CHARACTJEE OF LOUIS SIV. 357

CHAPTER XXXV.

Early Life of Louis XIV.—His Education—His enormous Vanity—His Ig-
norance—Cause of the War with HolJand—His Mistakes and Weakness
in War—The Buin of France—Origin of Versailles—The King's Love of
Adulation and Jealousy of people who came not to Court—His Spies—His
Vindictiveness—Opening of Letters—Confidence sometimes placed in
Mm—A Lady in a Predicament.

I SHALL pass over the stormy period of Louis XIY.'s minority.
At twenty-three years of age he entered the great world as King,
under the most favourable auspices. His ministers were the
most skilful in all Europe: his generals the best; his Court
was filled with illustrious and clever men, formed during the
troubles which had followed the death of Louis XIII.

Louis XIV. was made for a brilliant Court. la the midst of
other men, his figure, Ms courage, his grace, his beauty, his
grand mien, even the tone of his voice and the majestic and
natural charm of all his person, distinguished him till his death
as the King Bee, and showed that if he had only been, born a
simple private gentleman, he would equally have excelled in
f£tes, pleasures, and gallantry, and would have had the greatest
success in love. The intrigues and adventures which early in life
he had been engaged in—when the Comtesse de Soissons lodged
at the Tuileries, as superintendent of the Queen's household,
and was the centre figure of the Court group—had exercised
an unfortunate influence upon him: he received those impres-
sions with which he could never after successfully struggle.
From this time, intellect, education, nobility of sentiment, and
high principle, in others, became objects of suspicion to lira,