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The Queen having been robbed of her purse as she was passing from the Tuileries to the Feuillans, requested my sister to lend her twenty-five louis. [On being interrogated the Queen declared that these five and twenty louis had been lent to her by my sister; this formed a pretence for arresting her and me, and led to her death.—MADAME CAMPAN.] I spent part of the day at the Feuillans, and her Majesty... more...

CHAPTER I. I was fifteen years of age when I was appointed reader to Mesdames. I will begin by describing the Court at that period. Maria Leczinska was just dead; the death of the Dauphin had preceded hers by three years; the Jesuits were suppressed, and piety was to be found at Court only in the apartments of Mesdames. The Duc de Choiseuil ruled. Etiquette still existed at Court with all the forms it... more...

The King Takes Luxembourg Because It Is His Will.—Devastation of theElectorate of Treves.—The Marquis de Louvois.—His Portrait.—TheMarvels Which He Worked.—The Le Tellier and the Mortemart.—The KingDestines De Mortemart to a Colbert.—How One Manages Not to Bow.—TheDragonades.—A Necessary Man.—Money Makes Fat.—Meudon.—The Horoscope. This journey to Flanders did not keep the King... more...

CHAPTER XIX. The Court Travels in Picardy and Flanders.—The Boudoir Navy.—Madame deMontespan Is Not Invited.—The King Relates to Her the Delights of theJourney.—Reflections of the Marquise. The King, consoled as he was for the death of the Duchesse de Fontanges, did not, on that account, return to that sweet and agreeable intimacy which had united us for the space of eleven or twelve years. He... more...

CHAPTER I. The Prince de Mont-Beliard.—He Agrees to the Propositions Made Him.—TheKing's Note.—Diplomacy of the Chancellor of England.—Letter from theMarquis de Montespan.—The Duchy in the Air.—The Domain of Navarre,Belonging to the Prince de Bouillon, Promised to the Marquise. There was but a small company this year at the Waters of Bourbonne,—to begin with, at any rate; for... more...

President de Nesmond—upright, clear-headed magistrate as he was—was of very great service to me at the Courts of Justice. He always managed to oblige me and look after my interests and my rights in any legal dispute of mine, or when I had reason to fear annoyance on the part of my husband. I will here relate the grief that his young wife caused him, and it will be seen that, by the side of this... more...

They are forever talking about the coquetry of women; men also have their coquetry, but as they show less grace and finesse than we do, they do not get half as much attention. The Marquis de Lauzun, having one day, noticed a certain kindly feeling for him in the glances of Mademoiselle, endeavoured to seem to her every day more fascinating and agreeable. The foolish Princess completely fell into the... more...

After six months of wedlock, Henrietta of England had become so beautiful that the King drew every one's attention to this change, as if he were not unmindful of the fact that he had given this charming person to his brother instead of reserving her for himself by marrying her. Between cousins german attentions are permissible. The Court, however, was not slow to notice the attentions paid by the... more...

CHAPTER I. The Reason for Writing These Memoirs.—Gabrielle d'Estrees. The reign of the King who now so happily and so gloriously rules over France will one day exercise the talent of the most skilful historians. But these men of genius, deprived of the advantage of seeing the great monarch whose portrait they fain would draw, will search everywhere among the souvenirs of contemporaries and base... more...

CHAPTER I. The Reason for Writing These Memoirs.—Gabrielle d'Estrees. The reign of the King who now so happily and so gloriously rules over France will one day exercise the talent of the most skilful historians. But these men of genius, deprived of the advantage of seeing the great monarch whose portrait they fain would draw, will search everywhere among the souvenirs of contemporaries and base... more...