+play in order to gain over M. d'Orleans.
+
+Feeling that everything was now to be lost or gained, I spoke out with
+all the force of which I was capable, surprising and terrifying Marechal
+Besons to such a point, with my hardihood, that he had not a word to say
+in order to aid me.  When I had finished, M. d'Orleans thanked me in a
+piteous tone, by which I knew the profound impression I had made upon his
+mind.  I proposed, while he was still shaken, that he should at once send
+to Madame de Maintenon, to know when she, would grant him an audience;
+for he had determined to speak to her first of his intention to give up
+Madame d'Argenton.  Besons seconded me; and while we were talking
+together, not daring to push our point farther, M. d'Orleans much
+astonished us by rising, running with impetuosity to the door, and
+calling aloud for his servants.  One ran to him, whom he ordered in a
+whisper to go to Madame de Maintenon, to ask at what hour she would see
+him on the morrow.  He returned immediately, and threw himself into a
+chair like a man whose strength fails him and who is at his last gasp.
+Uncertain as to what he had just done, I asked him if he had sent to
+Madame de Maintenon.  "Yes, Monsieur," said he, in a tone of despair.
+Instantly I started towards him, and thanked him with all the contentment
+and all the joy imaginable.  This terrible interview, for the struggle we
+had all gone through was very great, was soon after brought to a close,
+and Besons and myself went our way, congratulating each other on the
+success of this day's labour.
+
+On the next day, Friday, the 3rd of January, I saw M. d'Orleans as he
+preceded the King to mass, and in my impatience I approached him, and
+speaking in a low tone, asked him if he had seen "that woman."  I did not
+dare to mention names just then.  He replied "yes," but in so
+lackadaisical a tone that I feared he had seen her to effect, and I asked
+him if he had spoken to her.  Upon receiving another "yes," like the
+other, my emotion redoubled.  "But have you told her all?" I said.
+"Yes," he replied," I have told her all."--" And are you content?" said
+I."  Nobody could be more so," he replied; "I was nearly an hour with
+her, she was very much surprised and ravished."
+
+I saw M. d'Orleans under better circumstances at another period of the
+day, and then I learnt from him that since meeting me he had spoken to
+the King also, and told him all.  "Ah, Monsieur," cried I with transport,
+"how I love you!" and advancing warmly toward him, I added, "How glad I
+am to see you at last delivered; how did you bring this to pass?"--
+"I mistrusted myself so much," replied he, "and was so violently
+agitated after speaking to Madame de Maintenon, that I feared to run the
+risk of pausing all the morning; so, immediately after mass I spoke to
+the King, and--" here, overcome by his grief, his voice faltered, and he
+burst into sighs, into tears, and into sobs.  I retired into a corner.  A
+moment after Besons entered: the spectacle and the profound silence
+astonished him.  He lowered his eyes, and advanced but little.  At last
+we gently approached each other. I told him that M. d'Orleans had
+conquered himself, and had spoken to the King.  The Marechal was so
+bewildered with surprise and joy that he remained for some moments
+speechless and motionless: then running towards M. d'Orleans, he thanked
+him, felicitated him, and wept for very joy.  M. d'Orleans was cruelly
+agitated, now maintaining a ferocious silence, and now bursting into a
+torrent of sighs, sobs, and tears. He said at last that Madame de
+Maintenon had been extremely surprised with the resolution he had taken,
+and at the same time delighted.  She assured him that it would put him on
+better terms than ever with the King, and that Madame d'Argenton should
+be treated with every consideration.  I pressed M. d'Orleans to let us
+know how the King had received him.  He replied that the King had
+appeared very much surprised, but had spoken coldly.  I comforted him for
+this disappointment by assuring him that the King's coldness arose only
+from his astonishment, and that in the end all would be well.
+
+It would be impossible to describe the joy felt by Besons and myself at
+seeing our labours brought to this satisfactory point.  I knew I should
+make many enemies when the part I had taken in influencing M. d'Orleans
+to give up Madame d'Argenton came to be known, as it necessarily would;
+but I felt I had done rightly, and left the consequences to Providence.
+Madame la Duchesse d'Orleans showed me the utmost gratitude for what I
+had done.  She exhibited, too, so much intelligence, good sense, and
+ability, in the conversation I had with her, that I determined to spare
+no pains to unite her husband to her more closely; being firmly persuaded
+that he would nowhere find a better counsellor than in her.  The surprise
+of the whole Court, when it became known that M. d'Orleans had at last
+separated himself from Madame d'Argenton, was great indeed.  It was only
+equalled by the vexation of those who were opposed to him.  Of course in
+this matter I was not spared.  For several days nothing was spoken of but
+this rupture, and everywhere I was pointed out as the author of it,
+
+Besons being scarcely alluded to.  I parried the thrust made at me as
+well as I could, as much for the purpose of leaving all the honour to
+M. d'Orleans, as for the purpose of avoiding the anger of those who
+were annoyed with me; and also from a just fear of showing that I had too
+much influence over the mind of a Prince not without faults, and who
+could not always be led.
+
+As for Madame d'Argenton, she received the news that her reign was over
+with all the consternation, rage, and despair that might have been
+expected.  Mademoiselle de Chausseraye was sent by Madame de Maintenon to
+announce the ill news to her.  When Mademoiselle de Chausseraye arrived
+at Madame l'Argenton's house, Madame d'Argenton was out she had gone to
+supper with the Princesse de Rohan.  Mademoiselle de Chausseraye waited
+until she returned, and then broke the matter to her gently, and after
+much preamble and circumlocution, as though she were about to announce
+the death of some one.
+
+The tears, the cries, the howlings of Madame d'Argenton filled the house,
+and announced to all the domestics that the reign of felicity was at an
+end there.  After a long silence on the part of Mademoiselle de
+Chausseraye, she spoke her best in order to appease the poor lady.  She
+represented to her the delicacy and liberality of the arrangements M.
+d'Orleans had made in her behalf.  In the first place she was free to
+live in any part of the, realm except Paris and its appanages.  In the
+next place he assured to her forty-five thousand livres a year, nearly
+all the capital of which would belong to the son he had had by her, whom
+he had recognised and made legitimate, and who has since become Grandee
+of Spain, Grand Prieur of France, and General of the Galleys (for the
+best of all conditions in France is to have none at all, and to be a
+bastard).  Lastly he undertook to pay all her debts up to the day of the
+rupture, so that she should not be importuned by any creditor, and
+allowed her to retain her jewellery, her plate, her furniture--worth
+altogether about four hundred thousand livres.  His liberality amounted
+to a total of about two million livres, which I thought prodigious.
+
+Madame d'Argenton, in despair at first, became more tractable as she
+learnt the provisions which had been made for her, and the delicacy with
+which she was treated.  She remained four days in Paris, and then
+returned to her father's house near Port-Sainte-Maxence, the Chevalier
+d'Orleans, her son, remaining at the Palais Royal.  The King after his
+first surprise had worn away, was in the greatest joy at the rupture; and
+testified his gratification to M. d'Orleans, whom he treated better and
+better every day.  Madame de Maintenon did not dare not to contribute a
+little at first; and in this the Prince felt the friendship of the
+Jesuits, whom he had contrived to attach to him.
+
+The Duchesse de Bourgogne did marvels of her own accord; and the Duc de
+Bourgogne, also, being urged by M. de Beauvilliers.  Monseigneur alone
+remained irritated, on account of the Spanish affair.
+
+I must here mention the death of M. le Duc.  He was engaged in a trial
+which was just about to be pleaded.  He had for some time suffered from a
+strange disease, a mixture of apoplexy and epilepsy, which he concealed
+so carefully, that he drove away one of his servants for speaking of it
+to his fellows.
+
+For some time he had had a continual headache.  This state troubled the
+gladness he felt at being delivered from his troublesome father and
+brother-in-law.  One evening he was riding in his carriage, returning
+from a visit to the Hotel de Coislin, without torches, and with only one
+servant behind, when he felt so ill that he drew the string, and made his
+lackey get up to tell him whether his mouth was not all on one side.
+This was not the case, but he soon lost speech and consciousness after
+having requested to be taken in privately to the Hotel de Conde.  They
+there put him in bed.  Priests and doctors came.  But he only made
+horrible faces, and died about four o'clock in the morning.
+
+Madame la Duchesse did not lose her presence of mind, and, whilst her
+husband was dying, took steps to secure her future fortune.  Meanwhile
+she managed to cry a little, but nobody believed in her grief.  As for M.
+le Duc, I have already mentioned some anecdotes of him that exhibit his
+cruel character.  He was a marvellously little man, short, without being
+fat.  A dwarf of Madame la Princesse was said to be the cause.  He was of
+a livid yellow, nearly always looked furious, and was ever so proud, so
+audacious, that it was difficult to get used to him.  His cruelty and
+ferocity were so extreme that people avoided him, and his pretended
+friends would not invite him to join in any merriment.  They avoided him:
+he ran after them to escape from solitude, and would sometimes burst upon
+them during their jovial repasts, reproach them with turning a cold
+shoulder to him, and change their merriment to desolation.
+
+After the death of M. le Duc, a grand discussion on precedence at the
+After-suppers, set on foot by the proud Duchesse d'Orleans, was,--after
+an elaborate examination by the King, brought to a close.  The King
+ordered his determination to be kept secret until he formally declared
+it.  It is necessary to set forth in a few words the mechanism of the
+After-suppers every day.  The King, on leaving table, stopped less than a
+half-quarter of an hour with his back leaning against the balustrade of
+his chamber.  He there found in a circle all the ladies who had been at
+his supper, and who came there to wait for him a little before he left
+table, except the ladies who sat, who came out after him, and who, in the
+suite of the Princes and the Princesses who had supped with him, advanced
+one by one and made him a courtesy, and filled up the remainder of the
+standing circle; for a space was always left for them by the other
+ladies.  The men stood behind.  The King amused himself by observing the
+dresses, the countenances, and the gracefulness of the ladies courtesies,
+said a word to the Princes and Princesses who had supped with him, and
+who closed the circle near him an either hand, then bowed to the ladies
+on right and left, bowed once or twice more as he went away, with a grace
+and majesty unparalleled, spoke sometimes, but very rarely, to some lady
+in passing, entered the first cabinet, where he gave the order, and then
+advanced to the second cabinet, the doors from the first to the second
+always remaining open.  There he placed himself in a fauteuil, Monsieur,
+while he was there, in another; the Duchesse de Bourgogne, Madame (but
+only after the death of Monsieur), the Duchesse de Berry (after her
+marriage), the three bastard-daughters, and Madame du Maine (when she was
+at Versailles), on stools on each side.  Monseigneur, the Duc de
+Bourgogne, the Duc de Berry, the Duc d'Orleans, the two bastards, M. le
+Duc (as the husband of Madame la Duchesse), and afterwards the two sons
+of M. du Maine, when they had grown a little, and D'Antin, came
+afterwards, all standing.  It was the object of the Duchesse d'Orleans to
+change this order, and make her daughters take precedence of the wives of
+the Princes of the blood; but the King declared against her.  When he
+made the public announcement of his decision, the Duc d'Orleans took the
+opportunity of alluding to a marriage which would console him for
+everything.  "I should think so," replied the King, dryly, and with a
+bitter and mocking smile.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LI
+
+It was the desire of the Duc and Duchesse d'Orleans to marry Mademoiselle
+(their daughter) to the Duc de Berry (third son of Monseigneur, and
+consequently brother of the Duc de Bourgogne and of the King of Spain).
+There were many obstacles in the way--partly the state of public affairs
+--partly the fact that the King, though seemingly, was not really quite
+reconciled--partly the recollection of that cruel 'bon mot' in Spain--
+partly the fact that Monseigneur would naturally object to marry his
+favourite son with the daughter of a man toward whom he always testified
+hatred in the most indecent manner. The recent union between Madame de
+Maintenon, Mademoiselle Choin, and Monseigneur was also a great obstacle.
+In fact after what M. le Duc d'Or leans had been accused of in Spain,
+with his abilities and talents it seemed dangerous to make him the
+father-in-law of M. le Duc de Berry.
+
+For my part I passionately desired the marriage of Mademoiselle, although
+I saw that all tended to the marriage of Mademoiselle de Bourbon,
+daughter of Madame la Duchesse, in her place.  I had many reasons,
+private and public, for acting against the latter marriage; but it was
+clear that unless very vigorous steps were taken it would fall like a
+mill-stone upon my head, crush me, and wound the persons to whom I was
+attached.  M. le Duc d'Orleans and Madame la Duchesse d'Orleans were
+immersed in the deepest indolence.  They desired, but did not act.  I
+went to them and explained the state of the case--pointed out the danger
+of Madame la Duchesse--excited their pride, their jealousy, their spite.
+Will it be believed that it was necessary to put all this machinery in
+motion?  At last, by working on them by the most powerful motives, I made
+them attend to their own interests.  The natural but extreme laziness of
+the Duchesse d'Orleans gave way this time, but less to ambition than to
+the desire of defeating a sister who was so inimical to her.  We next
+concerted how we should make use of M. d'Orleans himself.
+
+That Prince, with all his wit and his passion for Mademoiselle--which had
+never weakened since her birth--was like a motionless beam, which stirred
+only in obedience to our redoubled efforts, and who remained so to the
+conclusion of this great business.  I often reflected on the causes of
+this incredible conduct, and was led to suppose that the knowledge of the
+irremediable nature of what had taken place in Spain was the rein that
+restrained him.  However this may have been, I was throughout obliged to
+use main force to bring him to activity.  I determined to form and direct
+a powerful cabal in order to bring my views to pass.  The first person of
+whom it was necessary to make sure was the Duchesse de Bourgogne.  That
+Princess had many reasons for the preference of Mademoiselle over
+Mademoiselle de Bourbon (daughter of Madame la Duchesse).  She knew the
+King perfectly; and could not be ignorant of the power of novelty over
+his mind, of which power she had herself made a happy experiment.  What
+she had to fear was another herself--I mean a Princess on the same terms
+with the King as she was, who, being younger than she, would amuse him by
+new childish playfulness no longer suited to her age, and yet which she
+(the Duchess) was still obliged to employ.  The very contrast of her own
+untimely childishness, with a childishness so much more natural, would
+injure her.  The new favourite would, moreover, not have a husband to
+support; for the Duc de Berry was already well liked.  The Duc de
+Bourgogne, on the contrary, since the affair of Flanders, had fallen into
+disgrace with his father, Monseigneur; and his scruples, his preciseness,
+his retired life, devoted to literal compliance with the rules of
+devotion, contrasted unfavourably with the free life of his younger
+brother.
+
+The present and the future--whatever was important in life--were
+therefore at stake with Madame la Duchesse de Bourgogne; and yet her
+great duty to herself was perpetually in danger of being stifled by the
+fictitious and petty duties of daily life.  It was necessary to stimulate
+her.  She felt these things in general; and that it was necessary that
+her sister-in-law should be a Princess, neither able nor willing to give
+her umbrage, and over whom she should be mistress.  But in spite of her
+wit and sense, she was not capable of feeling in a sufficiently lively
+manner of herself all the importance of these things, amidst the
+effervescence of her youth, the occupation of her successive duties,
+the private and general favour she seemed to enjoy, the greatness of a
+rank in expectation of a throne, the round of amusements which dissipated
+her mind and her days: gentle, light, easy--perhaps too easy.  I felt,
+however, that from the effect of these considerations upon her I should
+derive the greatest assistance, on account of the influence she could
+exert upon the King, and still more on Madame de Maintenon, both of whom
+loved her exceedingly; and I felt also that the Duchesse d'Orleans would
+have neither the grace nor the fire necessary to stick it in deep enough
+--on account of her great interest in the matter.
+
+I influenced the Duchesse de Villeroy and Madame de Levi, who could work
+on the Duchess, and also Madame d'O; obtained the indirect assistance of
+M. du Maine--and by representing to the Ducs de Chevreuse, and de
+Beauvilliers, that if M. de Berry married Mademoiselle de Bourbon, hatred
+would arise between him and his brother, and great danger to the state,
+enlisted them also on my side.  I knew that the Joie de Berry was a fort
+that could only be carried by mine and assault.  Working still further,
+I obtained the concurrence of the Jesuits; and made the Pere de Trevoux
+our partisan.  Nothing is indifferent to the Jesuits.  They became a
+powerful instrument.  As a last ally I obtained the co-operation of the
+Marechal de Boufflers.  Such were the machines that my friendship for
+those to whom I was attached, my hatred for Madame la Duchesse, my care
+of my present and future situation, enabled me to discover, to set going,
+with an exact and compassed movement, a precise agreement, and the
+strength of a lever--which the space of one Lent commenced and perfected
+--all whose movements, embarrassments, and progress in their divers lines
+I knew; and which I regularly wound up in reciprocal cadence every day!
+
+Towards the end of the Lent, the Duchesse de Bourgogne, having sounded
+the King and Madame de Maintenon, had found the latter well disposed, and
+the former without any particular objection.  One day that Mademoiselle
+had been taken to see the King at the apartments of Madame de Maintenon,
+where Monseigneur happened to be, the Duchesse de Bourgogne praised her,
+and when she had gone away, ventured, with that freedom and that
+predetermined impulsiveness and gaiety which she sometimes made use of,
+to say: "What an excellent wife for M. le Duc de Berry!"  This expression
+made Monseigneur redden with anger, and exclaim, "that would be an
+excellent method of recompensing the Duc d'Orleans for his conduct in
+Spain!"  When he had said these words he hastily left the company, all
+very much astonished; for no one expected a person seemingly so
+indifferent and so measured to come out so strongly.  The Duchesse de
+Bourgogne, who had only spoken so to feel the way with Monseigneur in
+presence of the King, was bold and clever to the end.  Turning with a
+bewildered look towards Madame de Maintenon, "My Aunt," quoth she to her,
+"have I said something foolish?"  the King, piqued, answered for Madame
+de Maintenon, and said, warmly, that if Madame la Duchesse was working
+upon Monseigneur she would have to deal with him.  Madame de Maintenon
+adroitly envenomed the matter by wondering at a vivacity so uncommon with
+Monseigneur, and said that if Madame la Duchesse had that much of
+influence, she would soon make him do other things of more consequence.
+The conversation, interrupted in various ways and renewed, advanced with
+emotion, and in the midst of reflections that did more injury to
+Mademoiselle de Bourbon than the friendship of Monseigneur for Madame la
+Duchesse could serve her.
+
+When I learned this adventure, I saw that it was necessary to attack
+Monseigneur by piquing the King against Madame la Duchesse, and making
+him fear the influence of that Princess on Monseigneur and through
+Monseigneur on himself; that no opportunity should be lost to impress on
+the King the fear of being governed and kept in pupilage by his children;
+that it was equally important to frighten Madame de Maintenon, and show
+her the danger she was in from the influence of Monseigneur.  I worked on
+the fears of the Duchesse de Bourgogne, by Madame de Villeroy and de
+Levi; on the Duc de Bourgogne, by M. de Beauvilliers; on Madame de
+Maintenon, by the Marechal de Boufflers; on the King himself, by the Pere
+Tellier; and all these batteries succeeded.
+
+In order not to hurry matters too much, I took a turn to La Ferme, and
+then came back to Marly just as the King arrived.  Here I had a little
+alarm, which did not, however, discourage me.  I learned, in fact, that
+one day the Duchesse de Bourgogne, urged perhaps rather too much on the
+subject of Mademoiselle by Madame d'O, and somewhat annoyed, had shown an
+inclination for a foreign marriage.  Would to God that such a marriage
+could have been brought about!  I should always have preferred it, but
+there were many reasons to render it impossible.
+
+On my arrival at Marly, I found everything in trouble there: the King so
+chagrined that he could not hide it--although usually a master of himself
+and of his face: the Court believing that some new disaster had happened
+which would unwillingly be declared.  Four or five days passed in this
+way: at last it became known what was in the wind.  The King, informed
+that Paris and all the public were murmuring loudly about the expenses of
+Marly--at a time when it was impossible to meet the most indispensable
+claims of a necessary and unfortunate war--was more annoyed this time
+than on any other occasion, although he had often received the same
+warnings.  Madame de Maintenon had the greatest difficulty to hinder him
+from returning straight to Versailles.  The upshot was that the King
+declared with a sort of bitter joy, that he would no longer feed the
+ladies at Marly; that for the future he would dine alone, simply, as at
+Versailles; that he would sup every day at a table for sixteen with his
+family, and that the spare places should be occupied by ladies invited in
+the morning; that the Princesses of his family should each have a table
+for the ladies they brought with them; and that Mesdames Voysin and
+Desmarets should each have one for the ladies who did not choose to eat
+in their own rooms.  He added bitterly, that by making retrenchments at
+Marly he should not spend more there than at Versailles, so that he could
+go there when he pleased without being exposed to the blame of any one.
+He deceived himself from one end of this business to the other, but
+nobody but himself was deceived, if indeed he was in any other way but in
+expecting to deceive the world.  The truth is, that no change was made at
+Marly, except in name.  The same expenses went on.  The enemies
+insultingly ridiculed these retrenchments.  The King's subjects did not
+cease to complain.
+
+About this time an invitation to Marly having been obtained by Madame la
+Duchesse for her daughters, Mademoiselles de Bourbon and de Charolois,
+the King offered one to Mademoiselle.  This offer was discussed before
+the Duc and Duchesse d'Orleans and me.  We at last resolved to leave
+Mademoiselle at Versailles; and not to be troubled by seeing Mademoiselle
+de Bourbon passing her days in the same salon, often at the same play-
+table with the Duc de Berry, making herself admired by the Court,
+fluttering round Monseigneur, and accustoming the eye of the King to her.
+We knew that these trifles would not bring about a marriage; and it was
+still more important not to give up Mademoiselle to the malignity of the
+Court, to exposure, and complaints, from which it might not always be
+possible to protect her.
+
+But I had felt that it was necessary to act vigorously, and pressed the
+Duc d'Orleans to speak to the King.  To my surprise he suddenly heaped up
+objections, derived from the public disasters, with which a princely
+marriage would contrast disagreeably.  The Duchesse d'Orleans was
+strangely staggered by this admission; it only angered me.  I answered by
+repeating all my arguments.  At last he gave way, and agreed to write to
+the King.  Here, again, I had many difficulties to overcome, and was
+obliged, in fact, to write the letter myself, and dictate it to him.  He
+made one or two changes; and at last signed and sealed it.  But I had the
+greatest difficulty yet in inciting him to give it to the King.  I had to
+follow him, to urge him, to pique him, almost to push him into the
+presence.  The King received the letter very graciously; it had its
+effect; and the marriage was resolved on.
+
+When the preliminaries were settled, the Duc and Duchesse d'Orleans began
+to show their desire that Madame de Saint-Simon should be lady of honour
+to their daughter when she had become the Duchesse de Berry.  I was far
+from flattered by this distinction and refused as best I might.  Madame
+de Saint-Simon went to have an audience of the Duchesse de Bourgogne, and
+asked not to be appointed; but her objections were not listened to, or
+listened to with astonishment.  Meanwhile I endeavoured to bring about a
+reconciliation of the Duc d'Orleans with La Choin; but utterly failed.
+La Choin positively refused to have anything to do with the Duke and
+Duchess.  I was much embarrassed to communicate this news to them, to
+whom I was attached.  It was necessary; however, to do so.  I hastened to
+Saint-Cloud, and found the Duc and Duchesse d'Orleans at table with
+Mademoiselle and some ladies in a most delightful menagerie, adjoining
+the railing of the avenue near the village, with a charming pleasure-
+garden attached to it.  All this belonged, under the name of
+Mademoiselle, to Madame de Mare, her governess.  I sat down and chatted
+with them; but the impatience of the Duc d'Orleans to learn the news
+could not be checked.  He asked me if I was very satisfied.  "Middling,"
+I replied, not to spoil his dinner; but he rose at once and took me into
+the garden.  He was much affected to hear of the ill-success of my
+negotiation; and returned downcast to table.  I took the first
+opportunity to blame his impatience, and the facility with which he
+allowed the impressions he received to appear.  Always in extreme, he
+said he cared not; and talked wildly of planting cabbages--talk in which
+he indulged often without meaning anything.
+
+Soon after, M. le Duc d'Orleans went aside with Mademoiselle, and I found
+myself placed accidentally near Madame de Fontaine-Martel.  She was a
+great friend of mine, and much attached to M. d'Orleans; and it was by
+her means that I had become friendly with the Duke.  She felt at once
+that something was going on; and did not doubt that the marriage of
+Mademoiselle was on the carpet.  She said so, but I did not answer, yet
+without assuming an air of reserve that would have convinced her.  Taking
+her text from the presence of M. le Duc d'Orleans with Mademoiselle, she
+said to me confidentially, that it would be well to hasten this marriage
+if it was possible, because all sorts of horrible things were invented to
+prevent it; and without waiting to be too much pressed, she told me that
+the most abominable stories were in circulation as to the friendship of
+father and daughter.  The hair of my head stood on end.  I now felt more
+heavily than ever with what demons we had to do; and how necessary it was
+to hurry on matters.  For this reason, after we had walked about a good
+deal after dark, I again spoke with M. d'Orleans, and told him that if,
+before the end of this voyage to Marly, he did not carry the declaration
+of his daughter's marriage, it would never take place.
+
+I persuaded him; and left him more animated and encouraged than I had
+seen him.  He amused himself I know not in what other part of the house.
+I then talked a little with Madame de Mare, my relation and friend, until
+I was told that Madame de Fontaine-Martel wished to speak to me in the
+chateau.  When I went there I was taken to the cabinet of the Duchesse
+d'Orleans, when I learnt that she had just been made acquainted with the
+abominable reports spread against her husband and daughter.  We deplored
+together the misfortune of having to do with such furies.  The Duchess
+protested that there was not even any seeming in favour of these
+calumnies.  The Duke had ever tenderly loved his daughter from the age of
+two years, when he was nearly driven to despair by a serious illness she
+had, during which he watched her night and day; and this tenderness had
+gone on increasing day by day, so that he loved her more than his son.
+We agreed that it would be cruel, wicked, and dangerous to tell M.
+d'Orleans what was said.
+
+At length the decisive blow was struck.  The King had an interview with
+Monseigneur; and told him he had determined on the marriage, begging him
+to make up his mind as soon as possible.  The declaration was soon made.
+What must have been the state of Madame la Duchesse!  I never knew what
+took place in her house at this strange moment; and would have dearly
+paid for a hiding-place behind the tapestry.  As for Monseigneur, as soon
+as his original repugnance was overcome, and he saw that it was necessary
+to comply, he behaved very well.  He received the Duc and Duchesse
+d'Orleans very well, and kissed her and drank their health and that of
+all the family cheerfully.  They were extremely delighted and surprised.
+
+My next visit to Saint-Cloud was very different from that in which I
+reported the failure of my endeavours with Mademoiselle Choin.  I was
+received in triumph before a large company.  To my surprise,
+Mademoiselle, as soon as I appeared, ran towards me, kissed me on both
+cheeks, took me by the hand, and led me into the orangery.  Then she
+thanked me, and admitted that her father had constantly kept her
+acquainted with all the negotiations as they went on.  I could not help
+blaming his easiness and imprudence.  She mingled all with testimonies of
+the most lively joy; and I was surprised by her grace, her eloquence, the
+dignity and the propriety of the terms she used.  I learned an immense
+number of things in this half-hour's conversation.  Afterwards
+Mademoiselle took the opportunity to say and do all manner of graceful
+things to Madame de Saint-Simon.
+
+The Duchesse d'Orleans now returned once more to the charge, in order to
+persuade my wife to be dame d'honneur to her daughter.  I refused as
+firmly as I could.  But soon after the King himself named Madame de
+Saint-Simon; and when the Duchesse de Bourgogne suggested a doubt of her
+acceptance, exclaimed, almost piqued: "Refuse!  O, no!  not when she
+learns that it is my desire."  In fact, I soon received so many menacing
+warnings that I was obliged to give in; and Madame de Saint-Simon
+received the appointment.  This was made publicly known by the King, who
+up to that very morning remained doubtful whether he would be met by a
+refusal or not; and who, as he was about to speak, looked at me with a
+smile that was meant to please and warn me to be silent.  Madame de
+Saint-Simon learned the news with tears.  She was excellently well
+received by the King, and complimented agreeably by Madame de Maintenon.
+
+The marriage took place with the usual ceremonies.  The Duc de
+Beauvilliers and Madame de Saint-Simon drew the curtains of the couple
+when they went to bed; and laughed together at being thus employed.  The
+King, who had given a very mediocre present of diamonds to the new
+Duchesse de Berry, gave nothing to the Duc de Berry.  The latter had so
+little money that he could not play during the first days of the voyage
+to Marly.  The Duchesse de Bourgogne told this to the King, who, feeling
+the state in which he himself was, said that he had only five hundred
+pistoles to give him.  He gave them with an excuse on the misfortunes of
+the time, because the Duchesse de Bourgogne thought with reason that a
+little was better than nothing, and that it was insufferable not to be
+able to play.
+
+Madame de Mare was now set at liberty.  The place of Dame d'Atours was
+offered to her; but she advanced many reasons for not accepting it, and
+on being pressed, refused with an obstinacy that surprised every one.
+We were not long in finding out the cause of her obstinate unwillingness
+to remain with Madame la Duchesse de Berry.  The more that Princess
+allowed people to see what she was--and she never concealed herself--the
+more we saw that Madame de Mare was in the right; and the more we admired
+the miracle of care and prudence which had prevented anything from coming
+to light; and the more we felt how blindly people act in what they desire
+with the most eagerness, and achieve with much trouble and much joy; and
+the more we deplored having succeeded in an affair which, so far from
+having undertaken and carried out as I did, I should have traversed with
+still greater zeal, even if Mademoiselle de Bourbon had profited thereby
+without knowing it, if I had known half a quarter--what do I say?  the
+thousandth part--of what we unhappily witnessed!  I shall say no more for
+the present; and as I go on, I shall only say what cannot be concealed;
+and I say thus much so soon merely because the strange things that soon
+happened began to develop themselves a little during this first voyage to
+Marly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LII
+
+On Saturday, the 15th of February, the King was waked up at seven o'clock
+in the morning, an hour earlier than usual, because Madame la Duchesse de
+Bourgogne was in the pains of labour.  He dressed himself diligently in
+order to go to her.  She did not keep him waiting long.  At three minutes
+and three seconds after eight o'clock, she brought into the world a Duc
+d'Anjou, who is the King Louis XV., at present reigning, which caused a
+great joy.  This Prince was soon after sprinkled by Cardinal de Janson in
+the chamber where he was born, and then carried upon the knees of the
+Duchesse de Ventadour in the sedan chair of the King into the King's
+apartments, accompanied by the Marechal de Boufflers and by the body-
+guards with officers.  A little while after La Villiere carried to him
+the cordon bleu, and all the Court went to see him, two things which much
+displeased his brother, who did not scruple to show it.  Madame de Saint-
+Simon, who was in the chamber of Madame la Dauphine, was by chance one of
+the first who saw this new-born Prince.  The accouchement passed over
+very well.
+
+About this time died the Marechale de la Meilleraye, aged eighty-eight
+years.  She was the paternal aunt of the Marechal de Villeroy and the Duc
+de Brissac, his brother-in-law.  It was she who unwittingly put the cap
+on MM. de Brissac, which they have ever since worn in their arms, and
+which has been imitated.  She was walking in a picture gallery of her
+ancestors one day with her niece, a lively, merry person, whom she
+obliged to salute and be polite to each portrait, and who in pleasant
+revenge persuaded her that one of the said portraits wore a cap which
+proved him to be an Italian Prince.  She swallowed this, and had the cap
+introduced into her, arms, despite her family, who are now obliged to
+keep it, but who always call it, "My Aunt's cap."  On another occasion,
+people were speaking in her presence of the death of the Chevalier de
+Savoie, brother of the Comte de Soissons, and of the famous Prince
+Eugene, who died very young, very suddenly, very debauched; and full of
+benefices.  The talk became religious.  She listened some time, and then,
+with a profound look of conviction, said: "For my part, I am persuaded
+that God will think twice about damning a man of such high birth as
+that!"  This caused a burst of laughter, but nothing could make her
+change her opinion.  Her vanity was cruelly punished.  She used to affect
+to apologise for having married the Marechal de la Meilleraye.  After his
+death, being in love with Saint-Ruth, her page, she married him; but took
+care not to disclose her marriage for fear of losing her distinction at
+Court.  Saint-Ruth was a very honourable gentleman, very poor, tall, and
+well made, whom everybody knew; extremely ugly--I don't know whether he
+became so after his marriage.  He was a worthy man and a good soldier.
+But he was also a rough customer, and when his distinguished wife annoyed
+him he twirled his cudgel and belaboured her soundly.  This went so far
+that the Marechale, not being able to stand it any longer, demanded an
+audience of the King, admitted her weakness and her shame, and implored
+his protection.  The King kindly promised to set matters to rights.  He
+soundly rated Saint-Ruth in his cabinet, and forbade him to ill-treat the
+Marechale.  But what is bred in the bone will never get out of the flesh.
+The Marechale came to make fresh complaints.  The King grew angry in
+earnest, and threatened Saint-Ruth.  This kept him quiet for some time.
+But the habit of the stick was too powerful; and he flourished it again.
+The Marechale flew as usual to the King, who, seeing that Saint-Ruth was
+incorrigible, was good enough to send him to Guyenne under pretence, of
+employment.  Afterwards he was sent to Ireland; where he was killed.
+
+The Marechale de la Meilleraye had been perfectly beautiful, and was full
+of wit.  She so turned the head of the Cardinal de Retz, that he wanted
+to turn everything topsy-turvy in France, in order to make himself, a
+necessary man and force the King to use his influence at Rome in order to
+obtain a dispensation by which he (the Cardinal) should be allowed,
+though a priest--and a consecrated bishop, to marry the Marechale de la
+Meilleraye while her husband was alive and she on very good terms with
+him!  This madness is inconceivable and yet existed.
+
+I have described in its place the disgrace of Cardinal de Bouillon, and
+the banishment to which he was sentenced.  Exile did not improve him.
+He languished in weariness and rage, and saw no hope that his position
+would ever change.  Incapable of repose, he had passed all his long
+enforced leisure in a monastic war.  The monks of Cluni were his
+antagonists.  He was constantly bringing actions against them, which they
+as constantly defended.  He accused them of revolt--they accused him of
+scheming.  They profited by his disgrace, and omitted nothing to shake
+off the yoke which, when in favour, he had imposed on them.  These broils
+went on, until at last a suit, which Cardinal de Bouillon had commenced
+against the refractory monks, and which had been carried into Grand
+Council of Paris, was decided against him, notwithstanding all the
+efforts he made to obtain a contrary verdict.  This was the last drop
+which made the too full cup overflow, and which consummated the
+resolution that Cardinal had long since had in his head, and which he now
+executed.
+
+By the terms of his exile, he was allowed to visit, without restraint,
+his various abbeys, situated in different parts of the realm.  He took
+advantage of this privilege, gave out that he was going to Normandy, but
+instead of doing so, posted away to Picardy, stopped briefly at
+Abbeville, gained Arras, where he had the Abbey of Saint-Waast, thence
+feigning to go and see his abbey of Vigogne, he passed over into the camp
+of the enemy, and threw himself into the arms of the Duke of Marlborough
+and Prince Eugene.  The Prince d'Auvergne, his nephew, had deserted from
+France in a similar manner some time before, as I have related in its
+place, and was in waiting to receive the Cardinal, who was also very
+graciously welcomed by Prince Eugene and the Duke of Marlborough, who
+introduced him to the heads of the army, and lavished upon him the
+greatest honours.
+
+Such a change of condition appeared very sweet to this spirit so haughty
+and so ulcerated, and marvellously inflated the Cardinal's courage.  He
+recompensed his dear hosts by discourses, which were the most agreeable
+to them, upon the misery of France (which his frequent journeys through
+the provinces had placed before his eyes), upon its powerlessness to
+sustain the war; upon the discontent which reigned among the people; upon
+the exhaustion of the finances; in fine, he spared nothing that perfidy
+or ingratitude could suggest to flatter them and gain their favour.
+
+No sooner had the Cardinal had time to turn round among his new friends
+than he wrote a letter to the King announcing his flight--a letter which
+was such a monstrous production of insolence, of madness, of felony, and
+which was written in a style so extravagant and confused that it deserves
+to be thus specially alluded to.  In this letter, as full of absurdities,
+impudence, and of madness, as of words, the Cardinal, while pretending
+much devotion for the King, and much submission to the Church, plainly
+intimated that he cared for neither.  Although this was as the sting of a
+gnat upon an elephant, the King was horribly piqued at it.  He received
+the letter on the 24th of May, gave it the next day to D'Aguesseau,
+attorney-general, and ordered him to commence a suit against Cardinal de
+Bouillon, as guilty of felony.  At the same time the King wrote to Rome,
+enclosing a copy of Bouillon's letter, so that it might be laid before
+the Pope.  This letter received little approbation.  People considered
+that the King had forgotten his dignity in writing it, it seemed so much
+like a justification and so little worthy, of a great monarch.  As for
+the Cardinal de Bouillon, he grew more haughty than ever.  He wrote a
+letter upon the subject of this trial with which he was threatened, even
+more violent than his previous letter, and proclaimed that cardinals were
+not in any way amenable to secular justice, and could not be judged
+except by the Pope and all the sacred college.
+
+So in fact it seemed to, be; for although the Parliament commenced the
+trial, and issued an order of arrest against the Cardinal, they soon
+found themselves stopped by difficulties which arose, and by this
+immunity of the cardinals, which was supported by many examples.  After
+all the fuss made, therefore, this cause fell by its own weakness, and
+exhaled itself, so to speak, in insensible perspiration.  A fine lesson
+this for the most powerful princes, and calculated to teach them that if
+they want to be served by Rome they should favour those that are there,
+instead of raising their own subjects, who, out of Rome, can be of no
+service to the State; and who are good only to seize three or four
+hundred thousand livres a year in benefices, with the quarter of which an
+Italian would be more than recompensed.  A French cardinal in France is
+the friend of the Pope, but the enemy of the King, the Church, and the
+State; a tyrant very often to the clergy and the ministers, at liberty to
+do what he likes without ever being punished for anything.
+
+As nothing could be done in this way against the Cardinal, other steps
+were taken.  The fraudulent "Genealogical History of the House of
+Auvergne," which I have previously alluded to, was suppressed by royal
+edict, and orders given that all the copies of it should be seized.
+Baluze, who had written it, was deprived of his chair of Professor of the
+Royal College, and driven out of the realm.  A large quantity of copies
+of this edict were printed and publicly distributed.  The little
+patrimony that Cardinal de Bouillon had not been able to carry away, was
+immediately confiscated: the temporality of his benefices had been
+already seized, and on the 7th of July appeared a declaration from the
+King, which, depriving the Cardinal of all his advowsons, distributed
+them to the bishops of the dioceses in which those advowsons were
+situated.
+
+These blows were very sensibly felt by the other Bouillons, but it was no
+time for complaint.  The Cardinal himself became more enraged than ever.
+Even up to this time he had kept so little within bounds that he had
+pontifically officiated in the church of Tournai at the Te Deum for the
+taking of Douai (by the enemies); and from that town (Tournai), where he
+had fixed his residence, he wrote a long letter to M. de Beauvais,--
+bishop of the place, when it yielded, and who would not sing the Te Deum,
+exhorting him to return to Tournai and submit to the new rule.  Some time
+after this, that is to say, towards the end of the year, he was guilty of
+even greater presumption.  The Abbey of Saint-Arnaud, in Flanders, had
+just been given by the King to Cardinal La Tremoille, who had been
+confirmed in his possession by bulls from the Pope.  Since then the abbey
+had fallen into the power of the enemy.  Upon this, Cardinal de Bouillon
+caused himself to be elected Abbot by a minority of the monks and in
+spite of the opposition of the others.  It was curious to see this
+dutiful son of Rome, who had declared in his letter to the King, that he
+thought of nothing except the dignity of the King, and how he could best.
+serve God and the Church, thus elect him self in spite of the bull of the
+Pope, in spite of the orders of the King, and enjoy by force the revenues
+of the abbey, protected solely by heretics!
+
+But I have in the above recital alluded to the taking of Douai: this
+reminds me that I have got to speak of our military movements, our
+losses, and our victories, of this year.  In Flanders and in Spain they
+were of some importance, and had better, perhaps, have a chapter or more
+to themselves.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LIII
+
+The King, who had made numberless promotions, appointed this year the
+same generals to the same armies.  Villars was chosen for Flanders, as
+before.  Having, arrived at the very summit of favour, he thought he
+might venture, for the first time in his life, to bring a few truths
+before the King.  He did nothing then but represent to the ministers,
+nay, even to the King and Madame de Maintenon themselves, the wretched
+state of our magazines and our garrisons; the utter absence of all
+provision for the campaign, and the piteous condition of the troops and
+their officers, without money and without pay.  This was new language in
+the mouth of Villars, who hitherto had owed all his success to the
+smiling, rose-tinted account he had given of everything.  It was the
+frequency and the hardihood of his falsehoods in this respect that made
+the King and Madame de Maintenon look upon him as their sole resource;
+for he never said anything disagreeable, and never found difficulties
+anywhere.  Now that he had raised this fatal curtain, the aspect appeared
+so hideous to them, that they found it easier to fly into a rage than to
+reply.  From that moment they began to regard Villars with other eyes.
+Finding that he spoke now the language which everybody spoke, they began
+to look upon him as the world had always looked upon him, to find him
+ridiculous, silly, impudent, lying, insupportable; to reproach themselves
+with having elevated him from nothing, so rapidly and so enormously; they
+began to shun him, to put him aside, to make him perceive what they
+thought, and to let others perceive it also.
+
+Villars in his turn was frightened.  He saw the prospect of losing what
+he had gained, and of sinking into hopeless disgrace.  With the
+effrontery that was natural to him, he returned therefore to his usual
+flatteries, artifices, and deceits; laughed at all dangers and
+inconveniences, as having resources in himself against everything!
+The coarseness of this variation was as plain as possible; but the
+difficulty of choosing another general was equally plain, and Villars
+thus got out of the quagmire.  He set forth for the frontier, therefore,
+in his coach, and travelling easy stages, on account of his wound,
+arrived in due time at the army.
+
+Neither Prince Eugene nor the Duke of Marlborough wished for peace; their
+object was, the first, from personal vengeance against the King, and a
+desire to obtain a still greater reputation; the second, to get rich, for
+ambition was the prominent passion of one, and avarice of the other--
+their object was, I say, to enter France, and, profiting by the extreme
+weakness and straitened state of our troops and of our places, to push
+their conquests as far as possible.
+
+As for the King, stung by his continual losses, he wished passionately
+for nothing so much as a victory, which should disturb the plans of the
+enemies, and deliver him from the necessity of continuing the sad and
+shameful negotiations for peace he had set an foot at Gertruydemberg.
+But the enemies were well posted, end Villars had imprudently lost a good
+opportunity of engaging them.  All the army had noticed this fault; he
+had been warned in time by several general officers, and by the Marechal
+de Montesquiou, but he would not believe them.  He did not dare to attack
+the enemies, now, after having left them leisure to make all their
+dispositions.  The army cried aloud against so capital a fault.  Villars
+answered with his usual effrontery.  He had quarrelled with his second in
+command, the Marechal de Montesquiou, and now knew not what to do.
+
+In this crisis, no engagement taking place, the King thought it fitting
+to send Berwick into Flanders to act as mediator, even, to some extent,
+as dictator to the army.  He was ordered to bring back an account of all
+things, so that it might be seen whether a battle could or could not be
+fought.
+
+I think I have already stated who Berwick was; but I will here add a few
+more words about him to signalise his prodigious and rapid advancement.
+
+We were in the golden age of bastards, and Berwick was a man who had
+reason to think so.  Bastard of James II., of England, he had arrived in
+France, at the age of eighteen, with that monarch, after the Revolution
+of 1688.  At twenty-two he was made lieutenant-general, and served as
+such in Flanders, without having passed through any other rank.  At
+thirty-three he commanded in chief in Spain with a patent of general.
+At thirty-four he was made, on account of his victory at Almanza, Grandee
+of Spain, and Chevalier of the Golden Fleece.  He continued to command in
+chief until February, 1706, when he was made Marshal of France, being
+then not more than thirty-six years old.  He was an English Duke, and
+although as such he had no rank in France, the King had awarded it to
+him, as to all who came over with James.  This was making a rapid fortune
+with a vengeance, under a King who regarded people of thirty-odd as
+children, but who thought no more of the ages of bastards than of those
+of the gods.
+
+For more than a year past Berwick had coveted to be made Duke and Peer;
+But he could not obtain his wish.  Now, however, that he was to be sent
+into Flanders for the; purpose I have just described, it seemed a good
+opportunity to try again.  He did try, and was successful.  He was made
+Duke and Peer.  He had been twice married.  By his first wife he had had
+a son.  By his second several sons and daughters.  Will it be believed,
+that he was hardy enough to propose, and that we were weak enough to
+accord to him, that his son of the first bed should be formally excluded
+from the letters-patent of Duke and Peer, and that those of the second
+bed should alone be entered there?  Yet so it was.  Berwick was, in
+respect to England, like the Jews, who await the Messiah.  He coaxed
+himself always with the hope of a revolution in England, which should put
+the Stuarts on the throne again, and reinstate him in his wealth and
+honours.  He was son of the sister of the Duke of Marlborough, by which
+general he was much loved, and with whom, by permission of the King, and
+of King James, he kept up a secret intercourse, of which all three were
+the dupes, but which enabled Berwick to maintain other intercourses in
+England, and to establish his batteries there, hoping thus for his
+reinstatement even under the government established.  This explains his
+motive for the arrangement he made in the letters-patent.  He wished his
+eldest son to succeed to his English dukedom and his English estates; to
+make the second Duke and Peer of France, and the third Grandee of Spain.
+Three sons hereditarily elevated to the three chief dignities of the
+three, chief realms in Europe, it must be agreed was not bad work for a
+man to have achieved at fifty years of age!  But Berwick failed in his
+English projects.  Do what he could all his life to court the various
+ministers who came from England, he never could succeed in reestablishing
+himself.
+
+The scandal was great at the complaisance of the King in consenting to a
+family arrangement, by which a cadet was put over the head of his elder
+brother; but the time of the monsters had arrived.  Berwick bought an
+estate that he created under the name of Fitz-James.  The King, who
+allowed him to do so, was shocked by the name; and, in my presence, asked
+Berwick the meaning of it; he, without any embarrassment, thus explained
+it.
+
+The Kings of England, in legitimatising their children gave them a name
+and arms, which pass to their posterity.  The name varies.  Thus the Duke
+of Richmond, bastard of Charles II., had the name of "Lennox;" the Dukes
+of Cleveland and of Grafton, by the same king, that of "Fitz-Roi," which
+means "son of the king;" in fine, the Duke of Berwick had the name of
+"Fitz-James;" so that his family name for his posterity is thus "Son of
+James;" as a name, it is so ridiculous in French, that nobody could help
+laughing at it, or being astonished at the scandal of imposing it in
+English upon France.
+
+Berwick having thus obtained his recompense beforehand, started off for
+Flanders, but not until he had seen everything signed and sealed and
+delivered in due form.  He found the enemy so advantageously placed, and
+so well prepared, that he had no difficulty in subscribing to the common
+opinion of the general officers, that an attack could no longer be
+thought of.  He gathered up all the opinions he could, and then returned
+to Court, having been only about three weeks absent.  His report dismayed
+the King, and those who penetrated it.  Letters from the army soon showed
+the fault of which Villars had been guilty, and everybody revolted
+against this wordy bully.
+
+He soon after was the subject of common talk at the Court, and in the
+army, in consequence of a ridiculous adventure, in which he was the hero.
+His wound, or the airs that he gave himself in consequence of it, often
+forced him to hold his leg upon the neck of his horse, almost in the same
+manner as ladies do.  One day, he let slip the remark that he was sick to
+death of mounting on horseback like those "harlots" in the suite of
+Madame de Bourgogne.  Those "harlots," I will observe parenthetically,
+were all the young ladies of the Court, and the daughters of Madame la
+Duchesse!  Such a remark uttered by a general not much loved, speedily
+flew from one end of the camp to the other, and was not long in making
+its way to the Court and to Paris.  The young horsewomen alluded to were
+offended; their friends took up arms for them, and Madame la Duchesse de
+Bourgogne could not help showing irritation, or avoid complaining.
+
+Villars was apprised of all, and was much troubled by this increase of
+enemies so redoubtable, of whom just then he assuredly had no need.  He
+took it into his head to try and discover who had blabbed; and found it
+was Heudicourt, whom Villars, to advance his own interests, by means of
+Heudicourt's mother (who was the evil genius of Madame de Maintenon,) had
+protected; and to whom even, much against his custom, he had actually not
+lent, but given money.
+
+This Heudicourt (whom I have previously allluded to, 'a propos' of a song
+he wrote) was a merry wag who excelled in making fun of people, in
+highly-seasoned pleasantry, and in comic songs.  Spoiled by the favour
+which had always sustained him, he gave full licence to his tongue, and
+by this audacity had rendered himself redoubtable.  He was a scurrilous
+wretch, a great drunkard, and a debauchee; not at all cowardly, and with
+a face hideous as that of an ugly satyr.  He was not insensible to this;
+and so, unfitted for intrigues himself, he assisted others in them, and,
+by this honest trade, had acquired many friends amongst the flower of the
+courtiers of both sexes--above all with the ladies.  By way of contrast
+to his wickedness, he was called "the good little fellow" and "the good
+little fellow" was mixed up in all intrigues; the ladies of the Court
+positively struggled for him; and not one of them, even of the highest
+ranks, would have dared to fall out with him.  Thus protected, he was
+rather an embarrassing customer for Marechal de Villars, who,
+nevertheless, falling back as usual upon his effrontery, hit upon a
+bright project to bring home to Heudicourt the expedient he had against
+him.
+
+He collected together about fifteen general officers, and Heudicourt with
+them.  When they had all arrived, he left his chamber, and went to them.
+A number of loiterers had gathered round.  This was just what Villars
+wanted.  He asked all the officers in turn, if they remembered hearing
+him utter the expression attributed to him.  Albergotti said he
+remembered to have heard Villars apply the term "harlots" to the sutlers
+and the camp creatures, but never to any other woman.  All the rest
+followed in the same track.  Then Villars, after letting out against this
+frightful calumny, and against the impostor who had written and sent it
+to the Court, addressed himself to Heudicourt, whom he treated in the
+most cruel fashion.  "The good little fellow" was strangely taken aback,
+and wished to defend himself; but Villars produced proofs that could not
+be contradicted.  Thereupon the ill-favoured dog avowed his turpitude,
+and had the audacity to approach Villars in order to speak low to him;
+but the Marechal, drawing back, and repelling him with an air of
+indignation, said to him, aloud, that with scoundrels like him he wished
+for no privacy.  Gathering up, his pluck at this, Heudicourt gave rein to
+all his impudence, and declared that they who had been questioned had not
+dared to own the truth for fear of offending a Marechal; that as for
+himself he might have been wrong in speaking and writing about it, but he
+had not imagined that words said before such a numerous company; and in
+such a public place, could remain secret, or that he had done more harm
+in writing about them that so, many others who had acted likewise.
+
+The Marechal, outraged upon hearing so bold and so truthful a reply, let
+out with, greater violence than ever against Heudicourt, accused him of
+ingratitude and villainy, drove him away, and a few minutes after had him
+arrested and conducted as a prisoner to the chateau at Calais.  This
+violent scene made as much stir at the Court and in the army as that
+which had caused it.  The consistent and public conduct of Villars was
+much approved.  The King declared that he left Heudicourt in his hands:
+Madame de Maintenon and, Madame de Bourgogne, that they abandoned him;
+and his friends avowed that his fault was inexcusable.  But the tide soon
+turned.  After the first hubbub, the excuse of "the good little fellow"
+appeared excellent to the ladies who had their reasons for liking him and
+for fearing to irritate him; and also to the army, where the Marechal was
+not liked.  Several of the officers who had been publicly interrogated by
+Villars, now admitted that they had been taken by surprise, and had not
+wished to compromise themselves.  It was even, going into base details,
+argued that the Marechal's expression could not apply to the vivandieres
+and the other camp women, as they always rode astride, one leg on this
+side one leg on the other, like men, a manner very different from that of
+the ladies of Madame de Bourgogne.  People contested the power of a
+general to deal out justice upon his inferiors for personal matters in
+which the service was in nowise concerned; in a word, Heudicourt was soon
+let out of Calais, and remained "the good little fellow" in fashion in
+spite of the Marechal, who, tormented by so many things this campaign,
+sought for and obtained permission to go and take the waters; and did so.
+He was succeeded by Harcourt, who was himself in weak health.  Thus one
+cripple replaced another.  One began, the other ended, at Bourbonne.
+Douai, Saint-Venant, and Aire fell into the hands of the enemy during
+this 'campaign, who thus gained upon us more and more, while we did
+little or nothing.  This was the last campaign in Flanders of the Duke of
+Marlborough.  On the Rhine our troops observed and subsisted: nothing
+more; but in Spain there was more movement, and I will therefore turn my
+glances towards that country, and relate what took place there.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LIV
+
+Before I commence speaking of the affairs of Spain, let me pass lightly
+over an event which, engrafted upon some others, made much noise,
+notwithstanding the care taken to stifle it.
+
+Madame la Duchesse de Bourgogne supped at Saint-Cloud one evening with
+Madame la Duchesse de Berry and others--Madame de Saint-Simon absenting
+herself from the party.  Madame la Duchesse de Berry and M. d'Orleans--
+but she more than he--got so drunk, that Madame la Duchesse d'Orleans,
+Madame la Duchesse de Bourgogne, and the rest of the numerous company
+there assembled, knew not what to do.  M. le Duc de Berry was there, and
+him they talked over as well as they could; and the numerous company was
+amused by the Grand Duchess as well as she was able.  The effect of the
+wine, in more ways than one, was such, that people were troubled.  In
+spite of all, the Duchesse de Berry could not be sobered, so that it
+became necessary to carry her, drunk as she was; to Versailles.  All the
+servants saw her state, and did not keep it to themselves; nevertheless,
+it was hidden from the King, from Monseigneur, and from Madame de
+Maintenon.
+
+And now, having related this incident, let me turn to Spain.
+
+The events which took place in that country were so important, that I
+have thought it best to relate them in a continuous narrative without
+interruption.  We must go back to the commencement of the year, and
+remember the dangerous state which Spain was thrown into, delivered up to
+her own weakness, France being too feeble to defend her; finding it
+difficult enough, in fact, to defend herself, and willing to abandon her
+ally entirely in the hope by this means to obtain peace.
+
+Towards the end of March the King of Spain set out from Madrid to put
+himself at the head of his army in Aragon.  Villadatias, one of his best
+and oldest general officers, was chosen to command under him.  The King
+of Spain went from Saragossa to Lerida, where he was received with
+acclamations by the people and his army.  He crossed the Segre on the
+14th of May, and advanced towards Balaguier; designing to lay siege to
+it.  But heavy rains falling and causing the waters to rise, he was
+obliged to abandon his project.  Joined a month afterwards by troops
+arrived from Flanders, he sought to attack the enemy, but was obliged to
+content himself for the moment by scouring the country, and taking some
+little towns where the Archduke had established stores.  All this time
+the Count of Staremberg, who commanded the forces of the Archduke, was
+ill; this circumstance the King of Spain was profiting by.  But the Count
+grew well again quicker than was expected; promptly assembled his forces;
+marched against the army of the King of Spain; engaged it, and obliged
+it, all astonished, to retire under Saragossa.  This ill-success fell
+entirely on Villadarias, who was accused of imprudence and negligence.
+The King of Spain was desperately in want of generals, and M. de Vendome,
+knowing this, and sick to death of banishment, had asked some little time
+before to be allowed to offer his services.  At first he was snubbed.
+But the King of Spain, who eagerly wished for M. de Vendome, despatched a
+courier, after this defeat, begging the King to allow him to come and
+take command.  The King held out no longer.
+
+The Duc de Vendome had prepared everything in advance; and having got
+over a slight attack of gout, hastened to Versailles.  M. du Maine had
+negotiated with Madame de Maintenon to obtain permission to take Vendome
+to the Duchesse de Bourgogne.  The opportunity seemed favourable to them.
+Vendome was going to Spain to serve the brother and sister of the
+Duchess; and his departure without seeing her would have had a very
+disagreeable effect.  The Duc du Maine, followed by Vendome, came then
+that day to the toilette of the Duchesse de Bourgogne.  There happened
+that there was a very large company of men and ladies.  The Duchess rose
+for them, as she always did for the Princes of the blood and others, and
+for all the Dukes and Duchesses, and sat down again as usual; but after
+this first glance, which could not be refused, she, though usually very
+talkative and accustomed to look round, became for once attentive to her
+adornment, fixed her eyes on her mirror, and spoke no more to any one.
+M. du Maine, with M. de Vendome stuck by his side, remained very
+disconcerted; and M. du Maine, usually so free and easy, dared not utter
+a single word.  Nobody went near them or spoke to them.  They remained
+thus about half a quarter of an hour, with an universal silence
+throughout the chamber--all eyes being fixed on them; and not being able
+to stand this any longer, slunk away.  This reception was not
+sufficiently agreeable to induce Vendome to pay his respects at parting;
+for it would have been more embarrassing still if, when according to
+custom he advanced to kiss the Duchesse de Bourgogne, she had given him
+the unheard-of affront of a refusal.  As for the Duc de Bourgogne, he
+received Vendome tolerably politely, that is to say, much too well.
+
+Staremberg meanwhile profited by the advantage he had gained; he attacked
+the Spanish army under Saragossa and totally defeated it.  Artillery,
+baggage, all was lost; and the rout was complete.  This misfortune
+happened on the 20th of August.  The King, who had witnessed it from
+Saragossa, immediately afterwards took the road for Madrid.  Bay, one of
+his generals, gathered together eighteen thousand men, with whom he
+retired to Tudela, without any impediment on the part of the enemy.
+
+M. de Vendome learnt the news of this defeat while on his way to Spain.
+Like a prudent man as he was, for his own interests, he stopped at once
+so as to see what turn affairs were taking, and to know how to act.
+He waited at Bayonne, gaining time there by sending a courier to the King
+for instructions how to act, and remaining until the reply came.  After
+its arrival he set out to continue his journey, and joined the King of
+Spain at Valladolid.
+
+Staremberg, after his victory, was joined by the Archduke, and a debate
+soon took place as to the steps next to be taken.  Staremberg was for
+giving battle to the army of eighteen thousand men under Bay, which I
+have just alluded to, beating it, and then advancing little by little
+into Spain, to make head against the vanquished army of the King.  Had
+this advice been acted on, it could scarcely have failed to ruin the King
+of Spain, and the whole country must have fallen into the hands of the
+enemy.  But it was not acted on.  Stanhope, who commanded the English and
+Dutch troops, said that his Queen had ordered him to march upon Madrid
+when possible, in preference to every other place.  He therefore proposed
+that they should go straight to Madrid with the Archduke, proclaim him
+King there, and thus terrify all Spain by seizing the capital.
+Staremberg, who admitted that the project was dazzling, sustained,
+however, that it was of little use, and of great danger.  He tried all in
+his power to shake the inflexibility of Stanhope, but in vain, and at
+last was obliged to yield as being the feebler of the two.  The time lost
+in this dispute saved the wreck of the army which had just been defeated.
+What was afterwards done saved the King of Spain.
+
+When the plan of the allies became known, however, the consternation at
+Madrid, which was already great, was extreme.  The King resolved to
+withdraw from a place which could not defend itself, and to carry away
+with him the Queen, the Prince, and the Councils.  The grandees declared
+that they would follow the King and his fortune everywhere, and very few
+failed to do so; the departure succeeded the declaration in twenty-four
+hours.  The Queen, holding the Prince in her arms, at a balcony of the
+palace, spoke to the people assembled beneath, with so much grace, force,
+and courage, that the success she had is incredible.  The impression that
+the people received was communicated everywhere, and soon gained all the
+provinces.  The Court thus left Madrid for the second time in the midst
+of the most lamentable cries, uttered from the bottom of their hearts, by
+people who came from town and country, and who so wished to follow the
+King and Queen that considerable effort was required in order to induce
+them to return, each one to his home.
+
+Valladolid was the retreat of this wretched Court, which in the most
+terrible trouble it had yet experienced, lost neither judgment nor
+courage.  Meanwhile the grandest and rarest example of attachment and of
+courage that had ever been heard of or seen was seen in Spain.  Prelates
+and the humblest of the clergy, noblemen and the poorest people, lawyers
+and artisans all bled themselves of the last drop of their substance,
+in order to form new troops and magazines, and to provide all kinds of
+provisions for the Court, and those who had followed it.  Never nation
+made more efforts so surprising, with a unanimity and a concert which
+acted everywhere at once.  The Queen sold off all she possessed, received
+with her own hands sometimes even as little as ten pistoles, in order to
+content the zeal of those; who brought, and thanked them with as much
+affection as they themselves displayed.  She would continually say that
+she should like to put herself at the head of her troops, with her son in
+her arms.  With this language and her conduct, she gained all hearts, and
+was very useful in such a strange extremity.
+
+The Archduke meanwhile arrived in Madrid with his army.  He entered there
+in triumph, and caused himself to be proclaimed King of Spain, by the
+violence of his troops, who dragged the trembling Corregidor through the
+streets, which for the most part were deserted, whilst the majority of
+the houses were without inhabitants, the few who remained having
+barricaded their doors and windows, and shut themselves up in the most
+remote places, where the troops did not dare to break in upon them, for
+fear of increasing the visible and general despair, and in the hope of
+gaining by gentleness.  The entry of the Archduke was not less sad than
+his proclamation.  A few scarcely audible and feeble acclamations were
+heard, but were so forced that the Archduke, sensibly astonished, made
+them cease of himself.  He did not dare to lodge in the palace, or in the
+centre of Madrid, but slept at the extremity of the city, and even there
+only for two or three nights.  Scarcely any damage was inflicted upon the
+town.  Staremberg was careful to gain over the inhabitants by
+conciliation and clemency; yet his army perished of all kinds of misery.
+
+Not a single person could be found to supply it with subsistence for man
+or beast--not even when offered money.  Prayers, menaces, executions, all
+were perfectly useless.  There was not a Castilian who would not have
+believed himself dishonourable in selling the least thing to the enemies,
+or in allowing them to take it.  It is thus that this magnanimous people,
+without any other help than their courage and their fidelity, sustained
+themselves in the midst of their enemies, whose army they caused to
+perish; while at the same time; by inconceivable prodigies, they formed a
+new army for themselves, perfectly equipped and furnished, and put thus,
+by themselves; alone, and for the second time, the crown upon the head of
+their King; with a glory for ever an example to all the people of Europe;
+so true it is that nothing approaches the strength which is found in the
+heart of a nation for the succour and re-establishment of kings!
+
+Stanhope, who had not failed to see the excellence of Staremberg's advice
+from the first moment of their dispute, now said insolently, that having
+executed the orders of his Queen, it was for Staremberg to draw the army
+out of its embarrassment.  As for himself, he had nothing more to do in
+the matter!  When ten or twelve days had elapsed, it was resolved to
+remove from Madrid towards Toledo.  From the former place nothing was
+taken away, except same of the king's tapestry; which Stanhope was not
+ashamed to carry off, but which he did not long keep.  This act of
+meanness was blamed even by his own countrymen.  Staremberg did not make
+a long stay at Toledo, but in quitting the town, burnt the superb palace
+in the Moorish style that Charles Quint had built there, and that, was
+called the Alcazar.  This was an irreparable damage, which he made
+believe happened accidentally.
+
+As nothing now hindered the King of Spain from going to see his faithful
+subjects at Madrid, he entered that city on the 2nd of December, in the
+midst of an infinite crowd and incredible acclamations.  He descended at
+the church of Notre Dame d'Atocha, and was three hours in arriving at the
+palace, so prodigious was the crowd.  The city made a present to him of
+twenty thousand pistoles.  On the fourth day after his arrival at Madrid,
+the King left, in order to join M. de Vendeme and his army.
+
+But a little while before, this monarch was a fugitive wanderer, almost
+entirely destroyed, without troops, without money, and without
+subsistence.  Now he found himself at the head of ten or fifteen thousand
+men well armed, well clad, well paid, with provisions, money, and
+ammunition in abundance; and this magical change was brought about by the
+sudden universal conspiracy of the unshakable fidelity and attachment--
+without example, of all the orders of his subjects; by their efforts and
+their industry, as prodigious the one as the other.
+
+Vendome, in the utmost surprise at a change so little to be hoped for,
+wished to profit by it by joining the army under Bay, which was too weak
+itself to appear before Staremberg.  Vendome accordingly set about making
+this junction, which Staremberg thought only how to hinder.  He knew well
+the Duc de Vendome.  In Savoy he had gained many a march upon him; had
+passed five rivers in front of him; and in spite of him had led his
+troops to M. de Savoie.  Staremberg thought only therefore in what manner
+he could lay a trap for M. de Vendome, in which he, with his army, might
+fall and break his neck without hope of escape.  With this view he put
+his army into quarters access to which was easy everywhere, which were
+near each other, and which could assist each other in case of need.  He
+then placed all his English and Dutch, Stanhope at their head, in
+Brighuega, a little fortified town in good condition for defence.  It was
+at the head of all the quarters of Staremberg's army, and at the entrance
+of a plain over which M. de Vendome had to pass to join Bay.
+
+Staremberg was on the point of being joined by his army of Estremadura,
+so that in the event of M. de Vendeme attacking Brighuega, as he hoped,
+he had a large number of troops to depend upon.
+
+Vendome, meanwhile, set out on his march.  He was informed of
+Staremberg's position, but in a manner just such as Staremberg wished;
+that is to say, he was led to believe that Stanhope had made a wrong move
+in occupying Brighuega, that he was too far removed from Staremberg to
+receive any assistance from him, and that he could be easily overpowered.
+That is how matters appeared to Vendome.  He hastened his march,
+therefore, made his dispositions, and on the 8th of December, after mid-
+day, approached Brighuega, called upon it to surrender, and upon its
+refusal, prepared to attack it.
+
+Immediately afterwards his surprise was great, upon discovering that
+there were so many troops in the town, and that instead of having to do
+with a mere outpost, he was engaged against a place of some consequence.
+He did not wish to retire, and could not have done so with impunity.  He
+set to therefore, storming in his usual manner, and did what he could to
+excite his troops to make short work, of a conquest so different from
+what he had imagined, and so dangerous to delay.
+
+Nevertheless, the weight of his mistake pressed upon him as the hours
+passed and he saw fresh enemies arrive.  Two of his assaults had failed:
+he determined to play at double or quits, and ordered a third assault.
+While the dispositions were being made, on the 9th of December he learnt
+that Staremberg was marching against him with four or five thousand men,
+that is to say, with just about half of what he really led.  In this
+anguish, Vendome did not hesitate to stake even the Crown of Spain upon
+the hazard of the die.  His third attack was made with all the force of
+which he was capable.  Every one of the assailants knew the extremity of
+the danger, and behaved with so much valour and impetuosity, that the
+town was carried in spite of an obstinate resistance.  The besieged were
+obliged to yield, and to the number of eight battalions and eight
+squadrons, surrendered themselves prisoners of war, and with them,
+Stanhope, their general, who, so triumphant in Madrid, was here obliged
+to disgorge the King's tapestries that he had taken from the palace.
+
+While the capitulation was being made, various information came to
+Vendome of Staremberg's march, which it was necessary, above all, to hide
+from the prisoners, who, had they known their liberator was only a league
+and a half distant from them, as he was then, would have broken the
+capitulation; and defended themselves.  M. de Vendome's embarrassment was
+great.  He had, at the same time, to march out and meet Staremberg and to
+get rid of, his numerous prisoners.  All was done, however, very
+successfully.  Sufficient troops were left in Brighuega to attend to the
+evacuation, and when it was at an end, those troops left the place
+themselves and joined their comrades, who, with M. de Vendome, were
+waiting for Staremberg outside the town, at Villaviciosa, a little place
+that afterwards gave its name to the battle.  Only four hundred men were
+left in Brighuega.
+
+M. de Vendome arranged his army in order of battle in a tolerably open
+plain, but embarrassed by little knolls in several places; very
+disadvantageous for the cavalry.  Immediately afterwards the cannon began
+to fire on both sides, and almost immediately the two links of the King
+of Spain prepared to charge.  After the battle had proceeded some time,
+M. de Vendome perceived that his centre began to give way, and that the
+left of his cavalry could not break the right of the enemies.  He thought
+all was lost, and gave orders accordingly to his men to retire towards
+Torija.  Straightway, too, he directed himself in that direction, with
+the King of Spain and a good part of his troops.  While thus retreating,
+he learnt that two of his officers had charged the enemy's infantry with
+the cavalry they had at their orders, had much knocked it about and had
+rendered themselves masters, on the field of battle, of a large number
+of-prisoners, and of the artillery that the enemy had abandoned.  News so
+agreeable and so little expected determined the Duc de Vendome and the
+King of Spain to return to the battle with the troops that had followed
+them.  The day was, in fact, won just as night came on.  The enemies
+abandoned twenty pieces of cannon, two mortars, their wounded and their
+equipages; and numbers of them were taken prisoners.  But Staremberg,
+having all the night to himself, succeeded in retiring in good order with
+seven or eight thousand men.  His baggage and the majority of his waggons
+fell a prey to the vanquisher.  Counting the garrison of Brighuega, the
+loss to the enemy was eleven thousand men killed or taken, their
+ammunition, artillery, baggage, and a great number of flags and
+standards.
+
+When we consider the extreme peril the Crown of Spain ran in these
+engagements, and that this time, if things had gone ill there was no
+resource, we tremble still.  Had a catastrophe happened, there was
+nothing to hope from France.  Its exhaustion and its losses would not
+have enabled it to lend aid.  In its desire for peace, in fact, it would
+have hailed the loss of the Spanish Crown as a relief.  The imprudence,
+therefore, of M. de Vendome in so readily falling into the snare laid for
+him, is all the more to be blamed.  He takes no trouble to inform himself
+of the dispositions of the enemy; he comes upon a place which he believes
+a mere post, but soon sees it contains a numerous garrison, and finds
+that the principal part of the enemy's army is ready to fall upon him as
+he makes the attack.  Then he begins to see in what ship he has embarked;
+he sees the double peril of a double action to sustain against Stanhope,
+whom he must overwhelm by furious assault, and against Staremberg, whom
+he must meet and defeat; or, leave to the enemies the Crown of Spain, and
+perhaps the person of Philip V., as price of his folly.  Brighuega is
+gained, but it is without him.  Villaviciosa is gained, but it is also
+without him.  This hero is not sharp-sighted enough to see success when
+it comes.  He thinks it defeat, and gives orders for retreat.  When
+informed that the battle is gained, he returns to the field, and as
+daylight comes perceives the fact to be so.  He is quite without shame
+for his stupid mistake, and cries out that he has vanquished, with an
+impudence to which the Spaniards were not accustomed; and, to conclude,
+he allows Staremberg's army to get clean off, instead of destroying it at
+once, as he might have done, and so finished the war.  Such were the
+exploits of this great warrior, so desired in Spain to resuscitate it,
+and such, were the first proofs of his capacity upon arriving in that
+country!
+
+At the moment that the King of Spain was led back to the battle-field by
+Vendome, and that they could no longer doubt their good fortune, he sent
+a courier to the Queen.  Her mortal anguish was on the instant changed
+into so great a joy, that she went out immediately on foot into the
+streets of Vittoria, where all was delight; as it soon was over all
+Spain.  The news of the victory was brought to the King (of France) by
+Don Gaspard de Zuniga, who gave an exact account of all that had
+occurred, hiding nothing respecting M. de Vendome, who was thus unmasked
+and disgraced, in spite of every effort on the part of his cabal to
+defend him.
+
+Among the allies, all the blame, of this defeat fell upon Stanhope.
+Seven or eight hours more of resistance on his part at Brighuega would
+have enabled Staremberg to come up to his assistance, and all the
+resources of Spain would then have been annihilated.  Staremberg,
+outraged at the ill-success of his undertaking, cried out loudly against
+Stanhope.  Some of the principal officers who had been at Brighuega
+seconded these complaints.  Stanhope even did not dare to deny his fault.
+He was allowed to demand leave of absence to go home and defend himself.
+He was badly received, stripped of all military rank in England and
+Holland, and (as well as the officers under him) was not without fear of
+his degradation, and was even in danger of his life.
+
+This recital of the events that took place in Spain has led me away from
+other matters of earlier date.  It is time now that I should return to
+them.
+
+
+
+
+ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARK:
+
+Found it easier to fly into a rage than to reply
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Memoirs of Louis XIV., Volume 7
+by Duc de Saint-Simon
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XIV., ***
+
+***** This file should be named 3866.txt or 3866.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/6/3866/
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/3866.zip b/3866.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1066601
--- /dev/null
+++ b/3866.zip
diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6312041
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f8ab39d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #3866 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3866)
diff --git a/old/cm29b10.txt b/old/cm29b10.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dd9a7df
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/cm29b10.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2858 @@
+The Project Gutenberg Memoirs Louis XIV., His Court and The Regency, v7
+#7 in our series by The Duc de Saint-Simon
+#29 in our series Historic Court Memoirs
+
+Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check
+the laws for your country before redistributing these files!!!!!
+
+Please take a look at the important information in this header.
+We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an
+electronic path open for the next readers.
+
+Please do not remove this.
+
+This should be the first thing seen when anyone opens the book.
+Do not change or edit it without written permission.  The words
+are carefully chosen to provide users with the information they
+need about what they can legally do with the texts.
+
+
+**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts**
+
+**Etexts Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971**
+
+*****These Etexts Are Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!*****
+
+Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get Etexts, and
+further information is included below, including for donations.
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a 501(c)(3)
+organization with EIN [Employee Identification Number] 64-6221541
+
+
+
+Title: The Memoirs of Louis XIV., His Court and The Regency, v7
+
+Author: Duc de Saint-Simon
+
+Official Release Date: March, 2003  [Etext #3866]
+[Yes, we are about one year ahead of schedule]
+[The actual date this file first posted = 07/15/01]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+The Project Gutenberg Etext Memoirs of Louis XIV. and The Regency, v7
+*********This file should be named cm29b10.txt or cm29b10.zip********
+
+Corrected EDITIONS of our etexts get a new NUMBER, cm29b11.txt
+VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, cm29b10a.txt
+
+This etext was produced by David Widger <widger@cecomet.net>
+
+Project Gutenberg Etexts are usually created from multiple editions,
+all of which are in the Public Domain in the United States, unless a
+copyright notice is included.  Therefore, we usually do NOT keep any
+of these books in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+We are now trying to release all our books one year in advance
+of the official release dates, leaving time for better editing.
+Please be encouraged to send us error messages even years after
+the official publication date.
+
+Please note:  neither this list nor its contents are final till
+midnight of the last day of the month of any such announcement.
+The official release date of all Project Gutenberg Etexts is at
+Midnight, Central Time, of the last day of the stated month.  A
+preliminary version may often be posted for suggestion, comment
+and editing by those who wish to do so.
+
+Most people start at our sites at:
+http://gutenberg.net
+http://promo.net/pg
+
+
+Those of you who want to download any Etext before announcement
+can surf to them as follows, and just download by date; this is
+also a good way to get them instantly upon announcement, as the
+indexes our cataloguers produce obviously take a while after an
+announcement goes out in the Project Gutenberg Newsletter.
+
+http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/etext03
+or
+ftp://ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/docs/books/gutenberg/etext03
+
+Or /etext02, 01, 00, 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90
+
+Just search by the first five letters of the filename you want,
+as it appears in our Newsletters.
+
+
+Information about Project Gutenberg (one page)
+
+We produce about two million dollars for each hour we work.  The
+time it takes us, a rather conservative estimate, is fifty hours
+to get any etext selected, entered, proofread, edited, copyright
+searched and analyzed, the copyright letters written, etc.  This
+projected audience is one hundred million readers.  If our value
+per text is nominally estimated at one dollar then we produce $2
+million dollars per hour this year as we release fifty new Etext
+files per month, or 500 more Etexts in 2000 for a total of 3000+
+If they reach just 1-2% of the world's population then the total
+should reach over 300 billion Etexts given away by year's end.
+
+The Goal of Project Gutenberg is to Give Away One Trillion Etext
+Files by December 31, 2001.  [10,000 x 100,000,000 = 1 Trillion]
+This is ten thousand titles each to one hundred million readers,
+which is only about 4% of the present number of computer users.
+
+At our revised rates of production, we will reach only one-third
+of that goal by the end of 2001, or about 3,333 Etexts unless we
+manage to get some real funding.
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation has been created
+to secure a future for Project Gutenberg into the next millennium.
+
+We need your donations more than ever!
+
+As of June 16, 2001 contributions are only being solicited from people in:
+Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana,
+Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri,
+Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma,
+Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee,
+Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
+
+We have filed in nearly all states now, and these are the ones
+that have responded as of the date above.
+
+As the requirements for other states are met,
+additions to this list will be made and fund raising
+will begin in the additional states.  Please feel
+free to ask to check the status of your state.
+
+In answer to various questions we have received on this:
+
+We are constantly working on finishing the paperwork
+to legally request donations in all 50 states.  If
+your state is not listed and you would like to know
+if we have added it since the list you have, just ask.
+
+While we cannot solicit donations from people in
+states where we are not yet registered, we know
+of no prohibition against accepting donations
+from donors in these states who approach us with
+an offer to donate.
+
+
+International donations are accepted,
+but we don't know ANYTHING about how
+to make them tax-deductible, or
+even if they CAN be made deductible,
+and don't have the staff to handle it
+even if there are ways.
+
+All donations should be made to:
+
+Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+PMB 113
+1739 University Ave.
+Oxford, MS 38655-4109
+
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a 501(c)(3)
+organization with EIN [Employee Identification Number] 64-6221541,
+and has been approved as a 501(c)(3) organization by the US Internal
+Revenue Service (IRS).  Donations are tax-deductible to the maximum
+extent permitted by law.  As the requirements for other states are met,
+additions to this list will be made and fund raising will begin in the
+additional states.
+
+We need your donations more than ever!
+
+You can get up to date donation information at:
+
+http://www.gutenberg.net/donation.html
+
+
+***
+
+If you can't reach Project Gutenberg,
+you can always email directly to:
+
+Michael S. Hart <hart@pobox.com>
+
+hart@pobox.com forwards to hart@prairienet.org and archive.org
+if your mail bounces from archive.org, I will still see it, if
+it bounces from prairienet.org, better resend later on. . . .
+
+Prof. Hart will answer or forward your message.
+
+We would prefer to send you information by email.
+
+
+***
+
+
+Example command-line FTP session:
+
+ftp ftp.ibiblio.org
+login: anonymous
+password: your@login
+cd pub/docs/books/gutenberg
+cd etext90 through etext99 or etext00 through etext02, etc.
+dir [to see files]
+get or mget [to get files. . .set bin for zip files]
+GET GUTINDEX.??  [to get a year's listing of books, e.g., GUTINDEX.99]
+GET GUTINDEX.ALL [to get a listing of ALL books]
+
+
+**The Legal Small Print**
+
+
+(Three Pages)
+
+***START**THE SMALL PRINT!**FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS**START***
+Why is this "Small Print!" statement here?  You know: lawyers.
+They tell us you might sue us if there is something wrong with
+your copy of this etext, even if you got it for free from
+someone other than us, and even if what's wrong is not our
+fault.  So, among other things, this "Small Print!" statement
+disclaims most of our liability to you.  It also tells you how
+you may distribute copies of this etext if you want to.
+
+*BEFORE!* YOU USE OR READ THIS ETEXT
+By using or reading any part of this PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm
+etext, you indicate that you understand, agree to and accept
+this "Small Print!" statement.  If you do not, you can receive
+a refund of the money (if any) you paid for this etext by
+sending a request within 30 days of receiving it to the person
+you got it from.  If you received this etext on a physical
+medium (such as a disk), you must return it with your request.
+
+ABOUT PROJECT GUTENBERG-TM ETEXTS
+This PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm etext, like most PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm etexts,
+is a "public domain" work distributed by Professor Michael S. Hart
+through the Project Gutenberg Association (the "Project").
+Among other things, this means that no one owns a United States copyright
+on or for this work, so the Project (and you!) can copy and
+distribute it in the United States without permission and
+without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules, set forth
+below, apply if you wish to copy and distribute this etext
+under the "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark.
+
+Please do not use the "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark to market
+any commercial products without permission.
+
+To create these etexts, the Project expends considerable
+efforts to identify, transcribe and proofread public domain
+works.  Despite these efforts, the Project's etexts and any
+medium they may be on may contain "Defects".  Among other
+things, Defects may take the form of incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
+intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged
+disk or other etext medium, a computer virus, or computer
+codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment.
+
+LIMITED WARRANTY; DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES
+But for the "Right of Replacement or Refund" described below,
+[1] Michael Hart and the Foundation (and any other party you may
+receive this etext from as a PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm etext) disclaims
+all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including
+legal fees, and [2] YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE OR
+UNDER STRICT LIABILITY, OR FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT,
+INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE
+OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE
+POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
+
+If you discover a Defect in this etext within 90 days of
+receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any)
+you paid for it by sending an explanatory note within that
+time to the person you received it from.  If you received it
+on a physical medium, you must return it with your note, and
+such person may choose to alternatively give you a replacement
+copy.  If you received it electronically, such person may
+choose to alternatively give you a second opportunity to
+receive it electronically.
+
+THIS ETEXT IS OTHERWISE PROVIDED TO YOU "AS-IS".  NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE TO YOU AS
+TO THE ETEXT OR ANY MEDIUM IT MAY BE ON, INCLUDING BUT NOT
+LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A
+PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
+
+Some states do not allow disclaimers of implied warranties or
+the exclusion or limitation of consequential damages, so the
+above disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you, and you
+may have other legal rights.
+
+INDEMNITY
+You will indemnify and hold Michael Hart, the Foundation,
+and its trustees and agents, and any volunteers associated
+with the production and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm
+texts harmless, from all liability, cost and expense, including
+legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the
+following that you do or cause:  [1] distribution of this etext,
+[2] alteration, modification, or addition to the etext,
+or [3] any Defect.
+
+DISTRIBUTION UNDER "PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm"
+You may distribute copies of this etext electronically, or by
+disk, book or any other medium if you either delete this
+"Small Print!" and all other references to Project Gutenberg,
+or:
+
+[1]  Only give exact copies of it.  Among other things, this
+     requires that you do not remove, alter or modify the
+     etext or this "small print!" statement.  You may however,
+     if you wish, distribute this etext in machine readable
+     binary, compressed, mark-up, or proprietary form,
+     including any form resulting from conversion by word
+     processing or hypertext software, but only so long as
+     *EITHER*:
+
+     [*]  The etext, when displayed, is clearly readable, and
+          does *not* contain characters other than those
+          intended by the author of the work, although tilde
+          (~), asterisk (*) and underline (_) characters may
+          be used to convey punctuation intended by the
+          author, and additional characters may be used to
+          indicate hypertext links; OR
+
+     [*]  The etext may be readily converted by the reader at
+          no expense into plain ASCII, EBCDIC or equivalent
+          form by the program that displays the etext (as is
+          the case, for instance, with most word processors);
+          OR
+
+     [*]  You provide, or agree to also provide on request at
+          no additional cost, fee or expense, a copy of the
+          etext in its original plain ASCII form (or in EBCDIC
+          or other equivalent proprietary form).
+
+[2]  Honor the etext refund and replacement provisions of this
+     "Small Print!" statement.
+
+[3]  Pay a trademark license fee to the Foundation of 20% of the
+     gross profits you derive calculated using the method you
+     already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  If you
+     don't derive profits, no royalty is due.  Royalties are
+     payable to "Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation"
+     the 60 days following each date you prepare (or were
+     legally required to prepare) your annual (or equivalent
+     periodic) tax return.  Please contact us beforehand to
+     let us know your plans and to work out the details.
+
+WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO?
+Project Gutenberg is dedicated to increasing the number of
+public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed
+in machine readable form.
+
+The Project gratefully accepts contributions of money, time,
+public domain materials, or royalty free copyright licenses.
+Money should be paid to the:
+"Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+If you are interested in contributing scanning equipment or
+software or other items, please contact Michael Hart at:
+hart@pobox.com
+
+*END THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.06/12/01*END*
+[Portions of this header are copyright (C) 2001 by Michael S. Hart
+and may be reprinted only when these Etexts are free of all fees.]
+[Project Gutenberg is a TradeMark and may not be used in any sales
+of Project Gutenberg Etexts or other materials be they hardware or
+software or any other related product without express permission.]
+
+
+
+
+
+This etext was produced by David Widger  <widger@cecomet.net>
+
+
+
+
+
+[NOTE: There is a short list of bookmarks, or pointers, at the end of the
+file for those who may wish to sample the author's ideas before making an
+entire meal of them.  D.W.]
+
+
+
+
+
+          MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XIV AND HIS COURT AND OF THE REGENCY
+
+                        BY THE DUKE OF SAINT-SIMON
+
+
+                                VOLUME 7.
+
+CHAPTER XLVII
+
+Death of D'Avaux.--A Quarrel about a Window.--Louvois and the King.--
+Anecdote of Boisseuil.--Madame de Maintenon and M. de Beauvilliers.--
+Harcourt Proposed for the Council.--His Disappointment.--Death of M. le
+Prince.--His Character.--Treatment of His Wife.--His Love Adventures.--
+His Madness.--A Confessor Brought.--Nobody Regrets Him.
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVIII
+
+Progress of the War.--Simplicity of Chamillart.--The Imperialists and the
+Pope.--Spanish Affairs.--Duc d'Orleans and Madame des Ursins.--Arrest of
+Flotte in Spain.--Discovery of the Intrigues of the Duc d'Orleans.--Cabal
+against Him.--His Disgrace and Its Consequences.
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIX
+
+Danger of Chamillart.--Witticism of D'Harcourt.--Faults of Chamillart.--
+Court Intrigues against Him.--Behaviour of the Courtiers.--Influence of
+Madame de Maintenon.--Dignified Fall of Chamillart.--He is Succeeded by
+Voysin.--First Experience of the New Minister.--The Campaign in
+Flanders.--Battle of Malplaquet.
+
+
+CHAPTER L.
+
+Disgrace of the Duc d'Orleans.--I Endeavor to Separate Him from Madame
+d'Argenton.--Extraordinary Reports.--My Various Colloquies with Him.--The
+Separation.--Conduct of Madame d'Argenton.--Death and Character of M. le
+Duc.--The After-suppers of the King.
+
+
+CHAPTER LI
+
+Proposed Marriage of Mademoiselle.--My Intrigues to Bring It About.--The
+Duchesse de Bourgogne and Other Allies.--The Attack Begun.--Progress of
+the Intrigue.--Economy at Marly.--The Marriage Agreed Upon.--Scene at
+Saint-Cloud.--Horrible Reports.--The Marriage.--Madame de Saint-Simon.--
+Strange Character of the Duchesse de Berry
+
+
+CHAPTER LII
+
+Birth of Louis XV.--The Marechale de la Meilleraye.--Saint-Ruth's
+Cudgel.--The Cardinal de Bouillon's Desertion from France.--Anecdotes of
+His Audacity.
+
+
+CHAPTER LIII
+
+Imprudence of Villars.--The Danger of Truthfulness.--Military Mistakes.--
+The Fortunes of Berwick.--The Son of James.--Berwick's Report on the
+Army.--Imprudent Saying of Villars.--"The Good Little Fellow" in a
+Scrape.--What Happens to Him.
+
+
+CHAPTER LIV
+
+Duchesse de Berry Drunk.--Operations in Spain.--Vendome Demanded by
+Spain.--His Affront by the Duchesse de Bourgogne.--His Arrival.--
+Staremberg and Stanhope.--The Flag of Spain Leaves Madrid.--Entry of the
+Archduke.--Enthusiasm of the Spaniards--The King Returns.--Strategy, of
+Staremberg.--Affair of Brighuega.--Battle of Villavciosa.--Its
+Consequences to Vendome and to Spain.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVII
+
+The death of D'Avaux, who had formerly been our ambassador in Holland,
+occurred in the early part of this year (1709).  D'Avaux was one of the
+first to hear of the project of William of Orange upon England, when that
+project was still only in embryo, and kept profoundly secret.  He
+apprised the King (Louis XIV.) of it, but was laughed at.  Barillon, then
+our ambassador in England, was listened to in preference.  He, deceived
+by Sunderland and the other perfidious ministers of James II.; assured
+our Court that D'Avaux's reports were mere chimeras.  It was not until it
+was impossible any longer to doubt that credit was given to them.  The
+steps that we then took, instead of disconcerting all the measures of the
+conspirators, as we could have done, did not interfere with the working
+out of any one of their plans.  All liberty was left, in fact, to William
+to carry out his scheme.  The anecdote which explains how this happened
+is so curious, that it deserves to be mentioned here.
+
+Louvois, who was then Minister of War, was also superintendent of the
+buildings.  The King, who liked building, and who had cast off all his
+mistresses, had pulled down the little porcelain Trianon he had made for
+Madame de Montespan, and was rebuilding it in the form it still retains.
+One day he perceived, for his glance was most searching, that one window
+was a trifle narrower than the others.  He showed it to Louvois, in order
+that it might be altered, which, as it was not then finished, was easy to
+do.  Louvois sustained that the window was all right.  The King insisted
+then, and on the morrow also, but Louvois, pigheaded and inflated with
+his authority, would not yield.
+
+The next day the King saw Le Notre in the gallery.  Although his trade
+was gardens rather than houses, the King did not fail to consult him upon
+the latter.  He asked him if he had been to Trianon.  Le Notre replied
+that he had not.  The King ordered him to go.  On the morrow he saw Le
+Notre again; same question, same answer.  The King comprehended the
+reason of this, and a little annoyed, commanded him to be there that
+afternoon at a given time.  Le Notre did not dare to disobey this time.
+The King arrived, and Louvois being present, they returned to the subject
+of the window, which Louvois obstinately said was as broad as the rest.
+The King wished Le Notre to measure it, for he knew that, upright and
+true, he would openly say what he found.  Louvois, piqued, grew angry.
+The King, who was not less so, allowed him to say his say.  Le Notre,
+meanwhile, did not stir.  At last, the King made him go, Louvois still
+grumbling, and maintaining his assertion with audacity and little
+measure.  Le Notre measured the window, and said that the King was right
+by several inches.  Louvois still wished to argue, but the King silenced
+him, and commanded him to see that the window was altered at once,
+contrary to custom abusing him most harshly.
+
+What annoyed Louvois most was, that this scene passed not only before all
+the officers of the buildings, but in presence of all who followed the
+King in his promenades, nobles, courtiers, officers of the guard, and
+others, even all the rolete.  The dressing given to Louvois was smart and
+long, mixed with reflections upon the fault of this window, which, not
+noticed so soon, might have spoiled all the facade, and compelled it to
+be re-built.
+
+Louvois, who was not accustomed to be thus treated, returned home in
+fury, and like a man in despair.  His familiars were frightened, and in
+their disquietude angled to learn what had happened.  At last he told
+them, said he was lost, and that for a few inches the King forgot all his
+services, which had led to so many conquests; he declared that henceforth
+he would leave the trowel to the King, bring about a war, and so arrange
+matters that the King should have good need of him!
+
+He soon kept his word.  He caused a war to grow out of the affair of the
+double election of Cologne, of the Prince of Bavaria, and of the Cardinal
+of Furstenberg; he confirmed it in carrying the flames into the
+Palatinate, and in leaving, as I have said, all liberty to the project
+upon England; he put the finishing touch to his work by forcing the Duke
+of Savoy into the arms of his enemies, and making him become, by the
+position of his country, our enemy, the most difficult and the most
+ruinous.  All that I have here related was clearly brought to light in
+due time.
+
+Boisseuil died shortly after D'Avaux.  He was a tall, big man, warm and
+violent, a great gambler, bad tempered,--who often treated M. le Grand
+and Madame d'Armagnac, great people as they were, so that the company
+were ashamed,--and who swore in the saloon of Marly as if he had been in
+a tap-room.  He was feared; and he said to women whatever came uppermost
+when the fury of a cut-throat seized him.  During a journey the King and
+Court made to Nancy, Boisseuil one evening sat down to play in the house
+of one of the courtiers.  A player happened to be there who played very
+high.  Boisseuil lost a good deal, and was very angry.  He thought he
+perceived that this gentleman, who was only permitted on account of his
+play, was cheating, and made such good use of his eyes that he soon found
+this was the case, and all on a sudden stretched across the table and
+seized the gambler's hand, which he held upon the table, with the cards
+he was going to deal.  The gentleman, very much astonished, wished to
+withdraw his hand, and was angry.  Boisseuil, stronger than he, said that
+he was a rogue, and that the company should see it, and immediately
+shaking his hand with fury put in evidence his deceit.  The player,
+confounded, rose and went away.  The game went on, and lasted long into
+the night.  When finished, Boisseuil went away.  As he was leaving the
+door he found a man stuck against the wall--it was the player--who called
+him to account for the insult he had received.  Boisseuil replied that he
+should give him no satisfaction, and that he was a rogue.
+
+"That may be," said the player, "but I don't like to be told so."
+
+They went away directly and fought.  Boisseuil received two wounds, from
+one of which he was like to die.  The other escaped without injury.
+
+I have said, that after the affair of M. de Cambrai, Madame de Maintenon
+had taken a rooted dislike to M. de Beauvilliers.  She had become
+reconciled to him in appearance during the time that Monseigneur de
+Bourgogne was a victim to the calumnies of M. de Vendome, because she had
+need of him.  Now that Monseigneur de Bourgogne was brought back to
+favour, and M. de Vendome was disgraced, her antipathy for M, de
+Beauvilliers burst out anew, and she set her wits to work to get rid of
+him from the Council of State, of which he was a member.  The witch
+wished to introduce her favourite Harcourt there in his place, and worked
+so well to bring about this result that the King promised he should be
+received.
+
+His word given, or rather snatched from him, the King was embarrassed as
+to how, to keep it, for he did not wish openly to proclaim Harcourt
+minister.  It was agreed, therefore, that at the next Council Harcourt
+should be present, as though by accident, in the King's ante-chamber;
+that, Spanish matters being brought up, the King should propose to
+consult Harcourt, and immediately after should direct search to be made
+far him, to see if, by chance, he was close at hand; that upon finding
+him, he should be conducted to the Council, made to enter and seat
+himself, and ever afterwards be regarded as a Minister of State.
+
+This arrangement was kept extremely secret, according to the express
+commands of the King: I knew it, however, just before it was to be
+executed, and I saw at once that the day of Harcourt's entry into the
+Council would be the day of M. de Beauvilliers' disgrace.  I sent,
+therefore, at once for M. de Beauvilliers, begging him to come to my
+house immediately, and that I would then tell him why I could not come to
+him.  Without great precaution everything becomes known at Court.
+
+In less than half an hour M. de Beauvilliers arrived, tolerably disturbed
+at my message.  I asked him if he knew anything, and I turned him about,
+less to pump him than to make him ashamed of his ignorance, and to
+persuade him the better afterwards to do what I wished.  When I had well
+trotted out his ignorance, I apprised him of what I had just learnt.  He
+was astounded; he so little expected it!  I had not much trouble to
+persuade him that, although his expulsion might not yet be determined on,
+the intrusion of Harcourt must pave the way for it.  He admitted to me
+that for some days he had found, the King cold and embarrassed with him,
+but that he had paid little attention to the circumstance, the reason of
+which was now clear.  There was no time to lose.  In twenty-four hours
+all would be over.  I therefore took the liberty in the first instance of
+scolding him for his profound ignorance of what passed at the Court, and
+was bold enough to say to him that he had only to thank himself for the
+situation he found himself in.  He let me say to the end without growing
+angry, then smiled, and said, "Well!  what do you think I ought to do?"
+
+That was just what I wanted.  I replied that there was only one course
+open to him, and that was to have an interview with the King early the
+next morning; to say to him, that he had been informed Harcourt was about
+to enter the Council; that he thought the affairs of State would suffer
+rather than otherwise if Harcourt did so; and finally, to allude to the
+change that had taken place in the King's manner towards him lately, and
+to say, with all respect, affection, and submission, that he was equally
+ready to continue serving the King or to give up his appointments, as his
+Majesty might desire.
+
+M. de Beauvilliers took pleasure in listening to me.  He embraced me
+closely, and promised to follow the course I had marked out.
+
+The next morning I went straight to him, and learned that he had
+perfectly succeeded.  He had spoken exactly as I had suggested.  The King
+appeared astonished and piqued that the secret of Harcourt's entry into
+the Council was discovered.  He would not hear a word as to resignation
+of office on the part of M. de Beauvilliers, and appeared more satisfied
+with him than ever.  Whether, without this interview, he would have been
+lost, I know not, but by the coldness and embarrassment of the King
+before that interview, and during the first part of it, I am nearly
+persuaded that he would.  M. de Beauvilliers embraced me again very
+tenderly--more than once.
+
+As for Harcourt, sure of his good fortune, and scarcely able to contain
+his joy, he arrived at the meeting place.  Time ran on.  During the
+Council there are only the most subaltern people in the antechambers and
+a few courtiers who pass that way to go from one wing to another.  Each
+of these subalterns eagerly asked M. d'Harcourt what he wanted, if he
+wished for anything, and importuned him strongly.  He was obliged to
+remain there, although he had no pretext.  He went and came, limping with
+his stick, not knowing what to reply to the passers-by, or the attendants
+by whom he was remarked.  At last, after waiting long, he returned as he
+came, much disturbed at not having been called.  He sent word so to
+Madame de Maintenon, who, in her turn, was as much disturbed, the King
+not having said a word to her, and she not having dared to say a word to
+him.  She consoled Harcourt, hoping that at the next Council he would be
+called.  At her wish he waited again, as before, during another Council,
+but with as little success.  He was very much annoyed, comprehending that
+the affair had fallen through.
+
+Madame de Maintenon did not, however, like to be defeated in this way.
+After waiting some time she spoke to the King, reminding him what he had
+promised to do.  The King replied in confusion that he had thought better
+of it; that Harcourt was on bad terms with all the Ministers, and might,
+if admitted to the Council, cause them much embarrassment; he preferred,
+therefore, things to remain as they were.  This was said in a manner that
+admitted of no reply.
+
+Madame de Maintenon felt herself beaten; Harcourt was in despair.  M. de
+Beauvilliers was quite reestablished in the favour of the King.  I
+pretended to have known nothing of this affair, and innocent asked many
+questions about it when all was over.  I was happy to the last degree
+that everything had turned out so well.
+
+M. le Prince, who for more than two years had not appeared at the Court,
+died at Paris a little after midnight on the night between Easter Sunday
+and Monday, the last of March and first of April, and in his seventy-
+sixth year.  No man had ever more ability of all kinds, extending even to
+the arts and mechanics more valour, and, when it pleased him, more
+discernment, grace, politeness, and nobility.  But then no man had ever
+before so many useless talents, so much genius of no avail, or an
+imagination so calculated to be a bugbear to itself and a plague to
+others.  Abjectly and vilely servile even to lackeys, he scrupled not to
+use the lowest and paltriest means to gain his ends.  Unnatural son,
+cruel father, terrible husband, detestable master, pernicious neighbour;
+without friendship, without friends--incapable of having any jealous,
+suspicious, ever restless, full of slyness and artifices to discover and
+to scrutinise all, (in which he was unceasingly occupied, aided by an
+extreme vivacity and a surprising penetration,) choleric and headstrong
+to excess even for trifles, difficult of access, never in accord with
+himself, and keeping all around him in a tremble; to conclude,
+impetuosity and avarice were his masters, which monopolised him always.
+With all this he was a man difficult to be proof against when he put in
+play the pleasing qualities he possessed.
+
+Madame la Princesse, his wife, was his continual victim.  She was
+disgustingly ugly, virtuous, and foolish, a little humpbacked, and stunk
+like a skunk, even from a distance.  All these things did not hinder M.
+le Prince from being jealous of her even to fury up to the very last.
+The piety, the indefatigable attention of Madame la Princesse, her
+sweetness, her novice-like submission, could not guarantee her from
+frequent injuries, or from kicks, and blows with the fist, which were not
+rare.  She was not mistress even of the most trifling things; she did not
+dare to propose or ask anything.  He made her set out from one place to
+another the moment the fancy took him.  Often when seated in their coach
+he made her descend, or return from the end of the street, then
+recommence the journey after dinner, or the next day.  This see-sawing
+lasted once fifteen days running, before a trip to Fontainebleau.  At
+other times he sent for her from church, made her quit high mass, and
+sometimes sent for her the moment she was going to receive the sacrament;
+she was obliged to return at once and put off her communion to another
+occasion.  It was not that he wanted her, but it was merely to gratify
+his whim that he thus troubled her.
+
+He was always of, uncertain habits, and had four dinners ready for him
+every day; one at Paris, one at Ecouen, one at Chantilly, and one where
+the Court was.  But the expense of this arrangement was not great; he
+dined on soup, and the half of a fowl roasted upon a crust of bread; the
+other half serving for the next day.  He rarely invited anybody to
+dinner, but when he did, no man could be more polite or attentive to his
+guests.
+
+Formerly he had been in love with several ladies of the Court; then,
+nothing cost too much.  He was grace, magnificence, gallantry in person--
+a Jupiter transformed into a shower of gold.  Now he disguised himself as
+a lackey, another time as a female broker in articles for the toilette;
+and now in another fashion.  He was the most ingenious man in the world.
+He once gave a grand fete solely for the purpose of retarding the journey
+into Italy of a lady with whom he was enamoured, with whom he was on good
+terms, and whose husband he amused by making verses.  He hired all the
+houses on one side of a street near Saint Sulpice, furnished them, and
+pierced the connecting walls, in order to be able thus to reach the place
+of rendezvous without being suspected.
+
+Jealous and cruel to his mistresses, he had, amongst others, the Marquise
+de Richelieu; whom I name, because she is not worth the trouble of being
+silent upon.  He was hopelessly smitten and spent millions upon her and
+to learn her movements.  He knew that the Comte de Roucy shared her
+favours (it was for her that sagacious Count proposed to put straw before
+the house in order to guarantee her against the sound of the church
+bells, of which she complained).  M. le Prince reproached her for
+favouring the Count.  She defended herself; but he watched her so
+closely, that he brought home the offence to her without her being able
+to deny it.  The fear of losing a lover so rich as was M. le Prince
+furnished her on the spot with an excellent suggestion for putting him at
+ease.  She proposed to make an appointment at her own house with the
+Comte de Roucy, M. le Prince's people to lie in wait, and when the Count
+appeared, to make away with him.  Instead of the success she expected
+from a proposition so humane and ingenious, M. le Prince was so horror-
+struck, that he warned the Comte de Roucy, and never saw the Marquise de
+Richelieu again all his life.
+
+The most surprising thing was, that with so much ability, penetration,
+activity, and valour, as had M. le Prince, with the desire to be as great
+a warrior as the Great Conde, his father, he could never succeed in
+understanding even the first elements of the military art.  Instructed as
+he was by his father, he never acquired the least aptitude in war.  It
+was a profession was not born for, and for which he could not qualify
+himself by study.  During the last fifteen or twenty years of his life,
+he was accused of something more than fierceness and ferocity.
+Wanderings were noticed in his conduct, which were not exhibited in his
+own house alone.  Entering one morning into the apartment of the
+Marechale de Noailles (she herself has related this to me) as her bed was
+being made, and there being only the counterpane to put on, he stopped
+short at the door, crying with transport, "Oh, the nice bed, the nice
+bed!"  took a spring, leaped upon the bed, rolled himself upon it seven
+or eight times, then descended and made his excuses to the Marechale,
+saying that her bed was so clean and so well-made, that he could not
+hinder himself from jumping upon it; and this, although there had never
+been anything between them; and when the Marechale, who all her life had
+been above suspicion, was at an age at which she could not give birth to
+any.  Her servants remained stupefied, and she as much as they.  She got
+out of the difficulty by laughing and treating it as a joke.  It was
+whispered that there were times when M. le Prince believed himself a dog,
+or some other beast, whose manners he imitated; and I have known people
+very worthy of faith who have assured me they have seen him at the going
+to bed of the King suddenly throw his head into the air several times
+running, and open his mouth quite wide, like a dog while barking, yet
+without making a noise.  It is certain, that for a long time nobody saw
+him except a single valet, who had control over him, and who did not
+annoy him.
+
+In the latter part of his life he attended in a ridiculously minute
+manner to his diet and its results, and entered into discussions which
+drove his doctors to despair.  Fever and gout at last attacked him, and
+he augmented them by the course he pursued.  Finot, our physician and
+his, at times knew not what to do with him.  What embarrassed Finot most,
+as he related to us more than once, was that M. le Prince would eat
+nothing, for the simple reason, as he alleged, that he was dead, and that
+dead men did not eat!  It was necessary, however, that he should take
+something, or he would have really died.  Finot, and another doctor who
+attended him, determined to agree with him that he was dead, but to
+maintain that dead men sometimes eat.  They offered to produce dead men
+of this kind; and, in point of fact, led to M. le Prince some persons
+unknown to him, who pretended to be dead, but who ate nevertheless.  This
+trick succeeded, but he would never eat except with these men and Finot.
+On that condition he ate well, and this jealousy lasted a long time, and
+drove Finot to despair by its duration; who, nevertheless, sometimes
+nearly died of laughter in relating to us what passed at these repasts,
+and the conversation from the other world heard there.
+
+M. le Prince's malady augmenting, Madame la Princesse grew bold enough to
+ask him if he did not wish to think of his conscience, and to see a
+confessor.  He amused himself tolerably long in refusing to do so.  Some
+months before he had seen in secret Pere de la Tour.  He had sent to the
+reverend father asking him to, come by night and disguised.  Pere de la
+Tour, surprised to the last degree at so wild a proposition, replied that
+the respect he owed to the cloth would prevent him visiting M. le Prince
+in disguise; but that he would come in his ordinary attire.  M. le Prince
+agreed to this last imposed condition.  He made the Pere de la Tour enter
+at night by a little back door, at which an attendant was in waiting to
+receive him.  He was led by this attendant, who had a lantern in one hand
+and a key in the other, through many long and obscure passages; and
+through many doors, which were opened and closed upon him as he passed.
+Having arrived at last at the sick-chamber, he confessed M. le Prince,
+and was conducted out of the house in the same manner and by the same way
+as before.  These visits were repeated during several months.
+
+The Prince's malady rapidly increased and became extreme.  The doctors
+found him so ill on the night of Easter Sunday that they proposed to him
+the sacrament for the next day.  He disputed with them, and said that if
+he was so very bad it would be better to take the sacraments at once, and
+have done with them.  They in their turn opposed this, saying there was
+no need of so much hurry.  At last, for fear of incensing him, they
+consented, and he received all hurriedly the last sacraments.  A little
+while after he called M. le Duc to him, and spoke of the honours he
+wished at his funeral, mentioning those which had been omitted at the
+funeral of his father, but which he did not wish to be omitted from his.
+He talked of nothing but this and of the sums he had spent at Chantilly,
+until his reason began to wander.
+
+Not a soul regretted him; neither servants, nor friends, neither child
+nor wife.  Indeed the Princess was so ashamed of her tears that she made
+excuses for them.  This was scarcely to be wondered at.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVIII.
+
+It is time now that I should speak of our military operations this year
+and of the progress of the war.  Let me commence by stating the
+disposition of our armies at the beginning of the campaign.
+
+Marechal Boufflers, having become dangerously ill, was unable to take
+command in Flanders.  Marechal de Villars was accordingly appointed in
+his stead under Monseigneur, and with him served the King of England,
+under his incognito of the previous year, and M. le Duc de Berry, as
+volunteers.  The Marechal d'Harcourt was appointed to command upon the
+Rhine under Monseigneur le Duc de Bourgogne.  M. d'Orleans commanded in
+Spain; Marechal Berwick in Dauphiny; and the Duc de Noailles in
+Roussillon, as usual.  The generals went to their destinations, but the
+Princes remained at the Court.
+
+Before I relate what we did in war, let me here state the strange
+opposition of our ministers in their attempts to bring about peace.
+Since Villars had introduced Chamillart to Court, he had heard it said
+that M. de Louvois did everybody's business as much as he could; and took
+it into his head that having succeeded to M. de Louvois he ought to act
+exactly like him. For some time past, accordingly, Chamillart, with the
+knowledge of the King, had sent people to Holland and elsewhere to
+negotiate for peace, although he had no right to do so, Torcy being the
+minister to whose department this business belonged.  Torcy likewise sent
+people to Holland and elsewhere with a similar object, and these
+ambassadors of the two ministers, instead of working in common, did all
+in their power thwart each other.  They succeeded so well that it was
+said they seemed in foreign countries ministers of different powers,
+whose interests were quite opposed.  This manner of conducting business
+gave a most injurious idea of our government, and tended very  much to
+bring it into ridicule.  Those who sincerely wished to treat with us,
+found themselves so embarrassed between the rival factions, that they did
+not know what to do; and others made our disagreements a plausible
+pretext for not listening to our propositions.
+
+At last Torcy was so annoyed with the interference of Chamillart, that he
+called the latter to account for it, and made him sign an agreement by
+which he bound himself to enter into no negotiations for peace and to mix
+himself in no foreign affairs; and so this absurdity came to an end.
+
+In Italy, early this year, we received a check of no small importance.  I
+have mentioned that we were invited to join in an Italian league, having
+for its object to oppose the Emperor.  We joined this league, but not
+before its existence had been noised abroad, and put the allies on their,
+guard as to the danger they ran of losing Italy.  Therefore the
+Imperialists entered the Papal States, laid them under contribution,
+ravaged them, lived there in true Tartar style, and snapped their fingers
+at the Pope, who cried aloud as he could obtain no redress and no
+assistance.  Pushed at last to extremity by the military occupation which
+desolated his States, he yielded to all the rashes of the Emperor, and
+recognised the Archduke as King of Spain.  Philip V. immediately ceased
+all intercourse with Rome, and dismissed the nuncio from Madrid.  The
+Imperialists, even after the Pope had ceded to their wishes, treated him
+with the utmost disdain, and continued to ravage, his territories.  The
+Imperialist minister at Rome actually gave a comedy and a ball in his
+palace there, contrary to the express orders of the Pope, who had
+forbidden all kinds of amusement in this period of calamity.  When
+remonstrated with by the Pope, this minister said that he had promised a
+fete to the ladies, and could not break his word, The strangest thing is,
+that after this public instance of contempt the nephews of the Pope went
+to the fete, and the Pope had the weakness to suffer it.
+
+In Spain, everything went wrong, and people began to think it would be
+best to give up that country to the house of Austria, under the hope that
+by this means the war would be terminated.  It was therefore seriously
+resolved to recall all our troops from Spain, and to give orders to
+Madame des Ursins to quit the country.  Instructions were accordingly
+sent to this effect.  The King and Queen of Spain, in the greatest alarm
+at such a violent determination, cried aloud against it, and begged that
+the execution of it might at least be suspended for a while.
+
+At this, our King paused and called a Council to discuss the subject.
+It was ultimately agreed to leave sixty-six battalions of our troops to
+the King of Spain, but to withdraw all the rest.  This compromise
+satisfied nobody.  Those who wished to support Spain said this assistance
+was not enough.  The other party said it was too much.
+
+This determination being arrived at, it seemed as though the only thing
+to be done was to send M. d'Orleans to Spain to take command there.  But
+now will be seen the effect of that mischievous pleasantry of his upon
+Madame de Maintenon and Madame des Ursins, the "she-captain," and the
+"she-lieutenant"--as he called them, in the gross language to which I
+have before alluded.  Those two ladies had not forgiven him his
+witticism, and had determined to accomplish his disgrace.  His own
+thoughtless conduct assisted them it bringing about this result.
+
+The King one day asked him if he had much desire to return into Spain.
+He replied in a manner evidencing his willingness to serve, marking no
+eagerness.  He did not notice that there might be a secret meaning,
+hidden under this question.  When he related to me what had passed
+between him and the King, I blamed the feebleness of his reply, and
+represented to him the ill effect it would create if at such a time he
+evinced any desire to keep out of the campaign.  He appeared convinced by
+my arguments, and to wish with more eagerness than before to return to
+Spain.
+
+A few days after, the King asked him, on what terms he believed himself
+with the Princesse des Ursins; and when M. d'Orleans replied that he
+believed himself to be on good terms with her, as he had done all in his
+power to be so, the King said that he feared it was not thus, since she
+had asked that he should not be again sent to Spain, saying that he had
+leagued himself with all her enemies there, and that a secretary of his,
+named Renaut, whom he had left behind him, kept up such strict and secret
+intercourse with those enemies, that she was obliged to demand his recall
+lest he might do wrong to the name of his master.
+
+Upon this, M. d'Orleans replied that he was infinitely surprised at these
+complaints of Madame des Ursins, since he had done nothing to deserve
+them.  The King, after reflecting for a moment, said he thought, all
+things considered, that M. d'Orleans had better not return to Spain.
+In a few days it was publicly known that he would not go.  The withdrawal
+of so many of our troops from Spain was the reason alleged.  At the same
+time the King gave orders to M. d'Orleans to send for his equipages from
+Spain, and added in his ear, that he had better send some one of sense
+for them, who might be the bearer of a protest, if Philip V. quitted his
+throne.  At least this is what M. d'Orleans told me, although few people
+believed him in the end.
+
+M. d'Orleans chose for this errand a man named Flotte, very skilful in
+intrigue, in which he had, so to speak, been always brought up.  He went
+straight to Madrid, and one of his first employments when he arrived
+there was to look for Renaut, the secretary just alluded to.  But Renaut
+was nowhere to be found, nor could any news be heard of him.  Flotte
+stayed some time in Madrid, and then went to the army, which was still in
+quarters.  He remained there three weeks, idling from quarter to quarter,
+saluting the Marechal in command, who was much surprised at his long
+stay, and who pressed him to return into France.  At last Flotte took
+leave of the Marechal, asking him for an escort for himself and a
+commissary, with whom he meant to go in company across the Pyrenees.
+Twenty dragoons were given him as escort, and he and the commissary set
+out in a chaise.
+
+They had not proceeded far before Flotte perceived that they were
+followed by other troops besides those guarding them.  Flotte fearing
+that something was meant by this, slipped a pocket-book into the hands of
+the commissary, requesting him to take care of it.  Shortly afterwards
+the chaise was surrounded by troops, and stopped; the two travellers were
+made to alight.  The commissary was ordered to give up the pocket-book,
+an order that he complied with very rapidly, and Flotte was made
+prisoner, and escorted back to the spot he had just left.
+
+The news of this occurrence reached the King on the 12th of July, by the
+ordinary courier from Madrid.
+
+The King informed M. d'Orleans of it, who, having learnt it by a private
+courier six days before, affected nevertheless surprise, and said it was
+strange that one of his people should have been thus arrested, and that
+as his Majesty was concerned, it was for him to demand the reason.  The
+King replied, that in fact the injury regarded him more than M.
+d'Orleans, and that he would give orders to Torcy to write as was
+necessary to Spain.
+
+It is not difficult to believe that such an explosion made a great noise,
+both in France and Spain; but the noise it made at first was nothing to
+that which followed.  A cabal was formed against Monsieur le Duc
+d'Orleans.  It was said that he had plotted to place himself upon the
+Spanish throne, by driving out Philip V., under pretext of his
+incapacity, of the domination of Madame des Ursins, and of the
+abandonment of the country by France; that he had treated with Stanhope,
+commander of the English troops in Spain, and with whom he was known to
+be on friendly terms, in order to be protected by the Archduke.  This was
+the report most widely spread.  Others went further.  In these M.
+d'Orleans was accused of nothing less than of intending to divorce
+himself from Madame la Duchesse d'Orleans, as having been married to her
+by force; of intending to marry the sister of the Empress (widow of
+Charles II.), and of mounting with her upon the Spanish throne; to marry
+Madame d'Argenton, as the Queen Dowager was sure to have no children, and
+finally, to poison Madame d'Orleans.
+
+Meanwhile the reply from Spain came not.  The King and Monseigneur
+treated M. d'Orleans with a coldness which made him sorely ill at ease;
+the majority of the courtiers, following this example, withdrew from him.
+He was left almost alone.
+
+I learnt at last from M. d'Orleans how far he was deserving of public
+censure, and what had given colouring to the reports spread against him.
+He admitted to me, that several of the Spanish grandees had persuaded him
+that it was not possible the King of Spain could stand, and had proposed
+to him to hasten his fall, and take his place; that he had rejected this
+proposition with indignation, but had been induced to promise, that if
+Philip V. fell of himself, without hope of rising, he would not object to
+mounting the vacant throne, believing that by so doing he would be doing
+good to our King, by preserving Spain to his house.
+
+As soon as I heard this, I advised him to make a clean breast of it to
+the King, and to ask his pardon for having acted in this matter without
+his orders and without his knowledge.  He thought my advice good, and
+acted upon it.  But the King was too much under the influence of the
+enemies of M. d'Orleans, to listen favourably to what was said to him.
+The facts of the case, too, were much against M. d'Orleans.  Both Renaut
+and Flotte had been entrusted with his secret.  The former had openly
+leagued himself with the enemies of Madame des Ursins, and acted with the
+utmost imprudence.  He had been privately arrested just before the
+arrival of Flotte.  When this latter was arrested, papers were found upon
+him which brought everything to light.  The views of M. d'Orleans and of
+those who supported him were clearly shown.  The King would not listen to
+anything in favour of his nephew.
+
+The whole Court cried out against M. d'Orleans; never was such an uproar
+heard.  He was accused of plotting to overthrow the King of Spain, he, a
+Prince of the blood, and so closely allied to the two crowns!
+Monseigneur, usually so plunged in apathy, roused himself to fury against
+M. d'Orleans, and insisted upon nothing less than a criminal prosecution.
+He insisted so strongly upon this, that the King at last consented that
+it should take place, and gave orders to the chancellor to examine the
+forms requisite in such a case.  While the chancellor was about this
+work, I went to see him one day, and represented to him so strongly, that
+M. d'Orleans' misdemeanour did not concern us at all, and could only be
+judged before a Spanish tribunal, that the idea of a criminal trial was
+altogether abandoned almost immediately after.  M. d'Orleans was allowed
+to remain in peace.
+
+Madame des Ursins and Madame de Maintenon had so far triumphed, however,
+that M. d'Orleans found himself plunged in the deepest disgrace.  He was
+universally shunned.  Whenever he appeared, people flew away, so that
+they might not be seen in communication with him.  His solitude was so
+great, that for a whole month only one friend entered his house.  In the
+midst of this desertion, he had no resource but debauchery, and the
+society of his mistress, Madame d'Argenton.  The disorder and scandal of
+his life had for a long time offended the King, the Court, and the
+public.  They now unhappily confirmed everybody in the bad opinion they
+had formed of him.  That the long disgrace he suffered continued to
+confirm him in his bad habits, and that it explains to some extent his
+after-conduct, there can be no doubt.  But I must leave him now, and
+return to other matters.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIX
+
+But, meanwhile, a great change had taken place at Court.  Chamillart had
+committed the mistake of allowing the advancement of D'Harcourt to the
+head of an army.  The poor man did not see the danger; and when warned of
+it, thought his cleverness would preserve him.  Reports of his fall had
+already begun to circulate, and D'Antin had been spoken of in his place.
+I warned his daughter Dreux, the only one of the family to whom it was
+possible to speak with profit.  The mother, with little wit and knowledge
+of the Court, full of apparent confidence and sham cunning, received all
+advice ill.  The, brothers were imbecile, the son was a child and a
+simpleton, the two other daughters too light-headed.  I had often warned
+Madame de Dreux of the enmity of the Duchesse de Bourgogne; and she had
+spoken to her on the subject.  The Princess had answered very coldly that
+she was mistaken, that she had no such enmity.  At last I succeeded, in
+this indirect way, in forcing Chamillart to speak to the King on the
+reports that were abroad; but he did so in a half-and-half way, and
+committed the capital mistake of not naming the successor which public
+rumour mentioned.  The King appeared touched, and gave him all sorts of
+assurances of friendship, and made as if he liked him better than ever.
+I do not know if Chamillart was then near his destruction, and whether
+this conversation set him up again; but from the day it took place all
+reports died away, and the Court thought him perfectly re-established.
+
+But his enemies continued to work against him.  Madame de Maintenon and
+the Duchesse de Bourgogne abated not a jot in their enmity.  The Marechal
+d'Harcourt lost no opportunity of pulling him to pieces.  One day, among
+others, he was declaiming violently against him at Madame de Maintenon's,
+whom he knew he should thus please.  She asked him whom he would put in
+his place.  "M. Fagon, Madame," he replied coldly.  She laughed, but said
+this was not a thing to joke about; but he maintained seriously that the
+old doctor would make a much better minister than Chamillart, for he had
+some intelligence, which would make up for his ignorance of many matters;
+but what could be expected of a man who was ignorant and stupid too?  The
+cunning Norman knew well the effect this strange parallel would have; and
+it is indeed inconceivable how damaging his sarcasm proved.  A short time
+afterwards, D'Antin, wishing also to please, but more imprudent, insulted
+the son of Chamillart so grossly, and abused the father so publicly, that
+he was obliged afterwards to excuse himself.
+
+The King held, for the first time in his life, a real council of war.
+He told the Duc de Bourgogne of it, saying rather sharply: "Come, unless
+you prefer going to vespers."  The council lasted nearly three hours; and
+was stormy.  The Marechals were freer in their, language than usual, and
+complained of the ministers.  All fell upon Chamillart, who was accused,
+among other things, of matters that concerned Desmarets, on whom, he
+finished by turning off the King's anger.  Chamillart defended himself
+with so much anger that his voice was heard by people outside.
+
+But he had of late heaped fault on fault.  Besides setting Madame de
+Maintenon and the Duchesse de Bourgogne against him, he rather wantonly
+irritated Monseigneur, at that time more than ever under the government
+of Mademoiselle Choin.  The latter had asked him a favour, and had been
+refused even with contempt.  Various advances at reconciliation she made
+were also repulsed with contumely.  Yet every one, even the Duchesse de
+Bourgogne, crawled before this creature--the favourite of the heir to the
+throne.  Madame de Maintenon actually caused the King to offer her
+apartments at Versailles, which she refused, for fear of losing the
+liberty she enjoyed at Meudon.  D'Antin, who saw all that was going on,
+became the soul of a conspiracy against Chamillart.  It was infinitely
+well managed.  Everything moved in order and harmony--always prudently,
+always knowingly.
+
+The King, quietly attacked on all hands, was shaken; but he had many
+reasons for sticking to Chamillart.  He was his own choice.  No minister
+had stood aside so completely, and allowed the King to receive all the
+praise of whatever was done.  Though the King's reason way, therefore,
+soon influenced, his heart was not so easily.  But Madame de Maintenon
+was not discouraged.  Monseigneur, urged by Mademoiselle Choin, had
+already spoken out to the King.  She laboured to make him speak again;
+for, on the previous occasion, he had been listened to attentively.
+
+So many machines could not be set in motion without some noise being
+heard abroad.  There rose in the Court, I know not what confused murmurs,
+the origin of which could not be pointed out, publishing that either the
+State or Chamillart must perish; that already his ignorance had brought
+the kingdom within an ace of destruction; that it was a miracle this
+destruction had not yet come to pass; and that it would be madness to
+tempt Providence any longer.  Some did not blush to abuse him; others
+praised his intentions, and spoke with moderation of faults that many
+people reproached him bitterly with.  All admitted his rectitude, but
+maintained that a successor of some kind or other was absolutely
+necessary.  Some, believing or trying to persuade others that they
+carried friendship to as far a point as was possible, protested that they
+should ever preserve this friendship, and would never forget the pleasure
+and the services that they had received from Chamillart; but delicately
+confessed that they preferred the interests of the State to their own
+personal advantage and the support they would lose; that, even if
+Chamillart were their brother, they would sorrowfully admit the necessity
+of removing him!  At last, nobody could understand either how such a man
+could ever have been chosen, or how he could have remained so long in his
+place!  All his faults and all his ridicules formed the staple of Court
+conversation.  If anybody referred to the great things he had done, to
+the rapid gathering of armies after our disasters, people turned on their
+heels and walked away.  Such were the presages of the fall of Chamillart.
+
+The Marechal de Boufflers, who had never forgiven the causes that led to
+the loss of Lille, joined in the attack on Chamillart; and assisted in
+exciting the King against him.  Chamillart has since related to me that
+up to the last moment he had always been received equally graciously by
+the King--that is, up to two days before his fall.  Then, indeed, he
+noticed that the King's countenance was embarrassed; and felt inclined to
+ask if he was displeasing to him, and to offer to retire.  Had he done
+so, he might, if we may judge from what transpired subsequently, have
+remained in office.  But now Madame de Maintenon had come personally into
+the field, and, believing herself sure of success, only attacked
+Chamillart.  What passed between her and the King was quite private and
+never related; but there seems reason to believe that she did not succeed
+without difficulty.
+
+On Sunday morning, November 9, the King, on entering the Council of
+State, called the Duc de Beauvilliers to him, and requested him to go in
+the afternoon and tell Chamillart that he was obliged, for motives of
+public interest, to ask him to resign his office; but that, in order to
+give him a mark of his esteem and satisfaction with his services, he
+continued his pension of Minister--that is to say, twenty thousand
+francs--and added as much more, with one to his son of twenty thousand
+francs likewise.  He added that he should have liked to see Chamillart,
+but that at first it would grieve him too much: he was not to come till
+sent for; he might live in Paris, and go where he liked.  The Duc de
+Beauvilliers did all he could to escape from carrying so harsh a message,
+but could only obtain permission to let the Duc de Chevreuse accompany
+him.
+
+They went to Chamillart, and found him alone, working in his cabinet.
+The air of consternation with which they entered, told the unfortunate
+Minister that something disagreeable had happened; and without giving
+them time to speak, he said, with a serene and tranquil countenance,
+"What is the matter, gentlemen?  If what you have to say concerns only
+me, you may speak: I have long been prepared for everything."  This
+gentle firmness touched them still more.  They could scarcely explain
+what they came about.  Chamillart listened without any change of
+countenance, and said, with the same air and tone as at first: "The King
+is the master.  I have endeavoured to serve him to the best of my
+ability.  I hope some one else will please him better, and be more
+lucky."  He then asked if he had been forbidden to write to the King, and
+being told not, he wrote a letter of respect and thanks, and sent it by
+the two Dukes, with a memoir which he had just finished.  He also wrote
+to Madame de Maintenon.  He sent a verbal message to his wife; and,
+without complaint, murmur, or sighs, got into his carriage, and drove to
+L'Etang.  Both then and afterwards he showed the greatest magnanimity.
+Every one went, from a sort of fashion, to visit him.  When I went, the
+house looked as if a death had taken place; and it was frightful to see,
+in the midst of cries and tears, the dead man walking, speaking with a
+quiet, gentle air, and serene brow,--unconstrained, unaffected, attentive
+to every one, not at all or scarcely different from what he was
+accustomed to be.
+
+Chamillart, as I have said, had received permission to live at Paris, if
+he liked; but soon afterwards he innocently gave umbrage to Madame de
+Maintenon, who was annoyed that his disgrace was not followed by general
+abandonment.  She caused him to be threatened secretly, and he prudently
+left Paris, and went far away, under pretence of seeking for an estate to
+buy.
+
+Next day after the fall of Chamillart, it became known that the triumph
+of Madame de Maintenon was completed, and that Voysin, her creature, was
+the succeeding Secretary of State.  This Voysin had the one indispensable
+quality for admission into the counsels of Louis XIV.--not a drop of
+noble blood in his veins.  He had married, in 1683, the daughter of
+Trudaine.  She had a very agreeable countenance, without any affectation.
+She appeared simple and modest, and occupied with her household and good
+works; but in reality, had sense, wit, cleverness, above all, a natural
+insinuation, and the art of bringing things to pass without being
+perceived.  She kept with great tact a magnificent house.  It was she who
+received Madame de Maintenon at Dinan, when the King was besieging Namur;
+and, as she had been instructed by M. de Luxembourg in the way to please
+that lady, succeeded most effectually.  Among her arts was her modesty,
+which led her prudently to avoid pressing herself on Madame de Maintenon,
+or showing herself more than was absolutely necessary.  She was sometimes
+two whole days without seeing her.  A trifle, luckily contrived, finished
+the conquest of Madame de Maintenon.  It happened that the weather passed
+suddenly from excessive heat to a damp cold, which lasted a long time.
+Immediately, an excellent dressing-gown, simple, and well lined, appeared
+in the corner of the chamber.  This present, by so much the more
+agreeable, as Madame de Maintenon had not brought any warm clothing,
+touched her also by its suddenness, and by its simple appearance, as if
+of its own accord.
+
+In this way, the taste of Madame de Maintenon for Madame Voysin was
+formed and increased.  Madame Voysin obtained an appointment for her
+husband, and coming to Paris, at last grew extremely familiar with Madame
+de Maintenon.  Voysin himself had much need of the wife that Providence
+had given him.  He was perfectly ignorant of everything but the duties of
+an Intendant.  He was, moreover, rough and uncivil, as the courtiers soon
+found.  He was never unjust for the sake of being so, nor was he bad
+naturally; but he knew nothing but authority, the King and Madame de
+Maintenon, whose will was unanswerable--his sovereign law and reason.
+The choice was settled between the King and Madame de Maintenon after
+supper, the day of Chamillart's fall.  Voysin was conducted to the King
+by Bloin, after having received the orders and instructions of his
+benefactress.  In the evening of that day, the King found Madame Voysin
+with Madame de Maintenon, and kissed her several times to please his
+lady.
+
+Voysin's first experience of the duties of his office was unpleasant.
+He was foolish enough, feeling his ignorance, to tell the King, that at
+the outset he should be obliged to leave everything to his Majesty, but
+that when he knew better, he would take more on himself.  The King, to
+whom Chamillart used himself to leave everything, was much offended by
+this language; and drawing himself up, in the tone of a master, told
+Voysin to learn, once for all, that his duties were to receive, and
+expedite orders, nothing else.  He then took the projects brought to him,
+examined them, prescribed the measures he thought fit, and very stiffly
+sent away Voysin, who did not know where he was, and had great want of
+his wife to set his head to rights, and of Madame de Maintenon to give
+him completer lessons than she had yet been able to do.  Shortly
+afterwards he was forbidden to send any orders without submitting them to
+the Marechal de Boufflers.  He was supple, and sure of Madame de
+Maintenon, and through her of the Marechal, waited for time to release
+him from this state of tutelage and showed nothing of his annoyance,
+especially to Boufflers himself.
+
+Events soon happened to alter the position of the Marechal de Boufflers.
+
+Flanders, ever since the opening of the campaign, had been the principal
+object of attention.  Prince Eugene and Marlborough, joined together,
+continued their vast designs, and disdained to hide them.  Their
+prodigious preparations spoke of sieges.  Shall I say that we desired
+them, and that we thought of nothing but how to preserve, not use our
+army?
+
+Tournai was the first place towards which the enemies directed their
+arms.  After a short resistance it fell into their hands.  Villars, as I
+have said, was coriander in Flanders.  Boufflers feeling that, in the
+position of affairs, such a post must weigh very heavily upon one man,
+and that in case of his death there was no one to take his place, offered
+to go to assist him.  The King, after some little hesitation, accepted
+this magnanimous offer, and Boufflers set out.  I say magnanimous offer,
+because Boufflers, loaded with honours and glory, might well have hoped
+to pass the rest of his life in repose.  It was hardly possible, do what
+he might, that he could add to his reputation; while, on the other hand,
+it was not unlikely that he might be made answerable for the faults or
+shortcomings of others, and return to Paris stripped of some of the
+laurels that adorned his brow.  But he thought only of the welfare of the
+State, and pressed the King to allow him to depart to Flanders.  The
+King, as I have said, at last consented.
+
+The surprise was great in the army when he arrived there.  The general
+impression was that he was the bearer of news of peace.  Villars received
+him with an air of joy and respect, and at once showed every willingness
+to act in concert with him.  The two generals accordingly worked
+harmoniously together, taking no steps without consulting each other, and
+showing great deference for each other's opinions.  They were like one
+man.
+
+After the fall of Tournai, our army took up position at Malplaquet, the
+right and the left supported by two woods, with hedges and woods before
+the centre, so that the plain was, as it were, cut in two.  Marlborough
+and Prince Eugene marched in their turn, fearing lest Villars should
+embarrass them as they went towards Mons, which place they had resolved
+to besiege.  They sent on a large detachment of their army, under the
+command of the Prince of Hesse, to watch ours.  He arrived in sight of
+the camp at Malpladuet at the same time that we entered it, and was
+quickly warned of our existence by, three cannon shots that Villars, out
+of braggadocio, fired by way of appeal to Marlborough and Prince Eugene.
+Some little firing took place this day and the next, the 10th of
+September, but without doing much harm on either side.
+
+Marlborough and Prince Eugene, warned of the perilous state in which the
+Prince of Hesse was placed--he would have been lost if attacked hastened
+at once to join him, and arrived in the middle of the morning of the
+10th.  Their first care was to examine the position of our army, and to
+do so, while waiting for their rear-guard, they employed a stratagem
+which succeeded admirably.
+
+They sent several officers, who had the look of subalterns, to our lines,
+and asked to be allowed to speak to our officers.  Their request was
+granted.  Albergotti came down to them, and discoursed with them a long
+time.  They pretended they came to see whether peace could not be
+arranged, but they, in reality, spoke of little but compliments, which
+signified nothing.  They stayed so long, under various pretexts, that at
+last we were obliged to threaten them in order to get rid of them.  All
+this time a few of their best general officers on horseback, and a larger
+number of engineers and designers on foot, profited by these ridiculous
+colloquies to put upon paper drawings of our position, thus being able to
+see the best positions for their cannon, and the best mode, in fact, in
+which all their disposition might be made.  We learnt this artifice
+afterwards from the prisoners.
+
+It was decided that evening to give us battle on the morrow, although the
+deputies of the States-General, content with the advantages that had been
+already gained, and not liking to run the risk of failure, were, opposed
+to an action taking place.  They were, however, persuaded to agree, and
+on the following morning the battle began.
+
+The struggle lasted many hours.  But our position had been badly chosen,
+and, in spite of every effort, we were unable to maintain it.  Villars,
+in the early part of the action, received a wound which incapacitated him
+from duty.  All the burden of command fell upon Boufflers.  He bore it
+well; but after a time finding his army dispersed, his infantry
+overwhelmed, the ground slipping from under his feet, he thought only of
+beating a good and honourable retreat.  He led away his army in such good
+order, that the enemy were unable to interfere with it in the slightest
+degree.  During all the march, which lasted until night, we did not lose
+a hundred stragglers, and carried off all the cannon with the exception
+of a few pieces.  The enemy passed the night upon the battle-field, in
+the midst of twenty-five thousand dead, and marched towards Mons the next
+evening.  They frankly admitted that in men killed and wounded, in
+general officers and privates, in flags and standards, they had lost more
+than we.  The battle cost them, in fact, seven lieutenant-generals, five
+other generals, about eighteen hundred officers killed or wounded, and
+more than fifteen thousand men killed or rendered unfit for service.
+They openly avowed, also, how much they had been surprised by the valour
+of the majority of our troops, above all of the cavalry, and did not
+dissimulate that we should have gained the day, had we been better led.
+
+Why the Marechal Villars waited ten days to be attacked in a position so
+disadvantageous, instead of at once marching upon the enemies and
+overcoming, as he might at first easily have done, it is difficult to
+understand.  He threw all the blame upon his wound, although it was well
+known that the fate of the day was decided long before he was hurt.
+
+Although forced to retire, our men burned with eagerness to engage the
+enemies again.  Mons had been laid siege to.  Boufflers tried to make the
+besiegers give up the undertaking.  But his men were without bread and
+without pay: the subaltern officers were compelled to eat the regulation
+bread, the general-officers were reduced to the most miserable shifts,
+and were like the privates, without pay, oftentimes for seven or eight
+days running.  There was no meat and no bread for the army.  The common
+soldiers were reduced to herbs and roots for all sustenance.  Under
+these circumstances it was found impossible to persevere in trying to
+save Mons.  Nothing but subsistence could be thought of.
+
+The Court had now become so accustomed to defeats that a battle lost as
+was Malplaquet seemed half a victory.  Boufflers sent a courier to the
+King with an account of the event, and spoke so favourably of Villars,
+that all the blame of the defeat fell upon himself.  Villars was
+everywhere pitied and applauded, although he had lost an important
+battle: when it was in his power to beat the enemies in detail, and
+render them unable to undertake the siege of Mons, or any other siege.
+If Boufflers was indignant at this, he was still more indignant at what
+happened afterwards.  In the first dispatch he sent to the King he
+promised to send another as soon as possible giving full details, with
+propositions as to how the vacancies which had occurred in the army might
+be filled up.  On the very evening he sent off his second dispatch, he
+received intelligence that the King had already taken his dispositions
+with respect to these vacancies, without having consulted him upon a
+single point.  This was the first reward Boufflers received for the
+services he had just rendered, and that, too, from a King who had said in
+public that without Boufflers all was lost, and that assuredly it was God
+who had inspired him with the idea of going to the army.  From that time
+Boufflers fell into a disgrace from which he never recovered.  He had the
+courage to appear as usual at the Court; but a worm was gnawing him
+within and destroyed him.  Oftentimes he opened his heart to me without
+rashness, and without passing the strict limits of his virtue; but the
+poniard was in his heart, and neither time nor reflection could dull its
+edge.  He did nothing but languish afterwards, yet without being confined
+to his bed or to his chamber, but did not live more than two years.
+Villars, on the contrary, was in greater favour than ever.  He arrived at
+Court triumphant.  The King made him occupy an apartment at Versailles,
+so that his wound might be well attended to.
+
+What a contrast!  What a difference between the services, the merit, the
+condition, the virtue, the situation of these two men!  What
+inexhaustible funds of reflection.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER L
+
+I have described in its proper place the profound fall of M. le Duc
+d'Orleans and the neglect in which he lived, out of all favour with the
+King, hated by Madame de Maintenon and Monseigneur, and regarded with an
+unfavourable eye by the public, on account of the scandals of his private
+life.  I had long seen that the only way in which he could hope to
+recover his position would be to give up his mistress, Madame d'Argenton,
+with whom he had been on terms of intimacy for many years past, to the
+knowledge and the scandal of all the world.  I knew it would be a bold
+and dangerous game to play, to try to persuade him to separate himself
+from a woman he had known and loved so long; but I determined to engage
+in it, nevertheless, and I looked about for some one to assist me in this
+enterprise.  At once I cast my eyes upon the Marechal de Besons, who for
+many long years had been the bosom friend of M. d'Orleans.  He applauded
+the undertaking, but doubted, he said, its success; nevertheless he
+promised to aid me to the utmost of his power, and, it will be seen, was
+as good as his word.  For some time I had no opportunity of accosting M.
+d'Orleans, and was obliged to keep my project in abeyance, but I did not
+lose sight of it; and when I saw my way clear, I took the matter in hand,
+determined to strain every nerve in order to succeed.
+
+It was just at the commencement of the year 1710, that I first spoke to
+M. d'Orleans.  I began by extracting from him an admission of the neglect
+into which he had fallen--the dislike of the King, the hatred of
+Monseigneur, who accused him of wishing to replace his son in Spain; that
+of Madame de Maintenon, whom he had offended by his bon mot; the
+suspicions of the public, who talked of his chemical experiments--and
+then, throwing off all fear of consequences, I said that before he could
+hope to draw back his friends and the world to him, he must reinstate
+himself in the favour of the King.  He appeared struck with what I had
+said, rose after a profound silence, paced to and fro, and then asked,
+"But how?"  Seeing the opportunity so good, I replied in a firm and
+significant tone, "How?  I know well enough, but I will never tell you;
+and yet it is the only thing to do."--"Ah, I understand you," said he, as
+though struck with a thunderbolt; "I understand you perfectly;" and he
+threw himself upon the chair at the end of the room.  There he remained
+some time, without speaking a word, yet agitated and sighing, and with
+his eyes lowered.  I broke silence at last, by saying that the state
+which he was in had touched me to the quick, and that I had determined in
+conjunction with the Marechal de Besons to speak to him upon the subject,
+and to propose the only means by which he could hope to bring about a
+change in his position.  He considered some time, and then giving me
+encouragement to proceed, I entered at some length upon the proposal I
+had to make to him and left him evidently affected by what I had said,
+when I thought I had for the time gone far enough.
+
+The next day, Thursday, January 2nd, Besons, to whom I had written,
+joined me; and after I had communicated to him what had passed the
+previous evening, we hastened to M. d'Orleans.  He received us well, and
+we at once commenced an attack.  In order to aid my purpose as much as
+possible, I repeated to M. d'Orleans, at this meeting, the odious reports
+that were in circulation against him, viz., that he intended to repudiate
+his wife forced upon him by the King, in order to marry the Queen Dowager
+of Spain, and by means of her gold to open up a path for himself to the
+Spanish throne; that he intended to wait for his new wife's death, and
+then marry Madame D'ARGENSON, to whom the genii had promised a throne;
+and I added, that it was very fortunate that the Duchesse d'Orleans had
+safely passed through the dangers of her confinement, for already some
+wretches had begun to spread the saying, that he was not the son of
+Monsieur for nothing.  (An allusion to the death of Henriette
+d'Angleterre.)
+
+On hearing these words, the Duke was seized with a terror that cannot be
+described, and at the same time with a grief that is above expression.
+I took advantage of the effect my discourse had had upon him to show how
+necessary it was he should make a great effort in order to win back the
+favour of the King and of the public.  I represented to him that the only
+way to do this was to give up Madame d'Argenton, at once and for ever,
+and to announce to the King that he had done so.  At first he would not
+hear of such a step, and I was obliged to employ all my eloquence, and
+all my firmness too, to make him listen to reason.  One great obstacle in
+our way was the repugnance of M. d'Orleans for his wife.  He had been
+married, as I have described in the early part of these memoirs, against
+his will, and with no sort of affection for the woman he was given to.
+It was natural that he should look upon her with dislike ever since she
+had become his wife.  I did what I could to speak in praise of Madame la
+Duchesse d'Orleans, and Besons aided me; but we did little else than
+waste our breath for sometime.  Our praises in fact irritated
+M. d'Orleans, and to such a point, that no longer screening things or
+names, he told us what we should have wished not to hear, but what it was
+very lucky we did hear.  He had suspicions, in fact, of his wife's
+honour; but fortunately I was able to prove clearly and decisively that
+those suspicions were unfounded, and I did so.  The joy of M. d'Orleans
+upon finding he had been deceived was great indeed; and when we separated
+from him after mid-day, in order to go to dinner, I saw that a point was
+gained.
+
+A little before three o'clock I returned to M. d'Orleans, whom I found
+alone in his cabinet with Besons.  He received me with pleasure, and made
+me seat myself between him and the Marechal, whom he complimented upon
+his diligence.  Our conversation recommenced.  I returned to the attack
+with all the arguments I could muster, and the Marechal supported me; but
+I saw with affright that M. d'Orleans was less reduced than when we had
+quitted him in the morning, and that he had sadly taken breath during our
+short absence.  I saw that, if we were to succeed, we must make the best
+use we could of our time, and accordingly I brought all my powers into
+play in order to gain over M. d'Orleans.
+
+Feeling that everything was now to be lost or gained, I spoke out with
+all the force of which I was capable, surprising and terrifying Marechal
+Besons to such a point, with my hardihood, that he had not a word to say
+in order to aid me.  When I had finished, M. d'Orleans thanked me in a
+piteous tone, by which I knew the profound impression I had made upon his
+mind.  I proposed, while he was still shaken, that he should at once send
+to Madame de Maintenon, to know when she, would grant him an audience;
+for he had determined to speak to her first of his intention to give up
+Madame d'Argenton.  Besons seconded me; and while we were talking
+together, not daring to push our point farther, M. d'Orleans much
+astonished us by rising, running with impetuosity to the door, and
+calling aloud for his servants.  One ran to him, whom he ordered in a
+whisper to go to Madame de Maintenon, to ask at what hour she would see
+him on the morrow.  He returned immediately, and threw himself into a
+chair like a man whose strength fails him and who is at his last gasp.
+Uncertain as to what he had just done, I asked him if he had sent to
+Madame de Maintenon.  "Yes, Monsieur," said he, in a tone of despair.
+Instantly I started towards him, and thanked him with all the contentment
+and all the joy imaginable.  This terrible interview, for the struggle we
+had all gone through was very great, was soon after brought to a close,
+and Besons and myself went our way, congratulating each other on the
+success of this day's labour.
+
+On the next day, Friday, the 3rd of January, I saw M. d'Orleans as he
+preceded the King to mass, and in my impatience I approached him, and
+speaking in a low tone, asked him if he had seen "that woman."  I did not
+dare to mention names just then.  He replied "yes," but in so
+lackadaisical a tone that I feared he had seen her to effect, and I asked
+him if he had spoken to her.  Upon receiving another "yes," like the
+other, my emotion redoubled.  "But have you told her all?" I said.
+"Yes," he replied," I have told her all."--" And are you content?" said
+I."  Nobody could be more so," he replied; "I was nearly an hour with
+her, she was very much surprised and ravished."
+
+I saw M. d'Orleans under better circumstances at another period of the
+day, and then I learnt from him that since meeting me he had spoken to
+the King also, and told him all.  "Ah, Monsieur," cried I with transport,
+"how I love you!" and advancing warmly toward him, I added, "How glad I
+am to see you at last delivered; how did you bring this to pass?"--
+"I mistrusted myself so much," replied he, "and was so violently
+agitated after speaking to Madame de Maintenon, that I feared to run the
+risk of pausing all the morning; so, immediately after mass I spoke to
+the King, and--" here, overcome by his grief, his voice faltered, and he
+burst into sighs, into tears, and into sobs.  I retired into a corner.  A
+moment after Besons entered: the spectacle and the profound silence
+astonished him.  He lowered his eyes, and advanced but little.  At last
+we gently approached each other. I told him that M. d'Orleans had
+conquered himself, and had spoken to the King.  The Marechal was so
+bewildered with surprise and joy that he remained for some moments
+speechless and motionless: then running towards M. d'Orleans, he thanked
+him, felicitated him, and wept for very joy.  M. d'Orleans was cruelly
+agitated, now maintaining a ferocious silence, and now bursting into a
+torrent of sighs, sobs, and tears. He said at last that Madame de
+Maintenon had been extremely surprised with the resolution he had taken,
+and at the same time delighted.  She assured him that it would put him on
+better terms than ever with the King, and that Madame d'Argenton should
+be treated with every consideration.  I pressed M. d'Orleans to let us
+know how the King had received him.  He replied that the King had
+appeared very much surprised, but had spoken coldly.  I comforted him for
+this disappointment by assuring him that the King's coldness arose only
+from his astonishment, and that in the end all would be well.
+
+It would be impossible to describe the joy felt by Besons and myself at
+seeing our labours brought to this satisfactory point.  I knew I should
+make many enemies when the part I had taken in influencing M. d'Orleans
+to give up Madame d'Argenton came to be known, as it necessarily would;
+but I felt I had done rightly, and left the consequences to Providence.
+Madame la Duchesse d'Orleans showed me the utmost gratitude for what I
+had done.  She exhibited, too, so much intelligence, good sense, and
+ability, in the conversation I had with her, that I determined to spare
+no pains to unite her husband to her more closely; being firmly persuaded
+that he would nowhere find a better counsellor than in her.  The surprise
+of the whole Court, when it became known that M. d'Orleans had at last
+separated himself from Madame d'Argenton, was great indeed.  It was only
+equalled by the vexation of those who were opposed to him.  Of course in
+this matter I was not spared.  For several days nothing was spoken of but
+this rupture, and everywhere I was pointed out as the author of it,
+
+Besons being scarcely alluded to.  I parried the thrust made at me as
+well as I could, as much for the purpose of leaving all the honour to
+M. d'Orleans, as for the purpose of avoiding the anger of those who
+were annoyed with me; and also from a just fear of showing that I had too
+much influence over the mind of a Prince not without faults, and who
+could not always be led.
+
+As for Madame d'Argenton, she received the news that her reign was over
+with all the consternation, rage, and despair that might have been
+expected.  Mademoiselle de Chausseraye was sent by Madame de Maintenon to
+announce the ill news to her.  When Mademoiselle de Chausseraye arrived
+at Madame l'Argenton's house, Madame d'Argenton was out she had gone to
+supper with the Princesse de Rohan.  Mademoiselle de Chausseraye waited
+until she returned, and then broke the matter to her gently, and after
+much preamble and circumlocution, as though she were about to announce
+the death of some one.
+
+The tears, the cries, the howlings of Madame d'Argenton filled the house,
+and announced to all the domestics that the reign of felicity was at an
+end there.  After a long silence on the part of Mademoiselle de
+Chausseraye, she spoke her best in order to appease the poor lady.  She
+represented to her the delicacy and liberality of the arrangements M.
+d'Orleans had made in her behalf.  In the first place she was free to
+live in any part of the, realm except Paris and its appanages.  In the
+next place he assured to her forty-five thousand livres a year, nearly
+all the capital of which would belong to the son he had had by her, whom
+he had recognised and made legitimate, and who has since become Grandee
+of Spain, Grand Prieur of France, and General of the Galleys (for the
+best of all conditions in France is to have none at all, and to be a
+bastard).  Lastly he undertook to pay all her debts up to the day of the
+rupture, so that she should not be importuned by any creditor, and
+allowed her to retain her jewellery, her plate, her furniture--worth
+altogether about four hundred thousand livres.  His liberality amounted
+to a total of about two million livres, which I thought prodigious.
+
+Madame d'Argenton, in despair at first, became more tractable as she
+learnt the provisions which had been made for her, and the delicacy with
+which she was treated.  She remained four days in Paris, and then
+returned to her father's house near Port-Sainte-Maxence, the Chevalier
+d'Orleans, her son, remaining at the Palais Royal.  The King after his
+first surprise had worn away, was in the greatest joy at the rupture; and
+testified his gratification to M. d'Orleans, whom he treated better and
+better every day.  Madame de Maintenon did not dare not to contribute a
+little at first; and in this the Prince felt the friendship of the
+Jesuits, whom he had contrived to attach to him.
+
+The Duchesse de Bourgogne did marvels of her own accord; and the Duc de
+Bourgogne, also, being urged by M. de Beauvilliers.  Monseigneur alone
+remained irritated, on account of the Spanish affair.
+
+I must here mention the death of M. le Duc.  He was engaged in a trial
+which was just about to be pleaded.  He had for some time suffered from a
+strange disease, a mixture of apoplexy and epilepsy, which he concealed
+so carefully, that he drove away one of his servants for speaking of it
+to his fellows.
+
+For some time he had had a continual headache.  This state troubled the
+gladness he felt at being delivered from his troublesome father and
+brother-in-law.  One evening he was riding in his carriage, returning
+from a visit to the Hotel de Coislin, without torches, and with only one
+servant behind, when he felt so ill that he drew the string, and made his
+lackey get up to tell him whether his mouth was not all on one side.
+This was not the case, but he soon lost speech and consciousness after
+having requested to be taken in privately to the Hotel de Conde.  They
+there put him in bed.  Priests and doctors came.  But he only made
+horrible faces, and died about four o'clock in the morning.
+
+Madame la Duchesse did not lose her presence of mind, and, whilst her
+husband was dying, took steps to secure her future fortune.  Meanwhile
+she managed to cry a little, but nobody believed in her grief.  As for M.
+le Duc, I have already mentioned some anecdotes of him that exhibit his
+cruel character.  He was a marvellously little man, short, without being
+fat.  A dwarf of Madame la Princesse was said to be the cause.  He was of
+a livid yellow, nearly always looked furious, and was ever so proud, so
+audacious, that it was difficult to get used to him.  His cruelty and
+ferocity were so extreme that people avoided him, and his pretended
+friends would not invite him to join in any merriment.  They avoided him:
+he ran after them to escape from solitude, and would sometimes burst upon
+them during their jovial repasts, reproach them with turning a cold
+shoulder to him, and change their merriment to desolation.
+
+After the death of M. le Duc, a grand discussion on precedence at the
+After-suppers, set on foot by the proud Duchesse d'Orleans, was,--after
+an elaborate examination by the King, brought to a close.  The King
+ordered his determination to be kept secret until he formally declared
+it.  It is necessary to set forth in a few words the mechanism of the
+After-suppers every day.  The King, on leaving table, stopped less than a
+half-quarter of an hour with his back leaning against the balustrade of
+his chamber.  He there found in a circle all the ladies who had been at
+his supper, and who came there to wait for him a little before he left
+table, except the ladies who sat, who came out after him, and who, in the
+suite of the Princes and the Princesses who had supped with him, advanced
+one by one and made him a courtesy, and filled up the remainder of the
+standing circle; for a space was always left for them by the other
+ladies.  The men stood behind.  The King amused himself by observing the
+dresses, the countenances, and the gracefulness of the ladies courtesies,
+said a word to the Princes and Princesses who had supped with him, and
+who closed the circle near him an either hand, then bowed to the ladies
+on right and left, bowed once or twice more as he went away, with a grace
+and majesty unparalleled, spoke sometimes, but very rarely, to some lady
+in passing, entered the first cabinet, where he gave the order, and then
+advanced to the second cabinet, the doors from the first to the second
+always remaining open.  There he placed himself in a fauteuil, Monsieur,
+while he was there, in another; the Duchesse de Bourgogne, Madame (but
+only after the death of Monsieur), the Duchesse de Berry (after her
+marriage), the three bastard-daughters, and Madame du Maine (when she was
+at Versailles), on stools on each side.  Monseigneur, the Duc de
+Bourgogne, the Duc de Berry, the Duc d'Orleans, the two bastards, M. le
+Duc (as the husband of Madame la Duchesse), and afterwards the two sons
+of M. du Maine, when they had grown a little, and D'Antin, came
+afterwards, all standing.  It was the object of the Duchesse d'Orleans to
+change this order, and make her daughters take precedence of the wives of
+the Princes of the blood; but the King declared against her.  When he
+made the public announcement of his decision, the Duc d'Orleans took the
+opportunity of alluding to a marriage which would console him for
+everything.  "I should think so," replied the King, dryly, and with a
+bitter and mocking smile.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LI
+
+It was the desire of the Duc and Duchesse d'Orleans to marry Mademoiselle
+(their daughter) to the Duc de Berry (third son of Monseigneur, and
+consequently brother of the Duc de Bourgogne and of the King of Spain).
+There were many obstacles in the way--partly the state of public affairs
+--partly the fact that the King, though seemingly, was not really quite
+reconciled--partly the recollection of that cruel 'bon mot' in Spain--
+partly the fact that Monseigneur would naturally object to marry his
+favourite son with the daughter of a man toward whom he always testified
+hatred in the most indecent manner. The recent union between Madame de
+Maintenon, Mademoiselle Choin, and Monseigneur was also a great obstacle.
+In fact after what M. le Duc d'Or leans had been accused of in Spain,
+with his abilities and talents it seemed dangerous to make him the
+father-in-law of M. le Duc de Berry.
+
+For my part I passionately desired the marriage of Mademoiselle, although
+I saw that all tended to the marriage of Mademoiselle de Bourbon,
+daughter of Madame la Duchesse, in her place.  I had many reasons,
+private and public, for acting against the latter marriage; but it was
+clear that unless very vigorous steps were taken it would fall like a
+mill-stone upon my head, crush me, and wound the persons to whom I was
+attached.  M. le Duc d'Orleans and Madame la Duchesse d'Orleans were
+immersed in the deepest indolence.  They desired, but did not act.  I
+went to them and explained the state of the case--pointed out the danger
+of Madame la Duchesse--excited their pride, their jealousy, their spite.
+Will it be believed that it was necessary to put all this machinery in
+motion?  At last, by working on them by the most powerful motives, I made
+them attend to their own interests.  The natural but extreme laziness of
+the Duchesse d'Orleans gave way this time, but less to ambition than to
+the desire of defeating a sister who was so inimical to her.  We next
+concerted how we should make use of M. d'Orleans himself.
+
+That Prince, with all his wit and his passion for Mademoiselle--which had
+never weakened since her birth--was like a motionless beam, which stirred
+only in obedience to our redoubled efforts, and who remained so to the
+conclusion of this great business.  I often reflected on the causes of
+this incredible conduct, and was led to suppose that the knowledge of the
+irremediable nature of what had taken place in Spain was the rein that
+restrained him.  However this may have been, I was throughout obliged to
+use main force to bring him to activity.  I determined to form and direct
+a powerful cabal in order to bring my views to pass.  The first person of
+whom it was necessary to make sure was the Duchesse de Bourgogne.  That
+Princess had many reasons for the preference of Mademoiselle over
+Mademoiselle de Bourbon (daughter of Madame la Duchesse).  She knew the
+King perfectly; and could not be ignorant of the power of novelty over
+his mind, of which power she had herself made a happy experiment.  What
+she had to fear was another herself--I mean a Princess on the same terms
+with the King as she was, who, being younger than she, would amuse him by
+new childish playfulness no longer suited to her age, and yet which she
+(the Duchess) was still obliged to employ.  The very contrast of her own
+untimely childishness, with a childishness so much more natural, would
+injure her.  The new favourite would, moreover, not have a husband to
+support; for the Duc de Berry was already well liked.  The Duc de
+Bourgogne, on the contrary, since the affair of Flanders, had fallen into
+disgrace with his father, Monseigneur; and his scruples, his preciseness,
+his retired life, devoted to literal compliance with the rules of
+devotion, contrasted unfavourably with the free life of his younger
+brother.
+
+The present and the future--whatever was important in life--were
+therefore at stake with Madame la Duchesse de Bourgogne; and yet her
+great duty to herself was perpetually in danger of being stifled by the
+fictitious and petty duties of daily life.  It was necessary to stimulate
+her.  She felt these things in general; and that it was necessary that
+her sister-in-law should be a Princess, neither able nor willing to give
+her umbrage, and over whom she should be mistress.  But in spite of her
+wit and sense, she was not capable of feeling in a sufficiently lively
+manner of herself all the importance of these things, amidst the
+effervescence of her youth, the occupation of her successive duties,
+the private and general favour she seemed to enjoy, the greatness of a
+rank in expectation of a throne, the round of amusements which dissipated
+her mind and her days: gentle, light, easy--perhaps too easy.  I felt,
+however, that from the effect of these considerations upon her I should
+derive the greatest assistance, on account of the influence she could
+exert upon the King, and still more on Madame de Maintenon, both of whom
+loved her exceedingly; and I felt also that the Duchesse d'Orleans would
+have neither the grace nor the fire necessary to stick it in deep enough
+--on account of her great interest in the matter.
+
+I influenced the Duchesse de Villeroy and Madame de Levi, who could work
+on the Duchess, and also Madame d'O; obtained the indirect assistance of
+M. du Maine--and by representing to the Ducs de Chevreuse, and de
+Beauvilliers, that if M. de Berry married Mademoiselle de Bourbon, hatred
+would arise between him and his brother, and great danger to the state,
+enlisted them also on my side.  I knew that the Joie de Berry was a fort
+that could only be carried by mine and assault.  Working still further,
+I obtained the concurrence of the Jesuits; and made the Pere de Trevoux
+our partisan.  Nothing is indifferent to the Jesuits.  They became a
+powerful instrument.  As a last ally I obtained the co-operation of the
+Marechal de Boufflers.  Such were the machines that my friendship for
+those to whom I was attached, my hatred for Madame la Duchesse, my care
+of my present and future situation, enabled me to discover, to set going,
+with an exact and compassed movement, a precise agreement, and the
+strength of a lever--which the space of one Lent commenced and perfected
+--all whose movements, embarrassments, and progress in their divers lines
+I knew; and which I regularly wound up in reciprocal cadence every day!
+
+Towards the end of the Lent, the Duchesse de Bourgogne, having sounded
+the King and Madame de Maintenon, had found the latter well disposed, and
+the former without any particular objection.  One day that Mademoiselle
+had been taken to see the King at the apartments of Madame de Maintenon,
+where Monseigneur happened to be, the Duchesse de Bourgogne praised her,
+and when she had gone away, ventured, with that freedom and that
+predetermined impulsiveness and gaiety which she sometimes made use of,
+to say: "What an excellent wife for M. le Duc de Berry!"  This expression
+made Monseigneur redden with anger, and exclaim, "that would be an
+excellent method of recompensing the Duc d'Orleans for his conduct in
+Spain!"  When he had said these words he hastily left the company, all
+very much astonished; for no one expected a person seemingly so
+indifferent and so measured to come out so strongly.  The Duchesse de
+Bourgogne, who had only spoken so to feel the way with Monseigneur in
+presence of the King, was bold and clever to the end.  Turning with a
+bewildered look towards Madame de Maintenon, "My Aunt," quoth she to her,
+"have I said something foolish?"  the King, piqued, answered for Madame
+de Maintenon, and said, warmly, that if Madame la Duchesse was working
+upon Monseigneur she would have to deal with him.  Madame de Maintenon
+adroitly envenomed the matter by wondering at a vivacity so uncommon with
+Monseigneur, and said that if Madame la Duchesse had that much of
+influence, she would soon make him do other things of more consequence.
+The conversation, interrupted in various ways and renewed, advanced with
+emotion, and in the midst of reflections that did more injury to
+Mademoiselle de Bourbon than the friendship of Monseigneur for Madame la
+Duchesse could serve her.
+
+When I learned this adventure, I saw that it was necessary to attack
+Monseigneur by piquing the King against Madame la Duchesse, and making
+him fear the influence of that Princess on Monseigneur and through
+Monseigneur on himself; that no opportunity should be lost to impress on
+the King the fear of being governed and kept in pupilage by his children;
+that it was equally important to frighten Madame de Maintenon, and show
+her the danger she was in from the influence of Monseigneur.  I worked on
+the fears of the Duchesse de Bourgogne, by Madame de Villeroy and de
+Levi; on the Duc de Bourgogne, by M. de Beauvilliers; on Madame de
+Maintenon, by the Marechal de Boufflers; on the King himself, by the Pere
+Tellier; and all these batteries succeeded.
+
+In order not to hurry matters too much, I took a turn to La Ferme, and
+then came back to Marly just as the King arrived.  Here I had a little
+alarm, which did not, however, discourage me.  I learned, in fact, that
+one day the Duchesse de Bourgogne, urged perhaps rather too much on the
+subject of Mademoiselle by Madame d'O, and somewhat annoyed, had shown an
+inclination for a foreign marriage.  Would to God that such a marriage
+could have been brought about!  I should always have preferred it, but
+there were many reasons to render it impossible.
+
+On my arrival at Marly, I found everything in trouble there: the King so
+chagrined that he could not hide it--although usually a master of himself
+and of his face: the Court believing that some new disaster had happened
+which would unwillingly be declared.  Four or five days passed in this
+way: at last it became known what was in the wind.  The King, informed
+that Paris and all the public were murmuring loudly about the expenses of
+Marly--at a time when it was impossible to meet the most indispensable
+claims of a necessary and unfortunate war--was more annoyed this time
+than on any other occasion, although he had often received the same
+warnings.  Madame de Maintenon had the greatest difficulty to hinder him
+from returning straight to Versailles.  The upshot was that the King
+declared with a sort of bitter joy, that he would no longer feed the
+ladies at Marly; that for the future he would dine alone, simply, as at
+Versailles; that he would sup every day at a table for sixteen with his
+family, and that the spare places should be occupied by ladies invited in
+the morning; that the Princesses of his family should each have a table
+for the ladies they brought with them; and that Mesdames Voysin and
+Desmarets should each have one for the ladies who did not choose to eat
+in their own rooms.  He added bitterly, that by making retrenchments at
+Marly he should not spend more there than at Versailles, so that he could
+go there when he pleased without being exposed to the blame of any one.
+He deceived himself from one end of this business to the other, but
+nobody but himself was deceived, if indeed he was in any other way but in
+expecting to deceive the world.  The truth is, that no change was made at
+Marly, except in name.  The same expenses went on.  The enemies
+insultingly ridiculed these retrenchments.  The King's subjects did not
+cease to complain.
+
+About this time an invitation to Marly having been obtained by Madame la
+Duchesse for her daughters, Mademoiselles de Bourbon and de Charolois,
+the King offered one to Mademoiselle.  This offer was discussed before
+the Duc and Duchesse d'Orleans and me.  We at last resolved to leave
+Mademoiselle at Versailles; and not to be troubled by seeing Mademoiselle
+de Bourbon passing her days in the same salon, often at the same play-
+table with the Duc de Berry, making herself admired by the Court,
+fluttering round Monseigneur, and accustoming the eye of the King to her.
+We knew that these trifles would not bring about a marriage; and it was
+still more important not to give up Mademoiselle to the malignity of the
+Court, to exposure, and complaints, from which it might not always be
+possible to protect her.
+
+But I had felt that it was necessary to act vigorously, and pressed the
+Duc d'Orleans to speak to the King.  To my surprise he suddenly heaped up
+objections, derived from the public disasters, with which a princely
+marriage would contrast disagreeably.  The Duchesse d'Orleans was
+strangely staggered by this admission; it only angered me.  I answered by
+repeating all my arguments.  At last he gave way, and agreed to write to
+the King.  Here, again, I had many difficulties to overcome, and was
+obliged, in fact, to write the letter myself, and dictate it to him.  He
+made one or two changes; and at last signed and sealed it.  But I had the
+greatest difficulty yet in inciting him to give it to the King.  I had to
+follow him, to urge him, to pique him, almost to push him into the
+presence.  The King received the letter very graciously; it had its
+effect; and the marriage was resolved on.
+
+When the preliminaries were settled, the Duc and Duchesse d'Orleans began
+to show their desire that Madame de Saint-Simon should be lady of honour
+to their daughter when she had become the Duchesse de Berry.  I was far
+from flattered by this distinction and refused as best I might.  Madame
+de Saint-Simon went to have an audience of the Duchesse de Bourgogne, and
+asked not to be appointed; but her objections were not listened to, or
+listened to with astonishment.  Meanwhile I endeavoured to bring about a
+reconciliation of the Duc d'Orleans with La Choin; but utterly failed.
+La Choin positively refused to have anything to do with the Duke and
+Duchess.  I was much embarrassed to communicate this news to them, to
+whom I was attached.  It was necessary; however, to do so.  I hastened to
+Saint-Cloud, and found the Duc and Duchesse d'Orleans at table with
+Mademoiselle and some ladies in a most delightful menagerie, adjoining
+the railing of the avenue near the village, with a charming pleasure-
+garden attached to it.  All this belonged, under the name of
+Mademoiselle, to Madame de Mare, her governess.  I sat down and chatted
+with them; but the impatience of the Duc d'Orleans to learn the news
+could not be checked.  He asked me if I was very satisfied.  "Middling,"
+I replied, not to spoil his dinner; but he rose at once and took me into
+the garden.  He was much affected to hear of the ill-success of my
+negotiation; and returned downcast to table.  I took the first
+opportunity to blame his impatience, and the facility with which he
+allowed the impressions he received to appear.  Always in extreme, he
+said he cared not; and talked wildly of planting cabbages--talk in which
+he indulged often without meaning anything.
+
+Soon after, M. le Duc d'Orleans went aside with Mademoiselle, and I found
+myself placed accidentally near Madame de Fontaine-Martel.  She was a
+great friend of mine, and much attached to M. d'Orleans; and it was by
+her means that I had become friendly with the Duke.  She felt at once
+that something was going on; and did not doubt that the marriage of
+Mademoiselle was on the carpet.  She said so, but I did not answer, yet
+without assuming an air of reserve that would have convinced her.  Taking
+her text from the presence of M. le Duc d'Orleans with Mademoiselle, she
+said to me confidentially, that it would be well to hasten this marriage
+if it was possible, because all sorts of horrible things were invented to
+prevent it; and without waiting to be too much pressed, she told me that
+the most abominable stories were in circulation as to the friendship of
+father and daughter.  The hair of my head stood on end.  I now felt more
+heavily than ever with what demons we had to do; and how necessary it was
+to hurry on matters.  For this reason, after we had walked about a good
+deal after dark, I again spoke with M. d'Orleans, and told him that if,
+before the end of this voyage to Marly, he did not carry the declaration
+of his daughter's marriage, it would never take place.
+
+I persuaded him; and left him more animated and encouraged than I had
+seen him.  He amused himself I know not in what other part of the house.
+I then talked a little with Madame de Mare, my relation and friend, until
+I was told that Madame de Fontaine-Martel wished to speak to me in the
+chateau.  When I went there I was taken to the cabinet of the Duchesse
+d'Orleans, when I learnt that she had just been made acquainted with the
+abominable reports spread against her husband and daughter.  We deplored
+together the misfortune of having to do with such furies.  The Duchess
+protested that there was not even any seeming in favour of these
+calumnies.  The Duke had ever tenderly loved his daughter from the age of
+two years, when he was nearly driven to despair by a serious illness she
+had, during which he watched her night and day; and this tenderness had
+gone on increasing day by day, so that he loved her more than his son.
+We agreed that it would be cruel, wicked, and dangerous to tell M.
+d'Orleans what was said.
+
+At length the decisive blow was struck.  The King had an interview with
+Monseigneur; and told him he had determined on the marriage, begging him
+to make up his mind as soon as possible.  The declaration was soon made.
+What must have been the state of Madame la Duchesse!  I never knew what
+took place in her house at this strange moment; and would have dearly
+paid for a hiding-place behind the tapestry.  As for Monseigneur, as soon
+as his original repugnance was overcome, and he saw that it was necessary
+to comply, he behaved very well.  He received the Duc and Duchesse
+d'Orleans very well, and kissed her and drank their health and that of
+all the family cheerfully.  They were extremely delighted and surprised.
+
+My next visit to Saint-Cloud was very different from that in which I
+reported the failure of my endeavours with Mademoiselle Choin.  I was
+received in triumph before a large company.  To my surprise,
+Mademoiselle, as soon as I appeared, ran towards me, kissed me on both
+cheeks, took me by the hand, and led me into the orangery.  Then she
+thanked me, and admitted that her father had constantly kept her
+acquainted with all the negotiations as they went on.  I could not help
+blaming his easiness and imprudence.  She mingled all with testimonies of
+the most lively joy; and I was surprised by her grace, her eloquence, the
+dignity and the propriety of the terms she used.  I learned an immense
+number of things in this half-hour's conversation.  Afterwards
+Mademoiselle took the opportunity to say and do all manner of graceful
+things to Madame de Saint-Simon.
+
+The Duchesse d'Orleans now returned once more to the charge, in order to
+persuade my wife to be dame d'honneur to her daughter.  I refused as
+firmly as I could.  But soon after the King himself named Madame de
+Saint-Simon; and when the Duchesse de Bourgogne suggested a doubt of her
+acceptance, exclaimed, almost piqued: "Refuse!  O, no!  not when she
+learns that it is my desire."  In fact, I soon received so many menacing
+warnings that I was obliged to give in; and Madame de Saint-Simon
+received the appointment.  This was made publicly known by the King, who
+up to that very morning remained doubtful whether he would be met by a
+refusal or not; and who, as he was about to speak, looked at me with a
+smile that was meant to please and warn me to be silent.  Madame de
+Saint-Simon learned the news with tears.  She was excellently well
+received by the King, and complimented agreeably by Madame de Maintenon.
+
+The marriage took place with the usual ceremonies.  The Duc de
+Beauvilliers and Madame de Saint-Simon drew the curtains of the couple
+when they went to bed; and laughed together at being thus employed.  The
+King, who had given a very mediocre present of diamonds to the new
+Duchesse de Berry, gave nothing to the Duc de Berry.  The latter had so
+little money that he could not play during the first days of the voyage
+to Marly.  The Duchesse de Bourgogne told this to the King, who, feeling
+the state in which he himself was, said that he had only five hundred
+pistoles to give him.  He gave them with an excuse on the misfortunes of
+the time, because the Duchesse de Bourgogne thought with reason that a
+little was better than nothing, and that it was insufferable not to be
+able to play.
+
+Madame de Mare was now set at liberty.  The place of Dame d'Atours was
+offered to her; but she advanced many reasons for not accepting it, and
+on being pressed, refused with an obstinacy that surprised every one.
+We were not long in finding out the cause of her obstinate unwillingness
+to remain with Madame la Duchesse de Berry.  The more that Princess
+allowed people to see what she was--and she never concealed herself--the
+more we saw that Madame de Mare was in the right; and the more we admired
+the miracle of care and prudence which had prevented anything from coming
+to light; and the more we felt how blindly people act in what they desire
+with the most eagerness, and achieve with much trouble and much joy; and
+the more we deplored having succeeded in an affair which, so far from
+having undertaken and carried out as I did, I should have traversed with
+still greater zeal, even if Mademoiselle de Bourbon had profited thereby
+without knowing it, if I had known half a quarter--what do I say?  the
+thousandth part--of what we unhappily witnessed!  I shall say no more for
+the present; and as I go on, I shall only say what cannot be concealed;
+and I say thus much so soon merely because the strange things that soon
+happened began to develop themselves a little during this first voyage to
+Marly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LII
+
+On Saturday, the 15th of February, the King was waked up at seven o'clock
+in the morning, an hour earlier than usual, because Madame la Duchesse de
+Bourgogne was in the pains of labour.  He dressed himself diligently in
+order to go to her.  She did not keep him waiting long.  At three minutes
+and three seconds after eight o'clock, she brought into the world a Duc
+d'Anjou, who is the King Louis XV., at present reigning, which caused a
+great joy.  This Prince was soon after sprinkled by Cardinal de Janson in
+the chamber where he was born, and then carried upon the knees of the
+Duchesse de Ventadour in the sedan chair of the King into the King's
+apartments, accompanied by the Marechal de Boufflers and by the body-
+guards with officers.  A little while after La Villiere carried to him
+the cordon bleu, and all the Court went to see him, two things which much
+displeased his brother, who did not scruple to show it.  Madame de Saint-
+Simon, who was in the chamber of Madame la Dauphine, was by chance one of
+the first who saw this new-born Prince.  The accouchement passed over
+very well.
+
+About this time died the Marechale de la Meilleraye, aged eighty-eight
+years.  She was the paternal aunt of the Marechal de Villeroy and the Duc
+de Brissac, his brother-in-law.  It was she who unwittingly put the cap
+on MM. de Brissac, which they have ever since worn in their arms, and
+which has been imitated.  She was walking in a picture gallery of her
+ancestors one day with her niece, a lively, merry person, whom she
+obliged to salute and be polite to each portrait, and who in pleasant
+revenge persuaded her that one of the said portraits wore a cap which
+proved him to be an Italian Prince.  She swallowed this, and had the cap
+introduced into her, arms, despite her family, who are now obliged to
+keep it, but who always call it, "My Aunt's cap."  On another occasion,
+people were speaking in her presence of the death of the Chevalier de
+Savoie, brother of the Comte de Soissons, and of the famous Prince
+Eugene, who died very young, very suddenly, very debauched; and full of
+benefices.  The talk became religious.  She listened some time, and then,
+with a profound look of conviction, said: "For my part, I am persuaded
+that God will think twice about damning a man of such high birth as
+that!"  This caused a burst of laughter, but nothing could make her
+change her opinion.  Her vanity was cruelly punished.  She used to affect
+to apologise for having married the Marechal de la Meilleraye.  After his
+death, being in love with Saint-Ruth, her page, she married him; but took
+care not to disclose her marriage for fear of losing her distinction at
+Court.  Saint-Ruth was a very honourable gentleman, very poor, tall, and
+well made, whom everybody knew; extremely ugly--I don't know whether he
+became so after his marriage.  He was a worthy man and a good soldier.
+But he was also a rough customer, and when his distinguished wife annoyed
+him he twirled his cudgel and belaboured her soundly.  This went so far
+that the Marechale, not being able to stand it any longer, demanded an
+audience of the King, admitted her weakness and her shame, and implored
+his protection.  The King kindly promised to set matters to rights.  He
+soundly rated Saint-Ruth in his cabinet, and forbade him to ill-treat the
+Marechale.  But what is bred in the bone will never get out of the flesh.
+The Marechale came to make fresh complaints.  The King grew angry in
+earnest, and threatened Saint-Ruth.  This kept him quiet for some time.
+But the habit of the stick was too powerful; and he flourished it again.
+The Marechale flew as usual to the King, who, seeing that Saint-Ruth was
+incorrigible, was good enough to send him to Guyenne under pretence, of
+employment.  Afterwards he was sent to Ireland; where he was killed.
+
+The Marechale de la Meilleraye had been perfectly beautiful, and was full
+of wit.  She so turned the head of the Cardinal de Retz, that he wanted
+to turn everything topsy-turvy in France, in order to make himself, a
+necessary man and force the King to use his influence at Rome in order to
+obtain a dispensation by which he (the Cardinal) should be allowed,
+though a priest--and a consecrated bishop, to marry the Marechale de la
+Meilleraye while her husband was alive and she on very good terms with
+him!  This madness is inconceivable and yet existed.
+
+I have described in its place the disgrace of Cardinal de Bouillon, and
+the banishment to which he was sentenced.  Exile did not improve him.
+He languished in weariness and rage, and saw no hope that his position
+would ever change.  Incapable of repose, he had passed all his long
+enforced leisure in a monastic war.  The monks of Cluni were his
+antagonists.  He was constantly bringing actions against them, which they
+as constantly defended.  He accused them of revolt--they accused him of
+scheming.  They profited by his disgrace, and omitted nothing to shake
+off the yoke which, when in favour, he had imposed on them.  These broils
+went on, until at last a suit, which Cardinal de Bouillon had commenced
+against the refractory monks, and which had been carried into Grand
+Council of Paris, was decided against him, notwithstanding all the
+efforts he made to obtain a contrary verdict.  This was the last drop
+which made the too full cup overflow, and which consummated the
+resolution that Cardinal had long since had in his head, and which he now
+executed.
+
+By the terms of his exile, he was allowed to visit, without restraint,
+his various abbeys, situated in different parts of the realm.  He took
+advantage of this privilege, gave out that he was going to Normandy, but
+instead of doing so, posted away to Picardy, stopped briefly at
+Abbeville, gained Arras, where he had the Abbey of Saint-Waast, thence
+feigning to go and see his abbey of Vigogne, he passed over into the camp
+of the enemy, and threw himself into the arms of the Duke of Marlborough
+and Prince Eugene.  The Prince d'Auvergne, his nephew, had deserted from
+France in a similar manner some time before, as I have related in its
+place, and was in waiting to receive the Cardinal, who was also very
+graciously welcomed by Prince Eugene and the Duke of Marlborough, who
+introduced him to the heads of the army, and lavished upon him the
+greatest honours.
+
+Such a change of condition appeared very sweet to this spirit so haughty
+and so ulcerated, and marvellously inflated the Cardinal's courage.  He
+recompensed his dear hosts by discourses, which were the most agreeable
+to them, upon the misery of France (which his frequent journeys through
+the provinces had placed before his eyes), upon its powerlessness to
+sustain the war; upon the discontent which reigned among the people; upon
+the exhaustion of the finances; in fine, he spared nothing that perfidy
+or ingratitude could suggest to flatter them and gain their favour.
+
+No sooner had the Cardinal had time to turn round among his new friends
+than he wrote a letter to the King announcing his flight--a letter which
+was such a monstrous production of insolence, of madness, of felony, and
+which was written in a style so extravagant and confused that it deserves
+to be thus specially alluded to.  In this letter, as full of absurdities,
+impudence, and of madness, as of words, the Cardinal, while pretending
+much devotion for the King, and much submission to the Church, plainly
+intimated that he cared for neither.  Although this was as the sting of a
+gnat upon an elephant, the King was horribly piqued at it.  He received
+the letter on the 24th of May, gave it the next day to D'Aguesseau,
+attorney-general, and ordered him to commence a suit against Cardinal de
+Bouillon, as guilty of felony.  At the same time the King wrote to Rome,
+enclosing a copy of Bouillon's letter, so that it might be laid before
+the Pope.  This letter received little approbation.  People considered
+that the King had forgotten his dignity in writing it, it seemed so much
+like a justification and so little worthy, of a great monarch.  As for
+the Cardinal de Bouillon, he grew more haughty than ever.  He wrote a
+letter upon the subject of this trial with which he was threatened, even
+more violent than his previous letter, and proclaimed that cardinals were
+not in any way amenable to secular justice, and could not be judged
+except by the Pope and all the sacred college.
+
+So in fact it seemed to, be; for although the Parliament commenced the
+trial, and issued an order of arrest against the Cardinal, they soon
+found themselves stopped by difficulties which arose, and by this
+immunity of the cardinals, which was supported by many examples.  After
+all the fuss made, therefore, this cause fell by its own weakness, and
+exhaled itself, so to speak, in insensible perspiration.  A fine lesson
+this for the most powerful princes, and calculated to teach them that if
+they want to be served by Rome they should favour those that are there,
+instead of raising their own subjects, who, out of Rome, can be of no
+service to the State; and who are good only to seize three or four
+hundred thousand livres a year in benefices, with the quarter of which an
+Italian would be more than recompensed.  A French cardinal in France is
+the friend of the Pope, but the enemy of the King, the Church, and the
+State; a tyrant very often to the clergy and the ministers, at liberty to
+do what he likes without ever being punished for anything.
+
+As nothing could be done in this way against the Cardinal, other steps
+were taken.  The fraudulent "Genealogical History of the House of
+Auvergne," which I have previously alluded to, was suppressed by royal
+edict, and orders given that all the copies of it should be seized.
+Baluze, who had written it, was deprived of his chair of Professor of the
+Royal College, and driven out of the realm.  A large quantity of copies
+of this edict were printed and publicly distributed.  The little
+patrimony that Cardinal de Bouillon had not been able to carry away, was
+immediately confiscated: the temporality of his benefices had been
+already seized, and on the 7th of July appeared a declaration from the
+King, which, depriving the Cardinal of all his advowsons, distributed
+them to the bishops of the dioceses in which those advowsons were
+situated.
+
+These blows were very sensibly felt by the other Bouillons, but it was no
+time for complaint.  The Cardinal himself became more enraged than ever.
+Even up to this time he had kept so little within bounds that he had
+pontifically officiated in the church of Tournai at the Te Deum for the
+taking of Douai (by the enemies); and from that town (Tournai), where he
+had fixed his residence, he wrote a long letter to M. de Beauvais,--
+bishop of the place, when it yielded, and who would not sing the Te Deum,
+exhorting him to return to Tournai and submit to the new rule.  Some time
+after this, that is to say, towards the end of the year, he was guilty of
+even greater presumption.  The Abbey of Saint-Arnaud, in Flanders, had
+just been given by the King to Cardinal La Tremoille, who had been
+confirmed in his possession by bulls from the Pope.  Since then the abbey
+had fallen into the power of the enemy.  Upon this, Cardinal de Bouillon
+caused himself to be elected Abbot by a minority of the monks and in
+spite of the opposition of the others.  It was curious to see this
+dutiful son of Rome, who had declared in his letter to the King, that he
+thought of nothing except the dignity of the King, and how he could best.
+serve God and the Church, thus elect him self in spite of the bull of the
+Pope, in spite of the orders of the King, and enjoy by force the revenues
+of the abbey, protected solely by heretics!
+
+But I have in the above recital alluded to the taking of Douai: this
+reminds me that I have got to speak of our military movements, our
+losses, and our victories, of this year.  In Flanders and in Spain they
+were of some importance, and had better, perhaps, have a chapter or more
+to themselves.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LIII
+
+The King, who had made numberless promotions, appointed this year the
+same generals to the same armies.  Villars was chosen for Flanders, as
+before.  Having, arrived at the very summit of favour, he thought he
+might venture, for the first time in his life, to bring a few truths
+before the King.  He did nothing then but represent to the ministers,
+nay, even to the King and Madame de Maintenon themselves, the wretched
+state of our magazines and our garrisons; the utter absence of all
+provision for the campaign, and the piteous condition of the troops and
+their officers, without money and without pay.  This was new language in
+the mouth of Villars, who hitherto had owed all his success to the
+smiling, rose-tinted account he had given of everything.  It was the
+frequency and the hardihood of his falsehoods in this respect that made
+the King and Madame de Maintenon look upon him as their sole resource;
+for he never said anything disagreeable, and never found difficulties
+anywhere.  Now that he had raised this fatal curtain, the aspect appeared
+so hideous to them, that they found it easier to fly into a rage than to
+reply.  From that moment they began to regard Villars with other eyes.
+Finding that he spoke now the language which everybody spoke, they began
+to look upon him as the world had always looked upon him, to find him
+ridiculous, silly, impudent, lying, insupportable; to reproach themselves
+with having elevated him from nothing, so rapidly and so enormously; they
+began to shun him, to put him aside, to make him perceive what they
+thought, and to let others perceive it also.
+
+Villars in his turn was frightened.  He saw the prospect of losing what
+he had gained, and of sinking into hopeless disgrace.  With the
+effrontery that was natural to him, he returned therefore to his usual
+flatteries, artifices, and deceits; laughed at all dangers and
+inconveniences, as having resources in himself against everything!
+The coarseness of this variation was as plain as possible; but the
+difficulty of choosing another general was equally plain, and Villars
+thus got out of the quagmire.  He set forth for the frontier, therefore,
+in his coach, and travelling easy stages, on account of his wound,
+arrived in due time at the army.
+
+Neither Prince Eugene nor the Duke of Marlborough wished for peace; their
+object was, the first, from personal vengeance against the King, and a
+desire to obtain a still greater reputation; the second, to get rich, for
+ambition was the prominent passion of one, and avarice of the other--
+their object was, I say, to enter France, and, profiting by the extreme
+weakness and straitened state of our troops and of our places, to push
+their conquests as far as possible.
+
+As for the King, stung by his continual losses, he wished passionately
+for nothing so much as a victory, which should disturb the plans of the
+enemies, and deliver him from the necessity of continuing the sad and
+shameful negotiations for peace he had set an foot at Gertruydemberg.
+But the enemies were well posted, end Villars had imprudently lost a good
+opportunity of engaging them.  All the army had noticed this fault; he
+had been warned in time by several general officers, and by the Marechal
+de Montesquiou, but he would not believe them.  He did not dare to attack
+the enemies, now, after having left them leisure to make all their
+dispositions.  The army cried aloud against so capital a fault.  Villars
+answered with his usual effrontery.  He had quarrelled with his second in
+command, the Marechal de Montesquiou, and now knew not what to do.
+
+In this crisis, no engagement taking place, the King thought it fitting
+to send Berwick into Flanders to act as mediator, even, to some extent,
+as dictator to the army.  He was ordered to bring back an account of all
+things, so that it might be seen whether a battle could or could not be
+fought.
+
+I think I have already stated who Berwick was; but I will here add a few
+more words about him to signalise his prodigious and rapid advancement.
+
+We were in the golden age of bastards, and Berwick was a man who had
+reason to think so.  Bastard of James II., of England, he had arrived in
+France, at the age of eighteen, with that monarch, after the Revolution
+of 1688.  At twenty-two he was made lieutenant-general, and served as
+such in Flanders, without having passed through any other rank.  At
+thirty-three he commanded in chief in Spain with a patent of general.
+At thirty-four he was made, on account of his victory at Almanza, Grandee
+of Spain, and Chevalier of the Golden Fleece.  He continued to command in
+chief until February, 1706, when he was made Marshal of France, being
+then not more than thirty-six years old.  He was an English Duke, and
+although as such he had no rank in France, the King had awarded it to
+him, as to all who came over with James.  This was making a rapid fortune
+with a vengeance, under a King who regarded people of thirty-odd as
+children, but who thought no more of the ages of bastards than of those
+of the gods.
+
+For more than a year past Berwick had coveted to be made Duke and Peer;
+But he could not obtain his wish.  Now, however, that he was to be sent
+into Flanders for the; purpose I have just described, it seemed a good
+opportunity to try again.  He did try, and was successful.  He was made
+Duke and Peer.  He had been twice married.  By his first wife he had had
+a son.  By his second several sons and daughters.  Will it be believed,
+that he was hardy enough to propose, and that we were weak enough to
+accord to him, that his son of the first bed should be formally excluded
+from the letters-patent of Duke and Peer, and that those of the second
+bed should alone be entered there?  Yet so it was.  Berwick was, in
+respect to England, like the Jews, who await the Messiah.  He coaxed
+himself always with the hope of a revolution in England, which should put
+the Stuarts on the throne again, and reinstate him in his wealth and
+honours.  He was son of the sister of the Duke of Marlborough, by which
+general he was much loved, and with whom, by permission of the King, and
+of King James, he kept up a secret intercourse, of which all three were
+the dupes, but which enabled Berwick to maintain other intercourses in
+England, and to establish his batteries there, hoping thus for his
+reinstatement even under the government established.  This explains his
+motive for the arrangement he made in the letters-patent.  He wished his
+eldest son to succeed to his English dukedom and his English estates; to
+make the second Duke and Peer of France, and the third Grandee of Spain.
+Three sons hereditarily elevated to the three chief dignities of the
+three, chief realms in Europe, it must be agreed was not bad work for a
+man to have achieved at fifty years of age!  But Berwick failed in his
+English projects.  Do what he could all his life to court the various
+ministers who came from England, he never could succeed in reestablishing
+himself.
+
+The scandal was great at the complaisance of the King in consenting to a
+family arrangement, by which a cadet was put over the head of his elder
+brother; but the time of the monsters had arrived.  Berwick bought an
+estate that he created under the name of Fitz-James.  The King, who
+allowed him to do so, was shocked by the name; and, in my presence, asked
+Berwick the meaning of it; he, without any embarrassment, thus explained
+it.
+
+The Kings of England, in legitimatising their children gave them a name
+and arms, which pass to their posterity.  The name varies.  Thus the Duke
+of Richmond, bastard of Charles II., had the name of "Lennox;" the Dukes
+of Cleveland and of Grafton, by the same king, that of "Fitz-Roi," which
+means "son of the king;" in fine, the Duke of Berwick had the name of
+"Fitz-James;" so that his family name for his posterity is thus "Son of
+James;" as a name, it is so ridiculous in French, that nobody could help
+laughing at it, or being astonished at the scandal of imposing it in
+English upon France.
+
+Berwick having thus obtained his recompense beforehand, started off for
+Flanders, but not until he had seen everything signed and sealed and
+delivered in due form.  He found the enemy so advantageously placed, and
+so well prepared, that he had no difficulty in subscribing to the common
+opinion of the general officers, that an attack could no longer be
+thought of.  He gathered up all the opinions he could, and then returned
+to Court, having been only about three weeks absent.  His report dismayed
+the King, and those who penetrated it.  Letters from the army soon showed
+the fault of which Villars had been guilty, and everybody revolted
+against this wordy bully.
+
+He soon after was the subject of common talk at the Court, and in the
+army, in consequence of a ridiculous adventure, in which he was the hero.
+His wound, or the airs that he gave himself in consequence of it, often
+forced him to hold his leg upon the neck of his horse, almost in the same
+manner as ladies do.  One day, he let slip the remark that he was sick to
+death of mounting on horseback like those "harlots" in the suite of
+Madame de Bourgogne.  Those "harlots," I will observe parenthetically,
+were all the young ladies of the Court, and the daughters of Madame la
+Duchesse!  Such a remark uttered by a general not much loved, speedily
+flew from one end of the camp to the other, and was not long in making
+its way to the Court and to Paris.  The young horsewomen alluded to were
+offended; their friends took up arms for them, and Madame la Duchesse de
+Bourgogne could not help showing irritation, or avoid complaining.
+
+Villars was apprised of all, and was much troubled by this increase of
+enemies so redoubtable, of whom just then he assuredly had no need.  He
+took it into his head to try and discover who had blabbed; and found it
+was Heudicourt, whom Villars, to advance his own interests, by means of
+Heudicourt's mother (who was the evil genius of Madame de Maintenon,) had
+protected; and to whom even, much against his custom, he had actually not
+lent, but given money.
+
+This Heudicourt (whom I have previously allluded to, 'a propos' of a song
+he wrote) was a merry wag who excelled in making fun of people, in
+highly-seasoned pleasantry, and in comic songs.  Spoiled by the favour
+which had always sustained him, he gave full licence to his tongue, and
+by this audacity had rendered himself redoubtable.  He was a scurrilous
+wretch, a great drunkard, and a debauchee; not at all cowardly, and with
+a face hideous as that of an ugly satyr.  He was not insensible to this;
+and so, unfitted for intrigues himself, he assisted others in them, and,
+by this honest trade, had acquired many friends amongst the flower of the
+courtiers of both sexes--above all with the ladies.  By way of contrast
+to his wickedness, he was called "the good little fellow" and "the good
+little fellow" was mixed up in all intrigues; the ladies of the Court
+positively struggled for him; and not one of them, even of the highest
+ranks, would have dared to fall out with him.  Thus protected, he was
+rather an embarrassing customer for Marechal de Villars, who,
+nevertheless, falling back as usual upon his effrontery, hit upon a
+bright project to bring home to Heudicourt the expedient he had against
+him.
+
+He collected together about fifteen general officers, and Heudicourt with
+them.  When they had all arrived, he left his chamber, and went to them.
+A number of loiterers had gathered round.  This was just what Villars
+wanted.  He asked all the officers in turn, if they remembered hearing
+him utter the expression attributed to him.  Albergotti said he
+remembered to have heard Villars apply the term "harlots" to the sutlers
+and the camp creatures, but never to any other woman.  All the rest
+followed in the same track.  Then Villars, after letting out against this
+frightful calumny, and against the impostor who had written and sent it
+to the Court, addressed himself to Heudicourt, whom he treated in the
+most cruel fashion.  "The good little fellow" was strangely taken aback,
+and wished to defend himself; but Villars produced proofs that could not
+be contradicted.  Thereupon the ill-favoured dog avowed his turpitude,
+and had the audacity to approach Villars in order to speak low to him;
+but the Marechal, drawing back, and repelling him with an air of
+indignation, said to him, aloud, that with scoundrels like him he wished
+for no privacy.  Gathering up, his pluck at this, Heudicourt gave rein to
+all his impudence, and declared that they who had been questioned had not
+dared to own the truth for fear of offending a Marechal; that as for
+himself he might have been wrong in speaking and writing about it, but he
+had not imagined that words said before such a numerous company; and in
+such a public place, could remain secret, or that he had done more harm
+in writing about them that so, many others who had acted likewise.
+
+The Marechal, outraged upon hearing so bold and so truthful a reply, let
+out with, greater violence than ever against Heudicourt, accused him of
+ingratitude and villainy, drove him away, and a few minutes after had him
+arrested and conducted as a prisoner to the chateau at Calais.  This
+violent scene made as much stir at the Court and in the army as that
+which had caused it.  The consistent and public conduct of Villars was
+much approved.  The King declared that he left Heudicourt in his hands:
+Madame de Maintenon and, Madame de Bourgogne, that they abandoned him;
+and his friends avowed that his fault was inexcusable.  But the tide soon
+turned.  After the first hubbub, the excuse of "the good little fellow"
+appeared excellent to the ladies who had their reasons for liking him and
+for fearing to irritate him; and also to the army, where the Marechal was
+not liked.  Several of the officers who had been publicly interrogated by
+Villars, now admitted that they had been taken by surprise, and had not
+wished to compromise themselves.  It was even, going into base details,
+argued that the Marechal's expression could not apply to the vivandieres
+and the other camp women, as they always rode astride, one leg on this
+side one leg on the other, like men, a manner very different from that of
+the ladies of Madame de Bourgogne.  People contested the power of a
+general to deal out justice upon his inferiors for personal matters in
+which the service was in nowise concerned; in a word, Heudicourt was soon
+let out of Calais, and remained "the good little fellow" in fashion in
+spite of the Marechal, who, tormented by so many things this campaign,
+sought for and obtained permission to go and take the waters; and did so.
+He was succeeded by Harcourt, who was himself in weak health.  Thus one
+cripple replaced another.  One began, the other ended, at Bourbonne.
+Douai, Saint-Venant, and Aire fell into the hands of the enemy during
+this 'campaign, who thus gained upon us more and more, while we did
+little or nothing.  This was the last campaign in Flanders of the Duke of
+Marlborough.  On the Rhine our troops observed and subsisted: nothing
+more; but in Spain there was more movement, and I will therefore turn my
+glances towards that country, and relate what took place there.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LIV
+
+Before I commence speaking of the affairs of Spain, let me pass lightly
+over an event which, engrafted upon some others, made much noise,
+notwithstanding the care taken to stifle it.
+
+Madame la Duchesse de Bourgogne supped at Saint-Cloud one evening with
+Madame la Duchesse de Berry and others--Madame de Saint-Simon absenting
+herself from the party.  Madame la Duchesse de Berry and M. d'Orleans--
+but she more than he--got so drunk, that Madame la Duchesse d'Orleans,
+Madame la Duchesse de Bourgogne, and the rest of the numerous company
+there assembled, knew not what to do.  M. le Duc de Berry was there, and
+him they talked over as well as they could; and the numerous company was
+amused by the Grand Duchess as well as she was able.  The effect of the
+wine, in more ways than one, was such, that people were troubled.  In
+spite of all, the Duchesse de Berry could not be sobered, so that it
+became necessary to carry her, drunk as she was; to Versailles.  All the
+servants saw her state, and did not keep it to themselves; nevertheless,
+it was hidden from the King, from Monseigneur, and from Madame de
+Maintenon.
+
+And now, having related this incident, let me turn to Spain.
+
+The events which took place in that country were so important, that I
+have thought it best to relate them in a continuous narrative without
+interruption.  We must go back to the commencement of the year, and
+remember the dangerous state which Spain was thrown into, delivered up to
+her own weakness, France being too feeble to defend her; finding it
+difficult enough, in fact, to defend herself, and willing to abandon her
+ally entirely in the hope by this means to obtain peace.
+
+Towards the end of March the King of Spain set out from Madrid to put
+himself at the head of his army in Aragon.  Villadatias, one of his best
+and oldest general officers, was chosen to command under him.  The King
+of Spain went from Saragossa to Lerida, where he was received with
+acclamations by the people and his army.  He crossed the Segre on the
+14th of May, and advanced towards Balaguier; designing to lay siege to
+it.  But heavy rains falling and causing the waters to rise, he was
+obliged to abandon his project.  Joined a month afterwards by troops
+arrived from Flanders, he sought to attack the enemy, but was obliged to
+content himself for the moment by scouring the country, and taking some
+little towns where the Archduke had established stores.  All this time
+the Count of Staremberg, who commanded the forces of the Archduke, was
+ill; this circumstance the King of Spain was profiting by.  But the Count
+grew well again quicker than was expected; promptly assembled his forces;
+marched against the army of the King of Spain; engaged it, and obliged
+it, all astonished, to retire under Saragossa.  This ill-success fell
+entirely on Villadarias, who was accused of imprudence and negligence.
+The King of Spain was desperately in want of generals, and M. de Vendome,
+knowing this, and sick to death of banishment, had asked some little time
+before to be allowed to offer his services.  At first he was snubbed.
+But the King of Spain, who eagerly wished for M. de Vendome, despatched a
+courier, after this defeat, begging the King to allow him to come and
+take command.  The King held out no longer.
+
+The Duc de Vendome had prepared everything in advance; and having got
+over a slight attack of gout, hastened to Versailles.  M. du Maine had
+negotiated with Madame de Maintenon to obtain permission to take Vendome
+to the Duchesse de Bourgogne.  The opportunity seemed favourable to them.
+Vendome was going to Spain to serve the brother and sister of the
+Duchess; and his departure without seeing her would have had a very
+disagreeable effect.  The Duc du Maine, followed by Vendome, came then
+that day to the toilette of the Duchesse de Bourgogne.  There happened
+that there was a very large company of men and ladies.  The Duchess rose
+for them, as she always did for the Princes of the blood and others, and
+for all the Dukes and Duchesses, and sat down again as usual; but after
+this first glance, which could not be refused, she, though usually very
+talkative and accustomed to look round, became for once attentive to her
+adornment, fixed her eyes on her mirror, and spoke no more to any one.
+M. du Maine, with M. de Vendome stuck by his side, remained very
+disconcerted; and M. du Maine, usually so free and easy, dared not utter
+a single word.  Nobody went near them or spoke to them.  They remained
+thus about half a quarter of an hour, with an universal silence
+throughout the chamber--all eyes being fixed on them; and not being able
+to stand this any longer, slunk away.  This reception was not
+sufficiently agreeable to induce Vendome to pay his respects at parting;
+for it would have been more embarrassing still if, when according to
+custom he advanced to kiss the Duchesse de Bourgogne, she had given him
+the unheard-of affront of a refusal.  As for the Duc de Bourgogne, he
+received Vendome tolerably politely, that is to say, much too well.
+
+Staremberg meanwhile profited by the advantage he had gained; he attacked
+the Spanish army under Saragossa and totally defeated it.  Artillery,
+baggage, all was lost; and the rout was complete.  This misfortune
+happened on the 20th of August.  The King, who had witnessed it from
+Saragossa, immediately afterwards took the road for Madrid.  Bay, one of
+his generals, gathered together eighteen thousand men, with whom he
+retired to Tudela, without any impediment on the part of the enemy.
+
+M. de Vendome learnt the news of this defeat while on his way to Spain.
+Like a prudent man as he was, for his own interests, he stopped at once
+so as to see what turn affairs were taking, and to know how to act.
+He waited at Bayonne, gaining time there by sending a courier to the King
+for instructions how to act, and remaining until the reply came.  After
+its arrival he set out to continue his journey, and joined the King of
+Spain at Valladolid.
+
+Staremberg, after his victory, was joined by the Archduke, and a debate
+soon took place as to the steps next to be taken.  Staremberg was for
+giving battle to the army of eighteen thousand men under Bay, which I
+have just alluded to, beating it, and then advancing little by little
+into Spain, to make head against the vanquished army of the King.  Had
+this advice been acted on, it could scarcely have failed to ruin the King
+of Spain, and the whole country must have fallen into the hands of the
+enemy.  But it was not acted on.  Stanhope, who commanded the English and
+Dutch troops, said that his Queen had ordered him to march upon Madrid
+when possible, in preference to every other place.  He therefore proposed
+that they should go straight to Madrid with the Archduke, proclaim him
+King there, and thus terrify all Spain by seizing the capital.
+Staremberg, who admitted that the project was dazzling, sustained,
+however, that it was of little use, and of great danger.  He tried all in
+his power to shake the inflexibility of Stanhope, but in vain, and at
+last was obliged to yield as being the feebler of the two.  The time lost
+in this dispute saved the wreck of the army which had just been defeated.
+What was afterwards done saved the King of Spain.
+
+When the plan of the allies became known, however, the consternation at
+Madrid, which was already great, was extreme.  The King resolved to
+withdraw from a place which could not defend itself, and to carry away
+with him the Queen, the Prince, and the Councils.  The grandees declared
+that they would follow the King and his fortune everywhere, and very few
+failed to do so; the departure succeeded the declaration in twenty-four
+hours.  The Queen, holding the Prince in her arms, at a balcony of the
+palace, spoke to the people assembled beneath, with so much grace, force,
+and courage, that the success she had is incredible.  The impression that
+the people received was communicated everywhere, and soon gained all the
+provinces.  The Court thus left Madrid for the second time in the midst
+of the most lamentable cries, uttered from the bottom of their hearts, by
+people who came from town and country, and who so wished to follow the
+King and Queen that considerable effort was required in order to induce
+them to return, each one to his home.
+
+Valladolid was the retreat of this wretched Court, which in the most
+terrible trouble it had yet experienced, lost neither judgment nor
+courage.  Meanwhile the grandest and rarest example of attachment and of
+courage that had ever been heard of or seen was seen in Spain.  Prelates
+and the humblest of the clergy, noblemen and the poorest people, lawyers
+and artisans all bled themselves of the last drop of their substance,
+in order to form new troops and magazines, and to provide all kinds of
+provisions for the Court, and those who had followed it.  Never nation
+made more efforts so surprising, with a unanimity and a concert which
+acted everywhere at once.  The Queen sold off all she possessed, received
+with her own hands sometimes even as little as ten pistoles, in order to
+content the zeal of those; who brought, and thanked them with as much
+affection as they themselves displayed.  She would continually say that
+she should like to put herself at the head of her troops, with her son in
+her arms.  With this language and her conduct, she gained all hearts, and
+was very useful in such a strange extremity.
+
+The Archduke meanwhile arrived in Madrid with his army.  He entered there
+in triumph, and caused himself to be proclaimed King of Spain, by the
+violence of his troops, who dragged the trembling Corregidor through the
+streets, which for the most part were deserted, whilst the majority of
+the houses were without inhabitants, the few who remained having
+barricaded their doors and windows, and shut themselves up in the most
+remote places, where the troops did not dare to break in upon them, for
+fear of increasing the visible and general despair, and in the hope of
+gaining by gentleness.  The entry of the Archduke was not less sad than
+his proclamation.  A few scarcely audible and feeble acclamations were
+heard, but were so forced that the Archduke, sensibly astonished, made
+them cease of himself.  He did not dare to lodge in the palace, or in the
+centre of Madrid, but slept at the extremity of the city, and even there
+only for two or three nights.  Scarcely any damage was inflicted upon the
+town.  Staremberg was careful to gain over the inhabitants by
+conciliation and clemency; yet his army perished of all kinds of misery.
+
+Not a single person could be found to supply it with subsistence for man
+or beast--not even when offered money.  Prayers, menaces, executions, all
+were perfectly useless.  There was not a Castilian who would not have
+believed himself dishonourable in selling the least thing to the enemies,
+or in allowing them to take it.  It is thus that this magnanimous people,
+without any other help than their courage and their fidelity, sustained
+themselves in the midst of their enemies, whose army they caused to
+perish; while at the same time; by inconceivable prodigies, they formed a
+new army for themselves, perfectly equipped and furnished, and put thus,
+by themselves; alone, and for the second time, the crown upon the head of
+their King; with a glory for ever an example to all the people of Europe;
+so true it is that nothing approaches the strength which is found in the
+heart of a nation for the succour and re-establishment of kings!
+
+Stanhope, who had not failed to see the excellence of Staremberg's advice
+from the first moment of their dispute, now said insolently, that having
+executed the orders of his Queen, it was for Staremberg to draw the army
+out of its embarrassment.  As for himself, he had nothing more to do in
+the matter!  When ten or twelve days had elapsed, it was resolved to
+remove from Madrid towards Toledo.  From the former place nothing was
+taken away, except same of the king's tapestry; which Stanhope was not
+ashamed to carry off, but which he did not long keep.  This act of
+meanness was blamed even by his own countrymen.  Staremberg did not make
+a long stay at Toledo, but in quitting the town, burnt the superb palace
+in the Moorish style that Charles Quint had built there, and that, was
+called the Alcazar.  This was an irreparable damage, which he made
+believe happened accidentally.
+
+As nothing now hindered the King of Spain from going to see his faithful
+subjects at Madrid, he entered that city on the 2nd of December, in the
+midst of an infinite crowd and incredible acclamations.  He descended at
+the church of Notre Dame d'Atocha, and was three hours in arriving at the
+palace, so prodigious was the crowd.  The city made a present to him of
+twenty thousand pistoles.  On the fourth day after his arrival at Madrid,
+the King left, in order to join M. de Vendeme and his army.
+
+But a little while before, this monarch was a fugitive wanderer, almost
+entirely destroyed, without troops, without money, and without
+subsistence.  Now he found himself at the head of ten or fifteen thousand
+men well armed, well clad, well paid, with provisions, money, and
+ammunition in abundance; and this magical change was brought about by the
+sudden universal conspiracy of the unshakable fidelity and attachment--
+without example, of all the orders of his subjects; by their efforts and
+their industry, as prodigious the one as the other.
+
+Vendome, in the utmost surprise at a change so little to be hoped for,
+wished to profit by it by joining the army under Bay, which was too weak
+itself to appear before Staremberg.  Vendome accordingly set about making
+this junction, which Staremberg thought only how to hinder.  He knew well
+the Duc de Vendome.  In Savoy he had gained many a march upon him; had
+passed five rivers in front of him; and in spite of him had led his
+troops to M. de Savoie.  Staremberg thought only therefore in what manner
+he could lay a trap for M. de Vendome, in which he, with his army, might
+fall and break his neck without hope of escape.  With this view he put
+his army into quarters access to which was easy everywhere, which were
+near each other, and which could assist each other in case of need.  He
+then placed all his English and Dutch, Stanhope at their head, in
+Brighuega, a little fortified town in good condition for defence.  It was
+at the head of all the quarters of Staremberg's army, and at the entrance
+of a plain over which M. de Vendome had to pass to join Bay.
+
+Staremberg was on the point of being joined by his army of Estremadura,
+so that in the event of M. de Vendeme attacking Brighuega, as he hoped,
+he had a large number of troops to depend upon.
+
+Vendome, meanwhile, set out on his march.  He was informed of
+Staremberg's position, but in a manner just such as Staremberg wished;
+that is to say, he was led to believe that Stanhope had made a wrong move
+in occupying Brighuega, that he was too far removed from Staremberg to
+receive any assistance from him, and that he could be easily overpowered.
+That is how matters appeared to Vendome.  He hastened his march,
+therefore, made his dispositions, and on the 8th of December, after mid-
+day, approached Brighuega, called upon it to surrender, and upon its
+refusal, prepared to attack it.
+
+Immediately afterwards his surprise was great, upon discovering that
+there were so many troops in the town, and that instead of having to do
+with a mere outpost, he was engaged against a place of some consequence.
+He did not wish to retire, and could not have done so with impunity.  He
+set to therefore, storming in his usual manner, and did what he could to
+excite his troops to make short work, of a conquest so different from
+what he had imagined, and so dangerous to delay.
+
+Nevertheless, the weight of his mistake pressed upon him as the hours
+passed and he saw fresh enemies arrive.  Two of his assaults had failed:
+he determined to play at double or quits, and ordered a third assault.
+While the dispositions were being made, on the 9th of December he learnt
+that Staremberg was marching against him with four or five thousand men,
+that is to say, with just about half of what he really led.  In this
+anguish, Vendome did not hesitate to stake even the Crown of Spain upon
+the hazard of the die.  His third attack was made with all the force of
+which he was capable.  Every one of the assailants knew the extremity of
+the danger, and behaved with so much valour and impetuosity, that the
+town was carried in spite of an obstinate resistance.  The besieged were
+obliged to yield, and to the number of eight battalions and eight
+squadrons, surrendered themselves prisoners of war, and with them,
+Stanhope, their general, who, so triumphant in Madrid, was here obliged
+to disgorge the King's tapestries that he had taken from the palace.
+
+While the capitulation was being made, various information came to
+Vendome of Staremberg's march, which it was necessary, above all, to hide
+from the prisoners, who, had they known their liberator was only a league
+and a half distant from them, as he was then, would have broken the
+capitulation; and defended themselves.  M. de Vendome's embarrassment was
+great.  He had, at the same time, to march out and meet Staremberg and to
+get rid of, his numerous prisoners.  All was done, however, very
+successfully.  Sufficient troops were left in Brighuega to attend to the
+evacuation, and when it was at an end, those troops left the place
+themselves and joined their comrades, who, with M. de Vendome, were
+waiting for Staremberg outside the town, at Villaviciosa, a little place
+that afterwards gave its name to the battle.  Only four hundred men were
+left in Brighuega.
+
+M. de Vendome arranged his army in order of battle in a tolerably open
+plain, but embarrassed by little knolls in several places; very
+disadvantageous for the cavalry.  Immediately afterwards the cannon began
+to fire on both sides, and almost immediately the two links of the King
+of Spain prepared to charge.  After the battle had proceeded some time,
+M. de Vendome perceived that his centre began to give way, and that the
+left of his cavalry could not break the right of the enemies.  He thought
+all was lost, and gave orders accordingly to his men to retire towards
+Torija.  Straightway, too, he directed himself in that direction, with
+the King of Spain and a good part of his troops.  While thus retreating,
+he learnt that two of his officers had charged the enemy's infantry with
+the cavalry they had at their orders, had much knocked it about and had
+rendered themselves masters, on the field of battle, of a large number
+of-prisoners, and of the artillery that the enemy had abandoned.  News so
+agreeable and so little expected determined the Duc de Vendome and the
+King of Spain to return to the battle with the troops that had followed
+them.  The day was, in fact, won just as night came on.  The enemies
+abandoned twenty pieces of cannon, two mortars, their wounded and their
+equipages; and numbers of them were taken prisoners.  But Staremberg,
+having all the night to himself, succeeded in retiring in good order with
+seven or eight thousand men.  His baggage and the majority of his waggons
+fell a prey to the vanquisher.  Counting the garrison of Brighuega, the
+loss to the enemy was eleven thousand men killed or taken, their
+ammunition, artillery, baggage, and a great number of flags and
+standards.
+
+When we consider the extreme peril the Crown of Spain ran in these
+engagements, and that this time, if things had gone ill there was no
+resource, we tremble still.  Had a catastrophe happened, there was
+nothing to hope from France.  Its exhaustion and its losses would not
+have enabled it to lend aid.  In its desire for peace, in fact, it would
+have hailed the loss of the Spanish Crown as a relief.  The imprudence,
+therefore, of M. de Vendome in so readily falling into the snare laid for
+him, is all the more to be blamed.  He takes no trouble to inform himself
+of the dispositions of the enemy; he comes upon a place which he believes
+a mere post, but soon sees it contains a numerous garrison, and finds
+that the principal part of the enemy's army is ready to fall upon him as
+he makes the attack.  Then he begins to see in what ship he has embarked;
+he sees the double peril of a double action to sustain against Stanhope,
+whom he must overwhelm by furious assault, and against Staremberg, whom
+he must meet and defeat; or, leave to the enemies the Crown of Spain, and
+perhaps the person of Philip V., as price of his folly.  Brighuega is
+gained, but it is without him.  Villaviciosa is gained, but it is also
+without him.  This hero is not sharp-sighted enough to see success when
+it comes.  He thinks it defeat, and gives orders for retreat.  When
+informed that the battle is gained, he returns to the field, and as
+daylight comes perceives the fact to be so.  He is quite without shame
+for his stupid mistake, and cries out that he has vanquished, with an
+impudence to which the Spaniards were not accustomed; and, to conclude,
+he allows Staremberg's army to get clean off, instead of destroying it at
+once, as he might have done, and so finished the war.  Such were the
+exploits of this great warrior, so desired in Spain to resuscitate it,
+and such, were the first proofs of his capacity upon arriving in that
+country!
+
+At the moment that the King of Spain was led back to the battle-field by
+Vendome, and that they could no longer doubt their good fortune, he sent
+a courier to the Queen.  Her mortal anguish was on the instant changed
+into so great a joy, that she went out immediately on foot into the
+streets of Vittoria, where all was delight; as it soon was over all
+Spain.  The news of the victory was brought to the King (of France) by
+Don Gaspard de Zuniga, who gave an exact account of all that had
+occurred, hiding nothing respecting M. de Vendome, who was thus unmasked
+and disgraced, in spite of every effort on the part of his cabal to
+defend him.
+
+Among the allies, all the blame, of this defeat fell upon Stanhope.
+Seven or eight hours more of resistance on his part at Brighuega would
+have enabled Staremberg to come up to his assistance, and all the
+resources of Spain would then have been annihilated.  Staremberg,
+outraged at the ill-success of his undertaking, cried out loudly against
+Stanhope.  Some of the principal officers who had been at Brighuega
+seconded these complaints.  Stanhope even did not dare to deny his fault.
+He was allowed to demand leave of absence to go home and defend himself.
+He was badly received, stripped of all military rank in England and
+Holland, and (as well as the officers under him) was not without fear of
+his degradation, and was even in danger of his life.
+
+This recital of the events that took place in Spain has led me away from
+other matters of earlier date.  It is time now that I should return to
+them.
+
+
+
+
+ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARK:
+
+Found it easier to fly into a rage than to reply
+
+
+
+
+End of this Project Gutenberg Etext Memoirs of Louis XIV. and The Regency,
+v7, by the Duc de Saint-Simon
+
diff --git a/old/cm29b10.zip b/old/cm29b10.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..712582b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/cm29b10.zip